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Welcome to Redemption’s Table – a fresh ingredient podcast. Every week I will sit down to this table with a Special Guest, share a restaurant meal or cup of coffee or an ice cream cone, and engage in a recorded podcast conversation, on site, with redemption as the main course. You’re invited to join in on this flavorful adventure that will accentuate the reality of redemption in the lives of everyday people like you and me. A reality that, I believe, finds its ultimate expression in Jesus of ...
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Welcome to a different kind of Redemption's Table. Normally our episodes are for everybody, but today's story is particularly addressed to American Christians. It's a sojourn to a forgotten place that begins with a forgotten harvest - and harvest and Thanksgiving usually go hand in hand. The vision begins in a field of corn in a high mountain meado…
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Have you ever been to a place where past, present, and future come together before you? Where you can reflect on the expanse of what has already swept by and ponder the volume of all that is yet to come? Have you ever stood on the brink of a waterfall? A waterfall is nature's hourglass. Host Robert Barge has stood on the brink of Lower Falls of the…
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You are a human GoPro and your soul is recording every nanosecond of your life! To some degree, you're taking it all in. Your internal audio and video recorders are receiving data at an incredible shutter speed. And even though your memory capacity is enormous, you can't recall it all, but it is amazing how much your soul does remember. Welcome to …
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I first met Peter Scott when I walked into his place of business in Montgomery Alabama almost 10 years ago. His office wall was filled with photographs he had taken from Yellowstone National Park. We struck up a conversation and became fast friends. Pete worked in Yellowstone back during his college days. He has since visited our first National Par…
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There's a phenomenon that takes place within us when we spend three days in the great outdoors. It's called "the 3-day effect." Three days in nature can reset our brains. And after those three days, our ability to problem solve goes up, our inductive reasoning goes up, and we become more creative. When we step out of life as we know it and into lif…
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"Everybody I know says they need just one thing And what they really mean is they need just one thing more." - Rich Mullins. Everyone has a life song. Or if you're like me, you have dozens of life songs. But through the years, one seems to keep rising to the top. Rich Mullins' My One Thing is that song for me. It's a song about Jesus - my one thing…
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Confluence. A place where two or more rivers or streams merge together. Confluences fill me with wonder. I want to journey upstream to find the headwaters of every tributary. A confluence is kind of like a reversed fork in the road made of water. Wherever you are right now is a confluence. Think back over your summer. What were your favorite tables…
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The Holy Trinity is a wondrous mystery. You know the certainty of the Truth of it - and yet, it blows your mind. Absolutely amazing how Truth and Wonder come together in the glorious reality of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But there is also an unholy trinity that lurks beneath the surface of enough churches and denomination…
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Do you hear the song? The song that is all around you right now. Do you hear that? It's a song being sung especially over you. It's a Voice that never ceases to sing to you. And when you hear it, it makes all the difference in how you live your life. "And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." …
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A Conversation with Special Guest: Steph Cherry It is always a delight to bring Steph Cherry to the Table. You never know what or who might wander through the conversation. There might be a tornado in the backyard or a birthday visit with a capybara at a local petting zoo or the art of being an uncommon friend during someone else's difficult season…
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Your soul has a unique speed. It is not in a hurry. It does not travel at the speed of our world nor our culture. It travels at the speed of Light - the Light of the world. Your soul is in need of nourishment. It must be fed and there is only one real source of food. C.S. Lewis wrote, "God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is…
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It's intermission! The curtain has dropped on the first half of the movie. The band has stepped off the stage to take a break. The first half of this year's journey is about to pass the baton to the second half. It's the perfect time to re-examine where we've come from and fine tune where we're going. And all are encouraged to do just that. Let's a…
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Courtney Ellis is a bird enthusiast, a pastor, and an author. Her newest book is Looking Up: A Birder's Guide to Hope through Grief. She also hosts a wonderful podcast called The Thing with Feathers. Today's episode is a whimsical, ornithological, and theological swoop through Jesus' beatitudes from His Sermon on the Mount. I asked Courtney to pair…
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I remember my family's first color television. I came home from school one day as a boy and there it was in our den. I sprawled out in the floor and watched the Sergeant Jack Show, featuring Dick Tracy cartoons, on Channel 42 out of Birmingham. I was enthralled. I was drawn in to the screen and would sometimes sit so close, I could see the hundreds…
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Consider your worship. In the first 22 weeks of 2024, what worship moments have been most memorable to you? Worship is an easy word to ignore. It's wrapped in plain brown paper. We imagine we could guess the content of today's Table without opening or listening. Yet, it's the very thing that can calm and rattle your life at the same time. God is re…
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Welcome to our 150th Redemption's Table! I am learning how to host a podcast. I now have 150 episodes of practice. And I think the secret is to not take yourself too seriously while taking your guest and your subject very seriously. Come join us for some fun as the host becomes the guest and I get grilled by three of the sharpest people I know. Alo…
