BCUC Sunday Sermons & More

Dear friends of BCUC,I wonder, when catering for a function, are you someone who tends to over-cater, providing an abundant banquet for everyone? Maybe you view that as a bit of a waste of food and money and prefer to provide just enough to satisfy everyone. Or maybe you look at the number of people coming, the amount of money in your bank account, the food in your cupboard, and pray that God can do a miracle with five loaves and two fish… or maybe we should all be having a time of fasting anyway!Perhaps your answer depends on the occasion and, dare I say it… who’s been invited.When it comes to God’s economy, it seems that God’s love is never about just having enough. It’s always abundant to overflowing, overflowing to spilling over, and even seeming wasteful.The actions Jesus took to demonstrate this overflowing, abundant, spilling-over love and grace show this well. He transformed six huge jars of water into wine at a wedding feast. That’s the equivalent of about 800 bottles of wine today! He miraculously fed 5,000 men, plus an unnumbered crowd of women and children, in one meal. Then, just to demonstrate God’s overflowing generosity, there were 12 baskets of leftovers.He often talked about the kingdom of heaven as being like a wedding banquet. This was not a simple sausage roll and glass of lemonade affair! It was multiple dishes, multiple glasses of wine, enjoyed over a long time, with plenty of leftovers.The apostle Paul writes to the young church in Thessalonica about this abundant love as he prays for them:“And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.” (1 Thess. 3:12). What a wonderful prayer to offer for the church then and the church today.May we all grow in our knowledge of God’s overflowing love for us and put that love into action in the world around us.Your brother in ChristBenji

Are you a people pleaser? Or do you prefer to do whatever pleases yourself, a good healthy dose of self-care? Maybe you live your life with the aim to please God no matter what?In the first letter to the barely out-of-nappies church in Thessalonica, Paul writes to them this very simple statement “Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts”. 1 Thessalonians 2:4.I wonder, do you live in a way that aims to please God and not people? As a pastor my heart is orientated towards serving others, I have had to learn the very hard way that the shadow side of this is that sometimes what people want is not always what pleases God. As a leader, if you try to please everyone you can end up pleasing noone. Disappointing and even upsetting others was one of the hardest lessons I needed to learn about leadership. I still struggle with it. For others I have noticed they can live a life that is so focused on pleasing others that they can become slaves to others needs or more like a door-mat that people walk over. As I’ve been reflecting on this I have been thinking that there are 3 intersecting circles of what it means to please either God, others or yourself. When all three come together, life can be the sweetest. When one of them is not overlapping, this can be a source of sleepless nights and anxiety. Life isn’t quite right. Either God’s not happy and I feel guilty, others aren’t happy and I feel like I’ve disappointed people or I’m not happy and I feel unsatisfied. The secret to a happy life is finding a place where you operate when all three circles overlap. When that’s not the case, perhaps we need to become more Christlike so that our desires are God's desires or maybe we need to pray for others that may be transformed by the Holy Spirit. Where are you right now? In your work, home, church or elsewhere?May God guide us gently and with great wisdom as we work through this together.Your brother in ChristBenji

Paul was on his 3rd journey when he was guided by the Holy Spirit not to go back to Asia or north to Bythnia (Turkey). Instead, he had a vision of a man telling him to go to Europe, to Macedonia, and so he came to Thessalonica. This city was part of the spread of Greek culture under Alexander the Great and had never been occupied by the Romans. In Acts 17:1-10 it tells us that he was only there for 3 Sabbaths preaching in the Synagogues. He starts his first letter by recognising that the church cannot live without the God of love that Jesus revealed to us. This equally applies to the church today. Whatever divides us, this is what unifies us. He praises the church for their faithful work and loving deeds. The early Christians rather than keeping a low profile sounded forth their message and took the suffering. This was because they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Again, we must hold to this today when the world around us seems hostile. Paul himself in 3 weeks managed to attract Greek Gentiles and Jews to Christ and the Church but also angered other Jews who incited riots and Paul needed to be smuggled away, eventually making his way to Athens. However, he was curious about what impact 3 short weeks could have had so he sent Timothy back to check and found the Thessalonians to be a faithful church, not without some troubles but thriving because of their faith. They were serving loyally and were waiting patiently for Christ coming, which is what we all must do until the glory of heaven. The message for them and for us today is that faith produces action which becomes a testimony to others who then embrace the love and the hope which we have, which endures when we focus on Christ. Ian Olver

