Sermon Texts

December 29, 2019                                                                     Text:  Matthew 2:13-23

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Toni needs your prayers.  For those of you visiting Toni is my wife.  I am a planner.  I come from a lineage of planners.  I do not like it when things don’t according to plan especially when I vacation.

            After last year’s winter, I know it is hard to remember it after this week of beautiful weather, I told Tone that this winter we needed to go south for my mental health.  What was especially hard last winter was all the ice/snow we got on Sunday mornings.  I knew coming into this January/February time period I would need a break.  Other than the week we are going we are not making plans, yea, it’s true.  We are going to drive where it is warm.  We don’t know where we will lodge.  We don’t know what activities are on the agenda.  We do know we are going together and it will be south of here even if North Dakota hits 80 degrees that week.  Thank you in advance for your intercessions.

            Joseph and Mary had plans.  After the visit of the wise men, they planned to return home to Nazareth.  The Lord sends a dream and the plans change.  Will it be for their good?  Let’s travel along and see if God knows what He is doing.

“ACCORDING TO PLAN”

            The plan as revealed in a dream is for Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus to travel to Egypt, which is 175 miles southwest of Jerusalem.  Instead of heading north to Nazareth they are sent another direction.  This is no small change.  Going this far on foot is going to take days and weeks.  What is the reason, Lord?

            According to plan God has a reason – Herod is searching for the child to destroy him.  They need to get out of his jurisdiction.  They need to get to safety.

            Have you ever had to go miles out of your way?  I don’t like to go one exit out of my way, how about you?  How about in your life?  Does the Lord ever send you down a road you had no plan to go down?  A job shift.  An unexpected birth.  The death of someone close you didn’t see coming.  A diagnosis that ruins your plans?

            Herod’s plans changed when he heard from the wise men about Jesus.  His rage got the best of him and he knew Jesus had to die.  The thing is Herod was right but not according to his plan.  Jesus had to die but not because Herod willed it or because of a schedule Herod made.  It wasn’t until the fullness of time that it all happened.  It was God’s time.  It was God’s plan.  He had to die because of our fear when things don’t go the way we want.  He had to die when we suffer anxiety because our plans get messed up.  He had to die because of our unbelief when life goes off in a direction we just can’t comprehend.  Our lack of trust in God’s plan can lead us to some dark places.  Go to Egypt, come on Lord!

            Joseph trusted.  Joseph trusted the Lord.  Joseph trusted the plan.  The text is hard to read when we know of all the male children who were killed.  That was also part of the plan, even if we don’t understand it.  Why Lord?  Why let those young men die? 

            The blame does not fall on God.  Herod caused the anguish and death.  God was there.  God saw what happened.  In the midst of Herod’s wickedness the Lord was working on his plan of salvation for the world.  God is not the author of evil – man is – but God is always working to turn what is meant for evil into good.

            According to plan, the family makes it to Egypt.  According to plan, they eventually end up back in Nazareth.  According to plan, Jesus was saved because of God’s intervention. 

            We too are saved by God’s intervention.  His intervention led Jesus to the cross.  He allowed Jesus to die so that you and I might live.  His intervention led to a glorious resurrection.  His intervention has given us a plan for salvation.  His intervention has given us faith and an eternal future.  God is still active in human history.  He continues to lead babies and adults to the safety of His church through Holy Baptism.  He continues to feed and nourish His Church with His Holy Word and with the precious body and blood of His Son.  He continues to announce and give His forgiveness to all who confess their sins and seek His mercy.

            We do not always know where God is leading us, but we can be sure that He will be with us and His plans are for our good.  When Karson was 1 ½ we vacationed with my family on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.  Remember again it is in the Lueck genes to plan.  We did.  We planned to take a day trip with my parents up the coast to Maine.  Seeing a part of the country we had not been to.  That night, Karson cried the whole evening.  In the morning, we had to take him to the doctor.  He had an ear infection.  After a dose or two of antibiotics, he was fine, but there would be no trip to Maine.  Plans changed.  We decided instead to spend the afternoon on Martha’s Vineyard. We had a glorious rest of our day.  We enjoyed the island and you couldn’t even tell that K-man had been sick.

