Sentence for the Week

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
​Luke 18:17

Collect for Reflection

Forgiving God, your covenant is firm; be merciful to us, and grant us to live in your presence, ever singing your praise;
through Jesus Christ our Liberator, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

 Now also read these related verses (text below):
First Reading Joel 2:23-32
Psalm Psalm 65 (Page: 267)
Second Reading 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18
​Gospel Luke 18:9-14

Household Prayer​ :  Morning
Lord, You inclined your ear and heard my cry, and lifted me when I was low. Strengthen me for service as I carry your light to the world.
AMEN.

Household Prayer : Evening
God of the night watches, guard me from torment, release me from distress. Call me close to you and kiss me with your favour that I may rest secure in you.
​AMEN.

Praying this week for....

• everyone in the parish of St Johns - for protection, strength and wisdom to follow God's will;
• Our Diocese: Bishop Steven Benford and his wife Lorraine; Vicar General, Venerable Jan Clark; for the members of Diocesan Council and the various committees that they serve on.
  
• Special Mission: We pray for Anglican Missions: Today we pray for the Sisters and Brothers of the many religious orders I the Anglican Church of Melanesia. 
  
• Southland Archdeaconry: Archdeacon Keith Gover; We pray for the Parishioners of Holy Trinity Gore, their Vicar Rev’d Gary Griffith-Smith and their Local Priest Bruce Cavenagh. We pray for MaryAnn Kuitiu, her team at South Centre and all whom they encounter during this week
• that we be always willing to share whatever we have with those less fortunate than ourselves in our community.

        Reflection question:  
How do we, individually and corporately, embody both lament for the world and the hope that is in Christ?

The Queen is dead: long live the King
We continue to pray for King Charles III and  the wider Royal family as they come to terms with this loss of Queen Elizabeth II. And we pray for ourselves that we will continue to remember her, the example of her life and faith and its impact on our own. 
Kua hinga he totara i te wao nui a Tane. A totara has fallen in the forest of Tane.
May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

Bishop Steve Benford — September 9, 2022
​

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Joel 2:23-32
New International Version23 Be glad, people of Zion,
    rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
    because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers,
    both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
    the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten--
    the great locust and the young locust,
    the other locusts and the locust swarm[a]--
my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
    and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
    that I am the Lord your God,
    and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.
The Day of the Lord28 “And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
    and on the earth,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    there will be deliverance,
    as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
    whom the Lord calls.[b]

Psalm 65
New International VersionPsalm 65[a]For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.1 Praise awaits[b] you, our God, in Zion;
    to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,
    you forgave[c] our transgressions.
4 Blessed are those you choose
    and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
    of your holy temple.
5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
    God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas,
6 who formed the mountains by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.
9 You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,
    for so you have ordained it.[d]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;
    they shout for joy and sing.

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
New International Version6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
​16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Luke 18:9-14
New International VersionThe Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”