Integrity – it is a solid, sturdy word which describes solid, sturdy people. We like to be around people of integrity not because they’re fun to hang out with, but we know they’ll help if we find ourselves needing a hand.
Integrity – something we look for in other people and struggle to maintain in ourselves. We have a love-hate relationship with integrity. When it comes easily we feel good about ourselves. When we’re tempted to bend or just go all out and break the rules we despise and show contempt for integrity.
This weekend we’re going to be studying two unsung heroes who lived near the end of the Old Testament period – Nehemiah and Malachi. Both are inspirational examples of integrity, men who stood for what was right against ongoing opposition, often at the expense of great personal cost. While they may not have recognized it when they were alive, the integrity of both Nehemiah and Malachi were rooted in the Christmas event we are currently celebrating. Human integrity is rooted in God’s integrity to fulfill his promise of sending a Savior (Messiah) to restore the Eden existence human beings shattered by our disobedience.
As we enter the new year, it is healthy for us to do some serious soul searching on this matter, to absorb fully the effect of God’s integrity in our lives and then to commit ourselves to reflect that integrity in our daily walk in 2019.
Saturday evening service – 6:00 pm
Sunday morning service – 10:00 am
Friday, December 28, 2018
Friday, December 21, 2018
Three Presents
This coming weekend we’re going to be offering worship services on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Each one centers on the principle message of Christmas – God becoming a human being in the person of Jesus Christ – but each service also presents this life changing message in a slightly different way.
On Sunday families with children of our congregation will present the great news of Christmas through readings and hymns. It will be a time of learning and worship for anyone looking for a clear straightforward explanation of what happened at the birth of Christ.
The Christmas Eve Candlelight service on Monday will focus on the historical truth of Christmas. Through various types of presentations we will address the questions, “Did Christmas really happen?” and “What does an event which took place 2000 years ago have to do with me?”
Christmas Day’s service will address the significance of Christ’s coming in the light of the brokenness of human life. Everyone admits something is wrong with our world but few can agree on a solution for our problems. God breaking in to history offers the solution we need for our problems, the once and for all solution.
Regardless of which service you choose to attend, think about asking a friend to join you. What better present could you offer another person than an opportunity to know the God who made them, the God who gave everything to save them for all eternity?
Sunday, December 23 - 10:00 am Children's Program
Monday, December 24 - 7:00 pm Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Tuesday, December 25 - 10:00 am Christmas Day Service
On Sunday families with children of our congregation will present the great news of Christmas through readings and hymns. It will be a time of learning and worship for anyone looking for a clear straightforward explanation of what happened at the birth of Christ.
The Christmas Eve Candlelight service on Monday will focus on the historical truth of Christmas. Through various types of presentations we will address the questions, “Did Christmas really happen?” and “What does an event which took place 2000 years ago have to do with me?”
Christmas Day’s service will address the significance of Christ’s coming in the light of the brokenness of human life. Everyone admits something is wrong with our world but few can agree on a solution for our problems. God breaking in to history offers the solution we need for our problems, the once and for all solution.
Regardless of which service you choose to attend, think about asking a friend to join you. What better present could you offer another person than an opportunity to know the God who made them, the God who gave everything to save them for all eternity?
Sunday, December 23 - 10:00 am Children's Program
Monday, December 24 - 7:00 pm Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Tuesday, December 25 - 10:00 am Christmas Day Service
Friday, December 14, 2018
When There Aren’t Miracles
Every once in a while even Christians would like to have a supernatural reaffirmation from God that he is still in control of all that is going on. We’re not demanding that he turn the Pacific Ocean into blood like he did with the Nile River at the time of the Exodus. No, all it would take would be something small like having our Bibles opened to exactly the right page when we sit down to read them and then have the specific passage he wants us to consider blinking on and off in neon red colors. We just want something reassuring that he has got us covered.
The last several hundred years of Old Testament Jewish history are a lot like our current times in regard to miracles – there just don’t seem to be many. Was God hiding himself from the Jewish people? Is he hiding today?
