St Paul's Auckland

This week, we look at Psalm 73, which takes us on a journey of They, Me, and You. It's a common journey of looking around at others' lives, and how we can look up to God and handle feelings like envy, anger, and disappointment.

Please note: If you'd like to listen to the song that Pete mentions towards the end of the talk, please look up 'Psalm 73' by Poor Bishop Hooper on Spotify.

We’ll be exploring Psalm 25 to answer the question: how do we seek God when we are at crossroads in our lives?

To read the chapter that Matt refers to - The Conundrum of Calling by Ruth Hayley Barton - please click the link above.

We continue our series on Psalms and look at Psalm 139, a Psalm for loneliness. How do we feel God's presence in those times when we feel alone or far from God and others?

This week we dig into something that we all face at some stage in our lives - fear and anxiety. Psalm 27 will be our roadmap for navigating these human emotions and experiences. 

We're kicking off a new series: Psalms in Troubled Times. We'll explore the wide range of emotions in the Psalms, from suffering and fear, to anger and disappointment, and discover how each emotion can be met with hope and acceptance. 

Dr Andrew Shepherd, one of the leading voices on creation care and public theology in Aotearoa, is our guest speaker from Otago, and is speaking to us on the apocalypse and anxiety.

We are finishing up our Acts series as we journey with Paul from Malta to prison in Rome. We'll delve into what is the ‘end of the beginning’ for the early Church. Where does Acts land and what does it mean for how we share our stories as followers of Jesus today?

The New Testament writers understood that suffering in the Christian life is not random or arbitrary, and that the Incarnation & Christ’s death were God’s way of participating with us in suffering. This week we explore Paul’s encounters with suffering in Acts 21 and what it can teach us today. At the beginning of Matt's talk there is a video played, credit goes to Bible Project: Bound for Rome - Acts 21-28.

Pete shares the culmination of the feedback about our shared vision for St Paul's. Be prepared to be challenged and motivated about our future as a church.

Our good friend, Carl Tinnion from Holy Trinity, Tauranga is back with us to share about the beauty, abundance and hope of God.

Luke Fenwick unpacks the infamous Areopagus sermon in Acts 17 which is the fullest and most dramatic speech of Paul’s missionary career. He used this to call Gentiles to worship the one true God in a world peppered with many gods and idols.

How do we increasingly become a church that doesn't exist just for those already in church but for everyone. 

We are looking at what it means to be the body of Christ in a polarised world, and how we live with disagreement. 

Our guest speaker, Aaron Hardy, speaks to the evening service, looking at what kind of God are we following. Aaron leads Te Rautini Church in Hamilton, he's also a musician and social worker.

Our guest speaker, Aaron Hardy from Te Rautini, speaks to the morning service where he explores the story of Mary and Martha. Aaron leads a church in Hamilton, he’s also a musician and social worker.

We look at the Beatitudes and the promise of God’s nearness in everything we face.

We lean into Acts 13 as we wrestle with how to recapture something of the early enthusiasm, vision and power of the early church as they were overwhelmed by the Spirit and thrust out into witness.

As we continue our series on Acts, Bruce White from NZCMS shares his thoughts on when God speaks.

We continue our Acts series, exploring what being a Christian actually looks like. We also look at the formation of the early church and how that applies to us today. Join us on the journey from Antioch to Auckland!

This Sunday, we continue our Acts series, looking at Chapters 7 and 8. How can we live in a way that draws others to Jesus? What does that look like in our everyday lives? 

Rachel continues our new series, Acts: The Unfinished Story, looking at Acts chapters 3 and 4, and wrestling with what it means to really offer all that we have and are to God. 

St Paul's has a partnership with Lalogi Lakwana, a community in Northern Uganda. Together we sponsor over 50 kids! This is impacting the lives of over 200+ people and is resourcing the community to lift themselves out of poverty. World Vision joins us this week to share more about the impact St Paul's is making.

