Bethlehem Lutheran Church Podcast

Life's NOT fair! It's not fair when we work hard and don't get what we want. It's not fair when someone else doesn't work hard and gets what we want. And, it's not fair when we don't work hard and still get what we want. The Parable of the Prodigal Son can help us discover and share God's AGAPe Love even when life seems unfair! It's not fair that our God loves us even when we don't deserve it, in turn we can share an unconditional AGAPe love with our neighbors, friends, and family.

What's your happy place? That physical space, or maybe it's an activity or hobby, where you can escape the stress and worries of the world if even just for a moment. For a while now Pastor Chad has recognized and named that “we are not OK,” the world is weighing us down, especially when we get trapped in the “outrage, scandal, tragedy, algorithm machine” of Social Media and the 24-Hour News Cycle. A happy place can provide a temporary escape from the world but we can't stay there forever. In our Focus Text the disciples want to stay on the mountaintop with Jesus (and Moses & Elijah) forever, but Jesus leads them back down the mountain as they continue their journey to Jerusalem and the Cross. The world needed Jesus and the disciples back in the everyday reality not stuck in a happy place. And the world needs us rested and refreshed to care for our neighbors who are also ‘not OK' and are in need of an AGAPe kind of love in their life.

We live in a largely individualistic society today, what's mine is mine, after all, I am not ‘my brother's keeper.” Connecting with our neighbor is a nice thing to do but totally optional. In Jesus' day, the community was central and caring for your neighbor was expected. In our Focus Text this week Jesus tells the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. The Rich Man went through life not ‘seeing' Lazarus just outside the threshold of his home. Pastor Chad invites us to consider the neighbors we are not ‘seeing' because we do not cross the threshold of our own little world. There is so much the larger world has to offer when we step outside the thresholds and really connect with all our neighbors. When we take that step, when we get to know our neighbors, help meet their needs, and welcome others into a larger community, we are helping bring the vision of God's Kingdom into reality here and now.

Last week Pastor Stephanie spoke about doing what was right vs what was considered the correct thing to do. The right thing is to put AGAPe Love into action in your life. This week she invites us to consider how we can do that right thing even when it is hard to feel love for our neighbors who are so very different from us. Developing empathy for our neighbor who is not like us helps us see they too are created in the image of God, imago dei, and are valued by God worth searching for like the lost sheep in the parable Jesus tells in this week's Focus Text.

In our Focus Text for this week Jesus challenges the idea that the 'correct' thing to do is always the right thing to do. The correct thing would be to NOT to do any work on the Sabbath Day, the right thing was healing a suffering man. He also challenges our assumptions about what is a place of honor and who should be welcome at the table. Do not assume your place of privilege & power, rather invite the powerless to find a place at the table.

How can Jesus tell us “do not worry” when that simply isn't an option. Pastor Chad acknowledges there is no magic switch that turns off worry, fear, and anxiety. He introduces us to a story told by St Francis of Assisi about The Wolf of Gubbio. Fear of the wolf gripped the town so tightly they were paralyzed. Francis on the other hand, went out to the forest to observe the wolf and learn what was behind its behavior. By better understanding what was behind their fear the town was able to come together to address the needs of the wolf. By acting in love as a community they were able to remove the power fear held over them. That is why Jesus can tell us “do not worry” because as we seek out God's Kingdom in community with AGAPE love we loosen the grip fear has on each other.

Good Samaritans are known around the world as the strangers who help the injured or the stranded. But Pastor Stephanie reminds us that there is more to the story than just being helpful. We need to recognize what Jesus was doing when he made an outsider the hero of the story. He was challenging the lawyer's view of who could be a hero and therefor who was his neighbor he was called to love as he loves himself. We are called to love everyone as we love ourselves, even (and especially) those who don't look or believe or behave like we do, those we disagree with, and those on the other side of the road. This is AGAPE love shared with everyone without condition!

It's a New Year and that often prompts us to decide where we need to be in 2026. Our Focus Text is the only Gospel that shares anything about Jesus' life between his birth and his Baptism by John some 30 years later. Pastor Chad invites us to consider this guidance for our own lives. Like Jesus we can benefit from listening and asking questions to help us discern who God is calling us to become in the year ahead. In 2026 take time to discern more than decide, to listen & question to grow in wisdom and in years!

Advent is about love. Promises are made in wedding vows, promises that seem filled with love. While the best intentions are behind these vows, the reality of life quickly brings them crashing down. Pastor Chad wonders if wedding vows are overpromised much like the marketing of the newest phone. We quickly become disappointed when something overpromised doesn't materialize. So, does God overpromise? The Birth of John the Baptist, our Focus Text this week, is a reminder of the promises God makes to accompany us through the tough times, God doesn't promise the absence of trouble but the presence of hope & love in the midst of it.

