Observations from the Word by The Barking Fox

Making Special Occasions Special

We move through our lives with the expectation that our Creator exists to make life special for us. What if it's the other way around?
Leviticus 1:1-6:7; Isaiah 43:21-44:23; Genesis 3:1-24; Psalm 51:1-19; John 4:21-24; Romans 12:1-2; Revelation 21:9-26
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Making Special Occasions Special
Music: "Simple Gifts,” American Shaker Melody by Joseph Brackett, performed by Tim Cooper and Patrick Cannell, YouTube Audio Library, November 2019. Listen to the complete audio on Youtube at https://youtu.be/8fBdKkUYFhM.
Photo: My 6th birthday party had a circus theme, with me as ringmaster in a red coat and top hat. (McCarn family photo, June 8, 1968.)

Vision and A Willing Heart

Our Messiah is building His Kingdom with people who are both willing contributors and people of vision. That's because those who lack one or the other eventually end up building their own kingdoms.
Exodus 35:1-40:38; 1 Kings 7:13-8:21; Proverbs 29:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; 1 Peter 5:1-11
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Vision and A Willing Heart
Music: "Be Thou My Vision,” Celtic Worship, Homeward, Oak Ridge Records 2019. See the official video on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiukM6WHQEQ. Celtic Worship’s music is available at https://celticworship.co.uk/. 
Photo by Angelica Lasala, March 27, 2010, via Flickr.

Recycled Kingdom

These days we're supposed to recycle everything. That's actually something we learned from our Creator. He's been in the recycling business from the beginning - especially when it comes to people.
Exodus 30:11-34:35; 1 Kings 18:1-39; Luke 22:23-31; Acts 5:1-11; 1 John 4:7-10
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Recycled Kingdom
Music: "Psalm 29,” Exodus Road Band, The Tree, Exodus Road Records 2017. See the official video on Youtube at https://youtu.be/FAIGcDYXHVI. This song and others by Exodus Road Band are available at https://www.exodusroadband.com/. 
Photo by Andrew, October 26, 2008, via Flickr.

Clothes Make the Man

Do clothes reflect character, or does character influence clothing choice? And what relevance does that question have to God's people?
Exodus 27:20-30:10; Ezekiel 43:10-27; Matthew 22:1-14; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Clothes Make the Man
Music: "Made to Leave” (feat. Mason Clover), Exodus Road Band, Hard Rain, Exodus Road Band 2018. See the official video on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_w1EGc78Y4. This song and others by Exodus Road Band are available at https://www.exodusroadband.com/.
Photo by Dave Bledsoe, August 17, 2014, via Flickr.

Stewards and Tenants

The transition from tenant to homeowner is more than simply exchanging a rent payment for a mortgage. This transition involves a change of identity that teaches us something about the changes our Creator brings us as we let Him.
Exodus 25:1-27:19; 1 Kings 5:12-6:13; Genesis 1:28; Revelation 3:20-22
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Stewards and Tenants
Music: "Born at Home,” Solomon O. Lopez, The Born At Home Collections, The Hebraism Project 2014. To hear more of Solomon’s music, visit The Hebraism Project on YouTube.
Photo by Guy Kilroy, July 15, 2014, via Flickr.

Bottom Rail on Top

If God really sees all people equally, why are inequalities built into His word? Is He really unfair, or is there something wrong with us?
Exodus 21:1-24:18; Isaiah 2:1-4; Jeremiah 33:25-26, 34:8-22; Matthew 19:3-9; Galatians 3:28-29; Colossians 3:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:1-2; Titus 2:1-15
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Bottom Rail on Top
Music: "Patriotic Medley March No. 2: Adjutant’s Call – Marching Through Georgia – Battle Cry of Freedom – Kingdom Coming – Dixie,” Victor Military Band, Victor (35657-A, 1917. The full recording is available at The Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/78_patriotic-medley-march-no-2_victor-military-band_gbia0413684a.
Photo: Split rail fence along a dirt road. Photo by Janine, October 23, 2011, via Flickr.

Delegation of Fire

The fact that our Creator delegated authority over the earth to our first ancestors indicates that He intended all of us to walk out some degree of leadership in our own spheres of influence. An essential part of that involves how we respond to the leadership of others, whether over us, or over their own spheres of influence.
Exodus 18:1-20:26; Isaiah 6:1-7:5, 9:6-7; Acts 6:1-6, 10:34-35, 17:22-31; Romans 2:14-15, 27; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Delegation of Fire
Music: "Come Thou Fount,” Celtic Worship, Morningtide, Integrity Music 2021. See the official video on Youtube at https://youtu.be/XKOoeTbjSeI. Celtic Worship’s music is available at https://celticworship.co.uk/. 
Photo: Kindling a fire, by Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P., March 29, 2014, via Flickr.

Forever War

If war is so terrible, why do we embrace it so easily? Maybe the answer is more complicated than we like to think. It's one thing to desire peace, but it's quite another to endure willingly all that is required to attain true peace.
Exodus 13:17-17:16, Judges 4:4-5:31; Deuteronomy 25:17-19; Isaiah 2:4, 9:6-7; Jeremiah 6:13-16; Ezekiel 13:8-16; Ephesians 6:10-17; Philippians 4:4-7; Hebrews 4:4-12, 8:8-12, 11:1-6; Revelation 6:3-4
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Forever War
Music: "Three Little Drummers from the George Washington Show,” The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, Celebrating 50 Years 1960-2010, Naxos Classical 2011. 
Picture: World War I - War of Destruction. Image by Diego Sideburns, August 3, 2014, via Flickr.