GeRue Blog

Daily Bible Readings January 29- February 4, 2012

2012-01-29T17:22:00.000-06:00

Daily Lectionary

January 29 Jesus Teaches His Disciples to Pray—Luke 11:1-4 (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 5:9–6:20

January 30 Jesus Teaches His Disciples to Pray—Luke 11:5-8 (Part 2)

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

January 31 Jesus Teaches His Disciples to Pray—Luke 11:9-13 (Part 3)

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

February 1 The Centurion Prays to Jesus for His Servant—Matthew 8:5-13

1 Corinthians 9:1-23

February 2 A Canaanite Woman Prays for Her Daughter—Matthew 15:21-28

1 Corinthians 10:14-33

February 3 1 Corinthians 11:1-22

February 4 Look ahead to Sunday Septuagesima

Exodus 17:1–7, 1 Corinthians 9:24–10:5, Matthew 20:1–16

FOOD PANTRY

The Virden food pantry is in need of soaps and toiletries.

CALENDAR

Saturday January 28 5:30 pm Worship Service

Sunday January 29 9:00 am Bible Class

10:00 am Worship Service

3:00 pm Adult Information Class

Wednesday February 1 5:00 pm Confirmation

7:30 pm AA

Thursday February 2 9:00 am LWML Bible Study

Friday February 3 Pastor’s Family Day

Saturday February 4 5:30 pm Worship Service

Look forward to Septuagesima Sunday

Exodus 17:1–7, 1 Corinthians 9:24—10:5, Matthew 20:1–16

Grace Alone

The people of Israel contended with the Lord in the wilderness (Exodus 17:1–7). They were dissatisfied with His provision. In the same way, the first laborers in the vineyard complained against the landowner for the wage he provided them (Matthew 20:1–16). They charged him with being unfair, but in reality he was being generous. For the Lord does not wish to deal with us on the basis of what we deserve but on the basis of His abounding grace in Christ. The first—those who rely on their own merits—will be last. “For they were overthrown in the wilderness” (1 Corinthians 10:5). But the last, those who rely on Christ, will be first. For Christ is the Rock (1 Corinthians 9:24–10:5). He is the One who was struck and from whose side blood and water flowed that we may be cleansed of our sin.

Coffee Break Bible Study of World Religions

Coffee Break Bible Study meets on Sunday mornings at 9:00 for a lively discussion of Scripture and Other Religions. Join us as we study World Religions. Pastor GeRue will lead a study on “Revelation 11.”

Christian Growth Day

Christian Growth Day will be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Nokomis,

Feb. 7. The Speaker will be Lee O’Conner of “Simple Room,” a mission outreach to kids. The day starts at 10:00 am. Bring a sack lunch and your Bible.

Daily Readings January 22-28, 2012

2012-01-17T22:33:00.000-06:00

Daily Lectionary

January 22 Genesis 44:1-45:28, Matthew 14:13-36, Psalms 18:37-50,

January 23 Genesis 46:1-47:31, Matthew 15:1-28, Psalms 19:1-14

January 24 Genesis 48:1-49:33, Matthew 15:29-16:12, Psalms 20:1-9

January 25 Genesis 50:1-Exodus 2:10, Matthew 16:13-17:9, Psalms 21:1-13

January 26 Exodus 2:11-3:22, Matthew 17:10-27, Psalms 22:1-18

January 27 Exodus 4:1-5:21, Matthew 18:1-22, Psalms 22:19-31

January 28 Looking Ahead to Transfiguration

Exodus 34:29–35; 2 Peter 1:16–21; Matthew 17:1–9

CALENDAR

Saturday January 21 5:30 pm Divine Service

Sunday January 22 9:00 am Bible Class

10:00 am Divine Service

1:00 pm SID Floor Committee

Monday January 23 8:30 am – 5:00 pm Army

Tuesday January 24 8:30 am – 5:00 pm Army

5:00 pm Unity BOD

Wednesday January 25 5:00 pm Confirmation

7:30 pm AA

Saturday January 29 5:00 pm Divine Service

Look forward to the Transfiguration Of Our Lord

Exodus 34:29–35; 2 Peter 1:16–21; Matthew 17:1–9

Jesus Is Transfigured and Manifests His Glory

The Lord appeared to Moses in the light of the burning bush (Ex. 3:1–14). Later Moses’ face would shine with the light of God’s glory when he came down from Mount Sinai (Ex. 34:29–35). At the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared with the One who is the Light of Light Himself (Matt. 17:1–9). Jesus’ glory as God shines with brilliant splendor in and through His human nature. By this epiphany, our Lord confirmed the prophetic word (2 Pet. 1:16–21), revealing that He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. He manifested His majesty as the eternal Son of the Father, and He wonderfully foreshowed our adoption as sons (Collect). We who have been baptized into Christ’s body are given a glimpse of the glory that we will share with Him in the resurrection on the Last Day.

LUTHERAN HOUR January 22
"Living a Life With Purpose"
Lutheran Hour Speaker: Rev. Gregory Seltz
In Christ, God has a plan for you-a life with purpose, life to its fullest measure, life in Him-for others. (Mark 1:14-20)

WLUJ Springfield, IL 89.7 FM Sun 3:00 pm
WLLM Lincoln, IL 1370 AM Sun 7:00 am

WLLM Lincoln, IL 1370 AM Sun 7:00 pm

Lutherans for Life – www.lutheransforlife.org

Life Thought: Third Sunday after the Epiphany – The thread of repentance runs through today’s readings. That seems appropriate for today is the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion in our country. Since then, over 54 million babies have been destroyed. We could stand in our churches and call the country to repentance. But perhaps repentance needs to start with us, the Church, for allowing it to happen and so many of us remaining so silent ever since. God be merciful to us for Jesus’ sake.

Life Quote: “‘It is settled law,’ [columnist Paul] Greenberg said, quoting defenders of legal abortion. ‘Another generation,’ though, he reminded us, ‘was told Dred Scott v. Sandford was settled law.’ But, Greenberg protested, ‘no good cause is forever lost.’ Because, he added, ‘no cause is forever won in this world. It’s the nature of politics.’ It’s the nature of life.” From a column by Kathryn Jean Lopez, editor-at-large, National Review Online – A “Life Quote” from Lutherans For Life · www.lutheransforlife.org

Life Sunday Sermon

2012-01-17T22:30:00.000-06:00

2012 Life Sunday Sermon

Our Relenting God Jonah 3:1-10

Much of this sermon was assisted by

Rev. Dr. James I. Lamb, executive director, Lutherans For Life

Can an entire city be forgiven? What about a nation? Sin, repentance, forgiveness—these are not trivial issues for the Christian. We must understand and deal with these matters, but we do so from the perspective of the Good News that tells us: THE CERTAINTY OF FORGIVENESS LIES NOT IN OUR ABILITY TO REPENT BUT IN GOD’S MERCY TO RELENT FOR THE SAKE OF JESUS.

In Nineveh we see our relenting God in action. Nineveh needed a relenting God! God had said, “[T]heir evil has come up before me” (1:2). The book of Jonah does not relate the kinds of evil, but the prophet Nahum gives a bleak picture. “Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder—no end to the prey!” (Nahum 3:1)

God sends Jonah to call them to repentance. The message was short and to the point. “Yet forty days, and Nineveh will be overthrown!” (3:4) The Word of God worked! The people believed God. He convicts them of their sin and gives them repentant hearts. The king of Nineveh himself gets into the act and commands everyone to show signs of repentance—to fast and wear sackcloth. He even commands this for the animals! He takes no chances. “Who knows? God may turn and relent…” (v 9).

God does relent. I’m sure He was pleased with their outward display of repentance as they sat in ashes. But He wasn’t so much moved to relent by cows and sheep walking around covered in sackcloth as He was by a Lamb covered in blood, His Lamb, His Son, Jesus.

God looked ahead to that wonderful Friday and in His mercy, for the sake of that coming sacrifice, relented of the disaster He planned for Nineveh. This “bloody city, all full of lies and plunder” is spared from what it truly deserved.

Now what I am about to say will not set well with some of you. But it is the truth, and it is truth we need to talk about in our churches especially on this January 22 the 38^th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Whether you are comfortable hearing it or not, the truth is that abortion has made this country a bloody country “all full of lies and plunder.” Like Nineveh, we need a relenting God.

Abortion is a gruesome procedure carried out over 3,000 times every day in this country. That’s 1.2 million abortions every year. In the bloody Civil War, approximately 1.6 million Americans were killed. We’ve repeated that number thirty-three times since 1973. In this war on our own, 53million tiny Americans—vulnerable, innocent, defenseless—have been struck down.

Our country is one full of lies when it comes to abortion. Every day thousands of vulnerable women hear the lies. “Abortion is your only choice.” That’s a lie. There are other, life-affirming choices and thousands ready to support women in those choices. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt much.” Another lie. Abortion hurts physically and emotionally, and spiritually. “It will all be over soon.” The most deadly lie. An Abortion affects you for the rest of your life.

Since Christians have over 70 percent of abortions, there may very well be someone here who knows what I mean about abortion affecting you the rest of your life. You might be feeling very guilt-ridden and uncomfortable right now. So let me have a word just with you. And it really is a single word, welcome! Welcome here with the rest of us sinners. It is not the sin of abortion that separates us from God. Sin does that. As we said earlier, the book of Jonah does not even mention the kinds of sins that were going on. It doesn’t really matter. Whether it was the sin of witchcraft or the sin of gossiping, all the Ninevites were guilty before God and deserved His wrath.

When God relented of that wrath, everyone was covered regardless of their sin. The “size” of the sin does not influence God’s action. His relenting flows from His boundless mercy in Christ Jesus to all repentant sinners.

This devastating affect abortion has on women is another indication that we live in a bloody country “full of lies and plunder.” So what should we do about it? Should the Church take the prophetic role of Jonah and yell and scream about great disasters that God will bring upon our nation if it does not repent?

I’m not sure yelling and screaming is ever appropriate, but it is true that Christians are to influence society. But before we can do that there is something we need to do first, repent!

If we are going to change things out there in society regarding the God-given value of human life, then we need to change things in here first, in our own hearts. We need to repent of our indifference to the tragedy of abortion. We need to repent of our failure to acknowledge the spiritual aspect of abortion, our failure to defend the weak and helpless, and our failure to show compassion to those facing crisis pregnancies or those dealing with past mistakes.

Let’s take a few moments to discuss why these things are so. Science reveals very clearly the humanity of the unborn from the moment of conception. But God’s Word reveals that it is much more. God formed that human being with His hands. Jesus shed his blood on the cross for that human being. God desires to call that human being into an eternal relationship with Him.

Our value as a human being comes from what God has done and not from anything we do. That lifts these issues way above being mere social or political issues. Every life is valuable to God, whether you live in a house or live in a womb, whether you are up and walking around or confined to a wheelchair and unable to walk, whether you are making a name for yourself or no longer able to remember anyone’s name.

Thus, as Christians, we are not for life and opposed to abortion because the children are precious. We are for life because the children are precious to God. We are not for life because we live in a society that isn’t, but because we serve a God who is. This means that speaking up for life is not an option for Christians. We are compelled to do so.

That is why we must repent of our silence in the midst of the bloody destruction of children created and redeemed by God. We must repent of our indifference and excuses as we downgrade issues of life and death to the secular realm. We must repent of our lack of compassion for women and thinking that abortion is the best way to help them out of a difficult situation. And, for those who have been involved in for-life activities and life organizations, perhaps there is a need to repent of the manner in which we deal with these issues.

When we do repent, God will look at us through the cross of Jesus and relent. He will forgive and not bring upon us what our lack of respect for life deserves. He will forgive and give us the strength to change the way we think about these issues. Change in our society must begin here in our churches. It must begin here in our hearts.

