1 Corinthians 11:17-34  

A common tradition that is being lost in this age of electronic devices is the family meal.  When was the last time you sat down at the dinner table and talked to your wife, husband, children etc. whilst you ate a meal together.  It reminds us of things forgotten, things hoped for and things shared.  Jesus wants to have a meal with His family too.  

As we enter a new year of possibilities it can be a time for reflection on all that we've learnt in the past 12 months.  It's a time to remind ourselves of all that the Lord has done for us, and taught us.  It's a time to remind ourselves of who we really are, in order to move forward in 2018.  

Isaiah 61:1-4  

What if the cosmic war was over forever and God was only ever going to be on your side?  How would it feel if you expected favour?  How would your year go if you started in faith built around His promise of Favour?  

James 3:14-18  

"Peace on earth and goodwill to men", the angels announced.  Finally we're not on our own and all of God's good will is turned towards us.  It's the end of fear and uncertainty forever.  

1 Corinthians 2:6-14  

You'd better not shout, you'd better not cry," goes the Santa song.  But why?  Who's shouting, who's crying and why?  Santa may not like them, but maybe Jesus will be okay with my shouts and cries.   

Crop farmers will hire farm hands to help with the sowing, watering, fertilising, pruning and harvesting of the crop.  If however the farm hands don't do the work, the crop will fail and the farm will become a liability to the farmer.  Jesus is the Great Farmer, the world is His farm, and He has hired us to be His farm hands.  Are we doing the work?  

Daily we find ourselves under pressure to prioritise the things that we "need".  Bills to pay, family to love and care for, a house to keep clean, cooking, maintenance etc.  Is there a priority that we need more than others, but find ourselves dropping to the bottom of the list?  

Christmas - the gift of beginning...  

Reading through Isaiah over the last year I have been so encouraged about the transformation that Jesus brings to the world.  He is the Hope of all the world and people need to hear about Him.  This month we are looking at a few of the ways that Jesus ends the old struggles of life and gives us the gift of a new beginning, bring a friend along to hear about Him.

It's your Time!
It's the most Wonderful time of the year! Is it because of the presents, the decorations, the chocolate or the carols?  No-it's because at Christmas more people are open to hearing about Jesus!  People are open and willing at this time of year so why not take the chance and invite a friend, a family member or a neighbour to come to church this month.  Every Sunday leading up to Christmas will be a great service to bring people to and the Extravaganza on the 22nd will be amazing!
So come, let us adore Him, and bring our friends to meet Him.

Your Pastors,  
Joe and Jodie  

Luke 4:1-13  

How many little things have you swept under the carpet or avoided dealing with.  Like the Philistines of old, if you don't deal with them- those habits become oppressors.  

Numbers 24:15-19  

This is the second of 2 slightly different presentations of this message.  This presentation is from the afternoon service at the Salisbury church.  

Numbers 24:15-19  

Sometimes for lots of reasons we end up sitting still in life- but it's not rest that settles in- it's compromise.  It's Balaams trick and it can cost us our future.  

4pm Presentation - Salisbury 

Matthew 13:53-58  

This is the second of 2 slightly different presentations of this message.  This presentation is from the afternoon service at the Salisbury church.  

10am Presentation - Elizabeth 

Matthew 13:53-58  

You can't live your life by looking in the rear vision mirror.  That's Egypt back there.  It's time to finally let go of the past.  

This is the first of 2 slightly different presentations of this message.  This presentation is from the morning service at the Elizabeth church.  

NOW! vember  

Have you ever asked yourself or someone else, "What's stopping you?"  It's funny how so often we don't know the answer to that.  We may even try to make a start but then go nowhere.  Confusing!  Frustrating!  This month we are going to look at 4 classic enemies the people of God have had to deal with and discover how Jesus sets us free, gets us back into NOW!, and releases our future.

If God was to speak to you and say, "Ok, It's time." What would He be talking about?  What I think is interesting is that everybody would have some thought, some instinct about what God was getting at.  Time to decide, time to move on, time to let go, time to get moving, time to say yes, time to say no.  

Well, He is saying just that to you today.  "Now is the time."  He's ready, He's able, He loves you and will be with you.  All we need to do is be willing.  

Are you willing to follow God's call?  It's time.  

Your Pastors,

Joe and Jodie  

Luke 12:13-21  

The stories of death bed wishes and regrets is long and confronting but equally long is the list of times we swore we would be different.  How can we find the focus and courage to actually live this life and not just go through the motions?  

