Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
9 E Homestead Ave. Palisades Park, NJ 07650 201-944-2107 Sundays 11:00 a.m. We preach Christ crucified (1. Corinthians 1,23)

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Ephesians 3,1-13 video

 Ephesians 3,11-13 Bible study

John 13,21-30. Invocavit

 John 13,21-30     1621

Invocavit 024

Pepin the Elder of Landen, ancestor of Charlemagne, Mayor of the Merovingian Palace of Austrasia 640 

21. Februar 2021


1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, inasmuch as the adversary does continually afflict us, and as a roaring lion does walk about, seeking to devour us: We beseech You for the sake of the suffering and death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, to help us by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and to strengthen our hearts by Your Word, so that our enemy may not prevail over us, but that we may evermore abide in Your grace, and be preserved unto everlasting life.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich) 

2. »After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in His spirit, and testified: „Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.“ The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom He spoke. One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to Him: „Lord, who is it?“ Jesus answered: „It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.“ So when He had dipped the morsel, He gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him: „What you are going to do, do quickly.“ Now no one at the table knew why He said this to him.« 

3. Jesus makes an interesting comparison in John 13,18, where he says: » The Scripture will be fulfilled: he who ate my bread has lifted his heel against Me.« He is quoting Psalm 41,9: »Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who eat my bread, has lifted his heel against me.« The close friend who would soon lift up his heel against Jesus was Judas Iscariot, one of His 12 apostles. Jesus is also alluding to Genesis 3,15 where He told the Serpent: »I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.« Jesus is comparing what Judas would soon do (betray him to the Jewish Sanhedrin) to the Serpent biting His heel. Judas’ betrayal set in motion the arrest, suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. 

4. Luke tells us that when the Devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Jesus until an opportune time (Luke 4,13). John tells us: »Then after Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him.« The Devil had found his opportune time in person: Judas Iscariot. This is a shocking turn of events. How could one of Jesus’ closest disciples, one of the 12, betray his rabbi and friend? 

5. During Lent we often contemplate our discipleship and loyalty to Jesus. The Lord reveals that our sinfulness, our rebellion, our unwillingness to heed the will of Yahweh are acts of betrayal to Jesus. Like the 12, we face the temptation to run away and abandon Jesus when trials and tribulations arise on account of our faith. We are just like our father Adam who first lead us down this path of suffering and death; it is easier to yield than to take up the cause of faith in Christ. A couple of weeks ago our Gospel pericope reminds us that the Devil tries to take away God’s word and our faith; likewise times of testing can cause us to fall away from Christ and our faith. This is what happened to Judas. 

6. Jesus had arrive to solve Adam’s curse by becoming a curse for us on the cross, and in doing so vicariously took our place and paid for our sins so that forgiveness, salvation and eternal life would be ours. Jesus redeemed us out of His love for us. Not only did He save us, but Jesus had been tempted as we are, yet He did not sin. With confidence we draw near to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4,15-16). As God the Father sent angels to minister to Jesus following His temptations (Matthew 4,11), so Christ sends angels to minister to us, for they are ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are to inherit salvation (Hebrews 1,14).  

7. Do not receive the grace of God in vain (2. Corinthians 6,1). God listens to us and helps us (Isaiah 49,8; 2. Corinthians 6,2). Christ endured temptations on our behalf; He overcame all temptations whereas we often fall short or fail. He understands the struggle we endure. Thus we pray in the Lord’s Prayer: and lead us not into temptation. God attempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the Devil, the world and our sinful nature may not deceive or mislead us into false beliefs, despair and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory (Small Catechism). Jesus is gracious and merciful to us and sends forth the Holy Spirit and the angels to strengthen us during trials and tribulations, and comforting us when such trials have concluded.  Amen. 

11. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; You appeared to destroy the works of the Devil, so that we can have the certainty of salvation that is grounded upon You alone.  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. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Invocavit video

Invocavit Divine Service III 

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Psalm 51,1-14. Ash Wednesday

 1. David implored the Lord: »Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities« (Psalm 51,9).  

2. Lent puts us on a journey whereby we more intently ponder and meditate upon Jesus’ passion that culminates on Karfreitag. As such, Lent focuses our attention more keenly upon ourselves, our fallen nature, our original sin and our sinfulness. David acknowledges that every sin, even those that are done against our neighbors, are ultimately a sin against God. He confesses: »Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight (Psalm 51,4). In his Small Catechism Luther tells us what sins we should confess: before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even those we are not aware of, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer. And thus we confess once again today: O Almighty God, I am a poor, miserable sinner. 

