John Hebenton's Podcast
453 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago -Sunday sermons preached at St. George's Anglican Church, Gate Pa, Tauranga. These are mostly based on the RCL Lectionary readings for that Sunday, with a few variations for our own lectionary in this Province, and special events here at Gate Pa.
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Episodes
The Kingdom or Reign of Heaven is like a Gorse Bush
July 29, 2020 04:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBWhat is the kingdom of heaven like? A careless farmer wasting his seed A gorse bush? Yeast hidden is vast quantities of flour? What images would we use and how do we make sense of these images? How do these images help us see see the reign of God/Kingdom of Heaven breaking into our world today? You can read the notes here
Having another look
July 21, 2020 01:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MBA sermon from the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, which was also Refugee Sunday, exploring the themes of Refugee Sunday through the lens of the story of Rebekah, and Jesus’ yoke from Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30. How do we experience God’s faithfulness in all this? What is yoke of Jesus for us? The notes for this sermon can be found here
God Provides
June 30, 2020 03:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MBJohn explores the underlying message this week of God being the one who provides. How does the reading from Genesis 22:1-14 and from Matthew 10:40-42 help us explore this theme. I wonder - Where is the invitation for us in this harvest festival? The notes for this sermon can be found here The service can be watched on our YouTube channel
Discovering Church With No Maps During Lockdown
June 23, 2020 03:00 - 13 minutes - 9.34 MBAs we regather for the second time, and prepare for our AGM, some reflections and questions. We have spent 10 years hearing about not having maps for how to do church anymore. We certainly had no maps for doing church over the last 3 months. We had to make it up as we went. Some questions to reflect on - What was your best experience of church during the lock down What was the hardest thing What was the gift of that time What three wishes do you have for the future as a result of your...
Regathering
June 16, 2020 01:00 - 12 minutes - 8.7 MBAs we returned to our church building to worship together, we spent some time hearing each other’s stories. We used four questions 1. What was the most memorably good thing about lockdown 3 and 4? 2. What was the hardest thing about lockdown 3 and 4 3. What was the gift of this time? 4. Where have you experienced the reign of heaven during this time? You can find the notes to this sermon here
Living in the Trinitarian Mystery
June 09, 2020 03:00 - 13 minutes - 9.01 MBJohn talks about how theology was for the first 1,000 or more years done by people immersed in the life and struggles of the people of the church. Theology was a pastoral response to the big issues they were facing. In the face of persecution for example, who is the God met in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The doctrine of the Trinity should also be read from a pastoral perspective. How do we respond to the community of love that is the Trinity? How do we experience this God in ...
Breathing Peace and Joy
June 01, 2020 03:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MBThe story of the giving of the Spirit in John is different from Acts. In this time of relaxing pandemic, what does the story of the gifting of the Spirit in John offer us? As Jesus breathes on his terrified disciples offering them peace and a mission, how do we experience The Spirit breathed over and into us? When have been the moments of peace breath, forgiveness, and rejoicing? You can find the notes to this sermon here
Where is God in all this?
May 25, 2020 23:00 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MBJohn reflects on the Ascension and Jesus final prayer while we continue to not meet in church and live our lives under level 2 restrictions, where do we see God at work? At the end of the sermon is a little bit about when we might return to having services in church. The notes for this sermon can be found here
Abiding in Lockdown
May 19, 2020 04:00 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBJohn explores John 14:15-21 and what Jesus says about the Spirit of Truth, the Companion. The gift of the Spirit is that the love of God resides in each one of us, that all may be drawn into the way of God – the way of compassion, generosity, justice and love. And the task of the Spirit is to invite us ever more deeply into love, so that we too might abide in divine love. While we might be physically distanced from each other, we are not distanced from God. While ee might not be able to ...
Words Offering Comfort and Hope
May 12, 2020 06:00 - 18 minutes - 12.8 MBJohn explores how putting John 14 back into the context of John's version of the last supper turns what Jesus says from hard to understand theology to words of comfort and hope in the midst of their terror and confusion. And in doing so they become words of comfort and hope in the midst in the midst of pandemic lock-downs. Like those disciples we are invited into the image we saw last week of God being protector and provider, even in the midst of this dark time. How does Julian of Norwich h...
Jesus the Door?
