Together 4 Good: Making Sense of Life and Faith

In this episode of Together for Good, Nate sits down with Kate Souther after her first year of seminary to talk about what big theology has to do with everyday life. They explore the Book of Job, loving people we tend to exclude, creation care, scapegoating, and why grace keeps us moving without despair. Kate also shares what is drawing her toward parish ministry and the holy gifts of baptism and communion.

What You’ll Learn

• Ask honest questions when faith does not give easy answers.

• See how the Book of Job makes room for messy faith and hope.

• Connect creation care with grace, not shame.

• Notice how scapegoating harms neighbors and communities.

• Hear why baptism and communion still give the church hope.

Chapters

0:00 Theology nerds rejoice: meet Kate Souther

1:00 Back from seminary and Bethany summer internship

2:00 Practical theology, service, and reflection

3:00 Embrace, exclusion, and loving people who are different 7:00 Scapegoating, blame, and breaking the cycle

13:00 Job, suffering, and faith without easy answers

20:00 Old Testament, New Testament, and the danger of splitting God

25:00 Creation care, climate change, and Christian hope

31:00 Grace, guilt, shame, and action shaped by love

34:00 Kate’s call to parish ministry and the sacraments

37:00 Closing thoughts and stay in peace

If this conversation encouraged you, like this video, subscribe to Bethany, and share it with someone who cares about faith, hope, creation care, and honest dialogue.

Connect with Bethany: 📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO 🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org

What if the Ten Commandments are not about earning God’s love, but about learning how to live after being set free? In this episode of Sunday School Remix, Pastor Nate looks at Exodus 20 and reframes the commandments as a gift rooted in grace, freedom, and community. God frees Israel first, then shows them a new way to live that does not repeat the fear, control, and exhaustion of Egypt.

What You’ll Learn:

• See why Exodus 20 starts with freedom, not fear

• Understand how the commandments protect relationships

• Learn why Sabbath is a gift, not just a rule

• Notice how “no other gods” frees us from needing control

• Imagine a community shaped by grace, rest, truth, and love

Chapters:

0:00 What if the Ten Commandments are about freedom? 0:35 Why we often hear them as rules

1:20 Why the preamble matters

2:05 God forms a people through the Word

3:30 Relationship comes before rules

5:10 Free people need a new way to live

6:10 The commandments as anti-Pharaoh rules

7:15 Why “no other gods” changes everything

9:10 Images, God’s name, and what we attach to God

10:35 Sabbath reminds us we are not machines

12:15 The commandments shape a different kind of community

13:15 Freedom takes practice

14:25 God is God, and we are not

15:25 Closing

Like this video, subscribe to Bethany’s channel, and share it with someone who is rethinking faith, grace, or the Ten Commandments.

Connect with Bethany: 📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO 🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org

What does faith have to say when life feels stressful, uncertain, or too much to carry alone? In this episode of Together 4 Good, Pastor Nate talks with Deacon Debra about Bethany Day Camp, the Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp curriculum, and how Philippians 4:6–7 helps kids and adults bring their anxiety, questions, and gratitude to God.

What You’ll Learn:

• How Bethany’s Day Camp connects with Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp

• Why Philippians 4 speaks honestly about anxiety and peace

• How kids can learn to bring every feeling to God

• Why gratitude does not erase hard things, but helps us see God in the moment

• How service and generosity help children put faith into action

Chapters:00:00 Coming up on Together4Good

00:34 Welcome to the Bethany Art Room

01:00 How Deacon Debra joined the Rainbow Trail curriculum team

03:35 Turning big theology into kid-friendly lessons

05:12 Why Rainbow Trail creates its own ELCA curriculum

07:00 The work behind writing Day Camp lessons

09:16 Philippians 4:6–7 and the theme for the week

10:27 Talking with kids about anxiety and faith

11:27 God can handle every feeling

12:17 Deacon Debra’s personal connection to Philippians 4

13:24 Prayer, community, and letting go of control

14:12 Gratitude when life does not go as planned

16:00 Open hands, parenting, and living in the moment

17:35 Crafts, snacks, and hands-on learning

19:00 Day Camp outreach and collecting mac and cheese for IFCS

20:12 How Bethany’s gifts bless the wider church

21:10 Day Camp registration is still open

If this conversation encouraged you, like this video, subscribe to Bethany’s YouTube channel, and share it with someone who could use a reminder that God is big enough to hold what we carry.

