Tuesday, December 22, 2020

December 19-21, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 1:26-38 (EHV) “WHAT GRACE IS THIS?

 

ADVENT 4

December 19-21, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 1:26-38 (EHV)

 

“WHAT GRACE IS THIS?

1.     In choosing

2.     In promise keeping

3.     In faith giving

 

Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” 29But she was greatly troubled by the statement and was wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God. 31Listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Listen, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age even though she was called barren, and this is her sixth month. 37For nothing will be impossible for God.” 38Then Mary said, “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.”

 

          Like many other well written songs and hymns that give glory to Jesus “What Grace is This?” has wormed its way into my heart. It’s a newer hymn for the church year season of Lent. Here are some of the lyrics:  

 

1  What grace is this! My Lord and King

Has set his face to suffering.

My God eternal dies to bring

Eternal life to me.

 

3  What grace is this! Though Lord of all,

He yields to Pontius Pilate’s law

And lets the Roman hammers draw

A rush of blood for me.

 

There are more of course. Beautifully written lyrics that take us through Jesus’ suffering, death and burial in such a way that you feel you are there and can’t help but be overwhelmed by God’s grace in all that Jesus willingly went through for us. It struck me that the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life does the same. It highlights God’s grace to us. So let’s look at the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary in that light. What grace is this?

          What Grace is this in God’s choosing. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” 29But she was greatly troubled by the statement and was wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God.” Why me? is a question people often find themselves asking. Most often though when a dark cloud seems to be over their head and “bad” after “bad” seems to happen. Rarely is it asked when good things happen. Does that reveal maybe that we all have a skewed view of ourselves? God says, “No one is righteous, not even one.” God says even your best actions are like filthy rags. He knows us too well. “Why me?” should be asked, especially when we get blessed. Why Gabriel? Why does he, of all the angels, get to be the one to deliver news of two miraculous births? We are told nothing else about Gabriel. Why Mary? Why is she chosen to be the mother of Jesus? We don’t know a whole lot about her. We don’t’ know how old she was, whether she was an easy daughter to raise or a precocious toddler who became a rebellious teenager. We do know she was a sinner who needed a Savior. So why is she chosen? God tells us in Gabriel’s words. “Greetings, you who are highly favored! And “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God.” In the Greek language those are both grace words. They highlight the fact that when God chooses it is by grace. Why me? Why does He send Jesus for me? Why of the some 7 billion people on the planet right now am I one His chosen? That’s your question too. What grace is this God shows in choosing people like us?

          And what grace is this in promise keeping. “Listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” Gabriel revealed to Mary the special nature of the son she would bear. Name Him Jesus. Savior. He is the Son of the Most High, Son of God. He is the fulfillment of the promise made long ago to King David and Patriarch Jacob. He is the one was coming who would reign forever. God was keeping the promises He made. Where is the grace in that? Just that no one God kept these promises to deserved to have the promises kept. Parents know the feeling. We may promise something for our kids, go out to eat, go to a waterpark, a special toy, but then ongoing, continued bad behavior forces your hand. “I can’t reward your bad behavior,” we say. No Mcdonalds. No waterpark. Think of the ongoing bad behavior God put up with like Jacob lying and deceiving and playing favorites or David’s adultery and murder. But the promise of the Savior was not just for them. It was for us too. Any bad behavior on our part? Any pet sins that continue despite ongoing warnings from God and promises on our part to stop? Why does God keep His promises? It’s because He’s so good, not us. What grace is this, Lord, that you keep your promises to people like us?

          What grace is this in giving faith to believe? “Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Listen, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age even though she was called barren, and this is her sixth month. 37For nothing will be impossible for God.” 38Then Mary said, “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.” You know the Christmas story well enough to understand how remarkable Mary’s reaction is. She believed. Her question was not coming from doubt like Zechariah’s but rather to gain understanding of her part. She knew well the stories of others who had received promises and messed things up. Abraham and Sarah getting tired of waiting for God to fulfill His promise to give them a son and “helping” Him out by having Abraham sleep with a servant girl. Rebekah and Jacob concerned that God was not powerful enough to thwart Isaac’s plan to bless Esau instead of Jacob and lying to their father so Jacob had to run away. Moses not waiting for God’s timing and killing the Egyptian slave master leading to his exile. Not Mary. When the angel explained she would not have to help God at all, Mary simply believed. And while some would want to look for something in Mary that made her better than Abraham and Sarah, or Rebekah and Jacob, we know the real truth. Mary believed because of the faith God gave her, a gift, a grace.

          Same thing is true for us, brothers and sisters. Do we even want to know how many of our fellow Americans won’t celebrate Christmas as Jesus’ birth and the gift of a Savior? How many don’t care? Why me? Why do I believe? Why do I care? Why will I get heaven while those who don’t believe will get Hell? What grace is this? From Jesus’ birth to His death and resurrection, from the gift of faith to the reward of faith in heaven—it’s all a product of God’s grace.

          So I came up with another verse to the Lenten hymn. Doubt it will make the new hymnal but its words are true for me and you.

 

What grace is this! God chooses me

And keeps His promise faithfully

And gives me all the faith I need

Jesus is born for me.

 

May that grace of God fuel your Christmas celebration. Amen.

