As I look out on our landscape today, it is a miserable, wet and cold one! And it influences how I behave! We have all learned that this is the same for the wider social landscape in which we are situated – it changes – sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtle. And as we observe […]

I have never fancied myself as a synchronised swimmer, but the amount of effort going into keeping everything ‘afloat’ this past week has seemed phenomenal. And for many people I have spoken to, that has been their feeling also, so much effort required just to stay in the same place let alone have forward momentum. If […]

One thing Colleen often says to me when surprising events occur is “this hasn’t caught God by surprise!” It’s a great reminder that while we may be tossed about by the waves, Christ remains master of the storm – and we are called to respond by taking a breath, stepping back, and giving our situation […]

Kia ora e te whānau, This week has taken a bit of a turn from what was expected!  Instead of the various meetings and greetings we had organised we find ourselves back in Level 4 lockdown, creating social bubbles in our homes, albeit for 3 days.  While we had not expected this, we can be […]

For Such a Time as This – Week 2 This Sunday marks Week 2 of our Prayer and Self Denial Campaign.  Have you thought about what changes you could make to your life this month to raise money for international mission? Could it be giving up a bought coffee once or twice a week or […]

For such a time as this. This month we are starting on a four-week journey through the NZBMS Prayer and Self Denial campaign which this year is centred around the story of Esther.  It is important that we take opportunities to both rejoice in how God is outworking His plan for restoring the world and […]

The weather this week has certainly given us a range of experiences – from sun to snow flurries, rain and hail.  Our service this Sunday will have a range of things happening as well. Matariki, when the Pleides star cluster reappears in the sky, sends us a reminder to worship God in thankfulness for His […]

Two thousand years ago, God’s Son entered the world – a world of poverty, injustice and war. It was a world where hope seemed in desperately short supply. Jesus came with a mission, speaking in a synagogue he stands up and reads the words of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because […]

I have been really enjoying our current teaching series on Parables in Luke.  Some have been very familiar such as ‘The Good Samaritan’, while others have been less well known such as ‘The Parable of the 10 Pounds’. Why do some of the lesser-known ones get chosen? As we read the word it is important that […]

Today as I write this the sun is pouring through the window onto my desk at church. However, I know that this wasn’t the scene a couple of days ago.  With Canterbury facing its biggest rain event for decades our church roof was springing leaks and Carol was busy putting out bowls and mopping up […]

As I drove into Christchurch this morning, I couldn’t help but admire the beautiful colours around.  Autumn may bring cooler temperatures but when it is accompanied by such beauty I find it easy to forgive.  Winter though, that really is another story.  It may be that I am still acclimatising but the barren look of […]

In our current preaching series, we are looking at six parables told by Jesus as found in Luke’s Gospel. Although parables were often used in ancient times, Jesus is particularly well known for using them to simply convey a spiritual lesson.  And that quite simply is what a parable is about – a simple way […]

Last week we had the first in our series of Parables from Luke.  Looking at the parable of the Good Samaritan, Tim Hughes shared about love being a verb.  That we are called to actively love our neighbour. What if that means to actively go outside our usual spaces, to go looking for our ‘neighbour’ […]

Have you ever had to battle a reputation for something or been given a nickname that has unfortunately stuck? Are you known as someone who always trips over or who never catches the ball because of that one time you dropped it when everyone was watching? On Sunday, Pamela challenged us to see the value that […]

Kathryn Thorne’s words last Sunday were so powerful that we think they are worth reading again, so here is an abridged version. You can read the full version on our Facebook page. One of the ways we participate in and embody God’s Kingdom is to recognise and embrace one another and celebrate our diversity in […]