Longing for Heaven.
About 6 years ago I was in my friend’s car and she was driving around the Barossa Valley. I can’t remember exactly what we were talking about, but she turned to me and said “I’m ready to die”. My reaction was “let me out the car first”. But seriously it took me a little by surprise because I had never really given death or Heaven much thought. As Christians, if we truly believe that being with God is the best thing ever, shouldn’t we be thinking about Heaven? And yet I never really had. I was quite content making myself as comfortable as possible here on earth and leaving that Heaven for when I was a little older.
I really love what Max Lucado has to say about Heaven
“The only ultimate disaster that can befall us, I have come to realise, is to feel ourselves to be home on earth. As long as we are aliens, we cannot forget our true homeland. Unhappiness on earth cultivates a hunger for heaven. By gracing us with a deep dissatisfaction, God holds our attention. The only tragedy, then, is to be satisfied prematurely. To settle for earth.
We are not happy here because we are not supposed to be happy here. We are “like foreigners and strangers in this world” (1 Peter 2:11). And you will never be completely happy on earth simply because you were not made for earth. Oh, you will have moments of joy. You will catch glimpses of light. You will know moments even days of peace. But they simply do not compare with the happiness that lies ahead”
With a Heaven perspective I think it changes the way we live our lives.
Click on the link below to see a short clip by Francis Chan on “what are you living for?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86dsfBbZfWs
Blessings,
Sophie
Prayer Requests
For privacy the prayer list is not included in this Blog but if you would like to view the current requests refer to the e-mail that alerted you to this site. If you have a prayer request or wish to be covered by prayer please email churchenquiries@paravista.org.au with your request.
This week we continue the new series, “Jesus crosses the boundaries”. This week’s message Jesus crosses the boundaries of religious/human traditions. We all have our ways of doing things and it is quite remarkable how we get our nose out of joint when other people don’t follow our way, or don’t respect our way of doing things which we think is really important. We can even allow ourselves to take offence, get angry and even attack the other person over their disregard for our tradition. What is your boundry?
Bible Reading: Mark 2:18-3:6; Mark 7:1-23
Lenten Service
Lenten service will be held in the church at 4.00pm Wednesday 14th March 2012.
Kingdom Kids at the 10:30am service for ages 0-12.
Kingdom Kids
We have 3 weeks left in Kingdom Kids before our 2012 Easter Celebration (to be held on Palm Sunday). This term, we have been looking at the way God protects us and have been blown away by the kids’ depth of knowledge and understanding. Last week we learnt more about how precious and important we are to Jesus, how we can say no to the devil in the midst of temptation and how dressing in spiritual armour can help us fight in the daily battle against our sinful desires. We look forward to learning more this coming weekend and invite all children to join us.
Kingdom Kids Easter Celebration
We will be having a joint Easter Celebration on Sunday 1st April. This will also mark the end of our term 1 program and the beginning of the holidays. Kingdom Kids will kick off again in term 2 on the 29th April. Please invite your friends along to our Easter celebration so that they too can hear the message of Easter.
Egg Cartons needed…
We still need lots and lots of egg cartons for our Easter Activity. If you have any you don’t need and are happy to donate, that would be fantastic. We will need close to 100 egg cartons!
Baby Zone
It is exciting to see such young children embracing their heavenly father with open arms. Baby Zone is run every Sunday in the Education Centre for children aged 0-2. We need a strong and committed team to keep this ministry going and are also in need of a team leader who can bring our Baby Beginnings Resource to life in our church. Could this be you? 1-2 hours a week would be needed and you would be rostered on once a month. If this isn’t you, then please join me in praying for the right person to come forward. Team Members are also needed. Very minimal prep required and you would only be rostered on once a month (twice a term). Please consider getting involved. We currently have 5 team members and we need at least 8 to keep the program running well.
Play Group is for families with young children (0-5).
• Come along this week to play, laugh, learn and grow as we kick off the second week of our Easter program.
• Wednesday mornings from 9:30am-11:30am in the church hall.
• We are still looking for someone to oversee morning tea. Could this be you?
• Exiting new resources coming soon!
Can you help? I am looking for people who could come to play group once every now and then to;
1. cut up fruit for morning tea
2. welcome new families
3. help wash up after morning tea
4. read to the kids in our cosy/quiet corner
5. chat to families around the adults morning tea table. It would be great to have someone or a few people from our church community sitting around the morning tea table to chat with and encourage new families from our community.
