A great way to engage with the Word of God daily is to follow the Bible in One Year Readings! You can either see them digitally from here and screenshot them, or pick up hard copy at a Mt Vic/Night service.
Money is a subject people are really private about. At the same time, it’s an important issue that affects many aspects of our lives. This is especially true as the cost of living continues to rise in our country. It’s not a subject we can continue to avoid. After all, Jesus talked about it a lot!
According to Jesus, how we see money and what we do with money are a strong indicator of what’s going on in our hearts. It affects the sort of Jesus followers we are becoming. We need therefore to take time to talk about money together, to understand God’s perspective and to encourage one another to honour God with all we have - even our money.
Watch this clip from Simon sharing his heart for this series
We’re excited to gather again together for an evening of encounter with the Lord through prayer and worship.
For now, get the date in you calendar and there will be more info coming soon.
On the theme of BLESS, here is a way you could serve people in our local community.
Do you have room to host short-term international male students in term 3? (The dollar amount is the amount you would get paid for hosting)
1. Chinese students (4) for 3 weeks at $350.00 per week from July 22 until August 10
2. Chinese student (1) for 5 weeks at $350.00 per week from July 22 until August 25
3. Japanese students (2) for 4 weeks at $350.00 per week from August 01 until August 30
4. Japanese student (1) for 6 weeks at $350.00 per week from July 16 until 26 August
5. Japanese students (3) for 1 term at $315.00 per week from 15 July until end of term 3.
If you’re interested, please call or text Virginia Wilson from Rongotai College on 027 338 2837
The Street Church has launched podcasts! We have uploaded 500 sermons from the last 10 years so that you can now listen to sermons past and present from whatever device you usually access podcasts from. You will find The Street Church on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. If you access any of our more recent sermons from Spotify, you’ll also find them available as videos. Happy listening!
At Together last Sunday, Simon and Jenny introduced us to a tool as we each seek to play our part in the mission of our church by becoming disciples who multiply. The tool is called “BLESS” and you can hear its creator Dave Fergusson explaining it here in this video.
We gave out bookmarks on Sunday to remind us to do one thing from BLESS every day. I wonder what you have been doing this week?
Sunday 21 May - 10 am - 12 pm
Together is today, at Wellington High School! Here are some things you need to know:
Doors open at 9.30 so please get there for 9.30 especially if you have children to check-in (there are going to be lots of people to get in and get seated)
The main car park is at 1 Wallace Street but there will not be enough space for everyone to park there. There will be reserved mobility parking at the car park on Wallace Street.
If the main car park is full, there will be helpful car park attendants who will be able to direct you to alternative parking at the Dominion Museum Building, 15 Buckle Street.
Please make sure you allow plenty of time! Another alternative for parking is to park at 21 Hania Street and walk over; it’s about a 10-15 minute walk.
If you have forgotten to register please just show up - there is space for about 150 extra people. If you have kids and you haven’t registered you will need to find someone on the door on Sunday morning to find out if there is space in the relevant programme for them.
Other than that, we can’t wait to see you there! It’s going to be an amazing time together!
You may have arrived at this page because you've Googled "Shincheonji" and you're looking for answers. Perhaps you've heard about this new 'church' and want to know what it's all about? Or someone from Shincheonji - known as SCJ - has told you about it, but you want to know more?
Maybe you are part of SCJ,and you want to get out but don't know how? Or you recently left SCJ and you're looking for answers and some guidance, maybe a safe place to be for a while?
However you arrived at this page, please keep reading. What we want to say to you is so important for your freedom and for your spiritual life.
A quick look around Google and you will find dozens of articles and YouTube videos explaining that SCJ is a cult that has brainwashed its people and caused devastating harm to individuals and families through its extreme religious requirements and manipulative methods of recruiting people (fake Bible studies full of SCJ members posing as people who are exploring faith, for example). There is nothing about SCJ that delivers the freedom to believers promised by Jesus Christ in John 8:36, "Whom the Son sets free will be free indeed."
The Street Church is not unique in having experience with SCJ. Over the past years, numerous SCJ 'recruiters' have come to our church services - and many others - in order to 'convert' people to the SCJ way. We have also met with people who have left SCJ and are looking for answers and a place to heal and make sense of what they have been through.
Wherever you are at in your experience with SCJ, we want you to know that we are a safe place for you. We would love to meet with you (if you want someone to speak with) or simply provide a haven for you to heal and reorient yourself as you establish your life outside of SCJ. The Lord Jesus Christ said he came to give us “life to the full” (John 10:10b). You’ve been robbed of that freedom by SCJ, and we’d love to introduce you to this life!
So, if you have questions or are in Wellington and you need help getting out of SCJ, please email us office@thestreet.org.nz or call us on 04 385 7315.
