St John’s Diamond Creek Talks

What do you smell like? One of Julie's coworkers (who'll remain nameless) thinks that coriander smells like hate. And he's totally right. It's awful. So why does Paul, in his letter 2 Corinthians suggest that to some, the good news of Jesus smells like death? Julie continues our God Through 2 Corinthians series looking at 2 Corinthians 2:5-17.

Let your yeah nahs be yeah nah and your nah yeahs be nah yeah. Maybe it's a good thing Paul wasn't Australian. Tim continues our series through 2 Corinthians looking at how Jesus makes all the promises of God "Yes".

Where do you find comfort? Netflix? A doona? Food and drink?
God is described as the God of All Comfort, in Paul's letter to the Corinthian church. Tim explores this idea of finding comfort in God, to begin our new series GOD: Through 2 Corinthians.

The smallest light can illuminate a whole room. With the darkness all around us, especially in the midst of COVID-19, it's important to remember the light of Jesus. His death and resurrection brings light into our world, and when the darkness seems its darkest, his light shines the brightest.

We're living in dark times. First responders, healthcare workers and others all face that darkness head-on, so others don't have to. In times like this, we need people willing to sacrifice their own comfort and safety to face the darkness on behalf of others.
The darkness in our world has been faced head-on by Jesus, being sent to die on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, so that we can live in the light of his resurrection.

Jesus' entry to Jerusalem a week before his death was not the triumphant royal parade many of his followers expected. He rode in, not on a war chariot, but a donkey. Many asked then, and continue to ask now - "Who is this man?". Julie explores who Jesus is and was this Palm Sunday.

With the increasing restrictions on day-to-day life, many of us are missing and grieving the loss of being together. Since the beginning of the year, we've been going through a series - In The Valley - looking at 'valley' emotions, those difficult emotions we have to deal with.
As we continue through the valley that is Coronavirus, it's important to fix our minds on God for our comfort and protector.

In our first Live Streamed service, we welcomed Chris and Julie Dean, our new link missionaries from CMS. Chris and Julie hope to go to Timor Leste (once the global shutdown is lifted) to bring the good news of Jesus to people there. Chris looks at Luke 24, and the reality of the risen Jesus.

Hope. Through all the Valley emotions in this series, hope remains. The state of mind that something good might happen, or something bad might not happen. Through the bible, we see an ultimate hope in Jesus - the belief that something good WILL happen. Kirk finishes our In The Valley series with this valley emotion - hope.

This is a tough topic. We believe that God has something to speak into all the circumstances of our life, including fun times and tough times. 
Through this series, we're dealing with difficult emotions. In this episode, we look at despair. Tim encourages us to trust this difficult area of our emotions to our loving heavenly father. To trust that God's word speaks into all areas of our lives. And to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit as we delve into this topic.
If this podcast has brought up difficult topics for you, you can always contact Lifeline, on 13 11 14