FWIW

No sermon yesterday

2010-12-20T14:05:00.002-05:00

If you are looking for Sunday's sermon, I didn't preach. Our Sunday School children led the service and they did a great job. It was a very 'meat and potatoes' Christmas service, hearing the why of Christmas and the reality of Christmas.

I missed not preaching, was going to talk about Joseph's God-fearing nature, but I'll save that for 2013 when the lesson rolls around again.

Latin lessons

2010-12-16T10:14:00.004-05:00

On the way home from church Wednesday night, Jacob said that he and Matthew and Mommy were talking about heaven and angels that morning. Jacob asked me what angels were made out of. I told him that God created them out of nothing. He said, "Out of nothing!" And I said, "Yeah, God created them ex nihilo."

I taught him a Latin phrase and he repeated it several times and said, "Teach me another aladdin phrase." (I said it was Latin.)

So I thought of another one to teach him that would be easy to memorize and significant. The phrase was simul justus et peccator. He did a nice job repeating it and understanding it.

This morning I taught him the invocation and the kyrie.

Interesting.

Info for Dec. 19 worship

2010-12-16T10:14:00.001-05:00

Hymns
357 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (will be broken into two parts: verses 1-4 and 5-7
367 Angels From the Realms of Glory 1,2,5
359 Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming 1,2
356 The Angel Gabriel From Heaven Came (If you want, google the version done by Sting. Hauntingly awesome!)
364 Away in a Manger 1-2 children, 3 all
379 O Come All Ye Faithful 1,3
380 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 1
388 Go Tell It On The Mountain 1,3
370 What Child Is This 1,2
350 Come, Thou Precious Ransom Come
360 All My Heart Again Rejoices 1,5,6
392 God Loves Me Dearly
387 Joy To The World
{Lots of hymns I know, but it will be a joy to sing these hymns that are familiar and new.)

Scripture Lessons
Isaiah 7:10-17
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25

Prayer of the Day
Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reing with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sermon for Advent 3

2010-12-13T15:32:00.001-05:00

Third Sunday in Advent
Dec. 12, 2010
Matthew 11:2-15
Before your face

In the name of our adventing Lord Jesus, amen. For the most part, we prefer to be non-confrontational, but there are times when it is necessary for us to be in the face of someone else. It is certainly uncomfortable, it is a time when the situation could spiral out of control, but you know that you are often put into a position where you have to say the uncomfortable thing, when you have to do something that draws attention to you.

It seems that John the Baptist spent his life being an ‘in your face’ kind of prophet. And look where it got him- prison. And he would stay in prison until his head was separated from the rest of his body. Being an ‘in your face’ kind of prophet did not turn out very well for him. A prophet recruiter would have a hard time pointing to John the Baptist as the example and getting young folks to sign up.

I think we could make a reasonable guess that John was depressed. After being a famous rock star of a prophet, John was now left alone in prison. He was in a tough jam and he wanted to know if all of his work had been in vain. Was I right or was I wrong? Disciples of John took that question to Jesus, and Jesus responded.

John, your eyesight is fine. There are none so blind as those who refuse to see. Use your eyes and look around you. There are people walking around today who used to be crippled. There are former lepers who are enjoying their place at the dinner table. The deaf hear the sound of birds and the whining of little children…and they delight in it all. The blind see the good and the bad. And they rejoice. All those that were down and out are now the up and in. Open your eyes. Look around. See, observe, pay attention.

The people went out to see a prophet, and they saw one. They heard one. They experienced one, as John baptized all those who came, who repented for the forgiveness of their sins. The people received what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear.

But John may have had some difficulty seeing clearly. It’s sometimes hard to see what is right in front of you. I want to see the forest but I can’t because there are too many darn trees in the way. When you are in a tough jam, and prison counts as one, it’s hard to see anything positive. Your vision is blurry because when you open your eyes, they are filled with angry tears, rejected tears, lonely tears, tears of disappointment, sadness, hopelessness, despair, gloom, doom, fear. It is hard to see what is right in front of your face. John couldn’t see what, or who, was in front of him. John needed to be reminded of the work he had done. John needed to remember the One he prophesied about, the One he himself had baptized in the Jordan River.

John had received his marching orders from the Lord, and he spoke- prepare the royal highway, the king is drawing near. Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. You brood of vipers- who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? John was given the task of calling people out on their sins, announcing that the long-expected Jesus was here, and John received in return words of hate- Who are you to tell us we’re doing something wrong!

John did what he was supposed to do- “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.”

The messenger is sent to be an ‘in your face’ character, to get you ready. John did his work. Pastors and people have been doing it ever since. They, our parents who taught us the Lord’s Prayer even though we didn’t know what was going on, our Sunday School teachers who worked with us in our elementary years, that coach who was so instrumental in our lives, the professor who took the time to challenge us and teach us and guide us, they have been in our face because we needed it.

Parents correct and guide, chasten and discipline, and they rarely get thanked at the time. If any thanks comes their way, it is when the child is grown. That’s okay. It’s not the parent’s job to be liked. It’s the parent’s job to parent the children that have been given to them.

There is a lot before our faces. Are we willing to see, observe, what is before our face? Rising gasoline and fuel oil prices make us nervous. Jobs are available, but they pay $7 or $8 an hour and with a mortgage and a family and all the typical expenses, a person would need to work 27 hours a day to live on that wage. You see the miles increase on your vehicle and repairs are becoming more frequent and more costly. Do we see the warning signs? Your children are scattered by miles and across time zones and it’s hard to be away, especially now in the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year’s extravaganza. Your body…well, let’s just say, the old gray mare ain't what she used to be. What we see with our eyes, and what we hear with our ears, there is a lot that is distressing and depressing.

What is before the face of God’s Church? A community surrounds us that needs God’s call to repentance for the forgiveness of their sins, but do we know how to engage them? People who are hurting across all levels are in need of the healing that comes through life with God. Abusers need to be confronted. The greedy must be reined in. The powerful must be told not to trample on the weak. The hypocrites must have a mirror held in front of their faces.

But there are so many people to help, so many people in need, so many people who need to hear the Word of God and be held accountable. We’re a tiny group, small group, with little influence, clout, or power. How can we get anyone to open their eyes and see what is before their face?

We cannot do any of it if we trust and rely only on our own devices. John the Baptist didn’t preach to the crowds about salvation based on works, based on being good, based on buying off God. John pointed the people to the Messiah, who was before their face, and said, “The Messiah is coming.” John would very soon say, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Your sins. Yours too. Mine. All of them. The Lamb takes your sins, takes your punishment, and your death. Sin is nothing more than death in disguise. And the Lamb gives you His life. He gives mercy, forgiveness, hope that is real, not hope in nothing but hope in something- hope in the Trinity, hope in the Name of God that is placed upon you and sealed through Baptism. All of that is before our face. All of that is what we take into our lives as we engage the world around us that is such great need of life and light and love.

John the Baptist was an ‘in your face’ prophet. He was making us ready for an ‘in your face’ Messiah. What is more ‘in your face’ than God on the cross? What is more ‘in your face’ than the true body and blood of Jesus on the altar? What is more ‘in your face’ than honestly acknowledging your sins and screw ups and then being told that you are forgiven for the sake of Jesus Christ!

We are confronted today with the good news of Jesus Christ. Rejoice! Be jubilant. Open your eyes and see what is before your face- the living Lord who is coming to be with you. Jesus is before your face. Rejoice. SDG

Worship info for our Wednesday and Sunday services.

2010-12-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, Evening Prayer, 7pm
Hymns
344 On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry
392 God Loves Me Dearly
877 God Who Made the Earth and Heaven

Scripture Lessons
Isaiah 11:1-10
Romans 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12

Sunday, Dec. 12 Third Sunday in Advent, 10am
Hymns
669 Come, We That Love the Lord
338 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (These first two hymns are our opening hymns. Both ask for someone to come. We are invited and we invite the Lord to come among us.)
334 O Lord, How Shall I Meet You
346 When All The World Was Cursed
797 Praise the Almighty

Scripture Lessons
Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalm 146
James 5:7-11
Matthew 11:2-15

Prayer of the Day
Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sermon for Advent 2

2010-12-06T09:20:00.001-05:00

Second Sunday in Advent
Dec. 5, 2010
Matthew 3:1-12
In whose days?

In the name of our adventing Lord Jesus, amen. The great, and greatly odd, narrative of John the Baptist will be our text this morning.

I’ll cover the ‘odd’ first- wearing camel’s skin doesn’t seem so strange. People have been wearing animal skins for a long time. But when other kinds of fabric are available, when you might be the only person in a crowd not wearing something made of cotton, you might stand out. Eating locusts is certainly odd, maybe something frat boys do on a bet, but not a mainstream diet by any regards. Eating honey is normal. A peanut butter and honey sandwich is a very tasty treat. The dress and diet of John the Baptist is unusual, and it might be what people remember the most.

So we got that out of the way. John may have dressed and ate like a freak show, but he didn’t rely on a gimmick. He wasn’t seeking his fifteen minutes of fame. He wasn’t auditioning for a reality show. John the Baptizer, John the Baptist, John the miracle child of ancient Zechariah and barren Elizabeth, this John was the forerunner of Christ. This John was the last of the Old Testament prophets- prophets like Amos, Joel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel. This John was given the Word of God to proclaim and he proclaimed it. He used the Word of God like a road grader, to make the rough places smooth, to build up the valleys, to bring the hills down.

No gimmicks, no fads, no bait-n-switch…just the Word of God.

In those days John appeared in the Judean wilderness, doing what his ancient colleague Isaiah had said would happen. A voice would cry out in the wilderness, “Prepare! Make ready! The Lord is on the way.” And in those days, Jesus was just behind John. They were separated by about 6 months as best we can figure, and we can figure pretty well from Biblical and historical sources.

John appeared in the wilderness and the people went out to find him- from Jerusalem, all Judea, and from all the region around the Jordan River. They went to hear a very harsh message. They did not get their itch scratched. They flocked to John and he told them to repent. John told them to be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. John exposed their sins, revealed their flaws and their warts. John looked at the emperor and declared, “Hey, you’re buck naked.”

The people went out to see and hear John. And John gave them the what-for. That’s not so strange. From time to time it is refreshing to hear someone tell us that we are not as good as we believe we are, to look at our perception and then match it up with reality. So the people that went out to hear John had been hearing the Word of the Lord in their local synagogues. Rabbis had been teaching them the Law of the Lord, and the people confessed how they messed things up. They confessed to John their spiritual rebellion, their spiritual adultery, their spiritual waywardness. The people also confessed their physical rebellion, how they had rebelled against mom and dad, ignored their teaching, how they had been warring against their siblings, had been plotting the downfall of the neighbor who has more than them. The people confessed their physical adultery too, how they had not kept the marriage bed pure, how they had left their first love in search of something better, something different, something unholy, not good, sinful. The people also were given the opportunity to admit their physical waywardness, how they no longer went up to the temple to offer their prayers and praises. They kept themselves from the public worship services, no longer regarding the Sabbath Day as a glorious gift from God.

All of that was very good, people taking their medicine. It might not have tasted good, but it was necessary. You don’t take medicine because of the taste. You take medicine because you’re sick- stuffy head, a fever, a cough, achy, miserable. People went to John because they were sin-sick.

But they weren’t the only ones. Along came the Pharisees and Sadducees. These people were healthy, hale and hearty. They had no sins to repent of. These folks were the ones who diagnosed the spiritual malady in everybody else. They came and John did not receive them kindly, calling them snakes, vipers.

Or maybe he did receive them kindly, because John liberally gave them what they needed.

“Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father!” Big, fat, hairy deal. God can make children of Abraham out of these stones.
Lineage doesn’t count. Intelligence doesn’t matter. Wealth and health don’t matter either. Being good doesn’t go very far. These self-righteous Pharisees were told the Biblical truth that their sinful identity was known and that they were as rotten as everybody else.

The axe is at the root of the tree. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. And not just any fire, but the unquenchable kind.

Right on John! Preach it brother! This is the true Advent message of repentance. Let them know how bad they are. Just don’t preach it to me. Ignore and overlook my self-righteousness, my sins.

In those days the people went out to see and hear John. In these days, John the Baptist still hits a bulls-eye as he wields the Word of God with truth and power. Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

We hear the voice of John cry out and it is our name that we hear. John holds up a mirror and the horrific reflection is ours. One of our confessional pieces states the truth this way: ‘we poor sinners confess unto You that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You by thought, word, and deed. Wherefore we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ We sin…a lot…often…throughout the course of our day.

We are spiritually rebellious, chasing after the god du jour. We are physically rebellious, warring with our families over petty things, silly jealousies, and our perverse pleasures. We are spiritually wayward, trading in a healthy piety for the illusion of making our own justification, of earning our own salvation by what we do and how much we do. We are physically wayward as well, again by chasing after the desires of our sinful hearts and traveling down paths that only lead into darkness, danger, and death. Spiritually adulterous and physically adulterous describe who we are too. There is no flash, no heat, no spark to our religion. Let’s look for the exciting, for the trendy, for the fad. We leave the substantive behind for the shallow. We leave God behind because sometimes I leave the Sunday service feeling bad. The hymns didn’t make me feel good. Let us remind ourselves…that’s okay. Christianity is real, because Christ is real. Our life, our faith life, they have their ups and downs. There is triumph and tragedy, very often in the course of the same day! And we leave our spouses behind, as we chase after what is exciting, new, fresh. We leave the substance of our marriage vows in the dust as we chase after the shallow relationships that are all about what makes me feel good.

We repent, not because it is fun, but because we need to. We repent because of what follows. “I announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” All of our sins are forgiven…removed…taken from us because of Christ’s work on the cross, begun in the manger, prophesied by John.

John the Baptist gets us ready for Jesus the Messiah. We anticipate the marvel of the manger and know that standing in the background is the cross of Calvary.

In these days, our days, the days of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Advent call of repentance is given to us. We welcome that call for it helps us make ready our hearts, our lives for the blessed reality of our redeemer Jesus. Repent and know that all your sins are forgiven for the sake of Jesus. SDG

Sermon for First Sunday in Advent

2010-11-29T13:35:00.001-05:00

First Sunday in Advent
Nov. 28, 2010
Romans 13:11-14
Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed

In the name of our coming Lord Jesus, amen. The Epistle lesson from Romans speaks of the life we live in the Lord, of putting on Christ, of not gratifying the desires of our flesh, of walking properly, of realizing how near salvation is to us.

Near and far are very interesting words, because they are such relative terms, extremely relative. Between Nov. 19 and 23 there are three birthdays in our family, and none of them belong to our two year old. His birthday is the last one in our family. He did such an excellent job not being the one in the spotlight. For sure he had his moments, some major meltdowns and some minor ones, but he’s two. He only understands that today is either his birthday right now or it isn’t, it’s far off in the distance. You can’t tell him that it is in two or three weeks- he doesn’t grasp what that means. But he did an overall excellent job celebrating with his sister and his brother their big days.

You know how that relative understanding of time or distance can drive you bonkers. At some point you were in car, on a long ride to the grandparents and hearing that you would be there ‘soon’ was never satisfying.

In the living Word of God, Paul tells you and me that ‘you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed’. How near? Can I see it, touch it?

Salvation is near. That simply sounds funny to our ears, because it implies that salvation can move. Well, sure. Salvation can move because salvation is a person. It is our Lord Jesus. Salvation moves and lives and breathes. Salvation dies and rises and ascends. Salvation lives and reigns to all eternity. Paul met this salvation on the road to Damascus. Salvation blinded Paul and restored his sight. Salvation sent Paul throughout the Mediterranean world to proclaim that salvation had come from heaven for all mankind. Salvation is near.

And that reality is what we know about from the Gospels of Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus Himself declared that the kingdom of God had come, and when he said those words, I wonder if the hearers realized that the kingdom of God was right in front of them. It was not some far off locale, not some place with boundary stones and borders. The kingdom of God was walking and talking, teaching and saving, loving and forgiving. Hearing Jesus say that the Kingdom of God was near makes me smile as I realize the Father’s deep and abiding love for His people in the sending of His Son, of the King who comes to reign in our lives, in our Church.

Salvation is near, and St. Matthew shares us with this morning the day that Jesus, the salvation of God, rode into Jerusalem the final time, in preparation for His passion. Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

The whole city was stirred up, wondering who this was. This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee. This is the prophet, the One who speaks the Father’s message, the message of repentance, the message of forgiveness. This is the One who grew up in the home of Mary and Joseph, his earthly parents. He learned from them and grew in their sight. This is the One that God had promised. This is the One who has come to bring salvation to those in need. And just to be clear- you and I are in need of salvation.

Advent is a blessed season for us in the Church. It is a season for repentance. It is a season for preparation. It is a season filled with wonder. We don’t repent that we do not have the resources to buy all the presents that people expect of us. We don’t prepare for blowout parties or to rock around the tree. We aren’t filled with wonder at the latest smart phone and the smaller but more powerful laptop. We repent of our sin, which are many and grievous and offensive and reek of wretchedness. We prepare for the coming of Christ, for the birth of salvation. And we wonder at the love of God. The Father doesn’t reject us. The Father doesn’t dismiss or spurn us. The Father doesn’t do that.

The Father gives. He gives a welcome to us, to the least of these. He gives an embrace. He gives a certain promise of presence and protection. He gives His very heart in the person of Christ. And salvation is near, nearer now than when we first believed.

Salvation is near. It is as near as the Word, as the water of Holy Baptism, as the bread and wine of Holy Communion, as the word of forgiveness in Holy Absolution. Salvation is near as we live under the Lord’s love, demonstrating in word and action that God’s love has reached us, has claimed us, has transformed us.

With Christ close at hand, let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. That’s a good list of what the Christian ought not engage in. Realistically it’s also a good list of what Christians do engage in. We know Christians, and non-Christians who are sexually immoral, who love to quarrel, and regardless of what color clothing they wear, their true color is envy green.

Wretched man that I am, what am I supposed to do? Put on Christ. Put on the salvation that is so near to you. Wear your baptismal grace. Remind yourself of the brand that has been placed on you, the sign of the cross of your forehead and heart, the brand that marks you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. Taste and see that the Lord is good. When you feast on body and blood of Jesus given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins, believe that Christ did this for you, for your life, for your forgiveness. When you hear me speak the forgiveness of God to you, dear Christian believe the promise of God- your sin is removed from you as far as the east is from the west. Salvation is near! It is here. Through our coming Lord Jesus, our adventing Lord Jesus, salvation is yours. SDG

Worship news for Thanksgiving and Advent 1

2010-11-23T09:09:00.001-05:00

Here is the information for our worship on Thanksgiving Eve and the first Sunday in Advent:

Thanksgiving
Hymns
788 Forgive Us, Lord, for Shallow Thankfulness
703 How Can I Thank You, Lord vv1,2,5
814 O Bless the Lord, My Soul
789 Praise and Thanksgiving
803 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
785 We Praise You, O God

Scripture Lessons
Deuteronomy 8:1-10
Psalm 67
Philippians 4:6-20
Luke 17:11-19

Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, Your mercies are new every morning and You graciously provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your goodness, give thanks for Your benefits and serve You in willing obedience all our days; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Advent 1, Nov. 28 (We start following Divine Service 3 for the Advent Season)
Hymns
331 The Advent of our King
341 Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates
335 O Bride of Christ, Rejoice
350 Come, Thou Precious Ransom, Come

Scripture Lessons
Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 21:1-11

Prayer of the Day
Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of the Day for the commemoration of St. Andrew, Apostle (Nov. 30)
Almighty God, by Your grace the apostle Andrew obeyed the call of Your Son to be a disciple. Grant us also to follow the same Lord Jesus Christ in heart and life, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sermon for Thanksgiving Eve

2010-11-23T08:51:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Eve
Nov. 25, 2010
Phil. 4:6-20
Think about these things

In the name of our bountiful Lord Jesus, amen. Paul’s most excellent lesson from Philippians will be our sermon text this evening. I don’t believe it is terribly hard to hear Thanksgiving themes in that lesson.

It starts off by speaking about the worthlessness of worry, the absurdity of anxiety. Certainly you can feel anxious walking down some urban streets, or our fighting men and women face everyday anxiety in Afghanistan, but us? What are we anxious about- whether or not our favorite TV show is on, whether Delaware will make a run at a college football championship? When you are concerned about things in life, your relationships, your work, your children, “by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”.

Take it to the Lord in prayer. Lord, I’m concerned about my relationship with my children. Your answer is to slow down, put down all the other things that are crowding your days, and listen, laugh, and love. Slow down and be patient with your children. Remember that they are the children and you are the parent. Take your concerns, anxieties, worries, and stresses to the Lord in prayer. And in your praying, remember to listen.

Paul writes to us about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy…and we are to think about those things. Sure. Paul is not asking something that is hard to perform. Tomorrow we’ll gather around our table. We’ll have some time to spend with our families. We might even be able to sit on the couch and give a sigh of contentment. We might have Friday off, making it a four-day weekend. We’ll have some time in the next 48-72 hours to think about what is true, honorable, just, pure, and the like.

It is not hard to think about Jesus. Jesus is true. He is honorable. He is just, lovely, excellent and worthy of praise. Think about Jesus. He is the Lord who serves. He is the leader who is not afraid to get his hands messy. He is the sinless one who became our sin.

Think about Jesus. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me…practice these things.

The child of God does indeed learn of Jesus. Certainly we spend time in Bible classes exploring the great story of Jesus, his life, his ministry, his work. We receive Jesus…in the water, in the Word, in the bread, in the cup. There is Jesus, freely given to you, for you. In our conversations with one another, with family, with dear friends, we hear of Jesus. And we see him, in the visits that are made, in the deeds of kindness that make our days and our lives easier. We learn, receive, hear, and see Jesus, the Son of God, who lives and reigns to all eternity.

At Thanksgiving, we put Jesus into practice. Our service began as it always has, by naming the Name of the only true God, the triune God. Along with the Father and the Spirit, there was the Son. We then moved into some time of Confession, acknowledging our sin, guilt, shame…all the things we did and neglected to do. While the national Thanksgiving holiday focuses on all the positives and happinesses, the reality of our day is that very often the sad travels with the happy, negative experiences are the next-door neighbor of the happy times. So we confess all that has gone wrong in our lives because of our sinful nature. But then, there comes the absolving, the wiping away, the forgiveness of God for all of our sins because of the merit of Jesus Christ. There is Jesus at work, Jesus being put into practice in our lives.

Jesus is the eternal Word, the Word of God made flesh, the living Word that still speaks today through the written Word. The Holy Spirit opens our ears, opens our heart, to hear the voice of our Savior, and thus, we practice the honorable and charitable teachings of Jesus, we practice the humble and lovely commands of Christ, we practice the just actions of Jesus.

Whatever is true, honorable, commendable, just, pure- those are all descriptors of our Lord Jesus. Think of our Savior, and give God thanks for the gift of salvation.

It is the gift of salvation that helps us even out and balance our days. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Those words, written to the Philippians in about 60AD, ring out as true today as they did when first written. Not every day is a success. Some days you go to bed at night wondering why you even got out of bed in the first place. And some days are terrific triumphs, everything went right: in your family and in your vocation. Plenty and hunger, abundance and need, those are things we understand. People come to this church many times because of their hunger and need, and sometimes we can help and sometimes we can’t. For the people looking for food, I direct them to the food pantry, but then they say they do not have transportation there. People need help with utility bills and school expenses for their children and with rent that is already one month late. These people are our neighbors, figuratively and literally. People in our very neighborhood are hurting because a car repair has drained their savings and their hours at work are being reduced.

Where is the strength of Jesus to do all the things that come to us? The strength is in the true and honorable and commendable and just Jesus. It is in the healing that the lepers received, made well by their faith. It is in the discipline that God gives to His children. When in need we are given the strength to make the sacrifices that are necessary. We are given the strength to see what is necessary and thus, give up what is not.

Thanksgiving is quite the realistic holiday. It puts before our eyes, it speaks in our ears, it brings comfort to our heart to know with certainty the giving nature of the triune God, the abundant providence of God. We see it on our tables. And we see it here. Here are God’s gifts, freely offered, joyfully received, freely shared. SDG

Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

2010-11-22T13:19:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday of the Church Year
Nov. 21, 2010
Luke 23:27-43
Justly

In the name of Jesus, the Lord of the Church, Lord of the entire church year that concludes today, amen.

It’s always about Jesus. The church year ends today and the new year starts next Sunday. And the Lord Christ is at the beginning, the middle, and the end. Advent, Christmas, and Easter is half of the year that celebrates the great festivals. The long season of Pentecost celebrates the movement of the Church under the watchful eye of God, led by the eternally present Holy Spirit. Whatever the time, whatever the season, we live, move, and have our being with the Lord.

When we reflect on the church year, we do notice movement, traveling, journeying. Within the life and ministry of Jesus, we see the movement of our life. We notice the journey that our life takes, with its twists and turns, ups and downs, times of rest and times of great energy.

The Gospel lesson for the last Sunday in the Church Year is a familiar lesson. It is a portion of the passion of Christ from Luke’s gospel. And Jesus is moving, traveling, and journeying. He is moving from the place of his trial and conviction and sentencing to the place of his punishment, the place of his death, to the place that in Aramaic is called the Skull. Jesus is moving toward his crucifixion.

Women are weeping for him. That’s nice. An outpouring of sympathy for a dead man walking. But our compassionate Lord doesn’t receive the compassion of the weeping women. Weep for yourselves. Weep for your children.

Even on the way to his bloody painful death, Jesus would not let an opportunity for teaching pass by. Jesus looks at the women and says to them, “What I am doing, I am doing for you and for your children. What I am doing is to spare you from this in the future. The days are coming and people will ask the mountains to fall on them and the hills to cover them, but it will be too late. What I am doing, carrying this cross, carrying your sin and shame, I do it for you.”

Eventually the journey is completed and Jesus, along with two other criminals, arrive at Calvary, Golgotha, the place of the skull. His arms are stretched out and the nails are driven into his hands. His feet are placed on top of each other and onto a small support and a nail is driven through both feet. The thorny crown that was jammed onto his head remains in place. The purple robe that covered his bloody back is removed and his open wounds are exposed to the rough wood, and whatever flying insects are present in the middle of the day. And this is the way that the king of the Jews is treated. And the King of the Jews said, “Father, forgive them.”

