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Weekly sermons and Bible studies led by a retired pastor of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Episodes
Monday Nov 02, 2020
Monday Nov 02, 2020
In the first chapter of Daniel, we have heard of how Daniel and his friends were in Babylon as captives, but how the Lord helped and blessed them and allowed them to become respected advisors of King Nebuchadnezzar. In chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream that no one could describe or interpret except for Daniel. By the gift of God, Daniel told exactly what the dream was and how it revealed the rise and fall of nations and the everlasting kingdom of God coming through a Stone, not carved out by human hands. That mysterious stone was Jesus, the New Testament reveals, who would be the Cornerstone of God’s kingdom as the Savior of the world, but over whom people could also stumble and fall, in unbelief.
As Chapter three begins King Nebuchadnezzar has built a 90 foot tall image of gold, which everyone was to bow down to and worship. The Jewish friends of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (their Babylonian names) refuse to do so. Some other advisors of the king are jealous of them and report them to the king. (The Aramaic of Daniel 3:8, which says they maliciously accused these three, more literally says, “They devoured the pieces of the Judeans” by their vicious words. The New Testament warns that we can do the same by unkind, “biting” words we say to one another, even in the church. See Galatians 5:14-15.)
The king then confronts Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and gives them another chance to bow down and worship the image but they refuse again, directly to his face. They know the First Commandment, that only the One True God is to be worshipped. See Deuteronomy 5:7-9 and 6:4-5, and the golden calf story and how many times the people of Israel had failed to follow the one true God. That is precisely why the Jews were captives in Babylon. Maybe these three men also knew the prophecy of Isaiah 43:2 that “when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” That protection from God literally happened to them here. But even if it would not, they said they would still follow God’s will (Daniel 3:16-18). See the listing of these events in the examples of faith described in Hebrews 11:32-34 – both theirs and Daniel’s rescue from the lions’ den in Daniel 6, still coming.
Remember that we are called in the New Testament to seek to have the same trust in God, by His grace. God’s people might still face a “fiery trial” just because they are Christians, Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4:12. Jesus also uses the image of “the fiery furnace” as a picture of hell, for those apart from Christ, at the end. See Matthew 13:40-43. Following our Lord alone is the true way. See Jesus in Matthew 4:8-10, when He is being tempted by Satan, and the early Christians in Acts 4:18-20 and Acts 5:27-29.
The king, though, orders the three men to be bound and thrown into a burning, fiery furnace, seven times hotter than it had been. (Note how the number “7” is used here and in other places in Daniel as we go on. It is not always a literal number, but symbolizes something full and complete. The fire was as hot as it could be and the “mighty men” throwing the three into the furnace die as they throw them in. Think, for example, of how Peter asks Jesus in the New Testament if he should forgive people up to seven times - a pretty full number of times, he thought. Jesus said to forgive 70x7 times, which is not an exact number, but over and over again, as the Lord first forgives us. Watch for more symbolic numbers in Daniel, as there are later in Revelations.) The king boastingly says, “Who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” (3:15) - as if he were a god himself, whose hands controlled things.
The king is amazed, though, when he sees Shadrach and friends unbound, unhurt, and walking around in the fire, with a fourth being, someone looking like “a son of the gods.” (Watch for terms like that and “a son of man” coming later. This was either an angel or maybe the pre-incarnate Son of God, keeping them safe (3:24-27)).
King Nebuchadnezzar has to admit, though, that these three men had great trust in their god, and that there was “no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” He even orders that no one in his Babylonian empire is to speak against this god (Daniel 3:28-30). God is thus helping Daniel and his friends, but also helping the many other Jews in Babylon. They are being punished for their many sins and even unbelief, at times, but He still cares for them and wants them restored as His people. He cares for us, too, even in very troubled times.
In Daniel, Chapter 4, King Nebuchadnezzar speaks for himself about how he finally had to be humbled by God, because of his pride. See Daniel 4:1-3 and v.37. Nebuchadnezzar was doing very well (4:4). He had a great empire and was very accomplished. He had the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” built - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Life was good. But then Nebuchadnezzar has another disturbing, puzzling dream. He calls his usual advisors in, but they cannot interpret the dream, even when he tells them all about it, until Daniel comes to him (4:5-9).
