Monday, October 31, 2011
Adult Bible Class 10/30/11
Caught a recording of our Adult Bible Class yesterday - review of some peacemaking principles, discussion of stewardship of conflicts. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23575548/111030AdultBibleClass.mp3
Psalm 46, Deuteronomy 32:28-52, Matthew 20:17-34 - Lectionary for 10/31/11 - Reformation Day
Today is Reformation Day.
Today's readings are Psalm 46, Deuteronomy 32:28-52, and Matthew 20:17-34.
I once knew a lady who was born blind. She attended a church fellowship where on a weekly basis the leaders of the church would stand in front and have a time for people to come and be prayed for. The desire of this lady's heart was that her husband would believe in Jesus as Lord. Yet every time she went for prayer the leaders would pray that she would receive her sight. Needless to say this was discouraging for her. She was comfortable knowing the first face she would ever see would be in eternity. But she was not comfortable with her husband's lack of preparedness.
When the blind men met Jesus he asked them what they wanted. May we who are asked to pray be equally sensitive and perceptive. And when we come before Jesus may we also see that he cares enough to hear our prayer, even if our concern is not the one everyone else thinks it should be.
Today's readings are Psalm 46, Deuteronomy 32:28-52, and Matthew 20:17-34.
I once knew a lady who was born blind. She attended a church fellowship where on a weekly basis the leaders of the church would stand in front and have a time for people to come and be prayed for. The desire of this lady's heart was that her husband would believe in Jesus as Lord. Yet every time she went for prayer the leaders would pray that she would receive her sight. Needless to say this was discouraging for her. She was comfortable knowing the first face she would ever see would be in eternity. But she was not comfortable with her husband's lack of preparedness.
When the blind men met Jesus he asked them what they wanted. May we who are asked to pray be equally sensitive and perceptive. And when we come before Jesus may we also see that he cares enough to hear our prayer, even if our concern is not the one everyone else thinks it should be.
Sermon for 10/30/11 Reformation Day Observance "Free, Really Free"
Sermon “Free, Really Free”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit – amen.
This evening we are assembled, really a day early, to recognize Reformation Day, the day when Martin Luther tacked 95 debate topics onto the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. These 95 theses, topics for debate, centered around the freedom we have in Christ. He was asking questions that needed to be asked. What is the foundation of salvation? Are we saved by grace through faith? Are we saved by works? Is there some combination of the two? Why, if forgiveness for sin is granted, do we have an idea that we must pay for our sins after we have died? Those were all good questions. They were questions about places where biblical faith and cultural faith came into conflict with each other.
We might ask the same questions today. Then again, maybe we need to ask some other questions today. It might just be that our society runs afoul of biblical faith in slightly different ways. We have to wonder if today, some 494 years later, there might just be other questions to ask. But I won’t try to be a prophet. I don’t think the Lord is directing me to question all the foundational beliefs of American Christianity. And I’m not planning to spend the rest of my life fighting for whatever I might say tonight.
What did Jesus say about our life in him? If the Son sets us free we are free indeed. The Gospel is of God’s grace. It is entirely free for us. We receive forgiveness, life, and salvation freely. Jesus has truly paid it all. And he claims boldy to the the only one who has provided a means of salvation. It is found nowhere else. We aren’t all following different world religions but going to the same place because we ultimately believe in the same deity. That isn’t the way the world works. The different religions have different beliefs. They understand God differently. And it is only in the Christian faith that we look to the true, triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This claim is different from the claims of the other religions. We also claim that the salvation earned for us by Jesus’ death on the cross is a true substitute for us. We don’t add any merit to Jesus’ death. We don’t bring any righteousness. We’re at the card table of life, but God is the one with all the cards. We don’t have anything to play. Yet in his grace and mercy our Lord has set us free. he has called us to the table. He has set life and salvation before us. He has given us Word and Sacrament. And he lets us respond. He tells us we are free. And we are. We are free as free can be.
