So you want your church to be popular?

This article by Pastor Mark Surburg was originally published April 2018 on Sunburg's Blog

Do you want your church to be popular?  Of course you do!  Every pastor loves to see the church growing in numbers.  Congregation members are excited to be at a church that is clearly thriving and successful.  The good news is that this is possible for you.  It will take work, but if you live in the United States there is a clear roadmap to success.

First, don’t talk about doctrine.  We live at time when post-modernism has taught people that there is no such thing as truth, or right and wrong.  Doctrine is very much about truth – the claim that there is teaching that is right and teaching that is wrong.  This is guaranteed to turn off people.  Because of this yours will, of course, be a non-denominational church.  Denominations (or to use that old fashioned word, “confessions”) have historically been differentiated by doctrine.  Opt out of the denominational game and intentionally avoid doctrine altogether.

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Published: 09 May 2018 09 May 2018

Last Updated: 09 May 2018 09 May 2018

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Why Do Christians Celebrate Jesus’ Ascension?

This article was written by Pastor Sam Schuldheisz and published on The Orange County Register

Most people know about the Christian holy days of Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. But what’s Ascension Day? In France it’s a civil holiday. In Germany it’s called Himmelfahrt (roughly translated, “heaven bound”). And yet, Huntington  Beach’s Main Street saw no Ascension Day parade. Belle Terra wasn’t overrun by Ascension Day sales. Nowadays Jesus’ ascension is largely ignored or forgotten.

However, since the first century Jesus’ ascension is a joyous day, concluding the Easter season. It’s no day for moping about like Eeyore, “Oh bother. Jesus is gone. Now I’m all alone.” Rather, Jesus’ ascension is good news for you.

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Published: 06 May 2018 06 May 2018

Last Updated: 06 May 2018 06 May 2018

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A Day for Thanksgiving

Zion thanks God for Rev. Bartelt!

For 12 years Rev. Bartelt has faithfully served as Choir Director here at Zion. He is now retiring from his service.

(He is not going anywhere. He will enjoy spending more time as Husband, Dad, and Grandfather. Rev. Bartelt will remain a part of the body of Christ at Zion.)

On May 13 we will gather at 9:15 in the Lakeview Room for a time of thanksgiving. We will have a card shower as well. There is a basket in the narthex to receive the cards.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3)

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Published: 05 May 2018 05 May 2018

Last Updated: 05 May 2018 05 May 2018

Every Sunday Is Easter Sunday

This article by Rev. Eric Brown originally appeared on the Higher Things Dare to Be Lutheran website.

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread... - Acts 20:7

From the early days of the church we've worshiped on Sunday morning. Please note that I'm not saying that you can't go to a Saturday night service or anything like that - but very early on in church history the standard became to gather together on Sunday morning and celebrate the Lord's Supper. There's a very good and simple reason for this.

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Published: 01 May 2018 01 May 2018

Last Updated: 01 May 2018 01 May 2018

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I challenge you to read the Bible

This article written by the president of the LCMS, Matthew C. Harrison, was originally published on the LCMS blog website.

Friedrich Pfotenhauer was president of the LCMS from 1911 to 1935. In 1897, on the 50th anniversary of the Synod, he was president of the Minnesota and Dakota District. He said the following to the gathered district pastors and laypeople:

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Published: 21 April 2018 21 April 2018

Last Updated: 21 April 2018 21 April 2018

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They need us to be Lutheran

This article written by Matthew J. Garnett was originally published on the Lutheran Reporter website.

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor.1:18).   

I can’t imagine St. Paul’s words here being any truer than they are for the Lutheran church I attend each Sunday. Walk into that place during any given service, and you’ll see men dressed in what can only be described as togas with colorful sashes, waving their hands about in all kinds of strange ways, and making what seem to be hubristic statements like “I forgive you all your sins.” All this takes place while the people in the congregation bow and kneel and do weird things with their hands in response to the colorfully dressed men leading the service. 

To be sure, there was a time when I would have unequivocally labeled all of this as “folly.” But now, as someone who has tried everything from Christian Fundamentalism to witchcraft, I must say, I love it. Once it was foolish; now it is genuine, meaningful, and indeed, divinely powerful. 

