Title: The good news is preached in the name of Jesus, for you!
Text: Luke 4:31-44
Facebook live: The good news is preached in the name of Jesus, for you!
42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”
C.S. Lewis once said:
Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is.
If there are rats in a cellar, you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats; it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way, the suddenness of the provocation does not make me ill-tempered; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am.
C.S. Lewis.
Our brokenness in sin is evident in many ways. We show fourth that brokenness at times in actions. The things we say and do reveal much about who we are.
But Christ and his work on our behalf are greater than the broken flesh we inhabit. It is through him and his work that we are made new.
The good news is preached in the name of Jesus, for you!
Our brokenness is nothing new. Jesus, who last week at his hometown was compelled to do a miraculous work by the people, 23 … “What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” [Luke 4:23], goes back to Capernaum and there casts out the demon of a man possessed.
The demon cries:
34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?”
The truth is yes!
Jesus came to destroy sin, death, and the devil and the brokenness in this world while making peace between God and man, once again restoring our original righteousness that was lost in the fall to sin.
The one, whom the demons know by name - the Holy One of God - is in their midst.
Jesus commands the unclean spirits to come out and they obey.
The people are amazed with this word saying:
“What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
What is this word?
At times I’m not sure if we know or remember. The world sure gives us pause. What had been normal is now considered abnormal. Natural law has given way to the law of self and we are a self-serving sinful people.
At times it feels like the 10 righteous in Sodom - are left to be destroyed by fire that comes down from heaven, while the multitude of God’s enemies go free and are blessed.
37 [But] reports about [Jesus] went out into every place in the surrounding region.
What feels like brokenness today was with Christ and the people of our Gospel reading too. The taint of that we are clothed with was not only in the Synagogue, but also in the fever of Simon’s mother-n-law.
The demon was cast out by the word of God and so too the fever which was rebuked by Christ, healing her in an instant as she rose and began immediately to serve them. Not because it was her duty … but out of joyful thankfulness for the blessed gift of the healing she received. We want to get back to the business at hand.
The Kingdom of God is present in Christ and it remains present for you and me today!
“When Jesus laid His hands upon any sick person, it implied:
You are a sinner, I am the Savior of sinners; I take the curse and consequence of sin from you, that is an admonition so that you abstain from [doing]the service of sin.”
P.E. Kretzmann Popular Commentary of the Bible NT Vol.1 Pg 288
40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any - who were sick - with various diseases brought them to [Jesus], and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.
It is Christ’s desire to make you well - to heal you - so that you will know him and know his love for you.
In baptism you have been healed from sin, death and the devil and given new life in him and by his Spirit, and because of this gift you know him and love him.
41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
The Knowledge of Christ is not demonic and he is not made known through the demons whose mouths he shut - though they know who he is and they cower in fear.
It is through the gospel that God delivers forgiveness to the ears of those who need to hear and by that very word of God we are released from the sentence of eternal death and receive the blessing of eternal life in Christ.
42 And when it was day, [Jesus] departed and went into a desolate place.
And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose." 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
When we look to Christ it is God’s Spirit in us pointing you and me to the one who is the way the truth and the life.
In spite of our fears, sin, death and the devil we have been redeemed and made new. And in Christ as his new creation born from above … we … as the word of God says - rejoice in truth.
May this blessed comfort of the word of God be and abide with you now and always.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
Monday, January 31, 2022
Monday, January 24, 2022
Sermon Jan 22-23, 2022
Title: Everything is fulfilled in Jesus for you!
Text: Luke 4:16-30
Facebook live: Everything is fulfilled in Jesus for you!
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
G.K. Chesterton once said, “It is often supposed that when people stop believing in God, they believe in nothing. [But], it is worse than that. When they stop believing in God, they believe in anything.” Without God the only standard of TRUST - of right and wrong - is what appeals to you. And that’s a shifting standard. It all depends on what I want, what I like, what I accept, what pleases me. But scripture says: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”
My standards are all warped. My morality is riddled with impurity. And if I base what I TRUST on that warped and impure life, then I’m going to embrace whatever gods allow me to do what I want to do. When I stop trusting in the God of Scripture [and his word] and believe anything, and eventually that will lead me to destruction. But now, by contrast, if I trust in the God of Scripture I’m no longer led by MY righteousness and holiness. Instead, I trust a God who is so holy and so righteous that my tendency will be to build my life around Him - rather than Him around me.
Jeff Strite - Sermon Central
It is comforting to know that:
Everything is fulfilled in Jesus for you!
20 And [Jesus] rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?”
You can almost see the surprised look on the faces in the synagogue.
Was that the carpenter’s son - Jesus? The one who made the table for the house? Is that Jesus? The man who fixed the door and helped with the roof? Gracious words they thought, but from the carpenter’s son? What’s up with that?
We’ve been there and done that too. Familiarity at time breeds commonness. But here, Jesus the word of God in human form is proclaiming the word of God fulfilled in him. Though they know him … the word of God is no less real. So too we who speak or hear God’s word; it is no less real because it is said by a friend or relative or through God’s call and ordained servants.
