Sermon for August 30

 

13^th Sunday after Trinity

Grace, mercy and peace are yours from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our text for our meditation together is the Epistle reading of the day, We are going to go through it a verse at a time.

Galatians 3:15  To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.

In Galatians, Paul is writing some concerns he has with those in the churches in the province of Galatian. Some among the church members talked and acted like their religious was still based on Jewish laws and rituals, given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Paul is correcting them. No, he says, it is not the law of Moses that makes you a Christian. It’s the promise, the covenant God made with us, starting with Abraham, the father of all who believe.

God promised Abraham, making a covenant, with him. Abraham would have a son, an heir, in fact Abraham would have many descendants, beyond counting, like the stars of the sky. Abraham would be the father of nations: Jews and Arabs and Palestinians and other tribes and nations, trace their ancestry back to Abraham.

In this covenant with Abraham, God promised to bless Abraham and all his children. It was a covenant of grace, that we too, by faith have inherited from our father in the faith, Abraham.

But the Galatian problem was this, they were trying to add to the covenant, saying things like it only applies to those who follow the law, the Old Testament rituals and restrictions. That was the Galatian problem. It’s a human problem, this hesitation to receive grace from God and put your trust in that grace completely. Human beings are tempted to trust the law instead of the promise. We, ask, what must I do to be saved.

Paul says, “you can’t think like that. If you add your works to it, it’s like amending a legal contract that has already been agreed to, signed and ratified. If you add to it, or change it, it’s not fair to the other party because it’s not what was agreed to. So you can’t alter or amend the covenant of grace with God by adding laws and your own works to it. We must be careful in our faith, to not make it about our works and our credit, because that would take the glory away from Christ.

16Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

Paul points out a consistency in the words of Scripture. From the promise to Abraham, all the way back in the very early history of the world, the words of Scripture are about Jesus Christ, the one who would save us. The author of the Bible, God the Holy Spirit, is consistent. The promise is this – God sends His Son, our only Savior Jesus Christ.

 

17This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

Paul is talking Bible history here, so you can kinda get the bigger picture of what God was doing in those years. He gave the covenant promise to Abraham, and it wasn’t until 430 years later that God gave the 10 commandments and other rules to Moses. The promise to Abraham was coming true. God was blessing Abraham’s descendants, now numbering in the millions. And he gave them the laws for how they would live and be his people.

 

18For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

 

Now Paul uses a more specific word for the kind of covenant God has with His people. It’s an inheritance. An inheritance comes by the grace of a promise, not the demands of the law. You ought not demand to be included in the inheritance, but you will get an inheritance if someone chooses to be gracious to you when they die.

In Jesus’ story of the prodigal son, the arrogant son says to his dad, “give me my share of the inheritance now.” This was the first of his wrong ideas.

Inheritance works by grace. Someone wants you to have a gift. So is the promise we have from God. Christ says, “this is my last will and testament at my death, my body is given for you; my blood shed for you, for your forgiveness, eternal life and salvation.

19Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

Why then the law? Because of transgressions. It had to be spelled out. Lest anyone say, “I didn’t know it was wrong to murder”, God had to make it clear, “You shall not murder.”

Because someone would say, “I didn’t know I was supposed to help out this poor bloke who was beat up on the side of the road to Jericho.” God has to spell out the law. “Do good to your neighbor.” “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

When we fail to love God, when we fail to love our neighbor, God needs to give us His law to point out our transgressions and then seek for grace and forgiveness through the intermediary in this covenant, the promised offspring of Abraham, Jesus Christ.

   21Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

 

Here’s what the law is for. Not for you to follow and earn points with God or with your religion. Righteousness can’t be earned by the law. The law imprisons everything under sin. So that we see that the only hope, the only salvation is in Jesus Christ.

Because we are sinners the law nags and accuses us constantly. You did that horrible thing. You thought those evil thoughts. You didn’t help and befriend that poor guy and now it’s too late. It’s like the law beats you up, steals what little you have and leaves you for dead along the side of the road.

Your help and your hope is the promise by faith in Jesus Christ. He promises you this, forgiveness and a clean conscience, eternal life and the resurrection of the body, peace of mind, joy in suffering, love never ending.

Cling to his promise. Believe his promise.

Amen.

Sermon for June 28

 

4^th Sunday after Trinity

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus said,       37“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.” This is our text.

 

Reciting from Luther’s Small Catechism, the 5^th Chief Part: How Christians should be taught to confess

What is Confession?

Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.

In the catechism, Martin Luther preaches what he learned from Jesus Christ about repentance and forgiveness. There’s two parts. Repent of your sins, daily. Believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that your sins are forgiveness and God considers you holy and righteous.

That’s what Jesus is getting at in the Gospel reading for today. It’s a small part of a sermon Jesus preached in Luke chapter 6, where he calls on those who would be his disciples to keep both parts, both repentance of our sins and faith in God’s promise of forgiveness for Jesus’ sake.

First, Jesus gives a strong warning to you when you look at others and notice their sins and failures, specks in their eyes, but you fail to notice this log in your own eye.

Jesus says, first take the log out of your own eye. Repent, stop your sins, then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Without repentance, you can’t see clearly. It’s like a log in your eye. Our sinful nature and thoughts blind us. We are blinded by our opinions of others, are false notions about them, and really, let’s call it what it is, really hatred of others blinds us, such that we are of no use to our neighbor. “Can a blind man help a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?”

Jesus says, first repent of your own sins, your own most grievous sins. Then, second, receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.

Some are blinded by their own sins. Some are blinded by neglecting to believe what they hear from God, that sins are forgiven. If you don’t forgive others,  but condemn them, give up on them, continually hold their sins against them – it’s because you don’t believe in the forgiveness God has given to you.

God charges you to listen intently to what the Pastor says to you, in the stead and by the command of Jesus Christ. Your sins are forgiven. Your sins against God, your sins against your fellow human beings, your lack of forgiveness, your hatred, all sins were forgiven when Jesus, the Lord of life, gave up His life for you.

So it’s not as though, our forgiveness of those who trespass against us causes God to forgive us our trespasses. He is not waiting up there in heaven to see if we are good and forgiving and then He says, “Ok, I’ll forgive them.” But when you receive the absolution -- have the log removed -- you can see clearly and use that absolution, forgiveness in your relationships all through life.

Pastors publicly and regularly pronounce Christ’s forgiveness as God ordained them too. But also each Christian does so. Use the words you’ve heard over and over again. Speak them to those sinners who are around you. Say it out loud and deliberately, “I forgive you, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Put this to use in your homes and among your friends.

Wives, I know most of your husbands. I know they are sinners. I can only imagine how challenging it is to live with them day in, day out. So when they sin, by what they do, and what they don’t do. Forgive them their failings.

Husbands, you can be long suffering and patient with your wives, knowing that He who has taken your sins away, is doing the same thing for her.

Parents, absolve your children of their sins. Teach them the Christian faith by saying, I forgive you. Jesus forgives you.

Children, your parents our a blessing from the Lord. Because they sin, they are also a burden to bear. For some that burden grows more frustrating as our parents age. Repent of your sins, so that you may see clearly to love and cherish, serve and obey your parents. Take comfort in what Jesus promises, “forgive, and you will be forgiven”. He says, when you forgive others, it makes it so you will see even more clearly the forgiveness He gives you. He says, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

These words of Jesus in Luke chapter 6 are sometimes misused, taken too far. He says, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.” A person remember these words, then he see people doing something really wrong, harmful themselves or others. And he says something like, “it’s not for me to judge” and he leaves others alone without helping them, without carefully removing the speck from their eyes as it were.

If you see something wrong, use your God-given, sanctified knowledge and understanding to discern bad behavior, wrong ways of speaking. You can’t judge the heart of another. Only God can do that. But you have had the log removed from your eye by the absolution of Christ. You can see clearly to diagnose and treat the speck in the eye of someone suffering from sin and it’s blindness. You must from time to time, judge the behavior of sinners.

In 1 Corinthians 6, the Bible says, “we will judge angels”. On the last day, judgement day, we who have our sins removed completely then, will see clearly to even judge the angels. The devil is a fallen angel. He disguises himself as an angel of light. Judge him for what he is and what he does.

In this meantime, look carefully, discern, call a sin, sin and then with clear judgement work out differences, offenses, disagreements.

Here’s an example, if someone is breaking the eighth commandment, and speaking gossip or lies about others, you judge that sin for what it is and, and speak up for the others, speak well of them, stop the gossip.

That will lead to good.

When we use the truth of God – repentance and forgiveness – it leads to faith, ours and others, and it leads ultimately to the praise of our God who has brought us forgiveness in Jesus our Savior.

