Monday, June 25, 2012

June 24, 2012 Worship Service

II Corinthians 5:1-10 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. WE HAVE A HOME IN HEAVEN I. Our home here is temporary and uncertain. II. Our home there is eternal and certain. In the name of Jesus our Savior, dear fellow citizens of heaven, Every summer in my childhood our across the street neighbors would put up a tent in their yard. It was green and sad to say, it sometimes made the Waldschmidt children green with envy. When we talked with my mom about it, she came up with an idea. She took a bedspread out of the closet and threw the bedspread over the clothesline in the backyard. We children carried bricks from the back garage to anchor the blanket walls when they were all spread out to make a tent. It made a great tent. But it would eventually come down and the bricks would go back in the garage. The tent came down and we went into our real house. That’s the way God pictured our situation. We’re living in a temporary home here on earth. But it is only temporary. Eventually the walls and rocks and mountains and skies will all come down and we will go to live in our real home. We have a home in heaven. I. Our home here is temporary and uncertain. II. Our home there is eternal and certain. You can almost imagine a few scraps of tent material and a bag of tent making tools on the floor by his feet as Paul wrote this letter. The Apostle Paul made tents to support himself so that he would not be a burden to the congregations he served. So he knew very well that tents are temporary. He made new tents for people whose tents were worn out. He made new sidewalls and canopies and ropes for people whose tents were falling apart. He uses the picture of a tent to show how our home here is temporary and uncertain. “But we have a home in heaven. Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” Like sewing together the pieces of a tent, Paul makes a connection with the word of God we thought about last week in the previous chapter of 2 Corinthians where Paul spoke of the things that go along with faith knowing, speaking, praising and enduring even in the middle of trouble. Trusting in Jesus believers do those things because our home here is not a permanent home it is temporary and uncertain. “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling…” Our dog knows where the dog treats are in the cupboard. We might say something like, “Do you want a treat?” as we start to open that cupboard and he lets out a groan that longs for the taste of that treat. As believers, we live our lives in this temporary home groaning as we long for our home in heaven. Paul explains more about this groaning, “because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.” When I was in grade school we had a young man on our basketball team who forgot his basketball shoes at home. When it came time for practice the only shoes he had to wear were his snowmobile boots. Now at the time, he laughed about it and was being a little silly but I think he did that to cover up his embarrassment about clomping around in his snowmobile boots. That’s a little bit the way that we feel on this side of heaven. “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” Paul makes the point that we as followers of Jesus will always feel a little bit like we are wearing snowmobile boots at basketball practice-always feeling out of place- without the shoes and uniform that fit us. Still in spite of that, there is a strong temptation for us to think that this world is our real home. To look at the things of this life as though they are what life is all about. How easily doesn’t having the nicest car or truck to drive or the nicest house to live in become the focal point of our lives. How often doesn’t it happen that what other people say holds more sway for us than what God says. We look more for the approval of our friends rather than the approval of our God. Sometimes we groan more for the things of this world than for the things of heaven. A close look at the list of temporary things we have prioritized over the treasures of heaven brings a groan of realization that we deserved to groan forever away from the presence our God. Who will rescue us from these bodies of death? Thanks be to God He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the penalty we deserved and won a permanent building for us in heaven-the victory that swallows up the troubles of our temporary and uncertain life here with a home in heaven. Ever wonder why you are here on earth? High School and College graduates often have that question rolling around in their heads. We do put a lot of time and energy into thinking about what God wants us to do in this life and rightly so. However the more important thing is what does God have in mind for us after this temporary life is over. WE HAVE A HOME IN HEAVEN II. Our home there is eternal and certain. “Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” God had in mind for us to be with him in heaven. By bringing us to faith and keeping us in the faith through the working of the Holy Spirit God has given us a deposit or guarantee on our home in heaven. He has been planning that since before we were born. You are not just a whim or spur of the moment project to your God. The Old Testament and Gospel Lessons spoke of God’s plan to plant and grow faith in your heart and the hearts of other believers. Paul was writing to people who were pretty familiar with tents. The Jewish people there in Corinth would remember the stories of how their ancestors lived in tents out in the desert for 40 years as they wondered in the desert. They would remember how their Jewish moms and dads lived in tents in the yard for a week during the feast of tabernacles that reminded them of the real home in heaven the coming Savior would bring for them. So they had their home even as they lived out in the tent. God has given us our home in heaven even as we live in a tent for a while. That’s why Paul can write… “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” Have you thought about all the things you want to do in heaven? Do you have your list of questions you want to ask Jesus? Maybe you’ll want to spend time sightseeing around the city where God has wiped every tear away and travel or maybe you are just looking forward to sitting and relaxing with Jesus and loved ones who got to see Jesus’ face before you. It will be wonderful to be there- far better than even our best day here on earth. We can say that not because we’ve seen it with our eyes. We say heaven is a beautiful place Jesus won for me because our eyes of faith have seen pictures of heaven in the Bible. We live by faith not by sight. Right now our hearts can only imagine what Jesus looks likes but our eyes of faith have seen what his hands and feet did for us as they were nailed to a cross for us. Since our real home is in heaven with Jesus does the Lord want us to just bide our time waiting for him to come for us? “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” Having a home in heaven given to us means that we want to thank the one who gave us this certain home and hope. No matter whether we are at home with the Lord or still here on earth we want to say thank you to Jesus with our lives. That’s what Paul was urging the believers in Corinth to do more and more. Things were better since the first letter, but there were still more ways to say thank you to Jesus. It’s only the things done for Jesus that will brings those happy words of the master our thankful hearts want to hear when we stand with Jesus covering us on Judgment Day, “well done good and faithful servant.” Let’s not just wait our time. Let’s think about how every moment, every word and every action might please our Lord Jesus. Some of you have heard me say that I pray every morning that today might be the day that my mom would die. Right now she struggles on this side of heaven with late stage Alzheimer’s in her body. My family prays that prayer with confidence knowing that Mom’s real home is home in heaven and when the time is right the Lord will take her there. Your real home is home in heaven too. The home we live in now is only temporary but our home in heaven lasts forever. Amen.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Sermon on 2 Corinthians 4:13-18 June 16-18, 2012 by Pastor Paul G. Eckert

