The BEMA Podcast is a walk-through of the context of the Bible and the Text itself, as well as surrounding history. We deconstruct our common readings of the Bible and attempt to reconstruct them through the lens of historical context. The main body of work is contained in Seasons 1–5, and we encourage you to start with episode 0 (or even -1) and continue in order through episode 204. Beyond that, we explore new topics, revisit old topics, and dive deeper into practical ways of living out the things we have learned together. BEMA Discipleship is a ministry of Impact Campus Ministries.
Episodes
523- · 57 min518: Women in Joshua & Judges — Deborah
Brent Billings and Reed Dent join Elle Grover Fricks to forge ahead into the story of Deborah. Films Referenced in BEMA 518 — Letterboxd
- · 59 min517: The Gospel of Being Human
Brent Billings interviews Marty Solomon and Reed Dent about their new book, The Gospel of Being Human. The Gospel of Being Human by Marty Solomon and Reed Dent BEMA 317: Asking Better Questions of the Bible w/ Erin Geiselman Marty’s Appearances Why Some Books Stay with Us Forever, featuring Caitlyn Carlson and Olivia Eldredge — Good Books, Big Questions Podcast Heartland Tour 2026 (photo gallery)
- · 1h 1m516: Women in Joshua & Judges — Akhsah
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks unearth the story of Akhsah.
- · 53 min515: Women in Joshua & Judges — Daughters of Zelophehad
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings join Elle Grover Fricks to investigate the story of the first biblical class action lawsuit. “Absolutely (Story of a Girl)” by Nine Days — YouTube “Story of a Squirrel” by ApologetiX — YouTube Between the Lions — Wikipedia
- · 56 min514: Women in Joshua & Judges — Rahab
Brent Billings and Reed Dent join Elle Grover Fricks to scout out the story of the surprise matriarch in Jesus’s family tree.
- · 54 min513: Women in Joshua & Judges — Introduction
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings join Elle Grover Fricks to unspool the context of Joshua and Judges. The Unseen Realm by Michael S. Heiser
- · 2h512: Ten Years of BEMA (Live in Boise)
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, Reed Dent, Elle Grover Fricks, unofficial co-host Zack Dean, and more than a hundred of our lovely podrishioners are celebrating ten years of the BEMA Podcast by looking back and looking forward (and having a little fun) in Boise, Idaho. Watch the Video Version of This Episode (YouTube) Intertextual.Bible Sinai Escape on Apple Music Sinai Escape on Spotify BEMA Merch Store The Gospel of Being Human by Marty Solomon and Reed Dent
- · 1h 2m511: Dieula Previlon — Does God See Me?
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks are joined by special guest Dieula Previlon, the founder and executive director of ElevateHer International Ministries with a vision to empower women to heal from trauma and thrive. She is a counselor in private practice and an ordained minister. Her professional career in counseling, coaching, pastoring, and international ministry spans more than twenty years. Does God See Me? by Dieula M. Previlon “Sounding An Alarm!” by Rev. Traci Blackmon — My View from Hagar’s Porch ElevateHer International Ministries Dieula Previlon’s website Special Guest: Dieula Previlon.
- · 42 min510: The Four Pillars — Soul Wrestling
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Reed Dent reflect on the most famous wrestling match in the Bible. BEMA 14: Grappling with God, Part 2 Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark by James K. A. Smith Cenote — Wikipedia
- · 42 min509: The Four Pillars — Don’t Let Go
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks burrow into three different ways to wrestle. Intertextual.Bible Sefaria Library BEMA 120: Truth and Light BEMA 502: The Four Pillars — Community BEMA 24: Creating a Space
- · 49 min508: The Four Pillars — Wrestling
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings begin the last leg of the journey through the Four Pillars, examining the commitment to wrestling. The Sin of Certainty by Peter Enns The Evangelical Imagination by Karen Swallow Prior The Gospel of Being Human by Marty Solomon and Reed Dent “Gulliver’s Travels: Week 13” by Karen Swallow Prior Artemis II — Wikipedia Pontius Pilate Discovers He’s in the Apostles’ Creed — YouTube Book Tour Dates Aberfeldy [Scottish town] — Wikipedia Dunkeld Cathedral — Wikipedia Fire of Notre-Dame — Wikipedia Curious by Ian Leslie Big Wheel (tricycle) — Wikipedia
- · 33 min507: The Four Pillars — Discipleship as a Forge
Brent Billings and Reed Dent consider how to create the right conditions for discipleship. The Pastor by Eugene H. Peterson The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon
- · 56 min506: The Four Pillars — Talmid & Morah
Marty Solomon, Brent Billings, and Elle Grover Fricks nurture the roots of the third pillar, discipleship.
