The lutheransermons's Podcast

Preparing for Worship - February 25, 2024

The Old Testament lesson is from Genesis 17:1-7, 15-19. In this reading, God renews His covenant promise to Abram, originally given in Genesis 12 and repeated since then. God promises blessings for his offspring in the land of Canaan, but now changes Abram’s name to Abraham, “father of many nations,” as the promise now goes to a multitude of nations and kings and an everlasting covenant. God changes Sarai’s name to Sarah and says again that she and Abraham will have a child, to be named Isaac (he laughs). Abraham laughs at this since he and his wife are far beyond child-bearing years, but God says it will happen and that the child of promise will not be Ishmael, but Isaac.

In the Gospel lesson, Mark 8:27-38, Peter makes a great confession of faith, that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah, the Anointed One of God. Quickly, though, he struggles and tries to rebuke Jesus, when He (Jesus) talks about suffering and dying. That was not the vision of the Messiah that Peter had in mind. Jesus has to rebuke Peter, saying that he was following Satan in trying to block God’s saving plan, which did involve Jesus losing His life for the sake of the saving Gospel. Jesus called Peter and all of us not to be ashamed of Jesus and His words, in an evil and adulterous nation. (The world was very evil back then, too, even as it is now.)

As Peter and Abraham struggled at times to trust God’s plan and will, so we all do, our Epistle lesson, Romans 5:1-11, tells us. Christ died for us and for the world, not when we were perfectly strong in faith and understanding, but when we were “weak, ungodly, sinners, and enemies” of God. We were “justified” and forgiven by “Christ’s bloody suffering” on the cross, so that “the wrath of God” was taken away from us, and we were reconciled to God and “saved by His life,” His perfect life for us and His resurrection from the dead. We now “rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The opening verses of this passage also tell us that through Christ, we also have “peace with God,” and “access” to “God” and His “grace.” Even if we suffer at times, the Lord produces “endurance, character, and hope” in us, through God’s love “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, given to us” through the Word of God and our Baptism.

Psalm 22:22-31 reminds us that God would do His saving work for us through Christ Jesus not just to get us off punishment for our sins but for an eternal future. (He did do that for us, as verses 1-21 of Psalm 22 tell and predict many parts of His suffering and death for us. We will hear more about that in Holy Week and Good Friday.) We are also saved by God’s grace so that we can tell others of God’s grace “in the great congregation,” as we worship together and speak and sing God’s Word together and praise our Lord. We also seek to “tell of the Lord” to “the families of the nations” and to our children and others in “coming generations” and “to a people yet unborn.” We confess that we cannot keep ourselves alive on our own, but that Christ Jesus “has done it” all for us, that we may trust in Him and “our hearts may live forever” through Him.

Preparing for Worship - February 18, 2024

The Old Testament lesson for this week is Genesis 22:1-22. Abraham had waited so long for a son, promised by God as the beginning of a great nation and a future blessing to all nations. Now God told him to sacrifice that son, his only son, Isaac. Abraham obeyed God and took his son to a place that would later be the site of the temple in Jerusalem, as God directed him. He was about to kill his son when God stopped him, knowing that he would be willing to give up his only son if that was really God’s will. It was not, and instead, God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son. And again, God renewed His promise that in Abraham’s offspring, all nations of the earth would be blessed. That offspring was, of course, Jesus our Savior, who would willingly sacrifice His life for us all, as the Father gave up His Son, His only Son, into death for us.

The Psalm is Psalm 25:1-10. David is the author and was in the line of promise from Abraham, and Jesus would be a “Son of David” many generations later. David trusted the Lord God and waited upon Him as “the God of his salvation.” He knew that the Lord had been “merciful” and full of “steadfast love” “from of old.” He asked forgiveness for his past sins and that the Lord would teach and lead him in His ways. He approached God as a “humble sinner” and asked that the Lord look upon him with His goodness and mercy. And the Lord did so, by His grace.

