Understanding Our Unfamiliar Bible

About Understanding Our Unfamiliar Bible

See how the story of Jesus invites us to participate in God's generosity and love for humanity.

Publisher

Cameron Restivo

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 May 2024

Latest episode

26 Aug 2024

Latest episodes

16 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   26 Aug 2024

   Word Study: Gospel / Euangelion - E2

   If you’ve ever read the New Testament, odds are you came across a saying of Jesus that sounded something like this, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is here!” or “Jesus went through all the cities and towns proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom.” So those sound nice, but what does the Kingdom of God look like? And why is it good news? Well, on the first pages of the Bible, God created humans to represent His reign on earth. But unfortunately, humans don’t want to represent God’s rule, but they want to rule without God. But the Israelite prophets believed that one day, there will be good news. Good news of a king who will reestablish God’s Kingdom over all the earth. And Jesus believed He was that King who was bringing God’s Kingdom right now. Chapters: 00:00-03:53 - Introduction 03:53-17:26 - The Linchpin: Jesus 17:26-29:07 - Now, Not Yet 29:07-42:30 - New Creation 42:30-43:40 - Outro

2. 

   19 Aug 2024

   Word Study: Gospel / Euangelion - E1

   “Gospel” is the word that’s typically used to summarize the Christian belief. It’s most often connected to phrases like, “Jesus paid the price for your sins” and stuff like that. And if you grew up in church, you’ve probably been told once or twice that the word “gospel” means good news. And good news, that’s correct. And Jesus often talked about “good news.” Like when He did things like this, “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.” So, what’s this good news of some Kingdom? Well, to fully find out, we have to take a step back and look at the Hebrew Scriptures Jesus grew up on. Chapters: 00:00-02:19 - Introduction 02:19-21:36 - Good News, Read All About It! 21:36-32:47 - God Wants to Share His Kingdom 32:47-40:11 - The Crucifixion is the Good News 40:11-48:34 - The Good News Looks Like Foolishness 48:34-49:45 - Outro

3. 

   12 Aug 2024

   Word Study: Love / Agape - E1

   Love is a really weird word. I love my wife; I love my mom, and I love my friends. But I also love candy, ice cream and backpacking. And if I love my mom as much as I love ice cream, she's probably going to be pretty upset. So, the Bible claims that the most important thing in the entire universe is love. And if I base my life off of Jesus and what He says is true and untrue, well then, I better figure out what the heck this word love means! Chapters: 00:00-02:01 - Introduction 02:01-25:50 - A Faithful, Steadfast Kind of Love 25:50-34:43 - Love Keeps Records of Rights 34:43-50:50 - Love Through Action 50:50-01:04:09 - An Eternal Family of Love 01:04:09-01:05:24 - Outro

4. 

   5 Aug 2024

   Word Study: Helper / 'Ezer - E1

   In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and He said it was good. And He also made mankind and placed him in the Garden of Eden. Mankind's job, to be God’s image - to carry on God’s creative force and to rule the world, expanding the garden. All of this goodness, but there's still something missing. So, God made the man, a helper. And that’s great, everyone needs help. But these two partners are tricked into breaking their unity, and they no longer help each other. Rather, they seek to rule over one another. So, was Eve really just a helper for Adam? Or was Eve someone with much more authority and a way bigger role?

5. 

   29 Jul 2024

   Ashamed of the Kingdom? - Son of Man E7

   The New Testament gospel accounts portray Jesus as a new kind of human. A new Adam as Paul the apostle calls it. And this new Adam doesn't give into evil like the first Adam did. Jesus shows that to be truly human means not trying to rule out of manipulation, violence or threats. Rather, He overcomes the serpent in the wilderness, and then He moves out to launch God's kingdom here on earth, just as it is in heaven. And it’s in the title, “The Son of Man” that Jesus shows all of humanity what it means to truly be Human. And what it looks like for God’s Kingdom to start invading earth. Chapters: 00:00-02:00 - Introduction 02:00-14:41 - Jesus is the DMV 14:41-26:59 - Jesus is the Lord Over Seventh Day Rest 26:59-37:49 - The Son of Man Drinks the Cup 37:49-44:16 - The Cup is how Humanity is Glorified 44:16-59:27 - Ashamed of the Kingdom? 59:27-01:00:00 - Outro

6. 

