Readings
Exodus 3: 1-15 
Matthew 16:21-28

God of all earth and sky,
You shaped us from your own ground into being,
You breathed spirit into our souls,
You breathed word into our ears.
You meet us in unexpected places
calling us to turn aside and hear your Holy voice.
Here we are, Holy God:
open, waiting,
hoping to meet you and to know you more deeply, more fully, more wholly, through Jesus Christ, your son, our lord.

Todays' Sermon can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/ZQ0Ieh162zc

Readings 
Romans 12:1-8 
Matthew 16:13-20
 
Whenever two or three gather in his name, Jesus is among them.
We gather now to renew our strength and confidence
for our engagement with the world.
May we be surprised by new insights at every fresh encounter,
as the disciples were at Caesarea Philippi.
And may we know Jesus as Messiah,
Son of the living God.
Amen.
 
The sermon for today has been recorded, and you can watch it here:
​https://youtu.be/hjuY4XNAsEY

Genesis 45:1-15: Joseph, who had been sold by his brothers to slavery in Egypt, makes himself known to them when they visit on behalf of their father.
Matthew 15: 21-28: Jesus is confronted by the faith of a Canaanite woman and marvels at the faith of this woman who is an outsider.
 
In todays’ reading from Genesis, we see God at work in a dysfunctional situation bringing good out of bad and life out of death. Joseph shows forgiveness towards his brothers and offers his family refuge from the famine. The victim becomes the Saviour, very much as Jesus did on the Cross of Calvary.
 
View the recording of the sermon here: https://youtu.be/sYjz6og21gI

Readings:
Genesis 37
Romans 8: 26-30
 
This Genesis 37 introduction to the story of Joseph tells us of a dreamer, those who seek to kill off our dreams, and a God who keeps the dream alive, albeit at times only by a thread.
The context of this narrative is impending disaster – a totally debilitating famine in the land of Canaan. So often in human history potential disaster looms on our horizon! In these current days it is climate change, A.I., and the war in Ukraine – a trifecta of looming doom! So this Genesis story, this ancient narrative, is relevant to us today; what does God speak into these times of existential anxiety?
Watch the recording of the sermon here: https://youtu.be/0UuvuN77ELk

Readings:
Genesis 32:22-31: One night, by the river Jabbok, Jacob wrestles with a mysterious visitor.
Matthew 14:13-21: In the wilderness, Jesus miraculously feeds a great multitude, providing bread for them, thus ministering to their needs.
 
Do you, like me, sometimes wake in the middle of the night and reflect on the concerns of your life? I wonder whether these small hours of the night are a time when God wakes us up from sleep for an ‘encounter’ with God?
The night is a time of vulnerability where every shadow hints at a threat to life, a time when we are most susceptible to being wounded, a time when all that haunts our minds and hearts seems to get the best of us.
Our Old Testament reading for today – the story of Jacob wrestling with the unknown stranger by the River Jabbok occurs in the middle of the night.
 
You can watch the recording of the sermon here: https://youtu.be/gUJP_QtG038​

Whatever your struggles, however much you wrestle with questions, big and small, come to worship and receive a glimpse of something more, a taste of greater love.
God is here amongst us as we gather, ready to meet us with whatever we need to restore our hope and encourage our faithfulness.

Readings:
Genesis 29:15-28
Romans 8:26-39
 
Our sermon today takes the reading from Genesis 29 – Jacob’s meeting with and marriages to Rachel and Leah – and considers that in the light of the verse from Romans: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28)
 
The recording of the sermon can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/oBonHRZWNMQ
 

Hear again the promises of God,
made long ago to our ancestor Jacob,
and still true for us today:
I am the Lord your God,
the God of Abraham and Isaac.
Know that I am with you,
and will keep you wherever you go.
I will not leave you
until I have done everything that I have promised.
Let us go in the assurance that our faithful God goes with u

Readings:
Genesis 28: 10-22
Galatians 3: 14-22

Today we are looking at the reading from Genesis 28, when Jacob, as he flees for his life from an agitated and murderous brother, dreams of a ladder extending from earth to heaven, with angels moving up and down. Note that there is two-way traffic, God to us and us to God. The gate to heaven is open. This is a big promise!
 
The full sermon can be watched here: https://youtu.be/4Wc3NoLhXG8​

O God of Jacob,
You speak in the light of day and in the dark of night
when our sleeping is filled with dreams of heaven and earth.
May Jacob’s dream remind us to be open and watchful,
ready to discover Your presence in our midst. Amen.

Genesis 25:19-34:
Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, conceives and gives birth to Esau and Jacob.
Matthew 13:1-9 & 18-23:
Jesus tells the parable of the sower and the seed.
 
 The readings set for this Sunday, when we celebrate Matariki, are quite appropriate. The Genesis story tells of the birth of Esau and Jacob, one a hunter gatherer and the other a shepherd. Two rival ways of life.
 
The recorded sermon can be watched here: https://youtu.be/vUv8c9HL1dU

James 3:1-12 - James cautions on how we can use our tongue unwisely.
In The Message Eugene Peterson writes:
5-6 It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
7-10 This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
​
You watch the recorded sermon here: https://youtu.be/_gh19RqNogo

Gracious God, you meet us in the most unexpected of places; in the moments when your presence seems to have disappeared; in the eyes of a stranger; in the experiences that make us feel the most uncomfortable; in abundance that is found amidst perceived desolation.
We come to worship, giving thanks for the gift of encounter. Through your Spirit’s movement in our lives and in this time together, may our hearts be torn open to your call in our lives, so that we may be stirred to go out and transform your world

Readings:
Genesis 22: 1-14
Romans 6: 8-14
 
Call to Worship based on Psalm 13
There are times O Lord when we feel disconnected
Disconnected from your presence
As if we only see the back of your head
Not the full gaze of your loving eyes
There are times when our faith is sorely tested,
   When we have lived with a stomach full of pain.
When we are out of relationship
Disconnected from the people around us.
Take a good look at us, God,
    We want to look you and life in the eye,
To know your love when we fall
That we may throw ourselves headlong into your arms
to know your rescuing love
And to sing at the top of our lungs,
    to celebrate your faithfulness to us!
 
 
In the reading from Genesis, the deep human angst and need being addressed is guilt and the resulting sense of disconnection from God.
 
Watch the recorded sermon here: https://youtu.be/F2Q1CGeg3OI