It is Pentecost Sunday, when we mark the birthday of the church. The day in which the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ, came to fill people with His presence and love, and enable them to be His church, His body in the world. We will celebrate, remember, and give thanks for all God has done for us.

Julia looks at what it means to raise and disciple the next generation, and how we can live out our own lives in a way that positively impacts them. 

Pete looks at the words from John 17, and Jesus' prayer for us as a people and as a church. We explore how God is drawing us back to pray and how He can be involved in our daily lives.

Pete leads us on a journey through different gardens in the bible as we celebrate the release of 'Garden' by Chris Cope, through St Paul's music. We be explore how gardens represent different stages of our lives and hold invitations, questions and challenges. 

Pete winds up our mini-series, When Jesus Shows Up, unpacking the story of Doubting Thomas, and how doubts can sometimes be a friend and not an enemy of faith. 

Ian explores the impact of Jesus' presence and power in the lives of His followers, and what that means for us today. 

We explore the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, their encounter with the Risen Jesus, and the implications for our lives today.

"There is good news, it’s a magnificent story that can woo us, wow us, humble us, and inspire us to love God, ourselves and others ...It is the story we all long for, the story we were meant to enter." this Resurrection Sunday as we encounter the wonder of what Jesus has done for us. 

Do you only pray when you’re in desperate need or afraid? Is life so hectic it’s just fallen off your radar? We continue our series looking at the practice of prayer; what is prayer, what about unanswered prayers, and how returning to the Lord’s Prayer can reshape our prayer life.

Pete explores the ancient practice of giving, looking at how giving is a response to grace, and re-engaging with our vision of who God is calling us to become.

We continue our series, exploring the ancient practice of silence and solitude, with Luke Fenwick from Venn Foundation leading us into this holy habit.

We continue our new series, exploring the ancient practice of fasting, one of the lost and hardest paths to practice and understand. How might we engage with fasting today?

“Most of us suffer from spiritual souls are untended. And in this fragmented world, a soul left untended quickly loses direction...For centuries, believers have submitted to disciplines to create…a spiritual rhythm for living within the well-worn grooves of workday life.” - Brian McLaren

This week we begin our new series, Ancient Paths for Modern Faith, highlighting various spiritual practices that are proven to deepen and enrich our relationship with Jesus.

Ian unpacks what it means to be a new creation in our own lives and as a church community for the year ahead.

Pete shares some of his faith story and leadership journey.

Matt dives into Isaiah’s profound vision of the coming Messiah, who promises to be with us as the Prince of Peace.

Sally starts our advent series, exploring the hope of our calling as followers of Jesus. 

Rachel wraps up the I AM series, diving into when Jesus says 'I am the vine; you are the branches', exploring how we can cultivate a more connected relationship with God.

We continue our I AM series, focussing on Jesus as 'the way, the truth and the life'. The constant challenge from Jesus is to acknowledge our fears about the future and overcome them by abiding in his presence now. 

Donald Goodhall from Venn Foundation explores our next I Am statement of Jesus, 'I am the door and the good shepherd'. Our hope with this series is that we will not only see Jesus with fresh eyes but also grow our connection with him in new and meaningful ways.

Ian explores the statement, 'I am the resurrection and the life'. Join us as we dive into John 11:25 and unpack the idea of overcoming the fear of death, and embracing the life-changing power of faith.

Nathan considers what it means to experience the light and life of Jesus in our daily lives.

Matt begins our new series focusing on the “I am” teachings of Jesus in John’s Gospel. Our hope is that we will not only see Jesus with fresh eyes, but that this will change our experience of and grow our connection with him in new and meaningful ways throughout this series.

Sally unpacks Jesus' feeding of a multitude of people, touching every human need.

Matt explores 1 Corinthians 12 and unpacks some of the unique ways in which we are individually wired. How does this impact the way we engage with one another and how might this revitalise our relationship with God?

Guest speaker Andrew Shamy from Venn speaks on God’s call to care for creation. 

