Bethlehem Lutheran Church Podcast

Names can be used to lift us up or to drag us down. In our Focus Text for this week Jesus says that, as the Good Shepherd, he calls his sheep by name and they know his voice. In Baptism we are given the name Child of God, it is a name that cannot be taken away, replaced, or forgotten. Knowing the care we put into naming our children how much more care must God take in naming you a Child of God and calling your name as we learn to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd!

Righteousness is often viewed as a religious buzzword that has lost its meaning in overuse. This week's Focus Text mentions the Crown of Righteousness, so what does that mean?! Pastor Chad invites us to consider it a relational word. When we take time to listen to our neighbor's story, to walk with them, to love them as God loves us, we have found the kind of righteousness God seeks in us. When we build a relationship that is not transactional, expecting something from our neighbor, we will find we can Flourish!

Last week Pastor Stephanie introduced the Crown of Boasting, this week she asks us to consider another Biblical crown we are given: the Crown of Life. It is a crown we wear here & now and a crown that holds the promise of eternal life. Pastor Stephanie invites us to consider the Life of this crown as a verb, an action word. We should do life every day like the gift that it is, even when it is difficult with the assurance that eternal life has also been gifted to us.

In our Focus Text for this week, Paul asks about a “Crown of Boasting” when writing to the Thessalonians. Some people have a fascination with crowns, tiaras, and other symbols of royalty or achievement. But, why would you want to be crowned for your boasting?! Aren't we supposed to be humble? Paul is writing not about boasting of his achievements, but boasting about the faithfulness of the Thessalonians. This kind of boasting is also modeled by Jesus, when he lifts up what the disciples will accomplish instead of himself. We can bear the Crown of Boasting when we celebrate the team efforts that make a difference in the lives of our neighbors.

What happens when we overpromise? We will most likely be unable to deliver on that promise. So what about the promises of our faith story? Does it seem like those promises to flourish are overpromised and underdelivered? Pastor Chad thinks we are misunderstanding what it means to flourish and what God has promised. When we walk with each other in community, lifting each other up, comforting one another, we can flourish together as God promised!

When you don't make the team, when your marriage ends, when you fail the test, when you don't make the sale, when you can't live on your own any longer: it can be hard to see your worth. We've been trained to find our value in our achievements. The stories and voices we listen to from society have shaped us. If we listen to the stories of our faith instead we are shaped for “unconditional positive regard” as it was modeled from the beginning in Creation. When God created the world it was declared “Good!” and so we are called to see all of Creation as “Good!” especially our neighbors and even ourselves.

What would you do after a life-changing experience? For the disciples they went back to what was muscle memory: fishing. But Jesus had called them ashore and reminded them they had a new calling out in the world sharing the Good News. We have that same calling out into the world, we probably won't travel as far and wide as the disciples but we can still share the love of God in our own communities.

The 8:30 and 10:30am Services take a little different form this week as worshippers will actively participate in retelling the Passion Story. This week our online content also takes a different form as a devotion preparing us to enter Holy Week on our way to Easter morning. Pastor Chad invites you to reconsider the Passion Story that we think we know so well. He encourages us to see the opposing Kingdoms revealed in the story: the Kingdom of Caesar, based in fear, violence, and oppression; versus the Kingdom of God, based in love, mercy, and compassion.

Imagine you had a mirror that reflected not just your image but every part of you: all that you've done, every flaw, your character, your accomplishments and your failures. How would shape your interactions and your faith? In our Focus Text this week the criminals crucified with Jesus react in two different ways. One joins the crowd in mocking Jesus as a way of distracting from his own condemnation. The other recognizes his faults and justly deserved death sentence, while also seeing that Jesus was wrongfully convicted and his willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of everyone, even those who are mocking him. The criminal boldly asks Jesus not to save him from his deserved punishment but to simply remember him in the Kingdom beyond death. As we near the end of Lent and prepare for Holy Week and Easter Pastor Stephanie encourages us to look into the mirror and see that we don't deserve God's forgiveness but also see God's love reflected in the undeserved gift of grace.

Our stories have taught us what a ‘bad guy' is. Usually it is someone who is on the outside, someone who is different, someone who doesn't look or act like us. We teach our community about the ‘bad guy' in hopes of protecting us from threats. In this week's Focus Text the Scribes and Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery to Jesus in hopes that he will agree that she is a ‘bad guy' that deserves to be thrown out like something broken. Jesus instead asks the leaders to look in the mirror and realize that the reflection is also a ‘bad guy' just as deserving of punishment but also receiving God's love, grace, and mercy.