How do we react to this freedom? If the Son has set us free we are free. But what if, like the Jews who were talking to Jesus, we say that we have never been in bondage? What if we deny that we need his salvation? What then? We’re transformed into people at the card table of life, with no cards, and we have to play. We get to work out our own salvation. We have to earn our way into God’s favor. This we cannot do. Yet it is the dreadful news that so many in the American church today take as the gospel. They preach a gospel of self-help. They preach a gospel of works salvation. They preach that you can do better by just trying. And in doing so they deny the true gospel of salvation only through faith in Jesus.
May we never fall into this trap! May the Lord bless us to hold firm to the true gospel. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, with that faith directed to Christ alone, with glory given to God alone. This is the Reformation of October 31, 1517. This is the Reformation of today. If the Son has set us free we are free indeed. We look to him for life and salvation, realizing that we have no power of our own to earn our salvation. We have power only of condemnation, disobedience, and death. May the Lord preserve us!
Our Lord, you have given yourself freely so as to draw all men to you. You have granted life and ssalvation through faith in your name. And as you have given freely, we are to give freely. Grant that we may believe you when you say you have accomplished salvation on our behalf. Make us to walk in your paths, freely giving our society the good news, the true gospel, the news that you have come to set us free from sin and death. This we pray in the name of the Jesus, God the Son, for you live, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever interceding on our behalf. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit – amen.
This evening we are assembled, really a day early, to recognize Reformation Day, the day when Martin Luther tacked 95 debate topics onto the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. These 95 theses, topics for debate, centered around the freedom we have in Christ. He was asking questions that needed to be asked. What is the foundation of salvation? Are we saved by grace through faith? Are we saved by works? Is there some combination of the two? Why, if forgiveness for sin is granted, do we have an idea that we must pay for our sins after we have died? Those were all good questions. They were questions about places where biblical faith and cultural faith came into conflict with each other.
We might ask the same questions today. Then again, maybe we need to ask some other questions today. It might just be that our society runs afoul of biblical faith in slightly different ways. We have to wonder if today, some 494 years later, there might just be other questions to ask. But I won’t try to be a prophet. I don’t think the Lord is directing me to question all the foundational beliefs of American Christianity. And I’m not planning to spend the rest of my life fighting for whatever I might say tonight.
What did Jesus say about our life in him? If the Son sets us free we are free indeed. The Gospel is of God’s grace. It is entirely free for us. We receive forgiveness, life, and salvation freely. Jesus has truly paid it all. And he claims boldy to the the only one who has provided a means of salvation. It is found nowhere else. We aren’t all following different world religions but going to the same place because we ultimately believe in the same deity. That isn’t the way the world works. The different religions have different beliefs. They understand God differently. And it is only in the Christian faith that we look to the true, triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This claim is different from the claims of the other religions. We also claim that the salvation earned for us by Jesus’ death on the cross is a true substitute for us. We don’t add any merit to Jesus’ death. We don’t bring any righteousness. We’re at the card table of life, but God is the one with all the cards. We don’t have anything to play. Yet in his grace and mercy our Lord has set us free. he has called us to the table. He has set life and salvation before us. He has given us Word and Sacrament. And he lets us respond. He tells us we are free. And we are. We are free as free can be.
How do we react to this freedom? If the Son has set us free we are free. But what if, like the Jews who were talking to Jesus, we say that we have never been in bondage? What if we deny that we need his salvation? What then? We’re transformed into people at the card table of life, with no cards, and we have to play. We get to work out our own salvation. We have to earn our way into God’s favor. This we cannot do. Yet it is the dreadful news that so many in the American church today take as the gospel. They preach a gospel of self-help. They preach a gospel of works salvation. They preach that you can do better by just trying. And in doing so they deny the true gospel of salvation only through faith in Jesus.
