Sermon Texts

August 5, 2018                                                                            Text:  Exodus 16:2-15

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

All right people of Israel, what are you going to do next?  You’ve been enslaved in Egypt for 430 years.  You heard Moses cry to the Lord, “Let my people go!”  Pharaoh has told you over and over no.

People of Israel, what are you going to do next?  You’ve seen the plagues from hail destroying to frogs inhabiting.  You’ve heard the wailing throughout the night as the firstborn died.

So, people of Israel, what are you going to do next?  You’ve followed the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.  You’ve walked on dry ground with the wall of water to the right and to the left.  You’ve seen the Egyptians who pursued you swept into the sea.  So, people of Israel, what are you going to do next?

They are going to . . . grumble!  “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (v. 3)  Grumble, grumble, grumble.  Moses and Aaron have to be thinking, “You bunch of whiners!”  The Lord heard the grumbling too.

Of course, you don’t grumble.  No, never you.  But you do!  You grumble when the price of gas is too high.  You grumble when it rains too little.  You grumble when it rains too much.  You grumble when your spouse won’t have sex on a regular basis or when they won’t listen to you.  You grumble when your kid won’t pick up their room.  You grumble at the four-way stop when the person whose turn it is won’t go.  You grumble when you are bored and you grumble when you are too busy.  I could stand in this pulpit all day with this little exercise.  Shall I go on?  Goldilocks, hello.  Our porridge is too hot.  Our porridge is too cold.  We would make wonderful Israelites, wouldn’t we?

So, what does the Lord do with these ungrateful complainers?  “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you.” (v. 4)  Later in the chapter, “When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another.  ‘What is it?’  For they did not know what it was.  And Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.’” (vs. 14-15)  Feeling a little sheepish about your grumbling?

“OUR GOD RAINS . . . FOR YOU!”

Would you look out the window?  Why, it’s raining…pitchforks!  Never heard that one.  Why, it’s raining…stair rods!  Never heard that either.  Why, it’s raining cats and dogs!  Ahhhh…I’ve heard that one Pastor.

In the early 1700s, Jonathan Swift published a satire in which one of the characters fears that it’ll rain cats and dogs.  We don’t know the origin.  We do know that the other phrases – pitchforks and stair rods were popular at the time.

Wherever it comes from, we do know the meaning.  The rain is really coming down.  The Lord used an equally strange line:  “It’s going to rain bread.”  I wouldn’t mind hearing that from the Lord, how about you?  Any chance of cinnamon and sugar on a loaf?  See, we still want it our way.  Israelites, we are right there with you!

Not only did the Lord provide the Israelites with bread he made it a meal by covering the camp in quail.  God provides so much from the skies above.

God brought angels who filled the skies and proclaimed, “Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Lk. 2:10-11)

God commands the skies there on Calvary’s hill.  “It was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light had failed.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Then Jesus calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’  And having said this he breathed his last.  Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, ‘Surely he was the Son of God!’” (Lk. 23:44-47)

God commands the skies above.  As the darkness lifted from the skies, the morning of the third day, the women went to the tomb and found it empty.  “Why are you looking here?  Jesus is among the living!” (Lk. 24:1,5)

God commands the skies above.  Our God rains . . . for you.  He still rains down daily bread in spite of our grumbling.  He rains down clothing and a place to live.  He gives us money and possessions.  He blesses us with spouses and children.  In spite of our grumbling . . . good government and faithful rulers and good weather and peace and health and friends and neighbors.

Even more than that, He gives us the Bread, the Bread of life, the Bread “who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (Jn. 6:33)  He gives us Jesus.  So see, you have nothing to grumble about, for God says, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you.”

Amen.

July 29, 2018                                                                          Text:  Ephesians 3:14-21

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Whenever we know someone who is going through difficult times we may something like, “You are in my prayers” or “I’ll be praying for you.”  We have probably had a Christian brother or sister say this to us.  But what about those folks who say this to us, “you are in my thoughts.”  Does that help you at all?  Do they have any power to change things?  Of course not.  Does their thought make the chemo easier?  Does it make your trip feel safer?  Can it change the challenge with your children?  Does it give you the words to talk to the obnoxious co-worker?  Their thoughts are really meaningless.  We need more.

This section of Scripture, which is our text for today, is entitled “Prayer for Spiritual Strength” in my Bible.  Isn’t that something we all need?  Where can you use added strength from our Lord in your life?  Isn’t it a spiritual pick me-up when someone says to you . . .

“YOU ARE IN MY PRAYERS”

The Apostle Paul spent more time with the Ephesian congregation than any other mission church so he has great concern for their spiritual welfare.  He is telling them, “You are in my prayers.”  He prays that the Ephesians “be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts.”

