Sermons

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Christian Funeral of Walferd G. Delzer (Romans 8:28-39)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
Christian Funeral of Walferd G. Delzer – July 20, 2017
Text: Romans 8:28-39

85 years: that’s how long Wally lived (actually just a month ago today).  65 years: that’s how long Wally and Lucille were married.  38 years is how long he worked for CalPortland Cement Company.  24 years is how long Wally was a part of our congregation.  That’s a lot of time for us.  Lots of memories, lots of warm words and love, and yes, lots of hard times too.
 
Wally was baptized as an infant in Menno, South Dakota.  His parents later moved to Tehachapi and he was raised in the faith at a congregation in Bakersfield.  He and Lucille have spent their entire life together in the Church, loving and serving.  That’s a lot of years to live in God’s grace.
 
Yet for all of those years, God invites His children to see their lives from a bigger perspective.  For us, we count days, months, and years.  For God, He sees our lives from eternity:
 
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
 
God’s perspective on Wally’s life started before he was even born.  From before the world was ever made, God established His eternal plans for Wally in Christ.[1]  His plans—His good purpose—were for Wally to be called by the Gospel to faith in Jesus.
 
In that call to Wally came the clear words of God’s grace.  Wally was a fallen descendent of Adam and Eve, for whom no amount of good works could make him right with God.  Yet out of His divine love, God made peace for Wally and declared to him that his sins were forgiven on account of Jesus’ death on the cross.  The familiar words of Jeremiah 29:11 ring out, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”[2]  God gave that peace to Wally in the forgiveness of his sins.
 
But there’s more to God’s plans: “those whom he justified, he also glorified.”  These 85 years on life are not the total of God’s plans for Wally or any Christian.  God’s eternal purpose was fulfilled when Wally finished his course in faith.  The end of this life is only an end from where we stand.  God has prepared eternal life for all who are called by the Gospel and have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
 
 
 
If we see our lives as God’s children from His perspective, it changes our outlook on everything in life as we know it.  When things are going well in our lives, we can thank God for what He’s provided, but also realize none of it is meant to last—even the dream houses, cars, jobs, and vacations will come to an end.  Money comes to us and goes out again, and it would be foolish to look for security in something that’s so easily lost.
 
God’s perspective on our lives is also tremendous comfort in times of need.  In those seasons where things are falling apart all around you—you’ve lost your job, house, maybe even spouse and children.  When your health is failing and all the tests come back with inconclusive or bad news, God’s promise stands.  He has called you from eternity into eternity, and He never breaks His Word.
 
What a comfort it is!  We can endure in time of pain and struggle because God holds our life in His hands.  We entrust our days and years into God’s care because His plans are eternal.  Jesus rose from the dead and our life belongs to Him, so the power is taken away from even the most dreadful disease or unexpected death.  Because God’s purpose for us is for good and life, we can know for certain that whatever evil befalls us God will overcome it for us and give us the perseverance and peace we need when we need it.  We hear the rest of Romans 8:
 
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
            “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
God’s purpose for Wally is the same purpose He has for each one of you—even for every man and woman who has ever lived—that you hear His call to repent and believe the Gospel.  Hear it straight from the Son of God, who gave His life for you:
 
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
 
By the power of His Holy Spirit, may this peace and this life be yours in Jesus Christ! Amen.
 
[1] Ephesians 1:3-5
[2] Many translations say “welfare” but the Hebrew is shalom which the King James correctly translates

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Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost + July 16, 2017
Text: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

In the Old Testament reading, we heard these words from the Prophet Isaiah:
 
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”[1]
 
The Parable of the Sower is the Lord’s explanation of how that plays out in the Church.  First, we learn about the Word that it does not return to God empty or void.  You could say that the Word of God is performative, meaning that it does what He says.  Think of Creation: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,” and there was light.’”[2] God speaks, and it happens.  We might think, That’s all well and good for the universe.  After all, when has an asteroid or a tree ever talked back to God?  When sin came into the world, that was the first time it seemed that the creation went against the will of the Creator.
 
But this Word of the Lord through Isaiah was spoken in the midst of a rebellious universe.  In spite of that, the Word of God still accomplishes what He sends it for.  This we can see in the Parable:
 
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
 
In the first case, even when the evil one snatches away the Word, the Lord still says the Word was sown in a person’s heart.  In the second and third cases, the Word begins to grow, but other things cause that Word not to mature.  It’s only in the fourth case that the Word seems to reach its intended goal.
 
 
 
We know this parable to be true in our lives, because we see and feel the effects, don’t we?  We feel the absence of our children who grew up in church but are no longer here.  We see the empty places in pews where our brothers and sisters no longer walk with us.  Through the grapevine, we hear about them going to other churches or not at all.  We see discouraging statistics about church membership in today’s world.
 
Since we can only see these external effects, we look for explanations.  Was it something I didn’t tell my child as he was growing up?  Can we pin the blame on who our children married?  Did we participate in enough church activities?  In the face of statistics, we wonder about all the failings of pastors and evangelism efforts, and bemoan the secularism of our society and universities.  When someone leaves the congregation, we ask if something more could have been done?  Was it hurt feelings or something else?
 
