Sermon June 14-15, 2014 LSB

Title: The Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father and the Son!
Text: Matthew 28:16-20

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

There’s a story told - and I take it to be a parable because I hope it’s not true - of a country church which had a creeping vine - perhaps an ivy plant - growing up by the porch doorway. Over the doorway was a text carved in stone, "We preach Christ crucified". Over the years the plant grew steadily and a branch gradually spread over the doorway. The first word of the text covered by the leaves of the plant was "crucified" which reduced the text to "We preach Christ". Well, we might think, that’s unfortunate but the essential part of our faith is still there. As time went on the branch spread further and covered over the word "Christ". Now, this was serious, but no-one seemed to notice, and the message of the church to the world outside was reduced to "We preach" - it had no message; the church was merely a talking shop. - Owen Bourgaize

Today we celebrate the work of our loving God - Father, Son + and Holy Spirit, the diversity of the Godhead and the unity of the Godhead. One God manifest or made known in three persons for the redemption of the world through the working of the Spirit until Christ Jesus returns.

The Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father and the Son!

 Jesus had named a certain mountain in Galilee to His disciples, where He would meet them after His resurrection, but neither the time of this meeting nor the location of the mountain is known. It had been the Lord’s express command that they assemble there, and after they had received the confirmation of this word by the message of the women on Easter morning, they went to keep the appointment.

When He appeared before them, some of them fell down before Him in glad adoration, but others still were in doubt. They could neither believe the fact of His resurrection nor that it was actually their Lord who here appeared before them. Jesus therefore drew nearer that they might recognize Him. But He depended for the effect of His presence upon His words. The speech of Jesus was friendly and intended to take away all apprehension of whatever kind among them all.

His final commission is a wonderful bit of solemn oratory – marching orders if you will. As He stands before them, in His spiritual body, true man as ever during His earthly life, but no longer in humility and weakness: all power in heaven above and on earth beneath is given to Him. He is the almighty God, with unlimited authority. And since this is true, therefore they, in going forth, in doing the work of their apostolic mission, should make disciples of all nations. The whole earth should be their sphere of activity. And this discipling should be done by two means of grace.

First there is the means of making disciples by baptizing in the name of the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; into God’s name, as confessing the name which summarizes the entire Christian creed. The second means of making disciples is that of teaching them to observe closely all things which Jesus has committed to His disciples, to expound or to preach forth to them the counsel of God to their salvation. Not human notions - but the Word of the Gospel - the inspired Word of God shall be the content of all preaching in the Church of Jesus Christ, no more, no less. And if His commission is carried out in this manner, then His promise also will stand secure, that He will be with us all the days until the end of time. When this age comes to its close, when He Himself will usher in the new age by the dawn of His Judgment Day, then only will the work of the Church have come to an end.

Kretzmann Popular Commentary of the Bible NT vol. 1 Pg 162

The Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father and the Son!

Just a bit of observation that I read which can be also applied to our congregation of Peace and its 50 years of mission and ministry in Waterford.

It is said:

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"The longer a church has been in existence, the more its resources go toward its own preservation rather than toward outreach and evangelism. Our tendency is to design ministries that meet our own needs as opposed to the needs of those who have not yet entered the kingdom." - Alan Nelson

If you’ve been in a budgeting meeting here at Peace you know this truth. It becomes evident real fast that the money needed to maintain this congregation and the basic costs of operation, take a greater portion of what is given than it used to, which leaves the mission and the ministry to those outside our church - who need to still hear the gospel message – unreached.

Sure, we send a good portion of what we have for mission to St. Paul’s in Pontiac and this is a good and faithful outreach, but what also about those in our community, how can we reach them and with what means?

The Great Commission is to 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

It is through the sending of the Holy Spirit that the Christian church was founded and begun on the day of Pentecost, that we celebrated last Sunday, and it is through His working that it will continue to grow.
Martin Luther had this to say about the working of the Holy Spirit:

Such great things have the Apostles declared to us, through the Holy Spirit, who descended upon them from heaven, as even the angels would gladly look into.  When this Spirit opens our eyes and makes us see what the Gospel is, we shall have an appetite for it and a joy in it, although we cannot behold it with bodily eyes, but must believe that we are partakers and fellow-heirs of the righteousness, truth, salvation, and all the blessings which God has to bestow.  For since He has given us His only Son, that highest good, He will also, through Him, give us all good things, riches and treasures, whereof the angels in heaven have all their joy, and of which they are most desirous.  All of this is offered to us through the Gospel, and if we believe we shall also have a similar desire for them.

Luther’s exposition of 1 Peter 1:12

The Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father and the Son!

God has called us as His body of believers here at Peace and through His work to make disciples, to proclaim Christ and his gospel, to baptize and to teach.

Our VBS outreach is one way you can help and get involved in the mission of this church. Tell a family with children you know. Bring a child of a friend yourself. Serve as a teacher or helper. Put up flyers, spread the news and God, through His Spirit, will bring those to faith in His way and in His time.

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I was once again at Lakeland Place - a senior residence in Waterford -  last Sunday, sharing the word of the Lord with about 16 of the saints who are unable to get to church on their own. I enjoy this ministry and outreach greatly as I lead them in a few hymns, readings, prayers and a message of teaching. Usually I get to preach a bit longer as we don’t use our order of service or have as many responses. And when I asked the people to join with me in the Lord’s Prayer after our special prayers, it never ceases to amaze me how many and how strong they all are in praying this wonderful prayer together.