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Dec. 9, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 1:41-45 “ELIZABETH’S SONG”

MIDWEEK ADVENT 2

Dec. 9, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 1:41-45

 

“ELIZABETH’S SONG”

                             Verse 1: Blessed is Mary.

Verse 2: Blessed is Mary’s baby.

Verse 3: What an honor!

Verse 4: Blessed is the one who believes.

 

          The theme for our Midweek Advent worship is Sing a song for Advent. We are looking at songs that people sang soon before Jesus first Advent as the baby at Bethlehem. The careful listener or reader might be getting their mental pencil sharpened ready to grill me after service. “Hey Pastor! You said these were songs of Advent and I don’t see anything indicated in Luke’s Gospel that indicates Elizabeth sang anything, not even the headings put in by the Bible translators. What gives?” Fair enough but now I rebut that every song does not start out as a song. It begins with ideas that become tunes and words that need to be passed down and repeated. Songs certainly do that so for this service we actually are going to help Elizabeth write her song.

          Let’s review the background. Elizabeth was married to a priest named Zechariah. They were past childbearing age and had not been able to have children. An angel appeared to Zechariah and told him that he and Elizabeth would have a special child. They were to name him John and he would prepare the hearts of the people of Israel for the Lord who was coming soon. Zechariah doubted this wonderful news so as a consequence would be unable to speak until John was born. Now it is 6 months later. Mary was a relative of Elizabeth. She had no doubt heard the story of an angel appearance and had the proof of it in Elizabeth’s pregnancy. She too had received an angel visit who had announced an even more miraculous pregnancy. Mary would conceive even though she was a virgin. She would give birth to the Messiah! Who better to relate to angel visits and miraculous pregnancies than Elizabeth? So Mary went to visit her. This is where our text picks up.

          Just as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 In fact, just now, as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy! 45 Blessed is she who believed, because the promises spoken to her from the Lord will be fulfilled!”

          There is Elizabeth’s song. But it’s not done yet. What kind of tune should it have? It’s important that songs, especially songs for the Lord, have tunes that are appropriate to the message. You can’t have a lively peppy tune if the words are expressing sorrow over sin and repentance. Then the tune needs to be sad. What should it be here? Happy. Joyful. Confident.           OK, now that we have that done let’s write the verses. Looks like four of them to me. 1.Blessed is Mary. 2. Blessed is Mary’s baby. 3. What an honor! 4. Blessed is the one who believes.

          Now more words for the verses. Verse one says “Blessed are you among women.” Elizabeth’s song teaches us a proper view of Jesus’ mother Mary. The word translated here “Blessed” literally means spoken well of or praised. We certainly hold Mary in high regard. She is not God. She is not the Redeemer. She was a sinner saint just like we are now. But what an example of faith! Unlike Zechariah, the priest, who should have been an example of faith when the angel spoke to him but was not, Mary certainly was. She accepted the Gabriel’s impossible to believe message. She had to endure rejection from Joseph who did not believe the truth she told of Gabriel’s visit and her miraculous pregnancy. She would have the lifelong struggle of trusting that the baby that needed her daily care was God Himself. She would have to stand by and watch as her Son sacrificed Himself even for the people who rejected Him. Verse 1 of Elizabeth’s song reminds us to speak well of Mary but not treat her as God.

          That’s reserved for her Son. Verse 2. “Blessed is the fruit of your womb!” Elizabeth’s song teaches us to speak well of and praise the fruit of Mary’s womb, her baby, Jesus. Our praise for Jesus is higher than that of Mary. This is God’s Son as well as Mary’s son. Jesus is the Savior of the world. Only He will perfectly obey all of God’s laws as our substitute. Only His life is worth enough that His sacrifice can pay for the sins of the world. Elizabeth’s song teaches us to speak well of Jesus, to praise Him. It then sadly reminds us of the times when we have looked at worshipping Jesus as a burden or a have to. We remember with shame half hearted praise and straying attention. As Pastor Waldschmidt is so good at reminding us, “Good thing we have a Savior!” His name is Jesus, the fruit of Mary’s womb.

          If only we could have the heart that Elizabeth revealed in the 3rd verse of her song. “But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 In fact, just now, as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy!” Let’s take the last part first. John the Baptist reacted in the womb to the presence of Jesus. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit works through the Gospel message in Word and Sacrament because He has promised to. Here we find He is working in an unborn baby! What a great encouragement for moms to be to make sure they are hearing the words of God spoken and to read Bible stories to your babies in the womb. The Spirit will work as the Spirit will work. And He had worked on the heart of Elizabeth. If only we could be like her. She is painfully aware of the privilege to be in the presence of her Lord. Again, it leads us to repent of the times we feel like we have to worship the Lord as though He could not get by without us when in fact we need to ask why we are so favored that God would come to us!

          And that takes us to the final verse of Elizabeth’s song. “Blessed is the one who believes.” Blessed is she who believed, because the promises spoken to her from the Lord will be fulfilled!” Even though there are three “blessed” in Elizabeth’s song they are not the same. The first 2 are the same literally “spoken well of.” The last one is an entirely different word. It means “made happy” or “good things happen to.” For 6 months Elizabeth has been living with a very visible but silent reminder of what happens when you don’t believe what God says. She would live another 3 months and 8 days with what happens when you don’t believe what God says. Zechariah, her husband, could not speak. While she might have liked that for a while, it was not a blessing. It was a consequence. Mary was different. She believed and was blessed. Do you and I?

