St Marks Lutheran Church Caloundra

01/06/2026

TRINITY SUNDAY - More Photos

31/05/2026

DEVOTION - Talk with the walk, and walk the talk

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children (Deuteronomy 6:6,7a).
Read Deuteronomy 6:4–15

Discipleship is a 24/7 job, and we spend a few hours of that time each week at church. As parents, we need to realise that we have a big responsibility to raise our children in the faith – promises we indeed make at their baptisms.
Today’s reading gives us a lovely picture of what it means to raise our children in the faith. Nothing fancy: just living our lives, as a family, talking about the Lord, teaching our children his ways as we sit at home, walk along the road, as we lie down, as we get up … as we go to the shops, drive them to basketball, and if we can throw in a few Colin Buchanan concerts along the way we can add some craziness and fun into the mix.
If we want to, we can put Christian symbols around our house, buy lovely prints from the Christian bookstore and set out ‘who we are’ and ‘whose we are’ as a family. In fact, for years now, as I drive the kids to their sports games, or their casual work, or give them massively tight goodbye hugs and wave them off to university at the airport, I say, ‘Remember who you are, and whose you are.’ They know what that means because we’ve discipled them and taught them.
Who are you walking along the road of life with right now? If you’re not walking anywhere these days, who is in the same room as you? Who’s brought you your cup of tea or your medicine? You are a precious and valued team member to whom the Lord entrusts his kingdom work, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. Remember who you are and whose you are! Love the Lord your God with all your strength, and he will work through you.
Lord, thank you for the teaching I have received in my life to now. Thank you for those who have discipled and taught me the faith. Please show me whom I, too, can disciple, teach and encourage. Lord, I also pray for our pastors. May they be upheld by those in their congregations, sharing the load and using their gifts, all for the glory of God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
From LCA Daily Devotions by Sal Huckel.

31/05/2026

31/05/2026

What an exciting Sunday at St Mark's!
Today our church was filled to capacity as we gathered for Trinity Sunday and a very special First Communion celebration.
Dressed in white and surrounded by a cross decorated with doves and butterflies, we were reminded of God's grace, peace, and the promise that Jesus comes close to his people.
We appreciate the connection and assistance from Pastor Mark Winter, ordained Chaplain at the Pacific Lutheran College.It was a joy to celebrate as young people received Holy Communion for the first time, surrounded by family, friends, and their church family. We also recognised that faith continues to grow long after a special day like this, and we look forward to continuing to encourage and support these young people in their journey with Christ.
Our message for the day was:
"Welcomed by the God Who Comes Close."
Children enjoyed St Mark's Makers, creating Peace Doves as a reminder of the Holy Spirit and the peace Christ brings.
Following worship, we celebrated May birthdays with a special birthday cake and morning tea. Thirteen birthdays were recognised, including one remarkable 101st birthday!
Babies, children, teenagers, young families, grandparents, and long-time members all gathered together — a wonderful picture of God's family across generations.
Thank you to everyone who helped prepare the worship space and powerpoint, decorated the cross, provided morning tea, supported our young communicants, greeted visitors, and shared in such a joyful morning.
We give thanks for God's many blessings and for the growing life of our church community.

Young at Heart • Strong in Faith • Developing Genuine Friendships

25/05/2026

Pentecost Sunday @ St Mark’s – Spirit of Life

What a beautiful morning of colour, worship, community, and celebration as we gathered for Pentecost at St Mark’s.

We celebrated the gift of the Holy Spirit — the Spirit of Life — as we heard again Jesus’ words:

“Peace be with you.”

Our worship space was filled with movement, colour, balloons, doves, butterflies, hearts, and hands — many created by St Mark’s Makers and members of the congregation over recent weeks — reminding us that resurrection life continues to grow among us.

Children shared in St Mark’s Makers during worship, families gathered around the Easter cross display, and together we celebrated Holy Communion and the gift of God’s peace and presence.

Thank you to everyone who helped prepare, decorate, create, welcome, lead, and share in today’s worship and morning tea together.

There is a growing sense of life, connection, and hope within the life of St Mark’s, and we give thanks for the many ways God’s Spirit continues to move among us.

Young at Heart • Strong in Faith • Developing Genuine Friendships

St Mark’s Lutheran Church, Caloundra

22/05/2026

Pentecost @ St Mark’s – Spirit of Life

This Sunday - 24th May - we celebrate Pentecost — the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus comes to His disciples behind locked doors, speaks peace into their fear, and breathes His Spirit into them.

That same Spirit of Life is still given today.

Our church will be filled with colour, balloons, doves, and the Easter cross still alive with butterflies, hearts, and hands created by St Mark’s Makers and our congregation over recent weeks — reminders that resurrection life continues to grow among us.

