The lutheransermons's Podcast

Preparing for Worship - September 29, 2024

There are two possible sets of readings for this Sunday. I will list all but only give very brief explanations, as there are 9 possible Scriptures, and I cannot cover them all very thoroughly. Churches can use the readings for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. These are:

Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29

Psalm 104:27-35

James 5:(1-12)13-20

Mark 9:38-50

You can study the Epistle from James 5 by looking at the previously posted podcast. The Words from Psalm 104 show the mercy and care of the Lord in “providing food in due season,” caring for His people, and calling for trust in Him and praise, even as farmers patiently trust the Lord, in that James 5 lesson.

In the Old Testament lesson from Numbers, God’s people are grumbling (warned about in the Epistle), complaining about the manna God was providing, and wanting something else. Moses is also becoming very frustrated because he cannot control or deal with these rebellious people. He almost wishes to give up and die. God provides 70 helpers for Moses and gives them a measure of the Holy Spirit, as Moses had. Moses rejoices in all those who are faithfully helping, even if two of them are not doing everything in the planned way.

This parallels the Gospel lesson from Mark 9, where John complains about someone who is not one of the chosen disciples casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus rejoices in anyone truly doing some good, trusting in the name of Christ. Jesus also warns about going astray and leading others astray. Jesus wants us to battle sin in our lives that would hurt us and others. Sin comes from sinful hearts (Mark 7:20-230, so Jesus is not asking us literally to cut off parts of our body, but to take sin seriously and battle it with the Lord’s help and forgiveness.

The other set of readings possible this week are for focusing on St. Michael and All Angels Sunday. The readings are:

Daniel 10:10-14, 12:1-3

Psalm 91

Revelation 12:7-12

Matthew 18:1-11 or Luke 10:17-20

This set of readings focuses upon the fact that God created holy angels, as well as our amazing universe and the first human beings, Adam and Eve, to live on the earth along with all of its other creatures. The Epistle from Revelation 12 speaks of the rebellion of the devil, Satan, and other angels who became evil and opposed God. They were cast out of the presence of God and came to earth, tempting Adam and Eve to fall into sin, as well. Ever since, there has been a battle between good and evil, including angels, with the victory over evil coming finally through God’s own Son, Jesus, the Lamb who was sacrificed for us. Satan always attacks and accuses us of our sins, but through Jesus, there is forgiveness and life. The archangel Michael is mentioned here and in the Old Testament reading in Daniel 10 as a leader of the holy angels, battling Satan and his forces. The angel who speaks to Daniel had been battling, together with Michael, evil spirits in Persia, who were influencing leaders and people there toward evil. This holy angel then strengthens Daniel (think of how angels strengthened Jesus, tempted in the wilderness and in the Garden of Gethsemane, in Matthew 4:11 and Luke 22:43). The angel also tells Daniel more things to come in the future, with regard to leaders of Greece, and in Daniel 12, in the end times, when Michael will help deliver God’s people for everlasting life, while others, apart from Christ, will receive everlasting shame and contempt in hell.

The Psalm, Psalm 91, speaks of God’s overarching care for His people. Part of His care is holy angels, who help and protect God’s people who trust in the Lord (Psalm 91:9-13). The devil quotes from this passage, out of context, trying to get Jesus to jump off the temple. Surely, God’s angels would help Him, but Jesus knows that He was not to put God to the test but to do His will always.

The Gospel lesson, Matthew 18:1-11, speaks of God’s care, even for little children who have the gift of simple faith, and that there are guardian angels watching over them, from the presence of the Heavenly Father. There are also reminders to battle evil temptations within us, as described in the Mark 9 passage in the first set of readings. See that for more comments. Finally, Luke 10:17-20 indicates that Jesus gave power to His own disciples to battle evil spirits in His Name. Even more important, though, is that their names are written in heaven, as among those who have been rescued by the gift of faith in Jesus and His saving work for them. That is the best gift.

There is so much more in these passages, but hopefully, this will give you a start in looking at them before and after worship.

Bible Study - Thoughts on James 5:7-11, 13-20

James talks, in this Scripture, about how our Lord has helped us in difficult times in the past and how He continues to help us as we face these challenges in the present and in the future. He speaks of three “p’s” that we need, provided by our Lord.

The first of these is “patience.” “Be patient, therefore, until the coming of the Lord,” James writes. He uses the example of farmers, who do as much as they can but are dependent on things that are beyond their control. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit, being patient about it, needing rain at proper times, yet not too much rain, and needing much sunshine and some decent weather at harvest time to bring the crops in. Farmers are some of the greatest examples of needing patience and living by faith as they work.

“You also be patient,” James says, “Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:7-8). (James is referring to the second coming of Christ on the last day, which may be at any day or hour. No one knows when that will be but God, so we are called to wait patiently and not listen to false prophets who claim that they know the real time.)

James also uses the example of prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They were trying to do the Lord’s work, and yet they had much suffering and trouble, also. We heard last week of David and Jeremiah and of our Lord Jesus Himself, and all the difficulties they faced. James also mentions Job and Elijah. He says, “Behold, we consider these blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness, the patience of Job.” Patience is a “fruit of the Holy Spirit,” as He works through the Word and Sacraments (Galatians 5:22-23).

