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I’m Not Sure Who Needs God’s Mercy and Peace more..
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross
“So I said, “My endurance has expired; I have lost all hope of deliverance from the LORD.”” (Lamentations 3:18, NET)
“For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.” (Hebrews 4:15–16, NET)
“Listen to my appeal for mercy! Deliver me, as you promised.” (Psalm 119:170, NET)
985 The day you no longer strive to draw others closer to God—since you ought to be a burning coal all the time—you will become a contemptible little piece of charcoal, or a little heap of ashes to be scattered by the slightest puff of wind.
Back when I served as a prison chaplain, I had the incredible joy of seeing men who realized the depth of their sin, who had the Holy Spirit cut it away, circumcising their heart, just as the Apostle Paul describes in Colossians 2, the same experience that Luke describes in Acts .2:37. There is no doubt in that moment where they realized the depth of their sin, as the trauma they brough on themselves shattered them, that they were in need of God’s mercy and peace.
And there He came to them.
There is a strong part of me praying that the young man who took a life this week is able to see Jesus coming to help him. I am praying he experiences the mercy and love of God, and in that experience finds peace.
And yet, he’s not the only one in need of such peace. From the people who rejoice in his actions, to those who who want to strike back and anger — we all need it to. We all need to experience the mercy and love found in Jesus. (an example – a minister who rejoice in “blocking people” because they obviously need Jesus, seems to be in as much need of God’s love, mercy and peace as those he would deny it to.
Here is the bottom line, we are all hurting, we are all damaged by our sin, the sins of our family and community, and the weight of the sins of the world. In that pain and confusion we strike our, say things that don’t make sense in reality, but we are going by the rumors and gossip based on things taken our of context that has prevailed on both sides. (Example – politicians on both sides stating the other sides is 100% responsible for the environment that lead to Kirk’s death. I don’t know what the ratio is – but it is because of the caustic environment the man grew up in, then the sin of all is responsible.)
I even falter, resonating with Jeremiah’s words that my endurance has expired. I find myself overwhelmed at the hatred being spewed out by both sides, and I want to judge both sides, respond prophetically to both sides, to show them their own double standards that lead them to judge their perceived opponents, rather than encouraging them towards Jesus. Several times in the last few days, as I look at the responses to the shotting and I understand Jeremiah’s lament, and I fear I am becoming that piece of charcoal – burnet out by people refusing grace for one, and therefore denying its existence, even for them. WHat good is my voice against such a storm? How can I convince fellow believers never mind unbeleivers, that God’s love and mercy can be found even here–in these dark days.That Jesus is here… ready to forgive, to heal, to reconcile us to the Father, as one family..
The Jesus that would come to all of us. The Jesus whom embraced the crowds cry for his crucifixion, by dying to free them from sin.
He knows our pain, He’s lived through it, He’s seen the weight of sin try to crush us all – not just “them.”
Let’s not cry out for a man’s death, but cry out to God instead that he come to know mercy. And cry out our nation comes to know it as well.
.Escrivá, Josemaría. The Forge (p. 204). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Attitude Check: How do we look at “those” sinners?
Thoughts which drive me to Jesus, and to the Cross!
“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth.For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:1–4, NET)
“The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.” (Luke 18:11, NET)
It seems to be a comfort to some Christians to sit back and blame and belabor the Jews, refusing to acknowledge that they have information and benefits and spiritual light that the Jews never had.
It is surely wrong for us to try to comfort our own carnal hearts by any emphasis that Israel rejected Him. If we do that, we only rebuild the sepulchers of our fathers as Jesus said!
Back in high school, our youth group had a practice or tradition. If something didn’t seem right, someone would yell out, “attitude check!!. The others would respond, “Praise the Lord.” It would refocus us on Jesus, it would refocus us on His love and mercy, and on His rescuing us from sin.
I think the church today needs an attitude check, I think her pastors and priests need one to, especially this guy, typing these words.
You see, we all limit God’s grace. Like the Pharisee who couldn’t believe God could relate to “lesser” people who were broken. Or like those Tozer identifies, who are content to blame and not give a rip as to whether people come to know Christ.
