Author: TechCommittee

Celebrating April 2020

Birthdays

Nancy Fuller  4/2
Dorothy Herberts  4/4
Craig Culp  4/6
Sarah Lange  4/7
Matt Williamson  4/7
Carol Schroeder  4/9
Carly Benjamin4/12
Drew Kemp4/12
Gerald Semelka4/13
Garett Sheley4/14
Summer Sheley4/14
Harriet Campbell4/20
Angelina Isaac4/21
Marvin Huth4/22
Ethan Bliese4/25
Daryle Schempp4/27

Baptismal Birthdays

Fern Noth  4/1
Herb Renken  4/3
Justin McNeely  4/6
Mary Anne Kirchner  4/9
Toni Lueck4/11
Michael Anderson4/13
Nancy Thomas4/16
Garett Sheley4/18
Audrie King4/25
Robert Bier4/30

Stewardship Corner April 2020

On the topic of stewardship, one of the most common questions a person might ask is not whether a Christian should give to their church. Everyone knows this.  Of course, Christians should give to their church.

The most common question: “How much should I give?”  But what they really mean is this: “Should Christians give a tithe of their income to their local congregation?”  So, let’s look at why you should or should not tithe.

Following are some reasons often offered for why Christians shouldn’t give a tithe to their church.

Some say you shouldn’t tithe because it isn’t expressly commanded in the New Testament.  Lacking that command, there is no “Thus saith the Lord” and no “should” for giving a tithe to your congregation.

Others say that Christians give to their congregation in ways much broader than money.  They give of their time and their talents, and these, together with treasures (money), add up to more than a tithe.

Still others say they give of their treasures to other things besides their congregation, and they want to support those things alongside their church.

And there are those who think Christians shouldn’t tithe because of fear.  If they tithe, they are afraid their gift will be misused, and they are afraid they won’t have enough to get the things they use, want, or need.

Following are some reasons for why Christians should give a tithe to their church.

Even though the New Testament doesn’t specifically command Christians to give a tithe, the Old Testament people were commanded to tithe and did. On top of this, St. Paul often describes the giving Christians are to do in similar terms as a tithe: a regular and generous proportion of the first fruits of their income (1 Cor 6:1–2; 2 Cor. 8:7–23; 2 Cor. 9:2–7).

But here’s another way to think about it.  What was the point of the tithe in the Old Testament?  Where did it go? The reason for the Old Testament tithe was to support the full ministry of the Levites.  They were not given any land because they had no time to farm; their full-time job was the ministry.

What does it say in the New Testament?  “The Lord has commanded that those who preach the Gospel should make their living from the Gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14).  This is the verse that Luther put in the Small Catechism’s Table of Duties to cover what Christians owe to the support of the ministry.

It seems clear from both the Old and the New Testaments that the tithe is the goal of Christians in their giving. But what if we’re not there yet?  How should we handle this?  What are we to do?

Let’s answer this by asking a different question about something entirely different.  What would you say to your adult children who only attended church quarterly or once a month?  There, is after all, no passage in the New Testament that requires Christians to go to church weekly.  Hebrews 10:25 is the closest we have, and it states simply for Christians to not neglect gathering together.  Even though there is no passage that commands Christians to gather weekly, that is the implicit expectation throughout the Old and New Testaments. It is the goal.

So, what would you say to that son or daughter?  I’d expect that conversation would be something like this:  “I’m glad you’re still going to church.  It is a wonderful blessing to hear God’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation, and to receive His gifts in the Word and the Sacraments.  But you can do better, and it will only be a blessing to you.  There is a better way, and I’d really like you to try to attain it.”

This same conversation is how we should approach the topic of the tithe. It’s not specifically commanded in the New Testament, but it sure seems like the implicit expectation of both the Old and New Testaments.  So, the church is ecstatic that you’re giving when you’re giving in all these ways – time, talents, and treasures.

Pastor’s Notes April 2020

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

How is your patience?  Back in December at a university in Germany they suffered a malware attack.  The school network was taken down and each campus computer had to be scanned.  As a precautionary measure the school had to reset every password for every email account issued by the school.  Because of German law the new passwords could not be mailed out.  The new passwords were handed out to 38,000 students on slips of paper and it took five days!  How is your patience?