3. And what is God’s response to our confession? A: God hears our repentant confession and He speaks to us His Absolution, that is, He tells us: „I forgive you.“ In speaking this to us, God is giving us a promise; it is not a judgment that merely states what is true already, Rather the absolution is seen as an act of speaking that first constitutes, brings about, a state of affairs, by creating a relationship between the one in whose name it is spoken and the one to whom it is spoken and who believes the promise (Bayer 129-30). Such speaking establishes communication, liberates and gives certainty (Bayer 130). Martin Luther calls it an active and effective word (Bayer 130). 

4. God is a merciful Lord, and He does not turn away even the worst sinner. He desires to forgive us, and He has given us the means by which that forgiveness is given to us. Through the mouth of His ministers He proclaims to us absolution, and through the hands of His pastors He pours the water upon us and puts into our mouth the bread and the wine. These Sacramental actions have the authority of God’s Word behind them and with that authority God gives us and speaks to us: „I forgive you.“ 

5. King David who wrote Psalm 51 speaks as a sinner, as the greatest of sinners. David had committed horrible sins against God’s and his neighbors, yet when he was confronted with his sins he humbly and honestly repented and sought God’s absolution. This psalm reflects on the severity of sin and on the even greater mercy that God bestows upon contrite sinner. If your heart is set on Jesus, but you are afraid of His wrath and condemnation, then heed David’s words, repent and seek out our Gracious God’s mercy; He will give you His mercy freely and abundantly.   

  6. God will not cast you away from His presence, nor will He withhold His Spirit from you. Jesus was sent to this earth to restore to us the joy of our salvation. And this Jesus is the Son of David, the heir of David, the Messiah, the Christ, the One who was promised long ago to Adam and Eve to be their Redeemer from sin, death and the Devil. This Jesus brings to us His Father’s love, compassion, grace and mercy. Jesus gave all He had, His very life, to buy you and make you His own. That is the love and mercy He showed the world on His cross. Jesus has reached out to us long before the call to repentance, and He has become our Mediator before His Heavenly Father.  Amen. 

7. O God, You desire not to death of sinners, but rather that they turn from their wickedness and live. We employ You to have compassion on the frailty of our mortal nature, for we acknowledge that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Mercifully pardon our sins so that we may obtain the promises You have laid up for those who are repentant; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen. (Altar Book 485) 


   Bayer, Oswald. Theology the Lutheran Way. Copyright © 2007 William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.


Ash Wednesday video

 Ash Wednesday Litany

Monday, February 15, 2021

Isaiah 58,1-9. Quinquagesima

 Isaiah 58,1-9a           1421 

Quinuagesima 022

Valentine, Bishop of Iteramna (Terni, Italy), Martyr 269

Cyril and Methodius, Apostles of the Slavs, 9th c. 

14. Februar 2021


1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, who did manifest Yourself, with the Holy Spirit, in the fullness of grace at the baptism of Your dear Son, and with Your voice did direct us to Him who has borne our sins, so that we might receive grace and the remission of sins: Keep us, we beseech You, in the true faith; and inasmuch as we have been baptized in accordance with Your command, and the example of Your dear Son, we pray You to strengthen our faith by Your Holy Spirit, and lead us to everlasting life and salvation.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich) 

2. »Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to My people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily and delight to know My ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of Me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. ‘Why have we fasted, and You see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel, to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to Yahweh? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and Yahweh will answer; you shall cry, and He will say: ‘Here I am.’«  

3. In Isaiah’s day, the people of Israel thought that simply following parts of the Sinai covenant was enough. They thought if we keep the feast, the fast and the sacrifices, then Yahweh will be pleased. But Isaiah tells us that Yahweh was not pleased. They humbled themselves, but Yahweh took no knowledge of it. The Prophet Amos, a contemporary of Isaiah, said the same thing: »Yahweh says: I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies« (Amos 5,21).  

4. Israel thought they could keep the first table of the Commandments and let the second table slide. If we worship Yahweh, then it doesn’t matter if we mistreat our neighbors. The Prophets Amos and Isaiah condemn this twisted understanding of the Sinai covenant. They tell the people: Yahweh requires you to love God and love your neighbor; you are to rightly worship Yahweh and to treat your neighbor well. Our fallen human nature is prone to follow the thinking of the Israelites: as long as we worship God, then all is well.  

5. The Prophets pose for us the question that if you have no concern for your neighbor then are you truly worshiping God.? A: no. In fact, aside from a few faithful remnant, the nation of Israel and Isaiah’s day was not worshiping Yahweh rightly. They were saying the right words and performing the right actions, but their heart was not devoted to Yahweh. They were fine with worshiping other gods and tolerated such idol worship in their homes and nation. The Prophets make it clear: idolatry leads to the breakdown of a moral society.  

