Shows / St. Paul Podcast
St. Paul Podcast
A vibrant faith community in Davenport, Iowa, St. Paul Lutheran Church runs a ministry that reaches across the country and outreach commitments that extend around the world.
Episodes
- St. Paul Podcast
No longer Legion, 6.22.2025
Mark Niethammer preaches on healing. What unites us as people is far more significant than what pulls us apart from each other, but it can be difficult to live…
- St. Paul Podcast
Season after Pentecost, The Bible for Worship
As God shows that Jesus wields the most effective power of all, Luke tells the story in such a way that the power creates reassurance rather than fear, and…
- St. Paul Podcast
Moving beyond a single story, 6.15.2025
Katy Warren preaches on assumptions. Every person you meet has their own unique, multi-faceted story. One detail of someone’s life shouldn’t define all of who…
- St. Paul Podcast
Season after Pentecost, The Bible for Worship
As part of Jesus' last word to the disciples, John responds to the challenge of an enduring Word of God in a changing world. The promise of the Spirit of Truth…
- St. Paul Podcast
Let the wind take you, 6.8.2025
Sara Olson-Smith preaches on the Holy Spirit as wind. The Greek word for spirit is ‘pneuma.’ Pneuma has multiple meanings including wind, breath, and spirit…
- St. Paul Podcast
Divine annoyances, 6.1.2025
Mark Niethammer preaches on human annoyances. A faithful life is possible even in the messiness of our days. When we embrace the love of God, that love brings…
- St. Paul Podcast
Season after Pentecost, The Bible for Worship
In one of the dramatic episodes that Luke portrays of Jesus in a synagogue, we hear the core value of life affirmed and re-affirmed — affirmed from within…
- St. Paul Podcast
Seventh Sunday of Easter, The Bible for Worship
John closes the account of Jesus' public ministry with the final words of Jesus' prayer for the disciples, that God will hold them together against every…
- St. Paul Podcast
River of life, 5.25.2025
Sara Olson-Smith preaches on God's grace. Our lives are like the water of a watershed, which eventually flows toward a big river. All creation will be pulled…
- St. Paul Podcast
Sixth Sunday of Easter, The Bible for Worship
The Book of Revelation presents a soaring vision of the city of God to which all nations turn for praise and healing, with a surprising twist regarding when…
- St. Paul Podcast
Multiply your love, 5.18.2025
Katy Warren preaches on love. Often, we think there is only so much love to share, but love is not a limited resource. There is more than enough to go around…
- St. Paul Podcast
Fifth Sunday of Easter, The Bible for Worship
Luke's reassurance to the community reading Acts that they are indeed included in the life-giving work of God's spirit becomes for us, as readers of Acts, an…
- St. Paul Podcast
I shall not want, 5.11.2025
Sara Olson-Smith preaches on trust. The words of Psalm 23 provide comfort, but the psalm doesn’t just talk about a comfortable kind of love from God. Human…
- St. Paul Podcast
Fourth Sunday of Easter, The Bible for Worship
Set at the Jewish Festival of Renewal, John's story about Jesus shows that God renews the promise of life for all people over and over again, in different…
- St. Paul Podcast
Open hearts, open minds, 5.4.2025
Katy Warren preaches on connection. We belong to each other, for better or for worse. There’s more to faith than our personal perspective, there’s a great…
- St. Paul Podcast
No locked doors, 4.27.2025
Maddy Tyler preaches on the resurrection. In our days of grief and despair, when we’ve lost ourselves, Jesus meets us where we are. He meets us at the foot of…
- St. Paul Podcast
Third Sunday of Easter, The Bible for Worship
Bridging the life of Jesus and the life of his own church community, John uses powerful symbolism and narrative to announce that the life abundant that Jesus…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus in the Garden
Happy Easter, podcast listeners! A particularly amazing thing happens in today’s episode. Little Bird’s best friend Jesus died just three days ago and while…
- St. Paul Podcast
Second Sunday of Easter, The Bible for Worship
A double appearance by Jesus in the original ending of John's gospel offers a double blessing to all who follow the risen Master. John has been introducing us…
- St. Paul Podcast
Remember what he told you, 4.20.2025
Mark Niethammer preaches on Easter Sunday. Somedays, everything feels like it’s going wrong and everywhere you turn there is bad news. When we’re surrounded by…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus on Golgatha
