Title: Fear not, for Christ has laid down his life for you!
Text: John 10:11–18
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Minister, Andrew Bonar, told a story about the Highlands of Scotland, where sheep would often wander off into the rocks and get into places that they couldn't get out of.
The grass on these mountains is very sweet he says and the sheep like it, and they will jump down ten or twelve feet, and then they can't jump back again, and the shepherd hears them bleating in distress. They may be there for days, until they have eaten all the grass. The shepherd will wait until they are so faint they cannot stand, and then they will put a rope around him, and he will go over and pull that sheep up out of the jaws of death.
So you might ask.:
"Why don't they just go down there when the sheep first gets there?" "Well" He said, "they are so very foolish that they would dash right over the precipice [ledge] and be killed if they did!"
And that is the way with men; they won't go back to God till they have lost everything. The Good Shepherd will continue to pursue you and all who need to hear and call you by the working of the Holy Spirit to himself. He will be with you and will comfort you even in that place of danger, despair and death and will gather and bring you to his place of rescue and life.
Moody's Anecdotes, pp. 70-71.
So you can, fear not, for Christ has laid down his life for you!
Love and Death is kind of a strange phrase. We might think life and death but love and death seems odd to me and may be to you as well? Going back in my past I remember a movie of Woody Allen’s from 1975 with that same title, Love and Death. It was a period piece set in czarist Russia, and the story was about a neurotic soldier [what else would Woody play but one who is neurotic] who is in love with his distant cousin on the one side and his formulation of a plot to assassinate Napoleon on the other – so the title Love and Death.
In our readings for today we see another love and death. Jesus says in an analogy of a shepherd to his sheep that he is the good shepherd and that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
In our epistle in 1 John also we hear in contrast that 16 By this [the death of Jesus] we know love, that he laid down his life for us, So, the good shepherd is Jesus and we, and all who believe, are his sheep and because of his love for us … he dies for us. And so again we have this odd phrase of … Love and Death.
Now we too know death, for from the time of Adam and Eve and the fall into sin, death came into the world. We see death around us. So our death, apart from Christ, would be a death without hope. But in Jesus, his death is a death that gives life. He also says that apart from him - those that might shepherd the sheep in ways opposed to Christ and his teaching - are liars leading the sheep away from him and who flee leaving the sheep to the wolf that scatters them.
Jesus says:
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Love and Death! Fear not, for Christ has laid down his life for you!
So who are the other sheep? Well, outside of the children of Israel – the believing Jews - it is you and me, but it is also those who will believe as the gospel goes forth throughout the world from now on until Christ returns.
Ill.
This coming week I get to see a bit of that in action as I go with my friend Rob Bourassa, and our Synod President Matt Harrison to Wittenberg, Germany for the opening of the Old Latin School as a mission and outreach center in the former East Germany which was Luther’s place of preaching at St. Mary’s church some 500 years ago.
It is hard to believe that this place where the birth of the reformation began has been largely void of the gospel during the communist years - and is now coming full circle - bringing the gospel back to where it had been preached for many years - back to the home where our own Missouri Synod claims its roots.
So, playing bluegrass … how does this fit in? Well, I thought it odd for the longest time. But then it hit me. What is the benefit of opening this outreach cent that the community knows or cares nothing about? Not much. So, why not have a free concert in the heart of Wittenberg at the newly built community center playing some traditional American music for a free concert … and then how about inviting the community to attend?
This happens on Saturday night and - oh by the way - why don’t you come down and celebrate with us the dedication of the beautifully restored Old Latin School? It’s right in the heart of Wittenberg and you can see and hear a bit more of why we’re here and excited about this place.
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.
Because of Jesus’ Love and Death we have life in his name!
So as we approach the 500th anniversary of the reformation in 2017 the command of Christ continues to be the focus.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:19-20
The gospel will again go forth also in Wittenberg where Luther preach over 2000 sermons almost 500 years ago. The music is simply a means to meet our neighbors in Germany who get to know us and we them to open the avenue of communication so that Christ’s love and death can be proclaimed to those who need to hear and be brought into the sheepfold of the good shepherd and they will listen to [Christ’s] voice. So there will be one flock, [and] one shepherd.
God uses each one of us in our vocations as husbands, sons, mothers, daughters, friends, and workers in public or private service to be salt and light in a dark world. He gives each to his place and calls to life, that which is dead by his love for us and his death on our behalf.
20 plus my friend Rob and I would drive to Nashville to the Chet Atkins guitar festival to play guitar and to listen to great players, but all the while as we drove down there Rob would share his faith, why he became Lutheran, and the simple truth of being saved 8 … by grace … through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph 2:8-9
That witness from Rob, God used to draw me closer to himself. He uses each one of us to be Christ’s witnesses in the world so that by God’s word they may be brought into the sheepfold. It is Christ’s Love and Death that accomplishes all of this and he uses his Church as the means for proclamation and the sacramental gifts he gives to achieve this.
As Martin Luther said regarding God’s work throughout the world:
He is the Lord over all places. Wherever that word is heard, where Baptism, the sacrament of the Altar, and absolution are administered, there you must determine and conclude with certainty; “This is surly God’s house; here heaven has been opened.” But just as the word is not bound to any place, so the church is not bound to any place. One should not say: “The chief pontiff is in Rome. Therefore the church is there.” But where God speaks, where Jacob’s ladder is, where the angels ascend and descend, there the church is, there the kingdom of heaven is opened.
LW American Edition Vol. 5 pg. 244
In Waterford, Michigan or Wittenberg, Germany …
Love and Death - Christ has laid down his life for you!
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
Monday, April 27, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015
Sermon April 18-19, 2015
Title: Christ has sent the promise of the Father upon you!
Text: Luke 24:36-49
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
In his book Facing Loneliness, J. Oswald Sanders writes, "The round of pleasure or the amassing of wealth are but vain attempts to escape from the persistent ache [ and then concludes]... the millionaire is usually a lonely man and the comedian is often more unhappy than his audience."
Sanders goes on to emphasize that being successful often fails to produce satisfaction. He then refers to Henry Martyn, a distinguished scholar, as an example. Martyn, a Cambridge University student, was honored at only 20 years of age for his achievements in mathematics. In fact, he was given the highest recognition possible in that field. And yet he felt an emptiness inside. He said that instead of finding fulfillment in his achievements, he had "only grasped a shadow." After evaluating his life's goals, Martyn sailed to India as a missionary at the age of 24. When he arrived, he prayed, "Lord, let me burn out for you." In the next 7 years that preceded his death, he translated the New Testament into three difficult Eastern languages. These notable achievements were certainly not passing "shadows."
Our Daily Bread, January 21, 1994.
As you joy in the Easter season may you be reminded that the Lord Christ has made peace with the Father for you and has sent the promise of the Father upon you!
In our gospel today we see a similar scene unfold as the scene from last weekend, where Jesus came and stood in the midst of the disciples. In Luke’s gospel it follows Jesus as he walked with the two men on the Emmaus road.
As these two men walk towards Emmaus about 7 miles outside of Jerusalem, Jesus joins them and remains unrecognized by them. He asks them what they are discussing and they can’t believe that he is unaware of what just happened in Jerusalem to Jesus of Nazareth. That the Chief Priests had turned him over to be sentenced to death and that he had been crucified and now it is the third day and the women who went to the tomb to anoint his body say his body is not there. There are some who even say they saw a vision of angels that say that Jesus is alive and has been raised from the dead.
As they continue on, Jesus open the scriptures to them – showing that the Christ would have to suffer, die and rise again and finally, Jesus:
30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
This is where we pick up today as these two Emmaus road disciples go back to Jerusalem to confirm to the 11 that they had seen the Lord.
Jesus says to those gathered, “Peace to you!”
He confirms to them that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
And we are told that they, disbelieved for joy … this Christ … present here … was in a sense, too good to be true!
Christ has sent the promise of the Father upon you!
That can seem too good to be true for you and me as well. Consumed at times by life’s activities, we are overwhelmed by so much that is given to us daily that we can forget the one gift that is truly needed … peace with God.
Ill.
Disbelieved for joy can be just unbelief for some. I received a call from a good friend. He told me about his wife’s cousin who was dying and had very little time to live. He also said that his wife wanted to talk to me. As he gave me some of the details, I found that not only was the cousin dying but she was an unbeliever and not receptive to hearing about Christ … even as she neared death.
My friend’s wife Rebecca, would be driving up north to be with her cousin who had been sent home die as there was nothing left to do. But for we who name the name of Christ there was plenty left to do. Rebecca wanted to know what to do and what to say to a cousin who said to her, “I don’t share your beliefs or faith.” - After she called her and said, “Happy Easter” on Easter Sunday.
What would you say … what could you say … what could I say?
At the time of a death of a loved one we all feel lost. We want to comfort and we need to be comforted ourselves.
Jesus says to the disciples and to us, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
The word of God written for us is Christ’s word and it is he who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.1 Tim 2:4
I spoke with her about reading scripture to her cousin and we talked about some verses that would be good. I shared a few illustrations of people that I had witnessed to but also told her that she might not hear the words she hopes to hear from her cousin … “I believe.”
But I also reminded her to, “ not be discouraged, because it is God himself who works in the lives of all who are brought to faith.”
It is his work, it is his grace and his salvation that we share with others.
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, as he did with his own disciples.
Even if we don’t hear the words of faith we long to hear from those we love, God can still do and accomplish all that he intends to do to draw and bring those he desires to a believing faith.
“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
That repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations … even to one who is on her death bed up north, in Michigan.
Rebecca is going as a witness to testify to that things she has not seen - yet believes. She has God’s word … and as a believer is covered by the whole armor of God.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts [arrows] of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
48 You are [my] witnesses [Jesus said] of these things [in the world].
49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The power of the Father is upon you as the Holy Spirit dwells in you and points you to Christ. Jesus is the promise of the Father and by the Spirit’s work we know Jesus, his love for us and his working in us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Today we too receive from Jesus his gift in the Lord’s Supper to receive his forgiveness in his body and blood, shed at the cross and also have our faith strengthened as we continue to trust in him.
May our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, who has redeemed you, and called you through the power of the Holy Spirit to faith, complete this blessed good work in you now and forever!
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
Text: Luke 24:36-49
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
In his book Facing Loneliness, J. Oswald Sanders writes, "The round of pleasure or the amassing of wealth are but vain attempts to escape from the persistent ache [ and then concludes]... the millionaire is usually a lonely man and the comedian is often more unhappy than his audience."
Sanders goes on to emphasize that being successful often fails to produce satisfaction. He then refers to Henry Martyn, a distinguished scholar, as an example. Martyn, a Cambridge University student, was honored at only 20 years of age for his achievements in mathematics. In fact, he was given the highest recognition possible in that field. And yet he felt an emptiness inside. He said that instead of finding fulfillment in his achievements, he had "only grasped a shadow." After evaluating his life's goals, Martyn sailed to India as a missionary at the age of 24. When he arrived, he prayed, "Lord, let me burn out for you." In the next 7 years that preceded his death, he translated the New Testament into three difficult Eastern languages. These notable achievements were certainly not passing "shadows."
Our Daily Bread, January 21, 1994.
As you joy in the Easter season may you be reminded that the Lord Christ has made peace with the Father for you and has sent the promise of the Father upon you!
In our gospel today we see a similar scene unfold as the scene from last weekend, where Jesus came and stood in the midst of the disciples. In Luke’s gospel it follows Jesus as he walked with the two men on the Emmaus road.
As these two men walk towards Emmaus about 7 miles outside of Jerusalem, Jesus joins them and remains unrecognized by them. He asks them what they are discussing and they can’t believe that he is unaware of what just happened in Jerusalem to Jesus of Nazareth. That the Chief Priests had turned him over to be sentenced to death and that he had been crucified and now it is the third day and the women who went to the tomb to anoint his body say his body is not there. There are some who even say they saw a vision of angels that say that Jesus is alive and has been raised from the dead.
As they continue on, Jesus open the scriptures to them – showing that the Christ would have to suffer, die and rise again and finally, Jesus:
30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
This is where we pick up today as these two Emmaus road disciples go back to Jerusalem to confirm to the 11 that they had seen the Lord.
Jesus says to those gathered, “Peace to you!”
He confirms to them that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
And we are told that they, disbelieved for joy … this Christ … present here … was in a sense, too good to be true!
Christ has sent the promise of the Father upon you!
That can seem too good to be true for you and me as well. Consumed at times by life’s activities, we are overwhelmed by so much that is given to us daily that we can forget the one gift that is truly needed … peace with God.
Ill.
Disbelieved for joy can be just unbelief for some. I received a call from a good friend. He told me about his wife’s cousin who was dying and had very little time to live. He also said that his wife wanted to talk to me. As he gave me some of the details, I found that not only was the cousin dying but she was an unbeliever and not receptive to hearing about Christ … even as she neared death.
My friend’s wife Rebecca, would be driving up north to be with her cousin who had been sent home die as there was nothing left to do. But for we who name the name of Christ there was plenty left to do. Rebecca wanted to know what to do and what to say to a cousin who said to her, “I don’t share your beliefs or faith.” - After she called her and said, “Happy Easter” on Easter Sunday.
What would you say … what could you say … what could I say?
At the time of a death of a loved one we all feel lost. We want to comfort and we need to be comforted ourselves.
Jesus says to the disciples and to us, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
The word of God written for us is Christ’s word and it is he who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.1 Tim 2:4
I spoke with her about reading scripture to her cousin and we talked about some verses that would be good. I shared a few illustrations of people that I had witnessed to but also told her that she might not hear the words she hopes to hear from her cousin … “I believe.”
But I also reminded her to, “ not be discouraged, because it is God himself who works in the lives of all who are brought to faith.”
It is his work, it is his grace and his salvation that we share with others.
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, as he did with his own disciples.
Even if we don’t hear the words of faith we long to hear from those we love, God can still do and accomplish all that he intends to do to draw and bring those he desires to a believing faith.
“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
That repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations … even to one who is on her death bed up north, in Michigan.
Rebecca is going as a witness to testify to that things she has not seen - yet believes. She has God’s word … and as a believer is covered by the whole armor of God.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts [arrows] of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
48 You are [my] witnesses [Jesus said] of these things [in the world].
49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The power of the Father is upon you as the Holy Spirit dwells in you and points you to Christ. Jesus is the promise of the Father and by the Spirit’s work we know Jesus, his love for us and his working in us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Today we too receive from Jesus his gift in the Lord’s Supper to receive his forgiveness in his body and blood, shed at the cross and also have our faith strengthened as we continue to trust in him.
May our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, who has redeemed you, and called you through the power of the Holy Spirit to faith, complete this blessed good work in you now and forever!
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
Monday, April 13, 2015
Sermon April 11-12, 2015
Title: Jesus has brought Peace to you!
Text: John 20:19–31
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
An elderly man said to Pastor Harry Ironside, "I will not go on unless I know I'm saved, or else know it's hopeless to seek to be sure of it. I want a definite witness, something I can't be mistaken about!" Ironside replied, "Suppose you had a vision of an angel who told you your sins were forgiven. Would that be enough to rest on?" "Yes, I think it would. An angel should be right." Ironside continued, "But suppose on your deathbed Satan came and said, 'I was that angel, transformed to deceive you.' What would you say?" The man was speechless. Ironside then told him that God has given us something more dependable than the voice of an angel. He has given His Son, who died for our sins, and He has testified in His own Word that [those who believe and are baptized will be saved.] Mark 16:16
H. A. Ironside.
In our epistle for today in 1 John we read:
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
And John also concludes his epistle letter with this affirmation:
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God … so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Jesus has brought Peace to you!
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, “Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Jesus had been crucified and buried. There had been despair among the disciples. Word had come that his body had been stolen; some reports say he has been raised from the dead. Confusion and uncertainty was rampant.
You remember that these disciples had not stood firm with Jesus during his hour of need. Some had fallen asleep when he went to pray, some had abandoned him for fear and even Peter had denied knowing him. Now on Sunday evening, the evening of the day of his resurrection, these same disciples came together in an upper room. The door is locked because they too fear the Jewish authorities, and who knows … maybe these same Jews are looking for them as well?
So, they abandoned Jesus … they hid during his trail … they left him to suffer alone and in this locked room … Jesus now is standing before them. Not off in the distance where you can’t quite make him out, not appearing to be the gardener as Mary Magdalene had thought but in their midst, right there with them.
They might have thought, “What will he say to us who have deserted him?” His zeal for his father’s house was known to them as they were there as he sent the money changers fleeing and scattered the wears of those selling in the courts of the Temple. What kind of fire would he call down from heaven upon them who had left him ... to die alone? Certainly the sons of thunder were not now making any requests to sit on his left or right in his Kingdom.
And then Jesus speaks his first words to them. “Peace be with you.” Not just the traditional greeting of Shalom as Jews were known to great one another but the Peace that passes all human understanding, the words of absolution from Jesus himself – your sins are forgiven. Peace between God and man, Christ and his disciples, God’s peace also for you and me who all now by faith have access to this same peace, because:
Jesus has brought Peace to you!
This peace is real. God has made what we could never make possible a reality. Now he brings this reality to you and me through his means.
Jesus showed them his hands and his side, the reality of his death was there, the holes in his hands and feet, the mark in his side from the spear, all those remaining marks of his finished work for you and me were there, and he says and again brings the words of comfort.
“Peace be with you.” But now gives the means of this gift for the world’s salvation. “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
Christ Jesus here gives the work of the ministry to these disciples, these 10 men in this upper room - Judas having fled and taken his life in despair and Thomas not yet here among them.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
The work of the ministry, given by Jesus, to those who stand in the stead and by the command of Christ brings true peace … because it is Christ’s peace spoken as if he spoke it himself to you. It is a true absolution, not because the men who stand in the place and by the command of Christ, stand of their own accord, but because they stand as called and ordained servants of the word, they do what Christ does and commands. It is his words of peace, it is his words of forgiveness and it is his words of comfort spoken by those called to stand as under shepherds of the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ himself.
Peace is a gift but it also has a cost. Jesus is both the gift and the price that was paid to procure your peace and your salvation. In Baptism, we too who are brought to the font at baptism receive that same gift. It is Christ who baptizes through the hands of those same called and ordained servants. It is not my baptism but Christ’s done through the hands of those he has called. Tyler (today / Saturday night) received that same gift.
Ill.
Had Adam and Eve retained their original [righteous] state, they never would have died. But Eve and then Adam yielded to the serpent's temptation, and death came into the world. Before that moment, they were in a beautiful, pristine state. They existed on a level far above the present condition of the human race. It is difficult to imagine what man was like then by viewing him as he is now. It would require something like trying to reconstruct the original version of an aircraft from its wreckage. If we knew nothing of flying, we would hardly suspect that it had once soared above the earth. The material would be the same; the capability of flight, however, would be lost [on us].
David Breese, Living For Eternity, Moody Press, 1988, p. 99.
In Baptism we are once again given that pristine state and standing with God that Adam and Eve had before the fall. But God’s creation, as we know is still covered by the wages of sin which bring death. At times the word of God’s Law must be spoken, to point us all to our sinful state, so that we might be brought to repentance. But God’s absolution and forgiveness is certain for those who repent, so that we might live redeemed, in the midst of a world broken by the fall.
Jesus has brought Peace to you!
Do not remain in doubt like Thomas, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
But even for Thomas only eight short days later Jesus said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
The same forgiveness that the others received, Thomas too received.
We all as baptized children of God have that same Peace with God through Christ’s merit. We can remember our baptisms daily knowing for certain that it is Christ himself who baptizes and give the Holy Spirit so that we all can believe and trust in his finished work. No matter the trials of this life whether work loss, addiction or doubt - Christ is here each week … at Peace … to greet you with the comforting absolution of his forgiveness.
And like Thomas we too can say in response, “My Lord and my God!” Knowing for certain just as Jesus said, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus has brought Peace to you!
And even if Satan came and said, 'I was an angel, transformed to deceive you.' You can answer with certainty and a confident voice that God has given His Son, to died for my sins, and He has testified in His own Word that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Mark 16:16
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
Text: John 20:19–31
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
An elderly man said to Pastor Harry Ironside, "I will not go on unless I know I'm saved, or else know it's hopeless to seek to be sure of it. I want a definite witness, something I can't be mistaken about!" Ironside replied, "Suppose you had a vision of an angel who told you your sins were forgiven. Would that be enough to rest on?" "Yes, I think it would. An angel should be right." Ironside continued, "But suppose on your deathbed Satan came and said, 'I was that angel, transformed to deceive you.' What would you say?" The man was speechless. Ironside then told him that God has given us something more dependable than the voice of an angel. He has given His Son, who died for our sins, and He has testified in His own Word that [those who believe and are baptized will be saved.] Mark 16:16
H. A. Ironside.
In our epistle for today in 1 John we read:
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
And John also concludes his epistle letter with this affirmation:
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God … so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Jesus has brought Peace to you!
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, “Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Jesus had been crucified and buried. There had been despair among the disciples. Word had come that his body had been stolen; some reports say he has been raised from the dead. Confusion and uncertainty was rampant.
You remember that these disciples had not stood firm with Jesus during his hour of need. Some had fallen asleep when he went to pray, some had abandoned him for fear and even Peter had denied knowing him. Now on Sunday evening, the evening of the day of his resurrection, these same disciples came together in an upper room. The door is locked because they too fear the Jewish authorities, and who knows … maybe these same Jews are looking for them as well?
So, they abandoned Jesus … they hid during his trail … they left him to suffer alone and in this locked room … Jesus now is standing before them. Not off in the distance where you can’t quite make him out, not appearing to be the gardener as Mary Magdalene had thought but in their midst, right there with them.
They might have thought, “What will he say to us who have deserted him?” His zeal for his father’s house was known to them as they were there as he sent the money changers fleeing and scattered the wears of those selling in the courts of the Temple. What kind of fire would he call down from heaven upon them who had left him ... to die alone? Certainly the sons of thunder were not now making any requests to sit on his left or right in his Kingdom.
And then Jesus speaks his first words to them. “Peace be with you.” Not just the traditional greeting of Shalom as Jews were known to great one another but the Peace that passes all human understanding, the words of absolution from Jesus himself – your sins are forgiven. Peace between God and man, Christ and his disciples, God’s peace also for you and me who all now by faith have access to this same peace, because:
Jesus has brought Peace to you!
This peace is real. God has made what we could never make possible a reality. Now he brings this reality to you and me through his means.
Jesus showed them his hands and his side, the reality of his death was there, the holes in his hands and feet, the mark in his side from the spear, all those remaining marks of his finished work for you and me were there, and he says and again brings the words of comfort.
“Peace be with you.” But now gives the means of this gift for the world’s salvation. “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
Christ Jesus here gives the work of the ministry to these disciples, these 10 men in this upper room - Judas having fled and taken his life in despair and Thomas not yet here among them.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
The work of the ministry, given by Jesus, to those who stand in the stead and by the command of Christ brings true peace … because it is Christ’s peace spoken as if he spoke it himself to you. It is a true absolution, not because the men who stand in the place and by the command of Christ, stand of their own accord, but because they stand as called and ordained servants of the word, they do what Christ does and commands. It is his words of peace, it is his words of forgiveness and it is his words of comfort spoken by those called to stand as under shepherds of the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ himself.
Peace is a gift but it also has a cost. Jesus is both the gift and the price that was paid to procure your peace and your salvation. In Baptism, we too who are brought to the font at baptism receive that same gift. It is Christ who baptizes through the hands of those same called and ordained servants. It is not my baptism but Christ’s done through the hands of those he has called. Tyler (today / Saturday night) received that same gift.
Ill.
Had Adam and Eve retained their original [righteous] state, they never would have died. But Eve and then Adam yielded to the serpent's temptation, and death came into the world. Before that moment, they were in a beautiful, pristine state. They existed on a level far above the present condition of the human race. It is difficult to imagine what man was like then by viewing him as he is now. It would require something like trying to reconstruct the original version of an aircraft from its wreckage. If we knew nothing of flying, we would hardly suspect that it had once soared above the earth. The material would be the same; the capability of flight, however, would be lost [on us].
David Breese, Living For Eternity, Moody Press, 1988, p. 99.
In Baptism we are once again given that pristine state and standing with God that Adam and Eve had before the fall. But God’s creation, as we know is still covered by the wages of sin which bring death. At times the word of God’s Law must be spoken, to point us all to our sinful state, so that we might be brought to repentance. But God’s absolution and forgiveness is certain for those who repent, so that we might live redeemed, in the midst of a world broken by the fall.
Jesus has brought Peace to you!
Do not remain in doubt like Thomas, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
But even for Thomas only eight short days later Jesus said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
The same forgiveness that the others received, Thomas too received.
We all as baptized children of God have that same Peace with God through Christ’s merit. We can remember our baptisms daily knowing for certain that it is Christ himself who baptizes and give the Holy Spirit so that we all can believe and trust in his finished work. No matter the trials of this life whether work loss, addiction or doubt - Christ is here each week … at Peace … to greet you with the comforting absolution of his forgiveness.
And like Thomas we too can say in response, “My Lord and my God!” Knowing for certain just as Jesus said, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus has brought Peace to you!
And even if Satan came and said, 'I was an angel, transformed to deceive you.' You can answer with certainty and a confident voice that God has given His Son, to died for my sins, and He has testified in His own Word that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Mark 16:16
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
Monday, April 6, 2015
Sermon April 4- 5, 2015 Easter
Title: Christ Jesus has risen for you and for all who believe!
Text: John 20:1-18 Χριστός Ανέστη - Αληθώς Ανέστη
3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
A story is told of a little girl, unused to traveling, and it happened that in the course of the day, her train crossed two branches of a river and several wide streams. The thought brought doubts and fears in the child. She did not understand how it could be safe to cross. As they drew near the river, however, she saw a bridge across a body of water. Two or three times the same thing happened: finally, the child leaned back and relaxed. "Somebody has put bridges for us all the way!" she sighed with relief.
Source Unknown.
Christ Jesus has bridged the chasm of death for you by his sinless life, death on the cross and his glorious resurrection. No matter the trials of life we can all cling to this joyful and blessed hope of an eternity that awaits because:
Christ Jesus has risen for you and for all who believe!
Today we celebrate the blessed resurrection of our Lord. For in time past the world languished in sin and death reigned supreme. The hope of the Messiah and his coming had been foretold. The writer to the Hebrews gives clarity to Christ’s work:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Heb 1:1-4)
Jesus Christ the incarnate Son of God came down for this very purpose. To humiliate Himself, to put on human flesh and become man; to cover or veil his divinity for the purpose of keeping the Law, which we could not keep, and then to stand in your place as the, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
For the 30 or so years of Jesus’ life and earthly ministry, the power of His divine nature was there with him all the time, perfectly united with His humanity so that He might accomplish the work that He was appointed to do by putting His power to work in His resurrection from the dead, for you.
20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
This body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which took the scourging, the nails and the spear in his side and who truly died and breathed His last on the cross, was buried in a tomb, given for this purpose by Joseph of Aramathea, and then had the large stone rolled in place to cover and seal the tomb as a testament to the finality of death. Sealed, closed and finished. Jesus, himself used those last words of finality as He exclaimed on the cross, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Death was not a maybe, but was a certainty, (on Good Friday), just three short days ago.
3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there,
The certainty of the grave and death has now been change forever.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.21 For as by a man Adam came death, by a man Jesus Christ has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor15:20-22)
Christ Jesus has risen for you and for all who believe!
Death … a part of life that we all have had some experience with … connects us too with the death of Christ. Even as little children we know death as a sign of fallen humanity. Whether it is the seasonal change and death in nature or family pets the reality is there even if not realized with the loss of beloved relatives, siblings or parents and that reality becomes clearer as we get older.
Our own families become the evidence of this as we see those who sustained us through life, leave us, showing the reality of sin in their life and ours as they fall victim to the wages of sin. And these wages bring death, a death that is assured just as our crucified Lord who breathed His last was dead as He gave up the Spirit, commending his Spirit into the Father’s hands.
I have seen this reality with fellow believers and members of Christ’s body the church as they too breathed their last and gave up their spirit in this life. All beloved souls and all called away from the joys of this life and the ones that they loved.
How quickly it is that even one day can change our whole lives.
Those first disciples, those first followers of Jesus too felt loss. The one in whom they had placed their hope as the Messiah had been taken from them … and this loss brought confusion. Was he too just a man? Did he deceive all those who had placed their trust in him? Did their hope too … die with him? And what about our own hope?
As I have preached at funerals over the last few years it is always a joy to remind those who are grieving and suffering loss that in Christ, death is not the end for we who cling to the blessed hope of Christ’s resurrection. But, it is only a time of parting … for a while.
St Paul gives us the joyful hope in his epistle to the Romans in chapter 8 where he says:
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:38-39)
Christ Jesus has risen for you and for all who believe!
Ill.
Men have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. Perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found:
Not in Unbelief -- Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: "I wish I had never been born."
Not in Pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."
Not in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth."
Not in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."
Not in Military Glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."
Where then is real joy found? -- the answer is simple, in Christ alone.
The Bible Friend, Turning Point, May, 1993.
Earlier I said, “How quickly it is that even one day can change our whole lives.”
St Luke tells us in a parallel account of the resurrection:
24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. (Luke 24: 1-3)
… one day can change our whole lives …
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen!” (Luke 24:5b)
You too, who trust in Christ, have this home waiting for you. The blessed Good News that Jesus died for your sins - is the wonderful Gospel message you can trust. He has forgiven your sin and has called you to faith by the Gospel and through the power of the Holy Spirit, and has given you faith to believe in Christ’s saving work.
Christ Jesus has risen for you and for all who believe!
Crossing streams and rivers in this life seem difficult but by bridges we are connected to the other side. Jesus is the bridge to eternal life and by his sinless life, death on a cross and glorious resurrection he has made the way from death to eternal life for all who believe.
The bridge to eternal life is in Christ Jesus and by the working of the Holy Spirit we all will be brought to our heavenly home.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
Text: John 20:1-18 Χριστός Ανέστη - Αληθώς Ανέστη
3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
A story is told of a little girl, unused to traveling, and it happened that in the course of the day, her train crossed two branches of a river and several wide streams. The thought brought doubts and fears in the child. She did not understand how it could be safe to cross. As they drew near the river, however, she saw a bridge across a body of water. Two or three times the same thing happened: finally, the child leaned back and relaxed. "Somebody has put bridges for us all the way!" she sighed with relief.
Source Unknown.
Christ Jesus has bridged the chasm of death for you by his sinless life, death on the cross and his glorious resurrection. No matter the trials of life we can all cling to this joyful and blessed hope of an eternity that awaits because:
Christ Jesus has risen for you and for all who believe!
Today we celebrate the blessed resurrection of our Lord. For in time past the world languished in sin and death reigned supreme. The hope of the Messiah and his coming had been foretold. The writer to the Hebrews gives clarity to Christ’s work:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Heb 1:1-4)
Jesus Christ the incarnate Son of God came down for this very purpose. To humiliate Himself, to put on human flesh and become man; to cover or veil his divinity for the purpose of keeping the Law, which we could not keep, and then to stand in your place as the, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
For the 30 or so years of Jesus’ life and earthly ministry, the power of His divine nature was there with him all the time, perfectly united with His humanity so that He might accomplish the work that He was appointed to do by putting His power to work in His resurrection from the dead, for you.
20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
This body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which took the scourging, the nails and the spear in his side and who truly died and breathed His last on the cross, was buried in a tomb, given for this purpose by Joseph of Aramathea, and then had the large stone rolled in place to cover and seal the tomb as a testament to the finality of death. Sealed, closed and finished. Jesus, himself used those last words of finality as He exclaimed on the cross, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Death was not a maybe, but was a certainty, (on Good Friday), just three short days ago.
3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there,
The certainty of the grave and death has now been change forever.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.21 For as by a man Adam came death, by a man Jesus Christ has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor15:20-22)
Christ Jesus has risen for you and for all who believe!
Death … a part of life that we all have had some experience with … connects us too with the death of Christ. Even as little children we know death as a sign of fallen humanity. Whether it is the seasonal change and death in nature or family pets the reality is there even if not realized with the loss of beloved relatives, siblings or parents and that reality becomes clearer as we get older.
Our own families become the evidence of this as we see those who sustained us through life, leave us, showing the reality of sin in their life and ours as they fall victim to the wages of sin. And these wages bring death, a death that is assured just as our crucified Lord who breathed His last was dead as He gave up the Spirit, commending his Spirit into the Father’s hands.
I have seen this reality with fellow believers and members of Christ’s body the church as they too breathed their last and gave up their spirit in this life. All beloved souls and all called away from the joys of this life and the ones that they loved.
How quickly it is that even one day can change our whole lives.
Those first disciples, those first followers of Jesus too felt loss. The one in whom they had placed their hope as the Messiah had been taken from them … and this loss brought confusion. Was he too just a man? Did he deceive all those who had placed their trust in him? Did their hope too … die with him? And what about our own hope?
As I have preached at funerals over the last few years it is always a joy to remind those who are grieving and suffering loss that in Christ, death is not the end for we who cling to the blessed hope of Christ’s resurrection. But, it is only a time of parting … for a while.
St Paul gives us the joyful hope in his epistle to the Romans in chapter 8 where he says:
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:38-39)
Christ Jesus has risen for you and for all who believe!
Ill.
Men have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. Perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found:
Not in Unbelief -- Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: "I wish I had never been born."
Not in Pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."
Not in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth."
Not in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."
Not in Military Glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."
Where then is real joy found? -- the answer is simple, in Christ alone.
The Bible Friend, Turning Point, May, 1993.
Earlier I said, “How quickly it is that even one day can change our whole lives.”
St Luke tells us in a parallel account of the resurrection:
24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. (Luke 24: 1-3)
… one day can change our whole lives …
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen!” (Luke 24:5b)
You too, who trust in Christ, have this home waiting for you. The blessed Good News that Jesus died for your sins - is the wonderful Gospel message you can trust. He has forgiven your sin and has called you to faith by the Gospel and through the power of the Holy Spirit, and has given you faith to believe in Christ’s saving work.
Christ Jesus has risen for you and for all who believe!
Crossing streams and rivers in this life seem difficult but by bridges we are connected to the other side. Jesus is the bridge to eternal life and by his sinless life, death on a cross and glorious resurrection he has made the way from death to eternal life for all who believe.
The bridge to eternal life is in Christ Jesus and by the working of the Holy Spirit we all will be brought to our heavenly home.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
Sermon April 3, 2015 Good Frida
Title: Christ Jesus has delivered you from death to life eternal!
The Lord’s Prayer: Seventh petition.
But Deliver Us from Evil
Text: Psalm 31:1-5
31 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
2 Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!
3 For you are my rock and my fortress;
and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;
4 you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
In the Seventh petition we pray, But Deliver Us from Evil.
And to this Luther asks the question: What does this mean?
He answers:
That we pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all manner of evil, of body and soul, property and honor, and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that at the cross you delivered us from evil and that by your Holy Spirit we are brought to faith so that we might see you and your work done for us. Amen
Christ Jesus has delivered you from death to life eternal!
31 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
“Luther says of this verse:
“It does not say “in my” but “in thy righteousness,” that is, in the righteousness of Christ my God.”
He continues:
“Therefore this alien righteousness, instilled in us without our works by grace alone - while the Father, to be sure, inwardly draws us to Christ - is set opposite original sin, [which is] likewise alien, [and this] we acquire without our works by birth alone.”
AE Luther’s works Vol. 31 pg. 299
Your deliverance from sin, death and the power of the devil is all of God and so is your rescue. It is God himself who takes your place for the punishment you deserve and it is God himself who brings you from death to life by faith in his Son and our Lord Jesus Christ. It is God who gives you life where death anxiously awaits.
Ill.
John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands of the South Pacific. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present--but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station.
Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 18.
It is Christ who delivers us from evil and gives us life in his name.
In the Gospel of John we read:
17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on both side, and Jesus between them.
The one in whom they had trusted and believed, who they had thought was the one, this earthly Messiah, was now tried, crucified, and in a manner that would be in keeping with that … of a common criminal.
“But how can it be?” they might think. “In Him we we’re sure that the Kingdom would be restored and the power of the Romans broken. Now, we see only the one in whom we placed all our hope gone; killed by the raging of the Jewish leaders, the scourging of the Roman guards and the cross of humiliating crucifixion.”
Even Pilate got his digs in for he wrote:
… an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
Those responsible for turning Jesus over to Pilate cried:
“Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” “But Pilate had written what he had written and in the languages of Aramaic, Latin, and Greek so there was no mistaking what was said of him.”
“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Now, the dead King of the Jews, may have been the response that they all felt.
The world that we live in today also mocks this Jesus Christ crucified. But like the psalmist we can confidently and boldly call on our Lord for rescue.
2 Incline your ear to me; - hear my cries!
rescue me speedily!- deliver me from my enemies!
Be a rock of refuge for me, - stand firm in my place and be my substitute!
a strong fortress to save me!- Cover me with the fortress of your righteousness, that will never leave me nor forsake me, that will protect me and save me!
The name of Jesus and the cross is an offense. Why? Well, what if it is true? What if this Jesus is God and we are sinners as the Bible says and what if there is no hope apart from trust in him? What if there is really a place called Hell and when we reject Him and His love we receive the eternal separation and torment promised?
These and many other questions about Jesus and the cross cause the anger to boil over because it bring the sinners sins to light and the law, as the Confirmation class learns in class, shows us our sins.
Tell someone that the Moon is made of cheese and that Moon Men are coming to save us all and if you just believe, they will show themselves to you and have a place prepared for you on the Moon where you can live forever in peace. Say this and you’ll get laughed at, ignored, evaluated by a psychiatrist and in a short while forgot about.
But when Jesus says in John 14:6:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The reaction is one of anger as you are called unloving, intolerant, and bigoted and may be you just need to be a bit more progressive and get with the times … but you aren’t ignored or forgot about. Why? What if what you believe is true?
Christ Jesus has delivered you from death to life eternal!
The Rev. Scott Murray who sends out a devotion through the email each weekday wrote:
The One who need not have been bound by chains and cords was bound by men who sought His death. The One who was the power of God, refused to let that power bring Him rescue. The One who had no fear of death became subject to death. The One who had no vices wrapped Himself in ours that He might free us from them. The One who is the triumphant King suffered His own skin to be nailed upon the stake as the trophy of His triumph over death. The One who hunted down death, allowed Himself to be devoured by it. He was pierced through that we might be made whole. The wood upon which He was set adrift under the storming wrath of God He fashions into the ship of our salvation. It is our cross too, but not a cross of punishment for us. Rather, He makes it the cross of salvation.
The One who was bound by the nails is bound that He might bind us to Himself through faith in Him. We, who might be bound to Him by force, are bound rather by His love for us; and that binding is the more powerful because it is His. Bound to Him by His passionate and bloody embrace, we no longer fear the bonds of death in our own lives.
