March 20-22, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34 “IT’S A NEW COVENANT!”

 

LENT 5

March 20-22, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34

 

“IT’S A  NEW COVENANT!”

 

SERMON TEXT: Jeremiah 31:31-34 (EHV) “Yes, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers, when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ³⁴No longer will each one teach his neighbor, or each one teach his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their guilt, and I will remember their sins no more.”

 

          Just imagine you are on the game show The Price is Right. You get picked and make the right bid. They reveal what you can win. “It’s a new car!” You know what happens next. Screams and cheers from the crowd and the best reaction from the contestants. The opportunity to win a new car is just so exciting. And to be sure there is something to be said about the excitement of something new, like our new addition, or new clothes, or new shoes for my wife. Excitement and appreciation for something new builds when the old is worn out and broken.

          That’s what God had the prophet Jeremiah announce. It was about 600 years before Jesus was born. The prophet Jeremiah announced something new was coming, a new covenant. Any of the people back then who truly understood the covenant they were living under would be so excited at the prospect of a new covenant with God to replace the old. I imagine them screaming. “It’s a new covenant!” Things are a little different with us. We are living in the days the Lord was talking about, the time of the New Covenant. It’s what the Church year season of Lent points us to: how Jesus marches to Jerusalem to deliver a new covenant and then signs and seals it with His blood. Now here’s the problem. When you’ve had something new for a while, it doesn’t feel new anymore, even if it’s in perfect condition. It starts to feel old. And what happens with to us with stuff that feels old? We don’t appreciate it anymore. So today let’s eagerly examine the two covenants God put into place, the old and the new, with the goal that we will walk out of here once again excited that we have a new covenant!

          Now the best way to do this is simply to have a side by side comparison of the old and the new covenants which is really a comparison of life for believers in the Old Testament to life for believers in the New Testament. That’s what the word testament means, covenant. It’s important to remember that believers in the Old Testament were saved by believing in the Savior who would come and believers in the New Testament are saved by believing in the Savior who has come. Same Savior. Jesus. Life was very different however. Let’s look at some of the differences between old and new.

          First, the Old. It was given only to the Old Testament nation of Israel. Anyone who wanted to be a part of it would have to walk like an Israeli and by that I mean live like them and follow all the rules. Secondly it was put in place by a man, a great man, but just a man. Moses delivered the covenant to Old Testament Israel. Thirdly, the Old Covenant was conditional, two sided. God promised He would do certain things for the nation of Israel like fight their wars and bless their crops and herds. The people had to do their part and keep the laws of the covenant. And there were lots of them like food laws. Certain foods were considered unclean. Did you know that if you lived at the time of the Old Covenant you would never get to eat a BLT or a half or full rack of ribs or have eggs with bacon for breakfast, not even bacon bits on your salad? You would not have ham and rolls for Sunday lunch like so much of the rest of Milwaukee. Pork was an unclean food. Speaking of unclean there were all kinds of laws that made you unclean for a period of time which meant you could not come before God and had to be isolated from other people. You were unclean if you were near a dead body of man or beast. Unclean if you had a rash. All kinds of natural body functions made you unclean. When you learn all those laws you wonder how anybody spent any time being clean. But actually that was one of the points. You can’t clean yourself up. If you lived at the time of the Old Covenant you would have to worship on Saturday and you have to make your schedule work around that day. No going to Badger games. Nothing that resembled work. Fourthly the Old Covenant was bloody all the time. Take a read through Leviticus and find out about the many, many animal sacrifices that were required. Kids when you came to church you would see and smell a lot of blood. I’d have to be an expert butcher. Now the reason for all of this is that the Old Covenant was a teaching covenant. It taught very bluntly that sin makes you unclean so you can’t come to God. Sin is horrible and requires payment in blood and death. Either the sinner paid or a substitute and as soon as I say that word substitute you know what the Old Covenant was designed to do, point to and picture Jesus. Finally the Old Covenant was a broken covenant. It forced you to say, “I must. I have to. I can’t.” Actually do you know how long it took the Old Testament nation of Israel to break their side of the covenant? Remember what Moses found when he came down Mt. Sinai? The Golden Calf. Do you think we could have done better?

          What good news to hear “It’s a New Covenant!” “Yes, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers, when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ³⁴No longer will each one teach his neighbor, or each one teach his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their guilt, and I will remember their sins no more.” Let’s look now at the new Covenant that you and I get to live under. First, it’s for everybody, not one nation. For God so loved the world. Secondly it was put into effect by Jesus Himself, the only Son of God. Thirdly it’s unconditional. It’s one sided. It’s all God’s doing. Six separate times God says “I will” when talking about the new covenant. It’s a covenant that frees us from those unkeepable Old Testament laws. So fire up your Traeger and smoke that pork but just remember as you do so that life under the New Covenant means whether you eat, drink or whatever you do, you can do it all for the glory of God. That happens my friends when realize that our freedom from “I have to obey the law” is replaced with the freedom of “I get to” of the Gospel. Jesus has perfectly obeyed for you in this New Covenant. So obedience flows from love. It’s not I must, I have to, I can’t. It’s I want to, I get to, I will. And when we fail. Did you hear what He said? “For I will forgive their guilt, and I will remember their sins no more.” With God nothing is impossible, even forgetting and what He forgets is our sins. And He can do that because the New Covenant was put into effect with the blood of Jesus shed one time on the cross which made full payment for all sin. And that payment points to another difference. The New Covenant is permanent. It can’t be broken because it’s all on God. This covenant makes us God’s people forever! As great as we might think it is to be able to eat Easter ham and not worry that what we eat or touch will make us unclean what’s so much better is to know that forever is real and forever is with God and forever is with all my fellow believers. It’s a new covenant!