My dad may have felt some of that too. He came to my ordination nine years ago and sat through the service. He saw me, his son, take on a new role as servant of Christ called and ordained to serve the people here at Peace.
My brother told me after my dad’s passing that my dad was surprised and pleased … and maybe a bit taken back.
My brother Ron, told me what my dad said after seeing me ordained, “You know, I don’t think I give Russell enough credit!” He’s married over 30 years, worked in the piano business for over 30 years and now he’s a pastor of this church and starting something new.”
What I think my dad was saying is much like those in our reading today who hear the word of God and say, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son, isn’t this Jesus?” Or, in my dad’s case isn’t this my son Russ, the one who couldn’t play baseball well enough to make the team, the one I had to show how to fix a car, and the one I had to … on occasion … take my belt off and bend him over to teach him a lesson.”
It’s all true … except for the belt stuff!
But I think my dad was taken back a bit. You see … God’s word is true whether Jesus proclaims it, or whether I proclaim it ... or you.
It’s true no matter if a pastor says it, or if you, in talking to your friend … say it. God’s word is always true.
24 And [Jesus] said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
It’s not just the hometown but there is a tendency to not see those who are given to rightly divide the word of truth and administer the sacraments at times with the respect they deserve. I’m as guilty as the next guy.
When I was at St. John our senior pastor, whom I had great respect for, received and accepted a call to a church in Illinois. I, as a new Lutheran, was devastated. Our associate pastor was called to be the administrative pastor after a long call process that was unfruitful. I was having lunch with a few friends and this also included my friend Pastor Paul Monson – the same pastor that would end up preaching at my ordination some 15 years later. I made a comment as we discussed some of the things that were going on at church. Well, Pastor Monson was none too happy with me and told me so.
“Russ! He is your pastor and you need to show him respect as the one whom God has placed over you.”
He was right. And though there was plenty of blame that could have gone around to both Pastor Heuser and the church leadership, respecting the office of under shepherd was one I had forgotten. Ultimately God moved Pastor Heuser on with a call to a smaller church on the west coast, and we as a church remained without a shepherd for some time. I and a number of others left the church and some went into ministry. What still amazes me is that during a time of brokenness and dysfunction, God remained faithful. Even while things seemed at times out of control, God was in control leading seven men, sooner or later, on their way to eventual ordination and ministry serving God’s church. [Pastor Jeff Keuning]
At times we only see the dysfunction and brokenness. There was much anger in God’s church then and as our reading says today. They wanted what had been done in Capernaum.
25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
We want God to be who we want him to be and to do for us what we want him to do.
27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.
God’s son and God’s words get rejected. Jesus gets the ultimate rejection when the people cry … “crucify him!” God’s servants are sent just as the 12 disciples were sent and just as the 70 were sent and they too and our pastors today are sent and will face rejection and suffering too.
What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well!
The people want what they want and we do too.
We want God’s miracles not persecution.
We want healing not sickness. Wanting answers from God why would one be healed and another suffer and die.
More importantly we want answers that we want to hear.
Bear in mind that God’s pastors are sinful too and also fall victim to temptation in this life and say and do things that cause problems. But thankfully:
Everything is fulfilled in Jesus for you!
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
Good News … but the people didn’t want to hear.
29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.
Though rejected by the people, Jesus still went to the cross … for them and … for you. He also gave them a miracle but not the one they were asking for or expecting:
30 But passing through their midst, he went away …
… only to finish his work and make peace with God … for you.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
Text: Luke 4:16-30
Facebook live: Everything is fulfilled in Jesus for you!
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
G.K. Chesterton once said, “It is often supposed that when people stop believing in God, they believe in nothing. [But], it is worse than that. When they stop believing in God, they believe in anything.” Without God the only standard of TRUST - of right and wrong - is what appeals to you. And that’s a shifting standard. It all depends on what I want, what I like, what I accept, what pleases me. But scripture says: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”
My standards are all warped. My morality is riddled with impurity. And if I base what I TRUST on that warped and impure life, then I’m going to embrace whatever gods allow me to do what I want to do. When I stop trusting in the God of Scripture [and his word] and believe anything, and eventually that will lead me to destruction. But now, by contrast, if I trust in the God of Scripture I’m no longer led by MY righteousness and holiness. Instead, I trust a God who is so holy and so righteous that my tendency will be to build my life around Him - rather than Him around me.
Jeff Strite - Sermon Central
It is comforting to know that:
Everything is fulfilled in Jesus for you!
20 And [Jesus] rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?”
You can almost see the surprised look on the faces in the synagogue.
Was that the carpenter’s son - Jesus? The one who made the table for the house? Is that Jesus? The man who fixed the door and helped with the roof? Gracious words they thought, but from the carpenter’s son? What’s up with that?
We’ve been there and done that too. Familiarity at time breeds commonness. But here, Jesus the word of God in human form is proclaiming the word of God fulfilled in him. Though they know him … the word of God is no less real. So too we who speak or hear God’s word; it is no less real because it is said by a friend or relative or through God’s call and ordained servants.