Why should we pray for forgive who have wronged us? Why should we listen to those who hurt us? Because Jesus calls us to treat others the way we want to be treated. We should forgive because we want to be forgiven. We should listen because we want to be listened to. On the Cross Jesus sets the example praying that those who crucified him would be forgiven "for they know not what they do" and that prayer applies to us when we so often do not know what we are doing when our words and actions hurt others.

To truly experience a song we must do more than just read the notes and understand the music theory behind the composition we must be in tune with the music to discover the motivation of the song. The motivation of God's song that has played in our lives and in the lives of people since the beginning is for all of creation to be reconciled with one another and with God.

Words are powerful and unlike the nursery rhyme words can and do hurt us. When words are spoken with bitterness not considering the impact it will have on our neighbor we are not loving our neighbors as ourselves. When we take the time to understand our neighbor and can speak with grace we are following the example Jesus set for us. This is what the Apostle Paul means when he says “let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors. . . so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” Sometimes the truth requires a difficult conversation but if we ground that conversation in grace we can help build up what helps us all Flourish as God intends.

In our Focus Text for this week Jesus encourages us to look to the fruit being produced by those around us. Pastor Chad invites us to think about this in terms of trust. If someone tells us about how fresh the fruit they're selling is and we bite into a rotten apple our trust is broken. So we are to follow Jesus advice and bear good fruit in our words and actions like the Kingdom of God produces.

Building with sand can be a fun beach day activity but your efforts won't last as the rain falls or the waves crash or a mischievous child plots your castle will inevitably crumble. Jesus uses building a home as a parable for building a life of faith. The storms, the waves, and the mischievous of our life won't crumble us if we are securely founded on the stability of God's promises.

Why would Jesus send the disciples out into the world unprepared? In our time of hyper-preparedness this seems like a bad idea. What if they are caught in a downpour, they'd have no change of clothes?! Why knock on a strangers door and ask for food and lodging when there's an Inn just down the street?! Pastor Chad invites us to consider how being reliant on the kindness of others better helps us understand the vision of God's Kingdom. It is an experience of grace that leads us to become more grace-filled with others which helps us more fully realize the vision of God's Kingdom in our community.

Sometimes communication gets so familiar that we either dismiss the words entirely or accept the idea so completely the words become out of touch with reality. Our focus text this week features “The Antitheses” where Jesus sets up common sayings of the time against their opposite as a way of explaining the Kingdom of God. The antithesis of each saying reveals the deep love, deep peace, and deep connection with God & God's creation, that comes from faith.

We have gotten really good a blocking out the things we don't want to hear. In the focus text for this week, Stephen is killed for speaking up against the powerful who were not caring for the poor & powerless as God intends. Jesus warned the disciples that speaking God's truth to those in power would threaten their earthly life. When we have the courage to speak the truth, even when the other person would rather ignore it, we are bringing light & hope of God into our world.

Wants vs Needs. We want to give in to our cravings for junk food when we know we need healthy food to flourish. We want to be the center of attention when we know we need to listen to others to sustain healthy relationships. In our focus text this week Peter wants Jesus to be a powerful warrior king to overthrow the Roman occupation, Jesus knows what Peter needs is a sacrificial lamb who lays down his life out of love.

Valentine's Day is less than a month away! Our focus text this week explores how God's love is a model for our lives as we express love for one another in truth and action. Building off last week's exploration of John 3:16-17, this week we see Jesus death on the cross was the ultimate expression of love based in truth and action!

John 3:16 is probably the most ‘famous' Bible verse. While it is a great summary of the Christian Faith as a standalone verse it can be troublesome. Without the rest of the story, John 3:17, it can seem to focus on our belief & actions as the key to salvation. John 3:17 provides the reassurance that John 3:16 is about God's love for the world; Jesus didn't come into our world to condemn us for our actions, our mistakes, or our struggles with belief. When we have the rest of the story we can see beyond the Law to the Gospel, the Good News of God's Grace.

