Trinity Lutheran Church Lowood

03/09/2026

For further reflection / discussion on this Sunday’s sermon:
On this weekend as we remember the mercy of our Father in Heaven, I beseech you to take courage, gird your loins and repent. It is by far easier for us to ignore our sins, to dismiss our failures and our weaknesses. So instead read
Jeremiah 1:17-19
Job 38:1-11
1 Peter 1:13-21
Be a man, remember you calling, gird your loins and follow the Lord your God.

01/09/2026

For further reflection / discussion on LAST Sunday’s sermon:
It is a great effort for us to come to an AGM, to attend another boring meeting. It is a great effort for us to worship the Lord our God in a strange place, away from our home congregation.
We forget though how much hard work it is to attend church at all. We often forget how much hard work Satan puts in to drive us away from God’s forgiveness, to keep us separate from God’s children. See 1 Peter 5:6-11
Be of Good courage, for the Lord your God helps you to withstand persecution every day. He has not left us like orphans and God’s Holy spirit is continually with us to comfort us.

06/08/2026

For further reflection / discussion on this Sunday’s sermon:
Matthew 26:6-13 tells us a story about Jesus’s beautiful feet, how they were prepared for the cross by anointing them with oil.
There are many more stories in the Bible about feet, the first of which arrives in Genesis chapter three. In this promise we hear that God’s seed will crush the head of Satan with the heel of his foot. What other storied in the bible can you think of that include feet?
We also have a lot of Bible storied about walking and about highways that lead to the Lord and his temple in Jerusalem. This week I encourage you to take a walk outside, enjoy God’s creation. As you do reflect on the ways God has been walking with you, how he has held your hand and helped you along life’s highway.

30/07/2026

For further reflection / discussion on this Sunday’s sermon:
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed those who were ill.

As our Gospel reading for the week begins I wonder how Jesus was feeling. He had just found out that his cousin was executed for sharing the good news of Christs coming, for warning people to repent of their sins.
It seems Jesus wanted to go to a quiet place to grieve.
However, all these people followed him, rushed towards him. They did not consider Jesus’s needs, or his suffering and pain. Instead, they wanted his mercy, to be healed of their illnesses. They wanted to hear from this great teacher.

10/07/2026

For further reflection / discussion on this Sunday’s sermon:
Consider a grape vine, some seasons are better than others, sometimes you suffer from a drought or a frost and can produce no fruit. At other times your leaves are large and lush, there is so much healthy foliage that it is hard to see the bountiful harvest you are producing.
In the same way God’s word in our lives sometimes struggles to grow, struggles to bring us hope. Then at other times we don’t know how God is at work in our lives, how well we have been nurturing the faith of others.
Let us pray this week that God helps us to better understand his word for us and that we may see some of the blessings we bring to others.
May you also take some time this week to thank fellow Christians for their concern, comradery, and prayers. Thank them for they ways they have brought God’s word to life in your life.

02/07/2026

For further reflection / discussion on this Sunday’s sermon:
I remember a joke that Lutherans have a box of lemons at the entrance to church to stop them from smiling, after all worshipping God is serious business.
Certainly, there are other denominations that regularly crowd the front of the church are raise their hands in the air. But we Lutherans, we are often very subdued and serious when we worship the King of Heaven’s armies, the Lord of all creation.
How do you prefer to react and respond to the message of God’s love?
We also talk about mountaintop experiences, or being in the depths of despair.
Read Jonah 2, Isaiah 9:2, Hebrews 12:18-24
Consider some of the lows and highs in your life, how you have responded to them and how God has been with you in these journeys.

24/06/2026

For further reflection / discussion on this Sunday’s sermon:
What even is a Christian? Take a look at this short video

https://youtube.com/shorts/Wacj8QSfQbg?si=xMjt6Hck3IPn2GBY

Soon we too will have a survey. The national church survey forms will be arriving, and we have an opportunity to show the nation’s Christians that we do indeed know that Jesus is God, that he is the reason we are Christians.

Read Romans 6:12–23.
The sermon described God's Word as speaking both Law (showing us our sin) and Gospel (showing us Christ's forgiveness). Where do you see both Law and Gospel in this passage? Why do Christians need to hear both repeatedly throughout their lives?
Read Romans 6:15–18.
Paul says that everyone serves a master—either sin or righteousness. What does this image teach us about Christian freedom? How is being a "slave to righteousness" different from simply trying to be a good person?

18/06/2026

For further reflection / discussion on this Sunday’s sermon:
Read Matthew 10:24–39.
Jesus warns His disciples that following Him may bring opposition and even division. What kinds of opposition do Christians face today? Which verses in this passage encourage you when following Christ becomes difficult?
Read Jeremiah 20:9 and Psalm 119:9–16.
Jeremiah describes God's word as "a fire shut up in my bones." Have you ever experienced God's Word encouraging, convicting, or compelling you in a similar way? What practical habits help God's Word dwell richly in us?
Read Jeremiah 20:11–13 and Psalm 69:13–18.
Both Jeremiah and the psalmist experience suffering, yet they continue to trust God. What reasons do they give for their confidence? How can their example help us when we feel isolated, misunderstood, or discouraged?
Optional challenge for the week:
Each day, read a short section of Psalm 119, Jeremiah 20, Matthew 10, or Romans 6, and note one promise from God and one way it applies to your life.

11/06/2026

For further reflection / discussion on this Sunday’s sermon:
Jesus uses many parables about gardening; sometimes God is the landowner and the prophets are his workers. Sometimes Jesus is the vine and we are the branches that hopefully produce good fruit. Remember that God’s words do not return to him empty, but that they accomplish what he sets.
Psalm 126:5-6 Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.
Consider how you are a worker in God’s garden. Through your various vocations you bring the word of God to people though your thoughts words and deeds. As you forgive others they learn of God’s forgiveness.

21/05/2026

For further reflection / discussion on this Sunday’s sermon:
On this day of Pentecost we are considering how we have been trained for leadership, trained to look after ourselves and to love one another.
Consider how you have graduated from primary school, remember the lessons they taught you which prepared you for TAFE of Highschool.
Consider how your Sunday school teachers prepared you to understand what happens in Sunday worship.
In the Old testament ‘prophecy’ was no mere prediction of rain and sunshine. The prophets were teachers, guide, protectors of God’s people.
This week encourage you to follow their example, dwell of the words of the lord and remind others of God’s mercy, how he has been faithful to his people. Show them exampled of his forgiveness and salvation.

Music video by Robin Mark performing Days of Elijah. (C) 2014 Integrity Music