Have you ever felt like your efforts are invisible? You show up, you do the right thing, and you pray, yet on the surface, nothing seems to change. It’s easy to wonder if God is actually at work or if you’re just wasting your time. In this talk, we open up Matthew 13 to look at one of Jesus' shortest but most shocking parables: the parable of the yeast. We explore why Jesus chose a symbol often associated with corruption to describe the Kingdom of Heaven, and how this challenges our demand for control and instant results. We discuss the tension between the "two-drawer life"—separating our faith from our daily reality—and a life where the Kingdom permeates everything. If you are feeling discouraged by the slow pace of change, this message is a reminder that the Kingdom is steady, unseen, and unstoppable. Just because you don't see it yet, doesn't mean it isn't growing. Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/the-yeast-factor

Have you ever felt like it is your specific job to set everyone else straight? We often mistake being the "salt of the earth" with a duty to act as the morality police or to fiercely guard religious traditions. But when we look closely at the life of Jesus, we see Him constantly turning those very traditions on their heads—not to be rebellious, but to reach the people on the margins. We explore the tension of what it really means to preserve the world around us. What if our calling isn't to enforce rules, but to preserve the inherent worth of every person we meet? We dig into the difficult reality that salt cannot do its work without contact. You cannot influence a world that you refuse to touch, even if that contact threatens your reputation. This conversation invites you to reconsider your impact. It challenges you to stop forcing your own "flavour" on others and instead listen well enough to bring out the beauty God has already placed within them. It is a call to move beyond judgment and into a life of restorative love. Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/salt-light-and-the-upside-down-kingdom

Have you ever felt a deep tension between the God of love you read about and the terrifying wrathful God you were taught to fear? For many of us, the idea of an ​“eternal conscious torment” has been a foundational, yet deeply troubling, part of our Christian upbringing. It creates a picture of God that seems impossible to reconcile with the one who calls us to love our enemies. What if the primary reason Jesus spoke in parables wasn’t to give us black-and-white answers, but to provoke more questions and call us to wrestle with the truth in community? In this conversation, we’re diving into the challenging parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25 to question our assumptions about afterlife judgment. We’ll look at the historical context of the word Jesus used—Gehenna—which was a literal, infamous place, not just a metaphor for an eternal fire. More importantly, we’ll ask: what was the core message of the early church? When the apostles preached the gospel, they weren’t leading with a threat of hell. They were declaring a new King and a new Kingdom established here and now. Join the discussion as we suggest that the path to life isn’t found in a ​‘sinner’s prayer,’ but in a committed life of co-suffering love and mercy for ​“the least of these.” Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/the-sheep-and-the-goats

Have you ever found yourself, if you’re truly honest, dismissing someone? Maybe because of their reputation, what they’ve done, or the label the world has given them. It’s easy to categorize people as ​“outsiders” or ​“misfits.” We see in the gospels that the Pharisees did this all the time, but Jesus… he sat and ate with them, ​“treating them as old friends.” In this talk, we are diving into the parable of the lost coin from Luke 15. It’s about a woman searching for a coin of ​“almost insignificant value.” And yet, to her, it was worth lighting a lamp, sweeping the whole house, and searching every dark corner to find. This isn’t just a story about being lost and found. It’s a powerful challenge for us. Who have we stopped searching for? Who have we allowed to ​“remain in darkness” because we’ve decided they aren’t worth the effort? This is a beautiful and simple reminder that everyone, no matter their story, is of supreme importance to God — and they are valued, simply because they are valuable. Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/the-lost-coin

Have you ever read a parable you thought you knew, only to discover you might have been missing the point? We all know the story of the lost sheep — a shepherd leaves 99 to find the one. But what if that story is teaching two very different lessons? We jump into both Matthew 18 and Luke 15, and it turns out why the sheep is lost, and who Jesus is talking to, changes everything. One version is a warning about being led astray, but the other is a defiant celebration in the face of harsh judgment. We explore the tense moment when Jesus is eating with ​“tax collectors and sinners,” and the Pharisees, who had perfect theology, are furious. Their problem wasn’t with Jesus’s doctrine; it was with his heart. Jesus’s response wasn’t just to defend his actions, but to declare that his party with the ​“misfits” was a mirror of the celebration happening in heaven. It leaves us with a challenging question: How good are we at celebrating? Are we known for being right, or are we known for welcoming people home? Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/leaving-the-ninety-nine

