It does not happen very often that an issue of NZCN News coincides with the recent end of a 70 year royal reign, so here are a few observations.
Queen Elizabeth II was remarkable not only for the great length of her reign (though Louis XIV of France reigned longer), but also for her particular mix of qualities such as steadiness, sound judgement, dignity, discretion, humility, caring, a deep commitment to serving, and a genuine, heart-felt Christian faith.
Time will tell just how much of that character and Christian faith has been passed on to subsequent royal generations. Many Christians will no doubt pray about that, and for Charles as the new King.
In our modern era, constitutional monarchs have extremely limited power, despite all their pomp and privileges. Real power is held by politicians, and they very much need to be prayed for (1 Tim 2:1-2).
During the Queen’s reign, and through no fault of her own, Britain and many Commonwealth societies have in some respects lost their way, spiritually and morally. Modern cultures and societies very much need to rediscover the living God, as revealed in Christ and the Scriptures.
Some commentators have implicated the Queen in the injustices that were part of imperialism and colonialism. Those injustices, however, largely happened a long time before her, and during her own reign she constructively worked with the process of decolonisation.
All the grief and nostalgia in the United Kingdom and elsewhere at this time is understandable, and no country does ancient tradition and colourful public pageantry quite like Britain.
Our ultimate focus, though, should not be on human leaders. Mortal, imperfect human rulers constantly come and go. But the Lord God alone reigns forever (Psalm 146:10). To the immortal God, the only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, to Him alone be honour and eternal power (1 Tim. 1:17, 6:15-16).
Mā te Atua koutou e tiaki e manaaki i ngā wa katoa May the Lord bless and keep you at all times
Dr Stuart Lange
Gayann Phillips
National Director
General Manager
and the NZCN team
Coming up...
Monday 19 September
Before we close tonight’s session, we will spend some moments in prayer for King Charles III and the new monarchy, as the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II will take place soon after.
Wayne & Sally Curham and John & Glenda Begg share prayer needs for the region of Canterbury.
PRAYER POINTS
Southern Canterbury
Waimate township
Praise for Waimate township experiencing an economic upturn, new facilities and businesses which are providing for all as the population increases, and that the ministers relate well and are focused on blessing the community by making Jesus known.
Pray that God will guide local government, who have lower income from rates, to make good decisions for the community in the midst of pressure from central government to conform to larger city models re facilities, etc.
Rural
Pray that the potential of great partnership between Māori and tangata tiriti will be realised. Co-governance proposals, poorly explained and poorly understood, are leading to adverse, negative community reactions and lack of trust between peoples.
Christchurch
Give thanks for the unity that is happening in Christchurch as we work together for the gospel and harvest. (God is using the Franklin Graham God Loves You Tour as a catalyst).
Pray that there will be a great turn out for the Christian Life and Witness Classes running for the next two weeks in different churches.
Pray that Christians will be better equipped to work in the harvest and many will apply to become prayer counsellors for the November 12th meeting with Franklin Graham.
Pray As One NZ
Every Monday night, from 8-9pm, we run a national prayer meeting on Zoom with 70-80 participants joining from throughout the nation. Come join us!
Helping to build awareness of different parachurch organisations serving the church in New Zealand and overseas.
NZCN featured member
Listed on our Directory by our Church and Christian Organisation members
ISMNZ
International Student Ministries of New Zealand
International Student Ministries of New Zealand (ISMNZ) is a Christian ministry whose mission is to provide international students in New Zealand with the opportunity to experience Christ and to equip and enable them to reach their communities and nations for Him.
Connecting people for employment, internships, or voluntary roles in Christian organisations and churches. This can include looking for people to join governance boards or to fill a need for a specific skill/project.
Employment Opportunities
Listed on our Job Board by our Church and Christian Organisation members
*Denotes a new or recently re-listed opportunity*
Christians against Poverty New Zealand Penrose, Auckland
Numbers in brackets indicate the number of events currently listed in that category until the end of October.Some events have both online and in person options to attend.
Events
Listed on our Calendar by our Church and Christian Organisation members. In chronical order with listings added this week highlighted.
How does your faith community view children and their place within the church? What do you believe about the faith formation of children, and the role of parents and the wider faith community in this? How does that inform your practice? If you love helping our tamariki encounter the love of Jesus, then this one-week block course is for you.
Equipping the next generation with a comprehensive biblical worldview that resonates with them and makes them active champions of it.
Aimed at late teens and young adults ages 15-20 (school year 10 and up), we will tackle some challenging biblical worldview and apologetics topics—worldviews in conflict, sexuality and gender identity, and the origin of life and Darwinian evolution.
MiCamps much-loved family camp is a great way for you and your family to spend the long weekend.
Some of the highlights include; great speakers, worship, kid-free time for the adults, fun for the kids, amazing food, free time for your family, and comfortable accommodation to fit your budget.
Would you like to have your organisation featured in our newsletter, post employment opportunities on our job board, or list events on our calendar?
You can! These are benefits we make available to Christian organisations and churches with current membership
New Zealand society is in a period of significant change, much of it away from the Christian faith and values. Christian voices in society are either ignored or scorned.
We need Christian voices which are positive, sensible, reasoned, well-informed, and clear.