Weekly News: 04/01/2014

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Connect with God

Inviting God to be present in your life every day is important to deepening your relationship with Him, your understanding of His love and to feel the comfort, strength and freedom that this relationship brings.

If I worry or feel stressed about something, I can pray about it and hand it over to God. If I am happy or joyous about something, I can thank God and share that joy with Him. If I am sad or depressed, I can ask for help and comfort. Whatever the situation, I can take it to Him or share it with Him and He always helps, forgives, comforts and loves me.

I want my child to also experience this amazing relationship. How important then is it for us to share our lives and grow in our faith alongside our kids and grandkids? Joel 1:3 says "Tell it to your children, and have your children tell their children, and their children tell their children".

What then can you do in your home during the week, to strengthen your relationship with God and your family's relationship with Him too? Some ideas I have recently been trying out and found helpful include:
Each member of your family sharing a high and a low from their day.
Praying together each taking turns to say "Dear God I thank you for..........I praise you for.............I am sorry for...............and in the spirit of forgiveness I ask you for.............
Read something from a devotion book together.
Read a Bible verse or story together.
Stop to pray together out loud throughout your day when you, your child or someone you know is struggling. Ask God to help them with their struggle.
When you are out somewhere or even at home and can see someone is sad, alone, unhappy or cross, quietly say a prayer for them.
Use car travel time to pray for things happening that day in your family.
Say Grace together at shared meal times.
Bless each other at bed time and put the sign of the cross on them.
Keep a gratefulness journal for your family. Write three things you are grateful for and thank God for these things.

All of these are simple things but they all help to direct your thinking constantly to God. Gradually you will find Him at the centre of everything in your life, where He wants and needs to be. You don't have to do it all every day, just keep trying to make an effort to do at least one thing each day to connect with God for you and your family. Be consistent and it will make an amazing difference!

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give to you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on your door frames of your houses and on your gates.

“Deuteronomy 6:5-9”

Beth Einthal

This Sunday at Good Shepherd

This week’s message is “Disillusionment: when life’s going nowhere” as we start a new series Is this all there is?

Podcasts of weekly messages are available at www.paravista.org.au

Bible Readings: Luke 24:13-35

Kingdom Kids (including Baby Zone) will not be running during the school holidays.

Kindy Zone Team Leader

We are still praying for someone who would love to lead Kindy Zone and be part of a passionate and fun team! Please consider if this might be you and get in touch with me (beth.einthal@paravista.org.au) for a chat!

Step Up

Is running again this year in May for children now in Year 5 at school. The Step Up program helps to prepare children for admission to Holy Communion. The first session will be a shared lunch held on Sunday 4th May with four sessions on Fridays May 9, 16, 23 and 30, all held in the school library. Please contact the church office on 8263 5087 or email Beth (beth.einthal@paravista.org.au) for further information, or to register your child.

Beth Einthal - Children and Family Team Leader

Prayer Requests:

Prayer requests are not included in the weekly news. If you would like to view the current requests refer to the email that alerted you to this weekly news. If you have a prayer request please email churchequiries@paravista.org.au with your request.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Women’s Fellowship

45^th Anniversary Luncheon on Tuesday 3^rd June 2014 @12pm. GSPV Church Hall. Donation $12

RSVP by 27^th May to Ruth Oster Ph. 8265 0221

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LCA Mission International

Visit the website http://www.lcamission.org.au and listen to some exciting stories of God at work in Cambodia.

All together all right - Launch Sunday 27^th April @ 7 pm

Concordia College Chapel (45 Cheltenham St. Highgate) Books & CDs available

“A hug is the body's battery re-charger”

Thursday, April 17, 2014

What story are you telling yourself?

If we were to compile all the things you have thought about yourself over the last week, what kind of story would they tell about you? Would you want this story told, or would you prefer to keep it secret?

I imagine we would want to keep our internal story secret. There is no way we want others seeing the kind of thoughts we wrestle with about ourselves. What would people think if they knew how insecure we really are and how unsure we are of ourselves?

However, can we really keep what we think of ourselves secret from those around us? Dan Rockwell a leadership consultant recently tweeted, ‘The story in your head always finds expression in your life.’ What we’re telling ourselves always works its way out into our lives. The way we act and react is shaped by our inner story. Sometimes the two are similar. Other times we cover up our thoughts and feelings by acting in the opposite way.