          Now I suspect that those who win a new car on a game show gradually lose their excitement—especially when they realize they owe taxes on what they won. Then the new car becomes old. Friends, let’s not let that happen with us. It’s a new covenant. God’s mercies are new every morning. Every day you wake up you have a fresh start because God remembers your sins no more. And to help us remember Jesus gave us something that every time we see it, every time we participate, is to lead to renewed excitement and joy. You know what that is. “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.” What a blessing! Amen.

March 10, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Mark 14:55-65 “HANDS OF HYPOCRISY!”

 

MIDWEEK LENT 4

March 10, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Mark 14:55-65

 

“HANDS OF HYPOCRISY!”

 

          Our Lenten services this year have focused on the hands of the passion to help us grow in our appreciation of what our Lord Jesus did for us. Today we are looking at Hands of Hypocrisy. And fortunately for you I can show you exactly what hands of hypocrisy look like. Here. Can you see what my hands are doing? They are holding a mask. That literally is what a hypocrite is, a mask wearer. Someone who pretends to be what they are not like me pretending to be Mr. Walker when obviously, I am not. The word comes from Greek theater where actors would hold or wear masks so they could pretend to be what they are not.

          Who would come to your mind as the biggest hypocrite in the Passion of our Lord Jesus? Maybe you think of Judas pretending to be a friend when he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Maybe you think of Peter pretending to be the unbreakable rock but who broke down after he denied even knowing Jesus. Maybe you think of Pontius Pilate pretending to be a fair governor as he washed his hands of Jesus’ death. But when you look at all of them you see at least some signs of struggle or remorse. Judas gave the money back. Peter wept bitterly. Pilate tried every trick he knew to manipulate the will of the people.

          There is one pure hypocrite, a total pretender whose hands were filled with hypocrisy. Caiaphas. The High Priest. As High Priest it was his job, his privilege, his honor to represent the people to God in the Old Testament Covenant set up. His hands were to be busy praying for the people pleading for God to do what was best for them. He also represented God to the people. “This is what God says. This is His will.” His hands were to be busy pointing to the coming Messiah. “This is how these sacrifices point to the coming Messiah. Wait for Him. Look for Him. God has given us the signs.”

          Instead they were busy with hypocrisy. “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they did not find any. ⁵⁶Many testified falsely against him, but their testimonies did not agree. ⁵⁷Some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ⁵⁸“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” ⁵⁹Yet even on this point, their testimony did not agree.” This whole trial was hypocritical. The High Priest was to be the Law upholder but this trial was held illegally in the middle of the night. A trial should try to find the truth but this one’s goal was to find some way to put Jesus to death. The High Priest was supposed to make sure a trial was fair but this High Priest allowed false testimony. Even then it didn’t stick.

          So Caiaphas went into action. You wonder if he was thinking to himself, “You bumbling idiots! If you want something done right…” The high priest stepped forward and questioned Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is this they are testifying against you?” ⁶¹But Jesus was silent and did not answer anything.” I’m sure Caiaphas was one of those guys who thinks he’s the smartest man in the room. When his first attempt didn’t work, he continued. “Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” Smartest man in the room had a super smart question. If Jesus says nothing or “No,” they could discredit him. If He says “Yes,” then they could convict him. “I am,” Jesus said. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³The high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we need any more witnesses? ⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” They all condemned him as being worthy of death.” The hands of hypocrisy went into action. Caiaphas tore his clothes in feigned horror. His plan had worked. Jesus was guilty of death. And then for a moment the hypocrites dropped their masks and showed their true colors. “Then some began to spit on him. They covered his face and struck him with their fists, saying, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him and beat him.” Spitting is someone’s face, Beating someone who can’t defend himself who can’t even dodge the blows because he is blindfolded? What kind of people do that to another? And this was the highest religious gathering for the Jewish people. It would be like our Elders doing this or our Synod’s Conference of Presidents. Why? They were hypocrites. The pretended they cared about what God said. They pretended they cared for the people. But what they really cared about was power and honor for themselves. All led by Caiaphas, the High Priest, and his hands of hypocrisy.

          Now what can we learn from this? Have you ever heard someone say something like this? “I’d never join a church. Churches are filled with hypocrites.” Why do they say that? It’s because their understanding of a hypocrites is someone who says one thing and does another. And with that definition they are right. This is a church full of hypocrites. We all acknowledge that what God says is right. Everyone should obey his commandments. We say that. But do we always do that? No. Even if we’ve gotten pretty good and cleaning ourselves up on the outside, no obvious sins, controlling our mouths, we haven’t cleaned up the inside. Sinners one and all. Hypocrites by America’s definition.

