Twenty Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
10 November 2013

¯ THIS MORNING'S SONG'S OF PRAISE:
150, 451, 257, 405, 77.

FIRST BIBLE READING:

Job 19: 23-27a

"Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,
that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,
or engraved in rock forever!
I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him with my own eyes - I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

SECOND BIBLE READING:

2 Thessalonians 2: 1-5, 13-17;
'Stand firm as you wait for the coming of our Lord.'

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to be with him: I beg you, my friends, not to be so easily confused in your thinking or upset by the claim that the Day of the Lord has come. Perhaps it is thought that we said this while prophesying or preaching, or that we wrote it in a letter. Do not let anyone deceive you in any way.
For the Day will not come until the final Rebellion takes place and the Wicked One appears, who is destined to hell. He will oppose every so-called god or object of worship and will put himself above them all. He will even go in and sit down in God's Temple and claim to be God. Don't you remember? I told you all this while I was with you.
We must thank God at all times for you, friends, you whom the Lord loves. For God chose you as the first to be saved by the Spirit's power to make you his holy people and by your faith in the truth.
God called you to this through the Good News we preached to you; he called you to possess your share of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, our friends, stand firm and hold on to those truths which we taught you, both in our preaching and in our letter.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope, encourage you and strengthen you to always do and say what is good.

GOSPEL READING:

Luke 20: 27-38;
'The question about rising from death'

Then some Sadducees, who say that people will not rise from death, came to Jesus and said, "Teacher, Moses wrote this law for us: 'If a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man's brother must marry the widow so that they can have children who will be considered the dead man's children.' Once there were seven brothers; the oldest got married and died without having children.
Then the second one married the woman, and then the third.
The same thing happened to all seven - they died without having children. Last of all, the woman died. Now, on the day when the dead rise to life, whose wife will she be?
All seven of them had married her."
Jesus answered them, "The men and women of this age marry, but the men and women who are worthy to rise from death and live in the age to come will not then marry. They will be like angels and cannot die.
They are the children of God, because they have risen from death. And Moses clearly proves that the dead are raised to life. In the passage about the burning bush he speaks of the Lord as 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is the God of the living, not of the dead, for to him all are alive."

NOTES ON THE READINGS:

JOB 19: 23-27:
Job suffered the total loss of his family, marriage, property, wealth and honour. As if that were not enough, his whole body was painfully wracked with a putrefying disease. Satan had challenged God that if Job were to lose all his prosperity he would not believe, but would curse God. Job here confesses his faith that there will be a vindicator, or redeemer, to take up his cause. He is confident that there will be a day when after his skin has been destroyed he shall yet see God with his own eyes. Christians treasure these words in the light of their further understanding through Christ's teaching of the resurrection.

2 THESSALONIANS 2: 1-5,13-17:
It would appear (Chapter 2:1) the some of the congregation at Thessalonica had got it into their heads that the 'day of the Lord' had already begun. It seems that a fake letter, as if from Paul, had fomented this untrue belief.
Paul could see how unsettling this teaching could be, and feared a lasting disturbance. He therefore reminds them that before the second coming of Christ occurs the antichrist (here termed the man of lawlessness) must appear in the church (temple). This figure, empowered by Satan, would lead a widespread rebellion against the truth of Christ before the end comes. He is doomed, though, for destruction by Christ when he comes. To add further to the importance of not being swept away, Paul sketches the effective saving plan of God right through election, calling, sanctifying to glorifying. Therefore they should stand firm in line with the truth they had been taught by Paul himself.

LUKE 20: 27-38:
The Sadducees were a materialistic group of religious leaders who rejected scriptural teachings which did not square with their reason. One such question was that of the resurrection. They put a cleverly worked-out puzzle to Jesus (based on Deuteronomy 25:5f) involving absurdities concerning the resurrection, which to them proved the resurrection itself to be equally absurd. Jesus' answer had two parts. Firstly, in the resurrection there is no death, and therefore there is no need for procreation or therefore marriage. The other part answered them with a counter Scripture text, namely Exodus 3:2-6. God revealed himself at the burning bush in the present tense as being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God is not a God of non-existent beings. Therefore they must assuredly be living. The Sadducees unwittingly gave occasion for us to receive from Jesus an important teaching about life beyond the grave!

Bible readings for Sunday 17th November:
Malachi 4: 1,2a,
2 Thess. 3: 6-13,
Luke 21: 5-19.

Announcements:

1. This week in the Lord's Service - 10th - 17th Nov:

Thursday - 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm - Public divine worship service with Holy Communion. Fellowship afternoon tea to follow. All welcome to come along!

Friday - 9.30 am - Worship Team.

Saturday - 10.00 am - 11.00 am - 'Sing - along' time for those who wish to learn songs for the Sunday.

Saturday - 11.00 am to 12 noon - Choir practice.
Next Sunday - 9.30 am - Public Divine service - (Non- Communion).

Parents please note: Sunday School next Sunday.

2. A.L.C. - Grassroots Training 2014:
 Grassroots Training, a ministry of Australian Lutheran College is offering a number of upcomingworkshops at Tandara Lutheran Camp, Hall's Gap,
viz, 'Toolkit for Ministry', 'Building Healthy Relationships', 'Spiritual Resilience', 'Equipping for Leadership' and 'Home and Church in Partnership', commencing from February 2014.
For those interested, please see notice board near kitchen and rear foyer for contact points, costs etc.

3. LSF National Retreat - Jan 2014:
A further reminder of the LSF national camp for young adults which will take place at Tandara Camp, Hall's Gap from 20th - 24th January, 2014.
For further particulars and how to register, please see notice board near kitchen.

4. Offering Envelopes 2014:
Offering envelopes for next year are now available from the hall table to take home. Members are encouraged to continue the practice of not sealing
envelopes and so allowing these to be recycled for further use and reduce provision of new envelopes.

5. 'Empower' Training:
A leadership training day, run jointly by LYV /LSF for young people and adults to learn about and support young adult ministry will be held at St Phillips
Lutheran Church, Tarneit on Saturday, 1st March, 2014, from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm. Please see notice board near kitchen for cost etc. Online registration
may be made or download form by accessing the LYV web site. Electives available from front foyer.

Coming up for your diary:
Tuesday 19th November -12.30 pm - Kaffeestunde.
Sunday 1st December - Elections meeting 2014.
Sunday 8th December - Guest speaker Jonathan Krause - launch of ALWS Christmas Action appeal.
Tuesday 17th December - 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm - worship service with Holy Communion. Fellowship afternoon tea to follow. All welcome to come along!
Tuesday 17th December - 6.30 pm - Church Council.