Steeple Church Podcast

CAN THESE PEOPLE EAT TOGETHER? 📖 Romans 14 Every table tells a story. This week, we pulled up a chair to ask: Can we actually eat together? The early church in Rome was divided by food, culture, status, trauma. 🍽 Slaves with no control over their bodies. 📜 Jewish believers clinging to Torah as survival, not superiority. 🗽 Gentiles flaunting their freedom as pride, not love. 🏛 Wealthy hosts, poo...

📖 Romans 1:1–2, 16–17 🔹 The gospel begins in shame — and undoes it 🔹 Jesus is Lord means Caesar is not 🔹 Phoebe preached it first 🔹 God’s justice is not abstract — it’s healing, embodied, and disruptive 💬  Romans has long been read through the lens of empire, patriarchy, and personal escape. But what if it was never meant to justify power, but expose it ? This week, we opened the book not th...

BRIDGING NOW TO NEXT 📖 Luke 6:37–42 Reconciliation is not a destination — it's a bridge we walk with Jesus. As we obvserve National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week, we’re reminded: 🧹 Clear the bridge — Let go of judgement and condemnation. 🕊 Fuel the bridge — Forgive boldly, give generously. 🌊 Shape the culture — Overflow with grace, not scarcity. 🔍 Look inward — Remove the log in our o...

Love Is Liberating (Or It's a Lie) 📖 Luke 6:24–36 In this week’s message, we heard the radical call of Jesus not just to love our enemies , but to stand where he stands —with the poor, the afflicted, the scapegoated. And we were reminded: 🔹 Love without liberation is distortion If our love excuses oppression, silences the vulnerable, or ignores injustice—it’s not the love of Jesus. 🔹 The D...

Week Three: Love Your Enemies – Luke 6:27–31 📖 “But to you who are listening…”  Jesus doesn’t just tell us to love in theory — he names what love looks like in action: 🔹 Love your enemies 🔹 Do good to those who hate you 🔹 Bless those who curse you 🔹 Pray for those who mistreat you This isn’t passive acceptance of abuse — it’s creative resistance , an act of radical nonviolence that exposes in...

Blessings & Woes – The Great Levelling Continues 📖 Luke 6:20–26 In the kingdom of God, the cosmic lottery runs in reverse.  Jesus doesn’t just comfort the poor — he centers them.  He doesn’t just warn the rich — he loves them enough to tell the truth. This week, we explored: 🔹 Blessed Are You — Not because suffering is holy, but because God is already with you in the hunger, the grief, the e...

Series Launch: Luke 6 - Sermon on the Plain 📖 Luke 6:17–19   The resurrection isn't just a moment — it's a movement. In Eastertide, we learn to walk in the life that is stronger than death. This week’s launch reminded us:  🔹 Compassionate Solidarity — Baptismal identification with the poor, afflicted, and scapegoated. 🔹 Confrontational Love — Resisting evil, injustice, and domination...

LOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH Easter Sunday at Steeple 📖 Hebrews 2:14-15  📖 Moana (yes, really)  📖 Colossians, Corinthians, and the end of the book… This Easter, we didn’t just remember a story. We stepped into the story. Jesus didn’t rise to prove a point.  He rose to open a path.  Not just out of death,  but into a life more alive than we’ve ever known . 🌀 Just like Moana, Jesus goes all the w...

WHICH JESUS? 📖 “Do you want me to release Jesus Barabbas … or Jesus the Christ ?” —Matthew 27:17 This week we asked: which Jesus do we follow? 🕊️ One rides in on a donkey to bring peace.  ⚔️ The other fights Rome with violence.  ✝️ Both are called “Son of the Father.” But only one shows us what Abba is really like. On Palm Sunday: 🌿 Jesus enters not with swords, but with solidarity.  🌍 He doesn...

NURTURING THE DIVINE IN UNEXPECTED PLACES 📖 “Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.” God begins a revolution through the unseen and undervalued —a young woman on the margins. Mary says yes, risking everything, because she longs for mercy, justice, and liberation. 🤰 Like Mary, we are called to carry Christ into the world: 🤲 Not as heroes, but as team players . 🫶 Not to fix, but...

CHRIST SUFFERED. BUT WHY? 💧 A creed without living water is as cruel as an empty bottle to the thirsty. The Apostles’ Creed isn’t a checklist of beliefs—it’s a container meant to carry the radical, liberating story of Jesus. 📖 “Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.” Early Christians weren’t memorising doctrine—they were declaring that Jesus stood with the suffering...

