Watch our Read Scripture video on the overview of the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible, or the TaNaK. This video breaks down the literary design of the entire Old Testament and its flow of thought.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Genesis, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Genesis, God makes a good world and commissions humans to rule it, and then they give in to evil and ruin everything.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Genesis, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Genesis, God promises to bless rebellious humanity through the family of Abraham, despite their constant failure and folly.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Exodus, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Exodus, God rescues the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and confronts the evil and injustice of Pharaoh.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Exodus, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Exodus, God invites the Israelites into a covenant and comes to live among them in the Tabernacle, but Israel rebels and ruins the relationship.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Leviticus, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Leviticus, Israel’s holy God invites them to live in His presence despite their sin, through a series of rituals and sacred institutions.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Numbers, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Numbers, Israel travels through the wilderness on the way to the land promised to Abraham. Their repeated rebellion is met by God’s justice and mercy.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Deuteronomy, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Deuteronomy, Moses gives final words of wisdom and warning before the Israelites enter the promised land, challenging them to be faithful to God.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Joshua, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Joshua, after Moses' death, Joshua leads Israel and they settle in the promised land currently occupied by Canaanites.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Judges, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Judges, the Israelites turn away from God and face the consequences. God raises judges in cycles of rebellion, repentance, and restoration.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Ruth, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Ruth, an Israelite family faces tragic loss, and God uses the faithfulness of a non-Israelite woman to bring restoration into the family of David.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of 1 Samuel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In 1 Samuel, God reluctantly raises up kings to rule the Israelites. The first is a failure, and the second, David, is a faithful replacement.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of 2 Samuel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In 2 Samuel, David becomes God's most faithful king, but then rebels, resulting in the slow destruction of his family and kingdom.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the books of 1-2 Kings, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Kings, David’s son Solomon leads Israel to greatness, only to fail and lead Israel to a civil war and ultimately towards destruction and exile.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the books of 1-2 Chronicles, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Chronicles retells the entire Old Testament story, highlighting the future hope of the messianic king and a restored temple.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the prophetic books of Ezra and Nehemiah, which breaks down the literary design of each book's flow of thought. In these books, many Israelites return to Jerusalem after the exile and face some success alongside many spiritual and moral failures.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Esther, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Esther, God providentially uses two exiled Israelites to rescue His people from certain doom, without any explicit mention of God or His activity!
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Job, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Job explores the difficult question of God's relationship to human suffering and invites us to trust God's wisdom and character.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Psalms, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The book of Psalms has been designed to be the prayer book of God's people as they wait for the Messiah and his coming kingdom.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Proverbs, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The book of Proverbs invites people to live with wisdom and in the fear of the Lord in order to experience the good life.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Ecclesiastes, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. This book forces us to face death and random chance, and the challenges they pose to a naive belief in God’s goodness.
Watch our overview video on the book of Song of Songs, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The Song of Songs is a collection of ancient Israelite love poems that celebrate the beauty and power of God's gift of love and sexual desire.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the first 39 chapters of the book of Isaiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Isaiah announces that God’s judgment will purify Israel and prepare his people for the coming messianic king and the new Jerusalem.
