Kortright Church

Welcome to a New Year and welcome to the Sunday Sitdown, where this week Grant and Justin discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the life of the church. How do we receive the Holy Spirit? What difference does it make in our lives and the life of the church? As always, we're open to questions and feedback that could be considered for inclusion in the podcast. At this time we're primar...

This morning, Pastor Grant will be preaching from Acts.

Matthew 1-2

This week pastor Grant and Lindsay Sytsma talk about a difficult passage in Matthew 2 about Herod's cruel actions in Bethlehem and Mary and Joseph's fleeing to Egypt for safety. Thanks so much for joining us! As always, if you have questions or reflections on how God has been at work for you in this Advent season, please share with questions@kortrihgtuchurch.org.

Advent 4 2025 - Lindsay Sytsma

Welcome to another episode of the Sunday Sitdown where Grant and Justin explore the Magi and their decision to head to Bethlehem to see what was happening - how do WE pay attention to the "signs" around us and how do we then go and actually do the thing? If you have any Advent reflections or questions, please feel free to send them to questions@kortrightchurch.org.

Advent 3 2025 - Grant Vissers

Welcome to another episode of The Sunday Sitdown, where Pastor Grant interviews Allison Pinches after her sermon, drawing from Matthew 1. Over Advent, we'd love to hear your stories - how is God showing up in your life over Advent as we aim to slow down and truly enter into this season? If you have something to share, big or small, please send to questions@kortrightchurch.org.

Advent 2 2025 - Allison Pinches

After Advent 1, Justin and Grant sit down to talk about Joseph's sacrifice and how we are going to lean into this Advent and Christmas season as individuals and as a church.

Series: Advent 2025 Message:   The Hope of Christmas Speaker:  Grant Vissers Passage: Matthew 1:18-21 AS we once again look forward to the arrival of Jesus at Christmas Grant takes us through the beginnings of the story and helps understand how Christmas brings us hope. Episode 25-0046: © 2025 Kortright Presbyterian Church

On the week that leads into Advent, Grant and Justin discuss and explore some of the practices that can make this season truly meaningful. What would it look like if our Advent and Christmas season was truly slowed down to the point we could sit back and take note of what God is saying and doing in your life and the life of the church? If you'd like to share some of the ways these practices are he...

Welcome to another episode of The Sunday Sitdown where pastors Justin and Grant try to wrestle out further who Jesus is referring to as having "authority to throw you into hell" in Luke 12, as well as how we truly live the integrated life. As always, please send your questions as they arise to questions@kortirghtchurch.org.

Series: The Gospel of Luke Message:   Reintegration Speaker:  Justin Sytsma Passage: Luke 11:37 -12:12 There is a tendency to think of Jesus only as “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”, but Justin points out in this passage that, like all of us, Jesus was a full, multi-dimensional human being. Though welcoming and inclusive, he also doesn’t pull his punches when necessary. But that doesn’t mean those he...

In today's passage, Jesus alludes to the "Queen of Sheba" seeking wisdom from Solomon, and so today we're taking an opportunity to share the process of reading the Bible and seeking wisdom as a meta-discussion on this week's relatively difficult-to-understand passage. If you have questions, please feel free to send them to questions@kortrightchurch.org.

Series: The Gospel of Luke Message:   Asking for a Sign Speaker:  Grant Vissers Passage: Luke 11:29-36 It can often be difficult for us to discern where God is leading as we face the many decisions we make in life. Sometimes anxiety mounts as we wait for God to send a clear and obvious sign. But, as Jesus points out to his followers, sometimes the sign we are looking for is right there in front of...

Welcome to another episode of The Sunday Sitdown, where this week pastor Grant and Justin explore a challenging passage where Jesus seems to contradict himself from chapter 9, and we get into the heads of the cynical crowds who seemed to oppose Jesus healing the demon-possessed man. As always, if you have questions, reach out to us - questions@kortrightchurch.org

Series: The Gospel of Luke Message:   Overcoming the Strong Man Speaker:  Grant Vissers Passage: Luke 11:14-28 It can be discouraging when we see the battle between good and evil playing out in the real world. But we don’t have to lay awake at night wondering who is going to win. We know who the stronger man is. Episode 25-0043: © 2025 Kortright Presbyterian Church

**Audio issue resolves after about 20 seconds**Welcome to another episode of The Sunday Sitdown where this week Pastor Grant and Justin explore why Jesus calls us "evil", what makes Jesus' prayer unique to other Jewish prayers, and how we understand what precisely we receive in prayer, if it's not "just" the Holy Spirit. Here's a few resource links to check out:How to Pray - A Simple Guide for Nor...

Series: The Gospel of Luke Message:   Lord, teach us to pray Speaker:  Grant Vissers Passage: Luke 11:1-13 We call it “The Lord’s Prayer.” It is, arguably, the single most well known prayer in all the world. And yet, how many of us truly understand what it is we are praying. This morning Grant leads us to a deeper understanding of Jesus’ answer to the disciples request, “Lord, teach us to pray”. E...

Welcome to another episode of our podcast! In this episode pastor Justin chats with Annabelle Edward about Jesus, Mary, and Martha from Luke 10:38-42, exploring ideas such as ways that we can 'sit at the feet of Jesus' both as individuals and as a community, as well as the tension between being in the presence of God vs. doing the work of the Kingdom. As always, we welcome your questions based on...

Series: The Gospel of Luke Message:   Do Not Wait to Be Invited Speaker:  Annabelle Edward Passage: Luke 10:38-42 Our series on the Gospel of Luke continues with Annabelle Edward guiding us through the story about Mary & Martha. Meditation vs. Service, which is the better way? How do we achieve balance? Annabelle presents some great perspective on this. Episode 25-0041: © 2025 Kortright Presby...

Welcome to this week's episode of The Sunday Sitdown where pastor Grant and Justin go deeper into the story of the good Samaritan and the expert of the law. In this episode we'll explore more about what it is to be a neighbour and how we find the Gospel in a message that could easily be misconstrued as Jesus saying "to be saved, go and do _______" rather than finding ourselves in the unmerited fav...

Series: The Gospel of Luke Message:   Knowing vs. Doing Speaker:  Grant Vissers Passage: Luke 19:25-37 On this Thanksgiving weekend (in Canada) Grant takes us through what is very likely the most widely known of all Jesus’ parables - the parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s widely known, but how widely is it followed? Episode 25-0040: © 2025 Kortright Presbyterian Church

Welcome to another week of our series through Luke as Justin and Grant nerd out on the "Jesus as a new Moses" theme that quietly undergirds this passage. Practically, we explore what it means to be both a people of peace AND urgency. As always, feel free to send your questions to questions@kortrightchuch.org