Read With Me, Please

Time to stop and review the Nicodemus discussion. We need to go back to the beginning of John chapter 3, to read again the words of being "born again." Now we enter the discussion and begin to see that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. And this way is simulateously wide and vast and welcoming and yet, as unique as Christ's own self. It is a wide highway and a narrow way, a ladder to heaven, but a way with angels ascending a...

Why does Jesus clear the temple courts? Overturning their tables and scattering their money? Later on, why does Nicodemus come to Jesus at night? Under the cover of darkness? And what does it mean to be "born from above" or "born again"? 

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of John. In these verses, Jesus visits Jerusalem during the Passover Festival, clears the temple courts, and has an interesting encounter...

Season 2 Continues!

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of John. In this episode, Jesus begins to attract disciples. The invitation is often, "Come and see."

What will you see if you take the first step towards following this Jesus?

What will discover if you open your heart to listen and explore and ponder who this Jesus may be?

Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathanael one by one, or two by two, are brave enough, curious enough,...

Season 2 Continues! 

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of John. In this episode, we read about John the Baptist and his role in anticipating the Messiah.

The religious leaders of the day are curious, or even concerned, about who John the Baptist was--was he the Messiah? And so they come and question him in the wilderness near the Jordan River. 

The theme of sight (knowing and believing) is prevalent in this ...

The heart of it all. Part 3. The End.

The story ends with resurrection, a sudden turn towards hope. The morning greets the wide horizon of opportunity with a twinkle and a smile. And together we profess the mystery of the faith:

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ will come again.

Read along as Matthew guides us through the final verses of Luke's Gospel. This story ends with the resurrected Jesus blessing the disciples and ascendin...

The heart of it all.

 Read along as Matthew guides us through the crucifixion of Jesus, as told in Luke 23:26-49. Watch as humanity's ugliness and violence clashes with God's loving gaze. Watch as the Son of God dies, unfairly, undeservedly. Watch as Jesus Christ absorbs all the pain and suffering and sin and sadness in this world. Watch as Jesus loves faithfully his Father and this world through it all. 

Matthew Schmidt is...

The heart of it all. Part 2.

The crucifixion of Jesus is disruptive, like an avalanche or a flood or a hurricane, a whirlwind of sadness, the fullness of death itself. But the story of Jesus does not end in disaster or catastrophe or death. This is a different kind of story. A Euchatastrophe. A story about newness of life. After all seems to be lost forever, there is a sudden turn towards goodness and light. Light bursts forth. Chri...

What is God's will? And what is the will of the people? What is your will?

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus has been arrested and interrogated by the religious leaders. Now he is dragged before Pilot who speaks for the empire of Rome. Pilate struggles to find fault in Jesus, but ultimately the crowds persuade him. Pilate must submit to the will of those around him in order to maintai...

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus is finishing his conversation with the disciples at "The Last Supper," then he goes out to pray on the Mount of Olives. While praying in the middle of the night, Judas arrives and betrays him. Jesus is arrested while "darkness reigns." When they take him away, Peter follows at a distance. Peter disowns, denies, his allegiance to Jesus, a signal that ...

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus and his disciples are in Jerusalem in the last days before the Passover. Jesus is warning his disciples about the apocalypse, the changing of the times. He tries to teach his followers to not lose heart, to keep watch, to rely on his trustworthy words. One of his closest followers, Judas, agrees to betray him when no crowds can see the twisted plot t...

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus continues to teach from within the Temple in the days leading up to the Passover Festival. The city and the Temple are abuzz with energy and much of the todo is centered on this Messianic figure--Jesus of Nazareth. The religious leaders are beyond skeptical and wish to trap Jesus, to turn the crowds against him, to rile people up, but meanwhile, Jesu...

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus enters Jerusalem as King, enters the Temple as the true High Priest, and thus causes much conflict between himself and the religious leaders. They question his authority, and Jesus retorts their challenge with a brilliant answer. Listen along with us, please!

Matthew Schmidt is the Pastor of St. Paul's United Church of Christ located in the beautiful ...

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus continues his traveling towards Jerusalem. He stops outside Jericho and heals a blind man, then he parades through Jericho and meets a tax collector named Zacchaeus. Questions pervade these stories: What is blindness and what is true sight? Who is welcome in this Jesus movement? Who does Jesus seek? 

Matthew Schmidt is the Pastor of St. Paul's Un...

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus tells the Parable of the Persistent Widow and the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Jesus also welcomes little children to have a special place in the kingdom of God. Then he has a discussion with a certain ruler about eternal life. Finally, Jesus predicts his own death and resurrection a third time. 

Matthew Schmidt is the Pastor of...

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus is traveling between Galilee and Samaria, and he heals ten men with leprosy. But only one of them returns to say thank you. Why do some of us recognize God's handiwork and blessings in our lives, while others fail to see what's really going on? Next, Jesus get's into a discussion with the Pharisees about the kingdom of God and when or how that might ...

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus tells the Parable of the Shrewd Manager and teaches about money, Moses and the prophets,  and our ultimate hope -- God's redeeming grace. In a world where sin is very real, Jesus is asking his followers to be people of forgiveness, trusting in Christ's redeeming grace. And we respond like the disciples, "Increase our faith!"

Matthew Schmidt is th...

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus encounters a challenge from Pharisees about his table fellowship practices that include sinners and tax collectors. Why does Jesus choose to associate with "those people"? Jesus tells the Parable of the Lost Sheep to explain, as well as the Parable of the Lost Coin. God, Jesus explains, is seeking and saving the lost. God wants to find and rescue and...