Dear Friends,

Many of you have probably seen "the trinity diagram" before. It looks like this:

The diagram is profound and should never be reduced to stale theology and academic information. The diagram is essentially cyclical. There is no beginning or end. This simple fact demonstrates that God is eternal and as the eternal One, He IS existence and life, and therefore the extension of all existence and life.

Here, however, is the real marvel: He doesn't have to further extend existence and life to us, and yet He does. This leads us  to another crucial insight about the Holy Trinity: God desires to give, that is, God desires to love. He is love too.

So in the simple and yet magnificent doctrine of the Holy Trinity, we know the Lord who gives us life and who gives us love. And our reflections only grow more profound...

No matter what we've done, no matter how low we may get, and no matter what we think we have built up in the way of walls and resisting mental and soulish fortresses, God the Holy Trinity continues to extend Himself to you with the gifts of His life and love. These are not theories based on an interesting (and accurate) diagram, but through the proof that in Christ Who was and Who is and Who will be forever the ultimate expression of the gift of God's life and love that conquers our sin and death.

The Father has promised this life and love; the Son has proven it; and the Holy Spirit reveals it to us. The Holy Trinity is God and He is the answer to our despair, our doubts, and our sinful efforts to cut ourselves off from life and love, but He never tires and we find that He still extends Himself. The Word of Jesus once again proves it, even while we were yet sinners, He died for us (Romans 5:8).

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

Dear Friends in Christ,

I have the impression that the Evangelical Lutheran confession gets short-changed in how some folks view our position when it comes to the precious Comforter, Counselor, and Advocate, who is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity: God the Holy Spirit. Any criticism that our confession is lacking might very well betray a simple lack of awareness of the facts. Consider for example the explanation of the third article of the Creed from Luther's Small Catechism: 

"I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true."

Furthermore, our Gospel tomorrow from John chapter 15 records our Savior testifying to the fact that the Holy Spirit would (and does today) "testify about [Christ]" (John 15:26). There would be no proclamation of the saving Gospel that consists of the saving Christ without the saving ministry of the Holy Spirit. Without Him, our lips would never form to confess, pray, or proclaim any aspect of the saving faith. "No one can say, 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit.' (1st Cor. 12:3b)."

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is indeed connected to Pentecost. In the Old Testament this day was associated with the new harvest. So today when the Holy Spirit is given through the Word and Sacrament of Christ, the Holy Spirit produces a harvest of new life in the one who receives Him and "if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation! (2nd Cor. 5:17)". The Holy Spirit is absolutely indispensable to the Church of Christ; without Him there is no worship, no prayer, no love, no good works...there would be no faith and no salvation, but with Him we rejoice! With Him, Christ is kept before us; with Him we are united to the Lord; and with Him and His constant testimony of our Savior, we are kept overflowing with the new life that comes from Jesus.

Let us rejoice in the Holy Spirit. Let us walk with Him and pray in accordance with His guidance that all of our prayers and all of our lives remain in Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

The Holy Spirit is also responsible for causing our congregation to grow: tomorrow we celebrate the Holy Baptisms of Jason Brashears and his daughter Grace and their son Judah ("Jude"); then Jason and Tracy will be confirmed into the Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod. We will also receive via transfer Bill and Ali Frank, Dr. Scott and Ann Ashmon with their children Gunnar and Elsa, and also Andrew and Elizabeth Snyder.

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Gospel or the Good News that we are saved and rescued from sin, death, and the power of the devil consists specifically of the saving work that Jesus Christ conducted -- which could be performed only in His person as the God-man -- and these works include His taking on our flesh (the incarnation), His living to fulfill all righteousness/keeping God's law in our stead (His active obedience), His dying in our stead and shedding His blood to cover our sins (His holy atonement on the cross), and His conquering death and grave for us (His resurrection).

But don't look now, I left something out, which -- unfortunately -- is something that Christians do all of the time. I left out His being lifted up into heaven after his 40-day/Easter-season appearances (His ascension).

The holy ascension of Christ into heaven does not mean that Jesus is confined to a heavenly location. Rather, it was -- like many of Christ's miracles -- something which for the sake of the disciples could be empirically observed. They could in this way make the connection between the person and ministry of Jesus Christ, and the power of God made manifest through these.

But again, this was not for Jesus to say, "I am going to be confined now and far away," rather it was a physical manifestation that the Son of God was rising to heavenly glory. Such a state of affairs does not in any way imply limitation, but precisely the opposite. The One who was ascended is the Lord of all power. He ascends to punctuate the power of His saving ministry: to say that He is limitless and fills the universe with His glory! Christ who has ascended is the One who rules His Church and guides His people. As this One, He is also able to be -- even bodily -- present with His people on earth. His ascension says: "I have all power to be with you wherever you go my dear child!"