When that happens, we will realize that we have something to say about the life issues. We have something to say that is more powerful than Jonah’s threats of disaster. In fact, the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us the most powerful and positive for life message in the universe. This message of victory over death, of hope in the midst of despair, of love for the vulnerable, of strength for the weak, and of good coming from suffering is tailor made for the life issues. Indeed, it is the only message that can truly change hearts and minds and lives.

So how do we share that message? Do we take a three-day journey like Jonah through the streets of our community blaring out threats from loudspeakers on top of our cars? No, first we educate ourselves on these issues and learn what God’s Word says about them. We need to make that connection between God’s Word of life and the life issues. To share this message we also have to care for those dealing with them.

Finally, we can give witness to the value of human life in our daily walk as Christian citizens. We can defend the vulnerable as we speak in love about the value of each human life through the things we say and do. We can look for opportunities to share with others the source of that value in our creating, redeeming, and calling God. Life issues give opportunity, not just to call wrong things wrong, but to share what our loving God has done about wrong things in His Son, Jesus Christ. We can speak of our God and His love for the weak and helpless. We can speak of His love and healing for those hurting and despairing. We can speak of our relenting God.

Sad to say, but because of abortion, we live in a bloody country “full of lies and plunder.” We live in a country that needs to repent and change. But the beginning of that change takes place in our hearts as we repent of our indifference toward the God-given value of human life. Then, armed with the Gospel of Jesus, the most powerful and positive for-life message in the universe, we can be God’s instruments in changing people’s hearts and minds. Who knows? God may relent and restore our country once again to a place where human life is upheld in our churches and in our society. Amen!

Daily Readings January 15-21, 2012

2012-01-10T22:57:00.000-06:00

Daily Lectionary for January 15-21, 2012

Sunday Genesis 31:1-55, Matthew 12:1-21, Psalms 9:13-20

Monday Genesis 32:1-33:20, Matthew 12:22-45, Proverbs 2:1-11

Tuesday Genesis 34:1-35:29, Matthew 12:46-13:17, Psalms 10:1-11

Wednesday Genesis 36:1-37:36, Matthew 13:18-35, Psalms 10:12-18

Thursday Genesis 38:1-39:23, Matthew 13:36-58, Psalms 11:1-7

Friday Genesis 40:1-41:40, Matthew 14:1-21, Proverbs 2:12-22

Saturday Looking Ahead to Epiphany 3

2 Kings 5:1–15a, Romans 1:8–17, Matthew 8:1–13

CALENDAR

Saturday January 14 5:30 pm Divine Service

Sunday January 15 9:00 am Bible Class

10:00 am Divine Service

3:00 pm Adult Information Class

Tuesday January 17 8:30 am NMMA

5:00 pm Unity BOD

Wednesday January 18 5:00 pm Confirmation

7:30 pm AA

Thursday January 19 7:30 am Virden Chamber

Saturday January 21 5:00 pm Divine Service

Look forward to the Third Sunday after Epiphany

2 Kings 5:1–15a, Romans 1:8–17, Matthew 8:1–13

Jesus Came for Gentiles, Too

The Gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Gentile (Rom. 1:8–17). Even in the Old Testament, the Gentiles were beneficiaries of God’s saving power. Though unimpressed at first with the Word of God, a Syrian commander is persuaded to receive that Word, and in the water he is cleansed and brought to faith in the God of Israel (2 Kings 5:1–15a). Evil is overcome by good (Rom 12:16–21). So also in the New Testament, a Roman centurion demonstrates great and humble faith in the Lord (Matt. 8:1–13). All he needs is the Word of Christ, for he trusts that Jesus’ Word of healing has authority to accomplish what it says. And indeed it does. The centurion’s faith is praised by our Lord above that of any Israelite. For the last shall be first, and the first last. Apart from faith in Christ, there is no salvation—not even for a Jew—but only weeping and gnashing of teeth.

SUNDAY’S DIVINE SERVICE—The Wedding in Cana of Galilee

The first miracle that Jesus performed was turning water into wine. Many might think of this miracle as an insignificant event. Not so! John writes: "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him." What did the disciples learn to believe about the Messiah from this "sign"? They learned that God had not abandoned the sinful human race, but had come to rescue it as the heavenly bridegroom who had come for His bride the church. Just as sin came into the world within the institution of marriage by the transgression of the first man, Adam, and thereby infected the entire human race, so God "manifested His glory" through the second Adam, Jesus, who would reverse the effects of the fall and save mankind, marriage, and family from destruction. God had not abandoned the people He created or the institutions of marriage and family, but has come to redeem them. He is now the true Man and the true Bridegroom. In His body the Church He creates an eternal family of love in the forgiveness of sins.

Sermon for January 14-15, 2012 Epiphany 2

2012-01-10T22:55:00.000-06:00

Epiphany 2

January 14-15, 2012

John 2:1-11

Jesus reveals Himself

In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

That this is Our Lord's first sign or miracle, is more than an indication of its chronology. It is His primary miracle, the defining sign. It sets the others in place. It shows the glory and character of the Messiah and His Ministry so that His disciples believed in Him.

It is the only miracle that fails to meet some physical need. That might be bad enough, that is if it was only for fun, if the Lord set off a miraculous fireworks show or something, but to make it even worse, it is not just some harmless display of power but seems to be an indulgence of sin. The Lord gives good wine to drunks. He gives good wine to those who not only cannot appreciate it, but who already have and will continue to abuse it.

To translate the stewards satanic statement as “drunk freely” or “well-drunk” is to soft pedal things so much as almost to be criminal, certainly misleading. What the steward says is that every one serves the good wine first, and then when the people are intoxicated the lesser.

The steward plays a satanic role here. Though he knows not where the wine has come from, he accuses the Lord of more than simple wastefulness but of criminal negligence. The Lord is pouring gas on a bonfire. That is the scandal. That is what the devil hates. All he wants is justice. Let the people die in accordance with the Law, let them get what they deserve. “Why should you go hungry in the desert, God, when all things are yours and the rebels, the people who hate you, have plenty to eat? Why did you provide bread from heaven for ungrateful people only to go hungry yourself? They don't deserve you. They won't appreciate you. They will abuse you. Let me have them.”

But the Lord will not. He says nothing of His grace or will to save, nothing of His love. Jesus doesn't belong to the Missouri-Synod. So He doesn't try to witness to the devil. He simply says, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” In the mouth of anyone else, it is another law statement. But it isn't so in His mouth. Because this is God identifying Himself as a Man living by the Word of God. He was baptized, anointed for this. There is no going back. He stands in the desert not as the Lord of Israel, but as the scapegoat, as a Man, the new Adam, who will not take for Himself when He is hungry, who will not fail Eve, but who will suffer and trust and obey and wait on the Lord, who lives by every Word that proceeds from the Mouth of God – not just the ones that make sense. He doesn't talk about how He wills to save ungrateful men. He doesn't talk about love or mercy or the Gospel. He simply does it by being the Messiah, by being a Man in the desert come to be abused and sacrificed.

On the third day after that, after the temptation, He is at a wedding and those drunks blow through the wine. I don't know what St. Mary wants. It is hard to imagine that she wants Him to give them more wine. All she does is make the statement: “They have no wine.” But she wants something and Our Lord knows it. We sometimes use this trick for deny-ability. If St. Mary had been talking to Joseph she might have pretended she didn't mean anything, she was just making an observation. But you can't pull that with Jesus. To her credit, she doesn't try to, which again is a strong witness to her piety and faith. She knows better than to lie to God.

It could well be, as Chrysostom preaches, that St. Mary means that Jesus had not ever performed any miracles up to this point. He never healed a sparrow or any of that stuff. But St. Mary knows who He is. She remembers well His miraculous conception and birth and the words spoken to her by the angel and Simeon and Anna, and by the Books of Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets. She knows what His Baptism was and meant. He has been anointed, Messiah, and He has begun calling disciples. She is calling upon Him to reveal Himself, not to give them earthly wine, but to give them the Holy Spirit, to give them joy, to begin His redemptive work. “Those drunks have no wine, Jesus. They have no joy. The bride and groom are fighting. They don't get it. Heal it. Fix it. Reconcile the world to your Father and each other.”

If that is the case, Our Lord' s rebuke is doubly harsh and pointed. The miracle also takes on a new tone. His hour has not yet come – not His hour to rule over creation in His power but His hour of ending the great separation on God and Man, by bestowing His Holy Spirit. That He will do from the cross, as His gift to the world, as the inheritance given to rebels. Nonetheless, He will give them wine. This giving of earthly wine actually makes more sense if that is not what she meant. Because then it is not a matter of His relenting but playing on the words and doing something good that she didn't even think to ask.

In any case, this is the character of His Gospel: as awful as it seems, He gives wine to drunks. He blesses those who curse Him. He rewards sin. He not only forgives those who murder Him. But He bestows upon them His Kingdom. He is not John the Baptist. He has not taken a Nazarites vow. He is not in the desert. He reclaims the city. When He is present, it is not time to fast, but to feast. And He bestows good things upon evil people and is merciful beyond expectation or imagination.

It is not hard to imagine the nay-saying that went on. This hardly seems a miracle fit for the Lord of Israel. It doesn't seem actually helpful. It wasn't an emergency. No one was sick or in danger or needed more wine. But wine makes glad the hearts of men. And the Lord is into glad hearts. My cup overflows. He bestows gifts not from the need of the beneficiary but from His own love and generosity.

This is the most essential character of His grace: it is undeserved. The other miracles seem more practical but this one is probably more illustrative. Because all the other miracles are meaningless and temporary unless connected to and flowing from His grace, from the undeserved love and mercy of God that forgives and accepts sinners.

We still get this criticism from the devil today. He’ll want us to be practical. They want us to make people better – physically, emotionally, morally. In one sense, they want that because it is a false promise that fails to satisfy and leads to despair, but more significantly they want that because even if it succeeds partially and temporarily it tempts men to think they have something to do with grace, that there is something in them that sets them apart, that they are somehow better, smarter, more pure. The devil can't stand it when we are utterly dependent upon God and give up, when just keep going about praising Him, confessing His Name and Truth, basking in the beauty and joy of creation, being forgiven, and trusting in Him to take care of it all because we can't. Whatever He tells you to do, do it. That sounds like a Law statement. It isn't.

There is something here also of agency. Like unto the 3rd day detail and the significant fact that they are at a wedding, the Lord uses deacons for this work. The word deacon, of course, just means servant. It is slang word, a normal word taken over by the Church. At the time of the wedding, it just meant servant. Still, at the time John wrote this, it had become slang and would have been heard as such by John's readers in Greek. A deacon was not just any servant. He was a servant in the church, a man set aside by the Word of God, prayer, and the laying on of hands for the work of the Holy Ministry. The Lord doesn't touch the water or vessels, nor does He take it to the stewards. He simply tells the deacons what to do. And in doing what He says they do both what He says and also what St. Mary says. They fill the jars with wine, draw some out and give it to the saints to drink.