Jesus was treated shamefully, beyond shamefully. His trial was anything but fair. One who had eaten with him, walked with him, served with him…betrayed him. His punishment was harsh. He was whipped 39 times with a whip with leather straps studded with jagged bits of metal and bone. The Prince of peace was treated with malice and hatred and prejudice. People wanted the Lord of life dead. But all of this took place justly.

The two criminals who were crucified with the Lord are interesting characters. Both of these criminals were looking out for themselves. But the vision of the two criminals was not the same.

The first criminal joined with the mockers and the scoffers- “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!” This felon couldn’t see beyond his own nose. His vision of life was so temporary and so finite. Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die is way we talk about it. For this dying criminal, it might be steal, pillage, and plunder for tomorrow the Roman cops are going to take you down.

The dying criminal who was mocking Christ didn’t care if Jesus was who he claimed to be. The dying criminal was only concerned about himself. What did the criminal have to lose? I’m dying, slowly and painfully. I’m going to suffocate before too long. If this guy next to me is so special, let’s see some magic! Save yourself and us!

The other criminal spoke up for Jesus. Jesus wasn’t about to waste his breath replying to his mockers and scoffers. When Jesus opened his mouth to speak, it was to say what many people, then and now, still consider unbelievable.

The kindly criminal turned on the other- “We’re getting what we deserve! This man has done nothing wrong. You and I have done all sorts of things that were wrong. We’re here justly. We’re here receiving the reward for our actions. We are cashing the paycheck that our sins earned. No matter how slowly, the wheels of justice do grind, and we are caught in the middle of those wheels.”

Both the criminals, the crude and the kind, were getting what they deserved. Justice was being served. Jesus hung in the middle. And according to the criminal, he was getting what he didn’t deserve. But still justice was being served.

Jesus knew that he was where he needed to be. Hanging between the two thieves, Jesus knew that he was destined to be in this spot. From the moment Jesus left his home in heaven, he knew that he would end up here. He was born to die. He was baptized to die. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, cast out demons, taught the multitudes in order that He would be in that spot. He gathered the Twelve, gathered other disciples, sent them out in order to hang on the cross. In the most blessed exchange, Jesus became our sin.

Jesus became my lying, your greed, our sloth and fear and timidity. Jesus became our infidelity and abandonment and abuse. Jesus became our sin and hung on the cross. And we received the pardon of all our offenses. We received the welcome of God’s children. We received the righteousness of Christ. We received what the compassionate criminal received.

As Jesus hung on the cross, as Jesus commended his spirit into the Father’s hands, as he cried out “It is finished!” and breathed his last, we received the kingdom. Today, you will be with me in paradise.

This Last Sunday of the Church Year brings things to a close. It opens the door a crack and allows us to peer into what is coming. It is the Kingdom of God and of His Christ. And He, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit shall reign forever and ever.

In no way do we deserve the Kingdom of God, Paradise, our Father’s mansion, a seat at the heavenly banqueting table. According to our view of justice, we are lost sinners who should be condemned to everlasting death and torment. But that is our view of justice. That is not the Father’s view. Justice is found at the cross as the price demanded for our sinful rejection is paid by our Redeemer and our Savior.

We are here justly, here in church, here hearing the Word, here opening our hands to receive the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. We are here justly because we need to be justified. We cannot justify ourselves, and so we have today’s Gospel, the eternal Gospel that needs to be proclaimed to everyone.

Jesus Christ received no justice in his life. All so that we would be justified, today and forever. SDG

Sermon for Nov. 14

2010-11-15T09:17:00.001-05:00

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Baptism of Logan Conway
Nov. 14, 2010
The Holy Ark of the Christian Church

In the name of Jesus, our Redeemer and Logan’s Redeemer, amen. Christianity is such a fluid ‘thing’. And by fluid, I don’t mean something that sloshes around like milk in a jug. Christianity is fluid based on what has taken place this morning. Christianity is fluid based on the communion meal we celebrate. Christianity is fluid due to the story of our Lord Jesus. He changed water into wine. He walked on water. He told the howling seas to hush up. When Jesus was born, he was a living, breathing ball of wet messiness. And when Jesus was suffering in the Garden, he sweat blood. He was scourged with an ancient version of a cat-o-nine and he bled. And in his dying moments, he was pierced with a spear and out came blood and water. Christianity is built upon the solid foundation of Jesus and Jesus spent a lot of time dealing with liquids and fluids.

In our baptism this morning, all of us have a blessed opportunity to reflect on our own washing, on our own bathing, on our own immersion into the life of Christ. God’s own children, we gladly say it, all of us are baptized into Christ. He…because we could never in a million years ever pay it, paid our own redemption price. With His holy and precious blood, a great fluid, and with his innocent suffering and death, He, our Lord Jesus, paid the price that was on my head. Jesus gave Himself up for me, in my place, and for you, in your place.

We are baptized into Christ, washed, made clean, swept in a holy flood into the family of God. Reading through God’s Word, you cannot help but notice how water, rain, blood- fluid images all- fill God’s Holy Book. In the beginning God called for the springs of the heavens and the springs of the deep to open up so that the seas, oceans, lakes, and rivers would be formed. And in the last book of the Bible, Revelation, there is a river that flows through the heavenly Jerusalem, a river of great delight for the people of God.

So this day when we celebrate Logan’s washing of water and the Word, we can all praise God that Logan takes his place with all of us, here, in the holy ark of the Christian Church.

Our baptismal service includes what is known as the Flood Prayer, written by Dr. Luther for baptismal services. For the unbelieving multitudes in the days of Noah, for hard-hearted Pharoah’s army, water was not good. Water was destructive. Water was deadly. Yet Noah was spared, along with his wife, his three sons, and the three wives of his sons. Water was good. It lifted the ark, and they were spared. For the children of Israel who were languishing as slaves in Egypt, God separated the waters of the Red Sea, dried the ground, and His people marched through the wall of water from slavery to safety.

Baptism continues to destroy and make alive. All sin- the sin-sickness that we all have inherited from Adam and Eve and the sin the commit because of our identity- all of that sin is drowned in the waters of Holy Baptism.

C’mon, Logan’s so small, so young, so cute…sin? Get real. Oh yeah, it is real. Sin is what we are more than what we do. All of the bad things that we do, and they are many, are done because of our identity. You act selfishly because you are a sinful human being. You overlook the gifts of your spouse because you are sinner. You treat your coworkers with contempt because of your sinful identity. You regard others as more sinful than you because their sinful actions are public, while your take place in the privacy of your own home, they take place via your high-speed internet connection. It is our sinful ID that leads to our sinful actions. The baptism that Logan has received this morning has cleansed him of his sin. The baptism that Logan has received shows him to be a child of God. Logan has been given to his parents Ashley and Joe so they may guide him, nurture him, and train him to give thanks for his baptism and for the reality of the Father’s loving presence in his life.

Logan takes his place within the holy ark of the Christian Church. He sits next to you, behind you, in front of you. He joins the countless throng of men and women, young and old, healthy and sick, wealthy and poor, all who make up the family of God, the body of Christ.

Logan’s baptism, and your baptism, regardless of how long ago it may have been, is something certain. The holy ark of the Christian Church often seems to be sailing on rough and turbulent seas. The Christian Church seems adrift, without any power, without any direction. It has no course because it follows the cultural currents that shift and change.

There are stormy seas that the ship of God’s Church sails in. God’s gift of marriage is under attack. God’s gift of life is devalued, from beginning to end. Babies are being aborted because the gender is found out while they are still in the protective ark of the womb but they are the wrong gender! Those with mental and physical disabilities are shunted to the side, warehoused out of the way, and forgotten. Those who are older, who are drawing toward the end of their life, are encouraged to speed things up. Their value and worth are determined by others and they are seen as a drain on resources rather than as a human being, loved by God, given life by God, protected and cherished by God.

God’s gift of forgiveness is even under attack, as we live in a world occupied by three-strikes-and-you’re-out policies, even zero-tolerance policies. When a Christian forgives, the Christian is often mocked! “Why forgive that person? They’re just going to hurt you all over again!”

But God has put us here, in this family of God, in this church, in this ship. By Baptism God has put his name upon us and has sealed his promise of presence. By Holy Communion, God’s baptismal grace is renewed and refreshed in our living. God’s forgiveness is there. God’s life is there. The salvation of God that is yours by Christ’s work on the cross is there too.

God has put us in the ship, and we are not without power, place, or purpose. The power is the Spirit-filled Word of God. Our place is this world, our Father’s world, His glorious creation that we care for. Our purpose is to glorify God, to point to our Savior Jesus, to serve God with a fervent spirit and a joyful hope. Within the holy ark of God’s Church, God’s people, Logan, you, me, all of us together, are kept safe and secure. SDG

Did we really do an exorcism yesterday?

2010-11-15T09:16:00.000-05:00

I feel no shame in admitting that I have some dork-ish tendencies. (Nothing has really changed since my younger years.) As part of my daily devotions, I read Treasury of Daily Prayer. But I also read through the Altar Book of our hymnal. (This is the big book that sits on our altar, hence its name.) I pray through the services by myself, pray the prayers, but also pay attention to some of the general notes that are given to pastors and worship leaders. In the pew edition of Lutheran Service Book, you can see statements in red like ‘sit’, ‘stand’, ‘During Advent and Lent, the Gloria in Excelsis is omitted.’, and things like that. These are called rubrics, which is just a fancy word for red.

In preparing for our baptismal service yesterday, I was reading through the general notes and the rubrics. I discovered something that we could do, and so I included it in the service. Were any of you curious about something that took place? I’ll give you a moment to recall yesterday’s baptism…. Following the standard renunciation- “Do you renounce the devil, all his works, and all his ways?” came something new, which is actually quite old. Martin Luther’s baptismal rite included the ancient Christian practice of the exorcism. Sometimes the exorcism would take place after the baptismal address, and sometimes it would occur after the renunciation. We did the exorcism after the renunciation. “Depart O unclean spirit and make room for the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Talking about exorcism might get us thinking about movies, with images of spinning heads, bugged-out eyes, and scary guttural voices. What were we doing yesterday including an exorcism in the Rite of Holy Baptism? Exorcism deals with demon possession. Did I think that the child was demon possessed? Not any more than realistically thinking that I am possessed.

“Anyone who sins is a slave to sin.” That is something Jesus said and is part of the Reformation Day Gospel lesson. Being a slave to sin is being in sin’s possession. Being a slave to sin is having the devil as your master. Sin possesses us. Paraphrasing the apostle Paul we learn this reality: the things I don’t want to do are the things I do and the things I want to do I don’t, in fact I can’t.

The baptism yesterday allowed us to ponder the reality of our identity. We are sinners. And sinners do sinful things. We are not sinners because we do sinful things. If that were the case, all we’d need to do to find salvation is stop sinning. Good luck with that!

Our identity is sin. Our new identity through the waters of Holy Baptism is redeemed. God in Christ Jesus has joined Himself to us. We are redeemed human beings, washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. We are given mercy fresh every morning, mercy that moves us into our day.

The demon needs to be removed, or exorcised, from our lives. Depart O unclean spirit. Make room for the Holy Spirit! “This is the Spirit’s entry now: the water and the Word, the cross of Jesus on your brow, the seal both felt and heard. This miracle of life reborn comes from the Lord of breath; the perfect Man from life was torn; our life comes through Christ’s death. Let water be the sacred sign that we must die each day to rise again by His design as followers of His way. Renewing Spirit, hear our praise for Your baptismal power that washes us through all our days; Lord, cleanse again this hour.” {Thomas Herbranson, b.1933}

Do the math!

2010-11-08T12:19:00.001-05:00

Do the math
There was a statement made on Issues, Etc. the other day that caused me to stop what I was doing, drop my jaw, and say “Whoa.” I pondered the statement and on reflection, the sentiment was stunning in its accuracy.
Here’s what I heard: “If you are born once, you die twice. If you are born twice, you die once.”
Get it? It’s the kind of math that is not taught in schools, but it is the math that ultimately matters. In our Christian religion, there are some numbers that count, three and forty being numbers that show up numerous times in both Testaments of the Bible.
This equation is rather interesting. And with the inclusion of birth and death, the interest is increased. Everyone is born, and at some point, everyone will die. Those events are the great equalizers in life. From the highest to the lowest, everyone enters this world a screaming ball of messiness. And, everyone has a terminal illness called life. Our heart will stop beating and we will breathe our last.
And if we are paying attention to the culture in which we live, there are quite a few people who do not acknowledge the Lord and His love. Many people live in opposition to God and spend their lives being their own god and trying to figure out how to save themselves. They run from death and spend their days searching for their own immortality in pills, vaccines, diets, and exercise programs.
They are born, but they are never born again through the glory, the beauty, the holy mystery of baptism. To countless people, Holy Baptism is nothing but a meaningless ritual. It is merely water. It is just something to make the grandparents feel good. It is something that has to be done. It is something that has no significance whatsoever.
And from an egocentric perspective…that’s absolutely right. It is just water. It does not carry a lot of significance. It does make Grandma and Grandpa happy. It is a nice occasion for pictures to be taken.
But Baptism is not egocentric, it is theocentric. It is God’s doing, God at work. We remember our Catechism lessons that baptism is not merely water, but water connected to the Word of God. And baptism carries God’s promise. The promise of forgiveness is there. The promise of regeneration sustains the baptized child of God. And the doorway to heaven stands wide open.
Those who are born but are not born of water and the Word will die twice. Huh? Christians believe what Jesus says, and what Jesus says is that He is coming back. In the Nicene Creed we state our belief in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. This means that Jesus Christ is coming back, and when He comes, He will raise me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers. Notice the distinction? All the dead, Christians and non-Christians, will be raised. Who is raised to eternal life? Only the believers. The non-believers will be raised in order to receive their judgment of everlasting death. They will die twice.
You will not die twice. By God’s declaration, by God’s grace, the believers in Jesus who have been born twice will be raised so that God’s glorious invitation can ring in their ears- Enter into eternal rest. Enjoy the unending feast. All is ready and prepared. The believer will only die once.
Stunning, isn’t it? When I heard that, it took my breath away for a split second. And I’m glad that it did. It’s important to remember what is awaiting us. God has prepared such unbelievable goodness for His children. And God supplies us with the strength and comfort that we need for our living and for our dying.

All Saints' Sermon

2010-11-08T10:28:00.000-05:00

All Saints’ Day (observed)
Nov. 7, 2010
Rev. 7:9-17
Who are these? From where have they come?

In the name of Jesus, amen. Today is our day! All Saints’ Day is our time to shine. Christmas is the festival of the Father. He gave His dearest treasure Jesus to us. Easter is the festival of the Son, as we watch Christ willingly become our sin and go to the cross. And we watch Jesus step out of the tomb triumphant over our enemy death. Pentecost is the festival of the ever-present Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been dumped lavishly upon God’s people and the Spirit does what the Spirit is supposed to do- be our advocate, our guide, our comforter, the One who reminds us of our place within the family of God. All Saints’ Day is our day. It is the festival of the Church. It is the time for the people of God to celebrate who they are- God’s people, holy and dearly loved, God’s sons and daughters, God’s lambs and sheep. All Saints’ is the festival for the Church.

The lessons appointed for All Saints’ ring in our ears the truth of who we are. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.”

We are children of God, even though we can clearly see in the mirror that we bear very little resemblance to children of God. We act with malice and harmful intent. We blissfully close our eyes to the needs around us. We happily close our eyes to cries of suffering. We go through our day living and thinking that we are #1 and that everyone should do things to make our lives easier. We are incessant navel gazers. We do not live in a heliocentric universe, but an egocentric one.

Who are we? Well, based on where our vehicles are, where we are sitting, what this building is called, we could surmise that we are the Church. And yes, that is what we are. By God’s declaration, we are the church. We have been fashioned and formed into the body of Christ with Christ Himself as our head. We are the Church. In times of sorrow, in times of our rejection of God, in times of our sinful selfishness, greed, and arrogance…we are the Church.

We are the Church because we have come to hear the Word. We have come to praise the Lord of the Church. We have come to hear about the Father’s remedy for our sin and guilt, that the Father sent the Son to go to the cross. The Son bore our sins, became our sins, took our guilt and gave to us His righteousness. And the Spirit has been planted in each of us so that we can grow, bloom and blossom with the beauty of God that is witnessed in our mercy and love for the people around us. We are the Church because we have come so that the eternal medicine of forgiveness and love would be put into our mouths and poured down our throats. We are the Church because God declares us to be.

And by God’s grace, by His sustaining power, by the Father’s loving care for His people, we are the Church and we are given the opportunity to reflect the Father’s love, the Savior’s mercy, the Spirit’s presence in a host of ways. Every day we have the opportunity to put our faith in Christ into action. We are God’s Church, and in spite of our weaknesses, our timidity, our fears, God puts us to use. His power is made perfect in our weakness. His wisdom is perfected in our foolishness.

So the glory of All Saints’ Day is the ability we have to ask, “Who are these?” John the Evangelist was asked that question in heaven by an elder. And John played coy and told the elder that it’s obvious. “Sir, you know.” And the elder did know. The great multitude from every tribe, nation, people, and tongue was the Church!

Clothed in white robes, robes that had been made white by the blood of the Lamb, they stood before the Father and the Lamb singing lustily, with full voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! Glory! Blessing! Honor! Wisdom! Power! Might! Thanksgiving! It all belongs to You, most holy Father, most Holy Son, most holy Spirit, it all belongs to You!

That great multitude was the Church. This great multitude seated in this sanctuary is the Church. The great multitudes that have concluded their worship in the East are praising God that in the West, the sun is awakening more great multitudes who will gather for prayer, for song, for fellowship, for the feast on earth that foreshadows the feast in the heavenly realm.

That great multitude was coming out of the great tribulation. This great multitude is still living, might be in the midst of a tribulation, might have a tribulation or two in the rearview mirror, or might have some tribulations on the horizon. In our personal lives, the doctor may have just given us a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, of telling us that the spot on our lungs is not a good one, that the pain in our back is not ever going to go away. Our employer may have told us that the grant money has run out and that our job is not going to be renewed. The demand for the product you make is no longer there, thus you are no longer needed at the job site.

We have tribulations in our life, we have had them, and we will have them. Our great tribulation will be the time of our death. And because of the declaration of God, that we are His sons and daughters, and because of the gift of Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls, the great tribulation is something we will come out of.

Who are these? These ones are the members of God’s Church, from every nation, all tribes, and peoples and languages. From where have they come? These ones, the ones Kevin read for us that are listed in our bulletin, these ones have come out of their great tribulation. Elsie Besel was 103. My friend Bruce Thomas had the tribulation of teaching me how to paint my house. He was at the Y in Hilliard OH, swimming his laps. He got out of the pool, had an aneurysm, and was dead shortly after he got to the hospital. All of these saints have come out of their great tribulation, protected by the Lord, guided by the Holy Spirit…and they are ever before the Lord. God is on His throne and He Himself is wiping away every tear from their eye. God is sheltering them from the scorching heat of the sun. And the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain for their sins, is now living forevermore and the Lamb is in their midst as their Great Shepherd.

That’s who these ones are. That is what awaits us. God’s promises are certain. God’s Word is sure. God’s Word is solid ground. If we unhook, uncouple, ourselves from the certain Word of God, then we are on shaky ground. We have no foundation.

We are God’s Church, joined by faith in Christ with Christians around the world. God has brought us into the body of believers. God has brought us into the safety of the ark of the Church. You sit in the nave. Look up and see that you are sitting in an upside down ship.

We are in the safety of the ship of the Church…to be the Church. We are given great opportunities to give away what has come to us. We have opportunities to serve our neighbors, our family, strangers. Our families are the closest neighbors God has given us, and when we serve our spouse, our children, we are loving our neighbors.

We are what God has made us to be. We are the Church, celebrating the Church of God, celebrating the Lord of the Church, Jesus Christ, who offered Himself up for us all, forgiving our sin, rising from the grave for our triumph. Who are these? Who are we? We are the Church, loved and redeemed by the Father, the Son, the Spirit. SDG

Worship info for All Saints'

2010-11-03T11:40:00.000-04:00

Here is the info for our observation of All Saints' on Nov. 7:

Hymns
822 Alleluia! Let Praises Ring
677 For All the Saints
813 Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng
639 Wide Open Stand the Gates
605 Father Welcomes
680 Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise (Post-Communion hymn)
700 Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Scripture Lessons
Rev. 7:9-17
1 John 3:1-3
Matt. 5:1-12

Collect of the Day
Almighty and everlasting God, You knit together Your faithful people of all times and places into one holy communion, the mystical body of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that, together with them, we may come to the unspeakable joys You have prepared for those who love You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

And for the month of November we'll be following Divine Service 2 in LSB as our form for worship- p167.

May God bless our preparation and meditation for worship.

2010-11-01T10:59:00.002-04:00

Reformation Day
Oct. 31, 2010
Rev. 14:6-7
Focused, Centered

In the name of Jesus, amen. As God’s people wrestle with all the tugs and pulls of life, as we struggle to bear up under all the demands and pressures we bring upon ourselves and that are thrust upon us, we pray and plead to God for His Reformation strength, His Reformation peace, His Reformation grace.

It is hard to keep our focus in our days because we are called to focus on so many things. There are things at home and at work and with friends that we need to pay attention to and it requires great energy. Add an unexpected car problem, a sick child or two, a deadline that has been moved up by two weeks, and our focus is shot. We run around trying to do all that is required of us and we run ourselves ragged. And then things get missed.

We find ourselves focused on issues that aren’t really important. We pay attention to people and concepts that end up taking what little energy we have and leave us empty. We do not focus on what is important, on the people that matter, on the crucial things that make our life meaningful, that add content to our day, and that help us live in true peace and harmony with the people God has placed in our lives.

Our focus is divided among so many different places that we really aren’t focused on anything.

And we have nothing that is at the center, or core, of our existence. We wander from place to place, our focus goes from thing to thing to thing and we have nothing to return to, we have no center that draws us back, no center that is a certain anchor for life. We have no focus and no center. And what I say is true for Christians and non-Christians. And what I say, my beloved, is said from experience.

We need a reformation! We pray to be re-formed, re-shaped, renewed, re-created. And we are. We have a reformation. We celebrate the historical event this day, this day before All Holy One’s, this day that is more about goblins and ghouls than about the Gospel of Grace.

We have a reformation that is ongoing. It didn’t start in 1517 with the nailing of the 95 Theses and end in 1580 with the publication of the Book of Concord. Semper Ecclesia Reformanda Est- Always, the Church is to be reforming. Always.

Find the focus. Discover the center. An angel was flying over St. John the Evangelist’s head, with an eternal Gospel to proclaim to those dwelling on earth, every tribe, language, people. The proclamation task of God’s Church is the Gospel. As you’ll often see, hear, and read: Christ-centered, Cross-focused. That keeps the Gospel where it needs to be.

Just like we often lose our focus and cannot remain centered on what is important, so the Church suffers the same things. Our focus is misplaced. We do not aim at the center, but at the periphery. We do things that really don’t matter, so we look busy, but we aren’t doing a whole lot.

Christ-centered. What does this mean? It means that we are Christmas people, recognizing that our life begins where the life of Jesus began, in the manger, where gentle Mary laid her child.

It means that we are Epiphany people, laying our gifts before the Christ-child, worshiping Him for the tremendous ways He revealed His divine nature through glorious signs and miracles.

It means that we are repentant Lent people, Palm Sunday and Holy Week people too. It certainly means that we walk with Jesus as He carries His cross on Good Friday. It means that we stand with the Roman centurion and declare that Jesus is the Son of God. Being Christ-centered means that we rejoice to hear Jesus declare to the thief on the cross that today you will be with Me in paradise. Those words are spoken to us as we lay our sins at the feet of Jesus, as Jesus picks up our sins, all of our sins, our sins of greed and sloth and arrogance and puts them on His own shoulders.

With Christ in the center, we are Easter people. We rush to the tomb early in the morning and through tears of joy we delight in the gaping, empty tomb. He is not here! He is risen…just as He said! The resurrection of Christ is His triumph and ours. Satan is vanquished. Death is impotent. Sin no longer accuses. The resurrection of Christ means our own resurrection. Our death is to be regarded as sleep. Our bodies will be placed into a narrow chamber to sleep until our brother Jesus, our Lord Jesus, our Redeemer Jesus comes to us, calls us by name, and tells us to rise from sleep and enter the eternal joys of heaven.

That is what Christ-centered means. And we focus, amid all the other things in our life, on the cross. Being a Christmas and Easter person carries the eternal Gospel that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Jesus Christ came to save you and He came to save me. Jesus Christ came to save sinners, those who are inside the Church and those who are outside the Church. So our focus, our attention, is placed on the wooden cross that was planted in the ground, a dead tree that has become the tree of life.

As I mentioned moments ago, we lay our sins at the foot of the cross. Not some of them or most of them, but all of them. We give to Jesus the sins we despise and we give to Jesus our favorite, most beloved sins. We have them. The sins that make us feel good, the sins that make us feel superior, the sins that delude us into thinking that we are better than others, we give those sins to Jesus. They are nailed with him to the cross. And Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And the Father’s answer is, “Because you are sin. Because my people cannot save themselves. Because my people cannot become righteous by themselves. Because my people need saving.”

And so Jesus Christ obeyed the will of the Father, and went to the cross. And then Jesus was placed into the tomb. And then Jesus burst forth from the tomb. Because we needed saving.

And we are saved. We are ransomed, redeemed, restored, reconciled, renewed, reformed. Any other re- word you can think of.

Our focus is on the cross. At our center is Christ. This is the ongoing reformation our lives.

With our focus fixed on the cross, with our center aligned on Jesus, what do you find to be the result?

All the other things in our life become clearer. A beautiful quote from Martin Luther is when he says that when he knows that his day is going to full and busy, he spends an extra hour on his knees in his prayer.

