The Neighborhood Podcast

Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing
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This is a podcast of Guilford Park Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina featuring guests from both inside the church and the surrounding community.  Hosted by Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing, Head of Staff.

  1. 5D AGO

    "Saving Eutychus" (April 19, 2026 Sermon)

    Send us Fan Mail Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing Text: Acts 20:7-12 Someone really does fall asleep during a sermon in the Bible, and it’s not just a quirky story. We start with Eutychus in Acts 20 and sit with the uncomfortable truth behind it: many of us come to worship exhausted. We’re worn down by nonstop news, heavy schedules, and the pressure to carry more than feels possible. When we’re that tired, we don’t need louder words or longer explanations. We need grace that meets us in our actual bodies. From there, we follow the image that won’t let go: Eutychus perched in a window, neither fully in nor fully out. That “window” becomes a spiritual map for modern church life, where people drift between belonging and isolation, faith and fatigue, attention and distraction. We ask what it would look like to become the kind of church that notices those at the margins and brings them to the center, not with guilt, but with warmth, welcome, and practices that engage all our senses. Because embodied worship is not a buzzword, it’s how faith becomes real. We share sensory memories that shape discipleship, then celebrate the holy work of a church preschool where children learn “you are safe, you are loved, you belong” long before they can explain grace. If you’re a parent running on fumes, a tired believer, or someone who feels stuck in the window, this message is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with one way you’ve experienced grace with your whole self. Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch Website:  www.guilfordpark.org

    13 min

  2. APR 12

    "Joy That Can't Be Chained" (April 12, 2026 Sermon)

    Send us Fan Mail Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing Text: Philippians 1 Joy is easy to talk about when life is calm. It’s harder to trust when the bills stack up, the news cycle stays violent, and your own energy feels gone. We turn to Philippians 1 and listen to Paul do the impossible: rejoice from a prison cell, not because his circumstances are fine, but because Christ is still present and still at work. We sit with the tender, affectionate Paul we meet in the letter to the Philippians and contrast him with the sharper “grumpy Paul” we sometimes hear elsewhere in the New Testament. That difference isn’t just personality, it’s relationship. Paul has a real partnership in the gospel with the Philippian church, including the care they send through Epaphroditus. The story becomes a grounded picture of Christian community, spiritual resilience, and the kind of faith that shows up with help that can be held in your hands. From there, we name a liberating truth: joy in Christ is not the same as fixing everything. We talk about what happens when we stop trying to carry what was never ours to carry alone and instead ask, “What has Christ put in front of me today?” The conversation lands in an ordinary backyard dinner where friendship, food, laughter, and welcome become a sign of resurrection life in the middle of it all. If you’re longing for deeper joy, a healthier Christian mindset, and a church community that shares the weight, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs an exhale, and leave a review with one place you’re finding joy right now. Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch Website:  www.guilfordpark.org

    22 min

  3. APR 5

    "The Good News Is...Alive in the World" (April 5, 2026 Sermon)

    Send us Fan Mail Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing Text: Matthew 28:1-10 Easter starts at a tomb, but it doesn’t stay there. We open with prayer and Matthew’s resurrection story, then sit with a line from Mary Oliver that changes the frame: Easter is not a day for answers, it is a day for astonishment. That single shift gives us permission to stop pretending we’re fine and to bring our whole selves, including fear, grief, and questions, into the light of resurrection hope. We linger with the women who come to mourn and leave as witnesses. The angel’s commands are simple and urgent: do not be afraid, come and see, go quickly and tell. We talk about why “do not be afraid” doesn’t mean nothing scary has happened. It means fear is not the truest thing anymore. Death is real. Grief is real. Empire is real. But none of them are ultimate, and the risen Christ is already ahead of us. From there, the story moves to Galilee, the ordinary place where life is messy and holy at the same time. Resurrection doesn’t offer an escape from the world; it sends us back into it, equipped to practice hope where love is needed most. We also connect this to the themes of our Tell Me Something Good series, learning to notice good news in unexpected places. Finally, we share a personal story of loss and a quiet act of compassion: a hotel housekeeper who leaves a letter and a small gift basket for grieving children. It’s a reminder that the gospel sometimes arrives with an earthquake, and sometimes with tenderness that says you are not alone. If you’re looking for an Easter sermon about resurrection, Christian faith, grief, and hope that feels honest and lived, press play. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review telling us where you’ve seen good news lately. Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch Website:  www.guilfordpark.org

