Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: May 2013

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Numbers 6,22-27. The Feast of the Holy Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

Numbers 6,22-27 3013

Tag der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit (Trinitatis) weiß 045

Quadratus, Bishop of Athens, disciple of the Apostles, Apologist, † 126

26. May 2013

1. O Eternal Son of the Father, the express icon of His Person and the brightness of His Glory, who, of Your infinite love, did take upon Yourself our nature and in the same offer a sacrifice for our sins: we praise and thank You for Your goodness and faithfulness, and humbly confess that we are far too frail and weak worthily to praise You. O Blessed Lord and Savior, have mercy upon us, and protect and defend Your Church, and grant us unity of faith, patience in trial, an happy issue out of all our afflictions and finally bring us into the Reign of Majesty and glory. (Löhe 147-48). Amen.

2. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: „Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them: »Yahweh bless you and keep you; Yahweh make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; Yahweh lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.« So shall they put My Name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.“

3. In the Athanasian Creed we confess: „we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity“ (LSB 319,4), but if you read the Bible from cover to cover you will not find the word „Trinity“ used anywhere in the pages from Genesis to Revelation. „Trinity“ is a doctrinal and liturgical word that the Church uses to confess a truth about God. The Athanasian Creed dates back to the late 5. century, but it’s Trinitarian language is also found in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, which confess God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The earliest of these three Western Creeds is the Nicene, which dates back to 381. As we work backwards from Nicæa, we find the Church, bishops, pastors and laity speaking about God in Triune language all the way back to the writing of the New Testament Epistles and Gospels, and even the Prophets of Israel.

4. Holy Scripture, while not using the word „Trinity“ does speak of God in a threefold fashion. Genesis 1 speaks of God the Father and the Spirit in the act of creation. The Gospel according to John speaks of the Word of God who is Jesus. The Apostle Paul begins his epistles with the phrase: » Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ« (Romans 1,7; 1. Corinthians 1,3; 2. Corinthians 1,2; Galatians 1,3; Ephesians 1,2, etc.). In the Pauline epistles we have God the Father and God the Son mentioned together. Consider also these words of Jesus: »All that the Father has is Mine; therefore I said that the Spirit will take what is Mine and declare it to you« (John 16,15), and: »Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit« (Matthew 28,19). In the Gospels, Jesus mentions the Father, Himself and the Spirit in the Divine context.

5. The language of Holy Scripture, therefore, leaves Christians with one of three options regarding the Divine language: 1. There is only one God; 2. there are two Gods and their Spirit; or 3. there are three Gods. The Church follows the hermeneutic that Scripture interprets Scripture, and that the clear passages of Scripture interpret the more difficult passages of Scripture. The Prophet Moses teaches by Divine inspiration: »Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one. (Deuteronomy 6,4). Judaism and Christianity are clear on this point: there is only One God. Therefore, the interpretation that the Holy Scriptures speak of three Gods when it speaks of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit cannot be entertained or confessed, nor can the interpretation that there are two Gods and their Spirit be entertained. The Church believes and confesses, therefore, that there is One God comprised of Three Persons of Father, Son and Spirit. This makes us unique in the world. Like Judaism and Islam, we reject the notion that there are many gods and goddesses. Judaism and Islam, however, understand that there is only one God who is the Father. Christians say that the One God is Father, Son and Spirit.

6. Our sermon text from Numbers 6 says it this way: »Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them: »Yahweh bless you and keep you; Yahweh make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; Yahweh lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.« Here we see the Trinitarian use of Yahweh in the Aaronic blessing. The Church understands that the entire Godhead blesses His people: God the Father bless you and keep you; God the Son make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; God the Holy Spirit lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

7. How does this Triune God bless His Church? A: God the Father sent His Son to redeem all people from sin, death and the devil. Jesus sent the Spirit (John 16,7) to His Church to guide her into all the truth (John 16,13) and to glorify Jesus by taking what is Jesus’ and declaring it to us (John 16,14). The great blessing of the Triune God upon His people is this: All that the Father has is Jesus’; the Holy Spirit takes what is Jesus’ and declares it to us (John 16,15).

