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. 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 — Divine & Witnessing Service (English) – For August Only
Fourth Sunday — Holy Communion Service (English)
Fifth Sunday — Holy Communion Service (English)
Lectionary
Bible Lesson Readers & Deacons
News, Events & Monthly Meetings
Parish (Edavaka) Mission
Tuesday Evening Meeting @ 7:00pm
8/12: Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Koshy
8/19: Mr. & Mrs. Juby Mathew
8/26: TBD
Friday, August 1, 3PM
Sunday, August 10, after service
Area Prayer Meeting
South Area: Saturday, August 9 @ 6 pm — Manoj Mathew, Tustin
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 Teacher’s Workshop
Saturday, August 30, 10am – 3pm
At GGUMC, Room 15
Saturday, August 23, 4:00PM
Location: Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Philip, Norwalk
Youth Fellowship
Outreach
Friday, August 8, 6:45PM
Location: TBD
Bible Study
Sunday, August 24
Location: GGUMC after Service
Birthday and Wedding Anniversary
https://www.horebmtc.org/anniversaries/