    16 min

  4. APR 4

    "The Good News Is...Revealed Through Nonviolence" (April 3, 2026 Sermon)

    Send us Fan Mail Preaching: Rev. Dr. Kathryn G. N. Campbell Text: Luke 22:47-53; 23:33-38, 44-46 Good Friday is the day we want to fast-forward and we’re convinced that’s exactly why we shouldn’t. We start with prayer and Luke’s Passion narrative, then we tell a true-to-life story that exposes our impatience with the cross: a church that scheduled “Easter Sunday” on Friday night. The reactions are almost automatic, but the question underneath is serious and personal: what happens to Christian hope when we try to reach resurrection without sitting with death? We talk about Holy Week as formation, not just tradition. Good Friday names what is real in us and around us: betrayal, fear, public cruelty, and the urge to meet violence with violence. Yet Luke shows Jesus stopping the sword, healing the wounded, and praying forgiveness while he is mocked. We linger on what that means for anyone searching for a Good Friday sermon, the meaning of the crucifixion, or a Christian response to suffering. The waiting is not weakness. It’s a revelation of the heart of God: love to the end, mercy stronger than violence, forgiveness deeper than hatred. The central image is the waiting room, that “hurry up and wait” space we all know from hospitals, airports, and repair shops. Good Friday is that hallway between promise and fulfillment, where we expect one outcome and receive another. If you’re carrying grief, anxiety, anger, or unanswered prayers, this message invites you to wait attentively with a Savior who does not rush past pain but sits with it and transforms it. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs steadier hope, and leave a review so more people can find these Holy Week reflections. Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch Website:  www.guilfordpark.org

    14 min

  5. APR 3

    "The Good News Is...Even Judas Gets His Feet Washed" (April 2, 2026 Sermon)

    Send us Fan Mail Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing Text: John 13:1-35 Judas at the table is hard enough. Judas with clean feet is worse. We start with an honest confession: we don’t naturally know how to live in a world where the betrayer receives the same kneeling love as everyone else. And yet that’s exactly the world Jesus creates with a basin, a towel, and a quiet act of service that refuses to play by our rules of payback. We trace why this scene triggers us so deeply, especially in a culture shaped by outrage, canceling, and endless scorekeeping. If you’ve ever felt tired of the wicked prospering, frustrated with Jesus’ non-coercive way of changing the world, or tempted to reduce people to their worst moment, you’ll recognize the uncomfortable mirror. We talk about mercy and forgiveness without pretending harm doesn’t matter: reconciliation requires accountability, and grace does not erase what was done. But we also name the trap of retribution and how it deforms both the oppressor and the oppressed. Along the way, we lean on a surprising guide from Les Miserables. Javert can’t survive the disruption of grace when Jean Valjean spares him, and his crisis exposes a question we all face: can we live in a world where our feet get washed too? If you’re hungry for a more human way forward grounded in Christian faith, Maundy Thursday meaning, and the radical practice of foot washing, press play. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review telling us: where do you most need mercy to interrupt vengeance? Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch Website:  www.guilfordpark.org

    10 min

  6. MAR 29

    "The Good News Is...Inspiring Us to Act" (March 29, 2026 Sermon)

