Willetton Christian Church

Prayer is a central part of the Christian life. So why is it so hard? We know the Lord’s Prayer. We sometimes pray around the dinner table or when we need him. But is this enough? This Sunday, we will look at the end of Ephesians - following on from the previous verses on the Armour of God. Here, Paul gives us his explanation of why we should pray; what we should pray; how and when we should pray;...

It seems that we’ve had a good number of sermons this year on personal afflictions & suffering. Last Sunday we had John’s encouraging sermon from Hannah & the “pouring out of her heart” regarding her childlessness - a major affliction in her days & still today. It’s such a regular part of all our lives - grief, pain, anxiety in all forms. Do you still often struggle with the “why?” of your agonisi...

Life can be great and most of us would know fun times, wonderful experiences and fantastic holidays. But it’s not always like that. At times there are tears in our eyes and we are left wondering, “why is this happening?” or “how long can this go on?”. It begs the question: Who of us gets through life without tears? What do you do then? Tough it out, hoping for better days ahead? Check out Psycholo...

As it is still early in the new year, wisdom says that it is good to revisit regular aspects of our Christian life to know that we are not slipping in our devotion to our great Saviour. One vital & regular aspect is TEMPTATION - Ah! Yes! The dreaded word. Dreaded largely because we fail miserably in dealing with the temptations of our sinful hearts. The good news is - in God’s providence - this is...

The armour of God is a very well known passage in Scripture. But what is it all about? What does it mean for us to put on God’s armour? And why do we need to do this? This Sunday, we will explore what Paul has to say about the spiritual war that rages in our world today and how we can best stand as soldiers for Jesus.

Rebuilding is no easy task. It's hard enough to start a project and see it through to completion the first time around, so to have to do it all over again can feel like a waste of time. In the Bible, we see on numerous occasions that this isn't just true of physical buildings either. In fact, buildings seem to represent our own lives, and our relationship with our own master builder, who is also o...

It’s that time of the year again. The world seems to get obsessed with their new resolutions for the New Year. Maybe they want to lose weight; drink less; make new friends; or learn a new skill. Whatever it is, most of the time, they’ve given up by the time February rolls by! In today’s service, we will take a look at Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In it, Paul provides a ’resolution’ for us tha...

There's something about darkness that just seems wrong. Whether literal or metaphorical, darkness hides and conceals all kinds of threats to our lives - physical, mental, and, above all, spiritual. The problem, though, is that the more we look at the world around us, and the more we look at our own lives, the more darkness we seem to find; things we're ignorant of, and things we would rather other...

It's hard to escape all the lights around us at this time of year - it's Christmas, after all - but there is one light who stands above all others, who we'll be considering over a short Christmas series for the next couple of weeks. This week, we'll be thinking about what the apostle John means when he calls Jesus 'the light of life for all mankind' in the introductory passage to his gospel. Just...

We know the world needs to hear the gospel, but how do we get involved? Romans 10 gives us a logical process of how people are able to call on the name of the Lord and be saved, and it begins with people being sent to preach the good news. Isaiah 52:7 and Romans 10:15 tell us that beautiful feet bring good news. Let us think about our own feet, what message are we bringing and where are we going w...

What do we think of the kings we read in 1 & 2 Kings? In my experience, we use the same summaries we were taught at Kids@Church: this king was good; that one was bad. This one was wise; that one was fat…and so forth. In 1 Kings 12, we learn about the kings that split Israel into two. On first reading, we might say they are just ‘bad kings’, but perhaps there is something to be said about us throug...

The world is a REALLY SCARY place at the moment. The war in Ukraine with Putin’s threats of nuclear war was unsettling enough. Now Israel is in a all out war with Hamas in the Gaza strip and at any time this could engulf the entire Middle East… then who knows what China might do with Taiwan? For some, these foreboding events and threats are enough to put plans on hold… ‘wait and see what is going...

