Everyday in our culture, there are challenges to the gospel. Was Jesus real? Did he really die? Do you actually believe he came to life again? 

But recently, I’ve noticed another challenge sneaking up. It’s not about how someone gets saved but whether we actually need saving at all.

I watched a video by a guy with cerebral palsy asking the question “Should I want to be fixed?” I write this not to call the guy out but because he asked some good questions that are worth considering.

For the most part, he was simply looking at the benefits of certain treatments to alleviate symptoms in the absence of a cure. But then came the conclusion. If I could be fixed, should I even want to be?

Let’s be clear. People with cerebral palsy are wonderful people and at the same time they have a condition involving the development of or damage to their brain. But our culture struggles to hold these truths at the same time. We are desperate to accept people for who they are - which is a good thing. But in doing so, we have collapsed our value and our health into the same thing. As such, it becomes offensive to call an aspect of ourselves imperfect - it feels like we are insulting our very identity.

Moreover, if our worldview has no future hope, we have to make the most of here and now. If this is all there is, we should embrace it and call it good.

As Christians, we offer something better in both cases.

We believe that every single human being is made in the image of God irrespective of age, stage, size, or condition. The person in front of you has inherent and infinite dignity, value and worth. The way we treat them is a reflection of how we treat God.

Secondly, we don’t need to pretend there’s nothing wrong. We can call out sickness as part of the fallen world. When we sense that things are not the way they should be, God agrees with us. You’re right, pain and suffering are real but it’s not the way things should be.

That’s the reason Jesus came. On the cross he paid the price for our sin and when we rose again, he gave us the sure hope that he will one day raise us too with bodies better than they have ever been and prepared to live forever in the suffering-free world he is bringing about. That’s the nature of Christian hope.

That’s the beauty of the gospel. Humanity is more valuable, this world is more broken and our hope is more incredible that any of us could imagine.  This is why our culture’s posture here is so dangerous—it dulls our desire for Jesus!

Where are you noticing the consequences of the fall being minimised? I wonder what God might lead you to do as you pray about that. Is there a question you could ask to promote conversation that moves people towards seeing Jesus afresh today?

Grace and peace,

Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

We will be gathering as a whole church “TOGETHER” again later this year. So get it locked in your calendar - Sunday 29th October! More information nearer the time.

We were notified recently that there may be some cults door-knocking in the Strathmore area at the moment. This is just a reminder to be wise and ask many questions if you are invited to an event or Bible Study. If they are a genuine Christian church, they have no reason to be secretive or to avoid your questions. They should be able to tell you the name of the church and exactly who they are and what they do.

If you are ever in any doubt about a religious group's motives, practices, and teachings, ask questions, expect answers, and tell a friend.

You can also check out these videos we made a few years ago in response to the Shincheonji cult to help you spot a cult.

When we greet each other, it’s easy to use casual, throw away language that we don’t really mean. People say things like, ‘Hey, how you going?’ ‘Good, you?’ ‘Good.’ We’re not really asking how people are. We don’t want their life story, it’s just an extended hello.

We can make the same mistake with Scripture. At some point in the greeting of each of Paul’s letters, he includes the words grace and peace. They appear so often, it’s easy to skim over them. To assume there’s nothing really there. But rather than an extended hello, these words are laced with meaning.

Grace is God’s great enabler. I love this word and I know I talk about it a lot. But that’s because it’s so important and appears all the time. Grace is the way God works out everything in your life as a free gift. It’s the way He chooses you, justifies you, equips you to serve Him, changes you to be like Him. It’s the way He’ll raise you when Jesus returns. Grace is how God does everything in a way that comes our way for free.

Peace is another rich word. Peace is the condition of perfect prosperity and security. It is everything as it should be. It’s the condition of the world our souls long for and that Jesus is bringing about. It’s the state of our relationship with God. And whereas earthly peace is fleeting, God’s peace in your life enables a calm to resonate deep in your soul even when all around you is in turmoil.

It’s hard to imagine Paul could give a stronger greeting. It’s hard to imagine praying a more powerful prayer for one another. In fact, it’s the prayer I’ve been praying for our church this week. May God work powerfully in each of our lives as a free gift. May God give you a glimpse of the world to come in the inner recesses of your soul. I wonder what you’ll notice as God answers this prayer? I wonder what He’ll do as we pray it over one another.

Grace and peace,

Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

We are delighted to inform you of some pastoral roles that we have available. Please find more details below on these roles and get in touch with the office if you would like more information or if you would like to have a conversation with someone about these roles.

