Monday, Sept 19, 2016 Funeral Sermon for Dorothy Mae Blackerby

Monday, Sept 19, 2016
Funeral Sermon for Dorothy Mae Blackerby
Text: Luke 2:22-32

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

Dear friends, family and loved ones of our beloved Dorothy. As we together morn and grieve her passing and our loss, let us comfort and sustain one another with the blessed hope, that in Christ death is a parting for a time but there awaits a joyful reunion for all who believe.

I’m Pastor Russ Tkac and I’ve had the pleasure of being Dorothy’s pastor over these last few years. While it had been difficult for Dorothy to deal with her Illness she was comforted by her loving family, their help and her trust in Jesus. In this she had true peace.

Peace can take on the many different looks, both young and old, from the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger … to the man Christ Jesus hanging on a cross crying out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) But there is both joy and peace in Christ’s life and in his purifying death that it allows all who depart, trusting in Christ Jesus as both savior and Lord to receive that peace!

Our beloved Dorothy knew and received that Peace!

St. Luke writes in his gospel about Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the temple of the Lord to make a sacrifice as the Law required. And while there a man named Simeon, who as we are told was righteous and devout and waiting for the consolation of Israel, or the comfort and peace of God, and that the Holy Spirit was upon him.

27 … and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

according to your word;

30 for my eyes have seen your salvation

31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel.”


The joy of seeing this child, this Jesus brought to fulfillment for Simeon what the Lord by the Holy Spirit had promised, that he would not die until he had seen the Christ.

Dorothy knew that Christ’s death would allow her to depart in peace!

I had a joyful time visiting with Dorothy and Glenn at their home and in the hospital and bringing communion to them as it was difficult getting them to church on a regular basis. She would always tell me how much she enjoyed being in worship with us but thankful as well when she could attend and really enjoyed receiving the Lord’s Supper at her home with Glenn which helped to strengthened both of their faith.

I visited Dorothy in the afternoon of September 12th and we had a great visit. She was in bed but was able to talk fully of her salvation in Christ and receive the sacrament with Glenn as she loved to do … holding his hand. She so looked forward to going home and with Dorothy you knew that meant the Lord’s home and a heaven prepared for her.

We can all see the effects of time on our faces as we look into the mirror each morning. As much as we might all hope to have the blessings of a long life like Dorothy’s, the reality of death is real and sooner or later we will all answer the door when death knocks. But too, like Dorothy, we can have comfort and peace because:

Death’s sting has been swallowed up in victory by Jesus Christ and we can all have comfort in His blessed work and this blessed Good News. As we together grieve the loss of our beloved Dorothy and think about this frail existence we all inhabit here in this world, we can still have peace.

I rest beneath the Almighty's shade,
My griefs expire, my troubles cease;
Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed,
Will keep me still in perfect peace.

Charles Wesley.

Comfort and peace, is what Dorothy knew. That Christ had come to rescue her and you can know that as well. Comfort and peace, knows the joy of Christ Jesus in your life by God grace and mercy.

Comfort and peace, is being called to follow Christ by God’s Holy Spirit who indwells all believers and is called the comforter even by Jesus himself.

For Jesus Himself says that:

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

Dear friends, you too have access to the father as Dorothy did through Christ Jesus our Lord who came to live, suffer, die and rise again for you and who will give to all true peace found only in His saving arms that were outstretched upon the cross as He gave up His life for you.

Because of Christ’s purifying death he allows you too, like Dorothy to depart in peace!

So when the trials of life burden you and the storms of life rage and when even death is near, rest in the peace of Christ no matter the storms of life, but rests in the loving hands of Jesus the savior who reminds us in John’s gospel the wonderful comfort that Dorothy knew:

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. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)

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

Amen

Sermon Sept. 17-18, 2016

Title: The Lord gives true riches through faith in Him!
Text: Luke 16:1-15

13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Introduction

There are two ways in which a Christian may view his money--"How much of my money shall I use for God?" or "How much of God's money shall I use for myself?"
W. Graham Scroggie.

"Money often comes between men and God. Someone has said that if you take two small coins, and placed in the right position, you can shut out the view of a beautiful landscape.

The truth is, it doesn't take large quantities of money to come between you and God; just a little, placed in the wrong position, will effectively obscure the view.

Cedric Gowler.

But we must remember that money too has its limitations.

Money will buy a bed but not sleep; it will buy books but not brains; food but not an appetite; the finer things in life but not beauty, medicines but not health, luxury but not culture, amusement but not happiness … a crucifix … but not a Savior, and even a place of worship but not Heaven.
(Ps. 49. 6-8; Eccles. 5. 12)

In our lesson today, Jesus brings to the ears of the disciples, and all his followers, a parable or story which illustrates serving God and money.

The previous parables, from the weeks leading up to this, had been directed to the Pharisees, teachers of the law and the scribes, and now the disciples too.