So we will now sing our praise to God, using the words of the Te Deum Laudamus, an old Latin title, that means We Praise you O God.

The Te Deum, page 223

Ascension Day Sermon

 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,  Luke 24.51-52

“They Worshipped Him.” That was different - a different kind of action, a whole different relationship with Jesus. They were no longer seeing Him with their eyes. Whatever he might be doing was hidden from their senses. Now they had to believe in Him. The apostles had to believe that He would hear them when they worshipped Him. They had to trust that He was still graciously caring for them and guiding them. They had to believe.

That was what Jesus wanted. As He told Thomas on the 2nd Sunday of Easter. “You believe because you have seen. Blessed rather are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

I can say with certainty that Jesus wants each one of you to believe. And as in the case of the apostles, He is pleased to have you worship him on this the day of His Ascension.

This idea, that Jesus wants you to believe, might seem like something everybody should know. Of course He wants us to believe. But no it must be said, because some don’t get it. They think, They wish, that the Lord would do something to make it easier. Like the rich man in hell says to Abraham, “Can you send Lazarus back to my unbelieving brothers? They will believe if they see someone come back from the dead.”

Some people might even think, “What if Jesus hadn’t ascended into heaven bodily? What if He would’ve stayed around longer and straightened out all this mess of a world? What if he would rule this world visibly? What if He would restore the kingdom to Israel?” That's what the disciples were asking.  

Jesus answered them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” 

Their question betrayed their wrong thinking. Jesus showed people over and over again that His Kingdom is not of this world. His is a Kingdom of faith. He wants you to believe. 

And if you ever think “That’s easy”. Stop, it’s impossible. We are good at remembering God created me and all creatures. And that the Lord redeemed me, without any merit or worthiness in me.  But it seems like we more often than not need to be reminded that we can’t take any credit for our faith either. We believe that we cannot believe. We need the help of the Lord. We need help from the ascended Lord. 

I’m not the best person in my family at shopping. I can't find my way around in stores. Nor can I navigate the online stores without much frustration and confusion. More often than not, I will choose to go without the thing I’d like, rather than shop for it. Some people enjoy shopping. Some have been known to go so far as, if they have a couple days free they will drive all the way Minnesota, to shop at the Mall of America. That place gives me the heeby geebies. I can get lost in there, not in a good way. There are escalators. I can handle those alright. I can go up. But the problem is, it’s not readily apparent where the down escalator is. I have actually spent more time in the Mall of America than I ever intended, partly because I got up and couldn’t get back down. 

I’m worried some people have the idea, that’s what it’s like for Jesus and His ascension. We know He went up. We expect He’s going to come back down. Don’t know when. In the meantime, we’ve got our shopping to do. We don’t really need His help to try on shoes, or pick out an appliance. 

Jesus our ascended Lord told us what to believe about His ascension into heaven. He said “I am with you always.” He said, “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.” Which is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is in heaven at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus is with us, especially where two or three are gathered in His name. Jesus dwells in each believer. Christ in us. We in Christ.

We can say this because the one person Jesus is God and Man. Two natures in the one Christ. And of those two natures, there is a communication of attributes. They share attributes. Some of us remember learning about the attributes of God, remember the omnis: Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent. Jesus divine nature and human nature has those attributes. And the divine nature shares in the human attributes too. It’s not like the man side of Jesus has human things, and the God side of Jesus has God things. No Jesus has God things and Human things.  So the Apostle Paul can speak of God’s blood. He says, God obtained the sheep of His flock by His own blood. Likewise the human nature of Jesus is Omnipotent, and omnipresent. He ascended to heaven to fill all things in heaven and in creation.

 

This gets a little technical, I suppose, but it’s good for you. Jesus our Lord, Son of God and Son of Man, has not left us alone and lonely. He wants us to believe and He gives us the gifts that we may believe. The means of faith. 

He’s with us in the Sacrament. His body is not confined to one place. But by divine omnipresence it is where He says it is. He says this is my body given for you. 

His blood is Divine. It’s God’s blood. By divine omnipresence it is where He says it is. He says this cup is the new testament in my blood. 

He’s with us and He still speaks to His believers through the Scriptures. Earlier on that day of His ascension, “He opened the apostles’ minds to understand the Scriptures.” (vs 45.) everything written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms and poetic books, the three sections of the Old Testament, foretold how He would die, and on the third day rise and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” With these words He’s directing His apostles' attention away from what’s right before their eyes, toward the means of faith, the Word of God. When you read it and when you hear it. You are with Jesus and He is with you.

