Redwood Reformation Church

Redwood Reformation Church Reformed, liturgical & postmil. The gospel is not just about going to heaven when you die.

It is about Christ uniting heaven and earth, transforming the kingdom of this world into the kingdom of God, and renewing us in his image to rule over it. Redwood: because Rotorua is known for its redwoods, which are in turn fitting symbols of the kingdom of God. They can grow for thousands of years, resisting both fire and storm, to eventually become greater than all the other trees. Reformation:

because we stand self-consciously in the tradition of the 16th century Reformers. Just as the institutional church of their day had become weak and corrupt, so has ours. Just as they had to labor to restore the purity of the faith, so do we. And just as they emphasized the comprehensive rulership of Jesus over their nations, so we emphasize his total sovereignty as Lord of New Zealand. Church: because this is the traditional and most readily understood word for the called-out gathering of God’s people. In the New Testament, the original Greek word implies the *assembling* of God’s people together: church can just as accurately be translated as *assembly* or *congregation.*

God has given us nine acrostic psalms, yet modern songwriting sensibilities do not include this form. Why would God make...
03/04/2026

God has given us nine acrostic psalms, yet modern songwriting sensibilities do not include this form. Why would God make alphabetical lines a priority for poetic expression? Why limit himself to having his message dictated by the order of the Hebrew alphabet? What profound truth does the form and nature of this poetry communicate about God’s love for his covenant people?

Psalm 111

Being discipled by chick flicks and pop songs, we tend to think of love as the initial flames set ablaze when we meet th...
13/02/2026

Being discipled by chick flicks and pop songs, we tend to think of love as the initial flames set ablaze when we meet the person of our dreams. But the “flame of Yah”—true love as God designed it—is a cultivated fire from start to finish. To keep this marital fire burning brightly, Song of Songs depicts key elements of romance which we can cultivate in our own marriages.

Song of Songs 1:1–11

If Song of Songs is truly named, then it is the best and most important song ever written. Yet the modern reader finds i...
12/02/2026

If Song of Songs is truly named, then it is the best and most important song ever written. Yet the modern reader finds its poetry awkward, unsatisfying, and confusing. What help does God offer through this song for cultivating romantic affection in our own marriages—and how can we train our modern ears to find it profitable? Three elements contribute to poetic excellence, and help us to discern the value in Solomon’s work.

Song of Songs 8:5–7; Proverbs 5:17

Psalm 47 is a psalm that grounds all of time, drawing history together into a meaningful whole. Always it has been true,...
29/12/2025

Psalm 47 is a psalm that grounds all of time, drawing history together into a meaningful whole. Always it has been true, always it is true, and always it will be true. It is the great foundation of the past; the great promise of the future; the linchpin of yesterday, today, and tomorrow: King is God over the nations; very ascended is he.

Psalm 47

Despite the celebrations, Christmas is a time of many mundane hardships and difficulties — from annoying relatives to st...
22/12/2025

Despite the celebrations, Christmas is a time of many mundane hardships and difficulties — from annoying relatives to stretched finances. Since it is easy for us to feel set-upon and inconvenienced, it is helpful to reflect on how the first Christmas is a story of stress and anxiety, confusion and unknowns for Mary and Joseph, who had their expectations, hopes, and plans for their lives completely upended.

Luke 1:26–38; Matthew 1:18–25; Matthew 2:13–15

Scripture tells us we are to participate in Christ by forgiving our enemies — sacrificing ourselves and our anger, knowi...
08/12/2025

Scripture tells us we are to participate in Christ by forgiving our enemies — sacrificing ourselves and our anger, knowing that ultimately God is the one sacrificing us for the sake of shaping us into his image. Yet the New Testament doesn’t give much practical instruction in how. This is because the Psalms already do.

1 Peter 2:17–25

Yael, the lady of a house in league with the Canaanite king, defies her husband by deceiving and slaying Sisera, the pri...
07/11/2025

Yael, the lady of a house in league with the Canaanite king, defies her husband by deceiving and slaying Sisera, the principal of the Canaanite army. What should we make of Yael’s treatment of Sisera? Is she a liar and a murderer? Or is she indeed blessed among women? And if so, what is the implication for women in the church, and spiritual warfare?

Judges 4:17–24

Contrary to popular belief, we can and must forgive even those who wrong us unrepentantly. Repentance is not a necessary...
05/11/2025

Contrary to popular belief, we can and must forgive even those who wrong us unrepentantly. Repentance is not a necessary precondition for forgiveness — but, in fact, forgiveness is a necessary precondition for repentance. The doctrine of the cross helps us to understand how and why — and the scriptural distinction between forgiveness and reconciliation.

Luke 6:32–36; 23:32–47; Colossians 2:13–14

Jesus distilled his wisdom about worry into seven simple arguments in his Sermon on the Mount. We can follow these argum...
01/11/2025

Jesus distilled his wisdom about worry into seven simple arguments in his Sermon on the Mount. We can follow these arguments to reason our way out of anxiety, and into mental fortitude. His third argument is that God provides food for all creatures through various means — even birds who don’t have to work for it. Since we are of superior worth, we should trust that God will provide our food also, through the means he has ordained for man: work.

Matthew 6:25–34

After 20 years, a new generation has been raised up by Deborah to war against evil—led by Baraq, the lightning-man, to f...
29/10/2025

After 20 years, a new generation has been raised up by Deborah to war against evil—led by Baraq, the lightning-man, to fight the lightning-god Ba’al. While modern readers haughtily interpret Baraq as a man of defective faith, he has the trust in God (along with the confidence of 10,000 peasants) to engage a humanly suicidal strategy to defeat 90,000 Canaanite soldiers, consuming them as fire from heaven on the mountain of Tabor.

Judges 4:1–16

Because Israel has failed to represent God’s father-rule into the world, its own fathers are unable to rule. For as long...
27/10/2025

Because Israel has failed to represent God’s father-rule into the world, its own fathers are unable to rule. For as long as it takes to raise a child for battle, they are thus without a savior — and a married woman under authority must judge them. Yet through grace, this curse turns to a blessing, as Deborah the holy mother raises up a spiritual son as a warrior-savior.

Judges 4

Address

St Chad's Church Building, Cnr Devon & Fenton Street
Rotorua

Opening Hours

10:30am - 12:30pm

Telephone

+64220708807

Website

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