How do you deal with a bad manager? Especially one, who has not been looking out for the owner’s best interest?

2 And [the owner] called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’

It is not an uncommon situation for many who serve in positions of responsibility. As Pastor’s we call called stewards of the mysteries of God. We are called to faithfully divide the word of truth, and to administer God’s sacraments rightly.

As managers, in companies, you manage someone else’s money and possessions and you have a responsibility to deal in a favorable way with it … or as the parable says … be replaced.

Or, as my brother-n-law Mark has said in speaking of a co-worker:

“He would make a great manager, if under constant supervision.”

So in the Gospel lesson much conniving and cooking of the books ensue.

Managers at time try to figure out a solution.

4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may [still think well of me] receive me into their houses.’

For managers and for us all, self preservation is a strong motivator.

5 …, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 … ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ … sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 … ‘And how much do you owe?’ …, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

The object for the manager was to do damage control. With this scheme the shortage would disappear, or the income would look to be much smaller than the owner thought. And if he is found out, the customers would still think well of him.

It has even been suggested that the manager had falsified the amounts in the original billings and pocketed the surplus.

Certainly this is not out of the realm of possibilities.


Popular Commentary on the Bible P.E. Kretzmann Pg. 354

Ill.

At a meeting many years ago it was made known that a co-worker had defrauded the company. He had sold instruments for the company but sold the trade-ins for his own profit. The company was unaware of the trades as the manager’s paperwork showed only a cash transaction with no trade in information.

The manager personally picked the trade in instruments and sold them out of his garage – to other customers - so the company lost the profit on the trades and future company business.

Interestingly, my boss’ son who mediated the affair and meeting had compassion on the worker and allowed him to remain with the company though under supervision of another as he had a wife and two small children.

Faced with a crisis many are clever though dishonest in solving problems.

Even the master in our lesson, when he received information concerning this latest trick of the manager, could not withhold a certain amount of praise. He praised him, not on account of his unfaithfulness and his fraud, but on account of the cleverness in handling the situation and getting himself out of a very unpleasant predicament.

Popular Commentary on the Bible P.E. Kretzmann Pg. 354

All of life has consequences, some that are good and some that are bad but again:

The Lord has given true riches through faith in Him!

There was a saying that my boss told me many years ago. It was said about those who had paper wealth by speculating in internet stocks.

“Money easily gotten is money easily lost.”

Ill.

Some years ago there was a book on the market called Rich Dad, Poor Dad and it was written by a man, Robert Kiyosaki, who had learned the secrets of making money in real estate from his friend’s dad, verses the things he learned from his own dad who went to work and lived a very common and boring middle class existence.

Fast forward to August of 2012 and Rich Global LLC is bankrupt owing 24 million to one investor, though Kiyosaki remains quite wealthy through some shrewd and questionable practices.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/helaineolen/2012/10/10/rich-dad-poor-dad-bankrupt-dad/

10 “One who is faithful in little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in little is also dishonest in much.

Now, the world makes provision for the future, that is, they look to put themselves and their families beyond care, as soon as possible, it is the focus of their life and they make use of every possible advantage through: retirement investments, pensions, savings, homes and 401Ks to name a few.

God’s children, on the other hand, often are anything but energetic and diligent in the things that pertain to God and His kingdom.

They forget that death is real and the end is coming - Sometimes much sooner than we’ve planned and all will have to give an account to the Lord in regard to their business transactions for Him – in this life.

Jesus here admonishes them that they should so conduct their lives, and the money entrusted to them and as Christians should use their money in the interest of the kingdom of God, in establishing and extending the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

So that in this way the poor and those outside the Christian faith, receive the benefit of such investments, from God through his children.

Kretzmann

12 [But] if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

For the Christian ethics is important.

Ill.

As a manager myself in business I had the owner’s trust. Having keys for three stores I would leave my home in Waterford, stop at his store on Dixie Hwy. and pick up the bank deposit and then go to the Bloomfield Hills store dropping off the money and paperwork for Waterford, and the Plymouth Store that I managed. Each day I handled the business and cash for at least two stores.

One day I helped my co-worker Alan sell a guitar. At times the drivers delivering and picking up pianos picked up the paper work and cash as well returning it to the office. When it came time for commissions to be paid, Alan didn’t have the guitar sale I helped him with on his paperwork. I looked everywhere and called all the stores and my boss. It was nowhere to be found. The guitar was listed in inventory and there was no sale. It was like it vanished.

I felt terrible. I for one had responsibility for my worker at Plymouth – to see that he got paid for what he sold and to my owner to see that he received the money he had coming. It was nowhere to be found.

After much searching though and talks we all decided to move on my boss told me “Russ it is not that I don’t value the guitar sale but we have to get back to doing business.” It was baffling … but we had business to do.