6. To rightly worship Yahweh is to fear, love and trust in Him above all things. To do otherwise is idolatry, and when we do not fear, love and trust Yahweh then our treatment of our neighbor suffers and if allowed to remain ultimately impacts our morality at the individual and societal levels. Our repentance ought to first confess our failures to put God first and then to acknowledge we fail to help our neighbor as we ought. 

7. God promised us: »If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of Yahweh honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in Yahweh, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken. ... If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And Yahweh will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail« (Isaiah 58,13-14.10-11). 

8. To rightly worship God is to believe and confess what Jesus told His apostles in today’s Gospel pericope: »Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked, shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise« (Luke 18,31-33). And noticed what happens after this teaching: as they drew near to Jericho they came across a blind man and Jesus helped him by restoring his sight. May the Holy Spirit daily encourage us to confess our faith in Christ and help those we see in need.  Amen. 

10. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, who went up to Jerusalem to fulfill the Prophets; send forth the Holy Spirit into our hearts so that we acknowledge that You are the Son of Man, the Christ, who has redeemed us.  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 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 


Quinquagesima video

 Quinquagesima Divine Service

Monday, February 8, 2021

Luke 8,4-8. Sexagesima

 Luke 8,4-8     1321

Sexagesima 021

Richard, King of Wessex, England, father of Walpurga, at Lucca, Italy 722

7. Februar 2021


1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, we thank You, that through Your Son Jesus Christ You hast sown Your holy word among us: We pray that You will prepare our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, so that we may diligently and reverently hear Your word, keep it in good hearts and bring forth fruit with patience; and that we may not incline to sin, but subdue it by Your power, and in all persecutions comfort ourselves with Your grace and continual help.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich) 

2. »And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town drew near to Jesus, He said in a parable: „A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.“ As He said these things, Jesus called out: „He who has ears to hear, let him hear.“« 

3. Today’s Gospel pericope gives us the historic theme of Sexagesima: grace is passively received. Jesus likens the gospel to seed and hearers to types of soil. Jesus gives, and we receive. 

4. Just as there are soil more conducive to yielding a harvest, so too are there people who are more receptive to the gospel. In this parable Jesus explains why some believe the gospel but many do not. He gives 3 reasons for unbelief: 1. The Devil takes away the gospel before they believe it; 2. 0thers believe at first but temptations or tests to their faith cause them to fall away; 3. still others believe at first but later their faith is lost because the riches and pleasures of this world prove more important than God. Thus Jesus tells us: »Many are called, but few are chosen« (Matthew 22,14).  

5. Here we are confronted with the most unique and wonderful trait God gave to human beings when he created us: free will. C. S. Lewis delves into this topic in his book Mere Christianity: „God created things which had a free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right.… Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having“ (Lewis 34). We see this in the Garden of Eden. God created Adam and eve with free will. He told them to eat from any tree except for one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve had the free will to obey God or disobey God. We know what happened: Adam and Eve disobeyed God. 

6. In Adam’s fall we find the truths of Jesus’ parable today playing out. The Devil came along and took away God’s Word, first from Eve and then Adam. He tempted them to fall away. His promise of the wealth and pleasure of being like God caused Adam and Eve to freely reject God and His Word. In the Devil’s fall we also find this free will it work. All the angels were created holy, but they could choose to serve God or strike out on their own. The Devil decided to be his own master and he convinced 1/3 of the angels to follow him. Then the Devil convinced Adam to do the same. Grace is passively received, but grace can also be actively rejected. 

7. Adam’s fall has corrupted our free will. Martin Luther wrote in 1518: „Free Will after the Fall is nothing but a word, and as long as it is doing what is within it, it is committing deadly sin. Free Will after the Fall has the potentiality toward good as an unrealizable capacity only; towards evil, however, always a realizable one“ (Heidelberg Thesis 13 and 14). „For without [God’s] grace, and if He do not grant the increase, our willing and running, our planting, sowing and watering, all are nothing, as Christ says John 15,5: Without Me you can do nothing. With these brief words He denies to the free will its powers, and ascribes everything to God’s grace, in order that no one may boast before God. 1 Corinthians 1,29; 2 Corinthians 12,5; Jeremiah 9,23“ (Epitome II,6). The only reason a person is receptive to the gospel, is not by his or her own free will, but because the Holy Spirit has tirelessly prepared the person to hear the gospel and in hearing believes and receives the gospel. 