The funny thing is if you ask people who have left the faith or changed congregations, they’ll also give you human explanations.  Those people were a bunch of hypocrites.  So-and-so hurt my feelings.  There weren’t enough activities.  I just didn’t feel inspired by the music and sermon.  My wife and I just couldn’t decide on whose church to go to.  It seems to make sense to answer these felt needs—change who we are and what we believe, teach, and confess so that we can somehow “close the back door” and prevent people from leaving.
 
In this Parable, the Lord teaches us what’s working behind the scenes.  The truth is, we don’t even know ourselves well enough to fully understand why we act the way we do when it comes to the Lord and His Church.  However, from His perspective, Jesus sees the devil at work and our weak and deceitful hearts.
 
The devil is always around with his lying and murdering day and night.  He won’t be satisfied until there is not a single God-fearing person left on earth.  So, he twists the Word and blinds people to its Christ-filled, spiritual meaning.  Faith springs up in people’s hearts, but it becomes a self-generated, deluded kind of faith, that withers when it is tested with fire.  Other times the Word is growing, but suddenly the cares of this life become overwhelming, so that instead of setting one’s mind on things above, they’re consumed by things below like jobs, vacations, and sleep.
 
Yet, in spite of all that works against the Word, it remains the living, active Word of God, which goes to work in our hearts and reaches its intended goal.  Your faith is evidence of this!  The fact that you are here today, hearing the Word, receiving the Lord’s Supper, is the fruit of the Word planted in your hearts.  Defying the devil, who wants to rob you of heaven, you are here today.  Against your own self-righteousness that only comes to church to feel like a good person, you are here.  Even though you have mountains of things to do when you go home which all demand your attention at once, you are here.
 
 
 
God’s Word is always effective, whenever and wherever it is proclaimed.  We often complain that today is more secular and the church is declining.  It seems like the Word is less effective than it used to be.  Yet, it always been this way, even when unbelief was masked by people going to church merely as a social norm.  It will continue to be this way until the Last Day.  “Who has believed what he has heard from us?”[3]  How little effect it seems to have.  But all this is no surprise to God, and it’s not too much for Him.  He calls us to trust His Word, that He will accomplish His good purpose among us.
 
That’s why we pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.”  In those petitions, we are praying first that God would send His Holy Spirit so that everyone who hears believe the Word, and second that in spite of the devil’s lies and our corrupt hearts that we would hold fast to this Word through our whole life.  That means clinging to Christ in times of grief as well as joy, in poverty as much as prosperity, and in the hour of death just as when we were young and active.  This is God’s good and gracious will for you, and it shall be done.  Amen.
 
[1] Isaiah 55:10-11
[2] Genesis 1:3
[3] Isaiah 53:1

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Christian Funeral of Rachel Fannie Vogel (John 14:25-27)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
Christian Funeral of Rachel Fannie Vogel – July 15, 2017
Text: John 14:25-27

In the Name + of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
Rachel was a beloved mother, grandmother, and even great grandmother.  One of the things many people have noticed is that she was also a woman of great faith.  In her life, she made it clear how important her Lord Jesus Christ was to her.  Even lately, with her hearing gone and her eyesight failing, she would still faithfully read her Lord’s Word.  The Word was planted in her heart and grew, watered by Pastor Ted Vogel when he instructed and confirmed her in the Christian faith.  She passed that Word of God down to her children, so that they too might know Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.
 
Because of the faith Rachel had, she also had a peace about her.  It was a peace that supported her through many ups and downs in her life.  Her faith anchored her wherever she lived, whether in Alaska, Hawaii, or back in Sweet Home.  Her faith bound her to the Lord she loved, and He supported her as she and Evan raised their children.  The Lord of her life was her strength as she worked in different fields, and even as she served Him in retirement.  In later years, as her health declined, Rachel continued to have peace, as she mourned Evan’s passing and later Ted’s.  She saw her health decline slowly, and the ability to hear music, which she loved so much, was taken away.  But that peace which her Lord had given her remained.
 
Was it because Rachel lived such a faithful life that God blessed her with such peace?  No, it was definitely the other way around.  God blessed her out of His fatherly grace and mercy.  For even though she was the matriarch of her family and attained 100 years, she was also sinner.  She said so every time I met with her, and it amazed her that the Lord was so good to her.  All that she had was a gift from God, even the very faith that anchored her.  What a gift that was, because she was able to praise Him in the bad times just as well as the good.
 
Listen to the words of Rachel’s Lord and yours:
25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
 
It was the Holy Spirit who taught Rachel to know Jesus Christ, and the Spirit who gave her the faith to cling to Him.  In all the words that the Lord speaks, He bestows peace.  Even now that sin has done its worst and taken her earthly life from her, Rachel still has peace.
 
It’s not peace the way the world gives peace.  The world’s peace requires everything to be going well on the outside—health, finances, and no conflict.  But the peace which the Lord gives is the peace of sins forgiven, the peace of removing the fear of death, and the peace that Jesus has done all things so that she now rests in the Lord’s presence now.
 
