LifeSwitch Podcast

Engaging in the political space can be fraught with danger. There are a lot of strong opinions out there and in our day and age the polarisation seems to be getting stronger. Yet loving others requires us to engage, so let's explore how we can best do so.

It's easy for people to use the line “God told me.” Yet the question needs to be asked, “did He really?” This week we unpack a little about how to know if you've actually heard from God. 

Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, yet in the Old Testament there are accounts of what is essentially genocide. Yet God never changes, so lets look at why we don't have to choose between God's justice and God's love. Because at the cross, we see them perfectly united.

How do we know if we're actually loving God?

When it comes to sexuality, Jesus taught us not to point fingers, but to look in the mirror. It isn't what is out there that should take our attention, but rather what is within. Did you know Jesus' teaching around marriage and sexuality has always been, and will always be, controversial? Let's explore why.

Jesus spoke incredibly difficult truths yet loved everyone around him. People were attracted to him and, if we do likewise, we should still be able to attract people to faith.

The idea that there is a good God who has prepared a good place for good people appeals to most people. But when we really think about it, the idea isn't actually that good at all.

The most influential conversations you will ever have are the conversations with yourself. Using the example of David preparing to face Goliath, this message shows how replacing our self-talk with talking to God can help us overcome our greatest struggles.

Becoming a generous person requires intentionality. This week we look at how we can move from being spontaneously generous to structured in our generosity and then how we can scale our generosity.

Loving God has never been about religion, reciting prayers, or rules. We are supposed to love God through how we do our job, play sports, live our lives and love our neighbour. Am I loving God and my neighbour when I walk past a homeless person asking for a dollar, or when kids at the school in my suburb go without lunch?

God makes a way for what we need most - relational wholeness

Jesus' teaching on leadership and how he modelled; humility, servanthood, other-centredness, compassion and agape love runs so contrary to the world's view of leadership; power, authority, dominance, popularity, force and control.

Jesus teaches us to act in ways that are counterintuitive. We are told to love our enemies, pray for them, and even go so far as to bless them. Is this at all possible? We dive into ways to make the way of grace our reality, ultimately finding freedom in Jesus' guide to grace. 

John's story didn't finish once his gospel did. John went on to live a long and difficult life. Yet despite all the hardships he faced, he still would declare that God is love. 

It was the resurrection of Jesus that confirmed John's belief in Jesus as the son of God. It was why John wrote his book, so that we too would believe that Jesus and find life in Him.

Does God really care? When our circumstances suggest He doesn't, how can we know that God does care? This sign helps us see how God is in control even when our circumsatnces suggest otherwise.

There are many products we buy, use, and put our confidence in without having all the information or fully understanding how they work. In the Gospel of John, we see a man begin to follow Jesus based on limitedinformation. This man, who was born blind, said he only knew one main thing—and that one thing was enough to make him curious about who Jesus really was.

Just outside of Jerusalem, Jesus performed a miracle that changed a man's life forever. For 38 years, this man was unable to walk. Yet this was more than a miricle, it was a sign that pointed to a God who would offer a way to find life, based on grace.

The first sign Jesus gave was at a celebration when he turned water into wine. The second sign happened in very different circumstances, where a father was begging Jesus to heal his son. Jesus' response to the man left him with a decision to make, one we all have to make. Do we take Jesus at his word?

The first sign Jesus gave was at a celebration when he turned water into wine. The second sign happened in very different circumstances, where a father was begging Jesus to heal his son. Jesus' response to the man left him with a decision to make, one we all have to make. Do we take Jesus at his word?

Beginning with first-century followers of Jesus, trusting in Jesus has been a response to evidence — not simply in hoping something is true. The gospel writer John referred to the miracles of Jesus as signs that give evidence of who Jesus was. The first sign John documents is when Jesus—with a nudge from his mother —attended a wedding and turned water into wine.

Beginning with first-century followers of Jesus, trusting in Jesus has been a response to evidence — not simply in hoping something is true. The gospel writer John referred to the miracles of Jesus as signs that give evidence of who Jesus was. The first sign John documents is when Jesus—with a nudge from his mother —attended a wedding and turned water into wine.

We live in a culture that has a fasination with speed. So we find ourselves living our lives in a rush. But what if there is a better way to live? One that is light and easy.

We live in a culture that has a fasination with speed. So we find ourselves living our lives in a rush. But what if there is a better way to live? One that is light and easy.

 He was seeminglyindifferent to faith. Just an ordinary guy doing his work. But in this case, rather than speaking to him, it was what Paul did for the Jailer that caught his attention and lead to him finding faith.

 He was seeminglyindifferent to faith. Just an ordinary guy doing his work. But in this case, rather than speaking to him, it was what Paul did for the Jailer that caught his attention and lead to him finding faith.

She was a slave, demon possessed and had very few opportunities, yet Luke records the power of the gospel to transform her life in more ways than one.

She was a slave, demon possessed and had very few opportunities, yet Luke records the power of the gospel to transform her life in more ways than one.

Lydia was successful, she was a gentile worshipper of the Hebrew God yet when she met Paul by the river, and they talked, she discovered who Jesus was.

Lydia was successful, she was a gentile worshipper of the Hebrew God yet when she met Paul by the river, and they talked, she discovered who Jesus was.

In this message we talk about something that has the power to transform lives. It's not complicated, but it is revolutionary. And here's what's fascinating - it's something Jesus modelled perfectly, but we often struggle to get right.

In this message we talk about something that has the power to transform lives. It's not complicated, but it is revolutionary. And here's what's fascinating - it's something Jesus modelled perfectly, but we often struggle to get right.

Between busy schedules and past hurts, it can be tempting to do life alone. But God created us to know one another and experience meaningful friendships. How do you do that? How do you find your people? Let's learn how to overcome loneliness together.

Between busy schedules and past hurts, it can be tempting to do life alone. But God created us to know one another and experience meaningful friendships. How do you do that? How do you find your people? Let's learn how to overcome loneliness together.

By coming from Heaven to Earth to dwell among us, Jesus provides the perfect example of someone who is willing to walk towards the complicated and the uncomfortable and He calls those who are His followers to do likewise.

By coming from Heaven to Earth to dwell among us, Jesus provides the perfect example of someone who is willing to walk towards the complicated and the uncomfortable and He calls those who are His followers to do likewise.

Do you find the Christmas story unbelievable? Angels appearing, a virgin birth, a star guiding the way, it all seems well a little unbelievable. Yet, by looking at the people in the Christmas story you see that they too found it unbeliveable and they were in it. 

We all want a sign to know that God is real and what He is like. Yet Jesus made it clear, there is no better place to look in order to know what God is like than to look directly at Him.

We all want a sign to know that God is real and what He is like. Yet Jesus made it clear, there is no better place to look in order to know what God is like than to look directly at Him.

The Christmas season can be a bit messy. It's always been a bit messy because we're all a bit messy! In fact, our messiness is the reason there's a Christmas in the first place.

The Christmas season can be a bit messy. It's always been a bit messy because we're all a bit messy! In fact, our messiness is the reason there's a Christmas in the first place.

This song gives music and voice to a fundamental part of the human experience - our fustration at how things are and our longing for them to be as they could. 

This song gives music and voice to a fundamental part of the human experience - our fustration at how things are and our longing for them to be as they could. 

While we all know the mortality rate is an unchanging 100% for some reason we don't like to talk about death. Given that it is a certainty for each of us wouldn't it be wise to ask how to die with a smile?

While we all know the mortality rate is an unchanging 100% for some reason we don't like to talk about death. Given that it is a certainty for each of us wouldn't it be wise to ask how to die with a smile?