St. Paul's Lutheran

Board Meeting
2022-04-21 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-04-14 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-03-10 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-02-10 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-01-13 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Vancouver) | 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.

Loaves and Fishes
2022-04-19 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-04-12 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-04-05 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-03-29 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-03-22 11:00 - 12:00
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
2022-04-17 10:30 - 12:00
EASTER DAY
(17 April 2022)

Isaiah 65:17–25
1 Corinthians 15:19–26
Luke 24:1–12

Christ’s Resurrection Is the Firstfruits of the New Creation

The Lord has promised to “create new heavens and a new earth” (Is. 65:17), in which His people shall abide in peace and joy. That new creation has begun in the bodily resurrection of Christ Jesus. All the baptized belong to that new creation. Reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, they are “the offspring of the blessed of the LORD” (Is. 65:23). The Lord rejoices and is glad in them; He hears and answers their prayers. For “if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19). But Christ Jesus has been raised, “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). We may be “perplexed about this” (Luke 24:4), perhaps even frightened and brought to our knees, because it seems like an “idle tale” (Luke 24:11). But faith clings to the Word of Christ and finds His resurrected body — not in the tomb, but in His Holy Supper.
Worship Service at 10:30am

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service: Potluck lunch after Worship

Worship Committee
2022-04-11 12:30 - 14:00, 2022-03-14 12:30 - 14:00, 2022-02-14 12:30 - 14:00
The worship committee gathers to plan music for the worship services.

Divine Worship
2022-04-10 10:30 - 12:00
PALM SUNDAY / SUNDAY OF THE PASSION
(10 April 2022)

John 12:12–19 (Palm Sunday Procession)
Deuteronomy 32:36–39
Philippians 2:5–11
Luke 22:1–23:56 or Luke 23:1–56 or John 12:20–43

The Cross and Passion of Our Lord Are the Hour of His Glory

The King of Israel comes into His royal glory by the path of humble obedience “to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). He “goes as it has been determined” (Luke 22:22), according to the Scriptures, willingly submitting to His Father’s plan for the salvation of sinners. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). His suffering and death open the way of repentance for the forgiveness of sins because He goes to the cross bearing the sins of the world. In His resurrection, God the Father vindicates His people and has compassion on His servants (Deut. 32:36). He kills to make alive; He wounds in order to heal. In remembrance of Him, we praise God, confessing “that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:11)
Worship Service at 10:30am

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Divine Worship
2022-04-03 10:30 - 12:00
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
(3 April 2022)

Isaiah 43:16–21
Philippians 3:(4b–7) 8–14
Luke 20:9–20

God’s Beloved Son Has Redeemed Us

Our life and works apart from Christ, no matter how they may glitter to the eyes of the world, are ultimately rubbish and have no righteousness. Rather, in the scandalous cross of Jesus, we find our righteousness alone “through faith in Christ” (Phil. 3:9). By such faith, we “know him and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10). For the same God who brought Israel out of Egypt has done a “new thing” for us in Christ Jesus (Is. 43:19). He has sent His beloved Son into His vineyard to be killed by sinful men and to become “the stone that the builders rejected.” Yet, the One rejected by men “has become the cornerstone” of His Church (Luke 20:17). Through the waters of Holy Baptism, He provides us daily refreshment in our earthly pilgrimage, “a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Is. 43:19)
Worship Service at 10:30am

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service: No coffee Service

Divine Worship
2022-03-27 10:30 - 12:00
Worship Service at 10:30am

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Bible Study
2022-03-23 19:00 - 20:00
A new Bible Study begins starting on Sunday, Feb 6th. WE will begin a dicussion on Martin Luther’s “A Simple Way to Pray”. an his Large Catechism teaching on the Lord’s Prayer before we move into 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
2022-03-20 10:30 - 12:00
Worship Service at 10:30am
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT
(20 March 2022)

Ezekiel 33:7–20
1 Corinthians 10:1–13
Luke 13:1–9

Jesus Calls You to Repentance

“Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). By this warning, the Lord would turn us away from wickedness and bring us to life in Himself. For He is patient with us, that we would not be cut down in our sin but live and bear fruit in Him. As He lives, the Lord has “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezek. 33:11). So the Scriptures have been “written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11), that we should not desire evil but trust in Christ. He alone is faithful, the Rock who feeds us with His “spiritual food” and pours out His “spiritual drink” (1 Cor. 10:3–4).