The people needed to be renewed in their Christian nature so that they could battle their sinful nature.  Paul is praying that Christ would continue to dwell in them through their baptism and that they would trust in the Lord.

We need those same things in our prayers.  We battle our sinful nature.  We need the reminder that Christ is dwelling with us.  In Baptism His indwelling took root and we are his children.  Pray for one another that we can trust the Lord and His direction.  Christ brings peace, forgiveness, life, and salvation to those who are troubled by any fear or anxiety.  “You are in my prayers.”

Paul then takes it a step further.  He prays these brothers and sisters in Christ “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (vs. 18-19)

Knowledge of Christ is praised in this Letter, but the human mind cannot fully comprehend Him.  This is how sinful man always gets into trouble.  Everyone wants to figure out who the Lord is.  They think they can completely know Him.  Some think they can be Him.  Some feel He doesn’t exist even though in their argument they are proving just the opposite.  Why fight so hard against something that you say isn’t even real?  God must laugh and laugh at the foolishness of His creation sometimes.

The more important thing than knowing Christ is Christ knowing you.  There may be times in this vast world that we feel insignificant but you are important to the Savior.  It was for fallen humanity that God sent Jesus to set things right between himself, all creation, and us.  The fate of all human history reached its climax when Christ died in that little insignificant patch of land called Israel.  His love didn’t end there.  He sent missionaries throughout the world to get the word of life out.  He saw to it that faithful parents, grandparents, or friends spoke that love to generations of people.  “You are in my prayers.”

With these bold requests, does Paul exceed the limits of prayer?  Is he asking God for too much?  Should we be cautious in what we expect?  That is not how the Apostle Paul sees it when he writes, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.” (vs. 20-21)

God is not limited in how He can answer our prayers.  He is God and we need to never forget that.  We limit his help when we aren’t taking our problems to Him.  Talk to Him and tell him about that ache in your heart that won’t go away.  Bow your head and explain the help you need to get out of a tunnel where you see no light ahead.  Hit your knees and give the Lord that hurt that won’t leave your thoughts.  Then also ask your Christian brothers and sisters for their help and with it their words to you, “You Are In My Prayers.”

Amen.

 

July 1, 2018                                                                            Text:  2 Corinthians 8:1-9

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Larry Hurtado has written a book entitled, “Why On Earth Did Anyone Become A Christian In The First Three Centuries?”  These are some of the reasons he gives for not becoming a Christian back then.  Persecution.  St. Paul notes in our text, the churches of Macedonia underwent “a severe test of affliction.” We know of the martyrdoms of Stephen and James, Polycarp and Ignatius.  These weren’t just physical costs.  Early Christians encountered tensions with families and acquaintances and co-workers.  People paid a heavy price for their beliefs.

We must remember that pagan culture permeated every aspect of life from sports, social clubs, the arts, military membership, political groups, trade associations.  Hurtado writes, “Indeed, practically any formal dinner included ritual acknowledgement of deities.”  Christians were rarely asked to denounce Christ but they were expected to raise a cup to the god or gods of the day.  Failure to do so could result in social death, political banishing, and family discord.

What god or gods are we expected to raise a toast to in our day?  The god of political correctness?  You may be bad mouthed for a stand you take.  The god of money?  Who wouldn’t want the American dream?  The god of family?  What is wrong with you why don’t you have your kid in every activity known to man?  The god of celebrity?  Did you hear what so and so said on Twitter?  No, and I don’t care.  The god of “you can’t tell me what to do”?  “I can use whatever language I want.”  What other places are you expected to bow at the altar that may compromise your Christian faith?

It is enough for members of God’s family to start asking . . .

“WHY ON EARTH WOULD I WANT TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN?”

America has long been nominally Christian.  Even those who promote abortion and same-sex marriage tout their Christian credentials in doing so.  Most politicians don’t get in trouble by ending their speeches with, “God Bless you and God Bless America.”

But the landscape is changing rapidly.  Secularization has won the day, and the persecutions have begun.  Early Christians were tempted to offer a toast to the pagan deity.  If you did this you could expect upward mobility and a higher social status.  Are our own challenges any different?

In almost every profession and walk of life, Christians are being challenged on their biblical view of marriage and their truthful stand on the LGBT agenda.  Being a member of a certain orthodox church these days could carry a stigma.  The Christian gets labeled a “hater” if they don’t fall in line.  Christians already are being fined and even some are driven from their business.  Sportscasters have been taken off the air, judges off of their benches.  Day by day we are learning that Christianity comes with a cost, sometimes financial or social.

