Hillsong Australia Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this Mission Sunday message, Global Senior Pastor Phil Dooley brings a powerful word from Ephesians 2:19–22, reminding us that God is building more than structures—He’s building people, with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone.

Be inspired to take your place in God’s purpose as we move forward together with vision, courage, and unity.

What does it really mean to build the Church — not just physically, but spiritually and personally? Anchored in Ephesians 2 and the story of Nehemiah, this Mission Sunday conversation between Phil Dooley and Gabe Kelly explores how God is building His Church through everyday people, in everyday places. This episode unpacks how each of us can take responsibility for what’s in front of us and live out our faith through service, discipline, and future-focused purpose.

✨ Key Themes

• Building what’s in front of you 🧱
• Everyone has a role to play 🙌
• Serving the city, not just attending church 🌆
• Commitment over compromise 🔒
• Daily rhythms that guard your heart 🕊️
• Future glory over past success 🚀

📖 Key Scripture References

• Ephesians 2
• Nehemiah (Rebuilding the Wall)
• 3 John 2
• 1 Kings 19 (Elijah’s rest)

💬 Standout Quotes

• “No role is small in God’s building. Every believer has a place and a purpose.” ✨
• “We’re not just consumers of church — we’re called to serve.” 🤝
• “God’s greatest glory is not found in impressive buildings, but in His living presence among a rebuilt people.” 🕊️
• “God’s work moves forward through humble hands, not proud hearts.” 🙏
• “We can strengthen the wall by commitment or weaken it by compromise.” ⚖️
• “Building together focuses on the future glory, not the past.” 🔭

🚶 Next Steps

• Look for a need in your church or community and take ownership of it
• Commit to serving in a ministry or team
• Create daily rhythms that support your spiritual and physical wellbeing
• Reflect on where compromise may be weakening your commitment
• Ask God what you’re called to build in this season
• Choose to focus on what God is doing now — not just what He’s done before

🔗 Links / Call to Action

Join us at Hillsong Church:
https://hillsong.com/australia

Subscribe to the Hillsong Australia Podcast:
https://hillsong.com/australia/podcast

Bringing Sunday into your everyday as we unpack the week’s message and follow Jesus together across Australia.

In this deeply pastoral and honest conversation, Donna Crouch joins host Shekeinah Hill to unpack one of the most universal — yet often avoided — human experiences: pain.

Drawing from John 11 and the story of Lazarus, Donna shares from both Scripture and personal experience to explore how suffering, grief, and despair are not signs of weak faith — but often spaces where faith is formed.

At the beginning of a new year, when hope and expectation can sit alongside unexpected hardship, this episode reminds us that God meets us not only in breakthrough — but also in lament.

⚠️ Disclaimer & Support

This episode contains discussions around grief, loss, suffering, and emotional pain which may be sensitive for some listeners.

If this conversation raises difficult emotions or you need support, you are not alone. The following Australian support services are available:

• Lifeline Australia — 📞 13 11 14
https://www.lifeline.org.au

• Beyond Blue — 📞 1300 22 4636
https://www.beyondblue.org.au

• 1800RESPECT — 📞 1800 737 732
https://www.1800respect.org.au

If you are in immediate danger, please call 000 🚨

✨ Key Themes

1. Jesus Weeps With Us ❤️
God does not stand distant from our pain. The compassion of Jesus Christ shows that grief and faith can exist together — and that lament is a biblical response to suffering.

2. Movement Is Medicine 🚶
Healing is often not immediate or passive. Emotional, spiritual, and relational movement can be part of the process God uses to restore us.

3. Take Off the Grave Clothes 🕊️
Pain can leave behind beliefs, identities, or coping mechanisms that no longer serve us. Like Lazarus of Bethany, we may need community to help remove what keeps us bound.

📖 Key Scripture References

• John 11:1–44 — Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead
• John 11:35 — “Jesus wept”
• Colossians 1:24 — Sharing in Christ’s sufferings
• Book of Job — Faithfulness amidst suffering
• Book of Psalms — Biblical expressions of lament and hope
• Book of Lamentations — Grief, sorrow, and trust in God
• Genesis 12–21 — Abraham & Sarah waiting for Isaac
• Genesis 37–50 — Joseph’s suffering and redemption
• Book of Esther — God’s providence amidst adversity

💬 Standout Quotes

💭 “Suffering and hardship are going to be part of progress.”
🤝 “Compassion doesn’t mean we’ve got to have the answers.”
📖 “Despair is part of life — and Scripture gives us language for it.”
💔 “You can be so blessed in one area of life and still deeply hurting in another.”
✨ “Life has tension all the time — it’s finding Jesus in those tensions, not the absence of them.”
🚶 “Healing often requires movement.”
🕊️ “We may need community to help us remove our grave clothes.”

