Sunday 14 February - 10am
We will be celebrating Transfiguration Sunday.
Sunday 7 February 9am - First Sunday
No matter how carefully we keep our financial records in order, an audit from the tax department can make us uneasy and a little anxious. Likewise, no matter how well we keep in shape, a visit to the doctor for a checkup can be an unpleasant and even daunting experience. But the prospect of having God closely scrutinize our lives - no matter how well we may have lived - can be the most threatening thing of all. It can be so threatening that we’d rather not even think about it; we’d rather avoid God completely.
This Sunday we will hear passages from the Bible that describe the terror people have experienced in meeting God face to face. As we think through these readings, we will consider how God comes to us not to condemn us, but to bring us healing and life in Christ Jesus; we will consider how we can joyfully welcome God into our lives.
This Sunday we will meet at 9am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school will meet at about 9:45am.
God’s blessings to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
Sunday 31 January - 9am
One of the problems with the word ‘love’ is that it can mean so many things: we can speaking of love for ice cream, love for our country, love for golf, love for our family – and the list could go on.
This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that helps us understand what God’s love is like. We will hear that the love God has is kind, patient, gentle, and ready to forgive. As we think through this teaching, we will consider how God gives us the strength and the will to love ourselves and all people.
This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school is in recess over the holidays.
God’s peace to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
Sunday 10 January - 10am
This Sunday we will be celebrating the Baptism of Jesus. The Sunday school is in recess over the holidays.
Sunday 3 January - 9am
One of the great causes of conflict in this world is the suspicion and animosity that can exist between people of different skin colours, languages, and customs. Sometimes it can seem as if there is no hope for reconciliation among people of different races – it can seem as if harmful conflict is an unstoppable reality.
This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that deals with the way God creates unity among people of very different ethnic backgrounds. As we think through this reading, we will consider how God leads us to share our lives with people who are different from us.
This Sunday we will meet at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion. The Sunday school is in recess during the holidays.
God’s blessings to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
Thursday December 31 - 7:30pm
There will be a short service this New Year's Eve at the church at 7:30pm.
Christmas Services
The Christmas services at Bendigo this year are:
Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols: 7:30pm
Christmas Day Service with Communion: 10:00am
God bless you as you celebrate the Lord's birth!
Sunday 13 December - 10am
It can be easy for Christian people to become complacent – to live with the attitude that because God is merciful and forgiving, it doesn’t matter what we say or do. But if we live with this attitude, we can soon find that our relationships with other people and with God are seriously damaged.
This Sunday we will hear a reading from the Bible that helps us to think about the sort of lifestyle that God wants to give us. As we think through what the Bible says, we will consider how God’s mercy and forgiveness empower us to deal justly and lovingly with other people, and so to live with insight into the importance of our words and actions.
This Sunday we will meet at 10:00am for a service with Holy Communion. In the first part of the service the children will be retelling the story of Christmas.
God’s blessings to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
Sunday 6 November 9:00am
It’s one thing to welcome an honored guest into our home; it’s another to welcome a cleaner. With the honored guest we want to put on our best face; to cover up the imperfections with the state of our home; and to avoid discussing the problems of our family life. With a cleaner we are much less likely to be worried about appearances – in fact we may even be willing to show the cleaner those very parts of the house that are messiest, in the hope that they’ll help clean things up.
Thinking about this aspect of everyday life can help us understand what the Bible says about welcoming God. Although God is the most honored guest in life, we do not need to hide our imperfections or problems. This is because God comes to help us – to clean up what is messy, and to heal what is hurt.
This Sunday we will meet at 9:00am for a service with Holy Communion. At this service we will think through what it means to welcome God – and we will ask for God’s help in our lives. The Sunday school will meet at about 9:45am.
God’s peace to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
Sunday 29 November 9am
Sometimes it’s easy to drift in life – to live without any thought to the future, and without any concern regarding the consequences of the choices we make. The problem when we live this way is that reality can hit hard – we can suddenly find ourselves without the strength and resources we need to live with any happiness or hope.