It’s as if we say, “Yep, they deserve it,” as we walk away from those without hope, those blinded by sin. It doesn’t matter if the sin is against he first commandment, as people put their trust in other gods, or make themselves out to be gods, whether the sin is dishonoring parents and other authorities, whether it is being caught up in sexual sin of some form, or simply those who gossip, spreading lies and rumors and even defending their right to do so.
We can’t give up on them, we can’t casually say, they reject God and “dust off our sandals” and leave them. (This is one of the most abused passages in the gospels, as people use it to justify indifference and hatred) We have to work, as Paul described his ministry, with everything we are, trying to help people mature in Christ, as we reveal Christ, their hope of glory.
That’s the attitude of Jesus, not just writing the person off because they are progressive or conservative, nor because of a massive sin in their past (their are all massive) or because of issues they struggle with today.
Let us struggle with this, and continue to depend on the hope we have in Christ Jesus, even as we pray, and even cry over those whose struggle is so visible… and yet, denied.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
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!
God’s Plan! Revealed and Finally Realized! The Plan Executed! (Literally)A sermon on Hebrews 9:24-28
God’s Plan! Revealed and Finally Realized!
The Plan Executed! (Literally)
Hebrews 9:24-28
† Jesus-Son-Savior †
May the grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus help you understand the depth of their plan to deliver you to the freedom of Heaven!
Intro: Don’t ask if you don’t want to know!
Imagine if you were a leader, and in your possession came all your competition’s papers. Included in that collection were letters from your own people, who were planning to betray you. How would you handle it?
That very thing happened to Julius Caesar, as he defeated general Pompey. Inside the chest full of documents there were letters from some of the closest people to him, who were seeking to overthrow him.
Charles Spurgeon, a British preacher and historian, included this part of the story, “if Caesar had read those letters it is probable that he would have been so angry with many of his friends that he would have put them to death for playing him false. Fearing this, he magnanimously took the box and destroyed it without reading a single line.” [i]
It has been said that what you don’t know can hurt you!
Those were the men who would later, on what became to be known as the Ides of March, stab Julius Caesar was literally stabbed in the back by his friends who had written the letters…
The letters he did not read, identifying his betrayers, the ones who planned his death…
Caeser sacrificed his own life, because he didn’t want to face his betrayers.
Our Lord Jesus was also sacrificed by people he loved… the difference is that He knew it was coming, had known for millennia…
For He not only knew their plan, He was the Father’s plan, the plan for our future and hope!
Law – God knew the content of your life
In our reading from Hebrews this morning, there is a comparison between the Jewish High Priest and Jesus, between the Temple’s holy of Holies and the presence God’s throne in heave.
The Holy of Holies is a picture of the heavenly throne where God the Father dwells. The place where the offering is brought to make payment for our sin, the difference.
The place described as the “place made with human hands,” that is either the Tabernacle or its replacement the temple, was only a temporary fix, the offering having to made, as John writes, “like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal.”
Why did God provide this way of Old Testament sacrifice?
For the same reason He had a plan: Jesus.
Because unlike Julius Caesar, had read the record, and knew every sin, every bit of work we’ve done to rebel from God and every thought where we decided we know more than God.
God’s read the letters of your life, even the darkest ones…
He knows, He knew those sins, even before we committed them.
Gospel – One final death….
Caesar didn’t want to know his enemies and what they were doing. He sacrificed his own life for blissful ignorance.
God wanted to know His enemies, for only then could He execute His Plan. For His Plan, Jesus, was to be the sacrifice offered to save their lives. That is why the title of this message is – The Plan Executed – Literally. He was the Plan and He was executed for us!
Hear it again from John the apostle,
“Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.”
No sacrifice every year, just Jesus, God’s plan—His only plan from before the foundation of the world to save us, the Plan – had to be executed.
That was what the tabernacle and the Temple pointed to, every sacrifice of every type, that there would be a final sacrifice that would take away our sins.
Domino’s Delivers
So complete a sacrifice, that when Jesus returns, there will be no longer be any need to deal with sin, it was finished off, its power to condemn us stripped away,
Salvation is Greek actually means to deliver. It is not only salvation from sin, but salvation to a new state of life! If you have a pizza delivered, or food from Grubhub, it is only part of the process to pick up the food at the restaurant—there has to be a delivery.
