Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: June 2019

Friday, June 28, 2019

John 5,39-47. 1. Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

John 5,39-47 3619

1. Sn. n. Trinitatis 046

Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea, ✠ 379

23. Juni 2019

1. O Holy Spirit, the Giver of the Holy Scriptures, help us to see Christ throughout the Old Testament, so that we receive faith and wisdom to understand the words of Moses and thus understand the words of Jesus. Amen. (John 5,46-47)

2. »Jesus said to them: „You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to draw unto Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have arrived in My Father’s Name, and you do not receive Me. If another arrives in his own name, then you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that arrives from the Only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, then you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, then how will you believe My words?“«

3. In John 5, Jesus accuses the Jewish leaders, most likely the scribes and Pharisees, of not believing Him. Jesus knows that they search the Scriptures, and the Pharisees were very diligent in reading and applying the Scriptures to every day life. They believe that eternal life is to be found in the same Scriptures. On these 2 points, Jesus, Christians and the Pharisees agree: 1. We should diligently study and apply the Scriptures; and 2. Eternal life is found in the Scriptures. But Jesus makes a 3. point: the Scriptures bear witness about Me; you Pharisees refuse to believe that I am the Christ promised in those Scriptures which give us eternal life.

4. This is the great divide still today between Jews and Christians: we both affirm the 39 books from Genesis to Malachi to be the Scriptures, but the Jews refuse to see in the Scriptures that Jesus is the fulfillment of them. Jesus told the Pharisees that the Scriptures bear witness about Him. Following His resurrection, Jesus, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, interpreted to His disciples all the Scriptures concerning Himself (Luke 24,27). The Apostles continue to show Christ foretold in the Scriptures: »God foretold by the mouth of all the Prophets that His Christ would suffer, He thus fulfilled. Haven’t received Christ Jesus until the timer for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy Prophets long ago. And all the Prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who arrive after him, also proclaimed these days« (Acts 3,18.21.24).

5. Christians fall short just as the unbelieving Jews do. Consistent polls reveal that 52% of American Christians believe at least 1 non-Christian religion leads to eternal life. The Scriptures cannot be any clearer on this point: there is salvation only in Christ Jesus. Jesus Himself proclaimed: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one goes to the Father except through Me« (John 14,6). The Apostles Peter and John also told the Jewish leaders (Sanhedrin?): »This Jesus is the Stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the Cornerstone. And there is salvation and no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved« (Acts 4,11-12).

6. Both the Old Testament and New Testament affirm this salvation in Jesus alone. Jesus says: »If you believed in Moses, then you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me.« Jesus has in mind here 4 specific times Moses pointed the way to the Christ: 1. the Seed of the woman who would strike the serpent (Genesis 3,15); 2. the Seed of Abraham (Genesis 22,17); 3. the Scepter of Judah (Genesis 49,10); and 4. the Prophet whom the people should look for after Moses (Deuteronomy 18,15).

7. Jesus argues that He does not alone bear witness about Himself; Moses, John the Baptizer and the Father bear witness about Him, and therefore Jesus’ testimony is true (John 5,31-33.37). Moses and all the Prophets point to Jesus. The Jews have no excuse as to not believe. Christians have no excuse to believe Jesus is the only way to salvation. We search the Scriptures because in them we have eternal life, for it is they that bear witness about Jesus, Jesus alone for our salvation. Amen.

8. Let us pray. O Lord, Your testimonies are righteous forever; send to us the Holy Spirit to give us understanding of Your Holy Scriptures that point to Christ, so that we may have eternal life. 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. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

2. Corinthians 13,11-14. Trinity Sunday

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

2. Corinthians 13,11-14 3519

Trinitatis 045 weiß

Julitta, Quirinus, Martyrs 304

16. Juni 2019

1. O Almighty, Everliving God, who has taught us to know and confess in true faith that, in 3 Persons of equal power and majesty, You are 1 Everlasting God, desiring to be worshiped as such; sustain us steadfast in that faith, so that we remain faithful to the right worship of You. Amen. (Löhe 483)

