Category Archives: Sermons
Time to Stop Objecting To the Harvest: An Eastertide Sermon from Concordia on Acts 11:1-18
Time to Stop Objecting
To the Harvest
Acts 11:1-18
† I.H.S. †
May the grace and mercy of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ inspire your work in the Harvest of all souls, as you rejoice in your own salvation!
God is moving… are we?
I have to make a good confession. Over the last week I have had a number of things that I just wanted to do. Nope, no way. I had some great excuses lined up, but to be honest, I just didn’t want to make the drives, I didn’t want to sit in the seats and attend those meetings, I didn’t want to lay on that gurney, or drink that horrid stuff with nasty effects, and I didn’t know if I had anything left to minister to people I had never met before.
I was a bit of a grump…
And in each of the 7 places God was sending me to. I would see Him at work… even to the point of crying with a peaceful joy.
The reason I bring this up, is that I understand Peter, and the story he recounts to the believers in Jerusalem, who are little tired, a little paranoid of causing more trouble with their Jewish relatives, and to be honest, they didn’t think they had the will or desire to do what God was calling them to…the places He would send them anyway, just as Peter was sent to Cornelius and his family and friends.
But after the fact, the trips, both Peter’s and mine, even the colonoscopy, were incredible blessings. Because of the impact those moments had.
Even if we objected to the harvest, and tried to find excuses, and didn’t want to go…..
For as the title says, it’s time to stop objecting to the harvest!
- Dangerous words!
In this passage, we see Peter making two blunders far worse than the two classic blunders of “’getting involved in a land war in Asia,’ and ‘going in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.’”
Far greater.
The first we see in verse 8. Peter said to the Holy Spirit, “No”
Don’t ever do that. Nope, never ever said to the Lord, No.
You end up saying yes, but if you are unlucky you smell like you’ve been living in a giant fish for three days, or walking around the Sinai Peninsula, or maybe even, like Peter, have to eat some bacon wrapped lobster….
Wait… that’s what he said no to??
Yes… to prepare Peter to do something even more challenging, which for many silly reasons, objected to…
The other massive bunder… God responded to this way, Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’
Peter learned the hard way, that God was in control, that He determined if something was clean or not, whether there was hope or not, and that God chose to whom He would offer salvation.
We don’t get to decide if people of this economic class, denomination, political affiliation or race, culture or ethnicity are saved or not… we get to rejoice in their salvation.
I want to repeat that, We don’t get to decide if people of this economic class, denomination, political affiliation or race, culture or ethnicity are saved or not… we get to rejoice in their salvation.
- The gift is for you and you and you..
And that is where God sends us, whether long term believers who are struggling and don’t quite “get” God…. Like Cornelius, who wanted to honor God, but because he didn’t know Jesus.
And we stop saying, “No, Lord.” Or “you can’t Lord – its against the rules…” and we see God at work. It’s amazing.
I didn’t know I would get three opportunities to encourage three women – my before, during and after nurses on Friday. All were related to pastors, a daughter, a wife and a sister. But all three needed encouragement from the bizarre pastor who they had to care for.
The same thing with the two funerals, both very different, both needed to hear God’s grace- one who had no idea of the peace of Christ, and one, they just needed to hear it again. Like the hymn, “I love to tell the story,” sometimes the ones longing to hear it are the ones who know it best.
You see we get to tell people the gift of God’s love is for them too! We will realize that just like Peter was called into Cornelius’ life to tell them “how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’”
That’s our job whether they are young or old, no matter rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, no matter the race, the ethnicity, the original nationality, or what language they speak.
And then, as we see God working in their lives, our own faith in God is strengthened as we realize those we might have thought beyond salvation have the Holy Spirit convicting them, and given them the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.
And as we see the harvest begin, we will rejoice with angels and archangels and all the host of heaven in the harvest. Amen!
The Great Harvest Begins! An Easter Sermon on1 Corinthians 15:19-26
The Great Harvest Begins!
1 Corinthians 15:19-26
† I.N.R.I †
May the Grace and Peace of God our Father and the Risen Lord Jesus Christ fill your heart, mind and soul, as you realize the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work IN YOU!
I will never get tired of saying this…
Pastor: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Congregation He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Deacon: And therefore,
Congregation: We have risen indeed! Alleluia!
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”
As I was thinking about this idea of a great harvest, and how to explain it, my memory went on a weird trip. It took me back to my childhood, as we were visiting a church. I don’t remember which one, probably Salem First Baptist, or the Pentecostal church my dad’s friend Pastor Brazil led. I don’t remember much of the service, except one strange hymn.
They sang it with a lot of energy and incredible joy, which is what impressed me, because I had no idea what they were singing about!
I mean, what in the world is a sheave?