Have you ever considered “Is Jesus safe?” Like Lucy asks of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia? Our focus text for this week reveals that Jesus just like the allegorical lion, is in fact not safe but rather a threat. Jesus is a threat to those who hold onto power, he is a threat to people like Herod, and the religious leaders who saw how Jesus was a threat to the rules that kept all God's people from experiencing all God had intended for our lives. Jesus and Aslan are not “Safe,” but they are “Good” and that is the Good News in the story of Epiphany!

In this message for the week of Christmas, Pastor Chad relates how the roads we travel in life aren't always the path we'd choose for ourselves. Sometimes there's an unplanned detour through a lost job, a divorce, a cancer diagnosis, or the death of a loved one. Mary & Joseph did not plan a road trip to Bethlehem, it was a detour caused by a government census. The road to Bethlehem was treacherous, especially for a woman about to give birth. Recounting the road to the manger where Jesus was born is a reminder that Emmanuel (God Is With Us) accompanies us along the road we travel, even through the detours.

Time is a funny thing, sometimes it flies and at other times it drags. In today's world we are so busy life becomes a blur as it passes us by. Sometimes we wish time would fly through bad parts of life to minimize the heartache. The story of our faith offers us a reminder that sometimes we need to slow down and take in the world around us and when time is dragging for us God is with us in the difficult moments in life.

Traditions and expectations fill our lives, especially at Christmas, some add value to our lives and others we need to let go. Letting go of the unrealistic expectations that drain us allows us to focus instead on the peace, hope, and joy of Advent and Christmas. Our Focus text this week, the birth and naming of John, is a reminder that trust & faith do not always follow tradition, expectation, & certainty!

Waiting and preparing are big themes in Advent as we draw closer the arrival of Jesus at Christmas. So, are you prepared? Sermons on this week's focus text this week often talk about how half the young women waiting for the Bridegroom were foolish for not being prepared for the long wait and run out of lamp oil. Pastor Chad invites us to look beyond the 13 verses of this Parable to see that being prepared for the arrival of Jesus is bringing light to our community by loving and serving our neighbor as if they were Jesus himself.

We begin the Season of Advent, the season of waiting, with the story of the Annunciation. Mary's life is turned upside down with the announcement that the angel Gabriel brings her. The certainty she had in planning for her wedding to Joseph was gone. How could she be so willing to accept the news of becoming pregnant with the Son of God? Faith! Faith is not about certainty it is about acknowledging the discomfort while waiting for the light of hope to break through.

Pastor Chad wants to be satisfied and content in life, he wants to be generous in supporting his neighbors, but . . . too often a scarcity mindset takes over. When that happens he moves into conditional (If-Then) thinking: IF I get a raise, THEN I will be content with my income and give more to charity; IF I could retire, THEN I would have time to volunteer. In this week's Gospel Jesus is encouraging his followers to stop waiting for the IFs and be generous with our time and resources NOW. When we make an effort to be generous NOW, our heart will follow and we can find true contentment living the way God intends.

Pastor Stephanie invites us to consider the big impact a small gift can make when offered out of love and compassion. A meager offering of 5 loaves and 2 fish rippled out across the crowd of 5,000. A simple gesture of caring, like returning a cherished blankie to a frazzled mom and fussy infant, can make a world of difference in the lives of our neighbors. And serving our neighbors from a place of love and compassion lightens the load of ‘Compassion Fatigue' that comes from a place of obligation.

Pastor Chad invites us to consider the way our faith lives can flourish if we move from understanding of faith (church, religion, spirituality) as an obligation to something that is a lived out encounter of God's love for us and our neighbor.

Pastor Stephanie shares a message for All Saints Day on finding comfort in grief as Jesus promised in the Beatitudes.

Pastor Chad hates having to say “I don't know what to do” But sometimes you can't escape it, no matter how much you prepare or research or train! That is especially true when facing the "hard things" in life, where we don't know the outcome of our decisions or actions. The Good News in the Story of Esther, is that it's okay not to know the outcome when there is hope that God is with you even when you are uncertain. Esther is a reminder that faith is not built on certainty it is built on hope and trust.

Pastor Chad shares a message exploring the Calling of Moses. God called a reluctant Moses, who was happy being a shepherd, to be God's messenger in Egypt even though he wasn't an eloquent speaker or recognized as a powerful leader. Moses keeps insisting he is not the right person for the job even suggesting God "send someone else" but God has a role for Moses and equips him to make a difference. Over and over in the biblical story God is choosing the reluctant, under-qualified, politically weak, to leave the comfort of the cheap seats and get in the game!