May we never fall into this trap! May the Lord bless us to hold firm to the true gospel. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, with that faith directed to Christ alone, with glory given to God alone. This is the Reformation of October 31, 1517. This is the Reformation of today. If the Son has set us free we are free indeed. We look to him for life and salvation, realizing that we have no power of our own to earn our salvation. We have power only of condemnation, disobedience, and death. May the Lord preserve us!
Our Lord, you have given yourself freely so as to draw all men to you. You have granted life and ssalvation through faith in your name. And as you have given freely, we are to give freely. Grant that we may believe you when you say you have accomplished salvation on our behalf. Make us to walk in your paths, freely giving our society the good news, the true gospel, the news that you have come to set us free from sin and death. This we pray in the name of the Jesus, God the Son, for you live, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever interceding on our behalf. Amen.
Sermon for 10/30/11 "True Prophecy"
SERMON “True Prophecy” Audio link http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23575548/111030Micah3.mp3
Direct us, Lord, to bring you glory and delight. Live in us so we may delight in you. Amen.
There’s a right time to mourn for our unrighteousness. It isn’t a time we want. But it’s a time we need. As we look to Reformation Day tomorrow – celebrated this evening, we ask ourselves an important question. Why do we need reformations? It’s about time that we admit it. We do need reformation, though we would like to deny it. Our Old Testament and Gospel passages for today make it very clear. And they are hard-hitting. Especially the passage from Micah is rough on us. What will we do with the Word of God? More importantly, to the point, what will our Lord do among us with his Word? So we will move along. We will look bravely at our passage from Micah 3. may the Lord use his Word to reform us as well.
What are the leaders of God’s people doing? They hate good and love evil (v. 2). They harm God’s people – acting as cutthroats, murderers, cannibals (v. 3). Should we take verse 3 literally? Actually, there is no evidence of cannibalism in Israel. But we can see that kind of killing and eating going on today as well. Does anyone here know a cutthroat businessman? I ask you not to point at anyone in the room. But we know some of those people. If they can get something for themselves they will. There’s no concern for the health of the business. There’s no concern for the customer. It’s the profit of the moment that counts. I’ll take all I can and give as little back as possible.
Woe to me if I should do that to you! That shows that I hate good and love evil! But some of us have seen this in the Church. It is nothing new. It was there in Israel at the time of Micah, about 3000 years ago. It was there at the time of Jesus. It was a crisis point in the 1500s with Martin Luther. And it’s with us today. May the Lord reform his Church. It isn’t God’s purpose for the Church to kill and eat her people. It is God’s will for his shepherds to nurture their flock. My job is to feed you, to care for you when you are weak, to delight in you when you are flourishing.
What happens, though, when we are not engaged in this? What goes on when we are not being reformed by our Lord’s word? Then in verse 4 we see a dreadful situation. What do you expect when I pray for you? Not that I pray any better than any of you. Maybe I get more practice, at least in public. Maybe I have a cool voice. I’m not sure. But you like me to pray. And you expect what I expect. Or at least I hope we learn, bit by bit, to expect when we pray what we expected when we were young. Do we expect that Jesus will answer us when we pray? I hope so. He’s promised to be with us. We know he can hear and answer. But what happens in verse 4? God will not hear the prayers of those priests and rulers who have turned to evil instead of good.
What will we do if our Lord has abandoned us? We have no life, no hope, no future. We are blind. We will have no way to find what we need. Our death sentence is sealed. Woe to us when we refuse the calling of God. Woe to use when we treat God’s people as those to be plundered. Woe to us when we flee from God’s gracious commands.
This has been heavy so far. And the weight of Micah’s prophecy is enormous indeed. As Luther puts it, the Law crushes us. It makes us despair. If we are comfortable in our righteousness let us ask our Lord to confront us with his Law.