This weekend we will be studying the book of Esther. The events it describes take place about 480 BC, near the very end of the biblical period we call the Old Testament. The incredible thing about this book is that not only don’t we find any miracles, the name of God isn’t even mentioned! But as so often happens in our reading of the Bible, our first reaction isn’t always accurate. In the account of Esther, it becomes very clear God is working behind the scenes, using people to accomplish what he wants.
That’s very similar to what he does today. And that’s why there are important truths in this short book. Just like Esther, God has put you on this earth at this time, in this place for a reason.
Is that part of your daily thinking?
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
The last several hundred years of Old Testament Jewish history are a lot like our current times in regard to miracles – there just don’t seem to be many. Was God hiding himself from the Jewish people? Is he hiding today?
This weekend we will be studying the book of Esther. The events it describes take place about 480 BC, near the very end of the biblical period we call the Old Testament. The incredible thing about this book is that not only don’t we find any miracles, the name of God isn’t even mentioned! But as so often happens in our reading of the Bible, our first reaction isn’t always accurate. In the account of Esther, it becomes very clear God is working behind the scenes, using people to accomplish what he wants.
That’s very similar to what he does today. And that’s why there are important truths in this short book. Just like Esther, God has put you on this earth at this time, in this place for a reason.
Is that part of your daily thinking?
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
Friday, December 7, 2018
The Truth about Starting Over
For all that is said about starting over, there is one truth which every person who has ever had such an experience knows – it isn’t easy!
Starting over usually means something has probably gone wrong and a correction needs to be made. Because of mistakes, whether ours or those of other people, significant changes need to happen in our lives. At first, we are very excited because we envision how different our lives will be if we actually put those changes into practice. We yearn to be free of the consequences of past errors.
Unfortunately, starting over in life is something which takes time, patience and perseverance. We quickly find that the changes we dreamed of when we first began our “restart” will only come after a prolonged period of living a self-disciplined life – something which is so hard to do. Our most potent enemy often is ourselves. We become weak. We just want to give up. We get to a point where we think it is easier to go back to our old ways rather than maintain those habits which will break the past mold of life.
We have a vivid example of a very challenging “start over” in the return of the Jewish people who had been exiled in Babylon for over 70 years. Their dream of a rebuilt Temple, a new Jerusalem and a renewed nation became a reality only after years of demanding sacrifice. What we actually see from the 20-20 vision of history is God using difficult circumstances to bring about the fulfillment of his plan to reclaim the human race for himself. The starting over process lasted 400 years but by the time it was complete, everything was set for the coming of the Messiah – the One who would bring the Eternal Start Over.
If you are in need of a “start over” or in the middle of one and find yourself ready to give up, join us for one of our services this weekend. Knowing you are not the only one in your situation and Who is willing to help you through makes all the difference.
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am
Starting over usually means something has probably gone wrong and a correction needs to be made. Because of mistakes, whether ours or those of other people, significant changes need to happen in our lives. At first, we are very excited because we envision how different our lives will be if we actually put those changes into practice. We yearn to be free of the consequences of past errors.
Unfortunately, starting over in life is something which takes time, patience and perseverance. We quickly find that the changes we dreamed of when we first began our “restart” will only come after a prolonged period of living a self-disciplined life – something which is so hard to do. Our most potent enemy often is ourselves. We become weak. We just want to give up. We get to a point where we think it is easier to go back to our old ways rather than maintain those habits which will break the past mold of life.
We have a vivid example of a very challenging “start over” in the return of the Jewish people who had been exiled in Babylon for over 70 years. Their dream of a rebuilt Temple, a new Jerusalem and a renewed nation became a reality only after years of demanding sacrifice. What we actually see from the 20-20 vision of history is God using difficult circumstances to bring about the fulfillment of his plan to reclaim the human race for himself. The starting over process lasted 400 years but by the time it was complete, everything was set for the coming of the Messiah – the One who would bring the Eternal Start Over.
If you are in need of a “start over” or in the middle of one and find yourself ready to give up, join us for one of our services this weekend. Knowing you are not the only one in your situation and Who is willing to help you through makes all the difference.
Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 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.