Tripp Fuller

From Abram to Jesus to the inclusion of the Gentiles we are called into a story of utter dependence on God: trusting God to do for us what we would otherwise try to do for ourselves.

Genesis 12:1-4a Abram has to leave behind everything that should provide for him. God promises a blessing that is too big for Abram to control or contain.

Psalm 121 A psalm of trust in God’s holistic care. Where does our help come from? Are we willing to give ourselves to the God who made heaven and earth?

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 The inclusion of the Gentiles means rereading the story of Abraham. Abraham is blessed through his trust. Abraham trusts the God whom Paul preaches: the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.

Matthew 17:1-9 Remember when Jesus refused to bite during those satanic temptations to explore what “son of God” might mean for him? God honors that trust, and will honor it again in Jesus’s resurrection.

John 3:1-17 Nicodemus gets Jesus talking. Dependence on God, trust in God, comes to its ultimate manifestation in the need to be born from above, by the Spirit, in order to see the Kingdom. Scary as that might be, it’s a stipulation held in the hands of the God who sent His Son into the world to save it, rather than condemn. This God can be trusted.

Books discussed this week: JRD Kirk, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Isaiah 9:2-7 The birth of Jesus echoes the birth of an earlier king, a previous “mighty God, everlasting father.” Let that mess with your Christology!

Psalm 96 God’s plan of salvation is SO MUCH BIGGER than human salvation. The whole creation is wrapped up in God’s saving work. Do we live in such a way the the whole cosmos would see our life as a cause of celebration?

Titus 2:11-14 Danielle thinks you should preach this on Christmas. Be brave! Do it! There’s a deep call to transformation as well as God’s grace embodied in the person of Jesus.

Luke 2:1-20 There’s a danger to registration that we might have fresh appreciation for this year.

This week on LectioCast we mentioned some truly exceptional pieces of literature:

Original Blessing by Danielle Shroyer

A Man Attested by God by J. R. Daniel Kirk

Danielle Shroyer is an author, speaker, and blogger. She serves as the Theologian-in-Residence at Journey Church, one of the first independent emerging churches in the country, where she also pastored for over eight years. Danielle is the author of Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lord’s Prayer in the Holy Land and The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise (Jossey-Bass, 2009). A graduate of Baylor University and Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, church leadership, culture, and story. She has written for Patheos, The Hardest Question, and Immerse magazine, and she blogs often at www.danielleshroyer.com. Danielle lives with her husband and two children in Dallas, Texas

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Christ is king. That’s the week on the liturgical calendar, it’s the promise of God. And it’s our hope in a time when we have figured out that our earthly shepherds are not going to fulfill God’s visions of justice and righteousness.

Jeremiah 23:1-6 God will shepherd God’s people. God will raise up a faithful shepherd to do it through. And God will see to it that humanity gets to flourish, free from fear, as God created us to do.

Luke 1:68-79 Zechariah prophesies over the ministry of John and anticipates the work of Jesus. It’s a vision of grand, earthy salvation, realized in the forgiveness of sins. God’s promise to work through a human king is coming to pass.

Colossians 1:11-20 Forgiveness leads to a kingdom in which Christ is king. Christ is king as humanity was supposed to be at the beginning: God’s image-bearing rulers of the earth. And God’s reconciling work bursts beyond the boundaries of God’s people to include the entire cosmos. This happens on the cross.

Luke 23:33-43 The shocking culmination of Reign of Christ week: we end with Jesus on the cross. But here, paradoxically, we discover the salvation that Jesus brings as king and messiah.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral
Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

In a world in which “you can’t always get what you want,” whether it’s justice, abundance, equality, or a decent political candidate, how do we continue to place our hope in God? Why should we place our hope in God?

Haggai 1:15b-2:9 In the midst of grave disappointment God says, “Don’t give up on me yet.” The presence of God is the promise of God’s acts in the future.

Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21 God is worthy of praise. Do we tell enough stories about what God has done that we know this to be true in the depths of our hearts?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 Don’t worry: you haven’t missed the awesome thing that God is going to do, because God has that awesome thing in store for you. We can continue to hope, even if the present isn’t panning out like we expected.

Luke 20:27-38 The life to come is not just like this one. It offers freedoms and life that blow up all our categories. So when things seem to be hopeless, there is a hope beyond imagining still waiting.

Daniel Kirk is a writer, speaker, and blogger who lives in San Francisco, CA where he is currently Pastoral Director for the Newbigin House of Studies. His third book A Man Attested by God: the Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, is hot off the presses. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University and is the author of, Unlocking Romans: Resurrection and the Justification of God and Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? He blogs regularly at StoriedTheology.com (http://patheos.com/blogs/storiedtheology). You can follow him on Twitter @jrdkirk and on Facebook at Facebook.com/jrdkirk.

Welcome to the Surviving the Bible podcast. This is a lectionary podcast not just for pastors or preachers, but for Bible nerds everywhere. Each week Christian and Amy Piatt (from the Homebrewed CultureCast) and Tripp Fuller (from the Homebrewed Christianity podcast) explore the bible readings for the week. You’ll get three different perspectives on three different texts to help you survive reading the Bible.

This week is Trinity Sunday.

Christian takes a look at Isaiah 6:1-8, John 3:1-17, and Romans 8:12-17. He explains why he hears more of a Pentecost message in these texts, gives us an overview of the themes in this Sunday’s texts, how we are similar to Isaiah and what Isaiah can teach us today, not second-guessing God, leaving the ways we have viewed ourselves and others behind to make room for new life, the rebirth of Isaiah into a spiritual calling, Jesus inviting people into a similar calling, Paul’s explanation of the need to transcend the cycle of inheritance, and the breaking down of divisions and hierarchy.

Plus, the connection to the Pentecost message, being mindful of our role as path-forgers, not gate-keepers, and tearing down barriers between humanity and the divine.

Amy tackles John 3:1-17 and shares what Michaelangelo’s process for sculpting has to do with Nicodemus, the important context for John 3 which a lot of people overlook, what it means to be born of the Spirit, the uncertainty of God’s Spirit, and the shame that prevents us from being reborn.