JR.'s Sermons

All I Want for Christmas is You

December 17, 2023 12:00 - 32 minutes - 40.1 MB

"All I Want for Christmas is You" is the best-selling Christmas song of all time. At its heart is a vulnerability that's essential to the Christmas season. Hope requires risk, an admission that where we are is not where we want to be. How can we choose to be vulnerable as we approach Christmas?

Last Christmas

December 10, 2023 12:00 - 28 minutes - 35.6 MB

Have you noticed Christmas decorations seem to be going up earlier and earlier? First it was Thanksgiving... now Halloween is in danger of getting swallowed up by Kris Kringle! But with a world so full of war, plague and division, is it any wonder we want to throw up Christmas Cheer like a shield? Can you blame us for wanting a garland-strewn respite? But is it possible that, by closing ourselves off from the pain in the world, we miss the truly liberating power of Christmas?

Baby, It's Cold Outside

December 03, 2023 12:00 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MB

During the Christmas season, we celebrate God coming to earth. In a world marked by violence, division and bigotry, God's arrival means a big shake up. Are we sure we're ready for God's arrival? If not, how can we prepare?

Curiosity (2023)

November 26, 2023 12:00 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MB

Christians aren't known for being curious. Why would we be, when we have a monopoly on truth? But that attitude is at odds with the God who created our universe and invited us to explore. It's at odds with the God who calls us to welcome the stranger and go into the whole world. What does a church that cultivates curiosity look like? How does prioritizing curiosity shape our mission and engagement with the world around us?

Change (2023)

November 19, 2023 12:00 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MB

Nobody likes change, but it's inevitable. And for people of faith, change is good. We're called to embrace change so radical the only word for it is resurrection. So how can we take change seriously - in our own lives, in our congregation and in our world?

Collective Liberation (2023)

November 12, 2023 12:00 - 43 minutes - 39.7 MB

Even though diversity has become a buzz word, it's hard to find any organization that takes it seriously - especially churches. What does it look like to take diversity seriously? The radical truth is that none of us is free until all of us is free. So how can we chase that together as a church?

Friendship (2023)

November 05, 2023 12:00 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MB

We're in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, and far too often, churches are part of the problem. How can that be, when Jesus insists that he made us his friends? What does it mean for a church to take friendship seriously, particularly in the midst of a culture dying to connect?

The Road Ahead

October 29, 2023 12:00 - 38 minutes - 41.5 MB

There's no way around it: change is traumatic. That the change is good doesn't alter the reality that it's really hard. Paul's paradigm-shifting transformation on the road to Damascus illustrates the pain and joy of following God's radical call to something new. How does faith enable us to follow God faithfully into the unknown?

Out of the Box

October 22, 2023 12:00 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MB

Sometimes, it's God's old thing that keeps us from participating in God's new thing. What do we do when faithfulness gets in the way of being faithful? Jesus warned his followers that the days of God's temple were numbered because God was up to something new. How can we hold the past lightly so we can lean into God's new thing?

All Hands on Deck

October 15, 2023 12:00 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MB

We live in a professionalized culture - we're more likely to leave every job to the paid expert than we are to do them ourselves. But when it comes to building God's new thing, this isn't something we can leave to professionals. Nehemiah shows us that we all have a part to play in God's work. How can we discern what our part is? Where do we weigh in?

Plan B

October 01, 2023 12:00 - 32 minutes - 30.1 MB

What do we do when life doesn't go the way we thought? People of faith try our best to follow God's will, but that's not a guarantee life is going to go our way. Joseph shows us what faithfulness looks like when Plan A goes off the rails.

The Longest Walk

September 24, 2023 12:00 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MB

Nobody loves change, but change doesn't ask our permission to happen. So when change comes, how can we engage it faithfully? It all begins by being willing to leave what's been and trust that God is leading us into the future. Do we have the courage to take that first, longest step?

Who Would Jesus Boycott?

September 17, 2023 12:00 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MB

Social media promises to connect us, but we've seen throughout this series how technology can harm as easily as heal. How do we discern what wise use of these technologies look like? How can we be sure technology is serving our faith journey, and not the other way around?

Who Would Jesus Cancel?

September 10, 2023 12:00 - 42 minutes - 39 MB

In the wake of #metoo, everyone is afraid of Cancel Culture. No one is immune, from celebrities to pastors. While some see this as justice, others see a dangerous mob, accountable to no one. How should people of faith engage cancel culture? What does redemption look like for those who have wronged others? How can we offer grace without compromising truth?

