“The High Cost of Discipleship” Matthew 10.34-42, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, June 2014…

1.      Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The message from God’s Word this 3^rd Sunday after Pentecost is taken from the Words of our Lord Jesus from Matthew 10:34-42, it’s entitled, “The High Cost of Discipleship,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ. 

2.      Later this week we as a nation will be celebrating, “The 4^th of July,” the day we celebrate the birth of our country and our nation’s independence from Great Britain going all the way back to 1776.  Our nation’s independence is a treasured blessing, but there’s a greater independence that we as Christians treasure. God in Jesus Christ has freed us from the power of sin, death, and hell. This freedom we have in Jesus came at a high cost.  So too, our national freedom came at a high cost. Lives were sacrificed to gain independence from England.  And even today, many lives of our service men and women continue to be sacrificed to maintain our nation’s independence. Peace comes at a high price. Today, Jesus reminds his disciples and us that pursuing worldly peace and freedom doesn’t cost nearly as much as pursuing a spiritual life of peace and freedom.

3.      We often complain about the high cost of living.  Someone has suggested that the high cost of living isn’t our problem, but rather the cost of high living.  In Matthew 10 Jesus spoke with His disciples and pointed out a higher priority—the high cost of discipleship.  What does it cost to be a believer?  Jesus tells us that it’ll cost you nothing, and yet it’ll cost you everything. 

4.      It costs us nothing to be a disciple of Jesus because He already paid the price in full, that is, with His holy blood He covered our sins.  This Gospel the Holy Spirit uses to bring us to faith, by which we’re justified.  But, Jesus reminds us that there are consequences to following Him.  Jesus wants us to know this up front so we don’t complain about paying the price for confessing Him as Savior.  Jesus says, “I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you…  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:19-20).

5.      In Jesus' day 2000 years ago, His call to repentance and salvation were so frightening the world's leaders considered Him too dangerous to let live. That's why He was crucified. Even today the world hates Jesus by persecuting the people whom the Holy Spirit has called to salvation. That's why Jesus says in Matthew 10:34-36, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household." It was a prophecy that’s been fulfilled in every generation.  Go to North Korea and see how the government there has fulfilled those words by doing its best to stamp out the Savior and the salvation He’s won on Calvary's cross. Visit China or Vietnam and watch how they struggle to make the Savior and those who would share His story of life comply with the Communist party platform. Go to the churches of the Middle East where the homes of Christians are burned, churches are bombed, and fanatical Muslims consider it a good work when they persecute, murder, and martyr those who cling to the Savior who has forgiven and opened heaven's doors for those who believe. 

6.      20 years ago (Reader's Digest, April 1994) former Secretary of Education William Bennett wrote, "Today, much of society ridicules and mocks those who are serious about their faith. America's only respectable form of bigotry is bigotry against religious people. And the only reason for hatred of religion is that it forces us to confront matters many would prefer to ignore." Bennett then shared the results of what happens when a nation tries to minimize and muzzle those who follow their faith. He said, "Since 1960, while the gross domestic product has nearly tripled, violent crime has increased nearly 560 percent. Divorces have more than doubled. The percentage of children in single-parent homes has tripled." (Excerpts from What Really Ails America, condensed from a speech by William J. Bennett, delivered December 7, 1993 at the Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., reprinted in Reader's Digest, April, 1994) Does this sound too complicated or deep? Then allow Mr. Bennett to say it in terms everybody can understand. He said, "In 1940, teachers identified the top problems in America's schools are: talking out of turn, chewing gum, making noise and running in the hall. In 1990, teachers listed drugs, alcohol, pregnancy, suicide, rape, and assault." Today, 20 years after Mr. Bennett drafted those words, we could add to that list, "the fear of mass murders by classmates or total strangers."  

7.      Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, just as there has been a high cost of our armed service men and women to fight for the freedoms we enjoy here in America.  So too, the high cost of discipleship for us as Christians includes fighting for Christ.  “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”  Christianity isn’t an “easy chair” religion.  Where there is evil, unrepentance, or blasphemy, we should be willing to testify against it.  It’s not easy to help others see their sins.  They often resent it with anger.  This is fighting the good fight of faith.  It’s bearing witness of the sacrifice Christ made for us.  It’s part of the price one must pay.  Jesus now gets to the core of the cost of discipleship by asking if we really love Him.  “Whoever loves father or mother…  (or) son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

8.      In Matthew 10 Jesus is reminding us that we must love Him above all else.  After all, to not fear, love, and trust in God above all things is to commit idolatry.  Jesus is our God.  He alone deserves our worship and praise.  Jesus won’t tolerate a divided allegiance.  Parent, child, and spouse must step down from the pedestal of adoration and give first place to Jesus.  In fact, when Jesus takes full possession of our hearts and lives, we will be more faithful to one another.  In our high cost of following Jesus, we will also be loyal to others. 

