Exploring My Strange Bible - Tim Mackie

Latest Episodes:

A Severe Mercy (Remastered) Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

The Amazing Jonah E3 — After he is thrown into the sea and swallowed by a fish, Jonah utters a strange and beautifully intricate poem from inside the fish’s belly. He is in a moment of crisis that is actually God’s way of bringing him to the end of himself. How can Jonah’s experience invite us to think about the moments of crisis in our own lives? In this message, Tim teaches from chapter 2 on this heavily ironic yet powerful moment in Jonah’s story. This message was given on August 18, 2013, at Door of Hope Church in Portland, Oregon.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

“Nob Hill Instrumental” by Drexler

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Aaron Olsen edited and remastered today's episode. JB Witty does our show notes. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

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Asleep at the Wheel (Remastered) Dec 12, 2025

Show notes

The Amazing Jonah E2 — Jonah is portrayed as God’s prophet, but ironically, he is the only person in the book who refuses to listen to God. How can this story invite us to consider our own lack of perception and awareness of God’s voice in our lives? In this message, Tim explores Jonah chapter 1, looking at the many ways that the prophet seems unable to hear God directly or through anything else that God sends his way. This message was given on August 11, 2013, at Door of Hope Church in Portland, Oregon.

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene H. Peterson
Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

“Nob Hill Instrumental” by Drexler

SHOW CREDITS

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Running From Your Life (Remastered) Dec 05, 2025

Show notes

The Amazing Jonah E1 — Many of us know the story of Jonah as the prophet who gets swallowed by a whale. And while that is part of the story, it’s only a couple sentences in a longer narrative. So who is Jonah? Why did he flee from God and board a boat to Tarshish? And why is his story even in the Bible? In this first message of a five-part series, Tim lays the groundwork for exploring Jonah’s story and also ponders why Jonah runs from God’s vision for his life—a choice we all face at some level in our lives. This message was given on August 4, 2013, at Door of Hope Church in Portland, Oregon.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

In the introduction, Tim references his professor, Dr. Ray Lubeck, who taught him to read the Bible as Hebrew literature. While it is not mentioned by name, Dr. Lubeck’s core work on the Bible as literature is Read the Bible for a Change: Understanding and Responding to God's Word.
Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

“Nob Hill Instrumental” by Drexler

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Aaron Olsen edited and remastered today's episode. JB Witty does our show notes.

Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What Is the Kingdom of Heaven? Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

After his baptism and testing in the wilderness, Jesus leaves Nazareth for Capernaum. There, he begins his public ministry, inviting fishermen to follow him and calling on people to “repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near.” So what is the “Kingdom of Heaven,” and what does it mean that it has come near? In this message, Tim teaches from Matthew 4:12-25 on Jesus’ beginning proclamation, the call of the first disciples, and his pattern of Kingdom teaching and healing, which still challenges how we order our lives and values today.

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

“Nob Hill Instrumental” by Drexler

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Aaron Olsen edited and remastered today's episode. JB Witty does our show notes.

Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Meaning of Hope (Remastered) Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

Hope is an important virtue that God’s people have actively cultivated for thousands of years. And the messianic hope we see throughout the Hebrew Bible is a kind of hope that followers of Jesus still need today. So what does this hope look like for us now as we wait for Jesus to return and fulfill all of the Bible’s promises? In this message from the Advent season, Tim explores a number of passages from the book of Isaiah, focusing on how what we hope for shapes what we live for.

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

“Nob Hill Instrumental” by Drexler

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Aaron Olsen edited and remastered today's episode. JB Witty does our show notes.

Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

(Re)introducing Exploring My Strange Bible Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

In 2016, we began releasing this collection of sermons and lectures that Tim Mackie gave over almost twenty years as a teaching pastor and professor. Then in 2019, we stopped releasing new episodes because that was all of Tim’s teaching! But starting today, we’re excited to begin re-releasing the episodes, now remastered and sounding much better. Plus, we’ll occasionally drop in a new sermon or lecture that Tim has given in the years since the conclusion of the show’s original run. In this short introduction, Tim shares his own story of going from life as an aimless skateboarder in Portland, to encountering Jesus, to becoming a Bible scholar, pastor, and co-founder of BibleProject.

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

“Nob Hill Instrumental” by Drexler

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today's episode, with support from Aaron Olsen. Tyler Bailey also provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes.

Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

An Update From Tim Apr 08, 2019

Show notes

A message from Tim to let everyone know that we will be putting this podcast on pause for now. It will remain active online so you can still listen or re-listen to his sermons.

If you want to hear more from Tim, check out The Bible Project Podcast: https://thebibleproject.com/podcasts/the-bible-project-podcast/

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The Crocus Flower and the Empty Tomb - Gospel of Matthew Part 35 Feb 11, 2019

Show notes

This story has changed the course of human history over the past 2,000 years. Of course the story is profound, but the IMPLICATIONS of what it means to the history of our universe leading up to Jesus’ resurrection is incredible. This teaching is a reflection about the significance of Easter.

Jesus walking out of the empty tomb offered a whole new history of the world.

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The Blood Cries Out - Gospel of Matthew Part 34 Jan 28, 2019

Show notes

We are in the final moments of Jesus’ story, and we focus on his trial, but also the story in Matthew about Judas after his betrayal of Jesus. Judas experiences extreme remorse and ends up committing suicide.

These are grim stories, but they are very important insights into human conditions. You can see how Judas became trapped in his black hole of terrible decisions and how they destroyed him. It’s a very sobering and sobering portrait of the human condition.

I think you’ll find these stories profound and interesting while they address some of life’s biggest questions.

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Panic Attack - Gospel of Matthew Part 33 Jan 13, 2019

Show notes

We’ve come to (from my perspective) one of the most profound, mysterious, and almost terrifying stories of the Gospel. It is the story of Jesus right before he gets arrested and executed.

He took his friends and followers to a small olive grove and he was disappointed by their inability to stay awake… his closest people fail him at the moment that he needs them the most. So then Jesus turns to God and multiple times he asks that he not have to go through the arrest and execution. It was so scary that Jesus actually experienced a panic attack.

This story tells us so much about Jesus’ experience with God and it blows my mind. Listen in and we’ll learn together.

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