SunWest FC's Weekly sermon podcast

2026-03-01: Have you ever set out in a direction, convinced that it was the 'right' thing to do, only to find yourself met with resistance? The disciples obey Jesus and set sail only to find themselves in the midst of a storm. They're rowing hard and going nowhere. Yet it is in that powerlessness that they find something even more powerful than the storm.

2026-02-22: One of Jesus' most famous miracles begins with something simple: lunch. A hungry crowd shows up, and Jesus feeds them. But the bread was never the point. He wasn't just filling stomachs — He was exposing a deeper hunger and offering Himself as the only true sustenance. When we come just to take, we miss what He's really giving.

2026-02-15: “Do you want to get well?” It seems like such a simple question that would lead to an obvious answer. Yet Jesus asks this question more than once because the answer isn't as obvious as we think it is. Many people don't want to be well. Many people would rather be a victim than a victor. In this third sign in John's Gospel, Jesus confronts both paralysis and religious conformity, inviting one man—and all of us—to choose true wholeness.

2026-02-08: Last week, we began our Miracles series, exploring the seven miracles in the Gospel of John - though John calls them signs. These are moments where eternity breaks into the present, where heaven touches earth. John's hope is that we wouldn't fixate on the event itself, but on what the sign is pointing to. This week, we turn to the second sign, the healing of the nobleman's son - a single moment that captures the lifelong tension of faith.

2026-02-01: In the Gospel of John, Jesus' miracles are never just displays of power. John calls them signs—because they point beyond what Jesus did to who He is, what God is like, and what God is doing in the world. These signs were written not only to impress us, but to compel us to believe and trust in Jesus. If you've ever wondered whether there is more to faith than spectacle, more to belief than answers, and more to Jesus than meets the eye—this series is for you.

2026-01-25: Noise. Screens. Busyness. Endless options. Our lives are crowded with things we once chose—and now those things often choose us. The life Jesus invites us into is not accidental or reactive; it is prayerful, purposeful, and profoundly countercultural. As we bring this series to a close, we focus on the one thing every follower of Jesus is called to choose. The one thing may lead to many things, but many things rarely leave room for the one thing.

2026-01-18: Prayer can be confusing—we're told God hears us, yet our experience often says otherwise. This message explores why God sometimes says "no" or "wait," revealing that unanswered prayer isn't rejection but redirection. We'll discover that God's silence often protects us from requests that would harm us, contradict His purposes, or expose hearts needing realignment. Rather than getting God to bless our plans, prayer is about aligning our desires with His will and deepening our trust beyond what we can see.

2026-01-11: "Please teach us how to pray." That's exactly what Jesus' followers asked him 2,000 years ago—and it's still one of the most honest questions anyone can ask. Here, we answer that question using Jesus' own response: the Lord's Prayer. Whether you've never prayed before, stopped praying long ago, or pray regularly but want to go deeper, Jesus gives us a simple, practical framework that anyone can follow. Learn how to start a conversation with God, what to actually say, how to bring your real needs and struggles into prayer, and why forgiveness is central to the whole thing. No religious background required. No perfect words needed. Just an honest desire to learn. Join as we sit at Jesus' feet and ask him the same question his first followers did: "Teach us how to pray.

2026-01-04: We're excited to announce a new sermon series, What If We Prayed, inviting our church to seek God together with fresh faith and expectation. As part of this series, we'll be entering 21 days of prayer and fasting, setting aside intentional time to listen, trust, and grow as a community. Whether you're new to prayer and fasting or have practiced it for years, this journey is for everyone. Join us and see what God will do in your life.

Did you miss it? The true message of the miraculous birth of Jesus? Too many did. Will you?

The Christmas story fulfills God's promises throughout history. This week, we'll look at the earliest one—a brief but powerful promise given thousands of years before Jesus' birth. For generations, people waited for its fulfillment, but often misplaced their faith in the wrong people out of misunderstanding or impatience. And even with the full light of the Christmas story, we still fall into the same pattern today.

The lives and stories that came before us shape who we are, often more than we realize. This week, we'll explore how the Gospel of Matthew reaches back to an Old Testament prophecy to reveal a centuries-long story of God's faithfulness; a promise woven through kings, crises, and choices, all the way to Joseph deciding whether to remain engaged to Mary, now unexpectedly pregnant. And through it all, God was working. God was present. God was, and is, still with us through this promise kept.

