“Joy is the serious business of heaven.” – C. S. Lewis, in Letters to Malcolm
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10
Palmer St. Podcast: Joy: The Business of Heaven
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Palmer St. Podcast: Good Works
Nehemiah had a respectable position personally serving the king in the very courts of power in the Persian Empire. He didn’t have to care about Jerusalem. But he did.
Palmer St. Podcast: Rebuilding
Jerusalem was destroyed. The exiles who returned now had to rebuild the city beginning with the Temple. We might compare this to rebuilding after 9/11 or any of the personal “Ground Zeroes” that tragically upend our lives.
Ezra 1-6.mp3
(Sorry about the bit of silence at around the 38 minute mark. Not sure what happened there. If you keep listening, the sound comes back.)
- See Time article on 9/11. http://time.com/world-trade-center/
- Also see clip of Mayor Giuliani ‘s speech on the evening of 9/11/2001. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiA5NNjf7XQ
Palmer St. Podcast: The Next Challenge
Faithfulness doesn’t protect us from challenges. It prepares us for future challenges.
Faithfulness doesn’t protect us from challenges. It prepares us for future challenges.
Palmer St. Podcast: Recycled Faith
The faith of Joash was, alas, merely a recycled faith. It was not so much connected to God as it was to Jehoiada.
Palmer St. Podcast: An Ordinary Hero
The Bible is very realistic about its heroes and villains. The human characters are very human – people we can usually identify with. King Jehoshaphat is one of those.
Palmer St. Podcast: Division and Decline
Perhaps the best thing we can say about the reign of Rehoboam son of Solomon is that it easily could have been worse. Another positive point is that repentance is always possible.
