Connexus Church Audio Podcast

Showing up and belonging aren't the same thing. Sydney Jackson and Jeff Brodie work through the final chapters of James in this bonus episode — covering prayer in suffering, the healing power of confession, and why community isn't optional when life gets hard. Plus: does prayer actually work when healing doesn't come the way you expected? Part 4 bonus conversation in Undivided, a series through th...

Same fight, different day. The topic changes but the argument stays the same. Jeff Brodie unpacks James 4 and makes the case that your external conflicts are almost always driven by internal desires — things you're trusting in that were never designed to carry that weight. This isn't about conflict resolution tips. It's about getting to what's actually driving the fight. Part 4 of 5 in Undivided,...

Is it gossip if you're "just venting"? Is forgiving someone the same as trusting them again? Sydney Jackson and Jeff Brodie dig deeper into James 3 in this bonus episode, working through the harder, more practical questions: how to tell the difference between gossip and seeking advice, what boundaries look like after someone keeps hurting you, and what to actually do when you can't seem to stop sa...

Your words aren't the problem. They're the symptom. In this episode Jeff Brodie works through James 3 and unpacks why the things that come out of your mouth are actually telling you something about what's going on underneath — the division, the jealousy, the stuff you haven't dealt with yet. This isn't a talk about cleaning up your language. It's about what needs to change at the root. Part 3 of U...

Faith vs works — it's one of the most debated questions in Christianity. Paul says we're saved by faith alone. James says show me your faith without any evidence and he'll wait. In this bonus episode Jeff Brodie and Sydney Jackson unpack James chapter 2 and work through the tension: it's not faith plus works, and it's not works instead of faith. It's a faith that works — one that shows up in your...

How you treat people reveals what you really believe. We all have a seating chart for our lives — people we honour, people we overlook, often based on status, appearance, or what they can offer us. James calls this discrimination and says it reveals the division in our soul. This week Jeff Brodie unpacks James chapter 2, the difference between evaluating people by culture's values versus kingdom v...

Sunday covered trials, divided trust, and what it means to be double-minded. But James 1 has more to say. In this first bonus episode, Jeff Brodie and Sydney Jackson dig into what didn't make the Sunday message — the rich and poor illustration, the difference between trials and temptation, and why your desires matter more than you think when life gets hard. James isn't just talking about what you'...

We all know how to survive a hard season — white-knuckle through it, get to the other side, go back to who we were. But James, the brother of Jesus, opens his letter with a strange instruction: when trials come, consider it an opportunity. Not for happiness, but for something that actually lasts. This week Jeff Brodie talks through why hard times reveal exactly who — or what — you're trusting, and...

Most people think you need to clean up your life before God will accept you. Carey Nieuwhof closes out the Counterfeit Faith series by unpacking why that's exactly backwards. Two men, same temple, completely different prayers. One had everything to offer. One had nothing. Jesus said only one went home right with God. If you've ever felt like you're not good enough to come to God, this is the messa...

Most of us have learned to show our best and hide our worst. But what happens when the gap between your image and your reality gets too wide to manage? In this message from the Counterfeit Faith series, Luke Crawford unpacks what Jesus said about people who had perfected the appearance of having it all together — and why that kind of life leads nowhere good. If you've ever felt like you're perform...

Most people think there's one way to be lost. Carey Nieuwhof shows there are actually two — and the more surprising one has nothing to do with wrecking your life. In week 2 of Counterfeit Faith, Carey unpacks the parable of the prodigal son in a way you've probably never heard before. If you've ever felt like God owes you something for being good, this one's for you.

Ever been burned by someone who claimed to follow Jesus? In this first episode of Counterfeit Faith, Luke Crawford gets honest about the gap between religion and real faith — and why Jesus saved his sharpest words for the most religious people in the room. If you've ever walked away from a Christian interaction shaking your head, this one's for you.

What is baptism, and does it actually mean anything? In this episode, Jeff Brodie unpacks one of the most misunderstood moments in the Christian faith. Using three lenses — repentance, allegiance, and identity — Jeff explains why baptism isn't a condition of following Jesus, but evidence of it. If you've ever been curious about baptism or wondered whether it's for you, this conversation is a great...

