‘A wonderful confession of the truth’

On Sunday 15 March 2026, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Hamilton, Victoria celebrated its first service as a Lutheran Mission - Australia congregation.

The service was a joyous occasion, as the congregation marked the culmination of their long journey to LM-A membership.

Following the rousing processional hymn ‘The Church's One Foundation’, LM-A President, Pastor Matt Anker called the Good Shepherd Chairman, Beth Tonissen, and Elders Andrew Tonissen, Trevor Schultz, Allen Schultz, Barry Schurmann & Richard Fry forward for the Rite of Reception into LM-A. As part of the rite, the Chairman and Elders signed a copy of the LM-A Confessional Statement.

President Matt preached on Ephesians 5:8–14, exhorting the congregation to

Remember who you are and walk as children of light, seeking to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. This is not firstly about obedience – it’s about faith. Because the thing that pleases the Lord above all others, is to forgive you. Jesus didn’t die on the cross to inspire you to behave better. He died on the cross to take away your sins. If you try to follow God’s commands, but don’t see that you need His forgiveness, you’re lost. You’re not pleasing to God. God is pleased with repentance, with broken and contrite hearts. God delights to forgive you.

Therefore, to walk as a child of light means most of all to live as a repentant Christian. It means to confess your sins, receive Christ’s forgiveness. It means that you remain the humble blind man of the Gospel lesson, always rejoicing that it is Jesus who has given you sight. That is what it means to walk in the light.

Satan will try to turn this good news into temptation for you. He will twist God’s free gift of forgiveness and say, “Well, if walking as a child of light means being forgiven, then you can just go ahead and sin any way you want as long as you keep on getting that grace.”

I pray you know better than that. Jesus set you free FROM sin, not TO sin. As one forgiven, you’re set free to live as God would have you live. Christ is the Vine and you are the branch: because He has joined you to Him, you can now bear good fruit. By His grace, you can resist temptation and do what is good and right and true.

But our old sinful nature remains, and so Paul issues this warning which is more accurately translated: ‘Do not have communion with the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.’ For St Paul, fruitlessness is closely related to false teaching and worldliness. So here he is warning that you are not to ‘be in communion’ with false teaching and worldliness, but rather to expose it that others may heed the warning and come to repentance along with us.

President Matt noted that this verse reminded him of Hamilton’s decision to join LM-A, noting,

After several years of study and careful discernment of God’s Word, you have come to the decision that you cannot be in communion with the false teaching that has been embraced by our former synod. Your decision is not just about protecting yourselves from false teaching, but is also about bearing witness to the truth. You have made a faithful decision that I know comes at considerable personal cost … be assured that your decision is also a wonderful confession of the truth that has encouraged others to consider God’s Word more carefully and consider the implications of disobedience. It is an example of what it means to walk in the light of Christ and His Word.

Following the sermon, President Matt installed Pastor David Wear as the pastor of Good Shepherd, continuing his ministry to the people of Hamilton for the past 14 years. President Matt was assisted by Vice President, Pastor Mathew Ker, Lutheran Theological Seminary - Australia Principal, Pastor Michael Prenzler, and Pastor Wally Schiller, who formally greeted Pastor David.

Following his installation vows, Pastor David was joined by his wife Kate for a blessing and prayers for them and their family. They were warmly received by all present with loud applause.

Pastor David then presided over the Lord’s Supper, including communing his brother pastors.

At the close of the service, the members of Good Shepherd presented a gift to Pastor David. Josh Rentsch read out the greetings sent in by many congregations and pastors, and the chairmen of Barossa Lutheran Mission and St Paul’s Lutheran Church Pinnaroo delivered greetings in person. The Sunday School teachers and children were presented with a set of Sunday School library books donated by friends in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

After the service, the crowd enjoyed a delicious luncheon and a time of great fellowship.