Sermon Sept. 28-29, 2024

Title: The prayers of the faithful bring peace!
Text: James 5:13-20

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19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

From our bulletin cover in the book of Revelation, we read:

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Rev.12:7-9

The battle continues friends, and James in his epistle talks about the consequence and the cure.

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

The work that we can do for ourselves seems simple enough. Pray. You may, and you may not find it difficult, or you may wonder what do I say and how should I say it?

When you suffer. Talk to God.

How should I begin? With what words do I start? How will I know the answer?

Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name.

Is simple enough. As the disciples ask the Lord himself in Luke 1

11 … “Lord, teach us to pray,”

The work of prayer is communication with God. Take your cares to God himself. To confide to a friend  loved one when we suffer is how our loving heavenly father hopes we all see him. As one that we confide in when life has troubles are ever before us.

Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Alleluia! Let praises ring!
To God the Father let us bring
Our songs of adoration.
To Him through everlasting days
Be worship, honor, power, and praise,
Whose hand sustains creation.
Singing, ringing:
Holy, holy,
God is holy;
Spread the story
Of our God, the Lord of glory.

Our hymns sing that which we believe into our hearts. We proclaim God’s word and truth which in turn brings comfort and peace.

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

The elder, aka [πρεσβυτέρους] the presbuterous is speaking of the pastor but in our context as we invite and elect those who serve as Elders in the church, in support of the pastoral office, they too can bring peace and prayer to those in need.

It is a bit of a three-fold help. Pray, praise and call on those brothers and sisters in Christ to lift up the needs of the body of believers here for prayer and deliverance.

anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

Anointing oil has long been connected with the work of the Holy Spirit.

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

The healing balm of anointing oil, I use as a gift brought to those I visit, and it is especially important when receiving the Lord’s Supper is difficult - with swallowing concerns, on a ventilator, unconscious, or sleeping.

James brings the result of these gifts when he says:

15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

save the one who is sick
the Lord will raise him up
he will be forgiven

Three important works that all have eternal implications!

Whether you recover from the illness you deal with or die, your eternal home is secure. The prayer of faith needs an object and that object is Jesus. It is not that we don’t desire to be well and live, but that the greater need is met.

And in Christ your greater need is assured.

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

Again, the need is that you may be healed eternally, and have the peace that passes all understanding. It is to bring the importance of faith and its object. That we see our need and Jesus as the cure.

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

The righteous person … is you!

The one claimed by Christ has access to this power in prayer. It is often forgotten or we think someone better should pray. I am not too high on the prayer ladder we think, so the Lord can’t hear me. Open you mind and mouth friends and ask and the Lord will answer!

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

Elijah like you and me, born in sin and in need of a savior God used and he heard his fervent prayer. God also hears you and your prayers, mediated through Christ come to the father. As we heard last week in Mark 9:

“… and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Mark 9:37b

Wondering from the truth! It is part of our daily lives. Parents, siblings, children, friends and coworkers. All can fall away from the faith or refuse to head the call of the Holy Spirit. So we pray and keep telling them the good news and asking God to draw them to faith.

[Coworker story]

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

4 Alleluia! Let praises ring!
Unto our triune God we sing;
Blest be His name forever!
With angel hosts let us adore
And sing His praises evermore
For all His grace and favor!
Singing, ringing:
Holy, holy, God is holy;
Spread the story
Of our God, the Lord of glory!

Friends, that is our call. To spread the story of the Lord of Glory!

Alleluia! Let praises ring!

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

Amen

Sermon Sept. 21-22, 2024

Title: As children we follow Jesus!
Text: Mark 9:30-37

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34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

At times we all can see the value of our work and service that we do in life at home, work and church as greater than that of others. We even can pat ourselves on the back for a job well done, even though everything that we have and do is received as a gift from God.

Jesus begins to teach his disciples about his ultimate goal, and the mission and reason for his coming … saying to them:

“The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”
This is a hard saying for the disciples to hear and our text says …

32 … they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Maybe they were thinking, “Who is the Son of Man as this is a reference to God and what about killing him and after three days rising from the dead?”

Certainly, it was a confusing statement from Jesus and not understood by the disciples to the point that they were afraid to ask as we Lutheran’s ask:

What does this mean?

As Christians the questions of life and faith are connected to our very being.

We at times see God’s word through the lens of our own desires and needs.

