God’s Acre on the Go

Stephen Chapin Garner
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Christianity
  • Biweekly

God’s Acre on the Go Podcast, from The Congregational Church of New Canaan and hosted by Rev. Dr. Stephen Chapin Garner, features weekly sermons and reflections from the church’s pastors, exploring biblical themes and their relevance to contemporary life. This podcast is for anyone seeking spiritual growth and thoughtful engagement with Christian faith, particularly those interested in exploring how faith intersects with everyday experiences and challenges.

  1. 2d ago

    Salt, Light, and Saints

    In Matthew 4:23–5:16, Jesus gathers people who are sick, struggling, overlooked, and often pushed to the margins of society. And to these very people, he declares: “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” Not “you could be.” Not “you should be.” You are. On All Saints Sunday, Salt, Light, and Saints explores the extraordinary power of having someone recognize our worth when we cannot see it ourselves. Reflecting on childhood struggles with school and self-worth, the sermon remembers two transformative gifts: Bible stories that revealed God's love for imperfect people, and a grandmother whose simple affirmation, “This is my number one grandson,” helped a young boy discover that he was loved simply because he belonged. The saints in our lives are often those who help us remember who we really are. They see goodness where we see inadequacy. They recognize light where we see darkness. And they remind us that our value is not determined by our accomplishments, failures, or the judgments of others. But Jesus' declaration also becomes an invitation. Having received the gift of being seen and loved, we can offer that same gift to others.

  2. Oct 25

    Facing the Future, Eyes Bright

    In Deuteronomy 34:1–12, Moses stands atop Mount Nebo, looking out over the Promised Land. At 120 years old, his eyes remain bright and his strength undiminished. Yet he knows he will not enter the land toward which he has led his people for forty years. The future will belong to another generation. Today, we face our own uncertain future as artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the world around us. AI promises remarkable possibilities in medicine, education, and productivity. But it also raises profound ethical questions, particularly about children whose minds, relationships, and moral judgment are still developing. In "Facing the Future, Eyes Bright," theologian and AI ethics researcher Rev. Wesley J. Wildman explores the opportunities and dangers of artificial intelligence and asks what distinctive wisdom Christianity can offer. His answer begins with a foundational Christian conviction: every human person possesses sacred dignity because each is created and loved by God. That conviction provides a guiding principle for evaluating technology. Does it strengthen human relationships, judgment, and flourishing? Or does it exploit vulnerabilities, diminish human agency, and undermine the development of children? We may not know precisely what the technological future holds. But like Moses looking toward the Promised Land, we can face it with clear eyes and a firm understanding of what matters.

  3. Oct 18

    Fierce Friend

    What would it mean to have a friendship with God? Not merely to believe in God, obey God, or occasionally ask God for help, but to actually know God as a friend.   In Exodus 33:7–23, Moses meets with God in the tent of meeting, where Scripture tells us they speak “face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” It's an astonishing description, especially considering how their relationship began. When God first called Moses, he resisted at every turn. Yet after years of encountering God's powerful, mysterious, and sometimes frightening presence, Moses discovered that he could no longer imagine life without God. When offered the Promised Land without God's presence, Moses declared that he would rather remain in the wilderness. "Fierce Friend" explores the remarkable transformation of Moses' relationship with God and the invitation extended to us through Jesus Christ. In John 15:12–15, Jesus tells his disciples, “I have called you friends.” The holy God whose presence seemed overwhelming at Sinai has drawn near to us in Christ. This friendship is not casual. It calls for trust, faithfulness, attention, obedience, and love. But it also offers something no accomplishment, possession, or pleasure can provide: the enduring presence of God. And perhaps our human friendships can teach us something about this divine relationship. Both require time, attention, and a willingness to know and be known. The closer we draw to God, the more we desire God. And the more we desire God, the less willing we become to live without that friendship.

  4. Oct 11

    Changed by the Company We Keep

    When Moses first encounters God at the burning bush, he wants nothing more than for God to send someone else. Yet years later, when the Israelites turn away from God by creating a golden calf, Moses becomes their fiercest advocate. What changed?   In this sermon on Exodus 32:1-14, Kelly Antonson explores how Moses was formed not simply through his calling to lead, but through the relationships he developed with the people he was called to serve. Drawing on the congregation’s relationship with Pivot Ministries, she invites us to consider how God may be shaping our own faith through the people already present in our lives.