Watch our Read Scripture video on chapters 40-66 of the book of Isaiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Isaiah announces that God’s judgment will purify Israel and prepare his people for the coming messianic king and the new Jerusalem.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Jeremiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Jeremiah announces that God will judge Israel’s sins with an exile to Babylon. And then, he lives through the horror of his predictions.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Lamentations, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The book itself is a collection of five funeral poems offered on behalf of Jerusalem after its destruction by Babylon.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the first part of the book of Ezekiel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Among the exiles in Babylon, Ezekiel shows that Israel deserved this judgment, and also that God’s justice creates hope for the future.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the second part of the book of Ezekiel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Among the exiles in Babylon, Ezekiel shows that Israel deserved this judgment, and also that God’s justice creates hope for the future.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Daniel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The story of Daniel motivates faithfulness despite exile in Babylon. His visions offer hope that God will bring all nations under His rule.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Hosea, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, Hosea accuses Israel of breaking their covenant with God and warns them of the tragic consequences to follow.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Joel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Joel reflects on the "Day of the Lord" and how true repentance will bring about the great restoration hoped for in the other prophetic books.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Amos, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, Amos accuses Israel of breaking their covenant with God and highlights how their idolatry has led to injustice and the neglect of the poor.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Obadiah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Obadiah announces Edom's downfall to Babylon, which is an image of how God will bring down all arrogant and violent nations.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Jonah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The book of Jonah is a subversive story about a rebellious prophet who despises his God for loving his enemies.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Micah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, Micah announces that God's justice is coming in order to create a new future of love and faithfulness on the other side of Israel's sin and exile.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Nahum, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, Nahum portrays the downfall of Nineveh and Assyria as an image of how God will confront and bring down all violent human empires.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Habakkuk, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, Habakkuk struggles to understand God's goodness in the midst of such evil and injustice in the world.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Zephaniah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, Zephaniah announces God’s purifying judgment on Israel. It will remove evil and open up a new future where all people can flourish in peace.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Haggai, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, Haggai challenges Israel after the exile to remain faithful to their God and rebuild the temple.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Zechariah, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, Zechariah's visions foster hope in the future promise of the messianic kingdom and challenge Israel after the exile to remain faithful to God.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Malachi, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, Malachi accuses Israel of selfishness after the exile and announces that the day of the Lord will purify Israel and prepare them for God's kingdom.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the overview of the New Testament. This video breaks down the literary design of the entire New Testament and how it continues the story of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Mark, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Mark demonstrates that Jesus is Israel's Messiah who inaugurates God’s kingdom through his suffering, death, and resurrection.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of 1 Corinthians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In 1 Corinthians, Paul shows the new Christians in Corinth that all of life's most complex problems can be seen through the lens of the gospel.
Watch our Read Scripture video on 2 Corinthians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In 2 Corinthians, Paul resolves his conflict with the Corinthians by showing how the scandal of the crucifixion turns our value systems upside-down.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Galatians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Galatians, Paul challenges the Galatian Christians to stop allowing controversial Torah observances to divide their church's congregation.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Ephesians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Ephesians, Paul shows how the good news should create ethnically diverse communities that are unified by devotion to Jesus and to each other.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Philippians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Phillippians, Paul thanks the Philippian Christians for their generosity and shares how they are all called to imitate Jesus’ self-giving love.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Colossians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Colossians, Paul encourages the Colossian Christians to see Jesus as the center of all reality, so they don’t give in to pressure from other religions.
Watch our Read Scripture video on 1 Thessalonians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul directs the persecuted Thessalonian Christians to hope in the future of king Jesus' return who will make all things right.
Watch our Read Scripture video on 2 Thessalonians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul clarified his earlier teachings about Jesus' future return and rebukes the Christians who were disrupting the community.
Watch our Read Scripture video on 1 Timothy, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In 1 Timothy, Paul shows Timothy how to restore order and purpose to the church in Ephesus which has been disrupted by false teachers.
Watch our Read Scripture video on 2 Timothy, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In 2 Timothy, Paul is near execution and offers a personal challenge to Timothy to keeping following Jesus no matter the sacrifice and risk.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Titus, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Titus, Paul commissions Titus to show how the good news of Jesus and the power of the Spirit can transform the Cretan culture from within.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Philemon, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this letter, Paul helps his friend Philemon to reconcile with his escaped former slave Onesimus and shows that they are equals because of Jesus.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Hebrews, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In Hebrews, the author shows how Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God's love and mercy and is worthy of our devotion.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of James, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, James combines the wisdom of his brother Jesus with the book of Proverbs in his own challenging call to live a life wholly devoted to God.
Watch our Read Scripture video on 1 Peter, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Peter offers hope to persecuted Christians and guides them with practical instruction on living life consistent with following Jesus.
Watch our Read Scripture video on 2 Peter, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In 2 Peter, Peter calls for faithfulness and confronts corrupt teachers who distorted the message about Jesus and lead others astray.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the letters of John, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. John calls followers of Jesus to share in God's own life and love by devoting themselves to loving one another.
Watch our Read Scripture video on the book of Jude, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, Jude confronts corrupt teachers who distort the message about his brother Jesus and lead others astray.
