by Faye Schmidt Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.   Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? (Luke 14:28) Read Luke 14:25–35 Are you an impulse buyer? A person who, when shopping for an item will see something they like and buy it and then, on taking it home are faced with some realities – it is too big for the space, the wrong colour, or too expensive to be covered by the money in the bank? Then we are faced with what we can do with the now-unwanted item. In ..read more

Pray for our nations’ servicemen and women and those who have lost loved ones in wars on Anzac Day (25 April). The post Pray for Anzac Day appeared first on Lutheran Church of Australia ..read more

by Faye Schmidt Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.   At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready’ (Luke 14:17). Read Luke 14:12–24 In preparing for an event many of us would rely on a checklist to make sure that nothing is forgotten. However, we cannot achieve perfection as we are not in control of all circumstances – sudden changes to attendees, quality of venue or food, weather, etc. There would always be a qualification as to whether ‘everything’ was ready. Some of the most amazing w ..read more

Anzac Day is about remembering and giving thanks for members of the armed services who have served our country. We acknowledge with a mixture of gratitude and regret the extraordinary price paid by tens of thousands of Australian and New Zealand servicemen and women and their families for their involvement in wars to defend us and our allies. Although the focus on Anzac Day is on military personnel, the toll of war on civilians is very great too. Statistics on casualties in major wars of the 20th and 21st centuries show that in many wars military casualties were matched by or exceeded by civi ..read more

by Faye Schmidt Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.   For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (Luke 14:11). Read Luke 14:1–11 There are some events to which we are invited when it is quite clear as to where we shall sit and the position that we hold at the event. When we go to the theatre, we have set seats and hunt for our numbers on the back of the seat. Or, when we board a plane, it is quite clear where we sit, although the people surrounding us can be a surprise! Such positions have been deter ..read more

by Faye Schmidt Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.   I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’ (Luke 13:35b). Read Luke 13:31–35 The Lutheran church is known as a confessional and liturgical church. This means that we have documented confessional statements that set out the basis of our beliefs and teaching. We are also liturgical – our worship services are set out in a format that takes from Scripture elements that set out the story of salvation. The gospel is proclaimed to us through the litur ..read more

by Faye Schmidt Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.   What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about 60 pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough (Luke 13:20,21). Read Luke 13:18-30 Have you ever baked your own bread? During the COVID lockdowns across the country, there were shortages of flour as people found themselves confined to their homes with time to challenge themselves to make their own bread. It all starts with the yeast, the smallest ingredient used in the process that makes everyth ..read more

by Pastor Mark Gierus Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.   Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life (Psalm 23:6a). Read Psalm 23 When it comes to God’s love, have you ever wondered just how big it is? You may know quite well the verse, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16). But what does it really mean? Well, God loved the whole world, all creation, and continues to love you as part of his creation. He made you his own thro ..read more

by Pastor Mark Gierus Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.   Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God (Luke 13:13). Read Luke 13:1–9 We live in a world that has so many double standards. Racism sometimes seems to go only one way, and yet all people are capable of racism. We have a world now that chases and seems almost obsessed with making changes to wording on documents and less about actually giving people dignity or valuing their worth as a human being. You see, our human hearts are quick to judge others based on ..read more

by Pastor Mark Gierus Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.   ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilise it’ (Luke 13:8). Read Luke 13:1–9 The practice of digging around a tree is common when it is not growing well and, in turn, not producing the fruit it was planted for. When the soil around the tree is disturbed, the roots are damaged in the digging, and then the tree has to grow new roots, which, in turn, strengthen the tree to bear fruit for the next season. Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree that ..read more