Bible Study
2022-11-13 09:00 - 10:00, 2022-11-14 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-11-16 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-11-20 09:00 - 10:00, 2022-11-21 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-11-23 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-11-27 09:00 - 10:00, 2022-11-28 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Vancouver) and 6 more dates | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Bible Study returns beginning on Sunday, Sep 11th. WE continue a study of the prayer book of the Bible, the Psalms.

The Bible Study will be held in three separate sessions. If you are interested in joining, please contact Pastor Fraser for additional details. Studies are occurring as follows:

Sundays at 9am at the church – beginning Feb 6

Mondays at 10am at the church – beginning Feb 14

Wednesdays at 7pm on Zoom – beginning Feb 16

Divine Worship
2022-11-13 10:30 - 12:00 | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Worship Service at 10:30am
PROPER 28C
(13 November 2022)

Malachi 4:1–6
2 Thessalonians 3:(1–5) 6–13
Luke 21:5–28 (29–36)

God’s Plan of Redemption Trumps Earthly Destruction and Violence

There are signs of the Lord’s coming all around: the cross that marks His Church, the violence and death of the sinful world, and the shaking of the natural order. “There will be great distress upon the earth” (Luke 21:23), but the faithful know that “the kingdom of God is near” (Luke 21:31). Therefore, “straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). Be awake and alert, and heed the words of Christ, which “will not pass away” (Luke 21:33). For you, “the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings” (Mal. 4:2). He sends His preachers of repentance in the spirit and power of Elijah “before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (Mal. 4:5), in order to “direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ” (2 Thess. 3:5). Although you are often faithless, “the Lord is faithful,” and by the preaching of His Word “he will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (2 Thess. 3:3). Therefore, “do not grow weary in doing good” (2 Thess. 3:13). In the midst of calamity, believe upon the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Loaves and Fishes
2022-11-15 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-11-22 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-11-29 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-12-06 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-12-13 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-12-20 11:00 - 12:00 | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Loaves and Fishes is a Nanaimo area food bank that provides food for those in need. Food pick and registration is by appointment only. Please check the information below for additional details. Food pick up is between 11am and 12pm.

Divine Worship
2022-11-20 10:30 - 12:00 | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Worship Service at 10:30am
PROPER 29C / LAST SUNDAY OF THE CHURCH YEAR
(20 November 2022)

Malachi 3:13–18
Colossians 1:13–20
Luke 23:27–43

Jesus Christ Reigns, Enduring the Cross — Its Scorn and Shame

The Lord Jesus reigns in love among those who are baptized in His name. “They shall be mine,” He says, “and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him” (Mal. 3:17). Jesus’ service through crucifixion for sinful men anchors us in new life. In the proclamation of His Son, God makes His justice clear, defining “the distinction between the righteous and the wicked” (Mal. 3:18). He truly is “the King of the Jews” (Luke 23:38), who governs His Church with all authority in heaven and on earth. He has come into His kingdom by His cross, and He graciously remembers us in paradise. Therefore, do not weep for Him, but with repentant faith “weep for yourselves and for your children” (Luke 23:28). Then the mountains and hills of Jerusalem, His holy Church, shall cover you with His righteousness and peace. For He “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15). “All things were created through him and for him” (Col. 1:16), and “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” bodily in Him, reconciling all things to Himself “by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:19–20).

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Kiwanis Care Centre Worship Service
2022-11-20 14:00 - 15:00 | Kiwanis Care Centre, 1233 Kiwanis Crescent, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9S 5Y1
Once a month Pastor Fraser and volunteers share a Worship service for members of the Kiwanis Care Centre in Nanaimo. If you would like to help with singing, please come and join Pastor Fraser at the care home as singing voices are always welcome.

