Throughout the Biblical narrative, there are overlapping patterns that so many largely ignore. However, if we track these patterns, we begin to see important messages and themes building in intensity that give us a much grander view of God's sovereignty over the construction of His Scriptures, and lifechanging lessons that weave our lives inextricably to the text of the Bible.

In this episode, we walk through one such pattern of meeting God at the well. At first, you'll just begin to notice that wells, springs, and cisterns are mentioned more frequently than you had really considered before, but after we build the examples one on top of another and ask WHY the authors are continuing this pattern, we'll see that God was building towards something in epic fashion that reminds us of His goodness and love for us.

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUkiQvCEF8Rc4TzjyBMsxg

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

**PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION**

This episode starts off a series that I plan to slowly work through dedicated to analyzing the potential for division in the church that runs along age lines.

While I don't see any wild amount of disunity between the different age groups currently, there are differences in experience, thought, understanding, and preferred methodology that could quickly turn into division if we're not aware of them.

We should all be looking around at the members of our congregations and asking ourselves, "How can I better serve them?" The first step to this, in my opinion, is understanding them. By building relationships built on a desire to understand and succeed together, we mitigate the human tendencies to assume poor motives, to write people off, or to forge ahead alone believing ourselves to be the only correct thinkers.

In this episode, I was privileged to talk to my good friend, Ani who spoke for herself but did her best to represent how she saw the mindsets of those in her age group. Ani is a regular listener of this podcast and was excited to participate but nervous, particularly about saying anything that reflected negative views of others.

The primary points that Ani brings out in this episode that I hope those of other age demographics will take note of are:

-YOUNG Christians desire to be interacted with as GROWING Christians. They don't know everything but many of them are eager to understand and are capable of more than surface level learning.

-Young Christians have some level of fear of expressing doubts and questions for fear of how they might be perceived. Other generations working to create a Church where vulnerability is allowed and encouraged out of an evident love for those who need to express it would go a LONG way.

-Young Christians face issues that you might believe you understand by virtue of living in the same world as them. However, while you're an adult living in this time period, you've never been a kid in this time period. Listening to them with respect first will produce an incredible amount of trust for you to be able to share your advice. If you attempt to share the advice first without building that trust, it won't create the lasting relationship that they desperately need from you.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUkiQvCEF8Rc4TzjyBMsxg

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

In the midst of a larger narrative in Luke 19, we're told a brief story featuring a small-statured, tax collector named Zacchaeus of Jericho. On its own, this account makes a cute, kid-friendly story about Jesus's willingness and desire to care for the outcast. In a deeper look, however, which we go through in this study, Zacchaeus becomes a microcosm of the entire Gospel message.

Luke is an intelligent and intentional writer attempting to accurately depict historical events, but he is also recounting these events with a purpose in mind. In this section of Luke, specifically, we are in a transitional period from the earthly ministry of Jesus to His death on the cross with this account of Zacchaeus sitting squarely in the middle.

Is this, simply, a retelling of events, or did Luke intend this retelling to speak to the larger purpose of the good news of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God?

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly