St Barnabas, Fendalton

On this day being Peace Sunday and also the anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, Jo Cotton talks to us about Hope, New Life and Resurrection.

Both our readings today (Rom 8:12-25; Matt 13:24-30,36-43) tell us about things we cannot yet see, about seeds and weeds and the work of Christ, and the Spirit, in their scattering and harvesting. As we say in our creed, “we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” And this Social Services Sunday, we see this in sharp relief.

Guest preacher Dr Csilla Saysell - freelance blogger, preacher, public speaker; formerly lecturer in Old Testament - joins us at our morning services today as we celebrate Bible Sunday. Dr Saysell writes Bible-reading notes on her blog and engages in preaching and teaching in church contexts. Her interest is in helping Christians read and understand their Bible better and apply it in meaningful wa...

Now, the gospel reading we have today is not one in which the disciples are breaking into song and dance. They’re afraid, very afraid.  Bear in mind these guys are seasoned fishermen. They know what it is to go out on the water, probably every day. They’ve experienced all kinds of weather before. So, this must have been one big storm! One wild storm! Their boat was about to sink. They were scared...

That’s the paradox of the Christian life, no matter how difficult it gets we have the hope of Christ in the mystery of suffering, in God’s love that will not let go, in the Spirit interceding for us in our weaknesses. In our cry out to God from the wilderness, he will respond. This is at the heart of its good news, you see: we’re not doomed, not at all.

We have in the readings this day, two stories of Jesus calling people. It seems fitting that these passages should be about ordinary people in these ordinary times. Because even though we tend to venerate Abraham and Sarah as the patriarch and matriarch of our Christian faith, and the twelve disciples as the special chosen dozen men, they really were very ordinary people and we can take great comf...

Sometimes it’s easier to grasp a picture of God, rather than pile up too many tricky words…

Acts 1:6-14; John 17:1-11 The ascension, as it follows the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus, is the triumph of God’s Yes over humanity’s No, to which, in the face of God’s outworking in our lives, by his Spirit, in his church, through a flawed yet restored and reconciled humanity, we say ‘Amen!’

In what way is Jesus The Way? How did his claim to be The Way make sense in the light of the passage in which it sits? And what does that have to do with Star Wars? 

The striking thing about this gospel passage is that while sheep may have all the qualities for which sheep are famous, they also know the voice of the shepherd, they know the feel of his rod and his staff, prodding, directing, pushing, guiding; they know that following the shepherd and his voice leads to safety and pasture and life.

Emmaus was a place of encounter with the risen Jesus. Today it’s also a place of encounter and growing reconciliation for Jews, Muslims & Christians…

Exod 17:1-7; John 4:5-42   Jesus, in this encounter with the Samaritan woman, is inviting us to show compassion, and compassion without judgment. Compassion is always costly, always uncomfortable, always says that someone is worthy of our compassion because they are worthy of Christ’s, as we are; always demands of us a response, requires of us to break down the barriers, reach across the divi...

Gen 12:1-4a; John 3:1-17   And so, what do we do with that sign of caution that I seem to always remember? Well, it’s good to be careful. And caution has its place. But let’s not let caution get in the way of curiosity about Jesus, for you never know, as Nicodemus found out for himself, where that curiosity might take us.

What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Jesus has some choices to make – and so do we…

1 Cor 3:10-11,16-23; Matt 5:38-48   Perfection equals wholeness – and wholeness of character, wholeness in Christ, wholeness by the work of the Holy Spirit, wholeness in God’s economy comes from deep need, great failure, desperate want; not from boasting in our praise but by kneeling in prayer; not from building towers to the sky; but dwelling in the Garden of Gethsemane with the Christ on th...

Readings: 1 Cor.1-9; Matt. 5:21-37   And so where do we go with this passage? Do we go, as I did, to the fictional world of Shortland Street and find escapism there in the sordid lives of others? Do we go, as I did, face to face with those whose sin is great and think that perhaps ours is somehow less so? Or do we go to the cross and see there the one who takes the script we’d been living by...

This Waitangi weekend, and considering our readings today on salt and light, from Matthew’s gospel, and on loosing the chains of injustice and untying the cords of the yolk, from Isaiah, Andrew tells us about his friend and colleague Huikakahu Kawe, and what he taught him.

We look at being obedient to the call of Jesus to follow him and become fishers of people. We are encouraged to tell people the good news and invite our friends and family to share in the life of the church that we enjoy.

The imagery of baptism, Jesus’ and ours, teaches us that we have to learn to go with the flow of the Spirit, that going under and coming up are constant parts of life, and it is never too late to get back in the water...

Tune in to hear guest preacher Fr Chris Orczy, St Luke's Inner City Chaplain, preach at all our morning services today.

Today we light the first candle on the Advent wreath, and no it’s not how many shopping days till Christmas! Where do we find Advent hope at this busy time of year?

No one knows the when the Son of Man will come again but we need to remind ourselves that while we are waiting are we still living in the way of Christ?

Our very own Jo Cotton - Pastoral Care Coordinator - preaches to us today and unwarps the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. "All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted"

Guest speaker Dr Andrew Butcher, Principal/Te Taiurungi at Bethlehem Tertiary Institute, speaks to us at our morning services today.

Paul says godliness is not a mean of gain, so why do we follow Christ?