what's on
Sunday 2 November - Reformation & 55th anniversary of the congregation celebration (10:00am)
Sunday 9 November - All Saints Commemoration (during the 9:00am service)
Sunday 9 November - Ordination & Installation at Living Waters Lutheran Church Liverpool (3:00pm)
Sunday 23 November - Bible Study (after the 9:00am service)
Wednesday 26 November - Young at Heart (10:30am)
Sunday 9 November - All Saints Commemoration (during the 9:00am service)
Sunday 9 November - Ordination & Installation at Living Waters Lutheran Church Liverpool (3:00pm)
Sunday 23 November - Bible Study (after the 9:00am service)
Wednesday 26 November - Young at Heart (10:30am)
reformation (2 november)
As we gather this Reformation Sunday, our hearts turn not only to the bold witness of Martin Luther five centuries ago but also to the faithful legacy of our own congregation on the occasion of our 55th anniversary. Just as Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the Wittenberg door in 1517, sparking a recovery of the pure Gospel, so too has Good Shepherd been a beacon of that same liberating truth in the Sutherland Shire for over half a century. From humble beginnings in 1970, we've proclaimed the unchanging message of Romans 3: that the Law silences every boastful mouth, holding the whole world accountable to God, revealing our sin and our desperate need for grace. Yet, in this milestone year, we celebrate how God's Word has echoed through our sermons, baptisms, and communions, drawing sinners into the freedom of faith.
The heart of the Reformation promise, as Luther so fiercely defended, is this: no one is justified by works of the Law, for through it comes only the knowledge of sin. But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ—for all who believe. We've all sinned and fallen short of God's glory, yet we are justified freely by His grace, redeemed through Christ's blood as our propitiation. For 55 years, Good Shepherd has held fast to this distinction between Law and Gospel, refusing to let human efforts eclipse the gift of forgiveness. In our community outreach, youth programs, and quiet pastoral care, we've witnessed lives transformed not by striving, but by the sheer promise that God justifies the ungodly through faith alone, upholding the Law not to condemn but to point us to Christ.
Looking back over these 55 years fills us with gratitude for the saints who planted and nurtured this flock—pastors, board members, and families who weathered trials, from building our sanctuary to navigating cultural shifts, all while keeping the Gospel central. Their witness reminds us that the Reformation wasn't a one-off event but a living reality, where God's Word accomplishes what no human endeavour can: it shuts our mouths before the divine Judge and opens our ears to the Redeemer's voice. Here in Sutherland, amid the bustle of Sydney's south, we've seen marriages mended, prodigals return, and neighbours find hope, proving that Luther's recovery of justification by faith resonates just as powerfully today as it did in 16th-century Germany.
Yet our gaze turns forward with unshakeable hope in the enduring effectiveness of the Reformation Gospel for Good Shepherd's future. In a world that peddles self-improvement and conditional worth, our promise remains: the Law will continue to accuse, but Christ's righteousness will forever justify. We envision generations yet unborn hearing this truth in our halls, carrying it into schools, workplaces, and homes across the Shire and beyond. Empowered by the Spirit, we'll adapt our ministries while never diluting the core: faith that grasps the promise, excluding all boasting and embracing all sinners, Jew and Gentile alike.
And so, beloved, we hear afresh the Reformation's great promise for Good Shepherd: "They are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." This is our past, our present, and our future—forgiven, free, and forever held in God's righteous embrace. Let us rejoice and press on in this Gospel hope.
We Pray For:
† The church, that it may remain faithful to the apostles' teaching.
† Reformers in society and those who work for the changes that bring justice.
† All who are weighed down by guilt and sin, that they may be set free by the gospel.
† The rulers of the nations, that all good government may be upheld and all tyrannies put down.
† Those who are persecuted, imprisoned or tortured for their beliefs.
The heart of the Reformation promise, as Luther so fiercely defended, is this: no one is justified by works of the Law, for through it comes only the knowledge of sin. But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ—for all who believe. We've all sinned and fallen short of God's glory, yet we are justified freely by His grace, redeemed through Christ's blood as our propitiation. For 55 years, Good Shepherd has held fast to this distinction between Law and Gospel, refusing to let human efforts eclipse the gift of forgiveness. In our community outreach, youth programs, and quiet pastoral care, we've witnessed lives transformed not by striving, but by the sheer promise that God justifies the ungodly through faith alone, upholding the Law not to condemn but to point us to Christ.
Looking back over these 55 years fills us with gratitude for the saints who planted and nurtured this flock—pastors, board members, and families who weathered trials, from building our sanctuary to navigating cultural shifts, all while keeping the Gospel central. Their witness reminds us that the Reformation wasn't a one-off event but a living reality, where God's Word accomplishes what no human endeavour can: it shuts our mouths before the divine Judge and opens our ears to the Redeemer's voice. Here in Sutherland, amid the bustle of Sydney's south, we've seen marriages mended, prodigals return, and neighbours find hope, proving that Luther's recovery of justification by faith resonates just as powerfully today as it did in 16th-century Germany.
Yet our gaze turns forward with unshakeable hope in the enduring effectiveness of the Reformation Gospel for Good Shepherd's future. In a world that peddles self-improvement and conditional worth, our promise remains: the Law will continue to accuse, but Christ's righteousness will forever justify. We envision generations yet unborn hearing this truth in our halls, carrying it into schools, workplaces, and homes across the Shire and beyond. Empowered by the Spirit, we'll adapt our ministries while never diluting the core: faith that grasps the promise, excluding all boasting and embracing all sinners, Jew and Gentile alike.
And so, beloved, we hear afresh the Reformation's great promise for Good Shepherd: "They are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." This is our past, our present, and our future—forgiven, free, and forever held in God's righteous embrace. Let us rejoice and press on in this Gospel hope.
We Pray For:
† The church, that it may remain faithful to the apostles' teaching.
† Reformers in society and those who work for the changes that bring justice.
† All who are weighed down by guilt and sin, that they may be set free by the gospel.
† The rulers of the nations, that all good government may be upheld and all tyrannies put down.
† Those who are persecuted, imprisoned or tortured for their beliefs.