COOS Love Podcast

Human beings can be religious in a wide variety of ways, but the aim of all religion should be love. This is the message the Apostle Paul gives when he tours Athens and sees how religious the Athenians are.. Unfortunately, religion can sometimes get in the way of love when people become fixated on outward forms or on being right. We have a rich religious life at Church of Our Saviour, but the goal is not to become more religious. Always the goal is to become more loving. Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 38:06) Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

In addition to seeking first the kingdom of God, Jesus also instructs us to live in the present: tomorrow will bring worries of its own, Jesus says, so today’s trouble is enough for today. Being present in the moment is a lifegiving spiritual practice. The more we can be in the here and now, without stewing over the past or fretting over the future, the more peace we will feel. Jesus calls us to be centered and live each moment because that will help us live with less anxiety. Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Anxiety afflicts countless numbers of people. In some cases it has biomedical causes, but always it is a spiritual malady as well. Jesus teaches that worrying never does any good and bids his followers not to be anxious. He says we must seek first the kingdom of God, because when we focus on God over time, anxiety loses its grip on us. Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

12 Step programs have helped countless addicts to regain their lives because these programs are inherently spiritual. People in recovery develop a relationship with God and come to intimately know the power of God to save. 12 Step programs, in fact, resonate strongly with Christian spirituality. Just as Christian spiritual practice influenced the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous and the many groups that have grown out of that, the 12 Steps have much to teach Christians about developing a deep and lifegiving relationship with God. Watch the video HERE (semon starts at 25:06) Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

When Jesus tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, he is not only saying that he can help us carry the pain of life that comes from illness, stress, and loss. He wants to remove from us the great burden of self-justification, the need to prove ourselves to God and others in order to feel valued and loved. By humbly trusting in God’s unconditional love and providential care as Jesus does, we can be set free from the need to justify ourselves and liberated to love God and love others as we are moved to do. Watch the video HERE.     Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

In the resurrection stories, Jesus has to break through the grief of his friends before they can recognize him and know he’s alive. The Risen Christ can lead all of us to know a joy that is deeper and greater than any sadness. The way for us to experience this is to keep showing up to pray, to care for others, and to worship. By showing up regularly, we give Christ more ways to reach us and reveal himself to us. Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 37:34) Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

In this season of resurrection, we often talk about new life. Dramatic occasions often come to mind, like weddings, the birth of a child, or recovery from a life-threatening illness, but most of life does not consist of big events but rather the mundane realities of daily living. It is in the ordinary course of our days that we most need to practice resurrection. Newness of life is a gift of God, and we can find ways to embrace it and live it on a daily basis. Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

On Easter morning, the first witnesses to the resurrection are filled not only with joy, but with fear—and yet they move forward anyway. Although fear is a natural human response, it can quietly keep us bound. Yet the risen Christ meets us right in those places. Resurrection is not only about what happened to Jesus, but about the new life breaking open in us even now. Wherever life feels sealed or stuck, there is an invitation to trust that the worst thing is not the last thing—and to step, even uncertainly, into life. Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 30:34) Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Jesus not only suffers as a result of sin, in the Passion narrative he becomes sin. He takes on the unbearable burden of human wrongdoing and lets it destroy him so that it does not destroy us. The destructive power of sin is making us feel separated from God, but in Christ God embraces us fully, sin and all. The crucifixion of Jesus shows as dramatically as possible that God will not let anything come between us and God’s love. Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 49:29) Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

The drama of Holy Week is not just a series of ancient events, but rather the story of God being intimately close to us in all circumstances. That final week of Jesus’ earthly life involved the whole panoply of human experience, from love and friendship to anguish and death. The story conveys God’s nearness to us. As we move through the liturgies of Holy Week, it helps us to be close to Christ and remember that Christ is close to us. And if Christ is near to us in our sinful humanity, we can trust that we will be near to Christ in his resurrection. Watch the video HERE.  Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

When hope feels out of reach, sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is let someone else hold it for us. From the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel to the grief-filled tomb of Lazarus, we encounter a God who meets us not with quick fixes but with presence. Jesus does not rush past sorrow—he enters into it, even to the point of weeping. And there, in that presence, we discover a hope that does not depend on our ability to believe, but on God’s faithfulness to remain. Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 42:02) Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