We value our own opinion and use it to interpret scripture rather than letting scripture interpret scripture.

We try to make scripture say what we want it to say instead of understanding it in the context and way that God has revealed it for our benefit.

The disciples want to know and have discussed among themselves on the way, even arguing who is the greatest. Jesus knows, but asks:

“What were you discussing on the way?”

It reminds me of a parent asking a child what had happened … and you get the silent treatment … they know this was wrong … but wanted to do it anyway.

Remember from last week’s reading the father’s voice from the crowd calling out and pleading to Jesus?

“Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So, I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” … they were not able …

And now they argue among themselves … about who was the greatest.

When I was ordained, I was convinced that I would stop the decline and right the ship that is the church here at Peace.

My first year I confirmed eight, this past year none. But joyfully we brought some adults into membership through confirmation and affirmation of faith through the Lord’s work … not mine.

Pride can cause one to think higher of oneself than you should.

There is a difference in taking pride in the work you do and thanking God for giving you the gifts and ability to serve … verses the pride of thinking oneself better than those who came before or didn’t have positive results.

Especially with the Lord’s work.

The disciples were seeing themselves with the latter focus rather than the former. How do we each measure up in regards to that same question? I’m sure we all fall short at times.

So it was time for a family meeting. Jesus called them all to gather together.

35 And [Jesus] sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Wow … there’s a turn of phrase for you. To be first requires being last to lead … you must serve all.

Parents know that. They lead by serving – first they serve their spouse and as a married couple they become one flesh and think and act with the others needs in mind. And certainly, if they have children, they do all for their child.

They live their life in service to the needs of their children.

Don’t believe me, just ask a parent what they are doing and you will hear:

“Well, Monday’s we have dance, or soccer, or confirmation or … you name it. Children are dependent on their parents for everything and parents serve their needs at least until they teach them the valuable lesson about taking care of themselves.

So Jesus gives the disciples and us an object lesson.

36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

A wonderful picture of this reality is seen when parents bring their children to baptism and serve the needs of those who are unable to serve themselves.

The greatest in the Kingdom are those who receive Jesus, and you and I can have great joy as well in the gift given us as we joy in serving the needs of those who we have responsibility over.

Let us not, groan and make noise daily whether what we do or what others don’t do in the work or the way we serve when it is God who has done all for our benefit.

Rather, let us like little children, cared for by loving parents and our heavenly Father, joy in all that has been done on our behalf so that we too can, as servants, serve the needs of those who have been placed in our care; and care for those that we come across with the love of Christ and the message of forgiveness found only in the gospel of peace.

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

Amen

Sermon Sept. 14-15, 2024

Title: Christ’s compassion brings life!
Text: Mark 9:14-29

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24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”.

We read:

The father cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Last week our text showed us the Compassionate Christ as he opened the ears and mouth of a deaf mute who then “spoke plainly.” Not only having his ears and mouth healed but being giving him the gift of speech, immediately, as Mark so often says in his gospel account.

In today’s reading:

14 And when they [those that had been following Jesus] came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw [Jesus], were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”

Jesus is known to the people as the one who brings peace, comfort, and healing - the things that you and I also find of great value when things in our life need help. And here a voice from the crown answers Jesus’ question.

“Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So, I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”

A father’s pleading for his son. “I brought him to you … but your disciples were not able.”

The disciples fell short! They missed the mark! What was needed … wasn’t given … to a man in distress.

I can relate, how about you? At times I feel like I’ve missed the mark especially over the last 10 years as I’ve served the needs of the church.

Have you missed the mark like me?

I think we can all agree with St. Paul:

18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. … 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Romans 7:18-24

At times we miss the mark by things we do and at times by things we don’t do.

In years past services were greatly attended!

I must admit to feeling a bit sad as I think about what we had and how it has changed. I feel the weight of burden at times as I think about the change over the life of our church from mission congregation, to growing congregation to aging congregation. From what we’ve done, to what we should have done, to what we continue to do and to where we hope to go.

The truth is that the Lord knows all of this and continues to lead, guide and direct.

Our faith is weak when we look inward and to ourselves. Our focus needs to be Christ centered and outward to Jesus and his cross, for there is where true salvation and hope is found.

Jesus answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring [the boy] to me.”

What I didn’t want to hear as a disciple, a Peace member or a pastor, the disciples now hear from Jesus … pain and disappointment from the Lord of Glory at their falling short.

