Wednesday, January 25, 2017

January 21-23, 2017 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 1:29-41 “ON LIVING LIVES THAT SAY, “LOOK!”


EPIPHANY 2

January 21-23, 2017

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 1:29-41



“ON LIVING LIVES THAT SAY, “LOOK!”

1.     Lives that attract.

2.     Lives that inform.

3.     Lives that connect.



John 1:29-41 (NIV 1984) “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the One I meant when I said, ‘A Man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ 31I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.” 32Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him. 33I would not have known Him, except that the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The Man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” 35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?” 39“Come,” He replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour. 40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).”



          “Why am I here?” I’m guessing that most of you haven’t asked that question about yourself recently even though it’s a very important one. The question of individual and collective purpose has kept philosophers busy and employed for centuries. More recently a presentation I saw pointed to having a purpose in life as one of the key components of wellness. Perhaps if you are up there in years and your body isn’t working well you have asked, “Lord, why am I still here?” If you are wondering I have some Good News from God’s word for you today. As a redeemed and baptized child of God you are here to live a life that says “Look!”

          John the Baptist certainly understood his purpose. I’ve always wondered if John the Baptist and Jesus had any interactions as kids. They were close in age and related. Did they get to play together? Did John see Jesus when He went up to Jerusalem and stayed in the Temple at age twelve? I don’t know. At what point in life did John the Baptist know his God given purpose? We are simply told in all the Gospels that John appeared on the scene, that the word of the Lord came to him and he began preparing the way for the Lord by baptizing and preaching repentance. Take a look at a picture of what John might have looked like—out in the desert, wearing clothing of camels’ hair with a leather belt around his waist, eating a diet of locusts and wild honey, baptizing in the desert. Think about it. By appearance, diet and action John lived a life that said, “Look!” a life that attracted people to Jesus.

          How attractive are you? When you look in the mirror what do you see? Not the mirror in the bathroom at home but the mirror of God’s Word? Do you attract people to Jesus in your appearance, your diet, your actions? Let’s start with appearance, what you wear. Colossians 3:12-14 says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Does that look like you? A Christian who goes around looking grumpy or mad or angry, a Christian who tears others down and uses foul language, does not attract anyone to Jesus. But as one of God’s chosen people you can dress each day with those characteristics that will. How about diet? What are you eating? Are you taking in God’s Words on a daily basis so they change you and shape you and strengthen you? What about actions? Do people see that you prioritize worship, that you pray, that you are a God dependent person? Professor Bivens in our Bible Class has reminded us of the importance of being authentic and transparent. Like John. People look for that and your purpose, like John the Baptist’s purpose, is to a live a life that says Look! Not look at me, but look at the one who changes me. Jesus.

          Attract, then you can inform.  “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the One I meant when I said, ‘A Man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ 31I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.” 32Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him. 33I would not have known Him, except that the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The Man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” When John the Baptist got the chance he informed. He made sure the people knew the purpose of Jesus Christ. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

          You and I can do the same thing. When our lives attract people we get the chance to inform. It might be when they notice you are a church goer or when you tell them where your kids go to school or when you are wearing your soon to be released St. Jacobi wear, don’t just tell them wear, tell them why. Because Jesus takes away the sin of the world. It’s OK to let them know you sin. They already do! Tell them how good it feels to be forgiven. Always. Because of Jesus. You don’t have to answer every question others have or try to make Jesus appealing by hinting that the lives of believers are trouble free—they are not. Live a life like John’s that says “Look! It’s Jesus. He came to take away the sin of the world.” And He did just that when He gave His life, sacrificed like a lamb on the cross. We live lives that inform.

          And then hopefully lives that connect. “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?” 39“Come,” He replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour. 40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).” You need to know your purpose. John understood his. He wasn’t interested in having people follow him. They were supposed to follow Jesus. Notice how he connected them. Look! He said. Follow Jesus. It continued with Andrew. He found his brother Simon. He made the connection to Jesus.

          That’s my purpose and your purpose, to live lives that say “Look!” so we can connect people to Jesus. I think that’s pretty obvious for someone who is called Pastor. It’s obvious for a family of people like our family at St. Jacobi. Why our budget is important and our work, how we look to the community. We exist to connect people to Jesus. But it’s your purpose individually and for your families too. It may not be so obvious because you aren’t called Pastor or named after an Apostle but it is just as true. You are here to live a life that says, “Look!” As a worker to your co-workers, parent to a child, children to parents, no matter what role God has a playing we’re here to say Look! Look at Jesus. Because when it comes right down to it, when the buzzer sounds at the end of a life or the end of this world the only thing that matters is Jesus who has taken away the sin of the world. Living lives that attract, inform and connect people to Him is the most important reason you are here. Amen.

