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Weekly messages from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Para Vista Inc
Episodes
Sunday Aug 13, 2023
Sunday Aug 13, 2023
A message from Pastor Peter Steicke.
Transitions can be challenging. Change often is. The most challenging transitions are those that may involve a mindset shift, an expansion in our thinking, or facing the opportunity to step out when we’d rather draw back. Peter may have eventually sunk after he walked on water, but at least he stepped out.
How comforting for the early believers — and us — to look back on this and know that not only is Jesus with us in the storm, but when we step out, he’s standing there right beside us, reaching down, and restoring us all. It’s emboldening to realise what you can face when you know Jesus is there with you.
Photo by Ramona Hills on Unsplash.
Sunday Aug 06, 2023
Sunday Aug 06, 2023
Have you ever caught yourself measuring your level of faith, how strongly you believe in God. Perhaps you compared yourself to someone else whom you held in high regard as an example of strong Christian faith. Maybe at this stage you thought and prayed ‘Lord increase my faith’. Jesus’ disciples asked the same thing of him in the reading in Luke’s gospel. But did they have it right, were they asking the right thing, did they have the right faith focus?
Grace and Faith
Pastor Fin Klein
Bible Reading: Luke 17:5-10 (NLT)
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
A message by Pastor Wayne Kerber.
Do you reckon God answers prayer? You bet he does, because He wants to be involved in our lives and grow us as His disciples every day.
To grow our lives as a follower of Jesus, we are to rely on Holy Spirit to lead us. This means our lives are to be a daily Spirit-controlled and Spirit-led life.
I reckon the best example of the Spirit–controlled Spirit-led human being who prayed in the Spirit is Jesus. He prayed without ceasing - it was his custom. We don't always know how to pray, but it's wonderful to know that in these times, Holy Spirit comes to our aid by interceding for us.
Isn’t it great to know we have someone praying for us all the time? Jesus prays for us in heaven, and Holy Spirit intercedes for us here on earth. What a caring and gracious God we have praying for and living in us!
Bible Reading: Romans 8:26-29 (NLT)
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
A message by Pastor Wayne Kerber.
Do you reckon God answers prayer? You bet he does, because He wants to be involved in our lives and grow us as His disciples every day.
To grow our lives as a follower of Jesus, we are to rely on Holy Spirit to lead us. This means our lives are to be a daily Spirit-controlled and Spirit-led life.Bible Reading: Romans 8:26-29 (NLT)
I reckon the best example of the Spirit–controlled Spirit-led human being who prayed in the Spirit is Jesus. He prayed without ceasing - it was his custom. We don't always know how to pray, but it's wonderful to know that in these times, Holy Spirit comes to our aid by interceding for us.
Isn’t it great to know we have someone praying for us all the time? Jesus prays for us in heaven, and Holy Spirit intercedes for us here on earth. What a caring and gracious God we have praying for and living in us!
Bible Reading: Romans 8:26-29 (NLT)
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
We (Michael and Kim Findlay) have always had a passion for social justice. We both independently felt called to live and work in Africa. But what God asked of us in our 20s – to set up a hospital in a remote village in Uganda – felt impossibly hard at times. We had to learn over and over again hard lessons about trust, obedience, and what God actually was asking of us. Sometimes it was very different to what we had in mind!
Michael and Kim Findlay
Bible Reading: Micah 6:8 (NLT)
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
We (Michael and Kim Findlay) have always had a passion for social justice. We both independently felt called to live and work in Africa. But what God asked of us in our 20s – to set up a hospital in a remote village in Uganda – felt impossibly hard at times. We had to learn over and over again hard lessons about trust, obedience, and what God actually was asking of us. Sometimes it was very different to what we had in mind!
Michael and Kim Findlay
Bible Reading: Micah 6:8 (NLT)
Sunday Jul 16, 2023
Sunday Jul 16, 2023
The Scriptures give us insight into how we might have a meaningful and fulfilling life. In Romans 7 Paul teaches that if we try to live the Christian life in human effort we will fail miserably—for we will experience condemnation, hopelessness, entrapment, burn out and exhaustion—then in Romans 8 he tells us how to move beyond that to a growing mature walk with and by Holy Spirit.
