The South Texas Lutheran

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

2012-03-20T18:23:00.001-07:00

Series B, The Fifth Sunday in Lent March 25, 2012

Lessons for The Fifth Sunday in Lent
Jeremiah 31:31-34 – God’s new covenant with His people means He no longer remembers our sins.
Psalm 119:9-16 (Antiphon: Psalm 119:10)
Hebrews 5:1-10 – Jesus, our High Priest, won eternal salvation for us through His obedience in suffering.
Mark 10:(32-34) 35-45 – In the face of Jesus’ death, the disciples sought power and glory instead of service.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: Jesus Came to Serve
Two of Jesus' disciples requested positions of power and prestige. Jesus answered “even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” The writer to the Hebrews tells us about Jesus’ service in "reverent submission" to God the Father, as He won the gift of eternal salvation through His death for all who obey Him. His great act of service was to establish God’s new covenant with His people of faith, not like the old covenant with God’s people of the exodus, but one through which He remembers our sins no more. Lord, teach us to serve!

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Dear Jesus, you suffered death, obedient to the will of your Father, in order to win forgiveness for my sins. Help me see the glory of your love in the gift of your life, so that I may live joyfully in the renewed covenant of your grace. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: Jesus gave Himself in obedience to the Father’s will and suffered even death to bind us to God in His new covenant of grace. We give ourselves and all our goods in service to the Father’s love so all may know God through His forgiveness of their sins.

OFFERING PRAYER: Lord, bless these gifts for service in Your name;
And let these hands that bring them serve You, too!
It was to serve, not be served that you came,
To win new life for all who trust in You . Amen.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: Once again, Jesus' prediction of His death elicits a response from the disciples that shows they are not thinking God's way. Like James and John, we would often be satisfied if God would do for us whatever we ask. This attitude makes us lords and puts Jesus at our feet as a menial servant. Jesus did indeed come to serve, but He has done so at His Father's request, not ours! Through His obedient suffering, He has done much more for us than we would ever think to ask; He has made us perfect in the Father's sight. In God's forgiving grace, He is known to us, just as He has called us to join Him in service as we make Him known to our neighbors.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-03-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

Almighty God, You exalted Your son to the place of all honor and authority. Enlighten our minds by Your Holy Spirit that, confessing Jesus as Lord, we may be led into all truth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

This Week at Mt. Olive:
There is no Elders meeting tonight. This has been rescheduled to next Monday, March 25.

There is, however, a Voters Meeting this coming Sunday between the services (beginning at 9:15 a.m.). Sunday School will have its regular schedule.

Wednesday continues in the seaon of Lent with Midday Prayer at 12:15 p.m. and Evening Prayer at 7:15 p.m., complete with the Service of Light. The menu for this Wednesday's Lenten Meal is pizza.

Don't forget, the Resurrection Egg Hunt is coming 7 APR! Needed are plastic eggs and individually wrapped, non-chocolate candy.

Finally, I will be out of the office Thursday.

Prayer Concerns:
Samantha Jacobs (surgery today) and Kathy Jennings (surgery Thursday)
Marilyn Hamer, Frank Jennings, as they continue their recoveries
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney, John Sorensen
The holy Christian and apostolic Church in this Lenten season, as she faithfully proclaims Christ crucified
Christians in foreign lands who are persecuted for the sake of their faith, that they may continue in the good confession

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, March 19
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

Wednesday, March 21
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study, Revelation 18

12:15 p.m.
Midday Prayer

6 p.m.
Lenten Meal

7:15 p.m.
Evening Prayer (Hymn sing begins at 7)

Thursday, March 22
7 p.m.
STARC

God bless!
PKJ

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

2012-03-19T06:03:00.002-07:00

Over the course of our lives all of us will be confronted by situations that seem hopeless. Out of nowhere a deadly disease will strike down a loved one. A couple that we know and love will make some very bad decisions and get a divorce. A friend will bring misery upon themselves and their family through some addiction.

That’s when the misery of the world becomes our own. Most of us will make an effort to help. But when we see the poverty of our own resources we are tempted to throw up our hands in despair and give up–and lose hope.

That is why it is so important for us to know that, when we are confronted by situations that seem hopeless, God is not asleep at the wheel, he is not nodding in his rocking chair, and he has not abandoned us.

In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus steps right into the middle of this broken, needy world and assures us that there is help for us in these situations no matter how hopeless it seems and no matter how meager our own resources are. The Bible says that:

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the sings he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and saw that a large crowd was coming toward him

The Good News for us today is that no matter what we are facing, no matter how difficult and overwhelming, Jesus knows about it and cares. With the same eyes that saw the needs of the people that day Jesus sees our needs today. Not only are our spiritual needs his concern--but our physical needs as well are a part of his loving concern for us.

What drew the crowd to Jesus were those miracles that met physical needs and relieved physical burdens in hopeless situations. He healed the sick and raised the dead and drove out demons.

In every situation Jesus showed that where our resources and efforts are insufficient–when the situation seems hopeless--he is more than able to lovingly provide for the needs of his people—just like he did that day.

He was not just a disinterested observer of the world’s misery (as we sometimes are) and he didn’t turn his back on those in need (as we sometimes do). He saw their need, had compassion on them, and brought the mercy and power of Almighty God into their lives to provide for their needs.

So it is with us who gather around Jesus today in this place. He sees your needs and the needs of those you love and promises to provide.

Because Jesus is with us, we are not alone- and the situations that trouble us are not hopeless. Whether it is an illness or a marriage in trouble or an addiction or a financial disaster that threatens us, we can be confident that Jesus sees our needs, has compassion on us, and will act in perfect love and wisdom to provide for those needs just like he did that day. The Bible says that:

Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people might eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

The second point I want to make is that we are not merely at the mercy of forces beyond our control but that God uses difficult situations–even the seemingly hopeless situations that are troubling us right now-- for our good. They have a meaning and a purpose that is rooted in the eternal, loving will of God for our lives.