This Sunday we will be hearing teaching from Jesus, were he warns his followers to be on guard, and to prepare for difficult times. As we think through Jesus’ teaching, we will consider how God gives us the strength to order our lives well, and to live prepared for what the future may bring.
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 blessings to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
Sunday 22 November 10am
It’s very easy to become cynical when listening to people who exercise authority. Whether it’s listening to parents, parliamentarians, teachers, law enforcers, or ministers of religion, the default mode of many people with experience of life is to be suspicious of the talk, and to watch the actions.
This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that centers on Jesus’ ability to speak the truth in love. As we think through what the Bible says, we will consider how Jesus backed up his words of forgiveness and mercy with actions self-sacrificial love. We will consider how Jesus exercised rightly ordered authority in what he said and what he did.
This Sunday we will meet at 10:00am for a service with Holy Communion. There will be a confirmation at the service. The Sunday school will meet at about 10:45am.
God’s blessings to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
Sunday 15 November 9am
We human beings are creatures of habit: we find it easy and natural to fall into routines that shape not only what we do, but also what we say and think. While some habits, such as exercise, can help us live well, others are not so helpful. Bad habits – especially bad habits in the way that we talk with other people – can take the joy out of life.
This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that encourages us to develop good habits. As we think through what the Bible teaches, we will consider how God gives us the freedom to speak well to each other by speaking his peace and forgiveness to us in Christ.
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 blessings to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
For Sunday 8 November - 10:00 am
One of the tasks of life is to distinguish between appearance and reality. This is especially important when it comes to relationships with other people. If we simply trust other people by the front they put on, we can quickly find ourselves defrauded. This can leave us bitter about life, and hate-filled towards other people.
This Sunday we will be listening to teaching from Jesus where he gives us warning about too easily trusting appearances. As we think through Jesus’ teaching, we will consider how God gives us the freedom to see reality by uncovering the false front that we ourselves put on. We will consider how God, through forgiving our own frail attempts at deception, gives us freedom to love ourselves and others with wisdom.
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
For Sunday the 25th of October - 10:00 am Reformation Day and Church Shared Meal
It’s one thing to know about God, it’s another to know God. Although anyone can know something about God by considering nature, reading books, and talking with other people, it’s only possible to know God coming into a close relationship with him.
This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that talks about knowing God. As we think through this reading, we will consider how God leads us to know him by forgiving our sins. We will consider how we come into a close relationship with God primarily by trusting that in Christ Jesus we have God’s mercy, grace, and peace.
This Sunday we will meet at 10:00am for a service with Holy Communion. We will be celebrating the way that God constantly reforms the church by giving people the gift of faith. This Sunday there will be a shared meal after the church service.
God’s blessings to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
For Sunday the 18th of October - 9:00 am
It’s not uncommon to find people who use their positions of authority to feather their own nests. In government and in the church, in sports clubs and in families, in business and in health care, people can be tempted to use the power they have to get their own way, and to further their own interests.
This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that deals with the temptation to abuse authority in the church. As we listen to this reading, we will consider how Jesus gives us a good example of the right exercise of authority. We will consider how Jesus uses his authority to save us from the tyranny of sin and death.
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 blessings to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
For Sunday the 11th of October - 10:00 am
Most of the time it’s difficult to welcome a close scrutiny of our lives: whether it’s an audit of our financial situation by an accountant, or a physical check up at the doctor, we can become uneasy about what might be revealed. This unease can turn into fear when it comes to the spiritual realm: having a guilty conscience can make us too scared to approach God with any confidence at all.
This Sunday we will be hearing a passage from the Bible that helps us when we are afraid of God. We will hear how Jesus has suffered the same sort of temptations that we face, and that he is able to sympathize with us. We will hear that it is Jesus who can give us the help that we need in approaching God with confidence, so that we can ask for all that we need to have joy in life.
This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00 am for a service with Holy Communion. There will be an unveiling of a plaque commemorating the old Lutheran Church in Bendigo at 9:45 am.
God’s blessings to you,
Fraser Pearce, Pastor
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
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