When we acknowledge our sin and acknowledge our Savior, we find that we are able to love in a more Christ-like fashion. We are able to sacrifice for the sake of our spouse without holding a grudge, without resenting the other person. We find that we treat our children, not as objects but as little ones in need of guidance, of training. So we give up our time to spend time with them doing their math homework, listening to them recite their spelling lists, listening to them recite their memory work.

Christ-centered, cross-focused living helps us focus on the opportunities for service that abound around us. Christ-centered, cross-focused living helps us see the needs for mercy that God puts in our path.

This is the great glory of the historic Reformation. This is the great glory of the Reformation that takes place every day. Our focus is on the cross. It is the shining beacon that gleams in the darkness. The center of our lives is Jesus, who strengthens and sustains our day. Let there be a reformation, and let us rejoice in the reforming power of God in our lives. SDG

Reformation Day worship

2010-10-27T11:12:00.002-04:00

Here is the worship info for Reformation Day, Oct. 31, which actually falls on a Sunday this year.

Hymns
656 A Mighty Fortress
794 The Lord, My God, Be Praised
556 Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice
782 Gracious God, You Send Great Blessings
582 God's Word is Our Great Heritage
806 Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart (post-communion hymn)
578 Thy Strong Word

Scripture Lessons
Revelation 14:6-7
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36

Collect of the Day
Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and grant to Your Church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

May God bless our meditation and preparation for worship!

Apparently...

2010-10-27T11:07:00.003-04:00

the NBA season has started. I am familiar with all the goings-on over the summer. And I really could care less. I haven't watched an NBA game for at least 7 years. It's just not appealing to me.

I 'follow' (a word loosely used) the NBA because I listen to ESPN Radio throughout the day when I'm done listening to Issues, Etc. So I know that the Lakers are defending champs, that John Wall is going to lead the Wizards to mediocrity (which is a remarkable thing.)

But I don't watch the NBA. If I turn on ESPN at night and a game is on, I turn the channel. It's just not appealing to me.

I don't have the time to invest in the NBA. Just like baseball, I don't have the time to sit and watch a game. The regular season is too long. The games are filled with mediocre players.

Both baseball and basketball need to whack a few teams. Contract and get rid of the mediocre players. Then the quality of the game will get better, the product will be more compelling, and I might come back.

Sermon for Oct. 24

2010-10-26T09:44:00.000-04:00

Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost
Oct. 24, 2010
Luke 18:9-17
God, be merciful to me, a _________!

In the name of Jesus, amen. In case you were unaware, and you very well might be because there are plenty of other things that demand our attention, we follow what is called a lectionary. It is a series of readings for the Sundays in the church year. Over a three year cycle we are privileged to hear some wonderful lessons from the Bible, from the Old Testament, from the letters in the New Testament, and from the blessed Gospels of our Lord Jesus Christ. This year happens to be Year C, and it is the Year of Luke. I hope you’ve noticed that all of our Gospel lessons this summer have come to us from Luke’s pen. What a tremendous portrait of Jesus we have been blessed to receive.

Today’s Gospel lesson does not deviate from presenting Christ. It does not shift our attention to anyone but our Savior, our Redeemer, the One who spent his very life seeking and saving the lost.

In our lesson, we might get the impression that we have been transported back in time. When the text says “Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” it should feel as if the room got a little hotter, our collar got a little tighter, and that some unknown critter keeps poking us in the ribs.

Self-righteousness is a problem. It is a human problem. You might hear it called as justifying your own sin, or as having a holier-than-thou attitude and that your excrement doesn’t stink. Or it is simply being dismissive, judgmental of others, and hypocritical.

Whatever we want to call it or however we care to define it, it is a problem. It is a people problem and it is our problem.

Jesus highlights two people, and they represent two groups. Jesus uses a Pharisee as one example. This Pharisee belonged to the group who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Lord, I thank you that I am not like… Who? Fill in the blank.

The living Word has been spoken in our ears and to our hearts this morning. God, I thank you that I am not like: the cheaters, the haters, the adulterers, the extortioners, the bullies, the arrogant, the proud. We could be more specific and call out the gamblers, the porn addicted, the substance abusers, the liars, the credit stealers, the pedophiles, the people who abuse the elderly, the people who prey on the weak and defenseless, those who abuse the environment and suck all the natural resources they can without having any regard for anybody else.

Calling out sinners is kind of fun, especially when we delude ourselves into thinking it’s not us. I thank you God that I am not like them. You must be pretty pleased with me God. You must feel lucky to have me as your child. I tithe. I show up for things. I fast. I pray with fancy words and a loud voice. I volunteer at homeless shelters. I help old people across the street. I don’t cheat on my tests at school. I am kind to kittens and puppies. I call my parents once a week.

The Pharisee left the temple thinking “What a good boy am I!” We go to sleep at night contemplating the Ten Commandments and check off the ones we have kept. My ledger is clean and so is my conscious, I’ll go to sleep in peace. We pray for all the others, that they could sleep as soundly as we do.

This tax collector also was in the temple at the same time as the Pharisee. He dared not even raise his eyes to heaven. He beat his breast saying “Mea culpa! Mea culpa! Mea maxima culpa!” That is, “My fault. My fault. My own most grievous fault!”

What could the tax collecter say but what St. Luke records? “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” Tom the tax collector knew it. He lived with that knowledge. He knew that others knew it. He knew that God knew it.

He said the only thing that could be said. There was no sense hiding behind false words. It would have done no good to pretend at pious living. The tax collector, standing far off, figuratively stripped himself bare before God and begged for mercy.

Mercy is a beautiful spot to be in. And mercy is found at the intersection of Love and Forgiveness. The tax collector sought mercy and he found it. God loves and God forgives.

Sometimes we love yet are not forgiving. Sometimes we forgive without loving the other person, we forgive reluctantly. And so our mercy is not where it should be.

But it is imperative to remember who we are- we are imperfect people. We are tax collectors and extortioners. We are adulterers and abusers. We are arrogant, proud, judgmental, hypocritical. We seek the spotlight and broadcast loudly all the wonderful things that we do. We think unkindly of others who disagree with us and demean them for disagreeing. We pick on those who are weaker, who cannot defend themselves.

And when we look in God’s mirror of the Law, what is our position, our posture? We fall on our knees. We hang our heads. We beat our breast: Mea maxima culpa! God be merciful to me, a cheater, a slanderer, a lazy self-centered, self-gratifying human being. God be merciful to me a sinner. God love this loveless creature. God forgive this hard-hearted wretch.

I tell you, says Jesus, this man went down to his house justified.

We fall on our knees. We won’t even look God in the eyes. We beat our breasts and repent. God picks us up. God lifts up our faces so that we can see His love. He takes our repentance and gives His forgiveness. At the intersection of love and forgiveness, at the foot of the cross, we stand in God’s mercy. We stand justified before God for the sake of His one and only Son who came to die our death so that we might live today. So that we might live eternally!

It’s a beautiful story, our Gospel lesson today. It’s a human story that deals with a human problem. We dare not trust in ourselves that we are righteous, because we know how that story ends. We trust Christ our Lord. We know how that story ends too, in the empty grave of Jesus, in our own empty graves at the Last Day, when the merciful Christ comes to bring all believers to Himself in heaven. God be merciful to me, your child, your beloved, your redeemed. For the sake of Christ, we return to our homes, we go out into the world justified, strengthened to share and live the hope that is found at the intersection of love and forgiveness. To God alone be all the glory, amen.

An explanation

2010-10-17T06:38:00.001-04:00

Faithful blog followers, I had some technical difficulties this past week with no connection to our network in the office, so there was no blogging. We've gotten a temporary fix, just in time for me to leave for a mini-vacation/pastors conference in Virginia. I'll try to check in from there.

Worship info for 10-10-10

2010-10-05T14:43:00.001-04:00

Here is the information for worship on Oct. 10th.

Hymns
528 Oh, For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
846 Your Hand, O Lord, in Days of Old
855 For All the Faithful Women 1,7,3,4
845 Where Charity and Love Prevail

Scripture Lessons
Ruth 1:1-19a
Psalm 111
2 Timothy 2:1-13
Luke 17:11-19

Collect of the Day
Almighty God, You show mercy to Your people in all their troubles. Grant us always to recognize Your goodness, give thanks for Your compassion, and praise Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

May God bless our preparation and meditation for worship.

Barber-Viering Wedding Sermon

2010-10-04T08:45:00.002-04:00

As you can see, here is the wedding sermon from this past Saturday. It was a very nice service, formally casual. And I think the Word was proclaimed and heard, according to the Spirit's promise and presence.

Wedding Sermon for Elijah and Anise
Oct. 2, 2010
1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-15; Ephesians 5:22-33

In the name of Jesus, who is the glory of the Father’s love and the foundation of Christian marriage, amen.

After a few twists and turns, after some time away, after wondering and wandering, after much discussion, reflection, and prayer, you both are standing where God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit wants you to be. God wants you to be here, in His Church, in this service, in front of all these people who love and support you. God wants you to be here, so that God can do what He is so good at- creating. God has created a beautiful world for us, creating all that is out of nothing. And today, in a few more minutes, God will again create something- Mr. and Mrs. Elijah and Anise Barber. That has never existed before. God is creating something entirely new. And to reveal this new thing, something old is being used as the material.

Love. In all three lessons that you chose for this service, love was at the core. And certainly it is not the generic, run of the mill, common love that is so prevalent today- love for waffle fries, your favorite sports team, your car. The way the word love is thrown around today, one might think that Americans are filled with love, are the kindest people on the face of the earth, and spend their day giving roses to all their siblings, neighbors, strangers, and coworkers.

And the love in our lessons is not the bastardized version of love that is on display. Love is often used as a carrot at best and a weapon at worst. We hold out our love to get others to do what we want. Love becomes manipulative and it then becomes cheapened. You don’t love the other person, you only love yourself, because you have your own best interests at heart. And when this happens, that is when love becomes a weapon and we can hurt people as we manipulate them. We make them jump through so many hoops and do all sorts of tasks to earn our love. How far from God’s love are our expressions of love!

God’s love was revealed when He sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. Love starts with God the Father, flows through Jesus, with the purpose that we find our life in the Lord.

In our conversations the last couple of months, your lives seem pretty good right now. You seem at peace with yourselves and with each other. Life is not easy, but at this time, life seems fairly smooth.

Why might that be? You seem to be hard workers. You appear to be committed to each other. From my perspective, you possess a certain amount of physical, mental, and emotional health. You look fairly creative and intelligent. Apparently people like you, so that is in your favor.

But none of that matters. Strength and health and creativity and the number of friends you have really doesn’t matter as we might consider why things are going fairly well in your lives.

The Scripture readings tell us why things are going well. “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the atonement for our sins…We love, because He first loved us.”

You’ve approached this day with a tremendous amount of reality. And humility. And more concern for the other than for yourself. And with the knowledge that at the center of your love for Elijah and your love for Anise is a love for the Lord Jesus.

He loves you. In spite of who you are, in spite of what you’ve done, in spite of what you haven’t done, Jesus loves you. And this is because Jesus forgives your sins, mistakes, and errors. Your sins aren’t excused, as if God says, “You lied when you said you didn’t know me? Oh that’s okay.” Sins are forgiven, not excused. God looks at us in our sin and our shame, God hears us express our sorrow and God tenderly and lovingly says, “For the sake of My son Jesus Christ, I forgive your sins.”

That, the love of God, is indeed the foundation for marriage, because the time is coming when sin will rise up in your marriage, when it will flame up like a fire…my hunch is Tuesday.

Today, things are great. She looks good. He looks good. It’s a good thing there are pictures being taken, because, Anise will likely never look like this again. And Elijah won’t either. The time is coming when you’ll say to yourself, “She does that?” And Anise, you’ll scratch your head and say, “Why doesn’t he do what I say?”

According to God’s Word, we know who we are- sinners. Our sinful identity leads to all kinds of sinful activity. Lying, cheating, and stealing exist. And in marriages, spouses take advantage of the other. Spouses manipulate to get their way. If you love me, you’ll do this. If you love me, you’ll change and become who I want you to be.

It happens. I bet there are some people in this room who could share experiences.

So we know who we are. You know who the other person is. With that sort of knowledge, we might hang our heads and never come to this place, never come to marriage.

But more important than knowing ourselves, God knows us and we know God. God is the forgiver. God is the redeemer. God is the healer. So we have the strength to approach God and seek forgiveness for our sin.

There is no fear in love. The love you have for each other removes the fear. You can stand face to face and acknowledge the hurt you cause, your inconsiderate and selfish actions. And you can forgive each other. There is no fear, because your love is rooted in God’s love for you. It is gift, pure gift. God’s gift to you. Your gift to each other. Let us love one another, for love is from God. SDG

Sermon for October 3

2010-10-04T08:31:00.002-04:00

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Oct. 3, 2010
Luke 17:1-10
If? If!

In the name of Jesus, amen. There are four letter words, and there are four letter words. You may have heard me say that I know the worst, vilest, harshest, and cruelest of the four letter words. And it is e-x-p-e-c-t-a-t-i-o-n. When you hear what is expected of you, you cannot believe that someone would say such things. And when you drop your expectations on people like a 5-ton bomb, you are really slapping them with something heavy.

Today’s Gospel lesson presents another four letter word for us. It is a word that can cause us to cringe in fear and cry for joy. It is a word that is both sad and celebratory. If…that is today’s four letter word from our Gospel.

If is a very heavy word. We learn this word at a young age and it seems like we never stop hearing it used. If you want presents for Christmas, be a good boy. If you want dessert, eat your vegetables. If you don’t stop pestering your brother, I’ll turn this car around right now.

In our high school years, when we start noticing that girls don’t have cooties and that boys aren’t that disgusting, the word if continues to carry a lot of weight. If you like him, check the box. That’s kind of cute. This isn’t cute: If you love me, you’ll have sex with me. That is so destructive. Those words are so harmful. Even when we get married, our love and our libido get confused.

The “if” conundrum shows up in other places. If you are a loyal worker, you’ll work the extra hours. If you are a loyal worker, you’ll sacrifice time with your family. If you like having a job and receiving a paycheck, especially in this economy, then you’ll like the other way at our questionable ethical practices. “If” is a troubling word because of the position that it puts us in.

Jesus was teaching his disciples, and I believe it is the Twelve, because in a short while the apostles, the twelve men called and chosen and commissioned by the Lord Jesus, will cry out to have their faith increased.

The teaching of Jesus is that temptations to sin will come. They are sure to come. In words that we know, it is not if but when temptations to sin come.

Jesus is being who he is. He is being honest. He is showing himself to be the Lord. He is showing himself to be divine love in the flesh. Jesus knows the struggle that people go through. Jesus was living amongst fallen human beings. The disciples that he called were sinners. The people that Jesus reached out to, invited, ate with, and conversed with, they were sinners as well. And when the time came for Jesus’ arrest and trial and sentencing and execution, well…sinners were right there lying about Jesus, spitting in Jesus’ face and driving the nails into his hands and feet. But Jesus continually reveals himself to be the Lord, to be God for us, God with us.

Temptation to sin is sure to come. The devil is a roaring lion seeking your destruction. So dear disciples, loved learners, pay attention to yourselves.
“If your brother sins, rebuke him.” Yippee! Certainly this is not a question of if but is a matter of when. When my brother hurts me, harms me, lies about me, takes what is mine…rebuke! Let him have it! Let him know how awful he is, what a despot he is being. Play the victim and when mom and dad show up, let the tears flow.
That is certainly a non-Gospel way to talk, to revel in your hurts so that the perpetrator becomes the one who gets hurt.

But…“If your brother sins, rebuke him.” Maybe we need to do more rebuking. But rebuking rarely takes place. We are afraid to label anyone a sinner because it then makes us look sanctimonious, self-righteous, holier-than-thou.

And who really knows what a sin is? Our world has determined that right and wrong no longer exist and that everyone is free to decide what is sin and what is not sin. So nothing is said. Yet there are people, Christians, who presume to sit in God the Father’s seat. They usurp the authority of God and the authority of God’s revealed Word and they judge anyone and everyone.

If your brother sins, let him know. Tell him about it. Tell her that she is a sinner. Warn them of the danger. Warn them that their sin is offensive to God, harmful to themselves, and hurtful to others. Speak the Lord’s words to your brother or sister, that the rebuke is not coming from you, but from the Lord who has called us into a relationship with Him. That is what we are to do when it comes to rebuking the erring brother or sister.

Do not do it harshly. Do not rebuke to belittle the other person and make yourself bigger. Do not rebuke to make the other feel bad and yourself feel good. That is not helpful. That is not what the Lord Christ is teaching the disciples.

This may sound confusing or contradictory, but rebuke in love. Rebuke as a way of warning someone that they are on the wrong path. Rebuke as way of getting the person you love to turn around, to recognize the mistake, the sin, which is taking place.

“If your brother repents, forgive him.” As the correcting power of the Bible, as the certain truth of the Bible, as the teaching authority of God’s Word is applied to our human condition, repentance happens. Not if, but when. It might not be today and maybe not tomorrow but maybe in a few weeks or even a few years. When your brother repents, forgive him. If he sins seven times and repents seven times, forgive.

We do not run the way of the Law. We run the way of the Gospel, for the Gospel has run after us, chased us, sought us. We are forgiven. We are forgiven people who have played the “If” game with God. If you bless me, then I’ll do this for you God. If you save me, I’ll do this for you. If you heal me, then I’ll dedicate my life to you. Who is the god in those statements? It is not the God who made heaven and earth. It is not the God who appeared in the manger in human flesh. It is not God the Holy Spirit who leads, guards, and guides. We dictate to God what should happen and in doing that, we make ourselves gods. And when we make ourselves gods, what is the deadly reality? We are slaves to sin. We are in bondage to Satan. We are marching the path to everlasting death and condemnation.

When your brother sins, forgive him. When your husband says to you, “I’m sorry for neglecting you and overlooking your gifts, forgive me.” Forgive him. When your child says that he is sorry for disobeying, forgive him.

What a blessed teaching from Jesus. He speaks of our sin. He speaks of our repentance. He speaks of His forgiveness, His salvation, His pure goodness and mercy.

This is a hard teaching. We are scared of rebuking others. And we are hesitant to forgive. The apostles cry out, “Increase our faith!” If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea” and it would obey you.

Were the apostles told to have more faith? Only if faith were something that could be increased! In those moments when our faith is small, tiny, and timid, do we go outside of our homes, outside of this church, and make more faith? Do we pump up our faith like it is a flat tire? Faith does not speak of faith. Faith speaks of a Savior.

I know my faith is founded on Jesus Christ my God and Lord; and this my faith confessing, unmoved I stand on His sure Word. My faith is not founded on what I do or say. My faith does not confess that I’m really not as big a sinner as you might think.

Faith speaks of the Savior. Faith responds to the invitation of the Lord to approach His altar. Faith believes and faith receives the forgiveness of sins, the life of our Lord, that salvation of our God in the body and blood of Christ in the communion meal.

We receive the command to rebuke sin and release the guilt of that sin. We take this hard task and pray to God, “Increase our faith!” God’s response is lovingly given: All the faith you ever needed I gave in your baptism. All the faith you ever will need is here in the Lord’s Supper. Love. Grace. Mercy. Protection. Strength. Direction. Purpose. It’s all here! When Christ gives His gifts, He gives the whole lot. Look to your Savior.

When you need the power and the wisdom to teach, correct, and rebuke- look to your Savior. When you need the power to forgive, to reconcile, to embrace- look to your Savior. When you believe that your faith is imperfect, is lacking- look to Jesus, hanging on the cross. Look to Christ’s tomb and see how empty it is. Look to the font, to the altar- there is Christ for you, loving you, forgiving you, giving you the increase of your faith. SDG

Worship info for Oct. 3

2010-09-29T13:42:00.003-04:00

Here is the information for our worship service on the 3rd.

Hymns:
902 Lord Jesus Christ, Be Present Now
587 I Know My Faith Is Founded
685 Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus
637 Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord
930 All You Works of God, Bless the Lord
941 We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God

Scripture Lessons
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Psalm 62
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Luke 17:1-10

Collect of the Day
O God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, by Your grace hear the prayers of Your Church. Grant that those things which we ask in faith we may receive through Your bountiful mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

May God bless our preparation and meditation for worship!

Sermon for St. Michael and All Angels

2010-09-29T13:33:00.003-04:00

I suppose it is good that I am running behind this week. This is my sermon from Sunday and it is Wednesday before I get it posted. But today is the 29th, which is actually the day to celebrate St. Michael. Hear, hear for tardiness!

St. Michael and All Angels
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Sept. 26, 2010
Luke 10:17-20
“For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down”

In the name of Jesus, amen. “Just do what you’re told!” “Because I said so!” “Because I’m in charge!” Those emphatic statements have rung in our ears, and they likely have come out of our mouths. When we hear those statements, we probably hang our heads a bit. And when we say those words to others, it is later that we hang our heads as we realize how abrasive and even abusive we portray ourselves to be.

The Sunday for St. Michael and All Angels gives us a wonderful opportunity to focus on the work of God’s angels, his blessed creatures who serve the Lord day and night, never ceasing, never tiring to do the work of the Lord. Angels do what God tells them to do. The Lord says what they are to do and the Lord reaffirms that he is in charge of all things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and the angels delight to carry out the will of the Lord. Praise God. Praise God for angels. Praise God for the work that the angels carry out.

The Revelation lesson and the Gospel lesson are likely describing the same event. You can read some of the commentaries in my office and come to the Sunday Bible class to discuss more about it, but theologians think that the same event is being talked about.

The archangel, aka the chief prince, aka the commanding officer Michael, given charge of the heavenly army, fought against the great dragon, the devil, Satan, the awful accuser, the dreadful deceiver of the whole world…and Michael won. The great dragon and his evil horde lost and they were cast out of heaven.
St. Luke says that the 72 disciples came back to Jesus and reported all that was taking place. Demons were being cast out in Jesus’ name and Jesus said, “I’m aware. I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority over the enemy and nothing shall hurt you. But do not rejoice in this, that the evil spirits are subject to you, but instead, rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

It was probably a decade ago that angels were all the rage, with TV shows and movies featuring the work of God’s created beings. It is not that I am finally getting with the times, but all the attention was interesting, because the Church of God has always been celebrating the work of angels.

Our hymn of the day gets it right- the angels do their work and to the Lord God we give all praise. And the hymn of the day recounts the Biblical record that the angels are deployed by the Lord God to work against the old Satanic foe and all the forces of the devil. The roaring lion is unceasing in his work to devour and tear up the people of God. But the angels are watchful. They are ready as they follow Christ their master to guard the lambs and sheep of God wherever they go.
For this, praise and thanks are given to God. Praise and thanks to God is the default position of the Christian. And you know why this is so.

It is so because the power of Satan is strong. The devil’s might is terrifying. The accusations of the cunning and slick serpent find the chinks in the Christian’s armor and effect great destruction. Satan never rests going after the children of God.

Satan creates dissension within the family of God. This happens when disagreement over and issue becomes less about the issue and more about personalities. Disagreement over an issue is fine. Disagreement that becomes personal can tear apart the family that God has knit together.

Satan creates division within individuals and great spiritual turmoil is created when the devil leads a person to believe that some sins are less egregious than others, or that some people are less deserving of God’s love than others. Christians have deluded themselves into thinking that their individual sins are not as bad as the sins of those people over there. Judgmental attitudes reign and they are destructive. Self-justification is a big problem because Christians put themselves in God’s position, breaking the first commandment, and start to order God around- Do what I say, when I say, and if I don’t need you, just stay in that box over there, just stay in that baptismal font, just stay on that altar in those silly symbolic acts. I’m in charge God, so please stay out of my and let me run things.
We believe we know best. And what we know best, through the school of experience, is that the division and dissension created by the devil is devastating. Through our sinful actions brought on by our sinful activity, we are divided from our spouse, our children, from our brothers and sisters, from the other lambs we share this fold with. The accuser of our brothers has a field day by pointing to the long laundry list of our sins.

But the accuser of our brothers, the fiend who accuses us and deceives us into doubting God’s certain Word, God’s unconditional love, God’s pure mercy, the accuser has been thrown down. Michael and the heavenly hosts, the Sabaoth, the angelic army, did battle with Satan and Michael won. Of course they did. Was the outcome ever in doubt?

The 72 declared that the demons were subject to them in the name of Jesus. There is the certainty of the outcome. Jesus. Name above all names. Name at which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess in heaven above, on earth below, and in the realm below the earth, that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It is the Name, the glorious Name, the Name that is love and peace and strength and renewal. The power of the Name drives the demonic away.

There was another angel who did what the Lord told him to do. This was the archangel Gabriel, who showed up in Nazareth on March 25, and told a young virgin girl that she would have a child, a son in fact, and that her son would be the Son of the Most High God. Then Gabriel went over to Joseph’s house, woke him from his sleep and said that his fiancée was pregnant, not to worry, and that Joseph would call his son Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

The Name. The Name that saves. The Name that is placed on us. Jesus is the name we wear and bear to the world. Hearing the blessed name of Jesus reminds us that the accuser of our brethren has indeed been thrown down. The accuser has no more power to accuse since Jesus has ascended the throne of the cross, carrying your sins and mine, carrying our delusions and doubts. The accuser can no longer point his finger at us and accuse us of our sins since the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ looks at us and sees us wearing the robe of Christ’s righteousness. The devil has been cast down. Christ has triumphed.

Do what you’re told! The angels do what the Lord tells them to do on our behalf. We do what the Lord tells us to do. Rejoice, that our names are written in the book. Rejoice that you are cleansed through the waters of Holy Baptism. Rejoice that you are fed at the table of the Lord. Rejoice that your sins are forgiven. Rejoice that the mercy of God has reached you for the sake of your neighbor. Rejoice. That is what we are told to do. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. SDG

Worship info for Sept. 26

2010-09-20T13:40:00.002-04:00

This coming Sunday we'll mark St. Michael and All Angels in our worship, which actually occurs Sept. 29th. But we'll move it up so we can focus on the Lord's blessings through His angels.

