Opawa Baptist Church :: a resting place

Pastor's para

I am just back from 2 weeks in the United States. It is so good to be home, back in my own bed. I will be enjoying going through the mail and catching up with family. It is an important time. But if I were to spend the rest of the year at home, with my mail and my family, you will probably think I am selfish.

It is an important life principle. It is easy to be consumed by our own needs and concerns. This applies both as individuals and as a church.

Hence Self Denial. Once a year we remind ourselves that we as Opawa Baptist exist not for ourselves. We use material from Tranzsend, the Baptist missionary agency, as a tool to help us explore our values and our lifestyles.

The theme of Self Denial this year is “Found Wanting.” In the face of world poverty, will we focus on our own needs, or the needs of others? In the face of God’s love for this world, will we focus on our own needs, or the needs of others? Financially as a church we are slightly behind budget. It is tempting to focus less on Self Denial. But that would cause us to be “Found Wanting.”

Practically, there is a “Found Wanting”clay bowl available for everyone to take home. Over 3 weeks we will focus on the theme of the theme of Found Wanting - in our prayer, worship, preaching. Each of us are invited to consider what we might give in prayer and finances. Sunday 23 July we will collect up the bowls and give the money to the work of God in the world outside New Zealand.

Let us use the weeks of Self Denial to consider our life balance.

Pastor's para

God@work. What does the Bible say about the meaning of work? How can churches equip people for their marketplace roles? What does it mean to love God and neighbour – heart, soul and mind – in our daily life? These are questions key to Opawa Baptist’s vision: enabling people to walk and grow with Jesus and reflecting his love in our communities and beyond.

To help us focus on this, over the next months I am offering the following resources
God@work sermon 1: June 25
God@work sermon 2: July 31
God@work study group: 3 weeks of discussion and interaction in August (either Monday evenings or Saturday mornings).

My first hope is that two sermons will cause 30 of us at Opawa to be part of a God@work study group – 3 weeks of talking, learning, applying, praying more together.

My second hope is that 15 of those 30 people will realise that this issue is essential to their mission as part of Opawa and is bigger than a 3 week study group. These 15 people will decide a way to meet regularly to pray and resource each other.

My third hope is that 2 or 3 people from Opawa will emerge to provide ongoing facilitation of this regular God@work resourcing. (2 people have expressed interest and I think we need one more male leader).

Today we start this God@work process. Welcome to Wayne Kirkland, married to Jill, with 3 daughters. Wayne is a Wellington car dealer and works for Signposts Communication. He is co-author of “Where’s God on Monday?” and “SoulPurpose – making a difference in life and work.” He’s got a lot to offer us as we think about God@work.

Pastor's para

Some things I have been praying for this week:

Offerings: I’ve been thankful for the upward trends in offerings...

Spirited Exchanges: This is a new ministry in our midst that offers a monthly listening space for people struggling with issues in relation to faith and church. It was meant to be gathering for a second time on Monday, the day that it snowed... It’s not easy starting something, especially when Christchurch freezes!

Junior Doctors in our congregation, who have needed such wisdom this week, discerning between competing loyalties to friends, colleagues and patients needs, both in the short and long-term.

Traveling Steve: I fly out to Idaho, USA, mid-afternoon Sunday June 18 to speak at a conference on Ministry in a Postmodern Context, followed by participation in an International Think Tank on Mission to Western Culture. I am at both events because of my blend of local church pastoring and Bible College lecturing i.e. a “thinking practitioner”. I return Saturday July 1. By nature I am a flightless bird, so I have been praying for smooth travel, quick re-adjustment of the body clock and that the remaining Taylor family won’t feel too “left behind.”

God as Trinity

This is Rublevs Icon (Click here for a higher res (156K) copy). I had a go at using it for a children's talk on Sunday. Would this piece of artistic theology hold 35 kids attention? It did, for about 10 minutes.

I want to show you a picture. A very old picture, painted about 600 years ago.
Much older than your parents or even your grandparents.