Jesus takes control, “Bring him to me.”

The solutions for the problems we face are always best helped when the focus is on Christ both in prayer and petition. The evil foe is Satan and the forces of demonic activity that perplex and attack us will remain until Christ returns or until we too like our blessed Pastor Merrell and so many faithful past members and friends are called to our eternal rest in Jesus.

This father is grieving for his son as he has been plagued with a demon “From childhood.” We might reasonably look at our own sinful condition and malady as those brought forth in iniquity … conceived and brought forth in sin.

Psalm 51:5

But though we have been freed by Christ Jesus through the working of the Holy Spirit, we still remain in our sinful flesh … both Saint and Sinner… bound in sin and alive in the Spirit.

On the one hand we are freed by the grace of God in Christ and have received all things being made new, but at the same time, we are bound to our sinful flesh and wrestle with faith and doubt, belief and unbelief!

The call … “I believe; help my unbelief!” is the call of a believing soul tormented by a demonic foe. We too call daily to God to lift the burden of sin we carry and to comfort us, and bring us peace … the peace that passes all human understanding.

“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.”
We too are born into this world dead to God, and it is by God’s command:

“19 Go … make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” that we receive life eternal promised from the lips of our Lord.

Having done a number of baptisms of little children over the years, it always reminds me of this passage when they are baptized because when baptized there is crying out and convulsing. The devil cannot remain but must flee.

Where light is, darkness flees.

“He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

Death, raised to life and caring, through the sacrificial love of the God man Jesus Christ are what God has given you.

Peace Lutheran Church will never be the same. It will never again be what it was.

It will always be though, what God wants and desires it to be.

His house and his children, gathered together around his gifts for the wellbeing of we who have been called to believe in his Son and our Lord Jesus Christ.

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

Dear friends,

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Cor. 15:52,56

God brings peace, comfort, victory and faith through his means!

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

Amen

 

 

Sermon Sept. 7-8, 2024

Title: As deaf we hear!
Text: Mark 7:31-37

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34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

In our Old Testament lesson Isaiah proclaims:

4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”

God’s promised saving is assured! What Isaiah proclaimed and what the Lord assures is that He will come and save you.”

What does this look like in the world?

For many the costs of life have become overwhelming. What inflation has done to costs requires salvation for some. They can’t keep up. The burden is too great. The cost, too high. The one who lowers the cost or picks up the tab in a sense is a savior for the needs of the body.

In our gospel lesson today, St. Mark tells of a man brought to Jesus who is deaf and has a speech impediment. He can’t hear and what he says might be unintelligible to most.

In high school I had a classmate named Mark Maddock. Mark was born with a physical condition that left his speech difficult to understand for some. He was a year older but attended class with his younger brother Jeff. They went through class and graduated together. Mark served as a helper for the football and baseball teams as his brother played. When Mark talked, it was easy for me to understand and answer, because I heard him in school and at afterschool activities. My dad would ask me, “How do you know what he is saying?” To my dad is seemed hard to understand but for me it was just Mark. I just understood. Mark was a friend.

Those in our gospel today were friends of the man and they brought him to Jesus. They desired salvation in an earthly sense.

Open his ears and make his speech clear!

Often in life we too desire this healing for ourselves and others. It seems especially true in our church for knee surgeries! Some have little problems while others have problems that seem to go on and on, requiring multiple surgeries and much rehab.

Pain and suffering never seems to end.

… and they begged him to lay his hand on him.

Your friends, family, and loved ones at church lift you in prayer.

We bring your needs to Jesus and ask for healing.

We all hope to see you whole and healthy again!

You do too.

33 And [Jesus] taking him aside from the crowd privately,

Jesus wants a relationship with the ones who need healing.

He wants you to know him and all he desires to give you.

He desires that your eyes and ears “Be opened.” To his loving care and his saving work, for you!

Physical healing is for a time.
Spiritual healing is for eternity!

In our lesson Jesus gets the man’s attention.

First, he speaks with him privately.

He uses the common language of the people, which Saint Mark actually gives us the specific Aramaic word that Jesus used and its meaning.

he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

Healing complete … or is it?

Our Old Testament continues:

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

Our bulleting cover has a picture of this event. The back of the cover says:

The beautiful picture of healing in Isaiah was literally fulfilled by Jesus. In his hands, “the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Now keep in mind, that this bears witness to the greater need and the greater healing.

