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Episodes
Weekly sermons and Bible studies led by a retired pastor of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Episodes
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
The Scriptures this Sunday speak of the unity that is ours as we are connected to the Lord and His Word. The Psalm is Psalm 133, a psalm of David that people sang together as they went up to Jerusalem for festivals and worship of their Lord together in unity. The blessings of the Lord are pictured by the anointing oil poured on Aaron, so that he could bring these blessings to people, and by the dew that came down from Mt. Hermon and watered the land of Israel (an image that predicts in Zechariah 8:11-13, God’s saving work in Christ, so that His people can then be a blessing to others).
In the Gospel lesson, John 17:20-26, Jesus prays that His disciples would remain unified in Him and His Word and share that Word with others, so that others too might believe. This is a prayer also for us, who have become united in Christ and with one another through faith in His Word and the anointing power of baptism. (See also 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Galatians 3:26-27.) Jesus also prays that we stay in faith and become “perfectly one” as we worship Him one day in the glory and perfection of heaven.
We have another picture of that heavenly home given by revelation to John in the Second Lesson, Revelation 22:1-6, (7-11), 12-20. All believers will have the tree of life and the water of life, in the presence of the Lord God and Jesus, the Lamb, Who rescued us all. We will have the Light and Truth of the Lord with us forever. In the meantime, while still on earth, we are called to “Come” and be strengthened by God’s grace and receive the free gifts of God, given to us without price, through the “trustworthy and true” Words of Scripture.
The First Lesson, from Acts 1:12-26, shows the early believers, gathered together and asking the Lord to guide them in choosing a disciple to replace Judas. He must be a man who had seen the ministry of Jesus and was a witness to His resurrection and would help them share the Good News of the Savior, from Pentecost (celebrated next Sunday) and beyond. Matthias was the person the Lord led them to choose.
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Last week we heard that Naomi told Ruth how to let Boaz, the man who had helped Ruth so much, know in a very unusual way that she would be willing to marry him, as her “kinsman-redeemer.” Boaz understood what Ruth was telling him and was interested also in marrying Ruth. Boaz was a man, though, who was very moral and wanted to follow God’s Old Testament laws and customs. He knew that there was another relative who should have first choice before him in being the redeemer and marrying Ruth.
Just as Naomi had expected, the very next day, Boaz went to the gate of the town of Bethlehem. This was the place where people went to talk and carry out business and transactions and make important decisions in a public way. (See Deuteronomy25:7.) Boaz first found his relative who should have first choice in being the kinsman-redeemer for the family of Naomi and Ruth. Boaz also asked 10 elders of the town to be witnesses to what would be discussed. For matters to be legally binding, there needed to be a large number of witnesses like this. (In fact, a synagogue, a worship center for Jews, could not be organized and hold worship without at least 10 such men present.) (Ruth 4:1-2)
Right away, Boaz explained to his relative that he had first right to be a “redeemer” and buy the parcel of land that Naomi was selling (or maybe had already sold - the scholars don’t seem to agree on this). Naomi could have needed to sell the land earlier to have some money on which she and Ruth could survive. Either way, the relative had the right to buy this land and bring it back into the family, if he chose and settled any debts, etc. See Leviticus 25:25-28, again. Only a male relative could do this, though.
Boaz also explained that he himself did not have the right to be the redeemer unless his relative chose not to do his part, as he should (Ruth 4:3-4). The relative said “I will do it,” presumably because he had the money and could gain more property for the clan of Judah and himself.
Boaz then also reminded the relative that there was another responsibility if he redeemed the land. He would also have to marry Ruth the Moabite. (The Hebrew is a bit confusing, simply saying that the relative would also “have also to buy it from Ruth,” and thus take responsibility for her, as well.) The relative decided that he could not marry Ruth, because that might in some way “impair” his own inheritance and put more burdens on him and his family. That meant he could not redeem the land for Naomi and Ruth. The relative thus passed on the choice and responsibility to Boaz (Ruth 4:5-6).
Ruth 4:7-8 also tells of a “custom in former times” by which such a decision was demonstrated in a symbolic way, too. The person refusing the opportunity to “redeem” property would take off his sandal. (This was something done in Israel and other places at the time. Some think it expressed the idea that you could walk freely with your sandals on land that you owned. On other land you could not walk so freely and might be trespassing and get in trouble if you walked there.)
