19Sep/15Off
Tomorrow Sunday September 20th, 2015 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “Servant of All” (Mark 9:30-37)
Divine Service: 9:30 am
Bible Study for adults, high school, and Sunday School for junior youth and little children starts at 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 South High School…we worship in the event center/gym)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are primed in our culture not to think about what others need, but to think about what we need (and want) first. We live in the “me, myself, and my” culture. The pursuit of immediate gratification is insatiable. At the end of the day, it seems like everyone is “in it” for themselves.
This makes the true Gospel all the more amazing. The One with all things, the richest, the greatest, the most inherently fulfilled and perfect, gave it all up to become a Servant of All. As a result, we are rescued from our mad pursuits to be the greatest, to be first.
But this salvation does more than forgive our sins (which is of course the greatest gift), but it also impacts the way we live. In Christ, we are put first — perfectly loved by God — and we receive all things. Jesus speaks to all of us not to fear, because He has given us the Kingdom. God is on our side. We who were bankrupt on account of sin, have been made rich in the love of God!
This does something to us…we become followers of the Servant of All by becoming servants ourselves. The servant of God is the servant of people.
This is where life gets interesting, because the moment we enter this new status, we want to revert to the old standards: “But does this person DESERVE my service?”
What does that have to do with anything?
Did we DESERVE Christ’s service?
Of course not.
Rather, the new standard is grace. And in this grace we are propelled to SERVE…serve who? Serve ALL. We become little Christs.
Come to God’s house tomorrow to be enriched in the Gospel (the sermon will also have some practical counsel for walking with the Lord), receive the saving body and blood of Jesus, and tomorrow — after a couple of Sundays off for confirmations and installations — we will have the Children’s Message back!
We will also continue our Bible Study on “Power for Daily Living”…it is very, very easy to underestimate the significance of our Holy Baptism. But to live in it is to live in God’s guarantee of His work in our lives, setting us free from sin and death. Please come.
REMINDER: tomorrow is the youth-sponsored breatkfast. Any donations go to the high school program.
In Jesus’ Love,
Pastor Espinosa