For Sunday the 1st July - 8.30am

This morning a small band of regulars joined with me to pray Matins and commemorate the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. We gave thanks for God's preservation of the gospel through the fearless confession of His faithful servants throughout the ages, and especially during the Reformation.


This gospel brings us God's free gift of forgiveness, life and salvation through faith in Jesus. It frees us from enslavement to the Law and so it liberates us from sin and death which come as a result of our failure to keep the Law. This coming Sunday (1st of July) we will be hearing what this freedom means for our daily lives and rejoicing in the privilege we have to serve God as a result of our status as free people who are led by the Holy Spirit.

The readings are:
1 Kings 19:15,16,19-21
Galatians 5:1,13-25
Luke 9:51-62

I'll be preaching on the second reading.

In the meantime, this Friday (June 29) is the Feast of St Peter and St Paul. You might like to take time on that day to reflect on God's work through these apostles in proclaiming the gospel.

Here's an explanation of why they're commemorated together:

'The two great apostles whose ministry embraced the whole Jewish and Gentile world have been associated in Christian devotion since earliest times. The date chosen to commemorate the two apostles seems to be not the day of their martyrdom but the anniversary of a joint observance in their honour. The day of Peter and Paul is one of the oldest saints' days. Tradition says that Peter went to Rome and was martyred there (c. 64) by being crucified upside down. The Scriptures leave Paul in Rome, but tradition asserts that he went to Spain and returned to Rome where he was beheaded in the persecution under Nero.' (Contemporary Worship 6: The Church Year, Calendar and Lectionary, 1973)

Readings for the Feast are:
Ezekiel 34:11-16 God himself will shepherd his people
1 Corinthians 3:16-23 Whether Peter or Paul, all belongs to Christ
Mark 8:27-35 Peter's confession

Almighty God, whose apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your church, instructed by their teaching and example, may be knit together by your Spirit and always stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

God's peace,
Pastor Matt Anker

For Sunday the 24th June - 11.00am

This coming Sunday (24/6) is the day assigned for the Christian Church to commemorate the Nativity of St John the Baptist.

St John's father Zechariah recognised the role his infant son would play in God's plan of salvation as he prophesied, "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins" (Luke 1:76-77).

We will be hearing of how the Lord sent John to prepare the way for Jesus, and how he did this in humility and with complete dependance on the One who's way he was preparing.

As we rejoice in John's proclamation of the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of our sins, we will be considering how God dares to work through us to help prepare the way for Jesus to forgive the sins of those we encounter.

The readings are:
Psalm 141
Malachi 3:1-4 A messenger will prepare the Lord's way
Acts 13:13-26 The witness of John
Luke 1:57-80 The birth and naming of John

Divine Service will begin at 11.00am.

God's peace,
Pastor Matt

For Sunday the 17th June - 8.30am

This coming Sunday (17/6) all three of our readings for the Divine Service confront us with the reality of our own sinfulness and need of forgiveness. The message is obvious - by ourselves we are lost in sin and need help from "outside" us. Thanks be to God that each of these readings also point us to the wonderful and free gift of forgiveness that is offered through faith in Christ Jesus.

I've always loved the way this altar painting from the church of Sts Peter and Paul in Weimar sums up this central teaching of the faith, proclaiming in pictures what we will be hearing from St Paul this Sunday. If you'd like to read a wonderful explanation of the imagery Cranach the Younger has used here, check out this entry in Pastor Paul McCain's excellent Blog: http://cyberbrethren.typepad.com/cyberbrethren/2008/04/i_have_been_cru.html#more

Here are the readings:

• 2 SAMUEL 11:26 - 12:10,13-15
• GALATIANS 2:15-21
• LUKE 7:36 - 8:3

As you prepare for Service this week you might like to reflect on these readings in light of Article IV of our Augsburg Confession:

Our churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merit, or works. People are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favour and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake. By His death, Christ made atonement for our sins. God counts this faith for righteousness in His sight (Romans 3:21-26; 4:5) Quoted from Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, page 59, CPH, 2001.

God's peace be with you,
Pastor Matt Anker

For Sunday the 10th of June - 11.00am

Next time we meet for Divine Service (10th June @ 11am) we're going to be treated with three resurrection readings. The first reading (1 Kings 17:17-24) and the Gospel (Luke 7:11-17) both tell of instances where God raised sons of widows back to life after their early, tragic deaths.

The second reading tells of a different resurrection. In Galatians 1:11-24 the apostle Paul recalls how God raised him from his life of murderous persecution of the church and deathly slavery to the Law, to true life through the grace of the Lord Jesus.

In each of these instances the response is the same - people praise God because of the miraculous, life giving resurrection He accomplishes.

Jesus still works resurrection through the church today - bringing a new person to life in us through the forgiveness of our sins. His resurrecting love surely leads us to lives of praise as well.

You might like to pray the Collect for this coming week as you meditate on these things:

Thank you, Lord God, that you have cleansed us from sin and saved us from the power of the enemy through the death and resurrection of your Son. Keep us drowning our sinful self by repenting day after day, and bring to life in us each day a new self to live with you forever. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

God bless and keep you throughout this week,

Pastor Matt Anker