Where do the thoughts that form our inner stories come from? They come from the words and actions of others towards us. They come through the barrage of messages we receive each day in the media. They come through the accusing voice of the devil. As we process all these messages and interpret their meaning for us our thoughts are formed and our internal story composed.

The problem is that our internal stories are corrupted by a much bigger story written by sin. Sin corrupts what is said and done to us. Sin distorts the way we think so our thoughts and the stories we write with them are often negative and point to an unhappy ending. Is there a way to transform our thoughts so that the story in our head is far less negative and points towards a happy ending?

The answer is “Yes” and it is found in Jesus. When Jesus hung on the cross and cried “It is finished” he was declaring the end of sin’s sad story in our lives. When Jesus rose from the dead he was declaring that a new story is now being written for us to live in. We enter this story as we give Jesus our old sin stained story in repentance and receive his new story written through forgiveness.

Our new story in Jesus is not a one off event, but a daily journey of renouncing the old story through confession and forgiveness and a writing of the new story through faith filled life following Jesus.

Our Good Friday service will provide an opportunity to hand over the old story together with the words of others that have formed it. You will also hear Jesus declare again that “It is finished!” On Easter Sunday we will celebrate how Jesus’ resurrection changes everything. The old story of sin and death has been replaced by a new story of life and hope in Jesus.

I pray you can join us this Easter.

Pastor Noel

This Easter Sunday at Good Shepherd

This week’s message is “This changes everything”

Podcasts of weekly messages are available at www.paravista.org.au

Bible Readings: Matthew 26:36-46

Easter Service Times

Maundy Thursday - 7.30pm Service with Holy Communion

Good Friday - 8.45am & 10.30am Good Friday Experience

Easter Sunday - 8.45am & 10.30am Celebration service with Holy Communion

Please take a look at the presentation on the wall in the church hall to see how Kingdom Kids recently celebrated Easter! It was a God filled morning filled with fun, faith and community, and it was amazing to see so many children, youth, parents and grandparents doing the stations with the children, with around 90 children and adults learning together; Praise God!

Kingdom Kids (including Baby Zone) will not be running during the school holidays. There will be lots for kids to see, do and be involved with in church over Easter so come and enjoy church together as a family!

Baby Zone
The new Baby Zone room was painted on Sunday and looks nice and fresh! Many thanks to Kathy and Mia Liebig and Aaron, Ruby and Helen Einthal for their amazing help with this! Thanks also to Tanya Harrison for moving the furniture away from the walls. It was a great team effort!

Over the next few weeks we will be fully decorating the room! There are still some things that we could use for our program below. If you have any of these things and can spare them, our little ones will make good use of them!

Packets of seeds of herbs or flowers and small pots - “God Makes Growing Things” is the theme for April.
Dolls (babies only, i.e. not Barbies)
Doll blankets and other baby doll accessories
Toy people (too large to swallow, i.e. “Little People”)
Toy cash register
Toy picnic basket and toy picnic set
2 small torches
Stuffed toy animal sheep, cow, donkey and camel
Variety of plastic or washable play/dress up hats

If you have any of these items that you would be happy to donate to the room, or are happy to purchase them for the room, please leave them in the Baby Zone room by the shelves or pass onto Beth Einthal or Tanya Harrison, Baby Zone Team Leader.

Kindy Zone Team Leader

Step Up

Is running again this year in May for children now in Year 5 at school. The Step Up program helps to prepare children for admission to Holy Communion. The first session will be a shared lunch held on Sunday 4^th May with four sessions on Fridays May 9, 16, 23 and 30, all held in the school library. Please contact the church office on 8263 5087 or email Beth (beth.einthal@paravista.org.au) for further information, or to register your child.

Beth Einthal

Children and Family Team Leader

Prayer Requests:

Cebu Fundraising Event
Sausage Sizzle and Steak Sandwich Day, Sun 25th May. There will be sausages available after the first service and sausages and Steak Sandwiches available after the second service. Come and enjoy some lunch and then attend the AGM for the School, The Village and the Church at 12.30pm. There will also be freshly baked Cupcakes for sale.

All monies raised will go to the 'Inayawan Project' in Cebu, Philippines.

