Sermon Texts

Sermon Text for Sunday, February 18, 2018: “Passing the Test.”

February 18, 2018                                                                Text:  James 1:12-18

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

When Francisco Franco was leading the revolution in Spain, he originated the phrase “the fifth column.”  He was trying to capture Madrid.  He said that he had four columns marching on the city, one from the north, one from the south, one from the east, and one from the west.  And most important of all, he claimed that he had a “fifth column” within the city; namely the hearts of the people of Madrid.  In this way, the city was being attacked from every conceivable angle.  This is like the Christian life.

As children of God we are attacked from all angles.  Living in this world we are part of the Church at war.  Our flesh and blood is not immune to trials and temptations.  Daily the devil is giving a test as he makes it his business to destroy our soul.  Like Madrid, we are being attacked on every side and even from within.  Can we remain steadfast under trial so that we can receive the crown of life?  How are you doing when it comes to . . .

“PASSING THE TEST”

For most of us “passing the test” takes us to school and the exams given by our teachers.  How did you do on those?  Were you a good test taker?  Did you struggle to pass?  Did you always prepare to the best of your ability?

Most of my academic career I did pretty well on tests.  If the teacher covered just what was on the test and gave good notes I was spot on with my answers.  I could even visualize where I had the answer written in my notes.  But I remember two instances where that was not the case.  They were years apart.

The first one occurred in 2nd grade math.  We studied the less than and more than symbols.  Today it seems so easy but back then I either didn’t pay attention or didn’t comprehend.  Anyway, I can still remember taking the test and just guessing.  What an awful feeling.  I was completely lost.

Do you ever feel like that in your trials and tests that come at you on a daily basis?  You’re lost.  You don’t know where to turn.  Less than, more than, Lord I need you help!

God is using these trials and tests to strengthen our faith.  Few Christians seem to get stronger during the easy times.  The tough times move us closer to God.  When we are lost then we are found.  You know that is God’s amazing grace.  Grace that can help us to pass the test.  Grace that provides the answers.  Grace that gives an A when we deserve an F.  It is not deserved, but a loving heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ provides it.

Because you see this Jesus knows a thing or two about tests.  Life tests.  From booted out of his hometown to having nowhere to lay his head to arrest, trial, beatings, nailings, a crown of thorns, a spear in the side.  He suffered beyond what we can imagine.  Yet, He always had his eyes on his Heavenly Father to sustain him during the tests.  He was the obedient child of God who passed the test and gave hope for you and I.

The second test I remember struggling at was in college at ISU.  In high school I only took one year of science because that was not a strong area for me.  In my general education studies at ISU I had to take two science courses.  I read the catalog and got into a class I thought sounded interesting.  Man, was I wrong.  The first day the professor said that the class was a beginning physics class.  Ouch, I thought to myself.  Each day I went to class the farther into the wilderness of confusion I did traverse.  Five weeks in – the first test.  I was a kid again back in 2nd grade math.  Confusion reigned and my answers reflected that.  The grade was what I expected.  Thank God for the grace of Illinois State University.  I could drop the class and not have it affect my GPA.  The academic leaders understood.

Christ also understands.  He knows that what we see as interesting and enticing can be our undoing.  We wade into the jungle and before we even know it the lion is about to devour us.  Our own desires of what we can handle get in our way.  We are dazed and confused in the midst of a test taken.

Christ overcomes all of this for us.  In the Gospel we see the perfect gift of his sinless life.  In the command to sacrifice Isaac and the ram’s death in his place, the Father foreshadowed his Son as our sacrifice – the good and perfect death, enduring the death we owe for our sin.

The Father gives you new birth into Christ.  By the Word of truth, the Gospel, you are born into a new life.  The perfect life of Christ has been given to you.  You are the A+ student.  The supreme test taker because you have been reborn in Baptism.  Your life of obedience is sustained in word, and body and blood shed for you and finally deliverance from this broken world.  Your diploma is “the crown of life” given as a gift by the Father through Christ.

