The Unbroken Ground

Ep. 22: What are the Odds?

Hello fellow Travelers! What is it that God is calling you to do or create? How does God work with and through our resources? This week's podcast considers the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. God invites His children to be part of miracles and to change the world. What is He speaking to your heart? Check out the blog - at the link below about the same topic.
Jesus and the 5 Loaves and 2 Fish: An Invitation to Participate | Paul Tanner (patheos.com)
 
Matthew 14
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Ep. 21: Saved the Best For Last

Did Jesus have an agenda? Did he hang out with certain types of people because he was trying to prove how tolerant and cool he was? Or is that question the wrong place to start when thinking about Jesus? Jesus comes to fill the law full and, at the same time, simplifies it for us. I discuss Jesus turning water into wine as a reminder that something greater than the law walked the Earth. Jesus, in the flesh, provided our example. How are you doing at following Him?
John 2
2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b]
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
 
Unbroken Ground - Exploration of Christ, Community, and Creativity (patheos.com)

Ep.20: Who Do You Think You Are?

Hello Fellow travelers! This week I discuss this quote from Tim Keller: “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope." How do we live out the complexity of Jesus, who perfectly displayed the grace and truth of God? What role does kindness play in calling people to repentance? What role is God calling you to participate in? I talk about the story of Zacchaeus, and no, I don't sing the song. But you might hear a bird going crazy outside the window. This was not recorded at a jungle location - just in case you were wondering. For more thoughts on the complexity of Jesus, check out my latest blog as well - Jesus’ Harshest Criticism Were Reserved for the Religious | Paul Tanner (patheos.com)

Jim Time Flex: April Bonus

Hello Fellow Travelers! Would you rather never be able to say thank you or please? What does thankfulness have to do with our relationship to God? Are there cultures where asking for help is more valued than saying thank you? This is a bonus discussion from Jim Flex Time. I hope you enjoy and if you have any comments, please send them to theunbrokenground@gmail.com .

Jim Flex Time: April 2023

Hello Fellow Traveler! Jim joins me for another recap, this time for April. Listen as we discuss our most meaningful takeaways from the parable of the sower. Also, listen to Would you rather questions which become a very poor recollection of movies and television shows from our childhood. You win a prize if you can pick out the incorrectly named TV show. We talked so much that a whole bonus episode will be released later this week. 

Ep. 19: Out of Your Mind

Hello Fellow Travelers! May is here as we continue in the most wonderful journey of following Jesus. Are you fanatical about anything? Maybe a sports team, a movie series, or a collection of books? Can a good game on Sunday make your week, or a bad game get it off to a bad start? Would you ever dance like a fool for all the world to see? In this week's episode, I ponder the story of David and what it means to be undignified for Jesus. What might God call you to do to make the world and/or your church stop and take notice? 
 
2 Samuel 6:14-23
 
14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, 15 while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
21 David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
 
 
 

Ep. 18: Cookie Crisp

Hello Fellow Travelers! It is the end of the month and the end of another podcast series. Cookie Crisp is all about good soil producing good fruit. I recap the previous soils and give an example of how the different soils of the heart might react to God's word. Then I end with a challenge for everyone: go deeper, no matter where you are or your heart's condition. 
 
I have been  writing companion blogs - check them out on Patheos: Unbroken Ground - Exploration of Christ, Community, and Creativity (patheos.com)

Ep. 17: Frosted Mini Wheats

Hello Fellow Travelers. Jesus calls out worries and wealth as weeds in our spiritual hearts. As followers of Jesus, we can expect that when we seek to produce the good fruit we are called to produce, our worries and wealth will be stumbling blocks. Worries and wealth are the front lines in the battle of who is in charge of our lives and how dependent we choose to be. Don't get the wrong idea; this isn't a call for everyone to vow poverty. But it is a wake-up call to remember that following Jesus starts with His kingdom - and then all things are added. We build our house on sinking sand, trying to do it any other way. 
Unbroken Ground - Exploration of Christ, Community, and Creativity (patheos.com)

Ep. 16: Fruit Pebbles

Hello Fellow Travelers! This is part two in the four-part series based on the parable of the sower found in Matthew 13. Do you have beliefs or convictions? Do you know the difference? Last week was about the path which represents the hard heart. This week we consider the shallow soil, which means a heart that is not entirely convinced of the truth of what God is telling us. 
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Unbroken Ground - Exploration of Christ, Community, and Creativity (patheos.com)

Ep. 15: Bran Flakes

Hello Fellow Travelers! Continuing with the agricultural theme of April, I will spend the following few podcasts talking about the parable of the sower found in Matthew 13. This week is about the seed that fell on the path. The path is hard ground that is not meant for seeds. Similarly, it is hard for us to hear from God when our hearts are hard. What is the condition of the soil in your heart? What do you do if you find it to be hardened? 
Check out my blog: Unbroken Ground - Exploration of Christ, Community, and Creativity (patheos.com)
 
Matthew 13
The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;    they hardly hear with their ears,    and they have closed their eyes.Otherwise they might see with their eyes,    hear with their ears,    understand with their heartsand turn, and I would heal them.’[a]
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”