James also warns, “Do not grumble against one another so that you may not be judged.” It is so tempting, at times, to become so impatient that we strike out with harsh words at others or even the Lord when He is not doing for us what we want Him to do. Even Job himself had to say, “I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). And Elijah, whom James says was “a man with a nature like ours,” with its sinful weaknesses, once thought he was the only believer left and was so discouraged that he wanted to die.

How much we all also need that second “p” about which James writes - the importance of “prayer” to the Lord in times of trouble, as well as prayers of joy in times of blessing. James writes. “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray! Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise! Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” Note that the prayer of faith and the Lord Himself are the important factors in all this.

Some have tried to turn the anointing with oil into a kind of sacrament of healing. Praying is the main verb, though, and applying oil, likely olive oil, is secondary, only as a kind of soothing medicine in the ancient world. Isaiah 1:6 speaks of bruises and sores being bound up and softened with oil. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus says that the Samaritan bound up the wounds of the man, beaten and left to die, pouring wine and oil on the wounds. Many other examples of this use of olive oil as a kind of medicine could be given from ancient literature, as well. Anointing the head of someone with some oil was also a sign of welcome and respect for someone. (See Luke 7:46, where Jesus did not receive such a welcome from a Pharisee who invited Him to a meal.)

The important thing was the praying. James writes, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power, as it is working” (in its effects). We also heard, some weeks ago, about the armor of God, which He provides for us. That includes using “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:17ff.). Paul also wrote, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayers work! They may not always bring us what we want, but they bring us what God knows is ultimately best for us in His wisdom. His work is most important, even in our praying, as we don’t always know what to pray for or how to do it. (See Luke 11:1ff, Matthew 6:5-13, and Romans 8:25-28, for example.)

Be patient! Keep praying! And the third “p” that James mentions in this passage is seeing the “purpose” of the Lord. James says, “You have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” The Lord loves the people of this world, including us, in spite of our problems and struggles. That is why He sent Jesus to be our Savior and to die for all on the cross, for the forgiveness of sins and to make us counted acceptable to Him through faith in Jesus. That’s why Jesus also instituted the true Sacrament of Baptism, by which an infant or child or adult of any age can be brought into God’s kingdom by the Holy Spirit, working through the Word of God and the water of baptism to forgive sins and create faith in a person.

The “purpose” of God is compassion and mercy in Christ and also in the gift of the Lord’s Supper. Christ Himself comes to us, as believers, to forgive and strengthen us, too, whatever we struggle with, as we confess our sins and trust His Word of Promise, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28).

And there is hope for others, too, in the Lord’s compassionate purposes. As this reading ends, James says that even if people wander from the truth, they can be brought back through the Word and their souls saved and the multitude of their sins forgiven in God’s mercy in Jesus (James 5:19-20).

May the Lord give us patience, whatever we are dealing with these days, and keep us using prayer for ourselves and for one another, and in trust that even if He does not answer our prayers as we wish, He is still working for our good and His purposes are full of compassion and mercy for us in Christ, our Lord and Savior (Romans 8:28).

Sermon for September 21, 2024

A Sermon on Mark 9:30-37 - September 21, 2024

Gospel for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen

As our text begins, Jesus and His disciples were passing through Galilee, but He didn’t want others to know this because He had much to teach His disciples. He could see many of their weaknesses.

For example, we heard last week that the disciples were unable to cast out an evil spirit from a young boy. Earlier, when Jesus had sent them out on a mission trip, two by two, He gave them authority over all the evil spirits (Mark 6:7, Luke 9:1) in His Name. They came back so excited that they were able to cast out many demons ( Mark 6:13, Luke 10:17-20). Jesus had to remind them, though, that they should be rejoicing even more, that their names were written in heaven through Jesus and His heavenly Father’s plan, which Jesus was carrying out for them.

The fact that Jesus had to remind them that the demon “could not be driven out by anything but prayer” (Mark 9:29) might have been an indication that they had been trusting too much in themselves and their abilities to deal with the demon, and not in Jesus and His power, and calling upon Him and His power, in prayer.

Don’t we do the same all too often? We have a problem or difficulty and try to do everything we can think of to deal with it - and only later, sometimes much later, remember to take it to the Lord in prayer for His gracious and very needed help.

In today’s text, Jesus especially wanted to teach His disciples about His most important work, providing forgiveness and salvation to the world through His suffering, death, and resurrection. This was predicted in the Old Testament and pointed out in our Old Testament lesson for today. The Lord revealed to the prophet Jeremiah that because he had faithfully shown the King and people of Judah their great sin of worshipping false gods and making offerings to the false god, Baal, many of the Jews now wanted to kill him, like a gentle lamb, led to the slaughter. From what we know, Jeremiah did not die in this way. But when God’s own Son, our Lord Jesus, came into this world, John the Baptist said of Him, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29,36). This is the primary reason why Jesus had been sent to us.

