Reality Church Vancouver Teachings Podcast
Teachings from Reality Church Sunday gatherings in Vancouver, Canada
100 episodes
latest
weekly cadence
English language
https://realityvancouver.com/podcast?format=rss
Episodes
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Teachings from Reality Church Sunday gatherings in Vancouver, Canada
Reading the feed…
What do we do when it feels like evil is winning? In Psalm 37, we’re invited to face the anxiety, envy, anger, and uncertainty of our world honestly, not with cynicism, moralism, or naive optimism, but with trust in a faithful God. Discover how our everyday habits can shape us toward peace, contentment, hope, and a life that reflects Jesus.
Psalm 84 reminds us that the Christian life is a pilgrimage toward the presence of God. Along the way, we will walk through valleys of tears but we do not walk them alone. Because God himself has entered the valley, even places of sorrow can become places of springs. Our deepest longing is not ultimately for an easier or more comfortable life, but for God himself. As we draw nearer to him, we are walking through the valleys of this life on our way home.
What if joy isn’t something we’re supposed to force, but something we cultivate as we walk with God? In Psalm 126, we’re reminded to look back at God’s faithfulness, look ahead with hope, and make room for both laughter and tears along the journey. Wherever you find yourself today, this Psalm invites you to trust that God is still at work and that joy can grow along the way.
What does it mean for Jesus to truly be King? In Psalm 2, we’re reminded that Jesus is King over the nations, King over our own lives, and a King who brings justice, freedom, and refuge. As we surrender our desire to stay in control and trust His leadership, we discover that His kingship isn’t about taking from us, it’s about giving us Himself and inviting us into a life of deeper freedom, joy, and hope. Recorded August 2, 2026
What do we see when fear fills the room? Psalm 27 reminds us that fear may shape how we interpret our circumstances, but it doesn’t get the final word. David points us to a God whose light cannot be extinguished, whose beauty cannot be erased by our wounds, and whose goodness cannot be disproved by delay. Even when we can’t see it yet, the light is still shining. Recorded July 19, 2026
What does it really mean to live a blessed life? As we kick off our new series, Summer in the Psalms, we explore why the Psalms have shaped the prayers and worship of God's people for generations before diving into Psalm 1. Along the way, we discover that the blessed life isn't about trying harder, it's about putting down deeper roots in Jesus, the One who perfectly lived the life we never could. As Psalm 1 ultimately points us to Christ, we're invited to receive His righteousness and discover the flourishing life that comes through abiding in Him. Recorded July 12, 2026.
This sermon begins with the question: When was the last time you admitted you were wrong without being prompted? Looking at Jesus’s words in Matthew 5, the message reminds us that our relationships with the people around us matter just as much to God as our relationship with Him. The problem is, between our own egos, the culture around us, and a bit of human nature, we are absolute experts at making excuses, playing the victim, and watering down our apologies. But by looking at the story of Zacchaeus, we are challenged to stop rewriting history and let the Holy Spirit actually convict us and b
Prayer in Every Circumstance // 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Lydia Cruttwell Ever feel like your prayer life has to fit into a rigid, one-size-fits-all box? In this message, we dive into Paul’s famous words in 1 Thessalonians to uncover what it actually means to rejoice, pray, and give thanks continually in our messy, everyday lives. Whether you're a morning person or someone who prays best while chopping onions, discover how to connect with God exactly as you are. Recorded June 14, 2026.
What if the key to a deeper relationship with God is simply losing our fear of bothering Him? In this sermon, we look at how the stories of Mary sitting at Jesus' feet and a neighbour banging on a door at midnight invite us to shamelessly seek a God who is already shamelessly pursuing us with the ultimate gift: His Holy Spirit. Recorded June 7, 2026.
In this teaching, we continue in our series on what it actually looks like to walk in the forgiving power of the Holy Spirit, focusing this week on Jesus’ practical blueprint for reconciliation. When we’ve been deeply wronged, the path forward can feel incredibly messy, but his teaching shows us how to navigate that hurt without losing our connection to each other. Join us as we look at how to build a resilient community where restoration isn't just a nice idea, but something we live out every day. Recorded May 31, 2026.
Ever feel like you know what to do when it comes to faith, but you have no clue how to actually do it? In this episode, we explore the unexpected joy and "holy laughter" that comes when we finally stop hiding our struggles and receive absurd, life-changing grace by the Holy Spirit. Recorded May 17, 2026.
Continuing our journey through John 20, we dive deep into the transformative intersection of the Holy Spirit’s power and the discipline of forgiveness. This session moves beyond theory to define biblical forgiveness and offers a practical framework for interrogating the emotions that hold us back. Recorded May 10, 2026.
We often view our failures through the lens of a "disappointed God," leading us to hide in "locked rooms" of shame and self-protection. This week, we dive into Genesis 3 to discover that God’s response to our sin isn't an angry outburst, but a grieving lament that moves toward us in grace. Join us as we explore how the practice of confession breaks the power of our secrets and invites the Holy Spirit to transform our hiding into healing. Recorded May 3, 2026.
