Manuscript of sermon and prayers for July 12

+ Online Service for July 12 +

INVOCATION

P    In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C    Amen.

INTROIT                                           Psalm 27:1a, 11–12, 14; antiphon: vv. 7, 9b

Hear, O Lord, when I | cry aloud;*
   be gracious to me and | answer me!
O you who have | been my help,*
   forsake me not, O God of my sal- | vation!
The Lord is my light and my sal- | vation;*
   whom | shall I fear?
Teach me your way, | O Lord,*
   and lead me on a level path because of my | enemies.
Give me not up to the will of my adver- | saries;*
   for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out | violence.
Wait | for the Lord;*
   be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait | for the Lord!

GLORIA PATRI                                                                                        LSB 186

C    Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

COLLECT OF THE DAY

P    O God, You have prepared for those who love You good things that surpass all understanding. Pour into our hearts such love toward You that we, loving You above all things, may obtain Your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

EPISTLE                                                              1 Peter 3:8–15

   8Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10For

“Whoever desires to love life
   and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
   and his lips from speaking deceit;
11let him turn away from evil and do good;
   let him seek peace and pursue it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
   and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

   13Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15but in your hearts regard 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.

A    This is the Word of the Lord.

HOLY GOSPEL                                                                                                                                     

P    The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the fifth chapter.

   1On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on [Jesus] to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

P    This is the Gospel of the Lord.

APOSTLES’ CREED

C    I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

     maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

     who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

     born of the virgin Mary,

     suffered under Pontius Pilate,

     was crucified, died and was buried.

     He descended into hell.

     The third day He rose again from the dead.

     He ascended into heaven

     and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

     From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

     the holy Christian Church,

          the communion of saints,

     the forgiveness of sins,

     the resurrection of the body,

     and the life everlasting. Amen.

SERMON

Sinners Fear; Believers Hope

(Luke 5:8)  When Simon Peter saw [the miracle], he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

Luke the evangelist records here an event that happened at the Lake of Genesaret.  This large body of water in the northern part of Palestine is also known as the Sea of Galilee.  It is said that the water of this Sea was beautiful and clear -- so clear that when you went out on a boat you could look down and see the fish.  The problem with that is, if you can see the fish, the fish can also see you and if you were a fisherman trying to catch them in a net, they=d be quick to swim away.  So the best fishing was done at night time. 

So we hear in this lesson about Simon who was to be called Peter, James and John, and their two fishing boats.  They had just spent the whole night fishing.  Throwing out their nets -- Pulling them through the water. And they had caught nothing.  Now they are on the shore, cleaning out the nets, untangling lines, looking for any tears that might need fixed, doing all the work that needs to be done before they can put the equipment away for the next night=s fishing.

It is then that Jesus comes to them with a request to borrow one of their fishing boats to use as a sort of pulpit.  He wanted them to take Him just a little ways off into the water, so that He could preach to the crowd standing on the shore.

This wasn=t the first time Simon Peter and the others had met Jesus. Just a couple of pages earlier in the Book of Luke, Jesus had visited Peter=s house and had healed his mother-in-law who was sick with a high fever.  Apparently Jesus had been around their town of Capernaum for a few days.  He had preached in the synagogue and had healed many people.  Everybody is kinda curious about Him and interested enough to listen to more of what He has to say.  So He has this fairly large size crowd gathered around in front of Him at this naturally-made amphitheater on the coast of Lake Genesaret.

So Peter has now seen some of what Jesus can do.  He has listened to some of what Jesus has to say.  And then Jesus tells Him put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch.  You have to imagine what this is like, now.  Here=s a carpenter, turned preacher, telling a professional fisherman, where and how to catch.  In the deep water C an unusual practice for the net fishing of that day, and in the broad day-light also unusual, and known to be unproductive. 

Peter says, AWe=ve been fishing all night.  We haven=t caught anything.  The fish just aren=t around. . . .@

But Peter has enough respect for this Carpenter, Preacher from Nazareth, that he reluctantly agrees to Jesus order.  He says, ABut because you say so, I will let down the nets.@

And then Peter=s net fill with the biggest catch of his life.  They signal to the partners James and John in the other boat to come out and help them haul in all the fish.

Then comes the line AWhen Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.!@

It is as though Peter suddenly realizes he is in the presence of the divine.  The God of heaven, He who Peter had learned about in Sunday School, or Saturday Synagogue School, being a good Jew like he was -- The God of heaven he had heard about so far off, so safely distant away up in heaven, had swooped down to earth and was present and active right in front of Peter.

The sense of awe, the sense of fear, the sense of Holy, overcame Peter.  He was so moved that he fell to the ground.

Is it understandable to you why a sinner would do that?  C would have such a reaction?

There are two things about God that are seemingly contradictory, but nevertheless true at the same time.  He is up there.  And He is down here.  Both at the same time.  He is up there in heaven, exulted, Holy, Completely separate from all that we know.  And yet He is present.  Present with the poor and the widows, the sick and the needy of this world.  He is humbled to be present in manger in Bethlehem, on a cross outside of Jerusalem, in water of baptism, in bread and wine of communion.  He who reigns on a throne so glorious that the seraphim must sheild their eyes, is present with the gathering of us sinful people.  He who is Lord of lords and King of Kings, comes down to be present with the fisherman at his nets, with little pre-schoolers in their classes, with the shut-ins and their prayers.

