The Carry On Cast

Ep 238 | 7th Sunday After Pentecost Pastors Steve, Brandon, and Megan talk kick off our next series “Grow In Faith” with Psalm 119:9-16. The series will dig into the seven faith practices of the ELCA starting with Reading Scripture.

Ep 237 | 6th Sunday After Pentecost Pastors Steve, Brandon, and Megan talk about Deacon Hans’ favorite Bible passage John 9. The age old of question of, why is this happening to me or what did I do to deserve this. The process of faith and discipleship is often a long journey. Throughout the text he is questioned, belittled, doubted about who he was and who he is becoming, even by those who know h...

Ep 236 | 5th Sunday After Pentecost Pastors Steve, Brandon, and Megan talk about Pastor Megan’s favorite Bible passage 1 John 4:7-11,17-19. Like so many parts of faith, it’s easy to weaponize love. We can pretend love is the same thing as putting up with abuse, hatred, or discrimination. Love is hard work. Love means telling the truth, having compassion, and standing up for yourself and others. Ou...

Ep 235 | 4th Sunday After Pentecost Pastors Brandon and Megan talk about Pastor Brandon’s favorite Bible passage Isaiah 43:1-3a. Have you ever asked, Where is God, who are we? Easter is going through some big changes, are you looking for God in this? We are still God’s people and God is with us.

Ep 234 | 3rd Sunday After Pentecost Pastors Steve, Brandon, and Megan talk about Pastor Steve’s favorite Bible passage, Philippians 1:9-11. Each day we should ask, ok God, what are you doing today and how can I join in on it?

2nd Sunday after Pentecost Pastors Steve, Brandon, and Megan start the new sermon series Word of Life, each preacher will share their favorite Bible passage. We invite you to choose your favorite passage(s). This week Deacon Krista Lind will preach on Psalm 80:1-3, 14-19.

Ep 232 | Holy Trinity Sunday Pastors Brandon and Steve discuss John 16:7-15 the text for Holy Trinity Sunday. It is the day when we recognize one of the most confusing teachings of the Christian tradition. What is Trinity? How do you explain something that is three, yet one, and three? Listen in to hear the pastors try to make the unexplainable explained.

Ep 231 | Pentecost Pastors Steve and Brandon, head back to Acts 2 (2:1-21) to celebrate Pentecost. What are tongues? Was this a miracle of speaking or of hearing? The Holy Spirit is a gift for EVERYONE. This passage is Jesus fulfillment of the promise to pour out the holy spirit.

Ep 230 | 7th Sunday of Easter Pastors Brandon and Megan, continue reading the letter to the Philippians (Philippians 2:1-13). This text can get misused by telling some (but not all) people that they must endure all kinds of suffering because Jesus did. This is not about manipulating people or endorsing abuse. This passage works against much of what we assume we’re supposed to do: look out for ours...

Ep 229 | 6th Sunday of Easter Pastors Brandon, Megan, and Steve continue learning about Life in His Name in Philippians 1: 1-18a. What is an epistle? Is it a flowering, thorny plant? The Gospel should be offensive, the way believers spoke of Jesus, Jesus is Lord , was offensive to the Roman government. Everyone is represented by Jesus, the Gospel effects the way we live in the world, we are all lo...

Ep 228 | 5th Sunday of Easter Pastors Megan, Brandon, and Steve travel to Rome in Acts 17:16-17, 22-31. We follow these Acts of the Holy Spirit, watch how the Holy Spirit continues to break and challenge the laws of Moses to bring everyone to the risen Christ. Paul opens eyes and hearts to the Truth, without judgement. How to you keep God in your daily life? How can you keep idols from being the c...

Ep 227 | 4th Sunday of Easter Pastors Steve, Megan, and Brandon dig in to Acts 16:16-34 in 3 parts because there is a lot happening in the life of Paul here in Phillipi. This story exposes some of the darkest aspects of humanity: slavery, misuse of the justice system for economic power, bigotry and scapegoating. We also get to see the liberating power of the Holy Spirit.