In the story of the Bible, God is depicted as a generous host who provides for the needs of his guests. However, humans live from a mindset of scarcity and hoard God’s many gifts. In this video, we explore God’s plan for overcoming our selfishness by giving the ultimate gift of himself in the person of Jesus.
The God portrayed in the Bible isn’t easy to understand, but what if we could better understand what it is that we can’t understand? In this video, we will explore the complex identity of God displayed in the storyline of the Bible, and (surprise!) it all leads to Jesus.
In this video, we explore the original meaning of the biblical concept of “spirit” and what it means that God’s Spirit is personally present in all of creation. Ultimately, the Spirit was revealed through Jesus and sent out into the lives of his followers to bring about the new creation.
In this video, we explore the mysterious promise on page three of the Bible, that a promised deliverer would one day come to confront evil and rescue humanity. We trace this theme through the family of Abraham, the messianic lineage of David, and ultimately to Jesus who defeated evil by letting it defeat him.
In this video, we explore the importance of the ancient laws in the Old Testament. Why are they in the Bible, and what do they say to followers of Jesus? We explore how they fulfilled a strategic purpose in one key phase of the biblical story, leading up to Jesus who fulfilled the law and summarized it in the call to love God and love your neighbor as yourself.
If followers of Jesus are to give their total allegiance to God’s Kingdom, how should they relate to the governments and power structures of their own day? In this video, we’ll see how the experience of Daniel and his friends in Babylonian exile offers wisdom for navigating this tension. Following Jesus in the 21st century means learning the way of the exile.
Exile is one of the core, yet often overlooked, themes underlying the entire Biblical storyline. In this video, we'll see how Israel's exile to Babylon is a picture of all humanity's exile from Eden. As you might guess, Jesus is the one to open the way back home.
What does the Bible really teach about heaven, and what is heaven’s relationship to earth? In this video, we explore the surprising biblical viewpoint that heaven and earth were meant to overlap, and how Jesus is on a mission to bring them together once and for all.
The Bible’s main way of talking about God’s relationship to humanity is the image of a partnership. This video traces the way God entered into a series of formal relationships with various human partners in order to rescue the world through Jesus, the ultimate covenant partner.
God is on a mission to remove evil from His good world, along with all of its corrosive effects. However, He wants to do it in a way that does not involve removing humans. In this video, we trace the theme of God’s “covering” over human evil through animal sacrifices that ultimately point to Jesus and his death and resurrection.
"Justice" is a felt need in our world today and a controversial topic. But what is justice, exactly, and who gets to define it? In this video, we'll explore the biblical theme of Justice and discover how it's deeply rooted in the story-line of the Bible that leads to Jesus.
In this video, we trace the origins of the word “gospel” and how it ties the story of the Old Testament together with the story of Jesus and his announcement of God’s kingdom. Jesus brought God’s rule and reign to the world in a very upside-down way, which is the best news you could ask for.
If you thought “Christ” was Jesus’ last name or the title he gave himself, think again! The title Jesus most often used for himself is the "Son of Man.” In this video, we’ll explore the meaning of this fascinating phrase and see how it invites us into the larger biblical story.
This video traces the idea of humans as co-rulers alongside God, who are commissioned to develop the world and its resources and take it into new horizons. How has this human vocation been compromised by our selfishness and evil, and how did Jesus open up a new way of being human through his life, death, and resurrection?
Does God care about all of the evil humans perpetrate in our world, and if so, what is He doing about it? In this video, we trace the different ways that God confronts human evil and the even deeper spiritual evil that underlies it. Ultimately, we see how Jesus fulfills this storyline and overcomes evil by allowing it to defeat him.
Reading the Bible aloud with a group of people is an ancient practice. In fact, the origins of the Bible are deeply rooted in it being read aloud in public. Explore with us the origins and development of this fascinating biblical topic, and how it offers us a model for engaging the Scriptures in our own day.
In this video, we explore how Israel’s temple in the Bible is described as the place where God’s space and humanity’s space are one. In fact, the whole biblical drama can be told as a story about God’s temple. In the opening pages of Genesis, God creates a cosmic temple, and in the person of Jesus, God takes up personal residence in his temple-world. By the end of the biblical story, all of creation has become God’s sacred temple.
