Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: July 2016

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Philippians 3,7-14. 9. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Philippians 3,7-14 4016

9. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 054

Christina, Virgin, Martyr, beginning of the 3. century

24. Juli 2016

1. О Lord God, Heavenly Father, who has bountifully given us Your blessing and our daily bread: We beseech You, preserve us from covetousness, and so quicken our hearts so that we willingly share Your blessed gifts with our needy brethren; so that we may be found faithful stewards of Your gifts, and abide in Your grace when we shall be removed from our stewardship, and shall go before Your judgment, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One True God, world without end. Amen. (Veit Dietrich for the 9. Sn. n. Trinitatis)

2. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – so that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, so that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

3. The Lord spoke through the Prophet Jeremiah saying: »Behold, the days are arriving when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a Righteous Branch to spring up for David, and He will execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness« (Jeremiah 33,14-16). This Righteous Branch was promised to the patriarchs from Adam to Abraham to David to Judah, and the promise was that the Lord would undo the curse imposed upon Adam for his sin, redeem Israel and save the Gentiles (all the nations of the world). Thus when Jesus was presented to the Lord at the Temple, Simeon took Him into his arms and praised the Lord, saying: »Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a Light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Thy people Israel!« (Luke 2,30-32). Thus the Apostle Paul told the Philippian Christians: »I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.«

4. John the Baptizer tells us that Jesus is »the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world« (John 1,29). The Prophet Isaiah says that this Lamb of God »will be oppressed and afflicted, yet He will not open His mouth; He will be cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of the Lord’s people. For it is the Lord’s will to crush Him; for His life will make an offering for sin. All people will be accounted righteous, for He will bear their iniquities« (Isaiah 53,7-8.10-11).

5. Jesus bore our iniquities on the cross. Jesus the Branch

died upon another branch, the cross. The Living Branch sacrificed Himself upon the dead branch, and in doing so Jesus made the cross into a tree of life to overcome the curse of the tree of knowledge. For by a tree mankind exchanged his righteousness in the image and likeness of God, so by a tree God restored mankind’s righteousness. The cross has thus become the world tree, for Jesus has taken away the win of the entire world.

6. Saint Paul tells us: »We gain Christ and find in Him the righteousness from God that depends on faith so that we know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, so that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.« Again Paul: »We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us« (Romans 5,3-5). The apostle tells us that believing in Jesus means enduring a life of suffering on account of that faith and confession. It bears itself out in different ways at different times. Christians are persecuted around the world and some of them are martyred for their faith in Christ. We find that our American culture is increasingly more hostile and intolerant of the Christian faith and those who confess it. We patiently endure such suffering because we know that Christ Himself thus suffered and the end result for us is the resurrection which overturns all the devastation that suffering inflicts upon us. Paul reminds us: »For if we have been united with Christ in a suffering like His, then we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His« (Romans 6,5).

7. For our goal in our Christian faith is Jesus. St. Paul tells us: »Forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead, press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.« Our goal is not the things of this world, for the things of this world — wealth, possessions, reputation — they pale in comparison to the things of heaven. The things of this world tarnish and fade away, but the things of heaven are eternal. Jesus promises that we will inherit the things of heaven: everlasting life in His presence, fellowship with the angels, archangels and all believers in Christ who have gone before us, a resurrected body free from the corruption of sin and death and a return to the paradise of Eden for which He originally created us to enjoy in His presence. This is the wonderful prize that God has for us on the last day. Jesus has secured it for us, and He gives us His righteous now as a down-payment on the future blessings that are ours as heirs of God. Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, those who seek You rejoice and are glad in You; send forth the Holy Spirit to encourage us to remain faithful to You and keep our eyes on the prize of eternal life so that we may say:„Great is the Lord!“ who has redeemed us and adopted us for His own. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

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.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Ephesians 5,8-14. 8. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Ephesians 5,8-14 3916