One man came up to me after the service and said, “Brother Russ, you’re not a typical Lutheran, are you?” To which I replied … “Well, I believe I am, what do you mean” “Well he said, Lutheran’s that I know seem more interested in keeping their faith to themselves but you seem pretty bold in proclaiming Christ.”

After a minute of thought I said, “The Lutherans I know proclaim Christ and Him crucified. That is what I preach and teach at my church and that is the joy that those whom I serve cling to as well.”

It did give me pause though … Have we let the vine cover the mission message over the door of our church … and over the door of our hearts? Do we have a zeal for the lost? Do we take the gospel to those outside our walls or do we go home to our lives content to just resume our day to day existence until the next Sunday comes … whether next week, next month or next year?

Jesus Christ is our righteousness. It is He to whom the Spirit points and gathers those who will believe. Even when we think we fall short in our words and actions the Spirit uses the gospel to achieve His goals.

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In an online devotion from the Rev. Scott Murray, he tells the story of a young woman who was invited to one of his Bible Studies from the people at church. This woman was from another denomination and was drawn to a greater understanding of God’s word.

Dr. Murray writes:

“She was deeply interested, first, because of the depth of the theology. There was none of the "lite-ness" that she despised from her experience. But she had an "ah-ha experience" when we spent some time in Article 3 of the Formula of Concord: "The Righteousness of Faith before God." She was flabbergasted that confessional Lutheran theology was so simple, that it taught that all our righteousness in the presence of God was through Christ and was conferred through faith. She asked: "Do you mean that Christianity is that easy?"

http://mail.aol.com/38584-416/aol-6/en-us/Suite.aspx

Our God, Father, Son + and Holy Spirit has seen to your redemption. God has called you by the gospel, given you faith to believe and by the Holy Spirit will keep you in the faith to your reward that awaits all who trust in Christ. Is Christianity easy? No, because it cost Christ everything. Is it that simple? Yes it is."

The Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father and the Son, for you!

May the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all now and forever!

Amen

Sermon June 7-8, 2014

Title: Christ gives living water to those who thirst!
Text: John 7:37-39

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

As we celebrate the day of Pentecost and the sending of the Holy Spirit, we begin with a short reading in the book of the Prophet Joel:

28  “And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions. Joel 2:28

The Spirit has now been revealed as He that is sent to glorify Christ or to make Him known. We have a greater measure of His manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s work in our day than the believers of the Old Testament had.

"At the time when Jesus preached, He promised the Holy Spirit, and therefore the Holy Spirit was not yet there - not that He was not in existence in His person, but that He was not fully manifested – or made known - in His revelation and in His work.

For that is the special work and office of the Holy Spirit that He reveal and glorify Christ, that He preach and give testimony concerning Him. That this office of the Holy Spirit was then not yet in active working and the office of glorifying Christ the Lord was not yet fully in use … that is, the preaching of the forgiveness of sins, and how one may be delivered from the power of sin, death, and the devil, and have comfort and joy in Christ.

All this was at the time of Christ, unheard of and not mentioned; that deliverance, salvation, righteousness, joy, and life should be given us through that man, Christ, whom people did not know."

Popular Commentary of the Bible P.E. Kretzmann NT Vol. 1 Pg 452

Christ gives living water to those who thirst!

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Some years ago, two students graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The highest ranking student in the class was a blind man named Overton and, when he received his honor, he insisted that half the credit should go to his friend, Kaspryzak. They had met one another in school when the armless Mr. Kaspryzak had guided the blind Mr. Overton down a flight of stairs. This acquaintance ripened into friendship and a beautiful example of interdependence. The blind man carried the books which the armless man read aloud in their common study, and thus the individual deficiency of each was compensated for by the other. After their graduation, they planned to practice law together.

Gary Inrig, Life in His Body.

This is a wonderful story of gift giving and how two men gave in service to each other for the betterment of both. It is a wonderful story of love in service to ones neighbor with the gifts benefiting both giver and receiver. Should one leave though … the gift given to both would be lost.

Not so in the giving of the Holy Spirit.

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

It was on the last day of the feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, the "day of the great Hosannah,” which was a time of joyous celebration as the Israelites celebrated God’s continued provision for them in their current harvest and remembered His provision and protection during the 40 years of exodus they endured in the wilderness.

The leaves of the willows and the other branches that had been used for the building of the booths – or tabernacles - were shaken off and the palm branches were waved against the altar, when the priests went around the altar seven times in a procession of thankfulness, and when a priest was commissioned to get a pitcher of water from the pool of Siloam and then pour it out at the side of the altar. All these ceremonies had been introduced over time, and the Jewish teachers had explained some of them, especially the last, as a symbol which would find its fulfillment in the days of the Messiah.

The water of the pool of Siloam was considered living water, since it was replenished from time to time by means of a natural siphon from a spring in the rock. But, after all, it was only earthly water, which could quench the thirst for only a short while.

Here Jesus points to the work of the Holy Spirit and the revealing of the work of Christ himself when He says:

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Not only with the Spirit bringing those to faith in Christ by His own working, but also by those who are brought to Christ and are used by God through the Spirit to bring Christ to others.
Christ gives living water to those who thirst!

