news

This Sunday 3 February…Come and join us this Sunday as we look at Philippians 2:12-18 – a passage that calls us to shine in God’s world.  Kids Programs This SundaySpark is our program for preschool kids, led by Margaret Stewart.Blaze is for kids in years 0-4, led by Kelly Jenkins.Ignite is for young people in years 6-10, led…

Kids Programs This SundayOur Kids programs have now finished for 2019. There will be activity sheets available each Sunday. Pastor Murray AwayPastor Murray will be away from Monday 7 January to Monday 28 January. Men’s BreakfastSaturday 2 February from 8am. This is an invitation to everyone, not just men or limited to our church. Our Speaker…

Just Thinking… Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Sometimes the worst of things happen to the best of people. And in those moments, it is not uncommon for us to shake our finger at God demanding to know why. In my experience, the ‘why’s’ of these tragedies are usually left unanswered, and I have…

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…