          But not by God’s. Remember a hypocrite is really a pretender, someone who wears a mask. Someone who pretends to be a believer but is not. That’s not you. That’s not me. We do believe in Jesus. We are happy to know He’s our Savior. We look at this account from the passion of Jesus and we see not one, but two High Priests present. There is the faker, the pretender, the hypocrite, Caiaphas. But then our eyes rest on Jesus. He is the true High Priest. He has no hands of hypocrisy. His hands aren’t thrown in the air in mock horror. They don’t tear his robes if faked holy anger. They stay stretched wide nailed to the cross as He went through the horror of Hell. They stayed there unused as soldiers gambled for His robe. Why? Because as the true High Priest Jesus represented people to God. He was on the cross as the substitute for all people. He became the world’s one and only sinner. He continues to plead with the Father for our good. And He faithfully tells us what God wants us to hear. Through word and sacrament, through pastors and teachers, through faithful Christian parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends He says, “God loves you. God has forgiven you. Heaven is your home. Come to the Father through me, your great High Priest.”

          Friends let the world call us hypocrites for being what we know we are sinners who can’t save ourselves. Sinners who despite our best intention to follow Jesus faithfully still stumble and fall. But may we never be true hypocrites who pretend to follow Jesus but don’t really at all. For us it won’t be Hands of Hypocrisy, but Hands off Hypocrisy. For the glory of Jesus. Amen.

February 27-March1, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Mark 8:31-38 “THE CROSS IS NECESSARY”

 

LENT 2

February 27-March1, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Mark 8:31-38

 

“THE CROSS IS NECESSARY”

1.     It was for Christ.

2.     It is for me.

 

Mark 8:31-38 (EHV) “Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again. ³²He was speaking plainly to them. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But after turning around and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men.”

³⁴He called the crowd and his disciples together and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶After all, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸In fact, whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

 

          Our church architecture is not unique. Many Christian churches are built this way. What is the focal point? What does the design of this sanctuary force you to do with the pews positioned the direction they are? With the walls gradually narrowing your focus? With the angled top walls? You’re right. Look at the cross! You can’t help it. Now the reason for that is not simply symmetry or aesthetics. It’s theological, Biblical. The focus is on the cross because the cross is necessary.

          Our Lord Jesus makes that abundantly clear in His words to us today. Now I seriously doubt that it was on Peter’s bucket list to be called Satan by the Lord he loved. And yet that is exactly what happened. How? Well right before this Jesus had asked His disciples who most people thought He was. All the answers could be best summed up with “a man.” A great man. A good teacher. One of the great prophets. But just a man. Then Jesus turned to His disciples and asked but “Who do you say that I am?” That’s when Peter had his shining moment. Peter answered for the disciples. “You are the Christ the Son of the living God!” A beautiful confession of faith. Could not have said it better.

          That’s where our text picks up as Jesus explains what it means to be the Christ. “Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again.” Jesus taught that the cross was necessary. It was necessary for Him to be the Christ. Jesus had been sent on a mission. While he regularly pointed out people’s sin His mission was not to stop people from sinning but to save them from the eternal consequences of sinning. While Jesus healed some people and fed others His mission was not to make this world a nicer place to live but to make it possible for sinful people to live forever in the joy and perfection of heaven. And for that to happen He had to go to the cross. He had to be betrayed, suffer and die because only His holy and innocent sacrifice was worth enough to pay the awful debt for all the world’s sinners. Only His continued perfect obedience all the way to death would gain Him the right to give that perfect obedience to those who believe as a robe of righteousness, a ticket to heaven. Jesus spoke this very plainly to them.

          And then Peter had one of those moments we all have had. He opened his mouth when he should have kept it shut. “Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.” Rebuking Jesus? Telling Jesus what to do or not do? This isn’t going to end well. “But after turning around and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men.” Ouch. He got called Satan. Why? He had his will set toward want people want, the things of men. What is that? Glory. Now. “You are the Christ, Jesus. You don’t suffer and die. You rule gloriously. No enemy can stand against you. You will crush your enemies.” All true statements except that Peter wanted those things for Jesus on earth. He wasn’t thinking of God’s eternal plan. For God’s eternal plan the cross was necessary for Jesus.

          Just like the cross is necessary for those who follow Jesus. Peter is not the only one who misunderstands God’s plan, Jesus’ mission. Peter isn’t the only one who wants to see Jesus triumphing here on earth. We all fall into that. We think, “If I do things right, if I behave a little better, things should go easier for me on earth than for those who don’t.” We think as followers of Jesus some of the glory Jesus deserves should rub off on us. We think if we do what God wants and say what God wants then things should go well for us and everyone will like us. Not a chance in a sin filled world. The cross is necessary for those who follow Jesus. “He called the crowd and his disciples together and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶After all, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Ask the rich man in the Bible account of the rich man and poor Lazarus. He would have given anything to get out of Hell. But it was too late. You have to follow Jesus in earthly life.

          And if you will actually follow Jesus, you will have a cross. There is no other way to understand Jesus’ words. To deny yourself means to deny your way of thinking, your values, your priorities and replace them with Jesus way of thinking, values and priorities. When you do that and live that you will get your own cross. You have heard it said, “We all have our crosses to bear.” When people hear that they may think that the cross Jesus is talking about is some illness, or a family problem, a bad relationship or the pain of loss of life or use of limb. But that’s not the cross Jesus is talking about. Those things happen to believer and unbeliever alike. He’s talking about those things that can only come from following Him and His next words make clear what the crosses will look like. “In fact, whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Crosses for Christians happen when we show loyalty first to Jesus and His words, His teachings. An example. One of our college students told me one of her first classes where the professor asked for a show of hands. “How many of you believe the world is created like the Bible says?” A smattering of hands. “Good,” he says, “now we know who all the fools are.” The class erupts in laughter. Put herself in her shoes, in her dorm room among her classmates after that. That’s a cross. Here’s another. One of our students in college thinking she was messaging a friend shared her Christian values. That “friend” passed on snippets of her comments that brought down a barrage of nasty online bullying. Reported it to the college. Nothing happened. Had to switch schools to feel safe. That’s a cross. It's a cross when your faith in Christ moves you to deal with a relationship or family problem Christ’s way and it does not work like being mean would. It’s a cross when your kids or friends come to you to announce they are going to live together without being married or they are attracted to someone of the same sex and you tell them “I love you and I will always love you. I need you to know that God says that is wrong and dangerous. Can we talk about this?” and they storm out or cut off the relationship.