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This past weekend was big for a number of families from our church as well as families in our area and around the country. Both, Waterford High Schools, Kettering and Mott, celebrated graduations at Oakland University while others were celebrated at Eastern Michigan and surrounding sites. Because graduating is an important time in the life of a student and their families, some of our members couldn’t be in worship last weekend as graduation was on Sunday.

It is important for parents to celebrate with their children this big event and there have been a number of videos online of dads, who had been serving in the military, surprising their children who were not expecting them to attend. Now, as the dad’s surprised their children, the emotional breakdown is quite touching and heartwarming for all to see. What had been thought to be missing … was really there and is now revealed to them. Parents and children reunited to celebrate this special day together.

It is with this in mind that we today recognize our graduates and celebrate their wonderful accomplishments!
Just like a parent, who it was thought was unable to attend a special occasion, the Spirit can at times be forgotten … as though He were afar off and not part of our daily lives. At the best of times, when things are going well, we have little need for Him. We can get consumed with things of this life that are going well and the abundance that at times God provides. But, other times … just as all seems well … your world can come crashing down. You can lose focus of Jesus, the one who redeemed you who were lost. The Spirit’s work can be resisted, while things of the world draw you away demanding your attention, and just when all seems well life can call your attention to all its frailties and trials … loss of life, loss of job, loss of security …

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I attended my good friend, Pastor Paul Monson’s, 50th birthday party at St. Augustine Lutheran Church last Sunday afternoon in Troy. It was a wonderful time of celebration with food, cake and a bit of roasting – or poking fun at the church’s pastor! However, the previous week, Pastor Monson suffered a heart attack. You might remember him as the one who preached at my ordination. I visited him in the hospital, and though He had no blockage, and his heart attack was caused by a little kink in a vein, the frailty of life once again was thrust in his face and mine. Just how long will the Lord tarry – or wait to return - and what has He prepared for me to do?

We can’t know what God has in store for us as he calls each one of us to faith and in service for Him through the Spirit’s work … but we can know, as Jesus said:

“Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 Jesus said this, about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive.

 I couldn't help thinking about, the heart … which thanks be to God, my friend Pastor Paul is still with us, but one day … it will stop for all of us and our work in the name of Christ will be finished.

I think of so many, who still need to hear the good news of the gospel and the joy of salvation found only in the name of Jesus. Yes and I feel, as my friend Paul Ruehl and I discussed at Pastor Monson’s birthday party, the urgency to allow God to work through us to reach the lost in service to Him, now!

Christ Jesus has given you and me, by His Spirit, an appeal to His work to reach those who are lost with the word of the gospel. That appeal comes to you through the Spirit and through His working in you feed on the word of God and by faith cling to that blessed hope.

Christ gives living water to those who thirst!

God in his mercy has had mercy on you. You have been washed clean of your sin and by faith in Christ have peace with God. The working of the Holy Spirit causes faith in you to believe the gospel message that in Christ forgiveness of sins is offered and by faith received.

Christ gives living water to those who thirst!

May the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all now and forever!

Amen

Sermon May 31 –June 1, 2014

Title: To know Christ is to know God!
Text: John 17:1-11

3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me that they may be one, even as we are one.

General Douglas MacArthur, who recalled a strategy he carried out while at West Point, in trying to understand a very difficult text said:

In studying the time-space relationship later formulated by Einstein as his Theory of Relativity, “The text was complex and, being unable to comprehend it, I committed the pages to memory. When I was called upon to recite, I solemnly reeled off almost word for word what the book said. Our instructor, Colonel Fieberger, looked at me somewhat quizzically and asked, "Do you understand this theory?"

It was a bad moment for me, but I did not hesitate in replying, "No, sir." You could have heard a pin drop. I braced myself and waited.

And then the slow words of the professor: "Neither do I, Mr. MacArthur. Section dismissed."

It is wonderful to note that with the things of faith and scripture and our understanding of Jesus, we have one, the Holy Spirit, given from Christ who makes clear what god would have us know.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur in Reminiscences recalling a strategy he carried out while at West Point.

To know Christ is to know God!

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

These are the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples just before the reading in our Gospel for today where He says:

“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Knowing Christ is critical to eternal life. In my seminary class, Mission and Ministry in Today's Pluralistic Context, we studied many faiths, religions and cults. Some even use the name of Jesus in ways that sound Christian. However, upon a deeper inspection, they have a different Jesus. This was most evident in the study of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

God, in the LDS understanding, is not one divine essence and three distinct persons as confessed by the historical Christian church and the three Ecumenical Creeds - but is distinctly three Gods called Father, Son and the Holy Spirit and not one divine essence.

From their official publication, LDS Beliefs—A Doctrinal Reference, we read:

The Godhead consists of three personages: God the Eternal Father, Jesus Christ the Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost. [Joseph Smith] referred to these three as God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the Witness or Testator.

So far it doesn’t sound too different but then it continues:

The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s…. These three are separate and distinct personages and beings. This understanding…stands in stark contrast to efforts on the part of traditional Christian thinkers to maintain the ontological oneness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (263)

Greg Koukl, "Is Mormonism Just Another Christian Denomination?" Stand to Reason (September/October 2012). http://www.str.org/Media/Default/Publications/DigitalSG_0912-1.pdf; Internet accessed 14, May. 2014

It can also be noted that Christian’s do not see the Father as having “a body of flesh as tangible as man’s.” This error also confuses the person and work of Jesus Christ, as the God/man begotten of the Father from eternity, who took on human flesh at the incarnation, was born of the Virgin Mary and became man as confessed in the third article of the Augsburg Confession that deals with the Son of God and His work.  Mormons clearly have a different Jesus, one who is God the Father’s first born son in a godhead of three separate and unequal members.
  
