The Power of "With"

·37 min·3 clips

In a Rwandan reconciliation village, a woman handed her screaming baby to the man who murdered her family during the genocide.

The episode opens with Pastor Jen humorously discussing the recent Oreos and Reese's collaboration, noting it didn't work because sometimes there's too much of a good thing. She transitions this into the core theme: humans are meant to be with each other, unlike the candy collaboration. Jen references last week's sermon on 'the power of us' and introduces today's focus on 'the power of with.' She turns to scripture, reading Romans 12 in detail, where Paul gives practical advice for Christian living, such as loving sincerely and living in harmony. Jen connects this to contemporary struggles, admitting her own anger this week over cultural events and the pressure to respond quickly online. She argues that followers of Jesus need to reclaim human skills like listening and sitting with suffering. The sermon cites David Brooks' book 'How to Know a Person,' listing concrete social actions like disagreeing without poisoning relationships. Jen explains that God sent Jesus to redeem humanity, not escape it, and that Christians have the language of sin to call evil evil. She shares findings from the Grant and Gluck studies, which show that relationship quality is the top predictor of life quality. The climax is a story from a trip to Rwanda, where Jen witnessed a woman in a reconciliation village hand her baby to the man who killed her family during the genocide. This illustrates the possibility of forgiveness through being with others. Jen concludes with practical challenges: be the parent, spouse, or friend you wish you had, and choose 'with' over 'against.' The episode ends with a prayer and a call to apply the message through discussion and next steps in faith.

As heard by us

A warm sermon frames ordinary human presence as a practical expression of Christian faith.

The Power of "With" opens with the comic seriousness of Oreos and Reese's arriving together, then shifts toward a question about faith as shared presence.

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Why you'd press play

You want faith to feel like a way of staying with people when life gets hard? Press play.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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