For Sunday the 2nd September - 8.30am

This week our readings will focus us on the wisdom of humility - that Godly virtue that is often praised by our world in words, but then despised in deeds.

Psalm 138 proclaims that "though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the humble, but the proud he knows from afar."

Asking why God would say that he "knows the proud from afar," Father William Weedon makes the excellent point that God "knows them from afar because He hangs out with the humble! He's not with the great and proud; He's in the cow's feeding trough and hanging on the wood of the tree and looking at us through the eyes of everyone in need. Our God ISN'T proud, and so the only way He can know the proud is from a distance." (Check his blog out at http://weedon.blogspot.com/ - it's one of the best!)

True, Godly humility brings freedom and grace as it strips away our attempts at personal greatness and allows us to rest in the forgiving love of Christ.

Here are the readings:

Proverbs 25:6,7

Hebrews 13:1-8,15,16

Luke 14:1,7-14

Divine Service will begin at 8.30am.

God's peace,

Pastor Matt

For Sunday the 26th August - 11.00am

This Sunday, 26th August, has been set aside for Australian churches to especially focus on the plight of migrants and refugees. We too will be taking up this opportunity and given the migrant nature of the Lutheran Church of Australia, this seems quite relevant for us. We will be recognising our diverse backgrounds but common faith in Christ alone as our Saviour. We will be praying for those in need - especially the families of our those in our midst who are still stranded in parts of Africa; and the high point will be when we are joined together in the Holy Sacrament - united in the Body of Christ despite our cultural diversity.

I will be preaching on Luke 13:22-30 where Jesus proclaims He is the one door through whom we must enter if we are to take our place at the feast in the kingdom of God. People from east and west, north and south are all invited, but all must enter through Christ alone. Whether we are refugees, migrants or long time natives of the place we live, our citizenship in heaven can only be secured through faith in Jesus and it is there that we have our hope of final deliverance.

Divine Service will begin at 11.00am.

God's peace,
Pastor Matt

For Sunday the 19th August - 8.30am

My apologies for the lateness of my post this week. The last couple of days have been filled with visiting, celebrating the 20th birthday of St Paul's Ladies' Guild, and a new bible study series on the Lord's Prayer. So the Blog has been neglected until now!

This Sunday (19th August) we will be hearing a very confronting reading from St Luke's gospel (12:49-56) were Jesus declares that He has not come to bring peace, but division. The question is, how are we to understand these words of the Lord?

Jesus did not come to pretend everything was OK. He came to confront our sin, to pay the price for it in His death, and then to overcome it on our behalf in His resurrection. But this first of all requires that our sin be recognised and confronted. This does indeed cause division because many people don't want to believe they are sinners. We must all struggle against this desire to justify ourselves. The alternative is far better - recognising our sin and need for forgiveness, the Lord invites us to rest in the free gift of forgiveness and salvation offered in His name.

Divine service will begin at 8.30 am.

The readings are:

Jeremiah 23:23-29 The word of the living God is active
Hebrews 11:29 - 12:2 The great cloud of witnesses
Luke 12:49-56 Jesus the cause of division

God's peace,

Pastor Matt

For Sunday the 12th August - 11.00am

This week the readings will all serve to focus us on what it means to live by faith - trusting in God's promises of forgiveness and eternal life through our Lord Jesus.

In the Gospel reading Jesus calls us to faith as He reminds us that though we are a small group in a large and hostile world, we are still His little flock who have been given the Father's heavenly kingdom. Our eyes often don't see this glorious inheritance and yet by faith, we are sure of it.

Despite this certainty, the fact that we can't see it with our eyes means that we are tempted to be spiritually lazy as we await Jesus' return. Jesus calls us to be ready for His return so that we don't miss out, and so He calls us to live out the faith in our daily lives, certain of the fulfilment of the promises for which we hope.

We will be especially thinking about how God Himself makes us ready for Jesus' return.

The readings for Sunday are:
Genesis 15:1-6
Hebrews 11:1-3; 8-16
Luke 12:32-40

The psalm is Psalm 33:12-22

Don't forget we're having a community lunch following the service this week as we officially welcome the Sefton's into membership.

God's peace,
Pastor Matt