Hymns
905 Come, thou almighty king
522 Lord God, to thee we give all praise
930 All you works of God, bless the Lord
708 Lord, Thee I love with all my heart

Scripture lessons
Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3
Revelation 12:7-12
Luke 10:17-20

Collect of the Day
O God, You are the strength of all who trust in You, and without Your aid we can do no good thing. Grant us the help of Your grace that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Collect of the Day for St. Michael and All Angels
Everlasting God, You have ordained and constituted the service of angels and men in wonderful order. Mercifully grant that, as Your holy angels always serve and worship You in heaven, so by Your appointment they may also help and defend us here on earth; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

May God bless our preparation and meditation for worship. pastor

Not quite a good start

2010-09-20T13:37:00.001-04:00

It looks like I might go 0-2 at the start of my fantasy league season. Right now I'm trailing 59-55. I have the San Francisco 49ers defense in tonight's game. They are playing the Saints. All I ask if for a couple of interceptions or fumble recoveries. Please. If not, I'll be looking up, which is not what I expected since I have Tom Brady at QB and Chris Johnson at RB. Both had subpar games yesterday. GGrrr...

Sermon for St. Matthew, Sept. 19th

2010-09-20T11:18:00.001-04:00

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
St. Matthew Sunday
Sept. 19, 2010
Ezekiel 2:8-3:11; Matthew 9:9-13
Speak with my words to them

In the name of Jesus, the one who called Matthew to follow him, and the one who continues to issue that call today, amen.

Of the four evangelists, perhaps Matthew was the smartest. But Luke was the physician, wasn’t he? We think he was, but being a physician then was not the same as being a physician today. Remember that at one point leeches were considered good medical practice. And perhaps you saw the old Saturday night Live skit where Steve Martin played a barber. The barber was looked to for medical help, and the barber’s diagnosis of a young girl’s ailment was due to a small toad or dwarf living in her stomach. Google it and you’ll see how funny that skit is.

John was a fisherman, and you likely know that it doesn’t take a whole lot of smarts to bait a hook. Worm, hook, water, done. Fishing in the first century took more brawn than brains.

And we don’t know a whole lot about Mark.

But Matthew was a tax collector. That job took some brains. It required some education. It required some intellect to determine if that goat equaled enough money to satisfy the amount of tax owed, or if a couple of extra doves were needed. And it took some shrewdness to make sure that no one realized how much extra money you were collecting and keeping and making sure that Caesar got what was his.

So perhaps Matthew was the smartest of the four evangelists. Of the four gospels, Matthew’s is the longest. Matthew includes the most references to the Old Testament. Those are very simple ways to deduce that Matthew had some good gray matter between his ears.

But…Matthew’s intelligence is not our focus. When Jesus called Matthew to leave his booth, Jesus said “Follow me”, not “Follow your own path and do what you want to do”. And our OT lesson from Ezekiel gives us the calling of that great prophet.

There the Lord feeds His prophet. “Son of man, open your mouth and eat what I give you.” And Ezekiel looked and there before him was a scroll. Eat it. Fill your belly with this scroll. It is a scroll of lamentation, woe, and mourning. And when Ezekiel ate it, behold, it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

After a delectable feast on God’s Word, Ezekiel was sent to the house of Israel. God, the Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the father of great King David, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all the people within the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, God told Ezekiel to speak with my words to them. Don’t speak with your words Ezekiel. Don’t you presume to know more than me! Do not dare to speak your thoughts and your opinions and your feelings. Speak with my words to them.

Matthew was told the same thing. Follow me, the Lord Jesus told him. Speak my words to the people of Israel. Write my words to those lost sheep, to those who are stuck in their self-righteousness. Do not rely on what you know, what you think you know, or what you guess at. Rely on me, for I am the one who called you. Speak with my words to the people you meet.

That is not as easy at it sounds. We generally like how smart we are. We often are impressed by the things we can do, the way we can build something, the way we can solve problems, the way we can manage time, people, and projects. We like the way we can turn a phrase, craft a sentence, take the music on the page and improvise in a way that is quite beautiful.

We spend a lot of time in school, listening to teachers, squirreled away in the basement of the library with our books and our papers. We spend a lot of time learning, being an apprentice, listening to older workers and figuring out the ‘tricks of the trade’. And so we take pride in what we know.

But the Lord says, “Speak with my words to them.” For someone like Ezekiel, or Jeremiah or Joel or Amos, for someone like Matthew or Mark or Luke or John, for you and for me, the Lord says to us, “Not by your smarts, not by your strength, not by your creativity, but by my Spirit. It is by my Spirit who brings the living Word of the Living Savior to your ears, to your heart. Speak with my words to them.”

Who is the ‘them’? Them is out there. Them is in here. Them are at work and them are in the classroom. Speak with my words to all people. Certainly in this place, in these services conducted in the Lord’s House, it is the Word of God that is spoken, the Word that frightens and condemns, the Word that comforts and saves.

So I think we are pretty clear on who is the ‘them’.

But what words are we to speak? And whose words should spill out of our mouths?

“Speak with my words to them.” That is, the Lord’s words, the words that mean something, the words that are solid and certain, trustworthy and true. Those kind of words are not often heard in our age of half-truths, of pseudo-truth, of white lies, gray lies, red, pink, and green lies. I’m not allowed to talk to telemarketers, and this is because I generally believe what people tell me. Believing what people say is a good thing, unless the words that people say are deceptive, false, or harmful.

The words of the Lord are words that we know. They have been spoken to us. They have been applied to us, and we have been speaking them. Our worship services are sung Scripture. Have you noticed how the pages of our hymnal are replete with Bible passages? We are not speaking the words of men. We are not speaking the words of North Africans, the area from where the historic order of Christian worship originated. We are speaking, singing, and praying the Lord’s words.

They are familiar words in a familiar language. Ezekiel was not sent to a foreign land, to people with a strange tongue. Neither was Matthew. He was sent to the lost people of Israel, to the sheep who had wandered away, and through Matthew, the Lord Himself sought after His people.

Everyday we find ourselves amidst people who speak the same language as us. Whether these people are inside the Church or not, they understand loss, hurt, and rejection. Christians and non-Christians alike deal with death, hopelessness, trial, and tragedy. They know joy and happiness, peace and calm. But sadly, the people outside of the Church, who do not rejoice in the Lord’s relationship, they do not know the Victor who overcomes the losses. They do not know the Divine Healer of our hurts, nor do they know the Forgiver who reverses our rejection. They do not know Jesus and are unable to respond to His call of “Follow me”.

The Lord sends us to speak. How? When the Lord’s call comes, our excuses come out quickly. I’m too young. I’m too old. I’m not smart enough. I don’t want to be perceived as a meddler. I wouldn’t know what to say. First of all, there is no such thing as too young or too old. Children and the elderly often make the strongest statements of faith through their living. Children simply blurt out the truth that Jesus loves them and they are overjoyed with that great knowledge. The elderly testify to God’s grace as they bear up under long illnesses, often with great pain and suffering. Indeed, they that wait on the Lord shall have their strength renewed like the soaring eagles.

Secondly, you wouldn’t know what to say? You’re not smart enough? That’s right. None of us are. But you are not speaking your words. I do not offer my opinion. Speak with my words to them, says the lord. Speak your story with the words of the Lord. Speak of your sin and God’s grace. Speak of your lost condition and how the Lord found you. Speak of your weakness and God’s strength. Speak of your self-centeredness and them speak of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.

Now some will hear and some will not. The Lord knows that people possess hard foreheads and stubborn hearts. People may close their ears. People may turn their back on us and walk away. People may respond with words of hate and condemnation. People may curl their hands into fists. We can’t control that. We know how stiff-necked and pig-headed we are. But the Lord’s command is simple: speak. Whether they hear or not is not your business. Your business is to speak. When you speak, speak the Lord’s words. You know the words. You live the words.

The Lord’s words are love. They are grace. They are forgiveness. They are the Lord’s words for you and they are in you. SDG

Sermon for Sept. 12

2010-09-15T10:59:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 16
Sept. 12, 2010
Luke 15:1-10
The Angel’s Joy

In the name of Jesus, amen. In our Gospel lesson this morning, does Jesus teach us how to make an angel happy? Jesus does talk about happiness and angels. And if you want to make an angel happy, if you want happiness in heaven, here is what you have to do: repent.

Again, for at least the fourth week in a row, the Gospel lesson focuses our attention on repentance, the necessity of it, and the blessing of it. And repentance is not something that we like to hear.

Happiness and repentance are not usually placed in the same sentence. Happiness and repentance are often placed at the extreme ends of a pole, of a spectrum. They are considered to be polar opposites, but that is not so. That idea is a delusion, and clouds our vision.

There is a lost sheep. There is a lost coin. The last half of Luke 15 shows us two sons who are both lost. And when the lost are found, when the lost discover the depths of their “lost-ness”, there is repentance and there is tremendous happiness, joy, frivolity, and mirth.

The angels before God in heaven experience joy and happiness, not for their own sake, but for the sake of the children of God who repent. Repentance occurs, not because people enjoy the way it makes them feel, but repentance occurs because God wills it. God our Father desires repentance because God longs to receive our sorrow, our shame, so that He can forgive our sins. God longs to forgive our sins of thought, word, and deed. God longs to forgive the sins we commit against our family and against strangers, against God Himself.

And when repentance takes place, there is rejoicing. The angels of God celebrate, give each other high fives and fist bumps. They cheer over the sinner being reconciled and restored to a right relationship with God. What we have today is the Gospel of the outcast for the outcast.

The last several Sundays Luke has talked about fellowship with the Lord and God’s desire that all people come to Him through His Son Jesus. Jesus is the narrow door that we enter through. We love the people around us because we love the Lord Jesus more. We have fellowship with God the Father because of Jesus the Son. But this fellowship, this inclusion, does not make all people happy.

There was grumbling because Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners. These people were drawing near to hear what Jesus had to say. They were drawing near and Jesus was receiving them, welcoming them, eating with them, and accepting them. He gave them what they needed. He gave them a call to repentance. And he gave them restoration.

Losing something is awful. Finding what was lost is great. The sheep that was lost was devastating news. Shepherds didn’t work alone, but in groups, at least in pairs. The shepherd responsible for the lost sheep would go after the lost one, leaving the ninety-nine in the hands of other shepherds. So you can imagine the joy at finding the sheep he is responsible for. The sheep likely didn’t know it was lost, and now finds itself being carried home on the shoulders of its shepherd.

We are often the lost sheep for we do not know the condition of our own lost-ness. Choices are made and paths are taken that we believe to be the right one but the realization soon comes that the choice was wrong and the path was not correct. We follow where our heart leads. We take the path of least resistance. We look for others to do our work. We seek something for nothing. And before long we realize that we are in the wilderness. We don’t know exactly where we are, we simply know that where we are is not where we want to be or where we need to be. And from that pitiable perspective, we are lead to believe that no one is coming to search for us. We believe the message that since we have made our beds we are the ones who will sleep there. We believe the message that the things we have done, the choices we have made, the paths we have traveled are so wrong and mistaken that there is no way to undo what was done or to even turn around and go back. As lost sheep we lie down and wait for our death. We are lost, beyond hope of being found.

Those are the messages of the devil. God cannot forgive you. You aren’t good enough. You don’t pray enough. You don’t do enough. You don’t give enough. You don’t believe enough. True, true, true. All of that is true. My devotional life is lacking. My prayer life is deficient. When the opportunity to give is presented to me, I jam my hands in my pocket. When the voices cry for mercy and compassion, I plug my ears and turn my back on them. And all of the devil’s messages, which have been bought by our world, are delusions.

Delusions. They are deadly because they cloud our minds, our heart, our vision of the truth. Here is the truth: “Jesus sinners doth receive; Oh, may all this saying ponder who in sin’s delusions live and from God and heaven wander! Here is hope for all who grieve: Jesus sinners doth receive!”

Here is the truth, as the prophet Ezekiel spoke the Lord’s words: “I myself will be their shepherd.” The shepherd searches for the sheep. The shepherd searches for you, hunts for you, listens to your crying and sobbing. When the shepherd finds you, there is rejoicing. He picks you up, hoists you onto his own shoulders and carries you back to the flock.

We repent of our wandering, of our chasing after what is worthless. We repent of the way that we push others out of the way, using our shoulders and sides to force the weaker away. We butt with our horns to make sure we get what is ours. And we realize how terribly we treat our fellow sheep. We repent. We acknowledge to God all of our sins. When that takes place, the angels in heaven rejoice at what takes place. They rejoice as the cross of Christ is lifted high, as the Lamb of God’s self-offering is celebrated. The Shepherd is the Lamb that was slain who takes away the sins of the world. The Shepherd is the Lamb, by whose blood we are sprinkled and cleansed. We are found. We are restored to our place within the family of God.

And there is joy, the joy of the angels over our repentance. And the Father beams as He looks at His beloved and says, “The lost is found. The outcast is brought in. My sinful child repents. My sinful child is forgiven.” This is joy, joy to the heart. “Let these words my soul relieve: Jesus sinners doth receive.” SDG

Worship info for Sept. 19

2010-09-14T14:19:00.002-04:00

Here is the information for this coming Sunday's service:

Hymns
692 Praise to You and Adoration
566 By Grace I'm Saved
781 We Give Thee But Thine Own
518 By All Your Saints in Warfare vv1,25,3
769 Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ
851 Lord of Glory, You Have Bought us

Lessons
Ezekiel 2:8-3:11
Ephesians 4:7-16
Matthew 9:9-13

Collect of the Day
O Lord, keep Your Church in Your perpetual mercy; and because without You we cannot but fall, preserve us from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day for the Commemoration of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Sept. 21)
O Son of God, our blessed Savior Jesus Christ, You called Matthew the tax collector to be an apostle and evangelist. Through his faithful and inspired witness, grant that we may also follow You, leaving behind all covetous desires and love of riches; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

May God bless our preparation and meditation for worship.

Wait till next year?

2010-09-14T13:23:00.003-04:00

I'm generally not in the habit of agreeing with anything Cub-related, but is it time to pull the plug on the Cardinals' season and say, "Wait till next year"?

I think it is. The team is competing, they are trying, they just aren't good enough this year. They have a talented roster with legitimate candidates for MVP (Pujols), Cy Young (Wainwright), and ROY (Garcia). But in order to win the whole thing, you need your great players to be great and you need career years from everybody else. This year, the greats are great (Pujols, Carpenter, and Wainwright) but everybody else is average or worse.

So...wait till next year. But at least for Cards fans the good news is that we don't root for the Cubs, where waiting till next year begins the day after Opening Day.

Burning Books?

2010-09-10T14:17:00.000-04:00

Not Knowing What Will Take Place Tomorrow

It is quite likely that you have heard the news about the proposed burning of the Qur’an by a “Christian” “pastor” in Gainesville, FL on the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attack on our country.

By my use of quotation marks, you can also likely guess what some of my thoughts are on the matter. Burning Qur’an’s, especially by a Christian organization, is not a good thing to do. It does not project the right message of Christianity.

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are dynamic groups and a wide range of perspectives can be found. We know that within Christianity you’ll find believers who are opposed to abortion and believers who feel that abortion is acceptable. Within the three major religions of the world, there are segments that can be radicalized.

I do not support what Rev. Terry Jones is planning to do. (In a Friday story in the Washington Post it was reported that Jones was going to cancel the Qur’an burning because a Florida Imam said that the cultural center at Ground Zero would not be built if Jones did not burn the Qur’an. But the people planning the cultural center said that the Florida Imam did not speak for them. Jones is now reconsidering the cancellation of the event.) From where I sit, Rev. Jones is seeking attention, and he is getting it in droves. The media salivates for a story like this.

And I wonder if Rev. Jones’ Qur’an burning-gimmick is not driven by fear. From various media reports, Jones is a Bible believer. That is great. Millions of Christians around the world can be labeled the same way. If he is indeed a Bible believer, what is he afraid of? Paraphrasing Dr. Luther, he wanted the Qur’an to be circulated freely amongst people, for when the Bible and the Qur’an are placed side-by-side, the Bible wins every time! The claims of the Bible are supported by religious and secular history, by archaeology, and by eyewitness claims that have been recorded. No other religion, Islam included, can make that statement. What is there to fear?

When people ask your opinion of what may or may not take place tomorrow, tell them that burning books- Bible, Qur’an, Torah, cookbook, Catcher in the Rye- is wrong. It does certainly not present Christianity in a light that is favorable. When you are asked your opinion, this is a good opportunity to speak of the hope that is in you, that in our holy book we know with certainty of God’s love, forgiveness, and mercy that come to us through Jesus the living Word of God.

“God’s Word is our great heritage and shall be ours forever; To spread its light from age to age shall be our chief endeavor. Through life it guides our way, in death it is our stay. Lord, grant, while worlds endure, we keep its teachings pure throughout all generations.” {LSB 582}

Two in a row

2010-09-10T08:00:00.002-04:00

So we got a Y membership on Wednesday. I've been there twice at 5:30ish to workout on Thursday and Friday (today). I even went thursday evening with the family for the open swim time. Not too shabby for someone so flabby.

I need to workout and be more active. I walk a lot with the kids, but you can imagine that they don't walk as fast as is beneficial for activity. So if I can do a half hour on the treadmill and then lift a few weights, I think that will be a good thing. In a few weeks I hope to get on the elliptical machine rather than a treadmill because I think that will be a better cardio workout.

And if Amanda keeps working one day a week, I hope to go there four days a week, plus any other time that the family wants to go.

Good for me.

Worship info for Sept. 12

2010-09-09T12:03:00.002-04:00

Here is the information for our worship on Sept. 12:

Hymns
802 Immortal, invisible God only wise
609 Jesus sinners doth receive
683 Jesus, thy boundless love to me
711 Savior, like a shepherd lead us

Scripture Lessons
Ezekiel 34:11-24
Psalm 119:169-176
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10

Collect of the Day
Lord Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd, without whom nothing is secure. Rescue and preserve us that we may not be lost forever but follow You, rejoicing in the way that leads to eternal life; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

May God bless our preparation and meditation for worship.

Sermon for Sept. 5

2010-09-09T12:00:00.003-04:00

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Sept. 5, 2010
Luke 14:25-35
Salt is good

In the name of Jesus, amen. Today’s Gospel lesson is the Gospel of the Lord? For people who do not like to read the Bible, who believe that the Bible is out-of-date, irrelevant, and of absolutely no worth, today’s worship is for them. (But they wouldn’t be here, would they?) The Bible lessons are right up there alley. God is setting before people life or death, blessing or curse. That’s it. That’s the choice. And Jesus lets the crowd know that if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and siblings and even his own life then he cannot be my disciple.

Bible doubters and God-deniers would hear those lessons and say, “There’s proof that God’s Word is of no value. Hate your parents? Hate your spouse, your children, and your siblings? God’s Word is ridiculous. Why give that book any credence at all? Do you foolish Christians believe that to be God’s Word?”
Christians breathe deeply, exhale, maybe even look down and say, “Yes. We do believe that is God’s Word. And we love God’s Word, cherish it and pray for God’s strength to keep it.”

“Even that?” we are asked.

“Especially that.” we respond.

What Jesus told the crowds and what we heard this morning is one of those Gospel lessons where we want to put a question mark after the Gospel acclamation- This is the Gospel of the Lord? It’s not the soft, cuddly Gospel we like to hear. It is not Jesus the Good Shepherd. It is not “Come to me all ye who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” It is not “Let the little children come to me, for of such is the kingdom of God.”

Jesus speaks of discipleship. Jesus speaks of cost. Jesus speaks of hate and love and salt.

Today’s gospel is of Luke and this section shows Jesus doing some traveling. The Twelve are with him. Other disciples are with him. Great crowds are with him. And together they are heading to Jerusalem. Jesus has been told that forces are aligning against him and that he should not go to Jerusalem, but Jesus has resolutely, steadfastly, set his face toward the holy city of David. Jesus knows where He is going. Jesus knows why he is going where he is going. And Jesus will not be stopped. He will not be deterred from his destination.

And so Jesus starts talking about hate. There is a lot of emotion and feeling involved with that word. Think of all the things and people you have hated in your life, and don’t pretend that there are none. Now think of all the things and people you don’t care about. That is harder to do. You have no feeling for something or someone you don’t care about. But if you have feelings for someone, positive feelings or bad feelings, you spend time thinking about them. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

In order to be a disciple of Jesus, a student of Jesus, a learner of Jesus, what is being asked? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.

This concept of hate is not unfamiliar in the Bible. Perhaps the most memorable example is from the patriarch Jacob. He had two wives- Rachel and Leah. Rachel he loved and Leah he hated. Jacob didn’t despise or detest Leah. Jacob didn’t wish her ill, or ask God that a safe would drop out of the sky on Leah. Jacob loved Leah less. Jacob loved Rachel more and he loved Leah less.

Jesus asks the crowd, those who are listening and learning to Jesus, to love the Lord, to follow the Lord, to submit to the Lord. If you put parents, spouse, children, or siblings in front of the Lord, then you cannot be a disciple of Jesus. All of that is First Commandment stuff.

“You shall have no other gods before me, in front of me, in place of me” says the only true and triune God. God gives us that command because he loves us. He loves us. And God wants us to enjoy the relationship that He has begun in our lives in the blest baptismal waters. That relationship works like this. God is God, we are not. God is creator, we are created. God is redeemer, we are the redeemed. God is forgiver, we are the forgiven. God is love, we are the beloved. God is giver, we are the receiver, the one’s given to. Look to the altar, to the table the Lord has prepared and you see the relationship of God at work. You are invited to come forward, in need, in want, in hunger, and God gives, God supplies, God fills, and God satisfies. It was last Sunday that we sang, “You satisfy the hungry heart, with gift of finest wheat. Come give to us, O saving Lord, the bread of life to eat.”

In living with the Lord, in learning from the Lord how to keep the Lord in the center of our life, what do we realize? We see our love for parents, for spouse, for children, siblings, coworker, neighbor, and stranger blossom, grow and flourish. Loving the Lord and making him the center gives us the strength to love in the genuine and sacrificial way that all the other people in our lives need. It takes a strong level of sacrifice to love your wife or your husband. It takes a strong level of sacrifice to love your children. It takes a strong level of sacrifice to love your brother and your sister. You know that. You live that reality.

When we love the Lord more than all the others that are in our life, we discover how the Lord enables us to love the people around us. You love the Lord and thus you love your child enough to spend time doing their math flash cards. You love the Lord and thus you love your spouse and put their needs ahead of your own. Loving the Lord more fills us up to lavishly love the people around us and show that we are disciples, students, and learners of Christ.

We love the Lord. We love our families. We take up our cross. These are things the disciples of Jesus do. These things are not always pleasant. Love can be painful and it can be filled with times of tears and trial and tragedy. The cross you pick up might be filled with splinters that lead to sadness which brings struggle and then ends in sorrow.

This is the Gospel of the Lord? Take your bulletin home with you today and re-read the Collect of the Day, re-pray that prayer, let that prayer bless and enlighten you. Look at what we ask the merciful Lord to give: Grant us courage to take up our cross. Courage is required to be a disciple. Courage is needed, but that is not the only thing.

Merciful Lord, grant us strength to take up our cross. Courage and strength go together. And God grants it! God gives, because that is what He is- giver.
And this makes us salty. Salt seasons and it preserves. Loved by the Lord, forgiven of all our sins, cleansed and redeemed in baptism, strengthened and sustained in Holy Communion, we season and preserve the things around us. We season our workplace by what we say and don’t say, but what we do and don’t do. We preserve our families by how we operate with them. We season the stranger we interact with and the classmate we learn with. This, this saltiness, this love, this mercy of the Lord, is the Gospel of the Lord. SDG

Labor Week doings

2010-09-09T11:49:00.002-04:00

I had a wonderful Labor Day holiday. Hosted my brother and his family and my parents and we spent some time at Millburn Orchards and at Longwood Gardens. On Sunday we closed down our pool (Persimmon Creek) and said goodbye to the family- happy when they came and happy when they went back to VA.

On Tuesday the family and I went to Dover. I had our circuit conference meeting and Amanda and the other pastors wives got together for a conversation. Following lunch we went to the Air Mobility Command museum. The kids enjoyed seeing the planes and learning about the Candy Bomber (Gail Halvorsen) who dropped Hershey Bars on the citizens of West Berlin.

On Wednesday I taught Jacob about the #10 and we went to the Y to get our family membership. Today I went to the gym at 5:30 and worked out for the first time in a long time before coming to church. It felt good. We'll see how I feel Friday morning!

Being away for so long has made Labor Day seem like Labor Week. But it has compacted the days meaning I have things to do, yet here I am blogging. Go figure.

More on Lutheran Service Book's one millionth book sold

2010-09-02T06:58:00.003-04:00

Here is a youtube video from CPH regarding the sale of the one millionth copy of LSB. In the video you'll hear Rev. Paul McCain make the comment that a hymnal is like your one stop shop for devotional needs- Scripture, Prayers and Prayer Offices and Hymnody. At the moment I'm drinking some WaWa coffee because it is free at the brand new store that has opened on Elkton Road. So my LSB is the WaWa of my devotional life- God's Word, hymns, and caffeine! Hope the link works.

1,000,000th Lutheran Service Book Sold
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w0-3W_Dvtk

One million sold!

2010-09-01T13:47:00.005-04:00

You might think be the title that some restaurant is gaining steam and is catching up to McDonalds. No, that is not the case. But today CPH has announced that the one millionth copy of Lutheran Service Book has been sold. And the book was only copyrighted in 2006! (Imagine confetti flying through the air, bells and whistles, perhaps even a firework or two. Or at least a sparkler.)

This is a big deal.

My love affair with Lutheran Service Book (LSB) is growing. The more I use LSB, the more wonderful I find it. It is extremely useful and helpful. I mean this in the best possible way, but Lutheran Worship (the predecessor to LSB) was not helpful or useful. It was 'time bound' to the chronological era in which is was created in haste. The same could be said for Lutheran Book of Worship, the general ELCA counterpart to LW. The altering of texts was not, and is not, a good thing. The alteration of texts does not respect the intelligence of the worshipers, who can read and understand what the text writers created.

The worship settings are good and cultivate a healthy diversity and help foster the unity of our church body. According to the CPH email, 80% of LCMS churches utilize LSB! This hymnal has been astoundingly adopted by sister congregations, and that is heartening. When traveling, you can find yourself at home, at a place that is familiar. And continuity does bring a sense of comfort.

