Lighthouse – August

 

Monthly Newsletter of Horeb Mar Thoma Church

Lighthouse

Message from Rev. Larry Varghese, Vicar

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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

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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

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Parish (Edavaka) Mission

Tuesday Evening Meeting @ 7:00pm

8/5: Mr. & Mrs. Isaac George
8/12: Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Koshy
8/19: Mr. & Mrs. Juby Mathew
8/26: TBD

 

Sevika Sangham
Bible Study @ GGUMC
Friday, August 1, 3PM
Sunday, August 10, after service
 

Area Prayer Meeting

 
West Area:   Saturday, August 9 @ 5 pm — Location TBD
South Area:  Saturday, August 9 @ 6 pm — Manoj Mathew, Tustin
East Area:    Friday, August 15 @ 7 pm –  Location, TBD
 
 

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

Young Family Fellowship
Bible Study
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/