Urgent prayer point
We have been blessed with growth in Children’s Ministry over the past few years and feel privileged to be involved in a ministry that is forever evolving and changing as we too change and grow. With this growth has come the need for more room and LOTS more resources and volunteers. I would like to ask our Good Shepherd family to join me in praying daily for this ministry. We give God all the glory for the growth we have seen and honour the many people who already work so hard to bring this ministry to life. However, we do have significant and urgent needs. I am praying for the Baby Zone and Playgroup leadership roles to be filled soon, so that I have more time to expand in the areas of faith resources for home, updating our family section of the library, and working on ways to better connect and reach out to the families in our extended community (including the school). God is faithful and amazing and we know he will provide. Thankyou for your support in this way.
Laura Carson – Children and Family Team Leader
lcarson@paravista.org.au
8263 5087
Sophie Gerrie
Mission news
Cebu Mission Fundraising Team
Pancake Day on Sunday 25th March, after both morning services. Come along and enjoy a yummy pancake or two, with maple syrup or sugar and lemon juice, whichever flavour your tastebuds demand!
Pancakes still at $1 each!
There will also be a stall with Bible covers, Jewellery and Bags all made in the Philippines by the people in the poverty areas. The bags are beautifully made using 'ring pulls' from cans! Come check them out!!All monies raised will be donated to Cebu Missionary Foundation.
Our next event will be our major fundraiser for the year, so please mark Saturday 26th May 2012 on your calendar and plan to come along (bring your friends also) to a
'Night with The BordererS'!
Tickets will be available soon. Watch this space for more information.
The Fundraising Team would like you to consider being part of our team, especially if you have been to Cebu. We need an extra member who has a passion for helping the poor and who is willing to help out with our fundraising events. Please contact Joan McCarthy, Team Leader on 8262 7429 or see me at church.
From the Office
New Administration Manager.
Congratulations to Stephen Zanker who will be the New Administration Manager at Good Shepherd. It is anticipated that Stephen will commence in this role in the week after Easter.
Position vacant at Good Shepherd
The following positions are available at Good Shepherd:
Worship Material/ Media Production – 7 hours
Preparing multi media material for services.
Preparing written material for services.
Preparing other publications as required.
Maintain procedures complying to the position.
Reception/ Publications – 9 hours.
Reception duties and associated administration tasks.
Preparing and publishing the Weekly News for distribution in written form and via the internet.
Preparing other publications as required.
Maintain procedures complying with the position.
Although these are advertised as 2 positions they could be combined into one position.
They could also be reconfigured differently.
- Reception – has to be on a Tuesday for 2012 - 6.25 hours
- Worship Materials/Media Production(6.5 hours) + Publications – (3.25 hours). This is the most desirable outcome but these positions could be 2 separate positions. These positions are on a Thursday/Friday
Full details are available on our web site under members section, log in paravista password jesus
Facilities
On site we have 230 sq m of asbestos. At present this is in a safe condition. We have to pay over $350 a year to have the asbestos areas inspected The FMT is investigating the possibility of having the asbestos removed.
For Sale
Laminated table
To increase efficiency in the church office we have installed a new desk which gives much more room for staff and volunteers working at the computers. The laminated desk that was in use is for sale. It measures 1500mm x 900mm. It can be used as a work or computer table. Cost $100
If interested please contact John Dolling on 8263 5087
Staff on Leave
Lorraine will be on leave until Thursday 15th March. Helen Bridge will be filling in for Lorraine. Please ensure all email for the office is sent to churchenquiries@paravista.org.au
Some reflections for the third week of Lent
As we enter the season of Lent and we reflect on the sufferings of Christ, our hearts also respond to the suffering of others in our community. At Lutheran Community Care the demands on our welfare services continue to increase at an alarming rate. This is the third in a series of weekly reflections for your church throughout Lent, written by LCC Director Helen Lockwood.
John 2:13-22
'It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers' coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, "Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father's house into a marketplace!"
Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: "Passion for God's house will consume me."
But the Jewish leaders demanded, "What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it."
"All right," Jesus replied. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
"What!" they exclaimed. "It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?" But when Jesus said 'this temple,' he meant his own body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.'
It’s hard to imagine Jesus holding a whip of cords in His hand, throwing tables over and tipping money on the ground. This angry image of Jesus stands in stark contrast to last week's story, where Jesus shows His care and compassion to all by ensuring that there is provision for everyone at the wedding.
