The Madison Church Podcast

The holidays can feel like a collision—warm lights and hard memories, generosity campaigns and a quiet fear that there still won’t be enough. We lean into that tension and ask a harder question: what would it take to move from being inspired by generosity to becoming intentional about it? Starting with Advent’s core meaning—waiting—we explore why “no room at the inn” is more than a nativity detail. It’s a mirror for our scarcity mi...

The rush of the season tells us to hurry, upgrade, and control. We chose a different rhythm. Advent invites us to slow down and remember that generosity doesn’t start with our wallets or our willpower; it starts with God giving himself in love. From there, everything changes—our identity, our pace, and the way we hold our resources, relationships, and plans.

We walk through the story of Mary to show how availability matter...

What if God is already at the table you’ve been avoiding? Acts 10 turns the insider–outsider story on its head as we follow a devout Roman centurion named Cornelius and a sincere, reluctant apostle named Peter. We walk through the rooftop vision that rattles Peter’s categories, the front-door threshold that tests his obedience, and the living room moment where the Holy Spirit rushes in before the sermon even lands. No waiting perio...

A busy week of small groups, service, and shared life sets the stage for one of the most unsettling turns in the early church: the moment an enemy knocks on the door and says, “I’m with you now.” We walk through Saul’s shock encounter with the risen Jesus and the identity crash that follows, then sit with Ananias’ very human hesitation. Why trust someone who hurt us? What does real repentance look like? And how do we protect the vu...

What if healing is far bigger than the miracle headline? We follow Peter into the quiet rooms of Acts 9 where there are no stages, no microphones, and no grand speeches—only grief, prayer, and the kind of mercy that stitches a neighborhood back together. Aeneas walks. Tabitha rises. But the deeper story is how dignity is restored, belonging is renewed, and a community finds hope again.

We share why divine healing feels com...

What if the moment your plans fell apart wasn’t the end, but the opening move of a better story? We dive into Acts 8 to trace a surprising pattern: the church goes from thriving to scattered, from safety to persecution, and somehow the mission doesn’t shrink—it expands. Stephen’s death mirrors the path of Jesus, not by explaining suffering away, but by revealing how love walks into it and turns it into life. That’s the paradox at t...

What if the Bible’s big story could be summed up in a single movement: God taking back what was always His? We follow that thread—from Israel’s chains in Egypt to Jesus’ startling claim in Mark 10 that he gives his life as a ransom for many—and discover that redemption is less about paying off darkness and more about a decisive rescue that restores rightful ownership.

We unpack the language behind “ransom” and “redeem,” ex...

What if the quiet crisis in modern Christianity isn’t doubt, but distraction—a version of faith that sounds right and changes little? We go straight at the subtle Gnosticism that still haunts church culture today: the lure of secret knowledge, the shrug toward the physical world, and the fantasy of escape. Then we lay it beside Paul’s charge in Romans 12 to offer our bodies as living worship and James’s blunt verdict that faith wit...

What if the ideas blurring your faith are older than you think—and far sneakier? We trace the enduring pull of Gnosticism, the age‑old promise that secret knowledge can lift you above ordinary life, and we measure it against the clarity of Scripture. Colossians 1 stands like a lighthouse in the fog, naming Jesus as the visible image of the invisible God, the creator who holds all things together and reconciles heaven and earth. Tha...

Have you ever felt at war with your own body? Perhaps you've tried to escape it through overwork, screen time, or numbing behaviors. Maybe you've obsessed over perfecting it, measuring your worth by fitness levels or appearance. Either way, the message is clear: your body, as it exists right now, isn't enough.

This powerful message challenges that harmful narrative by exploring how God sees our physical exis...

Have you ever heard someone say "I'm spiritual but not religious" or "everything happens for a reason"? These well-meaning phrases attempt to bring comfort and order to life's chaos, but they often represent a blurred vision of Christianity—one that promises easy answers instead of genuine transformation.

Pastor Stephen challenges us to consider whether we've reduced Jesus to a vague spir...

What does it mean to be faithful when your plans fall apart? Eleven years ago, Madison Church launched with meticulously researched strategies, countless prayers, and 200 empty chairs. Only 20 people showed up that first Sunday—half of them family members visiting from out of town. The humiliation was crushing, but looking back now reveals how God was writing a better story than anyone could have imagined.

This anniversary...

What if your personality is secretly sabotaging your generosity? This eye-opening exploration of the "shadow sides" of our giving profiles reveals why some of us hesitate when opportunities to give arise—and it's not always about money.

Through a fascinating examination of the DISC personality assessment and six distinct generosity profiles, we discover that our weaknesses are actually intertwined with our s...

What remains when we remove Christ from Christianity? A powerful exploration of how modern Christianity often betrays its namesake by replacing love with judgment, inclusion with exclusion, and grace with condemnation.

Through vulnerable personal stories and penetrating cultural analysis, we confront the uncomfortable reality that Gandhi articulated: "I like your Christ, but not your Christianity." From turning a...

Do you ever feel like you're on a spiritual treadmill with God? Running faster, praying more, serving more—yet somehow not moving forward in your relationship with him? You're not alone.

Pastor Stephen Feith tackles this universal struggle head-on, revealing how our performance-driven culture shapes our approach to faith. When we treat God like a boss to impress or a coach deciding if we'll make the team, we...

What if the beautiful flowers we showcase on social media were just the perfect frame hiding a garden overrun with weeds? That carefully curated image represents how many of us approach not just our online presence, but our spiritual lives as well.

In this deeply introspective exploration, we examine the concept of spiritual authenticity through the lens of Jesus's teachings in Matthew 6. Like those famous London town...

Have you ever felt like you're doing all the "right" spiritual things but still missing something? This profound question opens our exploration of how we can unintentionally trade relationship with God for routines centered around God.

The Pharisees were devoted, serious about Scripture, and committed to living how they thought God wanted. Yet when confronted with God in the flesh, they completely missed him...

When confronted with a woman caught in adultery, Jesus faced a carefully crafted trap. The Pharisees, delighting in their judgment, expected him to either condemn her according to Mosaic law or reveal himself as a false teacher by showing mercy. Instead, Jesus turned their trap against them with eight powerful words: "Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone."

This sermon examines how easily we slip...

The gap between knowing and living, between religious performance and authentic faith—this is where many of us find ourselves today. In this challenging and heartfelt message, Stephen Feith opens a new six-week series with a question that hits close to home: "Have you ever done the right thing for the wrong reasons?"

Drawing from Matthew 23, Stephen examines why the Pharisees—people who believed in Scripture, the...