Connexus Church Audio Podcast

What a morning to celebrate how Jesus has changed people's lives and their choice to follow Him. It's amazing to see what God is doing. Baptism is also a time for all of us to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus, and celebrate the freedom He brings us.

Maybe your marriage is.... ok.... but that's as far as it goes? What if you could move past that, like way past that? What if you could move your mairrage from just surviving to totally thriving? Don't miss this special interview with Toni Nieuwhof as she pulls the lid off of some of the top marriage tips and troubles.

Looking for relationship advice for breakups? We all have hopes and dreams, but what are we supposed to do when our hearts are broken and our dreams can't come true? It's tempting to take matters into our own hands, but is there a better way?

If you don't want a relationship like the majority of relationships, don't date like the majority of daters. It can be easy to blend, bend, and pretend in order to get in or stay in a relationship. But we need to ask ourselves: Am I losing myself in order to do so?

Many times, we learn from our mistakes in the areas that matter least, but we repeat our mistakes in the areas that matter most. So how can we ensure that the next time won't be like the last time? Instead of being a conformer, it's time to be a transformer.

From elementary school through high school, many of us had ideas of what the perfect relationship would look like in the future. While those dreams may not represent our current reality, a step in the right direction could be to follow the apostle Paul's advice—move from our childish ways and start being grownups.

If becoming the right kind of person is key to a great relationship, how do you do that? Is there something you can do to prepare? Does it just happen? Sure, we're supposed to love others, but what does that really mean? Let's lean in and read the fine print.

In relationships, we often believe if we find the right person it will make everything right. So we ask ourselves, "Is this the right person for me?" Maybe we need to be asking a different question—a question that shifts our focus from seeking the right kind of person to becoming the right kind of person.

If you were designed by God and sin marred that design, how do you push past those limits to reach your potential? The answer is, surprisingly, through the redemptive work of Jesus. Following Jesus doesn't just change eternity, it changes your present. The path to spiritual and emotional health is the key to redeeming the image of God in you.

So you were created by God to be a certain way, but somehow sin got in the way. You have great intentions, but they're difficult to realize. You try your best, but you fail. What gives? Were your personality flaws part of God's design? Is this just how He made you? When sin entered the picture, so did un-health. And as we'll see this week, lurking beneath your wiring is a wound.

So...why isn't everyone a little more like you? The world would be a better place, would it not? Apparently, not. When God designed humankind, he pronounced his work to be very good. However, as the Enneagram reveals, He didn't make us all the same. Maybe the differences aren't deficiencies, they're design.

The Enneagram is an ancient personality type profile, and over the last two years Ian Morgan Cron's book, The Road Back To You, has helped several hundred thousands of people discover what their number means. Ian talks to Carey about how the Enneagram can help grow your self-awareness and how to reduce conflict at work and at home by understanding how different personality types work. They also discuss the Enneagram as a spiritual growth tool.

Resolutions are a decision to put in some extra effort to achieve a goal. But when it comes to our faith, often growth comes faster when we step out into what God calls us to - taking a risk more so than making a resolution. Why is that? Where does reading scripture and prayer fit into this? What would 2020 look like if you chose to "step out of the boat"?

The Church is remarkable. And against all odds, it changed the world. There is still a great deal that needs changing. By God's grace and with your help, perhaps we can be a small part of bringing about that change.

You might sometimes feel like life, fate, and even God are against you. What if this Christmas you discovered a God who is FOR you?

God's grace to us is an invitation to be amazing. It's our chance to extend to others what God has freely extended to us. But while most of us are full of something . . . it's usually not grace. So what are you full of? And what would it take for you to give someone what they don't expect? Or deserve?

The kingdom of God is characterized by unsettling generosity —the kind of generosity that gives the undeserving what they don't deserve and regardless of how unright we've been, makes us right with God. So what do we do when we're faced with this math that doesn't add up? And how do we respond to this unfair, unsettling system that Jesus came to invite us into?

There is an unsettling solution for just about everything, and we can sum it up in one word. Grace. It's the undeserved, unearned, unearnable favor that Jesus came to offer us. So why wouldn't we want Christianity to be true? And where should you start if it's a word that was never part of the equation for you?