On page one of the Bible, God orders a beautiful world out of chaotic darkness within a sequence of six days. And on the seventh day, God rests. This introduces the major biblical theme of patterns of seven that conclude with God and humans resting together as partners. In this video, we explore the theme of seventh day rest and the biblical concept of Sabbath. We also look at why Jesus adopted this idea as a major part of his own mission to bring God's Kingdom to earth.
In the opening pages of the Bible, God gives humanity a gift that they quickly forfeit—eternal life that comes by eating from the tree of life. In this video, we explore the meaning of this powerful image and how sacred trees play a key role throughout the story of the Bible. It all leads up to Jesus himself, who died upon a tree so that he could become a new tree of life for all humanity.
In the beginning of the Bible, God transforms a desolate wilderness into a garden through a stream that waters the ground and brings life wherever it goes. This image gets developed throughout the biblical story as wells, cisterns, rain, and rivers all become images of God’s creative power. In this video, we’ll explore the “water of life” theme through the biblical story and see how it leads to Jesus, who presents himself as the one bringing living water to a world that is desperately thirsty.
Why does God test people? In this video we trace the repeated theme of testing in the Bible and see how God determines the loyalty and trust of his covenant partners. Though these tests are rarely easy, they offer God’s people important opportunities for growth and transformation.
Jesus offered people eternal life. But what does that mean? Explore the meaning of a phrase that invites us into God’s life now and in the age to come.
Trace the theme of blessing and curse in the Bible to see how Jesus defeats the curse and restores the blessing of life to creation.
Who gets to be first? Trace the theme of the firstborn through the story of the Bible and discover how God overturns human systems and redefines power as love.
What is the purpose of anointing? Watch our theme video to understand this ritual throughout the Bible and how it relates to Jesus and his followers.
Explore the theme of the city throughout the story of the Bible—from the first city built by Cain to the final garden city, the heavenly Jerusalem in the new creation. In this video, you'll learn: - What makes a city - Why the first city was built - The contrasting ethics of the city of Babylon and God's city - God's surprising plan to bring his garden to the city - What it looks like when the heavenly city comes to Earth
Explore how biblical authors use dragon imagery to describe the forces that pull creation into disorder and death.
God makes a good world and installs humans as its rulers. Humanity rebels and ends up ruling the world in a destructive way, leading to violence, death, and the founding of the city of Babylon. God’s response is to set in motion a plan to rescue and bless the whole world through the family of Abraham.
God makes a promise that He will bless all nations through Abraham's family. But with aging husbands, impatient matriarchs, blessing-stealing children, and jealous siblings who keep mucking things up, how will God's promise prevail?
The first part of Exodus recounts how Abraham’s family ends up enslaved in Egypt. God raises up a deliverer to confront the evil of Pharaoh and to liberate the Israelites. From Egypt, they set out into the wilderness on the way to Mt. Sinai.
The Israelites come to Mt. Sinai, where God invites them into a covenant relationship. He wants to make them his representatives to all the nations and come to personally live in their midst. But Israel rebels by making an idol of the golden calf, which is just a really bad idea.
God invites Israel to live in close proximity to His holy presence. Which seems awesome, but it’s actually dangerous. This book explores how the sacrificial rituals and purity practices cleared the way for morally corrupt Israelites to become God’s covenant partners.
A road-trip gone bad. Israel leaves Mt. Sinai only to rebel against God at every step. God responds with short-term severity and long-term generosity as He leads them into the promised land.
Moses delivers his final words of warning and wisdom to the Israelites before they enter the promised land. This is the epic conclusion of the Torah! And, spoiler alert: Moses dies.
This book is the accumulation of wisdom from generations of godly insightful people. It promotes a life of virtue and “fear of the Lord,” so that you can truly experience the good life. Proverbs is one of the three books that explore these themes of biblical wisdom.
In this book we hear the skeptical voice of “the teacher.” He observes that living by the book of Proverbs doesn’t always bring positive results. Sometimes life is hard and defies neat explanations. How do you live with that tension, and still strive for wisdom? Ecclesiastes is the second of the three biblical wisdom books.