Children's Pastor Role:

We are actively searching for a passionate and caring individual to join Emma Roche in supporting our Children's Ministry. This part-time position will play a significant role in shaping the spiritual growth of our children across all of our Locations. If you have a heart for children and a calling to guide them in their faith journey, we encourage you to prayerfully consider applying for this position. Applications for the Children's Pastor role will be open until the 14th of August.

Part-Time Location Pastors:

In line with our multi-location direction, we are appointing part-time Location Pastors for our East, Hutt, Porirua, and Mt Vic locations. If you sense that God is leading you to serve and lead the people of your Location, we would love to hear from you. The role involves being the primary leader of your Location and leading the location leadership team. This role will be under the guidance and support of our Senior Pastor, Simon Gill. These roles can be fulfilled on either a voluntary or paid basis. Applications for the part-time Location Pastors will remain open until the positions are filled.

We believe that each of these roles is an opportunity to serve and grow within our church family, and we are excited to see how God will work through these new additions to our team.

If you feel called to apply for any of these positions or desire more information about the roles, please contact the church office. We will be more than happy to provide you with the necessary details and, if needed, connect you with someone for a conversation about any of these opportunities.

I had the privilege of working with Nick Field for almost ten years and there was a phrase he would often say, “don’t drag the start line with you.” His point was that we can easily get discouraged at a lack of progress in our lives and the things around us. Change happens incrementally and we can fail to notice progress unless we look back far enough for a true comparison.

One of the ways that we can combat this is to take moments to reflect and celebrate along the way. When Israel crossed the Jordan, they stopped and built an altar to celebrate the progress and remember what God had done (Joshua 4:1-9). The job wasn’t finished—they hadn’t conquered a single territory within the promised land—but they stopped to celebrate that they had moved forward.

This is important for us as a church. Sunday’s whole-of-church announcement was not the end of the journey. We’ve managed to establish Jerram as a Location Pastor for West and yet there are still East, Mt Vic, Porirua and Hutt to go. I have found this discouraging in my own life.

And yet when I reflect back over a longer period of time I realise the things God has done to get us even to this point. The redeployment of a staff team to better serve all Locations was months of work. The number of people leaned in and enthusiastic about being part of the solution at Locations is far higher than last year. Each Location has wonderful teams of people taking the lead who are passionate about seeing God move in their local area. And the stories of people who have come to faith or are growing closer to Jesus are new compared to last year. These examples are like stones on the altar next to the Jordan. Stones that would be missed if I was only comparing what’s going on with last week. Instead, by looking back over a longer period of time, we get a better picture and find reason to praise.

It’s also true in our personal lives. We’re prone to discouragement because we feel like we’re still praying for the same problems and still wrestling with the same shortcomings. But I wonder how this might change if we were able to compare ourselves and the situations we’re in now with the beginning of this year, or even a year ago. If you keep a journal or a prayer diary, maybe have a look back to see what you were processing or praying for back then. If you don’t record things, maybe take a few moments to think back. For me, I keep things I’m praying for daily on a small card in my wallet (no fancy prayer app for me!) and it’s been so encouraging to see the prayers I’ve been able to cross off—not in the last week—but since January.

Can I encourage you to take a few moments this weekend and reflect on how the Lord has led you and how far you have come.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

In the service today (23 July), we will share an important update from Simon and Jenny about the latest developments around the leadership of Locations across The Street. If you miss it, it will be emailed out to the whole church on Monday so please check you’re emails so you can stay up to date with what’s happening. This is an important update so please be sure to check it out. If you’re not yet on our database and don’t receive emails from us, please click here to complete our welcome form.

We know the Church was designed to function with every person playing their part. It works best when everyone does a little bit to contribute. We wouldn’t be able to do anything without our incredible teams of volunteers, so if you serve on a team at The Street, a huge THANK YOU for what you do.

We'd love to hear from you if you don’t yet serve on a team. There are particular shortages at the moment in the following areas

• School-age Kids Zone programme

• Worship team

• Community Dinners (Wednesdays at 5.30 pm)

If you want to know more about one of these or another area, please get in touch. The easiest way is to open your “Church Center” app and click the “Join a team” button. Or you can email us at east@thestreet.org.nz.

Thanks!

We have a really exciting event coming up on 16 September called “Panorama”. Panorama is a Saturday seminar with Brad Carr that walks participants through the story of the Bible to gain an understanding of how the whole Bible fits together and how the stories, songs and promises work together to tell a unified story of God’s love. If you’re looking to improve your understanding of the Bible as a whole and how it fits together, this will be perfect for you. It costs $49 per person, including morning tea, and you can register through the link under “Events” in this newsletter.