Have you been praying for a breakthrough? That feeling like you’re in a situation — addiction, depression, finances, just stuck—and you need God to move? We kick things off with a powerful, passionate call for a breakthrough in every area of our lives, drawing from the incredible promise in Isaiah 61 that the Spirit anoints us to proclaim freedom. But how do we get that breakthrough? It often comes down to one thing: hearing the right voice. We dive deep into John 10 to explore the Good Shepherd, the one who calls you by name. What if God is speaking to you through your own imagination, but you’ve been conditioned to distrust it? We’ll give you a simple, powerful question to ask (“What would perfect love say?”) to know if it’s His voice. This is a message about recognizing the Shepherd, finding safety in the ​“Gate,” and finally stepping into the abundant life He promises. Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/the-shepherd-and-the-gate

Speaker: David McBride Have you ever prayed for something for so long that you start to wonder if your prayers are being heard? You’ve prayed and waited, and yet, nothing seems to change. That waiting can weaken your faith. Jesus acknowledged this in a story about a persistent widow who refused to give up. We explore that parable to ask an important question: what if prayer isn’t about wearing God down, but about building our own faith up? We examine what it means to “keep knocking,” even when you don’t see the answer. Using illustrative stories—like a prayer that took 86 years to be answered and a bamboo tree that grows 90 feet in six weeks after five years of quiet growth—this message encourages perseverance. It’s a reminder that your persistence is laying a foundation and that the waiting period is not in vain. Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/dont-stop-knocking

Ever stopped to think about what your words are truly producing? This conversation jumps into Jesus’ fascinating parables about vines and fig trees to explore a challenging idea: our words and actions are the ​“fruit” that shows what’s really going on inside our hearts. It’s a powerful look at why what we say matters so much, leading to a question you might just carry with you all week: are you a fig or a thistle? But it’s not all about tough self-reflection. We also get a beautiful new picture of God — not as a distant owner demanding results, but as a patient, hands-on Gardener who knows exactly what we need. Discover how God gives us the time and care required to become fruitful, and how staying connected to Jesus, the true vine, is the secret to producing the one fruit that matters most: love. Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/figs-or-thistles

This discussion delves into the disruptive genius of Jesus’ parables — earthly stories designed not just to be heard, but to challenge our thinking and shape how we live. Using the powerful image of a farmer scattering seed, it explores how the condition of our hearts, like different types of soil, determines whether a message can take root and grow. The core invitation is to cultivate a receptive heart, breaking up the hard ground so that we can become fruitful, not for our own benefit, but to provide nourishment for others. The conversation also tackles the complex reality of a world where good and evil — the ​“wheat and the weeds” — grow side-by-side. This challenging parable serves as a crucial reminder to resist the temptation to judge who is worthy and who is not, a task that belongs to God alone. It prompts us to consider what it means to live patiently and faithfully in a complicated world, trusting in the steady, often unseen, growth of the kingdom. Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/getting-into-the-weeds

This series explores the parables of Jesus, revealing him as a playful, disruptive, and provocative storyteller. We’ll move beyond the search for simple formulas or one-line life lessons, which Jesus rarely offered. Instead, these discussions embrace how his stories challenge comfortable assumptions and invite us to think more deeply. The parables are designed to disrupt what we think we know, encouraging a more imaginative and interactive engagement with his teachings. Rather than just earthly tales with a hidden heavenly meaning, the parables call us to be provoked and to reconsider the world around us. A central theme is the overwhelming generosity of God’s kingdom, a concept that counters ideas of scarcity and waste. Ultimately, we find that the key to unlocking these profound stories is not a specific interpretive method, but a direct encounter with Jesus. The focus shifts from simply knowing the right answers to responding to the storyteller himself. Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/unexpected-tales

Speaker: Ronnie Dawson We’re drawn into Noah’s story in Hebrews 11, where an ordinary man made an extraordinary impact through faith. His life highlights four qualities God looks for: he was available, he dared to be different, he followed God completely, and he never gave up. Even when faced with ridicule, challenges, and years of waiting, Noah chose trust over doubt and obedience over excuses. His example reminds us that God values our willingness far more than our ability. At its core, this is a call to live with the same kind of wholehearted devotion. God is still searching for people ready to stand apart, follow His leading, and persevere when things don’t make sense. Just as He used Noah to influence his generation, He can use us to shape ours. The invitation is simple but powerful: make yourself available, keep your heart true, and watch how God can work through your life to bring lasting change. Episode link: https://grace-community.church/lesson/but-noah-found-favour