Often times, just like with Phillip, they are a test of our faith—God lovingly using difficult times to make our faith stronger. The Bible says that we are to:

Consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds, because we know that the testing of our faith develops perseverance.

We know about this kind of testing don’t we? We can look back at moments of testing when we went through hard times and how with God’s help we became stronger Christians because of it.

With Christ by our side, we can be joyful even in the midst of trials because we know that he is strengthening and sustaining and purifying our faith. That’s what Jesus was doing that day with Phillip.

Jesus wanted Phillip to recognize two things. He wanted him to recognize his own insufficiency to meet the needs of the people of that day–Phillip passed that part of the test. He said: Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little. Phillip knew that he and the other disciples didn’t have the resources to meet those needs.

But more importantly, Jesus wanted Phillip to recognize that there was One there with him who was more than able to provide for the needs of the people in such a hopeless situation and it was Jesus.

Jesus who had calmed the sea, Jesus who had healed the sick, Jesus who had raised the dead was more than able to feed the multitude---but Phillip was so focused on what he didn’t have that he forgot about the one standing next to him.

We do the same thing. When we are confronted by the impossible and the hopeless we forget that it is that Jesus is with us every step of the way! He wants us to lift up our eyes from what we don’t have to who we do have-- and see in him the provision for our needs of body and soul. The Bible says that:

One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?

Phillip gets some bad press in this account but Andrew didn’t do much better. He suggested five barley loaves and two small fish but recognized that it wasn’t much. He too forgot about who it was that was with them–the only one who could provide for that multitude of people.

But there was another disciple there who was following Jesus. He doesn’t have a name in the story but he was a follower of Jesus–a believer--a little boy who brought his little lunch along–barley loaves and fish, the food of the poor and he placed his lunch in Jesus’ hands with confidence and faith in Jesus’ power.

We can do the same. We all have resources that Jesus has provided to us to give to someone in need. A shoulder to cry on–a compassionate ear to listen to their worries–physical resources to meet their needs.

Like Andrew, too often we see how little we have to give--and so we give nothing—but the little disciple in our text reminds us that though we may have little to give, if it is given in child-like faith, simply entrusting it into the hands of Jesus, it can meet the needs of others beyond our wildest imaginations. Jesus told his disciples:

“Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

We have heard the miracle of the loaves and fishes so many times over the years of Sunday school and church and I’m afraid because of that we don’t hear it anew. But just imagine with me for a moment how the people must have experienced it that day.

You are seated in the midst of a crowd, people as far as you can see, and one guy way down in front lifts up the food to heaven, gives thanks to God for it, and begins to hand it out.

And then a miracle takes place. Rather than being depleted by the distribution to the crowd, the food grows and grows and grows. And by the time the meal is finished, with everyone holding their stomachs and groaning with satisfaction, there is more left over than what they started with.

You can imagine how the murmurs of amazement in the crowd must have grown into shouts of joy and delight as they saw what was happening. A miracle! A sign from heaven pointing directly to Jesus as the one whose open, outstretched hand provides for every living thing.

When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountains by himself.

Scripture had foretold of the prophet to come who would do greater miracles than Moses. That is who the people knew Jesus to be and so they set out to make him king. But Jesus would have none of it. He knew what was in people’s hearts. They wanted a “bread king”--someone who would always satisfy their physical needs.

We fall into the same temptation of wanting Jesus’ help for our needs but rejecting the salvation he offers and his lordship over our lives. We too want to make him into a “bread king”. But Jesus will not let that happen because he knows that “bread kings” ultimately destroy people’s souls—giving the people what they want instead of what they need.

Jesus knows that we have a need that is greater than food and clothing and shelter—and that is the need for salvation. Our own resources of good works and right intentions and serious resolutions to try harder are insufficient to meet that need.

Nothing that WE can do or we can say to God is going to change his verdict of guilty for our sins of hopelessness and materialism and doubt. But God does provide a way of rescue in his Son Jesus Christ. Jesus came into the world NOT JUST to provide healing and food for a time for a few-- but to provide forgiveness and salvation for eternity for all.

He lived a holy life in our place, always loving and caring for people and providing for people and he suffered the punishment for our selfishness and doubts and hopelessness on the cross. His life’s blood was and is God’s perfection provision for our salvation.

God invites us today to look up from our insufficiencies and failures, to turn our backs on hopelessness and despair, and to trust in Christ alone for our salvation.
No sin of yours or mine or the entire world is enough to deplete the love and mercy of God that is bestowed upon us through in the crucified and risen body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Laetere General Prayer

2012-03-19T06:02:00.002-07:00

Lord God heavenly Father, we come before Your throne of grace through faith in Your Son Jesus Christ beseeching You in prayer for those things that only You can give:

Awaken in us gladness for each opportunity to come into Your house and worship You. Remind us that our fear, love, and trust in You shows itself in the glad hearing and studying of Your Word.

Bless and prosper the work of seminaries and universities as they train men to serve Your people and reach the lost. Raise up a new generation of pastors and teachers and missionaries who will faithfully lead Your people.

We thank You for the gift of salvation that you have given us in Jesus Christ, who has set us free from our enemies and brought us to Your side. We thank You for Your daily provision that abundantly and graciously meets all of our needs of body and soul. Forgive us our grumbling and make us truly grateful for all that You do for us Your children.

Help us to trust You to meet our needs. Drive away the fear from our hearts that tempts us to gather more than we need for ourselves and closes our hand to the needs of those around us. Graciously meet the needs of all who suffer from any material want and strengthen our economy that all might find meaningful work.

Set before us the glorious freedom we have through the redeeming work of Your Son Jesus and empower us by Your Holy Spirit to use that freedom to serve You and our neighbor. Surround our nation and its people with Your abiding presence and guide the efforts of those who work in government so that peace may rest upon our land and upon all the nations of the earth.