James, too, in our Epistle lesson, James 1:12-18, calls upon people not to be tempted by their own sinful desires, but to trust the Lord and “His good and perfect gifts, coming down from above from the Heavenly Father,” the “Father of Lights.” “Of His own will," "He “brings us forth by the Word of Truth,” our Lord Jesus Christ, to a whole new life. We are “blessed,” as we remain steadfast in faith in Him, even if there are trials, and we “will receive the crown of Life,” everlasting life, as we have been brought to love and serve Him.

The Gospel lesson for this Sunday, the first Sunday in Lent, is always the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, immediately after His baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit for His ministry as “the Word of Truth.” This year’s Gospel is very short, Mark 1:9-15, with a special focus on v.12-13. We pray “Lead us not into temptation,” but “the Holy Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.” He had to face Satan “head-on” and resist all that Satan threw against Him for 40 days, and throughout His life and during the three years of ministry that were coming, too. Other Gospels give details of some of this particular time of testing for Jesus, but Mark especially reminds us in his Gospel, inspired by the Holy Spirit, of the many other times Jesus battled “demons,” evil spirits, evil angels, opposed to God and His will. We have already, in past weeks, heard of some of these. See Mark 1:21-27, 1:32, 1:34, and 1:39. This was a very important part of Jesus’ saving work for us. None of this was easy, but Jesus perfectly did His Father’s will, for us, in our place, and the Lord and His good angels strengthened Him. (See also passages like Hebrews 2:14-18 and 4:15-16, which talk about some of this victorious battle against Satan, for us.)

Bible Study - Psalm 91

This coming Sunday is the First Sunday in Lent, where our Gospel reading always tells about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, right after His baptism. The temptation portion of this year’s reading, from Mark 1:12-13, is very short. It simply tells us that “the Holy Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness, where He was for forty days, being tempted by Satan.” The nature of the temptations is not mentioned, but it is said that Jesus “was with the wild animals.” This may be mentioned for one of two reasons.           

A wilderness area with wild animals was considered by some a place where evil spirits, demons, might be. See, for example, the story of a man who had demons in him in Luke 8:26-33. Note in v. 29 that this man was sometimes “driven by a demon into the desert” area. See also Luke 11:24, where a demon is described as "passing through waterless places seeking rest.” It would be no surprise, then, to find Satan in such a dry, desolate area and be tempted by him.

On the other hand, the mention of being with the wild animals also indicates the care and the protection from the Lord for Jesus, in the wilderness, and a prophecy in Psalm 91:13: “You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.” Jesus Himself used this passage in Luke 10:18-19, when He said to His disciples, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” There is one New Testament example of this happening - when Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta and was bitten by a deadly viper. People thought he would die, but he did not get sick at all. Then they thought he might be a god (Acts 28:1-6).

Psalm 91 played an even more important role in one of the actual temptations recorded by both Matthew and Luke. We will just look at Luke’s account in Luke 4:9-12. The devil had taken Jesus to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and then said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here.” Then the devil actually quoted Scripture to Jesus, from Psalm 91:11-12, which seemed to promise that the Lord would send angels to catch Jesus in the air before He struck the ground. What a spectacular miracle that would be and how impressive for lots of people near the temple at the time, the devil was implying. “He (the Lord) will command His angels concerning you, to guard you” and “on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”

Jesus, of course, knew that the devil was taking these words he quoted totally out of their context. Psalm 91 is talking about a person who “trusts in God” and “dwells” (lives) in “the shelter” and “shadow” of “the Almighty,” “the Most High” God. The Lord is his “refuge” and “dwelling place.” Jesus was such a person in a perfect way, and the Lord says, “Because He holds fast to Me in love, I will deliver Him; I will protect Him because he knows My Name.”

Jesus would be the opposite of what He really was if He listened to the devil and followed his direction and jumped off the temple. Jesus also knew and quoted Scripture in answer to Satan, from Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test,” by doing something reckless and foolish, just to see if He would really help you if you jumped off the temple.

In the last two verses of Psalm 91, the Lord is still speaking and does not promise that all will go perfectly, even for His people, in this sinful, fallen world. What He does promise is that He will be “with us” in times of ”trouble” and “answer us” when we “call out to Him.” He will “rescue” those who trust in Him and will finally “show us His salvation” in eternal life.