Why does Jesus react this way? It was the Passover, the important festival in the Jewish calendar, and Jerusalem was crowded with visitors who had come to worship in the Temple, God’s permanent dwelling place, to fulfil their religious duties. But the Temple authorities put a barrier between the people and their worship by turning religious rituals into a business. They exploited the ordinary people by charging to exchange money and purchasing of sacrificial animals. The Jewish authorities were also compromised because they were working with the Romans, the regime that oppressed their people.
Jesus came to overcome oppression and to speak good news to the poor. He was prepared to give up His life so that we can be free. On his way to the cross, He spoke out against all that gets in the way of love and compassion.
We hear of oppression and exploitation in our world every day. It exists not only overseas but in our own communities. People suffer at the hands of unscrupulous businesses or through the power of another over them. Some people feel the oppression of addiction or physical or mental pain and torment.
At Lutheran Community Care we advocate for those who come to us burdened by their situations and struggling with systems which they cannot understand. Our counsellors and financial counsellors, community and family support workers speak out when they see a person treated unjustly and work with that person to give them the confidence to find their own voice. As an organisation we work to change systems that disempower people and we seek to build strong caring communities where respect and compassion are valued and practised.
Please support the work of LCC this Lent as we shoulder the burdens of the oppressed and work with you to build a just, caring society.
Use the tear off donation slip at the bottom of the letter in the March edition of the Together magazine, visit our website at www.lccare.org.au or telephone 08 8269 9333 to make a donation that will build a better society.
notice board
‘The Lutheran’ MARCH ISSUE OUT NOW
Introducing our series GOING GREYt!—in honour of the contribution our seniors make to our families, churches and communities
THE SECRET LIFE OF G & WE
An old man and a newly married couple living in the same house—how on earth could that work?
SOMEONE TO LEAD ME
For the Aboriginal elders of Wujal Wujal, there’s no leading a community without praying for it.NOW OR NEVER The opportunity to care for someone might come along only once. So don’t let that chance go by. 11 issues per year; $39 Australia, $41 New Zealand You can SUBSCRIBE ON-LINE www.thelutheran.com.au or contact the office for details.
IAN WATTO WATSON
Watto is the owner of one of the largest Truck Driver Training Centres operating in Queensland for the past 22 years with 6 Trucks for Driver Training and 3 Water Trucks.
Watto and his wife Margaret have been married for "45 years. They have 3 sons and 4 grandchildren and
Watto enjoys all the activities in which the family is involved.
Watto is a passionate AFL Footy supporter following Carlton and the Brisbane Lions. He enjoys meeting friends for coffee and encouraging people in whatever they’re doing in their lives. He also enjoys going for walks along the beach near his home admiring God’s creation
Watto heads up Shed Nights at his Murrumba Downs truck yard on the first Monday night of each month. Shed Happens draws approximately 150 blokes each night and it’s Watto’s passion for every bloke to know he is a champion son of the King and that he is on a first name basis with the King of kings.
You never see a bloke go backwards with encouragement.
WATTO
Ian Watson 0412 277 455
www.shednight.com
Easter Camp is a camping experience aimed at young people who want to challenge and extend their faith journey. Whether you’ve never been to an Easter Camp before or you’ve made the pilgrimage countless years, you won’t be disappointed if you choose to come along on EC12 – Out of the Ashes.For those of you who won’t be coming to Easter Camp this year, perhaps you’d like to support this ministry through prayer – or by making a donation to help cover the fees of our camp parents, pastor and cooks. If so, please email eastercamp@lyv.or.g.au for more information.
When: Maundy Thursday – Easter Monday, 5th – 9th April Where: Kinglake Ranges Wilderness Camp (approx. one hour north of Melbourne) Who: Campers aged 16-30 Cost: $185 for students, $200 for workers
Website: http://www.lyv.org.au/eastercamp.php (for more information, download a registration form or register online)
Friends of Lutheran Archives Special meeting. Topic: Re-enacting the Klemzig story. Hear about the Polish re-enactments of the departure of the first Lutherans from the Klemzig district to South Australia in 1838. Dr Anitta Maksymowicz will tell why the present-day Poles are interested in this and show a DVD of the events (see article in Together). (Note change of venue) At Concordia College Chapel, 45 Cheltenham St, Highgate, on Monday 2 April at 7.30 pm. Gold coin donation.
Holiday Rental properties available in Victor Harbor – check the notice board for more details
With more of God and less of us, we will never be the losers!
Church Office Hours: Monday - Friday 9.00am – 3.45pm
