Still Speaking with Ivanhoe Church

Dr. Alli Salituro joins our conversation on compassionate community. Absence and loss are intensified during this pandemic-estranged holiday season. Recognizing that we need witness and presence more than answers, we can practice open listening for our friends and neighbors, using rhetorical techniques like ‘yes, and,’ or ‘tell me more,’ to help them draw strength in …

Continue reading "Episode 44: Compassionate Community"

Pastor Kris and Shelley speak of the lessons in following the way of Christ found in Hebrews 10:19-35. Jesus showed us a way of life perfectly committed to love for God and neighbor; through Jesus we hold fast to hope, that best anchor of the soul. We are called in this passage to inspire and encourage each other, together lifting our sight to find that certain good.

Today, Pastor Kris and Shelley talk about the grief we bear, the losses we have incurred, and how our deep rooting in faith allows us to bend but not break under this strain. This taproot of faith feeds our growth. May you find God's presence surrounding and nourishing, offering you space and grace for change.

Just when we feel we haven't done enough, we can be surprised by thanks. Pastor Kris and Shelley discuss 1 Thessalonians 1, a thank-you prayer for "your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." As the church is renewed in this pandemic moment of crisis, and we go with Christ in our hearts to reach people where they are. Even amidst worldly chaos, God is still speaking, the risen Christ's message ever more relevant.

In the seventh month of these difficult times, Pastor Kris and Shelley discuss Paul’s message to the Philippians affirming, thought the power of resurrection, that God’s love is more powerful than anything else, even death. As the scripture asks us to forget what lies behind and strain forward to the good that lies ahead and …

Continue reading "Episode 40: Okay To Not Be Okay"

Pastor Kris and Shelley discuss the love spoken of in 1 John 4, which calls us into community. When we read scripture, we can say with conviction and courage that all people are created in God’s image, and therefore they all have value, all matter, and are all beloved children of God. The scripture challenges us to embody God’s inclusive love with boldness.

Pastor Kris and Shelley discuss Jesus’s entreaty on forgiveness in Matthew 18. If we ask what kind of community God desires us to be, Pastor Kris proposes we consider how failure to forgive one another can lead to disruption and degradation in our community. Forgiveness becomes a courageous act when Jesus upends the limit in Peter’s query.

Pastor Kris and Shelley discuss Romans 12 and how this prescription for living a Spirit-filled life can offer hope in our times of significant stress and change. They pose how building these acts of love into your daily routine can be transformative.

Pastor Kris and Shelley discuss the Genesis 45 story of Joseph's reunion with his brothers, the complex nature of mercy, and the boldness that it often requires. Comparing the Genesis story with a modern account of grace, Pastor Kris underlines how bold forgiveness can elevate us to find God's compelling unity for our humanity.

Pastor Kris and Shelley discuss Genesis 32:22-31, in which Jacob finds himself alone, soon to spend the night in a pitched night wrestling match that will leave him with a limp and an extraordinary blessing. We live in a pandemic time of exceptional isolation, wrestling with many present concerns. In your quiet moments may you find God is with you, going forward with blessing.