The Ephesus School Podcasts

Leaders would rather lead change and preach repentance and mercy. But what happens when time has run out? Standing in the Lord's presence, the prophet Isaiah cries, "Woe is me! I am undone!" and charged with a confounding message of coming judgment and destruction. Fr. Timothy Lowe, in a study of Isaiah 6, suggests it's time to sober up in the mids…

Today we hear the mashal of Genesis 23 where Abraham is curiously rejecting the mercy of his enemy and seeks to buy the gift of the land as a possession for himself. Let us be attentive!Intro and outro music Copyright © Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA, used by permission. All rights reserved.…

This week, Fr. Paul stresses that in Hebrew and Greek the word house reflects the meaning of both house and household. (Episode 234) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By The Ephesus School

Leaders make sacrifices everyday, putting aside their interests for the sake of serving others. Fr. Jeremy Davis, author of Welcoming Gifts: Sacrifice in the Bible and Christian Life suggests that the fullness of sacrifice isn't realized in loss and suffering, but in joy, hospitality, and faithful relationship. Christ demonstrates how to move beyon…

The gospel is not based on techniques to manipulate spirits or curses, but on having a relationship with Jesus Christ through the gospel.By Bob DeWaay

How can I preach when I’m not permitted to speak? “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they see your good works and glorify your father who is in h…

Having established that God—not herself—is her only reference, Mary moves to the next logical step from Scripture’s perspective: the proclamation of the fear of God. The terrible might of God; that the mere mention of his name strikes fear and brings the hope of mercy: mercy to those once enslaved and humiliated like Mary. In our fake philosophical…

In today’s episode we hear the story of Abraham being commanded by the Scriptural God to sacrifice Isaac. This is a very famous story from the Bible and is used by various different people to make various different assertions about God and the Bible, but today you will hear from us not an assertion, not simply another manipulation of the Biblical s…

This week, Fr. Paul explains that God is in travail in Scripture and gives birth to children through his teaching. (Episode 233) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By The Ephesus School

This second message on the Lord’s Supper continues to explore how the theme of reversal is also found in dinners in the New Testament as Christ dines with sinners. We also examine how the four cups used in Passover help explain the significance of Christ’s fulfillment of the Paschal Lamb typology.By Eric Douma

We may think the Canaanite woman offers a leadership example of persistence and humility, content with the crumbs that fall from the Master's table. But the lesson is far beyond successful negotiation. As an outsider, the Canaanite is like a dog compared to those who feast at the Master's table within the religious community. Jesus honors her great…

When someone of authority speaks, it is only natural for people of lessor status to use his words to establish their position. Politicians do it, corporate underlings do it, and Christians do it in their mishandling of the Bible. When God speaks in Scripture, his words come down from above. We plagiarize. We want to use his words in our story. We a…

This week we cover chapter 21 of Genesis. This is the story of Isaacs's birth and the surrounding events. Join us as we discuss the story and the overlooked but incredibly important detail which is Isaac's conception and birth seeming to happen without any involvement from Abraham. Intro and outro music Copyright © Holy Transfiguration Monastery, B…

In today’s program Fr. Paul discusses four verbs in Hebrew: be fruitful, multiply as fish, became many, and became great in status. (Episode 232) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By The Ephesus School

Ccelebration of the Lord’s Supper is a precursor to this great messianic banquet held at the end of the age.By Eric Douma

As the Spirit moves through chapter one of the Gospel of Luke, it exhibits its power as a mechanism of destruction but also as an implement of God’s control—prompting one to submit, teaching another to bless, and causing the Lord’s prophet to rejoice, even from his mother’s womb. The first to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of Luke, Jo…

As already discussed many times in this podcast, Abraham's story in the book of Genesis is anything but linear. For every move in obedience to God, there is a countermove in disobedience. We will see this play out for the final time in the Abraham cycle before his full character actualization in chapter 22. What is the point of all this? Precisely …

This week, Fr. Paul proceeds with his discussion of Exodus emphasizing the importance of hearing Scripture with the entire story in view. (Episode 231) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By The Ephesus School

Some want to manipulate the spiritual world for money or power while others are smitten with godly fear and magnify the Lord. We discuss examples from Luke-Acts that demonstrate this. Some turn to the Lord and others seek to gain religious status or money. The appropriate response is to glorify God and believe fully in His Messianic salvatio…

What motivates your leadership? The Apostle Peter understands the temptations of compulsion, greed, and domination, as he exhorts his fellow elders to shepherd the flock entrusted to their care. Fr. Ian Pac-Urar explores the example we find in the Apostle Peter. Even by identifying himself as a "fellow elder" in his first epistle, the Apostle Peter…

The Scriptural God is not the God of a statue, a temple, a city, or a mountain, but the God of a story. For those who submit to this God as their heavenly Father, it is forbidden to stray outside his narrative in any thought, word, or deed that pertains to him. In life, this means we follow his precepts without adding our words to his or using his …

Join us as we read through Genesis 19 and critique the popular reception of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.Intro and outro music Copyright © Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA, used by permission. All rights reserved.By The Ephesus School

This week Fr. Paul transitions from Genesis to Exodus, showing the interconnection between the books of the Pentateuch. (Episode 230) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By The Ephesus School

By Bob DeWaay

What does it mean to guard the deposit of faith? If the deposit of faith is given free of charge, those who receive it are charged to invest in its practice and share it freely with others. Fr. Barnabas Powell of Faith Encouraged Ministries attends to the treasure entrusted in St. Paul's letter to Timothy. He challenges us to allow Christ's message…

When we hear the biblical story, we should remember that what we are hearing is, first and foremost, a story. Its purpose is to teach, and the teaching is communicated through the words themselves. Any attempt on our part to historicize the text is problematic because it impairs our ability to actually hear the story in the way it was intended to b…