June 16/17/18. 2012 Pentecost 3 Sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert


Sermon text - 2 Corinthians 4:13-18

13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”  With that

same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak,

14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from

the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in

his presence.

15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching

more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the

glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are

wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an

eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.

For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

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BELIEVING AND ITS CONCOMITANTS is today’s sermon

theme. The word “concomitant” is a word that ordinarily would not

come up in daily conversations. But I think it is a good word to use

with our text. I’ll give this definition for it: a concomitant is something

that accompanies something else or goes along with something else.

Let me use our organ as an example. It’s up in the balcony. But a

quite important concomitant has been missing. Yes, you can see the

organ, touch it. But something should accompany it, go along with it.

And what is that? It is sounds, music. That should come with it. That

is what we have been looking forward to. As a matter of fact, a while

ago we had thought we might be dedicating it perhaps next week. But

instead we still are waiting for our organ to have the concomitant of

actually doing what it is designed to do.

Do you see how that illustration fits in with our text? Scripture here

talks about believing. And believing, like our organ, should have

concomitants. I’ll now speak of five of them. They are: knowing,

speaking, praising, enduring, and rejoicing. They should accompany

believing, just as music should come from our organ.

BELIEVING AND ITS CONCOMITANTS

I BELIEVE AND KNOW (13a,14)

1. There is believing. (13a,c)

It is written: “I believed; ---.”  With that same spirit of faith we

also believe --,

a) Scripture in Hebrews 11:1 gives us a good definition for what

believing is. There we are told, “Faith is being sure of what

we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

b) I don’t have to believe that St. Jacobi has a church building - I

can see that. I don’t have to have faith in the fact that you are

there in the pews and I am here in the pulpit right now - that is

obvious. But what about what we hope for and do not see?

That requires faith, faith that has concomitants. What is that?

