St John's Ashfield

Out of the abundance of the heart

Jesus says, ‘make the tree good and the fruit good’. But how can you do that? Of course, he’s not really talking about agriculture, but the deepest part of human living, the heart. So the question becomes, how can we have a new heart? Learn from Jesus about the your heart.

The kingdom of God has come to you

The work that God gave Jesus to do was to bring the kingdom fo God to be close at hand. But what is the kingdom? How does it does it differ from other kingdoms in the way that they are full of oppression and violence? And how do we fit in? Listen to Jesus teach us about this fundamental character of his mission.

Lord of the Sabbath

What is it about human hearts that mean when we disobey the moral rules, we are bad; and at the same time, when we obey the moral rules, we can end up being just as bad? Learn from Jesus as he deals with the hearts of the Pharisees.

Psalm 117 - Humanity Sings for the God of Love

Humanity Sings for the God of Glory Who are God’s people to demand that the nations should praise their God; that other cultures leave their own religions? It’s a common objection to Christianity, and especially in a nation whose history with First Nations peoples is so tragic. Psalm 117 — the shortest of all the psalms — expresses the very heart of biblical theology: it’s God’s love that makes praising him make sense, because it’s big enough for all people.

Psalm 148 – Creation sings for the God of glory

From beginning to end, Psalm 148 is about praise: praise is the song of creation, and we’re invited to join in. But it’s possible for our lives to be out of tune with that praise: what does it mean to praise the Lord, and how can we find our voice in creation’s song?

Psalm 149 - Work Life Balance

We hear a lot about work life balance - but what is the Psalmist’s vision of a really well balanced life. Ps 149 is a great Psalm of praise, that invites us to true balance.

Church by Grace: Gracious Relationships

One of the foundational truths of the Christian gospel is that salvation is by grace. But if that’s how we come into the family of God, then that matters for the way we relate to one another in the local church. To put it simply: if salvation is by grace, then church must be by grace. And that means we prioritise gracious relationships.

Church by Grace: Grace Renewal

How does a person change? What should we do when we feel like we’re not changing as we’d hoped? As we continue our series on the values of CCIW, we take a look at how grace frees us from try-harder Christianity and leads us into deep, heart-level change.

Church by Grace: Culturally Engaged

Culturally Engaged It’s often tempting for Christians to either reject the culture around them on account of its evil, or embrace it wholeheartedly on account of its goodness. The Bible’s account of culture is more nuanced: culture is a human calling, a good gift of a good God; but it’s been damaged by the effects of sin. So, how should we navigate life in a world where evil and goodness coexist?

Church by Grace: Culturally Literate

What is to proclaim the gospel? Why should we do it? And perhaps even more challenging, how should we do it. Explore these questions in this first of two sermons on our stance as a church towards those outside Christ.

Church by Grace: Servant Hearts

It’s so counter-intuitive: service is greatness, the last will be first, death is life. And yet it is so powerful when you grasp it, or rather, this gospel shaped reality graps your heart, and turns you into a servant after Jesus’ heart.

Church by Grace: Full Devotion

If there’s one thing our society tells us about religion, it’s that it should be observed privately and in moderation. Extremism is out. And yet Jesus says that his followers must deny themselves, take up their cross, follow him, and even lose their lives for him. How are we to make sense of this outrageous demand? What is it about Jesus that makes this kind of full devotion to him possible — even desirable?

Church by Grace: Gospel ­Shaped Values

There are few things more sweet than a church community saturated in the gospel, soaked all the way through in God’s grace. As be begin this series on our gospel-shaped values as a church, we start we we need to start - with what the gospel itself is. And where better to go for that than to what is ‘of first importance’, from 1 Cor 15.

Resurrection & Justice: Compassion

Children are some of the most effected and least powerful people in the face of injustice and oppression. Compassion Australia does wonderful work releasing children from poverty in Jesus name. Hear Compassion staffer, Spiro Cassis, teach about justice and the work of Compassion.

Resurrection & Justice: International Justice Mission

The most outrageous claim made by the Scriptures is that one person was raised from the grave. Jesus himself is resurrection and life for us. Do you believe it? International Justice Mission’s David Groenenboom shows us that If you do believe it, you’ll be empowered to be an agent of justice in God’s name. 

