December 26/27, 2010 sermon on Matthew 2:13-23 by Pastor Paul G. Eckert

December 26/27, 2010 - Christmas 1 Sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Text - Matthew 2:13-23
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." 19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead." 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."
AFTER THE BIRTH OF THE SAVIOR, THEN WHAT?
I THERE WAS AND IS DANGER
II THERE WAS AND IS GOD’S GUIDING CARE
III THERE WAS, IS AND WILL BE FULFILLMENT
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After celebrating the birth of our Savior, then what? I suppose today, with this service coming right after Christmas Eve and Day, some of the "what" could be what we refer to as "preaching to the choir." The "choir" would refer to the people who today are present in the church service and thus are the ones who are doing the singing. So if I would rant and rave today about the many who attended our special Christmas services but then do not show up for our regular services, resulting in a lower church attendance, I would be ranting and raving to you who are present, but not to those who are not here. I could also give the wrong impression about people who are not here, as though nobody has a valid reason for not being here. So, instead of "preaching to the choir," I’ll just ask you to keep on encouraging fellow family and church members to be faithful in their worship lives, to be a regular part of those who sing in our worship services, who hear God’s Word in church and come to His Supper here.
But now let’s get to our sermon text and go back to the time after the birth of the Savior. It wasn’t the day after, but a small amount of time had passed. The Magi, Wise Men, were now on their way back home. Mary and Joseph and Jesus were no longer in a stable but in a house, and were no longer using a manger as a crib for baby Jesus. So those inconveniences were behind them. But quite a bit was ahead for them, even as the new year of 2011 lies ahead for us. So we ask:
AFTER THE BIRTH OF THE SAVIOR, THEN WHAT?
I THERE WAS AND IS DANGER (13,16)
1. Danger confronted Jesus (13)
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." a) with a special star God had alerted the Magi that His promised
King had been born; so they had headed to Israel’s capital city,
Jerusalem, where they assumed that this King would be found
b) their intention was to worship Him and bring Him offerings;
but unwittingly they in fact put Him into danger because King
Herod saw only a threat to his government throne when he
heard about another potential king - if you recall, Pontius Pilate
33 years later mocked Jesus as a king, but Herod at this time
tried to use the Magi to get rid of this new king
2. Danger confronted the children of Bethlehem (16)
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
a) the Magi did not report back to Herod; so, knowing only the
location, he determined to kill all the baby boys in an age range
he felt sure would include Jesus
b) the number may have been small, but the killing was murder
3. Danger is also present today
a) we may not have a Herod, but we have a government that
has made it legal to murder countless number of babies in the
womb; we have loud voices that demand the right to choose
to get rid of babies by what actually is murder
b) the devil still is behind that as he still is as anxious to get rid of
Jesus as Herod was, as he also is after each and every one of us
with his temptations to turn us away from God’s truth, to turn
us away from Jesus, our promised Savior and King
4. So our walk after Christmas is a walk in danger
a) 2011 will not be without danger, as little as 2010 has been
b) daily we’ll need to continue to pray "Deliver us from evil"
and trustingly also to pray "Your will be done"
c) because we know the reality that there was and still is danger
II THERE WAS AND IS GOD’S GUIDING CARE (13-14,19-22)
1. The need for this may seem strange
a) our Jesus is the Word made flesh, the one of whom Scripture
says, "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
b) why did He through whom all things were made need guiding
care? it is because He had humbled Himself for us, taken on
Himself our flesh and blood and weaknesses so that He could
take on Himself our sins and die for our sins as our Substitute
2. God’s guiding and protecting care was evident (13-14,19-22)
a) He warned of the danger from Herod
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in
a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and
escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to
search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and
his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ---. b) He directed the path for Him to travel
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead." So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee ---.
3. That guiding care is also with us
a) we may not always understand how God guides us - in our
past lives have we always understood why God permitted some
things to happen? will we always know in the coming year what
God has in mind if something comes that we would choose not
to have happen? maybe Mary and Joseph didn’t understand
right away either why with a new child they had to do the
traveling they had to do
b) but when we don’t understand, be encouraged by what God
said through the prophet Isaiah: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
4. Be confident of that guiding care
a) we cannot say we’ll walk without danger after Christmas
b) we cannot say we’ll have a perfect year 2011, no problems
c) but we can say we walk in God’s guiding care all of the way,
confident in the assurance of Scripture: "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
III THERE WAS, IS AND WILL BE FULFILLMENT (15,17-18,23)
1. Old Testament promises were fulfilled (15b,17-18,23)
a) in our text we have just three of many OT references
- Jeremiah 31:15 - Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to
be comforted, because they are no more."
- Hosea 11:1 - And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said
through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
b) in the third reference our text says - And he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene." - Scripture had also
foretold that Jesus would be mocked, seen as a nobody who
came from a small place like Nazareth instead of from an
important city like Jerusalem, and that too happened
2. So also the promise of salvation was fulfilled
a) the prophecies mentioned weren’t the only ones fulfilled; think
also of the promise of a virgin birth, of Bethlehem as the
birthplace, about being pierced for our transgressions and
crushed for our iniquities which were all placed on God’s Son,
about the punishment He endured to bring us peace
b) saving was promised and fulfilled - not saving from all physical
dangers, but from sin and its deserved eternal consequences
3. And life is what also will be fulfilled
a) God has promised to be with us in this life, but not that we will
continue forever in this life - who would want that in this vale
of tears?
b) what Jesus has promised is that we will not perish but have
eternal life, that there are mansions above and that He will
come back and take us to be with Him where He is in His glory
- in other words, that heaven is our home, a promise that will
be fulfilled as surely as the prophecies in our text were fulfilled,
as surely as Jesus after His crucifixion arose from the dead to
be our Resurrection and our Life
4. For God will fulfill what He has promised us
a) how sad if all we knew was that we were heading into another
year of time with a totally unknown future
b) how sad if we knew that all we could anticipate was danger
and problems and aging and dying and death and hell
c) because of Christmas and everything it really means, because
of the truth of God’s love and of His promises, we know
more: we head into another year knowing there will be dangers,
but also confident that we have God’s guiding care, and that
our Savior God will fulfill His promises to us of glory to come
A Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year Indeed!

CHRISTMAS DAY
December 25, 2010
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Word of Christian Worship Hymn #54 (Luke 2:8-20)

“WHERE SHEPHERDS LATELY KNELT…
WE KNEEL TOO!
1. In half belief.
2. Finding room and welcome for me.
3. Finding a voice to cry for me.
4. Surprised to find Isaiah?
5. Can I, will I?