            Lesson learned.  According to plan, we must be ready for things to change.  Why can we be so confident?  Because the one leading the way has given us the promise.  His plan of salvation through Jesus always gives us hope and direction.  May we all see daily where the Lord is leading us – according to plan.

                                                                                                                        Amen.

December 22, 2019                                                                   Text:  Matthew 1:18-25

Dear Friends in Christ,

            In Adult Bible Class we are doing a study on Joseph – the stepfather of Jesus.  I challenged the class to find hymns/songs that speak of Joseph.  In our hymnal you won’t find him in any of our Christmas hymns.  He does have a verse on saints in LSB #517.  There are a few songs on the Internet and one member e-mailed a song entitled, “It Wasn’t His Child.”  It has this line, “It wasn’t his child it was God’s child.”

            We don’t sing hymns about Joseph and there are no postage stamps of him holding the Christ child.  But Matthew begins the Christmas story with a Joseph problem.  What is he going to do about a wife carrying another man’s child?  Joseph is just living life and boom, in an instant, things change.  Have you had a Joseph moment?  Are you living a Joseph moment?  We are going to need some help here . . .

“THE CHRISTMAS PRESENCE OF GOD”

            Joseph and Mary are betrothed to each other.  It is like an engagement but in their cultural times it is different from ours.  P.E. Kretzmann explains:  “As a rule some time elapsed before a betrothed virgin was formally given in marriage and taken to her husband’s house…During this time (living together) did not take place, though the marriage contract was legal and binding…(Mary’s) situation was not only delicate, but the most distressing and humiliating which could fall to the lot of a pure maiden.  Knowing herself to be innocent of even the slightest transgression in deed, and fully convinced of the fact that her condition was due only to the supernatural working of the Holy Ghost, she nevertheless could expect no one to believe her defense, should she attempt one.”

            Then there is Joseph “being a just man” he wanted to divorce her quietly.  Keep it out of the papers and the town gossip.  He wished no harm on Mary.

            His wife is pregnant and he’s not the father.  This is a tough moment in his life.  And get this:  God designs all of it.  This is the Christmas presence of God.  He is in the womb of Mary.  Who in the world is going to believe this?

            Such a sweet and tender story, unless you are the one living it.  We know the outcome and so did God – before it happened.  It is the presence of God for the hard moments.

            Are you having a hard moment?  Or, is it moments?  They are part of the tapestry of living in a sinful world.  In spite of our optimism we travel from one difficulty to another – or so it seems.  Anyone here not have life push you up against a wall and maybe bash your head a time or two?

            Jesus told us, “In the world you will have trouble.” (Jn. 16:33)  Paul and Barnabas assured us, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22b)  Troubles…hardships…who wants to dwell on those?

            George Orwell observed, “Men can be happy only when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.”  If being happy all the time is your goal in this world you are due for a crash.  Everything is fleeting.

            Why?  Because of our sin.  You and I have a terrible inability to live as God designed us to live – in perfect harmony with Him.  There is no “utopia” out there even as man continues his search.  Joseph must have felt this, do you?

            Look at the Christmas presence of God for Joseph.  He comes to him in a dream and tells him to take Mary home as his wife and she will give birth to a son and God gives him the name – Jesus.  This is the big reveal party.  It’s a boy and I’ve got his name.  Talk about the Christmas presence of God.  This child is going to save people from their sins.  The Presence of God enters this fallen and self-destructing world in the person and work of God’s only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He was made sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God.  Mary had this presence.  Joseph had this presence and did as the angel of the Lord commanded.  For legal purposes Jesus was Joseph’s son.  He would have other children and with the loving presence of God he would be a wonderful parent.  It all started here when it all looked so dark and dreary.

            When we have hard moments sometimes all we see are dark and dreary.  The future is cloudy.  What now Lord?  First, he forgives our sins and our doubts about His care.  He is there, even if we don’t always see Him.  To be forgiven gives us comfort as we hear the Word and partake of the Holy Sacrament.  The hard moments are only temporary.  You know as well as I do we don’t stay there forever.  An eternal home awaits where our eyes can see the presence of God.  Look the Lord.  I’m home!