People have strong opinions about how to worship, but Jesus teaches that the purpose is to worship God in spirit and in truth. And we will know that we are offering genuine worship when it helps us to love God and love other people more. This is true regardless of the style or manner of worship. The way we worship at Church of Our Saviour may not be the best way for everyone, but it will be the best way for some people to worship God in spirit and in truth – and grow in love. Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Human beings have a natural impulse to blame others for their problems, but Jesus shows us a better way. He never blames sinners who come to him. He reveals that God does not blame us for our sin, but that our failures and times of weakness are always opportunities to grow in love and faith. Rather than blaming ourselves, other people, or God, we can join with Christ and embrace every moment as a chance for mercy to abound. Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 38:58) Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Jesus teaches us to love others, and that means being kind to them. Our society is filled with anger and malice, and it can be hard to practice kindness, but we have the Spirit of Christ dwelling within us. The Spirit makes us one with God and allows us to tap into the infinite resources of God’s love so that kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness can flow through us. Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

The longest recorded conversation Jesus has in the Gospels isn’t with a disciple or a religious leader. It’s with a Samaritan woman at a well. What unfolds there turns out not to be a story about scandal, but about being seen, known, and loved. Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 40:39) Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

While faithful living means using our gifts and taking positive actions for the sake of love, it also involves moments of feeling weak and powerless. Such moments, however, can lead to a deeper experience of God’s mercy and grace. Rather than run away from them or deny them, we should embrace times of weakness and ask for God to meet us in those times. Our powerlessness can become a way for us to experience the power of God more fully in our lives. Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

What does it look like to say yes to the unknown when God calls you forward? Abram was changed by the going and Nicodemus by the confronting. How can we enter contested public spaces not just with strategy, but with humility, curiosity, and a willingness to be transformed themselves? We do it by staying rooted in the audacious, all-encompassing love of God, it is ultimately an invitation to adventure: to open the door, step into the wind, and trust the Spirit that blows where it will. Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 36:17) Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

In our Ash Wednesday confession, we repent of false judgments, uncharitable thoughts towards our neighbors, and our contempt towards those who differ from us. It’s a necessary confession because we all too easily judge and condemn others in our hearts. Doing so is toxic for us spiritually, however, and Jesus teaches us the path to health. We need to let go of such feelings and transform them into positive energy – for our own sake and for the sake of the world. Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Temptation is less about bread or power and more about forgetting who we are. In the wilderness, Jesus confronts the temptation to prove himself and instead learns to live from the truth spoken at his baptism. We are invited to examine the voices that stir doubt in our own lives and to rediscover the healing, here-and-now salvation that comes from knowing we are God’s beloved. Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 34:34) Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Following Jesus means growing up spiritually into the loving, Christ-like people God created us to be. Lent is a time to focus on that process of growth, which involves letting go of immature ways of being and moving beyond an egocentric way of living. Spiritual practices like prayer, fasting, and doing acts of charity can be helpful in this process, but only if we keep the goal in mind: moving beyond ourselves and growing into the full stature of Christ. Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

The most basic revelation of God that we all experience is the desire for God. Every human being deep down wants to be close to the divine nature which created us and loves us.One of the reasons we worship and pray is to stay in touch with that basic desire, which can be drowned out by the busyness and demands of daily life. The more we hear and respond to our yearning for God, the more God can move in our lives, blessing us and the people around us.Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world, which means shining the light of God’s love in our current culture, which is cruel to immigrants. While we need to see the terrible way some are treated and stand against such behavior, we must do so with love and not anger. Rage will only obscure the light, so we must let go of anger with the help of the Holy Spirit.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 34:19)Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Psalm 130 talks about waiting for the Lord, and Jesus also teaches us to watch for God so that we can be prepared to receive God whenever and however God comes to us. One of our primary tasks as a people of faith is to stay spiritually alert and so be open to the various ways God comes into our lives. Prayer and worship are crucial in this: they help us stay awake and they remind us that the God of love is always moving and inviting us to respond.Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

God is the Creator of all, and being out in nature is a great way to connect with God. Many prominent Christian thinkers down through the centuries have claimed that there are two books of revelation: the book of creation and the book of scripture. There are many ways nature can reveal God to us, but one important way is by reminding us of the big picture, that we are part of a vast reality that is all held together on God’s love and God’s providential care.Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the whole world. Not only does God forgive us, but God holds us blameless. Accepting that Christ takes away sin and blame sets us free to live better and love more fully.That is good for us, and good for the people we impact. We can’t share what we do not have, so accepting the mercy and compassion of God helps us to be merciful and compassionate towards others.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 34:36)Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Psalm 103 tells us that God remembers that we are but dust, but God does more than have pity on our frailty: God uses our weakness to draw close to us.When we realize our limitations and needs, we are humble enough to let God work through us. Paul says we have this treasure in clay jars because God wants to shine through us, and our weakness gives God an opportunity to do just that.Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

