All Saints'

Matthew 5:1-12 - All Saints’ Sunday - November 2, 2014
The Blessedness of the Christian Life

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high …” (Hebrews 1:1-3) — through Him, our Lord and Mediator, Jesus Christ, grace, mercy, and peace, be to you.  Amen. 

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When God curses, that which he curses is cursed.  When God blesses, that which he blesses is blessed.  When God speaks, it is so.  God’s word is efficacious.  He who upholds all things by the word of his power knows what he says and why he says it and to whom he is saying it.  In times past, God spoke through the prophet Moses.  Moses was God’s mouthpiece. 

But on one occasion, from Mt. Sinai, God actually spoke without a mouthpiece.  He revealed his Majesty by speaking directly to all of Israel. 
After this, our fathers begged Moses to have God speak only through him from now on.  Why?  What words did God speak that scared them so?  The 10 Commandments. 

Trinity 21

John 4:46-54 - Trinity XXI - October 20, 2013

Taking up the Full Armor of God

This morning’s Scripture lessons teach us about faith.  What does faith do?  From whom does it seek help?  How does it respond to God’s word?  What does faith need to stay strong?  And how does it stand up against doubt? 

We will receive an answer to each one of these questions as we consider the account of the nobleman whose son was severely ill and at the point of death.  Let us pray:

Increase my faith, dear Savior,
For Satan seeks by night and day
To rob me of this treasure
And take my hope of bliss away.
But, Lord, with Thee beside me,
I shall be undismayed;
And led by Thy good Spirit,
I shall be unafraid.
Abide with me, O Savior,
A firmer faith bestow;
Then I shall bid defiance
To every evil foe.     Amen. 

Trinity 26

Matthew 25:31-46 - Trinity 26 - November 17, 2013

The Sheep and the Goats

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.”  The Son of Man is the Son of God.  Jesus frequently applies this title to Himself in order to emphasize his human nature as true man born of the Virgin Mary.  As Jesus said, for instance, when he healed the paralytic, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins— Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”  During His earthly life, Jesus hid His glory as the Son of God behind a lowly appearance, so that, besides the occasional miracle, all people could see was His humanity – a man like anyone else.  Yet while Jesus hid from the world His divine nature, He nonetheless remained fully God.  By hiding His glory, and submitting Himself to the law, Jesus served sinners as only God is able to do, all the way to the cross where He suffered and died in our place.  It is this man who is going to return to judge all the living and the dead for all eyes to see. 

Trinity 25

Mark 13:24-31 - Trinity 25 - November 10, 2013 

The World remains evil; the Word remains true.

The World is Very Evil.  It’s true.  There is an old hymn in our hymnal that used to have these very words as its title.  The hymn has undergone some editions through the years, and in our hymnal, the first line of the hymn now reads, The Clouds of Judgment Gather.  Now at first it kind of annoyed me that they changed the words, and I suppose they didn’t need to.  But the difference of translation offers us a fitting interpretation of what’s going to happen.  Why do the clouds of judgment gather?  Because the world is very evil.  That’s why.  Jesus tells us that the Son of Man will come with great power and glory in the clouds to judge the living and the dead.  Now, you can’t do anything to stop the clouds from coming, and I suppose that’s why Jesus talks the way he does.  Talk about something impending, and making everything around you dark, and suddenly you have to reckon with what is about to happen … when the clouds come. 

Jesus used an example from nature to explain to us how we will know when this will occur.  As soon as the fig tree’s branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.  The meaning of this is really simple.  Just as nature gives certain and definite signs that summer is coming, so also Jesus has told us to look for certain and definite signs that Judgment Day is coming. 

Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19 - Thanksgiving - November 22, 2012 

Knowing Whom to Thank

                         

Today is Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is not a church holiday.  It’s a national holiday.  It’s a nice thing for our country to have devoted a day to consider what we are thankful for.  We’ll take advantage of it.  But we celebrate this holiday in church, not because we need the state to remind us to be thankful, but because it is here that we learn how to be thankful, and to whom to be thankful, because it is here that we learn about Jesus.  Consider what we pray before we celebrate the Lord's Supper: “It is truly mete, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto you, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ our Lord…”  We thank God first by identifying who He is.  He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is our God who shed His blood to redeem us.  He is the One who comforts us and brings us peace through the words of Jesus.  He is the triune God who tends to our needs, who saves us, and who takes care of us in body and soul by grace alone.  And so, in this way, He teaches us how to thank. 