Even Jesus, following His Heavenly Father’s plan, had much sorrow and trouble in His life here on earth and did not have the “long life” spoken of in verse 16, but all His sacrifices were for us, that we might be forgiven and blessed and receive the gift of eternal life. Jesus Himself rose in victory on Easter Sunday, assuring our ultimate victory in Him, and Jesus, as God the Son, received at His ascension what He had asked from the Father, “Father, glorify me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed” (John 17:5). (See also John 1:1-5 and Philippians 2:5-11.)

Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday - February 11, 2024

Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday

“The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus”      

Mark 9:2-9 and 2 Corinthians 4:5-7

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

The text for our meditation this evening is the Gospel lesson, from Mark 9, along with a few thoughts from our Epistle lesson.

About a week before our text, the disciple Peter had made a great and true confession of faith, saying to Jesus, “You are the Christ,” the Messiah, the Anointed One sent from God to be the Savior (Mark 8:29). Soon after that, Jesus began to tell His disciples that He needed to suffer much and be killed and after three days rise again. He had indicated this before, but now Jesus said it plainly (Mark 8:31-32).

Right away, Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him, telling Him that He was wrong and shouldn’t be saying such things. Jesus then had to rebuke Peter, telling him that his mind was not on God’s will, but on his own will and desires, and that he was actually serving Satan, the devil, in this thinking (Mark 8:32-33). Clearly, Peter and the other disciples still had much to learn about Jesus and God’s saving plan. Peter, in particular, could be so strong and right one moment and so weak and confused the next.

Doesn’t that sound like us, too, at times? We can be so strong in faith, but when God’s will and ways don’t seem to fit with our wishes and desires, we can sometimes question and struggle, too. Jesus cared about these disciples, as He cares about us; and Mark, who wrote this Gospel, inspired by God, makes it very clear that Jesus purposely took Peter and James and John along for His Transfiguration so that their faith in Him might be strengthened.

We hear in our text that Jesus took these three leaders of the disciples and led them up a high mountain by themselves and then was transfigured before them. A little later, we hear that there appeared to them, to these disciples, Elijah and Moses, great prophets and leaders of the Old Testament, talking with Jesus. And a little later, a cloud overshadowed them, including the disciples - a cloud as in the Old Testament, when God Himself appeared to His people, and the voice of God the Father came from the cloud, telling the disciples, “This Jesus is My Beloved Son!” - the Son of God and God the Son.

That was indicated, too, by the way Jesus was transfigured. The Greek word here is “metamorphosis” - “a dramatic change in physical form, a striking alteration in appearance,” Webster’s Dictionary says. We think of the change from a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly. In Jesus’ case, it was much more than that. Jesus was a real man, a human being, like us - and yet now the disciples had a glimpse of what He also was - God the Son Himself. They or any of us could only handle a glimpse, in this life, of that glory.

The clothes of Jesus were radiant, intensely white, whiter than bleach or Tide or Oxi-Clean or any humanly made product could make a robe or anything else, and Matthew’s Gospel says that Jesus’ face “shone like the sun” (Matthew 17:3). We all know how long we could stand to look at that brilliance.

Clearly, this amazing experience showed that Jesus was God the Son, and God the Father then literally said to the disciples, “Keep on listening to Him" - to Jesus - and following Him. Our text says that the disciples were terrified by all this, and Peter didn’t know what to say, except that he wanted to keep the glory and the miracle of all this going by following an Old Testament festival, where God’s people would build temporary booths and tent-like structures and remember the glory days of the past.

But that was not to be. Suddenly no one was with the disciples, but Jesus only, and He looked in His ordinary way. And they had to come down from the mountain to their ordinary lives, with joys but many challenges and troubles. Jesus particularly had to come down to just what He had predicted, and to what we will hear about in the Lenten season, starting this coming Wednesday, Ash Wednesday.