We have to realize that people aren’t just delivered from sin—they are delivered into the presence of God, where they are welcome. Now as the Holy Spirit takes us residence in us—as promised in our Baptism.
Eternally as one day we are welcomed into heaven!
And that is all He comes back to do, the judgment is already secure because of His sacrifice for us on the cross. So we have been saved from and we await being saved to…
Because the Plan was executed for us.
And because of that – we dwell in the peace of God which is beyond all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! AMEN!
[i] Spurgeon, C. (2017). 300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon (E. Ritzema & L. Smoyer, Eds.). Lexham Press.
Is This World Depressing…or what?
Thoughts which carry this broken pastor to Jesus, and to the Cross
“LORD, why are people important to you? Why do you even think about human beings?” (Psalm 144:3, NCV)
“No one should assume lordship or authority over the church, nor burden the church with traditions, nor let anybody’s authority count for more than the Word of God.”
He writes: “A more or less lengthy visit to a Catholic bookstore does not encourage one to pray with the psalmist: ‘You will reveal the path of life to me.’ Not only does one quickly discover there that Jesus did not turn water into wine, but one also gains insight into the art of turning wine into water. This new magic bears the name ‘aggiornamento’.” Under this new aspect the shepherd of the Church is offered the opportunity of giving his teaching ministry a democratic form: of becoming the advocate of the faithful, of the people, against the elitist power of the intellectuals.
We believed such works to be fully satisfactory and, indeed, the only things that were holy; the pursuits of common Christians we considered worldly and dangerous. In contrast to this darkness, consider the priceless and to-be-cherished blessing of knowing with certainty wherein the heart is to take comfort, how to seek help in distress and how to conduct oneself in one’s own station. Truly we should now render to God heartfelt thanks for the great favor and blessing of restored light and understanding in Scripture and the right conception of doctrinal matters.
I don’t think I have actually watched a news show or read an actual newspaper, secular or religious in 15 years. I might look at a sports article on line or maybe read or watch something if I am doing research, but the days of sitting down and reading have long drifted away…
While I miss the idea, the content is to depressing, to full of stories of sin, or people fighting to free something from its designation of being sin, as they try to hang on to an appearance of Christianity that doesn’t require faith in the mercy forgiveness or love of God.
Social media is much the same, not an uplifting endeavor, for the most part. However there, I can find people for whom to pray, as they freely confess their anxieties, their bias and their sins. (though they often come across as proud of them!) You can even find a great selection of idols which people have put all their trust in–from investments to political and religious figures to the “book of the month” which promises to restore what has been lost.
I think the psalmist saw a similar thing nearly 3000 years ago as he asked the brutal questions above. God – why the heck do you care about these people who have so wrecked the world, each other and their own lives. (though I should replace people with ‘all of us!’) It’s true in the church as well, and in every denomination. The early Lutherans were prophetic about this – as too many have tried to gain power, influence and authority over the people of God. THen, they would have only perceived this as one group – yet even today these battles go on in eery denomination, and between them, as they try to influence others.
Pope Benedict resonates with this, as he talks of authors who try to take the miracles out of the Bible, as if they want to eliminate the very footprints of Jesus in our lives, by removing them from scripture. What a horror! What an abuse of the responsibility of the pastoral office! Legalists, the kind that St. Paul calls the mutilators in Philippians 3, exist on the other side as well – pushing the rites of men as more critical than the gospel.
Again, the fatalistic is easy to take in this moment!
Luther’s words rise up at the end…the goal of ministry that makes the different. To bring people, these people we would easily give up on the certainty where they can find comfort, help and a attitude in life that allows us to be content where we are. To see people begin to resonate with that grace and mercy delivered through the word of God and His Sacraments, to know the freedom and hope that comes when we realize God is restoring us… that makes all the difference in the world. To see God at work. These things end fatalism, as we realize God loves the world.
And God loves you….
and me.
“The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord: X Ecclesiastical Rites that are called Adiaphora….” Tappert, T. G., ed. (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 614). Mühlenberg Press.
Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year (I. Grassl, Ed.; M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans.; p. 331). Ignatius Press.
Luther, M., & Sander, J. (1915). Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (p. 367). Augustana Book Concern.
