Central Church Port Kembla

This week, Caro speaks from Matthew 6:1-4, focusing on joining God in giving in secret and hidden ways. At the beginning of the message Caro was showing a bunch of photos from her garden...so we've attached the slides from this talk so you can follow along visually if you'd like. You can download the PDF here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dz8cincuau8uo4h/AAD48afj-9dYage-H94Zwk-ta?dl=0

We have guest speaker Linda Ward, who leads a Pioneer Network church in the UK, sharing on Luke 4 and what it is to be a sent people.

What are some of the habits that form you? In this talk, Ryan takes an in depth look into one of the 3 habits that Jesus mentions in Matthew 6:1-18; fasting. How can this practice, now so secularised as the latest dieting fad, draw us into further Christlikeness and what could it look like today?

This week Caro unpacks the idea of the language of reward present in the next section of the Sermon on the Mount. And also chats about the impact of language and translations on our reading of Scripture.

A Holy Spirit all you can eat in celebration of Pentecost Sunday

Joining us for Reconciliation week we have a guest speak Adam Gowen, a Wiradjuri man from Ulladulla to share with us.

This week Carolyn looks at Matthew 5:33-37 and looks at what is behind what Jesus is really talking about.

Who is your enemy? Most of us don’t really resonate with the idea of a personal enemy like we see in movies so how does Jesus’ teaching on enemy love (Matt 5:43-48) relate to us? Ryan delves headfirst into this passage to explore Jesus’ hidden challenge to us as he invites us into greater wholeness.

This week three of our men shared their experiences of God as a mother, we also discuss patriarchy and how we can continue to be a church that celebrates both men and women as made in the image of God.

Oran looks at the often quoted and frequently misunderstood “eye for an eye” passage in Matthew 5:38-42.

Cheryl continues our look at the sermon on the mount with an exploration of Matthew 6:19-24

In celebration of Easter, Caro invites us to participate in the story of Easter. This message was more of an experience than a sermon, involving art, music and reflection. To view the art shown throughout the podcast click here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1DQ_HDdlCVJLmk0x-kWEJb528HzY57wbzAP3-rOLFvMc/edit?usp=sharing Song Credits: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, by Isaac Watts in 1707, Public Domain. Son of Sorrows, by our friend Steve Schallert, 2014, off the Album ‘Songs of Sorrow, Songs of Hope’ Battle Hymn of the Republic by William Steffe and Julie Ward Howe, Public Domain

Carolyn speaks from Luke 19:28-44 and looks at finding God in the unexpected places.

Lust - the topic we all love to hear about (!). But Jesus doesn't shy away from confronting lust. We know adultery is not ok, but how much do we let Jesus into the area of our sexual desire? We chat this week about what lies beneath our lust and the things that drive us to unhealthy sexual activity and how Jesus offer us wholeness in the deepest places

Most of us in our lifetime will be able to refrain from murdering someone, but what about when Jesus ups the ante to confront the anger we hold within. Caro dives into Matthew 5:21-26

Continuing on with our series on the Sermon on the Mount, Cheryl speaks on Matthew 5:17-20 – The fulfillment of the Law

An introduction to our series this year on the Sermon on the Mount.

This week Caro share some of the culture and values we hold as a church and communicates our church theme and other specific church info for 2019. If you belong to Central and are catching up on a missed week, then this will fill you in on what’s going on this year. If you’re a listener outside of our community, then this message will give you more of an idea of who we are as a church.

Historically Christians have had a somewhat dysfunctional relationship with flesh. But the theology of the incarnation lays out that God willingly 'put on flesh'. So, what if our body, our flesh is not something to ignore, escape or overcome, but the very meeting place of God? Caro unpacks these ideas.

Kenosis is a word used by Paul in Phil 2 to describe the self-emptying of Christ in his incarnation. Caro raises the idea that this kenosis, rather than being a one-time event in the person of Jesus, may in fact reveal something to us about the nature of God, that He is eternally self-emptying. We then look at what this teaches us about our own spirituality.