For Sunday December the 2nd - 9:00am

In life we all have some understanding that the ways we think, speak, and act have real consequences for our relationships and for our environment. It’s a fact that often we don’t like to think about theses consequences, but even inconvenient truths cannot be avoided indefinitely, and eventually we must come to terms with the results of our behaviour.

This Sunday we will be hearing a warning that Jesus gave to his disciples about the fact that a time of judgment would come. As we listen to this warning, we’ll consider what faithful and unfaithful responses to this warning might look like, and we’ll think about the ways that God frees us to live authentic lives.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am for a service with communion. The Sunday school will meet at about 9:45am. On Sunday evening there will also be an ecumenical service at 6:00pm at St Therese’s Catholic Church.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 25th of November - 10:00am

Sometimes it can seem that God is not great. Especially when we or others close to us are suffering, we can get angry at God, and wish that he did not exist. It’s also often the case that when we experience the reality of our own guilt – the reality of our conscience inconveniently reminding us of what we’ve done or of what we should be doing – then we can wish that God would leave us alone.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that says, ‘The Lord is our righteousness”. As we think though what this phrase might mean, we’ll consider some of the ways that God shows us his suffering love and his endless mercy. We’ll consider the way that Christ takes human anger on himself, and gives his peace and forgiveness in return.

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 Sunday the 18th of November - 9:00am

One of the important teachings of the Bible is that work, even apparently menial labor, is significant to God, and is rewarded by him. This teaching can be particularly helpful to hear when we feel weighed down by the daily tasks of studying, taking care of children, keeping the house clean, or dealing with difficult work mates or employers. As our attention is drawn to the fact that God sees our work and rewards it, we can receive strength from God to help us work cheerfully and conscientiously.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that gives encouragement to all able-bodied Christians to work rather than to be idle. As we reflect on this reading we will think about how it relates to our life as a congregation, and also how it gives us inspiration to help those who are not able to work.

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,

Fraser Pearce, pastor

For Sunday the 11th of November - 10:00am

This Sunday we will be hearing from the Bible about the purpose that God has in mind when he calls us through the good news about Jesus. It’s not that God wants us to be people who feel superior to others, or to be people who smugly judge others who think or act in different ways. The purpose that God has in mind when he calls us through the goods news about Jesus is that he wants to share with us the glory – the mercy, the life, and the love – that is in Jesus.

This Sunday, as we maintain the traditions that have been handed on to us by the Lord and by the Apostles, we will again receive the good news about Jesus, and we will experience the way that God frees us to love each other, and to be at peace with all people of good will.

This Sunday our service starts at 10:00am. Our church picnic will start at about 11:30am.

God’s peace,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

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

This Sunday Glen Schier will be leading the Service with Communion, and preaching on the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. Sunday school will be at about 9:45am.

God's peace,

Fraser Pearce, pastor

For Sunday the 28th of October - 10:00am (Daylight Saving!)

Bendigo Lutheran Church

One serious danger that we face when we try to keep God’s laws and commands is that we can become proud and judgmental. Instead of praying for other people, and offering them help when they have need, we can treat them as competitors for God’s love, and we can smugly think that because we have done well in aspects of our life, then God somehow loves us more than others.

This Sunday we will be hearing a parable that Jesus told to those who trusted in their own goodness, and who held others in contempt. As we listen to this parable, we will consider the warning that Jesus is giving us, and we will also consider the way the parable frees us to see all people as deeply loved by God.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00am -and don’t forget daylight saving! The Sunday school will be meeting at about 10:45am.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

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

Bendigo Lutheran Church

Prayer comes naturally to most human beings – even to those who have not heard much about God, or who have never been given good examples of prayer. In the church we have learned to pray from Jesus, and the Lord’s Prayer gives us good words to use when we turn to God in our need. Yet often we can feel like giving up on prayer, especially if we think that God doesn’t listen to us, or that we are not worthy of having our prayer’s answered.

