“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:24-34 ESV)

From the Sermon:

Jesus doesn’t help those who help themselves; Jesus helps those who are helpless. Given the choice to serve God or money (because we can’t do both) our sinful nature would pick money every time. We hoard, covet, cheat and steal for it. Our selfishness runs too deep for us to change. In fact, whenever we worry, we assume the power of the King and try to take it into our own hands. But look for the Kingdom of God. Jesus, the King, comes. Jesus, the King, removes sin’s effects by taking the punishment for our selfishness to the cross. The King does what Kings are supposed to do. He takes care of the needs of his people. He starts with our greatest need, the need for forgiveness. He takes our worries into his hands and takes them to the cross. Jesus’ blood dripping from the cross washes away the sinful stench of selfishness through the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5) in the water and the word in Holy Baptism. Jesus’ broken body bears the burden of our serving the wrong master, money. He puts forgiveness right into us with his Holy Supper. Jesus sweetly speaks forgiveness into our ears and our hearts with his Word. He reminds us that we are free from the money master. We are free not to worry about our needs because God, the King, Jesus Christ, our Savior, has them all under his control. We are free to serve the needs of others. We are free to look at the wealth that God has given us and use it in service to other people, even (and especially) people who don’t deserve it. We are free to think about what God has given us as gifts for the help of other people (by the way, that includes our own families). We are free from worrying about ourselves, because Jesus has us in hand. Listen to those wonderful words from the Prophet Isaiah we heard a moment ago.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20 ESV)

From the Sermon:

But Jesus doesn’t just leave us hanging with his command. He says make disciples because he has authority. He’s going to make sure it happens, that’s what authority is. Next in the text he tells us how to do it. And at first it sounds pretty obvious but then it sounds a little bit surprising. How are we to make disciples? Now what? By baptizing. That’s God’s evangelism program, baptism. He doesn’t talk about knocking on doors, he doesn’t talk about white shirts and ties; he talks about Baptism. And not just any baptism either; baptism into God’s name. Martin Luther puts it clearly:

What benefits does Baptism give? It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. (Joel 2:28-29 ESV)

From the Sermon:

But God always responds to repentance: “in those days I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” Like the water poured out on a thirsty land, that runs into the cracks in the ground and refreshes dry withered plants; my Spirit, says God, will be poured out on my people. They will drink up the moisture of my care and compassion; I will take care of their physical and spiritual needs. I will give them abundant water, more than a drop to cool the tongue, but overflowing to fill up their whole lives, to refresh and replenish them… “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!” That was God wanted, for the people to be saved, not only from the drought of the land, but from their spiritual dryness, too.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11 ESV)

from the Sermon:

But here’s the thing we should come to grips with. Faith isn’t a quality that allows us to stand up to Satan and defeat him. Faith is trust in the promises of God. True faith, doesn’t look inside ourselves for something to use against Satan, for some inner strength to resist. True faith trusts that no matter what happens God is in control, even though Satan seems to be in charge. True faith trusts that no matter what happens God is allowing it for our benefit.

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“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:15-21, ESV)

From the Sermon:

We certainly don’t deserve the forgiveness Jesus works for us on the cross. But he didn’t die for deserving families (there are no deserving families, we are all sinful from the time we are born) he died for sinners and tax collectors. He died for people who don’t feel like giving a hand to other people, especially when they are different or dirty. Jesus death on the cross forgives your sin and mine, even the sin wanting to pass by the helpless man on roadside.

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 146, ESV)

From the Sermon:

Just exactly how faithful is God in Jesus Christ. He is so faithful that He allows himself to be nailed to a cross and suffer great pain. He is so faithful that He is not willing for us to suffer eternal separation from God, even though our unfaithfulness deserves just such a punishment. We unfaithfully follow the God of Jacob, thinking first of ourselves, imagining that God is unfaithful because he allows us to suffer. We want God to act as we would have Him act. But God is too faithful to do things our way. Instead he does things his way. Just look to Jesus on the cross to see God’s faithfulness in action. He bears the pain and suffering of the whole world. He hangs bleeding and dying for the forgiveness of sin. He is so faithful He knows the only way to save us from our sin. We can’t be faithful, so Jesus is faithful, even unto death, for us.

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:13-35, ESV)

From the Sermon:

Our hearts fill with joy when He agrees to stay. So we gather around the table to eat with Him. It’s funny, that as we sit at table with this Traveler, our pain and sorrow and doubt are gone. Suddenly, the most amazing thing happens. As He takes the bread blesses it, breaks it and gives it to us to eat, we all realize that all this time along the way, we’ve been speaking to Jesus. And just as we see it’s Him, He’s gone. Jesus didn’t leave us doubting. He didn’t leave us to make our own faith from deep inside our hearts. He came to us on the Way to Emmaus. He came to us in His Word, and brought us the faith we need to believe. That is, in fact, what he does every time we gather to hear His Word. He didn’t leave us alone to find the strength to live our lives in faith; He came to us in the breaking of the bread to give us the faith we need. That is, in fact, what he does every time we break bread together, and celebrate the special meal that He gave us.