This week we’ve been confronted with awful news of the shooting in Auckland that resulted in the deaths of three and injuries to others. In moments like this our hearts go out to the people involved but it can be hard to know how to respond.

Some people are tempted to wonder whether the series of events in Auckland (they’ve had a rough time with floods and storms as well) is some sort of punishment from God. But comments like this just aren’t helpful. Jesus specifically taught that disasters are not the result of the sin of a city (Luke 13:1-5). Rather they are part of the fallen world we live in and which Jesus is redeeming. So how should we respond?

Firstly, it’s right that we pray. As a staff we spend a lot of our Thursday prayer time specifically crying out to God for Auckland. In moments like this, I feel helpless and yet I know that God is not. When we pray, we invite the power and presence of the living God into the situation and that is no small thing.

Secondly, events like this remind us not to put our hope in this world. Whether we believe in Jesus or not, our lives are lived out in a broken world riddled with pain and suffering. However, our hope as Christians is not simply that ‘when I die I go to heaven’ but that Jesus is returning to bring about a new heavens and a new earth. A world made right where we will be with him forever. A world of perfect peace, provision, and security. It’s only with hope properly placed in our secure future that we’re prepared to live well through all the trials of this world.

Finally, while Jesus could return at any moment, if he does not come back today, it’s another day where he is expressing his patience and keeping the window of opportunity open for people to believe. Moments like this disrupt people’s sense of peace and provoke many questions. It means that it’s important we’re awake to opportunities for spiritual conversations. Why not pray right now that as you go about your day, that God might bring about an opportunity for you to share Jesus with someone wondering about these things. After all, as Tim Keller used to often remind people, while we can’t fully understand why God allows evil and suffering, the cross reminds us that it’s not because he doesn’t care. He entered our suffering to make a way for us beyond it. Let us invite people into that.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

There are still a few tickets left to see Jesus Revolution at The Roxy on Monday, 24th July at 6.30pm. See the post under “Events” for more information.

This week has been a rollercoaster week for Markus and the Bain family. They started the week back in hospital for an x-ray and an enema which didn’t work. They were sent home hoping and praying for Markus to poop with a booking in theatre for Thursday if nothing happened. Then on Wednesday, Markus did a poo and has continued to do so regularly since then. This is such incredible news! Let’s keep praying for Markus, that his whole body would be restored to health so that he is no longer reliant on any kind of interventions.

Every Wednesday afternoon, we put on a free dinner for the community at Strathmore Park Community Centre. There are an amazing team of people involved who cook, set up the hall, sit and have dinner with people, and wash up and pack down afterwards.

This week due to school holidays, the team is a little depleted and we’d love your help if you can. We would particularly appreciate help with cooking something to bring, which you do in advance and bring to the Community Centre ready to eat at 5.30pm (costs can be reimbursed). Or you could come a bit later and help with washing up and packing down (anytime between 6-7pm)

If you could help this week with either of those things, please get in touch with Andrea Teng, and she’ll tell you everything you need to know! andreamteng@gmail.com

Last Sunday, we heard from Rachel and Nelson, who serve with YWAM in Mazatlan, Mexico. If you missed it, you can check out their update here. Video

If you want to learn more about who we support on the mission field, we have the latest missions newsletter out now. There will be some paper copies at the back of the service, OR you can get one emailed to you by contacting missions@thestreet.org.nz.

Something weird is going on. I can’t believe how fast the year is racing by and yet, at the same time, ​​so many people seem to be tired. We’ve hit July but we’re ready for a summer holiday. Is it nearly Christmas yet? It makes me wonder how much we’re still reeling and recovering from some of the challenges we’ve faced over the past three years.

Richard Black from Mind Health talks about how most of us have previously worked out the things we need to do to rest and refresh. But because the level of difficulty in life has gone up for many of us, there’s a good chance those rhythms are no longer sufficient.

Think of it this way. If you are used to regularly running 10kms and then step up to run a marathon, the sleep, food and time you’ll need to recover also goes up. If we’re finding ourselves more stressed and stretched than usual, are we learning what additional rhythms we need to refresh and replenish?

We’re heading away for a week-long break soon and in preparation, Jenny’s mentor asked her this question: “What would make the week wildly successful?”

I love the question because it stretches the thought process way beyond ordinary things and the usual outcomes. It challenges me to think differently which is the very thing we need if we’re more tired than usual.

For me, it will mean time with friends, reading for more than just entertainment (there’s nothing wrong with reading for entertainment, it’s just that learning replenishes me), making time for the Lord, and doing things as a family we love to do together.

