Sunshine Community Church's Podcast

Jonah 4 As we come to an end of the book of Jonah, we also come to the climax of the story - the place where God and Jonah put all their cards on the table and explain their hearts. It is an amazing and convicting picture of the human heart, and how much can go wrong there if we misunderstood the honor and responsibility of being chosen and start to think it entitles us to sit in judgement of God. To the contrary, accepting mercy means we give up all judgement to God and cherish his generosity; hypocrisy about this gift is unacceptably ugly sin for a Christian.

Jonah 3 Who is the greatest evangelist of all time? Is it Billy Graham, Ray Comfort, or D.L. Moody? The Apostle Paul, or Barnabas? There are so many people we've never heard of, but who have reached whole tribes and nations with the Gospel. History has forgotten their names, but heaven hasn't. Most of the time, we reach others in small numbers and unremarkable ways. Whether a person preaches to millions or just a few, one thing is undeniable: God is the only real Evangelist - even when he uses us, he is the preparer, the messenger, and the message itself!

Jonah 2 This message is about the first underwater poetry in human history! Composed by Jonah, under the sea in the belly of a fish and it only survived because Jonah survived. He shares it with all of us as a testimony to the sobering power of death and suffering to turn our hearts toward repentance and gratitude. Often, without this slap in the face, we are tempted to rewrite the Bible and adjust God's gospel toward comfort. But it is a miracle that God provides any way of salvation to us; "alive and uncomfortable" beats "rebellious and dead" every time!

Jonah 1 This message begins a series looking at the life of Jonah, an Old Testament prophet who ended up at odds with God's mercy. The basic concept of fighting against God is familiar for most of us. Sometimes, we just don't want to love whom he loves, go where he sends, or do what he says. Jonah's story shows us that God's call to evangelism is irrevocable, and we ought to willingly respond.

2 Timothy 2: 8-26 This message focuses on how spending intentional time with God is essential. It can redeem us, give us a newfound ability to be like and learn from him! Though we start the story as unfaithful, in Jesus we can become steady, kind, patient and reliable; through is Spirit, we can be infected with faithfulness and spread it to others!

Psalm 139 We often tell people that they are totally unique and that God knows each of us absolutely and perfectly. The thing nobody talks about is that God's deep knowledge of us can be either comforting or irritating, depending on how we feel about him! If we are trying to hide secrets or feel like we will be rejected if people really know us, the idea of a God who searches the heart can be frightening. On the other hand, God is so faithful to just be with us, but in the game of spiritual "chicken" and closeness between us and him, we are always the ones who flinch.

Ephesians 3 Throughout our stint in ministry, Sunshine has seen again and again that we can't do anything apart from God's empowering; often, he calls us to do things that make us aware of our limitations, and in those moments, his power really stands out! God never calls us to a task or challenge without also making a plan to empower and protect us in that path. We are certainly asked to act beyond our own power, but never beyond his!

Hebrews 10:19-39 God’s promises are unflinchingly generous and ironclad; he gives us strength to value them more than comfort and ease.

1 Timothy 6:11-21 Neither Sunshine Community Church, nor our families, nor our city, nor this planet could endure a single moment apart from the generous and loving provision God offers us. God has provided for his people amply; the air we breathe, the food we eat, the lives we live, and the Spirit that animates us all come from his Fatherly hand, alone. Most of all, he has provided us with Jesus! We must learn to recognize, name, and mirror his generosity.

Romans 3 Through 100 years of history at Sunshine Church, we have definitely learned that God is faithful! Many times, we learned it because he was the only One who was... God never lets us down or breaks his Word, but people certainly do. Before we can benefit from the faithfulness of God, we must admit and confess our own unfaithfulness apart from him.

Joshua 14 Our last series was about young people who were mighty and bold in their faith. This message asks "how does that work over time- how do the young and mighty age, and what does that look like?" This passage examines Caleb, an Old Testament warrior. Int his passage, we get snapshots of him and his youth AND in his old age. What does the heart look like when it wholly trusts God and his promises over decades?

2 Timothy 1:1-7; 1 Timothy 4:12 Timothy is the character in the Bible that gave us our "Young and Mighty" summer message series theme. Paul, his mentor, gave him a challenge to go further than those who came before him, fanning his gifts into a blaze through intentional work, risk taking, and a hunger for growth.

John 6:1-15 When thousands followed Jesus into the wilderness to hear him teach, the practicalities of food and planning became very important. People had to put God's kingdom first, but now they were going to be way more than "hangry" if something didn't change. One small boy shared his lunch, and Jesus used it POWERFULLY! In this passage, we see that when we give what we have to Jesus, he will still meet our needs; we'll never outlive him, and childlike generosity works miracles!

Luke 2:41-52 The story of young Jesus at the temple shows us that he knows all about growing up, listening, and submitting to the long process of maturity. In fact, he was smarter than grownups without sinning or disrespecting them! Big understanding sometimes gets delivered through small voices; Jesus can show us how to advise and inspire respectfully!

Acts 2:42-47 The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost unleashed the Spirit-filled church; its marks are still visible today.

Guest Preacher David B brings this message from Ephesians 4. 

Daniel 1 This message is about Daniel and the example he sets of winsomely and courageously thriving in the midst of a culture different from the one in which he was raised. This challenge is particularly poignant for today! Our kids will face cultural challenges we can't force; they will need creativity or shrewdness to engage and bless without caving in or being defiled.

2 Kings 22:1-20 Can you imagine becoming a public figure at the age of 8 - much less a king? It sounds like a recipe for pride, entitlement, and foolishness, but that's not what happened for King Josiah of Israel. For some reason, he led with a pure, obedient heart and made major reforms in Israel's worship of the Lord. His maturity and passion for obedience show that a person's sense of right and wrong isn't based on their size. Too often, we make obeying God and righting wrongs too complicated - it's really just a matter of trusting and obeying what He says!

2 Kings 5:1-14 This message's hero is a young girl whose name we don't even know. She was a prisoner of war, and she was in a land far away from her parents and home. She could have hated her captors, but instead, she chose to seek their blessing and health by pointing them to the God of Israel! Kids are often experts at giving people second changes; their willingness to forgive, risk kindness, and share is humbling. As we study together, we will see the many ways in which childlike faith can change everything, even for stubborn grownups!

1 Kings 3:3-15 Solomon, son of King David of Israel. He is renowned for being wise, even though he started his reign as a very young man. In this passage, we see where all that wisdom started, and we get a great example for all of us, in terms of humility and teachability. It turns out that admitting what you don't know takes immense courage , but it is also the only path to godly wisdom. When you finally accept that, no matter how smart you are, you don't yet even know how much you don't know, there is great hope for growth!