I want to show you a picture because
600 years ago not many people went to school.
Not many kids learnt how to read and write.

And if you didn't know how to read and write,
Then you wouldn’t be able to read a Bible.

So to help people understand God 600 years ago,
church ministers used to paint pictures
So that people who couldn’t read and write,
could still learn about God.

So, I am going to ask you to use our eyes; to look;
To think about what we can learn about God from this picture?

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Let me ask you some questions. How many people are in this picture? (Ans) Three people.

And can you see that all 3 people have got exactly the same circle, the same "halo" around their head. That's the glow of God;

Now, these 3 people, what colours are they wearing? (Ans) 4 colours – green; brown; blue; gold. (Give out bits of coloured material to each kid that gets it right.)

Let's start with blue. 600 years ago, blue was the colour people painted God. Blue was God’s colour.

How many of the people are wearing blue? (Ans) All wearing blue.

Three people, all with circle, halos around their heads. All wearing blue, the colour of God. So, the painter of this picture was saying that these 3 people are God.

What are the 3 people holding? (Ans) All holding a long stick. Exactly the same length.

Now, look at their hands. What hand is holding the stick? (Ans) Wave it for me. Left or right? Their right hand is holding the stick. All 3 right hands are holding the stick.

Now look at their other hand, their left hand, show me with your hand what that hand looks like? (Ans) All the left hands have 2 fingers pointing down.

So, using our eyes, we can see that the painter is saying that these people are the same; same halos; same blue, the colour for God; same holding a staff in the same right hand; same pointing their fingers the same way.

Three people, who are God, who are all exactly the same.

Yet as well as being exactly the same, these three people are also different.

One person has green. Can you point out which one? (Ans) This side closest to us.

Green is the colour of spring, the colour of things that grow; That green person is the Holy Spirit of God – wants you, and this church, to be green and grow.

One person has brown. Can you point out which one? (Ans)Middle
Brown is the colour of dirt. That brown person is Jesus, who came to earth, put his feet on the ground, felt dirt between his feet.

One person is gold. Can you point out which one? (Ans) The side farthest from us. That person is God the Father. Gold because of beauty and God who created a beautiful earth.

And so the painter is using a picture to tell us about God.
That God is three persons
Spirit in green to help us grow
Jesus in brown walked in dirt.
The Father who created this beautiful earth.

And the painter is saying that Christians do not worship 3 Gods;
Because these 3 persons are also exactly the same; all wearing blue; all with a halo, all holding a staff, all hands the same. Christians worship one God, who is 3 persons.

And in the centre is what? A table.

What’s sitting on top of the table? It’s a cup.

That’s to symbolize communion. Have bread and juice in a cup.

Now I need 3 volunteers; who will sit around this coffee table. (throw cloth over the volunteers; repeat)
Spirit in green to help us grow
Jesus in brown because he walked on earth.
The Father who created beautiful world

3 persons who exactly the same – All wearing blue; All with a halo, all holding a staff, all hands the same.

Christians worship one God, who is 3 persons.

And in the centre is what? (Ans) A table.

What's sitting on top of the table? (Ans). It's a cup. That's to symbolize communion. Have bread and juice in a cup.

Now I need 3 volunteers; who will sit around this coffee table. (throw cloth over the volunteers; repeat)
Spirit in green to help us grow
Jesus in brown because he walked on earth.
The Father who created beautiful world
3 persons who exactly the same – All wearing blue; All with a halo, all holding a staff, all hands the same. Christians worship one God, who is 3 persons.

But one side is empty. Any guesses who could sit here? (Ans) Any person who is looking at this picture. It could be you, or me, or any child, or any adult.

This painting is inviting us to sit at God's table. Not to be scared of God. But to enjoy eating and talking with God, around God's table. Which is what prayer is. Talking to God, like you’re at the dinner table. This is what it means to be a Christian. Any person, welcome to sit and talk with God.

So there we are. There's a lot we can learn about God from this picture.

