I wonder how you’re going. I know a number of people and families where there are significant challenges going on. And even if you’re doing well right now, all of us will face situations where we don’t have the wisdom or strength to take the next step.

As I’ve contemplated the things I’m struggling with right now, I’ve found a promise to claim in Paul’s experience.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:8-10.

Paul’s statement here is another example of how Jesus takes things that we’re familiar with and turns them on their head. In our world, we boast about progress, about power, about self-sufficiency. We see weakness as something to be avoided at all costs. Yet Paul learned to see it as something to celebrate.

I think we get the fact that we want God to help us but we’re really just after a top-up. “God, I haven’t quite got what’s needed here but if you could just top me up with a little power, that would be great.”

But in this situation, weakness is not celebrated. This can’t therefore be what Paul means.

Paul’s understanding is richer and deeper than that. He could boast about weakness because he understood that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. Perfect means made complete. When we contribute nothing, God is able to contribute everything. He does this because the currency by which God operates is grace - he does everything in our lives as a free gift.

We learn therefore that weakness is not a barrier to God’s work in and through our lives. Rather weakness is a catalyst for power. So when you face weakness, maybe you’d like to turn it into the sort of prayer I’ve been praying this week.

“God thank you for my inability in this situation because I know you’re going to work powerfully. I invite your work in my life again today as a gift of your grace. Amen.”

Much love,
Simon

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

The CAP Hampers this year will be almost the same as last year

1. $50 voucher for The Warehouse

2. Handwritten Card

3. Treat Box to the value of $50 - please wrap each item

Boxes will be available at your local service or the church office. The idea is to put in it some 'goodies' that you wouldn't ordinarily buy, to give to a client for Christmas. Wrap each item individually, and place it in the box along with the card and voucher. 

The changes this year are that we won't be wrapping the outside of the box, just the presents inside. Also, where possible we will have the boxes coded so you have a better idea of what to provide. This will be as follows: SM - single male, SF -single female, C - Couple, F- family. There will be some G  (Generic) as we need a few non-specific. 

 THE TREAT BOX

The idea is to spark some joy for the client with a few luxury items. Who doesn't like to receive a wrapped parcel, and have no idea what is inside? This is not supposed to be an Emergency Food Parcel, but something memorable and encouraging.

 Points to note:

• No alcohol, although other beverages are fine.

• No money

• Nothing perishable.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Last 2 weeks of October: Empty boxes available for collection

Last 2 weeks of November: Filled boxes to be returned to your location.

Collect and return boxes to your location or the Life Centre on Mondays, Tuesdays or Thursdays between 9 am to 4 pm.

We hope you have fun putting this together, and we value the prayers that you offer up for the client you are blessing. 

Any queries, please get in touch.

Merrie Reddington

merrie.reddington@capnz.org

CAP Hampers 2022

The CAP Hampers this year will be almost the same as last year

1. $50 voucher for The Warehouse

2. Handwritten Card

3. Treat Box to the value of $50 - please wrap each item

Boxes will be available at your local service or the church office. The idea is to put in it some 'goodies' that you wouldn't ordinarily buy, to give to a client for Christmas. Wrap each item individually, and place it in the box along with the card and voucher. 

The changes this year are that we won't be wrapping the outside of the box, just the presents inside. Also, where possible we will have the boxes coded so you have a better idea of what to provide. This will be as follows: SM - single male, SF -single female, C - Couple, F- family. There will be some G  (Generic) as we need a few non-specific. 

 THE TREAT BOX

The idea is to spark some joy for the client with a few luxury items. Who doesn't like to receive a wrapped parcel, and have no idea what is inside? This is not supposed to be an Emergency Food Parcel, but something memorable and encouraging.

 Points to note:

• No alcohol, although other beverages are fine.

• No money

• Nothing perishable.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Last 2 weeks of October: Empty boxes available for collection

Last 2 weeks of November: Filled boxes to be returned to your location.

Collect and return boxes to your location or the Life Centre on Mondays, Tuesdays or Thursdays between 9 am to 4 pm.

We hope you have fun putting this together, and we value the prayers that you offer up for the client you are blessing. 

Any queries, please get in touch.

Merrie Reddington

merrie.reddington@capnz.org

One of my heroes is Eliud Kipchoge. On 13 October last year, he ran a marathon in under 2 hours. It’s ridiculous. Imagine running 100 metres in 17 seconds and then repeating it 421 times. He’d attempted the same feat before around a remote racing circuit in Italy with shallow corners so he didn’t have to slow down. His second attempt was on a course with slower corners. This time, however, it was in central Vienna and packed with cheering crowds. I wonder how many seconds he saved by being spurred on by others.