Opened ears will close, and loosed tongues will become silent again.

The wages of sin is death, and we have no hope of seeing Jesus as savior apart from the means he has given of word and sacrament.

For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;

Through baptism our thirsty lives born in the dryness of death are quenched, and the wilderness of sin gives way to a life-giving pool of peace and forgiveness.

Your ears hear the eternal choir of joy and your eyes see the salvation of our God in Christ Jesus for all who believe, and we proclaim with mouths and tongues loosed, singing - how sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear!

Good new for we who are blind, deaf and mute, for sure!

For you who have been dealing with knee problems – and you know who you are:

6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

No pain, no suffering, no second opinion, no redo on the surgery. Just a forever with the one who has healed you eternally!

So yes, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of temporal deaf and muteness with the healing of the man in our lesson, but his greater work come in the opening of ears and mouths for you and me and for all who believe to the reality of who he is, and what he has done, by his earthly life, death on a cross, and bodily resurrection for you!

in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

What had been scavengers in the wilderness of life, now rest in the reeds and rushes of God’s lush forgiveness.

No longer is a second surgery or baptism needed.

The one Baptism has marked you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified and you are healed from sin and given a new life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well

The Lord’s peace and healing be with you all, now and forever!

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

Amen.

Sermon Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 2024

Title: In Christ, you are clothed for battle!
Text: Eph. 6:10-20

Facebook live: In Christ, you are clothed for battle!

11 Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

As we conclude our time in the book of Ephesians this weekend, I thought we’d take a moment to review.

We began with live in humility, love and peace!

Followed by Pastor Nelson and, teaching Children to Get Along!.

After my vacation, we talked about, walking in the light of Christ!

In the light of Christ, the new-self becomes a servant, one to another in the unity of marriage but also reflected in the life we live together in a world broken by sin.

Last week as partners in marriage we remembered that, Christ loves you and you love others!

And today, we conclude that In Christ, you are clothed for battle!

The whole Armor of God protects the Christian in this life as we struggle against the devil and his work to point us away from Christ and his saving good news. That is Paul’s message to the Ephesian church and for you and me today.

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against: but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

What you'd get if 99% were good enough:

No phone service for 15 minutes each day.
1.7 million pieces of first class mail lost each day.
35,000 newborn babies dropped by doctors or nurses each year
200,000 people getting the wrong drug prescriptions each year
Unsafe drinking water three days a year.
Three misspelled words on the average page of type.
2 million people would die from food poisoning each year.

Unknown.

We are thankful that it is not that which we do that makes us righteous but that which Christ has done which saves completely and makes us acceptable to God.

In Christ, you are clothed for battle!

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

Songwriter: STILLS, STEPHEN, Published by Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. http://www.metrolyrics.com/for-what-its-worth-lyrics-buffalo-springfield.html

For What it’s Worth - the anthem of the unrest of the late 1960s, 1967 in fact … from the pen of Stephen Stills and the band Buffalo Springfield. The Vietnam War raged on, along with the draft and the draft dodgers who went to Canada; Kent State, and the students who died protesting at an Ohio University, an institution of higher learning. Richard Nixon and Watergate; the White House tapes and on and on … this was a hard and turbulent time in our nation’s history.

Today seems headed in a similar direction. Ferguson, Baltimore, Cleveland, and unrest in the streets fill the headlines. Black lives matter verses all lives matter, pro choice or pro life, politicians vying for Presidential nominations and protests going on around the country. Battle lines are certainly being drawn, politically … socially … and morally. Christianity and the church are being attacked on all sides. Young people are speaking their minds ... by their very absence from church.

In 1966 Time Magazine, on its cover asked the question: “Is God Dead?”

Almost 30 years ago, Joan Osborn asked the question, in her hit song from 1995, “What if God was one of us” you might remember the chorus …

What if God was one of us / Just a slob like one of us / Just a stranger on the bus / Trying to make His way home?

Today many may wonder and ask this same question as they struggle with the brokenness of their lives, in a world that is spiraling out of control, with ... it seems like… little ... or no hope.

Paul tells the Ephesian church to:

11 Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Many Christians today take this as their marching orders from God to get in the world being ready to battle the righteous fight for truth, justice and moral purity.

And while we are told always [to] be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; (1 Peter 3:15) we are also told to do this, with gentleness and respect.