In this week’s teaching, we return to John 20:19-23, where we find the disciples hiding in fear after Jesus’ crucifixion. The resurrected Jesus appears and breathes out the Holy Spirit, but in a surprising move, it’s not with the intention of making all of our dreams come true. Instead, the passage suggests the Holy Spirit empowers us to do the one thing our culture finds nearly impossible: to release others from their debts. In a city where cancel culture and ghosting are the default settings for hurt, Jesus invites us to forgive, to liberate, or simply to leave the room of resentment we’ve s
This week, as we transition into the season of Pentecost, we encounter the disciples barricaded in a locked room of fear, grief, and failure. But then Jesus shows up preaching peace and the good news that locked doors are no obstacle to the Risen Christ who enters our mess, shows us his scars, and offers us 'Divine CPR' through the Holy Spirit. Whether you are ready to rejoice or you’re just barely ready to let Him in, join us as we learn what it means to finally stop holding our breath and receive the exhale of God’s grace. Recorded April 19, 2026.
We often live by a "common sense" that prioritizes self-protection and accumulation, but in the Beatitudes, Jesus invites us into a radical vision of flourishing where the poor, the mourning, and the persecuted are truly blessed. In this message, we explore why moving from vision to reality is so difficult and how we can begin to unlearn the "empire in our bones." Discover how new heroes, intentional community, and ancient practices can help us build our lives on the rock of the Beatitudes. Recorded April 12, 2026.
In this message, we explore the Easter narrative in the Gospel of Matthew, looking at how the death and resurrection of Jesus into two essential movements: Lament and Hope. The Cross forces us to face the darkness of our world and our own "Empire" tendencies—the ways we prioritize power over vulnerability. Through the practice of lament, we name the violence, the housing crisis, and our personal shortcomings as "not the way it's supposed to be." But the Resurrection ensures that the darkness doesn't get the last word. It is the "down payment" on a new creation where heaven and earth are reunit
In this week's message, we kicked off Holy Week by looking at Matthew 21:1-17. We explored the "directional" nature of Lent—how Jesus’ turn toward Jerusalem was a resolute move toward the cross, not a military throne. While the crowd offered their cloaks (their most essential security) and waved palm branches (symbols of nationalistic victory), their hearts were still calibrated to the frequency of Empire. Jesus enters not as "The Hammer" (like the revolutionary Judas Maccabeus), but on a donkey, immediately challenging the "sacred empires" of the temple. He refuses to be the King we want—the
In the conclusion of our Beatitudes series, we explore Jesus’ most counter-cultural claim: that a "blessed" life can coexist with—and is even marked by—persecution. Like art, Jesus invites us to shift our perspective away from cultural formulas of comfort and toward a theological imagination that sees the world anew. Join us as we discuss how living with one foot in the Kingdom of Heaven transforms our pain into a portal for God’s presence here in Vancouver. Recorded March 22, 2026.
Of all the Beatitudes, Jesus’ call to find blessing in persecution may feel the most in opposition to our culture. This week, we explore the "squeeze" of social rejection and why our individualistic "operating systems" make us so afraid of it. Join us as we learn to re-embed our lives in the story of the Cross—finding the community and cosmic perspective we need to face the pressure of the world with joy. Recorded March 15, 2026.
As we near the end of our series on the Beatitudes, we look at Jesus’ words: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” In a world shaped by empire and conflict, Jesus offers a radically different vision of peace— which is not withdrawal, segregation, violence or collaboration, but the invitation to join Jesus in becoming a sacrificial shalom-maker. This teaching invites us to reconsider how followers of Jesus live faithfully in the midst of our own modern empires. Recorded March 8, 2026.
Jesus’ promise, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God,” challenges our assumptions about what it means to truly know God. In this message, we explore how Jesus shifts the focus from religious performance to an honest, undivided heart that brings our whole selves before him. Even in seasons when God feels distant, this beatitude invites us to discover the surprising gift of seeing God in the ordinary moments of life. Recorded March 1, 2026.
In this episode, we focus on the beatitude, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy,” where we're invited to honestly wrestle honestly with our resistance to mercy—how resentment, anger, envy, and scorekeeping quietly shape our relationships, especially with those closest to us. By tracing how Jesus defines and embodies mercy throughout Matthew’s Gospel—and ultimately at the cross—we’re invited to move beyond a transactional view of God and discover mercy not as sacrifice or divine bookkeeping, but as God’s covenant love in action. The question at the center is both personal an
In this episode, we explore Jesus’ words, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled,” and wrestle with what that means in a world that often feels anything but right. Moving through the Sermon on the Mount and into the season of Lent, we unpack righteousness as right relationship — with God, others, and creation — while honestly naming our longing for justice, peace, and restoration. This is an invitation to live in the tension of the “now but not yet” kingdom, learning to practice hope, lament, and faithful presence as a community shaped by Jesus. Rec
In this teaching, we explore what Jesus really meant when he said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Rather than describing personality traits like being quiet or gentle, Jesus is pointing to a specific group in the biblical story—the aniy—the poor, powerless, and overlooked who refused both violent revolt and cultural assimilation, choosing instead to wait on God for justice and restoration. This message challenges us to stop reshaping Jesus into a guide for achieving our version of the good life, and instead invites us to see, listen to, and serve those on the margins,
