Southside Church

You can live for pride or you can live with power. But you can't do both. You've got to pick.Most of us have spent more time waiting for a Barnabas than becoming one. We've wanted someone to believe in us, to stand up for us, to speak life over us when everyone else was saying what we're not. And that longing is real. But this message flips it around.Pastor Mike walks through Acts chapter 9 and makes the case that Barnabas, the guy most people overlook in the story, might be one of the most impressive people you'll ever meet in eternity. Not because of what he accomplished. Because of who he invested in. Drawing from the Proverbs, the story of a grade five teacher, and a vice principal who changed the course of his life with one sentence, this is a sermon about the kind of power that doesn't come from ego. It comes from giving yourself away.If you want to feed your ego, live for yourself. If you want to change the world, invest in others.

What do you do when you get everything you thought would fix you, and it doesn't?In this personal and honest message, Geoff shares the story of growing up with an insatiable need for approval, how that followed him into church, into ministry, into marriage, and how a word from an old theology textbook finally started to loosen its grip. That word is propitiation. It means a covering. And it means that at any moment, you can step out of the striving and stand under something that has already been done for you.This one goes deep. And it's worth the listen.

Something happens to a lot of people after they've spent time in church. They go from being amazed at God's love to quietly annoyed at his low standards. From "I can't believe Jesus saved me" to "I don't really believe Jesus would save them."It's not a new problem. It happened in the early church. It happened to Jonah. And if we're honest, it happens to us.This message follows the story of Saul in Acts chapter 9 and asks a simple but important question: what keeps someone amazed? Pastor Mike draws from scripture, a story about twin brother maggots, and a hero of his own named Uncle Nick to remind us that grace is the whole point. It was never brains and personality. It was always Jesus.Nothing you could do would make him love you more. Nothing you've done makes him love you less. That's the kind of love worth staying amazed by.

A pioneer is someone who goes first.In this Father's Day message, we discover how God uses ordinary people to create extraordinary impact through simple acts of faithfulness. Looking at the stories of Stephen, the woman caught in adultery, and the life of Terry Fox, we're reminded that history often changes because one person decides to take the first step. Most importantly, we see that Jesus is the ultimate Pioneer. He stepped into human history, faced death, conquered it, and made a way for us to experience life, forgiveness, and hope. Because He went first, we can follow His lead. This message offers three practical ways to live as a pioneer today:Say sorry.Be kind.Tell the truth.When we take these simple steps, God uses them to shape lives, families, communities, and even generations. You were created on purpose, with a purpose, for a purpose. The question is: where is God calling you to go first?

What if God wants to do something extraordinary through your ordinary life?In this message, guest speaker Aaron Treadway explores the story of Peter and John in Acts 3 and 4 and reminds us that God has always used ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. The early church was not built by celebrities, scholars, or spiritual superstars. It was built by people who had been with Jesus.When the religious leaders looked at Peter and John, they saw unschooled and ordinary men. But they also saw courage, faith, and a power that could only be explained by the presence of Jesus in their lives.This message is an invitation to wake up to what God wants to do in and through you. You do not need a special title, platform, or set of credentials. God brings the power. We bring the posture.

What does it actually look like to let God move in your life? Not just in theory, but in the real moments where trust is hard, humility feels offensive, and courage requires you to step into something unfamiliar?This message opens part two of a journey through the book of Acts. Pastor Mike walks through three postures that position us to be shaped by the Holy Spirit: trust, humility, and courage. Simple to say, genuinely difficult to live. And he doesn't pretend otherwise.There's a lot of honesty in this one, some good laughs, and a clear, practical challenge. God brings the power. We bring the posture. And that changes everything.

Are you tired? Not just physically, but at a soul level? Dissatisfied with where you are but scared to move? Confused about which way to go next?You're not alone.Pastor Mike walks through the book of Jude and makes the case that faith is the mechanism by which God's victory becomes your personal strength. This sermon cuts straight to the practical: if you're feeling defeated, go back to the last clear thing God told you to do and do it.Whether that's forgiving someone, stepping into honesty, trusting God in an area you've been holding back, or simply saying yes to something you've been avoiding, your next step forward is closer than you think.

What if the greatest triumphs of your life have nothing to do with what you've accomplished?This message comes from our archive, recorded by Pastor Mike in April 2017 as part of the Imagine Heaven series. Drawing from near-death accounts and the words of Jesus, it's a sermon that has stayed with people for years — and it's easy to see why.The greatest triumphs of your life will not be about what. They will be about who. And some of the smallest moments you almost didn't notice? They're way bigger than you think.