This is important, not because, you’re planning on taking a world religions class, but because the name of Jesus means something very specific to the historic Christian faith, and to we as Lutheran Christians.
Jesus said:

4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Jesus, here in speaking of the glory that He had before the world existed, He is speaking of his oneness with the Father and the Holy Spirit, before He was born of the Virgin Mary. He is speaking of the plurality of God that in the beginning … hovered over the surface of the deep and said “Let there be light.” The word made flesh that in the beginning was with God and was God! This is the Jesus that in lifting up His eyes to heaven and prays:

Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me that they may be one, even as we are one.

At the Doxology conference this past month we discussed the challenges facing the mission and ministry of the churches we serve and the purpose of continuing biblical education for those in the pews as well as those in the pulpit. And the importance of doctrine … which is the teaching of the faith, being the best way to achieve this. What was interesting was when the question was posed to the average church member of what they desired most to build their faith they said, “Teaching!” When asked what they wanted less of in the church … the answered, “Doctrine!”

When Jesus asked Peter in Matthew’s Gospel, “But, Who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God!” Matt16:15-16

Many Mormons would agree with that statement that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God but that understanding in their view is that Jesus is God’s Son … the first born of His creation.

Today as we too have confessed, in the Nicene Creed, the Christ, the Son of the Living God, but our Christ is:

Begotten of the Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
Very God of very God,
Begotten not made,
Being of one substance with the father,
By whom all things were made

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Preacher and author, A. W. Tozer once said:

We have gotten accustomed to the blurred puffs of gray fog that pass for doctrine or teaching in churches and expect nothing better. From some previously reliable sources are now coming vague statements consisting of a mixture of Scripture, science, and human sentiment that is true to none of its ingredients because each one works to cancel the others out. Little by little Christians these days are being brainwashed.

One evidence, Tozer continues: is the increasing numbers of people who are becoming ashamed to be found absolutely and completely on the side of truth. They say they believe, but their beliefs have been so diluted or mixed with falsehood so as to be impossible to find a clear definition. Moral power has always followed definite beliefs and the great saints of the past have always followed the teachings and doctrines of the church. We need a return to a gentle but unwavering teaching that smiles while it stands stubborn and firm on the Word of God that lives and abides forever.

Tozer died over 50 years ago. His writing sounds very contemporary as we live within a society that has redefined marriage, embraces adultery, cohabitation and premarital sex, denied even the plausibility of who Jesus Christ claimed to be and has defined Truth as … whatever is true for you.
To know Christ is to know God!

Jesus says:

9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

Jesus is praying for you … you are His. He has called you by the Gospel, washed your sins away, and by the Holy Spirit, has made you His.

Psalm 27:3-5

3 Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
    yet I will be confident.

4 One thing have I asked of the LORD,
    that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
    and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in the shelter of his pavilion
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will lift me high upon a rock.

That is the confidence that we all have in the name of great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gives us confidence when He says:

Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me that they may be one, even as we are one.

To know Christ is to know God! Blessed be His holy name!

May the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all now and forever!

Amen

Sermon May 24-25, 2014 Memorial Day

Title: The Spirit of truth points you to Jesus!
Text: John 14:15-21

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

The soldier's first article of faith is summed up nowhere more eloquently than in an 1865 letter from William Tecumseh Sherman to U.S. Grant: "I knew wherever I was that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place you would come … if alive."

Source Unknown.

In the life of the Christian, the good news is that we will not be left alone. The Holy Spirit is with you and will comfort you and whenever you are in a tight place … you do not have to hope that He will come to you … for He dwells with you and will be in you!

The Spirit of truth points you to Jesus!

Jesus, in John 14 is sending the comforter, the Holy Spirit, to be our comfort and our hope. He had told the disciples about that hope and not to be troubled, to believe in God and also to believe in Him and that He would be going to prepare a place for them, that where He is they too may be also. To Thomas’ question of how they could know the way Jesus replied that He is the way the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him … and to Philip’s question to show us the Father, Jesus said, whoever has seen me, has seen the Father!

There is a very close connection between Jesus and the Father. To see Christ is to see God and know Christ is to know the Father; one God in essence, uniqueness of persons. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father but the mystery of the Godhead in there for the first disciple and for us as well.
Today’s reading begins:

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Well that’s comforting. We poor sinners confess unto you that we are by nature sinful and unclean! God’s Law we can’t keep and his law shows us our sin and that we fall short daily needing the comfort and forgiveness only given us by God himself through His comforting absolution pronounced by His called and ordained servants, in the stead and by the command of Christ.

16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17even the Spirit of truth.

The Disciples are being comforted that when Jesus leaves them and ascends back to the Father, the helper, the Spirit of truth, will be with them forever.

The Holy Spirit's distinctive role is to fulfill what we may call a floodlight ministry in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ. So far as this role was concerned, the Spirit "was not yet" (John 7:29, literal Greek) while Jesus was on earth; only when the Father had glorified him (John 17:1, 5) could the Spirit's work of making men aware of Jesus' glory begin.

