Monday, July 30, 2012

July 29th, 2012

July 29, 2012 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.


PENTECOST
July 28-30, 2012
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Ephesians 2:19-22

“NO LONGER…!”
1.     Shut out.
2.     Foundationless.
3.     Alone.

Ephesians 2:19-22 (NIV1984) “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

          Relief from unpleasant things in life is longed for and appreciated. Think of some of those things where it is a joy to say, “No longer!” When your summer is hot, dry and rainless and you get that needed rain, “No longer are we in a drought or under a burn ban.” When you have attended a loved one who is lingering as cancer grows inside or has a breathing disease and the Lord takes them to heaven and you can say, “No longer any suffering, any pain.” When there is bad blood, hard feelings, in a family or friendship and the relationship is reconciled, “No longer the strain, the stress, the hurt.” God’s word for us today reminds us of some “No Longer” blessings that we have had as long as we have been believers in Jesus and will continue to have but that are easy to forget. So let’s approach these words of God with the prayer that He will lead us to appreciate and hold on to our “No Longer” blessings.
          The first is that we are no longer shut out. Now there are times and places in life that you will find yourself on the outside looking in, shut out of some grouping you want to be a part of. Maybe it is a social circle of friends but you’re not welcome or invited. Maybe at school the other reindeer won’t let you play their reindeer games. Maybe there is a power clique at work. You’re shut out. If that has happened or is happening you know it’s not fun. It doesn’t feel good. It’s unpleasant. However there is a grouping you are not shut out from. 
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” Now I know it might be hard, but try to imagine being one of the people who first heard this word of God. You lived in Ephesus, a city filled with idol worship and immorality. You were most likely Gentile, that is not Jewish. But God called to you. Jesus called to you. Forgiveness of sins. Heaven as your home. You gather with the other worshipers and quickly you realize you are not like them. The Jewish believers grew up trying to serve God. They had lived their lives much more morally than you. They knew the Bible better. They dressed differently, ate different foods. Now they said you didn’t have to do those things  but you just couldn’t shake this feeling that you didn’t belong. You were on the outside looking in. You were shut out. “No longer,” God had Paul tell them. No longer foreigners, outcasts, but legitimate members of the household of God. Why? That’s the “consequently” part. Because they were saved by grace through faith in Jesus. It wasn’t by their works or ways of living. It wasn’t for the Jews. It wasn’t for the Gentiles. Jesus had made them one.
          This is true for you and me too. Whatever your background, whether you grew up in a church going family, are new to the faith, had it, left it and are back again, you are not shut out of God’s family.  You belong because of Jesus. Do we daily appreciate this that we are no longer shut out of  God’s family? We need to because not everyone has this blessing. Those who reject Jesus as Savior, who choose themselves, their own way, a fake god, they are shut out. They are the ones Jesus describes as weeping and gnashing their teeth because their home is hell. But by God’s grace you and I are not. Do we appreciate this? Or is it more important to fit in at work even though it compromises living for Jesus? Is it more important to us to be part of a social group or friendship circle than members of the family of God? If so no longer!
          Because our no longer blessings continue. By God’s grace we are no longer foundationless. “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” The picture is of a building, God’s house. It’s made of people. The foundation is the Scriptures, what God had the apostles and prophets write down, all centering on Jesus Christ. It is a firm foundation.  It cannot be shaken. What a blessing. Recently I was at a get together at a lake. There was a raft. Some teens were playing “King of the Raft.” I decided to join them. They tried, did I say, tried, to knock me off of it. It wasn’t easy, though. That raft was not a firm foundation. Up. Down. Rocking. Not so the foundation of our faith. Rock solid. For the Ephesian Christians, they used to be foundationless. Did you listen to the priests of  Diana or Zeus or Apollo? Did you follow your own way? Did your hard life lead you to be godless? No longer. They had the Bible. They knew absolute right and wrong. They knew Jesus as the sure way to heaven. They had a foundation. No longer were they foundationless.
          We aren’t either. Our world isn’t really all that different from theirs. Ours offers all kinds of fake gods and various forms of godlessness. Our has plenty of hard times and unfairness, evil and hurt. But through it all we have the firm foundation of God’s Word to rely on. When the unforeseen tragedy strikes, when you get the news that has you reeling if not fainting you have the foundation. “I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. I will work all things for your good. I will command my angels to attend you.” When right is called wrong and wrong is called right and you are under attack so hard you might question God’s ways you have the firm  foundation of God’s Word to go back to. Some recent examples. One of our young teens in a nice way was defending another on Facebook who had stated that same sex marriage and homosexual activities are sinful. He was barraged, threatened, himself his family. This is our world folks. You heard about the owner of Chick Fila restaurants who publicly acknowledged his beliefs on God’s rights and wrongs and mayors want his restaurants out of town. If we want to stay faithful to Jesus when the going gets rough we need a firm foundation and we have it.
          And the no longer blessings continue. No longer alone. “In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” The Ephesian Christians, we too, are never alone because God is always with us. Sometimes though it’s nice to have people you can see to support you and encourage you and help you. God knows that and He provides that. In Jesus the whole building is joined together. You too are built together. For the hard difficult times the Ephesians would face through trial and temptation, for the tests to remain faithful they would have the Holy Spirit and each other, the fellowship of their church. No longer would they be alone. That’s a blessing some of us have enjoyed for as much of our life as we can remember and some are still getting used to it. What a blessing to be able to gather together regularly. You get bombarded with all kinds of garbage all week long but then we get together. We are not alone. We know the same truth. We believe the same truth. We can support and encourage each other. Don’t hesitate to do that when the opportunity arises to be the ear to listen, the shoulder to cry on. Don’t hesitate to reach out when you feel alone because you are not and never will be. God says so.
          Because of God’s great mercy you have and will continue to have no longer blessings. No longer shut out, no longer foundationless, no longer alone. Hold on to them brothers and sisters. Appreciate these spiritual blessings over physical ones. For the time is coming when today’s no longer becomes God forever, the joys of heaven. Amen.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