What if the reason you can't hear God isn't that he's stopped speaking? What if it's just the noise?Most of us aren't living dramatically sinful lives. But many of us have quietly let our phones, our screens, and the constant buzz of distraction fill every quiet moment we have. And in those moments, God is trying to reach us.This message takes an honest look at the habits and patterns that keep us from going deeper with God. Drawing from C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters, the story of Elijah, and the words of Jesus in Romans 12 and Revelation 3, this is a gentle but honest wake-up call. Not to feel guilty. But to get free.The life Jesus offers is not a distracted one. It's deep, present, and full. And it starts with the courage to put down what's keeping us from it.

What do you do when someone shows you kindness you know you haven't earned?Most of us know what it feels like to chase something and still come up empty. To be surrounded by people and still feel completely alone. To keep looking for the thing that will finally make life feel like enough, and never quite find it.This is a story about one moment that changed everything.We hope somewhere in it, you catch a glimpse of Jesus too.

What if the restlessness you feel isn't a personal failing? What if it's just the result of the wrong system?A Rule of Life isn't about trying harder. It's about trying softer. It's a simple rhythm of spiritual practices that positions you to receive what Jesus is already offering. He is the vine. You are the branches. The life and peace you're looking for comes from staying connected, not from straining.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen at southsidelife.com/step-in

What comes out of you when life puts you under pressure?In this message, we explore why spiritual growth is not about trying harder, but about training differently. When your moment comes, what comes out of you is who you have been becoming.Through Scripture and real-life examples, we look at three practices that shape our lives with Jesus: prayer, fellowship, and confession. Prayer keeps us connected to God throughout the day. Fellowship reminds us that we were never meant to do life alone. And confession is where healing begins, as we step out of hiding and into freedom.These are not obligations. They are invitations into the life Jesus has already won for us.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen at southsidelife.com/step-in

Why do we still celebrate Easter?In this message, we explore a powerful truth: the end of yourself is just the beginning. Every person eventually reaches a place where their own strength, effort, or success is not enough. A place marked by failure, hurt, or emptiness.But that place is not where the story ends.Through the message of Easter, we see that Jesus meets us at the end of ourselves. He died to carry our past, rose to defeat death, and is alive today to restore who we were created to be. The life He offers is not just something for the future. It begins right now.The best is yet to come.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen at southsidelife.com/step-in

What if the life you’re searching for is already within reach?In this message, we explore how God invites us into a life that is not driven by striving or stuck in waiting, but powered by His Spirit. Through worship, we remind ourselves of who God is. Through evangelism, we share that reality with others. Both are simple, powerful practices that shape who we are becoming.You don’t need to have everything figured out to live this out. God meets you where you are and works through your everyday obedience. As you begin to step into this way of life, you’ll discover a deeper strength, purpose, and connection with Him.🎧 Want to go deeper?Check out the mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church. It is created to help you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.southsidelife.com/step-in

What is your next step with money?In this message, we explore three key questions that can transform how we handle finances: what is your next responsible step, your next right step, and your next radical step.Many of us carry money wounds that shape our habits and decisions. But God cares about every part of our financial life. Not just what we give, but how we live, plan, and steward what we have been given.Through Scripture and practical wisdom, this message invites us into a better way. Responsibility builds trust. Right decisions build consistency. Radical steps build faith. And over time, those steps lead to freedom.You do not have to be wealthy to be generous. You just have to be willing to take the next step.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen at southsidelife.com/step-in

What does it actually mean to grow spiritually?In this message, we explore two spiritual practices that shape our lives with Jesus: study and serving. Studying Scripture is not just about memorizing verses or gaining knowledge. It is about allowing God’s word to transform how we think, live, and respond to life’s challenges.Serving works the same way. While serving others can feel good, its deeper purpose is to form humility in us. And Scripture teaches that when we humble ourselves, God meets us with grace.As we learn to study God’s word and serve the people around us, we begin to experience the life Jesus promised. Not just getting by, but truly living.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen at southsidelife.com/step-in

In this message, we explore Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds from Matthew 13 and what it teaches about growth, patience, and purpose.Every seed has a place and every seed has a purpose. God intentionally plants people in specific places so their lives can grow and produce fruit. Yet in the same field, truth and deception can grow side by side. The challenge for followers of Jesus is to remain rooted in faith, continue growing, and trust God with the harvest.Through stories, Scripture, and real-life examples, this message reminds us that adversity often deepens our roots and strengthens our faith. Growth in the field changes everything.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen at southsidelife.com/step-in

“The less addicted I am to the approval of other people, the more I'll be able to live my life for an audience of One.”New here? We have a $5 Starbucks e-card with your name on it! Text "HELLO" to 604 670 3040Southside Church exists as a generosity movement to bring help hope and a home to Chilliwack and beyond. Learn more at www.southsidelife.com

