Ngāruawāhia Village Church Podcast

The messy stories of the Patriarchs leave us scratching our heads at times. Taking a big step back helps to see that in the midst of those messy moments, God is carrying a deep story forwards that reaches its resolution in Jesus. Don't be derailed by the messy stuff.

Jacob married two women, and fathered children by two others. The result is 12 sons, and a lot of envy and bitterness. Nathan reflects on the names of the 12 sons and what they expose about the messiness of Jacob's life.

One of the side-quests in the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the dark episode of the destruction of the cities of the plain. Dave throws caution into the wind and offers some reflections on this strange tale of fire and judgement.

Jacob's early life leaves us a bit conflicted. His story seems to involve trickery, deception, and ambition. Shane looks at the man who's name means "grasper" and guides us in reflection of the ways we can pursue good things with questionable methods.

Key events of the Easter story happen in gardens. Coincidence? Maybe. But the Gospel of John invites us to consider that the resurrection of Jesus in the garden is the beginning of Creation 2.0, the new world God is making through his new-creation co-gardeners.

A woman draws water at a well and a wedding follows. Sound familiar? It happens a number of times in Scripture and is a theme Angus traces from the first appearance in the wedding of Isaac and Rebekah.

The stories of Hagar, Sarah, and their sons are leveraged by the apostle Paul to teach us what makes a person a true heir of Abraham's promises: covenant life with God. Texts: Genesis 16, 17, 21; John 3; Galatians 4; Revelation 21, 22.

This recording was truncated at the halfway point and missed a great second-half. Our apologies for this.Shane begins with a look at the idea of "covenant" to understand the strange ritual Abram encounters in Genesis 15.

After receiving a series of outrageous promises from God, Abram immediately wanders into a number of spoilers to those very promises. The land, his lineage...even his own life are all in jeopardy. What does faith do?

Abraham (actually, Abram at this stage of the story) is called out of Ur, and travels through the land of promise, building altars as he goes.

Another sermon from the back-catalogue. This time Shane looks at the fiery predictions of Jesus in Mark 13 and the variety of ways this chapter has been understood.

We needed a first episode to kick this podcast off and this one seemed as good as any. Enjoy.