Sunday, April 20, 2014

GOOD FRIDAY April 18, 2014 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 23:44-46 "What Shall I do with Jesus? - Die with Him!"



GOOD FRIDAY
April 18, 2014
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Luke 23:44-46

                      "What Shall I do with Jesus?  - Die with Him!"

Luke 23:44-46 (NIV 1984) It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

          What shall I do with Jesus?”  is a question we have asked seven times already during the season of Lent. Today as we gather to commemorate our Savior’s death we ask it again. What shall I do with Jesus? On Good Friday what other answer can there be than, “Die with Him.” Jesus truly died. Luke gives us some details. He draws our attention first to the three hours of darkness that had covered the whole land for the sun had stopped shining. Now how God did that we do not know. What’s more important is the message God sent. Sin is serious. And the wages of sin is death. Only the one dying here isn’t the sinners. It’s His one and only Son. But there was more. The curtain of the Temple was torn in two. Now you have to know a little something about the Temple and how it was set up and why. God had the Temple built in Jerusalem to be a gathering place to worship Him. It was also a teaching tool that was filled with symbolism, more than we can talk about now. But we can talk about that curtain. The Temple itself had two real rooms, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, also called the Holy of Holies. The Holy Place which was about two thirds of the building had the Altar of Incense and the Table for the Shewbread. The priests who represented the people could go there regularly. The Most Holy Place was a perfect cube because it represented God most Holy. In it was the Ark of the Covenant. The High Priest could only enter the Most Holy Place once a year on the great day of Atonement. The ongoing message was clear. God is holy. Most holy. You can’t be with Him, you can’t see Him until sin is paid for. The Temple curtain was the separator. Now it’s gone. Torn in two.  New message? Sin has been paid for in full. Full access to God. That was the mission Jesus had been sent on. His mission was over. Finished. So he committed his spirit to His heavenly father and he died.
          Now what shall we do with Jesus? Die with Him. Brothers and sister, there are three ways we can think about doing that. First that we have already died with Him. The Apostle Paul reminds us of that in his letter to the Romans when he wrote in chapter 6:1-4, What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” There it is. We died with Him. As we sing about in a little bit, we were there on Calvary. Jesus carried us with Him. All of our sins on Him were laid. Your baptism connects you to Jesus. His death to pay for sin is your death to pay for sin. He is your substitute. The wages of your sin is death and your wages are paid in full. We died with Him.
          And in a sense we to need to keep dying with Him. Paul went on a little later in Romans 6. “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” While the wages of sin are already paid for us we still have to fight sinful desires. Paid in full isn’t a reason to keep sinning. It’s our reason to stop, to fight and we do that as we keep dying with Jesus on a daily basis. That happens when we consider ourselves dead to sin. That means not wanting sin to be a part of our lives. That happens when we say “No” to our sinful desires and following our desires to please Jesus instead. That’s how we keep dying with Jesus.
          Finally we will die with Him. Maybe you have had someone very close to you die. Maybe it worked for you that you knew their death was imminent and you did your best to be with them at the hospital or a hospice home. Why did you want to be with them? The most common reason people give is, “I didn’t want him to die alone. I didn’t want her to die alone.” But the believer in Jesus is never alone. When we die we get to die with Jesus. He’s right there for us. Listen to what happened when a New Testament Christian named Stephen died. “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.” Stephen was not alone when he died. Jesus was with him. Jesus received His Spirit. Maybe some of you have seen the picture of Jesus welcoming the sinner into heaven with the “I’ve been waiting for you” hug. Believers don’t die alone. They die with Jesus. Has God made it clear that your time is coming sooner rather than later? Are you now attending to a loved one who is dying? Comfort them. Tell them the truth. Because Jesus died for you, you get to die with Him. When Jesus comes you get to go.
          You know when we started our Lenten journey with the question “What shall I do with Jesus?” we noted that the original asker of that question was really being foolish. Pilate had no power over Jesus. We don’t either. We just respond to what He has done for us. A better question may have been asked by Jesus of us. What shall I do with these sinners? Die for them. Because I love them. Amen.

