What does it mean to find your identity in Christ, and what does the Old Testament have to say about it? In this episode of the Pivot Podcast, Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker, professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, walks hosts Dwight Zscheile and Alicia Granholm through the Bible’s vision for human community, from the boundaries woven into creation in Genesis, to the covenant at Sinai, to the prophets calling Israel back to account. Along the way, she challenges the modern assumption that identity is something we construct from within, offering instead a picture of people called into being by God and sent into the world to be a blessing.
From the call of Abraham to the Sabbath commandment to the words of Amos, Kathryn shows how Scripture consistently orients us away from self-fulfillment and toward the flourishing of others, especially the most vulnerable. This is the first of a two-part series on biblical community at Pivot Podcast, and it offers church leaders a grounding and hopeful framework for navigating a culture that has largely forgotten what community is for.
