Easter 7 - Exaudi - 5-24-09

The Church Season of Easter
The Seventh Sunday of Easter - Exaudi
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 24, 2009)
One Year Series

“FOREWARNED AND FOREARMED”

Readings:
Ezekiel 36:22-28
Psalm 51:1-12
1 Peter 4:7-14
John 15:26 – 16:4

Sermon Form: Deductive

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 15th chapter of St. John, especially the following verses.

John 15:26-16:4 (NIV)

26 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. 1 “All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Forewarned is fore-armed. I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. I told you what to expect, so why are you now so surprised when it happens just as I said? Whether said as an advance warning offered as advice, whether said in sarcasm, or whether said in response to foregone conclusions most often these words are said because the message has been forgotten or lost in the fog of sin which dims our vision and dulls our senses. At some point in your life as a Christian you were fore-armed. For some it was shortly after your birth, for others it was at some later point in your life but you were prepared for the battle just the same. And you were with the Father before your own knowledge, the Triune God knew you before you were born. And to seal this knowledge of Christ the Lord brought you to a very seemingly unimportant place, to have water poured on your head, and words spoken to you from God. But it is not the action of the vehicle which brought you to that place, whether it was in your parents arms or whether you rode or drove yourself to that place, those were not the cause of your forearming. God caused the faith which carried you to that fount and there the words your name was pronounced and these words were spoken, “receive the sign of the holy cross both upon your forehead and upon your heart to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.” Then water was poured upon your head three times and the words spoken were, “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”(Mt. 28:19) Then and there you were sealed, marked, and claimed by Christ and also marked as an enemy of satan. satan and the things and the people of this world they will all attempt to obstruct our vision and dull our senses. But, the message of God’s salvation won for you and freely given to you at that fount, always makes you,

“Forewarned and Forearmed”

Yes, true to His Word, Christ sent the Counselor the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit to testify about Himself. But note closely what also is said here, “And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”(v. 27) While these verses in scripture may seem simple, I would also warn you that you must hear all the words of scripture with care and caution. It is true, just like the disciples, we must testify about Christ and all that He has done for all the sinners of this world. And so in order to do these things Christ first gives you faith. He gives you that freely, without any cost, and without any merit or worthiness in you, it’s free. He makes you His in the water combined with God’s Word in your baptism. You hear His holy Word proclaimed in church and your read of your salvation in the whole of scripture. And now you should feel confident that you are as one redeemed by Christ the Crucified, who has done all good things for you. All these things come from and through the Holy Spirit. The faith which you have been freely given, the joy of the Christian faith, all these things you heard by the work of the Holy Spirit which Jesus said is, “the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”(v. 26) That is a lot of forearming so you may ask what gives, why do I need all this forearming? Well, in the very next verse Christ says, “And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”(v. 27) The light comes on, the sarcasm comes out, and someone will say you Lutherans always proclaiming free grace and then you turn around and tell me about something I have to do, that is hyprocrisy. That very thought process, that pointing to hyprocrosy is why you were forearmed.

For the world has been forearmed too, by the great evil one. He has given the world doubt about God, He has given the world the misleading knowledge of the many different gods which they may pursue. And the evil one gives the world a sense of pleasure as it attacks you and your faith. And for all that you need to be forearmed and forwarned. Martin Luther said, “The world, [Christ] says, will throttle you as heretics. Then your conscience will also become weak and cause you to wonder: Who knows whether I did the right thing? Oh, I have overreached myself! The world and your own conscience condemn you. Christ says, I know how things will go for you, from the side of world and from within yourself. You will find little comfort, but I am not going to let you be stuck under this assault. I won’t lead you into a quagmire to drown you; rather, when there is no more comfort to be had anywhere, and you are frightened and at wit’s end, then will I send the Holy Spirit who is and is called the Comforter. He will remove all despair from your hearts with his assuring word: Have faith and do not despair; do not concern yourself with the judgment of the world, nor the judgment of your own thoughts, but cling confidently to what I say.”

