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)

Today, Dave explores one of Jesus's most personal and provocative questions: "Who do you say I am?"– inviting listeners to move beyond inherited belief into their own honest, experiential journey of faith.

CHAPTERS

[00:00] - Welcome & Easter Tide

[01:26] - A Child's Easter Gift

[03:19] - Our Generational Responsibility

[05:23] - The Resurrection Changes Everything

[08:42] - A Story of Hidden Truth

[12:47] - Christianity Is About Receiving

[14:58] - Jesus Asked 300 Questions

[17:12] - "Who Do You Say I Am?"

[19:05] - Finding Your Own Answer

[21:39] - Wright vs. Rohr on Jesus

[25:12] - Receiving Spiritual Insight

[29:26] - Your Spiritual Challenge

In this Easter message, Pastor Rachel Palmbush explores how the resurrection story begins not with fanfare and certainty, but with confusion, doubt, and quiet personal encounters—just like our own lives.

[00:00] - Welcome & Church Memories

[01:47] - Wanting to Believe Like That

[02:17] - The Easter Story

[03:35] - A Surprisingly Quiet Resurrection

[05:09] - Easter Begins with Confusion

[07:06] - Jesus Seeks His Friends

[08:29] - What Difference Does Easter Make?

[10:07] - The Story Starts in Genesis

[11:49] - Lives Transformed by Jesus

[14:29] - The Worst Thing Is Never Last

[16:22] - Promise of Spring

[20:13] - Resurrection Happens Near Death

[21:16] - Job's Declaration of Hope

[22:33] - Closing Prayer

In this Palm Sunday message, Pastor Dave Peterson invites us to experience Holy Week through a lens of unexpected grace. Dave explores unanswered prayers, spiritual mystery, and the profound comfort found in Jesus's words at the Last Supper: "I have longed for this time with you.”

CHAPTERS

[00:00] - Welcome & Holy Week Intro

[01:43] - Comparing Holy Week Intensity

[03:47] - A New Lens: Chaos

[05:13] - The Borderlands Experience

[08:24] - Jesus's Provocative Teachings

[12:38] - Disciples' Confusion & Judas

[15:52] - Unanswered Prayers

[20:37] - Hidden Spiritual Realities

[23:27] - Sit Down with Jesus

In this sermon on Luke's story of the ten lepers, Pastor Rachel Palmbush explores how true faith moves beyond experiencing gratitude to actively expressing it—and how that expression transforms us.CHAPTERS[00:00] - Welcome and Opening[01:00] - Gratitude for a Beautiful Day[03:30] - Today's Scripture: Four Movements[04:44] - Jesus in the Borderlands[07:30] - The Ten Lepers[10:46] - The Prayer: Lord Have Mercy[12:00] - Jesus Sees and Heals[14:48] - The One Who Returns[18:00] - The Nature of True Worship[21:24] - Where Are the Other Nine?[24:23] - Wholeness and Salvation[27:13] - Gratitude's Ripple Effect[29:04] - Closing Reflection

Today Josh explores four pictures of prayer through the story of the paralytic lowered through a roof in Mark 2: the active, persistent prayer of the friends who carried their paralyzed companion; the skeptical inner prayer of the law teachers; the vulnerable, wordless prayer of the paralytic beholding Jesus; and the amazed praise of the crowd. CHAPTERS[00:00] - Opening Prayer[00:58] - Bill Withers & Lean on Me[03:05] - Five Friends, Four Prayers[03:27] - Jesus Returns to Capernaum[04:36] - Capernaum as Home & the Way of the Sea[06:18] - N.T. Wright: Jesus's Own House[07:08] - The Roof Comes Down[08:15] - Prayer as Action & Persistence[09:07] - Prayer and Action Are Two Sides of the Same Coin[10:04] - Jesus Forgives the Paralytic[11:06] - The Law Teachers' Inner Prayer[12:12] - Honest Prayers of Doubt & Frustration[13:06] - Jesus Knows Every Prayer in Your Heart[13:30] - Son of Man's Authority to Forgive[15:18] - The Paralytic's Journey to Jesus[17:22] - The Third Prayer: Vulnerable Beholding[18:15] - Andy Squires — Dead Horse[18:49] - Contemplative Prayer & Gazing Upon God[20:09] - Forgiveness Before Healing[21:00] - Lent: What Gives a Life Value[22:24] - Prayer as God's Language of Love[22:49] - Get Up, Take Your Mat, Go Home[23:21] - The Fourth Prayer: Amazement & Praise[24:20] - Closing Reflection & Prayer