Barnabas is one of the Bible’s great encouragers (his name even means “Son of Encouragement”). He arrived in Antioch to encourage the church to stay true to the faith (Acts 11:24) and while he was there a great number came to faith and large numbers were equipped. I wonder how much of this growth came because of an environment of encouragement?

As we move on through Acts, encouragement becomes so important that the apostles kept visiting churches that had been established to strengthen and encourage. It gets mentioned again and again and is again associated with a church strong in the faith and growing in numbers (Acts 16:5).

Encouragers are critical to healthy churches. They’re like the crowds that come alongside tiring runners and spur them on to take the next step.

I realise that encouragement is a spiritual gift (Romans 12:8) but I don’t think that lets the rest of us off. I don’t get to be passive simply because it’s not my gift. Rather, we’re to look to those who are great encouragers and learn from them. Imagine the environment we’d create in our church if each of us made time to encourage one person every day. I bet that’s the sort of church my friends would want to be a part of. Maybe that’s why encouragement and growth come together.

So today my encouragement to you is simply this… Who can you encourage today?

Much love,
Simon

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

We are grateful to the Methodist Church for letting us use the Miramar Uniting building over the past two years. This has always been on a year-by-year basis and we continually trust God to provide.

For next year, we have been informed that they are negotiating with a new user. They are keen for other users to continue in the building and so if their use is not for Sundays, we may be able to stay on. They have assured us that The Street has been included in their discussions.

We are so grateful for how God has provided up until now and we know He’ll continue. Let’s all be praying about this and please let us know if God puts something on your heart.

We run a free community dinner every Wednesday night in Strathmore. Our usual venue is Strathmore Community Centre but while they have been closed for renovations we have been using Kahurangi School hall. Kahurangi are going to be starting their own building work in November and so we need to find another venue to use for our dinners until the Community Centre reopens next year. Please pray with us that the Lord would provide somewhere that’s super accessible for the people who bus or walk from Strathmore to the dinner.

We are now underway with our new mini-series which is part of our “Pillars” series’. This mini-series is called “Origins”. Why is there something instead of nothing? Who am I? Why am I here? Why are things the way they are in the world? We don’t often take time to consider the bigger questions in life and yet how we answer them makes a big difference in how we see the world and how we live. In this series, we head back to the very beginning to explore the unique way in which Christianity answers these questions. Simon will be kicking it off in Genesis 1 - we hope you can make it!

I had a friend called Kev. His brothers were big and tall and Kev was pretty short. But whenever someone reminded him of his lack of height, he’d invariably reply, “It’s not the cards you’re dealt, it’s the way you play ‘em.”

One of my favourite Bible characters is Barnabas. He was such an encourager and a prominent leader. When he was in Antioch, large numbers of people came to faith and many were taught (Acts 11:22-26).

Then you get a character like Stephen. He was chosen to be in charge of waiting on tables and making sure food was distributed fairly while the apostles focused on prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4).

The question is, who had the more important role? Who was dealt the ‘best hand’ in terms of the gifts God had given them? In many people’s minds, I think someone like Barnabas is seen as more important than Stephen.

But take a closer look and you will find a profound similarity. Both men are described as being full of the Spirit and faith (Acts 6:5; 11:24). In fact, this was the reason Stephen was chosen even though his role was really practical. It reminds me that what is most important is not the role we play but whether we play that role in a faith-filled and empowered way. It’s not about prominence, a roster, or the size of the group. It’s about the supernatural enabling of the Spirit. Are we filled with faith and the Holy Spirit?

And so today, I simply want to give you three things to help that happen:

Come prayed up.
Take some time to pray for the group or gathering you’re a part of. Pray for everyone who’ll be there, pray that people will encounter the power and presence of Jesus, pray that God will empower you to play your part.

Come with open ears.
Be attentive to the whisper or nudge of the Holy Spirit. Maybe you’ll notice someone that needs encouragement or prayer. Maybe he’ll help you see something that needs doing. Maybe God will nudge you to do something you’ve never done before. The point is to be attentive to his prompting.

Come with expectation.
We know that God is at work in building His church and He has gifted us to participate. We know that He is faithful to give the Spirit to those who ask. When we posture ourselves to say, “Lord, would you help me be a blessing to your church today,” we can be sure he’ll answer.

