As yet another year begins under the shadow of COVID19 it's hard to imagine things ever going back to normal. In the midst of the chaos, interruption and tragedy bought on by the virus this video talks about how it's still possible to have hope.

This talk was delivered on Boxing Day 2021 from Chris' basement where he was isolated due to being a close contact to someone with COVID.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells two parables comparing the Kingdom of God to small things which overtime have a big impact. Jesus' message to his disciples, that we've seen play out over the course of the last 2,000 years is that God's kingdom will continue to expand. It's easy to believe in the West the lie that the church is shrinking, but actually there are new people coming to faith every day.

Jesus also promises that His Kingdom is the place to find rest. And he tells two more parables comparing the Kingdom of God to valuable things. His point, when you realise how God entering the Kingdom of God is then it's worth giving up everything for.

Have you given up everything to live your life devoted the God's kingdom?

We live in a broken world and we long for it to be better! In Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who's field of wheat gets sabotaged with weeds. This is a metaphor for the world we live in and a comfort for us to trust God through the ups and downs of this life.

Graham unpacks the parable of the sower from Matthew 13 and encourages us to spread the word of God and allow it to work in our own life so we might be good soil.

What does a list of names at the end of Paul's letter to the Roman's teach us about how God uses all sorts of people from every background to build his Kingdom here on earth?

As Paul concludes his letter to the Roman church he tells the church about how God has used him to spread the good news about Jesus. As we reflect on Paul's own ministry we are challenged by how God can use us to continue this work today.

John Lennon's famous song Imagine dreams of a world without religion where peace, love and unity reign. As we see the western world become more and more divided as it becomes less and less religious one has to wonder if Lennon is on the right track.

In Romans 15:1-13 we see that in fact divisions are healed not through discarding religion but through embracing Jesus! Following Jesus and trusting in the Gospel is where true unity is found.

Jesus also provides a model for how to live lives of true love and peace even when we disagree about secondary matters.

Christians are called to a life of unity based on the good news about Jesus and the clear teaching of the bible. However there are lots of things which are not foundational to the faith that many Christians disagree about. These are called 'disputable matters' and in Romans 14 Paul gives us some advice for how we can maintain unity on the central things whilst disagreeing over secondary matters.

How do you need to change the way you engage with someone you disagree with as a result of hearing this message?

What relationship should Christians have to the secular authorities? What right do governments have to tell Christians what to do? When can a Christian resist a governments authority and when should a Christian submit?

It seems the last 18 months have made these questions a lot more live than they have ever been before. As we continue our series on Romans, we tackle Paul's teaching in Romans 13 about relationships between church and state. This talk was delivered as Hobart experienced a three day lockdown so the issues were very real for us!

In a world that struggles to understand love, the book of Romans helps us to understand love by looking to God and then applying his definition of love to our lives.

In Romans 12:9-21 Paul continues to tell us what it means to respond to God's mercy by offering our bodies as a living sacrifice. We do so by loving each other and loving our enemies.

We can't do either with God's help or without understanding who God really is.