27/09/2026 - Kyle Hanna

James 4:1–12

THE CUP

When a cup gets bumped, what’s already inside spills out.

Criticism → anger

Success of others → jealousy

Correction → defensiveness

Uncertainty → anxiety

Disagreement → pride

The bump doesn’t create what’s inside—it reveals it.

Question: What’s been spilling out of me lately?

1. THE WAR WITHIN — vv.1–3

James traces external conflict back to “passions at war within you.”

Good desires can become ruling desires:

Desire → Demand → Disappointment → Conflict

“I’d like this” becomes “I need this to be okay.”

Approval. Control. Relationships. Achievement. Comfort.

Ask: God, what are my circumstances revealing about my heart?

2. THE GREAT DIVIDE — vv.4–5

Disordered desires eventually compete with God for our allegiance.

“Friendship with the world is enmity with God.”

We cannot serve two masters.

God “yearns jealously”—not sinful jealousy, but covenant love desiring our wholehearted devotion.

Who has my heart?

3. GRACE IS BETTER — v.6

“But He gives more grace.”

We wander → He gives more grace.

We choose other things → more grace.

Our desires become disordered → more grace.

Grace doesn’t excuse our wandering; grace calls us home.

4. HUMILITY HAS A POSTURE — vv.7–12

Surrender — “Submit yourselves to God.”

Draw near — Bring your heart back to Him.

Get honest — Let Jesus reveal what’s in the cup.

Step off the throne — Entrust yourself to God.

RESPONSE

• Name what’s spilling out.
• Identify the desire underneath.
• Surrender it specifically.
• Draw near instead of hiding.

When the cup gets bumped this week, don’t only blame the bump.

Examine the cup. Bring what you find to Jesus. He gives more grace.

20/09/2026 - Beck Lambert

Text: James 3

1. Small things set a direction

Your tongue has the power to

• strengthen or separate relationships;
• build or damage reputations;
• foster or destroy trust;
• create peace or fuel conflict;
• express love and encouragement or envy and hatred;

and end up setting the very direction of our lives, like the rudder of a ship.

The tongue represents your inner world as it becomes expressed in words and action.

Luke 6:45 “What you say flows from what is in your heart”.

What we say can take the form of:

The internal narratives you rehearse about yourself…and others

The way we talk about someone when we are angry with them

The things we post about online

All these “big little things” that make up our world, thought by thought, word by word, post by post over time set the overall direction of your life.

1. A divided heart produces a divided life

Verses 9-12: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and saltwater flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

In nature, things only ever produce according to their design, but we humans have the ability to live and speak in contradictory ways.

James compares “earthly wisdom” and “heavenly wisdom”,

earthly wisdom; facilitates a divided life because this kind of wisdom evaluates everything via worldly standards.

Highest Goal: personal comfort.

Earthly wisdom can be clever, strategic, and socially impressive.

Looks like: getting ahead, protecting your status or position, of winning the argument at any cost.

1. Wisdom from above

James 3:17 ESV “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”

1. Pure – Greek: Hagnos | ἁγνός

Open to have God search our motivations, one which welcomes Him to examine us.

Echoes Psalm 139:23 “Search me, God, and know my heart”

Reflection Questions:

As I think about [insert problem/relationship/plans/decision] Am I seeking what is right, or merely what benefits me?

Is there an area of my life where I am asking God to bless something I am actually using for my own status, control or comfort?

Do I have hidden agendas at play in my relationships?

1. Peaceable – Greek: eirenikos | εἰρηνικός

Right relationship between person and person and right relationship between person and God.

Wisdom that moves closer to people at the same time as moving closer to God.

The difference between knowing what’s right and knowing what to do with that “rightness” in the context of relationship.

Reflection Questions

What atmosphere do I tend to create during a difficult conversation?

Do I use truth as a bridge or as a weapon?

Do I use my words to reconcile or win when there’s a disagreement?

• Gentle or Considerate – Greek: epieikēs | ἐπιεικής

“Sweet reasonableness.”

When it is actually wrong to insist on the strict letter of the law when mercy, context and human need require something better.

When standing on your rights would be less righteous than giving them up. Especially relevant to leadership, conflict, and authority.

Reflection Questions:

Where am I insisting on the letter of the law while neglecting the spirit of love?

What would “sweet reasonableness” look like in my next difficult conversation?

Am I technically right but relationally wrong?

1. Open to reason – Greek: eupeithēs | εὐπειθής

Someone who is willing to listen, learn, and reconsider if wisdom requires it. This wisdom requires great humility in someone’s life.

A direct challenge to self-protective certainty.

Reflection Questions:

When was the last time I changed my mind because someone helped me see more clearly?

Do I listen in order to understand, or only to prepare my response?

Where might my certainty be masking insecurity or pride?

1. Full of mercy and good fruits – Greek: eleos | ἔλεος

A compassionate response to someone in trouble…even when that person has brought trouble on themselves!

It refuses to reduce a person to the point of their failure.

A mercy that is not detached but seeks to give help.

“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” James 2:15-16 ESV.

Reflection Questions:

Whose suffering am I tempted to dismiss with “They brought it on themselves”?

Can I distinguish between enabling someone and showing them compassion?

Where am I expressing concern without taking meaningful action?

1. Impartial – Greek: adiakritos | ἀδιάκριτος

A person who is not governed by favouritism, self-interest or changing loyalties.

Not divided between one standard for people we like and another for people we distrust or dislike.

Reflection Questions:

Do I value people who cannot advance my interests?

Do I treat people consistently in life – particularly when they offer no social or strategic benefit to me?

Are there things I excuse in myself that I condemn in others?

• Sincere – Greek: anypokritos | ἀνυπόκριτος

To live in a way to not hide by wearing different masks in life or play different characters depending on who you are with.

This kind of wisdom does not produce one person in public and another in private.

Reflection Questions:

Am I the same person in public, private, online and under pressure?

Is there a gap between what I say and what my life consistently reveals?

What would become more integrated if I brought it into the light?

1. The Harvest of Righteousness.

James 3:18, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

Each of these aspects of heavenly wisdom is a seed to be sown in our lives.

In time, these seeds sown over and over in your life will produce a harvest of righteousness.

Final questions: “what kind of wisdom is shaping me, and what kind of harvest is my life producing?”

13/09/2026 - Matthew Destry

My brothers,[a] show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonoured the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honourable name by which you were called?

8 If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

The big idea:

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 

The example:

For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 

The reverse Kingdom:

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonoured the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honourable name by which you were called?

All sins carry weight:

8 If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 

“The royal law”

James raises the stakes

“Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point…“

The application

The freedom of mercy:

So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

The table at the wedding feast

Revelation 19:6-9

6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

the Almighty reigns.

7

Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his Bride has made herself ready;

8

it was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said[a] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

06/09/2026 - Matthew Destry

Passage: James 1:1-18

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Meet Jacob – The brother who calls himself a servant

a/ A brother who became a servant

b/ Brothers and sisters

c/ Jacob and the twelve tribes

d/ The wisdom of Jesus for the real world

1/ Pressure has a purpose – Trials don’t just test you. They form you.

a/ Pressure reveals

b/ Pressure forms

c/ Let perseverance finish its work

2/ Ask the giving God: When you don’t know what to do

a/ Explanation or wisdom?

b/ God is not annoyed by your asking

c/ From divided to whole

3/ When everything moves – Fix your heart on what doesn’t

“Then Baldad, when he had arisen, approached me and said, ‘Are you Job?’ And I said to him, ‘Yes.’ And he said, ‘Is your heart untroubled?’ And I said to him, ‘My heart is not fixed on earthly concerns, since the earth and those who dwell in it are unstable. But my heart is fixed on heavenly concerns, for there is no upset in heaven.’ And Baldad replied and said, ‘We know the earth is unstable, since of course it changes from time to time. Sometimes it steers an even course and is at peace; there are also times of war. But as for heaven, we hear that it stays calm.’ ”

Testament of Job 36:1–6 (OTP)

4/ The Father of lights – Don’t mistake God’s character because of your circumstances

Every good gift comes down

The shadows move, the Father doesn’t

5/ Let them see the roots – Don’t just show them the outcome of your faith

a/ When Dad stops being Superman

b/ Let them see the process

c/ Open the window

Faith for Monday – Christianity with work boots on

30/08/2026 - Matthew Destry

1. The tragedy of wasted potential
2. Samson in 90 seconds
3. The big idea

Gifted, but not given. Strong, but not surrendered. Powerful, but not pursuing.

1. The eyes have it

Judges 14:1-3

Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?”

But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.”

1. Out of the eater: God works through what he doesn’t approve

Judges 14:5-13

5 Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. 6 The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her. Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. 9 He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass. Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast, as was customary for young men. 11 When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions. “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. 13 If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.” “Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.” He replied, “Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.”

1. Hair: when the gift disappears

Judges 16:15-21

15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.

17 So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.” 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.[c] And his strength left him. 20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. 21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

1. Final application: don’t use the gifts for yourself – go to the giver
2. Jesus: the better Samson

23/08/2026 - Matt Robinson

Genesis 37-50

1. An Unlikely Hero

Genesis 37:3

Joseph was favoured by his father and given dreams from God about his future.

But Joseph wasn’t the obvious choice:

• He wasn’t the firstborn.
• He came from a complicated family.
• His brothers looked down on him.

God doesn’t look for what people look for. He looks at the heart.

God is a good Father. He gives good gifts, calls the unexpected and uses people others might overlook.

2. Raised Among Injustice – Yet Defiant in Character

Joseph’s brothers betrayed him, threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery.

Genesis 37:28

Joseph had received a promise from God, yet his life immediately became filled with suffering.

God’s promise doesn’t mean a pain-free life.

Pain, suffering and betrayal aren’t proof that God has abandoned us. They remind us of our need for a faithful God.

Joseph eventually became successful in Potiphar’s house.

Genesis 39:2–6

But notice what Joseph did:

He worked.

His promotion didn’t mean less responsibility but more responsibility.

Joseph chose to honour God through his work, even when his circumstances were unjust.

When everyone else is doing wrong, choose to do what is right.

Doing the right thing may cost you in the short term, but God sees your faithfulness.

Don’t expect righteousness to always be easy, but trust that God sees your faithfulness.

3. The Innocent Punished

Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife.

When temptation came, Joseph ran.

Genesis 39:11–15

Sometimes the most faithful response to temptation is simply to run from it.

Joseph did the right thing, but was falsely accused and thrown into prison.

Yet Joseph didn’t give up.

Even in prison, he worked, served others and remained faithful.

Being in a difficult place doesn’t mean God has stopped working.

Joseph interpreted dreams for other prisoners, and eventually his gift brought him before Pharaoh.

What looked like another setback became the pathway to his calling.

4. Yet God’s Spirit Is Upon Him

Genesis 41:38

“Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?”

Joseph had remained faithful from the pit to the prison.

He understood that God was still:

• Speaking
• Teaching
• Saving
• Using him

What if we lived with the same perspective?

Even when our circumstances don’t make sense, what if we believed:

God is still speaking.

God is still teaching.

God is still saving.

God is still using me.

God’s Spirit brings:

• Restoration
• Peace
• Unity
• Freedom
• Life

God’s Spirit is available to you.

5. Through Which Salvation Comes

Joseph was eventually raised up to a position where he could save countless people from famine.

But God wasn’t only saving Joseph.

God was using Joseph to bring salvation to others.

He also eventually saw restoration between himself and his family.

God doesn’t just want to bless us – He wants to use us.

Joseph’s story points towards a greater story:

An unlikely hero

↓

Raised among injustice

↓

Innocently punished

↓

The Spirit of God upon Him

↓

Through whom salvation comes

The Story of Jesus

The Old Testament is filled with stories of unlikely people who God uses.

But ultimately, no ordinary person could fulfil the story.

Until Jesus.

Born in Bethlehem.

Raised among sinners.

Betrayed by those He called brothers.

Sold for silver.

Innocently punished for the guilty.

Yet He overcame death and brought life.

Jesus did what no person could do.

He made a way.

He bridged the gap.

He opened the gates.

So that all humanity could follow Him.

The story of Joseph echoes the greater story of Jesus.

What Does This Mean For Us Today?

Maybe today you feel like:

The unlikely hero

You feel inadequate or overlooked.

Raised among injustice

You’re surrounded by things that don’t seem right.

In a pit of despair

Your circumstances seem to have taken away your hope.

But remember:

God knows.

God sees.

God is still at work.

He is looking for people who will allow His Spirit to work through them to bring salvation and restoration to the world around them.

Trust in the Lord.

He knows what He is doing and He is still doing it today.

16/08/2026 - Matthew Destry

Right at the centre of this reluctant prophet’s story, hidden in the darkness of a fish’s belly, we find one of the most beautiful prayers in all of Scripture.

Passage: Jonah 2:1-9

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,

and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

and you heard my voice.

For you cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas,

and the flood surrounded me;

all your breakers and your waves

passed over me.

Then I said, ‘I am driven away

from your sight;

yet I shall again look

upon your holy temple.’

The waters closed in over me to take my life;

the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head.

To the roots of the mountains I went down,

to the land whose bars closed upon me forever.

Yet you brought up my life from the pit,

O Lord my God.

When my life was fainting away,

I remembered the Lord,

and my prayer came to you,

into your holy temple.

Those who pay regard to vain idols

forsake their hope of steadfast love.

But I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

Two observations

a/ The fish is never called judgment. It is called God’s provision.

b/ Jonah never actually asks to get out.

1. Fill your heart before you need it
2. Gratitude changes the atmosphere before circumstances change
3. Salvation belongs to the Lord

One final observation:  Throughout the entire prayer… the fish never changes. Jonah does.

09/08/2026 - Vincent Gulay

The story of Jonah is not just about a man and a fish. It is a story about the grace of God.

God extends grace to Jonah, to the sailors, to Nineveh, and even to a reluctant prophet who

keeps getting it wrong.

We are all recipients of God’s grace, but we are also called to become carriers of it.

The question is: Will we allow God’s grace to flow to us, through us, and to others?

ACT 1: BEFORE FISH

1. A STORM OF MERCY

Scripture: Jonah 1:4

Sometimes the storm is not punishment. Sometimes it is mercy.

Jonah was moving away from God, and the storm became the very thing that redirected him.

If a challenge in our life is drawing us back toward God, it may actually be an expression of

His grace.

God’s grace TO me.

Question:

Could the storm I am facing be God’s mercy redirecting me?

2. PREACH WITH YOUR LIFE

Scripture: Jonah 1:9–13

Jonah said he worshipped the Lord while actively running away from Him.

When our lives contradict what we say we believe, it can create confusion for the people

around us.

Our obedience matters. Our disobedience rarely affects only us.

Don’t let the life you live block the grace you preach.

God’s grace THROUGH me.

Question:

Where am I rationalising disobedience, and how is it affecting those around me?

ACT 2: AFTER FISH

3. LET GRACE FLOW

Scripture: Jonah 3; Jonah 4:1–3

Jonah did not want Nineveh to receive the grace of God.

But our job is not to decide who is ready for grace or who deserves grace.

Our job is to faithfully carry it.

We do not know what God has already been doing in someone’s heart before He asks us to

act.

