The Sunday Sermon

Learning the Unforced Rhythms of Grace Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out? In one of Jesus' most beloved invitations, he calls weary people to come to him and "learn the unforced rhythms of grace." In this message from Matthew 11:28–30, Pastor Angelo reflects on the rhythms that quietly shape our lives every day and reminds us that following Jesus isn't about trying harder—it's about walking with...

This week’s sermon explores one of Scripture’s most difficult stories: Abraham, Isaac, and the command to sacrifice the promised child. Genesis 22 invites us to wrestle honestly with costly trust, the things we hold too tightly, and the God who stops the knife, provides the ram, and meets us on the mountain.

Following Jesus isn't a promise that life will be easy. It's a promise that we are seen, known, and loved through it all. This week we explored Matthew 10:24-39, where Jesus tells his disciples the truth: faithfulness will cost something. It may disrupt comfort, challenge relationships, and demand courage. But here's the good news—whatever we lose for Christ's sake becomes life. Jesus doesn't call...

Recording from Annual Conference, Pastors Angelo and Becca reflect on the Minor Prophets and their ongoing call to the church today. From justice and mercy to truth-telling and hope, this episode explores what it means for the church to live prophetically—not by predicting the future, but by bearing witness to God’s heart in the present.

What do you do when trusting God feels impossible? This week, pastoral intern Emma Strickland reflects on the stories of Sarah, Elizabeth, and Mary—ordinary people who met God’s promises with doubt, laughter, and questions. Through their stories, Emma explores a simple but powerful truth: faith is not the absence of uncertainty. Sometimes trusting God means taking one more step, even when the futu...

This week on Companions on the Journey, Pastors Angelo and Becca leave the Major Prophets behind and enter the world of the Minor Prophets. Together they explore Hosea's powerful message of covenant love, Joel's vision of repentance and renewal, Amos's passionate call for justice, and Obadiah's warning against exploiting the vulnerable. Along the way, they discuss why these prophets still matter t...

This week on The Sunday Sermon, we pause for Checkpoint Sunday #3 in our Bible-in-a-Year journey. Looking back across everything we've read—from Genesis and Exodus to the kings, the Psalms, and the prophets—we ask a simple but important question: What have we learned about God? Through the images of water, bread, and the cup, Pastors Angelo and Becca trace the story of Scripture and discover a God...

In this episode, Pastors Angelo and Becca finish reflecting on Ezekiel. Together, they discuss the valley of dry bones, dragons, and the close connection between despair and hope.

In the final message of our Explore God series, Pastor Angelo explores one last deeply personal question: Can I know God personally? Grounded in John 15:9–17, this sermon examines Jesus’ invitation to “remain” in his love and challenges common misconceptions about faith, spirituality, and relationship with God. Together, we consider what it means to be fully known and fully loved by God—and how ab...

This week on Companions, Pastor Angelo is joined by Wesley Memorial’s summer pastoral intern, Emma Strickland, for a special episode. Before diving into the strange and powerful world of Ezekiel 1–24, Emma shares about her life, faith journey, calling to ministry, and passion for social work. Together, they reflect on what it feels like to read prophetic literature honestly for the first time—the...

This Pentecost Sunday, Pastor Angelo explores the question, “Is the Bible Reliable?” through Acts 2 and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Rather than avoiding difficult questions, this message wrestles honestly with Scripture’s complexity, humanity, and power while showing how the Bible continues to faithfully lead people toward Jesus Christ.

In this episode, Pastors Angelo and Becca close out their reflection on Jeremiah by discussing prophets and pretenders. What is a false prophet? How do we discern the difference between God's voice and the voice of the enemy? Do false prophets still exist today? Join us as we discuss these questions and more!

What does it really mean to say that Jesus is God? This week, Pastor Becca explores Colossians 1:15–20 and the church’s historic claim that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. Together, we wrestle with Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience as we consider who Jesus truly is—and why that still matters today.

In this episode, Pastors Angelo and Becca reflect on the first half of Jeremiah. Does God speak through visions and dreams? What does it look like to be obedient even when it produces personal turmoil? What is the cost of seeing the world as God sees it? Listen as we explore these questions and offer greater insight into this weeping prophet.

Is Christianity too narrow? In this message, Pastor Angelo explores Jesus’ words in John 14:6 through a personal story of friendship, wrestling with how faith, grace, and truth meet. Discover how Christianity can be centered on Christ while still wide in its scope for the world—and what that means for how we live and love today.

In this episode on companions, Pastors Angelo and Becca share their thoughts on the end of Isaiah, the importance of remembering (and not remembering) in scripture, and what it means to celebrate a servant who suffers at the hands of his people.

In this week’s message, we wrestle with one of the hardest and most personal questions of faith. Walking through the story of Lazarus in John 11, we explore what Scripture actually says—and doesn’t say—about suffering, grief, and God’s presence. Rather than offering easy answers, this message invites a deeper shift: from asking “God, how could you?” to asking “God, where are you?”—and discovering...

Isaiah doesn’t let us stay on the surface. In this episode of Companions, we walk through Isaiah 1–48—moving from confrontation in Jerusalem to comfort in exile. Along the way, we explore what it means to trust God in uncertain times, how worship and justice belong together, and why God’s promises still speak in the middle of disruption. If the prophets have been stretching you, this conversation...

“Is there a God?” It’s a simple question with complex layers. This week, we walk through Acts 17 and consider how people have wrestled with this question for centuries—and how the search itself may be pointing us somewhere deeper.

This week on Companions, we step into the Prophets—and discover they’re not nearly what we thought. Far from distant predictors of the future, the prophets speak directly into moments of drift, calling God’s people back to covenant faithfulness, justice, and true worship. We unpack some of the most common misconceptions that keep us from understanding these books and offer practical ways to read t...

We’re kicking off a brand new series called Explore God by asking one of the biggest questions people have been asking for centuries: Does life have a purpose? In this opening message, Pastor Angelo creates space for honest exploration, engages how different worldviews answer the question, and offers a deeply rooted Christian perspective—one that reframes purpose not as something we achieve, but s...

What happens when a people slowly drift from the God who formed them? In this episode of Companions, we walk through 1 & 2 Kings, tracing nearly 400 years of Israel’s history—from the height of Solomon’s temple to the devastation of exile. Along the way, we explore the division of the kingdom, the repeated failures of its leaders, and the prophetic voices that refuse to stay silent. Why does the p...

Are we there yet? In this Checkpoint Sunday message, Pastor Becca pauses our Bible-in-a-Year journey to reflect on one of Scripture’s most compelling figures: Solomon. A king known for wisdom, success, and influence—yet also a life marked by slow drift and a divided heart. This sermon explores the tension between doing the right things and heading in the wrong direction, reminding us that faith is...

This week, we hit another checkpoint in our Bible-in-a-year journey—and we’re slowing down to spend some time in the Psalms. Joined by a very special guest (and Pastor Becca's dad!), Paul Detterman, we explore what the Psalms actually are, why they show up alongside the rest of Scripture, and how they give voice to the full range of human experience—from joy and gratitude to grief, anger, and ever...

This Easter, Pastor Angelo invites us to see the resurrection not just as a moment of celebration, but as a moment of realization. In Matthew 28, the first witnesses arrive at the tomb carrying grief, fear, and uncertainty—and yet they encounter the risen Christ already ahead of them. This message holds space for both loss and hope, reminding us that while loss is real, it is not final. Because Je...