What about you? Maybe you’re not going away. Maybe what you’re looking forward to is this weekend, an evening with friends, or just carving out a couple of child-free hours. I think the question is still relevant in these contexts too: what would make that time wildly successful?

Most of all, let us never stop making time for the Lord in Word, worship and prayer. Making time to place our anxiety on him and allowing him to remind us of his goodness. In that light, maybe this would be a good verse to ponder right now.

“Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.” Ps 116:7

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

Did you know that every Sunday the people serving gather at 9.30am to pray for our service? If you’d like to come and join us for that, even if you’re not serving that would be awesome! What an amazing privilege, to bring the service to the Lord. (And you get first dibs on any baking!)

Markus is now home but still needs us to keep praying for him.

At the time of writing, Markus hasn’t done another poop since the first one he did in hospital. Please pray that his bowel would stablise and work consistently and effectively.

Also, there are still some gaps on the meal roster if anyone is able to support the Bain family in this way as they navigate Markus’s recovery. To sign up click here.

We’re in the first couple of weeks of a new series in 1 Peter, Trial By Fire. It’s written to a church who are suffering persecution and Peter writes to encourage them to stand firm (1 Peter 5:12).

However, those searching the letter for obvious words of comfort will be disappointed. Instead, Peter tells them not to be surprised by trials and persecution and continually points them to the example of the sufferings of Jesus.

My problem with this is that I am often surprised by trials that come my way. It makes me wonder what sort of discipleship we have called one another to over the years. Have we emphasised the message that Jesus will make you the best version of yourself and glossed over the consistent messages on suffering? In an effort to encourage people to believe, have we tried to make the gospel more palatable? 

The problem is that while a sanitised gospel message is incomplete, it is also counter-productive.

Ahead of his journey to Antarctica, Ernest Shackleton placed an ad in The Times newspaper stating: 

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honour and recognition in case of success.” Ernest Shackleton, 4 Burlington Street.

Who would reply to that? Well, it’s purported that Shackleton received over 5,000 responses. Not because he called people to comfort and a better life but because he called people to sacrifice.

There is something in our culture that honours sacrifice. We are inspired by stories of people who gave up and endured for a greater cause. And there is no cause greater than the message of the gospel. No prize worth giving up so much for.

Can I suggest that as we pray for and reach out to those in our world, that we don’t give in to the temptation to sanitise the message but lead more openly with the message of Jesus; “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24).

Our world is full of messages about how to be a better you but sorely lacking in the call to suffer for a greater cause. Could it be that this is an aspect of the gospel people desperately need to hear?

Much love,
Simon

Questions to ponder:

• How has the gospel been presented to you throughout your life? Did you perceive it as a call to surrender and sacrifice, or a promise of a better life (or something else)?

• Have you ever felt surprised by troubles that have come your way? What do you think of 1 Peter 4:12-13?

• What do you think the result might be if we shared the gospel without trying as hard to make it seem more palatable to those around us?

• What areas in your life do you currently see yourself willing to suffer for a greater good? Are you willing to suffer for Jesus? Why/why not?

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

This was the update from Karyn on the evening of Friday 23 June:

“This morning Markus woke saying he had a dream that he had to have an enema but as they were getting it ready he tried one last time to poo on his own, and he did. 

Markus was in a lot of pain tonight… he was getting really upset, so we called the doctor to get an enema charted. Then after several times in the toilet and walks round the ward (just like labour!) we were in the bathroom and I was kneeling on the floor…

And he pooped! 💩 

Just as the nurse walked in with the enema. 

I think I have myself a prophet”

Praise God for this huge answer to prayer! Let’s keep praying for this precious boy and that his bowel function would stablise.

While Karyn is in hospital with Markus, and Mike is at home with Jayden and Zeke, if you’d like to support them by taking a meal round for Mike and the boys please add your name to the sign up sheet. Click here.

If you’ve been wondering how you could serve in our local community, here is an opportunity for you to consider.

Strathmore Park Community Centre Trust is looking for a treasurer. The trustees don't have anyone in their networks who is an accountant or otherwise very financially literate.

They wondered if we might have anyone who may fit the bill and be interested in serving the Strathmore community in this way? It would be a small amount of time needed in the role. Fiona, the Community Center Manager does all the Xero work, so it's really about managing the risk and checking she isn’t being incompetent or dishonest! The trustees have an evening meeting six times per year that you would need to attend.

If you would like to find out more, please contact Fiona directly.

manager@spcc.org.nz

022 5062288