Sermons

Feb. 10, 2016 – Ash Wednesday                                                      Text: Job 1:1-12

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

In 2007 Jim O’Neill was flying from Glasgow, Scotland to Colchester, England when his vision failed.  Initially, he thought the sun had blinded him, but soon O’Neill realized it was much worse.  He had suffered a stroke.  It gave new meaning to the expression, “flying blind.”  O’Neill groped around, found the radio and issued a mayday alert.  Paul Gerrard of the Royal Air Force quickly took off and, finding O’Neill, began talking to the blind pilot.  “Keep coming down.  A gentle right turn.  Left a bit.  Go right now.”  Gerrard hovered within five-hundred feet, guiding him to the nearest runway.  O’Neill would have to land the plane flying blind.

We’ve all been struck, perhaps not with a stroke, but with divorce papers, a crippling expense or a cancer-ridden body.  Not midair, but mid-career, mid-semester, or midlife.  Losing sight of any safe landing strip, we’ve issued our fair share of mayday prayers.  We all know the feeling of . . .

“FLYING BLIND”

And so does Job.  One of the Bible’s great wisdom books is the book of Job.  This Lent we are going to delve into Job’s central message and supporting truths.  We begin with Job 1:1-12 and what do we learn?

There are some times when we know why bad things happen.  You run a red light.  You get pulled over and are issued a ticket.  We buy things we don’t need and the credit card is maxed out.

Job’s suffering on the other hand, was undeserved and unjust.  Job is described as “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”  This doesn’t mean he was sinless.  Job was, however, a godly man.  Job was an innocent sufferer.

Job 1:6 lifts the curtain and behind the scenes, a wager is being made between God and Satan.  Like a vindictive lawyer or a corrupt policeman with an obsession to frame the innocent, Satan is on the lookout for someone to drag before the judgment seat of God in order to condemn him.

Job 1:8, “Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job?’”  Satan wants the prized diamond from the jewelry store owner.  Thanks a lot God!

Satan then asks the key question in the book.  Job 1:9, “Does Job fear God for no reason?”  Satan knows that every man has his price and that if Satan removes Job’s good gifts then Job will curse the Giver – God Himself.    “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand.  Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’”  Job is about to become Ground Zero as Satan gets ready to launch his assaults.

We see this conversation in heaven between God and Satan.  But Job?  He has no clue.  When all hell breaks loose Job repeatedly, and with increasing intensity as the drama unfolds, cries out, “God, where are you?”  Job was forced to learn the art of flying blind.

All of this points us to Jesus.  That’s right.  Listen to Luke 4:13, “When the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”  We get another bird’s-eye view of spiritual realities.  Jesus, like Job, is “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” – only Christ was without sin in the fullest and most complete sense imaginable.  And Jesus is the ultimate innocent sufferer.  Like no other, Jesus didn’t earn or deserve any of his human hell.

With Job, God didn’t allow Satan to test him to the point of death.  But with Jesus, Satan was allowed all of his weapons of mass destruction.  If Job was reduced to living on the local ash heap, Jesus was stripped naked and nailed like a scarecrow in a God-forsaken garbage dump called Golgotha.

When you cry out, from the depths of your suffering, “Where are you God?”  Jesus says, “I’m here, on the cross, suffering with you and suffering for you.  I’m here, bleeding for the sins of the world.  I’m here, feeling your pain.  I’ll always be here.  I’ll be there to greet you in eternity where there is no death, no crying, no pain, no Job-like flying blind scenarios you will have to deal with.”

And if we want to know how Job’s suffering can be transformed into infinite good, then we journey from the cross to the empty tomb where the crucified Conqueror stands, with the palms of his hands outstretched offering the gift of eternal life.  It is there that we find courage and strength to say again, “I know that my Redeemer lives!”

On that day in 2007, on his first try Jim O’Neill hit the runway and bounced up again.  Paul Gerrard continued to speak calming words of assurance and hope.  Finally on the eighth try the blinded pilot managed to make a near-perfect landing.  When we are flying blind many voices clamor for our attention.  The talk show host says not to worry.  The financial advisor says buy now.  The friend says read this book.  And then we add our own voice that asks, “What’s the use?”  The end result, too often, is that we crash and burn.

