Willingdon Church Podcast

My heart and mind are full of so many things. Distractions. Dreams. Worries. Demands. Ideas. Joys. Busy thoughts. The things of life: Laundry, dishes, oil changes, emails, text messages, transporting children, parenting, planning meals, a full-time job, a good dose of sitting in traffic, health concerns, wondering about the future, occasional doomscrolling on Youtube. Lots of times, my brain is pr...

In seasons of severe suffering, we experience life at the extremities. We have mountaintop moments where we see farther and more clearly than ever before. We have days where we can say with full conviction, “God has made everything is beautiful in its time. I have eternity in my heart. I know God is sovereignly accomplishing his purposes. I can rest in Him.” And then there are deep valley moments...

Can you step back, look at the past year, and say, “Thank you, God. This was beautiful”? In 1965, the folk-rock band the Byrds recorded Pete Seeger’s "Turn! Turn! Turn! To Everything There is a Season”. The lyrics of the song follow the Preacher’s most famous poem, found here in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, almost word for word. The song topped the Billboard charts and became an anthem of the 1960s peace m...

Life is full and we give ourselves to so many people, pursuits, and passions. In the end, though, we know we will pass on and everything will be taken from us. How can we learn to enjoy and value the days we have? How does enjoying God change the joy we have in this life? Wisdom can’t secure you. Works can’t secure you. God can secure you. Reflection Questions What pursuits are stealing your joy?...

What am I supposed to do with my life? What’s the whole point of living anyway? These are the big questions of life raised by the author of Ecclesiastes. But his quest to find answers left him frustrated and disillusioned – he calls it an unhappy business that God has assigned to humanity. This was bound to be the case because his was a research project conducted ‘under the sun’ – an exploration m...

Arthur Brooks, in his new book, The Meaning of Your Life , argues that meaning has collapsed for many today. He writes, “If your life feels meaningless, you will be disengaged and unable to deal effectively with your problems. You will almost certainly be depressed and anxious. Your life will have a void to it.” You may try the salve of therapy or try to distract yourself with scrolling, gaming, a...

Silas, Pastor Ray and Pastor Brett chat about Pentecost, the Tower of Babel and the Holy Spirit! We're taking a break for our Summer Series, but please email us at ask@willingdon.org for any questions you have during the summer.  00:00 Intro 00:52 Babel or Babel 02:25 Sermon Summary 14:42 Feat of Weeks 17:25 Gathered worship before Pentecost 19:59 Does every Human have the Holy Spirit? 32:07 Well...

In spring, we love the longer days, but we can’t wait for the warmer temperatures of summer.  And then, when it gets hot and dry in summer, we can’t wait for rainfall. In the fall, we can’t wait for the first snowfall (ski season is around the corner). Then we can’t wait for Christmas. And on it goes. When we think of relationships, if we want to marry, we look forward to meeting that special part...

Silas is joined by Pastor Brody and Pastor Richard as we finish off 1st Corinthians and answer your questions. We originally started this podcast at the start of the book, during our In-House Conversation series, and now we're here! If you have any input for us, let us know, and keep sending in your questions to ask@wilingdon.org.   00:00 Intro 01:15 Sermon Summary 03:33 Inconvenient Relationships...

We’ve made it to the end of the letter of 1 Corinthians. Paul details his travel hopes, the ongoing ministry, and the ministers serving with him. He gives greetings from other believers to encourage the Corinthians. But through the entire closing, he reminds the Corinthians of his love for them, even in the midst of church conflict. What does true Christian love look like when God’s people are har...

Today, Silas is joined by Pastor Ray and Pastor Jonathan! We cover topics such as tithing 10%, Preachers in Sneakers and Jonathan's love for tech! We have one more episode left in this series as we finish 1 Corinthians, so get your questions in for next week, ask@wilingdon.org. 00:00 Intro 02:24 Sermon Summary 10:50 What Are Treasures In Heaven? 15:08 Pastors Who Do Have Monetary Wealth 25:33 Advi...

We don’t talk about money very often. Who taught you how to think about money? When I received my first payment, my mother said to me, “Ray, let’s open an account for you at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.” The teller window was so high I couldn’t see the woman receiving all my hard-earned money, but I went home with a gold-coloured bank book.  My fortune was safe, in the bank vault.   My...

How do you think about your time on earth? In his book, The Infinite Game, Simon Sinek talks about finite games and infinite games. Finite games have a definite beginning and a definite end. Infinite games have no time horizon. If life a finite game or an infinite game? Sometimes we play the game of life as if it were a finite game. We try to get everything out of this life, accomplish as much as...

