Leading up to Christmas people from our church community will be sharing some thoughts on the themes of advent: Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. Listen to Dan and Hannah share about how God promises peace to his people, and what it can look like to lean on that truth through the highs and lows of life.
On Wednesday 14 December we will finish off the year at community dinners with a delicious Christmas dinner! If you don’t usually help at Community Dinner but would be available to help just that week, please let Jenny know. We’ll particularly need help with washing up and preparing food but you’ll also get to eat a delicious dinner with our amazing community. Thanks
Here’s a message of thanks from Merrie to everyone who donated CAP hampers this year:
The CAP Hampers are in and once again we are blown away by the generosity of our church family. They all look so amazing and there has obviously been a lot of thought put into the gifts.
On behalf of all of the CAP clients, and the Debt Coaches, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone for your generous giving, prayers and support both around the hampers but also throughout the year. Please continue to pray for our clients over Christmas and the holiday season, which can be especially tough on some. Let's pray they come to know the real reason we celebrate at this time.
He mihi nui ki a koe,
Merrie
Leading up to Christmas people from our church community will be sharing some thoughts on the themes of advent: Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. Listen to Claire share some words from Psalms written by King David long ago, and let’s be inspired to speak these prayers over our own lives today.
Leading up to Christmas people from our church community will be sharing some thoughts on the themes of advent: Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. Listen to Caitlin share about some people from the Bible who still chose to obey God even when they had only seen a portion of what He had promised.
Leading up to Christmas people from our church community will be sharing some thoughts on the themes of advent: Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. Listen to David share today about how true hope can’t come from the things of this world, but is found in God alone…
Leading up to Christmas people from our church community will be sharing some thoughts on the themes of advent: Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. Listen to Lili share today about the hope we have in spite of any circumstance…
Over the last couple of years, we have built a close relationship with the team at Mind Health. Mind Health refer to themselves as Wellbeing Specialists, and we have found the tools and resources they provide to be extremely helpful. During 2023, we have the amazing opportunity to host a trainee counsellor, Laurence Benson, through Mind Health.
This counselling will be free of charge and will be based in our offices in Mt Victoria. Head to www.thestreet.org.nz/counselling to register your interest, and someone will be in touch.
Check out the video to meet Laurence and hear more.
Last night I was at a Q&A with our Night community as a follow on from the Origins series. One of the questions I was asked to consider was how a good and all-powerful God can allow pain and suffering.
It’s such an important question because it affects us all. The things we go through and the conclusions we come to deeply affect our view of God. It’s also important because it can be a significant barrier for some people exploring faith.
What’s interesting is that from a philosophical point of view, the discussion has largely been settled. The alternatives are that God either wouldn’t have created us or would have created us as perfect puppets. Neither of those scenarios result in humanity in a loving relationship with God. Freewill was necessary to the extent that sin was possible.
Nevertheless, the discussion doesn’t feel settled. We don’t live on a philosophical level. When someone’s daughter has just been diagnosed with leukaemia, philosophy just doesn’t cut it. We have to meet people on a pastoral level. We have to make space to lament like David did so many times in the Psalms where he told God exactly how he felt and sought to bring his soul to a place of trust.
Ultimately, we have to come to Jesus. Tim Keller has said that while God doesn’t tell us why he has allowed suffering, he has shown us that it’s not because he doesn’t care. He chose eternally that there would be a moment when Jesus would enter the frailty of humanity to bear the cross for our sake. He cares so much about our pain and suffering that he chose to endure it to give us hope beyond it.
The gospel therefore provides an answer that is unique. For our secular culture, there is no objective basis to call anything evil. We’re told that suffering is what we’d expect from, as Richard Dawkins called it, a blind, pitiless, indifferent world. God, on the other hand, acknowledges that our pain and suffering is real, met us in the middle of it, and provides a way through and beyond it. There is no one like Jesus.
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>
Dear church whānau,
As we journey together as one church, it’s important to keep you up to date with some of the significant steps we’re taking. For the latest update on City’s local services, watch Simon and Jenny’s update. We’re also planning a follow-up before Christmas.
Much love
Simon and Jenny
Remember to bring back your CAP hampers to the service today (27 November) if you haven’t already! Apparently there is a nationwide shortage of Warehouse Gift Cards although people have been able to find them in supermarkets. Thanks so much for getting involved in this. It makes such a difference to the clients of CAP!
David is one of the two or three most important people in the Old Testament. Israel’s greatest king. A powerful warrior, intimate worshipper, writer of so many Psalms, a leader of great skill and integrity. And the ultimate occupant of his throne is Jesus Himself!
Yet it’s not where he started. When God told Samuel to go to Jesse’s house to anoint a king, Jesse lined up his sons and no one spared a thought for the smallest and youngest son whose only role was out in the field looking after sheep. This was not where anyone thought to look for a king.
But two things stand out here. Firstly, the thing that God is most interested in is devotion. While we look at outward attributes, God is focused on the heart (1 Sam 16:7). But more than this, God had been forming David in private. Who would have guessed that defending sheep from lions and bears would be God’s preparation for protecting Israel? You see, the very place of insignificance that we would think discounted David was actually the very place God chose to prepare his choice in secret.
It makes me wonder just how much God has been preparing you and I for the things he has for us to do and in ways we have never noticed. I wonder how God has been shaping you? I wonder what experiences God has allowed you to go through for the special tasks that are tailor-made for you.
