Vision Church Podcast | Christian Church in Canberra

Andrew Baker | Acts 27-28 — In these final chapters of Acts, Paul sails for Rome to testify to Caesar and the Jewish leaders regarding Jesus. But the journey was far from smooth-sailing. In the face of challenge and danger aplenty, what was Paul’s response? Fear? Doubt? Far beyond his circumstances, Paul’s perspective points us to the very same certainties found right the way through Acts: God’s u...

This season has brought highs and lows for all of us. At this our 2021 Thanksgiving Service, our Pastors took the opportunity to reflect on challenges and encouragements from the past year of life in our church, and point us to the God who is faithful through it all.

Andrew Baker | Acts 23:11; Philippians 1:12-14; 18b-22 — Imprisoned and held in chains for most of a decade, Paul’s preaching days seemed finished. But, empowered by the Lord, Paul’s focus on ‘fruitful labour’ enabled these years to be the most impactful of his entire ministry. In seasons of trial, what will our perspective be - focused on our suffering, or empowered by God to bear fruit in any se...

Adam Ritchard | Acts 21-24 — In his time in Jerusalem and Caesarea, Paul suffered arrest, accusation, plots to take his life, Roman trials, and years of imprisonment. But far from shrinking back, Paul’s passionate devotion to God was defined by: the priority of God’s will, opposition made into opportunity, and the proclamation of the Gospel. Such a life gives us a template for Godly living through...

Andrew Baker | Acts 20:17-38 — Headed for Jerusalem, the certainty of imprisonment and hardship did not deter Paul from following the Holy Spirit’s leading. Why? Paul did not live seeking human approval or success. Rather, he single-mindedly sought to fulfil the calling of Jesus on his life. For us today, God’s invitation has not changed: to live in wholehearted pursuit of His calling in every mom...

Andrew Baker | Acts 20:1-6;31-35 — While Paul was the clear human figurehead of the Gospel’s spread throughout Acts, he didn’t do it alone. In Acts 20, Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders displays his deep affection for those who joined in his ministry - a sacrificial, perseverant, Christ-like love, that sought always to give rather than receive. Paul’s example poses us a lifelong challenge: wi...

Kathryn Hartley | Acts 19:21-20:1 — Just as Paul was led by the Spirit to move on, a riot broke out in Ephesus opposing ‘The Way’ of Jesus. But instead of delaying or doubting, Paul continued on, unhindered in his trust and obedience to God. When challenges come our way, such a response as Paul’s can only be achieved with right perspective: not based on a single snapshot in time, but a panoramic v...

Andrew Baker | Acts 19:8-20 — Paul’s two years of persistent preaching in Ephesus saw God’s powerful hand at work: miraculous healings, life-changing repentance, and the spread of the Gospel throughout all of Asia Minor. As believers, we should earnestly seek revival of a similar kind, all the while, responding to, relying on, and pointing to our all-powerful God.

Andrew Baker | Acts 18:24-28; 19:1-7 — Having left Corinth, Paul came across some believers in Ephesus who had not even heard of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s response reveals the urgent need for us to not only receive this Holy Spirit, but to be continually filled with Him - relying on His presence and power in every moment of our daily walk.

Adam Ritchard | Acts 18:1-11 — Despite the great opposition his ministry faced in Corinth, Paul remained there for over a year - turning a land of immorality into a land of opportunity for the Gospel. When we find ourselves in ‘a place like Corinth’, we too can find our perspective and endurance through God’s enabling promises.

Andrew Baker | Acts 17:29-31 — At the conclusion of his sermon to the Athenians, Paul challenges his listeners with the reality of the resurrected Messiah, Jesus Christ. For Paul’s audience as for us today, when all is said and done, our response to Jesus is the one thing that really matters.

Andrew Baker | Acts 17:25-28 — Continuing His Areopagus sermon, Paul proclaims to the Athenians a God through whom all mankind finds its ultimate purpose and sustainment. In a modern world increasingly convinced of the meaninglessness of existence, our unending purpose is rooted in the divine provision of the infinite Creator.

Adam Ritchard | Acts 17:22-28 — Against the backdrop of philosophical religiosity and worship of arbitrary gods, Paul makes a startling declaration to the Athenian Areopagus: the sovereign, all-creating God, wants to be found and known by His creation. For us today, this reality is just as life-changing as it was then. Our constant and urgent priority is to know God, and to make Him known.

Andrew Baker | Jeremiah 29:4-11 — In the darkest hour of Israel’s history, God’s prevailing promise and enduring purpose brought unity to an otherwise broken people. When surrounded by fear and division, we can draw this same unifying faith from His promises, spurring us on to passionately proclaim the eternal glorious message of Jesus Christ.

Andrew Baker | Acts 17:16-31 — When faced with prevalent idolatry in Athens, Paul elected not to publicly challenge such ungodly practices. Instead, he was driven to passionately preach the Good News about Jesus. Like Paul, our highest calling on Earth is not to fight against the darkness all around us, but rather to proclaim the light of God’s glorious Gospel in its midst.

Andrew Baker | Acts 17:1-15 — While The Gospel was rejected by many who Jews heard it, those from Berea received Paul and Silas’ teaching with great eagerness and careful consideration. The Bereans’ intentional pursuit of God poses us two challenging questions: ‘How hard are we leaning on God?’, and ‘How well are we listening to Him?’

Adam Ritchard | Acts 16:19-34 — Even in the hopeless depths of a Philippian jail cell, Paul and Silas could be found praying and singing to God. What happens next is no coincidence. As God’s people, we too are called to take up these weapons of prayer and praise, and to look for how He’s working - even in the midst of those ‘midnight moments’.

Andrew Baker | Acts 16:1-19 — Having been led to Macedonia to preach the Gospel, Paul and Silas soon encountered a demonic spirit who persistently followed their movements. Paul’s response to this opposition impresses our great need to stand firm against harmful spiritual influences around us.

Martyn Ritchard | 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 — Jesus proclaimed The Gospel not only through clever words, but also through a demonstration of God’s power, through the miraculous works of the Holy Spirit. If we are to be truly effective in proclaiming His Kingdom here on Earth, we must be filled and enabled by this same Holy Spirit.

Andrew Baker | Acts 15:36-41 — Before Paul and Barnabas set off for their second missionary journey, a sharp dispute instead caused them to part ways. In Acts, as in our own lives, we see that such human failures are never final, thanks to the redemptive power of God’s abounding grace.

Andrew Baker | Acts 15:1-18 — As the Gospel spread to the Gentiles, so too did issues of doctrine arise amongst the Jews. The early church’s response affirmed Jesus’ atoning sacrifice as the sole means to salvation, and reminds us of our need for this same foundational truth.

Andrew Baker | Acts 14:21-28 — The motive of Paul’s heart as he set out on his missionary journeys was to make not just converts, but disciples of Jesus Christ. Paul was passionate to see each new Christian established, encouraged and planted within their local church community.

Kathryn Hartley | Acts 13:48-14:7 — The reality for us all is life is filled with highs and lows; it is an unavoidable fact. On their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas were not filled with joy because there was no opposition, they didn’t continue to preach the gospel because the reception and feedback was consistently positive. Instead they demonstrated and lived from a place of enduring...

Andrew Baker | Acts 13:4-41 — Throughout the Bible we see God leading and initiating His perfect work among His people. In Acts 13, we see Him working through Paul and Barnabas to achieve His story, His work, His mission and His agenda.

Andrew Baker | Acts 13:1-4; 16:6 — It was at the leading of the Holy Spirit that Paul and Barnabas were sent out from Antioch on their missionary journeys. What does it mean to be Spirit-led in our lives today?