It’s time, again, to listen to the only voice that really matters.  Jesus speaks with tenderness and love, “Keep coming down.  A gentle right turn.  Left a bit.  Go right now.”  And at this table he gives us these words for the ages.  “Take, eat, this is my body.  Take, drink, this is my blood.”  With this voice guiding us we will land safely in his loving arms, today and forevermore!

Amen.

 

February 21, 2016                                                    Text:  Philippians 3:17-4:1

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

In 304 AD, the Roman emperor gave a command that all the people in Iconium had to offer a sacrifice to the pagan gods.  A Christian woman by the name of Julitta decided to leave the city with her three-year-old son, Cyricus, in order to escape persecution.  In Tarsus, however, she was arrested and brought back to Iconium and had to stand before the governor – man by the name of Alexander.  She admitted she was a Christian and consequently she was tortured.

She endured the torments with great patience, but her little son cried loudly when he saw his mother suffering – he desperately wanted to go to her.  Even the hardhearted governor was touched by the boy’s tears and went so far as to take the child in his lap with an attempt to calm him down.  Still the boy cried and called for his mother.  Finally, the boy began to imitate the words of his mother by saying over and over again, “I am a Christian!  I am a Christian!”  With this the governor was filled with sudden rage and hurled the boy to the ground head first, killing him instantly.

Julitta was full of grief but actually thanked God with a loud voice that her little boy, Cyricus had gone on before her into heaven and would not have to witness her death.  After that, the governor increased her torture and eventually had her beheaded.  Before she died, Julitta offered up this prayer, “I thank you, O my God, that you first transferred my son into your kingdom.  Grant also that I, your servant, though unworthy, may likewise be received there.  Lead me, like the wise virgins, into your wedding chamber!”

We can have a lot of reactions to a story like that.  Sadness for the mother and son.  Anger at the governor.  And what an example for every Christian.  These Christians really lived and demonstrated what our text says.  They knew their citizenship was in heaven and they were able to stand firm in the Lord.

Who among us would do the same thing?  We might be quick to say “yes” but we are the same people who live in this luxurious society and panic at the first sign of anything that might intrude upon our comfort zone.  We grumble at God, yet build ourselves up that we could stand firm like Julitta and Cyricus.

The deeper question is this:  What was it that gave them strength to endure what God had allowed to happen in their lives?  Paul addresses that in our text as he encourages us to . . .

“STAND FIRM – HEAVENLY CITIZEN”

This epistle of Philippians is mostly upbeat and encouraging, even though Paul himself is in chains for the gospel.  The threat in our reading is walking apart from Christ.  It is easy for us to fall back on the Law and cling to the confidence of our accomplishments.  What did you give up for Lent this year?  Soda?  Potato chips?  Social media?  Alcohol?  Political debates?  It is fine to practice self-discipline but we take it too far if we hold it over the head of God or our neighbor.  You want to impress God and your co-worker.  It may seem harmless on the surface, but ultimately it rejects the cross and all that Jesus accomplished for you there.

We stand firm because we are citizens of heaven.  Citizenship in verse 20 can also be translated “homeland.”  We have “homeland security” not because of some cabinet position in Washington, but because our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, opened heaven to us by his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.  By grace, God has made us citizens of that heaven through Holy Baptism.  This is our present reality.

As heaven’s citizens, we anxiously await our Savior’s return.  We occupy our minds with heavenly thoughts through worship, devotion, bible study, and prayer.  We eat heavenly food as the true body and blood is fed to us for forgiveness and a taste of the feast to come in our eternal homeland.  We walk according to those examples of citizens of Christ’s kingdom.  We stand firm to the end, anxiously awaiting the transformation of our bodies to be like his glorious body.

So what gave Julitta and Cyricus the strength to endure what happened in their lives?  They were looking ahead to a glorious future that was far greater than anything they could have on earth.  Their hearts and minds were set on heavenly things and nothing was more important than their eternal salvation.  It is really that simple.  They died for the faith because they knew they would live.

