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Comedians with Pastors Talking Bible pairs Pittsburgh standup comedians with pastors to dig into the week's gospel text — no prep, no script, just an undefended first read of scripture and whatever happens when a comedian's in the room for it.

Brian Bennett and Ryan Cobert are back for round two, and this time the tabletop-gaming frame stops being a fun parallel and starts doing real theological work. Turns out running a campaign and shepherding a congregation have more in common than either job posting admits.

Expect:

• Children jumping straight into the game in the marketplace — and what that says about who actually "gets" the invitation in Matthew 11
• DMing reframed as pastoral improvisation: collaborative storytelling instead of scripted outcomes
• Ryan on vulnerability, hag villains, and why funerals might be the deepest form of play there is
• Eric's case for "type 2 fun" — the kind of suffering that's only fun in retrospect — as a lens on the cross
• The debut of Bobbert, a halfling barbarian built entirely on randomly rolled dice (he licks things)

Tangents include: a Star Trek movie ranking nobody can agree on, the ethics of wearing the same shirt twice on camera, and a cold open that may end up being more memorable than the episode itself.

👉"If Jesus is inviting and the people are jumping right in and playing, the children get it."

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Matthew 11:16–19, 25–30 (NRSVue)

[16] “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, [17] ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ [18] “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; [19] the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

[25] At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; [26] yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. [27] All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. [28] “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Hosted by Pastor Eric Damon and Pastor Bob Schaefer.

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Music: Trickster by Phat Sounds
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10864-trickster
Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.