Pretty much everybody loves Christmas Carols. Oh, we might quibble about whether the radio stations should start with “all carols all the time” before Thanksgiving. We might debate on how long they should go after Christmas. We can even have differences of opinions on which ones we like or don’t like. Still, pretty much everybody likes Christmas carols. Mostly old ones. Sometimes new. From the feedback I get one of new favorites is the one we just sang, “Where Shepherds Lately Knelt.” It was published in 1987, not that long ago. And yet the combination of the right tune with some meaningful words provides a great Christmas carol. So I’m going to step outside my box just a little bit and preach on the text of a this carol that helps us revisit the events of Christmas. Where shepherds lately knelt, we kneel too.
We kneel in half belief. Can you imagine being those shepherds that first Christmas night? An angel. The angel hosts. Did we really see that? Let us go to Bethlehem and see if it’s true. And it is. We find everything just as the angel said. And yet still it’s hard to believe it’s all true. He looks like an ordinary baby. Is He really my Savior? Half belief. Honesty is so refreshing isn’t it? So many people wear masks. They hide their true intentions behind syrupy smiles. Sometimes those who proclaim their Christianity the loudest really aren’t. Half belief in the wonderful truths God proclaims. Honestly that’s a good description of me. Is it of you too? That well turned phrase makes me think of the man we are told about in the Gospels who begged Jesus to heal his son who was demon possessed. Jesus told him everything is possible for those who believe. The man honestly replied, “I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.” I think of Jesus’ sweeping statement that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can tell a mountain to go and throw itself into the sea and it will. I haven’t tossed any mountains into the sea lately. Neither have you. Half belief. It’s the best we can do with the promises of God.
And you know what the neat thing is? My half belief doesn’t affect God’s truth! God’s truths are true even if no one believes them. God’s truths stand true when my faith is smaller than a mustard seed. Our half belief in the God man in the manger doesn’t change who He is. As we kneel where the shepherds lately knelt we are so glad that our weakness of faith does not diminish God’s greatness or what He will do for us.
We are glad of that because as our carol goes on to exclaim, “There is room and welcome there for me!” One of the more uncomfortable situations life presents is when you find yourself in a place that you are not really welcome. Now you’ve probably never had one of those made for Hollywood moments when you walk into a room and all the talk and music go silent as every head turns to look at you. But you have probably found yourself, maybe even at a family gathering, where people were uncomfortable around you. Sometimes that hurts. It hurts to know you are not wanted. On the other hand it sure feels good to be where you are wanted. When we kneel with the shepherds at the manger of Jesus we find there is room for us and welcome for us and this is a surprise. It’s a surprise because of who we are and what we have done. I remember a Seminary professor once reminding us, his students, to remember that there are generally more broken hearts sitting in church pews that hardened ones. I would suspect that on Christmas Day when many don’t really do church, that this is doubly so. We want to be here because we are broken hearted. We know our sinfulness. We know we don’t belong in God’s presence. Once again this past year we can see our betrayals of Jesus and our denials in our own ways. I know for myself and you know for yourself why all the music should stop and the heads turn and someone should be saying, “What’s he doing here?” But that’s not what happens. Jesus welcomes us and wants us. That’s why He came.
And it’s what we find as continue to kneel where the shepherds lately knelt, we find a still small voice to cry for us. At first that voice belonged to a baby. What do you think of baby’s crying? Do you like to hear them or not? It really depends on context, doesn’t it? For instance when a baby is just born you want to hear it cry. That’s a beautiful noise. Later when it’s the middle of the night and mom is hoping to get a little sleep it isn’t so nice. I don’t mind hearing babies crying in church, as long as it doesn’t go on too long. Babies crying in church means parents are bringing their little ones to hear God’s Word. That’s a good thing. At other times babies crying can simply be annoying. There is nothing annoying and there is only good at the baby in the manger who is going to cry for me, for you. He won’t stay a baby. He will grow to be the perfect God man who did His job, sacrificed Himself for us, was exalted by God and is at His right hand. Now His voice cries out to defend us. When Satan, the accuser comes and points out all our sins, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus His Son. Remember that. Do you have a broken heart? Some sins bothering you? Jesus is speaking up for you. He is committed to having you in heaven.
Now we should know that and believe that because God said so. And yet how often don’t we find ourselves surprised when God comes through for us? Our carol writer puts it this way, “How should I not have known Isaiah would be there?” I probably would have said, “Duh!” The Scriptures tell us that often the prophets did not know exactly what their prophecies pointed to. They knew Who but not all the details and they searched the Scriptures to gain understanding. Yet they could only know what the Holy Spirit revealed. And still God’s people are slow to believe. It makes me think of the many times before He died that Jesus spoke plainly with His disciples telling them that He would die and rise again three days later. Yet they still were expecting to find a dead Jesus. How could they not have known? All the prophecies that the Lord revealed to His people through Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, they all have the purpose of giving God’s people confidence that Jesus is the true Messiah, the Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of peace. We’re no different. How often don’t we find ourselves surprised when God came through for us—again? Next time you catch God again keeping His promises to you for help, provision, working all things for good, remember this carol and say, “How should I not have known?” or “Duh!” if you prefer!
Now can I, will I forget? That’s the penetrating question in the last verse of “Where Shepherds lately knelt.” It makes you stop and think and do something with the Christmas message. “Can I, will I forget how Love was born and burned its way into my heart unasked, unforced, unearned? That’s God’s way. The Gospel way. Not the law way of force and fear and manipulation. The way of love, unasked, unforced, unearned. It makes you ask, “Why me Lord?” Why do you put me into a family that believed your promises of Baptism, and brought me to the font where You did your work? I didn’t ask for that. I certainly didn’t earn it. And you came in love? Why me, Lord? You can ask the same question. The carol writer chose to focus our attention on another question. Can I, will I forget what has happened here? “Can,” am I able to. “Will,” do I want to? Will I really live the rest of today as a grump and a grouch? Will I live burdened by guilt? Will I leave to live like the people who don’t know Christ, wallowing in self seeking and self serving and never finding peace joy and happiness in Jesus? Yes, I can, but No I won’t. I will remember the one came to die and live for me and I will seek to serve Him with joy. I hope you will too.
For, this Christmas morning where shepherds lately knelt, we have knelt too. Not on our knees physically, but in our hearts with humility and reverence for our God has done great things for us. May His name be praised! Amen.

Worship Service December 19th, 2010

Dec 19, 2010 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

Matthew 1:18-25 Pastor Waldschmidt
God Can Do Anything!
I. When It Seems Nothing Can Be Done.
II. He Did Everything He Promised.

Matthew 1:18-25 THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.