          There is of course, another way. We can be ashamed of Jesus and His teachings. When God puts those opportunities to speak the truth in love we can turn them down. We can give tacit approval. We can commit spiritual adultery on Jesus by implying that fake gods or no god at all can still get you to heaven.

          No we can’t. This is Jesus we are talking about. He knows how the Devil is going to try pry us away from Him. So He helps us with our weakness. First He warns that those who turn their back on Jesus on earth will find His back turned to them in heaven. Then He gives us what we need to stand strong. Glory. When the Son of Man comes in glory! The book of Hebrews tells us Jesus endured the cross and scorned its shame because of the joy set before. He knew He was winning you so the cross was worth it. Parents who adopt children and have children know this. Why do you go through all the hard work, the angst, the pain? For the joy that will be set before you! You look forward to holding that child. That’s why we are willing to carry our crosses. We know what’s coming. There’s a simple saying to hold on to. First the cross, then the crown. It was true of Jesus. He went to the cross to be the Christ. Now He is King of kings and Lord of lords. It’s true for those who follow Christ. Take your cross now, glory is coming. Remember what He said? Be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life. And so He will! Amen.

February 17, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 18:9-14 “HANDS OF REPENTANCE”

 

ASH WEDNESDAY

February 17, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 18:9-14

 

          Our hands. They are super important. Think of the many, many ways we use our hands each and every day. Brushing your teeth. Using a spoon. Opening a door. Turning a page. Communicating. Actually our hands communicate a lot more than with typing. They can welcome or accuse. They can say victory or surrender. They tell you something about a person. If you shake my hand now you will get the softer hand of a man who does very little manual labor. If you had shaken my hand at the end of the summer I worked construction working with sun heated steel all day they would feel quite different. Because of the way our hands talk, for this year’s Lenten series we look at the Hands of the Passion. We begin with some hands that talk to us about the attitude of the entire Lenten season.

 

“HANDS OF REPENTANCE”

 

Luke 18:9-14 (EHV) “Jesus told this parable to certain people who trusted in themselves (that they were righteous) and looked down on others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple courts to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of all my income.’ ¹³ “However the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even lift his eyes up to heaven, but was beating his chest and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ “I tell you, this man went home justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

          Jesus told a story. Two men were at the Temple in Jerusalem. They were there to pray. One was a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the religiously elite of Jewish society. They looked to be more reverent, more obedient and more zealous that God’s law be obeyed than their fellow Jewish people. His prayer starts, “God, I thank you!” Ah this is going to be good we think. “Thank you, God,” is a great way to pray. Immediately we feel convicted remembering all the times we began our prayers with a gimme please! “God, I thank you.” If only, if only he had stopped right there. I’m reminded of the proverb “When words are many, sin is not absent” (Proverbs 10:19). His prayer went on. “God, I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” Now we are not told exactly what the Pharisees hands were doing at the time. Likely if he followed the cultural custom Paul described in his letter to Timothy he would have been looking up with hands extended up to communicate he was talking to God in prayer. I think we can tell though by his words what his hands were really doing—patting himself on the back. Thank you God that I, by my own power, am better than others. I do not steal. I do not do evil. I do not commit adultery. I do not extort money. The way the Pharisee saw it he had kept all the Commandments.

          Actually that’s not totally true. The Pharisee didn’t believe he had just kept the commandments, he blew them out of the water. He was extra. He went over and above and he reminded God of that. “I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of all my income.” The Law of Moses required faithful Jews to fast just one day a year. He was doing twice a week. He didn’t just give 10% of what he earned but 10% of what he received. We are not told why he prayed this way. Was it just following the normal sinful nature inclination to say, “Look at me! It’s all about me!?” Or was he maybe trying to convince himself he was as good as he was saying? We don’t know.

          Now our eyes turn to the hands of the other man. “However the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even lift his eyes up to heaven, but was beating his chest and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” The tax collectors of Jesus day often used their position of authority to extort money from those who owed taxes. When the people heard Jesus mention a tax collector they would want to boo and hiss. If a Pharisee was considered to be religiously elite, a tax collector would be considered religiously undesirable. We aren’t told if this particular tax collector was one of those who extorted from the people. But we are told what his hands were doing. Beating his chest. No hands upheld in prayer. No eyes up to heaven to indicated talking to God. Eyes downcast. I’m not worthy. Hands saying the same. And a prayer to match. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” He knew who he was. A sinner. He did not deserve anything from God. He pleaded for mercy. That God in love would not treat him as his sins deserved.

