Sermons

May 1, 2016 – Confirmation Texts: Hab. 2:2-4; Acts 14:19-23; Luke 18:1-8

Dear Friends in Christ,

The good folks at Oxford Dictionaries are always updating our words because as they say, “language matters.” Here are just some of the new words that they have added in the last year: empty-netting, optogenetics, cyberwarrior, selfie stick, wine o-clock, nuff said, mic drop, and awesomesauce. These are just some of the 1,000 or so words that were new this past year.
As commentators have noted our updated language is being borne of juvenile culture and communication shorthand and is being adopted as culturally normative. Another trend in language is that language was once concrete has become culturally threadbare and empty. This includes much of the language of the Christian faith.
Take, for instance, faith itself. It was once clearly known that faith has an object. Such knowledge shaped how we thought, talked, and even wrote about faith. Yet in recent years it is more and more common to hear faith talk employed in language in ways that suggest that it need not have an object. It is its own commodity. For example, there is a Faith Hospice in which they pitch their services for “people of faith.” Okay, but faith in what?
Today is Confirmation Sunday. Many of us have been confirmed, have watched our kids and grandkids get confirmed, and we are blessed with another group giving a public confession today. They are being confirmed in the faith. Okay, but . . .
“FAITH IN WHAT?”
We would agree with the folks at Oxford Dictionaries that “language matters.” We also know that words matter. We have an epidemic in society of stupidity with words. The hashtag should be “I never should have said that.” We have reduced our language to abbreviations and banality, now there is a good word to look up in your dictionary. On top of that we have the word police who decide which words are the worst. A Chicago Blackhawk was recently suspended for a word he used against homosexuals. I’m waiting for a suspension of an athlete who damns God’s name, which happens quite frequently, because that offends me. Oh right, I must be out of my mind!
So the word of the day is faith. Habakkuk in our Old Testament says, “the righteous shall live by his faith.” Confirmation is a confirming of the Christian faith. But even that has obstacles. I read this week about the new Religious freedom laws in Alabama, the ones meant to protect churches and Christian businesses. Who was out protesting? 30 Methodist ministers! Last time I checked, Methodists are Christians. Even Christians get mixed up what being a Christian is.
A Christian is “a follower of Christ.” We then believe his words as recorded in Scripture. Christ is love. He loves sinners. He loves all people. But He also knows the hearts of people. Look what he did in the temple when people were not following his commands. Tables and lives were turned upside down. He loved those in sin, but he always told them to go “and sin no more.” Some how certain groups of Christians seem to forget that part.
As a Christians “the righteous shall live by his faith.” Is Habakkuk talking about the fact that through faith and faith alone we are reckoned as righteous (that is, for the sake of Jesus, God sees us as His sinless people though we still have sin in us), or is He talking about the fact that the righteous live out their lives in faith; that is trusting in God for all things? I would say it is both.
Here we are. Still sinful. Still struggling. Making our share of mistakes. Bearing our burdens of guilt. Yet, for the sake of Jesus, God forgives us. Through the faith He has given us in Christ He sees us as His forgiven, righteous people. We are going to heaven. Not because we’ve earned it, but because Jesus earned it for us. “The righteous shall live by his faith.”
Words matter. This confirmation is taking place in a Lutheran Christian Church. Many of us have said things over the years like, “I was confirmed a Lutheran, I was confirmed a Catholic etc.” Luke writes in our Gospel, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Will Rogers once quipped, “God made man a little lower than the angels, and he’s been getting lower and lower ever since.” Just to say we are Lutheran does not mean what it meant for hundreds of years. The feminists, and pro-abortionists and gay sympathizers have hijacked some Lutheran church bodies. They have desecrated the Scripture and the Confessions. Like I like to say, “they are so far off the reservation you cannot see them anymore.”
Many of us are proud to be Lutheran but that doesn’t save us. The living God has a deep and abiding love for His people. Time and again, the Gospel impresses upon us that Christ died for sinners – that God so loved the world. Listen to these words of Jesus, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John in 10:14-15) Faith in what? Faith in the Good Shepherd who has given us life. Life that will never end.
Words matter. From our Epistle, “When they had preached the Gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
This confirmation in taking place in a congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). You should feel good about that. We have a church leadership speaking out on the issues of the day. We have a church body that knows the challenges before us. We walk together in life being created by God, marriage between a man and a woman, all blessings coming from God, and saving faith through grace and Christ alone.
Those of us who have been confirmed were encouraged at our confirmation but we were also told of the scoffers who dismiss our faith. I am not going to be melodramatic and say that you have it worse than my generation had it, or your grandparent’s generation. I know history and ever since the Garden of Eden living in a sinful world has been a challenge. But shortly you are going to make the good confession that you will suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from the Lutheran Christian faith.
The strength to do this is not your own. God called you in the waters of Holy Baptism. You sang, “Jesus Loves Me” and heard and believed the story of Daniel in the Lions Den because the Holy Spirit was upon you. You all are blessed to be in families that know the importance of being here in worship so that your faith may grow. Today begins a new power in your life as you partake of Holy Communion. This body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine continues to make your faith stronger and stronger. The gates of hell cannot overcome when we have faith in what?
Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. He loves you. He lives for you. He died for you. He rose for you. He sits at the right hand of God for you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He cares for you. Faith has an object. “Christ has triumphed, HE is living, Alleluia!
Amen.