In the name of Jesus, the Savior, dear fellow redeemed children of God,
Last week the roof of the Metrodome in Minneapolis tore open and poured tons of ice and snow onto the field below. After playing a game the Ford Field Dome in Detroit, the Vikings made plans to shovel out the Minnesota Golden Gophers stadium in Minneapolis and play their final home game there. This past week, many players expressed their concern about playing on the frozen field. I don’t mean to make light of their concerns but it did make me think back to the days when we would shovel off the frozen tundra of our backyard for a Christmas vacation football game. We didn’t have heater coils under the field. There weren’t even heaters on the sideline. But in a young football player’s imagination anything could happen out there. There could be a record setting game winning field goal or a touchdown pass calmly delivered before an imaginary cheering crowd. Anything could happen out there in the backyard. The Bible says, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” Today in God’s Word, we see God do something that goes far beyond what anyone could have imagined. He did something so real that it s effects reach down through the ages to benefit you and me. This was no imaginary event because God can do anything. I. When it seemed nothing could be done. II. God did everything He promised.
On Monday Night Football, they use 30 cameras for their production. We had no cameras at Waldschmidt Field. Today God’s Word uses a different camera angle to record the Christmas story. It is a special “camera” angle because it showsus things from two views at once. It records things from the view of the God who can do anything and from Joseph’s point of view at a time when maybe it seemed like nothing could be done. “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph.” Joseph is a man we really know very little. He was a carpenter-that isn’t mentioned here, it’s mentioned later in Jesus’ life by the doubting citizens of Nazareth at the synagogue. Joseph was pledged to be married to Mary. He was a descendant of King David. Being in that family tree brought him to Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus. “But before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” At first that must have seemed like a terrible situation. Joseph knew he wasn’t the father of the child. He must have assumed that Mary had been unfaithful to him. We can imagine the pain and disappointment Joseph suffered during these days. He had been committed to Mary. He loved her. They had plans. But she obviously had been in the arms of another man. “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Joseph didn’t want to heap public disgrace on Mary but he didn’t feel like he could go ahead with the plans either. It seemed like nothing could be done. But God can do anything.
“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.” God can do anything. He sent an angel to announce his plan. He came up with that plan when it seemed nothing could be done. Remember the God who can do anything had created this beautiful world- stars in the sky, fish in the sea and dry land filled with beautiful plants and animals. God created a beautiful world for his people to live in. But Adam and Eve disobeyed God. That sin disease was passed down to you and me. Take a look at your heart and mind. Do the things in them measure up to God’s holy standards? The God who can do anything could not do nothing about that disobedience. He is holy and just. He could not let sin go unpunished. So the God who can do anything decided to do something. He would come himself to save His people. The angel told some of the details of that plan, “ because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." By a miracle of His grace God would come Himself. He took on flesh and blood to be the substitute. Mary would give birth to a Son. Joseph’s job, as legal father, was to see to it that the child would be named Jesus. This was a common name in Israel. Normally when a child was given this name it was a reminder that God promised to send a Savior. This is what the name Jesus means. But this Jesus would be no ordinary Child. He is the Son of God. He is the Savior of the world God promised. God can do anything.
That’s comforting because we sometimes find ourselves in situations where it seems nothing can be done. Doctors sometimes say, “nothing more can be done.” Sometimes it seems like our economy is so big and the problems so huge that nothing can be done. At times family problems seem like quicksand and it feels like nothing can be done. If we do this it makes things worse, if we do that it makes things worse. It seems like nothing can be done. This week even though those problems may swirl around us, while have a chance to peer into the manger again with Joseph and see that God can do anything. He helped us with our greatest problem. He will not leave us alone to face our other problems.
Isn’t it interesting that the angel gives no long explanation of the incarnation of the Son of God. He simply says that Mary’s conception is from the Holy Spirit – that’s it. He doesn’t give any detail beyond that. God doesn’t always give us all of the details of what He is planning in our lives. At times we won’t understand how he could take the bad things that happen and “work them together for good.” We can’t see how God could do what he did in the life of Joseph- how he could take the harm others intended and accomplish good things like the saving of our lives and the lives of others. We don’t need to know the details. We just need to know His loves us and does what he says. God can do anything even when it seems nothing can be done.
There is no long explanation we are told about. There is also no bright miraculous sign. Joseph is simply pointed by the angel back to the promises of God in that name Jesus. “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” God can do anything! He did everything He promised.
As God waited for the time to be right to send the Savior, He gave His people picture promises of the Savior. Joseph was reminded of one of them. It was in the Scripture lesson we heard today. "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." Joseph took God at His Word. Mary was a virgin and yet conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Son born from her was to be called Jesus because He would save His people from their sins. Joseph believed the angel. History gives the proof. He took Mary as His wife. He provided a home for her and her son, Jesus.
Those promises of God in His word feed our faith. They make us strong to do what Joseph did - to cling to our God who can do anything. We cling to the God who has saved us and who can do anything when we sit at the kitchen table with our pile of bills. We cling to our God when we sit in the surgical waiting room at the hospital and when we follow the casket of our loved ones out of church. God can do anything.
Frozen turf might not be much fun for football to land on but the rock solid promises of God are comfortable to stand on. They give us peace and comfort and confidence. Let’s come again this week to hear about what our God who can do anything really did. God came to be with us. Amen.

December 12th, 2010 Worship Service

Dec 12, 2010 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

December 15, 1010 midweek Advent sermon by Pastor Paul Eckert

Midweek Advent 3
December 15, 1010
Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Theme: FREEDOM
I JESUS PROCLAIMED IT
II ISRAEL'S HISTORY PICTURED IT
III GOD'S PEOPLE GREATLY REJOICE IN IT
Text - Isaiah 61:1-11
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. 6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. 7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. 8 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed." 10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
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For what are we waiting? Turning to what the Prophet Isaiah recorded, the answer the last two Wednesdays was "a righteous ruler" and "something to sing about." This Wednesday’s answer is a single word: "Freedom."
Do you remember hearing quite a bit last month about someone who had been waiting for freedom? That someone was Laurencia "Bambi" Bembenek. She had been convicted of murder, but always maintained her innocence. After being jailed, she wanted her freedom so badly that she managed to escape. But eventually she was found and faced justice again. After some plea dealing it was determined that she had served enough time and could be free.
But, if you remember the story, she never felt free. She wanted to be exonerated. She wanted to be pardoned to set her really free. She did not live to hear a pardon. She died without having the freedom she really wanted.
For what are we waiting? For a freedom or a pardon that may never come? Definitely not! Turning to the entire chapter 61 of the Prophet Isaiah let’s talk about FREEDOM and see how JESUS PROCLAIMED IT, how ISRAEL’S HISTORY PICTURED IT, and how GOD’S PEOPLE GREATLY REJOICE IN IT.
FREEDOM
I JESUS PROCLAIMED IT (1-3)
1. Someone here is proclaiming freedom (1-3) The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
a) the one speaking these words claims the Spirit’s backing
b) He says He has been anointed, given an assignment
2. This is none other than Jesus
a) over 700 years before Christmas! - how could this be?
b) it is because of who Jesus is, God’s eternal Son
3. He Himself claimed this
a) in Luke chapter 4 Jesus quoted these words from Isaiah
b) then, addressing the people in the synagogue, He said, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
4. Listen again to what He had come to proclaim (1-3)
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
a) to the poor, the good news of eternal wealth
b) to the broken hearted and captives, comfort and freedom
c) to those who mourn, gladness
II ISRAEL’S HISTORY PICTURED IT (4-9)
1. The picture had not been good
a) at Isaiah’s time it was reasonably good for North and South
b) but then the northern kingdom was captured, taken away,
and never came back; later the southern kingdom was taken
away into exile for what we know as the Babylonian captivity
2. But the picture would improve (4)
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
a) as God promised, Judah after 70 years returned from its exile
b) then rebuilding took place, and there was a Bethlehem again
3. And the picture was enlarged (5-6)
Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth
of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
a) what happened in Bethlehem, the promised birth of the
Savior, was the glory of Israel, but not just the glory of Israel
b) it was also light for the Gentiles, to gather together all
peoples and nations for the freedom Jesus had come to win
4. And it promised everlasting joy (7-9) Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."
a) because of the sin God hates, all deserve judgment, shame
b) but instead of disowning and disgrace, there would be
forgiveness for sin and there would be an inheritance
c) for the Lord would bless all of His people with everlasting
joy, joy to the world, for His wonderful freedom
III GOD’S PEOPLE GREATLY REJOICE IN IT (10-11) 1. Who is talking here? (10-11)
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
a) to this point we have heard the promised Savior talking
b) now we hear the response of the people whom the Lord has
blessed so richly because of the promised Savior
2. What joy because of what the Lord has done! (10)
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
a) think of the familiar words of Ephesians 5:25b-27 - "Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any blemish, but holy and blameless."
b) so here; we are clothed with a garment of salvation that
covers all of our sins, and we have jewels that sparkle with our
great delight
3. Remember again that this is for all (11) For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. a) what God did was not just for Old Testament people, or just
for descendants of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob
b) God so loved the world, all nations, you and me
4. May we greatly rejoice in God’s freedom! (10a)
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. a) what we could never do - namely get rid of the condemning
power of our sins or set ourselves free from death and the
grave and hell, all of this our Savior has done exactly as He
over 700 years before the first Christmas promised and
proclaimed in the inspired words of the Prophet Isaiah we
have considered in this sermon
b) in this we rejoice now, knowing His victory is our freedom
c) and we look forward to enjoying that freedom in everlasting
glory with Him
Laurencia Bembenek heard no pardon of freedom from the government. But you and I, we have heard God’s pardon for our sins. We know our Savior, born to be the glory of Israel and the light for all nations.
Jesus has indeed given us true freedom. Please don’t forget that this freedom is what we really are celebrating in Christmas.
So we ask again, "For what are we waiting? Freedom?" We have it! It has come! And everlasting freedom and joy will be ours!
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

Our Advent song service urges us to anticipate the joy of Christmas. Anticipation. It’s a look forward to something. Some things we look forward to with excitement and happiness. Some things with dread. You see the emotions you attach to anticipation are directly tied to what the event you are waiting for means to you. For instance, not too long ago you may have anticipated your Thanksgiving feast and your emotions about that might have gotten greater and greater as the smells wafted through the house and you became hungrier. Music minded people anticipate the next concert they will attend or be a part of because of the happiness music brings to them. Sports minded people anticipate the next game because of the thrill of competition or what it will mean for their beloved team. Packer fans, joy. Viking fans, dread! How about Christians and Christmas. What’s your anticipation like? We know what the right answers should be. But we have an enemy, the Devil. He works very hard in each or our lives to keep our eyes off of Jesus. To keep us distracted and harried so Christmas is just something to get over. Our service today in word and extra songs from our choirs seeks to help you anticipate Christmas with joy. Let’s listen as our Ladies Choir gives us an overview of what we celebrate.