July 22, 2012 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

July 21,22,23, 2012 Pentecost 8 Sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert


Sermon text - Ephesians 1:2-14



1:2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord

Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every

spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the

creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love

5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus

Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - 6 to the praise

of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he

loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the

forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to

his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into

effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment - to bring

all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even

Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined

according to the plan of him who works out everything in

conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who

were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his

glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard

the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed,

you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the

redemption of those who are God’s possession -to the praise of his

glory.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I quite regularly close my sermons with these words of Scripture:

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will

guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Yes, there is a

peace from God that indeed transcends, surpasses all understanding.

But understand it or not, thank God He gives it. In Christ, in His

forgiveness of our sins, it is ours. We believe it.

Our sermon text talks about that peace. But it also talks about

other mysteries of God’s will that transcend our understanding. One is

the Trinity, that our God is one God yet three persons. Note how our

text refers to “God our Father” and refers to Him also as the “Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ” and refers to “the promised Holy Spirit.”

This transcends our understanding. But we believe in one true God

who is Father and Son and Holy Spirit.

A second mystery transcending our understanding is predestination,

God from eternity choosing us to be His own. Our text says, “he

chose us in him before the creation of the world,” “he predestined

us,” and “having been predestined.” While natural reasoning may

question this, we need to remember that God has given us this mystery

not for us to try to fit it into our little human minds, but to comfort us.

Keeping that in mind, let us now consider our entire text and in faith

Marvel at what has been revealed 1) About God The Father’s

Plan, 2) About God’s Son’s Fulfillment; and 3) About The Holy

Spirit’s Guarantee.

MARVEL AT WHAT HAS BEEN REVEALED:

I ABOUT GOD THE FATHER’S PLAN (2-6)

1. His plan starts out with grace and peace. (2)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus

Christ.

a) Our first parents, Adam and Eve, sinned. That passed sin on

to all of us, including the results of sin, namely the problems sin

brings into our daily lives, and finally death that should lead to

a deserved eternal separation from God’s glory.

b) But instead God’s plan of grace, undeserved favor, and of

peace, peace that transcends understanding, is proclaimed

“from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

2. These blessings come from the heavenly realms. (3)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who

has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing

in Christ.

a) The spiritual blessings of grace and peace did not come from a

Washington D.C., or from political parties coming up with a

many-paged plan. These blessings come from “the heavenly

realms.” They come from the plan God the Father drew up.

b) That plan is not like a plan that might try to guarantee medical

blessings but cannot do a thing about death and hell. Instead

it has to do with spiritual blessings, with God’s grace and peace

that start now and cannot be stopped by bad health or death.

3. That brings to us a marvelous mystery. (4-5)

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy

and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted

as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure

and will --

a) God wanted a large family. Jesus, God’s holy Son, one with

the Father from eternity, was to have adopted siblings. This

God planned. Before He created this world and people, God

chose us sinners “to be holy and blameless in his sight.”

b) Why? It was not because of our doing, thinking or deserving,

but “in accordance with his pleasure and will ---.”

4. Praise God for this marvelous plan. (4b-6)

In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus

Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of

his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he

loves.

a) This plan, to be God the Father’s children, God freely gives.

b) This adoption is “in accordance with his pleasure and will.”

c) Praise God the Father for His plan, for “his glorious grace.”

