Tribe Church. Byron Bay

Have you ever been struck by Jesus’ tendency to downsize His movement? The temptation was to go big, but Jesus sought to keep it small! Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness to go big and make a huge splash. But Jesus often urged His disciples not to publicise His miracles or sensationalise His ministry. It was counterintuitive, but it was deliberate.Western church culture often inflates everything, seeking the big, the spectacular, the loud, and the sensational. Why did Jesus seek to prevent His new movement from overheating? Prayer is seemingly small and insignificant, but it lies at the heart of our spiritual formation. By downsizing the kingdom into a secret life of prayer, Jesus trains us not to undervalue the small things that will eventually make a huge impact. “For who has despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10) Our hearts gravitate toward the big, but the big can quench our inner formation by shifting our focus outward instead of inward.In this message, Phil Mason explores the virtue of downsizing into our secret life with God, laying the foundation for a much greater impact down the line. Prayer calls us to sow in secret, but Jesus promised the Father will reward us openly when we walk in His footsteps.

We can learn so much from Jesus about prayer. Not only from what he taught about it, but in the way he actually prayed to his Father.In this next instalment in the series “Teach Us To Pray”,  Rob first unpacks the famous “Lord's Prayer” and explores some simple questions: What did Jesus pray about? How were his prayers different from ours? And what does Jesus prioritise in prayer that we don’t?Rob also looks at the somewhat unusual prayer Jesus prays for his disciples in John 17, and considers whether Jesus is demonstrating a powerful way to overcome some of our most deeply held beliefs.

This week, Phil Mason introduced the concept of Upper Room culture, and Toby and Sophie Flipo, two of Tribe’s worship leaders, shared their experiences hosting pop-up Houses of Prayer in their home.Upper Room Culture is unveiled in the gathering of Jesus and His disciples in the Upper Room on the night He was betrayed. They gathered around the Last Supper, as Jesus led them in a covenantal meal together. This remarkable culture was born out of the unique language Jesus introduced. His intimate teaching birthed apostolic culture, inviting the disciples to inhabit this heavenly culture as they participated in the genesis of the church. As someone famously said, “words create worlds.’ Jesus invited the disciples to embrace this entirely new Upper Room culture expressed through the House of Prayer. Jesus’ own prayer in John 17 embodied the Spirit of the House of Prayer movement.Toby and Sophie shared their passion for running House of Prayer events in their own home, something they have practiced for several years.We hope this joint effort blesses and inspires you.

We are starting a new series called Teach Us to Pray, and Maria and Phil kicked it off with a beautiful overview of the life and journey of prayer.Maria’s key Scripture was Luke 11, where the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.”Embedded within the Lord’s Prayer, we discover many dimensions of prayer and devotion that are available to those who are willing to engage with them.Prayer is worship and adoration.
It is connection with the Father.
It is talking with Him.
It is asking and bringing our needs before Him.
It is caring for and interceding for others.
It is knowing the Father and growing in relationship with Him.
It is learning to hear His voice and understand His ways.
It is emptying our hearts of judgement, offence, and unforgiveness.
And prayer is also silence—being still in His presence.Phil shared about the power of silence and the importance of learning to be still so that we can encounter the Father’s love.Sometimes prayer is not about finding more words; it is simply about becoming still enough to receive.Maria finished by sharing about the power of praying in the heavenly prayer language, known as tongues, as referenced in 1 Corinthians 12. There is something powerful about the rhythm of breathing in and breathing out grace.Prayer brings us back into alignment with the Father. It helps us surrender our own agendas, listen for His voice, and respond to what He is asking of us.Teach us to pray, Lord.

