Expedition Church Podcast

How can a call from God be distinguished from other yearnings, signs, affirmations, voices and gifts? Join us Sunday September 8 at 11:00 a.m. as we discuss what it means to be called by God.

What God cares about, more than our comfort and safety…more than our happiness…is the quality of our lives…the depth of our lives…the scope of our lives…the heft and zest of our lives.

“A life centered in the Spirit isn’t about measuring up and trying to be good enough or even believing all the right things; as if we had a corner on the truth. A life centered in the Spirit is a life of relationship with God.”

Jesus says, "I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never be hungry." Where do we find such bread? When I serve communion each week, I say, “The body of Christ, broken for you.” It looks just like bread...taste just like bread...but let’s take a closer look.

It’s natural to get stuck in the familiarity of the past...the rut of everyday life. We get comfortable with our routines, and they can reinforce a mindset that nothing needs to change, and nothing is going to change, but we know that’s not true. Change is the only thing that never changes.

Jesus said, “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” This morning we’re going to explore what it means to share the love of God with strangers.

A broken promise, including the broken promise of marriage, is a serious moral matter, no matter what reason we might give for thinking we’re justified in breaking those promises.

If you are truly honest with yourself, what would your answer to the question, “Do you have lust in your heart?” be?  Jesus taught that lust, epithumia, is a form of adultery. How so? It tosses aside the sacred value of a human being. Jesus taught us to value and respect others. Join us this Sunday at Expedition as we discuss the problem of epithumia.

Jesus said many times, “You’ve heard that it was said, but I say…” which was his way of comparing and contrasting old ways of thinking versus his evolved understanding of who God really is and how God really wants us to behave.

Over the next six weeks, we’re going to do some difficult sorting as we explore six major theological themes in the Bible. Our primary guide for interpretation will be Jesus. He’s the lens through which we’re going to explore, sort and faithfully respond to the Word.

Do you think it’s possible that loneliness could ever be a gift from God? I know that loneliness leads to a heavy heart. I know that it can leave us feeling empty and depressed. Yet, loneliness might be a powerful way for God to get our attention. Join us Sunday, June 23 at 11:00 a.m. as we discuss That Lonesome Road.

"The seed that needs to fall into the ground and die is the separate self, the part of us that feels alone and isolated. This is our local self that forgot its true story of unity with God, the universe, this planet, and each other." - Bruce Sanguin Join us Sunday, June 23 at 11:00 a.m. as we discuss Dying to Live.

How do we have a "right relationship" with ultimate reality? That requires engaging two sides of our brain—the sacred and the secular.

There’s something heart-gripping about flinging open the door to the things that scare you. Evolutionary Christianity says, “Bring it! Bring your best science. Bring your best scholarship. Bring your best heart on the journey, and let’s see what we find!” 

‘Is your faith evolving or stagnant? We all want a faith worth living. This Sunday we’re exploring a faith reimagined, rebuilt and resurrected to fuel us onward. Join us as we explore what it means to have an evolving faith!

‘We will not save what we do not love.’ It is also true that we will neither love nor save what we do not experience as sacred. –Thomas BerryJoin us this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. as we discuss "Getting Genesis RIght".

Our scientific knowledge hasn’t expanded our emotional or aesthetic appreciation of nature. How do we recapture our sense of the sacred and increase our wonder? Join us this Sunday at 11 am as we explore the importance of experiencing the awe of God’s creation.

Can we reconcile creation and evolution? How do new medical technologies alter our understandings of life and death? What about the purpose of life? Do scientists and people of faith have anything meaningful to say to each other? Join us this Sunday for worship at 11:00 a.m. as we launch a new sermon series called, “God After Darwin.”

Easter has passed, so how do we continue to live a resurrected life in the here and now?2 Corinthians 5:17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 

Easter isn’t something we explain as much as it’s something we live and breathe. Living the resurrection has consequences because it’s more than a proposition or an idea that gets debated in seminary or small group settings.If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, then your life is a testimony to the risen-ness of Christ. You demonstrate that Jesus isn’t dead every time Christ is seen in the way you treat others.

Bob Dylan sang, "You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage. You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage. You may be a businessman or some high-degree thief. They may call you 'doctor' or they may call you 'chief'. But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are. You're gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord. But you're gonna have to serve somebody.”He was right. We all surrender our lives to someone or something. Join us this Sunday at 11 am as we explore three steps to living a surrendered life as servants of Jesus Christ.

Feeling weak, exhausted, spent? Come hear a true story this Sunday at 11 am that will boost your trust in the Apostle Paul’s claim that when we are weak, we are strong. Spoiler alert: The true story of surfer Nate Lytle.

Storms destroy the illusion that we’re in control and don’t really need God. Just because you might be following Jesus and trying to live a good life and seeking to obey all that God commands, doesn’t mean you’re safe from the storms and gales of life. Join us Sunday at 11am as we explore how to overcome fear and find peace; even in a storm

For the next several weeks, we’re going to explore how to become holier than we are right now. God’s will for our lives is to be made holy. So, how do we best go about doing that?ThIs series is about God’s will for us to be holy and how to go about making that happen. The sermon this Sunday is about forgiveness (understanding and accepting God’s forgiveness and extending it to others). ThIs series is about God’s will for us to be holy and how to go about making that happen. The sermon this Sunday is about forgiveness (understanding and accepting God’s forgiveness and extending it to others)

The idea of God’s three-fold grace is a distinctive idea in the Methodist faith tradition. The Methodists don’t merely celebrate the grace of justification. They worship a God who’s bubbling over with grace. 

