Send us a Text Message. Jesus is sending his disciples to gain some missionary experiences. The first thing is that Jesus sends the disciples out two by two. I thought Jesus could have doubled his impact by sending them out alone. It becomes clear that Jesus is not concerned with numbers. He is making several teaching points about spirituality and …

Send us a Text Message. The Gospel Mark 6:1-6 is unusual, it seems that Jesus is returning to his hometown, likely to visit his family and friends. We don’t know if this visit occurred early in his mission work or towards the end. However, his family and friends have heard about his ministry, and they are not impressed. Jesus is understandably disa…

Richard Polton is a native of Paterson, New Jersey, USA, and an expert on local history. He has been actively engaged in research and public history projects on the Paterson story, delivering many lectures on the city’s development. A published author of books like ‘Paterson’s Industrial Age’ (2023), he also gives walking tours and has been involve…

2024 marked the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Europe, and in this episode we chat with Mark Scott, author of a new book on D-Day, and the men from Ulster who served. The book draws on testimony from Northern Ireland veterans who took part in the D-Day operations. Mark Scott is a researcher and author of two publications, ‘The man who shot the…

Scott Edgar has been the driving force behind the amazing WartimeNI for the last 10 years, sparked by a love of local history and an inspiring visit to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014. His digital platform is the go-to place for info on all things Second World War-related in Northern Ireland. Scott joins us in the museum for a ch…

Send us a Text Message. Today’s Gospel is a miracle story within a resurrection story. The first is the story of a woman who is healed after many years of suffering from hemorrhages. This miracle story is unique as the miracle happens without her saying anything to Jesus. She believes that she simply needs to touch the hem of his garment for the he…

Send us a Text Message. Today’s Gospel describes an experience Jesus had with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee. This story was well known during the early days of the Church, especially during the persecutions. The early Church community was often in crisis as it dealt with factions from within and persecutions from the Roman Empire. The people …

Send us a Text Message. We have two very short parables where Jesus is describing the Kingdom of God. The first question that comes to mind is what does Jesus mean by “kingdom of God”? The term is used 126 times in the Gospels alone. I am also reminded of the statement where Jesus said: “If you had the faith the size of a mustard seed you could say…

Send us a Text Message. This Gospel is perhaps one of the most unusual of all the Gospels. Jesus’ family, including his mother Mary are coming to take him home believing that he is either possessed or has lost his mind. Jesus is accused of being possessed by members of his own family. Due to the lack of understanding of mental illness in those days…

Send us a Text Message. Jesus and the disciples are celebrating the Passover Meal, a major feast day in the Jewish faith and history. The Passover commemorates the “passing over” of the angel of death who would strike down the first born of the Egyptians. This was the tenth and final plague that Moses would bestow on the Egyptians to force the Phar…

Send us a Text Message. I urge you to spend some time reflecting on who God is for you? The answer may give you insight about how you see God, your expectations of God and how you allow God to impact your life. One of the questions I ask people is; “What does God have to do to get your attention?’ This is another way of looking at what God means to…

Send us a Text Message. Today’s Gospel is an account of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. This account is very different from the other accounts in the Gospels. Jesus makes another appearance. He welcomes his disciples with the call to Peace. I want to point out that Jesus said this to the disciples who were afraid, the doors were lo…

Send us a Text Message. Jesus makes some serious claims of those who follow Him, who will be able to drive out demons, speak new languages, pick up serpents, and even if they drink poison they will survive. Jesus promises miraculous cures simply by laying hands on the afflicted. I recognize that miracles do happen. I am not questioning that, howeve…

Send us a Text Message. John is writing on his favourite theme of love. We are given a command to love one another. I struggle with this because one cannot be commanded to love. I wonder if the personality of Jesus, described in the Gospels, could shed light on how to respond to the call to love. We might start by focusing on and developing these p…

Send us a Text Message. In this Gospel Jesus compares himself to the true vine. There are many points I want to draw your attention to. This metaphor of the vine would be well understood by the people. There were vineyards where people would grow grapes for wine. People would understand that vines were frequently pruned to produce much more fruit. …

Send us a Text Message. Today’s podcast is from John 10: 11-18. This Gospel will be read in churches April 21, 2024. Jesus compares himself to a shepherd, not just any shepherd but a good shepherd. Fortunately, Jesus goes on to clarify what he means. Probably most of us have little or no experience with shepherds and likely have never met one. Jesu…

