The Nexus Podcast

The Cry (S16 Episode27)

Have you ever been left behind? I have been - at church, no less. And I must confess…I have also left a child at church. While I was probably 16 years old when it happened to me, our daughter was but 18 months. I know. Not a stellar parenting moment. But it’s surprisingly easy - it always involves two cars, and the abandoned person somehow falling between the cracks. A simple miscommunication and misunderstanding. (It turned out just fine, by the way, thanks to a good friend who had our phone number, some time, and patience. Well, that and the fact that the instant we both got home we realized something was awry…both of us wide eyed…I thought you had her!)

I’m sure we’ve all experienced a whole range of abandonments…times of feeling forsaken. Alone. 

What was it like for you?

On this second last Sunday before Good Friday and Easter, we continue with the sayings of Jesus from the cross. This time, a heart-wrenching question: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” 

Known as the Cry of Dereliction, this saying is full of meaning.

We might have some curiosity about this cry of Jesus. It’s a chance for us to consider what we believe was happening in that moment…where was God? What does it mean for us that Jesus spoke these words? As we listen to Jesus’ cry, we may also notice a tension, some mystery, and some hope for us all. 

As with all the Lent sermons, we’ll be looking at an art piece - this time, a recent work from a controversial Canadian artist.

The Dry Place (S16 Episode26)

The Dry Place, from March 15th is avaialble by podcast: This Sunday in our Lent series, we’re going to focus on Jesus’ shortest, and easiest to skip, saying from the cross. In John, Jesus simply utters, “I thirst.” It isn’t a speech or sermon. It isn’t a lesson. It is two simple words that speak volumes and asks us to lean in close rather than hurry past them. In those two words are I think both a revelation and a vocation for us.

We will also be gazing at a striking crucifixion painting from the Louvre. It comes to us from the Renaissance period and was created by Niccolò di Liberatore’s in 1492. It is simply called, La Crucifixion. Peek at it before Sunday if you like. I am hoping its details will do what art does best: not explain but evoke. There’s a visual tension in the scene. See if you can spot it.

An Order of Nearness (S16 Episode25)

This Sunday in our Lent series, we’ll be sitting with more of Jesus’ words from the cross. This one is less divine revelation and more communal and tender in nature. And I want to come to Jesus’ words as with one piece of art held up long enough for it to actually do something to us. We’ll be gazing at La Crucifixion (a stark, monochrome crucifixion plaque), and letting it orient our attention into the mood of this moment on the cross. Along the way, I think there is plenty to consider especially around loss and grief.

Light Under Storm Skies (S16 Episode24)

Lent is now upon us, and for the weeks leading up to Easter at Nexus we’re slowing the pace down on purpose. Each week we’ll take just one of Jesus’ sayings from the cross and we’ll keep a single piece of art in front of us as a visual companion.

This Sunday’s artwork is Karel Dujardin’s: The Calvar (1661): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Duajrdin-Calvaire-Louvre.jpg

a dark, storm-charged scene where the world feels loud and chaotic...and yet Christ is strangely illuminated, impossible to ignore.

And the saying we’ll sit with is as disarming as it is unsettling: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” That line cracks open a revelation about what God is like, but it also exposes something about us. It confronts our revenge impulse, our certainty, and the way communities can get carried along by fear and scapegoating.

We’ll also look at a modern echo of this prayer through the story of one church, with a long history, where forgiveness showed up, not as sentiment, but as a costly refusal to let evil move in.

For us, the question won’t just be “Does God forgive?” but something more personal and a little dangerous. Can we become the kind of people who interrupt the cycle? Can we become people who tell the truth, hold boundaries, pursue justice, and still refuse to be remade into enemies?

The Conflicted Self (S16 Episode23)

Have you ever had a day, or week, where you sincerely wanted the good, and then things still unfolded opposite of all your good intentions? The invitation this Sunday is to take that strange, universal experience seriously, not as a quirky personality glitch, but as a window into what it means to be human. We’re exploring The Conflicted Self this Sunday.

