Discipleship: Growing in Faith & Understanding

The Bible is THE book of the Christian faith, but what's it all about?  This 5+ minute video is episode 1 of an ongoing series that explores the origins, content, and purpose of the Bible. Here you'll be introduced to a condensed history of how the Bible came into existence, and the different forms of the Bible in the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christian traditions. (video -1)

This 5+ minute video summarizes the overall story of the Bible as a series of crossroad decisions. All humanity, followed by the Israelites, redefine good and evil and end up in Babylon. They are followed by Jesus, who takes a different path that opens up the way to a new creation. (video - 2)

Episode 3 (5+ minutes) shows how reading the Bible wisely requires that we learn about the ancient literary styles used by the biblical authors. These writers expressed their ideas and claims through a variety of different types of literature, and this video will explore why it's important to tell them apart so we can hear their message on their terms.  (video -3)

Episode 4 explores the unique literary style of the Bible that is meant to draw its readers into a lifelong journey of reading and meditation. The Bible is designed as a multi-layered work, offering new levels of insight as you re-read it and allow each part to help you understand every other part. The Bible is the original meditation literature. (video 4)

An important part of reading biblical narratives is learning how to understand the nature of "the plot," how stories are arranged into a pattern of conflict and resolution. In this video we'll see how ignoring the sequence of the plot can lead to a distorted interpretation of biblical stories. We'll also explore how grasping the multi-layered nature of the narrative can help you see the unified story that leads to Jesus.  (video-5)

Most of us think of characters in the Bible as either sinners or saints, good or bad. At least that’s how Bible stories are presented to children. In the episode 6 video, we’ll explore the ways biblical authors present characters as more complex and morally compromised than we usually imagine.  (video-6)

Every story has to take place somewhere, and very often locations have a special meaning or significance evoked by events that already took place there. In this video, we explore how biblical authors use settings in the narrative to meet the reader's expectations or mess with them. Paying attention to locations and time in biblical stories unlocks deeper layers of meaning.  (video -7)

Design patterns are one of the key ways the biblical authors have unified the storyline of the Bible. Individual stories across the Old and New Testaments have been coordinated through repeated words and parallel themes. These patterns highlight core themes of the biblical story and show how it all leads to Jesus in this 8th video of the series.

Did you know that a third of the Bible is ancient Israelite poetry? Poetry is a rich and artistic form of human communication, but often the most difficult to read. In this 9th video we’ll explore the unique characteristics of biblical poetry, so you can discover its beauty and power for yourself. (video-9)

The book of Psalms is the largest collection of poetry in the Bible. In this video, we’ll explore the design shape and main themes of this marvelous book, which was crafted to be read from beginning to end. The Psalms are an invitation to a literary temple where you can meet with God and hear the entire biblical storyline retold in poetic form. (video-10)