Mar 25, 2016
Good Friday – A Rich Burial
Suffering savior (2)
The ancient Tenebrae Service dates back to the 8th century.  It commemorates the sufferings and death of Christ with the progressive extinguishing of all candles until only the Christ candle remains.  The fading lights symbolize the fading loyalty of the disciples in Jesus’ hour of greatest need.  The six extinguished candles remind us that over the course of six hours, our sins extinguished the life of Christ who was the Light of the world.  Solemn as tonight is, we do not end in despair; at the end of the service is a hint of the promised resurrection.
 
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  • Mar 25, 2016Good Friday – A Rich Burial
    Mar 25, 2016
    Good Friday – A Rich Burial
    Suffering savior (2)
    The ancient Tenebrae Service dates back to the 8th century.  It commemorates the sufferings and death of Christ with the progressive extinguishing of all candles until only the Christ candle remains.  The fading lights symbolize the fading loyalty of the disciples in Jesus’ hour of greatest need.  The six extinguished candles remind us that over the course of six hours, our sins extinguished the life of Christ who was the Light of the world.  Solemn as tonight is, we do not end in despair; at the end of the service is a hint of the promised resurrection.
     
  • Mar 24, 2016Maundy Thursday – Bloodbath
    Mar 24, 2016
    Maundy Thursday – Bloodbath
    Suffering savior (2)
    The name for this day comes from the Latin word "mandatum," meaning "commandment."  It refers to the two commandments our Lord gave to His disciples on this day.  The first is, "Love one another;” the second is, "Do this in remembrance of Me."  Our service today is part-one of what the early Church observed as "the triduum," a three-day remembrance of the events of our Lord's suffering, death, and resurrection.
     
  • Mar 20, 2016His Triumphal Entrance
    Mar 20, 2016
    His Triumphal Entrance
    Suffering savior (2)
    “Hosanna” means “save us now!”  Jesus received great praise as he entered into Jerusalem and the people shouted, "Hosanna. Save us, and do it now!" But that day was also the beginning of the end for our Lord, an end that will culminate in the most humiliating of deaths: by crucifixion. Yet we can rejoice, not for a palm parade, but for the truth that after his death, resurrection and ascension, God exalted his obedient and humble Son to the highest place where he receives all glory as King of kings and Lord of lords, having won for us the forgiveness of sins!
  • Mar 13, 2016Is There No Justice?
    Mar 13, 2016
    Is There No Justice?
    Suffering savior (2)
    Travesties and miscarriages of justice are all around us. Christ suffered the greatest injustice of all: stricken for our transgressions, He was cut off from the land of the living. Through Him, God has accomplished His own plan of justice: our justification by grace alone.
  • Mar 6, 2016Knowing When to Keep Quiet
    Mar 6, 2016
    Knowing When to Keep Quiet
    Suffering savior (2)
    Countless are our sins of speech, especially against the Second, Fourth, and Eighth Commandments. A silent lamb led to the slaughter, Jesus kept quiet when He could have spoken out. By suffering and dying in silence, He atoned for all our talk.
  • Feb 28, 2016Stray Sheep
    Feb 28, 2016
    Stray Sheep
    Suffering savior (2)
    We all like sheep have gone astray. We were lost and vulnerable to the wolf. (Some still are.) The Good Shepherd became a sheep and laid down His life to bring us back into the fold of salvation.
  • Feb 21, 2016By His Wounds We Are Healed
    Feb 21, 2016
    By His Wounds We Are Healed
    Suffering savior (2)
    Have you ever heard of anyone who has never been sick for even one day throughout their life?  That would be nearly impossible.  Regardless of how good or bad, poor or rich we may be, our lot in this broken world is to experience sickness, pain and ultimately death.  We all need a physician when we are sick!  Jesus agrees when He says, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.…….for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:12,13    WE HAVE THE GREAT PHYSICIAN OF BODY AND SOUL, JESUS CHRIST, “ON CALL” 24/7 IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH.   He will never leave us till He takes us from this “vail of tears” to perfectly heals our resurrected bodies in the likeness of His glorious Body!
     