The prayers included in the hymnal are quite beautiful and help us see our faith and our life as a single unit. Of course having the Small Catechism in the hymnal is good. The hymnody is great and I am so thrilled to sing the works of Paul Gerhardt and Stephen Starke in the same services.

I really think that, next to the Bible, the hymnal might be the greatest devotional resource a Christian can have in their home. It contains Scripture, prayers, and hymns. What else do we need?

Congratulations to CPH and the folks who put LSB together. If you do not have a copy- cph.org or 800.325.3040

Sept. 5 worship info

2010-09-01T13:47:00.002-04:00

Here is the information for worship on Sept. 5. Note that we'll be using Divine Service 1 for our worship form.

Hymns
696 O God my faithful God
847 Christ, our human likeness sharing
783 Take my life and let it be
838 The saints in Christ are one in every place
738 Lord of all hopefulness
791 All people that on earth do dwell

Scripture Lessons
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Philemon 1-21 (I trust you realize that Philemon is only one chapter long.)
Luke 14:25-35

Collect of the Day
O merciful Lord, You did not spare Your only Son but delivered Him up for us all. Grant us courage and strength to take up the cross and follow Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Misty

2010-09-01T12:44:00.001-04:00

I've noticed that several fb friends have been posting that they are taking their children to college. One is even taking their child to my alma mater, Concordia University Chicago, nee River Forest. That got me all misty-eyed. (If you know me in real life, that's not saying a whole lot.)

For me, it was fifteen years ago, August of 1995. It was a special time and it was a good time for me and my dad. Having a minivan full of stuff and needing to take two days to drive from northern VA to Chicago meant that mom had to stay home. Besides, she had to work in order to put me through school!

The first thing that was memorable about the trip was on day two of our drive, as Dad and I were heading north on the interstate from Indy to Chicago. It was my turn to drive and Dad was drinking his coffee and we were listening to NPR or something like that. Out of the blue, Dad says to me, "Y'know...now's not the time to be making babies."

My initial response was, "....uh...okay". I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and put my eyes back in their sockets. Apparently Dad was unaware that I was seventeen, pimply, not in 'game shape', and never had any luck with the ladies in high school. I wasn't expecting to be the big man on campus.

We pulled in to the parking lot outside of David-Jonathan Hall, where I was assigned to live in The Cave (the leaky, hot all year long basement of DJ, "sub-standard living at its finest"). At that moment we were swamped by various members of O, T, and C staff. RF had various staffs to help with orientation, transfer students, and then Freshmen Camp. It was amazing. We told them what room, and before I knew it, my books, iron, suitcase, and golf clubs were whisked away. Granted, they were dumped in the room, but it sure was handy.

We went and registered for my classes, had lunch in the cafeteria, bought a few books, and had a tour. After lunch the new students were taken away by themselves for some games and the parents went to a financial aid seminar along with some other faculty and administrative folk. Following that everyone went to the Chapel for an opening service. After that, it was time for the students to stay and their parents to go. Dad had moved our van to a different lot and we walked to the lot together. It was then that Dad started crying.

I had never really seen my dad cry before. I asked him why he was crying and he said that as he gets older, he gets more emotional, and that I would understand some day. (I do.) We hugged and he gave me a $20 and he told me how much he loved me and how proud he was of me and that he and mom would be praying for me. (I'm getting misty now.)

He got in the car and then left. (Interesting that he drove as far as Marysville OH, and to save money, parked the car in a neighborhood and slept in the back of the van. Later, my wife would spend about four years in Marysville and we were married in that great town.)

The rest of the week was something of a blur. There were all sorts of activities, led by crazy upperclassmen. I tried out for the Kapelle and was introduced to Doctor Tom Gieschen. He told me I should take private lessons and that led me to change my schedule before the semester had even started. (That's how influential Doc was.)

On Friday the Camp Staff took us to camp, a fine example of truth in advertising. We went to a Salvation Army camp on the IL/WI border. It was awesome in its badness. Too many spiders, bad showers, not enough silverware, but I got to meet some really awesome people.

My exampe is not unique. I'm sure the other Concordias have similar events and that other schools have orientations too. I can't speak about them. I can only speak of what I know and what happened fifteen years ago is still something that is pretty special.

Dreams

2010-09-01T08:58:00.002-04:00

Today is the day that our new president of the LCMS begins his term. (His installation is Sept. 11 in St. Louis.) He, like all the faithful men before him, is in need of our prayers. And like all the other times before this one, this day is a day to dream. I found this from my friend Will and it is very good.

What the Church is is not what it should be, or could be. The Church is always aspiring to something better, is always looking expectantly to be what God created her to be.

And while I am very hopeful for the term of Pres. Harrison to begin, do not be deceived that my hope is in him. My hope is in the triune God and my prayers are for God's blessings to be on our new president and for God's grace to be poured out on our society through the faithful ministrations of pastors, church workers, and laity.

Here are some dreams to ponder, again from my friend Will:
Here are some of my dreams, though, for my beloved Synod:

A more merciful Church - greater involvement in alleviating human suffering and bringing the love of Christ to bear in tangible ways in our local communities and throughout the world.

A more evangelical Church - no, not in THAT sense; in the true sense. A Church where the Gospel rings out with its unquenchable joy and shapes all we say and do, and where the Gospel (not the Law!) moves our mission work.

A more liturgical Church - learning to live responsibly within our liturgical heritage in the way Krauth: "possessing liturgical life without liturgical bondage." A Church where the full and rich heritage of Lutheran hymnody rings out full-throated from our congregations.

A more prayerful Church - where the Daily Office, the Litany and such come into their own and shape our parishes as places of prayer. If "my Father's house shall be called a house of prayer for all people" let us return our parishes from being fund-raising organizations to being prayer-raising communities.

A more giving Church - where we recover a lively sense of sacrifice, of sharing earthly goods from the charity that the Gospel has planted in our hearts.

A more gentle Church - where the 8th commandment is truly honored in our practice, above all in learning to explain our neighbor's actions in the kindest way and where we remember the wise words of the Apology that harmony in the Church cannot last unless pastors and churches mutually overlook many things.

A more peaceful Church - where the hope of the future that will surely be ours at our Lord's Appearing removes all hastiness and fear and gives us a calm and measured ability to evaluate the challenges before us.

A more educated Church - where a deep and abiding love for the Word of God leads to full Bible classes and devout reading of the Word in our homes.

It is said that over time, a parish takes on the characteristics of her pastor. The above I find to be characteristics of our new President. I hope that in time, the Synod will become like him in that way.
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Those dreams for prayer, mercy, worship, love, peace, the Gospel,sacrifice...those are ways God's Church is known, seen, and experienced. May God grant it by His grace!

Funeral for Aug. 29, the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

2010-08-31T08:17:00.002-04:00

Here is the sermon from this past Sunday. I really love preaching on these commemorations and festivals.

Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Aug. 29, 2010
Romans 6:1-5
What shall we say then?

In the name of Jesus, amen. What shall we say then? Of those born among women, none is greater than John the Baptist. What shall we say then? Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. What shall we say then about the last of the Old Testament prophets, about the forerunner of Christ, about the one whom Zechariah sang, “You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

What shall we say then? We should glorify and exalt the Lord God for the gift of John the Baptist, for the preaching of John, for John’s faithfulness unto death, to the time he was beheaded by Herod Antipas, who happened to be son of Herod the Great, the one who tried to kill Jesus in his infancy.

Our talk about John the Baptist should be talk about God’s grace and God’s desire for our salvation. John the Baptist preached baptism. John the Baptist did baptism. Great crowds were coming to see the prophet dressed in weird clothing and eating a weird diet. Great crowds came to hear John’s preaching of repentance, to hear John’s preaching of a return to God. Soldiers, don’t extort people for protection. Tax collectors, collect only what you are supposed to collect. Don’t cheat. Don’t steal. Return to God. What a scold, this popular prophet- John the finger-wagger.

John did what the Lord sent him to do. John’s beginning was miraculous. He was the miracle baby of old Zechariah and barren Elizabeth. And the arrival of John was to get everything ready for Jesus. John brought down the mountains, raised the valleys and made the rough places plain.

And when John was finished with that work, John started talking about baptism. And he addressed the crowd as a brood of vipers. And he told them that the axe was at the root of the tree and that Jesus was going to start chopping down every tree that did not bear the fruit of repentance. So be baptized. I baptize you with water, but one is coming who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. Praise God for the gift of John the Baptist, who speaks the hard words that we, viperish people that we are, might not want to hear.

What shall we say then? We let Paul do the talking: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Continue in sin? By no means. Why would we think of such a thing? John preached repentance. John preached washed and regeneration through baptism. So did Jesus. Jesus preached repentance. Last week Jesus told the crowds that they were to strive to enter through the narrow door. Jesus preached repentance, and then Jesus delivered. Jesus travelled the roads that John had prepared- the road that led throughout Palestine, to Jerusalem, to Calvary, to the tomb. Jesus delivered for the people who did repent, who did turn back to God with tears in their eyes, only to discover that God the Father was crying just as much. God desires our repentance. God desires our sorrow over sin. And God desires that we live in a right relationship with him.

We have indeed been baptized into Christ’s death through baptism. That is one of the shocking realities of the Sacrament that makes us Christian. On that holy, happy day, when the little child is dressed in that baptismal gown, when the parents are worried about the child screaming, when grammy and pop-pop have their cameras ready, a death is being celebrated.

The death of Jesus Christ our Lord is celebrated in the washing of water and the Word. Without the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, there is no need for Holy Baptism. Holy Baptism is just a formality, a worthless ritual, if the forgiveness of sins is not present.

And it is not only the death of Jesus Christ that we acknowledge and celebrate, it is also the glory of the Father that takes center stage. Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

What shall we say then? It is our heavenly Father’s glory that we rise from death, that we shake off the sleep of death, and walk in new life.

We rise from our slumbers to new life everyday. This new life is the forgiven life. New life is joyous. New life is challenging. It is a little scary. It can hard to discern and decipher. Through faith in Christ, and as we live in him, we learn this new life. We put away the judgmentalism of Satan and pick up the justice of the Lord. We leave behind the sin of racism, of greed, of self-absorbed superiority and we pray for God’s energy to share the mercy of God and the sacrificial love of Christ with those in our life. With Christians and non-Christians alike, we reflect the redemption that has come to us. We forgive as we have been forgiven. We mercy as we have been mercied. We love, because He first loved us.

What shall we say then? Of course, of those born of women, there has never been anyone greater than John the Baptist, yet those who are least in the kingdom of God are greater. What shall we say? Praise to you O Father for the life and ministry of John the Baptist. What shall we say? Christ is our life. Christ’s death is our death. Christ’s resurrection is our resurrection. What shall we say? We are sinners called by the Word of God to repent and find the forgiveness of those sins. What shall we say? God desires us to repent, God desires to forgive our sins, and through our savior Jesus, God delivers. SDG

Home School Updates

2010-08-31T08:13:00.002-04:00

We've been homeschooling Jacob now for a week, and as the second week has started, we feel pretty good about what's going on. I taught him Friday and Monday. Yesterday I successfully taught him the One Vowel Rule. (First of all, who knew that the One Vowel Rule existed?) The One Vowel Rule is this: Words that have one vowel in them usually say their short sound.

And today we're going on a field trip to the DE Museum of Natural History. Today is the last day of $1 admission. Should be a good time.

Wow

2010-08-25T13:32:00.002-04:00

I heard on the radio that Cal Ripken turned fifty yesterday. And it was fifteen years ago that he broke the consecutive game streak. I remember that, watching the moment while at work.

Cal still is a good role model in a time when sports stars are generally lousy role models.

It's good to remember what happened so long ago.

Worship info for Aug. 29

2010-08-24T13:32:00.002-04:00

This is the last Sunday in August and we continue to follow Divine Service 5.

Hymns
685 Let us ever walk with Jesus
731 O GOd, forsake me not
641 You satisfy the hungry heart
738 Lord of all hopefulness
518 By all your saints in warfare 1,24,3
842 Son of God, eternal savior

Scripture Lessons
Revelation 6:9-11
Psalm 71:1-8
Romans 6:1-5
Mark 6:14-29

Collect of the Day
O Lord of grace and mercy, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to follow the example of Your Son in true humility, that we may withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds avoid ungodly pride; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day for the commemoration of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist
Almighty God, You gave your servant John the Baptist to be the forerunner of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in both his preaching of repentance and his innocent death. Grant that we, who have died and risen with Christ in Holy Baptism, may daily repent of our sins, patiently suffer for the sake of the truth, and fearlessly bear witness to His victory over death; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, nopw and forever. Amen.

Sermon for August 22

2010-08-23T07:37:00.002-04:00

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Aug. 22, 2010
Luke 13:22-30
“Lord, will those who are to be saved be few?”

In the name of Jesus, amen. As Jesus was making his way to the cross, as he was journeying to Jerusalem, as he was sauntering towards the divine sacrifice, someone asked him what was going on. “Lord, will those who are to be saved be few?”

And our Lord Jesus Christ lovingly looked at the questioner and said, “What’s it to you?” Salvation is God's business. Jesus didn't really say that, but he did say that the people who are to be saved might not be the people you think it might be.

The questioner came to Jesus and asked about the number of those who would be saved. Will it be few? Yes.

Yes, it will be few who enter through the narrow door. Many will seek to enter but they will not be able. How many of those many do we know? How many of those many are in our family, are in the cubicle next to us? The answer to those sad questions is probably more than we care to admit. We shrink from the honesty that tells us that many people pretend when it comes to their relationship with God and the salvation that God holds out for them.

We have no reason to believe that Jesus was not speaking with love when he said “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” Jesus wants us to enter our Father’s house. And Jesus has provided the way, informing us in John’s gospel that Jesus is the gate, that Jesus is the way.

This striving, this struggle, it is something that the people of God engage in repeatedly, perhaps even perpetually. This striving is the struggle of repentance. It is the fight against our flesh. It is the wrestling with our sinful human nature. Strive to repent. Strive to be open to the Word of God. Repentance is the work of God after all. It is God working in our heart. It is God strengthening us to admit that there is no value in us apart from God. Strive to fully own up to your sins of thought, word, and deed. Strive to stand in the shadow of the cross with the knowledge that it was your sin, my sin, that put Jesus there. Strive to enter through the narrow door.

We repent, every Sunday, every day, to our children, to our spouse, to our employer, to our coworkers. We admit all the sin that binds and hinders. And we find the forgiveness of those sins. We find God’s open arms, the Father’s loving embrace, the Father’s desire to wipe away our tears, His desire to welcome us to the feast.

The master will rise and he’ll shut the door. That is a true statement. The door to heaven will not be open forever. When the sovereign Lord determines, the door will be shut. People will be outside, banging on the door, saying, begging, pleading, “Lord, open to us.” The master of the house will then honestly say, “No. I do not know who you are nor do I know where you have come from.”

“But we ate in your presence. You taught in our streets.”

“Fine. Did you listen?”

“Not really. Or at least not that closely.”

Mere acquaintance with Jesus the Lord is not what the Lord is looking for. You may know the facts, that Jesus is God’s Son, that Jesus died and rose, but until you know that Jesus did it for you, to help you, comfort you, to save you, then knowing the facts is really not much knowledge at all.

That’s sad. A lot of the time the things we know get in the way. We value this knowledge and build it up into something it is not. What we know gets in the way of the One who knows us and the One we are invited to know. Yes, the triune God invites us to know him. We are invited to know the Lord as the narrow door, to know the Lord as Redeemer, as Shepherd, as the Lamb that was slain who now lives forevermore. We are invited to learn of Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We are invited to know God as our strength, as our energy, as our rest.

As we learn of this God we are repeatedly astounded at all there is know and experience. We do realize that the beauty of God is found in the ‘for you’ aspect.

For your sake you were washed, cleansed, baptized. For your sake, your forgiveness, life, and salvation, you receive the body and blood of Christ that was broken and shed. Strengthened by God’s baptismal grace, fortified by the grace and mercy of the communion meal, we are transformed and strengthened for lives of discipleship.

We are strengthened to recognize that some people have given God the stiff arm. Why do I need to repent when I am not a sinner? I don’t cheat. I don’t steal. I don’t do anything that is wrong. And that is what some people believe. Why won’t God let me in to heaven? I’m a nice guy. I’m kind to kittens and puppies. I’m generous and respectful. I’m a moral person. And all of that is very nice. But when you ask if they have repented of their sins and embraced the free gift of salvation in Jesus, they bristle, they stiffen, and they walk away. The gnash their teeth at the notion that they are sinners. In Matthew’s gospel we find Christ talking about the sheep and the goats. It is the goats who tell Jesus that if they had seen the Lord hungry, naked, sick, or in prison, then by God, we’d have done something. They never acknowledged all the hungry and sick and naked who were living right next door to them.

People will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, they will enter through the narrow gate and they will recline at the table of the Lord.

How many months ago did I mention that when you eat with someone, you are accepting them? An overloaded banqueting table is prepared by our Lord, and people from all nations are brought in to the feast. How joyous is it to recline at the table of the Lord, be served by the Lord, and bask in His presence? It is joy upon joy, glory upon glory.

Strive to enter through the narrow door, huh? Lord, will those who are saved be few? We enter through the door that is our savior Jesus. Called through the Gospel by the Holy Spirit, gathered together to confess our sins and lift up our Redeemer, strengthened to claim the free forgiveness of God and live that forgiveness, we enter through the narrow door. We acknowledge that there are people, neighbors even, who work in opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ. We acknowledge that the salvation of our souls is God’s work.

Will those who are saved be few? Yes, if salvation is from a human perspective, if salvation is based on my goodness and your merit. But Christ is the narrow door through which we enter God’s kingdom. And Christ is our strength, Christ is our merit, Christ is our hope, and Christ is our Redeemer. SDG

I just can't...

2010-08-19T09:05:00.004-04:00

...figure out the Cardinals this year. They just got swept by the Brewers, each game was 3-2.

They are a 'good' team. That's it. They aren't bad. They aren't exceptional. They are good. Perhaps I, and all the other Card fans, have been spoiled by their run of above-averageness for the last decade and a half. But this year, about the best that can be said for the Cardinals is that they are good.

Albert is having a great year. His average may be down a bit, but the pitchers do seem to have the advantage across the board.

Matt Holliday is productive but not at the level I expected.
Colby Rasmus is developing nicely.
Molina is solid
Schumaker started horribly.
All the other role players are just that: role players. And when role players play outside of their roles, that's not a good thing to do long term.

Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright have been exceptional. They are allowed a mistake or two. Jaime Garcis is a delightful surprise and I hope that he continues to develop. The bullpen is effective when it is allowed to settle into their roles. When they are asked to do more than what they can do, we've seen the bad results.

Will the Cardinals make the playoffs? I don't know. Sometimes good teams do and sometimes good teams don't. And the Cardinals are good. We'll see.

Worship info for August 22

2010-08-19T09:05:00.001-04:00

Hymns
526 You Are the Way; Through You Alone
510 A Multitude Comes from the East and the West
518 By All your Saints in Warfare 1,23,3
675 Oh, What Their Joy

Scripture Lessons
Isaiah 66:18-23
Hebrews 12:4-29
Luke 13:22-30

Collect of the Day
O Lord, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Collect of the Day for St. Barnabas, Apostle
Almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, chose Bartholomew to be an apostle to preach the blessed Gospel. Grant that Your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

May God bless our preparation and meditation for worship.

Something about Mary

2010-08-16T08:09:00.002-04:00

The following was written by my internet friend Will Weedon. Will is a pastor in Hamel, IL (southern IL). This devotion is glorious in the rich Biblical images we have of the blessed Virgin and our Lord Jesus. Most highly favored Lady! Gloria!
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I remember when the angel came and told me, and my heart burst with joy and terror.

I remember when I came to the door of Zechariah’s house and Eliabeth knew my secret and my heart melted and my eyes burned with tears and my mouth prophesied.

I remember when I felt your movement first inside my body, and I realized that I was the living ark of the living God.

I remember when first I saw your face, and touched your hands, and looked into my Joseph’s eyes.

I remember when they came creeping in to see you, to worship you, the shepherds of the night, and told me songs of angels and glory in the highest and peace on earth.

I remember when we brought you to the temple and the old man took you in his arms and blessed God, ready to die, and told me of pain yet to come.

I remember when they came from the East and bowed before you as I held you and gave their gifts - the gold, the incense and the myrrh, while the star's light shone upon us.

I remember when he woke me and we fled into the night ahead of the terror of Herod’s sword.

I remember when we came home at last, and people looked and talked, but you were all our joy.

I remember when you stayed behind, when you left us, and we found you in the temple and my heart rose up in fear realizing that you chose to abide in the place of sacrifice and death.

I remember when you spoke to me in roughness and yet made the water into wine.

I remember when we came to make you take your rest and you taught me that all these in need were dear to you as your own family.

I remember when they took you, tortured you, and crucified you; and before my eyes rose up the old man in the temple – his words haunted me still – and a sword ran me through as I watched you dying.

I remember when you looked on me and the beloved one and gave us to each other for all our days.

I remember when the light died in your eyes and my heart sank beyond tears and words.

I remember after the empty days when they came and told me that you lived again, and joy flooded my heart, and I knew then what I had always known - your every promise was true.

I remember when we prayed together after you had gone into heaven and the Spirit came in wind and flame.

I remember how they went and told the news to all the world. And I welcomed each new believer as my beloved child, a brother of my Son, the King of all.

I remember it all now as I die, as I lay my head down in death.

My Son, I am not afraid. I go to you, to you who have conquered death, to you who are the Forgiveness of all sins. Receive me, child. Receive me.

I remember. I remember. I remember.

Sermon for Aug. 15

2010-08-16T07:32:00.001-04:00

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Aug. 15, 2010
Jeremiah 23:16-29, Luke 12:49-56
Is not my word like fire, like a hammer?

In the name of Jesus, amen. And when I say that I mean the fiery Jesus, the hammer-swingin’ Jesus. It is in his name that this sermon is offered, and in whose name we live, move, and have our being. I love talking about the Name, capital N. And I love how the Name is named at our invocation, how the Name is lifted up in the Kyrie and the Gloria, how attention is given to the Name in the hearing of Holy Scripture, how the Name is confessed in the Creed, how our prayers are laid at the feet of the Name, how our service is ended in the Name.

The Name is the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Name is what is revealed to us as Creator, as Redeemer, as Sanctifier. The Name is revealed to us in the Word as the Word. Jeremiah the prophet was blessed to receive the Word, to digest it, to inwardly take in the Word and then spill it back out for those who wanted to hear and for those who didn’t. The Word of God is like fire. The Word of God is like a hammer. And praise be to God that this statement is true.

I’d like to say something profound. Are you ready? Get out a pen or pencil. Here it comes: It’s hard being a Christian.

None of you seem surprised to hear that. And I’m glad that my profundity was really rather common to you.

Being a Christian is tough. You live that reality every day. The Holy Spirit has called me, us, by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctifies me, and keeps me in the one true faith. God has called us by the Gospel, and that is good. This Gospel is grand and glorious. It is good and gracious. It is fiery and can smack like a hammer.

And as God spoke through His prophet Jeremiah, “Is not my word like fire, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” And as Jesus the Word of God said, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No I tell you, but rather division. From now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.” Fathers and sons will fight. Mothers and daughters will fight.

And allow me to say this: Good. Would that all Christians were divided so that Christ might dwell between them.

Look at the fiery lava on the bulletin cover. I saw that and imagined someone on one side and someone on the other. In a horrible way, there is division. One hiker is separated, is divided from another.

Fire is terrible. We prayed about the Crossan family. We collectively mourned and prayed for the mother who lost three of her four children in a house fire. Some of us may have contributed to the memorial fund. Fire hurts and scars and burns and destroys. It is not something to be fooled around with.

That’s the bad side. But you know full well that there is more than one side, more than one perspective with a lot of things. As a child I loved Sunday nights in the winter. My father and mother would make a fire in the fireplace and while it burned and crackled, they’d read the newspaper on the couch. My brother and I would play a board game or something or sometimes I’d lay on the floor in front of the fireplace and would read a book. And you know what’s ridiculous? I used to pretend that I was Abraham Lincoln reading by the fire in his log cabin. What can I say? I’m a nerd. Sometimes Mom would break out the roasting sticks and we’d roast hot dogs for dinner and marshmallows for dessert.

Fire is warm. Fire is inviting. It is comforting. It provides light.

Is not my word like a fire? By the warm guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Christian says yes! By the power of the Word the world came into being. God said, “Let there be” and there was- sun, moon, stars, the land, all that flies in the sky, walks on the land, and swims in the sea. As we gather around a campfire, so the Church of God gathers around the Word. The location of the Scripture readings is in the middle of the service. During the Easter season we physically carry the Word into the middle of our Sanctuary during a Gospel processional. In a real way the Word is in the middle of our assembly. As the Word is read, maybe you look across the aisle at your brother or sister in Christ. You are looking at the Word from one side and there is someone looking at the Word from the other. We keep the warm, inviting Word in the middle and we invite others to come and have the Word dwell in their middle too.

Who do we invite? We could say that we invite our friends and our neighbors, family members, friends from school. But we invite sinners. We invite sinners to come and sit with us, who are fellow sinners, so that all of us can understand and love the God who forgives, the God who is mercy, the God who is patience, the God who is justice and truth.

Coming into the fire of God’s presence is scary at first, because the light of the fire exposes our dirt and our stains. And we do not like to be exposed. We’d prefer to stay in the shadows, stay protected, and continue to put forth the façade that everything in our life is perfect. But coming into the light of God’s Word exposes us.

But more than exposing us, the light of God’s Word exposes God. And I just rattled off some of the things that God is- mercy, goodness, love, patience. God is a God at hand. He is a God who draws close. He is a God who lifts up, who supports, who holds us close to Himself. He fills the heavens and the earth. That is the God revealed in the Word.

