Faith@First

March 15, 2020Matthew 26: 69-Matthew 27: 2 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB John said “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love. We love because God first loved us.”Within each crisis lives an opportunity. It could be that within this world health crisis, God is unveiling the futility of thinking that we live as individuals, that our actions are independent of others, that our lives don’t touch others. And God is giving us the opportunity to live in a more purposeful community and in a more intentional interconnectedness.That could be why scripture teaches us to love your neighbour as yourself. When we love each other as ourselves we move away from self-serving self-preservation, to ensuring that everyone participates in and enjoys the fruits of community. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999 Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

March 8, 2020Matthew 26: 36-54 Melanie DelvaFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB This weekend, FLC played host to the CLAY (Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth) production team composed of the band, drama teams and the keynote speaker, as they gathered for a creative development weekend. As a thank you for the use of the FLC space, the production team led worship. CLAY is a national youth gathering that happens every two years and welcomes youth aged 14-19 from across Canada. This year the event takes place here in Calgary at SAIT Polytechnique from August 20-23. Registration for the event is now open at https://events.eply.com/CLAY2020. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999 Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

March 1, 2020Matthew 26: 26-29 Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB As you come to receive the bread and the wine, the body and blood of Jesus, in this meal of hope, think about where you need hope. Where do you need the presence of Christ in your life? Where do you need a fresh start? Where do you need forgiveness? Where do you need healing? Where do you need love? Where does your story need to change? † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

February 26, 2020Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB The Lenten Fast is to remind you of your human limitations. The Lenten Fast is a bodily indication of your mortality. And the Lenten Fast is a moment in time when you reflect on your moments, for however many or few they may be. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

February 23, 2020Matthew 17:1-9 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Have you ever had a mountain moment of Transfiguration, a moment of mystery, an encounter with God that transcends human language? † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

February 16, 2020Matthew 5:21-37 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB The Kingdom of Heaven is Mercy and forgiveness. The Kingdom of Heaven is freedom. The Kingdom of Heaven is love for God and love of one's neighbour. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

February 2, 2020Matthew 5:1-12 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB You are the embodiment, the living expression of God’s promises, because Christ, who fulfilled all of God’s promises, lives within you.Stop hiding yourself. Stop hiding what God is doing in your life. Show everyone what is happening in your life. Don’t be afraid to let your life proclaim that God who lives within and among you. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

February 2, 2020Matthew 5:1-12 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB I’ve noticed that it’s in our hardship that we connect most deeply with others. It’s in our shared broken humanity, knowing that we are not alone in our suffering, that we receive a blessing. It’s from the cross that we receive resurrection † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999 Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

January 26, 2019Matthew 4:12-23 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB How would you know God's voice if you heard it? How would you describe that voice to your friends?However you hear it, God's call on our lives can be a fearful thing. And it's ongoing. It never stops. Life in Jesus is a life of service and a life of transformation. It's a life that embodies good news. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999 Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

The Annual General Meeting of First Lutheran Church. Read the annual report here. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999 Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

January 12, 2019Matthew 3:13-17 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran Church Calgary, AB It is in baptism where God’s promise to Jesus overflows from his life and spills into ours. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999 Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

January 5, 2019Matthew 2:1-12 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB The outward journey is an expression of the inward journey, the journey within one’s self to help see with greater clarity who it is that God has created in you, and to commune with the Christ who lives in you.Leaving home to be challenged and stretched. To be terrified and excited. To be confronted with the world’s depth of sadness, its surprising joy, and the particulars of everyday life, help you understand the journey within, and better understand yourself. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999 Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

December 29, 2019Matthew 2:13-23 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB You are God’s creative Word that has become flesh. You are God’s living Word speaking life and salvation. You are God’s eternal Word dwelling in Your world, wherever you are, and wherever you go. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999 Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

December 24, 2019Luke 2:1-14 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB This Christmas, perhaps the best way to celebrate Jesus’ birth, the arrival of the divine into our world, is, with prayerful intention, to grow more fully into who God created You to be, and to offer that beautiful human self to others to help them grow. So that we all may grow together. This Christmas, may the baby Jesus, the Christ Child, the divine arrival, be born in you again today, and awaken you to the divine in yourself and in others. May you continue to grow more fully into who God has created you to be. May God’s image grow more clearly in you each day. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999 Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