For an example of this, with some variation, see Deuteronomy 25:5-10. The Deuteronomy passages refers to the rejection of buying the property and rejection of the marriage, which went together. and were supposed to be done. Maybe that is why the rejected widow “spit in the face” of one refusing to do this duty. (Remember also that this story of Naomi and Ruth and Boaz actually happened during the later period of the Judges, though it was likely not written down until later, during the time of King David, when some of these customs had been forgotten or ignored.)
Then, Ruth 4:9-10 tells us that Boaz said right away that he would be the needed “kinsman-redeemer” and buy the property back for Naomi and Ruth and marry Ruth and keep the family name of Elimelech going for them. He asked the elders who were present to be witnesses to his promise and to the fact that all was done rightly and properly. The elders agreed and asked the Lord to bless this decision and marriage. (We will talk more about Ruth 4:11-12 and the verses that follow next week. Clearly the Lord blessed all this. Boaz and Ruth were married and had a child, Obed. Obed was their child, but it was such a joy for Naomi, after all her emptiness, that it was almost as if the child were hers, an heir at last!) (Ruth 4:16-17).
One more comment. Boaz said in Ruth 4:9-10 that he had bought the family property and he had “bought” Ruth for his wife. In ancient times, there often was a “bride price.” Money or goods or something was given to the bride’s parents, in exchange for the privilege of marrying the woman. (See, for example, the story of Jacob going to Laban in Genesis 28-29. Jacob wanted to marry Laban’s daughter, Rachel, and agreed to work 7 years for Laban as the “bride price” for marrying Rachel. As Jacob had tricked and cheated his brother, Esau, Laban also cheated Jacob and married off his daughter Leah to Jacob instead. Jacob had to work 7 more years to get the bride he really wanted. We will talk more about this story and other, next week, as they relate to the end of the Book of Ruth.)
In the case of Boaz, there was no “bride price” other than buying and reclaiming the property for Naomi and Ruth, but Boaz was very willing to do this because he really wanted to marry Ruth and genuinely loved and cared for her. (If you read through the Book of Judges, you will see many low, dark times, when people resisted God’s will and did “what was in their own eyes” instead of following God and His will (Judges 2:16, 6:1, 13:1, 21:25).
The story of Boaz and Ruth was a bright spot of genuine love and honoring of the Lord in those dark days. May we, as believers, seek to be “bright, shining lights” for our Lord and His ways and will, especially in Christ, in the dark days we sometimes live in today, too. See Philippians 2:14-16.
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Sermon for the 6th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 5, 2013
Thursday May 19, 2022
Thursday May 19, 2022
The Scriptures for this Sunday again point to events that were to happen after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Psalm is Psalm 67, which begins with a shortened version of the blessing the Lord gave to Aaron through Moses, which he was to speak to God’s people. See Numbers 6:22-27. This psalm goes on to say that this blessing is to be for all people, as God’s Way is known and shared among all nations and all people, especially in the coming of Jesus, who called Himself the “Way” by which to reach the Heavenly Father. Christians still use the Aaronic benediction today at the end of worship: “The Lord bless you and keep you….”
We see this Good News of God, in Christ Jesus, being shared in the First Lesson, from Acts 16:9-15, as Paul and others were sent to the West, to Macedonia and to Philippi, a Roman colony in Greece. The Lord opened the heart of Lydia to believe in Jesus, and she and her household were baptized, and her home became a base for sharing the Gospel with others in Greece and beyond.
There are two choices for the Gospel lesson. One of them is John 5:1-9, where Jesus met a man who had been an invalid for 38 years and was lying near the Pool of Bethesda. He seemed to be in a hopeless situation, but Jesus gave him hope by asking if he wanted to be healed and then by actually healing him, so that he could get right up and carry his mat. Jesus cared for all kinds of people, including those with disabilities. The Gospel of hope is for all.
The alternate Gospel reading is John 16:23-33, where Jesus talked about “leaving this world and going to the Father.” This is a prediction of His ascension into heaven, which we celebrate in the church on Thursday, May 26, this year. In our heavenly home, Jesus said, we won’t have to ask for anything, for our joy in the Lord will be full, for the Father will be with us in His great love. In the meantime, “in this world, we will have tribulation," but in Christ, we will have peace and hope, because He has overcome this sinful world, with its sorrow and death.
