This is the first sermon in a series on The Church, taking its cue from 3 Sundays in the New Zealand lectionary, with 3 bonus sermons on other aspects of Being the Church..

This week, Jessie Black discusses Pentecost as the Birthday of the Church, and probes how to retain hope when our hopes for God to do great things through the church are disappointed.

Readings

Acts 2.1-21

1 Corinthians 12.3-13

John 20.19-23

Readings for Sixth Sunday of Easter

1 Peter 3.13-22

Acts 17.22-31

John 14.15-21

In this sermon, Rev. Dr. Tim McKenzie follows Paul to Athens, and wonders how his preaching methodology here helps build bridges for the gospel into Athenian culture. Or does it? Tim notes that the people of Athens were a tough crowd; it's one of Paul's least successful preaching gigs in Acts. Might his invocation of Greek poetry and philosophy help us proclaim our faith in secular, 21st C Wellington (supposedly one of the most secular cities in the world)?

Tim preaches from the lectionary readings about Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life, with some reference to the Coronation of Charles III along the way. How do we hold Jesus as the centre, without putting toll gates on the Way, setting exams for the Truth, and rationing out the Way?

Acts 7.55-60

John 14.1-14

Fasting! The Lenten discipline we all want to avoid, or perhaps reduce to avoiding chocolate. But what is the logic behind this ancient discipline?

Tim guides us through fasting in this new series on the 7 Habits of Occasionally Effective Christians...

Readings

2 Samuel 12.15-23

Acts 13.1-3

Matthew 6.16-18

Why do Christians prize forgiveness so highly? Is is even possible, when we've been sorely wronged? What would it mean to forgive others for God's sake? Deborah Wilson expounds the logic - and power - of Christian forgiveness.

Readings

Matthew 18.21-35

Professor Jonathan Boston continues the Lenten series on the Habits of Occasionally Effective Christians. This week - charitable giving, or as it used to be called, "almsgiving". How do we give intelligently and faithfully in a world so different from the world Jesus encountered in 1st C Palestine?

Readings

2 Corinthians 9.6-15

Matthew 6.1-4

Geoff Troughton unpacks the 6th Habit of Occasionally Effective Christians, the discipline of study. What does it mean to love God with all our minds, as well as our hearts and souls. And what does this have to do with Palm Sunday?

Readings

Psalm 118

Deuteronomy 4.6-9

Matthew 21.1-17

The texts for the day were Psalm 46, Ephesians 6.17-20 and Matthew 6.5-8.

Rebecca speaks about prayer as a way of dwelling in Christ and seeing God's presence everywhere, particularly in the wilderness times in our lives.

She mentions Tim Mackie's talk Paradise Now.

In the telling of the Christmas story before the sermon, we read the recipe for Christmas.  Ingredient 10 appeared to be missing, but it was written in invisible ink.  When we heated it over the Christ candle, we discovered that the missing ingredient was God's love.  Listen on...

Jeremiah 31:27-34 • 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5 • Luke 18:1-8

Māmari reflects on Colin McCahon's painting Storm Warning, karakia, and prayer/inoi.