Passages
123 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 days ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsPassages explores upcoming Bible passages used for preaching and weekly discipleship by Craig Brown, Lead Pastor at First Free Methodist Church of Seattle. Passages will open new doors to Biblical texts in preparation for a sermon or other teaching.
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Episodes
February 26, 2023 - Mark 4:1-12 | Finding Hope When We Feel Lost
February 21, 2023 09:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MBThe parables of Jesus have ignited interest and debate for years. Jesus' teaching often require a sense of effort on our part to hear them and keep hearing them. The Parable of the Seeds is not different. In this week's episode, we explore how there is a great promise for us all even when we feel a bit lost.
February 19, 2023 - Matthew 17:1-9 | Value the Difference | A Vision for Jesus
February 14, 2023 09:00 - 19 minutes - 13.1 MBSo often our expectations about Jesus (and God for that matter) are born from our own broken lives. We certainly want the Jesus to come to us in the way we want. This story from Matthew's gospel opens us to the wonder of who Jesus is. This Jesus far exceeds our wants of him.
February 12, 2023 - Jonah 4:5-11 | Value the Difference | Love Is a Generous Act
February 07, 2023 09:00 - 17 minutes - 12.3 MBSome people just get under our skin. No matter how hard we try at times, being patient and loving just seem out of reach. God beckons us to feel something different about the people around us. There is a way to have compassion for others that drives us to merciful action. The story of the prophet Jonah opens up a pathway for this kind of compassion. Far from a children's story, the story of Jonah deals in some very adult topics like prejudice, anger, and even rage.
February 5, 2023 - Exodus 4:1-13 | Value the Difference | Grace Makes Beauty
January 31, 2023 09:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MBWe all face moments in our lives where we feel a sense of self-doubt. The lack of confidence can keep us from becoming the very person God wants us to be in the fullness of his love. Moses carries with him this same lack of confidence. This week's episode focuses on how God's grace is especially at work when we have our doubts.
January 29, 2023 - Lamentations 3:19-29 | Value the Difference | Hope Remains
January 24, 2023 09:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MBWaiting is no easy task. This is especially true when we are rushing and moving through life. Waiting is a hopeful response. Difficult times require us to focus clearly on God's hope for our life and the lives of those around us. Rather than lurching forward and taking matters into our own hands, we chose to hope...which often means waiting.
January 22, 2023 - Micah 6:6-8 | Value the Difference | Embracing a Merciful Life
January 18, 2023 23:00 - 18 minutes - 12.5 MBLearning mercy is a challenge for many people. Our age seems to be driven toward division, sides, and conflict. It becomes far too easy to make judgements about others. This week's episode explores a familiar text about justice but also about mercy and love. In this short passage we can find new hope for the work of mercy today.
January 15, 2023 - Deuteronomy 10:12-22 | Value the Difference | Visions of Blind Justice
January 10, 2023 09:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MBJustice has become a very important word in the 21st century. We are confronting white supremacy and the legacy of European imperialism. The cries for justice reach out to every human being. How are we to envision justice? Can we fully implement, or even grasp, God's justice at all? This week's episode invites us to consider what justice is and how we are called to share it.
January 8, 2023 - Genesis 1:26-31 | Value the Difference | Life Worth Living
January 03, 2023 09:00 - 20 minutes - 14.1 MBLife is a precious gift. That truth can change everything for us. When we see the world, creation, and the human beings around us as a precious gift, our regard for it all changes. We see life as sacred. Our harsh words and attitudes are blunted. This week's episode opens us up to the beautiful ways God opens us up to value all of life.
December 18, 2022 - Matthew 1:18-25 | The With Us God | Taking the Plunge
December 13, 2022 09:00 - 23 minutes - 16.3 MBA popular idiom is, "God works in mysterious ways." While there may be a mystery to God's purposes and will, sometimes God works in overt and public ways. In the case of Joseph, the soon-to-be-husband of Mary, we find a man invited into a a very public way of believing and supporting Mary as the mother of Jesus. In this story we find courage and faith to believe what God is doing.
December 11, 2022 - Luke 1:39-56 | The With Us God | Finding Christ in Others
December 06, 2022 09:00 - 22 minutes - 15.4 MBThe meeting between Mary and Elizabeth is a beautiful and powerful moments. These two women will give birth to children that will topple empires and redeem the world from sin. Most parents know nothing of what their children will do in their lives. These two parents are keenly aware of what God is doing in themselves and in each other. We can find lessons of hope and blessing from their example of faithful courage!
