Have you tried it?

 

You were invited to try something in this week's message. Here's a reminder!

Meditation   This Sunday, I invited you to engage in Christian meditation this week. This is a friendly reminder! Click the button below for a brief explanation of Christian meditation, and an outline for one form of meditation you might try. I'd love to hear what it's like for you - comfortable? awkward? slow? restful? We'll talk about meditation and the rest of the "Inward" disciplines this Sunday. I'm glad we get to journey together, with Jesus as both our guide and goal! here for you, Matt Behrens, Pastor Christian Meditation and Lectio Devina And a quick reminder... Alpha is for You A new round of Alpha online starts this month. Who is Alpha for? Alpha is for you! Alpha is for you to explore what you believe. Alpha is for you to explore what you question. Alpha is for you to bring a friend. Alpha is for you to make new friends. Alpha is for you to revisit assumptions. Alpha is for you to hear perspectives. Alpha is for you to share your perspective. Alpha is an exploration of common questions about Christian faith where we dialogue with one another. All perspectives and all questions are welcome. It's a conversation for both Christians and non-Christians. Alpha will meet online on Thursdays, 8:00-9:15pm beginning January 21. Register at www.calvaryslz.org and then invite a friend to do the same! More Info and Registration Copyright © 2021 Calvary Lutheran Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Calvary Lutheran Church 17200 Via Magdalena San Lorenzo, CA 94580-2928 Add us to your address book

New(?) Year

Was turning the calendar to 2021 worth celebrating? Yes, actually...

New(?) Year   Friends in Christ, We're a couple weeks into the new year, and so far it looks a lot like last year. So, what was all the excitement about? Why were my neighbors lighting up the sky with fireworks at the start of 2021?  It's easy to become disappointed when new things don't turn out the way we expect, or to become disappointed when the good things we want take longer to arrive than we'd like. Yet, there's good reason for God's people to celebrate the coming of a new year. All the milestones of life – graduations, retirements, anniversaries, completed projects, new beginnings – are worth celebrating precisely because they are milestones. Each marker in our lives shows a movement toward fulfillment of God's good plans. Each step of our lives draws us closer to His restoration. Each celebration is a celebration because we're nearer to the day when Jesus returns. The landscape of 2021 may look familiar, but that's the reason we need to mark the new year. We need the reminder that there is movement. We need the reminder to look forward with hope. I don't know if 2021 will be good or bad, but I do know it will bring us closer to the picture of a wonderful future painted in Revelation 21. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:1-4) here for you, Matt Behrens, Pastor Online Worship Join brothers and sisters from Calvary for worship this Sunday. The pre-recorded segment will be available on Facebook and YouTube at 9:00am. We meet on Zoom at 9:30am.  Home Worship - printable 9:00am worship on YouTube 9:00am worship on Facebook 9:30 on Zoom You shouldn't need this with the above link, but the password for Zoom is slz. Alpha is for You A new round of Alpha online starts this month. Who is Alpha for? Alpha is for you! Alpha is for you to explore what you believe. Alpha is for you to explore what you question. Alpha is for you to bring a friend. Alpha is for you to make new friends. Alpha is for you to revisit assumptions. Alpha is for you to hear perspectives. Alpha is for you to share your perspective. Alpha is an exploration of common questions about Christian faith where we dialogue with one another. All perspectives and all questions are welcome. It's a conversation for both Christians and non-Christians. Alpha will meet online on Thursdays, 8:00-9:15pm beginning January 21. Register at www.calvaryslz.org and then invite a friend to do the same! More Info and Registration We Finished Counting Our Pennies God has been good to Calvary throughout this year (and much longer than that!) Thanks to his provision and your faithful giving we finished in the black. Our income and expenses looked different from what had been anticipated, but the end result reflects an opportunity for thanks and praise. You'll find our 2020 end-of-year budget report at the link below. Big thanks to our Treasurer, Margie Luehrs, for her work crunching the numbers. If you have any questions regarding financials at Calvary, please direct them to Margie. 2020 End-of-Year Budget Report Received this By Forward? Want to Sign Up? If you received this email from a friend and you want to be added to Calvary's email list, use the link below. Welcome, friend!   Sign-Up for Emails

Family by Blood

I'm grateful to be family with you in the blood of Jesus.

Family   Friends in Christ, A happy and blessed New Year to you! As we begin 2021, we know our God is with us. We trust his plans for us, and for this world. We ask him to help us see our place in his ongoing work. I'm grateful for the help from Pastor Michael Lange last week, and Pastor Aaron Putnam this week. Their help supplying video and written sermons allowed me to spend more time with my family celebrating Christmas and the New Year. I hope you've had time to connect with the people you love as well. Along with our blood relations, we celebrate and support one another as family related by Christ's blood. As we enter 2021 together, we walk as family. We love and serve and share. We encourage one another as we follow Jesus together! here for you, Matt Behrens, Pastor   But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5) Online Worship Join brothers and sisters from Calvary for worship this Sunday. The pre-recorded segment will be available on Facebook and YouTube at 9:00am. We meet on Zoom at 9:30am.  Home Worship - printable 9:00am worship on YouTube 9:00am worship on Facebook 9:30 on Zoom You shouldn't need this with the above link, but the password for Zoom is slz. New Portals of Prayer Available Copies are available at the church office. If the office is closed there will be copies in a plastic bin outside the office door. Please come and pick up yours today. Drive-In Communion on January 3 We will celebrate the Lord's Supper in vehicles on Sunday, January 3. Plan to join your Calvary family in the church parking lot. You'll be able to hear Pastor Matt by tuning your car stereo to the appropriate FM channel. At distribution, the elders will bring bread and wine to your vehicle. This will be a brief communion service following our regular Sunday online worship and Zoom. Gather at Calvary for a 10:45am start If you would like an order of service to follow, you will find a printable copy at the link below. It is not necessary to have this, but is provided for your convenience. Communion Service Thank You from the Behrens Family Our family is grateful that God brought us to Calvary 2 years ago. Thank you for all the cards, notes, calls and encouragement during this Christmas season (and throughout the year). Thank you for the gifts you've shared with us as well. We are humbled and grateful to have a place in this Calvary family. May God continue to bless, guard and guide us as we follow Jesus together. here for you, the Behrens family Matt, Sherrah, James, Lucy Received this By Forward? Want to Sign Up? If you received this email from a friend and you want to be added to Calvary's email list, use the link below. Welcome, friend!   Sign-Up for Emails