Over a year later, I had some dead time at the store and decided to clean my desk. Also my briefcase was full of old and outdated paperwork and contracts. As I got rid of that I noticed what looked to be a dollar at the bottom back of the briefcase. As I reached for it I was surprised to pull out six one hundred dollar bills and the contract for one guitar sale for Alan.

I called my boss, “Ben, do you remember that deal on the lost guitar over a year ago?” “Yes”, he said. Well, it was in my briefcase and it will be in the bank today! He said thanks and hung up. He didn’t sound real happy while I was ecstatic.

I talked to his son Jim later that day. “Did you hear about the lost guitar?” I asked. “Yes I did great news!” he said, “Your dad didn’t seem too excited.” “Well, he was mad … said you need to be more careful in dealing with these things and not so careless with the companies money.” I told him, “Dad … be thankful, you have an honest employee. That is worth so much more than $600.”

It might explain why when Jim bought the company from his dad some years later why he asked me to be a signer on the checkbook and to pay the bills in his absence.

Money in this life is needed but a wise old pastor once said:

“The only money that truly matters to God is money that is used in service to Him and His Kingdom.”

And the true blessing and gift that God gives you and me is faith in His son.

He has given us life through the death of His son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to live suffer and die and rise again for you and for me. This bears fruit in service to our neighbor, not by works of righteousness that we do, but by true joy in Jesus Christ our Lord.

We can joy in the faith we are given as children of God knowing that all falls under His control and that he uses you and me as his hands and feet in the world to reach the lost with the comfort of the Gospel message.

You are rich and truly bless because God has given you riches in Him and they will surpass and far exceed those promised by the world.

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

Sermon September 10-11, 2016

Title: Rejoice! You have been found!
Text: Luke 15:1-10 (Readings for Praise Band and Kim below)

6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Jesus came for sinners. That is good news that He has found you!

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

The charge against Jesus has always been harsh. “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” How might that reflect on you and me and those with whom we associate? Are you accused of being like those with whom you associate?

Interesting, is it not? Jesus came for sinners and that very fact has the Pharisees and scribes grumbling.

Ill.

Years ago in the distant eons of the 1970s I was playing at a club and a young Priest came with a friend of mine to hear us play. As we talked during a break he remarked, “I wonder what my church would think of me hanging out in a bar and listening to a rock band.”

And then he said, “It is probably the place I should be and the place I could do the most good.”

When you think about it … where did Jesus spend most of his time? And who did he spend that time with? For sure He was among the people, but here and in many other places in scripture He was with the Pharisees, rulers, scribes and the Jewish leaders teaching … and rebuking … and calling.

What does that say about sinners? They’re everywhere; in the church and out of the church. Those who are piously leading religious lives … or so the impression seems and those who are far away from God … at a bar … hanging out … or so the impression seems.

For Jesus and in His day the perceptions were the same. Some who seemed religious were not, and those who were seen as sinners, as in the stories of tax collectors and adulterers, were those God called to faith and used as witnesses to the working of God, through the word, in their lives by His Spirit.

The joy is that there was a purpose for Christ’s coming and that is that:

Jesus came for sinners. Rejoice! You have been found!

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

Ill.

In the operating room of a large hospital, a young nurse was completing her first full day of responsibilities.

"You've only removed 11 sponges, doctor," she said to the surgeon. "We used 12."

"I removed them all," the doctor declared. "We'll close the incision now."

"No," the nurse objected. "We used 12 sponges."

"I'll take full responsibility," the surgeon said grimly.

"Suture!"

"You can't do that!" blazed the nurse. "Think of the patient."

The surgeon smiled, lifted his foot, and showed the nurse the 12th sponge. "You'll do," he said.

Today in the Word, April 7, 1992.

You were lost and have been found. Jesus came for you, the one lost sheep, just as each one of us are lost at birth, born dead in trespass and sin. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save those that were lost.” (Luke 19:10) What the sinners need is Jesus Christ and His Word and Spirit in their lives; all else is hopeless.

Ill.

In Acts we read:

36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Acts 15:36-39

Here Martin Luther writes:

"Here it appears either Paul or Barnabas went too far. It must have been a violent disagreement to separate two associates who were so closely united. Indeed, the text indicates as much.

"Such examples are written for our consolation: for it is a great comfort to us to hear that great saints, who have the Spirit of God, also struggle. Those who say that saints do not sin would deprive us of this comfort.

"Samson, David, and many other celebrated men full of the Holy Spirit fell into grievous sins. Job and Jeremiah cursed the day of their birth; Elijah and Jonah were weary of life and desired death.

"No one has ever fallen so grievously that he may not rise again. Conversely, no one stands so firmly that he may not fall. If Peter (and Paul and Barnabas) fell, I too may fall. If they rose again, I too may rise again."

Martin Luther.

Rejoice! You as lost sheep have been found!