As a Christian you were signed in and signed on, Christ has placed His mark on you. And your reward for becoming a Christian will be that the world will scorn you, and they will ridicule you. You may not be literally thrown out of the Synagogue, but your Christian, thoughts, words, deeds, and ideas will be thrown out of the great places of intellectual study of our world. You will be attacked by the media, and ridiculed by the so-called learned scholars. They may not kill you physically but the people of this world will take every opportunity to demean you, to call you weak minded and foolish. Yes the world hated Christ’s disciples and the world hates you too. You are forewarned.

For, Christ says that those who don’t believe, in Him will attack and kill you and they will think they’re offering a service to their god of worldly truth. Sadly that type of god is in great abundance in this world. For men make gods out of many things in this world, like the amount of possessions you may have, the types of possessions, or even make you look to see who has the most possessions. It sounds extreme that Jesus would say that those people will attack and kill you as a service to god, but He’s right. You’ll be attacked for your faith, you’ll be attacked because you have faith, and you’ll be attacked and ridiculed. For a Christian does not hold dear to their heart that which the people of this world do, the world holds themselves as the center of all things.

Repent, be forewarned for this is what a Christian should expect. The Christian does not live in a world that is friendly toward, or even tolerant of, Christ and the Truth. And we are joined with the sinful world and we succumb to wonder and doubt about financial problems, diseases, sicknesses, wars, and all the other injustices in the world. And when we doubt we allow satan to slip in further, to make our minds wander further and further from the truth, and that truth is the salvation wrought by Jesus Christ when He died on the cross. There on the cross Christ won and gives to you victory over all the ills of this world. And in your baptism you were forearmed, for there you were given armor which the devil and this world can not pass through the armor of God which is Jesus’ Name. You are forearmed, and refreshed as you partake of Holy Communion and receive the true body and blood of Jesus Christ, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

When the world tempts you with its glitter, use the Gospel to drive the world back. When we are tempted to unspeakable evils, the Holy Spirit's speaks the Gospel of Jesus Christ to protect you. When you fall into sin hear the comforting Words of Christ’s forgiveness. When you proclaim the Word of God, expect that the world will return bad will and discontent for all your efforts. Yet in the face of all the world would throw at you, rejoice in knowing that you are forewarned and forearmed. For the world will one day perish but because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ you will not perish, but will have everlasting life. AMEN.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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The Ascension of our Lord - 5-21-09

The Church Season of Easter,
The Ascension of our Lord, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 21, 2009)

“Witnesses”

Readings:
Psalm 110

2 Kings 2:5-15
Acts 1:1-11
Luke 24:44-53

Sermon Form: Deductive

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today’s message will be from the Gospel lesson as recorded in the 24th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verses:

Luke 24:44-53 (NIV)

44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

In our Gospel lessons over the past weeks and months, starting with Advent we heard the proclamation of the birth Jesus Christ, His life and ministry, His death on a cross, His burial and His triumphant resurrection on Easter morning. In all those events the message was clear, those Bible passages we could remember. But what about today? Christ’s Ascension, why in the world are we here tonight? We are hear in the world acknowledging Christ ascended, we say it in our creeds, “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.”

But first things first, Jesus pointed to the scriptures which said that the, “Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”(v. 46) All these prophecies in Christ are now fulfilled.

Jesus, is the Messiah who was with the Father at the beginning in the creation of the world, who witnessed the fall of man. Christ descended from His heavenly home and became human flesh. In His birth He is glorified by the angels and a multitude of heaven, who sing “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth, peace goodwill toward men.” But, the peaceful earthly beginning for that baby would not stay that way. For Christ’s journey would lead to His bloody death on a cross. Because Jesus became man, He suffered the shame and dishonor of this world. The burden of this Humiliation was so much to bear that even the Son of Man. For Christ prayed in Gethsemane on the Mt. of Olives saying: “Oh my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”(Mt. 26:39) Yet He heard and followed His Father’s will including, being spat upon, whipped, and beaten, disgraced in public trial, a crown of thorns pressed into His head, His hands and feet nailed, and His body raised upon the cross, even as He breathed His last breath as His accusers shouted their condemnation and evil words.