A Simple Thing, more beneficial than all the political talk possible
Thoughts which carry this broken pastor to Jesus, and to the Cross:
“LORD, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what I say. Take away my desire to do evil or to join others in doing wrong. Don’t let me eat tasty food with those who do evil.” (Psalm 141:3–4, NCV)
Little lives need the great sunshine of mother’s love, and the great heat of Christ’s benediction. Suffer me to speak a word of experience from the schools where they will learn of great men: Caesar will not teach them such courage; Washington will not inspire them with such patriotism; Socrates will not show them such calmness; David will not impress them with such chivalry; Moses will not move them with such meekness; Elijah will not imbue them with such earnestness; Daniel will not touch them with such manliness; Job will not nerve them with such patience; Paul will not fire them with such love, as will their daily little devout intercourse with Jesus Christ, in the prayers they learn to lisp while yet in your arms, or to repeat while yet kneeling at your knee. Lead them there, and their future manhood and womanhood will rise up to call you blessed.
A Christian must take care that he deceive not himself; he differs from the hypocrite, who may honor God’s Word and the gospel, yet in reality he is unchanged. True Christians so live that it is apparent from their lives that they keep God before their eyes and truly believe the gospel
Psalm 141’s words immediately made me think about the coming elections, and the posts I’ve seen, and been tempted to respond to on social media. For honestly, watching people, church people, demonize the candidate that opposes “their” candidate, whether national, state or local is getting exhausting. At the same time, the hope they are placing in their own candidates makes me wonder how close our society gets to idolatry.
And Psalm 141 hits me right between the eyes.
I am not saying don’t consider positions, I am saying how we treat the “opposition” and our favored candidate needs to be watched, lest we fall deep into idolatry, fatalism, and gossip and slander.That is the “tasty food” set before us, which we could all to easily share with others who are broken, but do not yet have the hope of eternity, but just emptiness, and so this life matters more that it should.
Luther is dead on accurate, we have to fight against the hypocritical “old adam” that would have us slide into the idea that the end justifies the means, for our side. We need to live with our lives, our hope, our trust placed in God, that we can cling to the message of reconciliation and redemption, leading to everlasting life with God… in His kingdom.
Loehe, that trainer of Lutheran pastors of the 19th century gets it right–what matter is not the examples of the great men we know from history. They will not learn from even expertise on these great men, even the great men of scripture, as much as a few moments of simple prayers, of simply basking in the love of Christ as we think on His presence, and His promises in our lives.
It is beneficial to show them how God is always faithful to the broken, for all these leaders were, but that is only to support our devotion to the Lord who is faithful to keep the promises He has made us. Promises that need to be thought through, taken to heart, and claimed in our dialogue with the God who comes to us. Those prayers toddlers and infants learn. that we can use as well, resonate so deeply that they can change our outlook and give us comfort and peace. The same as pointing out the other times we focus in on that intimate relationship, hearing His word, sharing in His death and resurrection in the sacraments, and simply know we are His…
encouraging people to pray, whether the 3-year-old or the 93-year-old – is worth more than all the votes in all the elections, for the result is far more beneficial, as we come to know the love and the peace that both go beyond all comprehension.
Lœhe, W. (1914). Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians (H. A. Weller, Trans.; pp. 599–600). Wartburg Publishing House.
Luther, M., & Sander, J. (1915). Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (p. 365). Augustana Book Concern.
We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that: Everyone Would Be Identifiable (as His) – a sermon on Ephesians 4:17-52
We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that
Everyone Would Be
Identifiable… (as His)
Ephesians 4:17-5:2
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ reveal to you your true identity as a child of God, and empower you to live in that identity!
Who am I
I haven’t done a pastor parker’s poignant parable in a while, a real-life story that completely illustrates the lesson about Jesus, and His role in our life.
So today’s parable – the Kingdom of God is like the first day of preschool. Or the first day of college. It really doesn’t matter, for on such days, for life becomes radically different, and people are different, the order of our days are different, and even sleep patterns becomes different!
And in the middle of it all, we are unsure of ourselves, and because we lost all we have used to identify ourselves, things become crazy.
If we lost our identity, and if people don’t know who we are, we lost everything that governs our lives, and we have to re-learn who we are, and because of that, how we live.
But the Kingdom of God establishes our identity, much as the crowns given on the first day tell us (and our teacher) who we are….
