Church Online: 6pm (NZ Time) – Sunday 31 January

Today at 6pm (NZ Time) we commence a new sermon series looking at the journey that the Israelites took as they headed towards the Promised Land, as found in the Book of Exodus.

In this day and age we too can identify with the Israelites in that our world has been turned upside down by the Covid-19 pandemic that continues to impact our world.

We are living in ‘the land between’, somewhere between the normal of so many months ago and the new normal that is yet to be established, having to navigate change and numerous transitions that become fertile ground for us to respond either negatively or positively.

So, as we continue ‘Church Online’, a facebook live video event which is hosted on our Wellington City Corps page, with links posted on a variety of other pages including the Wellington Citadel Band page. (Link below also). We pray that you will be blessed as we continue to minister in these interesting times that we find ourselves in.

We here in New Zealand are truly blessed to be able to continue meeting together in person while so many around the world are unable to do so. And this week we’ll continue to use some of the musical offerings that have been used throughout the past year, these feature both the Wellington Citadel Band and the Wellington City Worship Team.

These services have been prepared for those in our local community who are unable to join us in person for whatever reason, and also to enable others around the country who have enjoyed what we have to offer in the way of worship; also for those around the world that are currently unable to worship in their own local faith communities.

May God bless you each as you head into the coming week 🙂

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Embrace the change

This year as we continue to live in a world that doesn’t know from one moment to the next if we are going to be going back to some form of normality, I am reminded of the need to embrace the change, and accept that we are going to be living in a very fluid time.

If last year has taught us anything many of us have come to accept that some of the things that we hold on to as “normal” may never return, or at least not in the way that we have become so accustomed to.

Case and point international travel – even this week our Prime Minister here in New Zealand has admitted that ‘normal’ international travel to just about anywhere in the world may be a long way off as countries continue to grapple with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Even limited travel bubbles are on hold as we experience the first community case in approximately 2 months.

Many more countries have or are now in the process of closing their borders and are not anticipating reopening them as per “normal” any time soon – even if the vaccine has been successfully distributed in a particular country.

Expect managed isolation stays and limited travel unless you have been vaccinated as a ‘new normal’.

So how does this affect us in the church? We too need to embrace the change!

I say this because things are not going to necessarily be the same as we strive to comprehend what ‘new thing‘ God is doing in our communities and as we move to impact them with Christ’s message of life and hope – How church will look will very different to what they were just a few short years ago.

Some propose that many churches will not return to pre-covid attendance numbers and that if they do, it will be in a variety of different ways.

i.e. multiple services over multiple days and different times, or even in different locations / settings / buildings etc. and the list could go on…

One of the main examples of change that we need to embrace is the digital world – many churches and Corps around the world have pivoted (the latest buzz word) to use facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram to not only keep congregational members connected, but also enabling them to continue worshipping in the comfort of their homes. Which for some didn’t happen previously as when they were unable to attend the Sunday morning service for whatever reason they simply missed out.

In the latest edition of The Officer (A quarterly magazine for Officers of The Salvation Army) the General (Brian Peddle) asks; “‘Who knew’ what opportunities the digital world would offer?”

He goes on to write; “I note, with deep admiration, the courage of those who have literally ‘moved the Army online’. Who knew…

that worship around the world was possible without leaving my couch? (Thank you!)

that an iPad passed through a letter box to a senior who is shielding (protecting people who are at high risk from coronavirus) allowed for the best pastoral visit ever?

that our online prayer meeting at IHQ could grow from 10 in attendance to 60, overnight?

that you can still kneel in your home and respond to the message, accept Christ and give your testimony (online) two weeks later?

The General goes on to say; “In celebrating our digital engagement and our online presence, I joked with a colleague, ‘Wouldn’t it be a good day if the headline could read: “Christians crash the Internet”?’ The Church is not closed! The Church is alive, living and breathing in each missional heart of those who follow and call Him Lord. We will find a way…

So, what does the ‘next normal’ look like? I see…

an Army that has recaptured its creative and adaptive spirit – we can do this!

an Army that is not held back by anything that prevents it in furthering the cause of Christ – Lord, set us free!

an Army that takes its stand, not one that is stuck on immovables, but an Army that pivots and is always turning toward the needs of people, and finally,

an Army that is outward facing, responding to its call to mission – ready, engaged and taking responsibility.

My challenge to The Salvation Army, to us as its leaders, is, ‘don’t re-embrace our “old normal” as if it is the best that God can do’.

‘See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland’ (Isaiah 43:19)

I propose to you that there is no evidence, biblically or in God’s narrative with his people, that the ‘old model’ is the only thing we must do… He is doing a new thing! Don’t miss it!           

Major Martin Gossauer, editor of The Officer adds: “In this time of great need and adversity, there are also positive outcomes: more people are hearing and sharing the gospel online; more people are praying; more people are taking care of and talking to their neighbours. Some church doors may be closed, but we are reminded: we don’t go to church we are the church; The Salvation Army is not a building, the Army is us – you and me, God working through us!”

So, as we approach this new year may we all be reminded that God is doing a “new thing“, and we need to reimagine how we do church in this fluid time that we find ourselves in. We need to embrace the change, even if we don’t fully understand it or even want to, as God is in the business of moving people forward in their journey of faith – just look at the lessons learnt by the Israelites in Exodus as they spent time being led by God in search of the promised land (I’m pretty sure He knew where he was leading them to).

This is something that we will be looking at as Annette starts a new sermon series this coming weekend as we explore ‘the land between’.