The Transfiguration event was also for His benefit - for Jesus was a real man, too, not always using His Godly powers. He was tempted as we are and yet did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). As we heard last week, Jesus kept praying to His Heavenly Father and leaning upon Him for His strength, as God’s Beloved Son. He kept listening to God’s Word, given through Moses and Elijah and the other Old Testament writers, and following it. In fact, Luke tells us in his Gospel that on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus about His departure, His “exodus,” His “going out” from this world, at Jerusalem (Luke 9:30-31), and they surely were encouraging Him always to do His Father’s will. They knew that they had failed at that, even as great leaders. Moses had gone against God’s will and was not able to enter the promised land of Israel, but he was forgiven and entered into eternal life, by God’s grace. Elijah also had rough times. He once was so discouraged that he wanted to lay down and die. He too went to eternal life, by God’s grace.

Jesus, though, perfectly followed His Father’s will in the days following the Transfiguration. He suffered many things and was rejected by the religious authorities and many others, and was killed in a most horrible way, by crucifixion, and after three days, rose from the dead. Above all, He paid the penalty for the sins of His disciples and of the whole world, including you and me - the penalty we should have had to pay. He conquered sin and Satan and death for us all - and we receive forgiveness and new life and the promise of life everlasting, in return, through the gift of faith and trust in what He did for us, that God works in us. And one day, we also will stand with Moses and Elijah and with Jesus, in the glory of heaven.

How important all this was for Jesus’ disciples. They didn’t do so well in the days following the Transfiguration. They still didn’t understand Jesus’ words about suffering and dying and rising. When He was arrested, they all ran away. Even Peter, in fear, denied three times that he ever knew Jesus - though he’d seen that glorious mountaintop event. The disciples huddled in fear after Jesus died until He appeared to them as the Risen Lord and forgave them and strengthened them for 40 more days, through  God’s Word, and then He and God the Father sent them His Holy Spirit.

And the Spirit inspired Biblical writers and preachers to put down in a perfect way the New Testament, as well as the Old, so that to this day, we can still keep listening to Christ Jesus and hearing of all He did and continues to do for us, as our Savior, just as God the Father asked us to listen, on the Mount of Transfiguration. We have the Word, through which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Triune God, works. And we have the Word, connected with water in the gift of Holy Baptism, and the Word connected with bread and wine and the very Body and Blood of Christ, given and shed for us, in the Lord’s Supper.

Even with all that, the early church was not perfect, except as counted that way in the eyes of God, through Christ and His forgiveness, earned for them and for us.

• Peter and Paul had some difficulties with each other.
• Paul and John Mark, who wrote the Gospel we’re hearing today, had a falling out with each other at one point.
• The churches we hear about were not perfect.
• And we are certainly not sitting here tonight as a perfect church and perfect people.

But we know where our hope always is. Paul put it so well in our Epistle lesson for today. He said, “What we proclaim is not ourselves (or our church, or the great things we are doing). But we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves simply as servants, for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let Light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.   

In fact, in the very next verse, after this Epistle, Paul says, “We have this great treasure” - the Good News of the Gospel of Christ and what he has done for us, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit - we have this great treasure “in jars of clay.” We are the jars of clay, with all our chips and cracks and imperfections, and yet we are also the children of God, through the love and forgiveness of Jesus.

And, Paul says, “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). And our great Triune God is enough, all we need, for this life and for eternal life to come.

Please rise for prayer. Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds safe (only where they are safe) in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Preparing for Worship - February 11, 2024

The Old Testament lesson most likely to be used for this coming Sunday is from 2 Kings 2:1-12. It was time for the prophet Elijah’s ministry to end and for him to be called to heaven. Elisha had been very close to Elijah and didn’t want to leave him, though Elijah kept asking him to stay behind when he traveled. Elisha wouldn’t do that and asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. It was up to the Lord and His Holy Spirit, though, as to how Elisha would be blessed. Finally, Elijah is taken directly to heaven by a whirlwind, accompanied by chariots and horses of fire. Elisha shows his great sorrow at Elijah being gone, but in verses that follow he does receive the Lord’s Spirit for his own prophetic ministry.

The alternate Old Testament lesson is from Exodus 34:29-35. Moses was also a great prophet of God and received the 10 Commandments and much more from the Lord so that he could write the first five books of the Old Testament. When he was with God, his face shone with a bit of the glory of God. But this glory was a fading glory for him when he was away from the Lord.