II ABOUT GOD’S SON’S FULFILLMENT (5-10)

1. Predestination does not stand by itself. (5a)

In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons --

a) Nothing in us brought about our predestination.

b) Predestination comes from outside of us, not because we were

good but because God is good. In His love He predestined us.

2. It totally involves God’s Son. (5-7)

In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus

Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of

his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he

loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the

forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace --

a) Sin would seem to have ruined God’s eternal plan.. After sin

came there were no holy children to choose for God’s family.

But God’s plan remained firm, did not change.

b) So what was God’s plan? It totally revolved around Jesus. In

His love for the world God gave His one and only eternal Son,

gave Him to redeem us by his perfect life and innocent death in

our place, gave Him “through his blood” to give “forgiveness

of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

3. This is what God has revealed. (7-9)

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of

sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished

on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to

us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he

purposed in Christ, --

a) This mystery of God’s will we could never know by ourselves.

b) Praise God for making this mystery of His will known to us!

4. This is a fulfilled plan. (9b-10)

-- which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the

times will have reached their fulfillment - to bring all things in

heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

a) From the very beginning God promised a Savior. As years of

time passed, He guided history to fulfill His promises and plan.

b) Finally His promises reached the time of their fulfillment in

history when His Son died on the cross, arose from the dead,

ascended to heaven with His saving mission accomplished.

c) Now Christ reigns as the victorious Head of the Church, of

you and me and all believers, His adopted brothers and sisters.

III ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT’S GUARANTEE (11-14)

1. We think of God’s plan in history. (11-12)

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to

the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the

purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in

Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

a) With the “we” let us think here of the people of Israel, the

special nation God chose to bring His Son into this world.

b) What a privilege! But God’s will was not only for them.

2. By the Word God’s plan reached out to all. (13a)

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of

truth, the gospel of your salvation.

a) The “you also” doesn’t refer only to the people of Ephesus.

b) It refers to all nationalities. The Gospel of salvation is for all.

3. Our assurance is in the gift of faith. (13)

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of

truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were

marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, --

a) Each of you also, think of how God made you His believing

child in Baptism, how He strengthens your faith as you hear

and read His Word, as you receive the Lord’s Supper regularly.

b) Here I ask each of you also: Do you truly see yourself as a

sinner and truly believe in Jesus as your Savior from sin? I’m

going to repeat that: Do you truly see yourself as a sinner and

truly believe in Jesus as your Savior from sin? Then you

have the Holy Spirit! Do you come to church not just to

come but because you believe Jesus is worthy of your worship?

Do you daily want to live a Christian life because you want to

glorify your Savior with your behavior? Yes, do you not only

with words claim to be a Christian, but really in your heart have

faith in Jesus as your Savior? Then you have the Holy Spirit!

4. Here is our guarantee. (13b-14)

Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the

promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our

inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s

possession - to the praise of his glory.

a) It is the Holy Spirit who through the Word gives us faith.

b) That Spirit-given faith is our guarantee that we as believers

in Jesus are children of God, siblings of Jesus our Savior.

c) And God’s predestination tells us that the Holy Spirit’s

guarantee of our inheritance will not be broken. All who

believe in Jesus will be a part of His family in heavenly glory.



MARVEL AT WHAT HAS BEEN REVEALED: About God

The Father’s Plan; About God’s Son’s Fulfillment; About The Holy

Spirit’s Guarantee. “And the peace of God, which transcends all

understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ

Jesus.”











Monday, July 2, 2012


PENTECOST
June 30, July 1-2, 2012
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Psalm 46

“THE LORD ALMIGHTY IS WITH US!”
1.     A comforting truth in times of trouble.
2.     A timely truth as we celebrate the birth of our nation.
3.     A trustworthy truth for better or for worse.

Psalm 46 (NIV 1984) “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,  I will be exalted in the earth.”11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

