The Merge

By sargentnelson0

The Merge Podcast offers short, drive-time devotionals that connect faith to everyday moments. Each 3-5 minute episode blends Scripture, reflection, and prayer; helping you center your heart, refoc

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FAQs about The Merge:

How many episodes does The Merge have?

The podcast currently has 17 episodes available.

The Merge episodes:

January 25, 2026Morning Worship January 25, 2026
Light in Galilee — Matthew 4:12–23 (NRSVUE)
Big Idea: When fear and control shape what people can say and who can belong, Jesus begins in overlooked places, announces a rival reign, forms a counter-community, and makes healing public.
Some seasons are hard… and some seasons feel organized against you, like the pressure has a system and the darkness has a script. In today’s sermon, we meet Jesus at the moment John is arrested and fear starts speaking loud. But instead of retreating into silence, Jesus goes to Galilee, the overlooked place, and announces a kingdom that comes near, forms a people, and restores life in public.
This is a word for anyone who has been sitting in darkness, carrying shame, living with anxiety, or learning how to follow Jesus when the world feels controlled by fear.
Things to listen for:
“Darkness feels organized,” how fear shapes communities and controls what people can say
Why Jesus begins in Galilee (the overlooked place) and what that means for your life today
The difference between repentance as humiliation vs. reorientation
The “rival kingdom scripts” that keep people stuck: stigma, scarcity, denial, isolation
The grace-filled order of discipleship: “Follow me” before “I will make you”
What a kingdom-near church looks like: truth-telling, hope-proclaiming, and healing practiced openly
Takeaways:
God does some of God’s best work at the edges, not just the center.
Light is not a reward for strong people; it’s a gift for weary people.
Belonging comes before becoming: Jesus calls ordinary people with real nets.
The kingdom doesn’t just need an announcement; it needs a people.
One faithful next step can change everything: don’t go back into the dark alone.
If this sermon strengthens you, share it with someone who needs hope, and take one step today: tell the truth to a safe person, ask for prayer, or check on a neighbor.
New Thomson United Methodist Church | The Merge Podcast
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14min
January 23, 2026Light in Galilee
Episode Title: Light in Galilee (Matthew 4:12–23) — When the Kingdom Comes Near
When fear tightens its grip and truth feels costly, Jesus doesn’t retreat to the center—He goes to Galilee. In this week’s episode of The Merge, we explore Matthew 4:12–23 and hear good news for anyone living in a “fear climate” shaped by stigma, scarcity, silence, or isolation.
John’s arrest sets the atmosphere, but Isaiah sets the promise: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light… light has dawned.” We’ll trace how Jesus announces a rival reign—“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”—and then forms a healing community marked by three signs: teaching truth, proclaiming hope, and practicing healing.
What to listen for
Why John’s arrest matters: how repression and fear shape communities
Why Jesus starts in Galilee: what it means that light dawns in overlooked places
A new meaning of repentance: not humiliation, but reorientation toward life
“Follow me… I will make you”: belonging before becoming
The kingdom blueprint (v.23): teach • proclaim • heal
Takeaways you can apply this week
Identify your “net”: a pattern, fear, shame script, or habit that keeps pulling you back
Take one near step: tell the truth to one safe person, ask for prayer, reach out for support, or rejoin community
Replace the empire script (“handle it alone”) with the kingdom practice (“follow me together”)
Look for “Galilee-light” moments: where hope shows up in small, ordinary places
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6min
January 16, 2026Grace That Covers Shame
In this episode of The Merge, Rev. Dr. Sargent R. Nelson preaches John 2:1–11 through the lens of honor/shame, hospitality, and status, showing how scarcity can trigger image-management, blame, and control, but how Jesus responds with dignity-preserving grace and abundant joy.
This is a word for anyone carrying a “no wine” place: running low on strength, hope, patience, or capacity, especially when you feel like people might notice. Jesus doesn’t expose the shortage. He works quietly, through servants, turning “water-work” obedience into a sign of glory. And the invitation is simple: tell the truth without shame, do whatever he tells you, and trust God in the hidden middle where transformation happens.
What to Listen For
Why “no wine” is a social crisis in an honor/shame culture (it’s about dignity, not just supply)
How Jesus’ mercy protects people, no spectacle, no humiliation, just quiet restoration
The tension of timing: “My hour has not yet come” and what it exposes in us
Water-work discipleship: obedience that doesn’t look like the solution, until it is
Intergenerational application: how churches can respond to scarcity with shared service instead of blame
The “good wine” promise: Jesus can redeem the story and restore joy “until now.”
Key Takeaways
Name your “no wine.” Honest need is not failure, it’s a doorway to grace.
Grace covers shame. Jesus helps without exposing, restores without humiliating.
Scarcity can distort the community. Thin seasons can lead to control, blame, and gatekeeping.
Obedience is often water-work. The first step may not look like the answer, but it makes room for God’s transformation.
Joy is sustained by shared labor. A Cana-shaped church honors servants and shares the work across generations.
The best can be saved for now. In Christ, “good wine” can still be poured—new joy, renewed faith, redeemed stories.

