David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground… On the seventh day the child died.
2 Samuel 12: 16, 18a
We must realise that even though God forgives our sin, there may still be painful consequences for us. David was forgiven. His relationship with God was fully restored, but through Nathan, God also pronounced consequences for David: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you’; ‘one who is close to you… will sleep with your wives’ (verse 11) and ‘The son born to you will die’ (verse 14).
All the consequences spoken by Nathan came to pass, but David was still able to enjoy a good relationship with God.
It is important to realise that painful consequences for our sin do not necessarily mean God is angry with us. When we confess our sins to God, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins too, even if we may have to bear some painful consequences.
How have you experienced the joy of God’s presence and help in the midst of painful situations that were of your own making?
Dear Heavenly Father, please make me a person after your own heart. Teach me your ways and give me joy and help during times of difficulty. Amen.
by Rebecca Cronau in ‘Time Out to Tune in’ (LCA, Australian Christian Resources, 2018)
Prayer Points
We pray that God give relief to those affected by the bushfires in NSW and QLD
We pray that God be with all the students as they perform ‘Daniel and the Lion’s Den’ on Thursday night
We give thanks for the many opportunities we get to give praise to God
We pray for the Vu, Vuong and Wibowo families
Micah Award
To Beny for showing compassion and justice to other students
In the last newsletter I wrote about courage. Today I will delve into another value closely related to courage: justice. Courage and justice often go hand in hand. We need to have courage to seek justice. However, justice goes slightly deeper. It is about developing a conscience for the rights and wellbeing of others. Justice is about doing what is right, being impartial and being consistent.
Jesus demonstrated his heart for justice in the way he stood up for the poor, widows and children. In Matthew 19:14, Jesus says:
‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’.
How can we follow the example shown to us by Jesus in demonstrating justice as educators? As school community members? As parents?
We can show justice through developing a genuine concern and conscience for the rights and wellbeing of others. This involves acting with fairness and consistency, and responding to injustice with courage and integrity. Therefore we are fair, consistent and just in our dealings with all members of the wider school community, no matter their race, gender or age. We must ensure that we actively fulfil the ethical, moral and legal responsibilities of our positions as educators and parents.
In the Prep/1 classroom we have been learning about how people around the world live, think and act differently. Ask your child about how people get their water.
Year 1/ 2
In the Year 1/2 classroom we are learning about division or sharing in Maths. Students divide a collection of objects into equal sets. Then they write a number sentence. Ask your child to show you how we do this in class.
Year 3 / 4
In the Year 3/4 classroom we have been creating our own ‘Edward the Emu’ verses using different adverbial phrases. Ask us about what adverbial phrases are used for.
Year 5/ 6
In the Year 5/6 classroom we have been learning about analogue and digital time. We have created a timetable that describes ‘a day in our life’. You can help by asking us to convert 12 hour to 24 hour time.