They kept using that word, and being that the church was not in a farming community, I am not sure they knew what it meant either, but they were singing about bringing them in, with great joy!
Bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves,
We will come rejoicing,
Bringing in the sheaves!
Did they mean sword-sheaths? Sheets? Sieves? Sleeves? Steves?
What in the world is a sheave?
And why were people so excited about bringing them in?
And what does that have to do with Easter?
How many times is our reaction to the resurrection there, because we hear everyone else’s conviction, because we see the joy and we want to be part of it, but we don’t get that we are part of the harvest?
- Death in Adam
I don’t remember how many times they sung that chorus, but it seemed like for forever! And the first 4 or 5 times through, it was cool to see them all excited and singing loudly. It obviously meant something to a lot of these people!
But after a while it got old…and I disconnected from the singing, and focused on the musicians, then, looked around the church, then started to daydream, and maybe escaped to the restroom.
There was nothing there for me, and I don’t think anyone would have noticed I wasn’t there.
That is what sin is like, the sin that entered the world from Adam. It kills us off, separating us from the Lord, and from others. It’s as if they are speaking another language, and what is enjoyable to them, is empty to us. That frustrates us even more, and we wander off, separated from all that is good…
And that death is a foretaste of eternal death—the empty, hollow life that is hell….
It’s like being out in the low desert in the midst of summer, as wind sweeps blazing hot sand across the land, creating an unquenchable thirst in land and beast and man. For life is not capable of being sustained, never mind gathered and harvested.
There is no hope to escape that emptiness, that loneliness, or so it seems…
2. The New Life
In another lifeless situation, God provided life where it could not have been.
This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. Romans 4:17 (NLT2)
And that is what happened the morning of the Resurrection, where there was no life in the crucified, spear pierced body of Jesus, from death came life.
He power of the grave, of death was shattered.
The separation thought to be permanent was made erased with the flash of light, as Jesus defeated death. As Jesus lived, but had already paid for our separation. His life would give a way for us to come to life, to know the joy, to be able to sing with meaning.
Only God can erase all that spiritually kills us, and wiukd end with our physical and eternal death as well. Only God can bring us to life again. Only God can include us in the great harvest of souls that have risen from the dead, both spiritually, and one day physically.
He did this by uniting us to Christ’s death and His resurrection…We are made new, complete, and in God’s eyes are His children, without sin. We become part of those “sheaves”, a part of the people of God, all who trust in Him and depend on His promise.
This is why we come to church, to celebrate this work of God, it is why we sing and pray and read the Bible, It is why we ask questions when we don’t know what a word means, or how a song fits in…. for it all testifies to the work God is doing in us.
And knowing that, that the power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead is at work in us, we enter into God’s peace, a peace far beyond our Logic and reason, for we dwell in our risen Lord, Jesus the Messiah! Amen!
The Plan Previously Hidden: A Good Friday Sermon on Isaiah 52:13:15, 1 Corinthians 2:7-8
The Plan Previously Hidden
Isaiah 52:13:15, 1 Corinthians 2:7-8
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ sustain you in those times, where like between the cross and resurrection, you aren’t sure of where you stand…or if you do!
The Darkness
In the other gospels, as Jesus is on the cross dying, it is said that darkness falls across the land. Luke mentions the sun fails to light the sky…the word will eventually become what we call an eclipse. For three hours, Jerusalem in hidden in shadows…
It was if everything good was heading out of town, as Jesus blood soaked the ground. I imagine the apostles and disciples’ lives were pretty much drained of life as well, as they finally realized Jesus wasn’t kidding when he said he would be killed, when he would give up his life.
But even as they hadn’t heard that, they didn’t hear the rest of the story. Neither did the Pharisees and Priests, or Herod, Pilate and the Roman guard.
This event, planned from before the creation of the world, the Apostle Paul described this way, “No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.”
The darkness had to come, the despair—a realization of what was lost because of the sin of the world. The hope, shrouded for 3 days with the Lord of Love, of Hope, of Life.
While we don’t pay the cost of our sin, we need to take that cost seriously. We need to see in the cross, not just the promise of life and freedom, but the price paid there in the death of Christ.
What the rulers missed
SO what was hidden from these leaders, Roman and Jewish, these wise, powerful and in some cases, holy men—what did they miss?
Well – it wasn’t hidden well – as we see in the prophecy from Isaiah that we started with this evening. One that talks of when everyone will know, at the Day of Judgment..
“See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.”…
They didn’t see the cross as a tool used to pry us away from sin, to shatter its grip on us.
That in the next chapter of Isaiah we will hear,
10 But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands. 11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. Isaiah 53:10-11 (NLT2)
Jesus was… satisfied…
That is amazing… what He accomplished through His suffering and death on the cross… he was content with the process because of the result.