May 05, 2020 06:00 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MBThis week we follow up on the 4th Sunday in Lent this year, when we also read the 23rd Psalm, and heard the first part of the story we are finishing today – the healing of the man born blind. That Sunday was our last Sunday in our church. We are unsure when we will able to return. What does God being both our protector and provider mean for us at this time? The notes for sermon can be read here
Eyes Wide Open in the New Normal
April 26, 2020 08:00 - 15 minutes - 10.5 MBWe are in a new normal – getting used to being church in some different and creative ways. Today’s gospel invites us to think about how we recognise the risen Jesus in the ordinary acts of gathering for meals and living in our bubbles. Hearing the story of the disciples meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus has a number of invitations - What are your hopes in all this? - How are you feeling? - Is this something you can share with others - Or just i...
Practising Peace Sermon
April 20, 2020 23:00 - 12 minutes - 8.36 MBBonnie Hebenton preaches this week. She writes about the theme The gospel readings this week and for today are all about Jesus' encounters with his disciples after his resurrection. Jesus is constantly reassuring everyone and helping them put aside their fear and anxiety. He keeps saying, "Peace be with you." This is an important reassurance for all of us in the midst of a pandemic, and our current isolation from one another. God has given us peace John 14:27 My peace I leave you, my peac...
It began in God (Easter 2020)
April 14, 2020 00:00 - 13 minutes - 9.42 MBA reflection mirroring the the events around holy week and Easter with our own experience of covid-19 and lock-down, and how the two stories might speak to each other. Quietly in the dawn a single word has changed our world We are freed What does that mean for us this year? What changes for us in this moment? You can find the text of this here
Hikoi of Peace
April 05, 2020 02:00 - 15 minutes - 10.8 MBPalm Sunday (Branch Monday in Matthew) is time to join the disciples on their journey of recognising Jesus as the King who comes in peace, saving all from all that oppresses, offering God’s healing and life. We join them and Jesus as we walk though this holy week to Golgotha, where Jesus accepts his crown hung on a cross. This week in lock-down offers a unique opportunity to enter this week more fully, holding the way of Palm Sunday in our hearts. Some questions and actions - What oppress...
Finding Life When in Strange Times
March 29, 2020 01:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MBOur lives have been turned upside down. We are having to rethink how we live our lives. We are in a strange new land for the next few weeks at least. How are we feeling after a few days of lockdown? How are we feeling with Covid-19 around us? Ezekiel was given a vision for those whose lives had been turned upside down, who were having to rethink how they lived their lives. They were in a strange new land. Martha and Mary, with the death of their brother Lazarus, had their lives turned ups...
Learning to See in Dark Times
March 25, 2020 23:00 - 15 minutes - 10.5 MBIn this uncertain time what does this the story of the Blind Man being healed offer. What light is being planted in our eyes? Who are we invited to see at this time? In what ways are we being invited to hear and see, to deepen our relationship with Jesus. We also explore some of the issues around translations, and how if we can the meaning of a couple of words to other equally acceptable meanings, and move a full stop, we get a very different reading. This is not about who to blame, but how...
She Left the Jug Behind
March 17, 2020 04:00 - 14 minutes - 9.89 MBHow does this story add to the story we explored last week, a story that begins with greed, violence, and division; finds Abram and Sarai being invited into the impossible dream of being the first ancestor of a new people – unlike any other – through whom God will renew creation and restore humanity; an impossible dream tenuously held in the Israelite people; and fulfilled in Jesus. How does this story shape his interaction with Nicodemus and with the Samaritan woman? The script for this ca...
Born Anew - the Long Story
March 10, 2020 01:00 - 11 minutes - 8.2 MBThis is a reflection more than a sermon. It is based on Abram and Sarai being called away from everything they know, everything that shaped who they are, everything that gives safety and security to be the means through which God might restore the human and non-human creation and be able to live in harmony with God’s original intention for the world. John (like Paul) presents Jesus as the means by which this promise, this hope, this covenant is fulfilled. And Nicodemus is invited to leave a...
A Testing Time
March 03, 2020 03:00 - 16 minutes - 11.7 MBJesus time in the wilderness ( Matthew 4: 1-11) was less about being tempted to act in certain ways, and more about being tested in his sense of who he was and how he might live that out. Lent too is about who we are as beloved children of God, how we forget that, and how we might live that out. I want to suggest that our collective issue might be “climate change” Invite people to reflect on what their Lenten disciplines might be considering that, and what “our” Lenten discipline might be....
