Funeral Sermon for Joan Kitzman Monday March 21, 2016

Title: In Steadfast faith Christ’s Love Endures Forever
Text: Psalm 100 or “Joan’s joy!” As it will be for me from now on.

100 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Dear friends, family and loved ones of our beloved Joan,

It is difficult, at times like these, to be joyful and glad in the presence of the Lord. But in the midst of sadness we can and will sing praises to our loving God for the Christian life of our dear Joan.

“You tell the people back at Peace that I’m praying for them!” Those words Joan shared with me many of times on our visits where I would come, talk, laugh, and bring her the Lord’s Supper. Whether in the hospital, in rehab, or in her home, this wonderful mother, grandmother, and dear Christian friend, was committed to those she loved and to her Lord.

My dear friends, Orville and Joan Kitzman and my wife Monica and I were received into membership here at Peace together on November 11, 2001.

I’ve now had two funerals that I’ve been able to proclaim that at. What a blessing that has been for me over these last 15 years. To know the Kitzmans … is to know Jesus. Not that they were without blemish or fault, or were sanctified beyond measure to a point of great holiness … far from that for we who knew them. But that Jesus Christ was the center of their joy and life and for Joan, over these last three years, her smile, comfort, and peace, reflected Jesus to everyone she saw.

For me as a pastor, Confirmation is a joyful time. We get to see our students or Catechumens as they are called, confirm what the Lord had done for them in their Baptism, in front of the congregation. They have been taught, and instructed in the Christian faith, and now it is time for them to confess what they believed.

For a pastor the Rite of Confirmation begins:

“You have been baptized and catechized in the Christian faith according to our Lord’s bidding. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses me before men, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.” Lift up your hearts, therefore, to the God of all grace and joyfully give answer to what I now ask you in the name of the Lord.

And then just before the student’s confirms their Christian faith the pastor asks:

“Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all … even death … rather than to fall away from it?”

Well, way back in February of 1959, as a young adult in her early 20’s, Joan answered to that very same question: “Yes, with the help of God.”

Joan was a wonderful testament to the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer – her steadfast faith in Christ was evident to all.

The psalmist tells us what the life of the believer consists of:

3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, [you and me] and we are his
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Joan loved the Lord because the Lord first loved her. It was Christ himself, by the power of the Holy Spirit, who called her to faith and it was Christ in her that kept her in that one true faith … through marriage, children, grandchildren and illness; especially the trial of Orville’s illness and dementia over the last years of their marriage and family life together.

Joan said to me as I visited with her, “I guess I didn’t see some of the signs and problems associated with Orville’s illness. I guess, I was blind to it.”

That is what love is as Paul reminds us.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing … but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1Cor. 13:4-7

Joan kept that love close to her heart because she knew that God’s love for her and for Orville, despite the illness and even death … never wavers.

Joan carried the love of Christ in all she did, as seen in the pictures of her life, especially with her children and grandchildren that she was so proud of!

But it didn’t stop there, her love was given to all she came in contact with, and that too includes us here … the members of her church family … and also the many friends she had including these two pastors who had the pleasure to see her and visit her.

I had the joy of seeing Joan with Pastor Merrell and our wives on March 1st. It was a time for farewell.

God comforts us … as we go to comfort others.

Joan wanted this service to be joyful and to not simply be about her but to be about Jesus Christ in her.

As things got worse for Joan from the hospital to her home and as her illness progressed she said to me, “I’m ready to go and be with Jesus and have asked him to take me home … but he keeps leaving me here.”

Jesus says:

7 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27-28

I had an opportunity to bring the Lord’s Supper to Joan on a number of occasions and to anoint her with oil as a reminder of the Holy Spirit, who lives and works in and through her. She loved the fragrance of the anointing balm of frankincense and myrrh. It brought her great comfort and I once again got to anoint her two days before the Lord called her home. She remembered me … which was nice … but more importantly the Lord always remembered her.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Today we honor Joan’s life, as we say our goodbyes. But, the grief that fills us all with loss and sorrow who knew her as beloved relative and friend will one day be replaced with our blessed reunion in heaven for all who believe.