In a world that tells us our value comes from success, appearance, achievements or popularity, God tells a different story.From the very beginning of Genesis we discover that every person is created in the image of God. Our identity isn't something we earn or invent - it is something we receive.This is the online service for the 2026 BCUC Church Getaway. We will explore together what it means to be made in God's image and how that shapes the way we live, love, lead, care for others and participate in God's mission. "So god created human beings in his own image...." Genesis 1: 27

Greetings to all the children of God.I am blessed. I am blessed beyond my understanding. AND so are you! We are all blessed beyond our understanding. But what does it mean to ‘be blessed’? Does it mean an easy road without bumps nor potholes? Long, straight, flat road.Hmm …. Sounds boring to me. And life’s not like that.As we journey through life, we have ups and downs, curves and straights, hills and valleys, mountain vistas and dark tunnels, good times and hard times. There are times of refreshment and times of crisis. Days of sunshine and days of rain. And it is better for us if we have these changes in our lives.But through all this change there is a constant. Our Heavenly Father and His love for us. As His children, we are blessed because God has chosen us to be His light in a broken and fallen world. Through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can have a relationship with a holy and righteous God. And He gives us His Holy Spirit to live in and through us.As this series on Genesis is coming to a close, I hope to encourage you to ‘look up’. To remember the calling God has on your life and the blessings He has poured into your life. To stop and think about where you are in your faith journey and how God, through His Holy Spirit, might be calling you to something new.For if we have been blessed, we have been blessed to be a blessing. We are called, not to hold the blessing for ourselves alone, but to pass it on and bless others with the gifts that God has given us.And may the Lord bless you and keep you.Your brother in Christ,Craig

What comes to mind when you hear the word giving at church? For some, it’s a joyful reminder of generosity and worship. For others, it can be an uncomfortable topic. Especially when money is tight or we’ve grown up believing that money isn’t something we talk about.Over the next couple of weeks, we’re exploring why we give and, more importantly, what our giving says about our relationship with God.Jesus spoke about money and possessions a lot. In fact, many of his parables and teachings challenge us to look beyond the act itself and examine what is happening in our hearts.In the story of the widow’s offering, Jesus notices a woman who gives just two small coins. Compared with the large amounts being given by others, it seemed like almost nothing. Yet Jesus saw something the disciples might have missed. Her offering was an act of trust and surrender.This reminds us that worship isn’t just what we sing on a Sunday, it’s what we surrender to God.Giving is not simply about how much we give. It’s about the heart behind our giving, our trust in God, our priorities, and our willingness to place what we have into his hands.Like the little boy who offered Jesus five loaves and two fish, what we have might sometimes feel small or inadequate. But when we place what we have in Jesus’ hands, he can do what only he can do.As we explore giving together, our hope is not simply that we become better at giving, but that we become people whose whole lives are increasingly shaped by generosity, trust, freedom and worship. Kaitlyn

Dear friends of BCUC, Quick, lock the doors—or run away! It is two weeks of a stewardship and giving series at church. Yes, that moment when we talk about money! So perhaps people’s engagement with the series may depend on what responsibilities we might have at church.In all seriousness, though, I want to personally say something to all those who have given sacrificially of their finances in worship to God, in ways that support the life and mission of BCUC. Thank you! Your giving has provided the space and resources for the Kingdom of God to have a real impact in the lives of many people through the work of BCUC.Over the next two weeks we will look at giving, particularly our financial offerings to the church, as both worship and freedom. This Sunday we will view this through the lens of Genesis and the story of the Tower of Babel. In the city of Babel, the people were more interested in building a tower to the heavens in order to ‘make a name for themselves’ rather than fulfilling God’s instruction to go and fill the earth. So the question is asked: Which kingdom are we wanting to build? Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).We may want to silo our lives into different compartments: finances, family, work, church, holidays, emotions, health, etc. Whether we like it or not, Jesus often wanted to bring everything together and make the point that every part of our lives has a spiritual link - that God is concerned with every part of us and wants to help us with it.About a third of Jesus’ parables, and a good proportion of Jesus’ sayings, use money as a way of engaging people with deeper spiritual questions. Money - and more particularly our relationship with it - can be like a window into our souls. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).So it seems that Jesus could read a person’s heart from their bank statement. That may be either comforting or troubling for some! Either way, let’s take these two weeks to stop, examine ourselves, our budgets and our priorities, and bring them before God in prayer. Let’s ask for God’s gentle, loving wisdom, praying: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”Your Brother in Christ,Benji

