Sermon Texts

February 4, 2018                                                                   Text:  Job 7:1-7

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Have you ever had the experience of the wind being knocked out of you?  When I was a freshman running back a pass pattern was called one day in practice where I was to drag across the middle.  I ran the route but before the pass could arrive I was lit up by a sophomore linebacker.  The breath in my body was sent twenty yards down the field and that moment of panic set in where you can’t catch your breath.  I still remember that hit.

Has something similar happened to you?  Maybe not a hit in football or a hard fall to the ground but it is asthma you suffer from.  The air is restricted from getting to your lungs and you need an inhaler or nebulizer or medication.  If you have struggled to breathe or have watched someone with this condition it can cause you discomfort and an uneasy feeling.

In our text for this morning Job is literally knocked breathless.  He speaks the words we can all speak . . .

“MY LIFE IS BUT A BREATH”

The life test that Job experiences has laid him flat.  His children have all died, interestingly enough as we will see by wind that knocked down the house they were all in.  His property has been destroyed and Job has been afflicted with sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.  Job is “short of breath” as he tries to deal with what is before him.  In our text he uses words like “futility”, “night drags on”, “toss till dawn”, “clothed with worms and scabs”, “skin is broken and festering”, “an end without hope.”

What experiences in our lives may bring similar feelings?  A loved one with a terminal disease.  The loss of a job and income.  We also share experiences as a congregation.  A family that we see goes through one challenge after another.  The sudden death of a member or the death of children.  It’s a punch to the gut or running into a wall.  Breath literally leaves our body.

Even deeper than the physical wounds and tragedies is the breathlessness of our spirit.  These are the times when the people of God are gasping for breath in the temptations of this world, the hopelessness that surrounds us in our sin and guilt and the big squeeze of Satan, who is looking to knock both breath and life from our very soul.

God remembers our need while we may have our focus on our troubles.  God is not aloof in heaven.  He established a connection with us in Baptism.  In these grace-giving waters He breathed into our body and soul the life breath of eternity.  By His Spirit he enlivened our being and grew our faith.  He allows us in this life to breathe in His life, to breathe in His forgiveness, and to breathe in His Gospel.

God also remembers our need.  Look at how He interacted with Job.  In our total breathlessness He speaks to us and breathes life into our whole being.

Christ is our life-breath.  He took the breath of the air of this world into his holy and perfect lungs.  It was a stagnant, sinful, and toxic air.  The Lord of life went to the cross and exhaled life itself.  Then in His resurrection He offered to us mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to breathe forgiveness and life into our soul.

We are privileged to reside in the iron lung of our Lord God – the church – receiving in His Word and Sacraments his very breath of life.  Our Lord speaks clearly, “out with the bad and in with the good.”

Remember earlier when I mentioned Job’s children were destroyed by the wind?  There are other instances in Scripture where air and wind caused problems but have you ever thought how many times breath-wind-spirit was used in a positive God-ordained way in the Holy Bible?

The breath of life into the lifeless clay of man at creation.  The wind that brings salvation at the banks of the Red Sea.  The wind and spirit that brings life to dead bones in the vision of Ezekiel.  The Spirit breathing on the disciples as they are sent by Jesus.  The breath of divine forgiveness in a world of sin.  The Spirit-wind that rushed through the dwelling.  The apostles themselves on the first Pentecost bursting forth from the exhalation.

Job thought he would never see happiness again but that is not the case.  He was blessed with double property and joy returned as seven sons and three daughters were born.  His life like ours is but a breath.  Breathe deeply the life-breath of our Lord and Savior.  Breathe deeply, for so many want to squeeze the life from you.  Breathe deeply the breath of the almighty and life-giving God.  A risen and breathing Savior Jesus Christ, who by his Spirit has breathed into our being the breath of life for all eternity.

Amen.

January 28, 2018                                                       Text: Deuteronomy 18:15-20

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Those of us of a more vintage generation may remember the kids game Telephone.  You would sit in a circle on the floor; a person would whisper a message into the ear of the person sitting next to them.  It would go all the way around the circle.  Even if people were trying to be faithful to the first message, most of the time by the time it got to the last person it was something completely different.

In this generation it could be texting or facebook or twitter.  As the message gets passed on it changes and usually not for the better.  People embellish or change the words to fit their agenda.

In our text for today, Moses, the man God has used for the last forty years to pass along his words, is about to die.  So the question is:  whom should they listen to now?  Would the Word so faithfully passed on by Moses still be passed on faithfully to future generations, even ours?  To whom should we listen?

God gives us the answer today when He . . .

“RAISES UP A PROPHET”

As with Moses, we must listen to this prophet.  Moses warned of many false prophets – fortune telling and consulting the dead were all ways the people were seeking a word from the gods to get an advantage in life.  Today it would equate to horoscopes or Ouija boards or séances.  But it could also be the slick Pastor down the street proclaiming such false teachings as giving your heart to Jesus, accepting Jesus in your heart or believe in Jesus and you will prosper.

