The Nexus Podcast

Defenceless (S13 Episode33)

Two Sundays ago we talked about competing notions of power and how the expression of "power over" is wreaking havoc within the church of North America. Is there an antidote or fix to this mess?

The problem is well beyond any solution a single sermon can offer, but the Jesus Path does provide a way forward, and it presents it to us by way of a hymn. A hymn? In one of Paul's letters, he passes on what many believe is the oldest and earliest Christian hymn. Its lyrics are revealing and instructive. So, I hope you will join me on Sunday as we investigate these ancient lyrics. Along the way I will need to pass on the story of Niagara Falls' most daring adventurer, offer us a fresh look at the gateway drug of the virtues (humility), and give you an inventory of questions that I hope you will find beneficial for your life and relationships. I am looking forward to this one. 

Trust Yourself (S13 Episode32)

Karla jumped in for Brad this week with a sermon on trusting yourself.

A Different Kind of Power (S13 Episode31)

Friends, there are only nine Sundays left in our season, just enough time to sneak in two short series and a special Sunday or two. We are going to close the season with a series on the sacraments, which I am incredibly excited about. I can hardly wait to get to that. Before that though, a series I am far less excited about—a series on power.

You see, if you were to take a panoramic view of the church in North America, over say the past decade, the scene doesn't look so pretty. Morally failed leaders, sexual abuse, lawsuits and NDAs, congregations sucked into ugly politics, and a slew of books showcasing overt racism and misogyny baked into many Christian traditions. Why does this keep happening in the church?

It seems to me we are well beyond the point of thinking this is just about a few bad apples. Rather, it would seem there is something deeply entrenched in the church in North America that keeps leading to scandalous and harmful failings. What is happening? I am inclined to think it all stems from how the church, and its leaders, understand power.

The good news, or bad news, depending on how you see it, is Christian struggles with power have existed from the start. So, we would do well to dive into the dynamics of how power works and why Jesus calls to us a radically different understanding of power.

Fear not, the series and this Sunday won't be bleak. There is still a lot of fun to be had along the way. Further, if you are looking for a reason to revisit the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films, this three-week series is the perfect excuse. The film conveys in fantasy what Jesus has been trying to teach the church about power for millennia. So, I hope you will join us Sunday for A Different Kind of Power?

Space for Lament (S13 Episode30)

Greetings Nexus! It'll be me, Karla, speaking this week, making the case that the Jesus path calls us to make room for Sadness and Lament in our lives. Why would we want to do that? How do we make room for sadness? What happens when we do? Lots of what we'll talk about can apply to other tricky feelings like anger and fear as well. Turns out they all belong in the authentic human experience. Along the way, we'll discover how science can help us enjoy snacking even more. Should be a rather joyful time!

A Journal in the Snow (S13 Episode29)

This Sunday, friends, is the conclusion of our Jesus Path series! We are always travelling the path at Nexus, of course, but our A Path Called Compelling series ends this Sunday. So we thought we might do something a little different. What would happen if you combined atmospheric music + long form story + mini-sermon all in one? I have no idea how this will go, but I think it will be fun to try!

I want to bring you a profound story about a man fighting to protect his own story and legacy and the incredible lengths he went to for that cause. Then I want to focus on one quick exchange we witness at Jesus' cross, all while grappling with what resurrection means as more than a belief, but a way of life. On Easter Sunday we looked at how resurrection can provide a way of life that deals with life's disappointments, frustrations, and restrictions. This Sunday I want to examine how resurrection speaks to our desire for a legacy. So, this Sunday will be a bit experimental, but I have a hunch it could be special.

Easter Sunday - An Infinite Horizon (S13 Episode28)

For Resurrection Sunday, we are going to explore resurrection as a way of life and I am so excited to share this with you on Sunday. This sermon is one that is very close to my heart and speaks deeply to me. I hope it will for you as well. To prepare, I am hoping everyone might come having given some thought to what is on your personal bucket list. The morning will begin when you enter the Conrad and are asked to share on a card, one, or several, of your bucket list items. I will be referencing them in the sermon. This Easter Sunday will lack some of the pomp and circumstance the day is normally associated with in favour of a more honest look at life as we know it and what resurrection might mean for that.

I hope the morning will be honest, raw, comically relatable, and of course, hopeful. We will be travelling through a lot of terrain, from bucket lists to spoiled vacations, a tragic story from the book of Judges to Jesus' words about preparing a place for us, hotel bed confessionals to the ethics of zoos and aquariums. There is lots to cover as we travel forward on the Jesus Path towards resurrection country.

Good Friday - Reflections on the Cross (S13 Episode27)

This year, for Good Friday,  a morning of somber reflection on the cross and what it means for our own lives. Karla and Brad, along with Dave and the band, will share reflections and songs on the cross: what it reveals, what it means, and what it calls us towards. I hope you will join us as we spend time reflecting on the centre of the Christian faith - the cross.

A Grave For Hate (S13 Episode26)

Traveling the Jesus Path, we find ourselves deep in the terrain of Jesus' cross and the way of forgiveness. We are finally ready to unpack exactly what forgiveness as a way of life can look like. Of course, it is easy to assume that forgiveness is something we practice strictly towards other people, but that is but the tip of the iceberg. This Sunday we move fully into the power of forgiveness and examine what it might look like to practice forgiveness to others, the church, God — and ourselves.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames (S13 Episode25)

We continue to look to Jesus' cross as the 'forgiveness terrain' we are asked to make a way of life. This Sunday I want to dive into the ways we have been trained to adopt an infantile form of forgiveness and why what the Jesus Path asks of us is much more difficult, but also much more liberating. I trust you will find it to be an informative and meaningful teaching.

Caravaggio’s Head (S13 Episode24)

There are just over four weeks until we find ourselves at Good Friday and Easter, and as we continue to travel the Jesus Path, we find ourselves firmly within the hilly landscape of Jesus' cross. We will spend the next four Sundays traversing this terrain, paying close attention to how Jesus' cross is more than just an event in time, but a way of life we are called to follow.

To do that, we begin with a story—of a painter—and what he was looking for when he created his masterpiece, David with the Head of Goliath. His story mirrors our own and will take us into the uncomfortable realm of sin, and forgiveness. Those two words are uncomfortable to many, but such is the nature of walking a path. We don't get to choose where it heads, our task is simply to follow. The path now takes us there. But fret not friends, we won't be talking about sin in all the cliché and predictable ways we have become accustomed. Rather, I plan to give sin the treatment it deserves—earthy, gritty, perhaps even slightly crass, and irreverent. (As such, fair warning: This Sunday's sermon is PG-13 and contains language that may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers and that some might find offensive. Discretion is advised.)

Why the need for that? Quite frankly, I am tired of "sin" being ignored or triggering, so let's just talk honestly about it, in plain language. The Jesus Path takes us there so there is no point in trying to avoid it. After all, as the brilliant art critic Simon Schama says, "If we are ever to hope for redemption, we have to begin with the recognition that in all of us, the Goliath competes with the David."