We’ll hear one of the most uncomfortably honest passages in the Bible where Paul admits, in essence, “I know what’s right . . . and then I don’t do it.” And we’ll talk about why “just try harder” so often backfires and why internal laws have a funny way of creating rebellions within us.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated with yourself, or oddly harsh toward other people, this is a sermon that aims to make room for honesty and compassion. Not to excuse our mess, but to understand it, and to discover why grace meets us right in the middle of our dividedness, instead of waiting for us to get ourselves together first.

Judge not (S16 Episode22)

For today's sermon, we’re going to have fun with metaphors - we’ll return to the garden image, connecting that to Paul’s biblical image of the body.

All of this is to explore the lens we use to look at the world. Consider - how much do you notice your thoughts…and how critical would you say they are? Do you have a strong inner critic? Or would you be more of a finger-pointer? Maybe like me, you’re good at both! (We don’t want to brag, I know.) If you’d like to get a sense of your self-compassion (or lack thereof), there’s a handy little test you can take - the work of Kristin Neff. I found it quite sobering and eye-opening to see how committed I’ve been to this strategy of criticism. I wonder if it’s time to put down this tool, and reach for something much stronger. In times like this, we can’t be wasting our time trying to be something we’re not. Trying to force our loved ones to be something they are not. Let’s assume we’ve had a good reason for using our old tools, but let’s also consider that there might be a better way. Looking forward to seeing you for “Judge Not!”

Trees Walking (S16 Episode21)

Friends, what do FBI hostage negotiators have in common with Instagram, Netflix, and Spotify/Apple algorithms? Well, uncomfortably, they may know us better than we know ourselves. Which tells us something important about human nature.

This Sunday, we’re continuing our Anthropology series by poking at a story many of us are quietly living inside: the idea that with the right hacks, tools, and techniques, we should be able to optimize our way out of our weaknesses and limitations. So, we’ll talk about predictability, partial sight, regret, exhaustion, and why some of the most ordinary moments of modern life can be surprisingly revealing.

Along the way, we’ll explore why Jesus seems remarkably unbothered by blurry vision, why limitation isn’t a moral failure, and why faith might have less to do with clarity and more to do with humility, community, and grace. If you’ve ever felt pressure to be more, know more, or see more clearly than you actually do (and I am assuming that is all of us), this Sunday is for you.

A Consolation You Could Believe In (S16 Episode20)

Who are the people in your life that you can actually relax around? You know, the ones you don’t have to rehearse for, impress, or hold yourself together in front of? Hold that thought, and now, consider the moral, intellectual, or spiritual giants in your life that you look up to? Would you describe their company as relaxing?

This Sunday I want to linger over a strange but persistent pattern in the Gospels, but particularly in Luke. The people most aware of their mess and flaws in life seem oddly comfortable around Jesus, while those most confident in their goodness felt threatened by him. That should unsettle us a little and have asking why that was?

So, this week we will explore how some of our most admirable assumptions about human potential may quietly be costing us more than we realize, like fuelling exhaustion, perfectionism, and division. Moreover, I want to examine why Jesus seems stubbornly unimpressed with our optimism about ourselves.

In the end, my hope is that if you’ve ever felt tired of pretending, suspicious of easy answers, or feel quietly burned out by the pressure to have it together, this Sunday will feel like a big relief.

A Tribute to Murray (S16 Episode19)

Today we pay tribute to Murray and the role he has played in our community over the past 15 years. We hope you will join us then as we remember one of the pillars of our community.

Anthropology (S16 Episode18)

Nexus, we are on our way into a new series that will occupy much of our winter and spring, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. In a season where we are exploring the ways we are shaped and formed, the question behind this series is this: what if the way we talk about being human is quietly shaping everything? How does our understanding of what it means to be a homo sapien shape our relationships, our expectations, our politics, and even our faith, without us ever really noticing? So, starting this Sunday at Nexus, we’re beginning a new conversation by asking a deceptively simple question: what do we actually believe about human nature?

Along the way, we’ll look at familiar cultural voices, surprising moments of honesty, and the way Jesus seems to locate people before he ever tries to fix them. The goal this Sunday isn’t to make anything tidy or come to any quick conclusions. Rather, it is just an invitation to notice the assumptions we’re living with about who we are and to ask ourselves if those assumptions are helping us flourish, or are they quietly setting us up for disappointment? As always at Nexus, the goal isn’t agreement. It’s curiousity.