Resurrection & Justice

The resurrection of Jesus wasn’t just his vindication and enthronement. It also constitutes a crack in the wall of death, and the sin whose wages death is, which smothers so much of this world. It’s a crack that lets the light of God’s gracious and life giving reign in - the kingdom of God. 

Easter Day

Most people believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, even now. But then again, so does the Devil! The issue is, what does it mean, and what is its significance. And how does it change every minute of my life.

Good Friday

Perhaps the most pervasive characteristic of contemporary Australian culture is contempt. People who threaten us, even people who merely disagree with us, are often dismissed outright and ridiculed as somehow subhuman. Our own culture of contempt resonates strongly with the treatment Jesus experienced as he hung on a Roman cross. How did the one person who never harboured a contemptuous thought in his heart respond to the contempt of the world?

Palm Sunday

If Palm Sunday tells us one thing, it’s that Jesus wants us to treat him as king. But what does it mean to do that? And what if his kingship is different to what we expected?

The free gift of God

Paul has drawn the map of life, and placed us on it. So how do we navigate the ups and downs of life as servants of the Lord Jesus? This is the final sermon in the Romans 4-6 series.

Do not let sin exercise dominion!

How do you grow in grace? Something has happened in Jesus: those who are connected to him by faith have died to sin! But it doesn’t always feel like this in our experience. So, having died to sin in Jesus, how do we now kill our sins?

So, should we continue in sin?

If God’s nature is to be gracious, even in the face of human sin… then why not keep sinning and get more grace? Or, to put it as an objection to Christianity: doesn’t salvation by grace mean people have no motivation to be good? Another way you could frame these questions goes like this: how does grace change you?

The Triumph of Grace

What is humanity destined for? What are you destined for? Romans 5.12–21 is nothing less than a God’s-eye view on the whole history of humanity, and it’s summed up in two humans who each represent two destinies open to humankind: Adam and Jesus. Are we destined for death or for life?

Much more surely ...

We human beings live by hope - it’s part of the way we are built. But how can we have hope in today’s world? And what are we to hope for? We continue with the Apostle Paul as he lays out for us the glory of the gospel of hope in Jesus Christ.

Even in suffering!

Is this in Paul’s Top 10 most outrageous things he ever said - ‘we boast in our sufferings’! Hear how that can be true in your life.

Hoping Against hope

Our culture is confused about “faith”. Is it the great cop-out: the enemy of reason? Is it just a preference: you have this faith, I have that one? Is it a magic bullet: as long as you have faith in yourself, everything will work out? Paul holds out Abraham as the great father of faith, and as he does so describes the only faith that really makes a difference: faith in the God who has the power to deliver what he promises.

Through the righteousness of faith

What difference does having an identity grounded in grace make? Walk with the Apostle Paul as he glories in the grace of God.

Him who justifies the ungodly?

How do close the gap between knowing that we are forgiven and experiencing that we are forgiven? Quoting David, Paul says it is blessed - how do we enter that blessing. Welcome back to Romans.

Better Than Revolution

Sometimes, praying is hard, especially when we face injustice and suffering of all kinds. Jesus knows this is true! He tells this parable, the story of a powerless widow taking on a powerful but unjust judge, to encourage us to pray without losing heart. The key to perseverance in prayer is seeing how God is both like and unlike the judge in Jesus’ story.

Better Than Busyness

What is it about exalting yourself that means that God will humble you; and conversely, what is it about humbling yourself that means that God will exalt you. Hear from one of the most challenging parables of Jesus.

Better Than Striving

Jesus knew that money, wealth and stuff can worm it’s way into ur hearts, so that we come to see our as consisting ion their abundance, rather than God’s abundance. But Jesus has a better vision for us!

Better Than Sleeping

Do you have a clue what’s happening in the world around you? Is it easier to keep yourself so busy that you don’t have to pay attention to the real problems facing our world and the real issues confronting us in our lives? In this parable, Jesus asks you: Will you be alert to what God is doing in the world? The Master has come to bring blessing; stay awake, so that you don’t miss out!

Better Than Freedom

The new year is a time for reflection back and looking forward. What opportunities will 2019 present? In this parable, Jesus asks you: What will you build this year? For what you build to last, you’ll need a solid foundation; something that can keep you steady through all the highs and lows that lie ahead.

