Restoration Church Toowoomba Sermon Podcast

This is it! After more than two decades of separation, Joseph tests his brothers one more time to see if they can be reconciled. Up steps the most unlikely of candidates to make it possible.

In one of the most unsavoury stories of the Bible Judah withholds a husband from Tamar, forcing Tamar to go to extreme lengths to bring forth a child. Yet, this objectionable interaction results in Tamar being called righteous. How can she be righteous? The only way any of us can … by faith in Christ.

God continues to fulfil his promise to the line of Abraham, showing that he can take someone’s sin, convict them of it, empower repentance and ultimately bring salvation.

Joseph descends into the depths of the dungeon for 13 years before ascending to the highest rank in the land behind Pharaoh. Out of the fire comes refined gold and everyone is blessed. Divine Demand and Human Obedience - For those interested here is some further reading on balancing suffering and blessing.

In the process of Joseph being blessed and God blessing those who bless him there is a test. Joseph is going to show us how to respond to sexual temptations that entice you with human wisdom and as result we’ll see the beauty of God’s design for intimacy. 

Through the story of Joseph, we learn that God has a plan for the redemption of his people who have been broken by sin. Joseph is the culmination of God’s plan in Genesis, however, Jesus is a greater fulfilment of God’s plan for all of human history. 

When it comes to Jesus, the more you learn about him, the more you like him. He is that kind of person. Peter closes out the John series by reflecting on what we have learnt about Jesus from John’s gospel.

We live in an era where meaning and purpose have been reduced to self-fulfilment. On the surface, that sounds appealing. But the sad reality, which we see played out all around us, is that self-fulfilment simply isn't a strong enough foundation on which to build a life. In this message, we see how Jesus calls the disciple Peter into a story rich with meaning and purpose—a story strong enough to bu...

There may be no greater threat to identity than failure—especially public failure. And perhaps no failure has been more public in the last 2,000 years than Peter’s denial of Jesus. In this section of John’s Gospel, we are given the profound privilege of witnessing Jesus lift Peter from the rubble of his failure.

As we walk with Jesus, we begin to understand how He operates, allowing us to recognise His work in the events around us. When Jesus shows up, things change—and they change in ways that are unmistakably His. Tune in as Peter unpacks this powerful dynamic from John 21.

Neither John nor Jesus want you to be in the dark when it comes to finding life. Life, full and abundant life, is embodied in the person of Jesus. You get it when you get him.

There is nothing in the world more important than seeing Jesus for who he truly is. Nothing more significant, life altering, comforting, reorienting, lifegiving and hope giving than this. Listen in as Peter takes us through the story of Jesus’ appearance to Thomas.

Belief in Jesus is not a leap of faith it is a reasonable conclusion based on the available evidence. In this message, Peter talks about the real evidence of Jesus’ resurrection which he provided for the disciples in the upper room, the real life he gave them by his Spirit, and the real mission he sent them on.

Jesus' perfect blend of humanity and divinity shines through in his interaction with Mary at the empty tomb. In it we see a powerful snapshot of His transcendence and immanence embodied in a person.

Easter is the story of Jesus ransacking sin and death. When Mary saw the empty tomb she feared Jesus had been the victim of a graverobber. What she didn’t realise is that the graverobber was Jesus himself. Listen in as Peter unpacks the resurrection story according to John.

In John 19:16-37, Jesus goes to the cross for the salvation of the world. In doing so, he will fulfil prophecies from long ago and divide humanity into two groups. The question is, which one are you? 

If you want to be in sync with Jesus, then you will have to deal with your self-preservation instinct. Life, true life, abundant life, the life Jesus promised, is found on the far side of death to self, not the near side.

As we move towards the cross in John’s gospel, we reach a section which we might call "death row." Jesus and Barabbas’ lives are on the line and at the mercy of the crowd. It is something so capricious, so arbitrary, but it is the heart of the gospel: the innocent for the guilty, the righteous for the unrighteous.

Jesus is brought to Pilate, the most powerful Roman in the province. Pilate’s investigation finds Jesus to be harmless to the Roman empire but what’s he going to do with Jesus?. John asks the reader the same question – what are you going to do with Jesus?

In this episode, Peter delves into the steadfast nature of Jesus, the most solid and unwavering person who has ever lived. Unmoved by the opinions of others and unchanging in the face of external pressures, Jesus stands as our ultimate hope. Join us as Peter unpacks this profound reality from John 18, revealing how Jesus alone can make us truly solid and concrete.

Chapter 18 begins the passion of the Christ in John’s gospel. It starts in Gethsemane but John shows us a different side of Christ than the synoptics. Jesus is in control the whole time, and no one takes his life from him. Rather he lays is down for the sheep so that none may be lost.  

Humanity was made to curve away from themselves and towards God. This is normal human operation. Listen in as Peter shows how Jesus’ petitions perfectly align with the way He made us to function, and the foundation of these petitions in our union and communion with God.

The categories of unity and church don’t typically go together in most people’s minds. It’s a sad reality, given what Jesus did to unify people and how close it is to His heart. Listen in as Peter explains how Jesus united us and what we can do to live into this reality.

In a fallen world, everyone has become less than they were created to be. We have all been dehumanised by sin. And while countless people have tried to fix humanity, no one has been able to do it. What we need is for someone powerful and strong to come near us, someone whose very presence will rehumanise us and make us who we were meant to be. We need King Jesus.

We live in a shouting, opinionated culture which loves to shut people down. While we sometimes wish God was like this too, his approach is vastly different. He is a subversive King who works to bring about his plans and purposes largely behind the scenes, from the inside out, not the outside in.