9.      Following Jesus loyally, we’re to take up our cross.  But we don’t want crosses, do we?  We want ease.  We’re soft and don’t like hardship, opposition, or ridicule.  But time and again Jesus places a cross upon us.  Such a cross disciplines us.  It stabilizes us.  As we bear mockery for Jesus’ sake, we will in the end be rewarded with peace in eternal life.

10.  Jesus tells us that life isn’t worth living if we close the door on Him.  “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”  Does that mean we should give up living?  Should we move out of society and into some cave?  Should we become the Amish or the Mennonites around us?  Hardly!  What we should give up is an aimless life that has no purpose or goal.  We’re to give up the self-centered life, which is only interested in eating, drinking, ease, and good times.  Wealth doesn’t last.  Depressions, bad investments, and death shake everything out of our hands.  Honor doesn’t stay; others come along and take it from us.  Popularity fades; one misstep, and the crowd seeks after other heroes.

11.  But, if we lose our lives in service to Jesus, He gives us treasures that last longer than the world itself.  These treasures come to us in terms of forgiveness, peace, salvation, and heaven.  “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” says Jesus (Revelation 3:20).  Today Jesus comes to us through His Word.  And we receive this Word from Him, who comes to us as the eternal Word made flesh, made man.  In Jesus, we see very God of very God.  Jesus is more than a prophet.  He’s more than a righteous man.  He’s all that, but there’s a divine plus.  This prophet, this righteous man, is God Himself.  “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).

12.  The new freedoms we have in Christ came at high cost to our Savior. At times, we may face a high cost to be a citizen in his kingdom. But, by the grace of God, we’re empowered through His Word and Sacraments. Living a life of loyalty and service to God and others will end for us in the joys of his heavenly kingdom that Christ has won for us.  Amen.

“To Fear or Not to Fear, that is the Question” Matthew 10.5, 21-33, Pentecost 2A, Proper 7, June 2014

1.                        Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word this 2^nd Sunday after Pentecost is taken from Matthew 10:5, 21-33, and is entitled, “To Fear or Not to Fear, that is the Question.”  Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                        Did you know that the number-one reason for sickness and disease in America today is stress? That the number-one reason for prescribed medications is anxiety? That stress and anxiety lead to more doctor's office visits than anything else? Stress is literally killing us.  Stress & fear are everywhere. It’s the pattern of the world we live in.  In Romans 12: 2, Paul writes, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."  Being transformed and having renewed minds means we think differently than the world thinks, especially as it relates to the things that cause stress—worry, anxiety, and fear. All of these are related.

3.                        Fear is a negative emotion caused by a real or perceived threat to our well-being. Anxiety is being nervous about an event, person, or problem we can't control. Worry is to dwell mentally on a difficulty or trouble with chronic concern.  Worry can turn into anxiety. Anxiety can turn into fear. They're all the same emotion, just at different levels. But in Scripture, we're commanded not to fear, not to be anxious, and not to worry.  "Do not fear, for I am with you," the Lord said in Isaiah 41:10. In fact, do not fear or fear not is the most common command in the Bible.  "Do not worry about your life," Jesus said in Matthew 6:25.  "Do not be anxious about anything," Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6.  The root of all fear and anxiety and worry is an orphan spirit—it means we don't know or trust that we have a Heavenly Father who cares for us and provides for all of our needs of body and soul.

4.                        In Matthew 10:5, 21–33 this is what is recorded for us, “5These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 21“Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.  24“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.  26“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

5.                        You can see easily enough why Jesus needed to tell his disciples not to be afraid, at this point in his instructions to them. After all, he’s warned them that the authorities will be after them.  That they will suffer physical and emotional violence.  And, that people will start calling them the sort of names they have already begun to call Jesus. Plenty to be afraid of there! And yet Jesus says, Don’t be afraid.

6.                        Why not? What reason does Jesus give?  Because, the enemies of Christ can persecute us only within limits that God establishes. Since Jesus is in charge of our lives, we don’t need to be afraid of those who oppose us on account of confessing Jesus as our Savior from sin, death, and the power of the devil. So we may boldly proclaim the truth of God’s Holy Word and His Son Jesus Christ. We can shout it from the housetops Our Lord will recognize our faithful service to him and his kingdom, and on the Day of Judgment he will acknowledge our works of service before all people. At the same time, those who have rejected the saving gospel of Jesus in His cross and resurrection from the dead will be publicly revealed as being without excuse for their unbelief.

