Lighthouse – October

 

Monthly Newsletter of Horeb Mar Thoma Church

Lighthouse

Message from Rev. Larry Varghese, Vicar

Larry_Achen_sml

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

Hands Held High Website Banner50

Sunday School

All Sundays – 1:30 pm

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 Service (When applicable)

 

Lectionary

Bible Lesson Readers & Deacons

News, Events & Monthly Meetings

newsandevents

Parish (Edavaka) Mission

Tuesday Evening Meeting @ 7:00pm

10/07: Mr. & Mrs. Mathew K. Philip
10/14: Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Mammen
10/21: Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Koshy
10/28: Mr. & Mrs. Isaac George
Parish (Edavaka) Mission Care Visit
October 25
Location: TBD
Church Convention
October 3  –  5
Location: GGUMC
Theme: Recapturing Biblical Dimensions of Vision
Main Speaker: Rev. Dr. K.A. Abraham
Horeb MTC Parish
October 5:
We will celebrate Horeb’s Parish day today with special songs and remember how God has blessed our parish during the past years. Dinner will be provided in Acker Hall following service.
L.E.A.D. Class
October 18,  10am  – 3pm
Location: GGUMC
Sevika Sangham
Bible Study: To be held on October 19 following service at GGUMC.
Area Prayer Meeting
 West Area: Saturday, October 11 @ 5 pm — Giju George (Cerritos)
 East Area: Friday, October 17 @ 7 pm — Dr. Thomas Mathew (Brea)

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

Teacher’s meeting will be held on on October 12th following service at GGUMC.

Young Family Fellowship
Bible Study
Saturday, October, 25  –  4:00PM
Location: Drs. Sunil and Susan Thomas

Youth Fellowship

Game Night
Friday, October 10,    6:30pm
Location: Anjali John

Bible Study
Sunday, October 26
Location: GGUMC after Service

 


Birthday and Wedding Anniversary



https://www.horebmtc.org/anniversaries/