Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: June 2022

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Jonah 3,1-10. 2. Trinity

Jonah 3,1-10 3422

2. Trinitatis 48

Jeremiah, Prophet, 629-580 bc

26. Juni 2022

1. ℣ Yahweh was my Stay:

℟ He brought me forth also into a large place. (Psalm 18,18-19).

O Yahweh, our Deliverer; we draw unto You in misery and sorrow, pour upon us all joy and happiness, so that we receive from heaven the mystery of salvation from Christ our Savior. Amen. (Kommt her, ihr seid geladen elkg 243,3 2021 Ernst Moritz Arndt 1819).

2. »Then the word of Yahweh came to Jonah the second time, saying: „Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.“ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out: „Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!“ And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh: „By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.“ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it.«

3. Yahweh speaks through the Prophet Isaiah: »My Word that goes forth from My mouth shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it« (Isaiah 55,11). Yahweh had sent Jonah to Nineveh to announce the city’s imminent destruction at the hand of God.

4. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire; the Assyrians were a threat to Israel, Judah and the surrounding nations. Jonah describes the Assyrians as evil, which says they worship idols and such worship has effected thus morals so that love for their neighbor is lacking. This is the same judgment the prophets levied against the Israelites. Jonah lived during the reign of Israel’s king, Jeroboam II (793-53). His prophetic contemporaries were Hosea, Amos and Joel who were calling Israel to repent of its own idolatry.

5. Jonah expected Nineveh to reject His call to repent and thus be destroyed by Yahweh. Much to Jonah’s surprise and consternation: the people of Nineveh believed God! They repent, put on sackcloth, ashes and fast from food and water. The king, probably Adad-nirari III (reigned: 811-783), declared: »Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish.« The king was not referring to his Assyrian god, Ashur, but referring to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — Yahweh.

6. Jonah’s prophetic contemporary, Joel, proclaimed: »It shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the Name of Yahweh shall be saved« (Joel 2,32). When the Apostle Peter preached to the Roman centurion Cornelius and his household: »Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in very nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree, but God raised Him on the 3. day. To Jesus all the Prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His Name« (Acts 10,34.38.39-40.43). Luther once preached about this: ,,It is common knowledge through the world that Christ was crucified and rose again and that this was the miraculous sign given to the unbelieving Jews, yes, proclaimed to the entire world through the gospel to inform all how they are redeemed by the same miraculous sign and eminent Divine work and that they must adhere to this in true faith” (Luther 102).

7. God the Father calls us to repentance in His Scriptures through His prophets and pastors. Jesus has redeemed us from all sins and delivers that gospel of forgiveness through the Word and Sacraments. We hear and receive this gospel, by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we believe this salvation obtained for us and given to us by Christ.

8. Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

While the hope of endless flory

Fills my heart with joy and love,

Teach me ever to adore Thee;

May I still Thy goodness prove (Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing Robert Robinson 1735-90 lsb 686,1)

This is most certainly true.

9. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippines 4,7). Amen.

10. Let us pray. O Almighty and Eternal God, You have taught us to know and confess the true faith, that in 3 Persons, in the same power and glory, You are 1 Eternal God. Uphold us in this faith against everything that may afflict us. Amen. (Martin Luther, Die Gebete Luthers, #305; Stratman 51).

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.

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Luke 16,19-31. 1. Trinity

Luke 16,19-31 3322

1. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 47

Gervasius and Protasius, Martyrs in the 1^st c.

19. Juni 2022

1. ℣ O Yahweh, I have trusted in Your mercy

℟ My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. (Psalm 13,5).

O Holy Spirit, our Comforter in every need; help us to neither fear disgrace nor death, so that our spirits do not despair in this life when the enemy will accuse us. Kyrie eleison. Amen. (Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist Martin Luther 1524 elkg 476,4 2021).