🚶 Next Steps

• Spend time reading John 11 and reflect on how Jesus responds to grief 📖
• Journal honestly using a Psalm of lament (e.g. Psalm 13 or Psalm 42) ✍️
• Talk to a trusted friend, pastor, or mentor about any pain you may be navigating 🤝
• Identify areas where you may feel “stuck” — and consider what movement could look like this week 🧭

🔗 More Information

For more information about Hillsong Church Australia, visit hillsong.com/australia
For more from the Hillsong Australia Podcast, visit hillsong.com/Australia/podcast

In her message 'A New Year- A New You', Donna Crouch draws from the Gospel of John and the story of Lazarus of Bethany to show how God uses seasons of pain, grief, and waiting to form a deeper, more resilient faith as we step into a new year.

In this episode, Tyler is joined by friends and church leaders Jerry, Alissa, and Vasiti to debrief an impactful message from Hillsong teaching pastor Haydn Nelson titled “Christ + Nothing = Everything”. Drawing from Colossians 1, Haydn reminds listeners that Christ is supreme, sufficient, and our Saviour—offering everything we need in every area of life. The hosts discuss personal takeaways, practical ways to prioritize God in daily life, and the challenges of resisting the pressures of conformity in today’s world.

✨ Key Themes

• Christ as supreme, sufficient, and Saviour 👑
• The pressure to conform in school, work, social settings, and social media 🌍
• Practical faith habits: spending time with God throughout the day ⏰🙏
• Grace and perseverance in every season of life 🌿
• Living a Christ-centered life without adding “extra” works or distractions ✝️

📖 Key Scripture References

• Colossians 1:15–20 — Christ is supreme over all creation and the church
• Romans 12:2 — Do not conform to the patterns of this world; be transformed
• James 1:26 — If you cannot control your tongue, your religion is worthless
• Psalms 23:1 — “The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.”
• Lamentations 3:22–23 — God’s mercies are new every morning
• Mark 1:35 — Jesus Christ rising early to pray in solitude

💬 Standout Quotes

💪 “Christ is sufficient in my weakness, and He has given us His grace for strength.” — Jerry
🙏 “God is my Lord and Savior; in Him, I have all that I need.” — Alissa
🧱 “Master the mundane—it’s in the daily habits that our faith is fortified.” — Vasiti
✨ “There’s always going to be pressure to conform, but choosing Christ daily is the answer.” — Tyler

🚶 Next Steps

1. Daily Time with God — Commit to starting or ending your day with prayer, Scripture, or worship (even 15–30 minutes) 📖
2. Master the Mundane — Find spiritual practices in everyday rhythms like chores, driving, or walking 🚗
3. Resist Pressure to Conform — Identify areas where you feel pressure and intentionally choose Christ-centered responses 🧭
4. Reflect on Christ’s Sufficiency — Remind yourself regularly that Jesus provides everything you need ✝️
5. Grace for Every Season — Trust that God equips you differently in each season 🌿

🔗 More Information

For more information about Hillsong Church Australia, visit hillsong.com/australia
For more from the Hillsong Australia Podcast, visit hillsong.com/Australia/podcast

In his message 'Christ + Nothing = Everything', Haydn Nelson unpacks Colossians to reveal the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ, reminding us that when Christ is at the centre, we already have everything we need for life and faith.

In this episode of the Hillsong Australia Podcast, the team unpack a powerful message from Robert Fergusson titled The Gospel in Advance: Following in the Footsteps of a Man of Righteousness.

Through the lens of Abraham’s life, this conversation explores what it means to live a life of righteousness in everyday moments — not through perfection, but through trust and obedience to God. The discussion wrestles with the tension between living distinctively as followers of Jesus while remaining engaged with the world around us in love and humility.

Together, the team reflect on generational faith, the responsibility of example, the call to distinctive holiness, and the daily disciplines that help shape a life that honours God and blesses others.

