Dwelling Place Podcast: Recent Episodes
Dwelling Place
Dwelling Place is a community of Jesus followers located on Brisbane's Bayside, Australia, led by pastors Doug & Crystal Parker.
Our Heart is Jesus, Our Motivation is People, Our Expression is The Church
Find out more at dwellingplace.co
[Speaker: Ps Doug Parker] As we move into a new year the possibilities seem endless but let's not be quick to dismiss everything of the previous season. Before we step into the prayers, dreams and blessings that the new year brings, let's ensure we reflect and work through the things of the past.
[Speaker: Ps Tiana Wotherspoon] What has God called you? What has He laid on your heart to accomplish? Whatever it is, are you all in?
How often do we make our daily plans, set our life goals, and go about accomplishing our dreams without pausing to acknowledge God, or stopping to ask for His help or guidance? James gives us a reality check and reminds us what it means to live out our faith.
There is a better way. It is a way of wholeness and goodness and fruitfulness. It is the way of the pure, the peace-loving, the gentle, the submissive, the merciful, the unwavering and the sincere. It is the way of heavenly wisdom.
Worldly wisdom results in instability, finding disorder and every evil practice.
It is a broken wisdom of a broken system, but the good news is that there is a better way - Heavenly Wisdom.
God is good....All the time.
Have we trivialised 'good' so much in our culture, that in times of hurt or disappointment, we struggle to believe that ‘goodness’ is a trustworthy virtue of the character of God.
CS Lewis wrote, ‘only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is', so amongst other strategies, we must “pray that we will not fall into temptation.”
The bible is the great equaliser of humanity.
To the poor, James says, take pride in your high position
To the rich, James say, take pride in your humiliated place
Wealth is not evil. Enjoy it. Create it. Build it, but recognise it is temporal. Use it for eternal purposes.
Poverty is not a crown. Not a status to be sought that gives greater moral authority, but recognise it is temporal. Your value is more than a bank account
We begin a study on the book of James - the brother of Jesus and leader of church in Jerusalem. His direct communication style is both confronting and refreshing.
Easter shows that Jesus has delivered us. We have to decide whether to walk into freedom or return to a life of captivity. The Exodus story presents the Israelites with a significant 'hmmm' moment. As we look at this story we begin to see some remarkable parallels between the Easter story and the Exodus.
Easter is a time where we can look at those closest to Jesus and the ‘hmmm’ moments around the death and resurrection of Jesus. It forces reflection. A pause. A moment.
[Speaker: Ps Tiana Wotherspoon] What are we building our life on? Where are we finding our security? We might believe in God, but do we trust Him? Because if we believe in Him but don’t trust him, our security is probably rooted in something else.
Chris Magnussen explores the Bible and the early Church's history to help define our role as followers of Jesus. What are we called to do? Defend the image of Christ? or become like Christ? Have we fallen into the trap of defending the image of Christ, bullying our way to Christian victory, at the expense of becoming more like Jesus?
[Speaker: Ps Doug Parker] Queen of Sheba was overwhelmed by two of Solomon's traits: wisdom and works. In this message, Doug begins to investigate our complicated relationship with 'works'.
[Speaker: Doug Parker] When God gave Solomon the opportunity to ask for whatever he wanted, Solomon specifically said ‘Give me wisdom’ (2 Chronicles 1:10). Wisdom is supreme.
[Speaker: Ps Doug Parker] We have unofficially declared, not just a day of celebration, but a month of Fun. ‘Fun February’. Laughter, fun and joy are an integral part of the Christian life and should be lived as such.
[Speaker: Ps Sam Long] How do we know that we are living in faith? Ps Sam Long in his unique and humorous style reminds us that most of our lives are full of ordinary days, yet we are called to live in faith day by day, not just visit faith on an occasion.
[Speaker: Ps Doug Parker] Jesus came into a world of chaos, yet was born as the Prince of Peace. Jesus is King beyond the Chaos.
[Speaker: Ps Doug Parker] As we begin this last series of the year, we go back to the beginning. There was chaos at creation. The Word of God brings order to the chaos through the person of Jesus
[Speaker: Ps Doug Parker] We are the work of His hand. His hand is upon us and we are within His hand.
[Speaker: Doug Parker] Jesus life is an art piece of interruption and sometimes God will interrupt our progress in order to grab our attention.
Guest Ps Corey Turner from Neuma Church speaking a message on being positioned for productivity.
[Speaker: Ps Doug Parker] David's battle with the Philistines in 1 Chronicles 14 provides us with a template of how God can partner with us and strategically direct our lives.
[Speaker: Doug Parker] looks at the meaning of baptism as a part of the ancient biblical pattern of going through the waters of death and following Jesus out the other side into the new life. Jesus rescued the world from the chaos of evil & sin by going into death and rose again victoriously - this is what water baptism celebrates and invites us into.
[Speaker: Ps Tiana Wotherspoon] Danger is often posed as a threat towards us, but when we are on the offence we can become dangerous - dangerous enough, through Christ, to demolish strongholds. Our thoughts are powerful. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV) reads, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ"
[Speaker: Doug Parker] A look into the life of Elijah and the lessons we can draw to be able to have a calm mind. A divinely-inspired inner stability that comes to the forefront during chaos.
"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm" (Psalm 107:28-30)
[Speaker: Doug Parker] Attending to the business of our mind. Doug explores the idea of "where our mind goes, our life follows."
