First Sunday in Advent
Title: Justice and Righteousness is Christ!
Text: Jer. 33:14-16
Facebook live: Justice and Righteousness is Christ!
14 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise, I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
7 There shall we all our praises bring
And sing to you, our Savior King;
There shall we laud you and Adore
Forever and forevermore
Jeremiah’s text for today brings with it the Lord’s promise of restoration; both the restoration of the divided kingdom as well as the fullness of restoration. Previously the Lord had said:
10 “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. Jer. 29:10
And now says:
15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
Justice and righteousness.
God will both condemn sin and forgive and set free.
Jeremiah had a tough job. As the court prophet for King Zedekiah he brought God’s word to the King. At times God’s word through Jeremiah could proclaim blessing and joy and at other times it could proclaim judgment and sorrow.
Judah was in bad shape. They had been falling away from God and His word and trusting in their own righteousness. Even Zedekiah’s name in Hebrew means “Just” and “Righteous,” though he was anything but.
David was anointed to be King, called by God as one after God’s own heart. But King Zedekiah was hearing judgment from God through Jeremiah’s proclamation and it was only a matter of time before God’s judgment would come, in the form of King Nebuchadnezzar and the entire Babylonian Army, carrying the entire nation away into exile.
So what do you do if you’re the King and you don’t like what God’s word says?
You continue to trust in yourself and in your own righteousness, reason and understanding and lock God’s prophet up in the palace prison so you don’t have to hear it.
It’s what Zedekiah did and at times it’s what we do.
But the joy that our lesson today proclaims … and the blessing we wait in anticipation for this Advent season is that:
Justice and Righteousness is found only in Christ!
Don’t you and I at times shut up God’s word in our own prison of indifference or rejection?
When God’s word condemns sin, it is often easier to reject the truth God’s word points out than to turn in repentance, asking for forgiveness and receiving the forgiveness God so desires to give you and me to hear.
For Zedekiah, the judgment of God would come through the Babylonian Army.
Where might your judgment come from?
For you and for me and through the ages, the Army that many times caries us away is found in our own wisdom, understanding and reason.
What God’s word says and that which we can’t understand or wrap our arms around we often reject as foolish or only intended for a certain place and at a certain time.
We set ourselves up as God’s judge and determine what is and what is not relevant to me. Our society, or Kingdom if you will, is being judged by God’s word.
The truth is we are falling short as a nation.
We are all going our own way, as Israel did in the Book of Judges, having everyman doing what was right in his own eyes so that only a generation or two later … they neither knew the Lord or what He had done for them. How or when we get carried away into our own exile as a nation remains to be seen. But, understanding and reason is a constant battleground.
Martin Luther once said:
“Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but—more frequently than not—struggles against [God’s] divine Word, treating with contempt all that [comes] from God.”
—Martin Luther, Table Talks in 1569.
But even though we fall short there is still reason to rejoice because:
Justice and Righteousness is found only in Christ!
In those days, as today, God’s word brought judgment and blessing and for those who needed to hear, just as we need to hear, listen:
14 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
The promise of a savior, Christ the Lord, would spring forth from the righteous branch of King David. He, Jesus, would execute justice, fulfilling at the cross, God’s work of redeeming mankind from sin and the works of the Law which cause many to stumble and fall short, trusting in their own works and own righteousness.
But you … are FREE!
By the power of the Holy Spirit you have in Christ been brought to faith and trust in a foreign righteousness, one outside yourself, and by that same Spirit you cling to Christ and the eternal hope for which He came.
Justice and Righteousness is found only in Christ!
16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
The Lord is our righteousness indeed!
He has come for you and as we wait in joyful anticipation this Advent season for the coming of the babe in the manger … which is Christ the Lord, we know that he came for you and me.
But how, you might say, can I know and be sure that he came for me?
By faith through baptism and the preaching of the gospel, God has called you to believe and be His child.
As the Apostle Paul put it in 2 Cor.5:17-21:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him (in Christ) we might become the righteousness of God.
In Christ the promise of righteousness is fulfilled for you!
The Lord is our righteousness … that we might become the righteousness of God!
1 O Savior rend the heavens wide;
Come down, come down with mighty stride;
Unlock the gates, the doors break down;
Unbar the way to heaven’s crown.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Sunday, November 28, 2021
Sunday, November 21, 2021
Sermon: Nov. 20-21, 2021
Title: We stand blameless in Christ!
Text: Jude 20-25
Text: Jude 20-25
Facebook live: We stand blameless in Christ!
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time. Families get together to celebrate, have a meal and for some watch football. My family will be celebrating our Thanksgiving this afternoon with family and joyfully thank the Lord for his many blessings over the years and especially through the trials that we faced in this life over the last 6 years.
As Monica faced cancer and surgery six years ago it caused us as a family to reflect on what we are truly thankful for. Certainly, the gift of life from our loving God is a gift that we enjoy daily and with illness, the gift of life is compromised.
