Beatitudes Radio

Certainty. If you’re searching for certainty in life, keep a closed mind. It’s safe. It’s comfortable, and you’ll never be exposed to new ideas. Religion can provide certainty for you, especially when it comes to your belief about God. And the Bible, taken literally or not, can be a filter for the uncertain. But could there be a new way of understanding God that you miss by living in certainty?  ...

"The News of the Day." Novelist and Presbyterian minister, Frederick Buechner, dies at 96 says The New York Times last Monday. Explore his life with us. Stay tuned after the discussion for a meditation by ellie hutchison. Next chance to join in LIVE:  Sunday, September 4 @8:45a (MST) To watch the video podcast: CLICK HERE __________ Music by ZakharValaha from Pixabay

It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. NASA’s Webb Space Telescope has delivered the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Its ability to magnify distant galaxies inside an image the size of a grain of sand is at once spectacular and humbling. What is our place in the cosmos really that we should be so bold as to think we’re significant? Or that it was made exc...

People are dealing with sexual guilt and we don’t talk about it. Religion has set us up for it. When it comes to premarital sex, religion has forgotten that biology always wins. Take a look at society and culture today, marriage is more and more often being postponed to a person’s mid 30’s. If sex is to be reserved for marriage, how does a person navigate the sexual impulses that are a biological...

Are you a tree hugger? This derogatory term, often wielded at environmentalists, may have merit after all. Before you answer, you are encouraged to go hug a tree and see how you both feel. References: “The Hidden Life of Trees” by Rev. Dr. J. Carl Gregg The Social Life of Forests by Dr. Suzanne Simard Stay tuned after the discussion for a meditation by ellie hutchison. Next chance to join in LIVE:...

You are not born with the emotion of shame. It is external, and it is acquired. You are taught shame. When it comes to our sexuality, Western culture leverages sexual shame for control and conformity. Our laws continue to reproach sexuality not biblically mandated, and sex education in our schools is clinical and lacks meaningful discussion and dialogue. Yet we are sexual beings. So, how did we ge...

Every 35 seconds a divorce is finalized in America. Marriage rates today continue to decline to historic lows, and the institution of marriage seems inconsequential for younger adults. Is the centuries-old stigma of divorce still impactful? How does being a Christian influence our view of divorce?     Join us today as Pastor Tony continues his new sermon series: “Does the Bible do sex?” This week,...

“Oh Lucy, I’m home!” — A greeting Desi Arnaz lovingly shouted to his co-star and then-wife Lucille Ball every evening when he came home from work. Like so many other American sitcoms that aired on television in the 1950’s, “I Love Lucy” was the hallmark of an ideal marriage. But where did this construct of an ideal marriage originate? If you look to the Old Testament narratives, they were predomin...

How do you interpret the Creation story in the Old Testament? Genesis 1 & 2 have seemingly different accounts. One theorist holds that the first human was neither man nor woman, but androgynous.  Eve and Adam: Genesis 2-3 Reread by Phyllis Trible Stay tuned after the discussion for a meditation by ellie hutchison. Next chance to join in LIVE:  Sunday, August 7 @8:45a (MST) To watch the video p...

Shush! Zip it! Don’t say that word! Chances are most of us were silenced when the subject of S-E-X was brought up. After all, it’s way too private, and comes with a lot of baggage, guilt and shame. Join us as Pastor Tony begins his new sermon series: “Does the Bible do sex?”     Whatever your reservations, this sermon series is rated PG but nonetheless provocative for your mind. Listen today as Pa...

Remember that scene from the 1965 film, “The Sound of Music,” when Julie Andrews belts out “I have confidence in confidence alone…I have confidence in me!”? Where does your confidence lie today? Especially when our confidence in institutions today wanes.      As we celebrate our democracy this Fourth of July weekend, join us as Pastor Jim Meadows takes a look at society’s current conundrum: findin...

Today's discussion is based on the sermon by Rev. Otis Young entitled "On Being a Patriotic Christian." The purpose of his sermon is to examine two areas: liberty and patriotism, and how they are connected to the Christian faith. Stay tuned after the discussion for a meditation by ellie hutchison. Next chance to join in LIVE:  Sunday, July 17 @8:45a (MST) To watch the video podcast: CLICK HERE ___...

