For Sunday the 1st July - 11.00am

This morning in Shepparton 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 All belong 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