Jonah wanted grace for Israel.

Jonah wanted grace for himself.

He just did not want grace for his enemies.

Do we love grace, or only grace extended to us?

God’s grace FOR others.

Question:

Who am I withholding grace, forgiveness or mercy from?

4. BE HUMBLE.

Scripture: Jonah 3:6

The king of Nineveh stepped down from his throne, removed his robes and humbled himself

before God.

Grace requires humility.

There are areas of our lives where we need to stop relying only on our own strength and

surrender again to the Lord.

Our humility can also create space for the people we lead and influence to experience God’s

grace.

Sometimes grace enters the room when we are willing to get off the throne.

My SURRENDER to grace.

Question:

Where do I need to humble myself and surrender control to God?

RESPONSE: A SECOND TIME

Scripture: Jonah 3:1

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.”

Jonah ran.

Jonah resisted.

Jonah got it wrong.

And still, God came again.

That is grace.

Jonah ultimately points us toward Jesus, who entered death and rose again so that anyone

who calls on His name can receive forgiveness, restoration and new life.

The invitation of Jesus is still being extended today.

RESPONSE QUESTIONS

● Are you in a storm? Could God be redirecting you?

● Are you rationalising something you know is wrong?

● Who are you withholding grace from?

● Where do you need to humble yourself before God?

The good news is not that you have to fix yourself before you come back.

The word of the Lord can come to you a second time.

And His invitation requires a response.

02/08/2026 - Matthew Destry

Context: The book of Daniel spans almost seventy years. Jerusalem has fallen. The temple has been destroyed. God’s people have been dragged into exile. First came Assyria, swallowing the northern kingdom. Then Babylon conquered Judah. Nebuchadnezzar ruled. Then Belshazzar. Then, almost overnight, another empire arrived. Persia.

Daniel 6:1-9

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” 6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement[a] to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

1. Your excellence can be a witness

Verse 3… ”Daniel so distinguished himself…”

Daniel 9:2 – “in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.”

Jeremiah 29:5-7…“ Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Daniel 6:10-12

10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. 11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. 12 Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” 

1. Your rhythms can be a witness

First – The upper room

Second -Why not close the windows?

Third – Why Jerusalem?

Daniel 6:16-18

16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared[b] to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”

1. Your peace can be a witness
2. Your words can be a witness

26/07/2026 - Jody Destry

Big Idea: The book of Ruth points us to Jesus—our true and eternal Kinsman-Redeemer. Through

this beautiful Old Testament story we discover that God is always at work rescuing, redeeming

and restoring His people.

Key Scriptures

Ruth 1:16–18

Ruth 1:20–21

Ruth 2:3

Ruth 3:9

Ruth 4:13–17

The Journey Through Ruth

Chapter 1 – The Tragedy

Key Point: Our rescue begins when we come to the end of ourselves.

Naomi returns empty, bitter and convinced her story is over. Yet even in the darkest chapter, God

is preparing the way for redemption.

Chapter 2 – A Glimmer of Hope

Key Point: Even when we can’t see His hand, God is already working for our good.

Ruth “just happens” to glean in Boaz’s field—but what looks like coincidence is God’s

providence.

Chapter 3 – The Match-maker

Key Point: Hope becomes certain when we place ourselves under the covering of our Redeemer.

At the threshing floor—the place where the wheat is separated from the chaff and what is valuable

is revealed—Ruth entrusts herself to Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer. It points us to Jesus, our

ultimate Redeemer, under whose covering we find refuge.

Chapter 4 – The Triumph

Key Point: Our Redeemer doesn’t just rescue us—He gives us a future beyond what we could

imagine

The story moves from tragedy to triumph, emptiness to fullness, bitterness to joy. Ruth becomes

part of the family line of King David—and ultimately, Jesus Christ.

Jesus: Our True Redeemer

Boaz points us to Jesus, our true and eternal Kinsman-Redeemer.

