Dear family, brethren, and friends,

It is summertime here in New Zealand and our temperatures are running about 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.67 degrees Celsius), but with the humidity it can feel quite hot.  My clothes are damp with sweat after I preach.  Reviewing the sermons and trying to catch up on old emails and to keep up with new ones makes for busy days, but it is a privilege and joy to work with these saints who are making new lives in a foreign land.

Our Friday service was attended by 15 souls plus 7 participating via two media platforms from several nations representing about 10-12 more people.  Our topic was “The Truth about Homosexuality” and we started at 6:10 PM as everyone came from work.  The open forum was concluded at 8:15, but some of the discussions carry over during our supper on such occasions.

The topic generated a lot of questions and discussion because the homosexual agenda is being pushed upon business and government employees in N.Z.  Most of the questions revolved around how Christians can navigate and avoid yielding to the pressures to endorse and celebrate this sexual perversion on the job.  We discussed the importance of trying to convert people involved in these sins – we must reach out to them with the gospel of Christ, their only hope of forgiveness.  1 Corinthians 6:9-11 clearly shows that some of them can be saved.

While trying to befriend homosexuals and lesbians, we cannot cross boundaries that imply acceptance of their sins any more than we would do with other sins.  When trying to convert anyone who reacts harshly, we must remember Christ said there are times it is necessary to shake the dust from our feet and to seek other people who are more willing to listen.

Saturday was another full day reviewing lessons for tonight and tomorrow, plus working on email.  We also managed to attend a birthday party for little Naomi who is turning 4.  Our service was blessed to have 13 in attendance plus 11 more joining us via two media platforms – including two visitors who are not members of the Lord’s church.

Our starting time was 5:15 PM and we concluded the service at 7:45 after another extensive open forum.  The sermon addressed “The Truth about Social Media,” a topic which involves everyone in the audience.  So, once again, there were plenty of follow-up questions and comments.
Since the sermon warned against participating in gossip circulating on media, there was some discussion of how to handle what should be private information about someone which may fall into our hands.  Rather than spreading such things, we should approach the person involved to seek clarification and offer help, or possibly seek advice from mature Christians about the best way to help this person.  Gossip can be avoided by verifying the report and seeking to help resolve the issue rather than simply spreading the report far and wide.

There was a good discussion reminding us that just as media can become an obsession which obscures other important priorities, Satan can entice us to become obsessed with any number of other things which may be right within themselves.  We must constantly assess our lives to be sure we are keeping the proper priorities as priorities, avoiding all distractions offered by Satan.

This was a beautiful Lord’s Day though warm in Auckland.  Our service started at 10:15 AM and finished at 12:30.  We had 21 people in attendance plus three online as we studied two lessons on “The Threat of Pornography: Making Sex an Idol” (Eph. 3:3-5).  No questions were addressed because some members needed to go to their jobs.

After lunch and rest, our last service began at 5:15 PM and dismissed at 8:15 because of another lengthy open forum.  The sermon presented “The Truth about Transgender” to 13 attendees and an additional 11 online participants.

One of the many interesting questions was offered by a teenage girl.  The concept is being taught in her school that “sex” refers to your birth or biological identity, but “gender” refers to your perceptions about your sexual identity which may differ from your biological identity.  This contrived distinction was created by the radical feminist movement of the 1970’s, but, in fact, there is no such distinction.  The Bible clearly teaches, and biology clearly proves, there are exactly two sexes or genders, which is determined at conception by biological laws set in motion by God and cannot be changed later by “perceptions” (i.e., confusion).  Perceptions do not change a person’s gender, but a person’s perceptions of gender may be out of touch with biological reality.

One member of the audience knew about an unusual case where a woman took medications and had a sex-change surgery to pretend to be a male, and then married a male intending it to be a homosexual marriage.  The woman later came to her senses, repented, and resumed her true identity as a female.  Is the marriage valid?  No, God does not join people in marriage who step into the roles of homosexuals.  But, now the couple can take their marriage vows with true and valid intentions.

There was a lot of good discussion about the challenges of navigating our Christian lives in a world so darkened with sin and confusion, reaching out to the lost while avoiding any conduct which might imply we accept and approve their sinful ways.

This was a bitter-sweet session because we all enjoyed our fellowship in worship and Bible study for these 5 days, but the meeting has now ended and we part our ways until we meet again in this land, or in the land where we never grow old.  It is always inspiring, uplifting, edifying, and encouraging to share with the saints of the Meadowood church of Christ in serving our Lord!

I was spiritually refreshed but physically exhausted after almost 3 hours on my feet teaching.  But afterward we went upstairs to wait for our supper and I was introduced to a massage chair that unwound my tight muscles. Just another blessing of the warm hospitality of Ronnie and Nina Salunga!

Monday was another busy but productive day which included working on email, walking for an hour in the morning, preparing for tomorrow’s trip to Manila, and conducting a home Bible study and visiting with the Ric Halnas family all afternoon.  After treating me to a delicious supper at a Chinese restaurant, they introduced me to a milk tea shop where I tried ice-cold black tea with vanilla ice cream packed in the bottom of the glass.

To avoid the possibility of missing my flight because of traffic congestion the next morning (which happened some years ago), they dropped me at a motel very near the airport about 8:30 PM.  Ric has worked in New Zealand for several years and only recently succeeded in getting his family into the country with him (the process is ongoing but moving forward for permanent residency).

I will miss all these saints in New Zealand until we can meet again!

The flight scheduled to fly from Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia at 8:00 AM Tuesday was an hour late, but we had a safe and smooth trip.  The plane traveling on to Manila was delayed two hours, partly due to such a heavy rainstorm I could hardly see across the tarmac.  But, by God’s good grace, we arrived safely in Manila about 7:30 PM.  New Zealand is 18 hours ahead of Kentucky and five hours ahead of Manila, so I tried to jump-start the transition by getting some vigorous exercise tonight – I do not think there will be any trouble sleeping.

It has been great seeing the moon increasing in size the last few nights, showing off its beauty and reminding me of all of you who watch for it, too!

In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
https://www.hebronlanechurchofchrist.com
https://biblework.congregateclients.com
https://truthbooks.com
https://www.truthmagazine.com