Netarts Friends Church Podcast

This one is not a sermon or a talk. It is a guided meditation. More can happen through holy Silence and Centering prayer than may ever happen through words. Enjoy!This one closes with a benediction. For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(03/29/26)

Luke 22:31-62 This episode explores how Jesus looks at us before and on the days that absolutely everything is falling apart.... even though we are doing our best....Trying so hard.Meaning well.Wanting to get it all right.Credits & Sources:Bruce Malina, Richard Rohrbaugh, Stephanie Rigg, Casey Gwinn, Chan Hellman, Justo Gonzalez, Alan Culpepper, Moises Silva, Eugene Peterson, Joel Green, David Garland, Tim Geddert, Jonathan Martin, Craig Keener, Dan Kent, Greg Boyd.Sermon by Aaron Carlson.For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(03/22/26)

Luke 22:20-27; 9:46-48Does this sound familiar?You start thinking about yourself, who you are, your attributes, and your performance.And in almost no time flat you are comparing yourself to someone else. You are using someone else as a measuring stick to evaluate yourself.Does this sound familiar? This episode explores the different way of relating to greatness that Jesus offers in order to free us from the comparison trap.Credits and Sources:Dan Vander Plaats, Rita Halteman Finger, George McClain, Leon Festinger, Kendra Cherry, Don Riso, Russ Hudson, David DeSilva, Ben Witherington, David Garland, Joel Green, Alan Culpepper, Craig Keener.Sermon by Aaron Carlson.For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(03/15/26)

"I thought I could trust you. I was counting on you. Relying on you.....and then....I couldn't. It really hurt." Betrayals come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small. Some are massive. Some are intentional. Some are unintentional. Friend drama, workplace drama, family drama, marriage/romantic partner drama, business drama, and neighborhood drama. This episode explores how Jesus treats betrayers. Credits & Sources:Christian Miller, Brian Zahnd, George MacDonald, Moises Silva, Fred Craddock, David Garland, Alan Culpepper, Tim Geddert, Shirley Glass, Joel Green, N.T. Wright, James Alison.For more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(03/08/26)

Luke 21:5-38Under stress some of us over-function, some of us under-function. It doesn't work to tell us to, "Stop it." We need something that releases us from the stress and strain. This episode looks at what Jesus does it release us from the inevitability of keeping on over-functioning or under-functioning. Credits and Sources:Murray Bowen, Michael E. Kerr, Roberta M. Gilbert, Edwin H. Friedman, Steve Cuss, Craig Keener, Justo Gonzalez, Alan Culpepper, Joel Green, David Burns, Bruce Malina, Richard Rohrbaugh, David Garland, Tim Geddert. Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(03/01/26)

Luke 19:47-21:4We all know what it is like to face options, categories, and choices that leave us stuck because there is no way to move forward without violating a core part of who we are. None of the options or categories work. It is a stalemate, a double-bind, an impasse, a lose/lose. This episode is about navigating these kinds of situations with Jesus. There is a way through, and Jesus is the way through. Credits:Richard Rohrbaugh, Bruce Malina, David Garland, Joel Green, Justo Gonzalez, Tim Geddert, Alan Culpepper, Craig Keener, Edwin Friedman, Steve Cuss.Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(02/21/26)

Luke 19:28-44"Peace" and "peacemaking" are words that get thrown around a lot. People have very different ideas of HOW we achieve peace. So many people say that they want peace, and yet we live in a world so lacking in peace. This episode extends the conversation from simply saying that we want peace, to ask what does Jesus show us that we can do that makes peace possible and actual?Credits and Sources:Dallas Willard, Scot McKnight, Bill Wilson, Joel Green, Edwin Yamauchi, David Garland, Tim Geddert, Justo Gonzalez, Alan Culpepper, Bruce Malina, Richard Rohrbaugh, Preston Sprinkle, Dan White Jr. Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(02/01/26)