May the Holy Spirit continue to strengthen us in this same faith.  May He lead us to stand firm even as we see the signs around us that may call us before government officials and judges.  Our homeland is in the distance, but possibly nearer than we think.   The Lord is our strength, so STAND FIRM – HEAVENLY CITIZEN.

Amen.

February 14, 2016                                                                            Text:  Luke 4:1-13

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Tell me, have you ever heard any of these statements?  If you let me use the car I’ll put gas in it.  If you don’t give me back my ball I am going to pound you.  If the weather is bad and I can’t go fishing or golfing or to my kid’s ballgame I’ll be in church.  If you love me I will give you what you want.  If you can’t be good then you are going to bed.

These are conditional sentences.  Each sentence has a promised result “if” the desired activity is done or not done.  The big IF might get us into trouble like cheating on a test, having sex before marriage or playing games with our eternal welfare.

Today the devil comes to Jesus with some conditional sentences.  Let’s see how the Savior deals with . . .

“THE BIG IF’S”

The first devil-contrived IF sentence is this.  “IF you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”  Oh, so clever, well played Beelzebub.  Jesus hasn’t eaten in forty days.  Notice the question, “IF you are the Son of God…”  If he doesn’t do what Satan says then he must not be the Son of God.  If he does what Satan asks then he will be obeying the devil.  Satan wants Jesus to distrust his Father and do the will of Satan.

Ever been tempted like this?  Either way you look bad in the eyes of someone.  If you do what your friends ask, your parents might be angry.  If you don’t do what your friends want, then you look bad in their eyes.  Oh, that crafty Lucifer.  Remember he has had practice since the Garden of Eden.  He wants you to doubt the goodness of God.

Satan now comes at Jesus with more ammunition.  “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.  IF you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  Jesus must worship Satan to receive this.  What a crock of lies.  Satan has no power to give the kingdoms of the world.  The Lord as Creator has the world in his hands.

What a liar this guy.  He lied to Adam and Eve that they would be like God.  How has that been going these last 4,000 years?  He promised Judas thirty pieces of silver.  He was so happy with this gift that he went and hung himself.   The deception never works.

Satan may tempt us to think that if we work long enough and hard enough we will succeed and get all the things of this world that we want.  This IF sentence might be true but at what price?  Your marriage?  Your children?  Your faith?  Satan wants you to be envious of others.  He wants your eyes removed from Christ and on the earthly goods that others have.  We fight back with the Word of God.  “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.”

The last temptation has Satan telling Jesus to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple because the Lord’s angels will protect Him.  This babbling blowhard even quotes Scripture.  Except he leaves a few parts out.  He twists it to fit his thinking.  Satan wants Jesus to think that no matter what he does he will be safe.

Ever get caught with this one?  Don’t take your medicine, it won’t hurt you.  Join the party crowd, after all what can really happen?  I don’t need to worship every Sunday.  I was baptized and confirmed, I must be God’s child, right?  The devil wants you thinking wrong is right.  After all, you are forgiven right?  Sin boldly.  Not so fast, my friend.  Sin does matter to God.  Sin does matter to society and the direction we are going.  Sin does matter to your eternal destination.

This Prince of Darkness loses.  None of this worked on the King of Kings.  Jesus won!  Even as we lose battles with our archenemy we know that Jesus defeated this pompous imposter.  Listen to Romans 5:19.  “Through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”  At the cross Jesus said the one word that takes the pain of our temptation away – “finished.”  Right there and then the devil was done.  He still has power but it is limited.  Jesus stands in the ring with his hands held high.

Those same hands were nailed and bled for our salvation.  The obedient Christ did the will of the Father as he was crucified, died and rose again.  He lives!  We never tire of the Lenten story because it is our story.  Because He lives, we live, forever, in the blessed home of heaven.  Jesus triumphs over Satan.

Jesus used Scripture to overcome these powerful IF temptations.  We too rely on the Word of God when we are tempted by the big IF’s.  We thank Jesus for His unconditional love that has saved us.  That’s no big IF, that’s a promise from our Savior.

Amen.