 

May 8, 2016 Text: John 17:20-26

Dear Friends in Christ,

When I was a junior in high school I was in a one-act play that was performed before the whole school. The play was Neil Simon’s The Seduction. The interesting thing was that there were two other people in this play. One of my best friends played the husband, my old girlfriend played the wife, and as I was the friend trying to seduce the wife away from the husband. Anyway, in this play I had a lengthy speaking part where I was addressing the audience and telling them what I was about to do. When I first saw it written out, I didn’t think I would ever get it memorized. Thankfully God gave me a good memory and through my nervousness I was able to deliver this soliloquy to the audience. A soliloquy happens when the other characters are on stage and one character steps forward and delivers a message directly to the audience. The audience is invited in to hear the main plot point of the play.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God stepped up to the front stage of our lives and spoke like that? People often seek after a direct word from God. What would you want God to tell you? Career advice? Parenting wisdom? How to get along better with others? Who to vote for? Is this the year for the Cubs? We should be asking the heavenly Father for things we need, including wisdom to make good decisions. But God has already spoken to us through His holy, inspired Scriptures. Will we take time to listen?
Some of the most memorable scenes in a play or a movie are right before a character dies. Think Brian’s Song, Terms of Endearment, or Charlotte’s Web. They sometimes tell key information for the plot of the rest of the show. In the Gospel of John, there is an extended speech, a sermon if you will, that Jesus speaks right before he is betrayed and eventually crucified. On Maundy Thursday night, after His institution of the Lord’s Supper and before He is arrested, Jesus encourages the disciples to love one another, warns them of persecution to come, and promises them the Holy Spirit and a place he will go to prepare for them.
The climax to the sermon comes right at the end and is the Gospel lesson for today. In John 17:20 Jesus “steps to the front of the stage” and lets us listen in on a prayer directly for us. Lean in and listen to . . .
“JESUS’ SOLILOQUY”
Jesus begins by asking the Father that we might believe in the apostolic Word. (v. 20) He’s speaking to the Father but is looking right at us. What He is about to do is to save you and me. He enables the disciples to hear and witness his words, ministry, and death and resurrection so they can preach and write them down for us. We are saved by faith in His Holy Word.
Jesus asks the Father that we might be one, united in time and place. (v. 21) This prayer is for the historical unity of the one Church. What we confess in the creed is we believe in the one catholic or universal Church. Our confession is a bold confirmation of faith that we belong to the One Church through the centuries and eternity. Jesus is also praying for those who do not believe that they would come to the Christian faith and believe in Him as Savior and Lord.
Jesus asks the Father that we might be united with Him and therefore with the Father. (v. 23) Our unity with one another can happen only when we are first united with Him, for his love and truth are the love and truth we give to others. Being united with God only happens after the sin that separates us has been removed. Our sin was removed at the cross by the death of Jesus.
Jesus asks the Father that we might look upon His crucifixion as His most glorious moment. (v. 24) It’s not the glory the disciples or we picture. We all have false dreams of glory. Some of the disciples wanted to be first in the kingdom of God. We want the glory of winning a contract at work or being first in some endeavor at school or having our “15 minutes of fame” in the public eye. But none of those things matches the glory of God, who has made us His. He owns all things and He gives his all for sinful human beings like you and me.
In the one act play I was able to get the wife away from the husband. I was able to get her alone and I went in for the kiss and . . . There is one thing I can tell you this morning. To know the Father and make him known (vs. 25-26) – that is Jesus’ mission, and in His prayer He makes it our mission as well. That was Jesus’ grand soliloquy, the prayer He let us overhear the night of his betrayal, and He still prays the same prayer for you today.
Amen.

