Together 4 Good: Making Sense of Life and Faith

In this episode of Together 4 Good, Pastor Nate talks with Julie Hutchinson about resilience, neuroscience, faith, and what it means to lead from the heart instead of reacting from stress. Julie shares how her own experience with burnout, anxiety, and surrender led her into work that helps leaders, executives, and organizations reconnect their minds, bodies, and spiritual lives.

Together, they explore how scripture and science can speak to each other, why stress affects the way we show up in the world, and how practices of faith can help us become more grounded, compassionate, and whole.

What You’ll Learn:

• How stress shows up in the body and shapes our reactions

• Why “leading from the heart” is more than a nice idea

• How scripture connects with neuroscience and resilience

• What Sabbath can mean in the middle of everyday stress

• Why vulnerability, faith, and love matter in leadership

Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:00 Julie’s background in resilience and neuroscience training 02:45 What happens in the body during stress 04:15 Sabbath, stress, and self-regulation 06:30 Julie’s faith story and Christian connection 08:15 Scripture, science, and guarding the heart 10:30 Aligning the head and the heart 14:00 Reading scripture with the whole self 16:30 Heart mapping, mind mapping, and leadership 18:30 Showing up as the person God created you to be 21:30 Worship, spiritual practice, and everyday life 23:30 AI, authenticity, and what makes us human 27:30 Vulnerability, suffering, and connection 29:30 Leading from love in real life 31:30 Closing reflections

If this conversation helps you think differently about stress, leadership, faith, or what it means to show up with more love, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who may need it.

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

Connect with Julie: https://coreperformance.us/

What if the miracle of Pentecost is not just that people spoke in different languages, but that people heard one another across every division? In this episode of Sunday School Remix, Pastor Nate explores Acts 2, the Jewish festival of Shavuot, the Tower of Babel, and the Holy Spirit’s work of sending people outward in love. Pentecost is not about keeping faith private. It is about God’s Spirit moving through community, language, diversity, and grace.

What You’ll Learn

• Why Pentecost was already a Jewish festival before Acts 2

• How Shavuot connects to God giving the law at Mount Sinai

• Why the Holy Spirit pushes faith outward, not inward

• How Pentecost echoes and reverses the Tower of Babel

• What Acts 2 teaches us about diversity, community, and God’s mission

Chapters 00:00 What if Pentecost is about hearing one another? 00:39 Why was it already called Pentecost? 01:25 Shavuot, Sinai, and God’s promise 02:42 The disciples gather in Jerusalem 03:20 Wind, breath, and the Holy Spirit 04:34 Divided tongues of fire 05:43 Recognizable languages, not random babbling 06:26 Faith moves outward 07:36 Pentecost and the Tower of Babel 09:09 Spiritual experiences are not just for us 10:12 The whole world is included 11:42 What does this mean? 12:22 Community helps us discern God’s voice 13:28 When people dismiss what makes them uncomfortable 14:35 Heaven and earth overlap 15:31 The body of Christ is sent outward

Like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who is curious about faith, community, or what Pentecost still has to say today.

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

In this episode of Together 4 Good, Pastor Nate sits down with his oldest daughter, Evelyn, for a snow day conversation about faith, confirmation, doubt, church, and what it means to grow into your own understanding of God.

Together, they talk about the questions many people carry but do not always say out loud: What if faith does not look the way we expected? What if the Bible is meant to be wrestled with? What if loving God is less about having everything figured out and more about remembering we are part of something bigger than ourselves?

