Thought for the week
Thought For The Week 11 August 2019
I have just come back from 11 days in Nelson attending the Caleb Leadership Course which is designed to grow and sharpen leadership skills in areas of relationships, communication, motivation, management, creativity and decision making. Some of the material was familiar to me and so was a good refresher, while much was new learning for […]
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Thought For The Week 4 August 2019
Last week we were looking at the prayer that Jesus taught us in Luke 11. The Lord’s prayer is a model that covers the bases of what it means to orient our lives towards God in prayer. But the writer Henri Nouwen has a challenge for us when we are inclined to stick to prayer-in-general: […]
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Thought For The Week 28 July
Perhaps the biggest news in the world this week is the announcement of a new Prime Minister in the United Kingdom. While each of us may have differing views on Boris Johnson and the bigger picture of Brexit, the whole saga reminds me of a deep paradox in our human lives. On one hand our […]
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Thought For The Week 21 July 2019
Welcome to our services today at Trinity and St Stephen’s. If you are visiting with us, I hope you find our services engaging, inspiring and even challenging! Last Sunday we enjoyed a combined service at Trinity but I had to leave early in order to get to Ashburton for a congregational meeting to call a […]
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Thought For The Week 14 July 2019
This week I will be preaching out at Pleasant Point. We’re thinking about what it means to belong to the Body of Christ, based around the call of the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, and the apostle Paul’s description of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12. Thinking about this, I was reminded […]
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Thought For The Week 7 July 2019
All organisations require effective governance to ensure they have a healthy framework from which to carry out their core purpose. This applies to large publicly listed businesses, schools, hospitals, clubs and churches. Our church is governed by the Parish Council who are responsible to ensure every aspect of our communal life runs smoothly and in […]
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Thought For The Week 30 June 2019
Last weekend Brent, Helen, Joy, Andrea and myself attended the annual Alpine Presbytery retreat in Hanmer Springs. As good Presbyterians, we are used to getting together to do “business”, although I’m not always entirely sure what the means. The retreat is different. There are many things that happen over a short space of time. There […]
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Thought For The Week 23 June 2019
Welcome to our services of worship today. At both sites we are looking at the transformative power the gospel of Jesus has on those who encounter it. This is demonstrated in dramatic fashion when Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee and encounters a demon possessed man. Jesus demonstrates his power over all the forces that […]
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Thought For The Week 16 June 2019
There’s an unsung group in our church- you might have heard of them- the Missions group. This small group are responsible for the Eatwell initiative, Buy and Supply table, monthly offerings and Mission Project towards various projects, cooking demonstrations in Kowhai Kindy and the knitting project making children’s beanies and gloves for our community. Hanan […]
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Thought For The Week 9 June 2019
My greetings to you on this day of Pentecost. A day of celebration and new life and new hope. It is wonderful to be worshiping among you again after what has been a very difficult few weeks for me, personally. The surgery on my nose and throat has been a real success, and though I’m […]
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