Today’s episode is a sad one. There are some scary and hard things, but there is also lots of good and love. Our story begins on the same evening as the Last…
- St. Paul Podcast
Easter Sunday, The Bible for Worship
Amidst a bevy of details that make the whole story seem questionable, Luke sets the one question that proclaims the Easter gospel from the heart of an empty…
- St. Paul Podcast
The rocks will cry out, 4.13.2025
Sara Olson-Smith preaches on Jesus' steadfast love. Jesus' saving work was to bring freedom and hope not just for the people in his own time and place but for…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus at the Last Supper
In this week’s episode, Little Bird shares a very special meal with Jesus and the disciples. And before that meal, Jesus does something a little different but…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus on Golgatha
Today’s episode is a sad one. There are some scary and hard things, but there is also lots of good and love. Our story begins on the same evening as the Last…
- St. Paul Podcast
Like a movie star at a rodeo, 4.6.2025
Mark Niethammer preaches on new life. When Jesus shows up, incredible things happen. When we are at our worst, lowest, and loneliest, we need to look no…
- St. Paul Podcast
Palm/Passion Sunday, The Bible for Worship
Luke orchestrates Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem with every mark of the pomp and circumstance that is appropriate to the story he is telling. The prophets…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus at a Palm Parade
For the next few weeks, revisit some favorite Little Bird Easter episodes! On today's episode, Little Bird adds another new friend to the story. This time…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus at the Last Supper
In this week’s episode, Little Bird shares a very special meal with Jesus and the disciples. And before that meal, Jesus does something a little different but…
- St. Paul Podcast
Fifth Sunday in Lent, The Bible for Worship
John in his gospel pairs two moments to show the incredible value of Jesus' death for his community and for the world as that death draws near. Though this…
- St. Paul Podcast
Beyond the scorecard, 3.30.2025
Sara Olson-Smith preaches on God’s grace. We put together complicated analytics about those around us and for ourselves. Balancing out honesty, speed of humor…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus at a Palm Parade
For the next few weeks, revisit some favorite Little Bird Easter episodes! On today's episode, Little Bird adds another new friend to the story. This time…
- St. Paul Podcast
Fourth Sunday in Lent, The Bible for Worship
Keeping the focus on the central character of a very familiar story is key to hearing the gospel in this parable, in which Jesus teaches that the God of Israel…
- St. Paul Podcast
Owners of love, 3.23.2025
Mac Mullins preaches on repentance. Human beings have a knack for dividing things, including one another. When we begin to internalize and believe in these…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus and giving our lives to God
Today’s episode is about trust. Jesus asks the disciples to trust him and to trust in God’s plan, even if they don’t quite understand it. Sometimes tough…
- St. Paul Podcast
Third Sunday in Lent, The Bible for Worship
With dramatic urgency in a story about Jesus, Luke underscores the urgency of our response to God's invitation to be part of God's people, lest we lose out on…
- St. Paul Podcast
Counting the stars, 3.16.2025
Katy Warren preaches on trust. We place our trust in many things every day. Faith and trust are words that are sometimes used interchangeably. Faith seems to…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus and giving our lives to God
Today’s episode is about trust. Jesus asks the disciples to trust him and to trust in God’s plan, even if they don’t quite understand it. Sometimes tough…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus in the wilderness
Today, Jesus heads out to the wilderness alone and Little Bird is very worried about him. So worried that she takes off to find him. A lizard helps her find…
- St. Paul Podcast
Second Sunday in Lent, The Bible for Worship
Midway through Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and Calvary, Luke again shows him tempted to turn aside from God's will and promise, and again Jesus claims the…