December 4, 2022 - Luke 1:26-38 | The With Us God | The First Christian Act Is Cooperation
November 29, 2022 09:00 - 19 minutes - 13.4 MBMary is the first Christian. before miracles, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection she believes in the gospel of Jesus. How? When she first hears the message of Jesus, as incredible as it is, she simply states, "May it be with me according to your word." Her response is a great relief for those who feel that God needs them to do something. God is already doing. We simply need to cooperate.
November 27, 2022 - Luke 1:5-23| The With Us God | Experiencing God When Least Expected
November 22, 2022 09:00 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MBWe read stories in the Bible of those who prayed and fasted and then God appeared to them. We read other stories of lament and despair when hopes go unrealized and dreams are unfulfilled. The story of Zechariah is a refreshing moment of hope for a man in the closing season of his life. Every now and then, God appears in a sudden surprise.
November 20, 2022 - Luke 23:33-43 | Unearned Success
November 15, 2022 09:00 - 20 minutes - 14.1 MBThe grizzly story of Jesus' death speaks volumes about the the mindset of those that were there as it happened. Jesus' final act of his life was giving life in "paradise" to a criminal next to him on a cross. There is no fairness in this story. There is great love, grace, and vision.
November 13, 2022 - 2 Corinthians 9:10-15 | The Abundance Dilemma: What Is Money Good For?
November 08, 2022 09:00 - 17 minutes - 12.3 MBGratitude and generosity work in a cycle. More gratitude brings more generosity. More generosity brings more gratitude. This life-giving cycle is at the very heart of God who offers Jesus as an act of generosity. God is the supreme giver. We are called to live in the same way. We are never more like God than when we give.
November 6, 2022 - Ephesians 1:15-23 | The Abundance Dilemma: Becoming Grateful
November 01, 2022 08:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MBSo often we think of prayer as fixing things or even fixing people. This episode helps us uncover the reality of prayer as a way of having union with God and others. This "union" of sorts is prompted in many ways by gratitude and generosity. Sometimes our acts of generosity create a sense of gratitude to God for those good gifts.
October 23, 2022 - Ecclesiastes 5:10-12, 18-20 | The Abundance Dilemma: How Much Is Really Enough
October 18, 2022 08:00 - 14 minutes - 9.98 MBIt seems that the divide between the rich and poor is ever-widening. While there are many public remedies to this problem, ultimately the problem is one of the heart. We prefer the addiction of acquisition. This week's episode outlines a different quest. This new quest is built on finding contentment in joy. Perhaps we have been seeking the wrong thing all along.
October 16, 2022 - Matthew 19:16-22 | The Abundance Dilemma: Why Is Money Hard to Talk About
October 11, 2022 08:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MBMuch of the life in American culture is build around transactions. This for that. This way of thinking becomes a problem when we bring it our relationship with God. When talking about money the topic of "transaction" becomes even more difficult. This week's episode explores how transactional thinking can be transformed. There is grace for us all.
October 9, 2022 - Jeremiah 1:1-10 | Back to Basics: Hear the Call
October 04, 2022 08:00 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MBSometimes God moves and works in the unexpected. We become so used to common sense as our guide, we often forget that God's work is off the map. Is it any wonder that we find ourselves looking for God from time to time. This week's episode focuses us on God's capacity to make use of us...no matter who we are.
October 2, 2022 - James 2:14-20 | Back to Basics: Serve the World
September 27, 2022 08:00 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MBSocial media lures us into thinking that posting a picture on Instagram or posting a statement to Twitter are DOING something. While social media has many benefits, this false notion of acting without actually acting is dangerous. The faith of Christians everywhere is one that must take shape in real actions and make a read difference in lives around us. This week's episode explores how faith and works go together in a beautiful harmony of love.
September 25, 2022 - Matthew 28_16-20 | Back to Basics: Connect to Jesus
September 20, 2022 08:00 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MBThe work of discipleship is central to the work of the church and every person that is part of it. We often question how it gets done and where the authority to do discipleship comes from. God's promise is to be with us always in Jesus. That is the only thing that matters!