So, don’t fear the tests.  Through Christ your Savior you are at the head of the class.  The favored pu

Sermon Text for February 4, 2018.

February 4, 2018                                                                   Text:  Job 7:1-7

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Have you ever had the experience of the wind being knocked out of you?  When I was a freshman running back a pass pattern was called one day in practice where I was to drag across the middle.  I ran the route but before the pass could arrive I was lit up by a sophomore linebacker.  The breath in my body was sent twenty yards down the field and that moment of panic set in where you can’t catch your breath.  I still remember that hit.

Has something similar happened to you?  Maybe not a hit in football or a hard fall to the ground but it is asthma you suffer from.  The air is restricted from getting to your lungs and you need an inhaler or nebulizer or medication.  If you have struggled to breathe or have watched someone with this condition it can cause you discomfort and an uneasy feeling.

In our text for this morning Job is literally knocked breathless.  He speaks the words we can all speak . . .

“MY LIFE IS BUT A BREATH”

The life test that Job experiences has laid him flat.  His children have all died, interestingly enough as we will see by wind that knocked down the house they were all in.  His property has been destroyed and Job has been afflicted with sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.  Job is “short of breath” as he tries to deal with what is before him.  In our text he uses words like “futility”, “night drags on”, “toss till dawn”, “clothed with worms and scabs”, “skin is broken and festering”, “an end without hope.”

What experiences in our lives may bring similar feelings?  A loved one with a terminal disease.  The loss of a job and income.  We also share experiences as a congregation.  A family that we see goes through one challenge after another.  The sudden death of a member or the death of children.  It’s a punch to the gut or running into a wall.  Breath literally leaves our body.

Even deeper than the physical wounds and tragedies is the breathlessness of our spirit.  These are the times when the people of God are gasping for breath in the temptations of this world, the hopelessness that surrounds us in our sin and guilt and the big squeeze of Satan, who is looking to knock both breath and life from our very soul.

God remembers our need while we may have our focus on our troubles.  God is not aloof in heaven.  He established a connection with us in Baptism.  In these grace-giving waters He breathed into our body and soul the life breath of eternity.  By His Spirit he enlivened our being and grew our faith.  He allows us in this life to breathe in His life, to breathe in His forgiveness, and to breathe in His Gospel.

God also remembers our need.  Look at how He interacted with Job.  In our total breathlessness He speaks to us and breathes life into our whole being.

Christ is our life-breath.  He took the breath of the air of this world into his holy and perfect lungs.  It was a stagnant, sinful, and toxic air.  The Lord of life went to the cross and exhaled life itself.  Then in His resurrection He offered to us mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to breathe forgiveness and life into our soul.

We are privileged to reside in the iron lung of our Lord God – the church – receiving in His Word and Sacraments his very breath of life.  Our Lord speaks clearly, “out with the bad and in with the good.”

Remember earlier when I mentioned Job’s children were destroyed by the wind?  There are other instances in Scripture where air and wind caused problems but have you ever thought how many times breath-wind-spirit was used in a positive God-ordained way in the Holy Bible?

The breath of life into the lifeless clay of man at creation.  The wind that brings salvation at the banks of the Red Sea.  The wind and spirit that brings life to dead bones in the vision of Ezekiel.  The Spirit breathing on the disciples as they are sent by Jesus.  The breath of divine forgiveness in a world of sin.  The Spirit-wind that rushed through the dwelling.  The apostles themselves on the first Pentecost bursting forth from the exhalation.

Job thought he would never see happiness again but that is not the case.  He was blessed with double property and joy returned as seven sons and three daughters were born.  His life like ours is but a breath.  Breathe deeply the life-breath of our Lord and Savior.  Breathe deeply, for so many want to squeeze the life from you.  Breathe deeply the breath of the almighty and life-giving God.  A risen and breathing Savior Jesus Christ, who by his Spirit has breathed into our being the breath of life for all eternity.

