One of the distinctive experiences for newcomers to Grace is the way we celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. In this episode, Mark and Cameron touch on the theology, but focus mostly on the practicalities of how our communion services work and why they are accompanied by so much joy. 

During Holy Week, Mark and Cameron have been reflecting on the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, inspired by a sermon by Dan Reed, Grace’s director of discipleship and education. According to Mark’s Gospel, after entering the city, Jesus heads to the Temple to “look around at everything.” In this episode, we ask why the Temple is his destination, and what it must have been like to look around it with the cross in mind. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

“Hosanna in the Highest: Christ the King and the Coming Cross,” by Dan Reed

As Grace’s journey through the Sermon on the Mount continues, Cameron and Mark tackle the complicated question of how to think about money. Jesus warns that our hearts are set on whatever we treasure, and that we cannot serve God and Mammon. But how do we reconcile the call to value spiritual rather than physical things with the reality that God created a physical world and declared it good? 

What if the greatest composer in human history set the passion narrative of Christ to music? As a matter of fact, he did. In this episode, Mark talks to talks to Maestro Delta David Gier, music director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra about Bach’s St. Matthew Passion — a preview of a special event Grace will host later this month called Hearing the Music: The St. Matthew Passion. We’ll also hear from another member of the Grace community, Hannah Larsen, about her experience using the St. Matthew Passion for Lenten devotions. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Matthew 26-27 Passion Narrative

Hearing the Music (podcast featuring David and Mark)

Details on the April 2 SDSO performance of the St. Matthew Passion

In this episode, Cameron asks Mark about the way Grace marks the season of Lent, in particular Ash Wednesday. And then the discussion turns to Grace’s unique D-N-A, the longings for more grace, more depth, and more community that keep bringing us together as a church. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Grace D-N-A

Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek and not resist evil-doers, but in a fallen world, wouldn’t that kind of passivity open the door for evil to triumph? In this episode, Cameron and Mark put the Sermon on the Mount in its uncomfortable but essential context. They also discuss the various ways Christian theology has approached the idea of a “just war.”

Mentioned in this episode:

Pierre Viret’s Concept of a Just War, by Robert D. Linder