Vision Church Podcast | Christian Church in Canberra

Andrew Baker | 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Ephesians 4:4-16 — In letters to the Ephesians and Corinthians Paul demonstrates a clear vision for the church: each individual is empowered by the Holy Spirit with gifts to serve and build-up Christ’s body to maturity. As believers today, each and every one of us has been called and equipped for this very same mission - how is God calling you to serve?

Adam Ritchard | 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Acts 2:42-47 — For all its promise of interconnection, our culture is more disconnected than ever. But mankind was not created for isolation, and neither was the church. As the New Testament reminds us, we are Christ’s body, comprising many unique and necessary parts each designed to work together in close-knit unity. Our call is to be a communing people: in...

Andrew Baker | Hebrews 12:18-29 — We were created to worship. Not for entertainments’ sake, nor as a means to an end. As the writer to the Hebrews reminds us, we are called into the very presence of the all-powerful living God, that we’d be forever changed as we worship Him with the reverence and awe He deserves.

Andrew Baker | Ephesians 1:15-23; 5:25-27 — The concept of ‘The Church’ brings buildings, service structures, denominations, and even moral failings to mind. We each have an idea of what church is and should be. But ultimately, church isn’t our idea - it’s God’s. Paul describes it as nothing less than the very fullness of Christ’s body; a holy and radiant bride that He sacrificed himself to cleans...

Andrew Scarborough | Hebrews 12:1-2 — Whether gifted as an evangelist or not, God has called each of us to make Him known in this race of faith. But running is impossible if we’re burdened by the things of this world. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, and relying on His Spirit at every step, we are to throw off every weight that entangles. And, looking back across that finish line, we too will see the man...

Adam Ritchard | 2 Corinthians 2:12-14 — The Apostle Paul was no stranger to challenge and persecution. But even when faced with trials of the soul, his highest perspective remained anchored to Christ’s ultimate triumph. With this same perspective, we too can move from trial to triumph; giving praise and spreading the ‘aroma’ of Christ on our way.

Kathryn Hartley | Titus 2:11-3:8; 2 Peter 1:3-8 — Throughout the New Testament, Christ’s followers are called to lives of Godliness. But spiritual transformation into Christ’s likeness is not automatic. As the Apostles Paul and Peter remind us, we are not sanctified by the power of Christ’s grace and Spirit alone - we, His disciples, must devote ourselves to active participation in the process too...

Andrew Baker | 1 Corinthians 12:31b-14:1a; John 13:34-35 — In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul exhorts his readers on the centrality and priority of love. As Christ’s church today, we too must have love as our indispensable foundation: a family so marked by love that the world would know the One whose name we bear.

Andrew Baker | 1 Corinthians 4:14-21 — Paul’s heart for the Corinthian church was as more than just a teacher; he mentored and disciplined them as a loving father. Like the 1st century believers in Corinth, our modern society suffers from profound fatherlessness. Where are those who will follow Paul’s example: to stand with strength and integrity, loving the fatherless with the heart of our perfec...

Adam Ritchard | James 4:1-10; Titus 2:11-12 — In his epistle to the early Church, James brings a sharp warning against three influences that seek to sway us: the world, the flesh, and the devil. But, thanks to God, we are not helpless to their effect: God’s abundant grace not only secures our salvation, but empowers us to defy these ‘enemies of the soul’ and live victoriously over them.

Andrew Baker | 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 10-4:2 — As he concludes his final letter to Timothy and charges him to preach the Gospel, Paul stresses the importance of upright conduct in an ungodly age. Whether we are ministers like Timothy or not, our calling is carried by our character. And it will make or break our effectiveness as Christ’s witnesses against the noise of this world.

Andrew Baker | Matthew 16:13-19; Mark 1:14-15 — In the increasingly secular West, we can become convinced that the Church is shrinking into irrelevance, and that the spread of the Gospel is a hopeless cause. But, with eyes to see, we find a greater reality: the truth of who Christ is prevails over all circumstances. Upon this rock, Christ is building His church, and it shall not be overcome.

Kathryn Hartley | Romans 11:33-12:6a — Writing to the church in Rome, Paul warns against conforming to this world, urging his readers to instead be of ‘transformed’ minds. To discern truth in a world bombarding us with content, reliance upon human understanding simply will not do. We need the powerful and renewing work of Him, whose wisdom is truly unsearchable.

