Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: August 2017

Monday, August 28, 2017

LCMS Disaster Relief Fund

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Disaster Relief Fund

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Psalm 113,3-4.6-7; Daniel 9,18. 11. Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Psalm 113,3-4.6-7; Daniel 9,18 4417

11. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 056

Monica, Widow mother of Augustine, ✠ 387

Caesarius, Bishop of Arles, France, ✠ 542

27. August 2017

1. О Lord Jesus Christ, In God my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him. To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to You for help.. Amen. (Gradual)

2. O my God, incline Your ear and hear. Open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by Your Name. For we do not present our pleas before You because of our righteousness, but because of Your great mercy. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the Name of the Lord is to be praised! The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens! who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

3. The Prophet Daniel knows how man stands before the Lord: »O God, we do not present our pleas before You because of our righteousness, but because of Your great mercy.« Jesus told the parable in today’s Gospel pericope to some who trusted in themselves and treated others with contempt (Luke 18,9). The „some“ Jesus told this parable to were the Pharisees. These Jewish men fervently followed the Mosaic law and considered themselves righteous under the law. The tax collector was a stark contrast to the Pharisee. The tax collector is condemned by the same law as unrighteous.

4. God’s law condemns every man and woman equally. A person will seek righteousness in one of two ways: 1. turn to that same condemning law and strive to follow it with the intent of meriting righteousness by doing the works of the law; or 2. seek righteousness outside him/herself. The 1. approach is that undertaken by the Pharisee, and the 2. approach is that taken by the tax collector.

5. Jesus teaches that the self-righteous approach with the law utilized by the Pharisees does not exalt but rather humbles a person. Self-righteousness is not true righteousness; it will not justify a person. True righteousness is trusting in the righteousness of another, that is, to trust completely in God and His mercy. Those who humble themselves before God will be exalted by Him. Thus, Jesus’ parable presents a shocking reversal: the Pharisee who is considered righteous leaves the temple unjustified, but the tax collector who is considered unrighteous leaves the temple justified.

6. Humility and exaltation are common themes in the Bible. The Apostle Paul describes Jesus this way: »Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but He emptied Himself by taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Hm the Name that is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth so that every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father« (Philippians 2,5-11). Jesus therefore fulfills what the Psalmist praises in today’s Introit: »Blessed be Jesus, the Name of the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the Name of the Lord is to be praised!«

7. Christianity is not another religion where you earn justification and favor by trying to please God with good works. Christianity is the realization of the reign of God in our midst manifested by Christ Jesus. Christianity is based on faith that receives God’s justification by grace. Christianity shows us that God the Father loves us and redeems us through the vicarious merit of His Son Jesus Christ who was crucified and risen from the dead.

8. In today’s Gospel parable: the tax collector left justified because he trusted in the mercy and grace of God. Jesus arrived to call sinners to repentance and to justify them. You leave today justified just as the tax collector was. Our trust is in Christ who gives us His own righteousness and in doing so He justifies us. Christ humbled Himself so that He could exalt you. Go in peace; you are forgiven and you are justified. Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, Give thanks to the Lord and call upon His Name; proclaim His deeds among the peoples! 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.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Psalm 74,1-3.20-21; Psalm 33,12. 10. Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Psalm 74,1-3.20-21; Psalm 33,12 4317

10. Trinitatis 055

Bernard of Clairvaux, France, Hymnwriter, Theologian, and Abbot, † 1153

20. August 2017

1. O Jesus Christ, Thou our Vindication, keep us as the apple of Your eye and hide us in the shadow of Your wings, so that our eyes behold Thy Righteousness. Amen. (Gradual).

2. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen as His heritage! O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; and this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt. Turn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary. Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise Your Name.

3. The Pslamist’s exhortation: »Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen as His heritage!« is contrasted against Jesus’ declaration: »O Jerusalem, would that you had known on this day the things that make for peace! For the days will arrive upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you, surround you, hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground. They will not leave one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation« (Luke 19,42-44).

4. Israel had been chosen from among all the nations to carry from generation to generation the promise first given to Adam and Eve: I, the Lord, will send mankind a Savior to deliver them from Your fall into sin and redeem them from the curse of sin, which is death. The Apostle Paul says it this way: »To Israel belongs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, the promises, the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all« (Romans 9,4-5).

