Faith Lutheran Church of Sonoma

LAVISHED!! One of the appointed scripture readings for April 18 (though some readings are substituted) is 1 Jn. 3:1-7. In the first verse of this reading, the apostle John tells us to, " See what great love the Father has lavished on us". Lavished - what is that? If you look it up, here are a few of its meanings: sumptuously rich, elaborate, overflowing, luxurious. What's John telling his readers / us? God the Father's love is overflowing - luxurious to us. Because of Jesus' mission to rescue and reclaim us, we are now God's adopted children! We have connection with the Father (our Abba, or "Daddy"). We are elaborately loved, cared for and promised eternal joy in heaven. What a powerfully uplifting message! "children of God". And that is what we are! Relish this lavish love of God for you!

IS SEEING BELIEVING? Seeing. Some of us with Midwest roots can recall that Missouri is known as the "Show Me!" state. Most of us are familiar with the expression "seeing is believing". While the disciple Thomas didn't hail from Missouri, he wouldn't believe the report of the other 10 disciples that Jesus was alive and appeared to them. He wanted to see and touch for himself. Jesus appeared again the next Sunday and showed Thomas. In the exchange between Jesus and Thomas the L...ord says, " ... blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed ". Faith - it's described in Heb. 11:1 " Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see ". Literal seeing isn't always believing. Ask a good magician who can demonstrate that the hand is quicker than the eye. We believe because our faith is grounded in God's word; the Bible. Walk in faith - walk in the certainty and joy of Christ's (and your salvation) See more

FIRSTFRUITS When I got my 2nd Covid shot, it was a celebratory moment - THANK YOU, GOD! Perhaps some of you have had that same experience. Today is Good Friday, a day we recognize Jesus' ultimate sacrifice to rescue us from sin and eternal death. On Sunday, we celebrate Jesus' resurrection! As Paul wrote the Corinthians, " ... but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep". Firstfruits were the first of the harvest, given to the Lord in Old Testament times. Jesus' resurrection (He the first to rise) is the guarantee of our resurrection. As He told His disciples the night of His arrest (Jn. 14:19) " because I live, you also will live. A much bigger THANK YOU, GOD!! Jesus lives - death conquered - and because of Him, we too will also live ... forever. Happy, joyous Easter!

Good Friday, but Sundays coming https://youtu.be/8gx6_rGLz20

HOSANNA, LORD! This coming Sunday is called Palm Sunday. It's the beginning of Holy Week. The people of Jerusalem welcomed and praised Jesus with palm branches and expressions of "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" What did the people mean by hosanna? Bible scholars tell us the word comes from Ps. 118:25-26 and is both a cry for help and a cry of praise. The palm waving crowd from Jerusalem wanted help (rescue from Roman rule) and they wanted to praise Jesus for his ministry of miracles and healings. Which do we choose - help or praise? Why not both for us too? Hosanna - "Save us, Lord" (which He did on the Friday we call Good) and "Praise to you, Lord" for His work of redeeming and His continual presence and blessing in our lives. HOSANNA, LORD!

From the office of FLC Greetings to our family of Faith. This Sunday we of the Lutheran Faith will celebrate the Reformation. This is to commemorate the Catholic Monk, Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses on the door of the Church in Wittenberg and starting a revolution within the Catholic Church and beginning of the Lutheran Church and many other Protestant churches. The reformation was just that, the re-forming of Church and the understanding of the gospel message. Salvatio...n could not be bought or earned but paid by Jesus on the cross. Faith is in a period of reforming, this Sunday we welcome Pastor John Doolittle into the church as pastor and share him with St John’s in Petaluma. This is a new situation for both congregations and lots changes on both sides were needed to make it happen. Changes that were unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and maybe even unwanted, but necessary to make it all work. The future of the Church is in a similar place. We can’t do church like we used to, we can’t do ministries like we used to, and we can’t reach people like we used to. Maybe it is time for another reformation of the church. We are no longer part of our culture. We cling to our past while the world around seeks to fill their spiritual void by other means. Christians need to change the way we think and act and repent of our old ways and focus on Jesus and what He would do. Jesus valued relationship and had love for all people. His harshest words were for the Pharisees, the church leaders. Jesus dealt with very same sinfulness and brokenness we see right now. It’s nothing new. For we are His disciples, called to His great service to restore the relationship between God and all of His beloved creation. Pray that God reform our hearts, our minds, and our purpose. See more

Greetings to our family of Faith, At the next GA we will vote on sharing a pastor with St. John’s in Petaluma. A pastor on staff is a great blessing, but a pastor doesn’t make a church. The congregation is the church, WE are the church. We want our church to grow and be able to support a full time pastor, music program, office staff, outreach programs all the things that, as a church we want to do and engage the community around us. We want our church to reach people who don’...t go to church. That is basically the mission of the church: to share the love of Christ with the world in the hopes everyone will come into a relationship with Jesus. The challenge is that unchurched people aren’t exactly flocking to most churches, and many Christians seem stumped as to why that is. There are many reasons, but a surprising number center around one thing: Christians who treat the church as if it’s their private club. The gravitational pull of human nature is toward self, not towards others, and churches behave the same way. This is a challenge that most churches face. We like our familiarity and our traditions, but they might only be familiar to us. How do we offer that to another generation? How do we reach a seemingly uninterested world with the hope that WE have in Christ Jesus? To make it happen it has to be intentional. We must choose to and be actively looking for opportunities to go were God is leading. Stepping out in Faith and praying that God bless our efforts. May God Bless our efforts, today and every day. See more