The poor will be with you always. You will suffer hunger, wars, and rumors of war to the very end – no matter how hard you work and how many people you help. The Lord's ethic is to enjoy what is before you, what He has given, while it is here. "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when He is taken away from them, and then they will.” This same ethic shows up in Romans 12: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

This creation, in its joys as well as its sorrows, is temporary. Wine doesn't last. Its pleasures are fleeting. That doesn't mean it should be despised. Quit the contrary. It should be embraced as a gift and enjoyed in the moment. For whether we rejoice or weep, feast or fast, we are the Lord's, and He showers His gifts, His love, upon us not according to our worthiness or potential for good, but out of His own generosity and love. He gives wine to drunks - on the third day - at a wedding - in Cana. In X Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Readings January 8-14, 2012

2012-01-06T20:52:00.000-06:00

Daily Lectionary

Sunday Hezekiah Purifies the Temple—2 Chronicles 28:22–29:36, Romans 4:1-25

Monday Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover—2 Chronicles 30:1–31:1, Romans 5:1—6:2

Tuesday The Destruction of Sennacherib’s Army—2 Chronicles 32:1-23, Romans 6:12-18

Wednesday King Hezekiah’s Life Is Extended—2Kings 20:1-11, Romans 7:1-25

Thursday King Hezekiah Receives Envoys from Babylon—2 Kings 20:12-21, Romans 8:1–29

Friday Romans 13:1-7

Saturday Exodus 33:12–23, Ephesians 5:22–33, John 2:1–11

CALENDAR

Saturday January 7 5:30 pm Worship Service

Sunday January 8 9:00 am Bible Class

10:00 am Worship Service

3:00 pm Adult Information Class

Monday January 9 6:30 pm Elder’s

Tuesday January 10 9:00 am NMMA

Wednesday January 11 5:00 pm Confirmation

7:30 pm AA

Friday January 13 6:00 pm Circuit Pastor’s Dinner

Look forward to the Second Sunday after Epiphany

Exodus 33:12–23, Ephesians 5:22–33, John 2:1–11

Jesus’ First Miracle Reveals God’s Glory

The coming of the Messianic kingdom means the restoration of creation. The sign of this restoration is that “the mountains shall drip sweet wine” (Amos 9:11–15). When the elements of a fallen creation fail and run short at a wedding feast, our Lord Jesus steps in to restore creation and miraculously changes water into an abundance of the very best wine (John 2:1–11). With this sign, Christ manifests His glory. The “back” of God (Exodus 33:12–23) is revealed to those who believe. The hour will come when Jesus will again manifest His glory by taking creation’s curse into His own body to release us from its power. The Bridegroom will give His life for the Bride (Ephesians 5:22–32), and from His side will flow water and blood, the holy sacraments by which she is cleansed and made one with Him. Through this sacrificial love of Christ we are enabled to “love one another with brotherly affection . . .” and to “outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:6–16).

SUNDAY’S DIVINE SERVICE— The Baptism of Our Lord

John objects to baptizing Jesus, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” John is right! He and all sinners must be “washed,” or “baptized,” by Jesus or they cannot be saved; but the Sacrament of Holy Baptism only has power to save because Jesus was “baptized to fulfill all righteousness.” In His Baptism, the sinless Son of God, who had become man, aligned Himself with sinful man and took responsibility for the transgressions of the world. “He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us” in the waters of Holy Baptism, that He might fulfill all righteousness in His death for sinful man upon the cross. Now our Baptism has the power to save. As Jesus received the iniquity of us all in His Baptism, so we receive His righteousness in our Baptism. God the Father is delighted with this “happy exchange” and declares us His beloved for Jesus' sake.

Last Week At Trinity

(Time And Treasures For God’s Service)

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION WORSHIP ATTENDANCE

Bible Class 12 Saturday Service 25

Sunday School 0 Sunday Service 30

Midweek Class 0

Total 12 Total 55

OFFERINGS

Advent $ 550.00

Christmas $2,216.30

Saturday $ 3,260.05

Sunday $985.11

Total $7,011.46

Total needed for week $2,016.73

Over for the week $4,940.59

Over for the year $4,033.98

Savings $ 1,464.19

Sermon for January 7-8, 2012 Baptism of Our Lord

2012-01-06T20:48:00.000-06:00

January 7-8, 2012

The Baptism of Our Lord

“Unwrapping the Baptism of our Lord”

Matthew 3:13-17

Everything was going smoothly. John was preaching and folks were being baptized. Families from Jerusalem and Judea and all that region were coming. It was a busy, but exciting, time for John.

Until Jesus showed up. Until John looked up for the next family coming to be baptized, and instead of seeing sinners who needed to repent, he saw the One who who did not need to repent, who had no sin, who needed no baptism. Yet there He was, shoulder-to-shoulder with all those sinners as if He were a sinner, too.

And so everything came to a grinding halt. John says, “Stop! Wait a minute. This isn’t right. I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” John is confused. He doesn’t understand what Jesus is doing here. And so Jesus says to him, “It’s alright John. This is right. Do this. Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” And at Jesus’ word, John consents, though he probably still doesn’t quite understand what is happening.

Do you? Do you understand why Jesus, the One who is without sin and needs no baptism, is baptized?

The key is in Jesus’ words to John, when He says to do this to fulfill all righteousness. That’s language John could understand, because that’s what John was after too - righteousness. He was preaching to unrighteous people about their lack of righteousness. He was preaching about their sins, about the wrath that was coming, and the need to repent and turn their lives around. He was preaching to people like us.

But as great as John was - and as we heard a few weeks ago, during Advent, Jesus said that among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist (Matt 11:11). As great as John was, he could not fulfill all righteousness. And none of the folks who came to him could either. For John could administer baptism for the forgiveness of their sins, and the people could condemn themselves and resolve to do better . . . but they were sinners, and they would sin again. They might improve, they might get better, they might even look quite respectable and be fine, upstanding members of society. Like you, who work hard, pay your taxes, don’t beat your wife, help others. People who look good and who others would want as their neighbor.

But while you may be able to be righteous before the world, you can never be righteous before God. For His standards are higher and His judgments are deeper. And while you may be able to restrain the words that you speak and the deeds that you do and so look righteous to the world - God knows the words that were not spoken, yet formed in your mind; He knows the deeds that were not done, yet desired in your heart; He knows the resentment, the anger, the lust, the jealousy, the hate, the ridicule, the belittling - all the impurity and wretchedness and lack of righteousness that lives within you. The sin that lives within you, that has penetrated every nook and cranny of your human nature, and that makes all of us unable to fulfill all righteousness.

Very simply, something else is needed. Someone else is needed. And the Word of God unwraps this gift for you today: that Jesus is the One. He is the One who has come to fulfill all righteousness. To do what you could never do, and be what you could never be, and to do this and be this for you.

That is why Jesus takes His place with the sinners at the Jordan that day; why He stands shoulder-to-shoulder with them and with us, as if He were one of us. For He has come to be one of us. To take our place.

Perhaps a way to understand that is when you see someone in great danger or terribly ill, and you think to yourself: I wish it were me, and not them. Perhaps a child with cancer, or a child being abused, or a friend whose troubles just won’t seem to stop. Our heart goes out to them and we wish we could trade places with them, that they might not have to suffer what they’re going through. Jesus has come to trade places with us; to take our place.

But actually, that’s not quite right . . . Jesus does even more than that. For what Jesus does, those examples aren’t quite adequate. For imagine that it’s not a child with cancer, but a criminal with cancer; it’s not a child being abused, but an abuser being abused; it’s not a friend in trouble, but an enemy in trouble. Would you trade places with them? Not in a million years, right? We don’t want to help them, or pity them, or comfort them; they’re getting what they deserve. But that is what Jesus does, because in taking our place, guess what? He is taking the place not of innocent children or friends, but of criminals, abusers, and enemies. For in our failure to keep His Law, in our failure to love others, that is what we are.

That is what Jesus is doing at the Jordan that day. He’s not there with good people, but with sinners; with the worst of the worst; with us. The righteous for the unrighteous, to make us righteous. He’s there not to have His sins washed away, but to take our sins upon Himself. To take our place and be our substitute under what we deserve, the wrath and condemnation of God, and set us free. Free from the dominion and guilt of sin, and righteous in the eyes of God.

And this Jesus did not only in taking your place at the Jordan that day, but by then taking your place on the cross. Bound to that chair, He took the full jolt of God’s wrath against your trespasses and sins. Strapped to that gurney, He took the lethal injection of your sin. And He died in your place. The righteous judgment against your sin. That’s how much He loves you.

But His love did not end there with His death - as it would if we would take somebody’s place - but three days later we see that all righteousness has indeed been fulfilled when the bonds of death and the power of the grave are broken in Jesus’ resurrection. When just as He stepped out of the Jordan with your sin, He now steps out of the grave without it. That not you, but your sin, be dead and buried forever.

That’s why He is baptized. To die that you might live. And that’s why you are baptized - to die that you might live. That you not die in your sin and so die forever, but that you die with Christ and so live forever! For that is what baptism does for you. It’s not something we do; it’s the work of Jesus continuing for us. The work that He began at the Jordan, continuing for all time. His heart still going out to us sinners.

That is what St. Paul explained for us today in the reading from Romans. That when you are baptized into Christ, you are baptized into His work for you, into His death and resurrection, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, you too might be raised and walk in newness of life. Or in other words, just as Jesus stepped into the Jordan with you, you step out of the grave with Him. You rise with Him a new person, forgiven. Set free by your substitute to live a new life. Set free by your substitute, who has fulfilled all righteousness for you.

But as if that weren’t enough, there is even more from Jesus, for you. For baptized into Jesus, He not only takes your place, He gives you His. And so when you are baptized into Jesus, for you, too,the heavens are opened; upon you, too, the Spirit of God descends; and to you, too, the Father says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” For just as the entire Trinity is present at Jesus’ baptism, so He is at yours, as you are baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And He is there not just as a bystander, looking on at what you are doing, but as the One working and revealing what is happening in those waters.

That heaven, once barred and sealed by your sin, now stands wide open to you. That the gift of the Spirit, and the gifts that He brings with Him, are now given to you, to be with you always in this difficult world and life. And that you are now a child of God, dearly beloved, and one with whom your Father is well pleased.

And yes, your Father is well pleased with you. He may not always like what you do and how you act, but He loves you none the less. And His forgiveness is always here for you. The devil and the world will try to get you to doubt all that, and discourage you, and make you think you’re not really a Christian at all because . . . well, look at you!

But do not listen to those voices, listen to your Father and the words He speaks today. And do not look at yourself for your worthiness, for you won’t find any there; look instead at Jesus, who fulfilled all righteousness for you. And remember that you are a Christian not because of what you do, but because of what Jesus did for you. Because He came into our world as a baby. Because He came to the Jordan to be baptized. Because He went to the cross and rose from the dead. That’s what makes you who you are. That’s who makes you who you are.

And so when the devil and world get after you - and that’s a when, not an if! - remember your baptism. When your sins torment you, say “I am baptized!” and remember your Father’s forgiveness. When your body is failing you and the grave is yawning open before you, say “I am baptized!” and remember that as Christ was raised, so will you be. When you see someone in need, say “I am baptized!” and joyfully help. When you are sinned against, say “I am baptized!” and forgive them with the forgiveness you have received.

You are baptized! And that makes all the difference in the world. That is what we celebrate this day. Jesus’ baptism, yes; but yours also. The Jesus unwrapped for us today by the Word of God was baptized for you and has given you this great gift. And what a treasure it is. You are baptized into Christ! In Him, you are new. In Him, you are forgiven. In Him, you are a child of God.

In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christmas Day Sermon

2011-12-13T23:06:00.002-06:00

Christmas Day 2011

“Mary’s Little Lamb”

Luke 2:8-20

In the Name of the Father, and of the X Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

There is a children’s nursery rhyme that begins “Mary had a little lamb.” Well, that is, in fact, what we are celebrating today! For the virgin Mary has given birth to a lamb, the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sin of the world!

And so with that in mind, and speaking of lambs, I want to think a little this morning about the shepherds who came to visit Jesus. We usually don’t give them too much thought, even though we read their story last night and again this morning. But they have quite a remarkable story to tell. Because it does not seem to be the case that these were ordinary shepherds. For ordinary shepherds wouldnot have been out in the fields at night. Ordinary shepherds would already have gathered their flocks into the sheepfold for the night. Ordinary shepherds would have gone home, so that they could get some rest, knowing that their sheep were safe in the fold. That’s what ordinary shepherds would have done. . . . But not these shepherds. Why? Why were they still out in the fields this night?

