Para Vista Lutheran Church

An audio message from Pastor David Christian.

In John 15 Jesus says I am the Vine. He calls us to remain in the vine so that we can bear the fruit that comes from Jesus, the vine. Some of the fruit listed in this chapter are love and joy. Jesus says it is MY love and MY joy that he wants to give us when we remain in him. We need this fruit, and the troubled world needs it even more. This fruit is to be lasting fruit. This fruit grows when we keep up a life-giving friendship with Jesus, and it leads to us flourishing in a prayerful relationship with Jesus. God bless us today as we hear his Word, and the Holy Spirit grows this fruit in us and blesses the world through us.

A message from Pastor David Christian.

In John 15 Jesus says I am the Vine. He calls us to remain in the vine so that we can bear the fruit that comes from Jesus, the vine. Some of the fruit listed in this chapter are love and joy. Jesus says it is MY love and MY joy that he wants to give us when we remain in him. We need this fruit, and the troubled world needs it even more. This fruit is to be lasting fruit. This fruit grows when we keep up a life-giving friendship with Jesus, and it leads to us flourishing in a prayerful relationship with Jesus. God bless us today as we hear his Word, and the Holy Spirit grows this fruit in us and blesses the world through us.

A message from Pastor Stephen Schultz.

We hear lots of stories in the Bible of how God’s people were led by the Spirit to do some amazing things – the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles. We can be thankful for them and leave it at that. But maybe God’s Spirit is leading us to be engaged in his unfolding plan of bringing his good news to the world – especially to our corner of the world. The Spirit blows like a gust of wind through our lives, releasing us to bring new life to others.

A message from Pastor Stephen Schultz.

We hear lots of stories in the Bible of how God’s people were led by the Spirit to do some amazing things – the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles. We can be thankful for them and leave it at that. But maybe God’s Spirit is leading us to be engaged in his unfolding plan of bringing his good news to the world – especially to our corner of the world. The Spirit blows like a gust of wind through our lives, releasing us to bring new life to others.

Memories: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly… and The Trivial

Memories... good, bad, ugly, trivial affect our thinking, our lives more than we realise perhaps. By definition memories happen in the past so in one sense the only power they can have over us is that which we give them. Of course, Jesus has saved us from our sins but also wants to save us from the bad and ugly memories which threaten to diminish our joy and cripple our relationships. The thief on the cross had enough bad memories in his life to be executed. BUT Jesus said to him; Today you will be with me in paradise ... where all the bad memories totally vanish. Jesus says: remember ME! Not lies of the past, not regrets of things done and not done. Remember ME! Then nothing else matters because we are children of God, sons and daughters, heirs to the kingdom of God. Nothing else matters.
Peter Weckert

Bible Readings: Luke 23:40-43 (NLT)

Song: What if I gave everything - Casting Crowns

Memories: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly… and The Trivial

Memories... good, bad, ugly, trivial affect our thinking, our lives more than we realise perhaps. By definition memories happen in the past so in one sense the only power they can have over us is that which we give them. Of course, Jesus has saved us from our sins but also wants to save us from the bad and ugly memories which threaten to diminish our joy and cripple our relationships. The thief on the cross had enough bad memories in his life to be executed. BUT Jesus said to him; Today you will be with me in paradise ... where all the bad memories totally vanish. Jesus says: remember ME! Not lies of the past, not regrets of things done and not done. Remember ME! Then nothing else matters because we are children of God, sons and daughters, heirs to the kingdom of God. Nothing else matters.
Peter Weckert

Bible Readings: Luke 23:40-43 (NLT)

Song: What if I gave everything - Casting Crowns

We are God’s children – that’s what he calls us. God’s Spirit lives in us – that is true. So why do we sometimes doubt this - and allow the world to plague us with uncertainty? The truth is that we find our identity, our purpose, our reason for living (and dying) in Jesus the Christ. We matter. We are valuable. We are loved and accepted. We make a difference because we are children of God.

Pastor Robert Voigt

Bible Readings: 1 John 3:1-3 and Luke 24: 36-48 (NLT)

We are God’s children – that’s what he calls us. God’s Spirit lives in us – that is true. So why do we sometimes doubt this - and allow the world to plague us with uncertainty? The truth is that we find our identity, our purpose, our reason for living (and dying) in Jesus the Christ. We matter. We are valuable. We are loved and accepted. We make a difference because we are children of God.

Pastor Robert Voigt

Bible Readings: 1 John 3:1-3 and Luke 24: 36-48 (NLT)

Most Christians are familiar with John 3:16, about God loving the world and sending Jesus so we can have eternal life in him. Not all Christ-ones are as acquainted with John 17:3, where Jesus expands on what this 'eternal life' is: "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

Knowing God is not merely knowing about him; it's knowing his heart, how he feels about you, that he loves you despite the worst of you, and that he lets you into his plans. It’s a relationship of connection and trust, of vulnerability and growth. We call it intimacy.

And it’s all possible because of Jesus’ resurrection.

As we unpack all of this on Sunday, I invite you to place yourself in the accounts and stories that will be shared and see how you can grow in resurrection intimacy with the God who loves you.

Pastor Peter Steicke

Bible Readings: Acts 4:32-35, John 20:19-31 (NRSVA)

Most Christians are familiar with John 3:16, about God loving the world and sending Jesus so we can have eternal life in him. Not all Christ-ones are as acquainted with John 17:3, where Jesus expands on what this 'eternal life' is: "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

Knowing God is not merely knowing about him; it's knowing his heart, how he feels about you, that he loves you despite the worst of you, and that he lets you into his plans. It’s a relationship of connection and trust, of vulnerability and growth. We call it intimacy.

And it’s all possible because of Jesus’ resurrection.

As we unpack all of this on Sunday, I invite you to place yourself in the accounts and stories that will be shared and see how you can grow in resurrection intimacy with the God who loves you.

Pastor Peter Steicke

Bible Readings: Acts 4:32-35, John 20:19-31 (NRSVA)