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Episodes
Weekly sermons and Bible studies led by a retired pastor of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Episodes
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 15, 2011
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
This Sunday is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, and most of our readings have to do with Jesus as our Good Shepherd, in all that He did and still does for us.
The psalm is, of course, Psalm 23, David’s beautiful words about the Lord as his Shepherd. The Lord, in His wisdom, provides all that David really needs in a spiritual way. He restores David’s soul, after difficult times, and provides him with spiritual food and drink. Even in the shadow of death, when in the presence of enemies, the Lord gives him comfort and courage. The Lord will give him goodness and mercy, and one day, he will live in the house of the Lord forever.
That is the promise of God for all of us, too, with Jesus as our Good Shepherd. In the Gospel lesson, John 10:1-10, Jesus says that He is “the door for His sheep.” Those who enter into the sheepfold through faith in Him will be saved and find good pasture and have abundant life, now and forever. There are thieves and robbers who can endanger the sheep, but the sheep of Jesus’ flock will listen only to Him and His voice, in His Word. He knows us all by name and will care for us always.
The first lesson, Acts 2:42-47, tells how those who were brought to faith in Jesus and were baptized on Pentecost were able to stay in faith and were strengthened. They kept coming together in worship and fellowship and heard the apostles’ teaching through the Word of God and had “the breaking of bread,” including the Lord’s Supper. They also prayed for each other and helped with each other’s needs in a generous way, and the Lord added more people to them who were being saved.
Peter adds, in our Epistle lesson, 1 Peter 2:19-25, that we can also expect some suffering and trouble as sheep of our Good Shepherd, even when we are trying to do good and right things. We are following in the steps of Jesus, who suffered and was reviled and finally died for us, carrying our sins on the tree of the cross. By His wounds, we have been healed. We were like straying sheep, but now have been brought to our Good Shepherd, the Overseer of our souls, who will care for us.
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Psalm 115 deals with a constant temptation for the children of Israel. The Lord had taught his people that there was only one true God, whom alone they should worship and serve. The foundation commandment of the 10 Commandments, the first commandment, is recorded in Exodus 20:3 and again in Deuteronomy 5:7 and repeated in many other ways throughout the Old Testament: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” An explanation of that commandment followed in both Exodus and Deuteronomy. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Exodus 20:4-5 and Deuteronomy 5:8-9).
All around them, though, were peoples and nations that were polytheists, believing in many gods and goddesses, and making idols for themselves. Psalm 115: 4-8 ridicules the making and worshiping of idols, “the work of human hands.” These idols may have mouths and eyes and ears, etc., but they cannot speak or see or hear or do anything at all. There are similar descriptions and statements in other places in the Scriptures. Psalm 135 says much the same thing in v.15-18, along with other similar words we will touch on later in v.6 and v.19-20. See also Jeremiah 10:3-5 and 8-11, and most strongly in Isaiah 44:6-20, where God says through Isaiah, “I am the first and I am the last, besides me there is no god” (v.6) and “Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?”(v.10).
Still, the Israelites too often followed the temptation to be like so many others and follow false gods and idols like “the golden calf” in Exodus 32. A summary of the history of God’s people in 2 Kings 17:6-20 says things like this: The Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians “because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God… and feared other gods… and walked in the customs of other nations… things that were not right… They went after false idols and became false… They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves images of two calves and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the hosts of heaven and served Baal.” (All these were false gods and idols or objects of worship of other nations.)
“None was left but the (Southern) tribe of Judah alone. Judah also did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the customs Israel (the Northern Kingdom) had introduced (including idolatry)… And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel… until He had cast them out of His sight,” with the fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judah to the Babylonians. During low times like these, others nations would mock God’s people and say, “Where is their God” who lets them have such trouble (Psalm 115:2). See also passages like Psalm 42:10, where the some of God’s people wrote, “As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” - implying that this “God” cannot be seen and thus did not exist.
