Calvary Church Podcast

Our first Women's Gathering of 2026 with our Women's Ministry Director teaching on Jesus giving us more than we expect.

Title: The Upside Down Heart
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this teaching from the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Nate Holdridge continues through the Beatitudes by examining Matthew 5:6-8. Jesus describes an "upside down heart" that contradicts the world's values: while the world says to hunger for success, Jesus blesses those who hunger for righteousness; while the world says to get what you deserve, Jesus blesses those who give mercy to others; while the world says to manage your image, Jesus blesses those who purify their hearts. Pastor Nate unpacks each beatitude by exploring what it is, what it isn't, what it looked like in Jesus, and the promised result for those who embody it. This sermon emphasizes that the Beatitudes are not moralistic commands to try harder but descriptions of the fruit Jesus produces in those who follow him—transformation from the inside out.

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Title: The Upside Down Spirit
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this episode, we dive into Chapter 9: The Upside Down Spirit, a fresh look at Jesus’ opening words in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-5). Pastor Nate Holdridge guides us through the first three Beatitudes—poor in spirit, those who mourn, and the meek—and shows how Jesus turns the world’s values completely upside down. Rather than celebrating self-sufficiency, power, and confidence, Jesus invites his followers into a kingdom where blessing is found in spiritual need, brokenhearted dependence on God, and humble strength. Listeners will be challenged to rethink what it means to be “blessed” in Christ and discover how the upside-down spirit of God’s kingdom reshapes the way we see ourselves, others, and our world.

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Title: God's Beautiful Interruption
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9-10

Title: The Plan
Speaker: Mike Casey
Scripture: Lamentations 3:1-23

Title: Glory in our Midst
Speaker: Pastor Jared Burke

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Title: Jesus is God in the Flesh
Speaker: Austin Kava

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Title: Responding to the Light
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this message on John 1:9–13, Pastor Nate Holdridge continues our series, Light in the Darkness, by examining the pivotal response humanity must make to the coming of Christ. We explore the profound tragedy of those who reject their Maker and the surpassing treasure found by those who receive Him. We unpack the theology of regeneration and the incredible privilege of being given the right to become children of God, inviting us to see the Incarnation not just as a historical event, but as a personal invitation to a new life and eternal identity.

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Title: The Light of Life
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this Advent message from John 1:4-8, Pastor Nate Holdridge explores three essential realities about Jesus, the Light of Life. First, the Light is integral—the eternal Word who gives life to all humanity and whose illumination reaches every person through creation and conscience. Second, the Light is victorious—shining in present-tense power through the resurrection, defeating the darkness that cannot overcome Him. Third, the Light is the One we need—which is why God sent John the Baptist as a witness pointing to Jesus, so that all might believe. Whether you're groping in darkness and need to believe for the first time, or you're a believer called to witness like John, this message reminds us that Christmas celebrates the arrival of the Light who cannot be defeated—the One for whom our restless hearts were made.

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Title: The Eternal Word
Speaker: Nate Holdridge
Overview: In this sermon from John 1, Pastor Nate Holdridge explores the profound opening of John's Gospel—the Logos, the eternal Word who was with God and was God, and who became flesh to dwell among us. Walking through the encounters of John 2–11, Pastor Nate shows how Jesus met every form of human darkness: religious confusion, moral shame, physical helplessness, spiritual blindness, and even death itself. The sermon culminates in the Bethany scene of John 12, where Mary's extravagant anointing and Judas's cold calculation present two starkly different responses to the Light who has come. We must consider which response will be ours—will we pour out our lives in worship, or will we remain calculating in the darkness? This message is part of the Light in the Darkness Advent series through John 1:1-18 at Calvary Monterey.

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