Lakeside Church

In this message from Jonathan Puddle, we explore the powerful moments in Jesus’ final days, from His triumphal entry to cleansing the temple, and how these events speak to us in times of political and social unrest. We reflect on the importance of love—loving God, loving ourselves, and loving others—above religious performance, and how surrendering to God’s love can transform our lives and the world around us.

In this message, we dive into how Jesus challenged the corrupt religious and political systems of his time. While taxes today fund public services, in Jesus' time, they kept people poor and enriched religious leaders. Facing a trap over taxes, Jesus flipped the situation, showing that it’s not about money, but about where our allegiance lies—empire or God. His message wasn’t against wealth but about who we choose to serve.

In this message, we reflect on the powerful moment when Jesus overturned the tables in the temple, challenging the corrupt religious and economic systems that excluded the marginalized. Jesus’ deliberate act of disruption wasn't just about anger but about restoring justice—showing that justice is not only part of worship, but it is worship. As we examine our own lives, we are called to ask: where have we aligned with the ways of the world, and how can we more faithfully live out the justice and peace that Jesus modelled?

As we enter into this season of Lent, we reflect on Jesus' final week and what it reveals about his character. We explore his weeping over Jerusalem, his call for peace over power, and the crowd's misunderstanding of his kingship. We are challenged to examine our faith and ask ourselves, "What kind of king do we truly want?" and how this question can shape our journey during this season.

Jack Ninaber’s journey is one of faith, challenges, and transformation. Through loss, uncertainty, and bold leaps of faith, he discovered God’s purpose in unexpected ways. Even in his lowest moments, he saw God’s faithfulness, reminding us that no matter where we are, God is always at work.

Was the final line of the Lord’s Prayer always there? Scholars have found that 'For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory…' wasn’t in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew, but it became part of church tradition over time. So, is it scripture or not? In this message, we take a deep dive into this last line and discover what it means for how we understand God’s kingdom, power, and glory.

In this message, Pastor Robyn Elliott explores the concept of the Lord’s Prayer, particularly the demand, "deliver us from the evil," emphasizing the difference between tests that prove character and temptations that destroy it. It examines how evil manifests both personally and systemically, urging us, as Jesus followers, to consider our complicity in such forces and our role in addressing them as a community. The prayer calls for solidarity as the church, and challenges us to see life's trials as opportunities for growth or temptation.

Forgiveness is not just a one-time act but an ongoing process that shapes our relationships and actions. In this message, Pastor Robyn Elliott highlights the tension between the call to forgive and the struggle we face with pain and injustice. The message encourages a deeper understanding of forgiveness, not as a transaction to "buy" God’s forgiveness, but as a transformative act that mirrors God's grace. Ultimately, Jesus’ vision is of a world where forgiveness replaces retribution, offering a path to freedom, healing, and restoration.

Give us this day our daily bread.

In this message, Kevin Coghill (from Royal City Mission) highlights the powerful symbolism of bread as both a basic need and a call to community, urging Jesus followers to share life with those on the margins, just as Jesus did. It challenges us as individuals and as the church to move beyond fear of reputation and embrace the radical love of identifying with the poor, seeing them as family. Ultimately, it calls for a revolution of values where love, justice, and generosity are prioritized over personal comfort.

Your kingdom come, your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. In this message, Pastor Robyn Elliott explores these lines from the Lord’s Prayer and invites us into a vision of a new world order—one that demands deep personal and collective transformation. It calls us to reconsider our understanding of God’s will as freedom for all, subverting the political and economic systems that prioritize power and self-interest, and challenges us to question whether we’re truly ready to pray for God's kingdom to break through in our lives and in the world.