St John’s Diamond Creek Talks

This is the first in our new series called 'The Heart of Life', where we think about how we can put God at the centre of our lives in practical ways. We will be looking at the book of Leviticus, a strange and difficult book of the Old Testament, which is probably the least favourite book of the Bible for many Christians. But it contains many images and concepts that make sense of the coming of Jes...

We began the first Term of the year together with a combined service, reflecting on our calling as Christians. Tim Johnson gave an interactive retelling of the calling of the first disciples in Luke 5:1-11.

For our final sermon in the 'Early Years of Jesus' series, Kirk Mackenzie looks at Luke 3:21-22, the short but significant story of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. This story shows us more about who Jesus was, and how we can understand our own relationship to God the Father.

Our latest sermon in our series on 'the early years' of Jesus jumps to the last episode in Luke before we see Jesus as an adult. At age 12 Jesus leaves his parents to go and learn in the Temple. This shows us the growing self-understanding of Jesus, his knowledge of God as his Father, and the call to for us to take the next step onward in our personal knowledge of God. Andrew Bowles speaks from Lu...

Our third sermon in our series on 'The Early Years of Jesus' considers what it meant for Jesus to grow in wisdom as he grew up as a boy. What can we learn from him about how Christian wisdom is acquired? Delle Matthews considers Luke 2:36-40, the story of Anna in the temple with Jesus and his parents.

Our second look at the 'origin story' of Jesus comes in Luke 2:22-35 when Mary and Joseph took him to the Temple as a baby, and met with the prophet Simeon. This story shows us the deeper meaning of the humanity of the Son of God.

This month we think about the stories of the childhood of Jesus. We start with the story of the circumcision and naming of Jesus in Luke 2:15-21, and how it shows the destiny of Jesus as the Saviour of God's people.

  On Christmas Eve, Tim Johnson reminds us that while the world is still not all as it should be, because of the birth of Jesus we are no longer waiting for God to act to bring salvation and justice to us.

In our final sermon in the series on 'White (space) Christmas', Jeremy Watson considers how we can relate to others in a way that reflects the true spirit of Christmas. We look at Philippians 2:1-11 and the sacrificial humility of Jesus.

Our third topic in the 'White (space) Christmas' series is 'Give More'. How can we be truly generous at Christmas, a time that demands so much from us already? We find help in the story of the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25), who was 'God with us', the greatest gift ever given.

This week in the lead up to Christmas we consider the greatest threat to 'white space' at this time of year - the demands of spending and keeping up with the obligations of the festive season. This can reveal to us our 'slavery' to money and its place in our lives.

In our month leading up to Christmas, we are thinking about how we can celebrate this season in a way that honours the meaning of Jesus's birth. Tim Johnson looks at why we need to create 'white space' in order to see what is important, and how to focus on worshipping Jesus in our whole lives.

In this second in our series on 2 Timothy (from 2:1-13), Kirk Mackenzie considers the importance of passing on the Gospel, and how we can do this more effectively.

Our new series is on 2 Timothy, and Paul's encouragement to Timothy to persevere in living out and spreading the Gospel. Tim Johnson starts at 2 Timothy 1:1-18, looking at why Christians need not be ashamed of the good news of Jesus.

We were visited this week by Lindsay Wilson, a lecturer at Ridley College (www.ridley.edu.au), which is one of our church's Mission Partners. Lindsay spoke about Christian ministry and opportunities to learn and grow in our faith, looking at 2 Timothy 3:1-17.

Our final engagement with the story of Nehemiah (chapters 4-6) looks at his experience of opposition to the work that God has asked him to do. What does this tell us about the difficulties of following Jesus and growing in our spiritual lives?

This part of the story of Nehemiah is about the rebuilding of the gates of Jerusalem. We learn here about the meaning this can have for us, as we contemplate the 'ruins' in our lives and our world, and God's plans to make us part of his rebuilding effort.

Our reflection this holidays on the story of Nehemiah begins with Nehemiah chapter 2, where as the cupbearer to the King, Nehemiah is faced with the challenge of how to be courageous enough to stand up for his people and their home city of Jerusalem.

What does it mean to be generous with our money? Luke 21:1-4 has the story of a widow giving to the offerings in the Temple, and Jesus explains how this tests our ideas of financial generosity. Tim Johnson is the preacher for this final sermon in our series.

Our third sermon in the 'Generous Life' series considers Jesus's words about reconciliation and forgiveness in Luke 17:1-10, and how this relates to our generosity to others.

In Luke 14:1-14, Jesus probes our attitudes towards hospitality, and unveils a new way of thinking about generosity - an open heart that gives to others out of the love we have received from God.

We begin a short series on the topic of 'generosity' with a look at the generous type of service that Christians are called to by Jesus. Tim Johnson preaches from Luke 9:57-10:20.

Sex. God's plan for humans involves sex, yet it is one of the most taboo topics of conversation in polite company. Kirk works through the notion of sex, and how God wants us to respond to it, in a really practical way. 

In this final sermon in our series on Ecclesiastes, Andrew Bowles discusses the Teacher's final words in Ecclesiastes 11:5-12:8 on the 'meaninglessness' of life. How do we understand the opportunities and challenges of the different stages of our lives, as we head toward an uncertain future?

How to we experience 'life before death'? Delle Matthews explores what the Teacher says in Ecclesiastes 9:1-11 about how to face our 'common destiny' with hope and assurance.