Tales of Faith Podcast

About Tales of Faith Podcast

An exploration of the Narrative Lectionary and the 21st Century Church with Rev. Aaron and Louise. talesoffaith.substack.com (https://talesoffaith.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

A weekly(ish) reflection on the Narrative Lectionary

Category

religion & spirituality · religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

28 Nov 2023

Latest episode

23 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

43 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Sept 2026

   NL 103: Joseph and the Amazing Housewives of Egypt

   Intro (00:00:00) L: Greetings, and welcome back to Tales of Faith, a podcast on the Narrative Lectionary. I am n. L: And I am n. This is episode 103 for Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost on September 27th, 2026 A: Today we are talking about Genesis 39, the Joseph in Potiphar’s house, and will be using the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. So let’s get started with the Context: Context is Key (00:00 Overall Context * Abraham begat Isaac * Isaac begat Esau and Jacob * Jacob married Leah, Racheal, Bihah, and Zilpah * have 12 sons, and 1 daughter * Racheal dies in childbirth with Benjamin * Joseph (Racheal’s firstborn) is the favorite son * Given a Ketonet Pashim * Brothers try to kill him, Judah convinces them to sell him instead * Judah and Tamar ‘Ad’ Break (00:0 L: Today’s episode is brought to you by Donny Osmand’s chin. A: Not much to add, it basically sells itself. Text Me Section 1: Genesis 39:1-6 L 39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Section 2: Genesis 39:6b-10 Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. Section 3: Genesis 39:11-18 11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. 13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” Section 4: Genesis 39:19-23 19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. Foreshadowing: Rescue at Sea That’ll Preach (00: Sermon Thoughts Teaching Children Get full access to Tales of Faith at talesoffaith.substack.com/subscribe (https://talesoffaith.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

2. 

   16 Sept 2026

   NL 102: Will You Come and Follow Me

   Intro (00:00:00) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.7e2poeca1gbd) Context is Key (00:00:55) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.4y3kbm61uks) Overall Context (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.n9yhsapdolg9) ‘Ad’ Break (00:02:37) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.glyte4h0qton) Text Me (00:04:45) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.6ssldnc63oey) Section 1: Genesis 12:1-3 (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.327utyw660ik) Section 2: Genesis 12:4-6 (00:16:24) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.4olyym91gvy6) Section 3: Genesis 12:7-9 (00:21:53) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.y79ndp3s8ds8) Foreshadowing: Joseph in Prison (00:30:20) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.ybox0bsna7q5) That’ll Preach (00:45:45) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.w2oo98fggk2q) Sermon Thoughts (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.jfxv971muoit) Teaching Children (https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Er-rJ0B-jFXk2h4ABWgQsVavHnXPW2_iWC0_KnmkeM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.28p1ho3c53mb) Intro (00:00:00) A: Greetings, and welcome back to Tales of Faith, a podcast on the Narrative Lectionary. I am n. We are back for another year with the Narrative Lectionary, and have already missed one week. Sorry about that, hope you did ok with Noah and the Great Flood. L: And I am n. This is episode 102 for Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost on September 20th, 2026 A: Today we are talking about Genesis 12, the call of Abram, and will be using the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. So let’s get started with the Context: Context is Key (00:00:55) Overall Context * Creation accounts * Fall * Great flood * Tower of Babel ‘Ad’ Break (00:02:37) L: Today’s episode is brought to you by Noah’s Wondrous Ark of Storage. A: Have you been given divine instruction to store at least two of every kind of animal in a large boat? L: Are you bound by the laws of nature, and also physics, and wondering how you are going to pull it off? A: Well search no more, because Noah’s Wondrous Ark of Storage is here! L: But wait, how will you fit two (or more) of every species of animal in one boat, I mean, it seems pretty big, but is it big enough? A: Heck no! even that huge ark is not enough to fit two (or more) of every animal into it, but each door of this ark has been fitted with an extradimensional portal. L: Are you saying that it is bigger on the inside? A: I wouldn’t say something so potentially copyright infringing. L: Well what about the needs of all those animals? A Polar Bear and the Koala bears, for instance, are going to be vastly different. A: Good news! Each extradimensional door provides a customizable environment suitable for any biome. Plenty of fresh air and natural food sources for every need. L: Oh, like in Fantastic Beasts and Where to… A: Woah woah woah, Not at all, this is distinctly different from anything that you may have seen in a failed movie franchise sequel. L: Ok, well how do you keep the predators from eating the pray species? A: Easy all of the animals are vegetarians. L: What crazy fantasy world is that one from? A: The Bible, actually. L: Oh… A: So anyways, try Noah’s Wondrous Ark of Storage today, because the only way to take this story seriously, is to not take it literally. Text Me (00:04:45) Section 1: Genesis 12:1-3 L 12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[a] * 12.3 Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves Section 2: Genesis 12:4-6 (00:16:24) 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot and all the possessions that they had gathered and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran, and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak[b (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2012%3A1-9&version=NRSVUE#fen-NRSVUE-305b)] of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. b.12.6 Or terebinth Section 3: Genesis 12:7-9 (00:21:53) 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb. Foreshadowing: Joseph in Prison (00:30:20) That’ll Preach (00:45:45) Sermon Thoughts Teaching Children Get full access to Tales of Faith at talesoffaith.substack.com/subscribe (https://talesoffaith.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

