Bright Podcasts

The Church of Philadelphia was one of only two churches the received good report from Jesus. Jesus commends the church for keeping His word and not denying His name in the face of tribulation. In other words, he commends them for their faithfulness. Faithfulness is an underrated quality in 2022, and yet it will only be faithful churches that make it. This Sunday Ps Matt will explain what it means to be faithful in today's culture.

Estimates suggest there are around 55,000 Christian denominations. That is staggering! So how do you know if you are part of a real church? Jesus knows and he wrote a letter to a church in Sardis to explain it. In this week's message, Ps Ben explains part of what to look for in a ‘real church'.

In our culture today, we have many different voices and opinions that can influence our perspective and our life choices. Sometimes, without noticing, we allow room for unhealthy thoughts, actions or beliefs to take place of what God has called us to. In this week's message, we explore the letter of Thyatira and what we can learn from their mistakes.

Often the small things in life can lead to big things down the track. It's the same with faith. If we make small changes in the scriptures or small compromises in our lives, it changes the trajectory of our lives. Around 2000 years ago, Jesus spoke to a church who were making small compromises and he did not mince his words. Check out this week's message out of Revelation -The Letter to Pergamum.

We can all experience seasons where our faith is tested. Today many Christians around the world find their faith being tested when they experience persecution for following Jesus. Sadly, this persecution is increasing. So, what would Jesus say to those who are going through persecution? Should they escape? Deny Jesus and save their lives? Just under 2000 years ago, Jesus sent a letter to a church in Smyrna who were experiencing this very thing. The advice he gave them, is the advice he gives us. Check out this week's message out of Revelation -The Letter To Smyrna.

Revelation. It's a book in the Bible that can equally confuse and intrigue us. Filled with scrolls, trumpets, horsemen, rapture, end times…There's letters of encouragement and letters of warning. Does anyone else get a little overwhelmed reading this book? If you find Revelation challenging to read or are curious to know more, don't miss this series! Join us as we unpack and understand more about the book of Revelation, and the seven letters within.

Life is full of opportunities, distractions and moments. We all have the same, fixed amount of time in each day, each week, each month. How we spend that time, matters. Jesus offers us an open invitation to follow Him. In this message, we explore what it looks like to accept that invitation, follow Jesus and reshuffle our priorities for Kingdom purpose.

God has created people for eternity. When we die, we graduate into eternal life. What eternity looks like for us depends on the decisions we make today. Many people spend a lifetime pursuing things that hold no eternal significance. In the bible we read about two rich men who encountered Jesus. One found salvation, the other walked away sorrowful. How could two people in such similar positions end up in stark contrast destinations? Find out this Sunday, for our last message in the series, ‘Beyond This World'.

Whatever has our heart has our focus, time, energy and resources. This is true in every area of our lives. For Christians, it's the same. When our hearts are moved and stirred by God, we become focused on the Kingdom Of God. When it comes to our finances, we are happy to give towards God and His purposes because He has our heart. Christians attach Kingdom purpose to Earthly wealth. This isn't new, Gods people have always done this and now it is time for this generation of people to do the same.

Everyone has values. Our values often reflect our priorities or what's important to us. For Christians, when we become followers of Jesus our values often change to reflect the priorities of the Kingdom of God. One of Jesus's values is how we manage our wealth. It might shock you, but nearly half of Jesus parables are about wealth. If these things matter to Jesus, they matter to us. Join us for month's series ‘Beyond This World' as we take a look the eternal impact we make with our earthly wealth. Week one kicks off with a message called ‘Manage Your Blessing'.

There is nothing wrong with a little gossip right? Well God doesn't think so. One of the most dangerous things we can do is judge ourselves by our own standards. This week we kick off our series with a message about the dangers and impacts of gossip.

I don't think anybody would have predicted the events of the past 3 years. We have had killer viruses, lockdowns, masks, fires, you name it, it's probably happened. Maybe because of all this your life feels a little messy. Although our lives can feel messy when our surroundings are messy, if our lives remain messy it's really a faith problem. Many things, like challenging times, can steal our faith but the good news is you can always stir it back up. Ps Matt will talk about how to stir up your faith this Sunday.

Easter is a love story centring around The Eternal King Jesus. Jesus was moved by great love for people and left Heaven to became a mortal man. See, in order to help humanity, He would need to become Human. On the darkest day in human history The Eternal King Jesus died on a cross at the hands of the very people he came to save. But His death would not last and it gave way to life. The Eternal King Jesus was resurrected by Sunday and continues to reign today offering eternal life anyone who chooses it. This is the story of Easter.

Easter is a love story centring around The Eternal King Jesus. Jesus was moved by great love for people and left Heaven to became a mortal man. See, in order to help humanity, He would need to become Human. On the darkest day in human history Jesus died on a cross at the hands of the very people he came to save. The Eternal King Jesus gave us eternal life at the cost of his own.

What does faith look like when we see it? Is it even possible to have faith and not show it? If saved by grace through Jesus, does that mean we don't have do anything? We have to learn how this balance of grace, works and faith functions properly because one day it will really matter. This is the final week in our series “For The Love Of God”.

How often do you pray? Let's be honest, for most of us our answer would be ‘not enough'. We know that Jesus modelled a lifestyle of prayer, we know that it is important, but what makes prayer so essential to our lives? This week Ps Ruth looks at the power of setting a healthy prayer culture in your own life, and the life of the Church.