With that peace, a believer need not worry nor be afraid because the precious Lord has taken away the weight of sin and the sting of death.  He went before us and already bore that weight—all that Rachel and you and I justly deserved. In exchange, Rachel and you and I receive all the merits of Jesus as a gift through faith.
 
Rachel still has that peace, but we must continue on until we’ve attained the promised eternal life.  If you want that faith and peace which Rachel had, stay near to the Lord.  Hear His Word and trust in it.  Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of the Lord Jesus and you will have that Spirit-worked peace in your hearts.  That’s a peace that will sustain you through everything in this passing life and continue to be yours eternally.
 
God grant you this peace, in the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

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Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Matthew 11:25-30)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost + July 9, 2017
Text: Matthew 11:25-30

It’s natural to think that those who strive are the ones who achieve their goals.  After all, that’s what we experience in our lives.  Initiative, determination, and dedication are all qualities that benefit you in daily life.
 
Yet, when it comes to the Kingdom of Heaven, all that works in the world of man must be thrown out.  “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”
 
We naturally love to build ladders to God.  For example, the idea is popular that if you live an upright life—you never curse, cheat, steal, or laugh at an off-color joke; but always talk about God and give Him credit, show your dedication by volunteering and going on mission trips—then you will be closer to God.  This is the ladder of moralism, which believes God is with those who seem to be the top caliber of religious people.
 
Sometimes we build a ladder to God with our emotions.  We feel the Word of God sweeping over us, transforming, kindling us—and insist that everyone must feel God’s “presence” like so.  We pray, but don’t lift a finger until we have felt that God has given us direction.  On this ladder, we insist that worship take us to a higher plane of reality, experiencing an out-of-this world lifting up.  This is the ladder of mysticism, which believes that God is an “experience” to be sought after.
 
Sometimes we build a ladder to God with our minds.  It stands to reason that your level of knowing God is directly related to how much you read the Bible.  If you meditate who God is enough, attend enough Bible studies, memorize enough passages of Scripture, then you too will know God better.  This is the ladder of speculation, in which salvation comes by having a better knowledge about God than others have, and makes God a subject for analysis.[1]
 
As natural achievers, we imagine that God is someone to be sought out, and our faith something to be achieved.  This shows up in the life of the congregation, too.  It’s believed that the people who put the most are the ones who get the most out.  If you read your Bible daily, show up for every Bible study, participate in all the activities and life of the congregation, that makes you a “better” Christian than those who “just” come to the Divine Service.
 
“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding.”  God hides himself from the wise and understanding, those who are proud of the initiative they’ve taken to deepen their relationship with God.  God cannot, and will not be found by us.  He always reveals Himself to man.
 
27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
 
 
 
So what do the “wise and understanding” people find when they seek for God?  They find exactly what they want to find: a god who is so very pleased with them.  It’s a god created in their own image who rewards their hard work and dedication.  But this is no god at all; it is an idol.  To those who persist in this delusion, this is what they will hear from the Lord on the Last Day: “22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”[2]  If we find any other God besides the One who graciously makes Himself known to sinners, we haven’t really found God at all.
 
The Father reveals His Son to little children (nepios, a child who can’t even talk yet).  Think about what this means.  God makes Himself known to who can’t even form a coherent sentence, much less a lengthy and pious prayer.  He reveals Himself to those who have absolutely no spiritual credentials to claim.  God draws near to those who are entirely dependent and need instruction, guidance, and discipline; not those who stand on their own and have their stuff together.
 
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
 
This is His gracious invitation to the undeserving and unqualified: “Come to me!”  His call goes out to all who have been broken by the weight of meeting the hidden God—the one who makes strict demands and threatens hell for all who are disobedient, yet no one could find a way to appease God’s anger and a guilty conscience.  It’s when our ladders come crashing down that we see God cannot be sought for by anything within us—a presumed moral superiority, shifting emotions, or a darkened mind.
 
Come to Christ, the Father reveals His Son.  He only is the Holy One who is worthy before God.  Only His moral perfection, His pure heart, and His pure mind count before God.  He is the one who is worthy to ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place.  Yet, He gives that holiness as a gift to all who, by the Holy Spirit, accept His invitation.
 
This is why the Church of God is made up of people of such varying backgrounds, spiritual strengths and weaknesses.  The Son of God is the one constant among us all, and the Father has called us by the Gospel to be adopted as His children.  As beloved children, He has removed the labor and heavy burden of our salvation.  In its place, the Son places His yoke upon us for true service of God.
 
In this family of God, there are no distinctions, but just as we are baptized into the one Christ, we receive the same Spirit of service.  That’s where you see Christians otherwise so vastly different in age, maturity, and ability active in the Kingdom of heaven.  They do it from a free heart, a clean heart which their heavenly Father has bestowed on them by His Holy Spirit—not because of their decision to seek Him, but out of His wondrous grace that called us to Christ.  Amen.
 
