St. Paul Podcast

Happy snowy day, podcast friends! Today’s podcast is all about recognizing Jesus in the world. In what ways do you recognize Jesus and what does that even mean? Tune in to today’s episode and you’ll see. 😊 

In the last teaching before Matthew’s Passion story, we hear Jesus talking about eternal judgment for life or punishment, for disciples and for the world. 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, teachi...

Sara Olson Smith preaches on giving and mercy beyond measure. God gives love, grace, and mercy with excess and abundance that cannot be counted. Our fear often keeps us from loving. Sometimes we’re afraid of rejection or abandonment or we doubt we’re worthy of love. We fear it’s too risky but we have a God that sees us all as worthy and gives without counting. 

Podcast friends! It’s almost Thanksgiving. Are you ready for all of the yummy goodies coming your way later this week? On today’s episode, Jesus overhears a conversation that reminds him of a story. One about a great man (who thought he was the greatest of all) and one about a humble man who was trying his best. 

Matthew uses the parable of the talents to caution the community about being paralyzed by fear in the face of the delay in Jesus’s return. 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

Peter W. Marty preaches on gratitude. If we’re feeling the least bit down by the realities out of our control what we want to try and see, know, believe, and trust is that our Lord Jesus sees our plight and is not indifferent to weariness. Living an overwhelmed and exhausted life is not sustainable.   Preaching text: Matthew 9: 35-38

In today’s episode, we hear all about a parent who just couldn’t stop loving their son, no matter what. And that’s just like God. Know that God loves you, no matter what. 

Matthew’s summary of Jesus’ ministry sets the stage for the story of Jesus sending the disciples out as laborers in the harvest of the kingdom. 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.

Katy Warren preaches on identity. Naming who we are in relation to circumstances outside of ourselves is a reality many of us face at one point or another. We spend our whole lives trying to figure out who we are. Some of our greatest struggles come when our identity shifts in some way and we figure out who are now. But, we have an identity through God’s love that is unchanging.  Preaching text: 1...

Sometimes help and kindness come from very unexpected places and that’s just what today’s story is about. Jesus tackles the question: “Who is my neighbor?” What do you think? Cozy up for more story time with Little Bird and Jesus. 

In the mystery of life and death, the writer assures the community of God’s faithfulness and the promise of life with God. 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.

The explosion of rockets and invaders from Gaza into Israel on Oct. 7 has been called unprecedented. It has thrown Israel and the Palestinians back onto the front page and leaves many of us feeling ill-equipped to understand what we are seeing. In mid-October, Peter Pettit led a public educational forum on the background of the conflict in history, geopolitics, religion, and human nature.  View pr...

Peter W. Marty preaches on truth. There is a difference between telling the truth and living the truth. Living the truth is about being a certain kind of person. How do we discover this truthful living? To live the truth is to want to know and to desire the love of Jesus, such that we can be free from all kinds of other anxieties. To live the truth is what will help us tell the truth.  Preaching t...

This week’s episode is all about persistence and prayer! Have you ever wanted something so badly that you kept working toward it no matter how hard it was or what stood in your way? Then you were persistent, just like the woman in today’s story. 

John shows Jesus correcting believers’ misunderstanding about freedom, a key dimension of life as the people of God. 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.

Peter W. Marty preaches on the ways God shows up in our lives. Why is it we cannot see God visibly, tangibly, immediately? If God is so omnipresent, why doesn’t God show up with some skin on sometime? God seems everywhere present but nowhere obvious. Perhaps we need to pay more attention to God showing up in other people. God does show up with skin and it just so happens to be through the lives of...

We all have days when we feel very small. Today is a day like that for Little Bird. And it’s really great to have a friend like Jesus to share with. Jesus reminds Little Bird about two stories that show that even the smallest of things do amazingly big things! 

Moses and God negotiate the future of God’s relationship with the people, Israel, after their idolatry with the golden calf. 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.

 Sara Olson-Smith preaches on how to live peacefully. Comparing can also be about contrast. In today’s scripture reading this parable compares how different God’s ways are from the ways of the world and how we ought not to live. Maybe this story teaches us about God’s way of redemption that comes through the cross from self-giving. Maybe that saving hope we have is not in powerful violence but in...

It’s story time! These next few weeks we’ll be exploring the parables of Jesus. Parables are teaching stories. This week, we learn about one of Little Bird’s favorite things - seeds! Settle in and get ready to grow in love!

Matthew uses a compound parable by Jesus to account for Jerusalem’s destruction and remind the community to live as God’s people.  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.

Katy Warren preaches on ownership. It’s our human nature to crave ownership, to want to possess and control things, but that is not how we are asked to live. We are not the owners, we are the caretakers. We own nothing.  Every day we get to choose gratitude over entitlement; giving thanks for the fact that everything is a generous gift from God.   Preaching text: Matthew 21: 33-46 

Little Bird makes a new friend, a friend that others just don’t seem to notice. What kinds of things or people do we not notice very well sometimes? From the most beautiful of little sparrows to the most wonderful of people. 

Matthew uses a parable by Jesus to assure the community that people who seek power for themselves cannot defeat God’s plans. 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.

Sara Olson-Smith preaches on the power of song. The songs we sing together form us into a community and create faith in us. Music connects with our memories, our feelings, our deep faith. Together we sing words that might be familiar or brand new but our voice is never a solo. When we sing together, we feel that we are not alone. We are part of something so much bigger than ourselves.   Preaching...