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No action too small

A couple of years ago a video appeared on YouTube of a grandmother reading the story Wonky Donkey to her grandchild.  It’s read in a  beautiful Scottish accent but as she reads she begins to laugh at the story until she is so overcome with laughter, that she has tears in her eyes  and is almost unable to continue. This little video clip has gone viral on the Internet and has now been viewed by millions of people.  What’s more it caused a rush on the book which then sold o...

Some people are not what they appear to be

The news has recently carried the story of a rich lister who died while serving a prison sentence for drug and sexual-related offences. This self-made millionaire had it all but then let his own desires and addictions drag him into a life of crime. And he’s not the first such person – another of our economic heroes was convicted of child-pornography. Sometime it can be hard to separate good people from bad.  In fact Jesus told a story about wheat and weeds (you can find it in Matthew’...

Sorry

There’s a song released by Elton John  called ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’. It’s a reminder that most of us struggle to admit we were wrong, to apologise, to say Sorry. This week the Pope travelled to Canada with the purpose of apologizing to the indigenous people there for the actions of the Catholic Church toward them as people.  While it will never put right what happened to hundreds of children in the church’s care at schools, it does show a willingness to own th...

Own your own stuff

In the town in which I live there is a car with the word Accountability! written in big letters on the side. The owner is wanting to hold the local city council to account for decisions they have made. Accountability is something we all want for others – make them pay, hold them accountable, heads must roll, someone must be made an example of. We see and hear the cry’s for accountability all around us but not many of us want to be held accountable for our own actions or failings. It’s stra...

Enjoy Life!

Just do it is an advertising slogan released in 1988 by Nike, the shoe company and one most people are pretty familiar with. The writer of Ecclesiastes would have loved it because it summarises the message of his book. Life is short, get out there and make the most of it, especially while you are young. Don’t sit around, waiting for the right circumstances, worrying if you have got it all right because none of us knows what tomorrow will bring.  The time to act is now while you can! ...

It's not fair!

Most children have a pretty good sense of justice – they know when life seems unfair, and are pretty quick to tell us so.  I know my own children were quick to point this out when it seemed that one of their siblings got a special treat or were allowed to do something they weren’t. ‘It’s not fair’ was the anguished cry. We may all like life to be fair but unfortunately it isn’t, good people get trampled by bad people, accidents happen, and the lottery of where we are born and ...

The good old days

Listening to the radio the other night, the announcer was talking about how difficult things were in New Zealand/Aotearoa at the moment and as I listened to the others he was talking with, there was a hint of nostalgia for another time – a time when we were a much more caring, united country. The writer to Ecclesiastes warns against such thinking 'Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.' Eccl 7:10.  Why does he suggest that? Because...

Eternity in their hearts

Have you ever found yourself staring at the night sky, wondering if there was more to life than what we see around us. This idea that we were made for something more is found in all sorts of stories, movies, poems and quotes.  It’s as though we have it written on our DNA - the belief that this life is not all there is. C.S Lewis once said ‘If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.’ Th...

We have vacancies!

Due to families moving away and children starting kindy we now have space for new families. Why not come and join us?mainly music runs Wednesdays from 10am. Cost $2 per child or $3 per family. We do ask that you wear a mask. This programme is a fun way for parentsand their children to spend quality time together based around music and movement.It is an opportunity for us as a church to connect with and offer something back to the community of which we are a part. It’s also a way for us to demo...

All that glitters is not gold.

Every week people by the thousands buy a ticket in the lottery, hoping that their numbers will come up, and that life will somehow become better than it was before.  It’s this hope, dream or fantasy that keeps us coming back, even when we know the odds are stacked against us. But hey, you’ve got to be in to win don’t ya. Unfortunately, history tells us that all that extra money doesn’t mean a life of luxury and nor does it help life make sense. In fact it often brings a whole new se...

So this is it?

Have you ever wondered what the point of life is?  If so, you’re not alone – in fact the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, is a book written by ‘the preacher’ to grapple with just that question. It’s the book which coined the words for the song Turn, Turn Turn by the Seekers in the 1950’s and is often used at funerals. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which ...

Pentecost

This coming Sunday is a big day in the church year – it’s the day when the church remembers God pouring out his Spirit on the first disciples and what is in a sense the beginning of the church. From that day on, the church began to grow as the followers of Jesus, transformed by his Spirit, took the story of Jesus to the whole world. It’s fair to say that at times those followers have made mistakes and used the church for their own ends but Paul writing about the change the Spirit can produ...

Respect

Respect is a bit of an old fashioned word in many ways. For some it evokes images of standing in line and saying “yes sir, no sir”, when spoken to by teachers or an authority figure. For some it may mean not using certain words in the presence of others.  But respect is ultimately about the value we place on something, whether that be a person, object or even an idea. To respect another person then, is to consider that person of worth and value, even if we don’t see eye to eye. I wond...