Our loving God in Christ Jesus will wipe away every tear of sadness that we have today and in that day replace them with tears of joy, as we together rejoice in Heaven with our resurrected Lord who has come to conquer sin, death and the power of the Devil – not only for Joan - but for you and for me as well and for all who name the name of Christ!

In Christ, death is not the end for we who cling to the blessed hope. But, it is only a time of parting … for a while.

5 For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness [is] to all generations.

Heaven is now Joan’s home

You too, who trust in Christ, have this home waiting for you. The blessed Good News that Jesus died for your sins - is the wonderful Easter message Joan trusted and you too can trust. He has taken your sins to the cross and has called you to faith by the Gospel of his glorious resurrection through the power of the Holy Spirit, and has given you eternal life in Christ’s blessed saving work.

There is a place that has been prepared for Joan that she has now taken possession of and there is a place waiting for you too and for all who believe by faith the Good News that:

In Steadfast faith Christ’s Love Endures Forever

Amen.

Sermon March 19-20, 2016 Psalm Sunday

Title: Christ lays down His life for you willingly!
Text: Deut. 32:36-39 Alt. Gospel reading: Matt 21:1-11

36 For the LORD will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone
and there is none remaining, bond or free.
37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection!
39 “‘See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

There is a story that’s told about several cotton farmers were whiling away a winter afternoon around the potbellied stove. They soon became entangled in a heated discussion on the merits of their respective religions. The eldest of the farmers had been sitting quietly, just listening, when the group turned to him and demanded, "Who's right, old Jim? Which one of these religions is the right one?"

"Well," said Jim thoughtfully, "you know there are three ways to get from here to the cotton gin. You can go right over the big hill. That's shorter but it's a powerful climb. You can go around the east side of the hill. That's not too far, but the road is rougher'n tarnation. Or you can go around the west side of the hill, which is the longest way, but the easiest.”

"But you know," he said, looking them squarely in the eye, "when you get there, the man minding the cotton gin don't ask you how you come. He just asks, 'Man, how good is your cotton?'"

Los Angeles Times Syndicate - Beulah Collins

Or in that day … who is you savior? Where did you place you trust?

On this Psalm Sunday weekend we rejoice in the truth that we have a savior where we can truly place our trust. And that the very Son of God will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, being just and possessing the requirement of our freedom from sin, death and the devil by bearing and carrying our salvation with Him which the Lord had planned.

This humble servant who came down from heaven was not in the form of your everyday earthly King. This King and Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord, would rise through lowliness and suffering to the strength and glory which was hidden in Him in the state of His humiliation, and which now is leading, in one short week, to His trial and crucifixion at the cross.

37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,
when he sees that their power is gone
and there is none remaining, bond or free.

The ways of the world and its Kingdoms are built by the power of the sword. The reach of man’s conquests is stretched into territories of his choosing. The rulers of the world come down on the unsuspecting to the glory of the one wielding power. Power in might is brought to bear over people places and things by the gods, Kings and rulers of our earthly Kingdoms…

… Hugo Chavez, the now deceased President of Venezuela, comes to mind, who will now forever be embalmed and kept for his subjects to see and worship in a glass case … and many of the world’s religions have hope in their false gods where they mistakenly place their trust.

In our day and age we too see the power of the sword wielded upon others. Most recently the religious liberty of a free people has come under attack and in a real sense the Christian church in all it denominational or non-denominational forms is the target. Real persecution comes to the Christian church daily around the world but with many of us its inactivity, non-involvement and quietly keeping our Christian worldview to ourselves. To profess and publicly acknowledge God - is fine and encouraged - as long as He doesn't have a name; and that name better not be Jesus – or you’ll be branded intolerant! Once His name is mentioned you are politically incorrect because you proclaim with all Christians from all time:

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:10)

The truth is that words can be manipulated.”

Eric Metaxas, in his speech given on religious freedom, brought this point out clearly.

Ill.

“Okay, so where are the threats to Religious Freedom in America today? Well, for one thing, understand we are not talking about Freedom of Worship. In a speech - Hilary Clinton replaced the phrase Freedom of Religion with Freedom of Worship — and my friend noticed and was disturbed by it. Why? Because these are radically different things. They have Freedom of Worship in China. But what exactly is Freedom of Worship?