Sometimes perfectionism gets in the way doing the right thing. Perfectionism demands we act & speak in line with society's expectations but for change to happen sometimes we need to speak the truth to those in power. Society expected the Syrophoenician Woman to know her place and not interact with Jesus instead she puts perfectionism aside to remind Jesus that even the crumbs of God's compassion make a difference for everyone! Pastor Stephanie offers up this an example of how we can reclaim words meant as insults to empower us to bring about God's vision of compassion for all, even the little puppies picking up the crumbs under the table.

There are so many words in use today. Unfortunately, sometimes we can't trust words because the way they are being used doesn't reflect reality. And when we can't trust words we tend not to listen. This week Pastor Chad invites us to listen to the story of Jesus visiting the home of Martha & Mary a little differently. With so many words to choose from what were the ones that caught the attention of Mary to the point where she stopped what she was doing, the tasks expected of her by society, in order to listen. By living out the words Jesus used to share God's vision for Creation we can make sure our words and actions reflect a reality of grace, compassion, forgiveness, and love.

Throughout our lives we find ourselves trying to be grafted into a vine. Pastor Chad recalls trying to survive on the Cool Kids Vine in the 90's, a vine that produced a very specific looking fruit with just the right style of the moment. Surviving on that vine was stressful and sapped all your resources trying to keep up with fleeting fashion. Then Pastor Chad invites us to explore what it means for us to be branches connected to Jesus the vine. Being connected to Jesus does not sap our resources, it offers nourishment and support as we are connected to a whole community that is seeking to bring about God's vision for all of Creation.

An ad campaign for a candy bar coined it so well “You're not you when you're hungry.” Pastor Stephanie admits she gets “hangry” when she hasn't eaten or is overtired. Our focus text this week shows the prophets of the Bible got hangry, too. The Prophet Elijah is ready to give up after running for his life. God provides a shaded place to rest and an angel bring Elijah some food. Rested and fed he can carry on and complete the mission God had set for him. As we look to Flourish by “Letting Go of Exhaustion and Cultivating Balance” the story of Elijah is a reminder that God knows when we need a break to refuel and encourages us all to take time to find a better balance to our lives.

Sometimes the cracks of stress are below the surface and it looks like we can carry even more weight of busyness and life's challenges. Pastor Chad invites us to consider those micro-cracks in our lives and the lives of others. How will we Flourish if the cracks continue growing as the weight of life increases? Our focus text for this week reminds us that we flourish when we live as the community God intends, practicing the love of Jesus for our neighbors lifting the burden from their shoulders.

If you had to write an essay about your life would you write it in the future tense dreaming of what could be or would you write it in the past tense reminiscing about the “good old days”? Pastor Chad uses the focus text as a reminder that we can not predict the future but we also can not live in our memories we must be fully present in today even if it is more challenging than the past or your dreams. God is with us now and when we choose to accompany our friends & neighbors on the journeys of life we can help bring about God's vision for Creation

Returning home after an extended absence can leave you disoriented by the changes. In our focus texts for this week the people are returning home after being exiled to Babylon for 70 years! It was a whole new generation that was going back to a “home” that all they knew about was from stories told by parents and grandparents. It's not surprising they were a little nervous about this huge change. But the Good News for them, and us, is that God's promise to walk with them, and us, through the challenges of their return offers hope!

Extended warranties. Some think they are a waste of money. Some appreciate the peace of mind that comes with that expensive piece of paper. No matter what you think of protection plans we all appreciate certainty, even in our spirituality. But what happens when God is silent, leaving you wondering about how your faith will get you through. Pastor Chad uses the story of Job as a reminder that faith isn't certainty, faith is hope, certainty falls to chaos in the silence, hope trusts that God is there in the silence with us.

The meanings of words change over time. Pastor Chad's message this week explores a word from the Bible that means something very different to us today. Justice. We probably think about the rule of law, judges, courtrooms, prison sentences, law enforcement, or even payback & retribution. The understanding of justice in God's Kingdom isn't about powerful people handing down judgement, it is about ensuring everyone has what they need to live the best possible life that God intends for creation. The stories we tell ourselves and others shape the world around us, and when those stories use God's definition of justice there is hope that our world will be shaped by peace, goodness, and wholeness.