My dad may have felt some of that too. He came to my ordination nine years ago and sat through the service. He saw me, his son, take on a new role as servant of Christ called and ordained to serve the people here at Peace.
My brother told me after my dad’s passing that my dad was surprised and pleased … and maybe a bit taken back.
My brother Ron, told me what my dad said after seeing me ordained, “You know, I don’t think I give Russell enough credit!” He’s married over 30 years, worked in the piano business for over 30 years and now he’s a pastor of this church and starting something new.”
What I think my dad was saying is much like those in our reading today who hear the word of God and say, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son, isn’t this Jesus?” Or, in my dad’s case isn’t this my son Russ, the one who couldn’t play baseball well enough to make the team, the one I had to show how to fix a car, and the one I had to … on occasion … take my belt off and bend him over to teach him a lesson.”
It’s all true … except for the belt stuff!
But I think my dad was taken back a bit. You see … God’s word is true whether Jesus proclaims it, or whether I proclaim it ... or you.
It’s true no matter if a pastor says it, or if you, in talking to your friend … say it. God’s word is always true.
24 And [Jesus] said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
It’s not just the hometown but there is a tendency to not see those who are given to rightly divide the word of truth and administer the sacraments at times with the respect they deserve. I’m as guilty as the next guy.
When I was at St. John our senior pastor, whom I had great respect for, received and accepted a call to a church in Illinois. I, as a new Lutheran, was devastated. Our associate pastor was called to be the administrative pastor after a long call process that was unfruitful. I was having lunch with a few friends and this also included my friend Pastor Paul Monson – the same pastor that would end up preaching at my ordination some 15 years later. I made a comment as we discussed some of the things that were going on at church. Well, Pastor Monson was none too happy with me and told me so.
“Russ! He is your pastor and you need to show him respect as the one whom God has placed over you.”
He was right. And though there was plenty of blame that could have gone around to both Pastor Heuser and the church leadership, respecting the office of under shepherd was one I had forgotten. Ultimately God moved Pastor Heuser on with a call to a smaller church on the west coast, and we as a church remained without a shepherd for some time. I and a number of others left the church and some went into ministry. What still amazes me is that during a time of brokenness and dysfunction, God remained faithful. Even while things seemed at times out of control, God was in control leading seven men, sooner or later, on their way to eventual ordination and ministry serving God’s church. [Pastor Jeff Keuning]
At times we only see the dysfunction and brokenness. There was much anger in God’s church then and as our reading says today. They wanted what had been done in Capernaum.
25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
We want God to be who we want him to be and to do for us what we want him to do.
27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.
God’s son and God’s words get rejected. Jesus gets the ultimate rejection when the people cry … “crucify him!” God’s servants are sent just as the 12 disciples were sent and just as the 70 were sent and they too and our pastors today are sent and will face rejection and suffering too.
What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well!
The people want what they want and we do too.
We want God’s miracles not persecution.
We want healing not sickness. Wanting answers from God why would one be healed and another suffer and die.
More importantly we want answers that we want to hear.
Bear in mind that God’s pastors are sinful too and also fall victim to temptation in this life and say and do things that cause problems. But thankfully:
Everything is fulfilled in Jesus for you!
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
Good News … but the people didn’t want to hear.
29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.
Though rejected by the people, Jesus still went to the cross … for them and … for you. He also gave them a miracle but not the one they were asking for or expecting:
30 But passing through their midst, he went away …
… only to finish his work and make peace with God … for you.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
Monday, January 17, 2022
Sermon Jan. 15-16, 2022
Title: If Christ is involved, it’s always good!
Text: John 2:1-11
Facebook live: If Christ is involved, it’s always good!
3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
A wedding can be a wonderful and joyful time. Man and woman, joined in holy matrimony with family and friends together celebrating this blessed event.
If you’ve been involved in planning a wedding, the details at times can seem overwhelming.
If everything goes well, it can be remembered with fondness. If not, the incident involved can have short term or even long-term effects.
In our Gospel lesson for today we hear of an - incident at a wedding; One that our Lord’s mother Mary attended. We also learn that Jesus was invited and with His disciples as well.
This could have been quite a large affair for Cana of Galilee and Jesus and His disciples themselves might have been a sizeable group.
Now at some point Mary makes the statement:
“They have no wine.”
Now this might have been a result of poor planning on the part of the host or just possibly inviting too many guests but none the less … no wine.
Mary, the mother of our Lord calls out a need to Jesus. Maybe she had some hand in the preparations, or was close friends with the family. But at some point, and in some way, she knows of the problem that they face.
Mary presents the problem to Jesus. It’s a prayer of lament.
“They have no wine.”
It’s been quite some time since that 12-year-old boy of hers had stayed behind in Jerusalem as the family traveled home following the feast of the Passover and Mary - treasured up in her heart even what the angel’s visitation had said concerning her son.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:32-33
Text: John 2:1-11
Facebook live: If Christ is involved, it’s always good!