September 18, 2022 -Matthew 22:34-40 | Back to Basics: Love People
September 13, 2022 08:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MBFor the Christian, life is about healthy and powerful balance between loving God, self, and neighbor. It is hard to separate these three "loves" into separate things since they are all entwined. This week's episode explores how each part of this triad works together for good.
September 11, 2022 - 1 John 4:7-10 | Back to Basics: The Love of God
September 06, 2022 12:00 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MBLove is often described only in terms of a feeling or a virtue. For the followers of Jesus, love is an essential truth of God's character and a mandatory call. Love is from God, embodied in Jesus, and expressed through us. That love requires more than just a "feeling." It invites action on our part. It is an action of sacrificial affection and joy for the sake of others, just as God's love was expressed to us.
May 29, 2022-Acts 1:1-11 (Ascension C)
May 09, 2022 08:00 - 19 minutes - 13.3 MBToo many religious people have their eyes set on heaven. Doing so keeps us from the work of compassion and justice that is needed in the world. When Jesus ascended, he promised that he would come again. Between these comings, there is work to do. God has asked us to turn our gaze downward to the world in which we live. That world, lost and needy, is ready to hear the good news of the gospel.
May 22, 2022-Acts 16:9-15 (Easter 6C)
May 02, 2022 08:00 - 21 minutes - 14.8 MBThere are moments in our lives when we are seeking direction. We pray and ask God to show the way. What we often mean is, "God, show me everything and the result, then I will decide." Being a follower of Jesus calls us to take one step at a time with him. Sometimes that one step of faith leads to another and then another. Where we find ourselves will surprise us!
May 15, 2022-Acts 11:1-18 (Easter 5C)
April 25, 2022 08:00 - 12 minutes - 8.79 MBThe religious rules we create often appear helpful to us at a moment in time. Even scriptures in the Bible are helpful in a particular moment when they are written. Over time customs change and cultures shift. How do adapt to new seasons and new moments even when it seems the change the "rules?" This week's episode explore what it means to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit even when it means reexamining the rules.
May 8, 2022-Acts 9:36-43 (Easter 4C)
April 18, 2022 08:00 - 16 minutes - 11.7 MBWhen we hear a story about someone other than Jesus, our jaw may drop. In the Bible there are a total of four stories that describe someone being raised from the dead (besides Jesus.) Each one is unique, but each one also bears similarities. This week we find a powerful story of a woman being raised from the dead by Peter. This woman had devoted herself to serving those living on the margins of the ancient world. Her healing is more than just a resurrection. it is a respiration of community ...
May 1, 2022-Acts 9:1-6 (Easter 3C)
April 11, 2022 08:00 - 18 minutes - 12.4 MBAs humans, we love to plot and plan. Very few of his live every day of our lives without some kind of intent, purpose, or agenda. How does God move and work in our midst when we are planned out? The story of the conversion of Saul is a story about how God moves and works when we going about our plans. God's interruption is graceful yet powerful. This week's episode explores how life can change in an instant.
April 24, 2022-Acts 5:27-32 (Easter 2C)
April 04, 2022 08:00 - 17 minutes - 11.8 MBThe stories in the Book of Acts point us toward a deeper understanding of power and grace through the work of the Holy Spirit. In this week's episode we explore power through the appearance of Peter and John before the Jewish ruling council of the day. Peter embodies grace, reconciliation, and hope even before those who would accuse him. Perhaps here we learn that the work of Christians is not to seize power in any form but, instead, to point to the only true source of power...the Holy Spirit.
April 17, 2022-Luke 24:1-12 (Easter 1C)
March 28, 2022 08:00 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBMost days we avoid asking questions that might lead us into confusion or wonder. We often stay in spaces that sure and certain. What we find in the resurrection story of Jesus is a God who is at work in confusion and wonder. here we find a God who beckons us to remember who Jesus is, who we are, and what all things must become. These are confusing questions for many of us but God invites us into that confusion to find hope.
April 10, 2022-Luke 19:28-40 (Palm Sunday C)
March 21, 2022 08:00 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MBThe world of the 21st century is filled with empire, power, and politics. This world is not too unlike the world of Jesus so long ago. Jesus' entrance into the great city of Jerusalem is an entrance of a the gospel of peace and grace. Jesus openly and publicly contrasts his reign of peace with the Roman notion of power and empire. Perhaps here we can learn the important lessons of being Christ's people of peace in a world filled with empire and power.
