The apostle Paul reminds the community in Rome that they have the "first fruits" of the Spirit as both the guarantee of God's promises and the gifts and strength to persevere until those promises are brought to fulfillment.Preaching passage: Romans 8:22-27Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pastor.

Sara Olson-Smith preaches on connectedness. When faced with something scary, our friendships and our community matters. When are are afraid of things, imagined or real, getting together to dance, to laugh, to play, chases away our fears. We are not lost, we are not alone, we have each other and God will hold us through everything we face, even death. Connecting to God and one another dares us to love with courage and step into the world even when it’s scary. Preaching text: John 17: 6-13

Peter W. Marty preaches on boundaries. We shape our lives around social distinctions and cultural affinities that we’re often barely even aware of. We segment ourselves and measure our happiness by being around people who are roughly like us. In God, there is no partiality. God does not make distinctions between faces. Ask yourselves: am I learning to live as Jesus would in my place? Live in such a way that you are always prepared to be interrupted by the Lord’s spirit. Preaching text: Acts 10: 34-36, 44-48

In Jesus' final prayer, John reminds the community that God has given them all that they need to be protected from the seductions and corruptions of the world.Preaching text: John 17:6-13Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pastor.

Luke, the author of Acts, depicts a key step in his program of gospel expansion – the realization that the Holy Spirit works in many ways throughout the world, and it is the same Holy Spirit that the apostles experienced on Pentecost.Preaching text: Act 10: 44-48Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pastor.

Peter W. Marty preaches on love. Perfect love casts out fear. What is perfect love? We probably accumulate more failures in the love department than in other areas of our lives. We make a lot of mistakes. We practice love very undependably and imperfectly. What does perfect love look like and can we ever know it? God is love and there is no way to know this God without loving other people. We can talk about God but we cannot know God or enjoy God without love. If the opposite of love is not hatred, then what is it?   Preaching text: 1 John 4: 7-12, 18-21

John reminds the Jesus community that they are outgrowths of Jesus' love and power; when they hold fast to Jesus and his words, "abide" in them, they stay on the right side of life and they glorify God.Preaching text: John 15:1-8Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pastor.

Katy Warren preaches on the boundaries of God’s love. We’ve spent too long debating who will be included or excluded from Heaven. God, who loves us with a parent’s heart, would never want to be far from any of us. God keeps trying to open up the boundaries of God’s love throughout the Old Testament. The ability to know and experience God’s love cannot be contained by any human being.  Preaching text: Acts 4: 5-12  Video link: https://youtu.be/bRbUTfSds0U?si=ngqOXmM8eGxKiG5b

The author of Acts shows Peter dramatically reassuring the Acts community that the name of Jesus is enough for their future life.Preaching text: Acts 4:5-12Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pastor.

Peter W. Marty preaches on food. Where would we be without food? It doesn’t matter what you eat, every meal is sacramental. If the disciples were looking for God to be some kind of wispy spiritual being or a metaphor or a ghost, what they get instead is the Lord of Heaven and Earth in the flesh, capable of being hurt and of spilling tears. We must guard against simply intellectualizing our faith. Our bodies are central to faith and nothing speaks to life quite like eating.  Preaching text: Luke 24: 36b-48

Luke charts post-Easter life for all followers of Jesus in a story about Jesus with disciples after the Resurrection. Preaching text: Luke 24: 36b-48Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pastor.

Mac Mullins preaches on the fear of missing out. Fear is one of those things that can so quickly and easily encircle us and fill us up. Deep down fear tells us that we don’t measure up and we just aren’t good enough. There are so many things that are outside of our control, the timing of our faith or our health, these things keep us from living fully together as one whole community of followers of Jesus. It’s not our fault but it still creates a deep longing within us.   Preaching text: John 20: 19-31

John uses an encounter between the disciples and the resurrected Jesus to reassure his community that they have everything they need to follow Jesus, even though they never met or saw him.Preaching text: John 20:19-31Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pastor.

Happy Easter, podcast listeners! A particularly amazing thing happens in today’s episode. Little Bird’s best friend Jesus died just three days ago and while she and a few of Jesus’ other friends are getting ready for his burial, some special visitors bring surprising news.

Peter W. Marty preaches on Easter Sunday. Take a moment to see how Easter can change your life or how you look at life. We get to take the spirit of Jesus Christ and make some change in this world. The resurrection isn’t simply about getting us to Heaven. It’s more about getting a little bit of Heaven into us; making us better people.  Preaching text: Mark 16:1-8

Mark shows the community that God's presence continues to lead them beyond death and the devastation of hope into a promised future.Preaching text: Mark 16:1-8Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pastor.

Peter W. Marty preaches on enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Sacrifice is something you give, not something that is given up. This is not a burden, it’s a privilege and a positive act. Once you decide to give of yourself, everything else falls into place so you can give. And you must have enthusiasm for something else which you believe is more significant than what you were giving.    Preaching text: Philippians 2: 5-11

Today’s episode is a sad one. There are some scary and hard things but there is also lots of good and love. Our story begins on the same evening as the Last Supper. When Jesus is arrested and put on trial, Little Bird and the disciples are scared and don’t know quite what to do. But Jesus is ready to show the world just how big God’s love for this world is.

Mark shows his community that something more than a Messiah from David has come to lead them into the future.Preaching text: Mark 11: 1-11Bible for Worship is a weekly introduction to the scripture passage that is likely to be the basis for the sermon on the following weekend. It correlates with the Revised Common Lectionary as it is used at St. Paul.  With Peter A. Pettit, teaching pastor.

Max Franks preaches on God’s mercy. We don’t carry the impulse to be forthright about our shortcomings. Not only do we veil our shortcomings, we also avoid facing them privately within ourselves. Even if these sins go unnoticed in the public eye, they still leave a mark on us, and after a while, the guilt and shame add up. But God’s steadfast love and abundant mercy will never leave you. Preaching text: Psalm 51