Do we hear such challenges still today, as people attack God and Christianity at times? Our answer is in Psalm 115:3: “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.” We trust our Lord. He is not like the false gods of the Greeks and Romans and others of old, who were very human-like, in doing both some good and much evil. They literally did whatever they wished, even if it was wrong. The God revealed in Scripture is always working for ultimate good, though He may have to “discipline” at times and we do not always understand His ways. (See passages like Hebrews 12:5-7.)
Thus, the call comes in Psalm 115:9ff.: “O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their Help and their Shield.” God did not give up on His people, and after a time of captivity, He forgave and restored them to the land of Israel. Some think that this psalm was written as a warning and reminder, in this later time in Israelite history, that Israel should not slip back into gross idolatry again.
There could also be other kinds of idolatry and false worship, though, besides literal use of idols. Psalm 115: 1 says, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your Name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love (mercy) and Your faithfulness.” The Scriptures warn that we can turn many things into gods, including ourselves and things we have or “covet,” if we make them more important that God Himself and His Word and will. Psalm 115:1 says twice that glory and honor should go above all to God and not to ourselves and what we are and accomplish. We are not to love and trust in our possessions and money (Proverbs 11:28) or our family (Matthew 10:37) or our own goodness (Ephesians 2:8-9), or anything else, more than God and His good gifts to us (James 1:17-18).
There are dangers here for us even today and even as God’s people. Our parents and family are very important. God even gave us commandments about them. We need some money and a place to live and on and on. But none of this is more important that our Lord. He is the One we are to trust above all, no matter who we are.
In Psalm 115:9-13, the psalmist especially speaks to “Israel,” the chosen people of God, and “the house of Aaron,” the priests who led the people in worship and learning, and faithful people, “small and great,” who “fear” and love God. All of them are called to “trust in the Lord” above all, and recognize that “being blessed by the Lord” is most important. It would be so easy to focus upon themselves and what they are doing or thinking or accomplishing, rather than giving God the glory and praise. (I have to watch out for that danger myself, as a pastor and teacher!) Remember the parable in Luke 18:9-14. The Pharisee, the religious leader, can only seem to talk about himself and the great things he is doing. He goes home not “justified,” while the struggling tax collector can only pray, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” and goes home forgiven and blessed and right with God.
Think above all of our Lord Jesus, who did finally come from the people of Israel to be our Savior. See how He, too, was tempted as we are, yet did not sin, in Matthew 4:1-11. The devil tempted him with food and honor and fame and personal possessions and “glory,” if He would only “fall down and worship him,” instead of putting God first. Jesus simply quoted Scripture, ending with Deuteronomy 6:13, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”
The whole life of Jesus was one of service to His heavenly Father, doing everything right, in our place, where we so often fail. Finally, we sinners were redeemed and ransomed and forgiven by His sacrifice on the cross to pay the penalty for all our sins. See 1 Peter 1:18-21: “You were ransomed… with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a Lamb without spot or blemish… and God raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” In Christ Jesus we now trust, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the one true God “who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 115:15) - the complete fulfillment of the “trust in the Lord” spoken of in Psalm 115.
Two last comments on Psalm 115. Verse17 reminds us that we cannot take any of those things we cherish so much with us when we die. Our mouths will be stopped, and we can trust only in the “precious blood” of Christ, shed for us, and that will be enough.
But, as verse 18 says, and the New testament makes clear, “we will bless the Lord” - give Him all the praise and glory and honor, “forevermore” in a perfect way, in everlasting life “in the heavens” (v.3, too).
One more brief comment. Some churches understand Exodus 20:4 as a second and separate commandment, which forbids any kind of image or likeness of anything in a church building. Such churches are therefore very plain and have no artwork of any kind in them. Christians traditionally have understood v. 4 as an additional explanation of v.3, of having no other gods and forbidding worship and adoration of any objects or anything, that should be given only to God. We take this second view as Lutherans, and also believe that Scripture itself should help us to interpret Scripture. In the Old Testament tabernacle and later on in the temple, for example, the ark of the covenant had images of winged cherubs (a kind of angel) one on each side of the mercy seat (Exodus 25:18-20). The golden lampstand had “cups made like almond blossoms” (Exodus 25:33-34). The priestly robe had images of pomegranates and bells on it.