The Psalm is Psalm 50:1-6. This psalm also pictures the glory of “the Mighty One, God the Lord” “shining forth” like the sun. When He comes, there can be “tempest” and “fire,” especially when he calls His people to assemble to be judged by Him. (After this text, God does find fault with His people. Martin Luther puts it this way: “They value their own sacrifices and worship highly, as if God must surely be thankful and indebted to them. God, however, reverses this. He intends for His goodness and help to be so highly esteemed that we will be thankful and indebted to Him… that we praise God, that we trust in Him, call on Him, praise and thank Him as our only God, and the like” (Reading the Psalms with Luther, p.121-122, CPH, 2007).

These readings all point forward to the great Glory of Jesus, the Son of God, shown in our Gospel lesson, Mark 9:2-9. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain by themselves, and Jesus was “transfigured” before them. His clothes were radiant, whiter than anyone on earth could make them, and another Gospel says that Jesus’ face shone like the sun in brightness. Moses and Elijah, great prophets and leaders of the Old Testament, appeared with Jesus. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and God the Father said of Jesus, “This is My Beloved Son; keep on listening to Him.” Clearly, Jesus was the Son of God, but suddenly, only Jesus was there with these disciples. They needed to go down the mountain, for soon Jesus would suffer and die to pay the penalty for the sins of the world (as we begin to hear on Ash Wednesday, February 14, this year), and then Jesus would rise from the dead, showing again His power and glory.

The Epistle lesson, 2 Corinthians 3:12-13 (14-18) 4:1-6, speaks of Moses wearing a veil when a bit of the Lord’s glory shone on him, as we heard in the alternate OT lesson from Exodus 34. It was a fading glory, but the glory of Jesus is forever, now that He humbled himself and completed His saving work on the cross and rose from the dead. Therefore, Paul and other New Testament leaders like Peter and James and John did not proclaim themselves. They were only servants of Jesus, who as true man was perfectly “the image of God;” and through the truth of the Word of God and what they had seen, they could only proclaim “the Gospel” of “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” as Lord and Savior.

Bible Study - Psalm 12

I read Psalm 12 recently and thought that it sounded very much like what many people say about the cultural and spiritual situation in our own day. See what you think. (I will use some helpful notes from Dr. Walter Roehrs in the old Concordia Self-Study Commentary by CPH.)

In v.1, David cries out to the Lord, Help! “Save, O Lord,” because there seem to be very few “godly” and “faithful” people left. This is a feeling that people often have when there are times of great trouble and persecution. When Elijah was being pursued by evil Queen Jezebel, who was trying to kill him, he thought that he was the only one left faithful to God’s covenant in all Israel. God comforts him and tells him that there are still 7,000 who had not gone over to false gods like Baal (1 Kings 19:10, 18). Isaiah said, “The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands” (Isaiah 57:1). Hosea wrote: “There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed” (Hosea 4:1-2). And Micah wrote: “The godly has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among mankind; they all lie in wait for blood, and each hunts the other with a net” (Micah 7:2). Things look so bad at various times, even though David says, “But I know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself; the Lord hears when I call Him” (Psalm 4:3).

In Psalm 12:2-4, David says that “everyone lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart, they speak.” And “tongues make great boasts” and people say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us, who is master over us?” We have many similar terms today. People speak with a “forked tongue; they talk out of “both sides of their mouth;” they are “two-faced.” James called a “double-hearted” person a “double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-8). James also warned about the dangers of a tongue, which can be a “restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:5-10).

Aren’t there many today who change the meaning of words into whatever they want for themselves and demand that others must accept their point of view? To some, there are no longer two genders, male and female, as the Bible and science say, but many “genders” - whatever people choose to say they are. Men can call themselves women if they think they are, though God and their genes and their bodies still say they are men. People become “a law unto themselves” and reject prophets of God like Jeremiah, saying, “Come, let us strike him with our tongues, and let us not pay attention to any of his words,” though they are the very Word of God (Jeremiah 18:18).