Luke 19:11-27We are living in a time when the names "God" and "Jesus" are claimed by all different kinds of people who either claim or truly believe that their angle, actions, and agendas truly reflect the kingdom Jesus declared. This is nothing new. It's something Jesus dealt with as well.This episode explores what Jesus had to say to people who presumed that his kingdom would function in the same way as the kingdoms of this world. Credits and Sources:Alan Culpepper, David Garland, Greg Boyd, William Herzog, N.T. Wright. Josephus, Bruce Malina, Richard Rohrbaugh, Chris McKinny, Craig Keener, H. Bond, Fred Craddock, Joel Green, Kenneth Bailey, Justo Gonzalez, Tim Geddert, Donald Kraybill. Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(01/25/26)

Luke 19:1-10Underneath their hard exterior, how many wish they could find their way to a different life but are uncertain of what it might mean to let go, to take a leap into that new life.If I make this change, am I still just going to end up alone?Will there be enough?Am I enough?Can my web of broken relationships ever be whole? Credits and Sources:Kenneth Bailey, Louis Schotroff, Donald Kraybill, Craig Keener, Bruce Malina, Richard Rohrbaugh, David Garland, Alan Culpepper, Rachel Yehuda, Mark Baker, William Herzog, Justo Gonazlez.Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(01/18/26)

Luke 18:35-43None of us like the feeling of living differently than we said we were going to live, and yet we all know this feeling.This one isn't only about New Year's Resolutions. It's about the moments you live through without realizing that this is your moment to shine, to practice what you preach, to have integrity. It's about the importance of being connected to a Jesus who stops and recognizes the opportunities to live a good game.Credits & Sources:Justo Gonzalez, David Garland, Alan Culpepper, Craig Keener, A.D. Riddle, Fred Craddock, Joel Green, Kenneth Bailey.Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(01/11/26)

Christmas 2025This episode explores how it changes the Christmas story when we remember that none of the characters knew what was going to happen next.Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(12/21/25)

Luke 2:8-18 (Advent)This episode explores your experiences of joy. It helps you stop beating yourself up when you aren't experiencing much joy, while also helping you open yourself up to receive joy. Credits & Sources:Kenneth Bailey, Joel Green, Moises Silva, Tim Geddert, Richard Rohrbaugh, Bruce Malina, Craig Keener, Raymond Brown, C.S. Lewis. Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(12/14/25)

Luke 18:31-34You could say that this one is about death and dying and so nobody wants to listen to it. But it is much more than that. It's about how underneath all culture warring, underneath all worldview defense lies a sheer terror: We are all enslaved to the fear of death. That fear infects everything. What does it mean to follow Jesus and walk towards an inevitable death without being enslaved to this fear? Sources:Ernest Becker, Richard Beck, Ted Pyscynski, Andrew Root, Kara Root, Brian Ross, Kosuke Koyama, Mark Baker, Richard Rohrbaugh, Bruce Malina, Brian Zahnd, Eric Versluis, Cynthia Vinney, Russell Barkley, Emily Smith, Erika Hayasaki, Plato, David B. Rose, Helmine Bigler, Stephen Covey, Mark Strauss, Craig Keener, N.T. Wright, and Elizaeth Bruenig. Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(12/7/25)

Luke 18:15-30So many people see the rich in the powerful in one of two ways. They either see them as the posterchild of success and they secretly envy them. Or they villainize them as corrupt oppressors.Neither view looks through the eyes of compassion. Jesus sees what few others see about what riches and power are doing to them.This one explores the way that Jesus speaks out of compassion for the rich and the powerful. Credits and Sources: Ivan Paz, William Herzog, Gerhard Lenski, Tim Jennings, Dacher Keltner, Sukhvinder Obhi, James Alison, Jerry Useem, Skye Jethani, Justo Gonzalez, David Garland, Bruce Malina, Richard Rorhbaugh, Alan Culpepper, N.T. Wright, Kenneth Bailey, Moises Silva, Tim Geddert, Renee Durbin, Miguel de la Torre. Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(11/23/25)

Luke 18:15-17This episode explores why reconnecting with your younger self is crucial to healthy spirituality. Credits and Sources:Eugene Peterson, Andrew Root, Kara Root, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Hartmut Rosa, Lacy Finn Borgo, Ken Shigematsu, Justo Gonazalez, Bruce Malina, Richard Rohrbaugh, Alan Culpepper, Tim Geddert, David Garland. Sermon by Aaron CarlsonFor more information or to support this podcast visit www.netartsfriends.org(11/16/25)