5. The Psalmist asks the question: »O God, why do You cast us off; why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?« Stephen gives the answer: »O elders and scribes, you are stiff-necked and always resist the Holy Spirit. Which of the Prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the advent of the Righteous One, Jesus, whom you have now betrayed and murdered« (Acts 7,51-53). The Jewish political and religious leaders had rejected the temple where the Lord had dwelt on Mt. Zion. Jesus proclaimed that He is the physical dwelling of the Lord in their midst; His body is the holy temple.

6. What happened at the temple in Jesus’ day? A: In Jesus’ day, the temple served three functions: 1. the courtyard served as a place for Jews and God-fearing Gentiles to gather, worship and pray; 2. the courtyard served as a place where rabbis and scribes taught the Scriptures; and 3. the Mosaic covenant sacrifices were performed there where the sins of the people were forgiven. Jesus fulfilled the temple’s role of sacrifice. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1,29). For the Jews, to reject Jesus their Messiah is to reject Moses, the temple and the sacrifice for sin; in short, to reject Jesus was to reject their Judaism. To reject Jesus is to reject both the Father and the Holy Spirit, for Jesus and the Father are one, and they send the Holy Spirit who teaches us and brings to remembrance all Jesus said (John 10,30; 14,6).

7. The Romans destroyed the temple twice: 1. they crucified Jesus, and 2. when the Jews rebelled a generation later (ad 66), General Titus besieged Jerusalem, captured the city and destroyed the temple as the remaining Jewish rebels made their last stand there. At the end of August 70 the temple sacrifices ended and have never been reinstituted. The true temple, Jesus, was was destroyed and rebuilt in His crucifixion and resurrection. His one-time sacrifice fulfilled His Father’s covenant promise given to Moses at Mt. Sinai.

8. The Introit prophesied this about the temple 1000 years before it occurred: »O Lord, direct Your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.« Yet the Lord does not forget His Israel He regards His covenant with them. The apostles preached the gospel of Christ crucified first to the Jews and only then to the Gentiles. Those who reject this gospel have the sign of their unbelief in the rubble of the Jewish temple that now is occupied by Islam’s Dome of the Rock mosque; those who receive this gospel have the sign of their belief in the empty tomb of Jesus’ resurrection. The Apostle Peter writes in his epistle: »As you draw near to Christ, a Living Stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy« (1. Peter 2,4-5.9-10).

9. As God’s people in Christ, He defends you and your cause: »Blessed is the congregation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen as His heritage.« »The Eye of the Lord is on those who fear, love and trust Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love and mercy, so that He delivers them from eternal death and keeps them alive with eternal life« (Psalm 33,18-19). Amen.

10. Let us pray. O God, Thou art the Shepherd of Thy people; keep us safely in Your fold, so that we may withstand the trials and temptations of this world. 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.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Psalm 40,9-12; Psalm 143,1.2. 9. Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Psalm 40,9-12; Psalm 143,1.2 4217

9. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 054

Cassianus, Martyr 362.

Jacob Aall Ottesen Preus II, Pastor and Theologian. ✠ 1994

13. August 2017

1. О Lord Jesus Christ, Your Name is majestic in all the earth; set Your glory upon the earth, so that Your righteousness covers all people. Amen. (Gradual)

2. Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In Your faithfulness answer me, in Your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with Your servant, for no one living is righteous before You. I desire to do Your will, O my God; Your Torah is within my heart. I have told the glad news of deliverancein the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as You know, O Lord. I have not hidden Your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your loving kindness and Your faithfulness from the great congregation. As for You, O Lord, You will not restrain Your mercy from me; Your loving kindness and Your faithfulness will ever preserve me!

3. The Psalmist exhorts us to pray to the Lord and plead for His mercy, for no one is righteous before Him. Many of the psalms are prayers such as Psalm 40 and 143 that implore the Lord to be merciful to the unrighteous. Our Prepatory Rite of Confession and Absolution each Sunday morning takes inspiration from such imprecatory psalms: we confess our sinfulness to God and are assured of His righteousness and mercy. Because God is a Gracious and Just, we are certain that He hears and answers our prayers.

