The Good News From The Gardens Podcast

Part three of seven part series on Gifts That Keep on Giving. Matthew 4:12-23 There comes a time when bold choices must be made—confronting injustice, discerning our public life, and answering Christ’s call to “follow me.” Discipleship is complex, requiring us to step away from who we have been toward who God calls us to be, despite fear, opposition, or sensible reasons to hesitate. Faith asks att...

John 1:29-42 Curiosity is often treated as a weakness or distraction, but in this week’s Gospel it becomes holy ground. Two disciples follow Jesus, unsure of what to say or want. Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?” Not what they believe or whether they are worthy, but what they seek. He honors their wondering before reshaping their understanding. Their curiosity becomes the doorway to disciple...

Part 1 of 7 part series Matthew 3:13-17 At the Jordan River, Jesus steps into the waters not because he needs repentance, but because he chooses solidarity. In Matthew 3:13–17, baptism is revealed not as a private spiritual moment, but a communal calling. As the heavens open and God names Jesus “Beloved,” a community is formed around promise and purpose. In baptism, vows are spoken that bind us to...

Luke 2:1-20 & John 1:1-14  The Nativity tells of God shepherding hope into the world through the birth of Jesus. In the humility of a manger, divine promise takes on vulnerable flesh, revealing that hope is not distant but present among ordinary lives. The first to receive this news are shepherds—tired workers keeping watch in the dark—showing that hope often comes to those overlooked. Fear is...

Isaiah 7:10–16 & Matthew 1:18–25 These Isaiah and Matthew texts together proclaim God’s surprising nearness in moments of fear and uncertainty. Isaiah names a sign of hope given amid political anxiety, while Matthew reveals that sign fulfilled in Jesus’ birth through Mary, embraced by Joseph’s faithful obedience. These texts testify that God acts beyond human expectation, entering vulnerabilit...

Isaiah 35:1-10 & Matthew 11:2-11 Isaiah 35 promises a wilderness transformed—creation erupting with life, healing, and rejoicing. Matthew 11 reveals John the Baptist waiting in uncertainty, asking Jesus if he truly is the One. Together, these texts name our living reality wherein human doubt and holy expectation coexist. God’s future blooms in deserts, yet often slowly, hidden from immediate s...

Isaiah 11:1-10 & Matthew 3:1-12   In this message we encounter God’s transformative intervention in a world longing for renewal. Isaiah envisions a Spirit-anointed shoot from Jesse, a righteous ruler whose reign brings justice, peace, and the healing of creation. John the Baptist echoes this hope, calling Israel to repentance as preparation for the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fir...

Isaiah 2:1-5 & Matthew 24:36-44 The practice of waiting involves a posture that is largely uncomfortable and laden with anxiety. In any given scenario, not “doing” can be perceived as apathetic, detached. When it comes to matters of the heart, not “doing” can be perceived as even unfaithful. How do we challenge the narrative of faith being just about what we do? What does it look like to wait...

Christ the King Sunday is a transition Sunday between the church seasons of Ordinary Time and Advent. Before we turn our attention to the story of promise that leads to Bethlehem, we turn to Luke’s account of the crucifixion. Amid scoffing and slander from those who sarcastically call him Messiah and king, Jesus reveals that to be Messiah and king is to give one’s life for others. Jesus uses his p...

In this message, women of Nativity ages of 10 to 94 lend their voices to this worship service. Women were an integral part of the early church, and are an essential voice in its life and ministry today. Many thanks to Breanne Johnsen for delivering the message by expanding our understanding of family through her own story. A special Thankoffering was taken for the Doris Karlik Local College Schola...

Sadducees who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead, try to trap Jesus by concocting an unrealistic and convoluted case of a serial widow who marries a succession of seven brothers. Jesus responds in a rather sarcastic manner by teaching about God to whom all are alive and in whom all relationships are fulfilled. Ann then there is Job...his life has burned down to nothing, and yet in the...

In this All Saints Sunday message we ponder what it looks like to live and act like a "saint". With echoes of the prophet Isaiah and Mary’s song of praise, Jesus reveals surprising things about who enjoys blessing and who endures woe. He invites his disciples to shower radical love, blessing, forgiveness, generosity, and trust even on enemies and outsiders. This message is meant to challenge, and...

