Ever tried bargaining at a street market? Most of us are pretty ordinary at it (especially if you're anything like Pastor Petrea in Thailand!). But here's the thing—we often bring that same bargaining mindset into our relationship with God, and it's robbing us of the joy that comes from true surrender.

In this seventh instalment of the Faith Habit series, we explore the habit of Generosity, looking at three ways we live with God: bargaining, obedience, and generosity. The Macedonian church shows us what it looks like to give generously even in severe trials, not because they had heaps to give, but because they'd first given themselves to the Lord.

The message unpacks how the rich young ruler walked away sad because he couldn't let go of his comfort, whilst the poor widow gave everything with joy. Generosity isn't waiting for God to prompt you—it's actively asking Him, "What can I do?" It starts with obedience (like tithing our first fruits), but goes far beyond to surrendering our time, talents, and treasure completely.

The challenge? Stop bargaining with the Creator of the universe and start trusting Him with your whole heart. Because He's already given everything for you.

Bible Verses Referenced:

• 2 Corinthians 8:1-9
• Matthew 19:16-22
• Mark 10
• Mark 12:41-44
• Luke 18
• Luke 21

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Ever noticed how New Year's resolutions tend to fizzle out by week three of January? (Apparently 80% of them do!) The same can happen with our spiritual disciplines unless they take root deep in our souls. This message dives into why community is one faith habit we simply can't afford to skip.

Drawing from Acts 2:42-47, we discover what holy community looked like for the early church—devoted to teaching, fellowship (koinonia), breaking bread, and prayer. Unlike any footy club or social group, Christian community is bound together by the Holy Spirit, transcending our differences and creating something truly transformational.

The message includes a powerful personal story from six months in Italy, where isolation nearly derailed everything, but intentional community brought restoration and hope. We're reminded that Satan's strategy is to isolate us from the herd, but God's design is for us to gather—daily, joyfully, in homes and in the temple.

The challenge? To move beyond surface-level "shallows" conversation into the depths, to initiate connection, and to show up with gladness and generosity. When we commit to community, God takes care of the growth.

Bible Verses Referenced:

• Acts 2:42-47
• 1 Peter 5:8
• Acts 3

Preached Sunday 18 January 2026.

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We're a church that loves one book—but what are we actually doing with it? In this message, we explore the difference between reading Scripture to know Scripture versus reading it to know Jesus. It's a crucial distinction that changes everything.

The average Aussie watches nearly three hours of telly a day (no judgment—this is a safe space!). But what if we invested even a fraction of that time into the practice that actually nourishes our souls? This isn't about guilt-tripping anyone into a rigid Bible-reading schedule. It's about discovering how Scripture serves as a diving board into the deeper things of God.

The message tackles some important questions: Is the Bible just a manual for getting life right? How do we avoid replacing a relationship with the living God with a relationship with the written Word? And what does it actually mean to let Scripture "read us" rather than just us reading it?

You'll discover how Scripture reveals God's character, shows us our need for redemption, and ultimately points us to Jesus. Plus, practical tips for engaging with the Bible whether you're a seasoned disciple or just starting out.

Bible Verses Referenced: 

• Philippians 4:6-7
• 2 Timothy 3:14-17
• John 1:1
• John 5:39
• Matthew 4:4
• Psalm 1:1-4
• Colossians 3:16

Preachind on Sunday 18 January, 2026.

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In this episode of our “Faith Habits” series, Pastor Ian Walton invites us into the often-overlooked discipline of solitude, describing it as “spiritual gym” for apprentices of Jesus. Starting from 1 Timothy and Psalm 46:10, he reminds us that while physical training has value, training in godliness has value for all things, both in this life and the life to come. Solitude, he explains, is not loneliness or escapism, but intentional time to be alone with yourself and with God, creating space for him to work deeply in your heart between Sundays.

Ian contrasts biblical solitude with both isolation and trendy “mindfulness”, showing that Christian solitude is not self-focused but God-focused. He walks through the example of Jesus, who began his public ministry in the wilderness, regularly withdrew to quiet places, spent nights alone in prayer, and then invited his disciples to “come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest”. Solitude, far from replacing community, actually fuels love for others and strengthens our presence in mission.

The message also names the real friction we face: our addiction to productivity, constant stimulation, and the digital age of distraction. Through vivid images, such as an anechoic chamber where hidden sounds become audible, Ian shows how silence is not empty but a place where we finally hear what is usually drowned out. He outlines the fruits of solitude: inner transformation, time to internalise what God has already spoken, clarity as the “jar” of our lives is allowed to settle, and freedom from the need to be constantly occupied, entertained or defined only in relation to others.

