Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has broken down the wall of sin that seperates us from Him, and He makes our union with Him a reality. We call this gift, "grace."
Kurt Senske from "The Calling" (sorry, did not mark the page number)
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
What does the church collect? Would you believe...
Author Eugene Peterson never fails to enlighten me when he writes about the church and its people. I really appreciate the comments below, taken from Philip Yancey's recent book:
When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business - and dishonest business at that.
Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collects sinners. Many of the people outside the hospital are every bit as sick as the ones inside, but their illnesses are either undiagnosed or disguised. It's similar with sinners outside the church.
So Christian churches are not, as a rule, model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human misbehavior is brought out in the open, faced and dealt this.
When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business - and dishonest business at that.
Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collects sinners. Many of the people outside the hospital are every bit as sick as the ones inside, but their illnesses are either undiagnosed or disguised. It's similar with sinners outside the church.
So Christian churches are not, as a rule, model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human misbehavior is brought out in the open, faced and dealt this.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Christ is risen!
O Death, where is your sting?
O Grave, where is your victory?
Christ is risen and you are overthrown
Christ is risen and the devils have fallen
Christ is risen and the angels rejoice
Christ is risen and life reigns.
Christ is risen and not one dead remains in the grave.
For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, and to Him be glory and honor, even to eternity. Amen.
John Chrysostom (344-407)
O Grave, where is your victory?
Christ is risen and you are overthrown
Christ is risen and the devils have fallen
Christ is risen and the angels rejoice
Christ is risen and life reigns.
Christ is risen and not one dead remains in the grave.
For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, and to Him be glory and honor, even to eternity. Amen.
John Chrysostom (344-407)
Saturday, March 26, 2016
By love...
By love He took our place and died;
by faith we take His place and live.
Our sins were imputed to Him;
His righteousness is imputed to us through faith.
From the devotional book, "Daily Bread," page 81
Today at Life in Christ, Easter Vigil worship at 5 pm.
Tomorrow, Easter Celebration worship at 6:30 am, 8:30 am and 10:30 am.
Join us tomorrow at LICL, 14802 N. 75th Avenue in Peoria, AZ.
by faith we take His place and live.
Our sins were imputed to Him;
His righteousness is imputed to us through faith.
From the devotional book, "Daily Bread," page 81
Today at Life in Christ, Easter Vigil worship at 5 pm.
Tomorrow, Easter Celebration worship at 6:30 am, 8:30 am and 10:30 am.
Join us tomorrow at LICL, 14802 N. 75th Avenue in Peoria, AZ.
Friday, March 25, 2016
He has redeemed me!
As we prepare to observe Good Friday tonight at Life in Christ (service at 7 pm), I couldn't think of anything better to meditate on than Luther's explanation to the 2nd Article of the Apostles' Creed. I first memorized the meanings to the creeds as a 5th grade student at Redeemer Lutheran Day School in Tucson, Arizona. To this day, Luther's words continue to fill me with a sense of awe and thanksgiving.
I 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 person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. He did this not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, so that i may be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.
I 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 person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. He did this not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, so that i may be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Luther on the Lord's Supper
Therefore, the Sacrament is given as a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself (Psalm 23:1-3) so that it will not fall back in such a battle, but become ever stronger and stronger. The new life must be guided so that it continually increases and progresses. But it must suffer much opposition. For the devil is such a furious enemy. When he sees that we oppose him and attack the old man, and that he cannot topple us over by force, he prowls and moves about on all sides (1 Peter 5:8). He tries every trick and does not stop until he finally wears us out, so that we either renounce our faith or throw up our hands and put up our feet, becoming indifferent or impatient. Now to this purpose the comfort of the Sacrament is given when the heart feels that the burden is becoming too heavy, sot that it may gain here new power and refreshment.
For a fresh dose of power and refreshment, join us tonight at Life in Christ for our Maundy Thursday service. The Supper will be served. Be here at 7 pm.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Weekly prayer #1
Starting this week our Encouragement Team is trying to bring our congregation together to have us all praying for the blessing of the Lord upon our building project.
One of their ideas was to assemble a team of Prayer Warriors who would pray every day for successfully completing the project. One of our members, Karen Bennett, a real prayer warrior herself, agreed to head up this team.
One idea was to include a prayer each week in the worship folder that people could cut out and put in their Bible or devotional booklet or wherever and then pray every day.
A wonderful thing happened. In my closing announcements I urged the congregation to take home the worship folder so that the prayer would be available to them. And that's what people did!
After the service one of the ushers came up to me and said, "Pastor, we had over 200 in attendance in the first service. They all took their bulletins home. Now, we don't have enough bulletins available for the 2nd service!"
Wow! It was so cool that people caught the vision of what we are trying to accomplish. It has been a really good feeling to know that so many people are praying together for our building project.
Here is the prayer:
Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your continued blessing on our church. Please be with us and guide us in every aspect of our being here. We are here to worship You and to fellowship with one another in Your holy name. We will soon begin construction on our new building after much prayer and discussion on the subject. We ask Your continued blessing on our efforts, as they will be many groups within Life in Christ that will use the building for meetings, classes, and other activities for our own congregation and as a community outreach to share Christ with a needy world.
Father, if it be Your will, please let construction run smoothly and safely. Keep us from encountering problems along the way, and may there be no disputes among us as we move on. The building is for Your great glory, Lord. Help us to keep that in the forefront of our minds throughout its construction. Please grant us wisdom on this path to honor You and each other in the process. Let's never forget the purpose of this building is to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to strengthen it in the minds of our members and present a clear joy to all visitors, especially those who have not known Jesus before!
Holy Spirit, rain down Your blessing on our mission, that we may be instruments of Your Word. We ask these things in the name of Jesus, our beautiful Savior! Amen.
One of their ideas was to assemble a team of Prayer Warriors who would pray every day for successfully completing the project. One of our members, Karen Bennett, a real prayer warrior herself, agreed to head up this team.
One idea was to include a prayer each week in the worship folder that people could cut out and put in their Bible or devotional booklet or wherever and then pray every day.
A wonderful thing happened. In my closing announcements I urged the congregation to take home the worship folder so that the prayer would be available to them. And that's what people did!
After the service one of the ushers came up to me and said, "Pastor, we had over 200 in attendance in the first service. They all took their bulletins home. Now, we don't have enough bulletins available for the 2nd service!"
Wow! It was so cool that people caught the vision of what we are trying to accomplish. It has been a really good feeling to know that so many people are praying together for our building project.
Here is the prayer:
Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your continued blessing on our church. Please be with us and guide us in every aspect of our being here. We are here to worship You and to fellowship with one another in Your holy name. We will soon begin construction on our new building after much prayer and discussion on the subject. We ask Your continued blessing on our efforts, as they will be many groups within Life in Christ that will use the building for meetings, classes, and other activities for our own congregation and as a community outreach to share Christ with a needy world.
Father, if it be Your will, please let construction run smoothly and safely. Keep us from encountering problems along the way, and may there be no disputes among us as we move on. The building is for Your great glory, Lord. Help us to keep that in the forefront of our minds throughout its construction. Please grant us wisdom on this path to honor You and each other in the process. Let's never forget the purpose of this building is to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to strengthen it in the minds of our members and present a clear joy to all visitors, especially those who have not known Jesus before!
Holy Spirit, rain down Your blessing on our mission, that we may be instruments of Your Word. We ask these things in the name of Jesus, our beautiful Savior! Amen.
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