   22 Jul 2024

   The Son of Man Becomes a Son of God - Son of Man E6

   We've been looking at the most common title that Jesus called Himself, the Son of Man. And if you’ve ever read the Bible, you’ll quickly notice that this is not what His followers called Him. The title, "Son of Man" title comes from this crazy dream in Daniel chapter 7. It’s in this dream that we get a glimpse of hope, that one day God will exalt a human, a Son of Man, to rule the world from a divine throne. And it’s that human who will bring God's kingdom and establish its rightful rule upon this world of beastly violence. And Jesus sees Himself as that person. Chapters: 00:00-02:20 - Introduction 02:20-17:24 - The New Humanity and Israel 17:24-26:08 - Jesus Rules as God’s Divine Image 26:08-36:27 - Sons of Elohim or Sons of Adam? 36:27-47:12 - The Son of Man Becomes a Son of God 47:12-48:42 - Outro

7. 

   15 Jul 2024

   Code to Decipher or a Hope to Live in? - Son of Man E5

   The Bible has a lot of really strange stories. And the story of King Nebuchadnezzar growing feathers, claws, and being forced to eat grass like an animal is defiantly one of those stories. But maybe Nebuchadnezzar’s animal-like exterior is supposed to give us insight on what he's already been acting like in the story? And it’s this strange story that leads straight into Daniel chapter 7. Where we see someone called the Son of Man, riding up on a cloud to sit at God's right hand. And it’s this character that Jesus saw Himself fulfilling. Jesus was the human that all the Hebrew Scriptures pointed to. Chapters: 00:00-02:21 - Introduction 02:21-18:50 - Daniel 7 Recap 18:50-26:51 - Jesus, Divine and Human 26:51-42:12 - Code to Decipher or a Hope to Live in? 42:12-52:49 - United Under Suffering 52:49-54:18 - Outro

8. 

   8 Jul 2024

   Who We’ve Been Waiting For - Son of Man E4

   Jesus almost never called Himself the Messiah, and when someone else called Him that, He almost always changed the subject. The name Jesus preferred was, “The Son of Man.” And this is a title that is used all over the Bible, but Jesus was clearly pulling from a famous dream in Daniel chapter 7. In this dream, the Son of Man, literally meaning a human, rides up on a cloud and then sits on a divine throne next to God Himself, and together they rule the world. And it’s this prophetic hope that Jesus saw Himself fulfilling. The hope that there will be a human who won’t give into the serpent’s tricks and will be a human who truly rules as an Image of God. Chapters: 00:00-03:40 - Introduction 03:40-13:15 - Everyone is a Son of Man? 13:15-28:20 - Who We’ve Been Waiting For 28:20-34:20 - Nations Bow to the Son of Man 34:20-42:35 - The Suffering Son of Man 42:35-54:54 - All Roads Lead to Seven 54:54-56:24 - Outro

9. 

   1 Jul 2024

   Seed of the Serpent - Son of Man E3

   The title, Son of Man was Jesus’ favorite way to talk about Himself. But what does that phrase mean? Well, the Son of Man is a phrase that literally means a human. And the son of man is an phrase that shows up on the first pages of the Bible. God makes a beautiful world for all His creatures to live in. And the very last creature God made, He wanted them to rule at His right hand. Humanity. And God calls humanity the image of God. Sadly, rather than ruling the animals on God’s behalf, humans end up being ruled by the animals. Specifically, that old serpent in the Garden. And as the story continues, we see every person giving into their inner animal. But every once in a while, we’ll meet someone like Moses. And He doesn’t give in so easily. Chapters: 0:00-2:43 - Introduction 2:43-9:47 - The Inner Animal 9:47-22:46 - Seed of the Serpent 22:46-38:33 - Animals Rule Genesis, Not Exodus 38:33-52:00 - Land Animals or Sea Dragons 52:00-59:55 - Humans, Animals, Empires, Dragons… Recap Please 59:55-1:01:19 - Outro

10. 

    24 Jun 2024

    Divine Deputies - Son of Man E2

    The book of Daniel has some great stories that are really inspiring and easy to follow. But then there’s some stories where Daniel sees mutant animals crawling out of the sea and meteors crushing giant statues. Oh, and let’s not forget that story about the Son of Man flying up to God’s throne on a cloud. So, what’s the deal with this Son of Man and what does any of that mean? Well, to see Daniel’s visions clearly, we need to go back to the very beginning. In the Bible, the Garden of Eden was the ideal setting. A place where God, humanity and animals can live peacefully, all together. But God doesn’t want to just live with the humans, God wants humans to rule with Him. So, if humanity is supposed to rule the animals, what exactly does that mean? What should humans’ and animals’ relationship really look like? And how does this relate to the Son of Man in Daniel’s visions? Chapters: 00:00-02:10 - Introduction 02:12-21:12 - Vegetarian Pacifist: The Eden Ideal 21:12-29:12 - Divine Deputies 29:12-37:58 - Lower Than Angels or Lower Than God? 37:58-42:04 - God’s Wants to Share His Identity 42:04-43:29 - Outro

11. 