          Advent calls on us to prepare to be ready, yes to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas but also for Jesus to Advent to us again. Do you believe He is coming back, that He could at any moment? The promises spoken by the Lord will be fulfilled. And all who believe that will be made happy and have good things happen. That’s something to sing about with a happy tune.

          I don’t know if Elizabeth really appreciates our help in writing her song but certainly she will appreciate it if we put into practice what her song proclaimed: speak well of Mary and honor her as a faithful person, 2. but to speak better of her Son Jesus and honor Him as God’s Son and the only Savior,  3. be humble before God and 4. believe whatever He says. Amen.

Monday, November 30, 2020

Nov. 28-30, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 “THANK YOU, LORD, FOR ADVENT BLESSINGS!

 

ADVENT 1

Nov. 28-30, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

 

“THANK YOU, LORD, FOR ADVENT BLESSINGS!

1.     Like grace and peace.

2.     Like speaking and knowledge.

3.     Like faithfulness to the end.

 

1 Corinthians 1:3-9 (EHV)  “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus. You were enriched in him in every way, in all your speaking and all your knowledge, because the testimony about Christ was established in you. As a result you do not lack any gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

 

          So how was your Thanksgiving? When I ask that question I’m guessing most of your minds went to what you did, what you ate, who were you with or not with. But I was actually asking how your thanks giving went, that is, your giving thanks to God. Considering that fact that you are today part of the vast minority of Americans who are actually making time to give worship to God I am confident that in some way you took the opportunity to do what the Thanksgiving holiday was designed for and the word actually means and gave thanks to God. Did any of you happen to thank Him for Advent blessings? Honestly, the only reason I did was because I was getting ready for today. Advent can get glossed over a little bit. It’s sandwiched between two biggies: Thanksgiving and Christmas. Advent is important though. It’s the season of the Church year that has us focusing on being ready for the comings of Christ. We get ready to celebrate Jesus’ first coming at Christmas. We stay ready for Christ to come at the end of the world. Those are both biggies as well. And God has not left us lacking in what we need for either of those. He has blessed us. So today let’s join the Apostle Paul and believers from the past in thanking God for Advent blessings.

          Like grace and peace.   “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus.” Let’s start with grace. Paul identifies it as a gift from God our Father that is given in Christ Jesus. Many of you have your grace definition already memorized. God’s undeserved love. That’s good. There’s a little more to it. Grace is a gift word, a giving word. I picture it like a mark God has put on us that commits Him. “When I see this mark not only will I not treat you as your sins deserve but I will pour out on you my blessings that are impossible to earn.” What a blessing for Advent. Remember Advent reminds us to be ready, ready to for Christ’s coming. If history is any indicator we’re going to need grace for Christmas. We are going to once again get caught up majoring in the minors of Christmas and spending too little time rejoicing and valuing Jesus as Savior from sin. That’s a slap in God’s face. And you think of how we get upset when other people commercialize Christmas. At least they have the excuse of ignorance. We don’t. What if God kept a nice and naughty list for us? Grace is yours. A gift from God in Christ Jesus. He will not treat as our sins deserve. He will not pull back on gifts in Jesus. He will give blessings we can’t earn.

          Like peace. Someone once commented to me that I seem to like to hide song lyrics in my sermons. Not sure where that is coming from. But just like some people are lookin’ for love in all the wrong places, sometimes we get caught up lookin’ for peace in all the wrong places. Peace is a feeling of calmness. Some people look for that peace in the absence of conflict. A family at peace has no struggles, no issues. A world at peace has no wars. And so if you and I look for peace in our life from the absence of conflict in our families, our politics, our world, we will always be sadly disappointed because we are looking for peace in the wrong place. There will not be the absence of conflict because in our world, our country, our families, ourselves we have the presence of sin. Sin causes conflict. God has a different blessing of peace for you. It isn’t the absence of conflict but the presence of God in all things and ruling all things. While the family issues continue, while the money struggles go on, while the country is conflicted God gives you peace. God has all power and wisdom and love. That’s a powerful combination. Peace, brothers and sisters! This too shall pass. This too will be worked for good. This too is governed by the Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord for Advent blessings like grace and peace.

          And there’s more. “You were enriched in him in every way, in all your speaking and all your knowledge, because the testimony about Christ was established in you. As a result you do not lack any gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When you read the rest of the letter to the Corinthians you find out that they were like little children when it comes to spiritual gifts. Little children want the shiny gifts more than the ones that do the most good. Little children want the shiny coins, not the dull green bills. The Corinthian Christians wanted gifts like speaking in other languages they had never learned not speaking plainly in their own. Paul reminded them and us that we have all the needed gifts as we wait for Jesus to be revealed to all as Savior and Lord. The needed gifts are speaking and knowledge. How are those Advent blessings? They keep us busy with the work Jesus gave us all to do. He can come at any time. We want Him to find us zealously doing the work He gave us. Be His witnesses. To do that you need the right knowledge and the opportunity and ability to speak. You got it. The littlest ones here know what to say. “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