[Speaker: Doug Parker] Courage is the fruit of our convictions. And to [en]courage others is an opportunity to stand in a gap with them to aid, strengthen and embolden their conviction.
{Speaker: Doug Parker] Paul encourages us that to live a life worthy of the callingwe have received, we need to be completely humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love.” Doug invites us to consider this - that Humility, Gentleness & Patience are all virtues of strength. And as virtues of strength they allow us to carry weight - to bear with one another.
[Speaker: Doug Parker] Forgive our way to freedom! The Lord's prayer in Matthew 6:12 reads, "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
[Speaker: Tiana Wotherspoon] Tiana explores the trait that should set us apart as disciples of Jesus. That the way we ‘love’ one another as believers, would be the defining factor to identify us as His followers - the church. John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
[Speaker: Doug Parker] Isaiah 55:1 reads, “Listen! Are you thirsty for more? Come to the refreshing waters and drink." Throughout the bible, the theme of living water flows from the first chapters to the last. And here in Isaiah, we are not only asked if we desire it, but also invited to drink of it.
[Speaker: Tiana Wotherspoon] This is the journey of Jairus. The humility, the detours and the miracle. For many situations and circumstances, there are the facts and there is the truth of God’s promises - this is where faith and facts can collide.
A look at 'The Gardener' through the eyes of Mary and the first encounter Jesus has with a person after His resurrection.
[Speaker: Steph Davison] The week leading up to Good Friday started on a high, but then a whole lot went down in ‘The Holy Week’. Reading through the accounts in the 4 Gospels, the story looks like a Shakespearean tragedy and yet God is always at work - detailed, meaningful and delivering hope.
[Speaker: Ps Cameron Bennett] Celebrating our first birthday as a church, Ps Cameron delviered a faith filled message to 'build on purpose' and 'build with purpose'.
[Speaker: Tiana Wotherspoon] Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God. It does not speak of the peace-keeper, the peace-hoper, nor the peace-lover. Blessed are the peace-makers.
Our faith cannot be determined by our ability to think and know, it must be determined by our ability to hear and respond!
Proverbs 3:5 Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all.
The greatest opportunity and likelihood of conflict occurs with those that we spend most time with. Pau with Barnabas had worked together for some time and didn't dream of being separated. Because of their differences, they complimented and clashed with each other. So, how do we contend with conflict with others? By understanding ourselves better and appreciating others more.
We can often be our own keyboard warrior. Self-sabotaging and falling prey to the conflict we reign on ourselves. In this message we look at the lessons we can learn from the life of Cain and the conflict that reigned within him. [Doug Parker]
The God of The Brand New. We can't live from the perspective of the 'old thing', the 'same thing', or the 'next thing', when we serve a God of the brand new thing. [Speaker: Ps Daniel Pappas]
The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge. It was given to change lives. It’s more than a manual for life, or a self-help book, or a rule book, or a moral guide, or a history lesson, or a cosmic story teller, or an ideology or way to live. It is a narrative that leads to Jesus Christ and change lives.
Can we sincerely pray ‘give us this day our daily bread', with food overflowing? We have a peculiar relationship with prayer, but there is a design for prayer, a necessity of prayer, and an instruction to prayer.
The idea of 'asking' contends with more of that which is within us, then it actually gives to us in terms of resource or requested outcome.
There is something about the giving that sparks the human soul. It is a gift. We are blessed to be a blessing and Christmas is just another opportunity to outwork the gift that is giving.
Proverbs 11:25-28 TPT
Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them,
and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favour.
We believe in the beauty of the church - the church in all of her magnificence.
Our world is so much better for the people that are the church and the influence of the church on our societies.
Walking with people from ‘my truth’ towards 'The Truth’. As a young man Jesus was found, sitting among the Jewish teachers (community), listening to them and asking questions. These are valuable qualities for people to explore faith and grow as followers of Jesus and announcers of The Good News.
What does it look like to be pursuers of people? There’s something innate within us that just wants to share good news. If we truly believe this message of Jesus, it is the single most important piece of good news we could share with someone. [Speaker: Tiana Wotherspoon]
Psalm 139 speaks of the specific and intimate knowledge, attention and plans of God towards us. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most notable verses of plans towards humans - the context, is a letter from Jeremiah to the exiles and how they should respond to their experience and environment.
Psalm 139 speaks of the specific and intimate knowledge, attention and plans of God towards us. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most notable verses of plans towards humans - the context, is a letter from Jeremiah to the exiles and how the should respond to their experience and environment.
Passover was a meal that re-told the story of a loving God rescuing an enslaved people. Every moment and part of the meal is full of symbolism and imagery of that story. Jesus completely re-frames the meal. He takes an old tradition and adds new significance.
Our joy isn't determined by our environment, nor our circumstances - it is determined by our trust in the Lord. [Steve Swenson]
From the Jesus Series. The Presence of God. It’s impossible to disappear from Him, for His presence is everywhere.
[Speaker: Doug Parker]
From the Jesus Series. A message on the being called for His purpose.
[Speaker: Doug Parker]
What a word for a starting church - finisher. A message spoken by a friend of this house.
[Speaker: Ps Chris Estrada]
From the 'Wishing Wells' Series, this message looks at "Wells of Vision"
[Speaker: Doug Parker]