As your guiding hand was over the families of the patriarchs, so let Your hand rest upon our own families. Guide our children and keep them from all danger that would hurt their bodies or souls. Raise up for them godly spouses who desire to serve You above all things. Bless the marriages of You people and make them blessings and witnesses of Christ’s love to others.

When we are confronted by situations and circumstances that are greater than our own resources, set before us again and again the power and love of Your Son Jesus Christ who had compassion on the multitudes and met their needs. According to Your will, heal those who are sick. Comfort the lonely. Give hope to those who mourn. Relieve those who are persecuted for the faith.

All of these things we ask in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

2012-03-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

Series B, The Fourth Sunday in Lent March 18, 2012

Lessons for The Fourth Sunday in Lent
Numbers 21:4-9 – God sent poisonous snakes to turn His people back, then healed them with a look of faith.
Psalm 107:1–9 (Antiphon: Psalm 107:19)
Ephesians 2:1-10 – By grace, God has made us alive in Christ through faith in Him, to do good works.
John 3:14-21 – God sent His Son in love to rescue from the death of sin, all who believe in Him.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: God Loved the World So!
Even though the Israelites grumbled and complained about their food in the desert, God loved them so that he sent poisonous snakes to turn them back to him. He provided a way of healing for them. He has done the same in respect to our spiritual death. God loves us so that he gave us a Savior. By his grace he calls us to look in faith to Jesus, his Son, and receive spiritual life. Now we can live for him.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Lord Jesus, you did not come to this world to condemn it, but to save it. Help me keep my eyes fixed on you and your cross so that I may live by your gracious death and show people your love through the life I live for you. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: God has prepared many great and good works for us to do and has prepared us to do them by calling us to faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior. He has also given us the material means to do great things for Him and for His Kingdom.

OFFERING PRAYER: God of grace, You gave Your only Son, so we may look to Him and live.
You give us mercy in abundance and daily bread in plentiful supply.
Bless these gifts we bring and our lives from which they come
That both our goods and our hearts may serve You with great joy. Amen.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: The very fact that we must be reminded that the Son of Man did not come to condemn the world exposes some darkness in our hearts: we react to Jesus presence by hiding from the light. That Light which has come into the world overcomes the darkness of the world and the darkness of our hearts. We are drawn to Him as a moth is drawn to a candle, but instead of being destroyed (condemned) by the Light, we are rescued from the darkness and given the gift of life eternal!

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-03-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

This Week at Mt. Olive:
This morning at the 10:30 a.m. service, Mike Shumway made mention of Martin Luther's little book, "A Simple Way to Pray." I have located the book and will have copies of it available this week beginning Monday. As both Mike and Rev. Matthew Harrison, president of the LCMS say, this is an excellent resource for prayer.

That brings up a thought about daily prayer. Daily prayer is something which should be part of every day. I won't lie to you, it's difficult. Here are a few tips I've learned from my time as a pastor, going back to some gloomy days at the seminary.
-Pray at the same time every day. It helps to make it part of your schedule.
-Use a guide. Martin Luther's little book is good, as is the Litany from the hymnal (I can provide that, too). This is especially helpful when there is trouble focusing on the task of prayer. Other good guides are Treasury of Daily Prayer, A Little Book on Joy by Matthew Harrison, and Portals of Prayer.
-Use a notebook for petitions. This isn't to see how the prayer is answered, because you've already committed the issue to the Triune God. It's a matter of organization.
-Get rid of the noise during prayer time.
-Finally, read Pastor Harrison's article in the latest edition of the Lutheran Witness. I'll have that reprinted, too.

This Week at Mt. Olive. Lenten services and meals continue. The texts are Psalm 102, 2 Samuel 11:6-13 and Luke 12:22-31.

There is a Church Council meeting Monday evening at 7 p.m.

The Scripture texts for next Sunday:

Finally, I will be out of the office Thursday and Friday, taking my children to see their grandparents during Spring Break.

Prayer Concerns:
Kim Waddle and her family at the death of her uncle
Marilyn Hamer, Frank Jennings, Becky Chamberlain
Ruby Rieder, Ann Cleveland, Charlotte Birnbaum, Walter and Pearly Theiss
Those who serve in the Armed Forces and their families: Rob Vadney, John Sorensen
The Church as she continues the road to the cross during Lent
Those who travel during this busy time of Spring Break

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, March 12
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Church Council meeting

Wednesday, March 14
9;30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 18)

12:15 p.m.
Midday Prayer

5 p.m.
Choir rehearsal

6 p.m.
Lenten meal

7 p.m.
Hymn Sing

7:15 p.m.
Evening Prayer

God bless!
PKJ

Walk in Light and Love!

2012-03-11T04:32:00.002-07:00

Ephesians 5:1-9
I think that most of us have heard that expression: “You can’t see the forest for the trees”. The idea that we become so focused on individual details that we lose sight of the big picture. That can happen with the things of God and our life of faith. We may know lots of Bible stories without having a real grasp of how they all fit together. We may become so focused on a particular topic in the Bible that we neglect the rest of the Bible or see the whole thing through that small prism.

Today in God’s Word we have an excellent summary of how the trees go together to make the forest—how a particular part of our life, sexuality, fits in with the totality of God’s great plan for us as his people. The Bible says:

Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

This is the big picture of what God wants for us. In the beginning God created man in his image—they were made to be reflections of him—and to live with him as his children—not puppets on a string, not robots without a will of their own—but people whose life with God was that of a loving family. That was God’s plan for all of us.

But sin wrecked that that relationship that we were supposed to have with God. Sin drove a wedge between God and man. From that moment on: man lived in fear of God rather than love—obeying out of compulsion rather than freedom.

