Monday, October 29, 2012

October 28th, 2012

Oct 28, 2012 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.


PENTECOST 22
October 27-29, 2012
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Mark 10:35-45

“WHAT DO YOU WANT JESUS TO DO FOR YOU?”
1.     Give you earthly glory?
2.     Give you the heart of a servant?

Mark 10:35-45 (NIV 1984) “Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”39 “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

          “You’ll have to ask the Lord when you get to heaven.” Have you ever gotten that response from a parent, pastor or teacher when you asked them a Bible question the Bible doesn’t answer? It’s the right answer when the Bible doesn’t say. So what do you want to ask God? Why did you let the Devil exist? Were there really dinosaurs or did you just create dinosaur fossils? Actually I don’t think we’ll have to ask those questions when we get to heaven. I think we’ll know. Today in God’s word we have another question that isn’t hypothetical. What do you want Jesus to do for you?
          Two disciples of Jesus actually asked him that question. “Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” Sounds a little bold doesn’t it? We want you to do for us whatever we ask. Wait. It gets juicier. In the parallel account in Matthew’s Gospel we find that James and John’s mother was actually there asking too. There were helicopter parents before there were helicopters! These are two men whose mommy is going to bat for them. But Jesus doesn’t turn them away. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.”
          Now we get a little peak at their hearts. “They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” They were after glory, earthly glory, fame prestige, honor, for themselves. Now it might sound like they were being heavenly minded but they weren’t. They were still struggling with the false notion of an earthly Messiah setting up an earthly kingdom. Even if they were thinking of heaven it would be foolish. When you are in the presence of the holy God all glory pales. Might as well ask to be a flashlight shining next to the sun. Might as well ask for a billion dollars in heaven. Foolishness.
          And when God’s people speak or act foolishly they sometimes have to deal with consequences for their foolishness.  “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”39 “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.” First Jesus had to point out their cluelessness. Their following of Jesus would lead to earthly suffering, not glory. Second, their foolish request was denied. Third was trouble with the other disciples. Boy drama! No one in a peer group likes it when one of their peers tries to set themselves above the rest. They wanted the glory for themselves.
          It’s a good thing that such foolishness doesn’t happen anymore with disciples of Jesus. Or does it? What do you want Jesus to do for you? Isn’t it way too easy to have our hearts set on earthly glory for ourselves and so hard to think about others? We know, we know, what God says is important, that we are to set our minds on things above, not earthly things. We know that God’s true treasure is people and we are to live in such a way as to gain treasures in heaven. Yet glory on earth is so appealing. We want the attention for ourselves on the playground, in the workplace, in the pulpit. James and John aren’t the only selfish boys who want things for themselves. Their mommy isn’t the only one who thinks only of her kids. We hear the command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves but I don’t think I’m the only parent who fails to love other kids as much as I love my own, am I? What a struggle it is for parents to have as much joy in the blessings and successes of other sons and daughters as we do for our own. And boy drama, girl drama. There’s another word for that. It’s called sin. For wherever you find the drama, pride and selfishness were there first. What do you want Jesus to do for you? Give you earthly glory? Be assured that that kind of foolish selfish thinking will bring earthly consequences for you just like it did for James and John.
          You know you read this account in God’s Word and the words and actions of James and John are way too normal, understandable and predictable. They are about themselves. What Matthew tells us their mom was doing, yeah, nothing out of the ordinary there. She’s looking out for her own. How the other disciples reacted. Typical. “How dare you put yourselves above us? We want those glory spots.” And in the middle of this “all about me” world only one stands out as different and extraordinary. Jesus.
          “Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”  Jesus’ teaching about glory is different. He speaks to the common way of things among the Gentiles and understand that to mean unbelievers. Their version of glory is lording it over others. “I’m the best. I’m the greatest. You are nothing. You do what I say.” Not so with you,” Jesus said to them and us. Glory, greatness comes through service, selfless serving of others. He uses a stronger word. A slave, a slave of all. Wow! Talk about counter culture. Jesus’ way is sure different.
          And it gets better. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus didn’t just teach a different way. He lived the different way. The Son of Man, the Messiah, the one to whom all glory belongs came to serve and He willingly did that even when that meant giving His life as a ransom for all. All our sins on Jesus laid. Jesus had to become a slave to all to ransom us from the Devil who owned us because of our sin. Jesus had to die because of the selfishness, pride, glory chasing and boy and girl drama we commit even though we know better.
          Now what do you want Jesus to do for you? Give you earthly glory? Or give you the heart of a servant? We know the answer. We want to be like Jesus. We want to thank Him for giving His life as a ransom for our sins by following Him. Our prayer is “Make me a servant of the Servant.” And that prayer is answered. God has made each one of us exactly like He wants us to be. He has given to each of us as He knows best the right mix of skills, abilities and personality traits. He has shown us that the path to true glory is through serving others. And he gives us opportunities to serve. Do you have people in your life? You have opportunities for real glory through serving. A teacher has students who have needs to be served. A parent has children with needs to be served. A nurse has patients with needs to be served. A child has parents, a student teachers. Think now. Examine your life. Who has God put into your life to serve? Write down some names. What are their needs? A hug. A reassuring word or touch? Understanding. Obedience. Whoever wants to be great must be a servant.
          And maybe, maybe even more glorious service will occur. Maybe those people God has put in your life who don’t yet know that Jesus gave His life as a ransom for them, maybe they will be touched by the service of a servant of the Servant and will be drawn to Him. That’s real glory. Treasures that last into heaven. What do you want Jesus to do for you? I want Him to make me a servant. Amen.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

