Change the Conversation

In today’s conversation we’ll journey further into the Judges era of the Bible, as the people of Israel begin the cycle which they perpetuate throughout the entirety of the Old Testament—disobedience & idolatry, punishment & oppression, crying out to God, and God’s merciful deliverance. We’ll come alongside one of the widely-known judges God called to deliver his people—Gideon—and we’ll continue to discover God’s tendency t...

In today’s conversation we will culminate our study of Joshua and the Conquest era of the Bible as Joshua and the people of Israel divide the land into the boundaries God had set forth for them, and we’ll discuss the necessary—although sometimes frustrating—God-given boundaries in our own lives and why they exist. Then, we’ll go with the Israelites from the era of conquest into the era of the Judges, digging deep into the baffling ...

In today’s conversation we’ll be back in the Conquest era of the Bible as Joshua and the Israelites take their first steps into the promised land. We’ll see that there were two giant obstacles—a raging river and an impenetrable wall—between the Israelites and the first place God called them to go; and we’ll wonder at the truth that God often calls us to confront impossible obstacles along the path toward his will. We’ll study the m...

In today’s conversation we’re going to walk head-on into a question which plagues many modern Bible readers—the ethicality of the conquest of Canaan. Yes, we’re going to go there, and we’re going to discuss why God would not only condone, but actually commission the conquest of the land of Canaan. We’ll reason and examine our way through the biblical narrative, while also acknowledging that this relationship we have with our omnisc...

We are so excited to be back for our next season of Change the Conversation after taking a break for the holidays. Today we are picking back up where we left off last year in our Thru the Bible series as we begin our journey into the book of Joshua and, with that, into the next era of the Bible—the Conquest Era. But before we get too far down that road, we’re going to back up a bit and look at the events which positioned and qualif...

In today’s conversation, the LAST of this season until we return in the new year, we’ll conclude our study of the Exodus Era of the Bible with our final look at this generation of Israelites as they stand at the edge of the promised land. We’ll identify the process which took them so off-course of God's best plan for their lives, and then we’ll take that lens of scrutiny and flip it around to take a good look at ourselves. We’...

In today’s conversation, we’ll begin wrapping up our study of the Exodus Era of the Bible with the infamous story of the golden calf as we rejoin the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai. We’ll continue to discover why biblical authors, for centuries, referred to this generation of Israelites as stubborn, rebellious, and hard-hearted, and why God himself described them as “stiff-necked.” We’ll be inspired by the heart and leadersh...

Today’s episode is a continuation of our last one, where we are taking a magnifying glass to the Ten Commandments in order to demystify and clarify them for the eyes of our modern understanding. Last time we got through #7, so today we are picking back up with Commandment #8 and wrapping up all ten! We’ll realize that the moral requirements for the people of God did not change between the Testaments and that they are still just as ...

Today’s episode is a continuation of our last one, where we are taking a magnifying glass to the Ten Commandments in order to demystify and clarify them for the eyes of our modern understanding. Last time we got through the first four, so today we are picking back up with Commandment #6. We’ll realize that the moral requirements for the people of God did not change between the Testaments and that they are still just as relevant tod...

In today’s conversation, we’re going to pick back up with Moses and the Israelites as they hear from God at Mount Sinai. We’ll take a magnifying glass to the Ten Commandments in order to demystify and clarify them for the eyes of our modern understanding. We’ll be forced to take a good look at our own hearts and actions, and we’ll come to realize that these moral standards of living can only be perfected through a relationship with...

In today’s conversation, we’re going to set out once again with Moses and the Israelites as they continue their journey through the wilderness and arrive at Mount Sinai, the Mountain of God. We’ll notice that the wilderness is always a place where God speaks to his people, and we’ll stand in awe, with the Israelites, as God reveals himself on that mountain. We’ll discuss the necessity of consecration—then and now—and we’ll realize ...

In today’s conversation, we’re going to rejoin the Israelites as they leave the Red Sea and begin their journey into the wilderness. We’re going to start to understand why they are eventually described by God as a “stiff-necked people,” and we’ll discover our own tendencies toward the sin that mirrors theirs. We’ll see how God tests our trust—again and again and again if he has to. And we’ll continue to see the thread of grace wove...

In today’s conversation, we’ll continue on with our journey through the Exodus era of the Bible as we follow Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. We’ll discuss the importance of trusting what we know about the character of God when we read things in the Bible that are difficult to understand. We’ll talk about the intentionality of God to take us on the route He knows we’re ready for—and the route which kee...

In today’s conversation, we’ll continue on with our exploration through the 3rd Era of the Bible—the Exodus. We’ll pick back up with the story of Moses and the Israelites as God brings their time in slavery to an end, and we’ll discover that sometimes things get more difficult before they get better. We’ll discuss how God often shares the promise without sharing the process and how those times can cause us to become more deeply awa...

In today’s conversation, we’re going to begin the trek into the third era of the Bible, the Exodus, as we follow the story of the man of God, the first deliverer of God’s people—Moses. Again, we’ll watch God be the ultimate Orchestrator of events, and we’ll be inspired by the courage and holy defiance of those behind the scenes in Moses’ early life. We’ll see how God places passions within us to compel us toward his will, often lon...

In today’s conversation, we’re going to come to the end of our journey through the Patriarchal Era of the Bible as we wrap up with the second half of the story of Joseph. We’ll find relief in the fulfilled promise that God vindicates his beloved children in his sovereign timing and that the hardship we endure in the waiting will be the very thing he uses to discipline and train us to run the rest of our race. We’ll face the perplex...

In today’s conversation, we’re going to begin finishing up our journey through the Patriarchal Era of the Bible with the widely-known story of Joseph—the favored 11th son of Jacob, the one who was gifted that infamous colorful coat. While we aren't going to be focusing on his coat of many colors today, we will discuss the concept of favoritism and how it translates to our culture today. We’re going to talk about some rather eg...

In today’s conversation, we’re going to keep on journeying through the Patriarchal Era of the Bible as we continue the story with Abraham’s grandson, Jacob—the man who wrestled with God and whose name God changed to Israel. We’re going to watch his internal wrestling for control culminate in an external wrestling match with God, as he learns to surrender to the God who can be trusted to accomplish his promises without our help. We’...

In today’s conversation, we’re going to keep on journeying through the Patriarchal Era of the Bible as we pick up the story with Abraham’s grandson, Jacob—the man who wrestled with God and whose name God changed to Israel. We’re going to watch his internal wrestling for control culminate in an external wrestling match with God, as he learns to surrender to the God who can be trusted to accomplish his promises without our help. We’l...