So often in our own lives as Christians we are called to extend grace, to show mercy and forgiveness rather than to retaliate in an unrighteous manner. In our recent communion service, from the book of James, we had explored ‘favouritism’ which might be described as a form of unrighteous judgement. In a way, a righteous view of others, which might require us to intentionally curb our own preferences or biases, can be a way of extending love and mercy as we are called to. This Sunday we will cover the last few verses from James concerning ‘favouritism,’ with the reading from James 2:8-13. I pray we all have an open heart and mind to understand what God might say to us through this passage.

May God bless you all.

Josh

It was in similar desert terrain that the Israelites were condemned to wander for decades, but miraculously we saw how God had fed them with manna from heaven, He also kept their clothes from wearing out and their feet from swelling (see Deuteronomy 8:4). If as T.E. Lawrence indicates, venomous snakes were a normal part of desert life, a biblical commentator suggests that as well as His provision for His people, God was also miraculously keeping these snakes at bay, a part of God’s protection over His people.

Our lectionary reading then for this week is taken from James 2 but we will only deal with the first seven verses, at least I hope that we will get through the seven verses! But it deals with an issue that is common to all of us, it’s an issue that we all tend to fall victim to whether we know it or not: favouritism, or is it favoritism?

This week as we have the pleasure of hearing from Rev Nathan Pedro who has a better grasp of Tokelau language and culture than I. He will be giving our reflection during the service and speaking to us from the book of Genesis 26:12-33, touching on the idea of ‘Inheritance’ from a biblical perspective. Please take time to reflect on this passage over the weekend. This coupled with the fact that it is Father’s day, should give us much to dwell on and consider as to who our heavenly Father is and what He has done for us.

…after obediently going to the cross for our sin, suffering and then dying, CHRIST IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Good Friday is a day when we as a church might truly take the time to consider the magnitude of the work of Jesus on the cross…

Christ is clearly revealed as a Prophet, a King, and His mantle as High Priest is further affirmed.

Once again, Jesus is revealing more about who He is, which aligns perfectly with how He is presented in the rest of scripture.