Deep Dive - A Mooroolbark Baptist Podcast

In the final message of The Disciple series, Ray brings a challenging and hope-filled word on what it means to finish the race well. Preaching from 1 Corinthians 3:10–17, he explores the reality of eternal rewards, the testing of our work, and the judgment seat of Christ.

We’re reminded that discipleship is not only a call to follow Jesus closely—but to build our lives on him with care and intentionality. It’s serious, joyful, and eternally significant.

This episode will encourage you to:

• Reflect on how you’re building your life in Christ
• Embrace the reality of eternal rewards and God's just judgment
• Recommit to living a fruitful life of spiritual growth and love

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

Preaching from 1 Corinthians 15:1–11, Simon shares Paul’s story of radical transformation and reminds us that mission isn’t just for the “extraordinary” Christian. It’s the natural overflow of receiving grace. Whether across the street or across the ocean, we are called to share Christ where he is not yet known—especially among the 3.2 billion people who currently have no access to the gospel.

This episode will challenge and inspire you to:

• See yourself as part of God’s global mission
• Understand multiplication as every disciple’s calling
• Share the gospel not from obligation, but from grace

How might God be inviting you to step into his mission—where you are, or where the gospel has not yet gone?

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

What does it mean to grow in faith—not just in knowledge, but in depth of character and affection for Jesus?

In this episode, Jon explores 2 Peter 1:3–11 and the theme of spiritual growth as a normal and expected part of following Jesus. We're reminded that God's divine power gives us everything we need to live a godly life—but we’re also called to be intentional, to “make every effort” to grow in maturity and reflect his character.

This episode will encourage you to:

• Recognise that growth is not optional but essential for every disciple
• Embrace spiritual maturity as both God's work in us and our response to him
• Reflect on the character qualities Peter outlines—and how they’re growing in your life

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

What does it look like to grow as a disciple of Jesus through spiritual habits and everyday practices?

In this week's message, guest speaker Rev. Bill Brown explores the vital rhythms that shape our lives as followers of Jesus. Drawing from examples like Judas, Mary, and Andrew, Bill challenges us to consider how small, repeated choices form the people we become—and whether our current practices are forming us into Christlikeness or drawing us away from it.

This episode will encourage you to:

• Reflect on the habits that shape your life and spiritual health
• Embrace five daily practices: surrender, serving, perspective, relationship, and community
• Follow Jesus not just in belief, but in practice—living the unforced rhythms of grace

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

In this message, guest preacher Rev. Chris Barnden shares on the disciple’s hope: being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Based on Romans 12:1–2, this episode explores how true transformation comes not from trying harder or doing more, but through surrender to the Spirit of God.

As our culture encourages conformity to the world’s values—“follow your heart,” “live your truth”—disciples are called instead to be transformed by the renewing of their minds, shaped into the image of Christ.

This episode will encourage you to:

• Recognise the pressure to conform to cultural values
• Understand transformation as a Spirit-led, inside-out work
• Fix your attention on Jesus and walk with him daily

If you’re feeling spiritually stuck or unsure what growth in Christ really looks like, this message is a reminder that your hope is not in yourself—it’s in Jesus, who transforms us by his power and presence.

Scripture: Romans 12:1–2
Reflection Question: In what area of your life is Jesus inviting you to be transformed, not just conformed?

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

In this episode of The Disciple series, we reflect on one of the most comforting and empowering truths of the Christian life: we are not left to walk the path of discipleship alone. God has given us his Spirit to help, guide, and transform us.

Preaching from Galatians 5:13–26, Jon unpacks what it means to walk by the Spirit and live in the freedom Jesus gives. While the desires of the flesh pull us back to self-reliance, performance, and sin, the Spirit leads us into love, joy, peace, and the full life we are called to.

This episode will encourage you to:

• Understand the daily battle between the flesh and the Spirit
• Recognise your freedom in Christ is not for indulgence but for love
• Cultivate the fruit of the Spirit over time, not through effort, but by walking with Jesus

If you're tired, striving, or simply wondering how real change happens in your life, this message offers a reminder that the disciple’s help is the Holy Spirit.

Scripture: Galatians 5:13–26
Reflection Question: Where do you need the Spirit’s help this week—in your heart, habits, or relationships?

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

This episode kicks off our new series The Disciple, a journey through what it means to follow Jesus and grow in him. We begin with the question: who is the true hero of our discipleship?

Drawing from Hebrews 12:1–2, we explore why Jesus isn’t just someone we admire—he’s the One we follow, fix our eyes on, and build our lives upon. He is both the founder and the finisher of our faith, the one who started our story and promises to carry it through to completion.

This episode will encourage you to:

• Refocus your gaze on Jesus in a world full of distraction
• Remember what he’s done and why it matters
• Rejoice in the assurance that he finishes what he starts

If you’ve ever felt distant, distracted, or discouraged in your walk of faith, this episode offers a timely reminder of who leads us, sustains us, and walks beside us.

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1–2
Reflection Question: What might it look like for you to fix your eyes on Jesus this week?

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

In this episode of Deep Dive, we take a practical turn in our series on AI and the Church. After laying the theological and ethical foundation in the last two episodes, today we explore where AI can actually help. From sermon prep to calendar planning, communication to creative brainstorming, AI can be a helpful assistant—if it’s used wisely.

This isn’t about replacing prayer, presence, or pastoral care. But it is about asking: where can tools like AI serve our faith and life, without shaping us in ways we don’t intend?

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

In this episode of Deep Dive, we take the next step in our series on AI and the Church by exploring the ethical questions that come with using artificial intelligence. This isn’t about fear, nor is it about hype—it’s about faithfulness. What does it look like to use new technology in ways that honour Christ and reflect who we are as his people?

We’ll reflect on how Scripture shapes our ethics, how AI intersects with everyday life, and where we need to pause and consider not just what AI can do—but what it’s doing to us.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why Christian ethics begins with worship, not utility
• Three biblical values that can guide our AI use: truthfulness, justice, and love
• How to approach AI in areas like home life, relationships, work, and spiritual practice
• The difference between being shaped by Christ vs being shaped by convenience

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

Episode Overview:
Today we kick off a new series, AI and the Church, by laying an essential foundation: what it means to be human in an age of artificial intelligence. Before we talk about what AI can or can't do, we need to remember who we are—created in the image of God.

We’ll explore:

• What Scripture says about being made in God's image (Genesis 1:26–27)
• How the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) warns us about self-sufficiency
• Why AI, for all its power, can never replicate what it means to be human
• How Jesus restores the image of God in us

Reflection Question:
How does your understanding of being made in the image of God shape the way you think about AI?

Scriptures Referenced:

• Genesis 1:26–27
• Genesis 2:7
• John 4:24
• Genesis 11:4
• Romans 3:23
• Colossians 1:15

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au. 

New episodes drop every week. Subscribe, rate, and review to help spread the word, and don’t forget to share the podcast on your socials. 

Stay connected: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube for updates and community engagement. And check out our website at mbc.org.au.