Our new series ‘For The Love Of God” is all about why we do what we do. People that follow Jesus seem to be happy to give up time and resource to -why is that? This series is the answer to that question and explains what moves Christians to follow Jesus, despite the cost attached.

God is not far or distant. He works in us and through us. In time God produces a good harvest, but not everyone gets it. Jesus gave us three reasons why we miss the harvest and one way to get it.

Many of us want things to get better in our lives but struggle to make it happen. We can hear great messages and receive good advice but often do nothing about it. The sad thing is many of us have the answers to our problem but not the right heart to carry it out. To sow the right seed and reap the right harvest it starts with turning around. In this week's message, Ps Matt talks about the need for repentance.

We all want good things overflowing in our lives, but most of us have seasons that are difficult and challenging. We face the gap of ‘where we are' and ‘where we want to be'. Our words, thoughts and actions matter so much in those seasons. In this week's message, Ps Ben talks about the ‘seeds to sow' while you wait.

It's no surprise that life comes with surprises! Some of those welcomed, and some of them unwanted. It can be easy to become subject to our environment and challenges when they hit, but God has so much more for us. This week we look at the key to staying steady in the midst of an uncertain world.

It's a new year, but that doesn't necessarily mean a fresh start. You may have found that the battles you were facing in 2021 have come with you into 2022. Want to know why? Because you can't escape yourself. You are your own biggest battle. Find out this week how to approach your biggest battle of 2022, the fight against your flesh.

At the start of the year, a lot of us are making plans. It's great to have vision for your life, but its but even personal vision prioritises the Kingdom of God. This week's message is a ‘must listen to' if you're making plans for 2022.

The whole Christmas Holiday Season can be so busy. It pulls our focus in so many directions. Our circumstances become a lens that draw our focus, and when we focus on the wrong things, we miss what God is doing. This week Ps Ben shares a great message as we head into 2022.

The story of Christmas is a beautiful one full of adventure, surprise, miracles and joy... right? Well yes, but it's easy to reflect on the Christmas story and miss the craziness of it. It's a beautiful, powerful story, but also a messy story. In this week's message, Ps Matt takes time to focus on how God brings beauty out of mess.

Ever heard ‘you can choose your friends but not your family'. This might be true for people, but not for God. In the most amazing way imaginable, God chose people to be part of his family. How did He do that and more importantly, why? The Christmas season is a great reminder of Gods love towards people. Check out this week's message as Ps Ben explains the significance that is ‘God Family'.

One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy. God's desire is for us to have joy. We may not always be happy, but in God we can remain full of joy. We shouldn't confuse happiness and joy. Happiness needs good conditions where joy goes deeper. Would you say you have joy? Are you leaning into the supernatural joy available to you? If you have lost it, don't worry, you can get it back.

This is the last week in our series ‘You Asked For It' and the most requested message. Are we in the last days? What happens at the end of all things? What does the Bible actually say? Who is the Anti-Christ? When will he rise? What happens to the church? What about the rapture? When does Jesus come back? This week Ps Ben responds to all these questions in a message that is so important for everyone to know.

Is it possible for Christians to worship idols today, or was that just a problem we read about for people in the Bible? How do we avoid making our comforts in the West an idol? If we discover or suspect we may have an idol, what should we do? This week we explore what idols really are, discover how they can find their way into your life more easily than you may think and what to do if you uncover one in your own life.

What is transgender? Does the bible even talk about transgender people? How do we reconcile biblical mission and trans rights? This week Ps Ben answers these questions and looks at how our culture has moved from the unthinkable to the unquestionable.

This week we kick off our ‘You Asked For It Series' with one of the most requested messages –‘should Christians get vaccinated?'. What does the bible say? Should we just trust God? How do we handle this challenging issue confronting everyone today? This week Pastor Ben answers these questions and more.

One of the greatest lessons we can learn from the persecuted church is to live with our eyes focused on eternity and not just on this life here on earth. When we have this focus the struggles and trials we may experience in our life following Jesus dim away as we continue to focus on heaven and our life with Him in eternity.

Most people have moments in their life where they feel unsatisfied. Maybe you are going through a season at the moment where you feel like something is missing. As Christians we believe that Jesus is sufficient for us. So, what do we do when we feel unsatisfied in our faith? There are two passages of scripture that answer that question in a powerful way. Ps Matt will explore these passages providing a biblical perspective to why you may be feeling unsatisfied.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” John 15:13. As Christians, we have been shown incredible, transformational love. A love so great, that it leaves a mark. So, shouldn't this be obvious to others? If we understand the impact of this love in our own lives, what should that look like? In this week's message, Ps Ruth looks at the contagious nature and impact of the love of Christ.

Everyone will find themselves in one of three seasons. You will be single, married or divorced. Some people end up where they want to, others don't. So how do you handle a season you don't want to be in? In this weeks message, Ps Ben talks about how to live a full life whether you are single, married or divorced.

God wants every Christian to build the kingdom. This means we give God our time, talents and treasure -but it's not enough. So, God gave Christians part of himself -the Holy Spirit and distributed ‘Spiritual Gifts' to enable people to do what would ordinarily be beyond their natural abilities. In our final week of the series, Ps Ben talks about ‘spiritual gifts', what they are for and the importance of using them.