Bethany Lutheran Church
Bethany Lutheran church is located in Austin, TX. We are a church dedicated to Christ and creating a community for people to belong. Bethany is a place to belong, explore, and enjoy the presence and grace of Christ.
Episodes
596 episodes since 2016
Every Moment Holy | Domestic Days
Sometimes we forget that the service shown to others in keeping house…being domestic in Christ can be holy and honoring. A home is an extension of the body of Christ and the hospitality we are to show. Cleaning feet was a service and about keep...
September 08, 2024
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17:29
Blessings and Curses | The Final Blessing
God’s blessing had been given to people who time and time again chose to reject it. Later in the story, after Israel had been exiled from the promised land, God sent the true Israelite, the only one who could faithfully walk in God’s blessing a...
September 01, 2024
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18:39
Blessings and Curses | Choose Life of Death
After the first humans’ rebellion, God chose a new couple to bless so that God’s blessing may extend to all nations through them. Later, God’s people are offered a choice to choose life or death, to receive God’s blessing or to reject it. Join ...
August 25, 2024
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24:25
Blessings and Curses | Being Human is Hard
The human story begins with God blessing the first two humans, but something goes tragically wrong shortly after the initial blessing. The first two humans reject God’s blessing for something they think will be better, but instead of greater bl...
August 18, 2024
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22:53
Blessings and Curses | Blessed to be a Blessing
The first time the word bless/blessed appears in the Bible is at the start of Genesis. This one tiny word has amazing and beautiful ramifications on what it means to be human and shows us how God continues to invite us to part...
August 11, 2024
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23:23
Prayers of Trust
Where does your help come from? Your bank account? Capitol Hill? Your career? Psalm 121 lifts our eyes from these things that are sure to fail us and fixes our gaze on Yahweh, who is the maker of heaven and earth. Join us as we wrap up ou...
August 04, 2024
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19:21
Prayers of Wisdom
God’s way often seems foolish to the world, and to surrender our will to God’s will often seems very foolish to those around us who don’t know God. The Psalms give us language to come to grips with what true wisdom is, even when it feels like f...
July 28, 2024
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31:01
Prayers to the King
Psalms scholar Dr. Saleska writes, “Psalm 2 puts us in the middle of a power dispute. Who has power and who does not? What does power look like? Who gets to exercise it? Whose side are you on?” Sound familiar?! As followers of Jesus, thes...
July 21, 2024
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26:01
Prayers of Anger
Jesus got angry. So, is such a thing as righteous anger? What do we do when we become angry? How do we express that anger? How do we process that anger? The Psalms give us words to help us process this universal emotion. Psalm 137 (E...
July 14, 2024
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25:45
Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving
It is easy to look around and let our hearts grow cold and numb because of the brokenness all around us. The Psalms give us language to express the lament we experience. But the Psalms also teach us how to pray prayers of thanksgiving as a form...
July 07, 2024
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31:46
Prayers of Lament
What do you do when you feel as though God has deserted you? Jesus experienced this and he used the words of Psalm 22 to give voice to what he was experiencing as he was dying on the cross. Join us as we explore how to pray when we are overcome...
June 30, 2024
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33:42
Praying the Psalms | Introduction
Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray!” Jesus gave them what we now call the Lord’s Prayer. However, as a Jewish man Jesus’ prayer life would have been formed by the prayers in The Book of Psalms. Join us Pastor Jake introduces ...
June 23, 2024
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22:23
Meeting Jesus | Seeing and Believing
As we wrap up our series of Meeting Jesus in John’s Gospel, we will see how Jesus meets us in our fears, doubts, and confusion but he doesn’t leave us there. Jesus invites us to follow him as he breathes his peace upon us, even when things don’...
June 16, 2024
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35:34
Meeting Jesus | The Disciples at the Last Supper
“What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Following Jesus is often unclear and scary. As Jesus was preparing to leave his disciples they had lots of questions about what was next. Jesus didn’t give them a s...
June 09, 2024
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34:36
Meeting Jesus | Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
In this story we see Jesus’ humanity and divinity come together as he and his friends stare death in the face. But Jesus is not too quick to “save the day.” Instead, he sits with Mary and Martha in their heartbreak. Sometimes it feels like Jesu...
June 02, 2024
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29:43
Meeting Jesus | A Man Born Blind
Jesus meets a man born blind and miraculously heals him. The man is later interrogated about who had done this act on the Sabbath. The man could only answer by saying, “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” The man’s answer ...
May 26, 2024
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29:12
Meeting Jesus | Pentecost Sunday
Forty days after Easter the church celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which Jesus promised would happen back in John 15 and 16. Join us as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday and as we exigence the Spirit-led life. Acts 2:1–21 (E...
May 19, 2024
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31:33
Meeting Jesus | The Crowd of Galilee
Jesus’ words are often difficult to receive. Jesus’ words often revealed people’s true motives and allegiances. But Jesus was ok with people not following him. He didn’t hedge on the truth or beg people to follow him. How do Jesus’ words challe...
May 13, 2024
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27:55
Meeting Jesus | The Woman at the Well
In John’s Gospel Jesus meets people all across the spectrum of faith, from religious leaders like Nicodemus to outcasts like the women and the well. Jesus seems to be harsh with this woman, calling out her sin. But what if Jesus was doing a dee...
May 05, 2024
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31:26
Meeting Jesus | Nicodemus
Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, came to Jesus by night. Nicodemus was curious about Jesus and who he was and where he came from. But Jesus did not give him easy answers. Jesus spoke about water and Spirit and being “born again.” What did ...
April 28, 2024
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29:21
Meeting Jesus: Calling His Disciples
Jesus’ first disciples heard of this rabbi from John the Baptizer and were instantly drawn to Jesus. Their response to Jesus’ call was to bring others to Jesus. What have you heard about Jesus? What has drawn you to Jesus? How is Jesus inviting...
April 21, 2024
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29:14
Meeting Jesus | John the Baptizer
John first met Jesus when they were both in their mothers’ wombs. Yet, in the first chapter of John’s Gospel John the Baptizer has to come to grips with who he is and what his calling is in light of who Jesus is and what his calling is. Who are...
April 14, 2024
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32:13
Meeting Jesus | So That You May Believe
How and why does God reveal himself to us? Is it through nature? Through dreams? Through an ancient book filled with wild and crazy stories? All of those questions could be answered with a maybe. But the Gospel of John gives us a clear...
April 07, 2024
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29:45
Satan Sows and Prowls
Last Sunday we got an image of how Satan messes with the harvest. In this parable he isn’t snatching the seed before he takes root he is sowing seeds of destruction – weeds. Many times we wonder why God just doesn't just get rid of it all...
March 06, 2024
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23:37
Get Behind Me Satan | At War with Satan
Knowing Christ means we are in an all out war against the devil. We fight against sin and seek faithfulness not because we believe we can save ourselves but because Christ has saved us and we want to live faithfully and push back against anythi...
February 28, 2024
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16:08