From Ben’s Desk

Today (Sunday), as we continue our studies on the Apostles’ Creed, we will look at the important area of understanding God’s gracious forgiveness to us and our responsibility to forgive others. It is important for us to see that the two sides of forgiveness are inseparable. Only too often we, as God’s people want to…

This month has been set aside in N.Z. as Bible month, and this particular Sunday we celebrate as Bible Sunday. This gives us the opportunity to thank God for His precious word, made so freely available to us in the free world. As I regularly pray for the persecuted church, I read of so many…

I attended a meeting this past week and came away feeling a little discouraged. As I reflected on the meeting, I noted that we hardly took time to encourage and fellowship with each other. It is so important that when we gather that we take time to encourage each other, listening to each other’s story…

Today marks a significant milestone for Sue and me as we have been married for 40 years this Sunday. I am so very grateful to God for the last 40 years and would like to share some of the things that have helped us to develop a strong marriage  – Our shared faith in God…

In the Bible study I host on a Wednesday night we have been studying the fascinating and informative letter of Paul to the Ephesians. At present we are in Chapter 2, which deals with one of the transformative effects of the cross, namely a new humanity, a new unity forged through the cross of Christ….

It was many years ago that I ran a series of Bible based parenting courses, which encouraged parents to instil godly values into their children. One of the principles from the course was to teach our families “the preciousness of others”. The idea was to consider the value and dignity of others, not only your…

Ephesians 1:3 All of us have had to supply proof of our identity when we apply for something official. Often a driver’s licence will do, but sometimes, if it is really important, more personal information is asked for. As Christians, however, that is not our full identity. We are a lot more than just the…

Today in church we start, what I hope will be an interesting and informative series of sermons on the Apostles’ Creed. The reason for me embarking on this teaching journey through the creed, is in a response to what has been evident in our media recently. Ever since the Christchurch attack, and more recently the…

This week people have been talking about a picture of Mount Everest which was published in the newspaper and on electronic media. It is in many ways a troubling scene. It shows 200-300 climbers precariously balancing on a very narrow icy path on the roof of the world. All these climbers have reached the last…

I read recently in a British newspaper of a very wealthy man who lived in a spectacular old country manor. He was very pompous and lived the life of an aristocrat. Sadly, he only had one son who he disowned, and who lived with very little income and hardly had contact with his stingy father….