Don't miss the incredible full stories of God moving in the lives of these 5 women. Today, we share the FULL stories of what God is doing in their lives. On Sunday, we saw them publicly share their faith in Jesus, tell about how God is moving in their lives, and take the step of baptism together. Listen in on the stories of Jennifer, Megan, Nicole, Nicole, and Carol-Anne.

How can you be FOR your community during this Christmas season? The Christmas Season marks the beginning of the final month of the year, which often means people are more generous, more compassionate and more giving of their time. But what if we not only ended the year this way but began the next year this way? What if we not only finished strong but started strong, too?

Is hell real? If so, what is it like? Very few people take hell seriously anymore. These days, hell has been reduced to a joke, a swear word, a cartoon, or a reality only mean-spirited people believe in. If that's the case, why did Jesus appear to take hell so seriously? Hell isn't actually an Old Testament concept. While the Old Testament barely mentions hell, the New Testament, Jesus and others talk about it a lot. What's going on? IWe'll work through your top questions about hell this weekend.

So if you're going to live forever, what's it like? This week, we'll look at the biblical descriptions of heaven, what role Jesus plays, what role your deeds play (they do play a role, just not the one most people think), and we'll answer your top questions on heaven as submitted through Instagram.

A lot of people struggle to believe what they read in Scripture. Instead, they argue that they'd be more likely to believe if someone came back from the dead and told them about what happens when you die. In Part 2 of What Happens When You Die, we look at the stories of three people who did just that.

Almost everyone has an opinion about the afterlife, but so many things people believe about eternity may or may not be true. How do you know whether what you think is true...is true? To kick off the series, we'll cover five commonly held myths about eternity (like everything works out just fine) that it's time to bust.

In your life, when the gap between the real and the ideal is growing, you can end up filling that gap with worry, anxiety, and fear. If you are honest, sometimes your worry about all the possible outcomes is worse than the situation itself. The truth: Worry erodes resilience. How do you maintain your resilience in the face of worry and anxiety. What if you could face hard things while winning the war against worry at the same time?

One of the things that rattles us most are difficult relationships. Sometimes we need resilience when people are difficult, and sometimes we need to keep fighting for a relationship with someone we love. Often we need resilience to navigate a relationship we didn't choose (like a co-worker or a neighbour). How do we bounce back when the gap grows between the reality of a relationship and the ideal that we would hope for? With conflict being a big part of relational challenges, how do we keep our composure? As we look at Paul's life the answer may not be what we think.

When it comes to most circumstances and relationships in your life you have an ideal in mind or your own idea of how it should go (even subconsciously). The problem comes when the gap between the real and the ideal begins to grow, especially when it's something or someone you care about. That's when you are shaken. How do you grow in resilience to handle those gaps?

John Townsend is one of today's top business consultants, leadership coaches, psychologists and best selling author of 35 books. John shares why most leaders have the wrong kind of relationships in their lives, and how to find the best ones. And as a bonus, John explains how to clearly say no and establish boundaries in a way that doesn't hurt people.

As much as there are some things we should delete in our lives, there are some things that should never be blocked. In fact, they need to be saved, added and followed. Pursued. We'll look at the kinds of things--and the kinds of people--you want to always have close to you.

Dr. Henry Cloud coaches Fortune 100 company CEOs and top church leaders, and shares what they all have in common. He also offers strategies on how to overcome common dysfunctional behaviours we all struggle with like broken thinking, dealing with problem people and more.

Can you follow Jesus and delete toxic people from your life? Surprisingly, yes. In fact, sometimes it's the most loving thing you can do. Join us to find out why, when, how to delete toxic people from your life. You might even discover who needs to go.

One of the reasons many shy away from the Christian faith or avoid going deeper is because they fear giving up things they like, even though they suspect they may not be good for them. Can you be a Christian without being a prude?

Ever asked God to help you? Sure you have. What might surprise you is the response you find in scripture to that prayer. Practical help for your life might be closer than you think, and a little more uncomfortable than you think.

What goes around often comes around. The powerless often find themselves in a position of power and the people who hurt us may someday need us. In the moments when we've got those people right where we want 'em, what we say will say as much about us as anything else. If our words are stones, will we choose to throw them, or use them to pave the way forward?