19/07/2026 - Matthew Destry

Many of us have inherited this picture of the Bible… where God is one way in the Old Testament, and another way in the New.

Bad Cop, Good Cop:

Old Testament – Angry. Violent. Judging. Rules.

New Testament – Jesus. Grace. Love. Forgiveness.

Luke 24:25-27

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Genesis 6:11-22

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[c] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[d] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[e] high all around.[f] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.” Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

God sees

2. God grieves

Genesis 7:13-17

On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.

3. God rescues – The ark is mercy

Genesis 9:9-20

12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.” 18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth. Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded[a] to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside.

4. A promise of rest – The bow and the vineyard

5. The ache remains and heroes fall

Noah was never the hero. The ark is pointing to Christ.

12/07/2026 - Jacinta Lewis

The Life Of David

1. God Has Purposed You to Paint

Key Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1–13

• Israel wanted a king → Saul anointed, but later rejected (1 Sam 16:1).
• God sends Samuel to Jesse’s house to anoint the next king.
• David, the youngest, tending sheep, is seen, called, and anointed by God.

Takeaways:

• You have purpose. God created you with intention.
• You may feel forgotten or uninvited, but God sees you.
• Even if you don’t know your calling yet, serve faithfully where you are.
• David’s preparation began in ordinary tasks (shepherding).

Reflection:

• Do you believe God has a purpose for your life?
• Are you living like it’s true, even if you don’t fully know it yet?

2. In Order to Paint, We Must Prepare

“The gifts God gives come in raw form, needing to be developed.” (Gary Millar)

• After anointing, David waited ~15 years before becoming king.
• He served Saul (playing lyre) and his father (shepherding)
• When Goliath mocked Israel, David saw a God-sized opportunity, not a giant-sized problem.

David’s Preparation Included:

• Serving the very man whose role he’d inherit.
• Returning to his father’s sheep despite his anointing.
• Trusting God’s past faithfulness (lion, bear → Goliath).
• Refusing Saul’s armour; using what God had prepared in him.

Reflection:

• What are the “sheep” in your life right now?
• Are you seeing your current tasks as preparation for what’s next?
• Do you trust that God is preparing you, even if it doesn’t look “normal”?

3. Once the Painting Starts, Stay the Course Key

Contrast: Saul vs. David

• Saul: Anointed but unfaithful, threatened by David, focused on his own kingdom.
• David: Anointed and faithful, honoured Saul, trusted God’s timing, focused on God’s kingdom.

Lessons:

• Calling is not for building our own kingdom but God’s.
• Don’t see others’ success as a threat; rejoice when others flourish for the Lord.
• Even when wronged, David refused to take vengeance (1 Sam 24, 26).
• Stay faithful in your assignment, even when it’s hard.

Community Matters:

• Jonathan protected and encouraged David (1 Sam 19:1–3).
• Calling is not lived alone.
• Older generation: mentor, lead, encourage.
• All generations: serve in community.

Our purpose is for others. The “painting” reflects Christ’s beauty to the world.

Three Stages:

1. Purposed to Paint – You know God has called you, but don’t know what yet.
2. → Serve faithfully. Be willing to learn.
3. Preparing to Paint – You know your calling, but not yet in it.
4. → See everything as preparation. Stay faithful to the current assignment.
5. Painting Faithfully – You’re already in your calling.
6. → Mentor others. Build God’s kingdom. Stay humble.
7. David wasn’t perfect, but his faithfulness to God remained despite failures.

Personal Reflection Questions:

• Is there pride or entitlement I need to repent of?
• What personal agenda needs to be laid down for God’s agenda?
• What could I do differently right now to honour God’s call?
• Who can I partner with in this calling?
• If I’m in my calling, who can I mentor and encourage?

Communion Reflection:

God isn’t afraid of our mess; He uses it for His glory.