That is the extreme meaning of humiliation, to have all the authority of heaven and earth, yet not lift a finger to change the events that would fulfill prophecy. Jesus tells the apostles that they were witnesses of all the great things in His earthly ministry. Now these apostles were to be witnesses to Christ’s Ascension into the heavenly realm. And that is why we are here, we are here to we acknowledge Christ.

During the Vigil of Easter you’ll recall from that service the sanctuary was darkened in recollection of the events of Good Friday. And as the service went on there was utter darkness. But as the Gospl lesson was read the paschal candle was lit signifying that the true Light, Jesus Christ, had come into the world. It was, in fact, a celebration that the dayspring of our salvation had risen from the grave, for us. Tonight you witnessed that same paschal candle being extinguished during the Gospel reading. Yet Christ is not gone from us in His Ascension, the candle remains, and a lot more importantly our salvation remains. This absence of light signifies that Christ has now ascended and we wait here patiently and always prepared for His return.

Today on the Day of the Ascension of our Lord, there is no weeping, Jesus blessed the disciples, and as He blessed them he was carried up into heaven. The disciples were not frightened, and they did not weep, because this is not defeat, this is triumph. Jesus conquered sin and death for us, and in His ascension, all that had been wrong had been righted, and all our sin is undone. In His humiliation the veil of the temple that separated man from the Holy of Holies was torn in two when His life was given for the forgiveness of our sins. All Christ’s priestly work that He completed in the flesh, now continues as He is with us in heaven. Yet as He promised us He IS with each of us always, He is with you here even today. So as we celebrate today Christ’s Ascension, we also celebrate the Christ who was, who is, and who will come again. No, Christ is not in a far off place, we are surrounded and engulfed by His love. The paschal candle will only be lit again for special occasions. It is lit when there is a baptism, for that light is a reflection of the one who saves sinners, He saved you too there in those baptismal waters, with the fire of the paschal candle glowing in the background . That candle will be lit for anyone who dies in the faith, for that light signifies the one who at His death fulfilled His promise of everlasting life for each one of you.

Today we recall that Christ conquered sin and death and He ascended from the earthly Jerusalem to His heavenly kingdom. That is Christ’s victory and you have not only witnessed it you now live it too. For you are one with Christ, His victory is given to you so that one day He will bring you to Himself. As you close your eyes in your final hour, you too will brought to Christ and, “you will be clothed with power from on high.”(v. 49 ) He will cause you to ascend, and then you will stay “continually at [His] temple, praising God.”(v. 53) Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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Easter 6 - Rogate - 5-17-09

The Church Season of Easter,
Easter 6, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 17, 2009)

“Ask”

Readings:
Psalm 107, 1-9
Numbers 21:4-9
1 Timothy 2:1-6
John 16:23-33

Sermon Form: Deductive

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today’s message will be from the Gospel lesson as recorded in the 16th chapter of St. John, especially the following verses:

John 16:23-33 (NIV)

23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. 25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” 29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” 31 “You believe at last!” Jesus answered. 32 “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

“In that day you will no longer ask me anything,” says our Lord to His disciples, the first of many sentences that center around either asking Jesus, or asking the Father, or asking for something. Asking is something we’re sometimes good at and other times we’re not so good. Sometimes we ask questions because enquiring minds want to know the answer to things that puzzle them. Children seem to be the champions of asking questions in a never ending “why game” where no matter what the answer is the next question is always, “but why?” And then there are those who ask questions because they really want to know what something means, why something is happening of or how something works. Sometimes we don’t ask questions because we don’t really don’t want to hear the answer. And other times we ask only after we have hit rock bottom and whatever it is that we desire overrides our personal pride and then we ask. The disciples had Jesus there with them and when they doubted or misunderstood they could go to Him and ask. When we have a question about what God says, we still go to Christ and ask, and we can do so in prayer or by simply going to the Bible and searching for the answer. But when we have particular spiritual or physical needs then we pray and request, and Jesus' name, we