Well the answer (most probably) is that they were tending a very special flock of sheep, the Temple flocks. And belonging to the Temple, these flocks were looked after with the greatest of care. These were the sheep that were carefully bred to maintain a stock of pure and undefiled lambs for the Temple sacrifices, offered every morning and every evening. These sheep were never crammed into crowded sheepfolds where they might get injured or marred by bumping into walls or in a fight with another sheep, for then – no longer perfect – they could no longer be used for the sacrifices! These sheep were given the privilege of spending the nights in the open fields, in the lap of luxury (for a sheep!), while the shepherds had to work overtime, and stay awake and keep alert to make sure these special sheep were well taken care of! . . . No, these were no ordinary sheep, and no ordinary shepherds.

And it is to these shepherds that the angels appear, and bid them to go to Bethlehem – NOW! In the middle of the night, in the middle of the watch, in the middle of the dangers of the dark. To leave their sheep, these special sheep, to go to Bethlehem, to see what God has done. And they are told the sign, “Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” . . . And wonder of wonders, they go!

Now, God never does anything by accident, and so it was no accident that these shepherds were the first ones to go see the baby Jesus! It wasn’t because they were the only ones available. And it wasn’t because they were the ones that just happened to be working the night shift! It was because Mary had a little lamb, the Lamb of God, the Lamb who would take the place of all the other lambs that were now still out in the fields. The shepherds could leave those lambs because they were no longer necessary. . . . And so these special shepherds who tend to special sheep, come to see the most special lamb of all. The Lamb which would accomplish all that their lambs could not – for He was born to take away the sin of the world.

And so with that these shepherds are . . . really, in a sense, about to be retired! For since their sheep are no longer necessary, their job is no longer necessary! And so what do they do? What do they do after they had been to see Jesus, the Lamb in the manger? Well, they are given a new vocation – “And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. . . . And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.” And so the message of the angels becomes their message. And just as this news is announced to them, they now announce it to others. And what did they say? “Mary had a little lamb!”

And that is the message that we also proclaim today, and that we are celebrating today! The world sees just a young girl holding a baby in a stable because she and Joseph didn’t think to book a room far enough in advance! But the eyes of the shepherds, and our eyes of faith, see something much more profound. The mystery of God made flesh. The mystery of the Creator become a creature. The mystery of the Almighty becoming a helpless baby. The mystery of God’s love for sinners like us, that He would come to be the Lamb to die for you and me.

And that is what we will again sing about this morning in the liturgy of Holy Communion. We sing about the mystery of Mary’s little Lamb.

“O Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.”

And with that we are proclaiming the message of the shepherds, for as we gather around the altar of the Lamb to eat His flesh and drink His blood for the forgiveness of our sins, the Scriptures say, “as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

“O Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.”

And with that we are proclaiming the message of the angels, for as you hear in this liturgy, we join with the “angels, and archangels, and all the company of Heaven.” The very same company of Heaven that burst forth in song that night to shepherds! “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’ ”

“O Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us Your peace.”

And as the angels proclaimed, we do have peace. Peace with God through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God for the forgiveness of our sins. And the best news of all is that that is no nursery rhyme or simply wishful thinking on our part! But the wonderful truth that we celebrate this day! That “Mary had a little lamb” – the Lamb who saved you and me!

In the Name of the Father, and of the X Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Sermon

2011-12-13T22:52:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve December 24, 2011

“A Love Story”

Luke 2:1-11

Merry Christmas!

Atheists are no longer ignoring Christmas - now they are attacking it. Not just in that they don’t want folks to say “Merry Christmas” anymore - that movement’s been going on for a while, and has pretty much run its course, I think. No, this year they tried a new tactic: they have begun to call the Nativity scene hate speech, and therefore the displaying of it should be a hate crime. For, say the atheists, it is hateful that Christians are saying with their Nativity scene that unless you believe in and accept this baby as your Savior, then you are condemned to hell.

Well, the atheists got the meaning of the nativity scene exactly right. That is exactly what Christmas is all about. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. The message of Christmas is not just that a baby is born, but that God is born a man, come to save us from sin, death, the devil, and yes, from hell itself. And without Him, we have no hope. Without Him, we are the people walking in the deep darkness of the sin and death in our world. Without Him, the sins which separate us from our holy Father will do so forever.

And so that is the reason for our joy this night, that the grace of God has appeared. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. The Son of God is incarnate as the baby Jesus to defeat our enemies, and to reconcile us to His Father. To strip Satan of His power and provide the forgiveness of our sins. To overcome death and the grave, and give us the gift of eternal life. His weapon: His blood. His guard: shepherds and fishermen. His fortress: a manger, some straw, and swaddling clothes. And against these, Satan stands no chance. With these, we are saved.

But while the atheists are exactly right about the meaning of the Nativity, the are exactly wrong about the motive for it - for it is not hate speech, but a demonstration of the deepest love. For as John proclaimed to us: In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation - or the atonement, the sacrifice - for our sins. And so tonight we see that when God said He loves you, He meant it. He meant it not just in words, but in deed. From throne, to manger, to cross, to throne again, that we might be with Him and live with Him forever.

And so tonight there is no hate speech, but a love story. Not between a man and a woman, or a virgin and her child - but between God and men. And not just some men, but all men. For this was the message of the angel, this good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. That God made our human nature His own. In God the Son, the two became one flesh, that we might be His own. Not to be a God we can live with, but one we can’t live without.

And that’s really the crux of the issue right there. If Jesus is just a God we can live with (or not), then He’s okay. He’s just an option, and optional. You can take Him, leave Him, choose another, or none of the above. And people are comfortable with that kind of Jesus - including atheists.

But if Jesus is the God we cannot live without, then we are making a very important statement: that we need Him. That we need what only He can provide. We need His forgiveness for our sin. We need His life for our death. . . . The thing is: we don’t want to be needy, we don’t want to be sinners, we don’t want to be told there’s anything wrong with us or what we do - but that doesn’t change the reality. And so what is hateful is not to point out our neediness and sin - but to ignore it. To pretend as if everything is okay and allow people to die with no hope or a false hope. But love speaks - both of our neediness and sin, and of the true hope and remedy we have in this newborn baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and named Jesus.

That’s why Christmas is so loud! Christmas is what the prophets like Isaiah and Micah proclaimed for thousands of years. It is when the multitude of angels broke out in a great symphony of song to proclaim this birth to the shepherds. And today in words and hymns and carols, the church announces this good news in churches, in cards, on street corners, metro stations, and even in shopping malls. Because this is not hate speech, but the love story around which the history of the world has been built. That God so loved the world that He gave his only-begotten Son. To be born for us, to die on the cross for us, to rise from the dead for us. To give us hope and joy.

And so tonight we are joyous with a joy the devil knows not, for the devil knows no joy. He knows only hate, and cannot stand it when any of us have any peace or love or joy. And so this night when our peace, love, and joy was born for us, Satan is miserable. Especially because we do not deserve such a gift - that makes it even worse! But this love of God cannot be stopped. This love of God not just for the world, but for you. And so it was not in spite of, but because of, our unworthiness, that God sent His Son this night. That the grace of God which appeared to all men - to peasants, shepherds, and kings - might also appear to you and me and all people, that all see in this child named Jesus their Savior, their life, and their hope. That we see in this child not just the God we cannot live without, but the God who didn’t want to live without us. And so who came, in love, this night.

So sing out in joy this night, and confess in joy all the year through! For beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Merry Christmas!

Daily Bible Readings for December 18-25

2011-12-13T21:48:00.000-06:00

CALENDAR

Saturday December 17 5:30 pm Worship Service

Sunday December 18 9:00 am Children and Youth Christmas Practice

9:00 am Bible Class

10:00 am Worship Service

2:00-5:00 pm Open House at Parsonage

Wednesday December 21 5:00 pm Confirmation

7:00 pm Advent Lessons and Carols

7:30 pm AA

Thursday December 22 1:00 – 3:00 pm Girard Food Pantry

Saturday December 24 5:30 pm Children’s Christmas Service

11:00 pm Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

Sunday December 25 8:00 am Christmas Day Service

December 24^th is Chris Ray’s 90^th Birthday.

Please send her a Birthday and Christmas Card to celebrate this very special day.

Daily Lectionary For December 18-25, 2011

December 18 The Nativity of Our Lord—Luke 2:1-7, Isaiah 40:1-11

December 19 The Birth of Christ Is Announced to Shepherds—

Luke 2:8-14, Malachi 3:1-7

December 20 The Shepherds Visit Bethlehem—Luke 2:15-20

Malachi 4:1-6

December 21 The Genealogy of Jesus—Matthew 1:1-17

Isaiah 28:14-19

December 22 The Birth of Jesus Is Foretold to Joseph—

Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7:1-17

December 23 The Word Became Flesh—John 1:1-1, Micah 5:1-5

December 24 Isaiah 7:10–14, 1 John 4:7–16, Matthew 1:18–25

December 25 Exodus 40:17–21; 34–38, Titus 3:4–7, John 1:1–14

NEXT WEEKS LESSONS:

CHRISTMAS DAY

Exodus 40:17–21; 34–38, Titus 3:4–7, John 1:1–14

The Living and Life-Giving Word of God Dwells among Us in the Flesh

In the beginning God created all things through His Word, His Son. But man fell into sin, and with man all creation was cursed. Therefore, God spoke His Word again, this time into the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle of our human nature (Ex. 40:17–21,34–38). “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1–14). The Son of God took on our flesh and blood and died on the cross in order that we might receive the right to become the children of God through faith. Baptized into Christ’s body, we are made partakers of a new Genesis, “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4–7). In Christ, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man has truly appeared.

Advent 4 December 18, 2011 Sermon

2011-12-13T21:45:00.002-06:00

Advent 4 December 17-18, 2011

“Who Are You?” John 1:19-28

In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

John the Baptist just doesn’t fit the mold. We heard last week of his unusual diet: locusts and wild honey, and his unusual clothes: a camel’s hair shirt with a leather belt. His preaching is also a bit unusual: he is out in the wilderness instead of in the city (where the people are) or the temple (where they go to get religion), and he doesn’t preach what people want to hear - that they’re okay, and, keep up the good work! No, he cries: You’re not okay! You’re not good! Repent! Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2). There was nothing usual about John.

And that continues in today’s Gospel. For in response to those who came to him to find out who he was and what he was doing and why he was doing what he was doing, John defines himself and his work not by who he is, but by another - by Jesus. Everything John is is in relation to Jesus. Without Jesus, John is nothing. Without Jesus, John’s work is in vain. For John, Jesus must increase and he must decrease (John 3:30).

Now, John did have a lineage. He was the son of Zechariah the priest and so he was a descendant of Aaron in the priestly line of Israel - that was no small thing. But instead of telling the folks who came to question him who he was, he tells them who he is not - he is not the Christ nor Elijah nor the promised prophet greater than Moses. John is the great NOT, so that he can point to the one who IS; to the one who is everything.

And that, I think, is what makes John so unusual - even more than his diet and his clothes. For I think it is part and parcel of the sin that has curved us in on ourselves that we define ourselves by what we do, or who we want to be. For example, when we meet someone, one of our first questions is: What do you do? That defines a person. And there are so many things we want to do, to make something out of ourselves. We want to be successful, we want to be beautiful, we want to be smart, or popular, of powerful, or educated, or about a million other things people tell us we should be, and we therefore try to be.

Now, let me be clear - it’s good and not wrong to have goals and try to achieve and use the gifts and talents God has given you. The problem is when that defines you; when that’s all there is for you. For not only does God get inevitably squeezed out of the picture, but defining yourself this way can so easily rob you of joy. The joy of living. The joy your Lord designed for you. Because very few attain these things we are told we should be, and even if they do, they get some and not others, or the standards change, or conditions change, and so there’s always more to get, more to do, more to achieve, and your life ends up being an exhausting, never-ending chase for this more, leaving little time or room for anything else.