For Paul reminds us who the enemy really is.

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, - not against those who appear to be the enemies we face - but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

The darkness of the devil and his demons are the ones railing against Christ and the victory won at the cross.

The target is on you, too.

It can cause you to fall back into the darkness that you have been rescued once and for all from.

You are clothed in Christ with the armor of God!

The soldier's first article of faith is summed up nowhere more eloquently than in an 1865 letter from General William Tecumseh Sherman to General Ulysses S. Grant, where he wrote:

"I knew wherever I was, that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place you would come--if alive."

This is the unwritten, unspoken but unbreakable contract of the battlefield: You will leave no one, dead or alive, in the hands of the enemy.

U.S. News and World Report, July 29, 1991, p. 5.

God’s armor is for your protection. Paul tells the Ephesian church and us to:

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand [or stand firm] in the evil day,

Days just like today … not to battle, but to stand firm … not to fall again into darkness and the temptations of the devil … but to rise, being clothed with Christ daily!

With the image of battle lines being drawn and battle armor being put on … belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet and sword,

Paul says that we are really armed and fitted with truth, with righteousness, with peace, and with faith through the Gospel, the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.

You dear friends are clothed in Christ, with the armor of God and his saving gospel!

In the Joan Osborn song, Eric Bazilian, the writer, asks this question:

If God had a name what would it be?
And would you call it to His face?
If you were faced with Him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question?

Songwriter Eric Bazilian, Published by HUMAN BOY MUSIC http://www.metrolyrics.com/what-if-god-was-one-of-us-lyrics-alanis-morissette.html

As a Christian rescued by Christ and shown mercy in the face of my own depravity, I could only sing God’s praise for what he had done for me. We are not called to faith to escape the trials of this world, for from the words of Jesus himself he says:

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.” John 16:33

But, in spite of these trials we are to sing the truth of God’s rescue in Christ. To call, by the power of the saving gospel, those to faith by the word of God through the working of the Holy Spirit, that in spite of the devils lies that questions “did God really say” from the Garden of Eden, to the lies of our own day which question the existence of the historical Jesus, our own sinfulness, or the working of the devil in the world, that yes … God was one of us and because of Jesus we live, move and have our being.

In the world of Paul’s day and 22 … standing in the midst of the Areopagus, he said:

“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

You are God’s child because he desires you. You are God’s child because he died for you and freed you from the curse of the law that you and I could never keep … with even 99% being a failing grade.

You are God’s child because by his Spirit he called you to believe the word of the gospel giving you faith and raising you from being dead in trespass and sin to newness of life in him, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The song asks the question:

If you were faced with Him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question?

Jesus gives answer to questions in Matthew to the sheep and the goats when he says in Matthew 25:

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Matt 25:31

34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matt 25:34

But the questions the righteous will ask:

37 … ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King [Jesus in glory] will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matt 25:37-40

You are clothed in Christ with the armor of God!

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

Amen.

Sermon Aug. 24-25, 2024

Title: Christ loves you and you love others!
Text: Eph. 5:22-33

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31 “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

[Some years back], the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri made public 1,300 recently discovered letters that the late President wrote to his wife, Bess, over the course of a half-century. Mr. Truman had a lifelong rule of writing to his wife every day they were apart.

He followed this rule whenever he was away on official business or whenever Bess left Washington to visit her beloved Independence. Scholars are examining the letters for any new light they may throw on political and diplomatic history. For our part, we were most impressed by the simple fact that every day he was away, the President of the United States took time out from his dealing with the world's most powerful leaders to sit down and write a letter to his wife.

Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, pp. 15-16.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church

31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Gen2:24; Eph 5;31; Matt.19:5

Many today believe that the couple makes marriage and thus they can decide what their wedding and marriage should be like. In reality, the Word of the Lord teaches that God makes marriage.

Psalm 127:1 testifies, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.”

And Jesus proclaimed in answer to those who sought to do with marriage whatever they wanted:

“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate." Matthew 19:4-6

By becoming husband and wife and joining together in one family we find in a Christian marriage the importance of: Promise, Sacrifice and Joy.

Promise

As we pledge our love for one another in marriage and promise to hold that love for as long as we both shall live; we find in the Lutheran Service Book marriage rite three readings from Genesis, Matthew and our epistle reading for today in Ephesians 5 where this verse is present.