Today, Silas is joined by Pastor Bryan and Pastor Brody, the Biblical Education Department! They cover if there will be pets in heaven, more stories from Botswana, the new body and even ZOMBIES! 00:00 Intro  02:08 Is there no hope for those who died before Christ came?  05:14 Sermon Discussion  10:35 ZOMBIES  17:47 Will there be pets in heaven?   19:45 Bodies in heaven  29:18 Cremation  34:40 Roma...

Death is the one unifying reality of humanity. Everybody dies. But God didn’t make us to die – He made us to live forever. And He made us for an embodied, physical, eternal life. How does Jesus’ resurrection assure us that we too will be given new bodies like His one day? And how does that change the way we live in these bodies we have today? Resurrection is continuity from creation. Resurrection...

We are in the climax of Paul’s letter to his beloved Church in Corinth. Up to this point he’s addressed spiritual and moral issues like sexual immorality, marriage and divorce, food sacrificed to idols, proper worship and spiritual gifts. There have been many compromises within the Corinthian church – influenced by the hedonistic culture around them. They’ve even begun to question the very finishe...

Today, Pastor Ray, Pastor John and Nat recap this past weekend's sermons on 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. We touch on topics such as denominational differences, wrestling with the truth of the resurrection, and more! Continue to write in as we finish off 1 Corinthians over the next few weeks! 00:00 Intro 00:58 Sermon Discussion 14:46 Have you ever wrestled with the truth of the resurrection?  20:11 Reso...

A "high stakes" situation involves significant risk. The potential for either a large gain or a severe, substantial loss is high. It’s often a scenario with irreversible consequences. What might be some high stakes situations for you? Critical business decisions, major academic exams, legal decisions, financial gambles, marriage proposals?? For followers of Jesus, when it comes to the resurrection...

Today, Pastor Ray, Pastor Brett and Silas recap Easter Weekend and answer your Easter-related questions. Continue to write in as we finish off 1 Corinthians over the next few weeks! 00:00 Intro 03:14 Austin Heights Weekend Recap 05:55 Willingdon Weekend Recap  09:27 Sermon Summaries 21:48 How do you prepare sermons for Easter Weekend? 28:00 Timeline of these verses  32:31 Why did Jesus have to suf...

Is there something more than this – this time, this life - what I see today? If you’ve been attending Willingdon over the last year, you’ll know that we have been walking through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, those followers of Jesus in the ancient city of Corinth. We’ve talked about self-righteousness, idols, human rights, love, and sex. At times, it’s been spicy. Church can be interest...

Today, Pastor Ray, Pastor Brett and Nat chat about the Corinthian Church, who wrote the SOS to Paul and Christian Influencers. We continue in 1st Corinthians next week for Easter, but will be starting a new sermon series, Anchored Hope.   00:00 Intro 00:50 Sermon Discussion 14:53 Corinthian and Western Church Similarities 24:06 Christian Influencers 27:36 Women as Pastors and Elders 30:54 Next Ste...

What’s the outcome of this whole discussion about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14? What should we conclude based on the theological foundation provided for spiritual gifts, the diversity of gifting within the body of Christ, the understanding that love is the more excellent way (and must inform and motivate everything), and the orientation given around the proper exercise of the gifts of pr...

Today, Pastor Ray Pastor Brett and Silas answer questions about the relationship between trusting God and planning well, spiritual abuse and comparing our healing journey to others we may hear.  00:00 Intro 01:04 Sermon Recaps 10:53 Why Ray focused on faith, healing and miracles  12:06 Understanding the story of Paul in Acts 17:00 Relation between Trust In God and Poor Planning 29:07 Leaders who s...

Imagine you go back in time 100 years and you are asked to explain to your grandparents or great-grandparents what a smartphone can do. The problem is that you don’t have a smartphone in your hand and the internet does not exist. You can only use words to describe the smartphone to them. How would you do it?  Your grandparents or great-grandparents would have no frame of reference for what you wou...

Strap in! Today, Pastor Brett, Pastor Bryan Born and Silas share stories, answer questions, and just have a great time on this week's podcast. Hear some of Pastor Bryan's stories from ministry in Botswana, Bryan and Brett's stories about discovering their spiritual gifts, and whether we are born with spiritual gifts.  00:00 Intro 02:22 Who is Pastor Bryan? 03:21 Sermon Summary      08:20 Botswana...