What You’ll Learn:

• How confirmation classes can create space for honest questions about faith

• Why Bible stories can still speak when we stop flattening them into easy answers

• How young people wrestle with stereotypes around Christianity

• Why faith can change us in subtle but meaningful ways

• What it means to remember God in everyday life

Chapters: 00:00 Coming up on Together 4 Good 01:00 Meet Evelyn on a May snow day 02:14 Looking back on confirmation 04:10 Why “Tough Questions” mattered 05:20 Bible history, sacred texts, and big questions 08:05 Reading the Bible as story and metaphor 09:20 Jesus, parables, and flexible faith 11:00 Being stubborn, honest, and a pastor’s kid 13:00 Assumptions about Christianity 16:00 Rethinking prayer, Bible study, and church language 18:30 Why Scripture can be read in new ways 21:00 Jesus, hospitality, and love of neighbor 23:00 What does it mean to love God? 26:00 Faith, science, wonder, and the universe 28:30 How do we love God in everyday life? 31:00 Faith changes us slowly 33:00 Compassion, judgment, and seeing people as people 35:00 Law, gospel, mercy, and love 36:00 Closing thoughts

If this conversation resonates with you, like this video, subscribe to Bethany Lutheran Church, and share it with someone who is asking honest questions about faith, church, or God.

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

In this Sunday School Remix I take another look at one of Jesus’ most well known miracles, the feeding of the 5,000, and explore a different angle than what many of us learned in Sunday School. Yes, Jesus multiplies bread and fish, but what if that is not the only miracle happening on that hillside?You'll hear:00:00 – Introduction to the Episode01:00 – Why This Miracle Appears in All Four Gospels02:00 – “You Give Them Something to Eat” — Why This Line Matters03:00 – The Overlooked Detail: Communities of 50–10004:00 – Was the Miracle Multiplication… or Generosity?05:00 – Sharing What We Have: How Generosity Starts06:00 – Love One Another: How This Fits Jesus’ Ministry07:00 – Thanksgiving & A Change of Heart08:00 – The Biblical Meaning of Thanksgiving09:00 – Gratitude, Neuroscience, and Healing10:00 – Why Telling Someone You’re Grateful Matters11:00 – Receiving → Giving → Reflecting God’s Love12:00 – Gratitude and Community Transformation13:00 – Give Thanks… Then Give It Back14:00 – Closing BlessingMy hope is that this story shapes your Thanksgiving week with a deeper sense of abundance, gratitude, and community.Thank you for being here. Truly.Stay in peace, friends.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. 💬 Tell us what story you want to see remixed next! 🙏 Bethany Lutheran Church ELCA | Cherry Hills Village, CO https://linktr.ee/bethanydenver📍 Listen & Subscribe

In this episode of Together 4 Good, Pastor Nate talks with Krista Kilgus, Executive Director of Urban Servant Corps in Denver, about service, community, and what it means to follow where the Holy Spirit is leading next. 

Urban Servant Corps has spent decades forming young adults through intentional community and service, and now the organization is entering a new chapter: creating a pilot program supporting re-entry work and hosting a community of formerly incarcerated women; offering belonging, community, vocational discernment, faith formation, and purposeful living. 

This conversation is about faithful change, honest discernment, and the kind of belonging that helps people heal, grow, and begin again.

What You’ll Learn:

• Learn the story and mission of Urban Servant Corps in Denver

• Understand how intentional community shapes faith, service, and belonging

• Hear why traditional service-year programs have become harder to sustain

• Explore Urban Servant Corps’ new pilot program with formerly incarcerated women

• Discover how churches and individuals can support this next chapter

If this conversation gives you hope, we invite you to like, subscribe, and share it with someone who cares about faith, justice, community, and the work of rebuilding lives with love.

Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and introduction to Krista Kilgus 00:45 The founding story of Urban Servant Corps 02:20 Krista’s own service year experience 03:15 What intentional community looks like in practice 05:00 Belonging, shared meals, and life skills 06:00 Why service years matter for young adults 06:55 Why interest in service-year programs has shifted 08:00 What “faith-based” means at Urban Servant Corps 10:00 Cultural pressure, independence, and countercultural community 11:25 Why Urban Servant Corps needed to reimagine its model 13:30 Discernment, sustainability, and community needs 15:15 New partnerships with New Beginnings and other Denver organizations 16:10 A new focus on formerly incarcerated women 18:30 What reentry support could look like 19:30 Co-creating the pilot program with participants 20:30 Timeline for launching the pilot 21:10 How congregations and individuals can support Urban Servant Corps 23:20 Where God has shown up in the process 25:00 Being surprised by God’s call 26:30 Gratitude for the community’s support 27:00 Closing reflections and invitation to share