8. This blessing begins by acknowledging who and what we are. We are sinners who have rebelled against our God and Creator. In this rebellion we have elevated ourselves to godlike stature (apotheosis) and run our lives as if we are god and thus above all morals and values; but we are petty and pathetic gods and goddesses. The One True God is love, but we often hate our neighbors. God is merciful, but we often hold grudges. God is forgiving, but we often withhold forgiveness to others. We are rebels against the Triune God and His benevolence, and rebels deserve punishment and death. Thus, the Triune God created hell for Satan and the angels who followed him in rebellion against God (Matthew 25,41).

9. The Triune God created men and women in His image and likeness; He does not desire for us to live separated from Him. Therefore, God the Father sent Jesus to redeem fallen men and women. The Prince of the universe humbled Himself and suffered crucifixion and death so as to rescue the world from the eternal punishment that death ushered in. The Prince of the universe raised Himself up on the third day as the first fruit of those He will raise up on the last day to everlasting life in in the new heavens and earth. Those who reject this grace and mercy of God will be consigned to hell with the wicked angels, but those who believe on Jesus will be welcome into their heavenly inheritance. As we await that great and glorious day, the Triune God blesses us.

10. »Yahweh bless you and keep you.« God created you in His Divine image and likeness. You lost the purity of this great gift in Adam’s fall, but God will restore that image and likeness on the day of your resurrection. During this temporal life, God the Father blesses you with many gifts, such as food, a home, clothes, family, friends, pets, possessions, money and many other countless things. All these blessings help us live more comfortable lives on this earth. God the Father also promises to keep and preserve you. He spares you from harm and a wicked death. He restores your fortunes when they are lost. He rebuilds what has been destroyed.

11. »Yahweh make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.« God the Father is well-pleased with you through Christ Jesus. His heart is friendly to you and His face beams with joy on account of His Only-begotten Son. Jesus has paid the redemption price for sin. He has conquered death. He has overcome the devil. This is pure and simple grace. You did not earn it; you did not deserve it; but God the Father gives His grace to you anyway because you are His and He loves you. Jesus Himself willingly, gladly and lovingly merited your salvation.

12. »Yahweh lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.« The Apostle Paul rhetorically asked the Romans: »If God is for us, then who can be against us?« (Romans 8,31). The answer Paul is looking for is: nothing; if God is for us, then there is no one or no thing who can be against us. Not the world. Not sin. Not death. Not the grave. Not hell. Not even the devil. God is greater than all of these, and even if they are all arrayed against us in an unholy alliance, nevertheless God is far greater than their combined evil strength. God is your ally; He is for you; He does not forsake you; you have nothing to fear. The Holy Spirit delights in giving you that very peace, a peace of mind and spirit that comforts you when the world and the devil conspire against you and do you harm. The Triune God is your Lord, your Defense, your Protection, from evil.

13. People will ask: where is God in the devastation that struck Moore, OK? It is a fair question to ask, although it is usually asked in mockery. One of my seminary professors, Dr. Norman Nagel, used to tell us this: „A god who is everywhere is as useless as a god who is nowhere. What we need is a God who is somewhere“ (Nagel). God is in the midst of the community of Moore, OK. How do I know this? A: Jesus promised that where two or three are gathered in His Name, then He also is among them (Matthew 18,20). Christian men and women are in Moore, OK praying with the survivors. They are comforting them and bringing supplies to them. They are gathered in that town in the Name of Jesus, and therefore, God is there. He is mourning their losses with them. He is working through His Church and individual Christian men and women to bring comfort and solace to those who are suffering. He is with them and will help them recoup their loss. That is where God is, and what He does, in times of disaster and tragedy, because He is a God who blesses people. Jesus is the great blessing God the Father has given the world. Jesus is in the devastation that touched down in Moore, OK. He works through Christian people, like you and me, to be a blessing to the people of Moore, OK. Amen.

13. Let us pray. O Triune God, You are a blessing to us, keep sound doctrine in our midst so that we may rightly understand Your revelation to us through Your Holy Scriptures and in understanding be at peace and blessed in your gracious heart toward us through Christ Jesus. Amen.