We are delighted to offer a pastoral role to support our Night location team while our current pastor, Anna, is on maternity leave. This temporary position presents an excellent opportunity for a motivated individual to make a meaningful contribution to our church community.
As a member of our Night location team, you will play a key role in ensuring that our Night location runs smoothly. Working closely with our Lead Pastor, Tom Field, you will receive guidance and support as you take on this temporary pastoral role, where you will have the chance to learn and develop new skills while providing valuable support to our staff team and congregation.
If you are interested in this pastoral role, we encourage you to review the cover letter and job description for more information. If you believe this would be a good fit for you, we invite you to apply by filling out the provided application form. We look forward to hearing from you and potentially welcoming you to our Night location team.
Sadly the Davies family (David, Laura, Megan, Avery and Bryce) will soon be leaving us and going back to the US. They have been at East since the day we started, and we will miss them a lot. Their last Sunday here will be Sunday 21 May and there will be a chance to say goodbye to them that afternoon, as the Marks family will host a drop-in at their home between 1.30 - 3.30pm.
If you would like to see them at Nick and Kathryn’s on 21 May, please let the Marks know on 021 027 78814 and they can give you the address.
Last week we looked at Extravagant Worship in 2 Samuel 6 where David danced before the Lord with all his might. Now if you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered… what’s the deal with the ephod? Is David dancing in his undies? Is this an outfit more suited to Dancing with the Stars?
David would usually have been wearing the robes of a king but in this instance he’s wearing an ephod - a garment worn by priests. Priests didn’t rule but they were a connection between the people and God. To understand this you have to remember what is going on. David is bringing the ark of the covenant into the capital city where he is king. The ark symbolises both the presence of God and the throne of God among the people.
For David to take off his royal robes suggests there’s a message in his attire. God is king and I am not. Don’t just look to my rule, look to God’s.
If you think about it, all worship is like this. In the fall, we rejected God’s rule and chose to do what we wanted. Worship is the opposite. We remind ourselves that we’re not on the throne. God is the true king in our lives.
Perhaps this is why worship is so freeing. Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown. Our desire to rule brings the weight of ruling we were never meant to carry. And in worship, we continually take off the crown and put the burden back on him. Let us daily come in humble worship before King Jesus.
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>
One of the things that marks our culture is the rise of the influencer. YouTube and other platforms are full of people promising 5 keys to success, 15 things you should have in your wardrobe and 3 secrets to a long and happy life. I find myself getting sucked into these really easily and looking for keys to help me thrive in life.
It’s against this backdrop that I found this verse: “This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve of their sayings” (Ps 49:13). The fate in question is death and the fact that we take nothing material with us from this world. I’m not discrediting everything influencers say. It’s not that what they espouse is necessarily not good, it’s just that it’s rarely great. Success in this world is one thing, an eternal perspective is another.
This is contrasted by the writer of Hebrews: “Consider your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7). It means to look at the way they finished their lives. Look for people who are still loving Jesus and following Jesus on their last day. How did they live? What did they prioritise? What did they value? Those are the great influencers. Imitate them.
Who are the older people in your life who followed Jesus to the end. For me, I think about Jim Chew. When his body was riddled with cancer, his email updates were rich with Bible verses and truths he was clinging to in his final days. He loved Jesus till the end and then stepped into a new beginning in the presence of his Saviour. He is a man I am challenged to be influenced by today. How about you?
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>
What comes to mind when you think about worship? Is it a genre of music on your device? Is it the way we live every day of our lives? Is it just a bunch of songs we sing on Sunday? The truth is that worship is far deeper and more important than we could imagine. In God, we find the one who is truly worthy of worship. He’s the one our souls truly crave. And He’s the one around whom the whole of heaven gathers in unceasing adoration. We become like what we worship, so our worship of Jesus has a huge bearing on whether we’re becoming more like Him. So can I encourage you to make this series a priority as we go on a journey together in worship - extravagant, powerful, reverent worship?
God is jealous (Deut 4:24). I find this statement staggering because, typically, it’s an ugly characteristic. In fact, this is the only use of the word I know of that is not negative. So how can God be jealous?
“All the world’s a stage,” wrote Shakespeare, “and all the men and women are merely players.” Let me rephrase this a little for our purposes.
All the world’s a temple, and all the men and women worshippers.
The world is a contested space for worship. There are so many things that clamour for our affections, our desires, our loves. The enemies of God are incessantly seeking to pull your desire away from God and onto lesser things to love.
The problem is that worship is also deeply formational. We become like what we worship. When Israel bowed down to worthless idols, they became worthless themselves (2 Kings 17:15).
