Christianityworks Official Podcast

Stress comes in all different shapes and sizes, but whatever its cause, none of us was made to be under constant stress and yet, that's how many people are living. In a constant state of stress.  Well, it's time to do something about it.   A Stress Free Life ? Stress. For most of us, that word sends a shiver down our spine, and why wouldn't it? Who wants to be under stress all the time? And that's...

Many people are prepared to accept that God exists, even that He has the ability to bless us – or at least bless other people. But when they look at their own lives, well the reality doesn't appear to match up with the promise. What's going on here?   The Blessing of Here and Now I sometimes think that Jesus would have benefited from the services of a good Public Relations consultant - you know, a...

Most of us want to be happy, so we go looking for happiness …. everywhere.  No stone left unturned, only to discover that we can't find lasting happiness.  Because at the end of the day – happiness isn't what we're looking for.  It's joy that we're after.   The Blessing of Righteousness Over the last few weeks we have been having a discussion on this programme about the promise that Jesus made; an...

With all that life throws at us, not to mention our own foibles and quirks, it's easy to end up with quite a distorted view of what God our Father means when He talks about His blessing in our lives.  What Jesus means when He talks about giving us an abundant life.   The Child in the Father's House We are chatting together this week on the programme about living out the abundant life that Jesus pr...

Life's full of its ups and downs. You and I we know that. Jesus knows that.  That's why when He promised us an abundant life, He made that promise in the context of a story, a parable, about life's ups … and downs.   The Shepherd and His Flock As we race through life day after day, one of the things that happens is that we somehow get conned or duped into the great lie of our times: if you earn lo...

This whole Christmas celebration thing is of course a birthday celebration. And birthdays are all about celebrating new life. Would it surprise you to know that that's exactly what God has in mind for you to celebrate? Your new life.   SILENT NIGHT There's a bunch of guys in the Bible who I envy. Now I know what you're thinking, the tenth Commandment: You shall not covet your neighbour's house. Yo...

Christmas is supposed to be a lot of things these days. And yet it doesn't always deliver all that it's meant to deliver. But then, the very first Christmas, it wasn't all sweetness and light either. If nothing else, it was a decidedly uncomfortable Christmas.   OVERTAKEN BY EVENTS There are times in our lives when it feels as though circumstances or events outside of our control have completely t...

I don't know if you've ever thought of this, but on the surface of things, Christmas is a crazy idea! I mean, what exactly was God thinking by sending His Son to become a man – and to be born in some drafty, smelly shed out the back of Bethlehem?   CHRISTMAS IS A CRAZY IDEA On the surface of things, Christmas is a crazy idea. I mean stand back and think about it … God's God, He created the whole u...

Question – When is Christmas not Christmas? When is Christmas anything but Christmas? Answer – when we just follow the well-trodden paths of the Christmas ritual, and forget completely what God was saying to us on that very first Christmas.   THE PROBLEM WITH CHRISTMAS I don't know if you've ever thought of this but Christmas is a real problem for guys like me, preachers I mean. Year after year, w...

When I first started reading the Bible, it seemed to me that it was all about the things I had to give up - what I was going to lose. But what I discovered is that actually, actually God wants to bless us. His Wisdom brings blessing to our lives - as counterintuitive as it may seem, when we're sitting there wrapped up in our selfish desires.   The Fruit of Discipline I can honestly say, as I look...

God is a God of love and so we don't often think about Him hating things. But He does - He clearly tells us so in His Word. So - what are the seven things that God hates … things that are an abomination to Him?  Do you know - because my hunch is … they're worth avoiding.   Proud Eyes and a Lying Tongue One of the most common responses we receive from people who listen to this programme around the...

Well this week we're kicking on with our second message in a series called Wisdom that Works - looking at some of God's mighty wisdom through the Book of Proverbs. And we're going to be chatting this time around, about trust, truth … and temptation.   Trust and Honour God Welcome to the programme again this week and yes, we are continuing in a series that I have called, "Wisdom that Works" . Now w...