Our freedom, our life, for while we talk about the Lord is with you… that means the inverse is now true as well
You are with the Lord…
Therefore, we shall share in His glory a
And that is what was hidden, the mystery of Jesus, that the leaders made happen, as they sentenced him to die… for us.
Amen!
For the Joy Set Before us, We endure the Cross! For the Joyful Return Set Before Us! A Lenten Sermon onPsalm 126
For the Joy Set Before us, We endure the Cross!
For the Joyful Return Set Before Us!
Psalm 126
† I.H.S. †
May the grace, mercy and love of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ encourage you to think of your homecoming… and to rejoice as you find others who start the journey home!
- The Exiles return
One of my commentaries, on the vitality of worship, said this about our reading from the Psalms this morning,
“The first part of the psalm expresses an almost childlike delight in what the Lord has done. It has a miraculous quality about it, something unexpected, something for which the people had hardly dared to hope.”[1]
For those caught in captivity, who thought they slavery would end, these words are even an understatement. Image the look on the faces, as they climbed the mountain paths that led to Jerusalem, as they topped the last peak and their eyes settled on their long their abandoned home.
Imagine their joy as they entered the city’s gates. Asthey realize home was home again, and that they had proof of God’s blessings, and His presence….
For He had restored them, and all that was broken was made right…which is the basis for our hope.
The hope made true that we can take a childlike delight in, as we realize what the Lord has done, for it is miraculous unexpected, and something which we didn’t even dream of, never mind hope for!
- Why were they exiles? What separates us..
Nearly 100 years prior to Psalm 126. The prophetess Huldah, the wife of H Shallum and Harhas said,
“24 ‘This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this city and its people. All the curses written in the scroll that was read to the king of Judah will come true. 25 For my people have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to pagan gods, and I am very angry with them for everything they have done. My anger will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.’ 2 Chronicles 34:24-25 (NLT2)
This included Hezekiah, one of the greatest of the Kings of Judah, and while he did repent, it only put off this punishment until he passed away.
Then because of their sin, because of their idolatry, murder, adultery, gossip and jealousy.
They earned their exile. They chose to forgo being holy, in order to gain what they desired.
As I’ve taught before, holiness is less about following all the rules, but the purity of the relationship we are separated to when we enter into the covenant. As they chose to sin, and never repent, Israel and Judah exiled themselves – they chose to separate themselves from God, and from His people.
You know that feeling as well, that separation that comes when sin separates you from someone else. It doesn’t matter if the separation is because of our sin, or theirs-the separation is real, the loneliness that overwhelms us, as we realize the gaping chasm that sin creates.
If we are that aware of the distance sin puts between us and those we work with, live with, play with, and because of sin, avoid… how much more do we live in denial abut the distance we once chose to put between God and us…
And maybe, today, you still are hiding some sin, Maybe your dealing with that loneliness and feeling of not being a part of a family.
There is no need for that. You can re-begin that walk with God today, or perhaps even begin it for the first time.
This is the time – this is the place for the dream of Psalm 126 to become true in your life.
- Turning back everything (How were we brought back -will we be brought back?
If you read the Old Testament Books of Ezra and Nehemiah – or 1 &2 Esdras as they are called in some Bibles, you will see the people of God, once again separated to Him, once again being made holy, as they rebuild the Temple, and the City.
But Psalm 126 doesn’t get into what they did, it gets into the emotion of coming home, and the knowledge that God did something amazing – He restored the life their grandparents spoke of, recognizing what they lost,
But God restored them, and looking back, that gives the Psalmist hope in his time, as he prayed, “Restore our fortunes, LORD, as streams renew the desert. 5 Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. 6 They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.”
The writer of the Psalm – having remembered the great mercy of God and the fact that even the nations around Israel were praising God for the amazing things God had done, switches to pray that He ill do them again.
Hmm – could Judah and Israel begin to sin again? Did they need to be rescued and restored again?
Should that be an encouragement for us, as we find oureslves in needs of God’s restoration service as we need to be restored? Yes!
And then we can truly live the dream – God’s vision for us, those who have realized that our thoughts, words and deeds have been wrecked by sin. And yet God has called us home, cleansed us and ended our exile as He causes repentance to occur in us.
On our way back home, as we realize our exile, our loneliness is over, we can bring others with us. So keep an eye out for those alone, and tired, and exiled… and bring them home.
[1] Davidson, R. (1998). The vitality of worship: a commentary on the book of Psalms (p. 417). W.B. Eerdmans; Handsel Press.
For the Joy Set Before Us… Restoration/Revival Is Set Before Us Psalm 85
Concordia Lutheran Church
March 23, 2025
For the Joy Set Before Us…
Restoration/Revival Is Set Before Us
Psalm 85
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ revive and renew you–as promised!
