Welcome to the weekly audio podcast for Shepherd of the Desert in Scottsdale, AZ where our mission is to lead people to follow Jesus. Our desire is that this podcast will encourage you in your relationship with God. Visit us at sotdaz.org.
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We dive into a new series called United To The Finish! Join us for today's audio sermon.
As we step out of a victorious and joy-filled Easter, we step into a world desperate to know Jesus. How can we share our faith, and show how much God loves our neighbors? Let's take a cue from the Apostle John and consider whether our lives reflect God's action on us. Jesus brings us close to the Father, and the Spirit shines through us toward others!
This weekend Jesus storms into the temple courtyard overturning tables and booths, and driving out merchants and animals. Talk about some Spring cleaning! What does this surprising outburst from the Savior say to people like you and me, people who try to be quiet, gentle, and loving all the time? Join us in worship as we consider the Spring cleaning Jesus just might have to do in us.
Everyone knows who Jesus is, right? We all have the same general idea about His purpose, His power, and His personality... but are we missing something? Join us in worship this week for a deeper look at Jesus' identity, and what it really means, concretely, to follow Him. In the dark and obscure landscape of earthly life it has never been more important to know who you follow.
As the days grow longer, Shepherd begins a new worship series: When Shadows Fall, Careful Steps with Jesus Toward the Cross. Here in Arizona, we take walking somewhat seriously. Diamondback rattlesnake bites can cause serious damage. We've learned to walk, look, and, most importantly, listen. Warnings abound the wary traveler. Join us this weekend as we take our first, tepid, timid steps into Lent. Even when shadows fall, the Light of Christ guides us safely home.
This Sunday we encounter Jesus in a new light, compared to the rest of the Gospel story. He takes three close disciples to the top of a mountain and reveals to them a glimpse of His heavenly glory! Why? This revelation not only surprises and even scares Jesus' closest friends, but it emphasizes His important and trustworthy nature. This is God's Son, and where He leads, we can most certainly follow.
We've spent the last four weeks together digging into what it means to live a life "guided by God's Word." We've heard from the pages of the New Testament about the principles necessary in identifying goals worth following. This weekend we explore the great challenge of dedication - how far will you go, how much will you give in pursuit of this God-guided life? Join us in worship for the conclusion to our series "Good Goals: Life Guided by God's Word."
Who are your goals about? Of course we make goals for ourselves and families, but God''s work in our lives broadens the scope. How can my goals take others into consideration? What would my life look like if I was oriented toward the care of my neighbor? How can I live a life that brings others closer to Jesus? Join us Sunday as we explore the role of consideration in our journey through Good Goals: Life Guided by God's Word.
There are a lot of competing factors for our attention and devotion in life. If we allow any of one of them to eclipse the central role our relationship with Jesus has for us, we run the risk of constant anxiety and worry because each of them will ultimately fail us. This world is full of things that will eventually pass away, but God gives us the One that will never fail - His everlasting Son. Join us as we dive deeper into Good Goals this weekend!
Getting after a goal can be tough. What if I don't feel like it? What if there are habits or mindsets that get in the way? In 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul gives insight into our relationship with Jesus - that He is the One who has redeemed and paid for us! This fact, which reveals our purpose as temples of the Spirit, answers the toughness of goal-getting. No longer living for "just me," I am free to pursue the life God has marked out for me! Join us in worship as we explore discipline: the key to living free.
New Year's is full of opportunity and potential - will you make this one count? Do you have a resolution that will change things for the better? On Sunday we are hearing the famous story of the Wise Men and will take a lesson from them about how to approach these kinds of “restart” seasons. Join as we kick off our 2024 preaching calendar with Good Goals: Life Guided by God's Word!
Imagine having a heart-to-heart with two pastors who have wisdom to share about life, friendships, family, and the power of encouragement. That's exactly what you'll get with Pastors John Karolus and Scott Seidler in this episode of Valley Chat. This soul-stirring conversation unravels the importance of male friendships, the role of family encouragement, and the profound power of sincere conversations in sustaining your spiritual journey. Whether you're a pastor, a church goer, or someone embarking on their spiritual exploration, you're bound to gain insights into the importance of longevity in relationships and the significance of family support.Now, let's talk about you. How do you give and receive encouragement? Are you an extrovert who thrives on uplifting others, or an introvert who finds solace in quiet motivation? In this episode, we reveal how different personalities perceive encouragement. We also touch upon the joy of being an encourager, the exhilaration of creating dynamic loops of encouragement, and the importance of paying it forward. Pastor Scott, with his wealth of experience, shares his insights on how to nurture these relationships and be a catalyst for positivity. So, tune in to reflect, learn, and most importantly, to be encouraged. This is not just a podcast episode; it's a conversation that promises to inspire and uplift you in more ways than one.