          God be merciful to me a sinner. It’s a short prayer. Just 7 words in our language. But a powerful prayer. It was prayed to the almighty God and it came from a heart of faith, the kind God looks for. A broken and contrite heart he does not despise. Jesus tells us, “I tell you, this man went home justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

          Now remember when Jesus tells one of his stories called a parable, it’s important you know why he told it. He tells us why. Jesus wasn’t talking to a specific person or group of people. It was not a parable just for the benefit of tax collectors and Pharisees. “Jesus told this parable to certain people who trusted in themselves (that they were righteous) and looked down on others.” Do you know anyone like that? Parables with people kind of push you to look at yourself and say which one am I? Pharisee or Tax collector. Is the honest answer a little of both? How easy it is when we’ve gotten good at controlling the outward actions to look down on and despise the brothers and sisters who are weak in the outward things like worship or giving. As we advocate for God’s moral high ground how easy to wish people were more like us. Thankfully we have the Holy Spirit and something like the Church Year season of Lent that whispers to us again, “But unless you repent you too shall perish.” How good it is to be reminded that we have all fallen short of the glory of God and the only one who has the right to look down is God and when He does what does He see? He sees me. And all my sins. God have mercy on me, a sinner.

          Now let’s shift our eyes to the third person in the parable. Wait. What? There’s no 3^rd person. Yes, there is! The teller. Jesus. Look at his hands. His hands worshipped God perfectly all the time. His hands were used in obedience to his parents. His hands were used to keep every commandment perfectly not for his sake but for ours, for you. His hands were stretched out on a cross so he could receive punishment for the sins of the whole world, for you. His hands plead for you and me before our Father in heaven. Because of his hands we know that our prayer, “God have mercy on me a sinner,” is answered with an “Absolutely yes. I have had mercy on you and I want you to know it.” That’s why Jesus commissioned His followers1 to have hands that proclaim forgiveness. That’s why Jesus used His hands to put the power of mercy and forgiveness in the Lord’s Supper so our hands can take and eat and take and drink. And that’s why I can tell you that you will go home justified of your sins. God grant that we continue to humble ourselves before Him as we look forward to the time He will exalt us to heaven. Amen.

anuary 30-Feb. 1, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Hebrews 3:1-6 “JESUS IS BETTER!”

 

EPIPHANY 4

January 30-Feb. 1, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Hebrews 3:1-6

 

“JESUS IS BETTER!”

1.     Better than Moses.

2.     Better than ______.

3.     Better for you!

 

Hebrews 3:1-6 (EHV) “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, focus your attention on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. ²He was faithful to the one who appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in God’s whole house. ³In fact, Jesus is worthy of greater glory than Moses, in the same way that the builder of a house has more honor than the house. ⁴For every house is built by someone, and God is the one who built everything. ⁵Moses was faithful as a servant within God’s whole house by testifying to the things that would be spoken. ⁶But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house. We are his house, if we hold on firmly to our confidence and the hope about which we boast until the end.”

 

          So there is this thing called “Mission Creep.” It’s when an organization, or a person, loses sight of their main goal or purpose in life by slowly focusing on other goals that aren’t their real purpose so that over time they go off mission and eventually become what they are not. An obvious example might be if a hospital emergency room department would say, “You know it’s good that we provide emergency medical care for people. They need that. But you know what they also need? A good oil change for their cars. So let’s put up an oil change shop and when people drive up we can ask what they are here for, direct them the right way. Who knows? Maybe they can come for one and stay for the other!” I think you can see that you probably don’t want to go there for medical care or an oil change. Mission creep has set in. They lost their focus.

          It gets a little more insidious if you have an enemy trying to help you lose focus. One of the silly kids’ movies my girls and I liked to watch and re watch when they were young, and still now, is called Labyrinth. For a teaser to lead you to watch it I’ll just throw out there it has a “Bog of Eternal Stench” in it. In that movie a girl needs to find her lost baby brother. But someone does not want her to. So this enemy keeps trying to divert her attention to her old favorite doll or teddy bear, anything but her baby brother. And friends we have an enemy who has been trying hard to get us to lose focus and I fear he has had some success.

          I’m talking about the Devil and of course this is nothing new. The Word of God we are looking at comes from the letter written to the Hebrews, specifically to Jewish Christians who were living sometime before 70 AD. They were experiencing mission creep, loss of focus, helped along by the Devil who was using government persecution of Christians to try to get believers to give up on Jesus. Just in this section of the letter look at the appeal to every Christian to avoid mission creep and to stay focused. “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, focus your attention on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. ⁶But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house. We are his house, if we hold on firmly to our confidence and the hope about which we boast until the end.” The words are addressed to the believers individually.

          They were tending to focus more on Moses. Now if you were an Old Testament believer Moses was your hero and for good reason. You read about his leadership of Israel out of slavery. You heard how God used him to establish the nation of Israel. You know how God used him to give the Old Testament law. How could Moses not be your hero? But God had the writer make it clear. Jesus is better, better than Moses. “He (Jesus) was faithful to the one who appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in God’s whole house. ³In fact, Jesus is worthy of greater glory than Moses, in the same way that the builder of a house has more honor than the house. ⁴For every house is built by someone, and God is the one who built everything. ⁵Moses was faithful as a servant within God’s whole house by testifying to the things that would be spoken. ⁶But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house.” It wasn’t that their passion for Moses was bad or wrong. It’s just Jesus is better! Moses faithfully served God. He did his job. God used him as a servant. He pointed to what was coming. Bu the greater prophet he spoke of was Jesus. The one the Law of Moses showed was necessary and pictured was Jesus. Moses was a servant. Jesus is the Son. Moses gave the Law. Jesus gave salvation. Watch out for mission creep, Hebrews. Don’t be more passionate about Moses than you are Jesus. Keep your focus on Jesus. Jesus is better.