October 6/7/8, 2012 sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert on 1 Kings 18:21 and other texts

Oct 7, 2012 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

October October 6/7/8, 2012 Pentecost 19


Sermon on 1 Kings 18:21 and other texts by Pastor Paul Eckert

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver

between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if

Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.



Have you ever wondered how your pastors choose the Bible texts

they use for their sermons? I’ll tell you one way we don’t choose

them. We don’t just take our Bibles, lift them up a bit, drop them

onto our desks, see where the Bible opens up, and then pick our

sermon text from one of the two pages lying open.

So how do we do it? Ordinarily we choose one of the Scripture

readings used in our regular church services for that week. That means

we usually use the Old Testament reading, the New Testament epistle,

the Gospel reading, or the Psalm of the day.

What about other services than our regular weekly services, services

like Thanksgiving or Advent or New Year or Lent and so on? We

don’t drop the Bible on our desks there either. Instead, we choose

from our experience what we feel would fit in well for the occasion.

It also happens at times that a thought or idea comes to us that we

think is worth pursuing. That happened to me in choosing this week’s

texts. The idea came when I thought about this service falling between

two special occasions or events. What are they? Last week we were

finally able to dedicate our organ. Next week we are going to take

note of Mission Festival. The service this week is between the two,

between organ dedication and Mission Festival. That made me think

of a “between” situation in 1 Kings chapter 18 where Elijah asked,

“How long will you waver between two opinions?” I’m going to use

that, plus quite a number of other Scripture portions, under the theme:

BETWEEN TWO EVENTS OR CHOICES.

I’ll start out with the passage from 1 Kings 18. The prophet Elijah

was talking to the people of Israel who were going along with the

worship of Baal, a false God. This is what we are told in verse 21:

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver

between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if

Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.

Those last words are striking, aren’t they. “But the people said

nothing.” Will we be “nothing people” when we are between two

events or choices? Let’s look at quite a few other Scripture passages

that can make us think of being between two events or choices.

I THERE WAS AN EVENT WHEN IT ALL STARTED.

Genesis 3:1-6. Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the

wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman,

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the

garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit

from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat

fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you

must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the

serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of

it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing

good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree

was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for

gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to

her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

1. God had given a perfect Adam and Eve His Word to guide them.

Then the devil stepped in between and gave them another choice.

2. Eve listened and wavered; Adam listened and did the same.

3. And sin came into the world, and with it sorrow and death. They

had wavered, changed their “between” to an “after” that was terrible.

II THEN THERE WAS AN ONGOING PROBLEM.

Genesis 19:15-17,26 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged

Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who

are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his

wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city,

for the LORD was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought

them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back,

and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!” --- But Lot’s wife looked

back, and she became a pillar of salt.

1. Sodom and Gomorrah, with its perversion of marriage, with its

rejection of God, was more appealing to Lot’s wife than safety ahead.

2. She started out leaving sin behind, but then wavered, and lost.

3. How often do we look back at sin with all of its appealing sinful

life style, then move out of the between spot and make the choice to

go along with what sin offers and not what God has promised?

III LISTEN TO ENCOURAGEMENT NOT TO WAVER.

Psalm 34:14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and

pursue it. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 Test everything. Hold on to the

good. Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Peter 3:11 He must turn from

evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

1. As Christians we don’t want to waver between good and evil.

2. But let’s be honest. We often are weak. We often have to say

with the Apostle Paul, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I

cannot carry it out.” (Romans 7:18)

3. We waver. In spite of the best of intentions we too easily fall into

sin. And you know what that means: The wages of sin is death.