In [his] book Bonhoeffer I talk about a meeting between Bonhoeffer’s friend, the Rev. Martin Niemoller, who early on in the Third Reich was one of those fooled by Hitler. And in that meeting he says something to Hitler about how he, Niemoller, cares about Germany and Third Reich — and Hitler cuts him off and says “I built the Third Reich. You just worry about your sermons!”

There in a few words you have the idea of Freedom of Worship. Freedom of Worship says you can have your little strange rituals and say whatever you like in your little religious buildings for an hour or two on Sundays, but once you leave that building you will bow to the secular orthodoxy of the state! We will tell you what to think on the big and important questions. Questions like when life begins and who gets to decide when to end it and what marriage is… And if you don’t like it, tough luck! That’s Freedom of Worship and they have that in China and they had it in Germany in Bonhoeffer’s day…

http://www.ericmetaxas.com/writing/essays/cpac-2013-speech-on-religious-freedom/

But we who worship the true God Jesus Christ know that:

Christ lays down His life willingly for you!

39 “‘See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand

This humble King, Jesus Christ, by his very death and resurrection will bring peace, He kills sin and makes us alive through Baptism, He wounds and heals and though we are dead he gives us life and the peace that passes all human understanding to the very ends on the Earth.

The reaction to this message of peace for many is the catalyst for anger and an erosion of religious distinctions. Recently I read an article about an interfaith service planned in Fort Wayne where my Seminary is located.

The headline read: Mayor endorses event to celebrate all faiths

The idea of gathering all faith to pray is not new but has become more accepted in the civic realm. It reminds me of the secular orthodoxy that has become so prevalent in our culture. But Jesus said that:

6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Peace only comes by the way of truth and Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life.

C.S. Lewis has said:

If you look for truth, you may find comfort; if you look for comfort you will find neither, and in the end you will only find despair.

C. S. Lewis

Christ lays down His life willingly for you!

It’s not that Christianity and our beliefs have changed but our culture’s tolerance and understanding of them certainly has.

Our Gospel text for today reminds us:

9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

God has set you free from the power of sin, the flesh and the devil. As our triumphant King Jesus Christ rides today into Jerusalem. His path to the cross from His baptism, where He was marked as the chief of sinners for you, also points to His ride today as a triumphant ride that is unique and different from every other faith tradition because in a short while Jesus Christ will accomplish the true freedom at the cross for you and for all sinners of all time.

You are set free from your sin because Jesus came for sinners! He came to set you free. He came for you! He gave His life at the cross to pay the price God demands to satisfy His justice and you are free. You are truly free!

Christ lays down His life willingly for you!

“Man,” the man at the cotton gin asks, “How good is your cotton?”

Or, Man, who is your God and in whom do you trust? Our God is Jesus Christ the spotless Lamb of God who did no sin, being pure and holy and bringing salvation to sinners who trust in Him.

Christ lays down His life willingly for you!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Sermon March 16, 2016 Lent Mid-week

Title: Knowing Christ by faith is eternal life!
Text: Phil 3:8-14 Pew Bible Pg.1018

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

All anybody needs to know about prizes is that Mozart never won one.

Henry Mitchel in Washington Post, Reader's Digest, May 1980.

Knowing Christ by faith is eternal life!

Many of you might be familiar with the prizes that consume the lives of we who are consumers. It might be the TV show - The Voice - and the talent that God has bestowed upon some with the singing talent and the prospect of becoming rich and famous because of it. Or, it may be the prize of a Lottery win that takes the cares and trials of this world and removes them with the knowledge that, “with these winnings I can take care of all my troubles myself!”

For some it is the prize of love and the hope of marriage and a happily-ever-after of wedded bliss or the prize of that new job or promotion that will now make a better life possible.

But in our epistle for today the Apostle Paul has a different take on what is the hope and prize for his life.

He begins:

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Paul was one who lived and loved life. But, after his conversion on the Damascus road, the focus of his life was different:

2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Cor. 2:2)

As we can see, Paul had been changed. His change took the focus off the things of this world … for he says: For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, and placed them at the foot of the cross.

Paul Kretzmann, in his commentary on the bible, expounds it in this way as to the change of the Apostles Paul’s life:

“Formerly Paul had held it to be of great gain to be high in the councils of the Pharisees and to have honor before men.”