So maybe John had it right. Don’t define yourself by who you are and what you do - look at who you are by another, by Jesus. And that not only in the world, but also who you are spiritually. For spiritually, who you are on your own is a sinner and what you do is sin. We do those things we’re not supposed to do, and we don’t do those things we are supposed to do - maybe because we’re so busy chasing after all that stuff I was just talking about! All that stuff we’re told we’re supposed to be and supposed to do and supposed to have. All that stuff that winds up consuming us - both physically and spiritually.

But being defined by Jesus shines a whole new light on things. For then you’re not just who you say you are or who others say you are - you are who Jesus says you are. You are His child. You are forgiven. You are dearly loved. You are well pleasing to Him. And you are all these things not because of anything in you, or anything you have done, but because of what Jesus has come to do for you; because you are baptized. Which is, by the way, what John was all about.

That’s the good news John lived and proclaimed, fulfilling Isaiah’s words as the forerunner of Christ. And so as we heard from Isaiah earlier today, John brings good news to the poor - to you who cannot live up to all the “supposed to be’s.” He binds up the brokenhearted - you whose hearts have been broken and stomped on. He proclaims liberty to the captives - to you held captive to the expectations and demands of others. He comforts all who mourn - you who mourn over your sins and failures. John is proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance for our God - notice how much greater is His favor than His vengeance! That’s the lifetime of favor won for you when He poured out His vengeance against sin upon Jesus that day on the cross. There all that you are supposed to be and should be is swallowed up by the one who IS - the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Who takes away your sin and sets you free. Free in His love, free in His forgiveness, free to live.

That’s why John loved His job! It wasn’t easy, and . . . well . . . the food and clothes and living conditions definitely weren’t the perks that made it all worth it! What did make it worth it was the one who was coming. The one who had come six months after him, born of the virgin Mary and laid in the manger. The one coming to be the sacrifice for the sin of the world on the cross. The one coming to fulfill the promise of God to firmly and finally place His heel upon the serpent’s head, that Satan have no more dominion over us and be defeated once and for all. That’s why John was filled with joy. That’s why John was like a little kid at Christmas when Jesus came out to him to be baptized. For though I don’t know for sure, I’ll bet he was jumping up and down and couldn’t contain himself as he cried out: There He is! The Lamb of God! The promised Savior!

That joy is why we light the rose color candle today, for our Advent preparation makes a turn today - turning now to the joy of the coming one. That John’s joy be our joy. A joy that enables us to live as St. Paul is describing in his letter to the Thessalonians. If you’re consumed with all the “supposed to be’s,” the things that Paul writes of will all fade into the background, get lost in the shuffle, and pale in importance. But if you’re consumed by “what Jesus has done for you,” or rather, if you consume all that Jesus has done for you when you come and consume Him, His Body and Blood, given to you to eat and drink here, and consume His Word as you read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest it, then all these things are your joy, just like for John. Rejoicing, praying, giving thanks in all circumstances, holding fast to what is good. For Jesus is working in you, sanctifying you and keeping your whole spirit and soul and body blameless until He comes again. He is faithful. He is surely doing it.

And so that is who you are. A dearly loved and forgiven child of God. Sanctified, or made holy by Him. Being kept by Him. A bride of the Bridegroom. No longer a slave to sin, but set free to live in Christ. To answer with John’s joy those who ask you who you are and what you are doing. And to see at Christmas not just the birth of someone who lived very long ago and very far away, but to see your own new birth. For the Son of God was born a son of man, that we sons of men might be born as sons of God. And you are, in Him. For you are who Jesus says you are, and in Holy Baptism, and through His Word, and in His Supper, He has called you by that name that is above every name, and given you an identity second to none: Christian.

In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Advent Midweek 3 December 14, 2011

2011-12-06T22:37:00.002-06:00

Luke 1:46-56

“Mary’s Song is our Song”

Advent Midweek 3 2011

In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

One of the great things about Christmas programs in the church is that we get to sing our favorite Christian Christmas carols. And even though we’re still technically in the Advent season, it’s been wonderful to hear our children singing the great songs of our dear Savior’s birth. Most of these songs we sang when we were in Christmas programs, as did our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. The classic hymns have been around a long time and I pray that generations of children to come will likewise be able to sing these great songs. But as long as these hymns have been around, there’s one Christmas hymn that’s even older. It’s so old in fact that it was sung before Jesus was even born. The hymn is the Magnificat, and in this hymn of praise the Virgin Mary glorifies God for choosing her to be the mother of His Son. Unfortunately, we’re not going to sing the Magnificat today, but it is fitting that today we remember this ancient hymn of Mary, because what we’ll learn is that Mary’s song is our song.

If you’ve ever watched a musical, you’ve probably noticed that characters will often just burst into song, it’s what makes them musicals. Well, Mary today, also just bursts into song. As she thinks about the baby in her womb, as she contemplates the coming Savior, she’s overcome by the need to praise God for all His blessings to her. Not only was she blessed to be chosen as the mother of the Son of God, she was blessed because that same baby would one day save her from her sins. And as she absorbs this whole experience she can’t help but sing.

The first thing that amazes Mary is that God chose her to be the mother of His Son. Kings are born of kings and royalty are born in castles attended by servants, but not the King of Kings. This King would be born to a humble girl who called herself a servant, a girl who lived in a small town in a small country, a girl who could probably go through life without attracting too much attention. And yet, in spite of her position in the world, God chose her and by doing so He showed that He often works in ways that don’t make sense. He blessed a young girl who sang of Him, “For He has looked on the humble estate of His servant” and He did so simply because He wanted to. He didn’t have to bless her, but He did, and her life was never the same again.

Now Mary isn’t much different than any of us. We have nothing to offer God, so we are also of “humble estate.” Like Mary, many of us come from small communities in our small state of Iowa, most of us won’t impact our nation in some amazing way, we’re not rich and powerful. But, you know, God didn’t choose us because we’re special in some way, nor has He chosen us because we’re rich or famous or smart. We’re like Mary, we’re just us, but we’ve been chosen by God for no apparent reason. And really, what could possibly explain why God chose us to be His servants and children?

Mary sings, “For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation.” Well, there’s the explanation! God chose you because He wanted to. He’s holy, His name is holy and because He’s holy, He can pick anyone He wants, and He picked you. He comes to us, on His own, with His mercy, and in His mercy He bestows blessings on us that we can’t earn nor ever deserve.

Mercy is God sending His Son to heal us of our sin, free us from our prisons, grant us sight to see His presence in this world, restore our hearing so that we might listen to His voice in the Bible, and to give us eternal life in the midst of death. Everything that Jesus did during His earthly ministry He continues to do for us today through the Bible, through our Baptisms, and through the Body and Blood He gives us in the Lord’s Supper. Now do we always have physical healing or perfect eyes and ears? Sadly no, but Christ gives you the spiritual healing you have now as He has come into your lives in unexpected ways with unexpected mercy.

God is really the God of the unexpected, and we see this in the second part of the Magnificat. Mary sings, “He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.” This sure doesn’t sound like the way it usually works though, does it? In Mary’s day, just like in ours, it’s almost always the proud, the powerful, the wealthy, the lofty, and the high-ranking that control what happens in our town, our states, our nation, and our world. Might makes right and we see this over and over as the powerful exploit the weak and the arrogant manipulate the meek. This is the way it’s always been, and probably will always be. Well, that’s not entirely true, because in Christ’s birth to a young virgin girl we see that God has always worked in unexpected ways.

When God works in these unexpected ways, we call it the “Great Reversal”. The Great Reversal is the Lord taking the events and the expected things of this world and turning them on their ear. In her song Mary sang, “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy” and in this short phrase Mary remembered all the times that God saved His people when all hope seemed lost. A baby pulled from the Nile River eventually leads the people of Israel to freedom after four hundred years of slavery in Egypt. An unknown Persian king lets the Israelites return home after seventy years of exile. A young man of maybe twenty is chosen to be one of God’s greatest prophets. A shepherd from the dinky town of Bethlehem becomes the greatest king in Israel’s history. God worked in these strange ways because He had made a promise to Abraham that was centered purely on His mercy. And to keep His promises He worked in ways that went contrary to human reasoning.

Take, for example, the birth of Jesus. Our children sing Away in a Manger and if you think about it, isn’t the fact that the Son of God was born in a cattle stall, a truly Great Reversal? The Messiah should’ve been born in a palace. He should’ve been born to royalty. But He wasn’t because the Savior of the world came as one of those whom He was saving. Only by being one of His creatures could Jesus do what must be done to save His people and that was to die. Talk about a Great Reversal! We were supposed to die and we were supposed to suffer the punishment of Hell. But Jesus came down as a baby who would grow up to be a man who would turn all of creation on its ear. Jesus took our place under God’s wrath, He gave up His royalty in order to be mocked as He wore a crown of thorns instead of a crown of gold. This is a reversal to end all reversals. What should’ve been ours became His and what was His, His holiness and righteousness, became ours. What He didn’t deserve, death and punishment, He got and what we didn’t deserve, forgiveness and eternal life, we got. What wonderful news!

And what’s even more amazing is that as Jesus hung on the cross, as He hung there seemingly powerless, He was more powerful than anyone could possibly have imagined. His power couldn’t be seen, but on the cross Jesus was overthrowing Satan by enduring His Father’s anger. By suffering in the dark and alone, Christ assured that we will never be alone. By not being forgiven, Jesus earned us forgiveness, and by dying He showed that death had no power over Him and it has no power over us. This is the greatest of the Great Reversals - where there was once death there is now only life, life for you, life for me, and life for all those who have been blessed by the baby borne by the humble servant Mary.

I think that most of us really enjoy Christmas Carols and it just wouldn’t feel like Christmas without them. But of all the great hymns, Mary’s Song, the Magnificat, stands out as the most perfect and beautiful expression of God’s love and works in our lives. But the Magnificat is not just a Christmas hymn, it’s applicable no matter what time of the year it is. It’s applicable for all of us at all times for these words of a humble young girl were inspired by the Holy Spirit who bids you to know the great things He has done for you. And knowing those great things God has done, especially the Great Reversal, that brought you salvation, you can, with Mary, also proclaim “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” Amen.

Daily Readings December 11-17, 2011

2011-12-06T21:40:00.000-06:00

Daily Lectionary For December 11-17, 2011

December 11 Amos 4:1-6:14, Revelation 2:18-3:6, Psalms 130:1-8

December 12 Amos 7:1-9:15, Revelation 3:7-22, Psalms 131:1-3

December 13 Obadiah 1:1-21, Revelation 4:1-11, Psalms 132:1-18

December 14 Jon 1:1-4:11, Revelation 5:1-14, Psalms 133:1-3

December 15 Micah 1:1-4:13, Revelation 6:1-17, Psalms 134:1-3

December 16 Micah 5:1-7:20, Revelation 7:1-17, Psalms 135:1-21

December 17 Looking ahead to Advent 4

Deuteronomy 18:15–19, Philippians 4:4–7, John 1:19–28

NEXT WEEKS LESSONS:

FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT (Rorate Coeli)

Deuteronomy 18:15–19, Philippians 4:4–7, John 1:19–28

John the Baptizer Points Everyone to the Messiah

The coming of God in all His unveiled power at Mount Sinai was terrifying to the people of Israel. The thundering voice of the Lord puts sinners in fear of death (Deuteronomy 18:15–19). God, therefore, raised up a prophet like Moses—the Messiah, the Christ. God came to His people veiled in human flesh. The skies poured down the Righteous One from heaven; the earth opened her womb and brought forth Salvation (Introit) through the blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of the Lord (Luke 1:39–56). The fruit of her womb is the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the One whose sandal strap John was not worthy to loose (John 1:19–28). In Jesus we are delivered from fear and anxiety. In Him alone we have the peace of God which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:4–7).