As we take communion, ask:

• Where am I in the painting process?
• How can I stay faithful this season?
• Do I need to recommit to God’s purpose?

1 Corinthians 10:16

“Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?”

Ps Zeke Murley - 05 July

28/06/2026 - Matthew Destry

TEXT – Philippians 4:10-20 (ESV)

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were

indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need,

for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I

know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and

hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 14 Yet it was

kind of you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of

the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and

receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and

again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have

received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts

you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will

supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and

Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Context

Open hands learn CONTENTMENT (vv.10-13)

2. Open hands GIVE FREELY (vv.14-18)

3. Open hands TRUST God’s provision (vv.19-20)

4. Open hands INVEST in what they may never see (vv.15-18)

21/06/2026 - Matt Robinson

Our community is spiritually hungry and looking for answers. It’s as Jesus said, the harvest is plentiful… it’s up to us to share with them the good news, the message of the one and only way, truth and life that is Jesus.

Primary Text: Acts 26:9-23

Here we see Paul stand before a court room and share HIs testimony of how and why he came to believe and follow Christ. He demonstrates how we can use our story as a witness to who God is.

Here are three thoughts that to encourage us around sharing about God:

1. Don’t need a degree in theology

Key Text: ‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭25‬

We don’t need to hold all the answers to have qualifications, your story is unique to you, no one can dispute or argue against what you have lived. People aren’t looking for answers, they are looking for the answer, that there is a God who loves them.

Consider how you first came to follow Christ.

1. Your witness is your discipleship

Key Text: Mark 5:18-20

For this man, his next step in discipleship wasn’t to sit at Jesus’ feet but to sing of what Jesus had done for him. Be careful not to be so focused on your own faith that you’re not considering what you can do to share it with others.

1. The World needs the Truth

Key Text: ‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭14

The Gospel brings hope, freedom, unity, peace, joy, justice, healing and redemption. How will people come to know Christ unless they are told about Him? It’s often said the first step in someone’s coming to know Christ is by knowing and trusting a christian. This is how the gospel spread and the early church grew, from people sharing their stories about what God was doing in your life.

Reflective questions:

What’s your story? What is God doing in your life?

Consider, what has God done in your life recently?

What this could look like:

I heard this on the weekend… (Share what you heard or chatted about at church/small group)

I’ve been thinking about… (insert what God’s been speaking to you about)

I’ve been praying for…

When asked: “How was your weekend” you can talk about how you spent it serving coffees and chips.

When people notice something different about you and ask “why are you always so… why do you…?” point towards your faith.

It doesn’t take a preacher or evangelist to introduce people to Jesus, it takes anybody sharing about their story as a part of God’s story.

14/06/2026 - Matthew Destry

Text 1 – Daniel 10:2-9 (ESV)

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. 3 I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) 5 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. 7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed,[b] and I retained no strength. 9 Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.

Context:

This is the third year of Cyrus—two years after Cyrus’ decree for the restoration of the Jews had gone forth, in accordance with Daniel’s prayer. This is very close to the time when the first wave of Jews are returning from captivity and beginning the rebuilding of the temple (recorded in the first chapter of Ezra).

1. We can tell our emotions what to do

a/ You are in charge

b/ Holding joy and grief together

c/ the goal of prayer and fasting is CLARITY

1. What we behold shapes us

Text 2 – Daniel 10:10-14 (ESV)

And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”

1. God often gives strength before He gives answers
2. There is more happening than what we can see – so keep praying

a/ the war in heaven:

b/ keep praying

1. From desiring to desired

07/06/2026 - Matthew Destry

Psalm 63:1-8 … A Psalm of David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Context / exegesis

“A Psalm of David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah.”

A shepherd turned fugitive.

Verse 11: “But the king shall rejoice in God…”

“The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.” (2 Samuel 15:13)

So, which one is it?

Because whichever wilderness you choose, the lesson remains the same. God keeps bringing David back to the same classroom.

