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Sermon Text for Sunday, February 18, 2018: “Passing the Test.”

February 18, 2018                                                                Text:  James 1:12-18

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

When Francisco Franco was leading the revolution in Spain, he originated the phrase “the fifth column.”  He was trying to capture Madrid.  He said that he had four columns marching on the city, one from the north, one from the south, one from the east, and one from the west.  And most important of all, he claimed that he had a “fifth column” within the city; namely the hearts of the people of Madrid.  In this way, the city was being attacked from every conceivable angle.  This is like the Christian life.

As children of God we are attacked from all angles.  Living in this world we are part of the Church at war.  Our flesh and blood is not immune to trials and temptations.  Daily the devil is giving a test as he makes it his business to destroy our soul.  Like Madrid, we are being attacked on every side and even from within.  Can we remain steadfast under trial so that we can receive the crown of life?  How are you doing when it comes to . . .

“PASSING THE TEST”

For most of us “passing the test” takes us to school and the exams given by our teachers.  How did you do on those?  Were you a good test taker?  Did you struggle to pass?  Did you always prepare to the best of your ability?

Most of my academic career I did pretty well on tests.  If the teacher covered just what was on the test and gave good notes I was spot on with my answers.  I could even visualize where I had the answer written in my notes.  But I remember two instances where that was not the case.  They were years apart.

The first one occurred in 2nd grade math.  We studied the less than and more than symbols.  Today it seems so easy but back then I either didn’t pay attention or didn’t comprehend.  Anyway, I can still remember taking the test and just guessing.  What an awful feeling.  I was completely lost.

Do you ever feel like that in your trials and tests that come at you on a daily basis?  You’re lost.  You don’t know where to turn.  Less than, more than, Lord I need you help!

God is using these trials and tests to strengthen our faith.  Few Christians seem to get stronger during the easy times.  The tough times move us closer to God.  When we are lost then we are found.  You know that is God’s amazing grace.  Grace that can help us to pass the test.  Grace that provides the answers.  Grace that gives an A when we deserve an F.  It is not deserved, but a loving heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ provides it.

Because you see this Jesus knows a thing or two about tests.  Life tests.  From booted out of his hometown to having nowhere to lay his head to arrest, trial, beatings, nailings, a crown of thorns, a spear in the side.  He suffered beyond what we can imagine.  Yet, He always had his eyes on his Heavenly Father to sustain him during the tests.  He was the obedient child of God who passed the test and gave hope for you and I.

The second test I remember struggling at was in college at ISU.  In high school I only took one year of science because that was not a strong area for me.  In my general education studies at ISU I had to take two science courses.  I read the catalog and got into a class I thought sounded interesting.  Man, was I wrong.  The first day the professor said that the class was a beginning physics class.  Ouch, I thought to myself.  Each day I went to class the farther into the wilderness of confusion I did traverse.  Five weeks in – the first test.  I was a kid again back in 2nd grade math.  Confusion reigned and my answers reflected that.  The grade was what I expected.  Thank God for the grace of Illinois State University.  I could drop the class and not have it affect my GPA.  The academic leaders understood.

Christ also understands.  He knows that what we see as interesting and enticing can be our undoing.  We wade into the jungle and before we even know it the lion is about to devour us.  Our own desires of what we can handle get in our way.  We are dazed and confused in the midst of a test taken.

Christ overcomes all of this for us.  In the Gospel we see the perfect gift of his sinless life.  In the command to sacrifice Isaac and the ram’s death in his place, the Father foreshadowed his Son as our sacrifice – the good and perfect death, enduring the death we owe for our sin.

The Father gives you new birth into Christ.  By the Word of truth, the Gospel, you are born into a new life.  The perfect life of Christ has been given to you.  You are the A+ student.  The supreme test taker because you have been reborn in Baptism.  Your life of obedience is sustained in word, and body and blood shed for you and finally deliverance from this broken world.  Your diploma is “the crown of life” given as a gift by the Father through Christ.