3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
A wedding can be a wonderful and joyful time. Man and woman, joined in holy matrimony with family and friends together celebrating this blessed event.
If you’ve been involved in planning a wedding, the details at times can seem overwhelming.
If everything goes well, it can be remembered with fondness. If not, the incident involved can have short term or even long-term effects.
In our Gospel lesson for today we hear of an - incident at a wedding; One that our Lord’s mother Mary attended. We also learn that Jesus was invited and with His disciples as well.
This could have been quite a large affair for Cana of Galilee and Jesus and His disciples themselves might have been a sizeable group.
Now at some point Mary makes the statement:
“They have no wine.”
Now this might have been a result of poor planning on the part of the host or just possibly inviting too many guests but none the less … no wine.
Mary, the mother of our Lord calls out a need to Jesus. Maybe she had some hand in the preparations, or was close friends with the family. But at some point, and in some way, she knows of the problem that they face.
Mary presents the problem to Jesus. It’s a prayer of lament.
“They have no wine.”
It’s been quite some time since that 12-year-old boy of hers had stayed behind in Jerusalem as the family traveled home following the feast of the Passover and Mary - treasured up in her heart even what the angel’s visitation had said concerning her son.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:32-33
“and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
It is a call, it is a lament, in prayer, from the mother of our Lord, knowing that whatever the problem, if Jesus is involved, he can do all that is needed and what is asked for according to his will.
Jesus came for those in need. He came to fill the need of those left in bondage to sin.
So, what comes next may sound and short, unloving, and harsh coming from the mouth of our Lord to his mother Mary:
“Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
Mary was maybe going beyond her responsibility as both a guest and friend at this wedding and … we might assume that it wasn’t her responsibility to fill the needs of the wedding’s host.
But there was a problem and it may have just been a lament in what seemed hopeless to the one where hope abides and abounds
Jesus asks the question …
“Woman, what does this have to do with me,
His words, though rebuking, really are asking Mary:
“What do you and I have to do with this?”
But we can know:
If Christ is involved, it’s always good!
You and I also come to our Lord in prayer, lamenting the problems of our life, not having a solution, and praying that the Lord will intervene for our benefit.
Other times we don’t come to the Lord at all because we think, “This isn't important, or God doesn't need to be bothered with my petty concerns.”
Too often those who need God the most, and are in needful situations, fail to think of Him or - ask for Him at all.
At times, we Pastors who are in the business of bringing God’s care and comfort to those in need are often the last to know of a member, in the hospital or those having brokenness in the home or other concerns in this life.
Sometimes we are not even asked to help, not called upon … and not involved.
5 [Jesus’] mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
What if we regarded the word of God with such faith?
The working of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the everyday lives of his people brings salvation and peace. Mary knew to trust in what He would say and do.
The jars used for purification rites and ceremonial washings in Jewish life were large and it’s not very important the number or the size. They were all filled to the brim. What God fills anew leaves no room for what was before.
The miracle was certainly evident to all involved.
The servants, who gathered the water to the brim as it were, knew what they had put in those jars and those who had tasted the water turned into wine knew as the master of the feast exclaimed:
“Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
Just as Jesus does with the means of grace where He dispenses his gifts to us through the common things of water and word, bread and wine; and in our lesson today:
He uses common servants - to fill common jars - with simple common water - to this common wedding where man is joined to woman and where God, through this blessed union of husband and wife, fills His creation with His children whom He came to redeem.
God, in Christ, has brought the peace that passes all human understanding to you too through the simple common element of water connected to His word of promise.
He has washed you clean, not with a washing that cleanses, for a time, but through the transforming bath in baptism - takes away the sins of the world for eternity!
You are clean! You are washed! You are forgiven!
You will be His forever, because you are that new wine in Him that is poured forth daily - by faith - as you remember all that He has done for you.
If Christ can turn the common water into the miraculous wine of our wedding story in Cana, He can also turn filthy sinners into washed saints through His word of promise in and through Baptism.
Jesus also will refresh us with His body and blood given for you in the sacrament of the Altar feeding us, sustaining us, and renewing our faith in his blessed work.
Whether the miraculous transformation of the water filled jugs into the finest wine served at the wedding in Cana or the blessed body and blood of our Lord in, with and under the bread and wine offered here - if Jesus Christ, is involved it’s always good!
He is the one who will never leave you but will sustain you through the trials of this world promising you, life eternal in his name where the comfort and peace of a home in His house is secured by the gift of faith in his blood shed for you!
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
It is a call, it is a lament, in prayer, from the mother of our Lord, knowing that whatever the problem, if Jesus is involved, he can do all that is needed and what is asked for according to his will.
Jesus came for those in need. He came to fill the need of those left in bondage to sin.
So, what comes next may sound and short, unloving, and harsh coming from the mouth of our Lord to his mother Mary:
“Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
Mary was maybe going beyond her responsibility as both a guest and friend at this wedding and … we might assume that it wasn’t her responsibility to fill the needs of the wedding’s host.