    17 Jun 2024

    Jesus' Favorite Name - Son of Man E1

    The most common way to refer to Jesus in all of the New Testament and still today, is Christ the Messiah. Which is very interesting because if you read through the stories about Jesus, you'll see that "Christ" is the least used title by Jesus Himself. Jesus preferred the title, “The Son of Man.” So, what did Jesus mean when He called Himself the Son of Man? And how did His mission, His death, and His resurrection prove He really was the Son of Man? Chapters: 00:00-02:08 - Introduction 02:08-11:38 - Jesus’ Favorite Name 11:38-18:46 - Batman, Darth Vader, or the Son of Man? 18:46-28:22 - Daniel 7 Sneak Peak 28:22-38:50 - A Cosmic Human Ruler 38:50-40:16 - Outro

12. 

    10 Jun 2024

    Jesus' Gift has No Boundaries - Generosity E4

    God is the generous host of creation, and He’s loaded His good world with abundance. But God didn’t want to leave creation where it was. So, He introduced humanity to spread and share the abundance. But humanity didn’t trust the generous host, and we wanted to choose how we should use God's blessings. And this rejection of God’s generosity and wisdom didn’t stop with Adam and Eve, but it continued through every generation God chose to bless. No one wants to share God’s gifts. So, God gave one final gift, and Jesus saw Himself as that final gift. A gift of salvation from our world of scarcity and death. Chapters: 00:00-02:38 - Introduction 02:38-19:15 - Creation is God's Impartial Gift 19:15-28:12 - The Resurrection Changes Everything 28:12-40:33 - Jesus is the Model for Generosity 40:33-47:18 - Jesus' Gift has No Boundaries 47:18-48:26 - Outro

13. 

    3 Jun 2024

    Jesus' Foundational View - Generosity E3

    If you go and read what Jesus had to say about shortage, Jesus’ world looked like a fairytale land when He said things like this: Don’t worry about what you will eat; or about what you will wear. Look at the birds: They don’t sow or reap, nor do they store up food; yet God feeds them. Or look at the wildflowers. They do not work like humans do. Yet not even King Solomon in all his splendor wasn’t dressed like these. So, if that is how God clothes the grass of the field, how much more will God clothe you! And honestly, this sounds kind of ridiculous. Did Jesus not live on planet earth? What does Jesus see that I don’t? 00:00-01:59 - Introduction 01:59-15:04 - Jesus' View on God's Generosity 15:04-26:54 - Jesus' Foundational View 26:54-33:05 - Why Don't I Live in Jesus' View? 33:05-34:16 - Outro

14. 

    27 May 2024

    God's Response to Humanity's Selfishness - Generoisty E2

    The Bible portrays God as the generous host; someone who has packed His good world with gifts and opportunity. So why don't we see the world that way? The first block of Genesis show humanities disposition to distrust the generous host. We don’t want to share the blessings God’s given us. We want to protect ourselves with our blessings. So, what does God do? He starts to ramp up his generosity even more. Chapters: 00:00-01:07 - Introduction 01:07-11:27 - God's Response to Humanity's Selfishness 11:27-27:30 - Humanity's Response to God's Blessings 27:30-40:20 - Egypt and Pharoah 40:20-41:28 - Outro

15. 

    20 May 2024

    Yahweh is the Generous Host - Generosity E1

    If you’ve ever read your Bible, you’ll quickly come across stories and teachings about money and possessions and why we should be generous with them. And if some of those teachings are popping up in your head right now, odds are they’re probably from Jesus. But what’s interesting is that Jesus didn’t have much to His name. He was a carpenter’s son and a son to a teenage girl, all while living in Roman society where heavy taxes and poor working conditions were the usual. So how does Jesus keep this mindset of giving when it seems like there isn’t any to give? How does Jesus truly believe that despite all the scarcity and lack, that all His needs will be provided for? Chapters: 00:00-02:10 - Introduction 02:10-16:18 - Yahweh is the Generous Host 16:18-24:52 - God's Generosity is often Misunderstood 24:52-33:23 - God's Going to Restore the Honeymoon 33:32-34:33 - Outro

16. 

    19 May 2024

    Introducing Understanding Our Unfamiliar Bible

    Hey everyone, I’m Cameron, and I’m excited to introduce my new podcast, "Understanding Our Unfamiliar Bible." Join me as we explore a wide range of biblical themes, patterns, and stories, all of which invite us to experience and share in God's generosity and love for humanity.

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