May 15, 2016 – Pentecost Text: Genesis 11:1-9

Dear Friends in Christ,

Do you remember the first word or words you ever spoke? Did your parents tell you or write it down in a baby book? Ever since that day you have been adding words to your vocabulary. Today as you sit here most of you know thousands upon thousands of words. Language is an intimate part of our daily lives. Since the beginning man has been talking. But do we understand what is being said? Most surveys would say no. Miscommunication is always listed when people talk about the problems in their life.
Today is Pentecost and we are looking at the Biblical account of the “Tower of Babel.” The problem of proper communication has always been part of our sinful world. With the leading of the Holy Spirit . . .
“LET’S TALK”
Have you ever wondered where language came from? From the very beginning the Spirit and Word of God were living and active. Holy Scripture is the story of language. It begins when God speaks in Genesis 1:3. God then passes this on to Adam by breathing his Spirit into him. Adam is then invited to name the animals. Adam then names Eve a woman. Eve first words were to the serpent in Genesis 3. Have you ever wondered about their small talk in between those two events? “Do you come here often?” “It’s you and me babe, let’s make the best of it.” One thing we know they didn’t communicate was how nice their clothing looked!
By Genesis 11, and because of the fall into sin, people were using this great gift of God, words, in a tragic way. Verse 1 says they “had one language and the same words.” But they use this gift in the wrong way. On the surface there is nothing wrong with making bricks and building a tower. But look at why they wanted to build it – to make a name for themselves and not be scattered. This is a clear violation of God’s command to fill the earth and call on His name.
There is great power in language. Look at how the media has reshaped people’s views on social issues. The language they use is all part of the manipulation. Anti-abortion instead of pro-life. The rights of the homosexual but rarely the rights of the Christian. Internet bullying by words can lead to suicides. But language can also be positive. A gentle word from dad or mom after a rough day at school. Words that lift up when you doubt your faith.
God recognizes this power of language. People had given up calling on the name of the Lord and were breaking what would be the 2nd Commandment. God has invited us to call on His name by the power of the Spirit living in us. God’s name was sprinkled on us in the waters of Holy Baptism. That day the assurance was given that you belong to the Lord. You can talk directly to your living Lord.
The problem with these builders of Babel is that they thought they were so clever that they could make a name for themselves. We do this in a variety of ways – the idolatry of self. Places named after donors. Stretches of roads named after politicians. Ballplayers prostrating in front of crowds. We too lift ourselves up if we feel we are not getting proper recognition. Listen to your words carefully and see how many times you use the word “I.” In our language it is an epidemic.
So God came down. Astounding! This tower was suppose to reach the heavens but is so small that God had to leave the heights of heaven to inspect this tiny structure of men. God came down. The early Christians understood this verse to refer to the preincarnate Jesus. God appears to the Old Testament people the same way He does to the New Testament people – through His Son. The Son of God, after all, is himself the Eternal Word later to become flesh. The punishment that the Word of God inflicts is to confuse the word of man. We talk big, but God’s Word always has the final answer. Like the story of the fall, the story of Babel shows that rebellion against God ultimately leads to divisions among people. People are driven away from paradise and from one another. Improper words and language can do that. Most of us have seen it in our own lives.
Thankfully, this wasn’t the last time in the story of language God came down to earth. He came down through the words of prophets like Moses, Elijah, and Ezekiel. But ultimately, God came down in the person of the Word to live, die, rise, before going back up. Jesus’ word from the cross, “It is finished,” declared that all our sins of self are forgiven. When we lift ourselves up or continually use the word “I” the Lord has washed that away in the blood of the Savior. The Word in Baptism and Holy Communion powerfully remind us of how God changed the world through His words. “You are mine.” “You are forgiven.”
The Lord humbled the people by confusing their language and dividing and dispersing them. That dispersal was reversed on Pentecost Day, when God caused the one Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to be preached in a multitude of languages. So now the Church takes up the call to get the words of Christ out to languages of the world. So Let’s talk – the Lord’s words. Amen.