The text:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:11-18, ESV)

From the Sermon:

“You? The wolf gasped. The voice was the same; he recognized it. This shepherd was indeed the sheep whom he had swallowed down. “You. But how? Oh, the pain!” The shepherd smiled and said: “Well, I think you’re pretty harmless now, my friend. Go on and try to eat some of my sheep. I promise you that as fast as you swallow them down I will lead right out through the hole I made in your stomach. And then you’ll never be able to touch them again! Ta!”

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9, ESV)

From the Sermon:

When people feel that way, often it isn’t that they have lost a sense of meaning in life, the real problem is that they have lost the meaning of life. That is to be in a relationship with God, the creator of the heavens and the earth. Sometimes we get that way especially in the church. We forget why we are here. We forget why the church exists. The church is here for this morning. Here is where our relationship with God is fully expressed. The church is here to receive from God the gifts that He loves to give. Through Word and water, bread and wine we receive what we need for life to have meaning. Whenever we loose sight of God at work in our lives in this way we cannot understand life’s ultimate purpose. When we receive these wonderful gifts from God, we turn around and share them with the rest of the world. Without that, we can’t see the purpose for our existence. We focus on ourselves and our lives and all that we have to do. We are cut off from the one that that makes life worth living. We are self centered, living only for me. That’s when life feels like a dead end because it is a dead end. This is sin and sin brings only death. And we are mired in sin up to our eyeballs. Not other people’s sin, but our own. We need God’s forgiveness; we need to be born again, without it we are lost.

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:1-10, ESV)

From the Sermon:

We’ve made some visits to the graveyard this year. We’ve been there. And we will undoubtedly be there again this coming year. What do we expect to find there at the graveyard? Do we go with an uneasy combination of sadness and joy? Do we go there looking for Jesus? Do we go there remembering that Jesus stood in a graveyard, resurrected to life? You see, it may seem that Easter is about life. But would it surprise you if I said that Easter isn’t really about life. Easter is really all about death. It’s about an end to death forever. It’s about the victory our Lord won over death. It’s about Jesus Christ standing in the cemetery alive. It’s about you and me, and all those we’ve laid out in the ground of our cemetary, alive again, because of Jesus Christ our Risen Lord.

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:1-14, ESV)

From the Sermon:

And for you and me, God’s people today, standing together in the quiet dark of the hospital room, wondering if the next hours bring life or death, when we stand at the open grave peering in facing the very real prospect of our own death, when we see our relationships crumbling like dust, and our worship dry and lifeless, we ask, “Can these bones live? Can God bring life and breath to me? Can God breathe breath into my relationships and my church? God answers “Yes!” to you too. Yes, because you were brought from your grave of sin through the death of Jesus. Yes, because new life was breathed into your dry dead bones and flesh. The Holy Spirit breathed faith into you and refreshed you through the water of Holy Baptism.

But, Paul also says that we are Children of the Light. We are that because we have been made so by the Jesus. He said himself that he is the light of the world. He not only brings light into the world, like when he made the blind man see, but he is the light of the world. Jesus is life, and that life, is the light of men. St. John says at the beginning of the Gospel of John. So Saint Paul can talk about our darkness as a thing of the past. Just look how Paul says it You were once in darkness… he said, but now you are light in the Lord. God’s Word of Light shines on us and tells us of our need for a Savior. It shines on the darkness in our hearts and exposes it. God’s Word also tells us that Jesus Christ is the Savior we need. He won forgiveness that makes the darkness in our hearts go away.

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:5-8, ESV)

From the Sermon

Because of Jesus the words that God spoke over Jesus at His baptism are spoken over us at ours. “You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” God accepted the perfect love and obedience of His Son, Jesus, and that obedience and love is accepted as ours. Looking to God’s word spoken to us we can know the power of it in our lives. We have the assurance of the Father’s spoke word. We can resist the Serpent when he speaks to us and tempts us not to be God’s sons.

But without all of those things that Peter wanted to avoid, and not think about, without the suffering there would be not death, and without the death, there would be no resurrection. And without the resurrection there would be no restoration of human beings to God. What Peter wanted to avoid was the very purpose for which Jesus came. It was through pain and death that he would restore human beings to God, and through his resurrection that he would give them hope for the future. Jesus and his disciples couldn’t stay there on the mountain. God had a plan…

January 27, 2008

Matthew 4:12-17

From the Sermon

Well, now Gideon was pretty sure now that God was on his side. So he had his little army surround the Midianite camp in the darkness of the middle of the night. And here’s the interesting thing. He gave them all lights hidden under jars. At the sound of the trumpet they broke the jars and shouted. Well the Mighty Menacing Midianites weren’t so big now. They were literally scared to death. They actually used their weapons on each other. The great light around the camp defeated them. That great light was something more than just the light of 300 torches. God made it really, really, bright. They were no match for the light of God. Hey, did I tell you that the place where this all happened was the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. In Jesus time it was called Galilee. Way back then in the time of Gideon Zebulun and Naphtali saw a great light and it saved them from their enemies.

Matthew 27:46

January 16, 2008