And it’s this that also gives me confidence for us as a church. As we press into multiple locations and pursue multiplying disciple-makers, the need for leaders whose hearts are fully devoted to the Lord will only go up. And my unwavering confidence is that God has been preparing Davids in our church all along, only to reveal them at the perfect time.
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>
Dear church family,
Firstly, we would like to thank you so much for the time, prayer, and consideration that you have provided to the Elders and leadership through this consultation process. It has shown that you care deeply about this church and are passionate about seeing our facilities used for God's purposes.
This week, our Elders and leaders came to the united decision that we will not pursue this proposal with the Wellington Christian Education Project any further. We realise that this will come as a relief to some and be a disappointment to others.
There are a number of factors that played into this decision but one stands out above them all. 2022 has been a year of significant change for our church and we are conscious that we have not yet concluded some of these changes. As Elders and leaders, we have a growing clarity and excitement over where the Lord is leading us, particularly in the areas of making disciples and gathering in local communities. These are the things that require our focus and it has become clear that to pursue the school proposal would detract from our ability to pursue them.
We want to take this opportunity to thank Mark Larson from WECP. He is a great ambassador for Christian schooling and the Lord, and we pray that God will clearly show them the next steps in their journey. We would also encourage those of you who are passionate about a Christian school being established in Wellington to continue praying about this. We know that God can make a way even when it seems impossible.
Much love
The Street Church Elders and Leadership
Join us this December as we celebrate the greatest gift the world has ever received!
S U N D A Y 1 8 D E C • 1 0 A M
at Maranatha Christian School, 180 Hill Road, Belmont, Lower Hutt
Children welcome to come dressed as a sheep or angel to be part of the show! Please join us for a festive morning tea after the service.
Join us this December as we celebrate the greatest gift the world has ever received!
S U N D A Y 1 1 D E C • 1 0 A M
at Papakōwhai School Hall, 17 Spey Place, Papakōwhai, Wellington
Children welcome to come dressed as angels, stars, shepherds or barn animals to participate in the story. Morning tea after the service.
Ben and Jonno are creating a bit of a set for our Christmas services and we need a white sheet to staple to a wooden frame. If you have one we could have, that you don’t need back, please get in touch!
The Street Night are hosting 2 carol services on Sunday 18th December that you are all invited to; 3pm and 6pm, with a BBQ and ice creams between the 2 services. The 3pm one will be super child friendly, and the 6pm one will be targeted at a more adult crowd. If you’re around it will be a wonderful time to celebrate Christmas with our wider Street Church whānau. Look under “Events” for all the info you need.
I know it's been a crazy year which is partly why we've scaled down what we're doing from the big productions that we've done before. But it's still super helpful if as many people who can, do a little to help.
If you can do any of the following, please get in touch with Jenny and let her know
Setting up some decorations before the service on each of the Sundays - 27 Nov, 4, 11, 18 Dec (9am each week)
Preparing food - for example cooking Christmas ham, baking brownies or fruit mince pies, barbecuing sausages. We can do whatever food people are willing to make.
This year, instead of having one big production service, we have got a 4 week Christmas series called The Great Gift! We're journeying through the themes of advent: Hope, Peace, Love and Joy thinking about the greatest gift we've ever received - Jesus! There will be loads of fun and thoughtful items in these services so they're really suited to inviting friends, family, colleagues - everyone!
They'll each be 1 hour long so we'll have time to have food and drinks after the service.
Pick up fliers at the service to give to your friends, or share this link https://www.thestreet.org.nz/news/christmas-at-east
Last weekend we began a conversation as a church about sexuality and gender. The purpose of the talk was to posture ourselves in a particular way so that we can continue to learn and follow Jesus together. I have been humbled and amazed this week at how God is using the talk. It has had a far broader impact than I expected and I have been deeply moved by the stories and reflections people have shared.
I thought you may appreciate hearing some of the things I’m reflecting on in response to what I’m hearing.
There is hunger for clarity
To my shame, I expected some people to push back strongly because of how counter-cultural a Biblical worldview is. The opposite has been true. Instead I am hearing gratitude at the clarity that a fuller understanding of Scripture brings. This is actually something we should expect given how Jesus says that living in line with his teaching means we will know the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8:31-32). For the sake of people’s freedom, we have to be courageous enough to ground ourselves in Biblical truth.
Humility is disarming
I think one of the reasons the message was received with gratitude is because we were willing to apologise and acknowledge that every single one of us finds ourselves equal in our need for Jesus. A humble tone helps people to listen to what God has to say. I am learning that it is possible to be courageous with the truth without compromising a posture of humility.
Listening and learning
I know this was a core part of the message but it’s worth reiterating. I can’t give you a comprehensive answer of what it means to live our lives as people created male and female. I know it is an intrinsic part of the way we bear God’s image and yet it has become so tangled up with sex-based stereotypes. Untangling these two together both Biblically and humbly will take time.
As you reflect on the message from Sunday, is there anything that might need to change in the way you interact with others who are struggling in a way that maybe you never have or will? Who could you make space to listen to this week? Let’s not be a church that pushes away, but one that draws all people in toward Jesus. Can we continue this journey together, in humility, grace and truth.
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>