          Now I seriously doubt that any of us have Moses as our hero or that we are so enamored with the Old Testament laws we want to go back to living like that. And yet the enemy, the Devil is still working in our hearts and lives to lead us off mission, to get us to lose our focus. Please don’t misunderstand me with what we talk about next.  I’m not saying it is wrong to rally around other people or to have causes that are important to us for one reason or another. It’s just that those we rally around or the mission we take up dare not, can not, better not have a bigger place in our hearts and lives than Jesus and the mission He laid out for us. To do so is idolatry. And we are letting the Devil lead us around by the nose.

Just consider this past year. Was President Trump your hero or President Biden? Depending on what issues were most important to you one or the other may have been. And it is good for Christians to care about politics and to serve our country by being active and informed voters but if our passion for a man is greater than our passion for Jesus that is a problem. It is sin. “No one can serve two masters,” Jesus said. Whose mission gets the lead story on your social media? Or how about social issues like feeding the poor or that all people be treated as people with respect and not prejudged by a skin tone or the job they do? It’s great for us to care about the physical well being of others and to do something about it if we can, but we have lost focus, we are off mission, if we let those causes supersede people’s real need for Jesus and the mission Jesus gave us. “Be my witnesses,” Jesus told you. I was reminded of that recently when I heard a quote from atheist entertainer Penn Jillete of the famous illusionist duo Penn and Teller. He has no time for the Bible and Christians. But you know what he said? He said, “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?” So if some social issue is getting all your attention and time and money and you are not doing more to warn sinners against Hell and to tell them about Jesus don’t sit there thinking you are such a loving person. You are not. You are a hater. Even an avowed atheist recognizes that.

Again, do not misunderstand. It’s great for us to have passion for helping others in all sorts of ways. It just cannot be greater than our passion for Jesus and His mission because Jesus is better. And he told us “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” Where is your treasure? What does God see as he looks at your money budget, your time budget, the content of your social media? Think about all the talk time and money that has been spent on Coronavirus. What if the good God intended this virus to be a worldwide call to repentance before the end comes? Makes you think. Repentance is sorely needed. It was nice to see at the Presidential Inauguration a moment of silence taken to remember the some 400,000 lives of mostly elderly Americans whose deaths are listed as Covid related. But you know what I missed? A moment of silence for estimated 600,000 American babies who were murdered through abortion last year. I say estimated. You know why? Because while you can fairly easily find on the CDC website the number of deaths that are Covid related in 2020 you know what you can’t find? Abortion deaths. Their last estimate was 620,000 abortion deaths in 2018. Apparently those deaths are not important enough to be tracked. What does that say about a society and a government that does not actively protect its youngest and most vulnerable citizens? It needs to repent.

You know a good example of how to be involved socially and stay on mission is WELS Lutherans for Life. Several Jacobi ladies volunteer there. In our school that is the 3^rd quarter mission project. This group not only provides pregnancy counseling and physical support for women who are in such desperate straits that they are contemplating abortion but they also do what they can to tell them about Jesus. They get it! They are on mission. Both/and but most importantly Jesus. For if we save a life for earth that is great. But to save one for eternity is better! Or don’t we believe what Jesus said, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

          Jesus is better! Better for you. Because only Jesus takes you to heaven. You know those babies we save from the abortionist’s knife? Eventually they will die from something. If you get Covid and recover, you’re still going to die from something. Those whose earthly lives we make better by fighting poverty or hatred? Still going to die. Because the wages of sin is death and all have sinned. Only Jesus takes away sin so whatever you come up with to fill your heart, Jesus is better. He’s better for you because He takes you to heaven. He’s better for everyone else as well. He’s their only way to heaven. You know that. Others need to know that. You are a walking talking witness for Jesus.  No wonder the Devil works so hard to distract us with lesser good causes and to lose focus1. No wonder the Holy Spirit warned against mission creep. “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, focus your attention on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.” Amen.

January 16-18, 2021 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 “GOD’S STILL SPEAKING!”

 

EPIPHANY 2

January 16-18, 2021

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-10

 

“GOD’S STILL SPEAKING!”

1.     In the midst of a mess.

2.     Seeking those who are listening.

3.     Empowering those who will make a difference.

 

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (EHV) “The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days. Prophetic vision was not common. ²Now it happened that Eli’s eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see. Once when Eli was lying down in his place ³and God’s lamp had not yet gone out, Samuel was lying down in the Lord’s temple, where God’s ark was. ⁴The Lord called Samuel, and Samuel said, “I am here.” ⁵He ran to Eli, and said, “I am here, sinc100e you called me.” Eli said, “I did not call. Lie down again.” So he went and lay down. ⁶Then the Lord called once more, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here, since you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son. Lie down again.” ⁷Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Lord’s presence, that is, the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸The Lord called Samuel for the third time. So he got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here, since you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the young man. ⁹So Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and once again lay down in his place. ¹⁰The Lord came and stood there and called as he had the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

 

SILENCE! UNCOMFORTABLY LONG SILENCE!

