Devotion – How do you look from a distance?

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph’s story is an extended example of the truth Paul later expresses in Romans 8:28: ‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose’. And that, in turn, arises from Paul’s reflection on Jesus’ death and resurrection. That took place through the predetermined plan of God, but also as the result of human wickedness and spiritual evil.

By the cross, God saves the world through betrayal, cowardice, denial, and the schemes of the devil himself. It’s counterintuitive: God used the evil and godless actions of wicked people to establish his kingdom in the death and resurrection of his Son.

Joseph is the forerunner of Jesus in this respect. Despite everything that had happened in the long saga that was Joseph’s life, he was able to say that God had sent him ahead into Egypt, to save life, not to destroy it (Genesis 45:5,7). It was not the jealousy and betrayal of his brothers that had carried him there, but the hand of God.

We can’t always see that at the time. Most often – perhaps always – we see it only in retrospect. But there’s no surer thing: God’s plans will be accomplished, come hell or high water. Joseph’s story is the example. Jesus’ story is the guarantee.

Dearest Father, thank you that your sovereign power is such that you use even the works of evil for their own destruction. Thank you that you are bigger than all our thoughtless actions and stupid mistakes. Thank you that you don’t give us what we want but what we need. Thank you for the blessing of knowing you are working all things together for the good of your people. In Christ’s name. Amen.

Prayer Points

We give thanks for our new student leaders and pray that God will grant them wisdom and servant hearts as they begin their roles

We pray for our School Council that God may be with them as they govern over our school

We pray for peace and safety in countries where there is war or unrest

We pray for the Tran, Cinzah and Cohlung families

Micah Awards

To Johnny for showing love, compassion and service to his classmates

To Hayley for showing love and service to her classmates and teachers

We have celebrated two very special occasions at our weekly Whole School Worship. In Week 3, the school proudly presented and installed the new Student Leadership team consisting of school captains, house captains, peer mediation coordinators and SRC (Student Representative Council) members from Year 3 to 6. The members of the Student Leadership team were selected by their peers and during worship pledged to serve the school throughout the year. The focus of worship was on service and how leaders are called to serve others. We look forward to the positive impact our Student Leadership team will have this year as they lead by serving our community.

Congratulations to Bawi, Rebekah, Lana, Bawi, Joyce, Joseph, Joshua and Va Ngia on being chosen to serve as our student leaders this year.

Bible Presentation

In Week 4, Mrs Truong and I also had the pleasure of presenting bibles to all our new students, Preps and Year 3s after Whole School Worship. During worship, Mrs Truong told the students about the importance of the bible; it is God’s Word and it gives us a life-giving message about our hero, Jesus. We pray that this gift may be a blessing to all our students.

Prep

In the Prep classroom we are learning how to write our name using capital and lowercase letters. You can encourage us to keep practising by using the laminated template and the whiteboard marker that was sent home today.

Year 1/ 2

In the Year 1/2 classroom we have been solving simple addition problems. We have used strategies such as counting on, partitioning and a number line to calculate number sentences. You can ask us how we solve addition.

Year 3/ 4

In the Year 3/4 classroom we have been using Maths stations to help us learn about different topics. We have been shopping, solving puzzles and learning about time and coordinates. You can ask us what we have been doing so far and play a game of ‘Buzz’ with us to help us with our skip counting.

Year 5/ 6

In the Year 5/6 classroom we are reading the novel Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz.

Ask us to tell you about the main character Alex, or to predict what we think is going to happen next in the book!