'What's Jesus talking about': the Pharisee and the tax collector
- What is Jesus trying to get at in the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector?
- What does humility look like when your culture actually praises humility?
Dave Herrick (speaker-3, named in the show rundown) opens the 'What's Jesus talking about' bit with a full retelling of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector and asks what Jesus is getting at. The hosts land on the heart behind each prayer: the Pharisee prays to be seen and lifts himself up; the tax collector agrees with God about himself and goes home justified. Follow-up: what humility looks like when culture praises humility — false humility, e.g. the worship musician deflecting praise ('it wasn't me, it was God') and defining yourself only as awful while ignoring that you're loved and redeemed. Includes the 'end of Job smackdown' (Job 38) line and the Enoch-poster joke ('the man followed the Lord for three hundred years' — Genesis 5).
More on Humility
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The New Testament case for human shaping
- What does the New Testament actually say about spiritual authority and submission?
Ben walks the New Testament texts: Hebrews 13:17 ('obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls') presumes a soul-watching laborer, not a rule-maker;…
From No. 600 · Rage The Elephant
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How to tell your voice from God's: the Bible test and leniency
- How can you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking?
Ella distills the question: how do you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking? Her first answer: we have a Bible — what God is telling you is probably already in it ('Ben's gonna have a proud papa moment').
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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Evaluating the event: Elijah, Josiah, the sign of Jonah, the donuts test
- How do we tell whether a church element has become the thing itself rather than pointing to Jesus?
The hosts work through evaluation tools for curated experiences: Elijah didn't ask God to repeat the fire, and Jesus refused to repeat signs for the Pharisees ('you get the sign…
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Dear LFTP: the untidy grandchildren's home
- How can I tell my son's family that visiting their untidy home increases my anxiety without offending them?
Mike reads a letter from a grandmother anxious about her son's untidy home; the hosts diagnose persnickety-vs-oblivious wiring (Ben's sock-on-the-floor example, Martha), advise…
From No. 589 · There Must Be A Reason