Author: TechCommittee

Stewardship Corner October 2018

Why do we give?  Is it simply because God commands us to?  Or is there more to it?  To be sure, the instruction and Word of God in the Bible says we should give, and this is sufficient to encourage us to give (Luke 6:38; Acts 20:35; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 8:7; Gal 6:6).

But there’s more to it than just obligation.  We’re not just trying to fulfill a work of the Law. We are bearing fruits of the Spirit given to us by our Father in heaven through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, we’re not just doing what our Father said, we’re also doing what He did.

Children emulate their parents.  When they grow up they often carry many of the same mannerisms and characteristics as their parents, but there is more to it than that.  Children copy their parents even on a more mundane level. They watch how their parents cross their legs, how they fold their hands, how they stand and sit and walk, how they do and say most everything.

And children try to copy it, which can be quite humorous when parents wish they wouldn’t.  It can be uncomfortable and embarrassing if a child copies or repeats something less than polite that they learned from a parent.  Sitcoms thrive on these situations.  It only happens because children emulate their parents because they want to be like them.

We are the children of God, by grace, through faith. In Holy Baptism, God the Father declares of us what He declared of Jesus at His Baptism in the Jordan: “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  God the Father claims us as His own.  He takes away all our sins, and in exchange He gives us His righteousness, His purity, His holiness, and His Spirit, by which we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

We are born again, born from above, born of water and the Spirit, to a new life in Christ as His children.  We are sons of God in Christ, through Baptism.  And since we are sons, we are heirs – heirs who share in the glory of the Son of God.  The inheritance is ours because of the Father’s grace and mercy, His generosity in sending His Son in time to save us for all eternity.

And this is why we give generously of our income to the work of the church.  We want to be like our heavenly Father.  We want to emulate His generosity by being generous ourselves.  We give to the work of the Church because we have witnessed the generous giving of our Father in heaven.

More than that, we are recipients of it.  It is because we have received God our Father’s gifts that we desire to give ourselves.  And His gifts are not just spiritual.  They are temporal and earthly as well.  As the Small Catechism teaches in the Fourth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer:

“Give us this day our daily bread.”  What does this mean?  God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.  What is meant by daily bread?  Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.”

In other words, God gives us everything we need for the care of both body and soul. His generosity knows no bounds.  Therefore, we sit down at the beginning of the year, the beginning of the month, or the beginning of the week to set aside a generous portion of God’s daily bread for His work in the Church. We don’t do this simply because He has commanded us so to do; it is because we, as His children by grace, want to emulate His generosity in our own lives. He is our Father; we are His children. And children want to be like their parents.

Pastor’s Notes October 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We know what a hard place this world is to live in.  We text angry.  We tweet angry.  We drive angry.  We even live and work angry.  The frustration level of the populace is about ready to burst into one huge screaming match.  Or is it there already?

Sometimes in this jumbled mess of a society the Lord gives us a little solace.  I recently went to one of our Senior Living Communities to visit a few of our members.  Not only was it great to visit with our brothers and sisters and talk about their faith, but also it was a pleasure just to walk around.  Everyone in the hallways says, “hello or hi” they may have a walker or a cane but they have joy in their heart and are willing to engage in pleasant conversation.  I rode the elevator and didn’t get stuck!  Even one of the workers’s made me smile when she thought I was one of the resident’s grandsons instead of their son.  Thank you Lord!  It all reminded me of a world we would like to live in.  Like I say some day’s it is hard just to leave the house.

It all was a reminder of what we have when we worship together.  It is a couple hour respite from the “angry” world where we are nurtured and fed and prepared to face another week.  People say things like “good morning” and “Lord be with you” and “I’m praying for you.”  People smile and have joy in the fellowship of fellow believers.  Our worship life is permanent, lasting, and true – something we all need from the 100 – year old parishioner to the newborn baby.

An LCMS Pastor named John Fiene said this, “When we show people that we are grateful to God for the rich theological heritage we have received in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, people are eager and anxious to become part of us.  It is hard to teach doctrinal substance in a short period of time, but the more we stand in contrast to society, the more the Gospel seems to break into people’s consciousness as an ‘other-worldly’ truth.  Through all this formal, theological, sacramental ‘other-worldliness’ people are realizing a peace in their hearts that cannot be easily described or explained.”