2025-12-07 When Isaiah spoke God's promise into Assyrian darkness, he named a child not yet born: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Seven centuries of waiting. Then Bethlehem. Every title kept. Every promise fulfilled. The government truly on his shoulders—our burdens included. If God kept his biggest promise through a baby in a manger, he'll keep the one you're holding onto today. The kingdom grows. The light still breaks through.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

2025-11-30 As we enter Advent we are starting a new series: Promises Kept. From Christmas music to ancient songs, we'll explore how Psalm 98 invites us to remember God's faithfulness, sing a new song, and rediscover joy. Just as Israel sang of God's past victory and Mary echoed those promises at Jesus' birth, we too are invited to remember God's promises kept. Together we'll discover how the birth of Jesus fulfills the hopes sung by generations before us.

2025-11-23 This week, we're looking at Daniel's most famous moment. He stands firm and loves well in a culture of compromise, and it lands him in a lion's den. The miracle everyone remembers is that he survived the night—but the real miracle happened long before he ever entered the den. Join us this weekend as we finish our series “Life in Babylon.”

2025-11-16 How would you live if you knew the length of your time on earth? Would that perspective change your priorities and your goals? Daniel speaks truth to power and Babylon again, challenging their short-sighted perspective. Sometimes we can forget that our time on earth is but a breath. Although that perspective can feel heavy, it actually frees us to live with eternal hope and purpose today.

We've been following the story of Daniel and his three friends—an inspiring picture of integrity and influence in the midst of Babylon. But what if we've been reading it from the wrong perspective? Instead of identifying with Daniel, maybe we're more like King Nebuchadnezzar—people with power, pride, and something to lose. Join us this week as we explore the King's dramatic transformation.

Daniel's three friends find themselves face-to-face with the ugliness of Babylon. Their personal convictions become a public ultimatum. Yet they demonstrate a posture, a resolve, and a faith that have made this one of the most beloved stories in Biblical literature. But the story wasn't written down just to be retold; it is intended to be re-lived.

There have been many ‘Babylons' in history. Many societies and countries have risen to power only to fall shortly thereafter. This week, we look at a prophetic, yet timeless dream that Daniel interpreted for a King. It challenged their true allegiances and hopes then, and it should still challenge ours today. Where does our true hope lie? The invitation for them and for us is to come face to face with the ‘rock bottom' truth of the dream so we can live with true hope.

Babylon is not a locality—it's a mentality. God's people have always faced the challenge of living in “Babylon” without losing who they are or what they're called to. Yet God also calls His people to influence Babylon. How can we live with conviction while building connection, favour, and influence? Join us as we learn from the roadmap Daniel and his friends left us.

2025-10-12 How do you live with character and integrity in a hostile and contentious culture? How do we stand firm and love well in a culture of compromise? As followers of Jesus, we are called to love God and love people. Loving people involves having the courage and tact to speak truth with grace. Loving God can sometimes mean believing and doing countercultural things. Join us this week as we begin a new series, following the life of Daniel, learning to live in Babylon.

We're celebrating 30 years of God's faithfulness at SunWest — and you're invited to join the story! Whether you've been part of our church family for decades or just recently started attending, this milestone weekend is all about reflecting on where we've been, celebrating what God is doing, and looking ahead to the future He has for us. Come be part of the celebration — because this is a story worth telling!

Batman and the Joker. Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Frodo and Sauron. Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. Every good story has a hero and a villain—two characters locked in conflict. But have you ever wondered what really separates them? Why we cheer for one and recoil from the other? Truth is, the line between hero and villain is surprisingly thin. And how we respond to that line is what makes our own lives a story worth telling... or one that isn't.

2025-09-21: All good stories have a guide. Luke had Yoda, Frodo had Gandalf, Harry Potter had Dumbledore, and the Karate Kid had Mr. Miyagi. If we want to live a story worth telling, we too need a guide to help us along the way. Like sheep who need a shepherd, we need the good shepherd to guide us into the lives Jesus has for us. This journey is not done alone, but with the help of others who are living like the people Jesus wants us to become. Discover how, with the guidance of others, we can live a story worth telling.

2025-09-11: What if the very thing we spend our lives avoiding is actually the key to the story we're meant to live? This message tackles our uniquely Canadian talent for conflict avoidance (we apologize when someone steps on our toes!) and reveals why our mental health crisis might be connected to our pursuit of a conflict-free life. Through surprising insights about great stories, thriving relationships, and Jesus' most counterintuitive invitation, discover why the ultimate conflict might just be the ultimate freedom. Spoiler alert: The most dangerous lie isn't what you think it is.