2. »Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.«

3. While the actual word „Trinity“ or „Triune“ does not appear in the Holy Scriptures, the concept is there throughout the pages of the Old and New Testaments. Meditate upon the Apostle Paul’s final greeting in His 2. Epistle to the Corinthians. He mentions God, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, a clear Trinitarian confession of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We also find a Trinitarian confession in the opening verses of Genesis: »In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. God said: „Let there be light, and there was light.“« (Genesis 1,1-3). In his Gospel, the Apostle John tells us: »In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us« (John 1,1.14). Again, the Scriptures affirm that at Creation there is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

4. The Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds are tripartite creeds with a part devoted to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, respectively. The first half of the Athanasian Creed confesses in great detail the Triune nature of God. „We worship One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the Persons nor dividing the Substance. For the Father is One Person, the Son is Another and the Holy Spirit is Another. But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is One: the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal“ (Athanasian Creed 4-6).

5. This means that those attributes we confess about God apply to each Person. When Paul writes that God the Father of love and peace will be with us, that also means that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are also of love and peace, and likewise they will be with us too. Paul’s final verse in the epistle could be read this way as well: »The grace of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you all.«

6. Notice also how Paul employs a Trinitarian structure in that final verse where he mentions: grace, love and fellowship. These attributes tells us something about the Triune God. 1. God is gracious. He is merciful, forgiving and compassionate. This attribute manifests itself with the crucified Jesus who redeemed us from our sins. He was the vicarious sacrifice sent by a Gracious Heavenly Father who wanted to save His fallen Creation. 2. God is loving, and this is closely connected to God’s attribute of grace. Out of love for His fallen Creation, God the Father was willing to send His Only-begotten Son to redeem us, and Jesus was willing to lay down His life for us as this sacrifice. 3. God enjoys fellowship. He created the world with rich diversity, a host of angels and culminated it with making man and woman in His own Image and Likeness. God gathers together Christians in His Church so He can fellowship with us, we with Him and we with one another. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as a meal a fellowship where He gives out His forgiveness. The cup is a participation in the blood of Christ; the bread is a participation in the body of Christ (1. Corinthians 10,16).

7. „Thus there is 1 Father; 1 Son; and 1 Holy Spirit. And in this Trinity none is before after another; none as greater or less or than another; but the whole 3 Persons are Coeternal with each other and Coequal, so that in all things the Trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity is to be worshipped (Athanasian Creed 23-25). Amen.

8. 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 towards us through Christ Jesus, our Loving Savior. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

John 14,23-31. Pentecost

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

John 14,23-31 3419

Pfingstsonntag 043

Primus and Felicianus, Martyrs at Rome, 286

9. Juni 2019

1. O God, Holy Spirit, Comforter of the sorrowful, lead us into all truth, sanctify us in body and soul and comfort us in every time of need, so that we may be united more closely to You, the Father and the Son. Amen. (Löhe 490-92)

2. »Jesus answered Judas (not Iscariot): „If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will go to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. And the word that you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. ²⁵These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ²⁸You heard Me say to you: „I am going away, and I will return to you.“ If you loved Me, then you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than Me. ²⁹And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. ³⁰I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is arriving. He has no claim on Me, ³¹but I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.“«

3. Jesus promised His apostles that He would send them the Holy Spirit 50 days after His ascension. Jesus fulfilled this promise at the feast of Pentecost (Greek 50th). In older English we call it Whitsunday (White Sunday). It’s the Greek name for the Hebrew feast of weeks, Shavuot (Tobit; 2. Maccabees). Pentecost is the Jewish feast of weeks, a harvest festival that is celebrated 50 days after the first Sabbath of Passover (Deuteronomy 16,9). After ad 70, the focus shifted from agriculture to the giving of the law on Sinai and celebrating in the local synagogue with the reading of Exodus 19-20 and Ruth.

4. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will do 3 things when He arrives:

1. He will comfort the disciples;

2. He will teach them and help them remember everything Jesus has taught; and

3. He will bring them peace.

5. Luther explains the importance of the Holy Spirit in his Small Catechism: „I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps her with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the last day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.“ All this is the Holy Spirit providing comfort and peace to the Church and Christians.

6. The Holy Spirit’s role in teaching and calling to remembrance all Jesus said begins immediately as He descends upon the apostles. Peter preached a powerful, Biblical sermon to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost. »„Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works, 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. For David says concerning him: I saw the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand so that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with Your presence [Psalm 16,8-11]. Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 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. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool [Psalm 110,1]. 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 2,22-36).

7. The first apostolic sermon is grounded upon the Holy Scriptures, particularly the Psalms (16,8-11; 89,3; 110,1), and emphasizes 6 key points:

1. Jesus performed Divine deeds in their midst;

2. you, Jews, delivered Him to be crucified by the Romans;

3. God raised Him up from the grave (Hades);

4. Jesus is now exalted at the right hand of God;

5. the outpouring of the Holy Spirit this day is proof of Jesus’ exultation; and

6. Jesus is both Lord and Christ.

8. This apostolic sermon is both Christian and credal, for it establishes the basic confession we profess each week in our Creeds. It convicts the Jews of their sin through the law and proclaims their forgiveness through the gospel; it is a very Lutheran sermon.

9. St. Luke points out in his Gospel: »Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers of the people, and said to them: You brought me this man, Jesus, as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod. I will therefore punish and release him. But they cried out together: Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas! Crucify, crucify Jesus! So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted (Luke 23,13-18.21-24). This was the chief sin of the Jews addressed by the Apostle Peter. Is our sin the same, 2000 years later? A: Yes, because our sinfulness is no different then the sin of the Romans and Jews of the first century ad. The very nature of our sinful state cries out that Jesus be crucified; our selfish sinfulness would gladly allow an innocent person be killed if it spares our own selves. Such is the depravity of our sinful nature. The first apostolic sermon cuts deep into our heart and conscience: we delivered Jesus over to be crucified. Like the 1. century Jews, we are cut to the heart and cry out: what shall we do?« (Acts 2,37).

10. Hear Jesus’ response from the cross to our guilty association: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23,34). And that is what the apostles proclaim to the Jews on Pentecost: repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 238). Paul explains this to the Romans, saying the righteousness of God has been manifested … through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe (Romans 3,21-22).

11. Jesus is our Lord and Christ; this is the gospel proclamation throughout the world. He is both God and man who redeemed us from our sinful state through His sacrifice on the cross. We are justified by His grace as a gift (Romans 3,24). The apostles began preaching the gospel, this gift, first to the Jews and then also to the Gentiles. The Holy Spirit worked through their preaching and writings to create faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit continues to create such faith this day here and around the world. The Holy Spirit brings us the peace of Christ. He comforts us with the gospel, assures us that God loves us and declares that our sin is forgiven. This is the peace the Holy Spirit brings us, and He brings it through Christ and His righteous merit that is ours by faith. Amen.

12. Let us pray. O God the Father, Your testimonies are righteous forever; give us an understanding of Your Word and trust in Your gospel, so that we may live forever with You, Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Saturday, June 8, 2019

Ephesians 3,14-21. Exaudi

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Ephesians 3,14-21 3319

Exaudi 042 weiß

Blandina, Virgin, Martyr in Lyon, France 177
Erasmus, B., Confessor, ✠ 303

2. Juni 2019

1. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Highest and seated at the right hand of God the Father, give us pious preachers of the Word and maintain Your Church, so that all Your enemies shall be put under Your feet, and we, through You, overcome sin, death and all things. Amen. (Löhe 483)

2. »For this reason I bend the knee before the Father, from whom every familyin heaven and on earth is named, so that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – so that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.«

3. To „bend the knee“ is a formal act submission to a king, queen or lord, a recognition of authority and demonstration of fealty. This past Thursday the Church celebrated Jesus’ ascension (Luke 24,51), for He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father (Psalm 110,1; Mark 16,19). Paul says he bends the knee before the Father, and therefore he also bends the knee before Jesus who, at the right hand of the Father, rules in His stead. This explains why Paul often refers to himself and fellow Christians as slaves of Christ Jesus (Romans 1,1; 6,22; 1. Corinthian’s 6,19-20); Christ is our King and we bend our knees in fealty to Him. In his Epistle to the Romans, Paul writes: »We will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written: As I live, says the Lord, everyone shall bend the knee to Me, and every tongue shall acknowledge me to be God« [Isaiah 45,23] (Romans 14,11).