            You may receive some wonderful gifts this Christmas – hey, look new underwear – but no matter how grand and glorious, even if it’s parked in the garage, nothing compares to the greatest present.  It is something with you every waking moment of your life – THE CHRISTMAS PRESENCE OF GOD.

                                                                                                            AMEN.

December 15, 2019                                                                          Text:  Isaiah 35:1-10

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Most of us have had the opportunity to see the country of Iraq as we have watched footage of war and violence.  The country is mostly barren desert.  You get a few splashes of green by the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers but Iraq is mostly dry, desolate wilderness.  It hasn’t always been that way.  The Tigris and Euphrates once flowed out of the Garden of Eden.   Paradise probably once flourished where Iraq now sits.  But Adam and Eve were driven out by their sin and the great flood showed God’s judgment and changed the landscape.

            Today the prophet Isaiah will take the lead as we see how . . .

“GOD RESTORES OUR RUINED WORLD WITH NEW LIFE”

            There is trouble in our text.  This wasn’t how Judah’s world was supposed to be.  Israel was a ruinous desert and the streets of Jerusalem were deserted.  Their world was ruined because of their sin.  They kept worshipping false prophets and they weren’t listening to the prophets, including Isaiah.  The destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC was violent and devastating.  The Jews were banished from the land because of sinful behavior.

            We too have trouble in our world.  Pollution and natural disasters indicate a world in decay.  Blindness and deafness and birth defects affect the quality of life for many.  Cancer and heart disease and chronic pain further indicate the fallen world we inhabit.  Add to this our “living for pleasure and power” over the peace and forgiveness of Jesus and we are in the middle of a mess.

            The ruin of our world is judgment on our sin.  From the time Adam and Eve knew better than God, creation has broken down.  Banished from the Lord’s sight.  Death and decay all around.

            But God restores our ruined world with new life.  God brought renewal for the people of Judah.  The wilderness and wasteland would blossom and rejoice with streams of water and new growth.  “They shall see the glory of the Lord.”  The blind will see, the ears of the deaf will be opened and the lame will leap like a deer.  These promises were fulfilled in Christ’s coming.

            This new life was a sign of God’s forgiveness and presence in their world.  God would come to save his people when Jesus suffered the vengeance of God for all the sins of all the people.  Instead of casting them out, He would come in strength to take away their fears.  The exiles would return on the “Way of Holiness.”  The ransomed and redeemed would return.

            God will restore our ruined world with new life.  When Jesus returns on the last day God will make a new heaven and a new earth.  A river of life will spring forth from the throne of the Lamb.  The life-giving waters of Holy Baptism are turning us into new men and women, forgiven, and redeemed by the blood of Jesus.  There will be no more death, disease, or pain in the renewed earth.

            This new life is a sign of God’s forgiveness and eternal presence in Christ.  The Lord will wipe every tear from our eyes.  We will enter the heavenly Jerusalem and walk the streets of gold.  Christians from all nations will enter the city whose gates are never shut.

            Most of us have seen a sports movie or two in our days.  What is the one thing they all have in common?  The pep talk.  Whether The Rookie or Hoosiers or Facing the Giants or The Mighty Ducks.  The team is losing and down in the dumps and here comes the coach or a father or even a girlfriend and they give some inspiring talk about courage and not giving up.  Then it happens.  The comeback, the determination seemingly out of nowhere and the sweet, sweet victory.  The underdogs win and somebody gets carried from the field or basketball court.

            Do you ever wish that could be your life?  Your world is up and then it’s down and you don’t want to face the next day.  But wait, here comes someone, yes, I believe it is your life pep talker.  Give it to me, pep talker!  And they do.  You are so inspired you that you ace that test you dreaded, you impress your co-workers with your jaw-dropping presentation or you throw your walker away and start skipping down the hallway.  Is it all a movie?

