Lifestreams 16th May

Here's this week's edition of Lifestreams e-news. The roster for Sunday 16th May is at the bottom. It is very likely that I will be tending to Anna and a new baby by next Sunday. If that's the case I'll make sure I send news to everyone at the worship service!

If you have any feedback at anytime, please continue to let me know.

Peace.

Lifestreams @ Medbury: News and Roster

Dear Lifestreamers,

I may not see any of you at Lifestreams on Sunday depending on whether Anna has given birth or not. Paul Stanaway will be joining you instead to preach and preside. Please keep us in your prayers and remember that you are in ours.

PENTECOST AND LIFESTREAMS' 6th BIRTHDAY

In two weeks we will be celebrating SIX years since the birth of Lifestreams at St Barnabas. A lot has happened in that time with the help of many dedicated people like yourselves. If you have not attended Lifestreams regularly in the past year, please consider marking this date down in your diary. Pentecost and Lifestreams are worth celebrating, it would be fantastic to celebrate with you all then.

If there are two people who would like to bake some Pentecost Birthday cakes please let me know.

A FEW WORDS

One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling.
-Acts 16:16

Paul in Philippi would be like one of us walking through the local MIND-BODY-SPIRIT festival. A city with a vast mixture of religious and spiritual tastes. As you'd expect of a Roman colony there were cults to Roman gods like Jupiter and Mars. The Thracian goddess Bendis was very popular and Egyptian and Phrygian (modern day Turkey) gods and goddesses were also revered. Add to that an old time love of supernatural oracles and fortune telling and we have a colourful picture of the spiritual cocktail that Philippi was in Paul's day. Paul founded the first European church here in 50 AD and caused quite a stir in the process. Luke tells the story in Acts with considerable humour. Paul was on his way to a place of prayer that already existed within the city - usually the synagogue. Irritated by the presence of a fortune predicting spirit-possessed slave girl, Paul carried out an on the spot exorcism thereby doing the girl's owners out of a substantial income. This caused an outburst from the locals who had them dragged off to the local magistrate.

It's a story that illustrates the spread of the gospel and shows both the conflict and the paranormal activity that the apostles experienced. And as we live in a mixed marketplace of spiritual tastes and preferences it also reminds us that Christianity was vigorously born out of such a culture.

I'm not suggesting we all head down to Gipzy's at the local mall to conduct a spontaneous exorcism. But in a world of ever widening spiritual practices, what significance do you think the message of Christ's resurrection might have? Read the passage from Acts (below) and think about it.

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS FEEDBACK

Please help us evaluate Light in the Darkness so we can develop similar kinds of events for the future. These questions were created by a member of Lifestreams and I've linked to the forms below; one for those who assisted in any way, and one for those who contributed by attending. Please help us by responding/reviewing to the questions, especially those of you directly involved? Thank you so much.

Light in the Darkness HELPER review.doc
Light in the Darkness review.doc

MEN'S DINNER

This month, 26th May, St Barnabas will host a men's dinner at the Medbury Dining Room with guest speaker Peter Beck, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral.

Tickets for the dinner are available for $25.00 with BYO drinks.

The Medbury kitchen serves a fine meal and we look forward to sharing the time with you.

Contact the church office for tickets.

PODCAST TALKS

You can find podcast talks on our website here.

WORKSHOPS AND SPEAKERS

I thought some of you may like me to highlight events of interest that relate to growth in the Christian life.

"God in Ordinary Time"

Outstanding American teacher, writer and professor of Spirituality Barbara Brown Taylor will conduct a workshop at Street Christopher's church, 244 Avonhead Rd on Thursday 3rd June 9.45am to 4pm.

Through formal presentations, followed by individual work and group discussion, discover ways in which we make God real in our everyday lives.

Venue: St Christopher's Church Avonhead
Thursday 3rd June 9.45am to 4pm
Cost $20 waged - $10 unwaged.

MEANWHILE, THIS SUNDAY:

Readings

First Reading:

Acts 16:16-34

16 One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. 17 While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." 18 She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews 21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe." 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." 29 The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. 34 He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

Gospel Reading: Corrine Haines

John 17:20-26

20 "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 "Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

Welcoming: Vicki Gilmour and Kathleen Laycock

Prayers: Moka Ritchie
Ministry of Healing: Linda Adams and Vicki Gilmour
Sidespeople: Moka Ritchie
Assistants:Sheena Maxwell and Monica Coulson

Morning Tea: Penny Corbett and Amanda Cairns

Kidzone

Bubbles: Cheryl Earl, Claire Cambell

Splash/Xstream: Anna Webster, Angela Brown

GRID: Elizabeth Crampton

If there are any changes you need to make please let me know as soon as possible so we can put the changes in the Sunday pew sheet.

As always I can be contacted either by email andrew@stbarnabas.org.nz or phone at the office 351 7064. My cell phone is 021 201 4798 and home 351 7392.

May Christ's peace be with each of you,

Andrew