Join the Resistance
February 25, 2020 04:00 - 14 minutes - 10 MBWe continue our journey into the sermon on the Mount, holding the beatitudes as our map and key, exploring how Jesus explicated the intention of the law and the prophets. That intention is the creation of a community which mirrors the love of God, in which all flourish, that gathers around all, where the common good is held as paramount, all are treated with honour and respect, and all are given what they need to thrive. When we act out of this we are perfect – whole, complete, devoted to th...
Is the Treaty a Joke?” – the Treaty of Waitangi 180 years on
February 19, 2020 03:00 - 1 hour - 70.9 MBOn Thursday 6th February we in Aotearao-New Zealand commemorated the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Events were held at Waitangi and around Aotearoa-New Zealand. So what are we commemorating: A piece of legal history of no consequence today? A tool for the British to steal Maori land? A device that allowed Maori to enjoy the benefits of being part of the British Empire and access to European technology and knowledge? A document that set out the parameters of future race relations? What...
Lustful Thoughts and Superbowl
February 18, 2020 04:00 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBWhat does it mean for Jesus to fulfil the law? This week we are given examples of how Jesus reads the law. It is to create a community where all can thrive, not just the rich and the powerful. Where the poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn etc… are able to be all God desires for them. This happens when we see and treat each person as our sister and brother, and when we take responsibility for our reactions to each person. The use the reaction to the Super Bowl half time show as an exam...
Salt and Light
February 11, 2020 20:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBUsing Matthew 5:13-20 John explores What does it mean for Jesus to fulfill the law? What does it mean for how I am salt and light? Last week we were given a list of kinds of people who we might aspire to be in the beatitudes. They are salt and light. Who is salt and light for me? The notes for this sermon can be found here
Why the Anglican Apology for the Yielding of Mission Land in Tauranga
February 04, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 64.2 MBSt. Georges Anglican Church, Gate Pa, sits on the site of the Battle of Gate Pā-Pukehinahina. Each year we offer free lectures to help people understand our history and how it shapes our present. This year we are offering two lectures on the evenings of February 2nd and February 9th at 7pm. Each talk will last about 2 hours. The first talk will be given by Archbishop Sir David Moxon on The Anglican Apology given in 2018 for the Disposal of the Mission Lands in Tauranga in 1867. Copies of t...
Blessed are the Cheese-makers
February 04, 2020 01:00 - 17 minutes - 12.1 MBJohn explores this week’s gospel readings, of both the presentation of Jesus in the temple (Luke 2: 22-40 ) and the Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 1-12 ). What do these stories reveal about Christ, and what do they reveal about how we are to live our response. The theme can be read here, and the sermon notes can be found here
Loved, Worthy and Chosen
January 28, 2020 05:00 - 12 minutes - 8.66 MBAdrienne Malcomson, an assistant priest in the parish, writes of her theme: "We make choices everyday – God chooses us. Through God`s grace and love we are chosen just as we are. What are we chosen to do? These answers, maybe, are in today`s sermon.
The Big Picture Maybe?
January 28, 2020 05:00 - 17 minutes - 12.4 MBWhat is Epiphany and what does it offer us? This is a sermon using Matthew 4:12-25 to explore Epiphany as time of intentionally seeing the world differently (repentance) and living that out (call).
Joy @ Advent
December 17, 2019 04:00 - 16 minutes - 11.4 MBWhat brings me joy? What bring God joy? What is joy and how do we pay attention to it and nurture it? Where do we find joy in our gospel reading this morning? What does joy mean this advent? We finish by looking at the promotional video for the CWS Christmas appeal Notes for this sermon can be found here
Immersed in the Ways of God
December 13, 2019 00:00 - 20 minutes - 14.2 MBJohn introduces Advent and baptism as time to be immersed into the values and practices of the way of God - living out God’s will being done on earth as in heaven. We use the video Advent Conspiracy John uses the story of the battle of Gate Pa to explore what baptism is, and what those values and ways might look like, and what we might hope for Charlotte as she is baptised today Notes for this sermon can be found at here
I Wish We’d All Been Ready?
