What if your soul is carrying more than it was made to hold? Between constant headlines and endless scrolling, we’re all feeling the weight of a world that never powers down. Today we slow the tide and step into John 14, where Jesus speaks straight to anxious hearts. Philip asks for a sign—“Show us the Father”—and Jesus answers with a deeper invitation: to see Him, listen to Him, and be kept by His Word when everything else shakes.

We walk through the farewell discourse with fresh eyes, exploring why the Word precedes the works, and how that order changes our everyday resilience. Together we name the trap of faux omnipresence, the drift toward believing “anything” in distress, and the quiet courage of be still and know. From there, we get practical. We talk about taking our hands off what we can’t control, cultivating a real relationship with Scripture, and learning to delight in God rather than our fears, our feeds, or the need to be right. These aren’t vague ideals—they’re simple habits that retrain attention, deepen trust, and steady our steps.

We also press into a piercing question: are we content to know about God, or are we becoming people God knows—shaped by His voice, responsive to His lead, and guarded from stumbling by what He has spoken? If your heart feels thin from carrying too much news and too little hope, this conversation offers a grounded path back to peace. Listen now, share it with someone who needs a reset, and if it helps you breathe a little deeper, subscribe and leave a review so others can find it too. Your words help our community grow.

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What if church wasn’t a product but a countercurrent—something that pulls us out of the cultural river and teaches us to live differently? We open up a candid look at why a healthy church community still matters: not as a perfect institution, but as a living alternative to polarization, loneliness, and consumer thinking. Drawing from Israel’s origin story—justice for the vulnerable, honest measures in business, a sexual ethic that dignifies bodies—we trace how an ancient calling can shape modern communities to bless their neighbors, not mirror the marketplace.

Across the conversation, we call out the drift toward “consumer religion,” where music and preaching are rated like apps, and move instead toward participation: serving, giving, and shared worship that forms character. We contrast the internet’s shallow notes—hot takes, instant outrage, and algorithmic speed—with the base notes of the Christian tradition: covenant, mercy, repentance, hope. Those deeper tones invite us to sit with better questions—Who am I? Whose am I? What really matters?—and to practice habits that resist hurry, image-making, and self-promotion.

This is a vision for a multi-generational, cross-class, politically diverse people who gather for something bigger than themselves and then carry that presence into ordinary life—boardrooms and breakrooms, kitchens and city councils. Honest work, hospitality to strangers, care for the poor, peacemaking across divides: these aren’t extras; they are the point. If you’ve been searching for a place that exchanges transaction for trust and speed for substance, consider this your invitation to explore a community defined by grace, truth, and shared life.

If the message resonates, share this episode with a friend, subscribe for future reflections, and leave a review to help others find the show. And if you’re local, join us at Central in Elk River—8:30 for our liturgical gathering or 10:00 for our modern gathering—or visit clcelkriver.org.

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What if the most peaceful season of your life still made room for worry—and that became your greatest teacher? Coming back from a seven-week sabbatical, I share the highs and hiccups: hiking the Dolomites on breathless trails, a tense comedy of errors while driving in Germany, simple joy with my granddaughter, and the quiet ways God showed up when the plans didn’t. Along the way, Jesus’ piercing question—“Why worry?”—moved from a verse I knew to a practice I needed.

We trace that question through the Sermon on the Mount where birds and wildflowers become our teachers. You’ll hear how splitting our trust between God and control fuels anxiety, why 91% of our fears never materialize, and how small, concrete shifts—like a guide’s calm instructions on a cliff—can retrain the heart toward faith. I talk about breath prayers on steep climbs, choosing attention over rumination, and what it means to seek the kingdom first when life feels loud, uncertain, or just plain exhausting.

A redemption story brings it home: a friend once marked by addiction, prison, and loss found freedom in Christ before the state ever granted her pardon. When the legal “yes” finally came, it confirmed what grace had already settled. That’s the heartbeat here—God’s provision is steadier than our plans, His timing wiser than our calendars, and His presence nearer than our fear. If you’re carrying worries about family, health, money, or the future, this conversation offers Scripture, honesty, and practical steps to release control and rest in the One who holds tomorrow. Subscribe, share with someone who needs courage today, and leave a review telling us the one worry you’re ready to lay down.

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Ever wondered why rituals matter? In this thought-provoking exploration, Ryan dives into the transformative power of church community and how it fundamentally shapes who we become.

Drawing from Aristotle's wisdom that "we are what we repeatedly do," they unpack how our regular practices—whether exercise, complaining, gratitude, or worship—slowly mold us into particular kinds of people. The episode reveals the anthropological truth that humans across all cultures have always been ritual-creating beings, not by coincidence but because rituals serve a profound psychological and spiritual purpose.

Through compelling examples like the disruption of funeral rituals during COVID and the importance of marriage ceremonies, Ryan illustrates how rituals take abstract ideals like love and forgiveness and give them concrete, embodied expression. He introduces the fascinating concept of church as a "Jesus Dojo"—a practice ground where we rehearse resurrection living and experiment with countercultural values like forgiveness, patience, and sacrificial love.

Perhaps most powerfully, Ryan explains how worship gently decenters our egos, positioning us within a larger narrative and creating healthier patterns of relating to others and the world. By participating in these ancient rhythms, we're making intentional choices about who we want to become.

