St. Paul Podcast

Peter W. Marty preaches on love. Perfect love casts out fear. What is perfect love? We probably accumulate more failures in the love department than in other areas of our lives. We make a lot of mistakes. We practice love very undependably and imperfectly. What does perfect love look like and can we ever know it? God is love and there is no way to know this God without loving other people. We can...

John reminds the Jesus community that they are outgrowths of Jesus' love and power; when they hold fast to Jesus and his words, "abide" in them, they stay on the right side of life and they glorify God. Preaching text: John 15:1-8 Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates...

Katy Warren preaches on the boundaries of God’s love. We’ve spent too long debating who will be included or excluded from Heaven. God, who loves us with a parent’s heart, would never want to be far from any of us. God keeps trying to open up the boundaries of God’s love throughout the Old Testament. The ability to know and experience God’s love cannot be contained by any human being.   Preaching t...

The author of Acts shows Peter dramatically reassuring the Acts community that the name of Jesus is enough for their future life. Preaching text: Acts 4:5-12 Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, tea...

Peter W. Marty preaches on food. Where would we be without food? It doesn’t matter what you eat, every meal is sacramental. If the disciples were looking for God to be some kind of wispy spiritual being or a metaphor or a ghost, what they get instead is the Lord of Heaven and Earth in the flesh, capable of being hurt and of spilling tears. We must guard against simply intellectualizing our faith....

Luke charts post-Easter life for all followers of Jesus in a story about Jesus with disciples after the Resurrection. Preaching text: Luke 24: 36b-48 Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pa...

Mac Mullins preaches on the fear of missing out. Fear is one of those things that can so quickly and easily encircle us and fill us up. Deep down fear tells us that we don’t measure up and we just aren’t good enough. There are so many things that are outside of our control, the timing of our faith or our health, these things keep us from living fully together as one whole community of followers of...

John uses an encounter between the disciples and the resurrected Jesus to reassure his community that they have everything they need to follow Jesus, even though they never met or saw him. Preaching text: John 20:19-31 Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lec...

Happy Easter, podcast listeners! A particularly amazing thing happens in today’s episode. Little Bird’s best friend Jesus died just three days ago and while she and a few of Jesus’ other friends are getting ready for his burial, some special visitors bring surprising news.  

Peter W. Marty preaches on Easter Sunday. Take a moment to see how Easter can change your life or how you look at life. We get to take the spirit of Jesus Christ and make some change in this world. The resurrection isn’t simply about getting us to Heaven. It’s more about getting a little bit of Heaven into us; making us better people.   Preaching text: Mark 16:1-8 

Mark shows the community that God's presence continues to lead them beyond death and the devastation of hope into a promised future. Preaching text: Mark 16:1-8 Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pet...

Peter W. Marty preaches on enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Sacrifice is something you give, not something that is given up. This is not a burden, it’s a privilege and a positive act. Once you decide to give of yourself, everything else falls into place so you can give. And you must have enthusiasm for something else which you believe is more significant than what you were giving.      Preaching tex...

Today’s episode is a sad one. There are some scary and hard things but there is also lots of good and love. Our story begins on the same evening as the Last Supper. When Jesus is arrested and put on trial, Little Bird and the disciples are scared and don’t know quite what to do. But Jesus is ready to show the world just how big God’s love for this world is.

Mark shows his community that something more than a Messiah from David has come to lead them into the future. Preaching text: Mark 11: 1-11 Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pastor.

Max Franks preaches on God’s mercy. We don’t carry the impulse to be forthright about our shortcomings. Not only do we veil our shortcomings, we also avoid facing them privately within ourselves. Even if these sins go unnoticed in the public eye, they still leave a mark on us, and after a while, the guilt and shame add up. But God’s steadfast love and abundant mercy will never leave you.  Preachin...

In this week’s episode, Little Bird shares a very special meal with Jesus and the disciples. And before that meal, Jesus does something a little different but extra special for his friends to show his love and care for them.  

Jeremiah announces to the people Israel that God will once again and always move beyond their rebellion and lift them up to life with God that cannot collapse or be eradicated, because it is God's promise. Preaching text: Jeremiah 31:31-34 Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates w...

Sara Olson-Smith preaches on salvation. Those who do what is true come to the light. We all have things we do in the shadows and cannot make the changes that will help us become better people without being honest about ourselves and shining a light on our faults and failings. When we get stuck in our ways, we need love, mercy, forgiveness, grace, and someone we trust will not give up on us.   Prea...

We're going back again to revisit the Easter story and revisit a very special donkey friend. On today's episode, Little Bird adds another new friend to the story. This time, it's a donkey!  Little Bird, Jesus, and their new donkey friend are part of a palm parade in Jerusalem.  

John shows the "lifting up" of Jesus, in death and in resurrection, as a way to awaken people to the fullness of life unbounded by time and space. Preaching text: John 3:14-21 Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul...

Max Franks preaches on sensing God’s presence in our lives. God’s presence is just as available to us outside of the church as it is inside. God comes home with us. You are the temple of God and God’s spirit is within you. In all of the places in our lives, physical and spiritual, God is present.  Preaching text: John 2: 13-22

Have you ever wondered what heaven looks like? That’s what Little Bird is wondering…what exactly heaven looks like? Jesus talks about just that in today’s episode. 

John goes to the heart of religious life to show Jesus pleading for people to honor the holy graces that God showers on us. Preaching text: John 2:13-22 Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching...

Peter W. Marty preaches on abundant life. What does it mean to take up your cross? If we’re not afraid to let go of the myth that nothing bad will happen to us, or that God will spare us from anything but safety and comfort, then we might be surprised to discover the really good life we have. We can try to save our lives, to preserve things and we can be cautious, but if we live this way, it is ce...

This week, we need your superpowered imaginations as we tell stories with lots of comparisons. Jesus is often compared to things and today, we’ll hear an example of a few of those. So turn on those imaginations!