Reflect/Act This Week
Where are you running low—patience, hope, energy, unity?
What is one “water-work” step Jesus is asking you to take today?
Who is a quiet servant in your life or church that needs to be honored and supported?
Call to Action: Subscribe to The Merge on your favorite podcast platform, share this episode with a friend who needs encouragement, and join us at New Thomson United Methodist Church in the Southeast District of the North Georgia Conference.
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7min
January 09, 2026Beloved Before Becoming
Beloved Before Becoming (Luke 3:15–17, 21–22) — The Merge
What if the truest thing about you isn’t what you’ve achieved, but what God has spoken?
In this week’s episode of The Merge, Rev. Dr. Sargent R. Nelson sits with Luke 3:15–17, 21–22 and the life-giving truth: Beloved comes before becoming. When a crowd looks for a savior, John the Baptist refuses celebrity status and points to Jesus, the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire. Then heaven opens, the Spirit descends, and God names Jesus: “Beloved.”
This devotional is a steady word for an anxious time, especially if you’ve been living under pressure, performance, or fear. We’ll explore how God’s voice anchors identity, how the Spirit refines (not destroys), and how an intergenerational church can resist “empire-shaped” Christianity by living from belovedness.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
Why we chase “savior substitutes” when life feels unstable
How to understand “Spirit and fire” as refining love, not shame
A simple practice for the week: “In Christ, I am beloved, before I become.”
Scripture: Luke 3:15–17, 21–22
Takeaway: God does not refine strangers; God refines beloved children.
Listen, reflect, and share this with someone who needs a steady word today.
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8min
January 02, 2026 Grace That Finds Us First
Summary

In this devotional, Sargent explores the theme of grace that finds us first, emphasizing that God's grace is not contingent on our improvement or strength. Instead, it is a welcoming force that gathers the weary, vulnerable, and fragmented. Through the lens of Jeremiah 31:7-14, Sargent illustrates how grace invites us to belong before we heal, encouraging practical steps to embrace grace in our lives and extend it to others. The imagery of a porch light symbolizes God's constant invitation to those who feel lost or unsure, reinforcing the message that grace is always present, waiting to gather us home.

Takeaways

Grace is not God's reaction to your improvement.
Belong and then heal.
Tears are not disqualifiers.
Weakness is not a disqualifier.
Need is not a disqualifier.
Fear scatters, Grace gathers us.
Open your hands anyway.
Make a path, make a call, send the text.
The light is not for the person who arrived polished.
God leaves the porch light on.

Sound bites

"Need is not a disqualifier."
"Belong and then heal."
"Open your hands anyway."

