The Lutheran April 2022 Sneak Preview

M A G A Z I N E O F T H E LUT H E R A N C H URC H O F A US T R A LI A & N E W Z E AL A N D

APRIL 2022

VOL 56 No 3

Print Post Approved PP100003514

Show me th e path whe re I should go , O Lord

Discerning P S A LM 2 5 :4

GOD’S WILL

LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

EDITORIAL

How’s the serenity?

Editor Lisa McIntosh p 08 8267 7300 m 0409 281 703 e lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au Executive Editor Linda Macqueen p 08 8267 7300 e linda.macqueen@lca.org.au

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LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

The Lutheran informs the members of the LCANZ about the church’s teaching, life, mission and people, helping them to grow in faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. The Lutheran also provides a forum for a range of opinions, which do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or the policies of the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand.

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Tandara Lutheran Camp trainees Ethan Grosse, from Loxton SA, and Zoe Heinrich, from Cardross Victoria, take time out to catch up on news from around the LCANZ underneath the campsite’s great weeping willow. Year-long traineeships at the Halls Gap site in Victoria’s Grampians National Park provide young people with the chance to learn about the day-to-day running of the camp, study Christian ministry and theology, and sport and recreation, develop leadership and hospitality skills and serve others. See www.tandara.org.au/about-us/traineeships for more.

Send us a photograph featuring a recent copy of The Lutheran and it may appear on page 2 of a future issue and on our website at www.thelutheran.com.au

People like YOU bring love to life Erwin ‘Toby’ Rudolph Redeemer Narraweena Lutheran Church NSW 94-year-old retired teacher; and father, worshipper and Christian encourager Most treasured Bible text: Psalm 103 ‘Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’

Liz Eckert Zion Lutheran Church Glynde SA Teacher, English and Humanities and Social Science coordinator Most treasured Bible text: Joshua 1:5b ‘I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.’

Julian Schubert Victor Harbor Lutheran Church SA Community Relations Officer, Encounter Lutheran College Most treasured Bible text: Philippians 4:6 ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’ Let the light of someone you know shine through their photo being featured in The Lutheran and LCA Facebook. With their permission, send us a good quality photo, their name and details (congregation, occupation and most treasured text in these difficult times) and your contact details.

April Special features Why don't you say something?

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God places us just where he wants us

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‘How do I know what God wants me to do?’ Have you ever asked that question?

How I discovered God’s will for my life

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Sometimes the decision God wants us to make is obvious, but discerning his will is by no means always straight-forward.

And that’s despite the gifts he’s given us as guides – including his holy scriptures containing the lived example of Jesus, the wisdom of fellow Christians and the 24-hour, seven-day helpline of prayer.

When you’ve got it sorted but God has other plans

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Taking steps of faith

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Sun shines on hearts of gold

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Sharing life-giving water with the community

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Joyful reunion for church friends

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EDITOR'S

let ter

Of course, for these godly guides to be of the greatest help, we have to draw on them frequently – not just when that big, agonising decision confronts us. That would be the equivalent of consulting the manual only when an appliance malfunctions.

And, of course, none of us has ever done that, have we?

While editing The Lutheran is a task that more than one editor has said is good for your prayer life, I know I could do much, much better when it comes to constantly talking with God and seeking his wisdom. I’ve certainly been guilty of waiting until the challenge becomes overwhelming before asking him what I should do and calling out for his help.

It's also important to remember that, unlike the Israelites of old, we don’t need a go-between to talk with God. While we have the Bible, that doesn’t replace a personal relationship with him.

It's like any close relationship – including a marriage or a treasured friendship. The more you talk with one another and, more importantly, the more you listen to one another, the more you take notice of how the other person speaks and behaves, the more you will be in tune with one another’s needs, hopes and desires. The more you spend time in one another’s company, the better you’ll know and understand the other person’s will – for you and for your relationship.

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God certainly wants us to know him better and be closer to him. He longs to hold our hands and lead us when we have questions, need to make choices and are challenged by conundrums.