But now he considers …

“ All these external advantages of which the apostle might have boasted with much greater right than his opponents, the entire class of things which, including anything and everything, as ground of reliance other than Christ, he now disregards: But what was to me gain, this I hold, for the sake of Christ, a detriment.”

Paul Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible, NT vol. II CPH St. Louis 1923, Pg 309

… a detriment?

Knowing Christ by faith is the prize of eternal life!

So, Paul was not looking to be the next contestant on The Voice … or looking towards any fame and recognition for that matter. When you think of fame and recognition it becomes an Idol it is and remains that in which you place you highest trust.

So, the hope of wealth, while not bad in and of itself, can lead you away from Christ. Or, the focus on the things of this world … if I only had a better job, house, car or you name whatever can be a focus of life, can and does pull us away from the cross and what Jesus won for us.

The interesting reality is that, the prize that we should focus on and that which we hope to attain is a prize that we cannot win but, is a prize that has been won for us. It is a prize that has been truly won and then is given to you, as a gift!

Paul continues to explain his hope:

10 … that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Knowing Christ by faith is the prize of eternal life!

What the Apostle Paul states is that:

… forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

I have had an opportunity to bring the Lord’s Supper to shut-ins over the last few years who were preparing to meet the Lord. And many would tell me they felt “So blessed,” for all that the Lord had given them in this life.

And though health issues now dominated the better part of their life. One of those blessings was the faith in Christ and the prize that was won for them at the cross.

The prize of salvation; given and shed by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of, not just their sins, but the sins of the whole world, is the prize that we could never win … but is given freely to us by faith in Christ’s finished work.

In Christ, death is for we who cling to the blessed hope of reunion in Heaven one day, only a time apart.

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Knowing Christ by faith is eternal life!

So we who remain live in this blessed hope.

The Apostle Paul states and I paraphrase:

12 Not that we have already obtained this or are already perfect, but we … you and I … press on to make Heaven our own, because we have the blessed assurance that Christ Jesus has made you and me his own.

This is the joy that we await during Lent and Holy Week and the resurrection to life.

Knowing Christ by faith is the prize of eternal life!

Though Mozart never won a prize and may be you won’t either, however, the greatest prize of all, eternal life, has been won for you and you who are in Christ, have been given it now and will celebrate that blessed victory won over sin, death and the Devil now and forever.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Sermon March 12-13, 2016

Title: You are adopted in Christ to be his child!
Text: Luke 20:9-20


13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright once told of an incident that may have seemed insignificant at the time, but had a profound influence on the rest of his life. The winter he was 9, he went walking across a snow-covered field with his reserved, no-nonsense uncle. As the two of them reached the far end of the field, his uncle stopped him. He pointed out his own tracks in the snow, straight and true as an arrow's flight, and then young Frank's tracks meandering all over the field.

"Notice how your tracks wander aimlessly from the fence to the cattle to the woods and back again," his uncle said. "And see how my tracks aim directly to my goal. There is an important lesson in that."
Years later the world-famous architect liked to tell how this experience had greatly contributed to his philosophy in life. "I determined right then," he'd say with a twinkle in his eye, "not to miss most things in life, as my uncle had."

Focus on the Family letter, September 1992, Page 14.

We too who have spent some years of life as Christians and at times miss important lessons that God wants us to learn. In our Gospel lesson today we hear of the vineyard and the owner of the vineyard.

9 And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while.

In this parable, Jesus tells a story. It is a very clear story for those who were gathered to listen in His presence. The picture Jesus tells of the vineyard would have been very familiar to them. Here too they would have made the connection as to the point that Jesus was making.

In chapter 5 of the book of Isaiah, God had told a story of a vineyard that He had built and how he had taken care of it looking for a yield of grapes.

The vineyard was on a very fertile hill. It was dug and cleared of stones, and planted with choice vines; a watchtower was in the midst of it, as was a wine vat and the owner of the vineyard looked for it to yield grapes … but it only yielded wild grapes.

What else could I do he asks? “I gave the vineyard everything and it only yielded wild grapes!”