2. Knowing is a concomitant. (14)

--- because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from

the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in

his presence.

a) What an amazing piece of knowledge! By faith we know that

Jesus was raised from the dead and is alive. We know our

dead bodies will be brought back to life as glorified bodies like

His. We know we will be together in Jesus’ presence in glory.

b) What tremendous knowledge has been revealed to us.

3. Believing and knowing belong together. (13c-14)

--- we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the

one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us

with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.

a) In my ministry I have been involved in almost 500 funerals.

Just about all of those were here in St. Jacobi Congregation.

That means I have seen many dead bodies. This I know.

b) All of those people whose dead bodies I saw, who died as

believers in Jesus, I will see again, but in resurrected and

perfect bodies. That I believe.

c) Believe and know. Thank God for His gift of believing, and

for revealing believing’s concomitant of knowing.

II BELIEVE AND SPEAK (13-14)

1. Believing has a “therefore”. (13)

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”  With that

same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, ---.

a) First comes the believing. That is not of our doing. No one

can say Jesus is Lord except by the working of the Holy Spirit.

And how does the Spirit give us faith that has knowledge?

Scripture says that “faith comes from hearing the message,

and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

b) Therefore, having faith, we as Christians will not want to

bottle up that faith and keep that message just to ourselves.

2. Knowing has a “because”. (14)

--- because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from

the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in

his presence.

a) What a message! We celebrate a living Savior who defeated

death and the grave - His death and grave and also ours.

b) Because of that, we as Christians will not want to keep quiet

about that amazing truth.

3. Both lead to speaking as a concomitant. (13-14)

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”  With that

same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because

we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead

will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his

presence.

a) We have an organ in our balcony. Therefore, as a

concomitant, we want it to speak. Because it has wonderful

sounds to produce, we want those sounds to come out.

b) So if an organ has wonderful music we want it to share with

us, shouldn’t we also want to share with others a wonderful

message, the message of a Savior with forgiveness and life?

c) God help us to make use of faith’s concomitant of speaking!

III BELIEVE AND PRAISE (14-15)

1. Look at our promised benefit. (14-15a)

--- we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead

will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his

presence. All this is for your benefit, ---.

a) We worship not just some famous person in history, but

someone who proved His power over death.

b) That promises us the benefit of living in glory in His presence.

2. God’s grace brings that benefit to many more. (15ab)

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more

and more people ---.

a) God’s grace, His gift of forgiveness and life, is intended for all.

b) Should we then keep quiet about this? Once some Pharisees

tried to make Jesus’ disciples keep quiet and Jesus then said,

“I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” As we don’t

want our organ to be quiet, so may we not keep quiet about

Jesus and make stones do the praising we should be doing.

3. God’s grace should move us to praise God. (15)

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more

and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory

of God.

a) This Sunday is Father’s Day. Good fathers surely deserve

thanks and praise. I hope they receive it. Being a father can

often be very difficult. It can often result in being taken for

granted instead of receiving an occasional “Thank you, Dad.”

b) What about our heavenly Father, a Father who willingly gave

His Son for us so that we could live in forgiveness and look

forward not just to aging and death but to eternal glory?

c) For all of His benefits may our thanksgiving overflow. May

praising God be a definite concomitant of believing.

IV BELIEVE AND ENDURE (16-17a)

1. Troubles can be difficult. (17a)

For our light and momentary troubles ---.

a) Light troubles? Often troubles weigh us down, don’t they?

b) Momentary troubles? Doesn’t it seem that some never end?

2. How easy not to endure. (16b)

Though outwardly we are wasting away, ---.

a) Outwardly it is true that we are wasting away when bodily ills

get worse and worse, more and more prescriptions are needed,

less and less results are seen.

b) And aging makes it clear our bodies are wasting away leading

up to death. Why not just give up, call it quits?

3. But there is renewal to endure. (16)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting

away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

a) Fathers, how often have you encouraged your children, tried

to buck them up when they were ready to quit school, a job?

b) We have a heavenly Father whose Word of forgiveness and

grace and whose promises of His presence renew us every day.

c) That renewal reminds us, as Scripture says, “that our present

sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be

revealed in us.” We believe, and have the concomitant of enduring.

