Toongabbie Anglican Church Audio Podcast

It's difficult to live through suffering. When we dream for so much more it's hard when things don't work out. Matt encourages us through Joseph’s story of hardship, trials and temptation. Through it all Joseph remains faithful to God. We too can hold onto God in the midst of our suffering as he promises to always be with us.

Where do you put your trust? It can be hard to trust as we constantly deal with people who disappoint us. Because of sin we all fail and no one born of the flesh can be trusted. So how can we trust Jesus? Samuel encourages us that we can trust in Jesus because he has been born from above. Jesus has conquered death, He can forgive our sin and give us eternal life.

What does family mean to you? We all have different experiences and for many of us, family can be hard and messy. In his final week at TAC, Murray describes what it means to find security in our eternal family. As we gather together around Jesus, we are brought into His family and can share in the amazing privileges and responsibilities of being children of God.

You might not be feeling great at the moment. The unknowns that COVID and extended lockdowns have brought have been hard! Murray encourages us through this passage that our greatness doesn’t come from our own abilities or actions but from Jesus. If you love and follow Jesus then you are part of the Kingdom of Heaven and you share in Jesus’ blessings and greatness. We are ordinary people made great...

Do you ever look at the church in all it’s brokenness and wonder why you are a part of it? We don’t follow Jesus because it looks good but like the sick need a doctor, we know that we need Jesus. It is in Him that our deepest needs are met. Murray reminds us that the gospel is a gospel of grace, a free gift for anyone who sees their need for Jesus and is willing to receive Him with open arms. 

Have you ever stepped back and thought about the big picture of the global church? It's an incredible story! In this last chapter of John’s gospel we get a look behind the scenes and it isn’t pretty. Even the greatest missionaries lose their nerve! Stepping out to boldly share your faith can be hard. Marty encourages us that even though we falter, we have a Lord who always welcomes us back to Him...

How do you feel about change? Many of us try to avoid it if we can. What would it take for you to stop living for yourself and start living for God? In Genesis 35, we see what it takes for Jacob to make a change and start living in true worship and obedience to God. Matt reminds us that God chooses to use the weak and the broken to carry out his plans, just like Jacob. If we are willing, God will...

Are you facing trials in your life? Do you hold onto Jesus during these times? As we learn more about Jacob’s life, Col helps us to see that even in the midst of his pain, Jacob clings to the Lord. Just like Jacob, we can’t rely on our own strength to face the trials that come our way. If we submit our lives to God, even in our struggles He is with us and will never leave us.

How are you coping with the frustration and disappointment of this season? What are you trusting in to get you through? As we meet the characters in our passage today we see the gaping holes in their hearts and how they desperately try to fill them. But God still works through this mess of a family. Murray encourages us that God can still work through us and in us, even in this difficult time. 

Is God unfair? How do we reconcile the apparent favouritism shown by God with what we know of his love for all? Isaac tackles this big question, looking at the familiar passage of Jacob and Esau. We learn that God’s choices are far above our own self-serving reasons for treating people differently.

Do you trust in God’s provision for your life? We often spend too much time worrying about the future instead of finding our security in the one who promises to meet our every need. This passage from Genesis demonstrates God’s heart to provide for us. Col assures us that just as God has completed his salvation promise through Jesus, we can have faith that He will also provide our daily needs.

Do you ever worry about your eternal security? Maybe this lockdown has you doubting your hope in Jesus. In this passage from Genesis, God commands the Israelites to perform a physical sign to remind them of His promises and blessing. Ryan encourages us that we no longer need an external sign or marker to remind us of God’s goodness to us - we have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit we...

Do you ever wish you could know what the future holds? It may not be clear to us but to God the future is known because it is His plan. We can trust in God’s promises of blessing because they are part of His plan for our lives. Murray reminds us that just like Abraham, we can trust in God and have faith because God is the King of the past, present and future.

What does it mean to have received God’s blessing in your life? There is more to being blessed than having health, wealth and success. Matt takes a look at the promise of blessing that Abraham received in Genesis 12 and shows us how we too share in this blessing as children of God.

When you feel stressed or worried do you turn to prayer? We often feel the need to do something but don’t see prayer as a way to take action. You might even wonder what the point of prayer is. Murray takes us through this passage in Ephesians 6, where we learn that prayer is useful, powerful and good. As children of the Father we are called to pray because this is how we take part in God’s work in...

As children of God, we have the incredible privilege of being loved by Him. So what does it look like to live your life as a member of God’s family? Col shares from 1 Thessalonians, where we can be encouraged by Paul’s boldness and integrity as he lives as a child of God.

Have you ever thought about what it means to be a child of God? Because of our sin, we deserve to face God’s wrath. But through Jesus death on the cross, we can be made right before God. We don’t have to be fearful or enslaved to sin but can live in the joy and power of Jesus’ resurrection. James encourages us to think about our inheritance as children of God and how we are to live as co-heirs wit...

We are constantly striving for control over every circumstance in our lives. How does it feel when we lose control? In our sermon today, Murray shares how we can experience joy and peace in our helplessness. We are to be humble before God and dependent on Him, the one who delights in His children.

Murray begins our new sermon series Such as These which echoes the words of Jesus in Mathew 19:14 - “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Have you ever thought about the significance of childhood faith for yourself or your own children? Hear what Murray has to say about the importance of childhood faith and how living like...

In our last sermon of the series, Ryan speaks about the confidence we have in Jesus. God has given us eternal life and this life is in his son. 1 John 5:11 But how can we remain in this truth and not be distracted by the idols of our world? Hear what 1 John has to say in the final words of this letter.  

1 John tells us that life with Jesus, means love without fear. But often our lives are controlled by the things that we fear. Murray explains what it means to have life with Jesus and shares how we can loosen the hold of fear on our hearts.

Don't believe everything you hear! So how can we know if what we are hearing is the truth? In 1 John we learn how we can test what we hear and know it is the truth from God. Matt challenges us to live out this truth, by loving others, not like the world loves but like God loves us.

How do we know that Jesus is genuine? In 1 John we are shown how to expose the counterfeit by looking at the truth of Jesus and understanding who He is. Col explains four ways we are called to respond to this truth, so that we can reflect Christ’s love and life to others.

What are you building your life on? Is it paying off? It is so easy to be deceived and tempted into putting our trust in worldly desires but these always leave us wanting more. Murray encourages us through 1 John to diagnose our desires, detect the danger and dwell in the good news of Jesus. If we have Jesus, we have all that we need.

Can you really know if you are a genuine Christian? Isaac teaches from 1 John, who introduces us to two tests that can assure us of our sincerity in following Jesus and our salvation in Him.