Christ Presbyterian Church

This sermon reflects on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5 about reconciliation, emphasizing that because God sacrificed to reconcile humanity through Jesus, Christians are called to pursue reconciliation in their own relationships, even when it is painful or uncomfortable. Using personal stories about motherhood and conflict with her daughter, the pastor illustrates how pride, fear, justification, and shame often keep people from apologizing or taking the first step toward healing, while true reconciliation requires humility and ownership of one’s part. Ultimately, the sermon encourages listeners to trust the Holy Spirit, embrace the discomfort of difficult conversations, and pursue restored relationships as an expression of the grace and forgiveness they themselves have received from God.

This episode explores Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing that He came not to abolish the Old Testament law but to fulfill it, shifting the focus from rule-following to a transformed life rooted in trust in Him. The conversation highlights how Scripture is meant to shape and transform us relationally, not just serve as a checklist, producing righteousness over time as we grow in faith. 

This sermon emphasizes that while rules are good and necessary, they cannot transform our hearts—only a relationship with Jesus can truly change who we are. Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it, shifting the focus from external rule-keeping to internal heart transformation and a life rooted in connection with Him. Ultimately, the Christian life is about receiving Christ’s righteousness and becoming more like Him, rather than trying to earn it through checking religious boxes.

This sermon contrasts the “way of the saint” with the pursuit of celebrity, emphasizing that Jesus calls his followers to live as “salt and light” by humbly depending on Him and drawing close to the needs of others. Using biblical imagery and examples, it explains that God’s people are meant to bring transformation and blessing to the world through faithful presence, not personal influence or success. Ultimately, the message highlights that Jesus Himself embodies this calling, and as believers rely on Him, His love and faithfulness flow through them to impact others.

This episode explores the final Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing that following Jesus may lead to suffering or persecution rather than earthly reward, but ultimately grounds believers in God’s kingdom. Petey Crowder explains that Christians often mistakenly expect comfort, success, or recognition, when in reality living out Jesus’ way—through humility, justice, and sacrifice—can put them at odds with the world and cost them approval or opportunity. The conversation concludes that true faith is often formed through weakness, discomfort, and everyday choices to live differently, where God’s presence and lasting transformation are found.

This sermon uses the image of hiking against a crowd to illustrate how following Jesus often puts believers at odds with the world, especially when living out the Beatitudes. It explains that persecution is not something to seek or exaggerate, but something that naturally comes when one faithfully lives in allegiance to Jesus rather than worldly values. Ultimately, while this way may cost approval and comfort, it anchors a person in God’s kingdom, where true blessing, purpose, and lasting security are found.

This episode introduces a new sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing the importance of slowly engaging Scripture and trusting God to transform people through His Word. The conversation explores how the Beatitudes are not a checklist for earning blessing, but an invitation to depend on Jesus—revealing both our need for Him and a way of life shaped by His presence and grace. Ultimately, the discussion highlights that a “blessed life” is not self-made, but formed by surrendering self-sufficiency and allowing God to work through both our lack and our abundance.

This sermon contrasts the world’s definition of a “blessed” life—success, status, and self-achievement—with Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes, where blessing means experiencing God’s presence, not perfect circumstances. A truly blessed life begins with recognizing our need for God and grows as His character overflows into others. Rather than striving to earn blessing, we are invited to release self-sufficiency, grieve misplaced pursuits, and receive a life with God, where blessing is found in His presence, not our performance.

This episode introduces a post-Easter conversation where Melissa Schaser interviews Petey Crowder about his Easter sermon, which focused on baptism and the call to leave behind old patterns of sin to embrace new life in Christ. They reflect on Holy Week traditions—such as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Watch Night service—highlighting how each service prepares believers to understand Jesus’ death and resurrection more deeply.

This sermon emphasizes that people often search for fulfillment in places that ultimately leave them empty, like returning to a permanently closed store, rather than turning to Jesus. Through the resurrection story in Luke 24, it highlights that Jesus’ victory over death offers true, lasting life and freedom from old patterns of sin, shame, and dissatisfaction. Easter is presented not just as an inspiring story, but as an invitation to embrace a completely new life in Christ and live in the reality of that transformation.

Baptism is described as a sacrament that represents God’s saving work and initiating love, serving as an outward sign of an inward grace. This discussion highlights why both infants and adults are baptized, emphasizing that God’s claim on us comes before our response and is nurtured within a faith community. It also encourages believers to be baptized as a meaningful, physical expression of faith that marks identity in Christ and connects them to the church.

This sermon reflects on Jesus walking on water in Matthew 14, showing that true courage is not found in favorable circumstances or personal strength, but in trusting Jesus amid fear and uncertainty. Through Peter’s experience, it teaches that courage is a steady commitment to follow Jesus, even when faith falters, because Jesus comes to us, reveals Himself, calls us to be with Him, and saves us when we cry out. Ultimately, the message reminds believers that despite doubt and failure, Jesus never loses His grip on them, which is the true source of lasting courage.

This episode centers on Jesus’ baptism, emphasizing that God’s love comes before His call—Jesus is affirmed as beloved before beginning His ministry, showing we act from God’s love, not to earn it. The conversation explores how God’s love is relational and unconditional toward our identity, yet not the same as approving all our actions, highlighting the importance of repentance and ongoing forgiveness. It concludes by illustrating how weakness and need open us to experience God’s grace more deeply, allowing the Gospel to transform us and flow into others.

This sermon teaches that Jesus’ baptism was not about His need for cleansing, but about identifying with humanity so He could make all things right and bring us into His life. At that moment, God declares Jesus as His beloved Son before He does anything, showing that God’s love always comes before His call—a truth that defines our identity as well. The message invites believers to stop striving for approval and instead live from the secure, unchanging reality that they are already deeply loved by God.

This episode of Pastor’s Cut reflects on a sermon about Naaman’s healing in Second Kings, focusing on themes of humility, obedience, and the transformative power of simple spiritual practices. The discussion explores theological perspectives on physical and spiritual healing, emphasizing faithful trust in God’s work amid both miracles and suffering. 

This sermon reflects on the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5, emphasizing that even a powerful and successful person could not overcome his deepest need for healing on his own. His eventual willingness to humbly follow God’s simple instruction reveals that true healing comes through surrender, trust, and God’s grace rather than human achievement or status. The message ultimately points to Jesus and baptism as signs that God offers deeper healing for the soul, inviting people to stop striving for self-fixing and instead receive new life from Him.

This episode of Pastor’s Cut features a conversation about a sermon on Exodus 14, where God parts the sea to deliver the Israelites, illustrating how sin can both surround and pursue people like the sea and the Egyptian army. The pastors discuss how sin is not only personal wrongdoing but also a broken force in the world that pushes people toward needing God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ. They also connect the story to Baptism, describing it as a gift that marks believers as part of God’s covenant family and a reminder of God’s deliverance and grace.

Pastor Melissa Schaser preaches on the Israelites’ fear in Exodus 14 when they were trapped between the sea and Pharaoh’s army, illustrating how sin both blocks our path and pursues us. She explains that the Hebrew word "Yeshua" (deliverance) points forward to Jesus, who ultimately rescues humanity from the power of sin. Baptism is presented as a sign that believers belong to God and can trust that He will make a way even when they feel surrounded or stuck.

On Pastor’s Cut, Melissa Schaser interviews Petey Crowder about his sermon on Noah in the “Through the Waters” series at CPC, exploring how the flood story reveals a grieving yet faithful God who confronts sin and ultimately promises to bear judgment Himself through Jesus. They discuss the theology and historicity of Genesis, emphasizing that the story primarily reveals God’s character, covenant commitment, and the cleansing, renewing grace symbolized in baptism. 

This sermon explores the story of Noah and the flood in the Book of Genesis, emphasizing that it is not a children’s tale but a sobering account of a grieving God confronting the deep corruption of human sin. Rather than acting out of anger, God responds out of heartbreak, using the flood as both judgment and a means of purification, an “uncreation” that makes way for a new creation and covenant faithfulness. Ultimately, the story points forward to the greater rescue found and fulfilled through Jesus, where sin is decisively defeated not by another flood, but by grace that brings new life.

