A Pirate prayer of the week (Not entirely serious)

The Lord’s prayer (from Matthew – Kind of) Ahoy maties, let’s prays like dis: Our Father ‘n’ Heaven, ye be holy an’ we be honourin’ yer name!  Argh matey, may me kingdom come and me will be done on land, as it is in the deep blue!  Hoist the mainsail, me hearty! Fetch us our daily grub, today and every day!  Avast, forgive our plunderin’ debts, as we forgive those who owe us booty.  Lead us not into the siren’s call, protect us from pitiless evil. Kingdom, power and glory be yers forever. Aye.  Avast, ’tis true that yer Father will forgive ye if ye too be forgivin’ of others’ transgressions.  But if ye don’t forgive others their offenses, neither…

Whānau

“Woman, here is your son… Here is your mother”  “E tai, nanā, tāu tama!”…Nā, tōu whaea! 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. John 19:25–27 (NIV) Pete’s ponderings : Who are we responsible for ? The Intertwined branches and roots say something of the interconnectedness of us all. On the other side of the door is a much bigger picture. Being pushed by God on a…

With Me

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”  But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Luke 23:39-43 Pete’s Ponderings: Everyone’s ideas of paradise are different. I see it in my grandkids,- God is present in a little child. The cross is the key . Kevin’s chewings: When the Hebrew bible was…

Forgive

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are  doing.” “E Pā, houhia te rongo ki a rātou; kāhore hoki rātou e mōhio ki tā rātou e mea nei.” When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. – Luke 23:33–34 (NIV) Pete’s ponderings : The forgiveness door opens to another world. It is opened by God from the other side, not so we can come in, but to call us out. If you find yourself wondering about the…

A silence and Solitude Prayer exercise

If you’re unsettled at the start – maybe go for a walk. Sing a song ? what might help you slow down ? Choose a place that feels comfortable and safe to you, a place that allows you to be open and available to God—a favorite chair at home, your own backyard if it is quiet, or even a nearby chapel if you have access to one.   Settle into a comfortable position in your body and sit quietly for a few moments, breathing deeply,  becoming aware of God’s presence with you and your desire to be present with God. Sit quietly at the base of the tree that is your life and begin to notice what is true about…

A bigger table

When Paul writes about church he emphasises our connection with each other (1 cor 12-14, 1 cor 12:27-31) and talks about the nature of the love that weaves us together. In Romans 1:12 Paul talks of “that you and I maybe mutually encouraged by each others faith”. This is one of the core functions of church.  We explored three aspects of this:   The table of being Loved (being together): (When were you last aware of how much God loves you ?)   A deeper table (Growing together) : Colin suggested that in the West we tend to think this is an individual’s job – a kind of DIY, but that instead it’s God who transforms us, using life, faith…

Matthew 25 The start

We’re being challenged to take part in the matt 25 challenge with world vision. Have a go. Jesus told three types of stories. Stories of the Kingdom of God (which grows because of God not us), Stories of grace (I suspect because we struggle to understand this) and Stories of Judgement. The stories found in Matt 25 are stories of Judgement and I think they need to be read while holding the other stories in mind.  If we tend to lean towards judgement it maybe worth reminding ourselves that when Jesus quotes isaiah 61 in Luke 4:18-19, he stops before the judgement. It’s not that judgement won’t happen, but this was the time for it. There’s a story of brides…

Kia Ora – Welcome

Kia ora, Ngā mihi. Somehow you’ve ended up on the Parklands Baptist Community Church’s website. We gather for Sunday Services at 10:30am at 180 Queenspark Drive.  We’d love for you to check us out. If you can’t make it we live stream our service on facebook on a Parklands Baptist Community Church site. Never as good as being there,  Like anyone who follows Jesus we’re keen to make this world a better place to live in. We run a series of other events, employ some part time youth workers in schools, a part time community worker and are keen to partner with others to make North East Christchurch a great place to live.  Check out the Connect and Community tags…

Pay Attention to the light.

The metaphor of Light and darkness is used a lot in the bible, at creation and beyond.  Light is more relational than we think ? In 1 John 1:5-7 John reckons there’s something deeply relational to walking in the light. He goes further in 1 John 2:9.   How or why do you think that light might be so relational ? Why would hating someone affect light ? Can you think of an example. Light reveals what’s there – trust it. Colin told the story of dealing with bribes ? Have you any experience of this ? When have you prayed for the light to reveal something hidden.  Note that John suggests that we also have hidden stuff to confess.…