Monday, January 9, 2017

January 7-9, 2017 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 17:11-19 UNCOMMON MERCY LEADS TO UNCOMMON GRATITUDE!


EPIPHANY/364 Days of Thanksgiving Sermon Series

January 7-9, 2017

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 17:11-19



UNCOMMON MERCY LEADS TO UNCOMMON GRATITUDE!



Luke 17:11-19 (NIV 1984) “Now on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance 13and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14When He saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him—and he was a Samaritan. 17Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19Then He said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”



          Today we begin the Church Year season of Epiphany. Epiphany celebrates and focuses on the many ways Jesus was made known to be the true Savior, especially to Gentiles or non Jews. We are also joining with many of ours sister WELS congregations across the nation in a year long emphasis called 364 Days of Thanksgiving. Both come together today as God’s word has already pointed out how people would be drawn to the light of Jesus, how that message needed to revealed and proclaimed to Gentiles and how Gentile wise men brought gifts for Jesus and his family to use. The message of Jesus still needs to be proclaimed here at St. Jacobi, through our high school and our synod. And that happens when modern Gentile wise men bring their gifts. But something we can never overlook when it comes to Christian living and giving is motive. God wants it to come from a thankful heart. So that we have thankful hearts let’s focus on two things you don’t see every day: 1. uncommon mercy and 2. uncommon gratitude.

As we join Jesus he is heading to Jerusalem to complete His mission as Savior of the world. He came to a village near the border between Galilee and Samaria. Just as he is about to enter the village, ten men suffering from leprosy call out to him from a distance. Leprosy is uncommon today. Cases in the United States are extremely rare. But in Jesus’ day, it was more common. Since untreated leprosy can be spread by contact,  in Jesus’ day, a person who suffered from leprosy would be forced to live far away from other people in what were called leper colonies.

These lepers, though, had heard about Jesus. From a distance they yell out to him.  “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” (Luke 17:13). It would not be uncommon for someone to feel sorry for those who have leprosy. What was uncommon was the mercy Jesus showed. Earlier in his ministry, Jesus actually reached out and touched a man with leprosy to heal him. That was unheard of. They were considered unclean. No one would go near them, let alone touch them. Who wants to look like that? But that didn’t stop Jesus. He told the ten lepers to show themselves to the priest. In those days, the priest was the one who would declare a person clean (or healthy) from leprosy. The priest would declare that person able to return to family, worship at the temple, and rejoin life in society. On the way to the priest, Jesus again showed He was the Messiah as He miraculously healed them. He didn’t just give them a few dollars or say a few sympathetic platitudes. He changed their lives forever. He gave them a new life—a new beginning. The mercy he showed them was uncommon.

Care to differ? Well let’s think about the mercy we show today. We may feel sorry for those who suffer, but what steps do we take to alleviate their suffering? Maybe we will send a few dollars to help those suffering from Ebola in Africa. Few if any of us, would leave our home and job and then fly to Africa to volunteer to be in the middle of the action being with and touching those people. That kind of mercy is uncommon. Maybe we will give a few dollars or some food to a person who is down and out, but how many of us will invite that one into our homes, provide a job, or spend a significant amount of time helping turn that person’s life around? That kind of mercy is uncommon. But that is the kind of mercy Jesus showed—to us. Remember why Jesus came. It was to live with the sin sick that repulsed His holy nature and then to be infected with the sins of the whole world on the cross! Jesus’ mercy is uncommon!

I heard of a church recently that stopped its giving tree. It used to put up a tree where members could bring gifts and toys to be donated to those in need. But they don’t do that anymore. Do you want to know why? The church members got frustrated because the gift recipients weren’t very grateful. Some of them would actually complain about what they received. Can you believe people would be like that?

You better, because we do the same thing--to God.  Jesus showed us the greatest act of love ever by sacrificing everything to win for us forgiveness and heaven. He suffered the whippings and beatings and mocking. He suffered the hellish punishment of his heavenly Father for all of our selfish sins that are all too common in each of us. And how do we so often respond? We fall into the same stupid and selfish sins. We seldom thank Jesus like we should. Yes, there are times we remember to say or sing a quick, “Thank you.” But most of the time we take his love and mercy for granted. And then we have the gall to get upset and frustrated when he doesn’t give us everything we want, when we want it. In spite of all that, our God continues to forgive us, to love us.