Moving from vision to practice, Ian offers very concrete ways to cultivate both “little solitudes” and extended times away with God. These include starting the day without a phone, turning everyday moments like making coffee, showering or walking into quiet space with God, using the car as a mini-sanctuary, building silence into lunch breaks and exercise, and reclaiming an intentional “quiet time” with Scripture and prayer. He also commends weekly or monthly mini-retreats and occasional overnight retreats as powerful anchors for the soul.

The episode concludes with a simple centring exercise built around Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God”, inviting listeners not just to think about solitude but to taste it. Ian encourages everyone to make at least one concrete decision to build solitude into their week, reminding us that discipline and intentionality are the bridge between where we are now and where we long to be with God.

Key themes in this message:

• Faith habits and “spiritual gym”
• Solitude as a discipline of abstinence
• Difference between solitude, loneliness and mindfulness
• The example of Jesus withdrawing to quiet places
• Solitude as fuel for love, mission and community
• Transformation, clarity, internalisation and freedom
• Everyday practices of “little solitudes”
• Mini-retreats and extended retreats
• Centring prayer and being still before God

Bible verses referenced:

• 1 Timothy 4:7–8
• Psalm 46:10
• Gospel passages describing Jesus in the wilderness and withdrawing to solitary places (eg Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12)

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Fasting is not usually the first faith habit people want to pick up, yet Scripture treats it as a normal rhythm in the life of a disciple. In this message, Pastor Sam Bricknell unpacks the spiritual discipline of fasting and shows how it can become a joyful expression of hunger for God rather than just an uncomfortable religious exercise.

Sam begins with a personal story about training for a 25 km trail race during one of the hardest years of his life. As he pushed through hills, pain and his dislike of running, God used the discipline of training to expose his love of comfort, his tendency towards complacency, and his habit of separating “spiritual” moments from everyday life. Over time, running became a sanctuary of prayer, gratitude and encounter with God in the middle of a difficult season.

From there, Sam turns to Matthew 6:16‑21 and highlights that Jesus does not say “if you fast” but “when you fast”, assuming that fasting is part of a normal Christian life. He explains that biblical fasting is not just about abstaining from food, but about intentionally removing something and replacing that space with focused time with God. While Scripture primarily describes food fasts, Sam acknowledges that in our context people may fast from things like media, phones or entertainment, provided that the freed-up time is offered to God in prayer and worship.

The message explores the different purposes of fasting found in Scripture, including repentance and returning to God (Joel 2), seeking God’s call and commissioning (Acts 13), decision making, cultivating intimacy with God, and aligning our hearts with his heart for our lives and communities. At its core, fasting is about stepping into intentional lack so that we can discover afresh that God alone truly sustains.

Sam also challenges the Western obsession with comfort and our cultural fear of hunger. Our lives are structured around avoiding discomfort and making sure we are always full, yet the Bible speaks of a deeper spiritual hunger that only the presence of God can satisfy. Drawing on passages such as Psalm 63:1, John 6:35 and Psalm 107:9, he reminds us that God is the one who satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry with good things.

Practically, Sam shares his own decision to fast weekly as a faith habit for the year, choosing a day that allows him to dedicate meaningful time to God. He encourages listeners to consider a regular rhythm of fasting, not to punish themselves but to cultivate greater hunger for God’s presence and purposes. The message concludes with an invitation to respond in worship, lay down comfort and complacency, and ask God to make this a year marked by spiritual hunger and dependence on him.

Bible passages referenced:

• Matthew 6:16‑21
• Acts 13:2‑3
• Joel 2:12
• Psalm 63:1
• John 6:35
• Psalm 107:9

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Prayer is often treated as a last resort, a spiritual panic button, or a way to get what we want. In this message in our Faith Habits series, on Prayer, Pastor Jo helps us see prayer the way Jesus does: as the language of relationship, intimacy, and partnership with God.

Beginning with the desire for mentors and trusted voices, we are reminded that there is no one who knows us better than God Himself. From there, we step into Matthew 6 as Jesus dismantles performance‑based prayer and gives us a simple, profound pattern in the Lord’s Prayer. We explore how prayer starts by re‑orienting our hearts to a good Father who is close, holy, and able, before we ever bring our list of needs.

