Devotion

This year the Curiosity children have enjoyed many songs, two of their favourites are ‘Love One Another’ by Yancy and ‘Thankful’ by Life tree Kids (find the link below). They shared them with the school community at the Blessing Service this week. The songs are about kindness and love, about being faithful, thankful and grateful.

These attributes remind me of a bunch of friends in the Bible who are determined to see Jesus because their friend needs help. In Mark 2:1-11 we read about a man who was paralysed. He couldn’t get himself anywhere. He was reliant on other people to move him when he needed to go somewhere. There were no wheelchairs back then. 

The man had 4 friends. They must have heard Jesus had come to visit their town and thought that he could help their paralysed friend. So, the 4 friends turned up to the paralysed friend’s home and carried him on a mat to the house that Jesus was visiting. Jesus was now well-known, and many other people had also come to hear him talk about God. The house was packed full when the men arrived with their friend, and they couldn’t get near the door. The friends were disappointed, but they didn’t give up. They were determined to get their friend to Jesus. So much so, they worked out how to carry their friend up onto the roof. They made a hole in the roof, and lowered their friend down into the room Jesus was in. Jesus ended up forgiving the man’s sins, and healed his body so he could walk again. The man was changed forever.

Now that was an amazing miracle and something only God could do, but there’s a couple of things we can take away from the story besides the fact that Jesus healed the man who couldn’t walk and that he forgave his sins. 

The friends themselves were quite amazing. They showed faithfulness to their friend by doing everything they could to get him to Jesus… even carrying him up onto a roof and digging through it. They showed thankfulness and gratefulness to Jesus for how he helped their friend. 

Just as these friends were grateful and thankful for what Jesus did for them, whether you have experienced a miracle from God or not, you too can be grateful to Jesus for what he’s done for you. You can be thankful for what our children have learned this year, for the teachers who have supported their learning, for the fun they’ve had and for the friends they’ve made.

And like the man who was grateful to Jesus for being forgiven and healed, who looked forward to a different and exciting life being able to walk, the children can look forward to new adventures at school next year, at Good Shepherd, or a new school for those who start high school, knowing that Jesus is with them in all they do and wherever they go. They can also be grateful for the friends, teachers and family who will encourage them along the way.

I pray as you finish the year, you will be able to recall the many ways God has been faithful to your family this year, and you will have many things for which you can be grateful.

Mrs Jasmyn Nicholls

Curiosity ELC Director

Christmas Worship times for Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

What are you up to on Christmas Eve? You are invited to ‘A Season of New Hope’ as we explore and celebrate the reason for our hope... Jesus!

The 5:30pm service is a short, family friendly service where we get to sing Christmas songs and carols and children have the opportunity to participate as we share the message of Christmas. (If your child would like an acting part, please contact Georgie here.) 

If you are just wanting to come along on the night, we would love to see you and your family as we celebrate the birth of baby Jesus!

For a complete list of services:

Christmas Eve:

5:30pm Theme: ‘Holding Hope’  Family Service

7:30pm Theme: 'No Ordinary Hope’ Christmas Drama

9:30pm Theme: ‘A season of New Hope’~ Carol Service

Christmas Day:

9:30am Theme: ‘Hope Realised'

2024 Worship Song Playlist

Do you find yourself wondering what songs we sing in Wednesday Worship? Do your children come home singing some of the songs? We would like to invite you to our Good Shepherd School Worship Song Playlist on YouTube. To find a selection of songs that we sing, click here and start singing along!

Want to sing along to our Christmas playlist? Click here!