2. »Jesus said to the Pharisees: „There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was reclining a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs went and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out: ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said: ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said: ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house – for I have five brothers– so that he may warn them, lest they also enter into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said: ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said: ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him: ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’“«

3. In today’s parable, Jesus teaches us to listen and believe Moses and the Prophets. In Jesus’ day, to say Moses and the Prophets is shorthand for the Holy Scriptures, what we Christians call the Old Testament. Jesus says listen to the Scriptures. Why does Jesus exhort people to listen to the Bible?

4. A: God has given us everything He wants us to know In today’s parable the issue at hand is: how do I avoid eternity in hell separated from God and the believers? God tells us in His Word how one obtains salvation. Moses and the Prophets tell us that salvation is obtained from the Messiah and is grounded upon Jesus.

5. Moses tells us the following. »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.« (Genesis 3,15). »The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to Him you shall listen— I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command him.« (Deuteronomy 18,15.18). Moses is looking forward to the Messiah in those verses.

6. The Prophet Amos exhorts Judah: »Seek Yahweh and live« (Amos 5,6). The Prophet Obadiah promises: »Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be Yahweh’s.« (Obadiah 21). The Prophet Nahum proclaims: »Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him.« (Nahum 1,7). The Prophets were all pointing the people to the advent of the Christ.

7. Take heed of what Moses and the Prophets say. Moses and the Prophets point the people to the Messiah who will bring the reign of heaven. Moses and the Prophets are looking forward in time to the arrival of Christ Jesus. To hear Moses and the Prophets, then, is to hear Jesus.

8. Salvation is obtained through Jesus, who Himself says: »the Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom for all« (Matthew 20,28). The Apostle Paul likewise writes: »For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified« (1. Corinthians 2,2).

9. Salvation is obtained by Christ, for our sins are forgiven us for Christ’s sake. The Apostle Peter proclaims: »To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name« (Acts 10,43). Peter is referring to the Prophets Hosea and Micah. »I, Yahweh, will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them« (Hosea 1,7) »Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does no retain His anger forever, because He delight in steadfast love. He will again have compassion one us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea« (Micah 7,18-19). Jesus fulfilled the prophetic promise of redemption and eternal life.

10. Jesus, my Redeemer, lives;

Likewise I to life shall waken.

He will bring me where He is;

Shall my courage then be shaken?

Shall I fear, or could the Head

Rise and leave His members dead? (Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense, Otto von Schwerin, 1616-79 lsb 741,2)

This is most certainly true.

11. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Almighty and Eternal God, in Your grace You have given us, Your servants the duty to confess the true faith of the glory of the Eternal Trinity, and the Equal Unity in power and majesty. Grant that through steadfastness in this faith we may always be empowered, and receive comfort from You in all troubles. Amen. (Die pommersche Kirchen-Ordnung und Agenda, p. 293.1; Stratman 450-51).

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Romans 11,33-36. Holy Trinity

Romans 11,33-36 3222

Trinitatis 46

The Council of Nicaea, 325

Onuphrius, hermit in the Thebais 404
Basilides and companions, Martyrs at Rome 303

12. Juni 2022

1. ℣ Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the Undivided Unity:

℟ Let us give glory to Him because He hath shown His mercy to us (Liturgical Text).

O God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Thou Fountain of blessings that flows forever: flow forever through our hearts, minds and bodies, so that we richly praise You for Your blessings. Amen. (Brunn alles Heils, dich ehren wir elkg 474,5 2021 Gerhard Tersteegen 1745).

2. »O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? [Job 15,8; Isaiah 40,13] Or who has given a gift to Him so that He might be repaid? [Job 41,11] For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.«

3. The Trinity shows up throughout the pages of Holy Scripture. Some instances are explicit: Jesus told us to baptize in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28,19). Paul writes in his Roman epistle: »Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord« (Romans 1,1-4). Other instances are less explicit: Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Sabaoth; the whole earth is full of His Glory (Isaiah 6,3). And as we already heard from Paul: O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. The explicit reference to the Trinity names the 3 Persons of the Trinity, as Jesus and Paul do; the less explicit uses a triple adjective or attribute of God, as Isaiah and Paul do.

