Authentic Church Messages Podcasts

Preparing for Christmas can be busy and stressful and it's too easy to get caught up in all the ‘stuff' that needs to get done and forget ‘The Reason for the Season'. Just as God's plan for the first Christmas had Jesus right at the heart of it, we should also find ways to keep Jesus at the centre of our Christmas preparations and celebrations.

Jesus encourages us not to worry about what we will wear, or eat or drink, because our heavenly Father knows that we need them. Instead Jesus says, '..seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.' (Matthew 6:33)

The Rich Young Ruler we can assume had it all, but he lacked eternal life. He recognised that Jesus could tell him how he could inherit it, and approached him. Jesus, loves the man, and loves him so much that he says he must give away that which is between us, and follow me. The young man, not able to give up his wealth, walks away sad. Jesus wants to be first in our lives, and calls us to put aside or de-prioritise anything that prevents that from happening.

Without a shepherd, sheep can get into all sorts of trouble! Jesus said “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and they know me”. When we choose to follow Jesus, to listen to his voice and allow him to lead us, he promises to guide us and keep us on the safe path through life.

Nicodemus, a man who should have avoided Jesus, sought him out for a one-to-one encounter, at night and alone after hearing his teaching and witnessing his miracles. What he heard and learned in that encounter ultimately led him to publicly remove the crucified body of Jesus.

Speaking from the book of 2 Timothy, Adrian asks us the question, why am I here? He reminds us that God has a plan and purpose for our lives, before our life even began.

When Jesus met a Samaritan woman, isolated and shunned by her community because of her sin, her life was changed forever. The gift He offered her on that day is still available to us today, we just need to accept it.

John shares with us his experience and ways of living out Jesus' teaching to 'take heart' when we are going through the challenges that life throws at us.

Light was the very first thing that God created and it gives life, clarity and safety and security. Jesus said “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This message, taken from one of our interactive MultiGen services, explores what Jesus means, and how we can walk in the light of Jesus' love.

Zacchaeus had wealth and authority, but he still wanted to see Jesus. Following his choice to climb a tree to overcome the obstacles in his way, Jesus calls him down and asks to visit his house. This encounter changed Zacchaeus's life forever. He may have been seeking Jesus, but Jesus was equally seeking him!

We cannot avoid the storms of life, and when they hit us our faith and trust can be challenged. But, it's important that we see Jesus ‘walking over' the very nature of the storms in our lives, and recognise that he is the master of our storms! In storms we can often ‘hide' or resist them, but God calls us to step into the storm by faith, following Peter's example. Jesus said in John 16:33 ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.'

We are called to live by faith and not by sight, but what characteristics do we need to help this? Courage, obedience and trust are required. Jesus says we only need faith as small as a mustard seed to move a mountain, so remaining faith filled even in the storms of life is critical.

Trusting in God is one of the fundamentals of the Christian Life, but it is not always easy when we're faced with life's many challenges. In this message we explore how we can develop greater levels of trust in God and ways to keep trusting in Him even when it seems too hard.

Adrian reminds us of God's call to holiness, "Be holy, because I am holy." This is a corporate and individual calling as we prepare for the return of Jesus Christ.

We all have a deep spiritual longing for happiness and contentment and many of us try to find satisfaction in things such as wealth, success or possessions. The only thing that can truly satisfy in this life is Jesus who says “I am the bread of life”. This message, taken from one of our interactive MultiGen services, explores what Jesus means, and what we can do to receive the bread of life He offers.

Church needs to be aware of God's 'story' for today. It needs to be hospitable, authentic and disciple making to ensure that the new wine can fit into the new wineskin.

Jesus understood the need for his first disciples to wait and be filled, and to keep being filled, with the Holy Spirit, before they could continue what he started. What has changed since then - nothing!

Happiness is lovely – and we love it, but it is based on our circumstances, which means it can be volatile and fleeting. The world tells us we deserve happiness – we are worth it, but the cost of chasing happiness can be very expensive – and sometimes even destructive! So Are we destined to a life of unhappiness when circumstances are not going well? God tells us we need to renew our minds, have our minds transformed, that will enable us to think differently about happiness – and instead pursue joy!

The long-lasting, deep-rooted peace Jesus offers his followers is very different from the temporary, transient peace offered by the world, but how can we gain and maintain God's peace in our lives amidst the many trials and challenges we inevitably face?

Nigel explores on the three theological virtues, hope, and what it means to hope in God.

Randall shares his experiences and explores Biblical teachings on not setting our own limitations or expectations of what we think God needs to do to achieve our outcomes.

Wynn recieves physical healing for a knee damaged 29 years ago.

In this message we hear about three characters in the Easter story who all met with Jesus in very different ways; after a period of doubt, when least expected and even when looking in entirely the wrong place. What is Jesus saying to you this Easter? Maybe, “stop doubting and believe”, or “Come follow me”, or maybe He simply calls you by name. Jesus died for all of us and however we find Him, He welcomes us with open arms.