The word “thank” is kind of a neat word.  It derives simply from the word “think.”  To be thankful is to think about what it is that another has given you – and to think about why he gave it.  Consider that other word that we have and use: “grateful.”  This word derives from where we get our word “grace.”  And this is a wonderful connection, and I’ll use it to make the point that we all need to know about thanksgiving.  To thank God is to think about His grace.  This means that whatever it is that you have – that God has given you – that you don’t deserve – that you kind of think you kind of do deserve – whatever it is that makes you wealthy and fortunate and happy and safe and fed today – all this you have solely because of God’s grace and favor – grace and favor (and here’s the point) that is found in Christ alone.  There is no such thing as thanking/being grateful to God apart from knowing Jesus. 

All Saints'

Matthew 5:1-12 - All Saints’ Sunday - November 6, 2011

The Blessedness of the Christian Life

November 1^st was All Saints’ Day.  But we celebrate this holiday today in order to remember those saints who have gone before us.  But what exactly is a saint?  To be a saint is to be sinless, and perfectly holy.  Our Epistle reading from Revelation 7 provides the most excellent definition: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”  Even in heaven, a saint’s identity continues to be found, not in his or her own good works, but in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  A saint is one who is blessed by God. 

Although saints certainly do good works on earth, and they are indeed rewarded in heaven, a saint is a saint not because of his own righteousness that he earned by obeying the law.  A saint is a saint because he receives Christ’s righteousness that Jesus earned by obeying the law in our place.  God calls them saints who have been baptized into the death of Christ and share in His resurrection victory over sin and the grave.  A saint is one who while yet living on earth reasoned accordingly: Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; I am a sinner; therefore Jesus took away my sin too.  That’s what a saint believes.  And God counts this faith to him as righteousness and calls him holy.  A saint is one who has washed his robe in Jesus’ blood, and it has come out spotless, and it remains spotless forever.  That’s what a saint is. 

All Saints'

Revelation 7:2-19 & Matthew 5:1-12 - All Saints’ Sunday - November 4, 2012
Being Blessed

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. 

Those portions of Scripture, which we just heard a moment ago, which the Holy Spirit caused to be recorded in Revelation 7 and in Matthew 5, we now consider in Jesus’ name.  Let us pray: These are Your words, Holy Father; sanctify us by Your truth; Your word is truth.  Amen. 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Consider with me, so far, since I have stepped up into this pulpit, what you have heard me say.  I began by invoking the name of God that is familiar to all Christians: the triune name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  St. Paul tells us in Romans 10:13, that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  And so that’s what we do.  I then proceeded to, if not actually read the words of Scripture, to direct your attention to the word of God that we just heard.  St. Paul tells us in 1^st Timothy 4:5 that all things are “sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”  And so that’s what we did next.  We prayed.  We prayed to the God who reveals Himself in His word, that He would, by His word, make us holy.  After that, I spoke a blessing to you: grace, mercy, and peace.  The Apostles would frequently begin their epistles with this same blessing or one similar to it.  When God blesses you in this way, grace, mercy, and peace actually become yours.  God gives it to you.  God’s words are not mere sentiments or wishes.  They are operative.  They accomplish what God sends them out to accomplish. 

Now, right here we have just condensed in few words a little mini-Divine Service.  Think of it.  This is the structure that we see fleshed out Sunday after Sunday after Sunday.  Invocation—word—prayer—blessing.  * 

Thanksgiving

Psalm 100- Thanksgiving - November 24, 2011 

  O Give Thanks unto the Lord, for He is Good

Last Sunday was the Last Sunday of the Church Year.  Next Sunday is the First Sunday in Advent, which marks the beginning of the Church Year.  Today is Thanksgiving Day.  But you won’t find this day in the liturgical calendar, because Thanksgiving is not a Church holiday.  It’s a national holiday invented by Americans.  Of all national holidays this is the most appropriate one for us to celebrate in church.  After all, God commands us to give Him thanks every day for all that He has done for us.  GOD TEACHES US HOW TO THANK HIM BY TEACHING US WHAT HE HAS DONE. 

Trinity 27

Matthew 25:1-13- Trinity 27- November 20, 2011 

  While We Wait, We Watch with Joy

The marriage of a man and a woman is a common image in the Bible for the relationship between Christ and the Church.  St. Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, [that’s Baptism] that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”  The Church is not beautiful on her own.  Christ makes His bride so beautiful by forgiving her her sins. 

When a husband and wife are married, they become one flesh.  So also we, who by faith are members of the Church, are also members of Christ Himself.  By loving us, Jesus teaches us what true marriage is.  This one-flesh relationship between the Church and her Lord is a mystery that we will not fully understand until the Day when Christ returns.  Then He will welcome all believers – both those who have died, and those who will yet be living – into the heavenly banquet hall to celebrate the wedding feast of the Lamb that has no end.  Christ is returning for His Church.  It is His love for His holy bride that compels Him.  The parable that we just heard about the Ten Virgins describes this future event. 