Children will share in St Mark’s Makers during worship as they create Pentecost “Peace Doves,” and families will also be able to collect some creations from the Easter cross display at the end of worship.

Sunday Worship – 9:00am
St Mark’s Lutheran Church, Caloundra

Wear something red for Pentecost
Morning tea follows worship
All welcome

Young at Heart • Strong in Faith • Developing Genuine Friendships

20/05/2026

CONFIDENCE WITHOUT CONTROL

… for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Read 2 Corinthians 5:1–10

On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart landed in a field in Northern Ireland, having flown solo and nonstop across the Atlantic. Historians write that she was exhausted, cold and unsure about where she was. Still, she had made it.
Earhart didn’t fly with certainty. She flew with resolve. The weather changed, instruments failed and visibility dropped. The journey carried risk from the moment she took off. Confidence, for her, meant stepping forward anyway.
Paul speaks of a confidence like that.
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul describes life as fragile, like a tent – temporary and vulnerable. Bodies age, plans unravel and outcomes remain uncertain. Paul knows this firsthand, and yet he says, ‘We are confident’ (verses six and eight).
Confident. Not because life is predictable. Not because the future feels secure. Not because everything can be seen or measured.
Paul’s confidence does not rest in worldly knowledge and strength, or in what he can personally secure or manage. It rests in the one who holds him. He writes, ‘We walk by faith, not by sight.’ Faith is trusting that God is already at work beyond what we can see, even when we cannot forecast how things will unfold. Or, as Philip Yancey wrote in Disappointment with God, ‘Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.’
Like Earhart, Paul doesn’t deny risk. Rather, he acknowledges it without being ruled by it. He refuses to let uncertainty have the final word or to let fear speak louder than God’s promises. Confidence, for Paul, is not bravado; it’s keeping going when the risk is real, because he knows his life is already held.
This kind of confidence doesn’t eliminate fear. It carries us through it.
And so, I ask myself: What am I avoiding right now because I’m afraid? Where have I mistaken caution for faithfulness, when it might actually be fear? What decision could I approach today with trust rather than fear, remembering that the outcome does not rest on me?

God of grace, when the path ahead feels unclear, and the outcome isn’t mine to manage, steady me. When I’m weighing decisions, juggling responsibilities or quietly wondering how much energy I have left, remind me that I am not alone. I am held by you. Amen.
(From LCA Daily Devotions by Jane Mueller)

19/05/2026

PULLING ON THE MAROON JERSEY

… that they may all be one … so that the world may believe that you have sent me (John 17:21).
Read John 17:11b–26

I grew up in South Australia, where football meant AFL. Footy was played with an oval ball, and jumpers were sleeveless. Winter weekends revolved around long arguments about umpiring decisions while kicking a Sherrin in the backyard.
Rugby league was a term used by foreigners. It felt like something that happened somewhere else, to other people.
Then I moved to Queensland.
And it didn’t take long to be re-educated.
I learned that rugby league isn’t just a sport; it’s a cultural commitment. State of Origin is not ‘just a game’. It doesn’t simply appear on the calendar; it shapes it. Organisations wait for the State of Origin dates to be released before setting their own meeting dates and events. After all, expecting attendance at anything unrelated to rugby league during a State of Origin game would be foolishly naïve and wildly optimistic.
For most of the season, men play for rival clubs, where they train separately, chase different trophies and zealously try to beat one another every week. But when State of Origin arrives, club loyalties are set aside. Players who spend most of the year competing against one another pull on the maroon jersey and play together as Queensland. Differences remain, but they are laid down for something bigger. The Maroons play as one, not because they are the same, but because they are committed to a shared purpose.
In today’s reading, Jesus prays for something like that – only deeper, and for the sake of the world.
Jesus prays for all believers. He doesn’t ask that his followers all think the same, agree on everything or lose their distinctiveness. He prays that they may be one – grounded in love, shaped by relationship and held together by God.
And Jesus names what is at stake: ‘So that the world may believe.’ Unity is not an institutional church aspiration – it’s missional. The way followers of Jesus live together communicates something about God to the world.
This kind of unity is not easy because it runs counter to the habits our world rewards. It grows as fruit where love is already at work, forming humility, patience, forgiveness and restraint. Unity is not about winning arguments, but remembering what we’re playing for and who we belong to.
Jesus prays this on the eve of betrayal and abandonment, when everything that could hold his followers together is about to give way. He knows unity will be tested. Still, he places his followers into God’s care and asks that his love – not rivalry – would define them. In a fractured world, unity shaped by love becomes a powerful witness – not because it’s easy, but because it’s rare.

Lord Jesus, you know how easily difference turns into division. When patience runs short, when relationships feel strained, and when unity feels costly, hold us together in your love. Amen.
(From LCA Devotions by Jane Mueller)