Faith First

Pastor Katie unlocks the scriptures with us as we put Faith First

Pastor Steve unlocks the scripture as we put Faith First

Pastor Steve helps us understand the scriptures as we put Faith First

We can find life and joy in Jesus and not in the world. Pastor Steve guides us as we put Faith First

Pastor Katie unlocks the scripture as we put Faith First

Pastor Katie guides us to who our shepered should be as we put Faith First

Pastor Katie helps us dive deeper into the word as we put Faith First

Pastor Kaite leads us through the scripture as we put faith first

Pastor Katie dives into the scriptures as we put faith first

Pastor Steve unlocks the scriptures as we put Faith First

Pastor Steve teaches on the gospel and unlcoks the scriptures for us as we put faith first

After nearly a decade of praying and planning, our Building Dedication weekend is upon us! Pr. Steve and Pr. Craig discuss the magnitude of God's call on our collective hearts to re-invest into downtown Cedar Rapids and the people God brings to our doors to serve.

Can you recognize all these voices? Pr. Craig & Pr. Katie muse about the science of voice recognition and how God uses that from the time we are babies through our call into re-birth of eternal life.

Pr. Steve and Pr. Craig muse about hearing voices on the road to Emmaus while Jesus has a real and impressive encounter with a few of his followers. Daniel Luepke expands the conversation and Jasmine Wu and Keith Abkes talk about journeying a different road - a bike path - to carry out Christ's mission to the hungry today.

Pr. Craig shares an inspiring quote from the astronauts traveling to the dark side of the moon who tell us that Jesus is with them in their darkness and will be with us on the other side when light dawns and will be with all of us no matter what darkness we face today.

Pr. Steve talks about the power of Jesus' speaking Mary's name after raising from the dead on Easter Sunday. He says the re-connection between them is the crescendo of the story and is the same for us when Christ speaks our name.

Pr. Craig gives us the behind-the-scenes theology represented in our purple paraments and other artwork in the sanctuary as Christ makes his journey from Palm Sunday to the empty tomb of Easter in a great act of love for the world.

For our milestone 150th episode, Pastors Steve, Craig & Katie spend the entire time talking with each other about their 5 most memorable moments in ministry together over 90 years of collective service to the church. 

Pr. Craig & Pr. Steve talk about your reactions to our Wednesday worship & concert series while Pr. Steve ponders if we are asking the right questions in this week's scripture of the man born blind.

Pr. Craig draws a comparison with the woman at the well and how God uses us as broken vessels to hold so much more than water! Meanwhile Pr. Katie shares how Jesus notices the same woman with radical inclusivity and ponders that perhaps we are called to notice people as well so they feel seen, heard, loved and included.

Pr. Steve takes us inside one of the most well-known scriptures in the world, John 3:16, and helps us see it with new eyes. We break it down word for word and discover what it might mean for us today.

As we enter into our Lenten series "Conversations with Jesus" Pr. Steve teaches us that God gets things going with the first word on Ash Wednesday while Pr. Katie opens her heart around the upcoming scriptures.

Pr. Brian Scott of Lutheran World Relief tells some inspiring stories of how the light of church of Christ is growing and shinning into dark places. Likewise Pr. Craig unravels a mountaintop experience with Jesus that helps light our way into the valley below.

What is the point of the Church? Pr. Steve ponders this question for us while Maddy Newhouse gives us the skinny on HUGS, an effort to better welcome people into our new space.

When the church loses someone important who people look to for leadership in the congregation, what happens then? Pr. Craig ponders how God might be calling each of us to take a step forward in our faith to honor their dedication to our shared cause for Christ's mission and passion for people in need around us.

Special Guests Claudine and Jamil Zoughbi talk about Christ calling the disciples from their fishing nets and how similarly God called them from their home in the Holy Land to be missionaries here in the United States. Meet Pr. Steve's family friends from across the ocean in this week's episode.

Pr. Katie talks about the importance of Jesus being baptized in the very same way we his followers will do and the special bond and connection that creates with us and our Lord, the very savior of the whole world.

Pr. Craig talks about our attendance at our amazing Christmas Eve services and takes you behind the numbers to see how it all gets put together. Plus...is God sending you a sign? We'll discuss the Magi and signs from above in this special year-end episode.

