Soul Revival Church Podcast

We're kicking off our new series "Revealing Jesus" through John 13-17, and it starts with a scene that'll turn your understanding of power completely upside down.Jesus, knowing He's about to be betrayed and killed, gets down on His knees and washes His disciples' feet. Including the feet of the guy who's about to sell Him out. That's not weakness, that's the kind of power that actually changes everything.Stu unpacks four game-changing truths from John 13:How Jesus' love serves us before we can serve HimHow His love saves us even in our darkest betrayalsHow the cross reveals God's glory in the most unexpected wayHow this radical love is meant to shape how we actually live together as the churchThis isn't just about what happened 2,000 years ago. It's about how we respond when someone hurts us. How we love the people who frustrate us. How we stop trying to clean ourselves up and let Jesus do what only He can do.Series: Revealing Jesus (John 13-17) Speaker: Pastor Stu Scripture: John 13:1-35

The final colour. The yellow bead. Heaven.We begin with Soul Revival's vision week, where Stu outlines Soul Revival Church's vision for 2026: a church that proudly calls itself "boring" because all it's doing is putting into practice a textbook written 2,000 years ago about a bloke called Jesus. The vision: Jesus Changes Everything. And the mission? Share the truth and love of Jesus with everyone, everywhere.Cicadas live underground for seven years, surviving in darkness, sucking sap from tree roots. Then one day they dig up, emerge into blinding light, crawl up a tree, shed their chrysalis, grow wings, and fly. And they wee. Out of pure joy.That's what becoming a Christian is like. You don't have to keep stumbling in the dark of your own sin. Jesus is the light who shows the way back to God.But here's Stu's challenge: don't go back in the hole. Sin is sweet for a season. It's enticing, but it doesn't last.Stu gets honest about why people leave the church—better friendships outside than inside, taking church for granted, or the world being too attractive. The yellow bead is our hope of eternal life. Revelation 21 paints the picture: no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. God dwelling with His people forever. A new heaven and new earth where the glory of God is the light.It's not about what we do but who we're with. Jesus. Because of Him, God adopts us as His children. We belong to a new family. Eternal life is secured forever by the Holy Spirit.Stu closes with the simplest question: How are you with your friendship with Jesus? If you've been wondering whether you still want to hang out with Him, Jesus' response is, "I never left you. I'm always here. And I love you."Scripture: Revelation 21Speaker: Stu Crawshaw Series: Colours of Life

Romans 5:6-11 doesn't start well. It calls us powerless, ungodly, sinners, enemies of God. We're spiritually bankrupt, down and out for the count. No amount of effort, morality, or religion can fix this problem.But here's the beauty: we're more sinful and flawed than we dare believe, yet more loved and accepted in Jesus than we dare hope for.Jesus doesn't die for His friends, He dies for His enemies. At just the right time, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This wasn't God reacting. From day one, God planned to send His Son to die on the cross to take our sin so we'd be forgiven and made right.Jai shows how everything in the Old Testament pointed to this moment, with hundreds of prophecies fulfilled. Jesus steps in as our substitute, absorbing the punishment we deserve. Our holy, just God can't shrug at sin. Justice demands payment. Sin creates a debt we can never pay. There's always a cost. Jesus took it on Himself.The essence of sin is substituting ourselves for God. The essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for us. At the cross, justice and love meet in perfect harmony.We've been justified by His blood, saved from God's wrath, reconciled. We're no longer enemies,we're children of the King. What do we do? Repent and believe. Receive what's been done for us.

Jai opens with a youth group game: 50 teenagers yelling instructions at five blindfolded kids trying to navigate an obstacle course. No one completed it. The chaos perfectly illustrates Genesis 3.Before eating the fruit, Adam and Eve lived in the light, they could see life clearly. When they ate, they went from seeing clearly to stumbling in darkness.The black bead represents rebellion against God, the Bible calls it sin. Genesis 3 doesn't start with violence or murder. It starts with doubt: "Did God really say?" This is how sin creeps in, with suspicion and questioning. The serpent reframes God's freedom as restriction.Why didn't God want them to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Here's what we miss: it's not just about knowing right from wrong, it's about deciding what's right and wrong. Adam and Eve wanted to be rule makers, not rule followers. That's the heart of sin: declaring we want to make the rules for our lives instead of trusting God.Three perfect relationships were shattered in one bite: with each other (they covered themselves in shame), with God (they hid instead of running to Him), and with creation (work became painful).This isn't just Adam and Eve's story, it's ours. We're all rule makers. Using John Chapman's illustration about two soldiers: one with a single-shot rifle, one with a semi-automatic, Jai explains it's not about how many sins we commit. When captured, the enemy doesn't care who shot more bullets. We're all enemies to God.But God doesn't leave us in darkness, he gives us hope. Genesis 3:15 promises a serpent crusher: King Jesus. Right at the beginning, hope is on the horizon. Jesus came as the light of the world.If you're a Christian, take sin seriously and run to Jesus. If you haven't trusted Jesus yet, don't wait. Don't leave in darkness tonight.