FOCUS ON THE NEED

One of the events of the past year that grabbed the world’s attention was the rescue of the Chilean miners. You can probably still remember the details. On August 5, 33 miners were trapped after a tunnel collapse. They were stuck 2300 feet underground. That’s almost 2 Empire State buildings stacked on top of each other. Can you imagine what they felt like when they realized their predicament? Stuck in the darkness. Limited food. Nothing they could do to save themselves. What do you think was on their minds? “We are doomed. Well there’s still time left. Shall we wait it out?” Their only hope was rescue. How do you think they felt when that first borehole reached them? The one used to communicate and send supplies? Hopeful. Joyful. They needed to be rescued and now there was hope.
Now the thought of being trapped underground or underwater just gives me the creeps. If I even try to imagine it terror is not far behind. But there is a worse darkness that you and I need to be rescued from. Jesus alluded to it in His parable of the talents when He said, Matthew 25:30 (NIV) “And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” That’s one description of Hell. Here’s some more. First from Isaiah 66:24 (NIV) “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” Now from Luke 16:22-24 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.” Hell is not a pretty place. It is where God is not. And where God is not there is no joy, no hope, no good. Only pain, despair and torment. And I belong there. So do you. We have sinned against our Creator. We have done, said, thought wrong things. But God sent a borehole down to us. It came in the form of the promise of a Savior. Rescue was on the way. To help you anticipate the joy of Christmas, focus on your need for a Savior. Our Mixed Choir sings of just that with their anthem “God, My Savior.”


FOCUS ON THE VIP

For some people seeing a celebrity provides the highlight of the year. They will wait for hours to catch a glimpse of a singer, an actor or actress, a sports star or a world leader. When they get that glimpse they are filled with joy. They saw a VIP. For the Chilean miners the VIP wasn’t a person at all. It was Phoenix 1, the rescue capsule. If you have seen pictures of it, it really doesn’t look very special at all. Kind of looks like something you might find on a cheap carnival ride. But when the Chilean miners saw that capsule they were filled with joy. It meant a safe ride to the surface. It meant rescue. Eventually they would each get their turn and they would be rescued from the darkness. Things were looking up!
From all reports people were not really impressed by the sight of Jesus. We’re told He looked very ordinary. There were no throngs of people waiting in line for a glimpse of Him when He was born. But we know better. We know who He is, the VIP! We are reminded of Jesus’ special nature in Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” At Christmas we get to celebrate the fact that God came to be with us. He may have looked like an ordinary human being but He wasn’t. In Hebrews 1:3 we are told that Jesus…”is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” By focusing on Jesus, who He is, what He has done, we see the very nature of God. More than that. He’s our ride out of the darkness. By taking on human flesh He made it so He could cover us with His righteousness and take us safely to our heavenly home. To help you anticipate the joy of Christmas focus on the VIP. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Our Mixed Choir helps us do just that as they sing “Carol for Advent.”


FOCUS ON WHAT IS COMING

You are 2300 feet underground. You have lived the rollercoaster of realizing you were trapped with no way out to resigning yourself to your fate to hearing the drill come closer and closer to seeing the camera pop through the borehole to the first time the Phoenix 1 capsule came through. How are you feeling now? Excited or do you focus on all the things that could possibly yet go wrong. Now if you kind of felt yourself drawn to the latter it may be because you are pessimistic by nature. Or perhaps in your realism you recognize that when sinful people are involved there is always a chance for something to go wrong.
Not so with Christmas. The doer is God Himself. He cannot fail. His plans do not go wrong. God’s desire is to save us all. He does not save us from every earthly problem or trial, pain or disease. He does not save us from death. He saves us from sin and for heaven. So that you can anticipate the joy of what Christmas means focus on what is yet to come. That time when God will dwell with us and we with Him. God let the Apostle John see a glimpse what that is going to be like. He tells us about it in Revelation 21:1-5. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Our Ladies Choir will now sing “Chill of the Nightfall”

FOCUS ON PREPARATION

68 days. That’s how long it was from the time the tunnel collapsed until the first miner saw the surface. 68 days. Two months and a week. By most standards that is not a long time. How long do you think it felt? Darkness. Confinement. The stress. The concern that you or somebody else could snap and then what do you do? Quite soon after contact was made with the trapped miners a plan was put in place to keep them healthy and sane. High quality and nutritious food was sent down for them to eat. Exercise programs were put in place. Each was given a job to do that was important for the welfare of all. A purpose. It kept them prepared for when the time would come.
On a grander scale our great God has done something for us so that we don’t lose it as we wait for Him to take us home, as we wait for Jesus to come the second time. He’s provided us with high quality and nutritious faith build food. His Word. Are you using it daily? He’s given us an exercise program with jobs to do that are important for the welfare of all and keep us prepared. Paul describes them to us when he wrote to Titus.

Titus 2:11-14 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

68 days from doom to rescue for the miners. How many from the fall in the Garden of Eden until Jesus was born? We honestly don’t know. How many from Jesus’ Ascension until He returns? We do not know. How many until He comes for you personally before He returns? We don’t know. We do know what to do while we wait for the glorious appearing. Focus on the preparation. Say no to ungodliness, worldly passions like drunkenness and nastiness. Refuse to stoop to the wicked ways many people treat others. Jesus redeemed us from that. Live those controlled godly lives. Serve with joy and show others that Jesus did redeem a people that are eager to do good. Last week Pastor Mattek told us about a man who understood Christmas for the first time, a man who was so chomping at the bit he couldn’t wait for the pastor’s announcements to be done so he walked out during just to do something nice. How many years have you known what it’s all about? You can stay for all the announcements. But in thankfulness and joy let’s leave here to do something nice! Hymn #5 summarizes what we’ve talked about today. Let’s sing it together.

December 5th, 2010 Worship Service

Dec 5, 2010 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

Worship Service November 27th

Nov 28, 2010 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

MIDWEEK ADVENT 1
December 1, 2010
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Isaiah 9:1-7

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?”—A RIGHTEOUS RULER!