- You did it once, could you please…
A long time ago, an apprentice asked his mentor about how to deal with repetitive betrayals. How to deal with being made fun of and being backstabbed, not to mention all the gossip being spread about him by this horrible wretch…who was as close as a brother.
The apprentice was tired of it all and wanted to know if there was a point that would be crossed when mercy was no longer beneficial, were it needed to stop, because the continual sacrifice was being taken advantage of, and the pain was unbearable.
After a moment’s thought, the apprentice was given an answer he didn’t like, as the limit of mercy seemed, well beyond anything humanly possible, never mind acceptable.
I mean, it wasn’t like his brother Andrew was a complete stranger. He also was an apprentice… of Jesus…
Seven times Seventy? Really?
I can imagine, Jesus smiling with a great deal of… amazement… knowing how many times he forgave both of them, and the cost he would pay, so that the Father would see them as forgiven. 7×70 and Peter, you are getting close to 70×70,000! I I can almost picture Jesus saying to himself, “Simon Peter, if you only knew the truth…but you will!
Which is what our Psalm 85 discusses this morning.
God’s incredible mercy… His incredible, patient, long-suffering mercy.
That restores and revives us, as we learn to look forward to eternity with great joy!
- The track record qualifies
The Psalmist starts by noting that incredible mercy! Here it is again,
“LORD, you poured out blessings on your land! You restored the fortunes of Israel. 2 You forgave the guilt of your people— yes, you covered all their sins. Interlude 3 You held back your fury. You kept back your blazing anger.
This is an amazing level of grace that the psalmist recounts, a track record of God’s love for His people, What a description of the love of God—a love that covered every sin, every one of them, from the Abraham lying to Kings about Sarah being his sister, to all the sins during the Exodus, during the times of the Judges and the time of King Sault into David’s reign as King
And boy, could those people sin!
Yet He restored and revived them!
They were experts in idolatry, and in using God’s name in vain, they were known for dishonoring parents, and for their hatred, mocking and murder of others, they were held up as examples of sexual immorality, having gone farther than their heathen neighbors, and they gossiped and schemed to get what they want that others had…
And God forgave, restored and revived them!
Which leads the psalmist to humbly beg, “
Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more. 5 Will you be angry with us always? Will you prolong your wrath to all generations? 6 Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? 7 Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation!
For some reason, these people whose ancestors and even they had known such forgiveness, fell back into sin. The temptations were too hard, they ended up getting distracted from spending time with God, both individually and as a people, and they didn’t have the strength to be holy on their own…
And they started to be oppressed by sin again.
Sound familiar?
It should, it happens to all of us.
It might even be where we are this morning, as you sit there, wondering how to deal with whatever temptations you face.
And perhaps feeling guilty or ashamed at how you fell back under the spell of that sin.
- Ther Nature of holiness
While this should not be an excuse, I do believe that a portion of the problem is that we define holiness as a measurement based on behavior and not relationship.
We even talk about it that way, when we think of Spiritual disciplines or the spiritual exercises – as if they make us stronger, rather than building the relationship—building our trust and dependence on the Spirit’s guidance, and on the grace revealed in Christ.
That is what the Psalmist is asking God to restore and revive- not just the adherence to a set of rules, but a deep strong relationship and communication that has as a benefit the change of our behaviors.
Hear again Him speak of it, 8 I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways. 9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory.
That is holiness, that moment when you know God’s unfailing love and truth have declared you as cleansed, and His. That moment when we realize He is lifting the burden of every sin we have ever committed.
He speaks peace to His people…
His salvation is near…
- Go and Sin no more!
One last thing to deal with in this passage In the middle of that news of the gospel, there is a phrase, “let them not return to their foolish ways.” It brings to mind the words of Jesus to the lady caught in adultery who heard, “Your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more.”
That sounds like more law –- a command not to break and more of God’s commands, with the underlying threat of hell. If it is law, then we are going to have a problem, because we all struggle with sin, and we all struggle with falling back into old sinful thoughts and sinful habits.
But this is a statement of freedom—to help us realize the power of sin is shattered, that we are free to not sin—that we are free to live life – a holy life, separated to God. This is an encouragement to rejoice in this revival and renewal of our lives, and to live in the truth of the gospel.
My friends, the power of sin had over you is broken, you have been restored, and revived from the death it causes, so stay away from it! Live in these blessings, live in this peace. AMEN!
For the Joys Set Before Us! Week 1: The Celebration Set Before us! A Lenten Sermon based on Deuteronomy 26:1-11
For the Joys Set Before Us!
The Celebration Set Before us!
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ create in you a great desire for the Celebration when we are before the Father’s throne!
- The Boring Commands of Deuteronomy?