In other words, God Himself had commanded Moses to make these images of things for use in the temple. In the New Testament, John sees, in visions of heaven, seven stars and a two-edged sword (Revelation 1:16) and living creatures that look like a lion and an eagle, etc. (Revelation 4:6-8). All this is to says that many Christians feel that it is acceptable to use images and symbols and artwork in churches, for teaching purposes or for the glory of God, as long as these do not become sacred objects of worship, and we clearly worship only God Himself, as Psalm 115 indicates.
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered April 22, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 8, 2011
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
In Psalm 116, an unidentified psalmist “loves the Lord” and “will call on Him always,“ because the Lord has heard him and delivered his soul from “distress and anguish” and danger of “death” itself. He “believes” the Lord, for the Lord is “gracious and merciful” and will help “simple” people like him, who are open to learning God’s Word and His will, instead of the “lies“ of so much of mankind. The psalmist then sings a great song of praise to the Lord. We use these words in an offertory, an offering hymn, singing God’s Word to each other in Divine Service, Setting One, in the Lutheran Service Book. The psalmist also knows that the death of God’s saints, His believers, is “precious” to the Lord and this is in prophecy of the coming saving work and death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus (There is more detail about this psalm in this week's podcast Bible study, too.)
The Gospel lesson, Luke 24:13-35, continues the story of the resurrection of Jesus and His appearance alive to two ordinary followers of Jesus, not part of the original 12 disciples. They are very sad, because their hopes that Jesus was the “the one to redeem Israel” had now been dashed by His death. Jesus appears to them, but hides who He really was, until He taught them from Scripture and became their Host in His meal with them and “the breaking of the bread” with them. Then Jesus vanished, and these two followers hurried back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive!
The first lesson, Acts 2:14a, 36-41, concludes the preaching of Peter on Pentecost, as He proclaimed that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. 3,000 people were cut to the heart and received the Word of God and were brought to faith by the Holy Spirit, and baptized. The promised blessings in baptism are the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and these promises are for all, including children, and people who are far off. Repentance, too, is through God’s working in people and not by our efforts and decisions. See Acts 5:30-31 and Acts 11:15-18
The Epistle lesson is from 1 Peter 1:17-25. Peter is writing to Christians scattered in many places and reminding them of what Christ Jesus had done for them. They were ransomed from their futile ways through the precious blood of Christ. They and we are believers in God through Him. God raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him glory, and we are “born again” through “the living and abiding Word of God” - the Good News preached to us (as well as through baptism). (See John 3:1-6, also.) In response to our salvation, we are called to fear, love and trust in God and seek to serve Him and live in “brotherly love” with one another.
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Psalm 116 in a psalm of thanksgiving to God for deliverance from great danger and from death itself. The specific situation is not described, and this has thus been a psalm used by many as a prayer in times of great difficulty, whatever they may be. The author is not identified, but many think this is one of the later psalms written in the Old Testament because there are many references to psalms of David and others.
The psalmist begins by declaring that he loves the Lord, because the Lord has heard his voice and his pleas for mercy. The psalmist was surrounded by the snares of death, of Sheol, and suffered distress and anguish (Psalm 116:1-3). He cried out, “O Lord, deliver my soul,” and “the Lord delivered his soul from death, his eyes from tears, and his feet from stumbling.” “He walks before the Lord again in the land of the living” (v.4,8-9).
Therefore, the psalmist will keep “calling on Him as long as he lives” because he knows that the Lord is “gracious and righteous and merciful” and “has dealt bountifully with him.” He can “rest in the Lord” and His care (v.2,5,7). He knows that the Lord “preserves simple people” like him (v. 6). (The word “simple” does not mean someone who is naïve and feeble in mind, but someone who is “open” to learning and instruction, especially from the Lord. See, for example, Proverbs 1:1-7, where the same word is used for those “open” to the Lord’s knowledge, in contrast with “fools who despise wisdom and instruction.”)