4. The Apostle Paul furthermore confesses that the God he bends the knee to is a Triune God: »For this reason I bend the knee before the Father … so that He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit … so that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.« 3 Persons, Father, Holy Spirit and Christ, yet 1 God. So say we all in our Creeds.

5. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Comforter in today’s Gospel pericope (John 15,26). He promised to send the Holy Spirit when He ascended to heaven. This is an important promise, for God desires us to be filled with His fullness. The frail, corrupted men and women we are often don’t perceive such Divine presence in our lives. More often than not we are painfully and shamefully aware that sin and sinful desires fill us, rather than the holy presence of Christ. We despair of life, feel the pains of persecution and succumb to the temptation to sin. Paul describes us all too well in his epistle: »We were dead in the trespasses and sins … following the course of this world … carrying out the desires of the body and mind, and were by nature children of wrath« (Ephesians 2,1-3). There is no denying that we are heirs of Adam and Eve, sharing in their disobedience and curse: »The soul that sins shall die« (Ezekiel 18,20). That’s the bad news, and news that we must continually be confronted with by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

6. Since we share in Adam and Eve’s curse, we also share in their promise. Paul describes it this way: »But 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 Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the approaching age He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace we have been saved through faith. And this is not our own doing; it is the gift of God« (Ephesians 2,4-8). That’s the good news, the greatest news, the gospel, and we must continually hear it and receive it from the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

7. Did you catch that phrase Paul placer in the middle of His gospel proclamation to the Ephesians? He wrote: »God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly places.« Christ ascended to the right hand of His Father; that is the position of highest honor and a place one takes to rule in the name of a monarch. Paul says we also join Christ at that position of great honor. We join the ranks of angels and fellow believers to gather at the throne of God to worship Him and be blessed by Him.

8. The believers in the Old Testament understood it this way as well: »You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in Your train …. Blessed is the Lord who daily bears us up; God is our salvation« (Psalm 68,18-19). Paul quotes this Psalm verse in Ephesians 4: »Grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore Scripture says: When He ascended on a high He lead a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men« [Psalm 68,18] (Ephesians 4,7-8).

9. We are blessed, for Christ gives us rich and abundant gifts. Christ sends us the Holy Spirit who strengthens our inner being with power and grounds us in love, for in this power and love we know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. The love of Christ is His vicarious action of suffering and dying in our place then rising from the grave as the first fruits of the Resurrection. Jesus taught His apostles about this love the evening before His crucifixion. »Love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you« (John 15,12-15).

10. Exaudi is Latin for hear, and thus today’s Introit implores of the Lord: »Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; hide not Your face from me« (Psalm 27,7). The love of God is manifested in its fullness on the cross, with the empty tomb and Christ’s ascension to the right hand of His Father. This love has the power to forgive sins, enable us to do good and secures our eternal salvation in heaven. This is the gospel Jesus wants proclaimed, and so we have proclaimed it. Receive it with joy. Amen.

11. Let us pray. O God, Thou reignest over the nations from Your holy throne; send us the Holy Spirit, so that we daily live with the joy and assurance of Your forgiveness through our risen Christ Jesus. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Friday, June 28, 2019

John 5,39-47. 1. Sunday after Trinity

Saturday, June 22, 2019

2. Corinthians 13,11-14. Trinity Sunday

Thursday, June 13, 2019

John 14,23-31. Pentecost

Saturday, June 8, 2019

Ephesians 3,14-21. Exaudi