ELCG Podcast

Spears to pruning hooks. Conflict to peacefulness. Violence to brotherhood. It’s not realistic. It’s better than that—it’s a promise from God.

A sermon on Luke 23:33-43, preached by Rev. Judy Davis on Christ the King Sunday.

We are part of a community that stretches far and wide, where we are constantly challenged to look beyond ourselves to the needs of others, to be shaped and formed in the upside-down ways of Jesus.

A sermon by Rev. Árni Daníelsson on Luke 19:1-10, preached on 30 October.

Sort of by definition, a parable shouldn’t leave us alone. If we’ve got it all figured out, or if it seems to do nothing but bless the place where we stand right now, then we probably need to dig a little deeper.

Liminal times come for all of us. Jacob is at one of them in his own life, and it is precisely then that a mysterious figure emerges from the shadows.

Waiting to be grateful until you’re perfectly happy is like waiting to take vitamins until you’re perfectly healthy; it gets the equation backwards. Giving thanks to God is both something we are meant to do and also something that makes life immeasurably better.

We may not see the gap much of the time, but make no mistake—it’s there, and Jesus means for us to be concerned about it.

Like the manager in Jesus's parable, we too have a choice to make: mammon, or manna.

Maybe the biggest change, the one that makes all the difference, is recognizing that we have already been found.

Jesus envisions a different sort of gathering, beyond preoccupations with status and reciprocity, where there’s a place for everyone at the table.

A sermon on Luke 13:10-17, preached at the ELCG on 21 August 2022.

Jesus didn’t come to bless all the petty and sinful ways we humans divide ourselves up; he came to light a fire of change for a better way. And the reality is, a message of such profound transformation can’t help but be divisive at times.

A sermon on Genesis 15:1-6, preached at the ELCG on 7 August 2022.

A sermon on Luke 12:31-21, preached at the ELCG on 31 July 2022.

A sermon on Luke 11:1-13, preached at the ELCG on 24 July 2022.

Are we helping to create a world of self-centeredness and division, or one where we are neighbors to one another, where we treat others with the mercy God has shown to us?

Peter recognized something astounding, mysterious, and holy; he wanted to mark that experience, and maybe in that way, he was profoundly right. Maybe lingering a while with Jesus on this particular mountaintop is actually just what we need.

God’s great promise of a world made whole can seem awfully distant at times, far from obvious or logical--which is one more reason faith is meant to be undertaken together.

A sermon by Rev. Dr. Patricia Cuyatti Chavez on John 10:22-30, preached on 8 May 2022.

Jesus reminds us that it’s not all up to us. As his followers, we will always live by grace—by God’s merciful care and provision.

A sermon by Rev. Judy Davis on John 20:19-31, preached on 24 April.

The women at the tomb were faced with that question that would become ours as well, two thousand years later: what do we do with this word that Jesus has risen? Do we dare to believe that everything has changed, even though it might sound crazy, even though it might sound foolish?

This image of Jesus—riding toward the seat of power with absolutely no show of power himself—is a strange one. It's also a perpetual challenge for Christians.

Mary understands that God’s love for us is like that perfume: lavish, fragrant, extravagant, more than enough.