For Sunday the 4th of October - 9:00 am

Most people like to go to weddings, and to hear the bride and groom publicly promise to love each other faithfully as long as they both shall live. Even though we live in a world where many marriages end in divorce, the great hope with which most marriages begin is a sign of the joy and celebration that human love can bring.

This Sunday we will be hearing teaching from Jesus about marriage. Jesus was both a soft-hearted romantic and a hard-headed realist, and he knew that although a husband and wife can grow in love and commitment to each other, it is only God who can keep marriages together through the tough times.

As we listen to Jesus’ teaching, ‘What God has joined together, let no one separate’, we will consider how God helps us as married or as single people, to honour marriage in our world.

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

God’s blessing to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 27th of September - 10:00 am

When we are sick, it’s natural for us to experience a sense of isolation. If the sickness we experience is chronic, then it can be easy for us to fall into bitterness and despair, or to let the symptoms of our sickness dominate our thoughts and our conversation.

This Sunday we will be hearing from the Bible about what positive things we can do when we are sick. We will be hearing how God calls us from isolation back into community especially through the gift of prayer – both our own prayer to God, and the prayers of others on our behalf. As we listen to this teaching, we will consider how God lifts us out of despair and gives us the freedom to rejoice even in sickness.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00 am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school is in recess over the holidays.

God’s blessings to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 20th of September - 9:00 am

Although we don’t like it when other people boast, it can be easy enough for us to boast if we are given the opportunity; and although we don’t like it when other people exclude us, it can be easy enough for us to exclude others – especially if they are poor or ignorant or powerless – especially if they are children.

This Sunday we will be hearing readings from the Bible that deal with our natural propensity to boast and to exclude the powerless. As we listen to these readings, we consider how God changes our hearts by bringing us into his family through the forgiveness Christ gives. We will consider how God frees us to welcome the little ones, and so to welcome God himself.

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

God’s blessings to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 13th of September - 10:00 am

Although it’s easy to speak, it’s not always easy to say things that are helpful or encouraging to other people. In fact, especially if we are feeling insecure about our own place in the world, we can find it next to impossible to give compliments or praise with any degree of sincerity.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that teaches about the way we should talk to others. As we listen to this teaching we will consider the way that God, by speaking his word of grace in Christ Jesus, frees us to be people who can give genuine praise and encouragement to others.

This Sunday we will meet at 10:00 am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school will meet at about 10:45 am.

God’s blessings to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 6th of September - 9:00 am

Bendigo Lutheran Church

In life in can be easy for us to look up to rich people – to see them as somehow better than the common run of humanity, and to show them a deference and respect that borders on the servile. On the other hand it can be easy for us to look down on the poor – to see them as somehow worse than other people, and to treat them with a disdain and contempt that borders on the arrogant.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that gives us a different way of looking at people. Instead of treating the rich with favoritism, and the poor with judgment, God calls us to show love for all people – and to give practical help to those whose need is greatest. As we think through this teaching, we will consider how God treats us generously by giving us grace in our need.

This Sunday we will meet at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school will meet at about 9:45am.

God’s blessing to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 30th of August - 9:00 am

Sometimes we can do things – or have things done to us – that don’t make us feel so much guilty or ashamed as ‘dirty’. When we feel this way, it can be difficult to deal with: we want to be made clean, but we don’t know how.

This Sunday we will be hearing teaching that comes from Jesus that deals with this reality. Jesus talked about the evil intentions of the human heart – intentions that lead to actions that ‘defile’. He also provided a way for people to be made clean by God, so that they could live life to the full.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion: a service that cleanses and heals. The Sunday school will meet at about 9:45am.

God’s blessings to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

The congregation meeting decided that service times are remaining as normal: 9am on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays; 10am on the 2nd and 4th Sundays.

For Sunday the 23rd of August - 10:00 am

One of the great gifts that Jesus gave the church is the Lord’s Supper. To look at the Lord’s Supper doesn’t seem like much: a few prayers over some bread and wine. But as we listen to Jesus’ words, ‘this is my body; this is my blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins’, then we can start to understand the power that is at work in this simple rite.

This Sunday we will be thinking through some of Jesus’ teaching on the Lord’s Supper. As we listen again to Jesus’ words we will consider how God draws us together to gives us forgiveness; we will consider how God draws us together to grow us in love for each other and for all people.

This Sunday we will meet at 10:00am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school will meet at about 10:45am.

God’s blessings to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

This Sunday there will be a discussion/vote regarding church times.

For Sunday the 16th of August - 9:00 am

It can be easy to worry about the future, without giving too much thought about how we live day to day. But wisdom comes in taking care of how we live each day, and entrusting or future into God’s hands.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that is an invitation to receive the way of life that wisdom gives. As we think through what this means, we will consider how God shares his wisdom with us by forgiving our sins, and so giving us hope for whatever life brings.

This Sunday we will meet at 9:00 am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school will meet at about 9:45 am.

God’s blessings to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

The vote concerning church times has been postponed until the 23rd of August

For Sunday the 9th of August - 10:00 am - Vote

In life we naturally imitate the people that we spend time with. Our accent, our mannerisms, even the behavior that we find acceptable or unacceptable is shaped by the people who are close to us.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that talks about imitating God. As we think through this reading, we will consider how spending time with God shapes us to be people who do not let anger rule us, who speak the truth, who work honestly, and who are ready to forgive.

This Sunday we will meet at 10:00am for a service with Holy Communion. Our Sunday school will meet at about 10:45am.

This Sunday there will be a vote after the service about proposed changes to the service times.

