Jesus Over Everything | Easter Sunday 2026
What changed when the power of God returned to the tomb? Everything.

In this Resurrection Sunday message, Ps. Byron Chicken unpacks the life-changing reality that Easter is not only about an empty tomb, but about the power of God breaking into human history and proving that Jesus is over everything.

Looking at Matthew 28 and key New Testament passages, this sermon explores three great enemies every person faces:

1. Jesus is over sin
Sin is more than bad behavior. It is saying no to God and yes to ourselves. It is the root of our brokenness, damaged relationships, and inner struggle. But through the resurrection, Jesus broke the power of sin. Its grip can be weakened, its destruction can be stopped, and our lives can be changed as we become more like Christ.

2. Jesus is over Satan
The resurrection declared Christ’s victory over the enemy of our souls. Satan may still accuse, but his accusations have lost their authority. The courtroom is closed, the sentence has been served, and because of Jesus, we now live from a place of grace, victory, and freedom.

3. Jesus is over death
Death no longer has the final word. Through the resurrection, death has been turned from a full stop into a comma. For those who belong to Jesus, death is no longer the end, but the doorway into eternal life in the presence of God.

With humour, hope, and powerful illustrations, Ps. Byron reminds us that what looked like defeat on Friday became total victory on Sunday. Jesus is over sin. Jesus is over Satan. Jesus is over death.

If you are feeling spiritually dry, disconnected, or ready to make Jesus Lord over your life, this message is a powerful Easter reminder that resurrection power changes everything.

Scripture references: Matthew 28:1–7, Romans 6:5–11, Colossians 2:15, 1 Corinthians 15:51–57

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What makes Good Friday “good”?
In this powerful Good Friday message, Ps. Candice Chicken unpacks the tension of the cross: physically, it was a horrific day of suffering, sorrow, and grief — but spiritually, it was astounding.

Looking at Isaiah 53, this sermon explores the deeper meaning behind Jesus’ crucifixion and why His death was unlike any other. While crucifixion was common in the Roman world, what made Jesus’ cross different was the spiritual reality of what took place there.

In this message, we discover two life-changing truths:

Jesus is over our suffering
Jesus carries our weakness, enters our sorrow, and brings healing and wholeness through the cross. Whether you are facing anxiety, grief, disappointment, fatigue, illness, or deep personal pain, this message is a reminder that you do not suffer alone.

Jesus is over our sin
Ps. Candice explains the biblical meaning of atonement, showing how the Old Testament sacrifices pointed toward Jesus — the spotless Lamb of God who gave His life once and for all. Through His blood, our sin is forgiven, our shame is removed, and we can be made right with God.

This message is both deeply reflective and full of hope, ending with a call to respond to Jesus and receive His forgiveness, freedom, healing, and grace.

Key Scripture: Isaiah 53
Also referenced: 2 Corinthians 12, Romans 6:23, 1 John 1:7, Revelation 21

If this message encouraged you, be sure to share it and join us again as we continue the Easter journey.

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Ps Candice Chicken continues our Us – Growing Greater Relationships series with a powerful message on the difference between relationship breakers and relationship builders.

In a world that often pushes selfishness, grudges, hurtful words, and distracted listening, Jesus shows us a better way to live and relate. This message unpacks four relationship breakers that damage connection, and four relationship builders that bring healing, strength, and unity.

In this message, you’ll discover how to:
• Put others first instead of living “me first”
• Extend grace instead of holding grudges
• Use words to build up instead of tear down
• Listen with your heart instead of being distracted

Ps Candice reminds us that healthy, life-giving relationships do not happen by accident. They are built as we follow the example and teaching of Jesus. With practical daily questions and simple habits, this message helps you identify one area to work on and start making changes immediately.

This sermon also carries a heartfelt call to reconciliation — not only with others, but ultimately with God. Through the story of a father and son restored after years of distance, we’re reminded that it’s never too late for healing, forgiveness, and peace.

If you’re longing for stronger relationships, deeper connection, and a more Christ-centered way of living, this message is for you.

Let Jesus show you a better way to build.

⛪ Thrive Church
Helping people move towards Jesus.

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Friendship might be one of the most overlooked gifts God has given us.