8. Again Luther: „But without a theology of the cross, man misuses the best things in the worst way“ (Heidelberg Thesis 24). And again: „Grace says: “Believe in this [Christ]!”, and forthwith everything is done“ (Heidelberg Thesis 26). Christ makes all the difference. 

9. J. R. R. Tolkien works this truth in his novel The Lord of the Rings. The antagonist of this story is Sauron who creates the one ring to dominate the free will of others. His desires is to bend everyone’s will to his own evil will. Commenting on Sauron’s defeat and the destruction of his one ring, Tolkien writes in a letter dated 27 July 1956: „It is possible for the good, even the saintly, to be subjected to a power of evil which is too great for them to overcome–in themselves. In this case the cause (not the ‘hero’) was triumphant, because by the exercise of pity, mercy, and forgiveness of injury, a situation was produced in which all was redressed and disaster averted“ (Tolkien 252). Tolkien says that Frodo, the protagonist, was unable to destroy the ring when the time arrived, but because Frodo had shown pity upon Gollum, events were set in motion caused Frodo’s pity, mercy and forgiveness, that the one ring is destroyed and Sauron is defeated. 

10. Likewise, we are saved by God’s pity, mercy and forgiveness. Paul tells us: »Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, 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« (Philippians 2,5-8). This pitiful and merciful action undertaken by Jesus on our behalf has forgiven sin, undone death and defeated the Devil. This is the gospel that is proclaimed and it is a gospel that yields forgiveness, eternal life and everlasting fellowship with God. It is not by our work or free will, but by God’s work and free will in the person of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Amen. 

11. Let us pray. O Lord, who is gracious and merciful; when we hear Your Voice in the Bible, then do not harden our hearts, so that in hearing we believe and in believing we have everlasting 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. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Lewis, C. S. The Complete C. S. Lewis. Signature Classics. Copyright © 2000 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Copyright © 2013 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 


Sexagesima Video

 Sexagesima Divine Service III

Ephesians 2,1-10 video

Ephesians 2,1-10 Bible study

Monday, February 1, 2021

Philippians 2,12-13. Septuagesima

 Philippians 2,12-13           1221 

Septuagesima 020

Vigilius, Bishop of Trent, Italy. Martyr 410 

31. Januar 2021


1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, who through Your Holy Word has called us into Your vineyard: Send, we beseech You, Your Holy Spirit into our hearts, so that we may labor faithfully in Your vineyard, shun sin and all offense, obediently keep Your Word and do Your will and put our whole and only trust in Your grace, which You have bestowed upon us so plenteously through Your Son Jesus Christ, so that we may obtain eternal salvation through Him.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich) 

2. »Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.«  

3. There is a neat parallel with our Gospel and Epistle readings today. In His parable, Jesus describes that the reign of heaven is like a wealthy man who hires laborers to work in his vineyard. In his epistle, Paul exhorts us to work out our salvation. The parallel is the verb work

4. Those verses are in the larger context of Paul’s epistle, so let’s summarize that context. »And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ... And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. ... Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. ... For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake. ... 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.« (Philippians 1,6.9-12.27-29; 3,8). 

5. Paul says that it is God who has begun this good work in us, and Paul is talking about faith: God has created our faith in Him. God has made us righteous and this righteousness produces fruit. Paul tells us to stand firm in our faith and righteousness, for this is God’s work in us. Paul then exhorts us to build upon our faith and righteousness, and that is centered upon us suffering for Christ sake. Philippians is one of Paul’s prison epistles; he is imprisoned under Roman imperial custody one account of proclaiming the gospel. He suffers because he is preaching about Jesus. Paul says the Philippians are likewise suffering for the sake of Christ. So when Paul says to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, he is saying that suffering on account of Christ is this working out of our salvation. 

6. Paul is not saying we earn or merit our salvation through works or suffering. He is quite forthright in his preaching that our righteousness comes through faith in Christ alone. He reminds us that suffering, persecution and martyrdom our part and parcel with faith in Christ. To suffer on account of Christ is the working out of our salvation, and that such suffering strengthens our faith. Paul speaks of this also in his Epistle to the Romans: »Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ... 


Not only that, but 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 5,1.3-5). Such are the works that the Holy Spirit performs in us.  

7. »Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. ... We know how to be brought low, and we know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, we have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. We can do all things through Him who strengthens us. ... And our God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit« (Philippians 4,4-9.12-13.19-23).  Amen. 

10. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, our Righteous Lord; hear our prayers and answer our please, so that Your great mercy abounds upon us.  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 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 


Septuagesima video

 Septuagesima DS4

Ephesians 1,15-23 video

 Ephesians 1,15-23 Bible study