We begin a series working our way through the book of 1 Thessalonians. In this talk, we learn more about Paul and his reasons for writing the letter as well as some of the historical context. We then look at what Paul's thanksgiving prayer for the Thessalonians means for us today and how it can help us to keep our eyes on Jesus so that we have an inspired faith.

Jesus promises that as we go and make disciples we do so under His authority and with His presence. Paul instructs the early church to be constantly praying and seeking God's help for the chance to share the good news. If we want people to turn their lives around and follow Jesus then we've got to pray!

As we seek to share the hope we have in Jesus we need to do so in a way that enables us to connect our stories to the stories of our friends, families, neighbours, and coworkers.

In this talk we consider the power of a story and how connecting our personal story to God's big story is a powerful and effective way to share the hope we have in Jesus and the real difference it has made in our lives.

As we begin to think and pray about the Anglican Church of Australia's Hope 25 season from Easter to Pentecost 2025 we remind ourselves of Jesus' command for us to "Go and make disciples" and we look at some examples for the early church of what it looked like for them to "Go" and how we can "Go" and get ready to go during Hope 25.

In Mark 7 we read about how Jesus brings healing and cleansing to those who have faith. It's not what we do that matters but where our hearts are at.

In Mark 6 after the disciples get back from their short-term mission trip, Jesus demonstrates His power by feeding 5,000 men with 5 loaves and 2 fish and then walking on water before healing people simply through being touched by them. In the midst of these demonstrations of His power though he is teaching us something about the nature of discipleship and His invitation to all of us to be disciples, to spend time with Him and to be empowered by him to reach the world.

In Mark 6:1-13, Jesus is rejected by the people in his hometown, and then he sends the disciples out to spread the gospel telling them to "shake the dust off their feet" of places that reject the gospel. What do these stories tell us about what we need to shake off as we follow Jesus today?

In Mark 4:35-5:43 we see the power Jesus has over nature, evil and even death! It can be tempting to think of Jesus as just a nice guy with some good advice for life, but actually, he shows us that he is so much more! He is God!

In Mark 4:1-34 Jesus tells several parables and explains why he tells them. How should we understand Jesus today?