These last 10 days since schools began shutting down and life changed, the days have been a drag.  The boys and I missed our beloved Illini in both the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.  We also missed the Boys State High School Tournament.  The other night I found a live sports program – Australian Rules Football at 12:30 a.m.  No fans but something new.  What have you been missing?  How is your patience?

Have you had to stand in grocery lines?  Was there a line for milk, butter, bread?  What’s the deal with toilet paper?  Crazy.  The flip side is that some places have no lines because people are staying home.  Driving, which can test our patience, finds less cars on the road.  Gas stations, even with the low prices are easier to get in and out of. 

Are you impatient about being back in worship?  This is the hardest for me.  Word and Sacrament ministry is done in person.  We miss the fellowship, the human contact with the handshake after worship, the presence of Christ’s body and blood on our lips and in our mouth.  We do our best at home, but many of us need someone to help us carry a tune – the organ or that God blessed singer that sits near us.  How is your patience?

The Lord gives us perspective.  “This too shall pass.”  History shows us that.  Think about the patience of God.  He creates a beautiful world and man and woman mess it up.  They lie, they blame, they kill, they turn their back on Him who gave them breath.  It continues for thousands of years.  The pain, the pestilence, the disregard for one another.  His heart must ache.  But the world will wait.

Then at just the right time, He sends a Savior, His Son, Jesus Christ.  The world is where it needs to be so that this message of salvation can be spread far and wide.  As opposed to a virus, one person after another through the Holy Spirit tells about the love and forgiveness of His beloved Son.  His Son goes to a cross.  He dies for disease and death and denial.  He’s placed in a tomb.  How patient will the world have to be?

Three days.  He has Risen.  Disease and death and denial are forgiven and conquered.  There is hope.  There is a future.  The world waited and God sent the greatest gift.  As you wait, ponder these thoughts, look to a hill closer than you think, where the Lord’s people gather to worship.  The wait is over.  Thanks be to God.

In Christ’s Love,         
Pastor

Sermon Text 3.29.2020 — Breathe In Resurrected Life

March 29, 2020                                                                               Text:  Ezekiel 37:1-14

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Let’s talk breathing.  When we inhale our diaphragms contract and move downward so that the space in our chest cavity increases.  The lungs expand, air is pulled in, and with the assistance of hemoglobin, oxygen goes to the blood.  In the same breath, carbon dioxide moves into the lungs and then is forced out when we exhale.  God has created quite an elaborate system.  How many times on average do we do this a day?  How about 25,000 times!  It probably goes without saying in these pandemic times but it is always good to check in with our breathing now and then.

            Today in our Old Testament lesson God is showing the prophet Ezekiel how dramatic this breathing can be – it brings the whole house of Israel together.  Ezekiel saw those who were dead breathing again.  Not just physically but spiritually as well.  A good picture of what Jesus does for us . . .

“BREATHE IN RESURRECTED LIFE”

            Our breathing is broken.  It has been since sin joined the world.  People today suffer in various forms – COPD, asthma, emphysema, black lung disease and other forms that restrict good breathing.  Apart from that we all inhale things that can cause us pain and heartache – drugs, we are gluttons with our food intake, we don’t get moving around the way we need to – physically this hurts us.  We can also inhale things that hurt us spiritually – greed for the latest gadget, a new partner, reading things outside of Scripture, following the latest fad, despair and apathy.

            We are dried to the core.  Israel was dried to the core.  They had been breathing in all the wrong things and this resulted in their destruction and captivity in Babylon.  God’s gives Ezekiel a word picture of “very dry bones.”  Like God’s law does for us, Ezekiel needed to take a good look at what was happening.  They were breathing in death, verse 11:  “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.”  On our own we are all lifeless in the valley of death.  We are also experiencing what it is like to be cut off socially and spiritually.

            Don’t despair.  A breath of fresh air is on the way.  God’s Word is living and active and can breathe new life into us.  Where the Word is there is also the Spirit, “breathe on these slain that they may live.” (v. 9b)  In Hebrew Spirit and breath are the same words, because where the Spirit is, there is life.  “I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” (v. 5b)  “I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live.” (v. 14a)  The breathing we lost during the fall into sin has been restored.  Look at what God did with Adam.  First He formed him and then He breathed into him the breath of life.

