Archives: Episode

Job’s Lament and Loss

Written by Faith2014 on .

What do you do when your world falls apart? Everything Job holds dear – his property, his family, his wealth, his physical health – has been taken from him. Reduced to suffering and misery, Job laments his circumstances and tries to make sense of what has happened to him. How do we also seek to make meaning of our pain? Listen as Pastor Kate considers where to find understanding when nothing makes sense and our lives have fallen apart.

Accompanying Scripture:
Job 28: 12-28

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Job's Lament and Loss
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Moses’ Mother Gives Moses Up So He Can Live

Written by Faith2014 on .

We often take for granted this week’s story of Moses’s mom putting him a basket and floating him down the river to his eventual safety and future. It’s easy to see it as only a plot point in a fascinating tale that ends with God’s people being liberated from slavery. Yet, it is so much more than that – it is a testament to real love, the strength it takes to say goodbye to someone you hold so dear, and the risk that can be involved when we choose life. Listen as Pastor Kate considers how there is great strength in vulnerability and that real love sometimes means letting go.

Accompanying Scripture:
Exodus 1:22; 2:1-10

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Moses' Mother Gives Moses Up So He Can Live
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Doubting Thomas

Written by Faith2014 on .

Doubting Thomas gets a bad rap. First, the man he had hoped would change the world and bet his whole life on was dead and things looked bleak for anyone known to follow Jesus. In the midst of his grief, hope was distant and even though Thomas and the other disciples trusted Jesus, they doubted he was really coming back. So it’s no wonder the disciples locked themselves away from the world, huddled together in an attempt to save themselves. Yet Jesus finds them anyway and it is in that encounter, they are extended real, lasting peace. Listen as Pastor Kate considers the ways our fear, grief, and pain cast doubt in our lives and how Jesus encounters us to bind us back together.

Accompanying Scripture:
John 20: 19-29

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Doubting Thomas
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The Samaritan Woman at the Well

Written by Faith2014 on .

Many of us have parts of ourselves that we hide from the world because we are ashamed or worry about others reactions. Yet, God knows what those things are and still loves us. In our reading this week, we encounter Jesus at the well with a Samaritan woman who was there midday probably because she didn’t want to worry about the stares and snide comments she would receive if she went another time. Listen as Pastor Kate explores how in that encounter, this woman’s shame is unraveled by Jesus’s love for her – a love that extends to each of us.

Accompanying Scripture:
John 4:1-29

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The Samaritan Woman at the Well
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Encouraging the Israelites in Exile to Plant Gardens & Build Houses

Written by Faith2014 on .

Sometimes we need to plan a funeral for our dreams because maybe then we can grieve the broken dreams and begin to see the beauty that surrounds us. This week we hear God tell the Jewish people exiled away from their homeland to begin to put down roots in Babylon – to build houses and plant gardens. Listen as Pastor Kate considers how letting one dream die might open us up to new dreams and new possibilities.

Accompanying Scripture:
Jeremiah 29:1-7

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Encouraging the Israelites in Exile to Plant Gardens & Build Houses
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The Conversion of Saul to Paul

Written by Faith2014 on .

Change is the only constant in the world. And yet, it is something so many of us push back against, fight, or refuse to do. So much so, that it might take an act of God to put us on a different path – something the Apostle Paul knows all about. This week we hear the story of how Saul has a change of heart and stops persecuting the Christians to become an apostle who proclaims Jesus to the world while another disciple, Ananias, takes a risk and trusts God to encounter the newly converted Saul so he can regain his sight. Listen as Pastor Kate considers what it might take for us to change our minds, both about what we believe and whether we can trust other people have actually changed.

Accompanying Scripture:
Acts 9: 1-20

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The Conversion of Saul to Paul
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Pharaoh Hardens His Heart to Moses’ Requests

Written by Faith2014 on .

Is there really enough? Pharaoh would say no. God always says yes, there is always enough. Listen as Pastor Kate considers whether we trust God’s abundance and desire for freedom and justice, or if we, like Pharaoh, unravel God’s plans with our belief there simply isn’t enough to go around.

Accompanying Scripture:
Exodus 5:1-2; 7:8-23

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Pharaoh Hardens His Heart to Moses’ Requests
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Zacchaeus the Wealthy Tax Collector

Written by Faith2014 on .

If we are to consider who might be worthy enough to host Jesus in our homes, some would likely either mimic a couple of the disciples who believed they were worthy and argued as to who should sit at Jesus’ right hand, or simply assume that they were not worthy. If you asked the crowd gathered to see Jesus when he finds Zacchaeus up in a tree trying to see, nobody would have said Zacchaeus. As a wealthy tax collector who profited from unjust tax collection, he was a sinner and had defrauded his own people. Yet, Jesus asks to be invited to his house for dinner. Listen as Pastor Kate explores this text and the ways Jesus has of unraveling our expectations – about who is worthy, who we are, and how we see the world.

Accompanying Scripture:
Luke 19: 1-10

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Zacchaeus the Wealthy Tax Collector
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Rizpah Mourns Her Sons

Written by Faith2014 on .

This week we read a story in worship you may not have heard before, in which Rizpah, one of Saul’s wives, very publicly mourns her sons – refusing to hide her grief. Listen as guest pastor Rev. Christopher Otten considers what it means to mourn our own losses, maybe even publicly.

Accompanying Scripture:
2 Samuel 3:7; 21:1-14

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Rizpah Mourns Her Sons
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Peter Sinks in the Water

Written by Faith2014 on .

This week we hear the story of Peter’s attempt to walk across the water to Jesus, only to take one step onto the water and then begin to sink. Peter’s confidence unravels right there in the wind and the waves. Fortunately for him and for us, Jesus is there, the boat is there, his friends are there. Listen as Intern Pastor Miriam explores how while time and time again the past year-and-a-half has left us sinking in doubt and uncertainty, God is with us, ready to steady us with an outstretched hand.

Accompanying Scripture:
Matthew 14:22-33

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Peter Sinks in the Water
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Faith Lutheran Church

3313 Arlington Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201

703.525.9283 (Church)
703.525.1375 (Preschool)

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10 AM with Livestream

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