I would love to ask this question of you all this morning, but I won’t. I will state the question anyway.
“How many of you have read the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy?”
Maybe I should ask it this way, “How many of you enjoyed reading the Old Testament Book we call Deuteronomy”
Yeah, when we think of Deuteronomy, we usually don’t think of pleasure and enjoyment. If we know the book, it’s basically a cross between a pastor’s manual and California Penal Code, detailing the law of Moses, and the punishments for breaking those laws God put into play.
But some of the laws…well, you almost can’t think of them as laws. I mean – hear this one, “— This is a time to celebrate before the LORD your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you.” Dt 16:11
Here’s a command from God… CELEBRATE!!!
Oddly enough to not do so, is a sin.
It doesn’t sound so much as a command in our reading this morning, but it is, “11 Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration.
Have a great celebration, ahave an incredible time celebrating how good God is, and be so amazed by that goodness that you drag everyone in town, including all the pastor types and immigrants to the celebration!
That’s why they call them Old Testament Feasts!
And while the Jewish people in the desert looked forward to that feast whey could finally enter the Holy Land, we have a feast to look forward to – one with God, as we boldly enter His presence, and are welcomed home.
- The Preparation/Confession
Here is a question for you.
How longer after a incredibly successful Advent Tea do you think it is prior to Carol and Linda starting to prepare for the next Advent Tea?
This year I think they were procrastinating, because they waited until after church on Sunday before they asked me about the theme for Advent 2025. Obviously procrastinating!
Preparing for the feast to be held when Israel finally entered the Holy Land took 40 years! Forty years of dealing with the sin that had ensnared Israel after they were freed enslavement in Egypt.
When they finally arrive in the Holy Land, what they are commanded to do is to remember and confess that God had to rescue them.
5 “You must then say in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt. His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation. 6 When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves, 7 we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. get us out of Egypt with a strong hand and powerful arm, with overwhelming terror, and with miraculous signs and wonders!
They had to confess a need to be rescued and that God did that! Oppressed and humiliated, they needed to be helped, even as God had already told them He would.
Lent is our memory, not just of oppression and bondage to sin, but of the way in which God sustains His people and prepares them for the feast. Whether that is the feast of Israel, or our feast celebrating the Lord’s Supper, or what both are a glimpse of, the feast in heaven of all God’s people gathered in His presence.
- The Feast
That is what this is all about – from the feasts on the Sabbath and the Lord’s Supper on Sundays, to Passover and Maunday Thursday/Good Friday, to Tabernacles and Pentecost – all are a picture of the celebration that occurs when all who are rescued by God arrive before His throne. Every thing in Christianity points to this incredible celebration that is set before us, that we are moving towards, in which we are promised entry, because Jesus would die on the cross and rise again to guarantee it.
Hear the words again,
“O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.’ Then place the produce before the Lord your God, and bow to the ground in worship before him. 11 Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration.
While we are in Lent then, why don’t we spend as much times as we can, considering what God has provided to us through Jesus Christ, and then praise Him for it!
After all – when we think about what God has given to us from the ground, we might be able to remember the words from the other night, and remember that we are what came to life, as Christ was planted in the ground!
And then, let’s feast—including all those who, like the Levites serve the people of God, and those who are not yet part of the family…the foreigners living in our midst….
After all, we are commanded to enjoy this grace, together!
From Glorious Light (Epiphany) to Glorious Light (Transfiguration): More Glorious – A sermon on Hebrews 3:1-6
From Glorious Light to Glorious Light
More Glorious!
Hebrews 3:1-6
† In Jesus’ Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, convince you that you are home, with them!
- Who gets the glory, the attention?
We started this sermon series on Epiphany, the day we celebrate that into Jesus presence the wise men from the East came giving Him presents, acknowledging Him as King.
We complete the series today, with the account of the Transfigurations—where into the presence of the glorified Jesus come Moses and Elijah—again with the responsibility of identifying Jesus as the chosen Messiah, preparing him for the journey to the cross, the grave.
In both of these historical accounts, we see the glory of Christ, in the manger where the shepherds were in awe, or as Peter, James and John stand on the mountainside,
I have found that there is something else these two events have in common. People are as interested, if not more, in those that come into the presence of God in Jesus, than they are in Jesus.
How many wise men? What kind of Gold did they bring and how much, what is the symbolism of that, and the myrrh, and frankincense. All these questions while over in the corner lay the baby who would die to save the world! How did Peter know they were Moses and Elijah? I mean Peter didn’t offer to set up a tent for Jesus every night—but he had to offer it for the two Old Testament heroes.
