Episodios

  • A Thrill of Hope - Part 3: "Childlike Hope & Wonder"

    A Thrill of Hope - Part 3: "Childlike Hope & Wonder"
    Dec 21 2025
    Is there anyone who loves Christmas more than kids?
    Sure, the anticipation of presents probably plays into that, but think back to your childhood...
    Didn't you delight in the celebration and decoration… the music and food and family and "good cheer" and possibly even this miraculous story with angels and barn animals and giant stars, and of course a baby.

    What happened to that wonder and innocence and unbridled joy?
    What happened to the thrill of hope?
    What is it about adulthood for many of us that has only added jadedness, stress and cynicism to this sacred season?

    And what did Jesus mean when He challenged us that "unless you become like a little child you will not enter the kingdom of heaven"?
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  • A Thrill of Hope - Part 2: "Hope is Here (and not yet)"

    A Thrill of Hope - Part 2: "Hope is Here (and not yet)"
    Dec 14 2025
    How many of you could use a dose of HOPE these days?

    Advent, as you know, is a season of waiting... waiting with great expectation, waiting with hope. Remember, a Biblical understanding of "hope" is not wishful thinking (i.e. "I sure hope I win the lottery"). Hope for the Christ follower is based on our unwavering trust in the unchanging character of God. Has God come through for us in the past? Yes and so, our hope is strong and confident.

    Our forebearers waited for a Messiah, and God delivered. Today we wait for His glorious return. We know Jesus has already saved us from the penalty of our sins, but is He truly coming back to save us from the presence of sin?

    Church, do not lose HOPE. This Advent, we wait. And one day, a weary world will truly and finally rejoice.
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  • A Thrill of Hope - Part 1: "A Weary World Rejoices"

    A Thrill of Hope - Part 1: "A Weary World Rejoices"
    Dec 7 2025
    How many of you could use a dose of HOPE these days?
    I'm not talking about... “I HOPE the Blue Jays sign Bo"... "I HOPE I get a Christmas bonus this year"... “I HOPE I get into the university I want".
    That's how the world uses that word.

    During this season, despite it being statistically more prone to stress, depression and loneliness, we as Christ followers have reason for toboggans full of hope. A kind of hope that is closer to this definition: "Waiting for a promise that will absolutely come through."

    Whether you relate more to the Christmas enthusiasm of Buddy the Elf, or more of a "Bah, humbug" Scrooge, we all need a reminder...
    We all need "A THRILL of Hope"! And may this "Weary World Rejoice" as a result.
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  • The Elephant in the Room - Part 6: "Christianity & Politics"

    The Elephant in the Room - Part 6: "Christianity & Politics"
    Nov 30 2025
    Who would Jesus vote for?
    Could his teachings even be embodied in a single political platform or represented in a single candidate?
    Is it even up to some politician to represent my Christian values to the world?
    Can you vote for ________ and still "call yourself a Christian"?
    What happens when the gospel gets all entangled with partisan politics? What is the believer's responsibility, if any, to our government?
    When, if ever, is there a time for civil disobedience?

    In this last chapter of our series, we ask if our politics are detached entities from our theology and values OR an extension of them?
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  • The Elephant in the Room - Part 5: "Race & Racism"

    The Elephant in the Room - Part 5: "Race & Racism"
    Nov 23 2025
    Skye Jethani from the "Holy Post" podcast tells a story of a congregant who believed Martin Luther King's famous quote, "9:00 a.m. on a Sunday is the most segregated hour in America," was actually a good thing.

    When asked to explain himself, he pointed to Revelation 7 where every tongue, tribe and nation was gathered around the throne of God. He saw it as every "tongue, tribe and nation" gathered in their own segregated sections.

    Whether this was ignorance or a deliberate misreading of Scripture, it wouldn't be the first time that those in the Church have used Bible passages out of context to justify some of the most grievous sins against God and His Children.

    So let's have a frank discussion about race.
    Where did all these shades of skin colour emerge?
    Isn't this just a USA problem?
    Why saying "I don't even SEE colour" may not be as noble as you think it is.
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  • The Elephant in the Room - Part 4: "How To Leave a Church Well"

    The Elephant in the Room - Part 4: "How To Leave a Church Well"
    Nov 16 2025
    Most of you reading this have had to CHOOSE a local Church at some point. And possibly, for some reason or another, also had to transition to a different Church at some point.

    Well, like most things in life, there is an honourable way, a noble way, a Godly way... as well as... an immature way, a worldly way and a wrong way.

    Maybe you don't think this applies to you (and maybe it doesn't... yet!), but in a world of "quiet quitting", "ghosting" and all kinds of conflict avoidance, there are numerous principles and applications for ALL the relationships in your life.
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  • The Elephant in the Room - Part 3: "Gender"

    The Elephant in the Room - Part 3: "Gender"
    Nov 9 2025
    A generation ago, sermons on gender focused on roles in the home and church. Today the questions are far more complex: identity, dysphoria, transitioning, and what it means to be male or female. This message takes an honest, biblical look at the big cultural elephant in the room.
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  • The Elephant in the Room - Part 2: "A Christian Response to the LGBTQ+ Community"

    The Elephant in the Room - Part 2: "A Christian Response to the LGBTQ+ Community"
    Nov 2 2025
    It would be disingenuous if in this series we did not address one of the largest "elephants in the room"... A Christian response to the LGBTQ+ community.

    And fair warning - there may be different segments of our congregation who will be expecting one thing but come away disappointed.

    Some might be expecting a berating of this community; a "punching down" of sorts that will shame and judge them, with the bottom line message of "Either shape up or ship out".
    Those folks will be disappointed.

    Some might be expecting an accommodation to the new cultural norms of unquestioning affirmation for the sake of not offending anyone.
    Those folks will be disappointed as well.

    What you WILL get is an honest and vulnerable talk on how we see the Bible speak into this topic. A Bible that doesn't create a binary between truth and love. As well as verses that don't speak to 5-7% of the population but literally to each and every one of us. NAC has traditional beliefs around sexuality and marriage, but the Bible also calls us to to show authentic love and hospitality to everyone, so how do we exist in that tension?

    No matter your position on this issue, we believe there is something here for everyone.
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