Pod Be With You
Episodes
245 episodes
Divine Distractions (Bible Study)
This week, Jesus gets out of the way - or tries to, anyway. The disciples are once again waiting on him to work wonders, and it becomes clear they will never step into what is next while he is still there. So, after promising them the empowerme...
Abiding Love (Bible Study)
What a week to be the Church! Here in Dundee, we're celebrating our 185th Anniversary, where we'll hear stories of our less-than-promising ancestors but grow in appreciation of the great legacy we have inherited. In Batavia, we're doing differe...
You Know the Way (Bible Study)
The Gospel of John never disappoints. And this week's passage is a big one, touching on grief, comfort, empowerment, unity, and the work of building something that will last. We're in John 14:1-14, with a short side quest to 1 Peter chapter 2, ...
Common Things (Bible Study)
Two paths diverged in a yellow wood, and strangely went parallel to each other for quite a while. We are both going with different themes this Sunday, but the overlap is notable. One church will be observing Earth Day, another the lectionary's ...
Recognition (Bible Study)
This third Sunday of Easter brings us a strange (aren't they all?) post-resurrection appearance by Jesus to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. In turn cryptic, funny, poignant, and profound, this story describes the powerful experience of div...
Love Is Alive (Bible Study)
It's the Sunday after Easter, so it must be the story of Doubting Thomas. Which it is. but it is also so much more. It is the story of coming out of your fear, coming through your questions, finding the power, the confidence, the permission to ...
Lent, Week 5: The Good News is Rooted in Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness
A classic story from the Gospel of John, an obscure and sassy comeback to the Pharisees from Jesus, and the fine balance between Justice and Mercy, held together by our faithful relationship with the Other. It's a good one for the last Sunday b...
Lent, Week 4: The Good News is Protection and Care for the Vulnerable
The Good News for the 4th Week of Lent is Protection and Care for the Vulnerable, rooted in two amazing passages...the Law of Moses, found in Deuteronomy, and that Law lived out in practical action, demonstrated by Jesus blessing the children i...
Lent, Week 2: The Good News is Great Love of God and Neighbor
Our Good News story for this week is one that shows up in one form or another in each of the four Gospels, a rarity to be sure. Luke's version tells it this way: an unnamed woman, known to be a "sinner," crashes a dinner party at a Pharisee's h...
Lent, Week 1: The Good News Is So Good It Catches Us By Surprise
Lent, historically, at least, is a bit of a heavy season, with an emphasis on penitence, and self-reflection, and those things that are "wrong" in our lives and the life of the world. This year, we're shifting our focus a bit, to the fundamenta...
Anything But Lukewarm
We've reached another classic section of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the bit about salt and light. So familiar, so comforting, so...challenging?! But it is more than just a Sunday School song with neat little motions, it's about an entire way o...
God's Center of Gravity (Bible Study)
It's "Greatest Hits" week in the lectionary...foundational passages about what faith looks like in Micah 6 and Matthew 5. If someone were to ask, "What are the fundamentals of your faith," these are the places we might go. So simple, but so rad...
Belonging and Beginning (Bible Study)
We're back, after a hiatus created by sickness, and travel, and the surprises of life. And today we are walking with Jesus beside the Sea of Galilee as he calls his first disciples. It's a familiar story, a Sunday School classic...but what is a...
Advent Peace and Hope
And here's part two! This Bible study explores Advent hope and peace, but through the unlikely angle of fear, grief, expectations, legacy, and more. What do we have faith in? What are we working for? And how can we hold on to hope and become pe...
Sharing Bread (Bible Study)
Part one of your delayed double-dose of Pod Be With You! With apologies for technical difficulties, here are two episodes to catch you up. Thank you for your patience!
Worthy of the Calling (Bible Study)
This week, two passages cut right to the heart of our faith as a way of life. We hear both from Matthew and Ephesians where God's heart is (hint: with the vulnerable) and how we will be: gentle, generous, tenderhearted, patient, and true. This ...
Righteous Reformation
Two separate scriptures and themes from our pastors this week, but a real overlap, as we discuss reformation, righteousness, humility, and discerning what of our "old" treasures to hold on to, and what of our "new" is holy. It's a good one, fol...
Increase Our Faith (Bible Study)
Another hugely challenging - even potentially dangerous - passage from the Gospel of Luke. This is a message for mature audiences only. "Increase our faith," the disciples demand. And what follows are two teachings from Jesus that will ask of t...
Fiery Words (Bible Study)
It's a familiar, if troubling parable...known to us as "The Rich Man & Lazarus." Troubling in what it suggests about the afterlife, challenging in what it says about wealth, conflicted, I would argue, in its view of righteousness. But it's ...
Good With Money (Bible Study)
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager is Jesus at his most enigmatic - which is pastor-speak for, "We have no idea what he's saying." But if you want to hear us take some swings, here you go! A compilation of Jesus' teachings on money, power, an...
The Present Time (Bible Study)
Jesus this week, as found in the Gospel of Luke, is not the Jesus we often think of, peaceful, and compassionate, and gracious. This Jesus knows what time it is, and is urgently trying to get those around him to look at the clock, too. His word...
Eat, Drink, and Be Married (Bible Study)
Back after a hiatus due to traveling and health and what not, we have two amazing, and on the surface at least, contradictory Gospel stories. The first, Jesus telling his followers that they must practice denial, take up their cross, and follow...
A Time to Share (Bible Study)
This week, an obscure (to many Christians, at least) story about the prophet Elijah and the widow who fed him - a story that celebrates many risky leaps of faith. We'll also hear from Ecclesiastes - a teacher who reminds us that there is a time...
Rising Agents and Enemy Companions (Bible Study)
In Batavia, our trend of meal-centric scripture continues. This week, what happens when our meal companions aren't our closest beloved, but are, instead, one of them? We know how much a meal means - which means it's easy to be disturbed by thos...
Getting God to Do What We Want (Bible Study)
Sorry we're a week late in posting! But here's a reflection on various bible passages, exploring in particular the nature of prayer: is it getting God to do what we want? Is it beseeching a heavenly parent with a list of demands? And if not, wh...