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I am because we are

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I am away for the next two Sundays. So I am not preaching this Sunday - Trinity Sunday. Which is sad. I like trinity Sunday and wrestling with what difference the trinity makes. My deep suspicion is that most Christians are not Trinitarian, or even monotheisitic. We slide into being tritheisitc, believing in God, the Son and Holy Spirit.  Trinitarian theology is faith in God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And it grew out of peoples shared experience of God,  and helped them both make sense of that experience and find ways to live in response to that shared experience. For me that means that in the gospels we meet the Eternal Word (Son) who comes among us in Jesus. In his life, teaching, death and resurrection we are shown God the Father. We meet the character of the Father - Source of All Being - a character of love, generosity,  and mercy. And just as the risen Jesus breathed the Spirit into his followers, so the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ breathes the Spirit int
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A Sideways Glance at Pentecost Sunday

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This Sunday is Penteocst Sunday. The timing is based on how the writer on Luke-Acts describes it in the Book of Acts, rather than how it is decribed in the Gospel of Luke, or John's Gospel - on Easter Sunday. In Acts it is big and dramatic and makes such a grand story. No wodner we went with that version. PersoanllyI prefer the John version. It is small and intimate. jesus breathers the Spirit of Peace into the disciples - and they are changed. The danger with the Acts version with all its drama is that we long for that, or dismiss it as something tha happened 2,000 years ago. Not for us thankyou. The invitation of John is to pay atention to when the Spirit of Peace has been breathed into us, and what difference that has made. I wrote this little reflection this week about where I am at. In short, the Spirit of Peace has been breathed into me. I don't know when. Maybe while I joined 13 others and cycled for 7 days from Aoraki to Oamaru. Not dramatic. But life giving. So while w
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Making God’s Presence Known?

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You can listen to this sermon here   Gate Pa - Ascension Sunday and Easter 7 Year A, 2023 Readings - Palm                              Psalm: 68:1-10, 32-35                                                  First Reading -              Acts 1:1-14                                           Second Reading -          Eph 1: 15-23     Gospel -                       John 17:1-11                                         What I want to say: As we reflect on the Ascension and Jesus final prayer to take time to reflect on the invitation to make visible the presence of God particularly in love, just as Jesus did. What I want to happen: How does our abiding in the Godhead affects how we see the world and how we live our lives. The Sermon      1.     Introduction: On Thursday we commemorated the Ascension. which means we once again we find ourselves near the end of the season of Easter, Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday which marks the 50 th and final day of Easter. -
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Ascending into Glory?

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On Thursday we remembered the Ascension of Jesus. The is based entirely on the Book of Acts. The gospels either don’t talk about it or have it on Easter Day. We sometimes describe the Ascension as the risen Jesus leaving earth to be with God, leaving us to carry on the work of God in the Spirit. Because Christ is no longer with us, we become his hands and feet. I am not sure that is what is meant here. In the incarnation, the Word of God came among us in a particular place and time in Jesus. The crucified and risen Jesus was still present to his disciples in that particular time and place. The Ascended Christ returns into God who is beyond time and is present in all places and in all time. Through the Ascension Christ is known in all times and in all places and continues the work of bringing about the reign of God on earth as in heaven. Which means that Christ is with us in all times and places. That is pretty good news. In our gospel reading for this, the last Sunday in Easter, we
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Living the Dream and Hope of God

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 You can listen to this sermon here Gate Pa – Year A   6 th Sunday of Easter,   2023 Readings: Psalm                          Psalm:  66:8-19                                               First Reading :             Acts 17:22-31                          Second Reading :         1 Peter 3:13-22                  Gospel :                        John 14:15-21                                    What I want to say: Tough last three years – for many it is still tough with inflation For church covid has really hit many parishes – much more vulnerable than we were -         Theme of parish planning day As we face an uncertain future how we are told that the gift of the Spirit is that love of God resides in each one of us, that all may be drawn into the way of God – the way of compassion, generosity, justice and love.   What I want to happen: What hope does that offer us? How might we respond to this awesome gift, and awesome responsibility. The Sermon      1.    
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