The Nexus Podcast

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." 

This Is Not The End (S13 Episode23)

Nexus friends, though quite rare, there are certain Sundays that come together so seamlessly and with such a sense of synchronicity that I can't help but suspect there is something more at play ;) This happens to be one of those unicorn Sundays.

Late last Sunday, I sat down to read the cards our community had submitted around what in our lives feels like death or suffering. The weight of those cards was palpable. On Monday, Dave and I batted around ideas, trying to figure out how to hold all that for this coming Sunday. Then on Tuesday morning, I noticed a text on my phone, from Kristen G., with a song recommendation for me. I clicked the link and as I sat listening, everything fell into place. I had spotted a goat on a cow. A few hurried texts between Dave, Kristen, and I, some invites to other musicians in our community, and voila, the whole of this coming Sunday seemed clear to us in a matter fifteen minutes! I can't overemphasize enough how rare that is!

There is something about this coming Sunday that feels urgent and timely to me. I am reluctant to oversell any Sunday, nor do I ever want to presume when and where God is at work, but I truly get the sense that there are some of us who NEED to hear and experience this coming Sunday. Most of my blurbs end with some kind of invitation and an expression of my hope that you will join us this coming Sunday. For this week though, I am ditching the soft sell in favour of something bolder. You NEED to be at Nexus this Sunday, especially if you submitted a card this past Sunday. 

When Love is Not Enough (S13 Episode22)

The season of Lent is upon us and with that, the landscape of the Jesus Path makes a dramatic turn. It is time to start a steep climb as we travel to meet Jesus at his mountain top transfiguration experience. This portion of the trail will have our legs, and lungs, screaming at us. It is not an easy climb and isn't for the faint of heart.

Yet, while the climb won't be easy, there is plenty to see and explore as we make our ascent. We will have to consider some of the most absurd laws that still exist in North America before discovering what sent Jesus on a death march. Then we will need to revisit one of Jesus' most famous parables looking for meaning beyond the obvious. Following that we need to chat briefly with Brené Brown, take ourselves back to a tragedy of the late 90s, then eavesdrop on the thousands of conversations that happen in therapy sessions every single day. Finally, we will arrive at our mountain top destination only to confront an uncomfortable truth about the Jesus Path: the path is taking you straight to your death—and that is somehow good news?!?!

The Path of Shame (S13 Episode21)

One final week exploring the dead-end side trails that tempt us off the Jesus Path before we start some real climbing for the season of Lent. For this final week of tempting serpentine side trails, we will be exploring the Path of Shame. 
 

I am hoping to take us into why this path of shame so often leads us nowhere, why I think this path is a particular temptation for people at Nexus, and what the apostle Paul did about his own sense of shame. Of course, I am no stranger to shame, so I will be bringing along a rather unpleasant experience of my own to share with you. All in all, I hope this will be both a fun and illuminating Sunday for each of us.