Vicars letter - 6th December 2024

Rev Guy Benton

Kia ora All Saints. 

Guy here this week. What a fantastic start to our Advent season. Nothing like an apocalyptic reading from Luke, but as we spoke of on Sunday, the power of Hope in God during chaotic times is what sets us apart, the looking and longing for the second coming of God to redeem the world and the power of seeing the kingdom breakthrough amidst turmoil. Come, Lord Jesus. 

Let us come to the second week of Advent with a heart full of hope and expectancy to meet with God, who desperately loves us. 

I have spent the week chatting with several people about our hopes and dreams for 2025, and the excitement is building as we look towards a year focused on prayer, the Spirit of God, and the power of God amongst us through prayer. We hope to look at why and how we pray, how to pray when we don't feel like it, whether God moves through prayer, and whether healing happens today. One challenge I would put out there is to take the prophetic image of the valley of dry bones from Ezekial 37 and meditate over it for the summer, asking what God is saying to me and what I am going to do about it. I find the Bible Project a great resource when looking at scripture. Find a helpful resource here 

This Sunday, Trisha Hendry will be preaching to us. We have both 9 am and 10:30am Gatherings again; come along let's worship, pray, open scripture, and gather around God's Holy table together. 

Check out the newsletter for all the Christmas happenings; there is a lot going on. 

Excited to see you all Sunday, 

Much love,