So, don’t fear the tests.  Through Christ your Savior you are at the head of the class.  The favored pu

Bulletin Announcements

January 21, 2018

THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP:  Mark 1:14-15 – Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”  To repent means to turn away from sins and our former way of thinking and turn toward belief in God and His Gospel of grace and mercy.  The whole Christian life is one of repentance and faith – where is God calling you to repent today?  How is  He calling you to deeper faith?

NEED A RIDE? If you are unable to drive to church, we have an option that is available.  Please speak with Pastor who has the details.  Thank you.

OUR SUNDAY SCHOOL meets at 9:15 a.m. in the Choir Room which is located on the 2nd level (the west side).

THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS meets in the basement at 9:15 a.m. As we celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation we continue studies on that time period.  We are studying “A Man Named Martin”, a video-based study on the reformer Martin Luther.

TODAY is the deadline for items to be submitted for the FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER.  Janet Evans is our Editor for the church newsletter and any announcements you want to be published in the Newsletter should be submitted to her at goodshepherdblm@frontier.com or you may call her at (309) 838-1552.

THE BOARD OF ELDERS would like to remind the congregation of our winter weather protocol if worship needs to be cancelled.  We will send an e-mail to members and let WJBC Radio and TV Stations WEEK and WMBD know.  If we do not have your e-mail and you would like to be included please call the church office (309) 662-8905 or sign-up at: http://www.goodshepherdblm.org/about-us/contact-us/.

WE NEED YOUR IDEAS for our new church sign.  Sheets are available on the table in the narthex.  We will take submissions until Sunday, February 11, 2018.  You may drop them in the box in the narthex.  Thank you!

THANK YOU:  We have received a “Thank you” note from The Baby Fold for our recent support of the Annual Christmas Wish List.  It is posted on the bulletin board outside the church office.

PORTALS OF PRAYER:  The January – Martch 2018 are available on the book rack in the narthex.  Please pick up your free copy today.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR:  Wittenberg Lutheran Center’s Speakers Forum is scheduled for Saturday, February 10th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Schroeder Hall, Room 130 on the Illinois State University Campus.  This is a FREE event with lunch served.  Speaking will be Tim Goeglein an LCMS Laymen who worked in the Bush White House.  His topic will be “Faith In The Halls Of Power”.  The other speaker is family psychologist John Rosemond who will discuss “50 Years Of Parenting Babble (With No End In Sight”).

FELLOWSHIP HOSTS:  In order to get more people involved in our Coffee/Donut Fellowship for 2018 we have two separate sign-ups: Donut Pick-up and Coffee Set-up.  We would like to encourage you to sign-up for one or the other.  You may also sign-up for both if you wish.  The sign-up is by the door by the north stairwell.

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED to Camp CILCA’S First Annual Banquet NEXT SUNDAY, January 28, 2018 from 5-8:00 p.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, 2645 Old Jacksonville Rd., Springfield, IL.  Tickets are $40.00 each, and must be purchased before January 20th.  Purchase tickets by calling the Camp Office at (217) 487-7497, or by email at: camp@cilca.org.

THE LUTHERANHOUR:  “Cause I Said So” is the topic for next Sunday.  The sermon text will be from Mark 1:21-28.  Many have pretended to be the Messiah.  Jesus authority is recognized and obeyed by His competition.  Reverend Dr. Ken Klaus is the speaker.  Hear his message on The Lutheran Hour on WGN (720) at 6:00 a.m.; WJWR (104.7 FM) and WJWR (90.3 FM) both on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  Also, if you can receive Lincoln, IL radio station WLLM (1370 AM) the program is broadcast two times on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.  Tune in!  You can also listen to The Lutheran Hour on your personal at RealAudio, www.lhm.org.

FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE:  If you miss church, please be reminded that copies of the previous week’s sermon are available on the table in the narthex.  Also, the sermon will be available on our web site at www.goodshepherdblm.org.  Thank you.

PRAYER CHAIN:  If you have a prayer request please submit them by email to Mary Anne Kirchner at makirchner@yahoo.com or you may phone a Prayer Request to Mary Anne; her cell phone# is (309) 532-2582.  The Prayer Request box is on the table in the narthex for any written requests.

