Journey of a Thousand Steps

Today we talked about marriage in ancient Israel. Marriage can be a painful and sensitive topic for us in the Church today, because our ideals have often been weaponised to exclude people. However, we can't sideline the centrality of marriage as a symbol of God's love in the scriptures. So, we seek to understand it. As Israel entered into a covenant relationship with God, they stepped through four phases that mimicked entering into a marriage. These indicated that God was not a dictator who sat above them, but the spouse and best friend who wooed and committed to them. Which stage are you at in your journey with God? Do you give him a chance to be known? Are you serious about making a committment to be faithful to him? Have you given him first place and allowed him into every part of your life? Are you collaborating with him to love and serve the poor, and those who don't know true love in their lives?

Podcast by Heather Cetrangolo, 22 March 2026

What do you do when you feel under threat or depleted? Do you find yourself withdrawing, arguing or freezing up - unable to lead or make decisions? Throughout the Exodus teaching series, we have seen Moses and the Israelites respond in all three of these ways whilst under pressure. In Exodus 17.1-17, as they fear for their survival they consider giving up and going back to slavery. They start to argue heavily with their leader and create division. Then, in a moment of weakness, Moses freezes up and pressures God to do a miracle, to prove that everything will be okay. In this story we remember the call to praise God and remember His goodness, including and especially in the face of lack. 

Podcast by Heather Cetrangolo, 15 March 2026

Have you ever made a brave decision to leave behind an old way of living, a toxic relationship or workplace, or even an unsafe homeland, only to find the new way of life harder at first? This Sunday we learned about the first month in Israel's history after leaving Egpyt. Their celebration and elation was quickly followed by doubt, hardship and grumbling. Exodus 16 reminds us that when we get free, life gets harder before it gets easier. There are very good reasons for this. We can't leave slavery and move immediately into building a better, more prosperous life. As disciples of Jesus, we learn to embrace the wilderness seasons of rest, healing and recalibration. What step towards freedom are you taking today? Are you deciding to leave slavery, embracing a season of recovery, or stepping into your destiny, ready to build?

Podcast by Heather Cetrangolo, 8 March 2026

Why do Christians speak of drinking the Blood and eating the Body of Christ? In this week's teaching from Exodus 12.1-13 we revisited the history of terms like "blood of the lamb," "redemption price" and the significance of "firstborn sons" in ancient times. We saw that Jesus chose the Passover meal to inaugurate a new covenant, where he became the firstborn son who paid the redemption price that saves us from death. What does this mean in practical terms? It means we are in a solid, evidence-based position to live free from the fear of death. We receive the same inheritance that Jesus has - a full and blessed life, starting now, and that will be completed, forever. 

Podcast by Heather Cetrangolo, 22 February 2026

It is natural for us to ask why God allows suffering, but do we really want the answer? The story of Israel's exodus from Egypt to freedom reveals the reality of slavery and idolatory at the core of all human destruction - of the ecosystem and social wellbeing. In the account in Exodus 7-10 we watch the order that God has given to the world, physically and spiritually, reverse thorugh ten plagues - a ripple effect. God allows the consequences of human pride, greed and dehumanisation to unravel, but promises to provide a way out. He will not compromise with Pharaoh. His Promise is full freedom. Every single thing that has been taken from us, will be returned, and then some. His promise is Freedom++.

Podcast by Heather Cetrangolo, 15 February 2026