Join us this season for our series "Advent-ually": Adventually. What a great descriptor of the blue season of the Church year before Christmas. A mash up of Advent, the season, and eventually, the adverb, and the outcome is a great summary of “the hopes and fears of all the years [which] are met in Thee [Christ] tonight.” Join us as we delight in a new found word-friend, becoming oriented more keenly toward Christmas and CHRISTMAS [the Last Day when Christ comes again].
Adventually. What a great descriptor of the blue season of the Church year before Christmas. A mash up of Advent, the season, and eventually, the adverb, and the outcome is a great summary of “the hopes and fears of all the years [which] are met in Thee [Christ] tonight.” Join us as we delight in a new found word-friend, becoming oriented more keenly toward Christmas and CHRISTMAS [the Last Day when Christ comes again].
Join us for worship this weekend as we begin our Christmas anticipating Advent series “Picture Perfect.” The cards we send and photos we post this time of year would have you believe everything is perfect and we're all very happy - but real life is different, and as Christians we remember that Jesus is the true center of our lives, no matter how messy our family photographs get.
Join Pastor Alan for a Thanksgiving message from our Shea campus
This week our digital worship is a showcase of the resurrected Shepherd Podcast! Join Pastors Scott and John as they dig into what it means to be a Christian who doesn't forget their identity as a human being, created by God for the very life He has placed them in! Check it out at the link below this Sunday.
I love when something is done really well - even if it is not something I am particularly interested in, like a vegetarian dessert, or historical docu-drama. This weekend, we hear a particularly well-executed parable that leaves anyone who hears it exactly where Jesus wants them to be. What does it mean for us, and how can we be ready for His return? Join us at Shea as we dig into the Parable of the Ten Virgins. ~ Pastor John
This weekend our congregation celebrates All Saints Sunday. This is an opportunity for us to recall the lives of those who have finished their courses in this life and now find rest in God's presence.
Progress and innovation are central priorities for our world and lives today - and this weekend we celebrate the Reformation of 1517 triggered by Martin Luther's public display of his famed 95 theses on the door to the church in Wittenberg! How does that dusty memory from organ-filled sanctuaries relate to our increasingly fast paced world? Come to worship as we dig into John 8 and hear how the unshakeable foundations at the core of faith give us footholds in our world of constant shift and movement!
Songs have a way of marking new seasons, commemorating events, inaugurating moments of importance. In Psalm 96 we're told to join with all creation in the singing of a new song! Join us in worship as we explore what that new song is, and how to sing it with every fiber of our being.
One of the most prominent pictures the Bible paints for us to understand our relationship with God is that of a Shepherd and His sheep. Psalm 23 is perhaps the most familiar example we have outside of the Gospels, and this weekend we dive deep into this seemingly simple text to discover a wealth of comfort and joy. Join us for worship as we hear again the promise of God's presence, and the eternal kingdom we will enjoy under His reign.
Everyone, everywhere, at some point will ask the question; "am I enough?" This question arises out of a range of feelings, from despair to curiosity - but it is not a question without an answer! Join us in worship as we explore what it means to count on someone who can make a difference, and understanding whether we really are enough. [Phil 3:4b-14]
What are the melodies in the background of your faith, the sounds and poetic words that shaped your deepest convictions? Music is a gift God gives to us, and in October, we are exploring the beautiful relationship between Scripture and song. Join us as we hear a few classics we know, and a few ancient hymns new to us, all grounded and guided by the unchanging Word of God! [Psalm 25:1-10]
Theories abound around the root of true and lasting love. It's what makes you most happy, what brings you the most joy, where you find the most fulfillment - but these theories all gravitate and find their source in one place... the selfish desires inside each of us. The Truth about love is that it must find its source outside of ourselves! It is a gift received, rather than something we go and take for our own keeping. Join us as we hear from Philippians what this non-theoretical, life-changing love really looks like.
Have you ever stopped overthinking something and refocusing somewhere else only for that first thing to start naturally improving and falling into place? This weekend we hear from Paul about how keeping our focus on God reorients our human relationships. Join us in church as we take a close look at who we are trying to please, what opinions matter, and how our faith changes the nature of our friendships and connections! [Romans 14:1-12]
Pastor John is leading us through the question of LOVE: Given or Taken? Is love something we discover on our own, or shape for ourselves? Or, as the apostle Paul will reveal, is it something that God has designed especially for our good? Walk through Romans and Philippians with us as we discover the truth behind the love God gives. [Romans 13:1-10]
This weekend Pastor John spends time talking to Maryanne Krueger about Shepherd's partnership with Family Promise. Learn more about how you can get involved.
This week we finish up our summer series on Jesus' parables. We fittingly turn to Matthew 21 and find the parable about evil farmers who act out against the one who hired them. Though the narrative is familiar, and the underlying point perhaps even more so, we are left with a challenging conclusion which may shake us to our very core. What do I think about Jesus? Join us in worship as we consider the claims of the Son of David... and the impact He has on our lives.
