Baldhead Bible Podcast

Jesus gives the greatest sermon of all time. We know it as the Sermon on the Mount. This week, we touch on this sermon, but we mainly tell the backstory of what happened after Jesus preached. We give you the story around the sermon and tell the miraculous story of the faith of a Roman Centurion. It was faith in Yahweh that the Bible says amazed even Jesus. Turn to Matthew 5 - 8 to follow along.

Jesus triumphed over Satan and his temptations, and now Jesus is ready to continue His earthly ministry. He was preaching and teaching in Nazareth, but then Jesus heard that John the Baptist was arrested. And so for His own safety, Jesus leaves Nazareth and heads north to a small fishing village called Capernaum. There Jesus begins to preach the same message that John the Baptizer preached: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." And while preaching, teaching and healing, and calling for repentance, Jesus also calls four disciples to leave all they had to find life and come follow Him. Listen to this week's story to find out who those disciples were, and what it means to repent and follow Jesus. Turn to Matthew 4 to follow along.

Jesus had just been baptized. He had heard His Father say to the world how proud He was of His son. This must have been a wonderful moment for Jesus during His short time here on earth. But now we see Jesus facing one of the darkest chapters of His life. During the next 40 days, Jesus is asked by His Father to go without food, to face wild beasts, and to wander in a hot and dangerous desert. And then, at the end of it, Jesus would have to face one of His greatest tests: He would have to face being tempted by Satan. How Jesus handles Satan's onslaught is a perfect example for us today of how to handle our daily temptations and should make us love our Savior even more. Turn to Matthew chapter four to follow along.

Who was John the Baptist? How did his ministry relate to the life and ministry of Jesus? And if Jesus was God, why did He have to be baptized? Today we tell the story of John the Baptist and the incredible honor and privilege he was given when he was chosen to baptize the son of God, and we also wrestle with the question as to why Jesus needed to be baptized by John. Listen to this week's episode to find out more. Turn to Matthew 3 to follow along.

This week we tell the story of the angelic announcement to the Shepherds of the arrival of the Messiah. How would you react if suddenly a glowing figure appeared before you? How would you handle it if all of a sudden, the place where you were standing was full of other supernatural beings all glowing with a great fire, proclaiming that a miraculous event had occured? How you would handle it,? Well, these shepherds were afraid enough that the main angel had to tell them to stop being afraid. They had good news of greaforjoy for all people. And you want to know what it was? Well, listen to this week's story and follow along in Luke chapter two to find out.

Matthew tells the story of Mary and Joseph and the virgin birth of Jesus. Now he moves on to establish that Jesus is the heir to the throne of David. He clarified that earlier when he shared the genealogy of Jesus, but now he confirms it when he tells the story of the Magi from the East who came to see the new King, and they honored Jesus as King. Listen as I share how tough it must have been for Joseph and Mary to raise Jesus in first-century Palestine. But then moments like this, meeting the Magi who came to see their little King, reminded them of the specialness of their little boy and the importance of Jesus' mission here on earth. If you want to follow along in your Bible, turn to Matthew chapter two.

What was it like to be Joseph and to hear your beloved wife-to-be tell you that she was pregnant and that the Father was God almighty? What must that have been like? I think I would not have believed her either, and instead of putting her away privily as my King James Version says, I would have divorced her loudly. But Joseph wasn't like you or me. Instead, he was a righteous man, and a loving man, and a man of great faith. Hear the story of Joseph and what he went through and what we can learn from him about how to live righteously in our chaotic, confusing times.

Moses has led the people of Israel from their mighty exodus out of Egypt to where they are now: about to enter the Promised Land. But Moses cannot lead them into the land. Because of what happened at the waters of Meribah and the act of outright rebellion against God committed by Moses, he was no longer allowed to go into the Promised Land. He had to die and go to be with Yahweh. And so Moses dies at the age of 120. In this episode, we briefly sum up his life, and we also sum up this series. In the end, the writer of Deuteronomy sums up Moses' life this way: No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. 11 He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do against the land of Egypt — to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land— 12 and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.  -- Deuteronomy 34:10-12 (CSB)

Balaam was a prophet for hire, and he had just lost a lot of money because of Israel and their God, Yahweh. For which he was angry at Israel and their God. So, as he was heading home penniless, growing angrier and angrier with each passing mile, I believe Balaam hatched a plan to get back at the people of Israel for all the money he had lost and to stick it to the God of Israel. What was that plan? Listen to this week's podcast to learn about faithful Phineas and his action that stopped a plague in its tracks. To follow along in the Bible, turn to Numbers 25.

Israel is winning battle after battle led as they are by Yahweh, the God of Israel. They are camped in the Moabite region, across the Jordan river from Jericho. The promised land is just around the corner, the people are about to see the promise God made to Abraham and Jacob fulfilled. But there is one King who is not happy. One King is hoping to stop their advance with a curse delivered through a mysterious prophet named Balaam, who says he talks to Yahweh on a regular basis, and who promises to be able to divine the very mind of God. Will this curse work? Will this curse stop Israel in its tracks? And how does a talking donkey factor into this story? Listen to this week's episode to find out. To follow along turn to Numbers 22 as that is where the story begins.

Moses and the people of Israel are getting closer to entering the Promised Land. God led them and watched over them as they took their winding, wandering route to finally end up in the land of the Moabites, home to the Amorite Kings: Sihon and Og. But these weren't just your ordinary Kings. No, these two were powerful, and also they had a bloodline that could be traced back to one of the scariest moments in human history. What was that moment, and what in particular made them so frightening? And why were they both giants? Listen to this week's fascinating story about how God used the people of Israel to defeat these powerful giant Kings on their way to the Promised Land. To follow along, turn to Numbers 21.

