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The term 'redemption' has its origin in the practice of freeing a slave by paying a price.  The Bible introduces the concept of kinsman redeemer and the greatest redeemer is Jesus who rescues us from the slavery to sin by paying the ultimate price.

We instinctively know when something is bad because we have an innate sense of what is good. However, ever since mankind's disobedience in the Garden of Eden when mankind rejected God and tried to be their own god, sin entered the world. This explains why, despite the progress in culture and technology, mankind still has an inherited predisposition to be selfish and evil. Only faith in Jesus' atoning death on the cross can free us from the power of sin.

The evidence that God designed the universe, our planet, our environment and the incredible creatures we discover, is overwhelming. But as humans made in God's image we sometimes become so busy that we don't see the wonder of God's creation all around us. However, if our eyes are truly opened we will see and be amazed.

A little boy gave his lunch to Jesus who multiplied it by 5,000 times.  When we commit out resources and service to God, He can multiply it too.

We don't know the hour or the day that Jesus is going to return but we can know the season and we can read some of the signs of His return.

Jesus' rebuke of Peter was because He saw past His growing popularity and the temptation to succumb to wordly success. Real success is found in serving God. By doing that we store true treasures in heaven, treasures that last.

Jesus threw a wobbly in public? Yep, because He cared that the foreigners, the poor and the marginalised were obstructed from approaching God. Do we have a blind spot which causes us to overlook people? If so, then maybe we need to ask God to open our eyes.

Jesus' miraculous stilling the storm evoked reverence and holy fear amongst His disciples as they grappled with concept that the incarnate Jesus was far more than a man. If we approach Jesus as a member of the holy godhead, we too can expect dramatic, divine intervention our own lives.

We need to prepare our hearts to receive the seed of God's word. Not only will we bear fruit but our harvest will include seeds that we have the responsibility to scatter. Not all of the seeds we sow will immediately bear fruit but we should persevere.

Despite being depicted as a "nice guy" throughout the last few centuries, the gospels reveal that Jesus was not afraid to challenge people to repent in order to enter the Kingdom of God and enjoy times of refreshing.

As more and more people turn to AI for friendship and support we need to remember that God has designed us to be part of a human community and the best community is the church, despite its imperfections.

In chapter 4 of the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar recounts how God humbled him. It reminds us that that we should not become arrogant about our accomplishments and realise that our aim should be to humbly serve God with the gifts he has given us.

God calls us to partner with Him in building the kingdom of God here on Earth. One way to do that is to support mission and aid agencies including Arotahi Build, which is a national Baptist initiative to build social housing in Christchurch. Some of the rental income from it will then be used to refurbish hostel accommodation in Bangladesh.

Mary said "Yes" when an angel announced that she was to bear Jesus. As a result of saying "Yes" she witnessed  Jesus first miracle at Cana as well as the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. If we say "Yes" to what God asks us to do  we too, can partner with God in building His kingdom

Jacob's life mirrors ours. We too, try to control our lives and are tempted to lie, manipulate and deceive but we need to be honest as we wrestle with God. And if we are tempted to fall back into sinful patterns of behaviour we need to stop wrestling and cling to God.