This Sunday we will be hearing a parable that Jesus told his disciples, so that they would persevere in prayer, and not give up. As we listen to this parable, we will think about the way it gives us encouragement to trust that God does listen to our heartfelt words, even when we experience doubt, or when we know that we do not deserve the help that we ask for.

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,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

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

It’s normal for human beings to live with a ‘tribal’ mentality – to live as if the only people who count are those who look, think, talk, and act like us. This tribal mentality can find expression also in religion, especially when we think that God is only on our side, and that those who are outside of our religious community are less than human.

This Sunday we will be hearing readings from the Bible that describe God’s acts of mercy and generosity to those outside his special communities. As we hear these readings we will consider how God blesses faith wherever it is found, and how we as Christian people are called by God to be humble in our attitude toward God and toward all people.

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,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

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

This Sunday we hear Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (it’s in chapter 16 of the Gospel according to Luke). As we listen to this challenging parable we will consider how God is calling us to receive his commands and promises, especially as they concern our use of possessions. We will also consider how a hard hearted attitude to human need can go hand in hand with a hard hearted attitude to the Word of God.

This Sunday we will welcome Pastor Allan Heppner and his family as guests at worship. Pastor Allan will preach on Jesus’ parable.

Our service this Sunday starts at 9:00am. Our Sunday school is in recess over the holidays.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

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

Jesus gave his disciples very clear teaching about money. He said: “You cannot serve God and wealth”. In saying this, he was making the point that if we see making money as the most important thing in life, then we will end up ignoring God’s commands and promises. On the other hand, he was also saying that if we hold our allegiance to God, then concern over money won’t dominate our lives.

This Sunday we will be hearing this teaching of Jesus, and thinking about a parable that Jesus told his disciples to help them understand the role of possessions in life. We will also be thinking about the way that God prepares us through the use of our possessions in this world to receive greater spiritual blessings now and in the world to come.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00am. Our Sunday School will be meeting at about 10:45am.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, pastor

Benton Thomas' Funeral - Monday the 17th of September

Brenton Thomas' Funeral will be held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Monday the 17th of September at 2:30pm.

Our condolences to Doss and to all Brenton's family.

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

One of the chief responsibilities of Christian people is to pray to God on behalf of others. Every Sunday, we Christians gather together in worship, bring our requests to God, and remember in prayer especially those who are sick, or suffering from injustice, or who have special responsibilities that require wisdom and courage. This sort of prayer is called ‘intercession’, and is at the heart of the church’s priestly duty.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that describes Moses’ interceding before God on behalf of the people of Israel. We will be hearing how Moses held God to his promises, so that God relented from punishing his people. As we think about this reading, we’ll consider what encouragement it gives us in our own role as intercessors.

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 26th of August - 10:00am

In our world it can sometimes seem that people who are sticklers for rules and laws can be cold hearted when it comes to their treatment of human beings. It can also seem that people who feel compassion for others can be less than clear when it comes to distinguishing between good and evil. With Jesus, however, there was no contradiction between showing heartfelt respect and obedience to God’s commands, and showing warm and compassionate love to human beings: Jesus fulfilled all God’s laws by the love that he showed all people.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible about a time when Jesus healed a crippled woman on a holy day. Some people – sticklers for rules and commands – criticized Jesus because they thought he broke the law by working on a holy day. But Jesus, by his actions and his words, showed how God’s law and God’s love don’t contradict each other. He showed that God’s commands are rightly interpreted in light of God’s love.

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,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

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

It’s not uncommon for Christian people to go through times when they feel discouraged and depressed: when they feel as if God is not keeping the promises he makes in the Bible. At such times Christian people can feel isolated and alone, and can feel like giving up on the life of faith.

This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from the Bible that gives us encouragement when we feel like giving up. We will be hearing about the people of faith who have gone before us in history, and who are with us as part of God’s people even now. We will be hearing that, no matter how tough life may become, we are never alone: God, the angels and archangels, and the whole company of heaven surround us like a cloud.