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The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him,
Seeing the building of our church here at Peace with the floodlights lit as I turned in the drive, I realized that this was a great illustration for the message today.

When floodlighting is well done, the floodlights are placed so that you do not see them; in fact, you are not supposed to see where the light is coming from; what you are meant to see is just the building on which the floodlights are trained. The intended effect is to make it visible when otherwise it would not be seen for the darkness, and to maximize its dignity by throwing all its details into relief so that you can see it properly. This perfectly illustrates the Spirit's role and work. He is, so to speak, the hidden floodlight shining on the Savior.
Or think of it this way. It is as if the Spirit stands behind us, throwing light over our shoulder on to Jesus who stands facing us. The Spirit's message to us is never, "Look at me; listen to me; come to me; get to know me", but always, "Look at him, and see his glory; listen to him and hear his word; go to him and have life; get to know him and taste his gift of joy and peace." The Spirit, we might say, is the matchmaker, the celestial marriage broker, whose role it is to bring you and Christ together and ensure that you and Christ Jesus stay together.

James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.

But you don’t … and I don’t. We don’t love God or our neighbors as ourselves. We fall short, we miss the mark. It’s like having directions to our destination and always getting lost … always making the wrong turn!

Ill.

It was kind of funny as bob and I drove to the Doxology Encore weekend in DeWitt last weekend. I’m driving, knowing that I need exit 87. Bob says, “Pastor, isn’t this our exit?” Oh yes it is Bob, thanks for letting me know as I quickly move right to exit the freeway!

On the way home I’m heading north on I-69 towards I-75 when I hear, “Pastor, isn’t this our exit?” Oh, thanks again Bob for pointing that out to me, as I once again move right quickly so as not to miss the I-75 exit and our way home.

In a similar way the Spirit shows you when you miss the mark, when you are going the wrong way and He, as the Helper who will be in you and with you forever, points you back to Jesus … so that you once again see the error of your sin and where you fall short, but also see the way the truth and the Life … Jesus, who kept the commandments – the Law - perfectly for you and who the Spirit will continue to point you to, Christ Jesus our Lord – the light of the world and the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world and His gracious forgiveness and love for you and for all who love God and are called according to His purpose!

The Spirit of truth points you to Jesus!

Jesus said:

18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Ill.

There was a young boy living in Paris at the end of the World War II. He had been orphaned by the atrocities committed within his city by the occupying German forces. He scrounged around the ruined city as best as he could to find food, clothes and shelter. But everyone was living in desperate times and he found that people either ignored him and or could find nothing to give him. Even the soldiers who had freed Paris from the German army seemed to not care about his situation.

He had heard the Priest in the church, long before war had broken out, talk about God and Jesus and living the Christian life. But with the hell on earth that the war had brought he had since lost hope of any sense of Heaven.

One cold morning, he was wandering down the street, staring into the windows of shops and cafés. He stopped outside the window of a small bakery. The smell of the fresh bread made his stomach ache with pain. He was so held by the smell and sights of the bakery, he didn’t notice the American soldier who had stopped in the street and had begun watching him with interest. The boy hardly noticed the G.I. as walked past him and into the store. He did however notice the large bag the baker was filling for the G.I. with rolls, breads, pastries and other foods. And the boy could hardly breathe when the soldier exited the shop, knelt down and handed him the bag.

The boy looked at the G.I. with astonishment and gratefulness. Finally, he looked at the soldier and asked him the question that was running through his mind: “Mister, are you Jesus?”

Kyle Meador

It is Jesus who gives us every good and perfect gift. It is Jesus who will not leave you as orphans. It is Jesus who took your sin upon himself at the cross burying it in the tomb and it is Jesus, who asks the Father to send the Helper, the Spirit of truth, to you, so that you can continue to see Christ, the author and finisher of your faith Jesus.

Christ says:

Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

By the Spirit, Christ will make Himself known to you! Because death could not end Christ it will not be your end. Because of the work of the Spirit in the life of God’s children … you will know Him and His ways and you will be found acceptable because you will be clothed in the robes of the God/man Himself Jesus Christ the Righteous one.

Remember:

In the life of the Christian, the good news is that we will not be left alone. The Holy Spirit is in you and with you and will comfort you in all trials … because you do not have to wonder if He will come to you … for He dwells with you and will be in you!

The Spirit of truth points you to Jesus!

May the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all now and forever!

Amen

Sermon May 10-11, 2014

Title: God gives life through communion and the Apostle’s teaching!
Text: Acts 2:42-47

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Life is a matter of building. Each of us has the opportunity to build something -- a secure family, a good reputation, a career, a relationship to God. But some of those things can disappear almost overnight due to financial losses, natural disasters and other unforeseen difficulties.

What are we to do? Daniel Webster offered excellent advice, saying, “If we work upon marble, it will perish; if we work on brass, time will efface it. If we rear temples, they will crumble to dust. But if we work on men’s immortal minds, if we impress on them high principles, the just fear of God, and love for their fellow-men, we engrave on those tablets something which no time can efface, and which will brighten and brighten to all eternity.”

DANIEL WEBSTER, secretary of state, speech to the City Council, Boston, Massachusetts, May 22, 1852.—The Writings and Speeches of Daniel Webster, vol. 13, pp. 518–19 (1903).