4. Jesus tells us on the last day that »to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance« (Matthew 25,29). God the Father is an extremely generous God who liberally gives from His Divine abundance. A single talent was worth 6000 denarii (16.438 years of wages for a common worker). 1 talent = $1,422,175.12 (as of Tu 8. August 2017). The Apostle Paul tells us that »the wages of sin is death« (Romans 6,23). The average lifespan in America is 78.74 years which equals 4.79 talents or $6,812,390.13 worth of sinful wages. But God the Father does not accept gold or American dollars as payment for sin; the redemption price for a sinful life is blood as the Apostle Peter proclaims: »we were ransomed not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but we were ransomed with the precious blood of Christ« (1. Peter 1,18). The law says the wages of sin is paid with blood for blood and life for life. The ransom Christ gave to redeem us was His own shed blood and the giving up of His life as the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world (John 1,29), just as the Prophet Isaiah foresaw: »Behold, the Lord’s Servant was oppressed and afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before it's hearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth« (Isaiah 53,7). And again the Prophet declares: »Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His life makes an offering for sin; He bore the sin of all, and makes intercession for the transgressors« (Isaiah 53,10.12).

5. Christ is the fulfillment of today’s Introit: »Jesus is the gospel of deliverance.« This gospel is not a private revelation to be kept in one’s heart, rather this gospel is a Divine revelation that is to be proclaimed. The Apostle Paul writes in his Epistle to the Galatians: »The gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel, for I did not receive it from any many, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ« (Galatians 1,11-12). Paul preached the gospel of Christ crucified to Jews, Greeks and Romans throughout the Roman Empire with 3 missionary journeys and 1 trip to Rome in chains to give an account of his conduct to Caesar Nero himself (54-68). 2000 years later bishops and ministers preach the same gospel in the Church that Paul preached in synagogues and public squares. »So faith is created from hearing the Word of Christ« (Romans 10,17).

6. The reign of heaven will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property (Matthew 25,14). God the Father has handed over to His Only Son the entirety of His wealth. Jesus has been entrusted with infinite talents. How can one double an infinity of talents? St. Paul enlightens us about this in his Epistle to the Romans: »O the depth of the riches, wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how incomprehensible His ways!« (Romans 11,33). »Christ became a Servant/Deacon to the Jews to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy« (Romans 13,8-9). On the last day, all will see God the Father settle accounts with His Son. Miraculously, Christ Jesus will present to His Father double the infinite talents handed over to Him! Many will stand before the Father and His Son as the doubling of the Divine talents. In the reign of heaven there will be neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus; and if we are Christ’s, then we are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3,28-29). Jesus Himself comforts us with these words: »My sheep hear My Voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My Hand« (John 10,27-29). We who believe in Christ are part of the abundance of Christ’s ministry!

7. Christ is the Embodiment of His Father’s salvation, steadfast love and faithfulness; He does not withhold His mercy from us. In the Office of Matins we chant: »Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord« (Psalm 70,1). »In Christ we have obtained an inheritance so that we who we who were the first to hope in Chirst should be for the praise of His glory« (Ephesians 1,11-12). For Christ Jesus is the Icon of the Invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible through Him and for Him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together, for He is the Head of the body, the Church. He is the Ruler/Beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, so that in everything He may become preeminent. For in Him all the Fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, making peace by the blood of His cross« (Colossians 1,15-20).

8. In His abundant mercy, Christ has given us a rich talent that is faith in Him for the salvation of our lives. As stewards of that righteous talent of faith, let us deliver unto Christ additional talents and build upon the talent of salvation that only Christ has earned and given unto us freely by grace, yes, let us build upon that gift of faith with good works to glorify our Merciful Savior. »Put to death what is earthly in us: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful passion,, evil desire, covetousness and idolatry. Put away anger, rage, malice, slander and abusive language. Put on what is Godly: affection, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, forgiving each other, putting on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony« (Colossians 3,5.8.12-14).

9. Out of love, God the Father sent His Son to redeem us. Out of love, Christ became our vicarious sacrifice. Out of love, the Holy Spirit created faith in Christ when we heard the gospel. God’s loving kindness and faithfulness will ever preserve us unto life everlasting. Amen.

10. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, all who seek You find gladness, give us opportunities to tell others of Your salvation through Christ, so that in confessing His Name they may say may: „Great is the Lord!“ Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Psalm 48,1-2.9-11.14; Psalm 43,3. 8. Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Psalm 48,1-2.9-11.14; Psalm 43,3 4117

8. Trinitatis 053

The Transfiguration of Christ

6. August 2017

1. O Jesus Christ, our Rock of refuge and a Strong Fortress, draw us into the safety of Your heavenly gates, so that we never be put to shame. Amen. (Gradual).

2. Send out Your Light and Your Truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling! Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the Great King. We have thought on Your loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of Your temple. As Your Name, O God, so Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments! This is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.

