Northern Community's Podcast

I wonder whether you have ever done it. For some, the thought of doing it is disturbing or creepy; for others, doing it is clarifying.

Have you ever done it – taken a walk through a cemetery and looked at the headstones? Looked at the names, the dates and the epitaph, the short tribute to those who have died or perhaps a message to the living.

And then have you ever stopped to think what you would want to have w...

What does courage look like when doing the right thing comes at a cost? Drawing on the remarkable true story of Corrie ten Boom, who risked everything to protect Jewish families during World War II and Elisha in the Old Testament, this message explores fear, moral courage, non-violence, and the choice to stand with vulnerable people when it would be easier to stay silent. Whether you consider yourself religious or not, it’s a...

Attitude – I don’t have an attitude problem. You have a problem with my attitude. That’s not my problem. Or Today’s attitude, brought to you by coffee and sarcasm.

Or perhaps you have come across someone with this sort of attitude, when Elena and her dad were playing in 2021. Elena is two foot tall with ten feet of attitude.

As Lou Holtz is quoted: “Ability is what you are capable of doin...

Just before Christmas last year, Greg lost his keys. We worked out they were missing as we were heading to bed… quite late for us. But when something like car keys are missing you need to find them. So, we looked. We retraced steps and we looked. And looked. Greg remembered our daughter had brought the keys in from the car and so we thought, maybe she put them somewhere. But she was sleeping. Do we wake her or not?

We...

According to a report published by the University of NSW and the Australian Council of Social Service, in the years of 2022 - 2023, 14.2% of Australians were living below the poverty line. That is approximately 3.7 million people, including 757,000 children, who lack the financial means to afford what we consider basic human needs such as food, shelter, healthcare, and clothing.

Despite reductions in unemployment numbers fro...

Two nations wage war against each other in the Middle East. Both speak of divine justification and endorsement to garner support. We could be speaking of the events in 2026, yet three millennia ago, things were not so different.

But as Aeschylus, who lived around 500 BC, reportedly said, "The first casualty of war is the truth."

As followers of Jesus, God calls us to be all in and to be faithful in the way we live. But what happens w...

According to the Australian social research organisation McCrindle, "With the rise in the non-religion and spirituality, one might worry that Australia is becoming increasingly processive, moving away from traditional Christian values and celebration, like Easter. However, this is not quite the case.

Despite the move away from traditional forms of religion, Australians are still holding strong to the core beliefs. Not only d...

Sometimes reflections are so perfect it’s hard to tell in a photo which is the real thing, and which is the reflection.
The way we live our lives reflect our values, priorities and attitudes. It reflects our beliefs and biases. As followers of Jesus, our lives are called to stand out, to be set apart to reflect God’s values priorities and attitudes. But often, it’s hard to tell the difference between someone wh...

TRIGGER WARNING: Please be aware the message briefly alludes to self-harm and suicide.

In April, 58 years ago, 2001: A Space Odyssey premiered, with HAL9000, a computer programme with a human-like personality, willing to kill to achieve mission objectives.

Today, we delve into whether we should fear or favour emerging technologies and AI. Is it just a tool that can be used for good or evil, or is it a wolf in sheep's ...

We live in an age of astonishing medical advancement. Diseases once thought untreatable are more manageable, and genetic technologies promise possibilities that previous generations could barely imagine. Yet these breakthroughs also raise difficult questions—not just about what we can do, but what we should do.

This is not just a medical conversation—it is a deeply spiritual one.

A message by David Toscano

I wonder what brought you to live where you live? 

For some, it can be for work. A new job requires a change of location. A new relationship has you move to be with the one you love. For others, it is upsizing or downsizing.

Often, there are times in our lives when we long for a fresh start. A relationship has gone sour, so to clear the air and create some space, we move to a new location. Perhaps we don’t like who we have...

Is responding to climate change necessary or is it a luxury that perhaps we just cannot afford at the moment? What should our response be to the environment, and at what cost?

Today, our guest speaker Julia explores how the sacred wisdom contained within the Bible can help us think through and respond to Climate Change in a manner consistent with being followers of Jesus and how it can enrich our own faith journeys.

A...

The cost of living affects us all with the food prices affected by the drought or floods, increases in the petrol prices caused by the war in the Middle East, rises in the interest rates and so on. However, the impact of these rising costs varies at different stages of life. For example, young families with children experience financial pressures differently from retirees, as their needs and lifestyles are not the same.
So, what...

Andre, our guest speaker with expertise in community development and theology, examines how our environments, cultural myths, and unconscious biases shape our attitudes toward immigrants and refugees. 
His sermon challenges everyone to move beyond viewing immigration as merely a numbers or policy issue, and instead to recognise the common humanity in all people created in God's image. 

A message by Andre Van Eym...

In 1992 400m Sprinter Derek Redmond from Great Britain was in Barcelona ready to make his Olympic dream come true. Unable to compete four years earlier due to injury, he was determined to capitalise on a run of good health and good form. He ran a personal best time in the quarter-final to easily win his heat, and if he could produce a similar run in the semis, he would be on his way to an Olympic final.

However, about 250m into the ...