Shows / The BEMA Podcast
The BEMA Podcast
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…
Episodes
- The BEMA Podcast
457: Qohelet Checks the Time
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Josh Bossé reflect on the tension of human evil and the problem of desire. Support The BEMA Podcast
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456: Qohelet Weeds the Garden
Brent Billings, Josh Bossé, and Qohelet herself look deeply at the roots of evil. “Let My Words Be Few” by Rebecca St. James — YouTube Support The BEMA Podcast
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455: Qohelet Fights the Power
Brent Billings and Josh Bossé watch Qohelet cast her gaze on injustice and oppression. Support The BEMA Podcast
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454: Qohelet Goes Off
Brent Billings, Josh Bossé, and Reed Dent consider the appointed time for everything. BEMA 382: Psalms — Small, Not Insignificant First Reformed (2018 film) —…
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453: Qohelet Tries to Party
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Josh Bossé follow Qohelet into many parties to see if we can find any meaning in joy. Support The BEMA Podcast
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452: Qohelet Gets Out of Bed
Brent Billings, Josh Bossé, and Elle Grover Fricks launch an exploration of one of the least understood books of Tanakh (Ecclesiastes). BEMA 320: The Forgotten…
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451: Ashlee Eiland — Say Good
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by Ashlee Eiland, author of Say Good, and someone who seeks to join in God’s redemptive work on Earth. Ashlee is…
- The BEMA Podcast
450: Talmudic Matthew — The 7
Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé truly cap off this series by taking a second gander at the Lord’s Prayer. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp…
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449: Talmudic Matthew — The Seven
Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé close out this series by taking a gander at the Lord’s Prayer. BEMA 97: Done in Secret BEMA 332: Andrew…
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448: Talmudic Matthew — Secret
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks step into their prayer closets and shut the door on the babbling pagans. BEMA 97: Done in Secret Lares — Wikipedia…
- The BEMA Podcast
447: Talmudic Matthew — Wages
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks take a spin with Jesus’s concept of rewards or wages. Wealth, Poverty, and Charity in Jewish Antiquity by Gregg E…
- The BEMA Podcast
446: Talmudic Matthew — Children
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks take a crack at what it means to be children of God. “What’s Wrong with Winsomeness?” by Russell Moore —…
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445: Talmudic Matthew — Enemies
Brent Billings and Reed Dent team up with Elle Grover Fricks to excavate some ancient ideas about enemies. BEMA 96: But I Say Unto You Jesus and Nonviolence by…
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444: Karen Stiller — Holiness Here
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by special guest Karen Stiller, author of Holiness Here and the author and editor of many other books, magazines…
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443: Talmudic Matthew — Oaths
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks investigate Jesus’s teaching on oaths. “Greek Oath-Rituals” by Irene Berti — OpenEdition Books “The Greek Oath in the…
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442: Talmudic Matthew — Marriage
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings join Elle Grover Fricks to contextualize Jesus’s teaching on divorce in its Jewish and Roman landscape. Support The BEMA…
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441: Talmudic Matthew — Thymos
Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé take a closer look at Jesus’s teachings on desire. BEMA 273: John — Pericope of an Honor Contest Support The…
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440: Talmudic Matthew — Reconciliation
Brent Billings joins Elle Grover Fricks to reconsider the topic of reconciliation through a Talmudic lens, featuring Reed Dent. BEMA 36: The Redemption Cycle…
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439: Talmudic Matthew — Anger
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks consider Jesus’s teaching on anger through a Talmudic lens. Matthew 5:22 (Interlinear) — Bible Hub A…
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438: Talmudic Matthew — Truly(?) I Say to You
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks search out what life can be found in two short verses from the Sermon on the Mount. Halakha — Wikipedia BEMA 95: Abolish…
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437: Talmudic Matthew — Mainstream or Marginal
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings join Elle Grover Fricks to lay the groundwork for another series of Talmudic conversations in Matthew. “Dei Verbum” — Pope…
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436: Brant Hansen — 3D Chiastic Chess
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by special guest Brant Hansen, author, nationally syndicated radio host, and advocate for healing children through…
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435: Hosea — The Hope of Healing
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings conclude an examination of Hosea, finding out what actually gets the last word. Featuring a special appearance by Elle Grover…
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434: Hosea — Who Among Us?
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings approach the penultimate chapter of Hosea’s prophecy, hearing him issue a final challenge to take stock of our idolatrous…
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433: Hosea — Doomed to Repeat It
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings watch the prophet parallel the experience of God’s people with the history of their Patriarch Jacob. “Back to the Future” by…
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432: Hosea — God’s Avatar
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are with Elle Grover Fricks to venture into Hosea 11, seeing a shift in the prophet’s tone as he talks about who God is and…
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431: Hosea — Stubborn Soil
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are with Josh Bossé to travel through Hosea 10, finding instructions for what can be done in the face of such idolatrous…
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430: It’s a Wonderful Life
Brent Billings and Reed Dent drive this podcast into a tree and find out how many friends we actually have. It’s a Wonderful Life — Wikipedia It’s a Wonderful…
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429: Catherine McNiel — Fearing Bravely
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by special guest Catherine McNiel, author of Fearing Bravely. Fearing Bravely by Catherine McNiel Review of Fearing…
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428: Hosea — Consequences
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings discuss Hosea 9 and the consequences of participating in imperial rebellion against the Lord. 1994 Minister’s Manual…
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427: Hosea — How Empty Is Empty?