In this episode of Pastor’s Cut, Melissa interviews Emily Hamilton about the inspiration behind the “Through the Waters” sermon series at Christ Presbyterian Church, which traces major water stories throughout Scripture to highlight the unity of God’s redemptive story and the meaning of baptism. Emily explains the many gifts of baptism—reminding us that we are created and beloved by God, cleansed and raised to new life in Christ, and initiated into God’s family—while contrasting Genesis’ hopeful creation narrative with both ancient myths and modern cultural stories about identity and worth.

Pastor Emily describes baptism as a gift from God, like a beautifully wrapped package containing many smaller gifts that remind us we are seen, loved, and claimed by Him. Reflecting on Genesis 1, she highlights how God brings order and life out of chaotic waters, offering a hopeful counterstory both to ancient Babylonian myths and to today’s pressure to create and define ourselves. Baptism, she says, grounds our identity not in self-creation but in receiving the truth that we belong to a good Creator who continues to bring life out of chaos in us.

On the Pastors Cut podcast, Joe McDonald reflects on returning to staff and preaching the final message in the “Invited” series, centered on Revelation’s closing invitation, “Come, Lord Jesus.” He shares how a vision of a diverse multitude worshiping Christ and the concept of “spiritual martyrdom”—a humble surrender of self so Christ can live through us—shaped his message and challenged listeners to follow the Spirit’s daily nudges. 

Pastor Joe McDonald reflects on meaningful invitations in his life and connects them to the Bible’s final prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus,” in Revelation 22. He explains that Revelation offers hope and assurance of Jesus’ promised return, not a timeline to decode. The invitation “Come, Lord Jesus” is both a longing for Christ’s return and a call to live as his witnesses in the world now.

In this episode of Pastors Cut, Petey Crowder reflects on his sermon about Hebrews’ invitation to “come boldly to the throne of grace,” emphasizing Jesus as both our great High Priest and King, whose primary mission is to save and reconcile us to God. He discusses common misconceptions about Jesus—reducing him to a social service provider, political culture warrior, power confronter, or personal genie—and argues that these distortions distract from Christ’s central saving work.

This sermon centers on Hebrews 4:14–16, presenting Jesus as the great High Priest who fully understands human weakness and invites us to come boldly and honestly before God to receive grace and mercy. It challenges distorted views of Jesus by emphasizing that his primary work is healing human brokenness through his once-for-all sacrifice, not merely affirming us or fixing others.

This episode of Pastor’s Cut features host Melissa Schaser in conversation with Emily Hamilton, who reflects on her sermon from John 11 and Jesus raising Lazarus, emphasizing how Jesus is Lord over death and invites the community to participate in making space for new life. Emily and Melissa explore how spiritual growth often requires honest community, naming “grave clothes” that still bind us, and helping one another respond to Jesus’ call into life. 

This sermon reflects on Jesus raising Lazarus to show that human beings are ultimately powerless before death, but God fiercely opposes death and has authority over it. By connecting this story to present-day suffering, it emphasizes that death is not just physical but a destructive power at work in the world, one that Jesus confronts with compassion and resurrection life. Jesus invites his community to participate in this work by “removing stones and grave clothes,” calling believers to costly, communal action in word and deed that anticipates God’s life-breaking-through even now.

This episode on Pastor's Cut centers on how recent violence and unrest in Minneapolis reshaped Petey Crowder’s sermon, calling the church to bring both personal and communal burdens to Jesus in a time of fear and anxiety. Petey and Melissa reflect on the church’s role as a discipling community that forms people to follow Jesus with humility, prayer, and love for all made in God’s image, rather than taking political sides. The conversation concludes by highlighting spiritual practices like silence, Scripture, and everyday faithfulness as ways to embody the Gospel as good news in ordinary life.

