The Lord bless you on this evening of the 22nd day of Lententide!

Our Lord once said to the Pharisees: "If you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains." (v 41)

Every Christian should yearn on a daily basis to confess their blindness. We must, because we are sinners. This is how the Holy Spirit leads us, especially during this season of Lent. This is the confession forged by grace through faith in Jesus.

When it is made -- by the leading of the Spirit -- we are permitted by the Lord to see the only comfort that saves: that Christ came for sinners; He came for the blind; and He came for the lost.

It is easy for us to slip into treating this, however, as only applying to "once upon a time before my conversion," but that would be a mistake. As long as we have our sinful nature clinging to us, we must confess our blindness and we should yearn to see the Lord's grace as amazing each and every day as we continue to live in our baptismal grace.

May it ever be until we are in glory.

Invite a friend to tomorrow's divine service. Jesus is both host and guest and will be there to keep us in the forgiveness of sins.

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's proclamation:

“The Keen Sight of Blindness” (John 9:1-41)

Pastor Espinosa

 

Text: “³⁹Jesus said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.’ ⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, ‘Are we also blind?’ ⁴¹Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.”

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. John Newton (1725-1807) wrote the hymn Amazing Grace and was raised in the faith. As a young boy he had memorized the Westminster Catechism, all of its Scripture texts, and all of Isaac Watts’ hymns for children. But he fell away from the faith. As one historical summary puts it, “During his military service Newton tried several times to adhere to his mother’s religious principles, praying, reading Scripture, and even fasting, but some skeptical literature finally convinced him to discard them.” (Precht, Lutheran Worship Hymnal Companion, 714)

 

Hard experiences followed: he deserted the navy, was caught, whipped, and demoted; he was treated badly by the sailors who disliked him and his superior attitude as a midshipman. By his own account, it was only the memory of his girlfriend that kept him from suicide. He eventually transferred from the navy to work for a slaver off Sierra Leone, but nothing really improved; the ill treatment continued and he owned nothing but the clothes on his back and the food the slaves would share with him. He was miserable, and so like a prodigal son sought help from his father.

 

The help came and he found himself on a voyage back to England and during that voyage, “Newton read Thomas a Kempis’ Imitation of Christ and began to reflect on his forgotten religious training. The ship became waterlogged in a storm, and, manning the pumps for hours on end, Newton prayed ‘like the cry of the ravens, which yet the Lord does not disdain to hear.’ (Duffield, English Hymns) Newton dates his spiritual birth from that experience on March 10, 1748.” (ibid, 714) Years later in 1764 he was ordained deacon and priest the following year. He carried on a fantastic evangelical ministry and never retired. “In his old age, he would be accompanied at the pulpit by a servant who helped him read his texts. He died December 21, 1807…his tombstone was inscribed with his own words:”

 

“John Newton

Clerk

Once an Infidel and Libertine

A Servant of Slaves in Africa

was

by the Rich Mercy of our Lord and Saviour

Jesus Christ

Preserved, Restored, Pardoned,

and Appointed to Preach the Faith

he had long labored to destroy.” (ibid, 715)

          I am greatly impressed by his epitaph because immediately after his name and title, John Newton essentially confesses his sin (now there’s a legacy!) and then gives all glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ and then after briefly describing his life in the faith (namely “appointed to preach”), again confesses his sin in writing “[the Faith] he had long labored to destroy.” Ask yourself, what do you want to be remembered by? John Newton answered by saying, “that I was a sinner and that “by the Rich Mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ [was] Preserved, Restored, Pardoned.” Again, how’s that for a legacy!? It is easy to have a feverish need to do this, and to do that, to accomplish x, and to accomplish y, but is there a better thing you could possibly say about your life -- if it is lived well -- than what Newton wrote in the hymn that we just sang moments ago: “Was blind but now I see!”?

In Jesus' Love,

Pastor Espinosa

Blessings to you on this 19th day of Lententide. We are almost half-way through Lent. The 40 days are reminiscent of our Lord's 40 days in the wilderness to face temptation from the evil one FOR US which He overcame to save us. The 40 days are also reminiscent of the 40 years of the wilderness wanderings of God's people in the Old Testament. 40 is symbolic of our entire lives.

So how are you doing this Lententide? We already know the answer (at least to an extent). Like the rest of us, it is fluctuating: your new man striving to walk with God; and your old man getting in the way. The battle continues. But we cry out to the Lord and -- in Christ -- He hears us and He is merciful (through the vicarious satisfaction of Jesus...His blood shed for the sins of the world).

Come worship tonight! We gather at 7:00 pm on the campus of Concordia University.

You've all heard the saying about "the best kept secrets." It is as if the world, our flesh, and the evil one do not want you to have a clear and powerful understanding of one of the most important teachings in Holy Scripture called "justification."

It is this teaching, however, that is the source of our confidence as people of God. It is not something from within, but when you know the gift given to you in Christ called justification it impacts our confidence, our joy and our peace. It is the reason we may live through this Lenten season -- even while clearly seeing our sin -- seeing also God's answer to our shame and guilt: it is justification.

We will be blessed tomorrow and we will be given the opportunity to clearly grasp and clearly apply to ourselves (as the Lord will do exactly this through His Word) justification!

Invite a friend and come hungry and thirsty knowing the Word and the Sacrament of the Lord will strengthen your faith.

May the Lord bless you on this -- today, Saturday, March 22nd -- 16th day of Holy Lententide. May we walk faithfully knowing our adversary prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour (1st Peter 5:8), but resist him -- since you belong to Jesus and daily call on His name -- and the enemy will flee from you (1st Peter 5:9 and James 4:7).

In Jesus' Love,

Pastor Espinosa

How is your sacred season of Lententide going thus far? Today is the 10th day of the 40 days of Lent this 2014. It is a holy season of spiritual renewal. It is secret that we are free to employ that which our Savior teaches us about in Matthew 6 (His three examples of spiritual piety): 1) giving to the poor (serving anyone in need); 2) prayer; and 3) fasting. If any of these are done, they are done in Christian freedom to the glory of Christ and to the benefit of our neighbor. Or you focus may simply to be more watchful, to be constantly in the Word of God...to be faithful, to live in the constant heartbeat of prayer. But regardless of how you walk during Lent, gathering to RECEIVE the Word and Sacrament is always a priority for God's people. What compares to the forgiveness of sins and union with Jesus? Nothing does!

Tomorrow we expound on one of the most famous Scriptures of all: John 3...but what is this "born again" language about? What does it mean? How do we live it out? These immensely practical and vital questions will be answered.

ALSO: tomorrow is a great day of celebration: the Lord is leading us to receive 13 new adult members to our congregation, 7 of whom are being confirmed.

Pastor Mueller and I rejoice to serve you! We hope to enter into this holy day WITH YOU in worship to the Lord in Spirit and truth!

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's sermon:

“You Must Be Born Again”

John 3:1-17

Pastor Espinosa

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. During the 1976 presidential election, Jimmy Carter mentioned in a very interesting interview -- which included his admitting that he had lusted in his heart -- that he was “born again.” When that particular magazine hit the newsstands, it seemed as though every other person in America wanted to know what in the world this Christian descriptor “born again” meant. Needless to say, people – even the most well-meaning Christians – get pretty creative with their definitions.

 

Frederick Dale Bruner in his outstanding contribution to the field of the study of the Holy Spirit  warned that the historical tendencies about “born again” have included…putting too much on individual remarkable experiences and subjectivism, and creating rigorous evidences that one has received such a status through strict spiritual obedience (Bruner, A Theology of the Holy Spirit, 258). So what does it mean to be “born again”?

If anything is clear in our Gospel text in John 3 it’s that the well-trained Pharisee, Nicodemus, was utterly clueless. Jesus said plainly at verse 3: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” To which (with his head spinning), Nicodemus complained in the form of a question, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (vs 4) Who could blame poor Nicodemus? Surely he was speaking for most people. Jesus seemed to be speaking in riddles.

 

It is, however, probably important to note under what circumstances Nicodemus had come to Jesus Christ. The text says at verse 2 that Nicodemus “came to Jesus by night”. By nature we are like Nicodemus. It isn’t cool to be too out in the open about our relationship with Jesus Christ. Furthermore – and let’s be honest – much of what He says as recorded in Scripture seems irrelevant, confusing, or at times just downright unreasonable or impossible! For example how can a person be “born again”?

 

Ok, so let’s take a closer look at what the Lord is saying here: The Greek word here at John 3:3 is anothen and can be legitimately translated as “from above”. Jesus’ message is quite simple. Just leave it to everyone else to make it overly-complicated:

1. “born again” means “born from above”…that is, we were all born in a physical sense, now we need to be born in a spiritual sense. Our earthly mother gave birth to us physically; God -- who is “from above” -- must give birth to us spiritually.

 

Jesus is saying that unless we are spiritually born by God, we “cannot see the kingdom of God.” (vs 3)

 2. The word “see” in this verse means “experience.” That is, we are not speaking of empirical observation, like you can “see” an altar in front of where you are sitting, but spiritual (or inward) experience. There is something indeed that we experience when the kingdom of God is our guide and it produces in us “another heart, mind, and natural desire.” (FC SD II 26)

a. God impacts our heart, that is, our choices about how to live.

b. God impacts our mind, that is, our thoughts that fill our mind.

c. God impacts our soul, that is, our desire and the things we strive for.

 

And thirdly,

3. What exactly do we mean by the “kingdom of God” itself? That means we experience the reign of God as our King and Leader

 

So here is the total translation (a theological one) of what Jesus said to Nicodemus who came in darkness according to the time of day, but who also came in spiritual darkness according to the condition of his soul (and Jesus spoke in all love and compassion): “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above/spiritually born from God, He cannot experience/truly know in his heart, mind and soul (impacting your choices, thoughts, and desires), the reign of God/the leading of God in their life.”

 

          That’s what Jesus said, but He didn’t leave us hanging there. He went on to explain “how” at verse 5: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” And in saying this, Jesus unlocked the door to heaven for every one of us! It is the door of the Lord’s Word and Sacraments (like Holy Baptism) which is how the Lord births, gives and sustains a new life in you!

In Jesus' Love,

Pastor

p.s. this morning I served two of our fellow Christians in the hospital with the body and blood of Christ...I was inspired to see their thirst for the great blessing received through the Sacrament...may we emulate this thirst!

It's Lent and we are to take seriously that which threatens our lives in Christ. Christian enemy #1 is the real, fallen angel named the devil, the tempter, and Satan.

The sermon this Sunday on Christ's temptation in the wilderness will teach about this reality and equip you on how the Lord Jesus protects you against the evil one. This is an incredibly important sermon.

Please also come ready to receive Christ's body and blood for forgiveness, life, and salvation!

ALSO: this morning (Saturday, March 8th) I was on "Concord Matters" KFUO 850 A.M. and KFUO.org. We discussed the 4th commandment. You can listen to this at KFUO.org

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's sermon:

“‘It is Written’ vs. ‘If’“

(Matthew 4:1-11)

The First Sunday in Lent: March 9^th, 2014

Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine

Pastor Espinosa

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Dear Christian friends, we are constantly encouraged to go along with the crowd and treat our advanced technological and entertainment-oriented cultural milieu as the most important reality and to treat what God teaches is especially real as myth, fable, or legend. The biblical teaching of the devil is one of the prime examples of what I’m speaking of. Even many so-called Christian teachers suggest that the idea of a personal and powerful fallen angel is archaic, out-dated, and blindly medieval. They would like us to think that the devil is merely a symbol of the evil things that men do and/or of the terrible tragedies that occur that cause us to suffer like the tsunamis and earthquakes that cause tangible devastation. Ironically to suggest that the devil is a figment of the imagination is the work of the devil. You might think that he derives much pleasure to be believed in, but in fact he is absolutely delighted when you don’t take him seriously, because it is then that he can wreak the most havoc in your life. Why would you ever defend yourself against an adversary that you are convinced is completely unreal? Indeed, you would never waste your time or energy and as a result, the adversary would know that you are for him a sitting duck.

 

Matthew 4:1-11 is on the devil attacking Christ through temptation. The scene reminds immediately of Genesis 3 when the devil tempted Eve and through her, caused Adam to fall. The devil had been successful in defeating the first Adam and as a result, all of us have fallen to sin (Romans 5); when Christ came, he was ready to attack the second Adam Christ. He was aware that the Heavenly Father had announced Christ at His baptism that He was the Son of God. Now, the devil was determined to defeat this Jesus in order to frustrate His mission to save us.

Which is to say, that if you and I do not believe that the devil is real, then we might just as well cut to the chase and admit what we are really saying: “since I reject the reality of Satan, I also reject the truth of God’s Word in general and as a result, I reject Christ. Then all of my religiousity and spirituality is about my feeling good through a self-generated mentality in order to cope with this thing called life.” In this regard, we verify Marx and join in the opiate of the masses. But as for this teaching on the devil, “come on, let’s get real and let’s live in the 21^st century.” And again whenever we do this, we pull the wool over our eyes and choose to ignore the fantastic warnings contained in the Bible against the adversary who is content to destroy your faith, your family, and every part of your true foundation that is in Christ.

 

In Matthew 4, we are taught that this evil one has three different names or titles:

 

From verse 1: He is called “the devil.” The word “devil” means “slanderer”.

 

From verse 2: He is called “the tempter.”