 
 
[1] These three ladders are described in Adolf Köberle’s book, “The Quest for Holiness” (1936)
[2] Matthew 7:22-23

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Fourth Sunday after Pentecost(Matthew 10:34-42)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
Bethel Lutheran Church, Sweet Home, OR
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost + July 2, 2017
Text: Matthew 10:34-42

Jesus tells us in the Gospel today that He brings three things to those who follow Him: a sword, a cross, and a life.  This is in the context of what Jesus told his apostles before sending them out, and those instructions and warnings have lasting significance, so that we know what to expect as Jesus’ disciples in the world.  We should expect opposition and division, suffering and grief, and eternal life—all on account of belonging to Jesus.
 
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”  What’s this sword all about?  Wasn’t it the angels who proclaimed at Jesus’ birth, “Glory to God in the highest and peace on the earth”?[1]  Didn’t the prophets foretell that Jesus would be “Prince of Peace” and that “of the increase of his government and of peace there would be no end”?[2]  The right question to ask is, What kind of peace are you looking for?  Is it a worldly, outward peace, where nobody has any disputes or disagreements, where they beat their swords into ploughshares?  When it comes to this world, this is not the peace that Jesus promises.  His peace is of another kind: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  Jesus gives peace to everyone who believes in Him, but it’s a “peace that surpasses all human understanding and guards” not gates and borders, but “hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”[3]
 
In Christ Jesus, there is peace, but with the world, there is division.  You will have the sword and conflict.  It cuts so deep that it even threatens to divide the closest of kin: “35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
 
Thank God when this isn’t the case, when husbands and wives, children, and even grand children and great grandchildren follow Christ together.  Would that God would bless our families with this precious gift of unity!
 
However, there are many families where this unity isn’t the case—when one spouse or the other turns their nose up at Christ and His Church.  There are many children who have grown up following the Lord, but have gone another way.  Their absence is felt, and it creates division.  Sometimes, it even creates hostility.  In Malaysia, a Muslim country, it was a landmark case that a son was actually permitted to convert to Christianity from Islam and not face legal and potentially life-threatening consequences for his conversion.[4]
 
But why is there this division?  Why would this animosity spill over on you?  Because, as a Christian, you are a living example of a sinner who depends on Jesus as Savior.  Many people don’t want to hear such uncomfortable things.  For them, life is no more than your health, your job, and your family.  If those things are going alright, then everything must be just fine.  But if you go to Church, confess that you “cannot save yourself from your sinful condition”[5] and believe that sin actually condemns and there is a real hell from which Jesus rescued you, this makes the self-righteous soul nervous.  Even angry!  They don’t want to hear from God that their deep-felt desires are sin in God’s sight, or that their noblest attempts at living a good life will still land them in hell.  Because you belong to Christ, they will take out their spiritual animosity on you.
 
That brings us to the next thing Jesus brings: a cross.  “38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”  The cross means the suffering we endure because we are a Christian.  We were marked with it in Holy Baptism as a symbol of our salvation, but in this world it is an instrument of suffering and death.  Following Christ will inevitably bring persecution and suffering.
 
This Tuesday, we will celebrate our nation’s independence and the many freedoms we enjoy.  Among those freedoms is supposed to be the First Amendment right to freedom of religion.  In spite of what the Bill of Rights says, America is becoming increasingly anti-Christian and in favor of “everything but.”  It’s one thing when the moral fiber of our society is degrading beyond recognition, but quite another when confessing Christian business owners are slandered and sued because of their beliefs based in God’s Word.  Followers of Christ are labeled as bigoted and homophobic when they refuse to celebrate abominable practices, and even have the gall to use their same First Amendment legal right to speak out against such things.  A cross is what Jesus gives, and a cross we shall take up if we wish to follow Him.
 
It might be more convenient to change our beliefs to avoid strained friendships, awkward conversations, lost business, or the threat of our pastor and congregation being sued.  Yet if we should do that, if we should set down the cross laid upon us, we would cease to be disciples of the Crucified One.
 
Yet, just as the cross is an instrument of suffering in the world, it’s also an instrument of death.  Namely, death to your sinful flesh.  “3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death…”  To receive the cross is to die to your sins and evil desires, and to do this on a daily basis because we find in our hearts a bottomless well of evil.
 
Yet with that cross, Romans 6:4 continues, “…baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  That’s the third thing that Jesus gives us: a life.  “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”  You will lose your old life, but Christ will give you a new one.  There are plenty of options out there to have your best life now—one that is filled with comfort and happiness, where you never have to crack a Bible, and you are the master of your own weekend including sleeping in on Sunday.  But for all your toils to gain this life, you will lose it.  It will be taken from you, and your good-enough self-evaluation will have to stand up to the test of God’s perfect righteousness on the Last Day.  You will have to answer God why you chose school sports over your children’s faith, why you chose to believe to your spouse’s repeated excuses for not going to church, and why it’s “good enough” to confess that you’re a sinner only on Christmas and Easter.
 
Yet, when you lose your life through the cross of Christ, you find it for eternity.  That’s because there is salvation in no one else and found nowhere else.  This is the Jesus whose own family was divided by the sword, for His own mother and brothers thought he was out of His mind.[6]  He took up His own cross—the cross of the sins of the world—and bore it even unto death.  Then, He rose from the dead, never to die again.  This is the life which He has to give to you!  It’s this life which you received in Baptism, and which you receive today at the Lord’s altar.
 