Relay racing is all about the transition of the baton. The baton is transferred from runner to runner at each leg of the race. If the transition isn’t smooth, precious time and even victory is sacrificed. Our scripture today from 2 Kings 2:1-14 tells a similar story of the transition in prophetic leadership from the mighty Elijah to his predecessor, Elisha. This metaphorical passing of the “baton”...

Embracing the mysteries of life. Harry Emerson Fosdick once wrote of life as being "set in a limitless sea of mystery." The more experience of life we have, the deeper its sense of mystery. Is wisdom ever really attainable and do we truly want it? Today's discussion is based on the sermon by Harry Emerson Fosdick entitled "The Mystery of Life" from Riverside Sermons, 1958, Harper and Brothers. Sta...

Since homo sapiens first roamed the earth, we’ve been operating under an imagined human order that is for the most part, biologically determined as male and female. However, culturally, gender categories have evolved over time that seemingly threaten the stability of “the system”.     Did Christianity’s arrival reinforce this feeling of instability? What is it we’re so afraid of? And how do we int...

Gun violence and mass shootings carries an urgency today unimaginable just four years ago. Since November 2018, sixty-four plus mass shootings have resulted in needless deaths and serious injuries across the United States, a grim reminder we haven’t yet figured this out. The solution for gun violence continues to elude us and remains unclear. So, who or what is to blame—guns or our innate propensi...

Lambasted. Persecuted. Jailed. At first glance, the book of Acts seems to be the story of Paul and Silas’ struggle to unite a diverse, scattered and disconnected group of Jesus followers. Afterall, what do you do when you're caught between the powers of the Roman empire and following God into the NEW that God imagines? However, the book of Acts is so much more. For it is here we are witness to the...

For Arizonians, "the Wild West" is a moniker we can't quite shake nearly two centuries after legendary Buffalo Bill Cody coined it through his tales of conquest and survival among diverse cultures. For the early church, the years following Jesus' death most likely were just as unorganized and "frontier-like". Geography and diverse accounts seemed to separate his followers especially when you look...

How do you measure success? The business industry uses a wide variety of metrics to measure performance and financial success. For ministers, it’s attendance and contributions to the church. For social media, it’s the number of “Likes” and “Shares”. With the advent of social media, social movements today exist because of the rapid pace at which a movement goes viral: the Ice Bucket Challenge, the...

Our special guest today is author and speaker Jan Phillips. Jan recently published a book called, "Still on Fire: Field Notes from a Queer Mystic." She is a thought leader and will be sharing details about her intriguing new book that is a memoir of spiritual healing. Deepak Chopra, M.D. called her book, "an evolutionary work that connects spiritual consciousness with global action. A prophetic wo...

"Why did Jesus die?" A simple Google search reveals 325,000,000 answers, each one different from the next. Every religion that recognizes Jesus has its own explanation.     Immediately following his death, Jesus’ followers were in a tailspin. Their leader was gone having suffered a death that was contradictory to that prophesied of a Messiah—crucifixion on a cross—and their identity, lost. Accordi...

Following the death and resurrection of Jesus, the early church experienced substantial growth, but also persecution. How did a handful of followers grow into 30 million in just 300 years, and into the largest religion in the world today?     Join us as Pastor Tony begins a new sermon series: "Then What?" Accounts of Jesus’ appearance following his resurrection predicated a movement within the Jew...

"Whatever you do, don't fall asleep!" A "Nightmare on Elm Street" or just the Rapture? It's up to you! Join Pastor Tony and Janelle Tapphorn in an alternative worship experience designed to enlighten and challenge you with new ideas about traditional concepts. This service incorporates a thought-provoking message, discussion and meditation. Next chance to join in LIVE:  Sunday, May 15 @8:45a (MST)...

This week, our focus again turns to the reaction and response of Jesus’ followers to his resurrection. It’s here we encounter a story of faith and doubt—a gospel account of Jesus’ appearance to all of his disciples, save one, following his resurrection. Thomas.    Listen today as ellie hutchison explores Thomas’ struggle to accept that which is unseen and the insights we can gain from this univers...

We’ve spent the season of Lent this year reflecting on Jesus’ activities the week before his death on the cross. Today we reflect on Sunday of that week. What exactly happened to Jesus on that day? Scripture relates it was the day of his resurrection, but the details are imprecise and conflicting across the four Gospels. And science doesn’t provide us with an explanation either. The Apostle Paul w...