Join us in person or by podcast for 12 sessions of “Formed in God’s Story: Isaiah.”
UPDATE 2025-11-28: All podcasts and full notes.
The New Testament quotes one Old Testament prophet more than all the others put together. Can you guess which one?
Join is in person or by podcast for twelve sessions in the second half of Romans.
Update 2025-09-11: Added final pocasts, and full notes.
Where does the gospel take us? What kind of world is created as the Spirit of God sets us right through trust in his Anointed? What kind of community develops as people do right by each other as the expression of faithfulness to God, mirroring the way God in Christ did right by his earthly realm out of his faithfulness to us?
Romans 9–16 explores these questions. We are no longer a divided, warring people, for those who were not God’s people are now called God’s people. We offer ourselves in God’s service, to love each other sincerely, sharing meals together as the Father’s family, embodying the transformation that comes to the world as we recognize God’s Christ is our Lord.
In August/September 2025, we’re exploring these chapters together, with two sessions each Wednesday evening. The notes are available as a single PDF covering Romans 9-16, or as separate PDFs for each week along with the podcasts below .
You might move continents if you received the right opportunity. God is calling you to live in his God-breathed story, to participate in something far bigger than you own brief lifetime.
This podcast (30 minutes) was recorded 18 May 2025 at Riverview Church 18 May 2025 as part of series in 2 Timothy.
Continue reading “God’s Story shapes us (podcast) (2 Timothy 3)”
Update 2020-06-14: Notes and podcasts are now available for all sessions, along with a PDF of the notes for all six weeks.
Fourteen years ago, I set out to seek the kingdom of God, the centre of Jesus’ teaching and mission. Nine years ago, I launched this blog to share the results. Now I’m ready to apply this research to the book of Romans.
The kingdom perspective brings freshness and depth to familiar words like gospel, faith, righteousness, and salvation. These life-giving words restore relationship between heaven and earth, revealing how our heavenly sovereign, out of faithfulness to us has done right by us in providing his Christ as our Lord. This gospel calls for us to respond with faithfulness to him, so his life in us results in us being right with him and doing right by him in response, so earth is restored as a mirror of heaven’s faithfulness and righteousness to us. That’s the impact of the gospel we see in Romans.
Free course with notes and podcasts on Genesis 1–12.
Update 2024-03-28: Final podcasts and full notes added.
The first eleven chapters of Genesis make an astounding claim. The Lord God is not only the covenant God of Israel (the message from Exodus onwards). He is the God of all people, Lord of heaven and earth. It’s all his creation, established by his sovereign decree.
The rest of Scripture builds on this foundation, as what God established in the beginning comes together in the end. As the prophets promised, the word of the Lord is not a fruitless echo in a void; it’s the life-giving command that transforms creation (Isaiah 55:11-13).
The word that was there in the beginning became a living, breathing, embodied reality in his creation as the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). It’s in him that the whole creation is restored, so the story ends with the one who is seated on the throne declaring, “See! I am making everything new” (Revelation 21:5).
That’s the foundational importance of these early chapters of Genesis. Over six evenings in February/March 2025, we’ll slow down and savour just two chapters a night:
Which culture represents your lifestyle?
A tale of two cities: Babylon wants to take over God’s world; Jerusalem invites God’s reign. Which culture are you living for?
Continue reading “Living in Babylon or New Jerusalem (podcast)”
Final update 2024-11-14: The notes for all six weeks are now available as a single PDF, with two podcasts for each week.
Fascinated, or frightened? What are your feelings about the Bible’s final book?
Can we read it without interpretative methods dividing us into Futurists, Preterists, Historicists, and Idealists? Piecing together John’s visions of Armageddon, Babylon, and the Millennium has tended to divide us.
But asking “When is this book about?” may be the wrong question. Asking “Who is this book about?” may be more productive. If Scripture is the revelation of God, what does the final book reveal about God?
Continue reading “Formed in God’s Story: Book of Revelation”
What sort of leader is God? How does God’s leadership define the way we lead?
Is “mutual submission” an oxymoron? It’s not part of the political our commercial landscape. Influencers are people with followers, right? So where would we even look for such a radical model of leadership?
Twelve Psalms in six weeks.
Update 2024-09-12: All notes and podcasts are now linked.
Interested in the Psalms? Do you know what they meant to Israel as their story unfolded in the five books of the Psalms? Why was David so central? Does that have anything to do with Jesus? What do the Psalms mean to us?
We’ll take two Psalms each week for six weeks, selecting different genres from across the five books within the Psalms, so that you’ll know how to treat the Psalms well.
