Reflection 24 September – Throw Away the Ledger & Do What is Right
Matthew 20:1-16 - Throw away the ledger and do what is right A reflection by Dan Spragg ‘Do the mahi, get the treats…’ This is a well-known Kiwi saying. ‘Mahi’ is ‘work’ in Māori, so, ‘do the work, get the treats.’ Do the work and get the rewards. It speaks of...
Reflection 17 September – Jesus, Beloved and Hungry
Matthew 3:13-4:2 - Jesus, Beloved and Hungry A Reflection by Dan Spragg In 1940, Warner Sallman, a commercial artist from Chicago, who worked in advertising painted an image of Jesus called, ‘The Head of Christ’ and through his affiliation with both the Protestant and...
Reflection 27 August – I will build my church
Matthew 16:13-20 - “I will build my church…” – Jesus. Reflection by Josh Olds For a large part of my life, my dad was in the police force. He went in when I was a baby and only retired from the police a few years ago. I found that there were many pluses and minuses in...
Reflection 20 August – The human side of Jesus…
Matthew 15:10-28 - The Human side of Jesus helps us become more… A Reflection by Dan Spragg What do you make of this text?! What do you make of Jesus in this text?! Be honest… It’s potentially one of those readings we don’t know what to do with. Jesus, especially in...
Reflection 13 August – Jesus Walks on Water
Matthew 14:22-33 - Jesus walks on water a reflection by Dan Spragg Each year we make our annual pilgrimage up the south island to the golden sands of Kaiteriteri. The sun shines, it’s warm, it’s relaxing and the beach and the water are beautiful. If you’ve been to...
Reflection 6 August – Peace Sunday
Peace Sunday - Micah 4:1-4 & Matthew 5:1-12 a reflection by Dan Spragg Shane Claiborne is the founder of The Simple Way, an intentional Christian community in Philadelphia which seeks to live simply and follow the ways of Jesus in all of life. Living in New...
Reflection 23 July
Genesis 28:10-22 & Matthew 13:24-35 Reflection by Dan Spragg Recently I was lucky enough to spend a weekend in the mountains on our West Coast. Some friends and I rode our bikes over the Paparoa Track. 55 km and 1400m of elevation over two days. It was amazing....
Reflection 16 July – Matariki
Matariki & Psalm 119: Remembrance, Celebration, Anticipation by Josh Olds These images are all from the Mt John Observatory, which sits above Lake Tekapo. There’s something quite mesmerising about the stars isn’t there? It’s hard to be outside on a clear starry...
Reflection 2 July – Presence and Rewards
Acts 5:27-42 & Matthew 10:40-42 - Presence and Rewards by Dan Spragg You’ll recall from Genesis 1 the claim that we as humans are made in the image of God. Now a lot of the time this has been interpreted, especially by us modern Westerners, that each of us as...
Reflection 25 June – An Ancient and New Thing
Matthew 10:1-14 & 11:28-30 - An Ancient and New Thing A Reflection and an Idea by Dan Spragg Jesus sends his disciples out to go and do what he had been doing. I’ve mentioned the idea of apprenticeships recently. That’s essentially what being a Christian is meant...