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

Connect with Urban Servant Corps: https://www.urbanservantcorps.org/

What if discipleship is less about proving yourself and more about being invited into a new way of life? In this episode of Sunday School Remix, Pastor Nate looks at Matthew 4:18–25, where Jesus calls his first disciples and gives ordinary fishermen an extraordinary invitation: “Follow me.” This familiar Sunday school story becomes something deeper when we notice who Jesus calls, where he goes, and how he redeems the parts of us we think disqualify us.

What You’ll Learn:

• See discipleship as an invitation, not a spiritual task list

• Understand why Jesus calling fishermen was so meaningful

• Explore repentance as a turning toward a new way of life

• Notice how Jesus crosses boundaries in his ministry

• Remember that God can redeem the parts of your story that feel like failure

Chapters: 00:00 What if discipleship is different than we thought? 00:44 Jesus begins calling the first disciples 01:36 “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people” 02:22 Discipleship is not just a spiritual checklist 03:07 Repentance as turning toward a new life 04:29 Faith as surrender and a new direction 05:15 James and John leave the family business 06:38 Tomorrow does not have to be like today 07:26 Jesus teaches, heals, and proclaims good news 08:35 The disciples learn by following Jesus 09:18 Jesus crosses every boundary 10:38 Why fishermen were unlikely disciples 11:37 What it meant to be a rabbi’s disciple 12:27 Jesus offers a new opportunity 13:23 Discipleship as a gift, not a burden 14:16 Jesus redeems what feels like failure 15:23 God works through what we think disqualifies us 16:18 The story did not end in Sunday school

If this episode gives you a new way to think about faith, discipleship, or your own story, take a moment to like, subscribe, and share it with someone who could use the reminder that grace often begins where we thought we were disqualified.

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

What happens when you finally get everything you thought you wanted, and it still feels… empty? In this conversation, Pastor Nate sits down with longtime friend and filmmaker Nick Stroczkowski to wrestle with ambition, identity, faith, and the quiet realization that fulfillment might not be waiting somewhere in the future. Together, they explore what it means to live fully in the present, rediscover the purpose of church, and find something deeper than success.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why achieving your biggest goals doesn’t guarantee fulfillment

• How to tell the difference between healthy change and restless dissatisfaction

• What church looks like at its best—and why it sometimes falls short

• How spiritual practices help you slow down and notice what matters

• Why authenticity matters more than perfection in faith and life

If this conversation resonates with you, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who might need it.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: When Success Doesn’t Feel Like Success02:00 – The “Empty Box” Problem05:30 – Why We Keep Chasing What’s Next08:00 – Is Change Necessary or Just Restlessness?12:00 – Don’t Mess With Happy13:30 – Rediscovering Church in a New Season18:00 – When Church Feels Real (and When It Doesn’t)21:00 – Church as Product vs. Sacred Space27:00 – What Actually Sticks After a Sermon31:00 – Is It God or Just an Idea?34:00 – The Problem with Being “A Good Person”38:00 – Ego, Identity, and Wanting to Be Seen43:00 – Vulnerability, Community, and Healing46:30 – Why Ritual Still Matters50:00 – The Power of Slowing Down53:00 – Culture vs. Spiritual Practice56:00 – Finding Balance in Real Life57:30 – Closing Thoughts

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

Connect with Nick

Arclight Creative: https://arclightcreative.co/

What if the story of manna in the wilderness is about more than food? In this episode of Sunday School Remix, Pastor Nate looks at Exodus 16 and the Israelites’ struggle to trust God after leaving Egypt. This story invites us to notice how often we long for the past, grasp for more, and miss the quiet gift of enough.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the Israelites struggled to trust God after leaving Egypt