Greetings to our family of Faith, Today’s verse is from Psalm 59: But I will sing about your strength. In the morning I will joyfully sing about your mercy. You have been my stronghold and a place of safety in times of trouble.... Scripture tells us that God is our refuge and strength. The word refuge makes me think of refugees. People leaving behind their lives and fleeing from death and destruction, seeking safety. When King David wrote psalm 59 he was crying out to God to save him from assassination. David asked God to protect him and keep him safe. Hopefully none of us have been the target of assassins, but we are under attack by Satan. Satan works to distract and disconnect us from God. Fires, Riots, Pandemic, political unrest and divide, these are all effects of our broken world all because of sin. The only refuge from sin is Jesus. We run to Him like refugees. We can’t fight the sin of the world alone. We need God. He gives us peace when we need it most. Hope that God will make it work out. Trust that the strength of God will make up for what we lack. I know people who have said it was God alone that got them through their difficult life situations. When they openly share that story, it is a powerful witness. We all have a story, we can all share the hope we have. Pray that God give us the opportunity to share our story.

Greetings to our family of Faith, Today’s scripture is from 2 Peter. God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and for godliness. This power was given to us through knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and integrity.... Earlier this week, I was frustrated, I just couldn’t figure something out. I tried everything I could think of and still couldn’t get it right. I was venting my frustrations and I was asked if I prayed about my frustration. It stopped me short. I often pray for direction and guidance when I don’t know what to do, but when I think I have a direction and know what I’m doing, I just kinda push on until I get it figured out. Have you ever been so focused, that you can’t see clearly? It’s what happens when we think we have it all under control. We are capable, confident and we don’t need God’s help. God gives us all we need to live a Godly life, but pride and arrogance prevent us from living the life that God destined for us. God wants to be in relationship with us, He wants us to come to Him with our problems and struggles. He wants us to come to Him in our celebrations and triumphs too. God knows what we go through. Jesus was human and lived in our broken world, so that we could see His example of Godly living. God sent Jesus to make a way back to Him because He wants us back with Him.

Greetings to our family of Faith, Bob Dylan wrote a song titled Times they are a changing it was true when the song was written, and still true today. Change can be welcome or not. Change is exactly that, something different. Not always exciting, but we don’t really know what change will be. It is the unknown. This can be scary, change can be difficult, but to grow we need to change. The world around us is in flux, changes come rapidly and it’s hard to handle. As with all c...hanges in life, they come with pain and failures. Change is hard but gives a sense of Hope. Hope is an expectation of something that we desire and a trust that it will come to be. We have hope that if we keep focus on what God asks of us and what God wants us to accomplish, then we will get what we have worked so hard for. We have a hope, we have a promise, we have a love that never fails and never gives up. Jesus is with us always. Are we strong enough to change? Can we pray that God change our minds and hearts to His will and not our preference? This is up to us. We need to take those first faltering steps into the unknown, sure we can try to hold on to the good old days and what we know, but we will never know what waits for us if we don’t try to see things from a different perspective. Pray that God take hold of us and guide us towards His path and His future. May not our will, but Yours be done Lord. See more

Greetings to our family of Faith, Last Sunday’s message talked about history and are we doomed or blessed to repeat it. It might feel like these are unprecedented times, but I can assure they are not. Fires, Famines, Wars, Pandemic, and civil unrest have been part of mankind from the beginning of the fall. Creation was broken by sin in the Garden of Eden and it’s still broken. Even if we never experienced this kind of brokenness before, it’s a part of the sinful world we live... in. Temptation and struggle are part of life. Jesus struggled with what God asked of Him and was tempted by Satan. Jesus understands what we go through. He lived a human life too! Scripture gives us history of Christians who have been where we are now, what they did and how they overcame and praised God for His provision and mercy. Jesus paid the price for our sins and the sin of the world thousands of years ago and it is still paid. God’s promises are unchanged for eternity. We are blessed with a Joy that only a life in Jesus can provide. Blessed with the Hope of everlasting life. As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. See more

Greetings to our family of Faith, Today’s verse of the day is from Isaiah 43. When you go through the sea, I am with you. When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not harm you. ... Comforting words to read, hard to embrace. We all know devastating stories of death, destruction, and loss. The things we value in world give us false security, a false hope. All the wealth in the world cannot buy one more minute of life. No matter how hard we try to plan and protect ourselves, without God everything is built on sand. The only real solid rock is Jesus. Salvation through Jesus is only way to true security, an everlasting life. Evil and sin will always be present in this world, Satan is always looking for an opportunity to use our weakness and anger. As a nation we need to pray that God take these from us and heal us. Pray that we can focus on Him, His will, His plans, His Good works and restore what was lost.