But if we leave it there we’ve done no good. We left you despairing. Don’t leave yet. I want to turn the page and look to the Gospel. For there is hope here. There is life here. We know something that Micah didn’t know. I know, though, as biblical scholars, that you know what happened to Micah’s people, the people of Judah, the line of promise, the people from whom the Messiah would come. Not long after Micah’s time the Assyrians came. And what did they do? They took away the northern ten tribes who were assimilated into the other nations and never emerged again. But God preserved his chosen people, the people of Judah. God preserved the line of the Messiah, Jesus, who came to cleanse us from sin. God preserved his people.
Why did he do that? Not because of their righteousness. Not because of their faith. Not even because they reformed themselves. Our salvation is not because of our works. We’re condemned. We’re blind, we’re deaf, we’re dead. We do not offer prayers that result in deliverance. That’s what the priests said to do. That’s what Rome told people to do at the time of Luther. That’s what much of American evangelicalism would tell us today. We gather as many people as possible together and if our prayers are good enough maybe God will hear us. It sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it won’t work.
How did God deliver Judah? He did it not through their prayers. He did it by his good pleasure. He kept his promise and he did it despite the unrighteousness of his people. He raised up a deliverer – not because of our cries to him, but because he said the time was fulfilled. This was the other, unspoken part of Micah’s message. This was the deliverance. Though his people were unfaithful, yet God remained faithful. Though they were vile murderers, yet God was the God of life. According to the great love of God he preserved his promised people, preserving the line of Jesus, the Messiah. Even though God’s people could not call on God rightly, he raised up Jesus, the one who would live, pray, and even die on our behalf to renew us. He has ushered us out of our own realm, our own kingdom, a kingdom of death. He has created faith in our hearts and made us trust on him for all we need.
Some 1500 years later we see the Church by and large telling people what they needed to do to earn their salvation. We needed reformation again. By his grace God raised up reformers like Martin Luther who pointed us back to Christ’s work on our behalf. But is the work done? No, we still need reformation. We need our Lord to draw us into his Word. We need him to use Word and Sacrament to show us once again that he has accomplished salvation on our behalf. We cannot and will not repent well enough. May the Lord work repentance and faith in us, turning us from our self-centered evil. May he put our attempts at righteousness to death, bringing us to life by faith in our Lord, the one who takes his righteousness and places it upon us.
Lord, reform us always. Amen.
Direct us, Lord, to bring you glory and delight. Live in us so we may delight in you. Amen.
There’s a right time to mourn for our unrighteousness. It isn’t a time we want. But it’s a time we need. As we look to Reformation Day tomorrow – celebrated this evening, we ask ourselves an important question. Why do we need reformations? It’s about time that we admit it. We do need reformation, though we would like to deny it. Our Old Testament and Gospel passages for today make it very clear. And they are hard-hitting. Especially the passage from Micah is rough on us. What will we do with the Word of God? More importantly, to the point, what will our Lord do among us with his Word? So we will move along. We will look bravely at our passage from Micah 3. may the Lord use his Word to reform us as well.
What are the leaders of God’s people doing? They hate good and love evil (v. 2). They harm God’s people – acting as cutthroats, murderers, cannibals (v. 3). Should we take verse 3 literally? Actually, there is no evidence of cannibalism in Israel. But we can see that kind of killing and eating going on today as well. Does anyone here know a cutthroat businessman? I ask you not to point at anyone in the room. But we know some of those people. If they can get something for themselves they will. There’s no concern for the health of the business. There’s no concern for the customer. It’s the profit of the moment that counts. I’ll take all I can and give as little back as possible.
Woe to me if I should do that to you! That shows that I hate good and love evil! But some of us have seen this in the Church. It is nothing new. It was there in Israel at the time of Micah, about 3000 years ago. It was there at the time of Jesus. It was a crisis point in the 1500s with Martin Luther. And it’s with us today. May the Lord reform his Church. It isn’t God’s purpose for the Church to kill and eat her people. It is God’s will for his shepherds to nurture their flock. My job is to feed you, to care for you when you are weak, to delight in you when you are flourishing.
