The Carry On Cast

Pastor Erik, Pastor Kevin, and Deacon Hans Vigesaa discuss the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. They read Mark 1:1-8. The story of Jesus in Mark begins with John as a prelude. We learn who Jesus is through John. How do we point to Jesus in our own lives, like John does? We don’t always feel so confident in sharing this good news. But in this Christmas season, we are remi...

Pastor Erik, Pastor Kevin, and Deacon Hans Vigesaa discuss Luke 2:1-20. We remember and celebrate the story of Jesus’ birth from so long ago, but we remember that God continues to be present among us today. All these details of the place and history: the emperor, the registration, shepherds at work. These can pass us by because we repeat them every year. But remember: these details ground us in Go...

This is the third Sunday of Advent, the Pastors touch on fulfillment, relationship, and trust. Pastor Megan, Pastor Erik, and Pastor Kevin discuss Ezra 1:1-3; 3:10-13. There is power in relationship and worship in this story. What truly draws the people together and lets them voice both their hope and their grief is returning to the temple together. God calls us back into a worshipping community,...

Pastor Megan and Pastor Erik discuss Isaiah 40:1-11. The words are spoken to the people once they become exiles in Babylon. This is meant to comfort them in their most difficult time. For many of us, this season is a challenge. Stress, missing a loved one, finances, SAD, finals – it’s okay to not be happy this time of year! But God reminds us that he wants to care for us, to comfort us, to hold us...

It’s Time! Advent begins on December 3. Pastors Kevin, Erik, and Megan discuss Jeremiah 33:10-11, 14-18 and our new series, It’s Time. In Advent, we live in the paradox of knowing Christ has come and waiting for Christ to come. Our faith holds space for trusting God’s action now and waiting for fulfillment. We hope for you a time to watch, wait, and be ready for God’s promises now and to be challe...

It’s Christ The King Sunday! Pastor Megan, Pastor Erik and Pastor Kevin read 2 Kings 22:15-20, 23:1-3. Josiah chooses faithfulness even though there will be pain and destruction for his people. He demonstrates servant leadership that calls people beyond themselves. When we care for others, we recognize that the outcome may not be what we hope and pray for. But we still trust in God and serve faith...

Pastor Megan, Pastor Erik and Pastor Kevin read Isaiah 11:1-5. Isaiah is a book of prophecy to a particular time and people. It was meant as both warning and promise to the people who originally heard it. There is hope and caution. The same is true for us today. While we tend to read this as about Jesus, that’s likely not what was originally intended. It’s meant to remind the people that even thou...

Pastor Megan, Pastor Erik and Pastor Kevin discuss Hosea 11:1-9. God makes this statement through Hosea in the face of great unfaithfulness from the people. God has every right to be mad! A key component of life together is forgiveness. We have to be able to confess, forgive, make amends, and keep moving forward together. God chooses to stay faithful even when there are consequences for the people...

Pastor Kevin and Pastor Erik discuss Psalm 116:1-8. The Psalmist recognizes powerful, true emotions: stress, pain, fear, grief. This Sunday is a rare opportunity to talk explicitly about death. We can be honest about it, we don’t need to avoid it or talk in euphemisms. Faith reminds us that death isn’t the final word. How do we mark our grief of loss while still trusting God’s goodness?

Pastor Megan, and Pastor Kevin discuss 1 Kings 18:17-26, 36-39. We think of these stories of false gods and idols as something in the past, but we’re constantly worshiping that which is not God. This day in the church year reminds us that God is never done calling us back in line with God’s desires for us. Elijah shows us that faithfulness to God’s call is risky, powerful, and worth it. How does t...

Pastor Megan, Pastor Erik and Pastor Kevin discuss 2 Samuel 5:1-5; 6:1-5. This is a story about the people coming together in worship! “David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals” – v6:5. How did we get to David? What was at stake? How did this become such an incredible high point for...

Pastor Megan, Pastor Erik and Pastor Kevin discuss Ruth 1:8-18. This story reminds us that the things that keep us together are deep and powerful. Love, devotion to God, desire to care for each other, and so much more as this is radical commitment: a daughter-in-law choosing to stay with her mother-in-law, even though it meant leaving her whole life behind. How does Ruth’s commitment to Naomi chal...