V BELIEVE AND REJOICE (17-18)

1. Compare now with then. (17)

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an

eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

a) This lifetime has its troubles.

b) Eternal glory far outweighs them all. That is God’s promise!

2. Keep your focus on glory. (18a)

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.

a) Do you remember Lot’s wife? She kept her eyes on Sodom

and Gomorrah. But God’s judgment hit those cities and her.

b) Let’s keep our eyes focused on Jesus and on Jerusalem the

golden.

3. And keep on rejoicing. (18)

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For

what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

a) Rejoice now, even though on earth it may be with some tears.

b) Then rejoice always where every tear will be wiped from our

eyes.



How is your faith doing? Does it have the concomitant of

knowledge, knowing what God has revealed - or do we stop growing

in the Word of God? Does it have the concomitant of speaking - or

can we go on and on about many things but be reluctant to talk about

Jesus? Does it have the concomitant of praising - or do we forget

to thank God for His grace? Does it have the concomitant of

enduring - or do we tire of fighting the good fight of faith? Does it

have the concomitant of rejoicing - or do we forget about the

heaven awaiting us?

Yes, how is your faith doing? Is it perhaps like our organ - it’s

there, but we are still waiting for it to produce music?

May God the Holy Spirit help us to know His truth always better,

to speak of our Savior with others, to praise God for His grace, to

endure patiently what His wisdom sends, and to rejoice always as we

fix our eyes on what God has promised us.



































































Tuesday, June 12, 2012

PENTECOST 2
June 9-11, 2012
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Mark 2:23-28

“LISTEN TO THE LORD OF THE SABBATH!”
1.     He knows its real purpose.
2.     He knows what we really need.
3.     He has an ongoing invitation.

Mark 2:23-28 (NIV 1984)  One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

