Sermon Text for February 4, 2018.

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.

Bulletin Announcements

February 4, 2018

THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP:   1 Corinthians 9:25 – “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”  Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit – for the desires of the flesh are at war with the desires of the Spirit. Having received the new life in Christ by his grace, he now calls us to follow him deliberately, with self-control, with intention.

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:  Stop by the display table in the narthex and choose a handful of Booklets to take with you.  Booklet Titles include: “Prayer/Contentment; “Grief”; “Depression”; “Stress”; “Hope and Healing” and many others.  Help support Lutheran Hour Ministries.

NEXT SUNDAY, February 11th, will be our door Offering for our Seminary student.

LENT BEGINS on February 14th with our Ash Wednesday Worship with Holy Communion at 7:00 p.m.  There is no meal that evening.  The meals will be on the following five Wednesdays: February 21st and 28th; March 7th, 14th and 21st.  We will once again do the Imposition of Ashes in our Ash Wednesday Service.  If you have any questions about this practice, please speak with Pastor.

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

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.goodshepherd blm.org/about-us/contact-us/.

FEBRUARY FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT:  Friday night at the movies will be on February 16th at 6:30 p.m. The movie is “MOUNTAIN TOP  – A JOURNEY OF FAITH”.  Sometimes, the best place to see the future is on a mountain top.  That’s where lawyer turned preacher Mike Andrews life changed, and he has no intention of going back.  The last thing he wants to do is return to the courtroom and represent an eccentric old man whose mind is filled with obscure visions and confusing dreams.  But when Sam Miller’s visions get personal, Mike discovers there are paths that lead higher than earthly mountains. And roads, more dangerous than an icy hairpin turn on a moonless night.  Join us for another great movie, wonderful fellowship and good food!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR:  Wittenberg Lutheran Center’s Speakers Forum is THIS COMING 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.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR:  “Was Blind, But Now I See” is the topic for next Sunday.  The sermon text will be from 2 Corinthians 4:3.  Would you rather be blind or visioned?  That’s an easy one.  But, how does a spiritually blind person become seeing? Reverend Dr. Dale Meyer 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 computer 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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Stewardship Corner February 2018

“I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:8-9).

Without commands or even arm-twisting, St. Paul encourages, even challenges, the Church in Corinth to demonstrate the sincerity of their faith by their generosity in giving. He does this because giving generously is a gift of the Spirit given to us through the Gospel.

St. Paul wrote: “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7). In other words, just as we grow in faith and speech and knowledge of eternal things by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, so also do we grow in giving from the same Spirit through the same Word.

The problem is that the grace of generosity often grows cold in us. It’s not so much that we stop giving, but we don’t put it first. We treat it like all the other bills that must be paid. It becomes a chore, just one more thing to check off a list of things to do. That empties it of its spiritual power and robs us of the joy that Christ and the Scriptures assign to it.

On top of that, since this generosity is linked to faith and knowledge of divine things, a lack of excelling in giving is a sure sign that our faith and knowledge of God are under attack as well.

Thus St. Paul points to the foundation of generosity: the generosity of Christ Himself. Even though He was rich, He became poor so that we who are poor might become rich. Thus, the incarnation, suffering, and death of our Lord on the cross is the reason, source, and driving force for our generosity in giving to the church.

And since Christ who was rich became poor so that we might be rich in His grace—of which generous giving is part—so we also who are rich in His grace can excel in pressing His grace into service toward the gracious work of the church.

Pay attention to what you give to the church so that you may excel at it. And if you find that your heart has grown cold or indifferent toward it, immerse yourself in God’s Word. Read it at home. Attend Bible Class. Hear and listen to it preached in the Divine Service.

Be reminded of what Christ has done for you in His incarnation, suffering, and death. For this will strengthen your faith and knowledge. And where that excels, so will the grace of giving excel also.

Pastor’s Notes February 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute, Frank Koch illustrates the importance of obeying maritime laws.  Two battleships had been on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days.  The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.

Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow.”  “Is it steady or moving astern?” the captain called out.  The lookout replied, “Steady, Captain,” which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.  The captain then called to the signalman, “Signal that ship:  We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.”  Back came the signal, “Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees.”  The captain said, “Send:  “I’m a captain, change course twenty degrees.”  “I’m a seaman second-class,” came the reply.  “You had better change course twenty degrees.”  By that time the captain was furious.  He spat out, “Send:  I’m a battleship.  Change course twenty degrees.”

Back came the flashing light, “I’m a lighthouse.”

Jesus Christ is the lighthouse.  There are a lot of captains and battleships that would tell him this, that, and whatever.  But, all of these captains and battleships that do not submit to Christ are essentially from man.  Jesus is the one from heaven who died and rose victoriously for us.  Who’s the boss?  The answer:  He who is considered nothing but a seaman second-class.  The lighthouse!  He cannot be moved, and he will vindicate all those who believe in Him, because He is in charge.

As Paul writes, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

In Christ,

Pastor