4. The Athanasian Creed employs both usages, summarized in lines 10-11 and 15-16: the Father eternal, the Son eternal the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet there are not three Eternals, but one Eternal. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not 3 Gods, but 1 God. The Creed confesses that this Triune God is the confession of the catholic faith. This means every true local church confesses this God; it is a universal confession of the Church. If you desire to be saved, then you must think thus about God (26). There is no wiggle room here: there is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; these 3 Persons are 1 God. To confess this is to be the Church, but to reject is is to not be the Church.

5. But humans revel in wiggle room. If we can find a way to obfuscate something, then we will. Throughout the history of the Church, there have been Christians who pursued different doctrines not supported by the Scriptures. Arius didn’t believe that Jesus was eternally God, so he said Jesus is the first creation of God. In his poem Thalia, Arius taught:

He [the Father] who is without beginning made the Son a beginning of created things.

He produced him as a son for himself by begetting him.

He [the son] has none of the distinct characteristics of God’s own being

For he is not equal to, nor is he of the same being as him (Arius, Thalia).

You can see where this eventually leads: Jesus is powerful, but since He is not of the same Divine Essence and Nature of the Father, then the whole redemption of humanity is in doubt because maybe Jesus wasn’t able to truly be the sacrifice for all people. In response to Arius, the Church wrote the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, and it is why we confess them still 1700 years after Arius’ heresy.

6. Christianity is grounded upon certainty, and that certainty is established by Christ. The Creeds teach that Christ suffered, died and rose for us and our redemption. The Athanasian Creed boldly acclaims that salvation is grounded upon the confession that there is only One God who is comprised of the Persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This 2. Person known as the Son of God is Jesus Christ, and He is the only way unto eternal life and salvation. In Christ alone are true riches, wisdom and knowledge. Jesus is God the Father’s redeemer for fallen humanity. The Holy Spirit creates and sustains faith in this Redeemer.

7. We worship this Triune God who has worked out our redemption from all sin and brought us eternal life and salvation. God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ into this fallen world. The Son of God merited the world’s salvation by suffering, dying and rising again. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Son and proceeds from the Father (John 15,26), speaks through the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures, and through these Scriptures reminds us of all that Christ has done and said. In this we confess and rejoice in the riches, wisdom and knowledge that is the Triune God’s Glory, a Glory He has revealed to us in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

8. There is no division and no degree in the Divine Essence, but to each Person the whole Divine Essence belongs without division; likewise there is no division and no difference of degree with regard to the Divine attributes, the Divine works and the Divine worship (Pieper I,464). The Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one: the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal (6).

9. I bind unto myself the Name,

The Strong Name of the Trinity

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One and One in Three,

Of whom all nature has creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.

Praise to the Lord

of my salvation;

Salvation is of Christ the Lord (I Bind unto Myself Today Patrick c. 373-466 lsb 604,5)

This is most certainly true.

10. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippines 4,7). Amen.

11. Let us pray. O Almighty and Eternal God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You have shown us the abundance of Your grace. First, Eternal Father, You created the whole world, and made us in Your image. You, Eternal Son of God, became fully human for us, and carried our sins to the cross. And You, Eternal Holy Spirit, from eternity You proceed from the Father and Son to give us faith and make us holy through the holy gospel. One, Eternal, Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, uphold us in the true confession of Your Name and in the true faith throughout our lives, and forever bless as in Your grace. Amen. (Die pommersche Kirchen-Ordnung und Agenda 292,2; Stratman 50).

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Romans 8,1-2.10-11. Pentecost

Romans 8,1-2.10-11 3122

Pfingstsonntag 44

Boniface, Archbishop of Mainz and Apostle to the Germans, Martyr 755

5. Juni 2022

1. ℣ The Spirit of Yahweh filleth the world Hallelujah!

℟ Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. (Wisdom 1,7).

O Holy Spirit, teach us to know the Father and Jesus Christ His Son, so that we may full of faith to understand You, the Holy Trinity. Amen. (Komm, Gott Schoepfer, Heiliger Geist Martin Luther 1524 elkg 477,6 2021).