            So now the Lord says to us:  “take a breather.”  Breathe in the resurrected life.  Doesn’t that fill the lungs with something good?  Jesus breathed that life back into Lazarus in our Gospel lesson.  The breath that Jesus gives reaches even those in the grave. (v. 12-13)  We have this breath of resurrected life because Jesus gave up His breath on the cross.  “He breathed his last.”  He had to die.  He had to go without breathing for a time.  But this would not be His last breath.  He would fill the earth with new air when He came out of the tomb – breathing and talking and eating.

            The breath of resurrected life still comes to us.  It comes in the Divine Service when we hear the Absolution and are given new breath for a new day.  When we take in the Word as it is preached and heard it gives life to our dead souls.  With the breath of Christ in you God already sees you raised up with Christ in the heavenly places.  This is our comfort and hope.

            I’ve seen a Christian brother or sister struggle to breathe.  It is hard to watch, difficult to help, and the image can be carried in your mind for years.  God sees the same thing in us, when His children struggle.  Breathing is a big deal and today God calls us to receive the breath of resurrected life that comes only from Jesus.  Take a breather those who are weary.  Take a breather those who are socially isolated.  Take a breather those who are anxious.  Take a breather those who need some rest.  The Lord can come into the dryness of your body and spirit and He can revitalize you beyond your comprehension.  The breath of life in Jesus extends beyond the grave, so breathe easy, my friends.

                                                                        Amen. 

Sermon Text 3.22.2020 — In the Spotlight

March 22, 2020                                                                                     Text:  John 9:1-41

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Are you a spotlight person?  Do you crave attention?  When the pressure is on do you perform at your best?  In my observation of the many humans here at Good Shepherd most of you are non-spotlight people.  You do your job and move on.  In the church we are not applauding for the work of the altar guild and ushers.  We don’t give medals to the acolytes and financial counters.  We don’t shower Mary Anne with roses for her beautiful work on the organ.  And we don’t pat the elder on the back just because he got that tricky Old Testament person or town pronunciation right. 

            In today’s gospel the spotlight is going to shine on many people.  But what does it reveal?

“IN THE SPOTLIGHT”

            In the spotlight to begin our text is the man blind from birth.  He has no light in his eyes.  We know light, so we can see.  This man had no concept of light.  Whether he wanted it or not this man is thrust into the spotlight because of the miracle of Jesus.  His neighbors saw him and he told the story of Jesus’ healing.

            Being in the spotlight sometimes brings things that make us uncomfortable and this happens here.  The Pharisees are brought in.  Interrogation time from these know-it-alls.  Was this healing from God?  This man who knew no light has the spotlight of investigation put on him.

            The Pharisees are now in the spotlight, and as they put the man in the spotlight, they are blind to the divinity of Jesus.  The man claims that Jesus is a prophet.  The Pharisees now turn the spotlight from the man born blind to Jesus.  They claimed that since Jesus healed on the Sabbath, he was not from God.  But the man in the spotlight in verses 35-38 comes to see Jesus in the true light – “Lord, I believe.”

            The spotlight shines on you and I.  It can be uncomfortable as are sin is revealed.  We are born spiritually blind.  We are enemies of God.  God is light but we turn away – “get me out of this spotlight.”

            Like the Pharisees, we put the spotlight on Jesus to examine him.  We do it according to our terms.  We listen to his words but only listen to the words that support our opinions.  We do not want to be enlightened by Him.  We are lost in the darkness of death.

            In the spotlight is Jesus.  But you see He is always in the spotlight even in this story.  He is the eternal spotlight because we know that God is light.  The light of Jesus is what we need to see.  It shines brightest on Him when He goes to the cross.  Jesus obeyed His Father perfectly.  He did not shy away from the task that put Him in front of the world.  In His Words they enlighten us and let us know that the sins of the whole world and our individual sins are forgiven.  Darkness wiped away – light has come.

            The brightest of lights was shone on Easter morning.  The light of the resurrection was casting out the darkness of death.  His resurrection light can now shine on the darkness and uncertainty of our world. 

            Through baptism, Jesus’ light shines in you.  Jesus says in verse 5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  Jesus is still in the world administering baptism through his called Shepherds so that those born in darkness can see the light.  The Holy Spirit has enlightened you with Baptism, so that Christ’s light now shines through you.

