Uncategorized

KRISTIANSAND

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Pieter Stok

The wind was brisk, the sky sunny,and the waters blue as we entered Kristiansand harbour this morning. We ate breakfast and headed into town. Another ship 15 times the size of ours was also in town, and as we walked off our ship we encountered an avalanche of passengers, mostly from the UK on their Easter break, heading in the same direction.

In Kristiansand we encountered a delight – a free organ and piano recital  at the cathedral. The acoustics were superb in the wood lined  sanctuary. After an opening prayer, we were introduced to hymns and melodies of Norwegian origin. The organist also sang acapella – her voice ringing clearly.  My heart was lifted up by this praise to God. One wonders if other tourists were as affected as I was. The gospel shone clearly for half an hour.

After we left, the need for the gospel was also clearly on display. As we walked through the town we encountered, what seemed like drug affected people abusing each other and those, like us, who crossed their paths.

Currently I am sitting in the lounge of our ship watching containers being loaded and unloaded. The joy of music, the tragedy of drugs – but in the harbour life goes on.

Kristiansand Cathedral
Categories: Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Internet Worship – Observations

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Pieter Stok

During “lockdown” my wife and I attended a variety of church services around the globe via the internet. For example, we valiantly slogged through 1&2 Samuel with Alistair Begg. Since then, we have regularly visited churches to explore how the family of God is worshipping Him. It is encouraging to see people continuing to encounter and praise God, and give thanks for His son 2000 years after his death and resurrection. There is much to be thankful for.

Saint Pierre Cathedral, Geneva

However, there are a few reflections I wish to make:

It surprises me that many worship services do not have an obvious “Call to Worship” – the idea that it is God who calls his children to gather. A Call to Worship reminds His children that they are responding faithfully to their God and that He is the centre and focus of worship. We are giving Him the “Worth” (from the old English worth-ship) he is due. He commences a dialogue to which we respond with hymns of praise and confession, and prayer. However, too often I see services that commence with “I” songs – songs about our experience and feelings.  These are appropriate in the right place, but they don’t clearly focus our attention upon God. Even the corporate “we” is often missing – the songs indicate a lot of individuals in one place, rather than the family of God.

Another observation is that most services have difficulty incorporating children. Family worship is, if we are truthful, adult worship with a few poorly timed nods at the children, at best. Often, the children are disregarded altogether. All age family worship which includes the sermon, is a hill too high to climb for the vast majority of churches. Children are often hived off to “age appropriate” worship. That children should be taught is not the issue. If worship is the gathering of God’s family before God, then children should be included and involved too. Age and maturity appropriate teaching can occur at other times for every age in the congregation in whatever way you want to dice and slice the congregation.

My third observation is there is often an emphasis on personal salvation but not the Kingdom of God. There is little emphasis on proclaiming, revealing, living in and expecting the Kingdom. The “already” (revealed in Christ)  and “not yet” (not fully realised until his return)  Kingdom seems sadly irrelevant to most preachers. The reason this bothers me is that a lack of Kingdom preaching empowers a continued dualism in Christians. Life is divided between the religious and the secular and we are subtly encouraged to live this schizophrenic life.

If you have encountered churches where these issues have been addressed, I would love to hear about them and “visit” them.

Categories: Church, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I am excited!

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Pieter Stok

Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would ever assist in the publication of a book. However, my wife’s book, “Wells for Shepherds” has been an exciting publishing adventure. Even more thrilling have been the responses we have been getting. These show that people have read the book, reflected on its serious intention and have been challenged and encouraged by it.

Below is some of the feedback we have been getting:

I really appreciate the style and design of Wells for Shepherds. I realise that it might seem odd to start with that, but I also have come to recognise how important it is – and how much effort it takes – to get this part right. I also appreciate the first few pages of framing. Again, this might not be what people usually comment on, but I think it does a great job in prompting people toward a healthier understanding of the way children can engage with the Bible – which then will, hopefully, inform their practice as adults engaging with children around the text. In terms of the content itself, I appreciate the clarity and brevity of the individual elements. My observation is that good story-telling – including the use of puppets – is in danger of becoming a lost art in the context of children’s ministry. Through these stories that can be used intergenerationally, I hope people can be encouraged in the re-discovery of the value of such story-telling for all ages. Chris Barnett, Intergen Victoria

If I had to sum it up in one word it would be captivating. I had to limit myself to one or two a night, so I could make sure to really process the stories, but I wanted to read, and read, and read. I really enjoy that it takes me inside a Bible story, a different view, without distorting or disturbing the truth. I loved the way the puppet play style stories were succinct and effectual in delivering a really concise and convincing way. They seem geared towards younger audiences, but I definitely found myself thinking about ways I could use it, in church and Sunday school etc. The hard part for some, I think more old-school and traditional folks, is the idea that there are Bible stories “re-imagined”, but I think that once people open and start to read, those hesitations will melt away. Thanks Hetty for a wonderful book! Luke

My kinda book! LOVE reading with kids and engaging them in stories about Jesus. M.A.