Adam Ritchard | John 10:22-28 — While speaking to the Jews, Jesus describes His believers as sheep, who ‘listen’ to His voice and ‘follow’ Him. In an age of Airpods and ads, it has never been more essential that we live like sheep on our journey of faith: seeking out our Heavenly Father’s leading above all else, and wholeheartedly following Him, our great gift.

Andrew Baker | John 10:10; John 8:31-32, 43-45 — John’s Gospel paints a picture of contrasts: In Jesus we find the truth that leads us to life, and in ‘the thief’ we find lies that lead only to destruction. As followers of Christ, we must be aware of the world’s lies that would seek to surround and deceive us; instead holding fast to Him - our Good Shepherd, whose power keeps us to eternity.

Andrew Baker | Matthew 6:19-24; Psalm 1 — In Matthew’s Gospel account, Jesus challenges His listeners to store up ‘treasures in heaven’ rather than on earth. Living in a culture that idolises affluence, this is a real challenge for us today. But ultimately this is about much more than our bank balance or number of possessions; it’s about the heart. Will our love and desire be for the trophies of t...

Andrew Baker | Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:6 — Anxiety is far from a modern concept or diagnosis - it reaches right back to the very core of our fallen human nature in the Garden of Eden. But does this make all-consuming anxiety an inescapable fact of human existence? Jesus doesn’t think so. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus calls us to a higher way: a life of assurance; freed from worry as we...

Kathryn Hartley | 2 Corinthians 2:4; 6:11; 7:2-3 — Opposing the city’s indulgent culture, Paul’s instruction caused many in the Corinthian church to close their hearts toward him. But as Paul’s response demonstrated, open-heartedness is not an optional extra for wholehearted followers of Christ. As we rely upon God and generously love those around us, so too shall our lives bear witness to He who...

Andrew Baker | Luke 18:1-8 — In a parable, Jesus tells of an unjust judge who reluctantly gave justice to a widow only due to her persistent asking. For both Jesus’ disciples and us today, the knowledge that our heavenly Father is nothing like this judge should propel us from passivity to a life of persistent, hope-filled, passionate prayer; seeking His kingdom here on earth with every breath.

Adam Ritchard | 1 Thes 5:16-18; Phil 2:14-16 — In his Epistles, the Apostle Paul repeatedly instructs his readers to give thanks in all circumstances. Far easier said than done, this instruction could not be more relevant to us today: like the world around us, discontentment can easily become our default setting. But as believers, we ought to to be marked by a gratitude unaffected by circumstance,...

Andrew Baker | Revelation 2:1-7 — In John’s vision of Christ, Jesus commends the church of Ephesus for its endurance, but calls it to repent for abandoning its ‘first love’. As Christians, we cannot afford to forsake our love for Christ. And in a restless world such as ours, it has never been more important (and challenging!) to put aside distraction that we might live in wholehearted devotion to...

Andrew Baker | Jonah 4:1-11 — In a surprising and confronting ending, the Lord’s sparing of Nineveh caused Jonah to become so angry that he wished for his own death. Full of twists and turns, Jonah’s account causes us to consider a God whose grace is greater than our failings; whose ways are much higher than ours; and who radically moves our hearts to contend for those around us: The Saving, Sover...

Andrew Baker | Jonah 3:1-10 — At the second time of asking, Jonah obeyed the Lord and went to the great city of Nineveh, where his message was met with mass repentance. As it was for Jonah and the Ninevites, so it is for us: no one is beyond saving by the God of second chances. As we respond to Him with childlike faith, it is His nature to transform us by His glorious mercy and grace.

Adam Ritchard | Jonah 2:1-10 — Expecting to drown in the depths of the ocean, Jonah instead found himself in the stomach of a whale. And here, crying out to the Lord, Jonah’s heart was renewed from rebellion to repentance. While God’s provision of grace may not always look the way we expect, He is faithful. When we don’t deserve it, and could never earn it, we are transformed by God’s (truly) amaz...

Tony McLennan | Matthew 4:13-22 — Not simply reserved for those with a calling of Evangelism, Jesus’ invitation to all believers is the same as that given to His first disciples: “Come, follow me…and I will make you fishers of men”. Hear from Tony McLennan, Co-Founder of Australia for Jesus on the priority and practise of winning souls for Christ.