Our actions and behaviours are determined by our mind-set—as a person thinks in their mind so they are—what we choose to dwell on in our minds determines how we behave. It’s a question of our preoccupations, our ambitions, and our interests, which engross us—what we set our minds on will ultimately determine how we spend our time, money and energy. And it’s also what we set our minds on that determines how we live the Christian life—a mind under the control of Holy Spirit will produce the fruit of Holy Spirit—a mind set on the flesh will produce fruit of “Fleshly” behaviour.
The problem for every believer has always been how to be in the world and not buy into its philosophy of life—far too often many believers try to compromise with the world, to be socially accepted—hence they look at appearance, performance, and status to find fulfilment and acceptance.
Every Christian lives in a physical body like all other people, but they are not obliged to it—the world system doesn’t characterize them—they are to belong to another realm—another dimension—they are to be “in the Spirit” of God. And Paul speaks also of one being “in Christ,” and Christ being in them—followers of Jesus are to live very close to God and be in His constant presence—one is not to be an occasional visitor.
And when Holy Spirit has taken up full residence within the believer, to be a permanent dweller, this then becomes their strength—in fact, it becomes their life—a life living out the fruit of Holy Spirit. This is where the believer finds their identity, worth, security, significance, and sufficiency—it comes from Jesus’ dwelling within us by His Spirit—the world system will leave you high and dry every time—only Jesus and Holy Spirit satisfies—and that’s why every Christian is into recycling!!
Pastor Wayne Kerber
Bible Readings: Romans 8: 1-11 (NLT)
Sunday Jul 16, 2023
Sunday Jul 16, 2023
The Scriptures give us insight into how we might have a meaningful and fulfilling life. In Romans 7 Paul teaches that if we try to live the Christian life in human effort we will fail miserably—for we will experience condemnation, hopelessness, entrapment, burn out and exhaustion—then in Romans 8 he tells us how to move beyond that to a growing mature walk with and by Holy Spirit.
Our actions and behaviours are determined by our mind-set—as a person thinks in their mind so they are—what we choose to dwell on in our minds determines how we behave. It’s a question of our preoccupations, our ambitions, and our interests, which engross us—what we set our minds on will ultimately determine how we spend our time, money and energy. And it’s also what we set our minds on that determines how we live the Christian life—a mind under the control of Holy Spirit will produce the fruit of Holy Spirit—a mind set on the flesh will produce fruit of “Fleshly” behaviour.
The problem for every believer has always been how to be in the world and not buy into its philosophy of life—far too often many believers try to compromise with the world, to be socially accepted—hence they look at appearance, performance, and status to find fulfilment and acceptance.
Every Christian lives in a physical body like all other people, but they are not obliged to it—the world system doesn’t characterize them—they are to belong to another realm—another dimension—they are to be “in the Spirit” of God. And Paul speaks also of one being “in Christ,” and Christ being in them—followers of Jesus are to live very close to God and be in His constant presence—one is not to be an occasional visitor.
And when Holy Spirit has taken up full residence within the believer, to be a permanent dweller, this then becomes their strength—in fact, it becomes their life—a life living out the fruit of Holy Spirit. This is where the believer finds their identity, worth, security, significance, and sufficiency—it comes from Jesus’ dwelling within us by His Spirit—the world system will leave you high and dry every time—only Jesus and Holy Spirit satisfies—and that’s why every Christian is into recycling!!
Pastor Wayne Kerber
Bible Readings: Romans 8: 1-11 (NLT)
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
A message from Pastor Peter Steicke.
Rest is a key to holistic and joyful living. We think we can keep going and going, harder and harder, trying to achieve more and more. But without rest, you blow up or burn out.
When Jesus invited us to come to him and rest, he wasn’t instigating a go-slow policy or saying we need a snooze. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of those. He was inviting us to rest from those attitudes, activities, and performance-based sources of identity that rob us of life in him.
Spiritual rest is about life in Jesus: celebrating who he is and what he has done; living in his accomplishments and rejoicing in his declaration “It is finished.”
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
A message from Pastor Peter Steicke.
Rest is a key to holistic and joyful living. We think we can keep going and going, harder and harder, trying to achieve more and more. But without rest, you blow up or burn out.
When Jesus invited us to come to him and rest, he wasn’t instigating a go-slow policy or saying we need a snooze. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of those. He was inviting us to rest from those attitudes, activities, and performance-based sources of identity that rob us of life in him.
Spiritual rest is about life in Jesus: celebrating who he is and what he has done; living in his accomplishments and rejoicing in his declaration “It is finished.”