Click below to listen to or watch any of our past talks, or subscribe in iTunes, Spotify, or Google Podcasts
Praying for your friends || Delle Matthews || 2 Thessalonians 1
Throughout this series, we’ll continue to see how the Thessalonians are enduring persecution and threatened by wrong teaching. Paul’s letter encourages them to stand firm in their faith and to keep going with Jesus.
Connect with us at
➜ Website: https:…
St John’s Extra: The End of Suffering
The Christian faith, including the Christian understanding of suffering, centres on the good news of Jesus: his life, death and resurrection. Last episode we discussed the amazing truth that God experiences pain and suffering in the person of Jesus. God understands our suffering, not in a merely theoretical way, but experientially. But the Christian faith offers us more than a God who has experienced our pain. That is amazing and comforting but it doesn’t solve the problem of suffering and…
When will suffering end? || Tim Johnson || Job 42
When will it end? When we’re in the midst of suffering, it seems to go on forever. But today, we’ll see the end of Job’s suffering, as we also come to the end of the book of Job, and the end of this series on the problem of suffering.
Connect with us a…
St John’s Extra: God’s experience of Suffering
The heart of the Christian faith is the good news about Jesus: his life, death and resurrection. It is this which shapes the Christian understanding of suffering too. Perhaps the key thing that Christians can say about suffering is that God is not remote or removed from human suffering. Christians believe that God himself took on human flesh in the person of Jesus. He lived as one of us, he experienced all the highs and lows of human existence, and…
What would you ask God? || Tim Johnson || Job 38:1-21 & 40:1-14
When you get to heaven, what’s the first question you’ll ask God?
In today’s talk, we’re looking at Job’s questioning of God. Why has God allowed suffering to run rife in Job’s life, and more broadly, why is there suffering in the world at all?
Connec…
St John’s Extra: Suffering within our Story
As we wrestle with the problem of suffering, we need to think about how suffering fits within the story that we are living in. Humans are storytellers and we understand the world we live in through a ‘big story’ (the fancy name is a metanarrative) which provides a framework for understanding and interpreting reality. For Christians, our big story is contained in the bible and the first two ‘episodes’ of this story helps us understand the problem of suffering in…
Are you allowed to shout at God? || Tim Johnson || Job 30
Jesus shouted “MY GOD MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!?” as he hung on the cross. But are we, as God’s created beings, allowed to talk to God in that way? Are we allowed to shout at God, get angry at God, lament with God?
Connect with us at
➜ Website:…
St John’s Extra: Taking God out of the Equation
In these episodes of St John’s Extra we are wrestling with the problem of suffering. Last week we acknowledged that suffering is a real problem but not everyone would agree with this. For an atheist suffering is not a problem at all because it is just the way things are in a materialistic universe and there is no point trying to grapple with it and explain it. This is the way that the prominent atheist Richard Dawkins puts it: ‘In…
What do you say to someone who is suffering? || Tim Johnson || Job 2:11-13 & 4:1-21
What do you say to someone who is suffering? It’s a privilege, but a hard situation to be in – to care for someone in their time of need. As we continue our series in the book of Job, exploring the problem of suffering, we’re about to meet Job’s friend…
St John’s Extra: The Problem of Suffering
We need only look at a news feed or social media to see that the world is full of suffering. Around the world there are wars, violence, sickness, and starvation. There are natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis. Closer to home, we experience serious sickness and disability, relationship breakdown, and the death of people we love. Suffering is very real. The challenge for us as Christian people is how we respond to this suffering. Let’s be honest, it’s…
The Problem of Suffering || Tim Johnson || Job 1:1-2:10
You don’t have to look far to see suffering in our world. But how could an all-loving and all-powerful God allow suffering to continue?
Connect with us at
➜ Website: https://stjohnsdc.org.au
➜ Facebook: https://facebook.com/stjohnsdc
➜ Instagram: h…
Living flipped lives || Delle Matthews || Luke 19:1-10
Zacchaeus was restored, and his life flipped upside down as he responded to Jesus’ grace and mercy on him. We too are called to live changed lives of repentance, thankful to God for all he has done for us.
