VIDEO: Sunday February 16, 2025 - Complete Service

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AUDIO: Announcements, Readings & Sermon for Sunday February 16, 2025

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Old Testament Reading -- Jeremiah 17:5–8 
Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.” 

Epistle Reading -- 1 Corinthians 15:1–20 
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the sixth chapter
[Jesus] came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. 

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: 
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. 
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 
“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 
“Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. 
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 
“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. 

Youth Group Fundraiser: Mardi Gras Dinner

Mardi Gras Dinner
March 4, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.
$20/Adults and $10/Children
Enjoy a New Orleans-style meal while raising money to send Zion’s youth to the LCMS Youth Gathering in New Orleans this year.

Woman’s Book Club: Spring Book & Meeting

Woman’s Book Club
Spring Book & Meeting: ”Men Called Him Master”
by Elwyn A. Smith

Thursday, March 20, 2025 in Zion’s Conference Room
Bring a treat to Share!

Use this link to download the book free from Amazon/Kindle

Quesitons? contact Tevia or Joanna

From the Book Club Stacks … Re-read a book club favorite!

‘Unbelievable’ loss: Historic First Lutheran finds strength in God, church

A corner in Altadena, Calif., reflects the devastating effects of the Eaton wildfire on Wednesday, Jan. 29. The fire, which began on Jan. 7, is now 100% contained. (LCMS/Sarah Hjulberg)

From LCMS’ “Reporter by Sarah Hjulberg

LOS ANGELES – On Jan. 7, a wildfire broke out in the foothills of Angeles National Forest, just north of Altadena, Calif. The Santa Ana winds, blowing at record speeds, rapidly spread the flames. Within hours, entire neighborhoods in Altadena were ablaze.

The Eaton fire would become the second most destructive wildfire in California history, burning over 9,000 structures and displacing tens of thousands of people. Together with the Palisades fire, which began on the same day 30 miles to the southwest, the two wildfires would burn nearly 60 square miles and leave 29 people dead.

As of Feb. 1, almost a month after they began, the Eaton fire and the Palisades fire are both 100% contained.

“Grieving with those who grieve”
Pauline Daniels was with her elderly mother, Shelly Daniels, when she saw a police car go down the street. She heard only the tail-end of an announcement the officer was making over a megaphone. Then, a neighbor filled the Daniels in: they needed to evacuate. Thankfully, the next day both Shelly and Pauline heard that their homes had escaped the fire — Shelly’s thanks to a neighbor who stayed behind to keep the fire at bay with a garden hose.

The only warning Harriet and Michael Dickens received was a neighbor’s knock at the door in the middle of the night. The power was out, so they had trouble finding the essentials, but they grabbed what they could and fled. The next morning, they found out their 100-year-old home had burned.

Bernadette Hendry stopped by the grocery store on her way home from work in Pasadena. “I’m driving home, and I just see this orange sky,” she said. Within about an hour of getting home, she and her husband, Greg, got evacuation notices on their phones.

“All my groceries are now in ashes,” Hendry continued. They heard the next day their home of nearly 30 years was gone.

“For me as pastor, there was a total feeling for about the first four days of total helplessness,” said the Rev. Christopher Schaar, pastor of Historic First Lutheran Church in Pasadena, Calif., where the Daniels, the Dickens and the Hendrys are all longtime members. “There was absolutely nothing anybody could do, and [everything] just seemed so unbelievable.”

All in all, six families at First Lutheran lost their homes, and an additional six families (who are former members or immediate family of current members) have also had total losses. One former student of First Lutheran’s school died in the fire.

As they grieve the loss of their homes, many of these families also grieve the loss of their neighborhood: Altadena’s historically Black community is a tight-knit place, where most residents — and generations of families — had lived for decades. For instance, four generations of the Daniels family, many of whom have been baptized, confirmed and married at First Lutheran, all live in Altadena. Three of the five homes in their family were destroyed.

“Yet I will praise Him”
On Sunday, Jan. 12, just days after the fire, God’s people gathered in record numbers for worship at First Lutheran, including members who had lost their homes.

“Remember when the young Jesus was in the temple and His earthly parents were looking for Him?” said Harriet Dickens. “He said, ‘I was in my Father’s house.’ So we knew we had to go to our Father’s house, where we could be loved, prayed for, supported.”

