Vicars Letter 8th May 2025

Rev Guy Benton

Kia ora All Saints

Every time I prepare for and preach the word of God to the parish, that and this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, my heart is profoundly impacted and transformed. This series we have started and are journeying through on the Lords Prayer has been incredibly powerful. The pace of going slow and unpacking what it means to pray and how to pray and why we should pray is so rich. On Sunday, when Martha and I were leading our children at house church, there was a spirit of distraction when we were reading the bible together. We had a moment where we stopped and talked about the power of the bible and it being the word of God, and how we should pay attention to how it will impact our lives. We noticed a genuine shift in the attention and depth of these 5-10 year olds listening to the word of God.

In this same vein, I have been convicted recently about my own reverence or treasure for the word of the Lord, what am I going to do first thing in the day, is it scripture or the internet? The word is a lamp to my feet (Ps 119:105). Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col 3:16)

I found myself each day, instead of reaching for my phone, reaching for the word of God for 5 minutes, sometimes a bit more, I get interrupted by the kids. Just the practice of making the first thing in the day the word of God has made a massive shift. There is power in the word of God. I recently stumbled across 22 questions John Wesley would ask alongside his morning devotion (Linked here), which are confronting and challenging but incredibly transforming. I encourage you to ask some of them.

This week, we have a special announcement at both services, so we encourage you all to be there for that if you can. (Find out more on Sunday)

This is a reminder to start signing up for the prayer vigil before Pentecost. (Link here)


Praying for you always, excited to see you Sunday.

Love in Christ