In the second lesson, from Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27, we hear even more of John’s vision of heaven, that we heard of last week. All believers will be the “bride” of the Lamb, our ascended Lord Jesus. Old Testament believers will be there, from the 12 tribes of Israel; and New Testament believers will be there, too, who trust the Scriptures, the Word of God from the 12 Apostles - all whose names are written by faith in the Lamb’s Book of Life. There will be no need for the temple or sun or locked doors and no night, and nothing false or evil, but only light and joy in the presence of the Lord God Almighty, our Triune God, forever. We have so much to look forward to, even if we struggle now in this life!
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
We heard last week that Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem in Judah because the Lord had blessed that area with better crops and more food. Naomi was still bitter about what had happened to her and Ruth, but was hoping that some relative of her husband, Elimelech, would have sympathy and help them. Ruth was simply eager to start “gleaning” for leftover crops in the Bethlehem area, as the barley season had begun, and she could help Naomi and herself in this way with at least some food. She worked hard in the fields, following the reapers, and then was noticed by Boaz, a “worthy man” and a relative of Elimelech, as she came to one of his fields.
Boaz had heard of Ruth and how kind she had been to Naomi, her mother-in-law and his distant relative. Boaz then talked with Ruth and invited her to stay and work in his fields. He would make sure that the young men and young women working for him would keep her safe and could even provide water for her when she was thirsty (Ruth 2:8-9). It was very hard work and could be dangerous. See the concern that Naomi mentioned in Ruth 2:21.
Ruth was amazed at the kindness and “favor” of Boaz and bowed down to the ground in respect for him and asked why he was being so kind to a foreigner like her (Ruth 2:10). Boaz explained that he had heard of how much she had helped Naomi and had even left her own father and mother and her own country in order to continue to serve her. Boaz also saw that Ruth had come to trust in the Lord, the One True God, and prayed that Lord would bless her, as she had “taken refuge” in Him (Ruth 2:11-12). Ruth then expressed again her gratefulness to Boaz for his kindness and the “comfort” and hope he had given her, though she was even less than one of his own servants (Ruth 2:13).
Then Boaz even invited Ruth to eat some special food with him and the reapers - a very unusual action for most Jews, at least as practiced in later times. He even provided enough food for Ruth to have extra to share with Naomi, and he told the reapers to leave a little extra for Ruth as she gleaned so that her gleaning would be more successful (Ruth 2:14-16).
Boaz clearly cared about his workers, even eating along with them, and he cared about women in a public way and even a non-Jewish woman. This is almost like a prediction of what God’s own Son, Jesus, would do much later when He came into the world as the compassionate Redeemer for all. Jesus provided “barley” food in abundance in some of His miracles. (See John 6:1-15.) He associated with all sorts of people, even those labeled as “sinners” by the Jewish authorities (Luke 15:1-2). He talked with and shared the Good News with a non-Jewish Samaritan woman in public, and people of her village, even though His own disciples were shocked by it all. (John 4. See especially, v.7-9, 25-30, 39-42.) And as we will see, Jesus actually came from the family line of Boaz and Ruth, who became Boaz’s wife.
Ruth continued gleaning that day and then “beat out” what she had gleaned and had an amazing “ephah” of barley (about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters). Naomi was amazed when Ruth returned home and thanked God for the man who “took notice of her” and helped her. When Naomi found out that it was Boaz, “a close relative,” she was finally realizing that the Lord had not abandoned her or Ruth and His “kindness had not forsaken the living or the dead.” God was still caring for them, even though they had had tragic circumstances (Ruth 2:17-20).
When Ruth also told Naomi that Boaz had advised her to stick with his reapers and women for the whole harvest, Naomi joyfully agreed. Boaz was going to continue to be of help to Ruth and Naomi, his relatives. That is what Ruth did through the barley and the wheat harvest which followed, and she was a great help to Naomi, through the blessing of Boaz, as she continued living with her (Ruth 2:21-23).
By this time, Naomi realized that it was time for her to help Ruth, and herself, by advising Ruth to let Boaz know that she would be willing to marry him. To understand what follows, one needs to know about some Jewish cultural laws and traditions which are briefly described in the Old Testament. Frankly, I do not fully understand them myself because not a lot is said about them and they do not always seem to be followed.
The first idea had to do with property rights. When God allowed the 12 tribes of Israel to enter and posses the promised land, the idea was that the land would stay with each tribe and the various families or “clans” within that tribe. Property rights were passed on only through males of the family, though. In the case of Naomi and Ruth, it seems as if Naomi could possess the property till she died or sold it, but then the property would pass on to some other family and be lost to the family line of Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, since there were no male heirs.