Wouldn’t it be better to respond to the Lord’s uncommon mercy with our own uncommon gratitude? After Jesus told the lepers to show themselves to the priest, all ten of the lepers left. Can’t you just picture what it must have been like as the lepers went to the priest? They noticed their joints no longer hurt. Their skin cleared up. They were healed. Can’t you just see them pick up the pace and begin to run? Their lives were completely changed. All ten had won the leprosy lottery! But then one of them stopped in his tracks. He turned around and ran back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice. He fell at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. We aren’t told anything more about the other nine. We can only assume that they too were thankful. They just didn’t show it. That kind of gratitude is all too common.

Yes, even with us. For example we hear about a 16 year old girl tragically killed as she drove to school after Christmas break. It makes us realize how blessed we are to have people in our lives. We think to ourselves, “As soon as I get home, I am going to tell my children, my husband, my wife how much I love them. From now on, I am going to live each day as if it were their last.” But then a couple of hours pass. We get busy with our lives. By the time we get home, we forget to tell our family how much we love them. Nothing significantly changes. Or sometimes we come to church and the message of Christ’s uncommon mercy moves us. We feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God. We may even say a prayer of thanks to him. We think to ourselves about how we are going to change our lives—how from now on we are going to live for God. We imagine all the changes we are going to make. But then we get home and are distracted—by the TV or the bills or housework—and those feelings and thoughts quickly drift away. Nothing really changes.

Look again at the uncommon gratitude of that lone leper. He didn’t even make it to the priest. He could have been arrested for that, but he couldn’t help it. He had to go back to the source. He had to thank his Savior and God in an uncommon way. We can do the same. In 2017 let’s not be content with one day of Thanksgiving. Let’s add another 364! 364 days where we will strive for uncommon gratitude, showing our thanks to Jesus in ways that are above and beyond what everyone else does.  Don’t miss worship. Don’t just give what’s easy and won’t be missed. Don’t be like the millions of Christians who don’t bother to have the daily conversation with God in Word and prayer. Jesus showed He was the Messiah by word and deed. He has labeled us His Epiphany lights to in our time and our community by word and deed show that Jesus is our Messiah. We have a lot of things to be thankful for. We are recipients of uncommon mercy. We can now show uncommon gratitude. What ways will you pick? Amen.

Monday, January 2, 2017

December 31, 2016 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude “GLORIFY YOUR NAME!”


NEW YEAR’S EVE

December 31, 2016

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude



“GLORIFY YOUR NAME!”

1.     Can a child presume to choose?

2.     Can a Father’s love refuse?

3.     This alone shall be my prayer!



Have you ever had it happen that you get a song just stuck in your head, you keep coming back to it? Maybe you have some Christmas ones there right now. Well for the past year I’ve had the hymn we just sang stuck in my head. We sang it as the opening hymn for New Year’s Eve last year and the words, the meaning, the closing phrase just kept coming back to me. Glorify your name! What an honorable motto for us Christians to have stuck in our heads! Indulge me then as we use the hymn “Father, Let me Dedicate,” as our sermon text today.

Verse two begins, “Can a child presume to choose, where or how to live?” And now every parent here goes, “Bah! Yes, they can and do!”  Oftentimes against the advice and rules of parents children will presume that they know better than their parents. They will do their own thing. Yes a child can presume to choose where and how to live. But they shouldn’t, should we? You see the child alluded to in our hymn is not my child or your child but every child of God. Us!

Can we, have we presumed where and how to live? The sad answer is “Yes.” As we look back at 2016 we can all remember some of the times we presumed how to live. Our normal word for that is sin. We the children, told the Father, we knew best. He said, “Do not covet. Be content.” But we presumed to know better. We were dissatisfied. We let our eyes wander. The Father said, “Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,” but we presumed to know better. We talked how we wanted, perhaps with foul words to fit in, or stinging words to hurt. Father said, “Respect, obey, honor the authorities I put over you,” and again we knew better than Him. We had the right because they were wrong.