We’ll add notes and podcasts here each week. We’re meeting on Wednesday evenings (7–9 pm) from 31 July to 11 September 2024 (except 14 August):
Notes and podcasts on the Book of Acts
Updated 2024-06-20: Final notes and podcasts added.
Interested in a 7-week journey through Acts?
Each Wednesday evening we cover 2 chapters, take a coffee break, and then the next 2 chapters. At four chapters each week, we cover the 28 chapters in seven weeks.
The full notes for Acts 1-28 are here (PDF, 17MB). Alternatively, you can download the podcasts and notes for each week:
Here are the notes and podcasts you need to understand the setting of the Old Testament prophets: Isaiah – Malachi.
[Update 2024-03-21: Full notes and final podcasts added]
The Old Testament concludes with the major and minor prophets. Do you know how each of these books fits into the Bible’s story? I mean, if we don’t know the situation they were addressing, it’s hard to make sense of what God was saying through them.
Here’s your opportunity to put the Prophets in perspective. Over the next six weeks, we’ll provide you with notes and a podcast covering the background of each one so you can read them for yourself.
You can download the full set of notes (60-page PDF), or the weekly notes for the six-week course (held Feb/Mar 2024), with two podcasts each week:
Notes will be available ahead of time, and the podcasts afterwards. The sessions are at Riverview Church in Perth Western Australia on Wednesday evenings.
Continue reading “Formed in God’s Story: Old Testament Prophets”
Free course in Matthew’s Gospel, with notes and podcasts
Update 2023-11-18: Notes and podcasts added.
The second half of Matthews’ Gospel resumes over seven Wednesdays from 18 October 2023 (7–9 pm) at Riverview Church (Perth, Western Australia).
Update 2023-09-07: Week 7 podcasts added.
Here’s another series of Formed in God’s Story. This one covers the Gospel of Matthew.
[Updated: Notes and podcasts added.]
How well could you explain the big arc of the Bible’s narrative? Could you piece together the Old Testament story from its creative beginning in Genesis to the postexilic Persian pressure of Esther’s time?
I’m preparing a sweeping 6-week overview of the Torah and historical books, and you’re invited. If you’re in Perth Western Australia, let’s get together. If not, you can still download the notes each week to catch the wind of what God is doing.
Formed in God’s Story: Genesis to Esther covers the 17 foundational books that provide context for the Psalms and Prophets. This is the backstory for Jesus’ mission (Matthew – John), our mission (Acts – Jude), and the restoration of all things (Revelation).
This is God’s story, but we’re not merely binge watching it. We’re living in it. We’re being formed in God’s story.
The vision night for our church got me thinking about how we set goals.
What’s the vision of your church? Do you have an annual goal-setting time when leaders reveal targets for the coming year and call people to get behind them?
The church where I serve gave a very different vision presentation last night. Missing were all the usual goals for greater attendance, giving, and volunteerism as a measure of the people’s buy-in of church programmes.
Enrol now for 2020.
Update 2021-02-07: Riverview College is not operating at present (COVID).
If you’re in Perth and serious about serving Jesus, would you consider devoting a year to learning how to do it well?
In twelve months at Riverview College, you could have:
The Diploma studies are your deep-dive into the Bible, theology, practical skills, and personal development: six hours of lectures each Thursday. On Wednesdays you’ll be engaged with the Riverview staff, soaking up the leadership masterclasses, and serving in the internship. There are also assessments to complete for the Diploma, and you will be serving in a ministry team on the weekends as well.
This Facebook video is your invitation.
Update 2021-02-07: old links removed.
When you relate to God, are you usually thinking of the Father, the Son, or the Spirit? Which one do you need to know more about?
Is Holy Spirit someone’s name? How do you relate to this person named Holy Spirit? How do we do life with him? How does he help us relate to other people?
Join me live for some Bible study and discussion over six Monday evenings, covering: Continue reading “Holy Spirit and You (free course)”
Update 2021-02-07: old links removed.
Interested in Psalms? Join me for a free course if you’re in Perth. Two sessions (7–9 pm) each Monday evening for six weeks (29 July – 2 Sep 2019). Continue reading “Free course: Psalms”
If you’re chilling this evening, watch this Mother’s Day message by Tim Healy. The best message I’ve heard this year is live for just 24 hours (12 May 2019) on Riverview’s Facebook page.
Update 2019-05-19: New links:
– Video (MP4, 5000 MB)
– Audio (MP3, 33 MB)
The Lord’s Prayer. Free evening course in Perth, Western Australia
Update 2021-02-07: old links removed.
Want to be intentional about prayer? Want to pray in partnership with what God wants?
Join me for six Monday evenings here in Perth, as we learn from Jesus how to pray. Continue reading “Developing your prayer life”
Seeking the kingdom 