Mistaken Identity
Do you remember the first day at a new school? The confusion, the lack of direction, being completely ignorant of the rules—not just the official ones of the schools, but the rules of society, the unspoken rules of the community? Or maybe it’s a new job or a new church, and there are some, well let’s say different people there.
Now hear the words of Paul, 17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
You are in a new place, you don’t know anything—never mind which of the voices you should listen too. So rather than listen to God, the temptation is to listen to whoever says “do whatever you want!” “do what makes sense” rather than – obey the rules.
This is noting new, the wisest man in history, King Solomon, wrote,
18 When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. Proverbs 29:18 (NLT2)
What would happen if a teacher walked out of the classroom for 30 minutes, or you left 40 freshman alone for a weekend at your house? Without guidance, people run wild…and some translations phrase it—they perish.
Is it no wonder why? Look at the behaviors that lack confusion brings about,
25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
And, 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language.
And, 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
Notice how many of these are sins of passion, an indication of a lack of control, a lack of an identity that defines who we are, and how we behave.
He identified you as His own
Our thoughts, our words, our actions all depend on who we are, and how we identify ourselves.
No, let me restate that – it depends on whether we realize how God identifies us. The key verse in all our readings today,
Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
When the children showed up on Monday, Elizabeth had crowns prepared for them with their name on them. The reason I made the connection to the sermon was those crowns, for when God identifies you as His child, that crown is guaranteed, for we are children of God, children of the King.
That’s what we are talking about – for once the kids are settled, once they realize that they mean the world to their teachers, they settle in, give lots of hugs and get excited to be here, where they know they are loved.
It becomes second nature to behave within the rules then. They aren’t perfect, just like their teachers aren’t. But they soon get used to the environment, they get used to the rules, because they know they are loved, they know they are known, they know they belong here.
The same is true for us, the world changes when we realize who we are, who loves us, in whose presence we belong. That’s why it ends with this…
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us,
As we learn to walk with Jesus, as our hearts open up and His love pours out as we love others, everything is different in life. We are invited into this life filled with love, a love proven as Jesus paid for our sins with His blood on the cross.
He knew it was coming, he knew it would cost Him that much. And so He died for us. And it is in His death that we find out identity,
11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. Colossians 2:11-12 (NLT2)
Romans talks about the same thing as we are united to Jesus in our baptism, as we are cleansed from all our sins, and we are forever made one with God, as the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us, and marks us with God’s name.
We are identified as His, and as we learn from Him, we become like Him, reflecting Hi loves and glory into this confused world.
This is who you are, children of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. That is your identity, all our identity, as we look towards life eternal in the presence of the God who loves us, and identifies us as His own.
AMEN!
God Acted on OUR Behalf: A sermon from Concordia on Psalm 124
God at Work IN OUR LIVES
God Acted on OUR Behalf
Psalm 124
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace, love and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be revealed to you daily in your lives.
The Scariest Meditation….think about it for a moment
I want you to open your bulletin back up to the first reading, from Psalm 124, and read that first question with me….
What if the LORD had not been on our side?
Now think of a traumatic experience in your life, and meditate on that psalm for a moment…
That’s only half a moment…keep going… what would have happened if God wasn’t there?
I have to admit, when I tried to actually consider that, and the times I’ve been through, and the times I am going through… I can’t… it’s too hard..
That and my mind keeps hearing you guys telling me… “and also with you.”
The purpose of the psalms, whether sung, chanted or read, are to help us worship—which means we need to know and be able to express why we value God….
And today, that starts by considering the desolation that is the alternative….
To be honest, I would rather not do so….
If He wasn’t their rage might have been deserved
The passage continues, Let all Israel repeat: 2 What if the LORD had not been on our side when people attacked us? 3 They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. 4 The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. 5 Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.
Wow, were these people upset at Israel! The description sounds worse than war, rather more like the kind of rage that happens when a bear or a tiger is hurt, and mauls whoever is nearby whether they deserve it, or not.
The problem is, without God acting in our lives, this is hard to say, they deserve it.
The reason is that it is a hard thing to say is… get this… because that means we deserve wrath for some of the things that God has had to deal with in our lives.