In the following pages, I pray that you’ll be challenged and encouraged by stories from our Lutheran family about discerning the will of God. There are miss-steps as well as immense blessings in the journeys the writers share. As usual, we are also privileged to share good news from around our LCANZ, along with our regular columns, resources and devotional materials.

And, for our print subscribers, you’ll find a bonus free copy of Border Crossings from LCA International Mission inside (digital subscribers can head to https://lcamission.org.au and find a digital copy under the Resources tab).

God bless your reading,

Lisa

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Because we bear your name: Bishop Paul’s letter

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Dwelling in God’s word

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Go and Grow

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Church@Home

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Going GREYT!

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The inside story

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Directory

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Sudoku

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Prayer calendar

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Our cover: iStock.com Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following pages may contain images of people who have died.

Because we bear your name Sometimes, there are little words or phrases in the Bible that unfold the wonderful mystery of God’s gracious hand at work in our world and in our lives. There is a phrase like that in the Easter story.

In the resurrection account in Luke’s Gospel, we learn of two disciples walking to Emmaus. We are told specifically that Emmaus is ‘11 kilometres from Jerusalem’, but there doesn’t seem to be any explanation as to why that piece of information is relevant or significant. It is only when the Risen Lord reveals his real identity to these two disciples, that we discover the reason for highlighting the distance.

BISHOP PAUL’S LE T TER RE V PAUL SMITH Bishop, Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand

What motivated them to undertake such a perilous journey? It was the good news. These two disciples are the first to hear from the Lord himself, the gospel of the forgiveness of sin that we have through the death and resurrection of Jesus. This was what popular writer J.R.R. Tolkien describes as the good turning point in the story of Jesus, and, therefore, the good turning point of all human history.

We are told that the Lord said to them, ‘“Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.’

The scriptures tell us in Luke 24, ‘That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has MAY OU R LORD FI LL appeared to Simon!” Then they told YOU WITH H OPE what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to AN D JOY TO TRAVEL them in the breaking of the bread.’

Then these two disciples travelled back the 11 kilometres from Emmaus to Jerusalem with a new purpose, full of hope and forever changed by this good news. They travelled this journey to I NTO W HATEVER IS share with the other disciples the good What is ‘that same hour’? If you news of what they had experienced AH EAD FOR YOU. remember the words of the well-loved of the word and promise of the Risen hymn ‘Abide with me’, which is based Lord. As you join with sisters and on this Emmaus story, then you will brothers in Christ for this year’s Easter celebrations, remember ‘fast falls the eventide’. It is evening time! may our Lord fill you with hope and joy to travel into whatever is ahead for you.

The Emmaus story begins with another kind of darkness.

The two disciples felt hopeless, lost and in a dark place because their Lord had suffered and died on the cross.

But they had heard rumours that the Lord had been seen alive. As they wondered, ‘What did all this mean?’ they met a stranger who walked with them along the 11 kilometres from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The disciples stopped for the meal with this ‘stranger’ – who we know is our Risen Lord Jesus – and they stopped because it was getting dark.

When he reveals his identity to them, they are filled with joy, then the two immediately return to Jerusalem in the dark of night. This was 2000 years ago when there were no streetlights, no paved roads, no mobile phones with a light to switch on. They went 11 kilometres in the dark with all the hazards that would have been well known to them.

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I once had a poster with the words, ‘If you really believed that Jesus rose from the dead, maybe you might want to shout it’. I pray that you have passion to boldly declare with Christian sisters and brothers of every time and place that wonderful Easter proclamation, ‘The Lord is risen indeed’. I pray together we would eagerly share with any who will listen, all that the Lord has made known for us.

Christ is risen!

Paul

(As a footnote to this meditation, I would like to express my personal thanksgiving for the many people who contributed to my recent installation service.

Lord Jesus, we God bless you.)

belong to you, live in us, we live in you; we live and work for you – because we bear your name

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