So what of the kneeling at the feet of money pretending that the next purchase or investment will deliver the prosperity we crave? What of the kneeling at the altar of success trusting that our next certificate or promotion will complete us? What of the sacrificing to the gods of brand and celebrity trusting that our worth is found in the applause of others?
What do the things we adore and celebrate say about who we are becoming?
God is the one who made us in His image with inherent and infinite value. In Him alone are found the completeness and contentment that our souls crave. And so He is jealous for our affection, not for His sake but for our own.
Can I encourage us to be brave and vulnerable in prayer this week and ask God to reveal to us our misdirected affections. Pray also for our series on Worship in May and ask that He would redirect our affections towards Himself. May Jesus alone be the one we are becoming more like.
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>
In addition to the pastors and other staff, The Street has an eldership board that carries out a combination of governance and shepherding for our church.
Elders are volunteers who provide spiritual oversight for the overall church, as well as being available at our local services to support the local leaders and be available to the congregation.
Now that we are meeting in multiple locations, we want to have more of a local eldership presence at our locations, and we will be looking to bring more elders on board over the next few months.
Today we want to propose Matt Bate as a potential elder, to give the congregation three weeks to pray and provide any feedback before the elders make a final decision about whether Matt will join the eldership.
Matt is based at our Hutt location, and prior to the Hutt service being established, was at our Mt Vic location.
If you have any feedback to provide, please contact elders.chair@thestreet.org.nz - your email will go to the chair of our eldership board, Matt Conway.
Our friends at Miramar Salvation Army are hosting a Parenting Place seminar on Thursday 11 May. Here’s what they say about it:
Join us for an evening of learning and upskilling together. If juggling parenting, isolation, work responsibilities and the intensity of life in general has left you feeling overwhelmed or in need of some fresh ideas, then this is the talk for you. Kind, Firm, Calm opens the lid on common parenting struggles and provides proven strategies and insights that cut to the heart of daily challenges.
Whether you have the world’s strongest-willed toddler or a young person who just won’t do what they are asked, practical advice and heartfelt encouragement will restore hope to your parenting.
Join us from 7pm for tea, coffee and nibbles for a 7.15pm start.
Tickets are $5 per person. (Miramar Salvation Army are covering all other costs not covered by entry fees). This session is being led by the Parenting Place (https://parentingplace.nz)
We'd love to see you there!
For more info and tickets, head to: https://parentingmiramar.eventbrite.co.nz
If you missed it last week, our 24/7 prayer room is now a permanent feature. It is always so powerful to set aside devoted time to pray, and sometimes it helps to get outside of our usual routines and environments. The prayer room is a great resource for you to use. Make it part of your regular weekly rhythms and see what the Lord might do. Book your slots here.
How are you at managing your money? Do you have a good budgeting system that is helping you achieve your financial goals? If not, the CAP Money course could be just what you need.
CAP Money is a FREE budgeting course that is helpful for anyone who wants some advice about building a budget and being able to stick with it no matter your current financial situation.
Our next CAP Money course starts on Thursday, May 4 at 6.30 PM at Hania Street and runs for three weeks. This is a course for everyone – not just Christians so the course is an ideal event to invite people to
You can sign up for our course through the CAP Money website here, and if you need any more info, you can email capmoney@thestreet.org.nz
It’s hard to avoid the news at the moment that the cost of living is going up. Even if you haven’t been reading news about inflation, interest rates and the impact of natural disasters in New Zealand, it’s obvious that groceries budgets aren’t stretching as far as they did last year. The temptation of worry is clearly a challenge.
Enter Jesus with his usual dose of turning things upside down…
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25).
Our lives are the biggest thing we know. They are the bubbles within which every moment and experience sits. Jesus’ logic is that if you lack the capability to change the length of your life, why worry about anything else within it.
Worry won’t earn you one more dollar. Worry won’t reduce house prices or take 0.01% off interest rates. Worry won’t stop your pants wearing out and it doesn’t put food on the table. So why worry?
It makes me wonder whether Jesus’ point is about control. We love to be in control. We love it when the solution is in our hands. We love to be self-sufficient. But this is never God’s agenda for us. It’s even been said that self-sufficiency is the greatest curse for a Christian because it leads us to a life without God.
Instead Jesus invites us to a simple trust. He reminds us that our heavenly Father knows what we need and as we seek Him, He is able to provide all that we need as well. What if this season of incredible financial challenge is actually a way for God to reveal to us all that He knows our needs and is able to provide out of nothing.
It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have budgets or shop smart. It just means that worry doesn’t need to characterise our lives. Instead today is a day to come again to the simple truth that God knows what we need and will never let us down.
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>
Click here to watch a message from Jerram with the exciting news that our 24/7 prayer room is remaining open for the foreseeable future. It has been incredible to have a space set aside for prayer and I know many of you have had powerful times of prayer in there. You can book your slots at this link