Imagine how we’ll grow as each one of us plays the part God has created us to play in a spiritually empowered way. Imagine the things God will do amongst us and the stories we’ll share. Let the most important thing not be the cards we’ve been dealt but the Spirit-empowered way in which we play them.

Much love,
Simon

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

The community centre on Strathmore Avenue has been closed this year for major renovations. As they gear up to reopen in the next few months they are fundraising to buy some new furniture. If any of you would like to help there are 2 ways you can do so!

Movie Fundraiser - Mrs Harris Goes to Paris - Sunday 30th October 3pm at Penthouse Brooklyn. Tickets are $25. Contact Fiona Prestidge on 022 5062288 to request tickets.

Vote at Z Broadway - Each time you buy fuel (or snacks!) at Z Broadway, until 24 October, you can put your little token in the box to vote for Strathmore Park Community Centre. The more votes they get, the bigger the proportion of $4,000 they will receive.

It has been such a blessing to have been in the Miramar Uniting building for nearly 2 years now. Our current arrangement is only guaranteed until the end of this year so we have just reached out to find out where things are at. Please pray with us for God’s continued provision for a place to gather on Sundays - whether it be here or somewhere else. We’ll update you with any news!

The Massive youth have headed off to Foxton for the weekend for their annual camp. Let’s be lifting them up in prayer for safety, fun, but more than anything that they would encounter the Lord powerfully. They’re up there until Monday!

Imagine that you’re inserted into somebody else’s life for a day. You get to do what they do, feel what they feel, love what they love and see things the way they do. I imagine it would be quite an unnerving experience because there would be so much that just wouldn’t make sense. Why do they love that thing so much? Why are they so nervous about that situation? After all, it’s never bothered you before.

One of the reasons I think it would be so confusing is that it would be hard to make sense of what’s going on for them now when you don’t understand what’s gone before. We are all the products of our history.

If this is true on a micro scale, it’s also true at the macro. If you don’t know what’s happened in the life of an individual, it’s hard to understand their current reality. In the same way, if you don’t have an understanding of the origins of humanity, it’s hard to make sense of our collective present reality. We live in a world where we’re trying to make sense of what’s going on. We’re grappling with big issues that affect real people like assisted dying, climate change and gender identity. And it’s even more difficult to talk about these things when we don’t know where we all came from in the beginning.

Last year we began a set of miniseries called ‘Pillars’ where we’re building a framework of the things Christians have always believed. We’ve looked at Scripture, at Trinity, and in two weeks, we’re beginning a series called Origins about creation, humanity and the fall.

If I’m honest, it’s Origins that really started the ball rolling on Pillars itself. Why does it matter that God created the world? What does it mean to be made in the image of God? What really changed in Genesis 3? Why does any of this matter now?

These questions are critical bits of timber in the framework of our faith. They influence every aspect of our lives and yet we rarely talk about them. Our hope and prayer is that as we get the basics in place, we’ll have a far richer understanding of how to follow Jesus in this cultural context and be more prepared to grapple with some of our world’s most pressing questions.

I’m so looking forward to this series. Please pray for us as we prepare and get stuck in when it starts on 16 October.

Much love,
Simon

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

We are in the very beginning stages of planning what our services around Christmas will look like this year. If you love Christmas and think you’d like to be involved in planning what we do this year, please get in touch and Jenny will make sure you’re invited to the first planning meeting.

There are a group of 20 year 6-8s who have gone away to iCamp this weekend. Today (Sunday) is their last day of camp but let’s be praying that these young people would encounter Jesus while they’re away and that the effects would last well beyond today. 

Our lives seem to be filled with many things. We have things we’d love to do, problems we’d love to solve, challenges we’d love to overcome. We find these things across our physical, spiritual, mental, relational, educational and vocational worlds. Where do you even start?

I’m reading a book at the moment that I’m finding really interesting and helpful. It’s called The One Thing by Gary Keller. He challenges people to ask one question, “What is the one thing that you can do which by so doing, everything else becomes easier or unnecessary.” I’ve found it such a clarifying question in working out what to prioritise.

It reminds me of the well-known account of Mary and Martha. Martha is worried about many things that needed to be done while her sister was just sitting at the feet of Jesus listening.

Notice that Martha was busy with the things that needed to be done. There is no suggestion that her efforts were meaningless. She was trying to be a great host for the guests in her home. But Jesus gently calls her out. 

“Martha, Martha… you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed - or indeed only one.” Luke 10:41

Worried and upset about many things sounds a lot like me a lot of the time. I wonder if you can relate. And yet Jesus calls Martha away from the many things to the one thing. To sit at His feet and listen.

