Para Vista Lutheran Church

Dominique was a Roman Catholic brother who at 54 discovered he was dying of inoperable cancer. He left his community to move into a poor neighbourhood in Paris and took a job as a nightwatchman at a factory. During the daytime he would sit on a wooden bench in a park opposite to where he lived. Hanging around in the park were marginal people, drifters, winos, dirty old men who ogled the girls passing by.

Dominique never criticised, scolded or reprimanded. He accepted the men as they were. He gave off peace and shared hospitality that led cynical young men and defeated old men to gravitate toward him. His simple witness lay in accepting others as they were without questions. He was the most nonjudgmental person you could ever meet. He loved with the heart of Jesus.

One day when the men asked him to tell them about himself, he told them that Jesus loved them tenderly, and that Jesus had come for rejects and outcasts just like themselves. His love for them and the love of Christ he spoke of gradually transformed the men.
One day he didn’t appear and later was found dead. More than 7,000 people from all over Europe gathered for this humble brother’s funeral. The last words in his diary were: “All that is not the love of God has no meaning for me. I can truthfully say that I have no interest in anything, but the love of God is in Christ Jesus.” His friend, Brennan Manning, said: “In Domonique I saw the reality of a life lived entirely for God and for others. Any spirituality that does not lead from a self-centred to an other-centred mode of existence is bankrupt.”

How are you living your life?

Pastor David Christian

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:31- 5:2 (NLT)

Dominique was a Roman Catholic brother who at 54 discovered he was dying of inoperable cancer. He left his community to move into a poor neighbourhood in Paris and took a job as a nightwatchman at a factory. During the daytime he would sit on a wooden bench in a park opposite to where he lived. Hanging around in the park were marginal people, drifters, winos, dirty old men who ogled the girls passing by.

Dominique never criticised, scolded or reprimanded. He accepted the men as they were. He gave off peace and shared hospitality that led cynical young men and defeated old men to gravitate toward him. His simple witness lay in accepting others as they were without questions. He was the most nonjudgmental person you could ever meet. He loved with the heart of Jesus.

One day when the men asked him to tell them about himself, he told them that Jesus loved them tenderly, and that Jesus had come for rejects and outcasts just like themselves. His love for them and the love of Christ he spoke of gradually transformed the men.
One day he didn’t appear and later was found dead. More than 7,000 people from all over Europe gathered for this humble brother’s funeral. The last words in his diary were: “All that is not the love of God has no meaning for me. I can truthfully say that I have no interest in anything, but the love of God is in Christ Jesus.” His friend, Brennan Manning, said: “In Domonique I saw the reality of a life lived entirely for God and for others. Any spirituality that does not lead from a self-centred to an other-centred mode of existence is bankrupt.”

How are you living your life?

Pastor David Christian

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:31- 5:2 (NLT)

A message from Peter Weckert

Many people, if not most, think Christian and Religion are pretty much the same thing. Nothing could be further from the truth. They are opposites. Religions world-wide teach that God will accept you when on balance, you have led a good life. They believe a better life, rather than a bad one, earns God's favour and His acceptance.

A Christian believes that God loves you. He accepts you. If you believe in Him, you are free to live a life full of the fruits of the Spirit. Christians don't work hard to gain God's approval. They do so because they already have it.

The video referenced by Peter at the end of the message can be viewed on YouTube.

Bible Reading: Luke 18: 9–14 (NLT)

Title graphic by James Kovin on Unsplash.

 

A message from Peter Weckert

Many people, if not most, think Christian and Religion are pretty much the same thing. Nothing could be further from the truth. They are opposites. Religions world-wide teach that God will accept you when on balance, you have led a good life. They believe a better life, rather than a bad one, earns God's favour and His acceptance.

A Christian believes that God loves you. He accepts you. If you believe in Him, you are free to live a life full of the fruits of the Spirit. Christians don't work hard to gain God's approval. They do so because they already have it.

The video referenced by Peter at the end of the message can be viewed on YouTube.

Bible Reading: Luke 18: 9–14 (NLT)

Title graphic by James Kovin on Unsplash.

 

A little girl was watching her father cut down a tree in their backyard. She sees wood chips flying in all directions. She picks one up and calls to her father, "Look Dad, trees have wood in them." We know that trees don't have wood in them. Trees are wood. Neither does God have love in him. God is love. Love is the stuff God is made of. God can't help but be loving. Everything God does is loving. We see his love best when Jesus dies on the cross for us. Paul wants us to grasp how wide and long, and high and deep the love of God is for us in Christ. Human love is not so deep and often runs out. But the love of the Lord is everlasting, and it has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Do you know this love? Are you grasping and growing in this love?
Pastor David Christian

Bible Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21 (NLT)

A little girl was watching her father cut down a tree in their backyard. She sees wood chips flying in all directions. She picks one up and calls to her father, "Look Dad, trees have wood in them." We know that trees don't have wood in them. Trees are wood. Neither does God have love in him. God is love. Love is the stuff God is made of. God can't help but be loving. Everything God does is loving. We see his love best when Jesus dies on the cross for us. Paul wants us to grasp how wide and long, and high and deep the love of God is for us in Christ. Human love is not so deep and often runs out. But the love of the Lord is everlasting, and it has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Do you know this love? Are you grasping and growing in this love?
Pastor David Christian

Bible Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21 (NLT)

An audio message from Pastor Paul Newsham.

Did you ever ask yourself:
• What did Jesus talk about when He walked along the road to Emmaus with two disciples shortly after His resurrection?
• What did John the Baptist mean when He said, “Behold the Lamb of God”?
• What is the significance of the sacrificed lamb in Scripture?
• Does the concept have any relevance to us today?

Join us as we explore these questions in light of today's Bible reading (Luke 24:13-34).

 

A video message from Pastor Paul Newsham.

Did you ever ask yourself:
• What did Jesus talk about when He walked along the road to Emmaus with two disciples shortly after His resurrection?
• What did John the Baptist mean when He said, “Behold the Lamb of God”?
• What is the significance of the sacrificed lamb in Scripture?
• Does the concept have any relevance to us today?

Join us as we explore these questions in light of today's Bible reading (Luke 24:13-34).

Title image by Kanenori from Pixabay.

 

Koinonia is a Greek word that means fellowship or partnership, and in the New Testament it is used to describe the relationship between believers in Christ. Koinonia is an essential concept in the New Testament and is central to the Christian faith. Fellowship (koinonia) provides believers with the opportunity to connect with one another, to encourage and support each other, and to grow in their faith together.
Pastor Paul Fielke

Bible Reading: Ephesians 2: 11-22 (CEV)

Koinonia is a Greek word that means fellowship or partnership, and in the New Testament it is used to describe the relationship between believers in Christ. Koinonia is an essential concept in the New Testament and is central to the Christian faith. Fellowship (koinonia) provides believers with the opportunity to connect with one another, to encourage and support each other, and to grow in their faith together.
Pastor Paul Fielke

Bible Reading: Ephesians 2: 11-22 (CEV)