Morning Glory, July 3, 1993.

That is the joy and that is the goal with which we are brought to faith by our loving God that through His gifts and by communion and fellowship with Him we have a life, in Christ, by Christ and through Christ.

God gives life through communion and the Apostle’s teaching!

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

St. Luke in his book of the Acts of the Apostles gives an account of the early church. Last week we heard of Peter’s sermon in Acts chapter 2 that cut to the heart of those who heard the Law of God’s condemnation bringing them to the point of asking, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37b

To which Peter replies:

“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Now coming to faith through the Gospel brought some 3000 souls into the church through Peter’s sermon but now we hear what the church did with and for those who repented and were baptized.

They heard the word of God proclaimed which is the Apostles teaching. They had fellowship one with another both in community and in communion with that same doctrine of the word. The breaking of bread in fellowship meals as well as with the Lord’s Supper that, as we heard last week, opened the eyes of their understanding so that they could see who Christ Jesus truly is and what he had done and finally, prayer, which is conversation and communion with that one and same word of God – Jesus Christ.

Our Lutheran Church Missouri Synod has a mission statement called Witness, Mercy and Life together that fits this focus of the early church and our life together here at Peace as well.

God gives life through communion and the Apostle’s teaching!

The Apostle’s teaching, which is the word of God and what that word means, is the witness of who God is and what we have become in Christ.

As His children we are called by Christ to be in worship, to hear His word to know that, as sinners, we all fall short of God’s requirements, but we also know that God has made a way in the person and work of Jesus Christ to bring us back into fellowship with him. This fellowship we now have with each other as His children, celebrating our life together in communion around the table of the Lord, as we together confess that the body and blood of Christ that was given and shed for you is now truly received with the bread and wine bringing forgiveness of sins to those who receive this merciful gift by faith.

Apart from faith it is impossible to please God or to come to him because we all are judged as sinful and unclean and separated from the love of God found only in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ill.

At times we find ourselves in tough situations. I was talking to my friend Paul on the phone and his daughter Michelle is serving in Afghanistan as a pilot in the United States Air Force.

Michelle’s Easter was a bit different than yours and mine. For her - worship started on the roof of the hospital at her base … at sunrise … overlooking the mountains and the dawning of the day as the F-16s began taking off on their missions in the distance.

The second service was at 8:00 am and for this service she played guitar and sang hymns of praise. Just before the Lord’s Supper in the service, the sirens went off as mortar and rocket fire came upon the base. Everyone hit the floor. One soldier chuckled in the midst of the attack as he saw Michelle put her guitar over her head. “What kind of rocket you plan of stopping with that.” He asked? Michelle kind of chuckled too knowing that it wouldn’t do much good but was a natural reaction.

Soon the all clear was given and the service continued, the words of institution were said, the Lord’s body and blood given and received, then appropriately they sang, “How Great Thou Art!”

Not much different from our Easter service … without the rockets!

the apostles' teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers.

God gives life through communion and the Apostle’s teaching and that is our Witness, Mercy and Life Together!

Prayers … we pray them every week in our services and daily for many of us in the church. This conversation with God brings our prayers and petitions to the one who holds our life in His hands through the mediation of his son.

Prayer can be a powerful blessing and we all need to avail ourselves of it daily.  As we celebrate this Mother’s Day we can’t forget prayer, especially the faithful prayers of our mothers, who keep and have kept us in constant prayer.

Ill.

As I talked to my friend Paul and about his daughter Michelle in Afghanistan we also remembered how far we’ve come since the day of playing 6 nights a week in our band at Captain Ahab’s bar in Wyandotte, Michigan.

Paul said about his mother Marian, “She was in constant prayer for us all.” You see she had two boys Paul and David. She also had surrogate sons Russell and John who played in places that I’m sure she didn’t think we should be. But like all good mothers, she couldn’t stop us from playing and gigging, but she could pray to the Lord that He would protect us and get us to where He wanted us to be.

None of us really liked the bars and the fights that might go on as well and we sure didn’t want to be there but Marian’s prayers, my mom Eleanor’s prayers and the prayers of Connie Ganos too kept us before the throne of grace and out of trouble. David has been a high School teacher now for 36 years, Paul is an Environmental Chemist and leads worship at St. Augustine Lutheran Church in Troy, John is a Lawyer and me … well, God uses the weak to confound the strong. God knew that if He could turn Russ Tkac into a pastor … well He was also truly able to use all things for the good according to His purpose, connecting himself to human flesh, turning water into wine, raising Himself on the third day and bringing people who are dead in sin to life and faith in Jesus Christ through the washing of regeneration with the word.

God bless our mothers on this day and always for the faithful prayers offered on our behalf and may we all continue to be connected to the the apostles' teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Forgive me for paraphrasing Daniel Webster but:

“If we work upon marble, it will perish; if we work on brass, time will efface it. If we build temples, they will crumble to dust. But if GOD works on men’s immortal hearts and minds, through the apostles' teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers the just fear of God, and love for their fellow-men, will be engraved on their hearts and minds as tablets of stone which no time can efface, brightening their lives and the lives of all who are called by faith to believe in Jesus Christ unto all eternity.”

God gives life through communion and the Apostle’s teaching!

May the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all now and forever!