They may be sincere and believe what they are passing on is faithful, but either way, words not from our Lord are false and dangerous.  Do we really want to give Jesus our heart, which at times is cold and uncaring?  Scripture is clear that it is Christ who has first chosen us; we didn’t ask Him onto our hearts! (Jn. 15:16)  And the promise of prosperity.  How does that square with people struggling to pay the mortgage, keeping the heat turned on and feeding their family?

God raised up a prophet and He is Jesus.  Every Word He speaks is God’s Word.  Moses clearly had Jesus in view even though He wouldn’t come for another 1,400 years.  Jesus’ earthly ministry demonstrated that he was the very Son of God.  This morning’s Gospel is evidence of that.  Jesus spoke with such authority.

Just a few weeks ago at the Baptism of Jesus, God the Father announced that all were to listen to His Son.  We listen to Him because He is the way of salvation.  He has the words of truth.  He has the words of eternal life.  He has the Word of faith.  No other prophet but Jesus was raised up to free an entire world from sin, to proclaim eternal life to all believers.

As with Moses we can listen to this prophet.  Israel asked for God to speak to them through someone they could receive.  Jesus is God but He is also our brother.  He speaks to us gently, lovingly, in way we can hear.  He can only do that because that voice once cried out in agony on a cross.  That sacrifice reconciled us to God and we can approach Jesus.  Jesus’ words from the cross “It is finished!” are the words we most want to hear.  God raising Jesus from the dead is His Word to us that we are forgiven.  We still hear the Word today when Scripture is read, the Absolution is pronounced and we receive Christ’s body and blood at this altar.

What do you think is the most efficient item in and around your house, especially when compared to the price?  I thought about this and did the math.  We have had two dryers, two refrigerators, three hot water heaters, numerous toasters and a myriad of vehicles.  Our furniture has changed, mattresses don’t last forever.  As I stated on our 25^th wedding anniversary, we have had the same washer since we said, “I do.”  It is now at 26 ½ years.  Only one repair.  We paid $350.  If we ran it every day it would be over 9,000 days.  We probably have since children, but not before then.  Let’s say conservatively 8,000 days.  It costs us, taking the water and electricity out of the equation – 4 cents a wash.  Our freezer is even better.  We have had it for over 5,000 days at a cost of $125.  That is 2 cents a day.  But the winner at our house is the microwave.  It was a gift from my vicarage congregation back in 1990.  It sits proudly in the corner of our kitchen and still gives us a steaming bag of popcorn in three minutes.  What is your answer to this question?

Even with all of that being said, the most efficient item in our house and your house is – drum roll, please – your Bible!  Think of what those inspired words have done for you.  There is no price we can put on the reminder that our scarlet sins have been washed as pure as snow.  Every day since Genesis 1:1 the words have been there for man’s use and our use.  When things are inefficient we look to this most efficient resource.  It doesn’t stop working.  It saves.  It comforts.  It gives hope.  Everything will come and go but the Word of the Lord stands forever.

God raised up a prophet . . . Listen to Him.

Amen.

November 26, 2017                                                              Text:  Matthew 25:31-46

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Back in 2006, scientist gazed into the heavens.  A spacecraft had returned from a mission with particles of comet dust.  The scientists gazed through their microscopes hoping to discover the mystery of life.

Before science became the final court of meaning, artists were busy gazing into the heavens, creating paintings of the day of judgment when Christ would return and reveal for all people the meaning of life.

Looking at these paintings there is a common theme.  The heavens are torn apart as Christ descends on a throne and the earth is breaking apart as the dead rise from their graves.

These paintings are usually stacked with multiple faces and facades.  If you concentrate on just one face of a human being you can find on that face the look of discovery.  They are waking from sleep and beginning to discover the deeper meaning of the world, of their Lord, and of the life that once surrounded them.

Today in Matthew’s Gospel we will experience for ourselves some of that Last Day’s sense of discovery, for . . .

“JESUS REVEALS THE MYSTERIES OF ETERNAL LIFE”

In our text we have a dichotomy.  Jesus speaks to his disciples about an end, and yet his words speak about the beginning.  “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (v. 34)  Contrast that with Jesus words to the wicked, he does not say, “Inherit the punishment prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  He does say, “Depart…into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (v. 41)

God never prepared hell for human beings.  The original intent was that humanity would live in eternal fellowship with Him forever.  No one was predestined to hell.  Those who go to hell go there by their own choosing when they reject Jesus.

This is not a parable of the end of the world.  Jesus instead offers us a discovery of the world, as God intended it.  God’s original desire was for humanity to live in relationship with Him, and the day when Christ returns will be the day when God’s dreams for creation finally and fully come true.

