St Michael's talks & sermons

Freshly back from the tangi of Kiingi Tuheitia and the coronation of Kuini Ngā Wai hono i te pō, Māmari Stephens weaves the parallels between the situations of Jews in Exile in Persia under the Emperor Xerxes, and the situation of Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand today. In examining the story of Queen Esther, she ponders how God uses our soft power to work for the good of those who feel the need to hide their identity.

Readings:

extracts from the Book of Esther

Matthew 14.25-31

Exile was totally disruptive of the life of God's people. The best and brightest were compelled to work for a foreign regime. But, rather than doing so grumpily, exiles like Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego throw themselves into life in Babylon, in line with Jeremiah's instructions in Jeremiah 29. They dig in to life in Babylon, but they also dig into life with God. And then, when they're asked to cross the line, they know when to say "No". In this sermon, Tim encourages us to do the same; to "dig in" to where God's call takes us,and to "dig in" to God.

Readings

from Daniel 1,

from Daniel 3

Luke 20.20-26

In part 4 of our Civil Servants of Scripture series, Tim looks at some of the officials named in the reign of King David. You can't rule a kingdom without a lot of dedicated officials. But the rot starts at the top. What if power goes to the boss's head, and your boss is the king? Tim talks briefly about Joab, and more extensively, Uriah, to consider the place of officials when power is misused. How does God see this misuse of power? And how should we respond?

Readings:

2 Samuel 8.15-18

2 Samuel 11.1-27

Matthew 20.24-28

This week, our Civil Servants of Scripture Series looks at Deborah. The story is sometimes seen as an indictment on male leadership, or perhaps as an exaltation of the preferability of female leadership. But what if we see it as an exploration in collaboration and co-operation? How might that help us to approach our work in the world with a spirit of service, calling, and co-operation? Rebecca leads us through these questions - and more - in this sermon!

Readings:

Judges 4 & 5

Matthew 26.6-13

The story of Joseph is so big, he gets two sermons in this series on Civil Servants of the Bible. This week, Joseph has been installed as effective prime minister of Egypt. Matt outlines for us the qualities of a good servant, including the quality of "anticipation". How does Joseph's faith in God help him to anticipate the nation's needs, and to plan appropriately? And how does his faith help him to break the cycle of scapegoating that dogs the operations of government?

Readings:

extracts from Genesis 44 & 45

Acts 7.9-15

Luke 15.20-24

This week's sermon starts a new series on the Civil Servants and Public Officials of the Bible. We live in a civil servant town. All our lives in Wellington are touched by personal connections to the civil service. Many of us work there. Many of us will work there. And even if we don't, all our lives are affected by the policy decisions and executive actions of civil servants. This series asks us how to navigate that life as Christians. How does the Bible help us to think through our multiple allegiances, to our employer, to the State, and above all to God?

In this first sermon, Ginni introduces us to Joseph, with the early part of his public career as an official in Potiphar's house. He's confronted early with the complexity of different loyalties. Can he stay true to YHWH, and be a good servant? And what about us? How do we maintain our faith in God when things seem to be falling apart around us in our workplaces?

Readings:

Genesis 39

Matthew 6.25-34

In the final sermon of this series, Dr Andrew "Burge" Burgess takes us in awe up the Mountain of the Ascension. What does the Ascension teach us about life in the world, about time, and about mission?

Readings:

Exodus 40.33b-38

Acts 1.1-11

John 14.15-24

The paradoxical climax of Jesus' ministry is his ascent up Mt Golgotha, to the cross. Why is this paradoxical moment so important? Why is it the way to life?

Matthew Bartlett explores these questions in this sermon.

Towards the end, he references a painting by Ioannis Moskos, which can be found here:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Crucifixion_by_I.Moskos_%281711%29.jpg

Readings:

Isaiah 53.4-12

2 Corinthians 5.14-the end

Luke 23.32-47

The words of Jesus are good! From the vista of the Sermon on the Mount, we can see Jesus' vision for a good society, built on the wholehearted faith of those who open their lives to God. As the floodwaters of our time rise, we're called to remain faithful and generous and committed to others, trusting that God will make that generosity possible.

This sermon was a version preached at the 9am service, with a more informal rant about social media and the sermon on the mount preached at the 10.30 all age service.

Readings:

Matthew 5.1-12

Matthew 7.24-29

In this sermon, Sam follows Jesus up the Mountain of Transfiguration. The beautiful truth revealed in this climb is that, in Jesus, God gives us the gift of Godself. Since Jesus has climbed the mountain, it's not all up to us: we have instead the privilege of following him.

Readings:

Exodus 32.31-34, 33.12-18

Psalm 8

Matthew 17.1-13