So He makes this statement. “I will remove the hedge from my vineyard and let it be overrun. I will break down its wall allowing it to be trampled becoming waste. No longer will I pruned or hoe it and briers and thorns shall overtake it and rain will no longer fall on it.” (Isaiah 5:1-6 paraphrased)

The leaders in Israel who were listening to Him and who would have known the reference to the parable of the vineyard, were the ones who had just questioned Jesus when they said to him: “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” (John 20:2)

God had come to Israel as His chosen people but had been rejected.
Time and time again God’s messengers, His Prophets, proclaimed God’s word to those chosen by God, hoping they would bring fourth good fruit, but were rejected and cast out.

As Jesus continued:

13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’

This is obvious that Jesus is speaking about himself in this parable and of His coming as the very Messiah proclaimed and prophesied about in the Old Testament. You might remember from our lesson reading from a few weeks ago when Jesus laments:

34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

You and I too are without excuse. Those of us who have been brought by God’s Holy Spirit to faith in Christ but have fallen away from the joy that has been given us by God are also under His condemnation.

Here is an interesting analogy:

Ill.

Had Adam and Eve retained their original state, they never would have died. But Eve and then Adam yielded to the serpent's temptation, and death came into the world. Before that moment, they were in a beautiful, pristine state. They existed on a level far above the present condition of the human race. It is difficult to imagine what man was like then by viewing him as he is now. It would require something like trying to reconstruct the original version of an aircraft from its wreckage. If we knew nothing of flying, we would hardly suspect that it had once soared above the earth. The material would be the same; the capability of flight, however, would be lost.

But, we who have been given faith know the truth of Christ and His victory over sin, death and the power of the Devil. So too we are under the same condemnation as those in Israel; who refused to recognize the Messiah, the anointed one sent to Israel, Jesus Christ.

14 But when the tenants those in Israel saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’

They recognized Jesus as the Messiah, which is all the more, heinous. This was not an impostor that they crucified but the very Son of God, the heir of the vineyard.

15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

There is the death of the Son but:

Christ is the heir and in Him you are adopted!

Christ Jesus is the heir. He is the beloved Son of God. He is pointing to the work of adoption that he will accomplish, for you.

Ill.

Adoption is a special gift. That’s the way many people involved in an adoption see it. They believe and see adoption as God’s gift to the parents, child, and even to the people around them. One mother said, “When I look at my daughters, I see God’s work, I know God bought us all together.” She believes God knew what he was doing when he chose each person for their family. “It’s a perfect fit,” she added.

When strangers comment how much her daughter looks like her or how her other daughter looks like her husband? She just smiles and says “thank you.” Sometimes she tells them her children are adopted so she can amaze them. One elderly lady once responded, “Well, what they say must be true. If you feed ‘em long enough they start looking like you.”

My friend Bud, has a daughter that he adopted when she was very young. They looked, acted and became so close that it was hard for me, who knew that she was adopted, to almost believe it. Whatever it is, the fact remains, that many times adoptive children resemble their adoptive parents.

So what does that say about you as God’s adoptive child?

Adapted from http://www.examiner.com/article/adoption-god-s-special-gift

God has made you his own. In him you have been adopted and have been given a new name. Your birth father, the Devil, brought you fourth in the sin of his corruption of this world and you have been washed clean and made a child of God. By Christ and his saving act, you are covered with his righteousness, being conformed into His image. You look to me the same as the Father sees you. When God the Father sees you … you look to Him just like His Son. You are adopted and reflect the look of your adoptive family. When God sees you, He sees Christ Jesus. What an awesome and blessed gift.

Frank Lloyd Wright determined not to miss all of the things that this life had to offer like his uncle that just moved from point A to point B not seeing all the blessings this life had to offer.

Jesus has given you faith by his Holy Spirit in you so that you can see the blessing of the cross for you. Through the cross of Christ you see redemption, love, fullness and life eternal, in Him. In Jesus and by His Spirit you know that God’s love for you is so deep that:

In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Eph 1:5-14)

Christ is the heir … but in Him you are adopted!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit 

Amen

Sermon March 9, 2016 Mid-week Lent Service

Title: Jesus Christ reconciles the word unto himself!
Text: Luke 13:6-9

6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vine dresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’

Alexander the Great, seeing Diogenes looking attentively at a parcel of human bones, asked the philosopher what he was looking for. Diogenes' reply: "That which I cannot find--the difference between your father's bones and those of his slaves."

