Monthly Newsletter of Horeb Mar Thoma Church
Message from Rev. Larry Varghese, Vicar
Dearly Beloved in Christ,
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us… Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
Paul says, “Therefore be imitators of God.” – Eph 5:1. Peter says, “Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct.” – 1 Pt 1:15.
We usually think of being Christ-like as being the Biblical mandate. But it’s interesting to ask the question: Does God act like us? When we think of forgiveness we know we are to forgive other just like God has forgiven us. Here though, intriguingly enough, we are taught to reverse idea that God will forgive us in the same manner we forgive others. Is this a mistranslation? We should note that the Lukan version can be translated as “forgive us our sins for we have forgiven the sins of others”, but Luke also quotes Jesus as saying, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” – Lk 6:37.
So what do we make of this idea of God acting like us? Well we should realize this isn’t something completely unusual. When Jesus spoke about judgmental attitudes he said, “For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” – Mt 7:2. Should we expect that God wouldn’t act this way? Do we think that God will forgive us regardless of our forgiving others? What does our attitude of unforgiveness imply about our experience of forgiveness? It should cause us to stop and think. Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer we are asking God to be like us in terms of forgiveness.
It is a frightening request for us to be making year after year. But hopefully the one who understands their own sins before God will realize the irony if they refuse to forgive someone else. Understanding that forgiveness has been achieved once and for all on the cross, we must admit that the experience of forgiveness is somehow tied to our offering of forgiveness to others. Therefore forgive, and be forgiven – not as though to earn forgiveness, but to prove our understanding of God’s forgiveness of us.
Rev. Larry Varghese.
Worship Service
Sunday School
All Sundays – 1:30 pm (Currently OFF for Summer Break and Summer Programs Only)
Praise & Worship
All Sundays – 2:30 pm
Service Times
All Sundays – 3:00 pm
First Sunday Holy Communion Service (English)
Second Sunday Holy Communion Service (Malayalam)
Third Sunday Holy Communion Service (English)
Fourth Sunday Holy Communion Service (English)
Fifth Sunday Divine & Witnessing Service (English)
(when applicable)
Lectionary
Bible Lesson Readers & Deacons
News, Events & Monthly Meetings
Parish (Edavaka) Mission
Tuesday Evening Meeting @ 7:00pm
7/8: Mr. & Mrs. Mathew K. Philip
7/15: Mr. & Mrs. Isaac George
7/22: Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Koshy
7/29: Mr. & Mrs. K.M. Chacko
July 12
Location TBD
Church Picnic
Area Prayer Meeting
The Areas are divided as follows:
- West Area: Buena Park, Carson, Cerritos, Cypress, Gardena, La Palma, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Norwalk, Signal Hill
- East Area: Anaheim Hills, Brea, Corona, Fullerton, Placentia, Rancho Cucamonga, Yorba Linda
- South Area: Irvine, Orange, Portola Hills, San Diego, Tustin
Sunday School
Sunday School Anniversary
Sunday, July 13th
At GGUMC.
Youth Fellowship
Bible Study
Thursday, July 10
Location: Anjali John
Bible Study
Sunday, July 27
Location: GGUMC after service
Birthday and Wedding Anniversary
https://www.horebmtc.org/anniversaries/