St John’s Diamond Creek Talks

I Believe in Miracles || Good News in Action || Luke 7:11-17

A small story with a big impact - Kirk looks at the story of Jesus coming to a funeral procession. This funeral was especially tragic, as a young man had died, leaving his mother alone with no males to support her (which would have been a big deal in ancient Israel).
Do you believe in miracles? Have you seen any in your life? Ask God about it, but know that there's no magic formula for a miracle.

Faith of the Centurian || Good News in Action || Luke 7:1-10

In this quick story, Jesus arrives at Capernaum, a small town with amazing faith. We meet a few characters: a sick servant, a Roman Centurian, the disciples of Jesus, and the Jewish Leaders.
How can we have a faith that surprises Jesus, like the Roman Centurian does? Trust Jesus and step towards him in faith, asking big things from him!

Be Skeptical || Spirit of Truth || 1 John 4:1-6

In this weeks sermon, Tim Johnson covers how we, as Christians, need to be skeptical of bad spirits, and compare their messages to both the holy spirit and the holy bible.

Seeking All Truth || Spirit of Truth || John 16:12-15

Who's Mission Is It Anyway? || Spirit of Truth || John 15:26-16:11

As a church we have a mission; know Jesus and make Jesus known, but who's responsible for achieving that mission? In this weeks sermon, Tim dives into John chapters 15 and 16, and has a look at how the Holy Spirit, AKA the Advocate, lives within all of us and helps us spread the word of the Lord and do his work.

Spiritual Learning || Spirit of Truth || John 14:25-31

Do you hate exams? Yeah, Kirk does too. They create unnecessary stress and pressure, and we generally just don't want them in our lives. You can feel like you push unhelpful information into your brain, while pushing actual helpful info out the other side!
When Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would "teach you all things", he didn't mean like cramming for an exam. The Holy Spirit teaches us things in unison with the things Jesus taught when he was on earth. 
Kirk continues our Spirit of Truth series, exploring the idea of spiritual learning.

Advocate | Spirit of Truth | John 14:15-24

When our hearts are troubled, where can we go for comfort? In John 14, we see Jesus preparing his followers for a time when he will leave them, when they'll feel alone and abandoned, frightened and anxious. Jesus tells them "do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust God, trust also in me.". Through the following chapters, Jesus talks a lot about who he'll send next to look after his followers - the Holy Spirit, referred to in these passages as the Spirit of Truth.
The Holy Spirit is a person - not the force. Over the next few weeks, we'll get to know him more through this series.
Listen to the talk 'The God of all Comfort' from our series from 2 Corinthians here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bw0XbJa4_o 

For Society || Back to the New Future || Matthew 4:12-17

As we finish our Back to the New Future series, Julie looks back into history, at times when God's people faced hardship and pandemics. In Matthew 4:12-17, Jesus experienced some darkness - his friend and cousin John the baptist had been imprisoned, and would go on to be executed. 
The darkness we experience allows the light and glory of God to be the most evident. A dark backdrop lets light shine the brightest.

For Church || Back to the New Future || 1 Peter 2:4-10

For Me || Back to the New Future || Deuteronomy 5:1-15

Kirk looks to the book of Deuteronomy and Ancient Egypt, to see what we can learn from the Israelites and how it applies to our world today.