The dream is of a mighty tree, which grows to touch heaven and the ends of the earth and provides a safe place for so many people and creatures. But then “a watcher, a holy one” comes from heaven and orders the tree to be chopped down, till only a stump is left. Then someone will be wet with dew and live like a beast for “seven times” and will learn that the Most High rules all men (4:9-18). Daniel is very troubled, because he knows that the dream predicts trouble for Nebuchadnezzar himself. He finally speaks diplomatically, as he cares for the king, even with his weaknesses. Daniel explains that the tree is the king. He has prospered, but now he will be chopped down and become like a stump. He will lose his power in his kingdom and lose his own mind and become like a beast for “seven times.” (Note again the symbolic seven. It is not a specific known time, but God’s own time and choice.) Finally, the king would look toward heaven and be restored and carry on in his kingdom (4:19-26).
Daniel then calls upon the king to repent of his sins and follow God’s way of goodness and mercy and maybe he will be spared from some of these troubles (4:27). We see the call to repentance and trust in God throughout the Old and New Testaments, because of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Even repentance is a gift of God, as God’s Spirit works through the Word of God, in people. See passages like Acts 5:30-31 and Acts 11:15-18. One can resist God’s working, though, and sadly, Nebuchadnezzar does that. Some months later, in his great pride in himself, the king is boasting of the Kingdom of Babylon that he has built by his own power. A voice comes from heaven that the dream is fulfilled. The kingdom departs from Nebuchadnezzar and he loses his mind and becomes like a beast for seven times (4:28-33).
There is a rare malady that supposedly still occurs in our own time, called boanthropy. It is a psychological illness where one thinks he or she is a bovine, an ox or a cow, and walks on all fours and eats grass. There is a Babylonian inscription that seems to describe something like this happening to Nebuchadnezzar, too, as hard as it is to imagine. After 7 times, whatever that time is, in God’s wisdom, Nebuchadnezzar looks to heaven and regains his mind and is restored to his kingship. He tells of this and praises the Most High, who works as He wills and can teach people humility (Daniel 4:34-37).
God was certainly working on Him, and Daniel and his friends were witnessing to him; but we do not know if he ever came to genuine faith in the one true God, alone. He may have remained a polytheist, willing to honor one more god, the god of Israel, but not exclusively. That is the pattern still today for many, including most Hindus, who have 30,000 gods to choose from, and can add Jesus in, but only along with all the rest. Much prayer is needed for those people today and those sharing the faith with them.
As Daniel, Chapter Five, begins, we meet a later king of Babylon, Belshazzar. His name is close to that given to Daniel (Belteshazzar), but don’t confuse the two names. Belshazzar was likely a son or possibly a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. This leader is having a great feast, with lots of wine and many guests, and decides to use gold and silver vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem, where they had been used to honor the one true God of Israel. Belshazzar and his friends use them instead to praise their own false gods, their idols (Daniel 5:1-5). Suddenly, a hand appears, with its fingers writing words on the plaster walls of the palace. Belshazzar is terrified and calls his advisors to translate the writing, but they cannot do so (5:5-9). The queen (maybe the queen mother, the wife of Nebuchadnezzar, who had lived far longer than her husband) then came into the banquet and says that they should consult Daniel, who was still an advisor to the Babylonians. She would have known of Daniel and his abilities to interpret things, as he had done before (5:10-12).
Daniel comes in and is willing to translate the words on the wall and their meaning. But first, he reminds Belshazzar of what had happened to Nebuchadnezzar and how he learned humility. Belshazzar had not learned this lesson, but has mocked the true God. The first word on the wall is “Mene” (number or numbered) meaning that Belshazzar’s days are numbered and have come to an end. “Tekel” means “weighed” and that Belshazzar his been weighed and found wanting – unworthy. “Peres” means “divided,” and the kingdom will be given to new leaders, Medes and Persians, leaders of the Medo-Persian Empire (5:17-28). That very night, Belshazzar is killed, and Medo-Persian leaders soon take over. (The Babylonian people were very unhappy with these later leaders and it is said that they let the Medo-Persians come in and take over without a battle or resistance at all (Daniel 5:30)). Incidentally, archaeologists have found a place in the ruins of Babylon that they think is this palace, described in Daniel 5. It had plaster walls, just as is said here.