Connect with Bethany:📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org

You’ve heard the story of Adam and Eve before: a snake, an apple, a garden, and a whole lot of trouble.But what if that’s not what the story was ever meant to be about?In this first episode of Sunday School Remix, Pastor Nate digs into the Garden of Eden story with grown-up eyes. Together, we look at how this ancient story speaks to our world today, where we still wrestle with control, guilt, and the temptation to “play God.”-Maybe the serpent wasn’t Satan.-Maybe the fruit wasn’t an apple.-And maybe the real “fall” was never about disobedience at all — but about shame and blame.In this episode:-The surprising details Genesis actually says (and doesn’t say)-Why calling the serpent “Satan” misses the point-The connection between the fig tree and Jesus’ last week-How shame and blame became humanity’s oldest reflex-What it means to let God be God — and live unashamed✨ Sunday School Remix is a new Together 4 Good series re-examining familiar Bible stories to uncover what they really tell us about faith, humanity, and grace today.📍 Listen & Subscribe:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/together-4-good-making-sense-of-life-and-faith/id1529196060 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0aFHcs9xjcRK54uXJzUBbH?si=VwBUEjyQQnieXyKHdkcfvA 💬 Tell us what story you want to see remixed next! 🙏 Bethany Lutheran Church ELCA | Cherry Hills Village, CO https://linktr.ee/bethanydenver

Pastor Nate talks with Pastor Eric Shafer, Pastor in Residence at Global Refuge, about refugees, immigration, faith, and what it means to love our neighbors in real life. This Together 4 Good conversation explores why refugee support is deeply connected to Christian faith, Lutheran history, and the biblical call to welcome the stranger.

Eric shares how Global Refuge supports immigrants and refugees through welcome centers, legal support, community partnerships, and long-term care. Together, Nate and Eric talk about how churches can respond with compassion, clarity, prayer, learning, advocacy, and action.

What You’ll Learn:

• What refugees are and why safety is central to the conversation

• Why Scripture calls Christians to welcome immigrants and refugees

• How Global Refuge helps people rebuild their lives

• How Lutheran churches have supported refugee resettlement for decades

• How individuals and congregations can help refugees through prayer, giving, learning, and advocacy

Chapters:00:00 Coming up on Together 4 Good00:36 Meet Pastor Eric Shafer of Global Refuge03:34 Why refugee ministry is part of a pastor’s call05:00 What Scripture says about welcoming strangers05:45 A bold claim about faith, immigrants, and refugees07:44 Responding to pushback with faith and compassion09:23 The Lutheran history of refugee support11:00 Refugees, asylum, and common misunderstandings11:35 What does refugee mean?14:00 What Global Refuge welcome centers do16:20 How Jesus responds to people in need17:30 Why immigration needs order and compassion20:30 How people and churches can help refugees21:20 Faith Alliance training for congregations22:00 Advocacy, local support, and prayer25:00 World Refugee Day and Lutheran history26:00 Gratitude for churches supporting refugee work

If this conversation helped you think more clearly about faith, refugees, immigration, and loving your neighbor, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who may want to learn more about Global Refuge and how churches can support refugee neighbors.

Connect with Bethany:📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org

What if the story of the fiery furnace is not about having enough faith to get what you want? In this episode of Sunday School Remix, Pastor Nate looks at Daniel 3 and the deeper story beneath the Sunday school version: exile, identity, control, fragile power, and a faith that trusts God beyond the outcome.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the fiery furnace story is about more than survival

• How exile shaped the identity of God’s people

• Why King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue was about power and control

• What “even if God does not” teaches us about faith

• How God meets us in the hardest places

Chapters:00:00 What if the fiery furnace is about bigger faith?00:38 Why this Sunday school story is more complicated than we remember01:30 Israel, exile, and being cut off from home03:10 Names, identity, and belonging04:00 Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue and fragile power05:30 Why everyone was commanded to bow down06:30 Why the repetition in Daniel 3 matters07:15 Rage, ego, and the furnace turned up hotter08:10 “What god will save you from me?”09:00 “Even if he does not”10:15 Faith is not a transaction11:30 Why they refused to bow down12:20 God shows up in the furnace13:30 Where God meets us in suffering14:20 Nebuchadnezzar still does not fully get it15:05 How we act like Nebuchadnezzar today16:30 God is with us in the fires17:20 The story did not end at Sunday school

If this episode helped you see Daniel 3 in a new way, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who loves digging deeper into Bible stories.

Connect with Bethany:📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org

Pastor Nate sits down with his dad, Rev. David Warren Preisinger, for a conversation about church history, family, faith, and why people keep showing up even when church gets messy. Dave shares what it was like to be part of Seminex, the Seminary in Exile, and how that experience shaped his understanding of leadership, community, and trusting God in uncertain moments.

At the heart of this episode is a simple but honest question: why does church still matter? Together, Nate and Dave talk about relationships, service, worship, justice, and the grace that keeps calling us back into community.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the Seminex walkout mattered in Lutheran history

• How church conflict can still reveal God’s presence

• Why relationships are central to healthy church community

• How churches can serve their neighborhoods with care and dignity

• Why worship, ritual, and belonging still matter today

Chapters:

00:00 Coming up on Together 4 Good

01:00 Meet Rev. David Warren Preisinger

02:35 What was Seminex?

07:20 Trusting God during the seminary walkout

12:20 How Seminex shaped church leadership

20:00 A heart for urban ministry

27:00 How do we proclaim Jesus today?

