Intertwined - faith • community • ecology

Will 2026 offer you a reset?

Is our society fair? What would make it fair? What is a jubilee year? "Will 2026 offer you a reset?" is based on Leviticus 25:1-12The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a Sabbath for the LORD. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in their yield, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land, a Sabbath for the LORD: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. You may eat what the land yields during its Sabbath—you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound laborers who live with you, for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your land all its yield shall be for food.“You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years. Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the seventh month—on the Day of Atonement—you shall have the trumpet sounded throughout all your land. And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family. That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you: you shall not sow or reap the aftergrowth or harvest the unpruned vines. For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the field itself produces.Works ReferencedGustine, Adam L. and José Humphreys. Ecosystems of Jubilee: economic ethics for the neighborhood. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2023. Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. “The Book of Leviticus.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume I. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.Schwartz, Baruch J. “Leviticus.” In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.Thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Medium, Twitter, or Tik Tok. Questions? Write us at intertwinedfc@gmail.com.

No manger? No problem.

Why talk about the teachings of Jesus at Christmastime? How do his teachings create stories? What stories are Jesus-followers writing in our community?"No manger? No problem." is based on Matthew 6:14-24“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.“And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!“No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.Works ReferencedBoring, M. Eugene. “The Gospel of Matthew.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.Case-Winters, Anna. Matthew: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief: a Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Kindle edition.Cooper, Elissa. "Better than Santa: what do we know about the real St. Nicholas?" Christianity Today, Vol. 56, No. 11 (December 2012): 69.Powell, Mark Allen. Matthew (Interpretation Bible Commentary). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2025. Kindle edition.Smedes, Louis B. Quoted on BrainyQuote.com. Accessed December 19, 2025. https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/lewis-b-smedes-quotesStrong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. (n.d). 3126 mamonás: Mammon, wealth, riches. In Bible Hub.com. Retrieved December 19, 2025, from https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3126.htm Zoba, Wendy Murray. "Reclaiming Santa." Christianity Today, Vol 44, No. 14 (December 4, 2000): 42-46.Thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Medium, Twitter, or Tik Tok. Questions? Write us at intertwinedfc@gmail.com.

O Holy...

Is everything in the Bible equally relevant? Should we want to be holy? What does that mean?"O Holy..." is based on Leviticus 19:1-19The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:“Speak to all the congregation of the Israelites and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the LORD your God.“When you offer a sacrifice of well-being to the LORD, offer it in such a way that it is acceptable on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day, and anything left over until the third day shall be consumed in fire. If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be acceptable. All who eat it shall be subject to punishment, because they have profaned what is holy to the LORD, and any such person shall be cut off from the people.“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD.“You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.“You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand idly by when the blood of your neighbor is at stake: I am the LORD.“You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials.Works ReferencedBilly Graham Evangelistic Association. Decision Magazine. November 2025. https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/issues/november-2025Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. “The Book of Leviticus.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume I. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.Schwartz, Baruch J. “Leviticus.” In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.Thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Medium, Twitter, or Tik Tok. Questions? Write us at intertwinedfc@gmail.com.

That time Jesus said not to swear

What makes you trust someone? How should you react to someone abusing their authority? Is nonviolence more powerful than violence?"That time Jesus said not to swear" is based on Matthew 5:1-16 Works ReferencedBeelman, Maud. “U.S. contractors reap the windfalls of post-war reconstruction.” International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. May 7, 2012. https://www.icij.org/investigations/windfalls-war/us-contractors-reap-windfalls-post-war-reconstruction-0/ Case-Winters, Anna. Matthew: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief: a Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Kindle edition.Comstock, Lori. “Why are flags at half-staff today? Here's why flags remain lowered until Nov. 20 in PA, DE.” Delaware Online. November 18, 2025. https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2025/11/18/why-are-flags-at-half-mast-today-american-flags-half-staff-dick-cheney-funeral-shapiro-meyer-trump/87334166007/Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Article I Section 27. May 18, 1972. https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/00/00.001..HTM“Dick Cheney.” Wikipedia. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_CheneyGoodman, Amy. “‘The Dark Side’: Dick Cheney’s Legacy from Iraq Invasion to U.S. Torture Program.” Democracy Now! November 4, 2025. https://www.democracynow.org/2025/11/4/dick_cheneyLevine, Amy-Jill and Mark Zvi Brettler, editors. The Jewish Annotated New Testament, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Kindle Edition. March on Harrisburg. “Declaration of Democracy.” November 17, 2025.Powell, Mark Allen. Matthew (Interpretation Bible Commentary). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2025. Kindle edition.Saturday Night Live, season 12, episode 9. “The Honest Man.” Aired January 24, 1987 on NBC. (YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEtrT3E4vb8&t=20s) Smith, CK. “Faith under attack: More clergy arrested at ICE facility protest.” Salon. November 16, 2025. https://www.salon.com/2025/11/16/faith-under-attack-more-clergy-arrested-at-ice-facility-protest/Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs, Brown University. “Costs of War.” September 1, 2021. https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/figures/2021/WarDeathToll.Thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Medium, Twitter, or Tik Tok. Questions? Write us at intertwinedfc@gmail.com.

Creating a sacred space together

What makes something sacred? What is a worship space for? How do you encounter the divine?"Creating a sacred space together" is based on Exodus 35:30-36:7Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; he has filled him with a divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge, and with every kind of skill, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, in every kind of artistic craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every kind of work done by an artisan or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson yarns and in fine linen or by a weaver—by any sort of skilled worker or designer.“Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and understanding to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.”Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given skill, everyone whose heart was stirred to come to do the work, and they received from Moses all the offerings that the Israelites had brought for the work of constructing the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the skilled workers who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task being performed, and said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for what they had already brought was more than enough to do all the work.Works ReferencedBrueggemann, Walter. “Exodus.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume I. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.Dozeman, Thomas B. Exodus. (Eerdmans Critical Commentary). Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.Dozeman, Thomas B. “Exodus.” In Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, edited by Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page, Jr., Matthew J. M. Coomber. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014. Kindle edition.Thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Medium, Twitter, or Tik Tok. Questions? Write us at intertwinedfc@gmail.com.