The topic of Euthanasia pops up in the media and in political circles.
Originally euthanasia simply meant 'good death', however the term currently is understood by many to mean 'a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering' (House of Lords select committee on Medical ethics).
The topic is emotional, because a person's suffering is often the reason given for supporting euthanasia.
There is also confusion on what is euthanasia and what is not euthanasia, eg. withdrawing life support from a person, is not considered euthanasia.
Following are some resources to help you and others understand the euthanasia debate and discussion
LUTHERAN RESOURCES AND LINKS
Lutheran Church of Australia CTICR statement
Lutheran Church of Australia CSBQ discussion paper
Various articles and teachings from the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
Death and dieing: a social statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Ethics and suffering from healing to relief by Dr Richard C Eyer Concordia University Mequon
Lutheran's for life (usa) resources and links
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church
OTHER RELIGIOUS RESOURCES AND LINKS
Statements from various religious bodies relating to Euthanasia
Christian views on Euthanasia and suicide
Religious facts: Euthanasia and Christianity
Christian Life Resources
Beliefnet
OTHER
A summary of the debate from the editor of The Australian
if you wish to suggest any other resources please leave a comment or email me
Monday, October 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Evangelism Reflection: Evangelism is about serving in ways so others know Jesus
Something that strikes me as I read the scriptures is that whilst God selects individuals for specific roles, everyone lives out their roles in collaboration with others. That is how the Body of Christ works. Living as a Christian is never an individual only experience, it involves us relating to others, working with others and supporting each other so people get to see and experience what God is about.
And over the last 12 months, I have really appreciated how willingly a majority of people in our congregation are prepared to serve others both in the church and in the wider community through the various opportunities that exist through our congregation.
A congregation our size needs a system in place to help us co-ordinate our service.
One way we aim to help people discover and take advantage of the opportunities that exist through our congregation is through the Talents and Gifts survey which we distributed last week. This is a very helpful way for us to quickly capture where you are interested in serving with others and where we need to encourage others to fulfil the various roles in our congregation. Serving in our congregation is not simply putting your hand up to fill a position, rather as Christians our service should take on an evangelistic emphasis. This occurs when:
• We ask the question, ‘how can I make what I do and say help others know more about Jesus?’
• Our attitude for serving is to glorify God and encourage others to develop a relationship with God and other Christians. Put this in contrast to someone who serves because they want others to see how good they are, they wish to exert some power or they want something for themselves or things done their way.
• We recognise that we are part of a team, and that we contribute to the direction that the congregation needs to move and has agreed to move.
• We consider how best we can help others to hear and experience God’s Good News, even if this differs to what helps us.
• We serve because others need it, not because we have the desire, all the skills, all the wisdom or all the talent, instead relying on God’s strength and seek his guidance and training as we serve.
Please keep exploring how you can be evangelistic in everything you do, because as we do we will change the lives of the people in our congregation and in the wider community, because God is working through us.
PS. If you haven’t already done so please get your Gifts and Talents Surveys in this week as our nominations team and team leaders will use these surveys to help them in their roles in co-ordinating service in our congregation.
And over the last 12 months, I have really appreciated how willingly a majority of people in our congregation are prepared to serve others both in the church and in the wider community through the various opportunities that exist through our congregation.
A congregation our size needs a system in place to help us co-ordinate our service.
One way we aim to help people discover and take advantage of the opportunities that exist through our congregation is through the Talents and Gifts survey which we distributed last week. This is a very helpful way for us to quickly capture where you are interested in serving with others and where we need to encourage others to fulfil the various roles in our congregation. Serving in our congregation is not simply putting your hand up to fill a position, rather as Christians our service should take on an evangelistic emphasis. This occurs when:
• We ask the question, ‘how can I make what I do and say help others know more about Jesus?’
• Our attitude for serving is to glorify God and encourage others to develop a relationship with God and other Christians. Put this in contrast to someone who serves because they want others to see how good they are, they wish to exert some power or they want something for themselves or things done their way.