We then also think of the gift of newness of life and the rebirth we have been given in Christ in our baptisms. Apart from this, I’m not sure how many of us could get through the illness part, but in Christ we have the hope of an eternity with him, a life eternal that never ends, and a bodily resurrection free from death and the wages of sin.
In hindsight this is a truly thankful Thanksgiving!
Our epistle reading for today from the book of Jude begins:
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
There is a statement of purpose:
20 But you, beloved.
Those who have been called by the Holy Spirit to believe are given faith in Christ and are loved by God.
That is, you and me. This love is not earned, but it is freely given in the one who is righteous and the one who is righteous is Jesus. He has taken our sins and the sins of the whole world upon himself and we receive what he has earned by faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph. 2:8b-9
There is also a call to action:
building yourselves up in your most holy faith – Or, “on your most holy faith,” not listening to the lie of those who would pervert the faith 3b I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. (Truth and doctrine Jude vs 3b)
This is done by means of the Holy Gospel.
praying in the Holy Spirit - the Holy Spirit is the means by which you can pray rightly. Apart from him coming first to you we cannot know God or his love for us. All we can know is his Law and wrath. But here the Holy Spirit causes and invites us to pray to the one who has made peace with God and intercedes for us and thus this faith in Christ Jesus builds us up, you and me … his saints.
keep yourselves in the love of God –This is God’s love not our love so we look always outside ourselves to what he has done for us in Jesus.
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time. Families get together to celebrate, have a meal and for some watch football. My family will be celebrating our Thanksgiving this afternoon with family and joyfully thank the Lord for his many blessings over the years and especially through the trials that we faced in this life over the last 6 years.
As Monica faced cancer and surgery six years ago it caused us as a family to reflect on what we are truly thankful for. Certainly, the gift of life from our loving God is a gift that we enjoy daily and with illness, the gift of life is compromised.
We then also think of the gift of newness of life and the rebirth we have been given in Christ in our baptisms. Apart from this, I’m not sure how many of us could get through the illness part, but in Christ we have the hope of an eternity with him, a life eternal that never ends, and a bodily resurrection free from death and the wages of sin.
In hindsight this is a truly thankful Thanksgiving!
Our epistle reading for today from the book of Jude begins:
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
There is a statement of purpose:
20 But you, beloved.
Those who have been called by the Holy Spirit to believe are given faith in Christ and are loved by God.
That is, you and me. This love is not earned, but it is freely given in the one who is righteous and the one who is righteous is Jesus. He has taken our sins and the sins of the whole world upon himself and we receive what he has earned by faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph. 2:8b-9
There is also a call to action:
building yourselves up in your most holy faith – Or, “on your most holy faith,” not listening to the lie of those who would pervert the faith 3b I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. (Truth and doctrine Jude vs 3b)
This is done by means of the Holy Gospel.
praying in the Holy Spirit - the Holy Spirit is the means by which you can pray rightly. Apart from him coming first to you we cannot know God or his love for us. All we can know is his Law and wrath. But here the Holy Spirit causes and invites us to pray to the one who has made peace with God and intercedes for us and thus this faith in Christ Jesus builds us up, you and me … his saints.
keep yourselves in the love of God –This is God’s love not our love so we look always outside ourselves to what he has done for us in Jesus.
God’s love is only for those who believe in him leaving those outside the church outside God’s love in Christ because they have and are placing their trust in the filthy rags of their own righteousness. It is with that in mind that we together call those outside to come.
This is the good news of the gospel and by the working of the Holy Spirit so that they too might be Christ’s own and receive all that he has earned for them.
waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. – This can also be translated as “expecting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.” R.H. Lenski commentary Vol. 11 Jude Pg. 646
Here we see that all the things Jude called us to do is done in us and for us by the Holy Spirit.
God’s mercy leads to eternal life, and for that we wait, expecting God to keep us in his Love by the Holy Spirit who calls us to pray in this most holy faith and by that we are blessed and built up by the Spirit’s work in us.
22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
I had doubt, I had concern for Monica’s cancer.
I lost my mother to cancer so had concern for the future that awaited. We all do. We also at times doubt the Lord’s care and leading in our faith that is at times weak. Many face the future with weak faith.
22 And have mercy on those who doubt;
Those who doubt are in danger of falling away.
We must continue to be light in a dark world with the gospel of truth. Some are snatched from the fire itself by the work of the Holy Spirit through you and me and God’s word we speak and share.
Others we pity as they continue to cling to the garment of sin in their life while they reject the good news and fall further away. It is like calling some to come into your home or pavilion of rest in the midst of the storm but they continue on their way only to be consumed by the elements of this life … a life apart from Christ with no hope for tomorrow.
But God in his mercy does not leave us hopeless.
