Church at the Well Podcast

This week, Jordan shares three things we can learn about God from the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. 

As we mark Adam’s last Sunday as Church at the Well’s lead pastor and welcome Jordan and Abby into their new roles as co-lead pastors, Adam explores an instructive picture from the Book of Numbers: Aaron’s budding staff, a reminder that leadership in God’s kingdom is not grasped for but received, and that flourishing and new life ultimately come from God.

What does prayer have to do with creation? In this sermon, Abby explores three ways we can pray in light of creation, drawing from examples in Scripture and sharing stories of how God has met and ministered to her in and through nature.

This week, we explore how God invites us to both community and solitude as part of Sabbath. 

Finding Rest in Jesus
In between commands against stealing, idolatry, and others, the Sabbath command might seem oddly out of place in the Ten Commandments. But what if it's there for a reason? This week, Adam continues our Summer Sabbath series by considering God's invitation to something deeper than a "day off" - an invitation to the true rest of Sabbath that we find in Jesus. 

Three Obstacles to Practicing Sabbath
Rest just doesn’t just happen; we have to choose to take it. In this sermon, Abby considers three common obstacles that hinder us from practicing Sabbath and invites us to see Sabbath not as something to master or accomplish, but as a gift to receive and enjoy as we are able.
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Discussion Questions:
Preparing for Sabbath isn’t just about guarding time, but, if helpful, planning it. Take two minutes to write a list of life-giving things you might enjoy doing as part of your Sabbath practice, then go around the circle, each sharing a few items from your “Sabbath Menu.”
Is there someone in the group who knows someone who practices the art of rest well? If so, please share. If not, how does it feel not to know anyone who rests well?
Building on Exodus 20:10, come up with a list as a group of who Sabbath is for besides you. (In other words, come up with a modern paraphrase of this verse). Do any items on your list stand out?
What are a few ways our practice of Sabbath might be a blessing to others?

Keeping sabbath is an act of resistance. In this sermon, Jordan explores three lies of identity (we are what we do, we are what we have, and we are what others say about us) and how practicing sabbath helps us to resist these lies and lean into the truth that we are God's beloved.
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Discussion Questions:
Have you ever had a really busy week or season that left you feeling exhausted or burned out? What was it like to finally stop and rest after such a hard time? What did rest look like?
The Israelites were forced into harsh labor, day in and day out. How do you think they might have reacted to God’s command to stop and rest? Would it have been easy for them? Difficult?
Bruggemann writes that God is a “Sabbath-keeping God… a Sabbath-giving God, and a Sabbath-commanding God.” Which one of these sticks out to you the most? Why?
Nouwen describes three lies of identity: I am what I do, I am what I have, and I am what others say about me. Do you see any evidence of these lies of identity at work in the world around you or in your own story?
How might keeping the Sabbath help us resist those lies of identity?

When we practice Sabbath, we’re not just taking a break from work, we’re returning to the heart of God’s design for relationships and renewal. This week, Adam kicks off our Summer Sabbath series by offering three ways to look at Sabbath and reminding us that when we Sabbath, we’re rehearsing for the Kingdom of God.

How does the popular mantra, “God helps those who help themselves,” square with Scripture? And since it’s not actually found in the Bible, where does this mantra come from? In the sermon, Abby gives a brief history of this saying, shares a story from her own life, and offers three things we can learn from Daniel about God’s will when it comes to our need for help. 

Many of us have heard the advice (or the song) that we ought to let "Jesus Take The Wheel." This week, Jordan continues our series, "You've Heard It Said," with a closer look at this common phrase. Together, we explore how faith and personal responsibility can work together, and what it really means to trust God with our lives.