Wishing Well

The fundraising team have available a Wishing Well for hire, which can be used for Weddings, Engagements, Christenings, 18th or 21st Birthday parties, etc. It is a secure locked box and the $50 hire fee goes to Cebu Mission. For more information or to make a booking, contact the Church office or Linda Dulay on 0423067398

Chocolate Sellers

We would like one more person to sell chocolates please. If you work in an office, kindy, etc and have a suitable area to display a box of chocolates, then please contact Joan McCarthy or other team member.

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Grace conference 2014

LWSA/NT encourages women of all ages to attend the Grace conference 2014 at Concordia College. The theme for the conference this year is Evangelism for Everyone, * guilt not included.

Spend a day with Christian women from all walks of life and explore what God does and doesn't want us to do when it comes to evangelism from the book of 1 Peter.

Or phone Carol Black on 82663007 /0418834150 for more information.

“Faith grows best in the winter of trial”

Friday, April 11, 2014

Rejected or received?

The Jewish religious leaders went to a lot of effort to kill Jesus: conspiracy, kidnap, an illegal trial at night. False witnesses faltered and proceedings stalled. So the High Priest jumps in: “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” (Mt 26:63 NIV)

By law, Jesus must answer truthfully. As soon as Jesus answers the question, he is a dead man walking! (Mt 26:64-66) Once daylight arrives, they “rubber stamp” the death sentence.

Unable to carry out the death penalty, they bring Jesus to Pilate. Pilate is not sure what to do with this king of the Jews. In spite of accusations made by the chief priests and elders, the evidence is flimsy. Although Jesus is not found guilty of any crime, Pilate capitulates to the crowd.

There’s irony. Jesus is the promised Messiah. But the religious power-brokers don’t want a Messiah who exposes their hypocrisy. They don’t want a Messiah who “lifts the lid” on their heart condition before God … and calls them to repentance.

They are faced with two choices:

Repent, receive Jesus as Messiah, and follow him (later, many did – Acts 6:7).
Reject him.

2000 years have passed, and human reactions to Jesus are still the same.

Which of these are consistently yours and mine?

Pr Rolly Stahl

This Sunday at Good Shepherd

This week’s message is “Responding to injustice” as we continue the series ‘Choices on the way’. Podcasts of weekly messages are available at www.paravista.org.au

Bible Readings: 1 Pet 2:21-24; Matthew 26:26:57-68, 27:11-26

Last Sunday Kingdom Kids celebrating Easter with four stations journeying through the Easter story and learning about what Jesus did for us at the first Easter! It was a God filled morning filled with fun, faith and community! It was amazing to see so many children, youth, parents and grandparents doing the stations with the children, with around 90 children and adults learning together; Praise God!

We Praise God for the average of 50 kids who have attended Kingdom Kids each week this term.

Baby Zone averages 5 babies/toddlers per week (with a maximum of 8 babies/toddlers)

Kindy Zone averages 13 kids per week (with a maximum of 17 kids)

Kids Zone averages 15 kids per week (with a maximum of 22 kids)

Kool Zone averages 16 kids per week (with a maximum of 23 kids)

Baby Zone
The new Baby Zone room will be painted THIS SUNDAY 13^th of April after church.

Please let Beth know ASAP if you are able to help with the painting or if you have any painting equipment we can use!

Thank you to everyone who has already donated items for the new Baby Zone room! There are still lists of things that we could use for our program for the whole year below. If you have any of these things and can spare them, our little ones will make good use of them!

· Packets of seeds of herbs or flowers and small pots - “God Makes Growing Things” is the theme for April.

· Dolls (babies only, i.e. not Barbies)

· Doll blankets and other baby doll accessories

· Toy people (too large to swallow, i.e. “Little People”)

· Toy cash register

· Toy picnic basket and toy picnic set

· 2 small torches

· Stuffed toy animal sheep, cow, donkey and camel

· Variety of plastic or washable play/dress up hats

Kindy Zone Team Leader

Step Up

Is running again this year in May for children now in Year 5 at school. The Step Up program helps to prepare children for admission to Holy Communion. The first session will be a shared lunch held on Sunday 4^th May with four sessions on Fridays May 9, 16, 23 and 30, all held in the school library. Please contact the church office on 8263 5087 or email Beth (beth.einthal@paravista.org.au) for further information, or to register your child.