Because, the message of the Gospel is that we stand blameless in Christ!
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
Jesus has made the rough ways smooth and the crooked ways straight. He will keep you strong in the faith. He does it through his means. It may at times seem trite … word and sacrament. But God uses the weak to confound the strong, the ordinary to do extra ordinary things.
24 Now to him who is able, Christ is able
… all things are possible with God.
to keep you from stumbling,
Those who desire to lead you a stray and to preach a gospel different than the one we preached – Paul says to the Galatians. He warns that there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. Here the Holy Spirit through the word will keep you safe. If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. Gal 1:8-9
By God’s working in you by his Spirit you will be protected from the wiles of the devil. This good news will remain and go forth until Jesus returns.
This Thanksgiving, make God and his gifts to you the center of your thanks and joy as you gather with family and friends. Lift him and the one who supplies all your needs and by his working in you, you can know true thanksgiving, life and peace in his name.
We stand blameless in Christ!
25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
This is the good news of the gospel and by the working of the Holy Spirit so that they too might be Christ’s own and receive all that he has earned for them.
waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. – This can also be translated as “expecting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.” R.H. Lenski commentary Vol. 11 Jude Pg. 646
Here we see that all the things Jude called us to do is done in us and for us by the Holy Spirit.
God’s mercy leads to eternal life, and for that we wait, expecting God to keep us in his Love by the Holy Spirit who calls us to pray in this most holy faith and by that we are blessed and built up by the Spirit’s work in us.
22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
I had doubt, I had concern for Monica’s cancer.
I lost my mother to cancer so had concern for the future that awaited. We all do. We also at times doubt the Lord’s care and leading in our faith that is at times weak. Many face the future with weak faith.
22 And have mercy on those who doubt;
Those who doubt are in danger of falling away.
We must continue to be light in a dark world with the gospel of truth. Some are snatched from the fire itself by the work of the Holy Spirit through you and me and God’s word we speak and share.
Others we pity as they continue to cling to the garment of sin in their life while they reject the good news and fall further away. It is like calling some to come into your home or pavilion of rest in the midst of the storm but they continue on their way only to be consumed by the elements of this life … a life apart from Christ with no hope for tomorrow.
But God in his mercy does not leave us hopeless.
Because, the message of the Gospel is that we stand blameless in Christ!
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
Jesus has made the rough ways smooth and the crooked ways straight. He will keep you strong in the faith. He does it through his means. It may at times seem trite … word and sacrament. But God uses the weak to confound the strong, the ordinary to do extra ordinary things.
24 Now to him who is able, Christ is able
… all things are possible with God.
to keep you from stumbling,
Those who desire to lead you a stray and to preach a gospel different than the one we preached – Paul says to the Galatians. He warns that there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. Here the Holy Spirit through the word will keep you safe. If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. Gal 1:8-9
By God’s working in you by his Spirit you will be protected from the wiles of the devil. This good news will remain and go forth until Jesus returns.
This Thanksgiving, make God and his gifts to you the center of your thanks and joy as you gather with family and friends. Lift him and the one who supplies all your needs and by his working in you, you can know true thanksgiving, life and peace in his name.
We stand blameless in Christ!
25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Monday, November 15, 2021
Sermon Nov. 13-14, 2021
Title: Endure in Christ!
Text: Mark 13:1-13
Text: Mark 13:1-13
Facebook live: Endure in Christ!
This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
During these final weeks in the church year at the end of the Pentecost season – the season of the church - speaks of the end times and the second coming of Christ. It is a time, where sinful eyes only see destruction, deception, and death. But for we who have been redeemed and made new in Baptism, we see through the eyes of faith … hope and delivery in our loving savior Jesus.
13 And as [Jesus] came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
The Temple mount in Jerusalem has not been rebuilt since it was destroyed by the Roman army in 70 AD.
The Jewish historian Josephus writes in the War of the Jews:
"...the rebels shortly after attacked the Romans again, and a clash followed between the guards of the sanctuary and the troops who were putting out the fire inside the inner court; the latter routed the Jews and followed in hot pursuit right up to the Temple itself. Then one of the soldiers, without awaiting any orders and with no dread of so momentous a deed, but urged on by some supernatural force, snatched a blazing piece of wood and, climbing on another soldier's back, hurled the flaming brand through a low golden window that gave access, on the north side, to the rooms that surrounded the sanctuary. As the flames shot up, the Jews let out a shout of dismay that matched the tragedy; they flocked to the rescue, with no thought of sparing their lives or husbanding their strength; for the sacred structure that they had constantly guarded with such devotion was vanishing before their very eyes.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/jewishtemple.htm
From the time of Christ until this very day we are in the End Times. This life and our world are vanishing, as it were, before our very eyes. Wars and rumors of war have come and gone and remain on the horizon, and having just observed Veterans Day, we too are reminded of the unrest and turmoil that has been and continues to be part of our lives.
