Saint Mary's Podcast

Ben speaks from Matthew 11:1—6, teaching on how belief and doubt can coexist, and how doubt is a normal part of the human experience, even in faith. We see this with John the Baptist, who, despite his previous certainty, questioned if Jesus was truly the Messiah. The good news is that Jesus invites us to bring our doubts to him, so we can explore them and ultimately grow in our relationship with God.

Tom speaks from Acts 28 following Paul's journey as it culminates in Rome, where he's under house arrest but continues to preach with boldness and without hindrance. Despite a mixed response, Paul's gutsy, faith-filled efforts planted a church in the empire's epicenter. This ripple effect shows how even small, obedient steps can have a generational impact for the kingdom.

This week Ali teaches from Acts 24 emphasizing that the resurrection of Jesus is not just a theological concept but a living person we can know. He encourages us to pursue a deep relationship with Jesus and to hold on to God's promises and keep believing during difficult seasons of waiting.

This week Katy teaches from Acts 17-19, following Paul's missionary journeys, showing a consistent pattern of new creation, multiplication, and resistance as the gospel impacts different cultures and cities. Katy reminds us that God's power is made perfect in weakness, encouraging us to carry the good news to our unique spheres of influence.

Tom explores the story of Timothy and how his unique background—with a Jewish mother and a Greek father—was a perceived flaw that Paul saw as an asset, embodying the unity of the early church. Tom highlights how God often uses what we consider a weaknesses to bring about transformation and calls on everyone to embrace their own complex stories for what God is calling them to.

Emily speaks about the church in Acts 'earnestly praying' in the midst of Peter's imprisonment. We can be inspired by their response to situations - prayer was their reflex response and prayer was their place of respite. Emily speaks about how we pray sincere, honest prayers throughout every moment of our lives.

Chris shares a powerful message on hearing God's voice, outlining stopping, listening, and beholding as three key ways to connect with God. He emphasizes the importance of stillness, actively listening to God's inner voice, like Ananias from Acts 9:1 - 19, and engaging with the Bible not just as a text, but as a meeting place for encounter.

This week Tom speaks from Acts 8 and contrasts Simon the Sorcerer's ego-driven pursuit of power with Philip's Spirit-led life, which witnesses to Jesus. Through links to Luke's Gospel and Acts 1:8, Tom shows how Philip's actions and the spread of the Gospel fulfill Jesus's promise to be his witnesses, the core message being our lives should point to Jesus, not ourselves, reflecting Him as "The Way."

This Sunday, as we celebrated Baptisms! Katy preached from Ephesians 2:1-10 on what its means to be in Christ—a reality where we move from death to life, disorientation to direction, and division to belonging. Baptism symbolizes this new life and eternal purpose. We're not alone; we're part of a restored family, empowered by the Spirit, called to follow Jesus and join in the renewal of our city.

Sam speaks on Acts 6 at our 6pm gathering. He talks about Stephen's simple call from God and the way God used him beyond his wildest expectations. He asks us to consider, how does God want to use each of us?

Ben preaches on Acts 5 and resistance to the Kingdom. He calls us to freedom and hope, as we look to follow God's call on our lives.

This week was Preach for the Stars, where we invite people from our church family to give short talks. At this 10.30 gathering, Ian preached on Acts 3 and the faith of Peter and John as they performed their first miracle, and Beth preached on Acts 4 and the disciples' prayer for more of the Holy Spirit.

On Pentecost Sunday, Katy unpacks Acts 2 and the miraculous encounter with the Holy Spirit. She encouraged us to be a spirit-filled community of participation, centred around Jesus.

Emily preached for the next part of our Acts: Kingdom Now series, looking at the powerful moment of Pentecost and its impact on us.

This week, we kick off our new teaching series through the book of Acts, Kingdom Now. In week one, Tom sets the course for the series, helping us see how the book is the true story of the outpouring of heaven and the renewal of the world, and how as the church we can climb inside it and live it out every day.

Misheck Manhanha speaks from Exodus on the glory of God. Misheck is the Church Planting Lead for Assemblies of God and we were delighted to have him preach for us on Sunday.

Jon speaks from 2 Corinthians and asks, what if the quiet revival we've been sensing is real—and already underway? Are you ready to open your life to a move of God?

Edgar speaks from John 21:1-14 and the value of remembering who we are because of who God is. That in our doubt or worry or default to comfort, it's Jesus who does the calling and provision on the Calling.

Abielle speaks from John 20:24-29 reminding us that doubt is not the opposite of faith but can be a pathway to a deeper encounter with Christ. Jesus' words, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed," encourage us to trust Him even when we cannot see.

Jon speaks on the the Hope and Life we have in the resurrection from John 20:1-20

Katy encourages us to become a community of prayerful Presence by imitating the very life of God: pursuing His presence and participating in His mission. She challenges us to eliminate distractions, overcome shame, and enter into honest, intimate relationship with God. As we behold and abide with God, we're also called to participate in His mission; uniting in prayer with others, contending for breakthrough, and witnessing lives transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sam….