          You adults do too. Get to Jesus. That’s the motto you need to keep in mind as you serve as Jesus’ witness. How do I get to Jesus in this conversation? Here is an example one of our members shared with me and will be very useful this time of year. It’s bound to happen. You are checking out at the grocery store or getting stamps at the post office or buying gift wrap at the Dollar Store. You know what’s going to happen. Someone is going to ask you, “So are you ready for Christmas?” You know what they mean. Do you have all your presents bought, decorations up, meal items bought, cards out. You know what they mostly hear back. “Not yet. A few more things to get.” Can you get to Jesus in that conversation? Here is what one or our members says, “Absolutely! At Christmas I celebrate the birthday of Jesus, the Savior of the world, so I’m always ready. I hope you have a blessed Christmas too!” Busy! Busy! With the work of the Master. You have the gifts of knowledge and speaking and can come up with your own ways too. Thank you, Lord, for Advent blessings, like speaking and knowledge.

          I can’t tell you how many times I have spoken with brothers and sisters who know their time on earth is growing short and they express a common concern. They might know because they have been diagnosed with a terminal disease. They might know because they have lived well past the 70 years or 80 if you have the strength that God has decreed as a normal life span. You know what their common concern is? Will I hold on to my faith? Will I believe enough? This comes from lifelong believers who regularly fed their faith and weak believers who did not. Same concern. It seems that when you are coming face to face with your own mortality the Devil, the doubt bringer, goes to work with a vengeance. Will you be ready for Jesus to come, to advent, to you?

          What an Advent blessing we receive! “He will also keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.” God gives us faithfulness to the end. His faithfulness. Here it means you can count on Him to keep His word. He’s promising you that that as He called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus, He will keep you there. You may not feel strong at the end but God will keep you strong. You may worry about your sins but God preserves you blameless. He is faithful.

          Thank you, Lord, for Advent blessings! This season of the Church year may be sandwiched between what we consider two biggies, but it’s a biggie too. Remember how the Gospel lesson ended. Jesus said, “What I say to you I say to everyone, Watch!” He is coming. And with your Advent blessings, you are ready! Amen.

Monday, November 16, 2020

November 14-16, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 "ENCOURAGING WORDS!

 

SAINTS TRIUMPHANT

November 14-16, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 

                                      "ENCOURAGING WORDS!

1.     We will be

2.     With the Lord

3.     Forever!

 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. {14} We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. {15} According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. {16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. {17} After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. {18} Therefore encourage each other with these words."

 

          It can be easy to look at other people, who they are and what they are like and find yourself wishing you were more like them, more happy, more competent, more whatever. Of course the truth is there are no perfect people on earth and the same people we admire and are strong in some areas of life also have weaknesses or difficulties in other areas of life. Take the Thessalonian Christians for instance. As you read and learn about what they were like you can find yourself wishing you were more like them. I mean they took persecution as Christians in stride. No whining. No complaining that they were in the minority. They had joy and confidence in the Lord. And being ready for Jesus to come back. Whoah. I mean, you know what we are like. In Bible Class we will say, “You never know, Jesus may come back tonight.” But do we really believe that? Is there anything in the way we live our lives that would suggest to other people that we really think Jesus might come really, really soon? The Thessalonians did. Big time. I wish I was more like that!

          On the other hand they did have their weak spots. They were worried, very worried, about believers who died before Jesus returned. Were they lost for good? Would they ever see them again? It was causing great angst so God had the Apostle Paul give them some encouraging words that encourage us too. Let’s see why.

          "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” The Thessalonians did not know what happened to believers in Jesus who died. While sometimes ignorance is bliss, that was not the case here. Instead knowledge would be power to fight fear. Paul points out for believers in Jesus, dying is like falling asleep. We aren’t afraid to fall asleep. It is natural and normal. So is dying since sin came into the world. Death is separation. Sin separated people from God. Sin’s effect is that that now at a certain point in life the body and soul separate. But there is more . Death separates people. That’s the part that hurts no matter what. So when people we know and love die we will grieve. We will be sad. That too is normal and natural. But did you notice how the right knowledge changes the way you grieve? Paul said we are not to grieve like those who have no hope. That means we are to grieve with hope. Hope of what?

          We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. {15} According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. {16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. {17} After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” The hope we have is the life to come. It is not wishful thinking hope. It is patient waiting hope. Here are the facts. Jesus died. Jesus rose again. While death came by sin and death separates, life comes by Jesus and life unites. At a time that God has picked out Jesus will visibly, loudly and with power return to end this sin messed world. He will judge the living and the dead, that is proclaim who is a believer and who is not. He will raise the bodies of all people and believers who have died prior to that return will be reunited with their bodies in a perfected state and any believers still living will also be taken to heaven in a perfected state.

          After telling the facts to the Thessalonian Christians, after giving them the knowledge that had the power to change the way they grieved, Paul wrote “And so.” Now we are Americans. We like to skip over little words like they are unimportant. We are so impatient to get to the end. But in the Bible no words are unimportant. And little words are often very important. Like these. “And so.” “And so” ties what comes next to what you just heard. Because of the facts. Because Jesus died , rose again and will come back. And so. Can you imagine how this went the first time this was read at church to the Thessalonians? Remember they are in angst and anguish because they do not know what would happen to their believing loved ones who had already died. Just imagine if you were one of the Thessalonians and the reader paused. “And so… Yes, get on with it. What? And so…” And then you heard these beautiful words.  WE WILL BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER!

