St John's Ashfield

It’s one of the most famous verses in the Bible: ‘There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ God has made a way, through Jesus, to condemn sin, without condemning sinners. How deep has that great gospel declaration — ‘No condemnation!’ — sunk into your heart? What would change if you really believed this truth?

Who will rescue me from this body of death?

February 25, 2020 03:19 - 26 MB

The reason we can’t deal with the problem of sin on our own is that sin is “in us” — it dwells in our hearts, and gets its teeth into our flesh. We need nothing less than rescue from sin’s power. In the last second of Romans 7, the cry of despair that sin causes begins to give way to a cry of joyful thanksgiving, as the solution begins to become apparent.

Hijacked!

February 20, 2020 04:41 - 35.8 MB

What really is sin? Why can’t we do without the idea of sin, even though our culture does its best to rub it out? And what has God done about sin, that goes far beyond a list of do’s and don’ts. Continue drawing the map of your soul with the Apostle Paul in Romans 7.

Bearing fruit for God

February 11, 2020 05:53 - 39.1 MB

Change is both so hard and so important. What makes it harder, is that we so often look in the wrong direction for power to change - the moral law. Rejoin the Apostle Paul as he takes us on the journey of how in the gospel of grace, and through the power of the Spirit, God works his life-giving change in us.

I will pour out my Spirit

January 28, 2020 04:43 - 37.2 MB

In the introduction to his gospel, John gives a number of reasons why Jesus came into the world. In this sermon, we pick up one of his metaphors: strangers and family. It’s a metaphor that feels relevant in a culture where we often feel like strangers from one another, and where if God exists, we definitely feel estranged from him. But Jesus comes to make strangers family, and he does it in a breathtaking way.

I will strengthen

January 21, 2020 00:39 - 33.6 MB

What does it mean to have strength, real deep strength - not just physically but to be strong emotionally, relationally, spiritually? What does true strength look like? And how do we get strengthened? In 2 Corinthians we read a beautiful, challenging and wonderful promise and invitation from Jesus to come and receive the strength that he gives. The kind of strength that is really worth having, but to possess it you have to be weak.

I will provide

January 14, 2020 01:03 - 34.3 MB

I will provide: “Jesus’ promise to take care of us, as we decline to worry about taking care of ourselves, but instead strive after the kingdom of God, is so challenging. How can he mean that?”

I will answer

January 07, 2020 00:50 - 36.4 MB

I will answer: “Jesus’ promise that God hears us as we pray, listens to us in our need, and will answer our prayers is such deep comfort in times of deep anxiety. Learn from Jesus what it means for God to be our heavenly Father”.

I will give life

December 31, 2019 00:08 - 37.2 MB

We all want life: not just longer life, but quality of life. In John 5, Jesus tells us that he’s the source of all life. If you want deeper, richer, fuller life, you can only find it in him.

Advent: Stranger & Family

December 23, 2019 23:30 - 31.2 MB

Advent: Darkness & Light

December 17, 2019 01:16 - 31.1 MB

There’s a smoky haze around Sydney at the moment — interfering with the light, making it hard to breathe. It’s not a bad metaphor for how our lives can often feel: our circumstances and experiences make it hard to see a way forward; they threaten to overcome us. In the midst of a dark world, where can we find light for our hearts and our lives?

Celebration Sunday

December 10, 2019 05:20 - 32.1 MB

This has been a great year at CCIW and St John’s, and we celebrate what God is doing in us and through us, listening to the Apostle Paul as he describes the work of God in the Thessalonians, who turned from idols to serve a living and true God.

The content of gracious witness

November 25, 2019 23:38 - 35.8 MB

How does a follower of Jesus go about the business of gracious witness in a context where it feels like Christianity and mainstream culture are speaking different languages? Perhaps surprisingly, the first century was not so different from our world in this regard. This week, we look at the content of gracious witness, following Paul’s advice to Christians living in the ancient city of Colossae.

The confidence for gracious witness

November 19, 2019 05:12 - 41.2 MB

One thing that both non-believers and many believers agree on is this - it’s just too awkward to talk about Jesus! But Christians on mission for Jesus can’t cave into that pressure. So where do we find the courage for that? Learn from Peter how to overcome fear and be ready to speak of Jesus.