Whether you're a regular churchgoer, spiritually curious, or skeptical about organized religion, this episode offers a fresh perspective on why communal rituals matter for human flourishing. What rituals are shaping your life right now? Join the conversation and share your thoughts!

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In this episode, Pastor Ryan unpacks the powerful story of the bleeding woman in the Gospels—the moment she reaches out to touch Jesus’ garment and is instantly healed. What seems like a simple act of desperation is actually a profound display of faith, courage, and restoration.

Ryan explores how Jesus’ question, “Who touched me?”, isn’t about ignorance but about bringing her healing into the light—transforming private pain into public restoration. This story reveals what it means to be truly seen, named, and included by Jesus.

Whether you’ve ever felt overlooked, unworthy, or on the margins, this episode reminds us that faith connects us to the power of Christ and that His response is always to restore, not to shame.

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Ever wonder why church still matters in our digital age? This episode tackles the profound human need for meaning and belonging that church uniquely addresses. Through personal stories and thoughtful reflection, we explore how the church provides a tether to something larger than ourselves in an increasingly disconnected world.

The Latin word for religion—"religio"—literally means "to be tethered to something." What are you anchored to? We all seek something to frame our understanding of life, and church offers a deeper story that can provide direction and purpose. Beyond philosophical frameworks, church reminds us we're not alone. Despite our hyper-connected world, loneliness has reached epidemic proportions, and the weekly rhythm of gathering creates community that sociologists link to increased resilience and better mental health.

What makes church particularly valuable today is its embodied nature. While online connections serve important purposes, they cannot replicate physical presence. Standing beside someone fundamentally different from yourself—someone who might vote differently or live differently—and sharing bread creates a solidarity that transcends our divisions. These shared rituals actually synchronize our physiological responses, creating bonding at a biological level that screens simply cannot replicate. As "third spaces" beyond home and work continue disappearing, church offers a dedicated space centered around collective experience rather than individual consumption.

Ready to explore what church might offer you? Not all congregations are the same—finding a community that resonates with your values while challenging you in healthy ways might require some exploration. Join us next episode as we continue our three-part series on why church matters more than ever. And if you're in the Elk River area, we'd love to welcome you at Central—whether at our 8:30 liturgical gathering or 10:00 modern service. Share this episode with someone who might benefit from finding their own community of meaning and belonging.

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What if the most powerful spiritual practice isn't finding answers, but asking better questions?

When Jesus encountered his first followers, he didn't greet them with a sermon or statement of faith. Instead, he asked a deceptively simple question that cuts straight to the heart of human existence: "What are you looking for?"

This question—the first words Jesus speaks in John's gospel—reveals something profound about spiritual growth. In ancient Jewish tradition, faith wasn't about memorizing correct answers but wrestling with meaningful questions. Jesus carried this tradition forward, asking over 300 questions throughout his ministry. These weren't rhetorical devices but invitations to relationship, dialogue, and transformation.

Questions operate on multiple levels. When Jesus asks "What are you looking for?", he's inviting us to examine what we're truly pursuing in life. Many of us chase surface-level desires—wealth, fame, pleasure, uniqueness—without recognizing the deeper longings beneath them: to be seen, to belong, to matter, to find meaning, to receive grace we don't deserve.

The disciples responded to Jesus' question with a question of their own: "Rabbi, where are you staying?" This wasn't evasion but engagement—the beginning of a relationship built on dialogue rather than passive reception. Jesus' response was equally significant: "Come and see." Not a lecture or list of rules, but an invitation to journey and discover.

As we navigate our complex modern lives with endless demands and distractions, could we benefit from living inside good questions rather than clinging to rigid certainties? What are you truly looking for? What lies beneath your surface pursuits? These questions won't be answered in a day, but living with them, wrestling with them, might lead to the transformation your soul is actually seeking.

Subscribe now and join us as we explore Jesus' most profound questions and discover how they still speak powerfully to our lives today.

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Revelation might be the most misinterpreted book in the Bible. Far from being a cryptic code predicting modern events or a Rubik's cube of end-times prophecy, this mysterious text reveals something far more powerful: a vision of hope for believers facing persecution.

Ryan unpacks how Revelation functioned as apocalyptic literature—not predicting distant futures but "unveiling" present realities from a divine perspective. Written to first-century Christians struggling under Roman oppression, the book showed believers who felt crushed by imperial demands that the Lamb of God, not Caesar, truly sat on the cosmic throne. Those vivid, sometimes frightening symbols weren't puzzles for 21st-century Christians to decode, but representations of powers these early believers encountered daily.

The beast? Roman emperors demanding worship. Babylon? An empire built on exploitation and greed. That infamous "mark of the beast"? Historical evidence reveals citizens in cities like Hierapolis had to receive actual marks after emperor worship to buy and sell in marketplaces. These symbols speak just as powerfully today when we recognize modern "beasts" and "Babylons" demanding our allegiance.

This fresh perspective transforms Revelation from a source of confusion or fear into a profound reminder that even when it seems like chaos reigns, Jesus remains seated on the throne. What empire, ideology, or system threatens to pull your allegiance away from Christ today? Whose mark do you bear? When we see above the fray, we find courage to remain faithful even in our most challenging circumstances. The Lamb who was slain still reigns—and that changes everything.

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