How do you trust God even when life isn’t fair and you suffer for no good reason? Job’s story invites us to consider what it means that God runs the world by wisdom, and how this truth can bring peace in dark times. Job is the last of the three books that explore these themes of biblical wisdom.
The first in a five-part series on the Gospel of Luke. We explore the amazing events surrounding the birth of Jesus. The humble conditions of his family and their low status in Israelite society foreshadow the upside-down nature of Jesus’ kingdom.
The second in a five-part series on the Gospel of Luke. We watch Jesus launch his ministry of good news for the poor and how he brought together people from very diverse backgrounds to live together in peace.
Part three explores the central part of Luke's Gospel. Jesus continues his controversial announcement of good news for the poor during his long road-trip to Jerusalem, which increases conflict with Israel’s religious leaders. This tension provides the setting for the famous parable of the Prodigal Son.
The final week of Jesus' life culminated in a controversial week in Jerusalem during Passover. In this video, we'll explore the Gospel of Luke chs. 19-23, and how it came about that the innocent Jesus ended up being executed as a revolutionary rebel against Rome. We'll also see how Jesus was not at all surprised because he believed that his death would open up a new future for Israel, and for all humanity.
This video concludes Luke's epic portrait of Jesus of Nazareth. The disciples discover the empty tomb and eventually have their entire view of the world turned upside-down as they meet the risen Jesus. Luke shows how Jesus' kingdom of God mission to its climactic moment, and he sets the stage for its continuation in Luke's second volume, Acts.
The book of Acts shows how God fulfilled His ancient promises to restore His blessing to all the nations through the offspring of Abraham: Jesus of Nazareth. In this video, we'll explore how Jesus and the Spirit renew the people of Israel and prepare them to announce good news to the nations.
Our video on Acts Ch. 8-12 explores how God’s Spirit transformed Jesus’ followers from a small collective of messianic Jews in Jerusalem, into a multi-ethnic movement that quickly spread throughout the nations.
What was it like for the apostle Paul to travel around the Roman Empire announcing the good news about the risen Jesus? What drove him to plant new Jesus communities in city after city, and how did people respond to his message? In our third video on the book of Acts, we’ll explore all of this and more.
In the final video in our Acts series, we trace Paul’s final journey to Jerusalem and then into a Roman prison. But paradoxically, Paul’s suffering leads him into the heart of the Roman empire where he gets to announce God’s Kingdom over the nations.
This is episode 1 of an ongoing series that explores the origins, content, and purpose of the Bible. Here you'll be introduced to a condensed history of how the Bible came into existence, and the different forms of the Bible in the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christian traditions.
This video summarizes the overall story of the Bible as a series of crossroad decisions. All humanity, followed by the Israelites, redefine good and evil and end up in Babylon. They are followed by Jesus, who takes a different path that opens up the way to a new creation.
Episode 3 shows how reading the Bible wisely requires that we learn about the ancient literary styles used by the biblical authors. These writers expressed their ideas and claims through a variety of different type of literature, and this video will explore why it's important to tell them apart so we can hear their message on their terms.
Episode 4 explores the unique literary style of the Bible that is meant to draw its readers into a lifelong journey of reading and meditation. The Bible is designed as a multi-layered work, offering new levels of insight as you re-read it and allow each part to help you understand every other part. The Bible is the original meditation literature.
An important part of reading biblical narratives is learning how to understand the nature of "the plot," how stories are arranged into a pattern of conflict and resolution. In this video we'll see how ignoring the sequence of the plot can lead to a distorted interpretation of biblical stories. We'll also explore how grasping the multi-layered nature of the narrative can help you see the unified story that leads to Jesus.
Most of us think of characters in the Bible as either sinners or saints, good or bad. At least that’s how Bible stories are presented to children. In this video, we’ll explore the ways biblical authors present characters as more complex and morally compromised than we usually imagine.
Every story has to take place somewhere, and very often locations have a special meaning or significance evoked by events that already took place there. In this video, we explore how biblical authors use settings in narrative to meet the reader's expectations or mess with them. Paying attention to locations and time in biblical stories unlocks deeper layers of meaning.
