If you dismissed the question above as silly, you are in the minority opinion of the American people. According to a recent poll, 53% of Americans believe that God “rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success”.
This Sunday the world will stop for the sports world’s undisputed biggest yearly event – the Super Bowl. What started as a game which drew a less than sell-out crowd in 1967 has become the icon for our supersized, superstar culture. Everything will be big. Everyone will be beautiful and talented. Even the TV commercials will be the best of the best. Super Bowl Sunday is not for the average guy on the street, except to buy lots of food, souvenirs and a bigger big screen TV (for the game, of course).
Yes, we give lip service to the old phrase “all people are created equal”, but when it comes to Super Bowl Sunday, the real us comes out. We all want to be either a starting quarterback or the entertainer at half time. And every form of the media gives its very best effort to reinforce our fantasies.
What do you think God makes of all our excitement over Super Bowl Sunday? We can get a pretty good idea by looking at a story Jesus told many years ago. It’s a story about two men, one fantastically successful and the other a social outcast. The outcome of their lives seems to be a no brainer, but the way Jesus explains it, we’re left scratching our heads and wondering if maybe we’ve got to readjust our thinking.
Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday, it’s a lot of fun. But what Jesus Christ offers you for the long term, makes the Super Bowl look like a pick-up game in a back alley. Join us for one of our week end services. Really, it might even make the game better!
Saturday night service: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning service: 10:00 am
Friday, January 30, 2015
Saturday, January 24, 2015
How Sturdy is Your Foundation?
At the moment, the building site manager’s decision to cut down on the amount of cement used to mix the concrete for the new apartment building’s foundation seemed insignificant. It was such a small amount. Certainly it would not make any difference in the long run.
It did. Ten years later cracks began to appear in the walls of various apartments. Consultants were brought in to fix the problem. For a while it was a mystery. But the cracks kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally the truth became obvious – the foundation of the building had shifted. It had become compromised. After time, the problem became so serious the building had to be torn down.
The foundation is not usually the first thing people notice about a building. Yet we all know that if it is not sound, the days are numbered for the construction on which it rests. Simply put, the foundation is the most important part of any building.
Jesus said the same thing about our lives. There is a vastly different outcome for those who opt to build their lives on materials of their own choosing compared to those who build their lives on the teachings of Christ.
Like the foundation of a building we often take for granted everything is just fine with the foundation of our lives. A familiar story Jesus tells gives us the opportunity to take a close look at what the state of that foundation really is. And it is certainly wise to take a good look because the storms of life will someday seriously challenge that foundation. Now is the time to get ready for those storms.
Join us for one of our weekend services. Check out the foundation of your life. Is it strong enough to go the distance?
Saturday night service: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning service: 10:00 am
It did. Ten years later cracks began to appear in the walls of various apartments. Consultants were brought in to fix the problem. For a while it was a mystery. But the cracks kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally the truth became obvious – the foundation of the building had shifted. It had become compromised. After time, the problem became so serious the building had to be torn down.
The foundation is not usually the first thing people notice about a building. Yet we all know that if it is not sound, the days are numbered for the construction on which it rests. Simply put, the foundation is the most important part of any building.
Jesus said the same thing about our lives. There is a vastly different outcome for those who opt to build their lives on materials of their own choosing compared to those who build their lives on the teachings of Christ.
Like the foundation of a building we often take for granted everything is just fine with the foundation of our lives. A familiar story Jesus tells gives us the opportunity to take a close look at what the state of that foundation really is. And it is certainly wise to take a good look because the storms of life will someday seriously challenge that foundation. Now is the time to get ready for those storms.
Join us for one of our weekend services. Check out the foundation of your life. Is it strong enough to go the distance?
Saturday night service: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning service: 10:00 am
Saturday, January 17, 2015
How Much Is A Human Life Worth?
“Insofar as some human beings are incapable of reasoning, remembering, and self-awareness, they cannot be considered persons. Put simply, dogs, cats, and dolphins are persons, while fetuses, newborns, and some victims of Alzheimer’s disease are not.”