But there was a problem and it may have just been a lament in what seemed hopeless to the one where hope abides and abounds
Jesus asks the question …
“Woman, what does this have to do with me,
His words, though rebuking, really are asking Mary:
“What do you and I have to do with this?”
But we can know:
If Christ is involved, it’s always good!
You and I also come to our Lord in prayer, lamenting the problems of our life, not having a solution, and praying that the Lord will intervene for our benefit.
Other times we don’t come to the Lord at all because we think, “This isn't important, or God doesn't need to be bothered with my petty concerns.”
Too often those who need God the most, and are in needful situations, fail to think of Him or - ask for Him at all.
At times, we Pastors who are in the business of bringing God’s care and comfort to those in need are often the last to know of a member, in the hospital or those having brokenness in the home or other concerns in this life.
Sometimes we are not even asked to help, not called upon … and not involved.
5 [Jesus’] mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
What if we regarded the word of God with such faith?
The working of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the everyday lives of his people brings salvation and peace. Mary knew to trust in what He would say and do.
The jars used for purification rites and ceremonial washings in Jewish life were large and it’s not very important the number or the size. They were all filled to the brim. What God fills anew leaves no room for what was before.
The miracle was certainly evident to all involved.
The servants, who gathered the water to the brim as it were, knew what they had put in those jars and those who had tasted the water turned into wine knew as the master of the feast exclaimed:
“Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
Just as Jesus does with the means of grace where He dispenses his gifts to us through the common things of water and word, bread and wine; and in our lesson today:
He uses common servants - to fill common jars - with simple common water - to this common wedding where man is joined to woman and where God, through this blessed union of husband and wife, fills His creation with His children whom He came to redeem.
God, in Christ, has brought the peace that passes all human understanding to you too through the simple common element of water connected to His word of promise.
He has washed you clean, not with a washing that cleanses, for a time, but through the transforming bath in baptism - takes away the sins of the world for eternity!
You are clean! You are washed! You are forgiven!
You will be His forever, because you are that new wine in Him that is poured forth daily - by faith - as you remember all that He has done for you.
If Christ can turn the common water into the miraculous wine of our wedding story in Cana, He can also turn filthy sinners into washed saints through His word of promise in and through Baptism.
Jesus also will refresh us with His body and blood given for you in the sacrament of the Altar feeding us, sustaining us, and renewing our faith in his blessed work.
Whether the miraculous transformation of the water filled jugs into the finest wine served at the wedding in Cana or the blessed body and blood of our Lord in, with and under the bread and wine offered here - if Jesus Christ, is involved it’s always good!
He is the one who will never leave you but will sustain you through the trials of this world promising you, life eternal in his name where the comfort and peace of a home in His house is secured by the gift of faith in his blood shed for you!
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Sermon Jan 8-9, 2022 - The Baptism of our Lord
Title: Christ, through baptism opens the heavens to you!
Text: Luke 3:15-22
Facebook live: Christ, through baptism opens the heavens to you!
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
As we begin today, I must take a moment to look back, back to January 6th 2013. On that day I was ordained into the office of the Holy Ministry and was installed here at Peace as your 6th pastor. It was a joy filled day thinking of what the Lord was calling me to do and seeing how in the midst of our lives lived in this broken world, God plans and executes his will to accomplish all that he desires.
I’m sure many of you would agree that your lives too seem to go by in an instant … so with that in mind, and as I begin my tenth year of ministry here at Peace, I wish to focus today on a marvelous truth that:
Christ, through baptism opens the heavens to you!
You can almost hear the hope in the people in our Gospel reading for today as they wonder and reason about John the Baptist:
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,
John, being the unique character that he is … was causing quite a stir as the people questioned about who this man could be.
Is he the Christ, they wanted to know?
And while the excitement for this man, out of the wilderness, may have made quite an impression on the people, when it came to his attention, as to who the people thought he was … he quickly put all speculation to rest:
16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
[A common method of threshing in ancient Israel employed an implement called a threshing sledge which is a heavy wooden slab with teeth made of stone, metal, or potsherds fastened to the underside and Oxen or mules dragged the sledge back and forth over the sheaves to allow the teeth to break down the stalks into husks, straw, and grain kernels.
A wooden pitch fork was used to lift away the straw. The kernels were then separated from the husks by winnowing, tossing the pile of threshed grain into the air with a winnowing fork and wind, whether caused by a natural breeze or artificially generated by winnowing fans, blew away the lighter chaff while the heavier heads of grain fell down to the threshing floor.
The kernels were then sifted and collected for storage. The chaff was burned as fuel and the straw became animal fodder. ]
Copyright © 2009 Mark A. Myers
Jesus came to John to be marked for you and me and all born in the natural way, born in sin through this baptism of repentance.
He was marked with a Baptism of fire, marked to carry the sins of the world, your sins and mine, upon Himself to Jerusalem and finally to the cross.
