Church at the Well Podcast

Happy New Year! We're starting off the new year with a new sermon series - a journey through the book of James. Specifically, a closer look at some of the timeless wisdom found in this powerful letter.  What is wisdom? Where does it come from? Is it about having all of the right answers, or is it about living with a posture of dependence on God? Jordan explores this and more in this week's podcast...

This week, Kayla explores how Joseph's quiet, costly decision to remain with Mary reveals the gentle, counter-conditional love at the heart of the Christmas story. 

Joy pops up at Christmas on cards and in songs, but what actually is joy? Through the lens of the shepherds in Luke 2, Abby offers a definition of joy, shares stories of joy from our congregation, and offers three observations about joy as well as an invitation to practice joy this Advent and Christmas.

How did Mary wait with peace for God's promises to be fulfilled in and through her story? It might just be because she knew how the story would end. On this second Sunday of Advent, we look at how both Mary and Jesus trusted the promises of God, and consider how we too might wait with peace. 

Hope As followers of Jesus, we are invited to place our hope not in our circumstances, but in our savior. In this Family Sunday sermon, Abby tells the story of the ancient Israelites' hope for the awaited Messiah, offers three things to keep in mind when we think about hope, and shares a story about hope from her childhood.

In the book of Ruth, God weaves together the boldness of Ruth, the faithfulness of Naomi, and the above-and-beyond care of Boaz into a story of redemption that points to Jesus. This week, Jordan wraps up our time in the book of Ruth with a look at the big picture and some good news from Ruth 4 to bring with us into our week. 

God's love for us is a costly brand of love that we see reflected in the story of Ruth. In this sermon, Kayla helps us recognize this "hesed" love in surprising places, invites us to consider the puzzle pieces of scripture in light of the big picture, and shares a story from her own life of being taken under the wings of others' care.

Lead Us Not Into Testing When God tests us, it is for our good, revealing where we are placing our trust and giving us an opportunity to experience God's faithfulness. In this sermon, Abby explores the difference between testing and temptation, shares about a wilderness experience in her life, and offers three pieces of good news for those being tested.    

This week, we continue our journey through the Lord's Prayer with a closer look at Jesus' invitation to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." 

Give Us This Day, Our Daily Bread In a consumer society, we’re groomed to “grab it before it’s gone,” but in the Kingdom of God, we receive what God has for us as a gift. In this sermon, Abby unpacks three words from this line and shares a story about how God has been teaching her the difference between grabbing and receiving. ----more---- Discussion Questions 1. To pray, "Give" us this day our da...

This week, we continue our journey through the Lord's Prayer with a closer look at the petition, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." 

This week, Jordan continues our journey through The Lord's Prayer with a deeper look at what we're really praying and hoping for when we pray, "Your Kingdom Come." ----more---- Discussion Questions What line or phrase from the Lord’s Prayer stands out to you today? Why do you think that line or phrase stands out? “We are not referring to a place where we are going but rather a reality that has com...

God’s name: what is it, and how do we “hallow” it? In this sermon, Abby explores the mystery and gift of God’s name as first revealed to Moses and then, more fully, through Jesus. She offers practical ways we can be hallowing his name in our lives and points us to a time when his name will be more fully revealed. ----more---- Discussion Questions Read Matthew 6:9 – 13 Is there a line, phrase, or r...

This week, Jordan shares three things we can learn about God from the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6.  ----more---- Discussion Questions: Read Matthew 6:7-13 Have you ever heard or prayed the Lord’s prayer before? If so, what was that like for you? Does it seem familiar or foreign to you? Jesus shares The Lord’s Prayer in the middle (of the middle, of the middle!) of the Sermon on the Mount. What do y...

As we mark Adam’s last Sunday as Church at the Well’s lead pastor and welcome Jordan and Abby into their new roles as co-lead pastors, Adam explores an instructive picture from the Book of Numbers: Aaron’s budding staff, a reminder that leadership in God’s kingdom is not grasped for but received, and that flourishing and new life ultimately come from God.

What does prayer have to do with creation? In this sermon, Abby explores three ways we can pray in light of creation, drawing from examples in Scripture and sharing stories of how God has met and ministered to her in and through nature.

This week, we explore how God invites us to both community and solitude as part of Sabbath. 

Finding Rest in Jesus In between commands against stealing, idolatry, and others, the Sabbath command might seem oddly out of place in the Ten Commandments. But what if it's there for a reason? This week, Adam continues our Summer Sabbath series by considering God's invitation to something deeper than a "day off" - an invitation to the true rest of Sabbath that we find in Jesus. 

Three Obstacles to Practicing Sabbath Rest just doesn’t just happen; we have to choose to take it. In this sermon, Abby considers three common obstacles that hinder us from practicing Sabbath and invites us to see Sabbath not as something to master or accomplish, but as a gift to receive and enjoy as we are able. ------------------------- Discussion Questions: Preparing for Sabbath isn’t just abou...

Keeping sabbath is an act of resistance. In this sermon, Jordan explores three lies of identity (we are what we do, we are what we have, and we are what others say about us) and how practicing sabbath helps us to resist these lies and lean into the truth that we are God's beloved. -------------------- Discussion Questions: Have you ever had a really busy week or season that left you feeling exhaus...

When we practice Sabbath, we’re not just taking a break from work, we’re returning to the heart of God’s design for relationships and renewal. This week, Adam kicks off our Summer Sabbath series by offering three ways to look at Sabbath and reminding us that when we Sabbath, we’re rehearsing for the Kingdom of God.

How does the popular mantra, “God helps those who help themselves,” square with Scripture? And since it’s not actually found in the Bible, where does this mantra come from? In the sermon, Abby gives a brief history of this saying, shares a story from her own life, and offers three things we can learn from Daniel about God’s will when it comes to our need for help. 

Many of us have heard the advice (or the song) that we ought to let "Jesus Take The Wheel." This week, Jordan continues our series, "You've Heard It Said," with a closer look at this common phrase. Together, we explore how faith and personal responsibility can work together, and what it really means to trust God with our lives. 

Follow Your Heart In movies, songs, and well-meaning conversations, we hear the phrase, “Follow your heart.” Is this advice in line with the Bible? In this sermon, Adam offers five helpful “runway lights” to keep us on track with God’s will as we discern the path forward in our lives. Hint—one of them involves our hearts.

Ever heard someone say, "God won't give you more than you can handle"? It sounds good, but it might not be the whole story. In fact, Scripture is full of stories about people who faced more than they could bear. This week, Jordan explores how we might adjust this common phrase in light of what God does give us - his grace, his presence, and his Spirit.