          Let’s savor them together. First, “WE WILL Be.” How many of you have ever heard the phrase “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Those words were penned by the British poet, Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Many think that he wrote them about romance. Better to have had a love interest and it not work out than to never have that. Hmm. I don’t know about that. Do you know the real reason he wrote it? At the death of a 22 year old friend. That’s it? That’s all you got. Your wife dies and you hear, “At least you had one.” Your child dies and someone says “At least you had a child for a while.” Yuck! What garbage! What grieving without hope. Did you hear the difference Jesus makes? Did you hear the encouraging words? WE WILL BE. God says that. Because of Jesus. Death is no end. It is separation, for a time. But it is not an ending. When a loved one dies it is very common to hear and to say, “I am sorry for your loss.” And there is loss of time with that person for a while and it does hurt. But friends if we could do it perfectly we would hear  and say, “I’m so happy for your gain.” Another one you love that you get to look forward to seeing again. Encouraging words. We. First person, plural. Me and all my loved ones who have already died in the Lord. My mom. My dad. My grandparents. My friends. You take this now. Who is part of WE for you? WILL. It’s going to happen. No American “I hope so.” Christian I know so. Just waiting for it to happen. BE. Exist. Go on. Live. Death separates. Life unites. Jesus is life. In Jesus we will be united, back together with our loved ones. WE WILL BE. And now we pause to remember the members of St. Jacobi who got to go to heaven since our last Saints Triumphant celebration:  Judith Eckert, Mildred Dallmann, Robert Kallin, Moreen Buske, Holly Messinger, Florence Doepke, Kenneth Schultz, and Carl Bavuso. And now think of your loved ones.

          Secondly. WITH THE LORD. Our hearts are tied to those we have seen. We think of people. So much harder to miss the one you haven’t seen—yet. The Lord. Jesus. What will that be like? In the presence of His glory. Finally, fully grasping how loved we are, how he much He values us. No sin. No guilt. No shame. Perfect knowledge in His perfect presence. Able to thank Him in person. Jesus, do you remember when I…Yes, I remember. What stories will He tell? What will it be like to eat with Him and drink with Him? Will the animals all come around? Will He do miracles to delight us? Will we find out that He really liked my off key singing and so it won’t change? Oh my goodness, we could go on and on. There is so much we don’t know but this we do. WITH THE LORD.  That’s heaven.

          Speaking of going on and on. Our last encouraging word. FOREVER. Have you noticed in life how life in the sin filled world is like the carrot in front of the donkey,  always just ahead of you but never finally arrived? We can spend so much time getting ready and so little time enjoying. We get ready for Thanksgiving but then it’s done, or Christmas, or to graduate, and then there is always something else to work for. Heaven isn’t like that. It’s the always enjoying and never working to get ready. It’s the carrot in hand, not out front. And it’s always that way. We don’t have to wait to see our loved ones or for a milestone. We enjoy them, the Lord, the angels, the new heaven and the new earth. A perpetual always. FOREVER.

          Friends, it is Saints Triumphant Sunday. We think of those who have died. We know we will deal with the death of loved ones in the future. God has provided us with some encouraging words. WE WILL BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER. And now you know what to do next.  Therefore encourage each other with these words." Amen.

Monday, November 2, 2020

Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Jude “CONTEND FOR THE FAITH!”

 

REFORMATION

Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Jude

 

“CONTEND FOR THE FAITH!”

(The need for ongoing Reformation)

1.     Because sinful man has a long history of opposing and trying to destroy it.

2.     Because the Lord Himself has given you the power to do so for Him.

 

Brothers and sisters, today we remember and observe the Lutheran Reformation. Some may wonder why we continue to do so. It happened very long ago. It may have made sense to make a big deal about it at its 500th anniversary in 2017 but why now?

          To answer that question I remind you of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It deals with entropy. In very simplified terms it says that everything in the universe is in a continual state of moving from order to chaos unless you put more energy into it. Think of a garden. Those in our Garden Club know that if they plant a beautiful flower garden in spring and do nothing to it they will not have a beautiful garden in a month but rather a bed of weeds. Did they plant weeds? No. But to keep a garden orderly you have to put energy in. Not just any energy, but intelligently guided energy. If you light a fire in the garden, even though you added energy it’s the wrong kind, not intelligently guided. This law, by the way, indicates why it is so important that we don’t blindly follow science. The same science that has correctly come up with the Second Law of Thermodynamics has incorrectly provided us with the Theory of Evolution that says things in the universe went from chaos to order without any intelligently guided energy put in, The theory is exactly the opposite of the law but we are supposed to believe it because the science says so. You don’t blindly follow the science because science can get it really right and science can get it really wrong. Why is that? Because sinful man is involved.