What does it mean to recognize a voice? In this week's focus text Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd and we are all part of one flock, a flock that recognizes the voice of their Shepherd. In order to recognize a voice we need to listen for it and hear it repeatedly. There are some famous voices that are instantly recognizable. As we listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd in our lives it becomes familiar and recognizable even though it sounds different to each of us sheep!

This week Pastor Stephanie explores another Agrarian Parable: The Parable of the Fig Tree. Each new day we have an opportunity to reCREATE our lives in a way that bears fruit. Too often we get obsessed with how our neighbors are being (or not being) fruitful, thinking we could do it better. Jesus warns the crowd that they shouldn't think they are better than their neighbors who suffered a terrible fate. Instead they should concern themselves with the shape of their own lives and how they can make changes to be more fruitful for the good of their community.

“Life's not fair!” Sometimes we hear that when things don't go our way or we complain about the advantages someone else has in life. And it's true, life isn't fair when we live to see our grandchildren grow up, when we are born in a country where access to clean water & food is easy, or when we have parents who love us with unfair grace & mercy. In this week's Parable Jesus is showing us just how unfair God is in showing us love beyond what we deserve.

As we continue to explore the Agrarian Parables, stories using agricultural metaphors to describe the Kingdom of God, Pastor Stephanie shares more of her gardening successes and challenges. This week the Parable is about weeds and wheat. Sometimes it's difficult to tell what is a desirable plant and what is a weed until they are grown and by that time they are intertwined. As the complicated beings that we are, humans can be both fruitful wheat and toxic weeds all tangled up together. The good news is that God doesn't pluck us up and throw us into the fire at the first sign of weediness but let's us continue to grow. And because God is letting us grow, even when we are being noxious, it is a good reminder that we shouldn't label others as too weedy to be a fruitful part of God's Kingdom.

Soil is so important when growing plants. In The Parable of the Sower Jesus compares us to soil, for God's Word to grow and flourish in us we must be good soil. And like garden soil we can work at making improvements to ourselves that will give the seed of God's Word the best chance to grow and spread.

It's a given in our world that not everyone gets an invitation. Not everyone gets invited to the party, to join the team, to your dream job, or to be in the club. We also know the disappointment when someone else is invited that we don't think deserves to be on the inside of the exclusive event. Jesus shares a Parable that shows God's vision for us is very different. In the Kingdom of God, everyone gets an invitation, “the good and the bad.” God wants us all to join the party, but we must first accept the invitation. Then, we have to accept that those we don't agree with have also been invited. When we accept God's invitation, we discover we are connected, respected, valued, and loved just as we are and can then extend God's invitation to everyone so that they may be connected, respected, valued, and loved.

“Where are you from?” Pastor Chad was asked this many times while accompanying the Sr High Service Learning Trip to the Boston area recently; it seems his Midwestern accent was a giveaway he wasn't from “The Home of Dunkin'.” Pastor Chad encourages us to look deeper into the question “Where are you from?” beyond where you live or where you were born to what makes you who you are as a person. Our focus text this week, tries to answer this question for Jesus through a genealogy. This long list of hard to pronounce names is meant to show how God's story of salvation has unfolded across the generations including some unlikely characters: women, foreigners, and those with a scandalous backstory. Where are we from? We are from a faith tradition that expresses the love, mercy, grace, and compassion of a God who is with those outside the circles of power & influence.

“Stop your crying and suck it up!” and similar phrases are tossed about when someone is deemed to be “too emotional” or expressing their emotions at an inappropriate moment. You are in good company if you've heard this before, in our Focus Text people tell Jesus his crying over the death of Lazarus is inappropriate. Wouldn't it have been better if he healed Lazarus like the blind man and others he encountered? Jesus grieving the death of a friend, shows how God understands our tears when we come to the ‘sad parts' of a familiar story. God is walking with us through the high and lows of life and everything in between.

How has our understanding of healing changed since biblical times? In our focus text this week Jesus heals a boy with what we would call Epilepsy. In the time of Jesus, the boy's seizures were thought to be caused by a demon twisting his body. Today we know that seizures are caused by electrical misfires in our brain and nervous system. While Jesus is not walking the earth offering healing with a touch, God has gifted some of us with the knowledge and skills to be professional healers. And we are all able to offer our neighbors a bit of healing when we take the time to be compassionate like Jesus.