Storms are not optional. They are inevitable.At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a picture of two builders. One digs deep and builds on rock. The other settles for sand. The difference is not hearing His words. It is putting them into practice.This message explores three postures that help us build a life that stands. Fasting teaches us that food cannot fix what is broken inside. Frugality reminds us that stuff cannot truly satisfy. Sacrifice declares that money does not make us. As we trust God in these areas, He changes us from the inside out.God brings the power. We bring the posture. And when we dig deep, we discover a life marked by strength, gratitude, and joy.Want to go deeper?Check out the mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church. It is created to help you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.southsidelife.com/step-in

What if freedom is not just about leaving something behind, but learning how to trust God in what comes next?In Manna Mindset, we explore the journey of Israel from slavery to promise. God brought them out of Egypt, parted the sea, and provided bread from heaven. But He was doing more than meeting their needs. He was shaping their hearts. Teaching them to trust Him one day at a time.Maybe you are facing a Red Sea moment. Maybe you feel stuck between fear and faith. This message is a reminder that God still provides daily bread, still fights our battles, and still leads us forward. You are not forgotten in the desert. You are being formed there.Want to go deeper?Check out the mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church. It is created to help you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.soutsidelife.com/step-in

Ever feel like you’re constantly “on” but still running empty?In this message, we talk about God’s better plan for our lives, not just a quick fix for our circumstances, but real change from the inside out. Through the practices of solitude, silence, and rest, God invites us into a deeper kind of healing and maturity.This sermon is for anyone who feels overwhelmed, anxious, exhausted, or disconnected. You don’t have to stay stuck in the noise. God brings the power. We bring the posture.Want to go deeper?Check out the mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church. It is created to help you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.southsidelife.com/step-in

What if following Jesus is not about trying harder, but about living with Him?In this message, we explore what it means to live the with-Jesus life. A life shaped by daily awareness of God’s presence, intentional practices, and steady transformation over time. Spiritual growth is not accidental. It happens when we arrange our lives around habits that allow the Holy Spirit to do what we could never do through direct effort.Through Scripture, personal stories, and the picture of training instead of trying, this sermon invites us into a better way of living. A life marked by peace, joy, obedience, and freedom. Not perfection, but formation.Baptism is highlighted as a spiritual practice of trust and obedience, and an invitation to step into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not as a future reward, but as a present reality.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen at southsidelife.com/step-in

What if following Jesus is not about trying harder, but about training differently?In this message, we explore what real belief looks like. Belief is not just intellectual agreement. It is a deep, confident trust in Jesus that slowly reshapes who we are and how we live. The abundant life Jesus offers is not about pretending, performing, or grimacing through obedience. It is about becoming the kind of person who naturally lives with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and self-control.Through Scripture, humor, and everyday stories, this sermon invites us into spiritual formation. Jesus saves us, He is saving us, and He will save us. That life starts now and stretches into forever.If you feel tired of trying and ready to start practicing a better way, this message is for you.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen at southsidelife.com/step-in

Step In Week 3 | Who Are You?Who are you really?In Week 3 of the Step In series from Southside Church, we explore how identity shapes the direction of our lives. Many of us feel stuck, anxious, or unsure of who we are becoming because we are living out of stories that were never meant to define us.Using the story of the Exodus and real-life moments, this message invites us to stand up in our true identity. Not who culture says we are. Not who our past says we are. But who God created us to be.God did not bring you this far just to leave you here. In Christ, the old is gone and the new is here. Your best days are still ahead.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen here: southsidelife.com/step-in

Life leaves a mark.In this message from the Step In series, we talk about the pain, patterns, and shame that follow us from our past. Often without realizing it, we make inner vows to survive hurt and rejection, and those vows slowly shape who we become.Through personal stories and Scripture, this sermon invites us into the healing journey back to our true selves. Stepping out of the past is not instant, but it is possible. Jesus offers forgiveness, restoration, and an abundant life that starts now and stretches into forever.If you feel stuck, anxious, or disconnected from who you were created to be, this message is for you.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen at southsidelife.com/step-in

Step In | The John 3:16 ChallengeWhat if this year could be a profoundly happy year. Not because life gets easier, but because you stop trying to carry it alone.In this message, we explore what John 3:16 really means. Belief is not just intellectual agreement. It is an active, ongoing trust in Jesus with every part of life. Your past, your present, and your future.Using personal stories and the journey of the Israelites, this sermon invites us to stop living from exhaustion and fear and start living from trust, freedom, and purpose. Eternal life does not begin someday. It begins now.The invitation is simple. Jesus, I am in.Want to go deeper? The mid-week Step In podcast from Southside Church helps you pause, refocus, and lean into the abundant life Jesus offers. Not just as a future promise, but as a present reality. Each episode continues the conversation from Sunday and helps you take your next step.Listen at southsidelife.com/step-in