Christ crucified and risen for you

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Summer Divine Service

Beginning Sunday May 26th we will be worshipping at 9:30 a.m.

Hope to see you in the Lord's house

for the Divine Service!

Numbers 11,11-12.14-17.24-25. Pentecost Sunday

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

Numbers 11,11-12.14-17.24-25 2913

Pfingstsonntag 043

Pudentiana, Virgin at Rome, 1st c.

19. May 2013

1. O God, Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom, most heartily do we thank You that in these evil times You enlighten Your Church and work in us through Your Holy Word and the Blessed Sacraments and keep us from despairing of Your Divine mercy and favor. Preserve us from Satan, our old bitter foe, and enable us to rightly use Your Word, so that we may fight valiantly against all evil (Löhe 145-46).

2. Moses said to Yahweh: „Why have You dealt ill with Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, so that You lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, so that You should say to me: „Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,“ to the land that You swore to give their fathers? I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If You will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in Your sight, so that I may not see my wretchedness.“ Then Yahweh said to Moses: „Gather for Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.“ So Moses went out and told the people the words of Yahweh. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. Then Yahweh came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.

3. The promise of Pentecost is that Yahweh will pour out the Holy Spirit upon His people; this event had been promised throughout the Holy Scriptures. The seventy elders of Israel received the Spirit and prophesied for a time (Numbers 11). The Prophet Joel prophesied that one day Yahweh would send the Holy Spirit upon all people, including: sons and daughters, old men and young, male and female slaves (Joel 2,28-29). Jesus promised that His Heavenly Father would fulfill this promise and send the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and disciples. He would teach them and bring to remembrance all that Jesus had said (John 14,26). St. Luke records the Pentecost event, saying: »When the day of Pentecost arrived, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting« (Acts 2,1-2).

4. The Feast of Pentecost is the third of the three great feasts celebrated in the Church. Christmas and Easter round out our festive liturgical season. Pentecost is also the transition from the first half of the Church year to the second. Following Pentecost, we enter the season of the Trinity.

5. The seventy elders in Numbers 11 prophesied for a brief time. To prophesy is to preach and proclaim the Word of Yahweh. In the Old Testament, the prophets spoke God’s Word. This was a word of law and gospel. Many times the prophets exhorted the people to acknowledge their sin, repent and return to Yahweh. They promised that God would be loving and merciful; He would forgive them. Sometimes Israel listened and returned to Yahweh. Many times, however, they refused to listen to the prophets. Such is the way of sinners. We are prone to ignore God and go our own way. We hear His promises, but forget them due to sinful human frailty. Israel could not live up to Yahweh’s covenant; time and again they walked away from God and His Word. God, however, always remained faithful to His word and covenant with His people. He promised them a messiah who would be His very own Son. The Prophets often spoke about this promise and gave details of its unfolding, for the old testament was about Jesus.

6. It comes as no surprise to us then that the Gospels open with the words: »The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham« (Matthew 1,1). »The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God« (Mark 1,1). »And the angel said to Mary: „Do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His reign there will be no end“ (Luke 1,30-33). »In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1,1.14 ESV).

7. The Gospels declare that Jesus is the fulfillment of the old testament promises. In his Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke’s unfolds how the apostles proclaimed Jesus as the promised Messiah and Christ. On the Feast of Pentecost the Apostle Peter proclaimed: »„Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know – this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified“« (Acts 2,22-24.32-36).

8. Thus, the apostles proclaim that Jesus is the fulfillment of the old testament. The first to hear this proclamation were the Jews in Jerusalem celebrating Pentecost. The apostles laid the blame on the guilty: the Jews had conspired to kill Jesus. The old testament punishment for murder is death, but the apostles give the promise of life. Many of the Jews repented of their guilt, believed the preaching of the apostles and were baptized into the Christian faith. Throughout the rest of the book of Acts, Luke recounts how the apostles and disciples spread the gospel of the crucified and risen Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1,8).

9. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit continues to this day throughout the world. We are descendants of the apostolic preaching. The gospel has reached our shores and touched our hearts. The Holy Spirit has created faith in us, and we continue the proclamation of the gospel in our borough and to our neighbors.

