The BEMA Podcast is a walk-through of the context of the Bible and the Text itself, as well as surrounding history. We deconstruct our common readings of the Bible and attempt to reconstruct them through the lens of historical context. The main body of work is contained in Seasons 1–5, and we encourage you to start with episode 0 (or even -1) and continue in order through episode 204. Beyond that, we explore new topics, revisit old topics, and dive deeper into practical ways of living out the things we have learned together. BEMA Discipleship is a ministry of Impact Campus Ministries.
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Josh Bosset discuss the foundational concept of Empire versus Shalom as a narrative framework for understanding God's story, drawing from videos by Ray Vander Laan. They explore the competing narratives of the biblical creation story and the Egypti...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon and Brent Billings wrap up their introduction to God's story, focusing on the narrative from Genesis to Exodus. They revisit key figures like Avram, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, highlighting themes of trust, faithfulness, desire, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliatio...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks conclude their study of Joseph's life from Genesis 41-50. They review the Genesis story, highlighting God's love for creation and partnership with figures like Avram and Jacob, whose determination God uses despite their flaws. Th...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks begin a study of the life of Joseph, covering Genesis 37-40, with a review of creation and the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They delve into the family dynamics, focusing on Joseph's relationship with his brothers and fat...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Reed Dent delve into Genesis 32-35, focusing on the life of Jacob. They review the story so far, highlighting Abraham's faith, Isaac's faithfulness, and Jacob's deceitful nature. The discussion covers Jacob's encounter with Esau, his wrestling matc...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Reed Dent delve into the life of Jacob from Genesis 25 through 31, exploring his complex character and motivations. They discuss Jacob's acquisition of Esau's birthright, the deception involved in obtaining Isaac's blessing, and Jacob's subsequent ...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon and Brent Billings delve into the life of Isaac as depicted in Genesis 24 and 26, exploring the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. They discuss Abraham's quest to find a wife for Isaac from his relatives, emphasizing the importance of shared spiritual DNA and com...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Josh Bosset delve into the complexities of Avraham's character through key stories in Genesis, including his hospitality, negotiation with God over Sodom and Gomorrah, the mistreatment of Hagar, and the Akedah (the binding of Isaac). The discussion...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon and Brent Billings delve into Genesis 15-17, exploring the evolving partnership between God and Abram. They review previous chapters, emphasizing the narrative structure of the Bible and Abram's trust in God despite his mistakes. The discussion covers God's promise to ...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon and Brent Billings delve into Genesis 12-14, exploring the call of Abram and his early experiences in Canaan. They discuss Abram's character, highlighting his willingness to prioritize others and trust God, while also acknowledging his imperfections, such as his decept...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks delve into the genealogy of Abraham in Genesis 11 to explore why God chose him. They discuss the significance of women in genealogies, the cultural context of Nahor marrying his niece, and the Midrashic interpretation that Yiska ...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon and Brent Billings review Genesis 1-11, framing it as the "preface" to the larger biblical narrative. They discuss how these stories, including Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, the Flood, Noah's curse, and the Tower of Babel, form a chiasm of chiasms, with the st...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Josh Bosset delve into the story of the Tower of Babel, exploring its problems, parallels with earlier stories like Cain and Abel, and its underlying themes. They discuss the eastward movement away from God's design, the organization of evil, and t...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Reed Dent delve into the story of Noah after the flood, focusing on the vineyard, nakedness, and the subsequent curse. They explore problems within the text, such as the mention of Canaan, the order of Noah's sons, and the compressed timeline of th...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks delve into the story of Noah's Ark, exploring its historical context and deeper meanings. They discuss problems within the familiar narrative, such as the seemingly random details and God's drastic decision to destroy creation. B...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon and Brent Billings delve into the story of Cain and Abel from Genesis 4, exploring themes of fear, shame, and acquisition. They discuss Eve's naming of Cain and the significance of "acquisition," contrasting interpretations of her intent. Marty and Brent highlight the ...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon and Brent Billings delve into the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, exploring its underlying meanings and inherent problems. They discuss the two different creation accounts in Genesis, the ambiguity surrounding the Tree of Knowledge, and the significance of...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon and Brent Billings delve into the creation story in Genesis 1, emphasizing its poetic nature and structure as a chiasm. They highlight the cultural context for the original audience, the Israelites, and how the story's central theme of Sabbath challenges the notion tha...
In this episode of The BEMA Podcast, Marty Solomon and Brent Billings introduce the concept of Eastern vs. Western perspectives in biblical interpretation, emphasizing the importance of understanding the ancient Hebraic context in which the Bible was written. They clarify that "Eastern" refers specifically to the Hebra...
In the inaugural episode of The BEMA Podcast, hosts Marty Solomon and Brent Billings introduce the podcast's origins, purpose, and structure. They discuss Marty's personal faith crisis that led to the development of BEMA Discipleship, emphasizing a Jewish hermeneutic approach to understanding the Bible. The hosts outli...
Follow this podcast in Podwise
Sign in to get AI summaries, transcripts and mind maps for any episode, including new ones.