Earlier, in Mark 8:31-33, Jesus had taught about suffering and being killed and rising again, but Peter began to rebuke Jesus, saying that He should never talk about such things. Jesus had to tell Peter that He was not thinking the thoughts of God but the thoughts of sinful man.

On another occasion, Jesus had talked briefly about suffering many things and being treated with contempt, and yet rising from the dead. Again, the disciples did not know what all this meant, especially the rising from the dead.

And again, in our text, Jesus said very clearly, “The Son of man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, And when He is killed, after three days He will rise.” Again, the disciples “did not understand this saying of Jesus, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.” Most likely, they just didn’t want to hear what Jesus had to say. Their minds were on other things, as we will see as our text goes on.

When Jesus and the disciples reached Capernaum and likely the home of Peter, Jesus asked them what they were discussing along the way. It was obvious to Him that they were having a lively and heated disagreement with one another. The disciples kept silent, though, because they were arguing with one another about who was the greatest among them. Jesus was talking about His own suffering and death, and all they could think about was themselves and which of them was the best and the greatest and should be honored the most.

We hear then that Jesus sat down. Among the Jews, a rabbi or teacher would sit down if he had something really important to teach. Jesus then called the twelve, those close disciples, and said, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” As one commentator wrote, “Instead of urging ambition for high position and power, Christ knows of only one valid reason for fame before Him and His Father - humble, unpretentious service, without a thought of reward.” And to make that even clearer, Jesus took a child, a pretty small child, as He could take him up in His arms, and said, “Whoever receives one such child in My Name receives Me.”

Imagine that! If we help a little child in the Name of Christ, we are helping and serving Christ Himself and receiving Him. And Jesus adds, “Whoever receives Me, receives not just Me, but Him Who sent Me" (God the Father), and as we read on in the Scriptures, we also receive God the Holy Spirit, Who comes to us and works in us, through Christ and His Word.

What always gets in the way, though, is our own human pride and and way of thinking and our desire for greatness on our terms. Another commentator suggests that when we read a Scripture passage like this or the Epistle today, where James says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6) - we should write down the word PRIDE. Right in the center is the letter “I.” It is so easy to focus on my human thinking and my wishes and my desires, what I want instead of what we know as believers should always be at the center - the wisdom from above in Christ our Lord and His Word and will.

As we’ll hear in the coming weeks in Mark’s Gospel, this was so hard for Christ’s disciples to remember and learn. They and we fail so often. That’s why Christ Jesus came: to teach us God’s will but also to live it out in a perfect way for His disciples and for us, too. “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” James came, he said, “not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many”( Mark 10:45). Only He could do this perfectly for us. That’s why Jesus had to keep repeating the Words in our text: “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.” That is how He would pay the ransom price for the payment of all the sins of His disciples. And the Scriptures also say, “Christ died for all” - for every man, woman, and child, big or small. And that includes each of us here tonight, too.

And Jesus predicted, “When He is killed, after three days He will rise” - with victory over sin, Satan, and death for all of us who have come to faith through Baptism and trust in Him - and with everlasting life ahead. And once we are Christ’s, we are strengthened constantly by Him, as we are gathered around His Word and Sacraments. Jesus said, “If you continue in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32) - free from continual pride in self and the messages of a very sinful world, and free to follow Christ in a better way and to serve others.

As Paul wrote, “We also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the Word of God which you received from us, you accepted it not as the word of Men, but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). And as Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who works (through that Word) to give life; our human flesh is no help at all. The Words I have spoken to you are Spirit and Life” now and forever (John 6:63).

Stay close then to those sacred Words and Writings, which many of “you have know from childhood, which are able to make you wise” (not in human worldly wisdom) but “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15ff).

Please rise: Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

Preparing for Worship - September 22, 2024

The psalm for this week is Psalm 54. The introduction tells us that this psalm was written by David when he and others had fled from Jerusalem when King Saul wanted to capture and kill him. David had gone to the town of Ziph, and people of the town went and told King Saul where David was hiding. (You can read about this in 1 Samuel 23:19ff.) The people were not following God’s will but the evil plans of the King. David finds out that he has been betrayed and is able to escape. He prays to God to help and save him because these “strangers” from the town had risen against him and were trying to help take his life. David trusts that God would still uphold his life, in His faithfulness to him as the future king. David freely makes sacrifices of thanksgiving to the Lord for His goodness. (In the chapters that follow 1 Samuel 23, David has opportunities to kill King Saul, but he does not do so since Saul is still the anointed King. David trusts that the Lord would deliver him in His own time and way, as the Lord did, and would give him the kingdom.

