Commons Church Podcast

In this sermon from our Soapbox Sundays series, Yelena explores the layered and universal idea of "home". Grounded in Ephesians 2:19–22, this message looks at how Christ breaks down dividing walls, invites outsiders into full belonging, and joins us together into a living sanctuary where God makes a home.Key Topics Covered:The Complexity of Home: How personal memories, mobility, and cultural contexts shape our understanding of home.Who Gets to Belong? Exploring Ephesians 2:19–22 and how Paul redefines household, citizenship, and community.Home as a Place of Becoming: Moving away from a static view of home to see community as an active, ongoing work in progress.Where God is at Home: Reflecting on the biblical narrative of home, homelessness, and homecoming.Scripture: Ephesians 2:19–22 ★ Support this podcast ★

Psalm 7 is a song for anyone who has ever felt falsely accused, misunderstood, or desperate to be vindicated.But underneath David’s very reasonable words is something more volatile: anger, frustration, and the desire for God to feel exactly what he feels.In this sermon, Jeremy Duncan explores the poetry of Psalm 7—from Taylor Swift and ancient Hebrew wordplay to necks, noses, swords, and bows—and asks what happens when our longing for justice begins to slip into a desire for vengeance.The Psalms remind us that we don’t need to sanitize our emotions before bringing them to God. But they also invite us to let the presence of God reshape those emotions so that we can pursue justice without becoming consumed by violence.Psalm 7 ultimately asks a difficult question:Do we want a God modelled after our anger—or will we allow our anger to be transformed by God’s righteousness?Recorded at Commons Church in Calgary, Alberta.#Psalm7 #Psalms #Bible #Sermon #CommonsChurch #Justice #Faith ★ Support this podcast ★

What do you do when God feels far away? Psalm 13 is a song for those moments. In this message, we explore how naming our pain and shifting our perspective can help us move from lament to praise.Key topics covered:• The relationship between lament and praise: Why the "Book of Praises" is full of sorrow and how lament provides a place to stand while we grieve.• Challenging our categories: Understanding how we use bias to simplify the world and how to move past the "outgroup homogeneity effect" to see our neighbors more clearly.• Learning from diverse worldviews: Contrasting different cultural perspectives on suffering—moving from asking God to take suffering away to asking for the strength to endure it well.• Practicing the Examen: A practical 10-minute rhythm to notice God’s presence in both desolation and consolation, helping us become agents of God’s love in the world.Whether you are in a season of struggle or looking to deepen your trust in God, join us as we learn to bring our honest pain before a faithful God who is always at work. ★ Support this podcast ★