2025-09-07: We've all put down a book or turned off a movie that wasn't worth finishing—it was probably missing the essentials of a good story. The same is true in life. The very elements that make stories compelling are the ones that make our lives meaningful, because they echo the greatest story ever told—the gospel, the story of Jesus. Don't waste your life. Live a story worth telling.

2025-08-31: We all end up in the wilderness—by choice, by others, by circumstance, and even by God's leading. But the wilderness is not your home. Follow Jesus through it. Don't take shortcuts—they only keep you stuck. Jesus went through the wilderness so it would never be your destination.

2025-08-24: After calling down fire from heaven in a great display of faith, Elijah finds himself the very next day alone and afraid in the wilderness. God shows up and meets him in an unexpected way—not through a big display, but in a gentle whisper. This Sunday, we're going to explore the importance of being more aware of the whisper, as it's God's voice that sustains us through both the highs and lows.

2025-08-17: This Sunday, we are talking about the greatest rescue mission in history. What happens after we are saved? Through Scripture, the story of the Samaritan woman, and real events, we'll challenge how the Gospel is not just good news to receive but a mission to live out.

2025-08-10: In the dark of night Jacob finds himself alone, wrestling not just with a mysterious man, but with God Himself. This encounter leaves him wounded, renamed, and forever changed. Sometimes God doesn't show up to comfort you — He shows up to confront you. And that's where real transformation begins.

2025-08-03: Last week, Brad challenged us to embrace the parts of God we like least because they are often the parts of God we need most. Another aspect of God we wrestle with is Him being our Lord. But what does that mean on a practical level? Let's dive deeper into the Lordship of Jesus together.

2025-07-27: We all journey through life battling a sense of judgment and condemnation, either trying to prove ourselves or judging others in return. Are you uncomfortable with the truth that God is the ultimate Judge? Do you struggle with how to reconcile that with the Father being perfect love? This message will set you free from the judgments you've been living under and your fear of judgment in the future.

2025-07-20: David was chosen and anointed by God—yet his journey led him into the wilderness, marked by betrayal, uncertainty, and delay. Through the story of David and Saul, we'll explore what it means to wait on God's promises when the future feels out of reach, and how faith is shaped in seasons of waiting.

2025-07-13: Life's hardest wilderness seasons can leave us feeling lost and uncertain—just like the Israelites in the desert, trying to take matters into their own hand. But in the story of manna, we discover that God's provision is daily, His presence is constant, and even in the wilderness we can be transformed into people of trust and rest. Let's explore together what it means to trust God one day at a time and find rest in His moment-by-moment care.

2025-06-29: In Acts 10, God brings two very different people, Peter and Cornelius, into the same story to show that faith was never meant to be lived in isolation. Obedience for one unlocks breakthrough for the other, reminding us that God often moves through community, not just in individuals. This passage isn't just about personal faith, it's about shared transformation. If you're trying to follow Jesus alone, you might be missing half the miracle.

2025-06-22: We have come to the point in Acts where we encounter one of the most famous conversion stories in history. The persecutor becomes the preacher. The enemy of God becomes the friend of God. It happened in a disruptive moment where Saul encounters a brilliant light. Once he encounters the living Jesus he will never be the same... and neither will we.

God's mission has a church, but despite the incredible events in the first part of Acts, the church remained stationary. It didn't embark on a mission to move out. However, four years later, that changed. Even though they ultimately accomplished everything God had called them to do, the event that sparked this movement wasn't something they would have ever sought. Here's the “uncomfortable" truth: discomfort is often the catalyst for courage.

The early church continued to grow, and with growth arose new challenges that threatened the unity of the church. Filled with the Holy Spirit and faith, seven followers of Jesus answered the call to serve the practical needs of the church, bringing a new level of unity. Among the seven was a disciple named Stephen. In the face of persecution, Stephen rose to the occasion and mirrored the life of Christ. When we have difficulties in life and faith, let's learn together how we can “rise to the occasion” like Stephen.

2025-06-01: Acts 5 tells how the apostles, empowered by God, performed miracles and boldly preached about Jesus, even when threatened by religious leaders. What made the early followers of Jesus so radically courageous that they were impervious to threats, persecution, and even torture? What did they know and believe that has implications for how we live today? Come and find out what might be the most critical question you will ever have to answer if you're going to follow Jesus.