April 3, 2022-John 12:1-8 (Lent 5C)
March 14, 2022 08:00 - 16 minutes - 11.6 MBToday's episode highlights the beautiful cycle of gratitude and generosity. In this short story from John's gospel we find Mary with a heart filled with gratitude for what Jesus has done and what he is yet to do. She offers a costly gift to Jesus. It is generosity born out of immense gratitude. Mary's example teaches us the centrality of our love relationship with Jesus and how that love can form a generosity beyond limits in us for others.
March 27, 2022-Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 (Lent 4C)
March 07, 2022 09:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBThis week's episode explores a familiar story of Jesus about a generous father with two very different sons. The "Parable of the Prodigal Son" is one of three stories of Jesus that are grouped together for the sake of illustrating God's care for the margins and those who live there. Here we find a God who spares nothing to find everything that is lost.
March 20, 2022-Luke 13:1-9 (Lent 3C)
February 28, 2022 09:00 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MBWe live in a 24/7 news cycle were people are reacting and engaging with the events of day like never before. Often, we try to find hidden meaning or motives in the news we watch. We do the same in our own lives. Was there meaning in finding a good parking spot? Was there meaning in being healed of cancer while the patient next to you died? Jesus challenges all of these primitive and childish assumptions in a new way. Perhaps we must pay more attention to the opportunity to change our ways an...
March 13, 2022-Luke 13:31-35 (Lent 2C)
February 21, 2022 09:00 - 14 minutes - 10.3 MBWe all respond to life's obstacles in different ways. Sometimes we press forward with stubbornness and other times we bend just a little to get along with everyone. Jesus offers us a different path. Here we find a Jesus intent on offering love to all. When that love and grace are spurned, we find a Jesus filled with lament. How the world would be different if we made space to lament!
March 6, 2022-Luke 4:1-13 (Lent 1C)
February 14, 2022 09:00 - 17 minutes - 11.8 MBOur lives are filled with temptations each day. Almost all of these temptations are ones that attempt to our ourselves at the center. How do we combat the messages of our culture that always seem to make us the most important person. Jesus offers a pathway of liberation and freedom as he faced his own temptations. That pathway is one born of love.
February 27, 2022-Luke 9:28-36 (Transfiguration C)
February 07, 2022 09:00 - 16 minutes - 11.4 MBAll of us have been trained from an early age to solve problems and create solutions. Often that leads us to bad outcomes born out of good intentions. In Luke's story of Jesus' transfiguration we see a wondrous image filled with meaning. We are invited to "listen" to Jesus' way of grace and love that will lead him to a cross. This is not a moment to rush a solution. It is a moment of wonder and reflection.
February 20, 2022-Luke 6:27-38 (Epiphany 7C)
January 31, 2022 09:00 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MBThe Golden Rule of Jesus is, "treat people the same way you want people to treat you." Too may times we live our lives each day as if they are some kind of transaction with other people. We judge and size up others all the time. Jesus invites us into a deeper way of sharing our lives with others. This new way of living is born out mercy, grace, and love. It is a hard way, but it is the only life-giving way.
February 13, 2022-Luke 6:17-26 (Epiphany 6C)
January 24, 2022 09:00 - 18 minutes - 12.5 MBWe each bring our longings and hopes in life. In Luke's version of the Sermon on The Mount (Plain), we Jesus bring new hope and life to all those that long for a new day.
February 6, 2022-Luke 5:1-11 (Epiphany 5C)
January 17, 2022 09:00 - 17 minutes - 12 MBJesus' invitation to his first followers was one built on a transformative experience of Jesus. Jesus does not invite ideologues to be his disciples. Jesus seeks those who who devoutly follow him even when everything does not make sense the way we might like. This week's episode explores what it means to respond to Jesus' call with action.
January 30, 2022-Luke 4:21-30 (Epiphany 4C)
January 10, 2022 09:00 - 17 minutes - 11.8 MBSometimes our own exceptions of what we want from others and even from God can keep us stuck. This is true for Jesus' visit to his hometown of Nazareth. When confronted with their privilege and expectations, the Nazarene's have tables turned on them by a truth-seeking Jesus. This week's episode explores the danger of letting our own expectations when they get in the way of God's perfect love.