5 And when [the shepherd] has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

The place of strength … the high Priest’s shoulders is where the sheep is carried. In the Old Testament there is example of the making of the Ephod, which was an article of clothing worn by the High Priest of Israel:

6 “And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. 7 It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together …

9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth …

12 And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for remembrance. (Ex. 28:6-7, 9-10,12)

Jesus carries the lost sheep that have been found upon his shoulders we find as the parable continues.

6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The joy of the Good Shepherd is … you!

The joy for sinners is that you are not so lost that Jesus can’t find you. As He says in the parable of the lost coin:

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, Greek - ten drachmas; a drachma was a Greek coin approximately equal in value to a Roman denarius, worth about a day's wage for a laborer if she loses one coin, the lost sheep or you does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? Jesus Christ by the working of His Holt Spirit will continue to seek you. 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’

It is a joy to find what was important that was lost because as has been said:

Objects are lost because people look where they are not instead of where they are.

Or … as might be said:

People are lost because we preach the gospel where they are not instead of where they are. 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Rejoice! You have been found!

So just as our lesson began today:

5 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Joy in the good news that Jesus is willing and able to meet sinners – you and me - where we are. He comes to you through the word preached and through the sacraments rightly administered and that is exceedingly good and blessed news. But He also is with you when the gospel of promise is used by you to reach those friends or strangers as a comforting balm for the hurting and sinfulness of this life … that breaks us and others … saying that the only way out is death and despair. The comfort of the gospel is there too because Jesus is the Gospel. He is the Good News. He is the comfort, and He is the Peace.

He will find the lost because He will never stop seeking you and those who need to hear this blessed joy that:

Christ came for sinners, and you dear friends … are found!

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

Amen

Sermon September 3-4, 2016

Title: Discipleship is a bear!
Text: Luke 14:25-35

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

If you were to look at Rembrandt's 1653 etching of The Three Crosses, your attention would be drawn first to the center cross on which Jesus died. Then as you would look at the crowd gathered around the foot of that cross, you'd be impressed by the various facial expressions and actions of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. Finally, your eyes would drift to the edge of the painting and catch sight of another figure, almost hidden in the shadows. Art critics say this is a representation of Rembrandt himself, for he recognized that by his own sins he helped nail Jesus to the cross.

Source Unknown.

We also recognize that by our own sins Christ was nailed to the cross.

Discipleship is a bear!

25 Now great crowds accompanied [Jesus], and he turned and said to them,26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” 

To live for Jesus is to deny life itself. Boy, discipleship is a bear!

And now Jesus tells these followers in the crowd: 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Sounds like a good way to help those who were following Jesus to fall away, doesn’t it?

In our Old Testament lesson today we hear the very familiar call.

... choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

The idea of choosing sounds good to we who, living in a democratic society, get to choose quite a lot of things. We can choose where we live in the country, what career we might wish to go into, and whom we marry. The call of … choose life … is often confused in the life of a Christian and applied to the work of evangelism as though we can choose to believe just as we can choose to be born.

The gift of life is both given in our natural birth as well as the gift of faith is given in our spiritual birth from a God who came to redeem those who were unable to redeem themselves and that is why the text here today is a good one for us to understand and rejoice in.

The call of God in this text is not to the world but to God’s people Israel. Those chosen children of Abraham whom Moses had given God’s Law written on the tablets of stone by the finger of God, were called by Him to choose to stay in the relationship with Him apart from falling away into sin, false gods and idol worship. This keeping of God’s commandments, his statutes and rules would bring God’s blessing to them as they entered into the land that He was giving them to possess.

So too our own lives as we cannot be Christ’s disciple without bearing our own cross. The reality of Jesus’ call … to hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters … figuratively as opposed to literally, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. This, none the less, is a serious matter meaning that we cannot let anything draw us away from the gift of following Christ and being his disciple, the gift of being his child.

Ill.

Some years ago when witnessing to a friend, he joyfully came to me at work one day to proclaim to me that the night before he had prayed to Jesus - receiving him as his savior. He was quite happy because this had been a long and tedious process with many and various talks about Jew and Gentile, the Old and New Testament, and Sabbath verses Sunday worship. I even met him on a Sunday and went with him to a church in his area so as to help him transition into being a disciple or follower of Jesus.

A few weeks later I asked him if he had been attending the church. ‘No”, he said. Sunday was the day that he and his wife slept in. She wasn’t much interested in religion and he didn’t want to offend her. As we talked, I shared this text with him and suggested that he might … without offending her … rise early and go to the 8:00 am service and be home at 9:00 am to spend the rest of his day with her. There also might be opportunities to share what he had heard and learned by attending worship. 

… “Who knows, I said, Maybe God will soften her heart as well and draw you both closer to him and to each other?”

Well … they never attended church … and their marital situation, which hadn’t been good, became even worse. Ultimately he cheated, and they divorced. The devil does not hope for you to live in wedded bliss, as a Christian, or as a pagan and unbeliever. He desires to destroy everything God has brought together, father and mother, husband and wife, brothers and sisters, even the very fabric of the family unit - the devil hops to destroy and tear apart. 