• We recognise that we are part of a team, and that we contribute to the direction that the congregation needs to move and has agreed to move.
• We consider how best we can help others to hear and experience God’s Good News, even if this differs to what helps us.
• We serve because others need it, not because we have the desire, all the skills, all the wisdom or all the talent, instead relying on God’s strength and seek his guidance and training as we serve.
Please keep exploring how you can be evangelistic in everything you do, because as we do we will change the lives of the people in our congregation and in the wider community, because God is working through us.
PS. If you haven’t already done so please get your Gifts and Talents Surveys in this week as our nominations team and team leaders will use these surveys to help them in their roles in co-ordinating service in our congregation.
Evangelism Reflection: Evangelism is about using your directory for mission
Our directory is not meant to be an exclusive list, but rather a list of people who have had contact with our congregation at some stage and people God is calling us to continually care for.
As a result some have commented we haven’t see this person or that person for years. Others have questioned, why is such and such in the directory? Such responses to directories are not uncommon, especially if we see the directory as an exclusive listing of select few, and we want to‘tidy up’ the list quickly.
However there are other ways to view the directory, that may help us be more mission orientated.
Think about the directory as not just a listing of members or those who we have a very close relationship. Consider it as a listing of people who have connected to God’s family through us at some stage. They maybe still connected to God’s family or they may be a lot further away now
and need some encouragement.
If you find yourself asking the question why is such and such people in the directory? Maybe that question is God prompting you, saying hey these people haven’t been around for some time…but rather than forgetting about them maybe God is also saying, ‘How about you contact them?’
When you see the name of someone who you haven't seen around for awhile maybe God is prompting you to make some contact with that person or family, to see how they are going, to encourage them, to invite them around for a chat, to even invite them to church or a small group.
As you read through the directory you may notice that some of the people have moved, are worshipping elsewhere, changed phone numbers or their relationship has changed. One of our responsibilities is to care for each other, so please let the office know if you are aware of any
changes, not only in your own family but also other families so Pastor Richard and the Pastoral Assistants can follow them up, our records updated and we can provide the care God calls us to provide.
As you look through the directory, pray for people you see in the directory, give them a call and encourage them.
Remember our church directory can be a valuable tool to sharing God’s love, caring for each other and helping us engage with each other spiritually and physically.
As a result some have commented we haven’t see this person or that person for years. Others have questioned, why is such and such in the directory? Such responses to directories are not uncommon, especially if we see the directory as an exclusive listing of select few, and we want to‘tidy up’ the list quickly.
However there are other ways to view the directory, that may help us be more mission orientated.
Think about the directory as not just a listing of members or those who we have a very close relationship. Consider it as a listing of people who have connected to God’s family through us at some stage. They maybe still connected to God’s family or they may be a lot further away now
and need some encouragement.
If you find yourself asking the question why is such and such people in the directory? Maybe that question is God prompting you, saying hey these people haven’t been around for some time…but rather than forgetting about them maybe God is also saying, ‘How about you contact them?’
When you see the name of someone who you haven't seen around for awhile maybe God is prompting you to make some contact with that person or family, to see how they are going, to encourage them, to invite them around for a chat, to even invite them to church or a small group.
As you read through the directory you may notice that some of the people have moved, are worshipping elsewhere, changed phone numbers or their relationship has changed. One of our responsibilities is to care for each other, so please let the office know if you are aware of any
changes, not only in your own family but also other families so Pastor Richard and the Pastoral Assistants can follow them up, our records updated and we can provide the care God calls us to provide.
As you look through the directory, pray for people you see in the directory, give them a call and encourage them.
Remember our church directory can be a valuable tool to sharing God’s love, caring for each other and helping us engage with each other spiritually and physically.
Evangelism Reflection: Evangelism is about God's kingdom is not just some future dream but that God's kingdom is here with us now!!!
Often we will talk about God’s kingdom as some future thing, that God will lead us to, and we have to wait for it. Yet Jesus says in Luke 17:20-21, the kingdom of God is among us now. It is not a future thing, but it is something we begin to be part of right now.