“ASK”

During the three years of Jesus' ministry the disciple showed their immaturity again and again. For example, when Jesus fed the 5000, He first asked the disciples how they would solve the challenge at hand. When asked to find a solution to the problem the disciples were at loss as to what to they do, what they had in their hands, five loaves and two fish didn’t give them a good solution. While they may have thought, “It just can’t work, or how can I make it work,” the disciples were looking in the wrong place, they failed to ask, they just said this is all we have. And then Jesus showed them how it worked. Jesus announced to His disciples that He would be betrayed, he would suffer, die, he would be resurrected and ascend in to heaven. Jesus told the disciples all these three times (Mt. 16:21; 17:22; 20:18) but it only grieved them. Oh the disciples did ask questions, like, “36Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?"(Jn 13:36) Thomas said, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"(Jn 14:5) And Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."(Jn 14:8) And when Jesus prophesied about the time, when they would have fuller knowledge of all things, the disciples thought that time had already come. So they didn’t feel the need to ask, they weren’t engaged, they assumed their own answer, and so Jesus told them what they would do, He said, “a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone.”(v. 32) They didn’t understand that, they didn’t ask, they didn’t want to ask, they didn’t want to hear Christ’s words. Left to their own knowledge and fears, they did just what Christ said they would do, when Christ was betayed, they scattered to try save themselves.

The disciples did just what Jesus said they would do, and it happened exactly as He had predicted. Because of their lack of faith they abandoned Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. They failed to attend His trial. And except for John they did not go to Calvary either and on Saturday and Sunday they locked themselves into their room.

They did not ask Jesus how all this would happen and even if they did the result would be the same. They would indeed scatter, and regardless of their actions Jesus would still help them. Only a few hours later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples ran from the Jewish authorities and the Roman soldiers. The disciples were in tribulation. But even though they didn’t realize it, the peace of God went with them. And so you may ask, what is this peace? Well actually St. Paul gives the answer in his letter to the Romans, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”(Rom 5:1-2)

Because we are justified by faith in Jesus, we need not ask if God is angry with us, He is not. This peace of God guarded their minds and hearts in Christ Jesus, it was the peace of God, not of something they found in this world. Even though they would desert Jesus, He still said: "Be of good courage, I have overcome the world." Indeed, in this world, our flesh and the world overcomes us, but Jesus has overcome the world.

We ask if there will ever be a time when we will ask no questions of doctrine, question what scripture tells us, question why our prayers aren’t immediately answered, or even ask, “What does Jesus mean?” All those questions have been answered. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit who gave us the Holy Scriptures. The scriptures lead us in all truth. While we may want to debate or ask many questions which the scriptures do not answer, the scriptures give an answer to all we need to ask. We do not need any further revelations, because the Triune God has given us the whole Truth in the New Testament which is the fulfillment of the Truth of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ said, a time will come when we can bring any spiritual or physical need to Jesus and He assures us that He will answer. That time is now, for He hears your prayers. In fact, Jesus' promise is complete. He is one with the Father, He always has been. And we are the Father's dear children in Christ Jesus. Remember Luther even said that in the Small Catechism, in the introduction to the Lord’s Prayer, in the response to “Our Father who art in Heaven,” the response is, “With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence, we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.”(SC) In fact He gives us much, much more than we could ever ask for, for in Baptism He gives us the promise of eternal life. Christ was bloodied and beaten, and He went to the cross, so that we could ask forgiveness of our sins. Though we have left Him alone there on the cross, He does not turn away from us. So ask away, ask to “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord to Thee,”(LSB# 784) or “Lord, Open Now My heart to hear, and through Your Word to me draw near.”(LSB# 908) Just ask, “and you will receive, and your joy will be [eternally] complete.” Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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Easter 5 - Cantate - 5-10-09