Manny preached on I Thessalonians 5.23, emphasising that God, who is faithful, will make us holy and blameless until Jesus returns. There are many needs in this hour as the world is so full of brokenness and need.Manny has a medical background, and he spoke about how fear and stress activate survival mode, leading to problems like high blood pressure, poor sleep, and exhaustion. He shared some powerful stories and examples of healing and deliverance. We need God’s love to restore us and bring peace and wholeness. Confession, renunciation, and repentance are essential, as well as breaking curses and bondage, and bringing everything into Christ’s light for freedom. A lack of forgiveness can harden the heart, causing anger, resentment, and emotional numbness, making us like robots outwardly, while God desires our hearts.The Father desires His peace to dominate our hearts, bringing wholeness to our mind, body, and spirit.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” He invites us into the light — to himself. Scripture also tells us that people avoid the light because they fear what will be exposed. But what if hiding isn't just something unique to people who don’t follow Jesus? What if fear, shame, rejection, and old wounds can remain buried deep within us—even when we genuinely know Jesus and have been completely forgiven?When we accept the gift of eternal life, we come into the light. It’s free. It’s undeserved. This is the unique and profound gospel of grace. Jesus has finished the work of salvation. But where does the hard work of sanctification fit in? Is it possible we become fearful of a ‘works gospel’ and so minimise the essential work of being transformed, renewing our minds, and opening wide our hearts?What might happen if, instead of defending, blaming or shaming ourselves, we became curious—and simply asked Jesus, “Where in my heart am I hiding from you?” And what part does community play in the process of opening our hearts? Jesus’ invitation is not condemnation, it’s freedom. To open wide your heart and let yourself be known.

In this message, we explore what it looks like to embrace Heaven's call to live our lives out of our new creation identity. To be deeply healed and beyond that to become a company of people who bring healing, hope, and freedom to others.As we learn to relate to God, ourselves and others in the Spirit rather than in the soul, we become people who carry the healing of Christ to the world around us. This is a call to walk in God’s truth. Becoming aware of truth is only part of the journey. Real and lasting freedom comes when we say yes to the invitation of Jesus to bring every lie, wound, sin and unhealthy pattern to the cross, allowing the old way of living to die so that his life can flourish within us. Through the truth and grace of God and the power of the cross, lasting transformation becomes possible. Our prayer is that this message encourages you to say "yes" to your own healing journey and "yes" to becoming someone who helps others encounter the restoring love of Jesus.

In the introduction to this new series, Phil Mason takes his audience on a deep dive into the biblical foundation of Jesus’ ministry of healing hearts. The first step toward healing our hearts is the revelation of the miracle of the new creation. Phil explores the multifaceted dimensions of the regeneration of our spirit and the healing God has already performed upon us in giving a completely “new spirit.” The work of the Holy Spirit in regenerating and renewing our spirit is a finished work. Our spirit has already been fully upgraded with no further upgrades pending. Christ has been mystically joined to our spirit. The focus now turns to the sanctification (or purifying) of the soul which is a far-from-finished work. Understanding the separation of soul and spirit is vital to our understanding of the Spirit’s work in the supernatural transformation of the mind, the will, and the emotions. We hope this message refreshes and envisions you for the heart healing journey.

In this powerful message at Tribe Church on June 14, Deb Ferris shares on the journey of awakening to deep inner healing, focusing particularly on the hidden impact of bitterness and how unresolved wounds can hinder the abundant harvest God has for our lives.Drawing on her extensive experience in heart restoration ministry and leadership with Elijah House Australia, Deb unpacks the concepts of bitter-root judgments and bitter-root expectancies. She explains how negative judgments formed in response to past hurts—often in childhood—can take root deep within our hearts, producing unhealthy fruit in our relationships, emotions, and expectations.Using the powerful illustration of roots and fruits, Deb shows how the visible struggles we experience on the surface often originate from unseen roots beneath. She explores how bitter root expectancies can cause us to anticipate disappointment, failure, or hurt, shaping our lives in ways we may not even realise.With wisdom, clarity, and compassion, Deb offers practical insight into identifying these hidden roots and embracing God's pathway to healing, freedom, and restoration. This message is a valuable resource for anyone seeking greater emotional and spiritual wholeness and a deeper understanding of God's healing work of God in the heart.

Pentecost is so important in knowing our identity as believers in God. On the day of Pentecost, the fire of God fell, and tongues of fire allotted to each person's head signified the personal anointing God has for each of us in Christ. In Luke, we read: "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49 The Holy Spirit is our teacher, comforter, and deliverer. The Holy Spirit dispenses gifts and fruits, and most importantly, is the source of all power in our lives. We don't have strength or energy without Him. We have nothing without Him! In 2 Timothy 3, we read that some would prefer to hold to a form of godliness but deny the power of God. Behind this is a religious spirit that shuts down the voice of God and His omnipotence!