What happens, though, when we are not engaged in this? What goes on when we are not being reformed by our Lord’s word? Then in verse 4 we see a dreadful situation. What do you expect when I pray for you? Not that I pray any better than any of you. Maybe I get more practice, at least in public. Maybe I have a cool voice. I’m not sure. But you like me to pray. And you expect what I expect. Or at least I hope we learn, bit by bit, to expect when we pray what we expected when we were young. Do we expect that Jesus will answer us when we pray? I hope so. He’s promised to be with us. We know he can hear and answer. But what happens in verse 4? God will not hear the prayers of those priests and rulers who have turned to evil instead of good.
What will we do if our Lord has abandoned us? We have no life, no hope, no future. We are blind. We will have no way to find what we need. Our death sentence is sealed. Woe to us when we refuse the calling of God. Woe to use when we treat God’s people as those to be plundered. Woe to us when we flee from God’s gracious commands.
This has been heavy so far. And the weight of Micah’s prophecy is enormous indeed. As Luther puts it, the Law crushes us. It makes us despair. If we are comfortable in our righteousness let us ask our Lord to confront us with his Law.
But if we leave it there we’ve done no good. We left you despairing. Don’t leave yet. I want to turn the page and look to the Gospel. For there is hope here. There is life here. We know something that Micah didn’t know. I know, though, as biblical scholars, that you know what happened to Micah’s people, the people of Judah, the line of promise, the people from whom the Messiah would come. Not long after Micah’s time the Assyrians came. And what did they do? They took away the northern ten tribes who were assimilated into the other nations and never emerged again. But God preserved his chosen people, the people of Judah. God preserved the line of the Messiah, Jesus, who came to cleanse us from sin. God preserved his people.
Why did he do that? Not because of their righteousness. Not because of their faith. Not even because they reformed themselves. Our salvation is not because of our works. We’re condemned. We’re blind, we’re deaf, we’re dead. We do not offer prayers that result in deliverance. That’s what the priests said to do. That’s what Rome told people to do at the time of Luther. That’s what much of American evangelicalism would tell us today. We gather as many people as possible together and if our prayers are good enough maybe God will hear us. It sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it won’t work.
How did God deliver Judah? He did it not through their prayers. He did it by his good pleasure. He kept his promise and he did it despite the unrighteousness of his people. He raised up a deliverer – not because of our cries to him, but because he said the time was fulfilled. This was the other, unspoken part of Micah’s message. This was the deliverance. Though his people were unfaithful, yet God remained faithful. Though they were vile murderers, yet God was the God of life. According to the great love of God he preserved his promised people, preserving the line of Jesus, the Messiah. Even though God’s people could not call on God rightly, he raised up Jesus, the one who would live, pray, and even die on our behalf to renew us. He has ushered us out of our own realm, our own kingdom, a kingdom of death. He has created faith in our hearts and made us trust on him for all we need.
Some 1500 years later we see the Church by and large telling people what they needed to do to earn their salvation. We needed reformation again. By his grace God raised up reformers like Martin Luther who pointed us back to Christ’s work on our behalf. But is the work done? No, we still need reformation. We need our Lord to draw us into his Word. We need him to use Word and Sacrament to show us once again that he has accomplished salvation on our behalf. We cannot and will not repent well enough. May the Lord work repentance and faith in us, turning us from our self-centered evil. May he put our attempts at righteousness to death, bringing us to life by faith in our Lord, the one who takes his righteousness and places it upon us.
Lord, reform us always. Amen.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Psalm 90:7-17, Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27, Matthew 20:1-16 - Lectionary for 10/30/11
Today's readings are Psalm 90:7-17, Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27, and Matthew 20:1-16.
