Let the Children come

Last week Felicity and I had four of our 10 grandchildren from Auckland to stay for a couple of days over the Easter break. They joined in with skits, and songs in our Sunday worship and it was lovely to see (16/4) a number of our church families with their grandchildren also visiting because of the school holidays. The tempo of activities at our home was noticeably upbeat both in sound and food intake. There was never a dull moment!

There is no doubt the children bring a different rhythm of life to family dynamics. They bring energy and life but also a sense of joy to our family space. We give thanks to God for the gift of children (Psalm 123:3) and pray that as they return to their parents that He will continue to keep them safe.

Please continue to uplift all our children at St Peters in prayer. Be encouraged by the following Bible verses about children and how the Lord sees them!

“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:37)

Jesus said “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. (Mark 10:14).

What happened after the Resurrection – The Day After?

Last week I preached on this topic and my three points were:

1. Jesus shows up and appears to His disciples and remained on earth for the next 40 days before his Ascension to Heaven.
2. Jesus shows up destroying death and darkness (John 20:19-23). He holds out his hands then spoke “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
3. Jesus shows up and proclaims the coming of the Holy Spirit to His disciples to be their helper and guide (John 20: 22 & 1Peter 1:1v 3)

We will be continuing this theme of ‘What happened after the resurrection’ leading up to Pentecost. The Lord is moving in our church and as we prepare for this allow yourselves to be open to the Holy Spirit.