Be Still and Go

I Am Thirsty (Jim Keat)

March 28, 2018 07:00 - 6 minutes - 7.02 MB

"Just as our bodies requires water, the world needs justice." // John 19:28 I am thirsty. // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church. Find out more at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo.

Changed for Good (Michael Curry)

March 27, 2018 07:00 - 5 minutes - 6.07 MB

"And if there is a God and God is not finished with us, if there is a God then the human word is not the last word. God is." // Psalm 31:9-16 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away. I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances...

Finding God in the Silence (Dustin Pickett)

March 26, 2018 07:00 - 9 minutes - 11 MB

"You may not hear God speaking but can you feel God moving?" // 1 Samuel 3:1-10 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “H...

The Rejects (Amy Sullivan)

March 25, 2018 07:00 - 7 minutes - 9.11 MB

"We need the Jesus of Holy Week to teach us that you can never be perfect enough to avoid rejection." // Psalm 118:22-24, 29 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. // This episode was written and recorded by Amy Sullivan, a Chicago...

The Space to Feel (Jennifer Hagedorn & Bertram Johnson)

March 24, 2018 07:00 - 10 minutes - 11.5 MB

“Anger is the joyful noise that makes the ears of the powerful perk up because it is a sign that the new life is not yet here but maybe it’s just around the corner." // Matthew 21:10-17 Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.” T...

Ever Before Me (Ellen Robison)

March 23, 2018 07:00 - 9 minutes - 11.3 MB

"It’s easy to deny reality when you don’t look below the surface." // Psalm 51:1-12 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when yo...

According to the Order of Melchizedek (Brandan Robertson)

March 22, 2018 07:00 - 12 minutes - 14.1 MB

"You are a child of God and by nature of being a child of God, you are a priest." // Hebrews 5:5-10 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to ...

A Meditation for the Brokenhearted (Amanda Meisenheimer)

March 21, 2018 07:00 - 6 minutes - 7.98 MB

"Broken hearts don’t get fixed. They become the soil for a new heart to grow." // Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.5: // This episode was written and recorded by Amanda Meisenheimer, the Associate Minister of Children & Families at The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church. Find out m...

Holy Moments (Bruce Lamb)

March 19, 2018 07:00 - 10 minutes - 11.6 MB

God is inclining us as new covenant keepers to look for these holy moments all around us. // Jeremiah 31:31-34 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the ho...

Climbing with Zacchaeus (Bertram Johnson)

March 18, 2018 07:00 - 8 minutes - 9.48 MB

The transformation of our spiritual lives during Lent or at any other season of the year is not focused on us. God is at the center of the story. And the healing justice, the lavish generosity, and unfettered welcome is always the gift God has for us. // Luke 19:1-10 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in s...

Lenten Time in America (Paul Raushenbush)

March 17, 2018 07:00 - 7 minutes - 8.39 MB

"Even as we go through this trial and suffering and our nation’s life is laid down, I invite you to look for new signs of life inspired by divine minds that are emerging. Take a moment in your own life and within the news, not just to see the crucifixion, but to recognize and commit to support agents of resurrection that are emerging in every sector." // Mark 8:31-38 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief pries...

A Beloved Child of God (Christian Peele)

March 16, 2018 07:00 - 5 minutes - 6.32 MB

"The wilderness led Jesus towards a love that would save the world." // Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devi...

For God so Loved the World (Brian McLaren)

March 15, 2018 07:00 - 7 minutes - 8.82 MB

God’s goal is to heal the world and to liberate the world from oppression that enslaves and violence that kills. // John 3:14-21 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order...

Wake Up (Lynn Casteel Harper)

March 14, 2018 07:00 - 8 minutes - 9.73 MB

"The night is over and it is time to meet the day. It is time to know the deep rhythms of our soul’s distinct time, to tune into the tempos and patterns of our own communities, to pay attention to the timbre of our political moment, and to arise and respond with faith and courage." // Romans 13:8-14 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal...

Praise the Lord? (Rachel Johnson)

March 13, 2018 10:00 - 11 minutes - 13 MB

"If I’m going to attribute every stroke of luck, every gratuitous offering of grace, every open parking space divine intervention, then don’t I also have to assume that the same hand is at work, or choosing not to work, in every illness, every natural disaster, every delay on the 1 train?" // Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble and gathered in from...