In this message, Ps Byron Chicken unpacks insights from the Harvard Study of Adult Development—an 80-year study that found the single greatest predictor of a good life is not wealth, success, or fame, but friendship. Deep, meaningful relationships shape our joy, resilience, health, and ability to walk through hard seasons well.

But in today’s culture, real friendship is under pressure. We live in what many call a “friendship recession”—a time marked by busyness, disappointment, emotional exhaustion, shallow digital connection, and the breakdown of the natural structures that once helped friendships grow.

Through Scripture and the story of the paralyzed man carried by his friends to Jesus in Mark 2, this message reminds us that friendship is worth fighting for. Real friends carry us when we are weak, help us overcome obstacles, and move us closer to Jesus.

Ps Byron shares practical wisdom on how to build close, life-giving friendships using the acronym C.L.O.S.E.:

Consistency – Show up regularly and stay present
Likeness – Build around shared interests and common ground
Openness – Be vulnerable and honest
Shared Space – Prioritise face-to-face connection
Engagement – Show genuine interest in one another

This message is both a challenge and an encouragement: pray for godly friendships, choose to become a better friend, and don’t let disappointment stop you from receiving one of God’s best gifts.

You don’t need more connections. You need a few people who will walk with you until you become who God has called you to be.

⛪ Thrive Church
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What comes out of you when life squeezes you?
In this message, Ps Hein Bruyns shares a powerful truth: healthy relationships start with personal healing. Too often we blame others, our past, or our pain for what spills out of us—but Jesus shows us that what’s inside our hearts eventually shapes every relationship around us.

In Us Starts With Me, Hein unpacks how blame blocks healing, why our relationships bear the fruit of what’s happening inside us, and how Jesus invites us into real restoration. This message is honest, practical, and full of hope for anyone wanting stronger marriages, friendships, family relationships, and inner wholeness.

If what’s broken in us can eventually break us, then what’s healed in us can eventually heal us.

In this episode:

• Why blame keeps us stuck
• How inner pain affects outer relationships
• What Jesus teaches about healing the heart
• Why healing starts with taking responsibility
• How to come to Jesus for real restoration

3 practical ways to pursue healing:

• Come to Jesus with authenticity
• Reveal your struggles in safe community
• Keep returning to His presence

Key Scriptures:
Luke 6:43–45
Matthew 7:1–6
Matthew 11:28–30
James 5:16
Psalm 145:18

This message will encourage you to stop fixing your eyes on everyone else, bring your heart honestly to Jesus, and let Him begin a work of healing that overflows into every part of your life.

⛪ Thrive Church
Helping people move towards Jesus.

📍 Visit us at one of our campuses
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We live in a world where connection has never been easier—yet meaningful relationships often feel harder than ever. In this message, Khulu Duma launches the series “US: Growing Greater Relationships” by addressing a modern challenge many of us face: the divide created by our screens.

Relationships matter deeply, but our devices can quietly pull our attention away from the people who matter most. Phones, laptops, TVs, and even smartwatches can interrupt conversations, reduce face-to-face interaction, and create habits that slowly distance us from those we love.

Research shows the average person touches their phone between 90 and 150 times a day, and in some cases up to 300 times. These habits are reinforced by dopamine loops created by notifications, messages, and endless scrolling. The result? Technology begins to shape our attention and becomes the “frame of reference” in our daily interactions.

But here’s the tension: we need our devices. They help us work remotely, connect with family across the world, capture memories, and access learning tools. The real issue isn’t eliminating technology—it’s mastering it instead of being mastered by it.

Drawing from First Epistle to the Corinthians 6:12, we’re reminded:
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial… I will not be mastered by anything.

This truth leads to a powerful challenge: Master the screens that divide us.

In this episode, we explore five practical ways to reclaim connection:

• Create Phone-Free Moments – Some moments should belong to people, not screens.
• Start and End the Day Without Screens – The first and last moments of the day shape our focus.
• Practice Intentional Checking – Technology should serve us, not control us.
• Protect Deep Connection Time – Relationships grow when we give people our full attention.
• Have a Weekly Digital Reset – Regular breaks from technology help our minds and relationships reset.

Just as the Berlin Wall once divided families for decades before suddenly coming down, the barriers created by screens in our lives can also be torn down. With intentional choices and God’s help, we can rebuild connection and strengthen the relationships that matter most.