Don’t give up this peace and strength and permanence.  I know all of you reading this experience the “hard times” of life.  The Lord is calling to you, speaking to you, come join your brothers and sisters in consistent worship and study of God’s Word.  It is something down deep you know you need.  I pray that the Holy Spirit works this for you.

Find solace in the arms of Jesus.  See you in church!

In Christ,

Pastor

Sermon Text for Sunday, September 9, 2018

Sept. 9, 2018 – Christian Education Sunday                                   Text 1 Kings 21:3

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

“The Lord Forbid That I Should Give You The Inheritance Of My Fathers.”  There are plenty of people who would like us to eliminate from our possession the inheritance of our fathers.  If we would just loosen our grip on the conviction taught by our fathers to “thank and praise, serve and obey” our God.  Their sales talk is so attractive that we are inclined to think the price is right.  Will we be a Naboth or turn our back?

“PRESERVING THE INHERITANCE”

This is a day and age when “under God” is a passing remark about the goodness of “Someone Up There” that qualifies you for a tax exemption.  A deity who sits on the balcony of heaven making the sign of the cross over whatever self-centered activities we should like to carry on in the name of the Church.  The idea behind it all is that God should approve of the things we do in his name instead of our doing, in his name, the things of which God approves.

Give up this God who demands you bow to His will, or we will brand you as bigoted and narrow and call you “peculiar people.”  “Give up the inheritance of your fathers.”

I love the inspired Word of God for stories like Naboth.  Here was a man who refused to give up the inheritance of his fathers for no other reason than this; he wanted to do what was right.  He had a vineyard that King Ahab wanted.  The deal was fair, a dream offer.  But it wasn’t right to Naboth.  He remembered the Lord’s directive in Numbers 36:7:  “Every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.”  Naboth was answering the king in this way, “No, because the Lord forbids it.”

We could use a little spirit of the old Naboth.  A spirit that is willing to turn down the attractive offer of modern, popular, politically correct religiousness by which they hope we will sell out the strong Christian conviction we have inherited from our fathers, a spirit willing to say no because it is the will of God.

Care to sell? The offer comes.  Just once admit that as “long as its religion, it is good for you.”  Let children wait until the age of discretion, whenever in life that might be, to choose their own faith; broaden your mind at least this far, we are all religious folks heading for the same place.  That’s all.  What about it?  Are you ready to say no like Naboth?  Is it, “The Lord forbid”?  Will you tell a man, “There is no God but one.” (1 Cor. 8:4)  “No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn. 14:6)  “The Lord forbid that I should give up the inheritance of my fathers.”

You don’t have to give up your conviction, says the old evil vineyard buyer.  Just tone it down.  Don’t get rid of Jesus.  Just leave him at home when you go to college or the office party or the polls.  Pray to him at church and home but omit him at political rallies and commencement exercises.  What do you say?  No.  “The Lord forbid,” says Naboth.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works,” says one of our fathers, the Apostle Paul.  (Eph. 2:8-9)  You have no vineyard that Satan would rather get his hands on than this, your trust “that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Rom. 3:28)  This conviction, so much a part of the inheritance from our fathers, has been deeded away by large portions of the Christian Church, until the Naboths, who boldly say no, are a distinct minority today.

I get concerned about the cracks in the dike.  The Great Wall of China was a gigantic, expensive means of security.  Within its first few years after completion it was breached three times by the enemy, not by breaking down the wall, but by bribing the gatekeepers.  The convictions we have inherited from our fathers, the worship of the one true God, the life that lives and moves and has its being 24-hours-a-day in Jesus, the faith that centers in what Christ has done for us and not what we have done for Him or men, these are to be tomorrow’s inheritance from us.  We are the keepers of those gates through which these prized convictions pass from yesterday into tomorrow.  What if the gatekeepers sell?  What happens if you give up the inheritance?  Never you say.  The Lord forbids.  I know he does.  But are you certain you are a Naboth?  Doing the will of the Father and preserving the inheritance for your family.