7.                        Jesus tells us that the enemies of the Gospel of Christ, even Satan, can do no more than kill our bodies.  So it’s foolish to be concerned about escaping from our earthly persecutors and allowing them to intimidate us. We rather want to be concerned about how we stand before our holy God, for he’s the only one who can cast both soul and body into hell. He’s our judge, not Satan, and he assures us that he has prepared a place for us in heaven. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, promises us that no one will be able to pluck us out of his hand.

8.                        But if we are to learn not to be afraid of our persecutors and those who can harm our bodies, we must also learn that there is one who deserves fear, even though this warning (verse 28) is then balanced again by a further ‘don’t be afraid’ in verse 31.  Why would Jesus tell his followers not to be afraid, then to be afraid, then not to be afraid again?  To fear or not to fear, that is the question.

9.                        Jesus believed that Israel was faced in his day by enemies at two different levels. There were the obvious ones: Rome, Herod, and their underlings. They were the ones who had the power to kill the body. But there were other, darker enemies, who had the power to kill the soul as well: enemies who were battling for that soul even now, during Jesus’ ministry, and who were using the more obvious enemies as a cover. The powers of Satan and hell that are greedy for the soul of God’s people. The devil wants to lead us away from the good news of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  He wants to keep us away from God’s Word and Sacraments that keep us and sustain us in the Christian faith.  The devil wants us to think that we’re spiritual orphans who don’t have a Heavenly Father who loves and cares for us in all our needs of body and soul.  Satan wants to leave us in the pit of despair and worry and to forget about Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

10.                    But at the same time, to balance that fear, we have one of Jesus’ greatest promises about the love of God, not only for every one of his creatures, but for every hair on their heads.  Jesus directs our attention to some ordinary birds to assure us of God’s care. He reminds us that God, who created the sparrows also watches over them, and not one of them falls to the ground unless he allows it.  In a similar way, God watches over all his creatures. And, every human being is much more precious in God’s sight than any animal, for people have immortal souls. Could God possibly forget about all of you, who are his dear children through faith in Christ? That’s unthinkable? God is so concerned about our welfare that he even knows how many hairs each of us has on his head, and if one falls out, he knows which one it was. Absolutely nothing is beyond his power to control. We’re safe in his hands.

11.                    We must remember that God's love for us is stronger than our love for our own children and other family members. Our Heavenly Father knows everything we're facing, every circumstance in our lives.  In Matthew 10 Jesus reminds us that the way we overcome worry and anxiety is by focusing on Him.  We need to keep our eye on Jesus our Lord and Savior or worry will rob us of our joy.

12.        We overcome worry and fear by treating worry and anxiety as an enemy. We don't indulge these emotions, but we get rid of them by focusing on God’s care for us through His Son our Savior Jesus Christ. One way to do so is to turn every anxious and worrisome thought into a prayer.  Are you anxious about something? Pray about it. In Paul's words, "present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6).  Then, by faith, believe and confess that God is our loving Father who cares for us and has sent His Son Jesus to die for us on the cross in order to forgive us our sins and give to us eternal life.  God holds us in His hands and is the answer to our every problem. With Him, we don't have to fear.  Amen.

“Baptized into the Holy Trinity” Matt. 28.16-20, Trinity Sunday Series A, June ‘14

1.            Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word this Trinity Sunday weekend in which we also happen to observe Father’s Day is taken from Matthew 28:16-20.  It’s entitled, “Baptized into the Holy Trinity,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.    

2.            Well, a happy Trinity Sunday & Father’s Day to you!  On this day we worship God our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Just as our earthly fathers have given us life, so how much more has God our Father and Creator has breathed His life into us through His Holy Spirit and redeemed us from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  God the Father and Jesus the Son have sent to us the Holy Spirit to teach our hearts to believe and to confess that in three person of equal glory and majesty, the Triune God is the one and true eternal God.  On this Trinity Sunday we pray that our Triune God would keep us in this saving Christian faith through His Holy Word and Sacraments and that He would bring us at last safely into the inheritance we have in heaven as children of God through His Son and the Holy Spirit.

3.            But, just as we remember our Triune God this day, we also remember our earthly families this weekend, in particular our earthly fathers and guardians the Lord has entrusted to us for our good.  On this day we pray that God our Heavenly Father would bless us with godly fathers who have a healthy fear and reverence for our Triune God.  We pray that fathers who provide for the physical needs of their families would also provide for the spiritual needs of their wives and children as well.  We ask that our earthly fathers would be diligent students of the Word of God so that they can be spiritual leaders in their homes, who lead their families to God’s Holy House within His Church.  O Heavenly Father forgive for Jesus’ sake, fathers who have failed to be godly leaders, wives who have resented the leadership of their husbands, and children who have dishonored their fathers.  We pray this Father’s Day weekend that God’s Holy Word would be the solid foundation on which fathers and their families are built.