April 20, 2014 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 “THIS JOYFUL EASTERTIDE”



EASTER SUNRISE
April 20, 2014
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26

“THIS JOYFUL EASTERTIDE”
1.     Away with sin and sorrow.
2.     Death’s flood has lost its chill.
3.     My flesh in hope shall rest.

1 Corinthians 15:20-26 (NIV1984) “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

          Why did you choose to come to the Sunrise service? It’s so early. Most of the time people don’t want to come to church at 6 AM which is a big reason we don’t have a regular 6 AM sunrise service. So why Easter? It seems most people who choose the Easter Sunrise service seem to want to  kind of be like the women who went to Jesus’ Tomb. They were the first ones to find out that Jesus was alive. If we want to be like them though we need to remember how they felt and what they were thinking. Remember their last memories of Jesus? The last sights and sounds were, well awful. They were the sights and sounds of death. The nails pounded in. The haggard pain filled face. All those people jeering him. His mother Mary’s grief. The sickening thuds as they broke the thieves’ legs. Blood flowing from Jesus’ side. They watched as Joseph of Aramathea and Nicodemus had his body taken down, carried to the tomb, gently staged for burial. All too quickly the tomb was shut and sealed. They had to hurry to their homes as the Sabbath approached.
          Now remembering that background, how do you think they approached the tomb that first Easter morn? Probably not like we did. This morning we came with joyful hearts, already knowing how things turn out. We came probably thinking of all the special things of today. Do you think they ran with a pep in there step and eager anticipation? Or was it with grim determination? Someone has to treat Jesus’ body with respect. Do you think their hearts were happy or heavy? We know. At first there was no joyful Eastertide. But everything changed in an instant when they discovered Jesus is alive. Their hearts and lives were filled with joy.
Our theme hymn for this Sunrise Service is “This Joyful Eastertide.” It makes use of the Apostle Paul’s look at the Resurrection of Jesus and how useless our faith is if Jesus didn’t rise. But He did and so we have the privilege and right to have a joyful Eastertide and every time. But we don’t always have that joy, do we? There are joy stealers. Come along with me this morning as the Apostle Paul helps us see how Jesus’ resurrection helps us deal with those joy stealers mentioned in our theme hymn.
          First, this joyful Eastertide, away with sin and sorrow. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” Sin and sorrow go hand in hand as joy stealers in our lives. It’s ironic that sin often seems to be a joy giver. Sin makes us stupid. No one says, “Ah sinning sexually is going to change the whole course of my life and lead me to consequences that are hard to deal with.” No, at the time the temptation to sin seems like it will be fun, not lead to sorrows. No one says, “Ah, I’m going to lie so that no one will trust me and then I’ll have to tell more lies and I’ll finally get caught and all the rest of the time I have to live wondering who knows and if I’m going to get caught so I will be miserable.” No, at the time, the lie seems like a way out of a bad situation. We could play that game with any sin. Sin leads to sorrow, guilt, harms our ability to view God as the God of love, cause griefs to and with other people we love. So why do we sin? As in Adam, all die. We inherited a sinful nature which is stupid and leads us to make sin stupid decisions. But, this is Eastertide. God sent Jesus. In Him we are made alive. The eternal consequences of sin which would steal joy forever and leave us in eternal sorrow are gone. Paid in full. In Christ all are made alive. While we may feel sorrow over our sins, this joyful Eastertide we can say away with sin. Jesus has taken away our sins. Away with it sorrows for Jesus will be with us while we deal with earthly consequences.
