Church Talk
Hannah dedicates Samuel
Friday 2 July 2010 | Published in Church Talk
“When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.” “Do what […]
Are your gifts tokens or your entire life?
Friday 2 July 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Hannah had been unable to conceive children and in the Old Testament times, a childless woman was considered a failure. Her barrenness was a social embarrassment for her husband. Children were a very important part of the society’s economic structure. They were a source of labour for the family and it was their duty to […]
Community rallies behind Aratoa
Thursday 1 July 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Those who know 12-year-old Aratoa Mana can vouch that he’s a fighter with strength beyond his years. The Titikaveka youth has been in New Zealand since early this year, battling leukemia and gritting his teeth through painful chemotherapy treatments. But the light at the end of the tunnel is the outpouring of support from his […]
70 Apostolics fly
Friday 25 June 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Bishop Tutai Pere and a team of 70 Apostolic Church members leave this week to attend the Annual South Pacific District Council of the 43rd Episcopal District of the Pentecostal AssemblIes of the World Inc. in Cairns, Australia. The delegation consists of 50 members from the Rarotonga congregation and 20 from the islands of Aitutaki, […]
Mirror-ing ourselves for heaven's reunion
Friday 25 June 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Aka-ata anga ia tatou no te Basileia! In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the wicked queen asks her enchanted mirror, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all?” The mirror cannot lie. So for many years it says, “You, O queen, are the fairest in the land.” But one day, the […]
Is this a Christian island or what?
Friday 25 June 2010 | Published in Church Talk
We may consider our island to be Christian – at face value. People attend church on Sunday religiously; children sing Christian songs in state schools; there are prayers at sports meetings; and churches are more common than grocery stores. However, upon closer scrutiny there is a very different picture. Some people who claim the title […]
Living with integrity
Friday 18 June 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Ways to walk the talk in all our daily lives The last time I wrote, my focus was on the importance of living life with integrity. If we “walk the talk” in every area of our lives, the Bible says that God is pleased because his character is truth, we influence or affect for good […]
Stewardship and money are not the same things
Friday 11 June 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Stewardship is an old-fashioned word that basically means "management". And a steward is a manager.
Avarua CICC youth groups rejoice
Friday 4 June 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Avarua Cook Islands Christian Church youth groups have been singing and dancing their praises for the lord during this week’s ‘Avarua youth week’ competition. The six ekalesia under the Avarua CICC branch namely Tupapa, Maraerenga, Takuvaine, Tutakimoa, Ruatonga and Avatiu have spent the past months practising various items for this week’s competition. The inter-ekalesia competition […]
Our Mauke mission – sustainable living
Saturday 22 May 2010 | Published in Church Talk
People still say they can’t believe Andrew left his home and I left a good job, to work income-less on a remote piece of rocky land. I’m sure they’ve got bets down on how long we’ll last in Mauke. God only knows that, but for now we know this is our mission. The opportunity to […]
Justification by faith
Friday 21 May 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Paul is dealing with people caught in hypocrisy at the time. But the words he speaks can be so easily put to us today! We compel others to live in a way which we do not live ourselves. We change what we believe because of sin in our lives. If the Word says something, we […]
'Passing the torch'
Friday 21 May 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Passing of the Torch before the opening of the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games or even the South Pacific Games is becoming a familiar sight. The spectacular pageantry of the opening ceremonies cannot begin until the final carrier of the torch arrives in the stadium. The torch symbolically links the modern games to their 2700 years […]
CICC follows up seminar
Friday 21 May 2010 | Published in Church Talk
In response to positive feedback from a Walk Thru the Bible seminar conducted in March, CICC is hosting another Walk Thru. The Avarua Cook Islands Christian Church will be hosting a follow-up seminar at Sinai Hall sometime in June. Those who registered for and attended the first seminar are free to re-use the same manual […]
In the name of Christ, stop!
Friday 14 May 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Charles Colson, in his marvellous volume ‘Loving God’, told the story of Telemachus, a fourth century Christian. He was a peace-loving, beauty-loving man who lived in a remote village, tending his garden and spending much time in prayer. One day he thought he heard the voice of God telling him to go to Rome, so […]
The power of positive living
Friday 7 May 2010 | Published in Church Talk
No one can deny the fact that we are living in a difficult time. Every day we face personal challenges, from the satress of living in a growing high-cost, competitive environment, to the difficulty of establishing genuine, true friends and building trust-worthy relationships. Thank God we still have some measure of extended family cohesion, although […]
Living the word
Friday 30 April 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Three theology students were discussing the relative merits of different translations of the Bible. One argued for the New Revised Standard Version: “It’s closer”, he said, “to the original Hebrew and Greek. Another preferred the New Jerusalem Bible: the layout made it very readable and he found the notes superb. The third student said that […]
Catholics welcome new priest
Friday 30 April 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Last Thursday night Father Freddy Kaina was ordained in a moving service. He was inducted into the priesthood in front of his proud parents Kaina Kaina and Marii Kaina, family members from overseas and a huge congregation of Catholic parishioners from across the Cook Islands. The Manihiki community paid special homage to their son by […]
Father Freddy ordained
Saturday 24 April 2010 | Published in Church Talk
After a moving ordination on Thursday night, Father Freddy Kaina was to conduct his first public mass this morning at St Joseph’s Catholic Cathedral at 11am. Father Kaina was inducted into the priesthood in front of his proud parents Kaina Kaina and Marii Kaina, family members from overseas and a huge congregation of Catholic parishioners […]
Freddy joins priesthood
Friday 23 April 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Thirty-eight-year-old Manihiki man Freddy Kaina will from today on be known as Father Kaina. Kaina was ordained into the Cook Islands Catholic Diocese last night at St Joseph’s Catholic Cathedral in Avarua in front of a large crowd of proud family members and parishioners. Kaina was born in Manihiki in 1972 before he moved with […]
He is risen
Friday 23 April 2010 | Published in Church Talk
Wherever I travel, I try to pay a visit to the town cemetery. It is a time of contemplation, of reflection on the meaning of life and the inevitability of death. In the small cemetery in the town of Santa Clara, Utah, I remember the preponderance of Swiss names which adorn the weathered tombstones. Many […]