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Divine Worship
2022-03-13 10:30 - 12:00
Worship Service at 10:30am
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT
(13 March 2022)

Jeremiah 26:8–15
Philippians 3:17–4:1
Luke 13:31–35

Jesus Rescues Us from Death and Brings Us into Heaven

The prophet Jeremiah faithfully preached “all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people” (Jer. 26:8). He called the people to repentance, lest the Lord’s judgment come upon them. The violence that Jeremiah suffered for this preaching foreshadowed the cross and Passion of Christ Jesus, who suffered the judgment of God for the redemption of all people. For Jesus “comes in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:35) in order to lay down His life for the sins of the world. Earthly Jerusalem was blind to His gracious visitation, and it put Him to death like the prophets before Him. Yet, His sacrifice upon the cross became the cornerstone of the new Jerusalem, His Church. He visits us today in mercy with His preaching of forgiveness, to gather us to Himself within that holy city, “as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Luke 13:34), for “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20).

Reader:
Ushers: Dave and Gerda
Coffee Service: Joanne

Divine Worship
2022-03-06 10:30 - 12:00
Worship Service at 10:30am
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT
(6 March 2022)

Deuteronomy 26:1–11
Romans 10:8b–13
Luke 4:1–13

Jesus Christ Is Our Champion Against the Devil

Jesus Christ, our champion against the devil, endures and overcomes “every temptation” (Luke 4:13) on our behalf. He worships the Lord, His God, and serves Him only by trusting the Word of His Father: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). Jesus’ victory is now ours through His gracious Word, which is not far away but near us — in our mouth and in our heart, in the proclamation of repentance and faith. For “with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Rom. 10:10). Our confession of Christ includes the prayer of faith, which is not disappointed, “for ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Rom. 10:13). The Lord is not oblivious to “our affliction, our toil, and our oppression” (Deut. 26:7), but has mercy upon us. He has brought us out of bondage through the “signs and wonders” of Holy Baptism, “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deut. 26:8), and now He leads us by His Spirit even in the wilderness.

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Divine Worship
2022-02-27 10:30 - 12:00
Worship Service at 10:30am
THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD
(27 February 2022)

Deuteronomy 34:1–12
Hebrews 3:1–6
Luke 9:28–36

The Glory of God Is Manifested in the Body of Christ

“Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant,” but Christ Jesus “has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses” (Heb. 3:3, 5). A beloved and well-pleasing Son, faithful even to the point of death, Jesus’ own body was raised up on the third day as the house of God, and He has brought us into that house through the waters of Holy Baptism (Heb. 3:6). Thus, it was not Moses, the lawgiver, but his successor, Joshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus), who led the people into the Promised Land (Deut. 34:1–4, 9). Now, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the New Testament Joshua appears in the glory that He is about to manifest by His “departure” (exodus) in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Having entered the waters of the Jordan in His Baptism, He passed through those waters and entered into glory by His cross and Passion. What He thereby accomplished in His own flesh and blood, crucified and risen, He reveals and gives to His Body, the Church, by the means of His Word. Therefore, the Father declares from heaven, “Listen to him!” (Luke 9:35).