In the Old Testament lesson, Jeremiah 11:18-20, the prophet Jeremiah also had great difficulty. He had been speaking against the leaders and people of Judah and Jerusalem for going against the Lord and worshipping and making offerings to false gods. Jeremiah did not realize that the people wanted to cut him off and kill him, as a lamb led to the slaughter, until the Lord revealed it to him. Like David, Jeremiah committed himself to the Lord, who knows the hearts and minds of people and would judge righteously and care for him

What happened with David and Jeremiah, even when they tried to follow the Lord faithfully, was happening also to our Lord Jesus, in our Gospel lesson, Mark 9:30-37. Jesus knew that those opposed to Him, the Lamb of God, the Son of Man, would eventually lead Him to slaughter, at their own hands and the hands of the Roman authorities, as He suffered and was crucified and died on the cross. This was necessary to take away the sin of the world, as predicted by John the Baptist in John 1:29,36 and Old Testament prophecy. Yet, after three days, Jesus would rise again in victory. Jesus had told His disciples about this before (see Mark 8:31-33 and 9:9-12), but again, they did not understand what He meant and were even afraid to ask Him about it.

Part of the problem, of course, was that they were mostly thinking about themselves, instead of Jesus. They were trying to hide the fact that they were arguing about which of them was the greatest disciple. Jesus had again to sit down with them and teach again that they were to be “last of all and servants of all,” servants even of a little child. That is what Jesus Himself would do. He was the Son of Man, who “came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). In fact, He “gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6), so that the Good News of Jesus could be proclaimed to all people. And with Christ, one would also receive the blessings of His Heavenly Father, who sent Him and the Holy Spirit, who worked through Jesus and His Word.

What the disciples struggled with, the focus on themselves and the sinful world and its appeal, instead of Christ Jesus, is also what James talks about in our Epistle lesson for this Sunday, James 3:13-4:10. In this third reading from his letter, James speaks very strongly, in 4:1-10, about the dangers of “friendship with the world,” which can make one “an enemy of God.” He speaks of fights and quarrels and coveting and passions and adultery and even murder. (That sounds far-fetched, but we saw in the news a few weeks ago that five people were killed because one family member thought he might be cheated out of his inheritance.) We know of King David’s problems with both adultery and murder. We know of Jesus’ warning about bad thoughts and desires in our minds that are also sins. And how often do we pray, asking too much for our own desires and not for what our Lord would want? All this is a call to repentance from our worldly pride in ourselves and the need for humility and asking the Lord to help us to submit ourselves to Him and His will.

What we really need is what James talks about in the first part of our reading, James 3:13-18, a focus on “the wisdom that comes down from above.” James had said in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” The greatest gift of God is, of course, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is called “the Power of God and the Wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24) and did His saving work for us. Once we are baptized believers in Christ, our Lord will not easily let us go away from Him either. James says that the Lord “yearns jealously over the Spirit that He has made to dwell in us” (James 4:5). Twice James speaks of God giving us His grace, and more grace, His undeserved love and favor for us (James 4:6 and Proverbs 3:34) and helping us battle sinful worldly pride and keeping us humble before Him. He does that through Scriptures like this passage, which shows us the reality and danger of our sins, but above all, He shows us again the Wisdom, mercy, and forgiveness of Christ our Savior. There is our hope.

Preparing for Worship - September 15, 2024

The Scripture readings for this week speak of challenges that God’s people and even Jesus faced, and yet how the Lord’s care carried them through. The psalm is Psalm 116:1-9. We don’t know who the psalmist was, but he was “brought low” and was near to death, with “distress and anguish.” He called upon the Lord to deliver him, and the Lord heard his pleas for mercy and saved him. He learned to keep calling upon the Lord as long as he lived, for the Lord had delivered him from “tears and stumbling and death.” The Lord would preserve him as He knew best and would one day take him to the land of the living in eternal life.

The Old Testament lesson is one of the “Servant Songs” of the promised Savior, our Lord Jesus, in Isaiah’s prophesy. In this passage, the Servant knew that His tongue had been taught by the Lord God Himself, His Heavenly Father. The Servant could, therefore, sustain the weary with the Words He would speak, and He keeps hearing the Lord’s Word and will in His ear, morning by morning. (See the way that Jesus speaks in John 5:19-36 about His ministry as the Son, Who listens to and sees His Father and does His will. Believers would eventually honor Him, the Son, just as they honor the Father (and eventually the Holy Spirit) as the one true Triune God at work for them. See how Jesus also reached out to the weary and heavy laden, as well as to children, in Matthew 9:25-30. He could bring them all rest and peace.)

Jesus is also not rebellious at the Lord’s will, even though it would mean much suffering and disgrace at the hands of His enemies in this world. A number of things He experienced on the way to the cross are predicted by Him here, in Isaiah 50:6. (See Mark 15:15 and Mark 14:64-65 and Matthew 26:66-68.) Yet Jesus “set His face like a flint” to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die. (See Luke 9:51.) He knew that the Lord His God would help Him, even when He faced His adversaries who would declare Him guilty. (See Matthew 26:62-66.) Jesus knew, as he says twice, that the Lord God would help Him, and He would win the victory over sin and Satan and evil and death. (See Romans 8:31-38.)

Finally, as the Old Testament lesson ends, the Servant says, “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of His servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on His God.” In the darkest of days, we are called to trust our Lord, as Jesus did, and listen to His voice, and not try to produce our own light with our own ideas and schemes and thinking (Isaiah 50:10-11). What we try to do and produce on our own will end up being “moth-eaten” (Isaiah 50:9), as Jesus says a number of times in His teaching. (See Matthew 6:19-20, Luke 12:33, and James 5:2.)

