Posts by John Staiger (Page 76)
Starting to Begin#2 “The Journey to That First Sermon.”
.”My first sermon may not be remembered by anyone else but me, but it did have some redeeming qualities: *It was mercifully brief. Only twenty minutes in length, it was easily fifteen minutes shorter than the average Sunday morning sermon of 1978. *It was extremely well rehearsed. I literally stood in the old Otumoetai church of Christ pulpit and repeatedly preached it to an empty auditorium in the dead of night. No ‘off-the cuff’ content included. *When I stood up…
Starting to Begin#1 “Article 365.”
Back in the mid-1980s Dan Martin invited me to write articles for his “Evangelism Dynamics” paper. An offer not made lightly. I appreciated the offer, but I had to decline. I didn’t tell him why, but he could probably tell by the look on my face—fear had gripped me. Apart from assignments at Bible College, I had not written an ‘article’ in my life. And even over the decades to come I would write but a few ‘Bulletin Articles.’ I…
Lost and Found #7 “Found …. then what?”
I was baptised on a Thursday night and two days later I was with my new-found brothers at my very first men’s working-bee. Fred Martin was there. He reminded me of John Wayne and was a painter by trade. He, of course, knew a willing worker when he saw one and he set me to work painting the new wall behind the pulpit of the Otumoetai church of Christ. Not too many Saturdays later, our preacher, Ian Mostert, called for…
Lost and Found#6 “That which matters!”
Four years ago, I became very unwell and in need of an operation to fix internal bleeding. There were days when I was so weak, I wondered how close to the end I had gotten. But during the worst of my moments, I can honestly say, that the thing that mattered to me most was that my children get to heaven. When you are feeling your humanity, it is amazing what matters and what doesn’t. There will come a day…
Lost and Found#5 “Kept for Eternity.”
I have met evil people in the church. They are the last to believe it of themselves. Such is the hardness of their hearts that destroying the lives of others is considered by them as acts of righteousness. I have met righteous people in the church. They are the last to believe it of themselves. Such is the goodness of their hearts that blessing the lives of others is considered by them as acts of right-ness. Giving thanks to their…
Lost and Found#4 “Treasure Found.”
Back in 1970, when milk was four cents a pint, finding a two-dollar note was finding a veritable fortune for a nine-year-old boy. It was laying in the grass opposite the ‘Horseshoe Inn,’ the local pub in our village of Matata. I imagine that the note slipped out of a patron’s pocket the previous night as he pulled his car keys out of his pocket. I snatched up the new-found treasure and took it to my mother for inspection. ‘Thou…
Lost and Found#3 “The Lost Finding the Church.”
If you Google “Ship of Fools Morningside church of Christ” you will find a 2014 review of a worship service of the Morningside congregation. It is worth a read. The man who visited us and wrote the review was accurate in his assessment (for then), I think. He slipped in as we were starting worship, and he was supposed to slip out without giving away his identity—a very hard thing to achieve at Morningside. What if a ‘non-Christian” decided he…
Lost and Found#2 “Finding Meaning.”
I was lost and away from God, and I knew it. My problem was in the finding. Soul-dead religion wasn’t hard to see. But neither were genuinely sincere people keen to share their testimonies with me. I took in every sight and sound and have believed to this day that God’s hand of providence was in it all. Being spiritually lost is not to be wished upon anyone. It is indeed a land of darkness and doubt. When searching for…
Lost and Found#1 “The other Prodigal.”
A party appeared out of nowhere. What could have sparked such a rapturous scene? The noise of feasting could not be missed. Such was the speed of events that the heir of the estate seemed to be the last to know. When collaring one of the servants he heard from him the last thing on earth he ever wanted to hear: “Your brother’s back!”How could this have happened? Surely, he was well-shot of the boy. Now he is back and…
Winning and losing#6 “Gambling – What are the odds?”
Las Vegas may have been built by winners, but it was paid for by losers. Covid lockdowns have reduced casino patronage to zero in many places. Online gambling has become the go-to place for regular gamblers, and many more who have been enticed by ads or word-of-mouth. I have a friend who was given a ‘free $200 starter pack of gambling chips’ to draw him into an online game. Fortunately, he didn’t have enough money for the ‘sign-up’ fee. These…