The more I think about my one thing, the more I realise how many times, across all areas of my life, it really comes down to the same thing. Being in the presence of Jesus. Making sure that I have time to sit at His feet and talk to Him, worship Him and listen to Him in His word.

As a church, we’re going to be making more time for encountering Jesus together whether in corporate prayer, worship nights or in our services and Life Groups. It’s something we’re exploring with our staff team too. But it can also be something you look to do on your own or with 1 or 2 others. Create space to “sit at the feet of Jesus” in worship and adoration. I wonder how many other things will be easier or unnecessary if we prioritise this one thing.

Much love,
Simon

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

Over the weeks of Monday 3rd October - Saturday 15th October, we are having two dedicated serve weeks. We want to meet felt needs and provide help that is needed locally. We would love to help in a way that reveals the love of God and brings renewal. This is just a start! We hope that these two weeks we do together, enable you to find opportunities to meet felt needs in your own communities that you live and work in.

There are a range of opportunities so sign up to one that works for you! You are more than welcome to sign up to more than one, you just need to register separately for each one. If you sign up to one and can no longer make it, email night@thestreet.org.nz and we can find someone to switch out for you :-)

To register head to The Church Center Registration page

I’ve been reflecting on Galatians 5 and 6 this week. It fits really nicely with our series in Micah where he’s calling Israel back to the Mosaic covenant - back to loving God and loving people.

Paul is challenging the people to walk in freedom from the Mosaic law and to simply trust in Christ. What’s interesting is that while the law was left behind, God’s purpose remained. Paul told them not to use their freedom to serve themselves but rather to serve one another humbly in love (Gal 6:13). What changed in Jesus is not the call to love others but the empowerment to actually live it out.

In pursuit of these goals, Paul instructed them to walk by the Spirit (5:16), be led by the Spirit (5:18) and to sow to please the Spirit. It was to be a participative not passive process. As we do these things, we open ourselves up to God producing fruit in our lives that leads to us being people who truly love and serve others.

But what does it mean to “sow” to please the Spirit? If you think about seeds, they look small and insignificant. They are nothing like the crops or flowers you want to end up with. Nevertheless, you sow something into the ground, cover it up and a hidden process transforms the seed.

I wonder if there is a parallel here for us. The call to love and serve others is hard because we’re not talking about one off kind gestures. This is a posture for our whole lives. But God is not calling us to create the finished product - that’s his job. Our job is to participate with him by sowing seeds.

Sowing seeds then must be taking ownership of the things that are in our control. It’s creating habits of daily devotion in Scripture, prayer and worship. It’s prioritising gathering with the church. It’s looking for ways to faithfully serve those around you or giving generously to those in need. In fact, it’s any decision you make that prioritises others over yourself. These things can seem small but that’s ok, they’re just seeds. But it’s in these small seeds that God is in hidden work, transforming you into a fruitful person who is consistently growing in love for others. 

So why not use these question as a lens through which to see the decisions you have to make today. With what I am about to do, am I seeking to please the Spirit or myself? Am I deciding what’s best for me or others?

Much love,
Simon

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

The Street Church has been approached by the Wellington Christian Education Project regarding using the Life Centre for a Christian School in the CBD.

We have come to a place as Elders and leaders where we believe this could be something the Lord is calling us into. The next step for us is to invite feedback from the wider church on this question. Please be assured that our desire to enter consultation is genuine, and any commitment is contingent on this process. To support this process, we have put together a document outlining the nature of the commitment and providing answers to questions we expect you to have. You can read it here.

If you are part of our church community, then please take some time to prayerfully consider this proposal and then send comments and questions to questions@thestreet.org.nz. The deadline for this is 25 September.

There are more locations to The Street than just East and it’s great to celebrate what’s happening with our wider church family!

Last weekend was Night Camp - our Night location which is mainly students and young adults that meet at Mt Vic, headed away for the weekend. Anna says, "We are celebrating such a great time at camp! The words that come to mind to sum up the weekend are surrender & re-surrender, friendship, vulnerability before the Lord, perspective shift and rest!"

Also, congratulations to Jerram and Gabby (Lead Pastors of City) who welcomed a new baby girl into their family last weekend. Madeline Ruth Watts was born Friday 2 September at 11.34pm

If you are on our database you should have received the church update by email last week. Please have a look at it if you haven’t already and if you have any questions or feedback you have until 25th September to provide this. You can email your feedback to questions@thestreet.org.nz