            This will come as no surprise to most of you, but I am a spotlight person.  When I competed in sports I always had my best games in front of the biggest crowds.   The Lord has blessed me to not shrink when the big moment comes.  We are living in a big moment.  Some see fear and anxiety.  I see opportunity.  Some see darkness and drear.  I see light and Jesus.  What do you see?  The Lord has put a sinful world in the spotlight with a sickness that can scare us.  As His people we live in the light of Christ.  It is a prime opportunity to put Jesus in the spotlight.  His Word can calm anxiety.  He listens to our prayers and gives our heart peace.  The Holy Spirit leads us to help our neighbor, not be pushy or hoard products that we all need and for the world to see the light of Christ in us when we look outside ourselves.  Step into the spotlight because the eternal spotlight of Jesus Christ our Savior shines in you. 

                                                            Amen. 

Sermon Text 3.8.2020 — Born From Above

March 8, 2020                                                                                         Text:  John 3:1-17

Dear Friends in Christ,

            The book Born Free tells of an orphaned lioness adopted by Kenyan game warden George Adamson and his wife Joy.  If they hadn’t cared for her, the cub they name Elsa would have died.  Elsa grew into a strong, healthy, active adult.  In a way, the Adamson’s gave her new birth as a huge house cat.

            Elsa’s life depended on human care; she couldn’t survive in the wild.  She never hunted or defended herself or interacted with other lions.  Her new life so countered the actual life of a lion that she could never live free.  The choice was either a zoo for Elsa or turning her loose to die – unless they gave Elsa another new birth and restored her true nature, her true “lioness.”

            George and Joy taught Elsa to stalk and strike.  They cut back on their time with her, weaned her from human dependence, and taught her to look to lions instead of humans for companionship.  Finally, they restored the domestic cat to her true nature as a free, living lioness.

            Somewhat like Elsa, we are trapped with natures unlike God created us to have.  Corrupt from birth, we can’t live with God and we can’t escape the devil.  Left alone, we would be even more helpless than the out-of-place Elsa.  However, the Lord intervened, sending down his Son to give us rebirth, replacing our fallen state with the nature He intended at creation, and restoring us to a free and natural life as God’s children.

            Christ came down from heaven so we can be  . . .

“BORN FROM ABOVE”

            What do you remember about your birth?  Nothing, right?  You had no choice in the matter.  You were conceived by your parents, carried by your mother and brought out of the womb – all without your giving consent.  We could not conceive ourselves.  The mystery of our spiritual birth is every bit as profound.  We had no more choice or opportunity to become God’s children than we did in becoming our parents’ children.

            The reason we needed to be reborn from above is because we were born spiritually dead.  This is what Jesus is telling Nicodemus.  We would not think about God.  We could not move toward God.  We had no place in our hearts for God.

            We had to be reborn from above because we could not raise ourselves up to God.  As the psalmist says, we stood helpless and confused before this world’s troubles until “the Lord, who made heaven and earth,” came to our rescue. (Ps. 121:12)  Like Abraham, we had no idea of a new and better place to live until Christ came and called us to new life.  Like the Israelites dying of snakebites in the wilderness, we were doomed until God raised up His Son to die on the cross (vs. 14-15).

            Being reborn from above means we live a new life.  Martin Luther wrote about this in the Small Catechism Baptism section.  “The Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.”

            The Bible verse proof text is Romans 6:4 – “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

            Being reborn from above sets us on the path of eternal life with God.  He loved us that He gave His only Son so that through believing in Him we would live.

            Babies in maternity wards and neonatal units wear wristbands or ankle bands to identity who they are and which family they belong to.  This is to make sure that no child goes home with the wrong family.  The band lets us know as parents that that baby is ours.

            Jesus taught the same thing to Nicodemus.  Our baptisms are an outward sign of the home and family we belong to.  Baptism is a sign that indicates, “This person belongs to the triune God.”  Our heavenly Father sees the sign of Baptism on us and says, “You are mine.”  We rejoice at the sign of our Baptism, because it gives us absolute assurance and confidence that we are truly children of God and that the day will come when He will take us Home with Him.  Our Baptism assures us there will be no eternal mix-up.  We will go to the home that is ours.   We will go home to live with our true Father because you and I have been Born From Above.

                                                                                                                        Amen.