Acts 8:4-40  

Pastor Bill Vasilakis, national chairman of Christian Revival Crusade Churches International in Australia, challenges us to seek Christ and our hearts, as to how God wants us to be ministers and missionaries for His kingdom.  

Ephesians 5:33-6:9  

Are your days a list of things you have to do or get to do?  Are God's commands a list of things He demands you do or lets you do?  Deep down we hate to be slaves, but sometimes it seems we prefer the lash and the leash to the freedom that God desires for us.  

Psalm 51  

At the heart of the matter it's a matter of the heart.  Somewhere deep down we know that the half hearted effort we can put into life robs both us and those we do it for.  But how do we find the passion for life again?  

Worth It!

What's worth it?  I guess to answer that we need to know what it costs.  What if it's your life?  Spent a day a time- 24 hours, 1440 Minutes, 86,400 seconds.  Gone.  What are you trading your days for?  Is it worth it?  Or do we even consider if we are living for what matters most to us?  

The gold standard for a successful, God-pleasing, satisfying life is found in this summary: "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength".  We were made to be "ALL" people.  People that can chose and give and serve and love with ALL our beings.  That's when we are at our best, when we are living a life "all in", not holding back, not pretending, not giving half-hearted love.  Today why don't you try going "all in".  Give God your best praise, your most intelligent thanks, your most skilful work.  I think you'll find it feels thrilling to finally to boldly and thoroughly express yourself again.  

Your Pastors,  

Joe and Jodie  

What does it mean to "have faith"?  Is it a matter of strong, stubborn belief, or is it blind, ignorant risk taking?  Does God want us to be thrillseekers in our relationship with Him, or is there something else required?  

What's love got to do with it?  Why is passion and devotion so important?  In what way is our relationship with God similar to our human relationships?  

You know that feeling.  The feeling of taking something that has seen better days and working on it until it is back to it's original glorious look and function; once again back to how it was originally designed to be.  Cars, furniture, houses, the list goes on.  God takes great delight in restoration work as well.  How can we help Him?  

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is a global organisation created to help people who find themselves in difficult financial situations.  David Kendall helps us to understand the ministry of CAP in the light of the heart of God and the teachings of Jesus.  

Part of our human condition is that we sometimes portray our personal 'truths' as though the are 'The Truth'.  Sometimes it is the minority squeaky wheel that gets all the focus and attention.  Sometimes we get clouded to the bigger issues and realities by the abundance of noise and our own attachments.  

What's Love Got To Do With It?  

Other than being an awesome song? On the Eve of our 25th wedding anniversary, I ask myself that very question. As 22 year olds, Joe and I thought we knew love, 25 years later, we are confident about it. So how much has love got to do with something that lasts?

The answer to the question in the song is, love has nothing to do with it and at the same time everything to do with it.  Nothing because the love we started with was immature and relied on feelings.  The love we have now has everything to do with it, we have confidence in that love.  

Our relationship with God is the same. We start off with an immature understanding, thinking His love is conditional and we grow into knowing God’s love deeply, confident that His love never changes. God says, “I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.” Hosea 2:19  

How do we grow to this confidence?  Like any relationship, it takes time and effort.  

Invest your love in Him today.  

Love Jodie and Joe  

Father's Day  

In an era where fathers are becoming less important to society by the day, Pastor Ashley shares with us his experience of father, and fathering, and why we need to be careful when dismissing fathers as less important parents.  

Romans 5:12-21  

Sometimes we need a big picture to make sense of suffering, and that's what Romans gives us - the victory of Jesus over the "sin that brought suffering" of Adam; and in that victory He gives us the right to reign in Life.  

Romans 5:6-11  

One of the hardest things to separate out in our Christian growth is learning to tell the difference between discipline and punishment.  In this passage Paul helps us see God's love at work so that our pain doesn't become the pain of rejection.  

Pastor Kevin Hodges  

Have you ever had that experience where you and someone else are disagreeing on a topic, only to find that the cause of the conflict is a differing of topic definition?  What is the definition of 'good'?  What is the definition of 'bad', 'positive', 'negative', 'holy', 'sin' etc.?  For different people these have different meanings and definitions than they do for other people.  Pastor Kevin takes us on a journey to help us clarify a topic that many Christians have differing definitions of.  

Romans 5:1-5  

This may be the hardest question your soul will ever have to face.  Pain makes life feel unfair and leaves us wondering where is God, which is why Paul uses it to help us feel the firm foundation of God's love beneath our feet even when we experience suffering.  