            The reality is we have a God who comes alongside us when the odds are against us, and by the power of His Word he gives us the strength and courage to keep going in life.  God gave this pep talk to the Jewish exiles in our text.  And it is the best kind of pep talk, because he is not telling them what they can do, how they can “win one for the Gipper.”  He is telling them what He will do for them.  It is the same message we hear today:  “Be strong; fear not…your God…will come and save you.” (v. 4)   The desert is restored and the world is renewed with new life.

                                                                                                                                    Amen.      

December 8, 2019                                                                           Text:  Isaiah 11:1-10

Dear Friends in Christ,

            When you are a fan of the University of Illinois football you expect defeat rather than victory.  Coming into this season you just wanted see some competitive gridiron action.  Earlier in the season they stood at 2 wins and 3 losses but I told Karson I felt good about their chances against Michigan because they usually play Michigan well even if they don’t win.  Well, they lost.  The next game on the schedule was Wisconsin.  They were undefeated and ranked #6 in the nation.  In their history Illinois is not competitive with Wisconsin.  That week I told Karson this, “Illinois has zero chance of winning this Saturday.  None.”  For most of the three hours on that Saturday it looked like my prediction would ring true.  Then plays start happening that you can’t explain.  I still have the game on DVR if you want to come over and see.  On the last play of the game Illinois kicked a field goal and beat the cheeseheads from the north.  The improbable, no the impossible happened.  They went on to win three more games and today will find out what bowl they will go to.

            Friends, I have witnessed the impossible – remember I am a lifelong Cubs fan.  One night in Cleveland changed lives and a franchise.  The improbable, no the impossible happened.  It is improbable this sermon will go past ten minutes, but remember it’s not impossible.  I wonder how long I would have to preach before one of you would stand up and shout, “He’s either sick or out of his mind!”  Mmm . . . I wonder if I should try it someday.  Improbable, but not impossible.

            Come on along as together we see that . . .

“THE IMPROBABLE IS POSSIBLE”

            In our text from Isaiah a most improbable kingdom is described.  Wolves and lambs live together?  A child plays over the hole of a cobra?  A calf and lion together and a little child is leading them?  Improbable, impossible we say, but is it?

            What if provision were made for the improbable to happen?  God provided for the improbable and made it possible.  A shoot comes out of a seemingly dead stump.  It seemed improbable but God brought David’s kingly line out of exile and back to Jerusalem.  This kingly line found its full growth in the birth of Jesus.  He was a physical descendant of Jesse and David, the “shoot from the stump of Jesse.”  The child born in Bethlehem was improbable but God made it come to pass in history.

            In Jesus God makes provision for the most improbable act of all, making saints of sinners.  Isn’t it improbable to consider us candidates for inclusion in heaven?  We are self-righteous filthy rags.  We think that just being a confirmed Lutheran gives us a free pass to the perfection of the eternal.  John the Baptist calls us out “you brood of vipers” – we are snakes.  When will we strike with a coarse word here or a cold shoulder there?

            It may seem improbable for sinners to become saints, but it has actually happened because a loving God has made provision for the improbable.  God counts us righteous and holy through faith in Jesus.  His sacrifice on the cross changed our filthy rags to white robes of righteousness. 

            In Jesus God makes provision for his improbable kingdom to be previewed in the church.  In the Christian church God draws us together as a unified people through our Baptism into Christ.  In the church we are safe because the cross heals and mends all our wounds.  In the church God leads people of all kinds to live in harmony.  Wolf and lamb, calf and lion, cow and bear and dare I say it – cardinal and cub.  Our harmony is imperfect, we must admit, but in our unity around the cross of Christ we make a powerful witness to the world of the transforming power of the Gospel.

            The improbable promise of a future perfect kingdom gives us hope in our present troubled times.  A kingdom is coming when all will be set right.  The wicked will not prosper, the loudest voices will not rule, the misguided will not be listened to.  Until then, we hold up the Gospel for all to see.  We take the improbable body and blood of Christ, another provision of God, to live in a remarkable way – as forgiven sinners who know the path of salvation.  Is it improbable for us to live as God’s saints?  Not with God on our side – the improbable is possible.