January 23, 2022-Luke 4:14-21 (Epiphany 3C)
January 03, 2022 09:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MBWe often use words to convey ideas, persuade others, or influence situations. Too may times our words focus on what we might wish or want to be true. Jesus offers something quite different as he begins his ministry. He makes proclamations about what he has already done. His words are descriptive. Words point to his actions. From that foundation Jesus can then make clear where his ministry will go. We may need to learn some of these lessons on integrity from Jesus. He points the way toward ha...
January 9, 2022-Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 (Baptism of the Lord C)
December 20, 2021 09:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MBRelationships are at the very heart of our being with God and one another. This reality is on full display in the baptism of Jesus. What we so often seek from God is a "role"...healer, warrior, etc. But Jesus reveals to us the most valuable relationship we can have. it is a role of being a child of God. This week's episode explores Jesus' baptism from the perceptive of union and the power of "being with."
December 26, 2021 or January 2, 2022-Luke 2:15-21 (Nativity 1C)
December 13, 2021 09:00 - 15 minutes - 10.5 MBIn the days of pandemic and polarity there seems to be so little wonder for us to hold. This story following Jesus' birth is filled with obedience, witness, and wonder. So often, we try and solve and resolve wonder. At the heart of Christian spirituality is to simply hold wonder like Mary did when she, "treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart." This week's episode explores how might learn to hold a wonder for God's grace and love.
December 25, 2021-Luke 2:1-14 (Nativity C)
December 06, 2021 09:00 - 21 minutes - 14.5 MBThe birth of Jesus is a collision between the powerful and powerless. Like so many other occasions, the grace of God is revealed at the margins or the edges. Jesus' with happens in a small town, in a single family home, with animals, and with shepherds attending. It is a humble scene for the cosmic event that will change everything. For us today, our work is about allowing this humble grace to enter our lives when we chose to allow it.
December 19, 2021-Luke 1:39-45 (Advent 4-Year C)
November 29, 2021 09:00 - 17 minutes - 12 MBWe all have a story. That story is part of God's story which intersects the stories of others. Mary, the mother of Jesus, comes to share her story with Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. When their stories intersect we see the deep blessing of shared lives and mutual grace. When we follow the leadership of these two mighty women we find the courage face every obstacle in our path. This week's episode explores how Mary and Elizabeth point the way toward a rich experience of the Holy.
December 12, 2021-Luke 3:7-18 (Advent 3-Year C)
November 22, 2021 09:00 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MBThe age of social media often invites us to make statements about politics, injustice, etc. Often we feel that the opinion we have on something equates with fruitful action about it. John the Baptist makes it clear in his witness that we are all called to bear "fruit consistent with repentance." This week's episode explores how we are to embrace God's judgement as a way of bearing fruit while also rooting out our own hypocrisy and brokenness.
December 5, 2021-Luke 3:1-6 (Advent 2-Year C)
November 15, 2021 09:00 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MBReligious people are often guilty of using religious jargon. Words that lack explanation or context. This week's episode explores four simply words that introduce the work of John the Baptist. Baptism. Repentance. Forgiveness. Sin. Each of these words are powerful markers for us today as we prepare for the mysterious and powerful coming of Christ.
November 28, 2021-Luke21:25-36 (Advent 1-Year C)
November 08, 2021 09:00 - 19 minutes - 13.3 MBOften the stories of Jesus' second coming frighten us. We read of signs in the stars and chaos on the earth. Jesus's explanation of the coming reign and rule of God are not intended to offer us more anxiety and fear. They are shared with us to better understand our focus and work in this challenging time. This week's episode explores how Jesus' explanation of his coming "again" is about summoning clarity, diligence, and grace for today.
November 7, 2021-Revelation 21:1-6a (All Saints Sunday)
October 19, 2021 08:00 - 17 minutes - 11.8 MBDuring these days of pandemic and polarity, many people have taken "hope" into their own hands. This week's episode opens up the Book of Revelation and points to the true hope we can all have. God is moving and at work today and in the future to bring about a new creation. On All Saints Sunday we can hear again the message that God is redeeming all things.
October 31, 2021-Mark 12:28-34 (Pentecost 23-Year B)
October 11, 2021 08:00 - 18 minutes - 12.5 MBNaming the most important truth of faith is hard to do. Jesus' words in Mark 12 make clear what that truth must be for Christians. Our most important truth is love. Beyond being in love, Jesus calls us to embody the very love we believe. When our heart and our actions find alignment through love, we have made the beginning of journey that will lead us toward God in every way. This week's episode explores how that love can be made real in our lives.