The Almighty Algorithms

September 03, 2023 12:00 - 45 minutes - 44.8 MB

What's the harm in scrolling through social media, reading or watching whatever comes across our screens? We know in the abstract that tech companies use algorithms to determine what we see, but how often do we ask what those algorithms - and the companies who write them - want? How do these algorithms shape our spirituality? And how can we take responsibility for our feeds?

Chat JesusPT

August 27, 2023 12:00 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MB

It's easy to vilify the latest technology, but how do we really know if the latest gadget, app or trend is holy or not? What could the Bible possibly have to say about technologies two millennia younger than its writings? How do we learn to think theologically about smartphones, laptops, social media and everything else?

What's Wrong with Superhero Movies?

August 20, 2023 12:00 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MB

There's no bigger box-office draw than a superhero movie. Why do we love these stories so much? What does that say about us? Is there a limit to the good superhero movies can do? And what does any of that have to do with our calling as a people of God?

What do We do when Law & Love Collide?

August 13, 2023 12:00 - 46 minutes - 42.2 MB

In a perfect world, our call to love God would never conflict with our call to love our neighbors. But our world is complex, and too often, we find ourselves torn between a desire to be holy and a desire to love. How do we untangle this tension that leaves us in knots? What do we do when these two forces collide?

Why Does God Hate Hercules?

August 06, 2023 12:00 - 39 minutes - 36.4 MB

What does it mean to be 'holy'? In the ancient world, that meant 'set apart' or 'special'. God calls those who follow God to be a 'holy people'. So how are we set apart? Much of the ancient imagery is wrapped up in blood sacrifice, demigods and... dietary restrictions? What does all that mean for us today? How can we be holy as God calls us to be?

Is Hell Forever?

July 30, 2023 12:00 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MB

If someone dies without knowing Jesus, they go to Hell. Hell is a punishment for sin. Many churches describe Hell as "eternal conscious torment". How is that just? How can eternal torment be a fair punishment for even a lifetime of sin? Could it be that we've gotten Hell wrong? Could there be hope even in the depths of Hell?

What Happens to People Who Never Hear About Jesus?

July 23, 2023 12:00 - 47 minutes - 43.1 MB

We're told that unless you accept Jesus as your savior, you go to Hell. But what about the countless people around the world who died without ever hearing about Jesus? Or those who were introduced to him at the end of a conqueror's sword? How can God be loving if those people go to Hell? How can God be just if they're punished for something they couldn't help?

Why Did God Have to Kill His Son?

July 16, 2023 12:00 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MB

Why did Jesus die on the Cross? Did God really kill Jesus because he was angry at us? These questions point to the heart of God's character, and many of us are afraid of the answer. But when we understand how the Bible talks about God's wrath, we see the Cross not as an angry God defending his own reputation, but rather as the one who created and loves us saving us from ourselves.

What is the Unpardonable Sin?

July 09, 2023 12:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MB

God loves us, and God is quick to forgive. Unless we commit the unpardonable sin. What does it mean to 'blaspheme the Holy Spirit'? Why is that the sin God considers unforgivable? How can that be if God's love is unending?

Who Goes to Hell?

July 02, 2023 12:00 - 30 minutes - 32.7 MB

We say God is Love but what about Hell? Do people who don't know God really get tortured for all eternity? If someone prays right before they die, are they safe no matter what? How is that fair when good people who never heard about God suffer forever? Is it possible we've got Hell all wrong? How could Hell actually be good news?

How Do I Forgive the Church?

June 25, 2023 12:00 - 41 minutes - 42.8 MB

The Church is supposed to be a spiritual family that is assembled around Jesus to offer his love to the world. But far too often, churches are the source of deep trauma. We know Jesus calls us to love our enemies, but what do we do when our enemy is the Church? How do we love the ones who hurt us in the name of Jesus?

How Do I Find Peace?

June 18, 2023 12:00 - 39 minutes - 41.1 MB

We hear that God brings joy and peace. But if we're honest, we don't often experience those feelings. Does that mean we're lacking in some essential way? That we need to try harder? Be better? No - joy and peace aren't emotions. They're a state of being that flows out of God's own character. So what does it look like for us to experience them?

Is the Bible Inspired?