Ultimately, the greatest connection we can have is with Jesus. When our relationship with Him is restored, it begins to reshape every other relationship in our lives.

If you’ve ever felt distracted, disconnected, or pulled away from the people you love, this message will help you take practical steps toward closing the divide and building greater relationships.

⛪ Thrive Church
Helping people move towards Jesus.

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In a world full of noise, pressure, and uncertainty, many of us search for peace in quieter environments, better circumstances, or a break from the chaos of life. But what if true peace doesn’t come from calm surroundings?

In this powerful message, Donovan Cogill shares a personal story from a retreat where everything on the outside was perfectly peaceful—yet his mind was anything but. Through the story of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35–41, we discover that real peace is not found in the absence of storms, but in the presence of Jesus.

Even experienced fishermen feared for their lives when a violent storm hit their boat—yet Jesus was asleep. His confidence came from knowing the Father’s will and knowing who He was. The storm may have interrupted the journey, but it could never cancel the promise of reaching the other side.

This message unpacks two powerful truths about Greater Peace:

1. Greater Peace Through Confidence
Jesus trusted the Father’s will and knew His identity. In the same way, we can face life’s storms with confidence when we remember who we are in Christ:
• A child of God
• Chosen and secure
• More than a conqueror
• Christ lives in us

When we know who we are and whose we are, the storm loses its power to define us.

2. Greater Peace Through Confrontation
After calming the storm, Jesus asked the disciples a challenging question: “Where is your faith?”
He wasn’t ignoring the storm—they were real. But Jesus was confronting something deeper: fear.

Fear grows when we believe we are alone. But the truth is, we are never alone—Jesus is in the boat with us.

The message also reflects on the life of Horatio Spafford, who wrote the famous hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” after losing his daughters in a tragic shipwreck. Even in devastating loss, he experienced a peace that could only come from God’s presence.

Peace is not found when storms disappear. Peace is found when we recognize who is in the boat with us.

If you’re facing pressure, uncertainty, or fear today, be encouraged:
Greater Peace is not just a promise—it’s a Person. His name is Jesus.

⛪ Thrive Church
Helping people move towards Jesus.

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Episode Title: Greater Transformation

There are moments in life when everything shifts because of one interaction, one conversation, one unexpected encounter. In this powerful message, we unpack John 4 and the story of the woman at the well—an ordinary day that turned into a life-changing encounter with Jesus.

She came carrying a jar. Routine. Shame. Disappointment. Survival.
She left with living water—and a testimony.

This episode explores how greater transformation begins with great grace from God and results in great works for God.

Key Scripture

John 4 (The Woman at the Well)

3 Movements of Greater Transformation

1️⃣ Jesus Meets Us

Jesus “had to” go through Samaria. Not for convenience—but for a divine appointment.

Before we ever seek Him, He seeks us.
Before we clean ourselves up, He meets us as we are.

Grace always starts the conversation.

Practice this week:
Start each day with a simple prayer:
“Jesus, meet me at my well today.”
Invite Him into your routine. Give Him permission to interrupt you.

2️⃣ Jesus Changes Us

Jesus lovingly confronts the woman’s past—not to shame her, but to free her.

Transformation is free.
Surrender is costly.

We often pray:
“Jesus, fill me… but don’t touch this.”
“Change me… but don’t ask me to surrender that.”

The jar represents the temporary things we keep returning to—relationships, control, ambition, comfort, hidden compromise.

Living water and the jar cannot coexist.

Practice this week:
Ask the Holy Spirit:
“What jar are You asking me to put down?”
Don’t defend it. Surrender it.

When the jar goes down, freedom begins.

3️⃣ Jesus Sends Us

After her encounter, the woman runs back to town:

“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did!”

The one who avoided the crowd is now gathering a crowd.

Transformation isn’t complete until it overflows.
A surrendered life becomes a sent life.

One conversation led to a town believing.

You don’t need a theology degree.
You just need your story.

Practice this week:
Pray: “Lord, give me one name.”
One person to share your story with.

Big Idea

Greater transformation starts with grace from God—but it must result in works for God.

Jesus meets us.
Jesus changes us.
Jesus sends us.

You never know who might encounter Jesus because you encountered Him first.

⛪ Thrive Church
Helping people move towards Jesus.

📍 Visit us at one of our campuses
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