The Nexus Podcast

Scratch That - Jesus Edits the Old Testament (S12 Episode21)

This Sunday, through a few stories, we continue exploring what Jesus reveals to us about God. Reconciling some of the ugly portraits we see of God in Scripture, with the God Jesus reveals to us, requires one of four options. This Sunday we explore the best of those options and speak to how Jesus read and interpreted the Old Testament. To do that, we'll look at some subversive stories within the Old Testament along with the bold and daring act Jesus performed in front of a hometown crowd. An act requiring much audacity.

The Ghost of Jonathan Edwards (S12 Episode20)

A new series begins today with three questions based on observations within the Nexus community:

1. Why do so many parents at Nexus have trouble talking to their children about faith?
2. Why do so many grown adults have trouble talking to their own parents about faith?
3. Why are so many people at Nexus in the process of deconstructing their faith?

The answer for all three of these questions is that many of us are haunted by a most disturbing ghost. There is something in our closets, our pasts, our upbringing that is behind these observations/questions.  It is time to bury this ghost and be done with it. 

Wonder (S12 Episode19)

Well, a New Year is just around the corner. It is a season where even the most skeptical among us can’t help but consider setting expectations for the year ahead.  This Sunday, an offering of hope and intention for this coming year. In short, it has everything to do with wonder.
 
There are lots of stops along the way, from a Christmas Eve busking concert, awkward Christmas presents, climbing mountains, the James Webb telescope, the mysterious hut on the dark side of the moon, and why NASA recently hired theologians for one of its recent projects. Lots of fun to be had along with some thoughts and reflections on music, art, nature, and the greatest mystery of all time.

The Gift of Presence (S12 Episode 18)

In the midst of our fatigue and never-ending bad news, we pause to celebrate, or at least reflect on, Jesus’ birth and the incarnation. Now, more than ever, we need to get this right. What exactly are we celebrating when we think of Jesus' birth and incarnation? Well, to get at that, we turn to two stories/analogies about incarnation. One is from Donald Miller, the other from Paul Harvey.  They both seem to miss the point of incarnation. Getting the promise and good news of incarnation right seems more important than ever, especially now, in our weary world. 

Waiting for Fire (S12 Episode17)

Advent is a season of expectation, of waiting, longing, and anticipation.  In this way we mimic those originally waiting for the Jewish Messiah to arrive when Jesus was born. But as Jesus has already come, what are we waiting for with Advent today? The short answer is…fire.
 
Through stories of problematic Advent calendars and Brad's encounter with a grizzly bear, we head on a wild survey of fire within Scripture and what it can teach us about Advent today. We will be touching down briefly in Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, Malachi, Luke, Hebrews, Corinthians and Revelation. 

Mary Comforts Eve (Season 12 Episode16)

For our second week of Advent, we will concentrate on Advent hope by way of reflecting on a piece of art. It is Sister Grace Remington’s Mary Comforts Eve. Look up the original piece on Google. It is by Scott Erickson. It seems to capture not only the story of Scripture in one image, but the human condition and the hope that animates the Jesus Path.

The War of Pregnancy (S12 Episode15)

Advent is here again and you can sense the excitement and anticipation in the air. This gloomy November will soon give way to Christmas lights, decorations, and songs of the season. This Christmas will no doubt be special for many after spending last year in lockdown.
 
To get our Advent season underway together, we start with the angelic announcement to Mary that she will become pregnant and bring a new life into the world. So begins the story of pregnancy, a beautiful and complicated battle between two opposing forces.  We explore all of that while keeping an eye on what this meant for Mary, and of course us. Let's get going and light our first Advent candle.

The Age of Secularism - Part 2 (S12 Episode14)

This Sunday we pick up where we left off, in third wave secularity. In our time, the secular has birthed a new ethic and new authority. They come with promise and potential, but also excesses that make the life of faith hard.
 
We dive into high school bullying, a hilariously revealing sketch from Saturday Night Live, why we all feel like we can’t keep up, the one story Charles Taylor believes is a litmus test for how all of us see the world, how the story of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Paul push us to look for cracks in the imminent frame of the secular age, and how most Disney stories play with those same story archetypes. 

The Age of Secularism - Part 1 (S12 Episode13)

4 Questions:

1. What is it so hard to be a person of faith today?
2. Why does it feel as though depression and anxiety are at an all-time high?
3. Why are doubt and deconstruction so popular these days?
4. Why do pastors have no clue what they are doing?

To get to these, we will take a brief journey through the history of secularism. This will take us back 500+ years to a world vastly different than our own. An album cover, a statue in Venice, an enchanted forest in Briethaupt Park, Jose Bautista’s bat flip, what we learned from Donald Trump staring directly into the sun, and two songs that perfectly reflect the space in time we all inhabit: secular world three. 

Stay in the Flow (S12 Episode9)

Brad reflects on a family trip this past summer that got him thinking a lot about rivers and flow. Brad suggests that one of the best ways we can understand the nature of Scripture is to think of it as a river. Scripture continues to be a source of doubt and concern for many, but understanding it as a river may be of aid to some of us.