          That’s also why ongoing Reformation is needed. When you look at the events surrounding the Lutheran Reformation from our viewpoint today you can’t help but ask the question, “How? How does it happen that Christ’s church needed reforming?” Think. When Jesus completed His work on earth He left behind a church of people who were committed to Him and all of His teachings. They welcomed death rather than deny. They showed great concern for the well being of each other, giving of their own money to help one another. How do you go from that church to a church that at the time of Martin Luther has a monk commissioned by the Roman Catholic church going from town to town selling indulgences which were pieces of paper that said if you bought them you could get payment for your sins? You could pay off a loved one’s debt of sin when in fact Jesus had already paid for them in full? How does that happen? It seems there is a spiritual law of thermodynamics. Spiritual Entropy. Every true gathering of believers will go from an ordered state of allegiance to Jesus and all of His teachings to a disordered state of following things made up by man unless you put spiritual energy in. Not just any spiritual energy but the spiritual energy guided by divine intelligence. God.

          It’s always been that way since sin came into the world. The portion of God’s Word before us is a one chapter book of the Bible written by a man who identifies himself as Jude. He writes to people like us, who have been called by the Holy Spirit to believe in Jesus, who now know of God’s love for us who are set apart to serve Jesus.

 

          Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,

          To those who are called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

 

Then he tells us why the Spirit had him write this book of the Bible.

 

                Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you concerning the salvation we share, I felt it was necessary for me to write, to urge you to continue to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once and for all. 

 

Contend for the faith! It’s a call to arms. Likely this book is written around 65 AD, a little more than 30 years since Jesus ascended. Jude wanted to talk about the fun things, shared salvation, heaven as home. But He instead had to talk about the hard things, fighting to hold on to the truth faith. Why? Spiritual entropy.

 

For certain individuals slipped in secretly, about whom it was written some time ago that they are condemned. They are ungodly people who turn the grace of our God into a license for sin and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

Sinful man has a long history of opposing and trying to destroy the faith handed down by Jesus Christ. At the heart is rebellion against God.” God if you are a God of grace then sin does not matter. Jesus, who are you to tell me what to do. I’m the Master. I will do things my way.” Jude gives some examples.

 

                I want to remind you, though you already know all these things, that after the Lord rescued his people out of the land of Egypt, he later destroyed those who did not believe.(Read more on this in Numbers 11-14!) And the angels who did not keep their position of authority but left their own dwelling place behind—God has kept them in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Like Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who in a similar way indulged in extreme sexual immorality and pursued homosexual perversion, they serve as an example of those who are going to suffer the punishment of eternal fire. (Read more on this in Genesis 19) Yet, in the very same way, these dreamers are defiling the flesh, despising authority, and blaspheming glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael was disputing with the Devil and arguing about the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a blasphemous condemnation against him. Instead he said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

 

          The children of Israel rebelled against God again and again. They didn’t want the leader God had chosen, Moses. They wanted their own. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah did not want the natural order of things God had set up. They chose their own way of sexual immorality and homosexual perversion. We find that some angels did the same thing. They were not content with angelic authority. They wanted to be God and were cast out and now are the Devil and the demons. In this section only the archangel Michael is careful treat God as the highest.

 

Some more history of sinful man.

 

                10 But these people do not understand what they are blaspheming. They are being destroyed by the very things that they know by instinct (like unreasoning animals). 11 Woe to them! They have gone the way of Cain. (Read the whole story in Genesis 4) They have abandoned themselves for hire to the error of Balaam. (Read about this in 22-25) They perished in Korah’s rebellion. (More on this in Numbers 16)

 

          Cain pretended to worship God but cared more about his things.  Balaam was a prophet for hire. If not for a talking donkey he would have been killed and still he persisted in going against God. Korah rebelled against God’s leadership. All of them brought God’s judgment on themselves. All who do the same are like them. And following them leads to nothingness.

 

                12 These people are filthy stains on your love feasts when they eat with you without fear, shepherding themselves. They are clouds without rain, being driven along by the winds. They are autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots. 13 They are wild waves of the sea piling up the foam of their own shame. They are wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved for eternity.

 

          What do these have in common? Clouds but no rain. Trees with no fruit. Waves that just produce foam. Stars that would not stay in place. They are worthless! Worthless for precipitation, food, enjoyment, navigation. So are those who oppose and try to destroy the faith. And God will take care of them.

 

14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about these people, saying, “Look, the Lord is going to come with tens of thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment against all of them and to convict every soul concerning all their ungodly deeds, which they did in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh words that ungodly sinners spoke against him.” 16 These are discontented grumblers, who walk according to their lusts, and their mouths speak boastful things as they flatter others to take advantage of them. 17 But you, dear friends, remember the words that were spoken earlier by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers who follow their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the people who cause divisions. They are worldly because they do not have the Spirit.

 

          Friends, it’s Reformation Festival. I wanted to talk with you about good and fun things, how nice it is to know we are saved by grace alone through faith alone but instead I have to talk about contending for the faith. Sinful man has a long history of opposing and trying to destroy the faith. It was going on at Jude’s time. It happened in Luther’s time. It is happening now. We know that ultimately the Devil is behind these attacks on our Lord Jesus. We also know that most of the time he works through people. He attacks the church from the outside using government oppression and social pressure. He attacks the church from within. There he uses people who are in the visible Christian church. Some of you have come to St Jacobi because you recognized godless men who were changing the grace of God into a license to sin in your former churches. The fact the God loves the sinner does not mean it is OK to sin as your pastors were saying. Jesus taught marriage as one man and one woman. To teach otherwise is to throw off his headship. When church leaders say sin is not sin anymore the faith is under attack. When church leaders say you can get to heaven apart from Jesus they are denying our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. When they participate in prayer services and worship service with leaders of the man made religions of the world they lead people to think our Lord Jesus’ sacrifice did not matter, was not necessary, any god will get you to heaven. Just like all that glitters is not gold, everything with Christian stamped on it does not give glory to Christ. It’s more fun to talk about being nice and kind and tolerant but we also have to talk about identifying people and churches who teach falsely, calling it out, and separating ourselves from it. We are called on today to contend for the faith. Why? Because sinful man has a long history of opposing and trying to destroy the faith and so ongoing Reformation is needed. Jude called for it. Luther practiced it.