As our Gospel lesson begins, in Mark 9:14-29, Jesus and His disciples had just seen the great glory and light of His transfiguration (Matthew 9:2-9), but Jesus then began to speak about suffering and dying and rising again - things they did not understand (Matthew 9:9-13). Jesus also found His other disciples having difficulty because they could not cast out an unclean, evil spirit from a boy brought to them. Jesus was frustrated and spoke of how “faithless” His own generation was and how hard it was to put up with their lack of faith and understanding. Jesus called for faith and trust in Him, and the boy’s father cried out and said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” He knew that he needed the Lord’s help to believe as he should - as we all do! Jesus then quickly cast the evil spirit out of the boy, and Jesus lifted up the boy to good health. The disciples asked why they could not heal this boy when earlier they were able to “cast out many evil spirits” (Mark 6:7-13). Jesus simply said, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” This response of Jesus makes us wonder if the disciples forgot where their own power to cast out demons had come from. Jesus had given them this power. It was not in their own ability or strength. They may have even forgotten to pray to the Lord their God and to ask Jesus Himself for His strength and power for them to help this boy. (Do we do the same? When some difficulty comes, do we try first to do what we think to do and only later lean upon the Lord and His strength and His power to heal? We forget Jesus and His promise to be with us always and help us through. See Matthew 28:20, Psalm 50:15, Proverbs 3:5, etc.)

The Epistle lesson continues readings from James. This week, we hear in James 3:1-12 of the power of the human tongue, particularly for evil, and how hard it is to control. That is why it is hard to be a teacher and use our tongues in a positive way. We all stumble much and are not in any way close to being perfect. In fact, James says that “no human being can tame the tongue.” It is “a restless evil” and “set on fire by hell,” going all the way back to the fall of Adam and Eve into sin through the influence of Satan. Out of every mouth comes both good and evil, and it should not be so. (By the way, this makes it clear that James did not teach salvation by works, for we are all poor, miserable sinners, even with our tongues.) Only that Servant sent from God, God’s own Son, had a tongue that was taught and sustained by God. Only He was always listening to His Father and doing His will and fulfilling all righteousness for us (Matthew 3:15) and finally paying for all our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21), suffering the fires of hell for us, God-forsaken, on the cross, so that we might be forgiven and saved and brought to Him in baptism and faith. Now, by His grace, we “hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” (The battle with our tongues is spoken of in so many other Scriptures, too. Here are some examples: Matthew 12:34-37, Matthew 15:10-11, Proverbs 16:27-28, Psalm 140:1-3,9-10, Luke 6:27-28, Romans 12:14, Matthew 5:21-22, etc. and etc.) James says, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of it all.” Our tongues alone condemn us. Our only hope is, as James says, that “Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). It is only by God’s mercy for us, earned by Christ, that we can be and are forgiven and saved. Thanks be to God, Who alone gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57) - even in our battle with our tongues!

Preparing for Worship - September 8, 2024

The Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 34:4-7a, is another of the many prophecies in Isaiah of God’s coming to His people with judgment for sin but bringing salvation, above all. We who have anxious hearts about many things are told, “Be strong; fear not!” When people see many miracles and healings happening through Jesus, they will know that He is the Promised One. He will also provide Living Water, the Water of Life, coming through the Holy Spirit as well. (See John 7:37-39.)

The psalm, Psalm 146, is also prophetic of Christ. We are not to put our trust in other people, even those as powerful as princes, for they cannot bring salvation. They soon die, and their plans perish. We trust the Lord God, our Creator, mostly especially in the gift of His Son, Jesus, who helped the oppressed, gave food to the hungry, opened the eyes of the blind, lifted up those bowed down by the troubles of life, and set us free from captivity to sin. He helped the Jewish widow of Nain (Luke 7:11ff) and non-Jewish sojourners in many places. He was righteous for us and keeps faith forever for us in His life, death, and resurrection for us. Other leaders come and go, but He will reign forever as King of Kings and Lord of Lords ( Revelation 17:14) together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We simply trust Him all our life and say, “Praise the LORD.” The Hebrew for that is Hallelu-Yah (Yahweh) (Psalm 146:1).

The Gospel lesson is Mark 7:(24-30)31-37, where we have two stories of Jesus doing His saving work for people, as predicted in the Old Testament lesson and Psalm. Jesus knew that His primary ministry was among His own Jewish people, but He also went to non-Jewish, Gentile areas like Tyre and Sidon, for He knew that His saving work was for all people and all nations. A Gentile woman with a child possessed by an evil spirit came to Jesus and asked for help. She had the gift of faith and called Jesus “Lord” and trusted Him much more than many of His fellow Jews, knowing that even “crumbs” from Jesus would be enough, and the demon was defeated and cast out, and her daughter was healed. (See Luke 10:13-14, where Jesus predicts such things.) Jesus then went to the “Decapolis” area, an area where there were 10 towns with a mix of Jews and non-Jews. Another person was brought to Him for help. The man was deaf and had a speech impediment, which often happens when people have never heard real speech. Jesus privately healed the man, and he could hear and speak plainly. The people were astonished and couldn’t help but tell others, “Jesus has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” Who does this sound like in Genesis 1:31? See again the parallels and predictions in Isaiah 35:5-6, Isaiah 29:18-19, Isaiah 42:1,6-9, and Isaiah 56:6-8