Amen.

Sermon Text for Sunday, January 28, 2018: “Raises Up A Prophet.”

January 28, 2018                                                       Text: Deuteronomy 18:15-20

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Those of us of a more vintage generation may remember the kids game Telephone.  You would sit in a circle on the floor; a person would whisper a message into the ear of the person sitting next to them.  It would go all the way around the circle.  Even if people were trying to be faithful to the first message, most of the time by the time it got to the last person it was something completely different.

In this generation it could be texting or facebook or twitter.  As the message gets passed on it changes and usually not for the better.  People embellish or change the words to fit their agenda.

In our text for today, Moses, the man God has used for the last forty years to pass along his words, is about to die.  So the question is:  whom should they listen to now?  Would the Word so faithfully passed on by Moses still be passed on faithfully to future generations, even ours?  To whom should we listen?

God gives us the answer today when He . . .

“RAISES UP A PROPHET”

As with Moses, we must listen to this prophet.  Moses warned of many false prophets – fortune telling and consulting the dead were all ways the people were seeking a word from the gods to get an advantage in life.  Today it would equate to horoscopes or Ouija boards or séances.  But it could also be the slick Pastor down the street proclaiming such false teachings as giving your heart to Jesus, accepting Jesus in your heart or believe in Jesus and you will prosper.

They may be sincere and believe what they are passing on is faithful, but either way, words not from our Lord are false and dangerous.  Do we really want to give Jesus our heart, which at times is cold and uncaring?  Scripture is clear that it is Christ who has first chosen us; we didn’t ask Him onto our hearts! (Jn. 15:16)  And the promise of prosperity.  How does that square with people struggling to pay the mortgage, keeping the heat turned on and feeding their family?

God raised up a prophet and He is Jesus.  Every Word He speaks is God’s Word.  Moses clearly had Jesus in view even though He wouldn’t come for another 1,400 years.  Jesus’ earthly ministry demonstrated that he was the very Son of God.  This morning’s Gospel is evidence of that.  Jesus spoke with such authority.

Just a few weeks ago at the Baptism of Jesus, God the Father announced that all were to listen to His Son.  We listen to Him because He is the way of salvation.  He has the words of truth.  He has the words of eternal life.  He has the Word of faith.  No other prophet but Jesus was raised up to free an entire world from sin, to proclaim eternal life to all believers.

As with Moses we can listen to this prophet.  Israel asked for God to speak to them through someone they could receive.  Jesus is God but He is also our brother.  He speaks to us gently, lovingly, in way we can hear.  He can only do that because that voice once cried out in agony on a cross.  That sacrifice reconciled us to God and we can approach Jesus.  Jesus’ words from the cross “It is finished!” are the words we most want to hear.  God raising Jesus from the dead is His Word to us that we are forgiven.  We still hear the Word today when Scripture is read, the Absolution is pronounced and we receive Christ’s body and blood at this altar.

What do you think is the most efficient item in and around your house, especially when compared to the price?  I thought about this and did the math.  We have had two dryers, two refrigerators, three hot water heaters, numerous toasters and a myriad of vehicles.  Our furniture has changed, mattresses don’t last forever.  As I stated on our 25th wedding anniversary, we have had the same washer since we said, “I do.”  It is now at 26 ½ years.  Only one repair.  We paid $350.  If we ran it every day it would be over 9,000 days.  We probably have since children, but not before then.  Let’s say conservatively 8,000 days.  It costs us, taking the water and electricity out of the equation – 4 cents a wash.  Our freezer is even better.  We have had it for over 5,000 days at a cost of $125.  That is 2 cents a day.  But the winner at our house is the microwave.  It was a gift from my vicarage congregation back in 1990.  It sits proudly in the corner of our kitchen and still gives us a steaming bag of popcorn in three minutes.  What is your answer to this question?

