Compassion Church's (SJ) Podcast

Zechariah and Elizabeth aren’t usually featured in nativity sets, but Luke opens the entire Christmas story with their story—a story of waiting, disappointment, and unexpected good news. In this message, we explore what to do when life doesn’t go as planned—even when the news is good. Sometimes the promise comes with silence. Sometimes the answer doesn’t look the way we expected. But God is still...

One minute the shepherds were doing their job in the dark. The next, heaven was breaking in. They didn’t understand everything—but they had  something . In this episode, we explore how hope doesn’t always explain itself. Sometimes it just invites us to go and see for ourselves. When life leaves you confused or afraid, you don’t need to have it all figured out. You can trust what you've experi...

What do true mirrors, Jesus’ parable of the two builders, and a blind man in John 9 have to do with reading the Bible? In Week 4 of Unboxing the Bible , Pastor Jessica explores how Scripture is meant to transform us — not just inform us. We look at James’ warning about hearing but not doing, why some people in John 9 could see and yet were spiritually blind, and how a healed man slowly comes to re...

What do The Avengers , Loki , and Keanu Reeves in 47 Ronin have to do with the Bible? This week in Unboxing the Bible: The One Big Story , Pastor Jessica shows how the Bible isn’t a collection of random rules or disconnected tales — it’s one sweeping story of redemption. From creation to Christ to the promise of new creation, God has been writing a story that invites us in.

This week in Unboxing the Bible , Pastor Jessica unpacks what it means to read Scripture in context . Just like an Amazon box filled with packaging, the Bible comes wrapped in culture, language, and history — and sometimes we get lost in the filler instead of what’s inside. Learn how your own background shapes what you notice (and what you miss) in Scripture, and how reading the Bible in context h...

This week we kicked off our new series, Unboxing the Bible , by asking a big question: What is the Bible actually for? We explored how Scripture isn’t just meant to be studied or quoted — it’s meant to shape us into people who look like Christ. Pastor Jess talks about why a “plain reading” isn’t always so plain, what the New Testament writers say the Word does in us, and why reading the Bible is m...

What if doubt isn’t the opposite of faith, but part of how faith grows stronger? Guest speaker Pastor Wes Coffey unpacks the story of Thomas in John 20 — showing how Jesus meets us in the middle of our questions, not beyond them. In our seasons of uncertainty, Christ offers peace, patience, and an invitation to believe.

Greed isn’t just about money — it’s about a restless heart that never feels like it has enough. In this message, Pastor Jessica untangles the deeper story beneath greed, exploring how it grows, disguises itself, and leaves us empty. Through Scripture and insight, we discover that Jesus isn’t trying to shame us for wanting more — He’s inviting us to find peace in what’s already enough.

In Week 3 of our Untangle series, we dive into one of the hardest emotions to face: hate. We often think of hate as just “anger turned up,” but it’s more complex—and more dangerous. Hate lingers, dehumanizes, and can twist even our deepest values against us. Scripture shows us that while God calls us to hate injustice, dishonesty, empty religion, and evil, He never calls us to hate people. Instead...

In Week 2 of our Untangle series, we take a closer look at anger. From crab leg brawls at buffets to the “tea kettle effect,” we explore how anger often reveals the pressure building beneath the surface. Scripture shows us that God feels anger too—righteous anger directed at injustice, idolatry, and hard hearts. But while anger itself isn’t sin, what we do with it can be. We’ll look at how God and...

We kicked off our new series Untangle by asking: what do we do with our messy, tangled emotions? Too often, we cope, conceal, or control—but Scripture and even science show us that emotions aren’t a glitch in the system. They’re part of God’s design, one way we reflect His image. In this message, Pastor Jessica explores what the Bible says about God’s emotions, how our brains process feelings, and...