He’s with you and gives good gifts. Thank God for His gifts given along with the preaching office. Dear friends of St. Peter Lutheran Church, Your pastor is God’s gift to you. 

“When he ascended on high.. . he gave gifts to men. . .he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

The Sacrament leads you to Christ. The Scriptures lead you to Christ. Your pastor leads you to Christ. And Christ leads you to where He has gone, through death, through the resurrection from the dead and beyond to the eternal life with God.

Amen.

Holy Thursday Sermon

 

Holy Thursday

April 2, 2026

²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11).

 Tonight we hear Jesus Christ’s words. By solemnly repeating them, we administer and receive what Christ did with His first disciples.

We believe that what we do here and at this altar is not our own doing, not our cleverly invented worship, but it is Christ’s doing, Christ’s institution, Christ’s mandate. It is because of His words, we get what He gives, His body and His blood for the forgiveness of our sins.

Christ words were spoken on the night when He was betrayed. They are still in effect and effective for us today.  The word of the Lord endures forever. He said in the beginning, Let there be light, and there was light, and still today, the sun shines, the candles burn and the light shows our way.  In the beginning the Lord said to Adam and Eve and all creatures, be fruitful and multiply and that saying holds true, enduring for each generation, and we, in our generation are the product of that life-creating word.

“Do this. . . often” Jesus said. “in remembrance of me.”

Christians desire to obey Christ’s words and even more than obedience to the law and mandate, Christians are happy to take up the gracious invitation to take and eat His body and to take and drink His blood. It is a healthy sign of faith when you want to have what the Lord gives – His body, His blood, His forgiveness, life and salvation.

But now wait a moment! St. Paul writes to the Corinthians about Lord’s the Supper and how they are to participate in it. And he says that some are unworthy to have the Lord’s Supper. He says, “²⁷ Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.“ That should have given them all some pause. Paul had just told them what Jesus said, “This is my body. This is my blood. And then He says, participating, taking, eating and drinking in an unworthy manner is being guilty concerning this body and blood. So He says,  ^“Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

It’s good to know and review this, so that we are confident with the way our church manages and cares about the sacrament. We are careful with it and reverent, because it is our dear Lord’s body and blood. There are many protestant churches that think communion is just a symbol, a reenactment or an object lesson, but refuse to take seriously Jesus’ words that it’s His body and blood and it forgives sins. These churches don’t need to be careful and reverent, because they are just eating bread and drinking a little grape juice.

We regularly remember what the New Testament says about the Lord’s Supper so that each one of us can be confident that we are ready and well prepared to administer and receive this holy, precious sacrament.

Examine yourself. Here’s how:

Am I a sinner? Let the 10 Commandments instruct you in this. Even St. Paul says, I did not know sin, except through the law. I would not have known coveting if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” This is why we have a period of instruction before confirmation and first communion.

Ask, am I ready to do better? What should I be working on to do better? Ask yourself this, “Can I be proven to be a non-Christian or a false believer? Does my life, my walk, my talk, my character, give some good reason to some that I am about to eat and drink from the Lord in an unworthy manner and will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord?”

Then one more thing that we take seriously when it comes to rightly and worthily receiving communion. Honestly consider this, do I have something against someone. Does someone have something against me. Do I have something I need to return or repay. Are there some grievances that need to be addressed. Who do I need to be reconciled with before I can pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Jesus said, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

If you’ve got some conflicts, anger, resentment, hurt feelings make it a priority to get those addressed. The church, the elders, the pastor are here to help and mediate.

Jesus Christ clearly instituted this sacrament for sinners, for those who need forgiven, who need help reconciling with others, for those who continually fail and sin daily. So He patiently calls you to repent, recognize your need, and then come to Him for aid and salvation.

So examine yourself as to what you believe. Do you believe what the Lord says, “this is for you”, This is “for forgiveness.” This is the Lamb of God, pure and perfect whose blood was shed for you. More completely than all the sacrificed Passover lambs. Do you believe that His is yours and for you?

God be merciful to you and strengthen your faith. Amen.

 

Sermon for Lent Midweek

 

Joseph’s Redemption

Acts 7:9-17

 

Grace, Mercy and Peace . . .  

Acts 7    And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him

This is part of a speech that Stephen gave, just before he became the first martyr among Jesus’ followers.        

