Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! | Immanuel LCMS, Chino, CA

The Blessing of Confession and Absolution

2011-06-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

It is our privilege every Sunday, as we begin our worship service in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to be reminded that “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And then the pastor speaks these words, “Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.” And we then speak these words, “Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

It is then that the pastor, as the servant of God, speaks these consoling and comforting words to each one of us, “Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This blessing of Confession and Absolution we need to experience every Sunday. And it is a blessing that we want every sinner to experience with us. Let us invite them to join us.

The Blessing of the Lord's Supper

2011-04-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

In the Bible we are told, “Our Lord Jesus Christ on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: ‘Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.’

In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament, in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’”

We are so thankful to our Savior Jesus Christ that He has given us this holy supper in which He gives us, with the bread His precious body, which was nailed to the cross to pay for all of our sins, and with the wine, His precious blood, which was shed on the cross to pay for all of our sins.

We are also thankful to our Savior Jesus Christ that this heavenly feast is offered to us each Sunday in our worship service, and as we receive our Lord’s true body and blood we are assured that our sins are forgiven, that our faith is strengthened, that we are empowered to live our Christian life, and that we are comforted to know that we have the gift of eternal life in heaven.

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for giving us the Lord’s Supper, which is such a wonderful blessing throughout our Christian lives. May we never think lightly of it or reject it. In Your name we pray. Amen.

Journey through Holy Week to the Resurrection: Divine Service, April 17 - 24

2011-04-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

"Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the LORD!"

Palm Sunday, 9:00 A.M.

"Take, eat; this is my body [. . .] this [cup] is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. "

Maundy Thursday, 7:30 P.M.

"Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!"

Good Friday, 7:30 P.M.

"He is risen!"

Easter Sunday, 9:00 A.M.

(Brunch follows)

The Blessing of Baptism

2011-03-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

Our Lord Jesus Christ has given this command in Matthew 28:19: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

We are so thankful to Jesus that this command that He has given has been carried out in each of our lives. We, and our children, have been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Through our baptism we have become the forgiven children of the Triune God, and we are able to live each day of our lives as God’s children. And, we are assured that when we die we will live with God in heaven forever. This is what God promises us in the Bible, and gives to us when we are baptized. What we want to say to God each day of our lives is, “Thank You God for granting me to be Your baptized child here on earth, and Your heir in the eternal life to come.”

Having received from God this precious gift of our baptism, we need to ask ourselves some important questions. Are we each day living as God’s baptized children? Are we reminding our children and grandchildren of their baptism and how they are to live each day as the baptized children of God? Do we know of children and adults who are not baptized? Shall we ask the Lord to use us to bring this wonderful gift of God into their lives? Are there people that we know that are baptized but have no idea of the gift that God wants them to have, and shall we ask God to use us to bring these gifts of God into their lives? Let us do so!

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thank You for granting us to be your baptized children, forgiven of our sins, being able to live the Christian life on earth, and also to live with You in heaven forevermore. Use us, we pray, to bring these precious gifts to many others – infants, children, young people, adults, the elderly. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

A Message from the Pastor

2011-03-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

There was a movie that came out 10 to 15 years ago called "The Shawshank Redemption." It was a sad, but memorable movie about a man unjustly imprisoned, who in the course of the movie turns a corrupt prison system on its end and makes his way to freedom in the process. Most of the movie wouldn't make good material for a Christian message, but there is one key phrase that always sticks in my mind, and are words worth considering. "You better get busy livin' or you better get busy dyin'."

With a Christian view of that phrase, we understand that life is a matter of choices and priorities. The natural inclination for us as sinners is to make the most of life in this world--to eat, drink, and be merry as the Bible describes it. But from an eternal perspective, all that is, is busying yourself with that which brings no life, or hope, or salvation. You are 'getting busy' with dying.

But in an interesting twist of logic, Jesus points out in scripture that if you die to the world, and follow Him who died for your sins, you will have life! This March, as we begin the Lenten Season, we again become ever mindful of all that it took to bring us who were lost in the darkness of our sin, to a redemption and a salvation that makes us God's children and heirs of eternal life. Jesus paid the price of the condemnation for our sin. He suffered and died on the cross, and then rose from the dead to grant us the victory.

For us, even though we sadly look at the unjust suffering of Jesus during this season, we can also be joyful for what He has done for us. Jesus got busy dying so that we could get busy living!

God's blessings to you this Lenten season!

A Message from the Pastor

2011-02-07T00:50:00.000-08:00

On February 21, our nation will memorialize the Presidents who have served our nation over the last two hundred and thirty-five years. We give thanks to God for their leadership, and for their willingness to assume the responsibility of the head executive as President of the United States. We can also rejoice in, and thank God for the Christian faith of many of these men who have enabled our nation to have a foundation that has allowed us to worship our God without threat of government persecution.

Their Christian faith has been, and will continue to be an example to us. Our Thursday Bible study is studying the kings of Israel and Judah and how so many of them "did what was evil in the sight of the Lord." Without God's guidance and blessing, they led their nations on a downward spiral until they ultimately were conquered. Thankfully, in our nation, we have had many leaders who have prayed for God's guidance and blessing, have upheld God's values, and have been a good example for all of us to follow. There is a wonderful quote from Abraham Lincoln which says it so well: "I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seem insufficient that day."