Other parts of scripture encourage us to think of God’s kingdom not just as some place, but a new reality, a Godly way to live.
Throughout His life Jesus spoke about and showed us how to live as part of God’s kingdom. This involved living a life that is built on developing and encouraging relationships, that is the basis of the Greatest commandment, our life is about loving God and loving others. This influences how we see our work, hobbies, family and everything else we are involved in. A good question to ask is how can I do what I do and live how I live, in ways that love God and love others. Take some time this week to think about this, jot down some of your thoughts and then think about how you can put these things into action. When God is guiding us we are beginning to live in His kingdom.
In Luke we discover some other thoughts about living in God’s kingdom:
• Small good deeds make a difference (Luke 13:18-21)
• The marginalised and forgotten are honoured and respected (Luke 14:15-24)
• God can always find even the person who we believe is so lost (Luke 15:3-10)
• Everyone including little ones God welcomes into His kingdom (Luke 18:15-17)
• God’s works through many people to transform the world (Luke 10:1-20)
• When we open up our lives there is more than enough to go around (Luke 9:10-17)
Living in God’s kingdom is a call that we see God active through what we do and when other’s serve us. Our work, leisure, family and social lives are all opportunities for us to not only see God’s kingdom, but to be participants in His kingdom. And when this is happening people are getting a small insight into what heaven will be like.
Action Time:
Think about how your work, social, family and leisure life can reflect a focus of you loving God and you loving others.
What changes do you need to begin making so your life is about being part of God’s kingdom and others see God at work in your life?
Thank everyone who serves you and thank God for their service.
Other parts of scripture encourage us to think of God’s kingdom not just as some place, but a new reality, a Godly way to live.
Throughout His life Jesus spoke about and showed us how to live as part of God’s kingdom. This involved living a life that is built on developing and encouraging relationships, that is the basis of the Greatest commandment, our life is about loving God and loving others. This influences how we see our work, hobbies, family and everything else we are involved in. A good question to ask is how can I do what I do and live how I live, in ways that love God and love others. Take some time this week to think about this, jot down some of your thoughts and then think about how you can put these things into action. When God is guiding us we are beginning to live in His kingdom.
In Luke we discover some other thoughts about living in God’s kingdom:
• Small good deeds make a difference (Luke 13:18-21)
• The marginalised and forgotten are honoured and respected (Luke 14:15-24)
• God can always find even the person who we believe is so lost (Luke 15:3-10)
• Everyone including little ones God welcomes into His kingdom (Luke 18:15-17)
• God’s works through many people to transform the world (Luke 10:1-20)
• When we open up our lives there is more than enough to go around (Luke 9:10-17)
Living in God’s kingdom is a call that we see God active through what we do and when other’s serve us. Our work, leisure, family and social lives are all opportunities for us to not only see God’s kingdom, but to be participants in His kingdom. And when this is happening people are getting a small insight into what heaven will be like.
Action Time:
Think about how your work, social, family and leisure life can reflect a focus of you loving God and you loving others.
What changes do you need to begin making so your life is about being part of God’s kingdom and others see God at work in your life?
Thank everyone who serves you and thank God for their service.
Evangelism Reflection: Evangelism is about being God's witness to four types of people
In Acts 1:8 we read:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
God prepares you to be His witness from the very moment you were baptised, when He promised you His Holy Spirit, and He continues to fill you with His Spirit every time you read His word and when you ask for His Spirit in your prayers. It is God’s Spirit that empowers us to be His witnesses to people in four different situations.
- People in your vicinity of the same cultural background (Jerusalem).
- People further away from you of the same cultural background. (Judea)
- People near you from a different cultural background. (Samaria)
- People far from you of a different cultural background. (ends of the Earth)
Action Time
1. Right down people that come to mind from each of the four areas.
2. Pray about them and that God reveals to you how you can reach out to them.
3. Use God’s Spirit to reach out to them and be His witness to them.
4. Continue to pray and witness to them.
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