“Unanswered Questions” (Matariki whakāro)

When my GP invited me to “join us for Matariki” at his family practice to give a “small scripture sharing”, I initially didn’t want to do it! In our cultural moment, it’s not always welcomed when Tāngata Tiriti (people here by right of the Treaty of Waitangi) speak for Māori about their customs and values. …

Those worthy of double honour

This year marks 21 years since I first heard the good news about Jesus. (For reference, I’ve been celebrating / complaining about Arsenal for longer!) Like many who come to find Jesus beautiful and believable out of a non-Christian upbringing, I’ve never fit completely into one “tribe”. I’m convinced the gospel is of first importance, …

Thoughts on preaching Ruth from the Hebrew text

The book of Ruth is a perennial favourite in women’s bible studies, retreats and devotional material. Much of it unfortunately preaches a gospel of prosperity though – “go find your Boaz” and other similar summaries abound. Is Ruth really about a harvest-time romance? Or is there more going on in this ancient tale? Our immigrant …

Thoughts on preaching the book of 1 Corinthians

In some Christian circles, it’s popular to look up the advice of “experts” and “consultants” for help with church planting, worship, preaching and strategy. Yet imagine if you could overhear a conversation between a young church plant in a strategic city, and the pastor and preacher who helped found their church. How helpful would that …

Bible verse colouring pages

For a long time I had wanted to make meaningful colouring pages that don’t only entertain or beautify, but specifically help elucidate and synthesise the truths of scripture. I’d played with the idea for years between kids and homeschool but never could justify doing it properly (although I did learn a lot about inking, lettering …