Next week, we will finally hear of Daniel and the lions’ den and then move on to a harder section of Daniel, Chapters 6 and following. In all this, we see that the Lord is ultimately in control of nations and the rise and fall of the Babylonians and others; and we hear the continued call for humility before the Lord. His will is done on earth, as in heaven, and we are called to walk humbly before Him in faith, even if we do not understand all things. See Romans 11:33-36, along with Philippians 2:1-4 and 2:5-11 and 1 Peter 5:1ff. and 5:5-7. The humble work of that Savior, Jesus, promised by Daniel and others, is the pattern for our lives and faith, too. Jesus is much more than an example, of course; He is our “wisdom, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,” and so we “boast” and trust alone in Him, our Lord (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
Monday Nov 02, 2020
Monday Nov 02, 2020
Sermon for All Saints' Day based on:
Sermon originally delivered November 6, 2011
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Last week, we heard of God’s judgment upon His people because of their continued sin and rebellion against Him. Many Jews were carried away into captivity in Babylon. Daniel and his three friends were young, talented people and were carried away to learn the ways of the Babylonians, and then serve the Babylonian government and king, as advisors, if all went well. God was with them and blessed them, as they sought to follow God’s will as well as they could in a very difficult culture. God helped them, so that they were far superior to others who were brought to serve the Babylonian leaders.
As Chapter Two of Daniel begins Nebuchadnezzar, the leader of Babylon, had a very disturbing dream and wanted his regular advisors to interpret the dream for Him. Probably to test his advisors, he asked them to tell him what his dream was and then to tell what it meant. The advisors try to stall and buy time because how were they to know all this? Finally they admit, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demands” (2:10). Only the gods could know what he asks, and they are far away from human beings (2:11). Nebuchadnezzar is so angry with them that he orders that all the wise men of Babylon are to be destroyed. When Daniel and his friends find out about this, Daniel wisely and discreetly asks what is going on. When he finds out, he asks for permission to see the king himself.
Before he goes, Daniel asks his Jewish friends to pray for God’s mercy and help with this “mystery” of the dream (2:17-18). This is an important theme in the Book of Daniel and later on in the Scriptures - revealing mysteries in God’s plans for the future, for the Jewish nation, for the rise and fall of other nations and empires, and for the coming of the Savior, Jesus, and the coming of God’s eternal kingdom. Most important is revealing that God cares about all people and nations and wants to help and bless all , through Jesus. (See Romans 16:25-27 and Ephesians 3:3-6, as examples of this mystery being revealed.) Both Daniel, and Revelation in the New Testament, are examples of mysteries and their being revealed through numbers and dreams and visions and unusual events. Reading Daniel helps us understand more about the Book of Revelations, given to John. We will talk more about this later.
In Daniel 2:18, God gives a vision to Daniel himself, revealing what Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was and what it meant. Daniel is ready to see the king, but first he thanks and praises God for revealing everything to him. The one true God, His eternal God, is in charge of times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He reveals deep and hidden things and shines light in the darkness (2:20-23). The God of heaven controls even the stars. The stars have no control over us, in spite of what astrology, etc., says. Daniel even speaks on behalf of his fellow advisors - that none of them be killed, even though they have been not been helpful to Nebuchadnezzar (v24). Daniel does not practice the “cancel culture” we often see today. He cares about his fellow workers and wants to help them.
Daniel is then quickly taken to the king and is able to explain what Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was and what it meant. He begins, though, by making it clear that it was not by his own wisdom and power, but only through the God of heaven (2:27-30) Who draws near and helps His people, unlike the false idols of the Babylonians, “whose dwelling is not with flesh” (2:11). The closeness of the one true God became even clearer with the coming of God the Son, Jesus, in the flesh to reveal God’s “grace and truth." (See John 1:1,14-18 and Hebrews 1:1-2.)
Daniel shows the dream of Nebuchadnezzar as his seeing a great, bright, mighty image, with a head of fine gold, a chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet of iron and clay. A stone, not cut by human hands, then comes and hits the feet of the image and shatters them and the whole image collapses and disappears. The stone then becomes a great mountain and fills the earth (Daniel 2:31-35).