8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
It hurts to see this. Intercity churches torn down, closed, or repurposed. Rural and suburban churches declining or struggling and Christians around the world persecuted for their faith and the aftermath of unrest and fires leave a path or destruction leaving us numb, hurting and questioning.
5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.
Leaders step up with the promise of hope - at times using fear to marbleize their base and to overcome their foes. Enemies are defined and labeled and some who speak up are shouted down or hunted and hounded out of the public eye.
Wars and earthquakes are but signs … the destruction of a way of life are justified some would say as and with the promise of a better life in a new world to come. The social divide in our country … continues.
Jesus says it will get worse … and personal:
12 And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
A bleak world awaits us all. But there is a greater concern, as Jesus says:
5 … “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.
The life of the church has been falling away for generations.
Nations and Kingdoms continue to rise against each other and this is only the birth pains we’re told. We’re not there yet. So, keep watch and be on your guard.
The disciples expected Jesus to make things alright in the world – to restore the Kingdom as they understood it - to Make Jerusalem great again - and we do too.
Our church sees the signs too.
Average attendance in 2005 was at 160. Today it’s 55… for both services.
Some of the Elders and I attended an Elders conference for our Circuit last weekend. Five of our Circuit churches attended. We discussed many things and especially the work of the Holy Spirit. But one thing was clear: We are all in this together. All churches are dealing with the same problems. Some to a lesser and some to a greater degree but we all see the signs in once vibrant and growing churches that are getting older.
Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:8-13
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.
I would love nothing better than to see our church vibrant and return to how it was when I first attended … where the church had overflow seating for Christmas and Easter and we seemed to be on an upward trend. But many of our once active members who had built this church and sustained it through the years have been called home, some have moved away or are unable to come, and others who once came … have fallen away.
These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
This is a harsh reality. It is a hard pill to swallow. It tears at the very fiber of every pastor, called worker, and lay servant of Christ who desires to see the church grow and prosper under their watch.
Jesus says to his disciples:
9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.
It is the witness … not the building;
It is the witness … not the numbers;
It is the Gospel … of Jesus Christ that changes the heart and brings to faith by the power of the Holy Spirit those called to believe.
10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.
This has been going on since the church was founded on the day of Pentecost and will continue until the Lord returns. We must continue to proclaim the Good News and the truth of Christ Jesus in a world of sin and doubt to family, friends, and strangers. It has been going on for over 2000 years and will continue by the word of the gospel to call those who have fallen away back to faith and the arms of a loving savior.
And while buildings may fall and the stones may be torn down with nothing left standing; while some members may become apathetic and listen to the world, their own sinful flesh, and a devil that calls them away from the truth, God will continue to call them back by his word, through his Spirit, to an eternity that he has won for you and me at his cross.
Luther said in a sermon for the advent season:
The rejection of Christ does not happen only with [others] but also among us, for the high and mighty scorn us because of our gospel and sacraments. What folly [foolishness], they say, that I should let myself be baptized with water poured on my head, supposedly to be saved thereby; or that some poor parish preacher, barely able to put a coat on his back, should pronounce forgiveness and absolve me from my sins; or that by receiving bread and wine in the Sacrament I should be saved. On that basis they despise a Christ-preacher.
And he concludes:
But no one ought to despise Christ in that way, for he is our Saviour and seeks to give us everlasting life. It ought not faze us that he comes in poverty. He requires neither armor, nor mounted cavalry for his message; but simply proclaimed: "Whoever believes in me shall have everlasting life."
Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, House Postils I.35-36. Sermon for Advent I, 1534
It is the strength of the Lord that will sustain you and me and this church until the end. By God’s word and Spirit, we who hear and follow will be saved because he promises that:
… the one who endures to the end will be saved.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
During these final weeks in the church year at the end of the Pentecost season – the season of the church - speaks of the end times and the second coming of Christ. It is a time, where sinful eyes only see destruction, deception, and death. But for we who have been redeemed and made new in Baptism, we see through the eyes of faith … hope and delivery in our loving savior Jesus.
13 And as [Jesus] came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
The Temple mount in Jerusalem has not been rebuilt since it was destroyed by the Roman army in 70 AD.
The Jewish historian Josephus writes in the War of the Jews:
"...the rebels shortly after attacked the Romans again, and a clash followed between the guards of the sanctuary and the troops who were putting out the fire inside the inner court; the latter routed the Jews and followed in hot pursuit right up to the Temple itself. Then one of the soldiers, without awaiting any orders and with no dread of so momentous a deed, but urged on by some supernatural force, snatched a blazing piece of wood and, climbing on another soldier's back, hurled the flaming brand through a low golden window that gave access, on the north side, to the rooms that surrounded the sanctuary. As the flames shot up, the Jews let out a shout of dismay that matched the tragedy; they flocked to the rescue, with no thought of sparing their lives or husbanding their strength; for the sacred structure that they had constantly guarded with such devotion was vanishing before their very eyes.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/jewishtemple.htm
From the time of Christ until this very day we are in the End Times. This life and our world are vanishing, as it were, before our very eyes. Wars and rumors of war have come and gone and remain on the horizon, and having just observed Veterans Day, we too are reminded of the unrest and turmoil that has been and continues to be part of our lives.