It may not always seem like it, but God knows and sees what is going on, David says in Psalm 12:3,5. “He cuts off flattering lips,” and He cares about people who are spiritually “poor and needy” and “groan” because they are being hurt and “plundered” by these false and hurtful words and ideas. The Lord says, “I will arise… I will place My faithful people in safety for which they long.” The Lord can and will help us through very difficult days when there seem to be fewer faithful believers in the Lord. Jesus Himself said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted… Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:3-6).

David also calls the Words of the Lord “pure Words.” They are like “well-refined silver” (Psalm 12:6) when we read and listen to them, instead of the false and misleading and self-centered words heard so much today. We can test what we hear by the Word of God, too. “For God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). And “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” in what is truly right and good (2 Timothy 3:16).

Above all, the Scriptures keep pointing us to Christ Jesus our Savior and salvation through faith in Him (2 Timothy 3:15). Jesus lived in this world, and He knows our struggles and temptations and yet overcame them all for us, in His saving work in our place. He forgives us, too, when we realize that we have listened too much to the ways of this world and admit to our own failings. He restores us and helps us to follow Him.

There will always be some in every period of time who are a “crooked and twisted generation” (Deuteronomy 32:5, Philippians 2:15). Jesus Himself said twice, when He was here on earth, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah” - the death and three days in the grave and the resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 16:4. 12:39-40). David also wrote, in Psalm 12:8, “On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.” We cannot escape evil being around us, no matter when we live. But David also says, in Psalm 12:7, “You, O Lord, will keep Your believing people; You will guard us always from an evil generation around us.” That is God’s promise and our great hope, as we stay close to Christ and His Word (and Sacraments). “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, He will also provide a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

Preparing for Worship - February 4, 2024

In the Gospel lesson for this week, Mark 1:29-39, we see Jesus continuing His ministry. He does not bask in His spreading fame (Mark 1:28), but He goes to the home of Simon (Peter) and Andrew. He hears that Simon’s mother-in-law is ill and quickly heals her. When the Sabbath was over, at sundown, many people who were sick and demon-possessed were brought to Him. He healed many and cast out many demons, not allowing them to speak. The whole city came to see all this, and by the next morning, “everyone was looking for Him,” but Jesus went away very early the next day to pray and then went on to preach in many other towns in Galilee. He had come “to preach” the Good News of His Kingdom and to battle Satan and his demons.

In the Epistle lesson, 1 Corinthians 9:16-27, like Jesus, Paul knows that it was necessary for him “to preach the Gospel” to as many people as possible. He tried to be “all things to all people,” in their varying backgrounds and situations, sharing “the blessings of the Gospel” so that some might be saved through the preaching of the good news of Christ Jesus and His “imperishable” gifts. Paul therefore sought to use “self-discipline” in the “race” God set before him, and in his preaching, “to present the Gospel free of charge.” Woe to me,” he said, “if I do not preach the Gospel!”

Paul received strength and guidance from Scriptures like the Old Testament and Psalm readings for this week, too. In Psalm 147, we sing and praise the Lord (Hallelujah) because He “gathers outcasts” and “heals the broken-hearted” and “lifts up the humble” and is “abundant in power” and “takes pleasure in those who fear Him” and “hope in His steadfast love.” Paul also knew that the Lord was the Creator, with “understanding above all measure, and that he served Him, above all.

Jesus knew even better the truth of this psalm and the Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 40:21-31. As God the Son, He was there at creation, and “without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). He helped “number” the stars and “call them by name.” He knew His Father’s plan “from the beginning” and graciously carried it out in becoming true man, also, for us and our salvation; but as a true man, He also needed to lean upon His Heavenly Father, as he was doing in prayer early in the morning, in the Gospel lesson. He grew tired, too, but “renewed His strength as he waited upon the Lord, and could “run” and “walk and not faint,” in His preaching ministry and all He did.

Bible Study - Psalm 147:1-11

Psalm 147 is the psalm assigned for this coming Sunday in our churches. Some think that it was written when some of God’s people had returned from the many years of captivity and exile in Babylon and by God’s grace had been able to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. There was a great celebration of joy described in Nehemiah 12:27-47, around 445-432 BC. Verse 46 of Nehemiah 12 remembers that “long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.”