 

          Silence can be deadly. School kids know that when they have angered their teacher to the point of silence it is not good. Silence can be uncomfortable. Were you wondering if I was OK? Did it scare you a bit? Those types of silences are not good. But there is a far worse one. Silence from God. Listen to this judgment that God pronounced on Old Testament Israel through the prophet Amos. “Look, the days are coming, declares the Lord God, when I will send a famine into the land—not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but rather a famine of hearing the Words of the Lord. ¹² People will stumble from sea to sea and from north to east. They will roam back and forth seeking the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” (Amos 8:11-12 EHV) Why did that happen? The people of Israel consistently and persistently refused to listen to God’s Word. So He took it away. That’s a horrible judgment. No word. No faith. No faith. No salvation.

          But that is not the time we live in, is it? God’s still speaking. Just like He was still speaking at the time of Samuel even though it was a messy time for a believer to live. Samuel lived at the end of the time of the Judges. Do you remember how that was described? “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” There is some pretty nasty stuff described in the book of Judges. Idolatry. Adultery. Dismembering a body. Morally a mess. Spiritually too. At the beginning of 1 Samuel Eli the priest saw Samuel’s mother silently praying at the Tabernacle and thought she was drunk. From that reaction you get the idea that happened a lot. People showing up drunk for church. Eli’s two sons, also priests, stole people’s offerings and seduced or sexually assaulted women who came to church. I remind you of this telling description of the times. “The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days. Prophetic vision was not common.” The word was rare, but not gone. God was still speaking in those messy times.

          As He is still speaking in our messy times. Someone passed on to me the prayer that was used to open the brand new session of Congress this year. Here is how it ended. “And dare I ask, oh Lord, peace even in this chamber now and evermore. We ask it in the name of the monotheistic god, Brahma, and god known by many names by many different faiths. Amen and awoman.” (Rep. Emanuel Cleaver D-MO). We should be so proud! You know what we got here? We got a stinkin’ spiritual pile o poo. What a mess! That got some negative publicity. More people loved it. It is representative of the spirit in our nation where many people are saying (and I hope this hurts your ears as much as it hurts my mouth to say it) “Shut up Lord. We’re talking now. We’ll tell you who you are and we make the rules of right and wrong.” How sad. And yet in our country, God’s still speaking!

          We might wonder why. Because He’s seeking those who are listening. At least one person was listening at the time of Samuel. Not the priests. Samuel. A boy, 10, 12, 14 years old. We’re not sure exactly. Remember his mom, Hannah, had prayed for him and promised that if the Lord would give her a son, she would dedicate him in service to the Lord. God did and she did and he did. When he was just a child, he began serving the priest Eli at the Tabernacle. He would serve God more. “Samuel!” he heard in the middle of the night. Samuel ran to serve Eli’s needs thinking he had called. But Eli hadn’t. A little later. “Samuel!” Up he went again to see what Eli needed. Again Eli had not called. And Samuel hadn’t yet had God communicate to him in this special way. A third time. God’s number. “Samuel!” Now Eli caught on. The LORD was talking. “Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the young man. ⁹So Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” God was speaking seeking those who would listen and He found one in Samuel.

          God’s still speaking today. We have His word in book form, podcasts, devotions, services in person or online, Bible classes. He’s still speaking. And still seeking those who will listen. You are listening. First I have to urge you to take it to heart. God’s words are true. They will never lead you astray. Whatever He says, hard for you or easy, listen to it. And keep listening. You might feel like rolling your eyes and saying, “Pastor, we are not the ones you need to encourage to listen. It’s the ones who aren’t here, who aren’t watching online. They need to hear this.” True but you know I’ve seen some sad things. I’ve seen folks who at one time were listening just like you gradually become folks who stopped listening. It wasn’t that they got mad about something or liked some other church better. They aren’t listening anywhere. What happened? As far as I can tell when the Lord called, when the Lord invited the response was “Not now, Lord. I’m busy. I’ll listen later.” And then later never comes and if you and I think that same thing cannot happen to us we are fools. Today, God’s still speaking. So today is the day to be listening. That’s what God is seeking, those who will listen.

          And it is so important that we do because the Lord is seeking those who will make a difference. Samuel had a servant’s heart. But he was just a boy! Never say “just” when God is involved. God used Samuel to make a difference. He appointed kings and advised kings. This one little boy guided the course of the entire nation of Israel returning them to the Lord. He was directly involved in God’s plan to bring the Savior Jesus into the word. In God’s hands Samuel was a difference maker. That’s why God spoke to him.

          And why God’s still speaking to you. I know some of you are getting a little discouraged. You don’t like what you see happening in our country. Maybe you feel like giving up. Don’t listen. God is empowering you to make a difference. You make the difference simply by being a believer. Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? For the sake of only 10 believers God would have spared those wicked cities. Kids, do you see what God did with Samuel? You are not too young. Your words matter. Who knows what God has planned for your future? And if we can make a difference in our country, make it a better place to live that’s great. But it’s not what’s most important. Everything on earth passes. Eternity remains. You are the ones God is using to make a difference in people’s eternities. You are proclaiming Jesus. You are doing that personally and through our work together. You are teaching little ones and adults. You are snatching souls from Hell. God’s word has made you a difference maker. You are not just an old lady or little girl, just high school kid or an electrician. You are feet and hands and voice of God.

It's no wonder the Devil does not want people listening. He has seen what God has done through His people. We have plenty of work to do and time to make a difference. So we won’t give up or give in to discouragement. You’ve heard it said, “It’s not over until the fat lady sings.” They get that from opera. Not true. It’s actually not over until God goes silent. But He isn’t. God’s still speaking. So we will keep listening and He will use us to make the differences that matter most. Amen.