Even as you walk with swords and bear the cross, it’s in this life which Jesus has given you that you will have strength to endure all things.  No one can take this life from you—not strife, and not the sufferings you experience for the sake of Christ—because your Lord has ordained life for you.  Amen.
 
 
[1] Luke 2:14
[2] Isaiah 9:6-7
[3] Philippians 4:7
[4] http://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2016/march/malaysia-rules-muslim-can-convert-to-christianity.html
[5] Lutheran Service Book, p. 203
[6] Mark 3:21

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Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (Mark 13:3-13)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
Bethel Lutheran Church, Sweet Home, OR
Presentation of the Augsburg Confession – June 25, 2017
Text: Mark 13:3-13

We live in the end times.   This is clear from the signs which we see around us.  Just look around and see that it’s only getting worse each year.  In these last days, Christians will be called upon to confess their faith.  But when you confess, you have to know what to confess.  As was mentioned earlier, to confess is to say the same thing as God’s Word.  In order to confess Christ before men, you need to know what God’s Word teaches.  This is not just a responsibility laid on pastors and theologians.  It is a burden that is laid upon every Christian to confess who the true Christ is and to be able to identify false Christs and the lies told in the name of Christ.
 
This is what happened at Augsburg.  By the year 1530, the Reformation had spread quite a bit.  The first Lutheran hymnal was published in 1524, the Small Catechism was published in 1529, and Martin Luther and his teachings were widely known and opposed by Roman church leadership.  The difference with the Lutheran reformation from other movements was that it was about doctrine—the teachings of the Bible.  It wasn’t targeting moral abuses among the clergy or overthrow the government.  It came down to learning the faith only from what the Scriptures teach.
 
Yet, this theological Reformation would not have gone anywhere significant if it just happened in the ivory towers of universities and church councils.  The teachings of Scripture were broadcast to the masses—“Salvation unto Us Has Come/by God’s free grace and favor” was on the lips of parents and their children, God’s Word was available in German, and the Small Catechism outlined the Christian faith for young and old.  Among those who received the pure teaching from God’s Word were many princes and court officials.  So, when strong political resistance came against Luther and those who follow him, it was these civic leaders (not just the theologians) who answered for their faith.
 
At the Diet of Augsburg in June 1530, two court lawyers (chancellors), devout laymen, Christian Beyer and Gregor Bruck were the ones who presented the confession in front of Emperor Charles V.  The signors at the end were all laymen. They were presenting their case in a civil proceeding, but they were confessing Christ.
 
They had been asked to cease and desist supporting Luther’s divisive teaching about grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone, and Christ alone.  Yet on this ground they took their stand: This is what the Word of God teaches, which they themselves had studied. They didn’t desire to cause political or religious schism.  They were convinced that if they only presented their case on the basis of Scripture, the offense would end.  Notice the language in each of the articles: “Our churches teach…” They were talking about their pastors and what they believed from Scripture.  But, neither pope nor an angel from heaven could convince them to turn from their faith in Christ.
 
In these Last Days, the Lord Jesus warns all Christians, “See that you are not led astray.” The only way to not be led astray is to know the true Way.  Jesus Himself is the Way, and He is revealed only in the Bible.  So the way to learn the true way is to diligently study the Scriptures.  It is a heavenly gift that God’s Word is so readily available in our own language (as well as so many others in the world).  We really have no excuse for not knowing what the Bible says, but we neglect the Word in favor of other more pressing business.  Much damage can be done to Christians who blindly follow whatever “the Church” teaches without knowing what that really is.  No one should join a church—regardless of the name—without thoroughly knowing what they believe and whether it’s faithful to the Scriptures or not.
 
So, study the Scriptures as the God-breathed writings[1] for our good, that we would know Jesus Christ to be the crucified Savior of sinners.
 
The Lord goes on to say, “Many will come in my name saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.”  Every Christian needs to know biblical doctrine, not only to defend against possible lies from outside, but also inside.  In Matthew 7, Jesus also warned us, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits”[2]  That is, you will recognize false prophets by their teaching. Instead of gathering the sheep into the fold of their Shepherd, they scatters and destroy them with diabolical lies.
 
We can thank God for pastors who you can trust to feed and tend the flock faithfully, giving them the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word.[3]  This relationship between congregations and their pastors is what the Lord intends.  But would you do if your teachers ever start mixing the poison of false doctrine into what they feed you?  St. John says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”[4]  The devil is indeed at work in the Church, and no one is protected on the basis of heritage.
 
But the Lord has always been a zealous protector of His flock.  As we heard last week, when He sees His people “harassed and helpless,” He steps in to raise up faithful shepherds to give the healing only His pure Gospel can give.
 
That brings us back to the Diet in Augsburg.  The theologians and laymen who followed Martin Luther were falsely accused of being rebels in both the spiritual and civil realms (Anabaptists, Karlstadt), so they made a confession both of what they believed and those things which Scripture shows to be false.
 