This is a supreme comfort for us dear Christians. Our Savior is not weak in any way, but mighty and powerful to save and to help us in every way. Afterall, He is ascended and as the ascended One, nothing can withstand His will to bless you dear Christian. We pray His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...He exerts that will in the form of His grace to shower you with God's love and mercy, to keep you in the forgiveness of sins, to guarantee that in Him you have life eternal. You are blessed because your eternal Savior reigns; His ascension testifies to this truth!

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I was given the honor and privilege of proclaiming the Word of Christ in a series of four chapel sermons on the book of Revelation at Crean Lutheran High School, Irvine, CA where Saint Paul's is currently worshipping on Sunday mornings. The four presentations include these dates: May 15th, 16th, 17th and next week on the 21st. We thank the Lord for our local LC-MS high school. It is exciting to watch her grow as she now has over 500 students! This past week, I presented parts 1-3 and this coming Monday, I wrap it up with part 4. In the meantime, we are making these powerpoint sermons available to you on our website! Just go to "Sermons" and look underneath at "Other Sermons".

The series is on the following:

1. What kind of book Revelation is, how to approach it, and the opening three chapters to the 7 churches in Asia Minor.

2. The heavenly presentation of Jesus Christ on the throne in glory in chapters 4 and 5 and what this means for us.

3. The cyclical nature of the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments presented in much of the middle section of Revelation, and what these mean for us.

4. The concluding presentation in Revelation of the New Heaven and New Earth.

Enjoy!

In Your Service and To Christ's Glory,

Dr. Espinosa

Dear Christians,

Don't be bashful about the ramifications of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ in the life of His people! Sometimes we are self-conscious about speaking of the new life for fear that we will slip into legalism or somehow contradict that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, but the Scriptures are clear about the new life. For example 2nd Corinthians 5:17 proclaims that you are a "new creation."

That new creation is described in terms of a real, spiritual and mystical union between the Christian and the Lord Jesus Christ in John 15! John 15:5 states, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." 

In Holy Scripture, the children of God saved by Christ are described as being both in Christ and Christ in them. Such a life must yield something; it will most definitely produce something! It does! The fruit that is produced is real indeed. Tomorrow our 1st reading is from Acts 8. There the fruit in Deacon Philip's life was more than evident. He witnessed to the Ethiopian eunuch. Because of that fruit that God produced, the eunuch came to saving faith! Our second reading is 1st John 4. There we hear about the fruit of the Christian who confesses the incarnate Lord Jesus Christ and furthermore, loves their fellow believers! Let's track the progression here: Christ is the Vine...His people are the branches...Christ produces such fruit -- as true confession and true love for one another -- in and through His people!

A Christian without bearing fruit is like a sun that doesn't bear light; or a glass of water without the water...yeah, that's right, it's like a contradiction in terms right? It doesn't make sense. St. James taught that faith with works (another reference to the fruit of the Spirit) is dead (James 2:17 & 2:26). A Christian without fruit "doesn't make sense." This would be a contradiction in terms!

But here's the thing: you can't get all self-conscious or feel guilty and say to yourself, "Wow, I had better start producing fruit!" And then make yourself fruitful! Doesn't work that way! We can't self-generate. God takes care of that too! He keeps us producing fruit through repentance which in John 15 is described as "pruning." At verse 2, the Lord says, "...and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes...".

Through His word in you -- Jesus speak of His words abiding in us at verse 7 -- the Holy Spirit leads us to experience the pruning that God conducts upon those He loves. Pruning is not exactly a pleasant process. In fact, at times it can be down right painful. It involves a "tearing away" that is exactly what occurs in repentance (Matthew 5:29-30 is vivid in describing the tearing away of repentance). Repentance is the constant confession of sin that includes the tearing away from the sin that would otherwise dominate you. But we daily return to our baptismal grace -- through the Word of Christ abiding in us through which the Holy Spirit works -- and return to the Lord who heaped our sins upon Himself and tore our sins from us and placed them squarely upon Himself.

In that same verse mentioned above -- that is John 15:2 -- Jesus also invites us to "ask whatever you wish...". I don't imagine Jesus had in mind that we ask Him for sports cars and entertainment systems, but as the Lord works in us, we are filled with what He desires for us. So ask away! Ask Him to keep you in His pruning work, ask Him to keep you steadfast in His Word, and ask Him to keep you as His living branch through whom He produces fruit!