When Christ returns, He will separate the wheat from the chaff; the believers from the unbelievers. Those who have been baptized and are covered by Christ’s righteousness will be gathered to Heaven and to an eternal life of joy and peace contrasted against those who stand covered in the filthy rags of their own righteousness who will be cast into the fires of hell made for the Devil and his minions, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. Matt. 6:19
Your life and mine is one of continually falling short. We daily miss the mark in what we say and do. But as one who has been Baptized, we are called to daily die to sin and rise and live in the newness of life given us in Baptism.
We remember daily what Jesus did as the once for all sacrifice for sin, and by faith grow in our Christian walk as we are, by the power of the Holy Spirit, made holy, sanctified and set apart for the good works that God has prepared for us to do.
As Lutherans we tend to get a little up in arms when we think about Good Works! This is not to undermine the work of Christ who came to take the sins of the whole world upon himself so that you would be declared righteous on account of His sacrifice.
But by the grace of God and through the gift of faith you are made holy by the working of the Holy Spirit in you.
8 For by grace you have been saved 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
The boasting is God’s, but:
Christ, through baptism opens the heavens to you!
The Old Testament reading today points to the one who is active in the life of the world in God’s work of redemption when we read:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
And while God is speaking to the children of Israel in these verses He too is speaking of His redeeming love for all of his children – domestic and imported:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:13
And our Lord will accomplish all that He has set out to do because He declares:
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name,
God has called you by name in your baptisms.
He has washed you and gathered you to the foot of the cross of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
He continues through the working of the Holy Spirit in your daily lives and in the lives of all His children to make you holy and to keep you by the power of His Spirit connected to Him so that we grow in Him through this same Spirit.
God in Christ has given you and me not what we deserved but what we needed.
He continues to give to us the blessings of His Son through the good times and bad.
He blesses us through word and sacrament and daily sustains his you with His loving kindness and does not remember your sin but sees you through the veil of Christ which you are covered with.
In Christ you receive His full attention when you pray so you can ask anything in Jesus’ name according to his will and He will hear, and is not hurried or bothered when you cry out to Him and will listen patently, intently and slowly because He loves you and cares for you, as a father cares for a dear child.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
Text: Luke 3:15-22
Facebook live: Christ, through baptism opens the heavens to you!
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
As we begin today, I must take a moment to look back, back to January 6th 2013. On that day I was ordained into the office of the Holy Ministry and was installed here at Peace as your 6th pastor. It was a joy filled day thinking of what the Lord was calling me to do and seeing how in the midst of our lives lived in this broken world, God plans and executes his will to accomplish all that he desires.
I’m sure many of you would agree that your lives too seem to go by in an instant … so with that in mind, and as I begin my tenth year of ministry here at Peace, I wish to focus today on a marvelous truth that:
Christ, through baptism opens the heavens to you!
You can almost hear the hope in the people in our Gospel reading for today as they wonder and reason about John the Baptist:
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,
John, being the unique character that he is … was causing quite a stir as the people questioned about who this man could be.
Is he the Christ, they wanted to know?
And while the excitement for this man, out of the wilderness, may have made quite an impression on the people, when it came to his attention, as to who the people thought he was … he quickly put all speculation to rest:
16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
[A common method of threshing in ancient Israel employed an implement called a threshing sledge which is a heavy wooden slab with teeth made of stone, metal, or potsherds fastened to the underside and Oxen or mules dragged the sledge back and forth over the sheaves to allow the teeth to break down the stalks into husks, straw, and grain kernels.
A wooden pitch fork was used to lift away the straw. The kernels were then separated from the husks by winnowing, tossing the pile of threshed grain into the air with a winnowing fork and wind, whether caused by a natural breeze or artificially generated by winnowing fans, blew away the lighter chaff while the heavier heads of grain fell down to the threshing floor.
The kernels were then sifted and collected for storage. The chaff was burned as fuel and the straw became animal fodder. ]
Copyright © 2009 Mark A. Myers
Jesus came to John to be marked for you and me and all born in the natural way, born in sin through this baptism of repentance.
He was marked with a Baptism of fire, marked to carry the sins of the world, your sins and mine, upon Himself to Jerusalem and finally to the cross.
When Christ returns, He will separate the wheat from the chaff; the believers from the unbelievers. Those who have been baptized and are covered by Christ’s righteousness will be gathered to Heaven and to an eternal life of joy and peace contrasted against those who stand covered in the filthy rags of their own righteousness who will be cast into the fires of hell made for the Devil and his minions, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. Matt. 6:19
Your life and mine is one of continually falling short. We daily miss the mark in what we say and do. But as one who has been Baptized, we are called to daily die to sin and rise and live in the newness of life given us in Baptism.
We remember daily what Jesus did as the once for all sacrifice for sin, and by faith grow in our Christian walk as we are, by the power of the Holy Spirit, made holy, sanctified and set apart for the good works that God has prepared for us to do.
As Lutherans we tend to get a little up in arms when we think about Good Works! This is not to undermine the work of Christ who came to take the sins of the whole world upon himself so that you would be declared righteous on account of His sacrifice.