2025-05-25: We've raced through the first four chapters of Acts. There have been miraculous events and explosive growth. But that didn't come without its challenges. The 'bigger and better' trajectory of the story has a sudden blip. We encounter in Acts 5 two miraculous deaths from judgment. We may be tempted to skip the story and get back to the ‘positive stuff'. But we must lean in and ask what it was that God took so seriously in the early church. Join us this weekend as we discover that the warning God issued for the first-century church is just as relevant for us today.

2025-05-18: After the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, they boldly went out to proclaim and demonstrate the Good News of the Kingdom of God. But the message of Jesus provoked strong reactions—some were deeply moved and compelled to follow, while others fiercely resisted and sought to silence it. This week, we explore how Jesus, the cornerstone, continues to be either a foundation of hope or a stumbling block even today.

2025-05-11: This week, we begin a new series called "To be continued...". We will consider the growth of the early church and how we are still a part of that ongoing story today. How did the movement Jesus started 2000 years ago transform the entire Roman world in two hundred years and eventually find its way around the globe? On top of the resurrection event that turned skeptics into believers, there was another event. Fifty days after the resurrection, something cataclysmic happened that completely transformed individuals and communities. In fact, Jesus said the mission he gave his disciples wouldn't be possible without it. It was critical then, and it is just as critical today.

2025-05-04: So there was an election this week. Some were thrilled with the result, and some were disappointed. The polarization of our world will continue. But how do you respond? If your candidate won, have you placed all your hope in them? If your candidate lost, is it all doom and gloom and hopeless? Our responses display our true allegiance. The Politics of Jesus does not rely on a political platform to change the world, it relies on something else. What exactly is that something else? Well, that's what we will tackle this weekend - and the answer might surprise you.

2025-04-27: There's an election on the horizon. This inevitably leads everyone to consider their values, assess the current world, and take responsibility (or not) for what type of world we want to live in. It also becomes a moment in time (in an increasingly polarizing time) where people of faith live out their understanding of how that faith impacts politics and culture. What does it mean to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God and a citizen of Canada? What party would Jesus vote for? Would he even vote? This week, we begin a two-part series exploring the politics of Jesus and what that might mean for those who claim to be Jesus followers.

2025-04-20: Rejoice! The Lord is indeed risen! Doubts? Disbelief? Come, listen and hear how we know Jesus is alive today and why His defeat of death changes the way we look at life now and forever!

2025-04-18: The most important event in history! We're celebrating the real and present hope of Jesus. You're invited to join us this Easter weekend. Today we reflect on the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ.

2025-04-13: The Apostle John began his journey as an arrogant, power-hungry follower of Jesus, driven by ambition and the desire for status. However, through a profound transformation, he became known as the "disciple Jesus loved," learning valuable lessons that revealed the contrast between his perception of success and the true measure of success in God's eyes.

2025-04-06: Thomas was one of the twelve disciples who followed Jesus very closely. We best know him as “Doubting Thomas.” This is a harsh nickname and probably the wrong one. It was not doubt driving Thomas, but his disappointment when his expectations of God did not match his current reality. Like Thomas, we've most likely experienced disappointment that has resulted in doubt. Is God really who he says he is? Why did God allow this to happen? Are you even there, God? Can we, like Thomas, sincerely ask to encounter Jesus together in community?

2025-03-30: Peter, one of Jesus' closest friends and one of the most celebrated among the twelve disciples, is often remembered for his bold faith - yet also his frequent failures. This week, we'll explore Peter's journey, particularly the moment he steps out of the boat to walk on water toward Jesus, only to begin sinking when doubt creeps in. Does walking by faith mean we're always called to step out fearlessly, or does God make space for our doubts along the way?

Have you ever wondered what it takes to follow Jesus? We're not alone in that question. This week we are exploring the journey of two brothers, James and John, also known as the Sons of Thunder. They tended to act impulsively with their own best interests in mind. To follow Jesus, they had to learn to move from self-serving to self-sacrificing. Let's discover together what it takes to be a disciple, and how we can learn from the lives of the Sons of Thunder.

2025-03-16: Jesus spent his ministry years intentionally shaping twelve individuals who would lead the way when he left. These guys were very different, yet their goal was the same: follow Jesus and be like Jesus. This concept is known as "discipleship". But the implication of being a disciple was unique for each of them, and it also has unique implications for each of us. In this series, we are looking at one of the twelve each week and considering what it meant for them and what it means for us today to be a disciple of Jesus. This week, we're looking at the disciple named Matthew/Levi. Why did Jesus pick “that guy”?