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I like the word navigate. I like the images that come to mind when I ponder that word. It falls into a category of simplicity, of a way of life that brims with more intensity, with more pure oxygen than any artificial substitute our culture keeps seducing us to embrace. To navigate is to know where we are, and to know where we want to go. Once thos…
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Eclipse. Last month, millions in North America migrated both near and far to fall under the wonder of a moon shadow for a few, brief moments. A total solar eclipse. Calypso. A musical style which originated in Trinidad, Tobago, and spread throughout the West Indies of the Caribbean. Eclypso. A combination of two familiar words to inspire a brand ne…
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Conversation with Special Guest: Raymond Turner Recorded Live in Sparklefly Studio in CookChildren's Medical Center - Fort Worth, Texas. We step in and out of sacred spaces every day, oft times unaware. But every now and then, we are overwhelmed from the outside in and the inside out simultaneously, just by being where we are. That's how I felt whe…
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A Very Special 5th Birthday Table Episode Featuring Special Guest: Chris McLane Originally Recorded July 19th, 2019 - Dinner and Conversation at Mooyah’s Burgers in Birmingham, Alabama. Originally Released July 22nd, 2019 Redemption's Table was launched 5 Years Ago today - April 22, 2019. And since then, 146 episodes have been released. The origina…
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Lunch and Conversation with Special Guest: Larry Cobb Recorded Live at Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill in Montgomery, Alabama. I believe my good friend Larry Cobb has discovered the secret sauce of fatherhood. During today's live table over Salsarita's two taco special, Larry never uses the term "secret sauce," but I think he's found what it is. He…
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Thomas was one of Jesus' 12 disciples. He has unfortunately been labeled as a doubter. He missed Jesus' first post-resurrection appearance to His disciples. He had a backstage VIP pass to the greatest event in all of history and he didn't even show up. One Sunday later, Jesus and Thomas finally came face to face. Thank God for the oddball and the o…
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SURPRISE WIDE OPEN All around the world tonight the ultimate Table of Redemption will be remembered and celebrated. The bread and the wine Jesus shared with His disciples would become the flesh and the blood sacrificed for all, less than 24 hours after they shared the meal. It's Holy Week! A week full of surprise. Surprise wide open. When it comes …
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Spring arrived a little early this year. It happened Tuesday night - March 19 at 10:06 pm CST. We crossed the equatorial line once again where day and night are everywhere on earth, for just a brief moment, of approximate equal length. Of course, we didn't literally step across that line. Earth glided across like a curling stone, and you & I - well…
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Today is March 14, 2024. It's just an ordinary day. It's not the Oscars. Not yet the Ides of March or St. Patrick's Day. A little too early for Spring Equinox or Palm Sunday. It's just an ordinary day in your life. Or is it? Do you know what happened on all the March 14ths of your life? Because what you can do today, you can do the other 365 days a…
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Complete this sentence: I delight in ........ I posed this open-ended declaration to several of my friends. And as their responses came tumbling in, I knew today's Table was gonna truly be something special! Delight is a word most of us don't use often enough. Gratitude is like the map of our entire journey; delight is the buried treasure. So, come…
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All of us find ourselves in seasons where it seems our lives are struggling upward through the dark. Angels Landing in Zion National Park is often considered one of the most dangerous trails in the National Park System. I hiked it in the dark with rain in the forecast at a time when my climbing legs were not in peak physical condition. I almost did…
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According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a curio is "something considered novel, rare, or bizarre." A memento is "something that serves to warn or remind." Today's light hearted episode encourages you to look around; go on a treasure hunt and search for curios, mementos, and everyday Ebenezers. Don't know what an Ebenezer is? We're glad you ask…
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Before you awakened this morning, God was in His kitchen preparing fresh, new recipes of steadfast love and mercy, and Jesus was already setting the table for your day as it began. Don't miss the meal. The greatest opportunity you may have to taste something unbelievably wonderful this week, could be the one you far too readily overlook. Let Jesus …
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Breakfast and Conversation with Special Guest: Alex Hettinga Recorded Live at Vintage Cafe in Montgomery, Alabama. It doesn't take long to hear the heart of today's special guest Alex Hettinga. His conversation always weaves back to family and fatherhood. Alex is a husband, a father of two children, a classical violinist and violist, and the Senior…
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It is February and I am still singing Christmas songs. One carol in particular I sing all year long because of two words in its title that deeply connect with my soul. Wonder and wander. "I wonder as I wander out under the sky." Today's episode ponders three questions: - How often are you struck with wonder? - What evokes wonder in you? - Do you co…
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Soul down. Not as in, "Why are you downcast, O my soul?" (Psalm 43:5), but more like "Slow your soul down." You are carrying way too much weight. You are accelerating at way too fast a speed. Soul down. You will need a deeper anchor to navigate all you are called to do in any given day, as well as all the activities the world pitches your way. Soul…
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A Conversation With Special Guest: Steph Cherry The year is barely begun and most New Year's resolutions are still being pursued. How are you doing with yours? I am delighted to sit down with Special Guest Steph Cherry. Steph is a therapist, life coach, chef to the homeless, a well of deep wisdom, and my good friend. And today we will be encouragin…