Amen

Sermon May 3 -4, 2014 Confirmation!

Title: God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ!
Text: Luke 24:16, 27, 29a, 30a

16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,

Today / tomorrow we celebrate the confirmation of 5 sons and daughters of Peace. And what a blessed joy it is / will be … as their Pastor, to hear their voices say, for some what they were unable to say as infants, but also for those children who were baptized as teens … to be able to confess what they have been taught and what they now believe and hold true by faith.

Faith is certainly not something that is in them or us by nature. For by nature we can neither see who God is nor come to him. But, as the third article of the Apostle’s Creed says in Luther’s explanation:

What does this mean?

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.

On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.

This is most certainly true.

God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ!

Last weekend we talked of unbelief and the story of Thomas. But in reality, and for all of us, we come into this life conceived in sin and as enemies of God. We are all brought forth in inequity and separated from the one who made us and desires to have fellowship with us. We are dead to God and can’t know him as a loving father … unless He … first comes to us.

For these confirmands God first came in His word connected to the water of Holy Baptism. This washing of water with the word washed away the original sin that we are all born with, replacing it with the righteousness of Christ that is foreign to us all, given as a gift, to precious children who are marked now as ones redeemed by Christ the crucified.

For most of them, over the last 13 years, they have been instructed and taught about our Lord and savior Jesus Christ from parents, Sunday school teachers, Vacation Bible School classes, pastors and yes … even through church attendance and … sermons!

God’s word has been proclaimed to them and this word is brought to them by the working of the Holy Spirit.

In the Gospel today we read of two followers of Jesus on the Emmaus Road.

15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself … came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.

Remember this:

Now what they were discussing was the very hope they had … that this Jesus … was the promised Messiah. But, He had just been tried, and was crucified, dead and buried, and they heard something about being raised from the dead?  They were distraught as they walked away from Jerusalem towards village of Emmaus, all hope seemed lost.

They were kept from recognizing the resurrected Lord.

We all are kept from recognizing our Lord and savior too. It is only by a gift of God’s grace, through faith that we can see … who Jesus is and what he has done. It doesn’t come from our own reason and understanding, so that is why our children are taught from little children to hear God’s word and learn about Jesus and to be in worship … so they can recognize HIM! It is also why the responsibility for their continued involvement in church is yours … their parents and grandparents and guardians. So, they can know Jesus.

John’s gospel tells us so.

3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3

This Gospel truth gives faith to those who hear by the work of the Holy Spirit. This faith points back to Jesus, who He is as both God and man and what He came to do – for you. So that their eyes are opened and that they see … recognizing Christ!

As the desciples continued walking:

25 Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Much like Jesus, those who bring God’s word to those who need to be taught do the very same thing. They explain in the scriptures the work of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ and how through the entire word of God, both Old and New testaments that Jesus is the one present.

10 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Cor. 10:1-4)

God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ!

Our confirmands will confess their faith and trust in whom they have been taught shortly. They have been examined and have and have been found prepared and ready and for that we thank those who made sure they got here and could take and pass their exams.

Looking at the bulletin cover, that poor fellow on the left of Jesus must be just getting ready to take his own confirmation exam! He seems concerned.

28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

Now pay close attention to this:

30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

Soon too, these newly confirmed members of Peace Lutheran Church will be fed on that very body and blood of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ when they receive the bread and wine for the forgiveness of their sins.

It is comforting to know that by faith their eyes will be opened to Christ and His forgiveness through this blessed gift. This very same gift is here for you and me and all who have been instructed and who receive, not only the bread and wine but the very body and blood of Jesus and believing and trusting God’s word too receive forgiveness, comfort, peace and the strengthening of their faith.

God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ!

32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

It is my hope and prayer that God by His means of grace, through word and sacrament, will keep these new confirmands connected to Jesus and recognizing Him. May they continue to grow in faith and in service to neighbor as they remain an important part of Christ’s body, the church.

For all of you veteran church members … look at these new members … as fellow saints … not Junior members, but fully an important part of this body of believers here at Peace and give them your prayers and love as they grow into those who will lead the church of Christ for many years to come.

33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Students, may you always see and recognize the church as a place where Jesus Christ comes to gives out his gifts – for you. And, may you find joy, peace and comfort here in the presence of God and all who come to Him by faith.

May the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all now and forever!

Amen

Sermon April 26-27, 2014

Title: In Christ’s wounds, peace is revealed!
Text: John 20:19-31

26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

People refuse to believe that which they don't want to believe, in spite of evidence. When explorers first went to Australia they found a mammal which laid eggs; spent some time in water, some on land; had a broad, flat tail, webbed feet, and a bill similar to a duck. Upon their return to England, they told the populace of this, and all felt it was a hoax. They returned to Australia and found a pelt from this animal and took it back to England, but the people still felt it was a hoax. In spite of the evidence, they disbelieved because they didn't want to believe.

cf. J. McDowell, Answers to tough questions, under "miracles"

In Christ’s wounds, peace is revealed!

In my class at Seminary we’re dealing to some extent with the work of Apologetics. This is the work of a Christian to defend what seems to some – especially those who don’t believe as silly and not something one can prove in a reasonable way … that the evidence of a God who took on human form, died for the sins of the world by crucifixion and then rose from the dead three days later is just not believable.