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

God’s peace,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 12th of August - 10:00am

The primary way that we experience spiritual and supernatural power in our lives is by trusting God’s promises. When, for example, we trust God’s promise that in Christ we have his forgiveness, we experience a supernatural freedom to forgive those who have hurt us. Likewise when we trust God’s promise t provide for all our needs, we experience a supernatural freedom to be generous with the people that God places in our lives. As we trust God’s promises we experience that reality of God’s goodness, beauty, and truth.

This Sunday we will be hearing readings from the Bible that deal with the theme of trust. As we meditate on the readings we will consider the ways that God makes his promises to us here and now, and we will think through the ways that we faithfully receive his promises, and so experience the power of the Holy Spirit as a Christian community.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 10:00am. The Sunday school will be meeting at 10:45am.

God’s peace,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

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

One of the most confronting realities that we must deal with as human beings is that, by our own effort, nothing that we do will last forever. No matter how clever we are, no matter how much effort we go to, no matter how wealthy, or attractive, or practical we may be, we must all face the reality of our own death, and of the ultimate frustration of our dreams and plans.

This apparently depressing reality is the theme of one of the most unusual books of the Bible: Ecclesiastes. This Sunday we will be hearing a reading from Ecclesiastes, and we will be thinking through how acknowledging our limitations and frustrations can be helpful in gaining wisdom, and so in receiving joy in life through simple things like work, food and drink, and family. We will also be thinking about how Jesus gives us a gift that is eternal: God’s love for us. In receiving this gift we are able to love each other, and to reap the harvest of this love in eternity.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am. The Sunday school will be meeting at about 9:45am.

God’s peace,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 29th of July - 9:00am

One of the great gifts that Jesus gives his disciples is the gift of prayer. Prayer is a great gift because we human beings live with real hopes and anxieties, and with feelings of gratitude, guilt, and joy; yet we can keep these things bottled up in a way that can make us restless and unhappy. In prayer we take the words which bubble away in our souls to God, and experience the peace that only God can give.

This Sunday we will be hearing teaching from Jesus on prayer. We will especially be thinking through the encouragement Jesus gives us to trust that God will care for us and provide us with all that we need to live life to the full.

This Sunday we will be meeting at 9:00am for a service with communion. Our Sunday school will be meeting at about 9:45am.

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 22nd of July - 10:00am

In life we hear many conflicting messages, and it’s quite natural for us to tune out when what we hear doesn’t seem particularly relevant to us. In such cases it’s quite normal for us to start thinking about other things, or to get on with some activity that will be useful to us and to other people.

This Sunday we will be hearing a couple of readings from the Bible that can help us determine when it’s good to sit down and listen, and when it’s good to get up and work. We’ll especially be hearing about how Jesus shows us who God is, so that when we listen to him, we are listening to God – we’ll be hearing about the way that listening to Jesus gives us the freedom to work wisely in life.

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

God’s peace to you,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

For Sunday the 15th of July - 9:00am

Sorry about the break in communication, but I'm now back from holidays! This week we'll be meeting at 9:00am. The sermon will be on Colossians 1:1-14

God's peace,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor

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

At the heart of Christian spirituality is the trust that what Jesus says is true. This is especially important when it comes to understanding our relationship both with God and with other human beings. Because Jesus declares God’s mercy and forgiveness to us, and because Jesus considers all human beings as God’s creation, we are free to trust that our future is safe with God, and to be open to sharing God’s blessings with people from all cultures and back grounds.

This Sunday we will be hearing a passage from the Bible that sums up Christian spirituality. In this passage St Paul says that God unifies people through baptism into Christ. This teaching has practical consequences: Just as God is not stingy about who he includes in his family, so we, who receive God’s love as a gift, can share this love with all human beings.

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

God’s peace,

Fraser Pearce, Pastor