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,
Tonight Wednesday, November 26th, 2014: Thanksgiving Eve at 7:00 pm “Christ Brings Hope” (Deuteronomy 8:1-10)
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 Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“Christ Brings Hope”
(Deuteronomy 8:1-10)
Pastor Espinosa
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. For the national day of thanksgiving our assigned Old Testament reading is from Deuteronomy. This is a reading that requires some explanation as we try to relate to it. It isn’t easy, but it is most definitely worth the effort. Moses is speaking to God’s people as they have completed their 40 year wilderness wanderings and they are about to enter the Promised Land. It’s true that they have much to be thankful for having finally come to the fruition of God’s great promise to them leading them into a land in which they will “lack nothing (Dt 8:9).” Talk about a blessing: being led to a place where your every need is met! Perhaps such a conviction about a blessed place is not far removed from what the first colonists thought about America as they realized the abundance of this land. In a short time, it wasn’t difficult for many of the Christians who came here to describe America as the new Jerusalem. We aren’t quite so idealistic, but even in the face of so many cultural maladies, it is still easy to count the many blessings the Lord has permitted us in our land. Indeed we have much to be thankful for!
But in order to engage in proper thanksgiving, not only did the Lord point His people in Deuteronomy to look forward, but just as importantly – if not more so – the Lord led them to look back. And this is where the word of explanation becomes necessary in trying to relate to the words of Moses from this last book in the Pentateuch: the proper comparison is not at all in treating our new Jerusalem as the United States of America, but the proper comparison is to treat our Promised Land, our new Jerusalem as our promise of heavenly glory. To begin to relate to these words therefore we need to ask ourselves about where our wilderness wanderings come in. Answer: we’re in them right now. And this is where Deuteronomy, especially becomes helpful to us today. The Lord is recounting reasons to be thankful in Deuteronomy. We are called to be thankful not only for the glory that is to come when we shall lack nothing, but we are called to “look back” but for us the “looking back” is to look at our lives now.
From the perspective of the Israelites their “now” (at the time) included the following:
- They were humbled as they were tested (verse 2).
- They were permitted to hunger as they were taught that they did not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (verse 3).
- They were provided for and in an amazing way their provision did not wear out (verse 4).
- They were disciplined (verse 5).
Now I don’t know about you, but if I took the time this Thanksgiving to actually count my blessings, I’m not exactly naturally inclined to list those things in my life which have caused humiliation, painful testing, times of hunger (in its various forms), including times of apprehension about things running out or wearing out, and of course, times of being disciplined. These aren’t the things that I consider – at least at first glance – of those things worthy of thanks. Discipline for example can come upon us in the most unpleasant ways. What some have called “the dark night of the soul” or what Scripture calls “the day of evil,” times when we are tested in ways that we suspect we’re about to die, when we wonder if this is what a nervous break-down feels like, when we believe that we’re experiencing the actual definition of despair and/or depression; when life tastes bitter and when the soul becomes familiar with fear. When these times come, we are tested. In some of these moments, Moses himself was willing for the Lord to take his life.
C.F.W. Walther, the first president of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, an amazing theologian, an astounding pastor once wrote these words about his time of discipline: “I may and must now reveal to you that the last half of the previous year has been one of the most difficult times of my life. I was physically incapable of attending to even half the office that I am dignified to carry out among you in unworthy fashion. Even more, the prospect that I would again be capable of the same became gloomier and darker month by month. I owe it to you to be transparent. I was tormented night and day by the thought that through my fault in many different ways, our congregation would withdraw with quick strides from the path of the first love and simplicity. And more than that, my own relationship with my God and Lord filled me with deep aversion and vexation. God placed before me, as never before, my entire past. He let me see my misery as I had never seen it before. I was filled with misery and distress. It appeared to me as though God had cast me away from His countenance. It seemed as though He regarded me as a rejected instrument, as if I were not a worker but a stumbling stone in His vineyard, which He must finally cast aside. It appeared to me as though God desired to take away all the blessings that He had thus far brought about through my witness to His truth, and this through a horrid end of my effectiveness. My only hope was a blessed death.” (Matthew C. Harrison, At Home in the House of My Fathers, Lutheran Legacy: 2009. 143)
But Walther went on: “But what happened? When the distress had reached its greatest intensity, help came.” (Ibid, 143) It’s sometimes hard for us to admit, but we can’t really be thankful nor can we properly handle the blessings we’re permitted to enjoy without having been properly forged through testing. This was why the Lord reviewed the hard times with His people, because they were about to receive rich blessings (because without humility all is lost). Luther taught: “the occasion which prosperity and abundance provide for transgressing the First Commandment. They turn the heart away much more strongly than adversity and want do, as he says in his song (Deut. 32:15): ‘Having become swollen, fat, and thick, he rebelled’; and (Prov. 1:32): ‘The prosperity of the foolish destroys them’; as is said also in the German proverb: ‘You need strong legs to hold up under good days.’ For man endures evil more easily than good, as the poet says, ‘Luxury has invaded as a deadlier foe.’” (Luther’s Works, American Edition Volume 9: 92)
Please come to service tonight for the rest!