God’s blessings to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 2nd of August - 9:00 am

Sometimes in life we work out how to act by the job we have to do: when we are students we learn the school rules by listening to the teacher and our fellow students; when we are in a sports team we learn our part in the game by talking with the coach and the other team members; and when we are in the workforce we learn our role in the business by talking with our boss and our fellow work mates.

In the church we learn how to act by listening to the calling that God has given us, and by living at peace with each other.

This Sunday we will be listening to a reading from the Bible that talks about how God has called Christian people to live at peace and in unity. As we think through what this reading means, we will consider how God gives us the strength to live in humility and patience.

This Sunday we will meet at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school will meet at around 9:45 am.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 26th of July - 10:00 am

Two basic questions can reveal a lot about what we hold as most important in life. The first is: What do we crave? The second is: What do we fear? Thinking seriously about what we crave and what we fear can reveal that we hold things like the approval of others, or financial security, as the be all and end all of life; but are things like human approval or financial security of ultimate importance?

This Sunday we will be hearing readings from the Bible that teach about the way God deals with our cravings and fears. As we think through these readings we will consider how God leads us to fear and love Him above all else, and so gives us freedom and joy that is unending.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00 am for a service with Holy Communion, during which we will be celebrating a First Communion. Our Sunday school will meet at about 10:45am.

God’s blessings to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 19th of July - 9:00 am

When we are tired and worn out, we can want to escape the demands and responsibilities of everyday life. Especially when we experience constant contact with people who demand our attention, we can feel the strong desire to get away from it all.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that talks about the desire that Jesus and his companions felt to get away on their own. We will also hear that even as Jesus retreated from public life, he was moved with compassion to help people in need. As we think through Jesus’ actions, we will consider how God continues to show compassion to us, and we will explore ways that we can share Jesus’ compassion with others.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school will meet at about 9:45am.

God’s blessing to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 5th of July - 9:00am

A lay reading service is on in bendigo this Sunday at 9:00am.

God's blessings to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 21st of June - 9:00 am

It’s natural, when we suffer, to experience questions about God and the meaning of life. Especially if the suffering we experience seems endless and meaningless, we can conclude that there is no God, or that God does not care about us, or that God can do nothing to help us.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that describes the sufferings of a man called Job. As we listen to this reading, we will think about the questions that Job and his family and friends had for God. As we consider God’s response to Job, we will think through how God shows us love and care by speaking to us in our suffering. We will also consider how God leads us, through our suffering, to be people who can empathize with others, and who can pray for them in their need.

This Sunday we will meet at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion. Our Sunday school will meet at about 9:45am.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 14th of June - 10:00 am

Sometimes we can get the idea that spiritual life has nothing to do with bodily living – we can think that what really counts are our intentions and our understanding, rather than our actions.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that talks about how important our actions are to God, and that talks about how we must give account to God for what we do with our bodies. As we think through this teaching we will consider how God calls us to be humble people by leading us to acknowledge our faults, and by encouraging us to do what is true, good, and beautiful.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 7th of June - 9:00 am

This Sunday we will be celebrating a festival called ‘Trinity Sunday’. At this festival we will celebrate a mysterious reality: the reality that God is one, but that God is not alone; the reality that the one God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

As we celebrate this mysterious reality, we will meditate on the way that God our Father leads us by the Holy Spirit to place our trust in Jesus Christ. We will meditate on the way that God shares his glory with us, by leading us to share in his own eternal life.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school will meet at about 9:45am.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 31st of May - 9:00 am

Bendigo Lutheran Church

There’s nothing quite like coming home, especially when we are welcomed back by people who know us well, who love us, and who share a history of joys and sorrows with us. The experience of homecoming in such a situation can give us a deep sense of peace and security, and can be one of the great joys of life. It can also be a clue to what our life with God is about.

This Sunday we will be celebrating the festival of Pentecost – we will be celebrating the life of the Holy Spirit in the Church. As we meditate on the Bible readings for the day, we will consider how the Holy Spirit brings home God’s mercy and love into our hearts, and how the Holy Spirit brings us to our true and lasting home with God our Father.

This Sunday we will meet at 9:00am. In our service a number of people will be welcomed to First Communion; to membership in the congregation; and to serve as acolytes. Our Sunday school will meet at about 9:45am.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 24th of May - 10:00am

If we hear the word 'holy' we can associate it with 'goodness' or even 'morality'. We can think a holy person is someone who is especially good - or we can even think a holy person is someone who is stuck up and thinks that they are better than others.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible where Jesus talks about holiness. As we think through Jesus' teaching, we will consider how God makes us holy by giving us his word. We will also consider how holiness is more than morality, and how God calls us to be people who do not glorify ourselves, but God.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday School will be meeting at about 10:45am.

God's peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Wednesday the 20th of May - 7:00pm

We'll be having an Ascesion Vespers service this Wednesday at 7:00pm.

For Sunday the 17th of May - 9:00 am

It’s a curious fact that the things in life that are really good for us can be difficult to pursue - at least at first. For example: we all know that the activities of eating well and exercising regularly not only are good for our health, but also can contribute to our happiness in life. Yet starting a diet and sticking to it, or starting an exercise regimen and persevering can seem to take super human strength. It can take years of self-discipline before a healthy way of living comes naturally.

This week we will be hearing teaching from the Bible about God’s commands – especially about the command to love each other. This command can seem like a real burden, and it can seem harder to keep than a strict diet. Yet as we think though Jesus’ teaching we will consider how God gives us the freedom to love each other by showing us his love. We will consider how God moves us from being people who fear what is good, to be people who freely live out God’s love and peace.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school will meet at about 9:45am.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor