Zion Lutheran Church - LCMS

Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, April 13.  We have three special services planned for Holy Week that will help us prepare for the Greatest News ever heard, "HE IS RISEN!" on Easter Sunday.  We invite you to join us for:

• Palm Sunday (4/13) @ 10:00 a.m., both campuses.  On this Sunday we will recount how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey with the sole intention of going to the cross to redeem us from our sin.  However, His journey into Jerusalem also is a culmination of all that we have heard about in our Sermon Series - "God's Narrative."  During this service we will see how Jesus separates Himself from all other so called religious leaders by fulfilling prophecies that were made 100's and 1,000's of years before Him.
• Maundy Thursday (4/17) @ 5:125 p.m., Foothill Campus.  "Maundy" or "Mandate" Thursday is the day the Church has set aside for remembering Christ's Last Supper with His disciples.  He also gave them a series of instructions or mandates on how they were to carry on His ministry.  We welcome you to join us for this special service as we also celebrate the Lord's Supper just as His disciples did back on that Thursday so many years ago.
• Good Friday (4/18) @ 7:00 p.m., Lodi campus.  It doesn't seem like a "Good" day at all.  This is the day that we remember Jesus going to the cross and dying.  But in so doing, He paid the price of our sin and paved the way for the wonderful event of His resurrection on Easter.  This service will be a "Tenebrae" service.  Tenebrae means darkness and is an appropriate description for this seven-part service.  Following each part of the service the sanctuary will become darker until, at the final part, when we hear of Christ's death, the entire sanctuary will become totally darkened.  Except..... Well, you'll just have to come and experience what happens.

We hope that you will join us in welcoming our new pastor, Rev. Jason Weber (Pastor Jason), who was recently installed as our new senior pastor.  He is presently leading the midweek Lent services on Wednesday's at 5:15 p.m.  He will also be leading the Maundy Thursday Communion Service and will take over preaching duties on Easter Sunday (4/20).  Welcome aboard Pastor Jason!

Lent began on Ash Wednesday, 3/5.  Each week during Lent we will have a midweek Lenten service @ 5:15 p.m. followed by a soup supper.  We hope you will join us at either of our campuses to worship our Lord, thank Him for His love and learn more about who our God really is.

We are presently taking a walk thru the Bible with a Sermon Series titled: "God's Narrative"

This Week's sermon: "It's Time"

Why call this sermon series "God's Narrative?"   Dictionaries refer to "stories" as imaginary.  The Bible is not a "Story" nor is it "The Story."  It is God's narrative, or eyewitness account, of the History of His creation, its fall and its only hope.  This Sunday we will see how God used Esther to save His people and provide us a true example of timely discipleship.

Explanation of History of Ash Wednesday and Lent

Lent is one of the oldest observations on the Christian calendar, the purposes being self-examination and repentance. Irenaus of Lyons (c.130-c.200) wrote of such a season in the earliest days of the church, but back then it lasted only two or three days, not the 40 observed today. In 325A.D., the Council of Nicea discussed a 40-day Lenten season of fasting that soon encompassed the whole Church. How exactly the churches counted those 40 days varied depending on location. Only one meal was taken a day, near the evening. There was to be no meat, fish, or animal products eaten. It was “Vegan heaven.”

Until the 600s, Lent began on Quadragesima (Fortieth) Sunday, but Gregory the Great (c.540-604) moved it to a Wednesday, now called Ash Wednesday, to secure the exact number of 40 days in Lent—excluding all Sundays, which were feast days. Gregory is also credited with the ceremony that gives the day its name. As Christians came to the church for forgiveness, Gregory marked their foreheads with ashes reminding them of the Biblical symbol of repentance (sackcloth and ashes) and of their mortality: "You are dust, and to dust you will return" (Gen 3:19).

And so, we enter Lent: 40 days of special devotion, attention to almsgiving, sacrificial acts, and catechesis that will culminate in the observance of Good Friday and celebration of Easter.

The Livestream link in the Banner at the top of our page is under construction.  We hope to be Live-streaming through our webpage instead of on YouTube in the near future.

Check out the "Worship with us" tab for worship times, links to our livestream and addresses for our two campuses.

Check out the "Bible Studies" tab for times, links to join the Bible Studies via "Zoom" and for printable versions of present and past Bible Studies (free to download and use).  We have four active Bible Studies at this time:

1. The SDG Bible Study - "Walk Through the Bible" - Sunday @ 6:30 p.m. (Lodi Campus & Zoom)
2. The SDG Bible Study -  "The Gospel of Luke" - Wednesday @ 10:00 a.m. (Amador County Senior Center)
3. The Sunday Morning Bible Study on the Book of Galatians - Sunday @ 8:45 a.m. (Lodi Campus & Zoom)
4. The SDG Bible Study - "Exodus" - Wednesday @ 12:15 p.m. (Foothill Campus)

Note: SDG is short for the latin "Soli Deo Gloria" which means, "To God Alone be the Glory."  These Bibles studies have been developed to do just that, while also increasing both our faith and knowledge of God's Word.  To help us make God the focus and bring glory to Him, these Bible Studies are free and readily available for download.  You will never see the name(s) of those responsible for the development of these studies because that is not important.  What is important is that these studies focus on God's Word and approach His Word as the inspired and inerrant Word of God.  We'll let Him do the talking through His Word and pray for His Spirit to guide us in the saving truth of His Word.