Today is Christian Education Sunday.  On the basis of this sermon, I lay it on your heart.  Will you keep the inheritance and pass it on to the next generation?  Only by diligent study and Christian conviction are you prepared to stand with Naboth.  Through the Holy Spirit the study of the Word of God helps you to preserve the inheritance.  I should point out that this Good Shepherd Lutheran congregation will remain strong and not sell out to the prince of this world as we train ourselves and our young in the faith.

How many Naboths are among us to say, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”      Amen.

Sermon Text for Sunday, September 2, 2018

September 2, 2018                                                                Text:  Ephesians 6:10-20

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

One of my favorite commentators of all-time was Paul Harvey who died in 2009.  Back in 1964 he gave a radio commentary entitled, “If I Were The Devil.”  Here is just a portion of that.  “I would evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, then from the Houses of Congress.  Then in his own churches I’d substitute psychology for religion and deify science.  If I were Satan I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.  If I were Satan I’d just keep doing what I’m doing.”

We face many struggles in our life from “Is my paycheck big enough for these expenses?”  “Do we have enough health insurance?”  “Can the family get along?”  Add to that cancer that invades your life, depression that you keep hidden and guilt that you just can’t seem to shake.  Life is a struggle in this fallen world.

Those struggles are hard but we face an even greater struggle when we see evil on the loose in our world.  Is the devil having his way?  At times we think he is.  Paul describes this tug-o-war as a wrestling match.  Satan and the Lord going at it for your soul.  Place your bets…you know who wins.

“THE STRENGTH OF THE LORD PREVAILS”

We know the outcome so should we just end the sermon there?  It is not quite that simple and we need some guidance while living the struggle.

Satan is wily and crafty.  He is so proficient in his attacks on us that we hardly notice when we are led astray.  Peter calls him a “roaring lion.”  Jesus describes him as “the father of lies.”  What is Satan telling you?  What path of destruction would he like you to walk down?  How can we battle back?

We first admit that we don’t have the strength or the moves to get out of Satan’s headlock.  We are easy prey as we stumble into his trap of selfishness and greed.  We are not equipped for such brutality as he flings us off the ropes.  We need to be strengthened in the Lord in order to face the devil’s wiles day by day.

While Jesus came in humility and weakness, he alone is our refuge and strength.  He conquered sin by keeping the law perfectly.  He buried death by his death and resurrection.  God’s Son came to crush the head of Satan.

Even in a world of coexist bumper stickers and intolerant demands for tolerance, we can stand for and by the truth of God’s Word.  We put on Jesus Christ in our baptism.  The full armor of God was given in the one garment through the water and the Word.  We are clothed in Christ and He wrestles for us so that we might be saved.

August 14, 1945 marked the end of World War II as Japan surrendered to the United States.  There was one problem.  No one told Hiroo Onada.  When they did tell him, he didn’t believe them.  Hiroo Onada was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Japanese Army.  He was stationed in the Philippines and his orders were to fight until the end.  When Japan surrendered there were only four survivors in his unit.  They kept fighting because they thought it was American propaganda.  One soldier was killed, two surrendered but Onada kept up the battle.  It wasn’t until his brother and commanding officer went to the Philippines and they convinced him the war was over.  That was in 1974 – 29 years after the Japanese had lost the war!

Satan continues the fight.  He will not be convinced otherwise, like Hiroo Onada eventually was.  His attacks will become more and more desperate as we get closer to the Lord’s return.  He is seeking to destroy as many of God’s saints as he can.  Satan will continue to work in our courthouses and schoolhouses and state houses and our houses.

The wonderful Gospel I share with you today is that when Christ Jesus emerged from the tomb on that first Easter morn, He had triumphed over sin, and death, and the devil.  The Valiant one has won the war.  Be strengthened by Word and Sacrament.  Be strengthened through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Be strengthened through prayer.  We are strengthened to stand firm to the end.  All because our strength is not found in our knowledge, our effort, or even our faith, but in Christ alone.

Amen.