The Church Season of Easter,
Easter 5, Cantate, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 10, 2009)

“The Counselor”

Readings:
Psalm 68, v. 1-8
Isaiah 12:1-6
James 1:16-21
John 16:5-15

Sermon Form: Deductive

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today’s message will be from the Gospel lesson as recorded in the 16th chapter of St. John, especially the following verses:

John 16:5-15 (NIV)
[Jesus said] 5 “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

We say it together every Sunday with only a brief transition made by taking a short breath...He (Jesus) ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead, I believe in the Holy Spirit. We hardly notice it as we move from Christ’s ascension into heaven to the sending of the Holy Spirit. We confess the reality of God the Father creator, God the Son Redeemer, and God the Holy Spirit the sanctifier. We confess that the three are one God in all our creeds and so we also acknowledge all the Holy Trinity has done and does for us. In today’s lesson Christ speaks of His departure and the sending of the Holy Spirit. And in the sending of the Holy Spirit Jesus tells the disciples that Holy Spirit will come to convince and convict mankind of three things and He does so by speaking of what He hears and telling the world what is yet to come. And the one who brings us this news is, The Holy Spirit

The Counselor

And we may ask who is this counselor? Well it is none other than the third person of the Trinity, the one whom scriptures call the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the paraclete, the Comforter, and the Counselor. And the first of the three things the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, will convince and convict mankind of is that the world is full of sin. That in itself is not such a hard pill to swallow.

We look around and we see a lot of sin in the world. Sin in the big cities, sin in the actions of other countries, sin in the reaction of people to the Christian faith. Yes, there is a lot of sin out there, we sure can acknowledge that. We recall that it’s not the way it used to be, not like when we was growing up, yes indeed there is a lot of sin, way out there, way, way out there. And the odd thing of that thought is that is the same thing our parents said, it was much better when I was younger. And I know for sure that there is a long chain of those type of thoughts, each generation looking back to the past for better, simpler, and easier times. But Christ tells us that when the Counselor speaks it will be in more specific terms than speaking about sin that is way out there and far, far away. Instead, He speaks of the sin that is everywhere even in each one of us and that is the sin of unbelief. And the first reaction to stating that all mankind falls to the sin of disbelief is a loud and resounding, hrrrummph! What do you mean I don’t believe? Who are you to say that? Well if that were true, I wouldn’t be here in church now would I? All indignant responses, as we say, not me I am not an unbeliever, and I don’t sin. Then, we must ask why was the Holy Spirit sent to “convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment”(v. 8) So what does it mean “to convict the world?” It means, “to show the world that those things are true which it did not wish to believe were so. For it did not wish to believe that the Savior came from God. But the Savior, after He had restored justice, did not delay in returning to Him Who had sent Him. And by so returning there He proved that it was from there He had come; because “no man hath ascended into heaven but He that descended from heaven, the Son of Man Who is in heaven.”(Ambrosiaster)

The world does not wish to believe that Christ descended from heaven. But He did, and the reason He did so was to save us from our sins. The devil, the world, and our evil nature does not wish to believe that Christ restored justice by going to the cross and dying their for us, and that He returned to His Father in Heaven. No, we doubt pieces and parts of scripture based upon which parts could have been accomplished within the boundaries of our human reason. We doubt, based upon the parts which we can understand, and so individuals, churches, and denominations use that very logic to portray the scriptures as stories, allusions, basically just big fish stories. However there is really no middle ground, you only believe or you don’t. “Therefore the true and only religion and the true and only worship is this, that one believes the forgiveness of sins, which God gives graciously and freely, without subsequent or previous good works, from pure mercy, just as He freely gives the light of the sun and all other good things. Believing in this good God, who bestows His blessings graciously and freely, is the true religion and the true righteousness”(Pieper 1:14) That is why Christ said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved, whoever does not believe will be condemned.”(Mk 16:16) And for you who are baptized you are not doubting but firmly believe that Christ has overcome all that you will face in this world because Christ has overcome all the sin in the world, and in turn He freely shares His victory with you.