Why Suffering?  

Wow that's a hard one!  Of all the topics in the Bible, this one carries the most confusion and fear.  This one can make even "strong" Christians doubt and cry out, "My God, My God, Why?"  You may want, even hope to avoid it, but the truth is we all experience suffering and pain and we need God's help to maintain and even strengthen our faith while we go through our trials.  But chin up, it all leads to love.  

One day Jesus was asked to come to a house where a young girl was dying, and while on the way there she died.  The girls father was immediately overtaken by the new reality and began to lose hope, but Jesus just looked him in the eye and said, "Don't be afraid, just believe." (See Mark 5: 22-43).  
Do you need to hear that from Jesus today?  We are all facing difficulties that confuse us and confront our deepest fears.  In that uncertainty we need to hear the voice of God telling us to keep our faith and trust in Him.  
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3  

Your Pastors,  
Joe and Jodie  

John 11

What if there was no logical reason to believe that something good would happen to you?  What if the circumstances were so bad that you really thought, "No chance- ever."?  What kind of hope comes in hopeless situations?  

John 8:1-11  

Have you ever gone to somebody for help and wondered if they would?  Have you ever thought- "Do they like me enough?".  A lot of people are the same with God.  What do you expect?  

John 9:1-17  

A lot of people wonder how to get the power of God working in their lives.  It's like we wish there was some consistency rather than the confusion of all the religious theories around us.  Enter the Law of Faith.  

John 4:1-21  

What is the book of Romans really about?  Complicated doctrine?  Condemning expectations?  Confusing regulations?  Not at all.  It is a beautiful description of the deep supply of God to meet our most basic needs through the simplicity of faith.  

Steve Crouch

As mere mortals we battle with self esteem and value.  But if we were able to step outside ourselves and objectively see the big picture, the grand plan, then what is our place in creation?  

Matt Barnes  

There are times when we find it difficult to accept, or fully believe, what God says to us in the various ways He speaks to us.  There's a doubting Thomas in us all, but there is always a faithful Father.  

Why Faith? - A study of Romans 4  

Most people think that God rewards the good and punishes the bad.  It makes sense to us and to do otherwise almost seems irresponsible.  So what do we do with statements like this?  "To the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness" Romans 4:5.  God helping, justifying, the ungodly?  It makes no sense!  But it does to God.  Why?  For one simple reason - Faith.  
That's what this series is about - 'Why Faith?'.  

Welcome to the Mystery of God.  Welcome to the most surprising, most intriguing, most unbelievable person in history.  Welcome to the unexpected that comes from Him who does more than we could ever ask or imagine.  
Today its time to stop telling God what He's allowed to be and do and give into the One who sets His own rules for what miracles are possible.  
Today its time for faith- not faith in you- faith in His Grace towards you.  

Your Pastors,  

Joe and Jodie  

Matthew 26:31-38  

A lot of people make a lot of excuses to avoid doing something, being something, obeying in an area of life that really are lies.  The truth, down deep, is that we don't want to.  It's not fear, it's not can't- it's won't.  It's the giant 'but' of rebellion.  

1 Samuel 17:31-37 

Someone once said, "The person who thinks they can and the person who thinks they can't are both right".  It's amazing how our perspective is shaping the steps we take, the things we attempt and the beliefs we allow. The giant BUT of "I Can't" needs to get into shape. 

Karen & Radivan Runjo  

Sometimes in life God takes us by surprise.  Karen and Rad share how God has turned weakness into strength, loss and failure into ministry.  

Anna & Ashley Downing  

Be encouraged by the life stories of Anna and Ashley as they describe the challenges they have faced and how God has helped them to grow and overcome, despite what they saw and felt about themselves and their lives.  

Exodus 3:1-11 

Nothing impairs Faith like Fear.  Every Bible character had to face the giant 'but' of fear to grab hold of their destiny.  It comes in many shapes but it's always the huge 'but' that is controlling the choices we make. 

Does My BUT Look Big In This?

The things that we squeeze into or drape over ourselves to make us feel more confident in ourselves may not be the 'buts' we are really hiding.  It may be that the lives we want to live may be directed more by the excuses we allow ourselves than the dream we cling to.  This month we are looking at the ways we 'self-sabotage' our lives with the 'buts' we harbour in our hearts rather than letting God's 'but' empower our change. 

Now based in Cairns but travelling the nations establishing missionary training schools and churches, Jeremy will inspire you with stories of transformed people and communities with the Gospel. 