Daniel then describes the meaning of this dream (2:36-45). The golden head is the Babylonian Empire of Nebuchadnezzar and leaders following. After the Babylonian Empire, three other empires come and go. These are usually described as the Medo-Persian Empire, followed by Alexander the Great and the Greek Empire, and then the Roman Empire. The point is that earthly kingdoms come and go, as history clearly showed, as time went on after Daniel’s time. It is still true today. This was not an evolution into better and better kingdoms, through human progress. Parts of the image become “inferior” over time (2:39). Finally there are “feet of clay” - a term still used for human weakness, a characteristic of all human beings.
Against all this comes a stone, not cut by human hands, that shatters everything, and becomes a great mountain, filling the earth. This is an everlasting kingdom, coming during the Roman Empire and set up by the God of heaven, in the midst of earthly kingdoms (2:44-45). There had been other prophecies in the Old Testament of a Stone to come. See Psalm 118:21-23 and Isaiah 8:13-14, and how Jesus applies these prophecies to Himself in Matthew 21:42-44. Peter, in Acts 4:11-12, clearly say that Jesus is that Stone, on which the Kingdom of God, the church, all believers in Jesus, is built. There is no other way to salvation than through Jesus. See also Ephesians 2:19-22 and I Peter 2:4-10, etc. One is either built on Jesus, by God’s grace, or one stumbles over Jesus and falls by rejection and unbelief. The everlasting nature of God’s kingdom is also tied to Jesus, the Rock. See John 12:36, 1 Corinthians 15:20-25, and Revelation 11:15, for example.
Finally, all enemies will be defeated and there will be only everlasting peace through Jesus for believers. How do we end the Lord’s Prayer? The kingdom and power and glory forever and ever are not with an earthly leader like Nebuchadnezzar, strong as he was (2:37), but with the true King of kings, Jesus. (See Revelation 1:5, 17:14, 19:16, etc.) We take comfort, in these days of an important election. God is still in charge and at work, no matter what human beings decide, for good or for ill. We pray for good, as we see it, but trust God above all.
Of course, not all this is fully clear at the time Daniel tells and writes this. It awaits the revelation through Christ and the New Testament, including the Revelation to John. Nebuchadnezzar honors Daniel for what he reveals (2:46-49) though maybe as much for his being able to describe the actual dream, along with the revelation, which does recognize Nebuchadnezzar’s power at least for a while. Nebuchadnezzar was right, though he likely did not fully believe it himself, when he said, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries.” This could be called the key theme to the rest of the Book of Daniel, as well.
Daniel’s friends are promoted, too, and Daniel remains an advisor to Nebuchadnezzar and others following him. We don’t know for sure, but likely Daniel also taught God’s Word when he could, including prophecies of a coming star and a king born from the Jews. The wise men came the East, and the word for the Magi, in Matthew 2:1-2 is a Persian word, from Medo-Persian times.
Sadly, Nebuchadnezzar continues to be a polytheist, following more than one God. In Daniel, Chapter 3, he builds a great golden image, 90 feet high and 9 feet across, (could he have been inspired in a bad way by his dream of a golden head?) Note the contrast between an idol built by human hands, and Jesus, the eternal Son of God, the Stone not cut out by any human hands (Daniel 2:34). Nebuchadnezzar commands everyone to do what he says and worship this image he made and indirectly, at least, to honor him and his words more than the Word of God, which allowed only for the worship of the One True God. The three friends of Daniel are reported as disobeying the command of the king, and they are the three men thrown into a fiery furnace, as a punishment. We will hear more of that next week along with Daniel 4 and 5, if possible. God cares for His people, in bad times as well as good, as we shall see.
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Sermon for Reformation Sunday, based on:
Sermon originally delivered October 30, 2011
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered October 23, 2011
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
I have been given just six weeks to cover the 12 chapters of Daniel, which is a very short time for me, as many of you know who have been in the Colossians study for many months. I will therefore not add so many references to other Scriptures as I usually do. I will also not talk about several topics that could be included: 1) the very liberal views of many scholars critical of the Bible and of the reliability of Daniel, and how their criticisms can be refuted; 2) legends about Daniel and his friends that are not true and not Scripture (some of the “apocryphal books“ of the Old Testament), but which were mixed in with the true Book of Daniel in a Greek version of Daniel; 3) that parts of Daniel were written in Aramaic, as well as Hebrew, and why that might be; etc.