Most of us intuitively know that wisdom's a good thing. Sometimes we're full of it - wisdom that is … and sometimes, we're full of ourselves and that's when we come unstuck. So - where do we find the sort of wisdom that really makes a difference?   Wisdom Starts Here Hey, it's fantastic to be with you again this week. How quickly the weeks roll on by! And today I am really excited because we are k...

The world is full of good and of evil. You and I, we're called to live a life of good. A life that honours God. But what we need, are the life skills to allow us to do that. Fortunately God's already thought of that – and His Word is packed full of wisdom, full of the very life skills that we need, to live a life that glorifies Him.   Treat People as Individuals One of the things that's incredibly...

If only you and I could always come first. You know, be numero uno in this world. But as much as that's our desire sometimes, Jesus doesn't give us that option. Because in order to be first, actually you have to come last. What a pain!!!   The Power of a Tender Heart Kindness is a much underrated quality these days. Sure, we love it when other people are kind toward us in a world that seems to be...

So let me ask you, is ambition right, or wrong? I mean is it okay to be ambitious, or, if you believe in Jesus, is ambition something that you need to give up? As things turn out, it's not ambition itself that's the problem, it's the sort of ambition, the type of ambition that you have in your heart, that brings you unstuck.   Dealing with Ambition So let me ask you, is it right to be ambitious? M...

When it comes to developing the life skills that we really need, the life skills that are going to lead to a much, much better life, there is none more important, than maturity. But what exactly is maturity, and where do you get it?   Grow Up Let's be honest. Some people never grow up. Now, there are different aspects to growing up: Moving from childhood through those difficult teenaged years, int...

Have you ever wondered – how to live an extraordinary life? I mean no one wants to live a boring ordinary life. We all want to have some impact in this world. But … how?   The Theory is not Enough When I finished high school almost 40 years ago now, my grades were good enough to mean I was selected to study medicine at Sydney University. And so I applied for a range of courses at different univers...

Jesus didn't do things by half measures. His compassion wasn't ordinary, everyday compassion. It was radical compassion. His power wasn't religious power. It was God's awesome power.   Radical Compassion I have a confession to make. I'm not naturally a compassionate person. How about you? Now that doesn't mean that I don't care about people deeply. I do, but I'm not naturally compassionate. So, wh...

There's an old proverb – never put things off until tomorrow, that you can do today. Jesus was a master at that. In just three and a half years, He turned the world completely upside down.   A Team Player Other people can be such a pain in the neck, have you noticed that? I don't mean you I mean other people. It's always those other people isn't it? Its never you its never me we always blame someo...

Life is no dress rehearsal. You blink, and it's gone. So … it makes sense to live an extraordinary life. Okay … but how? Where do you start? How do you turn things around?   Why We Need A Mentor We're going to kick off something really exciting today on the program. Over the coming few weeks we're going to be looking at how to live an absolutely extraordinary life. I mean, we all wish we could. So...

The reason that so many people who believe in Jesus are struggling is, quite frankly, because they're not men and women of God's Word. They don't take God's Word seriously. Well, today, that's something we need to deal with, because there is such an incredible blessing waiting for you, in God's Word!   God's Work Takes Time Waiting for something that you really want, waiting and waiting and waitin...

Sometimes it's hard to remember that God is good, when life simply isn't. In fact, sometimes it's downright impossible. That's why God is revealing His goodness every moment of every day, through His Word.   God is Good So life is going along ok I guess, with its ups and downs, but something doesn't quite feel right. You're not completely happy with the way things are going, and that has a way of...

If only the going was always easy. But life's not like that. Sometimes we have to travel through difficult times. Times that test our patience, our endurance and our faith. And it's right in the middle of those times that God's Word holds the answers that we need to make it through.   Life Wasn't Meant to be Easy These days, it's a bit unpopular for someone like me to be talking about obedience to...

Sometimes the blindingly, glimpsingly obvious isn't all that obvious, but here it is anyway: Men and women of God's Word, men and women who actually read their Bibles, end up living a much more powerful, much more victorious, much more fulfilling life than those who don't. It's obvious, you'd think.   The Way to God's Blessing I know you've heard it all before. You should read your Bible more; we...