The Lutheran church observes Ascension Day 40 days after Easter. When we talk of the Ascension, we are marking the moment whenthe risen Jesus, after appearing to his followers, returned to heaven. While he [Jesus] was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with
Easter was different this year—I was hit hard with the flu. Easter Sunday passed in a blur, no church, no family gathering, no Easter eggs. But God still found a way to speak to me, just a little later than usual. By Monday, still feeling awful, I managed to read Luke’s resurrection account. One verse
We live a highly disposable society. If it is broken, we honestly believe in most cases that it is much easier and cheaper to throw it away and buy another one. For example, if a treasured bowl is accidentally dropped and broken, the usual thinking would be that it either can’t be fixed, or, if
As part of a learning communities new staff induction this year, I was asked to present an overview of LESNW and also include five key aspects of Lutheran Education. Whilst there may be some debate on alternatives or additions, I provided the following five, with obvious elaboration and connection to how it looks and feels
During the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: ‘A voice of one
Earlier this year my wife and I had the privilege of travelling with friends through parts of Germany that were significant to the life of Martin Luther and the Reformation. In particular, we visited Luther’s house in Wittenberg, which is now a museum. One of our learnings was the role of Luther’s wife, Katharina von
On the Sunday of the recent General Synod, Bishop Paul led the combined General Synod and St John’s Unley worship service and shared a message on the four Gs that flow from the following bible passage: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of
It’s September! For me, it means I can put the chill and dreariness of winter behind me and look towards the warmth, light, color, and life which is on the horizon. September also means AFL finals!! Now for some of you reading this, you may have no connection, or if your team was unable
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1 The concept of time is difficult to fathom for a people who have lived only in the comfort of the Solar System, where events unfold chronologically. Yet time is quite possibly one of the greatest gifts we have
Crazy love coupled with fierce determination fuelled my motivation to win the approval of Julianne’s (my wife) parents when we were ‘going out’ as teenagers. As Catholics, they didn’t have much time for Lutherans, especially the one who had a keen eye for their eldest daughter. Desperate times called for desperate measures, so in an
