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A student survey conducted at one of our local schools determined that young people see the church as being full of old people and pews. And they think that the pews have to go. There’s some good news in that survey, they didn’t say the old people should go, only the pews.
Think for a moment: How does their perception match reality?
We might immediately begin to defend the pews. They've been good enough for generations. They keep us awake. They haven’t killed anyone.
Or we might be offended that they’ve labelled us as old. We might argue that we’re not nearly as old as our grandparents were at the same age.
We might want to join James and John to ask Jesus whether we should call down fire from heaven and destroy them.
But before we get too defensive, these young people are crying out for the church to recognise and value them. They don’t think the church cares about them, they don’t think we care. They think the church is only interested in the people who’re already involved, which to them means old people.
I wonder whether they’re any different to those of any age who aren’t connected to our churches. Would the whole ‘unchurched’ and 'previously-churched’ community agree that we don’t care. Would they contend that we’re only interested in ourselves.
If we’re so busy polishing and defending our pews then they have to go. If there’s anything in our church that uses up our time at the expense of living our lives for Jesus then it has to go.
Even more urgently we have to go. Not leave the church, the community of God’s people, but go with the good news that because God loves and cares for every single person in this world so do we.
“As you go”, Jesus says, “make disciples of all nations.” Jesus cares about this because he has ‘skin-in-the-game’. He died for each and every one we encounter as we go about our lives.
How do we, as individuals and a church, need to change so that no one in our community will feel that we don’t care about them?
Growing in knowledge
by Peter Bean
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May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord (2 Peter 1:2).
Read 2 Peter 1:1–11
Note the starting point: more and more grace and peace! This is not about head knowledge, but a living, acting faith. That happens when we receive more and more grace and peace.
Verse three tells us: ‘God has given us everything we need’ to lead a godly life. So, do we need to go searching, researching, discussing and questioning to grow in knowledge? Yes, they are all useful, but not the be-all and end-all.
The be-all and end-all is living in grace and peace, living with grace and peace and living through grace and peace. Then knowledge of God, union with Christ, inspiration from the Holy Spirit will – and does – occur. That leads to the practice of the gifts mentioned in verses five to seven (similar to the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5).
Then verse eight emphasises again that living in, with and through grace and peace leads to knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Much more than head knowledge! We are enabled to ‘share his divine purpose’ (verse four). A scandalous thought, but a life-giving, liberating and freeing one. How do I live more like Jesus? By bathing in grace and peace, letting grace and peace permeate my every bone, my every thought, my every action.
Then ‘working hard’ (NLT) and ‘making every effort’ (NIV) (verse 10) is not a test or about works righteousness – it is simply living as Christ enables us. Imagine what the world would be like if each of us constantly lived in grace and peace, with grace and peace, through grace and peace! Pray for the courage and wisdom to do so.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the grace and peace you provide, even when times are tough or we are struggling. Provide more and more grace and peace so we may indeed grow in our knowledge of you. Amen.
Despite the cold spring in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, it is mulberry-picking time, which means mulberry jam, pies and mulberries every way you can imagine. Peter prays that you enjoy whatever God offers you each day. Having now paraphrased Psalms 1–100, Peter invites you to read them anew, applying them to your lives. If you would like his paraphrase of any of these psalms, send your request to pbean087@gmail.com
The appearing kingdom
by Tim Castle-Schmidt
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While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once (Luke 19:11).
Read Luke 19:11–27
Do you sometimes wish that the kingdom of God would appear now and that we could transition from the dog-eat-dog world we currently live in to the kingdom that Jesus describes? Because, as we read here, followers of Jesus have been seeking this for millennia.
And yet, we need to look carefully for the unexpected in God’s word.
Just when these early followers of Jesus thought that the kingdom of God would appear at once, Jesus responded with this challenging parable. However, while not dismissing the parable, following this, Jesus immediately enters Jerusalem as the coming king.
And this is the most unexpected! Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a peace donkey, not a war horse!
And by the end of the week, he will be dead.
God’s kingdom has appeared, and it has appeared in a person, in Jesus. Jesus comes, not promising wealth and good health, but faithfulness and mercy.
Whichever way we picture the kingdom of God, we must do it through the lens of Jesus, the suffering servant, the merciful judge, the death-defying Prince of Peace. Our task is not to imagine sitting in the best seat in the kingdom of God, but to know and join Jesus in his mission to the world.
The kingdom has appeared and is in our midst whenever we serve others or are served by others. This is also how we participate in bringing the kingdom in. As we approach the world with the attitude of Jesus – generosity, justice and mercy – the kingdom appears both to us and through us to the world.
Lord Jesus, help us to recognise the kingdom appearing in our midst. Reveal your ways of generosity, justice and mercy both to us and through us. Help us to rest in you, knowing that you are present in every moment of our lives. Amen.
By his own admission, Tim Castle-Schmidt is a broken man. Broken in body, mind and spirit, he says he is learning that God is at work in and through human brokenness. He says that while God has not ‘fixed’ him, God continues to work through his brokenness to connect with the world. Tim is the pastor of Nunawading–Waverley Lutheran Church in Melbourne. After spending many years as a teacher in Lutheran schools, he finally listened to God’s call to the pastoral ministry. Tim is passionate about social justice and engaging the church with contemporary society. Tim shares his life with Fiona, Miranda, and a Jack Russell called Otto.
God is here
by Linda Macqueen
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).
Read Psalm 46
At this time in the church year, it’s customary to focus on the end of things as we know them. In Sunday’s text, the disciples were shaking in their boots as Jesus predicted cataclysmic events ahead. Today, Psalm 46 holds no punches either, listing catastrophe after catastrophe that lie in wait for us. It’s all rather bleak and unsettling, isn’t it? But facing up to the fragility of life is a necessary reality check. We shouldn’t be surprised when life takes a nasty turn – and neither should we be surprised when we find God right there with us when it does.
‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble’. In a world where chaos swirls around us – whether it’s personal challenges, global crises or heartbreak close to home – God remains unshakably present. The earth may give way, mountains may crumble, and waters may roar, yet one truth stands firm: God is with us.
God has longed to be close to his people from the moment Adam and Eve drew their first breath; he sought them even as they hid from him (Genesis 3:9). He went before the Israelites as fire and cloud as they journeyed through the desert (Exodus 13:21,22). Then he lived with them in the temple (2 Chronicles 7:16). Then God came to Earth as a person, Jesus, called Immanuel – ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23). And now he is closer still, with his Spirit living in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). That’s as close as he can get!
Take heart: God’s longing to be close to you has never changed. He will not leave you, no matter how fierce the storm you are facing now, or the one looming on the horizon. Rest in the promise that the God of Psalm 46 dwells in you by his Spirit and will be with you to your dying breath. He will never leave you. He is your refuge, now and forever.
Loving Father, though I do not know what the future holds, I do know that you hold the future. Give me today the faith to hold onto your promise that you will never leave me or forsake me, no matter what happens to me or whatever I may lose. Hold me in your arms, my refuge and strength. Amen.
Linda Macqueen retired in September 2025, having served 26 years as editor of The Lutheran and Communications Manager for the LCANZ. She has rapidly adapted to retirement, happily and energetically bringing her long-neglected home and garden back to life. She lives in the beautiful Adelaide Hills with her husband, Mark, and with their household’s lord and master, Nelson the rescued galah.