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5min
December 26, 2025After the Angels Leave
The Merge — “After the Angels Leave”
What happens after Christmas ends?
When the songs fade, the decorations come down, and life gets real?
In this episode of The Merge, we reflect on Matthew 2:13–23, where the Christmas story takes an unexpected turn, from angels and manger scenes to danger, displacement, and faithful obedience. Jesus becomes a refugee. Joseph responds not with certainty, but with trust. And God continues to work, not in comfort, but in the in-between places.
This episode is for anyone navigating uncertainty, transition, or the quiet stretch between celebration and resolution. It reminds us that God is just as present after the angels leave, and just as faithful on the road ahead.
What to Listen For:
Why faith often requires movement rather than stability
How God guides us one step at a time
Where God shows up in ordinary, unsettled seasons
Key Takeaway:
You don’t need the whole plan, just the next faithful step.
Closing Prayer:
Faithful God, as we step into ordinary days, give us courage to trust you one step at a time. Amen.
Tags:
Advent & Christmas | Faith & Uncertainty | Scripture Reflection | Refugee Jesus | Following God | The Merge Podcast
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5min
December 19, 2025 Love in the Margins
Episode Description:
Advent love doesn’t arrive with noise or power, it comes quietly, in overlooked places. In this episode of The Merge, Rev. Dr. Sargent R. Nelson reflects on Micah 5:2–5a and Luke 1:39–45, where God’s love is revealed not at the center of empire, but in Bethlehem and the hill country. Through the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, we are invited to see how God’s peace is born on the margins, through presence, trust, and faithful obedience.
This short Advent reflection is ideal for drive-time listening or a quiet moment of prayer as Christmas draws near.
What to Listen For:
• Why God consistently chooses overlooked places and people
• How Mary and Elizabeth model Advent love rooted in presence
• What Micah’s promise of peace means for our lives today
• How God’s love is already at work beyond the center
Key Takeaways:
• Advent love shows up in the margins, not the spotlight
• God’s peace grows through faithfulness, not force
• Small, quiet acts of trust can carry world-changing hope
• Love invites us to say yes, even when the future is unclear
Scripture: Micah 5:2–5a; Luke 1:39–45
Theme: Advent | Love | Presence | Peace
Duration: 3–5 minutes
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5min
December 12, 2025Joy in the Questions
Advent Week 3: “Joy in the Questions”
In this week’s Advent episode of The Merge, we step into one of the most surprising moments of the Christmas story—not a scene of rejoicing, but a moment of raw honesty. John the Baptist, the bold prophet who once announced Jesus with confidence, now sits in prison asking,
“Are You the One… or should we wait for another?”
Instead of offering John a simple yes or no, Jesus answers with evidence of the kingdom already breaking in—healing, restoration, hope, and grace happening in real time.
And through this exchange, we discover that joy doesn’t come from having all the answers.
Joy grows when we notice God at work in the places we never expected.
In this episode, we explore:
Why honest questions can be a doorway to deeper joy
How Jesus responds to doubt with compassion and evidence
What it means to witness joy, not just feel it
How to practice joy in imperfect seasons
Appreciative questions, future priming, and small steps that help us see God’s grace this week
If you’re carrying uncertainty, fatigue, or prayers that feel unanswered, this conversation will help you breathe again. Advent joy is not far away—it’s already unfolding around you.
Join us as we practice seeing joy in the questions.
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7min
December 05, 2025riverside_peace_in the unfinishe... magic episode _ dec 05,_sargent’s_studio
The second week of Advent episode of The Merge, Pastor Sarge invites us to discover peace in the unfinished places through two powerful Scriptures, Malachi 3 and Luke 1:68–79. Malachi speaks to a people longing for refinement and restoration, while Zechariah’s song erupts after months of silence, declaring God’s faithfulness in a world still waiting to be made whole.
Together, these passages remind us that God meets us in the “not yet” in the refining fire, in the quiet waiting, and in the promises still unfolding. Peace doesn’t come after everything is resolved. Peace comes because God is already moving in the middle of our unfinished stories.
Key Takeaway:
Advent peace grows in the tension between what is and what will be. God is refining us, shaping us, and preparing us often in the very places that feel most unsettled.
What to Listen For:
How Malachi’s refining imagery speaks to God’s work in our unfinished places.
Why Zechariah’s song is a testimony that peace can rise even after seasons of silence.
A practice this week that invites listeners to notice where God is quietly shaping new beginnings.
Prayer:
“God of Peace, meet us in the places still being formed. Refine our hearts, calm our fears, and teach us to trust Your work in the waiting. Like Zechariah, help us sing again confident that Your dawn is breaking. Amen.”
Tags:
#TheMergePodcast #AdventWeek2 #PeaceInTheUnfinishedPlaces #Malachi3 #ZechariahsSong #Benedictus #AdventPeace #SpiritualFormation #NewThomsonUMC #WesleyanFaith
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4min
November 28, 2025riverside_hope_in the ruins_sargent’s_studio (1)
“Hope in the Ruins”
In this Advent kickoff episode, Pastor Sarge Nelson invites you into a sacred pause, a moment to breathe, to reflect, and to remember that hope is born precisely where life feels most broken. When the world around us looks like rubble, and the future feels uncertain, Advent begins not with perfection but with a promise.
This week, we explore Hope in the Ruins:
How God meets us in places we’d rather avoid
Why the season of waiting is not passive, but courageous
What it means for a church and its people to believe in light before they can see it
With Scripture, storytelling, and practical next steps for your week, this episode reminds us that the God who speaks life into chaos is still rebuilding, restoring, and renewing today.
Key Takeaway
Hope is not the absence of struggle; it is God’s pledge to show up in the ruins and bring something new to life.
What to Listen For
An Advent redefinition of hope
A practical spiritual practice to anchor your week
A question inviting you into future-focused faith
A real story from New Thomson’s journey of rebuilding
Closing Prayer
Each episode ends with a prayer inviting you to carry Christ’s hope into your home, your workplace, and every place in between.
#Advent #HopeInTheRuins #TheMergePodcast #NewThomsonUMC #SpiritualFormation #Hope #RebuildingFaith
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4min

FAQs about The Merge:

How many episodes does The Merge have?

The podcast currently has 17 episodes available.