          This joyful Eastertide death’s flood has lost its chill. The death of our loved ones can  be a joy stealer. It has a chilling effect. When loved ones die we have sadness. That’s why we often talk a little differently when a loved one dies or we are at a funeral. We use hushed tones. We may cry. We don’t like being separated from someone we love for a time, not being able to call them, talk with them, be with them. But Easter tells us it won’t last. Like a nice bonfire on cool spring night takes the chill away, Jesus Resurrection has done the same for us. “But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.” God’s Word tells us that Jesus is the firstfruit of those who are made alive. What does a firstfruit mean other than there will be second fruits and third fruits and thousand fruits. Death is not permanent. Death can't hold us or our loved ones. Think of your loved ones who have died belonging to Jesus. Imagine how you are going to feel when you see them again. And you will because Jesus rose. It’s a joyful Eastertide.
          This joyful Eastertide means my flesh in hope shall rest. Thinking about our own death can be a downer, a joy stealer. But this joyful Eastertide it doesn’t have to be! “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” What’s next? Now what? If you’ve traveled with kids you know those questions aren’t rare. They’re actually quite natural. We all want to know what comes next. God answers the need to know part of that question. The order goes like this. First Jesus died. Then He rose from the dead. Then He ascended into heaven. What’s next? Well at the right time this world will end. Jesus will come back with the trumpet call of God. He will hand over the kingdom and remember kingdom is people. The ability of the Devil and the demons and our own sinful natures will be destroyed. Death will be destroyed. It won’t happen again.
          But what’s next for us? My flesh in hope shall rest. While we do talk about death with hushed tones there really is no need to. When you and I physically die the “us” part, the soul goes right to heaven to be with Jesus. Our flesh, our body rests. Oh to the world it looks like it decayed, turned to dust and ashes. But like a seed planted in the ground doesn’t yield the same dead looking seed so when Jesus comes back at the end of the world, what He will raise up will be glorious bodies unaffected by sin. All because Jesus rose. A joyful Eastertide.
          If your reason for choosing to attend the Easter Sunrise service is to try to recreate the mood of what it must have been like for the women that first Easter morning you know that it is a little tough. For us it’s kind of like watching a rerun of a Super Bowl. When it’s at the point where the game is tight it’s hard to feel nervous when you know you’re going to win. So really feeling how the women felt is impossible for us. What we do share with them though is the reason for coming. Loyalty. To Jesus. They came to serve what they thought was a dead Lord. We come to serve what we know is a living Lord. This joyful Eastertide and always. He is risen indeed! Amen.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Maundy Thursday sermon on Matthew 26:26-29 by Pastor Paul G. Eckert

Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2014
Sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Sermon text - Matthew 26:26-29

    Very early in my ministry, at the first congregation I served in
Ontario, Canada, there was another Lutheran church in town.  I asked
the minister there for an opportunity to sit down together with him
because I wanted to find out for myself if there really was a difference
between us.  If there wasn’t, why should we, a WELS congregation,
be there?
    I quickly found out.  Though he identified himself as Lutheran, he
did not accept the Bible as being God’s completely true Word.  One
of the examples he used for his claimed errors in the Bible had to do
with people eating with Jesus.  That came to mind because of the
subject of our Maundy Thursday services today: dining with Jesus.
For a claimed example of an error in the Bible, he referred to one
report in the Gospels about Jesus miraculously feeding over 5000
people.  Then he said that in another Gospel it says over 4000 people
were fed by Him.  To him that was an obvious error.
    I said there was no error.  Jesus did both.  As a matter of fact Jesus
Himself referred to both times when He said to His disciples (Mt.
16:9-10), “Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five
thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?  Or the seven
loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you
gathered?”  That made no difference to him.  He still said it was a
mistake in the Bible, one of many.
     I could give other examples of our discussion.  Let it be sufficient
to say that I knew why WELS was in town.  I knew why it was and
still is necessary to warn and say that not everything that calls itself
Lutheran or Christian is what is claimed.
    Now, after referring to over 5000 and over 4000 dining with Jesus
- and both happened, Jesus said so - let’s go to our service theme.
WHAT SHALL I DO WITH JESUS?  DINE WITH HIM.
I    OTHERS OFTEN DINED WITH JESUS.   
    1. In this service we think of the day before He died.
        a) Friday was coming, what we refer to as Good Friday.
        b) The evening before, Thursday evening, Jesus sat down with
            His disciples to dine.  We’ll say more about that later, but here
            let us point out that there were actually two special meals or
            dinings that evening.  It was after the first one, the Passover
            Meal, that Judas most likely left to carry out his betrayal of
            Jesus in Gethsemane.
    2. Before this Jesus had often dined with others.
        a) The 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) give many
            examples of Jesus eating with others.  Let me list some.   
        b) After Jesus had healed Peter’s mother-in-law we are told that
            she waited on him.  I am quite sure that Jesus also dined when
            He fed the 5000 and the 4000.  He ate at Matthew’s house, at
            Simon’s house, at a Pharisee’s house.  He called Zacchaeus
            down from a tree and told him He wanted to eat at his house
            that day.  He was at a wedding reception where He turned
            water into wine.  He ate with Mary and Martha, the sisters of
            Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead, and scolded
            Martha for putting meal preparation ahead of hearing God’s
            Word.  He was at a dinner someone gave in His honor.
    3. He also dines with us, doesn’t He?
        a) How many of you use the common meal prayer that starts out
            with “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.”?
        b) If you use that, do you really mean it?
        c) Jesus wants to be with you at your table, and everywhere!
II  THERE WAS DINING ON MAUNDY THURSDAY  (26-28)
    1. The first meal was the Passover meal.
        a) The people of Israel had been in Egypt for over 400 years. 
            But because God had promised that the Savior would be born
            in Bethlehem, not in Egypt, He delivered them from Egypt to
            go back to the promised land.  That deliverance involved 10
            powerful signs or plagues.  The last one, the real convincing
            one, was that death would hit in every house.  But if the blood
            of a lamb was put on the door posts of a house, the angel of
            death would pass over it.  People would be spared.
        b) The Passover Meal was an annual reminder of that lamb and
            blood.  That’s why Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where do
you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
    2. The second meal we call the Lord’s Supper.  (26-28)
    While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is
my body.”  Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to
them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins.”
        a) The Passover meal, with its reminder of a lamb whose shed
            blood spared people from death, was finished.  Now Jesus
            instituted His special meal for His New Testament followers. 
        b) It was about  the true Lamb of God who was sacrificed,
            whose blood was shed, so that the angel of eternal death won’t
            come knocking at our doors.
    3. What a gracious meal!
        a) Here Jesus used what was on the table from the Passover
            meal, the bread and the wine, and referred to receiving the
            body and blood of the real Lamb of God.
        b) He did not require them or us to understand everything.
        c) But believe the message: “Given and shed for you.”   
III  JESUS’ INVITATION TO DINE IS ALSO FOR US TODAY.
    1. We have no need for the Passover meal.
        a) We think of that meal as pointing back to the past.
        b) But the past, what it proclaimed, has been fulfilled
    2. Today Jesus has given us what we call the Lord’s Supper.
        a) It is for those who truly are His disciples, who are united in
            their faith and in their confession of the truth.
        b) It is for those who can examine themselves, acknowledge
            their sins, and hunger for the precious assurance of forgiveness
            because Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave His body and shed His
            blood for them.
    3. What an invitation!
        a) The wages of sin, our sin, is eternal separation from glory.
        b) The message from Jesus’ meal is forgiveness of sins.
        c) And forgiveness means life and being with Jesus in glory.
IV  DINING AT THE HEAVENLY BANQUET IS COMING.
    1. Jesus did not stay visibly on earth.                                  \(29)
        a) He is here where two or three are gathered in His name.
        b) But His visible presence is not seen. 
    2. He has returned to His eternal glory.
        a) After Maundy Thursday came Good Friday, death.
        b) After that came the resurrection and ascension, proofs of His
            victory.
    3. We will share in that victory. (29)
 “I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on
until that day when I drink it anew with you in  my Father’s
kingdom.”   
        a) The disciples saw Jesus and dined with Him.
        b) In the Lord’s Supper we dine with Him, but don’t see Him.
        c) At the heavenly banquet we’ll dine with Him and see Him.