Dear friends of BCUC, The Noah's Ark story is a well-known story. I wonder how many Noah's Ark kid's play sets have been made and played with around the world? Our imagination can delight in dreaming of every different animal going up the ramp into the Ark two by two and even the two giraffe sticking their heads out of the window looking over a great ocean.  There’s the joyous return of the dove with an olive branch in it's beak. Finishing with tableau of a new world with all the animals saved plus Noah and his family, all framed with a bright rainbow in the sky. It’s a story about God and a human family working together to save every living creature for a fresh start on a re-created earth. It’s an easy story to tell. Yet the origins of the story and the reasons behind it can be uncomfortable and challenging to think about. It’s a story that confronts the depth of humanity both good and evil, the holy nature of God, how they can live together and how creation becomes the meat in sandwich so to speak. It sets in motion God's great rescue plan of sending Jesus.  This Sunday let the message of the rainbow after the rain and the key moment when “God remembered Noah” be both an encouragement and a challenge for us today. Your Brother in Christ,Benji

Dear friends of BCUC,

This Sunday at Sunday Funday YAV (first concert choir) will be singing a beautiful piece called “I am the gentle light” by Paul Mealor. Paul is a modern day Welsh composer who writes music and lyrics that express Christian theology and his strong Christian faith. The lyrical poetry of the song express a rich and biblical characteristic of God and is a call to faith “if you follow me, I’ll be with you for all eternity”. I invite you to sit with the lyrics and try to work out which references to scripture can be found. Let the lyrics rest on you like a message from our LORD, an answer to prayer, for whatever you might be going through today.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we explore listening to the voice of God and enjoy blowing away the winter blues with some sunshine and lots of fun activities at Sunday Funday. Make sure you stay for the BBQ put on by our Netball teams as well as play a round of Mini-golf with someone new!

Your brother in Christ

Benji

Noah was only 10 generations from Adam, but God saw how wicked humans had become, not only occasionally but with every thought, all the time. Also, divine beings were said to be breaching the boundary between heaven and earth and so it appeared that the whole cosmos was unwinding. People were treating “fallen ones” as mighty leaders, a situation with which we are familiar today.

How did God respond to this? Well, some have interpreted the Hebrew word ‘nacham’ as regret, but it would seem better translated as sorrow. God was grieving over his creation, and God’s heart was filled with pain. The flood is God’s response to a broken heart, not a result of anger. God’s nature as described in Exodus 34:6 remains constant: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness. God was patient, between planning the flood and initiating it. It would have taken decades to build the ark and even when it was loaded, there was another 7 days before the rain began. God also wanted to preserve his creation by taking Noah and his wife and his 3 sons and their wives in addition to a breeding pair of every bird and animal so that God’s judgement and punishment and the rebuilding commenced on the same day.

Noah was given a name meaning comfort or rest in the hope that he could counter the corruption of humanity and he was righteous compared to his generation and did good works because he trusted God. God made a covenant with Noah that all would be destroyed, but those in the ark would be spared.

The ark itself was a big wooden floating box with no ablity for Noah to steer it. In the Hebrew it translates as a sacred container for preserving life; a sarcophagus. It was a mini-Eden in the middle of the chaos that would destroy the rest of the world. However, God would never cause such a flood again.

In the New Testament Jesus came into the world which had degenerated into the evil excesses of the Roman Empire, to save humanity again. In the New Testament in Matthew and Peter we are advised to watch for the return of the Lord if the world is in the midst of corruption, rebellion and violence. The story of Noah and the flood is meant to communicate many spiritual truths about God and God’s faithfulness to creation. Even if the details are a parable, this does not change these truths.

Today the church is the ark of salvation in the world. The faith of Christians makes us righteous and able to do good work. We in the church have a tremendous responsibility to bring the world around to God, but what a privilege.

Ian Olver