3. The Psalmist proclaims in today’s Introit that »The Lord’s Light and Truth lead to His holy hill and dwelling.« For the Psalmist, this holy hill and dwelling of the Lord was Mt. Zion in Jerusalem for that is where the temple sat and the ark of the covenant resided in its most holy place. The ark was the Lord’s throne upon the earth and He was visibly present in the most holy place. So holy was that space that only the high priest could enter it on one day of the year: Yom Kippur, the day of atonement when animals were sacrificed for the sin of the nation of Israel.

4. Zion was both the dwelling of the Lord’s Divine Presence (His Shekinah Glory) and the mercy seat wear the blood of lambs was poured out in the forgiveness of Israel’s sin. Truly, »Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the Great King.«

5. Jesus arrived as the Son of Man to be the Salt of the earth and the Light of the world (Matthew 5,13-14). Jesus is the fulfillment of the temple on Zion’ hill. He is both the embodiment in the flesh of the Lord’s Divine Presence and He is the sacrifice as the Lamb of God whose blood has redeemed us and forgiven all our sin. Jesus also prophesied that He would destroy this temple of His body and raise it again in new life three days later (John 2,19). In Jesus we have the loving-kindness of God, and His right hand is filled with righteousness. St. Paul proclaims: »a person is not righteous by the works of the law, but righteous by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, so that we might be righteous by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be righteous« (Galatians 2,16). This is atonement language; God sent Jesus to atone for our sins and to set right fallen men and women who have warped their image and likeness of God. This is the gospel preached in the Church, and this gospel creates faith in Jesus the Faithful One.

6. Christ is the Salt and Light of the world. He exemplified this by healing fallen creation by forgiving people’s sin and healing the sick. Jesus declares that we also are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. He exhorts us to point others to Him, for He is the Savior and Redeemer of the fallen world. Faith also yields the fruit of love. In loving our neighbors we not only show them Christ but we also help them in whatever need we find them in. Being salt and light means asking: Is what I am saying/doing faithful to Christ? Is what I am saying/doing showing love to my neighbor?

7. Let your faith in Christ shine forth; let your love be a seasoning in the lives of your neighbor. The Introit promises us: God will guide our way. Christ shone His Light in the darkness and found those lost in their fallen state; follow Christ and find those lost, give them Christ, and His gospel will enlighten them too. Amen.

8. Let us pray. O God, whose Name is glorious, daily assure us of Your loving kindness and faithfulness in Christ, so that we may be light and salt to the world. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Psalm 107,1.5-6.8-9; Psalm 22,27a. 7. Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Psalm 107,1.5-6.8-9; Psalm 22,27a 4017

7. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 052

Abdon and Sennen, Martyrs at Rome 250.

Robert Barnes, English Lutheran Reformer, Martyr † 1540

30. Juli 2017

1. О Lord Jesus Christ, who listens to those who draw near to You; teach us the fear of the Lord, so that we will never be ashamed. Amen. (Gradual)

2. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.

3. The feeding of the 5000 in John 6 is an example of Jesus fulfilling today’s Introit: »All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.« Our Lord fed thousands of people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. At the end of the meal, the disciples collected more leftovers, 12 baskets full of bread, than what they had originally started with.

4. A day after miraculously feeding the crowd, Jesus told them: »Do not work for the food that perishes, but seek the Food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. My Father gives you the True Bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He who descends from heaven and gives life to the world. I am the Bread of Life; whoever draw nears to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. I am the Living Bread that descended from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever. And the Bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh« (John 6,27.32-33.35.40.51).

5. The Psalmist tells us in our Introit: »For the Lord satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.« The Lord fills both our physical and spiritual hunger. The Psalmist declares: »O Lord, the eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing« (Psalm 145,15-16). Christ our Lord teaches us to pray: »Give us this day our daily bread« (Matthew 6,11). He furthermore assures us: »Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet Your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?« (Matthew 6,26). Yes, our Heavenly Father provides our physical, temporal needs.

6. Jesus then teaches: »Therefore do not be anxious, saying: ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the reign of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you« (Matthew 6,31-33).

7. The reign of God/heaven is a common theme and teaching in Jesus’ ministry. The reign of heaven is manifested in the person of Jesus and is at hand in His midst (Matthew 3,1-3; 4,17). The reign of heaven is centered upon Jesus giving His life as a ransom for everyone (Matthew 20,20-28) whereby righteousness and eternal life are given out (Matthew 25,46). This then shows us the intent of the Lord’s Heilsgeschichte (salvation history): God desires to make sinners righteous and insure eternal life for them in His presence.