Send us a Text Message. There are many stories in which Jesus is revealed to people in various communities. I am proposing that the aspect community in our faith may be more important than we realize. I want to draw your attention to Matthew 18:20 where Jesus promises, “When two or more are gathered in my name I am there”. I am beginning to realize…

Send us a Text Message. In this Gospel of John, we have another appearance of Jesus. Although the doors are locked Jesus has no trouble appearing to his disciples. The first thing Jesus says is “Peace be with you”, and He will soon say it again. Jesus makes it clear that peace is an important part of his Gospel. He says it twice here and in several…

Send us a Text Message. Today’s podcast is from the Gospel of John 20: 1-9. This gospel focuses on one of the earliest accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. The story starts with Mary of Magdala going to the tomb and finding it empty. I wonder what it was like for the followers of Jesus during and after the crucifixion. They were devastated! Likel…

Join us as we chat with author and historian Ken Dawson on all things 1798. Who was Henry Munro? Why does 1798 matter? Find out!

Join us as we chat with Peter Forbes about Newtonards man, and founding members of the SAS, Blair 'Paddy' Mayne!

Send us a Text Message. Jesus is welcomed by the people of Jerusalem in a fashion reserved for royalty. I have no way knowing for sure how Jesus felt. On one hand he was likely pleased that the people were happy to welcome him. He probably recognized many of the people and genuinely felt welcomed. On the other hand, Jesus, who knew the thoughts of …

We speak with the fascinating Dr Jim O'Neill who has re-written the history of the Nine Years' War (1593-1693) in Ireland.

We chat wit Dr Sarah Doherty, Egyptologist, archaeologist and expert on everyday life in ancient Egypt!

Send us a Text Message. One of the unusual themes found in this Gospel is the paradox of death leading to life. What is unique here, is Jesus’ understanding about life and death, where death comes before life. One would think that you would have to live before you can die, however, Jesus turns that all around. Jesus teaches that one has to die firs…

Send us a Text Message. Jesus is sent to lead people to eternal life. God is not condemning his people, but his message is offering them eternal life. Interesting, Jesus makes it clear we are not meriting eternal life, we simply have to believe. People have a hard time with this, still under the impression that we have to merit this invitation and …

Send us a Text Message. Today’s gospel event is especially significant. Scripture scholars have proposed that this event with Jesus overturning the money tables probably lead to his undoing and ultimately being betrayed and handed over to Pilate. When Jesus drove out the money changers the Pharisees started losing money and they became more serious…

Send us a Text Message. This Gospel is very different from all the Gospel stories. It describes a mystical vision, an experience shared with Jesus, Moses and Elijah and Peter, James and John. Peter’s offer to build three tents clearly indicates that he didn’t understand what was happening. His experience is similar to our experience of the Spirit. …

Send us a Text Message. Today’s Gospel from Mark just simply says Jesus experienced temptations. We have to look at the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to learn just what those temptations were. I considered focusing this podcast on those specific temptations. Upon further reflections I realized it might be a good idea to look at temptations in general…

Send us a Text Message. In the Gospel Mark describes an encounter between a man with leprosy and Jesus. There are many things going on here. We hear a lot about lepers in the time of Jesus and Jesus cured many of them. Leprosy is a brutal disease. Not only did the disease attack the body but the leper was excluded from society. This reminds me of t…

Send us a Text Message. The disciples find Jesus praying. Jesus had got up before dawn to find time and a place to pray. The first thing Jesus says is "let us go to the nearby villages". It may have been tempting for Jesus to stay. He was successful, the people responded well and people were being healed. It looked like Jesus had a very successful …

Send us a Text Message. We don’t hear very much in present society about unclean spirits. Its not a term we hear very much about. I like many thought Jesus was talking about evil possession. I propose that in today’s Gospel the unclean spirit may be aspects of ourselves that undermine our beliefs. Let me give you some examples to help you understan…

Send us a Text Message. We sometimes hear about the need for repentance. What exactly does repentance mean for followers of Jesus? Alongside of the call to repentance in the Gospel is the call to discipleship. I wonder if there is a connection. Understanding repentance is an important step in developing our spiritual life.…

Send us a Text Message. Today's Gospel occurs at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. We learn that community plays an important part in the development of our faith life. One of the first things that Jesus did was calling disciples to build community. Pope Francis described the Church as a field hospital for those who are hurting and in need of suppo…