• How manna teaches us that grace comes before faithfulness

• Why “enough” can be holier than “more”

• How Sabbath becomes an act of freedom and resistance

• What Exodus 16 can teach us about scarcity, rest, and delight

Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: What Is the Story of Manna Really About? 00:55 The Israelites Leave Egypt and Enter the Wilderness 02:00 Why We Romanticize the Past 04:10 God Provides Before the Israelites Trust 05:55 Why “Manna” Means “What Is It?” 08:00 God Retrains the Israelites Through Daily Provision 09:00 Enough Is Holier Than More 10:50 What Happens When We Hoard God’s Gifts 12:20 Sabbath Before the Ten Commandments 13:30 Sabbath as Freedom from Pharaoh’s Ways 15:00 Remembering You Are Not in Egypt Anymore 16:20 Why Scarcity Is So Hard to Unlearn 17:00 The Sweetness of Trusting God 18:25 Learning to Delight in Enough 19:40 Closing: The Story Didn’t End in Sunday School

If this episode helped you see this familiar Bible story in a new way, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who might need a reminder that God’s provision is not always what we expect, but it is often exactly what we need.

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

Coming up on the Together 4 Good podcast, Pastor Nate sits down with his longtime friend Adam Arends, a pastor in the Buffalo, NY area. They’ve known each other for years, and this conversation goes right to the heart of a question a lot of people are quietly asking: what is church actually supposed to be about? Adam shares his story—growing up in the church, stepping away, questioning a lot of it, and eventually finding his way back. Not with perfect answers, but with a deeper sense of what really matters.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why people still show up to church—even with doubts

• How grace matters more than getting everything “right”

• What Jesus actually prioritized over rules

• Why community can carry your faith when you can’t

• How church can be a space for truth, not certainty

Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: Why This Conversation Matters 01:30 Life as a Pastor in Multiple Churches 04:00 Growing Up in the Church (Pastor’s Kid Life) 06:00 Doubt, Logic, and Questioning Faith 08:00 What Keeps People Coming Back to Church? 10:00 What Is Truth? Faith Beyond Facts 13:00 Rules vs. Grace: What Jesus Actually Taught 16:00 Power, Humility, and Who “Gets It” 18:00 Why We All Fall Short (and Why That Matters) 21:00 Why Church Still Matters Today 24:00 What We Hope for the Next Generation 27:00 What Brings People Back to Church 30:00 Faith Isn’t Solo: Doing Church Together 33:00 Final Thoughts: A Different Way Forward

If this conversation resonates with you, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share it with someone who might need it.

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

What if the resurrection isn’t just about what happens after we die—but about what God is doing in us right now?

In this episode of Sunday School Remix, we revisit John 21 and Peter’s story after the resurrection. It’s a moment filled with confusion, shame, and unfinished business. But instead of avoiding it, Jesus steps right into it—offering not just forgiveness, but purpose.

What You'll Learn

• How Peter’s shame shapes his actions—and why that matters

• Why Jesus revisits painful moments instead of skipping past them

• What the charcoal fire reveals about memory, guilt, and grace

• How resurrection speaks to your life right now—not just someday

• Why your past might actually be part of your calling

00:00 What if resurrection is about more than life after death? 01:00 Peter goes back to fishing 02:00 The miraculous catch and what 153 fish means 03:00 Peter’s impulsive response and hidden shame 05:00 Trauma, guilt, and going back to what’s familiar 07:00 Why Jesus eats with the disciples 08:30 What bodily resurrection really means 10:00 The charcoal fire and Peter’s memory 11:00 “Do you love me?”—Peter’s redemption 12:00 Resurrection as present-day transformation 13:00 How God redeems your past 15:00 Why your story still matters

If this conversation resonates with you, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share it with someone who might need it.

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