Sunday the 4th of February - 9:00am

Jesus had a powerful way of bringing people into spiritual reality. To those who thought that they had the right stuff to be true followers of his, he was devastatingly tough. He put the bar so high that they could never get over it. To those who acknowledged their weakness and need, however, he was kind and gentle. Instead of giving them a test to see if they were up to being his followers, he simply called them to be with him.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that describes Jesus calling St Peter to follow him. St Peter knew that he was a real sinner, and that he was not good enough to be with Jesus. In fact he asked the Lord to go away from him. But Jesus looked beyond St Peter’s weakness, and saw the sort of person that God could make him. Jesus called St Peter, who was a fisherman, to take up a new job of catching people for God’s kingdom.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am. We will be thinking about the way that Jesus calls us to be with him, not because we are good enough for God, but because God is gracious. And we will celebrate the mercy and love of God as we receive Holy Communion. Our Sunday School starts up again this week, and will be on at about 9:45am.

God’s peace,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

Annual General Meeting 11th February 2007

Our AGM will be following the 10am Service on 11th February 2007.

The Book of Reports - incorporating the Agenda, Reports, Financial Report and proposed 2007 Budget are available from the Narthex at Church.

If you would like a soft copy emailed to you please let me know on schultz1@chariot.net.au.

I encourage all members to attend, the meeting last year went for 33 minutes!

Paul Schultz
Chairman

For the 28th of January

As Christians we believe and teach that God freely saves people from the bitterness, the hate, and the misery that leads to unending death. But we also believe that God saves people for incorporation into a new community that is based on love. In fact God gives individual people the gift of faith so that they may begin life in a new community– a community that is transformed by the love of Christ.

This Sunday we will be hearing from the Bible about this love. We will be hearing about what this love is: that this love is patient and kind, that this love rejoices in what is right, and that this love is eternal. We will also hear about what this love isn’t: that this love isn’t jealous or boastful or arrogant or rude. Most importantly we will be hearing about how God gives us this love as a gift, and how we experience this love in our day to day lives.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00am to listen to God’s Word, to bring our thanks and praise to God, and to receive God’s love in the Lord’s Supper.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 7th of January

Most of us feel a naturally affinity with people who speak our language and share our culture. Most of us also feel a natural suspicion of people who speak another language, or who have customs that are foreign to us. Usually the experience of these different feelings doesn’t stop us getting on together in society, but sometimes racial vilification and even violence can occur. It’s then that we wonder about the hope of people of different races living together in harmony.

This Sunday we will be hearing from the Bible about the way God brings people from different races into a real and lasting unity. Through the Jews, and in particular through Jesus, God has brought his commands and promises into our whole world. This means that all people, no matter what their ethnic background, are loved by God, and are called by him to be members of his family. As we place our trust in Christ we get a new way of appreciating the unique aspects of our own culture, while being free to welcome and give thanks for what people of different cultures bring to us.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am. We will be experiencing the unity that God gives as we together receive the Body and Blood of Christ.

For Sunday the 31st of December

One recipe for misery is to know God’s rules without knowing God. If we have no relationship with God, but do have some knowledge of God’s laws, then God can seem to be a killjoy – to be someone who has created a world full of fun, but who will not let us enjoy it. Living with this experience can lead us to have a deep resentment toward God – a resentment that is fuelled by fear and guilt.

This Sunday we will be hearing from the Bible about the way God makes us his friends, and so gives us knowledge of who he is. We will be hearing about the way that God gives us joy as he leads us to live with gratitude, and as he frees us to experience his closeness to us in our communal life in the church.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion.

For Sunday the 24th of December

This Sunday we will be hearing from the Bible about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and we will be thinking about what the Bible means when it says that ‘all generations’ will call her ‘blessed’. As we hear about Mary’s trust in God’s word, we will hear how God made her a blessing to the people around her, and how God worked through her to bring his blessing to the whole world.

One of the ways Mary’s story encourages us is that it shows us how God keeps us from temptation, and delivers us from evil. Mary’s story reminds us that by God’s grace we can distinguish between good and evil, that we can be thankful to God for his protection, and that we encourage and support all people in need.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00am for a service with Holy Communion. Our Service of Readings and Carols will be at 7:30pm, and our Christmas Day service will be at 9:00am.

Christmas 2006

This year at Bendigo we will be having a Christmas Eve Service at 7:30pm on Sunday the 24th of December. Our Christmas Day Service will be at 9:00am on the 25th of December.

The Christmas Eve Service will be a traditional Service of Readings and Carols.

The Christmas Day Service will be the Service with Communion.

For Sunday the 17th of December

Most of us have to live with worry. It’s not that we enjoy being anxious, it’s just that worry comes naturally to us, and when we are faced with people or situations that cause us concern, we can become weighed down.

This Sunday we will be hearing from the Bible about how God frees us from worry. One of the readings we will hear comes from St Paul’s letter to the Philippians, where he encourages God’s people to rejoice in the Lord always. St Paul, who had plenty to worry about, spoke from experience when he assured the Christians in Philippi that the Lord is near, and that the Lord will hear the prayers of his faithful people. St Paul had experienced that fact that God gives his peace to those who speak their anxiety to him in prayer; we too can share in this experience as we take our worry to God.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am. We will experience the closeness of God as we listen to God’s word, as we pray together, and as we celebrate Holy Communion.