Peter Singer, Practical Ethics, 1st edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979) , pp. 110
How much is a human life worth? The answer to that question very much depends on who is speaking. Peter Singer, former professor at Princeton University, is among a growing number of people who believe that the value of human life is to be determined by subjective measurements established by other human beings. The world has seen the results of such thinking in the horrific human slaughtering fields created by men such as Josef Stalin, Mao Tse Tung and Adolph Hitler. These three leaders, who were responsible for the combined deaths of more than 20 million people, believed, like Singer, that the value of human life is not by nature inherent, but rather to be determined by others. And they took upon themselves the authority to decide whose life had worth and whose did not.
This weekend we will commemorate Sanctity of Life Sunday with millions of other Christians in America. It will be an opportunity to thank our God for the life he gave each one of us, both physical and spiritual. It will be an opportunity to study his Word to appreciate how relevant and important biblical life principles are to us individually and as a society. Finally, it will be an opportunity to commit ourselves to making a difference in our world – to uphold the sacred and awesome gift God has given us – life! Please join us for one of our weekend worship services.
Saturday night service: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning service: 10:00 am
Peter Singer, Practical Ethics, 1st edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979) , pp. 110
How much is a human life worth? The answer to that question very much depends on who is speaking. Peter Singer, former professor at Princeton University, is among a growing number of people who believe that the value of human life is to be determined by subjective measurements established by other human beings. The world has seen the results of such thinking in the horrific human slaughtering fields created by men such as Josef Stalin, Mao Tse Tung and Adolph Hitler. These three leaders, who were responsible for the combined deaths of more than 20 million people, believed, like Singer, that the value of human life is not by nature inherent, but rather to be determined by others. And they took upon themselves the authority to decide whose life had worth and whose did not.
This weekend we will commemorate Sanctity of Life Sunday with millions of other Christians in America. It will be an opportunity to thank our God for the life he gave each one of us, both physical and spiritual. It will be an opportunity to study his Word to appreciate how relevant and important biblical life principles are to us individually and as a society. Finally, it will be an opportunity to commit ourselves to making a difference in our world – to uphold the sacred and awesome gift God has given us – life! Please join us for one of our weekend worship services.
Saturday night service: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning service: 10:00 am
Friday, January 9, 2015
Make a Difference!
Painting a room can be such a rewarding experience. A fresh coat of paint can transform a dull, drab area into an inviting and attractive space. The “before” and “after” difference is dramatic. It feels good to look at what we’ve accomplished because we can see the difference we’ve made.
If only life were like painting. If only we could see the difference we make in all the facets of our lives. Unfortunately, such is not the case. Often, no matter how hard we try, things don’t seem to change – even the tiniest bit. It’s easy to get the feeling that what we do doesn’t really matter much to anyone. And that is just plain depressing.
In his most famous sermon, Jesus Christ challenges his followers with the statement: “You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world.” With those word pictures he was saying, “I want you to be my representatives in combating the spread of evil and showing people who are in the dark about life what the Truth is.”
If you have been trying to change the world all by yourself and have gotten frustrated or are close to giving up because you don’t feel you are making a difference, join us for one of our weekend services. You’ll be encouraged. You’ll be motivated. How can anyone not be inspired when Jesus Christ invites us to work with him to change lives for eternity?
Saturday night service: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning service: 10:00 am
If only life were like painting. If only we could see the difference we make in all the facets of our lives. Unfortunately, such is not the case. Often, no matter how hard we try, things don’t seem to change – even the tiniest bit. It’s easy to get the feeling that what we do doesn’t really matter much to anyone. And that is just plain depressing.
In his most famous sermon, Jesus Christ challenges his followers with the statement: “You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world.” With those word pictures he was saying, “I want you to be my representatives in combating the spread of evil and showing people who are in the dark about life what the Truth is.”
If you have been trying to change the world all by yourself and have gotten frustrated or are close to giving up because you don’t feel you are making a difference, join us for one of our weekend services. You’ll be encouraged. You’ll be motivated. How can anyone not be inspired when Jesus Christ invites us to work with him to change lives for eternity?
Saturday night service: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning service: 10:00 am
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Hawaii Lutheran Church (WELS)
- Community Lutheran Church
- Honolulu, HI
- Community Lutheran Church holds protestant chapel services in Honolulu, Hawaii near Pearl Harbor, HI. We are next to the USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hickam Air Force Base, and Fort Shafter Hawaii. Look for us directly behind the Salt Lake, Hawaii, Target.