Talks from 2019
If You Were God, How Would You Reveal Yourself? || Christmas 2019 || Hebrews 1:1-3
If you were the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present creator of absolutely everything, and you wanted to reveal yourself to the human race, how would you do it? God chose to do it by becoming a human himself. Sending Jesus down to earth, to live and…
Rod of Jesse || O Come, O Come || Isaiah 11:1-10
The Sunday before Christmas, Tim concludes our series O Come O Come Emmanuel. This talk looks at the verse of the carol calling Jesus “Rod of Jesse”, as seen in the prophecy from Isaiah. Images of despair and destruction precede the passage read in thi…
Dayspring || O Come, O Come || Isaiah 9:2-7
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheerOur spirits by Thine advent hereDisperse the gloomy clouds of nightAnd death’s dark shadows put to flight.
The carol O Come O Come features names of Jesus from prophecies hundreds of years before his birth. This w…
Lord of Might || O Come, O Come || Isaiah 2:1-5
The Christmas Carol O Come O Come features different names of Jesus from prophecies 200 years before his birth. Andi looks at the verse “Lord of Might”, the future hope of a just lord, ruling over all the nations.
Emmanuel || O Come, O Come || Isaiah 7:10-17
Advent is again upon us, and this year, these four Sundays leading us to Christmas will be spent exploring the various names given to Jesus in the popular Christmas carol: O Come, O Come Emmanuel.
This week, Kirk kicks off our Advent series by looking …
A Portrait of Jesus || Baptism Service || Luke 23:33-43
How would you want to be captured in a portrait? What would you include? What would you omit? And when that portrait was finished, would you still be recognised by those who knew you?
In the wake of three baptisms, special guest Bishop Kate Prowd bring…
Local Missions Expo || Mark 5:1-20
This week, Julie brings us a story from the book of Mark, of the freedom that comes through mission, and invites three guests to talk about their experiences with different parts of local mission.
Thanksgiving 2019 || Luke 17:11-19
This week, St John’s celebrates its 152nd birthday and as is tradition, we spend the time giving thanks to God for all he has done in the past year. Also, Tim brings us a story from Luke that highlights the importance of thanksgiving.
A Seeker || Jesus vs… || Mark 12:28-34
What does it mean to be a Christian in this day and age? Sometimes we can complicate the answer when it can easily be summed up in one word: love. But for such a common and meaningful word, “love” can be vague. So what does it really mean?
This week, T…
The Sadducees || Jesus vs… || Mark 12:18-27
Death is inevitable, whether we often think about it or not, and that can be troubling. But have any of us got reason to believe there is more to life than just our physical existence? And if so, how confident can we really be?
This week, Tim brings us…
The Pharisees || Jesus vs… || Mark 12:13-17
No one really enjoys paying tax. Some of us don’t mind, but tax is generally regarded as a “necessary evil” in our modern society. In Jesus’ time, however, tax served as a harsh reminder of foreign rule – of Roman occupation.
This week, Tim continues t…
The Teachers of the Law || Jesus vs… || Mark 11:27-12:12
This week marks the beginning of a new series looking at some of the altercations between Jesus and various opposing groups.
In this first talk of the series, Tim explores an interaction between Jesus and some of Israel’s highest authorities as they co…
A Spectacular Love || Tim Foster || 1 Corinthians 13
Our Bible reading for this episode is a famous one. It’s one of the most well-known passages on love and you’ve most likely heard it at a wedding at some point.
This week, our talk comes from guest speaker and Vice-Principal of Ridley College, Tim Fost…
Elijah Is Taken up to Heaven || Spring Sagas || 2 Kings 2:1-15
In this final installment of Spring Sagas and the end of the story of the prophet Elijah, we meet his devoted student, Elisha, as they walk and talk their way through ancient Israel.
This week, Julie presents the story at the end of years of hard work …
Elijah and King Ahaziah || Spring Sagas || 2 Kings 1
Continuing our storytelling series on the prophet Elijah, we jump forward to the book of 2 Kings as King Ahab is succeeded by his son, Ahaziah.
This week, Kirk, aided by Jack and Lachie, tell the story of an injured king and his reliance on false gods,…
Elijah Confronts Injustice || Spring Sagas || 1 Kings 21
Where our Winter Wisdom series left off, Spring Sagas picks up as we follow the story of Elijah in the book of 1 Kings.
This week, Tim returns to bring us a tale of injustice and the abuse of power.
Plot & Power || The Church on Mission || Acts 23:12-35
This week, Tim is back to present how God’s will can be realised through different means and how we see this in the story of Paul in the book of Acts.
Argument & Brawl || The Church on Mission || Acts 22:30-23:11
This week, Kirk considers Paul’s provocative actions in the book of Acts as Paul finds himself in a meeting with the both the Pharisees and the Sadducees, two groups of Jewish leaders with different views.
Language & Stories || The Church on Mission || Acts 21:37-22:29
Mission requires us to speak about our experience as Christians to people from all walks of life, all with different prior experience, whether that’s on the other side of the world, in your local community, or anywhere in between.
This week, Tim return…
A Change of Culture || The Church on Mission || Acts 21:17-36
Mission is not just going overseas to share Jesus with different cultures but it can start right where you’re at. Even by sharing your faith at work, school, or home you are participating in God’s mission.
Today marks Andi’s first talk and the return o…
In the Midst of Conflict || Trust God || Luke 12:49-59
Fully trusting God can be difficult, especially in the face of conflict. But as the Bible teaches us, conflict is inevitable, and as Christians, our job is to handle adversity with the grace and love of Jesus himself.
This week, Julie shares with us a …
And Serve Him || Trust God || Luke 12:35-48
Fully trusting God can be difficult, and serving him with everything can be even harder. But just as we call Jesus our Lord, we are called to serve him as our Lord.
This week, Tim is back to share with us a story from the book of Luke: a parable of ser…
And Don’t Worry || Trust God || Luke 12:22-34
Fully trusting God can be difficult, especially when we are so focused on our own worries. And while worry or stress is not inherently evil, it is certainly useless or unhelpful.
This week, Kirk brings us a message from Luke that tells us not to stress…
And Not Money || Trust God || Luke 12:13-21
Fully trusting God can be difficult, especially when we are tempted to hold on to parts of our lives as if we are keeping them a secret from Him. One area many Christians struggle to bring to God is money – how we view it and how we spend it.
Tim retu…
And Don’t Be Afraid || Trust God || Luke 12:1-12
Fully trusting God can be difficult, especially when we can’t see where he is leading us. In these times, it’s tempting to put on a mask to suit our surroundings. It’s tempting to try and hide parts of our lives from God.
This week, Tim brings us our f…