My apologies for being SUPER late this week in posting.
Service tomorrow (10 November) begins at 8.30am - so much good stuff in the readings it was hard to pick which text to preach on. Read them and enjoy!
Job 19:23-27a I know that my Redeemer lives 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5,13-17 Stand firm as you wait for the coming of our Lord Luke 20:27-38 The question about rising from death
Service this week begins at 11am and will provide the opportunity for us to witness baby Alannah receive new birth through water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism.
The gospel reading is from Luke 19 which retells the gracious encounter of Jesus with Zaccheus the tax collector....He didn't wait for Zaccheus to get his act together or reform his behaviour, but instead came into Zaccheus' house in grace and mercy. Having received these blessed gifts, Zaccheus is a new man living out the mercy he has received from God. The same thing is on offer for you so come and rejoice that the Lord still comes and sits with us.
Tomorrow we commemorate the Reformation of the church and give thanks to God for the restoration of the gospel to God's people. We celebrate this day not to glorify Lutheran or Melancthon or other reformers, but to celebrate that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. And how do we know this? Because we rely on the word of God alone as the only source and norm for teaching and for life - and the central message of that Word is Jesus and the forgiveness He won for all on the cross.
Worship begins at 11am tomorrow morning and I'm preaching on the Old Testament reading from Genesis 32 where Jacob wrestles with God. Like the persistent widow in the gospel reading, Jacob hangs on to God and refuses to let go until God blesses him.
How much more blessed are we to know that in Christ, God holds on to us in everything that we wrestle with in this life. Jacob got lots of things wrong in his life, but one thing he got just right. He hung around long enough - even when all looked lost - for God to bless him in faith.
We will also have the privilege tomorrow of witnessing Harvey Bensch join God's family through the washing of renewal and regeneration in the Holy Spirit that is Holy Baptism.
The gospel reading tells the story of Jesus healing the 10 lepers from Luke 17. Too often this text is used as little more than a heavy dose of Law, demanding that you be thankful like the single leper who returned to Jesus and fell at His feet in thanksgiving and praise.
But think about it....that single, healed leper returned to Jesus because by faith he knew Jesus had so much more to offer. He returned in thanksgiving because He recognised the presence of God and His mercy and could do nothing else but return and worship Him. And the really cool thing - when he returned to Jesus he got a whole lot more than physical healing - he received forgiveness, life and salvation!
Of course we are to be thankful. But true thanksgiving flows only when we know who Jesus is as our Saviour, when we know our desperate need for Him all the time, and when we see with faith what He has done for us on the cross.
Come to worship and give thanks - and receive those same gifts - forgiveness, life and salvation!
The festival of St Michael and All Angels falls on this Sunday and so gives us an opportunity to reflect on who the angels are, what God's intentions are for them, and how blessed we are by a God who not only defeats the devil through the blood of His one and only Son, but who continues to look out for us through His angels as the devil and his minions try to take us out in their death throes.
There is so much confusion about who and what angels are that this is a great opportunity to reflect on the biblical picture. There'll be no bare bottomed cherubs, or stately older ladies with deep voices, or fairy like creatures featuring in our service on Sunday! And by the way, humans DO NOT become angels when they die, and angels do not become human - they were created by God as His heavenly messengers and the protectors of His people.
Come along and hear more (and for those who've got the time, please read this excellent brochure on what the bible says about angels...... All about....Angels
Here are the readings: Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3 Michael and the guardian angels Revelation 12:7-12 Michael and his angels fight the dragon Luke 10:17-20 Jesus foresees the fall of Satan
Service begins at 8.30am this week and will include a farewell to Daniel, Tina and Jordan Benjamin who have been a great blessing to us over the past 18 months. The Benjamins are returning to Melbourne next week and will be greatly missed by us all - but as I was reminded by my godson this past week, we are never that far apart when we are communing together on the holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus.
I'm going to be tackling a difficult parable this week - Luke 16:1-13 but don't expect to hear the final word on the entire parable. I am going to focus on verse 8 where Jesus says, "“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light."
With the end in sight, the manager in our parable does everything he is able to do in order to ensure he will survive after the judgement of his master comes crashing down on him. The question is, do we live in the same way and with equal shrewdness knowing that Jesus as assured us that the end is coming?