The call to gracious witness

November 12, 2019 05:00 - 33.7 MB

The massive question hanging in the air after the resurrection of Jesus is: now what? Jesus has won, grace has won, now what? And Jesus answers the question with crystal clarity - mission! This is the first sermon in our series on what it is to be a ’Sent’ people, a people on mission, and explores the call to mission in the Great Commission.

Zephaniah: Face to face with our gracious God

November 05, 2019 05:09 - 37.6 MB

We have a love hate relationship with judgment - we hate the idea that God judges, and yet we love the idea that we could bring justice where there is injustice. Zephaniah is a prophet who wrestled with the judgment of God, and who teaches us how to more deeply trust the just judgment of God.

Habakkuk: Face to face with our big God

October 29, 2019 04:56 - 30.6 MB

The end of Habakkuk is absolutely inspiring. But how does he get there? Surprisingly, he gets there because he complains to God, a godly complaining, a complaining that is the product of deep faith. Walk with Habakkuk as we continue this short series on the Minor Prophets.

Joel: Face to face with our jealous God

October 22, 2019 01:10 - 35.9 MB

The Minor Prophets give us tremendous resources for handling the challenges, suffering and pain that comes into our lives. But they are not the normal strategies! Joel has some particularly beautiful - and counter intuitive - guidance for us, and in this sermon, we shrink form his wisdom.

Life Giver: The Spirit in the world

October 15, 2019 05:14 - 44.4 MB

In our culture we often experience hostility and skepticism toward religious ideas - let alone the person of Jesus. How could anyone in a culture like ours overcome their hostility and skepticism and see Jesus for who he really is? As we round out our series on the Holy Spirit, we investigate how he works in our world: he’s the one who reveals spiritual realities to unspiritual people, overcoming the hostilities and skepticism to bring glory to Jesus.

Life Giver: The Spirit in us

October 08, 2019 04:55 - 36.6 MB

One of the great works of the Spirit is to make us a real ‘us’ - a community of people bound together in the realities of life, not because we like one another, or even worse because we are like one another, but because if his grace. But this Spirit-given unity is not a uniformity, it is a beautiful unity in diversity. Listen as we explore this in the third of our sermons on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Life Giver: The Spirit in me

October 01, 2019 01:17 - 42.2 MB

Why is it so important that the Holy Spirit indwells Christians? What does he make possible in each of us individually that we couldn’t do without him? In the second week of our series on the Holy Spirit, we explore how the Holy Spirit is the answer to a deep human problem, bringing us into new life and leading us in that new life.

Life Giver: The Spirit of God

September 24, 2019 02:38 - 34.5 MB

Who is the Holy Spirit? What does he do? In this first sermon in a four week series — Life-Giver: The Holy Spirit — we begin to unpack the identity and work of God the Spirit. He is God’s life-giving presence, who brings comfort by focusing our hearts on the Lord Jesus.

The Treasure of the King

September 17, 2019 02:31 - 31 MB

What’s worth giving everything to get? In these last four parables, Jesus tells us how and where to find real treasure.

"I will open my mouth to speak in parables"

September 10, 2019 05:58 - 31.1 MB

Do you ever feel like you’re in a holding pattern with God? When you look at the world or the things going on in your life, you wonder, “why doesn’t God do something?” Jesus’ parables about the wheat and the weeds, the mustard seed and the yeast help us understand this question and a related one: how to wait well when God’s kingdom seems to be taking its time.

A sower went out to sow

September 03, 2019 04:53 - 44 MB

Our world is a cacophony of voices all promising justice, healing, and hope. Cutting through the confusion, Jesus speaks a clear word: Listen! The kingdom of heaven is here!

Deep Family

August 27, 2019 04:14 - 40.2 MB

Blood is thicker than water! Family really matters. But in this final interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees, Jesus radically redefines the family of God, with profound implications for us.

The sign of Jonah

August 20, 2019 06:47 - 29.8 MB

When the scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign, he reply is confronting to say the least: “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign”. Why the blow up? Jesus is interested in what that seemingly innocuous request reveals: a heart full of unbelief. We explore the topic of unbelief––as possible for those who think they’re near to God as those who are far off.

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