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Sermon for Sunday, January 14, 2018: “Body Language.”

Jan. 14, 2018 – Sanctity of Human Life Sunday                  Text:  1 Corinthians 6:12-20

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

What do you think of when you hear these two words – body language?  You might think of non-verbal communication where are body language speaks to if we are happy or sad, mad or compassionate, giddy or gory.  You might think of the 1980’s game show “Body Language” that was a form of charades.  You might think of that girl or guy and well, you know.  Where does your mind go when I say – body language?

The Apostle Paul is going to speak to us today about body language.  It is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday and God our Creator has given us all a body.  He has breathed life into our bodies.  He has sanctified and saved our bodies.  He wants us to use our bodies for His glory.

I am not going to stand in the pulpit today and piously point my finger.  I don’t want you to sit in the pew pompously either.  We are not going to surround Paul as he tells the world how horrible they are when it comes to use of the body.  See, Paul wasn’t writing to pagans.  He writes to Christians being influenced by a pagan world.  We need to take this personally.  The Holy Spirit will lead us to an understanding of . . .

“BODY LANGUAGE”

The Corinthians used improper body language when they thought their bodies were actually their own and therefore they could do whatever they desired.  We have modern day Corinthian thought.  “I have a right to do what I want with my own body” and “My body, my choice.”

Again, let’s not just point; let’s take it personally.  We use improper body language to justify pouring too much liquor into our bodies or eating to excess or sitting on our backsides instead of getting our hearts pumping or having sexual intercourse outside the bonds of marriage.  “Hey, it’s my body!  I can do what I want.”

What are we doing with our body language?  Society seems to think hook-ups and hang-ups and friends with benefits is the norm.  But recent studies seem to show the opposite.  Human beings are having less sex.  We can look at that two ways.  Good if it is the young and the unmarried.  Bad if it is husband and wife.  Our technological society shows that human interaction is waning.  We would rather be intimate with our devices.  Those movies of year’s past are coming true!

Paul’s body language is very clear:  “You are not your own” (v. 19).  You are not your own because you have been bought.  You are not your own because you have been bought with a price.  The price for you was high:  God’s own blood shed in the person of Jesus.  You are not your own, because that blood cleanses you from all your sin.  God dwells in you.

If you ever doubt your value or wonder about your purpose in life, remember Paul’s body language and take it personally!  In Baptism, the Lord united your body with His.  God bought you, cleansed you, and declared you holy.  Once we see how God values us and how He made our bodies holy then we can use them properly.  Our body language will speak of His glory.  “So glorify God in your body” (v. 20b).

Allow me to speak to our young people and singles here today.  Sometimes the Church sees you as just raging hormones and zits.  That is part of who you are but you are so much more.  God created you and knit you together in your mother’s womb.  God created you and then in Baptism united you with Jesus.  He purchased you with His blood and declared you His most holy place, where His Spirit is pleased to dwell.  You can make good, God-pleasing decisions.  You can glorify God with your body language.

The same goes for our husbands and wives.  Let’s take us back to our marriage worship service where the Pastor said this:  “The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for mutual companionship.  Marriage was also ordained so that man and woman may find delight in one another.  God also established marriage for the procreation of children.”  You, too, can make good, Biblical, God-pleasing choices and glorify God with your body language.  If you have children, you then pass on a God-ordained model.

Listen to God’s body language.  We are not to become monks but to use our bodies in ways that are pleasing to God.  We live in our ever-changing world but we don’t succumb to their immorality.  When they say:  “Go ahead put that drug in your body.”  Listen to God’s body language:  “I made your body for the Lord, to be united with Jesus.”  When the world’s body language says, “You have a right to do what you want with your body,” listen to God’s body language:  “Your body is not your own, for you were bought with a price.”  When the world and sometimes even the church say, “You can’t control your body, go ahead…be safe,” listen to God’s body language:  “You’ve been united with me.  I live in you.  I will help you.  You can glorify Me with your body.”