Yet, my brothers and sisters, there are those who look at the warm fire of God’s Word and run from it. They dream dreams. They prophecy lies and deceit. They call evil good and good evil. They pretend that sin does not exist. They justify the wrong and when anyone dares to speak the truth of God’s Word, those truth-speakers are ridiculed and denounced as hateful, unloving, unenlightened. Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully.

God has drawn us to the fire of God’s Word and we have been shown how good it is. God has revealed to us that His Word is a hammer, and like fire, we know that a hammer can destroy and a hammer can build.

God’s Word bangs and beats like a hammer upon the rock-hard heart that is lodged inside every one of us. Our selfishness is broken up. Our arrogance is beaten by the hammer of God’s Word. Our self-centered definition of love falls under the hammer-blows of God’s Word. And let us rejoice, for we are indeed hard as rocks when it comes to receiving the gracious presence of God.

We are broken but we are not left in that condition. God binds up the broken-hearted. God picks up the pieces and molds, shapes, and fashions us. It may be a long time and we may grow weary and impatient, but God transforms us by the power of His Word. The hammer that nailed Jesus to the cross is the hammer that smashes our sin. We are smashed by the cross. We are rebuilt by the empty tomb.

Is not my word like a fire? Yes, a warm, loving, enlightening fire. Is not my word like a hammer? Yes, a hammer that builds us into the body of Christ, builds us to love and serve in the same way that we have been loved and served. The fire and the hammer of God’s Word are great. SDG

Worship info for Aug. 15

2010-08-10T12:37:00.002-04:00

Hymnal owners, here is the information for worship this coming Sunday:

Hymns
913 O Holy Spirit, Enter In
678 We Sing for All the Unsung Saints
582 God's Word Is Our Great Heritage
629 What Is This Bread
855 For All The Faithful Women verses 1,8,3,4
924 Lord, Dismiss Us With Your Blessing

Scripture Lessons
Jeremiah 23:16-29
Hebrews 11:17-12:3
Luke 12:49-56

Prayer of the Day
Merciful Lord, cleanse and defend Your Church by the sacrifice of Christ. United with Him in Holy Baptism, give us grace to receive with thanksgiving the fruits of His redeeming work and daily follow in His way; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day for the commemoration of St. Mary, mother of our Lord (Aug. 15)
Almighty God, You chose the virgin Mary to be the mother of Your only Son. Grant that we, who are redeemed by His blood, may share with her in the glory of Your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Remember to look through the service music for Divine Service 5. You can look at 960, 434, and 617 for the communion service.

Late to the party

2010-08-10T08:58:00.002-04:00

Anne Rice reported on her facebook page and through other media outlets that she has quit Christianity but is still a follower of Christ Jesus.

This has gotten a lot of attention. I heard it on All Things Considered on NPR last week. But the attention is for something that is not really a new, or news, item.

The fastest growing segment in Christianity is "None". People are labeling themselves as Spiritual rather than Religious. One thing that Anne Rice commented about was that she was leaving behind the quarrels and contentiousness and fighting and bickering. She stated her disgust, disapproval, and disappointment with "organized religion". (Anne Rice was raised Roman Catholic, married an atheist, wandered around for a while, then rediscovered Roman Catholicism and decided to 'write for the Lord', and now is dissatisfied with The Church.)

Christians are contentious. Christians get into quarrels. Christians fight and bicker. Hello! Organized religion has a lot of problems with it. At times I am disgusted with, and perhaps I even hate organized religion and those associated with it.

And my disgust with organized religion is precisely why I NEED organized religion! We organize ourselves every Sunday at 10am to be spiritually religious. We are bound together to confess our contentiousness, to admit our arrogance, to repent of bickering and quarreling. We are organized around the hearing of the Word. We are organized to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion. I need organized religion to repent of all the ways that I shame the Church of God through my actions and inactions. I need organized religion to preach to me the cross of Jesus Christ that forgives all my sins. I need organized religion to point me to the empty tomb and the triumph of my Savior.

The faults of Organized Religion are the faults of the people involved. I am a poor, miserable sinner, sinful from birth, turned inward on myself. When one sinner is added to another sinner, you can imagine what the outcome will be. It ain't pretty.

But when one sinner is connected to Jesus Christ, the outcome is redemption. The outcome is a life of repentance. The outcome is a life that is transformed. The outcome is a life that does not take, does not exult, but rather is a life that receives, that is humble, gentle, meek.

Anne Rice's comments were interesting. They were not new. They were not particularly newsworthy. Many people have left religion in search of spirituality. This is the opportunity for the Church of Jesus Christ to proclaim Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Sermon for August 8

2010-08-09T14:09:00.001-04:00

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Aug. 8, 2010
Luke 12:22-40
More and more

In the name of Jesus, amen. Our desire and our drive for more starts at the beginning and never really goes away. It may subside a bit, but it’s always there. We long for more, we search for more, we hunger and thirst for more.

More what? Now that is something to be explored because sometimes having more is good yet it is true that having more can be harmful. More sleep? Good. More time to complete your test? Good. More fun, food, frivolity? Those are generally good things. But more bills? Harmful. More weight? Harmful. More pain, uncertainty, confusion. Who wants those sort of things?

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.”

More than food and more than clothing. But the chase to satisfy our most basic needs seems to be all that life is about. We get stuck in the simplistic. And simplistic is vastly different than simple.

Examining food and clothing, we can certainly be simplistic in our drive for more. How many shirts do you really wear? How many pairs of shoes do you really need? And what’s going to happen to your favorite item of clothing? If it’s your favorite, you’ll wear it a lot, and pretty soon the cuff will start to fray, the color will fade, you might get a hole in it, and then what? You get rid of it. You find a new favorite.

The same is true with food. Food fills our body, providing energy and nutrition. Food serves us. Or at least it should. But often we are the ones in service to food. We turn food into an idol.

The ravens neither sow nor reap, yet they are cared for. They do not have barns, silos, storehouses or warehouses. God feeds the ravens. Of how much more value are you than the birds? When we simplistically chase our tails, we begin to think that we are of no value, that value is only found in things, that our things define who we are. My brothers and sisters, let us get our minds out of the gutter. Let us not think so simplistically. As we focused last week, let us set our minds on things above, not on the earthly things.

The earthly things surround us. We see our neighbor’s new car, new gas grill, and new patio furniture. We hear about their new bamboo wood floors. We hear from our children about all the cool places they go, the beach, the amusement park, the mountains, and we know all about the gadgets and gizmos- a DS3, the new smart phone with 4G technology. It can be maddening to try and keep up. It’s an arms race that has no winner. Our mind is focused on all that is around us and we lose the ability to discern the divine goodness and mercy that comes to us. The earthly things surround us.

We lose our satisfaction, our contentment. We lose our appreciation for all the ways that we are cared for, that we are tended, and looked after. We lose sight of our Good Shepherd who leads and guides us to cool pastures and still waters. We forget that we are never in want.

Of how much more value are you than birds? More and more. That’s how much.

Value is tricky, especially when examining things that cannot be produced. What’s the value of a smile? What’s the value of simple courtesy? What’s the value of hard work? What’s the value of smart work? I’ll let you ponder those things.

But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

God’s Kingdom is given to God’s children. It is given to you. It is given to me. It is given to all who acknowledge and believe that Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus is the Savior, that Jesus is the one who brings the forgiveness of God to all the sinful situations we get bogged down in.

Greed places us in a sinful situation. Laziness gets us trapped in sinful situations. Skewed definitions and understandings of love certainly bog us down in sin. Arrogance and self-importance reveal the depth of the prison of sin.

But God’s Kingdom is given to the children of God. God’s Kingdom comes to us through the King of kings and Lord of lords. It comes through Jesus, through His grace, through his compassion, through the exercise of his mercy. Jesus comes to us, looks lovingly into our eyes, receives our repentance and removes the sin that humiliates us.

Our sin is affront to God. It is offensive. It is a rejection of God’s grace and love. It is a rejection of the gift of God’s Son Jesus. It is rebellion against the leading and guiding call of God’s Holy Spirit. Yet the Father sent His Christ to be our King and to lead us to the cross and to the tomb. The Father sent the Christ to bring us the kingdom of God today and the kingdom of God that awaits us in heaven. As we learn in the Small Catechism, p324 in our hymnals, “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.”

More and more, as we mature in faith, as we grow into Christ our head, we grow into the people God has made us to be. More and more we demonstrate grace. More and more we model forgiveness. More and more we grow into lives of service. More and more we grow to receive the love and support that people want to give us. More and more we become people of integrity who demonstrate their love for the Lord through the help and assistance they give their neighbor. More and more we put away those earthly things, we stop the childish chase for food and clothing. And we grow stronger in holding open our hands to receive the gifts of our loving God. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” SDG

Double Wow

2010-08-03T15:25:00.002-04:00

I haven't written much about it, but our Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod elected a new president at our recent convention. His name is Rev. Matt Harrison. For the last nine years Rev. Harrison has been the executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care. Think of all the disasters at home and abroad in the last nine years. Rev. Harrison has overseen the mercy work of our church in all of those disasters, going to the scene of the disasters to move boxes and supplies, to hold the hand of amputees, to relieve the burden of the pastors and relief workers that are there, to pray, to let those affected know that the Lord is present. He's our new president.

I received word from a friend of mine that at the installation service of our new officers, Rev. Walter Obare will deliver the sermon. This is the double wow, for Rev. Walter Obare is the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya, our sister church body. And Walter and I were in homiletics together at seminary. Walter is an older man, in his fifties, but we were in the same class. A genial, kind, funny, man of faith and integrity. I'm so pleased with this news.

And in a very nice note, the Concordia Deaconness Society, the official organization of all the deaconnesses that serve in our church body, will have a participatory role in the installation service as well!

Wow

2010-08-03T15:24:00.001-04:00

It's August 3 and I have all the services for the month of August completed, just awaiting formatting and layout issues. Great.

A valiant effort

2010-08-02T14:52:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we started following Divine Service 5 from Lutheran Service Book. We'll use this order for the month of August. It is Luther's German Mass and, for being the first time in use at the congregation, it went very well! The people seemed to be able to follow along without too much difficulty. Following the service there were some nice comments from folks.

Singing "Isaiah, Mighty Seer" was very cool. I could imagine the flaming seraphim calling one to another "Holy is God the Lord of Sabaoth!" And the repetitive beauty of "Lamb of God, Pure and Sinless" was awe-full.

Great!

Worship info for Aug. 8

2010-08-02T14:51:00.000-04:00

Here is the information for the upcoming Sunday service:

Hymns
813 Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng
666 O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe
667 Saints, See the Cloud of Witnesses
809 Great is Thy Faithfulness

Scripture Lessons
Genesis 15:1-6
Psalm 33:12-22
Hebrews11:1-16
Luke 12:22-40

Collect of the Day
Almighty and merciful God, it is by Your grace that we live as Your people who offer acceptable service. Grant that we may walk by faith, and not by sight, in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

We'll continue following Divine Service 5 so if you'd like to look at 942, 947, and 953, I will not tell you no.

Seven over?

2010-08-02T13:22:00.002-04:00

Saturday night I got pulled over on I-95 for doing 72 in a 65. I was only given a warning, no points, no fine, no nothing. But seven over gets me pulled over? It was right past the Perryville/Maryland Dept. of Transportation ATM, or the Toll Plaza. (Five Bucks!) I ran over a styrofoam lid and I wonder if Smokey thought something was up. I was in the center lane, getting passed by other cars. My red minivan must have stood out among all the other ignorers of the speed limit. Oh well.

I was guilty. I was not going 65. But wow, seven over? What's the limit when it comes to ignoring the speed limit?

Sermon for August 1

2010-08-02T08:39:00.002-04:00

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Aug. 1, 2010
Colossians 3:1-11
Where Christ is

In the name of Jesus, amen. The last three Sundays we’ve been fortunate to hear significant passages from Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Today we hear Paul affirm that the most important aspect of real estate is location, location, location.

Where is Christ? Where is He to be found? That question has always been asked in every era in all four corners of the globe. Thanks be to God that He Himself has revealed the answer.

Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Jesus occupies the seat of power, the seat of authority, the seat of judgment. The Father has given to the Son the right to be judge. That may terrify us. Some people are driven away from God because of judgment talk. Judging is uncomfortable. It makes some people feel inferior. But let us remember that a judge has the ability to rule in your favor. Sometimes the judge finds you innocent. If you have done nothing wrong, you are not worried about what the judge may find.

God’s people, created and redeemed, look and see Christ seated at the right hand of God and give praise for that reality. There is the Christ. There is our Savior.

It helps us to see Christ seated at the Father’s right hand. It sounds as if Jesus is removed from us, but the Spirit of God helps us to remember how Jesus got to that seat of power, that seat of might, that seat of mercy, that seat of compassion, comfort, and consolation.

Jesus Christ started at the right hand of the Father. The Father saw how horribly wrong things were going on earth. The Father endured rejection from His people. The Father suffered infidelity on the part of His people. The Father’s gracious actions for His people were received ungratefully. Instead of thanks and praise, the Father was ignored, was told that His compassion was not enough, was told that His gifts were insignificant and insufficient.

The people of God had set their minds on earthly things, not on things above. They were angry. In anger, Cain murdered Abel. They were full of wrath and malice. There was obscene talk coming out of their mouths. By what came out of their mouth, it was clear what was in their heart.

And so the Father responded with great force and decisiveness. Now is the time. Now is the moment. Now is when My people will see what I can do. On a still, silent night, a virgin gave birth to a boy. That boy was the one conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit. That boy was the Son of the Most High God. That son was Jesus. Jesus left the right hand of God to come to earth to save the people of God who had left, who had wandered, who had sought their own way.

There Christ is in the manger. There Christ is being worshiped and adored by the shepherds and the Magi. There Christ is praised by the angels: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth!” There is the Christ.

The Christ left the manger. The Christ grew up to do the ministry of mercy. There was the Christ in the boat with the disciples. There was the Christ feeding the crowds, touching the sick and healing them, eating with sinners, welcoming the outcast. There was the Christ.

Christ Jesus worked and walked among the earthly and brought them what was from above. Forgiveness. Mercy. Acceptance, not of their sins but of themselves. Christ brought them salvation. Christ took what was the Father’s and gave it to the people of God. Where is Christ? In Cana of Galilee. In Bethany. On that donkey riding into Jerusalem. Before Pilate. Before the crowds. On the cross, where he died.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Even though you have a heartbeat, even though your chest rises and falls with breath, even though you have brain function, you have died. And you have risen through the water, in the water, because of the water of Holy Baptism. Your life is hidden with Christ in God.

This reality helps us learn where Christ is. Ubi Christus, ibi ecclesia. Ignatius of Antioch teaches that where Christ is, there is the Church. Christ is the content of our living and working. Christ is the content of our serving. Christ is the content of the help that we receive. There is Christ in collection of school supplies, letting children know that someone cares about their well-being, about their education. There is Christ in our collection of food, letting people know that someone cares about their physical condition. That someone is Jesus Christ, working in us and through us, so that the pure mercy of God may flow.

We set our minds on things above, where Christ is. Jesus Christ came to earth, lived on earth, died on earth, was buried in an earthen tomb, and rose from that earthen tomb. Christ ascended, the lamb that was slain is now the victorious Lamb that is our shepherd.

Where is Christ? We cannot leave His presence. There He is, where He promised to be, in the bread and wine of communion. There He is, in the Word. There He is, in the way we live our life, trusting not in ourselves, but trusting that the Lord will be where He loves to be: “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all. There He is. SDG

I learned something

2010-07-29T07:51:00.002-04:00

I learned in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today that Stan Musial was never ejected from a game in his career. That might say more about Stan as a man than as Stan the Man.

Stan Musial is the greatest living baseball player in America. In Cardinals history, Stan is #1 and Albert Pujols is catching up. At some point they will be one and two and I'm not really bothered which is which.

Here are some of my favorite Cardinals, very subjective and certainly not encompassing: Stan, Albert Pujols, Bob Gibson, Dizzy Dean, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith.

For all the home runs and doubles and other things, to realize that he never got thrown out of a game is amazing.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

2010-07-28T13:15:00.002-04:00

I saw on the interweb that an Anglican female priest in Canada held a communion service where dogs were invited to commune, supposedly with their owners although I'm certain that strays would have been welcome.

I'm not kidding. Dogs were invited to commune, not simply attend, but partake. A worshiper commented, "It was kind of nice and it made me smile."

Pardon me while I clean the vomit of my keyboard.

Where is the respect for the Sacrament of the Altar? I've communed next to a dog before, a working dog, a lovely black lab named Sarah who worked for a college classmate. Both Cecilia and Sarah would come forward for communion in chapel and Sarah would sit next to her owner while Cecilia knelt and received the body and blood of Jesus broken and shed for the forgiveness of Cecilia's sins.

Sarah was a cute dog, a nice dog, a very friendly dog. She loved attention but she knew her task and it was clear when she was working and when she was not. Cecilia let it be known when her dog was working but more often it was Sarah who would let you know.

This whole notion of doing things, especially in the church, that are cute is also something that is troublesome. Doing something because it is cute is not a good reason to do something.

Communion is a joy. It is a gift. It is humbling and inspiring. It is awe-inducing, awe-full, and even awful. It is soaring. It is receptive and it is sharing. Cute? Not so much. For dogs? Only if we are calling ourselves dogs who desire the crumbs that fall from our master's table.

2010-07-27T13:06:00.001-04:00

In addition to providing you the hymns and lessons for this coming Sunday, we are going to follow Divine Service 5 for the month of August. It's new, meaning that it is old and is being 're-introduced' to our worshiping community. Divine Service 5 is typically referred to as the Deutsche Messe, or Luther's German Mass. It's a different way of doing what we typically do.

Here are some things to look at ahead of time:
Kyrie- 942
Gloria in Excelsis- 947 All Glory be to God on High
Creed- 953 We All Believe in One True God
Sanctus- 960 Isaiah, Mighty Seer in Days of Old
Agnus Dei 434- Lamb of God, Pure and Holy
Post-Communion Hymn- 617 O Lord, We Praise Thee.

Those six hymns will be done every Sunday, with the exception of the Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and Post-Communion Hymn on non-communion Sundays. I know this will be a new service for us and I anticipate that we'll come to appreciate this new old service.

There is a lot of singing, but that's okay. Hymns teach. And as we sing Scripture, it will help to become rooted in our minds.

And if you are thinking that there will be a tremendous amount of flipping pages, that's not really the case. Explore your hymnal and notice #940 to the end. They are titled "Liturgical hymns" and are options for the ordinary portions of the Divine Service. We'll flip pages, but only a few pages. Mark your hymnal at 942 and you'll be able to leave the mark there.

Here is the other 'stuff' for our service.

Hymns
771 Be Still, My Soul,Before the Lord
736 Consider How the Birds Above
774 Feed Thy Children, God Most Holy
775 Be Present at Our Table, Lord
776 Come, Lord Jesus, Be Our Guest
782 Gracious God, You Send Great Blessings
761 Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me

Lessons
Ecclesiastes 1:2,12-14; 2:18-26
Psalm 100
Colossians 3:1-11
Luke 12:13-21

Collect of the Day
O Lord, grant us wisdom to recognize the treasures You have stored up for us in heaven, that we may never despair but always rejoice and be thankful for the riches of Your grace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Everything Old is Relevant!

2010-07-27T12:32:00.002-04:00

"Ubi Christus, ibi ecclesia"

Who knew that Ignatius of Antioch was an observer of 21st Century Christianity?

What Ignatius said, for those who have forgotten their Latin is: "Where Christ is, there is the Church."

The smallest church, the largest church, the oldest church, the newest church, all of them are church as long as Christ is present and Christ is proclaimed.

When I say that Christ is proclaimed, I mean the Christ of the Bible. This would be the Christ of God who was sent at the Father's direction to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This is the Christ who willingly offered up himself on the cross for our forgiveness and was bodily raised from the dead for our justification. This is the Christ who is present in the proclamation of His Word and is present in the Sacraments of Baptism and Communion.

It is not the Christ who is proclaimed as life-coach. It is the not the Christ who is held up as moral example, as great teacher, as someone who overlooks sin.

Where Christ is, there is the Church.

Right on Ignatius. Preach it!

Are we church?

2010-07-27T12:25:00.002-04:00

Found this on the web. Interesting to ponder. Especially in light of our Confessions. Article VII of the Augsburg Confession states beautifully: The Church is the congregation of saints in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are correctyl administered. With all that being written, here is something to think about as you view Christianity in America and what the churches confess about Jesus Christ.

Your Church May Not be A Church If . . .

You rarely, if ever, hear the word “sin” there.

When you do hear the word “sin,” it is only only briefly mentioned, or redefined as “mistakes.”

You can’t remember when you last heard the name of Jesus in a message.

The Easter message isn’t about the resurrection but “new opportunities” in your life or turning over a new leaf.

On patriotic holiday weekends, the message is about how great America is.

On the other weekends, the message is about how great you are.

People don’t sing during “worship,” but watch.

The pastors’ chief responsibilities are things foreign to Scripture.

Church membership just appears to be a recruiting system for volunteers.

You only see other church people on Sunday mornings at church.

—
WARNING: If your church meets one or more of these, it might be a spiritual pep rally, a religious performance center, a Christian social club, or something else entirely, but it is probably not, biblically speaking, a gathering of the Church.

Zero, Zip, Zilch, Nada

2010-07-27T12:22:00.003-04:00

In a recent survey of its users, Twitter discovered something interesting. Zero percent of Tweeters said they would not pay to tweet.

What does this mean? Twitter is fun. That is all that it is. Twitter will have no impact on our commerce. Twitter will have no impact on the media. It is fun.

And that is great! Tweet to your heart's content. Let me know when you are brushing your teeth. Let me know about the half-caf, non-fat, no-whip mocha you are buying at Starbucks.

Sometimes 'social media' is something to pay attention to, and sometimes it is just social.

Sermon from July 25

2010-07-26T14:08:00.001-04:00

Pentecost 9
July 25, 2010
Colossians 2:6-15
Walk in him

In the name of Jesus, amen. When you are little, you long to be grown up. When you are grown up, you realize that being grown up is not all that it appeared. Where did all this responsibility come from? What do you mean I have to pay bills, buy insurance, put gas in the car? What nut job invented such a thing as a mortgage? No one told me about all this when I was seven and making a fuss about being a grown up, about being able to do whatever I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it.

Growing up is a real mixture, is it not? Fun and frustrating. Exciting and exasperating. Paul provides the Colossians with blessed reality, that our all-merciful and all-loving God helps us to grow up. God doesn’t throw us into the deep end by ourselves. We are taught and instructed. We have models that we are fortunate to follow.

Parents are models. They demonstrate for their children the appropriate ways to behave in different places. We behave differently in church than we do on the playground. Our behavior in school is different than when we are playing in the basement with our brothers. As children we need to learn some things, and Mom and Dad are the prime teachers, from saying please and thank you to driving a car and balancing a checkbook.

Siblings are models. So are teachers, coaches, and pastors. All of the lessons we receive help us to grow.

With honesty we acknowledge that not all lessons are good, not all growth is good, and not all models are ideal. How long do you think it is before children realize that their parents are sinners? A week? A month? Thanks be to God it’s not that quick but children grasp the truth that mom and pop do things that are wrong, that their parents are sinners. And our parents model sinful behavior. We learn greed, sloth, hostility, spite, deception, and every other sin from the models that are in our life. We hear Grandma talk about our shiftless uncle when our uncle isn’t around to defend himself. We watch Dad deceive Mom in order to cover up his mistake. We receive firsthand from our brother what the wrong way to deal with anger is.

We need Paul’s instruction. The Colossians did, and together with our brothers and sisters from the first century, we learn with them about headship. We learn about authority. We learn how to grow up. “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

The first thing we hear from Paul is that we receive Christ. Christ is gift. Never lose sight of your baptism, of the holy washing, in the firm declaration of your status as God’s son or daughter. We receive Christ. We receive the Holy Spirit, who plants faith in our heart and gives us parents, grandparents, other models who help nurture that faith into blossom.

For most of us, we received Christ in our infancy. We received Christ without even asking for him. We received Christ with great humility, not claiming that we deserved him or that Christ was owed to us. As you received Christ, with meekness, so walk in Christ humbly.

As we walk with Christ, as we live with him, as we rest with Christ, as we live, move and have our being in Christ, we grow up into him. We are built up into Christ, who is truly our head.

God has made us His own. The Father has lovingly claimed us. Our Father thinks so highly of you and me that He has made us His own. Thus God the Father teaches us to grow up into Christ our head by the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit.

We walk in Jesus. We walk with Jesus. That is our prayer and that is what the triune God helps us to do. St. Patrick was quite a theologian. He lived and worked among the pagans and fearlessly confessed Jesus as Savior. Here is a prayer from St. Patrick that sheds light on the walk we make under the watchful and loving eye of God: Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Wednesday brought the reality of Christ’s presence to mind. Denny came to the office bringing the news that his father had passed away. Shortly after Denny left, news came that Fred Arimoto died. Their walk in Christ was completed on earth and that walk had led them to the Father’s side in heaven.

Walking in Christ, as we are encouraged to do, as we are strengthened to do, means being honest with ourselves and one another. It means honestly acknowledging that we were dead in our trespasses, dead in our sin, dead in all the ways that we have rejected God and served ourselves rather than our neighbors. Being dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Forgiven, we walk in Christ. We continue to grow up into Jesus. We grow to learn about the depth of forgiveness, the joy of sacrifice, the blessing of love that comforts and challenges, supports, holds fast, and releases. We grow into Christ. And by the Father’s grace, by the Spirit’s guidance, we walk in him until our life is ended. SDG

Precious

2010-07-21T13:48:00.002-04:00

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

Sigh. It was difficult today to receive the news of Denny Boon's father's death and the death of Fred Arimoto. Fred's passing was somewhat expected but still shocking as I thought there might be a little more time. Denny said that his dad was in decent shape but with a heart attack, death can come more suddenly than we ever realize.

With Fred, it brings me comfort that I was able to talk with him, pray read Scripture, hear his confession and declare the forgiveness of Christ to him. Fred had a comfortable faith that brought great comfort to him.