          How dare they? Isn’t that what you want to scream when you read this? How dare the Pharisees question Jesus about the Sabbath? Don’t they know who they are talking to? This is Jesus. The Christ. The Son of God. Both law giver and law keeper. The fulfiller of all righteousness. The Lord of the Sabbath. They didn’t need to question Jesus. They needed to listen to Him, to listen to the Lord of the Sabbath. You see Sabbath means rest. But Satan had tricked the Pharisees into viewing it as a burden. Just like he does with us sometimes, right?  Do any of these phrases sound familiar? “No, I can’t. I have to go to church.” Or the kids say, “Do we have to go?” and of course the parents give the correct response. We’ve all said it multiples times.  “Yes you have to go to church.” How about this one? “ All God asks for is one hour a week. Can’t you give Him one hour a week?” Or how about at school with church attendance, “Does it count if we went to the concert or the mission fest program or you fill in the blank?” Do you know what all of those phrases and ways of thinking in one way or another point to? The Sabbath or worship as a burden instead of what is really meant for. Rest. Sabbath means rest. Today let’s listen to the Lord of the Sabbath so we leave with His attitude towards it.
          First let’s listen as the Lord of the Sabbath tells us the real purpose of the Sabbath. After the Pharisees questioned Jesus about His disciples He answered, Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”  God has always had laws for people. The Old Testament people had a lot more than we do. All of God’s laws given to people have this in common. They are for our good. To help us and not hurt us. Jesus example of David eating the bread only the priests were supposed to eat was an example. According to ceremonial law only the priests could eat that bread. According to moral law if you have extra food and someone is in need you help them. The law was for their good.
          So also Old Testament Sabbath. It was there to help and bless people. So that His people would not be taken advantage of, so that they would not foolishly book up their schedules seven days a week God gave the Old Testament Sabbath law. Rest on Saturday. No regular working. Get physical rest for your bodies. Gather for worship. Get rest for your souls. The Pharisees didn’t see it that way. The Sabbath wasn’t a blessing for people but a burden for people. Instead of focusing on God’s command of what to do, rest, they focused on what not to do, work. So they had people counting the steps they could take and codifying what constituted work and what didn’t. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath set the record straight, Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” See God didn’t create the Sabbath Day and then say, “I need someone to serve it. I will create people.” No, God created people, His true treasure, and in His great love He desired to bless them. So in the perfect world, before sin entered, God decreed rest. That was the purpose of the Sabbath. The Lord of the Sabbath says so.
          And He knows what we really need. We need rest. Now understand this. We live in the New Testament time. We don’t have a New Testament Sabbath day. I will admit, that as a pastor, I would love for Sunday to be the New Testament Sabbath. I would love it if businesses were closed, no activities at all held on Sunday mornings so we could all gather for worship on that day, but God has not decreed a New Testament Sabbath day so too bad  for me. However something hasn’t changed from Old Testament times to New Testament times and that is what we really need. We need rest. God wants us blessed with physical rest and rest for our souls. Just think about what happens when people are physically tired. Many bad things can happen. The chances of accidents that hurt and kill people increase. That’s why there are workplace laws about breaks and hours worked and the number of hours driven because otherwise greed won’t let the worker physically rest and bad things happen. People lose patience with others when they are physically tired. Bad things happen. Fights. Angry words. God does not tell you what day to take off these days. He knows you need physical rest. He entrusts you with getting it.
          He knows that you really need spiritual rest too. See we can’t do what God commands. This doesn’t matter if you don’t care. I’ve always assumed that most if not all the people gathered together in a worship service care. Do you care? Do you care whether or not your life is pleasing to God? Is one of your highest ambitions to hear Jesus say to you some day, “Well done, good and faithful servant!?” If you do then you know the burden of always trying to do and say and think the right thing. You know you can’t. You know the disappointment, the guilt, the sadness, the frustration you feel with sin, breaking God’s commands. You understand how spiritually tired you get living in a sin messed world that is not fair. You carry the hurt of seeing evil appearing to triumph, you’ve stood with people dealing with tragedy and maybe you’ve had your share too and you have said or thought, “How do people handle this without the Lord?” because you know you can’t. Even with Him you get spiritually tired. Rest is what you need. Jesus knows that.
          That’s why He extended His ongoing invitation.  “Come unto me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” The rest that Jesus offers is the comfort and assurance of the free and full forgiveness for all your sins. He wants you to hear that He knows all your sins, all your failures and even all the ones you aren’t aware and He still really, really loves you. And because He has forgiven your sins He can’t wait to welcome you into heavens with His open arms and is eagerly looking forward to telling you, “Well done! Come and share my happiness.” The kind of rest that Jesus offers and wants you to have is a steely strength of faith to handle whatever Satan and this world throws at you with back straight, chin up, head held high. The kind of rest that Jesus offers you is the rest that allows you to wake up to a new day confident that your past is forgiven and forgotten by God with strength to strive after what is right with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind in your new day.
          So where is the invitation to get rest fulfilled? Many places. One of which is here in church where the Baptismal font and invocation will remind you of the rest of your own Baptism. Where the word that is proclaimed will assure you of sins forgiven and strengthen your faith as God has promised. Where the faith strengthening comforting Supper Jesus provided is regularly offered. What a blessing to partake. So let’s think about this again. Do we have to go to church? No. What are we thinking? That we earn heaven or will get a better spot? That God can’t live without my paltry praise?  God can survive without us. But we can’t survive without Him. Is one hour a week all that God asks for? Never. 24/7 belong to Him. Does it count? Tracking worship attendance is simply a diagnostic tool for pastors and teachers who care to make sure people they love are getting their rest. For except for shut ins I don’t know anybody who reads their Bible every day and then refuses to go to worship when they can.
          So now what? Hopefully we will all leave here motivated to listen to the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is the one who kept the Old Testament Sabbath perfectly so He can give New Testament believers what we need. Rest spiritually and physically. What will you do in response to His ongoing invitation? Conversations need to follow this Word of God. Schedules need to be checked. Where do you plan for and receive physical rest? Where do you plan for and receive spiritual rest? Or do you, like the Pharisees, think you know better than the Lord of the Sabbath? Something to think about. Amen.