But by the grace of God and through the gift of faith you are made holy by the working of the Holy Spirit in you.
8 For by grace you have been saved 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
The boasting is God’s, but:
Christ, through baptism opens the heavens to you!
The Old Testament reading today points to the one who is active in the life of the world in God’s work of redemption when we read:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
And while God is speaking to the children of Israel in these verses He too is speaking of His redeeming love for all of his children – domestic and imported:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:13
And our Lord will accomplish all that He has set out to do because He declares:
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name,
God has called you by name in your baptisms.
He has washed you and gathered you to the foot of the cross of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
He continues through the working of the Holy Spirit in your daily lives and in the lives of all His children to make you holy and to keep you by the power of His Spirit connected to Him so that we grow in Him through this same Spirit.
God in Christ has given you and me not what we deserved but what we needed.
He continues to give to us the blessings of His Son through the good times and bad.
He blesses us through word and sacrament and daily sustains his you with His loving kindness and does not remember your sin but sees you through the veil of Christ which you are covered with.
In Christ you receive His full attention when you pray so you can ask anything in Jesus’ name according to his will and He will hear, and is not hurried or bothered when you cry out to Him and will listen patently, intently and slowly because He loves you and cares for you, as a father cares for a dear child.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Sermon Jan 2, 2022
Title: Jesus is the wisdom and power of God!
Text: Luke 2:40-52
Facebook live: Jesus is the wisdom and power of God!
Those who heard him were amazed. It is something we all need to be reminded of.
This child born of Mary on Christmas day is God in the flesh.
This coming Thursday, January 6th, we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord. It is the day that Jesus is made known and recognized as the savior of all people. It is why the wise men came to worship him and to bring him gifts.
This young boy who was recognized as the savior and who was brought gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh as a young child, is now listening and teaching at the feet of the teachers, not as one who simply learned skills, copied what he heard and was taught and used those talents to impress his teachers and spectators alike like Charlie Woods, gifted as he is but this Jesus, this 12-year-old is the one who was and is the source of all wisdom and knowledge given from God on high.
The house of God, the Temple where Jesus sat and taught, is also here at Peace Lutheran church where the true word of God is made known through word and sacrament, and also you are His Temple where God himself indwells all believers by His Spirit pointing you and me to the finished work of Christ Jesus and by that same Spirit, you see Jesus for who he is
… the savior of the world … and that by faith you trust his word of promise, so elegantly proclaimed in John Chapter 14:
14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Jesus is the wisdom and power of God!
Jesus is the one who makes a way for you and for me!
Jesus is the one that the Magi came to bring gifts to!
Jesus is the one revealed as the savior of the nation’s come!
Jesus is the one who at twelve years of age was, as the writer of the book of Hebrews put it:
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.
And the next time we encounter Jesus on his trip to the cross, he will be Baptized by John as the Holy Spirit descends on him like a dove being marked as the chief of sinners for you and me who will then go to Jerusalem taking your sins and mine to the cross and nailing them there, proclaiming God’s finished work in Christ for our redemption!
It is true. This is no ordinary boy sitting among the teachers, teaching with wisdom and power and gently reminding his mother that he needed to be in His Father’s house.
50 And [his parents] did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.
But, in submission, this God who made the world and all things obeyed his parents …
51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother [the Blessed Virgin Mary] treasured up all these things in her heart.
She, knowing who he is and what he was appointed to do, to be the consolation of Israel and the savior of the world as Simeon last weekend held in his hands the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel - God with us.
52 And Jesus [as he continued to grow] increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Jesus is the wisdom and power of God!
God in Christ has been made know to you. May his peace and joy fill you each day of this New Year with hope and peace in the salvation that is yours in him.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
Text: Luke 2:40-52
Facebook live: Jesus is the wisdom and power of God!
40 And the child [Jesus] grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
Last weekend the baby Jesus was lifted high in Simeon’s arms proclaiming that God’s salvation had come in this beautiful child born of Mary and now today we see that child Jesus, as a 12-year-old boy full of power and wisdom in the fully human Jesus who:
40 … grew and became strong, [and was] filled with wisdom. And [God’s] favor [rested] upon him.
Last Sunday, Mary, Joseph and Jesus went to Jerusalem to do all that the Law commanded 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” and today -they go to celebrate, as was the custom, the feast of the Passover.
On the occasion of this visit, Jesus is now twelve years of age.
My dad used to say to me as my own children were growing up:
“Little children, little problems, big children, big problems.”
43 … as they were returning [home], the [12-year-old] Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.
Though not an ordinary youth, Jesus needs to be about his Father’s business. This causes some concern and hardship for those given into his care.
For any of you who have been on a trip and misplaced a child … it can be very difficult and tenuous time to say the least.
Losing sight of my own children even for a few seconds in a store brought concern and slight panic.
44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, [Mary and Joseph] returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.
