St. Paul Podcast

Megan Eide preaches on inheritance. Jesus served as God’s hands and feet in the world. He took the baton from God and ran with it, and now he passes it on to his disciples. What does it take to inherit that gift of the spirit? Little by little, one by one, the disciples step out and explore their own authentic ways to embrace and share their experiences of faith. Now, the disciples have passed on...

Podcast friends! It’s our last episode of the season. The Holy Spirit visits the disciples, just as Jesus had promised. With the Holy Spirit working in them, they begin to boldly share the love of God with the world. This summer, don’t forget to look for Little Bird among the sparrows and keep spreading love and kindness in the world. Until next season…. 

Peter W. Marty preaches on worship. There is no such thing as a life without worship. Everyone worships something and most of us worship many somethings. What do you love? We tend to worship what we love. What pulls in our confidence? What captures our affections? That’s what we worship and we end up bestowing upon them a power they were never meant to have.   Preaching text: Acts 17: 16-28

Jesus and his friends have spent a lot of time together lately and now it’s time for them all to head back to Jerusalem. It wouldn’t be a trip with Jesus and the disciples without some jokes along the way. Jesus says goodbye one more time to his friends and Little Bird, reminding them (and us) to keep sharing Jesus’ stories and loving beautifully.  

Sara Olson-Smith preaches on living stones. God often takes things that are disregarded and makes them into something beautiful and strong. We may find ourselves buried but God digs us out of the darkness and into marvelous light. Each of us brings our unique selves into this life together, as varied as the sizes and colors of stone in a fieldstone house. Like living stones, let yourself be built...

Peter is still struggling with the denial of his friendship with Jesus. A little time fishing on the water is sure to raise his spirits and you’ll never guess who shows up to make the fishing trip even more special. This friend has a very important job for Peter.

Sara Olson-Smith preaches on Jesus is the shepherd who protects his sheep, knows their names, and leads them to green pastures. Jesus is also the gate, the entrance, the door. This reminds us that Jesus’ whole way of being is not about blockades and barriers or even safety and security for just a few but for all. He is both the shepherd and the gate whose whole purpose is to bring life abundant. ...

As the disciples make the long walk to Galilea, they share a few of their favorite parables that Jesus shared with them. So, snuggle in for story time, and a few wooly good jokes, on this week’s episode.  

Pastor Peter W. Marty preaches on truth. It is essential to human community, it’s a foundation in the social fabric of this world. Once a culture allows truth to become relative, that culture is fighting for its life. To abandon truth is to degrade the bonds and networks of trust upon which society is built and on which our relationships so depend. And what if truth is more than a concept or an id...

Guess what? It’s still Easter on the podcast! That’s right – there are still more stories of Jesus visiting his friends on that first Easter day. While traveling on the road back home to Emmaus, Cleopas and Mary are joined by a stranger. Can you guess who that stranger may be? Listen to this week’s episode to find out. 

Megan Eide preaches on salvation. Salvation is not just a future promise. Salvation is also our present reality when we cultivate the kind of faith that acts as a living hope. Faith becomes an invitation to pause in the midst of panic, to know that we don’t have to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, or even the weight of tomorrow. Jesus has been to tomorrow and back and shown us there...

Did you think you wouldn’t be hearing much from Little Bird after Easter? Well, she has more stories to share! These are the stories of those times when the risen Jesus found his friends. His friends may just be a little surprised to see him again, don’t you think?

Peter W. Marty preaches on Easter Sunday. There are so many people who are afraid of so many things right now. That fear can paralyze lives and cripple the capacity to function well with faith. The greatest achievement of Easter is a freedom from fear. We’re not living in that freedom nearly enough. Having faith does not mean that you don’t have any fears but faith helps instill the courage to wal...

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.  

Sara Olson-Smith preaches on Palm Sunday. Jesus chose power that comes not through force but through self-giving and strength through humility, not domination. And during Palm Sunday, Jesus chose to ride on a donkey. Today, it’s that donkey that teaches us. It’s an invitation to us to be like the donkey and carry Jesus and his love into this world. We don’t have to be the strongest, the toughest,...

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.  

Megan Eide preaches on forgiveness. God’s ways of mercy and forgiveness are radically different from our own. When God forgives us, God is insisting on a relationship with us. When it comes to forgiveness we often focus on the character of the forgiven and what they’ve done to deserve mercy. Instead, forgiveness is more about the character of the one forgiving. It’s about insisting on the relation...

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.

Katy Warren preaches on perspective. We all come into new scenarios with our own ways of thinking, our own bias, or preconceived notions that shapes what we believe. We look for the reasons behind why certain things happen. The more convinced we are that we know exactly what God is doing, the less we’ll see and experience the work of God. The place we often find God is often in the middle of the m...

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. 

Peter W. Marty preaches on the constancy of God. Think not of the Christian faith as just a set of rules and laws or noble and inspirational ideas. Instead, Christianity is the Lord Jesus Christ present with us and in us. As God communicates to Moses, I will be right there with you. God is to be trusted, not tested.   Preaching text: Exodus 17: 1-7 

Are you ready for another miracle on this week’s episode? When Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus gets very, very sick, Jesus cannot get to see his friends fast enough. There are a lot of big feelings in this episode so snuggle in close with your parents, siblings, or friends and know that just like in the story, Jesus is always with you. 

Pastor Sara Olson-Smith preaches on being in the dark. Many of us, in various seasons of our life, for various kinds of reasons, find ourselves in some kind of darkness. Those times when we really don’t know where we’re going or how we’re going to get there or what is next. Those times can be scary but they’re also the times when we discover the greatest truths about ourselves and the world.    Pr...

This week, we find Little Bird and Jesus playing games with kids just like you! Jesus shares with a few grumpy disciples that children understand God’s dream of love for the world better than anyone else. We can all learn a little something from the children around us.  

Megan Eide preaches on landing in uncharted territory. There is no scenario so unexpected or destination so bleak that God has not passed through first ahead of us and come out the other side. God’s spirit leads people through the wilderness and they come out the other side more ready to step into that promised future. We see over and over again how the wilderness isn’t so much a place of desolati...