The work of Apologetics cannot prove that Jesus rose from the dead but it can help to show that what we as Christians believe as truth is reasonable and trustworthy and that a God who created a wonderful world and  a humanity in his image … can also in love redeem those who have fallen into sin and have broken what God created perfect.

Richard Dawkins, an atheist, in a letter to his 10 year old daughter writes:

"And, how do we know that Earth is a small ball whirling round one of those stars, the sun?

The answer to these questions is "evidence." Sometimes evidence means actually seeing (or hearing, feeling, smelling ....) that something is true. Astronauts have traveled far enough from earth to see with their own eyes that it is round."

What I find interesting with this is that scripture knew and had made known what Dawkins needed astronauts to tell him.

In Isaiah 40:22 the prophet writes speaking of God:

22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
    and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
    and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

The word here proclaims what astronauts later confirmed by seeing. What I think Dawkins misses is that science has made wrong observations over the years that have had to be changed as new evidence became available.

Thomas in the Gospel reading too needed proof. He demanded evidence.

In Christ’s wounds, peace is revealed!

Ill.

G. Campbell Morgan had already enjoyed some success as a preacher by the time he was 19 years old. But then he was attacked by doubts about the Bible. The writings of various scientists and agnostics disturbed him (e.g., Charles Darwin, John Tyndall, Thomas Huxley, and Herbert Spencer). As he read their books and listened to debates, Morgan became more and more perplexed.

What did he do? He cancelled all preaching engagements, put all the books in a cupboard and locked the door, and went to the bookstore and bought a new Bible. He said to himself, "I am no longer sure that this is what my father claims it to be--the Word of God. But of this I am sure. If it be the Word of God, and if I come to it with an unprejudiced and open mind, it will bring assurance to my soul of itself."

The result? God found Morgan through His word! The new assurance in 1883 gave him the motivation for his preaching and teaching ministry. He devoted himself to the study and preaching of God's Word.

Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, Moody, 1984, p. 211.

Many times doubt conflicts us all. We hear the word but find our own reason at war with God’s word.  We hear about Easter and the resurrection and unbelief clouds our own understanding. How can a dead man rise? How does God take on flesh and become man … and why? Some believe the flesh is bad and is the cause of all our problems? Even Luther thought that if he beat into submission his own sinful flesh … hiding as it were in a monastery, that his sinful thoughts and actions could be controlled but he quickly found that his own sin went in to the monastery with him.

Many of those who come to church occasionally or only on the High Holy Days of Christmas and Easter … wrestle with unbelief. They may say that their lack of attendance is not unbelief really, but only other pressing things in life that get in the way. Some never come at all and are absent altogether … choosing to do something else or nothing rather than to get up and be fed on God’s word which is to give full acknowledgment that they really don’t believe or feel a need to hear God’s word. How about you? Have you doubted God and His word? That question needs to be answered by us all … me included.

Our Gospel today gives one account:

24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.

The Bible is silent on why Thomas wasn’t with them and if you remember the words of the angel that rolled the stone away from the tomb Easster morning when he said:

7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, (I’m assuming that this included Thomas too?) that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

So, it might have been just old fashioned unbelief and distress in this Jesus who Thomas had placed his trust and hope … who was given over to Pilate, crucified and killed … dead and buried that now when the other:

25 … disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Full unbelief there; No wavering on his part; this disciple of Jesus’ now cries out:

SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE!

That is what Thomas wants, nothing more nothing less. So many in our day too just want the evidence, unless Jesus comes down to me and I can see, feel and taste … I won’t believe.

We all at times want to see the evidence. Those we love want to see it too. We want to touch the holes in His hands and put our hand in his side or we won’t believe. Some unfortunately die in their sin never coming to faith in the one who died in their place and then rose from the dead so that they too would rise.

But in spite and because of our sins:

In Christ’s wounds, peace is revealed!

26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

Now, the irony here is amazing. Thomas, the one with unbelief, is now with those who have seen the risen Lord. They are all together and the doors are still locked! The other disciples have seen Jesus resurrected yet they also remember, very vividly the crucifixion, and all that may still come upon them. But in spite of the fear and unbelief, Jesus comes to them … in to this locked room of unbelief … and brings … peace.

Our Lord, through His word and sacraments, also comes to those who still live locked in unbelief. By His Holy Spirit the lock of unbelief is opened and faith is given.

Ill.

Christian author Eric Metaxas once said about his own coming to faith from unbelief as he struggled in college with a dead faith having been raised in a Greek Orthodox Christian home. His friend at work said:

“Pray and ask the Lord to reveal himself to you.” Eric, thought this was a bit stupid as he began praying to a God he didn’t think existed, and asking that same God to reveal Himself, to show himself or in other words – “show me the nail holes in your hands and the spear hole in your side.”

27 Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

The evidence is there and:

28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Just like Thomas, Eric Metaxas’ prayers were answered too. He came to faith in a God who he didn’t think existed, who heard his prayer and came to Him through His word proclaimed and he comes to you and me as well through that very same word spoken today as it was spoken to Thomas in that upper room, “Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Our Lord will not leave you in unbelief but by His Spirit He will bring about your transformation. He will cause His word not to return void for you or for your children. He promises that His word will achieve all that He intends was also proclaimed by Peter in the book of Acts in chapter 2 verse 39:

39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Remember -In Christ’s wounds, peace is revealed!

And, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

May the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you all now and forever!

Amen