    Earlier I referred to the table prayer that starts out with “Come,
Lord Jesus, be our guest.”  Whenever you come to the Lord’s
Supper, think of Jesus saying to you, “Come, be My guest.  Receive
My body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of
sins.” 
    So, WHAT SHALL I DO WITH JESUS?  DINE WITH HIM.






















Thursday, April 10, 2014

April 9, 2014 6th Lent Wednesday sermon by Pastor Paul Eckert

6th Wednesday of Lent - April 9, 2014
Sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Sermon text - Luke 23:32-43

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    At the beginning of March in our church services we took note of
the Transfiguration of Jesus.  In transcending glory Jesus appeared on
a mount  to three of His disciples.  One of them, Peter, was so
impressed that he said, “Master, it is good for us to be here.  Let us
put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for
Elijah.”  Then the record in the Bible goes on to say, “He did not
know what he was saying.”
    That brings to my mind a hospital visit I made many years ago with
a St. Jacobi member, a man I had regularly greeted when he came to
church with his family.  My devotion with him came after we had first
talked a bit.  As I listened, I found it hard to believe that I was hearing
what I was hearing.  It seemed that almost every other word he spoke
was the name of Jesus.  But he was using Jesus’ name in vain, like a
fill word, like what we hear so often today when we hear the name
“Jesus” or the combination “Jesus Christ” being used like what we
might call a cuss word, or like many people today use the OMG
phrase “O my God” without realizing they are saying it at all.  
    I finally stopped him and asked, “Do you know what you are
doing?”  He said, “What?”  I told him that he was using Jesus’ name
in vain, without meaning.  He said he didn’t realize he was doing that,
that he certainly did not want to use his Savior’s name in vain.  I think
you can easily imagine what my devotion was like after that. 
    Let’s move ahead now to our text.  We come to not a mount of
transcending glory where Peter did not know what he was saying, but
to a horrible mount of crucifixion where people did not know what
they were doing.  There we hear these words from Jesus, “Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” 
    What about our doing with Jesus?  This week’s theme is:
WHAT SHALL I DO WITH JESUS?   FORGIVE WITH HIM.
I    WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED HERE.  (32-33,34b-39)
    1. Jesus was sentenced like a criminal. (32-33)
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be
executed.  When they came to the place called the Skull, there
they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the
other on his left.
         a) Two actual criminals were facing a court’s sentence.
        b) Jesus had been declared innocent by judge Pontius Pilate, by
            all of the evidence, but faced the same sentence.
    2. Then He received mistreatment, mocking.  (34b-39)
And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.  The people stood
watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.  They said, “He
saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the
Chosen One.”  The soldiers also came up and mocked him.  They
offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the
Jews, save yourself.”  There was a written notice above him,
which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  One of the
criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the
Christ?  Save yourself and us!”
        a) The physical pain had to be terrible.
        b) Then He was mocked for being who He actually was.
    3. Let’s not forget our part in this.
        a) Were we there when they crucified our Lord?
        b) Do our lives or our language at times slap Him in the face?
        c) Yes, we were there.  We all are sinners too.
II    DO WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING?  (34ab)
    1. Often we do know.
        a) We don’t mock and mistreat Jesus.  We are Christians.  We
            believe in Jesus as our precious Savior from sin.  Right?
