Change ? Mark 2:17-22

It’s Queens birthday and the passage is short. There are two ideas to talk about. The first has to do with marshmallows. This was about delayed gratification.  It was the practise of many in Jesus’ time to fast and pray.  Fasting is about giving something up for a period of time so that you can have something else. It’s got some similarities to saving for something. It’s a behaviour that expresses our values and even though the passage we’re reading isn’t an endorsement of the practise. I did find myself musing on when we lay something aside, or wait for something and what that says about our values. How serious are we about our faith ? Do we really want…

The Other Guys : Mark 2:13-17

The Others  When I was a student I had a student job of taking a political tolerance survey. One of the parts of the survey asked what group you most disliked (nazi’s, white power, KKK, mongrel mob, traffic warden etc..)    Then later on a question was asked if you would be happy for that group to speak (and possibly) recruit in Cathedral Square. It turned out that most of us believe in freedom of speech for the people we agree with. Discuss : What group do you dislike ?   How would you feel about them speaking in Cathedral square ? Levi is a tax collector. Native tax-collectors were despised by “upright” Jews for at least three reasons: 1)…

Murray’s story & living with purpose

Today we’ll hear from Murray who is telling us of his experiences in India working with Freeset (Tranzsend).  As small groups it would be great by starting to read Acts 3:1-8 (or 3:1-10). Imagine Peter reaching down to give a hand up (not a hand out) to the beggar. How has Murray been reaching out to give a hand up ? Read more about Kerry and Annie here Read about Freeset’s story here (http://freesetglobal.com/who-we-are/our-story.html) For discussion : How do we do this ? The Sojourners website has the following story : Modern Jewish folklore tells a story about a young rabbi who was hired to work in a town in Eastern Europe. On his first day in town, a town leader…

Pentecost

This is a different kind of message. It’s more a set of mini-messages and biblical background to help us stay earthed in our discussions of the spirit. Biblical Pictures of the SpiritDove – (Matt 3:16) – Noahs Ark – (Peace) Fire   – (Isaiah 4:4) – Judgement and cleansing (Repentance) Wind – (John 3:8) – air in movement, breath, a certain ‘hard to contain-ness’, more felt than seen. Oil    –  (Luke 4:18-19, Acts 10:39) Linked to anointing, to smell, to holiness. Water- (Isaiah 44:3) Linked to life and renewal. We can’t live without it. Questions for Discussion : What picture stands out to you and why ? Are there other links you can see ? Thumbnail sketches of the Spirit in…

Mark 2:1-12 Carrier

Mark 2: 1-12 I was planning a completely different message, but part way through something unexpected happened.  Read the Passage and see if you can figure out what is unexpected? (Spoiler alert… if you read below here you know my answer – yours might be different). What did you expect Jesus to say to the man ? “You are healed” “Get up take your stretcher and walk” “Can’t you see I’m busy ? “ “Are you going to pay for repairing my roof ?” Jesus seems to elbowing forgiveness into front and centre.  He wants us to know that this new kingdom is not just about healing on the outside but about healing on the inside. The good news is…

Visit us

Kia Ora  There is a mix of people at Parklands and we seek to make people feel welcome and comfortable and included in what we do.   We pretty passionate about knowing God’s love and expressing that in how we live. Our main Service is at 10:30 on Sunday Mornings.  We’re just in the process of fixing our earthquake damaged building, so we have begun meeting at 222 Queenspark Drive (Queenspark Primary School).   The rest of the week we have offices at 180 Queenspark Drive and run some events in either our community hall, or in a local sports club.  The Church Office is open: Tuesday – Friday 9 am – Midday Phone: (03) 383-1356 Fax: (03) 383-1349 Email:office@parklands.org.nz 180…

Whole – Mark 1:21-45

Q : What do you want ? Q : What do you think God wants ? There were a variety of responses to what God wants in Jesus’ time. Many greeks and romans believed in a great variety of Gods. They were always fighting and wanted some sacrifice. To a large extent people didn’t want to be noticed by a roman God. The Jews fiercely believed in One God who wanted them to be ‘clean’ or holy. Another Roman/Greek belief system was one by a guy called Epicurus. They believed that if there was a God, then that God was so remote that everything humans did was irrelevant to them. “At a stroke, this philosophy offered liberation from any fear…

Mark 1:14-20 Called

How is John’s declaration of the Kingdom of God and of repentance different to Jesus’  ? Not many of us experience the immediate and complete life change that Peter has when he begins following Jesus.  He is dragged out of his comfortable world and ends up confronting economic, social, political and spiritual  forces much bigger than him. He is invited to learn of a kingdom which has very different values to our own. Why would he accept the invitation ? Imagine that you are approached by Jesus to go on the road and give up your house, family, occupation for 3 years, with no promise of money or a career path ? What would it be difficult to give up…

Mark 1:9-13 Wetter

Mark 1: 9-13  (In which Jesus get’s baptised and and tempted). Start by discussing people’s experiences of being baptised or not. Where and where did you get baptised ? Who baptised you ? Why did you get baptised ? The Passage 9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by…

Mark 1:1-8 Can I have a witness

On the Way with Mark  Mark 1: 1-8  : Can I have a Witness? When artists like Grunewald paint John the Baptist, they usually take one hand and have him pointing at Jesus (hint : he’s the one pointing at Jesus). John is a witness who tells people “Don’t look at me, but look at Jesus”. Followers of Jesus have the same task. We can’t save people, but we can point at to the one who does. We might think it was easier for John the Baptist. After all he was so different, dressed in camel hair clothes (that would always be scratchy and uncomfortable), eating only locusts and wild honey. John was different. So what about us ? How…