8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
It hurts to see this. Intercity churches torn down, closed, or repurposed. Rural and suburban churches declining or struggling and Christians around the world persecuted for their faith and the aftermath of unrest and fires leave a path or destruction leaving us numb, hurting and questioning.
5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.
Leaders step up with the promise of hope - at times using fear to marbleize their base and to overcome their foes. Enemies are defined and labeled and some who speak up are shouted down or hunted and hounded out of the public eye.
Wars and earthquakes are but signs … the destruction of a way of life are justified some would say as and with the promise of a better life in a new world to come. The social divide in our country … continues.
Jesus says it will get worse … and personal:
12 And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
A bleak world awaits us all. But there is a greater concern, as Jesus says:
5 … “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.
The life of the church has been falling away for generations.
Nations and Kingdoms continue to rise against each other and this is only the birth pains we’re told. We’re not there yet. So, keep watch and be on your guard.
The disciples expected Jesus to make things alright in the world – to restore the Kingdom as they understood it - to Make Jerusalem great again - and we do too.
Our church sees the signs too.
Average attendance in 2005 was at 160. Today it’s 55… for both services.
Some of the Elders and I attended an Elders conference for our Circuit last weekend. Five of our Circuit churches attended. We discussed many things and especially the work of the Holy Spirit. But one thing was clear: We are all in this together. All churches are dealing with the same problems. Some to a lesser and some to a greater degree but we all see the signs in once vibrant and growing churches that are getting older.
Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:8-13
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.
I would love nothing better than to see our church vibrant and return to how it was when I first attended … where the church had overflow seating for Christmas and Easter and we seemed to be on an upward trend. But many of our once active members who had built this church and sustained it through the years have been called home, some have moved away or are unable to come, and others who once came … have fallen away.
These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
This is a harsh reality. It is a hard pill to swallow. It tears at the very fiber of every pastor, called worker, and lay servant of Christ who desires to see the church grow and prosper under their watch.
Jesus says to his disciples:
9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.
It is the witness … not the building;
It is the witness … not the numbers;
It is the Gospel … of Jesus Christ that changes the heart and brings to faith by the power of the Holy Spirit those called to believe.
10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.
This has been going on since the church was founded on the day of Pentecost and will continue until the Lord returns. We must continue to proclaim the Good News and the truth of Christ Jesus in a world of sin and doubt to family, friends, and strangers. It has been going on for over 2000 years and will continue by the word of the gospel to call those who have fallen away back to faith and the arms of a loving savior.
And while buildings may fall and the stones may be torn down with nothing left standing; while some members may become apathetic and listen to the world, their own sinful flesh, and a devil that calls them away from the truth, God will continue to call them back by his word, through his Spirit, to an eternity that he has won for you and me at his cross.
Luther said in a sermon for the advent season:
The rejection of Christ does not happen only with [others] but also among us, for the high and mighty scorn us because of our gospel and sacraments. What folly [foolishness], they say, that I should let myself be baptized with water poured on my head, supposedly to be saved thereby; or that some poor parish preacher, barely able to put a coat on his back, should pronounce forgiveness and absolve me from my sins; or that by receiving bread and wine in the Sacrament I should be saved. On that basis they despise a Christ-preacher.
And he concludes:
But no one ought to despise Christ in that way, for he is our Saviour and seeks to give us everlasting life. It ought not faze us that he comes in poverty. He requires neither armor, nor mounted cavalry for his message; but simply proclaimed: "Whoever believes in me shall have everlasting life."
Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, House Postils I.35-36. Sermon for Advent I, 1534
It is the strength of the Lord that will sustain you and me and this church until the end. By God’s word and Spirit, we who hear and follow will be saved because he promises that:
… the one who endures to the end will be saved.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Monday, November 8, 2021
Sermon Nov. 6-7, 2021 All Saints Day
Title: In Christ the Kingdom of Heaven is yours!
Text: 1 John 3:1-3
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
and die to live.
They now serve God both day and night;
They sing their songs in endless light.
Their anthems ring
As they all sing
With angels shining bright.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Text: 1 John 3:1-3
Facebook live: In Christ the Kingdom of Heaven is yours!
2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Behold a host, arrayed in white,
Like thousand snow-clad mountains bright!
With palms they stand;
Who is this band
Before the throne of light?