Their aim was that they—the pastors, teachers, and the princes themselves—had not invented anything new, but believed nothing but the Biblical faith handed down by the Apostles and Prophets.  They made this clear confession and explanation before Charles V for that occasion, but it has enduring value for the spiritual descendants of Augsburg.  Besides Evangelical, one of the other early names the followers of Luther’s teaching called themselves was “the Churches of the Augsburg Confession.”  If you belong to a Lutheran Church, you would do well to read the Augsburg Confession.  You should find that it says nothing beyond or contrary to the Holy Scriptures.
 
It’s a great comfort that we have this true exposition of Scripture.  When we are subject today to so many different interpretations and opinions, the Lutheran Confessions, like the Creeds, give a touchstone for biblical interpretation that is truly built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.[5]
 
This teaching of Christ in His Word is your heritage.  The Word has been preserved without corruption and the true interpretation of that Word has been preserved by God’s providence.  When Peter confessed Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” the Lord said this confession of faith—this rock—would endure so that even the gates of hell should not prevail against it.  God is faithful and He will sanctify His people with this truth until the Lord’s glorious return.  The Lord promises in the Gospel, “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” We trust Your promise, dear Lord, Amen.
 
 
[1] 2 Timothy 3:16
[2] Matthew 7:15-161 John 2:18-19
[3] 1 Peter 2:2
[4] 1 John 4:1
[5] Ephesians 2:19-21

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3rd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6A)( Matthew 9:35-10:8)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
Bethel Lutheran Church, Sweet Home, OR
3rd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6A) + June 18, 2017
Text: Matthew 9:35-10:8

Common themes
The Lord’s care for His people by sending the elders with His Word
The message: “You are my treasured possession”/”The Kingdom of heaven is at hand…Heal the sick, cast out demons in my name”
The people are in a wilderness (the Israelites knew it because they could see it, people today don’t realize how desolate the world is and full of wolves)
 
Harassed and helpless – On the one hand, burdened by heavy Law and false religion, on the other hand ignorant and left to follow myths about God.  Either way, without the pure Word of God, they were in grave spiritual danger.
 
 
In the Old Testament lesson, the context is Moses leading the children of Israel in the wilderness.  God gives His Word to Moses, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.  5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”[1]  You can hear in those words how precious the people are to God, that He ransomed them from Egyptian slavery with a strong arm, so that they would be His treasured possession.  He wanted good and blessing for them.
 
In short, God was a father to them, and He showed compassion to them.  He heard their cries from slavery and bore them up on eagles’ wings.  He provided for all their material needs—bread from heaven, quail for meat, clothing and furnishings, health,  He even promised them an everlasting inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.  But most important to them was that they hear God’s heart toward them while they walked through the wilderness.  Without His Word and faith in it, they quickly fell into despair—“Was it because there were no grave in Egypt that you have brought us here to die?” “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”[2]
 
 
God’s response is to send His Word and heal them (Ps. 107:20)
 
[1] Exodus 19:5-6
[2] Exodus 14:11, 17:3

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The Day of Pentecost (Numbers 11:24-30)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
The Day of Pentecost + June 4, 2017
Text: Numbers 11:24-30

At this point in history, the Church needs to spend a lot of time straightening up the public office of the ministry—the preaching office.  In previous generations, it was never challenged that congregations need pastors, and of course those pastors are men.  However, when those simple truths are challenged by false teaching, it’s necessary for the Church to take a stand.[1]  So, this is why we drive home the point that Jesus called 12 men to be apostles (14 counting Matthias and Paul), that St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14 that women are not to preach in the congregation, and that a pastor should be the husband of one wife.[2]
 
Likewise, when our Synod is pressured to distinguish between regularly-called pastors, “specific ministry” pastors, and licensed lay deacons[3] who do the work of pastors, we have to make a clear confession.  There is one Office, the “ministry of reconciliation”[4] to which the Lord gives His commands: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you…receive the Holy Spirit, if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”[5]  And it is to this one Office, the Lord attaches His precious promises: “The one who hears you hears me” and “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”[6]  So any talk of different levels or authority should be squashed by the Word of the Lord, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.”[7]
 
Indeed, Pentecost is an example of the Holy Spirit empowering the public Office of the Ministry.  Yet, the Holy Spirit is given to all who believe in Christ. So, today, we will consider Moses’ request, “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets,[8] that the Lord would put His Spirit on them!” and the Scripture quoted by Peter, “even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit and they shall prophesy.”[9]
 
The Third Person of the Trinity calls us to faith in Christ, out of darkness, makes us alive through the Word.  What does it mean to prophesy, though?  It means to be a bear God’s Word and announce it to others.
 
There’s an important point.  The Word of God does not enter your heart and stay there.  It’s not a treasure to be buried in the ground once you receive it.  The word “to prophesy” in Hebrew means to “bubble up or pour forth”[10]  In that way, Jesus says in the Gospel, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”[11]  The Word which God gives is not for you alone, but also for everyone whom you meet in your life!
 