IV NOW LISTEN TO WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT SINNERS.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God

is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1. Adam and Eve, you and I, could never overcome the

consequences of our sin, not even of one sin.

2. But God in His love could and did. He gave His Son to die on

the cross as our substitute so that our sins could be forgiven, canceled.

3. But this also involved a between for Jesus. On Friday He was

dead. Then Saturday came between - had He lost His battle? But the

between time ended with Sunday when an “angel said to the women,

‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who

was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come

and see the place where he lay.’” (Matthew 28:5-6) Jesus had not

wavered at all in carrying out His saving mission. For you and for me

He resolutely went to the cross, then victoriously arose, the Victorious

One, to be our forgiveness and our resurrection and our life.

V SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the

gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many

enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that

leads to life, and only a few find it.”

1. The wide gate, everything the world offers - it leads to hell.

2. The narrow gate - Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Truth and

the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John

14:6)

3. Don’t waver! Believe in Jesus, your Way and Truth and Life!

Joshua 24:20-21 “If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods,

he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you,

after he has been good to you.” But the people said to Joshua,

“No! We will serve the LORD.”

1. The people didn’t waver. They plainly said they would serve

God, as we in faith want to say the same thing, “We will serve the

LORD.”

2. But the Israelites were weak and fell into sin again and again.

And we too are weak, waver, fall and don’t stop needing our Savior.

3. So let us keep fighting the good fight of faith, turning for

forgiveness to the Savior whom we need each and every day of our

lives, knowing that is an ongoing struggle, as it was for Moses.

Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused

to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be

mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the

pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the

sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt,

because he was looking ahead to his reward.

1. The pleasures of sin tempt us too, not just Moses.

2. Also our feelings don’t like disgrace, rejection from the world.

3. But fight the fight of faith, be strengthened by God’s Word.

Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in

the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the

more as you see the Day approaching.

1. As our bodies need food to stay physically strong, so our faith

needs feeding with God’s Word, with the Lord’s Supper.

2. Worshiping at church with your fellow believers or staying away

from church and worship - don’t waver between them.

3. Worship faithfully, and encourage others to do the same.

VI AND DON’T WAVER AT ALL ABOUT WHAT WILL BE.

John 3:16 “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only

Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal

life.”

Matthew 25:33 “He will put the sheep on his right and the goats

on his left.”

1. Something most definite will be - perish or live. So don’t waver.

Revelation 2:10 “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will

give you the crown of life.”

2. In faith be able to say what the Apostle Paul said in his second

letter to Timothy (4:7-8), “I have fought the good fight, I have

finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for

me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous

Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also

to all who have longed for his appearing.”

3. Look at what is coming! Yes, this life has its difficulties. But

don’t waver. God’s promises stand sure, as the psalmist says, “Those

who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.” (Psalm 126:5)



I have used quite a few passages to talk about wavering Between

Two Events Or Choices. Just about all of them have been about

wavering between something good and something bad.

That, however, was not the case with what I mentioned in the

introduction about this week being between last week’s organ

dedication and next week’s Mission Festival. Both of those - organ

dedication and Mission Festival - are good, no choosing or wavering

necessary.

Looking back, let us thank God for the organ we can now enjoy as

it leads us in our worship. And looking ahead, let that thanks be

evident as we show with our Mission Festival worship and offerings

that we want to praise God, and that we want to share with others the

truth of salvation, the truth of our Savior who wavered not at all in

going to the cross and coming out of the tomb so that each of us might

have a crown of life.









































































































Monday, October 1, 2012

Sept. 30, 2012 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.


ORGAN DEDICATION
September 29, 30 and October 1, 2012
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: 1 Kings 8:62-66

“LET’S DEDICATE!”
1.     We too have reason to dedicate.
2.     We too have something to dedicate.

1 Kings 8:62-66 (NIV 1984)  Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the Lord.
64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings. 65 So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. 66 On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