3. 

   30 Apr 2026

   NL 443: Live, Move, Be

   Intro (00:00:00) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.7e2poeca1gbd) Context is Key (00:00:55) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.4y3kbm61uks) Overall Context (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.n9yhsapdolg9) ‘Ad’ Break (00:0 (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.glyte4h0qton) Text Me (00:0 (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.6ssldnc63oey) Section 1: Acts 17:16-21 “Lets Find Something to Do While We’re Waiting” (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.327utyw660ik) Section 2: Acts 17: “In Him we Live and Move and Have our Being” (00: (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.4olyym91gvy6) Addendum 1: Acts 17:32-34 Mixed Reviews” (00: (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.tstpr995hotk) Foreshadowing: Next Week on Tales of Faith (Philippians 1) (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.ybox0bsna7q5) That’ll Preach (00: (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.w2oo98fggk2q) Sermon Thoughts (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.jfxv971muoit) Teaching Children (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UZJnE4PZT-Lut1CZMED8pCbhIgD6gYmw2HKQ48NhKac/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.28p1ho3c53mb) Intro (00:00:00) L: Greetings, and welcome back to Tales of Faith, a podcast on the Narrative Lectionary. I am n. A: And I am n. This is episode 443 for Fifth Sunday of Easter on May 3, 2026, though we are recording on April 27, so if something major has happened between when we record and when you listen, then we won’t be able to comment on it. L: Today we are talking about Acts 17:16-31, Paul’s Sermon in Athens, and will be using the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. So let’s get started with the Context: Context is Key (00:00:55) Overall Context * Athens the center of philosophical thought for the ancient word in a way that continues to influence Western thought down to today. * Socrates, 5th Century BCE * ‘Socratic Method,’ asking questions to get to deeper meaning (or exposing logical fallacies) * no one desires what is bad, and so if anyone does something that truly is bad, it must be unwillingly or out of ignorance * all virtue is knowledge * Plato, Generation after Socrates * Student of Socrates * Wrote in dialogues, much of our knowledge of Socrates comes through Plato * Metaphysical understanding, Realm of Forms; realm of ideas with more reality than the material world * immutability of the human soul, also reincarnation * Allegory of the Cave * Established the Academy * Aristotle, 4th Century BCE * Enrolled as a student in Plato’s Academy, became the tutor for Alexander the Great, and then returned to Athens to establish the Lyceum. * Countered Plato’s metaphysics, giving greater weight to empirical observation and practical concerns * Life is valuable, resources should be allocated to reduce poverty/death * Epicurianism, 3-2nd Centuries BCE * Atomism * “the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain” (though not quite hedonism * Stoicism, 3rd Century BCE * applied the concept of apatheia (indifference) to personal circumstances rather than social norms * Materialism * Living in accordance with nature * Place of power- Agora (marketplace) Context for Acts * After getting run out of Philippi, Paul and Silas are run out of Thessalonica * Went to Borea, had a decent reception, but then a mob from Thessalonica came and stirred up trouble. * Sent Paul to the coast while Silas and Timothy remained in Borea to finish setting up the church there. * Paul is meeting up with them in Athens ‘Ad’ Break (00:0 L: Today’s episode is brought to you today by Pascalism. A: Are you pretty sure that you follow the correct religious teaching, but that little bit of you wonders? Do you generally reject any non-materialistic view of the universe, but wouldn’t mind making a side-bet on the spiritual (without all of the messy ethical implications). Why not try Pascalism, just in case. We will add you to our list so that you have an eternal back-up plan. L: Named after 17th Century French Philosopher, Blaise (Blaze) Pascal; who suggested that it is logically beneficial to wager on the existence of God. A: Oh wait, not Pedro Pascal? L: No, Blaise Pascal. A: This is not the way. L: Anyways, cover all of your bases with Pascalism. Text Me (00:0 Section 1: Acts 17:16-21 “Lets Find Something to Do While We’re Waiting” L 16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons and also in the marketplace[d (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017&version=NRSVUE#fen-NRSVUE-27528d)] every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, “What does this pretentious babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.” (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) 19 So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new. d. 17.17 Or civic center Section 2: Acts 17: “In Him we Live and Move and Have our Being” (00: A 22 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely spiritual you are in every way. 23 For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. 