2. »There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, then the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.«

3. On that first Pentecost following Jesus’ resurrection, the apostles told the Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem: »In the last days God declares: I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord Shall be saved« (Acts 2,17.21).

4. When the Holy Spirit was sent at Pentecost, 2 things occurred: 1. Those who heard the apostles preaching were cut to the heart (Acts 2,37), and 2. They were baptized (Acts 2,41).

5. Why were these Jews cut to the heart? The apostles had told them that they were guilty of crucifying and killing Jesus by the hands of lawless men (Acts 2,23). The innocent blood of Jesus was on their hands, but God the Father has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ (Acts 2,26). The guilt of their sin convicted these Jews. They realized they had not only condemned an innocent man but also their long-awaited Messiah. They realized they deserved Divine punishment for their heinous actions.

6. The Holy Spirit had convicted their consciences with the law, and Peter exhorted them to repent of their sin. 3000 of them did and then they were baptized.

7. Why did these 3000 get baptized? Peter writes in his epistle: >Baptism now saves you as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ< (1. Peter 3,21). And this is why Paul writes: >There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.< Furthermore, the Holy Spirit now dwells in us, and this indwelling occurred at our Baptism. Paul links together Jesus and the Holy Spirit, resurrection, righteousness and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us.

8. In his explanation to the Creed, Luther writes 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, enlighten 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. This is most certainly true.

10. Then in the Large Catechism, Luther writes: For neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on Him, and obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, resurrection, etc. But if the work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it would be in vain and lost. That this treasure, therefore, might not lie buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Spirit to bring this treasure home and appropriate it to us. Therefore sanctifying is nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which we could not attain of ourselves (Of the Creed, Article III, 38-39).

11. Of this sanctified Christian life, Franz Pieper writes: In short, insofar as Christians walk in the face of the Last Day, their lives take on the right form, as it were, of their own accord. Both individual Christians and preachers in particular should not forget this. It is true that Scripture also directs the gaze of Christians to a blessed death. But primarily and ultimately every Christian life should be oriented by the view of the return of Christ. (Christliche Dogmatik Bd. III, 105; cph © 1920).

12. Spirit of love, within us move:

Spirit of truth, in pow’r come down!

So shall they hear and find and prove

Christ is their life, their joy, their crown (“How Shall They Hear,” Who Have Not Heard, Timothy Dudley-Smith, b. 1926 lsb 831,5)

This is most certainly true.

13. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Almighty God, send forth Your Holy Spirit into our hearts, so that He may govern and guide us according to Your will, comfort us in all our temptations and afflictions, defend us from all error and lead us into all truth, so that we may be steadfast in the faith, increase in love and in all good works and in the end, obtain eternal life. Amen. (Brunswick-Luneburg 1564, Common Service Book # 2; Stratman 45).

[1] Kurz, insofern die Christen im Angesichte des Juengsten Tages wandeln, nimmt ihr Leben gleichsam von selbst die rechte Gestalt an. Dies sollen sowohl die einzelnen Christen als auch insonderheit die Prediger nicht vergessen. Zwar richtet die Schrift den Blickder Christen auch auf einen seligen Tod. Aber vornehmlich und letzlich soll jedes Christenleben durch den Blick auf die Wiederkunft Christi orientiert sein.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Saturday, June 4, 2022

Romans 8,26-30. Exaudi

Romans 8,26-30 3022

Exaudi 43

Cyrillus, boy, Martyr 250/60

Fall of Constantinople and Hagia Sophia 1453

29. Mai 2022

1. ℣ Hear, O Yahweh, when I cry with my voice: Hallelujah!

℟ Hide not Your face from me. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! (Psalms 27,7).

O Lord, give us, we pray, who steadfastly believe, Your gifts charitable, so that we may live holy, then die blessedly, that we may live with You forever. Amen. (Heiliger Geist, du Tröster mein elkg 478,6-7 2021 Martin Moller 1584).

