29Nov/14Off
Tomorrow Sunday November 30th 2014 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “Hosanna!” (Mark 11:1-10) and Advent Devotion #1 for Sunday, November 30th
Divine Service: 9:30 am
Bible Study and Sunday School: 11:00 am
Location: Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine: 12500 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine, CA 92618
Directions: Exit Sand Canyon from the 405 or 5, head East towards the hills, cross Irvine Blvd., turn right on Saint’s Way (this will put you on the campus of Crean Lutheran High School…we worship in the event center/gym)
Dear Christians,
A brand new Church Year starts tomorrow. The season is called “Advent” that means “coming.” It refers to the coming of Christ the Lord. It is the first season of the church year that ushers in Christmas when God was born to save us from sin and death! It is a season of special reflection in preparation for our Coming King!
Tomorrow we will focus on this prayer cry: “Hosanna!” Why is this the perfect word to welcome God’s coming? The word itself helps us understand why we need the Lord to come and for what purpose He comes. The meaning strikes at the heart of what threatens our peace and joy; the meaning uncovers the mission of God in Christ that is about a victory; about a winning of war; about an advancement of a kingdom for your benefit…for your good. Come let us worship tomorrow in this theme of “Hosanna!”
ALSO:
This year I intend to send you a daily Advent devotion. The first installment is for tomorrow, November 30th the first day in the Advent season, and I am including it here one day early so that you have it going into day one. Tomorrow I intend to send you the devotion for day two, Monday, December 1st, etc. The devotions are from Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Here is #1 for the first Sunday in Advent, November 30th:
HOMEWARD BOUND
The First Sunday in Advent, November 30, 2014
Read Psalm 122.
I was glad when they said, “Let us go up to the house of the LORD.”
Psalm 122:1
“Come on up for Thanksgiving!” Did you receive a Thanksgiving invitation this year? I guess all of us who regularly have the chance to gather with family and friends for the holidays take it for granted. The wonderful smells of holiday meals, the laughter filling the house, and everybody catching up with events in each other’s lives are what make the day so special.
But today Thanksgiving weekend comes to an end and all those happy get-togethers must break up. Roads are packed with travelers scattering their separate ways. Of course in a few short weeks, we’ll hear a new invitation: “Come on up for Christmas!” Your church is sending out its own invitation this Advent. In the next few weeks many volunteers will be decorating the church, learning their parts for the Christmas program, and practicing their anthems for the choir. Your brothers and sisters in Christ are going to all this effort because they want to invite you to come on up for Christmas as together we go to worship and celebrate our Savior’s coming.
But there is another come-on-up-for-Christmas invitation unlike any other. When you reach this home you won’t find yourself sitting at the little kid’s table or crammed into a crowded pew. And the festival won’t end too soon like Thanksgiving and Christmas always do. The Lord Jesus Himself is inviting you to come up to His heavenly home and stay there with Him—forever.
That’s what Advent is all about, and that’s what these Advent devotions are all about. We will recall why the Lord Jesus came down from heaven so long ago. We will recall that the only way we can call heaven our home was because Jesus took our guilt and sin upon Himself and suffered and died in our place. Then, putting our faith in Christ, we will join our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ in joyful expectation as we journey on together.
So light the first Advent candle, and accept our thrilling invitation: “Let us go up the
house of the Lord!”
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for calling us home to share Your eternal celebration through Your Son Jesus Christ. Help us to truly value Your forgiveness in Jesus and our eternal future, which He won for us by His life, death, and resurrection.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
May the Lord bless us as we commence Advent and may we prepare ourselves to receive the Holy Sacrament tomorrow morning.
In Your Service and to Christ’s Glory,
Pastor Espinosa
