It is Christmas time and we are discovering the fullness of the Origin Story of Jesus. Matthew and Luke tell us so much more than the moment of Jesus' birth. Dr. Jack Beck joins us again to talk about how the geography matters in the way we understand who Mary and Joseph are. This week we start with Nazareth. How big was it? Where was it located? Did the geography influence what people expected from life?

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Dr. Nicholas Schaser introduces us to the fascinating world of rabbinic interpretation. Today we talk about how similar Jesus is to his contemporary sages like Hillel and Shammai. What were their views of interpretation? What kind of humor did the sages use?

Find out more about Dr. Schaser HERE

Explore his book: A Ransom for Israel: Jesus and Jewish Salvation in Matthew

Read short articles by Dr. Schaser on Israel Bible Center's website HERE

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As we set the context for the birth of Jesus, we explore the dominant voices of Jewish thought and practice at the beginning of the 1st Century CE. Dr. Nicolas Schaser from Macalester College introduces us to the sages of Hillel and Shammai - who are they? What were their philosophies? This will lead us into more conversations next week about how these two compare to the teachings of Jesus.

Find out more about Dr. Schaser HERE

Explore his book: A Ransom for Israel: Jesus and Jewish Salvation in Matthew

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We are in the process of exploring the context of the birth narrative of Jesus, and we have arrived at the time of the rise of Octavian. He will lead the Roman Republic into its Empire stage. But how does he do that and how does this change the Judean context of Bethlehem where Jesus is born?

Explore more about all the projects Dr. Smith is involved in:

Great Commission Bible Institute

Christian Travel Study Programs

Outreach Ministry: www.globalvisionoutreach.org

Through the Bible: 1hour1book.com

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Dr. Randal Smith is the Director of Christian Travel Study Program and a virtual encyclopedia about biblical context. We are in the process of exploring the context of the birth narrative of Jesus, and while we assume Roman domination, it wasn't always that way! Today we discuss how Rome emerged from squalor to an empire that dominated the Mediterranean, outmaneuvering the Greeks and innovating military, economic, and political systems.

Explore more about all the projects Dr. Smith is involved in:

Great Commission Bible Institute

Christian Travel Study Programs

Outreach Ministry: www.globalvisionoutreach.org

Through the Bible: 1hour1book.com

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As we start to anticipate the time of Advent and ultimately the birth of Jesus, what are some of the contextual things we should be aware of? Each historical period had an influence on God's people. To kick off the "Advent of Advent" mini-series, we are going back to a conversation I had last year with Dr. George Athas. He is a professor at Moore College and the author of an excellent book Bridging the Testaments. Today we revisit his overview of the major time periods leading up to the Roman Empire's arrival on the scene along with his explanation of Jewish thought that makes the gospels' claim that Jesus is from the line of David so explosive.

Listen to the original podcast with Dr. Athas Here: Part 1 and Part 2

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Today is part 2 of the conversation with Dr. Melesse Woldetsadik. We are following up on the need for discernment when blaming problems on the spiritual realm. In our post-modern world we have a tendency to dismiss spiritual beings to focus on science, and yet there are moments and situations that cannot be solved through the medical world or psychiatry. But others can, right? So how do we hold all these tools and how do we know which tool is needed for a particular problem? How do we know when medicine is a valuable part of the solution and when prayer is THE solution?

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Melesse Woldetsadik is the Pastor at Beta Selam Evangelical Church in North Carolina. He has a fascinating context of growing up in Coptic Christianity and walking away from the faith only for God to pull him back through dreams and specific spiritual experiences. He had many encounters with the spiritual realm even before he decided to train to be a pastor. Come sit around the podcast table a Melesse shares with us his many experiences and what he has learned about the spiritual realm.

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