Punishment cannot hold us, for He long ago took our punishment. Suffering cannot overwhelm us, because He suffered for us on the tree. Fear cannot defeat us, for there is nothing to fear that can harm us. The cross is the instrument of His death, and the source of our life. Come, blessed cross!
Christ Jesus has delivered you from death to life eternal!
As we today remember the cross let us look to Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2)
Christ Jesus has delivered you from death to life eternal!
May the joy of Christ’s kingdom give you by faith comfort you daily as you wait for his glorious return.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
The Lord’s Prayer: Seventh petition.
But Deliver Us from Evil
Text: Psalm 31:1-5
31 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
2 Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!
3 For you are my rock and my fortress;
and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;
4 you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
In the Seventh petition we pray, But Deliver Us from Evil.
And to this Luther asks the question: What does this mean?
He answers:
That we pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all manner of evil, of body and soul, property and honor, and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that at the cross you delivered us from evil and that by your Holy Spirit we are brought to faith so that we might see you and your work done for us. Amen
Christ Jesus has delivered you from death to life eternal!
31 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
“Luther says of this verse:
“It does not say “in my” but “in thy righteousness,” that is, in the righteousness of Christ my God.”
He continues:
“Therefore this alien righteousness, instilled in us without our works by grace alone - while the Father, to be sure, inwardly draws us to Christ - is set opposite original sin, [which is] likewise alien, [and this] we acquire without our works by birth alone.”
AE Luther’s works Vol. 31 pg. 299
Your deliverance from sin, death and the power of the devil is all of God and so is your rescue. It is God himself who takes your place for the punishment you deserve and it is God himself who brings you from death to life by faith in his Son and our Lord Jesus Christ. It is God who gives you life where death anxiously awaits.
Ill.
John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands of the South Pacific. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present--but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station.
Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 18.
It is Christ who delivers us from evil and gives us life in his name.
In the Gospel of John we read:
17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on both side, and Jesus between them.
The one in whom they had trusted and believed, who they had thought was the one, this earthly Messiah, was now tried, crucified, and in a manner that would be in keeping with that … of a common criminal.
“But how can it be?” they might think. “In Him we we’re sure that the Kingdom would be restored and the power of the Romans broken. Now, we see only the one in whom we placed all our hope gone; killed by the raging of the Jewish leaders, the scourging of the Roman guards and the cross of humiliating crucifixion.”
Even Pilate got his digs in for he wrote:
… an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
Those responsible for turning Jesus over to Pilate cried:
“Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” “But Pilate had written what he had written and in the languages of Aramaic, Latin, and Greek so there was no mistaking what was said of him.”
“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Now, the dead King of the Jews, may have been the response that they all felt.
The world that we live in today also mocks this Jesus Christ crucified. But like the psalmist we can confidently and boldly call on our Lord for rescue.
2 Incline your ear to me; - hear my cries!
rescue me speedily!- deliver me from my enemies!
Be a rock of refuge for me, - stand firm in my place and be my substitute!
a strong fortress to save me!- Cover me with the fortress of your righteousness, that will never leave me nor forsake me, that will protect me and save me!
The name of Jesus and the cross is an offense. Why? Well, what if it is true? What if this Jesus is God and we are sinners as the Bible says and what if there is no hope apart from trust in him? What if there is really a place called Hell and when we reject Him and His love we receive the eternal separation and torment promised?
These and many other questions about Jesus and the cross cause the anger to boil over because it bring the sinners sins to light and the law, as the Confirmation class learns in class, shows us our sins.
Tell someone that the Moon is made of cheese and that Moon Men are coming to save us all and if you just believe, they will show themselves to you and have a place prepared for you on the Moon where you can live forever in peace. Say this and you’ll get laughed at, ignored, evaluated by a psychiatrist and in a short while forgot about.
But when Jesus says in John 14:6:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The reaction is one of anger as you are called unloving, intolerant, and bigoted and may be you just need to be a bit more progressive and get with the times … but you aren’t ignored or forgot about. Why? What if what you believe is true?
Christ Jesus has delivered you from death to life eternal!
The Rev. Scott Murray who sends out a devotion through the email each weekday wrote:
The One who need not have been bound by chains and cords was bound by men who sought His death. The One who was the power of God, refused to let that power bring Him rescue. The One who had no fear of death became subject to death. The One who had no vices wrapped Himself in ours that He might free us from them. The One who is the triumphant King suffered His own skin to be nailed upon the stake as the trophy of His triumph over death. The One who hunted down death, allowed Himself to be devoured by it. He was pierced through that we might be made whole. The wood upon which He was set adrift under the storming wrath of God He fashions into the ship of our salvation. It is our cross too, but not a cross of punishment for us. Rather, He makes it the cross of salvation.
The One who was bound by the nails is bound that He might bind us to Himself through faith in Him. We, who might be bound to Him by force, are bound rather by His love for us; and that binding is the more powerful because it is His. Bound to Him by His passionate and bloody embrace, we no longer fear the bonds of death in our own lives.
Punishment cannot hold us, for He long ago took our punishment. Suffering cannot overwhelm us, because He suffered for us on the tree. Fear cannot defeat us, for there is nothing to fear that can harm us. The cross is the instrument of His death, and the source of our life. Come, blessed cross!
Christ Jesus has delivered you from death to life eternal!
As we today remember the cross let us look to Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2)
Christ Jesus has delivered you from death to life eternal!
May the joy of Christ’s kingdom give you by faith comfort you daily as you wait for his glorious return.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
Sermon April 2, 2015 Maundy Thursday
Title: Christ Jesus has been tempted so that you have a way out!
The Lord’s Prayer: Sixth petition.
And lead us not into temptation
Text: Psalm 116:12-19
12 What shall I render to the LORD
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
14 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
In the Sixth petition we pray, and lead us not into temptation.
And to this Luther asks the question: What does this mean?
And then proceeds to answer.
God, indeed, tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us, nor seduce us into disbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and gain the victory..
This is His gracious and good will.
Heavenly Father, it is during this season of Lent that we ask that you would bring we, who are sinful and unclean to repentance so that by your Holy Spirit we might see your leading in our lives as we are led in the paths of righteousness for your names sake. Amen
Christ Jesus has been tempted so that you have a way out!
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
“Luther says of this verse,” that it is the Word having spiritual understanding and meaning through faith.”
To this he adds, “The cup is in the hands of the Lord, that is scripture is in the power of God. He will give it to whomever he will, but he gives it to the humble. The cup, I say of pure wine, that is, of the purest understanding without the admixture of carnality [which are the things of this world] but savoring only spiritual things and causing people to savor spiritual things.”
AE Luther’s Works Vol. 10 pg. 459
Ill.