December 04, 2019 04:00 - 16 minutes - 11.6 MBJohn uses Advent as preparing for Christ in history, mystery and majesty to read Matthew 24, rather than a “left behind” approach. What does it mean then to live in Christ of mystery while preparing for Christ in majesty, while celebrating Christ in history? Maybe Jewish understanding of Tikkun Olam( (תיקון עולם) as one way of approaching this using video - “Tikkun Olam” with Rabbi Arthur Green Source: <www.youtube.com/watch?v=UotvOtZOYuY> How does “Tikkun Olam” help us engage with advent t...
Pay Attention
November 19, 2019 00:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MBJohn applies the idea that “The questions we ask, what we look for and how we look determines what we see” to the gospel reading for the day - Luke 21:1-19 . He explores how the questions we ask shape what we read, using the examples of the widow, the end of time, and what Jesus said. He starts and finishes by asking "What stood out, what did you hear and see, and so what?" The notes for this sermon can be read here
The Trap
November 13, 2019 05:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBJohn invites a conversation about what “resurrection of the dead” means for us, and how that affects how we live our lives. Some points made in this conversation include Jesus describes God as the “God of the Living”. How does that help or confuse? Emerson Powery[i] talks about embodied resurrection – what is that? How does any of this help us face issues of day - Parihaka - End WWI - End of Life Choice Bill - Climate change - Demise of C...
Seeing with Zacchaeus
November 05, 2019 00:00 - 15 minutes - 10.6 MBMixing and matching All Saints with the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, John retells the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus, trying to put it in context and to highlight some of the different ways it is translated. We then have a conversation around: What does Jesus see? How does Zacchaeus respond? What do we see? How do we respond? To mark All Saints we remember that we gather around Christ’s table with all the saints who have gone before, and our departed loved ones, and we give thanks for God’s ...
Wrestling with a Pharisee
October 28, 2019 23:00 - 20 minutes - 14.2 MBA conversation about how we read this story of the Pharisee and the tax collector (publican). In what ways do we trust that we are righteous? What does that even mean? Who do we regard with contempt if any? What does it mean to be humble? Who is God in all of this? The sermon finishes with these questions What limits do we seek to place on God? How do we seek to narrow the wideness of God’s mercy? What barriers do we put between those we deem unworthy and God of infinite compassion, g...
People of Faith
October 22, 2019 00:00 - 19 minutes - 13.2 MBThere are some big questions raised in the story Jesus tells in Luke 18:1-8. Who is God? Does God answer prayers? What is prayer? What is faith? What is justice? John spends some time exploring why we might wrestle with these. He finishes by inviting people to name the issues of justice around us today, to pray incessantly, and to be open to being called to engage in that work of justice making – for there is God. The notes for this sermon can be read here
Francis and Making Room
October 15, 2019 01:00 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MBLast Sunday we celebrated two things - first is crazy saint of Assisi – Francis; and how when he embraced lady Poverty allowed him to see the goodness of God in all things and all people and all creation. He lived a life of penance - making room for God in creation, in the leper, in the Sultan. Each taught him about God - the amazing work of SPCA -> today give freely to support this work. John wonders what this might say to the climate crisis we face and asks who might we need to learn t...
Francis and Making Room
October 15, 2019 01:00 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MBLast Sunday we celebrated two things - first is crazy saint of Assisi – Francis; and how when he embraced lady Poverty allowed him to see the goodness of God in all things and all people and all creation. He lived a life of penance - making room for God in creation, in the leper, in the Sultan. Each taught him about God - the amazing work of SPCA -> today give freely to support this work. John wonders what this might say to the climate crisis we face and asks who might we need to learn t...
Supporting the work of the Merivale Community Centre
October 01, 2019 00:00 - 29 minutes - 20.3 MBOn Sunday we were privileged to have Sophie Rapson, General Manager at the Merivale Community Centre here in Tauranga. Cliff Simons interviewed her about her work and how we might be able to help, beyond the $50 a month we give from Centrepoint. You can find out more about the Centre and their amazing work in the community at their website
Beggars at the Gate
September 30, 2019 23:00 - 17 minutes - 12.4 MBJohn explores Luke 16:19-31, the story of poor beggar Lazarus and the very wealthy self consumed rich man, using some of his encounters with beggars in America, and some of his other experiences lately. He asks • What are the “gates” that separate us from those in need around us? • Who is at our gate, and how are we seeing and responding to them?