26 From one ancestor[e (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017&version=NRSVUE#fen-NRSVUE-27537e)] he made all peoples to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27 so that they would search for God[f (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017&version=NRSVUE#fen-NRSVUE-27538f)] and perhaps fumble about for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we, too, are his offspring.’ 29 “Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. 30 While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” e. 17.26 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017&version=NRSVUE#en-NRSVUE-27537) Gk From one; other ancient authorities read From one blood f.17.27 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017&version=NRSVUE#en-NRSVUE-27538) Other ancient authorities read the Lord “For in him we live and move and have our being” (ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν [En autō gar zōmen kai kinoumetha kai esmen]) and “For we are indeed his offspring” (Τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν [Tou gar kai genos esmen]). The first is likely drawn from Epimenides of Crete a semi-mythical 6th-century BCE Cretan philosopher, poet, and prophet. He is known for his mystical insights and association with Greek religious reforms and is credited with a famous “Liar Paradox” statement about Cretans (see below). The biblical phrase originates from a hymn to Zeus who was the chief deity in the Greek pantheon. Here is the whole fragment of the quotation: “Ζεὺς ἄρχει· Ζεὺς δ’ ἔσχατος, Ζεὺς κεφαλή, Ζεὺς μέσσα, πάντα δὲ Ζεύς· ἐν τῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν, κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν.”“Zeus is the beginning, Zeus is the end, Zeus is the head, Zeus is the center; all things are Zeus. For in him we live and move and have our being.” The hymn emphasizes Zeus’s omnipresence, creative power, and sustaining role in the universe. Paul takes the concept originally applied to Zeus and applies it to the God of Israel, the creator, and sustainer of life (Psalm 104:29-30; Colossians 1:17). While Zeus in the Greek hymn is part of creation, Paul emphasizes that the true God is distinct from His creation but also intimately involved in it as a sustainer (Acts 17:25) and personal God (Acts 17:27). The second is likely drawn from Aratus (Phaenomena, c. 315–240 BCE), though some attribute it to Cleanthes (Hymn to Zeus). Phaenomena by Aratus of Soli is a didactic poem describing constellations and weather patterns rooted in Stoic cosmology. Paul’s quotation of τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν is located right at the beginning, praising Zeus as the divine principle governing the universe. Humans are described as Zeus’s “offspring” because of their dependence on him as the source of life and order in the universe. The other possible source of the quotation is Cleanthes, a Stoic philosopher who wrote Hymn to Zeus. Although, the form of the quotation is ἐκ σοῦ γὰρ γένος ἐσμέν, which is a bit different, Cleanthes echos similar themes of divine immanence and governance, writing of humanity’s connection to Zeus and their responsibility to live in harmony with the divine order. For Aratus and Cleanthes, “offspring” (γένος [genos]) denotes a shared essence with Zeus as the divine principle. In this sense, humans are rational beings who participate in the universal logos (principle, reason). Paul reframes “offspring” (γένος [genos]) to emphasize humanity’s relationship to the Creator, not as beings sharing divinity but as creatures made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). He uses this idea to critique idolatry (Acts 17:29). In both cases, the original context refers to humanity’s relationship to Zeus. Paul is repurposing the sense to refer to the God of Israel presenting Him as the one true creator. Source: https://ginoskos.com/paul-s-direct-quotations-of-greco-roman-philosophers-and-poets (https://ginoskos.com/paul-s-direct-quotations-of-greco-roman-philosophers-and-poets) Addendum 1: Acts 17:32-34 Mixed Reviews” (00: L 32 When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed, but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 At that point Paul left them. 34 But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. Get full access to Tales of Faith at talesoffaith.substack.com/subscribe (https://talesoffaith.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

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