10. Yahweh has made a new covenant with us; it is a testament grounded upon Jesus’ death and resurrection. God is faithful to His covenant and His people. We might forget His promise or preach a different gospel, but Jesus is remembers His promise and establishes the true gospel upon His death and resurrection. The task of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of His promise when we forget; He draws His Church back to the pure gospel where true repentance and forgiveness are found. The message is about Jesus, and the Holy Spirit works to get the Church grounded upon Jesus.

11. We are living in the last days foreseen by the Prophet Joel. The Apostle Peter proclaims that these last days began at Pentecost when the gospel was preached by the apostles. This gospel is still being preached in a multitude of languages and people from all nations hear and believe the Word of God. We see the promise of God fulfilled in our midst, and it is a promise that assures us that God is faithful to His people, now and always. Whoever calls upon Christ will be saved. No doubts. No in-betweens. Just pure and complete salvation. The Holy Spirit sent the apostles out to preach this life-giving gospel, and He continues to send preachers out with this gospel. You are freed by the Holy Spirit from your debt of sin through the preaching of the gospel. Through the preaching of the gospel, you are called back into fellowship with God the Father through Jesus Christ and unto everlasting life by the Holy Spirit. Amen.

12. Let us pray. You send forth Your Spirit,so they are created, and You renew the face of the ground. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and ignite in them the fire of Your Divine love. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

John 17,20-26. Christ's Ascension

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

John 17,20-26 2813

Christi Himmelfahrt (Exaudi 6. Sonntag nach Ostern) 041 weiß

Pancratius, Martyr at Rome 304

12. May 2013

1. Grant, we beseech You, Almighty God, so that as we do believe Your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so may we also ascend there in heart and mind, and continually dwell with Jesus (The Book of Common Prayer). Amen.

2. Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and prayed: „I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, so that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, so that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and You in Me, so that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O Righteous Father, even though the world does not know You, I know You, and these know that You have sent Me. I made known to them Your Name, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.“

3. The setting in our sermon text is a portion of the High Priestly prayer Jesus prayed in the upper room on Maundy Thursday. A few hours after this prayer His disciples were scattered, and Jesus was betrayed, arrested, condemned to execution as a blasphemer and a seditionist, crucified, die and was buried. Jesus walked the path of the cross alone; He bore the weight of the cross alone; He carried all the sin of the world upon His shoulders alone; He redeemed all the world by His own vicarious atonement and righteous merit.

4. Doesn’t Jesus say in this prayer that God the Father and He are one? Would this not mean that Jesus was not alone at His trial and crucifixion? If the Father and He are truly one, doesn’t that imply that the Father stood by His Son’s side during these hours of tribulation and execution? The Gospels of Matthew and Mark, however, record these words of Jesus: »My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?« (Matthew 27,46; Mark 15,34). On the cross, paying for our sins, Jesus was abandoned by even His Heavenly Father.

5. Perhaps you feel, or have felt, abandoned by God. You might ask: Where are You, Jesus? Have even You abandoned me? Do You still love me? These are real emotions and thoughts we have from time to time because we are mortal human beings. We have doubts. Our faith falters. We struggle with these thoughts, and in doing so we are no different from the men and women in the Bible who believe in the same Triune God that we do. Faithful people just like you asked these questions. Job and David wrote laments that expressed these feelings of loneliness from God. Even the prophets and the apostles felt separated from God, and you can read about their painful experiences in the pages of Holy Scripture. The good news is: When you feel apart from God, you are not alone for God is love and He is with you.

6. The love of God is imitated in the love of mothers for their children. God blessed us with mothers who love us, nurture us and care for us. God has blessed some of you to be mothers and you show this love to your children, even when then treat you as the prodigal son treated his father. God has not chosen others of you to be mothers, but you are still blessed by Him to love and care for other people in your life. God has given all women a love and nurturing attitude that is a blessing to many people in addition to their children. Such is the love of God toward each of you.