Advent is about joy. We're not talking about happiness, which is momentary and based on circumstances or accomplishments. Joy is lasting and based in gratitude. Even when Mary was facing an uncertain future as an unmarried pregnant girl she found joy in the promises God had made to her and to generations of her ancestors. With the same hope and faith we can find joy even in the darkest of circumstances and when we feel we have failed.

Advent is about waiting. We are waiting for the birth of Jesus but we are also waiting for God's vision for the world to become a reality. The Prophet Isaiah shares imagery of what some have called The Peaceable Kingdom would look like. The problem? It sounds like nonsense, predator and prey eating together, children playing in deadly places, you'll be waiting a long time for that to happen! But when we are waiting with hope we start to see God's vision become a reality as we work to build the community God is calling us to become.

As we enter the Season of Advent, the season of waiting for the birth of Jesus Pastor Stephanie invites us to consider the different ways we wait. How can the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth teach us to wait?

In a country obsessed with the idea of royalty, how does Jesus being Christ the King fit in? As we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, we will explore the differences between human royalty and Jesus as our King.

How do you envision God? Is it the same “old man with a long beard floating in the clouds” you imagined based on the stories you heard as a kid? Or has it changed with life experience? The parable in this week's focus texts features a character whose vision of his master scared him so much that he buried his Talent in the ground. If we envision God as judgmental we will tend to experience the world as punishment and not live in the freedom God intends. If we envision God as full of grace, mercy, compassion, and love we reflect that in the way we share an AGAPE type love in action with our neighbors.

As we enter the Holiday Season our thoughts naturally turn to gratitude and giving. Jesus uses a parable about a dinner party to answer a question about who is welcome at God's Table. The parable is a reminder of the kind of all-embracing welcome and radical generosity we are called to as we share an AGAPe type love with our neighbors.

All Saints Day has us recalling the time when Jesus left Mary & Martha (and their brother Lazarus) waiting. Jesus waited so long that Lazarus died and the silence of grief had set in. Martha is angry with Jesus, like we can be when the silence of grief & despair overtake us. Jesus doesn't punish Martha for her anger, he acknowledges it and accompanies her through her grief into the new life God offers. Pastor Chad invites us to remember the power of gratitude when we seem to be stuck in the silence ourselves but maybe more critically when those around us need a reminder they are not walking alone.

As we remember the Reformation we are exploring a core concept of Lutheran Theology: grace. Pastor Stephanie encourages us to consider a lesser known example of God's Grace found in the story of Jonah and the City of Ninevah. Jonah had created a story about the people of Ninevah in his own head that would justify their destruction but when God spared the city both he and the city experienced the unconditional love, agape, of God's Grace.

Working in the Fast Food Industry as a teenager can sour a person on the idea of being in the service industry for life. Our society tells us over and over again that being successful and a leader is the way to happiness. Jesus calls us to something different, being a servant which builds a sense of gratitude, which leads to increased generosity and a more enduring happiness.

Last week Pastor Chad talked about Jesus calling the B-Team to be his Disciples. This week Pastor Stephanie reminds us that we too are sent out into the world to let the Light of God shine through us. Even when we feel ill-equipped or unprepared we are called to live our everyday lives sharing God's love which will make an impact on our community. Our everyday actions make an impact on our community as God's love ripples through the interconnected web of our lives.

This week's message comes with a WARNING: the way Jesus recruits and teaches his disciples changes the way we understand discipleship. Jesus intentionally seeks out the B-Team to be his disciples. He doesn't seek out the up and coming students in the synagogues, instead he calls out to the fisherman, the day laborers who weren't drafted by the charismatic leaders. If his B-Team of disciples can be transformed by following the example of Jesus, we cannot be excused from our own discipleship for some perceived lack of skills or experience or passion. God will use our B-Team skills and experience to make a difference in this world if we follow the example of Jesus when acting and reacting in our communities.

When you find yourself stumbling around in the dark, sometimes it helps to pause and let your eyes adjust. The faith practice of discernment is like that in the dark times of your life, pausing to search for the small, steady light that will help you take the next step. It's noticing where hope flickers, where peace breaks through, and where God's unconditional love, Agape, is always present. Discernment trains us to trust that light exists, and to let it guide our choices. If you feel like you are stuck in the darkness – this message can help you discern the light of Agape.

It is one thing to hear about Agape, God's unconditional love for us, and another thing entirely to practice Agape with our neighbors, especially those we disagree with. This week Pastor Stephanie encourages us to look at the foundation of our faith, where we find God's unconditional love for us. It is much easier to be a doer of Agape when we recognize that God's Agape is at the very core of our being.