The Epistle lesson is James 2:1-10, 14-18, the first of several readings from James. As we have heard, Jesus showed no partiality but reached out to all kinds of people, poor and rich, Jew and non-Jew. (See Acts 10:34 and many similar passages.) James reminds the believers, therefore, that they should show no partiality, either, in holding the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, in the church. It would be easy to pay more attention to the rich and powerful, who could benefit the church the most, it would seem. That is not always true, and we are called to love our neighbors, whoever they are. James reminds us that we are all sinners, too. If we sin in just one way (and who can do that well?), we are still guilty sinners. James has already said that holding the faith of Christ is key (James 2:2,5). James has also said that by God’s own will, He brought us forth to faith by His Word (James 1:17-18). But our Lord gives us a living faith that wants to do good for others, in gratefulness for what He has done for us to save us. The gift of faith saves, but such faith shows itself in works of love for our neighbor, in gratitude to God. (See other passages such as Ephesians 2:4-10, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 1 John 3:17, and Matthew 7:21.) We show our faith in the saving work of Jesus in our own works of love for others.

Preparing for Worship - September 1, 2024

The Old Testament Lesson for this Sunday is Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-9. The Lord speaks to His chosen people, telling them to listen to all that He is teaching them so that they may receive the land He is giving them. (He says this nearly 70 times in the book of Deuteronomy alone.) They are not to add to or subtract from what God commands. These Words will be their wisdom and understanding for them and show other nations that God is near to them and hears them and leads them in a righteous way. They are to teach the things they have seen and heard to future generations and be diligent not to forget or depart from God’s Word themselves.

The psalm is from Psalm 119:129-136. This whole psalm, including these verses, rejoices in the wonderful Words and testimonies of God, which give light and understanding to the psalmist and to all who long for God’s will and love His Name. The psalmist knows he needs the Lord to turn to him and be gracious to him and keep his own steps steady, so that sin does not have dominion over him. He needs the Lord as his Redeemer, Who will shine His face upon him and keep teaching him and keep him from being one of those people who, so sadly, have no interest in keeping the Lord’s law.

In the Gospel lesson, from Mark 7:14-23, Jesus declared all foods clean, freeing people from the dietary rules and other ceremonial laws of the Old Testament. It is not such things going into us that pollute us. The true problem, He says, is our sinful human nature, which has been corrupted ever since the fall into sin. What defiles us are the evil thoughts and desires that come from within us and battle against God’s Word and will, battling especially the moral law of God, expressed in the 10 Commandments. (Notice how many of those Commandments are mentioned and violated in 7:20-23, in the thoughts and words and deeds that come out of people.) That is precisely why Jesus had to come and be our Savior and forgive our sins and give us new life and a new way, through the power of His Spirit, working through the Word of God and the Sacraments.

We know, even as believers in Christ, what a struggle it still is to follow our Lord Jesus and His will. Paul writes about that in the Epistle lesson, Ephesians 6:10-20, the last of eight readings from Ephesians that we have heard the last few months. Paul calls us to be strong in the Lord and His strength. We cannot battle the devil and his evil forces on our own. We need the whole armor of God in order to stand firm. Paul used the picture image of an ancient warrior and the armor that protects him. For Christians, this is truth, righteousness, the Gospel of peace, and especially, faith and salvation, all of which our Lord provides for us. Our sword is the Word of God, wielded not so much by us but by the Holy Spirit, along with prayer for each other and all the saints, again guided by the Holy Spirit. Paul knows that he needs such Words and prayer, too, to enable him to keep preaching the Gospel boldly, even though he is in chains in prison as he speaks and writes. We need this armor and power from our Lord in the present darkness of this 21st Century, too. “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Sermon for August 28, 2024

Sermon for Fellowship Communion - August 28, 2024

Based on Ephesians 5:20-6:9

(Please read the text beforehand, if possible.)

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen (Psalm 19:14)

Paul said, right after, “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:20-21), “wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” There are those who don’t like these words and would like to tear them out of the Bible. But look at what else you would be tearing out - Christ Himself and His blessings for you and for the church.  - “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior, to which the church submits”

This is not a power play for husbands but a great responsibility given to them. “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church.” And how much did Christ love the church, including you and me? Enough, Paul says, for Him to give Himself up for us. Jesus, God’s Son, came into this world “not to be served, but to serve us, and to give His life as a ransom” in payment for all of our sins (Matthew 28:20).

In that way, Paul says, Jesus “sanctifies us, having cleansed us by the washing of water with the Word.” That’s a reference to Baptism, water connected with the Word of God, through which the Holy Spirit brought us to faith and forgiveness. And we think of the gift of Holy Communion we’ll receive in a few moments, too, when Christ also comes to each of us, bringing in and with the bread and wine, His true Body and Blood for forgiveness and strengthening of our faith.

