The Yellow Balloons Podcast

S 7 Ep 15: Stirred

In this episode we continue to explore the implication of Jesus as our high priest. It helps to start with the end in mind, to examine what spiritual maturity is and what the ministry of Jesus as high priest does for us. A key part of the process is to wrestle with our guilt and overcome it by boldly approaching the throne of grace. The great gift of Jesus as the high priest is that it gives us access to God. Righteousness comes from the heart, not from rules and laws. And the heart is stirred most effectively through intimacy with God.

S 7 Ep 16: A New Heart

In this episode, we continue exploring The Book of Hebrews by looking back to a passage in Deuteronomy. God has always wanted what is best for His people. Moving the law from a stuffy, external obligation into a matter of the heart is the big idea all of Scripture leads us to. To tease this out further, we go through an overview of the history of the Jews and take a look at the New Covenant. Jesus is the better priest and the better sacrifice because He helps move the law from something outside us to something within us. We are given a new heart.

S 7 Ep 17: The Better Way

In this episode we look at Hebrews Eight and the early section of Chapter Nine. We are introduced to the idea that the tabernacle is a copy of heaven, a hint at the Divine. A promise that is further revealed in the presence of Jesus. We are discovering why Jesus is the better priest, better sacrifice, and better covenant. And what that means for us. There are many contrasts with the old ways and the better ways. Being born again is a baptism into the better way.

S 7 Ep 18: In the Throne Room

In this episode, we rush headlong into some of the most controversial passages in the Bible. A possible interpretation arises to address the paradox found in many of these challenging teachings. We then move to Hebrews, Chapter Ten, which tells us we should live our lives in the throne room. We are relational creatures. We don’t thrive by becoming isolated and trying to fix ourselves. We ought to live in intimacy and obedience to God, the better way. We have the opportunity to live as servant-kings on the earth, reflecting and participating in God’s glory.

S 7 Ep 19: The Path to Maturity

We start to see a new structure develop within Hebrews that brings the book into fuller life. We talked about the first three better statements in the last episode and in this episode we explore the next three betters: Better son, under a better administration, within a better world. The whole book of Hebrews is pointing us toward maturity, a better way of living, and a true perspective that binds it all together. We are called to a holistic view of salvation spanning from rebirth all the way to a restored creation.

S 7 Ep 20: Something More

In this episode, we find ourselves wrestling with some tricky passages in chapter Ten of The Book of Hebrews. They are tricky because of our cultural predisposition, the ways we think and understand the world. To help unlock their meaning, we have to step into the cultural context for which they were written. Jesus invites us into greatness. But we are often hard of hearing. We are being offered something excellent and yet we return to play in the mud. When we do our own thing we trample on the work Jesus has done and miss out on the opportunity for something more.

S 7 Ep 21: The Fear

We begin a big picture overview of the last several chapters of The Book of Hebrews, and explore the meaning behind the phrase “the fear of God”. Elsewhere in Scripture, it says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. So understanding what is meant by fearing God is crucial for living a wise life. It affects our concept of God’s love and informs our approach to pleasing Him. In light of this, we revisit the six “betters” and more ways to apply all of this to our daily behavior.

S 7 Ep 22: Heroes

In this episode, we look at some characters in the Hall of Faith found in Hebrews eleven. What can we learn from these characters? What made them so noteworthy? What opportunity do we have to be faith superheroes? We are all given an inheritance. But it takes courage to possess it and wisdom to steward it. When we walk in the spirit we fulfill the law, discover the joys and benefits of obedience, and find there is great fulfillment in pleasing God.

S 7 Ep 23: Running the Race

In this episode we look at one more “better statement”, the seventh in The Book of Hebrews, as well as a pivotal and important verse. We explore what it means to despise shame and how to apply it to the life we steward. The author of Hebrews wants us to strive to look more like Jesus. There is joy set before us. We are called to pursue that joy, talk about it with one another, and ponder it often. There is, after all, a prize at the end of the race.

S 7 Ep 24: Enduring Shame

In this episode, we take a deeper look at what The Book of Hebrews says about shame. We start by exploring the kind of shame Jesus endured and the call on our lives to join Him in both His glory and his suffering. Jesus encountered a lot of pain during his time on the earth. He was betrayed by his close friends, arrested, denied by another close friend, and ultimately killed. Pilate chose political power over Jesus’ life. The crowd chose to spare Barabbas rather than Jesus. How does Jesus respond to the shame hurled upon him and what does his response say about ours?