In John 8, Jesus speaks of truth and freedom as spiritual realities known through his word. He reveals the truth that sets people free from sin. In Romans, Paul wraps up the readings with theological might…we are justified by faith in the cross of Christ. In this Reformation Sunday message we ponder God’s divine redemptive activity on the cross, and our inability to earn it. And for that we exclai...

In this Sunday’s message we explore what life looks like for us when we wrestle and persevere for what is righteous and good in our world we do this through the lens of two biblical stories. First, we hear of how Jacob wrestles all night long with a divine adversary who ultimately blesses him and changes his name to “Israel,” a name that means “he wrestles with God.” And in the gospel of Luke Jesu...

Jesus’ mission includes making people whole again. Jesus encounters and heals ten lepers, yet  only one, a Samaritan recognizes that he has been healed of his leprosy. The others moved on seemingly unaware or without gratitude that they had been healed. In this message we ponder the relationship between healing and gratitude.   Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity .

Part 4 of 4 part Stewardship Series Because of God, Followers of Jesus Do For God Paul’s letter to Timothy is a personal message of encouragement. In the face of hardship and persecution, Timothy is reminded that his faith is a gift of God. He is encouraged to exercise that faith with the help of the Holy Spirit. In this message we consider the stewardship of God’s mysteries in how we  share and p...

Jesus tells a parable in which the poor one is “lifted up” and the rich one is “sent away empty.” In this message we explore compassion as the divine attribute that binds us to one another, that keeps us from being insulated by wealth or comfort, and that reorients us toward generosity, stewardship, and love. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity.

Part 2 of 4 part Stewardship Series Because of God, Followers of Jesus Do For God Jesus tells the curious story of a dishonest manager who cheats his employer and then is commended by him for having acted so shrewdly. Jesus wonders why his own followers are less creative and diligent in their stewardship given that they are managers of a far more valuable household. In this message consider what i...

Part 1 of 4 part Stewardship Series Because of God, Followers of Jesus Do For God In this Sunday's Gospel, Pharisees and scribes are giving Jesus grief for welcoming and eating with sinners. Jesus goes on to tell a pair of parables that speak to what time well spent for God looks like. In the wake of Charlie Kirk's divisive death, how might we be a reflective image of God's love? What God-given ta...

Part 2 of 2 sermon series Serving the Future On this God’s Work Our Hands Sunday we hear Jesus use sharp and divisive language to explain the level of commitment expected He expects out of those who follow him. A follower of Jesus doesn’t half-commit to His movement. A follower of Jesus is fully aware of what they are getting them self into. A follower of Jesus’ primary interest is serving the fut...

Part 1 of 2 sermon series Serving the Future In this first of two part series Jesus shares the spiritual significance of serving the future of God’s kingdom by denying our ego and delaying our gratification. What does it look like for you and I to individually, and collectively serve God’s interest’s today, and tomorrow?  Listen to this message and contemplate what we want, alongside what the king...

Part 3 of sermon series Pillars of Faith. Through the story of Jesus healing a woman on the sabbath, we contemplate courageous faith. Listen to this message for insight into what faith in the face of opposition looks like, and how you can go about expanding the depth and breadth of your faith in God. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity

The Eyes of Faith | Luke 12:49-56 Part 2 of sermon series Pillars of Faith. Jesus is having what we call a “Come to Jesus meeting”. Using the family unit as His example, Jesus delivers harsh words to his disciples about how purifying and potentially divisive God’s call to obedience is. The cross of Christ often leads followers to encounter hostility and rejection, even from those they love. For Je...

Part 1 of sermon series on Pillars of Faith. God promises childless and aging Abram that a child of his own will be his heir and that his descendants will number as many as the stars. Abram trusts God’s promise, and through this faith he is considered righteous. In the Gospel reading from Luke Jesus addresses his disciples doubt, telling them to not be afraid. In this message we ponder the importa...

Week 4 of 4 sermon series on actions “required” of our faith. Jesus uses a parable to warn against identifying the worth of one’s life with the value of one’s possessions rather than one’s relationship with God. Desire clarity amongst the things that clutter our lives? Listen to this message as we ponder what possesses us, God, or stuff. Click here to explore and support the ministry of Nativity