Featured Articles

Imagine what it would be like living in a society without money.  No bills, no taxes, no rent or mortgage, no petty arguments at the church AGM, no scammers. That actually sounds quite refreshing and liberating. Yet so much of life, how we live and what we do involves the use of money.  There is, indeed, so much we can do with money. But at the same time, there is [...]

One of the things that the Lord Jesus taught us to pray is: “Lead us not into temptation.” And I am confident that we could all come up with a long list of temptations that we want nothing to do with. But what about the temptation of riches? Would that be on your list? After all, it is not wrong to be rich. Paul commends rich believers for their generosity [...]

New Zealand society currently exists in a state of cognitive dissonance. According to Oxford languages, cognitive dissonance is the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs and attitudes. Our society has embraced opposing and contradictory ideas: on the one hand, we have legal access to taxpayer-funded assisted suicide through euthanasia, but on the other hand, we also fight suicide as a serious public health issue! Many in our society have fought [...]

In 2008 my wife and I were in England visiting our son and daughter-in-law, who were living and working in London while on their OE. While there we took the opportunity of travelling by bus on a ten day tour of England, Scotland and Wales. About half way through the tour we were in the town of St Andrews in Scotland, which is known for its four golf courses, the [...]

Hospitality is a word that is often mentioned in Christian circles. It is a subject studied in Bible Studies and is preached from our pulpits. Many books on Christian living will have a chapter devoted to it. With all of this emphasis you would think we would be great at hospitality, that there wouldn’t even be a need for this as a subject in Faith in Focus, and yet that [...]

Many of us have been to church services where we have witnessed some young people profess their faith. Friends and family turn up for the occasion and the church is filled to overflowing. Why such a fuss? What’s the big deal? Why do so many people turn up for the service? Is it for the free feed afterwards, or something more significant than that? I would put to you that [...]

A  young man, who has been attending your church, confesses to your pastor that he believes  he is actually a woman and wants to know what the Bible teaches about gender. This is an issue the church is facing all over the world, but now here in New Zealand expressing our beliefs on these issues could come with consequences. Let’s be honest, we get tired of being called transphobic or bigots. Surely, our [...]

What does discipleship mean? We know the great Commission that Christ gave us in Matt. 28: 19-20. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...” This easily gives us the impression that we need to ‘go’ somewhere.  When I was a young mom, with a houseful of little kids, I went through a period where I grew rapidly in thankfulness for God’s grace. I felt a strong desire to share [...]

Attendance at public worship is both a privilege and an expectation. We wholeheartedly agree that worship is not an option, as it is commanded by God; and that “to give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25) is not only in direct disobedience to God’s commands but also leaves us so much poorer in our relationship with God and His people.  Worship is also a privilege – to meet with our God, [...]

Haggai the prophet was God’s mouthpiece at a unique time in the history of God’s people. After the decree of Cyrus the king of Persia in 538 BC, the Jews returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile for the explicit purpose of rebuilding the house of the LORD, that is, the temple. They had rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple when they were met with opposition from [...]