The Thanksgiving Stretch

11/21/22 • 63 min

1 Listener

During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to use a uniquely American holiday that involves consuming copious amounts of dead bird and marshmallow-slathered root vegetables as a springboard to talk about the global spiritual fruit of gratitude. Our hope is that this conversation will be beneficial to all Backporchers - whether you live in Nashville, Nairobi, New York or New Zealand! And the passage we’re going to dive into is non-traditional as well. More often than not Christians turn to the New Testament when the topic is eucharisteo – that’s the original Greek word the English word “thanksgiving” is translated from – but we’re going Old Testament today to talk about how unlike the Thanksgiving holiday we celebrate here in America the last Thursday in November, gratitude is supposed to be an on-going, everyday expression of faith for Christ-followers. One of my theological heroes – Sir G.K. Chesterton – who wrote the classic book, “Orthodoxy” – said it well in this keen observation: “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or have your hands in the nether-regions of a frozen Turkey, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

@BackPorchTheologyPodcast
@LisaDHarper
@AllisonAllen
@Jim.Howard.Co

Back Porch Theology is sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/Lisa Harper.

Kerygma Sale! Invite a friend or two and take advantage of a $75 discount on two tickets or $150 off three tickets by entering the codes BIGBIBLES2 or BIGBIBLES3. Visit https://www.kerygmasummit.com/

Lisa Harper’s Luke Study is available here.

@BackPorchTheologyPodcast
@LisaDHarper
@AllisonAllen
@Jim.Howard.Co

Back Porch Theology is sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/Lisa Harper.

Kerygma Sale! Invite a friend or two and take advantage of a $75 discount on two tickets or $150 off three tickets by entering the codes BIGBIBLES2 or BIGBIBLES3. Visit https://www.kerygmasummit.com/

Lisa Harper’s Luke Study is available here.

Previous Episode

Cup Your Ears and You’ll Hear the Cheers

During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to get real and raw about those seasons in life when we seriously consider throwing in the towel. Or at least whacking an adversary with a wet one! In John 10:10 our Redeemer, King Jesus, promises us abundant life – but He never promised that it would be easy. As a matter of fact, in John 16 Jesus confided that in this life, we’ll actually have some trouble. So how do we keep running the race so as to win the prize as Paul admonishes? How do we keep on keeping on when life knocks the wind out of both our sails and our lungs? Well, there’s a couple of divine diamonds at the tail end of Hebrews we’re going to excavate today that we believe will help those of us who feel like we're running on fumes to get refueled in every sense of the term, so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or knitting Christmas prayer shawls, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.

@BackPorchTheologyPodcast
@LisaDHarper
@AllisonAllen
@Jim.Howard.Co

Back Porch Theology is sponsored in part by Operation Christmas Child. Pack a shoebox! Learn more by clicking here.

Kerygma Sale! Invite a friend or two and take advantage of a $75 discount on two tickets or $150 off three tickets by entering the codes BIGBIBLES2 or BIGBIBLES3. Visit https://www.kerygmasummit.com/

Lisa Harper’s Luke Study is available here.

Next Episode

The Unlikely Ambassadors of Advent

During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to explore a colorful passage at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel account to help prepare our hearts for the miracle of Christmas during this, the first week of Advent. Because despite what retailers would like us to think, the Advent has nothing whatsoever to do with shopping! The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, which means arrival or coming. In the 4th and 5th Centuries, Advent marked the season of preparation for the baptism of new Christians at the January feast of Epiphany. During that ancient season of preparation, Christ-followers spent 40 days in penance, prayer, and fasting to prepare for the baptisms of new believers at Epiphany. It wasn’t until the Middle Ages, that Advent was solely connected with Christmas. And while joy is certainly one facet of Advent, there is a necessary sobriety to this season as Deitrich Bonhoeffer explained in his observation: "The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come." Bonhoeffer’s assertion that only those cognizant of their own flaws can actually celebrate Christ’s coming aptly describes the biblical characters we’ll be hanging out with today because their true stories sound like they’ve been ripped from the tabloids! They’re pretty unusual – if not very unlikely - ambassadors of Advent but they provide glorious proof that perfection is not a prerequisite to be adopted into the family of God! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or feeding a giant Tupperware of cranberry sauce into the garbage disposal, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

@BackPorchTheologyPodcast
@LisaDHarper
@AllisonAllen
@Jim.Howard.Co

Back Porch Theology is sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/Lisa Harper.

Kerygma Sale! Invite a friend or two and take advantage of a $75 discount on two tickets or $150 off three tickets by entering the codes BIGBIBLES2 or BIGBIBLES3. Visit https://www.kerygmasummit.com/

Lisa Harper’s Luke Study is available here.