When Jesus comes to John for baptism, John resists, certain this is not how the story is supposed to go. Jesus responds with an invitation: “Let it be so now”—a call to consent, to show up, stay present, and trust that God is at work even in the interruptions. Perhaps Jesus is offering us the same invitation.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 36:40)Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Psalm 103 assures us that God understands the frailty of our human nature, but in Jesus God not only understands that frailty – he lives it. Christ embraces human nature in all its weakness and shows only compassion and love. When we pray to God for help of any kind, we are not praying to a deity who doesn’t understand our condition and who just wants to punish and condemn us: we are praying to a God who has tender love for us as we are and wants to show us mercy.Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

The Epiphany is a beautiful story about the love of Christ being revealed to all people. While powerful forces in the world resist that, people who are humble enough can both see the light of Christ revealed in mercy and compassion, and share that light with others. As Christians, we don’t own Jesus: we bear witness to his life, death, and resurrection as the full manifestation of God’s love for all people.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 36:10)Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Every Christmas, we return to a story we already know—angels and shepherds, a manger and a child, the message of God with us. We come back not because the story has changed, but because we have. Faith is not only about knowing the story, but allowing it to shape us, moving the good news from head to heart. In the midst of our changing lives, Christmas invites us to encounter the God who comes close in vulnerability and love, reminding us that whatever story we bring with us is held within the greater story of God’s love.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 1:04:41)Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Saying yes to God bearing Christ in us creates permanent, biological, ontological change - and that's exactly what Advent is inviting us into. Mary and Joseph’s YES might not have made sense from the outside but was a deep and holy call. What could a YES in our own lives mean as we invite Emmanuel to be born into our own hearts.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 38:19)Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Psalm 130 highlights one of the great themes of Advent: waiting for God. We remember how our ancestors waited for Christ, even as we continue to wait for the final coming of Christ. We also wait for Christ to come in our daily lives, which is paradoxical because we already have the Spirit of Christ within us. It is important to practice watchful waiting, however, so that we do not miss God when God is working in our lives. Many saints and mystics have also taught that God sometimes makes us wait in order to purify our intention so that it is God we are waiting for, and not something less than God.Watch video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

When John the Baptist finds himself imprisoned and uncertain, his question to Jesus echoes a familiar human experience: the painful space, the gap between what we hoped for and what we are living. Such unmet expectations can shake our faith – and Jesus responds not with simple answers, but with signs of God’s quiet, merciful work in the world. In this season of Advent, we are invited to see where the kingdom of God is already breaking in, even when it doesn’t necessarily look the way we might expect.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 26:09)Read the sermon HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

While there is no one right way to pray for others, if we desire to be channels of God’s love and power we will want to find ways to spend time in prayer. One way to do that is to use our imagination and envision God’s light touching someone in need. Another way would be to use a form of the Jesus prayer to soak a person in prayer. The goal of any such method is to devote time and energy to praying so that we give the Holy Spirit more room to move through us, which God clearly wants to do.Watch the video HEREConnect with Church of Our Saviour HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

The only people who will welcome a savior are the people who know they need a savior. John the Baptist criticized the religious leaders of his day because they did not truly want the salvation which Christ would bring. They were self-sufficient.Jesus offers us wholeness and unity with God, and the best we can prepare to receive that is to not be self-sufficient but rather to acknowledge all the ways we are not whole and all the ways we do not feel one with God. Those are the very places which Christ can touch with the love and mercy of God to save us.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 15:48). Read the sermon HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

