The Centre Dural Podcast

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." (James 1:5)  Mitch and Murray go on a journey through wisdom literature this week, tracing through Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and also answering once and for all if Song of Songs is wisdom li...

Each of us are born with a unique personality. It is an element of our SHAPE which we cannot control.  How do we then address character flaws?  Mitch shares around seeking the wisdom of God to refine the personality God has gifted each of us. To find out more about The Centre visit; www.thecentredural.org.au/church/ We meet at 10am every Sunday in person and online at; www.youtube.com/channel/UCrf...

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  Marcion of Sinope was a prominent figure in the 2nd century church. Today, he is most famous as being a heretic by claiming, among other things, that we are dualistic beings, material and spirit waring against one another. The boys unpack the multiple dangers of this philosophy and how to understand the Biblical view of "...

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17)  All of life is worship. Work, play, rest, nothing is off limits for glorifying the Lord.  How do we remain mindful of this in a society that tries to seperate body from spirit?  To find out more about The Centre visit; www.thecentredural.org.au/ch...

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  Got a hearty (it had to be done) ep of BANTER for you all this week to keep you warm through the chilly weather. The boys explore the difference in our western understanding of "heart" in contrast to the Ancient Hebrew understanding of the heart, or "lev". They also chat toxic positivity, what a healthy "Fear of the Lord"...

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39  We worship a God who wept, got mad and experienced tremendous joy. So why do we often view our emotions as something to suppress?  Murray shares on the tension...

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  Paul wrote to a church in Corinth who were placing too much emphasis on supernatural spiritual gifts; are we in danger in our modern era of not focusing on them enough? How do we get the balance right? And how can we be more aware of the supernatural in the every day? To find out more about The Centre visit; www.thecentre...

"Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. (...) 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work."  (1 Corinthians 12:1,4-6)  To find out more about The Centre...

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  We are stoked to have Mitch's wife Rach, and the honourary Nonna of the office Angie, join us today to chat all things motherhood.  We cover the value of a village when raising kids, the cultural differences around mother-in-laws, the importance of recognising rainbow babies along with all types of mothers, and what the B...

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” (Proverbs 31:26-29)  On this special Mother's Day service, three mothers at The Centre share their personal refl...

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  Mitch & Murray delve deeper into the significance of being image-bearers of God as creators, rulers and namers. They explore the dangers of not knowing what your spiritual gifts are, and what it looks like when we make good use of our own God-given strengths.  They also ponder the beauty of ephemeral art, the gravity of n...

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10)  As image-bearers of God we are comissioned with a great responsibility. Each person has their unique role to play in the flourishing of God's Kingdom.  To find out more about The Centre visit; http://www.thecentredural.org.au/church/ We meet at 10am ev...

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  This week the boys chat about Jesus' parable of the sower, and why it's so important to understanding ALL parables. They also chat favourite Christian podcasts (other than BANTER, obviously), Markan sandwiches, and the power of parables for us today.  To find out more about The Centre visit; http://www.thecentredural.org....

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. (Mark 4:33-34)  Jesus taught through parables. Story, symbol and allegory were the tools of his trade. Mitch opens up Mark 4 to speak on Jesus' first recorded parable; The Par...

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  When a resurrected Jesus appears to Mary in a garden, she doesn't recognise him.  This newly resurrected Jesus still has holes in his hands and a wound in his side from the crucifixion of his old body. He seems to be able to walk through walls almost like a ghost and yet still eats food... hmm...  M&M also chat their theo...

17 "Don’t cling to me," Jesus said, "for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’" 18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, "I have seen the Lord!" Then she gave them his message. (John 20:17-18)  He is risen! This Easter Sunday Mitch takes us through the Gospel of John and wraps...

As part of our Good Friday service, Mitch shares a heart-felt reflection on Jesus’ last moments spent on the crucifix. To find out more about The Centre visit; http://www.thecentredural.org.au/church/ We meet at 10am every Sunday in person and online at; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrfgVAeXtBlq6BsELAIBEog  

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  This week the illustrious Doctors M.T. Levingston & M.M. Lambert pontificate on the themes of justice, undeserved forgiveness and God's wrath. Once they're done pretending to be big-shot Bible scholars, they go about imagining what a Christian culture that embraces the outsider could look like in our modern age.  M&M also...

Luke's gospel presents a message of hope for the outsider; a gentile (or "non-Jew") writing to a gentile audience. This good news extends not just to "good gentiles", but also the poor, the hungry and the sinners. Jesus' interaction with the criminal on the cross answers the question; "What does it look like to extend forgiveness to ALL people?".  To find out more about The Centre visit; http://ww...

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  Matthew's gospel quotes Old Testament scripture to legitimise Jesus as the Messiah, however if we dig deeper we realise many of these prophecies in Matthew weren't originally about Jesus, but Old Testament figures (Isaiah 7:14, Hosea 11:1, Jeremiah 31:15). Hold on... that's a problem isn't it!?  This week the boys nerd ou...

Matthew; or "Levi the tax collector" as he's known in Mark and Luke's gospels, was a 1st century Jewish Christian and one of Jesus' 12 disciples. His gospel builds Jesus' credibility for a Jewish audience as a new (and better) Abraham, Moses, and David. Murray breaks down why this was important for Matthew's original readers and what it means for us today.  To find out more about The Centre visit;...

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  Mark's gospel subverts the Messianic expectation... what does that mean!? M&M delve into a prophetic poem in Genesis 49 which reveals how the Jews would have expected a Messiah to look, and contrast this with the songs of the Suffering Servant found in Isaiah 42-52. The boys also reference some deep cuts of Jewish folklor...

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)  Mark is the oldest of the four gospels and portrays Jesus as a Suffering Servant. But in a life of privellige and abundance, what does it mean for us to take up our cross and follow Jesus?  To find out more about The Centre visit; http://www.thecentredural.org.au/church/ We m...

Welcome to BANTER; the weekly podcast where we unpack last Sunday's sermon.  This week M&M "dip into" (I'm so sorry) the sacrament of baptism. Mitch highlights a few more key Old Testament precursors to baptism, Murray exposes his pentecostal roots around baptism in the Spirit and the boys delve deeper into differing denominations definition... of baptism. Let's "dive in" (I'm really, really sorry...

Baptism can easily seem like a random ritual which suddenly pops up in the New Testament. In the final week of our "Preparing the Soil" series, Mitch traces the theme of baptism from the very first pages of the Old Testament, all the way through to Jesus.  To find out more about The Centre visit; http://www.thecentredural.org.au/church/ We meet at 10am every Sunday in person and online at; https:/...