Faith and relevance in the 21st century.
If Jesus is who he says he is in the gospels, then all of life has to centre around him. That includes our personal morality, our economics, politics, sexuality, care for the poor and for the planet. These are all central gospel issues, not optional add-ons to the “real” task of saving people’s souls.
Soul Thoughts delves into how the gospel of Jesus is more relevant than ever in the 21st century. It does so by looking at what’s happening in our world through the lens of him.
About a month or so ago, some articles appeared in the media saying that AI could very soon spell the end of humanity! Experts in the field were making diabolical predictions about the impacts of AI on our very future.
Even if we take a step back from these doomsday scenarios, we do need to look at the impacts of AI on what it means to be human.
What does it mean to be whole, to be more human, to grow spiritually, and to love? Can AI guide us in that? Jesus promised us life in all its fullness. But what can Jesus give us that AI can't?
In this episode, we look at what AI is showing us about what it means to be human, to connect, to have relationship and be in community. Can AI give us all these things, either now or in the future when it's more developed?
22 Oct 2026
How to love someone who has a mental illness
In this episode, we look at a topic that millions of people the world over can closely relate to. Mental illness touches people from all walks of life. I've struggled with it myself, particularly anxiety and depression.
What are some of the ways we can learn from how Jesus approached people with mental illness? And what are some practical ways we can help? There are many ways you can support someone with a mental illness, and if you're someone who has a mental illness, there are many ways you can be supported. You are not alone.
If you or a loved one needs support, in the US you can utilize the following:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 for free, confidential support available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor via text message.
SAMHSA’s National Helpline: Call 1-800-662-4357 (or text your ZIP code to 435748) for 24/7 treatment referral and information services.
In Australia, there are the following supports:
Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention.
Beyond Blue: Call 1300 22 4636 or use their Beyond Blue Online Chat (https://www.beyondblue.org.au/) for free, confidential mental health counselling.
13YARN: Call 13 92 76 for a 24/7 crisis support line run by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Suicide Call Back Service: Call 1300 659 467 for nationwide telephone and online counseling.
Kids Helpline: Call 1800 55 1800 for young people aged 5 to 25.
In the UK, there are the following:
Samaritans: Call 116 123 for free, confidential 24/7 support if they are struggling to cope or having thoughts of suicide.
Mind Infoline: Call 0300 123 3393 or email info@mind.org.uk for guidance on local services and mental health rights.
Rethink Mental Illness: Call 0300 5000 927 for practical advice on severe mental illness, medication, and carer support.
Hub of Hope: Use the Hub of Hope (https://hubofhope.co.uk/) directory to search for local mental health support and charities near a specific UK postcode.
15 Oct 2026
How to recover from your FOMO
This episode includes a few confessions I have to make. Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is, I reckon, the disease of our age. We're terrified of missing something, whatever "something" is.
What's more, the systems we're part of are actually designed to make us addicted to them. But what if there was a way to free ourselves from our FOMO? What if we could live lives of presence, intimacy, and really being there for others.
That's what we'll look at in this episode. I hope you get a lot out of it!
8 Oct 2026
Is it wrong for Christians to trust themselves?
In John 15, Jesus makes the strange statement that "without me you can do nothing". That statement is taken by many Christians to mean that we therefore shouldn't trust ourselves. But is that true? What does it really mean to love ourselves and therefore love others?
This is a sermon I preached on 28 April 2024, a few months after my mother passed away. So, a lot of my thoughts expressed in this sermon are reflections on her passing and the nature of love.
1 Oct 2026
Is loving your enemies just hopelessly idealistic?
Probably the most difficult of Jesus' commands is the one to love our enemies that he gives in Luke's Gospel. Was he being serious when he gave that command, or was he just off with the fairies and hopeless out of touch with the real world?
This episode is a sermon I preached on Luke 6:27-36 in February 2025. In it we look at Jesus' command to love your enemies, what it looked like in the culture of the time, and what it means and doesn't mean for us. Look out too for a discussion of a study that looked at the results of non-violent resistance compared to violent resistance throughout the 20th century.
Was Jesus serious when he told us to love our enemies, or was he naive and out of touch? Find out in this episode of Soul Thoughts.
24 Sept 2026
What if the Bible doesn't tell us how the world will end?
With the latest possible scenarios of how AI could spell the end of humanity, I thought it was time to look at what the Bible says about the end of the world.
When I was a young Christian, I was convinced I was living in the end times, mainly because certain people told me I was. I was convinced I was never going to die because Jesus was coming back in my lifetime.
