Generation to Generation: There’s Room for Every Story — Hope
Matthew 1:1–17 | Advent Week 1

This Advent, we begin a journey through the stories that carried hope forward — generation to generation — all the way to Jesus, and now to us. In Matthew’s Gospel, the story of Christ doesn’t begin with angels or shepherds, but with a long list of names. Some we recognize. Most we don’t. Yet each one played a part in paving the way for God’s love to take on flesh.

In this sermon, Pastor Zach reminds us that Matthew’s genealogy is more than a historical record — it’s a proclamation that there is room in God’s family for every story: heroes and imperfect people, insiders and outsiders, the remembered and the forgotten. And if their stories mattered, so does yours.

As we light the candle of hope this week, we reflect on the ways our lives are shaped by those who came before us — and how God continues to work through our relationships, our choices, and our communities today. Because hope didn’t end in Bethlehem. Hope continues every time we share the story of God’s love at work in our lives.

Where will God’s hope show up in your story this season?

We Believe: The Resurrection of the Body and the Life Everlasting
Luke 17:20–22

In this final installment of our We Believe series, we explore the last two profound lines of the Apostles’ Creed: “the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” These ancient words point us not only toward the hope we hold for the end of life, but toward the very real, very present work of God happening in us and around us right now.

Drawing from Jesus’ reminder that “the kingdom of God is already among you,” Pastor Zach invites us to let go of the unhelpful, distorted images we sometimes carry about resurrection and eternal life. Instead, we discover resurrection as God’s healing, renewing, deeply embodied work—both in the life to come and in the life we are living today.

In this episode, we reflect on:

• What resurrection is and what it is not

• Why our embodied lives matter deeply to God

• How the Holy Spirit brings daily, ordinary resurrections into our stories

• Where everlasting life begins—not someday, but here and now

• What it means to see God’s kingdom breaking into the world in small, grace-filled ways

Along the way, we turn toward the mountains and burned-over forests of Montana as a living parable of grief, renewal, and hope. And we end by reclaiming the Creed as more than something we say—it's something that forms us, grounds us, and sends us out as resurrection people.

Listen in as we close this journey through the Creed by standing together in hope, proclaiming who we are and who we are becoming.

We Believe: The Forgiveness of Sins

Psalm 103:9–12

“As far as the east is from the west—
that’s how far God has removed our sin from us.”

Forgiveness sounds simple when we say it in the Creed: “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.”
But living it out? That’s where it gets complicated.

In this week’s message, Pastor Zach unpacks what it means to truly believe in forgiveness — not just as an abstract idea, but as a transformative way of life. Drawing from Psalm 103 and the heart of the Apostles’ Creed, we explore the hard, honest questions:
Who really deserves forgiveness?
What about accountability and justice?
And what happens when the person we most need to forgive is ourselves?

Forgiveness is messy, costly, and deeply human — yet it’s also the heartbeat of God’s grace. In the rhythm of confession and communion, we hear again those life-changing words:
“In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.”

May this message invite you to practice forgiveness — with others, with yourself, and with God — and discover how that grace can begin to heal the world.

We Believe: The Church and Communion of Saints”

In this All Saints Sunday message, Pastor Zach continues the We Believe series, exploring what it means to proclaim, “I believe in the holy catholic church and the communion of saints.”

Through the words of the Apostles’ Creed, we’re reminded that the Church is bigger than any building or denomination—it’s the universal body of Christ that stretches across time and place. On this sacred day of remembrance, we name and honor the saints who have gone before us, those who have shaped our faith and left their light shining in us.

Drawing from Matthew 5:14–16, Pastor Zach reminds us that we are the light of the world—called not to hide that light, but to let it shine through our love, compassion, and everyday faith. From the sanctuary to the celebration of Día de los Muertos, we see how joy and grief intertwine, and how the legacy of the saints continues to illuminate our path.

We Believe: The Trinity

Scripture: John 1:1–14

This week we begin a new series — We Believe — exploring the foundations of Christian faith through the words of the Apostles’ Creed.