        b) Because of that we pray, strive to live a God-pleasing life,
            come to church to worship.  We do know what we are doing.
    2. But often we do not know. (34a)
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they
are doing.” 
        a) Children and adults start using the bad language of the world
            and gradually it’s a way of talking, doesn’t bother them. 
        b) They start neglecting worship at church and see no need to
            use offering envelopes that support sharing the Word of God
            with others here and elsewhere - and it doesn’t bother them.
    3. What should this mean?
        a) The wages of sin, known or unknown, is eternal  death.
        b) Are we really any better than the mockers at the cross?
        c) But now let’s look penitently to the cross again.
III JESUS KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING.  (34a,42-43)
    1. Willingly He had gone to the cross.
        a) God’s holy justice required this.
        b) God’s Son had come to be the sacrificial Lamb of God.     
    2. There He paid the price for forgiveness. (34a)
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they
are doing.” 
        a) The price was a totally innocent death for all of the guilty.
        b) That sacrifice paid for all sins, also those unknown to us.
    3. Jesus promises what that forgiveness means. (42-43)
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom.”  Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you
will be with me in paradise.”
        a) Penitently this man confessed his faith in his Savior.
        b) His sins forgiven, he was promised heaven with Jesus.
        c) And Jesus promises us the same.
IV WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING?  (39-43)
    1. Penitently confess your faith. (39-42)
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him:
“Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”  But the other
criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you
are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are
getting what our deeds deserve.  But this man has done nothing
wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into
your kingdom.”
        a) Acknowledge all sins, also those you don’t know about.
        b) Turn to Jesus, just like this man on the cross, and be forgiven.
    2. Then let that faith be evident.
        a) Let that be in your daily life, your family life, your church life,
            your work life, your business life, your entertainment life.
        b) And don’t forget to do that by putting into practice what you
            pray in the Lord’s Prayer when you ask the Lord, “Forgive us
            our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
    3. Praise God for forgiving us!                
        a) It is not always easy to forgive others as we have been
            forgiven.
        b) When it is hard to do that in a family or elsewhere, remember
            how your Savior forgives you and assures you of that.  You
            and I don’t deserve that forgiveness.  He in His grace and love
            made forgiveness possible and gives forgiveness to us.
        c) And in Paradise forgiveness no longer will have to be given.
    Let me go back to the hospital visit I mentioned in the beginning.
When the man I visited said he did not realize he was doing what he
was doing with Jesus’ name, I asked him about his family - his wife
and children also were members of our congregation.  I asked him if
they had ever told him how he was misusing the name of Jesus.  His
answer was that they had not. 
    How sad.  May none of us here fail our fellow family or church
members in that way.  Instead, let us pray what Jesus prayed,
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are
doing.”  Then, when there is repentance for sin, let us assure them
that our heavenly Father does forgive.  That’s why Jesus was on the
cross.  That’s why He died.  That’s why He arose victorious from the
dead.  That’s why we can live as His forgiven people and also forgive
those who sin against us.  God give us the strength to do that!






