            Well, the impossible is not going to happen today.  This sermon is going to end at its usual appointed time.  But always keep this in the back of your mind as you sit in that pew week after week – the improbable is possible.  You saw it today – thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord.

                                                                                    Amen.   

December 1, 2019                                                                                Text:  Isaiah 2:1-5

Dear Friends in Christ,

            We have all been on guided tours.  Where do you like to position yourself when on these tours?  Toni, Karson, and I just toured a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Kankakee.  There were only five of us so positioning wasn’t so important but if in a large group your position is vital to your view.

            Since we are a cross-section of human beings in this church, there are some who like to be at the front of the tour.  You can hear better, preferably see better and you like to be the lead dog.  Others of you take the middle.  You don’t want to crowd to the front but you need to be close to hear and you like that human contact.  Then some of you are like me.  You like the back of the tour.  Gives you time to linger, gives a non-crowded view and there is no jostling.  Yea, this is the view I like!

            Go ahead and position your minds where you want to be.  We are going to take a tour this morning and we can see that it’s . . .

“TIME FOR A BEATING”

            We as Christians have the best view today because we are on the Mountain of the Lord.  God promises that this mountain on the last day will be a place of supremacy.  This isn’t a spot of real estate; Isaiah is speaking of God’s dwelling with His people, the church.  On this mountain we will have a perfect view of God’s loving face that assures us of life and peace.  On this mountain will be no war or strife.  On this holy mountain will be believers from every nation who are unified around their Lord and Savior.  Yea, this is the view I like!

            Why can we be so sure that we will like the view?  Because Jesus has given sin and death a beating.  When the spear pierced Jesus’s side, it looked like Jesus was beaten.  In fact, it was Jesus who gave the beating.  He beat that spear into a pruning hook by his death on the cross, a death that pruned away all our sin.

            On Easter morning Jesus demonstrated that he had given sin, death, and Satan a beating.  Through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus we gain forgiveness and acceptance into the family of God.  Through Baptism into Jesus’ victory we have been called to our place on God’s holy mountain.

            Through faith in Jesus we now have an unobstructed view of salvation.  No sin, guilt, present hurt, or scheme of Satan will be able to block our view of God’s shining face because Jesus has given every such obstacle a beating, sharing his triumphs with all who believe in Him.

            “Let us walk in the light of the Lord.”  That is Isaiah’s admonition to us in verse 5.  That can be hard when we know the offerings on Netflix better than the Scriptures.  It can be hard when the darkness of our troubles and challenges overshadow us.  It can be hard when pain and sorrow obstruct our view of the light.  Put aside your deeds of darkness in order to walk in the light.

            Time for a beating.  What better way to walk in the light than to give people on earth a glimpse of what life will be like on God’s holy mountain.  Start now to beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks.

            What are some of the “swords and spears” we sometimes wield?  The sword of a grudge over another person.  Especially prevalent over the holidays with family we don’t see on a regular basis.  The spear of our words that cut like sharpened steel.  The weapon of deafening silence and callous indifference to those who might need our help and understanding.

            We have wielded these weapons with skill, but our skill hardly fits our status as saints.  Those of us who have seen the shining face of Jesus wish to walk on the path of his instruction.

            Thus, Advent reminds us that it’s time for a beating.  It is not time for God to beat us for our sins, oh no.  Jesus took the beating for us on Calvary.  He beat sin and death once and all for us.

            Advent instead reminds us to give a beating to our old ways of sin.  We do that by repenting of them and knowing Christ will forgive them.  With the Holy Spirit’s guidance we beat that grudge-sword into the plowshare of forgiveness.  Those spears of hurtful words turn into pruning hooks of words that build up.  Our silence and indifference show themselves in love and mercy.

            Yes, it’s time for a beating.  The beating of sin that comes by the Gospel of Jesus.  Receive that Gospel message yourself in faith.  Then put the love of Jesus to work in your life.  By the power of the cross beat down your sinful habits.  Your new tools of peace and love will give witness to the kingdom of God.  In doing so, you will call all those around you to come to God’s holy mountain, to walk in the light of the Lord, and to behold the best view of all:  Jesus and his love.  It’s time, isn’t it?  Time for a beating.

