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Cyclone News: Churches Working Together

This week it’s been a profound privilege to hear of churches working together in the state of emergency to care for one another and ultimately point people to Jesus through the gospel from the scriptures.We’ve seen so many examples of generosity and creativity as churches have strengthened relationships through the cyclone's destruction.In fact, some relationships didn’t exist before this week, beginning when individuals extended or needed support.At the Orchard Church in Te Puke, members ...

God is Calling us

"Na ka puta mai te kupu a Ihowa, he mea na Hakai poropiti; i ki ia, Ko ta koutou wa ianei tenei, e mea ma, e noho ai i o koutou whare kua oti nei to roto hipoki, i te mea he ururua tenei whare?""Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 'Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?'"—Haggai 1:3-4I have spent most of my free time over the last four or five weeks painting my house. It might be part of the re...

Churches and Campsites Working Together

From left to right: Daryl Bay, Peter Somervell and Greig Caigou.Our heart as a team is to serve churches by working together to point people to Jesus through the gospel from the Scriptures.For this reason, it was a real joy to receive this photo from Daryl Bay at Hope Community Church in Nelson. Daryl Bay, a pastor at Hope Community Church, Peter Somervell, a pastor at Grace Church, Richmond and Greig Caigou, a pastor at Tasman Church are praying about and planning a combined outdoor Easter Sund...

In Times of Trouble

"Ko te Atua to tatou piringa, to tatou kaha; he kaiawhina e tino tata ana i nga wa o te he." "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."—Psalm 46:1 You may have seen posters with these words written on them in beautiful calligraphy. You might have been tempted to think that these soothing words spring from a place of calm, quiet contemplation.But look with me at verses two and three. The earth collapses, mountains crash into the ocean, the seas howl and fo...

Good News

"Na ka mea te anahera ki a ratou, Kaua e mataku: ta te mea he kaikauwhau tenei ahau ki a koutou mo te hari nui, meake puta mai ki te iwi katoa".  "But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people".—Luke 2:10This same good news that Luke writes about has traveled across history and around the world. I am continually drawn to reflect upon the incredible 1800-year journey of the good news from its origin in Isr...

In the Beginning

"I te timatanga te Kupu, i te Atua te Kupu, ko te Atua ano te Kupu.I te Atua ano tenei Kupu i te timatanga.Nana nga mea katoa i hanga; kahore hoki tetahi mea i kore te hanga e ia o nga mea i hanga.I a ia te ora; ko te ora te marama mo nga tangata.I roto i te pouri te marama e whiti ana; heoi kihai i mau i te pouri". "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him n...

The Cross at Christmas

"Ko te ingoa o te wahine ko Meri.Na, ko tona haerenga ki roto, ki a ia, ka mea, Tena koe, e te wahine kua manakohia nei; kei a koe te Ariki: ko koe te manaakitia i roto i nga wahine".  "The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you”.— Luke 1: 27b-28 JD Greear drew something out of Luke chapter one that has struck me deeply. He said in a sermon:"Mary has just been told she i...

Theology Matters

"E u ana te pupuri i te kupu pono i whakaakona atu na, kia taea ai e ia, i te mea ka tika nei tana whakaako, te whakahauhau, te turaki ano i ta te hunga e totohe mai ana". "He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it".— Titus 1:9 Cretans are wild. The Cretan Church is the wild west! Wild living, wild times, and wild teaching.Across the Cretan house churches, wild ...

This Christmas is better than that Christmas

"Na ka mea te anahera ki a ia, Kei wehi koe, e Meri; kua paingia hoki koe e te Atua". "But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God". — Luke 1:28 How good is the first Christmas?In Luke 1:26-38 a celestial being, sent from God's presence, speaks to a teenager betrothed to a descendant of King David.The promises are startling:You will conceive.You will give birth to a Son.He will be great.He will be given the throne of David....

Longings fulfilled in Jesus

"In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;let me never be put to shame;deliver me in your righteousness.Turn your ear to me,come quickly to my rescue;be my rock of refuge,a strong fortress to save me.Since you are my rock and my fortress,for the sake of your name lead and guide me.Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,for you are my refuge.Into your hands I commit my spirit;deliver me, Lord, my faithful God".— Psalm 31:1-5I am so deeply moved by how profoundly these l...

Rejoice Together and Mourn Together

"Kia hari tahi me te hunga hari, kia tangi tahi me te hunga tangi"."Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn". —Romans 12:15 In Romans 12:1 Paul urges us: “...brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship”.Paul then reminds us in verse 15 to: “ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn”. Through God’s mercy in J...

A Grace-filled Genealogy

"Ko te pukapuka o te whakapapa o Ihu Karaiti, tama a Rawiri, tama a Aperahama". "This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham..." —Matthew 1:1 Jesus’ genealogy is a mess. A genealogy in a first century middle eastern context acted a lot like a CV does for us today. Four of the women in Jesus’ CV are tainted by sexual mess. Each historical era is filled with human messiness.The first era is the 750 years from Abraham to King David.The second is the 400 ye...