  5. Oct 4

    Rules for Life

    Why does God give us rules in the first place? In Exodus 20, God gives the Ten Commandments to a newly liberated people learning how to live in relationship with God and with one another. Some prohibitions exist because they protect something precious. The commandments protect relationships that God deeply values. Pasted markdown Centuries later, when Jesus is asked to identify the greatest commandment, he reaches back into the Hebrew Scriptures. From Deuteronomy: love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. From Leviticus: love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus does not introduce love into an otherwise loveless Old Testament. He reveals the love that was there all along. Pasted markdown But biblical love is more than affection. It involves loyalty, faithfulness, commitment, and action. That makes Jesus’ rule wonderfully simple—and extraordinarily demanding. In difficult meetings, family arguments, disappointments, financial decisions, political disagreements, and encounters with people we simply do not like, we can ask one question: What does love require of me now? We may not need to memorize hundreds of laws. Jesus gives us two commands demanding enough to occupy an entire lifetime: Love God. Love your neighbor.

  6. Sep 27

    The Serpent Savior

    What if the thing you fear might destroy you could somehow become the place where healing begins? In Numbers 21:4–9, the Israelites are attacked by poisonous snakes in the wilderness. God gives Moses a strange instruction: make an image of the very creature they fear, raise it on a pole, and tell the people to look at it. Those who look toward the serpent live. Centuries later, Jesus draws upon this disturbing story in John 3:14–17: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” The cross—an instrument of humiliation, suffering, and death—becomes Christianity’s great symbol of salvation and life. Chapin explores the unsettling Christian conviction that sometimes something within us must die before we can become fully alive. Not because suffering is good, but because God can work even through loss, failure, disappointment, and the things we most fear. Resentments can die. False identities can be shed. Old ambitions can loosen their grip. We can become freer to love, forgive, reconcile, and give thanks. And the invitation is surprisingly simple: Look to Jesus. We do not need to understand everything before healing begins. We turn our gaze toward the One who was lifted up—and trust that God can bring life even from the places that look like death.

  7. Sep 20

    Recipe for Relationship

    In Exodus 16:2–36, the Israelites have escaped slavery in Egypt only to find themselves hungry in the wilderness. God responds by providing manna, bread from heaven that appears each morning. But the manna comes with unusual instructions: gather only what you need for today, trust that more will come tomorrow, and when the Sabbath arrives, rest. God is doing more than feeding Israel. God is forming a people. After generations of living according to Pharaoh’s demands, the Israelites must learn a new way of life. They must discover that the God who liberated them can be trusted to provide. But the manna also raises another, more surprising question: Can God trust them? That question reaches us as well. Can we trust God when tomorrow is uncertain? And can God count on us to love, forgive, share, welcome, tell the truth, seek reconciliation, and use what we have been given for the sake of others? The Christian life becomes a sacred rhythm: God provides; we trust. God instructs; we obey. Grace and response. Provision and command. Trust and obedience—two simple ingredients in a relationship with God that can sustain us through every wilderness.

  8. Sep 13

    Sacred Stillness

    In Exodus 14:10–25, the Israelites find themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s approaching army and the sea. There is no apparent way forward, and going backward is impossible. Into their fear, Moses speaks an extraordinary word: “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.” Stillness can be especially difficult for competent people. We are accustomed to identifying problems, making plans, and finding solutions. Those abilities are gifts—but they can also tempt us to believe that every problem is ours to solve. Sacred Stillness explores another dimension of faith: learning when to stop trying to create an opening and instead watch for what God may be doing. Sacred stillness is not passivity. The Israelites could not part the sea, but once God opened the path, they had to walk through it. From the Red Sea to the silence of Holy Saturday and the empty tomb of Easter morning, Scripture tells of a God who makes a way when human possibilities have been exhausted. Sometimes faith means acting. Sometimes it means waiting. Wisdom is learning the difference.

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About

God’s Acre on the Go Podcast, from The Congregational Church of New Canaan and hosted by Rev. Dr. Stephen Chapin Garner, features weekly sermons and reflections from the church’s pastors, exploring biblical themes and their relevance to contemporary life. This podcast is for anyone seeking spiritual growth and thoughtful engagement with Christian faith, particularly those interested in exploring how faith intersects with everyday experiences and challenges.

Information

  • Creator
    Stephen Chapin Garner
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2015 . All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    God’s Acre on the Go

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