Thought For The Week 14 September 2025

Welcome to our service today. I want to begin by thanking all those who contributed their time and talents to our annual plant sale. Such a lot of effort goes into an event like this from potting and raising plants and the many baked goods produced in home kitchens to the people there on the day selling. It is a wonderful team effort and the value of it goes well beyond the money raised.

On Wednesday night the Timaru Christian Ministers Association hosted a Voice of the   Martyrs event at Wilson St Baptist Church featuring a pastor from the only Evangelical church in Gaza. Such is the interest in the situation in Gaza that 200 or so people turned out on a cold and rainy night to hear him speak. Like all things in Gaza there is not much left of the church, but they still meet online through Zoom. The situation and politics around what is happening in Gaza is very polarising, even among Christians but I was very impressed with the way Pastor Hanna focussed on the Christian imperative to love our neighbour.

He spoke of the encounter Joshua had with a man ‘with a drawn sword’ standing in front of him (Josh 5:13-5)  Joshua asks “are you for us or for our enemies” to which the reply comes “Neither, but as commander of the Lord’s army I have now come”. The message is that God doesn’t take sides but spells out what is required in Micah 6:8 “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”.

Justice, mercy and humility seem like a good standard to judge our attitudes and actions by.

Nga mihi nui,

Brent Richardson