Sunday, November 23rd, 2014 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: Last Sunday of the Church Year: Matthew 25:31-46
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 Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are very blessed to welcome a special guest tomorrow at Saint Paul's: Rev. George Mather who is an expert in the field of cults and the occult. He will proclaim God's Word in worship and then after worship, he will present a special presentation-study on the Kingdom of the Cults and how to remain faithful to our confession of the Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of so much confusion in the world about the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow in Divine Service we will also hear the heralding of God's saving Gospel based on the assigned Gospel for the last Sunday of the Church Year: Matthew 25:31-46 on the sheep and the goats.
This Scripture can be very challenging! Isn't it true that we are saved by God's grace through the gift of faith in Jesus Christ apart from the works of the Law? Yes of course! So how come our judgment is described in terms of whether we fed the hungry or gave drink to the thirsty or welcomed the stranger or clothed the naked or visited the sick and those in prison? These are works are they not? Yes of course they are! But this seems contradictory! Tomorrow's proclamation will also teach the crucial distinction -- as well as the inter-relationship -- between who and what you ARE and what people DO. Those on the right of Christ at the last judgment are called "sheep," and this is not a minor detail. WHO you are is the crucial point...once one is in Christ, the rest of living is also in Him!
Most importantly, you will receive the precious body and blood of the Lord Jesus. This is the medicine of grace and the Kingdom of God that keeps you alive and strong in the One whose life fulfilled the Law for you; whose death paid for all of your sin; and whose resurrection gives you life eternal. Come and receive God's gifts; come and be fed; come and be strengthened in the saving faith.
Here is a some information about our special guest, Rev. Mather:
- George Mather has become a Nationally recognized authority on cults, World Religions and the occult. Lectured throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean. Interviewed (i.e. 60 Minutes, 20/20, CNN, NBC Nightly News, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Voice Of America, UPI Radio Network, Time, Newsweek, and People Magazines, The Boston Globe, L. A. Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Sun, The Boston Herald and numerous others. Invited to appear on The Donahue Show, and The Shirley Show of Canada). Has personally counseled hundred’s of cult members and their families over the years. Some of these cult members and family members were high profile cases like David Karesh and the Branch Davidians, Jeffrey Dahmer, (the cannibal) Son of Sam (David Berkovitz) and Jim Jones’s of People’s Temple.
- It has been said of him, "George brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience that can make him particularly useful.... He also has the advantage of training in careful research and the maturity to exercise sound judgment." (Rev. Philip Lochhaas, Executive Secretary, The Commission on Organizations, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod). And "I have known Pastor Mather for many years, both as a Theological student and as a researcher at Dr. Walter Martin's Christian Research Institute. He is a man of vision and integrity and can be trusted in his endeavors for the Lord. (Dr. John Warwick Montgomery, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Law and Humanities, University of Bedfordshire, England).
In Jesus' Love,
Pastor Espinosa
Tomorrow Sunday November 16th, 2014 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “The End is Coming — Don’t be Afraid” (1st Thessalonians 5:1-11)
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 Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Tomorrow November 2nd, 2014 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: All Saints and Commemoration of the Faithful Departed Observed + FALL BACK for Daylight Savings Time! + Continuing Collection for Mary’s Shelter
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 Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The Church is more than just those who confess the saving Name of Jesus Christ on earth; it includes the Church triumphant in heaven and in glory! These we especially remember tomorrow in a very special Divine Service.
This world is full of sorrow and tribulation, but the Lord Jesus speaks to all of you saints, "take heart for I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
We take heart even in the face of much trouble and rejoice that once again we will be fed through the Word and Sacrament of Jesus Christ.
The Lord bless us as we gather!
In Jesus' Love,
Pastor
p.s. please remember to continue to bring items for Mary's Shelter
Donations needed for Mary’s Shelter
We need donations for diapers, liquid laundry detergent, Dreft liquid detergent, plastic dishes (bowls, cups & plates), towels (face, hand and body), personal hygiene (shampoo, conditioner, razors, face wash, deodorant, lotion), place mats (8 to 10 for each house), baby wipes, non-perishable food for our emergency supply, Children’s Tylenol, plastic Tupperware with lids, oven mittens, diaper rash cream and cleaning sponges. Robby Flores has a box here this morning in which we are collecting your donations! If you have any questions, please email Robby @floresrobby@gmail.com.
p.s.s.
Gladys Geisler Memorial
A memorial has been established for the future purchase of handbells for the congregation. If you would like to give to this special fund we would ask you to do so by Sunday, November 16th. We have a special opportunity to purchase some previously owned bells that are in excellent condition! Please contribute!