Sunshine Community Church's Podcast

John 20:1-18 On the first Easter Morning, Mary Magdalene was the first of Jesus' followers to encounter the risen Christ; she was frightened, but her fear led to utter joy and relief when she finally understood the miracle God had done. Jesus sent her to tell others- he has been comforting and commissioning witnesses like her ever since! 

Luke 23:13-43 This message discusses Barabbas and the two criminals who were crucified alongside Jesus. They were all "bad guys," but they also all represent you and me! We deserved the robber's death, but Jesus took our place.

Luke 2: 6-12, John 18:28-19:16; 10:17-18 This message focuses on some of the villains in the story of Jesus' Passion. The Jewish king and the Roman governor were people with vast wealth, influence, and power in that part of the world and in that period of history. Herod and Pilate had power to sentence Jesus, and they were used to using their power on a whim. However, they didn't have the divine r...

Hebrews 2 This series studies characters in the betrayal, arrests, trials, torture, execution, and burial of Jesus of Nazareth. The first main character is Jesus himself! Jesus' unique qualification for his saving role make him a perfect Savior and compassionate high priest for us; he is supreme and unparalleled!

1 Peter 1:3-12 The term "Passion of the Christ" refers to his sufferings and death; we will be studying about Jesus' characters in the biblical accounts about him. These vantage points help us to envision the world-changing character, love, and grace of the most arresting personage in the history of the world: Jesus of Nazareth.

Matthew 25:31-46 In the book of Matthew, Jesus shows us we will not only have to give an account of our own lives but also the deeds we have done for others. Jesus shows us that God's commissions are real and come in a body just as he did. We must follow Jesus by coming in the flesh to the world.

Guest Preacher - Josh Hendricks Revelation 20:11-15. Do you have any books you would recommend as must reads? In Revelation God shows us there are two books we should be intensely interested in: the book of our deed, and the book of life. It is important for us to recognize that this life is being recorded, in minute detail, including the motives of our hearts. What does it take to have your name...

Acts 2:42-47 This message concludes our "Music of the Spheres" series focusing on intentionally sharing our faith. We believe this will happen most consistently when we take the message out to our community and connections, and commit ourselves to seeing others for Christ.  

Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Acts 8:26-40 Not all of us travel regularly, but most of us will find ourselves on the road every now and then on a vacation or trip. Often, we check out and hide out, enjoying the rare opportunity to be anonymous or more self-focused. But what if God has other ideas about our vacation or business trip? What if we could enjoy a break from our normal routine, while also staying o...

Acts 18: 1-4; Ephesians 6:5-9 Christians often have a love-hate relationship with the workplace. Biblically, we see that work is created to be good, and that God made us to be fruitful and influence others with the work of our hands. The place where you work is fertile ground for outreach; it takes some discernment and planning, but the office holds a rich harvest!

Luke 20:45-47; Acts 17:16-21 A lot of life happens in the marketplace. We certainly shop in person less now, but we still have the option to use a human-operated check out late at the grocery store, get to know our barber/stylist, remember the name of that office administrator at our doctor's office, and ask about the kids of our mechanic. The truth is that when we shop, we sort of have a captive...

Psalm 78:1-8; Joshua 24:14-24 The first sphere of influence is the womb, and the home comes shortly after! We need to protect and nurture life and faith in our own homes before we can be credible and effective in sharing into other spheres. Each household needs to have a clear sense of where its loyalties lie and who is the King and Head of the household. Jesus loves our families, and he desires t...

Leviticus 19:9-19; 1 Peter 2:12 Neighboring well is one of the most essential outreach skills a Christian must cultivate. Of all the spheres in our lives, the neighborhood is most consistently available. It bookends our days as we rise, step up, return, rest, and sleep. It is a place where we must work out differences and forge lasting peace with people outside our family. It is a place where all...

2 Corinthians 10:13 -18 Our Congregation's mission statement talks about each of us having a distinct "sphere of influence." But what does that really mean? This series will explore the various spaces in which we have an opportunity to share about Jesus. It will radically increase our effectiveness in pursuing and nourishing the spiritually hungry people in each of our lives! It takes some thinkin...

Jeremiah 31:1-14 As we look to a new year, we would do well to take stock of all the promises God kept for us and all the ways he has proven that is love for us is based on his grace, not our performance. The more we think about it, the more we realize that all our blessings flow from the everlasting love with which he has loved us! The merriness and brightness we need is in the Lord's hand, not a...

1 John 4 Days that are merry and bright can only be had when we are filled up with love. We humans love so imperfectly, but always crave more; the world proves to us - again and again, that love can be scare and is often counterfeited. We desperately need someone to reset our definitions of love, truth, and even life! Jesus came at Christmas to do exactly that - he came to show us God's love and p...

Psalm 32 The merry and bright life we long for is often stopped by hidden guilt and deep dread of being unmasked as imposters. We often try to fool others (and ourselves) into thinking we are without flaws and that everything in our lives is just fabulous. These fears and falsehoods are the enemies of our joy; we can't be truly set free by the message of the Gospel until we have full victory over...

Romans 5:1-5; Philippians 4:6-7 Advent is a time of preparation marked by the beginning of the Christian liturgical year for millennia. It's important to remember the meekness and beauty of Jesus' first coming to earth, while also preparing our hearts for his second coming as the Mighty King and Victor! The purest hope we can have is that God will accept us into his heaven; the deepest peace comes...

This message concludes our series on Esther- God makes a way for his people to celebrate a victory that points clearly to him; it's his story, but it spills over into our blessing. 

These chapters mark the turning of the tide in this great tale. The change in power, influence, and safety for Esther, Mordecai, and the Jews could not be more dramatic! They go from victims to victors in only a few short movements of the story. We can clearly see there that God not only thwarts the plans of the Enemy, he puts his people in places of influence to reverse the damage and heal harms....

Esther 5-6 In these chapters we see the drama start to escalate as Esther sets her plans in motion while the danger to the Jewish people continues to grow. Mordecai's life is in even greater danger, and Haman's plot to harm him is accelerating even faster than his plans for the other Jews. But God loves to show his genius and sovereignty by turning the tables on the Enemy. As things start to go wr...

These chapters introduce us to the villan in the story - Haman. And man, is he a truly masty one. His hatred, selfish pride, and manipulative nature are downright unsettling. When we see how a single wicked person in the right place of power can destroy and hurt others, it can really be scary and sad! The truth is that Evil is always at work, and we will never know all the ways our Enemy is plotti...

Esther 1-2 Esther is different from other Old Testament books. It is, in many ways, a Persian story about things that happened to Jews living in danger and outside their home country It is an account of the way a world intent on undervaluing them ended up revering and fearing them because of the Lord. This story probes that the world only looks and leers at the exterior; but, meanwhile, God is wor...

Psalm 24 Knowing why we give, who benefits, and who we are trying to please in the process all helps us profoundly in our giving. When the locker room empties back out for the second half, there is a fresh start; let's rededicate our efforts to the Lord and his glory!

Proverbs 31:10-31, John 6:1-14 Welcome to our stewardship series, Halftime , in which we study the concept of managing resources with a mindset like Jesus'! Our church is halfway through a two-year stewardship journey, and we are very excited to stop and take stock of all God has done so far. You see, in life as in sports, at halftime, it is really important to know the score. There is no real ste...