Trinity 26

Matthew 25:31-46- Trinity 26- November 13, 2011 

  We Shall Be Judged by Our Works

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.”  The Son of Man is a title that Jesus frequently uses for Himself that puts especial emphasis on His human nature as true man born of the Virgin Mary.  As Jesus said, e.g. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  During His earthly life, Jesus hid His glory as the Son of God behind a lowly appearance, so that, besides the occasional miracle, all people could see was His humanity – a man like anyone else.  Yet while Jesus hid from the world His divine nature, He nonetheless remained fully God.  By hiding His glory, and submitting Himself to the law, Jesus served sinners as only God is able to do, all the way to the cross where He suffered and died in our place.  It is this man who is going to return to judge all the living and the dead for all eyes to see. 

Jesus was glorified when He was raised from the dead, but He continues now to hide His glory.  In fact, today Jesus hides not only His divine nature, but also His human nature.  Think about it.  We can’t see Him.  We can’t touch Him.  Just as He once hid His eternal glory in humility as a man, so He now hides both His divine and His human natures under even humbler appearances.  He comes to serve you through the words of sinful men like me.  But these words have God’s promise and power to forgive you your sins.  We see simple water, but through the promise of Christ, it is a washing of regeneration and a renewing of the Holy Spirit – It is a Holy Baptism that washes our sin away and gives us eternal life.  We see mere bread and wine.  That’s all we taste too.  But in it and through it the Son of Man comes to serve us with His own body and blood that bore our sin on the cross.  There is no greater glory in either heaven or on earth than where the incarnate Son of God forgives sinners their sins. 

When He was born, Jesus hid from the world His divinity.  When He ascended, Jesus hid from the world His humanity as well.  But when Jesus comes again, He will unhide both.  He will reveal to the world that He is both God and Man.  But that is not all He will unhide and reveal.  Every heart, every righteous deed ever done, and every sin ever committed will be publicly shown for what it has been.  And so, WE SHALL BE JUDGED BY OUR WORKS. 

All Saints'

Matthew 5:1-12- All Saints Sunday - November 6, 2011 

  The Blessedness of the Christian Life

November 1^st was All Saints’ Day.  But we celebrate this holiday today in order to remember those saints who have gone before us.  But what exactly is a saint?  To be a saint is to be sinless, and perfectly holy.  Our Epistle reading from Revelation 7 provides the most excellent definition: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”  Even in heaven, a saint’s identity continues to be found, not in his or her own good works, but in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  A saint is one who is blessed by God. 

Although saints certainly do good works on earth, and they are indeed rewarded in heaven, a saint is a saint not because of his own righteousness that he earned by obeying the law.  A saint is a saint because he receives Christ’s righteousness that Jesus earned by obeying the law in our place.  God calls them saints who have been baptized into the death of Christ and share in His resurrection victory over sin and the grave.  A saint is one who while yet living on earth reasoned accordingly: Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; I am a sinner; therefore Jesus took away my sin too.  That’s what a saint believes.  And God counts this faith to him as righteousness and calls him holy.  A saint is one who has washed his robe in Jesus’ blood, and it has come out spotless, and it remains spotless forever.  That’s what a saint is. 

Trinity 12

Mark 7:31-37 - Trinity Twelve - August 14, 2016
 Personal Faith & Christian Love

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Consider those kind people in our Gospel lesson this morning.  There was a man who could not hear and who could not speak – at least he did so with difficulty and unintelligibly.  He was deaf and mute, or as they used to say, dumb.  It’s not like he couldn’t speak at all.  He could make sounds, but his tongue couldn’t move right and his noises made no sense.  That’s why the word dumb eventually came to be synonymous with stupid.  Deaf and mute people, as much as they might groan for what they want, don’t sound very clever.  This man had no way to communicate his need.  He relied on the kindness of others to express his desires and to request the help he hoped for. 

Trinity 11

Luke 18:9-14 - Trinity Eleven - August 7, 2016
 A Meditation on Divine Mercy

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Last week while I was gone, the appointed Gospel lesson gave a stirring image of God’s wrath as our Lord Jesus overturned the tables in the temple court and drove out those who bought and sold.  Divine zeal had consumed him.  If that wasn’t divine wrath nothing is.  In fact, last year the title for my sermon on last Sunday’s lesson was, “A Meditation on Divine Wrath.”  Since God’s wrath is real, it’s important that we know what makes God angry.  God demonstrates his wrath and teaches us to fear it not only in order that we might obey him, but also so that we might see our need for him to have mercy.  Even as Jesus wept for Jerusalem right before these events, we already learned the purpose of his wrath.  God’s wrath always serves his mercy.  Today’s sermon is therefore titled, “A Meditation on Divine Mercy.”