 

Feb. 7, 2016 – Transfiguration                                                        Text:  Luke 9:28-36

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

A couple of years ago The Pantagraph ran a cartoon on their editorial page that had a guy sitting outside playing on his computer.  There was a man walking by with a dog who stopped to look at his sign which said, “The Religion of ME – Convert Now or suffer my Viral Rants.”  Everybody today has an opinion.  Everybody has a voice.  You can rant and rave all you want on social media.  Most of it comes down to ME and what I want.

The world began with one voice and once God spoke creation came into being.  Then Adam and Eve are created and there are more voices.  God tells them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they will die.  Well God’s voice does not resonate with them.  Instead, they are persuaded by another voice that would lead them into the captivity of sin, death, and the power of the devil.  The battle had begun.  Two competing voices.  It’s Transfiguration Sunday and we are on the mountain with Jesus and the disciples and we have to answer this question . . .

“WHAT VOICE ARE YOU LISTENING TO?”

Notice all the voices that are speaking to us today.  The voices of newscasters and political pundits who have moved on from Iowa to New Hampshire.  The voices of government leaders and YouTubers.  The voices of bloggers and political candidates.  The voices of songwriters and actors.  Today you will be inundated with the voices of sportscasters who have to fill hours and hours before the big game is played.  By tonight I am sure I will know what Peyton Manning had for breakfast and what size socks he is wearing.  It all reminds me of a Cheap trick song from the 1980’s, “the voices inside my head are driving me insane.’

Take a moment and account for the voices you hear each day and consider what they are saying.  Consider also where the voice is coming from.  Is this the voice of God, or is this a voice that will lead you into the captivity of sin, death, and the power of the devil.

Discerning between the array of voices that are encouraging us to think, feel, behave, and believe in certain ways is important.  Consider the scene of Peter, John, and James with Jesus on the mount.  There is much to see, the appearance of Jesus’s face is altered, his clothes are sparkling with light, and with him are Moses and Elijah.  But listen:  listen carefully to what is being said and who is saying it.  Notice the contrast between Peter, who wants to build tents and the voice from heaven proclaiming Jesus to be the chosen one.  These are two very different reactions.  Peter’s reaction is filled with misunderstandings.  Peter thinks it is good to stay on the mount, so he suggests that three tents be built.

While he is speaking, Peter is interrupted by another voice.  “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (v. 35b)  There is a special connection between the One speaking and the present imperative of listening.  When God says, “listen to him!” he is not just speaking to the disciples, but He is speaking to us.  The voices of Moses and Elijah from the Old Testament are important but Jesus speaks with greater authority.  Jesus is the chosen one that was foretold (Deut. 18:15-20).  Jesus is the light to the nations (Is. 42:1-7).  Jesus is the Word made flesh from John, chapter 1.

The voice from the cloud clearly states that they are to listen to Jesus and only to Jesus.  “And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.” (v. 36a)  The Old Testament figures are gone; they had completed their service of pointing to Christ.  The kingdom of God was now here in Jesus as the voice of God proclaimed.  And notice the response of the three disciples:  silence.  They did not speak but they listened.  And maybe that is the point.  Do more listening to God’s voice and less talking.

God’s voice created you.  God’s voice through the Pastor baptized you as a child of God.  The Lord’s voice speaks to you daily with forgiveness and peace and comfort.  Someday that voice will welcome you to your eternal home.  Just imagine what our world would be like if we all listened to the voice of Jesus instead of all the clamoring, clanging voices that fill our heads.  “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10)

Lent begins this Wednesday and we have even more opportunities to hear the voice of our Savior.  He is going to speak in the garden, and before the Jewish and Roman leaders, in the Upper Room and from the cross.  What He is going to say will be life-changing for you and me.  And the biggest voice will thunder on Easter morning, the competition will be over, Christ is declared the winner and what joy will fill our hearts.  So take time to listen.  Follow the only voice that leads to life and eternal victory – “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”

Amen.

 

January 31, 2016                                                       Text:  Jeremiah 1:4-10

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

For you adults I want you to think back to your childhood.  For those of you who are young think of the current thoughts you may be having.  Do you remember or are you hearing these lines?  “You are too young to play.”  “You are too young to wear that.”  “You are too young to date.”  “You are too young to stay out that late.”  It goes on and on and you look forward to the day when you can make your own rules.