Pr. Katie shares her Christmas Eve message about being the light of Christ, Pr. Craig pays tribute to a faithful staff member who says good-bye, and Pr. Steve has some very special prayers for us on our Christmas episode!

Pr. Katie talks about God bringing peace through the message of an angel to Jesus' father, Joseph, amongst the chaos of the circumstances around his birth and how God delivers that same peace to you and I today.

Pr. Steve ponders perhaps the biggest question of the Christian faith...is Jesus who he says he is? And if Jesus is in fact the savior of our entire world, how does the God of Love make himself known in our world today?

Pr. Craig talks about all the decluttering books getting suggested to him on his social media this week. A message from God, maybe? At the same time, John the Baptist has a similar call for us to "clear the way" in our hearts for the coming Christ.

Remember circling things you wanted for Christmas in the Sears, JC Penny, or Montgomery Ward's catalog? Pr. Steve talks about similarly what people of faith do to prepare for the coming of Christ in this week's episode.

This week we celebrate that Christ is our King, but Pr. Steve ponders what kind of power will he exert in our lives? The "hard" power we know and use to get our own way in this world or a "soft" power that leads to eternal forgiveness and peace?

This Veterans Day Week Pr. Craig recounts the story of meeting a military chaplain who brought a Christmas Miracle to our congregation. It's a great example where 1st John says Christ compels us to help each other because of the great love he has first given us.

FLC Member Alicia Murphy talks about our church's response to the increased need in our community as Pr. Steve challenges us to "see" Christ in the middle of it as it plays out in real time around us.

Pr. Craig talks about announcing for the Hawkeye Marching Band and how God announces to all of us on All Saints Day that you belong! This is all thanks to God's work on the cross through the power of the Holy Spirit which connects us to all those who have lived and died in the faith.

Pr. Steve shares the moments that gave him the most goosebumps while walking in the footsteps of Paul in Greece and Turkey with church members and gives us some insight to his upcoming message about the Holy Spirit of Reformation to our Confirmands.

Martin Luther said, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified me and kept me in the true faith." Pr. Katie will talk about how the Spirit works today as we prepare for Healing Services this weekend and Wednesday.

Pr. Craig & Pr. Katie discuss the power of Jesus' resurrection to swallow up all the world's anger and hate on the cross once and for all, allowing us the opportunity to build a world of peace. But are we ready to take hold of it?

Pr. Steve & Pr. Craig describe an amazing encounter they both had with a Bishop of the Country of Hungary, who described trying to be the church under the totalitarian governments of the Nazis and then the Iron Curtain and how Christ sets us free from the inside out of all evil forces that would oppress us.

Pr. Steve asks us what side of Jesus do you connect most with? Is it the divine authority who can do miraculous things including giving us eternal life or the real human being who cares about feeding and healing us from our day-to-day issues?

Pr. Steve teaches us how the first person in the Trinity, our Creator, protects us and provides for us through life's many dangers. An important word for us today amidst life's many ups and downs in the chaotic world in which we live.

Pr. Katie teaches us how God the Creator is the maker of it all and still creates and re-creates in and through us despite all the brokenness of the world around us. After all, in Genesis 1:1 it says in the beginning God created out of the chaos.

What are we confessing when we say "I Believe" nearly every week in church? Pr. Craig & Pr. Steve break down classic statement of Christian faith, The Apostles' Creed, and how it opens up the door to understanding to our vast and loving God.

What if we weren't meant to be a church that sits around but gets up and moves for God? Pr. Steve ponders this question and many more like it as he shares with us his Top Ten Things he learned while on sabbatical.

Pr. Steve returns! He gives us his first impressions after four months away on sabbatical while Pr. Katie talks a radical act by Jesus transforming forever our notion of sabbath.

Pr. Craig points out that scripture implores us to run OUR race and not someone else's. As we do Jesus warns that might come with some obstacles but we can make it through with the faith from God just like our ancestors.

Pr. Katie tells a story of Pr. Craig's wife Katie blessing the church with extra cantaloupes this week and how our small acts of kindness can be a great way of living out this weekend's scripture of living for today and looking out for others.

Pr. Craig shares what he learned from a talk with Hall of Fame Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski about the importance of an organization holding each other accountable, including the leader, and how this concept applies to Christ's Church today.