  • Feb 14, 2016Appearances Can Be Deceiving
    Feb 14, 2016
    Appearances Can Be Deceiving
    Suffering savior (2)Judged by outward appearances, the crucified Christ held no attraction. But He took upon Himself the ugliness of our sin, that we might be gloriously clothed in His righteousness before God. (Our Suffering Savior
    , p. 145)
  • Feb 10, 2016Who Has Believed?
    Feb 10, 2016
    Who Has Believed?
    Suffering savior (2)We ponder how Christ overcame unbelief and skepticism and powerfully rescued all humanity. He is the arm of the Lord, strong to save! (Our Suffering Savior, 145). A Christian custom on Ash Wednesday is to receive a mark of the cross made with ashes upon the forehead. Ashes are a symbol of repentance and of our mortality, especially as we hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
  • Feb 7, 2016Sola: Faith Alone
    Feb 7, 2016
    Sola: Faith Alone
    Series: Sola
    sola_3_300x155
    By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. We cannot do anything to add to or complete this gift of forgiveness – we only receive it by faith.
     
  • Jan 31, 2016Sola: Christ Alone
    Jan 31, 2016
    Sola: Christ Alone
    Series: Sola
    sola_3_300x155Last week we saw how God's grace alone gives hope to sinful human beings.  Further, we believe that the basis for God's grace to us is the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ alone. The Apostles and Jesus have taught us that there is no other name under heaven, given to men, by which we must be saved.  According to our Small Catechism, and the explanation of the Apostles' Creed, we believe "that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.  He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature." In other words, we are saved because of God's grace to us in Jesus Christ alone
    ..
  • Jan 24, 2016Sola: Grace Alone
    Jan 24, 2016
    Sola: Grace Alone
    Series: Sola
    sola_3_300x155
    At the heart of what Lutherans believe is the conviction that salvation is the free gift of God's grace (undeserved love and mercy) alone for the sake of Christ alone.  "Since the fall of Adam, all who are naturally born are born with sin" (Augsburg Confession, per Romans 5, Psalm 51). This ... makes it completely impossible for anyone to
    earn God's love and forgiveness.  If salvation were dependent on human initiative and effort, there would be no hope for anyone. But God forgives our sins, says Luther, "freely and without condition, out of pure grace" (Large Catechism).  God's grace alone gives hope to sinful human beings.  And the sole basis for God's grace is the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. - An Introduction to the LC-MS,
     CPH 2009.
  • Jan 17, 2016Sola: Scripture Alone
    Jan 17, 2016
    Sola: Scripture Alone
    Series: Sola
    sola_3 (1)
    Today we begin a message series that will look at four phrases known as the “Solas” of our faith.  They summarize teachings that we as a Church affirm and are taught in the Bible. The phrases themselves can be traced back to the 16th Century Reformation. Each contains a form of the word “Sola” (a Latin word meaning “alone”) and summarizes a foundational truth in regards to how God saves sinners. Today we look at “Sola Scriptura” (Scripture Alone).  The Bible is God’s inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.  It is authoritative and powerful in the life of the Christian.
  • Dec 27, 2015Tell Everyone What He Has Done
    Dec 27, 2015
    Tell Everyone What He Has Done
    Series: (All)
    Jesus Hope Christmas Program
    Shortly after Jesus birth, He was brought to the temple by Mary and Joseph for a rite of purification and presentation.  Simeon was a devout Jew who was present at the time.  In keeping with the Lord's promise, he made a proclamation about who Jesus was - the Savior for Gentiles and Jews alike!   People are desperately in need to hear what Christ has done for you.  Won’t you, like Simeon, tell everyone what God has done?
  • Dec 20, 2015The Day of His Coming
    Dec 20, 2015
    The Day of His Coming
    Slide1In this service of Advent we once again hear the prophet Malachi speak.  He asks the very question we ask today, “Who can endure the day of His coming?” As we look at our world with its confusion and struggles, we might wonder what the world is coming to. Will wickedness increase?  The Bible says it will, but that the Lord will return to judge and finally put an end to evil and sin.  We don't know when the world will end or what it will come to in the meantime.  But we sure know who 
    will come to the world, and has come - Jesus Christ.