Pastor Megan, Pastor Erik and Pastor Kevin discuss Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It talks about the giving of the law. This is part of God’s establishment of the boundaries that promote life among people. At the top: know who God is and stay connected to that truth. This Sunday is Bible Blessing Sunday, as we give the word directly to the hands of these young people. This is the work of our whole congregatio...

Pastor Megan, Pastor Erik and Pastor Kevin read Exodus 3:1-15. God said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you” Verse 15. God constantly self-identifies by relationship. We are called to do hard things, not for our glory, but for the sake of others. The God of relationship...

Pastor Megan, Pastor Kevin, and Pastor Eric continue our series we are in “Together For Good” and read Genesis 32:9-12, 22-30. They discuss faith stories in the old testament that remind us that we are meant to be in community and that we are built to be in relationship with God and each other. For a little background on Jacob (grandson of Abraham, recipient of the promise, trickster) he faces pos...

Pastor Megan, Pastor Kevin and Pastor Erik read Genesis 18:10-15; 21:1-7. The point of this story is not only that God keeps promises, but that God’s works are worth rejoicing in and declaring. How do we, as a community, keep track of the incredible things God has done in our community? How do we point to them and share them? How can we stay connected to the incredibly, miraculously good things Go...

This episode encounters audio complications that could not be fixed, our apologies. Pastor Megan, Pastor Erik and Pastor Kevin introduce our new sermon series “Together For Good.” There’s a lot going on this Sunday! It’s a great opportunity to look around and celebrate the ways Easter supports its community and each other. This is who God means us to be! The pastors discuss Genesis 2:4b-8, 18-25....

Pastor Megan, Pastor Kevin and Pastor Erik discuss Psalm 150. This is a pure praise psalm, all about rejoicing in God’s goodness. That’s what we do at Easter! That’s what worship is for. We want to carry this praise on for generations, celebrating what God has done through us and the future. Let’s keep celebrating – our past, present, and future – all to God’s glory

Pastor Megan, Pastor Kevin and Pastor Erik read Hebrews 3:1-6. This is a story about widening faith. “We are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope” – what we build, we build to Christ’s glory, centered in honoring his name and celebrating faith in him. How will we continue to recognize God as the builder of all things?

Pastor Megan, Pastor Kevin and Pastor Erik discuss 1 Corinthians 3:9-13a. This passage reminds us that what we do is built upon the work of those who go before us. This process is about honoring our past and building our future, but even more so, remembering that our foundation is Jesus Christ, whom we serve with our time, money, energy, and even our buildings. How do we build on the work God does...

Pastor Megan and Pastor Erik discuss 1 Peter 2:4-10. This passage reminds us that Christ is the cornerstone on which we build all things. Not any other part of our identity but Christ alone. If we are to be “living stones” and “a holy priesthood” it is so that we can “proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you”. In other words: anything we do, including build a building, is so that we can shar...

Pastor Erik and Pastor Kevin discuss Ephesians 3:14-21. Verses 20-21 “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.” A church is more than a building, but a building helps us do what a church needs to do. Like this passage references: pra...

This weeks story, Luke 10:25-37 is deeply familiar to people. How does Jesus’ well-known story keep challenging us to care for others? By using a Samaritan as the “good guy”, Jesus reminds us that the ability to care isn’t exclusive to the insider. Easter has great energy around caring for each other and our community. How does this really live into Jesus’ reminder that loving our neighbor as ours...

Pastor Erik and Pastor Kevin welcome Amy Vigesaa to the podcast this week. They dive into Exodus 15:19-21 and talk about different ways to worship and where we see God, where he is present. There are many right ways to worship – some more choreographed, some more spontaneous, some more joyful, some more stoic. It’s not the style that matters, it’s the connection to God’s action in the community an...

This week, the Pastors dive into John 3:1-17. Nicodemus doesn’t feel comfortable coming to Jesus by the light of day. Sometimes, we’re nervous about asking or worry we will be judged for our questions. But Jesus doesn’t condemn! We learn in so many ways – classes, conversations, service opportunities, even music. We can trust that learning more about our faith is worthwhile no matter how that lear...