Here are the rest of the readings for your preparation: Amos 8:4-7 Against swindlers and exploiters 1 Timothy 2:1-7 The church is to pray for all people Luke 16:1-13 The parable of the shrewd manager
After quite a few weeks of 8.30am services, we're back to 11am this week!
The parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin are in focus this week and if we can get past a superficial reading of them, we'll soon realise just how radical Jesus words were to the Pharisees who were caught up in self-righteousness.
Who on earth would leave behind 99 sheep in dangerous territory to seek out that one ratbag sheep who keeps wandering off? Who loves each lamb so much that He will risk all for the sake of even one?
The answer of course is that no earthly shepherd would do such a thing - but the Good Shepherd has and does just that for you and me! He seeks out and saves, He never gives up, and He has you and me in His sights! Not because we've got our act together or look respectable, but because of His great love.
Here are the readings: Exodus 32:7-14 Moses pleads for the people and the Lord relents 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Gratitude for God's mercy Luke 15:1-10 The lost sheep and the lost coin
See you in worship.
Pastor Matt
6 September 2013
Service this week begins at 8.30am.
This week's gospel reading sounds harsh to our modern ears - Jesus calls us to hate our families, to pick up our cross and to leave behind all our possessions in order to follow Him. This text reminds me very quickly of how poorly I do in the discipleship stakes and how costly my discipleship was FOR JESUS - who forsaking his earthly family, left behind all earthly power and possessions, picked up His cross and died for you and me!
Don't just settle for a skim reading of this text - meditate on it long and hard that Jesus' words may convict you of how you fail to follow in the way He calls us all to follow. But then let His words free you with His faithfulness so that you can be certain of your discipleship because He has secured your forgiveness and salvation.
Here are the 3 readings for your preparation. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 A choice between life and death Philemon 1-21 A personal appeal to Philemon Luke 14:25-33 The cost of being a disciple
Pease note that we have a change in service times for this week only.
Due to a Sudanese Arabic service in Shepparton on Sunday, our service at Trinity will begin at 8.30am. I hope to see you all there to celebrate the mercy of the One who humbled Himself for you and me!
Here are the readings:
Proverbs 25:6,7 The wisdom of humility
Hebrews 13:1-8,15,16 Obligations in community, home, and church
This Sunday our epistle reading contrasts Mount Sinai - the mountain where the Lord gave Moses the Law - with Mount Zion - the city of the living God. This contrast is presented to us in the most vivid of language. Sinai is remembered as a place where the people were awestruck by the glory of the Lord and terrified lest they be consumed because of their unworthiness. It was a place where God's good and perfect Law left them despairing of themselves and their inability to fulfill it. It was a place that prepared the way for Mount Zion - the place where there is forgiveness and life, where the blood of the Holy Son of God is sprinkled on us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Mount Sinai reminds us of the Law of God and the terror it must strike in our hearts if we are honest about ourselves. But Mount Zion proclaims the Gospel of our Lord Jesus loudly and abundantly that we may rejoice in His forgiving love.
How good it is to come to the city of the Living God and to stand secure in His presence because of the blood of Christ alone.
Service begins at 8.30am.
Here are the readings:
Isaiah 58:9b-14 The Lord calls on Israel to obey him
Hebrews 12:18-29 Mount Sinai and Mount Zion contrasted
Luke 13:10-17 Jesus heals a crippled woman on the sabbath
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
Pay special attention to the 'great cloud of witnesses' and think about whether they are the examples of faith that the world would expect. I don't see too many 'holy Joes' in there. Just a bunch of sinners who trusted in the Lord for mercy and forgiveness. Heroes not on their merits, but on the merits on the One in whom they trusted.
See you in the morning as we celebrate the Lord's continuing feast of forgiveness.
Tomorrow's service begins at 8.30am. Pastor Brett Kennett from the District will be our guest preacher, focusing his attention on the epistle reading from Hebrews 11.
Here are the readings: Genesis 15:1-6 Abraham justified by faith in God's promise Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16 Living by faith in God's promise Luke 12:32-40 Be ready for Christ's return
Every blessing as you prepare for worship tomorrow.