This week we hear the story of Moses rescuing the people of Israel with a snake. Now a snake was the shape Satan took in the garden when he deceived Eve, and generally speaking, a snake is a bad thing, but here God commands Moses to use a snake to save the people of Israel from certain death. Jesus later uses this passage from the book of Numbers to help explain what it means to be born again. If Jesus used it, then this must be a pretty important story. Listen to this week's episode to discover how snakes, Moses, and Jesus are connected, and point to a great salvation offered in Christ. Turn to Numbers 21 to follow along.

Moses and the people of Israel are back. God had commanded them to wander in the desert for 40 years until the faithless generation died, and now their children were ready to inherit the Promised Land. They were back at the southern border. But you know what else was back? Fear. Complaining. Faithlessness. The people again cried out to Moses about the lack of water to drink. They were complaining just like their parents about how they were all going to die, and if they had just stayed in Egypt, they would all have been eating well and drinking all the water they wanted. And so Moses approached Yahweh and asked for help. And God gave him an answer, and Moses pretty much obeyed every command God gave him. Except for one very vital command. And disobeying in that one area would cost Moses dearly. Do you want to know what it was? Listen to this week's episode to find out and learn that complete obedience matters to God.

The Jewish people were at the border of the Promised Land and had to turn around. They saw the grapes that were so big they had to be carried on poles. They also saw giants and became afraid for their very lives. So they ran rather than trusting in Yahweh, and for that, they paid a very heavy price: they were forced to wander in the desert for 40 years until everyone over 20 died. Unhappy with God's will, some men decided to rebel and lead a coup to try to take the leadership of the country away from Moses and Aaron. But in rebelling, they weren't simply rebelling against Moses; they were ultimately rebelling against Yahweh and His choice and will for Israel. Korah has two prominent leaders of Israel on his side and over 250 tribal leaders backing his bid for control. Things are looking bleak for Moses, and his leadership of Israel seems to be hanging in the balance. But then, the order is restored through a miraculous intervention by Yahweh. Listen to this week's episode to find out how. And to follow along,

Have you ever sung that Sunday School song about the twelve spies? If you have, you know ten were bad, and two were good. But you don't realize from that song how bad the ten other spies were. They forgot about Yahweh's promises and His miracles and chose instead to focus on the reality around them. And what you also don't realize from that famous Sunday school song is how terrifying a prospect it was to take on the giants in the land. These were not just tall people; these were giants who were the descendants of the Nephilim. And for the average Jew, the Nephilim represented a supernatural evil that would have been truly frightening. Listen on to find out the fear displayed by the ten spies and the faith demonstrated in the face of evil by Joshua and Caleb. To follow along, turn to Numbers 13 and 14.

Moses gets attacked by his sister Miriam and his brother Aaron in this week's story. But it's not Moses' fault. The man did nothing wrong, and the Bible even says in Numbers 12 that Moses was the meekest man to ever walk the face of the earth. So you know he didn't pick the fight. So what made Miriam so mad? Why did she try to tear Moses' leadership down and why did Aaron join in? Sadly, it all came down to one ugly word: jealousy. See how it started and the miraculous way that Yahweh stopped Miriam and Aaron dead in their attempt at a hostile takeover. Turn to Numbers 12 to follow along with this week's story.

Moses and the people of Israel spent roughly a year at Mount Sinai meeting with God and receiving the 10 commandments and directions on how to build the tabernacle. But now they are on the move on their way to the Promised Land with Yahweh and the Ark of the Covenant leading the way. But along the way, there arises a group of people the Bible calls riffraff, a rabble, and they begin to complain about how the LORD is treating them, particularly in what they are eating. They crave something more than manna, what they desire is meat, and they begin to question the goodness of God in not satisfying their cravings. What happens next is a good reminder of the tragedy that comes when we live by our appetites rather than the word of God. To follow along, turn to Numbers 10 - 11.

The day has finally arrived. Roughly eight months after arriving at Mount Sinai, the Tabernacle is ready to be built. It took 80 days of listening to specific directions from God on the exact dimensions of each piece of furniture, how each covering was to look, and how all the objects in the courtyard were to look. It was time to put all the various parts together and build the Tabernacle where Yahweh would come to reside to be with His people. Listen to this week's podcast as we recount the story of the Glory of the Lord filling the Tabernacle and as Moses remembers the blessings of Yahweh as we wrap up the book of Exodus. Join us by turning to Exodus 40 and following along.

Moses is desperate. Yahweh is so fed up with the people of Israel that He will not allow His presence to be with them anymore. He is afraid they are so stubborn and sinful that His anger will break out and kill them. So Yahweh has decided not to lead the people of Israel into the promised land anymore. The people are devastated when they hear the news: God almighty will no longer be with them. What are they going to do? How can the people possibly take on the powerful tribes around them and the giant clans that await them in the promised land without the presence of God with them? They can't, and they know it, and Moses knows it. So Moses goes to the tent of meeting to intercede for the people. Will Yahweh listen? Will Moses find favor in the eyes of the Lord and change the mind of God so that He is willing to lead them and be with them once again? Listen to this week's story from Exodus 33 and 34 to find out.

Moses had been gone for a very long time. He had been gone for forty days and nights, for over a month, and the people wanted a leader. They wanted a god like the ones they left in Egypt. They were probably starting to doubt the love of Yahweh for them, and maybe some of them tried to take control of the nation, and now that Moses was gone, perhaps some of them saw their chance. So they confronted Aaron, and they demanded a new god. And so Aaron gave them a god. And what is about to happen next will lead to many deaths and nearly destroy them as a nation.