All Saints Day brings to mind the dearly beloved saints who’ve finished their course in this life and rest in the arms of their loving savior. Jesuses promised eternity with him is fulfilled in those who’ve received this grace and faith as a gift and having believed, depart this life for that promised eternity.
3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God; and so, we.
As we think about the love of God, this love it is made known to us in the God man Christ Jesus our Lord, the perfect son, begotten of the Father from eternity. But it is not in the incarnation that our hope is found, though God becoming man put into history the perfection of God’s redemptive plan to restore all that had been lost and broken by the fall into sin.
Paul in writing to the church in Corinth laments:
22 For as in Adam all die, 1 Cor. 15:22a
The world and all people are brought forth in Adam. We are all brought forth in sin and death awaits us all. The life we live for good or bad gives us only what this life in Adam gives – life - for a time.
So, the time over the last year has given us grief in the loss of so many dear saints here at Peace and in our extended family.
At times in life there is joy, and at times there is sorrow, and at times our hopes and dreams in this life culminate only in a death and separation from those we love and hold dear.
Those are the saints of glorious fame,
Who from the great affliction came
And in the flood
Of Jesus' blood
Are cleansed from guilt and shame.
In the last year fellow members Dick Rutz, Heinz Hoffmann, Karen Bond, Florence Adkins, Pastor Merrell and Paul Wendland have finished the course and rest now in Christ along with former members Don Beutler and Beryl Roder.
But, Paul doesn’t leave his hearers or us in despair for he concludes this verse with these comforting words:
… so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Cor. 15:22b
We are made alive in Christ, not in Adam.
In Adam the sin of the fall clings to us from birth. We live in Adam and see it throughout our lives. We die, not to receive heaven, but because –
… the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23a
Paul loves to proclaim the life eternal because it is what we are all guaranteed.
In Adam though that guarantee is an eternal life separated from a loving God.
This is NOT good news!
To die apart from Christ means that you will never see or hear the great multitude, crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Rev. 7:10
But in Christ, Paul comforts the burdened heart saying:
But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23b
That life eternal begins not upon our death - but upon our rebirth at our Baptism when we are born again from above!
In Baptism we are marked as God’s child and put on Christ through the washing of water and the word. Titus 3:5
By the working of the Holy Spirit in Baptism we believe in Jesus and our life in Adam is changed forever.
We are no longer dead in sin but are made alive in Christ!
As the Apostle John writes in our epistle for today:
2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when [Jesus] appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
We shall see him - this Jesus - not as a terrible and wrathful judge ready to condemn us for our sin, but as the only begotten son of the Father who sees us in Christ and is well pleased. The favor of God on account of Christ is yours – not because you have lived a good life, but because Christ Jesus has lived, suffered, died, and rose again from the dead – for you and me and for all who hold to this blessed hope.
All Saints Day brings to mind loss as well.
We don’t have to look very far to see an empty space when a beloved member of Peace once sat. In life we are all destined to die and in death those who have gone before us leave a void in our own lives where they had been present.
I don’t need to remind you of that.
We also think of our loving friends and family members who have departed this life for eternity, returning to their resting place as we wait together for the Lord’s return.
In Adam we all die and we will all rise at the coming of the Lord but only in Christ are we to be with the Lord forever.
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor. 15 55b-56
While we mourn the passing of our beloved friends and family members, we also joy that their promised eternity is in Christ!
We live to die
2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Behold a host, arrayed in white,
Like thousand snow-clad mountains bright!
With palms they stand;
Who is this band
Before the throne of light?
All Saints Day brings to mind the dearly beloved saints who’ve finished their course in this life and rest in the arms of their loving savior. Jesuses promised eternity with him is fulfilled in those who’ve received this grace and faith as a gift and having believed, depart this life for that promised eternity.
3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God; and so, we.
As we think about the love of God, this love it is made known to us in the God man Christ Jesus our Lord, the perfect son, begotten of the Father from eternity. But it is not in the incarnation that our hope is found, though God becoming man put into history the perfection of God’s redemptive plan to restore all that had been lost and broken by the fall into sin.
Paul in writing to the church in Corinth laments:
22 For as in Adam all die, 1 Cor. 15:22a
The world and all people are brought forth in Adam. We are all brought forth in sin and death awaits us all. The life we live for good or bad gives us only what this life in Adam gives – life - for a time.
So, the time over the last year has given us grief in the loss of so many dear saints here at Peace and in our extended family.
At times in life there is joy, and at times there is sorrow, and at times our hopes and dreams in this life culminate only in a death and separation from those we love and hold dear.
Those are the saints of glorious fame,
Who from the great affliction came
And in the flood
Of Jesus' blood
Are cleansed from guilt and shame.
In the last year fellow members Dick Rutz, Heinz Hoffmann, Karen Bond, Florence Adkins, Pastor Merrell and Paul Wendland have finished the course and rest now in Christ along with former members Don Beutler and Beryl Roder.
