Back to Blog

Blind spot

Recently I was backing my car out of a carpark in our local mall when I realised that another car had started to turn into the space behind me. Fortunately, I was able to brake and avoid hitting them. Even though I had checked my mirrors and looked to check for other cars, this car was somehow in a blind spot for me. Perhaps you have had the same situation. Sometimes that blind spot is not about seeing outside of ourselves but recognising that we have an internal blind spot. We fail to see how o...

Can you see?

Someone gave me the following words by Elizabeth Barrett BrowningEarth’s crammed with heaven,And every common bush afire with God;But only he (she) who seesTakes off his (her) shoes,The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.Sometimes it is hard to see the hand of God in our world, not because God isn’t present, but because God appears in ways we least expect. Over the last couple of weeks, I have seen the generosity of God expressed through people who have gone out of their way to help o...

Who needs a nose?

A few years ago, I had to have nasal surgery and one of the things I discovered afterwards was a renewed sense of smell. For the first time in years, I could smell things I hadn’t even realised I wasn’t smelling. I must confess that it was pretty handy when our kids were in nappies not being able to smell. But I also discovered something else after my surgery. I realised that food now had a taste. I don’t know why but for me not being able to smell meant I was also unable to taste.  S...

Check that Facebook post.

This week one of our rugby referees has faced a torrent of abuse via Facebook for his actions refereeing the super rugby final. Refs will always have those who disagree with their decisions but why is it that so many feel free to use social media to denigrate and abuse those they disagree with. Sadly, the church and Christians have not been exempt from using social media in this way. When the early Christian leaders wrote these words, Don’t bite, devour, and consume one another (Gal 5:15), Don...

One another

During Covid we were encouraged by the then Prime minister to be kind to one another. We were being asked to consider others in the way we lived our lives, to think about how we treated others. The implication was that in a time of crisis being kind to each other would make it easier for us all to get along and get through what we were facing.The writers of the New Testament gave the early church a group of one another sayings like, ‘Love one another’ and ‘Encourage one another.’  T...

Sometimes life sucks

This week the news reminded us just how quickly life can be turned upside down, often when we least expect it. The report of a bus crash in which 10 people died travelling home from a wedding was a sobering reminder how fragile life is. Our hearts go out to the friends and families of those killed and those who were injured in the crash.  I suspect that many of us have come to expect that for us life should be good, that sickness and tragedy happen to someone else. It’s what happens in po...

Odd-balls welcome - including you

Philip Yancey notes in his book ‘What’s so amazing about grace’, that the prohibitions in the Old Testament about which foods one could or couldn’t eat excluded all the odd-balls – the creatures that didn’t really fit. And it also included the odd-ball people who, for whatever reason, were not like everyone else.  Those people found themselves excluded and often ignored.The story of Jesus however, reminds us that all of us are welcome, that all of us are loved and that includes ...

Just for you

In the story Babette’s Feast a woman housekeeper wins the lottery and uses her winnings to prepare a banquet for the family she has worked for, for the last twelve years.  What is so astounding about this story is that the family are members of a strict austere Lutheran sect who live frugally. Waste is considered sinful and their lives are controlled by a set of rigid rules. Babette the cook, prepares an extravagant meal, full of delicacies and fine wines.  The story, is a story of g...

And you're invited!

There’s a story Jesus told about a man who threw a banquet but on the day of the  feast the invited guests all made up excuses for not coming.  So, Jesus said, the man sent his servants out to welcome in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. It’s a reminder that the good news of Jesus, or God’s love for us all, is not limited to a few or to those who are at the top of the pile – it is for all those who are desperate to be loved by God. We, all of us, including you, ar...

Precious in God's sight

Last weekend here at church two families brought their children to be dedicated to God. It was a way for those families to express their thanks to God for the precious gifts/taonga that children are. It can be easy for us to forget that at times – when they won’t sleep or keep us awake at night, when they lose that cuteness and we wonder what has happened to them. In those moments we need to be reminded that this little person is precious in God’ sight, that they are persons of worth and v...

Celebrating a King!

Last weekend many of you may have watched the coronation of King Charles III. During the news report on this, the news reader commented that this was the 40th crowning of a king or queen at Westminster Abbey in the last 1000 years. Which is pretty amazing.But it occurred to me that every week all around the world, millions of people gather to celebrate another king and they have done it every week for the last 2000 years or so. Every Sunday followers of Jesus gather, sometimes just a handful in ...

Who would you invite?

A popular talkback question used to be ‘If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or dead, who would you invite and why?  I wonder who you might invite and how the conversation might go?  The act of eating together reveals a lot about ourselves – What type of people do we invite? Who do we invite? Why do we invite them? Do we only invite people like us? Do we hope to get something back as a result of the invite?Jesus loved eating with people, in fact it got him into lots of trou...

Thanks RocketSpark

We want to give a big shoutout to @rocketsparkwebsites for their unwavering support! Thanks to their generosity, we now have an easy-to-manage website that communicates what we do. We are incredibly grateful for their support in helping us make a difference in our community. #thankyou #supportingnonprofits #makingadifference...

What do you see?

A few years ago a series of books appeared with magical hidden  3D images.  At first glance the image just looks like a mix of colours on a page which don’t seem to make sense but hidden within it is a 3 dimensional image. I still remember the first time I saw one of these.  A friend had a large picture hanging on a wall, so along with others I stood there trying to make sense of it. There were all sorts of suggestions for how to make the picture appear - squint, go cross-eyed, ...

Still Good News

Easter Sunday is gone but the good news it announced is still here and still good news. And the good news is this, – Jesus is alive, death and sin have been defeated, and Jesus is Lord of all.  And while for many people that may not sound like much, it does change everything for those who believe. It is our relationship with Jesus that defines the way we live, and care for others and our world. For us Jesus wasn’t just a good man, or a prophet, he was something else – God in the flesh...

The Big Con?

Easter and the claims of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead are either the biggest con job in history or the greatest news the earth has ever heard. After all, we all know that dead people don’t come back to life.Paul the Apostle knew this as well and he wrote these words, speaking about Jesus the Christ.And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ fro...

Easter Services

Come and join with us as we both remember and celebrate the story of Easter.Friday 9.30am 7 April - Good Friday reflectionSunday 10am 9 April - Celebration as we remember the resurrection of Jesus....

Not what we expected

Have you ever purchased an item sight unseen and when it arrived it wasn’t at all what you were expecting? Maybe a bit like a guy in the U.S. who decided to buy an electric sports car on Alibaba from China. He was expecting a high-end sports car but instead when he opened the crate discovered that he had been sent a tiny little two-person electric car worth only a fraction of the price. He was very disappointed.Sometimes we discover that people aren’t quite who we thought they were. Often, t...

Hopeless or hopeful?

Someone once “A person can live three days without water; 40 days without food. But only five minutes without hope.” During the 2nd World War, the allied command were staggered at the number of young men dying in lifeboats after their ships were torpedoed. They hadn’t been injured, they weren’t sick, they just gave up and died. Eventually programmes like Outward Bound were started to teach these young men that they could endure far more than they believed. It gave them hope and amazingly...

Rules are rules, aren't they?

Have you ever played a game with younger members of your family, and someone has suggested that you bend the rules a bit to make it easier for the youngest player. And invariably someone else will object – no that’s not fair – the rules are the rules. The law is the law, and we can’t make exceptions for anyone.There are I suspect times when all of us don’t think the rules apply, at least not to us in that situation, and yet most of us are very quick to point the finger at anyone else w...

Can I be changed?

Years ago I met a guy whose life had been radically transformed from what I had known him to be. The gentle, caring and generous guy I encountered was nothing like the foul mouthed, brutal guy I had known many years before. Fred, put his transformation down to his encounter with Jesus.  ‘Jesus changed my life from the inside out’ he said. And it showed. Fred’s change wasn’t just a temporary thing – he was in effect a new man.And that, is the hope of the Gospel, what we once were, ...

What will I give up for Lent?

Lent is often understood to be a time when people give something up. In the church it has been known as a time for giving up luxuries so that the money saved might be given to the poor.  Perhaps as we look at what is happening in Aoteraroa/New Zealand at the moment we might consider how we could give to support those who are struggling following the cyclone and storms.But it may be that this would be a good time for us to give up other things – as in things we do rather than physical thin...

Lent - what's it good for?

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Lent in the church year.  Lent covers the next 40 days leading up to Easter, not counting the Sundays. Traditionally Lent has been used by Christians as a time to reflect on their relationship with God and with the world in which we live. It is often associated with fasting, the giving up of food to allow time for prayer, meditation on the Scriptures and reflection. So perhaps you’ve heard people say I’m giving up, whatever, for Lent.Lent was also a time ...

What can we do?

Perhaps like me you have watched in amazement at the flooding and damage that has occurred around Aotearoa/New Zealand over the last few weeks. Many of us will have friends and family who have been affected by the storms.  Here in Kāpiti we have been spared the wind and rain and the suffering which so many others are now facing. We have much to be grateful for.  Many of these communities will be requiring our help and support in the months that lie ahead.Jesus reminded us that we have...

How far would you go?

The Proclaimers wrote that they would walk 500 miles and then 500 miles more just to be with the one they loved.  The song implies that here is a person who is so in love that they would walk a huge distance to demonstrate that love. What would you do to show your love for another person?The book of Hosea in the Bible tells the story of the prophet, Hosea, whose wife is unfaithful and ends up been sold into slavery. But Hosea so loves Gomer that he goes down to the market, buys back his wif...