“The husband will be joined to his wife and the two will become one flesh.”

As individuals the two now become one.

As husband and wife there is the promise to be and think as one.

Not that you lose yourself and simply parrot what the other says or desire what they desire, but that your joy as a couple will be to live your life for each other … to care for each other … to make decisions with each other in mind because formerly the two are now one.

The apostle Paul tells us that this is a mystery and that it is profound and that this marriage union of becoming one refers to Christ and His Church.

Christ loves you and you love others!

To understand the love of husband and wife is to understand Christ’s love.

Wives are called to love and respect their husbands who have been given the position of headship which reflects the order of creation in the family just as Christ is the head of the church but submits to the Father’s will. – Not my will by thy will be done. - And the husband is to love his wife and give himself fully to her as Christ gave himself up unto death for his bride … the church.

This is a difficult responsibility for both husbands and wives as we are not Christ and in fact, we all fall short daily as sinners. It is not about the wife keeping her part of the marriage bargain, so that the husband will keep his … or about the husband doing his part, so that the wife will submit and do hers. It is in fact, that even though both will fail and fall short daily they are one … and called to be and remain one … in love and respect for one another.

Love, as Christ loves the church!

And Christ love was a sacrificial love!

Sacrifice

To sacrifice is to give of oneself for the benefit of the other.

When I was getting married, my dad took me aside and said, “Russ, marriage is a big responsibility. You are making a commitment.” He then told me the secret to a long marriage, “Love is about total compromise.”

These next words from my dad bear keeping close attention to, and I believe are most importantly given for the benefit of we husbands,

“When it feels like you’re giving 80% and your spouse is giving 20% it is probably 50-50%”

Compromise always feels like we are giving more.

It at times is a sacrifice for the benefit of the other and we know and understand that Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for you and me, and the sons of disobedience, so that the sins of the whole world might be forgiven by Christ’s life given on the cross.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

I heard it said once that a husband and wife were trying to decide where to go on vacation. The husband wanted to go to New York, the Big Apple, and see the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty while the wife wanted to go to Florida and just relax at a resort, so they compromised … they went to Florida. A marriage built by God is a loving marriage of compromise and sacrifice.

Paul continues:

28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body.

Christ loves you and you love others!

Joy

The blessings that are united in marriage are hard to explain; through the biblical model of love and respect, submission and sacrifice two unique individuals are joined together in the union of husband and wife. The resulting joy can sustain both in times of trial and suffering.

Christ’s suffering brought joy and peace to his church. His love for the church brought his sacrificial death on the cross for you and husbands are to model that sacrificial love for his wife as he gives himself for her and the care of his family.

Wives also respect and love their husband as unto Christ who has saved and sanctified - which is to make holy - his bride the church.

Being saved is something the church knows quite a bit about.

Sacrificial love as Christ gave for the life of the world is brought to His children by faith, and is also modeled as we give ourselves to one another both in marriage and in service to others.

31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. Paul says … 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

May each of us joy always in the union and oneness of our marriage vowels, connected to Jesus Christ who is the way the truth and the life. He is the one who carries you and me through the times of hardship in your marriage and family life together that all marriages will need to endure.

For those of you who have not, and are not united in marriage at this time:

God may make a way … weather young and never married, or older and not currently married, or widowed … so that your life may be filled with Love … and respect, joy … and peace, submission … and yes sacrifice; for what God has joined together let no man separate.

I pray we always remember:

Christ loves you and you love others!

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

Amen.

Sermon Aug. 17-18, 2024

Title: Walk in the light of Christ!
Text: Eph 5:6-21

Facebook live: Walk in the light of Christ!

8b Walk as children of light
11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

[Children's message]

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Empty words, we’ve all heard them … are words meant to deceive, to put off, or to fill one’s own agenda. The sons of disobedience hear and follow. Those opposed to Christ and his gospel continue to go the way of destruction, and we too who have been brought to faith by God’s gifts, at times also give way to the call of darkness and fall in sin.

7 Therefore do not become partners with them;

Don’t get sucked in, Paul tells the Ephesians.

But what were the Ephesians getting sucked into … and does it apply to you and me?

