Lutheran - St. Paul's Sydney Podcast

How gracious our God is in giving us good things! How much more gracious that we can share these good gifts with others! This week we welcome Sarah from Australian Lutheran World Service to speak at St Paul’s- opening our eyes and hearts to their work overseas.
 We are thankful for ways we can assist their service- including Walk My Way- a fundraising walk that will be held in Sydney next Saturday 1st of November. Please consid...

One of God’s greatest gifts to us is God’s endless creativity and diversity. This week at St Paul’s we celebrate the ways God has given our community many cultures and ways of living. We are all followers of Jesus and live in his love, and this week we will gather with other Lutherans from across Sydney to worship together! Please remember that our service will be at 4pm on Sunday, followed by a shared dinner. If you are joining us...

Remember the parable of the ten virgins, who didn’t bring extra oil for their lamps while waiting for the bridegroom to arrive? In the middle of the night their lamps were out and they could not greet him! They were excluded from the wedding feast, because they were not prepared. (Matthew 25:1-13)
 
 Today’s sermon reminds us we need to be vigilant in other ways too. We hear that God uses people we may not expect to pass on...

This week’s Gospel reading speaks about how faith ‘like a mustard seed’ can do great things! What examples do you have in your life that might show this is true? This week at St Paul’s Michael Relf, from ‘Celebrate Messiah’, will share with us some of his stories of God’s goodness through faith.  Our faith in Jesus is a gift freely bestowed by the Holy Spirit- let’s remember this week to be grateful for that gift! Whether we are in...

This week St Paul’s is holding a ‘Sharing Sunday’. Our focus is on the great gift of community that God gives us. We know that God’s plan for humanity is to live in close relationship with God and with each other. This week we are learning a little more about our Christian family here in Sydney- finding out people’s unique talents or the things they love to do. We are hoping there might be some surprises!
 Getting to know one a...

This week we remember that ‘Heaven celebrates over us’! We know how easy it is to step away from God. The results of this are all around us in the world today. However, we also know that God never leaves us, and that Jesus walks beside us, gently calling us back towards Him whenever we stray. The Bible reminds us that when we repent (literally, ‘to turn back’) all of Heaven rejoices and God welcomes us with open arms. What a beauti...

Happy Father’s Day to all fathers in the congregation and community! May God bless your day with family, smiles and the richness of His presence. May He guide and protect you as you shepherd your family and enjoy your children.
 This week’s sermon considers our stewardship of our time. God gives us each day of our lives, and He calls us to follow Him. What does it mean to make sure we use our time well, and celebrate God’s gift...

One of the things we learn very quickly in life is that food is powerful. Over the centuries, food has been a political tool used as an effective means of power and control. Revolutions have been drafted and policies written on napkins at the table. Negotiations have been conducted, deals brokered, and lives affected by what has been agreed to at the table.  The table is not only the place where relationships are built, but where p...

It is a pleasure to return to St Pauls this week to lead you in worship and explore something that is foundation to the Christian faith and life: Generous Living.
 Generosity can have a huge impact on people.  
 As I watched Spotlight last Sunday with the story of Danny Abdallah not just meeting Samuel Davidson, the man who killed his children in gaol, but also sharing forgiveness and prayers together. You could see how Dan...

This week we are blessed by the service of Pastor Peter Bean. Pastor Bean is preaching on compassion, drawing from Luke 10. He reminds us that the life of a Christian is one that reflects Jesus- we are to live as a ‘walking, talking, breathing, acting image of God.’ The word ‘acting’ in this case does not mean ‘pretending’, or ‘making believe’, but fully engaging in the struggles of this world and each other to bring God’s love and...

This week’s Gospel reading Luke 12:32-40  reminds us that we must keep our eyes on Jesus, for Jesus is our true treasure. Jesus’ words to us are compelling- we do not know when He will return, and when He does we must not be found distracted, or wandering away from His love.
As humans we are often tempted to worry more about the things we have, or wish to accumulate, than about the goodness of eternal life that awaits us in Je...

Our sermon this week reflects the message of our Ecclesiastes reading- Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23  that true wealth cannot be found in the work and struggles of this life, but only in the joy of knowing Jesus.
 Many recent world events show us clearly that humanity is ‘out of alignment’ with God’s visions of peace, hope and love. We continue to strive but find no lasting peace in our possessions; in fact, even our ‘toil’ ...

When reading through this week’s Scriptures I noted the explanation below our Luke passage in my bible. The author writes beautifully about Jesus teaching us to pray. “The pattern for prayer that Jesus gives his disciples is short on our wants and big on God’s wants. Half of what Jesus tells us to do in prayer is worship God, keep him holy, and ask that his kingdom and his will take shape, not ours. God the Father looms large. For ...

This week we hear the story of Mary and Martha, and their different approaches to having Jesus visit. This is a familiar story to many of us, and at times I’m sure we have seen ourselves as either the frustrated Martha or the quiet, listening Mary. Linking this story with the second reading from Colossians, Colossians 1:15- 28   Pastor Mike Semmler gives us a message of hope: reminding us that whether we think we are doing the ‘rig...

“Go and do likewise.” These are the final words of our Gospel reading this week (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus is speaking about the Samaritan’s actions in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. He could also say this of his own actions. This week God reminds us that we have received mercy from God through Jesus so that we can pass this mercy and love on to others. Sometimes that’s easy, isn’t it? When your child does well at school and comes ...

This week our second reading is Galatians 6:1-16. Paul’s words to the church invite attention- ‘So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.’ (v9) There is a lot around us currently that might make us ‘grow weary’; laying heavy burdens on our hearts, family lives, community and culture- even before we start thinking about ‘doing what is right’. We may be tempted to give up...