There was also, every fifty years, a year of Jubilee, when property rights were reconciled in a complicated way and servants were set free, etc. Again, I do not fully understand all this, but it seems that families with no male heirs would still lose out. (See Scriptures such as Leviticus 25:8-55. In a sense, the property still remained God’s, with His people as His servants.)
To help tribes and family clans, though, God also had a plan called “levirate marriage.” (See Deuteronomy 25:5-10.) If a woman’s husband died and there were no male heirs, then a brother of the dead husband or another male relative should marry her, to keep the family line going and to keep the property within the family. There are not many examples of this actually being done in the Old Testament, and it seems as if brothers could and did refuse to carry out this responsibility, and sometimes were in trouble for failing to do so. There were a few but troublesome situations, too, which I don’t want to get into in this study.
In the case of Naomi, though, she knew that she was too old to be married and have heirs herself. However, her daughter-in-law, Ruth, could be married to an eligible relative of Elimelech and carry on the family line. All this apparently was to follow Old Testament moral standards and marriages that were not of people too closely related.
As Chapter 3 of Ruth began, then, Naomi wanted Ruth to have “rest” and “well being” by being married according to this “levirate marriage” procedure, hopefully with Boaz (Ruth 3:1). Naomi had what sounds to us as a very strange way for Ruth to indicate her willingness to marry Boaz. Landowners would often stay at the threshing floor at night, where barley was “winnowed,” probably to guard against theft or damage to the grain. Ruth was to wash and dress very nicely and go and lie down at the feet of Boaz when he had fallen asleep and uncover his feet.
Ruth was very willing to do this. Over time, she had likely come to have great respect for the kindness and trustworthiness of Boaz and knew he would make a good husband (Ruth 3:2-6). Some modern commentators try to make this event into some kind of sexual immorality, probably based on today’s very low sexual standards. There is no indication of that in the actual passage. The moral standards of both Ruth and Boaz were very high.
Ruth did what Naomi suggested, and Boaz discovered her and heard her appeal for him to be her “redeemer” and cover her with his “wings,” the protection of marriage (Ruth 3:6-9). See how the same word, “redeemer,” had been used by Naomi in connection with her relatives in Ruth 2:20. Sometimes this word is translated as a “kinsman-redeemer” with reference to “levirate marriage.”
Boaz knew exactly what Ruth was asking. He had likely been thinking about this possibility already and was attracted to Ruth and had desired to marry her, as “a worthy woman.” Two things may have held him back. He was a somewhat older man, in whom she might not be interested; and also, he was not first in line as a kinsman-redeemer for her. There was a closer eligible male relatives than he.
When Boaz heard Ruth’s request, though, he immediately responded positively. He was honored by her “kind” request, since she was not going after a younger man for a more exciting life and did not have a great concern about his wealth. He showed his own character, too, by asking the Lord’s blessings for her, no matter how this all worked out.
He also told her “not to fear.” He would not take advantage of her in any way and would only look out for her welfare as he already had been doing. He asked her not to leave right away since it could be dangerous for a women to be out by herself in the middle of the night, but to wait until just before daylight so that there would be safety and no evil suspicions about her visit. He also gave her a gift of more food for her and Naomi, as a another sign of his kindness and good intentions (Ruth 3:10-15).
Boaz also honestly explained that though he was willing to be her kinsman-redeemer, there was another kinsman-redeemer who was a closer relative and that he should rightly have the first opportunity to consider whether to settle the property rights for Naomi and marry Ruth. Boaz promised to talk with the other relative that very day and “redeem” Ruth and the family rights, himself, if he possibly could (Ruth 3:13).
When Ruth returned home early in the morning and told Naomi what had happened, and gave her the gift of more grain, Naomi was sure that Boaz “would not rest” but would get this matter settled that very day (Ruth 3:16-18). That is exactly what Boaz did, as we will hear next week - with implications for all of us still today, too!
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Sermon for the 5th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered April 28, 2013
Wednesday May 11, 2022
Wednesday May 11, 2022
The Scripture readings this week and next are preparing us for events still to come, with the Ascension of Jesus into heaven and the coming to the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and beyond. The first lesson is from Acts 11:1-18. Peter is called to explain why he and other Jews had gone to the home of non-Jewish (uncircumcised) people and even associated with them and ate with them. Peter explained that God had taught him by visions and the Holy Spirit and by what had happened with Cornelius, a Roman centurion (Acts 10), that the Gospel of Jesus was meant for all people, including Gentiles (non-Jews). Cornelius and those with him heard the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit came to believe and were baptized. As God had done with Jews (see Acts 5:30-31), “to the Gentiles also God has granted (given) repentance that leads to life,” eternal life. This also meant that under the New Covenant in Jesus, old dietary and other such rules and rules about not associating with non-Jews were done away with. (Jesus had already taught all this, in Scriptures like Mark 7:1-30 and John 4:1-42).
