The Faith and Science Podcast

These are the readings for the 4th Sunday of Easter  The readings this Sunday are Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 23, 1 Peter 2:19-25, and John 10:1-10. This week we explore what migratory birds can teach us about following, learning, and thriving together. From the remarkable story of whooping cranes who must be taught their route by experienced elders, to the early church sharing everything for the common g...

These are the readings for the 3rd Sunday of Easter  The readings this Sunday are Acts 2:14a, 36-41, Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19, 1 Peter 1:17-23, and Luke 24:13-35. This week we explore the Third Sunday of Easter through the lens of the Road to Emmaus story, where two disciples walk with the risen Jesus without recognizing him until he breaks bread. The podcast connects this theme of sudden recognition...

The readings this Sunday are Acts 2:14a, 22-32, Psalm 16, 1 Peter 1:3-9, and John 20:19-31. This week we dive into the Second Sunday of Easter and the familiar story of Thomas — but maybe not in the way you've heard it before. Rather than seeing Thomas as a doubter, we explore how his struggle mirrors something happening in his brain: neuroplasticity, the brain's remarkable ability to rewire and t...

These are the readings for Resurrection Sunday/Easter Sunday.  The readings for Palm Sunday are Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, Colossians 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43, John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-10.  The readings for Easter Evenings are Isaiah 25:6-9, Psalm 114, 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8, and Luke 24:13-49. This Easter Sunday, we dig into the resurrection accounts from John, Matthe...

These are the readings for 6th Sunday in Lent/ Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday.  The readings for Palm Sunday are Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29, and Matthew 21:1-11.  The readings for Passion Sunday are Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 31:9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, and Matthew 26:14-27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54. This week we start with Palm Sunday beginning with shouts of 'Hosanna' and ends with cries of 'Crucify him' — and t...

The readings for 5th Sunday in Lent are Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 130, Romans 8:6-11, and John 11:1-45. This week we ask, "What do dry bones, a risen Lazarus, and the return of platypuses to an Australian national park have in common?" In this week's episode, we explores this subject by drawing powerful connections between the lectionary texts and real-world wildlife conservation success stories that...

The readings for 4th Sunday in Lent are 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 23, Ephesians 5:8-14, and John 9:1-41. This week we explore how the healing of the man born blind in John 9 challenges us to stay open to miracles rather than getting caught up in rules and technicalities — just like the Pharisees did. Drawing a striking parallel to the Prisma visual prosthesis, a cutting-edge microchip implant showin...

The readings for 3rd Sunday in Lent are Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95, Romans 5:1-11, and John 4:5-42. This week we explore the texts through the lens of ecology and the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Drawing on the concept of indicator species and cryptic species, we unpack how Jesus sees the true value in someone her community had written off as insignificant. Just as eco...

The readings for 2nd Sunday in Lent are Genesis 12:1-4a, Psalm 121, Romans 4:1-5, 13-17, and John 3:1-17 or Matthew 17:1-9. This week we wrestle with what it means to trust beyond what we can see, both in our faith and in the cosmos, as we explore the fascinating and mind-bending science of dark matter and dark energy. Just as Nicodemus struggled to grasp what Jesus was showing him, scientists tod...

The readings for 1st Sunday in Lent are Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Psalm 32, Romans 5:12-19, and Matthew 4:1-11. This week we explore how removing a single predator from a coastal ecosystem caused biodiversity to collapse by 50%—and what this ecological lesson reveals about Jesus's temptation, human hubris, and our interconnectedness with creation. This First Sunday of Lent episode challenges us to s...

The readings for Transfiguration Sunday are Exodus 24:12-18, Psalm 2 or Psalm 99, 2 Peter 1:16-21, and Matthew 17:1-9. This week examines how human sight—limited to just 380-780 nanometers of the electromagnetic spectrum—mirrors our spiritual limitations, drawing parallels between our narrow visible range and Peter's reaction at the transfiguration. As Lent approaches, the episode challenges liste...

The readings for this week for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany are Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12), Psalm 112:1-9 (10), 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16), and Matthew 5:13-20.  This week in the podcast, we explore what it means to truly be "salt of the earth" and "light of the world" from Matthew 5:13-20, using science to illustrate why these metaphors matter. It challenges us listeners to move beyond going thr...

