The Common Ground ABQ Podcast

May 17th, 2026 | Pastor Matthew Whelan | The Misfit Table | Pull Up A Chair Week 3

This powerful message challenges us to move beyond comfortable Christianity into intentional engagement with those outside our circles. Drawing from Luke 5:27-32, we explore Jesus' radical choice to dine with tax collectors and sinners, demonstrating that God's invitation isn't just for us to come to His table, but for us to go to others' tables. The sermon brilliantly unpacks three progressive stages: first, accepting the open invitation to Jesus' table; second, sitting at His feet in intimate discipleship; and third, going to the misfit tables where others sit isolated and overlooked. The cafeteria metaphor resonates deeply—we all remember the social hierarchies of lunchrooms, the invisible boundaries between groups, the unspoken rules about who belongs where. Yet Jesus deliberately crossed those boundaries, choosing mercy over merit, scandalous socializing over safe fellowship. The challenge before us is profound: Are we willing to leave our comfortable tables and sit with those society labels as misfits? The worn, weathered table used as a sermon illustration perfectly captures this truth—what appears broken and unworthy often carries the most beautiful history and purpose. We're reminded that service doesn't end when we leave church; it's a constant living for Christ that extends into every relationship and interaction throughout our week.

May 10th, 2026 | Amir Whelan | A Seat At Jesus' Feet | Pull Up A Chair Week 2

This powerful message invites us to examine what happens when our service to God becomes disconnected from our relationship with Him. Through the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42, we discover a profound truth: we can be physically present with Jesus while being emotionally and spiritually distant from Him. Martha welcomed Jesus into her home with genuine hospitality, yet somewhere between the welcome and the work, her heart shifted from devotion to distraction. The message challenges us to recognize four critical patterns that emerge when we prioritize doing over being: the crushing weight of responsibility we were never meant to carry alone, the danger of distraction that fragments our attention and distorts our perspective, the tender invitation of Jesus who calls us by name in our exhaustion, and the intentional choice of devotion that Mary made to sit at His feet. What makes this story so relevant is that Martha wasn't distracted by sinful things—she was distracted by too many things. We learn that burnout often results not from doing too much, but from doing too much without being replenished by God's presence. The invitation is clear: come to Jesus first, be filled by Him, and let our service flow from that place of connection rather than depletion.

May 3rd, 2026 | Pastor Shaun Jaramillo | The Open Invitation | Pull Up A Chair Week 1

This powerful message invites us to examine the open invitation God extends to each of us through the parable of the great banquet in Luke 14. We're confronted with a challenging reality: the host prepared an elaborate feast with intentionality and love, sending personal invitations to guests who then made excuses based on work, possessions, and family obligations. These weren't evil excuses—they were good things that became barriers to the greatest thing. The beauty emerges when we see God's response to rejection isn't cancellation but expansion. He fills the empty chairs with the uninvited, the overlooked, the broken—those who never expected to receive an invitation at all. This isn't just ancient history; it's a mirror reflecting our own tendency to let busyness, comfort, and 'good' priorities crowd out our presence at God's table. The urgency in the invitation reminds us that Christianity isn't a spectator sport. We're called not just to accept our own seat but to persuasively invite others, moving from the streets of our own communities outward. There's a chair with every person's name on it, and God desires a full house. The question becomes: what good excuses are we using to stay away from the table, and who are we failing to invite because we're too comfortable in our own circles?

April 26th, 2026 | Pastor Shaun Jaramillo | Living Sent | Life After Death Week 3

This powerful message challenges us to examine what it truly means to live as sent people in a world filled with suffering and injustice. Drawing from John 20:19-22, we're confronted with the reality that the disciples locked themselves away in fear after the resurrection, yet Jesus appeared among them with a simple message: 'Peace be with you.' The sermon uses the haunting image of a chapel built directly above slave dungeons in Ghana's Cape Coast Castle to ask a piercing question: What are the dungeons beneath our own feet? What injustices exist in our communities, our homes, even our hearts, that we've chosen to ignore for the sake of comfort? We're reminded that living sent isn't about saving the world through our own efforts or performance, but about allowing God's mission to flow through us where we are. The call isn't to move overseas necessarily, but to start in our own hearts, our own homes, our own neighborhoods. With the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we have access to unlimited power, not to convince others through theological debates, but to simply share our testimony and show genuine care for people's souls. The message is clear: we cannot lock ourselves in comfortable rooms while the world around us suffers. We are called to step out in faith, trusting that God's perfection covers our imperfections.

April 19th, 2026 | Pastor Shaun Jaramillo | Raised to Life | Life After Death Week 2

This powerful message takes us deep into Romans 6:4-11, challenging us to move beyond viewing the resurrection as merely a historical event or future promise. We're invited to understand that when Christ rose from the dead, we rose with Him - not someday, but right now. The central question confronting us is profound: what actually changed after our baptism? Too often we treat our faith like a concert t-shirt tucked away in a drawer - a memento of a past experience rather than a present reality. We fall into what's called the souvenir syndrome, believing Jesus rose 2,000 years ago and we'll go to heaven someday, but treating the here and now like a waiting room. The transformative truth is that we're not sinners trying to be saints through sheer willpower - we're new creations learning to walk in a new reality. The same power that rolled away the stone is pulsing through our lives right now. We don't have to exhaust ourselves trying to earn a life that's already been handed to us. When we grasp that we're already seated in heavenly realms, already on the winning team, already free from sin's power, everything changes. This isn't about trying harder - it's about participating in the resurrection life that's already ours through Christ Jesus.