But God never abandoned his plan. Never. Since it would not come about by virtue of creation—it would come through SALVATION. God sent his Son Jesus to be what God intended all of us to be: someone who freely, out of love, offered himself in every way to God—not out of compulsion or under threat-- but from love.

The offering of his own life on the cross has begun to restore God’s purpose in us—so that now, believing in him we can begin to be what God created us and redeemed us to be: his children who love him and are loved by him—children whose lives are a reflection of his own because the restoration of the image of God has begun in us—children whose lives are to be marked by holiness like that of Jesus.

That’s the big picture—that’s the forest. The Bible begins that way: with mankind living in perfect fellowship with God and the Bible ends that way—with that picture, this time accomplished not by God’s creation—but God’s salvation in Jesus.

Let’s keep that “forest” in the forefront of our minds as we consider some of the trees in that forest and how they fit in that big picture. The Bible says:
Sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

Couples who get married in this church must go through biblical, pre-marital counseling. One of the topics we cover is sexuality from God’s perspective. Most of them can remember the sixth commandment—that we are not to commit adultery—but most of them don’t really have a good grasp of “why” and often times their understanding of sexuality is much more formed by the culture than by Christ.

And so we cover the biblical basics: that sexuality is God’s gift to be used within the parameters that God has established for one man and one women united in a lifetime marriage: for the procreation of children, as the physical sign of the one flesh union that exists between them, as a guard against sexual sins, and so that man and woman would delight in one another. This is God’s standard and anything else is sin.

To go outside of this boundary—whether in an unscriptural divorce or sexual activity between two people of the same sex or adultery or a couple living together without being married --the bible says is the sin of “covetousness”.

Now this may seem like an odd way to talk about sexual immorality. But think about it: covetousness is a sinful desire for those things that are not ours. And so when there is sexual activity outside the boundaries that God has established—there is a sinful desire for that which is not our own. So strictly is sexual immorality forbidden, that there must not even be rumors that it takes place among us.

What the Bible plainly says is very, very different than what so many parts of the church are saying. There are church bodies that are allowing and approving sexual sin. These churches have forfeited the right to be considered gathering places of the saints of God and instead have become temples that serve a perverted pagan culture.

Not only does the Bible forbid any and all sexual sin-- but it also forbids speech that degrades God’s gift of sexuality. The Bible says:

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

In 1936 Walter A. Maier, the first speaker of the Lutheran Hour wrote a book entitled “For Better, Not For Worse” that dealt with issues of marriage and family and sexuality. Some of the chapters included “The Literature of Lust” about the dangers of popular fiction and newsstand magazines. Another was entitled “Moronic Motion Pictures” about the dangers of the modern cinema. Another was entitled “Hazards of the New Age” one of which he said was the suggestive dance.

Now we may kind of smile to ourselves and think: how naïve! But do you want your children reading the magazines that are in plain view at the grocery store or taking their cue on sexuality from what they see on TV or imitating the dance moves on “Dances with the Stars”? It’s not that Dr. Maier was naïve, it’s that we have become desensitized by the relentless assault on God’s gift of sexuality by the culture around us.

Instead, the Bible says that we are to give thanks for God’s good gifts of marriage and children and sexuality. The Bible says that when God brought Eve to Adam he said this at last is bone of bones and flesh of my flesh. The Bible says that we are to delight in the wife of our youth. The Bible says that we are to keep the marriage bed pure.

We have a responsibility to speak and live in such a way that those around us see marriage as a wonderful gift- and regard children as a blessing- and recognize sexuality as a gift given by God. We are called to live and speak in this way because there are terrible consequences to living outside of God’s will in these areas. The Bible says:

You may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

When Satan tempted Eve in the garden, he set before her a good thing: the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It was a good thing but it was forbidden to her. But rather than turning away at his temptation—rather than fleeing from his presence—she listened to him. She said to herself: it’s beautiful and it’s good for obtaining knowledge. And she took of it and ate.

She went from coveting that which was not her own, to standing in the place of God and deciding for herself what was right and wrong. On account of her sin, she and Adam were cast out of the garden.

That is what the Bible is saying about sexual immorality: it is a sinful desire for that which God has forbidden to us (whether that is homosexual activity or a couple living together outside of marriage or an affair or a divorce to marry another or pornography) and when we choose to engage in them we put ourselves in the place of God.

There can be only one king in God’s kingdom and that is Jesus Christ. His offering on the cross has made us his own--and he wants us to take our rightful place in his kingdom.

But if we insist on being our own king, we cannot expect that he will allow a rebellion against his rightful rule. Instead, we will find ourselves under his wrath and outside of his kingdom just as surely as Adam and Eve were cast out for the garden.

Now, you know as well as I do that there are many places in the world and our culture and sadly even the church that say something very different. Hear God’s warning about listening to those voices:

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with
them;

The measure of everything that we believe about God’s good gift of sexuality is the Word of God.

And so when we hear that: homosexual marriage is a civil right—that marriage is based upon feelings rather that commitment to live according to God’s commands—that being discreet and modest is puritanical—that the Holy Spirit is doing a new thing in the churches and their attitudes to sexuality (and all of the other lies we hear from the culture and the false church) we take those “empty words” and we measure them against the Word of God.

What God says is what we believe, teach, and practice as Christians and a congregation.

Not only are we to not listen to their lies—we are to have no partnership with them. This is a solemn warning to those Christians who remain in apostate churches to come out of them--but it is also a warning to us who still believe the Word of God that we are not to receive any person as a brother or sister in Christ who practices sexual immorality of any kind—or practice Christian fellowship with any church where this goes on--but call them to repentance and faith in Jesus, with a humility that recognizes that all of us are susceptible to these temptations. The Bible says:

At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),

The Bible does not speak these words to perfect people—to people who have never failed in some way when it comes to their sexuality. But it does speak these words to people who can count these sins as those which are past—forgiven by Jesus on the cross and forgotten by his heavenly Father.