Whakarongo

Through listening comes awareness, through awareness comes understanding, through understanding comes knowledge, through knowledge comes life and well being.This whakataukī reminds us that listening is the basis of understanding, not just of knowledge but also others and the world around us. This Wednesday we are hosting a meeting to listen and hear your views on the Governments Climate Change Adaption Plan. This is a plan that will impact all of us in some way and so we want to hear your views...

Climate Change Adaption Plan Hui

YOU ARE INVITED Wednesday May 18th 2022, from 7pm. to 9pm. Paraparaumu Baptist Church, Corner of Ruapehu and Kaimanawa Streets (please wear a mask) The Government has launched its Climate Change National Adaptation Plan which is out for Public Consultation. It wants to hear from Communities, like us, here in Eastern Paraparaumu. Our Church thinks this is important, so, in this hui we will look at: the overall Adaptation Plan, the nature of our particular community, and our climate change relate...

Something new

There’s an old idiom that talks about been ‘stuck in a rut’ which is used to describe a situation where every day feels just like the day before or where we always do the same old thing, nothing seems to change. The expression has its roots in a wagon wheel stuck in a rut made by other wagon wheels before it. The depth of the rut makes it hard to change direction. Perhaps you know the feeling in your own life. Sometimes in the church we too can get ‘stuck in a rut’ doing the same old t...

Mother

The other day it occurred to me that there seemed to be a lot of ads for perfume on the tv recently and then... I realised it’s coming up to Mother’s day and they want me to buy my mother some more perfume to show her how much I love her. It’s strange isn’t it that showing our mother’s we love them is now about spending money on them – the more the better. And I’m sure that while gifts are nice it isn’t really what our mothers want. At least it wasn’t what my mother wanted. Mor...

mainly music is back in person!!

mainly music kicks off again this Wednesday 4 May from 10am. Cost $2 per child or $3 per family. We do ask that you wear a mask. This programme is a fun way for parentsand their children to spend quality time together based around music andmovement. It is an opportunity for us as a church to connect with and offer something back to the community of which we are a part. It’s also away for us to demonstrate care, concern and support for those with young children....

Faithfulness

How would you define the word faithfulness? It’s one often used in religious circles when talking about God but what do we mean when we use it? The dictionary says It can also mean dependable and reliable or trustworthy. But sometimes I wonder if we add our own expectations to what faithfulness should look like.  We imply or even expect that God’s faithfulness means we should never get sick or suffer, that somehow God will remove us from the realities of the world we live in. I wonder i...

Thanks

Next Monday is Anzac Day.  A day when we remember those who were sent on our behalf to protect and serve our country. While we may not all agree on the worthiness of those wars, we can still recognise their sacrifice and service. Especially when many of them had no choice about going. I once talked with an older person  who still remembered the day, when as a child,  he watched his mother clear the mailbox and saw her pull out the draft letter for his father and saw the look of di...

EASTER

This week is the most important week of the year and to acknowledge just how significant it is for us we’re meeting twice  - on Friday morning to remember the death of Jesus and then again on Sunday as we celebrate the good news of Jesus resurrection from the dead. Join with us as we reflect and rejoice on these two very special days. Friday 9.30am for a reflective Good Friday service Easter Sunday 10am as we celebrate together. We will be holding a physical service this coming Sunday ope...

Palm Sunday

We will be holding a physical service this coming Sunday open to anyone. We do require facemasks to be worn and social distancing is in place. We look forward to seeing you all again. This week we will celebrate Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week and the final week before Easter. Palm Sunday reminds us that Jesus came not to wield power and force people to submit to him but instead as one who comes in peace and offers us new life. What might the offer of new life mean for you in the situati...

Whose judging who?

The advent of social-media has allowed us all to become critics, sometimes quite vocally, about what others post or say. And it seems that often those critiques are quite judgemental and personal in nature. Online, it appears that our normal restraints and hesitancy to say what we think disappears. And often those judgmental comments are just cruel and unfair. One group I follow, a traffic page, often has the administrator closing comments as people enter into online war about the merits of some...

When the time is right

On the wall in my study is a verse from a book in the Bible called Ecclesiastes which reads ‘If you wait for the perfect conditions you will never get anything done.’ I wonder how often we get caught out waiting for the perfect conditions?  We tell ourselves we’ll start something, stop something, marry someone, buy something, when the perfect time arrives. And so often we discover that we missed out, waiting for something that will never arrive. Sometimes we may strike it just right b...

Owning our own stuff

This week we are remembering the events of Christchurch three years ago and seeing on our T.V.’s, in real time, the unfolding war in Ukraine. Two events triggered by individuals who blame others for the actions they have taken.  It’s an easy thing to do isn’t it. We’re grumpy and so we blame others for the anger we feel. Or we hit the kids or Mrs because ‘well they deserved it’. Jesus was pretty clear to his followers that we all need to own our own stuff, that we can’t blame...