                        Amen.    

November 24, 2019                                                                      Text:  Malachi 3:13-18

Dear Friends in Christ,

            In the early editions of Lutheran Worship, what many of you know as the “blue hymnal” they made a mistake.  In the beloved Thanksgiving hymn “Come, You Thankful People, Come,” they printed that the fruitless ears Christ would store in his garner evermore.  The copy editors missed it and folks sang right on through it as if nothing were amiss.  Being fruitful in faith, or being fruitless, didn’t seem to make much difference.

            God’s people, like those in Malachi’s day, can become discouraged when it doesn’t seem to make much difference whether we are faithful to the Lord or not.  “It is vain to serve God.  What is the profit of our keeping his charge?” (v. 14)

            As we live in this world let’s find some encouragement this morning.  There is something far greater than this present world.  This moment in time and all that our eyes see is transitory and will pass away.  Only . . .

“GOD’S FUTURE IS THE REAL WORLD”

            Sometimes we think we know what is real and substantial by looking at the world around us.  The people of Israel looked around and saw that the wicked were doing just fine.  The Lord confronts them but they say, “How have we spoken against you?” (v. 13)  The Lord then rattles off their complaints – the arrogant are blessed, evildoers prosper and those who put God to the test escape.

            What do you see when you look at our real world?  Do your eyes focus on the same things?  Arrogant blessed – entertainers, sports figures, politicians, a neighbor or boss?  Evildoers prosper – the immoral people’s rights seem to be more important than the Christian, those who rebel against the church are held in high-esteem.  Even the church is at fault.  The arrogant that water down the gospel of Jesus, the wolves in sheep’s clothing just out for themselves.  Do you ever confront God with these complaints like the people in Malachi’s time?

            Some in Malachi’s time heard the Word of God and believed.  We are told, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.  The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.” (v. 16)  From the tragic mass of rebellious Israel, God called forth his faithful ones.  They saw with their eyes the same things others saw.  But they knew that the Lord had a greater reality – a reality defined not by sight but by faith.

            What about you and I?  Is the world around us all there is?  When we are called to repent, do we process it through our human experience in this world?  Or do we hear, believe, and confess to each other a more powerful reality than this world has to offer?

            We are called to faith by things misunderstood by this world though they are things of this world.  Have you heard a Pastor with his all-too-human voice say, “Your sins are forgiven?”  Have you been touched by the water of baptism?  Have you knelt at the altar and received bread and wine while fully believing they are the very body and blood of Jesus?  Then you have experienced in this world the very promise of God’s future.

            All this is based solely on the magnificent grace of God.  It was His grace that sent His Son into this world to share our humanity.  It was His grace that led Jesus to Calvary, where He, the Lamb, was slain once and for all of humanity.  It was His grace that raised Jesus on Easter morning, granting freedom and forgiveness and hope, beyond this world for all humanity.

            It will be revealed in the end.  Listen to the text, “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.” (v. 17)  We are the Lord’s treasured possessions.  Sons and daughters of a loving father.  But that is not all.  The Lord also says, “Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (v. 18)  In this world, that distinction seems blurred; in the reality of God’s future, there is no blurring for them or us.

            Last weekend we spent Sunday with a seminary classmate of mine and his family.  He Pastors a church in the Northern Illinois District.  As we are apt to do in this profession “we talked shop.”  He told me he had been at a recent Pastor’s Conference where his District President gave an update on their district.  He said it was like being at a funeral with all the bad news of churches on the verge of closing and others who were struggling.  We thanked God for the churches we serve and the hope that our Lord gives us.

            What our eyes see can be difficult to turn away from.  But we can see our future.  It is filled with the redeemed of Israel.  We will see the Blessed Son of God who redeemed us through His holy, precious blood.  We will see the new heaven and new earth as we stand in the midst of those whose robes are made white in the blood of the Lamb.  This is your future because it is God’s future.

            Our reality is greater than that granted by this poor world.  By His grace it goes beyond our eyes to what our heart believes.  Come, Lord Jesus.         Amen.