Service begins at 11am this Sunday and will be followed by a shared lunch. ALL WELCOME!
This week our gospel reading jumps forward to Luke's 12th chapter as Jesus responds a man in the crowd who wants Him to solve a family dispute over inheritance. With the Lord of life standing before him, the man in the crowd is preoccupied with getting his fair share of the money! It's like being granted an audience with a king and the best you can do is ask him for a glass of water! What a wasted opportunity and what a fatally distracted heart that is so focused on earthly wealth that it misses the eternal treasure sitting in front of him! The readings for Sunday are below: Ecclesiastes 1:2,12-14; 2:18-23 Only in God does life have meaning Colossians 3:1-11 The old life and the new Luke 12:13-21 The parable of the rich fool See you on Sunday. Pastor Matt
It's been a full week that is rapidly drawing to a close and the readings for Sunday almost provide too much great stuff to fit into a couple hundred words for this week's post! Leaving aside the wonderful gospel reminders in the epistle, I'm going to take up Jesus' teaching on prayer from Luke 11 with help from the Old Testament reading retelling Abraham's audacious prayer for the people of Sodom. If only we would all be so bold in prayer!
Service begins at 8.30am.
Here are the readings Genesis 18:20-32 Abraham pleads for Sodom Colossians 2:6-15 Not philosophy or legalism, but Christ Luke 11:1-13 Jesus' teaching on prayer
Every blessing in Christ until Sunday!
Pastor Matt
Some great texts this week, full of God's promises and full of His grace and mercy. From the promise of a son to the elderly Abraham and Sarah, to the awesome reminder that we have peace with God through the blood of Jesus in the epistle reading, right through to the familiar words of the gospel retelling the story of Jesus' visit to the home of Mary and Martha.
These dear saints both love their Lord and want to 'do' what is fitting and proper as His disciples. Martha, the hostess par excellence, gets busy in the kitchen cooking up a storm. It's interesting that Luke uses the Greek word diakonia to refer to the work she was doing in the kitchen. Interesting because this word is just about always associated with the 'good works' that Christians 'do' in response to the love and mercy that God has 'done' to them in Christ.
Anyway, Martha gets all steamed up because as she goes about her diakonia Mary is 'doing' nothing but sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to His words. Martha is indignant. She is serving the Lord. Doing the right thing. Showing her love for Jesus. And what's Mary doing??? NOTHING but listening to Jesus. And what's worse according to Martha is the fact that Jesus is sitting there letting this inequitable state of affairs continue!
Martha's diakonia, her good works, drives her to judge her sister (my sister has left me to do all the work) and to judge God (don't you care?).
Jesus responds tenderly but firmly, pointing out that Martha's got things messed up. She is putting all the emphasis on her good works and letting them get in the way of her hearing the word of the Lord. One thing is necessary, says Jesus, one thing is needed for salvation. And it isn't hospitality or service of any kind. The only thing that is needed is hearing the word of the Lord which grants faith in the works of Christ and brings the promise of forgiveness, life and salvation.
Good works follow - of course they do - but they do not come first. While Martha is the hostess par excellence, Mary is the disciple par excellence - listening to the word of the Lord and resting in the peace His presence brings.
Come along on Sunday and be a Mary!
Here are the readings:
Genesis 18:1-10a A son promised to old Abraham and Sarah
Colossians 1:15-28 The supremacy of Christ; Paul a servant
Luke 10:38-42 Jesus visits Mary and Martha
God's peace to you all,
Pastor Matt
12 July 2013
Service is at 8.30am this week. Despite the fog and frosts that will dampen the start to the day, the church will be warm and dry and the readings provide great encouragement in the mercy of God who comes and tends to those who are beaten and broken by sin, death and the Devil.
Here are the readings and I recommend the video below in preparation for worship (Pastor Fisk has managed to do some sort of Jedi mind thingo and read my mind in regard to my sermon! The video makes for a nice summary - and has fireworks too!)