Come and worship tomorrow! Experience His work in you through Word and Sacrament, giving you the fruit of His saving body and blood especially in Holy Communion, and then experience His ongoing work in you as His branch filled with His fruit pruned and pruned constantly, because you are in Him and He is in you!

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

Dear Friends,

The word "good" is sorely overused. We see "good" movies (and even apply the term to movies that really aren't that good!), we eat "good" food, we have "good" days as opposed to bad days, we walk into stores looking for "good" deals, we want to do "good" for ourselves and others, and hope to live "good" lives. But what is this word on the level of Jesus and His salvation for us really about? How is Jesus our "good" Shepherd? John 10:14-15 states, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep." Two verbs stand out here: 1) ginosko ("to know"); and 2) tithemi ("to lay down"). We learn something about why Jesus is our Good Shepherd through these words.

First off Jesus chooses to know us -- and know us intimately -- even though we are incredible sinners. It is fascinating that we are compared to sheep. Picture a shepherd working in the middle of the day finding a sheep that has wandered off -- and gotten itself stuck in a thicket -- so that the shepherd has to go to a lot of trouble to save the animal, and then pick it up putting its dirty, stinky wool coat up against his face along the way. The animal is obnoxious: always wandering off while proving its stupidity and demonstrating that it really is a lot stinkier than it is cute!

Jesus knows us. He knows about all of our sins. He knows how messed up we are. And yet, while knowing us so well, He chooses to be there for us as our Good Shepherd.

This is the amazing part of our Lord's love for us. In many human relationships, it is easy to have great first impressions, but then we get to the point of really knowing someone, and then...the honeymoon is OVER! Not so with our Lord. In a sense, the honeymoon between you and He was over a long time ago, since He has known about your sin for a long, long time; and yet in another sense the honeymoon is NEVER over. He loves you as much today as ever before!

Secondly, our Lord says, "and I lay down my life for the sheep."  So knowing you as He does, what about it? Since He knows you were overwhelmed by your sin, He didn't leave you to yourself, but did what was necessary to save you: He laid down His life for you, shedding His blood to cover your sins, and forgiving you all your sin! He did all of that and then when He rose victorious from the grave, He extended His victory over death to you, His sheep!

This is good...knowing you, loving you, forgiving you, dying for you, rising for you, and saving you...God's goodness is drenched with mercy and salvation!

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

It is humbling to consider just how quickly and how easily we poor fragile human beings can become frightened, terrified, and completely out of sorts before one can say, "boo!" Not too long ago I developed a slight medical issue and I was afraid. As the pain and discomfort increased, I was a great wimp and started to imagine the possibility of my demise! But there are actually many reasons for us to become frightened as we consider the day and age in which we live. There is an ever-flowing stream of media reports on the most violent and sickening crimes constantly taking place in our country. Our moral compass as a nation seems to be pointing directly towards hell. And in many cases, it is a terrifying state of affairs. My family lived in The Woodlands, TX from 2002 through 2010. Recently, someone approached a women holding her infant baby right outside The Woodlands. The criminal grabbed the baby away from its mother, shot the mother (who eventually died trying to save her baby), and drove off with the baby. This is sickening...this is terrifying.

When the first disciples first saw Jesus risen from the dead, the word says that they were terrified (Luke 24:37), or "startled and frightened" because they thought they were seeing a ghost! This same reaction is used to describe their reaction when they saw Christ walking on water (Mt 14:26 & Mk 6:49), and Jesus warned them not to panic this way when they would hear about signs and warnings of the end (Lk 21:9). That is to say, there are many things in this world that may cause us to be terrified and upset. Ever since sin and death came into the world -- and again -- it doesn't take much to rattle us!

However, Christ came "among them" (v 36) -- those first terrified disciples -- not to terrify, but to help them! Jesus was quite specific in what He did to eliminate their fear; quite exacting when it came to instilling comfort. In fact, what He gave was believing joy (v 41)! He showed His disciples His hands and His feet (vss 39-40), because it was through these that Christ testified to that which flowed from those holy wounds to save them! But to be alive while doing it, meant that He was truly the Lord of Life and in fact, the Great I AM!

As you know "I AM" is the Name of God as revealed in Exodus 3 and Exodus 6. When Christ appeared here in Luke 24, He actually said, "I AM myself" or "I AM He"...the Great "I AM" was in their midst. Not to overwhelm, not to terrify, but to bless. God had come to bless His people; to comfort His people; and to teach them that His victory was now being shared with His disciples.