Plutarch.

Jesus Christ reconciles the word unto himself!

The question or the degree of value that we put on human life differs depending on age and perspective. It seems that for many those who are least able to take care of themselves are the ones most marginalized.

The child in the womb or the elderly in the bed of a nursing home both rely on the care of someone else for their earthly existence. But what really is the difference?

In our gospel lesson in Luke we read:

13 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?

Neither, the child waiting to be born or the elderly person, waiting to be called to the slumbers of death, can do much about the situation they are both in at this point. Both are at the mercy of God as they wait for either birth or death.

The truth of these two examples though is that both are under the curse of sin. Should the child be born to life and rise to great stature or die from a miscarriage or be aborted does not enhance or diminish their value in the eyes of the Lord.

In the same way the elderly who remains healthy and productive for their entire life or spend many years in the care of others has no greater or lesser significance in the eyes of the Lord.

You and I who are alive too have value to our loving God … but not because of whom we are or what we do.

The Gospel reading continues:

4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?

Both of these examples that are given by Luke, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, conclude with the same words.

5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

These words are meant to be frightening to the person, of any age, who remains comfortable in their sin. The reality of death, from womb to grave and all of life in between, is real and so is the reality of an eternity separated from God and His love for those who resist God’s call to repentance and continue on their own path covered in their own righteousness.

But those who have been called to faith can joy in the knowledge that:

Jesus Christ reconciles the word unto himself!

Jesus then tells a parable about a fig tree and a man who had planted it. The idea here is that this man had planted it to … bear fruit. He wanted figs and he had found none.

Ill.

I had a Silver Maple shade tree in my backyard which had provided great shade to my house in the summer. It stopped producing leaves and the shade that had kept us cool in the summer was gone. The tree had died and was of no value.

Prior to the trees death, we had had a few signs. One fall the leaves became a beautiful deep red. We thought it was a good sign but later learned that this was a sign of distress. I took special food and tried to do what I could to help the tree survive. An arborist, who I had come and look at the tree, said that these trees - in a very common way - suffer from a girdled root syndrome which spins a root around itself, eventually choking itself and its food supply, leading to death. There isn’t much you can do about it.

But, I said: “Let’s leave it alone this year and I’ll feed and water around it and put fertilizer on it and if it doesn’t produce leaves and shade next year … I’ll cut it down.”

Trees that do not bear fruit are of little value to the owner of the property where they are planted.

The truth of this parable though is using only trees and fruit as an example to bring to mind the greater problem and the need of producing fruit in the lives of believers.

Jesus Christ has reconciled the word unto himself and has called you to faith. But faith that is not fed, nourished, and strengthened eventually dies and like the fig tree in the parable, without figs, the fig tree is of little value.

You though are of great value.

Jesus Christ reconciles the word unto himself!

He calls you to repentance by his word of Law that shows you your sin. Have you sin which you live in daily? Is it great or small? The truth is as we read from our Lord’s lips:

“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?

Do you at times marginalize your sin? Do you at times, like me too, see the sin of homosexuality as grievous to the Lord but the sin of gossip or cohabitation as tolerable?

Christ will not give up on you. He will dig around you and metaphorically put the fertilizer of spiritual food around you so that you can feed and be filled and produce the fruit that leads to repentance and eternal life.

Ill.

There is a story of uncertain origin that is a perfect focus for us during Lent and in our spiritual life in this world:

A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on "The Love of God." As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say.

Source Unknown.

By the wounds that Jesus took upon Himself at the cross and because of His sinless life and death in your place you are forgiven. Though you die yet you will live. Whether productive or incapacitated, God has called you to faith and will sustain you through the trials of this world.

His love for you will continue to draw you by His Holy Spirit to look to his finished work producing faith that bears fruit in your life as God’s love in Christ produces fruit in you leading to your continued spiritual growth. Christ will feed you through his word and sacraments to life eternal in Him.

Though our bones, like the bones of all born in sin remain the same we have been given eternal life and the true and blessed hope of resurrection one day. We who believe will rise just as Jesus did on Easter Sunday and as Job has said, in chapter 19 vs 26:

And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,

He is risen and so you too will rise in Him because:

Jesus Christ has reconciles the word unto himself!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit 

Amen

Sermon March 5-6, 2016 – Fourth Sunday in Lent

Title: Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!
Text: 2 Cor. 5:18-21

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 we might become the righteousness of God.