This anthology can be used in schools, church services, Sunday schools, at home or camps or home fellowship groups. Jo.

Thank you Hetty for creating a book that leads us back to the original text, and creates rich conversations and discussions. K.C.

A great concept! Well done. Jackie

Categories: Hetty's Devotions, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Children in the Church – specifically worship

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Pieter Stok

A few Sundays ago I was sitting in church counting the number of children aged under 14. The conclusion was, in my estimation, that about half the congregation on that Sunday were in that age bracket. A church with so many children is truly blessed. Sadly, the astounding thing was that at no point during the service were they acknowledged, whether in the language and illustrations of the sermon, in the liturgy, in the choice of songs, in the prayers – nowhere was there a place for their young voices, hearts and minds to be included in the worship of God. The adults were acknowledged through all those activities – but the children weren’t. It was as if they didn’t exist.

Sunday worship is to bring communal praise and glory to God, and I would humbly suggest that God desires the worship of children and infants as much as he does of adults. It could be argued that their worship is even more important. Psalm 8:2 declares, “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.” It follows that those who lead worship have the responsibility and privilege to enable and empower the worship of children as well. This, I would have thought, should be even more clearly seen in a Covenant community where we acknowledge God’s goodness from one generation to the next.

Some argue that we have children’s Sunday School for that purpose. No doubt, worship occurs there too, but it isn’t the whole community of God coming as one family before Him.

There is a more critical reason to reflect on this. Children need to grow in the wonderful idea that they are part of the family of God and that they are important to God. Too many young people leave the church in their teenage or university years believing that there is no real place for them in church. Including and involving them in worship is one central way to make that leaving more unlikely. Why would one leave a family in which one’s involvement and membership is key to its purpose and function?

To have worship that includes all ages may be difficult and challenging but this is no reason to push it aside. It is a reason to sit down and work together to find rich and genuine ways in which all God’s children, young and old, fit and frail, men and women have a voice in the praise of their God – together.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

Still Valuable

Posted on September 19, 2023 by Pieter Stok

The New Conspirators by Tom Sine came out 15 years ago. Its is still a valuable message for our age. Below is my review from 12 Years ago.

The New Conspirators: A Review
Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

From Generation to Generation

Posted on September 6, 2023 by Pieter Stok
From Generation to Generation
Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

People Watching

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Pieter Stok

Currently we are on the return journey back to Bergen after having made it all the way to Kirkenes. The boat we are on is essentially a fancy ferry that transports locals up and down the coast as well as tourists. We stop at a number of ports each day for people to embark and disembark and to allow other passengers to go on tours or meander through the local town.

The ship is small by cruise liner standards but has some of the same facilities. My wife describes the decor as “Upmarket Medical Centre”.

The main attraction for me is the amazing scenery we travel through but there is also time to observe my fellow passengers – at meals, in conversation, on tours and in the general activity of the ship. There are groups, couples, families and singles. There are Norwegians, Germans, French, Americans and a smattering of other nationalities. There are extreme introverts, and the far more annoying, extreme extroverts and every personality in between – and you are all stuck together for hours on end. Then you have drinkers for whom the bar is the focus of the ship, and the knitters who look for a quiet spot to click the needles and observe the amazing scenery. Crossword doodlers, shutterbugs, readers, board game players and jigsaw puzzlers round out the menagerie.

Vardo

A game I play is to listen for the accents to guess where people are from and when an opportune moment arises I will ask them, to see how close I got.

On this particular trip we have had two very special encounters. The first was with a pastor and his wife who had been in a church in Melbourne for a few years and are now back in Sweden. Even more amazing, we knew the town they came from and I actually had a photo of a friend of his which I had taken when he gave us a tour of a museum. The second encounter was with an elderly retired German academic who shared with us some of his amazing life. This was a special privilege.