"Welcome to 1994. Scripture, Kirrawee High School. I know none of us want to be here..."Stu Crawshaw starts this message by recreating his 90s Scripture classes where he used Jesus Beads and a skateboard with coloured tape to share the gospel. The white bead represents that God made us to be His friends: to walk in the light of His ways. But what does that actually mean?Stu unpacks three truths about humanity from Genesis 2. First, we were created by God in His image, intentionally formed from dirt yet dignified by God's breath. We're designed to know God personally, reflect His moral character, and represent His rule on earth as vicegerents.Second, we were created for relationship. God declared "it's not good for the man to be alone." We're made in the image of a God who exists in relationship: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So God created Eve from Adam's rib. Adam's response is beautiful: "Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh." Human flourishing is designed for community, not autonomy.Third, we were created as moral and accountable creatures. God gave Adam and Eve freedom to eat from any tree except one. Why put the tree there? Because true relationship is gifted, not demanded. Their freedom was real but bounded, joyful obedience under God's life-giving authority.Stu shares a story about getting kicked out of McDonald's for eating a KFC burger. The point? You can't eat KFC in Maccas, and you can't be truly human unless you obey God's commands. The same choice is before us: life or death, blessings or cursings. True humanity isn't found in self-rule but in joyful obedience to Jesus, where God's authority is life-giving rather than restrictive.

The Colours of Life tells the entire story of the Bible using just five colours.Jai McMordie launches this new series by taking us back to Genesis 1 and those crucial words: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Before time, matter, space, or history, before there was anything, there was God.Jai walks us through the beautiful poetry of Genesis 1, showing how God created with order, beauty, and purpose. Six times we hear the pattern: "And God said... let there be... and there was." The first three days mirror the last three: day/night filled by sun/moon/stars, sky/water filled by birds/fish, land/trees filled by animals/humans. This isn't random. Every detail is intentional.What makes this remarkable? God created with no point of reference. Jai has fun imagining animal mashups: elephant and butterfly, shark and horse, cat and crocodile. We need reference points. God didn't. He spoke into darkness and 100 billion galaxies were born.The pinnacle of creation wasn't the stars or oceans. It was us. Genesis 1:27 says God created mankind in His own image. We are walking, talking statues to the glory of God, image bearers created to reflect our Creator. You were knitted together intimately, created to be relational, to love, and to experience joy like Him.Creation itself is a silent sermon. Every sunrise, galaxy, wave, and mountain shouts that there is someone who made them. And you? You are a silent sermon declaring that someone made you. Whether you believe in God or not, we are made in His image.

"Eh, kinda. But it's much more than that."Tim shows us that Isaac Watts never intended this hymn to be sung only during the Christmas season, but to help people understand the three advents of Christ, not just one. Most of us think about Christ's first advent (Christmas) and His second coming (the future return). But there's a middle advent we often miss: the coming of the Holy Spirit.Tim traces "Joy to the World" back to Psalm 98, written centuries before Jesus' birth. Isaac Watts in 1719 deliberately "fed it through the language of the New Testament," creating a song that celebrates all three advents. Verse one is past tense: celebrating what God has already done. Verse two is present tense: calling us to praise God right now. Verse three is future: pointing to Christ's return.

This episode begins with prayers in response to the tragic anti-Semitic attack at Bondi Beach. Stu Crawshaw and several congregation members lead us in prayer for victims, families, first responders, the Jewish community, and our city.Why would the God of the universe, the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator before whom angels tremble, want a personal relationship with you? And maybe more importantly: why don't you want a relationship with Him?In this final part of our "God, Why?" series, Ethan unpacks Romans 8:1-17 to explore both sides of this profound question. He begins by acknowledging what makes this question so difficult: God's overwhelming bigness and our crushing awareness of our own sin.Drawing from Old Testament stories of people struck down for touching the Ark, priests entering the Holy of Holies with bells on their robes (so others would know if they died), and Moses glowing after encountering God, Ethan paints the picture of a God who inspires reverent fear. How could that God want simple little me?Hosea 11 reveals God as the Father who taught His children to walk, who lifts them to his cheek and bends down to feed them. This isn't just New Testament love, this is the God of the Old Testament too. He's like Aslan from Narnia: not safe, but good. Big and powerful, yet inviting us to call him "Abba" Dad or Father.Romans 8 tells us our minds governed by flesh are hostile to God, unable to please him. We can't just show God our carefully curated "friendship profile". God sees everything. Every thought, every action, everything we've done and will do. So why would he want us?Because he loves us. And it's all we need.But then Ethan flips the question entirely: Why don't YOU want a relationship with God? Not theoretically, but actually. What's getting in the way of that relationship right now? Is it the desires of the flesh stopping you? Being too busy? Fear? Conflict with Christians? Your own sin? God's already answered why he wants you, he loves you and offers eternal relationship where you'll walk with him forever, never needing to leave his presence.So what's your answer?