December 22, 2019Matthew 1:18-25 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB The third Sunday in Advent is the Sunday called "Love." It is important in this advent season to listen to and discern where God is leading us. Discernment doesn’t stop. Life is a constant quest that requires ongoing discernment, ongoing listening, ongoing questioning. And ongoing purposeful action. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999 Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

December 8, 2019Isaiah 11:1-10 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB This second Sunday in Advent is the Sunday called “Peace.” Change can happen in our world, not just by protesting, or winning elections, or lobbying those in power. But the real change, the real power comes when people recognize each other’s shared humanity, each created in the image of God, serving one another, being served by another, putting aside egos and agendas, learning from those who are different from us, hearing stories that may disturb us and opinions that infuriate us, then finding common connection, finding friends in the unlikeliest of places, and the spirit of the Lord resting upon us. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

December 1, 2019Isaiah 2:1-5 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB This first Sunday in Advent is the Sunday called “Hope.” I invite you during this coming week to listen to your life with hopeful ears, listen to your community, listen to your neighbours, and ask yourself, where are you seeing hope? Where are you hearing hope? Where are you living hope?. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

November 24, 2019Luke 23:33-43 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB As servants of Christ our King, the God on the cross, may you be known by how much you love, radiating the Christ who loved us so much that he died rather than lift a finger against those who were killing him, so that he would rise to transform the whole world into his loving likeness. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

November 17, 2019Luke 21:5-19 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Are we living in the End Times? No, we are living in this time. You are living in your time. All we really have is this moment, until this moment ends. Your moment ends. And another moment emerges. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

November 10, 20192 Corinthians 1:3-7 NRSV Laurie BennieFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Guest Preacher Laurie Bennie talks about her experience, the challenges and joys, of her first daughter being born with Downs Syndrome. How her heartbreak at the news that her daughter had a disability has, through prayer, turned to joy in the amazing person her daughter Michelle is. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

October 27, 2019Romans 3:18-28 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB When you receive that gift of faith in Holy Baptism, it is now God that trusts that you will know what to do with it. God trusts that you will be a people of faith, a people of joy, a people of love, a people of mercy and forgiveness, a people of unity and of peace. You may not always get it right, but you are forgiven when you fail, and you are put back on God’s path, so that you can use your moments and your days to be good news people in an often bad news world. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

October 20, 2019Luke 18:1-8 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB We believe in a God who, with a word, created something out of nothing. We believe in a God who shows us that words have tremendous creative power; and who shows us that words have devastating power to destroy. We believe in a God whose word is written on our hearts. We believe in a God who saves us through the Word that was made flesh. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

October 13, 2019Isaiah 43:18-21 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Jesus Radio Superstar Vol. 4 finishes with the song "Hope and Ruin" by The Trews.Gratitude compounds as you invest more into it. As I am grateful for this church and the privilege of serving as your pastor, I’m grateful for the opportunities this city has to offer, I’m grateful for my daughters who are growing into strong young women, and I’m grateful for this gift of being alive. That gift itself is a source of hope. This Thanksgiving, I encourage you to create your own gratitude list. In a world that looks like it’s in ruin, gratitude and thanksgiving, bring hope. And hope brings life. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

October 6, 2019Matthew 5:13-16 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Jesus Radio Superstar Vol. 4 continues with the song "Shine" by Collective Soul. ou don’t have to go looking for God’s light of life. That life already lives in you. That light is Jesus who through his death and resurrection, makes you fully alive. Today is World Communion Sunday. Today we celebrate, with believers all over the world, the Holy Supper. And when we share this meal, we recognize and celebrate the living light that is in all of us, as a Collective Soul, a shared Spirit, and a common humanity who bear Christ’s name. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