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Reed Dent discuss the futility of reaping a whirlwind, and why we would keep going back to empty expecting to find anything…
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426: The Chosen S4E8 — “Humble” (Bonus Episode)
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings wrap up discussion of Season 4 of The Chosen with the emotional events of episode 8. The Chosen The Chosen (TV Series) —…
- The BEMA Podcast
425: Hosea — Fruit in Keeping with Repentance
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings continue the conversation from the previous episode, considering the call to be different following our repentance. 1994…
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424: The Chosen S4E7 — “The Last Sign” (Bonus Episode)
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings discuss Season 4 of The Chosen and the dramatic events of episode 7. The Chosen The Chosen (TV Series) — Wikipedia The Chosen…
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423: Hosea — Forgiveness
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings use the first portion of Hosea 6 to examine the relationship between God’s forgiveness and our repentance. BEMA 242: Spiritual…
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422: The Chosen S4E6 — “Dedication” (Bonus Episode)
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings continue the discussion of Season 4 of The Chosen with episode 6. The Chosen The Chosen (TV Series) — Wikipedia The Chosen…
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421: Hosea — When God Goes Missing
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by Josh Bossé to consider Hosea 5 and the wisdom it holds, exhorting us to remember the dangers of trying to use…
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420: The Chosen S4E5 — “Sitting, Serving, Scheming” (Bonus Episode)
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings continue the discussion of Season 4 of The Chosen with the struggles of Jesus in episode 5. The Chosen The Chosen (TV Series)…
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419: A. J. Sherrill — Rediscovering Christmas
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by special guest Dr. A. J. Sherrill, who has more than twenty years of experience as a pastor, including his…
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418: The Chosen S4E4 — “Calm Before” (Bonus Episode)
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings continue the discussion of Season 4 of The Chosen with a big finally in episode 4. The Chosen The Chosen (TV Series) —…
- The BEMA Podcast
417: Hosea — Staring Brokenness in the Face
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Reed Dent look to Hosea 4 to answer the question of how we can find ourselves in a mess like this. BEMA 386: Psalms — The…
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416: The Chosen S4E3 — “Moon to Blood” (Bonus Episode)
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings continue the discussion of Season 4 of The Chosen with the controversial episode 3. The Chosen The Chosen (TV Series) —…
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415: Hosea — Living Metaphor
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings venture into the biblical Text of Hosea, letting the prophetic story of Hosea lead us into some reflections on wisdom for our…
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414: The Chosen S4E2 — “Confessions” (Bonus Episode)
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings discuss some Chosen announcements, offer a mea culpa for episode 1, and continue into Season 4 of The Chosen with episode 2…
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413: Hosea — Context and Caution
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks begin a series on Hosea, considering a framework we can use to approach a passage with a fresh lens. The…
- The BEMA Podcast
412: The Chosen S4E1 — “Promises” (Bonus Episode)
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings finally commence the discussion of Season 4 of The Chosen, starting things off with episode 1. The Chosen The Chosen (TV…
- The BEMA Podcast
411: Session 9 Intro
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings begin Session 9 of the podcast and discuss what comes next and what we can look forward to in the months to come. The Story of…
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410: Session 8 Capstone
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings close out Session 8 with Reed Dent, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé. Support The BEMA Podcast
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409: Sandra Richter — The Epic of Eden
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by special guest Dr. Sandra Richter, the Gundry Chair of Biblical Studies at Westmont College, a graduate of…
- The BEMA Podcast
408: Practical Shabbat — Deepening
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings explore the depths of Shabbat with Josh Bossé. The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel Support The BEMA Podcast
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407: Practical Shabbat — Breaking
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are breaking Shabbat with Josh Bossé. The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel Support The BEMA Podcast
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406: Practical Shabbat — Remembering
Brent Billings and Reed Dent join Josh Bossé in remembering Shabbat. The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel RRR (2022 film) — JustWatch I Asked for Wonder by…
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405: Practical Shabbat — Keeping
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks keep Shabbat with Josh Bossé. The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel BEMA 331: Sanctuary — Resting with the Mishkan Nerts…
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404: Mariko Clark — The Book of Belonging
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks are joined by special guest Mariko Clark, author of The Book of Belonging. She is a mother and a storyteller, and her…
- The BEMA Podcast
403: Talmudic Matthew — But Actually John
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings join Elle Grover Fricks to close out this series from the Talmud and return to a well where Jesus talks with a Samaritan…
- The BEMA Podcast
402: Talmudic Matthew — Lightly Salted
Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé examine one more perspective on the ideas of salt and light found in the Sermon on the Mount. BEMA 257: John…
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401: Talmudic Matthew — Light
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings join Elle Grover Fricks to consider Jesus’s teaching on light through the lens of the Talmud. BEMA 94: Hope of the World Bava…
- The BEMA Podcast
400: Talmudic Matthew — Salt
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks unearth a deeper meaning of salt through a Talmudic lens. “The Salt of the Land and the Light of the World” —…
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399: Talmudic Matthew — Household of God
Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé browse through the Beatitudes one by one. Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing by Søren Kierkegaard Live Q&A…
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398: Talmudic Matthew — Blessing
Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks, and Josh Bossé crack open the question of what a biblical blessing is. To Bless the Space Between Us by John O’Donohue…