We will simply trust the words of Jesus Himself, when He quotes from Daniel and says that these words are the very words of “the prophet Daniel” himself. See Matthew 24:15-16. We will just read through and talk about Daniel, believing that this is the true, prophetic Word of God coming through Daniel.
In Daniel 1:1-2, we hear that the Lord Himself gave the King of Judah into the hands of the pagan, unbelieving King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. This happened because of the judgment of God for the many sins of His chosen people and their rebellion against Him as the one true God and His will for them. After the reign of King David (1009 BC to 970 BC) and King Solomon (970-931 BC) the Kingdom split into two kingdoms, which often disagreed and even fought with each other. There were times of faithfulness to God, but many times of unfaithfulness. The Northern Kingdom of Israel drifted most quickly away from God, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah followed in evil ways, also. See 2 Kings 17:13-18 for a description of how bad things were in Israel, which was conquered by Assyrian armies in 722 BC and many of the people were carried away into captivity in other nations and never came back. See 2 Kings 17:19-20 to hear how bad the Southern Kingdom of Judah became, too, leading to the events we hear about in Daniel, chapter one. Nebuchadnezzar took control of Jerusalem and King Jehoiakim in 605 BC and carried away treasures from the temple and took some Jews as captives, including Daniel and his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. (Later on, Nebuchadnezzar came back and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 587 BC and carried many more Jews into captivity in Babylon, as well, as part of that judgment of God.)
Read Daniel 1:3-7 to hear why Daniel and his friends were captured and taken to Babylon. They were capable young Jews, probably in their teens, who were to be trained for three intense years in Babylonian ways and then could serve the king as advisors. That included learning of Babylonian religion and gods. Their names were all changed from names that honored the one true God, Yahweh, into names that honored Babylonian gods. It was a difficult time in a very different culture, with many views opposed to the true God and His will. (Dr. Gene Veith, a member of the LCMS, wrote a very interesting book, Loving God with All Your Mind, which talks about living in our current culture, which is becoming more non-Christian. He uses Daniel 1 to describe the “University of Babylon” and how Daniel and his friends coped, and what our high school and college students can learn from that. They are not in church but in Babylon, in some ways, in a university with a “Universe” of ideas, good and bad, around them. They can survive and thrive by God’s blessing (He is still with them and us) and by sticking with the Word of God and the Biblical training they have already received, and supporting each other.)
Read Daniel 1:8-16. Daniel is faced with an Old Testament challenge about what Jews could eat and not eat. (We are free from that in the New Testament, by Jesus and what He teaches us, but Jews in Daniel’s day still had to eat foods that were acceptable and prepared in a “Kosher” way.) That was not possible, with the King’s food and drink
Daniel is not nasty and rebellious, though, but tries to find a way to do what God wishes and yet not get the people working with him in trouble. Jews could eat vegetables with no restrictions, and drink water, all from the King’s table. Daniel also provides a way to show that this diet will not hurt but help them, even in 10 days time. God helps and blesses all of this, and Daniel and his friends are much better off than the others. They are safe in doing God’s will.
Read Daniel 1:17-21 and see how they are better off throughout their training and when they are examined by King Nebuchadnezzar - 10 times better. (Notice, by the way, that certain numbers, like number 10, occur again and again. We will talk about that later.) They had learned the good and useful things they needed at their university and were able to sort out by God’s Word what was not so good. The Babylonians, for example, were said to be ahead of other nations in science and astronomy and math of that time (sounds like a STEM curriculum!), but also followed astrology, which the Jews knew to reject. See Psalm 119:97-104, where the psalmist praises God for His Word, which makes the psalmist wiser than many, including his enemies and even some of his teachers and the aged (and some very smart professors who know a lot, but not about God and His will, the things that count the most!)
Finally, note in Daniel 1:21, that Daniel ended up, by God’s mercy, serving at the court of King Nebuchadnezzar and those who followed him, for many years, and even when the Medo-Persian leader, Cyrus, conquered the Babylonians and led a whole new empire in 539 BC. Cyrus is the one who allowed the Jews to return to the land of Israel and even gave them help in starting to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. See 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-4. Maybe Daniel was left there, from 605 - 539 BC and even a little after that, to be an advisor who could help guide the unbelieving Cyrus to do what he did.