Peace feels like trying to hold water in your hands. No matter how tightly you grip, it keeps slipping through your fingers. Why is peace so elusive? And where do we find the kind of peace that actually lasts?Jai McMordie tackles our universal struggle with anxiety, worry, and chaos. From Philippians 4:4-9, he exposes the false promises we chase: perfect circumstances, total control, comfortable lives, and reveals where supernatural peace is actually found.Jai identifies three major peace-stealers: trusting in our circumstances, harbouring unconfessed sin, and most commonly, robbing ourselves of peace by worrying about the future or dwelling on the past. He shares his own battles (including waking up in a cold sweat about a Year 7 conversation) to illustrate how we all struggle with letting go of control.This isn't just diagnosis, it's an invitation. Paul's words in Philippians offer a pathway: rejoice in the Lord's control, don't live in anxiety, chuck (not carefully cast) your worries to God, pray with thanksgiving, and receive the peace that guards your heart and mind. This peace isn't the absence of trouble; it's the presence of Jesus in the middle of the storm.Jai paints a picture of Godly peace: a bird perched peacefully on a branch jutting from rocks behind a roaring waterfall. Not removal from chaos, but Jesus sitting with us in it, saying "you will not sink." God sees you. He knows the battles inside your heart and mind. And He's offering you the gift of His peace, but our hands need to be empty to receive it.

Why does a good and powerful God allow suffering? It's the question that keeps people up at night, causes believers to doubt, and makes skeptics walk away. In this profound message from the "God, Why?" series, Jai doesn't offer easy answers, but offers biblical truth that transforms how we understand pain.Starting with D.A. Carson's stark observation that "if you live long enough, you will suffer," Jai guides us through Romans 8:18-30 to explore God's purposeful design behind our hardest seasons. He dismantles common misconceptions, that God lacks control or goodness, and reveals four transformative truths about suffering that change everything.Jai speaks with compassion to anyone walking through loss, illness, trauma, or despair. He addresses the lies we believe in isolation and extends a powerful invitation: suffering was never meant to be carried alone.He speaks on why redemption through Christ required a world with suffering, how natural disasters point to the moral horror of sin, why Christians aren't exempt from pain (and what our suffering demonstrates to the world), and how the cross represents the greatest act of love precisely because suffering exists.

Stu tackles an uncomfortable question most Christians avoid: why would anyone actually want to go to heaven?Starting with 90s skateboarding culture and songs like "Heaven is a Halfpipe" and AC/DC's "Highway to Hell," Stu explores why so many people associate heaven with restrictive authority rather than ultimate freedom. The cultural zeitgeist has always celebrated rebellion—so why would anyone choose eternal submission to God?Using 1 Corinthians 13, Stu reveals the true nature of heaven: it's not about activities or autonomy, it's about being face to face with Jesus. Right now we "see through a mirror dimly," living by faith rather than sight. But in heaven, faith gives way to direct relationship—seeing Jesus face to face every single day.Stu doesn't shy away from the doctrine of hell, presenting it as potentially a place where people continue to reject God even in eternity, "gnashing their teeth" not in regret but in ongoing anger at divine authority. It's a sobering reminder that not everyone loves Jesus—and those who don't won't want to be with him forever.The challenge: if you find church boring or faith difficult, the issue might not be external—it might be your relationship with Jesus himself. Because when you truly love him, gathering with the kingdom becomes a foretaste of eternity.Part of our God, Why? series.

God, why don't you make yourself more clear? If you're real, where's the evidence? Why don't we see the same miracles as in pre-Jesus times? Why can't I hear what you want me to do with my life?Tim Beilharz kicks off Soul Revival's "God, Why?" series by tackling divine clarity and hiddenness. But first, three ground rules: God is a person, not a concept. Discipleship is about faith, not Bible trivia. And faith formation is intentionally inefficient—we live in a world of instant answers, but God doesn't work like ChatGPT.Tim explores what God has already done: the heavens declare his glory, the scriptures tell his story, and Jesus is the exact representation of God's being. But then he challenges faulty assumptions. Do signs make believers? The feeding of the 5,000 proves otherwise—thousands saw the miracle and walked away. Does God have a specific plan for every decision? No—God's plan is simpler: love God, love others, grow in the fruits of the Spirit.Is God really hidden? Tim flips it: God is not hiding—we're distracted. We're chasing promotions, scrolling screens, seeking to be known rather than seeking him. The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.  God wants to know you more than you want to know him. He's not far—we're just caught up in smaller things.The challenge? Study the world. Read the scriptures. Consider Jesus. Live by the Spirit. Ask, search, knock.