May the Lord help us all with our…BODY LANGUAGE.     Amen.

Sermon for Sunday, January 7, 2017: “The Voice.”

January 7, 2018 – The Baptism of our Lord                       Text:  Mark 1:4-11

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Most of us are not crazy about the realities of life, but our society does have a fascination with reality TV.  Survivor, The Amazing Race, and America’s Got Talent fills the airwaves throughout the week.

One of the more popular programs is called The Voice.  I am no connoisseur of this type of program but the lady I sleep next to at night is, so I know a little about the show.  The Voice is looking for the next big singing star.  The unique thing about this show is that when the singer auditions for the first time, the judge cannot see them.  They have their back to the performer.  They may not like the look, the clothes or their movements, but if they like The Voice, they turn around and say, “I want you!”  Then that judge becomes their coach.  It’s all about the voice.

Our reality this morning is that we are filthy rags of sin and we need forgiveness for our misdeeds.  We may not always want to hear that, but we can’t ignore the voice that tells us.  Even if we don’t like this reality in ourselves, we should not dislike hearing the voice.  Quite the contrary, rejoice in

“THE VOICE”

There is a voice in the wilderness that is preparing us for the Mighty One.  This voice has no previous fanfare or an agent trying to promote him – John the Baptist appears in the wilderness.  Could this possibly be the next great voice?  Is he in line to be a star preacher?  From the look of things let’s not crown his head quite yet.  Look at him – rough leather, camel’s hair (didn’t that go out in the stone age), locusts, wild honey.  But has he ever got a voice.

He uses that voice to pass on a painful reality to the crowds, you are all sinners.  You besmirch your neighbor with your talk.  You kill with words just for the sport of it.  You take things that do not belong to you.  Repentance is needed.  Without it you are all going to perish.

But this was no voice of despair.  John was preparing the way of the Lord’s forgiveness.  Crowds did hear the voice.  They came out to John and did repent.  They were baptized and in that baptism they were forgiven.  Most importantly, they heard the voice that the One who would secure this forgiveness was coming.

The voice from heaven announces to us the beloved Son.  Now appears another one who appears on the scene that we would not recognize as a star.  Jesus is just another guy in the crowd.  From the podunk town of Nazareth in backward Galilee.  In fact, He comes to be baptized, like all those sinners.

But you can’t ignore this voice, The Voice:  God the Father in heaven.  Jesus may not look like much.  The Holy Spirit isn’t there to put on a show; He comes simply as a dove.  But the voice has power.  This voice needs no coaching.

This is no audition.  It is not a contest.  This voice has the final Word:  “My beloved Son is the final Word.”  God the Father is well pleased that Jesus will now begin the task of saving all his children lost in the wilderness.  The Father is pleased that His Son is heading off to the wilderness to defeat temptation for all who have given into it.  The Father is well pleased that His beloved Son will go to the cross to take the punishment for all our sinful failures.

The voice declares these same wonderful things to us today.  In His Baptism, He put himself in our place.  He came to John to be baptized so that he would be the sinner in our stead.  That is, Jesus’ Baptism sent him to the cross for our sins.

That means the opposite is also true; we who are baptized are now in Jesus’ place.  Jesus’ Baptism sanctified all water to be powerful when the voice of the Pastor speaks God’s Word.  In Baptism, we receive the holiness of Jesus’ life, the forgiveness of his death.   Our loose talk and sticky fingers and hurtful words are washed clean from our body and soul.

Therefore, the Voice of God the Father can be heard in the Pastor’s voice.  “You – fill in your name – are my beloved son, beloved daughter.  With you I am well pleased.”  “You are my holy one, my child to live with me forever.”

Unlike The Voice with their blind auditions and backs turned on the performers.  God sees us for who we are, but he does not turn his back on us.  We are chosen by Him, not because of what we look like or even how we sound, but because we are connected to him through Christ’s Baptism.  We hear the voice of God calling us to repentance, and we follow him in faith.  Now, then, with great joy, we rejoice to hear THE Voice.

Amen.