In this first message, We Believe: The Trinity, Pastor Zach unpacks what it means to believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit — three expressions of one divine love. From creation to incarnation to the Spirit’s ongoing work among us, we’re reminded that faith isn’t about explaining mystery, but embracing it.

The Creed roots us in the steady truth of a God who still creates, redeems, and sustains; a Christ who still brings light into darkness; and a Spirit who still moves through us to do good and love well.

Join us as we reclaim these ancient words as a living story — one that continues in us today.

Listen, reflect, and be reminded: creation is still good, resurrection still happens, and the Holy Spirit is still stirring the Church to do good in the world.

Jesus for Everyone: Meeting Jesus in Our Time
John 20:1–10

As we close out our Jesus for Everyone series, we turn to the resurrection story — not on Easter morning, but in the middle of October — to remind ourselves that resurrection isn’t confined to one season or Sunday.

Throughout this series, we’ve seen Jesus meet people right where they are — in grief, in fear, in doubt, in hope — and today, that truth comes full circle. From Mary at the tomb to the disciples behind locked doors to Thomas searching for proof, each encounter reveals a Savior who shows up in the middle of our real, imperfect lives.

In this message, Pastor Zach invites us to see resurrection with fresh eyes — to notice how Jesus still meets us right where we are and how those encounters continue to transform our stories.

Listen in and reflect: Where is Jesus meeting you — in your grief, your fear, your doubt, or your hope?

In this episode of Jesus for Everyone, Pastor Zach Bechtold invites us to take a closer look at one of the most familiar — and most misunderstood — meals in all of Scripture: the Last Supper.

Rooted in the Jewish Passover, this sacred gathering wasn’t just a meal; it was a story of liberation, faith, and community retold around a table filled with meaning. And in that ancient story, Jesus does something radical — he redefines the table itself.

This week, Pastor Zach explores what it means that everyone — including Judas — had a seat at that table. What does it say about the kind of grace Jesus offers? What does it mean for the people we might rather keep at arm’s length?

On this World Communion Sunday, we’re reminded that the Lord’s Table is bigger than we imagine — a table where there’s room for every story, every struggle, and every soul.

Because if there was a seat for Judas… there’s a seat for you, too.

Jesus for Everyone: Healing
Luke 8:40–56

In this week’s message, Pastor Zach explores two powerful encounters of healing—Jairus’ daughter and the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. Both stories reveal that Jesus’ healing is not about sin, blame, or ritual purity, but about dignity, agency, and life restored.

Together, we’ll reflect on what true healing looks like—not just physical, but emotional, relational, and spiritual wholeness. Drawing from AJ Levine’s Jesus for Everyone, we’ll ask how these stories invite us to care for ourselves and one another with the same tenderness and courage Jesus shows.

Because the good news is this: Jesus for Everyone means healing for everyone.

Jesus for Everyone: Insiders and Outsiders
Matthew 15:21–28

In this week’s message, Pastor Zach continues our Jesus for Everyone series with a challenging story of Jesus and the Canaanite woman. It’s an encounter that doesn’t sound like the Jesus we expect—silence, rejection, even harsh words—until persistence and faith break through the boundaries of who’s in and who’s out.

What does this story have to say to us today, in a world eager to draw lines and define outsiders? Pastor Zach invites us to wrestle with our own assumptions and discover again the wideness of God’s mercy—a mercy that makes room for everyone.

This week at Bozeman United Methodist Church, we had the joy of welcoming Bishop Kristin Stoneking as our guest preacher during our 160th anniversary celebration. Preaching from Matthew 19:16–30, Bishop Kristin reminded us that the love of God is for everyone, and that following Jesus is a call to love deeply, give generously, and welcome widely.

Drawing from her own ministry experiences, the history of our congregation, and Amy-Jill Levine’s book Jesus for Everyone, she invited us to see Jesus not as distant or exclusive, but as the living presence of God’s love and justice for all people.

As we look back on 160 years of ministry in Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley, and forward to the future God is calling us into, this sermon is both a celebration and a challenge: to keep proclaiming with our words and our lives that Jesus is, indeed, for everyone