Yes, we have rejected God’s design and fallen into sin.  This leads us to do what Michelangelo did with his Last Judgment painted on the wall of the Sistine Chapel.  He places a powerful papal critic of his work as far away from Christ as possible.  His own face is gazed upon by Christ.

Might we place our own enemies in the same place?  Not loved by Christ, how could they be?  We paint people into a corner of our own making and neither of us can escape the destruction.

Christ can wipe the canvas clean.  He can clean up our paint by numbers mess and make it a beautiful al fresco ready for the local art museum.  Christ followed God’s design and in a heart wrenching but beautiful landscape he hung on a cross for all to see.  But this painting had many layers.  Jesus made his way to the eternal fire to let Satan know that the victory over sin and death ours remaineth.  Jesus then rose and in a gorgeous garden setting and then a house and a road he made appearances to his grieving people.  He reminded them the picture in their mind was not complete.  He would rise triumphant to the heavens and the mysteries of eternal life would continue to be revealed.

In 1304 Giotto di Bondone began working on a series of frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy.  At the very back of the chapel is the largest scene, the last judgment.  The painting was done quickly, but the image they produced is eternal.  Christ returns in judgment.  The scene covers the whole wall, with those raised to eternal life on Christ’s right and those raised to eternal punishment on Christ’s left.  At the bottom of the image, underneath the cross, is the doorway by which worshippers would return to the world.  The last image worshippers see as they enter the world is Christ returning in glory.  Imagine what that would be like.

Although we have no such image over our doors as we walk out of this church, we do have the Gospel.  Our Lord offers us an image of the last judgment to shape your life in this world today.  As you walk through the door, opened by the cross, you enter God’s world with deeper understanding.  You see things differently:  the creation of this world, your Lord, even your life of service.  Assured of your salvation, you now rejoice in these hidden blessings of God, this vision of life, present and eternal.

Amen.

Video to follow.

November 12, 2017 – Stewardship Sunday                       Text:  Exodus 20:17

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Coveting is desiring something to which you have no right, something that belongs to someone else.  Covetousness is rooted in our basic human selfishness.  We want what we want, and we don’t care who gets hurt or left out in the process.  Happiness is our right, and we will get it.  In the original draft of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that each person had inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of possessions.  In subsequent reviews, the wording was changed to the pursuit of happiness.  Yet our society has indeed come to identify the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of possessions.  We think we will be happy if we have one more thing.

Some religions try to shut off all human desires.  It’s the solution offered by ancient Stoicism and Buddhism.  But God built desires into our very being.  Ambition is not evil.  Scripture urges us to “eagerly desire the greater gifts” (1 Cor. 12:31).  St. Paul urges the Romans to “never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor” (Rom. 12:11).

You should have ambition, no matter how young or old you are – it gives you energy and purpose.  It is not sinful to be rich, but work for it.  Don’t desire to get what you have not earned or worked for or what you have gotten in a dishonest way.

It is Stewardship Sunday and with the 9^th and 10^th commandments before us, we ask the Holy Spirit to lead us to . . .

“SERVE OUR NEIGHBOR”

Our Gospel lesson is the parable of the rich fool.  The farmer was not wrong to produce a huge harvest or build big barns to store it in.  He was wrong to call them “my crops,” “my barns,” “my grain,” “my goods.”  God had blessed him with the crops and the goods.  God trusted he would use these blessings properly.  They weren’t given for selfish enjoyment but they came with responsibility and accountability.

The rich man thought only of himself.  He didn’t think of the needs of others or God’s kingdom.  He wanted to eat, drink, and be merry.  The Lord wants us to be happy and He offers heaven to us, but we don’t get there through things or taking life easy.  Jesus said, “Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.” (Jn. 6:40)

Paul reminds us in Romans that we have “all things” right now through Christ.  We have no right to them because we have rebelled and disobeyed.  We have coveted and not served our neighbor as we should.  Yet the guilt we feel over that has been nailed to Jesus’s cross.  He rose in victory, and he takes you to be His own now and for all eternity.

The man was wrong to covet and to think he had a right to these things.  He was focused on the wrong goal.  As Luther explains in the Ninth Commandment, “We should fear and love God so that we do not scheme to get our neighbor’s inheritance or house, or get it in a way which only appears right.”  And the Tenth Commandment, “We should fear and love God so that we dot entice or force away our neighbor’s wife, workers, or animals, or turn them against him.”  As in the other commandments, the accent is on the positive attitude of serving one’s neighbor, “help and be of service to him,” and again, “urge them to stay and do their duty.”

What do you eagerly desire in life?  Where is your focus?  Where are you looking for happiness?  Do you live for others?  What is your ambition in life?  Are you directing your energy toward helping and serving others?