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Twenty-five years ago, I came across an article about Taos Pueblo in Northern New Mexico. Every year the Pueblo Indians who live around Taos observe "the time of being still." From December 15th to January 15th, the pueblo shuts down from the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life and observes a whole month of silent contemplation. Imagine an en…
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On Christmas Day, I found myself slipping into a booth at my local Waffle House and was immediately struck how it felt like slipping into a church pew. The Spirit of Jesus was present amidst the eggs, bacon, and waffles. Where are the places and when were the moments when Christmas found you this year? What spoke Christmas to you, and what did it s…
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Tonight is the longest night of the year! Winter Solstice! This special seasonal episode offers three perspectives on this dark night. First, there is the phenomenal wonder of nature that tonight is. Something magnificent is happening in our ecliptic journey through space tonight. Second, there is a personal story about the joy of this night for me…
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'Tis the season for familiar stories. George Bailey returns to the battle of Bedford Falls as Charlie Brown continues his search for the perfect Christmas tree. And Mary and Joseph journey once again to the little town of Bethlehem. The true Christmas story of the birth of Jesus is the story bizarre. It is a mysterious, wonderful gift that invites …
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Welcome to the concluding episode of a six-part series from 2021 - "Wrestling with God in the Season of Job." In the final chapters of his arduous journey, Job is down for the count. God shows up in a fury. All of Job's questions dissolve in a storm of generous mercy. Perhaps the ashes & questions are still fresh in your story. Perhaps it seems God…
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You have a voice. You have a voice print. You've been given a voice no one else has, because it flows out of a heart uniquely created in you by Your Creator. Today's episode encourages us to spend some time curiously pondering, "What is my voice?" "What are the themes in my life that resonate deep within?" "How can I use my voice to encourage other…
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THE WELL OF THE SOULS A few October days in Yosemite found me sitting on the edge of a valley full of thought pondering faith, boring Christianity, and a lack of curiosity among the faithful. I listened to God breathe in the solitude and babble in the waterfall. Indiana Jones crashed through my reverie on his way to freedom and a hippie prophet pop…
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Welcome to the fifth session of a six-part series from 2021 - "Wrestling with God in the Season of Job." Back then, the world was emerging from a year-long hiatus. It was one of the harshest seasons many of us had ever known and it brought a lot of pain to the surface of our lives. Today's episode begins towards the end of Job's story. He is ready …
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Welcome to the fourth session of a six-part series from 2021 - "Wrestling with God in the Season of Job." The world was emerging from a year-long hiatus then and many felt as though they were living this story. I am convinced many still are. And that's what makes Job's story relevant for our generation. Today's episode begins halfway through Job's …
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I met my first sequoia tree a little over a year ago. If you want to feel young on your birthday, visit a sequoia. He was over 1600 years older than me. Today's episode is about trees and autumn - my favorite season of the year. It's about the mystery of watching God's dream unfold in ways you never could have imagined. It's about birthdays and seq…
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A Conversation with Special Guest: Lisa Miller There is a sacred place where heavenly exchanges are made - beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of despair, healing for illness, disease, and heartache, trust for fear, grace for forgiveness, restoration for brokenness. Today's special guest Lisa Miller k…
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A Conversation with Special Guest: Andre Moubarak Imagine growing up on the path of the greatest journey ever taken. Imagine playing in the footsteps of Jesus. Imagine exploring the winding Way of Suffering with the curiosity of a child. Today's special guest, Andre Moubarak, describes Jesus' famous Via Dolorosa as "my playground and my battlegroun…
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A Conversation With Special Guest: Gerald Zgabay Faith journeys seldom zipline from point A to point B. It's more like a zigzag across spinning terrain. The distance between who we are on our own and who God created us to become can be dizzying and daunting. We all look like human tie dyes on the way to discovering Jesus. Today's Table with husband…
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The Old Testament Book of Job is like walking across a brutal desert with someone with a hole in their canteen. It is a long season's stretch across low terrain. Job was in a season of loss and his so-called friends circled him like vultures attempting to pick apart his languishing faith. No one expects a mountain top moment in a valley this deep. …
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A Conversation With Special Guest: Bethany Garth Every moment worth living comes gift wrapped in challenge. Every hit and miss adventure is born out of dream. For today's special guest Bethany Garth and her husband Dave, the possibility of an around the world bicycle trip was first proposed on their third date. And that's just the beginning of this…
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A Conversation With Singer-Songwriter: J Lind He's a poet collecting seashells on the streets of Manhattan. He's a husband and gifted songwriter in his third year of medical school. He's a student and observer of subway moments and human interaction. And sometimes those collections and recollections become lyrics, and sometimes a single day becomes…
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All of us have walked through seasons where it seemed God had nothing to say to us. This can be a little disconcerting, especially when we have well-meaning friends who presume to speak in God's place. Welcome to this second of a six-part Table series from 2021- Wrestling with God in the Season of Job. When this was originally shared, participants …
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