CALENDAR

Saturday December 10 5:30 pm Worship Service

Sunday December 11 9:00 am Children and Youth Christmas Practice

9:00 am Bible Class

10:00 am Worship Service

Tuesday December 13 2:00 pm Virden Food Pantry

Wednesday December 14 8:00 am Concordia Chapel

5:00 pm Confirmation

7:00 pm Advent Midweek Vespers

7:30 pm AA

Thursday December 15 11:30 am LWML Thanksgiving

Friday December 16 5:30 pm Elders

Saturday December 17 5:30 pm Worship Service

Coffee Break Bible Study

Coffee Break Bible Study meets on Sunday mornings at 9:00 for a lively discussion. We are currently studying, the book of “The Revelation of John.”

2012 LUTHERAN WITNESS – Renewal rate for 2012 will be $15.75. If you plan to renew your subscription, please advise Jane Jones as soon as possible.

LWML will have its annual Christmas gathering on December 15. We will meet at Doc’s Soda Fountain in Girard at 11:30 to eat and play games. At 1:30 we will visit Shut-ins.

OPEN HOUSE: Pastor and Valerie will once again host an open house for the members of Trinity. It will be on Sunday, December 18th from 2:00 – 5:00 pm.

ADVENT MIDWEEK SERVICES: Services will be held on Wednesday, December 14, and 21, will begin at 7:00 p.m. Dessert will be provided after the service. This weeks Theme: “Mary’s Song.”

CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PROGRAM PRACTICE: The Children’s Christmas program practice will be held each Sunday at 9:00 am. Dress rehearsal is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, December 22, from 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm. A pizza party will follow dress rehearsal.

CHRISTMAS EVE: Christmas Eve Children’s Service will be at 5:30pm. The Christmas Eve Candlelight Service will be at 11:00 pm.

CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE will be at 8:00 a.m.

Food Pantry Assistance

Assist at Virden Food Pantry December 13 2-3 pm.

Assist at Girard Food Pantry December 22 1-3 pm.

Advent 3 Sermon December 10-11, 2011

2011-12-06T21:26:00.000-06:00

Advent 3

Matthew 11:2-11

December 10-11, 2011

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

Here we are: overweight, in debt over our heads, and depressed. He we are: divorced, lonely, afraid, worried about the future, addicted, and lonely. Here we are: self-righteous, hypocrites, liars.

And there is John the Baptist, that contrary, extreme figure of yore, in camel's hair coat, with locusts and honey upon his breath, a wild man with a wild look in his eye and a pointing finger. Mama's rules don't apply to prophets.

And here we are. What good is John? His scathing rebukes don't help. They just hurt. Who does he think that he is? He is no better than us! Oh, greatest of those born of women, fine! But he still had a mother, he still inherited from her the corruption and death of sin that infects us all. Here we are: running, hiding, evading, covering, attacking.

And there is John, born into a priestly family from a dead, barren womb, the last of the prophets, the Voice crying in the wilderness, the usher and baptizer of Christ. His Office is as simple as it is impossible: prepare the hearts of men for the Messiah. He is to comfort them by destroying them, tearing down the mountains of pride, building up the debased and dejected, calling them on their warfare with God and their guilt. All this that He might level that accusing finger at Mary's Son and give the Church a new song: “Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” In Him, by Him, your warfare is ended, your guilt removed. He does not wither and fade. His promises do not go unfulfilled. His Word is true. He will feed, gather, carry, and lead you.

And thus John winds up in prison. He was no more successful or popular than the prophets before him. His stern, unbending message had cost him. The powers that be would not tolerate his demand for repentance. They balked at his damnation of their impurity. They thought they were above doctrinal review and rebuke. So they resorted to violence. They imprisoned him and they would kill him. From that dungeon, from death row, cries the Voice of Faith. He asks: “Are You the Coming One, or do we await another?”

Was John, that icon of conviction, that stern desert preacher, that demander of true repentance, doubting? Perhaps. Perhaps this reed not swayed by the opinions and pressures of men, this uncompromising prophet, this greatest of those born of women, was having a moment of weakness, a nagging doubt about what was happening and why he had been forced to give up his duties for a prison cell. Or maybe the wait itself had finally gotten to him. Exactly why was his Divine Cousin waiting so long? The Kingdom of God is at hand - get at it! It is not hard to see that between the prison food and the precarious guillotine over his head, John had plenty to bring him down. Worst of all scenarios, though, is the thought that might have plagued him that he had somehow made a mistake, that the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and the Father's booming Voice out of heaven, were but a drunken dream, that Jesus wasn't the Messiah, the One coming to make atonement for the sins of the world.

Here we are. There is John. And perhaps we aren't so different after all. John had his problems, too. I don't know what they were. Maybe his parents were fought. Maybe his girlfriend left him. Maybe he had a habit that he couldn't break. His flesh, like ours, was no more durable than the grass of the fields and his heart, too, was blackened by lust, greed, and hate. And yet, still, in the midst of trouble, from inside Herod's prison, with his own personal package of weaknesses and sins, he had faith. He, who leaped in his mother's womb for the joy of God in Mary's womb, believed that Jesus had the answers. He does not sit back in his prison cell and think on Jesus. Instead, he seeks a Word from Jesus. That is what faith always does. It does not turn in on itself, that is the way of despair. Faith goes to where God promises to be.

Feeling depressed? Read the Bible. Lonely? Read the Bible. Afraid? Worried? Uncertain? Struggling with temptation? Angry? Read the Bible! I went to college to learn this. It isn't that difficult, but still I haven't really learned it. None of us have. Well, John. But he had to have his head separated from his shoulders first. Now he knows it perfectly.

So how and where is the Bible read? In the middle of the night, it is read in your bed. In the middle of the day, it is read at your kitchen table or the couch. But that is not all. For faith goes where God promises to be, where the Bible itself directs us: to confession and absolution, to the Divine liturgy, to the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, to the community of saints and the common prayer.

Sometimes people say to me, “But pastor, I didn't get anything out of Church. I wasn't fed.” Is that so? Well, I've heard this before. I have a 10 year old girl with frostbitten ears who stands in front of a full refrigerator for hours at a time complaining that there is nothing to eat! Imagine thinking that only sugary snacks, empty calories full of chemicals can satisfy you while despising the glory of God's bounty in vitamin packed fruits and vegetables. I don't have to imagine it. I've done it. I bet you have, too. Well, you know what comes next, what always comes next, the preaching of John: Repent!

And listen to how Our Lord responds to John's query. He sends those disciples back to him to comfort that prophet with prophecy fulfilled. Tell him that the darkness is being dispelled by the Light, that creation is being brought back into order, that the fall is being reversed: the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the lonely have company, the fearful courage, sinners are forgiven. That is to say, the poor are having Good News, the News of God's self-sacrifice to ransom men back to the Father, preached to them. “You, too, John,” says Our Lord, “I will not forget you. I will not leave you in prison. I love even you. Father knows best. Soon, it will be complete. And I will relieve you of your burdens and give you rest. Your warfare, O greatest of my warriors, is also ended.”

There is John: strengthened by the Word of Christ in prison to face death and the life to come, a prophet of the highest, an example of living faith.

Here we are: forgiven, renewed, restored, in fellowship with John and all the saints before us and with us. Here we are: with the Spirit of Baptism in our hearts, a confession of thanks and joy upon our lips, commended to the Father by Grace, and about to receive the very Body and Blood of Christ into our dying flesh as the seal of the resurrection and life to come.

In + Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily readings for December 4-10, 2011

2011-11-29T20:46:00.002-06:00

TODAY’S DIVINE SERVICE—E’EN SO LORD JESUS, QUICKLY COME

The signs in the heavens, the distress of nations, and the perplexities upon earth are nothing for the Christian to fear. Although the whole world might be falling apart around us, the Christian takes courage from the Lord's Word because He knows that these are merely the signs of the Lord's coming. The Lord is in complete and total charge and He will not forsake His flock, no matter how difficult the end times might get. The Lord will have "the last laugh" on the last day, for everyone "will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Our response to the signs of tribulation of the end times is to "look up," or anticipate the Lord's return all the more. In other words, when we see the signs which cause the world great distress, we are called to be encouraged that the Lord is fulfilling His Word just as He said. "This generation," the church, "will by no means pass away till all things are fulfilled. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." That is wonderful comfort for the redeemed of the Lord!

2012 LUTHERAN WITNESS – Renewal rate for 2012 will be $15.75. If you plan to renew your subscription, please advise Jane Jones as soon as possible.

CHURCH DECORATING: On Sunday, we will decorate the church for Advent and Christmas. This will take place right after the Thrivent Lunch.

LWML will have its annual Christmas gathering on December 15. We will meet at Doc’s Soda Fountain in Girard at 11:30 to eat and play games. At 1:30 we will visit Shut-ins.

OPEN HOUSE: Pastor and Valerie will once again host an open house for the members of Trinity. It will be on Sunday, December 18th from 2:00 – 5:00 pm.

ADVENT MIDWEEK SERVICES: Services will be held on Wednesday, December 7, 14, and 21, will begin at 7:00 p.m. Dessert will be provided after the service. This weeks Theme: “Mary.”

CHRISTMAS EVE: Christmas Eve Children’s Service will be at 5:30pm. The Christmas Eve Candlelight Service will be at 11:00 pm.

CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE will be at 8:00 a.m.

Food Pantry Assistance

Assist at Virden Food Pantry December 13 2-3 pm.

Assist at Girard Food Pantry December 22 1-3 pm.

Daily Lectionary For December 4-10, 2011

Dec 4 Daniel 11:36-12:13, 1 John 4:1-21, Psalms 123:1-4

Dec 5 Hosiah 1:1-3:5, 1 John 5:1-21, Psalms 124:1-8

Dec 6 Hosiah 4:1-5:15, 2 John 1:1-13, Psalms 125:1-5

Dec 7 Hosiah 6:1-9:17, 3 John 1:1-14, Psalms 126:1-6

Dec 8 Hosiah 10:1-14:9, Jude 1:1-25, Psalms 127:1-5

Dec 9 Joel 1:1-3:21, Revelation 1:1-20, Psalms 128:1-6

Dec 10 Looking ahead to Advent 3 Isaiah 40:1–11, 1 Corinthians 4:1–5, Matthew 11:2–11

NEXT WEEKS LESSONS:

THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT (Gaudete)

Isaiah 40:1–11, 1 Corinthians 4:1–5, Matthew 11:2–11

John the Baptizer Prepares the Way for the Lord

The voice of the Baptizer cried out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord . . .” (Isa. 40:1). John called the people to be made ready for the Messiah’s coming through repentance, for “all flesh is grass” (Isa. 40:6). Now He asks from prison, “Are you the one who is to come . . .?” (Matt. 11:2). Jesus’ works bear witness that He is. The sick are made well; the dead are raised, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. Their iniquity is pardoned; they have received from the Lord’s hand double forgiveness for all their sins. The “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1) still deliver Christ’s overflowing forgiveness to the poor in spirit, comforting God’s people with the word of the Gospel which stands forever. This Gospel produces rejoicing among all those who believe.

CALENDAR

Saturday December 3 5:30 pm Worship Service

Sunday December 4 9:00 am Children and Youth Christmas Practice

9:00 am Bible Class

10:00 am Worship Service

3:00 pm Adult Information Class

Monday December 5 5:00 pm Decorate Float

Wednesday December 7 5:00 pm Confirmation

7:00 pm Advent Midweek Vespers

7:30 pm AA

Thursday December 8 10:00 am LuHigh Chapel Thanksgiving

Friday December 9 5:30 pm Christmas in Virden

Saturday December 10 5:30 pm Worship Service

We are once again collecting coats, sweaters, hats, and gloves for elementary age children. Please place them on or under the tree at the entrance to church.

