Sunwest Fc's Weekly Sermon Podcast

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.