Episodes
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Zeitkrankheit and the Cult of Speed (S14 Episode10)
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Friends, it is time to move beyond our tensions with God and consider some of the tensions we experience with ourselves. There are many, and we could spend an entire season looking into them. But from now until Advent I want to focus on the tensions we experience in our relationship with time and space.
For this week, I want to start with a story in the gospels about two sisters: Martha and Mary. I have come to see their story, and Martha’s dilemma, as indicative of our own time. To do that, we will explore how the acceleration of technology, social change, and the pace of life have coalesced into a unique plague of our time: zeitkrankheit (time, or hurry, sickness).
This feels like an important one to me. I have been chewing on this stuff for quite a while and am excited to dig in. There is a whole lot to discover and unpack along the way.
Pit stops will include a brief history of standardized time, the trickery of time saving apps, why those for and against action to reduce climate change share the same moral framework, and of course, online pornography, the embarrassment of being caught eating nachos and cheese at a pool, email auto responders while you are on vacation, and what smart phones and banana peels have in common. Oh, and some pre-Sunday homework. Watch at least one episode (or season) of The Office before Sunday. Sound good?
Tuesday Nov 07, 2023
What Are You Hinting At? (S14 Episode9)
Tuesday Nov 07, 2023
Tuesday Nov 07, 2023
Nexus friends! There are moments when I hint at things in sermons, without fully exploring them. The trouble is that can make things more confusing than clarifying. This past week I had some questions about the way I ended last Sunday with my sermon on hell, how to get there, and the hope after that. Some have asked, Brad, what were you hinting at toward the end? Brad, are you a universalist? Is Nexus universalist? Some might be wondering, wait, what is a universalist? Ah, this Sunday I want to take us into all of that.
So, to all the big questions we go again. Sheep and goats, the meaning of obscure Greek words, Hitler and Dostoevsky, free will, and the open wound of life. I am looking forward to sharing with you once again as we try to finish out our introductory series on the tensions we experience with God. I hope to see you Sunday for, What Are You Hinting At?
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
Well, I am excited for this Sunday! We are bringing the portion of our season around tensions with God to a close by exploring some of Jesus’ most frightening words. A casual reading of the gospels reveals that Jesus doesn’t always fit the common portrayal of him as a kumbaya hippie. He spoke at length about fire, hell, wickedness, and judgment. If we are going to come to trust God, we must reckon with what scares us most about this God—threats of fire and hell.
If you grew up in certain Christian traditions, this was THE reason we became a Christian in the first place. We didn’t want to spend eternity in a lake of fire! It is high time we replace cartoonish and medieval influenced portraits of hell with a deconstructed, and dare I say it, hope infused vision of hell!
I can’t wait for this one. There are plenty of pit stops to make along the way
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
Is God Angry? (S14 Episode7)
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
We are digging further into our tensions with God series by exploring the notion of God’s wrath and anger. It isn’t hard to find passages in Scripture that talk about divine wrath and punishment. What is that all about? Well, like last week, perhaps things are not quite as they seem. So, for this Sunday, there are stories to be told and plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. I hope it will be thought provoking, enriching, and encouraging.
Tuesday Oct 24, 2023
God on Trial (S14 Episode6)
Tuesday Oct 24, 2023
Tuesday Oct 24, 2023
Folks, you have been summoned to serve as members of a jury this Sunday at Nexus. As we explore the tensions we experience with God, this week we want to explore the question: is God cruel?
To do that, we are going to put God on trial for the cruel story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice (kill) his son Isaac. Is God guilty? The answer may seem obvious. Anyone, or any deity, that asks a father to kill his son, seems guilty of cruelty, at the least. Case closed.
And yet, this Sunday I will be acting as the defense attorney for the story. I intend to bring forward evidence that would suggest, beyond a reasonable doubt, that something is amiss here. Further, I intend to showcase that while the story may seem grisly on the surface, a closer look might reveal there is some actual good news to be found.
Now, you can thank Kristen for sparing you from my flair for the dramatic. I intended to show up in my best Columbo costume (raincoat, cigar, ill-fitted suit, and thick New York accent) but she thought the idea corny. While I disagree, she made me self-conscious, so you are just getting plain old Brad serving as defense lawyer.
You folks get to serve as the jury. Now, if you want to be prepared jurists, a simple reading of Genesis 22 should do the trick. As it reads on the page is all the prosecution needs to make their case. Can I prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that this grisly story on the surface might be good and welcome news about God? You be the judge.