Isn’t it interesting that what my friend tried to hold together himself … excluding God from his life and marriage … fell apart.

28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

He came to be a follower of Christ and by faith received Jesus, but he didn’t welcome him into his home. There is a cost to becoming a Christian and with that we must place Christ first. Many put family first and it certainly is a great blessings to have a loving family but the devil uses all things to divide and pull us away from Jesus and the family can be used for that as well.

I did a baptism a few years ago for a little boy. The family doesn’t attend church here anymore though they desired baptism for their child. They had been an active member once but moved out of the area … to Clarkston. As I spoke with them about the importance of regular worship and being fed God’s word the mom said, “Well we’re a sports family and the weekends are tied up with the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings!” Its funny how from Clarkston to Peace is so far that being in worship even occasionally is impossible, but driving to Downtown Detroit for a sporting event is no big deal and becomes a family tradition. It puts a bit of perspective as to what Jesus is talking about. What is it that draws you away or me? Give it some thought. What is it that draws loved ones away or our kids? 

The devil divides and he delights in division.

33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

The great work of Dietrich Bonheoffer the Cost of Discipleship comes to mind.

He writes:

“The messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time. They will be blamed for all the division which rend cities and homes. Jesus and his disciples will be condemned on all sides for undermining family life, and for leading the nation astray; they will be called crazy fanatics and disturbers of the peace. The disciples will be sorely tempted to desert their Lord. But the end is also near, and they must hold on and persevere until it comes. Only he will be blessed who remains loyal to Jesus and his word until the end.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship Bonhoeffer Works Vol 4 1937

This is the message of Jesus. Let nothing come between you and him and his saving Gospel. This past Thursday pastor Merrell and I officiated at the funeral of Betty Buchanan. Betty had the ups and downs of life that we all know. She had problems, she lost her husband in 1971; she lost her oldest son 19 years ago and her youngest 11 years ago, she lost her eyesight and largely the ability to care for herself, dementia stole her memory at times and brought sad time of her life into view as if it was happening all over again. But the Holy Spirit was with her pointing out that Jesus died for her, that Jesus carried her cares and burdens and that Jesus was always with her never leaving her nor forsaking her. To be Christ’s is to give away all that you are (sinful and unclean) so that you receive all that he is. (righteous and just)

May that be your joy now and always!

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

Amen

Funeral Sermon for Betty Jean Buchanan - Thursday September 1, 2016

Thursday September 1, 2016
Funeral Sermon for Betty Jean Buchanan
Title: At home with Jesus forever!
Text: 2 Cor. 4:16-18 English Standard Version

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self[a] is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Dear friends, family and loved ones of our beloved Betty.

I’m not sure how I’ll deal with Betty’s passing as I move forward. Granted, I visit and have visited quite a few members who were shut in and required visits to their homes, care facilities, hospitals and nursing homes. With Betty, I think I’ve been to them all to see her.

Most recently I would go and visit her at Pine Tree Place – her home away from home - asking how she was doing … and she would always say with the shrug of her shoulders and a laugh … “As well as to be expected!” Sitting in her recliner which also served as her bed for many years, Betty felt safer in the chair than in the bed which she had fallen out of many times over the years that I visited her.

Betty didn’t see well. She was for all intent and purposes legally blind but when I visited her I just let her know it was Pastor Tkac for a visit and she would light up a smile and we had a great visit.
I learned quite a bit about Betty over the years.

One, she loved Jesus and was always ready for communion.
Two, she loved her family and they were close to her heart daily.
Three, she didn’t like wine … but we got over that! (Betty had been receiving grape juice and I forgot and only had wine with me on one visit. I told her that I could come back another time and she said, “Never mind, I’m sure it won’t kill me!” But she would take the wine and then make such a face, shake her head and yell out … Wow! It was kind of funny.

We both tempered the amount and reaction to the wine as our visits continued.

The Apostle Paul writes:

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

So though we grieve and are sad at Betty’s passing, we can have comfort as well. In all the time I knew Betty and have visited with her I wouldn’t say she was ever what I would call healthy. She was always sitting and in need of help … getting up, walking or walking around.

Ill.

The first time I visited Betty, Pastor Merrell and I went together. She was on his regular schedule at her home on Alhi St. in Waterford. As we pulled up to the house and were walking up, I was pleasantly surprised to see Shirley Penny coming out after visiting Betty. Shirley and I have known each other from my former life in the piano and organ business at Evola Music and also worked together teaching music to seniors at the Dublin Center in White Lake. So it was great to see Shirley and it helped a new Vicar – who is a student pastor – get comfortable with visiting. Because I was the new guy, Betty didn’t want me in the kitchen … stuff in the sink … that Pastor Merrell later told me but she and I fast became friends. Maybe it was that no matter where she ended up, St. Joseph Mercy, Lourdes Nursing Home, Pine Tree Place or even the short lived assisted living home in Ortonville … Betty didn’t like it as I’m sure she made clear to everyone. She said to me, “They have me all the way out in the country and … I’m not a country girl!” Well I assured her that Ortonville was not way out in the country and was actually pretty close and easy for me to get to … so not to worry.

