For Sunday 21st Dec, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

In the midst of the hectic pace of December, the peace of God is about to descend upon us as we rejoice in the gift of the Christ Child once again. Over the next few days we will have plenty of opportunities to hear the angels' joyful proclamation, to sing our favourtie carols and to take the very body and blood of our Lord who was born of the Virgin Mary.

Please join us for the following services:

Sunday 21st 11.00am - Service of readings and carols
Wednesday 24th 7.30pm - Children's Christmas Service
Christmas Day 8.30am - Service with Holy Communion

The peace of God be with you all,
Pastor Matt

For Sunday 14th December 2008 - 8.30am

Divine Service will begin at 8.30am this Sunday.

We will be joining with God's people of old as we reflect on His work to clothe us with righteousness and salvation, thinking particularly of our baptism. And so with Isaiah we will say:

I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Our Sunday School children will continue their preparations for the Christmas Eve service.

God's peace,
Pastor Matt

For Sunday 30th November

Please note that there will be NO SERVICE in Echuca this Sunday (30/11).

We are holding a parish service at Shepparton, beginning at 10am. Following service we will be having a shared lunch at St Paul's, followed by a game of soccer down the road.

Please come along and enjoy being in God's presence together and then the fellowship which will follow.

For more info go to http:\\shepplutheran.blogspot.com

God's peace,
Pastor Matt

For Sunday 23rd November, 11.00am

This coming Sunday we've had to rearrange our service times as we have a guest preacher, Pastor Allan Heppner, the District's Pastor for Congregational Support.

Pastor Allan will be leading studies in Echuca on Saturday afternoon(1pm-4.30pm) on outreach and evangelism, and will be following it up with a sermon on discipleship on Sunday morning. Service will begin at 11.00am and will be followed by lunch and another study session which will finish by 2.30pm.

I look forward to seeing you all there as this will be a wonderful opportunity for us to be reminded of how we are called to serve God by serving those around us.

God's peace,
Pastor Matt

For Sunday 16th November, 11.00am

This Sunday (16/11) Divine Service will begin at 11.00am.

As we enter the second last Sunday of the Church year, our thoughts continue to be on end times, and in particular, St Paul's admonition in 1 Thessalonians for us to be alert and self-controlled, encouraging one another and building each other up. Clearly this is not a call for the church to become a mutual admiration society. Instead it is a call for us to live with the end in sight. To live in such a way that we do not fall asleep through the neglect of our faith or allow our brothers and sisters in Christ to fall asleep and therefore be lost to the Lord. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's peace,
Pastor Matt

For 2nd & 9th November

My apologies for not posting these times earlier.

Service times as follows:

Sunday 2nd November - The Festival of the Reformation will be observed with Divine Service beginning at 11.00am. Service will be followed by a community lunch

Sunday 9th November - Divine Service will begin at 8.30am

God's peace,
Pastor Matt

For Sunday 26th October - 8.30am

It seems to be a natural inclination of ours to try to get God to specify just how much 'we have to do.' Not wanting to go beyond the letter of the Law, we join with the Pharisee who asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Jesus' answer simply reveals that the whole law of God, as well as each individual law, is dead without 'love to God and neighbour' lying behind it and within it. Confronted with this simple, yet profound reality, we must realise our inability to live up to this great commandment. Even the bare minimum is too much for us to do ourselves.

This recognition leads us to our Saviour, who loved us and God perfectly by giving up His life for our salvation.

How do we then love God and neighbour? We'll be thinking this through this coming Sunday.

God's peace,
Pastor Matt