Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: September 2020

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Obadiah 1-9 video

Obadiah Bible study vss. 1-9

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Ephesians 3,13-21. 16. Trinity

Ephesians 3,13-21 5320

16. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 061

Cyprian of Antioch, Turkey. Martyr in Nicomedia (Izmit), Turkey, 304 (Emperor Diocletian).

27. September 2020

1. O Gracious and Merciful God, the Giver of Life; comfort us in our times of trials and afflictions, so that refreshed by You our sadness is turned to joy. Amen. (Starck 271 ¶ 3)

2. »So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 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—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, length, 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. Last week we heard Jesus’ exhortation to seek the reign of God. Today we hear Jesus command the dead to rise to life.

4. The Apostle Paul reminds us in his Epistle this morning that Christ is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. Today’s Gospel pericope gives us a powerful example of this where Jesus said to the dead man: Young man, I say to you, arise (Luke 7,14). The people were filled with fear and a glorified God. They confessed that a great prophet had arisen among them. The Prophets spoke and acted for Yahweh, and 2 prophets, Elijah and Elisha, raised people from the dead (1. Kings 17,17-24; 2. Kings 4,18-37; 2. Kings 13,20-21). The Jews equate Jesus to be on par with Elijah and Elisha, 2 of the greatest Old Testament prophets. Yahweh had also spoken through the Prophet Malachi: »Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the great and awesome day of Yahweh arrives. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers« (Malachi 4,5-6). When Jesus asked His apostles: Who do the crowds say that I am? one of the responses from the crowds was that Jesus was the Prophet Elijah. High praise indeed for Jesus!

5. Paul prayed that Christ may dwell in the hearts of Ephesian Christians through faith so that they would be grounded in love and have strength to comprehend the love of Christ, for Christ shows us the heart of our Heavenly Father. Martin Luther said it this way: „If you have a true faith that Christ as your Savior, then you see immediately that you have a Gracious God. For faith leads you up and opens up the heart and will of God for you. They are you see sheer, super abundant grace and love. That is exactly what it means to see God, not with physical eyes … but with faith, which sees His fatherly, friendly heart, where there is no anger or displeasure“ (WA I Sc 32,228.21-28 - 229.1-3; AE 21,37).

6. In today’s Gospel pericope we see that Jesus, the Son of God, has the power and authority over life. The very God who created life has the ability to restore life to the dead. As Jesus raised this man from the dead, so too did Jesus raise Himself from His tomb.

7. The fallen human condition is that man sinned and this sin brought death upon him. To resolve our fallen condition, sin and death must both be reckoned with. Jesus did this in His ministry: He absolved sinners and raised the dead, and this was just a preview of what He did on Good Friday and Easter Sunday – He died for us bearing our sin, thereby absolving us of our guilt and then raised Himself up from the dead. The Church proclaims Christ’s promise: Your sins are forgiven and on the last day He will resurrect you. It is as Paul writes to the Romans: »Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience all were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience all will be made righteous« Romans 5,18-19).

8. And again in Ephesians, Paul writes: »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 you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God« (Ephesians 2,4-8).

9. The love of the Heavenly Father is manifested in Jesus Christ, who shows us the fullness and completeness of this love on the cross and with the empty tomb. This Loving God has the power and authority to forgive sin and raise us up. Next week we will hear how this Loving God healed a man on the Sabbath. Amen.

10. Let us pray. O Yahweh, who sends redemption to His people; send to us the Holy Spirit to strengthen our hope and trust in the new covenant established upon Your Son, Jesus Christ, our crucified and risen Lord, so that we are certain of Your love and mercy upon us. 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.