          A few weeks ago my family went to Noah’s Ark in the Wisconsin Dells for the first time. It was a hot day so it was great. The rides were a lot of fun. Two of them stood out from the others. One is called The Scorpion’s tale. The other is the Point of  No Return. What both of these rides have in common is a steep drop for starters. You can’t see what’s coming. And you have to go it alone. There is this momentary fear when you have never done the ride before and unlike the other rides. It’s the facing it alone. You know that’s a lot like life, isn’t it? There are many things that are fun and exciting. There are some things that are down right scary. There are lot of times when you can’t see what’s coming next. And it all seems worse when you feel like you are all alone. That’s why the word of God before us today is so wonderful. We hear the repeated promise/pledge. The Lord almighty is with us.
          That’s a comforting truth in times of trouble and times of trouble will come. Hear the word of the Lord. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Have you ever been around a volcano exploding with lava flowing to the water causing it to roar and foam? Have you been in a high rise when a major earthquake hit? Certainly those would be times of trouble. If you ever do have to live through one of those events the Lord Almighty will be with you. More likely than that though you will experience a person, perhaps a parent or spouse, exploding in anger and watch the lava of wrath flow downhill to burn everyone it touches. You feel like you are walking on eggshells. Scared. Alone. You will more likely experience the trouble of the shaky ground that happens when you or your bread winner loses a job or your marriage is on the rocks. Times of trouble can come with the cancer diagnosis or some other serious illness, an unexpected death. For the first hearers of this psalm it could have been an enemy advancing on Jerusalem, plague, droughts. Some of you have made the connection that this Psalm was the inspiration for Martin Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” He faced the trouble of his church leader, the pope, threatening him with death if he kept teaching we are saved through faith alone in Christ Jesus. Sin has ruined this world and there will be times of trouble.
          Whatever the trouble, the LORD Almighty is with us. The LORD. That’s His Saving name. When God uses that in the Bible He wants you to remember His mercy and love. He wants you to think about how He loves you so much He punishes His Son Jesus for sins instead of you. Almighty. When God uses that word He wants you to think of His great power that creates with a single word. Power that He reminded Job about when Job questioned the troubles God allowed to come into his life. He wants you to think of His power that commands the winds and the waves as we heard about in the Gospel lesson. What’s your trouble right now? The Lord Almighty is with you. He is still treating you with love and if He hasn’t used that almighty power to stop your storm be assured there is a reason and it is a reason normed by God’s great love for you. The Lord Almighty is with us, a comforting truth in times of trouble.
          A timely truth as we celebrate the birth of our nation. “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” With these words God draws our attention to what we normally call the Church. You can call it the city of God. It is God dwelling with His people. He dwells with His people on earth and there is a final dwelling with God body soul and spirit that we normally call heaven. The Church will not fall. It’s good to remember that as we celebrate the birth of our nation. I love our country. I hope you do too. That’s not to say I am happy with everything going on in our country or that I’m not concerned about it. Because I am concerned and am not happy with where we appear to be going. I’ll give you two examples. Please don’t make this political. Keep it in the realm of God’s holy will for all people. Recently one of our members wrote a letter to our president expressing concern over his promotion of same sex marriage that is contrary to God’s holy will. He actually received a letter in return thanking him for his concern but expressing on behalf of the president the desire to have same sex marriage in America, my country. Secondly we received an e-mail from our Synod president, Mark Schroeder, explaining why he was signing a letter of concern that is signed by a number of different leaders from different church bodies. It’s over a recent ruling to force churches like our own who have a self-funded health care program to cover as medical procedures things that are against their religious beliefs. Why would my country do that to me? To you? “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” Nations are in uproar. Kingdoms will fall. But the Lord Almighty is with us. I am concerned over the fate of our country. How long will God put up with it? I am not concerned over the fate of the Church. The Lord Almighty is with us and the God of Jacob is our fortress. We will be fine! For the Lord Almighty is with us.
          That’s a trustworthy truth for better or for worse.  Let me explain. No, let God explain. “Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,  I will be exalted in the earth.”11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” These words of God remind us of His absolute power over everything on this earth, the forces of nature and the forces of nations. That absolute power will be shown in its full glory on the last day. In anticipation of that the Lord says to all people. “Be still and know that I am God!” Now you can take that in two ways—for better or for worse. For us who know and believe in the Savior God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, it’s for better. God says to us with whatever worries us, “Sh!” Like a loving father or loving mother soothes and comforts frightened children God soothes and comforts us. “Sh! I am God. I am in control. It will be OK.” That’s for better.
          For some it’s for worse. I realize I’m going to get in trouble with a lot of parents who don’t want their children saying these words and kids just because I do right now does not mean you should, OK? What God says to those who mock Him, who reject Him, who think they are in control and they have the right to overturn His holy will and make the lives of believers miserable is “Shut up! Shut up and know that I am God almighty and it is an awful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. Shut up because I will be exalted not you.” The Lord Almighty is with us. A trustworthy truth for better or for worse. May God work humility and constant trust and submission in our hearts to we always hear it for better!
          I don’t know if my family will make it back to Noah’s Ark or if I’ll ride the Scorpion’s Tail or Point of No Return again. I do know that as long as God gives me breath to live in this sin messed world there will be scary things to face, unknown outcomes, times I will feel like I’m facing them alone. It’s the same for you! At each one of those points may the Holy Spirit grant peace and testify to our hearts our reason to go ahead with comfort and confidence. The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Amen.