If you knew Betty … then you knew she trusted Christ, desired to receive the gifts Christ gives, prayer and the Lord’s Supper. She wanted to support the work of the church with her gifts and though she could no longer get to Peace for regular worship I assured her that it was the churches pleasure and blessing to send me in service to her.

Betty’s trust was in Christ. Though at times during these last few years I know she questioned Jesus. Why wasn’t Jesus leaving her in her home? The confusion of being unable to take care of her own needs and not being able to get to church – to financially help - or to be with family and friends were a few things that troubled her. Where was she going she wondered … and why?

The Apostle Paul continues:

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

Betty knew Christ was her strength. I visited with her at Pine Tree Place quite a few times and during her hospice stay. She would say, “I want to go home.” And we all knew that home was with Jesus. We all will probably fight that same fight when we get close to our time of departure for heaven too. The next two visits I made in July and August she was sleeping to soundly it was not my intent to wake her up so I prayed for her and anointed her with the oil of gladness which has a Fragrance of Frankincense and Myrrh. The ladies enjoy that. But, the last time I saw her was on Tuesday, August 16th just before I began my vacation. This time she woke to my voice and was alert. We talked, we prayed, and she received the sacrament for the forgiveness of sins. She had comfort and peace because she was Christ’s.

Betty’s hope was in the blessed hope of her Lord and savior Jesus Christ and the home she knew was waiting her in heaven. She was looking to be with Christ and today heaven is her home and her recliner and hospital bed are left behind because in heaven Betty won’t need them. She has been redeemed and in baptism her sins were washed away … and Christ promises to make all things new. For Betty and for you and me.

She knew her sins were forgiven too on account of Jesus’ death on the cross. She knew that because Jesus rose from the dead, she would too. She knew Heaven was her home and that Jesus had prepared a place for her, so that even with the veil of death lurking at the door and waiting to cover her, She had the blessed hope of reunion forever with Jesus and with all the dearly departed who have gone to their eternal rest in the Lord before her.

I shared these Psalm passages with her and May they bring comfort and hope to you as well:

Psalm 4:8 (ESV)
8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 27:1 (ESV)
27 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 31:5 (ESV)
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

Psalm 73:26 (ESV)
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

As I prepared to leave Betty I said,

“Betty it is okay to go and be with Jesus. When he calls … go, and rest in his loving arms.”

The Apostle Paul concludes:

18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Heaven is now Betty’s home.

You too have this wonderful home waiting for you. The blessed Good News that Jesus died for your sins is the wonderful Gospel message you too can believe and trust. Jesus has forgiven your sin and by the power of the Holy Spirit, in you, has given you the faith to believe in His saving work and receive a place prepared for you, forgiven in Christ and forever with our Lord and savior Jesus, and that’s a Heaven and an eternity you can inherit just like Betty.

Our own flesh, the corruption of this broken world and the work of the Devil are going to do everything possible to make sure that we who remain behind see that death is not peaceful, restful or kind. It is the consequence of sin and the fall of Adam and Eve … a fall and sin we all share.

But, you too can know that the path of rescue that our Lord and savior Jesus followed, to the cross, for you. It was not peaceful, restful or kind either. It was a death that shook the very foundation of this world as Satan fought in every way to keep Jesus from standing in Betty’s place and in your place too.

In First Corinthians St. Paul writes:

"Death is swallowed up in victory."

55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Cor. 15:54-58)

Betty received that victory in baptism marked as one redeemed by Christ the crucified and now has the fullness of that reality.

She was prepared, she was forgiven, and she will be … at home … with Jesus forever because Christ has promised:

3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:3

Praise be to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has prepared a place not only for Betty … but for you and me as well.

May the Lord comfort you with this blessed good news now and forever!

Amen

Sermon August 27-28, 2016

Title: The humble will be exalted in Christ!
Text: Luke 14:1-14

10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

A truly humble man is hard to find, yet God delights to honor such selfless people. Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator, was an outstanding example of this truth. Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had no pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized him and later revealed his identity to the lady.

The next day the woman saw him and apologized profusely. "It's perfectly all right, Madam," he replied. "Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it's always a delight to do something for a friend." She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.

Our Daily Bread.

Humility, or pride and arrogance can drive the decisions that you make and though sin can cause you to try at times to reach places of honor for yourselves in this life. You can be comforted that:

The humble will be exalted in Christ!

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him,

Ill.

Friday night the 5th of August, Monica and I attended a wedding for our niece Nora and her husband Justin. There was beautiful weather and the wedding was outside at the Casino on Belle Isle with the reception afterward in the hall, decorated with linen and the finest food that you might expect. It was a beautiful wedding!