Juliet continues on the theme of community, speaking on the power and conviction of forgiveness, and how we are to treat each other in light of what Jesus has done for us.

Continuing our series on Community Sanjay Rajo talks to us about becoming peacemakers in a hostile environment.

Jon spoke on Luke 11 for Giving Sunday, encouraging us to set our perspective on the abundant generosity of God, as we sow into what God is doing in our church, our city and our world.

Guest Speaker, Bishop Philip the Bishop of Winchester spoke about the persecuted church.

Guest Speaker, Bishop Philip the Bishop of Winchester spoke about the persecuted church.

Jon shares on Vision Sunday how the aim of following Jesus is to get his view of reality into ours - we are invited to perceive His presence, be transformed by His Spirit, and step into our calling to bring about God's glory and the world's good as we following the way, playing our part in the renewal of our city and beyond.

What…

What is Jesus' vision for community? How do we embody what it means to be a Jesus-centred family together? over the next few weeks we are going to be looking at how we grow as a thick web of tight-knit relationships throughout our city, for God's glory and the worlds good.

Katy highlights the importance of wholehearted devotion to God, drawing from Matthew 6:19-24, where Jesus warns against storing up earthly treasures and being divided in heart. The sermon emphasises that true devotion requires aligning mind, body, and soul with God, and challenges listeners to evaluate their priorities, avoiding distractions like wealth and ambition. Ultimately, it calls for sacrificial love and a focus on eternal, kingdom-centered treasures rather than temporary worldly gains.

Continuing our series on living lives of wholehearted devotion, Jon explores a biblical narrative on what it means to be an embodied people, made in the image of God.

This week guest speaker Will Van Der Hart spoke on the area of our mind, our mental health and well being , giving us biblical insight into Jesus's encounters with his disciples, about how he developed resilience, committed to prayer and modelled freedom that is found in spending time with God.

This Sunday Katy talks on the theme of Wholehearted Trust – Looking particularly at the wisdom of Proverbs 3:5-6, that teaches us to let go of our self reliance, and lean more fully into God as we head into 2025.

This Sunday, Sam reflects on the growing spiritual curiosity in society, saying that while Christianity has seen a decline, a new spiritual renewal is emerging. Drawing from the story of Peter's denial and reinstatement by Jesus, the Sam encourages us to overcome fear and comfort in order to share our faith boldly. It highlights how crisis often precedes renewal, and urges us to not let fear or past mistakes block others from encountering Jesus and the spiritual awakening happening around them.

As we start the new year together, Tom kicks off our new teaching series - Wholehearted, a short series looking at what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. In week one, we look at what it might look like to live lives of unwavering devotion to Jesus as we seek to become more like him.

Following the Maji in Matthew 2:1-12; Katie compares the two Kingdoms portrayed in the passage, the Empire of Earth and the Kingdom of Heaven. How might we give our full allegiance to King Jesus, as we behold who he is and seek to become like him in our daily lives?

Abielle kicks off our Advent season by urging us to prepare our hearts for Christ's coming by reflecting on Mary's story of faith and fellowship, in a time of pain and shame, yet joy for what was to come. Looking at Luke 1:39-56, Mary's faithfulness, seen in her visit to Elizabeth and her song of praise, shows us the importance of trusting God's plan even in challenging circumstances.

This Sunday Katy shares on what it means to be a prophetic Church; a prophetic people, actively living out and enacting God's Kingdom now, as well as participating in the things of the Spirit, particularly prophecy (1 Corinthians 12-14).

From the verses in Philippians 3 : 17-20, Sam shares the invitation to walk and live out our faith in community with one another as a church of the way of Jesus Christ.

This Sunday, Tom concluded our short vision series looking at the relational spheres of Crowd, Company, Core, One, by showing us the centrality of a relationship with God - abiding with Jesus as he abides with us.

This Sunday, Tom concluded our short vision series looking at the relational spheres of Crowd, Company, Core, One, by showing us the centrality of a relationship with God - abiding with Jesus as he abides with us.

This week Katy follows Jon's talk about having a Kingdom vision through the calling to love our neighbour. This kind of love changes us. Are we willing to be sent as Jesus was sent? To be filled with His love and His compassion for others, which is far deeper and greater than anything we could ever feel.

This Sunday, Tom concluded our short vision series looking at the relational spheres of Crowd, Company, Core, One, by showing us the centrality of a relationship with God - abiding with Jesus as he abides with us.

From the verses in Philippians 3 : 17-20, Sam shares the invitation to walk and live out our faith in community with one another as a church of the way of Jesus Christ.

From the verses in Philippians 3 : 17-20, Sam shares the invitation to walk and live out our faith in community with one another as a church of the way of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 46 shows us who God is. He is present in everything in life, and he wants us to know that he loves us, and he wants to be involved in our lives. From this Psalm, Emily explores how we can be reignited, through certainty and surrender.