The readings for this week for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany are Micah 6:1-8, Psalm 15, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, and Matthew 5:1-12.  The readings for the Presentation of the Lord are Malachi 3:1-4, Psalm 84 or Psalm 24:7-10, Hebrews 2:14-18, and Luke 2:22-40.  This week we explore the Beatitudes and the Presentation of Our Lord through the lens of psychological well-being research. Discover how...

The readings for this week for the Third Sunday after Epiphany are Isaiah 9:1-4, Psalm 27:1, 4-9, 1 Corinthians 1:10-18, and Matthew 4:12-23.  In this episode, we explore how Jesus transforms from cautious to bold after John the Baptist's arrest, fully stepping into his divine ministry as the "light of the world." Using the physics of wave-particle duality and research on how light affects our bra...

The readings for this week for the Second Sunday after Epiphany are Isaiah 49:1-7, Psalm 40:1-11, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, and John 1:29-42.  What if the key to launching something extraordinary isn't just courage, but being truly seen? This week we explore the neuroscience of acknowledgment—how being recognized by others triggers dopamine and oxytocin in our brains, lowering stress and building the t...

The readings for this week for the First Sunday after Epiphany or the Baptism of the Lord are Isaiah 42:1-9, Psalm 29, Acts 10:34-43, and Matthew 3:13-17. What do Newton's Laws of Motion have to do with Jesus' baptism and your fading New Year's resolutions? This week's episode explores why a body in motion stays in motion—and why your faith should too. In the podcast we will unpack how Peter's tes...

Surprise!  We have made it to 8 Years of doing the Faith and Science Podcast.  Yesterday, December 30th, was our birthday.  It has been quite a ride and I am so thankful for everyone tuning in and listening as we have made 400+ podcasts.  I am excited with some ideas for the podcast next year and I look forward to seeing where this continues to go. Here's to the next year and Thank you for all the...

The readings for this week for the Second Sunday after Christmas are Jeremiah 31:7-14 or Sirach 24:1-12, Psalm 147:12-20 or Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-2, Ephesians 1:3-14, and John 1:(1-9), 10-18. What does a Christmas bird count have to do with seeking divine wisdom? In this week's episode, we explore how slowing down to observe God's creation—really listening and watching—can transform our spiritua...

The readings for this week for the First Sunday after Christmas are Isaiah 63:7-9, Psalm 148, Hebrews 2:10-18, and Matthew 2:13-23. Did you know your brain can be tricked into believing a rubber hand is your own - and that octopi fall for the same illusion? This week's podcast explores how our perception of reality is incomplete, with our brains constantly filling in gaps and blind spots in what w...

The readings for this week for the Fourth Sunday of Advent are Isaiah 7:10-16, Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, Romans 1:1-7, and Matthew 1:18-25. This week we look at in vivo Gene Editing and how it has already helped one young boy with a genetic disease.  In this, we realize that there are times in life that we have to trust God when we don't fully understand what is all going on and realize that God has al...

The readings for this week for the Third Sunday of Advent are Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:46b-55, James 5:7-10, and Matthew 11:2-11. This week we talk about patience and how that can be difficult. We explore how John the Baptist was still trying to figure out if Jesus was the Messiah—which isn't that much different than where we are with CTE research at the moment. Are we on the right...

The readings for this week for the Second Sunday of Advent are Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19, Romans 15:4-13, and Matthew 3:1-12.  This week we talk about the aspect of preparing.  We see this within gardening but we also see it in the process of species that are getting reintroduced to an environment they used to roam.  There is a lot of work and preparation that goes into making the decisi...

The readings for this week for the First Sunday of Advent are Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 122, Romans 13:11-14, and Matthew 24:36-44.  This week we talk about how peace and patience seem to be connected.  We can see in science that there is a need to be patient in order to do good research and we see nature doing the same thing to make sure it is providing for itself well.  Our faith needs to have patienc...

The readings for this week for the Christ the King/ Reign of Christ Sunday are Jeremiah 23:1-6, Luke 1:68-79, or  Psalm 46, with Colossians 1:11-20, and Luke 23:33-43.  This week we talk about species that have been rediscovered after being "extinct".  This is often due to lack of funding or the lack of really knowing the species super well to be able to find them.  This leads us to God surprising...

The readings for this week for the Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost are Isaiah 65:17-25 and Isaiah 12, or Malachi 4:1-2a and Psalm 98, with 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13, and Luke 21:5-19.  This week we look at mirror cells and get some into the debate on if we should go through the process of making them.  It is a good reminder that the effects could be unexpected and thus we need to use wisdom and d...