“[I’ve been] encouraging [the congregation] that we need to be together around Word and Sacrament,” said Schaar. “People are recognizing that we need to be together at a time like this, and, as Scripture says, to grieve with those who grieve and to rejoice with those who rejoice.”

Schaar said that Psalm 42:5, “Yet I will praise Him,” continually comes to mind. “The psalms are just full of that refrain. It seems like every single psalm talks about some kind of tragedy. And yet, ‘I will praise Him!’ … God is going to be at work through all this in some way.”

In the four weeks since the fire, God has been at work through His people: Schaar said he has seen his congregation come together and be the Body of Christ to each other in many ways, such as cooking meals for each other, helping victims with insurance paperwork, and replacing Bibles for members who lost theirs in the fire. The congregation has also given generous financial support to their members who lost houses, as well as to another family who lost their livelihood in the fire.

“The church is a family,” said Johnnie Douglas, who is a former Lutheran school teacher and an alumnus of Concordia Teacher’s College in Seward, Neb., now Concordia University, Nebraska. Her home was also destroyed by the fire.

The Rev. Dr. Ross Johnson (right), director of LCMS Disaster Response, meets with the Rev. Christopher Schaar, pastor of Historic First Lutheran Church, Pasadena, Calif., in front of the burnt remains of a member’s home on Jan. 29 in Altadena, Calif. (LCMS/Sarah Hjulberg)

Response efforts underway
The congregation has also raised thousands of dollars to purchase Target and Visa gift cards to help victims (both their own members and those in the community) kickstart the process of replacing lost belongings.

“When I give the gift cards to our members,” said Schaar, “I say, ‘When you give this to your friends, tell them it comes from your church, and that we care about them. Whatever needs you have, we’ll try to meet them, physically as well as spiritually.”

LCMS Disaster Response provided an additional $10,000 in Visa gift cards so the church could continue to support their community, as well as an initial $25,000 grant to help with emergency rehousing needs.

Many of First Lutheran’s families plan to rebuild. The Daniels, Hendrys, Dickens and Johnnie Douglas all said their insurance companies have been helpful and supportive so far. But in the meantime, semi-permanent housing is a serious need.

“All of L.A. County has been in a severe housing crisis for years, especially affordable housing. I don’t know where 8,000 or 9,000 households of people are going to go,” said Schaar.

The Rev. Dr. Ross Johnson, director of LCMS Disaster Response, is also working with Schaar to come up with a plan so that renters, homeowners who don’t have house insurance, or other underserved people don’t fall through the cracks as recovery efforts progress.

Johnson was also able to visit the congregation and provide spiritual care to fire victims. “We look forward to the resurrection, not to the things of this world, to find comfort,” he told First Lutheran members before praying with them. “Forgiveness isn’t based on how I feel or what is going on in my life, but on the promises of Jesus.”

Support the response
LCMS Disaster Response
LCMS Pacific Southwest District

New Bible Study Starting Sunday February 16th

Join us for Bible study this Sunday at 9:15 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall as we dive into a new book 
St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians! 

 Grab a cup of coffee or juice, enjoy a donut or bagel, and study God's Word with your brothers & sisters at Zion!

Bulletin: Sunday February 16, 2025 + This Week at Zion

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THIS WEEK AT ZION

Saturday February 15
No Events Scheduled

Sunday February 16
8:00 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
9:15 a.m. — Adult/Teen Bible Study & Sunday School
10:30 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
6:00 p.m. — Parent’s Night Out — Youth Group Fundraiser (Details)
(The 8:00 a.m. service streamed on our YouTube channel)

Monday February 17
6:00 p.m. - Confirmation
6:00 p.m. - Grace Bell Choir Practice
7:00 p.m. - Confirmation

Tuesday February 18
6:15 p.m. - Faith Bell Choir Practice
7:15 p.m. - Adult Choir Practice

Wednesday February 19
2:00 p.m. - Mid-Week Worship Service
2:30 p.m. - 30 min. Bible Study
(Service streamed on our YouTube channel)

Thursday February 20
No Events Scheduled

Friday February 21
No Events Scheduled

Saturday February 22
No Events Scheduled

Sunday February 23
8:00 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
9:15 a.m. — Adult/Teen Bible Study & Sunday School
10:30 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
(The 8:00 a.m. service streamed on our YouTube channel)

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