God was clearly still helping His people who did trust Him, even in very difficult times, as He still does today, in these complex, challenging times. The Word of God stills works and helps and teaches us, as we pay attention to it.
Read on in Daniel 2 and following, too, if you have time. We start with Chapter 2 in the next lesson.
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
We began this final portion of Colossians with a reminder to “Continue steadfastly in prayer,” being watchful and alert and awake, and being filled with thanksgiving to God (Colossians 4:2). Note all the ways that Paul is thankful in this letter - for believers in the church at Colossae, and for us today, too (1:3-5); for the Heavenly Father qualifying believers, including us, for an eternal inheritance in heaven, through the saving work of Jesus (1:12-14); for the peace with God that Jesus gives us and the Word of God that gives us thankful hearts; and for the opportunity to say, in words and deeds and songs, our thankfulness to God, in the name of Christ (3:15-17).
As they pray, Paul asks the Colossians to pray for him and others in sharing the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus. They need open doors for the Word of God to be shared and the strength and wisdom to share it clearly and plainly - as is still needed today (Colossians 4:3-4). It is the Word of God that is the power of God to bring people to faith, as the Holy Spirit works in and through that Word, delivered by Paul and others and by many still today. Notice how the Book of Acts tells of the living and active Word of God at work in people’s lives: Acts 6:9; 12:24; 19:20, etc. See also 2 Thessalonians 3:1.
It is the “mystery” of God’s love for all people, now revealed in Christ Jesus and what He did for all, that is Paul’s message. Paul needs prayers and strength to keep sharing that good news, even though that message is the reason for his being in prison in Rome (Colossians 4:3). You can read, in Acts 21:27-36, how Paul was in Jerusalem and was attacked by a mob of his fellow Jews, who rejected Jesus as the promised Savior, the Messiah. Roman authorities arrested him. He remained there in prison, with Jewish people plotting to kill him (Acts 22-24) until Paul, as a Jew, but also as a Roman citizen, appeals to be judged by Roman authorities in Rome itself, the capital of the empire (Acts 25). He travels as a prisoner to Rome and is now under house arrest in Rome, only because his is a believing and vocal Christian (Acts 26-28). Being a prisoner in Rome is giving him time and opportunity to share God’s Word with even more people, Jews and non-Jews (Acts 28:17-31). Paul also writes letters to Christians in Colossae, which we have been studying for a long time, and to Christians in Ephesus and Laodicea (Colossians 4:7-9, 16) and to individuals like Philemon, appealing for the freedom of the slave, Onesimus. See also the Letter to Philemon.
As we have heard, Paul also asks prayer for even more open doors for the Word, though it also brings danger and opposition. Prayer works and God works, and soon Paul writes another letter from prison in Rome, the Letter to the Philippians, where he tells of some of those newly open doors, even among Roman soldiers who keep him imprisoned. (See Philippians 1:12-14.)
Paul also reminds the Christians in Colossae (and us today) that all have opportunities to help open doors for the Word of God, by the way that they interact with “outsiders" - people who are not believers in Christ (Colossians 4:5-6). Act wisely and use your time wisely, Paul says, and watch what you say to others. Paul has already warned about negative, harmful ways of speech (Colossians 3:8-9. See also Galatians 5:14-15). In contrast try to speak in a grace-filled way, showing God’s undeserved love to others. Let your words be “seasoned with salt," with tasteful words, including God’s own Word, that will attract people to Christ and the Christian faith. (See Scriptures that talk about being “salt” and “light” as Christians - Matthew 5:13, Mark 9:50, Luke 14:34, and related Scriptures like James 3:13-18 and Ephesians 4:29.) And, Paul says, try to be prepared and know how to answer people who ask you why you are a Christian (Colossians 4:6 and passages like 1 Peter 3: 13-15). This positive witness for Christ can help open doors for others, too, as God works through our own gracious words. So, Paul encourages all of us also to keep keep reading and studying the Word of God and passing it on to others. (Colossians 4:16)
Paul closes the Letter to the Colossians, then, with greetings from many Christians in Rome and to many in Colossae and other cities close by. It is a reminder that the church is not a building, but people, believers of many kinds, with ups and downs and struggles, but still with trust in Jesus and His love. And it is more people still that we seek to reach out to with the Word of God, wherever we are and whoever we are.