Our big mouths can be destructive, but they also have the power to build others up. What we say can impact the quality, and even the direction, of the lives of the people around us. How can we use this power for good?

Like a small spark that has the potential to scorch an entire green forest, our tongues are untamable, with the power to control our whole bodies. We have a tool that can be used to build up those around us or tear them down in just a few words. What do we do with that kind of power? We can't lock it away. But we can, by God's grace, learn to control it.

We all know what it's like to be hurt by someone who just couldn't listen long enough to understand us. Maybe in their attempt to be right, they damaged a relationship that could have been saved with a little patience and curiosity. You've probably been on the other side of that coin too. Taking the verbal offense may have won the argument but you lost relationally. What if we didn't settle for being right, but tried to make things right instead? The longer we listen the more we learn, and the better chance we have of protecting ourselves from our own big mouths.

In this bonus episode for our series on character called "To-Be List", Carey interviews Joel Manby, former CEO of SeaWorld. Joel took over SeaWorld just after the airing of the infamous "Blackfish" documentary and talks candidly and humbly about character and the cost of high capacity leadership.

You have a million things on the go, and because you don't want to be selfish, chances are you put everything and everyone ahead of yourself. That's potentially a fatal mistake. Maybe the key to being a better follower of Jesus, a better spouse, a better parent and a better human is actually putting yourself first when it comes to personal growth.

Whatever your sense of morality is, the frightening truth is that we all fail to live up to it? Why...and how do you keep coming up short? Surprisingly, compromise never starts with the big stuff. It's way more subtle than that. When you see how compromise starts, you can change it.

Carey Nieuwhof To Be List - Part 1 - Meanwhile, At Your Funeral... As much as no one likes to talk about it, one day we're all going to not be here anymore. So here's the socially awkward question: what will people be saying about you at your funeral? After doing hundreds of funerals, pastors have a pretty good idea of what people say at funerals. And that's the question we'll look at this weekend is what will people say about you? It's not that hard to predict.

Don't miss this touching bonus episode where Carey has a heartfelt conversation with Levi and Jenni Lusko on the loss of their daughter.

Levi Lusko When we face pain and loss, they change the story we had planned for our lives. They can end our dreams. But what do pain and loss look like when we try to see the world as God sees the world, and to do as God says?

Andy Stanley We tend to view our time the same way we view our money—we spend, invest, and waste it. The question is: how does God view time? If we saw it as he sees it, it might affect the way we use our own.

Andy Stanley Seeing your money and possessions as God sees them will make you more inclined to do with them as God says. That can revolutionize your life.

Clay Scroggins How you see the world affects everything you do. It even affects how you see God. What would it take for you to broaden your view so you can see God more accurately and connect with him more deeply?

Jeff Henderson What do you do when you feel stuck at work? You're grateful you have a job, but you feel like there's something else you need to be doing. How do you pay the bills and still pursue a dream job? Many people give up. You don't have to be one of those people. In the conclusion of Dream Job, we talk about what to do in the middle of the Monday-morning blues and the search for your dream job.

Jeff Henderson Once we understand the purpose of work, we have to understand the answer to another important question: "What does God specifically want me to do with my career?" This question sounds similar to a question we all were asked as kids: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" For many of us, these questions seem mysterious. The good news is that in Part 2 of Dream Job, we will look at a tangible biblical principle that puts us on the path toward discovering the answer.

Jeff Henderson Many of us spend over 30% of our lives at a job and, according to Gallup, almost 80% of us are dissatisfied while we're there. That's rather depressing, isn't it? We'll spend almost a third of our lives on something that creates dissatisfaction. Are we okay with this? Perhaps we need to hit the reset button and rediscover what "work" is all about and where it came from. When we do, we discover something remarkable: the idea that work came from our heavenly Father. It's his idea. And when we understand work from God's perspective, we discover the real meaning and purpose behind it. When we discover the purpose of work, we discover that there is no such thing as a job without purpose. This means that all of us can experience something remarkable: a job with purpose, meaning, and satisfaction. In other words, a dream job.

What a morning to celebrate how Jesus has changed people's lives and their choice to follow Him. It's amazing to see what God is doing. Baptism is also a time for all of us to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus, and celebrate the freedom He brings us.