You can understand as a parent Mary’s frustration at Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem. I can think of how I might have reacted if my son or daughter had done this to me … I would have been not too happy to say the least, and here is Jesus,
46 … sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
And we’re told:
47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Of course they were amazed … Jesus was not your ordinary 12-year-old.
At this moment Mary didn’t remember who she had carried and who she had given birth to.
At this moment, she was only a mother concerned for her lost son and his safety.
The other day I watched another 12-year-old doing some remarkable things on the golf course. Charlie Woods, the 12-year-old son of Tiger.
At the PNC championship scramble, Tiger and Charlie also combined to shoot a 15-under par 57, making 13 birdies, an eagle and four pars, to finish second.
" … Charlie was hitting the ball unbelievable,'' said Woods, who acknowledged that the intensity ramped up as the day wore on. [Winning] would have had a special meaning in my heart for sure.”
That’s amazing play for a 12-year-old!
Last weekend the baby Jesus was lifted high in Simeon’s arms proclaiming that God’s salvation had come in this beautiful child born of Mary and now today we see that child Jesus, as a 12-year-old boy full of power and wisdom in the fully human Jesus who:
40 … grew and became strong, [and was] filled with wisdom. And [God’s] favor [rested] upon him.
Last Sunday, Mary, Joseph and Jesus went to Jerusalem to do all that the Law commanded 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” and today -they go to celebrate, as was the custom, the feast of the Passover.
On the occasion of this visit, Jesus is now twelve years of age.
My dad used to say to me as my own children were growing up:
“Little children, little problems, big children, big problems.”
43 … as they were returning [home], the [12-year-old] Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.
Though not an ordinary youth, Jesus needs to be about his Father’s business. This causes some concern and hardship for those given into his care.
For any of you who have been on a trip and misplaced a child … it can be very difficult and tenuous time to say the least.
Losing sight of my own children even for a few seconds in a store brought concern and slight panic.
44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, [Mary and Joseph] returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.
You can understand as a parent Mary’s frustration at Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem. I can think of how I might have reacted if my son or daughter had done this to me … I would have been not too happy to say the least, and here is Jesus,
46 … sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
And we’re told:
47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Of course they were amazed … Jesus was not your ordinary 12-year-old.
At this moment Mary didn’t remember who she had carried and who she had given birth to.
At this moment, she was only a mother concerned for her lost son and his safety.
The other day I watched another 12-year-old doing some remarkable things on the golf course. Charlie Woods, the 12-year-old son of Tiger.
At the PNC championship scramble, Tiger and Charlie also combined to shoot a 15-under par 57, making 13 birdies, an eagle and four pars, to finish second.
" … Charlie was hitting the ball unbelievable,'' said Woods, who acknowledged that the intensity ramped up as the day wore on. [Winning] would have had a special meaning in my heart for sure.”
That’s amazing play for a 12-year-old!
But this Jesus was different!
Those who heard him were amazed. It is something we all need to be reminded of.
This child born of Mary on Christmas day is God in the flesh.
This coming Thursday, January 6th, we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord. It is the day that Jesus is made known and recognized as the savior of all people. It is why the wise men came to worship him and to bring him gifts.
This young boy who was recognized as the savior and who was brought gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh as a young child, is now listening and teaching at the feet of the teachers, not as one who simply learned skills, copied what he heard and was taught and used those talents to impress his teachers and spectators alike like Charlie Woods, gifted as he is but this Jesus, this 12-year-old is the one who was and is the source of all wisdom and knowledge given from God on high.
The house of God, the Temple where Jesus sat and taught, is also here at Peace Lutheran church where the true word of God is made known through word and sacrament, and also you are His Temple where God himself indwells all believers by His Spirit pointing you and me to the finished work of Christ Jesus and by that same Spirit, you see Jesus for who he is
… the savior of the world … and that by faith you trust his word of promise, so elegantly proclaimed in John Chapter 14:
14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Jesus is the wisdom and power of God!
Jesus is the one who makes a way for you and for me!
Jesus is the one that the Magi came to bring gifts to!
Jesus is the one revealed as the savior of the nation’s come!
Jesus is the one who at twelve years of age was, as the writer of the book of Hebrews put it:
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.
And the next time we encounter Jesus on his trip to the cross, he will be Baptized by John as the Holy Spirit descends on him like a dove being marked as the chief of sinners for you and me who will then go to Jerusalem taking your sins and mine to the cross and nailing them there, proclaiming God’s finished work in Christ for our redemption!
It is true. This is no ordinary boy sitting among the teachers, teaching with wisdom and power and gently reminding his mother that he needed to be in His Father’s house.
50 And [his parents] did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.
But, in submission, this God who made the world and all things obeyed his parents …
51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother [the Blessed Virgin Mary] treasured up all these things in her heart.
She, knowing who he is and what he was appointed to do, to be the consolation of Israel and the savior of the world as Simeon last weekend held in his hands the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel - God with us.
52 And Jesus [as he continued to grow] increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Jesus is the wisdom and power of God!
God in Christ has been made know to you. May his peace and joy fill you each day of this New Year with hope and peace in the salvation that is yours in him.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
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