Just in case you are under the impression that I, the Self-Appointed Patron Saint of Lent Resources for Kids, am currently utterly absorbed in meaningful, transformative Lenten practices with my small children… think again. I’ve managed a few things, but good golly, not a very large percentage of all my wonderful ideas for households. As […]
Do you know your refugee facts? I’m guessing you’re online right now, so I suggest you have a wee surf for any answers you don’t know. Let me know if you get stuck with any of them! 1. Name ten people in the Bible who are refugees at some point. 2. How many people are refugees outside […]
In 2023, Lent begins Wednesday, 22 February We’re spoilt by the church calendar at this time of year! We’ve just had four weeks of candle-lighting at Advent, culminating, in our household, with this delightful moment on Christmas Day: Now we’re coming to the end of the two-week Christmas season, and then it’s only a month […]
This is excellent, peeps! The wise and hard-working women at New Zealand Baptist Children and Family Ministries have produced a fantastic Advent resource for families to use through December at home. It’s called Christmas @ Home and I warmly recommend it. It isn’t a do-one-every-day kind of Advent journey. Rather, it’s a vibrant collection of ideas to […]
Wow. I asked around to see what people are planning for Advent this year, and look what I got! Lego! Candles! Chocolate coins in shoes! I have spent the evening wrangling a non-sleeping baby (very smiley and cheeky, playing with toys on the bed beside me and blowing raspberries non-stop for half an hour) and […]
A very warm welcome to Lindy Jacomb who is introducing us to her social media project to open our eyes to the many women in the Bible. Whether or not you’re a fan of the Bible, I think you’ll find this worth a read. Huldah. Salome. Junia. Our eyes slip past their names without registering […]
This is the final post from guest writer Chris Chamberlain. See the whole series list here. We must be careful how we read Scripture What I would call a âZionistâ reading of Scripture seems to take a verse with no regard for its context, and apply it to the modern State of Israel. This is […]
A very warm welcome to guest poster Chris Chamberlain. Chris grew up in Timaru and West Auckland. Â He has been in Baptist church pastoral leadership roles for over 20 years in exciting places like the South Islandâs West Coast and central Christchurch. Â Experiencing the destructive forces of the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes has introduced him to […]
A warm welcome to this yearâs Advent in Art series, where we join thousands of others in contemplating artistic works. This week we are in the season of Christmas, and conclude the series. For an introduction to this series, and He Qi, the artist featured in 2014, please see the first post, on the Annunciation. […]
What is a Blue Christmas Service? Guest writer Melanie recently reflected on the process of putting together a Blue Christmas service at Frenchs Forest Baptist Church, where she is a pastor: The concept of a Blue Christmas Service was new for me this year. The idea behind the services is to provide a quiet, contemplative service […]