Pastors Steve, Megan, and Brandon move into Acts 9:1-19a where we meet Saul persecuting followers of Jesus. How does Saul/Paul encounter Jesus? What would you do if you were Ananias? What does all this have to do with Star Wars ep 7? How does God work with each of us to use our strengths?

Pastors Megan and Steve read John 20:19-31, When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, it’s late the day of Jesus resurrection. Where are the disciples? What do they do when they see Jesus? What if the point of the story isn’t: “don’t question Jesus”, but rather, “Jesus can stand up to your questions”?

Ep 224 | Holy Week! Pastors Steve, Megan, and Brandon read John 20:1-18 (Maundy Thursday and Good Friday gospels 19:23-30, 31-42). How does John’s Gospel paint the portrait of Jesus? Why is it ‘Maundy’ Thursday? How does John’s Gospel focus on the Maundy? What’s Good about Friday? We see that God will go to the end with and for us. Mary is the first Apostle to share the Good News. When Jesus calls...

Palm Sunday Pastors Megan and Brandon discuss Palm Sunday, readings from John 19:16b-22 Passion and John 12:12-27 Processional Gospel. Our Gospels go from celebrating Jesus entering Jerusalem for the last time to His crucifixion. What does the palm mean to you? This transition from celebration to crucifixion is deliberately difficult. As difficult as it is for us, Jesus is in control. Jesus dies f...

Ep 222 | together in the face of evil, suffering, and loss Pastors Megan and Brandon discuss John 19:1-16a as we begin the passion story. What has brought the Jewish leaders so much anger and hatred as to deny their entire religion? Pilot is questioning Jesus, Where are you from? What does Pilot want to know? The murder of an innocent man should make us uncomfortable.

Ep 221 | together as we remember how easily we are pulled apart Pastors Brandon and Megan discuss John 18:12-27 notice all the connections to Jesus as our shepherd. What happens when we leave the fold? Sticking to our belief in Jesus is hard, sometimes we get it wrong, but we are still accepted.

Pastors Megan, Brandon, and Steve discuss John 15:4-17. Jesus begins his farewell discourse in a teaching about the Vine and Branches. We all ABIDE with God and are invited into a dynamic relationship with God. What you do now matters. We are Better Together when we are connected to the body of Christ and each other.

Ep 219 | Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet Pastors Brandon and Steve discuss John 13:1-17 and the start of Lent (what is Lent?). Jesus invites us to show greater hospitality. What can we learn from the example of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet? Is there anything in our culture today that compares to the act of Jesus washing feet? Jesus challenges his disciples and us to share him with the world.

Pastors Megan, Brandon, and Steve discuss John 11:21-44. The passage is often read at funerals. It shows us that Jesus demonstrates that he has power over death – Jesus is life itself. But also, it shows us the power of the community gathered in faith for the sake of each other. It says, “The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus s...

Pastors Brandon, Megan, and Steve discuss John 17:1-12. It's Transfiguration Sunday this weekend. It leads us our of the season of Epiphany and into Lent. There's so much we don’t (or maybe can’t) know about the holiness of Jesus and what it means for us. How can we comprehend Jesus as both human and divine, physical and spiritual, incarnate and mysterious? We're invited to live into the mystery a...

Pastors Steve and Megan discuss John 7:37-52. Jesus is telling a crowd that he is the living water, the Messiah. The crowd is divided saying “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he?” Some in the crowd were hung up on the belief that the Messiah was supposed to be from Bethlehem. Human desire to hold on to power and create hierarchy creates infighting and big problems for the religi...

Pastors Steve and Brandon discuss John 6:35-56. Bread and water are incredibly important staples to sustaining life, especially to people in the first century. In these verses, Jesus calls himself the bread of life. He is the gift of life, love mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Through Communion, you receive a connection with God, then you get to be the gift of love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness to...

Pastors Brandon, Steve, and Megan discuss John 5:1-18. In these verses, Jesus is challenging religious tradition by healing a man on the sabbath and claiming he’s the son of God. For the time, it’s seen as a threat to God’s own laws. It’s taken as heresy. Today, we often try to make Jesus into what we’d rather deal with than what he tells us he is.