Pruning, as far as the experts say (and I am not one of them), is best left until the autumn time when the ground is a little firmer, the foliage has fallen from the trees giving better access to the branches and the tree itself is preparing for a period of dormancy so that new growth can begin in the spring.
Each person, and each congregation, goes through this season of autumn where pruning has to occur so that new life and new growth can take place. Jesus uses this pruning metaphor in the gospel of John:
I am the vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Jesus horticultural metaphor allows us to see the important characters of the story – himself, as the taproot of all life, and his Father as the gardener, or the pruning specialist. We are given a brief look into a difficult activity of the Father which may seem painful at first, but necessary for the vine to grow. Some questions we’ll look at this week in the continuation of the series Seasons of the Soul – Autumn are:
- What does this pruning look like in the body of Christ? Jesus almost always speaks in the plural, so how do we, together, undergo the pruning?
- Why does pruning have to take place? What is the new growth coming?
- If God does the pruning, what kinds of things are being pruned from us? How do we bear this pain so that we can bear fruit?
Walk through the falling leaves with me as we explore this season of the soul.
Reid Mathias
Bible Readings: John 15:1-10, Romans 11:11-24
Podcasts of weekly messages are available at www.paravista.org.au
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 churchenquiries@paravista.org.au with your request.
We will resume Sunday 22nd October at our 10.30am service.
Activity folders are available for the younger children and Worship Journals available for the older children for use during the services. Please help yourself to them in the narthex.
Growing Faith at Home
Now available on our church Face Book page! To encourage families to keep growing in their faith at home each week.
Little Lambs Playgroup
We will resume on Wednesday 18th October at 9.30am in the church hall.
Thank You So Much from P.V. Women’s Fellowship
The Good Shepherd Fellowship catering group wishes to thank the women who generously provided sandwiches, scones and their time as we recently farewelled some members of our Good Shepherd community. We rejoice that they are in God's keeping. Thank you for your willing support. Our Fellowship is most appreciative as is a much larger community.
From the Office
Ignite building update
The facilities team met with the builder this last week and the expected completion date for the project is now going to be late November. Most of the roofing has been completed. Wall linings have been installed and flushing for internal walls will be commencing next week. Paving of the courtyard will also be commencing next week. The team have also broke down and removed the remainder of excess trollies from the hall area.
Finance Report
Offerings
January - September 2017
Total Offerings – Budget $379,000 Actual $381,089 Surplus $2,089
Budget Summary
January – August 2017
Total Income – Budget $372,740
Total Expenses – Budget $366,594
Notes since last Board meeting:
• September offerings were under Budget. REG and Plate below budget by about $1,500.
• Offerings are maintaining a buffer above budget but it has eroded in the last few months.
Ignite Budget Update
• We received $1,675 in September for the Ignite the Future building fund Thank you to all who have honoured their pledge for the Ignite project.
• Donations for the Ignite project are still appreciated as there are fittings and furnishings still required to make the new area hospitable.
Donations to the Ignite building project can be made via:
The collection plate in an envelope marked Ignite Project, or
Direct debit BSB: 704 942 Account: 154796 Account Name: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
Car parking on Sunday 29th October
Car parking attendants will be required to assist with traffic and parking on Reformation day for the combined service. Please mark ‘Parking’ on your connect card on Sunday, call the office or let Stephen know of your availability.
Members are encouraged to park on the school oval to allow any guests to park in allocated parking spaces. Please assist by parking to the eastern end of the oval.
Disabled Parking Only will be permitted between the village and the church.
Notice Board
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Dried apricots
For sale in the church office at $12 per 500gm pack which will help support ministries in Cambodia and Tonga.
Adelaide Show Outreach 2017
Thank you for again praying for our ministry at the Show and supporting it financially as circumstances permitted
By God’s grace we had volunteers on our Stand at all times during the ten days. WE give thanks also that we were able to distribute several thousand tracts, almost 160 Gospels of Mark and John, more than 60 New Testaments and complete Bibles, 33 DVDs of the Jesus film, and 20 or so copies of the Bible study guide Grounded in the Word.
We were again blessed with generous support by Lutheran Tract Mission, which we gratefully acknowledge. Despite careful stewardship of our resources and significant gifts in kind by several members of our committee, we finished the Show year with expenses exceeding income by $2,923. Total outlays for the year were S10,540.
“The name of the Lord is a strong fortress;
the godly run to him and are safe.”
the godly run to him and are safe.”
Proverbs 18:10
