Sunwest Fc's Weekly Sermon Podcast

“Tithing”. What response does that word create in you? This word has been the source of much debate and confusion. Should you, or shouldn’t you tithe? Is it, or isn’t it biblical? Join us this week as we talk about this five-letter word and whether it should hold any weight in your life and budget at all.

Over the first couple of centuries, the early church went from a scattered group of Jesus' followers to a force that changed the cities and cultures around them. What happened? Those early followers of Jesus were so convinced of the generosity of God that it caused them to live radically generous lives which in turn became an unstoppable force. Could it be that (re)discovering the generosity of God could again change us and the world around us?

Wherever you have wandered, your true home is with Jesus. We are excited to have guest speaker Mark Wessner share at SunWest this weekend. Mark is the President of MB Seminary and an Associate Professor of Biblical Studies for Christian Leadership. The common threads in much of Mark’s experience and education are leadership, teaching, and spiritual formation. Mark is passionate about helping others effectively integrate biblical studies and leadership in their daily lives, in the local church, and in the marketplace.

When we look around it can be easy to notice everyone who has more than us. We can even become envious of what others have. We may even begin to blame God, wondering why we have been shortchanged. “Why not me?” If only I had what they had I could be happy, content, or joyful. Discover how viewing God as a gracious provider can help free us from the comparison trap.

Avoiding the comparison trap is good but what if you are stuck in it? Brad Huebert is back with us this Sunday to explore how to escape the comparison trap - by exploring contentment.

You've probably heard the phrase "Keeping up with the Joneses". This phrase is often used when we attempt to try to emulate someone else's appearance, lifestyle, or standard of living. But the Jones' don't just live in the 21st century, they also lived in the 1st century. Have you ever wondered why the church community, which should be the safest place to be authentic and vulnerable, can often be the place people feel the most pressured to be someone they're not? Join us this week as we examine why that happens and what God thinks about it.

God is the creator of the universe. He’s big and smart and powerful. He orchestrates time and everything that happens in it. And he has told us to call him... Dad? This week we will unpack what being part of God’s family can mean for our self-assurance. God’s opinion of us may provide something we haven’t yet found by comparing ourselves to others.

We've all heard of a win-win outcome. However, we are often engaged in a lose-lose activity and may not even realize how destructive it is. Being rich-er or smart-er or funny-er may feel like a short-term win, but for ourselves, our families, and our relationships, comparison is a game with no winners.

This Sunday we're excited to have our three Summer Students share what God has been teaching them lately. Jessica, Makenna, and Brynna are passionate about their faith and will share impactful verses in their lives, and what that might mean for others.

Sociologist James Penner will be speaking about creating an emotionally healing culture - either in one’s own soul, or in the community of faith. The “Hemorrhaging Faith” research says that emotional healing is key to church health. What are the environments in which this healing takes place?

Listen as James Penner speaks about one of the reasons young adults are leaving the church. Their “Hemorrhaging Faith” research says that emotional healing is key to people deciding to leave or stay. Their sermon is titled, “Emotional healing is part of the gospel package.”

At the start of this series we explored the parable of the soils to answer the question, “Why don’t game-changing truths change our lives very often?” Today as Brad concludes this topic, we’ll learn how to help people stuck in their resistance to faith move closer to giving their lives to Jesus.

Jesus’ parables taught things that were hard for people to grasp when simply stated point blank. God’s radical love can be hard for a lot of people to truly wrap their minds around as much today as it was for the Pharisees and the religious leaders that Jesus taught the parable of the lost son to. In this week’s parable, we are going to explore what Jesus seeks to teach us about the Father, and perhaps ourselves, through both lost sons.

It’s BBQ season, and no BBQ is complete without French’s Classic Yellow Mustard. At least this is what most people think about when they hear the word mustard, but what does Jesus mean when he said the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed? Does it taste good on a hot dog? Discover the mysteries of the mustard seed this Sunday as we continue to explore the parables of Jesus.

Like most parables in the Bible, there is more to the story of The Great Banquet than meets the eye. Unlike most parables, this is one of the most autobiographical of Jesus’ stories. We walk through Jesus’ joy, disappointment, and passion in his role as Host. If we dig a little deeper, we’ll realize that like the guests in the parable, we are full of excuses… and that our excuses actually reveal to us our true beliefs in and of Jesus, his kingdom, and his character.

Have you ever wondered why “game-changing truths” don’t change your life very often? Let’s discover why that is--and how to steward God’s truth for maximum life-change.

Lloyd & Carol are disciple-makers with a passion to see lives transformed on mission with Jesus. Working out of the Central Canada office for Multiply in Winnipeg, they give leadership to an enthusiastic team across the prairie provinces. Multiply is the mission agency of our MB denomination.

My heart rate is on the rise, I’m sweating, nervous, worried, and anxious about everything. I avoid areas and people in my life that once brought me joy. I’ve lost hope for the future, I can’t sleep, and I’ve lost motivation to face the day. There must be more to life than this. God cares deeply for your mental health and wants you to experience life, and life to the fullest. This Sunday we will be discussing mental health, what God has to say about it, and how we can start a journey of healing together in community and with Christ.

Kelvin Block is a counsellor specializing in areas including marriage counselling, grief, and loss. Kelvin and his wife have been members of the SunWest community for many years. We are excited to learn from Kelvin's professional expertise in our new series "I'm Still Not Okay".

Work. A human condition? A curse? A good gift? Depends on who you ask. This week we will be looking at how Jesus went about His life and handled what one might call a very high demanding job (establishing the Kingdom of God on earth and all), to discover a few implications for ourselves and how we spend our time and energy.