Christmas Day

Christmas and new creation

Christmas is a time of fun and joy and celebration… right?! Actually, Christmas has a way of highlighting some of the stuff that makes life really, really hard. How do we live through the mess & the darkness we sometimes feel at this time of year? Christmas is the beginning of a story that leads to Easter, and beyond Easter to the resurrection of the dead; right in the midst of the darkness, new creation begins.

Christmas and Freedom

Christmas and Easter, incarnation and atonement. How do they connect? Why do they need each other. And what joy is in their union: There is therefore now no condemnation! Rom 8.1-4 is a feast to satisfy the soul.

Christmas and adoption

Why did God send Jesus at Christmas? One of the reasons was so that God could adopt us into his own family. Christmas is God’s invitation to us to come home.

Christmas and humility

Is Christmas out of character for God? Is humility - even the humiliation of self-emptying and self-humbling - a departure from how God,’ought’ to be? And what implications does the answer have for us? This is the first sermon in our Christmas series.

Fruit of the Spirit -­ Self Control

Self control - everyone’s least favourite of the fruit of the Spirit! And the one that most sounds like, ‘just suck it up and be more disciplined!’ But is there more to it than that?

Fruit of the Spirit - Gentleness

Gentleness is hard to define, but we know it when we see it. To some of us, it comes naturally; for others, it’s like a foreign language. And yet, as a fruit of the Spirit, part of the texture of our calling by the grace of God in Christ to a life of good works, gentleness is for everyone. So, what exactly is gentleness? And how does the powerful gentleness of Jesus help us to grow in it?

Fruit of the Spirit - Faithfulness

We live in a culture which says that being ’true to yourself’ - or what you might call self-faithfulness - is the highest of all virtues, the deepest calling in life. This sermon looks at the words of Jesus which paint for us a picture of a far greater faithfulness.

Fruit of the Spirit - Goodness

There are two means by which we can live: according to the Spirit, or according to the flesh. Guest preacher from Compassion Australia, Spiro Cassis, opens up the way the flesh seeks to grab hold of our hearts through greed, which stifles our goodness and generosity. The way to live out goodness and generosity according to the Spirit is to remember that these fruits — like all the fruit of the Spirit — are exemplified in Jesus, shown to us by our good and gracious God.

Fruit of the Spirit ­ Kindness

Kindness- it sounds a bit weak and feeble, but it turns out to be nothing less than a characteristic of God himself! Prepare for action with this cal to kindness.

Fruit of the Spirit - Patience

Patience. It sounds so bland - at least, compared to the really spiritual things like love, joy and leave. But patience turns out to be a crucial fruit of the Spirit, and this sermon shows us how to grow in it.

Fruit of the Spirit - Peace

Peace is something that means a whole lot to different people, and exactly what sort of peace Paul is talking about in his letter the Galatians is not immediately clear. This sermon explores what sort of peace the Spirit grows in our lives, both within our hearts and between us.

Fruit of the Spirit - Joy

How can you get joy? Not just happiness that ebbs and flows with your circumstances, but something deeper that can sustain and uplift you through the delights and tragedies of life? Jesus says you can have his joy in your heart, and he tells us how to get it: let the Father prune you; keep abiding in Jesus; and let him be the one who makes your joy complete.

Fruit of the Spirit ­- Love

The mark of the Spirit’s work in your life is to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. What fruit does that then bear? This sermon starts our series on the fruit of the Spirit, looking at the first of them, which binds all the others together in perfect harmony, love.

Freedom Sunday

Freedom is a deeply-held cultural value, and yet, our world is far from free. Forty million men, women, and children are held in slavery today. As we engage with International Justice Mission on Freedom Sunday, we as: is freedom even possible? And even if it is, how do we live out freedom in a meaningful way?

The Result of Repentance

Heart repentance is so different from surface repentance. It means you’re an integrated Christian resting in grace from first to last, and forming you more and more into a rare kind of person - someone wit humble strength and strong humility.

The Practice of Repentance

How do we change our hearts? How do we actually engage in the process of re-ordering our hearts’ desires? This sermon gets into the nitty gritty of heart repentance.