The Psalms assure us many times that God answers prayer, but what does that mean? We’ve all had the experience, for example, of praying for healing and not receiving it. Clearly prayer is not magic, nor is it a way of invoking an indifferent God to intervene in our affairs from a distance. Prayer is a way of channeling God’s love, and cooperating with that love as we focus it on people who need that love to bless and heal them in particular ways. While one cannot quantify the power of love, knowing God’s love more is the greatest answer to any prayer.Watch the video HERE Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Rather than fearing the unexpected, Advent invites us to ready ourselves in a way that helps us to recognize Christ’s presence in the midst of our ordinary days. While Jesus speaks of his future return, we also remember that God is continually arriving here and now, breaking into our lives in both big and small ways. This season becomes our invitation to slow down, stay awake, and make space for the God who comes to us every moment of every day.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 31:35). Read the sermon HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Jesus models a radically different kind of kingship and kingdom; one marked by mercy, servanthood, vulnerability and wide-open welcome. Through the lens of two queens; Queen Emma of Hawaii and country music legend Dolly Parton. What does it mean for us to participate in the upside-down Kingdom of God in our world today?Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 32:58). Read the sermon HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Our fear of death often drives us to hold on too tightly - to build, achieve, or outlast. Yet Jesus points us toward a larger truth: that death has no power in the presence of the living God. When we trust that love is stronger than death, we are set free to fully and freely live in this world and the next.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 37:52). Read the sermon HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Many Psalms address our desire for God and our search for God. Psalm 27:11 reminds us that we seek the “face” of God, meaning to know God as God really is. Such a desire is implanted in us by God, and acting on it at all is a sign of the Holy Spirit’s presence within us. If we are willing to follow the Spirit’s lead and seek for God, we will find God in the many different circumstances of our lives.Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Mystics and saints through the centuries have affirmed a core truth of the New Testament: we are all one. In the midst of our diversity, with all our different gifts and experiences, we are united to one another and all creation. The ethics of Jesus really demand that we see ourselves as being one with others. The church is where we can all learn to be united in love. When we do that, we become a living sacrament to the world around us, a sign that all people are one in the love of God.Watch the video HERE (sermon starts at 34:33). Read the sermon HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Trusting in the mercy of God is a fundamental feature of the life of faith. Doing so does not prevent us from going through times of pain, but it does remind us that all of our life experiences – the good and the bad – are enfolded in the infinite love of God. God’s mercy ensures that everything we go through will lead us to our ultimate fulfillment and happiness. Trusting in that enables us to keep on loving and doing good in a challenging world, and not give into despair. Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Even when our prayers feel unanswered, God’s persistence never wavers. Jesus invites us through the story of the persistent widow to not lose heart but, instead, to keep coming, keep praying, and keep trusting. Because it turns out that persistence in prayer isn’t really about changing God’s mind, it’s about transforming our own hearts.Watch the video HERE (sermon begins at 34:36). Read the sermon HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Jesus formed a community because we need each other to grow in love and faith. One of the gifts that other people offer us is help with discernment. Sharing thoughts and ideas with people we trust can help us determine if it’s of God. Others can help us see how a possible course of action is impacting us, and they can also provide insights into whether something seems in sync with Christ or not.Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Giving thanks to God isn’t for God’s sake, it’s for ours. The story of the ten lepers reveals how gratitude transforms mere healing into true wholeness. While we often rush from one crisis to the next, forgetting past blessings, gratitude slows us down to notice God’s constant grace. Expressing our thanks to God is not about exercising good manners but a deep form of prayer that connects us with the Divine Giver. Because in the end, gratitude doesn’t change God—it changes us, awakening us to the wonder of a life held in divine love.Watch the video HERE (sermon begins at 29:55). Read the sermon HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

One of the things we can do when trying to discern whether God is leading us to do something is to sit with the idea and see if it produces “good fruit.” If it leads to feelings of love, peace, and happiness, then the Holy Spirit may well be at work. If it leads to negative feelings of anger, resentment, pride, or self-righteousness, then it is probably not from God. Whether we are assessing a future plan or evaluating what we are currently doing, the presence of God should produce good fruit. Above all, it should make us more loving human beings, which is the surest sign that God is leading us.Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

While we may feel like we need more faith, Jesus assures us that we have the faith we need. Even faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to do wondrous deeds. Our task as followers of Christ is not to wait until we have great faith before we act, but to use the faith we have and trust in God’s love and goodness, even when we don’t feel confident or certain.Watch the video HERE (sermon begins at 34:33). Read the sermon HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

Trying to discern whether God is speaking to us or leading us in a certain way requires knowing ourselves well. God is intimately close to our souls, our true selves, and so it is helpful to  practice meditative or contemplative forms of prayer that allow us to go deep and connect with our souls. It’s also crucial that we practice awareness and pay attention to what is really happening within us and what is actually driving us. The closer we get to our true selves, the closer we get to God, because in Christ we are united to God is love. Watch the video HERE. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE  

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Jesus teaches that we should pray for everyone, and that includes all those in positions of authority. The Apostle Paul says the same thing in his first letter to Timothy. Even when we disagree with them or actively oppose them, praying for them is a way to keep us grounded in love and to remind us that even leaders doing harm are still human. Our prayer gives God a way to touch their hearts and our hearts as well. Connect with Church of Our Saviour HERE