The psalmist knows that he must turn to the Lord, because he is “alarmed” to discover that “All mankind are liars” (Psalm 116:11). Fellow human beings, and he himself, and all of us, are weak, sinful people, far from true Godly wisdom if left on our own. (See Scriptures like Genesis 6:5 and Jeremiah 4:22 and 17:9 and Romans 3:22-23. Be sure to read these!) So, the psalmist continues to “believe” the Lord and trust Him, even when he himself says, “I am greatly afflicted” (Psalm 116:10). He know that he will be taken care of by his Lord, no matter what comes for him. He knows that he would be blessed by His Lord, even if he would die (v. 15). (“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints,” - those who are right with God by faith in His mercy.)
This mercy of God would be shown most clearly, of course, in Christ our Savior, who always followed His Heavenly Father’s will, even if it meant, as it did, suffering and dying for us to pay the penalty for our sins. That was not the end for Jesus, for He rose in victory for us on the day we call Easter. See how Paul uses words from this psalm, Psalm 116:10, in 2 Corinthians 4:13-15: “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will bring us also with Jesus and bring us with you into His presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.”
The psalmist, who knew of God’s mercy and promises in his life and in prophecy for the future, fulfilled finally in Jesus, then broke into a song of praise and thanks to the Lord in Psalm 116:12-17. He was “God’s servant,” and the Lord had “loosed his bonds,” bringing him freedom and hope and rest (v.7,16). He will now worship the Lord with fellow believers “in the courts of the house of the Lord” (v.14,18,19), and he will “pay his vows,” make his commitments to the Lord, in gratefulness and praise to the Lord (v.14,17-19).
If some of these words sound familiar to you, it it because v.12-14 and 17-19 are used as an “offertory," an offering song, after the sermon and before the Communion liturgy, in the Divine Service, Setting One, in the Lutheran Service Book, as offerings are brought to the Lord. We are singing God’s Word to and with each other, just as the psalmist was doing.
Note also that the psalmist says, “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord” (v.13). When God’s people came to Jerusalem to celebrate the yearly Passover, one of the cups of wine they shared with each other in the Passover service was called “the cup of salvation.” That service ended with singing of psalms, from Psalms 113-118, also. This is prophetic of Jesus.
Remember that when Jesus came as the Savior, He also celebrated the Passover with His disciples the night before His death. He used the unleavened bread and the wine of “the cup of salvation” and transformed them into what we now call The Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion. In and with and under the bread and wine, we also receive the body and blood of Christ Jesus and the blessings of His forgiveness. That is now our “cup of salvation,” that we can receive regularly in faith. (See, for example, Matthew 26:26-28.) Note also that then they closed the Passover “with a hymn they sang and then went out to the Mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30), where Jesus prayed and then was arrested and died on the cross the next day. Most likely, Jesus sang Psalm 116 as a part of His last hymn before His suffering and death on the cross.
Read through Psalm 116 again, thinking about it with reference to Jesus. The psalmist is grateful that he escaped death, but Jesus went to His death for our sake. Jesus suffered “distress and anguish, tears and stumbling and death” that we deserve. He was “greatly afflicted” in our place, for our sins, because “all mankind, including us, are liars.”
“His death was precious in the eyes of His Heavenly Father,” and he was raised to life on Easter, and earned for us eternal life, as we believe and trust in Him. “What shall we render to the Lord, for all His benefits to us?” We believe in and praise and thank the Lord! And we are His servants, in gratitude for all He has done for us, in Christ.
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Sermon for the 2nd Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 1, 2011
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
At the heart of our Scripture readings this week is the Gospel lesson, the story of Jesus and doubting Thomas and the other readings all revolve around it.