Design patterns are one of the key ways the biblical authors have unified the storyline of the Bible. Individual stories across the Old and New Testaments have been coordinated through repeated words and parallel themes. These patterns highlight core themes of the biblical story and show how it all leads to Jesus.
Did you know that a third of the Bible is ancient Israelite poetry? Poetry is a rich and artistic form of human communication, but often the most difficult to read. In this video we’ll explore the unique characteristics of biblical poetry, so you can discover its beauty and power for yourself.
Understanding how metaphors are used in the Bible is an essential tool for reading biblical poetry. Anytime someone describes one thing to describe another thing, they are using metaphorical thinking whether they realize it or not. Metaphors are everywhere in the Bible and in our everyday speech. In this video, we’ll explore this crucial aspect of biblical language.
The book of Psalms is the largest collection of poetry in the Bible. In this video we’ll explore the design shape and main themes of this marvelous book, which was crafted to be read from beginning to end. The Psalms are an invitation to a literary temple where you can meet with God and hear the entire biblical storyline retold in poetic form.
The books of the Old Testament prophets are packed with dense poetry and wild imagery. If you’ve tried to read them, odds are you were both intrigued and confused. In this video, we’ll learn how these books contribute to the storyline of the Bible and why it’s worth learning how to read them more attentively.
Have you ever wondered why there are so many ancient biblical laws in the first books of the Bible? What are modern readers supposed to do with them, and why are some of them so odd? In this video, we explore why the laws were given to ancient Israel and how they fit into the overall storyline of the Bible.
The wisest king of Israel, King Solomon, is associated with three books of the Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. Each book offers a unique perspective on how humans can rule with wisdom and the fear of the Lord. In this video, we briefly explore how the message of each book fits into the overall story of the Bible.
The New Testament contains four ancient biographies of Jesus of Nazareth, and altogether they are called “the Gospel.” Each one tells the story as an announcement of good news that the crucified and risen Jesus is the true ruler of the nations. In this video, we explore why these accounts were written and how you can read them with greater insight.
Jesus of Nazareth was a master storyteller, and many of his most well-known teachings were told as parables. But these stories were designed to do much more than simply "teach." Jesus said the parables were designed to both reveal and conceal his message about the arrival of God's Kingdom. In this video, we explore the main themes in Jesus' parables and ask why he used them as the primary vehicle for his message.
In the New Testament, there are 21 letters or epistles written by early Christian leaders to communities of Jesus' followers in the ancient Roman world. A wise reading of these letters involves learning about their historical context. Who were the letters written to, where did the recipients live, and what prompted sending the letter? In this video, we explore the different layers of historical context with these letters, so that we can better understand the wisdom they still have to offer.
In the New Testament, there are 21 letters written by early Christian leaders to communities of Jesus' followers in the ancient Roman world. These letters are rich with theology and guidance for what it means to be a community of Jesus followers, but they can also be dense and hard to understand. In this video we’ll explore the literary style of ancient letter writing and show you how to trace the core ideas from a letter’s beginning all the way to its end.
It’s the apocalypse! But what exactly does that mean? The Bible is filled with dreams and visions about human history coming to a climax, and they’re usually packed with intense imagery and strange symbols. In this video, we’ll explore the meaning of the word “apocalypse” in the Bible, and we’ll learn some basic steps for reading this literature with more wisdom and insight.
The word “sin” is one of the most common bad words in the Bible, but what does it really mean? In this video, we’ll explore the concept of “moral failure” that underlies this important biblical word. Get ready to discover a profound and realistic portrait of the human condition.
"Transgression" is one of those Bible words that seems clear until you have to explain it to somebody. In this video, we'll explore the fascinating and sophisticated meaning of this biblical "bad word." Get ready for a sobering reflection on human nature.
Iniquity is a biblical word that very few people use anymore, and even fewer people know what it means! In this video, we’ll explore the significance of this word in ancient Hebrew, and discover a whole new way to think about our selfish decisions and their consequences.
Is hearing and listening the same thing? This video, discover how sound entering your ear-drums isn't synonymous with "listening", at least from a biblical perspective. This video is the first installment of our Word Studies series, a six-part exploration of the ancient biblical prayer called “The Shema.”
