✨ What if the manger wasn’t the point, but a sign pointing to something much bigger? ✨

On Sunday, Mikaela Turner led us through the familiar Christmas story in Luke 2, but with fresh eyes. What if the manger, the shepherds, and even the angels are more than details? What if they’re signs pointing to Jesus’s identity and mission?

Here’s what stood out:

• 🛡️ Augustus vs. Jesus: While Emperor Augustus claimed to bring peace and justice, Luke subtly reminds us that true justice and peace come through Jesus—born humbly, yet the true Savior and Son of God.
• 🎉 Joy for all people: The angel’s announcement is big—joy not just for some, but for everyone. It points us to the eternal hope and restoration Jesus brings, even when the world’s circumstances seem far from joyful.
• ✝️ Christmas leads to Easter: The nativity isn’t the whole story. It sets the stage for Jesus’s revolutionary life, his sacrifice, and the salvation that transforms everything.

This Advent, let’s take a moment to look where the signs are pointing and find joy in the hope of what’s to come.

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The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sovereignty was never ceded.

You can view the full Steeple Church Acknowledgement of Country here.
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If you would like to know more about Steeple Church or connect with us you can do so by checking out our website on-the-line at steeplechurch.com.au or by following us on all the socials...

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What if the advent of God’s dream started in the vulnerability of a refugee child?

On Sunday, Jarrod McKenna unpacked the second Sunday of Advent with a message about the arrival of God’s vision for the world—a vision revealed in Jesus. Advent, Jarrod reminded us, isn’t just about waiting; it’s about recognizing that God’s dream is already breaking into our world, even amidst darkness.

Here’s what stood out:

🌟 Dreamers like Joseph: God uses dreams—both Joseph’s in the Old Testament and Joseph’s in Matthew’s Gospel—to guide His people into transformative action, inviting us to participate in His unfolding story.
🛡️ Jesus, the refugee: The story of the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt reminds us that God doesn’t align with power and privilege. Instead, He comes vulnerable, as one of the displaced, showing us His radical solidarity with the oppressed.
✨ Advent calls us to action: Waiting for God’s kingdom doesn’t mean standing still. Like Joseph, we’re invited to respond with bold, compassionate steps, joining in God’s vision for healing and justice.
Jarrod even tied it all to Die Hard (yes, the movie!), suggesting it shares unexpected parallels with the Gospel—both featuring a subversive outsider offering hope in impossible circumstances.

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The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sovereignty was never ceded.

You can view the full Steeple Church Acknowledgement of Country here.
.
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If you would like to know more about Steeple Church or connect with us you can do so by checking out our website on-the-line at steeplechurch.com.au or by following us on all the socials...

Instagram
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 What if living God’s love looked less like big words and more like bold action?

That’s the thought Jarrod McKenna left us with on Sunday as we explored the final verses of Matthew 7, where Jesus calls his followers to live out their faith with action, not just words. 

 Jesus’s challenge to “do to others as you’d have them do to you” is more than a moral guideline—it’s an invitation to participate in God’s work of healing and justice. It’s not about striving or looking good but about bearing the kind of fruit that reflects God’s love. 

Jarrod reminded us that: 

• 🌿 GOOD TREES DO GOOD FRUIT. Discipleship means stepping into a life of justice, mercy, and humility—actively living Jesus’s teachings.
  
  
• 🪨 THE NARROW PATH IS ACTION. It’s not the easiest way, but it’s the most life-giving, calling us to step into the Spirit’s transformative power.
  
  
• 🍎 EMPATHY LEADS TO ACTION. When we imagine ourselves in another’s shoes and act with compassion, we bring God’s kingdom closer to earth.

Less sign shops. More fruit. Let’s live God’s love this week.
 

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The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sovereignty was never ceded.

You can view the full Steeple Church Acknowledgement of Country here.
.
.
If you would like to know more about Steeple Church or connect with us you can do so by checking out our website on-the-line at steeplechurch.com.au or by following us on all the socials...

Instagram
The Facebook
Youtube

What if we could save a tonne of energy and bucketloads of heartache by choosing which doors we’re knocking on to see change?

On Sunday, Mel explored the puzzling passage in Matthew 7 that has some talk of pigs, dogs and pearls.

We took a look at how disengaging from cycles that oppress can help us to redirect our focus to more life-giving ways of creating and sustaining change.

Of course it has something to do with Jesus, light and weirdly…Grandpa Simpson made it in there too somehow.

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The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sovereignty was never ceded.

You can view the full Steeple Church Acknowledgement of Country here.
.
.
If you would like to know more about Steeple Church or connect with us you can do so by checking out our website on-the-line at steeplechurch.com.au or by following us on all the socials...

Instagram
The Facebook
Youtube

.
The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sovereignty was never ceded.

You can view the full Steeple Church Acknowledgement of Country here.
.
.
If you would like to know more about Steeple Church or connect with us you can do so by checking out our website on-the-line at steeplechurch.com.au or by following us on all the socials...

Instagram
The Facebook
Youtube

.
The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sovereignty was never ceded.

You can view the full Steeple Church Acknowledgement of Country here.
.
.
If you would like to know more about Steeple Church or connect with us you can do so by checking out our website on-the-line at steeplechurch.com.au or by following us on all the socials...

Instagram
The Facebook
Youtube

.
The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sovereignty was never ceded.

You can view the full Steeple Church Acknowledgement of Country here.
.
.
If you would like to know more about Steeple Church or connect with us you can do so by checking out our website on-the-line at steeplechurch.com.au or by following us on all the socials...

Instagram
The Facebook
Youtube

.
The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sovereignty was never ceded.

You can view the full Steeple Church Acknowledgement of Country here.
.
.
If you would like to know more about Steeple Church or connect with us you can do so by checking out our website on-the-line at steeplechurch.com.au or by following us on all the socials...

Instagram
The Facebook
Youtube

.
The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sovereignty was never ceded.

You can view the full Steeple Church Acknowledgement of Country here.
.
.
If you would like to know more about Steeple Church or connect with us you can do so by checking out our website on-the-line at steeplechurch.com.au or by following us on all the socials...

Instagram
The Facebook
Youtube

.
The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Sovereignty was never ceded.

You can view the full Steeple Church Acknowledgement of Country here.
.
.
If you would like to know more about Steeple Church or connect with us you can do so by checking out our website on-the-line at steeplechurch.com.au or by following us on all the socials...

Instagram
The Facebook
Youtube