Sometimes we are tempted to envy these first-century apostles: "Oh, they received such glorious signs!" But dear Christian, you continue to receive the God-appointed, Word-confirmed signs for your faith as well. You have offered to you the blood of Christ which flowed from those holy hands and feet when you gather for the Holy Supper! You continue to receive The Lord's Supper which is the fruit of those Holy Wounds of Jesus poured out for the forgiveness of sins; and you get the fruit of Christ's victory: the creation of His HOLY CHURCH in which the members of Christ love each other and comfort one another. "I AM" continues to show Himself to comfort you!

Of these 21st century signs we have great witnesses who have spoken about their great value:

Ignatius wrote in his epistle to the Ephesians (ANF, volume 1, 57): in reference to Holy Communion: "the medicine of immortality, and the antidote which prevents us from dying, but a cleansing remedy driving away evil, [which causes] that we should live in God through Jesus Christ."

C.S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory: "Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ...the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden (19)."

The signs appointed are still for His people to assure us that "I AM" is in our midst...perfect love has driven away fear. We too may live in believing joy!

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

The first disciples were overcome with fear after their Master and Teacher, Jesus, had been crucified. Their fear was evident by virtue of their hiding out. The text in John 20 uses "doors" (plural). They were hiding out and were locked away deep within a building with a bolted door, and with an inner room that was also secure. This was high security in play. They knew the routine. While Christ had suffered a miscarriage of justice and had been falsely accused and unjustly murdered, they were now known as enemies of the state; the disciples of the leader of sedition (again, so went the false accusation). As His disciples they could very well suffer the same fate. The Jewish leaders had gone to Pilate right after Christ had been buried: "Sir, we remember how that imposter said, while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last fraud will be worse than the first (Matthew 27:63-64)." The disciples were held suspect. In other words they were in trouble and the One who could have protected them was now dead...at least that is what they believed.

And that belief is what still plagues us. We Christians of course have a great advantage compared to the first disciples as they were in the scene described above. We have their later witness. Christ was seen, and heard, and touched. Christ is risen! And yet...we behave as if He were still dead. That is what our sin does to us, and it is of course pathetic.

The proof of our unbelief that still confronts us is our living in fear like the first disciples. We hide behind locked doors. Oh, perhaps our doors are different, but they are there. One way that they are there is in our confrontation with sin. We all struggle with sin, because we all have the sinful nature which remains even after conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ; even after becoming a new creation. But there is a vast difference between experiencing the battle between the two natures (our sinful nature and born-again nature), and just plain giving in to the sinful nature without repentance and without faith in the Risen Lord Jesus. We "hide behind our locked doors" living in fear whenever we act as if Christ is not alive to help us in our confrontation with sin. When we say, "Oh what's the point?! I must live as if my Savior is dead and just give into the temptation!" I am not saying that Christians do not sin...we do...I am not saying that our battle against the flesh isn't constant...it is...but what I am saying is that to live in fear as if to release our faith in the Living Savior, treating Him as if He were still dead is to be the perfect position to give up the battle, give up the fight, give up repentance, and give in to sin as master. This is not living in faith in the Risen Christ!

We live in fear also when it comes to prayer, worship, service, and witness. If we live in fear, then why pray? The Lord is not really there. Why worship? The Lord is not really there. Why serve others? We may very well run out of resources...after-all the Lord will not be there to replenish them! Why witness? The Lord is not really there. When we give in to fear, we act and live as if Christ was not risen!

What will save us from this sad state? The answer is in our Gospel in John 20. Jesus did not wait for those first disciples, nor does He wait for us, to pull themselves up by their own boot straps! He took and takes the initiative, He enacts grace, and He comes to us in our helpless state. And when He comes He speaks peace, but when He speaks peace He does not do it as if to wish for or hope for the best for us, but He speaks peace in such a fashion as to GIVE peace or IMPART peace -- God's peace -- to you and to me! And that peace is directly connected to the showing of His wounds. The wounds that said two things to those original disciples shaking in fear:

1. I WAS dead, but look it really is ME and I am alive! I AM RISEN! I conquered death! And dear Christian, if Jesus conquered DEATH, then what problem confronting you -- causing you to fear -- is worse than what Jesus has already defeated?!

2. Those wounds are the basis for our peace. Those wounds mean that it is true: YOU ARE FORGIVEN; the blood of Jesus really was shed to FORGIVE you ALL your sins and now as the RISEN LORD, He speaks authoritatively to this truth: You are forgiven your sins...you are right with God. God's peace really IS yours!

It is time for us in this Easter season especially to cast off fear. The Living Lord is with us. Let us break out of our closed, locked spaces and know that the Risen Christ is leading us to turn from sin, to pray, to worship, to serve, and to witness empowered through His unending and death-defeating LIFE. You may live this way because Christ is Risen and His peace is yours!

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

Dear Christians,