Lifeway CRC Church

The 3 P’s of God’s Kingdom are: the Principle of the Kingdom, the Practice of the Kingdom, and the Purpose of the Kingdom.  “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…” Romans 14:17 The Principle of the Kingdom is Righteousness – Righteousness in action.  We are made righteous because of Jesus and His work on t...

Paul tells the readers of Colossians that his goal is for them (us) to be “encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3, NIV). What an amazing statement! Here Paul makes a clear conne...

To enter into deep fellowship with one another requires an honest conversation about our assumption and beliefs about community both individually and culturally. Because it is easy to play church (show up at gathering, worship together, hear the Word, wrestle with it individually, maybe have a transparent conversation with someone on our way out the door), we miss out on being known and knowing ot...

What does the word “community” mean to us and how does it relate to the Kingdom of God? Following the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, there is an amazing expression of a new community (Acts 2:42-47) that seems so wonderful and ideal. But so often our experience of “church community” can fall so far short of this ideal. Disappointment can lead to offence, and avoidance keeps us...

On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, there were “God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). The Holy Spirit birthed a brand new mission to reach all the nations of the world by bringing them all together and smashing past the language barrier. What an extraordinary event! As the people responded to the gospel message with repentance, faith and baptism, thousands joined...

Matthew’s gospel uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” many times. It serves to remind us that, “The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). Jesus earthly ministry was accomplished by the authority of the Father’s eternal throne in heaven, he was fully obedient to the One who was and is in charge of all things. De...

Jesus spoke constantly about the Kingdom of God—the Kingdom of Heaven. It is written more than 126 times throughout the Gospels, He refers to it in different ways. Clearly, the Kingdom mattered deeply to Him. Again and again, Jesus would begin by saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”, and then He would paint a picture through telling stories. The stories Jesus told help us connect spiritual tru...

The Kingdom of Heaven is a term preferred by Matthew in his gospel. Scholars believe this is a cultural sensitivity to the Jewish people who reverenced the name of God so much they would not speak it or write it, but used other synonyms. Even so, Matthew quotes Jesus using both phrases to demonstrate their equivalence (Matt. 19:23-24). So we can see that God’s kingdom is of heaven, but in Je...

In this series on the Kingdom of God, we delve into the expansive and pervasive characteristics of His kingdom that changes the environment wherever it is proclaimed by “King carriers”, those who bear witness by words and deeds that the King has been crowned and now reigns with heavenly authority. In Jesus, we are now under a new government, one that is marked by shalom (the peace and...

The New Testament talks a lot about the Kingdom of God. It is a key theme in the gospels (especially Matthew and Luke) and numerous times in other NT letters. In many occurrences in the New Testament, the Kingdom of God is referred to as a present reality under the reign of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, who has now ascended to the right hand of the Father. Scripture declares that Christ has c...

Every Easter Sunday we take time to focus specifically on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul writes about the centrality of Christ’s resurrection to the Christian faith – that without the resurrection, the rest of Jesus’ life and death would be rendered meaningless (see 1 Corinthians 15). So what IS the meaning of Christ’s resurrection and what is the point...

What is the meaning of the cross? Why is it so central to everything God wants to give us? How does this event of 2000 years ago transform us now? In this message, Chris makes three points: – the cross is the basis of everything God wants to do in us and through us. – the cross was always Gods design and plan. – Jesus is the representative for all of humanity and the true humanit...

What can we observe and learn from Jesus’ time in the wilderness, fasting and praying for 40 days after his baptism? There are several lessons that can help shape our expectations of what times of focussed fasting and prayer might be like. The Bible tells us that it was the Holy Spirit that instructed Jesus to go into the wilderness for this 40-day fast. But that doesn’t mean it was ea...

Today in this second week of lent we take a moment to reflect on Jesus’ desert experience, the temptation he went through, and the fact that He came out clothed in the power of the Spirit! Jesus is fully able to empathise with all the human struggles we face (even ‘parenting’ an unruly mob of immature disciples). The writer of Hebrews captures it: “For we do not have a high priest who...

This is the first in a series of messages embracing Lent in the lead-up to Easter 2026. The practice of Lent has ancient roots in early Christianity. From the earliest practices of fasting in preparation for Easter, Lent has developed as a recognition of the significance of the “40 days” pattern that occurs in many places in the Bible. In particular, we focus on Jesus’ 40 days sp...

In Ephesians 4:1 Paul urges believers to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (NIV). He goes on to unpack what a life lived for Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit looks like. Elsewhere in scripture (Hebrews 12:1, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27) the perseverance of a runner or an athlete is used as a picture of the single-mindedness and focus that exemplifies what it means t...

Ephesians 2:22 says, “And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” This verse contains a wealth of understanding about God’s plan for His people (both the universal Body of Christ and its expression as the local church). That in Christ, we are the visible expression of who he is; that God is creating and building a dwelling place for Him...

David shares how the Lord gave him a conviction to learn the Letter to the Ephesians by heart – to commit it to memory and deliver it as a word spoken from the heart. It started from a ‘gentle whisper’ of an idea, to speak the word of God without embellishment and see how the Spirit can use it. Having that idea confirmed from God by other means, David took up the challenge and sp...

Aran and Emily share the wonderful report of what happened at the “SURGE” Youth Camp (for CRC youth in NSW, ACT, QLD) that was held in Stanwell Tops from January 16-19. The Holy Spirit is moving in power amongst our youth! The post January CRC NSW Youth Camp stories first appeared on Lifeway Church .

Zechariah 12:10–13:9 A messianic prophecy Zechariah 12:10 begins a messianic prophecy that describes how God will pour out “a spirit of grace and supplication” (prayer) that will cause his people to mourn because of how they treated Him – “the one they have pierced”. It goes on in chapter 13 to describe how on that day God will open a “fountain” that will...

A short message from our Christmas Family Gathering. The post Christmas – a time to draw near and worship first appeared on Lifeway Church .

Isaiah 55 teaches us that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways and that He will always accomplish what He desires and achieve His purposes. No word from God will ever fail. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says to “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.” In the story of Jesus’ bi...

In the closing thoughts of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he summaries all his previous arguments and insights in this way, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation” (Gal. 6:15). This is a key to understanding what happens when someone puts their hope and trust in Jesus Christ, in the power of his cross, his death in our place and the resurrec...

We are called to a life that is lived by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; to walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16), be led by the Spirit (Gal. 5:18), and keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25). But we face an ongoing choice to reject the ways of the flesh and make room for the Spirit’s work in our life – Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoev...

Galatians 5:13-26 What does stewarding our freedom look like? What does the law look like with ‘flesh’ on it? Paul answers these two questions by reminding us we are called to freedom and taking us back to Leviticus 19 to show us how love is the fullness of both the written and oral law. Through two actions: crucifying the sinful nature and learning to order our lives in the Spirit day...