He is up there.  And He is down here. Those two things together are extremely powerful, mind-blowing.  And it has to be those two things together.

If He were just up there. . . we could go on with things and it would be O.K.  We would never have to worry about bumping into Him.  That=s be no problem if He were just up there at a safe distance.  Might be a problem when we die, if we hope to go up there and meet Him.  But we can worry about that later, right?  If God were just up there, it=d be no problem. See our desire to justify ourselves is set at ease when we think that God is way up there. He doesn’t care about us. He doesn’t see what we do. We will never get caught. No harm, no foul.

If God were just down here. . . again it=s not such a problem.  If He had none of that Glory that Isaiah described.  If He were just down here, just like us, there=d be no need to fear Him.  There=d be no sense of awe about Him.  He could be our buddy, our pal. And we could get along fine like that.

The problem comes, the problem like what Peter had, that comes when we realize that the God Almighty, the Holy One, is here. 

So Jesus speaks the next line of this Gospel passage: AFear not.@

We sinners should rightly fear. Jesus says to us sinners. “Fear not.” That’s His absolution. He who is with us, is with us to save us, to forgive us, to take away our guilts and fears to give us peace and hope.

For us He who was High, became low. He was born and lived for our life. He came down to restore us, to raise us,

He came down with power and might to bring forgiveness and healing

He sunk to the lowest levels of earth and death and hell, so we may be brought up to His level.

Know you are in His awe inspiring presence.  Humble yourselves to know that presence.

But do not fear, rejoice, He is inviting you to come into that presence and serve Him in that presence.  Amen.

OFFERTORY                                                                              LSB 192

C    Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy free spirit. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

P    Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

Almighty and eternal God, worthy to be held in reverence by all people everywhere, we give You humble and sincere thanks for the innumerable blessings You have bestowed on us without any merit or worthiness on our part. We praise You especially for preserving for us Your saving Word and the Holy Sacraments. Grant and preserve to Your Holy Church throughout the world purity of doctrine, and provide faithful pastors to preach Your Word with power. Help all who hear the Word rightly to understand and truly to believe it. Send laborers into Your harvest, and open the door of faith to those who do not know You. Lord, in Your mercy,

C    hear our prayer.

P    Heavenly Father, in mercy bring to repentance the enemies of Your Church, and grant them amendment of life. Protect and defend Your Church in all tribulation and danger, and sustain with Your Spirit our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who experience persecution. Strengthen us and all fellow Christians to set our hope fully on the grace revealed in Christ, and help us to fight the good fight of faith so that in the end we may receive the salvation of our souls. Lord, in Your mercy,

C    hear our prayer.

P    Loving God, bestow Your grace on all the nations of the earth. Bless especially our country, its inhabitants and all who are in authority. Let Your glory dwell in our land, that mercy and truth, righteousness and peace may abound in all places. Bless also all who serve in our armed forces, that they may serve with integrity and honor. Lord, in Your mercy,

C    hear our prayer.

P    Compassionate Lord, graciously defend us from all calamity by fire and water, from war and pestilence, from scarcity and famine, and from every other evil. Protect and prosper all who labor in their rightful callings, and let all useful arts flourish among us. Be the God and Father of the lonely and the forsaken, the helper of the sick and needy, the comforter of the distressed and those who sorrow that they may ever cling to Jesus as their sure and certain hope. Especially we ask you to watch over Dorothy and all the family of Raymond Harrison. Comfort them with your love and your word of promise that all who die in faith will enter glory with you. Lord, in Your mercy,

C    hear our prayer.

P    Father, as we are strangers and pilgrims on earth, help us by true faith and a godly life to prepare for the world to come, doing the work You have given us to do while it is day, before the night comes when no one can work. And when our last hour comes, support us by Your power and receive us into Your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C    Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER                                                        LSB 162

C    Our Father who art in heaven,

     hallowed be Thy name,

     Thy kingdom come,

     Thy will be done on earth

          as it is in heaven;

     give us this day our daily bread;

     and forgive us our trespasses

          as we forgive those

          who trespass against us;

     and lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom

     and the power and the glory

     forever and ever. Amen.

BENEDICTION                                                                                       LSB 202

P    The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and T give you peace.

R    Amen.

733 O GOD, OUR HELP IN AGES PAST                                                          

1     O God, our help in ages past,
    Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
    And our eternal home:

2     Under the shadow of Thy throne
    Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
    And our defense is sure.

3     Before the hills in order stood
    Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
    To endless years the same.

4     A thousand ages in Thy sight
    Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch that ends the night
    Before the rising sun.

5     Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
    Soon bears us all away;
We fly forgotten as a dream
    Dies at the op’ning day.

6     O God, our help in ages past,
    Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last
    And our eternal home!

Text: Public domain