Charles Spurgeon was once asked, what was more important – praying or reading the Bible?
The response was brilliant: He asked, "What’s more important – breathing in or breathing out?"
You can’t do one without the other.

Oswald Chambers said this about prayer: “Prayer is the vital breath of the Christian; not the thing that makes him alive, but the evidence that he is alive.”

Simply stated, we are commanded to pray. Jesus modelled the kind of prayer life we should strive to emulate. He made it clear that certain Jewish religious leaders were abusing the act and intent of prayer to the Lord, labelling them hypocrites.

This morning we will examine the difference between private and public prayer, and how what Jesus taught His disciples still applies to all believers today.

A Message by Janet Dougherty

When we are in the midst of the messiness of life; when we are down in the hole, who is on the outside listening to our cries?

And is that one who hears our cries one ready with a rope to haul us out of the hole, or one who jumps into the hole with us, ready to lead us out again, no matter how long it takes?

A message by David B

There is a difference, isn't there? One moment you are going about your day, and then the phone rings. And then you see the number. Depending on what you see, your response will vary. Because there is a difference.

For some, you recognise their number; their name comes up on your phone screen, and you are happy to talk to them.

For others, it is a number you don't recognise, or 'Private number' or even worse 'Suspected scam' appears on a glowing red screen. Does your finger go to the answer or reject icon, or do you allow it to ring through to your voicemail box?

Let's face it- there is a difference in the way we respond to a call, depending on our relationship with the caller.

But have you ever wondered about how God responds to a non-believer praying? What is the response to someone cold calling God?

A message by David Toscano

What if prayer isn’t a last resort, but a way of becoming more honest, grounded and open to help? This message explores why prayer matters — not as religious performance, but as a deeply human practice of relationship, trust and learning to live with purpose.
A message by Sam Barlow

When Mary and I were newlyweds and back in the day of the tape answering machines, I would record funny messages, sometimes in the voice of Yogi Bear or other characters. But the one that got me most caught out was when I recorded the message: "Hello. hello, can you hear me? Hello. Sorry I can't hear you, please leave a message after the beep." Only to have a dear older lady from the church ask if we had been having problems with our phone, as she had been trying to call me all week without success.
But when it comes to prayer, we can find ourselves in a similar predicament. We can wonder-is there anyone there?
Yet according to the Guardian, "one in five adults pray despite saying they are not religious. "Perhaps you may fit into that group?
Today, we begin our services called Prayer 101 as we look at the topic: Is anyone there?

A message by David Toscano

It has either been said about you, by you, or you have bitten your tongue as you thought it:
“I told you so!”
You have warned someone, or predicted to someone, that something might happen, and then it does. Perhaps you have hidden your smug smile – or perhaps not.
“I told you so!”
You’ve been proven right. But as we will discover in today’s message, just because you are proven right doesn’t mean you are not wrong.
A message by David Toscano

Who deserves grace? Who deserve a second chance? These can be difficult choices to make. The distinction between good and bad can be quickly become blurred.

The debate is currently raging throughout Victorian and Australian politics of how to deal with young offenders. There are reasonable arguments on both sides of these debates. Some highlight the importance of grace and forgiveness; others community safety.

Thankfully, we have a God who cares about every part of this world. And even better, as such decisions are beyond our wisdom, the ultimate decisions of who receives grace and gets a second chance are not up to us, but up to our Creator alone.

A message by David Bone

Jonah was called by God to go to Nineveh, but he fled in the opposite direction and now needs to be rescued from the belly of a fish. And God is faithful and gracious to Jonah.
What would it look like for us to be faithful and gracious to those around us?

A message by Janet Dougherty

There is a story in the Old Testament about a man named Jonah. Have you heard of Jonah? And if you know anything about Jonah’s story – there is a very famous character – more famous than Jonah.
The Big Fish.

Now there are all kinds of things that can be said about the details of the big fish – where is there such a big fish? Could it be a whale shark? Did they live in that part of the world? How would one person even survive inside a fish?

So many questions that might be in your mind or resting in scepticism within you.
And yet – I want to say to you this morning – don’t let the big fish stump you. Don’t get stuck on it. Don’t let the big fish get in the way of what God might be saying and doing in and through this story.

Now the story of Jonah begins with God’s call on his life. Let’s take a look together.

A message by Samantha Barlow