Into the wild

1. The wilderness reveals our thirst

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you…” (Psalm 63:1)

1. True hunger refuses to settle for substitutes

“Earnestly I seek you…” (Psalm 63:1)

1. Hunger carries us through success and failure
2. Hunger remembers God’s faithfulness

“So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.” (v.2)

“When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night…” (v.6)

1. Hunger engages the whole person

“My lips will praise you…” (v.3)

“I will lift up my hands…” (v.4)

“My mouth will praise you…” (v.5)

“I remember you upon my bed…” (v.6)

“My soul clings to you…” (v.8)

1. God Himself is the reward

“Because your steadfast love is better than life…” (Psalm 63:3)

1. The satisfied become the sent

Am I still hungry?

31/05/2026 - Matthew Destry

The Roman historian Pliny the Younger once wrote to Emperor Trajan trying to explain these Christians. He said “they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath… the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms.”

They spread everywhere. Because the early church did not primarily see itself as a place people attended. It saw itself as a people who were sent.

We gather to be formed. But we exist to be sent.

Acts 13:1–3

“Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”

John 20:21 “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’”

Point 1: The church is called to form people, not just gather crowds

Point 2: Sending flows from spiritual depth

Point 3: Multiplication requires generosity and courage

1/ What does this mean for us personally?

“Sending” does not begin when you move overseas or plant a church. It begins Monday morning.

2/ So what does this mean for us as a church?

It means every person in this room has a role in the sending story. Some will go. Some will give. Some will lead. Some will pray.

24/05/2026 - Matthew Destry

Joshua 15:16–19 (ESV):

“And Caleb said, ‘Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.’ And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.

When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, ‘What do you want?’

She said to him, ‘Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.’

And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.”

setting the scene

Caleb is stepping into promise. He’s one of the faithful spies. Years earlier, when everyone else shrank back in fear, Caleb trusted God. And now… after wilderness, after waiting… he’s receiving his inheritance. Land is being divided. Territory is being established. Promise is becoming reality.

1. inheritance is not enough without provision

She says: “Give me a blessing… give me also springs of water.”

prayer and disappointment

a/ Maybe for you, the ground feels dry in your faith.

b/ Maybe it’s your home.

c/ Maybe it’s your work.

d/ Or maybe you can’t even name it clearly.

And this is exactly where Pentecost meets this story. In Acts 1:8, Jesus looks at His disciples and says: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…” You will receive power (provision) to be my witnesses (inheritance).

1. bold asking within relationship – ask the Father

Matthew 7 – “Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? … If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

John 14:16–17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth…”

1. noticing what others miss – provision for the vision
2. upper and lower springs — the generosity of God

Don’t just accept the land. Ask for the springs.

17/05/2026 - Matthew Destry

What is a miracle? A miracle is an act of God that goes beyond ordinary natural explanation and reveals His power, presence, or compassion.

Three different views Christians hold

Some Christians believe miraculous gifts largely ceased after the apostolic era. This is often called cessationism.

Others believe all the gifts continue today exactly as they did in the New Testament. This is continuationism.

And then many Christians sit somewhere in the middle. Open, but careful.

The challenge everybody feels

Because if miracles are real… why doesn’t God do them reliably over and over again?

the text – 1 Corinthians 12:4–7 (ESV)

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

1. manifestation of the Spirit

1 Corinthians 14:1 (ESV):

“Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”

1. given for the common good

The real question is not: “What gift do I have?” but, “What need can I meet?”

1. what are the gifts?

word of wisdom

word of knowledge

faith

gifts of healing

working of miracles

prophecy

discerning of spirits

tongues

interpretation of tongues

1. how are the gifts best expressed?
2. in the gathered church
3. in small groups and teams
4. in everyday life

a simple filter – try to ask:

* Is this loving? * Is this helpful? * Is this clear? * Is this the right moment?

Romans 15:18–19 (ESV):

“For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God…”