And the voice of the father – interrupting their disappointment at the disappearance of the two prophets – telling them…”listen to my Son!” Or as our reading from Hebrews phrases it, “1Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession…”
Consider Jesus – or as it will say in chapter 12, look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
- Our tendency to false idols
Looking to Jesus first, or to use a reformation idea that is is “Christ alone” from which comes a justice that doesn’t condemn us for our sin. But that was hard for the Jews, who despite heroes like David and Daniel, prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and priests like Samuel still considered Moses as the ultimate servant of God.
And the Book of Hebrews applauds him for that – honoring that he was faithful in his work as a leader of the people of God.
But he was still just a servant.
Yet he was the ultimate hero – and people idolized him.
There was none greater – it is in him they found hope, and they glorified the days of his being in charge, ignoring the scripture which showed he was a sinner just like us. So adamant were they about Moses, and to a lesser extent Abraham, that the writer of Hebrews has to make it clear – as God did – that Jesus deserves more glory.
We do the same thing today—whether it is entertainment figures- actors and musicians, sports figures, political figures, how many of them do we allow to become idols, agreeing with everything they sing or say or do—even if we know its immoral and unjust. We will justify their evil actions, dismissing them “because they aren’t as bad as…
And somehow, as we are glorifying our heroes, we miss the glory of God in Christ Jesus.
And if we miss that – we neglect this great salvation He offers!
- Christs faithfulness building the house
But while we make heroes out of house servants, the book of Hebrews tells us to look to Jesus, who is worthy of more glory! He is the one transfigured, He is the one whom the voice from heaven identifies as His Son, the one through whom he will save the world.
Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus isn’t just a servant in the House of God, but the one through who builds and maintains the house of God.
In doing acknowledging that Jesus is the builder, we see why Jesus is more glorious than Moses was, Here is what was said, “3For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.
Occasionally, I encounter people who claim the Bible does not teach that Jesus is God… this passage is one of the 40 or so I can use to counter their position. But this is why we look to Him.
He can do something to help us, for He is making us a part of the house, the home of God. And He does that faithfully making us part of His home – starting with rescuing us from the brokenness of sin. But salvation is only the beginning of the relationship, only the beginning of the home…. And that is important to realize.
That we are part of the Father’s house, His home is incredible, it is at the core of Christianity, hear the last verse again,
“And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”
What confidence do we hold fast to? That Jesus leaves the mountain, heads to Jerusalem to die, to be buried, to rise again, that we are made part of the family, the house of God.
For He came and laid in the cradle, causing John to write:
14 So the Word became flesh and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John 1:14 (NLT2)
In order that He could cause us to be born again, and made our home in His presence.
There is nothing more glorious than this…to share in His glorious love…
And for that. He receives all glory, honor, and praise. AMEN!
The Glory that Empowers Trust: A Sermon on Jeremiah 17:5-8
The Glory that
Empowers Trust
Jeremiah 17:5-8
† In Jesus’s Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ empower and strengthen your dependence on Jesus the Messiah!
Cursed are We?
The Old Testament passage this morning starts with such a encouraging word!
CURSED ARE Those who put their trust in mere humans!
My first reaction to this was to thank God for being, well, more cynical than most – and therefore I don’t trust anyone!
Part of that is growing up in a very cynical part of the country, part of that comes from working in the jails as a chaplain, and part of it comes from being a pastor, and part of it comes, to be honest, from looking in the mirror!
But while I say I don’t trust anyone… that isn’t true!
We trust people every day, from doctors and nurses to tax advisors and mechanics and family members and friends.
Some those things we trust to them are life-affecting decisions ranging from medical advice to whether our cars are safe. And if they are wrong, there is a heavy price to pay!
But this sermon isn’t titled “It pays to be cynical…” It’s about what happens when we trust in the Lord, and let Him care for us…rather than turning to human strength.
Dried out Shrubs
Jeremiah is pretty clear about the effect of relying on mankind for answers about life the universe and everything. Hear His words again,
(Those ) who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD. 6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.
On the fringe of salt flats, barren lands you find these shrubs or trees that look more like weeds. Because the water in the ground, if there is any, has too high of a salt content, the water they have access to is limited and it won’t sustain growth.
They have no hope of becoming like the tree in last week’s sermon, no chances of giving shade and respite, or having branches which would let birds rest and fruit for humans and animas to be nourished by.
The simply dry up and die, to be blown about by the wind, never having a home, never having a future.
Spiritually, that is exactly what happens when we give up on God, when we dismiss Him to trust in some human to provide for us what we need to sustain life and hope, to help us get through the challenges, to deal with guilt and shame.
That is the curse, the inability to deal with the broken relationships, here on earth and with God.
That is a curse to heavy to bear, a pain that echoes through an empty soul.
Replanted!
There is hope for those so “cursed”
“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought!
The picture here for planted is God carefully removing us from the barren, salted soil, to be in a lush valley alongside the river bank, where the ground is full of the nutrients we need to grow.
