Blood is thicker than water! Family really matters. But in this final interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees, Jesus radically redefines the family of God, with profound implications for us.

When the scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign, he reply is confronting to say the least: “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign”. Why the blow up? Jesus is interested in what that seemingly innocuous request reveals: a heart full of unbelief. We explore the topic of unbelief––as possible for those who think they’re near to God as those who are far off.

Jesus says, ‘make the tree good and the fruit good’. But how can you do that? Of course, he’s not really talking about agriculture, but the deepest part of human living, the heart. So the question becomes, how can we have a new heart? Learn from Jesus about the your heart.

The work that God gave Jesus to do was to bring the kingdom fo God to be close at hand. But what is the kingdom? How does it does it differ from other kingdoms in the way that they are full of oppression and violence? And how do we fit in? Listen to Jesus teach us about this fundamental character of his mission.

What is it about human hearts that mean when we disobey the moral rules, we are bad; and at the same time, when we obey the moral rules, we can end up being just as bad? Learn from Jesus as he deals with the hearts of the Pharisees.

Humanity Sings for the God of Glory

Who are God’s people to demand that the nations should praise their God; that other cultures leave their own religions? It’s a common objection to Christianity, and especially in a nation whose history with First Nations peoples is so tragic. Psalm 117 — the shortest of all the psalms — expresses the very heart of biblical theology: it’s God’s love that makes praising him make sense, because it’s big enough for all people.

From beginning to end, Psalm 148 is about praise: praise is the song of creation, and we’re invited to join in. But it’s possible for our lives to be out of tune with that praise: what does it mean to praise the Lord, and how can we find our voice in creation’s song?

We hear a lot about work life balance - but what is the Psalmist’s vision of a really well balanced life. Ps 149 is a great Psalm of praise, that invites us to true balance.

One of the foundational truths of the Christian gospel is that salvation is by grace. But if that’s how we come into the family of God, then that matters for the way we relate to one another in the local church. To put it simply: if salvation is by grace, then church must be by grace. And that means we prioritise gracious relationships.

How does a person change? What should we do when we feel like we’re not changing as we’d hoped? As we continue our series on the values of CCIW, we take a look at how grace frees us from try-harder Christianity and leads us into deep, heart-level change.