Luke 16:1-14 

You may have heard that Jesus has been given authority over every spiritual power, but you may not have known that money is one of those powers.  Let's learn from Him how to bring the spirit of money under His control so that it blesses our lives and others. 

Malachi 4:5‐6 

Mothers Day is a great time to reflect on how our mothers have helped us, but this time we are going to talk about how they shape humanity, and not just mothers but fathers and relatives too. 

Malachi 3:8-12  

We are impacted by money every moment of our lives, but so often people have no idea how to master it.  Jesus spoke more about money than heaven and hell combined, maybe we should get some financial advice from Him.  

The foundation of society.  What is the most indespensible unit in any society?  The family.  But there may never have been a time in history where family is more fractured and insecure than now. 

Foundations for Victory 

Every warrior knows, every builder knows, every leader knows that the strength of the man/building/organization relies on the strength of it's foundations.  Bad foundations lead to future failures, while good foundations serve us long into the future.  This month we are going to take a look at two foundations that we deal with every day that are either helping us or hindering us as we seek to live the victory that Christ has given us. 

When Jesus finished His longest teaching recorded in the Bible He gave this picture: if you build on His teaching, it's like building your house on a rock.  He knows what works, what lasts, and what storms are coming.  He also wants you to win, so He shares these truths with us so that we can build like Him and be secure in our lives.  This month we are going to look into two areas that always need re-enforcing in our lives: Family and Money.  Lets look to Him to become "firmly established" in these two crucial areas. 

Your Pastors, 

Joe and Jodie 

Sometimes the biggest battles we have are with ourselves.  We like to be in control of our own universe and everything in it.  What can rescue us from these chains? 

There are many changing times in our lives.  How do we respond to those many seasons?  How should we respond?  

Did you really see this movie already or do you just think you did.  We can so easily miss the details because we think we already know.  Maybe it's time to put fresh eyes on Easter and see what we've missed.  

John 12:20-33 

John 3:1-16 

The Death and Resurrection of Jesus has always been the inside conversation and passion of the Trinity.  God draws us into His drama of seeing His Son die for our sins, not to shame us, but to help us share in the fullness of His love for us. 

Mark 15:25-38 

The Death and Resurrection of Jesus has always been the plan.  He was crucified from the foundation of the world and the entire story of life has focused on this moment. 

The Greatest View 

I've gotten some emails recently about helping find my lost superannuation.  It's great to think that somewhere out there is money I didn't know I had.  But have you ever wondered what kind of email God would send to tell you about your unclaimed heavenly benefits?  Would He say something like, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."? - Ephesians 1:3 

Maybe He has more for you than you think.  It's time to receive all that Jesus has bought and paid for, and walk in the victory that He has given us. 

Your Pastors, 

Joe and Jodie. 

Are you ready for the changing of the seasons?  Do you hold on to the past?  Why?  Sometimes we are too broken to believe, too fearful to change, too used to what we know. 

Jesus’ vision of us is as a light on the hill- people who draw out the hopes and desires of people living in darkness.  Let's be that light, as bright as we can.  

We were made for freedom, and Jesus has done all the work so that we can break free of what keeps us from being who He made us to be.  

We have been made with a unique DNA that God has chosen for us.  Let's be the most genuine version of us that we can be.  

Planted With Purpose

You can tell if a forest has been planted by people because the trees are all in rows.  When God plants forests its full of unique-ness.  In fact everything God makes is uniquely tailored for its time and place, whether its snow flakes, star fish or you.  God made you unique and God made our church unique.

In my prayers for this year I began to sense the Lord saying that this is the year of overcoming!  In fact He has already began the work of faith in our hearts to believe that things are already changing. I believe that this scripture is for each of us for this year: "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:18-19”.

“Now it springs forth, don’t you see it?”  God has already begun the change in some area in your life, can you see it?”  He is making everything new.

Your Pastors,

Joe and Jodie

Matthew 16:13-19 

Not only does Jesus have authority but He gives authority.  He wants us to be able to do even greater works than these in His Name? 

Hebrews 2:9-18  

Everywhere in every setting Jesus taught lessons of faith. Not just that we could enjoy water turned into wine, but so that we would see the oppression of darkness thrown off everywhere we go.  

Matthew 16:16-28 

Amazingly, Jesus doesn't want to do it all Himself, even though He could.  He wants each of us to be involved in building up His Church and bring it into its glorious inheritance.