Advent Blues
The church uses various colors to mark the different seasons of the church year. Advent is no different. The color for the season is blue and during this season we give voice to the longing of our hearts for Jesus to come. The cry of God’s people throughout the ages has been, “Come, Lord Jesus, Come!” During the Advent Season we celebrate Jesus who was promised to come, who did come, and who will come again as our Prophet, Priest and King. The pageantry of our “Advent Blues” visually points us to the one who is pure and royal.
Our Advent Schedule for 2018
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- Published: 01 December 2018 01 December 2018
- Last Updated: 01 December 2018 01 December 2018
Saturday, November 24 was Pacific Hill Lutheran Church's 2nd Annual Rake and Run. We had a good turnout of volunteers from the congregation to help rake leaves from the yards in the neighborhood surrounding the church. We were blessed with sunshine, pleasant temperatures, and smiles while we labored in our task.
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few."
Matthew 9:37
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- Published: 24 November 2018 24 November 2018
- Last Updated: 29 November 2018 29 November 2018
This article by Marie Landskroener originally appeared on the Concordia Publishing House Music website on November 20, 2018.
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
(“Abide with Me,” LSB 878, Stanza 1)
So was my family’s anthem nearly every evening when I was little. We made it our own with little added embellishments, as kids (and sometimes dads) are wont to do, and then scurried off to bed (always obediently and willingly, I might add—just don’t tell my mom I said that). Little did we know the preparation that was taking place, the ultimate preparation in life: we were preparing to die.
“Change and decay in all around I see”
That, you might be thinking, is morbid! Innocent children heading off to bed preparing for their deaths? Well, as I learned in American history, only two things in this life are certain: death and taxes. In all seriousness, though, if death is certain (unless, of course, Christ comes in our lifetime), then why should we not spend every moment preparing to die a good death? Why should we not be ready for it when it comes?
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- Published: 24 November 2018 24 November 2018
- Last Updated: 24 November 2018 24 November 2018
Possibly the best-known Christmas service in the Western world is the festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held each year since 1918 at King’s College, Cambridge, England. Adapted by churches all over the world as part of their Advent and Christmas worship, Lessons and Carols is a service which celebrates the birth of Jesus through selected passages of Scripture interspersed with choral music and congregational singing which reflect on those Scriptural passages.
Pacific Hills' Advent Lessons and Carols Service
Pacific Hills’ annual service of Advent Lessons and Carols will take place on Sunday, December 9, during the 8:00 am and 10:30 am services. Our service begins the same way in which the King’s College Christmas celebration begins – by recalling the rebellion and fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the need for a Savior. We then hear prophecies from Isaiah, Jeremiah and Micah which unfold God’s message of love and redemption; God comforts His people, calls on them to prepare for their Savior to come, and promises a new covenant – a righteous branch to be born in Bethlehem to save us all.
The festival culminates with a reading from the Gospel of St. Luke in which John the Baptist proclaims the Advent of the Messiah and calls us all to repentance as we prepare to meet him.
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- Published: 22 November 2018 22 November 2018
- Last Updated: 22 November 2018 22 November 2018
Rev. Matthew Wood visited Pacific Hills Lutheran Church on Sunday, November 18, 2018. Rev. Wood lead a presentation on his work in Indonesia that is planned for February 2019, and preached during the 10:30 am service. Rev. Wood and his family has traveled over 9,000 miles over the past 15 weeks to raise support for his work in Indonesia. He will work closely with the Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church (GKLI) and help train pastors and lay leaders by providing resources through educational workshops, translation projects and other efforts.
Matthew is originally from Minnesota. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theology from Concordia University, St. Paul, in 2006. He received his Master of Divinity in 2011 and a Master’s in Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) in 2015 from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Following seminary, he served as pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Maplewood, Missouri.
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- Published: 19 November 2018 19 November 2018
- Last Updated: 02 February 2019 02 February 2019
“Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One. Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son…”
At Lamb of God Preschool we’ve spent the month of November talking about gratitude and what it means to be thankful. We have so many wonderful people in our lives and abundant food and physical blessings.