8. The reign of heaven then centers upon Jesus for He is the One sent by His Father to make sinners righteous and merit their eternal life. We gather each Sunday to thank Jesus for His steadfast love and wondrous work shown to us in His passion, death and resurrection. Through this act of vicarious sacrifice and resurrection, Jesus has pardoned those in rebellion against Him, delivered those in distress and brought those in darkness into the light of His truth and grace (Psalm 107,11.13-14). 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 (Romans 1,16-17). The righteous shall live by faith in Jesus (Romans 1,17), and so you are righteous on account of your faith in Jesus. Go in peace; your sins are forgiven; live lives dedicated to God’s will as taught in His Ten Commandments. Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Lord, from the rising of the sun to its setting Your Name is to be praised; help us to weekly praise You in the Divine Service, so that all glory be given to You. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Psalm 100,1-3.4b-5; Isaiah 43,1b. 6. Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Psalm 100,1-3.4b-5; Isaiah 43,1b 11,7 3917

6. Trinitatis 051

Apollinaris, Bishop of Ravenna, Italy, Martyr 69

23. Juli 2017

1. O Jesus Christ, our Merciful Lord, dwell among us when we gather in Your Holy Name, so that we receive from You the reward of eternal life that is from everlasting to everlasting. Amen. (Gradual).

2. O Israel: „Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.“ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Enter into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His;we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Give thanks to Him; bless His Name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.

3. The pure and simple gospel preached by the Church is summarized by the Prophet Isaiah: »Fear not, for I the Lord have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.« This gospel is nothing new, for it has been proclaimed to mankind since Adam’s fall into sin. The Lord promised Adam and Eve a Savior who would descend from Eve, and that descendant was Jesus. St. Matthew tells us in his Gospel: »The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a Great Light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a Light has dawned [Isaiah 9,1-2]. From that time Jesus began to preach, saying: „Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!“« (Matthew 4,15-17). Then Jesus called His first disciples: Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John (Matthew 4,18-22). After performing a few miracles, teaching the crowds and instructing His disciples, Jesus sent The Twelve out to proclaim: »The kingdom of heaven is at hand.«, and He gave them the authority to heal the sick (Matthew 10,5-15). Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus gathered His disciples and told them: »All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore when you go, make disciples of all nations by baptizing them inthe Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age« (Matthew 28,16-20). Whoever receives the preaching of the disciples receives Jesus and His Father (Matthew 10,40). Those who receive Jesus will also receive a reward.

4. What is the prophet’s reward and the righteous man’s reward? Prophets are sent to call people to repentance and to turn their eyes unto the Lord. The righteous man trusts in the Lord and lives according to His will. Solomon tells us in his Proverbs: »Walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous, for the upright will inhabit the land. Righteousness delivers from death. Blessings are on the head of the righteous. The wage of the righteous leads to life« (Proverbs 2,20-21; 10,2.6.16). St. Paul tells us: »The righteous will live by faith« (Romans 1,17). Those who put their faith and trust in Jesus will be given rest from their heavy burdens (Matthew 11,25-30). Jesus and His disciples preached the gospel with the very intent of lightening the crushing burden people bear from sin and guilt.

5. Jesus became our Savior in order to redeem us from the burden of sin and guilt. He has paid the price and has set us free. He promises to be with us always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28,20). His promise is true today, for where Christians gather in His Name, there He is among them; and He is among us today, and every Sunday when we gather to worship and praise Him.

6. »Our Lord makes such a grand promise because the gospel and its preaching is fraught with much grief and hardship. The journey may be light and easy, but more often than not the path is rocky and dangerous. All of Jesus’s apostles suffered for the gospel. The Church now exists in a society and culture that is more and more hostile toward her and the gospel. Jesus clearly taught: »I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one gets to the Father except through Me« (John 14,6). But the world wants many different paths to salvation, and any religion that makes exclusive truth claims is mocked, ridiculed and tormented.

7. And yet there still remains the unshakeable and immoveable truth: »Jesus is the Cornerstone, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved« (Acts 4,11-12).

8. The Bible gives us great comfort: »„Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.“ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Enter into His presence with singing!« Jesus is our Savior, He is with us always and He watches over us from His heavenly throne. Amen.

9. Let us pray. O God, whose Name is proclaimed among the nations, bless the people who praise You, so that their names are preserved for all externality in Your heavenly fellowship. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Monday, August 28, 2017

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Monday, August 14, 2017

Saturday, August 12, 2017