Connect with us at
➜ Website: https://stjohnsd…
Where do you put your trust? || Joel Snibson || Luke 18:35-43
With all the safety nets around us – Centrelink, the NDIS, Superannuation – it can be all too easy to slip into a pattern of self-reliance, instead of trusting in Jesus.
Connect with us at
➜ Website: https://stjohnsdc.org.au
➜ Facebook: https://facebo…
Bush Church Aid || Adrian Lane || Luke 23:32-43
At St John’s we’re passionate partners in God’s worldwide mission, and so we give, pray, and equip people for mission work locally and around the world. Today, we’re joined by Adrian Lane, from Bush Church Aid, one of our mission partner organisations….
Anglican Overseas Aid || Jo Knight || Isaiah 35:1-7 and Luke 4:16-21
At St John’s we’re passionate partners in God’s worldwide mission, and so we give, pray, and equip people for mission work locally and around the world.
Today, we’re joined by Jo Knight, who’s the CEO of Anglican Overseas Aid, one of our mission partne…
Scripture Union || Chris Helm & Jack Joynson || Jeremiah 29:1-14
Have you ever tried to tie your shoe with one hand tied behind your back? Or if you’ve ever broken your arm, or leg, you know how frustrating it can be to suddenly have restrictions on what you can do.
For our Mission Partners at Scripture Union, and t…
God’s Plans || Joel Snibson || Acts 28
When our plans don’t work out, and we’re faced with setbacks, it can be hard to see the path Jesus is leading us on. We’ll all ask “why God?” when we’re struck by storms, but with the help of the Spirit, we can stand firm in our faith and trust the Jes…
God’s work of Reconciliation || Tim Johnson || Acts 1:1-8
God’s gift of the Holy Spirit reconciles us to him, bringing us into relationship with our creator. Empowering us for his mission, carrying us through the quagmires and bogs of life.
The Holy Spirit also works through us for the ministry of reconciliat…
Where is God in the Storm? || Delle Matthews || Acts 27
We all face storms in our lives; seasons of uncertainty and trial. Today, we’ll look for answers to big questions we ask in these storms – Why is God letting this happen? What Good could come from this? And Where is God in all of this?
Connect with us …
Crazy Beliefs || Tim Johnson || Acts 25:23-26:32
Is it crazy to believe in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Are the claims of Christianity too far flung to be reasonable, justifiable, and above all, true? That’s the question Paul was asked in his ongoing legal drama that we’re following through in …
How to Engage with the Bible || Josh Bartlett || Nehemiah 8
Josh Bartlett from Wycliffe Australia joins us, exploring 3 pillars for engaging well with God’s Word.
Connect with us at
➜ Website: https://stjohnsdc.org.au
➜ Facebook: https://facebook.com/stjohnsdc
➜ Instagram: https://instagram.com/stjohnsdc
Mission in the Face of Death || Joel Snibson || Acts 25:1-22
Even in the midst of challenges and opposition, God’s calling us to lean into his plan for us, to take action and responsibility for God’s plans to happen.
Mission on Trial || Tim Johnson || Acts 24:1-27
Paul, who was Saul before he encountered the risen Jesus, was a busy man. He’s responsible for writing half of the booms found in the new testament of our bibles. The book of Acts follows his journey most closely, and today we’re picking up our long ru…
Mission to Persians || Meysam || Ephesians 3:14-21
Who first told you about Jesus? Maybe your parents, or a trusted friend. Maybe this podcast right now is the beginning of your experience with Jesus – welcome if that’s you. If you do want to explore questions of faith, life and meaning, register for o…
New Beginnings & New Power || Joel Snibson || Mark 16:1-8
A new day has dawned, where Jesus has conquered sin and death. Together with Christians all over the world, today we proclaim: Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!
Who is Jesus? https://stjohnsdc.org.au/who-is-jesus/
Connect with us: https://stjohnsdc….