I was recently asked a similar question by someone outside our church who wanted to know if my position as Pastor ever had someone berating me for a biblical position when I am out in the community.  I said no.  But I also am aware, as some have stated in our Adult Bible Class that you are expected to toe the politically correct company line.  Certain freedoms you should have are being taken away.  We don’t live on either coast but how long before the vice grip entangles us?  “Why on earth would I want to become a Christian?”

Our text gives us the answer – verse 9.  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”

In the early church they became Christians because Christians preached a loving God.  They became Christians and remained Christian because the church spoke about eternal life.  These brothers and sisters had hope.  Indeed, the troubles of this present time pale in comparison to the joys of the life to come.

We find love in the person of Jesus Christ.  In the crucifixion of Jesus we find the deepest problems of humanity and sin and isolation.  He overcame all of these for us.  God sacrificed his Son so that we could be forgiven and have a future home in heaven that lasts forever.  The early Christians knew the persecutions were temporary.  We too know that we will be taken from this vale of tears and live in perfection for eternity.

Doesn’t that keep us going?  God is in control.  God as Creator sees our world and his plans and his timing for world events come to pass with his knowledge and foresight.  Satan has his victories no doubt, but our Lord has won the war between good and evil.  By becoming poor through Christ he has made you and I rich.  Rich in grace.  Rich in love.  Rich in Christian fellowship.  Rich in trust.  Rich in hope.  Rich in the Lord’s strength.  We can stand boldly because God’s Word is truth.  He promises that.

So, how will you respond?  Will your keep your mouth shut, or will you speak the truth?  How will we navigate these waters if the persecutions hit our pocketbooks, our social status, and our reputations?  Will we remain faithful, or offer that toast to the gods?

The early church grew exponentially as the Christians remained faithful.  We don’t know the future but we do know that our Lord holds the future.  “Why on earth would I want to become a Christian?”  Because God loves me through Jesus Christ.  I am forgiven and I have hope.  Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ Jesus my Lord.

Amen.

June 24, 2018 – Nativity of St. John the Baptist                                        Luke 1:57-80

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Do you ever find it hard to hear good news?  Some of you may be saying, “Never, I always enjoy hearing good news.”  As your Pastor, I beg to differ.  In ministry I see this all the time.  We all live in our little cocoons.  What I mean is that we are most concerned with what is immediate to us.  I may have a day where I talk with let’s say three individuals or families and the focus is almost always on their problems.  The spouse has cancer.  Divorce proceedings are going forward.  Your child has gotten in trouble again.  The job you need is not coming.  How are you going to pay for two kids in college?  The care of the elderly parents is not going away.  I may share some good news about the church or your life or my life but you don’t hear it.  The anxieties of life crowd so closely and speak so loudly that any messenger of joy is easily drowned out in the mind.

For this reason, it is good to give God thanks when he sends someone, anyone to prepare us for hearing good news.  God knows that we are not always ready to listen, and so He comes to prepare our hearts and minds even before He speaks.

This morning in celebrating the Nativity of St. John the Baptist we give thanks for . . .

“GOD’S GRACIOUS VISITATION”

Most of us know a little bit about John because two of the four Sundays in Advent speak of him.  Wilderness dweller.  Animal skin wearer.  Sitting down to locusts and wild honey.  Baptized by Jesus.  Imprisoned by Herod.  His head ended up a party favor on a platter.  John can be remembered for all these things but today the Church calls attention to his birth.  Why?

At John’s birth, we see how God would like him to be remembered.  “You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.” (v. 76)  John was sent ahead of Jesus to prepare the people for God’s gracious visitation.

His birth caused quite a stir.  His father Zechariah gives a grand overview of God’s work of salvation and then he speaks of John’s birth.  He tied the two events together into a much larger story.  Do you think he was passing out cigars as he told the people about his son just born?

We could remember John the Baptist for his travelogue in the wilderness or his many ways to fix bugs and bee nectar but then we miss who God sent him to be.  He came to announce to the people that the Savior of the world was coming.  John awakens people to their sin.  Those who listen end up entering the River Jordan and come out standing on the other side.  Wet with the waters of repentance, they wait.  Then, and only then, are they ready to see Jesus.

When you come to Jesus as a lost and forsaken sinner, only then will you see who he truly is:  your Savior.  Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn. 1:29)  He dies on the cross to forgive your sin and rises from the dead to bring eternal life to you.

The world is so blind to the working of God.  John had to be sent.  God is so gracious to people that He gives them chance after chance to repent of their wrongdoing and come to a knowledge of the truth so that all mankind might experience His work of salvation.  We give thanks this day that John was the instrument the Lord used for this purpose before the coming of the Son of God.