These words direct our attention to the future and our lives as God’s children who do not walk in the darkness of this world’s lies about sexuality—but walk in the light of God’s Word that shows sexuality and marriage and family as great blessings from God.

As we walk in the light of God’s Word and follow his counsel and adopt his vision for us, there are great blessings to be had from his open and loving hands. The blessings of:

Marriages that are truly pictures of the love that exists between Christ and the church. Families where children are received as a blessing rather than a burden. Young people who live chaste and decent lives so that they can give themselves to their future spouses without shame and guilt.

May God grant these blessings to the people of God in this place we walk in light and love rather than darkness and selfishness! Amen.

Oculi General Prayer

2012-03-11T04:04:00.001-07:00

Lord God heavenly Father, we turn our eyes towards You and lift up our souls to You in prayer, trusting that You will turn to us and be gracious to us and hear our prayers:

Grant to us Your people the courage of Jeremiah to speak Your Word without fear, calling the world to turn from their evil ways and trust in the forgiveness of Your Son Jesus. Help us always to be counted among those who are blessed for we hear the word of God and keep it.

Give us a genuine and heartfelt concern for our nation. Help us and our fellow citizens and our leaders to mend our ways and deeds and obey Your voice. Guide us in this election season to choose wisely those who will be Your ministers for our good in the government. Protect our military men and women and grant that our enemies would be turned back from their evil ways.

Empower us by Your Holy Spirit, and the redeeming sacrifice of Your Son Jesus, to walk in light and life all our days. Especially do we pray that You would keep us from sexual temptation and sin.

Help us to lift up, and give thanks, and speak positively about Your good gifts of sexuality and marriage and family. Lead us to regard children as your gifts, a precious heritage that we are to value and seek. Strengthen husbands and wives in our marriages and enable our families to live together in peace and prosperity.

Have mercy on all of those who stand in any need and open our eyes to the blessings that come from Your hands. Be with, bless, and heal according to Your will all of those who are ill. Meet the needs of those who do not have the necessities of life. Comfort the lonely and the afflicted and the sorrowing with the promise that You are with them.

Gracious heavenly Father, we take refuge in Your through faith in Your Son Jesus Christ, trusting that we will never be put to shame as we rest in him. Guard our souls and deliver us safely to our eternal home when our journey is finished. Amen.

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

2012-03-07T06:34:00.002-08:00

Lent 3, Series B March 11, 2012

Lessons for The Third Sunday in Lent
Exodus 20:1–17 – At Sinai, God gave His commandments to mark His people by the life they would live.
Psalm 19 (Antiphon: Psalm 19:8)
1 Corinthians 1:18–31 – The cross of Christ is an offense to the world, but the boast of those who are saved.
John 2:13-22 (23-25) – Jesus cleared distractions from the Temple and gave His body as the new place of worship.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: The Law of the Lord Revives the Soul.
When God gave the Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai it was in the context of His love and care for His people: through their obedience to God's will thousands would know His love. God's Law does a thorough cleansing of our lives, the way Jesus cleared out His Father's house when it could no longer be used as a house of prayer because of the noisy distractions. When the Law, like a scouring pad, has scrubbed up all the sin from our lives, it must be rinsed out in the blood of Christ. His death on the cross is the power of God for the salvation of our souls.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: O Lord, my God; You have claimed me more than I have sought You. Throw out the sin from my life by the cleansing power of Jesus' crucifixion so that I may acknowledge the wisdom of Your Law in the way I live. Help me share Your love in the cross of Christ with those who need to know Your victory over sin in Jesus' resurrection. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: All the things of this world lose their worth when we use them for our own purposes, but when we demonstrate God’s love to the poor and the lost, our possessions become precious with the value of Jesus’ sacrifice for reclaiming sinful humanity.

OFFERING PRAYER: Lord, when we let the clutter of many things
and our love for the worth of this world get in the way of our worship,
Recall us to the message of Christ’s cross and the great value of Your love.
Bless these gifts that they may be used according to Your will. Amen.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: God intends to be among the nations of this world through the witness of His people by the lives we live. When we don't live according to all the commands of the Lord, we distract others from God's present power to bless them. The merchants in the Temple distracted those who came to worship in that house of prayer. We become stumbling blocks in our neighbors' journey of faith. Only the cross of Christ can clear away the distractions of our sins and provide the power for redemption from sin. In His resurrection we see the sign of God's presence in Christ Jesus.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-03-05T05:54:00.002-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7-10)

O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

This Week at Mt. Olive
Lenten services and the Lenten evening meal continue this week. This week, the Board of Elders provides chili (there will be something for those who are abstaining from meat) and hot dogs. The meal begins at 6, the preservice hymn sing at 7, and the service at 7:15 p.m. Midday Prayer begins at 12:15 p.m.

Every year, Mt. Olive sends several children to Camp Lone Star. Applications are due in the office next Sunday, March 11. The fee for registration is $25 per child. This is a great time for Christian fellowship and growth!

There will be a Sunday School Teachers meeting next Sunday after late service.

In addition, the Resurrection Egg Hunt is about one month away. Needed are plastic eggs and individually wrapped, non-chocolate candy.

Finally, I'll be out of the office on Tuesday for the regular Circuit Conference.

Prayer Concerns:
Becky Chamberlain, Frank Jennings, Marilyn Hamer
Ruby Rieder, Ann Cleveland, Walter Theiss
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney, John Sorensen
The holy Christian Church as she walks the road to the cross during the season of Lent
Mt. Olive Lutheran School and all Lutheran schools

This Week at Mt. Olive
Monday, March 5
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

Wednesday, March 7
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Class (Revelation 19)

12:15 p.m.
Midday Prayer

6 p.m.
Lenten meal

7:15 p.m.
Evening Prayer

Sunday, March 11
Camp Lone Star registrations are due

Sunday School Teachers meeting after late service

God bless!
PKJ

An Example of Great Faith

2012-03-04T05:01:00.002-08:00

Matthew 15:21-28
Surely this scene has to be the most unflattering pictures of Jesus in the Bible! This poor woman had a daughter being tormented by demons. She came to Jesus for help and at first he ignored her and then he used a saying where she was cast into the role of a dog. All of it so completely unlike the Lord that there had to be something else going on. And there was.