September 29, 2019Ephesians 5:6-14 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Jesus Radio Superstar Vol. 4 continues with the song "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes.In a world that demands sameness, Christ brings oneness, where people are loved, celebrated, and encouraged for being who they are, together. And where people grow into who God created them to be, casting off everything that doesn’t bring or give life. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

September 22, 20191 Peter 5:6-11 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Jesus Radio Superstar Vol. 4 continues with the song "From Now On" from the musical The Greatest Showman.Are you living someone else’s dream, instead of the one God has placed in you? Are you living your authentic life, or are you living according to someone else’s fears and expectations? Have you been told you have to prove your worth in order to take up space on this planet?God tells you a different story. God says that you are to be celebrated for who you are, and for what you bring to this world. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast! † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

September 15, 2019Matthew 7:7-13 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Jesus Radio Superstar Vol. 4 continues with the song "Lonely Road Of Faith" by Kid Rock.Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is about reuniting that which was cut off. It provides a vision for putting our egos aside, our needs for power, prestige, and possessions, so that we can dive deeply into our humanity, our human connections, our relationships with each other, and with everything God created. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

September 8, 2019Psalm 37:23-28 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB We kick-off Jesus Radio Superstar Vol. 4 with the song "Fall On Me" by Andrea Boccelli.God has brought us together, and we say to each other, as the body of Christ, as the visible form of the invisible God, as ones who bear Christ’s flesh.We are each other’s strength. We are each other’s clarity. We are each other’s groundedness. We are each other’s wisdom. We give each other hope. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

  August 25, 2019Jeremiah 1:4-10 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB The World cannot be changed by one person. But one person can change their World.And you can change Your World. In how you live your life. In the forgiveness you offer and receive. In your generosity towards those who have little or nothing. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

August 18, 2019Isaiah 5:1-7 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB When we break our relationship with God, when we are unfaithful, God reaches out to us in love. God takes our hand and leads us back to the vineyard. And the relationship is stronger than ever before. Today’s reading is rendered as a love-song between two beloveds. That is the defining characteristic of the relationship. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

August 11, 2019Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Our journey of faith is to return to Jerusalem, to claim our citizenship, and to grow more fully into who God has created us to be. To build on the strengths that you’ve been given, to grow in the love that is inside you, to walk in the wisdom that God has given you, so that you will shine God’s loving power into this world, and be a light to those living in shadows. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

August 04, 2019Hosea 11:1-11 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, ABFaithfulness born from love, God’s lovingkindness, is the only power that endures in this world, because it is the only power that was there from the beginning.It was the power that created everything in this expansive universe, it is the only power that truly transforms people’s lives, it is the only power that leads us beyond this world into eternity.It is the only power that leads us home. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

July 28, 2019Hosea 1:2-10 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, ABOur Sermon series on the old testament prophets continues with part one of two on the Prophet Hosea. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

July 21, 2019Amos 8:1-12 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB The second part of Pastor Kevin's Sermon on the old testament Prophet Amos as part of our summer series The Prophets. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

July 14, 2019Amos 7:7-17 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Our Sermon series on the old testament prophets continues with part one of two on the Prophet Amos. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

July 7, 20192 Kings 5:1-14 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Our value comes not from service but because we have been created in love for love. The Prophet Elisha showed us that its ok not to be in control.Lack of control actually makes us free, free to live life as our true selves, free to explore who we really are, free to see our life as a vast expanse of opportunity, rather than a set of constraints imposed on us. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

Resurrection takes discernment. It doesn’t happen in an instant. It takes deep listening. Listening to each other. Listening to our community. Listening to our culture. Listen to the words of scripture. All through which, we listen to God. Discernment cannot be planned. It cannot be mapped in advance. Discernment doesn’t have a predetermined outcome. Discernment is as prayerful as it is strategic. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

June 23, 20191 Kings 19:1-15a NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB It was in the sound of sheer silence through which God spoke to the prophet Elijah. Terrifying silence. A silence that demanded Elijah listen.Silence is confrontational. It isn't the absence of sound but the presence of truth. Silence isn't just experienced with our ears but with our souls also. Silence is an invitation to a new beginning, it doesn't just expose our emptiness, it points to a different path; God's path for you. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

June 16, 2019John 16: 12-15 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB A very real, and tangible expression of our human unity as creations of a creative God is when we gather in prayer and praise, when we sing together, when our voices unite in praise and even when our voices are raised in lament and longing, when our hearts are joined through common song, we mirror the three-in-one God who is united in love. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!    

