Island ECC Podcast
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One of the most direct parables taught by Jesus, the story of the rich man and Lazarus calls us to love God from the inside out. Even with its tough teaching, the calling of Jesus was magnetic to the sinners of the day because it emphasised a judgement based on what was real instead of religiously superficial, something we all long for.
Is your faith entrepreneurial? Jesus teaches us about the danger of a faith that is stale and predictable.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most well known parables Jesus ever told. It has become ubiquitous in our language and society. But why is this parable so important for us? Today we’re going to look at how shocking the story really is and how powerful it can be for us if we actually put it into practice.
What lies at the heart of our greed? Is it simply a desire for more things, or is there a more sinister problem at the root of it all? We look to Jesus’s parable of the rich fool for answers and seek to find practical ways to combat the problem of greed.
Jonah was rebellious and then he was reluctant. How can we learn from Jonah and simply live in alignment with God’s heart?
Most of us would readily agree with the notion that God loves us. But to take that truth in and be totally changed by it, we need to really let it sink in. We need to stand in awe.
The state of our world demands an urgent response, and Jesus provides the only lasting hope. As Christ followers, our lives are not our own, and we have both the joy and the responsibility, to bring the light of the gospel to the world in which we live.
You were made to be instrumental in the purposes of God. Regardless of your profession, your ultimate calling is to discover how God wants to use you for His greater glory.
While everyone is wishing you great blessings of good health & wealth during CNY, what do you really wish for? Maybe at the end of the day, you just want to be happy – that’s it! “Don’t worry, be happy”? Then again, the Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” It never said, “Be happy in the Lord always!” So, what’s the difference between being happy and being able to always rejoice? Come perk up your ears, this might just be the greatest “Year of the Rabbit” blessing you’ve been searching for!
Lunar New Year brings in a season of renewal. It’s time to leave behind things that hinder us, and pursue good things that God has in store for us in the future. So, how does renewal work?
The great Christian hope is heaven. However, many of us don’t like to think about heaven because it either scares us or seems boring to us. But how much of our conception of heaven has been influenced by Hollywood, and how much is actually Biblical? As we look into the final chapters of the book of Revelation, we will attempt to discover what God teaches us about heaven, and why it can be our great hope.
Hagar’s encounter with an angel provides the framework for a good start-of-the-year inventory of our lives. What should you leave behind? What is your direction? What can you expect from God?
This series offers three personal ways to move beyond resolutions to having consistent resolve in vital matters. This first sermon uses the life of Daniel to delve into how resolve is worked out in our past, present, and future.
Who among us couldn’t use a greater dose of peace? This Christmas Day, allow God to gift to you a greater sense of this peace that surpasses human understanding.
Christmas is almost here and as we celebrate this season once again, we are reminded of the power of Christ’s entrance into our world. His birth was foretold centuries before the first Christmas day and this message will look at how the prophecy of Isaiah describing Jesus being the Everlasting Father impacts our lives today. While it may seem somewhat confusing at first, it is one of the most reassuring characteristics of Jesus that we could ever know.
Isaiah points us once again to a beautiful truth about God, that He is a mighty God. Together we’ll look at how the authors of Scripture came to understand this, and explore if we’ve really allowed such a big God into the small parts of our lives.
In this first of a 4-part series, we look at the arrival of Jesus as our Wonderful Counsellor.
Tithes and offerings. We don’t like to talk about it, and we get uncomfortable when the topic comes up. Yet the Bible has a lot to say about it, and even portrays it as something that will bring joy. How can that be true? In our final week of “Dear Future Me” we discuss how giving is a choice you won’t regret making.
Most of us feel grateful. But if others don’t know we are grateful, we communicate ingratitude, and it damages relationships. An attitude of gratitude isn’t enough. We need to express it.
Anxiety is at an all-time high in most spots in the world. With more convenience and affluence than ever before, we also have higher levels of stress. Our faith really can make a difference.
All of us have blindspots. Areas of our lives that we don’t see that could cause problems for us in the future. In order to do the work on these faults, we need to be open to God’s loving (and convicting) Word.
Paul uses his final words to give us one final command. What is it, and how should we live it out? In the final week of the Mic Drop sermon series, we explore the implications of this final command for our lives.
The world around us impacts us immensely. If we are unaware of it, we are surely squeezed into a mould we may not like. So rather than being slowly influenced by forces around us, we are invited to be the ones who influence our world. But it takes dedication and discernment to pull it off.
Endurance is hard. But a lack of endurance will make life even harder. Paul cheers on his protégé Timothy by inspiring him to dig deep and develop spiritual grit.
We’ve all had seasons of spiritual slippage… times when our faith seems vulnerable and could use a boost. Paul tells his protégé Timothy to “fan the flame” as a remedy for a despondent faith.
“Satan”, “Devil”, “Lucifer” – many thoughts and images come to our minds when we see these names. Images could be from movies, TV shows, video games, or maybe even individuals you know personally. However, no other image of him is more empowering than the biblical image of Satan being crushed under your feet. Paul leaves with this as his final encouragement to the church in Rome so that they will be secure in the good news of Jesus’s victory which we share and participate in.
Kindness is a powerful tool that can truly change the world. Through an act of kindness Rahab the prostitute was able to save the lives of two spies and her whole family. Her act of kindness changed the trajectory of not only her life, but the life of anyone who calls themself a Jesus follower, since her kindness led to the birth of Jesus. Kindness has the power to change the world because kindness changes our eternity. It is the kindness of God that leads to our repentance and our kindness towards others makes the earth look more like Heaven.
There is a constant pull to dwell on the past or focus on the future, but God calls us to live in the present – the only place He is actually with us. Studies show that without intention, we spend almost half of our waking hours daydreaming and that, regardless of whether or not these are happy daydreams, if you’re not living in the present it leads to diminished happiness. Joy is found by seeking God in your present circumstances. “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
The Bible tells us that Jesus is the all-powerful one: the still point around which everything turns. Do we believe it? Do we live it?
We all love something. Can we say we love Christ more than these things?