Isaiah 9:1-7 (NIV) “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan— 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”

What are you waiting for? Grammatically that’s a very simple question. It asks a person what they are waiting for. But it’s not really used that way in America, is it? In American idiom, it’s kind of a taunt or jibe, used to push someone or manipulate them into moving faster. What are you waiting for? You see in America, we don’t like to wait—for anything. The spiritual irony there is that a major part of our lives as Christians is waiting. There are some things we can’t hurry up or make God move faster. We have to wait. Our midweek Advent series this year uses the question, “What are you waiting for?” grammatically. It connects us New Testament believers with Old Testament believers by looking at what they were waiting for with the Messiah to come the first time and what we continue to wait for as we wait for Jesus to come the second time. What are you waiting for?
To help us we turn to prophecies spoken about Jesus by the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah served God’s people as prophet for sixty years starting around 740 BC. He served God’s people as they transitioned from a relatively good king named Uzziah to some bad kings that would take their country to new spiritual and moral lows. You can imagine being a believer back then, watching your nation decline. Struggling, knowing God wanted you to honor your king but seeing him live immorally and worship idols. You can imagine the Jewish grandpas and grandmas shaking their heads as they watched the gradual moral decline.
Hold on, we don’t have to imagine, do we? We know what it’s like to live at times when we have a hard time giving the respect and honor we owe to our government leaders. We see graft, corruption and waste. We see lives that are not examples of morality. We live at a time when the one true God is cast aside in favor of idols of all shapes and sizes. We live at a time when grandpas and grandmas shake their heads at the decline in morality, the immodest way many dress, the forceful march toward sexual deviance, the language and pictures shown on TV. I can imagine that the dying off generation of WWII survivors known as the “Greatest Generation” must shake their heads. Was this what we fought for?
What do we want? What are you waiting for? A righteous ruler. Someone we can respect. Someone who will lead us down a God pleasing rode. That’s what Old Testament Israel was waiting for too. God said it would come. “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan— 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” God encouraged His people through Isaiah. Gloom and doom would not last forever. There would be a light. Hope. “You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.” There was something to look forward too. There would be joy for God’s people as a yoke of oppression would be removed. A reference was made to Midian’s defeat. If you recall, that was a victory God brought through Gideon defeating the hordes of Midian with the tiny force of Gideon and his 300 soldiers.
You can’t help but think ahead to Jesus, that tiny looking baby, who would defeat the Devil and his hordes for us. God had Isaiah think about that too. “ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” God had Isaiah to look forward to the time when the child would come. He would be a ruler for God’s people, wonderful, mighty. He would rule with justice. He would be a righteous ruler. Exactly what the people wanted. It was what they were waiting for, longing for.
It’s what we are waiting for too. The Child was born as Isaiah foretold. When He came some people, perhaps many people were disappointed because He didn’t set up an earthly government and an earthly rule. They forgot that God had said this would be an everlasting ruler who rule would go forever. Not everyone was disappointed though. Some believed what God said and saw that Jesus was the ruler they needed and they now had Him no matter who their earthly ruler was. So they could submit to their government even if it was the Romans, they could pray for their kings and others in authority. They could do this because their real ruler was Jesus, a righteous ruler, who ruled them with His love and would continue to rule all things until the He ended this age and ushered in eternity.
We can too. What are you waiting for? If you are waiting for our nation or any nation to look and act righteously in the eyes of God and man you will never be satisfied. You will be disappointed and discontent. You will forfeit the joy God wants you to have right now. While we have had and may have government leaders who are more moral than others none of them are nor can be Jesus. Historically every effort that has been made to set up a Christian government over a nation has failed. But Jesus didn’t. He is your righteous ruler. He rules you right now. He has lifted the oppression of sin off of you. He is currently ruling all things for the good of the church and that means you. Take comfort in that as you deal with your government. Pray for your leaders. And look forward to that time when we will live with Jesus in every way imaginable and then some, the kingdom of heaven, where we will serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness. This is most certainly true. Amen.

November 28/29 sermon on Matthew 24:36-44 by Pastor Paul G. Eckert

November 28/29, 2010 - Advent 1
Sermon text - Matthew 24:36-44
Pastor Paul G. Eckert
How many days to --- ? That question, I am sure, is asked about many things. That was done leading up to November 2. How many days before we finally had the election and could stop hearing all of the claims and counter claims being made? That was done leading up to Thanksgiving. How many days before cousins show up, or grandma and grandpa show up and the turkey shows up?
Now we are starting the Advent and Christmas season. Here too we can ask how many days. How many days to our first Wednesday Advent services? Not many at all. Our first Wednesday Advent services are this coming Wednesday at 3:30 and 7:00. How many days to Christmas? Children may ask that thinking especially of Christmas presents. I hope we all ask it thinking also of our special church services in which we want to thank and glorify God for fulfilling His promises of sending our Savior into this world. As to how many days to Christmas - well, up to December 25 we still have 27/26 days to go.
Our text, however, is not talking about election day or Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day. It’s talking about the final day, judgment day. And so we ask:
HOW MANY DAYS TO --- ?
I THERE ARE ALERTS (36-39)
1. There was an alert for the flood (37,39)
"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. --- and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."
a) here God alerted Noah in advance that this universal flood
would not come for another 120 years
b) but even though the people had this alert about when, heard
Noah preach about this, could see a massive vessel a football
field and a half long being built, they disregarded the alert,
mocked, and probably did not stop that until the rains came and
they saw the ark rising and floating away
2. So we have alerts (36-37,39)
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. --- and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son
of Man."
a) God said the flood would come, and it did
b) in the same way God, without saying how many years or days
or hours, plainly has said that the end will come; He has
promised it won’t be by a flood this time, but it will come
3. There is nothing wrong with daily living (38)
"For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ---."
a) none of these things is forbidden by God; all are good and
should be received as blessings for our earthly life
b) the people before the flood did all of these things; the problem
isn’t with what they did, but with what they did not do
4. Are we heeding the alerts? (37-39)
"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."
a) go ahead, eat and drink and live marriage as Christians - the
world needs more examples of living God’s will correctly
b) but what if you eat and drink and marry and forget God’s will?
what if you seek first what you desire and strive first for earthly
goals instead of seeking first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness?
c) the countdown for the final day is taking place; when it comes,
do you want to be found with your food and drink and cars and
homes and luxuries, but without Christ?
II THE TIME WILL COME (36,39-41)
1. It did come and it will come (39,36)
" --- they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."
a) the flood came at the end of the 120 years, as God said
b) in exactly the same way the final day will come, except that we
don’t know how many hours or days or years that still will be,
as Jesus said, "No one knows about that day or hour, not
even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
2. Many reject the thought of a judgment day coming a) ready to accept thought of terrorist attacks, nuclear disaster;
but not of a day of judgment that includes a hell for all who
have rejected what God in His love did for this world, who may
celebrate Christmas but don’t see Christ at all as the Savior
b) instead many like to think that somehow all will end up in
heaven whatever they believe, or that there will be a second
chance, reincarnations, or just nothingness when death comes
3. But God speaks clearly about judgment (40-41)
"Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left."
a) a difference! not all will be the same; there will be a separation
that takes place on judgment day, a separation which Jesus
summed up by saying: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
b) it’s like at the flood: those who were in the ark were saved;
those who were not were lost: a difference, a separation
4. What will happen to us? (39a)
" --- they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away."
a) will we go through life just eating and drinking and being
concerned about daily living, paying no attention to God’s
Word, figuring it will make no difference because we think
we have plenty of time to "get religion" later on, or we think
there won’t be any judgment anyway?
b) there was a difference when the flood came - and I wonder
how many pounded on the door of the ark in vain
c) and there will be a difference when judgment day comes;
there definitely will be a separation that will take place
III WILL WE BE READY? (36,42-44)
1. Jesus has made us ready (36)
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
a) amazing! Jesus said He did not know when judgment day
would come; just think! to be our Savior, God’s eternal Son,
Jesus, had humbled Himself, took on our flesh and blood,
remained the Son of God but willingly set aside His glory, set
aside His full knowledge while He was here on earth, even set
aside His power and life itself, so that He could die on the cross
as our substitute to pay for our sins and remove our guilt and
open heaven’s door for us forgiven sinners
b) all of that for us! but now, exalted in glory, He knows when
judgment day is coming, and He wants us to be prepared
2. This warning comes to believers (42)
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."
a) Jesus knows our day of death and the day of final judgment
b) we don’t; and that is why He wants us to keep watch, be alert
3. Would we permit ourselves to be robbed? (43-44)
"But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
a) we are in process of setting up new security system for our
school and church for protection for our children and property
b) God wants us to be protected from eternal loss; He wants us
by faith to be secure in the ark of salvation and not in the flood
waters of sin and unbelief that want to drag us into eternal
doom
4. Live in readiness of faith always (42,44)
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. --- So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
a) know that judgment day is surely coming
b) be on guard against the flooding waters of sin and against
human philosophy that sees no need for a Savior from sin
c) be faithful even to death, stay in the Word, truly celebrate
Christ in Christmas, worship Him in our church services, keep
Him in your hearts and in your homes - live in daily readiness
HOW MANY DAYS TO --- ? I don’t know. But when we have Jesus, it makes no difference. He is our Savior!