June 11, 2019Acts 2: 1-21 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB The Spirit keeps giving us visions of a new and better future. The Spirit keeps giving us dreams of a more passionate and compassionate life. The Spirit keeps giving us words of love and God’s life-giving power to prophesy to a world that can seem so mired in division and anger. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

June 2, 2019Acts 16: 16-34 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB As followers of Jesus, we are called to embody the freedom that Jesus brings, the freedom to love, the freedom to serve, the freedom to grow into who God created us to be rather than remain chained to the expectations of others. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

May 26, 2019Acts 16: 9-15 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB The Book of Acts isn’t about how Peter and Paul sought to convert the world to a new religion, but how they created communities of compassion, how they planted churches that embodied Christ’s love. How they healed deep spiritual wounds. How they discerned the Spirit’s leading by identifying and lifting up leaders that others would have overlooked. † † † Support our ministry at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

May 19, 2019Acts 11: 1-18 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB In a world that appears to be increasingly divided, our Christian witness is show what unity looks like, what love looks like, what forgiveness looks like. And also to celebrate those who live a different vision than the one who profit from human division. † † † Support our ministry at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6...Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

May 12, 2019Acts 9: 36-43 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB In a world that keeps saying “The first female this” and “the first female that” God says, I’ve already been there. I’ve already done that.Listen as Pastor Kevin speaks about Jesus' disciple Dorcas. † † † Support our ministry at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6...Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

May 5, 2019Acts 9: 1-20 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Where have you awakened? When did you become more alive to God and alive to yourself? Or are your eyes closed, waiting for the scales to fall? Can you hear Jesus but not see him? † † † Support our ministry at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6...Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

April 28, 2019Acts 5: 27-32 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Christians are called not to dominate the world, or exercise power over others, Christians are called to serve the world in Jesus’ name, to bring life to others by telling and living Jesus’ story in our lives. As the world appears to be more divided, our job as Christians, as children of the God of life, is to show the world that there is another way. † † † Support our ministry at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6...Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

April 21, 2019Luke 24: 1-12 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Resurrection is the antidote to fear and hopelessness. Resurrection begins when you stop believing the lies our world tells us and start believing the truth about you. The truth that you were created in love. † † † Support our ministry at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6...Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

April 19, 2019John 18: 1-19, 42 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB On Good Friday we strip ourselves down to our barest humanity, as Jesus’ suffering and death draw us to ourselves that show us who we truly are, no illusions, no masks, and asks that we show that person to the world, rather than fight to preserve the illusion and keep the mask tightly on our faces. † † † Support our ministry at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6...Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

April 18, 2019Luke 22:7-23 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB Our Lenten journey ends as we enter the Triduum (Three days). Maundy Thursday, the night in which Jesus was betrayed and when Jesus instituted Holy Communion. † † † Support our ministry at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6...Remember to Rate & Review our podcast!

April 14, 2019Luke 23 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB When we look to the cross, we know that when we are rejected, he has borne that rejection, we know that when we've failed, he has borne that failure, we know that when we've sinned, Jesus has borne that sin. We know that when we die, he has borne our death.We know this because his story and our story has been woven together in a strange tapestry of stories that come together in this story, the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. † † † Support our ministry at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999/donationRemember to Rate & Review our podcast!

April 07, 2019John 12: 1-8 NRSV Kevin PowellFirst Lutheran ChurchCalgary, AB When Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet it wasn't supposed to make sense to Judas or the disciples because God's love doesn't make sense. God's love is offensive to common wisdom. It mocks logic. It doesn't add up and doesn’t even try to. It doesn't calculate risk versus reward. It simply pays without worrying about the price. † † † Support our ministry at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/6999/donationRemember to Rate & Review our podcast!