4.            Speaking of families have you ever wondered how you have become a Christian and a part of God’s Heavenly family?  Sure, you have an earthly family, but how has God the Father become your Heavenly Father?  God made you a part of His Heavenly Family through your baptism into His triune name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Jesus our Lord says to us today in Matthew 28:16-20, ““¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  And, 1 Peter 3:21-22 says, “Baptism…now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.  It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him.”  Jesus who has all the power in the universe.  Jesus who died and is alive again.  Jesus who lives and reigns with our Heavenly Father.  This same Jesus has spoken His powerful Word in your Baptism and has marked you as His own.  As Martin Luther puts it in the Small Catechism, “Baptism works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.”

5.            So, what does it mean to be baptized into the Holy Trinity? That’s a question a lot of folks are asking these days, and the answers can be very confusing. Some answer that Baptism is an act of obedience that the believer must perform. Others say that Baptism is like a “get out of jail free” card and that it’s impossible for anyone who is baptized to fall from faith. Some even claim that Baptism is nothing, or worse, a hindrance to true faith. So, what does it mean to be baptized into the Holy Trinity?

6.            The word “baptize” in the Greek New Testament simply means to wash or apply water, but the Baptism that Jesus institutes in Matthew 28 is not just plain water, it’s water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word. Baptism is water and the Word—not just any word, but the living Word of God. We confess this in the Nicene Creed, “I acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins.”

7.            Most Christian churches agree on who Jesus is and what He’s done for us. Jesus Christ, true man and true God, lived a perfect life for you, died the death you deserve, and rose victorious over the grave for you. This is salvation achieved. Where the differences become glaring is on how this salvation achieved by Christ gets to you, the sinner. For many, Baptism becomes the decision or choice you make to bring yourself to God. You must somehow ascend to God and claim this salvation.

8.            But, our Triune God clearly teaches that this is impossible in Ephesians 2, since St. Paul reminds us that we are spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins. Baptism isn’t something we do for God but just the opposite. Baptism is pure gift. At the font God delivers Good Friday and Easter to you--one Baptism for the forgiveness of your sins. Here God places His Name on you and robes you in the righteousness of Christ. Here God fills you with His Holy Spirit and adopts you into His family Here, in your Baptism, God gives you the gift of faith.

9.            Did you notice that word adoption when it comes to baptism?  This is very applicable for us this Father’s Day weekend.  Baptism makes you an adopted child of God to God your Heavenly Father.  It’s important for you to see God acting on your behalf in your Baptism, not you acting to please Him by being baptized.  Baptism isn’t an act of obedience that you or your parents performed.  If it were, all you would have now is an old certificate months or years later.  Instead, baptism is God’s official act of adoption.  God the Father choosing you to become His own son and daughter.  At one time you were a spiritual orphan.  But, now you’ve received what the Bible calls, “the adoption of sons.”  This is what Titus 3 and Galatians 3 teaches us.  As the Heavenly Father’s rightful heirs through this washing of regeneration we’re now destined to live and rule with Christ to all eternity! 

10.        The picture here is something like the new life an orphan receives when it’s adopted.  Homeless, alone, and helpless, the infant who has done nothing to deserve it, suddenly has the attention of the adoptive couple.  They choose to make that child a part of their family.  Such a couple spend a great deal of effort, time, and money to meet the legal requirements in order to adopt that child.  Then comes the formal adoption proceedings.  If all goes well, the judge will declare the infant to be the legal child of the adoptive parents.  Now the child has a new name, a new identity and family, a new future and home, a brand new life!  In the same way, God has claimed us in our Baptism.  We have a new Father, a new family in the Church, a new name called Christian, a new identity as a child of God, a new future of heaven as your home.  We’ve received a whole new life. 

11.        As we think about who should be baptized, let’s extend this adoption metaphor a bit further.  Suppose that instead of an infant, the adoptee is a 10-15 year child.  Before a social service agency would agree to an adoption in such a case, the young person would meet the adoptive parents and would get to know them.  The adoptive parents would lavish love on the young person.  There would then come a time when that acceptance and love would melt the child’s heart that he would think of his parents as mom and dad.  At that point, the parents would take the legal initiative--for its theirs, not the child’s.  They’d fill out the documents, pay the fees, sit through the interviews, face the judge, all with one end in mind--adopting the young person.  At one point in the interview the adopted child would be asked whether or not he or she wanted to be adopted.  Few courts would let children be adopted against their will.  The young person would assure the judge with words like, “I’ve come to know these people.  They love me.  They’ve taken me in and made me part of their family.  I want to live with them forever.”  Once the gavel fell, the young person would have a new name, a new father and mother, a new home, identity and family.