Regardless of the number of children you may or may not have we can have comfort and true peace because:

Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!

Paul speaks in our Epistle lesson today about being a new creation. The old has gone away and the new has emerged. No longer will they be regarded according to the flesh. Even though Jesus Christ was once regarded as the man, according to the flesh – His human nature – he has now been raised and is no longer in His state of humiliation but has been raised and is seated at the right hand of the father.

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

It is not always evident is it?

Sin permeates our very being; which means to spread or flow throughout or to penetrate something. Sin is not just an act of disobedience. It is not just the act of doing something or saying something wrong, or not doing what we should. It is in fact who we are.

Paul speaks of Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. His once for all sacrifice for sin pays the price for the Corinthians and Paul explains that:

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.

Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!

In the gospel reading for today we have the parable of the Prodigal son, but it’s really the story of two sons, one who leaves and one who stays. The one demanding the father’s life, which is really what’s happening when you want your inheritance before the father has died, and the other who has had everything the father has but still feels cheated.

‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, [though the text only says, “reckless living”] you killed the fattened calf for him!’ Luke 15:29-30

Essentially saying … “I’m good and he’s bad!”

Even in the worst of human endeavors reconciliation is possible. At times even at church separation occurs. Sometimes conflicts within a family cause separation, and other times there is conflict between two families or people in the church … causing one or the other to leave.

20 Therefore, Paul says: we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, give up these petty arguments and whatever separates you from fellow believers and be reconciled to God.

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

The Father’s forgiveness in the parable was both restoration for the wondering son …

‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.

As well as comfort for the longing son.

‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Martin Luther reminds us in the 5th petition of the Lord’s Prayer from our Small Catechism.

We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray,[ inheritance or a party with our friends] nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment.

So too we who have been separated from God by sin can be brought back to His loving arms through faith in Christ who desires that all will be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

But do we? Are we? The cost of peace between God and man required the life of Jesus. The very Son of God came to be your substitute and took the sin of the world, your sins upon Himself so that you might be his child by faith.

Paul continues:

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!

The very Son of God, Paul tells the Corinthians, came down to live, suffer, die and rise again just for them. So too we, who have been brought to faith by God’s Holy Spirit giving faith to both you and me in Christ’s finished work and reconciling us to God through this same faith in Him.

In this one sentence, Paul tells us that we have the entire essence of God’s work in Christ for the forgiveness of sins in the world.

Just as God’s great Gospel message from blessed John 3:16 tells us:

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Paul tells us how that will happen, because:

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is the eternal hope for you and for me.

That:

Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!

The blessed joy in the midst of tears is what we are given even as we grieve the loss of loved ones who have gone to their eternal rest. Mom, dad, grandparent or dear friend … over time we have peace as we know that reunion will follow one day for all who believe. This blessed joy is yours and mine that we will all be reunited in Him, in Christ, because by faith we hold to the blessed hope that is Jesus who was raised from the dead. And so too all who believe will be raised to an eternity in heaven with our Lord and all who by faith have been brought to this blessed reconciliation with Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!

The joy of the birth of a child, pales in comparison to the blessed hope and rebirth that we are given in Christ.

God who has made Christ our substitute, brings us to faith in Him washing us clean in our baptisms and making us holy, by the once for all sacrifice for sin at the cross that Jesus won over sin, death and the Devil.

We who are in Christ are reconciled to Him by His all sufficient sacrifice for sin in our place. This is the joy that we all can have peace in. Christ has been raised and so will you be raised too.

May this blessed good news comfort you by his Spirit now and forever.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit 

Amen

Sermon March 2, 2016

Title: Be Imitators, by keeping your eyes upon Jesus!
Text: Phil. 3:17-4:1

17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

4:1Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

The great architect Frank Lloyd Wright was given the challenge of building the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, one of the most earthquake-prone cities in the world. Wright’s investigation showed that a solid foundation could be “floated” on a sixty-foot layer of soft mud underlying the hotel, which would provide a shock-absorbing but solid support for the immense building. Shortly after the hotel was completed it withstood the worst earthquake in fifty-two years, while smaller buildings fell in ruins around it.