The stuff that ticks people off, the stuff we’ve done that causes so much anxiety we are drowning it, and the guilt would overwhelm us…
And we could have deserved it… for Paul described us well, in describing himself, Titus, and every Christian…..
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them…. (Titus 3:3)
Wow- pastor-you are unloading on us today!
You really think we are all that bad? Do you really think we are evil
I could point to scripture as evidence, if I wanted to take the heat off of myself… or I could point to the joy that of you felt a few weeks ago, as you brought your burdens up to the altar, and had them taken from you, so that God could commune with you…
But before you get to pounded in the ground, I would ask you to read the passage again…. Especially the underlined part…
We escaped – because He acted
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them…. (Titus 3:3)
It goes on to talk about what happened then,
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed, 5 he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us. 6 God poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for. Titus 3:4-7 (TEV)
This is what the Psalmist was talking about when he said…
6 Praise the LORD, who did not let their teeth tear us apart! 7 We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap. The trap is broken, and we are free! 8 Our help is from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:6-8)
There are traumas that we bring on ourselves, and there are others that we do not. Do not take these words to say that all the trauma is our fault, and even as some of it is, we know this,
God did rescue us.
This isn’t about whose side He on….
That’s what the psalmist asks, “what if the Lord had not been on our side…”
The purpose of thinking about that is to thank Him for being there.
Every week, when I study the passage, I look at the original languages. Every once in a while, this week the first line looks like this…
| What | if | the | Lord | • | had | not | been | on | our | side | |||||||||
| 6 לוּלֵ֣י | ← | → | 7 יְ֭הוָה | 8 שֶׁ | ►9 | ◄6 | 9 הָ֣יָה | → | 10 ל11 ָ֑נוּ | ← | |||||||||
My translation of this would be simpler….
If Not YHWH existed(was) with us
Or even simpler
If not God was with you!
But that is merely to get us to think…
Praise God…the Lord is with us..
And He has rescued us.
As the psalmist says, the trap is broken, we are free. Our God, who created all that we don’t see, and all we do,… is our God, and He is with us! AMEN!
Accomplished by His Anguish: God gives Help to the Hopeless! A Lenten sermon on Romans 5:1-11
Accomplished by His Anguish
God Gives Hope to the Hopeless
Romans 5:1-11
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you hope, as you consider what Jesus accomplished as He endured the agony and anguish of His sacrifice
- Spirituality- a priority
When I originally thought through this sermon, I came up with a parable of sorts. Of sorts because it isn’t primarily about the kingdom of God, as a good Biblical parable should be.
Instead, it is about our lack of recognizing the need, and staying focused on the presence of God, and without thinking about that presence, and what it means for God to be our God, and for what it means to be His people, we are going to be incomplete, walking through the wilderness, encountering temptation and sin, and the guilt and shame that accompanies it.
So here is the semi-parable. A life without a regular focus on God, without hearing and reading His word and without the sacraments is like the box containing a half-finished project, that is buried in your garage, or your storage closet!
You all know what I mean – that project you started, and you were putting together until you realized you might have looked at the directions first? And then you realized you had to undo what you had done and start from scratch.
We often do that, we walk through our lives knowing God is there, but we forget the reason He is there. And so when life gets a bit complicated, when we are dealing with situations that make us question God, or when temptation and sin rearranges our lives, we often set aside our spiritual health. We think once we get our lives straight, we will find the time to pick up that Bible, or talk with God, or find the time to commune with God and His people. Burying our faith like that long-forgotten project becomes the norm, and let’s be honest – sometimes we live like we did before we knew God.
When we do live life, realizing God’s presence, even in the midst of stress, trauma and grief we know the hope of God’s rescue, for as we heard from Romans,
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
What a wonder it is, in the midst of problems and trials, to know how dearly God loves us!
- Utterly Helpless?
Often, it is when we run into problems and trials, that we realize our spiritual life has be placed very carefully up on a shelf, and then other things get piled in front of it. Those may be distractions, we hit a busy season in life, or there are wounds caused by others words or actions that we don’t want to deal with, right now.
The problem is the weight of the world, including the weight of our own sin crushes us, when we are ignoring our spiritual health, and the relationship which provides and restores it. That is what Paul talking about when he says,
6 When we were utterly helpless…
Those are strong words, utterly helpless.