7. This past Thursday the Church celebrated the ascension of Jesus into heaven. It might seem that Jesus was leaving His apostles and disciples all alone. It is probable that the disciples felt sad, a bit scared and alone. After all, they had spent three years with Jesus day after day. They travelled together throughout Galilee and Judea. Jesus and His disciples had forged a strong band of friendship. They were a family, and, in the language of the New Testament, they were the Church. On His ascension, Jesus left His disciples for His heavenly throne at the right hand of God the Father. It is probable that both Jesus and His disciples had a twinge of sorrow at this departure.

8. This is why 43 days earlier Jesus prayed for them, prayed for the unity between He and they and prayed for the bond of fellowship between each disciple with one another. Jesus might no longer be standing in their midst in physical form, but He would nevertheless be present with them as they gathered in His Name. Jesus is omnipresent, and He exercises His presence in the midst of all His dear Christians. Now if you look around you won’t see Jesus as a 5’5” man with brown hair and eyes seated among us, but He is most certainly in our midst, just as He is at this very moment in every church worshipping Him at this minute and He is also in heaven in the presence of all His disciples who have entered Paradise: such is the reality of Divine omnipresence.

9. Listen again to Luke’s account of the ascension: »Then Jesus led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God« (Luke 24,50-53). My attention is drawn to two points: 1. Jesus blessed His disciples and they returned to Jerusalem blessing Jesus; 2. the disciples worshipped Jesus at Bethany and returned with great joy.

10. 1. Jesus blessed His disciples. Before they left for Bethany and His ascension, Jesus told them: »I am sending the promise of My Father upon you« (Luke 24,49). There are many facets to the blessing and promise Jesus gave them, but today’s sermon text gives this heavenly blessing: God the Father and Jesus are in them, and they in Them. God is one with them, and they are one with God. Jesus gives us this same blessing: He is one with us, and we are one with the Triune God. God created man to be male and female in His image and likeness; He created us to be in full fellowship with Him and He with us. Adam’s disobedience separated all mankind from Divine fellowship, but through His Son, God the Father restored His unity with all men and women. Jesus has ascended to heaven, but He is with you. He watches over you, He provides for you, He protects you, He knows what is going on in your life and He is always ready to hear you when you call upon Him. I don’t know how you think of Jesus when you pray, but I often envision an ascended, glorified Jesus seated on His throne attentively listening to my petitions and pleas. The ascended Jesus is a Jesus who has been given the reign of His Father, and He hears your prayers and answers them. Thus the disciples returned to Jerusalem where every day they were in the temple blessing Him. They were giving thanks to Jesus for the great blessing and promise He had given them. His blessing uplifted them and strengthened them in all aspects of their lives.

11. 2. The disciples worshipped Jesus at Bethany and returned with great joy. The disciples confessed Jesus to be the True God and so they rightly worshipped Him as God. They returned to Jerusalem with great and abiding joy. Yes, Jesus had left for His heavenly throne. Yes, Jesus was no longer in their midst like He had been for the past three years. Yes, great challenges lay ahead for these apostles and disciples. But they received all this with joy and peace. Jesus was still with them. Jesus was watching over them. Jesus was blessing them. He would soon send them the blessing of the Holy Spirit. He would soon work through them to preach the gospel unto all the world. Jesus loved them, looked out for them and provided for them. He does the same for each one of us today. Like the disciples, we gather to worship and bless Jesus. It is my most heartfelt desire that each Sunday you leave the Divine Service with joy and peace. Does this mean you will still have the tribulations, struggles and concerns you had when you walked through the narthex doors an hour before? Yes, you may very well have all those issues still on your plate, but you should be leaving each Sunday with Jesus’ blessing upon you so that you have peace and joy that all your cares are soundly in Jesus’ hands and that He will deal with them in His good and gracious will.

12. The Gottesdienst (Divine Service) of the Church sends you out with the Divine blessing of Jesus ringing in your ears: »The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and ✠ give you peace« (Numbers 6,24-26). I speak the blessing of Jesus upon you with the very words that God has blessed His people since the days of Moses and Aaron. You know they are Jesus’ blessing because I make the sign of the cross, which testifies that they are Jesus’ words. You then respond with singing: „Amen, amen, amen.“ This means: yes, this is most certainly true and I believe it. Your triple amen response is a response of worship and blessing, testifying that you humbly receive the blessing Jesus has impressed upon you. This is why you leave each Sunday with joy and peace, for you leave with the blessing of Jesus placed upon you and the song of thanksgiving echoing from your lips in the final song we sing each Sunday.

13. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah! Christ is ascended! Alleluia. Christ is returning for you! Hallelujah! On that last day He will raise up your dead body to new life and you will stand before the throne of Jesus and worship Him with your resurrected body and soul seeing Jesus as His disciples saw Him: in heavenly glory and honor. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You Sit at Your Father’s right hand, until He makes Your enemies Your footstool. By Your right hand exalt us and valiantly defend Your beloved bride, the Church, so that we await Your return with joy and peace in our hearts. Amen.

Christ crucified and risen for you

✠

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Bishop Stechholz of the English District, LCMS

Our bishop, The Rev. Dr. David Stechholz preached for us on May 5. Click on the audio sermon link to hear his sermon (it is in two parts).

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Isaiah 12,1-6. Cantate

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

Isaiah 12,1-6 2613

Kantate (4. Sonntag nach Ostern) 039 weiß

Vitalis of Ravenna, Italy. Martyr 62

28. April 2013

1. O Almighty God, who alone can order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men; Grant unto Your people, so that they may love the thing which You command, and desire that which You promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found. Amen (The Book of Common Prayer).

2. ¹Youwill say in that day: „I give thanks to You, O Yahweh, for though You were angry with me, Your anger turned away, so that You might comfort me. ²Behold, Elohim is my salvation; I trust, and am not afraid; for Yahweh is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.“ ³With joy Youdraw water from the wells of salvation. ⁴And You will say in that day: „Give thanks to Yahweh, call upon His Name, make known His deeds among the peoples, proclaim that His Name is exalted. ⁵Sing praises to Yahweh, for He has done gloriously; let this be made knownin all the earth. ⁶Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in yourmidst is the Holy One of Israel.“

3. The Prophet Isaiah boasts that he trusts in Yahweh and is not afraid. And yet, should he not be afraid of Yahweh, for after all, Isaiah is a sinner in an idolatrous nation that has turned its back on trusting Yahweh? What about us? Should we be afraid of Yahweh, too?

4. Indeed we should be afraid of Yahweh. We are fallen from His image and likeness; our human nature is now corrupted and sinful. We do not fear Yahweh. We live our lives and do what we want regardless of God and His will. Israel in Isaiah’s day acted similarly. They worshiped Yahweh, but many saw no harm in worshipping the local idols of the region, too. They did not believe Yahweh would punish them or abandon them.

5. Americans in the 21. century are no different from 8. century BC Israel. We live in a nation and a culture that bears a heavy yoke with determined resolve; we look to our own selves for salvation, rely on our strength and sing songs in praise of ourselves. We even pride such attitudes as virtues. We are a subjective people who emphasize the individual and the importance of the individual and expect the universe to revolve around ourselves. Our personal choice reigns supreme as our idol and no one can or should judge us and the decisions we make. Therefore, we can change the institution of marriage to include same-sex unions, we can abort millions of babies each year in the name of freedom of choice and we can make knee-jerk reactions to horrible events, all the while believing that since we as individuals are exercising our liberties, freedoms and choices there will be and should be no consequences to us and our nation.

6. Israel did this very thing and arrogantly thought there would be no consequences to their rampant idolatry, but very real effects resulted from their choices. Idolatry lead to a breakdown in the moral and social fabric of their lives. Neighbors treated each other shamefully. People brought frivolous lawsuits in order to obtain their neighbor’ property. The judges could be bribed for personal gain. The widows were neglected. Young children were abandoned. Israel’s choices had real world consequences in their communities.

7. Do we as Americans think so highly of ourselves that we can dodge the consequences of our choices? The yoke we all bear in this life is the result of the chains we have forged, link by link, in the ungodly choices we have made for ourselves or others have made that have impacted our lives. Our society resembles the rampant idolatry and moral decay that Isaiah lamented about in his day. We are so burdened by this sinful yoke that we cannot save ourselves nor remove that burden.