As we entered the hall with tables throughout … we noticed a table with our names and the names of my brother and sister and their spouses. We walked through the hall and found our table, off to the left of the head table in a corner. And as you might expect, it wasn't the table of honor. That was reserved for the wedding party and the ones closest were reserved for the parents of the bride and groom. Monica and I though relatives ... were not elevated to the level of Nora and Justin’s family.

Had the table seating designations not been clearly visible, you can imagine just how confusing the seating might have been. Possibly even coming to us and asking if we could move to the back corner so that the bride’s parents and soon to be in-laws could take the seats closer to the main table.

In our lesson today, Jesus was in the house of a Pharisee.

And as a guest Jesus had noticed just how those who had been invited, Pharisees and lawyers, were looking to have the seats of honor at this dinner. Ordinary, feasts of the Jews were usually attended to in a more casual and informal manner, but with this diner and in the wedding feast of Christ’s illustration, rank and status among the guests was important.

… do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, Jesus says.

I always found the irony in Jesus statement here, as an invited guest to this diner, as the only begotten Son the God … who could be more distinguished? Here, God in the flesh is among them, but as was read earlier in the Gospel, the ruler of the Pharisees and the lawyers who were in attendance had another agenda.

There just so happened to be a man with dropsy in attendance at this diner.

Now, I looked up this medical condition reference and dropsy could be understood as the equivalent of congestive heart failure today.

We've all seen this condition in many of our friends, neighbors and relatives and Jesus, knowing the Law better than the Pharisees and lawyers, knows that it is quite alright to show acts of mercy on the Sabbath, so He heals the man, saying to those whose intent was to trap Him as a violator of the Law:

“Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”

6 And to this question, they could not reply to these things.

So the intent of their false feast is crushed by Christ’s healing of the man with dropsy, but He doesn't stop there. He now points out the true arrogant nature of their sitting in the place of honor when one truly more distinguished than they … has been invited … and is now sitting among them.

The arrogant sinner will stand before the throne of grace covered in their own righteousness but:

The humble will be exalted in Christ!

You and I also exalt ourselves at times; taking too much credit for things we’ve done in the world or in the church. You do … and I do. The sinner always minimizes sin and exaggerates virtue. It’s what sinners do. The sinner sees the sin of others clearly … in view … with no distractions. But, their own sin remains masked in a veil of acceptance, false piety - which is nothing more than the quality of being religious or reverent - or indifferent.

Ill.

In those running for office we see much false piety in many of the candidates. Humility is very hard to sense. “I did nothing wrong” is the standard cry and blame falls to those in the fringes of the campaign who largely remain nameless and faceless.

The line will be long for the politicians at the Pearly Gates as St. Peter says in a voice reminiscent of Ricky Ricardo to his wife Lucy.

“… you have some ‘splainen to do!”

So, the point is … that we, you and I, when we let sin deceive us, place our desire to not recognize sin for what it is, over and above God’s word … well, we just elevated sin to a place of honor, when someone more distinguished – the living, active and incarnate Word of God Himself, is among us and in us.

11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The truth of sin taking a place of honor in your life is nothing new. Luther called it the Bondage of the Will. That our will in and of itself is bound to sin and that is all it can do, but thanks be to God that because you have been raised to newness of life by God the Holy Spirit, there is truly Good News that:

The humble will be exalted in Christ!

So, Jesus goes up to the host, the ruler of the Pharisees, who had invited him and He says:

12 “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Those who Christ came to redeem are the poor sinners, crippled from birth and lame, blind to God’s saving work in Christ if not drawn to believe through the invitation and working of God the Holy Spirit in them by faith.

You too, dear friends, have received this blessed invitation to His banquet feast and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb by faith. And you receive a foretaste of this feast when you receive Christ’s true body and blood in the blessed table of the Lord, the Sacrament of the Altar – given and shed for you!

It matters not which seat at the table you occupy because the host of this feast comes to where you are – bodily – in, with and under the bread and wine so that you truly receive Him, who is and was and is to come, in a real and tangible way – for the forgiveness of all your sins.

Even though these sins, sill at times work havoc in our lives, they are forgiven as far as east is from the west … not to be remembered by the Father ever again.

The humble will be exalted in Christ!

Christ humiliated himself so that you might be redeemed. At times we too are humbled so that another can be served, just as Booker T. Washington did in service to his neighbor.

You have a defense and a protection that will never fail because it is God Himself, not you, who will protect you because He came to live, suffer and die for each one of you and as a result you are his, the table is set, and you are invited, in fact you have already received all that is promised … rejoice!

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

Amen

Sermon August 13-14, 2016

Title: In Christ, fire is cast for the just and the unjust!
Text: Luke 12:49-53

51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

C.S. Lewis says:

A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable, [broken and retched] world -- and might even be more difficult to save.

