Coffee To Go Episodes
Coffee to Go is a regular feature on Faith Unfiltered Podcast that invites listeners into the sacred rhythm of the Christian liturgical year. Hosted by Karin Peter and Blake Smith, each episode offers a thoughtful reflection on the seasons, scriptures, and holy days that shape our spiritual journey.
Whether you’re on your morning commute, taking a walk, or pausing for a quiet moment, Coffee to Go provides a companionable space for grounding yourself in the story of God — one sacred moment at a time.
Because sometimes, the Spirit speaks best in the spaces between… and a little coffee doesn’t hurt, either.
Whether you’re on your morning commute, taking a walk, or pausing for a quiet moment, Coffee to Go provides a companionable space for grounding yourself in the story of God — one sacred moment at a time.
Because sometimes, the Spirit speaks best in the spaces between… and a little coffee doesn’t hurt, either.
April 18, 2025
832 | Coffee to Go | Good Friday | Year C
The lights have all gone out. The unimaginable has happened. The one we love is gone. What will we do now? On this Good Friday, hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith offer only a scripture and a blessing. Sometimes, it is all we can do to sit in the rage, the disappointment, the loss, the grief... wondering if the light will return. In those moments, it has to be enough to wait. The darkest part of the night is right before the dawn, but the dawn does come. Download Transcript Thanks for listening...
April 17, 2025
831 | Coffee to Go | Maundy Thursday | Year C
The room has been chosen. The table is set, and as you enter, Jesus kneels to wash your feet. What would your reaction be? Remember, Jesus knows you better than you know yourself, so will you try and refuse as Peter did, or learn from the experience? Join hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith on this Maundy Thursday for a close look at a very intimate event in which Jesus makes a final attempt to teach the disciples a valuable lesson. Don’t worry, it’s not “goodbye.” It’s more like “see you later!” ...
April 13, 2025
829 | Coffee to Go | Palm Sunday | Year C
Palms waving, disciples lining the road and calling out, cloaks thrown on the ground to pave the way. It’s political pageantry at its best ... and its most humble. All the way to the end, Jesus keeps us guessing by doing the unexpected. Join hosts, Karin Peter and Blake Smith, for a deeper dive into this week’s passage from the Gospel of Luke, where stallions are replaced by beasts of burden, and cries of “save us” turn to “Crucify Him.” It’s going to be a long week, but at least we know how the...
April 6, 2025
827 | Coffee to Go | Fifth Sunday of Lent | Year C
Can you smell that? When Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with pure nard, the scriptures tell us that “the room was filled with the smell of the perfume. Mary spared nothing to do what she thought was right in the moment... to take a prophetic risk. On this final week of Lent, hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith explore the significance of Mary anointing Jesus' feet with costly perfume, highlighting the sensory experience and the intimacy of the act. Grab some perfume or a fragrant bar of soap and join i...
March 30, 2025
825 | Coffee to Go | 4th Sunday After Lent | Year C
Choose joy! It may be hard sometimes, but the alternative will just tear you down. In this episode of Coffee to Go, hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith take a look at the story of the Prodigal Son from the Gospel of Luke. While the young man was ready to receive what he deserved... nothing ... the father was more focused on the joy of his return. That’s how God feels when we “return home.” For some of us, it’s probably good we don’t get what we really deserve. Instead, we get welcomed with open ar...
March 23, 2025
822 | Coffee to Go | Third Sunday of Lent | Year C
You can almost hear the kids saying, “Are we there yet?” And the answer is NO! We are still on the road to Jerusalem with Jesus, and Jesus is still encountering people asking questions to which he has already given answers. And yet, he tells a parable that reinforces just how merciful and patient he is with those who haven’t borne fruit, even though he has shown them the way...God’s way. Join hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith for a conversation about the importance of turning and going “another”...
March 16, 2025
820 | Coffee to Go | Second Sunday of Lent | Year C
Are you going to be a fox or a hen? Before you answer that question, stop and take a few minutes ... it is Lent after all ... to engage in some honest self-reflection. The world may suggest that it’s better to be a fox, but Jesus would likely disagree. You can decide as you listen to this episode of Coffee to Go with hosts, Karin Peter and Blake Smith. This week they’re with Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. See what Jesus has to say about power and oppression, then spend some time figuring out in wh...