          So can you and I because as Jude points out and Luther practiced the Lord Himself has given you the power to do so for Him. As the Devil works through evil people God works through His people.

 

                20 But you, dear friends, continue to build yourselves up in your most holy faith as you keep praying in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God’s love as you continue to wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which results in eternal life. 22 Show mercy to those who are wavering. 23 Save others by snatching them out of the fire. Show mercy to still others with fear, hating even the clothing that is stained by the flesh.

 

          There is an emphasis here that sometimes when you first hear it sounds wrong because it sounds selfish. Take care of yourself first and then you can help others. Moms, you know about this. It is so natural to ignore your own needs to sacrifice for your kids until you ignore too long and you aren’t there for the kids. It makes sense when the flight attendant tells you to get your oxygen mask on first, then the baby because if you pass out who helps the baby? In a similar way the Spirit has Jude exhort us, “Build yourselves up. Keep praying. Keep yourself in God’s love.” God has not left us helpless as we contend for the faith. He gives us His powerful word. Use it for yourself. He gives us His powerful self. Pray to Him Ask Him to do what we cannot. It fits right in with spiritual entropy. When divinely guided power goes in the church stays committed to Christ. What is more divinely powerful than word and prayer? Then we are ready to help others. Show mercy, save others. Don’t get pulled into the spiritual pollution they are falling for but be the one that says, “Hey but what about in the Bible where it says…” One of our members told me recently of a conversation she had with a friend. This member was doing a lot of work to bring plants for St Jacobi’s gardens. When her friend asked why she said, “I love my church. It teachers straight from the Bible.” To which her friend replied, “I need that.” That’s mercy, trying to snatch someone from the fire. It’s contending for the faith. God has given all of us the power we need to do that. Luther is roughly quoted as saying, “A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it." It’s true and all those people back then built themselves up in God’s word and prayed to their mighty God and the faith was saved.

          You and I have the opportunity to be reformers in our time, ones that God uses to save the faith in our time. Our St Jacobi Garden club knows that if they plant beautiful gardens in spring and put no intelligently guided power in to those gardens they will devolve into beds of weeds. They also know that if they do what God allows them to do, if they contend for their gardens, they will be beautiful. In the same way brothers and sisters if we put no effort in to our own personal faith, if we don’t use the power of the word and make sure our churches keep proclaiming it we should not expect our children to have a church that holds to the faith. We will hand them one that “turns the grace of our God into a license for sin and denies our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” But if we contend for the faith, if we practicing ongoing reformation, if we put into the faith the divinely guided power of the God’s word the faith in America will be preserved for another generation.

         

Now it may feel like I’ve laid on you a heavy burden. The fate of the faith rests on me! Instead I want you to look at contending for the faith as a privilege. There was nothing special about Martin Luther. He was a tool in the hand of God. And if I refuse or you refuse God can pick other tools. At the same time even the simplest of tools in the hand of God is all powerful. What an honor to be a tool in the hand of the almighty God, the God who is so great Jude had to finish his call to contend for the faith with these words of absolute confidence:

 

                24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless in the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and to all eternity. Amen.

 

This is most certainly true! Amen!

Monday, October 5, 2020

October 3-5, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Matthew 20:1-16 “THAT’S NOT FAIR!” AKA “Amazing Grace”

 

PENTECOST 18

October 3-5, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Matthew 20:1-16

 

“THAT’S NOT FAIR!”

AKA “Amazing Grace”

1.     God’s Grace is Glorious!

2.     God’s Grace is Generous!

3.     God’s Grace it to be enjoyed, not envied.

 

Matthew 20:1-16 (EHV) “Indeed the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing to pay the workers a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3He also went out about the third hour and saw others standing unemployed in the marketplace. 4To these he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6When he went out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing unemployed. He said to them, ‘Why have you stood here all day unemployed?’ 7“They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ “He told them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8When it was evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group and ending with the first.’ 9“When those who were hired around the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. 10When those who were hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But they each received a denarius too. 11After they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner: 12‘Those who were last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’ 13“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not make an agreement with me for a denarius? 14Take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last one hired the same as I also gave to you. 15Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16In the same way, the last will be first, and the first, last.”