This sermon invites weary and burdened people to bring their struggles to Jesus, grounding that call in Matthew 11, where Jesus offers rest not by removing burdens, but by teaching a gentler, life-giving way to carry them. It emphasizes that Jesus’ “yoke” fits us well, relieves the crushing weight of shame, fear, and responsibility, and reminds us that we are yoked to Christ himself, who carries the heaviest load and frees us from trying to save the world on our own. In the midst of division, violence, and exhaustion in the city of MPLS, this sermon calls the church to trust Jesus, keep showing up for neighbors with compassion, and walk forward with hope, love, and rest rather than guilt, fear, or despair.

Pastors Melissa and Carrie have a conversation about Sunday's sermon. Which challenged listeners to move from simply believing that Jesus is real to truly believing in Him with trust that shapes how we live, illustrated by the tightrope walker who invites someone to rely fully on him. It affirmed that faith is not a solo journey but a shared one, where the church functions like a rowing team—carrying one another through doubt, suffering, and seasons of questioning. Rooted in the Nicene Creed, the message reminded the congregation that shared beliefs anchor us to Christ and to one another across generations, offering hope and belonging even in painful seasons.

Pastor, speaker, and author of the book we gave our congregation on Christmas Eve, What's a Christian, Anyway?, Glenn Packiam, speaks. 

This episode of Pastor’s Cut features a conversation with Jonathan Hicks about his sermon on the invitation to “come and see,” highlighting how encountering Jesus naturally leads people to invite others through ordinary relationships like family and friends. The discussion explores fears around evangelism, emphasizing that the focus is on extending gracious invitations rather than controlling outcomes, and that hearing “no” is a normal, survivable part of faith-sharing. The episode concludes with stories from the church community illustrating how God works through weakness, hospitality, and repeated invitations to bring transformation over time.

This sermon reflects on how the Christian faith becomes credible when the gospel is visibly lived out by real people, emphasizing Jesus’ repeated invitation to “come and see” as a call to experience Him personally rather than just intellectually. Through the story of Jesus calling Philip and Nathanael, the message shows how encountering Jesus transforms skepticism into belief and naturally leads people to invite others. The sermon concludes by encouraging believers to draw closer to Jesus themselves and to practice inviting others to experience the difference He makes in their lives.

The episode explores our new sermon series on invitation, centered on Jesus’ call to the fishermen in Matthew 4. Pastor Petey reflects on what it means for both longtime believers and newcomers to continually lay down sources of identity and security to follow Jesus. The episode also includes church updates and a personal story showing how surrendering a good thing opened space for deeper faith and service.

Pastor Petey preaches that invitations open us to new possibilities, and Jesus’ core invitation "Come, follow me" is an invitation to apprentice under Him by being with Him, becoming like Him, and doing what He does. Following Jesus means leaving behind familiar sources of comfort, identity, and control, not because they are bad, but because Jesus offers a life that is bigger in purpose and better in foundation than anything we cling to. When we receive this invitation ourselves, we are then called to extend it to others, trusting God to bring healing, hope, and transformation through a life shaped by his love.

Donation Drive & Mission Spotlight information: qr.link/TeJW4IThis episode reflects on a sermon from Luke 2 that emphasizes the ordinariness of the shepherds and how God transforms ordinary people by sending them on mission. It highlights the shepherds’ two responses to Jesus’ birth: encountering Christ personally and then simply sharing what they experienced, without needing all the answers. The conversation encourages listeners to pursue deeper awareness of God’s presence and to speak honestly and relationally about how God is at work in their own lives.

The sermon explores how God works through ordinary people by highlighting the shepherds in Luke 2 and showing that their low status did not disqualify them from participating in God’s saving work. It emphasizes two invitations from the passage: to personally encounter Jesus and to simply share what that encounter reveals, without needing all the answers. The message challenges listeners to overcome fear of insignificance and trust that God can use their everyday faithfulness to do something meaningful and even “unheard of.”

Donation Drive & Mission Spotlight information: qr.link/TeJW4IThis episode features Pastor Emily Hamilton discussing her sermon on Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel, emphasizing God’s invitation for Mary to freely say yes to participating in His work despite fear and risk. She highlights how God honors human agency, inviting willing partnership rather than forcing obedience, a theme reflected through art, poetry, and everyday faith. The podcast closes with encouragement to notice and respond to God’s invitations in ordinary life, plus brief church mission updates.