Along the way, Pastor Jo contrasts transactional, competitive prayer with the invitation to communion. He shows how praying “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” leads us to pay attention to what God is already doing and to pray in line with His heart. We hear how habits, repetition and community help build “prayer muscles” in a culture of distraction, and how even a simple breathing prayer, “Abba, I belong to You”, can anchor us in God’s presence throughout the day.

The message finishes with a practical call: start where you are, for as long as you honestly can, and let God grow a lifelong habit of prayer. Whether you are new to prayer, feeling dry, or longing for deeper intimacy, this episode will help you take your next step in becoming a person of continual conversation with God.

We discuss:

• Prayer as a two‑way conversation and expression of relationship
• The Lord’s Prayer as an orienting pattern, not just a formal liturgy
• God as a good Father who is holy, close, and attentive
• Aligning our desires with God’s kingdom and will
• Moving from transactional prayer to partnership with God
• Building faith habits through small, consistent steps
• Overcoming distraction and cultivating continual prayer
• Practising prayer in community and intercession for others

Bible verses referenced or alluded to:

• Matthew 6:5‑13
• John 10 
• Zechariah 10:1
• 1 Thessalonians 5:16‑18
• Psalm 27

Inspired by John Mark Comer's 'Practicing the Way'.

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In this first message of the year, Pastor Jo launches a series on “faith habits” by exploring the practice of Sabbath and why it still matters today. Beginning with the experience of New Year busyness and chronic exhaustion, he names the deep longing we all have for moments when “everything is as it should be” and shows how Sabbath is God’s invitation into that kind of rest.

Tracing Sabbath through Scripture, Jo looks at:

• Exodus 20 & Deuteronomy 5 where God gives Israel a weekly day of rest as former slaves, teaching them to stop thinking like slaves and remember they are people made in God’s image. Sabbath becomes an act of holy defiance against any power that tries to own their time or worth.
• Genesis 2 where God himself works for six days and then rests, blessing the seventh day and making it holy. Sabbath is built into the rhythm of creation, not as dead inactivity, but as a space for refreshment, delight and remembering who God is.
• The Gospels (Mark 2) where Jesus confronts religious legalism that has turned Sabbath into another slave driver. He reminds the people that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” and declares himself Lord of the Sabbath, restoring it as a life‑giving gift rather than a crushing rule.
• Hebrews 4 and the wider biblical story, where God’s ongoing Sabbath rest points to the coming kingdom where everything will finally be made right. Jo describes Sabbath as a kind of “time travel”, a weekly foretaste of the new creation where God’s rule of peace, joy and restoration is fully revealed.

Along the way, Jo names the “modern slave drivers” that still own our attention and energy: relentless work, financial pressure, addiction, the need to prove ourselves, constant digital connection and the inner voice that says we are never enough. Into that reality, Sabbath becomes an act of resistance and subversion, a way of saying that the world’s agendas are not in charge and our value does not come from what we produce.

Practically, the message encourages:

• Intentionally creating a regular Sabbath rhythm, not as a rigid set of 613 rules, but as a gift‑shaped dayof rest, worship and relationship
• Making space to remember who God is, who we are in him, and how he has brought us to where we are
• Simple, grounded practices such as unhurried meals, time with loved ones, walking, being in creation, and activities that allow our head, heart and body to be present to God together
• Letting Sabbath be a “great leveller”, where everyone is welcome, status fades and all receive the same invitation to rest

The message culminates in an invitation from Matthew 11 to trade the heavy yokes of our culture for the easy yoke of Jesus. Jo prays for listeners to lay their burdens at Jesus’ feet, to receive his rest, and to rediscover the joy of the Lord as their strength in a tired and weary world.

Bible passages referenced in this message:

• Genesis 2:1–3
• Exodus 20:8–11
• Deuteronomy 5:12–15
• 1 Samuel (David and the bread of the Presence, as referenced by Jesus)
• Mark 2:23–28
• Hebrews 4:1–11
• Matthew 11:28–30
• Nehemiah 8:10 

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This Christmas sermon, Christmas for All: Christmas for Us, invites us to face the reality of our fractured world and our own inner restlessness, using the humorous yet unsettling image of giant summer spiders as a metaphor for the “angry, injured” fears that hide behind the headboard of our souls. From global crises to family tensions and personal struggle, Pastor Jo names the ache for peace that so many of us carry, and our deep sense that we cannot fix it on our own.

