Toowoomba Vineyard Church

This week we arrive at James chapter 2, which opens with a timely reminder that favouritism isn't recommended in churches. What is it about human nature that makes us so prone to referencing those with power and wealth? How can we put a stop to favouritism in church? And how did Mandy end up at a breakfast table with the mayor? All this and more in this week's episode...

This week we tackle a section of James with what seems to be a whole series of disconnected (though profound) thoughts. There's stuff about not getting angry, remaining unstained by the world, looking in the mirror, and "all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness" (sounds intense!). Yet when you do a bit of digging, it turns out there is a common thread that holds it all together,...

This week we take a quick break from our James series to answer the big questions — who are we and where are we going? Chris and Jen share about our vision, mission, and values, as well as some dreams about what church could look like more practically into the future.

Temptation is a curious beast. We all experience it, and when we cave it can sometimes lead to catastrophic consequences. In this week's passage from James, the author digs into the very heart of temptation—it turns out it doesn't come out of nowhere, but from our desires—the deepest (often corrupted) longings of our heart. So how do we deal with temptation? Is it a matter of just trying h...

It's 2025 and the pod is BACK! There's no gentle on-ramp this year, as we kick straight into a new, heavy-hitting series on the book of James. In this introductory talk Chris outlines the problem we're trying to solve, gives some background to the letter (hint, it's not really a letter at all), and digs into the first 8 verses. As we begin reading James 1, it quickly becomes appare...

It's our final episode of the pod before our summer break, which means it's this year's Christmas message! To keep things interesting, Chris has decided to talk about... yep, a genealogy. So sorry about that. Actually, it turns out that if you're a Hebrew living 2000 years ago, this is one of the most exciting parts of the bible. There is a very good reason the New Testament opens with a list of f...

Our advent series turns toward yet another slightly odd story, this time about some strange foreigners (maybe three? Maybe twelve?) who come from afar to ask the 'King of the Jews' where the new 'King of the Jews' was. You can imagine how that goes down — and it turns out the story of Herod and the Magi has a lot to teach us about the backwards Kingdom of God.

This week for Advent, Cindee takes a look at the story of Mary. She is an often venerated figure in the church, and for good reason—her faithfulness and courage played a very big role in making sure that God's chosen saviour wound up on the scene like he was supposed to. What can we learn from her today?

In week two of our run up to advent, Chris explores the story of Joseph in Matthew 1. It's a passage that raises lots of questions: why are the facts so different to Luke's version of the story? Why was a virgin birth necessary? And what would it have been like for Joseph in this situation? We discover that Joseph is a pretty good example of standing up for God even when it's unpopular, and we can...

It's only mid-November but we're the 'put the tree up early' kind of church... our Christmas series has begun! Over the next 5 weeks we'll be looking at the Advent story through the eyes of the people who were a part of it—Joseph, Mary, Herod, The Magi—and, for today, Zechariah and Elizabeth. If you open up Luke 1 (which just so happens to be the longest chapter in the New Testament) you might won...

In our final instalment of our 'Life on a Mission', Allan Kent shares vulnerably about his difficult upbringing, God's remarkable work of healing in his life, and how he channeled his experience into seeing others encounter the love of God though friendship. Trigger warning: family violence. Allan shares some difficult stories from his early childhood.

This week on 'Life on a mission', we interview Nancy Thomas, one of the great treasures of the church in Toowoomba. We're still pinching ourselves that she calls TVC home. Nancy shares stories about her dad preaching to the queen, meeting husband Deryck in questionable circumstances, but most of all, how again and again the Holy Spirit comes and changes everything for the better.

This week in 'Life on a mission' we get to hear from one half of our pastoral duo, the wonderful Jen Gresham-Britt. Jen shares a bit of her life, which includes an incredible story of healing and a whole lot of unexpected turns, which got her exactly where she needed to be.

For the next four weeks we're going to be learning what it looks like to live 'Life on a Mission' (as introduced last week) by interviewing four wonderful members of or community and hearing their stories. This week, we introduce you to our good friend Barb Bluett, who has an incredible ministry here in Toowoomba working with Yazidi refugees. She shares the incredible story about how after visitin...

With Exodus finished, it's new series time! We're taking a look at living 'life on mission'. To begin with, we're talking about some things we commonly mistake for mission.

Our final foray into Exodus finds us... not in Exodus? Chris unpacks the very last scene from the story of Moses (Deuteronomy 34) and what it teaches us about finishing well.

As our Exodus series nears its end, Mandy takes us through a passage where Moses' father in law brings some helpful father-in-law-ly advice. Moses is individually dealing with every dispute in the Israelite nation, but Jethro suggests this might not be the most efficient use of his time. They shake things up and the effects are, well... quite significant.

The Israelites have been wandering the desert for quite some time, when the find themselves at war with a mob called the Amalekites. But this is no ordinary battle. For some reason, when Moses' staff is in the air they're winning, but when his hand tires and the staff drops, they start losing. Jen discusses this curious tactical masterpiece, and explains why it provides a surprising cure f...

We take a brief hiatus from our Exodus series to talk vision. Who are we and where are we going? As we talked about back in February, our priority is culture, rather than size or programs. But what does that actually look like? Chris breaks down our 4-part framework that answers the question 'what do we do?' and asks some big 'what if' questions.

As our Exodus series reaches the deciding moment when God led Israel through the waters, Laura makes a really interesting observation. It wasn't an instant miracle. There was a whole night where God's people had to wait for the seas to part, and walking through the sea took time. What do we learn from this 'waiting' time? How do we deal with it in our own lives?

In this week's foray into Exodus, Laura takes us through a thoroughly confusing passage. Moses returns from the burning bush, and boldly tells Pharaoh it's time to let the people go. But instead of gladly setting his whole workforce free, he makes their work more difficult! Has God deceived Moses? Why, when we do what God asks, do things sometimes not go well for us?

As we journey through Exodus, we come to the moment Moses receives his calling, instigated by a strange incandescent shrub. So often this passage is applied to the modern Christian idea of calling — 'don't miss your calling', or 'it's not about your ability, it's about God's presence'. This isn't wrong per se. It's just... does this message rest on a faulty...

In our second week of Exodus, Mandy unpacks chapter 2:11-25. This passage features three significant encounters with Moses that see him end up a 'foreigner in a foreign' land, cast out of the Egyptian royalty. Yet in classic form, this passage ends up being an incredible testament to what happens when God's people cry out in prayer... Got thoughts in response to Mandy's message? If...

After a few weeks of misadventure (week off, technical glitches, and a pseudo-week-off), the podcast is back! Between now and the end of September we're going to be taking a deep dive into Exodus — the nation-formation story of Israel in the bible. We're in a somewhat similar moment as a church community, so we'll be drawing all we can from this most excellent piece of scripture. Chris...

We finish 'We don't talk about that' with an absolute banger... It's time to talk about hell. For something that would seem like an essential doctrine in Christianity, there's not actually that much in the bible to go off. Maybe we don't talk about it because the bible doesn't? But if it's real, surely we'd want to warn people? Chris takes us on a brief biblical...