Deeper

The book of Deuteronomy begins with the words "These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan..." Having spent 40 years in the wilderness in what should have been an 11-day journey, Israel are on the verge of entering the Promised Land. Moses is therefore preaching to the next generation that they're to remember all that God has done for them, and trust God in all that he will do for them. In other words, because God is good his words are good and so God's people should listen to them, for it is in obedience that we choose life. Mark Roberts helps us dig deeper into Deuteronomy 1-3 and Ken Davies helps us dig deeper into Deuteronomy 4.

What do we do during the delay before Jesus returns? The Kingdom of God, that we're pledging our lives to, has an upside down dimension - it's now but not yet, those who we think will be in are out and those we think will be out are in! If we're pledging our lives to be in this Kingdom, then what we do with our lives now matters - so what will we do during the delay before Jesus returns? In our podcast this week we dig Deeper into Luke 19:11-27 with one of our  pastors, Mark Roberts.

How can the spiritually lost be found? By seeking them out, and by the lost truly repenting. This passage about Zacchaeus might be a familiar one to many, but it is one that challenges us in many ways. Firstly because it is Jesus that seeks us (the lost) out, not we seek Jesus out. But also is asks if we have Jesus' heart for the lost! Do we truly understand that how we love others may be a matter of life and death... In our podcast this week we dig Deeper into Luke 19:1-10 with one of our pastors, Rod Bayley. 

How can our spiritual blindness be removed? It's a big question, but the healing of the physical blindness of the man in Luke 18:31-43 highlights our spiritual blindness. And our spiritual blindness can only be healed by recognising Jesus' true identity, and accepting his crowning as King. Recognising Jesus as both Lord and Saviour is essential, as the crowds will try to sway us, and when we go through trials we need to know who to look to for help. This week Rod Bayley helps us dig deeper into Luke  18:31-43.

We believe everything we have is ours, but it isn't! It belongs to God and we're just managers of it on behalf of God. Knowing who Jesus is helps us understand how we can follow Jesus and have a right mindset about our possessions. This week Ken Davies helps us dig deeper into Luke 18:18-30 to see Jesus' investment strategy for us - it is important to provide for our families, and also to plan for our retirement, but do we also plan for eternity?

We're all in danger of putting our confidence in the wrong things or in the wrong people. Jesus warns us in Luke 18:9-17 of not only how we evaluate ourselves, but how we evaluate others. Do we take centre-stage? Or do we realise that the kingdom of God is for those who know they don't deserve it? This week Ken Davies helps us dig deeper into these verses to see that it is because Jesus is good that we are welcomed into his kingdom, not because we are good - and we should extend that welcome to others. What walls do we need to stop putting up? And what welcome signs can we be putting out instead?

Jesus ended his parable in Luke 18:1-8 with a question: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" And what kind of faith will Jesus, the Son of Man, be looking for when he returns? Last week we looked at what it means for God's people to 'wait', that it is active and not passive. This week Mark helps us see one key aspect of what waiting faith looks like - one where we always pray and don't lose hope. We need to see the world as God sees it - and grieve. And this should drive us to long for God's justice and to pray to our loving heavenly Father. 

This is our second podcast in our "Upside Down Kingdom" series looking at Luke 17 - 19. This week Clayton Ryan and Ken Davies are discussing Luke 17:20-37 and what Jesus is calling his people to do as we wait for Him to return. Waiting, in this sense' is anything but a passive activity. There are a lot of things about Jesus' Second Coming that can distract us from what's really important, and in this episode Ken helps us think biblically how we get on living our lives until He comes. 

This is our first episode for 2021 as we begin a new series titled "Upside Down Kingdom" looking at Luke 17 - 19. This week Clayton Ryan and Mark Roberts are discussing Luke 17:1-19 and the subject of forgiveness, especially forgiveness towards brothers and sisters in Christ within the church. Mark helps us think biblically about rebuking others that we see in sin, forgiving those who sin against us, what do we do when others won't repent, and perhaps most importantly, what can we be doing now to prepare our hearts to be ready and able to forgive others.

Join us for the final podcast of 2020 as our pastors Rod Bayley, Mark Roberts and Ken Davies come together to spend some time in reflection thinking back over the year that was. Tune in as the pastors recap the various series we’ve worked through in 2020, and share how God has been at work during a year that did not go to plan! Be encouraged as we reflect on the fruit that has been born through the challenges of this year, and celebrate God’s faithfulness to our church.

This episode marks the final instalment in our series in the book of 1 John. Tune in as Pastor Rod Bayley shares a little of his own reflections on the series as a whole and encourages us to love the true God, and to love others at our local church. 

"Dear children" is a repeated refrain from the Apostle John. But what does he mean? What actually is a "child of God"? How do you become one, and what difference does it make? In this podcast we're joined by a special guest to talk about the topic of adoption.

The book of 1 John is sometimes referred to as a book of assurance. Assurance is a big and weighty topic! Tune in to hear Pastor Mark Roberts explain what assurance is, where Christians can derive their sense of assurance from, and what we should do if our time studying 1 John has actually left us feeling decidedly unassured.

Tune in as Pastor Ken Davies helps us to think rightly about the commands of both the Old and New Testament.  The discussion will consider the role and relevance of Old Testament commands, what these reveal about God and ourselves, well as how we can have the right heart attitude about keeping God's commands.  Ken references a helpful article you might like to read for further investigation. It can be found at:  https://moore.edu.au/resources/christians-and-the-law/

What is a false teacher? What problems arise from false declarations about God? What responsibility do we have in discrediting false teachers and HOW can we do this? Tune in this week to hear Pastor Rod Bayley as he helpfully guides us through this difficult topic and encourages us to not only stand against false teaching, but to make sure we ourselves faithfully declare God's word.  The link to Tim Challies' article may be found here:  https://www.challies.com/articles/test-every-doctrine-test-every-teacher/

This week we’re thinking about the fellowship of the saints. What does this phrase even refer to? How ought it to impact how we think about and interact with other Christians at church? Tune in to hear Pastor Mark Roberts share what the Bible has to say about this important topic that is alluded to in the book of 1 John.

Join us as Pastor Rod Bayley helps us to consider the Bible’s claims regarding both the humanity and the divinity of Jesus. Why is Jesus as both human and divine so crucial to the Christian faith? What theological problems do we encounter when we downplay either of these things? How can we wrap our heads around Jesus as being both fully God and fully man? Tune in to find out the answers to these important questions!

Join us as Pastor Ken Davies gives an overview into the biblical theme of ‘light’. How is the concept of light used in the book of 1 John and in the Bible more generally? What does this teach us, and what does the idea of light mean for our lives now? Tune in as we hear Ken’s thoughts in our first episode for our series “Love Made Known”, a study in the book of 1 John.

Join us this week as Pastor Ken Davies shares a little more from Isaiah 66 before zooming out to reflect on our series as a whole. Tune in to hear his reflections on where we’ve travelled in our study of Isaiah, what he’s learnt along the way, and the main take home message for our church as a whole.

Tune in to hear discussions around the biblical concepts of ‘the year of Jubilee’, ‘the year of the Lord’s favour’ and ‘the day of the Lord’ as Pastor Rod Bayley shares about their differences and purposes, and what that meant both for Isaiah’s original audience and for us today. We’ll also discuss more from Luke 4 about how Jesus fulfils Isaiah 61 as the one who sets “the oppressed free”. We’ll discuss what this does and does not mean for believers today, and be reminded of our need of Jesus in order to receive the Lord’s favour.