This sermon reflects on the angel’s message to Mary, emphasizing that “do not be afraid” means not letting fear control us, and highlights Mary’s courageous “yes” to God despite the real social, personal, and physical risks she faced. It explains that the annunciation is not a distant, sentimental scene but a deeply human moment in which God invites an ordinary young woman to partner with Him, showing that God works through real people, real fears, and real vulnerability. Finally, it invites listeners to see Mary as a model for their own lives, encouraging them to trust God’s love, promises, and support through others as they respond to God’s invitations, even when those invitations feel costly and frightening.

Donation Drive & Mission Spotlight information: qr.link/TeJW4IThis episode discusses the third week of CPC’s “Fear Not” sermon series, Petey and Melissa dive into a great conversation about how we can hope even when it scares us.

When disappointment has made hope feel risky, God gently invites us to trust Him again. In Advent Week 3, we walk with Zechariah in Luke 1 and discover that Christian hope isn’t found in outcomes, but in holding onto a faithful God who brings light into our silence through Jesus.

Donation Drive & Mission Spotlight information: qr.link/TeJW4IThis episode discusses the second week of CPC’s “Fear Not” sermon series, focusing on Joseph’s response to the shocking news of Mary’s pregnancy and how it illustrates the human impulse to seek our own solutions instead of noticing God’s involvement. Pastor Petey and Pastor Melissa explore how fears, misplaced sources of security, and attempts to control life contrast with the deeper hope found in Jesus’ presence, as well as the importance of small, faithful next steps during hardship. 

By reflecting on Joseph’s experience in Matthew 1, Pastor Petey emphasizes that God meets people in uncertainty, offering His presence rather than a detailed plan. Ultimately, he encourages listeners to wait patiently, release control, and take the next faithful step, trusting that God is with them to save and guide them.

Donation Drive & Mission Spotlight information: qr.link/TeJW4IPastors Melissa and Petey discuss the first sermon in the Fear Not series, focusing on how people—like Judah in Isaiah—often feel stuck in darkness yet are met by God’s surprising “nevertheless” of hope. They reflect on human reactions to feeling stuck, the tendency to blame God, and the importance of Christian community to hold hope for one another. The episode also features updates on CPC’s Christmas offering to The Dwelling Place and a testimony from Pastor James about experiencing the gospel through weakness.

The sermon teaches that although we often feel emotionally, spiritually, or practically “stuck,” God is actively writing a better ending to our story. Drawing from Isaiah 8–9, it emphasizes that God’s light breaks into our darkness through Jesus, the true King who brings hope, peace, and transformation when our own efforts fail. As we face seasons of fear or paralysis, we’re invited to look first for God’s light, lament honestly yet anchor our hope in His promises, and let the certainty of God’s future reshape our present.

The sermon explains that coveting is a hidden, disordered desire that harms our lives and relationships, much like upstream pollution creates dead zones in a river. God gives the Tenth Commandment to transform our hearts, not just our outward actions, because coveting turns good things into idols. Through practices like gratitude and simplicity, and through the hope, power, and fullness we receive in Christ, God reorients our desires toward Him so we can truly live free.

The 9th Commandment calls God’s people to protect truth because communities cannot flourish where dishonesty destroys trust. Lies, whether spoken, exaggerated, repeated online, or shared for convenience, bind us in spiritual chains, while truthful speech reflects the character of God and the freedom Jesus brings. Christians are urged to tell the truth even when it costs them, refuse to spread unverified claims, and speak with both honesty and gentleness so that their words build others up.

This sermon focuses on the commandment “You shall not steal,” explaining that stealing violates God’s generous nature and our understanding that everything ultimately belongs to Him. Drawing from Genesis, Pastor Melissa teaches that humans are stewards, not owners, of what God has provided, and that theft undermines trust and dependence on God. The message concludes by urging believers to cultivate gratitude, release attachment to possessions, bring their needs to God, and share generously with others.