Para Vista Lutheran Church

Celebrating That We Are All Saints In Christ (Audio)

Have you ever heard people referring to Christians as those "holy Joes who think that they're better than everyone else"? Sadly, that kind of thinking can be a real barrier to people learning about God's love for them in Jesus. All Saints Day is a good opportunity to respond to this issue. In the New Testament, "saints" were not the revered dead but the living faithful. Not the especially "holy ones", but rather all God's forgiven people who trust in Jesus. So Christians don't think of themselves as being better than anyone else. Instead, we admit that we're just as sinful as everyone else, but we have been forgiven and accepted in Jesus. We are holy, because of, and in union with Jesus our Saviour. We are all saints in him. Now that's truly worth celebrating!

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 2: 9-10 (NLT)

Celebrating That We Are All Saints In Christ (Video)

Have you ever heard people referring to Christians as those "holy Joes who think that they're better than everyone else"? Sadly, that kind of thinking can be a real barrier to people learning about God's love for them in Jesus. All Saints Day is a good opportunity to respond to this issue. In the New Testament, "saints" were not the revered dead but the living faithful. Not the especially "holy ones", but rather all God's forgiven people who trust in Jesus. So Christians don't think of themselves as being better than anyone else. Instead, we admit that we're just as sinful as everyone else, but we have been forgiven and accepted in Jesus. We are holy, because of, and in union with Jesus our Saviour. We are all saints in him. Now that's truly worth celebrating!

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 2: 9-10 (NLT)

What's Your Story? (Audio)

We each have stories we tell about our lives - stories that are funny, stories of success, stories that give life, that we are happy to share.
We also have stories that we may not share - stories of heartbreak, failure, and brokenness.
How do these stories intersect with the stories in scripture?
And what about God's story?
We will discover the surprising truth of God's story, your story, and our story, as Pastor Chris Mann brings the message to us.

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (NLT)

What's Your Story? (Video)

We each have stories we tell about our lives - stories that are funny, stories of success, stories that give life, that we are happy to share.
We also have stories that we may not share - stories of heartbreak, failure, and brokenness.
How do these stories intersect with the stories in scripture?
And what about God's story?
We will discover the surprising truth of God's story, your story, and our story, as Pastor Chris Mann brings the message to us.

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (NLT)

The Journey of a Transformative Leader (Audio)

We learn from the life of Jesus as a transformative leader that what we have done for ourselves will die with us…but what we have done for others and the world remains and will never die.
For this reason, God is calling His people to be transformative leaders who will affect the people around them through their everyday actions or to journey with a transformative leader into God's own heart and into His redemptive plan and purpose as revealed in the scripture.

Bishop Michael Musale

Bible Reading: Matthew 9:35-38 (NLT)

The Journey of a Transformative Leader (Video)

We learn from the life of Jesus as a transformative leader that what we have done for ourselves will die with us…but what we have done for others and the world remains and will never die.
For this reason, God is calling His people to be transformative leaders who will affect the people around them through their everyday actions or to journey with a transformative leader into God's own heart and into His redemptive plan and purpose as revealed in the scripture.

Bishop Michael Musale

Bible Reading: Matthew 9:35-38 (NLT)

A Love Letter for Life (Audio)

Everything we know about God as Father, Rescuer, and Counsellor, we learn from the Bible. Well, to be accurate, we learn it from Holy Spirit God through the Bible.
The Bible teaches, inspires, equips, and informs. But its central message is your heavenly Father saying to you, “I love you. You matter to me. Isn’t it neat we can communicate even when we’re not face to face?”
The Bible is the tool the Holy Spirit uses to reveal to us the centrality of Jesus, who brings the love of the Father to us. You can use the Bible for many things, and that’s not necessarily wrong, but primarily it’s a love letter. When we don’t see it that way, we end up being led down rabbit holes.
When we do receive it as a love letter, we hold it dear to the very core of our being, for not only does it show us the identity of our God as a loving Father, but it also shows us our truest identity in him.
God’s word, the love letter? Yes! Get into it any way you can.

Pastor Peter Steicke

Bible Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23 (NRSVA)

A Love Letter for Life (Video)

Everything we know about God as Father, Rescuer, and Counsellor, we learn from the Bible. Well, to be accurate, we learn it from Holy Spirit God through the Bible.
The Bible teaches, inspires, equips, and informs. But its central message is your heavenly Father saying to you, “I love you. You matter to me. Isn’t it neat we can communicate even when we’re not face to face?”
The Bible is the tool the Holy Spirit uses to reveal to us the centrality of Jesus, who brings the love of the Father to us. You can use the Bible for many things, and that’s not necessarily wrong, but primarily it’s a love letter. When we don’t see it that way, we end up being led down rabbit holes.
When we do receive it as a love letter, we hold it dear to the very core of our being, for not only does it show us the identity of our God as a loving Father, but it also shows us our truest identity in him.
God’s word, the love letter? Yes! Get into it any way you can.

Pastor Peter Steicke

Bible Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23 (NRSVA)

A Trinity of Connection (Audio)

A message from Pastor Stephen Abraham.

If you’ve gone to a church or school of any of the mainline Christian denominations you’ve heard these words at the start of every worship service: “In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.” What goes through your head at that moment? Maybe you switch off because it feels like an empty ritual. This Sunday I want to unpack why this “Trinity-thing” is absolutely mind-blowing and how it will change the way you think about God’s interaction with you on a personal level.

 

A Trinity of Connection (Video)

A message from Pastor Stephen Abraham.

If you’ve gone to a church or school of any of the mainline Christian denominations you’ve heard these words at the start of every worship service: “In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.” What goes through your head at that moment? Maybe you switch off because it feels like an empty ritual. This Sunday I want to unpack why this “Trinity-thing” is absolutely mind-blowing and how it will change the way you think about God’s interaction with you on a personal level.