Christ Lutheran Church, Pattison TX

 

Welcome to Christ Lutheran Church
Divine Service 10:30 am

We provide a traditional LCMS service using the Lutheran Service Book (LSB) every Sunday morning at 10:30am central time, preceded by Bible Study and Sunday School at 9:00am.  If you are unable to attend, the services can also be viewed online via Facebook Live. (Facebook account required.)

Activities

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  • September 13 Service

    Greetings in the name of our Savior, Jesus. Psalm 122 is ascribed to be a psalm of David. It is also a psalm of ascents, the kind of song people would sing on their way going up the mountain preparing for worship. The lyrics do not express reluctance or weariness, but anticipation and joy.  The Psalm begins on a happy note, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”” Jerusalem, the city of David, located on Mt. Zion, and the place the tribes of God went to praise His name. The people of God looked forward to going there to be assured of His care for them. Divine Service at the church is also such a place; God distributes the gifts of forgiveness that Jesus earned for us. And we respond with praise. I invite you to attend this week’s worship so I can rejoice with you.

    Note a change in the service Sunday, September 13. We will be using the liturgy for Divine Service Setting One beginning on page 151 in the LSB hymnal. The hymns for the day are #812 Come, Let Us Join Our Cheerful Songs; #843 Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive; #611 Chief of Sinners, Though I Be; and #852 O God of Mercy, God of Might.

    Scripture lessons are Psalm 103:1-13, 22; Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 14:1-12; and Matthew 18: (15-20) 21-35.

    Jesus Christ, God’s begotten Son, died on a cross for you to pay for your sin. Jesus rose from the dead, opening heaven and eternal life to you. We receive His gifts through faith in Him. because Jesus has paid the cost of our sin, our heavenly Father does not act toward us with anger, but with compassion. He does not imprison us as our disobedience deserves, but He forgives all our debts and releases us (Matt. 18:23–27). Therefore, our Lord bids you also to have “mercy on your fellow servant” and “forgive your brother from your heart” (Matt. 18:33, 35). By the Lord’s forgiveness of our sins, we are free to forgive those who sin against us, because He has paid our entire debt with His lifeblood. As a result, whether we live or die, we “are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:8). Since we all will “stand before the judgment seat of God,” we are not to despise our brother (Rom. 14:10), but gladly forgive him. The patriarch Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph ended up in Egypt, and as God helps him he ends up being a government leader in charge of the nation’s food supply.. When a famine hits the region, the brothers travel to Egypt to ask for food. After so many years apart, they do not recognize Joseph. Joseph could have had them arrested or killed out of revenge for the mistreatment decades earlier. But Joseph forgives. He becomes an example of how we should forgive those who hurt us. We forgive by letting Jesus’ forgiveness flow through us. Lord, help us to forgive!!

    COLLECT: O all-knowing and almighty God, without Your grace and blessing we cannot please You. Mercifully continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit to direct and govern our hearts in all things ; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

     Please let me know if you have any prayer requests or questions about Sunday’s lessons. God bless you. Pastor Boster

  • September 6 service

    Greetings in the name of Jesus. This is Labor Day weekend. For many the holiday marks the end of summer. Unfortunately our temperatures are not agreeing with that designation. Labor might seem like a burden at times, rather than something to celebrate. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve, labor has been accompanied by struggle, sweat, and hazards. But we still have reason to give thanks to God for all the vocations He works through to provide us all we need for this body and soul. I encourage you to be in church Sunday to receive the gifts of forgiveness and comfort that God is distributing there.

    On Sunday, September 6 we will follow the liturgy of Divine Service Seeting Three that begins on page 184 in the LSB hymnal. Hymns chosen for the day are #820 My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker; #614 As Surely As I Live, God Said; # 634 The Death of Jesus Christ, Our Lord; and we will close with a few verses of #609 Jesus, Sinners Doth Receive.

    Scripture lessons assigned to the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 18, are Psalm 32:1-7; Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:1-10; and Matthew 18:1-20. 