What does it look like to live as a Christian in a world that's beautiful but hostile? Stu wraps up our series through 1 Peter with a challenging message about standing firm while we wait for Jesus to return.Using the metaphor of traveling through Queensland in a Kombi van—encountering cassowaries, platypuses, and everything else trying to kill them—Stu paints a picture of our world: gorgeous, but fallen. Dangerous, but not without hope.Peter's final instructions in his letter come down to this: because the end is near and Jesus could return any day, live with clarity and love. Pray with sober minds. Serve with your gifts. Lead humbly. Resist the devil. Don't let pride cloud your humility. Don't become spiritually sedentary.Stu asks:What are the things you're proud of that you couldn't exist without?How often do you check your spiritual health compared to your bank account?Are you talking to the Lord?It isn't about religious performance or spiritual anxiety. It's about living with an eternal perspective that changes how we treat others, how we handle attacks, and how we invest our time. It's about urgency, not anxiety. It's about being active Christians, not sedentary ones.

In this message from our Living Well on the Way Home series, Tim Anderson explores what it means to suffer for good as followers of Jesus. Drawing from 1 Peter 3:8–4:6, Tim reminds us that when we face hardship with faith, we reflect the heart of Christ — responding to evil with good and trusting that God is refining us for His glory.As we look to Jesus, our ultimate example of righteous suffering, we’re encouraged to live with hope and courage in a world that often misunderstands the gospel. True freedom and transformation come not from avoiding suffering, but from walking through it with the assurance that God is at work in us and through us.

In this message from our Living Well on the Way Home series, Stu Crawshaw preaches from 1 Peter 2:13–3:7 on how gospel relationships are generative — they grow, transform, and bring new life.Stu explores how the gospel changes how we relate to one another, to authority, and to the world around us. Christianity is not passive — it’s a radical, world-changing way of life that responds to evil with good and transforms oppressive systems through love.He reminds us that we don’t go to church; we are the church — a community of people who live for Jesus each day as living sacrifices, drawing others to Him through gentleness, courage, and grace.

Jai preaches from 1 Peter 2:4–12 on what it means to live as God’s people — a community built on Jesus, the living cornerstone.The church is not a collection of the moral elite, but a community of the rescued. We are a royal priesthood and a holy nation, called to serve with humility, love others deeply, and reflect the grace of the One who chose us.When we understand that the God who owns the stars calls us His treasure, it changes how we see church — not as a place we go, but as a people we belong to.

In this message from our Living Well on the Way Home series, Jai preaches from 1 Peter 1:13–2:3 on what it means to avoid mental intoxication and live holy lives that glorify God.We know the end of the story — whether we believe it or not, we’re in the middle of it. In this sermon, Jai McMordie challenges us to stay alert and ready for action, living out the holiness that flows from who we are in Christ.Faith never fades — it saves, sanctifies, and grows. It shapes our spiritual minds so we’re not dulled by the world but crave the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word.

Joel McMaster kicks off our new series Living Well On The Way Home from 1 Peter 1:1–12 - reminding us of the secure hope and inheritance we have in Jesus.Even in the face of trials, our faith is being refined and our future is safe in God’s hands. Peter reminds us that what lies ahead for God’s people will never perish, spoil, or fade — a hope that changes how we live here and now.

In this stand-alone sermon, Stu Crawshaw explores the transforming power of friendship through John 15:1–17 and what it means to embrace difference over sameness.Jesus calls us friends — not because we’ve reached His standard, but because He chooses us and loves us. Through the image of the vine and the branches, Stu reminds us that we are connected to God as our source of life, called to bear fruit that blesses others.Biblical friendship isn’t about sameness — it’s about love that crosses boundaries. From David and Jonathan to Ruth and Naomi, Scripture shows how deep friendship forms across difference. Stu challenges us to see our desire for close friends not as a reducer, but as a multiplier — a way to open our hearts wider.In every relationship, look for the sweet honey of Jesus, the truest friend who helps us embrace others just as He embraces us.

We close our Apostles’ Creed series with the final line: “the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”Preaching from Romans 8:18–39, Tim Beilharz tackles some common myths about eternity — that our bodies are just cages for our souls, that we’ll float on clouds forever, or that we’re just “passing through” this world. Instead, Scripture shows us God’s plan for resurrection, renewal, and eternal life in a redeemed creation.Nothing can separate us from this hope in Jesus.