Thank goodness for modern medicine, right? We can postpone the stigma of aging if we have the money and inclination to have cosmetic surgery or nonsurgical cosmetic procedures, such as Botox, fillers, facial peels, and “rejuvenation” of certain body parts. We can have liposuction, tummy tucks, nose jobs and wage an all-out assault on aging, but in the end…the Apostle Paul speaks the truth…and most of us cringe to hear it—our outer nature is wasting away. So, if that’s true, how do we not lose heart? Join us this Sunday at 11:00am and/or 5:00pm as we explore how not to lose heart!

We’re to live in the world, but not be of the world. We’re called to steep ourselves in the truth and edify each other in holy huddles, but then we must hike the ball…and move it down the field, and that’s dangerous. So, Jesus prays to God for our protection as his followers go into the world to be light in the darkness. Join us this Sunday at 11:00 am or 5:00 pm. "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one." John 17:15, NRSV.

How do we invest time well in conversations with those who believe differently than we do? Shouldn’t we protect ourselves from being corrupted by non-Christian influences in our culture?

In this message, Pastor Mike talks to us about love…TITANIC LOVE. It’s the fourth and final message in his series on Love Without Limits. In Part 3, Pastor Mike claimed that Titanic lovers are Titanic prayer warriors, but that raises the question-- how do we become Titanic prayer warriors?

Do you have the strength to love like Jesus loved? Can you imagine loving that BIG? That requires reaching out to God like Jesus did. Yet, is intimacy with an invisible God possible? Can we develop a loving relationship with our unseen Creator? Check out this message to explore biblical answers to these questions!

The Lord wants us to love extravagantly. Paul calls it "bearing fruit." Ultimately, our lives will be more beautiful and fulfilling as we follow Jesus. We can can build our lives on the love of Christ, and we will never regret it.

In Part 1 of Love Without Limits, Pastor Mike talks about Jesus’ definition of family and His expectations of us with respect to loving others, both inside and outside our biological families.

Jason Venable delivers a message for us all entitled, "Holy Rest." Listen to learn the importance of rest and how you can achieve it!

Let’s say you attend one of those churches that leans to the left or leans to the right. What happens if you change your mind in one of those churches?

In this message, we explore the role that pain plays in blocking true belonging.

We are in part 2 of a 4-part series on Belonging. Last week, we talked about how we all long to belong, but some of us feel cut off from real connection with other people.

This is the first message in a four part series about Belonging!

This is the end our series on “The Way of The Heart." In this message, Pastor Mike focuses on a core skill for anybody who’s a follower of Jesus.

When is the last time you were in solitude and completely silent? What did you hear or feel?

"Becalmed" is a sailing term describing when a vessel isn't moving due to no wind in the sail. Spiritually speaking, how full is your sail this summer? Tonight we launch a new series called, The Way of The Heart. Come, fill your sail?

You've Died, Now What?   Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Join us in part 6 of this series about the apostle Paul!

This evening, we'll explore yet another version of Paul - Luke's depiction. Instead of a radical Paul, Luke paints a liberal Paul.

We’ve looked at several challenges of Paul, and tonight we take on the difficulty of understanding his language. We’ll focus on the similar titles given to Caesar and Jesus and contrast their kingdoms.

What do we do with Paul? He is undisputedly a hero in the missional proclamation of the gospel of Jesus. But depending on how you read the scriptures, he can be interpreted at times as both boldly progressive and slightly oppressive in his defense of tradition. How do we reconcile this?

Tonight, we continue with our series on the challenge of Paul. We’re addressing two more important questions, How can we make sense of Paul’s difficult writing? and Was Paul pro-slavery?

Was Paul anti-Semitic and anti-homosexual? Join us by listening to this message for a thought-provoking launch to our new series on “The Challenge of Paul.

The challenge we’re exploring tonight is—how do we best manage our time in order to fulfill our calling? Part of my “come-to-Jesus” experience during this series on “Ordering Your Private World” is admitting to myself that I’ve been adversely affected by our technology-driven, fast-paced Western world. Have you? I check my phone at almost every stoplight. How many likes did my Facebook post get? How many views of my online sermon? I can’t seem to stop multi-tasking, and I realize it’s a problem.

First off, there’s good news if you’re driven—you can change. If you’re operating according to drives and not calls, then owning it is the first step to change. When Paul was in his pre-Christian days, he was driven to persecute Jesus followers. Then, the risen Christ got up close and personal with him. Jesus asked Paul (who was actually named Saul at that moment) why he was persecuting him. In other words, Jesus convicted him of his destructive driven-ness…and he owned it. Jesus called him to a different mission in that moment, and everything changed.

How many of you are busy? Ok. Let’s dig a little deeper. There’s a busyness that reflects a plan…a set of priorities…an inner sense of purpose. That’s a good and satisfying busyness. But, there’s also a destructive busyness that reflects chaos. I’m talking about the tyranny of the urgent. If that’s your type of busyness, then your work never ends…your mood isn’t great…and you feel drained spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically.