The reflection was in two parts this Sunday - the first part followed the reading from Exodus tells the story of the golden calf from the image above - and the second part followed the reading from Philippians. You can find all the lectionary readings here. Exodus 32:1-14 This week as I continued to reflect… Continue reading Fear meets Trust

The readings for this sermon can be found here. These two passages side by side in the lectionary readings is not an accident. The giving of the law in the form of the Ten commandments is set beside this vineyard parable to highlight one particular reading of the parable. That’s kind of misleading though. Parables… Continue reading Ten for Now

The text for this sermon is Matthew 20:1-16, and you can find all the texts from Sunday here. I like this parable. For me, it has always sounded like good news. But I know that’s not the case for everyone. I remember when I was an intern, listening to my mentor minister, Alf, telling a… Continue reading Fair go and grace

This week we had an interactive service at St Peter's, with a little bit of everything thrown in. In our music and liturgy we recognised Te Reo Maori week, and with an intentional focus on the theme of creation we listened to a selection of readings reflecting on creation in relationship with human beings from… Continue reading Prayer as a touchstone for life

The reading this sermon was based on is Matthew 18: 15-20. You can read all the lectionary texts here. I don’t know what it was like for you, but in my family when there was hurt there was anger. The anger came so fast you couldn’t see the hurt that had caused it, you just… Continue reading If someone in the church hurts you

The reflection from Sunday was offered in three sections with space in between for silent reflection. It is based on the lectionary gospel reading which you can find here, and also on excerpts from 'Let your life speak' by Parker Palmer which you can listen to me reading in the audio clip below. In the… Continue reading A question to treasure

https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55904 You can find all the readings for Sunday here. Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,… Continue reading Command me to come to you

Brene Brown This week's reflection is based on the gospel reading from the lectionary texts, which you can find here. I confess that this week I had to make a considerable effort to approach this story expecting to hear something new. I know I advocate for this approach a lot, but I acknowledge that it… Continue reading A feast of enough

The readings for this week's sermon can be found here. The lectionary reading from the Hebrew Scriptures last week was the story of how Rebekah came to be married to Isaac. This week that story continues into what’s known as the Jacob cycle. Rebekah eventually conceives twins who, even before they are born, appear to… Continue reading Sibling rivalry and good soil

The lectionary readings for this sermon can be found here. As I’ve been reading and preparing for our service today, I’ve also been thinking about the congregational meeting to follow when we’ll talk and vote on moving my call from part time to full time. I have been doing a lot of thinking about services… Continue reading Wise like children