Alice Springs Baptist Church

(Psalm 46:1-5;10 & 1 Kings 19:11-13) Today Iain is launching a new series that will punctuate 2024 - Spiritual Disciplines: Attention with Intention. This series will explore practical exercises that we can add into our days and weeks to help intentionally pay attention to the things that matter in our lives. To create spaces that allow God to move and to go deeper in our faiths. Today we are looking at 2 disciplines that pair well together. Silence and Solitude. Join us as Iain unpacks what these disciplines are; why we do them and how we can start implementing them in our lives.

(Genesis 32:22-32) As we approach a new year it is often a time when people want to make changes. However, we also often want to run away from things that seem too big or too hard to deal with. God wants to set us free from the things of our pasts and to redeem them. Today, Iain unpacks the story of Jacob wrestling with God and the invitation we have to wrestle with God in order to break free from the hurts, failures and pains of our past to allow God to redeem them.

This Christmas Gavin takes the opportunity to unpack the Christmas story in a different light. Rather than the lovely sanitised scenes we see on Christmas cards, we are given a picture of Christmas as a very inconvenient time for the people who lived it. With this is an important reminder that God will regularly use those things that seem inconvenient to us, to bless us.

Here on Christmas eve, Mike Boland shares first with the kids and then through the sermon about the greatest present we could ever receive - Jesus and why He is important. Come listen and be reminded of these important truths.

(Matthew 1:18-24 + Mark 5:21-34) As Iain picks up our Advent series again, the next title of Jesus is that of Emmanuel - God With Us. This is a beautiful title that speaks of the incarnation, that Jesus is God made flesh, but also the hope that this title brings as we consider how our relationship with God is changed because of this.

(1 Peter 5:8-14) Today Gavin closes out our series on 1 Peter and looks at Peter's warning for us to be aware that there is an enemy out there, but also what we can do about it. Here we are reminded as through much of the book of 1 Peter that suffering is present in our lives, but it is not eternal. Join us as we unpack these final words of Peter's letter.

(Isaiah 9:6-7) Advent is here, an opportunity for us as Christians to pause and reflect on the birth of Jesus. To consider, who is this baby that we celebrate at Christmas? Over December, we will be exploring some of the names and titles of Jesus and reflecting on what it means for us today. This Sunday, Iain takes the opportunity to unpack the title: Sar Shalom - Prince of Peace and to ask the question, if we belong to a kingdom of peace, then how are we to be a people of peace?

(Matthew 7:24-29) Today we reach the end of our Sermon on the Mount series as Gavin unpacks the tale of 2 builders. Here Jesus challenges us to not just seek knowledge, but to instead put the things we learn into practice. So too when we put into practice these things of faith, it has an effect on those around us. Join us today as Gavin unpacks what this means for us, and how we can effectively put it into practice.

(1 Peter 5:1-7) As we continue our journey through the book of 1 Peter, Megan takes the opportunity to unpack some instructions for elders within the Church context... And yet this is about more that just Church. There will come a point in all of our lives, often sooner than we expect, where we are in a position of most experienced leadership. Tonight we are challenged on what this looks like, as well as to consider the various relationships we have, are we taking note of our role in those relationships?

(Matthew 7:21-23) As we come to the final 2 sections of our series, Sermon on the Mount, Simon unpacks Jesus' challenging words about true and false disciples. Of people who seemed to be doing amazing things, and yet Jesus said of them, I never knew you. What is going on in this passage, and what are we being called to do? Join us as Simon unpacks this passage and challenges us to trust and obey.

(1 Peter 4:12-19) As we begin to close out our series walking through the book of 1 Peter, we come again to one of Peter's major themes; Suffering. Yet here in this passage we are given encouragement that suffering is a temporary situation. Join us tonight as Gavin unpacks how we are to look at and view suffering.

(Matthew 7:13-20) As Gavin picks up our Sermon on the Mount series again, we come to a very famous, but very misunderstood statement that Jesus makes about the 2 roads we travel on. While many may read their existing theology into these statements, the truth of what Jesus was talking about is actually a little bit different. Listen as Gavin unpacks Jesus' words as they relate to our present experience, instead of a future experience.

(1 Peter 4:1-11) As we pick up our series in 1 Peter, we are able to see that Peter is beginning to pull threads from the entire letter together, and to create a beautiful tapestry image. Here in the first 11 verses of chapter 4 we are challenged by Peter to intentionally choose to arm ourselves with the same attitude that Jesus has... What that attitude looks like in different areas of life is what Peter then unpacks over the next 10 verses.

(Romans 16:1-16) Today we have Scott Pilgrim, the executive director of Baptist Mission Australia sharing with us about the work of BMA and from Paul's sharing of the people involved in God's kingdom that we find in Romans 16.

(Matthew 22:1-14) In the third part of our Complex Parables series, Scott Garwood unpacks a challenging parable of The Wedding Banquet. A parable in which Jesus challenges us to consider what is actually important to us - what is the precious that we are seeking?

(Book of Ezekiel) In the third and final week of our Major Prophets series, it is time for Gavin to unpack the book of Ezekiel. A book full of drama, seemingly over the top illustrations and confronting imagery. This is a book that speaks of hope to a hurting people, and of a God who is not constrained to an earthly place. Join us as we explore an overview of this wonderful book of Scripture

(Matthew 20:1-16) In the second of our complex parables, John Hitchen unpacks a very famous parable. The Fair and Generous Land Owner. Here our sense of fairness and earning wages is challenged by the generous nature of God.

As we continue our journey through the Major Prophets, this week Dave Clark is giving us an overview of the book of Jeremiah. This is a book that can sometimes make us feel uncomfortable as we come face to face with the anger of God, and yet this book is speaking of God's desire for restored relationship with Him, that will change the way we act towards others.

(Luke 10:25-37) Jesus often taught in parables, stories that would connect with his listener's experiences and help explain important truths. Some of these parables were simple and easy to understand, but others are a little bit more complex. Tonight, Gavin unpacks one of these complex parables - The Parable of The Good Samaritan as Jesus explores what it means to love your neighbour as yourself.

Gavin provides an overview on the Book of Isaiah - (Yes, all 66 chapters!) - picking up the key themes and questions that emerge, not just for an understanding of Israel's history, but for us as followers of Jesus today who have also been invited into God's mission of restoration. Apologies for the quality of video (and 80s TV transitions) as we were using a backup livestream system this Sunday.