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Divine Worship
2022-02-20 10:30 - 12:00
Worship Service at 10:30am
SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
(20 February 2022)

Genesis 45:3–15
1 Corinthians 15:21–26, 30–42
Luke 6:27–38

As the Son of God Is Merciful and Forgives Your Sins, You Also Be Merciful and Forgive

Your inheritance as a child of Adam is sin and death, but in Christ you are made alive through His resurrection from the dead (1 Cor. 15:21–22). As you have died with Him in Holy Baptism, so are you raised with Him to newness of life. Therefore, “do not go on sinning” (1 Cor. 15:34). Instead of serving your desires and harming your neighbors, live as “sons of the Most High,” and “be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35–36). Deal with others as you would have others deal with you (Luke 6:31, 37–38). As Christ loved you when you were at enmity with Him, as He blessed and prayed for those who abused Him, and as He did good to those who hated Him and hurt Him, so also “love your enemies, do good” (Luke 6:27–29, 35). For God sent His Son to bear the cross and suffer death, not to condemn the guilty, but “to preserve life.” So does He provide a place for you within His Church, where He is near and deals kindly with “you and your children and your children’s children” (Gen. 45:5–10).

Reader:
Ushers:
Coffee Service:

Divine Worship
2022-02-13 10:30 - 12:00
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
(13 February 2022)

Jeremiah 17:5–8
1 Corinthians 15:(1–11) 12–20
Luke 6:17–26

Christians Live by Faith in Christ and Rejoice in the Promise of His Resurrection

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man,” for all the strength of his flesh is like the grass that fades away (Jer. 17:5). The one who turns away from the Lord may have food and money and laugh for now, but he “shall mourn and weep” in the judgment (Luke 6:24–25). But “the man who trusts in the LORD” is blessed with all that he needs, “like a tree planted by water.” When heat comes, he survives (Jer. 17:7–8). For the Lord has come in the flesh to heal the people of all their diseases, to cleanse their spirits with forgiveness, and to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God to the poor (Luke 6:18–20). As all of this is by way of His cross, it is solely by faith in the promise of His resurrection that Christians “rejoice” and “leap for joy” (Luke 6:21–23). “If Christ has not been raised,” our faith is in vain and we are most to be pitied (1 Cor. 15:14–19). But, in fact, just as “Christ died for our sins,” so has He also “been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:3, 20).
Worship Service at 10:30am

Reader: Pastor
Ushers:
Coffee Service: Suspended

Divine Worship
2022-02-13 10:30 - 11:30
Divine Worship

SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
(13 February 2022)

Jeremiah 17:5–8
1 Corinthians 15:(1–11) 12–20
Luke 6:17–26

Christians Live by Faith in Christ and Rejoice in the Promise of His Resurrection

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man,” for all the strength of his flesh is like the grass that fades away (Jer. 17:5). The one who turns away from the Lord may have food and money and laugh for now, but he “shall mourn and weep” in the judgment (Luke 6:24–25). But “the man who trusts in the LORD” is blessed with all that he needs, “like a tree planted by water.” When heat comes, he survives (Jer. 17:7–8). For the Lord has come in the flesh to heal the people of all their diseases, to cleanse their spirits with forgiveness, and to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God to the poor (Luke 6:18–20). As all of this is by way of His cross, it is solely by faith in the promise of His resurrection that Christians “rejoice” and “leap for joy” (Luke 6:21–23). “If Christ has not been raised,” our faith is in vain and we are most to be pitied (1 Cor. 15:14–19). But, in fact, just as “Christ died for our sins,” so has He also “been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:3, 20).

Worship Service at 10:30 am

Divine Worship
2022-01-30 10:30 - 11:30
Divine Worship

FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
(30 January 2022)

Jeremiah 1:4–10 (17–19)
1 Corinthians 12:31b–13:13
Luke 4:31–44

Jesus Has Authority to Forgive Your Sins and Give You Life

Jesus was sent to “preach the good news of the kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43). His preaching is an epiphany, or manifestation, of God because His Word reveals the authority of His cross and resurrection, by which He has atoned for the sins of the world. By the preaching of His Gospel in every place, He silences the unclean spirits and casts out demons, heals the diseases of body and soul, and restores life and health to His creation (Luke 4:40–41). For the sake of His divine love, He is “patient and kind” toward us; He “bears all things,” “endures all things” and delivers up His body to save us (1 Cor. 13:3–4, 7). So also for the sake of His love, He calls and sends His prophets, as ministers of His Word, “to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jer. 1:10)

