What does it really mean to be a Christian? Is it just fire insurance for the afterlife, or is there something far more alive? In this opening message of a new series, Pastor Pat Little unpacks the biblical vision of shalom: God's dream of wholeness and flourishing for all creation—and what it means for us to be "midwives" of that new creation right now.

CHAPTERS

[00:00] - Welcome & Easter Season

[01:11] - New Series Introduction

[02:53] - What Is the Point?

[03:17] - Dallas Willard's "Fire Insurance"

[04:36] - New Creation & Shalom

[07:09] - Midwives of New Creation

[08:33] - Community Engagement Defined

[09:36] - The Formation Pathway

[12:23] - Acts 10: Listening in Action

[16:06] - Shalom Dismantles Barriers

[17:37] - Reflection: What Borders?

[18:08] - Three Listening Practices

[18:49] - Encounter at Saint Frank

[24:29] - Moments of Kinship

[25:43] - Intentional Relocation

[26:39] - Matthew 25 & The Margins

[28:39] - Closing

[03:17] - Dallas Willard — The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God

[05:35] - Walter Brueggemann — Living Toward a Vision: Biblical Reflections on Shalom

[07:09] - Michael Frost & Christiana Rice — To Alter Your World: Partnering with God to Rebirth Our Communities

[16:06] - Willie James Jennings — Acts: A Theological Commentary on the Bible

[18:25] - Barbara Brown Taylor — An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith

[18:49] - Saint Frank Coffee, Menlo Park

[21:04] - Mary Oliver — "Morning Poem" (Dream Work, 1986)

[22:34] - Elizabeth Bishop — "One Art"

[23:28] - G.K. Chesterton

[23:28] - Gerard Manley Hopkins — "As Kingfishers Catch Fire"

[24:58] - Fr. Greg Boyle — Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship

After his resurrection, Jesus didn't open with answers or explanations; he opened with questions. In this message, Rachel Palmbush explores three deeply personal questions the risen Jesus asked his closest friends: "Why are you crying?" to a grief-stricken Mary in the garden, "Why are you troubled?" to fearful disciples hiding behind locked doors, and "Do you love me?" to a shame-filled Peter by a charcoal fire. Jesus meets each of them exactly where they are–not to fix or lecture, but simply to find them. A reminder that the God of the universe knows where you are, and will always come looking.

[00:00] - Welcome & Series Context

[01:37] - Jesus the Question Asker

[02:31] - Recapping Previous Questions

[02:54] - Today's Questions Are Personal

[03:27] - Three Responses to the Empty Tomb

[06:17] - One Story, Three Reactions

[07:17] - Jesus Finds Each Friend

[08:13] - Questions as Transformation

[09:12] - Mary at the Garden Tomb

[10:36] - "Why Are You Crying?"

[12:00] - Jesus Says Mary's Name

[12:51] - Disciples in the Locked Room

[13:07] - "Why Are You Troubled?"

[14:54] - Jesus Moves Toward Them

[15:46] - Peter on the Beach

[16:18] - "Do You Love Me?"

[17:11] - Restoring Calling, Not Failure

[18:23] - Post-Resurrection: Still Grief, Still Shame

[19:07] - What Question Is Jesus Asking You?

[19:37] - A God Who Finds

[20:17] - The Alzheimer's Story

[22:39] - Jesus Finds Us in Hidden Places

[23:15] - The God We Actually Need

[24:07] - Jesus, Food & The Road to Emmaus

REFERENCES

[02:06] - Martin Copenhaver — Jesus Is the Question: The 307 Questions Jesus Asked and the 3 He Answered

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" is one of Jesus's most haunting questions—and one we often rush past. In this sermon, Josh explores this cry from the cross not as a problem to be solved, but as one of the most profound revelations of who God is. Drawing on the life of theologian Jürgen Moltmann, who first encountered this question as a prisoner of war, Josh shows us how God enters the darkest places of human experience—not to explain our suffering, but to suffer alongside us. The resurrection doesn't erase the cross; it gives our broken places meaning. If you've ever wondered where God is in your pain, this message is for you.

CHAPTERS

[00:00] - Welcome & Wonder Story

[02:29] - The Dangerous Questions

[04:33] - The Cry of Dereliction

[06:54] - Jesus Quotes Psalm 22

[10:00] - What Forsaken Means

[11:49] - Moltmann's Theology of Solidarity

[13:58] - Moltmann's War Story

[16:32] - God Enters Our Suffering

[18:08] - Kintsugi Illustration

[20:07] - A New Way of Struggling

[21:26] - Pain & The Church's Response

[22:39] - The Centurion's Declaration

[23:33] - Words for the Suffering

[25:05] - Closing Prayer

REFERENCES

[00:15] - Working Genius Assessment (Patrick Lencioni)

[02:09] - Wendell Berry — "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" (poem, "Ask the questions that have no answers")

[02:31] - Annie Dillard — Pilgrim at Tinker Creek ("Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery")

[06:54] - Psalm 22 (Old Testament)

[11:59] - Jürgen Moltmann — German theologian, The Crucified God

[14:03] - Operation Gomorrah — Allied bombing of Hamburg, 1943

[16:09] - Dietrich Bonhoeffer — German pastor and martyr, "Only the suffering God can help"

[18:15] - Kintsugi — Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold

[20:09] - Susan W.N. Ruach — "A New Way of Struggling" (poem)