In this podcast we talk about us as believers and Catalysts in Morgantown and how we can create, sustain and thrive in that type of connection. (If you have seen the movie Back to the Future, you’ll know what Matt is talking about at the beginning of the sermon!)

What happens when a group of religious leaders bring a sinful woman to meet Jesus? How does Jesus react to this woman? How does he react to these Pharisees?

The Bible has a lot to say about the differences between religion and true Christianity. Churches today are full of people who think they know who Jesus is and what he is about. Unfortunately, many times we are as confused today about Jesus as they were 2000 years ago.

So what does it mean to truly follow Jesus and how can you get started today?

“Jesus loves you just the way you are, he just refuses to leave you that way.”

That is how it was explained to me when I wanted to know how much God loved me. I get that but still wonder, what does he expect out of me? What kind of effort is good enough? Is believing enough or is there stuff God actually wants me to do, right here and right now.

Join us today as we dive into a little more of…

The Last Thing Jesus Said…

When we arrived to set up our tables and generator, we were surprised to see a group of homeless men already waiting.  They offered to help set up the tables and chairs and assisted us in getting the ball rolling.  We had promoted the event with the Bartlett House, a local homeless shelter, and Christian Help, an organization that responds to individual people’s needs in times of emergency.

We had the most outstanding team of volunteers helping us throughout the morning.  We had people cooking, serving, running to the store for last minute items, and people just floating around getting to know our guests.  We served pancaks, sausage, ham, biscuits and gravy, omelets, grilled cheese, chili, pizza, donuts, pastrys, coffee, orange juice, and more.  What little food we did have left over at the end of the brunch we were fortunately able to give to a group of homeless that were near the coffee shop where we returned the coffee carafes (that Cafe Mojo was gracious enough to donate!) and weren’t aware of the event.

Being able to have our people come together to serve instead of being served is always a beautiful time of growth, both in our relationships with one another and more importantly with our God.  We are here to serve the people just as Jesus did, and want to continue loving our neighbors, whether they have a home or not.

Whether this church is your home, you are church shopping, visiting with friends or family or whatever, today is the day where we get to celebrate and experience the power of what God can do.

Check your fears, insecurities and burdens at the door, today we realize that the impossible is possible and God is alive and for us.

Let’s do this.

Thank you for being here. Enjoy the music, the pastries, the coffee, the videos, meet some people, take notes, drop your kids off with our Catalyst Kids department, and please be our guest today.

Here is the thing.

Today we have a goal and that goal is to talk about Jesus. He came here, he taught, he loved, he lived and he died. All because we all have a mess and he has a message.

Welcome to Catalyst where we try our best to live up to and love an incredible God that sees Our Mess and gives us His Message.

You get to hear (hopefully) good music, good stories. free coffee and treats free childcare, and hopefully if it is done well enough it will seem inviting, accepting and safe.

It is all done in the name of a poor carpenter who lived and died over 2,000 years ago named Jesus and this Jesus was anything but safe. He wasn’t easily controlled, he wasn’t easily provoked and he wasn’t often told what to do. He came here and he picked a band of losers to change the world, and change the world they did.

For the next hour we ask you to open your mind and experience just why that happened and how it can happen today.

It is non-stop fun and one of the best times to invite someone to a worship gathering because everyone just kind of goes on Easter. This year is Catalyst Church’s first ever Easter experience and we thought we would take a couple of weeks to gear up for it by walking through Jesus and his relationship with those who followed him.

So we decided to name this series “Jesus and all of his Peeps”

Some say it’s politics, others say it’s religion.

Within the church the two that no one wants to hear is money and Hell. Jesus spoke about those two topics more in scripture that he did both justice and acceptance, so, but why is it that we can’t seem to attract a crowd when we speak about it in the church?

Today we won’t talk about money, but we will talk the afterlife. Do we all have a destiny after we die, if so…

What is it?

**Take a look at this picture and then hit play on the podcast!

Today we are going to point out the elephants that might be on your mind when you enter a “church” and discuss how if we are in a church community, we should never be alone.

We had a special guest performer this week.  Check out the video and then start the podcast!