Sermons from Southpoint Church

This Easter we are reading from Luke's gospel: we are witnessing—with the women—Christ's resurrection from the dead! Christ is alive, the Holy Spirit is at work, and the love of God is on the loose. And although we see death around us today, we proclaim that death will not have the last word!

This gospel reading contains a lot of emotion—Joy, fear, anger, grief. None of it silenced. All that emotion is allowed to take up space. Religious spaces can often be unsafe places for emotions. Some churches teach that emotions are suspect; that they lead us astray and undermine our commitment to truth. Yet, Holy Week is not a journey we make with our head, but with our heart.

Jesus called both blessed: the hunger for righteousness and the practice of being merciful. What is the impact of the word “righteousness" upon you? What about the word “mercy”? To which do you gravitate? In Sunday’s scripture, Luke 10:1-10, Jesus showed mercy to a man who had betrayed his community, spending time with him over a meal. It's the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. his s...

What do we need in order to grow into people who are loving people?

We are walking the Lenten road and following along with Jesus as he sets his face towards Jerusalem. Kristin offers a meditation about "choosing the better part": the part that leads us closer to him.

Join us in considering Luke 10:25-37. Brent invites us to use this Lenten season as a way of leaning into nourishing ourselves and taking care of each other.

"Because they stayed awake, they saw his glory." Staying awake … what does it mean for us today? Join us as Dr Mark Glanville walks us through Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a). It’s a rich feast… and there’s a little jazz piano, as well! 

Loving our enemies, loving our neighbours... what did Jesus mean?!

What’s going through Peter’s mind, in the space between Jesus’s words of comfort and invitation, and them bringing in the boats deep-laden with fish and landing again on shore, where Peter leaves everything to follow this rabbi? Madison Friesen invites into the scene in his meditation on Luke 5:1-11 .

Our endeavour this year as we work through the book of Luke is to encounter Jesus in a fresh way by asking “What does love look like, now?” In the aftermath of Jesus’ announcement that the prophecy of Isaiah 61 was fulfilled in the hearing of his listeners (Luke 4:20-30), what does love look like?

Putting actions on our words...

Let's talk about good news...

Why did Jesus choose to be baptized into John's baptism of repentance from sin? What if it's because he felt compelled to be with us, to stand alongside us in our need for repentance, for forgiveness? Drawn near by his love for us...

The very curvy journey of the magi reminds me just how unfettered is our God, how much God exists outside the straight lines and the grid patterns that we create. We worship (or, we fail to worship!) a God who is clothed in the vast of curvatures of the heavens AND coiled in the minute curvature of a baby's spine. That, for me, is good news!

The Christian story proclaims that God chose to be born as one of us because we are worth the risk, no matter how messy our stories are. Our sacred stories are full of God showing up—but in the story of Jesus' birth, God chose to show up in the riskiest of ways and in the riskiest of birth stories: born to a single teenage girl from a marginalized people group living under the violent thumb of an...

We may think, “I'm just one person. What can I do?” Yet, as followers of Jesus, we’re invited to consider a different question, one rooted in hope and action: “What is mine to do?”

What did it look like for Ruth and Naomi to "gather up the pieces" and begin again?

We are starting a new year in the Christian calendar—here, in Advent, in the dark, as we long for the light. And in our advent series “Gathering the Pieces” Christie Goode starts us off today by acknowledging that YOU are a blessing, that we are a blessing…  (Isaiah 43; 1-7, Luke 1: 26-38). 

It is possible to keep our eyes open to the work of darkness—to be present to it and look it in the eye. And to be present to beauty,  goodness, mystery, and awe. To be present to Presence.

Authentic God-Talk seeks to liberate, advocating for systems and structures that uphold human dignity, alleviate suffering, and protect life on this planet.  As Job challenged orthodoxy when it deepened his suffering, authentic God-Talk will challenge theological perspectives when they invalidate those who suffer or justify oppression.

The central question in the book of Job is not about the nature of God, but about the nature of human beings. "Are human beings capable, in the midst of unjust suffering, of continuing to assert their faith in God and speak of God without expecting a return?” ( — Gustavo Gutiérrez, On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent )

Twenty years ago, in October 2004, The Church at Southpoint (now Southpoint Church) was registered as a non-profit society in British Columbia, Canada. Our theme for Sunday morning was “Stories and Stones”. We remembered and gave thanks for the many different groups of people who have sustained us over the years using stories, images, and songs. Laura Koch came to sing with us, and the musicians o...

Gratitude begins with an  awareness that everything we have is a gift. Gratitude is more than a response —it is a constant awareness of God's presence, kindness and provision in our lives.

What comes to mind when you think of home? We all have a need or longing for home. Wherever we are, we can receive the love the land has for us, and we can love the land in return. We end this year's Season of Creation with this good news—as we hope and act with Creation, we are coming home.  

How do we know when the peaceable kindom has arrived?