Now I am going to invite you children to leave. And I am going to invite the adults to continue to think about this picture.

This picture is painted by a Russian, a man called Rublev. And so this painting is called Rublevs Icon. Icon is a word that means "window onto God". This icon is designed to take us into the Mystery of the Trinity.

God is three and one; three persons; one substance, one in shared love.

I love the eyes. The way that Jesus, in the middle, has his head bowed to the Father, the one in gold. I love the way the Father is looking at the Spirit, the one in green. I love the way way the Spirit is bowed, looking at Jesus.

There's a sense that you can draw a circle, between the three; A look of love that flows around and around between the 3 persons of the Trinity.

So the Trinity is not something to think about and puzzle over; how can 1 be 3 and 3 be 1. Trinity is something to worship, to look, and to feel our hearts wonder and be blessed by seeing the flow of God’s love.

In Russia they used to say that a "theologian/God thinker" was not someone who just thought about God with their head. A theologian/God thinker was someone who had loved God head and with their eyes, who allowed themselves to be caught up into the flow of God's love.

And so we look at this picture,
And we imagine ourselves invited to seated at that table.
To imagine ourselves standing inside the flow of God’s love.

Let's take a few minutes of silence.
Imagine yourself invited to that table.
Imagine yourself taking a seat.
Imagine yourself in the Trinitarian flow of love.

What is God saying to you? What might you be saying to God?

Reflection on the Pentecost Art Installation

The installations, designed to look like lightening, depicted the Spirit descending at Pentecost, with the little houses symbolising God coming to dwell amongst us intimately. The leaves descending with the branches were fresh live leaves stitched together. The leaves scattered under each branch depicted the Spirit striking the earth and spreading out in an explosive fashion.

Using tortured willow spoke of the pain of the birth of the church. Their sensual form reflects God’s extravagant love for us all. The fact that the branches weren’t worked by machine but were all worked by hand spoke of the hands-on physical involvement of God in the formation and birth of the church. The tips of the branches were sharpened, like lightening, dangerous and unpredictable.

Sycamore seeds released from the ceiling spun down amongst the branches and leaves as a symbol of the Spirit. The seed contains everything that a sycamore is, and has the potential to become a mature tree, just as the Spirit contains everything God is.

The hope is that this installation will grow and be added to next year.

Pete the Painter

(More pics here)

Congratulations

To Michial and Lawrence
on the safe arrival of
Elyjah Thomas
(Born Sunday 4 June)

Pastors para

During the week we have gathered to pray for our life as a church; 9 people on Monday, 20 on Tuesday, 25 on Wednesday (including 17 young people), 12 on Thursday. (Is that a good turn out? Do the numbers matter?)
Thanks to Sylvia, Alastair, Paul and Anne and Rebecca who provided prayer leadership. Thanks to the Ministry Leaders who provided information as fuel for prayer. Thanks to all those who prayed, both at home and at church.

On Friday and Saturday evening we gathered to enjoy the gifts in our community; to enjoy our brains, our storytellers, our musicians. On Saturday over 60 people booked to learn and grow through teaching. We explored the Scriptures wanting to understand more about the Spirit and Jesus and the Spirit and Church. We expressed our learning in practical, hands-on ways. People flew down from Tauranga and Auckland to join with Opawa folk and learn from Peter and Joyce Majendie about Easter and Christmas Journeys. Thanks to all those who gave of themselves to make such a rich and lively weekend.
We gather today on Pentecost Sunday. Our worship invites each of us to step into the gift of God’s Spirit. As it says in 2 Timothy 1:7; “God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.”

May this be your experience this Pentecost week.

on wednesday and thursday

This is the week leading up to Pentecost. Like the early disciples in the Upper Room in Acts 1, the church is gathering to pray each day ...

On Wednesday 17 of our young people turned up and young and old prayed together for youth, for mission and for pastoral care.

On Thursday we prayed for spiritual growth, community ministries and worship. Rebecca led us in prayer for the first time.