Even with all of that being said, the most efficient item in our house and your house is – drum roll, please – your Bible!  Think of what those inspired words have done for you.  There is no price we can put on the reminder that our scarlet sins have been washed as pure as snow.  Every day since Genesis 1:1 the words have been there for man’s use and our use.  When things are inefficient we look to this most efficient resource.  It doesn’t stop working.  It saves.  It comforts.  It gives hope.  Everything will come and go but the Word of the Lord stands forever.

God raised up a prophet . . . Listen to Him.

Amen.

Sermon of November 26, 2017

November 26, 2017                                                              Text:  Matthew 25:31-46

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Back in 2006, scientist gazed into the heavens.  A spacecraft had returned from a mission with particles of comet dust.  The scientists gazed through their microscopes hoping to discover the mystery of life.

Before science became the final court of meaning, artists were busy gazing into the heavens, creating paintings of the day of judgment when Christ would return and reveal for all people the meaning of life.

Looking at these paintings there is a common theme.  The heavens are torn apart as Christ descends on a throne and the earth is breaking apart as the dead rise from their graves.

These paintings are usually stacked with multiple faces and facades.  If you concentrate on just one face of a human being you can find on that face the look of discovery.  They are waking from sleep and beginning to discover the deeper meaning of the world, of their Lord, and of the life that once surrounded them.

Today in Matthew’s Gospel we will experience for ourselves some of that Last Day’s sense of discovery, for . . .

“JESUS REVEALS THE MYSTERIES OF ETERNAL LIFE”

In our text we have a dichotomy.  Jesus speaks to his disciples about an end, and yet his words speak about the beginning.  “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (v. 34)  Contrast that with Jesus words to the wicked, he does not say, “Inherit the punishment prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  He does say, “Depart…into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (v. 41)

God never prepared hell for human beings.  The original intent was that humanity would live in eternal fellowship with Him forever.  No one was predestined to hell.  Those who go to hell go there by their own choosing when they reject Jesus.

This is not a parable of the end of the world.  Jesus instead offers us a discovery of the world, as God intended it.  God’s original desire was for humanity to live in relationship with Him, and the day when Christ returns will be the day when God’s dreams for creation finally and fully come true.

Yes, we have rejected God’s design and fallen into sin.  This leads us to do what Michelangelo did with his Last Judgment painted on the wall of the Sistine Chapel.  He places a powerful papal critic of his work as far away from Christ as possible.  His own face is gazed upon by Christ.

Might we place our own enemies in the same place?  Not loved by Christ, how could they be?  We paint people into a corner of our own making and neither of us can escape the destruction.

Christ can wipe the canvas clean.  He can clean up our paint by numbers mess and make it a beautiful al fresco ready for the local art museum.  Christ followed God’s design and in a heart wrenching but beautiful landscape he hung on a cross for all to see.  But this painting had many layers.  Jesus made his way to the eternal fire to let Satan know that the victory over sin and death ours remaineth.  Jesus then rose and in a gorgeous garden setting and then a house and a road he made appearances to his grieving people.  He reminded them the picture in their mind was not complete.  He would rise triumphant to the heavens and the mysteries of eternal life would continue to be revealed.

In 1304 Giotto di Bondone began working on a series of frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy.  At the very back of the chapel is the largest scene, the last judgment.  The painting was done quickly, but the image they produced is eternal.  Christ returns in judgment.  The scene covers the whole wall, with those raised to eternal life on Christ’s right and those raised to eternal punishment on Christ’s left.  At the bottom of the image, underneath the cross, is the doorway by which worshippers would return to the world.  The last image worshippers see as they enter the world is Christ returning in glory.  Imagine what that would be like.

Although we have no such image over our doors as we walk out of this church, we do have the Gospel.  Our Lord offers us an image of the last judgment to shape your life in this world today.  As you walk through the door, opened by the cross, you enter God’s world with deeper understanding.  You see things differently:  the creation of this world, your Lord, even your life of service.  Assured of your salvation, you now rejoice in these hidden blessings of God, this vision of life, present and eternal.

