St John’s Diamond Creek Talks

Why We Need Christmas || We Need Justice || Malachi 2:17-3:15

You don't have to look far in our world to see injustice. The plight of refugees being held in indefinite detention, or the impact of climate change on developing nations and the failure of wealthier nations to respond in a timely manner, or something else. 
We need Christmas because God, through Jesus, brought and is bringing justice to His world.

Why We Need Christmas || We Don't Love Others || Malachi 2:1-16

The book of Malachi, the last book of the Bible before Jesus was born, is pretty harsh towards Church leaders of ancient Israel. Julie brings us this second talk in our Why We Need Christmas series, showing how following Jesus is about focusing on him, and making small decisions which bring you closer to him, and not about a single big moment. Likewise, falling away from Jesus is often about small decisions to do the 'easy' thing, slowly moving further and further from Jesus, until you look back and realise it'd be too hard to get back.
What decisions are you making this week to move slowly towards Jesus?

Why We Need Christmas || Does God Love Us - Do We Love God? || Malachi 1:1-14

With his final talk at St John's, Sam launches our Advent series leading into Christmas: Why We Need Christmas. This series looks at the prophet Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, as evidence of why Israel (and ourselves), need Jesus to come and live as one of us.
Sam looks at the questions posed in the first chapter of Malachi, 'Does God love us?', and 'Do we love God?'.

Come & See || Rosemary & Andrew

Like Sam Johnson, who's excited about his train set, and wants to show his dad, Andrew and Rosemary invite us to come and see how Jesus has been at work in their lives.
Coming from two very different life experiences - Andrew a staunch atheist, and Rosemary attending Sunday School from day dot - these two share how they came to follow Jesus, and the strength and support that came from that.

Come & See || Chais & Phil

When we find something really good, like an exceptional bowl of strawberries and ice cream, we feel compelled to tell others about it, and to get them to try it for themselves. In the same way, we're inviting you to Come & See how good a relationship with Jesus is!
In this episode, Julie chats with Chais and Phil about their life before and after getting serious about Jesus. 
[Editors Note: apologies for the low audio quality this week]

Thanksgiving 2018 || Psalm 34

On our 151st birthday, Tim gives us an ABC of thanks from Psalm 34. 

The Church On Mission || This Way or That? || Acts 21:1-17

When making a decision, Christians often look for a sign from the Holy Spirit; a prompting, or a miraculous sign clearly saying "YES, GO THIS WAY". 
Even Paul though, facing a decision to return to Jerusalem, experienced the Spirit both encouraging him to go, and working in the lives of his friends to persuade him not to go. How do we discern what God is telling us, and make Godly decisions without being paralysed in waiting?

The Church On Mission || Opposition & Goodbyes || Acts 20:13-38

In this section of Acts, Paul is compelled by the Spirit to end his journey through the ancient world by returning to Jerusalem, where he doesn't know what will happen to him, other than he has been prompted that prison and hardships are waiting for him. As he finishes this journey, he says farewell to many of the church leaders he has met from Ephesus, Greece and Asia. 
Alongside Paul's farewells, he also warns these leaders of hardships that are likely to be encountered by them, but encouraging them to persevere because their relationship with Jesus is so important. Kirk unpacks these warnings in this episode.

The Church On Mission || Supper & Power || Acts 20:1-12

 In a story which includes someone being raised from the dead, you'd imagine that would be the focal point- the highlight of the story. In this passage of Acts though, this act of raising a young man from the dead is not prioritised, and instead, the act of Paul preaching the Word of God is highlighted, along with sharing of the Lord's Supper.
There is power in prioritising the Word of God, in gathering and sharing the Lord's Supper (also called Communion), and as we gather we can expect the power of God to be at work amongst us. 

The Church On Mission || Idols & Riots || Acts 19:23-41

This passage in Acts is real history, with real people, and real events in time - a good reminder that the bible is about real people, and it is a historical account. But what do we do with this story? How do we learn from it and what can we take away about God from this riot in Ephesus?
Tim examines the cause of the riot (Acts 19:23-28), its escalation (Acts 19:28-34) and its resolution (Acts 19:35-41).