Worship info for July 25

2010-07-20T10:22:00.000-04:00

Hello hymnal owners, here is the info for July 25

Hymns
797 Praise the Almighty
772 In Holy Conversation
766 Our Father, Who From Heaven Above
909 Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation

Scripture Lessons
Genesis 18:20-33
Psalm 138
Colossians 2:6-15
Luke 11:1-13

Prayer of the Day
O Lord, let Your merciful ears be attentive to the prayers of Your servants, and by Your Word and Spirit teach us how to pray that our petitions may be pleasing before You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of the Day for the commemoration of St. Mary Magdalene (July 22)
Almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, restored Mary Magdalene to health and called her to be the first witness of His resurrection. Heal us from all our infirmities, and call us to know You in the power of Your Son's unending life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of the Day for the commemoration of St. James the Elder (July 25)
O gracious God, your servant and apostle James was the first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the name of Jesus Christ. Pour out upon the leaders of Your Church that spirit of self-denying service that they may forsake all false and passing allurements and follow Christ alone, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sermon from July 18

2010-07-20T07:33:00.000-04:00

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
July 18, 2010
Colossians 1:21-29
…Which is Christ in you…

In the name of Jesus, amen. Paul’s portion of his letter to the Colossians will be our sermon text and it puts before our eyes a couple of matters. First of all, reading Paul can be a tricky endeavor. Paul needs a grammarian to help him. But that is not the important thing. The important matter is the issue of reconciliation. Reconciliation is a giant mountain in the lives of people. Non-Christians can find reconciliation just as Christians can.

Non-Christians can be reconciled to one another, but that reconciliation is often built upon a flimsy foundation, a foundation that is built upon winning and losing, upon grudges and power. That is reconciliation, that is fraud. It is pretending to be set at peace with one another while the reality remains that division still exists. This fraudulent reconciliation is cemented in the acknowledgment that peace only comes when someone is declared the winner and someone is declared the loser. Reconciliation is not about winning and losing. Reconciliation is about the Redeemer and what we have been redeemed from. We have been redeemed from our sins. We have been redeemed to new life, to a new start, to new opportunities to share the riches of the glory of God, which is Christ in you.

Reconciliation is too often, and sadly, something that we do indeed play at. But reconciliation is not a game. It is not the latest toy that offers us amusement for a brief time, or a computer game that diverts us from our work or gives us momentary pleasure. Reconciliation is serious. Joyfully serious. Blessedly serious. It is something that is urgently needed. And it is something that has already been accomplished!

Yes, my beloved, reconciliation is already completed. Not by us. Not by those wicked sinners who have hurt us so grievously. Not by anyone but Jesus Christ. We are reconciled in his body by his death so that we may be presented holy and blameless and above reproach to him, that is, to our loving God and Father.

Our children that came to VBS this past week didn’t know it, but they were learning about the reconciliation that already exists in Jesus Christ. They learned about the great fish symbol, the picture that speaks five words, the picture that speaks the eternal truth of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, our Savior.

Jesus came to earth at the direction of God the Father for the purpose of restoration, of reconstruction, of reconciliation. And without the marvelous mercy of Jesus, none of the restoration and reconciliation that we need could ever take place.

We are too human. We do not have it in us to forgive. We do not have it in us to take the lesser place and give the spot of honor to someone else. We do not have it in us to humble ourselves and lovingly wash the feet of another brother or sister. We do not have it in us to put down the grudge and pick up the love that endures, the love that is patient, the love that is kind, gentle, meek, and long-suffering. We simply do not have that kind of love in us, for we are too human.

Now we are good at loving. We are good at loving ourselves. We are good at loving others when that means we will benefit. We are good at loving others so that at a later date we’ll get something that we want. We’re good at extending the right hand of peace and gentleness while we extend our left hand to stab in the back with the sharp knife of spite and hostility. We’re too human.

We were conceived in sin and born in sin. It doesn’t take too long to realize that kids are sinners. And children very quickly reach the truth that grownups and parents are sinners too.

This morning we considered our unworthiness and confessed before God and each other that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed. We admitted the truth that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Because of that dreadful truth, we celebrate the reality of March 25 and the reality of December 25. We celebrate the birth of redemption as Jesus took on human flesh and lived as one of us, experiencing everything that the children of God experience. Yet Jesus remained sinless.

Jesus remained sinless not to set an example for us, to show us how to be sinless but so that Jesus might take into that sinless body all of our sins. On the cross Jesus became the greatest thief in all of criminal history. Jesus took my sin. Jesus took your sin. And Jesus claimed those sins as his own. He became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus worked reconciliation on the cross. And in being reconciled to God the Father, we are restored and reconstructed.

We are too human, full of sin, frailty, and weakness. But in the midst of our sinfulness, Christ dwells within us, strengthening us and transforming us to be agents of grace, ministers of mercy. We are empowered to make known among the Gentiles the riches of the glory of God. In this day Gentiles are all the people around us who have no connection to Christ. That includes your unbelieving neighbor, your Muslim or Buddhist coworker, all the people who are in need of the reconstructing redemption of Jesus Christ.

Since we are too human, it is imperative, yes imperative, to remember that Christ is the content. Christ is the content of our living. Christ is the content of our proclamation. It is the work of Christ that brings our forgiveness. It is the word of Christ that we hear and believe. It is the body and blood of Christ, broken and shed for you, that you will receive in blessed Sacrament of the Altar. Christ is the content.

And thus Christ is the content of all the reconciliation that takes place. Reconciliation is evidence of Christ in you. As was mentioned earlier, our sin holds on to the grudge. Our salvation helps us release the hatred, let go of the hurt, and pick up the fresh start, pick up the joy of being reconciled one to another.

By Christ’s death in the flesh and his resurrection, reconciliation exists. God is reconciled to us and we are reconciled to our loving Father. And this is a complete reconciliation, nothing halfway, nothing that is fake or phony. It is complete and thus Paul rejoices to declare that Christ is in the holy daughters and sons of God.

Christ is in you. Christ is in you to love you and comfort you. Christ is in you to challenge you and confront you. Christ is in you to embrace you. Christ is in you to bring you through all of your days until we are presented mature, complete in Christ to our merciful heavenly Father. Rejoice in your reconciliation. Rejoice in reconstruction, for this is Christ in you. SDG

July 18 worship info

2010-07-15T14:12:00.002-04:00

Here is the information for our worship service this Sunday:

Hymns
911 Lord, This Day We've Come to Worship
536 One Thing's Needful
900 Jesus! Name of Wondrous Love
855 For All the Faithful Women v1,9,3,4
904 Blessed Jesus, at Your Word
576 My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

Scripture Lessons
Genesis 18:1-14
Colossians 1:21-29
Luke 10:38-42

Prayer of the Day
O Lord, grant us the Spirit to hear Your Word and know the one thing needful that by Your Word and Spirit we may live according to Your will; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

In the groove

2010-07-12T09:42:00.002-04:00

Hi blog followers...I'm back in the groove today, the groove in my chair that is! I'm back in the office following a great vacation. The kids had a great time. It was very hot, so we scrapped our plans for zoos and museums and other things and instead spent our time at a really good splash park in Manassas VA. We spent several hours there going down slides, floating on a lazy river, and generally squealing with delight. (At least Corinna did the squealing, the boys competed seeing who could say "Watch me! Watch this! Look at me! Look at me!" I think they ended in a tie.)

We also found an inflatable play area and let the boys climb inflatable slides, an obstacle course and a bouncy area. Again, they had lots of fun.

They got to play with their cousins, hang out with their grandparents, and run around. It was great.

Now I'm finishing up with VBS preparation for the week and listening to our LCMS convention over the web. Exciting stuff.

Crabbier and crabbier

2010-06-28T09:51:00.002-04:00

Faithful blog followers (if you are out there...)

I'll be on vacation with the family for the next couple of weeks so I'll be posting even more infrequently than I already do. We'll be in Salisbury MD for a bit and then in our Nation's Capital for about a week.

We have had an excellent start to our vacation so far. We enjoyed a very nice 50th anniversary party for Ed and Ellen Thress and have been staying with my wife's aunt and uncle. We went to church at Bethany Lutheran in Salisbury on Sunday and enjoyed our time there. It was the first time in a long time that I was able to sit with the family and help Amanda wrangle some kids. I think she enjoyed that aspect!

Sunday night we made our yearly trip to Old Mill Crab House in Delmar DE. I had the all you can eat crab special. The corn was great. The clam strips were good. The fried shrimp was good. The hush puppies were great. The crabs were outstanding! They were so full. The ones you wanted were not the biggest, but you picked the heaviest ones. According to the local Salisbury newspaper, the crab population in the Bay is the highest it has been since 1997.

Today we are going to Pocomoke to see the new Delmarva Discovery Center, which includes an Eastern Shore specific aquarium. We'll be going with our friends, the Thress', who are also in Salisbury visiting family. Tomorrow we'll all go to Ocean City together to walk the boardwalk, eat some fries, build a sandcastle, and play in the arcade.

More later.

Sweeping the land!

2010-06-22T14:02:00.001-04:00

I just heard on ESPN Radio that vuvuzelas will be given to Buckeye fans when Penn State comes to Columbus! Awesome!

Sermon for Pentecost 4, June 20

2010-06-22T07:53:00.000-04:00

Fourth Sunday in Pentecost
June 20, 2010
Luke 8:26-39
God in Him is centered

In the name of Jesus, amen. “Rise! Shine, you people! Christ the Lord has entered our human story; God in Him is centered. He comes to us, by death and sin surrounded, with grace unbounded.”

With the crushing reality of death and sin around us, we heard that powerful Gospel lesson this morning. A poor man, bound in chains by demon possession, bound in chains by Satan, bound so tightly that he would break those bonds and flee to the desert, that man was set free by God’s grace. This man lived in a cemetery and wore no clothes. At the end of today’s Gospel, he is dwelling among the living and is clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

Sin and death are around us. This current oil disaster in the Gulf- who’s to blame? Big Oil, BP, the current administration, the former administration, regulators and overseers? How about sin as the answer! The desire to take a short cut, to get all you can in the easiest fashion, to give in to the temptation and say, “I confess, he did it!” All of those harmful and hurtful attitudes are the result of our sinful identity.

And we are on the path toward death, all of us. Whether we are beginning, in the middle, or towards the end, every man, woman, and child is moving in one direction, toward the cemetery. We mourn those who have died. We try to put it off as long as we can with various diets, pills, and exercise plans. We try not to think about it, sometimes even deluding ourselves with the notion that we are invincible. Some of us take risks with our bodies. We neglect our bodies. We treat our bodies, knit together and crafted by God, shamefully. And some of us build our bodies into more than what they are supposed to be, worshiping their body as if it will shield and protect them from all harm and danger.

And we wrestle with demons, which could look like a life of isolation- from God and from other people. We rebel against God through the unhealthy display of our temper, the way we cave in to temptations, the way we lift up our self at the expense of the people around us.

Death and sin surround us. More than surround us, they enslave us. Death and sin deceive us and convince us to take our eyes away from our God, to set our hearts on things that are earthly, to forget that we are Christ’s, heirs of the riches of God our Father.

In Christ our Lord, God in Him in centered. What a beautiful way to picture how close the triune God is to all of God’s people. Last week we spent some time considering how close God the Father desires to be, and today we are reminded that our Father is intimately close to us. In Christ the Father is present, the Father is here!

Jesus met the demon-possessed man. And the demons knew who was present. “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” The demons declared the divinity of Jesus. God in Christ was present, and where those demons in trouble. They knew what could happen. Legion saw a herd of pigs and begged the Son of the Most High God to send them into the pigs. Jesus consented. The demons entered the pigs and the pigs ran into the lake and were drowned.

The Son of the Most High God shows His mastery, His merciful mastery, in this Biblical, historical situation, and in our very lives. All things were changed for the better for the demon-possessed man. He was clothed and in his right mind. He was transformed, going on to tell all the people in the region how much Jesus had done for him.

We typically wear clothes. Most of the time we are in our right mind unless something terrible and tragic has happened. But we are changed for the better too as Christ’s mercy flows over us. We are transformed by the Gospel, by the news that for the sake of Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven and we are set free from the bondage of sin and death.

Christ Jesus has entered our story with grace unbounded. It started at Christmas, we could even say it started when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with the news that the Son of the Most High God would take up residence within her womb. Christ has entered our story. Christ is present amid our worry and confusion. Christ dwells with us in our fear and failure. With unbounded grace, Christ lifts up our head to look beyond all that surrounds us to view the cross, to view his empty cross, to gaze upon his empty tomb. Christ lifts up our head to see that the altar is bearing today the gifts we need for our living. The elements of bread and wine are there. The words of Christ Himself will be spoken and by faith we will receive the body and blood of Christ broken and shed for you, for the forgiveness of all your sins.

In Christ Jesus the death and sin that surround us are conquered. Death has lost its sting since death is now the gateway to everlasting life. Sin is toothless, for if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Rise. Shine. Christ the Lord has entered our human story. In Christ the whole God, the Father and the Spirit, is present. Tenderly, compassionately, mercifully, God comes to us with free, limitless, boundless grace. God coming to us in Christ strengthens us to return to our homes declaring all that Jesus has done for us, transforming us, and setting us free to be the brothers and sisters of Jesus. God in Christ is centered, and is at the center of our lives. SDG

I love vuvuzelas!

2010-06-22T07:41:00.003-04:00

I love those horns that they blow at the World Cup games. More vuvuzelas, not less. People who claim they inhibit watching the games on TV don't get it. And they don't get that they don't get it. It is part of the international flavor of the games. Soccer is not America's game. It has a large following, but it is not our game, likely never will be. The MLS in our country will continue and be marginally successful, but it will never rise to the level of the NFL, MLB, or the NBA.

I haven't watched many of the games, as they are played at the time when I am at the office, but I have been paying attention. I hope the US makes it to the next round. I'm amused at the consternation of the Brits for their poor showing so far. I'm highly amused at the childishness of the French team. (A very good player on their team was substituted for at half time, went on a profane tirade at the coach, was sent home, and his fellow teammates then refused to practice later that week.) The French team is pretty good but they are in danger of not making it past the opening round.

I was very curious to see that North Korea has a team in the World Cup. Is this not the same North Korea that cannot feed its people?

And I'm interested to hear the soccer enthusiasts talk about the sophistication of the game and how much better it is than all the other sports. Sophisticated? All you need to play soccer is a ball and two tin cans. And if you don't have two tin cans, find two trees that are sufficiently spaced and you can turn those into goal posts. The reason soccer is loved worldwide is because it is cheap to play. You need a ball. That's it. No bat. No hoop. No helmet. No skates. Just a ball. You know the reason I don't snow ski? I don't have any snow and I don't have the money to go skiing. If I lived in Colorado, at least the snow would be taken care of, but skiing is still pretty expensive. Soccer is cheap. Just find a ball and some other people and voila, a game appears. Sophisticated? How about inexpensive?

But bring on the vuvuzelas. It used to be the custom in the church that during the Sanctus the Zimbelstern was used. (A Zimbelstern is a bell-star, or a bunch of bells on a ring that rotates against a clapper making the bells sound.) Perhaps the next time we celebrate communion vuvuzelas could be blown during the Sanctus, during the Words of Institution, at the conclusion to the Lord's Prayer. They definitely need to be brought to our church bodies' convention in July!

Recapping

2010-06-22T07:33:00.002-04:00

I had a wonderful Father's Day. (First of all I found out that I won the Lutheran Public Radio Bundle Pack- new tee shirt, travel mug, bumper sticker and pen!)

Following a great worship service, we took the family to our pool- Persimmon Creek- along with Amanda's dad and his wife. The weather was hot, so the pool was great. All three of the kids got in the big pool with their various floaties and Jacob and Matthew both liked jumping in. When we went back to the kiddie pool, Jacob spent a lot of time going under water and holding his breath and trying to swim. He's really getting comfortable in the water. We had purchased some toypedos at WalMart and both boys liked throwing them in the water and watching them do their thing.

We brought dinner along, which consisted of pork loin, potato salad, and cheesy spinach treats (which are sort of like mini quiches). I got to grill the pork loin, which had been marinating for over a day and it turned out great. It was very nice and relaxing.

God has blessed me with the opportunity to be a father, has blessed me with a woman of integrity to be my wife and the mother of my children, has blessed me with the opportunity to serve Him and His people at church. Wow.

What a wonderful day, finished with McFlurries after the kids went to bed.

I'm a winner!

2010-06-20T08:00:00.002-04:00

Can you believe it? I'm a winner! Yes, today's Father's Day, so I very clearly know that I won when it came to getting married and being able to raise three great kids.

But I won an LPR Bundle Pack from Issues, Etc.! They play a game called Soundbite of the Week and invite people to vote and send comments. They picked my comment about Will Weedon's soundbite when he discussed the hymn "Lord, Thee I Love With All My Heart". A new tee shirt, coffee mug, bumper sticker...awesome.

Issues, Etc. is a great show- Talk Radio for the Thinking Christian. Access it through the web since there is no way we can pick up the signal from Illinois. That way you can listen whenever you are able.

I never win anything, but now I have!

You know what I dislike...

2010-06-18T07:33:00.002-04:00

I really get irritated that emergency vehicles do not travel with their sirens on all the time. It bothers me that an ambulance or fire truck gets slowed down by other vehicles in their way because those vehicles do not know that an ambulance is behind them. And part of the blame lies with the ambulance because it is not moving with its siren on.

I don't really care that it is 6:15am, the siren needs to be on to let people know that they are to get out of the way. In an urban, suburban, or rural setting the siren needs to be on since there is an emergency.

Today's Business

2010-06-16T14:08:00.002-04:00

I finally received my edition of Today's Business that contains all the resolutions to be discussed at our upcoming Synodical Convention in Houston TX. Now I can go through those resolutions and prepare my report for our circuit delegates. I know this will make me sound like a dork, but I'm happy.

Worship info for June 20

2010-06-16T10:06:00.002-04:00

Here are the particulars for our upcoming worship on June 20

Hymns
333 Once He Came in Blessing
825 Rise, Shine, You People
541 "Away From Us!" the Demon Cried
570 Just As I Am, Without One Plea
762 There is a Time For Everything
650 Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling

Scripture Lessons
Isaiah 65:1-9
Galatians 3:23-4:7
Luke 8:26-39

Prayer of the Day
O God, You have prepared for those who love You such good things as surpass our understanding. Cast out all sins and evil desires from us, and pour into our hearts Your Holy Spirit to guide us into all blessedness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

May God bless our preparation and meditation for worship!

Scuffling

2010-06-14T10:48:00.002-04:00

That's the word that applies to the St. Louis Cardinals right now. They are not slumping as much as they are just scuffling along. They have a much better team than what their record reveals. They actually appear to be two different teams, at least when it comes to their pitching. Carp, Wainwright, Garcia- good. Every other starter- bad. And with that dichotomy, you're not going to be able to run off a 6 game winning streak. You'll win two, lose two or lose three and win two, or win one, lose one.

The offense is scuffling as well, not being able to get the bats going like they should be able to.

Thank God the Cards are chasing the Reds so the scuffling ways will be able to keep them close.

Who knows? Perhaps the additions of Jeff Suppan, Randy Wynn, and Aaron Miles will shake up this team. I'm hopeful.

Sermon for Pentecost 3

2010-06-14T07:54:00.001-04:00

Third Sunday after Pentecost
June 13, 2010
Luke 7:36-8:3
Never too close

In the name of Jesus, amen. We certainly know that it is possible to be too close to something. Learning to drive, my mother had her foot jammed on the imaginary brake pedal on the passenger side of the car. You’re too close. You’re too close. We’ve likely met people who do not have a concept of personal space, and they get too close for our comfort. We repeatedly warn our children that they are too close to the stove, too close to the pool, too close to the road, too close to the edge of the bed. Being too closely involved in a situation can compromise our ability to think clearly and rationally.

Our Gospel lesson portrays for us the distance we believe is appropriate and the distance that God considers to be the right amount.

Simon the Pharisee wanted to talk with Jesus, have a conversation with him, maybe even learn from him. Jesus was a very popular figure, and Simon wanted to learn what was going on. Jesus came for a meal and as he reclined at table with his host and the other guests, here comes this woman. Our bulletin cover does a very fine job depicting this story. You can see the bottle of ointment. You can see the woman humbling herself at Jesus’ feet. You can also see the anger, confusion, hostility, amusement on the faces of the older men.

If Jesus was as great as everyone says he is, if Jesus was really a prophet, then he’d know that this woman has no business doing what she is doing. If Jesus was really a prophet, he’d send this woman away for she is a sinner.

Jesus did indeed know this woman. And her appearance opened the door for Jesus to teach. A banker forgave the debts of two people, one who owed five hundred bucks and the other who owed fifty. Both of the people would love the banker for forgiving their debts, but the one who had his five hundred dollar debt cancelled would love the banker the most.

This woman owed at least five hundred bucks. She was a sinner. When she heard that Jesus was in town, she searched him out, washed his feet, dried those feet, and anointed them with oil. She owed a tremendous amount and her great debt was cancelled. Her great debt was expunged, wiped away, forgiven. She was forgiven a great deal and she loved much. She drew close to Jesus, even though she should have never been allowed to enter the room. Simon, who in his mind owed nothing, kept his distance from Jesus. He did not allow himself to get too close.

Simon had invited Jesus, had brought Jesus in, yet Simon kept Jesus away. He didn’t want to get too close to Jesus, because something might happen. Simon was right. Jesus happened. Jesus did what His Father and our Father sent him to do- forgive sins. Jesus lived up to his name, and this woman, who owed much, who carried a tremendous load, this woman was forgiven and had her burden removed. Jesus received this sinner. He welcomed her and brought her close for the sake of restoring her life, of saving her. Your faith has saved you, go in peace.

Sin had strangled the life from her. Faith in Christ brought her life back. In a world of hostility this woman found peace in Jesus.

Forgiveness. Healing. Peace. Closeness. Jesus. All of those things go together. Sin. Shame. Hostility. Distance. All of those things go together as well. Jesus came near to Simon, yet Simon kept him away, held Jesus at a distance. I don’t need you to come close, so do not bother. I am not a sinner so I have nothing I need forgiven.

How sad. God does not like the distance that sin creates. There is a distance between God and humanity and a distance between one person and another. And this distance is the result of our sinful identity, our sinful nature. We have a sinful condition. In thought, word, and deed we have sinned against God and one another. We have put ourselves first, and everyone else is a distant fourth. We have sought the easy way, the smooth way, the path of least resistance, even if that means a bumpy and hard path for everybody else.

That distance that God dislikes? It was created by us. By drawing close to Bathsheeba, the wife of Uriah, David sinned and David created a gulf between him and God. And David thought that he had taken care of things. Bathsheeba mourned for her dead husband the appropriate number of days, then David took Bathsheeba as his wife and when Bathsheeba gave birth to the child, no one would know what had happened. God knew. And David still knew. You can try to bury something in the closet, can try to sweep all things under the rug, but it’s still there.

David created the distance and God is the one who acted. Nathan came with that wonderful story, a story about David crafted so masterfully that David was angry at himself without even knowing it! That man, the rich man who stole the poor man’s ewe lamb, that man deserves to die! Spot on. David, who stole Uriah’s wife, and then had Uriah killed, David deserved to die. David was a sinner. Sinners deserve to die. Sinners create the distance because they are trying to escape from God, they want out from under God’s presence.

Yet God acts. God acts in a way that we would not. When people hurt us, sin against us, we leave them. We do not put up with people who are abusive to us, who ignore us, who treat us so shabbily. Thank God that God is God and we are not! God acts by drawing close to us who seek to be so far from God.

Through Nathan God announced his intense displeasure of sin. And Nathan also declared God’s longing to draw close and forgive those sins of all who repent. David was forgiven. The woman was forgiven. I am forgiven. You are forgiven.

By the power of the Holy Spirit we are where we are today, in church, in God’s House, to draw near to God and confess our sins. God draws near to us in Christ and those sins are forgiven. Tears stream down our cheeks, yet it is God who washes us, in the water of Holy Baptism, and we are cleansed. We hunger for God’s presence and it is God who invites us to his table and He prepares a meal of love and acceptance and forgiveness. God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- draws close to us because that is where God desires to be. God wants to be close to us and He is. He is never too close. SDG

On this date

2010-06-11T14:55:00.002-04:00

I was ordained into the Office of the Holy Ministry ten years ago. I am just as unworthy now as I was then of the office I was called into.

Personally and professionally many things have changed. Yet the ministry has not changed for it remains a joyful burden. Sin abounds but grace abounds even more.

What a privilege to be a servant. Lord, forgive my attempts at 'lord-liness'. Cleanse my spirit of desire for prestige. Create in me the ever-fresh willingness to love your people and serve them in the way they deserve to be served.

Worship info for June 13

2010-06-10T14:01:00.001-04:00

Hymns
820 My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker
609 Jesus Sinners Doth Receive
686 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
924 Lord, Dismiss Us With Thy Blessing

Scripture Lessons
2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-14
Psalm 32:1-7
Galatians 2:15-21; 3:10-14
Luke 7:36-8:3

Collect of the Day
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us Your gifts of faith, hope, and love that we may receive the forgiveness You have promised and love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Go Nats!

2010-06-09T09:24:00.003-04:00

How about those Nats! Stephen Strasburg debuted for America's Team last night and was really, really good. Some (Jayson Stark, Orel Hershisher, Tim Kurkjian) are throwing around words like great, phenomenal, masterful, historic, but I'll stick with really, really good.

It was delightful to see Nationals Park filled to capacity. Our nation's capitol deserves something like that. For the next couple of months they can own the sports landscape there. Wizards? Who cares. Capitols? It's too hot for hockey. Redskins? Too many question marks right now. The Nats have built a fairly competitive team and are only two or three games below .500. And they have some of the lesser lights on their schedule for the next four to six weeks. If they can get back to .500 for the remainder of the season, that will be some story for a ballclub that was really, really awful last year. They were as bad last year as the Orioles are this year.