March 9, 2025
817 | Coffee to Go | First Sunday of Lent | Year C
It’s the first Sunday of Lent... a time for looking inward. Be advised, you can’t blame everything on the devil. Well, you could, who would you be fooling? Sometimes you have to take responsibility for your own actions. Making responsible choices is up to you. Join hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith as they enter the wilderness with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and a special “visitor” to see how Jesus will respond when the pressure is on. Download Transcript Thanks for listening to Faith Unfiltered!...
March 5, 2025
815 | Coffee to Go | Ash Wednesday | Year C
It may seem strange that on a Christian Holy day where many disciples will walk around with a smudge of ash on their foreheads for all to see, we have a scripture passage that tells us to pray and fast privately in our “closet.” Why don’t we wear the smudge of ash in a place where only we and God can see it? Well, the smudge is a symbol of the condition of our hearts ... repentant, mortal, humble. What matters is not the words we say or the significance of what we gave up for Lent (our act of fa...
March 2, 2025
814 | Coffee to Go | Transfiguration Sunday
We all have those special places where we’ve experienced God’s presence (the Holy Spirit), and for some reason we let ourselves believe that we need to return to that place to find God again. It’s in those places that we want to “pitch our tent” so to speak. If we’ve learned nothing else in this season of Epiphany, we know that God is up to something, and when God reveals God’s self, it may just be so we’ll have the courage to come down off the mountain and get to work. Today’s passage takes us ...
Feb. 23, 2025
811 | Coffee to Go | Seventh Sunday after Epiphany | Year C
We sing about it, we talk about, we say that it is at the heart of God, but when it comes to sharing it with those we find undeserving, we have second thoughts. “It,” of course, is LOVE. In this week’s Coffee to Go, hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith return to the Gospel of Luke and Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. Join them for a look into the difficult-to-swallow list of those Jesus tells us we should love. Then, take a look at your own list of “lovable” people and see who needs to be added ... no m...
Feb. 16, 2025
808 | Coffee to Go | 6th Sunday After Epiphany | Year C
There’s no better place to give a sermon about community than on a plain (aka a level field). All communities may not put everyone on the same level, but in God’s Kingdom, every field is a level playing field. The blessings and woes of such a community ought to be felt by all. In today’s passage from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus lays it on the line with the disciples...proclaiming both blessings and woes. What’s left for us to decide is if we’re going to come down on the blessing side or the woe si...
Feb. 9, 2025
805 | Coffee to Go | 5th Sunday After Epiphany | Year C
There are other ways to determine your abundance than just by counting what’s in your “net.” Sometimes our abundance lies in the gifts and skills with which God has blessed us. In today’s Gospel passage from Luke, the disciples end up with enough fish to fill two nets and sink their boats, only to have Jesus ask them to leave it behind and follow him. Jesus seemed to know that God’s abundant grace combined with their abundant gifts would be enough to do what they were being called to do...fish f...
Feb. 2, 2025
803 | Coffee to Go | 4th Sunday After Epiphany | Year C
We tell ourselves ‘It’s just not fair!’ ... when someone gets something they don’t deserve, especially when we think it ought to be given to us ... you know, the righteous ones! But Jesus was famous for turning things on their head, rather than doing things the way they “ought” to be done. It is, after all, the way of God’s reign. Too often we, like those who were in the synagogue when Jesus read from Isaiah, are amazed at Jesus’ words ... until we find that they’re words of challenge rather tha...
Jan. 26, 2025
800 | Coffee to Go | Third Sunday After Epiphany Year C
We don’t need a sermon, we need a call to action... and that’s what we get in the fourth chapter of Luke. And, it’s at the heart of the Community of Christ Mission Initiatives. In this episode of Coffee to God, hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith talk about Christ’s brief appearance in the synagogue where he quotes from Isaiah, and then proclaims that “this has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The question is, were they listening? Are we? And, are we ready to hear it for what it is ... and respond...
Jan. 19, 2025
797 | Coffee to Go | Second Sunday After Epiphany Year C
How many 30-year-olds still do what their mother tells them to do? Well, maybe it depends on whether or not the mom is the “Holy Mother.” This week at Coffee to Go, hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith take a dive into the Wedding at Cana, the story from the Gospel According to John that records Jesus’ first sign or miracle. And, it wasn’t “the devil that made him do it.” It was an act of justice strongly recommended by his mom. Listen in and find out why! Download Transcript Thanks for listening...