For our nation, for our families, for ourselves- we must depend upon God for our help and the many blessing bestowed upon us. We pray for them to the One who holds all things in His hands. And we give thanks to Him who by His grace has saved us and upheld us and our nation these many years.

On this Presidents' Day, as we consider the great leaders of our nation, let us also give special thanks to our "Chief Executive" and His eternal blessings, and pray that in His mercy He will continue to uphold and sustain our nation!

A Message from the Pastor

2011-01-18T15:17:00.001-08:00

For the first eighteen years of my life, I lived in the same house. To a large extent, that, a healthy family life and attending the same church led to a pretty stable life while I was growing up. But in my eighteenth year, I went away to school and my parents moved, and all that stability I once enjoyed was lost.

And, boy, did I miss it. I often went back to visit old friends and go to my old church and even drive by the old house. For at least a couple of years, I even thought someday I might come back, buy the old house and settle there.

But as many of us have experienced in our lives, what might have been home once would never really be the same again. Life goes on and we adapt to new circumstances and a new environment.

What we are mindful of in the new year of 2011 is true for each and every day of our life as Christians. We begin each morning, recognizing that in our baptism, we are redeemed children of God and are gifted with the new day. The good memories of the past are treasured. The sins of our past God has forgiven and forgotten. And our life moves forward into the great unknown.

But always, always, always, there is stability. That is because God is always with us. And His promises to us will always remain true. Our salvation is assured as we believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will always be with us to strengthen and guide us.

With that in mind, we begin each new day of this new year not with regret or apprehension, but rather in joyful anticipation of where God will lead us. No doubt the future will also be full of challenges and struggles, but with our Lord with us, as the Bible says, "who can be against us", and" we are more than conquerors." Knowing that, we can go forward into 2011 with God's strength and His blessing, with Him as our firm, stable Foundation.

Be reconciled to God!

2009-02-25T14:33:00.000-08:00

In Christ's body on the cross, God reconciled us to Himself, not counting our sins against us.

Because of our sin we deserve God's wrath. But by His death, Jesus Christ paid completely for all of our sins. Now we have peace with God! And because Jesus rose from the dead, we have eternal and abundant life!

Put your faith in Jesus. Be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins! Receive Christ's Body and Blood, given and shed for you!

"Immanuel" means "God with us"

How can one man's death accomplish so much? We find the answer from two men, one a prophet of Israel, the other an eyewitness to all that Jesus said and did.

Isaiah writes, "So the LORD Himself with give you this sign: A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel [God with us]."

John tells us, "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God....The Word became Human and lived among us. We saw His glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with His only Son, a glory full of kindness and truth...."

Jesus was (and is) God in the flesh--God with us!

Oktoberfest 2008

2008-10-14T02:06:00.001-07:00

Check out photos from our Oktoberfest here (password needed).

'Twas on One Sunday Mornin'

2008-05-17T00:48:00.000-07:00

The Lutheran Confessions

2008-02-25T00:05:00.000-08:00

The Book of Concord

A summary of the faith once for all delivered to the saints can be found in the Book of Concord, a compilation of the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. We accept these Confessions because they are derived from the Word of God and are a faithful exposition of its teachings.

God will bless you as you study His word!

The Nicene Creed

One brief summary of the Apostolic Faith is The Nicene Creed, confessed by the Church for nearly two millennia:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by Whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered and was buried.

And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.

And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, Whose kingdom will have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; Who spoke by the prophets.

And we believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic Church, we acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

* "catholic" means "universal"

Three Solas

2008-02-24T23:45:00.001-08:00

Our sole source of authority for all matters pertaining to life and doctrine is the Holy Scriptures (Sola Scriptura).

From these, we learn that a person is declared holy in God's sight by"

God's grace alone (Sola Gratia),
through faith alone (Sola Fide),
in Christ alone.

The ancient Biblical texts are our sole authority for life and doctrine because Jesus said, "[Father] Your Word is truth" (John 17).

In this Word, God shows us that we are completely unable to please Him by our own efforts; we habitually break His commandments by what we think, say, and do, and by what we leave undone. We are miserable sinners who deserve God's anger and punishment. He says, "by works of the law no human being will be justified [declared "innocent"] in His sight," for "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . ." (Romans 3).

The Scriptures also reveal to us the wonderful news that God loved each of us so much that He sent His One and Only Son to suffer the punishment for sin that we deserve. Jesus "was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53).

By His Sacrifice, once for all, God has forever made peace between us and Himself!

His Word tells us also that "to the one who does not work but trusts Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness . . ." (Romans 4).

We no longer live to please our sinful nature, nor do we try to earn God's favor. Instead, we show our thankfulness for His great mercy.

We live by faith in Christ, Who said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me" (John 14).

Gallery

2008-02-24T00:57:00.000-08:00