In this way, Paul says, Christ presents the church, including us, to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that we might be holy and without blemish.” That’s not how we often feel. We know that we have lots of spots and wrinkles and blemishes, literally, as we get older, and we also know that we have plenty of sins and spiritual blemishes that need forgiveness, above all. We bring all these to Christ, and through His sacrifice for us on the cross, He forgives us and counts us and sees us as holy and without blemish, in His eyes, by His grace.

In the same way, Paul says husbands should love their own wives and even as their own bodies. “He who loves his wife” is actually “loving himself.” Paul then quotes a Scripture from Genesis 2, when God first instituted marriage, to show that. “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” - like one new person together. What we do for our spouse, in love, we are also doing for ourselves, as part of that one new person we have become in marriage, “nourishing and cherishing one another, just as Christ does the church, His body, of which He is the Head.”

Paul says that this is a profound mystery and that he is speaking most especially of the unity that Christ brings to us in the church, together. However, he says, “Let each one of you love his wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband,“ reflecting the love of Christ to and for each other in marriage.

Right after this Epistle lesson, then, Paul gives two more examples of “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” He speaks to children and says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1-4). This is good for children and parents and families, according to God’s good will and plan. “Honor your father and mother.”

Do you remember how Jesus, when he was 12 years old and went with His parents to Jerusalem, knew He needed to be in His Heavenly Father’s house, in the temple, listening and asking questions and giving understanding answers? Though His parents did not understand, we read that Jesus went home and was submissive to them, honoring His parents, as he should, even though He was the very Son of God, and he served His family until His public ministry began when he was about 30 years old (Luke 2:41-52).

Fathers also have responsibilities as heads of families in the Lord. Paul says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Teaching of the Lord and His Word and what He’s done for us is so important. This is where Lutheran congregations and Lutheran schools have been and continue to be very helpful in supporting parents in Christ-centered learning.

Finally, Paul gives an example of Christ-centered relationships also between servants and masters - or, in today’s terms, between employees and employers (Ephesians 6:5-9). Employees are to obey their employers with a sincere heart, as they would Christ, and not just be trying to look good in the eyes of others for their own personal gain. Instead, employees should seek to do the will of God from the heart, as if they were working for the Lord Himself. Then, they will ultimately be blessed by Him. Employers and masters who are Christian should also serve their employees in a Christ-like way, remembering that they have a Heavenly Master to whom they are ultimately responsible, themselves, too.

Now, a lot of this may seem irrelevant to us. Most of us are not working anymore and are neither employees or employers. If we have been married, many of our spouses have already been called to eternal life with Christ in heaven, and we just miss them. And if we have children and grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, most of us don’t have prime responsibility for them anymore.

But our Lord, in His wisdom, has left us here for a reason. And these Scriptures are encouraging us to keep our focus on Christ, at the center, in whatever we are doing, and His saving Word and work for us. Then, he will also help us to see ways that we can still “through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13) in thankfulness for God’s grace and in reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:20-21). That happens as we receive the gifts of Christ Himself together in the Lord’s Supper and as we talk with and encourage one another after our service as members of the body of Christ in this church together. We all need that encouragement in Christ.

Let us pray: Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds safe together in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Preparing for Worship - August 25, 2024

The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 14, another psalm of David. The Lord looks down from heaven and sees no one who is doing good. Fools deny that there is any God. No one understands and seeks God as he should. Again, David speaks God’s verdict. “There is none who does good, not even one.” This is the reality of sinful human nature ever since the fall into sin by Adam and Eve. (See Genesis 6:5,12.) There are some, though, who are counted righteous in God’s eyes by His grace and forgiveness and who “walk with God by faith.” (See Genesis 6:9, 15:6.) God’s Old Testament people were chosen and called to be part of that “righteous” group, but many of them also fell away and needed to be “restored.” David prays that “salvation for Israel would come out of Zion,” from among God’s place of rule, and that the Lord would be the “Refuge” for His “poor” people. (The Lord inspires David to repeat this same message in Psalm 53, with almost the same words, except for the promise that God would eventually defeat all those “encamped against” Him and His believers (Psalm 53:5).

Unfortunately, many of God’s Old Testament chosen people would continue to drift away from the Lord and be “blind” and “drunk” and spiritually “asleep.” (See Isaiah 29: 9-10.) The Lord then sends the message through the prophet Isaiah that we hear in the Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 29:11-19. The message from God would seem to be “sealed” to them, and people would draw near to Him only with their “lips” and not with their “hearts.” “The wisdom of their wise men would perish,” and they “would turn things upside down.” People would act like “clay,” trying to deny the Lord, who was their “Potter” and their “Creator,” and they would reject His truth and “understanding.” They would develop their own human “commandments” and follow them instead of the Lord and His Word. But again, a time was coming when “the deaf” and “the blind” would “hear and see, out of their gloom and darkness.” Those who were “meek” and spiritually “poor” before the Lord would “obtain fresh joy in the Lord” and “exult in the Holy One of Israel,” the Promised Savior, and His salvation for them.