31:00 Serving the neighborhood with dignity

34:00 What is the church’s role now?

38:00 Why are people leaving church?

41:30 Why Dave still goes to church

45:00 Trusting the gift of the church

47:00 Forgiveness, justice, and Amos

51:20 God is in the middle of it all

If this conversation helped you think differently about faith, church, or why community still matters, like this video, subscribe to Bethany, and share it with someone who is asking big questions about faith.

Connect with Bethany:📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org

What if Noah’s Ark is not really about a floating zoo? In this episode of Sunday School Remix, Pastor Nate looks at Genesis 6–9 and explores how this familiar childhood story is actually about God’s grief over human violence, the undoing and restarting of creation, and the promise God makes through the rainbow.

This is not a simple kids’ story. It is a story about violence, mercy, covenant, memory, and the hope that God does not abandon creation, even when humanity loses its way.

What You'll Learn

• See why Noah’s Ark is more than a cute Sunday school story

• Understand how the flood story connects to the creation story in Genesis

• Explore why violence grieves the heart of God

• Learn what it means that “God remembered Noah”

• Reflect on the rainbow as a sign of covenant, peace, and promise

Chapters:

00:00 — What if Noah’s Ark is not about a floating zoo?

00:45 — Why this story is harder than we remember

02:00 — God’s grief over human violence

03:20 — Ancient flood stories and the biblical meaning of Noah

05:15 — How the flood undoes creation

07:00 — Noah, Moses, water, and salvation

08:30 — “God remembered Noah”

10:30 — The dove, the olive branch, and signs of peace

11:20 — The rainbow as covenant

12:00 — God hangs up the bow

13:00 — What Noah’s Ark asks of us today

14:00 — The story does not end at Sunday school

If this conversation helped you hear an old Bible story in a new way, like this video, subscribe to Bethany Lutheran Church, and share it with someone who might be wrestling with faith, scripture, or the stories they learned growing up.

Connect with Bethany:📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org

What does it mean to believe someone when their pain, illness, or disability is not visible? In this episode of Together 4 Good, Pastor Nate talks with Wayne Connell, founder of the Invisible Disabilities Association, about chronic illness, compassion, suffering, isolation, and the kind of community people need when life becomes hard in ways others cannot see.

This conversation is about more than disability awareness. It is about learning how to listen, believe, support, and show up for one another with the love of Christ.

What You’ll Learn:

• What invisible disabilities are and why they are often misunderstood

• Why phrases like “but you look good” can unintentionally dismiss someone’s pain

• How churches and faith communities can better support people with chronic illness

• Why compassion means suffering with people, not fixing them

• How presence, listening, and belief can become meaningful care

Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and introduction to Wayne Connell 00:50 Wayne’s background in technology, broadcasting, and RadioShack 02:30 How Wayne met his wife, Sherri 05:00 Sherri’s diagnosis with MS and Lyme disease 09:45 The phrase “invisible disabilities” is born 12:00 Launching the Invisible Disabilities Advocate website 15:00 The book But You Look Good 17:00 Encourage, educate, and connect 20:00 Disability, chronic illness, and language 22:00 Faith, value, and being made in the image of God 24:00 Churches, suffering, and accessibility 28:30 Romans 5 and why we cannot skip suffering 34:00 Sitting with people in the ashes 36:00 Compassion means suffering with 39:00 Isolation, presence, and showing up 41:00 Why “How are you doing?” matters more than “How are you feeling?” 45:00 Listening, believing, and supporting people 47:00 Invisible disability as a mission field 49:00 Wayne’s calling and the work ahead

Like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who needs a more compassionate way to talk about disability, chronic illness, faith, and community.

Connect with Bethany: 📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO 🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org

Connect with Wayne: https://invisibledisabilities.org/

What if the story of Moses and the burning bush is not about Moses being brave, but about God calling someone who was unsure, reluctant, and full of questions? In this episode of Sunday School Remix, Pastor Nate looks at Exodus 3 and 4 and explores how God meets Moses in the wilderness, hears the suffering of the people, and works with what Moses already has.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why Moses’ call begins with God hearing human suffering

• What the burning bush shows us about mystery, doubt, and holy ground

• Why God’s name, “I am who I am,” still invites wonder

• How God uses ordinary gifts for holy work

• Why reluctance does not disqualify anyone from being called

Like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who needs a fresh way to hear an old Sunday school story.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction 00:32 Moses in the wilderness 01:06 Moses’ backstory 02:03 Holy ground and the burning bush 02:43 God’s name: “I am who I am” 04:17 Yahweh and the sound of breath 05:14 God hears suffering 06:42 Moses walks toward mystery 07:37 What if people don’t believe me? 08:23 What is in your hands? 10:05 Moses’ reluctance 11:18 God sends Aaron 12:01 Take your staff with you 13:00 God works with what we have 14:00 Closing

Connect with Bethany: 📍 Bethany Lutheran Church – Denver, CO 🌐 Learn more: www.bethany-denver.org