12.        This shows what happens in the Baptism of older children and adults.  They hear the Gospel.  They learn of their Heavenly Father’s love.  The Holy Spirit convinces them of their sin and calls them to faith in Jesus as their Savior from sin.  Won over by the Father’s love and anxious to have the status He promises them as His children, they present themselves for Baptism.  In Baptism older children and adults receive the same blessings God promises to infants--a new name, identity, a new destiny, a new Father, a new home and family, and a brand new life!  Can a young person in this situation tell you about his or her adoption?  Of course.  It may even be hard to avoid hearing the story dozens of times!  The infant, on the other hand, can’t explain to anyone what it means to be adopted.  Does the infant’s inability to discuss the meaning of their adoption change the fact that they are now adopted into God’s family?  No.  The infant belongs to his adoptive parents despite his inability to tell anyone what has happened.  Praise God that our adoption doesn’t depend on our ability to speak of it, but solely on God’s promise to us in our Savior Jesus.

13.        So what is Baptism into the Holy Trinity? It’s Water connected to God’s Word of promise: the delivery of God’s deliverance to you through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord!  Amen.  

“A Fearless Future”, 2 Peter 3.18; Matt. 11.28-30, Rev. 21.1-7, Glen Salger Funeral Sermon, 6.21.14

1.      Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Dear family and friends of Glen.  May Jesus our Good Shepherd carry you in His loving arms and give you His comfort and consolation as you mourn the death of your beloved Glen.  May you know for certain that this Jesus has offered to you and to Glen the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation by dying on the cross for you and rising victoriously from the dead.  Because of Jesus who is your Lord and Savior, you and Glen have, “A Fearless Future,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.      Glen’s family has many vivid memories about him.  He was an avid sportsman who loved to fish and hunt deer and turkey.  Glen enjoyed traveling, dancing, and spending time with his grandchildren.  Many people remember Glen always being ready to lend a helping hand to those who were in need.  Glen’s focus was also on the needs of his family.  In fact, he enjoyed playing music and having fish fries with his family.  Because he loved his family so much, it was very hard for him a few years ago to see his brother Paul and his nephew Greg pass away.  His brother Paul was his buddy and they were very close.  Glen enjoyed driving his truck cross country and seeing the United States, even taking his family on some of his truck driving trips.  Glen was also a baptized child of God through water and the Holy Word.  All his life he continued to confess the faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  In fact, even this past Christmas, while Glen was in the nursing home, he was trying to sing Christmas hymns with those around him.  He continued to hear the saving Word of God and receive the Sacrament of our Lord’s body and blood from Pastor Leistico on a regular basis. Glen knew that his faith was sustained and strengthened through God’s precious Word and Sacraments.  Many who knew Glen can tell us today that old age was getting hard on him, especially these past few years following a number of strokes that he had.  That’s why God the Father sent His Son Jesus to die for Glen in order to give to him a fearless future.     

3.      In the same chapter of Glen’s confirmation verse the Apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 3:13, “In keeping with God’s promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”  When you woke up this morning, what was the first thing on your mind, “Today is Saturday; it’s laundry day,” or, “I only have an hour to get to work,” or, “I wonder if it rained last night?”  If you’re like me, the morning’s first efforts involve clearing the cobwebs from the brain and routinely mulling over the day’s upcoming activities.  Tomorrow morning let’s try something different.  Let’s turn our attention to spiritual matters, “Where do I stand in relation to my God?” 

4.      If we take a look at ourselves in the mirror of God’s perfect standards from His 10 Commandments, the thought of standing before God isn’t all that pleasant.  He is holy, we are not.  By the sin we are born with by the wrong we do, and by the right we don’t do, we deserve the worst.  Our worries, doubts, greed, envy and anger have separated us from God’s love.  By all rights we have earned hell.

5.      The Apostle Peter also knew what it was like to sin and compare himself to the standards of God’s holy law.  The Apostle Peter was a man who knew what it was to fall into sin, to struggle with his sinful nature as you and I do day after day. On the night of Jesus’ own death, the Savior had said to his disciples, “You will all fall away because of me this night” (Matthew 26:31), and Peter was the one who replied, “Though they all fall away … I will never fall away.… I will not deny you!” (vv. 33, 35).  The Apostle Peter our beloved and self-proclaimed superman! “I will never fall away!” And what happened next? Peter fell once. He fell twice. He fell for the third time before the presence of a servant girl in the high priest’s courtyard.  Peter writes his epistle here in 2 Peter as one who knew what it was like to fall into sin. But, it comes to you by the hand of one whose faith didn’t fail. And as such it contains the words of his final apostolic charge to strengthen the brothers in the faith because in Jesus we like Glen have a fearless future.

6.      Peter says in Glen’s confirmation verse from 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (v. 18a).” Just as we are to stay on our guard against spiritual adversaries, we must also keep seeking to grow spiritually strong.