2. »Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of is Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.«

3. We certainly have experienced weakness these past few years: the Covid pandemic, natural disasters, lack of basic groceries, angry words exchanged between groups of people, destruction of property, lawlessness, senseless murders and now the slaughter of more innocent children. Man’s inhumanity to man is always on full display, but the past few years it seems to have intensified.

4. Jean-Paul Satre paraphrased Dostoevsky with the phrase: Without God all things are permitted (Being and Nothingness). What Dostoevsky actually wrote was: “‘But what will become of men then?’ I asked him, ‘Without God and immortal life? All things are lawful then, they can do what they like?’ ‘Didn’t you know?’ He said laughing, ‘A clever man can do what he likes.’ He said” (The Brothers Karamazov 1051).

5. Like it or not, we are all cursed with Nietzsche’s nihilist philosophy. Gott ist tot! [God is dead!] is the famous phrase you probably know from Nietzsche. He believed that God does not exist. We have made God irrelevant in our lives or that He does not exist. If this is true, then all beliefs are off and our own wills are what we should satisfy, invent our own values and live life with ourselves as the center and number one. Some wills are stronger than others, and the weaker wills will have to defer to them in the larger scene.

6. When human depravity grabs ahold of this philosophic thought, then you wind up with Stalin and Pol Pot with human carnage and depravity on a large scale, and the Buffalo and Uvalde shooters on a smaller scale. It all goes back to Cain: my will triumphs over God’s will, over Abel’s will, and thus Cain has no qualms about killing his brother Abel. Why is there heartache, violence and death in this world? Our will that desires to triumph over all others no matter the cost is why evil exists and thrives on this earth.

7. Then comes the bewildered cry: Why doesn’t God do anything about this? Part of the Biblical answer makes people uncomfortable: God does do something about it; He works good from evil. Jesus on the cross is where God works good from evil and in His crucifixion Jesus triumphs over sin and all the wicked fruit born by, and from, our sin. As by Adam we all have fallen, so by Christ we are justified by grace. Jesus has paid for our sin and redeemed us from the curse of death.

8. Until Christ returns, all creation still groans under the curse and longs for the last day when it will be freed. After Jesus had ascended, 2 angels stood by the disciples and assured them: »This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come again in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven« (Acts 1,11). When Jesus returns, He will make all things new. Jesus will dwell with us. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes; death shall be no more; there will be no mourning, crying or pain, for the former things will have passed away (Revelation 21,5.3-4).

9. All things work together for good for those who love God. Jesus has justified and glorified us. This gospel is the remedy for the nihilism that infests our culture. God did indeed die, and He rose from the dead. God is not dead, but He is alive. Christ’s resurrection gives purpose to our lives. God does care about us, life is precious and respect for the neighbor uplifted. There is no need to exert our will over against God’s will. The guilty conscience with its mental suffering is absolved by the proclamation that Jesus died and rose again for us and in doing so He has purchased our forgiveness.

10. The Priest

11. Since Christ has full atonement made

And brought to us salvation,

Each Christian therefore may be glad

And build on this foundation.

Your grace alone, dear Lord, I plead,

Your death is now my life indeed,

For You have paid my ransom. (Salvation Unto Us Has Come Paul Speratus 1484-1551 lsb 555,6 )

This is most certainly true.

13. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippines 4,7). Amen.

10. Let us pray. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, You gave Your only Son to die for our sins and rise again for our justification. Renew us by Your Holy Spirit that through the power of Christ’s resurrection we may dwell with Him forever. Amen. (Wilhelm Löhe, Agende 1853, Easter, first part from Austria 1571, tlh 8, sbh 88; Stratman 44).

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Jonah 3,1-10. 2. Trinity

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Luke 16,19-31. 1. Trinity

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Romans 11,33-36. Holy Trinity

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Romans 8,1-2.10-11. Pentecost

Saturday, June 4, 2022

Romans 8,26-30. Exaudi