2nd Sunday in Advent December 3-4, 2011

2011-11-29T13:56:00.000-06:00

Populus Zion – The Second Sunday in Advent

Luke 21:25-36

December 3-4, 2011

One area I wish I was better at is time management. I tend to work best on a deadline. If something isn’t due today or tomorrow, it’s easy for me to put it off. One exception to my usual habit of procrastination was when a brilliant but highly unpredictable professor in seminary told us that we were going to be tested on his book entitled, “A Latin Ecclesiastical Glossary.” The book is only 53 pages, but it’s 53 pages of Latin theological terms all in very small print. “When is the test going to be?” “Sometime this quarter,” he replied.

Seriously? He’s not giving us a date? How am I supposed to get ready for that? One more question: Which terms will be tested? “All of them.” Of course, the book is filled with great phrases to help the seminarian spice up his life, like media gratia instrumenta iustificationis (The means of grace are the instruments of justification).

A week or three went by, and there was no mention of it again. Most of the students assumed he’d forgotten about it, and so didn’t study the book, of which each horrible page has between 40-50 Latin phrases. Now if you’re going to memorize all 53 pages of this beastly booklet, you need to be pounding away at it every day. The test is coming, but you don’t know when. Unless, of course, you subscribe to the theory that the test is just a myth, that there really won’t be one.

It wasn’t a myth. The day finally came when the professor walked in six or seven weeks later and started passing out the exam. Howls of protest went up, with seminarians muttering about how unfair it all was, that the professor hadn’t given adequate warning. “I told you there’d be a test!” he barked.

The Day of the Lord is coming, the day of judgment. There won’t be a test; the kingdom of God has no entrance quiz. Sins—your sins—are atoned for in the death of Jesus. But for those who reject that, those who eschew repentance and live as if God did not matter and as if they mattered most, that day will come as a snare, a trap, a day of judgment and wrath. I’m sure the cry will go up, “You did not warn us!” Maybe we all really should make signs that say “The End Is Near!” and go march around Old Town. That would likely not be effective, although acting as though the only deadline we have is the number of shopping days left is what Jesus has in mind when He says, ”Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.”

The season of Advent is particularly the time for disciples of Jesus to be reminded that our lives will come to an end, perhaps sooner than we imagine, and the world will come to an end, perhaps sooner than we imagine. Your inbox will still be full, tasks uncompleted, emails and phone calls still unanswered. And it doesn’t matter. One thing matters: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

How can we be “counted worthy”? That sounds like there is something I need to do, something I need to accomplish, so that the Lord will count me worthy. Whenever we come to a difficult passage of Scripture, or something we don’t understand, we must apply this little rule: Scripture interprets Scripture. We interpret the difficult passages in Scripture in light of the clear ones. And Scripture is very clear on the matter of human worthiness, as it is written in Psalm 130: “If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O LORD, who could stand?” No one stands before God because of how much good he has done. No one stands before God because of how much sin he has avoided. No one stands before God because of the amount of his offerings or sacrifices or the amount of emotion he has felt. Good works are good, avoiding sin is good, tithes and offerings likewise are good fruits born from a good tree. But they do not make you worthy to stand. Nothing you do can make you worthy. “If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O LORD, who could stand? But,” the Psalm continues, “with You there is forgiveness, therefore You are feared.”

Mark well the word Jesus uses to comfort us in the face of ecological disaster, a cosmos breaking apart, our world coming undone. When everything is in chaos, when men are frantic and having panic attacks because the end has come, Jesus says straighten up and lift up your heads – why? Because your redemption draws near. See how he cannot discuss judgment without discussing redemption! To be redeemed is to be rescued as a slave from bondage, as a prisoner from the dungeon. You cannot effect your escape, you cannot purchase your freedom. You were redeemed not with gold or silver, but, the Scripture says, with the holy and precious blood of Jesus as a lamb without blemish or spot. Your redemption depends on Jesus, not yourself. Your standing before the Son of Man on the day of judgment depends on Jesus, not yourself.

And that’s what faith is, saying “I trust in Jesus and not myself for salvation in the day of chaos and fear, the day of apocalypse and judgment and the end of all things.” And that is what carries you through this day and the next, as you bear your crosses. Everything has been accomplished already, Jesus is your redemption and your worthiness and your salvation, so what if your body is wasting away, what if your life is not as you had once hoped, what if the demons of hell itself come against you? We simply say, “I am baptized, I am a child of God, what can man or death or devils do to me? Nothing. Though the earth give way, though war rise against me, though Satan accuse me, though my flesh waste away and senses fail, I have lost nothing. I am baptized, I have forgiveness in Jesus, and therefore I stand against all of this and say, ‘Behold, my Redeemer comes for me and His whole Church.’”

So don’t let carousing and drunkenness, drinking parties and making a good impression distract you from what matters. Don’t let your lusts carry you away from your Lord and His Word. Don’t let the cares of this life weigh you down so you forget the One who cares for you.

The return of Christ is drawing near, and you are made ready by abiding in Jesus, living in and from the Word He speaks to you and the Sacrament by which He joins Himself to you. Repent, Receive His forgiveness, and say with fervor those ancient words repeated in the Sacramental Liturgy: “Come, Lord Jesus!” Amen.

Advent Midweek 2 December 7, 2011

2011-11-29T13:43:00.002-06:00

Advent 2

December 7, 2011

“The Womb of Mary”

Luke 1:26-33

In the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The promised Advent of the Incarnate Savior is the hope that sustained Old Testament Christians. From shortly after “in the beginning” to the moment when the angel Gabriel told a Jewish maiden, “The Lord is with you!”, the children of God awaited the arrival of the Messiah. Adam’s Hope. Eve’s Seed. Abraham’s Offspring. Job’s Redeemer. The One like unto Moses. David’s Greater Son. Isaiah’s Prince of Peace. Jeremiah’s Righteousness.

The promised Seed of the woman would be the Savior of the world, the LORD whose Advent into His creation would be part of God’s Good News. The Incarnation of the Son of God would require that He come into this world and dwell therein.

Thus, the first temple of the Incarnate LORD God would be the womb of a Jewish virgin. So this evening we meditate on this text under the theme ...

... “The LORD Comes to His Temple ... the Womb of Mary”

As the centuries gave way to millennia, this fallen world continued to regress in the darkness of continual decay and all creation groaned in the wretched throes of certain death. And what is true for the whole, is also true for each member thereof. Every individual who draws the breath of life is born into a world of hurt, a time of trouble, a life with suffering, and a date with death. While some of this may not be of your own doing, much is due to your own sin and your own sins. Add to this the unalterable Commandments of the LORD God Almighty and His demands of perfection, and well, the darkness of the Day only grows deeper ... for each of us knows that we are utterly and totally lost.

Does God know all of this? Does He know everything about this land and all who dwell therein, including whatsoever resides within your hearts, fulfills your desires, forms your words and brings about your deeds? Yes, and you know that He does. Certainly such a fallen world and surely a sinful soul deserves a visit from the righteous, just and holy God Who hates sin. I mean, just consider the visitation at the time of the Flood, or judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Thus even the promise of Emmanuel ... that is, “God with us,” ... does not, in itself, give cause for gladness within us or joy to the world.

But behold, when this world was ready and history prepared, in the fullness of the time, God sent the angel Gabriel “to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.” What does this mean? Was this visitation one of the Law of God that always accuses the old sinful nature that Mary had by virtue of being born in the likeness of Adam and after his image (Genesis 5:3), or one of the Gospel, that is, the Good News of God that comforts the repentant soul that Mary had by virtue of her God-given trust in the LORD God her Savior?

And the angel said to her, “Fear not, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His Name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the Throne of His father David, and He will reign over the House of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there will be no end.”

Thus, the eternal Son of God, begotten of the Father from eternity, is incarnate by the Holy Spirit, and dwells within the womb of Mary. Here is the first temple of the Incarnate Jehovah. This God made flesh and dwelling among us first resides within the temple of the Jewish virgin’s womb. From the instant of the Incarnation “Mary, the most blessed virgin, did not conceive a mere, ordinary human being, but a human being who is truly the Son of the most high God, as the angel testifies. He demonstrated His divine majesty even in His mother’s womb in that he was born of a virgin without violating her virginity. Therefore she is truly the mother of God and yet remained a virgin.” (The Formula of Concord: 2, VIII, 23-24).At the instant when Jesus was but a single cell, “He had this majesty immediately at His conception even in His mother’s womb” (The Formula of Concord: 2, VIII, 26). This is the Immaculate Conception; that is, the Incarnation of God.

Thus we know Who this is, for “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the Throne of His father David, and He will reign over the House of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there will be no end.” But why has David’s Descendent Who is Son of the Most High come and taken up residence in this first temple, the temple of His mother’s womb?

Well, first consider what is happening with this single cell Savior. This unborn child becomes a mass of two cells and then doubles again and again and again and again. Shortly thereafter His sacred head will form. Within 40 days He will develop a heart and His Holy Blood with begin to flow as it pumps. At six weeks He will develop eyes that will see the crowds and look into the souls of each one. At ten weeks He is about an inch long and His arms will sprout and hands will bud in order that they may be extended as He reaches out and holds the world. Within the same period of time, the Incarnate Son of God will have legs and feet. His lips will part in order for Him to but say the Word. His gestation will be the same as ours ... nine months. He will be human just as we are, yet without sin.

Second consider what will happen. One day, those legs of His will carry Jesus up to Jerusalem where He will be force-marched to Golgotha. His back will feel the stripes whereby we are healed. His Head will be capped with a crown of thorns as man mocks His Maker. Those feet and hands of His will be punctured by crude nails as He is offered for the Life of the world and is the sufficient Ransom for all.

That mouth of His will speak the Word of forgiveness and full atonement from the cross. His eyes will behold His mother and His lips will speak of love and comfort to this woman whose womb was His first temple. When it is finished; that is, when the sins of the world have been atoned for and when the wrath of God against sin has been vented, He will have been faithful unto death, even death on a cross. Jesus’ heart will be stilled, pierced and silent for two nights.

Third, consider what will happen on the third day. The Risen Redeemer will stand upon the earth and speak peace to His disciples. He will extend His nail-pierced hands and breathe His forgiving Spirit upon His undershepherds. He will ascend into heaven and will be enthroned in the eternal habitations, and even as His is Present there, also He is most certainly and truly Present with His Church here as He promised. Thus, in the twelfth month a messenger was sent from God and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

But in order for you to hear the Good News that, in the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit, you are forgiven of all your sin, it was necessary for the Son of God to become flesh and dwell among us. Thus, “the LORD comes to His temple” and for nine months He dwelt in His first temple, which is, the Womb of Mary. Amen.

Daily Readings for November 27 - December 3, 2011

2011-11-27T19:58:00.000-06:00

Looking Ahead for

SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT (Populus Zion)

Malachi 4:1–6, Romans 15:4–13, Luke 21:25–36

The Lord Comes on the Last Day

The day on which our Lord returns will be a “great and awesome day” (Mal. 4:5). For He will come in a cloud with great power and glory. To the wicked and the proud, it will be a Day of judgment that will “set them ablaze” (Mal. 4:1). The signs preceding this Day will bring them fear and fainting. But to those who believe, who fear the name of the Lord, this Day is one to look forward to and rejoice in: “. . . straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). Christ our Redeemer is coming; the Sun of Righteousness will bring healing in His wings. Let us, then, give attention to the words of the Lord, which do not pass away. Let us “through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures” (Rom. 15:4) be strengthened in our hope by the Holy Spirit and watch diligently for Jesus’ coming. Then, by God’s grace, we shall escape all these things that will come to pass and stand before the Son of Man.

