Praying In the Spirit

Do you reckon God answers prayer? You bet he does! —Yes, God answers prayer—why? Because He wants to be involved in our lives—for His purpose to grow us as His disciples—as a loving Father, He wants us to come to Him and ask in faith—trusting Him to provide many opportunities to grow us as His disciples every day.

And to grow our lives as a follower of Jesus, we are to rely on Holy Spirit to lead us—which means our lives are to be a daily Spirit-controlled and Spirit-led life—the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8 words of encouragement for a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led life on this earth; He wrote: “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the heart knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

And I reckon the best example of the Spirit–controlled Spirit-led human being who prayed in the Spirit is Jesus. In the Spirit, Jesus prayed without ceasing—it was His custom to pray—He prayed before making important decisions as when He called the twelve—He asked for the Father’s guidance—He spent an entire night or two or three praying for His Father’s will to be done. He prayed for and encouraged the disciples to pray and not to become weighed down by the worries of life—and He prays for us in this way too.

And isn’t it wonderful to know that when we do not know how to pray, Holy Spirit comes to our aid? He doesn’t take the entire load—that really wouldn’t help us in our development process—we still have our personal responsibilities—however, He helps us by interceding for us.

Isn’t it great to know we have someone praying for us all the time—Jesus prays for us in heaven, and Holy Spirit intercedes for us here on earth—what a caring and gracious God we have praying for and living in us!

Pastor Wayne Kerber

Bible Readings: Romans 8:26-39 (NLT)

Please check the website www.paravista.org.au for podcasts and video archives of weekly messages or head to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/goodshepherdparavista for regular updates and encouragement from our ministry team.

KAPS Movie Night- This Saturday 29th July

Our next KAPS event is on tomorrow! It is a little different this time. We will begin with worship at 6pm, followed by dinner.  The movie begins at 7pm. For those who are keen, you are invited to an optional sleepover! (Please contact Rachel today if you are planning to stay over.) See the flyer for details.  Love to see you!

Rachel and Georgie

July Food Collection

Thank you for your continued and generous support of our monthly food collections in support of the wonderful work of Lutheran Care.

Our next collection will be on Sunday 30th July at both services. Donations can also be left in the front office of the church up to the collection date.

Requests for this month

• Sugar
•  Coffee
• Cereal
• Vegemite
• Jam
• Shampoo
• Conditioner

Family Support Team

Ladies Fellowship Meeting

The next meeting of Ladies Fellowship is on 1st August at 1pm.

Following a short devotion and attending to any business matters, we will welcome a representative from Lutheran Disability Services, who will talk about the organization and the work they do. Lutheran Disability Services provide services for over 75 people living with disability through independent individually living, specialist disability accommodation and community participation programs.

Thursday Night Craft Group

Craft group is recommencing!

When: Thursday 3rd August 2023

Time: 7:30pm to 9pm

Where: Church Café

BYO Craft/Activities you would like to do!!

Karaoke Night

Date: Saturday, 5th August at 7:30

In support of the Family Hub at Ingle Farm

Cost: $10 Students $5 Primary age children free. Tickets on sale from July 9th after services

Night of fun music + wine auction +games + raffle

A great night to share with friends or as a fellowship group activity.

Tickets also available from Joan Mc Carthy or Lorraine Johns. You can book a table of 8-10 people to share with friends or your Fellowship Group or purchase tickets individually.

Good Shepherd Country Drive

Come along for a family outing, anyone with a classic car bring it along.

Have lunch and join in and play some games, but most of all have some great fellowship.

Venue: Bethany Reserve

Date: Sunday 13th August

Time: 12.15pm (at the park)

BYO Lunch, drinks & games + tables & chairs

Salisbury Lutheran Women’s Fellowship

We warmly invite you to the METRO NORTH ZONE FELLOWSHIP DAY

Date: 17th August 2023 at 10.00 am

Arrival time: 9.30 am for morning cuppa and sign in.

Venue: 10 Waterloo Corner Road SALISBURY

(Please park on Waterloo Corner Roadside of the church)

Bring your own lunch. Wear name badge.

Soup, tea, and coffee provided.

Guest speakers:

• Mark Underwood – Pastoral Care Worker at Lake Windermere School
• Sandy Davis – Lutheran Care
• Jeanette Mann – Blueprint Ministries

Theme: “Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.”

Psalm 145:4

RSVP: 1st August 2023

Margaret Sallis on 0439 781 333 or Email: salromar3@gmail.com

Ladies Fellowship Christmas Lunch!

Tuesday December 5, 12:30pm.

Mark your diaries now!

Community Family Support News

Growing Faith at Home

Today’s GFH title is ‘Jesus is the greatest treasure’. Here are some questions from the resource: What is treasure? How precious is Jesus to you? How precious are you to him? I was able to read Pastor Reid’s latest book and it got me thinking… We are indeed precious to Jesus. We are valuable in his eyes. How might our relationships with each other be influenced if we saw the value in each other (as Jesus does)? Have a lovely week everyone!

Do You Like to Cook?

From time to time, we have the opportunity to help out families in need of a meal or two. If one of your hobbies is cooking (or if it is something that you don’t mind doing) I would love to hear from you. Feel free to have a chat or you could contact me here and I can give you more information. God bless you!

School Snippets

It is lovely to be back together again after a break from school routine. Students reconnecting, sharing stories and gearing up for a wonderful term of learning and growth. During the last week of term, our entire staff participated om a variety of professional learning opportunities. Our week began with a Spiritual Retreat and valuable time with one another. Having specific time set aside to rest in God’s Word and be with one another’s company was a blessing. We were privileged to attend the Connected Schools Conference: Better Together. This provided an opportunity for our staff to engage with their counterparts from Endeavour College, St Paul Lutheran, Golden Grove Lutheran and Salisbury Lutheran Kindergarten. We are thankful for the many and varied ways we continue to grow as staff, both individually and collectively.

We are also excited to share that the Board has commenced the search for the next Principal of Good Shepherd Lutheran Primary School. You are welcome to head to the link provided for more information and to view the Principal Appointment Prospectus. https://bit.ly/GSPVprincipal For more of what we’ve been up to, please click on this link for the school newsletter: https://inewsletter.co/J1WDLx/latest Of course, printed copies are available in the café area and Georgie is happy to arrange a copy for you if you would like.

Worship

We began our new term with worship on Monday with Pastor Stephen Abraham. (Have a look at the devotion for a taste of what was shared.) You are welcome to join us for Wednesday Worship at 8:50am next week, as we continue our theme ‘Influencer’ with our guest presenter, Eve from Endeavour.

God bless your week everyone!

Georgie

Level 2 Training

Have you completed level 1 and need to complete Level 2?

There is an opportunity to attend a Level 2 workshop at Elizabeth Lutheran church on Saturday 2nd September.

Register online or contact Tina Pfeiffer.