- · 51 min505: The Four Pillars — Discipleship
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the third of BEMA’s four pillars, being challenged by the historical setting and practice of discipleship. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim Nahum M. Sarna — Wikipedia Shmuel Safrai — Wikipedia David Flusser — Wikipedia Quest for the Historical Jesus — Wikipedia Albert Schweitzer — Wikipedia Rudolf Bultmann — Wikipedia Dead Sea Scrolls — Wikipedia N. T. Wright — Wikipedia E. P. Sanders — Wikipedia The Jesus Quest by Ben Witherington III Second Temple Judaism — Wikipedia Scholasticism — Wikipedia
- · 39 min504: The Four Pillars — Coming Home to Community
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are wrapping their hands around the pillar of community, guided by Elle Grover Fricks. Sam Goes With Frodo — Scene from The Fellowship of the Ring (2001 film) Father’s Letter — Scene from Little Women (2019 film) “Hallelujah” from Handel’s Messiah — Choir of King’s College, Cambridge Palouse Choral Society “How far back in time can you understand English?” by Colin Gorrie — Dead Language Society Dedicated by Pete Davis
- · 32 min503: The Four Pillars — Japanese Woodworking Joint
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the pillar of community from the perspective of Reed Dent. “5 Spectacular Japanese Joints” by Emi Shinmura — Fine Woodworking BEMA 356: Sabbath Practice — Friendship w/ Derrick James Rohr III “Followers, Not Admirers” by Søren Kierkegaard in Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter
- · 51 min502: The Four Pillars — Community
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the second of BEMA’s four pillars: the commitment to and experience of community. About Impact Campus Ministries (Definition of Success) Loneliness Sucks — Marty Solomon, YouTube Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- · 54 min501: The Four Pillars — Tome at the Center of the Spiral
Brent Billings and Elle Grover Fricks get the big picture about our holy book. Spiral Dynamics Illustration The Unseen Realm by Michael S. Heiser Review of The Unseen Realm — Brent Billings, Goodreads
- · 56 min500: David Rudolph — Passover
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by special guest Rabbi Dr. David Rudolph, program director and professor at The King’s University, to talk about how the Council of Nicaea affected the dating of Easter and the implications of that for the Church and the Jewish people. Sign Up for the BEMA Messenger “The Council of Nicaea, the Dating of Easter, and Its Implications Concerning the Church’s Relationship to the Jewish People” by David Rudolph, Ph.D. Yachad BeYeshua Introduction to Messianic Judaism (Zondervan), edited by David J. Rudolph et al. A Jew to the Jews by David J. Rudolph Oxford Handbook on Jewish Christianity and Messianic Judaism [coming soon] Messianic Study Bible (Zondervan) [coming soon] “The Science of Worship” (Bulletin of Ecclesial Theology) via David’s website Covenant and the People of God, edited by David J. Rudolph, Jennifer M. Rosner, et al. New Testament after Supersessionism, David Rudolph (series editor) — Wipf and Stock The Voice of the Lord: Messianic Jewish Daily Devotional, edited by David J. Rudolph David Rudolph’s website Special Guest: David Rudolph.
- · 54 min499: The Four Pillars — Truth in Text
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings join Reed Dent to talk about his perspective on the pillar of Text. Drawing Hands by M. C. Escher — Wikipedia The Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2001 (PDF) “September 11” by Scott Cairns “Trump's name to appear on coronavirus stimulus checks sent to Americans” — Fox News “Trump Seeks To Stimulate Economy By Sending Rare Autographed Photo To Every American” — The Onion Reviews of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003 film) — Reed Dent, Letterboxd Reviews of Wake Up Dead Man (2025 film) — Reed Dent, Letterboxd The Poetics of Biblical Narrative by Meir Sternberg Cross Vision by Gregory A. Boyd Crucifixion of the Warrior God by Gregory A. Boyd “The Bible Talk: Part 1” by Reed Dent “The Bible Talk: Part 2” by Reed Dent “The Bible Talk: Postscripts” by Reed Dent