Greetings to our family of Faith, Today’s scripture comes from Romans 5: We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. What does that mean, to rejoice in our suffering? We don’t enjoy suffering, but suffering can make positive outcomes, if we chose to look for them. Giving birth..., running a marathon, lifting weights, and working out, physical therapy after a surgery. These things cause us pain and break our bodies but makes us stronger and appreciate what we gain as rewards for our pain. Wars, fires, floods, disasters, and death. These things can break us down, but they make us stronger as we adapt and persevere when faced with suffering. We appreciate what matters and realize what is really important to us, it helps put things into perspective and gives us a hope that this too will pass. God is the source of our hope, a way when there seems to be no possible way. He sets the standards we cannot achieve but gives us Jesus as the only way for us to be perfect and Holy in Him. God never promised that following Him would be easy, but He assures us that it will be worth our efforts. See more

From the Office of FLC, Greetings to our family of Faith, Today’s Scripture comes from 2 Chronicles: If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ... Humility is not a natural human trait. When we experience something humbling, it usually has a negative connotation. For the most part we don’t like to be humble. We like to feel able and capable. Right now our country is in turmoil, in a pandemic, protests and even riots. There are people that are frustrated, angry and outraged. Humility and Prayer can cast out Anger and Fear. Repent from our wicked ways and God will Heal us and our land. God gives us specific instructions on what we must do. Pray for the humble hearts to prevail.

THIS SUNDAY WE WORSHIP TOGETHER! For the first time in over a month we will gather for word and sacrament. We’ll meet at 10am on the back patio. Chairs will be placed for social distancing and communion will be in individual sealed kits. Please wear a mask and use the hand sanitizer provided. We are complying with all health codes & regulations and are taking all precautions to provide a safe and joyful worship!

Friday News and Notes 23 August 2020 Greetings to our family of Faith, Today’s verse comes from Matthew 6: So don’t ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.... The chapter of Matthew is believed to be written somewhere between 70 and 90 AD. The average life expectancy then was about 35 years old. Life was very different. Currently, the average 35 year is just getting started. Starting a career, getting married or starting a family. We may live different lives, but we still have many of the same worries. Will we be able to support ourselves? Will we be able to provide for our families? What if someone gets sick? What if I lose my job or my house? Times have changed, humanity has not. Our broken world is still broken. Jesus has been telling us that we should stop worrying about tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. God provides for all His other creations, so why would He not provide for us? We are Gods precious children, whom He loves and wants to care for. Scripture says that if God is for us, who can be against us? The world will change, culture will change, life as we know it will change. Sometimes we welcome the change and sometimes we don’t. No matter what, we are loved, saved and forgiven. Give God your fears and your worries. He holds us in the palm of His Hand. See more

Friday News and Notes 9 August 2020 Greetings to our family of Faith, Today’s verse is from Isaiah 43. When you go through the sea, I am with you. When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not harm you.... Comforting words to read, yet hard to embrace. Our world is full of devastation, illness, loss, and death. Christians know that nothing we can do will provide for our eternal life but as we get more comfortable in this life we can develop a false sense of security. All wealth in the world cannot buy one more minute of life. No matter how hard we try to plan, protect and or insulate ourselves from destruction, without God everything is built on sand. The only real solid rock is Jesus. Salvation through Jesus is the only way to true security, an everlasting life. Evil and sin will always be present in this world, Satan is always looking for an opportunity to use our fear, anger, and weakness against us. As a nation we need to come together, repent, and pray that God take these from us and heal us. Pray that we can focus on Him, His will, His plans, His good works and restore what was lost. See more

Greetings to our family of Faith, Today’s verse is from 2 Corinthians: My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak. So I will brag even more about my weaknesses in order that Christ’s power will live in me. Christ’s power is strongest, when we at our weakest. What happens when we think we don’t need God? When we think we are at our strongest, how much do we allow God to influence us? Sure we got this! No problem. We think we have it all under control.... We think we have it all together, have what we are told is a high level of success at life. Or at least on the surface it may appear that way. But scripture says a life without God is like a house built on sand. The storms of life will erode and destroy a house of cards, if anything happens, it all comes tumbling down. God created us in His likeness and we are designed to be spirituality connected to Him. Without a relationship with Jesus, we seek out things to fill that longing void we feel. Broken relationships, addictions, greed and idolatry. We try to fill that void with these things. It can make us feel good in the short term but bring eventual destruction to our lives. There is ALWAYS hope! God still loves us, and will never leave us. No matter how far we stray from Him, He will take us back into His loving arms. It is when we are broken, He builds us back up. When we submit to Him, His Power and Grace will save us and make up for what we lack. Trust Him and see, He’s got all the power you will ever need. God, humble us all, and fill us with Your Great Power.