Pastor Paula continues her series on the Book of Acts of the Apostles as she explores the birth of the church, as people respond to Peter's sermon on Pentecost. Rather than condemning the crowd in Jerusalem for their role in shouting out "Crucify him" when Jesus was on trial, Peter invites them to repent and turn to Jesus for forgiveness. This same kind of grace is extended to us again and again when we fall short in our own lives. The church began with as an invitatio...
Pastor Paula continues her series on the Book of Acts of the Apostles with the second part of the story of Pentecost, where Peter gets up and makes a powerful sermon in the center of Jerusalem after having denied Jesus only 50 days earlier. She addresses the question as to whether people can change, arguing that the Holy Spirit can take the parts of who we are and transform them as we follow and serve our Lord. Opening; Scriptures-1:41; Message-3:24; Hymn-"13:48; Change My...
Pastor Paula continues her series on the Book of Acts of the Apostles with the first part of the story of Pentecost, where the Spirit of God comes upon all people, as they share one language. In a reversal of the story of the Tower of Babel, this is about God's Spirit bringing us together not because of what we have done, but because of what God has done. In her message, Pastor Paula talks about leaning on the power of God and not ourselves to find peace and strength for life. Op...
Pastor Paula kicks off a series that will cover the entire book of Acts of the Apostles with the story of the Ascension of Jesus. As we look at this book that focuses on how the first church community had to continue to evolve as they dealt with the changes in the world around them, this first story reminds us that we don't need to just "look up" to find answers. Instead, God has given us tools and one another to work together to help bring in the reign that began with Jesus mission her...
Pastor Paula provides an update on a new series and a new schedule https://www.patreon.com/RelentlessGracePodcast
In a replay from last year, this episode is for Easter. In between two songs, sung by Ruth Skinner and Camy Wenberg. Pastor Paula provides an Easter message on why the Resurrection is so important to our faith, as she shares the salvation story from Genesis to the Cross.. There will also be an episode replayed next week for Easter. New episodes will return April 7, with Pastor Paula's voice back up to full strength for podcasting. Opening; Song-And Can It Be-1:57; Me...
In a replay from last year, this episode is for Holy Week. In between two songs, sung by Camy Wenberg. Pastor Paula provides a Holy Week Reflection on Judas and her belief that he did not escape the Relentless Grace of our Lord. There will also be an episode replayed next week for Easter. New episodes will return April 7, with Pastor Paula's voice back up to full strength for podcasting. Opening; Song Above All-2:08; Message 5:41; Song-Arms Wide Open-21:14 Thanks to Dan Mc...
Pastor Paula continues her sermon series on The Lord's Prayer with a focus on the section "Deliver Us From Evil." Too often people believe evil will be obvious--like a man in a red devil suit with horns. But in our society, evil is often more subtle---as it causes us to reduce our standards and begin to accept the unacceptable, rather than confronting it and taking a stand. By reflecting on what the lines are in our lives that can't be crossed and being encouraged to think globally and ...
Pastor Paula continues her sermon series on The Lord's Prayer by talking about the petition "Save Us From the Time of Trial." She distinguishes why it is important to see that God does not lead us to temptation but saves us from it and discusses what Luther said were the two central temptations. One is false belief that we are God or need to be in control and the other is despair and belief that there is no God. These key temptations can lead us to hubris and despondency but when ...
Pastor Paula continues her sermon series on The Lord's Prayer with a focus on the forgiveness that God offers to us and the call to forgive others in that same way. She believes that this is not only the center point of the Lord's Prayer, but the center of Jesus ministry and mission. When we are able to receive that relentless grace from God and then in turn, extend it to others, we are able to focus our energy not on what is wrong, but rather on how to live our lives full of love and h...
Pastor Paula continues her sermon series on The Lord's Prayer with a discussion about the phrase "Give us this day our daily bread.” She believes this is actually a radical part of the prayer where we commit ourselves to sharing what God has provided to us. It isn’t a personal request but rather a communal one. In a world where God has provided more than enough food for everyone, praying this prayer is a commitment to being part of the solution to share what we have to provi...
Pastor Paula continues her sermon series on The Lord's Prayer with a discussion about the phrase "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." A lot of people often say "It must be God's will" when something horrible happens, but Pastor Paula firmly believes that God's will for us in only life, light, and goodness. God in no way wills anything bad and God hates death. As a result, we are being part of God's will for the world when we seek to be agents of life and love in a world in n...
Pastor Paula continues her sermon series on The Lord's Prayer with a discussion about the phrase "thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven." She focuses on what the realm of God is and how Jesus, in both his ministry and in this prayer, invites us to be part of the kingdom of God, both on earth and in heaven. As Christ followers, we don't have the luxury of ignoring the brokenness in the world or being passive participants in the face of injustice. Instead, we are invited to b...
Pastor Paula continues her sermon series on the Lord's Prayer with the phrase "Hallowed Be Thy Name." The prayer opens with a focus on the intimacy of a relationship with a God who invites us to call on God as "Abba" or "Daddy." However, it immediately also reminds us of the fact that our God is also holy. By reflecting on the "otherness" of God, we can understand that our God, who created the world, is not ours to control, but one who has power and might and yet desires to ...
Pastor Paula concludes her series on the Shepherd Psalm--Psalm 23. Each week she took a portion of the Psalm and connected it with our lives, as she explored how a Psalm about something like sheep herding, which few of us know much about, has become one of the most beloved texts in all of Scripture. This week, she focuses on the final passage--"you shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." She suggests that this isn't about waiting until we die to experience what it mea...
Pastor Paula continues her series on the Shepherd Psalm--Psalm 23. Each week she takes a portion of the Psalm and connect sit with our lives, as she explores how a Psalm about something like sheep herding, which few of us know much about, has become one of the most beloved texts in all of Scripture. This week she looks at the words "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Too often we end up giving up a lot of our headspace to our enemies and thos...
Pastor Paula continues her series on the Shepherd Psalm--Psalm 23. Each week she takes a portion of the Psalm and connect sit with our lives, as she explores how a Psalm about something like sheep herding, which few of us know much about, has become one of the most beloved texts in all of Scripture. This week she looks at the words "Thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. " She tells the story of responding to the death of a man in a tragic grain elevator ac...
Pastor Paula continues her series on the Shepherd Psalm--Psalm 23. Each week she takes a portion of the Psalm and connect sit with our lives, as she explores how a Psalm about something like sheep herding, which few of us know much about, has become one of the most beloved texts in all of Scripture. This week she looks at the words "For His Name Sake" and talks about how we are called to bear the name of Christ to the world. Sadly, Christianity has gotten a bap reputation be...
Pastor Paula continues her series on the Shepherd Psalm--Psalm 23. Each week she takes a portion of the Psalm and connect sit with our lives, as she explores how a Psalm about something like sheep herding, which few of us know much about, has become one of the most beloved texts in all of Scripture. This week, she deviates from the focus on sheep and instead compares this verse to dance. She talks about how God is leading us through the dance of life and explores what ...
Pastor Paula continues her series on the Shepherd Psalm--Psalm 23. Each week she will take a portion of the Psalm and connect it with our lives, as she explores how a Psalm about something like sheep herding, which few of us know much about, has become one of the most beloved texts in all of Scripture. This week, she focuses on what it means to be lead by still waters and let God restore our souls. In the chaos of life, we sometimes need to step out of the rush that surrounds us a...