Cascades Conversations

God gives direction before he gives explanation — and most of us are still waiting for the explanation before we move. Pastor Michael opens Genesis 12 with a three-year-old version of himself touching a hot oven his mom just told him not to touch, and the question that follows him all the way to Abraham: why do we keep choosing pain when the better path is right in front of us? God's call to A...

Safety. Significance. Glory. You were made for all three — just not the way Babel tried to get them. Pastor Jackson opens with a homestay in Bucharest, a Romanian Yanni superfan, and three hours of silence that somehow perfectly sets up everything Genesis 11 is about to say. One language. One plain. One plan: build a city, raise a tower, make a name. It sounds like progress. God calls it something...

Hilary Paulson opens with a greeting card aisle at Walmart and lands somewhere unexpected: a culture that has quietly trained men to apologize for existing and women to carry everything alone. She traces that pattern all the way back to the garden, then forward through Genesis 6 and the story of Noah — a man who didn't do anything extraordinary except walk with God while everyone around him di...

Sin doesn't start in the field. It starts in the heart — long before anyone gets hurt. The first story outside the garden isn't just about murder. It's about worship, comparison, and what happens when pride goes unchecked. Pastor Anthony opens Genesis 4 with a 4am knock on his door in Antioch, California — a moment of pure fear that frames the whole message: what do you do when somethi...

Your testimony isn't about what you've done. It's about what God has done in you. Pastor Dan — who led Church of the Cascades for 40 years — returns to the pulpit with a message built around one idea: his story has to become your history. Drawing from Joshua 4's stones of remembrance, he walks through what it actually means to have a testimony, why hope is more than wishful thinkin...

What happens when we decide we know better than God? Pastor Michael opens Genesis 3 not as an academic exercise, but as a mirror — because the same question Satan asked Eve in the garden ("Did God really say?") is the same question we wrestle with every day. In this week's Cascades Conversation, Anthony, Jackson, and Michael unpack the fall of man and trace it straight into modern li...

This week, the series through Book of Genesis continues with a closer look at Genesis 2 and the deeper meaning behind creation, purpose, work, relationships, and humanity’s connection with God. The conversation unpacks the difference between simply existing and truly living with intention, while exploring why God designed people for relationship—not isolation. From the Garden to everyday life, thi...

In this episode, we kick off a brand-new series through Book of Genesis—the book of beginnings. From creation and humanity to purpose, failure, faith, and God’s plan unfolding from the very start, this series explores the foundational stories that shape the entire Bible. The team unpacks why Genesis still matters today and how these ancient moments continue to speak directly into everyday life, id...

This special Mother’s Day episode features multiple women from our church sharing honest stories, encouragement, wisdom, and the different ways God has moved through their lives and seasons of motherhood. From laughter to vulnerable moments, this conversation highlights the strength, faith, sacrifice, and impact that women carry every single day—often in ways that go unseen. Whether you’re a mom,...

In the final part of the “EMPTY” series, the conversation turns to one of the biggest battles most people face quietly—the mind. This episode digs into mental exhaustion, negative thought patterns, stress, anxiety, and the everyday struggle of trying to stay healthy mentally in a world that constantly pulls your attention in a hundred directions. The team talks honestly about what Scripture says a...

In Week 3 of our Empty series, Pastor Jackson walks us through one of the most overlooked gauges in our lives: our physical health. It's easy to ignore the warning lights and just turn the music up louder — but your body isn't just a vehicle for getting through the day. It's the vehicle God gave you to live out your calling. This week we're diving into 1 Corinthians 6 and Galatians...

This week, the conversation shifts to something most people don’t think about until it’s already off track—your relational gauge. Building off the “EMPTY” series, this episode dives into why real growth doesn’t happen in isolation and why the relationships around you matter more than you think. Looking at moments from Genesis, Mark, Proverbs, and John, the team unpacks how even Jesus built a circl...

In this episode of the Church of the Cascades podcast, the team keeps the conversation going from Sunday’s message, diving into what it actually looks like to stay spiritually hungry in everyday life. From morning routines and favorite quiet places to real talk about drifting, burnout, and rebuilding that hunger, this one feels more like sitting in on an honest conversation than a polished product...

What if the tomb really was empty? This episode explores that question at a high level—what it means, why it matters, and why it’s anything but a small or symbolic idea. Looking at the resurrection account in Gospel of Matthew and the implications laid out in First Epistle to the Corinthians, this message frames the resurrection not as a distant event, but as a defining moment that reshapes everyt...