Para Vista Lutheran Church

Going with the flow (Audio)

A century ago, to be a true Christian was to be heroic, as Jesus was heroic.
As Sydney Carton, the anti-hero of Charles Dickens', A Tale of two Cities, was heroic!

In the book, Miracle on the River Kwai by Ernest Gordon, the author, recounts how the prisoners of war found the strength to make life easier for the prisoners who were worse off and deeper into despair than themselves. How they helped the more physically incapacitated to survive. How they organized church services to spread hope, how they scrounged books to start a lending library; and that copies of the New Testament were the most in-demand. Men under extreme stress in the midst of a foreign jungle, came across Jesus, discovered the Spirit of Christ and found the strength to be heroic.

As Henry Lawson wrote, "The Spirit of Christ is everywhere where the heart of a man can dwell!"

Going with the flow starts with finding out more about Jesus and joining in with what His Spirit is doing.

Chris McAleer

Bible Reading: Acts 17:22 – 31 (NIV)

 

 

 

 

Going with the flow (Video)

A century ago, to be a true Christian was to be heroic, as Jesus was heroic.
As Sydney Carton, the anti-hero of Charles Dickens', A Tale of two Cities, was heroic!

In the book, Miracle on the River Kwai by Ernest Gordon, the author, recounts how the prisoners of war found the strength to make life easier for the prisoners who were worse off and deeper into despair than themselves. How they helped the more physically incapacitated to survive. How they organized church services to spread hope, how they scrounged books to start a lending library; and that copies of the New Testament were the most in-demand. Men under extreme stress in the midst of a foreign jungle, came across Jesus, discovered the Spirit of Christ and found the strength to be heroic.

As Henry Lawson wrote, "The Spirit of Christ is everywhere where the heart of a man can dwell!"

Going with the flow starts with finding out more about Jesus and joining in with what His Spirit is doing.

Chris McAleer

Bible Reading: Acts 17:22 – 31 (NIV)

 

 

 

 

A mobile dwelling place (Audio)

The cross of Jesus is the pivotal point in human history. Jesus’ death and resurrection redefine everything and everyone, including you. You become God’s temple, a dwelling place of Holy Spirit himself. That means you have the awesome privilege of carrying the good things of God to others, simply by being who you are in Christ.

Pastor Peter Steicke

Bible Readings Ephesians: 2:19-22 & John 1:14-18 (NRSVA)

A mobile dwelling place (Video)

The cross of Jesus is the pivotal point in human history. Jesus’ death and resurrection redefine everything and everyone, including you. You become God’s temple, a dwelling place of Holy Spirit himself. That means you have the awesome privilege of carrying the good things of God to others, simply by being who you are in Christ.

Pastor Peter Steicke

Bible Readings Ephesians: 2:19-22 & John 1:14-18 (NRSVA)

How God is Changing Lives in Vietnam (Video)

Esther Hien is a Christian, a Mission worker, an interpreter, a preacher and an evangelist.  Like many who live in Vietnam, she was Buddhist until her conversion to Christianity at the age of 18.  She is currently in Australia to represent Asia Focus Australia.  Today Esther shares how God is working in Vietnamese Christian communities.

How God is Changing Lives in Vietnam (Audio)

Esther Hien is a Christian, a Mission worker, an interpreter, a preacher and an evangelist.  Like many who live in Vietnam, she was Buddhist until her conversion to Christianity at the age of 18.  She is currently in Australia to represent Asia Focus Australia.  Today Esther shares how God is working in Vietnamese Christian communities.

Who can you trust? (Audio)

We live in a world where we are constantly confronted with the challenge of whether to trust people or not? That's often hard for us because we frequently get let down and so many people turn out to be less than trustworthy. So, who can you trust? It's not unreasonable to maintain that trust needs to be earned; that people need to prove that they're trustworthy. We can join the Psalmist in his confident assertion that God can be trusted, that we can put our hope in him, that we can look to him to help and defend us, that we can call on him in times of trouble and know that he'll be there for us. We can be confident of that because of the cross. In Jesus' loving sacrifice for us, we see God's faithful love and his total gracious commitment to us. There we see that he can be trusted. We mightn't always understand what God is doing or always be pleased with how things are working out for us on a day-to-day basis, but this we know: God loves us. He is with us, and he wants the best for us! He has proven himself trustworthy, so trust in him and lean into the embrace of his grace!

Pastor Richard Haar

Bible Reading: Psalm 62:5-8(NLT)

 

Who can you trust? (Video)

We live in a world where we are constantly confronted with the challenge of whether to trust people or not? That's often hard for us because we frequently get let down and so many people turn out to be less than trustworthy. So, who can you trust? It's not unreasonable to maintain that trust needs to be earned; that people need to prove that they're trustworthy. We can join the Psalmist in his confident assertion that God can be trusted, that we can put our hope in him, that we can look to him to help and defend us, that we can call on him in times of trouble and know that he'll be there for us. We can be confident of that because of the cross. In Jesus' loving sacrifice for us, we see God's faithful love and his total gracious commitment to us. There we see that he can be trusted. We mightn't always understand what God is doing or always be pleased with how things are working out for us on a day-to-day basis, but this we know: God loves us. He is with us, and he wants the best for us! He has proven himself trustworthy, so trust in him and lean into the embrace of his grace!

Pastor Richard Haar

Bible Reading: Psalm 62:5-8(NLT)

‘Channelling God's Care’! (Audio)

You have probably heard these words from the Prayer of St Francis - Make me a channel of your peace.
Let's change that slightly - make me a channel of your care.
We can show God’s love to the world by channelling his care. God wants to use us to channel his love and care to those around us who are hurting. That really is a vital part of our lives as Christians, to channel God’s love and care into our community and into our World.

Pastor Paul Fielke

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7 (NLT)

‘Channelling God's Care’! (Video)

You have probably heard these words from the Prayer of St Francis - Make me a channel of your peace.
Let's change that slightly - make me a channel of your care.
We can show God’s love to the world by channelling his care. God wants to use us to channel his love and care to those around us who are hurting. That really is a vital part of our lives as Christians, to channel God’s love and care into our community and into our World.

Pastor Paul Fielke

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7 (NLT)