Sunwest Fc's Weekly Sermon Podcast

This weekend we get to celebrate the most life-changing event in history. There is something that happened in the first century that caused eyewitnesses to radically change their lives. They counted their lives as nothing compared to the greatness of following Jesus. That event is still beckoning people to leave life as they know it and embrace a radical new way of living. Join us Friday and Sunday as we contemplate how the death and resurrection of Jesus continues to transform lives today.

What sort of pictures fill your mind when you think about Palm Sunday? Joyful cheers, Jesus on a donkey, maybe some kids singing a song while waving branches. The church calendar points us to remember this story every year before Easter, but why? This week we will immerse ourselves in the first Palm Sunday experience and explore how it shows us what we can expect from God this Easter.

As we wrap up Missions Month, we celebrate the fact that SunWest is on mission. We have partnered with work in international locations in Australia and Papua New Guinea, El Salvador, Burma, Thailand, Hawaii, Mexico, as well as locally across Calgary and in our own communities. The Gospels also invite us, as followers of Jesus, to be involved in mission. We are called to share what we love and help make the name of Jesus famous. We all have an active part to play.

When Jesus returns again what is going to happen? Many assume he is coming to rescue the church before the earth is destroyed. But is this actually an idea found in the Bible? This week we will look at why what we believe about the end of time matters today. Perhaps our understanding is based more on popular fiction than the Bible.

The image of the four horsemen in Revelation has captured people's imagination throughout history and shows up repeatedly in pop culture. What these horsemen leave in their wake is bleak and destructive. Yet the vision of Revelation shows us that the greater apocalypse (unveiling) isn't what happens when the four horsemen show up (people have been experiencing that hopelessness through all of history) but that somehow in the wake of violence, poverty, and death there is hope and victory.

We all have expectations towards God. What he’s like, what he should do, how and when he should show up. Sometimes God doesn’t meet our expectations and he does something unexpected. The Good News of the Apocalypse was unexpected to the first hearers and even 2,000 years later we still seem to miss its significance. This week we will look into the most important twist in the entire Book of Revelation. If we aren’t clear on this part, we won’t be clear on anything else. It not only tells us how to read the rest of the book, it also tells us how we should follow Jesus today.

The challenges that faced the first century church are the same as the challenges that face us today. Last week we addressed how three of the seven churches struggled with cultural assimilation. This week we will look at the challenge that the other churches had with complacency and persecution.

As we learned last week, the book of Revelation was first and foremost written to seven churches. It was written to them, but it is for us. Even though almost two millennia have passed since the letter was penned, we see that the threats and challenges to the church then are the same exact things we still face now.

Apocalypse. What comes to mind when you hear that word? Good news or bad news? The last book of the Bible is an apocalypse, and it's good news. Many have tried to turn this book into something it isn’t, leading to much confusion and misunderstanding. When we read it with the right lens it becomes a powerful book that speaks to us in our present moment today. Join us this week as we start our new series on the book of Revelation, The Good News Apocalypse.

If we want to experience more of God's presence, we need to let him break the boxes of our limiting beliefs. Join us for a very insightful message from our guest speaker Brad Huebert.

Do you ever have moments where you’re reactions and responses surprise you? Do you ever feel stuck on the same issues and are discouraged that you can’t seem to move forward? Over time we all experience challenges, from choices we’ve made and the choices that have been made by others that effect us. Would you like to move beyond those things and continue to grow into the person that God has called you to be? If you’re interested in being a part of this courageous journey of transformation join us this Sunday as we continue our series Break Every Chain.

Do you ever have moments where you’re reactions and responses surprise you? Do you ever feel stuck on the same issues and are discouraged that you can’t seem to move forward? Over time we all experience challenges, from choices we’ve made and the choices that have been made by others that effect us. Would you like to move beyond those things and continue to grow into the person that God has called you to be? Join as we continue this courageous journey of transformation this Sunday as we Break Every Chain.

Do you ever have moments where you’re reactions and responses surprise you? Do you ever feel stuck on the same issues and are discouraged that you can’t seem to move forward? Over time we all experience challenges, from choices we’ve made and the choices that have been made by others that affect us. Would you like to move beyond those things and continue to grow into the person that God has called you to be? If you’re interested in being a part of this courageous journey of transformation join us for our new series - Break Every Chain.

This Christmas Eve we pondered the truth that Jesus is the light of the world, even when it can seem dark. But even though God’s light is seen most clearly in Jesus it doesn’t stop there. Jesus said of us: “you are the light of the world”. Are followers of Jesus known for being lights in a dark world? If not why is that? Join us for a short message as we explore this question and look ahead to being more intentional with this calling in 2023.

"A thrill of hope...a weary world rejoices." The lyrics to this famous Christmas carol are just as relevant today as they were the very first Christmas. In spite of the weariness that we and our world experience, the light of Christmas continues to give us hope today.

We talk about putting our trust in God but don’t often think about God trusting us. In the Christmas story, we see clearly the characteristics of those God trusts and those he doesn’t. Join us this week as we conclude our series and look at Christmas through the eyes of Herod.

When we look at the Christmas story it's fascinating to consider who showed up to worship Jesus and who didn't. It wasn't the religious leaders with all of their information and knowledge. It was those willing to seek and follow their longing and questions all the way to the end. Do you ever have doubts about faith? Questions? Fear not, you're in good company. It was those with honest questions that God entrusted himself to.

The Christmas season is experienced in different ways for different people. It was no different at the first Christmas. It is clear in the Christmas story that God entrusted certain people with himself, and withheld himself from others. What type of people did God trust; and what type of people were left in the dark? Perhaps it's not that different from today. Join us this week as we look at Christmas through the eyes of Joseph.

In the Christmas story, God reveals himself to those who are humble, poor in spirit, and downtrodden. He connects with those who are childlike in faith, and those who are not pretentious. This weekend we will look at how God shares his special news with the shepherds - not royalty, not the religious elite, and certainly not the proud nor powerful. Is our pride, self-sufficiency, or lack of humility keeping us from connecting with God, and all that He has for us?

What is the defining characteristic of Jesus’ relationship with us? What did he do over and over that we can also do? This weekend we’re going to look at how we can live like Jesus lived and be a community whose actions reflect Jesus’ relationship with his father as lived out in the early church.