WHAT IF HELL ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK? 📖 “He descended to hell. On the third day, he rose again from the dead.” This line in the Apostles’ Creed isn't about fear—it’s about freedom . 💭 Hell has been weaponised to control, exclude, and shame. But Jesus doesn't avoid hard places—he goes through them. 🔥 He enters death, darkness, and even hell—not to condemn, but to liberate . 🔓 The doors o...

HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN… AND REIGNS! 📖 "He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father." The Ascension isn’t Jesus saying “see you later” — it’s Jesus being crowned as King . 👑 He reigns with all power, authority, and love. ✝️ Not just our Savior, but our Lord . 🌏 Heaven isn’t some far-off escape — it’s a reality breaking into our world now. Because Jesus reigns...

HE WILL COME AGAIN TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD… AND THAT’S GOOD NEWS! 📖 “He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints.” Let’s be clear:   Judgment isn’t about fear. It’s about Jesus . And Jesus looks like love. ⚖️ Judgment isn’t God switching personalities.  It’s Jesus getting the final word — and that wo...

WHO HOLDS YOUR ALLEGIANCE? 📖 Names carry meaning —identity, purpose, and expectation. The name Jesus Christ isn’t just a label; it’s a bold declaration : 🔹 Jesus = "God saves" – His mission is redemption. 🔹 Christ (Messiah) = "Anointed One" – The promised King. 👑 Son of God – In Jesus’ time, emperors used this title to justify their power. Jesus flips the script —not ruling...

🔹 What does it mean to say "I believe" ? 🔹 On Sunday, Emmanuel kicked off our new series, Ancient Paths , exploring the Apostles’ Creed —a framework of faith handed down through generations of disciples. We reflected on: 💭 What does it mean to say “I believe”? – More than agreement with an idea, belief in the early church was about allegiance —declaring loyalty to Jesus and his kingdo...

🌍 Who is God? A Creator Who Still Creates 🌍 With so much brokenness in the world, how do we hold onto a belief that God is good? On Sunday, we continued exploring the Apostles’ Creed , unpacking the first line: 🔹 I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth. We reflected on: 💭 Who is God? – Not a distant figure who pressed "start" on creation and walked away, but...

On Sunday, Sunil led us in a powerful reflection for Aboriginal Sunday, inviting us to stand in defiant hope —a hope that chooses justice, refuses to settle for empty gestures, and holds onto God’s promise of liberation for all people. We explored: 🔥 Exodus & the Kuranganja Walk-Off – Just as God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, the Yorta Yorta people took a courageous stand against inj...

On Sunday, Joel explored Mark 12:28-31 and the call to love your neighbour as yourself, unpacking how this revolutionary commandment invites us into a love that is practical, countercultural, and deeply transformative. Here’s what stood out: ❤️ Agape love in action: This is a love rooted in will and commitment, seeking the good and flourishing of others, no matter who they are or what differences...

What if loving God and loving others wasn’t about striving but about relaxing into transformation? This past Sunday, Jarrod McKenna opened the year with reflections on Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Luke 10:25-37, centring us on Jesus’s revolutionary invitation to love God fully and love our neighbours with mercy-filled action. Here’s what stood out: ✨ A New Year Without Striving The year often starts wit...

✨ What if the manger wasn’t the point, but a sign pointing to something much bigger? ✨ On Sunday, Mikaela Turner led us through the familiar Christmas story in Luke 2, but with fresh eyes. What if the manger, the shepherds, and even the angels are more than details? What if they’re signs pointing to Jesus’s identity and mission? Here’s what stood out: 🛡️ Augustus vs. Jesus: While Emperor Augustu...

What if the advent of God’s dream started in the vulnerability of a refugee child? On Sunday, Jarrod McKenna unpacked the second Sunday of Advent with a message about the arrival of God’s vision for the world—a vision revealed in Jesus. Advent, Jarrod reminded us, isn’t just about waiting; it’s about recognizing that God’s dream is already breaking into our world, even amidst darkness. Here’s what...

What if we could save a tonne of energy and bucketloads of heartache by choosing which doors we’re knocking on to see change? On Sunday, Mel explored the puzzling passage in Matthew 7 that has some talk of pigs, dogs and pearls. We took a look at how disengaging from cycles that oppress can help us to redirect our focus to more life-giving ways of creating and sustaining change. Of course it has s...

 What if living God’s love looked less like big words and more like bold action? That’s the thought Jarrod McKenna left us with on Sunday as we explored the final verses of Matthew 7, where Jesus calls his followers to live out their faith with action, not just words.   Jesus’s challenge to “do to others as you’d have them do to you” is more than a moral guideline—it’s an invitation to participate...

. The Steeple Church Podcast is recorded on Wurundjeri land in the east suburbs of Naarm - that you will find on a map as Balwyn in Melbourne, Australia. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded. You can view...