Who Is This God? (Dustin Pickett)

March 12, 2018 10:00 - 11 minutes - 13.5 MB

"Our job, before doing anything, is to pray with and for the people. I wonder what it must have felt like to be Moses. Moses was also running from bondage to freedom. Moses was also susceptible to serpent bites. But he displays a certain level of calm in this passage. Moses doesn’t try to rush the people through their pain or reduce their concerns. He simply goes to God on their behalf." // Numbers 21:4-9 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom;...

The Heavens Are Telling (Ellen Robison)

March 11, 2018 14:11 - 8 minutes - 9.71 MB

"What would it mean for us to shut out all the words, even for just, say, fifteen minutes a day this Lent? To listen only to the heavens? To immerse ourselves in silence? To tune our ears to the still small voice inside each one of us?" // Psalm 19 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their v...

The Upside Down Kingdom (Kate Bowler)

March 11, 2018 07:00 - 5 minutes - 5.85 MB

This is the upside down kingdom. We must come to the end of ourselves. We must be cracked open to our own sin and the pain of the world in order to begin to allow God’s kingdom to enter in, to redeem us, to redeem the world. It begins with that undoing.

God Hears You (Amanda Meisenheimer)

March 10, 2018 08:00 - 8 minutes - 9.85 MB

What kind of prayers does God hear? // This episode was written and recorded by Amanda Meisenheimer, the Associate Minister of Children & Families at The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church. Find out more at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo.

Ministry vs. Money (Otis Moss, III)

March 09, 2018 08:00 - 7 minutes - 8.94 MB

"We need a theological whip where drive the arrogance out of our spirits." // John 2:13-22 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take th...

Join the Movement (Michael Livingston)

March 08, 2018 08:00 - 7 minutes - 8.16 MB

"We’ve got to agitate for change, organize for justice, change the structures that oppress and destroy, weave the safety net for those who fall." // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Michael Livingston, the Senior Executive Minister at The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church. Find out more at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo.

Marked (Farley Lord)

March 07, 2018 08:00 - 6 minutes - 7.03 MB

"The one I follow, Jesus, Immanuel, is marked as a radical lover of the lowly, marked as a revolutionary threat to power and ultimately, because of these things, marked like a tree for cutting down with that crude orange plastic ribbon." // This episode was written and recorded by Farley Lord, the Associate Minister of Stewardship & Development at The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church....

I Think We Have Some Work to Do (Jason Chesnut)

March 05, 2018 08:00 - 6 minutes - 7.18 MB

"What do we sacrifice today for the idols that we worship? Who do we sacrifice today for the idols that we worship?" // Exodus 20:1-17 Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow d...

A Season of Slow (Jim Keat)

March 04, 2018 08:00 - 5 minutes - 5.95 MB

"It is here, in the healing of our souls, that we must begin. For in order to heal the brokenness of our world, we must first tend to the brokenness in our own lives." // Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church. Find out more at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo.

For a Change (Jan Powell)

March 03, 2018 08:00 - 5 minutes - 5.83 MB

"Perhaps all of our talk about prayer and sacrifice and following Jesus is nothing more theological than a simple call to change." // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Jan Powell, a member of The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church. Find out more at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo.

The Cost of Discipleship (John Dorhauer)

March 02, 2018 08:00 - 6 minutes - 12.1 MB

"True discipleship doesn’t engage empire on the periphery with the hope of of being noticed by other resisters and gaining just enough credibility to acquire a reputation or secure a legacy. It takes on empire in such a way that empire feels and knows it must respond.” // Mark 8:31-38 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this...

Wakanda Forever (Bruce Lamb)

March 01, 2018 08:00 - 6 minutes - 6.99 MB

"The God in whom Abraham trusted is a God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things which do not exist." // Romans 4:13-25 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it d...

Belonging Together (Kate Werning)

February 28, 2018 13:09 - 9 minutes - 10.5 MB

Your work for social justice is important and you belong in the greater movement for social change. // This episode was written and recorded by Kate Werning, the creator and host of the Healing Justice podcast. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church. Find out more about Be Still and Go at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo. Find out more about the Healing Justice podcast at www.healingjustice.org.

So Beautiful, So Hard (Rachel Johnson)

February 27, 2018 08:00 - 12 minutes - 14 MB

"Maybe we don’t need complex theories or volumes and volumes of dense theological reflection to explain a reality we know to be true: we can lament and praise in the same breath." // Psalm 22:23-31 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him. From you comes my prais...

Making a Promise (Kevin Wright)

February 26, 2018 08:00 - 7 minutes - 8.14 MB

This is the story of God doing what God does best: making a promise and keeping it. // Genesis 17:1-7 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your ...