✨ Key Themes

• Following in the footsteps of faith — and creating footsteps for others to follow 👣
• Righteousness as a gift received through trusting God 🎁
• Generational impact and spiritual inheritance 🌱
• Living with distinctive holiness in everyday life ✨
• Christianity as personal, but not private 🤝
• The daily pursuit of God through spiritual disciplines 📖🙏
• Abiding in obedience as a relational posture ❤️
• The empowerment of the Holy Spirit in holy living 🔥
• Mentorship and investing in the next generation 🧭
• Obedience as worship, not performance 🎵

📖 Key Scripture References

• Book of Genesis 15:6 — Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness
• Epistle to the Hebrews 12:1 — Surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses
• Book of Psalms 119:105 — Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path
• Gospel of Matthew 6:33 — Seek first the Kingdom
• Gospel of John 13:34–35 — They will know you by your love
• Acts of the Apostles 1:8 — You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you

📚 Referenced Resources

• Lectio 365 Devotional — by Pete Greig 📱

💬 Standout Quotes

✨ “We follow in others’ footsteps, but we also create footsteps for others to follow.”
🙏 “Righteousness is the gift of salvation — it begins with trust in God.”
🤝 “Christianity is personal, but it’s not private.”
✨ “Holiness is not just saying the right thing — it’s living it.”
❤️ “Obedience is not performance; it’s a posture of relationship.”
👣 “We don’t need to see the whole path — just the next step.”
🔥 “Distinctive holiness is lived out in everyday obedience.”
💛 “We will be known by our love.”

🚶 Next Steps

• Identify one spiritual discipline to intentionally grow in this year (e.g. prayer, Scripture, silence) 📖
• Ask the Holy Spirit where He is prompting obedience in your everyday life 🔥
• Consider how your life reflects Christ to those around you — in word and action 💬
• Invite accountability through godly community 🤝

🔗 More Information

For more information about Hillsong Church Australia, visit hillsong.com/Australia
For more from the Hillsong Australia Podcast, visit hillsong.com/Australia/podcast

In his message 'The Gospel in Advance: Following in the Footsteps of a Man of Righteousness', Robert Fergusson looks at the life of Abraham to show how righteousness is formed through daily trust and obedience to God, calling followers of Jesus Christ to live distinctively in faith while faithfully engaging the world around them.

In this first episode of the Hillsong Australia Podcast, Allans Sancho sits down with Robert Fergusson to unpack his recent sermon preached at the Hills Campus in Sydney, titled The Gospel in Advance. As we begin a new year, this conversation centres on returning to the foundations of our faith by looking back to move forward — specifically through the life of Abraham.

Together, they explore what it means to live a life of adventurous faith, heartfelt gratitude, and expansive generosity in our everyday lives.

✨ Key Themes

1. Looking Back to Move Forward 🔍➡️
“The further backward you can look, the further forward you can see.”
Scripture reminds us that what has been written in the past serves as both an example and a warning for our lives today. The story of Abraham becomes a model for how we live by faith in the present.

2. A Life of Adventurous Faith 🧭🔥
Abraham’s journey began with a call from God to step out without knowing where he was going. In the same way, our walk with Jesus Christ invites us into a lifelong spiritual adventure that requires trust, obedience, and movement.

3. A Life of Grace-Filled Gratitude 🙏🎁
Understanding that everything we have is a gift from God shifts our posture from entitlement to gratitude — shaping how we see both our resources and our responsibility.

4. A Life of Expansive Generosity 🤝🌍
God’s blessing was never intended to stop with us. We are blessed so that we can be a blessing — extending hospitality, provision, and faith to those around us.

📖 Key Scripture References

·       Genesis 12:1–4

·       Genesis 12:2

·       Genesis 18:1–15

·       Micah 4:4

·       1 Corinthians 10:11–13

·       Galatians 3:14

·       Luke 14:28–33

📚 Book Recommendations

·       A Very Private School — Charles Spencer

·       The Story That Makes Sense of All of Our Stories — Daryl Johnson

·       In Him (In Christ) — E. Stanley Jones

💬 Standout Quotes

·       “We don’t need a New Year’s resolution — we need a New Year revelation.” ✨

·       “We preach on Sundays so that you can apply truth on Monday.” 📅

·       “God is calling us back to the adventure of faith.” 🧭

·       “Following Jesus costs everything — but He also gives everything.” ❤️

🚶 Next Steps

·       Reflect on the foundations of your faith this week 🪨

·       Invite someone into your world through hospitality 🍽️

·       Take one intentional step of faith in an area where you’ve become comfortable 👣

🔗 More Information

For more information about Hillsong Church Australia, visit hillsong.com/Australia
For more from the Hillsong Australia Podcast, visit hillsong.com/Australia/podcast