What if AI could keep your loved one alive after they die? Their voice. Their personality. Answering your calls. Responding the way they always did. It sounds like it should help with grief. But does it? In this episode, Dom Ruso, Jeff Brodie, and Vijay Krishnan have one of the most wide-ranging conversations of the series — covering the billion dollar anti-aging industry, why we're losing the art...

Nobody wants to talk about death. But the fear of it shapes more of our lives than we realise. In this message, Dom Ruso looks honestly at why the fear of death is one question we were never meant to shake — and why avoiding it might be costing us more than we think. He explores what the ancient prayer to "number our days" actually means, what Herod the Great's paranoia about being forgotten revea...

What do you do when the person you need to forgive is no longer around? When they're gone, or they're never going to say sorry, or the conversation has already gone nowhere? In this episode, Vijay Krishnan, Jeff Brodie, and Dom Ruso get into the questions forgiveness sermons rarely have time to answer. The difference between forgiveness, reconciliation, and trust. Why forgiving someone doesn't mea...

You thought you'd dealt with it. You thought you'd moved on. And then something brought it all back — and you realised you haven't moved as far as you thought. Why is forgiveness so hard? And why does it keep coming undone even when you've tried? In this message, Vijay Krishnan introduces two words that reframe the entire conversation — debt and blood. He unpacks why forgiveness isn't just a choic...

Most people have tried the strategies. The therapy. The self-help books. The mindset shifts. And for a lot of people — it helps. To a point. But what happens when you've done all of that and something still feels broken underneath? In this episode, Jeff Brodie, Vijay Krishnan, and Dom Ruso have an honest conversation about why simple answers don't fix complex brokenness, why the comparison trap ru...

That voice in your head — the one that says you'll never be enough, you always mess things up, nobody really stays — where does it actually come from? In Week 2 of  Questions You Can't Shake , Jeff Brodie goes deeper on the inner critic. Why self-esteem and self-compassion can only take you so far. What brokenness has to do with the lies you believe. And why the gospel offers something neither psy...

You work hard. You want things. You push for more. But at some point, most people hit a wall and ask: is this it? Is ambition the problem — or is something else going on underneath? In this companion episode to Week 1 of Questions You Can't Shake , Jeff Brodie, Dom Ruso and Vijay Krishnan pick up where the sermon left off. They dig into the hedonic treadmill, permafomo, and the real tension betwee...

You've hit goals. You've bought things. You've built a life worth living. So why does it still feel like something's missing? The problem isn't that you can't find satisfaction. It's that you can't keep it. You get there for a moment — and then it slips. And the cycle starts again. In this message, Jeff Brodie explores one of the most universal human experiences: the feeling that nothing is ever q...

What do you do with a door you thought was permanently closed? In this Easter Sunday message, Jeff Brodie walks through John chapter 20 and three locked doors — a sealed tomb, a room full of frightened friends, and a man who refused to believe until he saw it for himself. It's one of the most human accounts of the resurrection ever recorded. No heroes. No certainty. Just real people trying to make...

Most of us know what it feels like to carry something we can't seem to put down. A regret. A mistake. A version of ourselves we're not proud of. This Good Friday, Jeff Brodie looks at what the cross actually means for the weight you've been hauling around — and why the message of Good Friday might be better news than you've ever let yourself receive. Worth your time. Share it with someone who need...

What does it look like when ordinary people get filled with something extraordinary? In the final episode of Closer Than You Think , Jeff Brodie lands the series with the Holy Spirit's most provocative metaphor — fire. Not as spectacle, but as the thing that burns away fear and makes ordinary people bold enough to change the world around them. He tells the story of Peter and John — fishermen who,...

Tom Brady won three Super Bowls in four seasons. Then told a journalist: "I think there's got to be more than this." That moment opens one of the most honest and relatable messages in this series. In Week 3 of Closer Than You Think , Luke Crawford speaks from a refreshingly vulnerable place — someone who's experienced the Holy Spirit's presence and also lived through seasons of real disappointment...