Sometimes the conversations Jesus has seem to be aimed at one or two people in particular. This weekend, Jesus uses a short parable to prove a point to the religious leaders who rejected His message. At the same time, when we dig deeper into what He says, we realize that Jesus has a critical message for us, too! Join us this week as we take a look at what really counts, in Matthew 21:28-32.
New beginnings often call for special attention and special ceremony. Every Fall our staff begins a new school year and this week we want to embrace our theme verse at the preschool, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD!” We are creatures made for noise making - but do we always sound joyful? Join us this week as we take a deeper look at Psalm 98 and what it means to sing this song to our loving and righteous God.
This weekend we encounter the favorite among parables, the lost sheep. As we explore the short passage on the heart of our loving God, we will learn how our hearts might be shaped to reflect His toward our brothers and sisters in the world around us.
Some of the greatest speeches are incredibly short. The Gettysburg Address is only 271 words long, but by it Abraham Lincoln galvanized a democracy in peril. This weekend Pastor john takes a look at two parables comprising 3 verses but communicate volumes about the beauty of the kingdom and the great cost it requires to acquire it.
Who are your enemies? That's a provocative question given that most of us don't have enemies. We may dislike people and people may dislike us. Personalities do rub the wrong way. But having an enemy is a rarity for most people. This weekend we learn about God's enemy--His, and by extension ours. In Matthew 13 we bump up against a parable by which we learn to estimate rightly the insidious power of our great Enemy. And, we learn the patience of God in dealing with this Foe and those who labor for its cause.
Our journey through the parable of Jesus in Matthew continues this week as we hear the familiar story of the sower. A man plants some seeds, and where they fall has incredible consequences for their growth. The question that faces all of us, of course, is what kind of soil are we? Join us for worship as we explore the significant lessons from this parable, seeking to be the good soil where the Kingdom of God expands!
The End Times are a perennial favorite of Christians everywhere. How the whole world as we know it meets eternity is a delicious, scary mystery we can't stop binge watching. This July 9th Sunday sees our ministry team leading us to edge of eternity with the parable of the 10 Bridesmaids who longed to meet the groom as the Church longs to meet Jesus in eternity. Come and get a taste of heaven this weekend.
Have you ever been so caught up in something that you can't get away? Distracted by some project or need that you feel trapped? The truth is, we all have a hard time escaping what has us under its control - and at the root of it all we find sin inside us. But Jesus has a plan for victory, accomplished in His own life and ministry, His death and resurrection. This freedom is ours through Him! Join us as we hear about this cosmic conquest from Matthew 12!
Have you ever been a part of something that took time as well as effort? This weekend we hear a very short story from Jesus with a very deep application into the way God works. Though we hear of extraordinary examples of miracles and conversions, it is important to remember how God works every ordinary day, too! Join us for worship as we explore the impact of something as small as a pinch of yeast when God is doing what He does!
This Father's Day weekend we continue our journey through stories and sayings of Jesus. In just two short verses we are given a picture of the Kingdom of God that flies in the face of our expectations - a tiny seed planted into soil. How might this simple picture reveal a complex and beautiful reality of the reach and reign of God's authority?
For the next installment in our series on Jesus' parables, we turn to one of his familiar sayings. Join us in worship as we explore how Jesus unpacks the reality for us that being transformed by Him comes from the inside out, rather than our external efforts to bring about internal change!
Have you ever seen someone work shorter hours, have less skill, and achieve less for the supervisor just to be rewarded more than they should be? Jesus uses this kind of story to teach us an important lesson in the first week of our Summer Series Planted: Jesus' teachings on life and the Kingdom of God. We will be hearing from the Great Teacher as he opens our eyes, hearts, and minds to the beautiful and wonder-full wisdom of God's grace! Let's grow deeper and be planted more firmly together over the next few months!
Pentecost is one of the "big" Sundays in the church year - the day when the Holy Spirit kicked off the movement we call the Church all across the world! What began with twelve people following Jesus exploded into thousands and thousands trusting in His message. This weekend, join us in worship as we dig into the story of Pentecost, and see how it still matters, even today!
This week we are spending a lot of our time together in the narrative and story of Acts chapter 1. We will learn about the desire Jesus has for His church to live and move in unity, and how that looks in real life. The disciples had to adjust and adapt to changing circumstances - and we have a lot to learn from their example!
This week in worship we hear the familiar account of Paul in Athens. When faced with the marketplace full of different idols and ideas, he speaks the truth in love and witnesses effectively. What we learn from his message is the importance of listening to understand, and speaking to be understood.
This weekend in worship, as part of our "Toward the Dawn" series, we step further into the 1st Letter of Peter who was an eyewitness of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Peter challenges us to consider what it means to live as Easter people. Hint: It's about transformation!
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