June 5, 2016                                                                           Text:  Galatians 1:11-24

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

A young farmer in North Dakota brought home a fancy barometer for which he paid $24.65.  In the days that followed he watched it as it predicted the weather.  It hung in an honored place in the home but then came the day when for three days it predicted a “storm” while the sky was crystal blue.  So he took it off the wall drove back to town and demanded his money back.

As he and his wife were returning home they where alarmed when they saw a storm in the distant sky.  By the time they got back, their home had blown away.  Furniture in the trees, the bathtub a half a mile away.  But the grandmother had believed the barometer, and when a dark cloud appeared, she took the two small children and went into the old storm cellar, and they were saved from the storm.

For many people, the Gospel from God is like that barometer.  Some place it on a wall of honor.  They listen carefully to its promises of a glorious future, a kingdom that will last forever, a place where every tear will be wiped away.  They hear the wonderful promises, but they notice that all around them is nothing but sin, death, heartache, and a bleak future.  So they take the Gospel off the wall and back to town where they demand their money back.  They lose faith in the power of the Gospel as they become deceived by their surroundings.

Do you have faith in the power of the Gospel?  The Apostle Paul certainly did.  It had changed him.  It has changed you as well.  Paul helps us to see that . . .

“CHANGE IS POSSIBLE – THROUGH THE GOSPEL”

We Christians are to believe the Gospel of God; but our sinful flesh, the world, and Satan often get in the way of our faith.  Perhaps we get influenced by a culture that lives for the now.  Maybe we question the truth of the Gospel as we hear the scoffers and deniers of Christ Jesus.  Can doubt creep in because we get so caught up in ourselves that the good news of salvation gets squeezed out of the picture?

Look at how the Apostle Paul views things.  The Gospel has no human origin – it is not from men – it originated in the heart of God.  He was moved by grace to establish a way of salvation, which no sinner could ever have found.  How we view Scripture is a genuine reflection of how we view God.  He is only revealed in the pages of the Holy Bible.  Found there is the power to change.

The Gospel of Christ has changed persecutors and enemies.  Saul to Paul – persecutor to preacher.  God had loved Saul and set him apart before he was born.  Saul heard, “Why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4)  But then he also heard words of forgiveness and received Baptism through Ananias (Acts 9:17-18).  Jesus still loved him!  That changed everything for Saul.  St. Paul became one of the greatest missionaries in the history of the Christian Church.

We have been changed from enemies of God to children of God.  We heard after coming out of the womb, “You are now a child of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” with the water of our Baptism.  We heard that Jesus’ death on the cross is mine.  The forgiveness Jesus earned when he died is mine.  The resurrection of Jesus from the tomb is mine.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ has changed our perspective.  What an honor to be Jesus’ faithful followers.

A Pastor once asked his Bible Class what their favorite verse was.  He got the usual replies, John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:23.  Then an older gentleman rose to his feet and said, “Mine is ‘And it came to pass.’”  This brought a few murmurs from the group, until he explained, “In all of my challenges it has always helped me to remember ‘And it came to pass.’  I am so glad that the Bible doesn’t say, ‘And it came to stay.’”

Isn’t that what makes the Gospel such Good News?  Everything in this world does come to pass and aren’t we relieved?  Who would want an eternal journey of wars and famines – through an endless cycle of job insecurity – through eternal people conflicts and family problems – through eternal disappointments and heartaches – through health challenges and government waste – through perpetual vulgarity and man-induced stupidity?  Thankfully this world will pass away but as Christ says in Luke, “My words will never pass away.”  Change is possible – through the Gospel.

Paul’s change showed God’s glory by revealing the power of His Word to change hearts.  Pauls’ mission glorified God, as many new souls were able to receive God’s gifts and worship Him for eternity.