Jesus was that "Promised Savior,” and in the Gospel lesson, Mark 7:1-13, we see Him challenging those who wanted to condemn Him with their human commandments. Jesus quotes from our Old Testament lesson (Isaiah 29:13) and says that they, the religious leaders and others, were the ones leaving the true commandments of God and holding to the traditions of men. He used the example of the 4th Commandment, “Honor your father and your mother.” The elders and priests had made up a rule called “Corban” that if people pledged to give a certain amount to the priests and the temple, they must do so, even if that meant neglecting the genuine needs of their parents. It also became a way of avoiding giving help to their parents and others if they just did not want to help them for purely selfish reasons. The true Word of God was being ignored by human ideas and rules that were not good. Jesus also said that the people were doing many other things against God’s will and failing to do things that they really should have done. (Jesus was doing what the first two readings this week were also doing - showing us and all people that we are sinners who fall far short of God’s will and need repentance and forgiveness and the new life of trust in Him that Jesus was earning for us and the world as He went to the cross and the empty tomb for us. He alone was and is the Savior that we need.)

The Epistle lesson continues readings from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians - this week, from Ephesians 5:22-33. Paul had been writing about our new life of faith in Christ, by whom we are saved, and calling us in thanks and gratitude to be “submissive to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). This is also expressed in other Scriptures like Galatians 5:13. Paul writes, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh (for your own sinful desires and wishes), but through love serve one another.” In the Ephesians reading, Paul says that husbands are to be the “head” of the family, and wives are to be submissive. This is not a power play for husbands, though. The pattern is Christ as the head of the church, His body, and its Savior. He loved the church and was willing to die for it so that we could be sanctified through baptism (the washing of water with His Word and promises) and counted “holy and without blemish” in His eyes. Husbands have a great responsibility, too, as head of their family. They are to “love their wives, as Christ loved the church,” in a sacrificial way and “nourish and cherish them, as Christ does the church.” It was the Lord Himself who instituted marriage in Genesis 2 and calls husbands to love their wives as part of them, and wives are to respect their husbands. This is a very high calling from the Lord, and we live in it only by the grace and love and forgiveness Christ bestows first upon us,

Bible Study - Scripture Interprets Scripture and Points to Christ

I was surprised at the number of Scriptures in our Old Testament reading this week that were quoted later on in the Scriptures or at least alluded to. It was a good reminder that the Scriptures themselves help us to interpret other Scriptures, most especially when a Biblical writer, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is referring to another Scripture passage himself. Old Testament Scriptures are so often pointing forward to the future, too, and especially pointing to the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ, at the center of the Triune God’s work for us, revealed in God’s Word. Here are just a few examples. Be watching for these.

In Romans 3:10-12, Paul quotes from Psalm 14:1-3 and its parallel, Psalm 53:1-3, along with Ecclesiastes 7:20. In the verses that follow, in Romans 3:13-18, Paul refers to at least seven other Old Testament Scriptures which also make his point that we are all sinners who need the saving work of Jesus. Later on, in Romans 11:26, Paul refers to Psalm 14:7, in saying that “the Deliverer,” who brings salvation, “would come from Zion“ and bless the descendants of “Jacob,” just as Jesus came to do for them and for the New Israel, all believers in Christ. Also, as Psalm 14:4 speaks of “evildoers who eat up God’s people as they eat bread,” Paul reminds believers in Galatians 5:14-15 that they are to “love their neighbors as themselves.” But, he says, “if you bite and devour one another (in sharp disagreements), watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”

Look also at Isaiah 29:11-19. Jesus quotes very directly from this passage, in Mark 7:6-7 (and in the parallel passage in Matthew 15:8-9), showing that His fellow Jews had the same problem in His day as many Jews had in the time of Isaiah’s prophecy, following human commandments and not the Word of God. Jesus had come into the world to help those literally “deaf and blind,” but also those spiritually deaf and blind, for whom the Scriptures seemed to be like a “sealed” book. Jesus showed this for John the Baptist, in prison, and his disciples, too, by referring to the prediction in Isaiah 29:18-19 that when the Savior came, He would help the deaf and blind and the spiritually poor. He would help them “exult in the Holy One of Israel,” for He was the promised Holy One and their Savior.

We heard last week that Peter was brought to that faith and belief in Jesus as “the Holy One of God.” Peter said, in John 6:68-69, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Paul also quotes from Isaiah 29:13 in 1 Corinthians 1:19, where He shows that many people who thought they were so “wise and discerning” were missing the one most important One for their lives and future, Jesus “Christ crucified,” “the Power of God and the true Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:23-24).

I could go on and on with more examples, but the point is that the Scriptures of the Old Testament are rich with Scriptures that point us to the New Testament and to Christ Jesus as our Savior above all. Paul reminded a young pastor, Timothy, “From childhood, you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). That is the greatest wisdom, in Christ our Wisdom. As John said, “These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). Keep reading and listening to the Scriptures, and let them interpret God’s Word for you, with Christ as the Key. If you have a Bible with cross references, they can help you find passages like the ones I have mentioned. There are so many.