And, most especially, we have the gift of God’s Son, our Savior, Jesus.
We thank everyone who has supported Lamb of God Preschool this past year with their generous contributions. We are grateful for you.
My prayer is that you have had a joyous Thanksgiving, celebrating the amazing blessings that our gracious Lord has given.
Kay Storck
Lamb of God Preschool Director/Teacher
Kay Storck is the Preschool Director at Lamb of God Preschool in Omaha Nebraska
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- Published: 17 November 2018 17 November 2018
- Last Updated: 17 November 2018 17 November 2018
On Veterans Day, November 11, Quilts of Valor presented five quilts to PHLC members and veterans. Each quilt was crafted by loving hands of Quilts of Valor, Omaha Chapter #577, most by members of our congregation, to recognize those who served during World War II. One intended for a now-deceased member, was presented to a Marine currently serving overseas.
Frank Bladt - U.S. Navy (1943-1946). Quilt pieced & quilted by Elain Whiteing
Paul Gladman - U.S. Army (1944-1945). Quilt pieced by Melissa Peters, quilted by Joan Workman
Robert Loeck - U.S. Army (1945-1946). Quilt pieced & quilted by Joan Workman
Duane Fieck - U.S. Navy (1943-1946). Quilt pieced & quilted by Ellen Lessmann
Timothy Mechaley - U.S. Marines (Post-911). Quilted for Al Simonson, presented to Timothy.
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- Published: 12 November 2018 12 November 2018
- Last Updated: 13 November 2018 13 November 2018
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- Published: 10 November 2018 10 November 2018
- Last Updated: 10 November 2018 10 November 2018
This article by Erica Tape originally appeared on the Concordia Publishing House Music website on October 30, 2018.
Sola Scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus. Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone.
This Reformation teaching is especially poignant on All Saints’ Day, a day when many of us remember those who have gone before us in the faith. The solas teach us about the pure Gospel, and the Gospel gives us hope in the resurrection. As you rejoice in the Reformation, may you find comfort in the Gospel and share that comfort with others who may be mourning on All Saints’ Day.
The hymns below are highlighted for Reformation Day in Lutheran Service Book or Worship Planning Book. We hope the Gospel truth in their lyrics shines brightly for you.
“Our Vict’ry Has Been Won”
In the end of the fourth stanza of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (LSB 656/657), we sing about everlasting life:
And take they our life,
Goods, fame, child, and wife,
Though these all be gone,
Our vict’ry has been won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth.
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- Published: 31 October 2018 31 October 2018
- Last Updated: 31 October 2018 31 October 2018
Why does the church sing? It’s an interesting question, especially since we live in an age where singing together has become somewhat anachronistic. So, why do we do it?
There are many passages in Scripture that refer to music and to singing, but for the moment, consider just two of them. In Job 38:7, we are told that at the creation of the earth “the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.” In Revelation 5:11-12, St. John tells us that in his vision of end times he heard “the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand…In a loud voice they sang ‘Worthy is the lamb who was slain…’” These passages illustrate an important point: that the church – God’s creation – has sung from the very beginning of time, and will continue to do so through the end of time. And we, God’s people, have the marvelous opportunity to participate in this song of the universal, timeless church… right here… right now…on this particular date and in this particular place.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in Life Together, states it this way: “O Sing to the Lord a new song,” the Psalter calls out to us again and again. It is the Christ hymn, new every morning, that a community living together begins to sing in the early morning, the new song that is sung by the whole community of faith in God on earth and in heaven. We are called to join in the singing of it. It is God who has prepared one great song of praise throughout eternity, and those who enter God’s community join in this song It is the voice of the church that is heard in singing together. It is not I who sing, but the church. However, as a member of the church, I may share in its song. (emphasis added)
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- Published: 27 October 2018 27 October 2018
- Last Updated: 22 November 2018 22 November 2018