Today in our text, God calls Jeremiah to be a prophet.  But it is Jeremiah who is telling God that he is too young.  God called Jeremiah anyway.  In Christ, God calls you too, your shortcoming notwithstanding.  In doing so, God equips you, so that . . .

“EVEN A CHILD CAN DO IT”

This is a biblical story that I can certainly relate to.  I was always the young one.  Kindergarten at age 4, college at age 17, and at age 25 the youngest man to graduate from my class at seminary.  I get a call to serve as a Pastor in Texas and as I go to the hospital or the nursing home or get introduced around the community, I hear the same thing over and over, “You are too young to be a Pastor.  You look like you should be in high school.”  Oh, to hear those words again!

I never thought I was too young because the Lord knew me and He had equipped me for the work that I had to do.  Once people got to know me and my skills, the comments about my age stopped most of the time.

God knew Jeremiah.  Before Jeremiah was even formed in the womb God knew that he was going to be a prophet to the nations.  God knew you before you were born.  He knew the plans He had for you.

By giving each child a soul at conception, God has created an individual person with a special destiny – a plan divinely “appointed” from eternity.  And because every unborn child has a divine destiny assigned by the Creator, every unborn child has divine dignity and infinite worth.

Therefore, no life can ever be considered an accident or a mistake.  Even when a child is conceived in a manner not as God desires.  God still has a plan for the child.  Any attack on the developing child is simply genocide and murder, a human life sacrificed for the sake of expediency.  Worst of all, it is refusal to let God fulfill His intentions for every child He creates.  Any nation that permits such injustice and evil to continue  – and even consider it a good and positive thing – has certainly earned God’s judgment.

God knew Jeremiah.  God knows you.  So intimately, so fully.

God consecrates his children.  God consecrated and sanctified His Son, Jesus, for ministry.  His ministry was fulfilled in His death and resurrection.  He is the Lamb of God, who by his death on the cross takes away the sins of the world.  Jesus ever lives now to make intercession for us.

The God, who consecrated Jeremiah, consecrated you.  He has sanctified you by the means of grace for your holy tasks.  I was consecrated at a young age to carry out the sacred office of the public ministry of Word and Sacrament.  What might God have in store for you?  What have you been consecrated to do?  Is God calling you for some task that fits your abilities?

God appoints His children.  Jesus was ordained for ministry at His baptism.  He was filled with the Holy Spirit to minister to the Jews and the Gentiles.  He did that even at a young age.  Remember Him at age 12 in the temple?  Christ’s atoning blood offers the forgiveness of sins by grace through faith.  By that blood, the God who appointed Jeremiah has appointed you.  Whether a farmer, a teacher, an office worker, an insurance employee, a retiree or a child God has given you a task to share His Good News with others.  Don’t be afraid, God will give you the words.

That is what He did with Jeremiah.  The God with Jeremiah is the God with you.  The presence of God is in His Church.  The presence of God is in the Holy Supper – “My body.  My blood.”

God uses weak, sinful servants to preach and teach His Word.  He uses every child of God to share His Word in daily life.  “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.”  Oh, this is so true.  Many times I did not know what to say in certain situations but through prayer and the Spirit’s leading I did not need to worry because the words were given to me.  It is the same for you.  God provides the power through His Word.  A Word of power to destroy and overthrow.  A Word of power to build and to plant.

When a Pastor is ordained or installed, the fellow Pastors at the service are invited to place their hands on his head and say a verse.  I always use Jeremiah 1:17, which reads this way in the King James.  “Gird up thy loins, arise and go, and teach them everything I have commanded you.”  I love the phrase “gird up thy loins” for various reasons but it always reminds me and the Pastor that the Lord is giving the power, He is the “gird” that allows for the task to be completed.

God is calling you His children to do impossibly difficult things.  “Gird up thy loins.”  You are a child of God, like Jeremiah.  Perhaps you have a hard assignment.  Be of good cheer.  In Christ, even a child can do it.

Amen.