 

          You knew it right? As soon as you could tell where Jesus’ teaching story was going you knew what was going to happen. As soon as the ones hired last got paid a denarius you knew what the first hired were going to say. You knew because if you had been one of the first hired you would have said it yourself. So why don’t we get it out of our system right now by saying it together. “That’s not fair!” We all have in us a built in sense of fairness based on what we consider to be right and that’s not necessarily bad or wrong. When someone does something wrong we expect them to be punished. That’s justice. For them not to be does not seem fair. If a classmate cheats on an assignment and gets a good grade and you do it the right way and get a lesser grade. That’s not fair. Aaron Rodgers will get paid $21,460,000 playing for the Packers this season and I couldn’t even make close to that playing 200 seasons for the Christians. That’s not fair when you consider the eternal effect of each or our work. It’s not that our sense of fairness we apply is necessarily wrong, it’s just that it falls short of the glory of God. It’s not amazing grace.

          This is what our Lord Jesus teaches us today, that God’s way of dealing with people may seem not fair but it’s really a part of His amazing grace and we would not want it any other way! Because God’s grace is first of all glorious! Context is so important. Why does Jesus tell this story? Here’s what just happened. A very wealthy man asked Jesus how to earn heaven. Jesus told him to obey God’s laws perfectly and to help him see he wasn’t told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. He couldn’t do that so went away sad. Peter and the other disciples were watching and listening and Peter seized on the truth that he and the others had at least outwardly left everything. Their boats and nets, the tax collectors booth. So He said to Jesus, “Look, we have left everything and followed you! What then will we have?” What’s in it for me? So common. Jesus did tell them not to worry, that they would receive all kinds of blessings but went on to say, “Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” And you can’t help but think of how the Jewish people were the first to hear the Good News of a Savior who had been born to them but became last by rejecting, while the Gentiles heard last and so many believed. Or how Judas Iscariot was one of the first to hear the call of Jesus to follow but became last by letting greed push faith aside while a really rotten thief on the cross was one of the last to hear Jesus call and became one of the first after Jesus died to go to heaven.

          The point is God’s grace is glorious. Our way of thinking is corrupted by sin. We work on quid pro quo, you get what you pay for, hard work pays off. All of that makes sense to man’s corrupted reason when you apply it person to person but not person to God. Remember what God told us through the prophet Isaiah? “Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my plans are higher than your plans.”  It is to the glory of God to be the only one to earn salvation and give it away for free to underserving sinners. It is to the glory of God to have the rain fall and sun shine on believer and unbeliever equally. And it is to the glory of God to distribute earthly gifts as he sees fit, to allow an unbeliever to be wealthy and a believer be poor. UHH. That’s not fair! That’s grace. Amazing grace. Beyond us and our way of thinking. Glorious!

          And God’s amazing grace is generous. The parable highlighted that aspect of grace. A landowner went out seeking workers. No one applied. No one presented a resume. The landowner sought them. He did it at 6 AM. Again at the 3rd hour, 9 AM, and at noon and at 3 PM and at 5 PM with only one work hour left in the day. God’s grace is generous. Just think of how the workers picked at the 11th hour felt. Nobody wants us. No money for food tomorrow. In swoops the landowner better than Uncle Sam saying, “I want you.” Kids have you ever felt left out? Nobody’s first choice to be on their team. God’s grace does not leave you out or me out. It’s generous. He truly wants everybody. He blesses people physically on earth seemingly in and indiscriminate way to us but it all fits in line with a God whose grace is amazingly generous. It goes beyond the normal, beyond what you would expect. And if God does not seem generous to you, it’s likely a sign you are having trouble appreciating or understanding amazing grace.

          You see God’s grace is to be enjoyed and not envied. That was the problem of those hired first. “When those who were hired around the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. 10When those who were hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But they each received a denarius too. 11After they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner: 12‘Those who were last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the scorching heat!” You want to say it one more time because we’re really good at it? That’s not fair! But the landowner who is a picture of our glorious God of amazing grace begs to differ. “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not make an agreement with me for a denarius? 14Take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last one hired the same as I also gave to you. 15Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” The first workers wanted it fair by their standard. They heard “ Get outta here! Take what is yours and go.” The first are now last. None of us want to hear Jesus say that to us.

          Some heart questions. In this lifetime do you expect to receive blessings from God for living right or do you see yourself as a recipient of God’s grace? Wow is He generous. I don’t deserve that! Do you want God to treat you and all people on your standard of fairness, give me what I’ve earned, or His, give me what Jesus earned? Because if you really don’t want a God of Amazing Grace you’ll force him to say, “Take what is yours and go away from me.” Friends none of us are going to be disappointed when we see the extent of God’s grace, how generous He really is. Enjoy your earthly blessings as gifts of God’s grace. Be happy for others who have more and look forward to what it means that the last will be first.

          Speaking of last, last week the very first hymn we sang was “Chief of sinners though I be.” As soon as we started singing it I knew what Pastor Waldschmidt was singing. I knew it even though he was wearing a mask. I didn’t have to see his lips I could see the look in his eyes. “Chief of sinners though I be Pastor Spaude’s worse than me.” I knew he was doing that because I was doing my own. You can guess how it goes. It’s silly pastor humor as we acknowledge how difficult it really is to appreciate that God’s way of dealing with is all grace, all undeserved. That sinful part of us wants us to think in some way or by something we’ve done or who we are we kind of deserve it. That’s not grace. It’s not amazing grace. Amazing Grace is God’s blessing and love poured out because He is good, not because we are. It’s given to the chief of sinners. It saves a wretch like me and when we take that honest look in the mirror of God’s law we wouldn’t want it any other way. Because of Jesus it won’t be. Amen.