Divine Worship
2022-11-27 10:30 - 12:00 | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Worship Service at 10:30am

Coffee Service: Refreshments served after Worship

Divine Worship
2022-12-04 10:30 - 12:00 | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Worship Service at 10:30am
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT
(4 December 2022)

Isaiah 11:1–10
Romans 15:4–13
Matthew 3:1–12

By the Preaching of Repentance, We Are Prepared for the Coming of the Lord

“John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent’” (Matt. 3:1–2). His preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins prepared people for the coming of Christ into the world. St. John’s work was historically complete with the incarnate advent of Jesus, but his vital ministry continues in preaching Law and Gospel. The Son of God has come in the flesh, “a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots” (Is. 11:1), and continues to bear the fruits of righteousness. His good tree of the cross is “a signal for the peoples” (Is. 11:10), by which He calls the nations to repentance. “With the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips” (Is. 11:4), He slays the wicked and brings the dead to life, making sons of Abraham out of lifeless stones. So also the “root of Jesse” comes to us, “even he who arises to rule the Gentiles” (Rom. 15:12), that “we might have hope” and be filled “with all joy and peace in believing” (Rom. 15:4, 13).

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Board Meeting
2022-12-08 19:00 - 21:00 | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Elected members of the board meet for the monthly board meeting.

Divine Worship
2022-12-11 10:30 - 12:00 | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Worship Service at 10:30am
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT
(11 December 2022)

Isaiah 35:1–10
James 5:7–11
Matthew 11:2–15

The Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Brings True Rejoicing, Even Under the Cross

Sometimes life requires the astonishing patience of Job. Like him, we are to rejoice in the midst of affliction, be grounded in repentance under the cross of Christ, and hope relentlessly in His resurrection, that we might see “the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11). In the promise of the Gospel, therefore, “be patient” and “establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:7, 8). Like St. John the Baptist, whatever your own kind of prison or suffering may be, call upon Jesus and receive the strength of His Word from those He sends to you. For as “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up,” so is the Good News of Jesus preached to you also (Matt. 11:5). He comes and restores the fortunes of Zion, His Holy Church, so that “sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Is. 35:10).

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Divine Worship
2022-12-18 10:30 - 12:00 | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Worship Service at 10:30am
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT
(18 December 2022)

Isaiah 7:10–17
Romans 1:1–7
Matthew 1:18–25

God’s Word Is Fulfilled for Us in the Flesh and Blood of Christ Jesus, the Son of Mary

The Fourth Sunday in Advent turns our attention toward the Nativity of Our Lord. With the blessed Virgin Mary, we await the coming of the Christ, her Son, conceived in her womb by the Word and Spirit of God. This fulfillment of the sign once given to the house of David, that “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Is. 7:14), is now given to us in the Gospel. It declares that salvation is by His grace alone, entirely His work and a free gift. It also is the way and means by which the Lord our God is Immanuel, “God with us.” The almighty and eternal Son of God is conceived and born of Mary, and is thus “descended from David according to the flesh” (Rom. 1:3–4). He comes in this way to save us with His own flesh and blood; wherefore, He is called “Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). As Joseph received this sign in faith and immediately “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him” (Matt. 1:24), we also live by faith in this Holy Gospel.

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
2022-12-24 19:00 - 20:00 | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Join us on Christmas Eve for a candlelight service as we celebrate the coming of the promised Saviour. The One who takes the sins of the world away. This is a service of singing and a special joyous Christmas message.

The Word of the Lord Is Fulfilled in the Flesh of Jesus

Though Ahaz would not ask, the Lord gives a sign to the House of David — “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Is. 7:14). With this promise, He signifies that salvation is by His grace alone. It is no work or achievement of man, but the Lord’s own work and His free gift. The promise is fulfilled as the Son of God is conceived and born of the Virgin Mary, and the sign is received in faith by the House of David in the person of Joseph (Matt. 1:20–24). “Incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary” (Nicene Creed), God is with us (Immanuel) in the flesh of Jesus, Mary’s Son. Joseph believes that Word of God and so demonstrates a marvelous example in his immediate and quiet obedience, taking Mary to be his wife and caring for her in faith and love. He loves her because the love of God is manifest in this, that “the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world,” to be “the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10–14)

Christmas Day Worship Service
2022-12-25 10:30 - 12:00 | St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 394 Shepherd Avenue, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 3X1, Canada
Alleluia, the promised Saviour has arrived. Come celebrate on Christmas Day the arrival of the one who was promised.