Jan. 12, 2025
795 | Coffee to Go | Epiphany 1 | Year C
Anticipation! If after reading that word, an old ketchup jingle started playing in your head, you’re probably not one of the younger listeners to Project Zion Podcast. If a jingle didn’t start playing in your head, you’ll just have to Google it. This episode of Coffee to Go is about anticipation, but there is no ketchup involved. Listen in as hosts, Karin Peter and Blake Smith, take a close look at the passage from Luke 3 about the Baptism of Jesus. Allow yourself, like the heavens, to be opened...
Jan. 6, 2025
793 | Coffee to Go | Epiphany | Year C
Today marks the celebration of the day in which the light of the world was revealed to all people ... when God’s presence was made manifest among us. One might expect such a special occasion to be attended by religious leaders ... at least the ones close by. But that’s not the way the story goes. Those who responded were likely astronomers from a foreign land. The unexpected revealed to the unexpected. Join hosts, Karin Peter and Blake Smith, for a look at Matthew’s story of the “Wisemen’s” visi...
Jan. 5, 2025
792 | Coffee to Go | Second Sunday After Christmas
“This little light of mine... I’m gonna let it shine...” That is part, after all, of what it means to follow Jesus. In this episode of Coffee to Go, Karin and Blake discuss the significance of the second Sunday after Christmas. They delve into the Gospel of John, emphasizing Jesus' divine nature and the role of John the Baptist in pointing to Him. Hopefully, you’ll get a sense of the importance of understanding "believing in His name" as a deep commitment to walk the same walk as Jesus. Downloa...
Dec. 29, 2024
791 | Coffee to Go | First Sunday After Christmas | Year C
Rag ‘n Bone Man, Rory Graham, put the words to song ... “I’m only human after all.” Too often, we put our heroes on pedestals, lauding only their good traits and overlooking their more “human” traits. This week’s passage from the Gospel of Luke gives us a glimpse into the human side of our greatest “hero,” Jesus. Join hosts, Karin Peter and Blake Smith for a look at the other side of the story. It doesn’t diminish the importance of Jesus and his ministry. Rather, it makes him a little more acces...
Dec. 25, 2024
790 | Coffee to Go | Christmas Year C
A peaceful night with a star up above. A beautiful newborn wrapped in swaddling clothes. Kings...shepherds...clean, quiet animals watching quietly as they lay perfectly still. It makes for a nice story, but it also covers up the real-life grit and struggle that the Holy Family encountered in and around the birth of Jesus, not to mention the radical nature of a God at work in the midst of an unsuitable place with those who would have been considered unsuitable themselves. Join Karin and Blake for...
Dec. 22, 2024
788 | Coffee to Go | Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C
Two expectant women, one old and one young, both wondering why God would choose them, yet both filled with joy ... that’s where we find ourselves on this last Sunday of Advent. Karin and Blake are always asking, “Where are we with Jesus this week?” Well, technically, he’s there too! Listen in to experience the joy that Mary and Elizabeth share as they come together in support of one another away from all the chaos and watching eyes. How could two women in such unexpected circumstances possibly f...
Dec. 15, 2024
787 | Coffee to Go | Third Sunday of Advent Year C
Unlike Micah, who responded politely when asked what God required of those who would follow, John the Baptist didn’t mince words or waste time worrying about people’s feelings. He simply laid it on the line ... for everyone. Repent and change your ways. Quit putting yourself first. Take what’s yours, only what’s yours, and be happy. As we come close to Christmas and the arrival of the Christchild, join hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith for a closer look at John’s instructions for being ready to ...
Dec. 8, 2024
785 | Coffee to Go | Second Sunday of Advent Year C
Lions and tigers and bears, Oh My! Wait. Scratch that. How about, “sacredness, energy, and divine presence?” Maybe the wilderness isn’t so bad after all! Grab a cup of your favorite warm beverage and join host Karin Peter and Blake Smith for a look into how “the voice crying out in the wilderness,” wasn’t running from large scary animals, but rather towards the hope that was to come. In the words of Rod Stewart, “People get ready.” That is what Advent is all about anyway, isn’t it? Download Tra...