The Psalm is Psalm 148, a song of praise to the Lord. First, the angels are called upon to praise the Lord and then the sun, moon, and stars and all we see above - for He commanded, and they were created. Then, the things of earth are called upon to praise the Lord, as well, culminating with all rulers and people of all ages. All of creation is thus to praise the Lord’s Name and majesty. Finally there is a prophecy of the Lord raising up “a horn” for His people, and for this, especially, the Lord is to be praised. A horn had been a symbol of power and strength in the Old Testament, and Zechariah, in the Gospel of Luke, identifies this “horn” as the coming Savior, Jesus, whose way John the Baptism would prepare. (See Luke 1:67-79, and especially, v.69.)
The Gospel lesson is John 20:19-31. The Risen Lord Jesus shows Himself alive to His disciples on Easter evening and gives them His Holy Spirit and the power to forgive sins. The disciple Thomas was not there, though, and refuses to believe that Jesus could be alive unless he sees Him and touches Him. A week later, Jesus appears again to the disciples, and Thomas is there. Quickly he believes, calling Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” It is good that he believes, but Jesus adds, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John adds that all that he has written in this Gospel was written that we too may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, we may have life, also, in His Name.
The first Scripture lesson is from Acts 5:28-42, part of the history of the early Christian church. The disciples had been arrested and jailed for telling people about the Risen Lord Jesus, but an angel came and set them free. They were telling about Jesus again when religious leaders stopped them and brought them before the Jewish Council. They were threatened again and told not to teach in the name of Jesus. They responded, “We must obey God, rather than men” and proclaimed Jesus as leader and Savior, now alive again and exalted to the right hand of God. The Council members talked among themselves, and a respected Pharisee, Gamaliel, spoke of other troublemakers who had died away eventually. He recommended that they leave the disciples alone and see what happened. This would avoid the very unlikely chance that the Council could even be opposing God, themselves. They beat and threatened the disciples and let them go, and the disciples felt it an honor to suffer dishonor for the sake of Jesus. They kept right on teaching and preaching that “the Christ is Jesus.”
The Epistle lesson is from 1 Peter 1:3-9. Peter writes this later letter to Christian believers scattered in various places. He talks of Christians being born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus. They now have an inheritance kept for them in heaven that would be fully revealed at the return of Christ, and they already have “the outcome of their faith, the salvation of their souls.” Their souls will be with their Lord in heaven when they die, even if they have to go through various trials and testing of their faith , when still here on earth.
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Psalm 100 is called in its introduction “A psalm for giving thanks.” It is part of a group of psalms of thanks and praise to God. The author is not identified. The psalm begins with a call to “make a joyful noise to the Lord.” These words are used in a number of other psalms and other places in the Old Testament. See, for example, Psalm 95:1 and Psalm 98:4-6.
In the Psalm 98 passage, a “horn” is mentioned. God’s people often used a ram’s horn, a shofar, for various purposes in the Old Testament. Such a horn could only make a few noises, unlike a modern-day trumpet; yet it was used and still is used for certain Jewish high festivals and was important as a part of the collapse of the walls of Jericho and the victory of God’s people as they entered the promised land (Joshua 6:1-5 ff). This sound of a horn may be the kind of “joyful noise” called for in this verse, or it may refer to the singing of people. Whether people can sing beautifully or not, we can still praise our Lord. The quality is not so important but, as the psalm goes on, that we praise the Lord in a genuine way, with our hearts.
Verse one also calls “all the earth” to make this “joyful noise,” referring to all nations and peoples. Martin Luther saw this as a prophecy of Christ. When Jesus came, He made it clear that the Good News of God’s love in His saving work was for all nations and all people, and He sent out His disciples to spread this message to everyone (Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15-16). We are still trying to fulfill this calling from our Lord today, sharing the hope we have in Christ our Savior.