8. Sn. n. Trinitatis 053

Marcellina, Virgin, ✠ 397

17. Juli 2016

1. О Lord God, Heavenly Father, we most heartily thank You that You have caused us to come to the knowledge of Your Word. We pray: graciously keep us steadfast in this knowledge unto death, so that we may obtain eternal life; send us now ever pious pastors, who faithfully preach Your Word, without offense or false doctrine, and grant them long life. Defend us from all false teachings, and frustrate the counsels of all such as twist Your Word, who come to us in sheep’s clothing, but are inwardly ravening wolves, so that Your true Church may evermore be established among us, and be defended and preserved from such false teachers. Amen. (Veit Dietrich for 8. Sn. n. Trinitatis).

2. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says: »Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.« [Isaiah 26,19. 60,1]

3. The Apostle Paul reminds us in his Epistle to the Romans: »None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. No one does good. There is no fear of God before their eyes« [Romans 3,10-11.12.18]. This is nothing short of being in the darkness, as Paul reminds us today in his epistle: »For at one time you were darkness.« But Paul says we were not merely lost in the darkness, but that we ourselves were darkness; it was our essence and our nature. We hurt ourselves and others. We knew about God and other gods, but God did not dwell within us. The result of this encompassing darkness: »We were dead in our trespasses and sins« [Ephesians 2,1].

4. The Prophet Isaiah proclaims: »The people who walked in darkness have seen a Great Light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has Light shone« [Isaiah 9,2]. The Gospel according to John tells us that what the Prophet Isaiah wrote has been fulfilled in Jesus: »In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome It. But to all who did receive Jesus, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God« [John 1,1.4-5.12-13].

5. The Light of God has shone upon us in Christ Jesus. His Light has overcome our darkness. The punishment of the law against sin has been paid. Our sin has been forgiven. We have been redeemed back to God through Jesus’ vicarious sacrifice on the cross. Paul wrote earlier in his epistle: » God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ — by grace we have been saved — and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus« [Ephesians 2,4-6].

6. Therefore, we walk as children of the Light of God. Faith in Jesus brings forth good fruits and good works, therefore we should do what God has commanded (Augsburg Confession 6,1). St. Paul gives us some examples of what it means to walk as a child of the Divine Light: speak the truth with your neighbor, don’t remain angry as the day ends, be honest, speak with words that uplift and build up a person, be kind and forgive others (Ephesians 4,23-32). In walking such an enlightened path, we are imitating God and in truth we are walking in love just as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5,1-2).

7. Paul then quotes the Prophet Isaiah: »Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you« [Isaiah 26,19. 60,1]. On the one hand, this reminds us of the resurrection. Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection, and He promises to raise us up as well on the last day. On the other hand, it also fits with Paul’s image of light. In the depth and death of darkness, the Light that is Christ has shined upon us. The darkness has been dispersed and we are bathed in justifying Light.

8. An ancient 2. Century Easter Vigil sermon by Bishop Melito of Sardis captures both aspects of the Prophet Isaiah. He writes: „Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am Life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The reign of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.“

9. Therefore, dear Christians, lift up your heads, for your Sleeper has awakened (Isaiah 60,1-3; Ephesians 5,14). Christ has risen and He brings with Him a train of captives set free from sin, death and the devil. We rejoice with the psalmist: »For with You, O Lord, is the Fountain of Life; in Your Light do we see light« (Psalm 36,9). Let your light shine forth in faith and love so that through you your neighbors see the Glory of the Light of the Risen Christ. Amen.

10. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, whose Name is glorious, send us out to bear Your Light so that our neighbors may see Your loving kindness and Your faithfulness. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

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

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.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Acts 2,41-47. 7. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Acts 2,41a.42-47 3816

7. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 052

Jeremiah, Prophet, 629-580 bc

10. Juli 2016

1. О Lord God, Heavenly Father, who in the wilderness did by Your Son abundantly feed four thousand men besides women and children with seven loaves and a few small fishes: We beseech You, graciously abide among us with Your blessing, and keep us from covetousness and the cares of this life, so that we may seek first Your reign and Your righteousness, and in all things needful for body and soul, experience Your ever-present help; through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One True God, world without end. Amen. (Veit Dietrich for the 7. Sn. n. Trinitatis)

2. So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awefell upon every person, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

3. In the Book of Acts St. Luke the Evangelist summarizes the liturgy of the Early Church: apostolic preaching, the Sacrament of the altar and prayers. This is the basic outline of our Divine Service found in our Lutheran hymnals; we have the Scriptures read and proclaimed, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and we conclude with prayers. Added to this liturgical rite is the prepatory rite of confession and absolution. 19. Century Bavarian Lutheran pastor Wilhelm Löhe described the Divine Service as a mountain with two peaks: the Word and the Sacrament (Agende xiv). „In public worship the Church experiences an especial nearness to God; she approaches into the very presence of the Bridegroom, and tastes the blessedness of Heaven even here below“ (Agende xi). „Our Lord serves us today through His holy Word and Sacraments. Through these means, He comes among us to deliver His forgiveness and salvation, freeing us from our sins and strengthening us for service to one another and to the world“ (Lutheran Service Book viii).

4. The first mountain peak is the preached Word. We climb this peak with and Introit from a Psalm, and an Old Testament, New Testament and Gospel reading. Then there is a sermon proclaiming a portion of the Holy Scriptures, usually in the Lutheran tradition on the Sunday’s Gospel pericope or on of the other Lectionary reading for that day. The proclamation of the Holy Scriptures dominate the first half of our Divine Service.

5. The Scripture, from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation, is about Jesus Christ. In general, the Old Testament prophesizes the arrival of Jesus and the New Testament proclaims what He did when He had arrived. The defining moment in Jesus’ ministry is His crucifixion and resurrection. We preach Christ and Him crucified for the salvation of the world (1. Corinthians 2,2); this is what the apostles taught and preached two thousand years ago. „And this brings us to another reason why we need the word of the Apostles: It is not merely interesting information, but it has power to work saving faith, which is no illusion, but communion with the living Christ. No, this belief does not just arise by spontaneous combustion, but arises only because the apostolic word is taught and preached“ (Martens ¶ 8).

6. The Church gathers together in fellowship and communion around the Holy Scriptures and this communion fellowship is further strengthened by partaking together the Lord’s Supper. Christians are not lone wolves in their faith; we need to gather together to worship Jesus and encourage one another. This gathering together finds its ultimate expression when we come to the altar rail and receive the body and blood of our Lord in, with and under the bread and the wine. The read and preached Scriptures take us to the Lord’s Supper where we hear again the words of our blessed Savior: »Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me. Drink of it, all you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.« The Apostle Paul says of these words of Jesus: »For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He arrives« (1. Corinthians 11,26). What St. Paul teaches is that: „Yes, the Holy Supper is about salvation again and again: for salvation from eternal death, to participate in the new, eternal life and to communion with Christ who takes away everything that could separate us from God“ (Martens ¶ 9).

7. Finally the Church gathers to pray. The Apostle Paul exhorts Christians to pray when gathering for worship. »Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, so that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel« (Ephesians 6,18-19). »Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God« (Philippians 4,6). »I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, Godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior« (1. Timothy 2,1-3). Our prayers flow from the centrality of the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus has taught us to pray.