    Send us Fan Mail Text: Mark 11:1-11 Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing Power rarely looks the way we expect it to. We start with prayer and Mark 11’s Palm Sunday scene, then sit with an uncomfortable truth: we often fail to recognize what we most need. We miss grace when it is right in front of us. We overlook beauty when the world feels too broken. We ignore our bodies asking for rest because urgency gets mistaken for faithfulness.  Palm Sunday pushes back on every version of leadership that relies on spectacle. Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, surrounded by ordinary people and borrowed things, while the crowd cries “Hosanna,” meaning “save us.” In Mark’s Gospel, that moment becomes a recognition test. Can we see God’s power when it arrives as humility, service, and vulnerability rather than aggression and domination? Can we follow a king who moves toward the cross instead of around it?  We also lean into the verbs that drive the story and refuse to let us stay in the bleachers: go, untie, bring, spread, shout, follow. We talk about untying what has been bound in our lives and communities, bringing what we have in practical care, spreading mercy in quiet daily ways, and letting “Hosanna” become public witness that rejects cruelty and “us versus them” thinking. If you are walking into Holy Week asking where Jesus is showing up now, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review, then tell us: what will be your Hosanna? Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch Website:  www.guilfordpark.org

    14 min

  7. MAR 22

    "The Good News Is...Rooted in Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness" (March 22, 2026 Sermon)

    Send us Fan Mail Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing Texts: Matthew 23:23 & John 8:2-11 Nuance didn’t disappear by accident; we traded it for speed, certainty, and the rush of being right. We feel the fallout everywhere: online arguments that turn into rage, politics that punish compromise, and even faith conversations that mistake harshness for conviction. We’re trying to name what that does to real human beings and why it leaves so much collateral damage in its wake.  We open with Jesus’ sharp warning from Matthew 23:23 about religious life that majors in tiny details while neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. Then we step into John 8:2-11, where scribes and Pharisees drag an unnamed woman before Jesus and demand a verdict. The story invites uncomfortable but necessary questions: how was she caught, did she get to speak, was it consensual, and why is the man missing? Those questions aren’t a dodge; they’re a path back to ethical clarity, human dignity, and biblical justice.  What stops the public shaming isn’t a clever comeback. Jesus bends down and writes in the dirt, choosing a deliberate pause in the face of a supercharged moment. We reflect on why the pause matters, why the phrase “throw a stone at her” keeps the crowd from looking away, and how Jesus calls us to hold law alongside mercy and faithfulness. We also name “stones” we still throw today: shame, social media contempt, political caricatures, church gossip, and the need to win. If you’re hungry for a more thoughtful Christian response to division, discipleship, and accountability without humiliation, this one is for you.  Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s tired of outrage, and leave a review with your answer: what stone are you ready to put down? Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch Website:  www.guilfordpark.org

    17 min

  8. MAR 18

    Mark’s Abrupt Ending (March 18, 2026 Wednesday Nigh Sunday School)

    Send us Fan Mail Mark ends his Gospel with an empty tomb, a breathtaking claim, and then one of the strangest final lines in the Bible: the women run away and say nothing because they are afraid. That’s it. No closing appearance of Jesus. No tidy wrap-up. If you’ve ever felt like faith is supposed to end with certainty but your real life ends with questions, this conversation is for you. We walk through the resurrection endings in Matthew, Luke, and John to feel the contrast in our bones. Matthew closes with the Great Commission and a clear sense of mission. Luke slows down with the road to Emmaus, where grief shifts into recognition around a shared meal. John gives us the human realism of Doubting Thomas and the surprising tenderness of Jesus meeting exhausted disciples by the water. Then we turn to Mark 16:1–8 and face the abrupt stop, including a quick look at why many Bibles contain later shorter and longer endings. Along the way we talk about the women at the tomb, what fear might mean in the face of resurrection, and why an unfinished ending can be a deliberate theological move. Mark’s cliffhanger does not let us stay spectators. It asks what we will do with the news that Jesus is risen when our lives still feel messy, unpredictable, and raw. If you found this helpful, subscribe for more Bible study and theology conversations, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find it. What do you think Mark is trying to do with that final word: afraid? Follow us on Instagram @guilfordparkpresbyterianchurch Follow us on Facebook @guilfordparkpc Follow us on TikTok @guilfordparkpreschurch Website:  www.guilfordpark.org

    19 min
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About

This is a podcast of Guilford Park Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina featuring guests from both inside the church and the surrounding community.  Hosted by Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing, Head of Staff.

Information

  • Creator
    Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    105
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Neighborhood Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Neighborhood Podcast