The ECC Podcast

The heart is mentioned over 1,000 times in the Bible! Have we ever stopped to really think about what the Bible —what God — means when He mentions the heart? In today’s message, we’ll explore what the Bible means by the heart and what it means for followers of Jesus to have a pure heart, as we continue our sermon series through the Beatitudes.

In this message, we come to one of the most challenging, and curious, sayings of Jesus: “Blessed are those who mourn.” On the surface it sounds backwards. How can Jesus call mourning a sign of flourishing, especially when it feels like the exact opposite? Grief and loss are things we normally try to escape, not embrace. Join us as Ben explores how mourning can actually be evidence that the Gospel is breaking through, and why Jesus sees blessing in a place we’d least expect it. 

Today, we come to a Beatitude that sounds like the easiest one to accept: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." Of course a merciful God calls us to be merciful, right? But sit with it a little longer and it gets uncomfortable fast. Does Jesus mean we earn mercy by giving it? And what happens if we withhold it from someone who has wronged us? Join us as we discover that mercy isn't just a virtue we practice, it's the shape of the kingdom breaking into our lives, and into ours first.

Today, we come to the fourth Beatitude: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.” What did Jesus mean by this? Is this primarily an exhortation to live a moral and virtuous life? Join us as we discover that in this Beatitude Jesus makes a beautiful promise. Our deepest longings for goodness, justice and relationships made right will be fulfilled.

In this message, we come to the third beatitude, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” This is perhaps one of the most misunderstood beatitudes. What does Jesus mean by this blessing and why would He hold meekness in such high esteem? And since it is so important, how are we to cultivate meekness in our own lives? Join us as we explore the nature of meekness in the Biblical sense -- a beautiful strength, not a weakness, and perhaps one of the most compelling, courageous, and beautiful ways a person can live.

In this message, we come to one of the most challenging and curious sayings of Jesus: “Blessed are those who mourn.” On the surface it sounds backwards. How can Jesus call mourning a sign of flourishing, especially when it feels like the exact opposite? Grief and loss are things we normally try to escape, not embrace.
Join us as Ben explores how mourning can actually be evidence that the Gospel is breaking through, and why Jesus sees blessing in a place we’d least expect it. 

When you think of a kingdom, what comes to mind? Perhaps it's from a book or a movie. There's something about escaping our world and stepping into another that captures our imagination.
It's exciting. It's captivating.
But when we open the Bible, we discover something even more remarkable. We don't read about an imaginary kingdom; we read about a real one: God's kingdom. A kingdom that Jesus came to announce and a kingdom that is breaking into our world.

Join us as Luke continues our new series on the Beatitudes. Together, we'll discover why Jesus' first words, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," may turn our expectations of God's kingdom upside down.

This summer, we're turning to the most famous words Jesus ever spoke, and arguably the most misunderstood: the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. Too often these eight "blessed are" statements get heard as impossible idealism or crushing legalism, one more ladder to climb. But Jesus isn't handing out a new law on the mountain. He's announcing that the kingdom of God is breaking into the world, and He's describing what happens to ordinary people when His gospel gets a hold of them. The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers, these aren't eight different people. They're one portrait of a disciple being transformed by the Spirit.
Over ten weeks, we'll sit with the questions the Beatitudes still ask us: What does a flourishing life actually look like? What kind of person does Jesus form? And is it really possible to live this way in a world that runs on power and self-protection?

Come and find out as we walk through this series together!

As it is National Indigenous Peoples Day, we are taking a pause from our Ecclesiastes series and will be hearing from Ray as he shares his reflections. 
Dr. Raymond Aldred is the director of the Indigenous Studies Program at the Vancouver School of Theology, where he partners with the Indigenous Church around theological education. Status Cree from Swan River Band, Treaty 8, he was born in Northern Alberta and now lives in Richmond, BC with his wife, Elaine. Ordained first with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and now with the Anglican Church of Canada, Ray has served as Assistant Professor of Theology at Ambrose Seminary and as a leader with Indigenous Pathways and the First Nations Alliance Churches of Canada. His passion is to help as many as possible hear the gospel in their heart language. 

What is the meaning of life? It is the oldest question humanity has ever asked, and one we are still wrestling with today.

This spring, we are journeying through one of the Bible's most provocative and searching books: Ecclesiastes. Often described by scholars as "unsettling," Ecclesiastes refuses to offer easy answers. Instead, it confronts us with the raw, unfiltered questions we all quietly carry: Is life meaningless? Why do good people suffer? Why does satisfaction always seem just out of reach? How do we make sense of life when it simply does not make sense?

Throughout this series, we are exploring whether the things we most often chase pleasure, wealth, success, justice, and even wisdom can truly deliver the meaning we long for. You may find that what Ecclesiastes exposes is not just a tension in the ancient world, but a tension alive in your own heart.

Join  Ben continues our journey through Ecclesiastes 9.