I See You (Cameron Trimble)

February 25, 2018 08:00 - 11 minutes - 12.9 MB

Lent is about reconciling realities: the me on the inside and the me on the outside. The world in all of its brokenness and the world in its most creative and generativeness. // This episode was written and recorded by Cameron Trimble, Executive Director of The Center for Progressive Renewal. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church. Find out more at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo.

Rockets and Red Convertibles (Liz Wheeler)

February 24, 2018 08:00 - 4 minutes - 5.46 MB

The juxtaposition between Lent, a time of renewal for my commitment to God, and a red roadster launched by a business man into eternity — this is disorienting. Humans might build rockets and red convertibles, but God breathes life into the dust and I am here but for a little while. // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Liz Wheeler, a member of The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside...

In Those Days (Jim Keat)

February 23, 2018 12:40 - 8 minutes - 9.41 MB

"It is not enough to stay quiet and comfortable while the world around you goes to hell. You must leave the confines of heaven and place your feet in the flames, to stand with the oppressed and silence your voice to make room for theirs." // Mark 1:9-15 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heave...

Just Us (George Walker)

February 22, 2018 08:00 - 9 minutes - 10.4 MB

God is utterly in control. Jesus taught that all is forgiven for those who love him and grace will be sufficient to heal each wound. My task is to sit with that. Admittedly, I sit with it uncomfortably. // 1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did...

Cold and Broken (Rachel Johnson)

February 21, 2018 08:00 - 8 minutes - 9.5 MB

Dark nights are going to come. The question is how we will spend them. When love hurts us so much we are sure that our shattered hearts will never mend, will we love anyway? When doing what is right and just isn’t what is easy or popular or expedient, will we do right anyway? When living the good news can lead to a cross, will we live it anyway? // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Rachel Johnson, the Executive Minister of Communication at The Riverside Church. It was produced ...

Struggling to Trust (Bruce Lamb)

February 20, 2018 08:00 - 5 minutes - 6.34 MB

"Trust is built in small moments." // Psalm 25:1-10 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. Be mindful of your mercy, O...

The Cool of the Day (Farley Lord)

February 19, 2018 08:00 - 4 minutes - 5.7 MB

"Our tendency has been to respond to God’s covenant with greed instead of gratitude, dismissal instead of attention, confident ignorance instead of loving curiosity. The prophets criticize this and don’t we know it today." // Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came ...

This Is Our Boast (Michael Livingston)

February 18, 2018 08:00 - 5 minutes - 6.34 MB

"In our weakness, in our humanity, Christ rises, God triumphs." // 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisd...

A Decentering Prayer (Amanda Meisenheimer)

February 17, 2018 08:00 - 5 minutes - 6 MB

"May justice increase and oppression decrease. May wisdom increase and ignorance decrease. And may it be so with me." // This episode was written and recorded by Amanda Meisenheimer, the Associate Minister of Children & Families at The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church. Find out more at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo.

God Has Hands (Jim Keat)

February 16, 2018 08:00 - 12 minutes - 14.7 MB

"God has hands; they are attached to your wrists." // 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvatio...

I'm Sorry (Kevin Wright)

February 15, 2018 08:00 - 7 minutes - 8.08 MB

"Who knew that an 'I’m sorry' could feel so good?" // Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come. Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me w...

Ash Wednesday (Amy Butler)

February 14, 2018 08:00 - 7 minutes - 14.6 MB

"I was beginning a journey of discovery, of telling the truth about who I am in a world that keeps telling me to show up prettier and smarter and shinier and more articulate and all the things I most definitely am not." // This episode was written and recorded by Amy Butler, the Senior Minister of the Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat, the Associate Minister of Digital Strategy and Online Engagement at The Riverside Church. Find out more at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo.

A Preview of Be Still and Go

February 12, 2018 18:01 - 1 minute - 2.07 MB

Listen to all the episodes and find out more at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo. // Today we show up for the ashes, asking to be marked by the dust, acknowledging that sometimes things break, even us. Our lives crack and fissure and today we remember that we are dust. (Amy Butler | Episode 1 | February 14, 2018) // We find an invitation to not only be the recipients of grace but also to extend grace to those around us. (Kevin Wright | Episode | February 15, 2018) // There is a piece of th...

Be Still and Go: Meditations for the Movement

February 02, 2018 20:38 - 3 minutes - 6.67 MB

Be Still and Go is a new podcast from The Riverside Church, a daily digital devotional for the season of Lent that invites you to reflect on a text or a theme so that you can be refilled and refueled for the work of love and justice that you are called to do. And this work is not a sprint. Take a moment and do your stretches because we’re in this for the whole marathon. Find out more at www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo.

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