ConnectCalgary

What happens if you spend your entire life chasing a dream, only to accomplish it, and then lose it all? Where is God when bad times come our way? These are the questions raised by the blockbuster musical "The Greatest Showman." In the first installment of our "At The Movies" series, pastor Dan details how the message of The Greatest Showman parallels and contradicts the message of Jesus.

When you look under your tree this year, you'll find great gifts in ugly wrappings, and gorgeous packages containing mediocre presents. What's inside doesn't always match what's outside! Similarly, when God gives us gifts we might overlook how wonderful they are because of the way they're presented. Using the Christmas story of Joseph, pastor Dan encourages us to really see the gifts that God has...

Christmas is supposed to be the season of cheer. But is it really possible to find joy in the middle of December's preparations and pressures? In this week's episode, Pastor Dan examines the story of Mary and Joseph to discover the true source of Christmas cheer.

When you read the Christmas story, one word jumps out over and over again - PEACE. But how can a baby bring peace? (Have you ever cared for a young child - they are anything but peaceful!) In this week's episode, pastor Dan breaks down how this Christmas you can receive peace of heart, mind and soul. Who wouldn't want to unwrap that gift?!

Most people in our world believe that Jesus was a wise man who was created into a god by his followers many years after he died. But is this true? Is Christianity the biggest conspiracy theory of all time? Is Jesus "the greatest story ever sold?" In this week's message, pastor Dan addresses the "myth of Christ," and points out how Jesus Himself is the greatest piece of evidence of all for God's ex...

Tyler Sutherland is one of our service emcees, financial directors, and kids teachers. Plus, he has been around the world ministering in Jesus' name. Get to know one of our favourite Dream Teamers in this 20 minute conversation!

We live in a morally charged culture. From "family values" to "virtue signalling" to "Twitter rants," our world is battling over what we consider right and wrong. But where does our sense of good and evil even come from? And is it even possible for us to be good without God? In this week's message pastor Dan examines "The Argument from Morality" - evidence for God's existence that comes from human...

It's often said that religion is the cause most of the war and violence in our world? But is that really true? Is it possible that faith is still a force of good in the 21st century? And if not, what can we do about it?

In John 10:10, Jesus promised that He would give us "a truly rich and satisfying life." It turns out that sociologists have put that claim to the test and the facts are in: A life with Jesus is literally the best life! In this week's message pastor Dan breaks down all the ways in which active religious practice benefits your mind, body and soul.

There is a common narrative in our world that religion is dying out and soon all that will be left is atheism. But is that really true? What if the world isn't becoming LESS religious, but actually MORE? And in the second half of his message, pastor Dan argues that recent scientific discoveries should lead us to conclude that our universe did in fact have a creator.

Perhaps you've heard the phrase "armour of God" before. But do you really know what it means? In this week's episode, pastor Dan breaks down the significance of the equipment God gives you to stand against the enemy's attacks.

Spiritual warfare is very real, but it's rarely as obvious as demonic possession or heavenly battles spilling into the physical world. More often, the attacks of our enemy are subtle and are designed to confuse and camouflage what's really going on. In this week's message, pastor Dan explains why your visible problems are likely symptoms of a much deeper source, and how to WIN a spiritual battle!

Angels are everywhere in pop culture. But what's the real deal with these heavenly messengers? Do people become angels when they die? Do we have guardian angels? Are there girl angels? Can we talk to angels? In this week's message, Pastor Dan spells out everything the Bible tells us about angels and everything it doesn't. And he ends with a reminder that Jesus is greater than any angel!

The devil is real, but he's not really creative. Since the dawn of humanity he has been laying the same simple trap, and we've been walking right into it. Who is he? What is the trap of the devil? How do we silence his voice of temptation and accusation? Pastor Dan explains in week two of our series, "When the Devil Knocks."

Most people are skeptical of the spiritual world. Angels and devils are the stuff of fairly tales, right? But the Bible presents the spiritual world as very, very real; perhaps even more real than the physical world. In fact, the scripture seems to indicate that most of the problems we face are primarily spiritual in nature. Is it rational to believe in such a thing? How can we see the unseen worl...

Gratitude is an important part of life; counting your blessings is a healthy exercise. But most people make a critical mistake when they say "Thank you," robbing their gratitude of its full value. What is this mistake, and how do we avoid it? Pastor Dan uses the story of Jesus and the healing of ten lepers to illustrate what we often get wrong when we say "Thank you."

You may know her as the girl on the front row dancing her heart out each Sunday, but do you know why she's so joyful? Just a couple years ago Shanna Wimbush was a leader in Calgary's New Age movement - then she met Jesus. She sat down to share her story and it is one of the most POWERFUL testimonies you're ever going to hear!

What's the most important thing about you? You might point to some triumph: work, marriage, a hobby. Or you might speak of a trauma: abuse, disability, divorce or depression. In today's message, the Apostle Paul tells us how he used to think of himself in these terms, but after his encounter with Christ, he came to realize that Jesus is truer than any triumph or tragedy in life.

The Bible is a big book, and Christianity is an ancient faith. It can be hard to understand even for people who have been studying it for quite a while. But what if we could summarize all of Christianity in just 4 words? What if these 4 words could could distill down what it means to be a follower of Jesus? Could these 4 words be the key to unlocking your relationship with God? Join us for this we...

Darcyl Slupski is the kids coordinator at Connect Church and she is one of the bubbliest people you will ever meet. In this podcast, we take 20 minutes to get to know her better!

Church is the people of God living out the mission of God. But sometimes we can believe the lie that we aren't talented enough or learned enough or spiritual enough to really make a difference. In this week's message, pastor Dan does his best to convince you that you have more to offer the world than you think you do!

For too many of us, the one hour a week that we call "church" has little to no bearing on the other 166 hours of our week. Consequently, church is something we sleep through or skip altogether. But maybe the reason we find church services so boring is that we don't understand their purpose. If we did, perhaps every gathering would be infused with a power we never sensed before. In today's message,...

Each year we give 5 of our Dream Teamers 5 minutes to share their story on Sunday morning. These aren't professional pastors, they are just amazing humans with something worthwhile to say. Join us as Kim Roman, Jack Landman, Samantha Lodovica, Tyler Sutherland, and Simone Ramkissoon discuss how to find God during life's ups and downs!

When we think of church, we usually think of a building, a street address. We think of church as a place we go on Sundays. But according to the Bible, God's house is far more interesting than four walls and a roof. His house is different ages, different hair colors, different genders, different nationalities... As we kick off our new series, Church: DEFINED, the first thing we learn about church i...

It's one of the church's great ironies: we focus on Jesus but forget the world he came to save. In this week's message, pastor Dan challenges us not to forget our mission as spiritual paramedics to a wounded world.