I love being able to watch the Nats on MASN in Cecil County, especially since this means I can watch the Cardinals a couple of times a year. Washington DC deserves a major league franchise and now it appears that some hopeful signs are appearing- Ryan Zimmerman, John Lannan, Drew Storen, Jordan Zimmermann, Matt Capps in addition to Stephen Strasburg. And it appears that Bryce Harper, their newest #1 draft pick, is about as much of a lock for the big leagues as Strasburg was/is. Being bad for a decade has filled their minor leagues with good prospects so baseball could finally be returning to our nation's capitol.

And it appears that they finally have good, patient, not prone to panic leadership in Jim Riggleman, Mike Rizzo (GM), and Stan Kasten (president). Jim Bowden was a disaster and Mike Rizzo seems a whole lot better.

I still would have probably picked the name Grays instead of Nationals, in tribute to the old Washington Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues. But if they weren't going to use Senators, then Nationals is okay. Nats works for either name, and the curly W is nice. I love going to Walgreens and seeing their respectful homage to the Washington baseball club.

Last day

2010-06-08T07:45:00.004-04:00

Today is Jacob's last day of kindergarten. It's quite sad as Amanda and I are very pleased with the school he attends. We are also very happy to have met the other families and it is nice that nearly every day a number of families stay at the playground to let the kids play and for the parents to talk. Tomorrow is Graduation and the class will sing a few songs, wear their mortar board, and receive their 'diploma'.

We give thanks that we are in a position to provide this education for Jacob (and for our other kids in the coming years) and are excited and nervous about entering the world of home-schooling next year.

Did anyone notice in Sunday's News-Journal the two stories on education? The lead story was that Delaware suspends students at twice the national average. (We're #1!) The secondary story was on different kinds of desks and chairs that are used in classes that can allow students to stand, sit, or kneel. Also, giving more time for recess and Phys Ed has shown increased focus and attention from students.

I know that in Cecil County, the first line of punishment from teachers is to take away recess from the class when students misbehave and do not follow the classroom rules. Perhaps more recess will give students an outlet and help them when they are supposed to be paying attention.

And perhaps if parents did not abdicate their roles and give the burden of parenting to teachers and schools and taught and modeled for their children appropriate behavior in the various settings of life, then teachers would not have to resort to drastic punishment techniques. Then perhaps teachers could teach.

I'm a dreamer.

Most Important on a Sunday?

2010-06-07T13:51:00.001-04:00

What's the most important thing about the Sunday morning worship service? Some might say the hymns that are sung. Some might say the celebration of Holy Communion. As a pastor, you might think that I would say the sermon is the most important, since I sometimes refer to myself as a "preacher". How many of us would consider that the creed we say is the most important portion of our Sunday worship services?

Yesterday, June 5, we spoke the Athanasian Creed. Most typically this is done one Sunday a year, on Trinity Sunday. Since we celebrate a baptism on Trinity Sunday and the Apostles' Creed was included in the baptismal service, we did not say the Athanasian Creed on that day. I moved it so that we could say this creed that is acknowledged as one of the three ecumenical, or world-wide accepted, creeds of the Christian Church.

As we read it responsively in the service yesterday, it repeatedly occured to me how great the Athanasian Creed is. It is a mini-textbook on the Holy Trinity! And with a little reflection, it is something that all people can grasp. Having the Athanasian Creed is a great blessing to the Church, that along with the Apostles' and Nicene Creed, we have the ability to state the belief that is in us.

Every Sunday we confess the Creed, regardless of which of the three we are using. And please note that I wrote 'confess'. We do not merely say the Creed, we confess it. To confess means to "same say". I say the same thing that you do and you say the same thing that someone on the other side of the sanctuary says. Together we say the same thing about God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Together we say the same thing that everyone can hear. We do not say it silently to ourselves. We do not read it quietly, but we speak it audibly: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth..."

I acknowledge that the Athanasian Creed can be repetitive and that some phrases ring quite odd in our 21st Century ears. But boy, is it a beautiful statement on the glorious, mysterious truth of the Trinity, the three in one and the one in three.

The Creed- Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian- is a statement of belief that gives form and definition to our lives. Christians are not amorphous blobs that conform to every shape and we are not tender shoots that bend to every breeze. Christians have form. We are formed by God to be a body, a body that grows into our head Jesus Christ. The statements of faith help us comprehend the form that is given to us from God. What a joy to same say this belief.

Sermon for Pentecost 2, June 6

2010-06-07T07:42:00.001-04:00

Second Sunday after Pentecost
June 6, 2010
Luke 7:11-17
Raised up for ________?

In the name of Jesus, amen. At the start of the long Pentecost season, our Gospel lesson this morning will be our sermon text. And that Gospel lesson is all about Easter, for it is all about resurrection.

Thank God it is all about resurrection. Without the certain hope of the resurrection, then everything that is done is simply a waste of time, has no purpose, and is of no use to us or anybody else. So thank God for the story of the widow of Nain.

I’ve preached on this text before, three years ago as a matter of fact, and I’ll say once again what a horrible situation it was for the mother of the dead boy. She was a grieving widow. She did not have a husband to comfort her, to lean on, to mourn with. And the dead boy was her only child.

Being alone is not in itself a horrible thing. But being hopelessly alone, in a time when women had a very hard time supporting themselves is a bad thing. Honestly, mourning and grieving, at any stage of life, is not a condition that people seek out.

There was a large crowd that was accompanying the now-childless widow out of the town to the cemetery. Jesus and the disciples were heading into town and the two parties met head-on. Jesus recognizes what is taking place and you know that Jesus is going to do something. The Lord of mercy, the compassionate Son of God, the One who embodies love, pours that compassionate love and mercy all over the woman.
Jesus pays no attention to the grieving crowd around the woman and the casket. He goes to the woman and tells her not to weep. Jesus knows that weeping has no place with what is about to happen. Tears of a different kind will be needed but the tears of sorrow and sadness should be wiped away.

Jesus pays no attention to usual customs and mores as he goes up to the bier, a fancy word for casket and touches it. Jesus is getting very close to touching a dead body, and that is a no-no, because doing such would make a person unclean and then all sorts of sacrifices and offerings would have to be given. Fearlessly, Jesus touched the bier.

What did Jesus have to be afraid of? Jesus knew that this young man was only sleeping, and sometimes you can wake the sleeper with a touch. Sometimes you need to be a little louder. “Young man, arise!” The young man got up, and began speaking, and the young man and his mother were reunited.

Jesus saw that death had shaken the widow and the crowd. The young man’s death had rocked the foundation of his mother’s world. The hopeless haunting feeling may have been echoed by the haunting moans and groans of the mourners. The despair may have choked the people who saw only gloom on the horizon.

We have sat in the funeral home. We have stood at the graveside. We have peered down into the grave after the casket was lowered down. We may have even picked up a shovel and put some dirt on the casket. We have held hands and offered shoulders and have kept Kleenex profitable. We looked to the horizon and thought, “Now what? Now what am I supposed to do? The kitchen table will seem so empty. Sure, work will hire someone to replace her, but she was such a kind, smart, and helpful coworker. How could someone so young die in that fashion?”

Looking the horizon is not much good, unless on the horizon comes Jesus. As Jesus met the funeral procession, Jesus comes to us in our grief and despair. Jesus comes to us in our losses, our tragedies, and our wondering confusion.

Jesus comes to us, touches us, and speaks to us. Jesus comes, because He is here. Jesus is present in His Word. Jesus is present in the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is here because He has promised to be. Look for Jesus where Jesus has promised to be found. Word. Sacrament. Jesus is with us at the graveside. Jesus is with us in the hospital. Jesus is with us in the nursing home. Jesus is with us in the long dark night of worry and confusion. Jesus is with us in the long, dark night when your baby will not be comforted and fall asleep. Jesus is with us when the doctor gives the bad news of your medical report. Jesus is with us when the news comes that the adoption is not going to take place.

In our story this morning, God was glorified. A great prophet has arisen. That is absolutely true, but more than that, “God has visited his people!”

On our horizon, on the immediate horizon, God in Christ has visited us. God in Christ has made his home with us. On our immediate horizon is the blessed gift of Holy Communion. There, as we are united with our savior and our redeemer, we are raised up. We are raised up as forgiven sinners. We are raised up to glorify the Lord with our lips and our lives. We are raised up so that we might receive the riches of God’s grace. We are raised up to serve and to be served. We are raised up to love and to be loved. We are raised up to forgive and extend that forgiveness to others. We are raised up to spread the news of Jesus through the whole of the world we live in. We spread the news of Jesus, the only Son of the only true God.
We spread the news that in Christ there is always more forgiveness than we can imagine.

There is always more love, more tenderness, more strength, more of what we need when everything seems so hopeless. In Christ there is always more and through our redeemer Jesus, we are raised up to experience the fullness of God’s love in Jesus our Lord. SDG

Wisdom of Pixar

2010-06-07T07:35:00.002-04:00

There was a wonderful interview on Issues, Etc on the new book: The Wisdom of Pixar. For the unitiated, Pixar is the movie company that debuted with Toy Story in 1995. They are set to release Toy Story 3 this year. Other movies are: A Bug's Life, Monster's Inc., The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and my favorites Cars, WALL-E, and Up.

Without being preachy, these movies utilize a wonderful medium to engage our society with Christian morals and values- friendship, sacrifice, responsibility, humor, love, life, parent-child relationships, even death.

The interview lasted 40 minutes and is available at www.issuesetc.org. There is a book that sounds very intriguing titled The Wisdom of Pixar, available to peruse at thewisdomofpixar.com

Worship info for June 6

2010-06-03T14:45:00.002-04:00

Here is the information for our worship this coming Sunday:

Hymns
754 Entrust Your Days and Burdens
552 O Christ, Who Shared Our Mortal Life vv1,7,8,4
697 Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death
756 Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me
741 Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense
504 Father Most Holy

Scripture Lessons
1 Kings 17:17-24
Galatians 1:11-24
Luke 7:11-17

Collect of the Day
O Lord, Father of all mercy and God of all comfort, You always go before and follow after us. Grant that we may rejoice in Your gracious presence and continually be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Rumblings and Grumblings

2010-06-02T10:26:00.002-04:00

First the grumble: We got an upgrade of Lutheran Service Builder at church. I do not like it. The older version was easier to navigate. I suppose I'll have to play around with it a bit. This too shall pass.

I'm anticipating my flower garden this year. We bought some flowers through a fundraiser at Jacob's school- some pink coneflowers, four-o-clocks, and some type of oriental lilly. They are all supposed to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. So far the green things poking out of the ground look good. I have a hummingbird feeder that I'll put up soon. I'm not sure we're on the flight path of hummingbirds but we'll see what happens. If we get some pretty butterflies that will be enough.

The Roth Bridge

2010-06-02T07:33:00.001-04:00

is quite nice to drive over, especially when you have the opportunity to look down on a hawk, or at least what I think is a hawk. Pretty neat to be higher than some birds.

Score?

2010-06-01T07:46:00.002-04:00

By the end of the Stanley Cup Finals, who will score more: the Flyers or the Phillies?

I might put my money on the Flyers. Last night's game was quite entertaining, even though there was not as much scoring as in Game 1. I pledge allegiance to the St. Louis Blues and generally despise all things Blackhawk...but the Blackhawks have the coolest uniforms in all of professional sports. The Indianhead on the sweater is so neat to see.

Being an old stick in the mud, I'm getting annoyed at all the comments about how loud the United Center is. Do they not remember Chicago Stadium, 1800 West Madison? That was a madhouse. The United Center is a modern arena that looks like all the other modern arenas just like the ones in Philly, Boston, Washington, Columbus, St. Louis, take your pick. They are all the same and you cannot tell where you are unless you pay attention to the dasher boards and the signage in the arena. They are functional and utilitarian and they stink.

2010-06-01T07:44:00.000-04:00

Holy Trinity
Baptism of Brice Wise
May 30, 2010
Mark 10:13-16

In the name of the most holy triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

I suppose it is a good thing that I spend a great deal of time in the church as I take some interest in symbols. Symbols are important things in the life of the church, in the life of the church’s people, and really in the life of the whole world. We pay attention to symbols for the message they convey. A road sign is a symbol. We would have a terribly difficult time getting from point A to point B without those symbols.

Our lovely sanctuary is filled with great symbolism. We celebrated Pentecost last Sunday and the symbols of Pentecost expressed the message that God the Holy Spirit was poured out on all God’s people. And wherever the Holy Spirit is, there is Jesus. Our windows are not worshiped yet they always point to the One who is to be worshiped. The crosses we see, the baptismal font that is in front of our eyes, the banners, they broadcast a message of God’s love and grace for us. The markers on the pulpit and lectern, the vestments that clergy wear, they broadcast a message as well.

Symbolism is quite powerful and quite instructive. The Gospel lesson that we heard during the baptismal service included a symbol that deserves some attention on this Trinity Sunday that features the blest washing of Brice Bradley Wise.

He put his hands on them. That is the ‘symbolic’ phrase for something that is quite physical. We do not allow people to put their hands on other people. No one can touch me unless I let them. We get upset when we see other people touched in bad ways. Playground bullies are a scourge for many children and their parents. Tragically, many mothers and fathers discipline by means of a closed fist. And when abusive parents are exposed, there is no sympathy. Many of us have formulated in our minds what sort of justice Earl Bradley should receive, and not just for him, but for all the supervisors and overseers in this heart-breaking situation. ‘He put his hands on them’ is a phrase that evokes terrible pictures in our minds.

But the ‘he’ in our Gospel lesson is Jesus. He put his hands on the children for the purpose of blessing them. These were the hands of the miracle-worker. These were the hands of the teacher. These were the hands of the one who opened the ears of the deaf and gave sight to the blind. These were the hands of a carpenter’s son who was most-likely skilled with a saw, an adze, a lathe, a plane. These were the hands of the One who broke the bread and declared it to be his body, who took the cup of wine and said that this was his blood of the new covenant, the covenant that depends solely upon the grace of the triune God.

As we have come to know the stories of the Bible, the stories of our savior Jesus, you likely know that these same hands, stretched forth to bless, would be the hands stretched out to receive the nails. The blessed Son of God, who spent his life speaking the blessing of God, received curses when he was nailed to the cross. This Jesus stretched out his hands when he saw his disciples after he was raised from the dead and told Thomas, “Touch me. Feel the scars in these hands.”

In baptism, hands are present. Hands hold the baby and hands pour the water on the head. But it is not so much my hands that are present. In a very real way, the hands of God the Father are used. It is God who does the baptizing. It is God who does the washing. It is God who takes the baby and declares that this baby, graciously given to mom and dad, is my precious son or daughter. God declares that this child has been marked and sealed as one that Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, redeemed through his crucifixion.

Christian artwork has long used hands to depict the Father, the cross to depict the Son, and a dove to represent the Holy Spirit. And yes, our heavenly Father lovingly touches us. He washes us, cleanses us from all sin, builds us with great care to be the Church of God on earth.

God the Holy Spirit could be viewed with the image of hands as well. For in Brice’s baptism, just as in every other baptism, the Holy Spirit is given to this precious child for the purpose of blessing. We are blessed with the presence of the Holy Spirit to be led by the hand to this time and this place. The Holy Spirit calls us, gathers us, enlightens us and makes us to be the holy ones of God. And very often the Holy Spirit takes us by the hand, kicking and screaming to this place. The Holy Spirit takes us by the hand and we look God in the eye and confess that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. The Holy Spirit takes us by the hand to the communion rail so that we can take in our hands and our mouth the very forgiveness of God that is present in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. The Holy Spirit takes us by the hand from this place back to our homes, to our jobs, to our schools, to our families so that we might extend our hands and be a blessing to the people around us. Served by the hand of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we are the hands of God when we change our babies’ diaper. Your family is the closest neighbor you have, so when you serve your family, you are indeed serving your neighbor. Love them, serve them, put your hands on them and be a blessing to them.

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever does not receive kingdom of God as a little child will be no means enter it. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them.

Receiving God’s kingdom as a little child is to trust God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Trust that God loves you, that God is merciful, that when God lays hold of you with his powerful and gentle hands, he is giving you his blessing, life today, life forevermore. He put his hands on them. Thanks be to God! SDG

Not good

2010-05-27T13:33:00.002-04:00

One hurdle has been cleared in NYC for the construction of a Muslim mosque bordering Ground Zero. That is not a joke.

Muslims are highly symbolic people. (The same could be said for Christians and Jews, since symbols communicate and teach.) Note the mosques that have been erected on sites of Muslim 'conquest'. The Al-Aqsa mosque, the Hagia Sophia mosque in Constantinople, the Dome of the Rock built right on top of the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem, the number of mosques constructed on Hindu burial places. Mosques are built on top of places of conquest.

Why are we allowing a mosque to be potentially built on as close to 'holy ground' as we have in this country? This is outrageous.

Worship info for Trinitatisgottesdienst

2010-05-27T13:32:00.000-04:00

Here is the worship information for this coming Sunday (Trinitatisgottesdienst- a dollar for anyone who knows what that is.)

Hymns
590 Baptized into Your Name Most Holy
540 Christ, the Word of God Incarnate
593 See This Wonder in the Making
803 Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
810 O God of God, O Light of Light
594 God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It

Scripture Lessons
Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31
Psalm 8
Acts 2:14a, 22-36
Mark 10:13-16

Prayer of the Day
Almighty and Everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live and reign, One God, now and forever. Amen.

There is a baptism this morning and we'll celebrate Holy Communion. Both sacraments in one service- sweet!

Sermon for Pentecost

2010-05-25T09:42:00.000-04:00

Pentecost
May 23, 2010
Acts 2:1-21
Fully, not fuzzy

In the name of Jesus, amen. Pentecost is the festival between. God’s Church stands at the close of the time of the Lord and at the beginning of the time of the Church. We bid farewell to the great times of Advent and Christmas, to the miracles of Jesus in turning water into wine, in multiplying loaves and fishes, in strengthening the weak, opening the eyes, ears, and tongue of the blind, deaf, and mute. We bid farewell to the necessary journey of Lent, to the amazing love of Passion Week, the merciful sacrifice on the cross. We bid farewell to the empty tomb, to many proofs and signs that Jesus gave before He ascended into heaven. In all of those instances, we learned an awful lot about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

But I must ask…what do we really know? Pentecost is the great day that celebrates the promised giving of the Holy Spirit. Of the three, the least is known about the Comforter, the Paraclete, the Counselor. Many Christians are a bit fuzzy on understanding who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does.

Every hymn in today’s service mentions the Holy Spirit. Hymns are great teaching tools and the Lutheran reformers used songs to teach the faith. Marrying words to music helps lock in the concept. I dare you to say the ABCs without singing the ABCs. It can be done, but it’s tricky.

The hymn we just sang teaches the Third Person of the Trinity. By examining the hymn, the Holy Spirit, who is fully God, becomes fully known to us. The Holy Spirit is no longer fuzzy to us. Rather he is fully- fully known, fully present, fully full of protection and provision.

The Spirit was promised by the Son to descend from the Father. Jesus told the disciples that this day would come when the Spirit would descend on them. Jesus had also told his beloved that their lives would be full of trouble and difficulty. So the Spirit was promised and delivered. For the true faith needed on their way. The disciples would go down into Egypt and Ethiopia, all the way through Persia and into India, up to Syria and Turkey, through Greece, the Baltics, maybe as far as Spain and Gaul. The way of the disciples led them throughout the known world and they needed faith. The way of the disciples would lead them in the way of the cross. Disciples were beheaded, burned, and boiled in oil. They had fingers amputated so that they would stop preaching the name of Jesus. St. Mark the Evangelist is also known as St. Mark the Stump-Fingered. Losing a digit only impeded his ability to count to ten. It did not stop him from founding the Christian Church in Egypt.

Jesus promises to his beloved disciples today the same Holy Spirit for the true faith needed on our way. Lutheranism is the most vibrant, the most energetic in the continent of Africa. Over 16 million people worship in the Lutheran tradition in places like Ghana, Kenya, the Sudan, Ethiopia, Liberia, South Africa, Madagascar, Eritrea, Zimbabwe. Why is it so vibrant? Why is it thriving in the face of Islamic persecution? Why is it so robust in places where animism is still a dominant worldview? At the point of a blade, in the face of a gun barrel, God’s people are confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. In large churches and in basement churches, God’s people are gathering around the Word of God and relying on the gift of the Holy Spirit to defend them when their life is threatened and when their life is ending.

The Holy Spirit is fully known in nursing homes and hospitals, as God’s people pray, as they wait patiently, expectantly, that God their loving Father will welcome them to their heavenly home.

So the Spirit of God is sweetest love. At all times, from the moment of our baptisms to the moment of our death, we are loved by God the Holy Spirit. This divine love strengthens us to love one another, fervently, even though we may not always agree with one another, even though we may do things that are quite unlovable. By the power of the Holy Spirit we love every stranger, sister, and brother. In a real way the people of God love that not only when times are easy and smooth, but our love is present in the rough and stormy patches.

Loved by the perfect love of God, we have a comforter that is so necessary, so vital. I’ve already mentioned the vibrancy of the African Lutheran churches yet there is a vibrancy among us as we suffer. And just because we can freely assemble according to the constitution of the United States and worship the only true God without fear of reprisal, there is suffering for the people of God. Suffering abounds when devious doubt triumphs over the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Devious doubt teaches that a bodily resurrection of Christ is not necessary. Devilish doubt teaches that the virgin birth means nothing. Destructive doubt teaches that there are many different paths to God, that being good is all that is required, that salvation rests in your efforts, that you had better do what God wants in order for God to be pleased with you, because if God is not pleased with you, then you’re toast.

The foe taunts us. The old evil foe carefully and accurately records every single sin that we have committed. The old evil foe brings those sins to light and ol’ Nick stands before the Father and recounts all the times we have acted the way we shouldn’t have. Satan points out the times when we didn’t make that phone call, when we didn’t visit the friend who was in need, when we let those in the hospital go unvisited, when we passed by the one hungry and naked and offered them no clothes or nourishment.

The people of God suffer in this life. Thus we need the transcendent comfort of God. What comfort is needed in North East right now, as people prepare for the funeral of Shania, Tucker, and Adin Johnson? The comforting knowledge that is needed is: of the cross, that through death, the death of our Savior, comes life, that through Jesus there is nothing in all the world that can separate us from the Father’s sweetest love, the Father’s transcendent love, the Father’s purifying love, the Father’s connecting love.

God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is fully known. He is not fuzzy, some force, some ‘big guy up there’. God is fully known. He is known through the Word. He is known through His precious means of grace, the Sacraments. God is fully known because He wants to be.

God is with us. We call God our Father. We call God Immanuel. We call God the Holy Spirit, the One who guides, who leads, who shelters, shields, and strengthens. We do not have to be fuzzy about the Holy Spirit. He is known to us and He is known in us, as we live out the faith that has been planted in our hearts. Shine in our hearts, O Spirit, precious light; Teach us Jesus Christ to know aright that we may abide in the Lord who bought us, till to our true home He has brought us. Lord, have mercy! SDG

No class Thursday

2010-05-19T14:02:00.001-04:00

The Thursday Bible class is cancelled as I will be at a LINCC meeting. Dr. Muqtedar Khan from UD will speak with us about Islam.

How Good...

2010-05-18T07:53:00.002-04:00

...and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
-Psalm 133

This was the Psalm of the day for the seventh Sunday of Easter. Short, simple, good.

This Psalm was the 'floor verse' of Second Kohn the three years that I lived on Second Kohn at Concordia University, River Forest (now called Concordia University Chicago. It will always be CURF to me!) Kohn was a dormitory and I lived on the second floor with a tremendous group of young men. I'd like to believe it was a unique floor, given the number of campus 'leaders' who lived there.

The treasurer of the Student Government lived on the floor. I served as VP and President of the Student Government. One brother was a 'lieutenant' in campus security. One brother was a captain on our football team. A few played in the Wind Symphony, a number of us sang in the Kapelle. There were business students, teacher ed students, music ed students, pre-sem students, and liberal arts students. It was a typical mix of the student population yet we did consider ourselves unique.

We did dwell in unity. We have continued to do so. We stood up for each other in our weddings, attended baptisms of our children, and continue to turn to each other for counsel and advice.

It was good to chant this Psalm on Sunday. I needed to hear of God's goodness in the past and to reflect on the blessing of life today in Christ, and of God's command of life forevermore.

Dr. Quentin Wesselschmidt

2010-05-18T07:39:00.002-04:00

I mentioned in the Ascension Vespers service and on Sunday that we'd include the family of the Rev. Dr. Quentin Wesselschmidt. Dr. Wesselschmidt died last week and we wanted to support the family in their mourning and grief.

Dr. Wesselschmidt was one of my professors at Concordia Seminary. He was a professor in the historical theology department, and according to Dr. William Weinrich, the best patristics scholar the LCMS has ever produced. Patristics is the study of the early church 'fathers'- their writing, their work, their theology, and the time they lived in the first few centuries after the life of Christ.

Dr. Wesselschmidt was a powerhouse professor, in that he started when the clock said it was time to start and he didn't stop until the clock told him to stop. You had better be prepared to receive all the gifts Dr. Wesselschmidt had stored up for his students. Yet Dr. Wesselschmidt was a humble man, compassionate to the needs of his students and always willing to listen and discuss the questions we brought forth.

His knowledge of the ancient times was key for the students going out in these modern times. God's Church has always dealt with heresies and false teachings about God, His Christ, His Spirit, and His Word. Some people have said that Jesus was not really God, that Jesus didn't really die, that Jesus didn't really rise from the dead, that Holy Communion is not really that important. The false notions put forth in the 5th Century are still being put forth in the 21st Century. Heresies stay around, they just have more modern clothing, fancier shoes, and an iPhone.

Dr. Wesselschmidt also served for a long time as the editor of the Concordia Journal, the quarterly theological journal of the seminary, part of the 'gift' that the seminary gives her graduates in terms of continuing theological education when they leave the campus in order to serve in the parish. Editing the Journal was a hard job, getting the professors to submit their articles, receiving various book reviews and answering questions from all sorts of clergy both within Lutheranism and without. I had a job in the campus post office and was able to work alongside of Dr. Wesselschmidt and his staff in the simple task of affixing mailing labels to the Journals and then sorting them for bulk mailing, but it was in those times when the humble humor of Dr. Wesselschmidt was on display.

"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them." Revelation 14:13