Leonard Ravenhill tells a story about a group of tourists visiting a [beautiful] picturesque village who walked by an old man sitting beside a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one tourist asked, "Were any great men born in this village?" The old man replied, "Nope, only babies." A frothy question brought a profound answer. We are all born as babies, both physically and spiritually, and need, by God’s grace and working of the Holy Spirit, his means of grace - through Word and sacrament - to bring each of us the gift of faith in Christ and the strengthening of that same faith for each one of us.
William C. Shereos.
Christ Jesus has been tempted so that you have a way out!
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD,
where the congregation [God’s gathered people] assembled for public worship,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!
[Here] all the believers of [all time] are joined in this hallelujah [of praise] in honor of the God of their salvation and paying their vows to Him in cheerful service.
Ill.
Author, Joseph Stowell writes in his book, Fan the Flame:
“The Greeks had a race in their Olympic games that was unique. The winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit.”
J. Stowell, Fan The Flame, Moody, 1986, p. 32.
By God’s grace and blessing we will run the race of faith in Christ, completing the course and receiving from God himself the crown of life.
One way that God does this is through his gifts and today we celebrate the institution of the Lord’s Supper.
We read in Mark chapter 14:
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
As Lutherans we take Jesus and His words for what they are, not reading more into them than what He said or believing less than what He meant.
In a real sense the Real Presence and our understanding of Jesus and the sacrament are truly profound but also very simple; bread and wine and body and blood - for the forgiveness of sins. Because through this blessed gift our faith is strengthened and God by this same faith guards and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh won’t deceive us, or lead us into unbelief, despair, and though we be attacked by them, we can stand firm in our faith and by, God’s working in us, may finally overcome and gain the victory.
Christ Jesus has been tempted so that you have a way out!
In this blessed gift we hear the words of institution and the elements are consecrated, we receive the bread and the wine by our mouth but in a sacramental way also receive Christ’s true body and blood. This we not fully understand but because Jesus says it is his body and blood it is so and all who come to the table receive this blessed gift.
Those who receive this by faith in Christ’s words given and shed for you receive the Lord’s blessed forgiveness, but St Paul in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 reminds those who would receive this gift in an unworthy manner, not recognizing the body and blood of the Lord, judgment.
Christ Jesus has been tempted so that you have a way out!
Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper for you and for me so that we can receive Him and his forgiveness today and for all time until his return. Christ gives you as His child the blessed gift of His true body and blood so that you are connected to him, and he to you in this blessed way.
The obstacle of sin was place in the way between God and man. There was no way for man to get out of this predicament. God in Christ can to restore this relationship and the original righteousness that man was created with. In the sacrament you receive a foretaste of the joy and restoration that you have now but that which will be fully enjoyed in Heaven one day where all temptation will cease.
May God bring you comfort and peace in Christ by his gifts given for you in Word and Sacrament.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
The Lord’s Prayer: Sixth petition.
And lead us not into temptation
Text: Psalm 116:12-19
12 What shall I render to the LORD
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
14 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
In the Sixth petition we pray, and lead us not into temptation.
And to this Luther asks the question: What does this mean?
And then proceeds to answer.
God, indeed, tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us, nor seduce us into disbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and gain the victory..
This is His gracious and good will.
Heavenly Father, it is during this season of Lent that we ask that you would bring we, who are sinful and unclean to repentance so that by your Holy Spirit we might see your leading in our lives as we are led in the paths of righteousness for your names sake. Amen
Christ Jesus has been tempted so that you have a way out!
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
“Luther says of this verse,” that it is the Word having spiritual understanding and meaning through faith.”
To this he adds, “The cup is in the hands of the Lord, that is scripture is in the power of God. He will give it to whomever he will, but he gives it to the humble. The cup, I say of pure wine, that is, of the purest understanding without the admixture of carnality [which are the things of this world] but savoring only spiritual things and causing people to savor spiritual things.”
AE Luther’s Works Vol. 10 pg. 459
Ill.
Leonard Ravenhill tells a story about a group of tourists visiting a [beautiful] picturesque village who walked by an old man sitting beside a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one tourist asked, "Were any great men born in this village?" The old man replied, "Nope, only babies." A frothy question brought a profound answer. We are all born as babies, both physically and spiritually, and need, by God’s grace and working of the Holy Spirit, his means of grace - through Word and sacrament - to bring each of us the gift of faith in Christ and the strengthening of that same faith for each one of us.
William C. Shereos.
Christ Jesus has been tempted so that you have a way out!
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD,
where the congregation [God’s gathered people] assembled for public worship,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!
[Here] all the believers of [all time] are joined in this hallelujah [of praise] in honor of the God of their salvation and paying their vows to Him in cheerful service.
Ill.
Author, Joseph Stowell writes in his book, Fan the Flame:
“The Greeks had a race in their Olympic games that was unique. The winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit.”
J. Stowell, Fan The Flame, Moody, 1986, p. 32.
By God’s grace and blessing we will run the race of faith in Christ, completing the course and receiving from God himself the crown of life.
One way that God does this is through his gifts and today we celebrate the institution of the Lord’s Supper.
We read in Mark chapter 14:
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
As Lutherans we take Jesus and His words for what they are, not reading more into them than what He said or believing less than what He meant.
In a real sense the Real Presence and our understanding of Jesus and the sacrament are truly profound but also very simple; bread and wine and body and blood - for the forgiveness of sins. Because through this blessed gift our faith is strengthened and God by this same faith guards and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh won’t deceive us, or lead us into unbelief, despair, and though we be attacked by them, we can stand firm in our faith and by, God’s working in us, may finally overcome and gain the victory.
Christ Jesus has been tempted so that you have a way out!
In this blessed gift we hear the words of institution and the elements are consecrated, we receive the bread and the wine by our mouth but in a sacramental way also receive Christ’s true body and blood. This we not fully understand but because Jesus says it is his body and blood it is so and all who come to the table receive this blessed gift.
Those who receive this by faith in Christ’s words given and shed for you receive the Lord’s blessed forgiveness, but St Paul in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 reminds those who would receive this gift in an unworthy manner, not recognizing the body and blood of the Lord, judgment.
Christ Jesus has been tempted so that you have a way out!
Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper for you and for me so that we can receive Him and his forgiveness today and for all time until his return. Christ gives you as His child the blessed gift of His true body and blood so that you are connected to him, and he to you in this blessed way.
The obstacle of sin was place in the way between God and man. There was no way for man to get out of this predicament. God in Christ can to restore this relationship and the original righteousness that man was created with. In the sacrament you receive a foretaste of the joy and restoration that you have now but that which will be fully enjoyed in Heaven one day where all temptation will cease.
May God bring you comfort and peace in Christ by his gifts given for you in Word and Sacrament.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
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