I shouldn’t forget the crew. They need to keep good order on the ship as well as keeping the passengers happy. Most are friendly and some officious. They all do their respective jobs well but don’t get back to the ship late! Then you see their dark side. After a week you become familiar with the waiting and cleaning staff. On our trip the real test came when there was a bomb scare. Suddenly the crew had to take on different roles in an unfamiliar environment. The threat happened just as people were returning to the ship in port. Shelter, water and food had to be found, frail people supported and information transmitted. This was a moment when some of the crew really stood up and showed leadership and others stood back and waited for orders – a microcosm of everyday life.

Anyway, people are coming back from their excursions so it is time to swatch again.

Categories: Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

The Status of Preaching

Posted on September 23, 2022 by Pieter Stok

While reading Second Timothy as Paul instructs Timothy from prison to be a staunch and steadfast promoter of the gospel and to “correctly handle the word of truth”, it struck me that many of the examples of preaching that I encounter stand in stark contrast to that injunction. Pop psychology, platitudes, personal views and alternate readings, replace what should be at the heart of preaching – God’s infallible Word.

Even worse, some preachers encourage their hearers to find “their own truth” in the text. This is a very postmodernist approach where we all have our own “truths”. All we need to do is discover it. God’s truth, is secondary to our “truth”.

I found an alternative view in a church in Porvoo, Finland, a number of years ago. As the preacher approached the pulpit, above the door to the pulpit the cleric would have read: 1 Cor 1:21 “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” And as the preacher left, on the other side, 1 Cor 4:20 “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.” For me, it highlights the fact of God’s truth is proclaimed through the foolish mouths of humans. However, this Word, as it comes from God, is empowered to change lives and destinies. It doesn’t give us an excuse to replace God’s Word with some fantasy of our own.

Our foolishness, however, does not give us liberty to stray from God’s word. This must always be at the heart of all preaching.

Categories: Bible, Christianity, preaching, Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Robe – A Gem

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Pieter Stok

I have travelled quite extensively around my area of the world but every now and then one finds a gem that has been missed in the past. In our recent trip to South Australia we went to Robe, in the South East corner not far from Mt Gambier. It is situated on an attractive bay. A stone obelisk on Cape Dombey which guided ships to the harbour, is still extant.

In the mid-1800s it was South Australia’s second busiest port. At this time Chinese migrants wishing to avoid Victoria’s arrival tax landed here and walked the 400 kilometres to Ballarat. It is estimated that 16000 travelled this path! The port became redundant with the advent of the railways and the wool and sheepskins which had previously been exported from here found another way of reaching their destinations.

What remains however is an attractive village which, by Australian standards, contains a collection of fine historical buildings – houses, churches and pubs. It is quite a treat to wander around the village with the aid of a pamphlet produced by the local council.

Today it is a holiday retreat with a protected marina for the keen fishermen. The fine old buildings are interspersed with modern units and houses. The town is alive and active but its C21st life is a far cry from the square riggers finding safe harbour here over 150 years ago.

The Pub
Customs House
Presbyterian Kirk
The Obelisk
Categories: Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave a comment

An Anniversary

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Pieter Stok

Today is the 28th anniversary of my father’s death (July 14th) and as anniversaries often do, it caused me to reflect on the influence of my father – especially as I am a couple of years away from the age at which he died.

Dad and his violin

My Dad wasn’t perfect. A tradition I have faithfully carried on. He had a quick temper and could be stubborn. Traits that I dutifully learned as a young boy. But there are many qualities that I should have learned but was slow to grasp. He was a generous man: generous with his time, possessions and the little money he had. He was a man who took a keen interest in people’s lives and tried to help them as best he could.

Maarten, my Dad, was uneducated and this was largely due to the time in which he grew up – in the midst of economic depression, and later, war. But he was intelligent and astute. He saw through pomposity and bravado. On the other hand, he saw the best in people. When I might have been dismissive of someone, he would respond and tell me I didn’t understand the hardship and trials that this person had been through and which had, in turn, shaped their lives and attitudes.

He had that sense of responsibility that characterised many of his generation. Responsibility towards his family, his church, his customers and neighbours.

Also, he had a wicked sense of humour, liked a glass of wine or a cold beer on a blistering hot Aussie day, and loved his music – particularly Bach.

Looking back, I give thanks to God for having this dad as my father. He encouraged, at times bullied, me into making the most of my learning – one that he never had the opportunity to experience. He passed on beliefs and values for which I will be eternally grateful.

Twenty-eight years dead but still very much alive!

Categories: Family, Reflections, Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Blog at WordPress.com.