8. We thus gather each Sunday around the apostolic preaching, the Lord’s Supper and the prayers of the Church. In doing so we are joined together in a great terrestrial fellowship wth all Christians gathering in churches around the world, and furthermore we are in fellowship with angels, archangels and all believers in God’s Paradise. As the Holy Spirit uplifts us and encourages us with the gospel of Jesus Christ each Lord’s Day, let us uplift and encourage each other with love flowing from faith in Jesus. Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, from the rising of the sun to its setting, Your Name is praised; grant us the Holy Spirit guide us upon the right path of the faith and uplifting others in prayer so that all hear the gospel and are changed by it. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Martens, Gottfried. A sermon preached on 18. July 2010 | Acts 2,41-47 | 7. Sunday after Trinity. Copyright © 2010 St. Mary Church in Berlin-Zehlendorf (SELK). All rights reserved. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2010.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Romans 06,3-11. 6. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Romans 6,3-11 3716

6. Sn. n. Trinitatis 051

Cornelius, captain, Acts 10

3. Juli 2016

1. О Lord God, Heavenly Father, we confess that we are poor, wretched sinners, and that there is no good in us, our hearts, flesh and blood being so corrupted by sin, so that we never in this life can be without sinful lust and concupiscence; therefore we beseech You, Dear Father, forgive us these sins, and let Your Holy Spirit so cleanse our hearts so that we may desire and love Your Word, abide by it and thus by Your grace be forever saved. Amen. (Veit Dietrich for 6. Sn. n. Trinitatis).

2. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. We know that our old selfwas crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set freefrom sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

3. Earlier in his epistle, St. Paul wrote: »None is righteous, no, not one; no one does good, no, not one. Sin entered the world through Adam, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all mankind because all have sinned« (Romans 3,10.12; 5,12). By the very nature of being descendants of Adam, we are born into death. All men must die; all men must serve.

4. Christ has done both on our account. Christ has died; Christ has served. The Apostle Paul proclaims in his epistles: »God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Christ Jesus emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, and humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross« (Romans 5,8; Philippians 2,5-8). Patrick Henry famously quipped: Give me liberty, or give me death! Benjamin Franklin opined: Gentlemen, we must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. 1700 years before the Founding Fathers, Jesus died to give us liberty; He hung on the cross for all the world so that we would not have to hang separately. Jesus did this vicariously: He died and served for us and in our place; thus we call it God’s vicarious atonement for mankind.

5. This vicarious act becomes ours in Holy Baptism. Again Paul: »All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Having been set free from sin, we have become servants of righteousness. Now that we have been set free from sin and have become servants of God, the fruit we get leads to sanctification and its end, which is eternal life« (6,3-4.18.22).

6. Then St. Paul continues: »If we have been united with Christ in a death like His, then we shall certainly be united with Christ in a resurrection like His« (6,5). Death and life, crucifixion and resurrection, go together in Christ Jesus. Holy Baptism unites us to the Passion of Jesus. We have already died and been buried, because Jesus has already died and been buried. Baptism links us to His death and burial. Likewise, we have already been raised to new life, because Jesus has already risen from the grave and He is the first fruits of the resurrection of the dead (1. Corinthians 15,23).

7. The Apostle Paul finally tells us: »Therefore we must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus« (6,11). »Thus, we are not ashamed of the gospel, for the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written in Habakkuk 2,4: The righteous will live by faith. For a person is justified by faith alone apart from works of the law (Romans 1,16-17; 3,28).

8. Jesus is righteous, and He gives His righteousness to you in your Holy Baptism. You receive this by believing in your Baptismal promise, and in believing you have faith and trust in Christ who has shed His blood for your redemption and risen for your eternal life. »There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit Himself bears witness that we are children of God the Father, and if we are children, then we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ« (Romans 8,1.16-17). We have been baptized into His death and life, therefore we are now more than conquerors over all the temporal and spiritual things of creation (Romans 8,37). Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, Thou are proclaimed in the midst of the congregation; send forth the Holy Spirit to keep us in the faith which trusts in You alone to be our salvation and our justification so that in all we things we conqueror in You who was crucified and resurrected. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Philippians 3,7-14. 9. Sunday after Trinity

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Ephesians 5,8-14. 8. Sunday after Trinity

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Acts 2,41-47. 7. Sunday after Trinity

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Romans 06,3-11. 6. Sunday after Trinity