We can appreciate the idea of the Fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But how do we bear those fruits when so often it is easier to grow “a bad tree.” It takes practice! When we commit to engaging in Faith Practices we find that reward is the Fruit of the Spirit being shared with us and with our neighbors.

Pastor Stephanie asks “What is Love?” as we kick off a new theme for 2025-26: “Agape: When Love is Greater” This year we will be exploring a particular kind of love: Agape, the Greek word for an unconditional love.

As we wrap up our 2024-25 Theme: “Flourish” Pastor Chad encourages us to discover a critical part of truly flourishing in all parts of our life: HOPE!

A better understanding of the original language of Bible can often help us better understand some of the most familiar Bible verses. For instance in “Go and make disciples” the word Go in the original Greek is an active verb not a directive. It is more like: “As you go on your way, be making disciples along the way.” This means we don't have to go to some far away place to make disciples, we can use our everyday words and actions in our own neighborhoods to share the Good News.

Do you have to believe the right things and behave the right way in order to belong? Or are those just Roadblocks, Restrictions, Regulations, Conditions, Stipulations, Limitations, & Constraints, that we set up to keep others on the outside? In our Focus Text this week, Jesus says he is the gate and we are the sheep. Does this mean we have to measure up to pass thru the gate or risk being left out with the bandits? Pastor Chad invites us to consider the way Jesus interacted with strangers: he first offered an invitation to belong without first passing some test, then belonging changed their behavior, and finally it led to belief!

The Red Letters of the Bible (Jesus' words) have a lot to say about how we should live. And, some of this advice is really hard to do, like: Love Your Enemy. The good news is Jesus did more than just speak this advice, his actions modeled the kind of love that we are created to share with all people, even our enemies!

When imagining our “best self” we can get stuck thinking about the past, before major traumatic life changes. The Prophet Zephaniah was writing to a whole nation (Israel) after the shared trauma of the Babylonian Exile, sharing the hope that God would bring restoration. But the restoration would only come by moving forward through the trauma not by returning to the idealized “best self” of the time before the Exile. The short book of Zephaniah is a good reminder that God is calling us to move forward knowing that God is with us even in the midst of the traumatic times of our life.

Life doesn't always go as expected, if it did Pastor Stephanie would be an Olympic Figure Skater by now! When we encounter the unexpected storms in life that take us off the path we had envisioned we should remember the God who was with Sarah, Elizabeth, and Mary is also with us through the storms.

Hear more about how the Parables of the Lost Coin and the Lost Sheep offer hope when we are feeling lost and alone. Sometimes when we've lost our way and feel all alone it can seem like we aren't worth the effort of searching. The Good News is that, like the 1 sheep in flock of 100 or the single coin in a purse of ten, God is always going to search for you, because as a Child of God you are valued beyond measure!

Ugghhhh!! It's a gasp of frustration. It is “Hevel” a Hebrew word that in our Focus Text for this week is translated as vanity. Hevel is literally vapor or the fruitlessness of trying to grab your breath as you exhale. Pastor Chad appreciates how the teacher in Ecclesiastes finds chasing success or even wallowing in despair to be hevel, vanity, grabbing at a vapor, because it is a fleeting moment. Pastor Chad finds Ecclesiastes to be a reminder to live authentically in the moment you're in and appreciate the grace of God that is found in every moment.

Studies have shown children laugh up to 400 times per day. And in the same study adults laughed only 15 times per day on average. Adults have lost or hidden the joy that comes from laughter. Laughter is a gift from God that can bring healing even when life seems gloomy. In our Focus Text for this week, Psalm 126, the people are asking God to turn their sorrow & grief into joy & laughter.

Our Focus Text for this week is Psalm 150. The Book of Psalms is like a Playlist of 150 songs or poems or prayers. The final song invites us to Praise the Lord with music of all sorts. But what if we arein a place of grief or sadness or anger where we don't feel we can Praise the Lord? Pastor Stephanie invites us to view this final song on the playlist as a reminder that after praying with persistence the promise of God with us remains as reason to lift up our songs of praise!

What could possibly incentivize 18 High School Youth to give up a week of summer jobs, sports, and time with friends to serve people they don't know in ways that the students won't see the impact of? Pastor Chad hopes that they see it as a reflection of the New Creation that God calls us into. Being an active part of God's New Creation is the kind of Incentive that leads to the outcome of bringing God's Kingdom to our neighbors here in town, across the country in Seattle, and across the globe!

Have you ever found yourself saying “I need a vacation from my vacation!”? Sometimes we don't find the rest we need as we get wrapped up in the busyness of being on vacation. Rest is important, even Jesus need to get away from the busyness of his ministry to rest and pray. This week Pastor Stephanie encourages us to make time to truly rest so that we can Flourish as God intends.

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.