November 21, 2010 Worship Service

Nov 21, 2010 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

CHRIST THE KING/STEWARDSHIP
November 21/22, 2010
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Luke 7:36-50

“LOVE TAKES TIME…”
1. To give forgiveness.
2. To show thanks for forgiveness.

Luke 7:36-50 (NIV) “Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. 41 “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Some wise pastor once told me “When you have a parable in your text, look for the person who is most out of character, who does not act like you would expect and there you will find a picture of your God.” Let’s do that with the parable in our text. Two men owed money to a money lender. One about $50,000, the other about $5,000. Nothing unusual there. Lots of people get into debt. Neither man could pay their debt. Well that’s not all that unusual either. So the moneylender on his own, freely canceled their debt. Ah, now that’s unusual. No letters in the mail. No bill collectors set loose to recover what they can. No garnishing of wages. Freely canceled debt. There’s our God! There’s a picture of Jesus. And yet the parable was told to make a point. The greater the debt forgiven, the greater the appreciation for that forgiveness.
This parable was also told within a context. Let’s go there and see what our Lord wants us to learn. Jesus was invited to have dinner with a Pharisee named Simon. We’re not told why. Simon’s reaction makes us think that he was curious about this man named Jesus. Maybe he had heard some things and wanted to check him out. All of the sudden, uninvited and unexpected, in walks “the sinful woman!” How would you like to be known as “the sinful woman?” I wonder if in heaven when we see her, will we say, “Hey, you’re the sinful woman! Just what did you do anyway?” That’s not important. What is important is what she did with Jesus. She had obviously taken the time to plan this. She had taken the time to buy some perfume. She had gotten up the courage and she took the time to go into a hostile environment and she in her own way showed love, gratitude, appreciation to Jesus.
Why? Forgiveness. When a sinner is painfully aware of their sinfulness, when they need no further proof that they deserve punishment from the Lord, when guilt and shame are constant companions, nothing else is more important than to be forgiven. Jesus did that. That was His mission. To forgive sins. In His love for all people, for Simon the Pharisee, for the sinful woman, for you and me, Jesus took the time to come and be our Savior, to live for us. To die for us. To live again and put into motion His Church and the ministry of the Gospel so that He could forgive sins. There we see it again. Love takes time. Jesus took the time to win forgiveness and the time to announce forgiveness. “Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
But let’s go back to the context of the parable. In addition to Jesus the two major players are the sinful woman and Simon the Pharisee. Let’s start with Simon. He was a Pharisee. That means he was very eager to see that people kept God’s laws and the extra laws the Pharisees came up with. It means he worked very hard to do what was outwardly right. It also meant that he was better at seeing other people’s sins than his own. It showed. “When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” It showed in his attitude toward his fellow Israelite. It showed in his actions, or lack thereof, toward Jesus. “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.” There’s Simon.
Then there is the sinful woman. Doesn’t sound like she had any trouble being aware of her sins. Sounds like everyone else helped her remember. But look at what she does. “When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” Why does she do that? Jesus tells us. “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” The greater the debt forgiven, the greater the appreciation for that forgiveness. She was thankful for her forgiveness. She loved Jesus. And love takes time. It takes time to show thankfulness for forgiveness.
Am I taking time to show thankfulness for forgiveness? You can’t escape that question as you meditate on this word of God. Am I more Simonish or more sinful womanish? You can’t dodge those questions either if you want to apply this Word of God to yourself. Let’s see. There’s an easy way to tell. Are you more bothered by the sins others commit or you think they commit or are you more bothered by your own? Do you see yourself as the chief of sinners or someone else? When the Lord Jesus looks at you, and He does, does He conclude that you love Him a little or love Him a lot? Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” I know who I want to be!
This week we conclude our series on Stewardship of time with its theme love takes time. Throughout our Synod brothers and sisters have taken the time to look at their use of time. Have you? I suggest you look at your weekly and monthly calendar and highlight those areas where you deliberately made time to show love for Jesus, to show love for your fellow church members, to show love for other people. See if you like what you see. If not, ask God’s help to make changes. And then get God’s help. Immerse yourself in His Word. Prioritize that time. Treat Jesus’ invitation with high priority as well.
Simon invited Jesus to a dinner, a regular average dinner. Jesus invites you to a special dinner. His dinner. The Lord’s Supper. There He has forgiveness for our lovelessness and our self centered use of time on things that really don’t matter. There He gives strength to live a life of repentance that takes time to show thanks for forgiveness. And some day maybe people will talk about you or me as that sinful man or sinful woman whose many sins have been forgiven and whose loving actions showed it. Amen.

November 14, 2010 Worship Service

Nov 14, 2010 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

November 14/15, 2010 sermon by Pastor Paul Eckert on 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5

November 14/15, 2010 Saints Triumphant
Sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Sermon text - 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5
CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP TAKES TIME
TO BE THANKFUL AND TO STAND FIRM,
TO BE ENCOURAGED FOR DEEDS AND PRAYER,
and TO BE CONFIDENT IN GOD’S LOVE AND DIRECTING.