June 11, 2023 12:00 - 39 minutes - 40.7 MB

What does it mean to say the Bible is the "inspired Word of God"? How do we know the Bible is trustworthy? After all, it's a library of more than sixty books by dozens of authors written and compiled over the course of centuries. Doesn't that make it less reliable? Not for those of us at Catalyst - the human component of Scripture is a feature, not a bug. What makes the Bible inspired is that it's fully divine and fully human.

How Do We Know God?

June 04, 2023 12:00 - 46 minutes - 47.1 MB

How do we know who God is? After all, there are dozens of religions who all make competing claims about God's nature. God has revealed themselves to us through God's actions in human history. From the Exodus to Jesus himself, God shows themselves to be a liberator. God rescues us from injustice and oppression. God works for the flourishing of all of us!

Wade in the Water

May 28, 2023 12:00 - 40 minutes - 42.9 MB

What does it mean for us that the Holy Spirit is alive around and within us? On Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, we're exploring one of Jesus' stranger word pictures. It all has to do with an ancient festival, the Dead Sea and of course the book of Revelation. Hey... it's our birthday, so we have to party!

Good Code

May 21, 2023 11:00 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MB

Jesus prays that God will make us one the same way Jesus and the Father are one. What does this oneness look like? Think of us all like lines of computer code. We're all different, and all have different roles to play. Oneness doesn't mean uniformity; it means we're all working together to execute God's mission of liberation in our world!

Good Trouble

May 14, 2023 11:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MB

What do we do when the right thing is wrong? Ever since Jesus was executed by Rome as a political criminal, Christians have often found our commitment to God's Kingdom at odds with the nations and cultures in which we live. What are we supposed to do when we're in way over our heads?

Your Temple is a Body

May 07, 2023 11:00 - 39 minutes - 42 MB

Everyone knows you should follow Jesus so you can go to heaven when you die... and get a mansion, if we're to believe the songs! But would you be surprised to know that Jesus never promises us mansions? And... it's not even really about what happens when we die. No, when we crack Jesus' code, we realize he's promising something much more immediate - and much better!

A Leader You Can Trust

April 30, 2023 06:00 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MB

How do we know what God is doing? With so many opinions in the world, it's hard to know who to trust. But who would know better than... God? After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to a family on a road trip, and he showed them who he really is - who God really is. How can we see what they saw? How can we trust who God says God is?

Code on the Road

April 23, 2023 11:00 - 35 minutes - 38.4 MB

What is God up to? Specifically, if we're looking for where God is at work in the world, what are we looking for? In the wake of Jesus' resurrection, his followers struggled to understand how his death and resurrection fulfilled God's promises. Cue one epic road trip where Jesus himself takes some very special followers through a whirlwind of the Hebrew scriptures, reframing how they understood everything God is about through Jesus. What does that mean for us in 2023?

Fear & Peace

April 16, 2023 11:00 - 29 minutes - 33 MB

Misunderstandings cause a lot of friction in our lives. But bad communication isn't always the culprit - sometimes we just don't know how to use the right language. Could the same be true of faith, too? Is it possible that God is speaking to us in a way we can learn to hear, a way that's accessible and transformative for humanity? What does that sound like?

The Magic Number is 8

April 09, 2023 11:00 - 34 minutes - 37.1 MB

Easter is more than a celebration of that thing (Jesus coming back to life!) that happened that one time (2,000 years ago). It's liberation - the beginning of a new reality that hides in plain sight. Jesus, the resurrected one, is the key to learning to discern this new reality. So just remember... if you want to find God hiding in plain sight, the magic number is 8.

Just Play the Hits

April 02, 2023 11:00 - 39 minutes - 44.2 MB

We all bring expectations with us into relationships, and not having them met can be a source of real pain and conflict. Palm Sunday illustrates how Jesus refused to meet the expectations of anyone - not Rome, not the leaders in Jerusalem, not the pilgrims with whom he traveled. In fact, it was their refusal to see Jesus for who he is - and not who they wanted him to be - that led all these groups to conspire to crucify him. How can we learn from their failure to be very careful to align our...

When God Fails Us

March 26, 2023 11:00 - 41 minutes - 46.6 MB

In our most honest moments, we recall times God has let us down. Prayers unanswered, illnesses unhealed, relationships not mended. We wonder, in those times, what the point of faith is. Why follow God if God does not (cannot?) keep us from harm, from grief. Jesus' approach to Lazarus' tomb reveals much about the God who does not leave us in our grief - even as we hope for something better.

