Text: Mark 4:35-41
 
Today’s Gospel reading tells of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. The Disciples were afraid, so it must have been quite a big storm as several of them were fishermen, used to all sorts of weather whilst on the water! But Jesus helped them go from “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” to “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
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Watch the recording of the sermon here: https://youtu.be/plgm07kRWrQ

O God, our Help in ages past,
our Hope for years to come,
our Shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal Home.
O God, our Help in ages past,
our Hope for years to come,
be Thou our Guard while life shall last,
and our eternal Home!

Texts:
Micah 6:6-8
John 13:31-34

The Treaty of Waitangi remains highly relevant and topical for us today. It is 184 years since the signing of the Treaty, yet it is so topical today with Act’s Treaty Principles Bill up for debate, surging protests in response, and strong rhetoric from all sides of the argument.

My key question today is, should we be talking about this in our churches? And I have come to the resounding answer – yes, we should! My hesitations were along the lines of: this is too controversial and divisive; what do I know about this?; isn’t this politics, not religion? But my hesitations were overcome in listening to a talk by Alistair Reese at the Transitional Cathedral a few weeks back. Alistair is an historian and theologian. He gave an inspirational speech at the Waitangi church service on Waitangi Day this year (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXYxhiacKu4). As a result of that he was asked to speak here in Christchurch and, on a cold Tuesday night, the Cathedral was packed with people eager to hear more! He convinced me that we need to be talking about this in the church. But there is a huge disclaimer – this is a big and controversial topic and I do not pretend to be an expert!

Watch Hamish’s sermon here: https://youtu.be/JRTP3xqQ48A

Text:
2 Corinthians 4: 5-12
Mark 2: 23 – 3: 16

Our first passage today helps to show just how ensnared the Pharisees had become in rule bound religion. From the life-giving commandment around respecting the Sabbath, the Scribes and Pharisees had developed a huge tangled web of rules and regulations about the Sabbath that moved it away from its life-giving nature towards a life-robbing burden! So that healing couldn’t take place!

It is so interesting how rules, regulations and traditions grow up in religion and take on sacred qualities not warranted! Paul’s dramatic conversion moved him immediately from the dark arts of rule-bound traditions to the light of Christ.
 
Watch the recorded sermon here: https://youtu.be/TR6LWRX_5ro​

A mission lies before us
         To go and to proclaim
      The hope we have in Jesus,
         The glory of His name
      The faint and weak He's chosen
         His power to display
      By placing gospel treasure
         In fragile jars of clay.