There are two choices for the Gospel reading this week. In John 13:31-35, Jesus taught the night before His death, after Judas had left him, that He would soon be “glorified” through His death and resurrection and return to His Father in heaven. The disciples could not join Him right away, though they would join Him in heaven later (see John 14:1-6). In the meantime, his disciples, including us today, were to love others, as Jesus had first loved them and us by His great sacrifice for us all.
The other possible Gospel reading is from John 16:12-22. Jesus told His disciples that they would later be taught by the Holy Spirit, who would guide them “into all the truth” that they needed for their future ministry at the right time (at Pentecost and in the Spirit’s inspiring them in the Word of God they would speak and write in the New Testament Scriptures). The disciples would have sorrow when Jesus died and when He ascended into heaven after His resurrection, but in Him, they would have the fullness of joy, most especially in eternal life.
That eternal life is pictured again in another vision of the Apostle John in the second lesson, Revelation 21:1-7. God will make “all things new,” as He dwells with us and all believers, and we are “His people” forever. There will be no more crying or pain or death or mourning, “for the former things have passed away.” We will hear more of this next week, too.
Because of all that God has done and will do for us in Christ, all of creation is called upon to “praise the Lord!” in the psalm for the day, Psalm 148. Paul writes that “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). We don’t understand exactly what that means, but the eternal future will be perfect and wonderful with our Lord. We praise Him for all that we have now in Christ and His Word and look forward to.
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Last week we heard some background on the Book of Ruth, a true story that happened during the time of the Judges in the Old Testament and written down later, probably during the time of King David or a little later. We heard of Naomi, a Jewish woman who moved to the land of Moab with her husband, Elimelech, and their two sons because of famine and other bad conditions in Israel, where they had lived in Bethlehem. Tragically, Elimelech soon died, and Naomi was left with her two sons, who had each married Moabite women. Not too many years later, both sons also died, leaving Naomi alone with her two daughter-in-laws, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi was very bitter about these deaths and could not understand why all this happened to her and why God allowed it all.
We began at Ruth 1:6, then, when Naomi heard that the years of famine were over in Israel and that “the Lord had visited His people and given them food.” She heard this “in the fields of Moab.” This probably means that Naomi and her daughters-in-law had been “gleaning” any food that was left in fields after harvest. It was one of very few things widows could do in those days to try to survive and get a little food for themselves. (We will talk more about “gleaning” in a few minutes.)
Naomi decided that she would return to the land of Judah, since her husband had some relatives there and maybe some kind fellow Jews would help her. Her daughters-in-law wanted to go with her (verse 7), but Naomi urged them to go home to their own families and get help to find someone else to be married to. She hoped that the Lord would be kind to them as they had been kind to her, and that He would help them find rest and peace and new husbands (Ruth 1:8).
Orpah and Ruth wept loudly, and insisted on going along with Naomi to Israel. Again, Naomi urged them to turn back to their Moabite families. There was no feasible way she could provide another son for them, who could marry them and provide them with any inheritance and future (Ruth 1:9-13). And again Naomi expressed her “exceeding bitterness” that “the hand of the Lord had gone against” her, especially when it also so negatively affected her daughter-in-laws, whom she loved (Ruth 1:13).
Orpah and Ruth wept again loudly, but Orpah finally decided to return to her family home in Moab. Ruth, however, clung to Naomi, even though Naomi insisted again that she also go back home. Naomi even mentioned that Orpah had gone back to “her own gods” and seemed to wish the same for Ruth. Naomi was showing at this point her faith struggles and confusion and lack of confidence in the one true God if she would even think of sending her daughter-in-laws back to false gods (Ruth 1:14-15).
Ruth, the Moabite, showed more confidence in the one true God than Naomi at this point. She used the special name for the Lord, Yahweh (indicated by the capital letters LORD), and spoke strongly of her commitment to the Lord and to Naomi. She said that she would go with Naomi always and be a part of her people and let only death separate her and Naomi, or seemingly face judgment from God. Naomi saw her determination and finally agreed to take Ruth with her back to Bethlehem in Judah (Ruth 1:16-18).