Today in the Word, March 1989, p.6

The foundation of our faith is grounded on Jesus.

17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

This call of imitation from the Apostle Paul is a good word for the church in Philippi and for you and me as well. Look to those, he tells them, who have a life lived in the Spirit of Christ and keep your eyes on them. They are a good example for you and me and one that will make your walk with Christ better and more joyful.

Now you may think, who should I model myself after? Who would be a good example? Should I look to someone in the church who has the appearance of faith life and model them? Well, I’m sure that there are a number of people here who would be good examples.

But Paul brings up a few things for the Philippians to consider:

18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Boy, that’s hard to hear. Many people in the Philippian church have become, because of their walk, enemies of Christ. Not walking in the ways of the Lord. We see and know this as well.

19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

The question Paul, wants to know is why? Why place your trust in things of this world and in things that will not endure when there is a gift in Christ that brings the bliss of heaven to those who only deserve death and condemnation?

But in spite of our failures: Jesus is our hope!

Ill.

Glenn Chambers boarded a plane bound for South America to begin his ministry in missionary broadcasting. But he never arrived. In a horrible moment, the plane carrying Chambers crashed into a mountain peak and spiraled downward. Later it was learned that before leaving the Miami airport, Chambers wanted to write his mother a letter. All he could find for stationery was a page of advertising on which was written the single word "WHY?" Around that word he hastily scribbled a final note. After Chambers' mother learned of her son's death, his letter arrived. She opened the envelope, took out the paper, and unfolded it. Staring her in the face was the question "WHY?"

Matthew records in his gospel:

17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” Matt 20:17-19

Paul now reminds the Philippians:

20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Their citizenship is in heaven. Why? -Because of Christ and His sacrifice, and the gift of faith in His all sufficient death, for you. But, Paul here is calling those in the church to walk as imitators of him who is called by the Lord Himself to be Christ’s representative.

Now, Paul is speaking as he wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And so, his words are God’s words. In the same way, preaching today speaks forth God’s words to you in our day, so that you can hear from God and live out your faith according to God’s desires.

Now, what are those desires that God wishes for you and me? What is the work of God in the life of the believer? What is it that God wants for you and me and all whom the Lord our God will call to do?

29 “… that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:29)

Ill.

Belief and faith and trust … are gifts to you from our heavenly Father.

I’ve mentioned Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the past and the wonderful biography about his life and ultimately his death by Eric Metaxas at the close of WWII.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested in April 1943 and imprisoned in Berlin. After the attempt on Hitler's life failed in April 1944, he was sent first to Buchenwald and then to Schoenberg Prison. His life was spared though, for a time because he had a relative who stood high in the government; but then … this relative himself implicated in anti-Nazi plots. On Sunday April 8, 1945, after he had just finished conducting a service of worship at Schoenberg prison, two soldiers came in, saying, "Prisoner Bonhoeffer, make ready and come with us," the standard summons to a condemned prisoner. As he left, he said to another prisoner, "This is the end -- but for me, the beginning -- of life." He was hanged the next day, less than a week before the Allies reached the camp.

His confession, and the confession of all who trust in Christ, is made possible, not because of our will, but because of the working of the Spirit of Christ in the life of the believer.

Because:

… our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body (after death) to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Christ will glorify those … just as He was glorified. So, Paul is making the appeal to them and to you and me, to stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Those who stand firm do so because: We are Imitators of Christ by keeping our eyes upon Jesus!

Christ Jesus by His Spirit working in us makes us imitators of Him, though so imperfectly. We fail and fall short, but by the Spirit of God working through the word we are being made into his image, being sanctified and being made Holy. Christ, by His all sufficient sacrifice, has made peace with God for you and now will conform you into His image by the Holy Spirit in you who points you to Christ and leads you through the word into Holy living.

Be Imitators, by keeping your eyes upon Jesus!

As godly people and imitators of Christ we can have the fullness of his Spirit working in us.

As Psalm 84:12 reminds us:

12 O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

By the power of the Holy Spirit we who are his children trust in Him. God be praised for his glorious gifts to His children now and forever!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit 

Amen