Psalm 147 begins and ends with the words “Praise the Lord,” which in the Hebrew language is: “Hallelujah!” It is “good” and “pleasant” and “fitting” to do so (v.1) because the Lord Himself had gathered “these outcasts of Israel” and brought them back to their land and “built up” the walls of Jerusalem again, through blessing and protecting them (v.2). After many years of sorrow and trouble for the Israelites, the Lord was “healing their broken hearts and binding up their wounds,” both physical and spiritual (v.3).

How can our Lord God do this? He is the Creator and Preserver of all things. He even created the stars and knows them all (v.4). This reminds us of the fact that He also has said to us, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Jesus, as our Redeemer and Savior, also says that He knows us by name and leads us, as His sheep (John 10:3-4), as we listen to His voice, in His Word. The Lord is also “great” and “abundant in power” and “lifts up” those who “humbly” trust in Him (Psalm 147:5-6). It may not always seem that way, especially when we feel heartbroken and wounded by the troubles of this life and are struggling, but God’s ways and “understanding” are “beyond measure” (v.5) and beyond the limitations of our human minds.

God knows what is best and cares for the world and all its creatures, including us (v. 8-9). He also deals with wickedness, which creates so many problems for us and our world, but He does it in His own time and way, as He finally rescued Israelites from slavery and evil in Babylon (v.6). We are called then to sing praises to the Lord in a thankful way and make melody to Him with musical instruments, when appropriate, as the people did in the time of Nehemiah 12: 27 (Psalm 147:7).

Above all, we are to “fear and trust” our Lord and “find hope in His steadfast love” for us (v.11). Our ultimate trust is not in the things we often focus upon. Ancient people often trusted in “strong horses” and the strong “legs” of powerful warriors. (v.10) We might trust too much in money and powerful people and fascination with famous people and great sports teams (with the Super Bowl and the NCAA tourney coming - as good as all that is).

Our ultimate hope is in the Lord Himself and His Word and His saving work in Jesus. He helps us through all of this life and its joys and disappointments and brings us eventually to eternal life and peace. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Preparing for Worship - January 28, 2024

The last two weeks we have seen Jesus calling disciples to follow Him and learn from Him and eventually to be “sent-out” ones, apostles, sharing the Good News of Jesus with everyone they could. This Sunday our focus is on the ministry of Jesus Himself. In the Gospel lesson, Mark 1:21-28, Jesus amazes people with both His Words and His actions. He taught “with authority,” unlike their scribes, who spoke very tentatively, quoting this rabbi or that one, without certainty. Jesus also acts with authority, casting out an evil spirit, who must do what He says and even admits who He is, “the Holy One of God.” News about Him spread quickly, as a result.

Jesus was showing that He was in the line of the prophets of God, beginning with Moses, as described in the Old Testament lesson, Deuteronomy 18:15-20. Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament and predicted that more prophets would come. God would put His Word in their mouths, and they would speak all that God commanded them. Everyone was to listen to the words of these prophets, or they would be in trouble with God Himself. There would also be false prophets, who would speak their own ideas or in the name of other gods, and they would be in big trouble and deserve death. Moses is finally pointing to the greatest Prophet, our Lord Jesus Christ, who would always speak the truth and act on it and whose Word would always come true.

As Jesus was powerful in deed, as well as in Word, so the Psalmist, in Psalm 111, thanks and praises God for His many “wondrous works.” The Lord remembers His “covenant” promises and fulfills them by being “gracious and merciful” and “sending redemption to His people” (especially in sending His only Son, Jesus, to be the Redeemer of the world). What the Lord says is “trustworthy,” and we will “praise Him forever.”

In the Epistle lesson, Paul deals with a practical problem in his time. Non-Christians would often offer sacrifices to false gods in pagan temples, and then leftover food from these sacrifices would be sold in markets. Could Christians buy and eat such food, that had been sacrificed to idols? Paul reminds people that “there is no God but One,” the Triune God, the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ (and the Holy Spirit, about whom Paul had spoken earlier in this letter). All other gods and idols have “no real existence,” and cannot affect or pollute any food. It is OK to eat or not eat such food. However, not everyone has this “knowledge,” and so Paul asks Christian believers not to use their freedom in Christ in a way that hurts the conscience of people who truly think it is wrong to eat such food. Paul says he would be willing to limit his own freedoms, at times, if that would help others not to stumble in faith.