Our change shows God’s glory.  As we live out our Baptism and share the glorious Gospel with others.  When we live and walk with Him in our daily lives, others see this and the Holy Spirit can change their hearts.

You have heard the Word of Christ again this morning.  We pray that this change continues as your faith grows – through the Gospel.

Amen.

May 29, 2016 Text: Galatians 1:1-12

Dear Friends in Christ,

Aaron Neville sang a song called, “Everybody Plays The Fool.” Part of the chorus goes like this, “Everybody plays the fool sometimes, there’s no exception to the rule.” What fools you? A magician? The break in your putt? The reaction of a spouse or child to something you tell them? Your body and mind not working together? Does the devil ever fool you into believing something you shouldn’t?
Paul is addressing the Galatians in our text and speaking to us . . .
“DO NOT BE FOOLED!”
People are gullible and easily fooled. It’s like the science teacher who set a beaker of colorless liquid on a windowsill near an open window. He then casually remarked, that if this bothered anyone, they should let him know. Shortly thereafter, students started to wheeze and cough, and soon this spread throughout the room. When the teacher asked what the problem was a student said that the beaker was giving off a strange odor. As you might have guessed, the beaker was filled with water.
People want to be fooled. They will believe things that their common sense says can’t be. People will believe most anything if you package and present it properly. People are gullible.
There are others who prey on people like this. They take advantage of the person as they swipe their money. Many make a living convincing people there is a better way to health and wealth, a better way to find purpose in life, a better way . . . to God?
Religion has always had your quacks and crackpots, your gurus and preachers that discover something “new” amid that which was never lost and is unchanging. This is not new. Just ask St. Paul. He writes, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.” (v. 6) Paul knew about those claiming some new breakthrough in religion. He knew about those who claimed faith had to evolve over the years. He knew about those who claimed that Scripture is outdated or not complete. He knew about those who claimed a special revelation from God or found a new purpose. He knew because they were as prevalent in his day as in ours. He says to the Galatians and to us: “Do not be fooled!”
There will always be people who try to convince others that they have discovered: a better way to grow the church, a better way to come to Jesus, a better way to find purpose, a better way to market the church, a better way to live. It sounds good at first, but delve deeper and you find it always requires a tweaking of the Gospel. They do a little theological plastic surgery and there it is. “I am astonished you are so quickly…turning to a different gospel” – which is no gospel at all. Changing the Gospel destroys the Gospel. Do not be fooled!
This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ: God in his mercy sent his only-begotten Son into our sinful world. Jesus gathered that sin and carried it to the cross of Calvary. Under the load of our sin on that cross, He suffered and died. He paid the price demanded of our sin. He fulfilled the Law and redeemed us from sin and death. Jesus was laid in the tomb but rose again on the third day. He ascended to heaven where He rules at the right hand of God the Father. He has risen and so shall we. Because of what Christ has done for us we have forgiveness and life and salvation. Our heavenly mansion is prepared. We continue to experience God’s grace through Word and Sacrament.
That is it. There is only one Gospel. But my human mind says I must participate in my salvation – different gospel. This book says if I do the right things on earth I will have a better seat in heaven – different gospel. My neighbor says if I don’t speak words I don’t understand I’m not God’s child – different gospel. The TV preacher says if I send him more money I will have more money in my bank account – different gospel. My friend says I must be tolerant of all kinds of behavior because God is love – different gospel. Do not be fooled – there is only one Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ pleases God, not man. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s plan, not man’s plan. Paul even says, “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (v. 10)
A Pastor from one of our seminaries served a small, rural parish in Iowa. The fellowship hall and kitchen were located in the basement. On the outside wall of the kitchen, facing the fellowship hall was a thermostat. Every week for every meeting, Bible Class, fellowship event, this Pastor would adjust the thermostat up or down. His did this for two years until a member pulled him aside and said, “Pastor, that thermostat isn’t connected to anything.” They give him the thermostat as a going away gift.
Do not be fooled. Like that thermostat, a different Gospel from the one found in Scripture has no power. It’s useless for your salvation. There is only one Gospel found in the love of our Savior Jesus Christ who has saved us from death and opened the gates of everlasting life to us. Amen.