God’s ministry through John is not over.  Someone is still standing on the edge of where Jesus is present, letting you know of God’s gracious invitation.

The child brought to the saving waters of baptism at two weeks old.  The parents are messengers, preparing him or her for God’s gracious visitation.  The parents have chosen sponsors who will be messengers throughout this child’s life.  Around the font we see the circle of God’s people sent to prepare one child for God’s gracious visitation.

Consider our congregation this day hearing God’s Word, singing his praises, praying for one another, strengthened by the sacrament.  We are awakened to God’s gracious visitation as we leave here in the cocoon of our situations knowing that they will not overwhelm us.  We have forgiveness.  We have mercy.  We have God-given strength to face the days ahead.  Isn’t it nice to know you have the support and prayers of this body of Christ?  Thanks be to God!

In many ways God has prepared us for his gracious visitation.  Zechariah’s song becomes our own, a faithful way for us still today to offer praise.  “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for has visited and redeemed his people.” (v. 68)

Amen.

June 17, 2018                                                                        Text:  2 Corinthians 5:1-10

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

I am a tent dweller.  Yes, it’s true.  This young man in front of you, you still see me that way, don’t you? Dwelt in a tent on family vacations from ages 5-15.  I’ve slept in a tent from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to Los Angeles, California.  From the north woods of Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.  The son of Doug and Pat Lueck laid his head somewhere different every night as we traversed the continental United States.

Have you been a tent dweller?  Do you have stories like mine?  Coleman lantern for light, walk to your shower, pancakes on the Coleman stove in the morning.  Tent put up, tent put down and on to the next town.  Even if you have not had these experiences you are still a tent dweller.  You are dwelling in one right now.  This place is not your permanent home.  This is a temporary dwelling.  You may be laying your head in the same place every night but at some point that will end.  So how do you see yourself?

“TENT DWELLER OR MANSION RESIDENT?”

Someday you are going to be a resident of that eternal mansion through faith in Christ as Savior and Lord but until then, well…”For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling.” (v. 2) Yes, we want to move out of the tent and into the permanent mansion that waits.  But there’s a catch.  Not everyone gets a glorious, eternal, permanent dwelling.  Paul says, “If indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.” (v. 3)  You see, in eternity we will all receive what is due:  either a permanent heavenly dwelling, our bodies glorified, or our bodies stripped bare of any heavenly glory.  Some will be found naked.

Paul continues:  “For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened – not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” (v. 4)  In the temporary dwelling of our body we groan from the weight and burden of sin.  It weighs us down, ages our bodies, slows our step, creaks our bones, wrinkles our skin, sags our dwelling.

When we move into our permanent heavenly dwelling, the temporary tent in which we groan is not stripped away.  Rather, it is further clothed; it is upgraded and perfected.  It is swallowed up by life – eternal life, immortal life.

So why, in eternity, will some be found naked and others will be further clothed?  Because we all must appear before the judgment seat.  We will either receive a key to the glorious mansion or we will be left naked.

Does that mean that in order to inherit the heavenly mansion we must do good in the body?  Are we really judged and awarded by what we do?  How do we know, on our personal scale of justice, the good things we’ve done outweigh the sinful things?

What about unintentional sins?  Remember saying something without thinking and hurting someone?  They don’t count, do they?  It wasn’t intentional.

What about neglecting someone who needed help?  You ignored it.  Does that count as something bad in the body?  Hey, we’re fooling ourselves.  The answer is we can never do enough good in the body to receive the glorious heavenly dwelling.  We all fall short of the glory of God.  So then how can we receive it?

Paul gives the answer.  “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” (v. 5)  Left to our own, we cannot do good things.  Christ has done it by taking our sin, our evil deeds, into his body.  He conquered our sin on the cross within his body.  All that is left for us is our good deeds, which are done through the Spirit as a guarantee.

“So we are always of good courage.  We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (v. 6-7)  In faith we see that Christ takes all our sins of hurtful words and neglect away through His death and resurrection.  In faith we see that heavenly dwelling waiting for us.

By about age 15 I was getting a little tired of camping.  I wanted a hotel room.  Cable TV, indoor pool, no critter noises at night.  Then the Lord intervened.  We were camping somewhere in the southeast and had a large rain one night.  The roof of the tent must have had a leak because my sister woke up all red.  She was in a red sleeping bag and the rain had dripped on her.  Some of our clothes and camping gear also got wet.  The next night we were going to be in Atlanta, Georgia.  My parents came to their senses and we found a hotel room – it was the heavenly mansion I had been waiting for.  Tenting since then has been less than ten times.