We hear of Onesimus the slave and Philemon his master, both now Christians. We hear of Mark, who had conflicts with Paul, but was able to forgive and be forgiven and work right with Paul again and even write one of the Gospels. We hear of Luke, a medical doctor, but also a faithful servant of Christ and author of another of the Gospels. We hear of Demas, who later on had faith struggles. We hear of unknown people who are mentioned only here in this letter. And on and on. (We could do another whole study, just on what we do know about some of these people. If you want me to send you lists of Scriptures about some, let me know.)
What is clear is that every person is important to God, including you. Christ died for all, including you. And your name is added to that list of believers, too, by God’s grace. And as Paul says, in Colossians 2:6, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just aa you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered October 16, 2011
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Monday Oct 12, 2020
We began this study with a quick response to a question from someone. Are there not times where we can defend ourselves and others and “fight” for what is right and true, when terrible things are happening to us or others? Certainly! Colossians 3:18-4:1 speak primarily to individuals and families and our everyday situations and experiences. Other Scriptures speak to situations experienced by too many in the last century, where nations and others have conquered people and enslaved them and did terrible things to many. (This is a complicated issue, and I can’t get into Scriptures about this in this study.) In general, though, governments and other authorities are given authority by God in the Bible to “bear the sword” and fight for justice and even to wage “just wars” to defend themselves and help others in need. Many would put the Civil War in the United States and the Second World War and other conflicts, in this category. The Colossians passage applies, for most of us, primarily to employer/employee relationships and treating others fairly and justly, and to doing our own work in everyday life as if we were serving the Lord Himself. See the parable of Jesus in Matthew 25:31ff. (especially v.34-40) where the sheep (the believers) are reminded that the good that they do to others is being done for the Lord Himself.
We moved on then to Colossians 4:2-6, where we have general encouragement for the church at Colossae and for all of us, especially about prayer. Prayer is never a waste of time. Paul prayed for the people in Colossians 1:3,9 and calls them to “continue steadfastly in prayer” (4:2). Prayer was vital for the early church, as we hear in Acts 2:42 and 6:1-4. Being “devoted to” and “continuing steadfastly in” are the same Greek words in Acts 2:42 and Colossians 4:2.
Jesus Himself taught about prayer and gave us the model prayer, the Lord’s Prayer. He prayed often right in the middle of what He was doing and took time to get away and pray. He taught His disciples to “watch and pray” just as Paul tells us in Colossians 4:2. See Matthew 26:38-41. The word “watch” can mean both to stay alert and watch for danger and to stay awake.
Our sinful human “flesh” is also “weak” and we all face many struggles and temptations. See 1 Peter 5:6-9, where we are warned of danger but also encouraged to cast all our anxieties and cares upon the Lord in prayer. See also Hebrews 4:14-16, where we are reminded that Jesus knows our struggles, as He was tempted as we are, yet was without sin in His saving work for us. We can therefore approach Him in prayer with confidence and know He will give us what we really need. He even renews our weak souls with His forgiveness and gives us a “willing spirit” to try again to do His will. (See the prayer of David in Psalm 51 and especially v. 10-12.)
We use these words often in our worship, and our worship is also wrapped up with prayer. We receive above all God’s gifts to us, through His Word and Sacraments; but we also talk with God, using using many of His own Biblical words and teachings. (See Matthew 21:12-13.) One pattern sometimes used for worship and prayer is the word “ACTS” - Adoration (praising God just for Who He is as our Lord and the one true Triune God), Confession (bringing our sins to God for His forgiveness, His absolution), Thanksgiving (gratefulness for all God has provided for us and done for us, as our Savior), and Supplication (asking God to supply all that we really need for our life now, and for eternal life).
We closed the study by looking at Ephesians 6:10,13,17-20, where Paul again encourages regular, active prayer and especially asks prayer for himself and others in sharing the Good News of Jesus as they should - a subject we will look at more in our study next week of Colossians 4:3-6. Try out prayer more this week, and ask God to help you to pray. If you have a hymnal or other devotion books, use them to help you, too, using prayers others have written to help you get started. You could also use the ACTS pattern for your prayers. You will be blessed.
Sunday Oct 11, 2020
Sunday Oct 11, 2020
Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered October 9, 2011