8. Yoke is a word used of the law (Nagel 175). God’s law is a heavy yoke to bear because the law reveals our sins. If we break even one commandment, then we are guilty of breaking them all (James 2,10). Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that the law is not an easy burden but a difficult one for the law isn’t merely concerned about deeds but also about thoughts and desires. We cannot bear the law, nor keep the law, no matter how hard we try. „And only in the trying, only in laboring at it, do we know the heavy load, a load we cannot bear. We cannot qualify for God’s favor by our performance in keeping His commandments. We are sinners“ (Nagel 175).

9. It is to sinners such as you and me that Jesus bids us to come to Him and bring our heavy load of sins and our laboring under the law. Jesus desires to relieve us of all our burdens: all of our sinful choices that run against God’s will and all of the law’s overbearing condemnations.

10. „What we cannot bear, Jesus bears for us. He carries that yoke for us, fulfills the Law for us. Its condemnation on our sin He bears for us, for on Him is laid the burden of the iniquity of us all. The death for sin Jesus dies in our place. The forsakenness of God, which is for our sin, He takes in our place, for He is the sin-bearer for us all, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world“ (Nagel 175).

11. He does so by exchanging His yoke with ours. Jesus’ yoke is easy and light. Our heavy yoke is our wretched sin. Jesus’ light yoke is His righteousness. In this blessed exchange, Jesus takes from us our sin and gives us His righteousness. The Holy Spirit revealed this to Isaiah who then called this Christ our Salvation, Strength and Song.

12. On account of Jesus, God the Father is no longer angry at us and our sinfulness. His wrath and punishment upon sin has been satisfied in Jesus’ sacrifice. If God is no longer angry at us, then there is no need for us to be terrified of Him, for God has shown us His love and we can now love Him in return. In Christ we are a new creation (2. Corinthians 5,17). We live as sons and daughters of God; we desire to follow His will. We are called out of the world and set apart from the world (εκκλησια). We live a certain way that is in tune with God’s will by the working of the Holy Spirit within us.

13. This morning we confessed the Holy Spirit and His Office in the 3. Article of the Apostles’ Creed. What is this Office of the Spirit? We cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord, or can approach Him; therefore, the Holy Spirit has called us through the gospel, enlightened us with His gifts, sanctified and kept us in the true faith; just as He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps her with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all sins to us and all believers and at the last day will raise up us and all the dead and will give to us and to all believers in Christ eternal life. [1]

14. Today, working through your Holy Baptism and the preached Holy Scriptures, the Holy Spirit sustains your faith, strengthens you to use the Commandments as a guide for your life and with the gospel absolves you of all your sin. Each day He works in your life through these means of grace to keep you on the path of everlasting life with the Triune God. Amen.

15. Let us pray. O Risen Christ Jesus, Your Name is glorious, pour out upon us joy and jubilation so that we robustly sing praises to You, our Savior who delivered us from sin and hell. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

✠

All quotations from the Book of Concord are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche, 12. Edition © 1998 by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

¹ Ich glaube, daß ich nicht aus eigener Vernunft noch Kraft an Jesus Christus, meinen Herrn, glauben oder zu ihm kommen kann; sondern der Heilige Geist hat mich durch das Evangelium berufen, mit seinen Gaben erleuchtet, im rechten Glauben geheiligt und erhalten; gleichwie er die ganze Christenheit auf Erden beruft, sammelt, erleuchtet, heiligt und bei Jesus Christus erhält im rechten, einigen Glauben; in welcher Christenheit er mir und allen Gläubigen täglich alle Sünden reichlich vergibt und am Jüngsten Tage mich und alle Toten auferwecken wird und mir samt allen Gläubigen in Christus ein ewiges Leben geben wird. Das ist gewißlich wahr.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Numbers 6,22-27. The Feast of the Holy Trinity

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Summer Divine Service

Numbers 11,11-12.14-17.24-25. Pentecost Sunday

John 17,20-26. Christ's Ascension

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Bishop Stechholz of the English District, LCMS

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Isaiah 12,1-6. Cantate