YHWH, Adonai, LORD, Jehova... God seems to have a lot of names, what exactly am I supposed to call Him? We invite you into the fascinating journey behind all the different names Jews and Christians have referred to their creator throughout the centuries, and more importantly, why! Check out our third installment in a six-part exploration of the ancient biblical prayer called “The Shema.”
Let's talk about love, Old Testament style! In this video, we'll explore the various ways the Hebrew authors used the word "love," and how they depicted God as the ultimate source and goal of all human love.
Different cultures have different conceptions of the human heart, what it is and what it does, and the biblical authors are no exception. In this video, we'll explore the ancient Hebrew words for "heart" as well as the different ideas of what our hearts represent. There is no biblical word that captures better the essence of human thought, feeling, and desire than this rich and wonderful word.
We explore the Hebrew word "nephesh" that often gets translated as "soul." The English word usually refers to a non-material essence of a human that survives after death, but nephesh means something different. It is referring to humans as living, breathing, physical beings, or just to life itself. Prepare to be surprised at the biblical meaning of this fascinating word.
What does it mean to love God "with all of your strength"? In this final installment of our videos on the Shema, we explore the Hebrew word underneath this phrase. And spoiler alert: "strength" is only one of many ways this rich word could be translated.
"Peace" is a very common word in English, that means different things to different people. It's also a very important word in the Bible that refers not only to the absence of conflict but also to the presence of something else. In this video, we'll explore the core meaning of biblical peace and how it all leads to Jesus.
In the Bible people who have hope are very different from optimists! In this video, we’ll explore how biblical hope looks to God’s character alone as a basis for trusting that the future will be better than the present.
In this video, we explore the unique type of joy to which God’s people are called. It’s more than happy mood, but rather a choice to trust that God will fulfill his promises.
The word “love” is one of the sloppiest words in our language, as it primarily refers to a feeling that happens to a person. In the New Testament, “love” refers to a way of treating people that was defined by Jesus himself: seeking the well-being of others regardless of their response.
“Gospel” is one of the most common words in a Christian’s vocabulary. But what does it mean in the original languages of the Bible? In this video, we’ll discover that “gospel” is a royal announcement about Jesus, who is the crucified and risen King of the world who overcame death with his love.
In the Bible, the word “witness” is used to describe both a person and an action—someone who sees something and then talks about what they’ve seen. Similar to today, this word is used in both legal settings and to describe an experience with God. But what’s most interesting about the word witness is how it illuminates the story of Scripture, especially the role of the people of God. In this video, we explore how this word contributes to the overarching story of the Bible.
In the first pages of the Bible, we’re introduced to God and humans as the main characters. But there’s also a whole cast of spiritual beings who play an important role throughout the Bible, though they’re often in the background. In this video, we begin to explore these beings and how they fit into the unified storyline of the Bible.
Did you know that the biblical word for God is actually a title and not a name? And did you know that this title can refer to other spiritual beings as well as to the creator God? In this video, we explore the biblical terminology for spiritual beings and how this helps us understand what the Bible means when it says that “God is one.”
What on earth is the divine council? Well, for starters, it’s not on earth! This biblical phrase describes the concept of spiritual powers that God created to have authority alongside humans... until everyone rebels and creates huge problems that only Jesus can resolve. We dig into all of this and more in episode three of our Spiritual Beings series.
Did you know that angels in the Bible don’t have wings? Or that cherubim are not cute, chubby babies? In this video, we explore the biblical portrayals of these spiritual beings to understand just who they are and what role they play in the story of the Bible.
The Angel of the Lord is one of the most fascinating spiritual beings in the Hebrew Scriptures. Every time this figure appears, he’s depicted as if he is God, but also an angel sent by God. In this video, we explore this paradoxical character and discover how he prepares us for the grand claims that will be made about Jesus in the New Testament.
The storyline of the Bible presents a populated spiritual world, full of creatures who are in rebellion against their Creator, just like humans. For lots of fascinating reasons, our modern conceptions of these spiritual rebels are based on serious misunderstandings of the Bible. So let’s go back to the book of Genesis and start over as we learn about the powers of spiritual evil in the story of the Bible.