Beth Einthal - Children and Family Team Leader

Prayer requests

Easter Service Times

Maundy Thursday - 7.30pm Service with Holy Communion

Good Friday - 8.45am & 10.30am Good Friday Experience

Easter Sunday - 8.45am & 10.30am Celebration service with Holy Communion

Hot cross buns needed for Good Friday

As part of our Easter celebrations we will be serving hot cross buns for morning tea on Good Friday. If you are able to bring a bag of hot cross buns, cut and buttered that would be greatly appreciated. Please put the buns in the kitchen before service so those preparing morning tea can get them ready to be served.

Carry Children in Cambodia to Jesus Appeal

God has given our Lutheran church family a unique opportunity to expand our mission work in Cambodia. Working together with other Lutherans form around the world we plan to buy land next door to our existing mission project Rainbow Hostel, to build a Lutheran pre-school and Bible-training centre. This facility will help the Lutheran Church in Cambodia grow and go to families needing the good news of Jesus. Appeal information packs are in your pigeon holes and additional copies are available from the brochure rack in the foyer.

Cebu Fundraising Event
Advance notice of our Sausage Sizzle and Steak Sandwich Day, Sun 25th May. As always, there will be sausages available after the first service and sausages and Steak Sandwiches available after the second service. Come and enjoy some lunch and then attend the AGM for the School, The Village and the Church at 12.30pm. There will also be freshly baked Cupcakes for sale.
Many thanks to all who bought Pancakes at our last fundraising day; we raised the amount of $202! All monies raised go to the 'Inayawan Project' in Cebu, Philippines.

Major Fundraising Night
A few weeks ago, I said 'watch this space' and gave you a date to put in your diaries! Unfortunately, the date had to be changed, so can you please put Saturday 23rd August in your diary, for a great night of music and fun!
Keep 'watching this space'.

From the Office

A communications folder is in the kitchen to the right of the door as you enter from the passage way. Instead of approaching staff on Sundays, please use this folder to communicate things like: misplaced items, minor maintenance issues, cleaning products or kitchen supply shortages. This will allow our staff to worship and not feel compelled to carry out duties on their day off. Alternatively, you can email the Church Office.

The SA/NT District Convention of Synod will be held at Endeavour College from Friday 2nd May to Sunday 4th May. The congregation will meet all the costs of the delegates. We are entitled to 5 lay delegates and still have one vacancy. If you are interested in attending as a delegate and representing our congregation or would like more information please contact John Dolling

A view of Adelaide to be experienced could be gained while assisting in the cleaning of the gutters. The task only involves an hour of time while being able to gain a view of the surrounding area not normally seen by others. Please contact Stephen or the office on 8263 5087 or put on your Sunday Connect card your intention to be part of the “View Adelaide with a difference” team.

Car parking attendants are required to assist with traffic and parking on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Assistance would be required between the 0845 and 0930 service. Please contact Stephen or the office on 8263 5087.

Budget 2014

Income through February was under budget mainly due to Offerings.
Expenses are $3,000 under budget.

Offerings in March were $1,143 below budget
for the same period in 2013 REG is approximately $4,000 up and plate offering approximately $3,500 up.
We are $2,370 behind budget after March.

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Friends of Lutheran Archives (FoLA)

To give them a future & a hope – Lutheran Mission work among Aboriginal people in SA 1838-1853, & the differences in expectations between the SA Colonial Authorities & settlers, the Dresden Mission Society & other Christian bodies. Christine Lockwood will be the guest speaker at the FoLA meeting on Monday April 28^th 7.30 pm, Bethlehem House, Sudholz Place, City. Supper. Gold coin donation. All welcome!

Emerge Leadership Conference

Encouragement, connection and inspiration for emerging leaders developing their skills to serve God through youth and young adult ministry

Emerge is a one day leadership conference run by Blueprint Ministries for leaders aged 16 years and above.
Australian Lutheran College, Saturday 17^th May, 10am – 4pm
Cost $10 registration plus $8 for lunch (or BYO)
Keynote Speaker Chris Mann and stacks of workshops to choose from!
Register at https://events.blueprintministries.org.au/

Neighbourhood watch

The next general meeting will be 14th April 2014 @ 7.30pm in the church hall.

The Guest Speaker will represent the Police Bomb Response (Explosive coordination Section) and talk about explosives and what to do if you find any.

Why not attend a meeting and find out how you can help keep our area safe.

“Love is the soul’s beauty”