baptist

Just Thinking…It has been a week of resignations and the announcement of resignations. Leighton Smith retired this week after 33 years on radio. Steve Hanson announced his upcoming resignation as All Black coach. Both of these are big names with big influence. Yet the resignation that moved me most this week was that of Peter…

Just Thinking…It has been a week of difficulty, of emotion and of worry. We have known loss. Gaps have appeared amongst us – absences that we can feel. We have been reminded that we live in a very uncertain world where things can turn on a dime. There are two prayers recorded for us in…

Just Thinking…I am mowing my lawn a lot more than I used to even a month ago. To me, this is my most obvious yearly reminder of the passage of seasons. Winter has gone, Spring has sprung, Summer is newly minted … until Autumn returns again. We live our lives according to cycles, don’t we?…

Just Thinking…One of the Bible translations that has caused some difference in opinion over recent years is The Message. It was written by Eugene Peterson, a Presbyterian pastor and author. Eugene died one month ago and is now with his Lord. People have called The Message a ‘loosy-goosy’ rendering of God’s word, but this is…

Just Thinking…One of the clearest ways that we see what someone values is by looking at what they celebrate … or don’t celebrate. Take Brexit, for example. The pro-Brexit part of the UK population partied when Britain’s exit from the EU was voted in; for the anti-Brexit portion, celebration was the last thing on their…

Just Thinking…“Are we there yet?” Yes, a dreaded line heard by every parent driving on journeys both long and short from bored progeny in the back seats. But now also the apparent catch-cry of a growing group of young adults who are asking themselves the questions, “Am I an adult yet? … and how would…

Just Thinking…We have a remarkable amount of freedom in life to not do things. We don’t actually have to grow up spiritually. Paul, in Romans 6 asks a question: ‘Shall we go on sinning so that grace will abound?” Put another way: If we did go on sinning, would God’s grace still abound to us? If we chose to stay stunted in…

| 2018 |This year, we are are doing it all again! Come along to 641 Remuera Road on Halloween Day, 31 October, between 5:30-7:30pm. There will be loads of free entertainment suitable for kids young and old. Bouncy castles, a magician, sausage sizzles, face-painting … and most exciting of all … a dark treasure hunt….

Just Thinking…We invest in the things that matter to us. If you want to see what really matters to an individual or to an organisation, look at where their time and money is directed – that will give you the clearest view. It makes sense, then, that Jesus calls those who follow him to not…

Just Thinking…A week in politics is a long time, and this week for Simon Bridges must seem interminable. I was listening to talk-back radio yesterday, which as you would expect, was full of the Jami-Lee Ross/Simon Bridges affair. For me, this debacle has re-surfaced the age-old mixed blessing of power. Power is inherently neutral –…