In the opening pages of the Bible, God appoints humans to rule the world on his behalf. But when they rebel, the biblical story leads us on a search for a new humanity that will be God’s faithful partners, forever. This is the plot conflict of the biblical story that leads to Jesus, and we explore it in this final video of our Spiritual Being series.
Exodus 34:6-7 is one of the most quoted passages in the Bible. Take a closer look at this passage to understand core aspects of God’s character.
What does it mean for God to be compassionate? In this video, we take an in-depth look at the Hebrew word for compassion, rakhum.
What does it mean for God to be gracious? In this video, we’ll look at grace as a rich concept that has profound implications for how we see God.
What does it mean for God to be slow to anger? In this video, we’ll explore how anger and justice shape our understanding of God’s character.
Khesed is a difficult word to translate. It describes a relational and active love that God has for his people. Learn more in this video.
Emet is a word meaning “faithfulness” or “truth,” and it’s used throughout the Bible to describe God. Watch this video to see how God is full of emet.
Did you know that Israel’s tabernacle was designed as a symbolic garden of Eden? And did you know that Adam and Eve were proto-priests who lived and worked in the sacred space? Explore God’s plan for humanity to serve as royal priests over all creation.
Melchizedek is a curious biblical character, first introduced in the story of Abraham. See how he sets our expectations for the coming royal priest.
In this video, we explore the beginnings of Israel’s failed priesthood and the need for a royal priest who will offer his life for his people.
In this video, we’ll explore David’s rise and fall as Israel’s priestly king, and we’ll see how his story points to the ultimate priestly king, Jesus.
In this video, we’ll explore how Jesus is the ultimate priest king who invites us back into Eden and our role as God’s royal priests.
Followers of Jesus are to live as royal priests, reclaiming the lost calling God gave humanity to represent him and rule the world on his behalf.
Watch an explanation of the story of God's creation of the universe in Genesis 1. Learn how these key bible verses are designed to show us God's purpose.
What exactly is the role of humans in the story of the Bible? Why does God care so much about us as powerless, created beings, and why are we compared to babbling babies in Psalm 8. In this video, we explore God's purpose for humanity and all creation.
Proverbs 8 portrays wisdom as a woman who calls people to learn her ways and find life. In this video, we ask, Whose wisdom do we choose to live by?
In this video, we explore Psalm 148 and God’s promise to raise up a king who will bring victory to Israel and rescue the world.
Exodus 34:6-7 is one of the most quoted passages in the Bible. Take a closer look at this passage to understand core aspects of God's character.
In this video, we explore the opening of John’s Gospel and what it means for Jesus to be called the Word of God.
Modern Bibles are divided into chapters and verses, but the biblical scrolls were written to be read aloud, meditated on, and memorized as one continuous work.
The biblical story is connected by repeated words or ideas that we call links. In this video, we explain how links work and invite you to practice following them through biblical movements.
Psalm 1 describes two ways of being human and reveals that what we choose to meditate on makes all the difference.
Isaiah 61 describes a new creation filled with joy and abundance. But for God to set everything right, he must first reverse everything that's wrong.
Watch a short animated video commentary that explains the meaning of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount teachings in the Gospel of Matthew.
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The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of Jesus' most famous teachings in the Bible. Learn about its meaning and purpose in this series introduction.
Learn the meaning of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 and how Jesus' surprising statements describe the arrival of God's Kingdom.
Jesus offers a bold vision of doing right that is grounded in God's wisdom. Learn how this vision fulfills the teachings of the Torah.
Learn how Jesus explains three biblical laws by confronting the desires that drive behavior.
Explore how Jesus reveals God’s wisdom underneath Old Testament laws about oaths, revenge, and enemies in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.
What does religious hypocrisy look like? Explore three examples from Jesus in Matthew 6:1-8 and his warnings about the temptation to become a hypocrite.
In a short prayer, Jesus shows us how to align our desires with the purposes of God’s Kingdom.
One of the earliest official accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Mark addresses the basic questions of whether Jesus was the true Messiah for whom Israel had been waiting. And if so, what kind of Messianic king was he if he suffered and died?
