Pastor Thomas Brashears - preached March 8 - Wherever Jesus went, changes occurred. He challenged systems, powers, and individuals. He helped people see that they couldn't see. He invited men and women to follow Him as if He expected them to drop everything and do just that. To our surprise (not his) many of them did follow. The invitation to transformation is still open. If we are listening, we can hear it in the darkness as did Nicodemus. Jesus is remaking who we are.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Jesus Saves

Pastor Ryan Warne-McGraw - preached on March 1 - Jesus faces the temptations of hunger, fame, and power in the desert, but the most crucial temptations of all were questioning his identity as a beloved Child of God, and his temptation to not complete his mission given to him by his Father.  Today we will talk about the importance of reconstructing our identity as beloved children of God, and the need to overcome self-rejection and the desire to quit.

Reconstructing Our Identity as Beloved Children of God

Pastor Thomas Brashears - preached February 23 - Service is a theme that runs throughout God’s Word from cover to cover. The Bible is filled with countless examples of ways in which God served His people, ways in which God’s people served God and others, and commandments that are related to service. In this lesson, we are going to look at five principles from God’s Word that are related to service. These principles are interrelated and should be taken as a whole.

Three Qualities of Servanthood

Pastor Ryan Warne-McGraw - preached February 16, 2020 - When Jesus saw crowds of people in need his first reaction was feeling the deep emotion of compassion. His ministry balanced sharing Good News and healing, and he was continually motivated to reach more people. Jesus does this today through the church and compassionate servants who respond to local and global needs.

Serving With a Heart of Compassion

Pastor Thomas Brashears - preached on February 9, 2020

Pastor Mike Anderson - preached February 2 - When the first church body in Jerusalem faced very practical material needs, the apostles were led by the Holy Spirit to tell the multitude of believers to choose seven men to function as deacons. The word for “deacon” meant to “hasten or run”. Unlike what often happens today, they were chosen for spiritual and not professional qualities. Deacons saw what needed to get done and got it done. They were servants. They were chosen based on six different qualities. The first three we will cover this week, and then the next three next week.

Qualities of an Effective Servant

Pastor Thomas Brashears - preached January 26 - Service nearly always follows a very specific sequence, one embodied in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. A prime example of this sequence is in the way Jesus dealt with Zacchaeus, a tax collector in Jericho. The sequence or pattern of service is fivefold: awareness, availability, acceptance, abiding, and abandonment.

The Pattern for Service

Pastor Mike Anderson - preached January 19 - As Jesus served the disciples, so they were to serve others. They were to be just as sensitive as Jesus to the needs of others, just as responsive as Jesus to the needs they perceived, and just as generous as Jesus in their loving care of others. The same is true for us. We are to serve others in humility and kindness, just as Jesus washed the dusty feet of His disciples only hours before His arrest and crucifixion.

Jesus: Our Role Model in Serving

Pastor Thomas Brashears & Sharon Franta - preached January 12 - The world has a hierarchy, a “ladder,” for evaluating the success of a person. Sometimes that ladder is based upon fame, sometimes upon money. In an organization, the person who has made his or her way to the position of CEO or chairman of the board is considered to be at the top of the ladder. Jesus had to deal with this thinking among His own disciples. This concept of service being equated with greatness seemed completely upside down to the disciples. It was a perspective that went against the grain, against common sense, against the prevailing world opinion. And, it still is.

The Marks of a True Servant

Pastor Thomas Brashears - preached January 5 - The means to achieving Jesus’ much higher and more meaningful goal of reigning over an eternal kingdom was not to be found in the man–made systems and alliances of this world, but rather through the ultimate act of ministry and servanthood, a sacrificial death.

Called To Be A Servant

Pastor Mike Anderson - preached December 29 - We can learn a lot about Jesus from where he grew up. People are formed in the towns where they grow up. You can take someone out of a town they grew up in, but you will never take the town out of them. I.e. Being from the Midwest! Today’s sermon is all about what we can learn from Jesus’ humble beginning of his life in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. When Jesus was born, he came down from heaven to be “God with us”. Growing up in Nazareth he became “God near us”.

Christ is Here...Watch Out!

Pastor Mike Anderson - preached December 15 - The Christmas season is not a time of joy for everyone. In fact, sometimes it can be a time of great sadness for people. So, what can we learn from the story of Jesus’ birth which is laden with joy? There is great joy when Jesus was born for all people, and there will be great joy when He returns. But the question for today is how can you experience joy in a world that is often joyless? How can we learn from Mary’s joy despite her lowly estate? Mary’s experience of joy by being the mother of our Savior can teach us what leads to true joy looks like, even when things are not perfect.

Are You Rejoicing?

Pastor Mike Anderson - preached December 8 - John the Baptist was a prophet, like Elijah, who spent time in the wilderness preparing for God’s Word to come to him. We know John was also Jesus’ relative as Mary and Elizabeth were relatives. John and Jesus were born a mere six months apart. Elizabeth and Zechariah were old in age and had been long awaiting the Messiah. Thirty years later the austere prophet John would come out of the wilderness to preach a ground-breaking message, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

How to Be Ready for Christ: Are You Prepared?

Pastor Thomas Brashears - preached December 1, 2019

How to Be Ready for Christmas: Margin

Pastor Thomas Brashears - preached November 24

How To Make Friends

Biblical and relatable teachings from our Sunday Morning services at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Irvine, CA.

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