7.      Peter writes of a knowledge of “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  Glen gained this knowledge of Jesus as his Lord and Savior from going to worship, Sunday School, and being confirmed in the Christian faith. Strength and stability in the Christian faith comes from this knowledge of Jesus as our Lord and Savior, which comes from the preaching and teaching of God’s Word and the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But “knowledge” isn’t the only thing at work in this last statement. Peter also writes of “grace.”  Grace is given, but it’s to be grown too. Too many grow weary and quit the Christian faith along the way. May it not be so for you and me. May we be known for knowing & growing in our faith in the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.  Glen kept on growing and receiving God’s Holy Word and the Sacrament of our Lord’s body and blood, because he knew this is where his faith was founded, established, and strengthened.

8.      God the Father has promised through His Son Jesus Christ that we, like Glen, who believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior will receive these promises to give to us a fearless future.  In Revelation 21 it says, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”  And in Matthew 11:28-30 our Lord Jesus promises, “²⁸Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”                                                                     

9.      God is as merciful and forgiving as he is holy and just.  He loaded onto His Son Jesus on the cross all our wrongs and transferred to us Jesus’ perfection and holiness.  God the Father did this for our beloved brother in Christ Glen as well.  Because of Jesus we won’t get what we deserved; we will get what Jesus earned for us on our behalf through His sacrificial death on the cross.  Now that is a truth worth holding onto as we begin each day.  That is a truth worth holding onto every day that promises us a fearless future.

10.  Peter leaves the pages of Scripture singing about the fearless future we have in Jesus. His final refrain reads in 2 Peter 3:18, “To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (v. 18b)” This song of praise contains the final words we hear from Peter on this earth. In writing them, it’s as if he’s already arrived in heaven. Imagine the joy of singing your way into Heaven.  It’s as if the Apostle Peter is singing here at the end of 2 Peter what I’m sure Glen was singing before God called him to his heavenly home, “We’re on the homeward trail, We’re on the homeward trail, Singing as we go, Going home.”  Through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus, who died and rose from the dead to give you victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil, we can have confidence that we like Glen, will reach our heavenly home and have a fearless future that will have no end.  Please pray with me:    May God our Heavenly Father, strengthen us in Christ, that like the Apostle Peter and Glen, we too might finish well and die confessing Jesus as our Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Pentecost Still Refreshes” John 7.37-39, sermon notes for Pentecost A, 2014

1.         Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer.  Amen.  Well, a happy Pentecost to all of you!  The message from God’s Word this Pentecost Day is taken from John 7:37-39.  Today in the Gospel of John we’ll see that Jesus invites us to come to Him all who are thirsty for forgiveness (vs. 37), and as Christians the Holy Spirit enables us to point those who are spiritually dry to Jesus (vs. 38-39).  The message is entitled, “Pentecost Still Refreshes,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.         In the late 1950s, in a town near the shores of one of the Great Lakes, stood a drinking fountain that bubbled over with water all year long. The teenagers who played in that neighborhood on weekends and in the summer would often run to this never-ending source of water. You might hear someone say, “I’m dying of thirst.” Then he or she would race to the fountain, drink to the full, and return to the routine of playing, thirst quenched.  People across the world have been given a divine thirst to believe in Christ, to drink of the fountain of life, and to be satisfied eternally. On this Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit reminds you that you’ve been given the privilege of thirsting for salvation and being satisfied, and that joy accompanies your proclamation of Jesus to a world that needs to thirst (Jn 7:37–39).

3.         John 7:37-39 says, “37On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”  In the Gospel of John chapter 7 we’re given the time and setting for these words of Jesus. The time isn’t Pentecost but the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (Jn 7:2). John tells us that there’s great confusion about Jesus (Jn 7:3–52). Even Jesus’ brothers don’t understand him.  Although Jesus’ brothers know he’s someone great, John states that at this point they don’t believe in him (Jn 7:5). There’s also confusion about Jesus among the people in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. The views about Jesus’ character range from “He is a good man” to “No, he deceives the people” (Jn 7:12). The views about Jesus ranged from “He is the Christ” to “He is the Prophet” to “He is an impostor who should be removed from influencing the people” (cf. Jn 7:40–44). In this setting Jesus preaches.

4.         The Feast of Tabernacles was a thanksgiving festival for the harvest of corn and wine (Dt 16:13) and a festival of remembrance for the Lord’s presence when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness and lived in booths (Lev 23:39–43). The Jews reenacted for one week the living in booths by building thousands of booths and tents outside the walls of Jerusalem.  John says that Jesus made his invitation for the thirsty to drink from him “on the last and greatest day of the Feast.”

5.         Jesus stood and proclaimed in a loud voice: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”  The importance of the message as well as the confusion of the people called for Jesus to stand and shout. Certain times call for a standing and “shouting” preacher.