We read today in Deuteronomy a lament of Moses. Really it is a prophetic lament of God, describing the Lord's faithfulness and Israel's idolatry. There's a recurring theme of God rejecting Israel's innovations. They go after new gods, they invent new forms of worship, they forget what the Lord has given them in the past. In so doing they reject the God who has loved and nurtured them. They are no longer God's covenant children. Yet God is still their father. He has established his covenant and will guard his children for the sake of his name, even as his children drive themselves to destruction and ruin.
Our Lord has shown his mercy throughout history. Will we try to invent something newer and better or will we rest in his covenant of grace?
We read today in Deuteronomy a lament of Moses. Really it is a prophetic lament of God, describing the Lord's faithfulness and Israel's idolatry. There's a recurring theme of God rejecting Israel's innovations. They go after new gods, they invent new forms of worship, they forget what the Lord has given them in the past. In so doing they reject the God who has loved and nurtured them. They are no longer God's covenant children. Yet God is still their father. He has established his covenant and will guard his children for the sake of his name, even as his children drive themselves to destruction and ruin.
Our Lord has shown his mercy throughout history. Will we try to invent something newer and better or will we rest in his covenant of grace?
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Psalm 56, Deuteronomy 31:1-29, Matthew 19:16-30 - Lectionary for 10/29/11
Today's readings are Psalm 56, Deuteronomy 31:1-29, and Matthew 19:16-30.
Our Psalm today sums up the main theme of the Old Testament and Gospel readings. When we see our lives as ineffective and our tasks as impossible then our Lord shows himself to be the God who accomplishes all things according to his perfect will. See how the Lord brings his rebellious people into the promised land and will still be their God despite their idolatry. See how Jesus promises to be the great reward of those who give up everything for his sake.
What does this say to us? As Moses laid down his very life, trusting in God's mercy, leaving his people to the grace of God, we also can trust that our Lord Jesus will keep his promises, bringing us forgiveness and life.
Our Psalm today sums up the main theme of the Old Testament and Gospel readings. When we see our lives as ineffective and our tasks as impossible then our Lord shows himself to be the God who accomplishes all things according to his perfect will. See how the Lord brings his rebellious people into the promised land and will still be their God despite their idolatry. See how Jesus promises to be the great reward of those who give up everything for his sake.
What does this say to us? As Moses laid down his very life, trusting in God's mercy, leaving his people to the grace of God, we also can trust that our Lord Jesus will keep his promises, bringing us forgiveness and life.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Psalm 127, Deuteronomy 30:1-20, Matthew 19:1-15 - Lectionary for 10/28/11 - Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles
Today is the Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles.
Today's readings are Psalm 127, Deuteronomy 30;1-20, and Matthew 19:1-15.
Again in today's readings our Lord sets out life and death, blessing and cursing before us. Do we receive our Lord and Savior with all his blessings? Or do we try to make our own way of salvation, which leads only to the curse of God and our destruction? Do we receive God's promises like little children who accept his love by trusting in Him? May we ever have grace to trust that his promises are for us, that he has sworn by himself to bless us and bring us safely into his kingdom with life that has no end. May we be shown faithful, as He remains faithful. This is what we see in that apostolic band, as they carry the message of Jesus' atoning death and resurrection as the firstfruits of the resurrection at the end of the world. May we likewise carry the Gospel with us wherever we go, even to die with Christ.
Today's readings are Psalm 127, Deuteronomy 30;1-20, and Matthew 19:1-15.
Again in today's readings our Lord sets out life and death, blessing and cursing before us. Do we receive our Lord and Savior with all his blessings? Or do we try to make our own way of salvation, which leads only to the curse of God and our destruction? Do we receive God's promises like little children who accept his love by trusting in Him? May we ever have grace to trust that his promises are for us, that he has sworn by himself to bless us and bring us safely into his kingdom with life that has no end. May we be shown faithful, as He remains faithful. This is what we see in that apostolic band, as they carry the message of Jesus' atoning death and resurrection as the firstfruits of the resurrection at the end of the world. May we likewise carry the Gospel with us wherever we go, even to die with Christ.
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