A student at a Bible School in the Philippines was unhappy because the men’s rest rooms were always in bad shape and seemed to get skipped over in the cleaning routine.  Seeing no improvement he went straight to the principal with his complaint.  A short time later the student saw the problem being corrected, to his amazement the man with the mop and pail in his hand was the principal himself!

Later the student commented, “I thought he would call a janitor, but he cleaned the toilets himself.  It was a wonderful lesson to me on being a servant and, of course, it raised a question in my own mind as to why I hadn’t taken care of the problem.”

Where can you serve your neighbor?  Where are your skills and help needed?  Today we vote on our boards for 2018 and looking at the list we are lacking the Lord’s servants that our needed.  Young, old, new member or veteran, we desire your service.  It is great for the soul.

Lord, in the grace and hope that you shower upon us through Christ our Savior . . . help us… serve our neighbor.

Amen.

 

 

 

November 5, 2017 – All Saints Day                                     Text:  Matthew 5:10-12

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

“We feebly struggle, they in glory shine.” (LSB 677:4)  Don’t you envy the saints who are now with the angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven?  These saints feebly struggle no more.  They have no more pain, no more tears, no more sin.  They will never again experience death.  They have no more problems with their kids or with their marriage.  They don’t have expenses to pay and figuring out what to get everyone for Christmas.  No more bad language to hear on television or the local restaurant.  No one to be angry with them anymore or social media drama.  They are blessed because their struggles are over.

But for you, as a baptized child of God in Christ Jesus, right now, as you feebly struggle on this earth, dear Christian, Blessed are you, Blessed are you!

It is early in the ministry of Jesus.  He climbs a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee and He gets to teaching these new students, the disciples.  He is introducing them to Christianity and yes they are feebly struggling in this life.

And you, students of the Word, who also feebly struggle, Jesus is teaching you.  And so, we ask, are you . . .

“FEEBLY STRUGGLERS OR BLESSED SHINERS?”

Jesus spoke the first eight Beatitudes using the third person – they.  In this final beatitude He addresses His disciples directly using the second person – you.  He is speaking to you and me here with more emphasis.

Blessed are you who are persecuted and reviled and spoken against, for yours is the joy and the kingdom of heaven.  As Jesus brings these new disciples to himself and initiates them into His kingdom, He tells them that there will be a price; they will be persecuted on account of Him.

This sinful and fallen world will not treat you well, dear saints.  A recent question in Barna Trends asked “Who do people say that the Son of Man Is?”  First, people believe that Jesus was a real person, ok so far.  Second, “Younger generations are increasingly less likely to believe Jesus was God.”  We see this played out in the anger of people today.  Everyone wants to yell his or her opinion in your face.  There is no moral compass or shut-off valve if people deny the deity of Christ.  Third, “Americans are divided on whether Jesus was sinless.”  “He wasn’t sinless why do I have to be?”  Many of these same folks may not believe in sin or may not believe that sinning with no repentance leads to hell.  This mindset is played out in everyday actions in the east and west, north and south, and here in the Midwest.  No one is immune.  Barna’s president, David Kinnaman, sums it up:  “Americans’ dedication to Jesus is, in most cases, a mile wide and an inch deep.”

We feebly struggle.  We may or may not suffer the anger and hatred of this fallen world directly, but we all face it indirectly.  Pro-abortion and gay marriage advocates.  People shouting down others for their God-given opinions.  Less freedom in the workplace to share your faith.  The constant damning of God’s name by people in the public eye.  Satan’s leash is lengthened, sins run rampant, the Last Day is growing closer.

And the problem is worse in other parts of the world.  Christians are beaten and imprisoned for having a Bible or studying in their homes.  Christians are taxed and ridiculed for their beliefs.  Some are murdered because Christ is their Savior.

Could this persecution be at our back door?  It is very likely.

Still, Blessed are you, as St. Peter reminds you:  “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you…But rejoice insofar as you share Christ sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Pet. 4:12-13)

“We feebly struggle, they in glory shine.”  The glory of the saints in heaven will one day be your glory.  We feebly struggle because of our own sins and the sins of others.  But Christ assures us with the reality that we will live with Him forever because of what He has done.  The source of joy for a disciple who suffers persecution is the promise of heaven.  So we sing, “But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day:  The saints triumphant rise in bright array.” (LSB 677:7)

Blessed are you because, dear saints in Christ through the blood, suffering,

death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, this glory is yours even now, yet more fully to be realized on the Last Day, which will be for you a day that has no end.

Dear saints, I know you feebly struggle in this broken and fallen world of sin and death.  I see it in the weariness of your faces and the physical breakdown of your bodies.  In the last five years of my ministry I have seen these struggles among God’s people and His church explode.  You are weary and you are hurt, but you are the Lord’s.  God gives you his comfort and his mercy and he claims you as his own.  Think where we would be without His love and support.  His promise of a better and eternal future.  Blessed are you!  Yes, you are blessed!

Amen.