But that is what the world does, it breaks us, and what we do to ourselves is often far worse. We basically disassemble ourselves and try to put ourselves back together in a way we think is right, ignoring how God tells us to live.
That is what every sin does, whether it is trying to find a god who isn’t god, who gives us what we think we want, or whether it is murder, adultery or gossip.
And then, having set God aside, we look at our lives and just put the brokenness on the shelf, and then bury it behind other things we don’t know how to fix…. and the broken and incompleteness of life fills up everything….
We need to hear the rest of what Paul writes…
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
There is our hope of salvation, that Jesus comes along, looks at our brokenness, and the love of God for us means that the Father and the Son have to do something about it.
- Our friend
Lent is that time, to open the garage door, to start to uncover all the stuff, and then to let a friend or relative, you know, the one who can fix anything, come in, and complete all the projects, clearing out the junk but getting the most out of your life—a life with Him that will go into eternity.
That is who Jesus is, that friend. Hear the rest of the passage,
For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
I don’t care how full the “garage” of your life is, how broken it is, how incomplete. This is who God is, the one who loves you, who comes along and fixes and heals, restores, and promises to complete our lives. This is why we talk to Him, listening to how He reveals Himself to us, and how He heals us, as He cleanses us in baptism, heals us as we confess our sins, and nourishes and put us back together, as we eat and drink His body and blood and completes us.
So let’s spend this time, until Easter, giving Him our brokenness, the parts of our lives that are incomplete, and celebrate the love of God for us. AMEN!
What Good are our Broken Lives? More than you know!
Thoughts which call me closer to Jesus, and to the Cross..
43 “A good tree does not produce bad fruit, nor does a bad tree produce good fruit. 44 Each tree is known by its own fruit. People don’t gather figs from thornbushes, and they don’t get grapes from bushes. 45 Good people bring good things out of the good they stored in their hearts. But evil people bring evil things out of the evil they stored in their hearts. People speak the things that are in their hearts. Luke 6:43-45 NCV
LORD Jesus Christ, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter my sinful heart; yet, Thou deignest to recognize my great poverty and need. Therefore, I fervently desire Thy presence, to nourish, comfort, and strengthen my poor soul. Speak Thy word to my soul and it shall be well with me. Amen.
‘Remember, man, that thou are dust, and unto dust you shall return. There are implications to be found in this. If man had been fashioned from something that could evaporate, then there would be nothing for him to return to. But a man, even while he is living in the flesh, can return to his constituent element: He does this the moment he is ready to be what God has made him. Dust may not be romantic, but there could be nothing more real..”
When I read the words of Jesus, like those in red above, I feel diseased, depressed, for I look at some of the ways in which I live, and I don’t see good fruit. If I see any fruit it is at best too sour, to overripe, and usually too rotten–if it exists at all. I am not sure I count myself as evil, but if the judgement has too choices, good or evil…. well the preponderance of evidence is not always favorable.
And think about that, guilt and shame builds. I see myself as wretched and as a failure, (Please don’t argue – this is how I and many others feel with such a passage being read or meditated upon. ANd there is hope to come!)
So Loehe’s prayer is simple – and archaic, but the words are encouraging – and often mirror where I eventually come to, the prayer that God doesn’t belong in one such as me–but He doesn’t care what I think and know. He knows me enough to know I needed the cross, I needed HIs presence, and as I encounter it, and the love He has for a sinner like me–oh how I want it even more.
And then comes Zeller and Hanson, reminding me of the blessing of Ash Wednesday – the idea that we can return to the dust we were before our creation, and God can recreate us, by the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. We can exchange that dust and ash for beauty, we become His new masterpiece, we become His…again.
The guilt and shame is removed, and for a moment we glimpse of the God who is ours, whom we are united too in baptism, who we commune with in the Eucharist, who we rise with from death and dust to a new and everlasting life.
Hevenly Father, let us know the weight of our sin, if only for an instant, that we may realize our need for Jesus, and for the healing which You so eagerly work in our lives. We oray this in Jesus name, amen!
Lœhe, William. 1914. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Translated by H. A. Weller. Chicago: Wartburg Publishing House.
Hubert con Zeller, “The choice of God”, quoted inJohn Hanson, Coached byJosemaria Escriva, (Scepter,NY, 2024), 54