In the days before Jesus met this woman, a delegation of Jewish leaders had been sent from Jerusalem with complaints about Jesus and his disciples. Apparently the disciples had not been following all of the rules and regulations of the Pharisees and Jesus, as their rabbi, should have corrected them.

But Jesus told the disciples that the Pharisees had it wrong—that they were hypocrites because their religion was all for show when what God really wanted were hearts that trusted in him.

It was right there that Jesus and the disciples met the Canaanite woman-- and that was no accident. Jesus has not only explained to his disciples what faith really is—but he also has an opportunity to show them a wonderful example of a great faith that simply trusts in his mercy. The Bible says that: Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

Tyre and Sidon were cities where the Canaanites lived—those people who were so evil that God had commanded Joshua and the Israelites to wipe them off of the face of the earth—which they failed to do. The people of Tyre and Sidon were enemies of the Jews and the disciples must have been thinking: nothing good can come of this—this is a bad place with bad people! And that is why what happens next is so shocking.
A Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon."

The Jewish leaders who should have been Israel’s teachers—pointing the Jews to Jesus as their Messiah—were so caught up in their own rules that they couldn’t see the truth of their own Scriptures which revealed the Messiah.

But this Canaanite woman who had never seen Jesus before—who didn’t have the benefit of the incredible learning of the Jewish leaders—had a truly great faith and came to Jesus in her need, sought his mercy, and confessed her faith in his identity and his mission. She said:

"Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon."

Everything that Jesus wanted and hoped for from his own people—that they would know believe in him as the Messiah that God had promised to his people—he received instead, from this woman who was not even an Israelite-- but one of their ancient enemies.

She didn’t have the benefit of seeing Jesus’ miracles. She didn’t have the blessing of hearing his teaching—but somehow, some way she had heard enough about him to come to faith in Jesus and confessed him to be: the Lord—the promised heir of David.

And because that is who he was—she also knew what he had come to do—to defeat Satan. The Bible says that: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil”. This Canaanite woman believed in the mission of the Messiah and she came to Jesus in that faith—trusting that he would do what he came to do-- for her poor daughter.

We don’t know much about demon possession in that day but looking around at the devil’s work in our world today we can get a pretty good picture of what that evil would look like focused on a single child—something too terrible to behold—every parent’s worst nightmare-- which is why we instinctively recoil at what happens next.

Jesus did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us."

Even if we can’t immediately understand why Jesus remained silent we have no problem understanding the concerns of the disciples, do we?

A Jewish rabbi and his twelve disciples—thirteen respectable Jewish men—with a screaming Canaanite woman calling out to them about demon possession. What will people think!? And what’s their response: send her away! Get rid of her!

How tempting it is in the face of human need to turn our backs on the broken-ness of others because the need is so great and what we can supply seems so small. But the Lord always reached out to those in need-- which is why it is so surprising what happens next. Jesus answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

We don’t know if Jesus is responding to the woman or the disciples or all of them together but the response is just as shocking no matter who the audience is: Jesus affirmed that his mission as the Messiah was to the Israelites-- and while that was a hard thing for the Canaanite woman to hear because it seemed to ignore her need—it was an unbelievable word of mercy for the Jews.

Paul said of his own kinsmen, the Jews that “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” and here we see the proof.

Despite the fact that so many Jews wanted a different kind of Messiah—despite the fact that their religious leaders were focused on the wrong things—despite the fact that Jesus’ own disciples so often got things wrong—the God of Israel loved his ancient people and in mercy wanted to save them and sent his Son.

We must never forget that. Oftentimes when we read the New Testament we see the Jews as Jesus’ enemies. And at times they made themselves that very thing. But Jesus wasn’t their enemy. He was their Savior and he would not leave one thing undone to provide for their salvation.

In fact, every piece of the Messianic mission was accomplished in their midst—so that they could hear it and see it-- which is why it is such a tragedy that so many of the Jews rejected the salvation that God provided for them.

But what about that poor woman who was not an Israelite-- but a Canaanite? She came and knelt before Jesus, saying, "Lord, help me." A truly great faith not only recognizes who Jesus is and what he came to do-- but also trusts wholeheartedly in his mercy.

The really great hero in this scene is whoever told this woman about Jesus-- for even though she knew he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel--she also knew that that his mercy and love extended to all people.

Isaiah had promised that very thing—that besides the Jews, God’s Messiah “would gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.” And that promise was about to be fulfilled in the life of a woman of great faith who had a great need. Jesus answered her, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

As shocking as it is to hear Jesus use this figure of speech, it’s not quite as bad as it seems because the word that Jesus uses here does not refer to the mongrel scavengers that would have roamed the towns of that day, but to a little pet dog that a child would own. But the point is still the same: children are children and pets are pets and as much as we pamper our pets it would be scandalous to treat them better than our kids.

Jesus’ point was that the Israelites were different than all of the other people of the world. The Messiah was sent to the Israelites and his whole ministry of salvation was conducted in their midst—among no one else in the world and nowhere else in the world. That was the Lord’s promise and plan from the beginning and he would not deviate from it. And so great was her faith that she said:

“Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire."

The really amazing thing about her faith is not just that she knew who Jesus was and what he had come to do- but that she accepted the Lord’s judgment about herself.

The Pharisees and scribes would never accept Jesus’ judgment that they were white-washed graves—holy on the outside and rotten on the inside. They never accepted that they were an evil generation for demanding sign after sign from the Lord despite all the miracles he performed.

We struggle constantly to accept the Lord’s judgment that we are sinners who deserve only wrath rather than mercy.