But, Paul doesn’t leave his hearers or us in despair for he concludes this verse with these comforting words:
… so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Cor. 15:22b
We are made alive in Christ, not in Adam.
In Adam the sin of the fall clings to us from birth. We live in Adam and see it throughout our lives. We die, not to receive heaven, but because –
… the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23a
Paul loves to proclaim the life eternal because it is what we are all guaranteed.
In Adam though that guarantee is an eternal life separated from a loving God.
This is NOT good news!
To die apart from Christ means that you will never see or hear the great multitude, crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Rev. 7:10
But in Christ, Paul comforts the burdened heart saying:
But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23b
That life eternal begins not upon our death - but upon our rebirth at our Baptism when we are born again from above!
In Baptism we are marked as God’s child and put on Christ through the washing of water and the word. Titus 3:5
By the working of the Holy Spirit in Baptism we believe in Jesus and our life in Adam is changed forever.
We are no longer dead in sin but are made alive in Christ!
As the Apostle John writes in our epistle for today:
2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when [Jesus] appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
We shall see him - this Jesus - not as a terrible and wrathful judge ready to condemn us for our sin, but as the only begotten son of the Father who sees us in Christ and is well pleased. The favor of God on account of Christ is yours – not because you have lived a good life, but because Christ Jesus has lived, suffered, died, and rose again from the dead – for you and me and for all who hold to this blessed hope.
All Saints Day brings to mind loss as well.
We don’t have to look very far to see an empty space when a beloved member of Peace once sat. In life we are all destined to die and in death those who have gone before us leave a void in our own lives where they had been present.
I don’t need to remind you of that.
We also think of our loving friends and family members who have departed this life for eternity, returning to their resting place as we wait together for the Lord’s return.
In Adam we all die and we will all rise at the coming of the Lord but only in Christ are we to be with the Lord forever.
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor. 15 55b-56
While we mourn the passing of our beloved friends and family members, we also joy that their promised eternity is in Christ!
We live to die
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
and die to live.
They now serve God both day and night;
They sing their songs in endless light.
Their anthems ring
As they all sing
With angels shining bright.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Monday, November 1, 2021
Sermon October 30-31, 2021 Reformation
Title: Freedom in Christ is life!
Text: John 8:31-36
Facebook live: Freedom in Christ is life!
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Today we remember and celebrate the Reformation of the Church, by the former Roman Catholic Priest and Augustinian Monk, Martin Luther. We also celebrate the joy found in the freedom of the Gospel message, and continue together with the whole church to proclaim that truth to reach the lost with this same blessed good news!
Jesus tells the believing Jews in our Gospel today who had been following Him that:
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”
To be a disciple is to be a follower of Christ. One who is connected to God’s very words and who abides in them [who hears the word with the intention of following] – or is one who accepts and acts in accordance with the word of God.
In our Gospel reading for today Jesus tells the Jews and you and me as well:
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
This freedom and liberty of the gospel is what we celebrate today. It is what Luther searched for and why he became a monk – thinking that being locked inside the walls, devoting himself to fasting, long hours in prayer, pilgrimages, and frequent confession would keep him away from sin and the power of the devil.
Saying:
"If anyone could have gained heaven as a monk, then I would certainly have done so." He described this period of his life as one of deep spiritual despair. "I lost touch with Christ the Savior and Comforter, and made of him the jailer and hangman of my poor soul."
But later he found peace in the words of Romans 5:1 which reads:
5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you felt closed in by the walls of sin?
Have you or have your loved ones fled or stayed away from the blessings and Peace found only in Christ and his gifts given in word and sacrament?
Are you burdened by the Law and a slave to sin?
33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Martin Luther writes:
“Discipleship is not limited to what you can comprehend--it must transcend all comprehension.”
He continues:
Thus Abraham went forth from his father and not knowing (where he was going). He trusted himself to (God’s) knowledge, and cared not for his own, and thus he took the right road and came to his journey's end.
Behold, that end is the way of the cross.
You cannot find it yourself, so you must let (God) lead you as though you were a blind man. (So), it is not you, no man, (and) no living creature, but (Christ) Himself, who instructs you by word and Spirit in the way you should go.
Not the work which you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is clean contrary to all that you choose or contrive or desire--that is the road you must take. To that, (Christ) calls you and in that (says) you must be my disciple.”
― Martin Luther
Saying in essence: Hear me! Listen to me! Abide in me!
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
The truth is we are all bound to sin and its cravings.
We desire to do the will of our sinful nature which is in opposition to God’s will and as a result you and I fall short daily. The world says, “Deep down he is really a good person” - when the truth is: the deeper down we go the worse it gets.
The more you get to the core of who we are in our fallen human condition the more you see the sinfulness of man, broken and corrupted to the core from the beginning by our first parents Adam and Eve.