"Saints Triumphant" is the title for this week in the church year. That makes us ask, "Who are the saints, and how can we speak of them being triumphant?" The basic meaning of the word saint is holy. So the saints are holy people, as we say in the Apostles’ Creed: "the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints." We can speak of that communion of saints also as the congregation or gathering of saints, of those who are holy. That holiness in time, being triumphant now while we live here on earth, is because of the forgiveness of sins through Jesus. That holiness in eternity, being triumphant where there is no sin, is in full glory with Jesus in our heavenly home.
How wonderful that will be, when we are home in eternity with Jesus in glory, when every tear will be wiped from our eyes and all of the difficulties of life the way it is now in time will be gone. But we who are gathered as God’s saints here, His forgiven people here on earth in time, aren’t there yet, are we.
So we are still dealing with time, something that has a beginning and an ending. What then do we, who are triumphant saints now because of our Savior’s forgiving love, do in our time that has a beginning and an end? We live, don’t we, and we can speak of our Christian lives as a time when we are stewards of whatever amount of time God gives us. Let’s call tha t Christian stewardship of time, and now point out that Christian Stewardship Takes Time to do various things.
CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP TAKES TIME
I TO BE THANKFUL AND TO STAND FIRM (13-15)
1. Thankful that God chose us (13a)
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved ---.
a) we can choose a lot of things, like what to have for breakfast,
whether we go to one of our Sunday services or go on Monday
evening, what clothes to wear, and so on and on
b) but choose to be saved? make the decision to accept Jesus as
Savior when by our natural thinking someone dying on a cross
makes no sense, when our natural thinking about being saved
can come up only with being reasonably good or at least better
than a lot of other bad guys out there? - fellow saints, be
thankful from the bottom of your hearts that we did not choose
to be saved but that God chose us, and that He did that from
way before we could think or choose to do anything
2. Thankful for how He did this (13-14a)
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, ---.
a) in eternity already God chose us to be saved; then in time, in
the lifetime of each of us, He called us through the Gospel, the
good news about His Son being sent into our time on this earth
to substitute for us sinners, to take our place in order to pay the
wages of our sin, to bring the innocent sacrifice that God
would accept to cancel our debt of sin so that we might be
forgiven and have the promise of eternal life in glory
b) and then, as God sent His Son for us, be thankful that He also
sends His Holy Spirit to us through this good news so that we
believe this Gospel truth, as our text again says, "from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth."
3. Thankful for what this means (14)
He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
a) glory already, right now saints triumphant; that is how God in
His grace sees all who believe, all in Christ Jesus in whom there
is no condemnation, no sin to bar our way into heaven
b) and finally heaven, sharing there "in the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ," when the ills of our earthly life will all be gone
4. Stand firm in this precious truth (15)
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
a) the plan of salvation is God’s plan, what He did for us
b) this truth, His Word, His teachings in Word and sacraments, is
what the Holy Spirit uses to give us faith in that precious truth
c) take time, use time, to hear and read and grow in this Gospel
of salvation; and in that way be thankful and stand firm
II TO BE ENCOURAGED FOR DEEDS AND PRAYER (16-3)
1. Consider again what we have (16)
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who
loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good
hope, ---.
a) every day, now in our lifetime on earth, we have God’s love,
also when we don’t always understand His ways; we have His
grace which assures us that for Jesus’ sake we are forgiven,
holy, triumphant saints
b) and what about the future? - for that we have eternal
encouragement and good hope, because God has glory for us
after this vale of tears
2. Let that encourage what we do in time (16-17)
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
a) what we have now and will have in eternity should not be
hidden away, kept secret from those who don’t yet have it
b) instead let that encourage us in our Christian stewardship to
take time to let our deeds - how we live our Christian lives, and
to let our words - the language we use, show people who we
are to the glory of our Savior God so that our moral behavior
and our God-pleasing talking draw people to want to find out
why we live the Christian lives we live
3. Use time also for prayer (1-2)
Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.
a) be mission-minded; pray for those who don’t yet know Jesus,
don’t yet know the wonderfulness of forgiveness and grace
b) pray for those who proclaim the message of grace, for our
synod and its workers in our country and in other countries,
for St. Jacobi congregation’s called workers as we try to share
the Gospel with children and adults, members and others
4. And be encouraged by God’s assurances (3)
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
a) are we alone as we take time for deeds and words and prayer?
b) no! we have our faithful Lord to strengthen and protect us
from the devil who doesn’t want us to use time for serving God
c) trusting that, be encouraged to take time for deeds and words
and prayer
III TO BE CONFIDENT IN GOD’S LOVE AND DIRECTING
1. Notice Paul’s confidence here (4) /(4-5)
We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.
a) Paul expressed much confidence in this congregation’s doing
b) that included confidence they would continue, not slack off
2. Can we have the same confidence? (4)
We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.
a) our children are instructed and make promises of faithfulness
and become adult members of our congregation; our long-time
members and new members joining us say they are one with us
in the confession of the truth, that they will make faithful use of
Word and sacraments, and that according to ability they will
serve the Lord with their time and talents and offerings
b) is that happening? can we have the same confidence about St.
Jacobi congregation in Greenfield that the apostle Paul
expressed about the Christian congregation in Thessalonica?
3. May we continue to be directed in the right direction (5)
May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
a) "into God’s love" - O how great that love that loved the
world, loves us, forgives us and makes us saints triumphant
b) "Christ’s perseverance" - Christ did not quit; He persevered
to the cross, to an innocent death, to His resurrection; all for us
4. In this way may we be confident in the Lord (4-5)
We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
a) be confident because we know God’s love and His will for us
b) continuing in that confidence, let us remember that Christian
stewardship takes time and will use time to serve our God
c) and so let us ask God to strengthen us through faithful use of
His Word and His Supper so that we continue to use time
TO BE THANKFUL AND TO STAND FIRM,
TO BE ENCOURAGED FOR DEEDS AND PRAYER,
and TO BE CONFIDENT IN GOD’S LOVE AND DIRECTING.

November 7th, 2010 Worship Service

Nov 7, 2010 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

LAST JUDGMENT/STEWARDSHIP OF TIME
November 78, 2010
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Acts 2:37-47

LOVE FOR EACH OTHER TAKES TIME
1. Spent in repentance.
2. Spent in the Word.
3. Spent with each other.

Acts 2:37-47 (NIV) “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

We are in the End Times portion of the church year. Today’s emphasis is “Last Judgment.” One truth that stands out is that your time on earth is limited. Across our Synod brothers and sisters are taking time to ponder that truth and examine their use of time. We are following the theme “Love Takes Time.” Last week we talked about why we want to take time to show love. By God’s grace alone, through faith in Jesus alone, we are the children of God as the Scriptures alone declare. This week we focus on taking time to show love to one another in our congregation.
The end of our reading gave us a picture of what we might call the perfect Christian congregation. They were together. They shared with one another. It was obvious to outsiders how much they loved each other. Now as you listened to that congregation described you may have found yourself mentally rolling your eyes. Perhaps you thought, “That’s not realistic for a modern day church.” Or perhaps you are new to St. Jacobi and don’t know many people so you don’t really feel the love yet. Or maybe you know your brothers and sisters too well and that’s causing problems for you. Is it unrealistic for a group of Christians to truly love each other and let it show? Not at all! But that kind of love takes time. Let’s see what God did with the church described in Acts.
I want you to imagine being a Jewish person. You have grown up your whole life hearing your pastors talk about the Messiah who will come. You long for that day. You are in Jerusalem. There is all kinds of excitement because it is Pentecost, the Harvest Festival. Joy and thanksgiving and good food are on your mind. Something weird happens though. The loud rushing noise like a wind drawing everyone to the house where the Apostles are. There you see what looks like tongues of fire on their heads. There they speak in different languages of the world proclaiming the great things God has done. Then Peter stands up. In a way you have never heard before he walks you through your Bible explaining the real work of the Messiah and then this is his concluding sentence: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!” Gulp!
That background explains the reaction. “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” God’s law did its work. Sin was exposed. And there is something about sin when it comes to the sinner. Sin does not need to be explained. It does need to be understood. It does not need to be coddled. It does not need to be justified. It needs to be repented. “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
Many of them did. They spent time in repentance and their repentance showed. “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Now these people spent time in the Word. Forgiveness of sins comes from God. It flows to His people through the means of grace, the Gospel message that comes in Word and Sacrament. Here we find people devoting themselves to these means. Hearts were changed and lives were changed.
Now they spent time together. “All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Wow! What a church! Wish ours could be that way.
It can, but brothers and sisters, it will take time. Love for each other takes time. It will take time spent in repentance. Oh, we may have not murdered the Son of God by nailing Him to the cross but consider these words from 1 John 4:20 “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” Hatred of each other in a congregation can take many forms. The cruel teasing of a classmate. The deliberate irritating of another in return. Derisive comments. Thoughts or words that lead to intentional or unintentional shunning of someone. Delighting in taking words and actions in the worst possible way rather than the best. Gossiping about others sins, failures, misfortunes instead of covering over them with love. Those are not little things. Don’t roll your eyes at me like that’s just the way it is. Those are sins. Filthy, disgusting, exhibitions of hatred. Sin doesn’t need to be explained, understood, justified. It better not be tolerated or coddled. It needs to be acknowledged, sorrowed over, repented. Forgiven.
In a little bit the members of St. Jacobi will have a chance to take the Lord’s Supper together. A word to our visitors. It is our love for you that asks you to wait to participate until you know what we believe together. We don’t want to force our beliefs on you. God says it’s a unity meal. If you’d like more information, just ask me after service. It’s also a forgiveness meal that requires repentant hearts only. Love each other takes time spent in repentance.
It also takes time spent in the word. The correlation is obvious. This new Christian congregation spent time together in the word. Yes, I must highlight the importance of every member who is able to, to come and worship here regularly with each other. Yes, that takes time. Love takes time. Another good way is in one of our many Bible Classes. It is good to have your daily Bible time for yourself. It is also good to be in the word with your fellow members. Love for each other takes time spent in the word.
And then time spent with each other. Some of you saints who have been around a lot longer than I have still talk about the time when the church was the center focus for its members socially as well as spiritually. I hear about the picnics, the choir plays, the dart ball leagues. Times have changed. There are so many other social and entertainment outlets. Can we think about maybe a slight return to the good old days so that we spend time together? I know that the Christian part of each of us really does love each other. But it is so much easier to love those that you actually know and you know what? Getting to know someone takes time! Perhaps if your children are not in school anymore you could volunteer at a tournament so you keep knowing school families. Perhaps you could join our greeters and boldly ask people their names or about their families. Maybe some of our fellowship opportunities could become a higher priority on the list. Maybe it’s as simple as talking with someone you don’t really know after service instead of the same people you already see on other occasions.
Now you are not sinning if you don’t do those things. Nor will doing them get you a better seat in heaven. You’re only going because of Jesus. But it is true that love takes time and showing love to each other takes time too. About our “perfect” church in Acts we are told that “ the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” That’s why we want to be a church family that truly loves one another. We want the Lord to add to our number those who are being saved. May God bless your use of His time. Amen.