In the final week of Campfire and Clouds: Exodus , we reach the culmination of Israel’s journey in Exodus 40. God’s glory descends and fills the tabernacle, a powerful reminder that His deepest desire has always been to dwell with His people—even when they’ve fallen short. This message explores how God’s presence among Israel points to Christ and finds its fulfillment at Pentecost, where the Holy...

Campfire & Clouds is a summer journey through Exodus — a story of rescue, transformation, and God’s faithful presence in the wilderness. He Rescues. He Transforms. He Stays.

Campfire & Clouds is a summer journey through Exodus — a story of rescue, transformation, and God’s faithful presence in the wilderness. He Rescues. He Transforms. He Stays.

Campfire & Clouds is a summer journey through Exodus — a story of rescue, transformation, and God’s faithful presence in the wilderness. He Rescues. He Transforms. He Stays.

----------------------------------------- Campfire & Clouds is a summer journey through Exodus — a story of rescue, transformation, and God’s faithful presence in the wilderness. He Rescues. He Transforms. He Stays.

What if the laws given at Mount Sinai were never meant to be a burden—but an invitation? This week, we explore Exodus 19 and discover that before God gave the Ten Commandments, He reminded His people who they were: rescued, loved, and chosen for a purpose. As we trace Israel’s call to be a kingdom of priests and God’s treasured possession, we’ll also see how Jesus fulfills that calling—and extends...

After crossing the Red Sea and witnessing God's miraculous rescue, the Israelites burst into spontaneous praise. But just three days later, they’re thirsty, frustrated, and questioning if God is still with them. In this message, we explore the shift from celebration to survival , and how learning to trust God in dry places is often the real work of faith. We reflect on our own hesitations to...

What do you do when God tells you to turn back… into danger? In this week's message, we walk with the Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea—and into the tension between fear and faith, stillness and movement. God’s deliverance doesn’t always come on our timeline or terms, but it’s always specific, faithful, and meant for more than just us. From mixed crowds to muddy questions, this part of th...

What if the path to freedom isn’t the fastest, but the one that protects you most? In this message from Exodus 11–13, we explore how God shields His people at Passover, leads them on a longer road through the wilderness, and how Jesus becomes both our covering and our firstborn sacrifice. Sometimes what feels like a delay is actually your deliverance—and even in the detour, God is still with you....

This week, we step into Pharaoh’s shoes and explore what his resistance reveals about our own hearts. Through plagues, pride, and the pull of false gods, we’re invited to ask: where might we be resisting God’s way—and what would it look like to partner with Him instead? --------------- Campfire & Clouds is a summer journey through Exodus — a story of rescue, transformation, and God’s faithful...

Moses didn’t feel ready. He wasn’t eloquent, confident, or qualified. But God didn’t ask for perfection — just willingness. In Week 2 of Campfire & Clouds , we discover how God uses ordinary people and everyday things — a bush, a stick, a voice — to do extraordinary work. The same God who called Moses still calls us today, not because we have it all together, but because He goes with us. -----...

Exodus begins not with miracles, but with names. In Week 1 of Campfire & Clouds , we’re reminded that God sees, God is faithful, and when He sees—He sends. --------------- Campfire & Clouds is a summer journey through Exodus — a story of rescue, transformation, and God’s faithful presence in the wilderness. He Rescues. He Transforms. He Stays.

In this stand-alone message from Judges 4–5, we explore the unlikely trio of Deborah, Barak, and Jael. Each of them plays a part in God's deliverance — one listening, one stepping out in faith, and one showing bold courage when the moment called for it. Through their story, we’re reminded that God still calls us to the same kind of trust and obedience today. Key takeaways: – Listen like Debor...

What if ordinary things — bread, water, oil, us — were actually ways God shows up in our lives? In this new series at Compassion Church , we’re exploring the beauty and mystery of the sacraments — baptism, communion, anointing with oil, and the body of Christ itself. These aren’t just rituals. They’re reminders.  Ways we experience the grace of Jesus here and now.  Ways we care for one another and...