The greatness of the faith of the Canaanite woman was that she accepted the fact that she had no claims upon the Lord whatsoever and hoped only that the abundance of his mercy would overflow into her life.

Only two times in the Bible does Jesus comment on the greatness of someone’s faith—the Roman centurion with the servant who was sick-- and this Canaanite woman whose daughter was possessed of a demon. Both of them were the most unlikely of people because of their background and status—and yet their faith was great.

They recognized who Jesus was—they confessed him as Lord—they knew that he was powerful enough to save—they counted on the fact that his mercy and love was for all people and they knew they had no claim upon him- but could only beg for his help & aid. And both received what they needed.

The Bible says that “her daughter was healed instantly”. After all that had come before, we are tempted to regard that little sentence as an afterthought—but of course it really is the whole thing—that the woman’s faith in the Lord was not misplaced or disappointed-- but fulfilled—and her daughter was delivered.

The mission of the Messiah in destroying the works of Satan was accomplished in the woman’s daughter-- who was not even present—nor did she need to be-- because the power of Jesus is not limited by time or space. So it still is today.

About a year after these events, Jesus would complete his messianic work by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. The powers of sin, death, and the devil were defeated—once for all.

Those acts of salvation occurred two thousand years ago, in a place very far removed from this one—but Jesus still answers the prayers of all of those who come to him in humble faith, accepting his judgment that we are sinners—making no claims upon the Lord for who we are or what we have done—but simply calling out to him in faith to have mercy on us. May God grant us all this kind of great faith for Jesus’ sake! Amen

Reminiscere--General Prayer

2012-02-28T10:37:00.002-08:00

Lord God heavenly Father, we lift up our souls to You in prayer, asking that You would remember Your mercy and steadfast love and grant us those things that are for our good, that serve our neighbor, and that give glory to You.

We ask You to pardon our guilt, for it is great. From the days of our youth we have wandered from Your ways. Forgive us by the blood of Your Son Jesus Christ and teach us to walk in Your ways.

When we wrestle with some issue in our life—some worry that we cannot shake—some sin that we cannot conquer—some burden that we cannot bear—remind us that it is really You that we are striving against and lead us to trust in You and rest in Your forgiveness and cast our burdens upon You.

We thank You that You have declared that we are right in Your sight through faith in Your Son Jesus Christ. Grant us that peace that passes all understanding, knowing that we stand in Your grace and empower the witness of Your people as we share this hope with others.

Help us to know that the hardships and difficulties of life serve Your gracious purpose for us—that you desire to make us better, more faithful people by giving us endurance and character and hope.

Continue to pour Your love into our hearts as we receive absolution and hear Your Word preached and receive the body and blood of Your dear Son Jesus Christ so that our faith would be strengthened like that of the Canaanite woman.

Your Word says that “blessed are those who observe justice”. Bless and prosper those who work for justice in our government and enable them to do what is righteous in Your sight. Protect our military men and women and show Your favor to the citizens of this land.

We pray that You would redeem us out of all our troubles and bring us out of distress. Give work to the unemployed. Comfort those who mourn. Heal those who are ill. Deliver those who are addicted. Abide with those who are lonely. Strengthen marriages and families that are conflicted.

All of these things and whatever else You see that we need and yet the wisdom to ask for, grant to us dear Father in heaven for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

2012-02-27T13:17:00.001-08:00

Lent 2, Series B March 4, 2012

Lessons for The Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 17:1–7, 15–16 – God promised Abraham and Sarah that their descendants would become nations.
Psalm 22:23–31 (Antiphon: Psalm 22:22)
Romans 5:1–11 – God has made peace with us through the cross of Christ, even though we were His enemies.
Mark 8:27–38 – Jesus embraced the cross to restore us to God; now it has become our way of Life, too.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: People of the Cross
As God’s people, marked by the cross of Christ in Baptism, we know and share the good news that even while were still enemies of God, Jesus gave His life to reconcile us to God. We take up our cross and follow our Savior when we live by that Gospel, reaching out to heal broken relationships in spite of suffering deprivation or ridicule because of it. We are people of the cross and children of Abraham because God has called us to trus7 & 8 are near duplicates.t His promise and live by His covenant.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Gracious God, You love me not for what I was, but for who I might become when touched by Your grace in Christ Jesus. Grant me perseverance, character, and hope so that I may endure suffering for the sake of Your redeeming power. Finally, let me know the glories of heaven when Christ returns with the holy angels. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: How we use the gifts and opportunities God has entrusted to us will reveal whether we live as His friends or His enemies and tempters.

OFFERING PRAYER: Lord, You have made us Your dear friends
Through the cross of Christ our Savior.
Bless these gifts for Your kingdom’s ends;
May they be used to show Your favor.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: It is not just Jesus' identity, but also his mission that impacts our lives. With Peter we can identify Jesus as the Christ of God, but often would deny him the cross by which the messianic work has been accomplished. Because we were enemies of God, we must have Christ's work on the cross to reconcile us to God. Embraced by the cross of Christ, we are enlisted in his mission. We live by his covenant of grace as children of Abraham and take up our cross of suffering for the Gospel as we live in service to his message of peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-02-27T07:50:00.002-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

And immediately, the Spirit cast out him (Jesus) into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by the devil. And He was with the wild beasts, and angels were caring for Him. (Mark 1:12-13, my translation)

The Gospel texts for the season of Lent detail the baptismal life, and today's was no different. We don't live in a vacuum, but in the midst of fallen world among a fallen race and in fallen flesh.

And, in this life, we are surrounded by temptation. Martin Luther is reported to have said, "Where God builds a church, the devil builds a chapel."

In this life where we fail to withstand even the most basic temptations, there is but one place to flee. We flee to our Lord Jesus, the one who withstood temptation in perfect obedience to His Father. In our baptism, joined to His death and resurrection, the devil has no accusations to level against us.