6.          Such was the case at the first Pentecost Festival after Jesus had ascended into heaven. In fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that the apostles would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them (Ac 1:8).  When the Day of Pentecost came there was a sound like a violent wind, and then what seemed to be tongues of fire came to rest on the disciples. The sound of the wind caused a crowd to gather in confusion. At such a time of confusion Peter stood up and addressed the crowd (Ac 2:14).

7.         The message of Peter at the Feast of Pentecost was the same as the message of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles, and it’s our message today: salvation!  In John 7 Jesus proclaimed: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” Are men by nature thirsty? Yes, but for what? We agree with Job’s friend Eliphaz that man is by nature corrupt and “drinks up evil like water.” Man is thirsty—for evil. By nature dead in transgressions and sins (Eph 2:1), every man enters life like the dead and dry bones that Ezekiel saw in his vision. “If a man is thirsty,” shouted Jesus. Jesus knew how to make a man thirsty; he could unmask man’s sin like no other. In fact, before he went up to the Feast of Tabernacles, he had told his brothers, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil” (Jn 7:7). To those who despaired of their own righteousness through sorrow for sin Jesus said: “Come to me and drink.” Jesus invites you and me, the thirsty ones to come to him for forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

8.         And so Peter preached at Pentecost. The Pentecost people weren’t thirsting for Jesus. But Peter stood up and made many thirsty: “ ‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.’ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” (Ac 2:36, 37).

9.         Like Jesus, Peter cut through the religious piety of the crowd by setting their evil works before them revealing their parched, bone-dry, dead condition before God. And Peter directed thirsty ones to God’s salvation in Jesus in the means of grace: “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” (Ac 2:38). And about 3,000 drank from the well of salvation through the waters of Holy Baptism.

10.       John tells us in John chapter 7 that the crowd held many opinions about Jesus: some said that Jesus was a good man, deceiver of people, the Prophet, the Christ. The last one is the right view; Jesus is the promised Messiah. But we know that even the apostles didn’t fully understand how the kingdom of Jesus would come. Even, Peter didn’t understand the need for the cross, as Matthew 16 tells us. And even after the resurrection and before the ascension, the apostles didn’t fully understand the kingdom of Christ. Before Jesus ascended, the apostles had asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Ac 1:6). Why didn’t Jesus set them straight at that point? Because they wouldn’t understand Jesus’ kingdom until the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had said to them in John 16, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (Jn 16:12, 13).

11.       Again, Jesus says in John 7, “ ‘Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”  After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the apostles had no more questions about “restoring the kingdom to Israel.” In his Pentecost sermon, Peter preached that Jesus by his resurrection from the dead was placed on David’s throne and now was exalted to the right hand of the Father (Ac 2:29–33).

12.       And believing in Jesus and having a Holy Spirit-given understanding of the kingdom caused “streams of living water” to flow from the apostles and the other Jerusalem Christians. Scattered throughout Judea and Samaria the Jerusalem Christians “preached the word wherever they went” (Ac 8:4). Philip preached in Samaria, followed by Peter and John (Ac 8). Peter preached to Gentiles at Cornelius’ house. And after the persecutor Saul was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, the streams of living water flowed throughout the Roman world. The promise of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles was fulfilled in a special way at the Feast of Pentecost. And to this day the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost works in you as well the attitude of Peter and John: “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Ac 4:20).

13.       But, how can spiritually dead men respond to the harvest call? Martin Luther said it best about the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, for the gift of faith: “The Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel.”  John chapter 7 teaches us that the Holy Spirit uses us Christians to reach others to show them their spiritually thirsty condition and to point the thirsty to Jesus.  So each of us as Christians is to be like the child who is the first to find the park’s drinking fountain on a hot summer’s day. The child drinks and drinks, quenching his thirst. And then he calls out to his friends searching for the fountain, “Here it is; come and drink; it’s good!”  Amen.

“Jesus Carries Our Sin & Sorrow to the Cross” Matt. 11.28-30 & Isaiah 53.3-6, Roger Schoenbeck’s Funeral Sermon 6.6.14

1.      Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Dear family and friends of Roger.  May Jesus our Good Shepherd carry you in His loving arms and give you His comfort and consolation as you mourn the death of your beloved Roger.  May you know for certain that this Jesus has offered to you and to Roger the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation by, “Carrying our sin & sorrow to the cross.”

