Devotion - Tip of the Iceberg

And may God, the source of patience and encouragement, enable you to have the same point of view among yourselves by following the example of Christ Jesus, so that all of you together may praise with one voice the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Accept one another, then, for the glory of God, as Christ has accepted you.

Romans 15: 5 - 7

Have you ever moved from one location to another? It never really gets any easier, no matter how many times you move. But one thing helps make the transition easier—when you are accepted by friendly people at your new destination and made to feel welcome.

What does that mean, to be accepted? It means to be invited to take a gift of some sort. It means to feel ‘at home’ and free from hostility. It means that you are not restricted from taking something good in abundant measure. In fact, I can think of no better example than our Lord’s attitude to sinners. Jesus accepts you and makes you feel welcome. You are welcome to take his forgiveness. You are welcome to his inheritance of life and glory. You are welcome to call him ‘brother’, ‘friend’, ‘Lord’. When you see him face to face one day, he will accept you and say, ‘Welcome’.

As your heart is always open to accept people and to welcome them, Lord, help me to accept and welcome others, especially your brothers and sisters. Amen.

by Simon Cooper, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

Prayer Points

We pray that God grants all our families a safe and restful holiday period

We praise God for a wonderful term of learning

We thank God for Mrs Francis and our amazing choir who shared their gift of music with St Matthew’s Church on Sunday

We pray for Cung Tin and his family for a smooth transition into his new school

We pray for the Tingpaw, Tlumang and Wong families

Micah Award

To Joyce for displaying love to those around her

To Miriam for showing courage and compassion

From the Principal

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is quite often something that we find easy to seek, but hard to grant. We can find it easy to ask someone for forgiveness if we have wronged them; however, when the tables are turned, it is often difficult to forgive when we feel we have been wronged, especially if there is a lack of a positive relationship. What we need to understand is that although genuine forgiveness can be a difficult process, it is a clear biblical command given to us and it is made possible through the grace of God.

Forgiveness is breaking the cycle of ‘un-grace’; it is choosing to pardon the wrongs others have done to us and seeking pardon for the wrongs we have done to others. Forgiveness often comes with pain and can involve stepping over our hurt. Forgiveness means forgiving not because it is deserved by the other person, but because we have been forgiven undeservedly by God. Forgiveness releases both ourselves and others, enabling new beginnings; a fresh start.

What greater example do we have of forgiveness than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus forgave those who persecuted and crucified him, he instructs us to follow his example. Ephesians 4:32 says ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’

Forgiveness is one of our school values. As individuals and as a school community we ask God to give us the strength to pardon the wrongs others have done to us, seek pardon for the wrongs we have done to others and ask mercy from our Father in heaven. In doing so, we can focus on making a new start.

School Choir

On Sunday, the members of the school choir participated in the worship service at St Matthew’s Lutheran Church. The students read the bible readings and led the prayers as well as singing three songs. As always the choir were well prepared by Mrs Francis and sang like angels, uplifting everyone in the service. We thank the students and families for being a part of the service and St Matthew’s for helping the ties between school and church to continue to strengthen.