Rejoicing in Te Wiki o te Reo Maori
September 17, 2019 05:00 - 21 minutes - 15.1 MBJohn explores why we might use te reo māori in our services, what we don’t enjoy, and what give us joy in using it. Then he used Luke 15:1-10 to suggest that in these stories Jesus is simply seeing each person, valuing who they are for all their faults, and inviting them to repent – to have a bigger mind and to see themselves as made in the image of God. And when they begin to do that there is joy. Who are we invited to see and value? What rejoicing are we invited to join? In this Te W...
What Blinds?
September 09, 2019 23:00 - 18 minutes - 13.1 MBUsing Luke 14:25-33 John explores what might blind us to where God is at work in the world, and what stops us joining in that work. He finishes by asking of himself, "what stops me taking Climate Change more seriously?"
Living in the Radiating Cosmos and Climate Change
August 07, 2019 01:00 - 7 minutes - 5.33 MBJohn's final sermon which both summarises some of what has been talked about during this Season of Creation and uses the reading from Colossians 1:15-20 to explore the idea of the cosmos radiating with the presence of our creating and life giving God. How does all this help us as individuals, as a parish respond to climate change
Storms in the Season of Creation
July 30, 2019 00:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MBJohn explores our experience of storms both good and bad while some are destructive they are important for cooling and feeding world - teach us humility in face such force but also explore what it is like being in the start of a climate change storm more than just what happening to climate - symptomatic of bigger moral storm been engulfed in for decades if not longer moral storm fed by greed and consumerism Then use Pope Francis o integral theology o need to break wit...
The Animals – our brothers and sisters
July 23, 2019 01:00 - 21 minutes - 15 MBJohn begins by recapping the previous weeks of The Season of Creation, and then builds on that by suggesting that" - we are enmeshed and sustained by web of life – includes all animals great and small - scripture invites us to see animals not as resources for our use but as our brothers and sisters - God creates and gives life through all animals by their very existence - they hold life in an intricate self-sustaining web - we are damaging if not ...
Patterns of Resilience
July 17, 2019 04:00 - 20 minutes - 13.8 MBOur preacher today was The Ven Dr Justine Allain Chapman, Archdeacon of Boston in the diocese of Lincoln, UK. She will draw this morning on the resilience shown by St Peter. Justine writes: "Coping with change and the difficulties of life is something we can’t avoid if we are to live well and become more compassionate to ourselves and those we live amongst. Our spiritual resources can be deepened and shared with greater understanding and we can become wiser, more mature. Resilience – ...
The Oceans – an invitation to awe
July 12, 2019 01:00 - 23 minutes - 16.4 MBJohn quickly recaps what the season of creation is all about, and then explores the theme for this week - The Oceans.The Oceans are important · they inspire our awe and wonder of God · the hold life in an intricate self-sustaining web · we are damaging if not killing it John wonder, for our survival, how we might nurture both the oceans and this web of life as: - an act of devotion to God, Source of all Being; - an expression of our being imag...
Stewardship in the Season of Creation
July 02, 2019 01:00 - 20 minutes - 14.3 MBJohn explores what the Season of Creation is and says it offers us an opportunity to reflect on our place in this world as people made in the image of God. This is God’s world, and we are invited to live richly - joyfully responding to the goodness and generosity of God. He then played Greta Thunberg’s speech to World Economic Forum in Davos on 23 January 2019. - How do you respond? - What questions do you have? - What would you like to say in response? The notes ...
A Bigger Mind
June 17, 2019 08:00 - 17 minutes - 12.3 MBTrinity Sunday is a time gain a bigger mind. John explores how our constructs and doctrines of God too often constrict us from living lives based on God’s justice, compassion and generosity. Instead we are invited to hold them very lightly and allow them to lead us into the mystery of God • How does your understanding of God, three in one, shape who you are and your understanding of what your life is about? • How might joining the dance of love change any of that? The no...
Breath on Me Holy Spirit
June 11, 2019 02:00 - 19 minutes - 8.76 MBJohn explores the Gospel of John’s version of the gifting of the Spirit and her role among us. In light of that he invites people to take one of the flowers from we made on Easter Sunday for our resurrection cross as a reminder that the Spirit is at work beside us and within us, reminding, comforting, teaching, encouraging, praying in us and with us. The movie you can hear is the movie on Pentecost from Vol. 11: Spreading The Good News from www.whatsinthebible.com. The notes from this sermon...