The Holy Spirit comes to convict us of righteousness. What does that mean? It means we will be convinced that our standing before God is in no way based upon our actions, but rather we are viewed before God based on Christ’s actions. We stand before God doubting and not believing, and we should be convicted by our sin, by those things which we have done and those things which we have left undone, because we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. But instead of looking at our accomplishments, God looks at Christ and all that He has done for us. Those who have been baptized and believe no longer stand before God clothed in the sin and doubt of this world. Rather our sin is covered with the robe of Christ’s righteousness and we stand as ones made holy and innocent because of Jesus Christ. And how do I know this is true? Well, the Holy Spirit, the Counselor was sent to us and He brings us the scriptures, and “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness"(2 Tim 3:16) We are not given to write how scripture is to be understood, we are given scripture to train us in the knowledge of what Christ has won and freely gives to us. We know that we live in a world is full of sin because we know the world rejects the very Word which God has breathed into our ears. Yet Christ came just the same to make us righteous to free from the bonds and fetters of doubt.

The Holy Spirit, The Counselor came to convince the world of a coming judgment. And this judgment will be for all peoples, for all will one day stand before the Lord our God to see all that we have done in our lifetimes. Yet even there the Good News of Jesus Christ will prevail. For the Holy Spirit the Counselor breathes to you the Word of God which “will convince [all] mankind that the devil, the ruler of this world, has been judged.” In Jn. 12:31 Jesus said that through His suffering and death the ruler of this world is thrown out. In Lk. 10:18 He said: "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning." And as Luther said of satan: "He's judged, the deed is done. One little Word can fell him." satan cannot accuse you of sin because you have been forgiven, for the sake of Christ Jesus.

So for you who believe, know that you will not be cast into the punishment of the unbelievers, for your baptism seals you as a child of God. For you who sinned, whether by action or inaction, whether by deed or misdeed, whether by doubt or disbelief do not look to yourselves and wonder how you will be able to stand before God. God declares you righteous for the sake of Jesus Christ and all His actions for you. For all who fear death, or the things of this world, the sickness, the pain, the despair and when we doubt, know that Christ has defeated death and the evil things of this world. And today Christ gives you a taste of His victory in Holy Communion as He offers Himself in His true body and blood.

Jesus Christ said of the Holy Spirit, “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”(v. 14-15) Christ is made know to you, cast away your cares and your worries. He has taken the righteousness of Christ and made it known to you through the breath of the Holy Spirit because He has told you, “you are mine.” Because God in Christ and through the Word breathed to you through the Holy Spirit The Counselor, all the glory of Christ is made known to you and given to you freely. And so by this gracious and free gift you will join Christ in an eternal glory. Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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Easter 4 - Jubilate - 05-03-09

The Church Season of Easter,
Easter 4, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (May 3, 2009)

“In a Little While”

Readings:
Psalm 147:1-11
Isaiah 40:25-31
1 Peter 2:11-20
John 16:16-22

Sermon Form: Deductive

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today’s message will be from the Gospel lesson as recorded in the 16th chapter of St. John, especially the following verses:

John 16:16-22 (NIV)
(Jesus said)16 “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 17 Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.” 19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

On the night when He was betrayed Jesus broke bread with His disciples. He gave them the very bread of life and after that He said to them, “In a little while you will see me no more, then after a little while you will see me.”(v. 16) He had used words like this before. He had said, “I am with you for only a short time.” (Jn. 7:33) A short time, and a little while can certainly mean a whole lot of things depending on the circumstances you are in. But this little while was neither meant to delay or distract the disciples but rather to comfort them. Because Jesus knew all that was to happen to Him in just a short time, and that all that would happen would be turned into His victory and so our too, for though He would die, He would return in,

“A Little While”

Throughout His ministry Jesus had taught the people of all that He would face. And the disciples confessed that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the one they had been promised, the one they had waited for from the beginning and that was much longer than a little while. Many might debate how many years it was until the fulfillment of the promise in Jesus birth and His appearance on this earth, was it 5000, 10,000, 15,000 years? Regardless of human time it would be perceived as more than just a little while.

