Reverend George Penk

27/09/2026

This is cool! ✝️

24/09/2026

It’s September 25 – which means (and I don’t mean to alarm you!) that today marks just three months until Christmas! 🎄🤯

If you’re anything like me, that’s both exciting and a little bit scary at the same time. This year really is flying! ⏳😅

24/09/2026

In James 5, the apostle James is talking about prayer. He says it is powerful and effective.

The power and effectiveness of prayer is something I’ve been thinking about a lot in recent weeks. That’s probably because at St Andrew’s Glen Eden we’ve been working through a sermon series called 'People of Prayer'.

Preaching on prayer for a whole month has made me think quite deeply about why we pray and how we pray. And it’s actually been a really helpful time for me personally.

Watchman Nee was a Chinese Christian leader in the 1900s. He said that prayer is like laying down railway tracks – the tracks along which God’s power can move. God’s power is unstoppable, like a mighty locomotive, and it runs along the rails we lay in prayer.

I love that picture. Maybe it’s because ever since I was a small boy, I’ve liked trains. I can easily imagine a powerful locomotive steaming through the countryside, unstoppable and full of energy. And so the analogy makes sense to me: prayer lays the track, and God’s power moves along it.

When St James wrote his New Testament letter, locomotives didn’t exist. He would not have known what a steam train was! But he certainly knew all about the power of prayer. He said it was powerful and effective.

Sometimes I need reminding of that. Prayer isn’t just a nice idea or a comforting ritual. It actually changes things. It makes a difference. I believe it is powerful and effective.

And so, as I continue to think about this topic, I’m reminding myself that I can lay down the tracks. I can pray boldly. I can pray faithfully. I can pray expectantly. Because God’s power is unstoppable – and prayer is the way we make room for that power to move.

23/09/2026

God loved, so God gave.

Bible Boost in Spotify: https://rb.gy/9v6qr2
Apple Podcasts: https://rb.gy/xfr3g

22/09/2026

Today I recorded next month’s podcast episodes – so the Bible Boosts and Seven-Minute Sermons are done for October! 🎙️🙌

Next up is preparing the November ones … which feels a bit crazy. Seriously, where is this year going?! 😅📆

21/09/2026

There's a new Seven-Minute Sermon out today! 🎙️🎧

Jesus descended into our humanity, our suffering, and our shame. The Father raised him to glory.

Seven Minute Sermon in Spotify: https://rb.gy/tlrive
Apple Podcasts: https://rb.gy/uf1j7

18/09/2026

In the Parable of the Vineyard Workers, the ones hired last (the overlooked, the unwanted, the passed by) are the ones the landowner treats with extraordinary kindness.

Hear more in this week’s Seven-Minute Sermon:
Spotify: https://rb.gy/tlrive
Apple Podcasts: https://rb.gy/uf1j7

17/09/2026

The painting project is complete! 🎨

St Andrew’s Glen Eden is looking s***k and span in time for our Parish Centenary in November. 😍

16/09/2026

Today’s Bible Boost reminds us that nothing can separate us from God’s love.

Spotify: https://rb.gy/9v6qr2
Apple Podcasts: https://rb.gy/xfr3g

15/09/2026

I love sport – and I especially love seeing New Zealand win. But even when the result doesn’t go our way, I love seeing this even more. 😍

Cool to see so many of the All Blacks and Springboks praying together after the final test of the tour – including a few players I wouldn’t have expected to see in a prayer huddle! 🙏

I know I’ve already posted about this several times over the past few weeks… but I just think it’s amazing to see what God is doing. 🙌