Worship Service at 10:30 am
Masks Required

Divine Worship
2022-01-23 10:30 - 11:30
Divine Worship

THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
(23 January 2022)

Nehemiah 8:1–3, 5–6, 8–10
1 Corinthians 12:12–31a
Luke 4:16–30

The Lord Is Manifested as Our Savior through the Preaching of the Gospel

When Jesus opens His mouth to preach, gracious words flow from His lips. The Scriptures are, indeed, fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4:21–22). For Christ was anointed by the Spirit of the Lord “to proclaim good news to the poor,” “to proclaim liberty to the captives” and “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19). By this proclamation, Christ releases His people from captivity and gathers them to Himself in His Church. So it was when the Lord released His people from Babylon and returned them to Jerusalem. “Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people,” sanctified the whole congregation by the reading and preaching of the Law (Neh. 8:8–9). As the people then were urged to “eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready” (Neh. 8:10), so are you anointed by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ to share in His feast and to serve the fellow members of His Body with His good gifts, “giving greater honor to the part that lacked it” (1 Cor. 12:12, 24)

Worship Service at 10:30 am
Masks Required

Christmas Day Worship Service
2021-12-25 10:30 - 12:00
Alleluia, the promised Saviour has arrived. Come celebrate on Christmas Day the arrival of the one who was promised.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
2021-12-24 19:00 - 20:00
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)

COVID Respite Concert
2021-12-19 14:00 - 15:30
A concert for all will be held on Sunday, Dec 19th at 2 pm at the church. This concert will feature many local performers with a love for music, and an eagerness to perform. Come celebrate Christmas with music.
A freewill offering will be available.

Concert Program

Organ: Rigaudon — from Idominée André Campra — 1660-1744

Largo — from Xerxes G.F.Handel — 1685-1759

Saxophone & PianoLet It Snow Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne — 1945

Winter Wonderland Felix & Richard Bernhard Smith — 1934

Trumpet & OrganPrince of Denmark’s March Jeremiah Clarke — 1674-1707

Cello & PianoLe Cygne [The Swan] Camille Saint-Saëns — 1835-1921

Soprano & PianoWhere’er You Walk G.F.Handel (from Semele)

Violin & OrganAir from Rinaldo G.F.Handel — 1685 – 1759

Piano:l’Isle Joyeuse Claude Debussy — 1862-1918

Flute & OrganPastoral Symphony G.F.Handel (from MESSIAH)

String TrioCanon in D Johann Pachelbel — 1653-1706

Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring J.S.Bach (from Cantata No.147)

Soprano & OrganHowBeautiful Are the Feet G.F.Handel (MESSIAH)

Violin & PianoArioso; Bist Du Bei Mir J.S.Bach — 1685-1750

Trumpet & OrganWachet Auf, Rufft Uns die StimmeJ.S.Bach (Schübler Chorales)

Saxophone & OrganCome Thou Long-Expected Jesu HYFRYDOL — R.H.Pritchard — 1855

In the Bleak Mid-Winter Gustav Holst — 1874-1934

Greensleeves (What Child Is This)Trad. English

OrganPrelude & Fugue in Bb (BWV 560) J.S.Bach — 1685-1750

OrganMeditation: Le Prie-Dieu George Oldroyd — 1886-1951

Soprano & OrganMaria WiegenliedMax Reger — 1873-1916

Translation of the German — Kirby Rietze

Violin obbligato — Nick Ross

Poem Love Came Down at Christmas Georgina Rossetti

Pastor Coltman

AUDIENCE EXITS to Parking Lot

ORGAN (instruments ad lib)

March of the Magi — Hector Berlioz

FINALE — in Parking Lot

INSTRUMENTS, CHOIR, AUDIENCE

O Come All Ye Faithful [WORDS on the back of this sheet]

Thanks & Blessing Pastor Coltman
