understanding the Bible – Page 44 – Jesus @ 2 am blogs and podcast

Understanding the Bible 01: In the Beginning… (Creation)

October 4, 2013October 24, 2013Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

Understanding the Bible in its various chapters and verses requires that we first understand the story as a whole. (Hard to make sense of the details when you don’t know much about the big picture.)

So for the next 40 weeks or so, I will do my best to trace the outline of the biblical story, the narrative arc that stretches from Genesis to Revelation. It is a story with many complexities and comprising a wide variety of literary genres (historial narrative, poetry, letters, aphorisms…); but all are tied to a fundamental story of God’s project of setting creation whole.

In this first installment, we set the stage. First and foremost we see that this drama is set in our world (not some mythic alternative reality); the Bible is a story about here and now. Likewise meet the central characters: God and humanity; and we get a first look at the relationship between them (love!). The tone of the story both joyful and peaceful. And we have good reason to believe that while there may (and will!) be many hardships as the narrative unfolds, this is a story that ends with a “…happily ever after.”

Gospels, Part 5: Jesus, Prophet of the Kingdom

January 14, 2012April 28, 2014Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

One of the greatest challenges to understanding the message of Jesus is knowing how to categorize him as a speaker. When those first audiences gathered, who did they think they were going to hear? A teacher? A philosopher? A political leader? Or something else?

In this fifth installment in the Next Steps into the Gospels course we examine Jesus’ rhetorical genre and identify him as an “apocalyptic prophet” – one who comes to proclaim God’s word to his people, one with a message that God is bringing the present age to it’s conclusion and ushering in the new era of salvation.

Now Podcasting!

November 19, 2011May 8, 2018Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

Continuing my journey into the world of blogging, I’m setting up a podcast. Mostly I’ll be loading recordings of courses I teach, but as I get more used to the process I’ll hopefully be able to add some special episodes and perhaps even an interview or two.

Please bear with me as I figure out the technology. The behind the scenes stuff comes with a whole new vocabulary and a giant set of checkboxes. I plan to wreak some havoc for a while, so if the internet crashes, you’ll know whom to blame.

First up will be my latest IPC course: Next Steps into the Gospels.

This is actually an introductory course on the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) trying to understand the message and ministry of Jesus. If you’ve ever felt as though Jesus is inconsistent, frustrating, or just plain confusing, I think this will help a great deal.

In the course we’ll examine the world of 1st century Judaism into which Jesus’ entered, how to interpret his message of the kingdom of God, his teaching, his use of parables, and his acts of power. We’ll also look at the crucifixion both historically and theologically and how the church understands the resurrection.

I hope it’s of help!