It probably seemed like any other day, walking to the temple, the ritual of prayer at the same time and the same place. Gathered around the temple were various clumps of people, some were talking, some were listening and some were begging. Those who were considered unclean, perhaps cursed by God for some previous sin, were left to do what they had always done – to ask for money from those who were fit enough to enter the gates.
On this one day, a man without a name, but a story that spanned years, had been carried to the gates hoping that enough alms would come his way so that he could buy daily bread. He had always been there, it seemed, because he was unable to walk, and on that one day, two men, Peter and John walked by, and in the blink of an eye, the man who was unable to walk had his life changed. No longer would he need to ask for money, he could now enter the courts of God himself.
That one day was transformational for this man, not just because he could now walk (and leap and dance!), but the paralysed dreams of his youth were also able to move. For all those years, he had limited his imagination to what he could do to the amount of money brought in by begging, but one day he was healed in the name of the risen Saviour, Jesus Christ, and no matter what happened from that one day forward, his life belonged to God.
Circumstances in life are not always controllable. Things happen. People make mistakes. Life is unfair. Sometimes people do not deserve the difficult moments. It’s the seemingly broken record of the scriptures, but God continues to break through time and time again in these circumstances to remind all people of his great love for them, and he has a different dream for them – his dream!
This week, we’re going to experience the story of the unnamed lame man in Acts 3 and how he is brought from his own paralysis of dreams for the future; then, we’ll see how it intersects with the Living Acts of the present – a man, expected to have cancer, a maximum life expectancy of five years, going to have surgery, and the unthinkable happens.
Come hear what God did on that one day.
Pr Reid Matthias
Bible Reading: Acts 3:1-10
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.
Praise Point
We thank God for the safe arrive of Jensen David Zanker born on the 21st June 2018 to Aaron and Elice Zanker, grandson to Stephen and Liz Zanker.
Youth
Youth Retreat – SAVE THE DATE
Combined with Golden Grove Youth, we are going on retreat!
Friday 5th – Sunday 7th October 2018
Camp Kedron, Barmera (there will be a bus)
For youth in year 7-12
More information coming soon!
2018 Step Up Program
Young people aged 10 and over, and their parents are invited to take part in our Step Up program to prepare for Holy Communion. Taking the approach that Parents are the primary faith developers in their children, Step Up is designed to support parents in preparing their child for Holy Communion.
Step 1 (Launch) Family Lunch – Sunday 29th July, 12:30pm – 2:30pm in the Church Hall
To register please contact the Church office or Chelsea Schiller at chelsea.schiller@paravista.org.au
More information and dates on our website.
From the Office
A great team effort!
Our food collection last Sunday to support the Family Hub at Ingle Farm was a great team effort.
• members gave very generously
• the young people from Transform sorted all of the donations so unpacking at the other end was a much simpler exercise
• 5 members assisted in transporting to Ingle Farm - their car boots were completely filled
• These same 5 packed all the goods away ready for distribution
Kathleen was amazed at the generosity of the congregation and says a big thank you. She assures us this will be put to good use.
Hall out of use
The hall will be out of use on the week commencing Monday 16th July. This will enable the parquetry floor to be sanded and retreated, restoring it back to its original state.
If your group requires any items from the storeroom for that week it needs to be removed no later than Sunday 15th.
Regular Electronic Giving (REG) www.lll.org.au/REG
REG is a way for our members to regularly support the work of our church. Details of transactions are kept totally confidential. No personal details are given to the congregation or treasurer. The treasurer is only advised of the total amount credited to the account for the month. For those who are altering their giving through REG or wish to start giving via REG, the appropriate forms are available from the table at the rear of the sanctuary or via this link http://www.lll.org.au/giving_through_the_lll/regular_electronic_giving_reg use account number 52752S1, BSB 704942.
Alternatively deposits can be made to the following bank account details.
If transferring from an LLL account, use account number 52752S1, BSB 704942.
If transferring from another banking institution, use account number 100354939, BSB 704942.
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“For I will restore health to you,
and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 30:17