Worship Service October 31st, 2010

Oct 31, 2010 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

REFORMATION/STEWARDSHIP
October 31/November 1, 2010
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: 1 John 3:1-2

“I AM A CHILD OF GOD!”
1. By Grace Alone.
2. Through Faith Alone.
3. By Scripture Alone
1 John 3:1-2 (NIV) “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
Who am I? Who are you? Brothers and sisters, these may sound like basic or “Duh” questions but in reality all the great philosophers throughout the ages have tried to answer that question. They want to know what makes people tick, why they do what they do. What makes me tick? or you? What makes me the way I am? Is it nature or nurture? Today as a church family we look at the question “Who am I?” from the vantage point of celebrating the Lutheran Reformation and focusing on our Christian Stewardship of time. Along with many other brothers and sisters in our Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod we are focusing on Christ’s love as our calling and noting the fact that love takes time. But back to the question, “Who am I?” If you listened to God’s Word you would answer correctly, “I am a child of God!” We’ll add in a Lutheran way, by grace alone, through faith alone and by Scripture alone.
By grace alone I am a child of God and so are you. God says so. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” When sociologists and other people studiers study people they always have this debate: Is it nature or nurture? Do people act the way they do because they are wired that way or is it learned behavior? When it comes to being a child of God is it by nature? Any person who has the ability to be brutally honest about themselves along with all Bible believers knows that we are not the children of God by nature. By nature we don’t look like God at all. We all start out with that sinful nature that is selfish and spiteful and haughty and mean spirited. If you are honest with your thoughts you admit it. We were talking with Chris Driesbach at supper the other day and in his down to earth way about this very thing he said, “I’ve thought about what it would be like if God had a little viewer that He could shine on people and see what they were thinking. If He did that to me He’d go Ugh, throw that one back. He’s awful.” Chris is honest. By nature we are pitiful sinners.
If you had lived in the time of Luther you would have stopped right here and said, “That is who I am. I am a pitiful sinner probably headed for Hell but if I stick with the church maybe I’ll get a chance a millions of years in purgatory. That’s what the Roman church was teaching its people. But that’s not what God says is it? It says we are the children of God—by grace alone. John used some words to highlight grace. Love lavished on us. That’s grace. Not only does God not give us what we deserve, “Yuck, throw them back!” He gives us what we cannot earn, status as the children of God. That love took time. God carried it out in time when He patiently put up with the backbiting and bickering children of Israel because they carried the Savior to be born with them. Jesus took the time to become one of us and live for us for 33 years and when He took the time to pay price for every sin on Calvary’s cross. Because of God’s grace lavished on me in His Son Jesus Christ, I am a child of God. So are you.
Sometimes it doesn’t always feel that way. Are you ever disappointed in your life as a Christian? Do any of these questions run through your mind? Why do I keep doing that? I know it’s wrong. I know I should be content with just food and clothing because God will never leave me nor forsake me, but I’m not always happy. I know I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength but I keep failing. I know I should rejoice always but I’m just empty inside. Am I really a child of God? Cheer up! Did you know that you are not the only one who looks at you and wonders if you really are a child of God? John says, The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Did you catch that? The world doesn’t recognize us as children of God. You’ve heard it I’m sure. Churches are filled with hypocrites. The Christians who seem to make it to the news are the ones who have fallen or who speak the truth with hate rather than with love. The world is never going to get it. They don’t realize that being a child of God is not something you attain by your living or being perfect. It is only attained through faith in the One who was perfect for us. Jesus the Christ.
Martin Luther had to learn that truth. He was not taught by his church to do good works to thank God for His forgiveness but rather to earn God’s love and forgiveness. But then the Spirit working through the word revealed to Luther that he was righteous, a child of God by faith alone, in Jesus alone. He learned that the Pope was not his holy father for he already had one holy Father in heaven and that Father said Luther was a child of God, so he was. Do you need to relearn that truth or maybe even learn it for the first time? You are a child of God through faith alone. If you are disappointed in your Christian living, if you wish you could be better for God that’s great. But don’t basis your status on what you look like now. Now you’re still struggling with sin in a sinful world. But when he appears we shall be like Him for we shall see him as he is!
And more good news. He hasn’t left us without help now. I have recently come to the realization that I am starting to look like my father. Now those of you who know my father and mother might raise an eyebrow at that because you would say that in looks I much more favor my mother. But I’m not talking about a physical looking like my dad. Here’s what happened. I was gone from home for about two days. Came back. Kind of expecting that hero’s welcome from the family. You know. Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home! Yeah, no. Here’s what I got. “Sure was quiet around here. Didn’t have to listen to all that whistling!” That’s what I got from all my girls! Whistling all the time? That’s my dad! The whistler. Everywhere. He probably didn’t realize he did it either. Why am I doing that? Well I’ve been shaped by him because of the time I spent with him.
And this is the really neat part for the children of God. We can spend time with Him and the more time we spend with Him the more we will look like Him now. If you would look at the children of God at the time of Martin Luther you would probably have said they don’t look much like the children of God at all. Inquisitions. Tortures. Execution. All carried out in the name of the Lord by the Roman Catholic church. I’m not throwing stones. That’s undisputed history. There’s a simple reason for it. The Bible was a closed book. Few got to read it. God changed things at the Reformation. With the Bible translated into languages people could read and the invention of the printing press soon many of God’s children were spending time with the Father and more and more they began to look like Him.
Today one of your legacies, your birthrights as a child of God and a Lutheran is to be a Bible reader. I am a child of God by Scripture alone. God tells me that here and He shapes me. Are you disappointed with your looks? Would you like to look more like your Father in heaven? Would you like to have in yourself and your home and your church home more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control before you get to heaven? Spend time with your Father in Scripture alone.
It will take you some time, of course. But love takes time. In the next few weeks we’ll look more at how we are using the time God has given to us. We’ll check ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word to see how we look. Maybe we’ll want to make some changes. But when you do look in the mirror see first what God sees, a child of God, by grace alone, by faith alone, by Scripture alone. Amen.