December 31, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Job 1:20-2:10 2020: MAY THE NAME OF THE LORD BE PRAISED!

 

NEW YEAR’S EVE

December 31, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Job 1:20-2:10

 

2020: MAY THE NAME OF THE LORD BE PRAISED!

 

Job 1:20-2:10 (NIV 1984) “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” ²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. 2 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth, going back and forth in it.”

³ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” ⁴ “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. ⁵ But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” ⁶ The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.” ⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. ⁸ Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. ⁹ His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” ¹⁰ He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”

 

          I’ve heard a lot of sentiment about 2020 expressed as we’ve gotten closer and closer to a new year. Some of the TV New Year’s Eve shows ask you to join them in saying “Good-bye and Good Riddance to 2020” or “Let’s close the door on 2020 and never look at it again!” It’s cliché but you have probably heard it too. “2020: Worst Year Ever!” or “I can’t wait for this year to over.” To be sure there were plenty of negative aspects to 2020 that people complained about, maybe we complained about as well. With the coming of the coronavirus we went through shutdowns of businesses, in person church and school. People lost jobs and their businesses. Students lost graduation ceremonies. Sporting events ended. Mask mandates became the norm. Mental health has taken a huge hit. Then there were the race issues and everything that accompanied them. Protests, some peaceful, some not. Friends becoming enemies as they became as polarized on issues as the rest of the country. And of course politics in America did not get any nicer or more civil. It’s no wonder folks want to close the book on 2020.

          But brothers and sisters, our purpose tonight is not to complain but rather to worship and praise God for 2020 and to look forward with confidence. As Paul reminded us “If God is for us, who can be against us?” As Jesus urged us, “Stop worrying about your life.” That gives us a different perspective on 2020 than most Americans. We say “2020 May the name of the Lord be praised.” To see why we look at the life of one our brothers in faith, our brother Job.

          When we first meet Job in the 1^st chapter of the book that bears his name “he had seven sons and three daughters, ³ and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants.” On one single day Job got the following news.  His oxen and donkeys were stolen and the servants guarding them killed, fire fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and killed the servants watching them, his camels were also stolen by raiders with more servants killed and then the worst news of all, his seven sons and three daughters were all killed when the house they were in collapsed. And we want to complain about a bad year?

Job’s response? “He fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” ²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” No way Job is going to get a newscasting or entertaining job in America today with an attitude like that! Where did that come from? Job is described as a man who feared God and shunned evil. Job respected God. He knew and trusted God’s wisdom and power. So when bad things by anyone’s standard happened to him he worshipped and praised God, trusting that everything God did or allowed had not just a reason but a good reason.

His troubles continued. Some things we don’t know a lot about. Angels presenting themselves before God. Satan also allowed. Satan given permission to try Job’s faith some more. “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. ⁸ Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. ⁹ His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” You all know how it is. It is easier to deal with setback and hard times when you are rested and feel good. But when your health is bad, and you can’t sleep…How do you sleep with sores all over your body? And then your closest companion encourages you to turn on God. Job’s response. “He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.” What no “Good riddance 2020 BC!?

          Now there are some truths here we can take directly over into our own lives. We know where Job’s troubles came from, Satan. At the time Job didn’t. And yet they were allowed by God. And that gives us an insight into what was really going on here. This is a battle between God and the Devil. The Devil trying to make God look bad. The Devil trying to get God’s people to turn on Him and turn away from Him. God defeating the Devil’s plots and working good.

          I’ve heard the theories on coronavirus. No dispute it came from China. Was it by worker accident or a part of a much bigger sinister Chinese government plot? I don’t know. Maybe we’ll find out some day. You can pretty easily identify the nastiness in America over elections and race issues as stemming from people’s sinful natures, no doubt egged on by bad old Satan. But can you see the bigger picture, brothers and sisters? Did Satan present himself before God talking about you and me. “You’ve made their life so easy, no wonder they follow you. But take those things away and you will find out who their real god is. Will they be more upset over cancelled sporting events than worship services? Will their eyes be glued to their screens when sports return but not to their screens for online worship? Watch them turn on each other instead of showing love for one another.”

          Troubles are a test and a chance for us to show the Devil and others we trust what God sends our way because He’s already sent His Son our way. Just look at all the good God brought out of the troubles of 2020. Many churches, ours included, got a whole lot better at getting God’s word out through technology. Many Christians, us included, got better at devoting ourselves daily to God’s word  and taking the time to pray. Many Christians, including many Jacobians found extra ways to show love to others and help in time of need. I have never seen the level of donation to our Almoners Fund which helps members in need. People stepped up at church and school to keep the mission going online. People spent more time with family. Kids learned to appreciate school. Parents learned to appreciate teachers. We also were taught that box office hits and professional sports really aren’t essential. You can come up with many more. What do we say to that? 2020 May the name of the Lord be praised.

          And 2021 too. The difference between one year and the next temporally is really just one second. Some of you will be awake when that happens, some not. But while we sleep or countdown God will continue to be where He has always been and doing what He always does. He will watch over us and protect us. He will only allow what He knows and plans to work for good. He will continue to pour out on us His love. He will continue to thwart the Devil’s plans. And because, like Job, we respect God and his goodness and trust His wisdom and power, our view of years old and new is the same: May the name of the Lord be praised. Amen.