16. Trinity video

16. Trinity Divine Service III

Obadiah video

Obadiah Bible study

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Galatians 5,25-6,10. 15. Trinity

Galatians 5,25-6,10 5220

15. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 060

Fausta, Virgin, Martyr and Evilasius, Martyr at Cyzicum, 305-11

20. September 2020

1. O Lord, blessed be Your Name; give us a heartfelt desire to live for You alone, serve and obey You, so that by the working of the Holy Spirit the fruits of faith increase and are preserved in us. Amen. (Starck 210 ¶ 3)

2. »If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, then you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, then he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.«

3. Last week we heard how Jesus healed the 10 lepers. Today we hear His exhortation to seek the righteousness of God.

4. The Apostle Paul gives several pieces of spiritual advice in his epistle. Echoing what Jesus taught, the apostle exhorts us to live by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit. Jesus taught in His Beatitudes: Just as the Heavenly Father provides for the birds and the grass, so too does He provide for us. Our Lord simply reminds us to trust that God will provide our daily needs. When we pray the petition in the Lord’s Prayer – give us this day our daily bread – we remember that God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving (Small Catechism).

5. The apostle also exhorts us to beware of temptation. The Devil prowls like a roaring lion seeking to devour us (1. Peter 5,8). The Devil brings about trials, tribulations and persecutions upon men and women. He tempts us to doubt God’s Word, providence and love. He is the spiritual influence behind many of the things people suffer in this world. We cannot fight him by the mere strength of our will or reason, for the Devil is relentless and patient; he knows that „indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts“ (Lewis 24).

6. »Whatever one sows, that will he also reap.« To seek the things of the world is to reap what the world bears as fruit. The Devil has his hands in the world and the fallen fruit it yields: sin, death and despair. To seek the things of God is to reap what His kingdom bears as fruit. Righteousness is the foremost fruit of the kingdom of God, and God would have us eat of it and receive from it eternal life.

7. God has His hands in this world too and the fruits of His kingdom are: righteousness, forgiveness and salvation. To seek the righteousness of God is to seek Jesus Christ Himself. Righteousness is justification, and to be righteous is to be justified. »Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness« (Romans 4,3). Jesus’ act of righteousness on the cross leads to justification and life for all people (Romans 5,18). This righteousness is by faith (Romans 9,30), for Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (Romans 4,28). To seek the righteousness of God is to believe on Jesus as the Christ.

8. „Jesus’ invitation “First seek indeed the reign [of God] and his righteousness” (6:33) is simply another way of saying, “Receive the blessing and calling that Jesus has already brought into the world, and keep looking for the consummation of that reign. Seek Jesus and what he is doing and bringing into the world.” The other needful things will be added to those whom the Father values far more than birds and flowers“ (Gibbs 365).

9. Jesus exhorts us to go to the places where He is reigning with His gracious presence, to receive His gifts of forgiveness and righteousness, to learn His truth, and to respond to His call (Gibbs 365). „Jesus’ invitation is holistic. To seek the reign of God is to seek the Gospel, which comes to us in the Scriptures and the Sacraments. In seeking that Gospel, we will also experience the sustaining community of fellow disciples, who are our brothers and sisters. With them we are joined at Christ in Holy Baptism, and with them we gather to hear God’s Word and receive our Lord’s Supper. In those places God’s saving righteousness is found; there God is at work forgiving and making things right. That is what life is for; here is the purpose and goal of the body. Jesus is drawing … his disciples thus to orient their lives and so to be free from worry over life’s other needs. The Father will supply those needs as well“ (Gibbs 366).

10. When we first seek Christ and His kingdom, the possessions of this world cease to be temptations to be obtained out of envy and greed with force and instead become treasures that we receive with thanksgiving from our Heavenly Father. „And possessions, which would ever seek to become our master, god, and curse, are no longer anything but daily bread that the Father, working through means, will provide, so that we may live, move, and seek the reign of God in Jesus“ (Gibbs 366). As we put Christ first, we will not grow weary of doing good, and as we have opportunity, we do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Next week we will hear how Jesus provides the very thing that we need, life itself, which He has power to give and restore. Amen.

11. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You are good and gracious; strengthen us to take refuge in You, so that all the good things of this world may be added unto us to be enjoyed. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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15. Trinity video

15. Trinity Divine Service III

Obadiah video

Obadiah Bible study

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Luke 19,1-10. 14. Trinity

Luke 19,1-10 5120

14. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 059

Amatus, Bishop of Sitten in Wallis ✠ 690

13. September 2020

1. O Almighty God, plenteous in mercy; kindle in our spirit the light of faith, so that we can rightly know You, the One True God, as You reveal Yourself in Your Word and Sacraments. Amen. (Starck 209 ¶ 3)

2. »Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was about to pass that way. And when Jesus arrived at the place, He looked up and said to him: „Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.“ So he hurried, came down and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled: „He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.“ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord: „Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, then I restore it fourfold.“ And Jesus said to him: „Today salvation has entered this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.“«

3. Last week we heard Jesus exhort us to love God and our neighbor. Today we hear how Jesus loved His neighbors, the 10 lepers, and healed them.

4. In Luke 19 we hear another story of Jesus loving His neighbor: Zacchaeus. The Pharisees taught, and most 1. century Jews believed, that to be rich meant God had blessed you, but they also taught the tax collectors or notorious sinners. So Zacchaeus is a contradiction: he is a wealthy man, but he has a despised vocation, thus his wealth is ill-gotten and he is therefore a sinner to be avoided by the Pharisees and the Jews.

5. Jesus’ response is quite different from the Pharisees. He said that He must stay at Zacchaeus’ house. Presumably, Jesus ate with Zacchaeus. This caused a grumbling from the crowd, particularly from the Pharisees. To reside and eat in the home of a tax collector and sinner violates the table fellowship of avoiding association with sinners, and thus makes Jesus the equivalent of a sinner an outcast. Whereas the Pharisees avoided sinners and outcasts, Jesus accepts them. Jesus arrived to bring salvation even to a chief text collector, for Jesus arrived to seek and save the lost.

6. The same happens in our Gospel pericope. Lepers had to separate themselves from the community because their leprosy might be contagious. People avoided lepers like the plague. Stay 6 feet apart was likewise the rule in Jesus’ day when lepers were around. Jesus saw the lepers as neighbors and healed them. One was even a Samaritan, a man who was doubly outcast in Jewish society. Declared clean, these men were able to rejoin society.

7. We see throughout the Scriptures that Yahweh’s Heilsgeschichte (salvation history) impacts creation in tangible, physical ways. The Prophets often spoke of the Messianic age as one of cosmic consequence. The Messiah would have wisdom, understanding and knowledge (Isaiah 11,2). The Messiah will bring justice to the nations (Isaiah 42,1). The Messiah would bring the gospel to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, release those bound in prison and proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor (Isaiah 61,1-2).

8. The Messianic age would arrive with effects for the entire cosmos; the whole creation will be affected (Gibbs 29). The heavens would be rended and the mountains quake (Isaiah 64,1). The wolf and the lamb graze together (Isaiah 65,25). The earth would reel and rock, the clouds surround Him, the lightning flashes, the sea channels are seen and the foundation of the world is laid bare (Psalm 18,7.9.12.14.15). The stars, sun and moon would go dark (Ezekiel 32,7-8; Isaiah 13,6-13). Nature reacts to the Messiah’s arrival (Gibbs 190-91).

9. The teaching and miracles of Jesus affect all of creation and particularly people. Creation reacts when the Messiah is crucified. Darkness was over the whole land from 12-3 p.m. and the sun’s light failed (Luke 23,44-45). The temple curtain was torn into (Luke 23,45). There was an earthquake when Jesus died and when he rolls (Matthew 27,51.54; 28,2). Throughout His ministry, creation reacts to Jesus’ teaching and miracles to herald that the Messiah is in our midst; creation reacts to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection to herald that the Messiah has redeemed all creation.

10. In Luke 19 the arrival of Jesus as a guest is the means by which God’s reign arrives (Just 721), and there is no doubt for Jesus declares: »Today salvation has come to Zacchaeus’ house.« Jesus seeks to save the lost: rich and poor, healthy and sick, man and woman, Jew and Gentile.