Amen.

Sermon for Sunday, November 12, 2017: “Serve Your Neighbor.” (Text)

Video to follow.

November 12, 2017 – Stewardship Sunday                       Text:  Exodus 20:17

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Coveting is desiring something to which you have no right, something that belongs to someone else.  Covetousness is rooted in our basic human selfishness.  We want what we want, and we don’t care who gets hurt or left out in the process.  Happiness is our right, and we will get it.  In the original draft of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that each person had inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of possessions.  In subsequent reviews, the wording was changed to the pursuit of happiness.  Yet our society has indeed come to identify the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of possessions.  We think we will be happy if we have one more thing.

Some religions try to shut off all human desires.  It’s the solution offered by ancient Stoicism and Buddhism.  But God built desires into our very being.  Ambition is not evil.  Scripture urges us to “eagerly desire the greater gifts” (1 Cor. 12:31).  St. Paul urges the Romans to “never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor” (Rom. 12:11).

You should have ambition, no matter how young or old you are – it gives you energy and purpose.  It is not sinful to be rich, but work for it.  Don’t desire to get what you have not earned or worked for or what you have gotten in a dishonest way.

It is Stewardship Sunday and with the 9th and 10th commandments before us, we ask the Holy Spirit to lead us to . . .

“SERVE OUR NEIGHBOR”

Our Gospel lesson is the parable of the rich fool.  The farmer was not wrong to produce a huge harvest or build big barns to store it in.  He was wrong to call them “my crops,” “my barns,” “my grain,” “my goods.”  God had blessed him with the crops and the goods.  God trusted he would use these blessings properly.  They weren’t given for selfish enjoyment but they came with responsibility and accountability.

The rich man thought only of himself.  He didn’t think of the needs of others or God’s kingdom.  He wanted to eat, drink, and be merry.  The Lord wants us to be happy and He offers heaven to us, but we don’t get there through things or taking life easy.  Jesus said, “Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.” (Jn. 6:40)

Paul reminds us in Romans that we have “all things” right now through Christ.  We have no right to them because we have rebelled and disobeyed.  We have coveted and not served our neighbor as we should.  Yet the guilt we feel over that has been nailed to Jesus’s cross.  He rose in victory, and he takes you to be His own now and for all eternity.

The man was wrong to covet and to think he had a right to these things.  He was focused on the wrong goal.  As Luther explains in the Ninth Commandment, “We should fear and love God so that we do not scheme to get our neighbor’s inheritance or house, or get it in a way which only appears right.”  And the Tenth Commandment, “We should fear and love God so that we dot entice or force away our neighbor’s wife, workers, or animals, or turn them against him.”  As in the other commandments, the accent is on the positive attitude of serving one’s neighbor, “help and be of service to him,” and again, “urge them to stay and do their duty.”

What do you eagerly desire in life?  Where is your focus?  Where are you looking for happiness?  Do you live for others?  What is your ambition in life?  Are you directing your energy toward helping and serving others?

A student at a Bible School in the Philippines was unhappy because the men’s rest rooms were always in bad shape and seemed to get skipped over in the cleaning routine.  Seeing no improvement he went straight to the principal with his complaint.  A short time later the student saw the problem being corrected, to his amazement the man with the mop and pail in his hand was the principal himself!

Later the student commented, “I thought he would call a janitor, but he cleaned the toilets himself.  It was a wonderful lesson to me on being a servant and, of course, it raised a question in my own mind as to why I hadn’t taken care of the problem.”

Where can you serve your neighbor?  Where are your skills and help needed?  Today we vote on our boards for 2018 and looking at the list we are lacking the Lord’s servants that our needed.  Young, old, new member or veteran, we desire your service.  It is great for the soul.

Lord, in the grace and hope that you shower upon us through Christ our Savior . . . help us… serve our neighbor.

Amen.