Messiah Lutheran Church • 5200 Mayfield Rd., Lyndhurst, OH 44124 • 440-442-6941
Here you will find Pr. Paul's message from the monthly Grace Note, along with sermons from various Sundays and Adult Bible Study. Also, the special service for the Emanuel 9 is now on this page, along with the bulletin and the prayer for Racial Healing.
Waiting, Watching, Preparing
Advent begins this week, beloveds. And I am grateful for it.
It’s one of those times of the year with blessed complexity, holding in tension the world as it is against the world that God is yet revealing. Advent is that moment when we hold our breath, plunge into a new beginning, and push upwards towards the light that is coming, the light that reveals joy and truth and love. Christmas is nearly here, and this year I am wondering: how might we keep watch for what God is up to? How might we continue to “Prepare the way of the Lord,” as John the Baptizer calls across the eons? What does it look like to wait with the world, to sit together and share about what we hope might change in the days, months, and years to come?
Perhaps that’s just it – perhaps Advent is as simple as *being together* – recognizing the Divine presence in the simple things and sharing our “hopes and fears of all the years” with each other knowing that God is both already here with us now and is also drawing us forward towards a much fuller realization of justice, peace, and love. It can be hard to be together sometimes, but it is important to nurture the relationships among us, whether with friends, family, chosen family, or otherwise. So lean into it all, dear Church. Lean into the connections, the relationships, and the tension of the season, towards the light that is emerging soon in the blessed Christ Mass of God’s Love made known here among humanity.
c/o Pastor Paul
This Fall (2024) in the adult Sunday School class, we’ll be learning about our denomination’s social statements that help guide us in our shared faith. Dave Lenz and Pastor Paul will team lead conversations, beginning with an overview about these statements and how they connect with Scripture and our values as Lutherans. As the season progresses, we hope to read through some of them together and even look ahead to statements that are currently in draft form. Plan to join us if you can!
Archived lessons below:
First Sunday of Advent + Year A November 27, 2022
Christ the King Sunday + Year C November 20, 2022
Bible Study 2022 C Lectionary 33 November 13, 2022
All Saints Sunday + Year C November 6, 2022
10/30 - Group led class: Reformation Sunday + Year C October 30, 2022
10/16 - Sunday School Lectionary 29 C 2022
10/9 - Sunday School Lectionary 28 C 2022
The First Sunday After Lent 2021 (Lectionary 1B)
The Second Sunday of Advent
The Twenty-fourth Sunday After Pentecost 2020 (Lectionary 33 A)
The Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost 2020 (Lectionary 29 A)
The Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost 2020 (Lectionary 28 A)
We invite you to to CLICK HERE to read Pr. Paul's message.
Five years ago today a stranger was welcomed into Bible Study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. After the study ended, he opened fire, killing 9 of the people present in the name of white supremacy. The gunman grew up and was confirmed in an ELCA congregation, and is indicative of the continued, required work needed for us to repent of the sins of racism and white supremacy.
Today, along with our entire denomination, we commemorate the martyrdom of The Emanuel Nine. We give thanks for their faithful witness, grieve their deaths, and confess our own complicity in these systems of sin and death.
Take a few moments this evening to light a candle, participate in the brief liturgy (CLICK HERE FOR BULLETIN), and remember the lives of these siblings in faith. The video is below.
~Pastor Paul
August 12, 2018
Please watch the following blog for updates regarding the location and topic:
Please check the blog below (or click here: pubtheologyeast.wordpress.com) for the topic(s). We'll be meeting in person, location to be determined.