He Stays with Us

"Na ka tohe raua ki a ia, ka mea, E noho ki a maua: kua ahiahi hoki, kua titaha te ra. Na ka tomo atu ia, ka noho ki a raua"."But they urged him strongly, 'Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over'. So he went in to stay with them".— Luke 24:29 Confusion, despondency, and bewilderment mark the conversation. They could not be closer to the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection and yet the dots in their hearts and heads don’t all join up. Our curre...

Seeing WHO'S in front

"Ka mea a Ihu ki a ia, E Meri"."Jesus said to her, Mary".— John 20:16 Mary who sees the tombstone has moved.Mary who weeps. Mary who doesn’t ‘see’ what’s going on.Mary who couldn’t be closer to the most significant event in history; and yet couldn’t be more confused.Mary who sees angels sitting but not Jesus standing.Mary who is looking for Jesus in the wrong place and in the wrong way.Mary who doesn’t ‘see’ who's in front of her.Mary who mistakes the God ...

Breakfast on the Beach

"Ka mea a Ihu ki a ratou, haere mai kai te kai. heoi kihai tetahi o nga akonga i maia ki te ui ki a ia, Ko wai koe? i mohio hoki ko te Ariki. Na ka haere a Ihu, ka mau ki te taro, a hoatu ana e ia ki a ratou, me nga ika. Ko te toru tenei o nga putanga o Ihu ki ana akonga, i muri i tona aranga ake i te hunga mate"."Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast'. None of the disciples dared ask him, 'Who are you?' They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to t...

He is not here, He is Risen

"Na ka oho te anahera, ka mea ki nga wahine, Kei wehi korua: e matau ana hoki ahau, e rapu ana korua i a Ihu i ripekatia. Kahore ia i konei: kua ara ke, kua pera me tana i mea ai. Haere mai kia kite i te wahi i takoto ai te Ariki. ""The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay". — Matthew 28:5-6The women were expecting to see the b...

Light of the World

"I te timatanga te Kupu, i te Atua te Kupu, ko te Atua ano te Kupu. I te Atua ano tenei Kupu i te timatanga. Nana nga mea katoa i hanga; kahore hoki tetahi mea i kore te hanga e ia o nga mea i hanga. I a ia te ora; ko te ora te marama mo nga tangata. I roto i te pouri te marama e whiti ana; heoi kihai i mau i te pouri"."In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without hi...

The Queen's Way

By CCCNZ Ambassador Mark Grace I've come to cherish HM Queen Elizabeth II deeply. I’ve cried a lot today at the news of her death, aged 96. I cherished the Queen because she knew Jesus as the King of Kings, and he knows her.  In a beautiful short booklet about the Queen's faith called The Queen’s Way (which you can read here), Mark Greene writes:  “Almost every time the Queen speaks about her faith she relates it directly to Jesus. And she is effusive in her appreciation. He...

Bible studies with the seeking or sceptical

While I was in student ministry, Rebecca Pippert and Ada Lum helped many of us by showing us how to do simple, investigative Bible studies with seeking and sceptical friends.Ada used these simple questions when doing an investigative Bible study about Jesus’ encounters with people:What’s the situation?Who are the people and what are their needs?What’s Jesus’ solution?What are their responses?Under the leading of the Spirit, these questions acted like flood lights that woul...

Who is the harvest?

I'm profoundly grateful for Lui and Ane Ponifasio from LifeChurch Manurewa who helped me see something in Scripture that I had not seen previously (to my shame).  Come with me to Matthew 9:18-38.Who does Jesus compassionately interact with in these verses?Shattered parents and their dead girl; a bleeding, isolated woman; blind men; and a man who had been demonically possessed.These are people crippled by trauma, pain, isolation, poverty, and demo...

The Mark Drama

By CCCNZ Ambassador, Mark Grace It’s 7pm on Sunday night, 200 people are at Te Awamutu Bible Chapel. From the centre of the seating a group of young adults begin a re-enactment of Mark's gospel, The Mark Drama is underway.It is a delight to know that 50 people from Te Awamutu’s Alpha Course are in the audience. Church members from Hillcrest Chapel, Agora Church, and Hukanui Bible Church are also present with friends and family who ...

Horizon of Hope

Jesus asked the man at the pool in John 5, “Do you want to get well?”The man replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me”. What is remarkable is how low the man’s horizon of hope is. He has been an invalid for 38 years. His life is one of lying down.He does not understand who is asking the question, he can’t see beyond his circumstances, he can’t think outside the square his life ha...

Lament

Jerusalem is a living hell. Utterly destroyed. Desolation. Bodies everywhere, rubble and ruins. Starvation stalks the living. Mothers eating children. This is the crushing reality confronting Jeremiah, the prophet in the wasteland that is the city. This is the judgement of God brought about by the Babylonians in 582 BC. In Lamentations chapter 3, Jeremiah reflects on the heavy hand of the Lord that has come to rest on him amongst the wreckage.  'He has driven and brought me i...

Time to make a change

A baptism at one of The Street Church's local services. ...

Grace found in the finished work of Jesus

I want to do something I’ve never done before, to take us back to reflect on the same text I shared last week. I’d like to invite you back to 2 Timothy 2. We are in the second season of the pandemic. Timothy’s in his second season at Ephesus.  "Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus..."- 2 Timothy 2:1  Paul invites Timothy in chapter 2 to do the work of a church leader: To teach and disciple, to suffer, to remember and endure. But notice what he leads with...