Manhattan Church of Christ Podcast

His Heart, Through Us

Manhattan Church of Christ — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Preaching on Luke 5:1-26, John 8:1-11, and Mark 5:25-34; Emily Cahnmann speaks about heart memories: memories of love and kindness. Emily goes through the scriptures, pointing out the heart memories that Jesus gives, from Zaccheus to the woman sentenced to be stoned to the leper to Peter and the other fishermen. Jesus's kindness and love stands out from a mindless crowd or those pursuing only justice, He takes the time to see individual people stuck out in people's minds and changed many of the rest of their lives. And we should try to be more like Jesus in that way, being kind and creating heart memories in others.

Beloved Community: Water Enough for All

Manhattan Church of Christ — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 10:30:00 +0000

The final sermon in the Beloved Community series turns to John 4, the Samaritan woman at the well, as the story that holds nearly everything this series has been circling: a boundary Jesus crosses first, an exile met where she is, and a hostility answered not with argument but with a request for a simple drink of water. What follows is Jesus meeting her skepticism with abundance, an abundance rooted in her humanity and the fullness of her story, seen, known, and valued rather than judged. The Manhattan Church of Christ is at its truest, most gifted self when it emulates that same quiet exchange, crossing first, asking simply, and answering suspicion with a story fully seen.

Take Heart: The Promise of Trouble, The Promise of Presence

Manhattan Church of Christ — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 10:30:00 +0000

In a message by Carl Garrison on John 16:32-33, he breaks down what Jesus really meant by "I have overcome the world." Jesus did not mean that there would be no more suffering, no more pain, no more death; but instead simply that no one would have to go through them alone, and that suffering will not be the end.

250 Years in Nation and Community

Manhattan Church of Christ — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 10:30:00 +0000

In a sermon on 1 Peter 2:9-17, Dr. Tom Robinson speaks on the origin of the U.S. and how living as a Christian means balancing devotion to God and the rules of God with human laws and social systems. Tom looks at the Roman empire and its attitude towards Christians and pulls connections vitally relevant to the world today. Often, he pull of human society and human laws can clash with the teachings of the nation of God. Tom speaks on the importance of not letting the human nation pull you too far from the nation of God, but still do your duty to both, which includes leaders. No matter what your responsibility is to love others.

Loving Our Neighbor in a Hostile Climate

Manhattan Church of Christ — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Sermon by Jason Isbell This week's sermon is on Luke 10:25–37, the parable of the Good Samaritan, paired with 2 Chronicles 28:1–15. Jesus answers the question "who is my neighbor" with a story that crosses deep lines of hatred and prejudice, and we pair it with a lesser-known Old Testament story where an entire nation, not just one person, chooses mercy toward people they had every right to despise. The sermon connects that ancient call to costly, collective mercy with the unease and hostility many of our neighbors are living with right now, here in this city and in our nation. It closes with a reading of Naomi Shihab Nye's poem "Kindness," which speaks to what it costs to actually learn mercy firsthand.

God’s Community from Nation to Creation

Manhattan Church of Christ — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Sermon led by Dr. Tom Robinson on Father's Day focusing on how when the Church was growing the cultural differences in the churches popping up around the world there was initially some friction, but through Jesus it was overcome. Building off of his sermon on Pentecost, while people did all hear in different languages, there was always still the same meaning. Instead of those cultural differences between Jews and Greeks being what controlled people, Jesus and the Christian persecution that followed shortly after Jesus's death forced the disciples and other Christian-Jews to interact with Greek people. As a result, their preconceptions fell away as they realized each other were human, and many Greeks were converted to Christianity after the apostles spoke to them. Jesus coming changed the world from what it was before: there is no Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; they are all those anointed in Christ.

The Ministry of Unfinished People

Manhattan Church of Christ — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Focusing on Lamentations 3:17-25, Carl Garrison talks about the irrational nature of ministry, and faith. The writer in Lamentations speaks about the pain of reality, but in the midst of that pain there is a hope and longing for God's mercy. There remains a desire for God even in the face of every reason to not believe and desire God, the irrational belief before evidence. The life of Jesus is exactly that: facing incredible pain and betrayal as a man, following the will of a God that He cannot see. The ministry comes in when others see the acceptance of the reality of pain and failure, but still not giving into despair and keeping their hope in God.

Carl speaks about the difficulty of this in practice, and how preconceived bias about unhoused people, LGBTQ+, those who who not look or act like stereotypical churchgoers. Ministry is about compassion and mercy, doing for others what God has done for humanity, which begins with yourself. To become a minister to others means you have to be able to hear a person's trauma and not need to fix it, and to see a person as more than their pain. And as Jesus focused his ministry on those whose whose dignity has been overlooked and abused, ministry now is about the expansion of human dignity.

Community of Faith – Community with God

Manhattan Church of Christ — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Sermon led by Dr. Tom Robinson on Acts 2:32-33, 36-47, speaking on how the Spirit of God is not discriminatingly dispensed but is poured out on everyone. The Spirit does not care about social class, gender, ethnicity, race, or any other Earthly structures. What matters to the Spirit and what brings people together is belief in Jesus and following His teachings.

Bread of Life in a Wilderness

Manhattan Church of Christ — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 20:07:46 +0000

Recieving the Bread of Life - Exodus 16, John 6

A Community Without Barriers – Women in the NT and the Church Today

Manhattan Church of Christ — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:32:24 +0000

by Dr. Thomas Robinson explores the role of women in the Bible and how they were treated in the early Christian communities, particularly focusing on Jesus’ interactions with women. It highlights how Jesus consistently broke cultural and societal norms by treating women with respect and dignity, allowing them to serve as his disciples and even become key witnesses to his resurrection.