That is the relationship we have with God, where He cares for us, provides for us and puts in a place where we are hidden in Him.
That’ why we aren’t bothered by the heat or drought- for God draws us deep into His love, deep into this place where He knows our needs, and we can rely on His care.
This idea of being planted and/or replanted in a good place is important. To have the power to trust God includes the trust to know we are where we should be at, among the people we are called to be alongside – and that God provides the trust to dwell with Him there. But He is the one who plants us there, He is the one who removes from us the barrenness, the lack of love and mercy, the absolute dry bones, and gives us life!
And that is why Jeremiah can confidently state, “Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
The more we see God at work here, the more comfort He gives us, the more we realize how He is working through each of our lives. We produce life – in the leaves and in the fruit because His life works its way through us.
That’s Jesus take on this, as those He takes root in produce 30,60 and 90 times their own life as it is invested in others.
This is the effect of trusting in Jesus, of knowing we die with Him and are raised with Him, AMEN!
From Glorious to Glorious Light: The Glory FOR All – a sermon on Luke 2:22-32
The Glory FOR ALL!
Luke 2:22-32
† In Jesus’s Name †
May the grace, mercy and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ be reflected through you, lighting up the lives of those captive in the darkness!
Intro – Uhmm –WHAT DID HE SAY?
This morning, I came across the words of a pastor/theologian that were so concerning, and so contrary to the very gospel reading this morning that I had to adapt, almost re-write the sermon to contain them.
He wrote,” If people don’t like the idea that we are supposed to perform acts of love more for some people than others, just wait until they find out that God loves some people more than others”(Fr. Mike Totleben on Twitter, 1/31)
I want you to think about that for a moment, what he is accusing God of, that God plays favorites, and therefore, we should as well.
He would later go on to determine who he thought God should love more, which was disappointing, because it wasn’t about helping the least of these, but rather helping the people who were just like us.
In view of Simeon’s words, in view of Jesus’s words about being there for the hungry, thirsty, stranger-(that is the word for an outsider, with different cultures, languages etc), the naked, sick and imprisoned at the judgment day, I am in shock at the pastor’s words. And what about Jesus’s and the Apostle Paul’s words about loving our enemies, and adversaries?
But it gets to the heart of today’s message – which is how we see Jesus and His kingdom. And how that imprints how we live, and think.
What Do We Want the Messiah to Be?
If it wasn’t for the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding Simeon, I think he would have been gravely disappointed that day in the Temple. All his life, and a very long one by the averages, he had been told he would see the arrival of the Messiah, the hope of Israel, the Savior of the nation. That morning, as he is walking with the Holy Spirit, he is told, “today’s the day!”
I imagine, that if he wasn’t filled with the Holy Spirit, he would be looking for a mighty warrior priest, surrounded by 10,000 holy warriors, all doing their best imitation of Chuck Norris!
But he looks around, and the Holy Spirit says, there! And he looks and again, “there!” and he’s shaking his head, for all that was there was a couple with a tiny infant…all exhausted from an 10 mile hike up hill, that morning
Uhm – “God—are you sure?”
Israel had expected a savior! One who would save them—not only from the Romans, but from the powers that be within their people. The Pharisees expected a Pharisee Messiah, the Sadducees, one of their own, the Herodians didn’t care where the Messiah came from, as long as he would work with the Romans, and the Zealots and Essenes had their visions of the Messiah, made in their own image as well.
I don’t think we are any better today. We expect Jesus to be like us… not in appearance, that would be disappointing, even horrifying in my case. But with our views, with our judgements, who loves only those we love, and hates all those who aren’t like us. And who would only help those people like us, that we approve of..
We might not say it that bluntly, but we do play those kinds of games –choosing our own favorites, and expecting God to only bless them, and therefore, we only have to help…them.
And let me be blunt, assuming we know who God loves and doesn’t love, and narrowing our ministry to only them… is sin.
And we need to change…
The Hope of Simeon
The great thing in this passage is that Simeon isn’t speaking as himself, full of the Holy Spirit, he is rejoicing in the fulfillment of the promise—that this baby would change everything…far more than anyone could ever dream… well unless he was a prophet!
30 I have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared for all people. 32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” Luke 2:30-32 (NLT2)
All People, to the Nations – the myriad of ethnicities, the people of Israel—the equivalent to people like us…
All people – sharing in the light and the glory—
By the way, I need to note that Simeon’s words are simply Old Testament passages—in fact 5 times in Isaiah the idea of the Messiah being a light to the Gentiles is covered!
God’s glorious love, enveloping people like us, and people we don’t think are like us. People who are completely compatible to us, and those that tick us off and drive us crazy.