Bible Study - Criticizing other Denominations and Groups?

Bible Study: Should We Criticize Other Denominations and Groups?

In a recent Bible study, I read a question that I had received from a student in an email in 2006 when I was a campus pastor. He wrote: “I am doing a paper on the Christian faith and its denominations. One main point in my paper is that we all share the same basic beliefs, and therefore, should not criticize each other, as is commonly seen and heard. I was wondering if I could get a brief overview of your outlook on this situation.”

We talked about this question a little, in our study, and I thought it might be helpful to give more of a response, in what I wrote back to the student and with some additional comments for all of us.

Dear           , I would agree that there is one holy Christian and apostolic Church, as we say in the Nicene Creed, which includes all true believers in the one true Triune God and in the saving work of Jesus, by God’s grace alone. There are essential Christian beliefs, and there are people who hold to these beliefs, from numerous Christian denominations and groups, who are already or will be in heaven, when they die.

At the same time, we read in the Bible that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful” (2 Timothy 3:16), and we are to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), and to “Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the doctrine you have been taught” (Romans 16:17).

A problem with too many denominations and especially with non-denominational churches and parachurch groups is that they want to take Christianity to the lowest common denominator and ignore much of Scripture or say it doesn’t really matter what you believe about many issues.

Those who call themselves Christian do not all believe all the same things. Some would say on moral issues, for example, that homosexual behavior and LGBTQ activity and actions or abortion are acceptable, while others, including our conservative Lutheran churches, would condemn such activity, on the basis of Scripture, and others would just avoid taking a stand on such issues.

On issues of doctrine, some would say, for example, that baptizing infants and children, as well as adults, is Scriptural and important, as our conservative Lutheran church does. Others would say that baptism is only for adult believers, and some would say it doesn’t matter what one believes about this. Closely related to this would be questions about whether an infant or child is sinful or has a sinful nature or is not accountable for sins until a certain age - and what age?

Take also the issue of Communion (or the Lord’s Supper). Some use an open communion policy, welcome to all, and it doesn’t matter what you believe about Communion, while Scripture says that one could actually sin taking Communion the wrong way (1 Corinthians 11:27).

Closely related, are Baptism and Communion called Sacraments (Means or Channels of God’s grace, with the Lord bringing forgiveness and grace and blessings to us, as conservative Lutherans say) or are these just ordinances, simply some things we do to show our faith and obey God’s laws?

I could go on and on about genuine differences among various groups and denominations. Some would say, though, “Just believe in Jesus” and nothing else matters. But how does belief itself come? Is faith a gift from God, worked by the Holy Spirit through His gifts of the Word and Baptism? Or do we come to faith by our own choice and decision, as an act of our own will, before we can be acceptable to God?

All these and more are important issues, in our view, and it is therefore important to take Scripture seriously and stand up for what it says, even though that means criticizing some ideas and positions of others. There are many warnings in Scripture about false teachers and wrong ideas (1 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, and 4:1-5, 1 John 4:1-6, etc.). We are to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:14-15) and “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, 2 Timothy 2:24-26), but we are to speak the truth - as one finds Jesus and Paul and Peter others doing, in Scripture (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

May we all seek “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27 - and look at v.28-32) and stay close to Christ our Savior and His Word, which is truth (John 8:31-23, 17:17). One last thought. We want to speak the truth to others with whom we disagree and who are drifting from God’s Word, as we understand it. But realize that every time we hear or study God’s Word, we are also subjecting ourselves to criticism, for we are hearing both Law and Gospel. The Law criticizes us and shows us our own sins since we are far from perfect. As Jesus says in Matthew 7:3-5, we need to be open to that criticism of ourselves and our churches, too, and the call for us also to repent, where we are falling short. Thank the Lord for also providing us the Gospel and the sure forgiveness through Christ of our own sins, as we confess our sins and ask the Lord to forgive us, too.