As we continue with our series, Nathan explores the power of testimony and how it strengthens our trust in God and our connection with each other. 

Sam concludes our Wholly Spirit series, focusing on how life in the Spirit should propel us out into the world as we pray and embody 'Thy Kingdom Come'. 

John Carr and The River ministry team continue our series, as we respond to Jesus’s call to be filled with the Spirit.

We continue our series on the Holy Spirit, looking at what happens when our lives are filled with the Spirit’s power, becoming God’s co-workers as he heals and restores our world.

Julia continues our series focusing on how God affirms our material world and cares about our bodies and physical needs. She unpacks some of the issues that arise when we keep the physical and spiritual separate, which can lead to misunderstandings about God and the life of faith he's calling us to live.

Matt continues our new series exploring the first of the five elements that make charismatic churches unique and how we can develop and pursue them in our everyday faith.

Sam kicks off our new series, Wholly Spirit. Over the next eight weeks, we will be exploring what it looks like to live with a radical openness to the Holy Spirit in all areas of our lives. 

Guest speaker Jill Smith is passionate about prophetic ministry and leads Pukekohe Uplift Church with her husband

Ian looks at Matthew 11:28 and what it means to come to Christ with every aspect of our lives.

God calls us to praise him in all seasons of life. We praise not just with our mind and spirit but with our physical bodies. What does it actually look like to embody our praise and why it is so important?

Sam looks at how the book of Psalms concludes, and asking once again how this might inspire and shape our lives of prayer.

Trouble in life is part of the human experience. The Psalms help us to see our troubles in light of what God has done and will do. Listen along as we hear the call to give thanks to the Lord and to hope in the future.

We all experience fear as we encounter new situations, significant opportunities, and difficult challenges. What does it look like for us as Christians to face our fears as we follow Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit? Nathan considers these questions through the lens of Psalm 27.

Focussing on Psalm 13, we explore the challenge of how we respond when God seems silent. 

We continue our series on The Psalms delving into Psalm 94 which looks at how lament and anger are useful tools when faced with injustice. 

Carl Tinnion will be exploring a theology of beauty and creativity and what role they might play in the life and mission of the church. 

Hebrews 4:12-13 says that the Word of God is alive and active, piercing and healing like a surgeon’s knife. In this talk we engage with the power of Scripture to shape us from Psalm 119 and look at a practical way of praying Scripture that helps us to tune in to the Holy Spirit.

Julia explores how doubt is expressed in 'The Prayer Book for the church', and how biblical poetry might guide us in processing our own feelings of doubt.

Last Sunday Karen Kemp shared a brilliant message on the “transition” that the disciples on the road to Emmaus had to process. This week Sally Shanks and Sam Bloore explore what it looks like to wait and listen well during such seasons.

Karen looks at Luke 24, The Road to Emmaus, focusing on the challenges and invitations during life's transitions. 

Sam explores the significance of a King who announces his arrival in such a way, and ask what the implications might be for those who follow him.

We come to the end of The Creed series, looking at what it means to say “I believe in the Holy Spirit”

Matt looks at Jesus’ anointing with oil and its invitation to live lives of extravagant devotion to Christ as we approach Easter.

Julia explores Jesus' ascension into heaven and what that really means. 

Sam continues our series on the Creed, focussing on the climax of the gospel and of our faith – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What did it mean for those who followed him then, and for those who follow him now?

Sam Bloore continues our series on The Creed focusing on the birth and life of Jesus and unpacks the question “How is the Incarnation relevant to our lives today?”

Matt unpacks one of the central statements of the Creed that focuses on God the Father and how it impacts our faith today. 

Nathan begins our new series on the Apostles’ Creed. He considers how the Creed deepens our understanding of God revealed in scripture and highlights what it means for us today. 

Guest Speaker Aaron Hardy shares some of his story

If you would like to watch the video played on Sunday before the talk you can find it here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ordhsDeAt60