MBM Parramatta / Bible Talks

The world we inhabit will remain mysterious to us if we don’t reckon with the reality of God’s wrath. But we also need to know why God’s wrath is a reality, and the result of God’s wrath in our experience of life. This is what Romans 1:18-32 is all about.

The Gospel is God’s power for salvation because it reveals God’s righteousness. Therefore Christians should not be ashamed of it, by build up each other’s faith in it

Romans opens with a bang. It begins with gospel content before inviting gospel response. In these opening 7 verses, Paul issues both a declaration and an invitation to make Jesus Christ your Lord. 

Mission can have its ups and downs, but we should still speak because God will be with us

An exploration of doubt, evidence, and the resurrection of Jesus, showing why believing in him is the difference between uncertainty about death and the promise of eternal life.

Jesus - in the way only he can - teaches about pride. In doing so he outlines polar opposites when it comes to mission and motives.

To the most significant question (how we can be saved?), Jesus gives the clearest answer (receive the gift of eternal life with child-like dependence). 

God’s way is always the best way. Nowhere else is that tested than when it comes to the topics of Hell and divorce and remarriage. 

Up until this point, the Gospel of Mark has been pointing us towards one thing, and one thing only. Who is this Jesus person? If chapter 8 is the crescendo, this high point of the Gospel – where we’ve finally figured out who Jesus is – the Messiah, the question then becomes: But what does that mean? What does it mean for Jesus to be the Messiah? What does that mean for you sitting here today?

Peter is a classic example of it’s not enough to simply know the right answer to the question: “Who is Jesus?”. More than it being an intellectual activity, claiming Jesus as Messiah involves total and complete life-change. The way of the Messiah, is the way of the Messiah’s people.

People don't reject Jesus because of a lack of evidence. Rather, Jesus reveals our hard heartedness towards him, yet still calls us to follow him. How will you respond?

Us humans can be too clever for ourselves when it comes to approaching God. Jesus here in Mark 7 makes it very easy when issues a blanket invitation to any and all to approach him. Jesus includes the excluded and he touches the untouchable

Jesus takes a mundance topic like the handwashing. And turns it into a deeply profound diagnosis about the true spiritual condition of every human heart. Our problem is not external but internal! 

When Jesus makes an incredible offer to come to him, it comes with an incredible promise of rest attached. In the end Jesus shows us he has a heart unlike any other and offers a trade to good to refuse.

If you want to get prayer right, you need to get Jesus right. Jesus not only invites us to align ourselves with God’s heart. He also invites us to pray about anything and everything. 

In a world of broken leadership and empty promises, where do we find true care and security? In Mark 6 we meet Jesus, the compassionate Shepherd King, who teaches with truth and feeds with abundance. He is the faithful leader our hearts long for—the Lord himself—worthy of our trust and devotion.

The Sunrise After the Long Night

God unveils the details of the who, what, how and when of his promised rescue plan. In the process, we see a model response from Mary - one who takes God at his word, and responds in praise. 

By flagging that the end of all things is near, Peter gives a glimpse of what life can look like in the meantime while we wait. First he outlines how our relationships are to be other-person centred. Then, he describes how Jesus still cares for his church. 

Deep down, we’re all afraid of something. But Peter writes to assure us that in Jesus, we’ve got nothing to fear - even if we get harmed for doing good. 

The call of 1 Peter is to live such good lives to a watching world. This can be displayed in our relationship with authorities, between slaves and masters and with an unbelieving spouse.

Peter challenges us that because we are different thanks to Jesus, we’re to live differently. Specifically, how we hope is different, how we live is different and how we love is different. 

Knowing who you shapes the way you approach life

Putting God first part is a non-negotiable for a follower of Jesus. But we all know it's easier said than done. Haggai helps us hear the importance of this again with clarity and urgency - that God is to be loved first and He’s to be loved best!

Loving others well is difficult. Every day we either fall into old unloving behaviours or we make completely new mistakes in how we treat others. 3 John is God’s call for us to have a love for others that is grounded in the truth, is consistent and is incredibly practical.

For any church the challenge is to love the truth and love others. 2 John wants to say that we can love others by guarding the truth

Throughout the book of Revelation we have been reminded that history is moving to God’s grand purpose. In Rev 21–22 we get the final chapters in God’s big story and it culminates with God ushering in his new creation, heaven. But what is heaven like? Why is it something that should give up hope now? In this passage we will explore what God’s coming kingdom entails and why it is good news.

Revelation 20 contains a warning, an encouragement and a confronting reality. Which book will your name be found in?

With another picture of God’s final judgment, there’s another sobering reality. The call in this picture is to repent!

We are in the midst of a cosmic spiritual battle. Rev 12-14 not only names our enemy, but also prepares us for his tactics. In the end, by knowing our enemy, and being aware of his schemes, there’s a call for patient endurance and being loyal to the Lamb. 

God’s sobering end for this world will be no match for God’s seal and security for his people.

There are two songs that appear in Revelation 4 and 5. One is the hymn of creation, the other the anthem of salvation. Both underline that God is in control.

In Revelation 3, we meet three churches for whom the challenge isn’t so much external, but internal. A challenge to look less and less like the world, and more and more like Jesus.

Jesus could have written to seven nations, seven companies, seven schools. But instead, he chose to address seven churches. In pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each church, it’s a clear statement: No one loves the church more than Jesus!

Revelation 1 presents an awesome Jesus. He is the who we can respond to in awe, in worship and with great comfort.

Mental Health Seminar

Love Without Limit / John 13:1-17

God’s heart for children can be captured by three words

Extraordinary thankfulness is the appropriate response to extraordinary grace 

We’ve all got the same amount of time on our hands. But in Lev 23, God outlines how that time is to be used to reflect his holiness. Ultimately, Jesus is the one who offers the ultimate rest so we can delight in God. 

As Christians how should we think about this topic? How does God speak about this this topic? Mal explores this topic from the neglected book of Song of Songs as we explore God's wisdom on this important area of life.

What's with all the names that appear in Romans 16? Paul paints a beautiful picture of diversity, unity and faithfulness for God's people.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to approach God. That’s why God instituted priests. Thanks to Jesus being our Great High Priest, we can approach God knowing for sure we are accepted by Him. 

Not only does our sin run deep, but our sin spreads wide. But thanks be to God who welcomes us with a love that goes above and beyond. A love that is so wide and long and high and deep in Jesus. 

Leviticus 1 teaches us to serve our Holy King with selfless acts of devotion, to follow the example of Christ in laying down our lives and giving ourselves to God in extravagant and even wasteful ways. The great confidence we have when we follow Christ is that our worship is made pleasing to God because of his blood shed on the cross.

We all crave community. But one of the remarkable things is that the church is a community created by God that we have the privilege of displaying in all it’s beauty.

We can see that God’s love for us is real through the sacrifice of his son Jesus, and the fact that he loved us even when we didn’t love him.

Jesus shows that he has abundant rest and blessings for those who seek him. And that by putting us through trials, he shows us his glory as God with us.