By that same Spirit He empowers us to live faithfully, each in our vocations (where God has placed us in life).  Each of us has been called in Baptism to be a child of God, holy and beloved.  Each of us has received the Holy Spirit, and we each have a place in the Body of Christ and in the world.  Hear what St. Paul says about this in Romans 12:
 
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Romans 12:3-8)
 
Not everyone is a preacher, a man who publicly declares the Word of the Lord for the congregation.  And that is perfectly okay.  However, the Spirit does assign us teach a measure of faith “for the common good.”[12]  Every Christian is a bearer of God’s Word in word and deed.
 
As fathers and mothers, the Spirit gives the work of bringing up our children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”[13]–showing them while they’re young how important the faith is (even when the unbelieving world offers so many other options), and continuing to support and admonish them in the Lord after they are grown.  Sometimes this even comes in the form of godly grandparents rising to the occasion when the parents can’t or won’t.
 
As husbands and wives, the Spirit leads them to pray for one another and share God’s Word of encouragement and comfort with each other in difficult times.  In mixed faith marriages, this manifests itself in one spouse showing the patient, loving heart of God to the one who doubts or does not believe, with the hope that the Lord might win them.
 
As friends, the Spirit makes you prophets by the example of sharing the love which Christ has shown you, and by sharing what God has done and is doing whenever the occasion arises.
 
As students, the Spirit puts the Word in you, so that when the challenge comes against your Lord and His teaching, you would “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, being ready to give an answer for the reason for the hope within you.”[14]
 
It’s about prophesying where God places you.  Although the Spirit calls some to service to the Church, each Christian is called to everyday life.  While everyday life may not sound very exciting, for you who believe, it is a life that is built on the sure foundation of God’s mighty works.  In that you rejoice, and with that you touch the lives of your family, friends, and coworkers.  Praise the Lord that He is the One who works all this in and among us.  Amen!
[1] Galatians 2:4-5
[2] 1 Corinthians 14:34, 1 Timothy 3:2
[3] The LCMS resolved at its 2016 convention to move such licensed lay deacons toward ordination. (Resolution 13-02A)
[4] 2 Corinthians 5:18
[5] John 20:21-23
[6] Luke 10:16, Matthew 28:20
[7] Matthew 20:25-27
[8] Hebrew does not have the word “prophets” but says, “as these” referring to Eldad and Medad who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, were prophesying.
[9] Acts 1:18 [Joel 2:29]
[10] NVA (Brown Driver Briggs)
[11] John 7:38
[12] 1 Corinthians 12:7
[13] Ephesians 6:4, KJV
[14] 1 Peter 3:15

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Sunday after the Ascension (1 Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
Sunday after the Ascension + May 28, 2017
Text: 1 Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11

Just imagine that you are hearing this as a first century Christian, who has witnessed the horror of crucifixion.  It’s how the world knows that criminals are punished.  Now apply that to your faith, that you believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and that He was crucified, died, and buried.  To add one more offense on top of that (in the world’s sight), you believe that He rose from the dead on the third day and that He comes again to judge the world.
 
This is what inspired one man in Rome to scribble a figure of a man with a donkey’s head, nailed to a cross.  At the base of the cross is another figure lifting looking up and lifting his hand in adoration.  The caption reads, “Alexamenos worships his god.”[1]
 
It’s with this in mind that St. Peter writes, “12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”  Perhaps the sting of what it means to be a follower of Christ is deadened a bit when we don’t have actual crucifixions to look at on a daily basis.  But sharing in Christ’s suffering remains, even if we can’t visualize it.  Because we belong to Christ and are called Christians, we will suffer for that Name.
 
The natural reaction is to balk when people hate Christ and His followers.  We might think of the love and mercy which Jesus displayed toward all people and how He uses us in the world today to do the same.  They say Christianity is an excuse to hate people who think differently than us.  We remember how Jesus welcomed the little children and blessed them.  They say Christianity is a mind control program, and that we’re abusing children by teaching them the faith.  We respect the religious beliefs of Muslims, Jews, and Hindus who wear special clothing or only eat certain foods.  Meanwhile Christians are insulted because their conscience prevents them from supporting same-sex unions.
 
It causes doubts to arise in our mind whether we’re right.  If the whole world says Christians are stupid, hate-filled bigots, maybe they’re right just by popular vote.  But Peter casts our experience in a different light: “Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”  When your name is dragged through the mud because you’re a Christian, this isn’t anything new.  Your Lord says, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”[2]  When He blessed, He was cursed.  When He healed, they wanted to kill Him.  When He taught, they spread lies about His teaching.  But God vindicated the truth of what Jesus said by raising Him from the dead.  Your faith is not in vain, and God witnesses that it is true.
 
With all that stands against Christians, who would remain unless they were a masochist?  Who would choose a religion that is so widely opposed and which causes so much dysphoria with the world?  Peter answers, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”   Even in the insults, you are blessed because you have the Holy Spirit.  He has called you believe in Jesus Christ and it is by His power that you remain in this Christian faith.  It’s really not about your choosing to follow Jesus, so much as it’s about what He’s done and how He called you to follow Him.  “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.”[3]
 
There’s the strength and comfort to share in the sufferings of Christ.  To be a Christian is not to hold onto your life with your own strength.  “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”[4]  That’s the paradox, that we let go of our life and “entrust our soul to a faithful Creator while doing good” (v. 19).
 
