A modern, traditional Anglican Church in Rangiora

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Exciting Times

We are rejoicing that our very first evening service will be this Sunday, 7:00pm. We would love to have you there to join us at this exciting time.

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.

Psalm 122:1

James – the Mirror

On Sundays, we are now a couple of weeks into a series on the book of James. This book is one of the letters in the New Testament, and it is called James because it says at the start it is written by ‘James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ’ (1:1). We are not totally certain, but it seems pretty likely this is James (or as he is called in Hebrew, Jacob) the brother of Jesus, who became the head of the church in Jerusalem some years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. One of the factors this fits with is the fact that this letter echoes, and seems to reflect on, a lot of Jesus’ teachings, especially from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7, which we are hearing in church alongside the letter of James). 

We have called our series in James ‘The Mirror’ because, in verses 22-25 of chapter 1, James compares the word of God to a mirror. Like a mirror, James constantly shows us what we are really like, and calls us to look honestly at ourselves. This can be an unpleasant business – I find regularly that looking in the mirror shows me things I’d rather not see! And yet at the same time, an honest look in the mirror can give me a dose of reality, and (at least in some measure) be the first step in improvement. As Michael Jackson said in his song Man in the Mirror, ‘take a look at yourself and then make a change’.

Already we have had the book of James do that for us – hold the mirror up and call us to change. Perhaps with some trembling, but also with anticipation, we look forward to that continuing. And as we look at James, we are reminded again that it is actually God who is holding the mirror up to us, and it is God who helps us to make a change.

We’d love to have you with us on this adventure. You can hear the sermons we have had so far here, and you are very welcome to join us on Sunday mornings at 9:30 as we keep looking in James’ mirror.

What’s it all about?

Still not sure what side of the fence you want to be on? This Sunday we will be looking at the surprising nature of what Christianity is about, 9:30 am. Join us afterwards in the hall to say hello over morning tea.

Worship and Singing

For the next two weeks we will be looking at worship and then singing, before jumping back into our journey through Luke’s Gospel. This week is worship, so come and join us to learn more about this important part of the Christian life.

Mother’s Day service

Just a reminder about our special Mother’s Day service this Sunday. It would be lovely to have you join us. If you are are new to SPOTR please do stay for morning tea to say hello.

Mothers’ Day Service

Sometimes it’s good to pause and spend time remembering those close to us. We are having a Mother’s Day service on Sunday, 14 March, 9:30am. We would love to have you join us for the service and morning tea.

Palm Sunday

Next week we will be celebrating the hope that Easter brings. This Sunday is traditionally known as Palm Sunday. We would love to have you join us for our Palm Sunday service -followed by morning tea.

SPOTR 2023 Camp

A great weekend of fun and fellowship. To see some more photos go to our gallery.

Picking up the Journey – Luke’s Gospel

For more than 2 years now, Luke has been the book of the Bible we have returned to again and again. We have spent time in a number of other books of the Bible over these past couple of years, but we have always come back to Luke again, and have now spent almost 50 Sundays seeing Jesus through Luke’s eyes. We have worked our way through 13 of the 24 chapters so far, and from this Sunday we return to this great Gospel.

The point we re-join Luke’s narrative is during Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, at chapter 14. During this journey to Jerusalem we have already heard classic stories like the Good Samaritan, and Jesus’ teaching on us not needing to worry because we are far more valuable to God than birds and flowers. As we continue towards Jerusalem with Jesus for the next while, we have before us such treasures as the story of the prodigal son, the rich man and Lazarus, the Pharisee and the tax collector, and many lesser known gems that help us to see other dimensions of Jesus’ wonder and brilliance.

Jesus’ Journey to Jerusalem is full of significance for everyone. for every human being who has ever been born, whether they know it or not. It has significance for you. Why not come along on a Sunday morning and see why? We’d love to have you with us.

Thank You

It was wonderful to have visitors with us over the holidays – thank you for joining us at this special time: you are very welcome to join us any week for our regular Sunday meeting, 9:30am 😊

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