Deuteronomy 30:9-14 A call to obey God whose word is very near
Colossians 1:1-14 Paul's thanksgiving and prayer
Luke 10:25-37 The parable of the good Samaritan
So this week our gospel reading moves into the early verses of Luke chapter 10 and it's impressive stuff! Jesus sends out the seventy-two disciples to preach that the Kingdom of God has come near to all who hear these words because whoever receives the disciples Jesus sends, receives Jesus himself. The 72 are told they are not to rely on anything except the word of God. Some places will receive the word with joy, but others will reject it and drive them out of town. And if they don't want the Kingdom God is offering them, the disciples are to shake the dust of that town off their feet. Grace is on offer - rich and free - but many will choose condemnation instead. When the disciples return to Jesus, they're excited. This stuff works!! They can't wait to tell Jesus that even demons submit to their ministry in His name! Impressive deeds were done. Powerful things took place. And now the disciples are fired up! But rather than allow them to get carried away in their enthusiasm, Jesus offers a quiet word of perspective. It's all well and good to have protection from the enemy, even to be immune to poisonous snakes and scorpions, but NONE of this compares to the wonderful joy that their names are written in heaven! So often Christians get carried away with the spectacular. Preachers who appear to have the power to perform miracles. Congregations who amass to themselves great numbers of worshippers, impressive worship bands, fancy programs and services that would make Andrew Lloyd Webber envious! But to be carried away with such things is to miss the point. The kingdom of God has come near to us in the same preached word the 72 were given. Whether the preacher is a great orator or one who nervously ascends the pulpit each week, the focus of the Christian is to be on the word that is proclaimed. The Word that declares you are forgiven through faith in Christ alone. The Word that declares you righteous for the sake of Jesus. The Word that writes your name in heaven itself. If you want to get impressed by anything, be impressed that God works through a humble word proclaimed by an unimpressive preacher. Be impressed that in the midst of our ordinary life together as God's people, this same Word is securing your place in heaven. Be impressed that God's Kingdom is still coming near to you as Christ is proclaimed and forgiveness, life and salvation become yours - not because the church has a rockin' band or fancy light show or powerful pastor - but because Jesus is present in the Word. Make sure you have a look at these readings as you prepare for worship at 11am this Sunday (7th July): Isaiah 66:10-14 Rejoice with Jerusalem Galatians 6:1-16 Do good to all Luke 10:1-20 Jesus sends out the seventy God's blessing to you all, Pastor Matt
This Sunday service begins at 8.30am with the gospel continuing in Luke, chapter 9. As Jesus is approached by two men who express a desire to follow Him, He makes it clear that discipleship is not just a matter of words or "properly ordered priorities". This is first commandment stuff - we are the fear, love and trust in God above all things!
Impossible, you say? Well that's kinda the point! None of us fear, love and trust God as we ought. Despite our best intentions, our discipleship is always less than perfect and our following is far from what it should be - especially when the rubber hits the road.
Rather than despairing of this, our Heavenly Father would have us flee to the One who fulfilled all things on our behalf, receive forgiveness and life through His obedience, and follow in the way of repentance.
Here are the readings as you prepare for worship:
1 Kings 19:15,16,19-21 The call of Elisha
Galatians 5:1,13-25 Freedom in Christ to live by the Spirit
Luke 9:51-62 The cost of following Jesus
The peace of the Lord Jesus be with you,
Pastor Matt
This Sunday's gospel reading from Luke 8 takes us to the 'wrong side' of
the Jordan as Jesus comes across the Gerasene man who is possessed by a
legion of demons. With very little fuss and without ANY of the
Hollywood exaggeration normally associated with exorcisms, Jesus speaks
and the man is freed from the hellish torment he has been enduring for
years. The demons depart and possess a herd of pigs who flee into the
depths of the sea.
A great story of deliverance and one you would expect to have been
received with thanksgiving and praise. But no. Instead the people come
flocking to see what has happened and then, filled with fear, they beg
Jesus to go away! What motivates their fear? Is it Jesus' power? Or is
it their fear of further loss if more of their livestock are the
collateral damage of another exorcism?
God forbid that we should respond to Jesus' power to forgive and free us
from sin, death and the Devil with this faithless kind of fear. Yes,
there is a cost to discipleship (as Jesus will tell us in the next
chapter). But that cost is about letting go of things that lead to death
and embracing the way of the cross, that leads to eternal life. It's
about letting go our own, self-styled Christianity and being swept up in
the true faith that trusts in Christ alone for forgiveness and
salvation.