As we start Holy Week let's remember Jesus and ask ourselves some questions: are we in time to speak out or keep quiet? Is Jesus asking us to be obedient, even when the request is challenging us? Do we need to practice greater humility? Where are we in the 'the crowd' around Jesus, leading out in front or following behind? Jesus gave it all, and demands it all from us.

Discipleship is a lifelong process of learning to be like Jesus. It takes time, practice, perseverance and sacrifice but Jesus provides us with a model and pattern to follow. Some discipleship is done in community but we also need to be intentional about going deeper in relationship with Jesus, developing good spiritual habits that will enable us to grow and mature, and ultimately to become more Christ-like.

Jesus asks and expects his followers to continue in the works that he started. Key to this is the sharing of the good news of the gospel, that leads to salvation and eternal life. But how do we do this? We can start by following Jesus' example, after all he was an evangelist as he shared the good news! We need to practice what we preach, and understand it is not in our strength but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul receives healing for a damaged leg over 60 years after being hit by a drunk driver when he was 18 years old.

The Hound of Heaven is the title of a poem by Francis Thompson, and speaks to us the love of God which pursues and seeks us out. Psalm 23 and verse 6 says of God, 'Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.' We have a good, good Father, who ultimately demonstrated his love for us in the sacrifice of his only son Jesus, who died that our sins would be forgiven and forgotten. In the past, the present and the future.

Jesus said “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” and after washing his disciples' feet, he said “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you”. Jesus came to serve, and we are called to do the same, to use our gifts, talents, time and money for the benefit of others, to make the best use of what we have been given in serving others. This way, we show our love for the Father and our love for each other.

God calls us to live and love him together in fellowship, to do life together. He calls us to spend time together in worship, praying and learning together. Practically spending time together, in eating, helping and supporting one another. He calls us to share and contribute, not just our possessions but also of our time. God wants us to all be involved in fellowship – to participate and be in partnership together. The benefits of this are not just personally beneficial - but also beneficial to growing the

In line with the great commandment, here at Authentic Church, we want loving God, to be at the centre of everything we do, and one way we can express this is through our worship. This message explores what we mean by Christian worship, how and why we worship and some of the pitfalls to be aware of.

At Authentic Church we believe our primary purpose both, as a church family and as individual members, is to fulfil the great commandment and the great commission as Jesus instructed. When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus he fulfilled them both, and so did the early church in the book of Acts. We sum this in a simple church purpose: ‘To continue what Jesus started.'

There are a number of journeys undertaken in the Christmas story but how do these physical journeys relate to our spiritual and emotional journeys in the past, and how can we learn from them for our future walk and journeying with God?

Speaking at the traditional carol service, Nigel talks about the hope that is born at Christmas in Jesus.

During advent we explore and look afresh at the birth of Jesus. We look at how Jesus' birth was no accident and that God left nothing to chance to highlight the significance of his birth, foretold by prophets and included in every small detail.

God forgives us and expects us to forgive others.

Jesus told this parable to explain why we should pray and never give up – sometimes easier said than done! This message explores the benefits of remaining persistent in prayer whilst recognising that there will be times when God is silent.

Jesus explained that discovering the Kingdom of Heaven, discovering how much God loves us, is worth giving up everything else in return to keep it.

Trish talks from Mathew 13:31-32, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, and how this kingdom parable speaks to the seeds sown in packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan – Lessons in Compassion As Christians we are called to demonstrate radical compassion for others, to go above and beyond in showing our faith through our actions and to love everyone, especially those we find particularly difficult to love.

Whether we become a disciple of Jesus early or late in life, we should work diligently with the time we have to extend the Kingdom of God. We should avoid a mercenary or transactional spirit, thinking I have given lots, I should get more in return. We should avoid an envious spirit, and here Jesus is teaching us there is no room in the kingdom of God for this. There is a significant measure of hope and comfort for those who come to faith in God later in life – even on their death bed.

Exploring the importance of being authentic as Christians and churches.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant has much to teach us about forgiveness - what it is, why it's important to forgive others and how we can forgive when it just seems too hard.

In this parable of the lost son, we see the love and forgiveness God has for us, and the joy and celebration when the prodigal son returns.

Trish shares with us the the life giving nature of water, and the spiritual context used in the Bible to illustrate our need of water to survive and thrive. Jesus is the ultimate source of life giving water to our lives and our souls.

In the Parable of the Sower (or the Parable of the Four 4 Soils) Jesus challenges us to consider which type of soil we are and whether we need to make changes in our behaviour and/or attitudes in order to mature in our faith and bear good fruit.

Exploring why Jesus taught in parables and looking specifically at the parables of the lost sheep and coin from Luke chapter 15.

Looking at Joshua Chapter 24 as Joshua recounts what God has done for him and Israel and what he is going to do in return. 'As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.'

Looking at Jesus' miracle of healing the paralysed man and the faith of the friends and the man, and the amazement of the crowd.

Continuing our series on Joshua we look at Chapter 14, at how Caleb overcame mountains despite being in his old age and what lessons we can apply to our lives today.

Looking at Joshua chapter ten as Joshua with God's help defeats the combined kings, and he continues to move forward in faith.