Paul says in verse three and four that preceded our text:

3 [That] sexual immorality and all impurity or [coveting] must not even be named among you, and he concludes: 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking … but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who [covets], [which is to desire that which is not yours] … has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Harsh words indeed and the Ephesians were falling short then, falling back into the sins of the flesh - and Christians today fall short too. When desires, feelings and societal norms go against God’s word and truth … the result is that darkness [the realm of Satan] reigns.

The internet and social media had been ablaze the past few weeks after the opening ceremony of the Olympics. I don’t watch the Olympics and have little interest, but at the beginning of the games in the opening ceremony, the debauchery of sin was prevalent on all things Olympic.

Some claim a depiction of the Last Supper by drag queens – intending to offend, [which later was confirmed and revealed to be their intent], others said, that it was just as one poster writes, and I paraphrase:

… just a Bacchanalia which is a pagan festival marked by drunkenness, debauchery, and ecstasy; in other words, an orgy of excess, sexual extremes, that even included the presence of children.

Paul writes:

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Paul is so contemporary!

There is nothing new under the Sun! Ecc. 1:9

Friends, you and I feel it too. Sin is a powerful force that we both, in thought, word, and deed can all fall victim to … and its desires, which are usually evil, can lead us away from the truth that God intends.

When Paul speaks of sexual immorality and all impurity, he is not just speaking of same sex attraction, but of all sexual sins outside of God’s design of marriage, or in the context of marriage that defiles that union.

The sin of adultery in the 6th commandment, or coveting in the 9th and 10th commandment where we covet our neighbor’s wife, or manservant of maid servant as Luther makes clear in the Small Catechism, are warnings not to fall victim to the sinful lusts of the flesh or works of the devil.

It affects you, me, our children and grandchildren and it has done this since the fall into sin. Whether you are a perpetrator or victim there are no winners when sexual sin rears its ugly head.

There has been so much in the news over the last number of years of powerful men who took advantage of their positions in the Hollywood entertainment machine to prey on young women, including TV celebrities; people of prominence, and we know, that the church is not immune either.

We must then as Christians be wise in what we say and do.

How do we imitate Christ in a public or private setting?

As the old saying goes:

“If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Paul cautions the Ephesians and us all:

11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

And here’s the key …

13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,

The light that exposes darkness is Jesus Christ and his word of truth.

And it is not to use God as a means – claiming “I believe” - while denying him and living in sin using Christ as a cover.

But through repentance, it is God’s desire that you and all who sin be restored freely by faith in Christ, through his saving Gospel and the working of the Holy Spirit.

And also, by the light of the gospel that your light shines in the midst of those in darkness so that they too might see, hear, and come to faith and believe.

There was even an uproar in France by Christians after the opening ceremony, drawn together in public unity, to denounce the spectacle of sin and to focus, once again, on the sinless one who has stood in our place, paid for our sin, and should reign in our lives!

Darkness and light … or lies and truth.

Friends, you can’t ride the fence.

As Luther himself writes of this problem in a sermon in his own time:

13. Then be careful to avail yourself of the present opportunity. Embrace it while he is near, and faithfully consider what he requires of you. To ascertain this, go to the Creed and the Ten Commandments. They will tell you. Regulate your life by them. Be helped by the Lord’s prayer. Begin with yourself; then pray for the church. Let it be your desire that God’s name be everywhere sanctified and that your life conform to his will. If you are faithful in these things, assuredly you will walk wisely; you will avoid sin and do good. For the study and practice of these precepts will leave you no opportunity to do evil. God’s word will soon teach you to sanctify his name, to extend his kingdom, to do your neighbor no injury in mind body or estate.

Luther sermons Baker

Everything you do untimely says something about who you are. So:

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

Paul says, don’t let the world, your sinful flesh or the devil be your guide. And all too often we can fall silent in the face of evil.

“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

Joel Fritsche a career missionary suggests that this might be a stanza from an early Christian hymn.

It certainly could be with this image of dying and rising and awaking from death that you and I who have been brought to faith understand.

Death is the great equalizer for us all. Whether you are famous in life or just one of us who seems faceless to the world, we all need to have Christ and be brought to faith to have an eternity with him.

That should change who we are and how we live.

19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

… and as Paul says:

21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Here in the Divine Service, God calls us to come. To be fed on his word and sacrament. To receive God’s favor on account of Christ, and to go fourth, in a world of darkness, with the light of the gospel of peace – the very word of God – and it is this word that brings those who are dead in sin and darkness to God’s marvelous light of forgiveness.

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

Amen.