Para Vista Lutheran Church

What to do when (your) Moses dies! (Video)

A video message from Pastor Stephen Abraham.

Ok, so maybe you don’t personally know a “Moses” who has recently passed away, but maybe you’ve lost an important leader, or you are the “newly elected leader” of your “tribe”, or you are on the precipice of some massive life changes and are unsure of what lies ahead for yourself or your family, and the fears/worries/doubts are creeping in!😬 Let’s lean into Joshua 1.1-10 and hear what God might be saying to us as we face the challenges that lie ahead for us in 2024.

What to do when (your) Moses dies! (Audio)

An audio message from Pastor Stephen Abraham.

Ok, so maybe you don’t personally know a “Moses” who has recently passed away, but maybe you’ve lost an important leader, or you are the “newly elected leader” of your “tribe”, or you are on the precipice of some massive life changes and are unsure of what lies ahead for yourself or your family, and the fears/worries/doubts are creeping in!😬 Let’s lean into Joshua 1.1-10 and hear what God might be saying to us as we face the challenges that lie ahead for us in 2024.

Dealing with Hecklers (Audio)

Mark 1:21-28 “Dealing with hecklers: How to respond to people who react negatively to your Christian witness and lifestyle.”

Do people sometimes have a go at you for your faith in Jesus?  In today’s Gospel we see Jesus responding to a demonic heckler with authority and grace.  There are lessons from this for us too.  It’s helpful to think a little more deeply about what is going on at a spiritual level when people criticize you or put you down for following Jesus.  Try to understand what’s prompting the heckling.  Often it comes from a fear of being exposed and/or judged.  Rather than destroying him (as he feared), Jesus spoke words of liberation and healing over the man with the unclean spirit.  We too need to be people of grace and healing, of acceptance and compassion.  Sadly, too many Christians have a reputation for being judgmental and rejecting.  St Paul in Romans 12 has come helpful advice for us when facing opposition: “Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.”

Pastor Richard Haar

Dealing with Hecklers (Video)

Mark 1:21-28 “Dealing with hecklers: How to respond to people who react negatively to your Christian witness and lifestyle.”

Do people sometimes have a go at you for your faith in Jesus?  In today’s Gospel we see Jesus responding to a demonic heckler with authority and grace.  There are lessons from this for us too.  It’s helpful to think a little more deeply about what is going on at a spiritual level when people criticize you or put you down for following Jesus.  Try to understand what’s prompting the heckling.  Often it comes from a fear of being exposed and/or judged.  Rather than destroying him (as he feared), Jesus spoke words of liberation and healing over the man with the unclean spirit.  We too need to be people of grace and healing, of acceptance and compassion.  Sadly, too many Christians have a reputation for being judgmental and rejecting.  St Paul in Romans 12 has come helpful advice for us when facing opposition: “Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.”

Pastor Richard Haar

Life In God' Kingdom (Audio)

Today we’re looking at “Life in God’s Kingdom”. It’s so expansive.
Every parable Jesus taught, every challenge he issued, every invitation he gave, every rebuke he uttered, every touch he delivered, every miracle he effected, every law he reinterpreted, every outcast he welcomed, every community he transformed, every blessing he conveyed, every life he changed, every tradition he revoked, every demon he rebuked, every broken-heart he restored, every suffering he endured, every sin he carried, every infirmity he bore, every temptation he endured, every teaching he communicated, every part of his Father’s heart he imparted, all of this, and more, comes under the covering of the Kingdom of God. Discovering God’s kingdom could just change you for good.

Pastor Peter Steicke

Bible Readings: Romans 14:13-17, Mark 1:14-20 (NRSVA)

Life In God' Kingdom (Video)

Today we’re looking at “Life in God’s Kingdom”. It’s so expansive.
Every parable Jesus taught, every challenge he issued, every invitation he gave, every rebuke he uttered, every touch he delivered, every miracle he effected, every law he reinterpreted, every outcast he welcomed, every community he transformed, every blessing he conveyed, every life he changed, every tradition he revoked, every demon he rebuked, every broken-heart he restored, every suffering he endured, every sin he carried, every infirmity he bore, every temptation he endured, every teaching he communicated, every part of his Father’s heart he imparted, all of this, and more, comes under the covering of the Kingdom of God. Discovering God’s kingdom could just change you for good.

Pastor Peter Steicke

Bible Readings: Romans 14:13-17, Mark 1:14-20 (NRSVA)

Knowing Jesus (Audio)

In the Gospel of John, there is a wonderful story about one man’s spiritual journey — he went from making a sarcastic comment about Jesus being a “nowhere man” from a “nowhere town” to having an encounter with Jesus that changed his life.  The man’s name is Nathanael.  When he met Jesus, he met his own deepest and true self — it’s as though Nathanael never saw himself clearly until he saw himself in the stain glassed window of Jesus’ love.

Nathanael discovers something that can only be called and transformed from within by Jesus — the man from Nazareth who has the power to invite you to “be all that you can be!” The story of Nathanael contains some powerful spiritual concepts that can bring new meaning and renewal to your life.

The apostle Paul has an interesting way of expressing this in 2 Corinthians 5:16: “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.” What Paul is speaking about is the transformation that occurs when one comes to know Jesus as their Redeemer and Lord — the meaning of this verse is that there are two kinds of “knowing” when it comes to Jesus — there is knowing “about” Jesus, and there is “knowing” Jesus.  Do you “Know” Jesus?

 

Knowing Jesus (Video)

In the Gospel of John, there is a wonderful story about one man’s spiritual journey — he went from making a sarcastic comment about Jesus being a “nowhere man” from a “nowhere town” to having an encounter with Jesus that changed his life.  The man’s name is Nathanael.  When he met Jesus, he met his own deepest and true self — it’s as though Nathanael never saw himself clearly until he saw himself in the stain glassed window of Jesus’ love.

Nathanael discovers something that can only be called and transformed from within by Jesus — the man from Nazareth who has the power to invite you to “be all that you can be!” The story of Nathanael contains some powerful spiritual concepts that can bring new meaning and renewal to your life.

The apostle Paul has an interesting way of expressing this in 2 Corinthians 5:16: “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.” What Paul is speaking about is the transformation that occurs when one comes to know Jesus as their Redeemer and Lord — the meaning of this verse is that there are two kinds of “knowing” when it comes to Jesus — there is knowing “about” Jesus, and there is “knowing” Jesus.  Do you “Know” Jesus?

 

One more Powerful than John the Baptist (Audio)

The theme for today is "One more Powerful than John the Baptist" and today's Bible Reading comes from Luke 3:7-22 (NLT). 

 

The message is brought to you by Pastor Steen Olsen.

 

One more Powerful than John the Baptist (Video)

The theme for today is "One more Powerful than John the Baptist" and today's Bible Reading comes from Luke 3:7-22 (NLT). 

 

The message is brought to you by Pastor Steen Olsen.