          Just try to picture this. 22,000 cattle. 120,000 sheep and goats. All Israel from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Wadi of Egypt in the south. Tons of  people. All the animals. And all the animals were sacrificed. A fourteen day celebration. Maybe think of the entire state of Wisconsin all converging on Milwaukee. Tents and campers everywhere. Every green space packed. Practically speaking that must have been a logistical nightmare when you think of food, drink, sanitation. Why did they do it? They had something to dedicate. The great Temple for the Lord in Jerusalem. Now in comparison our dedication is a little different. It’s smaller. We are dedicating an organ for a temple not an entire building. Ours really lasts just one day although with our worship service schedule it kind of spans three days. Instead of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats to eat after they were sacrificed we will after the organ recital have light refreshments. I have to tell you though that I am very glad we don’t have to deal with all the logistics, especially the plumbing. And I really have no desire to deal with all the blood and smell of the sacrificing. And still we here are to dedicate. So let’s do that. Let’s dedicate. And God’s word will lead us to look at the reasons and the what’s.
          To dedicate. What does that mean? In this sense it means to set aside for a special purpose or to set aside for holy purposes. It’s a very public way of declaring that something has a special purpose. As you heard in our readings the people of God back then had a reason to dedicate. The great Temple known as Solomon’s Temple was completed. This had been a massive undertaking. Plans for the Temple had been made by Solomon’s father, King David. Supplies had been gathered. Cedar logs cut and hewn. Massive stone blocks quarried and shaped. Gold and silver and bronze set aside. Then the real work had begun. Craftsmen from God’s people labored over seven years. Now the Temple was done. While they were able to worship God before, now they had a special building dedicated only to that purpose. They had a reason to dedicate.
          But it wasn’t only the completion of the Temple that gave them reason to dedicate. When the dedication was over we are told, They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.” Solomon in his dedication prayer said, “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.” You see their real reason to dedicate was God’s goodness to them. He had brought them safely to the Promised Land. He had settled them and given them rest from their enemies. He was a God who kept His promises and remember, remember, that in the mind of the believers in Israel every promise of God was tied to the promise of a Savior from sin. God’s goodness and promise keeping gave them reason to dedicate.
          It gives us reason to dedicate too. We, like God’s Old Testament people have come to the completion of something that is important in our worship life, our new organ. It was a two year plus project, not a seven year plus project. It required gathering of supplies and funds and lots of labor. It’s not that we were not able to worship the Lord without it, we did. But this instrument which has been beneficial to the church for centuries is dedicated to a single purpose. It won’t be used to lead the fans on to cheer for the Brewers. It won’t entertain people as they are eating pizza. It will lead them in singing to the Lord. It will remind them of melodies that have carried important words of God into the heart and souls of believers for generations. We have a reason to dedicate.
          But can’t we too go beyond the completion of a project? Can’t we like Solomon and his people say, “Praise to the Lord. Not one word has failed of all the promises He has made to us. We are joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord has done for us?” Don’t we also realize that the promises that God makes to us in the Bible are tied to the promise of a Savior? And since we have that promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ we can count on God to keep all of His promises? Yes. Yes. Yes and Yes. We have a reason to dedicate that goes well beyond the completion of an organ project. We have the grace and goodness of God!
          And we have something to dedicate too just like Solomon and Old Testament Israel did. They had a Temple. It was beautiful. It was there to be a blessing for the people, a special place where God dwelled in a special way, where they could gather and pray and worship and have God bless them. We have an organ to dedicate. The parts of it we can see are beautiful. It is here to be a blessing to us. To help us as we come to our special place to pray and worship. To create a reverent mood and lead us in singing.
          Do you think though that there is another organ we ought to think about dedicating today? The splendor of Solomon’s Temple was awe inspiring.  Truly David and Solomon wanted the best for God. But God wasn’t always impressed. Later He would have to say about people coming to the Temple, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Even though He had commanded sacrifices to be brought he would say, “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” Instead He said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” and  I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” He also said, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual  act of worship.” How awful if God would have to say about us, “These people approach me with songs and hymns led by this organ but their hearts are far from me. They live the rest of the week as though I don’t exist. I have no need for your paper and metal presented during the offertory. It’s already mine. Where are the broken and contrite hearts?” What God wants is our hearts. Let’s dedicate them brothers and sisters. For when God has our hearts then the fingers and feet that play the organ will continue to serve Him when they are not. Then the voices that are led to sing to the Lord in church will continue to serve the Lord out of church rejecting filthy language and words of bitterness. Instead they will speak words of kindness and compassion always look for the opportunity to talk about what the Temple and all of Scripture is all about which is Jesus. Then the minds that are engaged by organ music here will want to think about God’s things during the week, being heavenly minded, thinking about whatever is good and noble and pleasing to God. What God wants is our hearts and then actions and words will follow. Let’s dedicate.
          I don’t know what all the people of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt together with 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and cattle put together would sound like. I probably never will. Soon we will get to hear what a 1775 pipe, pipe organ will sound like. I’m looking forward to that. What God wants to know and what He looks forward to is what the hearts of the people of St. Jacobi will sound like in service to Him. Let’s show Him. Let’s dedicate. Amen.