8th September 2013
Family Sunday
(Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost)
8 September 2013
Family Reflection:
The family should be a closely knit group. The home should be
a kind of school where life's basic lessons are taught and as a kind of church where God is honored, a place where whole some recreation and simple pleasures are enjoyed. (Billy Graham).
¯ THIS MORNING'S SONG'S OF PRAISE:
859, 250, 499, 413, 267, 506.
FIRST BIBLE READING:
Deuteronomy 30: 15-20
'A choice between life and death'
(Moses said to the people of Israel:)
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land
you are entering to possess.
But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
SECOND BIBLE READING:
Philemon, verses 1-21;
''A personal appeal to Philemon'
From Paul, a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy - To our friend and fellow worker Philemon, and the church that meets in your house, and our sister Apphia, and our fellow soldier Archippus:
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Brother Philemon, every time I pray, I mention you and give thanks to my God. For I hear of your love for all of God's people and the faith you have in the Lord Jesus. My prayer is that our fellowship with you as believers will bring about a deeper understanding of every blessing which we
have in our life in union with Christ. Your love, dear brother, has brought me great joy and much encouragement!
You have cheered the hearts of all of God's people.
For this reason I could be bold enough, as your brother in Christ, to order you to do what should be done.
But because I love you, I make a request instead. I do this even though I am Paul, the ambassador of Christ Jesus, and at present also a prisoner for his sake. So I make a request to you on behalf of Onesimus, who is my own son in Christ; for while in prison I have become his spiritual father. At one
time he was of no use to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.
I am sending him back to you now, and with him goes my heart. I would like to keep him here with me, while I am in prison for the gospel's sake, so that he could help me in your place. However, I do not want to force you to help me; rather, I would like you to do it of your own free will.
So I will not do anything unless you agree.
It may be that Onesimus was away from you for a short time so that you might have him back for all time. And now he is not just a slave, but much more than a slave; he is a dear brother in Christ. How much he means to me! And how much more he will mean to you, both as a slave and as
a brother in the Lord!
So, if you think of me as your partner, welcome him back just as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to my account. Here, I will write this with my own hand: I, Paul, will pay you back. (I should not have to remind you, of course, that you owe your very self to me.) So, my brother, please do me this favor for the Lord's sake; as a brother in Christ, cheer me up!
I am sure, as I write this, that you will do what I ask – in fact I know that you will do even more.
GOSPEL READING:
Luke 14: 25-33;
'The cost of being a disciple'
Once when large crowds of people were going along with Jesus, he turned and said to them, 'If you come to me, you cannot be my disciple unless you love me more than you love your father and your mother, your wife and your children, your brothers and your sisters, and yourself as well.
If you do not carry your own cross and come after me, you cannot be my disciple.
If you are planning to build a tower, you sit down first and works out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job.
If you don't, you will not be able to finish the tower after laying the foundation: and all who see what happened will make fun of you.
"This person began to build but can't finish the job!'
they will say. If a king goes out with ten thousand men to fight another king who comes against him with twenty thousand men, he will sit down first and decide if he is strong enough to face that other king. If he isn't, he will send messengers to meet the other king to ask for terms of peace while he is still a long way off. In the same way', concluded Jesus, 'none of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have'.
NOTES ON THE READINGS:
DEUTERONOMY 30: 15-20:
In these words, Moses, as his life draws to a close, refers to the people of Israel's crossing of the Jordan River in which he cannot join them. He wants his words to go with them and therefore warns them of the choices that will determine their wellbeing in the promised land. These will be life and prosperity if the people remain faithful and obedient to the Lord. On the other hand, there will be death and adversity if they forget the Lord and stray into idol worship. He therefore urges them to remember the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that their descendants will possess the land in order to bring blessing to the world. Their faithfulness will make them partners with God in fulfilling his promise.
LUKE 14: 25-33:
Jesus had become a popular figure. He warned the crowd following him that no one should consider becoming his disciple without weighing up properly what it meant in personal cost. He called for a follower's first love even over and above the closest family relationships. The seemingly harsh saying about 'not hating father and mother' should be taken in the context of 'loving less' (compare Matthew 10:37). Discipleship may mean the thorns of suffering and even death. Two illustrations, the tower builder and the king going to war, bring home the reality that there is a cost to discipleship that must realistically be counted.
Bible readings for Sunday 15th September:
Exodus 32: 7-14,
1 Timothy 1: 12-17,
Luke 15: 1-10.
Announcements:
1. This week in the Lord's Service - 8th - 15th Sept:
Today - B.Y.O. fellowship picnic lunch (non- BBQ), at Rippleside Park, North Geelong, following worship.
(If weather inclement then in 'Our Redeemer' hall).
Wednesday - 7.30 pm - Evening group Bible study on Colossians continues at the home of Allan Nuske, 68 Moreillon Blv. Bannockburn.
Thursday - 1.30 pm - Ladies Fellowship Group.
Thursday - 2.30 pm - 4,00 pm - Fellowship worship service with Holy Communion. Afternoon tea to follow.
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).
2. St John's Lutheran School Concert:
St John's school is holding its concert on
Thursday 19th September, 2013 at 7.30 pm at the Geelong Arena, North Geelong.
Flyers with further information are available from the front foyer and on notice board near kitchen.
It should be noted that no tickets will be sold on the night. They must be pre – purchased from the St. John's School office.
With allocation of seats, if people wish to sit together they must buy their tickets together.
3. Bus Trip Thurs. 26th September :
St John's Evening Fellowship is planning a bus trip on Thursday 26th September to Narrapumelap Mansion, near Wycliffe, about a two hour trip.
Further details including cost and who to contact, are available from the notice board near kitchen. Final numbers are needed by Friday 20th September.