Island ECC Podcast

Lies and Money. It sounds like a scandalous TV show. But in reality it’s the potential scandal of your own life. If you don’t recognise the lies you are susceptible to, and the undercurrent of power that money has on you, your very life could be the scandal you never intended. Proverbs gives us great insight into how to overcome these powerful forces and live in freedom.

Every day we speak, write, and text thousands of words to people around us – and to ourselves. Words have power. But where do our words come from and how are we using them? Are we honouring God and our neighbour with the things that we say? Proverbs gives us some great words of wisdom to live by.

Envy doesn’t play favourites, but is a subtle disease that affects us all as it works its way from our eyes and thoughts into our hearts. Today we’ll explore wisdom from God’s Word so that we can recognise its deceit in our life and step into greater freedom and contentment.

Pride is so easy to spot in others, and almost impossible to detect in ourselves. But since it’s so devastating to our lives, we should take time to root it out, and find the surprising freedom of genuine humility.

Some decisions in life are trivial, but others are drastically life-changing; who we marry, where we live, what we choose as a profession, are just some of the choices we have to make. We want to get those decisions right. But does the Bible tell us what we should do? We look to the book of Proverbs for answers.

If Psalms teaches us to worship God, Proverbs teaches us how to live on earth. Wisdom, though often mistaken for knowledge, is the key to a rewarding life and a genuine joy.

We are all thirsty. We long to have our deepest needs and desires satiated. And so often, we settle for the temporary rush of a new purchase or other temporary pleasures to soothe our aching souls. Jesus offers a better way.

When we put our faith in Christ, we are given a new life. We receive so many blessings from God. The gift of mercy, grace, freedom, and forgiveness. So wouldn’t it make sense that we honour God by serving Him and His people? Today we’re looking at how to practise the discipline of serving God and serving others.

Choosing to be involved in others’ lives is a discipline. There is an attractive lure to isolation and independence. But when we understand that there is a deepening to our faith that we only experience with others, we make the community a priority.

The Word of God is like a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. It’s not just a book that tells us something “about” God, it’s a means through which God speaks directly to us. Learning to listen, appreciate, and practice the Word of God is instrumental for us to experience God to the fullest.

What is the role of spiritual disciplines in our lives? How do these spiritual disciplines actually lead to our spiritual formation? We dig into the book of Romans to get an overarching understanding about why the spiritual disciplines are important for our daily living.

In following Christ, we embrace an “upside-down economy”. So the path to greatness is actually the path of humility. In this message, we explore ways in which we can embrace a mindset of service.

One of our greatest needs as humans is to be seen and known by others. But we fight it. We build walls. We make excuses. We keep people at a distance. Choosing to make genuine fellowship a non-negotiable in our lives paves the way for our souls’ deepest longing for connection.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s ok to judge others or not, the answer in the Bible seems to be both yes and no. In this message, we’ll explore together as we try to discern what kind of judgments are holiness issues, and which ones are heart issues.

We continue our panel from the April night shift on the topic of dating and relationships. We tackle issues related to finding the "one", what non-negotiables ought to be on our list, and how to escape the friend zone. We are joined by Kevin Wongso and Jessica Leung, who offer their unique insights into this subject.

Forgiveness is foundational to our Christian faith. We are told to forgive one another multiple times throughout scripture. But why is it so hard to do? Today we will look at teachings from Jesus and the Apostle Paul to understand why forgiveness is so crucial to helping us love one another well.

If God knows all of our sins and has forgiven us, why do we need to confess our sins? Is confession an outdated practice that no longer applies to us? We look to the book of James for answers and discuss practical applications for our personal lives and our communities.

All kinds of things get stirred up in our world and our lives – both negative and positive. This message, from Hebrews 10:24-25, looks at the “one another” that tells us to stir-up, and even provoke, three positive, practical things in each other.

Election or Free Will? Calvinism or Arminianism? We sit down with Jared and John from Island Youth to debate the merits and shortcomings of both views. Together we work through the five tenants of Calvinism: T.U.L.I.P.

Most people spend their lives in pursuit of comfort. Working hard is often viewed as only a means to obtaining greater ease in life. From mattresses to shoes to toilet paper, advertisers tell us their products are “more comfortable”. We are seduced by the notion that our life must be made more comfortable. Yet comfort is found not in greater convenience, but in living a life in harmony with our so...

Our new testament faith should be marked by one thing: Our love for God and for one another. But sometimes we complicate it with rules, traditions, and Old Testament ways. This message kicks off a 6-week look at how we can make loving others the central expression of our faith.

In the garden outside the tomb, the shocking evidence of an empty tomb sets in, and the movement of Christianity gains momentum.

The education system in Hong Kong is stressful, and it doesn't seem to be getting better. Should this matter to the church and why should we care about it? We sit down with Tyler Kusunoki to discuss the current state of education in the world, look at possible remedies, and consider how the church can get involved.

We conclude our sermon series by looking at the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. The final sign miracle Jesus performs will leave no doubt that He is the Messiah. The question for all of us is, do we believe it?

We talk about the latest craze in finance: Crypto and the NFT. What are they and how do they work? And outside of investment opportunities, are there other reasons why Christians should get behind this? We sit down with Eric Farmer and discuss the ramifications of Crypto and NFTs  for the future and for the church.