Small Catechisms

Pastor Sean Barrett addresses Hosea 11:1-11

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from Hosea 1:2-10, Colossians 2:6-15, and Luke 11:1-13. You can find all the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from Amos 8:1-12, Colossians 1:15-28, and Luke 10:38-42. You can find all the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

This week Pastor Sean discusses Hebrew puns in the readings from Amos. 

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from Amos 7:7-17, Colossians 1:1-14, and Luke 10:25-37. You can find all the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

Pastor Sean addresses a question from the sermon 7.6.25 relating to the Lutheran view of Holy Communion. He is at Lutheridge this week, so the audio was recorded on his phone instead of our regular podcast setup at the church. 

On this season finale episode Dr. Aaron Davis interviews Prof. Scott Williams (UNC-Asheville) about his new book, The Trinity . They talk about what conciliar trinitarianism is, what the logical problem of the trinity might be, how divine simplicity relates to the doctrine of the trinity, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link Scott's The Trinity (Cambridge, 2025) - Link Scott's faculty page -...

Dr. Aaron Davis answers this question from the week's Scripture readings: "I notice that Paul points out what large letters he's using to write to the Galatians. This seems strange to me. Any ideas why?"

Dr. Aaron Davis preaches from 2 Kings 5:1-14, Galatians 6:7-16, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20. You can find all of the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis hosts a conversation with Nativity's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Sean Barrett, about how we read Scripture today. We discuss things like what Scripture is, what we should do with difficult passages of Scripture, whether Scripture is inerrant/infallible, and more. Questions or comments about the episode? Send a message to aarondavis@nativityarden.org . Links Nativity's webs...

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14. You can find all the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis introduces listeners to the Bioethics for the People podcast. This podcast explores fascinating topics throughout medical ethics and related areas, and it offers lots of opportunities for people to reflect on issues that will likely touch all of our lives at some point. Links Nativity's website -  Link The Bioethics for the People website - Link Dr. Devan Stahl's fa...

Dr. Aaron Davis answers two questions about his Trinity Sunday Sermon: "Why don't we say the Athanasian Creed on Trinity Sunday?" "Enjoyed listening to your sermon yesterday. One thing Messed me up a bit. One statement that has stuck with me was when you said " Jesus claimed . . .".  I didn't feel Jesus has to claim anything. It was in the early part of your sermon. Jesus taught and when he spoke...

Dr. Aaron Davis preaches from Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, Romans 5:1-5, and John 16:12-15. You can find all the readings for this Sunday  here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis hosts a conversation with Nativity's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Sean Barrett, about the sacrament of holy communion. We discuss things like what communion is and why it has so many names, what role the sacrament might play in salvation, why churches would ever want to excommunicate people, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link Questions or Suggestions? Contact Dr. Da...

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from Acts 2:1-21. You can find all the readings for this Sunday  here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis interviews Dr. Jordan Steffaniak about the relationship between philosophy and the Church. We discuss what philosophy is, why people might be skeptical about philosophy being involved in the Church's life, what Christian philosophy might look like at its best, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link The London Lyceum - Link Hanover Press - Link Jordan's Twitter -...

Pastor Sean Barrett answers the question that came in: Is the Holy Spirit in everyone, working in and thru all people, or just Christians? (Context: I kind of see different answers in the 3 scripture texts today)

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis hosts a conversation with Nativity's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Sean Barrett, about the sacrament of holy baptism. We discuss things like what baptism is, why some churches baptize infants while others don't, whether one can ever be rebaptized, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link St. Andrews Encyclopedia of Theology entry on baptism - Link

Dr. Aaron Davis answers the following question: "Can you say more about how it works for Christ to have a body that ascended and is present in Holy Communion? The incarnation seems confusing as I think more about Ascension Sunday." Links Nativity website - Link Interview with Cruz Davis on models of the acension - Link James Arcadi's "Recent Philosophical Work on the Doctrine of the Eucharist" - ...

Dr. Aaron Davis preaches from Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23, and Luke 24:44-53. You can find all the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from John 14:23-29. You can find all the readings for this Sunday  here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis talks through Dr. Taylor Ross's article "The Severity of Universal Salvation" in Notre Dame's  Church Life Journal . Dr. Ross explores what universalism is, how divine justice fits into the doctrine, what past Christians have said about universalism, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link Ross's "The Severity of Universal Salvation" - Link Aaron's "Hopeful Unive...

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from John 13:31-35. You can find all the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis hosts a conversation with Nativity's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Sean Barrett, about faith and music. We discuss things like the difference between "Christian music" and "secular music," the role music can play in one's life of faith, whether anti-Christian music can ever be appropriate for a Christian to listen to, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link The Nicene Cre...