Vision Church Podcast | Christian Church in Canberra

Andrew Baker | Luke 2:8-20 — In the most unlikely of places, the host of heaven appeared declaring the birth of Jesus to the shepherds - a glorious gift met with praise to God. As believers, our lives should always rest on these two pillars: recognition of the undeserved Gift we’ve received, and lives of gratitude lived in response.

Kathryn Hartley | Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 1:26-33,39 — Amidst the saturation of traditions and fanfare this time of year, we can easily become overfamiliar with how astonishing Jesus’ coming really was: the long-awaited King of Glory arriving as a baby in a backwater town. This Christmas, as we put overfamiliarity aside, would we too be filled with an awareness of the King in the room; that His presence and power would reveal itself in the unexpected places of our lives.

Trevor Galpin | 2 Corinthians 1:3-4,8; 7:5-7; 11:23-29 — We ought to live a victorious Christian life, but the reality of human existence is filled with struggle and hardship. Found in despair time and again on his missionary journeys, the Apostle Paul modelled a life of reliance upon our heavenly Father: the One who comforts us that we might comfort others.

Matt King | Psalm 63:1-3 — Out in the wilderness, David proclaimed his longing to see and know God, just as he had seen Him in the Holy Sanctuary. While we know that we will not witness God in all His fullness until heaven, the central pursuit of our lives as believers must reflect that of David: an unquenchable hunger to see and know our awesome, majestic God more and more.

Andrew Baker | Ephesians 2:1-10; Matthew 28:19-20 — As we consider the words of Paul and Jesus, it is clear that We, The Church weren’t established as an exclusive club. We have been saved SO THAT we might bring others in as His disciples: a demonstration to all the world of the immeasurable riches of God’s grace given to us in Christ Jesus.

Andrew Baker | 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Ephesians 4:4-16 — In letters to the Ephesians and Corinthians Paul demonstrates a clear vision for the church: each individual is empowered by the Holy Spirit with gifts to serve and build-up Christ’s body to maturity. As believers today, each and every one of us has been called and equipped for this very same mission - how is God calling you to serve?

Adam Ritchard | 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Acts 2:42-47 — For all its promise of interconnection, our culture is more disconnected than ever. But mankind was not created for isolation, and neither was the church. As the New Testament reminds us, we are Christ’s body, comprising many unique and necessary parts each designed to work together in close-knit unity. Our call is to be a communing people: intentional, devoted, and sacrificially loving, that we’d be transformed into the likeness of Jesus.

Andrew Baker | Hebrews 12:18-29 — We were created to worship. Not for entertainments’ sake, nor as a means to an end. As the writer to the Hebrews reminds us, we are called into the very presence of the all-powerful living God, that we’d be forever changed as we worship Him with the reverence and awe He deserves.

Andrew Baker | Ephesians 1:15-23; 5:25-27 — The concept of ‘The Church’ brings buildings, service structures, denominations, and even moral failings to mind. We each have an idea of what church is and should be. But ultimately, church isn’t our idea - it’s God’s. Paul describes it as nothing less than the very fullness of Christ’s body; a holy and radiant bride that He sacrificed himself to cleanse. We, The Church, are to be His ‘called out people’, whose story begins and ends and forever revolves around the person of Jesus.