Normally, people don’t say much about the role of the Holy Spirit in the birth of John the Baptist—mainly because contemporary Mariology blinds them to the actual content of Luke’s gospel. But even for those who pay close attention, few people notice the discrepancy between the first visit of the Spirit to Jerusalem, pertaining specifically to John…

Our ideologies are our downfall. We cannot use scripture to suit our desires and our ideological premises. We should not even come to scripture with our questions. We must only seek to hear what scripture is saying. Join us today as we attempt to do just that in light of historic sociological shifts in the United States.Intro and outro music Copyri…

In today’s program, Fr. Paul reminds us of the Bible’s painful and relentless campaign against the human ego. (Episode 229) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By The Ephesus School

Saul’s self-delusion what such that even while blaming others and making a monument for himself, he failed to see his own sin and rebellion. In the process we learn a lot about God’s revealed nature and the pervasiveness of sin. Human pride causes obvious self-delusion that obscures what should be obvious.…

"Has the Lord not taken the lead?" This is the challenging question Deborah the Judge poses to the commander of Israel's army in the Old Testament story in the book of Judges. It remains a critical question for today's leader who aspires to serve the Lord. Women like Deborah and Jael were not the expected leaders of a nation over 2000 years ago. Pe…

When we read a text in translation, we imagine we hear what the author wrote because we believe that meaning can be taken separately from the words on the page. But if you can conceive of meaning, it needs must be part and parcel with a series of words. If not the words of the original text, then the alternative words of a translation, or worse, th…

Join us this week as we hear the pericope of Abraham's hospitality toward YHWH, his master. YHWH is identified in the appearance of three men- who are these three men? Three angels? Two angels and The LORD? Three shepherds? Is it even important? Come and see...Intro and outro music Copyright © Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA, used by …

This week, Fr. Paul explains that the mission of Joseph was to combine Israel and the nations to the extent that his progeny was called—not the fullness of Israel—but the fullness of all the nations. (Episode 228) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By The Ephesus School

By Donna Evans

How might we consider the rewards and punishments presented throughout the Scriptures without getting caught up in the heretical prosperity gospel where human self interest attempts to disguise itself in righteousness? Dr. Andy Geleris, author of Money and Salvation: An Invitation to the Good Way, discusses the contrasts in sowing abundantly and so…

In the Old Testament, human patriarchy is portrayed cynically and satirically as bumbling and insecure in its competition with motherhood. Men cannot give birth. In Scripture and life, they compensate by building cities, erecting monuments, and making war. Mothers, on the other hand--not necessarily women--but the function mother can give birth. As…

In this interlude episode, I argue that the fundamental problem with "theology" is that it reduces scriptural faith into something that is to be "believed" rather than "lived out" in obedience to a command. Intro and outro music Copyright © Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA, used by permission. All rights reserved.…

In today's episode, Fr. Paul reiterates a basic premise of Scripture, that we are not to follow the example of our fathers, but of the teaching, noting the specific case of Jesus and Paul in the New Testament. (Episode 227) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By The Ephesus School

The problem of legalism, and we show the importance of keeping Christ alone as our lawgiver.By Eric Douma

In our parish councils and other teamwork, we strive to appreciate the diversity of ideas and opinions in the group and work toward consensus. But when it comes to the Gospel of Matthew, all voices are silenced by the one crying in the wilderness which culminates with Jesus crying out from the cross and yielding his spirit. What follows is the apoc…

In this episode we compare key details in the marriage stories of Isaac and Jacob in Genesis. Jacob leaves home, works hard to get exactly what he wants and it results in slavery. Isaac, on today other hand, stays at home, does nothing and receives grace. His cycle, a story “about nothing”,” parallels the episode in Genesis 22 in which Abraham’s fa…

The problem with all contemporary churches is that we treat the term Scripture as though it were a noun. We gossip about the Bible like a difficult relative nobody wants to visit, but everyone loves to discuss. We comfort ourselves with lullabies about its importance. We mostly ignore it unless we need a good quote to make our point. We have ideas,…

Perhaps you’ve heard before that God has a sense of humor. Well, that is true but not in the way you might think. Often, if we say God has a sense of humor it is so that we can relate with God. We want him to be the father we didn’t have, the friend we need, the brother who will watch out for us, and if he has a good sense of humor, that makes him …

This week Fr. Paul stresses the critical distinction between sheep and flock in Hebrew, giving biblical and contemporary examples. (Episode 226) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By The Ephesus School

The Gospel is a disrupter, and this is the case even in our attitudes and behaviors around money and generosity. Fr. Evan Armatas shares ideas and practices surrounding stewardship from his forthcoming book, Reclaiming the Great Commission: A Roadmap to Parish Health. These include: Focusing on the WHY of generosity Positioning generosity as an opt…

Everyone has something to say. If you operate on a human premise, this is perfectly acceptable, admirable--even a thing to be encouraged. It is the empty fuel that makes dead things look alive, an entertaining distraction that makes emptiness feel meaningful. Not so in Scripture. In the wilderness of God's scroll, there is only one voice. One sourc…

Circumcision is probably the most controversial covenant in the entire scriptural story. From the onset of the common era, the implications of this covenant for the gentile world was the primary basis for the rift that would eventually split Pharisaical Judaism into two major groups, those of the Pauline persuasion which would evolve into Christian…

This week, Fr. Paul touches on the literary function of Ephraim and Manasseh, who become the kernel of the northern kingdom in the story of the biblical Israel. (Episode 225) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★By The Ephesus School

This class focuses on the Jewish exorcists who had no relationship with Christ but tried to command demons to leave by “the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” The truth is that those who come to Christ are removed from the domain and authority of Satan. Deliverance is relational, not technical based on secret information.…