Thought for the week
Thought For The Week 21 October 2018
What, exactly, is a normal family? I think, sometimes, we assume that a normal family is one where everyone has “got it together”, where no-one struggles to cope, and everyone is happy and healthy. That would be lovely, but I suspect that it would not be normal by any stretch of the imagination. The truth is, […]
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Thought For The Week 14 October 2018
Last week I had the privilege of attending the General Assembly in Christchurch, which is only the third time I’ve been to such a gathering. The General Assembly gathers every 2 years and is the highest court of our church responsible for setting the rules and guidelines under which member churches and presbyteries operate. It […]
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Thought For The Week 7 October 2018
When I got a call this last Monday at ten to nine saying “The building consent has come through, we’re at St. Stephens, and we’re ready to start”, I was taken rather by surprise. It has been exciting to see the work begin on the remodeling of the foyer that we have looked forward to […]
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Thought For The Week 30 September 2018
Welcome to our services of worship today, especially if you are visiting for the first time. I pray you will be refreshed and encouraged in your faith this morning. Over the past month we have been dwelling in selected passages from the book of James which contains very practical instruction on how to live the […]
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Thought For The Week 23 September 2018
A few years ago some friends and I had the opportunity to tour the parliament buildings in Wellington. It was very interesting: we saw the old upper house, the parliament library, the earthquake-proof foundations, and we visited the public gallery with parliament in session. But the most interesting part of the tour wasn’t on the […]
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Thought For The Week 16, September 2018
When faced with difficult situations and people, our natural tendency is to react in anger and to grumble. Yet James exhorts us in this passage to keep calm and listen to God’s Word instead of erupting like a volcano. When James tells us to be “quick to listen”, it means being silent before and submissive […]
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Thought For The Week 9, September 2018
Welcome to our services of worship today. We are especially pleased to have Rev Shona Bettany from Waimate ministering at St Stephen’s this morning. Shona is filling in for me as I am in Ashburton for the St James parish AGM. It’s also a special celebration of spring flowers at Trinity this morning with our […]
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Thought For The Week 2 September 2018
Spring is Springing all around us, and as we look around at the green returning to the land, the flowers flowering, and the daffodils breaking new ground, we wonder at the beauty and the glory of new life. Today is also Father’s Day, a day to celebrate the strength and protection, the care, the […]
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Thought For The Week 26 August 2018
Welcome to our services of worship today as we conclude our series from John 6 looking at Jesus’ identity as the life giving ‘Bread of Heaven’. The claims of Jesus are very confronting, forcing us to a place of decision; will we believe and trust him with our lives or reject him and walk away? […]
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Thought For The Week 19 August 2018
Welcome to our special combined service and AGM today. Annual General Meetings are necessary in organizations to provide a place for the election of office bearers, to report to the constituent members of progress over the past year and to approve the budget for the coming year. They are often the least attended meetings and […]
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