God Goggles

March 19, 2023 11:00 - 34 minutes - 39.7 MB

What makes a good leader? A good boss? A good partner? A good Christian? In a world with so many competing ideas of what's worth imitating, it can be hard to know what God's way is. The stories of King David's anointing and Jesus' healing of a man born blind remind us that God's values are upside down from the culture around us. So how can we be sure we're seeing things God's way?

Afraid to Ask

March 12, 2023 11:00 - 38 minutes - 43.6 MB

How often do you ask God for what you want? For a lot of us, even the idea sounds wrong - as though we're annoying the greatest being in the universe, making ourselves a burden to the one who has far more important things on their plate. But Jesus reminds us that God cares deeply about our needs and is aware of them even before we voice them. So... what are we afraid of? What's holding us back for asking for good gifts from our creator?

Reflections

March 05, 2023 11:00 - 31 minutes - 37.1 MB

God created us to reflect God's love to the world around us. What keeps us from faithfully reflecting God's love? And how can we reconnect to God so we can once again show the world the same love we receive from God?

Boundaries

February 26, 2023 11:00 - 34 minutes - 39.6 MB

How often do we associate religion with a list of don'ts? These prohibitions often seem to be the heart of religious life. But this first Sunday of Lent reminds us that God created us primarily for permission. God created us for freedom - and an essential component of real freedom is boundaries. How do God's prohibitions orient us toward the true freedom God created us for?

Ash Wednesday 2023

February 22, 2023 19:00 - 26 minutes - 32.9 MB

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, our journey with Jesus to the cross. This year, our series is called Broken Promises. We're exploring the covenants God has made with God's people. How have our spiritual ancestors broken those covenants - and how have we? And most importantly, how has Jesus been faithful - to God and to us?

Prepare to Be Changed

February 19, 2023 11:00 - 35 minutes - 43.2 MB

Despite the popular depictions, spiritual transformation is a process - more a journey than a singular experience. That being the case, how do we prepare well for a journey of transformation? What do we need to do to ensure we're ready for the change that's ahead of us?

Songs of Resistance

February 12, 2023 11:00 - 33 minutes - 43.5 MB

A faithful people lives in solidarity with the vulnerable. But what if we've already been living unjust lives? What if we've spent years ignoring the vulnerable? Moses' final speech to Israel reminds us that with God, it's never too late to be righteous. So how do we seek justice in our time and place?

Not So Fast!

February 05, 2023 11:00 - 37 minutes - 45.6 MB

For a lot of folks, the heart of religion is spiritual practices like reading scripture or fasting. But God didn't create us just to watch us do tasks. Practices aren't the heart of faith - relationship is. What happens when our social relationships are unbalanced? What are the consequences for our faith? And how does God call us to heal that imbalance?

Old Time Religion

January 29, 2023 11:00 - 41 minutes - 38 MB

Where do we find Jesus today? According to Jesus, we find him among the outcast and marginal. And that's not a new idea - even for Jesus. Real religion, old time religion, the way God created us to be, looks like being a people who lives in solidarity with those who fall through the cracks in our society. So where do we find those people today? After all... that's where we'll find Jesus!

Black Jesus

January 22, 2023 12:00 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MB

Religion is far too often nothing but platitudes. How many times have you heard, "God has a plan," or "It is what it is"? No wonder Marx called religion "the opiate of the masses!" But, at least for the prophet Isaiah, religion wasn't meant to pacify. Rather, God's arrival among us is meant to wake us up. No wonder God shows up among the marginalized, those most badly in need of justice! If we're going to find Jesus, we're going to find him among those who are most vulnerable.

Riding God's Coattails

January 15, 2023 11:37 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MB

It's easy to feel like we're not doing enough - especially when it comes to faith. Are we praying enough, serving enough, giving enough? Isaiah's Servant knows how that feels, which is why they remind us that what matters isn't our ability or performance. Our faithfulness is made possible because of God's work in our world. So how can we rest in God's faithfulness - especially when we feel too small to accomplish God's calling?

Superman Messiah

January 08, 2023 10:00 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MB

We love the idea that Jesus saves us from sin. But what does he save us for? What if Jesus' life is as important as his death? We kick off our new series by exploring how Jesus' death frees us to live Jesus' life. He shows us how to live, and dies so we can live like him. Let's begin the new year by igniting our faith like never before!

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