Sanctus Church Audio Sermons

Jonah: The Mystery of Mercy Speaker: Jon Thompson Scripture: Jonah 1 Love your enemies. Jonah receives a mission from God that leaves him struggling with a question our world continues to wrestle with today: how God can be both merciful and just? Obedience will require sacrifice. For Jonah, the cost seems too high. He refuses and runs—but God’s mercy prevails.

Together: A Series on Marriage & Community Speaker: Angela Mason Beliefs are powerful. They influence our behaviour, set our expectations, and define what we think is possible.  So what do we believe about marriage? Or more importantly, what does God have to say about the matter? The Scriptures paint a picture of marriage infused with meaning and power. God invites us to be filled with the Spirit so that our marriages lead us and the world into a deeper knowledge of the Gospel.  Sound difficult? Thankfully, God doesn’t expect us to do it on our own. He is our ever-present Helper, always inviting us to find freedom and power in all areas of life—including marriage.

The Founders of The Marriage Course join Pastor Jon for a conversation about their mission to save marriages. The Marriage Course is a series of seven sessions, designed to help couples invest in their relationship and build a strong marriage. Visit www.themarriagecourses.ca for more information.

Together: A Series on Marriage & Community  Speaker: Dave Adams Marriage matters. Since the very beginning, God has intended for it to serve as the blueprint for male-female relationships. It holds a special place in the human story—so why does it seem to be so difficult and confusing?Many voices have weighed in on the topic—some good, others bad. The Scriptures have a way of cutting through the noise.Using the story of Hosea as a touchstone, we focus in on the power of choice, the influence of beliefs, and God’s heart for marriage.

Speakers: Jon Thompson & Dave Adams Scripture: Nehemiah 4 Description: Twice a year at Sanctus Church, we stop to recap where we've been and where we're going. It's a chance for us to celebrate what God has done among us, building faith to move forward.

Speaker: Dave Adams Scripture: Luke 2 Sermon Description:  In preparation for the new year, we turn our attention toward the story of Simeon—which doesn't receive much attention since it appears in the Christmas story after the "big day". Simeon's life demonstrates what it looks like to walk by the Spirit as we: Wait. How do you wait with purpose and patience for God's promise to come true? Act. How do you remain ready and move when the Holy Spirit prompts you? and Respond. How do you respond when God reveals his faithfulness? Simeon shows us a better way forward. As we prepare to enter this new decade, let's follow Simeon's example and invite the Holy Spirit into the whole process—and walk with God throughout the entire journey.

Speaker: Jon Thompson Scripture: Genesis 2, Revelation 21, Colossians 1 Sermon Description:   When we look up at the stars, we can’t help but feel a sense of wonder. The cosmos were designed to reveal God’s glory—to point us back to the Creator of it all. Yet God is more than just the author of light. He is light. What does this reveal about His nature and character? When we circle back to the beginning, we see how the stories of both Creation and Christmas reveal the goodness of God's heart. It's there from the start: eternal and unwavering holiness. In Jesus, we see what happens when the light of the world invades the darkness. His life, death, and resurrection destroyed darkness and replaced it with everlasting light. From throne to cradle, God entered our story so that we may have salvation and eternal life. This light now shines in our hearts. The Holy Spirit empowers us live out a story of re-creation and victory. By walking in and with the light, we become children of light—and glorify the Father by showing the world what it looks like to finally see.

Speaker: Jon Thompson Scripture: Galatians 6 Summary:Welcome to the eleventh and final week in our series on the book of Galatians. To conclude this incredible journey, we turn our attention to Paul's highly practical conclusion. Paul demonstrates his wisdom by translating knowledge into action; he preemptively answers the most likely question in the minds of his audience at this point: Now what? Paul crafts a series of verses to explain not only what Gospel freedom look like in action, but how we maintain our freedom in the real world while continuing to build our lives on the firm foundation that true freedom comes from a promise, not performance—and Jesus is the promised one. God set us free for a reason. Let's find out what it really means to be a new creation.

Speaker: Joel Penney Scripture: Galatians 5:16-26 Summary:  Welcome to Week Ten in our series on Galatians. There is a war inside each of us between the Spirit and our sinful nature. The Spirit wants us to be more like Christ and our flesh wants us back into slavery. According to Paul, to win this battle we must choose, every day, to be led by the Spirit. The way of the flesh (world) is a trap: living your own way looks like freedom, but it’s a lie. It’s actually slavery. Paul provides us with a hopeful list of all that we can experience when we choose a life in the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Speaker: Ben Hilson  Scripture: Galatians 5:1-15 Welcome to Week Nine in our series out of the book of Galatians.Paul opens Chapter 5 by driving home the central thesis of his letter to the Galatians: Freedom is at the core of the Gospel. We tend to insert ourselves into the grace equation. Our western culture emphasizes personal performance and achievement, so it's natural for us to let this mode of thinking distort the nature of the Gospel. Paul corrects this error by reminding us that neither religion nor irreligion have any power to establish us in relationship with God. Faith in Jesus is the only thing that counts. Inviting the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts with this truth enable us to love others with the proper motivation. When we internalize the fact that our freedom is not dependent on our works, we free ourselves from fear—and in turn move from self-obsession to selfless loving.