 

From verse 10: He is called “Satan.” The word “Satan” means “adversary”.

 

The Hebrew term “Satan”/adversary is understood in the sense of a courtroom accuser. Similarly, the Greek term “devil” comes from a verb meaning “bring charges with hostile intent.” (The Lutheran Study Bible, p. 2219). We get a feel for what He does in Revelation chapter 12, verses 10-12:

 

“¹⁰And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. ¹¹And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. ¹²Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

 

Treat him seriously dear Christians. The attacks against our bodies, our minds, our emotions, and especially our spirits come from the devil who employs many means. He uses illness, calamity, frustration, anger, distrust, earthquakes, threats to our business, threats to our marriages, nightmares, migraines, worry, fear, shame, lust, guilt, etc. etc. so that we would be accused just as he accused Christ. In essence, he was trying to get Jesus to contradict his true identity as the Son of God, and you can bet your bottom dollar that he is trying to get you to reject your true identity as one for whom Christ lived, and died, and rose, and calls to repentance and faith, and a holy life that serves the Living God. And this adversary will not rest from his accusations against you until the day you die. And his greatest hope is that you will die without faith in Jesus Christ as a result of his accusations that are designed to undermine faith.

But thanks be to God dear Christian, that this Gospel from Saint Matthew is about the reason for you to be 100% confident that Christ is for you and now chooses to dwell in you through Holy Baptism by His life, death, and resurrection, so that not even death can scathe you.

 

Jesus has come. Jesus was and is and will be your Champion. And it is not only through His death and resurrection, and His current intercession for you at the right of God that you are saved, but it was also through His faithful obedience to the Heavenly Father when He permitted Himself to go out into the wilderness where He was alone and without any supports of any kind to face the temptation of the devil -- not for Himself -- but for you, in your stead, in your place, as your substitute, as your representative. He faced the devil to defeat the power of his temptations against you and even in the wilderness Jesus was already fulfilling the first Gospel promise in Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” “The difference in the degree of injury inflicted [depends on]…the differing parts of the body being struck.” (TLSB, 20) Jesus struck the head of the devil and to strike the head is to bring defeat. That is, in the wilderness while resisting Satan’s temptation, Jesus was defeating this one who threatens you and divesting him of his power.

Blessings to you dear ones and Pastor Mueller and I hope to see you in church this Sunday!

In Jesus' Love,

Pastor

p.s. This Wednesday, March 12th, at 7 pm we welcome Rev. Sam Schuldheisz of Redeemer, Huntington Beach. Pastor Sam is personally one of my favorite pastors in the LCMS. He is a gifted man and I know you will be blessed to receive God's Word from him this Wednesday night at 7 pm at Concordia University at the CU Center. So this Wednesday will NOT be at the Good Shepherd Chapel, but will be in the CU Center...the main gathering place in the middle of the campus, with the bright blue roof and with a statue of Jesus the Good Shepherd in front of it. I will be serving at Pastor Sam's church this Wednesday.

Today -- Ash Wednesday March 5th, 2014 -- commences the 40 days of the holy Lenten season which provides the opportunity to properly prepare for the High Feast of the Resurrection. Those who will rise are those same ones who constantly receive Jesus...those who receive Jesus will rise. We dedicate ourselves during these 40 days to keep Jesus before us. In the Sermon on the Mount our Lord taught three examples of pure piety to be done in secret: 1) prayer; 2) fasting; 3) giving to the poor. You are free in the Gospel to employ any and all of these for the sake of keeping Christ before your eyes of faith.

Our Ash Wednesday Service is tonight at 7:00 pm at the Good Shepherd Chapel on the campus of Concordia University Irvine. The service will include the imposition of Ashes to remind you that you are but dust and to dust you will return. This helps us to remain the humility that only the Holy Spirit can create and in this, we shall be lifted up. Come to receive the Word powerfully proclaimed; come to sing; come to pray; come to worship in the Name of the Lord. Invite a friend to this very special service.

Once again 7:00 pm tonight at the Good Shepherd Chapel...it is the beautiful chapel on campus at Concordia University (1530 Concordia, Irvine). The chapel is along the main road and has a great view overlooking south county. There is a cross which extends above the chapel and a water fountain at the walkway that leads up to the chapel.

In Your Service and To Christ's Glory,

Pastor Espinosa

You're in for a great combination tomorrow (if you choose to connect to it).

I am preaching on our reasons for certainty in the faith. We don't have our foundation on fleeting emotions, but on rock-solid foundation. This should inspire you!