And yes this journey may be daunting and scary, a number of us might not be entirely happy with where we are heading – but with God on our side nothing is impossible and we will get through this into a much better place.

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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Sunday 24 January – Recap

If you were unable to join us last Sunday at 10:30am in-house, or at 6pm when we hosted ‘Church Online’ via our facebook pages; Wellington City Corps or Wellington Citadel Band, you can have a recap of what we covered during our meeting by clicking on the video link below.

This week I unpacked the importance of our local Corps mission “to bring life and hope to the Inner City of Wellington” and beyond; asking the question “how are we doing in achieving this aim?”

Or to word it slightly differently; how are we / you doing in ‘bringing people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ’. After-all ultimately this should be the aim for us all as Christ followers – Making Him known!

The thing is as Bishop Wellington Boone said;”When God gives you a passion for souls, the church becomes a sending station instead of a resort location“.

He goes on to say that “wherever we go we will take the light of hope that burns inside.” 

We hope and pray that through the words and music that you hear, and the many talents used in His service to bring this meeting to you each week, that you will be uplifted in your spirit and encouraged as you continue trusting in God and living out your journey of faith. Knowing that through His Holy Spirit He goes with you, He is walking beside you, and He is also preparing a way forward for you.

(The Scripture Reading and Message starts @ 12:35 mins)       

 

You can subscribe to our YouTube channel and / or follow us on facebook to keep up to date with what is going on in our faith community.

God bless and have a good one 🙂

 

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Choose Joy

Every morning as part of my devotions & prayers I am reminded of the choice I have in how I approach each new day;

“I choose to rejoice in God’s righteousness and mercy today, joining with the ancient praise of all God’s people in the words of a certain Psalm.“

And over the past few weeks I’ve been guided through the beatitudes, via the Lectio 365 prayer app which you can download here. 

I have also read a number of blogs and other articles in various publications and the following one ‘Cultivating a Life of Worship‘ written by Dallas Willard on the Renovaré site has stood out for me, and the portion I’m sharing below is something I keep coming back too: 

“Love is the foun­da­tion of the spir­i­tu­al life and joy is a key com­po­nent in the Christ life. Joy is not plea­sure, a mere sen­sa­tion, but a per­va­sive and con­stant sense of well-being. Hope in the good­ness of God is joy’s indis­pens­able support. 

In a moment of wor­ship and praise, Paul spon­ta­neous­ly expressed a bene­dic­tion on the Chris­tians in Rome: ​“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believ­ing, that you may abound in hope by the pow­er of the Holy Spir­it” Romans 15:13 (New American Standard Bible). This verse address­es the pro­found needs of the emo­tion­al side of the Chris­tian’s life. 

The great cen­tral terms of life in Christ are ​“faith,” ​“hope,” ​“love,” and ​“peace.” These are not just feel­ings; in sub­stance, they are not feel­ings. They are con­di­tions involv­ing every part of an indi­vid­u­al’s life, includ­ing the body and the social con­text. They serve to equip us for the engage­ments of life. They do, how­ev­er, have feel­ings that accom­pa­ny them, and these pos­i­tive feel­ings abun­dant­ly char­ac­ter­ize those liv­ing in the pres­ence of God.

These feel­ings dis­place the bit­ter and angry feel­ings, that char­ac­ter­ize life ​“in the flesh” — life in human ener­gies only. They even trans­form the sick­en­ing emo­tion­al tones that per­me­ate and large­ly gov­ern the world around us — even many times the Church world. 

Jesus taught us to abide in God’s love ​“that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” John 15:10 – 11 (New American Standard Bible). Our joy is full when there is no room for more. Abid­ing in God’s love pro­vides the unshak­able source of joy, which is in turn the source of peace. All is based in the real­i­ty of God’s grace and goodness. 

Faith, hope, love, joy, and peace—the ​“mag­nif­i­cent five” — are insep­a­ra­ble from one anoth­er and rec­i­p­ro­cal­ly sup­port each oth­er. Try to imag­ine any one with­out the others!“

So as we approach the next day, week, or month let’s approach it with an attitude of ‘joy!’ For that is a choice we each can make – regardless of what is going on in our world, and will help us get through those things that could have us focusing on the wrong things. As James alludes to in his letter “to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” (refer to James 1, New International Version).

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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The latest War Cry is now available!

The latest War Cry is now available!

You can pick up a copy for free from your local Salvation Army centre or read it online here.

This online service is made available by the team at Issue.com and you can view or download a copy right to your computer.

As always there are an array of different articles and features within the War Cry which will inspire people of all ages and stages in life, including a feature on embracing life’s obstacles.

Why not help get the word out there by sharing this post via facebook, or forward the links on to others 🙂

You can also view / download previous publications here.

 

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Church Online: 6pm (NZ Time) – Sunday 24 January

Today at 6pm (NZ Time) we continue ‘Church Online’ a facebook live video event which is hosted on our Wellington City Corps page, with links posted on a variety of other pages including the Wellington Citadel Band page. (Link below also).

This week we’ll be continuing to use some of the musical offerings that have been used throughout the past year, these feature both the Wellington Citadel Band and the Wellington City Worship Team. We pray that you will be blessed as we continue to minister in these interesting times that we find ourselves in.

We here in New Zealand are truly blessed to be able to continue meeting together in person while so many around the world are unable to do so. These services have been prepared for those in our local community who are unable to join us in person for whatever reason, and also to enable others around the country who have enjoyed what we have to offer in the way of worship; also for those around the world that are currently unable to worship in their own local faith communities.

May God bless you each as you head into the coming week 🙂

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