- St. Paul Podcast
Two truths and a lie, 3.9.2025
Mark Niethammer preaches on discerning the truth. Our lives and world are full of people, philosophies, advertising, and social media all trying to convince us…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus in the wilderness
Today, Jesus heads out to the wilderness alone and Little Bird is very worried about him. So worried that she takes off to find him. A lizard helps her find…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus on the mountain
Today, Little Bird, Jesus, and some of the disciples take a small little hike up a mountain. Once on the mountaintop, Little Bird and the disciples are in for…
- St. Paul Podcast
First Sunday of Lent, The Bible for Worship
As Jesus steps away from his baptism with the gift of the Holy Spirit, Luke shows him immediately tempted to use for his own purposes and power the gracious…
- St. Paul Podcast
Playgrounds and mountaintops, 3.2.2025
Mac Mullins preaches on transformation. Our light, God’s light within us, shines through the abundance of how we live; living with patience, humility, and…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus and the vine
Jesus, Little Bird, and his friends, the disciples, get a little silly today. Jesus plays a little game to get the disciples to guess what he is and soon…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus on the mountain
Today, Little Bird, Jesus, and some of the disciples take a small little hike up a mountain. Once on the mountaintop, Little Bird and the disciples are in for…
- St. Paul Podcast
Transfiguration of our Lord, The Bible for Worship
A key turning point in Luke's' gospel marks a key turning point in the church year, as the changing of Jesus' face on a mountaintop marks the beginning of his…
- St. Paul Podcast
Divine imagination, 2.23.2025
Sara Olson-Smith preaches on mercy. God forgives us and welcomes up back over and over again, not just for our sake, but so that this mercy will trickle down…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus and the promise of the Holy Spirit
Hi podcast friends! Do you ever feel afraid or alone? Of course, you do. We all do at times. A Little Bird told us that today’s episode helps remind us that…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus and the vine
Jesus, Little Bird, and his friends, the disciples, get a little silly today. Jesus plays a little game to get the disciples to guess what he is and soon…
- St. Paul Podcast
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany, The Bible for Worship
In Luke's account of Jesus' Sermon on the Plain, he reminds the reader that we always have control over our posture in response to abuse and injury and that…
- St. Paul Podcast
Blessed are the poor?, 2.16.2025
Mark Niethammer preaches on the blessings of God. We have every opportunity to forget our faith and take for granted the things we have. If the things we have…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus and the promise of the Holy Spirit
Hi podcast friends! Do you ever feel afraid or alone? Of course, you do. We all do at times. A Little Bird told us that today’s episode helps remind us that…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus and the rich young man
Today’s episode has it all. Disciples and their silly jokes. Jesus shares an important teaching. AND everyone’s favorite Tiny Mouse. Oh boy. Tiny Mouse gets…
- St. Paul Podcast
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, The Bible for Worship
In the first major speech by Jesus in Luke's gospel, the focus of life as God's people is on those who understand themselves to be in need — of God's kingdom…
- St. Paul Podcast
Continue, 2.9.2025
Katy Warren preaches on continuing. Even those of us who live with great depths of faith in our lives experience uncertainties about the future, emotional…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus and the rich young man
Today’s episode has it all. Disciples and their silly jokes. Jesus shares an important teaching. AND everyone’s favorite Tiny Mouse. Oh boy. Tiny Mouse gets…
- St. Paul Podcast
Little Bird and Jesus and the sending of the 72
In today’s story we see that none of us, not even Jesus, can do it all alone. Jesus needs the help of his friends, the disciples, to help spread the word of…
- St. Paul Podcast
Inside/outside, 2.2.2025
Mac Mullins preaches on God’s vision. The promise of God’s love is already ours. It’s not a future reality for us. It is alive here and it is alive now. The…