In this episode, we look at what the Bible says and doesn't say about the End Times, why so many Christians believe that it does talk about the End Times, and what level of importance I think this should play in the life of the follower of Jesus.
17 Sept 2026
Why seeking justice is central to the Gospel
Back in the 1970s, Jim Wallis, the founder of the Sojourners community in Washington DC, conducted an experiment to see what the Bible says about poverty and justice. He was astounded by what he found.
Many years earlier, Charles Finney, who invented altar call where people come up the front to give their lives to Christ, didn't separate coming to Christ from the need to do justice.
Seeking justice is not an optional add-on for the Christian. It needs to be in our very DNA as it's central to the Gospel. In this episode of Soul Thoughts, I seek to explain why.
10 Sept 2026
Climate change: why should Christians care?
Recent articles in the media have highlighted the concerns of climate scientists about an upcoming record-breaking El Niño and its impacts on our planet.
Should this be a concern for Christians? If Jesus is coming back anyway to make everything right, why should we bother about the environment? Isn't it a side-show to the real work of evangelism?
In this episode, we look at what the Scriptures say about God's concern for the planet. We look at a bit of theology and how we in the West in particular can love what God loves.
3 Sept 2026
How to embrace your shadow
Do you struggle with shame? What about feelings of guilt? We all have a dark side, what Carl Jung called our shadow. What many of us haven't been taught though is that our shadow is not to be shunned or shamed. It's to be embraced.
If you ever find yourself reacting out of all proportion when something upsets us, your shadow has been exposed. It's not bad or evil, and God certainly doesn't see it like that.
In this episode, I discuss how we can embrace our shadow and become more integrated, whole people.
27 Aug 2026
The day it all started going wrong for Jesus
Being misunderstood is deeply hurtful. Jesus knew that intimately. In what scholars call the Caesarea Philippi Declaration, Jesus starts to talk about the fact that he is going to suffer and die, and the disciples don't like it one bit.
The people of the time were expecting a messiah who would liberate them from the tyranny of Rome. What do we want a messiah to be for us today? Who do we say Jesus is?
This is a sermon I preached at St Martin's Community Church in Melbourne on 23 August 2026. It's based on the Gospel reading for the day, which was Matthew 16:13-20.
20 Aug 2026
When your dreams are shattered
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had my share of shattered dreams in my life. Some have been self-inflicted, while others have been forced upon me. Still others have been a mixture of both.
Some people go through a whole lot more suffering in life than others. It’s a rare person though who goes through life never experiencing intense loss of some kind.
Let your suffering be redemptive. Jesus did. I reckon he's the best example we can follow about how to deal with life on life's terms. It's more than just putting a positive spin on things.
13 Aug 2026
Everything is going to be alright
This is a sermon I preached at St Martin’s Community Church in Melbourne on Sunday 26 July 2026. It’s based on the Lectionary reading for the day, which was Romans 8:26-39.The greatest human need is to be fully known and yet still fully loved. It’s the best foundation for mental and emotional health that I know. This passage from what is probably Paul's most theologically compact letter lays that foundation.
6 Aug 2026
Cutting off your limbs and gouging out your eyes
Jesus sure had some pretty weird things to say on the surface. He took sin seriously, but he wasn't all about sin management, as many Christians are. So, what did he mean when he said we should cut our hands off and gouge our eyes out?
This is a sermon I preached at St Martin's Community Church in Melbourne, Australia, on 29 September 2024. It focuses on Mark 9:38-50.
30 Jul 2026
How I'm Learning To Become A Wounded Healer
I love Henri Nouwen's concept of the wounded healer.
It's the people who have been through intense suffering and come out the other side of it as more compassionate people who are the ones who have the most to give others.
They get it. They don't give pat answers. Their presence touches in a way that is attractive and makes you feel heard.
In this episode, I touch on some of the difficult times I've been going through this year and what they're teaching me.
21 Jul 2026
Why you won't be spending eternity in heaven
No, I'm not saying you're going to hell! What I'm questioning is the idea of what the great Christian hope is.
Many of us were taught that the great Christian hope is spending eternity with Jesus up in heaven when we die.
But what if that's not what Christian hope is at all? What if it's actually much better than that? And what would that mean for improving life in this world, right here and now? Does Christian hope have any relevance to this life?
18 Jul 2026
Welcome to Soul Thoughts!
Welcome to Soul Thoughts, my new podcast on faith, life, culture and how I think it all might fit together. This trailer will outline why I'm doing this, what you can expect, and hopefully how it might encourage and challenge you as you seek to follow Jesus in your daily life.
Enjoy!
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