Hosanna! (Save us) Son of God : from my perspective
St. Paul Lutheran Church
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Welcome!
I welcome your comments regarding our shared ministry at St. Paul.
 If you would rather comment privately please, email me at Prshepherd@westriv.com

"Two are better than one," says Ecclesiastes, 
"because if one falls down, his friend can help him up." 

I deeply desire to bring Christian comfort and the power of prayer to those who are challenged with sickness or circumstances in life. However, in this time of restricted visitation call me and I will attempt to contact them.

Please, assume that if you don’t tell us, we do not know. 
Call me at 301-4956 if surgery or hospital stay is imminent or if a visit could be helpful. 

Pastor Dennis
from my perspective…

    Breaking News, or Headline News, is updated by the hour and minute. The programs are designed to get our attention and to sell advertising. (Big surprise!) On the other hand, the Good News of Jesus Christ was proclaimed and is proclaimed today for an entirely different purpose.

    Mark begins his gospel with “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mk 1:1, ESV) It sounds like Mark is reporting, “Breaking news! Pay attention! Something important has happened!” 


    Matthew begins his gospel, “The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David.” (Mt. 1:1) It sounds like Matthew is introducing a history lesson whereby we might learn something. Don’t get me wrong – I love history because I believe with George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” 


    John begins his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” (Jn. 1:1) This is something totally different. John invites us to lay aside our daily concerns and ponder life’s Big Questions concerning God and “The Word of God.” 


    Each year, we might take a measure of our life on Tax Day, an anniversary, or any number of other milestones. Regardless of the circumstances, we go through a process of reflection, evaluation, and decision-making. We might reflect on the Big Questions of Life, like “Who are we? And “How do I fit in with family and society?” or “What positive difference am I making?” 

    I will grant that the most common daily question is, “Am I happy.” But I believe the Bible teaches us that happiness results from how we think of ourselves and our relationship with others. Therefore, John invites us to ponder anew our relationship with the One God of the Holy Scriptures, as opposed to mental or emotional gods of pleasure, wealth or self-importance. 
In the church year, Lent is the season that encourages us to ponder our relationship with the one and only eternal God and one another or who we desire to become. 

    Join us as we explore Jesus’ great encounters with religious rulers, a disrespected woman from a disrespected people and His disciples. In John, Jesus, the Word of God, invites people to question who we are in God’s eyes and who He desires us to become to live a fulfilling life. (e.g. John 10:10)
As John informs us, Jesus, the true Word of God, comes into the world to save us from ourselves and the destructive temptations brought on by the evil lies of the great Satan. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17, ESV) 

Please join us in our encounter with the Living Word of God, your pastor, Dennis.

Hosanna! (Save us) Son of God

by Pastor Dennis on 03/26/13

Holy Week has been for hundreds of years, a significant time of worship. Some churches read the Passion Narrative which recounts Jesus’ trial, suffering and death on Palm Sunday and rename it Passion Sunday. This initiative resulted because of poor attendance on Good Friday and the thought was, “we need to read the Passion when the most people are in church.”  Worshiping our Lord and Savior and remembering Him is a command of our Lord and an important Holy observance.

            Therefore, we will remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem today which is called Palm Sunday, The people spread out their cloaks and palm branches before the new king as he rode humbly on a donkey to honor his way into his new kingdom. The people cried, “Hosanna” which means, “save us.” Ironically, the crowd would turn against Jesus and cry, “Crucify Him!” by the end of the week.

            On Thursday we will remember the Last Supper where Jesus, surrounded by His disciples, His friends who would abandon Him. One would betray Him. One would deny Him three times. However, Our Lord who was innocent would suffer and die for them, so that they, and us, might have life, life eternal.

            On Good Friday we will remember His Passion as we read the drama from Luke’s Gospel account of his betrayal, arrest, trials, suffering and death at the hands of His enemies.

            Please, observe Holy Week by setting aside events that take your mind and heart away from worshiping our Savior and Lord and attend these significant worship opportunities.

 Pastor Dennis

Comments (2)

1. Sandy and Melton Olin said on 3/29/13 - 12:55PM
Love the new web site. Everything is great and easy to work through.
2. The original tweeter said on 4/2/13 - 09:56AM
Glad that I came! Was moved to tears on Good Friday! Keep it up!


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