church

Just Thinking…People once brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and bless them. His mates didn’t like this one bit. Perhaps they thought Jesus was too important to be bothered by little things. By the trivial. By the weak. Jesus, of course … as he often did, had a…

Just Thinking…”Welcome to our village, wee one.” This was the instagram tweet sent out by Jacinda Adern at the birth of her little girl. I’m not sure exactly why our Prime Minister used the term ‘village’ – it may be a reference to the well-known African proverb: ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’…

Just Thinking…The Sagrada Familia is the name of a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. Construction began on it in 1882, and 133 years later … it’s still not finished. The best guess is that it will be completed in 2026! It’s original architect was a man named Gaudí, who died in a tragic accident in…

Just Thinking…This week we begin our yearly Prayer and Self-Denial journey. The aim of the next three weeks is to raise awareness of our Baptist missionaries overseas so that we might support them in prayer and raise money to help them as they continue to function as our agents in places that most of us…

Just Thinking…Over the last couple of years at the annual national Baptist gathering called ‘The Hui’, there has been space given to affirming the role of women in ministry and in leadership within our denomination. For some of us this came as a surprise, as we thought such an affirmation was a ‘no-brainer’ and an…

Just Thinking… The Heart of the Matter Do you have an alarm system at home? Mine was tested this week….inadvertently… and it works! Which is good as it protects all our stuff… but spooks the cats! But does it guard what really matters? Proverb 4:23 says “Above all else, protect your heart”. A devotional I…

Just Thinking… We’ve all read the articles; we’ve all see the images. I read one just this week; yet another international preacher who claims he can summon angels, walk on air and cure cancer, and who happens to have accrued nearly $200 million from the bank accounts of the thousands of people who adore him….

Just Thinking… Stephen Hawking was a fascinating bloke with a personality that was bigger than his diminutive and broken body – the world-famous theoretical physicist lived for years with a slowly advancing motor neurone disease which left him bound in a wheelchair speaking through a voice-generating device. I still remember reading his ‘A Brief History…

Just Thinking… What a great time it was last weekend at GROW Camp! I have received so much positive comment about it, along with the question, ‘When can we do it again?’ My thanks to everyone who contributed their time, energy and money to make it a success. There will be the chance given this…

Just Thinking… We are talking about Growth this weekend. I came across a poem that strangely fits the occasion. I hope you appreciate it. The tree that never had to fight For sun and sky and air and light, That stood out in the open plain And always got its share of rain, Never became…