2.      Roger will be deeply missed by his family and friends.  Over the last 7 years I’ve gotten to know Roger as his pastor, visiting him in his home, at the nursing home, and the hospital.  Christ our Good Shepherd doesn’t forget about His sheep and I was privileged as Roger’s pastor to care for his soul through God’s means of grace.  The family has many fond memories of Roger.  They remember how he loved to go to basketball games and to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play.  And, Roger loved to spend time with his family and friends.  Who can forget how he liked to go to Addieville to a restaurant called, “Eagle’s Nest,” to get their onion blooms.  And, Roger worked hard to provide for his family as well, he spent 30 years at the GM car making plant to be able to put food on his family’s table and provide a roof over their heads.  In fact, there are a few memories that the family has of Roger’s time working at GM.  One story is that Roger would often be tired when he got off work at the GM Plant.  One night after he finished work he was waiting for a train to pass and he fell asleep at the wheel.  When he finally woke up, all of the cars had been passing around him, while he was parked in the road near the train tracks.  Also, Roger would often carpool to the GM Plant.  Early in his time working at GM there was a joke about his buddies who would carpool with him.  All of the wives of the men in the carpool were having babies close to one another, within a matter of days.  In fact, I believe that all the wives were in the hospital at the same time delivering their children. They formed a little Baldwin community in the hospital.  But, many who knew Roger can tell us today that old age was getting hard on Roger, especially these past few years.  That’s why God the Father sent His Son Jesus to carry our sin and sorrow to the cross for us and for Roger.     

3.      Isaiah the prophet says in Isaiah 53, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,” (Isaiah 53:4).  Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God is led off to be slaughtered.  Jesus, the Holy and Righteous One is take away to be crushed, afflicted, and wounded for the sake of the forgiveness of your sins.  Isaiah says that Jesus is oppressed, judged, and cut off from the land of the living.  Jesus, the Lamb of God, goes forth to be slaughtered.  He goes alone to the cross for the forgiveness of your sins and the sins of Roger.

4.      Isaiah reminds us that Jesus has carried our sin and sorrow to the cross.     Christians know that when we’re confronted with struggles, sickness, and sorrow we have a sure source of comfort, strength, and hope in Jesus our Lord. When we live by faith in Jesus, we know that He will lead us through all the valleys of life, until that blessed day comes when his angels will welcome us to our eternal home in heaven.  When Roger was going through all of his health problems, where could he and his family turn to for peace and comfort?  Well, the words of our Lord Jesus here in Matthew 11:28-30 speak to the problems that Roger faced.  Our Lord Jesus says, “²⁸Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

5.      Finding rest in Jesus doesn’t mean He will remove and shield us from all pain and sorrow, or lift each heavy agony of life.  That’s not His promise.  The promise of our Lord Jesus is that He’ll be with us in our pain and suffering.  Christ will lighten every heavy load.  At the end of each day we have the comfort as we place ourselves in His care.  Rest in Jesus means that we as Christians have certainty and reconciliation.  In Christ we have sure forgiveness of our sins.  Through His cross we are reconciled with God our Heavenly Father.  God’s wrath toward our sin is removed.  Through Roger’s baptism into Christ this promise was given to him as well, as the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans chapter 6.

6.      And in order to truly give us rest, Isaiah says that Jesus our Savior goes uncomplaining forth.  He was born into our world, an innocent baby laid in a manger.  Jesus is born to be sacrificed by wicked men.  He was born to carry our sin and sorrow to the cross.  There was no guilt found in Him and no sin was discovered.  But, Jesus went forth to die so that all might be saved by believing in Him as their Lord and Savior.  Surely He has borne our sins and carried our sorrows, but we esteemed Him not.  We all like sheep have gone astray.  We turned our face from Jesus, for His appearance was more than we could bear.  His face on the cross was marred beyond human likeness, and we couldn’t look at Him.  We couldn’t look at Him, because our sin and shame hung heavy upon our Savior Jesus—who could bear that sight?

7.      [Jesus] was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)  In Holy Baptism Jesus sprinkled Roger with His holy blood and cleansed him from all his unrighteousness.  For out of Jesus’ side John says flowed the blood and water that washes away all of our sins. (1 John 5:6).  Jesus poured out His grace upon Roger and you and has given you His peace.  He has carried our sins to the cross, washed them away with holy blood, and cleansed us with His perfect sacrifice.  Jesus, the Innocent One, became our substitute for our guilt and sin so that we may be healed.

8.      Jesus our Savior was lifted high on the cross for Roger, for you, and for me.  This was all to win for you the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life.  To take us from this valley of sorrow and death to Himself in Heaven in paradise.  Jesus has redeemed us and Roger as He entered into the tomb.  He has saved us from death as He rose from the grave.  Jesus has been exalted and sits at the right hand of God the Father.  For He has now gone into heaven to prepare a place for us, just as He has done for Roger (John 14).  Jesus has proclaimed you, Roger, and me innocent, pure, and holy because of His sacrificial death on the cross for us.  Surely, he has carried your sin and sorrow to the cross and by His wounds you are healed.  Amen.