C.S. Lewis, quoted in Against the Night, Charles Colson, p. 139.

It’s like the story of the school teacher who lost her life savings in a business scheme … by a swindler. When her investment disappeared and her [dreams were] shattered, she went to the Better Business Bureau. "Why on earth didn't you come to us first?" the official asked. [“Well], she said … I didn't come because I was afraid you'd tell me not to do it."

Jerry Lambert. (modified)

You see … the truth is … we want to believe the lies.

It in a way it explains the cross. Not as peace and comfort but as agony and death. Not as accomplishing anything good … but only something bad that shouldn’t have happened, we think. What truly lies beyond the cross … the resurrection of Jesus and salvation that he gives is unable to be seen through the eyes of self and can only be received as a gift through the eyes of faith.

49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, [Jesus says] and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!

What fire is Jesus talking about? Why is he anxious and distressed? And what does baptism have to do with it?

Well, the fire is the wrath of God cast down from heaven on the earth as punishment for sin; and yes Jesus wants it done with and finished. He also has a baptism to be baptized with – not of washing away sin - but of receiving the sins of the whole world upon him so that God’s wrath might be focused in one place, on Jesus, once and for all. That brings Jesus great distress because his baptism is a bloody baptism.

As Christ was baptized by John he was marked for you and me and all as our substitute. As the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the word, Jesus saw the Spirit descend like a dove 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The father was pleased because Jesus was an acceptable sacrifice. Without spot or blemish, he could stand and receive God full wrath and make payment for sin with his sinless life and death in your place. And with that – his death on the cross - God’s wrath would be appeased.

51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth?

Well yes, we want to believe. Jesus said to bring the little children to him and not prohibit them. He hoped to gather Jerusalem to himself like a hen gathers her chick under her wings. He told the woman found in adultery to go and sin no more after her accusers left and Jesus said neither do I accuse you. So yes, we want Jesus to bring peace. But he says:

No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.

Ill.

A story is told of John Wesley and a dream that he had. Whether the story is apocryphal – well known but probably not true – or not. The principal has merit for us all.

In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. There he asked, "Are there any Presbyterians here?" "Yes!" came the answer. Then he asked, "Are there any Baptists? Any Episcopalians? Any Methodists? [Any Catholics and Lutherans"] The answer each time was Yes!

Much distressed, Wesley was then ushered to the gates of Heaven. There he asked the same question, and the answer was No! "No?" To this, Wesley asked, "Who then is inside?" The answer came back, "There are only Christians here." (1 Corinthians 1:10-17)

Source Unknown.

53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

The devil delights in division. He delights in apathy. He delights is discord. He delights in death. He delights in whispering in your ear. “You’re a pretty good person. You’ve helped many in need and done good things. You know right from wrong and there are certainly many others who do much less than you. God will be pleased with you!”

Families are divided. The church is too. The world is broken in sin. Children are killed in the womb, the elderly euthanized and many call it good. If you believe that the right choice this November will solve the world’s problems you are sadly mistaken. Yes, do your civic responsibility. Vote, but do not put you hope in princes and Kings or horses and chariots.

51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? [Jesus says.] No, I tell you, but rather division.

The world and its leaders can bring no real peace and the peace of Christ divides believers from unbelievers.

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles

Ill.

Martin Luther wrote: "All the prophets did foresee in Spirit that Christ should become the greatest transgressor, murderer, adulterer, thief, rebel, blasphemer, etc., that ever was or could be in all the world. For he, being made a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world is not now an innocent person and without sins...but a sinner." He was, of course, talking about the imputing of our wrongdoing to Christ as our substitute.

Luther continues: "Our most merciful Father...sent his only Son into the world and laid upon him...the sins of all men saying: Be thou Peter that denier; Paul that persecutor, blasphemer and cruel oppressor; David that adulterer; that sinner which did eat the apple in Paradise; that thief which hanged upon the cross; and briefly be thou the person which hath committed the sins of all men; see therefore that thou pay and satisfy for them. Here now comes the law and saith: I find him a sinner...therefore let him die upon the cross. And so he setteth upon him and killeth him. By this means the whole world is purged and cleansed from all sins."

The presentation of the death of Christ as the substitute exhibits the love of the cross more richly, fully, gloriously, and glowingly than any other account of it. Luther saw this and gloried in it. He once wrote to a friend: "Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him, and say, 'Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and given me what is yours. You became what you were not, so that I might become what I was not.'"

What a great and wonderful exchange! Was there ever such love?

Your Father Loves You by James Packer, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986, Page October 20.

Dear friends, the brokenness of this world will not get better. But Christ has secured your rescue in a world that will be destroyed.

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 2 Peter 3:9-10

Christ is our hope and rescue. You are marked as one redeemed by Christ the Crucified. You have God’s favor on you because when he sees you he sees Jesus. May that be you strength and comfort.

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