The two of them then made the trip of over 100 miles to Bethlehem, and the whole town was “stirred up” at their arrival. Bethlehem was a very small town at this time, and so some still remembered Naomi, even though she had been gone for 10 years or more. It was at this point that Naomi spoke again of her “bitterness” toward God for bringing “calamity” upon her and having such a feeling of “emptiness.” But she still used the special name for God. She knew God, but did not understand why things happened as they did (Ruth 1:19-21).
Verse 22 also reveals that Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem “at the beginning of barley harvest.” This tells what time of year this was and how this fits in with other things going on among God’s people in Judah. We know from other sources that the barley harvest was done in Israel in April and May.
Look at Leviticus 23, in the third book of the Old Testament. We have a listing of Jewish festivals. Note that Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (v.4-6) are connected with each other and come about the same time as our Good Friday and then Easter in the Christian calendar. The offering of firstfruits of the spring harvest comes soon after (v.9ff). Then there is the countdown for 50 days, (v.15ff) bringing people to Pentecost, the major spring harvest festival - a very important day also for Christians.
But notice what was said especially in Leviticus 23:22. The harvesters were not to reap to the very edge of their fields, but were to leave some crops for the poor and the sojourners to harvest, along with crops that were missed or fell to the ground. This was a command from the Lord, to be of help to the poor and needy, who were allowed then to follow the harvesters. This is exactly what is described, as Ruth, Chapter 2 begins.
In Ruth 2:2, Ruth asked if she could do some gleaning in the fields around Bethlehem, in hope that someone would be kind and favorable to her. Ruth 2:1 also tells us that Boaz, a “worthy," kind and respectable relative of Elimelech, had fields in this area. Ruth was working hard at gleaning and then came to a field owned by Boaz (Ruth 2:3).
About this time, Boaz himself came out to this field to see how the harvest was going. He was clearly a faithful man of God, for he greeted the workers with the words, “The Lord be with you,” and the workers responded with the words, “The Lord bless you.” (Doesn’t that sound just like what is said in worship? The Pastor says, “The Lord be with you,” and we respond “And with your spirit” or “And also with you.” Much of our service comes right out of the Bible, as we speak God’s Word to each other. We ask God more than once to bless each of us through what He does in our worship.)
Then Boaz noticed the young woman, Ruth, gleaning in the field and asked who she was. He found out that she was the Moabite woman who had come back with Naomi from Moab and had been working hard at her gleaning all day. (Bethlehem was a small town and news spread quickly about everyone.)
It was no coincidence that Boaz and Ruth met. God was at work in all this, as we will see in future weeks, to bring good out of the tragic things that had happened in the past - good for Naomi and Ruth, good for Boaz, good for future generations of God’s people, and good even for us today. God did and still does care for the poor and needy in their struggles, and calls us to help out where we can. Think of the food banks that have operated for many years, including in some of our churches, and how many people are blessed through gleanings that are provided. May we all assist others where we can.
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered April 21, 2013
Tuesday May 03, 2022
Tuesday May 03, 2022
This Sunday in Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, as you can probably tell as you read the assigned Scriptures. The Psalm is Psalm 23. Jesus our Good Shepherd provides all that we need and so much more through what He has done for us. We don’t have to be controlled by our wants and desires. He is with us in green pastures and dark valleys and gives us strength at His table even when enemies threaten and He will one day take us to the house of the Lord forever.
John gives us a glimpse of that eternal house of the Lord in the Epistle, Revelation 7:9-17. Jesus, the victorious Lamb of God, who shed His blood for us to cleanse us from all sin, will be our Shepherd, wiping away all our tears and giving us and innumerable believers eternal joy and peace. “Salvation belongs to the Lamb.”
In the Gospel lesson, John 10:22-30, Jesus says that He knows all His sheep and will give them and all of us believers eternal life. He can do this because He and the Father are One, the One True Triune God, along with the Promised Holy Spirit. (See John 14:16-17.)
A reading from Early Christian Church history is also included, from Acts 20:17-35. Paul gives encouragement to elders, earthly shepherds of the church, in caring for the flock, the people for whom Jesus shed His blood. He warns of wolves, teachers coming with false teachings, and entrusts all believers and leaders into the hands of God and the Word of His grace. He prays that they follow the Word and will help the weak and know that “It is more blessed to give" (in service to others) "than to receive.”