In defense of giving gifts at Christmas… Christmas has become a consumeristic machine. Most of us are aware that barely concealed beneath Santa’s jovial “Ho! Ho! Ho!” is the message “Buy! Buy! Buy!”. Yes, Christmas with all its consumer and material emphases has come a long way from the simple manger in a small Judean town. And as Christians we… Read more →
Monthly Archives: December 2015
Intercession: Child Poverty in NZ
Santa wants us to spend a lot. We all know this. But just as we feel numbed by endless adverts, slogans, and tacky plastic reindeer bells, a horrifying reality hits us: Nearly one third of all New Zealand children are living in poverty. More than half of them will never escape it. That’s the grim reality painted by the recently… Read more →