Pretty much the same crowd who shouted for Jesus’ crucifixion, would a few months later, turn their anger on Christ’s followers.  They would accost Stephen and stone him to death.

But he had a chance to say a few words first. He was brought before the Sanhedrin, same as Jesus. There he reminded these angry Jews of their history, what their forefathers had been through including this incident about Joseph and his brothers, the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel.

 Joseph’s  brothers were jealous of him. They wanted to get rid of him. They were about to kill him when a better idea presented itself, some slave traders were coming through their ranch, so they sold Joseph into slavery.  “But God was with him”, is the way Stephen proclaimed it.

Joseph is brought to Egypt and ends up rising to great heights there. Through a series of events that could only have been orchestrated by God, Joseph becomes the right-hand man of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. A famine comes, and Joseph manages the resources of Egypt to provide food for many and save many from starvation. Even his brothers come to Egypt looking for relief and are surprised to learn that their brother is not only alive and well, but is exactly the one man who can save them. Joseph graciously forgives his brothers. He tells them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20).

This is all recorded in the book of Genesis and Genesis ends with Joseph and his family, his brothers and their families all settling into the land of Goshen in Egypt and prospering.

That’s Joseph’s story. A story of redemption. He was brought low and raised again by the Lord, his Savior.  The treacherous sins of others seemed to nearly destroy Joseph. But he could so trust God , that he could say after it was all over and done with, “God meant it for good”.

That’s how you can handle things when  someone sins against you, when someone treats you wrong, conspires to bring you problems and ruin. When bad things happen to you , are you afraid God won’t help? He won’t bring vengeance and make it right?

Know that God is continually at work to redeem those who are pushed around, about to fall.

Learn from Joseph how to forgive brothers.

Learn from Jesus how to forgive enemies. He endured false accusations, mockery, beatings, and this particular insulting event. Pilate wants to just release Jesus. But Jesus’ countrymen, cry out, “No! Release Barabbas, instead.”  They’d rather have that murderer let out on the streets again, than have Jesus let off – so great was their hatred.

But Jesus knew that even though he would suffer and die, “God meant it for good”. It’s meant for Stephen’s good, so that he could die at peace, redeemed by Christ the crucified. It’s meant for your good, so that you can face every difficult moment knowing that God is orchestrating things for His good and gracious will. It’s meant for your enemies good, because the forgiveness of Jesus won’t run out. There’s enough you can share with others, as you forgive those who trespass against you.

Next we will sing “O God, My Faithful God” and I invite you to pay special attention to verse 2, as a prayer for those who will trust God to do good to us even  if it be through loss and pain and the sins of the world around us.

2 Grant me the strength to do
    With ready heart and willing
Whatever You command,
    My calling here fulfilling;
That I do what I should
    While trusting You to bless
The outcome for my good,
    For You must give success.

Amen.

Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent

 

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Mathew 4).   

Jesus is our example to follow when it comes to temptations. But a better way to look at it is Jesus is our Champion and Victor when it comes to temptations. 

The first thoughts that come from hearing of the temptation of Christ in the wilderness is to say to ourselves, “Let’s be like Jesus. Don’t be like the devil.”

A tall order to be sure – be like Jesus. He is the Son of God and the perfect Son of Man. None on earth can pretend to be divine or perfect.  Nevertheless, the life of Jesus is shown to us that we may see an example of righteousness and holy living. As it is said, in the book of Hebrews, we have “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

So follow Jesus example when tempted in the following ways:

• ·        Be like Jesus and know your enemy. Be aware of the unseen tempter. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
• ·        Be like Jesus and use the word of God. So like Jesus, we have the words of God, written for our learning and our defense against temptation. When Jesus was tempted three times, three times He responded by proclaiming the word of God. Hear the Word. Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it. That when temptations come to your mind, you can push them aside and replace them with what is true and eternal, namely, the law and promises of God.
• ·        Be like Jesus and expect there will be temptations. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the temptations he necessarily had to face. Let that be a lesson for you. Followers of Jesus do not expect a happy easy life. But there will be attacks of the evil one, ungodly desires of the flesh, and pressures from the unbelieving world.
• ·        Be like Jesus and be intentional in your fight against temptation. We see in Jesus words and actions, intentional obedience to that word of God that He knew and used so well. So also, in your temptation, commit to total obedience – no compromises.
• ·        Be like Jesus and remember your baptism.  Notice this also, the Spirit was on Him. This event followed right after the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan River. We follow Jesus in this baptized life, with the Holy Spirit on each of us who believes. You are united with Christ in your baptism, so also in your temptation.