Just as Peter steered us away from a personal “Why is this happening to me?” pity-party, he also turns our eyes from seeing the struggles in our lives from merely human eyes.  “6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”  Everywhere around us we’re encouraged to seize opportunity and take control of our lives.  That’s a nice delusion that shatters against the reality that our live isn’t really in our own hands as much as we’d like it to be.  Go out and find a job that you can support yourself and your family, and do it today.  That chronic ailment you’ve had, go fix it.  The deep-seated pain you experience from loneliness, loss, and betrayal?  Just turn your heart around.
 
No, instead see yourself living by God’s mercy, the mercy of a loving Father.  You days and times are in His hand.  When the time is right, He will bring you out of turmoil and into peaceful haven.  So, instead of carrying worry, doubt, and dread yourself—as if it were all up to you—give it to Him.  Why?  Because He cares for you.  Not only do you worship a God who is victorious over the world and death, but you have a Father in heaven who loves you.
 
You belong to God.  He has called you to be His own dear child in the waters of baptism and continually in His Word.  Even though you experience suffering for a time, the glory of Christ’s resurrection is eternal.  Therefore, this promise is certain: “after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”  He will restore you when you falter.  He will confirm you when you doubt.  He will strengthen you when there is no strength in you.  He will cause you to stand firm, when your knees are ready to buckle.  Behold, this is your God whom you worship. “To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
[1] For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexamenos_graffito
[2] John 15:18
[3] John 15:16
[4] Luke 9:24

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Sixth Sunday of Easter (John 14:15-21)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR
Sixth Sunday of Easter + May 21, 2017
Text: John 14:15-21

As we approach Ascension Day (this year, May 25), we continue to hear powerfully encouraging words from our Lord about how He continues to be with us, even though hidden from our sight.
 
This time, our Lord tells us that we will be distinct among men.  The first way He says that we will be distinct is to say that, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  To love Jesus is more than an act we can conjure up.  It’s more than thinking He’s a great guy and having affection toward Him.  This is the result of faith, not our own doing, that we love Jesus.  This is God’s incredible work that He has created a clean heart within us and renewed us with a right spirit.  The reason we know if we love Jesus by faith is that we keep His Word.  Those who love Jesus treasure the Word of God, hold it sacred, gladly pore over it.  They experience spiritual awakening, feeling the terror of God’s Law when He thunders against our wickedness, being raised up by the sweet consolation that our sins are forgiven through the precious blood of Jesus, and living in the joyful freedom of our salvation.
 
Yet, beware because the devil is a sly enemy.  He delights in convincing people that they can love Jesus and close their ears to His Word.  He would love to have you believe you can be a true Christian and never pray, put worship on the bottom of your priorities, and close your heart to your neighbor so you don’t care if he perishes in body or soul.
 
Just as we are too sinful to love God on our own, we also don’t have it in us to continue in this faith even for an hour.  Therefore, Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive.”  He is the One who converted our hearts at the beginning, and brought us to know and believe in Jesus (the other Helper).  He is also the one who will keep us in this confession and faith, even while the world and the devil war against the true God and all who belong to Him.  The Spirit of truth is in us to keep us as the people who bear God’s Name—Christians.
 
Because of this, Christians are the target of attack.  We look vulnerable to the world, because we follow a God who saved us by dying on a cross.  But our living Lord assures us that He does not leave us as orphans (fatherless).  Rather, He gives a whole string of promises: “I am coming to you…you will see me…you will live…you will know…I will manifest myself to you.”  In fact we are not Fatherless, but we have the greatest and most powerful keeper of all, the Triune God.
 
Because of all this, Christians are distinct from the world.
You are distinct from the world because you love God and keep His Word.  His Word is a lamp to your feet.  Where the rest of men choose the guidance of their own darkened hearts, you have a light from above.  That light shows you who God is, proclaims the glories of His creation, instructs you in what it means to be a human being, and gives definition and meaning to your relationships.
 
You are different because you know your Father in heaven, and that He is the One who faithfully provides for you.  While the world scrambles for resources and men covet each other’s goods afraid they will be left destitute, you rest in God’s care even though we may have to wait for it for a time.  What other people in the world have a promise from heaven, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you”?[1]
 
You have a Savior who gives you a peaceful conscience through your Baptism—“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”[2]  While others numb their conscience with drinking and drugs, you have an advocate in heaven whose blood speaks for your guilt and who causes you to be judged by His perfect obedience.
 
You have the Holy Spirit, the Helper who is with you forever.  The world religions all rely on the fortitude and self-dedication of their followers.  Not so with your God—“I am the vine, you are the branches…apart from Me you can do nothing.”[3]  You are not on your own in your faith or your life in Christ. Jesus has given you His Spirit of Truth who puts His Word into your heart and causes it to bear fruit.  He gives you strength for your struggles, and reassures you in your doubts.
 
What other people have a god so near to them as the Lord your God is to you?[4]  The answer is no one but the children of the Triune God.  Amen.
[1] Hebrews 13:5
[2] 1 Peter 3:21 (Epistle reading)
[3] John 15:5
[4] Deuteronomy 4:7