Picture this: As Mum's birthday approaches, anticipation fills the air, and the kids, determined to make this year truly special, forgo the usual gimmicks. A spirited debate ensues among them, each vying to contribute the perfect idea. Sensing the escalating tension, they converge on Mum's bed one morning, collectively seeking her birthday wish. Without hesitation, Mum's simple desire emerges: "I...

Sermon Description: Can we be assured that when all is said and done, God will welcome us into his Kingdom for eternity? It’s a critical question – not just for Christians but for all people. As we look at the Apostle Paul’s comment about his own future and the confidence with which he speaks about it in 2 Timothy 4, we see that biblical assurance isn’t wishful thinking or a waste of time, but som...

In Proverbs 8, we have Lady Wisdom calling out to all mankind to listen to her and follow her instructions. She calls us to choose her over gold and silver. Riches and wealth do not guarantee that we will flourish in God’s world. It is only through wisdom that we can flourish because wisdom teaches us how to do that in this world that God has made. As God created our world, he wove his wisdom into...

When reading through the Biblical minor prophets, there are a number of themes and phrases that keep appearing, such as sin and judgement, repentance and mercy, restoration and hope, all of which are connected with 'the day of the Lord'. As it so happens, that phrase and these themes all feature prominently in Zephaniah, which makes it a great book to sink our teeth into for the sake of better und...

The late Reverend Tim Keller wrote that most visitors to his church [in New York] would say that “they know there are many great stories and sayings in the Bible, but today you can’t take it literally. What they mean is that the Bible is not entirely trustworthy because some parts – maybe many or most parts – are scientifically impossible, historically unreliable, and culturally regressive”. That’...

Psalms 42 and 43 could be described as Psalms of the Struggler. They describe the experience of someone who longs for God on the one hand, but who is honest enough to admit that they don’t feel God's presence. Someone who isn’t experiencing God’s love, although they long to. And, someone who doesn’t want things to stay this way. They desire things to change. But how? They’re not quite sure. And ma...

We all make promises in our lives - promises to do certain things, to behave a certain way, or to be certain places. And Psalm 132 is full of promises - promises keep, promises broken and promises ignored. But above all, Psalm 132 is about the best promise of all - God’s promise to us of a Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The epistle of James is concerned with living faith. A Faith that has come as the result of our new birth through the word of Truth (1:18). This word, that has given us new birth, is to govern the whole Christian life - James says we are to “humbly accept the word planted in you” and to “do what it says”. James spends much of his letter unpacking what this looks like both in word and deed. James 3...

Have you ever noticed how the Christian life is the antithesis of what Society says? This morning we are confronted with God’s view of “happiness” contrasted with the world’s view. Indeed everyone wants to be “happy!” The media is always advising us of the steps to be at peace with ourselves; winning lotto, holidays - whether cruises, tours or just caravanning around Australia - the push for “good...

We all want to live a good life; a life of peace and security, of comfort and prosperity, of life's pleasures, of relationship and community. Even if we don't expect to have all these things, we still desire them, because we recognise that they are good. But where do we turn to receive them? Where does the good life come from? In this passage from Jeremiah 2, we see that God himself is the provide...

Australia is a wealthy nation & Australians are rich people by the world’s standards. James is writing to poor refugee Christians - the contrast could hardly be stronger! So is this passage of God’s Word unnecessary for us to give attention? Definitely not! There is great danger for rich Christians in this world which sets its goal of earthly happiness in wealth - not in the riches of grace that w...

In Psalm 33 we’re challenged to consider our picture of God and to ask whether it’s really big enough! In the Psalm we’re called to praise God for his power and his majesty, to remember that he is an all-powerful, all-seeing God who rules over all things. But we’re reminded that even though God is so big and so powerful he is still a God who watches over and cares for his people. In the light of t...

God has done great things for us through Christ. Despite our sinfulness, he has chosen to send Christ as a propitiation for our sins, so that we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone. This God is for us! This means that there is no one that can condemn us before God because he himself has declared us righteous through the atonement of Christ. This also means that nothing in all of creation,...