Send us a Text Message. There is a lot going on in this Gospel. There are a few points I want to bring to your attention and hopefully useful to you for reflection. Matthew 2:1-12 tells the story of the arrival of the Magi to honor the birth of the newborn king Jesus. We don’t know very much about these individuals. Theologically, they represent th…

Send us a Text Message. In Luke 2:22-44, Jesus is presented in the Temple. The presentation of the first born child in the Temple is a routine custom in the Jewish faith in biblical times. Everything changes with the appearance of Simeon and Anna. Simeon prophesizes the mission of Jesus and provides for us directions for individuals who desire to l…

Send us a Text Message. Today’s Gospel focuses on Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. We don’t hear much about Joseph. The Gospel of Matthew 1:18-25 gives us insight to what kind of man Joseph was. In this Gospel, Joseph learns that Mary, the woman he is betrothed to is pregnant by someone else. Joseph’s response is powerful and based on his values…

Send us a Text Message. John readily admits he is not the Messiah and points out that there is someone more powerful than he who is coming after him. John clearly knows and is true to his mission . It is unknown if he knew the Messiah was Jesus. Likely he didn’t know the Messiah was Jesus until after he baptized Jesus. We have John recognizing Jesu…

Send us a Text Message. Today’s Gospel introduces John the Baptist. We know a lot about him but there is still a lot more we’d like to know. His mission was to prepare the people to receive Jesus. His birth was prophesized by the prophet Isaiah 40:1-5,9 and Malachi 3:1-5. Jesus quotes Malachi in Matthew 11:10 which suggests Jesus recognized John th…

Send us a Text Message. This Gospel from Mark is brief and to the point. Keep watch and be prepared. At first glance this Gospel sounds God is looking for a chance to catch us unaware. I seriously doubt that is true but rather this Gospel, like so many others, we are called to be aware of life challenges. This Gospel might remind you of an earlier …

Send us a Text Message. The first part of this Gospel Jesus describes the day of judgement were everyone will be put into one of two camps - Sheep or Goats. My problem is few people are totally good and few people are bad without redeeming qualities. The second part of the Gospel Jesus points out that being good means being compassionate. The call …

Send us a Text Message. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus tells the story of a man going on a journey and entrusting his property to the care of his servants. He lends 5 talents to one servant, another two talents and finally one talent to a third servant. The obvious interpretation to this parable is to make use of the talents that God gives us. They are …

Send us a Text Message. Jesus tells the story of 10 bridesmaids. 5 were ready to welcome the groom, with oil in their lamps while the other 5 were not ready. When the bridegroom was finally coming the five foolish bridesmaids asked the wise ones for help. They were told go buy some oil for themselves. When they came back they were not admitted to t…

Send us a Text Message. Today we are focusing on Matthew 23:1-12. This Gospel focusses on the Scribes and Pharisees. There are three points I want to bring to your attention. This Gospel gives us insight about who Jesus is. It is clear that Jesus has a preference for those are defenseless and the poor. He criticizes the Pharisees because they did n…

Send us a Text Message. This Gospel is aspirational. We are called to love God. As simple as this Gospel is there is a very powerful challenge to love God with our whole heart and soul. We may feel very broken in our desire to live this Gospel. It appears absolute and insurmountable. Wait, there is more! You are to love our Neighbour as yourself.…

Send us a Text Message. The Gospel, Matthew 22:1-14 is the parable of a king inviting people to his son’s wedding. The story serves as a metaphor for what Heaven is like. The message is quite radical. We have a king whose invited guests refuse to come. It is abundantly clear the king’s invitation is not a priority in their lives. Everything else is…

Send us a Text Message. In this Gospel Jesus is asked by the Pharisees whether the people should pay taxes to their Roman occupiers. It is a trick question designed to entrap Jesus. Jesus however uses the opportunity to teach us what it means to be a follower of Jesus.By Peter

Send us a Text Message.By Peter

In this conversation, we chat with Prof Eileen Murphy of Queen's University Belfast. Eileen shares details of her work on Belfast's famous Mummy, Takabuti! Who was Takabuti? What are Lisburn's links to Takabuti? What are the ethical issues of displaying human remains? And why we should remember Takabuti as an individual.. For more information visit…

In this conversation, we chat with Dr Ken Griffin of the Egypt Centre, Swansea. Ken shares his career history, his work as a curator on a large collection, and his thoughts on the hot topics in Egyptology: repatriation, human remains and the racism of tv's Ancient Aliens! For more information visit LisburnMuseum.com Music credit: Grey Head // REW<