St. Paul Podcast

Pastor Sara Olson-Smith preaches on simplicity. Sometimes in faith we don’t have to make things too complicated. So often we think that understanding God or receiving God's mercy or experiencing God’s love demands complicated or elaborate actions. We think there is some complicated recipe we need to cook up a bit of faith to experience God’s healing goodness. We often get in our own way of receiving this incredible gift.  

Preaching text: 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15 

Pastor Peter W. Marty preaches on 2 Timothy 1:1-7,14. “Guard the good treasure that has been entrusted to you, with the help of the holy spirit, keep safe what has been deposited in you.” What is it about your character, your integrity, your values, and priorities of faith that you would like to leave this world? You have to fan the flames of the precious faith, that treasure that is within you. Keep on rekindling that faith because God has not given you the spirit of timidity, but instead, the spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. 

Pastor Sara Olson-Smith preaches on Luke 16:19-31. This parable offers us an invitation to abundant life now, a way out of the stuckness, of breaking out of the circumstances that keep us apart and divide us. We break out of these patterns that divide the prisons of our own circumstances when we get to know a person beyond their situation, beyond their label. The way we build this new way of being in the world is simply by getting to know another person’s name.

Pastor Katy Warren preaches on Luke 19:1-10. There is no better time than right now to reevaluate what consumes our time, our attention, and our efforts in different ways. What we’ve prioritized and what we've put off. We can discover for ourselves the ways God’s love and grace actually move us toward lives that simply can’t wait to do something with that love. 

Pastor Peter W. Marty preaches on Exodus 32:7-14. To have a change of mind or a change of heart when we are wrong,  mistaken, or blind to a very important truth is a beautiful thing. To alter our course or reverse our ways of thinking when we have wronged others, disrespected them, or been too certain of our own certainty is a magnificent move that is open to all of us. Faith is all about change; change is a constant companion.

Pastor Megan Eide preaches on Psalm 139:14. ”I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” What difference will it make in our lives when we remember that we were fearfully and wonderfully made? If we saw our worthiness through God’s eyes we would live less for the approval of others, and instead, live freely and boldly as our unique selves.

Pastor Peter W. Marty preaches on gratitude from Luke 14:1, 12-14. How do you repay certain people for something life-changing they’ve done for you? There are times in our lives when gratitude wells up so deeply within us, the unstoppable kind of gratitude, and no note can possibly describe that feeling. There is a way to live life that honors God and others for the blessings we’ve known. 

Pastor Katy Warren preaches on the instinct toward love. That instinct includes choosing to look past societal norms, etiquette, or rules to show love and compassion when someone is hurting. Every day is the right day to care for one another. There is no wrong day to be overwhelmed by the peace and love of God. What are our instincts of faith? What is so ingrained in us that we don’t give a second thought to what our response is? 

Watch the video of the Little League pitcher referenced in Katy’s sermon.

Peter W. Marty preaches on the gifts of discernment. We each have our own unique gift of discernment that makes each of us who we are. We need more than heads full of knowledge, we need hearts full of wisdom. To better discern what is permanent and what is transient in this life and for this, we need wisdom of the heart.

From the early 20th century to the present day, the dream of America as a Beloved Community has grown in response to social conditions and shifts in worldview among philosophers, theologians, and social activists. Like each American Dream in this series, it has ties to certain aspects of the Christian gospel and has implications for ideas about the self, God, and others. That triad offers a lens through which to explore and engage constructively with any version of the American Dream that we might encounter.