Professor Steve Parks begins a study on "Confronting Culture." I may be a little biased, but in my humble opinion Professor Parks is one of the best theologians on the planet and is an amazing teacher. You are in for a treat if you attend this study tomorrow.

Best of all, we are once again giving the Lord's Supper. In this Sacrament the darkness of your sin is forced to flee on account of the light of Christ which will be given to you through the Holy Supper.

It all begins at 9:30 am at Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine.

Invite a friend...invite a bunch of friends...let them receive the Gospel and be saved!

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's sermon:

“We Have Something More Sure” (2^nd Peter 1:19-21)

The Transfiguration of Our Lord

Sunday, March 2^nd, 2014

Pastor Espinosa

            Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus, as believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus we have no interest in myths as the foundation for our faith and as the foundation of truth. We do not base our faith on any fictitious products of the imagination. Sociological, anthropological, and historical reminders as to the value of myth are beside the point. Our children esp. must be guarded against the idea that the saving faith – the Christian faith – is just one more idea among many ideas. And while it was enjoyable taking in the movie “Son of God” (with many good things, and other things lacking -- what can one expect? It’s a movie! – but the risen Jesus did not walk through an open door to greet the disciples for example; John 20 teaches us that He appeared in their midst with the doors locked and -- as Dr. Dawn pointed out -- it was entirely inappropriate that Jesus seemed surprised when Lazarus awoke from death…these details are extremely important and we can’t be careless about them), we must be careful in respect to the subtle or not-so-subtle challenge with Jesus movies: they are put in the Hollywood spectrum of other movies many of which depict myth. For the uninformed person, it begins to feel like belief is entirely subjective and is not based on what is real, but based on whatever one feels. This subjectivism is the first step towards walking away from the Lord, because feelings come and go and cannot endure the rigors of real life.

 

No, we need something much more substantial and powerful to rely on and upon which to build our lives. So St. Peter in his second letter, chapter 1, verse 16 is clear about what his message did NOT rest on and about what his message DID rest on: his message by the Holy Spirit is not about “cleverly devised myths,” but rather based on eyewitness testimony. There is a gigantic difference. But before elaborating about the basis for our certainty, St. Peter states what he’s talking about: he’s talking about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ of which he saw an astounding prelude of with his own eyes when he saw the Lord transfigured on the holy mountain.

 

Peter by inspiration of the Holy Spirit is teaching us why Jesus should be predominantly before us in our hearts and minds; why our Lord should be predominantly before us in the way we live and why Jesus is the basis for our illumination and transformation as the people of God. Take away the Lord Jesus and there is no faith, there is no hope, and there is no eternal life. But why should you believe in Him?! Because He has all power and because He is coming again! Remember Peter is preparing us for what will happen: “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The word for “coming” is parousia…it is made up of para which means “alongside” and ousia which means “to be,” so parousia refers to when Jesus will be alongside you when He comes again in power and glory. The day is coming and you are being called to be ready for that glorious day when you will stand before the Lord of glory. That will be the single biggest day of your life. Again, we are to be ready!

 

But for the Lutheran Christian especially – and this was one of the most basic points of my doctoral dissertation in responding to the madness of contemporary second coming teaching – if one remains in the constant coming of the Lord Jesus through Word and Sacrament, then one is always ready for the great and glorious coming. Receive Jesus constantly through His Word and you will be ready. Then that day will not be a day you view in anxiety, but a day that you view with joy and faith-driven anticipation.

 

This whole dynamic reminds me of what comes up frequently in athletics: maybe you’ve heard the saying, “you perform or play like you practice.” If you practice half-heartedly, then when the day comes for the big game or competition, you will play or perform according to the way you rehearsed, but if you practice hard, then you will perform at your best. Now in removing the synergistic nuances from my analogy: if you are led to constantly receive Jesus who comes to you through Word and Sacrament for the forgiveness of sins, then guess what? Then He will make you ready for His powerful and glorious Second Coming! Or think of it this way: if you are constantly receiving the LIGHT of God through Christ’s Word and Sacrament, then the glorious LIGHT of Christ on the Last Day – though awesome and beyond description – will at the same time not be strange; at the same time you will have been trained by the lesser light (and yet still efficacious light) of the Word of Jesus before His coming…this is why we gather. We are not here to be a social club; we are not here to pat ourselves on the back because we’re being “good Christians” who go to church…yuck and no thank you. We are here to remain in the forgiveness of our sins received through the Gospel and received through the body and blood of Jesus; and to receive the light of Christ through His Word…and it is this that truly makes you ready to die and to live and to see Jesus when the parousia takes place!

In Jesus' Love,

Pastor Espinosa