Friday Oct 13, 2023
Wisdom in the Whirlwind (S14 Episode5)
Friday Oct 13, 2023
Friday Oct 13, 2023
For this Sunday, would you do me a favour and read parts of the book of Job? Specifically, Job chapters 1-3 and 38-42. The book addresses a specific tension in our relationship with God: why we find it hard to trust that God cares about our personal sufferings and stressors. To do that I want to examine the story of Job as a parable while showcasing a very different way to understand this cryptic, ancient story.
On top of that, I will need to tell you about why gamers love torturing Korok characters in the game of Zelda, how I got booed and heckled during my wedding speech this past weekend, and why we should never pick fights with entities bigger than us...unless that entity happens to be God. I can’t wait to be with you again this Sunday for Wisdom in the Whirlwind.
Friday Oct 06, 2023
Life on the Strip (S14 Episode4)
Friday Oct 06, 2023
Friday Oct 06, 2023
I'm excited to bring some wisdom from Quaker teacher and activist Parker Palmer. I'll talk about our inner and outer lives and how we like keeping them separated in a world that values compartmentalizing. But is that dividedness serving us well as individuals, and communities? Is there a better way? What would that look like?
Monday Sep 25, 2023
The Tensions (S14 Episode3)
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Monday Sep 25, 2023
It is time to finally enter The Tensions, our theme for the season. To do that, I want to take us into one of Scripture’s most well-known stories. It is a story that may be the “most accurate accounting of human psychology ever assembled.” It is the story of humanity’s exit from the paradise of the Garden of Eden.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a fun season intro without a few unexpected twists and turns. To start, I will need to tell you a story I have never told anyone before, because I simply do not know what to do with it. I will also intro my first book club of the year and explain to you how I got sucked into staying at the "World Famous Clown Motel". Not only was the experience predictably awful, but it also had me re-examining some of my own beliefs.
As an intro to the themes we will explore this season, we have a lot of unusual ground to cover: from uncomfortable stories about God we find in our own Scriptures, to addictions, relationships, time, and technology. I hope you will join us this Sunday at 10:30am for The Tensions.
- Brad Watson
Monday Sep 25, 2023
The Blessings (S14 Episode2)
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Well, a new season has arrived and with it we are holding a "The Blessing of New Seasons of Life Sunday." Not exactly a pithy title, so let's just go with "The Blessings." This Sunday we want to hold space and mark the various new seasons each of us are entering, some of them welcome, others perhaps not. It will also mean blessing and welcoming new children into our midst. I know this will be a meaningful Sunday for all of us, no matter what season of life you are currently in.
Sermon wise, well, if we are going to talk about blessings, one can't help but wonder about the kinds of people Jesus thought were blessed. So, to the beatitudes we go. And yet, for some of us, the beatitudes are overly familiar. Thus, I am bringing along a new translation of the beatitudes and I promise you won't have heard them talked about like this before. I am confident you will come away with a refreshed understanding of these curious announcements Jesus makes.
I am also bringing a handful of stories and conjectures to the morning as well. I need to talk about the coffee shop that doesn't serve coffee, a mysterious man I met on a dangerous hike, and why I imagine there will be no marriage in Jesus' coming kingdom. So, I hope you will join us on Sunday for The Blessings.
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Join the Joyride (S14 Episode1)
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
This past June, I told you that I had a sense that this season would be taking us to some hard places. Hard just didn't seem to work as a season theme, however, so instead, we are heading into The Tensions. Everything about this coming season is designed to stretch us, challenge us, and invite us into tension. It is in those places that we grow and learn best. It is in the tension that we discover more of who we are and what we are capable of.
And so, we want to wade into all of it: the tensions we feel about God and faith, the tensions we feel within ourselves, and the tensions we experience within our relationships. The easy path always tries to avoid tension. This year we are going to take the road less travelled and confront those tensions, enter them, wrestle with them, and hopefully walk away blessed because of it. Only three more sleeps until we get started!
For this particular Sunday, I want to ease us into the year with a reminder of why Nexus exists, what we are doing together, and how we are trying to do it. This will be a wonderful primer Sunday for those relatively new to Nexus or for those who have considered joining us. It will also be a great refresher for the rest of us. So if there is anyone you know who has wondered what Nexus is all about, this is the week for them. Perhaps invite them to tag along with you.
To that end, I will be taking us through Nexus' Path, Passion, and Practices. Of course, there are new stories to be told and plenty of fun to be had. I trust Sunday morning will be a worthwhile reminder of why we do this thing called Nexus together. So, I hope you will join us Sunday for Join the Joyride.