Blindness to Bondage

Before Egypt became a prison, it was a refuge. Long before chains and Pharaoh, there was famine. In this episode, we explore the hidden hunger that leads people into bondage — the hunger for safety, love, and belonging. Like Abraham and Jacob before us, we do not enter Egypt seeking slavery, but survival. Yet what feeds us in famine often becomes the house that enslaves us. This episode asks the unsettling question: What were you hungry for when you went there? And can legitimate hunger, left unchecked, quietly lead us into captivity?

Before God delivers us from Egypt, He exposes the chains we don’t even see. This episode explores the hidden bondages that disguise themselves as virtue, memory, wisdom, and humility — the quiet chains that feel safe and familiar. Like Moses before the burning bush, freedom begins not with movement, but with sight: take off your sandals, remove the insulation, and learn to see where you truly stand.

We begin not in Eden, but in Hell — just as Milton did. Here we see Satan awaken to loss: his identity fractured, his purpose twisted into futility, his truth poisoned by pride, his intimacy reduced to rivalry, his dominion turned into slavery, and God’s presence exiled from his soul. And what he lost, we too have lost. Through the stories of the Prodigal Son, Steve Jobs, Jean-Paul Sartre, Adam and Eve, Tiger Woods, and Ernest Hemingway, we discover how the chains of Paradise Lost still bind us today — and why freedom must begin by facing the ruins.

Season 2 Begins August 31

Our journey ends in Capernaum! Jesus reveals the greatest truth: our fathers, and we as well, ate the manna in the desert and died.The season finale takes us through the depths of the Gospel of John, Chapter 6, and draws from the parallel novel by the great writer Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov.For The Brothers Karamazov Book: https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Karamazov-Fyodor-Dostoevsky/dp/0374528373For John Lennox Interview: https://youtu.be/qC4qJzzCzO4?feature=sharedFor Father Daoud Lamei Gospel Of John: https://www.youtube.com/live/Tp1vBYlnxa0?feature=shared

Our journey takes us through the Sea of Galilee, a place where the lusts and desires pull us back from venturing into the depths with our Lord Jesus Christ. These desires blind us to the true joy in life, which is to serve with our Lord. We all either fall prey to these temptations or fail to overcome them. However, it is crucial to overcome them; otherwise, we will remain adrift in the sea, never reaching the end of our journey in Capernaum.-Links-For Father Daoud Lamei Gospel Of Matthew: https://youtu.be/y473ba5rl98?feature=sharedFor Ernest Hemingway The Old Man and The Sea Book: https://www.amazon.com/Old-Man-Sea-Ernest-Hemingway/dp/0684801221

The theologian Paul Tillich wrote: "People who endure suffering are taken beneath the routines of life and find they are not who they believed themselves to be."When we plan for the future, we often talk about all the good times we hope to have. But throughout my life, I noticed that when people remember the past, they don’t talk about happiness! It is often the ordeals that seem most significant. People shoot for happiness but feel formed through suffering!Pain is a powerful force that has the ability to crush through our inner selves and expose our true selves. It can reveal all of our weaknesses and our fragile faith! But, as difficult as it may be, it's through pain that we have the opportunity to build ourselves up again on a firmer foundation, and get one more step towards spiritual depth.-Links-For Bible ReadingsGospel of Luke - Chapter 10: https://st-takla.org/Bibles/BibleSearch/showChapter.php?book=52&chapter=10Gospel of John - Chapter 11: https://st-takla.org/Bibles/BibleSearch/showChapter.php?book=53&chapter=11Gospel of John - Chapter 12: https://st-takla.org/Bibles/BibleSearch/showChapter.php?book=53&chapter=12For The Chosen scene of John 3 (Jesus talking to Nicodemus): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p2XIUK9VgA&list=LL&index=3For Father Daoud Lamei Spiritual Day (Bethany)Lazarus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX_-qasTEYQ&list=LL&index=13Martha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YFDEaiCEAI&list=LL&index=14Mary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjF-J3TMs20&list=LL&index=6For Jerry Sittser A Grace Disguised Book: https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Disguised-Soul-Grows-through/dp/0310258952For Sheldon Vanauken A Severe Mercy Book: https://www.amazon.com/Severe-Mercy-Sheldon-Vanauken-ebook/dp/B0053JJUL8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1682418581&sr=1-1For Lazarus Hymn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8d7x2VIuRI

Have you ever wondered what the first step towards a deeper, more meaningful life is? Well, in my opinion, it all starts with discovering the Lord's love for us!As David Brooks wrote in his Road To Character book:"Love is like an invading army that reminds you that you are not master of your own house…When you are in love, you can’t stop thinking about your beloved. You walk through a crowd and you think you see her in a vaguely familiar form every few yards. You flip from highs to lows and feel pain at slights that you know are probably trivial or illusory. Love is the strongest kind of army because it generates no resistance. When the invasion is only half complete, the person being invaded longs to be defeated, fearfully, but utterly and hopelessly."Discovering the Lord's love for us sets us on a journey towards depth. It helps us dig deeper into our own hearts and souls and explore the depths of our faith and spirituality. So, if you're looking to embark on this journey towards depth, start by seeking the Lord's love for you.Read his love letters (The Bible)! He has got a lot to say to you.-Links-For Alain de Botton TV Conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFCsLSGPLMkFor Father Daoud Lamei Servants' Meeting (The Lord's Love): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7XVFW8AAKsFor Paul Kingsnorth Essay "The Cross and the Machine": https://www.firstthings.com/article/2021/06/the-cross-and-the-machineFor St Augustine Confessions: https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Modern-Library-Augustine-ebook/dp/B01LXSRK0M/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

In Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis wrote this conversation between Lucy, a young girl, and the lion Aslan (Jesus):Lucy: "I see," said Lucy. "I see. But please, may we have some of the water?"Aslan: "The thirsty drink," said Aslan.Lucy: "Will you promise not to—do anything to us, if we do come?"Aslan: "I make no promise,"Lucy: "Do you eat girls?"Aslan: "I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,"Lucy: "I dare not come and drink,"Aslan: "Then you will die of thirst!"……….Today, let's talk about why we should all strive for depth in our lives instead of settling for a shallow existence. It's easy to get caught up in the superficial aspects of life, but there are so many reasons why we should launch out into the deep!-Links-For Father Daoud Lamei Bible Studies:Book of Genesis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLiOVybZHUA&list=PLvMAQ886uceu9UR4QRV_F2Jyda4JO0Avz&index=4Gospel of John: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJhIwatChEo&list=PLvMAQ886ucet0Nin1a4hduH7YcYwf7LcCFor Bible Reading:Book of Genesis Chapter 1: https://st-takla.org/Bibles/BibleSearch/showChapter.php?book=1&chapter=1Book of Genesis Chapter 3: https://st-takla.org/Bibles/BibleSearch/showChapter.php?book=1&chapter=3Gospel of John Chapter 1: https://st-takla.org/Bibles/BibleSearch/showChapter.php?book=53&chapter=1For Gnosticism Summary: https://www.catholic.com/qa/whats-gnosticism

Launch Out Into The Deep: The Antidote To Spiritual Shallowness starts on Sunday 23rd of April 2023.