That is who Jesus came to save—not just the “favorites” but all people. We don’t get to pick and choose, for God so loved the world that He gave…
To us, for there is two things everyone in this world, and everyone in history can be defined by.
The first is that we are sinners, that we’ve rebelled and disobeyed God. We are pretty good at defining who some sinners are…but we all are sinners in need of deliverance.
The second is that Jesus came into this world to be our Savior. To save us all from the sin that ensnares us.. all.
So that He could be our light and our glory, and love.
Let’s pray for His peace to be given to all He loves. The peace that comes with being delivered, being saved, that comes from dwelling in Jesus. AMEN!
From Glorious Light to Glorious Light: God’s Law is Glorious! A Sermon on Nehemiah 8
God’s Law Is Glorious!
Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10
† In Jesus’ Name †
May the grace and mercy of God our Father and the Lord Jesus create in you a hunger to discover the treasure that is our scriptures- which reveal God’s love for us!
Read Wha???
The experts tell us that the average attention span of an American has been shrinking for decades. I remember reading how that affected advertising, especially on Television and Radio, and how they moved commercial breaks from every fifteen minutes to every 7 and ½. And the commercials themselves shrunk – from 2 minutes to 30 seconds.
SO as I was preparing this sermon, I looked it up—and according to one recent APA study, the attention span is now….
8.25 seconds.
So imagine what would happen if we had a day like Nehemiah, where the elders and I read, and explained, the first five books of the Bible… in one setting?
80,000 words, plus or minus 500 depending on translation.
That is roughly 80-85 times the length of one of my sermons… not counting all the explanations they had to offer. That’s at least 20 hours – perhaps 30 hours. Even three into, the people where still excited, even the point of chanting or cheering AMEN!
3 hours – a quick break and back into it, and then Nehemiah tells us,
When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet.
6 Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Should we do this today?
Deacon Bob, grab one of those Bibles there… let’s go!
Oh wait, you all thought worship was only seventy-five minutes or so?
Moving from Amen to Mourning?
They were so excited to hear of the story of God and His people! To hear the promises that were made for the redemption of all of mankind from the very first days as they were led from the Garden.
But things change… and they did that afternoon. For as the books are read, the people’s demeanor changed. Here is how that is described,
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
What could make them go from a million plus people chanting Amen! Amen! weeping to that same group of men, women and children weeping? What did they hear? What could flatten the emotions of a million people at once?
It had to be bad news, something that would shock them, something that would raise anxieties, that would raise fears, that would show them that they could lose something that they should be treasuring.
They began to realize that all the suffering of the people of God was because of their own actions.
You see, the relationship between God and mankind is kind of simple – there are things theologians call the “promises”, the things God swears He will do for His people. The other part is often called the “terms”, which something equates to the obligations we have,
It is made more condemning when we hear that the parts of the covenant are the parties, the terms and the promises – as if the terms must be met prior to receiving any of the promises.
I can see them going – we do all the same things that got our ancestors in trouble… we’ve been doing. They wanted what their neighbor had, we aren’t satisfied with what we have, and want others humbled to our level. They gossiped, yeah we do that too! We may not steal, but we want deals that always favor us, even if it means others don’t.
I could run through the rest of the commandments, and what was done in Moses’s and here in Nehemiah’s time, let’s be honest, exist today outside the church, and sadly to say, inside the church.
As they hear the consequences of sin that are prophesied in the Books of the Law are read, those consequences and fear, guilt, shame and it all overwhlems them, as it should.
This Isn’t About Mourning… it’s a celebration!
Earlier in the children’s message, I brought up the idea that we need to hear the entire message, They heard the first tule, but no one bothered to ask about the second rule. It is the same thing here, listen to all the Nehemiah said,
“Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”
People make two large errors when it comes to scripture and especially the Old Testament. And that is because they don’t understand God, and God’s strongest desire—the desire that drove God to create in the first place.
The first is that the people didn’t keep listening to the solution God promised to provide to take care of our brokenness, to heal those damaged by sin and the guilt and shame and anxiety it
The second is that the terms precede the promises – and that God won’t be faithful to what He promised unless we deserve it. That is completely wrong -we don’t come to God perfect and holy, having fulfilled the law completely before He will bless us – the blessing is He invites us to come to Him, and His promise is to recreate us in His image!
The ”terms” then are the results of the changes God has made in us, the very picture of Christ that is reflected in our lives. It is the effect of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the fellowship of the Spirit of God living in us.
That is why Nehemiah and Ezra say, “it’s time to party, to celebrate this sacred day, when we realize what God promised to do – for God’s joy- His desire to save usis the very strength that dwells within us—and has, since the day of our baptism, the strength nourished as we commune, and take His body and blood to eat and drink in the Lord’s Supper. The very thing we confess we depend on when I say, “the Lord is with you!” AMEN!
