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Going deeper with Matt // Philippians blog #1

Philippians – a Lockdown letter of Joy & Jesus. Going Deeper Blog #1 The Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi is one of the most positive and personal letters in the New Testament. Did you know that Paul is writing from his very own lockdown! He’s under house arrest in Rome and facing death or release, depending on a trial he has very little input to (Acts 28). This letter, the Book of Philippians, is written after nearly two years of Paul’s ‘imprisonment,’ so imagine the ...

Life after lockdown #3

Our normal quiet-time routines have no doubt for all of us been flipped upside down. What did seeking God and his presence look like for you in these weeks? Maybe it was taking time to go outside and soak in nature, or maybe Bible reading in the day when you may not have usually had the opportunity? Maybe it looked like the ability to have more quality time as a family. We encourage you to reflect on this question and what it looked like for you in this season. ...

Philippians Daily Reading #2

Daily Reading: Philippians 1: 12-18We didn’t see this Covid19 crisis coming, and it has changed our lives dramatically. The Apostle Paul expected to be travelling the world spreading the new Christian faith. But he’s locked down, under Roman guard.So how does he make sense of this situation? He trusts that God is sovereign (having supreme power & authority) and that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). With this attitude he can actually say that ...

Life after lockdown #2

Everyone’s had a different experience of lockdown and even in the midst of the hard parts we think lots of folks have been pleasantly surprised by discovering something good about this time. Our experiences will be different and we’d love to hear about something you’ve been thankful for in lockdown living....

Philippians Daily Reading #1

Daily Reading: Philippians 1:1-11Welcome to the most positive and personal letter in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul is writing from his own lockdown! He’s under house arrest in Rome and facing death or release (Acts 28). This letter is written after nearly two years. Paul’s bubble includes Timothy and Epaphroditus, and he’s writing back to Epaphroditus’ church, in Philippi, to thank them for their gift, and to encourage them to live joyful Christ-centred lives together.It’s rather...

Philippians Study // Video with Matt

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Life after Lockdown

As we are now moving down the levels, we wanted to take some time over the next two weeks to focus in the evenings on the idea of ‘Life after lockdown’ where we will share reflections and ask questions about how this lockdown has/ is shaping us. Much of these conversations will come back to this awesome quote we saw quite early in lockdown. We hope this series is encouraging and thought provoking!...

Philippians Series

Tomorrow we will be beginning a new series of Readings & Reflections from Philippians that Matt Perry is preparing for us.It’s going to be a relevant & helpful study so be sure to look out for these during the next two weeks. Matt will also be doing a couple of blog posts on our website to accompany the study.Looking forward to it Matt 👍🏼...

Sunday Sermon reflection

“You may attribute miracles to Him, but not nonsense. This is no limit to His power. If you choose to say, ‘God can give a creature free will and at the same time withhold free will from it,’ you have not succeeded in saying anything about God: meaningless combinations of words do not suddenly acquire meaning simply because we prefix to them the two other words, 'God can.' It remains true that all things are possible with God: the intrinsic impossibilities are not things but nonentities. I...

What song has God placed on your heart? - Daily Question

And the last question for this week’s daily questions! ...

Who can you pray for today? - Gateway daily Question

Prayer changes things! Today’s daily question asks us to think of those around us. Who is someone in your bubble, or neighbourhood or nation that you could pray for today?...

Daniel Devotion Book

We have compiled the daily readings and blog posts on the 'Faith as Exiles' devotion on Daniel for you to download and enjoy!...

Midweek Check-in with Chris!

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What has God been speaking to you? Daily Question

Today’s daily question! How has God been speaking to you today or this week? Maybe in song or scripture? Let us know in the comments....

What are you thankful for today?

Hey Gateway! 👋 We hope your first day at level three has been going well! Over this week we have a little series of daily questions we will be sharing for you to either personally reflect on, or they could be great mealtime conversation questions to have with your bubble buddies. Let us know in the comments what’s something you’re thankful for today?...

If I were God - series reflection

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We give you thanks - Evening Prayer

Father, it’s Friday and here we are with you.We want to take time to come with our thanks..Thank you that covid 19 has been taking a turn for the better here in our land of Aotearoa.Thank you that we are in this place of turning a corner into a new level of operation.We bring those before you that are in need of our prayers..Comfort those who have found this a difficult time, for all sorts of reasons.Guide our Government and Health officials as they research and plan and lead us in the weeks a...

Daniel Blog #6

Daniel’s integrity. Daniel 6:1-5.  “It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, that they might be over the whole kingdom. And over them were three presidents (Daniel was one of them), so that these satraps might give account to them, and the king should have no loss. Then this Daniel was made overseer of the presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king was planning to set him over all the kingdom. Then the presidents and rule...

Midday check-in - From our bubbles to yours!

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Daniel Daily Reading

Daily Reading: Daniel 6:11-28Today ends our devotion in the Book of Daniel.In verses 11-16 we see the jealous officials report Daniel to the king, who ironically, is powerless to do anything because he is bound by his own law. Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den and as with the fiery furnace in chapter 3, his fate looks inevitable. But we see again that God is in control and rescues Daniel from the den of lions. Much like Nebuchadnezzar’s response at the end of chapter 4, Darius also declar...

Sing to God a brand new song! - Evening Prayer

Sing to God a brand new song. You’re singing with everyone who loves him.Let’s celebrate, have a party, get out the balloons and party food, crank up the music, and break out the dance moves.Why? Because God is crazy about us, he delights in us.He hangs ‘player of the day’ medals around our necks, he’s clapping for us.Hallelujah! (loosely Psalm 149: 1-5)...

Midday Check-in with Anna!

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Daniel Daily Reading

Daily Reading: Daniel 6:1-10Daniel is promoted in the new Persian kingdom. But Daniel’s rise to power isn’t welcomed by those he has been promoted above and they come up with a plan they think will lead to, not only his removal from office, but also certain death. This chapter mirrors chapter 3 where we see the exiles pressured to conform. In chapter 3 they were pressured to do something God forbade (worship an idol) and in chapter 6 the pressure was to not do something that God commanded th...

Midday check-in with Faye!

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Daniel Daily Reading

Daily Reading: Daniel 5:13-31No one has been able to interpret the writing on the wall so Daniel is brought before the king to bring the interpretation. In contrast to Daniel’s earlier responses to Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel pronounces judgement rather than an exhortation to change. Although Belshazzar didn’t receive the dreams his father Nebuchadnezzar had, he knew what had happened to his father. Belshazzar knew that God was King and that he should live humbly before Him. At the end of chapter...