The Pop Culture (and more) Pastor: Recent Episodes
Patrick Woodbeck
Conversations about pop culture, Christianity, doctrine, spirituality, religion, and we might even throw in the kitchen sink....
In this episode we look at the world today with all of its challenges and struggles. It can be difficult to live in our world and yet, that is what we are called to do, to live within the paradox of being human
In this episode I reflect on what is happening in the world with all of the protests and counter-protests. I reflect on my own fear and anger around where we have come to as a society and look to my understanding of my own faith as a way forward.
In this episode we talk about our current world and how we might need to begin to use our prophetic imaginations to envision a new world today. It is a call for us to imagine something new in the midst of our current realities.
In this episode we continue with our examination of presence and how it sometimes can be difficult to feel the presence of God with us. We then look at how others can be that presence of God as they are present with us in the midst of life and how we might be offering them that same gift.
In the midst of all that is happening in our world and in our lives how do we trust that God is with us? In God's name we find not only meaning but the assurance of God's presence with us at each moment of our lives.
In this episode we continue our exploration of what it means to be different in the world. We speak to the scars that we bear and our brokenness and how that is what can make us special.
In this episode we begin a discussion of who we are are people and our uniqueness. We look at the desire for connection today and what fitting in might truly mean.
In this episode we look at our faith and what it means to actually have faith. We challenge ourselves out of institutional church and into the world.
In this episode we explore how the world and others continue to have expectations on us and how we are to live our lives. We explore how we are called to be uniquely ourselves in the world and what this might mean for us to embrace all that we were created to be.
In this episode we look at anger. We look at violence. We ask what is our role in a world that is so prone and numb to the overwhelming violence that we see and hear about every day.
This episode is based on Isaiah 65 and Matthew 4 and is and speaks to the coming Kingdom of God. It challenges us to find our place in the coming kingdom, what are we called to do and be in the world today.
This episode is based on a poem that was written by a friend of mine which deals with sadness and being present to that sadness in another. We look to Scripture to see the complicated nature of who we are and the vulnerability that we must have in order let another into our sadness and to enter into another's place of sadness.
In this episode we hear a Scripture passage that speaks to the presence of God, not in dramatic ways but, in the silence. We are then called to remember that the presence of God is with us.
This first episode of our second season we look at the well known parable of the Good Samaritan and how we locate ourselves in the story and how that is indicative of how we see pop culture and our world.
In this episode we look a well known piece of scripture from Micah and how this scripture might be lived out in our lives, on our world, today. The challenges and the blessings that might be found in this for ourselves and for the world.
In this episode we examine sadness in our world today and the struggle that the world has with sadness. We also look to Revelation which gives us comfort in knowing God exists with us always.
In this episode we examine the question "what if?" We look at the animated series of the same name and how that might just cause us to ask questions about our own lives and how we are today.
In this episode we take inspiration from a quote from a song by Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and look at how we are so frantic in this world of go, go, go that it is difficult to be patient. When we become so entangled in this world and in our own impatience we might just not see the world around us, the struggles of people around us, and the gifts that we have in our own lives.
On this episode of the podcast I look at a topic that has been a struggle for me personally, the idea that one needs to be perfect. In Psalm 82 we see the imperfection of our lives and examine if our faith too needs to be perfect. If we are not perfect are we called, are we loved?
In today's episode we look at joy in our world today and the idea that joy might not be based in our present circumstance but rather something more. We reflect on Psalm 71 and a poem from Persian Poet Hafiz.
In this episode of the podcast we will look at Isaiah 43: 1 - 7 and examine how it speaks to us in today's world. A world that is full of many unknowns and as such can be a place of great fear and anxiety for many of us.
In this episode we examine a very well-know piece of scripture and how it, and all scripture, might just be speaking to us at this time and place. We examine how when read with an open heart the wisdom of God comes to us in our lives today.
In this episode we explore the Star Wars franchise and I answer some questions around the movies. We then look to the concept of light and dark in the movies, in the world, and in ourselves.
In today's episode we look at Jesus' parable of the banquet and his challenge to not sit in the place of honour and not invite those who can repay but rather to humble ourselves. As we look at this reading we examine our own world's fascination with capitalism and how we have received so many gifts in our lives we can't repay.
Today we look to the passage of Revelation that speaks to God being the Alpha and the Omega and how quite often God becomes a god of our own making.
In this episode we explore how the fear of self-rejection leads us to places where we feel that we don't measure up. As we come to see ourselves as Beloved it opens space for us to grow into who we were created to be and also opens space for others.
This episode is based on the Mid-Week Devotion from September 1, 2021 and is a reflection on a short section of Isaiah 49 and how come to understand our own identities in the world.
This episode is based on a Mid-Week Devotion reflecting on Matthew 15. The scripture speaks to that which defiles and in this reflection we speak to the idea that what is in our heart must be a reflection of who we truly are and what we truly believe.
This episode of the podcast is based on a Mid-Week Devotion reflecting on Zephaniah 3:17 and Deuteronomy 31:8. We reflect on our wilderness places and God's presence.
This episode deals with Matthew chapter 7 and our call to not judge in light of the recent Tokyo Olympics.
In this episode of the Pop Culture (and more) Pastor I reflect on the statement "Faith is not what God can do for us, but rather what we can do for others."
This episode of The Pop Culture (and more) Pastor is based on the Mid-Week Devotion from the week of July 17, 2021 and was distributed on July 19, 2021. The scriptures used for the reflection were 2Corinthians and Romans and speaks to our gift of helping other untangle from what is weighing them down in their lives and how we can also allow others to help untangle out lives as well.
This episode of The Pop Culture (and more) Pastor is based on the Mid-Week Devotion from the week of July 12, 2021 and distributed on July 14, 2021. The reflection is based on a piece of scripture from 1John and speaks to love.
Join myself and my guest DJ as we examine WandaVision some of the themes that we found in the show and how we see it connecting to our lives and the Marvel Cinematic Universe past and present.
Another episode of The Pop Culture (And More) Pastor based on the Mid-Week Devotion from the week of July 5, 2021. This devotion was based on the beginning verses of Psalm 147.
First podcast based on the Mid-Week Devotion that is sent out every Wednesday. This particular podcast was distributed on June, 30, 2021 and is based on a reading from Ecclesiastes.