Daily Readings for November 27- December 3, 2011

November 27 Daniel 4:1-37, 2 Peter 1:1-21, Psalms 119:97-112

November 28 Daniel 5:1-31, 2 Peter 2:1-22, Psalms 119:113-128

November 29 Daniel 6:1-28, 2 Peter 3:1-18, Psalms 119:129-152

November 30 Daniel 7:1-28, 1 John 1:1-10, Psalms 119:153-176

December 1 Daniel 8:1-27, 1 John 2:1-17, Psalms 120:1-7

December 2 Daniel 9:1-11:1, 1 John 2:18-3:6, Psalms 121:1-8

December 3 Looking Ahead to Advent 2

Malachi 4:1–6, Romans 15:4–13, Luke 21:25–36

Advent Midweek 1 Sermon November 30, 2011

2011-11-27T19:41:00.002-06:00

November 30, 2011-11-22

Advent 1 Midweek

Zachariah

Luke 1:5ff

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

Saint Luke reports that Zachariah and Elizabeth were both righteous, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

This was not righteousness in the strict sense, as spoken of so often by St. Paul, but is a Hebraism not so different from modern American speech where we say someone is a “good person.” Here righteous simply means pious, decent, reliable, trustworthy, good.

The phrase “commandments and statutes of the Lord” was a common way of dividing the Law. The commandments were those particular commandments given by God to the Hebrews through Moses. We sometimes call them the “ceremonial law.” The statutes of the Lord were those things which are required of all humanity. We sometimes call the statutes “moral law.” Thus, in a good, pious, and external way, Sts. Zachariah and Elizabeth kept the law. They were ritually pure and morally decent, as such, they were honored by their peers and recognized as “good” or “righteous” people.

From this we may well infer that they were sincere and active in devotion toward God and reverence for His Word and Temple. Their childless home must have been full of love and laughter, even as they must have been showing constant charity toward their neighbors and also engaged in the communal care and teaching of children. And, finally, they most certainly held a fervent and expectant hope that looked for the consolation of Israel in the coming of the Messiah.

None of that is really spelled out by Saint Luke. It is expected that we will know what it means to be righteous, to walk blamelessly in the commandments and statues of the Lord, that even if we are self-victims of divorce, perversions, gluttony, pride, and greed that we would still be able to recognize what the Law of God upholds and desires, and that even from within our failures and shame we would honor it as good.

Now for Lutherans that last bit, that Saints Zachariah and Elizabeth held a fervent and expectant hope in the Messiah, may not seem so obvious. Because, Saint Luke says nothing of their faith, only of their deeds. But where we might get hung up, the Holy Spirit did not.

We were birthed in the heresy that works are required for salvation and aren't quite able to forget it. It was an age that had mostly forgotten what faith is and which found faith's greatest defender since St. Paul in the blessed reformer. Nothing wrong with that. But single-mindedness can be a sort of blindness. We need to confess that even though faith alone saves, faith is never alone.

Perhaps an incredibly wise man could keep the moral law in an outward way, out of his own self-interest, apart from faith. Because, the moral law only requires of us that which is good for us. Aristotle comes awfully close to at least recognizing this reality, if not quite living up to it. So did Cicero. Nothing immoral is ever expedient, useful, or helpful. Gossip and slander, for example, don't just hurt those who are talked about. They also hurt those who do the talking and though it may not seem so on the surface, in fact, the talkers are hurt worse and more deeply than the talked about.

But no man keeps the revealed Law of God, as given though Moses, without faith. There would be no reason to. Because, apart from faith the sacrifices, the cleansings required for various impurities, and even the absolution have no value at all. So while it is theoretically possible for a person to keep the moral law apart from faith, simply because he recognizes the goodness of it, it is impossible to keep the ceremonial Law apart from faith.

Thus when St. Luke records the deeds of Zachariah, he is recording his faith and hope. While faith alone, apart from works, saves, faith without works is dead and faith is never alone. Still, this righteous man was infected with original sin. And righteous though he was, he sinned in the most holy place. He doubted the Word of the Lord from the mouth of Gabriel.

Our instinct is to defend him. It was a small thing. It is not like he laughed, as Abraham and Sarah had or tried to argue with Gabriel. Humanly speaking, it was completely understandable. How long had it been since Zachariah had prayed for a child? Certainly he and Elizabeth had prayed for this very thing when they were of child-bearing age. But that time had come and gone a long time ago. It was far from his mind, the last thing he would expect and an angel to tell him at his age and that in the Most Holy place.

At some point, we do give up. We figure it simply isn't going to happen. Imagine if one of our 90 plus widows was praying to get pregnant. We'd think she was more than a bit odd. So if an angel suddenly appeared to you and said Great-Grandma Schimdt will have a child, wouldn't you have a little trouble swallowing it immediately? Might you ask how you would know this? Doesn't it seem reasonable to ask for a moment to contemplate it?

That is one of the striking differences between us and God. He doesn't understand. He Himself endured all that we endure and more, yet He never failed, never even slightly. We think the Law ought to be tempered with mercy, with extenuating circumstances. But that is mainly because we ourselves are hoping to somehow get off and to escape the threatened wrath. We are quick with excuses. But the Law doesn't care for excuses, only facts. How fast were you driving? It doesn't matter why. What matters is what the law says and what you were doing, nothing else. Zachariah should have realized that if an angel appears in the Most Holy place and tells you something, it is true and needs no other proof.

Still, he got some proof. The silencing was a miracle. It was proof. No doubt, it was difficult, but so also it must have been a joyous assurance that the angel's word was true, for I doubt that Zachariah's doubts all disappeared in an instant. But every time he tried to talk, he was reminded of the truth, of what had happened. I'd guess that brought some relief and comfort to the nine months of silence. He was able, even without a voice, to insist that John be John and not Zachariah. For God is gracious. And when his voices came back, he sang God's praise, not for John really but for the Messiah.

What a joyful time it must have been for them, Elizabeth hidden away in solidarity with Zacharias' silence. Imagine the notes he wrote, the glances, the kisses, the laughter they must have enjoyed as their lives were ending, their son was being born, and most significantly the new age was dawning. For if the Lord is harsh with the Law, He is generous and extravagant with grace. He even answers prayers we've stopped praying, along with prayers we are too timid to ask.

There is joy for the barren couple, for the single mom, for the lonely man. The Lord sets the lonely in families. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. He remembers us and works all things together for good. But greatest of all joy is that known by sinners who have a Redeemer, whose Lord has taken up flesh to be a sacrifice and turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.

The name Zachariah means “the Lord remembers.” Elizabeth means “God's promise” or “God's daughter.” John means “God is gracious.” Indeed. He is all those things, and has remembered His gracious promise to us in giving us these saints, in giving us His Son.

In +Jesus' Name. Amen.

Advent 1 Sermon November 26-27, 2011

2011-11-27T19:27:00.000-06:00

Advent 1 Matthew 21:1-9 November 26-27, 2011

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

Christmas is coming. The merchants are in a desperate frenzy. Disappointment and loneliness are crouching at the door.

But the question should never be so much, will it be a happy Christmas full of happy memories or not, but Who is coming? It is not Santa Claus, a kindly elf who gives bad children presents they don’t deserve and who really just loves everyone the same, who just happens to be exactly what our fallen and inwardly turned flesh wishes God were. Santa’s magic is only good for making candy and gifts. He doesn’t heal broken hearts. He doesn’t reconciled divorced parents. He comes one day a year and leaves worthless junk.

The Advent question, “who is coming?” is meant to draw our attention to the Christ. Jesus – born in filth, poverty, and shame – comes. He comes to be a Sacrifice worthy of our sins, whether we want Him or not.

We’ve been waiting for this since history began. “From one step out of Eden, through a worldwide flood, during captivities in Egypt and Babylon, God’s people were waiting for the Savior to come. God did not leave them hopeless: He promised the Savior” immediately upon the fall “in Genesis 3, and renewed that promise repeatedly throughout the ages.” We call that promise the Gospel and it is the power of God for salvation.

David begins Psalm 24: “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” The Lord who spoke from the burning bush and led the people out of Egypt is the Creator and all-powerful, the only God.

“In verse 3, David abruptly switches subjects. ‘Who may stand before God in His Holy Place?’ The obvious answer is the high priest. David adds that the high priest must have clean hands and a pure heart, and God will bless him.” David then tells us this is Jacob. He is the priest. Remember that God appeared to Jacob in a dream, at the top of a ladder, upon on which angels were ascending and descending. There God promised the Savior again. “Jacob called the place Bethel, ‘house of God,’ a holy place were he had stood. David switches again in verse 7: The King of glory is coming! He’s coming with strength and might, and He’ll reign forever.”

There are some obvious problems. Jacob’s hands, clad in goat skins to deceive his father, were hardly clean, and neither was his heart pure. So how can he stand before God in His holy place and be our priest? You know the answer. David didn’t just start speaking of the Savior in verse 7. He’s been speaking of Jesus, the Lord Creator in the Flesh, the Redeemer, all along. Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, is our High Priest. Jacob, like all prophets, priests, and kings was only a pale imitation. Jesus can stand in the holy place for He is holy, He is good. And He, as our Priest, has made the perfect sacrifice in Himself and now sits at the right hand of God where He intercedes for us. He’s the ladder that Jacob saw in His dream. He bridges heaven and earth, not that we might ascend, but that God might dwell among us, and the Holy Angels would be able to serve us. He is the King of Glory who reigns forever with power and might, the fulfillment of all the Psalms, of all the promises, of all the Law and types.

And that is how He comes enter into Jerusalem on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. He is the King of Glory come in perfect humility. Like all kings, His glory is in His might, but His might is distinct from all other kings, for it is not in violence and strength against others but it is in suffering violence against Himself. This might is perfect and complete and is thus known in weakness. It is unlike any other might. The devil is a strong man well-equipped to guard his kingdom. But He is undone by the stronger man, Jesus Christ, who empties him of his strength. The ram that took Isaac’s place showed us the kind of Substitute that would take our place. He was caught by his horns, by his strength. The Lord’s strength is His love and His mercy. He is caught. For either He lets the devil have us as his rightful prey or He Himself becomes the devil’s prey to crush the devil’s head.

You know the answer. The Lord is strong enough to submit to all that Hell can dish out and to die. He is strong enough to not look back or hold a grudge, to do whatever it takes to win us back. He is strong enough to empty Hell, the Law, death, and sin of all its fury, to take it all into Himself, and extinguish it there. The devil’s teeth tear Him apart put they are ground dull and soft in the killing so that there is nothing left for us.

That is why we sing, “O Death, where is thy sting?” Death is spent, empty, done. He has no ammo, no strength left. The Law has issued all its accusations into the Christ and cannot now even think of any against you. They cannot hold you. They cannot accuse you. You are the royal heir, with the watery Name of God written upon you in cross shaped letters. Christ has satisfied the Law, death, Hell, and the devil on your behalf. He opens heaven for you. He calls you His own. He hands over the kingdom as a dowry even though you are the Bride. And along with that great strength to face and submit to death, without breaking or ever thinking of Himself, He is also strong enough to rise again out of death and open life eternal and the resurrection to all who believe in Him.

He rides into Jerusalem, a King, unknown by heads of state, despised by the upper class, five days before He is lifted up from the earth and eight before He will rise. He rides, the King, to His people’s praise and cries for salvation, and He who will bear their burdens in Himself and will clothe them with His own righteousness sits upon their clothes, draped on donkey and the road, upon a beast of burden.

For this, He is born in a stable and laid in a manger. For this, He rides, today into our midst, risen from the dead, in bread and wine that we would partake of His Holy Body and Blood and our hands be clean, our hearts made pure, our Hosannas ever more sincere and urgent. If we be desperate, let it not be for economic recovery and prosperity, let it not be for our children to love us and our peers to respect us, let us be desperate, eager, focused, and hopeful for salvation. If loneliness and disappointment crouch at the door, let us cover the doorposts of our hearts with the blood of Christ and know that whateve4r befall us, the angel of death will pass over.

Lift up your heads and rejoice. The King comes to you in perfect love.

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