But in this little piece of scripture Jesus adds a few defining words which could be easily overlooked. Jesus says, “you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.”(v. 20) He said those words to the disciples, the ones who would see a crowd yell for His conviction and who would watch as Jesus received His punishment. They would see their Lord and master nailed to a tree, they would see His mother and many others gather at the foot of His cross. These diciples would see the soldiers rejoice as they cast lots for Jesus’ clothes. While only a few were gathered around Him in His last hours to “weep and mourn” there would be many others in the world who would not view His death in the mournful same way.

While the disciples would ponder all this later Jesus knew what would happen to Him that night He was betrayed. He knew in “a little while” He would be tried, convicted, whipped beaten, crucified, and He would die. He knew all of that would take just a little while.

But again, a little while depends on perspective. It only takes a little while to eat an ice cream cone, but registration, taxes, titles, and plates for a vehicle never seem to come about in the time frame of a little while. So it seems when we wait for something we really want, a little while seems like forever, and when we endure something that challenges us either mentally or physically, those things never seem to be over with in a little while.

So again, it is all in your perspective and so we ask, ‘What this means for us who are believers in Christ?” We are here in this time and place, living in the “little while” of this life. Like Jesus said, we often weep and mourn while the world rejoices, He said, “So with you: Now is your time of grief”(v. 22) The disciples would grieve when Jesus would go away from them but their time of grief would not last. But they did grieve for they had to watch their master beaten, bloodied, and crucified. And just like them, we do not wish to gaze upon the beaten and distraught Jesus, we want the Good Shepherd, not the sacrificial Lamb of God.

So we are tempted to deny Him, the Christ who saves us and to see what we want to see. So many times we do just that and in so doing we deny Christ. Our lives include many times of challenge, times of facing unfair realities that tell us life is not the same, it is short, and there are times of downright darkness and despair. Times when those whom we love let us down, times when we are faced with the death of someone whom we really love, times of sickness and times of hopelessness. And times when we will grieve for that which we want but can no longer have.

But, God promises us all that in a little while all the pain and suffering will be over and we will see Him again. Just like when there are clouds which hide the sun, yet we know that the sun is still there. While we make think the cross a dark cloud, the Son of God was still there, for us.

Christ promised the disciples that, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”(v. 22) Really, all our troubles and our sinful lives cover Jesus' cheerful face. All our sins collect upon Him and then we see His face as it looks down from the cross. Yet He knows that His victory there on the cross will turn your grief, all your ills, all your pain, all your sorrows into joy. Because He has become the man of grief the man of sorrows, and He gives you the promise that your grief and sorrows will be removed forever. And He seals that promise as He put His Name on you in your baptism. He relives your grief as He comes to you in Holy Communion offering to you His true body and blood. And as we grieve for those who have gone before us, those who have died in the faith, yet they are still there with us in Holy Communion, there in and with Christ’s body and blood, for we are in Christ and He is in us. Be comforted by the words in our liturgy, “Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven,” truly we are communing with all the company in heaven which includes those dear departed saints whom we love and miss dearly.

Psalm. 30:5 says "Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning." and Isaiah 54:7 reads: "For a brief moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you." And St. Paul, tells us, "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us."(Rom. 8:18) The land of Israel mourned, but the Lord brought them back to their land. The disciples mourned, but Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus said, “I will never leave nor will I forsake you." and He never will, for all of you who have been given the free gift of grace. For He has promised you that He will, “see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” You may now be worried, or weary, or you may grieve, or wonder what life will deal to you next, but rejoice in Christ that He will bring you to an eternal place where no one will ever take away you joy. Amen.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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Easter 3 - Misericordias Domini - 4-26-09

I was away, Rev. Russ Zimmerman proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and feed the congregation with the true body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Thank you Rev. Zimmerman for being here in my stead...

Pastor