 

So what are your temptations? They are unique to each of us. You have to recognize them on your own, in each specific setting. Is it like some forbidden fruit, something that looks desirous but in reality is bad for your body and soul? We can hear what was going on in Eve’s head when she was tempted. Not just the fruit, but underlying that physical temptation was the more serious to doubt God. Did he really say, that you can’t eat that fruit? It was tempting to think she knew better than God. She thought she would put God to the test. She and Adam could be gods themselves.

When you are tempted let God be God and you be you, under His care and control.

Let Jesus Christ be Jesus Christ. Here’s where He is more than just a good example to follow. He is your solution to temptation. He is your Champion and Victor.

Jesus Christ gives us Christians certainty even and especially in times of temptation.

We pray fervently “lead us not into temptation.” When you say this, don’t just have in mind the low hanging fruit. But also plead for Christ’s help for the underlying, more deadly temptations. that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Temptations ultimately lead us to doubt God, ignore His commandments, and second guess His holy word.

Oh how, our temptations can be demoralizing and discouraging! What wretched, miserable sinners we are, that just when we think we’ve got one temptation put away, a new one pops up seemingly out of nowhere to torment us!

But our Lord and Great Example has become for us so much more than an example – He has given us victory over all evil, and over every temptation. By His death on the cross and by His blood shed for us, He has won for us the eternal prize of life, forgiveness from the guilt when we’ve fallen for temptations, righteousness and freedom from the pestering of the devil, the world and our sinful flesh. More than a pattern to follow, He brings us through temptations.

For those of us who can’t win at sin, for us fights the Valiant One. He gives us the Vicory. Amen.

Ash Wednesday Sermon

 

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.

Psalm 51:12-15

This is the Psalm appointed for Ash Wednesday. If you look it up in your Bible, you’ll see that like many of the Psalms, this one has a heading. This longer than usual heading, gives the context that led up to David praying this prayer. The heading goes: To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

 

David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and didn’t regret it a bit, not right away. He tried to cover it up. Tried to make it seem ok. He arranged to have her husband killed. He sinned and increased the sin, adding guilt against the 5^th commandment,  on top of the guilt against the 6^th commandment. How the mighty have fallen! In Psalm 51, we hear fallen David ask the Lord to raise him up.

Throughout our Wednesdays in Lent we will be considering how the Lord redeemed some figures of the Old Testament, starting here with David. He took the fallen, and raised them up. He found those who were lost and redeemed them. He had compassion on the broken, and rebuilt them, resurrected them.

And while we’re hearing about them, we will be confessing that we too have need of mercy, forgiveness, and God’s re-creative Grace. We need him to redeem us from death and sinfulness and make us alive in Christ our risen Savior.

By means of the preaching of Nathan the prophet, David was led by the Holy Spirit to repent of his sins and plead for help and forgiveness. He says, “have mercy on me, O God.”

“Cleanse me from my iniquity.”

“Create in me a clean heart.”

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation."

As an unforgiven sinner, he has no joy.  Oh, he might have been having fun. But that’s not the same, not comparable to the joy of salvation.

As an unforgiven sinner, David was broken, dirty, Not good for heaven, but really, not much good for earth, either. No good for God, no good for humanity either.

 See, an unforgiven sinner gets all turned in on himself. Doesn’t look beyond himself to God or to neighbor.

David wants the Lord to turn that all around and Redeem him so that will be good for something.

    Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.

The Redeemed David does teach transgressors in this Psalm.

·        He teaches you to recognize and admit your sinfulness – sinful by nature, sinful by actions, words and thoughts, by what you’ve done and what you’ve left undone.  There’s no way we can cover that up. It’s foolish to pretend it’s “OK”.

·        He teaches sinners how to return to the Lord. By taking and cherishing the things the Lord gives us to save us, that is the Word and the Sacraments. He honors the Words of God. He reminds Christians to remember they are baptized, as they repentantly pray Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

·        He teaches us what this forgiveness we’re asking for looks like, and what all goes along with it. Joy, holiness, righteousness, and truth.

·        He then shows us what we should expect the rest of our life. Redeemed and risen, we can be useful for the Lord. “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.”

Be sorry for sin. Stop attempting to cover it up. Seek your Lord’s forgiveness and salvation. Then expect to do better. Declare His praise in your words and actions of love.

 

Amen.