So what do you think our chances are for 2017 of fully following the Father? When after Communion we commit in our hearts to following what God says, of turning away from this sin or that one that we continually fight in our weakness, will we really be able to do it? Sometimes the answer is “Yes.” With the help of the Lord we can cut off and out of our lives some sins. Then others pop up. How can we glorify God’s name with our sin? Listen to a portion of God’s word from Joshua 7:19. “Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give him praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

Some of you may recognize that verse from a portion of the story of the conquest of the Promised Land. When God led the Israelites to the Promised Land, their new home, the first time they refused to go in and conquer it. They did not trust God to keep His promise to fight for them. They presumed where and how to live. Their consequence for that sin was wandering around in the desert for 40 years. Moses died. God put General Joshua is in charge and told them to take the land. He would fight for them. The first test of their trust was the great city of Jericho with insurmountable walls. God made Jericho’s impregnable walls pregnable as they fell at His command. God’s command to the Israelites was that they devote everything in the city to the Lord, take nothing for themselves. But a certain child of God named Achan presumed to choose how to live and took some of the plunder of Jericho for himself. He tried to hide his sin. It did not work. Joshua told Achan how he could glorify God’s name after his sin. Confess it.

That’s what we can do in 2017. Our chances of living a sin free 2017 are exactly 0. We are going to fall into sin sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes out of weakness. Sometimes we’ll go running and screaming toward it like we are taking a polar bear plunge! Glorify God’s name. When He lets you know through your conscience or the voice of the Spirit in His word or through a truly loving friend or parent don’t pull an Achan and try to deny or hide. Give glory to God. Glorify His name and freely admit your sin.

Then what. Our theme hymn goes on to say in verse two, “Can a father’s love refuse all the best to give?” Now some who are children here are saying, “Yes, yes they do!” Some are nodding to that to tease their dad who while he is not perfect tries to do his best. Some sadly have experienced a human father who was not just a poor imitation of our heavenly Father, but no imitation at all. An earthly father’s love is supposed to lead him to provide the best for his children. Earthly fathers can’t always do that.

But the heavenly Father can and does. Listen to a portion of God’s word from John 12:23-24.  Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Jesus spoke these words during Holy Week. He was going to be glorified. How? By His death. He used an interesting picture. For a kernel of wheat to give life it must die. But then it gives life to many. That’s our Lord Jesus. Can a Father’s love refuse all the best to give? Not when it’s the heavenly Father we are talking about. In His great love for us He gave His best, Jesus. Jesus was glorified as the Savior of the world. By His death He gave us life. Our Father gave us His best and His giving continues.

In Romans 8:32 we read, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” It’s simply heavenly logic. Since God has already given us the best in His own Son Jesus we can count on Him to give us all the rest of the things we need as well. Our hymn writer penned those truths. “Not from sorrow, pain or care, freedom dare I claim.” Sometimes God graciously gives us sorrow, pains and cares because they are good for us. They make or keep us God dependent. They help us let go something we are holding on to too tightly. They make us stronger or purer. Again to our hymn.  ”If in mercy you prolong, joys that now are mine, if on life serene and fair brighter rays may shine, let my glad heart while it sings, you in all proclaim and whate’er the future brings, Glorify your name. If you have for me a cross and its shadow come, turning all my gain to loss, shrouding heart and home, let me think you your dear Son to his glory came and in deepest woe pray on, Glorify your name.” In meaningful words the hymn writer sums up 2017. Our God may pour into our lives all the things that have brought joy so far and many more. He may have a hard road for us to walk just as He let Jesus walk a hard road. No matter what we can glorify God’s name by continuing to trust when things are hard and acknowledging the source when things go well. Glorify your name.

The final phrase that kept running through my head comes from the last part of the first verse. “This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify your name.” Now I don’t know about you but I can say for myself that I did a lot of praying in 2016. I can’t say that my only prayer was “Glorify your name!” There were some “Thank you”s and “I’m sorrys” and a lot of “Helps!” I suspect my prayer life in 2017 will sound similar. And I don’t think the hymn writer meant that “Glorify your name” would be the only prayer prayed but would be the desired year long attitude. What a great resolution to take into our new year. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16) The Apostle Paul reminded us, “So whether you eat, drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) With every decision we make we can glorify the Lord, from what we eat and drink or refuse to, how we dress and won’t. The words we choose to use and refuse to use. All of them are opportunities to glorify God’s name. Look for them in 2017.

That’s why I hope the words of this hymn continue to stick in my head. They serve as a great reminder of why I am still here and so are you, to give glory to God. One added bonus for 2016. I recently learned there is going to be an extra second tonight. To keep up with the slowing of the earth’s rotation the official time keepers have added one second to the last minute of 2016. Any ideas on what to do with it? Glorify God’s name! Amen.