We're all running a race with no finish line. Comparing ourselves to people who don't even know they're in the competition, chasing something we can't quite name, and still feeling like we're falling behind. In part five of The Jesus Way series, Lead Pastor Jon Stoe opens with something unexpected: a candid quote from Madonna at the height of her career, admitting she still couldn't outrun the fear of being mediocre. Turns out that feeling doesn't care how famous you are.

Jon digs into 1 Corinthians and the story of the Apostle Paul to unpack what the cross actually meant to the first people who followed Jesus. Not a symbol to wear around your neck. A way of life. One that looks foolish from the outside and goes completely against the grain of how we're wired to think about winning, proving ourselves, and keeping up. Ambition and achievement are good things, Jon says. They just make terrible masters.

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Litchfield Church of the Nazarene is a welcoming, bilingual community of faith in Litchfield, MN, whose mission is to produce fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ. We gather every Sunday at 10:45 AM. New messages drop on the podcast each week. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app. Learn more at litchfieldnaz.com.

Self‑righteousness is one outfit none of us look good in—and most of the time, we don’t even realize we’re wearing it. In this message, “The Jesus Way: Rebranding,” lead pastor Jon Stoe walks us into Luke 15 and shows how Jesus completely reframes what God is like and who God likes. Through the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, Jon explores a God who is laser‑focused on what is lost, not content to simply enjoy what’s already “found.”

Along the way, Jon presses into our own tendencies to be “right” but not righteous, especially around hot‑button areas like religion and politics. He contrasts the self‑righteous posture of the Pharisees with the surprising, pursuing love of the Father, asking us hard but hopeful questions: Do we see people far from God as problems to fix—or as someone valuable who’s been disconnected from their Owner? This episode is an invitation to let Jesus rebrand your view of God, of others, and of yourself.

In this message from lead pastor Jon Stoe, we continue our journey through “The Jesus Way” by looking at one of Jesus’ most disruptive and beautiful stories: the Good Samaritan. Pastor Jon shows how Jesus didn’t just bring a new set of rules, but a completely new kind of kingdom that is “inviting, and relational, and without borders, and it was as if it was for everybody.” Everyone is endowed with inherent worth, created in the image of God, and Jesus insists that love for God is always expressed in love for people.

Walking through Luke 10, Jon unpacks the lawyer’s question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” and Jesus’ radical answer that “love for God is demonstrated by love for others.” He explores what neighbor love actually looks and acts like, using Jesus’ story of a beaten traveler, two religious passersby, and a surprising hero from the wrong side of the cultural divide. Along the way, you will be invited to rethink the minimums you have settled for and to see that following Jesus means crossing lines, absorbing cost, and moving toward people in need.

If you have ever wondered what God is really like, or what it practically means to follow Jesus in your everyday relationships, this episode will stretch your assumptions and stir your heart. Come discover a kingdom where everybody is invited, everybody is included, and neighbor love is the defining mark of the people of God.