    The gospel lesson begins (Matthew 18:1) with a question the disciples ask of Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus gives one answer to that question in Chapter 20, “Whoever wants to be great among you shall be your servant”, serving others in a way that expresses the humble sacrificial life of Jesus who served by giving His life as a ransom for many. But here in Chapter 16, Jesus answers the question about greatness by using children as an object lesson. “Unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This leads to a question, ‘what is it to be like a child?’ What characteristics of children are we supposed to imitate? Some would suggest it means to listen to authority, be obedient, and well-behaved. But this better describes what children should be, not what they actually are. In fact, children are not innocent in the sense of sinless; they can often be selfish tyrants concerned only for themselves. Rather, what children are is immature, lacking wisdom, unable to care for themselves, dependent on someone who is able to help. Jesus is encouraging His disciples to let go of any thoughts of self-sufficiency or worldly standards of power, and instead to recognize they have nothing of greatness to offer in heaven. The humble and poor in spirit, who recognize their dependence on Jesus, will be those who receive God’s eternal blessings. Jesus is redefining greatness. Jesus includes instruction for His disciples that they not cause others to sin, not despise others who are weak and needy, and to work toward forgiveness and reconciliation with those who offend. As we receive these needy, we are receiving Jesus.

    Though in our sin we deserve to be “drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18:6), we have instead been drowned (“buried”) with Christ in Baptism and then raised to the new, humble life of a child of God. As we read in the Old Testamnet lesson, God sends watchman to warn us with a word from His mouth, calling us to repent in order that we may not die in our iniquity but be turned from our pride and selfishness to live (Ezek. 33:7–9). Thus, we live in humility and faith before God as well as in love for our neighbor, which “is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10). In the reverent fear of God, we do no harm to our neighbor, but we “pay to all what is owed to them” (Rom. 13:7) and we “owe no one anything, except to love each other” (Rom. 13:8). 

    COLLECT: O God, from whom all good proceeds, grant to us, Your humble servants, Your holy inspiration, that we may set our minds on the things that are right and, by Your merciful guiding, accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

    Please let me know if you have any prayer requests or questions about the Scripture lessons. God bless you. Pastor Boster

  • Annual Church Outing
    Once a year, the Ladies’ Group sponsors an outing for Church Members and guests.  This year we visited the Bluebell Creamery and Almost Heaven restaurant in Brenham.  A great time was had by all.
  • LWML District Conference
    In June, two of our ladies’ group members, attended the bi-annual conference in Austin.  It was wonderful worshiping and singing together.  The members also selected recipients of this biennium’s recipients.  Our Zone (group of churches) sponsored the Jesus Signs Deaf Ministry.  It was voted the first place mission grant.  We were so excited!  You can find information on their activities here:  https://www.deafoutreachtexas.org/activities-and-events.  
  • August 23 service

    Brothers and sisters, greetings in the name of our Savior, Jesus. Though the temperatures suggest otherwise, we are coming to the end of summer. I encourage you to make worship and Bible study a core part of your schedule. St. Paul writes instruction to the ancient church in Rome, still applicable today, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2). The habits of prayer, studying the bible, remembering the benefits of your baptism, receiving the Lord’s Supper, singing a psalm– these God-given gifts that point us to Jesus are all helpful in having peace of mind. It is wise and good for our souls to make use of them. And I will have the air conditioning on.

    During the service August 23 we will follow the liturgy of Divine Service Setting Three beginning on page 184 in the LSB hymnal. Hymns chosen for the day are #848 Lord, Whose Love through Humble Service; #728 How Firm a Foundation; #729 I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus; and #576 My Hope is Built On Nothing Less.

    Scripture lessons assigned to the day, the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16), are Psalm 138:1-8; Isaiah 51:1-6; Romans 11:13-12:8; and Matthew 16:13-20.

    In the Gospel lesson, Jesus asked His disciples: “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). The question is also put to you: Who do you say that Jesus is? Flesh and blood do not reveal the answer to us, but by the power of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit enlightens us and reveals Jesus as the Son of God, who has become flesh and suffered death for our salvation. Thus, with those early apostles, we also believe and confess that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). As He died for our transgressions and was raised for our justification, Jesus sets us free from all our guilt and preserves our life within His Church, against which even “the gates of hell shall not prevail” (Matt. 16:18–19). Jesus’ saving work is forever, and His righteousness “will never be dismayed” (Is. 51:6). He continues to comfort His Church with the gospel, so that “joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song” (Is. 51:3). Therefore, “according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Rom. 12:3), we respond in thanksgiving by offering ourselves “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Rom. 12:1) through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

    COLLECT: Almighty God, Your Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption. Grant us courage to take up our cross daily and follow Him wherever He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

    Please let me know if you have any prayer requests or questions about the lessons to be considered Sunday. The Lord be with you. Pastor Boster