I look at the heavenly mansion waiting for me the same way.  Rain is going to fall, things are going to wet and uncomfortable, but the dwelling is only temporary.  We dwell in our tent, but that is all we do.  Our heavenly home is where we make our eternal residence.  For me it is a hotel room in Atlanta, Georgia.  What is it for you?

Live in the assurance – of good courage, Paul says – that this temporary dwelling, in which we groan, will be replaced by an eternal heavenly dwelling.  It will be!  See you there.

Amen.

May 27, 2018                                                                                                 Isaiah 6:1-8

Dear Friends in Christ,

Many of you know I enjoy the study of people, especially groups of people.  One such group is the mafia.  I watch all the shows on cable about Luciano, Gotti, Arcado, Gianncana, and Anastasia.  If you testify against these types of men you need to be protected and starting in 1970 the government came up with a program – The Federal Witness Protection Program.  They change your address, your occupation, your name and anything else that might identify you.  You hide from who you used to be.  You testify in court and then you clam up – to stay alive.

The Lord in our text was looking for someone just as bold.  But this job description did not include hiding from your witness.  It would include calling out a whole nation.  It would take a prophet.

How about you?  How bold are you?  Are you prepared to confront the idolaters of our nation?  Do you recognize your sinful shortcomings?  Do you want to go in hiding?

“ARE YOU IN THE WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM?”

The text begins, “In the year that King Uzziah died.”  2 Chronicles 26 gives us a glimpse of this king.  He ruled for 52 years.  During his reign the economy blossomed.  Unemployment and taxes were low.  Military victories happened.  Judah was experiencing good times.  “Ain’t we lucky we got ‘em – good times!”  All this though led to a lowering of moral standards.  After Uzziah died, the Assyrian threat made the future look bleak.

Any of this sound familiar?  Our economy is on the upswing.  Unemployment is low and certain taxes are declining.  But what about our moral standards?  Drugs being legalized.  Values being questioned.  Marriage being flushed down the sewer of post-modern relativism.  Safe zones being created while young people get shot in the school library.

Isaiah knew that in spite of the problems God was still in charge.  He saw the Lord sitting on His throne.  God is still on his throne.  He is directing the course of the world in His own wise way.

Isaiah’s vision was part of the Lord’s plan.  God was going to need a witness but He didn’t need a self-righteous one.  Seeing God’s majesty and hearing the worship offered by the angels Isaiah was overwhelmed by his own sinfulness.  He responded by confessing his sins and the sins of his nation.

In our culture most of us see ourselves as individuals but Isaiah’s confession reflects the more scriptural view of society.  We belong to one another.  Each of us contributes to the whole.  We retain individual responsibility for the direction of our own lives, but we also share jointly in the responsibility for the direction our society takes.

God provided the cleansing for Isaiah.  His unclean lips were atoned for and his guilt taken away.  He was ready to enter the Lord’s witness protection program.

Before our commission we too stand before the Lord with unclean lips and hearts and actions.  Isaiah felt he would die from his encounter with the Lord.  Do your sins ever do that to you?  We come face to face with our guilt and know there is no way to pay the penalty?  And we don’t have to.  Through Jesus God provides our forgiveness.  He baptizes us through the Holy Spirit.  Through the Word of the Gospel, which tells us everything Christ has done, we are cleansed from our unclean lips.  Through faith created by the Spirit working through Word and Sacrament, we trust that forgiveness and salvation.  Now – can I get a witness?!

The Lord got one.  He became the most quoted Old Testament writer in the New Testament.  He declared God’s judgment and the promise of his salvation – the coming Savior.  To hear and respond to this message is what Isaiah’s world needed.  His assignment would not be easy.  He would name names.  He would confront.  After a while, people would cross the street when they saw him coming.  Eventually, if tradition tells the truth, his own people would saw him in half.

Can our world – get your witness?  Hiding behind a new identity is not an option.  You are a Christian – a follower of the Savior, clothed in His righteousness.  Will you love and chastise?  Confront and forgive?  The idolatry is so immense and the task difficult but remember the Lord is in charge of your protection.  He may not be asking you to preach like Peter in our Acts reading this morning, but He is encouraging your witness.  He asks you to scatter seed in your speaking of the Good News.  The Word will create the faith.  Jesus is on stage even as the Holy Spirit is behind the scenes making it happen.  He’s in the rafters, putting the spotlight on Jesus.

May we too – in our lives and conversations – remain focused on Christ, proclaiming the simple, beautiful news of His birth, death, and resurrection.

Here am I, send me, send me!

Amen.