11. The gospel is promise (promissio) (Bayer 139), God’s promise to deliver us and all creation from the bondage of sin. God the Father fulfilled His promise in Jesus Christ. To see God is to become aware of His righteousness and justice (Bayer 208), which is displayed in full at Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. We see in Christ that God suffers with us and for us to redeem us from every sinful cause and effect. The gospel gives us what it promises: forgiveness, salvation and freedom from the injustices of sin. The gospel gives us Christ and His righteousness. Next week we will hear Jesus exhort us to seek this righteousness. Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, who shows compassion to Your children; help us to show compassion to others, so that we have a opportunity to point them to the grace that is found only in Christ. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

14. Trinity video

14. Trinity Divine Service III

2. Thessalonians 3 video

2. Thessalonians 3 Bible study

Monday, September 7, 2020

Acts 6,1-7. 13. Trinity

Acts 6,1-7 5020

13. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 058

Amatus, Bishop of Sitten in Wallis, ✠ 690.

6. September 2020

1. O gracious and Merciful Lord, who has graciously preserved us during the past week; grant that we may spend this Sunday in Your mercy, so that we may gladly hear and learn from Your Word this day. Amen. (Starck 2 ¶ 3.4)

2. »Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And theTwelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said: „It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you 7 men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.“ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon Parmenas and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the Word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.«

3. Last week we heard that Jesus opened the ears of those who were physically or spiritually deaf. Today we hear that we should love God and our neighbor.

4. We see this unfold in Acts 6: there is preaching and there is ministry to the temporal needs. In both, love is shown to God and the neighbor. But the apostles could not do all of this. They would focus on prayer and the ministry of the Word; the deacons would serve tables. Their titles tell us what they are to be about. Apostle, άποστέλλω, those set apart to send out to preach the gospel of the risen Christ. Deacon, διακονέω, to wait upon and serve, those set apart to care for the physical needs of the Church. We find the two working in tandem to further the ministry of the Church.

5. As Jesus develops His teaching that we are to love God and our neighbor, He uses the Parable of the Good Samaritan to draw out the response from a lawyer. This lawyer was a Pharisee, and he admitted that in the parable the one who showed mercy on the destitute man proved to be a neighbor to him. Mercy, έλεος, also means compassion. The concept is found throughout the Scriptures.»Yahweh our God is a Merciful (ελεήμων) God« (Deuteronomy 4,31). »Yahweh is good to all, and His compassion (οικτιρμοί) is over all He has made« (Psalm 145,9). »Yahweh declares: I am merciful (ελεήμων); I will not be angry forever« (Jeremiah 3,12). The apostles proclaimed this mercy: »Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy (έλεος), He has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead« (1.Peter 1,3). »God saved us, not because of work done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy (έλεον), by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit« (Titus 3,5). »For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life« (John 3,16).

6. In showing us His mercy, God shows us that He is our neighbor who is compassionate and loving to us. The apostolic preaching of the gospel affirms that our Merciful God has redeemed us. As His chosen people, we do justice (κρίμα), love mercy (έλεον) and walk with our God (Micah 6:8). The Prophet Micah emphasizes how loving God and neighbor go together. Walking with God and studying His Word shows our love of Him and this in turn encourages us to seek justice across-the-board for all people in our society; rejoice in God’s mercy to us, we show mercy to our neighbor and serve them.

7. Yahweh pardons iniquity and passes over transgression. He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love. He will have compassion on us and trample our iniquities. He has cast all our sins away. He shows us faithfulness and steadfast love (Micah 7,18-20). Jesus accomplished this through His death and resurrection. The apostles preached this gospel, and the deacons handed it out with their table service. 2000 years later it is still the same preaching and service, whereby we recognize that Christ is our neighbor to us and pours out His love and charity upon us. Next week we will hear this again as Jesus is a neighbor to 10 lepers. Amen.

10. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, who serves His creation; we praise You for Your providence shown to us, so that as we are blessed we may be a blessing to others. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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