The healed Gerasene man got it - and Jesus sent him off to tell everyone
what God had done for him. I pray you will receive the same liberation
from sin, death and the Devil tomorrow as we gather in the presence of
the risen Lord Jesus who continues to call us to life out of the
graveyard of this world.
Here are the readings: Isaiah 65:1-9 The Lord will punish the rebellious but save
those who serve him. Galatians 3:23-29 We are Christ's, justified by faith Luke 8:26-39 Jesus heals a man with demons
Service starts at 11am this coming Sunday (16 June).
Well this week we continue in chapter 7 of Luke's gospel, reading from verse 36.
Jesus is invited into the home of Simon the Pharisee for dinner. As Jesus kicks back at the table, a known SINNER, an unclean woman, lays at Jesus' feet, washing them with her tears, wiping them with her hair, and annointing His feet with incredibly expensive myrhh.
How could Jesus allow such a SINNER come near Him, let alone touch Him like this? That's the question on Simon's mind. And maybe it's the question on your's too. We can handle Jesus forgiving 'respectable' sinners - those who's sins don't make our skin crawl - but not the really, really bad and terrible sinners! How can Jesus forgive them, be near them and love them?????
As Jesus tells the parable of the two debtors (or as I like to call it, the parable of the amazingly, fantasmagorical, gracious, generous, forgiving and merciful Creditor ie. God!) He makes it clear that we are all indebted to God because of our sin and in need of His mercy. But more than that He makes it clear that having recognised our sin and received forgiveness as a gift, love of God will flow in our lives as a sign of the faith He has given us.
"Your sins are forgiven" Jesus says to the woman. "Go, YOUR FAITH has saved you!"
Awesome stuff - faith trusting in the promise and mercy of God; forgiveness making new and inspiring love; and it all flows out of God's work in Christ alone. Doesn't depend on you. Doesn't depend on your holiness and righteousness. DOESN'T EVEN DEPEND ON HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THE LORD. It depends on JESUS!
Here are the readings for your preparation - it's not too hard to figure out how they all hang together!
2 Samuel 11:26 -
12:10,13-15 Nathan's
message: You are the man!
Galatians 2:15-21 Jews and Gentiles are saved by faith
Luke 7:36 - 8:3 A sinful woman forgiven; women followers
You might like to watch this video as you think about the gospel reading as well....
Luke 7:11-17 Jesus raises a widow's son from death
The sermon is based on the reading from 1 Kings, but I highly recommend the following video which discusses the gospel reading. It's well worth watching!
FESTIVAL OF THE HOLY TRINITY
This Sunday is the festival of the Holy Trinity - a day when we get to
focus in a special way on what it means that God is Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. This divine mystery is at the centre of our faith and while we
may not be able to fully understand how we can have one God in three
persons, the perfect union that exists between all three is something to
which we are drawn and invited through faith in Christ.
I look forward to worshipping together with you. Service begins at 8.30am.
Here are the readings for your preparation:
Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31 Wisdom's role in creation
Romans 5:1-5 The Christian experience of the Trinity
John16:12-15 The Spirit from God will
bear witness to Jesus
The blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you always,
Pastor Matt
This Sunday is Pentecost - that great celebration of the gift of the
Holy Spirit and the reversal of Babel. By God's grace the Holy Spirit
was poured out on those present in Jerusalem and they were enabled to
hear and so were brought to faith Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. God
still works the same way today as the Holy Spirit calls, gathers and
enlightens those with ears to hear through the gospel. Thanks be to God
for this wonderful gift!
The readings are included below for your preparation and service begins at 11am.
Genesis11:1-9 The tower of Babel and
confusion of tongues
Acts2:1-21 The coming of the Holy Spirit
John 14:8-17(25-27) Jesus promises the Holy Spirit
Service this Sunday (12th May) will begin at 8.30am.
As we did not have an Ascension service this year (9 May), we will be incorporating some elements of the Ascension into the service on Sunday. For your preparation, here are the readings we are going to be using:
GOSPEL FOR THE ASCENSION:
Luke 24:44-53Jesus commissions and blesses the disciples
