Messages

The are few things more frustrating than being "let down" by someone who wasn't as good as their word. We've all experienced that feeling, whether in small ways like being stood up for a date or having the person who promised to help cancel at the last second, or in big ways like having our partner renege on their wedding vows or being unsupported by someone you thought you could count on. Frankly...

It has been said that over the past year we have been battling two pandemics: one medical and one financial. It has been a challenging year for many of us who have lost clients or jobs, or have been laid off of work or had to close shop, perhaps more than once. Many of us who have been financially stable in the past suddenly found ourselves asking new questions about the present, and staring into...

Have you ever taken a "shortcut" to try to accomplish an important goal? Perhaps you experimented with a fad diet or intermittent fasting to try to get ready for beach season. Or maybe you invested in a "sure fire" financial opportunity or a get-rich-quick scheme hoping to turn your finances around. Perhaps you crammed for a test, fudged your taxes, told a little, white lie, or read the Cole's Not...

Many people seem obsessed with the Royal family. People love to celebrate their weddings and childbirths and to indulge in their turmoil, like Harry and Meghan relinquishing their status and duties, leaving the UK, and speaking about mental illness and racism. Why is it that watching Royals subvert the Royal Institution unleashes delight in some and outrage in others? What is it about undermining...

Who is the most hospitable person that you know? Think of someone you know who is a model of the kind of friendliness, generous welcome and warmth we associate with great hospitality. What can you expect when they welcome you into their home? They make every effort to make you feel comfortable, offer you a drink, marvel you with a spread of sumptuous food, listen attentively, hold your rapt attent...

Most of us have mixed feelings about our bodies – parts of ourselves that we’re proud of, and parts that make us feel ashamed. Whether it’s the smile we got from our mother, or the nose we inherited from our father, we show off the physical features we consider to be our best, and try to cover up the ones we consider to be our worst. But when it comes to the body of Christ – the church – what are...

It’s been a long, dark, cold, and lonely winter. We’ve been isolated, polarized, and fatigued, surrounded by despair and even death. But even though we’ve journeyed through a season unprecedented in our lifetime, our current experience is not unlike the feelings the early disciples had as they made their way to the tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid to rest just days earlier. What they witnessed...

No event in history evokes such a mix of emotions, debate, and faith as the story of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus. It has become the subject of countless works of art, including dozens of blockbuster movies and musicals. The plot is simple: Jesus, an innocent man, was executed for political crimes that he didn’t commit. But what was really behind this display of naked injustice? Why...

The image of Jesus hanging on the cross is one of the most iconic images world-wide. But what not many people realize is that this was set in motion by one of the most striking religious and political spectacles of all time. We’ve come to refer to that spectacle as “Palm Sunday”. What is Palm Sunday, and how did a crowd of palm-branch-waving Jesus fans seal the fate of one of the most iconic figur...

As you watch the events of our world unfold around you, where do you imagine the world is headed? The COVID-19 vaccine spreading around the world might suggest that with the help of science and technology things are getting better. The political and social unrest we've witnessed might suggest that the things are getting worse. Extreme poverty is falling, but the gap between the rich and poor is gr...

Have you ever felt "trapped" by your circumstances or anxious about where your life is headed? Sometimes we are trapped by the bad choices that we ourselves have made, which are destined to eventually self-destruct. At other times, we can find ourselves trapped despite our good choices, which have been disrupted by others' bad (or good!) intentions or circumstances beyond anyone's control. Sometim...

How would you describe yourself to others? In other words, what do you consider to be part of your fundamental identity, part of who you really are? We always start with our name, to let people know who and whose we are. Many of us introduce ourselves by telling people what we do for a living, as though our work is part of who we are. Those who have families of their own will often name them. Some...

Can you think of a lesson that you had to learn the hard way? Maybe it was a career move that didn't go as planned, a disastrous relationship, or a conversation that blew up in your face. In the 20/20 vision of hindsight, you can see that the signs were there from the beginning that this wouldn't go as you hoped, but you just couldn't see it at the time, or bring yourself to choose something diffe...

Why is spirituality an important part of your life? What do you hope to get out of making religious participation a priority? Perhaps some of us are thinking about the next life more than this one, about what happens after we die. Others may be looking for relief from the guilt and shame they feel. Perhaps still others are hoping for God to "bless" their lives with a family, meaningful work, and m...

What would you say is the most important factor in achieving the life you've always wanted? Some people believe that it is money that makes the world go round, while others insist that politics has the greatest influence on the quality of our life. Others believe that education matters most, or marriage and family, or travel and entertainment But what if there was something more powerful than all...

Jesus said a lot of memorable things. But perhaps His most famous of all were a talk he gave that we now refer to as 'The Sermon On The Mount'. Tackling everything from poverty, grief, sin, prayer, anxiety and life's ultimate purpose, this sermon is the most clear, comprehensive, and compelling vision for what becoming a Jesus person actually looks like. But at the end of the day, can another mess...

One of the questions people have been asking lately around here is, "When are we re-opening the church?" But the truth is, the church has never been closed. The presence of God, active through the people of God has continued, despite our challenging circumstances. But for many, the pandemic has caused drift and disconnection from what God is doing in and through this community. So what would it ta...

Life was never meant to be lived alone. In fact, alone-ness is the only thing God created and declared "not good." Bottom line: we're hard-wired for relationships. But for many of us, the emotional and spiritual benefits of friendship have never been harder to achieve. Many of us have relied on virtual connections through screens as a way of coping and maintaining a sense of togetherness, only to...

It's been almost a year since we were told to "stay home." In that time, some have leaned into the gift of a slower-pace and an empty calendar, spending more time with roommates or family than ever before. For others, whether you live alone or in an unhealthy situation, it has been a time of deep loneliness and overwhelming struggle. Or, maybe you've just felt your family's faith drift. As we cont...

New Year's Eve is one of the most hyped events every year. Still aglow from holiday festivities, we bask in the hope of what a new year will bring. It's the thrill of uncertainty fuelled by the power of possibility. But this wide-eyed optimism always leads to let down when we realize that, as the classic song says, "nothing changes on New Year's Day". But what if, as we launch into a new year, we...

At Southridge we like to say that “friendship makes the difference” when we are in relationships with people who are different than ourselves. But what kind of difference should our friendships make? And what are the systemic injustices that are unseen until we walk together in these ‘unlikely’ friendships? Join us as we hear from our friends who are facing injustice and oppression right here in o...

Martin Luther King Jr. famously wrote “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere…Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” But how do we take steps from a privileged place of being indirectly affected, which is easy to ignore, to really knowing and feeling the impact of injustice? We do it by following the example of Jesus and standing in friendship alongside those being d...

You’ve probably heard the expression “keep up or get left behind”. Realizing that all is not right in the familiar and comfortable systems around us, it may seem like the only choice is to forge ahead, leaving everyone else behind. But that can damage not only our relationships, but the very cause that we’re wanting to champion, ostracizing the very community that we’re trying to positively change...

The news cycles change rapidly enough that, if we try hard enough, we can ignore the issues until they seem to go away. But if we’re being honest with ourselves, we know that people are experiencing injustices that are built into the systems in the world around us, in the Church, and in our own lives of privilege that don’t just go away because we ignore them. In following the example of Jesus in...

You have probably experienced the sad and undeniable reality that "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." You have probably experienced the crushing defeat of your plans inexplicably self-destructing, despite being inspired by an indomitable vision, implemented with carefully planning, and executed at what felt like right time in the right place with the right people. Perhaps you were...