Central Church Port Kembla

Jesus told the story of the prodigal son during His ministry years. However, about 200 years later, a very similar parable appeared in the Lotus Sutra as part of the teachings in the Mahayana line of Buddhism. In this podcast Oran looks at the similarities and differences between both tales, and considers how the both bring glory to God.

Guest speaker, and Aborignial Christian leader Adam Gowan, reflects on Jesus' parable of the prodigal son. Adam discusses how Aboriginal people view these stories much more through the relationships and connections between things, rather than the simple "events" of the story.

In this episode of the podcast special guest speaker, Linda Pesavento, draws from her counselling experience to take an IFS look at the story of the prodigal son.

In the gospels, Jesus pointed to the "sign of Jonah" when the Pharisees asked him to perform a miracle to prove his authority. This simple phrase is weighted with so much Jewish context, and has links to ancient near eastern cosmology and mysticism. In this episode, Oran will unpack some of this information to better understand the significance of signs, and just what Jesus meant by "sign of Jonah...

Tonight Bruce Skinner, from YWAM Wollongong, looks at the story of Jonah from a missional perspective, making an insightful comparison between the book, and the story of Abraham who debated with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Bruce raises some deep and thought provoking questions around our attitudes towards mission and the part we play in God's plan.

There are a lot of reasons as to why we might think the book of Jonah is a parable. Tonight, Oran explains this parable and considers the message Jonah might offer. Oran also looks at how parables can take us far deeper than historic accounts, and become intrinsic and valuable lessons to us all.

Oran looks at the story of the woman at the well as a microcosm of revelation, and considers how Christ reveals Himself in our own lives, as well to all of mankind over the course of human history.

Becca questions whether the Samaritan woman really had a sordid past or if there's another way of understanding her encounter with Jesus and how that might challenge the way we see others.

Caro brings some insights to this passage inspired by reflections from several Early Church Fathers on John 4.

Caro shows how the writer of the Gospel of John relates the place of God's glory and exultation to the cross. We also look at what the metaphor of the cross as the throne of God might have to offer us in our spiritual lives.

Caro looks at the image of the cross as a divine magnet working in two ways: drawing all people to God, and acting as a magnetic force for the powers to be drawn to and defeated.

Caro suggests some ways we can approach this passage, and focuses on how each of the temptations Jesus faced are temptations for Jesus to be 'more than human' which he resists. Trigger Warning: towards the end of this message Caro shared how she struggles with the interplay of the promises of God to protect us alongside the reality that people do experience sexual violence/rape.

In the 15th Century Erasmus translated the word 'logos' in John 1 as 'conversation'. Bouncing out of the creativity of this, Caro talks about how the Divine Conversation is always happening in and around us. This week she unpacks all the ways we can speak as a way of joining this conversation.

This week Oran looks at the Temptations of Christ through the lens of how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament.

In the 15th Century Erasmus translated the word 'logos' in John 1 as 'conversation'. Bouncing out of the creativity of this, Caro talks about how the Divine Conversation is always happening in and around us. This week she unpacks what it is to listen in to that conversation.

Because Covid is still disrupting ordinary life and our church gatherings in some ways, Caro created some short videos to communicate all kinds of church info for 2022 so that everybody could view or listen to it. This episode is the audio taken from those videos.

Caro carries on from last week, inviting us to look broader than the immediate so we can see the presence and activity of God in our lives, inviting us into faithful following and transformation.

Caro reflects on how her experience of lockdown caused her to be hyper-focused on the immediate, and how she came to realise the gift of discipleship is that we live with an awareness of the story God is writing in the world, and the story He is crafting in our lives – one with a beginning and a future that goes beyond all that we’re feeling, seeing and understanding in any given moment.

During lockdown Lynda has been prompted to think about her purpose...what is God doing in her life, and how she might outwork that in the world around her. Caro has a chat with Lynda about what she's been thinking, and together they reflect on how the ideas of 'calling' and 'purpose' have changed for them over the years, both personally and in church.

Caro leads us into some of the writings of Julian of Norwich and invites us into contemplation or a lectio divina of sorts. Contemplation starts at 15:40. Background music by Karl Verkade https://karlverkade.bandcamp.com/ Song used throughout episode is by David Benjamin Blower. You can hear more of his music at https://benjaminblower.bandcamp.com/ or https://davidbenjaminblower.com/ or wherever y...

Luke has a conversation with Linda and Ashleigh on how we live well leaning into lament and praise as we experience the highs and lows of life.

Oran shared some thoughts about our experience in lockdown and how we might connect that with the story of the Israelites in exile in Babylon.

This is a contemplation wrapped around Teresa of Avila's concept of our soul as an interior garden with God, the gardener at the centre. It finishes with a guided imaginative prayer exercise to create space for us to connect with God. Music by Chris De Souza https://desouzamusic.bandcamp.com/album/solastalgia and Karl Verkade https://karlverkade.bandcamp.com/album/bridge-ambient-pads-iii

Linda leads us in an examen based on a reflection originally created by Father Michael Sparough SJ.

Caro and Becca have a conversation with Irish poet Padraig O Tuama about the language and poetry of Genesis 1. Padraig is a poet, host of the Poetry Unbound podcast and has worked for many years in the area of reconciliation and conflict resolution.