From there, the message steps into the Christmas story in Luke 2, where Mary and Joseph travel under Roman occupation, pushed around by political powers and unable even to find a room for the night. In that dark and crowded setting, a child is born in Bethlehem, fulfilling ancient promises from Isaiah and Micah of a ruler who would come from “of old, from ancient days” to bring light into deep darkness, break the rod of oppression, and establish a kingdom of justice and righteousness without end.

Pastor Jo explores the meaning of Emmanuel, God with us, through Isaiah’s prophecy and John 1’s portrait of Jesus as the eternal Word through whom all things were made, the Light that shines in the darkness and cannot be overcome. Far from a mere sentimental baby in a manger, this is the Creator stepping into his creation, bringing a different set of options to a world that cannot save itself. Drawing on Paul’s words in Galatians, the sermon points to Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection as God’s way of redeeming us and adopting us as sons and daughters, heirs who can cry “Abba, Father”.

The message closes with a clear and simple invitation: to believe that Jesus is real and loves us, to confess that we cannot fix ourselves or find peace on our own, and to receive his gift of salvation and the Holy Spirit. Christmas becomes the reminder that the Prince of Peace is present in every season we walk through, and that anyone can call on him today to bring forgiveness, freedom, and new life.

Bible verses referenced:

• Luke 2:1–7
• Isaiah 7:14
• Isaiah 9:2–7
• Micah 5:2
• John 1:1–5, 14
• Galatians 4:4–7

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In this Christmas message, “Christmas for All: The People of God,” Pastor Sam Bricknell reflects on how easily the season becomes busy, stressful, and spiritually thin, and how Jesus invites his people into something deeper.

Beginning with a light-hearted confession about his former “Grinch” attitude, Sam shares how personal circumstances and the example of his grandparents have reshaped his view of Christmas. Their open table for those who would otherwise be alone becomes a living picture of what it means to be the family of God, welcoming others into the celebration.

Sam then walks through Luke 2:22–40, where Mary and Joseph present Jesus at the temple. He highlights how this seemingly ordinary act of obedience is loaded with meaning: Jesus is consecrated according to the law, affirmed by prophetic words from Simeon and Anna, and revealed as the Messiah and king who operates fully within the plans of God. This early moment of dedication points ahead to a kingship defined not by power and comfort, but by humility, service, suffering, and sacrificial love.

Drawing on Isaiah 6, Sam paints a picture of God’s holiness and the way God himself makes it possible for unclean people to stand in his presence. Jesus, the humble king born in a manger and presented in the temple, is the one who brings us into that holy presence and invites us to live as a worshipping, set-apart people.

From there, the message becomes intensely practical. Sam gently but clearly challenges common Christmas patterns: racing through church to “get on with the day,” focusing on presents received rather than generosity given, and having family conversations that never mention Jesus. Instead, he invites listeners to:

• Intentionally draw God into every part of Christmas day, rather than confining him to an hour at church
• See Christmas as an opportunity to grow closer to God in worship, holiness, and intimacy
• Make room at the table for those who would otherwise be alone
• Pray and plan for meaningful conversations with family and friends who do not yet know Jesus
• Reimagine giving as a reflection of the generosity of God’s grace

The sermon concludes with a missional call shaped by Simeon’s prophetic declaration that Jesus is “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.” Christmas is not only about personal devotion, but also about being sent. Sam shares his longing to see Christmas become a day of salvations, baptisms, and hearts pierced by the message of Jesus, and he asks the question that echoes Isaiah’s vision: “Who shall I send?”

Listeners are invited to respond in reflection and, where needed, repentance for where they have separated God from the season. Sam encourages everyone to consider one concrete way they can draw nearer to God and align their Christmas rhythms with his heart, trusting that his presence brings true peace, joy, and love into a time that can so easily become rushed and burdensome.

Bible passages referenced:

• Luke 2:22–40
• Isaiah 6:1–8

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The message takes us on a journey from the Garden of Eden to the humble manger in Bethlehem, illustrating God's unwavering plan for unity and peace among all people. Amy and Alex delve into the significance of Jesus's birth, not just as a historical event, but as a pivotal moment that continues to impact our lives today. They explore the themes of prophecy, unity, and the unexpected ways God works through history. With references to the Tower of Babel, the call of Abram, and the prophecies of Isaiah, this message is a timely reminder of the true meaning of Christmas and the call to share this good news with others.

Bible Verses Mentioned:

• Genesis 11:1-2
• Genesis 12:1-3
• Micah 5:2
• Isaiah 11:1-10
• Luke 2
• Acts 10:9-16

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