Why I needed Lutherans

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Published: 18 April 2018 18 April 2018

Last Updated: 18 April 2018 18 April 2018

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Why Should We Sing?

This article by Monica Berndt was originally written on the Higher Things - Dare to Be Lutheran website.

Since the beginning of the Reformation, the Lutheran Church around the world has consistently allotted a portion of time during the Divine Service to the singing of hymns. Why? What is the reason for singing hymns as a congregation instead of letting a choir sing all the music, or why not just take hymns out altogether? After all, people can be self-conscience about singing in public, and, it takes time out of the service where we should be listening to a pastor speak the Word of God, right? Hymns do take up a large portion of our services, and we should understand why it is good for us to sing them.

When most of you were in grade school, you had to memorize the 50 U.S states and/or the names of all the U.S Presidents. To help you, your teachers probably had you memorize a song that included these names which you could sing with a CD, and have running through your head during the day. This helped you easily remember all the information the teacher wanted you to memorize by singing that song. Combining words with music helps our brains remember important facts and information better than just reciting them, which is why schools use music to teach us the presidents, and VBS and Sunday School use tunes to help us memorize Bible passages. But learning information this way is not just a tool for children, it is also one of the reasons we sing hymns.

Hymns are not just praise songs. Like the rest of the Divine Service, hymns remind us about Jesus, the redemption He won for us on the cross, and the gifts He continues to give us. Before church, look at the words to the hymns you will sing. Almost all of them will mention something about Jesus’ death, resurrection, and the gift of the Holy Spirit to create faith. Communion hymns tend to talk about the forgiveness of sins given to us in the Lord’s Supper. Hymns sung at during a baptism not only speak of the baptism taking place that day, but also remind all of us of our own baptisms and the assurance of forgiveness we received there. Hymns sung before the sermon have words that tie into the points your pastors want to emphasize during their sermons. Hymns always tie into what is said during the Divine Service and point us to Christ.

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Published: 09 April 2018 09 April 2018

Last Updated: 09 April 2018 09 April 2018

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Easter 2018 Photos

Photos from the Easter Sunday.  Photos of the altar, Easter breakfast and the children's Easter Egg Hunt .

Photos courtesy of Richard Thies

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Published: 04 April 2018 04 April 2018

Last Updated: 04 April 2018 04 April 2018

Easter and the Forgiveness of Sins

The following article was originally from Pastor Wolfmueller of Hope Lutheran Church

Jesus “was delivered up for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.”  [Romans 4:25, KJV]

With these words St Paul declares the “why” of the resurrection, the purpose of Easter: Jesus was raised for our justification. But what does this mean?

“Justification” means to declare righteous and holy, or to be forgiven of all sin. St Paul, then, is saying that Jesus was raised to forgive our sin. Jesus, in His death and in His resurrection is taking our place, the place of all mankind. Just as Jesus' condemnation is our condemnation and His death is our death, so Jesus' coming out of the grave is our life and salvation, our forgiveness. 

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Published: 01 April 2018 01 April 2018

Last Updated: 04 April 2018 04 April 2018

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A Death On A Friday Afternoon

by Rev. Brent Kuhlman
There he is!  He’s just hanging there. He refused to come down. Stayed to the bitter end. Breathed his last and said: “It is finished” (John 19:30). The veil in the temple split in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked. The rocks split. Dead people came out of their tombs (Matthew 27:51-52). Do you see him? Jesus of Nazareth! Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven Jesus of Nazareth! Yes, that’s right, he’s hanging there. His body hangs limp. Dead. Graveyard dead on a Friday afternoon we now call “Good!”

Good for you that is! “Really? Doesn’t look that way! Looks rather gris-ly and horrible.” Indeed. But dead on the cross Jesus is work that he does for you and for your salvation.

Take another look at him. Hidden in this brutally beaten and nailed to the tree corpse is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Yes, he looks so foolish. But dead on the cross Jesus is God’s highest wis-dom. Yes, he looks so weak. But suspended lifeless on the cross Jesus is God’s most magnificent power. All for you!

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Published: 26 February 2015 26 February 2015

Last Updated: 01 April 2018 01 April 2018

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