For Sunday the 10th of December

Bendigo Lutheran Church: Children’s Christmas

This Sunday is a special day for us: the children’s Christmas service. Every year we have a service in which the children dress up as different characters in the Christmas story, and act out their parts as the story is told. This simple and fun retelling of the great story of Christ’s birth not only helps give the children happy and vivid memories of Christmas, it also gives joy to the rest of the congregation as they watch the story unfold, and as they take their part in singing the carols.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00am. Because of the children’s involvement our service will be a little different from the usual: we will only have one Bible reading, and the sermon will be a bit shorter. In the sermon we will be thinking through the way God completes the work of faith that he has started in us. We will be thinking through the way God grows us in knowledge of, and insight into, his love.

This Sunday we will be celebrating Holy Communion.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 3rd of December

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. Advent is a time of preparation for the celebration of Christmas, and it’s also a time that Christians set aside to focus on the fact that everybody will have to give account to God for the way they have lived.

This Sunday we will be hearing about the way that God has fulfilled the promise he made to his people in the past, and the way he strengthens us to live by faith in his promises here and now. In particular we will be hearing about how God’s promise to King David - that there would always be someone on his throne - has been kept in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. We’ll be thinking about the way God’s promise to David, fulfilled by Jesus, frees us to live lives of simplicity, celebration, and joy.

We will be meeting at 9:00am for a Service with Holy Communion. Our Sunday School will be meeting at about 9:45am.

This Sunday evening, at 6:00pm, our congregation will be hosting an ecumenical service for advent. It will be a service of advent reading and songs/hymns, and will include brief presentations by people from four different Christian traditions (Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, and Uniting) on how Advent helps us prepare for Christ’s coming. All are welcome.

Samuel Anthony Manderson

Here are some photos of the new addition to the Manderson family -Samuel Anthony.

He's pictured with his brother, Edward, and his father, Stuart.

Please join with the Mandersons in giving thanks to God for the safe arrival of their little one!

For Sunday the 26th of November

This Sunday we are celebrating a festival called ‘Christ the King’. This festival only began being celebrated toward the beginning of the Twentieth Century, just at the time when totalitarian governments were making an impact on Europe and the world. One reason Christians celebrate Christ the King is because it reminds us that no merely human authority can make a total claim on our lives.

This Sunday we will be hearing readings from the Bible that show how Jesus’ kingdom is different from worldly kingdoms. We will be hearing how Jesus’ kingdom is based on his love for us – a love that was willing to undergo sacrifice. We will also be hearing how Jesus grows his kingdom through the message of God’s mercy toward all people.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00am for a service with communion. The Sunday School, which is having its first practice for the Christmas service, will be meeting at about 10:45am.

God’s peace,

Fraser

Some Great News and Some People for Prayer

Great News! Stuart and Rachel Manderson now have a second son. Samuel Anthony was born on Wednesday morning at 5:40am. Rachel and Samuel are both well, and will be at St John of God hospital for the next few days.

Other news: Marg Bremner had a knee operation on Thursday, and she is recovering at St John of God. David Miller also had a knee operation on Thursday, and will be at St John of God in Ballarat until next week. Please remeber them in your prayers.

For Sunday the 19th of November

It’s not unusual to think that those people who attempt to lead a good life, and who try to help others, should be most confident and least troubled about the prospect of being judged by God. It’s also not unusual to think that those who have given up trying to lead a good life, and who look after only themselves, should be least confident and most troubled about God’s judgment. It’s not unusual to think in these ways, but when we grow in experience of God we realize that the reality of God’s judgment on human beings is not what we might expect.

This Sunday we will be hearing from the Bible about God’s judgment, and about what can give us real confidence as we approach God. We will be thinking about the way that those who are closest to God have a deeper knowledge of their need for mercy than those who are far from God. We will also be thinking about the way that God washes us clean from sin and evil so that we may provoke each other to love and good deeds.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am for a service with communion. We will also be celebrating God bringing a new child into his family through holy baptism.

God’s peace,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 12th of November

This Sunday we will be listening to a story from the Bible that deals with life during a drought. The story focuses on the fate of two vulnerable people – a widow and her young son - who suffer because of the drought, and who are at the point of despair. God saves these people, but not in ways that we would expect. He calls them to trust that he will provide for them, and he brings them hope as they serve God’s prophet, Elijah.

This story of drought and God’s provision for his people is very sophisticated, and is a call for those who listen with trust to understand the way God brings good out of evil; and the way God brings plenty when there is need. On Sunday we will be thinking about the way we live through times of drought, and that way that the Bible gives us encouragement to turn to God for all that we need, including the very basics of life; including rain.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00am for a service with communion. Our church picnic will follow the service.

"Bethlehem" Lutheran Church, is a congregation of the Lutheran Church of Australia. The church is located at 94 Spring Gully Rd., Spring Gully (a suburb of Bendigo).

Our service times are:

1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays at 9:00am

and

2nd and 4th Sundays at 10:00am

On most Sundays we celebrate Holy Communion.

The two pictures are of the church, and of the tennis courts that are directly opposite the church. We've included the picture of the tennis courts because they can be a helpful landmark in finding the church!