Monday, April 7, 2014

April 5-7, 2014 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Romans 8:11-18 “THE SPIRIT GIVES LIFE!”


LENT 5
April 5-7, 2014
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Romans 8:11-18

“THE SPIRIT GIVES LIFE!”
1.     So we can put to death our sinful nature.
2.     So we can live now as the children of God.
3.     So we have something to look forward to.

Romans 8:11-18 (NIV 1984) “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ""Abba," Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

          Death. It’s a reality. Something everyone has to deal with. Like taxes. Have you filed yours yet? Death isn’t easy to deal with. In the Gospel lesson you heard how Mary and Martha struggled at the death of their brother, Lazarus. In the Old Testament reading Ezekiel was presented with a vision of dry bones that represented the spiritually dead nature of God’s people at that time. Death is so final and impossible for us to deal with. How good it is to know that our loving Savior God rushes to the rescue of His people as they deal with issues of death. The Apostle Paul helps us see that in his letter as well. “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” The Spirit gives life. Let’s see what a blessing that is.
          First, the Spirit gives life so we can put to death our sinful nature. That’s a must. Paul went on to say, “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Putting to death our sinful nature is a matter of life and death. If you live according to or to please your sinful nature you will die eternally. Our sinful natures are like fires. As long as there is fuel they burn. They never say enough to sinning but want more and more. You see that happening in our changing American society as Jesus is rejected and fear of punishment wanes they type of sins get worse. Teen gangs years ago used to wear leather jackets, smoke, drag race and rumble. Now as more and more live according to the sinful nature they run drugs and shoot people. The immorality of our country years ago showed in affairs and folks jumping the gun before marriage. Now as more in our country live according to the sinful nature we have all that and the more of demanded rights to homosexual activity, we have child predators trolling the internet. It will keep getting worse. People who are living according to their sinful natures keep getting drawn further and further away from salvation in Jesus so that they really can’t tell right from wrong any more. Who sins? So who needs a Savior? The end game for that thinking is Hell. Here is the scary part. We each have a sinful nature that has the ability to lead us away.
          Here is the Good News. With the Holy Spirit we can put to death our sinful nature. That happens on a daily basis when as the Spirit leads us to own up to our sins instead of justifying them and in repentance turn to Jesus’ cross. Assured of our forgiveness we resolve to live for Christ. Don’t let that putting to death be a once a month or once a week thing. Our sinful natures are like weeds in the garden. If you don’t keep at them they take over. The Spirit is our gardener. With Him we cut them out. There are brothers and sisters who can testify that with the Spirit’s help they escaped from their sinful nature’s longing to abuse drugs or alcohol and sexual sinning and many more. The Spirit gives life.
          With Him we get to live as the children of God right now. “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ""Abba," Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.” We know that our country has a history of slave owning. None of us were alive during that time. Sadly many cultures have slave owning histories and slavery continues today. Most of the time slaves are obedient. They have to be or they get punished, starved, beaten. They live in fear. By nature we should live in fear of God. He has the right and power to punish us now and forever. Living and fear and obeying in fear is no fun. Ahh, but the Spirit gives life. He assures us we are the children of God. At your Baptism He was there writing your spiritual rebirth certificate to change things for you, to give you life. That means to enable you to live life now, not in a fear relationship with God, but a love one. Every parent here knows how proud they feel when their children obey willingly. Every parent knows how distasteful it is to get forced obedience by threat of punishment. That’s no way to live. So it is with God, our Father in heaven. He loves us unconditionally so that we will obey as children, out of love, not as slaves out of fear. At times we return to that fear. When we sin, like a naughty child, we may want to hide from Father and not see him when he gets home. But the Holy Spirit points us again to Jesus. Your sins are forgiven. Remembered no more. Yes, you can go to Father, call Him Abba, know that he still loves you unconditionally.
          And that helps with the difficult things in life. There too the Spirit gives life by giving us something to look forward to. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Since the Spirit lets us know we are the children of God we know we have an inheritance to look forward to. Most parents want to give their children better than they had it. Most parents hope they can give an inheritance to their children. That might include some special family mementos. Christian parents want to pass down the heritage of a Christian faith. It also includes something to make their life better in the future. Money. As children of God we have an inheritance better than money, the glory of heaven. And can you believe this? Not only are we heirs of heaven but the Spirit says we are co-heirs with Christ. Not sub heirs under Him the way it seems it should be but co-heirs, right along with Him.
          That best is yet to come knowledge the Spirit gives us so we can deal with hard things in life. Sometimes those hard things are in our bodies, sickness, chronic illness or pain, physical depressions. Sometimes those hard things hit our souls, like when the wicked or those who do wrong seem to prosper, seem to get away with it while those who try things God’s way get nothing. It’s unfair. These are our present sufferings. But the Spirit reminds us that they are not worth comparing to the glory that is in store for every believer in Jesus. I mean just think about what life is like without Him. You come in to the world wrinkly and you leave wrinkly. You come in helpless and leave helpless. You come in with nothing.  You leave with nothing. But the Spirit changes everything. He gives life. You come in with an imperfect body and once you leave your body will be perfect. You come in helpless to do anything pleasing to God but you live with the ability to do the right things for the right reasons. You come in with nothing but you leave with what God really wants and values and that is you, your heart freely given in response to His love for you in Jesus. You may live this life with what seems like not quite enough. In heaven we will have everything.  The Spirit gives life.
          So live with Him. A daily prayer life without a daily dose of God’s word is a one way conversation. Give God a chance to talk, the Spirit a chance to do His work. Only He gives life. He came into you at your Baptism. He works in the Holy Supper. He’s available every day in God’s Word. Spend some time. He gives life. Amen.