But Jesus reminds His hearers: To Listen to him!
35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
The freedom for the sinner is found only in Jesus. That was the joy that Luther found and what we celebrate in the Reformation. In Christ, true freedom from sin is possible and true liberty for we who are bound with the chains of guilt and despair is broken.
Christ has set free those who could not free themselves by his own binding.
The binding of His flesh to the cross in your place
The shedding of His blood for the forgiveness of your sin
The death worthy of a criminal for you and I who are guilty and the burial in a tomb meant for another …
In Jesus’ case … Joseph of Arimathea, for it was his tomb where Jesus was laid.
But, that tomb and that death WAS meant for you!
Jesus took your place,
He took your cross,
He took your death,
And He took your tomb and He made them what you couldn't …
Life, freedom, liberty, salvation and forgiveness
Salvation is all of God and not of man.
That is the message of the Reformation.
Luther restored the gospel truths about Christ and His merits that had been lost, once again shinning the light of the gospel on Christ’s work, for you!
Because Jesus came to live, suffer, die and rise again for you …
because of Christ and His merits …
because the Son has set you free … you are free indeed!
May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you now and forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
Text: John 8:31-36
Facebook live: Freedom in Christ is life!
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Today we remember and celebrate the Reformation of the Church, by the former Roman Catholic Priest and Augustinian Monk, Martin Luther. We also celebrate the joy found in the freedom of the Gospel message, and continue together with the whole church to proclaim that truth to reach the lost with this same blessed good news!
Jesus tells the believing Jews in our Gospel today who had been following Him that:
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”
To be a disciple is to be a follower of Christ. One who is connected to God’s very words and who abides in them [who hears the word with the intention of following] – or is one who accepts and acts in accordance with the word of God.
In our Gospel reading for today Jesus tells the Jews and you and me as well:
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
This freedom and liberty of the gospel is what we celebrate today. It is what Luther searched for and why he became a monk – thinking that being locked inside the walls, devoting himself to fasting, long hours in prayer, pilgrimages, and frequent confession would keep him away from sin and the power of the devil.
Saying:
"If anyone could have gained heaven as a monk, then I would certainly have done so." He described this period of his life as one of deep spiritual despair. "I lost touch with Christ the Savior and Comforter, and made of him the jailer and hangman of my poor soul."
But later he found peace in the words of Romans 5:1 which reads:
5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you felt closed in by the walls of sin?
Have you or have your loved ones fled or stayed away from the blessings and Peace found only in Christ and his gifts given in word and sacrament?
Are you burdened by the Law and a slave to sin?
33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Martin Luther writes:
“Discipleship is not limited to what you can comprehend--it must transcend all comprehension.”
He continues:
Thus Abraham went forth from his father and not knowing (where he was going). He trusted himself to (God’s) knowledge, and cared not for his own, and thus he took the right road and came to his journey's end.
Behold, that end is the way of the cross.
You cannot find it yourself, so you must let (God) lead you as though you were a blind man. (So), it is not you, no man, (and) no living creature, but (Christ) Himself, who instructs you by word and Spirit in the way you should go.
Not the work which you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is clean contrary to all that you choose or contrive or desire--that is the road you must take. To that, (Christ) calls you and in that (says) you must be my disciple.”
― Martin Luther
Saying in essence: Hear me! Listen to me! Abide in me!
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
The truth is we are all bound to sin and its cravings.
We desire to do the will of our sinful nature which is in opposition to God’s will and as a result you and I fall short daily. The world says, “Deep down he is really a good person” - when the truth is: the deeper down we go the worse it gets.
The more you get to the core of who we are in our fallen human condition the more you see the sinfulness of man, broken and corrupted to the core from the beginning by our first parents Adam and Eve.
But Jesus reminds His hearers: To Listen to him!
35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
The freedom for the sinner is found only in Jesus. That was the joy that Luther found and what we celebrate in the Reformation. In Christ, true freedom from sin is possible and true liberty for we who are bound with the chains of guilt and despair is broken.
Christ has set free those who could not free themselves by his own binding.
The binding of His flesh to the cross in your place
The shedding of His blood for the forgiveness of your sin
The death worthy of a criminal for you and I who are guilty and the burial in a tomb meant for another …
In Jesus’ case … Joseph of Arimathea, for it was his tomb where Jesus was laid.
But, that tomb and that death WAS meant for you!
Jesus took your place,
He took your cross,
He took your death,
And He took your tomb and He made them what you couldn't …
Life, freedom, liberty, salvation and forgiveness
Salvation is all of God and not of man.
That is the message of the Reformation.
Luther restored the gospel truths about Christ and His merits that had been lost, once again shinning the light of the gospel on Christ’s work, for you!
Because Jesus came to live, suffer, die and rise again for you …
because of Christ and His merits …
because the Son has set you free … you are free indeed!
May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you now and forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
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