Together 4 Good: Making Sense of Life and Faith

Pastor Nate preaches on the third Sunday of Advent on scripture from Matthew 11:2-11.

During the season of Epiphany, Pastor Nate will be interviewing individuals about epiphanies (or aha! moments) that people have had during their journey of faith.  This week, Bryan Jaster talks with Nate about an aha moment that took place during a high school church youth event way back when Bryan was in high school.  Listen in as Pastor Nate and Bryan discuss Bryan's epiphany and the importance...

In this episode, Pastor Nate and Kevin Dragseth discuss the exciting new initiative launching at Bethany this month.  "Join in January" is a challenge to the congregation to find new ways to engage, participate, and share one's faith in 2023.  Nate and Kevin have a great discussion about this endeavor as well as the importance of living out one's faith in intentional ways.  

This episode is a rebroadcast of an episode from March 2021. It introduces the St Ignatius Examen, a great practice to use to look back at the past year and to notice how God has been guiding and speaking.

Merry Christmas! This is a rebroadcast of a scripture meditation based on the Luke 2 Christmas Gospel. Rest and relax into the promises of this sacred story.

This special Bible Study episode is a way to conclude our Advent conversations about hope. In this episode, Pastor Nate dives deep into John 8:31-38 and talks about the ways that fear and hope can sometimes distract us from Jesus Christ and his message of grace for our lives.

This week, Pastor Nate sits down with Paula Wills.  Paula is the Director of the Sounds of Praise Choir and the Creative Arts Team Coordinator and an excellent story teller.  As we continue our Advent focus on hope, Paula takes us through several stories from her life where she encountered hope in different locations and different ways.  

Pastor Gary preaches on "Hope in the Forest for the second Sunday in Advent. Scriptures come from Isiah 11:1-10 and Matthew 3:1-12.

Intern Rita kicks off our Advent season with a sermon about "Hope in the Field" based on scripture from Matthew 24:36-44.

Pastor Nate and Pastor Gary preach on Christ the King Sunday about titles for Jesus based on scripture from Colossians 1:11-20 and Luke 23:33-43.

As we continue our Advent journey of hope and our Staff Stories podcast series, Pastor Nate sits down with Bethany's Pastoral Intern, Rita Argus.  The two discuss the nature of hope and the temptation to provide cliche answers when individuals find themselves in difficult moments.  Intern Rita shares stories from her time as a chaplain as well as some unique perspectives on hope, thanks to words f...

As we move into the Advent season, we will continue with our Staff Stories Podcast series, but with a slight twist.  Over the next several weeks, Pastor Nate's conversations with Bethany staff members will center around the theme of hope.   In this episode, Pastor Nate and Pastor Gary discuss the season of Advent, the nature of hope, and the ways that this season can prepare us to more fully embra...

Intern Rita offers a sermon on the Kingdom and Kindom using scripture from Luke 1:46-55 and Luke 21:5-19.

Pastor Nate offers a reflection on Job 19:23-27a for All Saints Sunday.

In our latest installment of our staff stories series, Pastor Nate sits down with Kevin Dragseth and the two discuss Kevin’s previous work with a collaborative youth ministry. The conversation then shifts into a fascinating discussion about technology and the future frontiers of the church.

We continue with our Staff Stories podcast series, but this week we are changing this just slightly.  This week, Colleen Maki serves as our special guest host as we flip the script and interview Pastor Nate.  Listen in as Colleen and Nate discuss community, creative endeavors, and a whole bunch of stuff you didn't know about Nate.  

Our staff story series continues as Pastor Nate sits down with the newest member of the Bethany staff, Dell Charles. Dell is the Director of Finance and Administration and he and Pastor Nate share a love of books.  In this episode, they discuss their shared passion along with the ways that we, as people of faith connect with our sacred book - The Bible.  

Pastor Gary preached on scripture from John 8:31-36 to celebrate Reformation Sunday!

Intern Rita preached on Confirmation Sunday! Her sermon explores the Lutheran theological idea of sinner and saint. Scripture comes from Romans 5:18 and Luke 18:9-14.

Pastor Gary is preaching on scripture from Luke 18:1-8 and explores the themes of injustice and in justice.

The latest installment of our Staff Stories podcast series is a conversation with Laura Romig.  Laura is the Director of Facilities and so she has a wide range of responsibilities, but in this conversation, we focus on Laura's work with the Bethany Live-stream and her passion for "getting the story out there".   This passion comes from Laura's family history and, as we discuss, from our Christian...

Listen in to Pastor Nate's Sermon about gratitude based on Luke 17:11-19.

Listen in to Intern Rita's sermon from October 2 on the Tree of Life and Luke 17:5-10.

Tune in to Pastor Gary's Sermon from September 25 based on Luke 16:19-31.

This episode is another installment of our Staff Stories Series.  This week, Pastor Nate speaks with Shelley Hook, Bethany's Account.  Shelley shares the strange series of events that led her to take this Accounting position 18 years ago and she also talks about her commitment to the practice of Centering Prayer, a form of prayer that she never would have expected to find so life-giving.