Psalm 96 speaks of this calling even more for “all the earth" (Psalm 96:1). “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples (v.3)… Ascribe to the Lord, O families of peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength (v.7)… say to the nations, ‘The Lord reigns!’” (v.10). Psalm 98:3 even says, “All the ends of earth have seen the salvation of our God.” That obviously had not yet happened when these psalms were written, but this is what the Lord wanted to happen, as His plan of salvation was finally carried out in Christ. Psalm 98:7-8 also combines this calling with the witness of all the earth, all creation, to the greatness of God - “the sea roaring… the rivers clapping their hands… the hills singing for joy together.” This is a “picture image” way of saying what Paul says in Romans 1:19-20 - that the power and majesty and reality of God can be seen in the marvels of His created world and universe. We can sense that when we are out in our natural world on a beautiful day.
Go back to Psalm 100, v.2. We are also called to be witnesses for our Lord by “serving the Lord with gladness.” As Christ first loved and served us, we are called also to serve Him and one another. (See passages like Romans 12:9-11.) In this psalm, the emphasis is on serving “with gladness.” Other Scriptures also speak of “serving the Lord with fear, and rejoicing with trembling” (Psalm 2:11), with proper awe and respect for God and what He wishes. But it is best when we can combine that service with joy and gladness.
We come, then, into “the presence” of God “with singing” (Psalm 100, v. 2), “with thanksgiving,” “with praise,” “blessing His Name” (Psalm 100, v.4). God is with us always (Matthew 28:20 and Hebrews 13:5, etc.), but in this psalm we are called to “enter His gates… and His courts” (Psalm 100 v.4). In the Old Testament, that would be the temple in Jerusalem. In our time, it would be coming to our churches, where God is especially present with His Word and His Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Holy week and Easter are great times to come to sing and praise and give thanks. But this psalm is calling us to come regularly into the Lord’s presence in this way, no matter the time of year.
Why? Because then we hear and “know that the Lord, He is God” (Psalm 100, v. 3). We hear God’s Word, and know that He confronted the followers of false gods, as in 1 Kings 18, where He showed His power and sent fire from heaven, and the people “fell on their faces and said,” just as Psalm 100, v.3 says, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” (Read especially 1 Kings 18:30-39.)
The God revealed in the Scriptures, the one true Triune God, is the only true God. He is the Creator of all things. “It is He who made us, and we are His” (Psalm 100, v.3). We are not “of ourselves,” as some translate this verse. So many people think that they are in charge of their own lives and can do whatever they want. Their choices are the only thing that matters. (See how the Pharaoh in Egypt thought that he was like a “great dragon” who even said, “My Nile (River) is my own; I made it for myself.” He would eventually fall and lose his kingdom (Ezekiel 29:1-5).
We are not our own and not on our own in this troubled world. As we are brought to faith in Christ, through God’s Word and our baptism, “We are God’s people and the sheep of His pasture.” He will help and care for us and feed us with His Word and His very Presence in the Lord’s Supper. He will lead and guide us, as sheep are not always the smartest. He will do this, because “He, the Lord, is good,” and knows what is best for us (Psalm 100, v.5).
We heard David saying the same thing in our study of Psalm 16: “You are my Lord. I have no good apart from You” (Psalm 16:2). See also Psalm 25:8 and Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” This last passage is quoted by Peter in the New Testament in 1 Peter 2:1-3. He is referring to the “pure spiritual milk” of the Word and Sacraments that we receive as we gather for the “Divine Service” of the Lord to us in our worship.
This “steadfast love” (mercy) and “faithfulness” of God toward us will be available “to all generations” of people, too (Psalm 100:5). This is a reminder that we also have a responsibility to our children and grandchildren and others to try to make sure that these future generations are also hearing the Word of God and rejoicing in His promises, as well. Some have said that the church is only one generation away from extinction, if people do not continue to receive God’s Word and promises, in Christ. Things may become tougher, but God will not let His Church die out, because “His steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 110:5). The Risen Living Ascended Lord Jesus assures us of the “forever” that is ours through faith in Him, “Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39). We live in that great hope and joy, singing praises to our Lord.