Lord Jesus, in Your holy wounds we find a refuge in the midst temptation. Bring us in repentance and faith to the foot of the cross to see our salvation - You, crucified and raised. AMEN

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Before I get on with this week's news, I wanted to give a report on Lordz Kidz. For an inaugural event, this was great. Six or seven children, a couple of good leaders (and they even asked me to participate, too), and it was a great fellowship event. Praise God!

Now, to this week's activities.
Elders will meet Monday evening at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday is the regular Lenten schedule of Midday Prayer at 12:15 p.m. and Evening Prayer at 7:15 p.m. Before the evening service, a meal will be served, beginning at 6 p.m. by the Sunday School teachers and Sr. Youth.

Prayer Concerns:
Marilyn Hamer, John and Rita Murphy, Becky Chamberlain, Frank Jennings
Ruby Rieder, Ann Cleveland, Charlotte Birnbaum
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney, John Sorensen
The holy Christian, Apostolic Church as she journeys to the cross in Lent
The Church in our nation and around the world as she makes a bold confession of Christ crucified

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, February 27
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics (Fellowship Hall)
Board of Elders (Overflow)

Wednesday, February 29
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 17)

12:15 p.m.
Midday Prayer

6-7 p.m.
Lenten meal

7 p.m.
Hymn sing and Evening Prayer

Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

God bless!
PKJ

The Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness

2012-02-27T07:43:00.002-08:00

From the moment we were baptized and became God's children through faith in Jesus, we have been targets in the devil's sights—him trying to wrench us away from God and destroy our faith in Jesus by leading us into some great, faith-destroying sin.

That's the way it has been for all people from the beginning. Adam and Eve faced temptation and failed. The children of Israel faced temptation and failed. The great heroes of the Bible faced temptation and failed. So it went until Jesus entered the battle.

Jesus was not defeated by Satan’s temptation. He was the new Adam who got it right because he listened to his Father’s words. He was the faithful Israel who walked with his heavenly Father in holiness. The Bible says that: He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin—and that because of him we can with confidence draw near to the throne of grace and find mercy and help in time of need.

What we're going to learn today from God's Word is that Jesus’ holy obedience and steadfastness in the face of temptation is the best possible news for us—because God counts it as our own through faith! We are going to learn how Jesus remained steadfast.

The Bible says that: Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. I want you to realize that you are not being tempted because you are a bad person or because you are weak—anymore than Jesus was tempted for these reasons.

You are being tempted because you are a child of God. The devil does not have you-- and he wants you. Being tempted doesn’t mean that you have lost your faith—it’s the struggle against temptation that means you are still a believer.

There is a spiritual battle that rages against us- and in us- and each of us must fight against temptation. From the very beginning, Satan and his evil angels have done everything in their power to destroy mankind--to wreck the fellowship that were created to have with God--and that certainly included tempting Jesus who was not only a human being like we are--but also the heaven-sent Savior of us all.

Right before his temptation, Jesus had been baptized--the Spirit had descended on him--the Father had announced his pleasure in him, identifying him as his Son--and yet immediately Jesus faced temptation from Satan.

Jesus did not seek this out--he did not put himself in harm's way--he wasn't looking for a fight--it simply came to him because he was filled with the Spirit and led by the Spirit. It came to him because he was God’s Son.

In the same way, we should not intentionally put ourselves in harms way spiritually. If we have a problem with alcohol we should stay away from places where it's served. We should be circumspect in how we interact with the opposite sex. We should avoid TV and movies that undermine Christian faith and morals. And so on.

But even when we do all that we can to avoid it, temptation will still come to us because Satan is a robber and a thief and we are his prize. The Bible says that:
After fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

If you remember the stories of Israel wandering in the wilderness, you know how they struggled with trusting God to meet their physical needs--how they grumbled about God’s provision and would have gone back to being slaves in Egypt just for the food.

Now please understand--being hungry is no more a sin than being thirsty is a sin or desiring companionship is a sin. God made us physical creatures with physical appetites. But on account of sin, our physical appetites have become distorted and misdirected and the devil tempts us to meet them sinfully.

Adam and Eve ate the one thing they were forbidden to eat. Noah served God and kept mankind from complete annihilation in the flood by building the ark but got drunk to celebrate. David sinned sexually with Bathsheba. The list of people sinfully satisfying their physical appetites goes on and on and includes us--but not Jesus.

There was no sin when Jesus became hungry in the desert. There would be no sin in turning a stone into bread. Certainly it was within his divine power to do so. But what he would not do was take his cue from Satan on how to meet a legitimate bodily need.

Jesus was the faithful Adam who listened to his heavenly Father and said "no" to Satan. He was the faithful Israel who was satisfied with his Father's provision no matter what it is. He was the faithful person that God wants all of us to be.

Jesus' faithfulness is our salvation and his method of remaining steadfast is something that every child of God can make use of. Jesus responded to every temptation in only one way: by saying “It is written” and taking his stand on the Word of God.

The Bible says that we are to take up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. This doesn't mean that we simply quote some verse of the bible when we are tempted—though there is power in that. What it does mean is that who we are and what we desire and the direction and purpose of our lives is to be drawn from the Bible.

The devil and the world want us to believe that we are nothing but biological creatures--merely animals-- who are at the mercy of our appetites-- and our flesh wants us to believe that lie. But we are much more than that. We are God's children for we were created in God's image and we find our life in his Word. The Bible says that:

The devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

I don’t think that any of us would consciously put the Lord to the test—which implies that we doubt his word and demand some kind of tangible proof of his existence or promises. We wouldn’t do in consciously…

But how often do we say or think to ourselves: “Well, if God really loved me…then this or that would take place”.

Who we are in God’s sight and what his attitude is towards us is certain! His Word tells us of his love-- and the sacrifice of his Son is the enduring sign of it. But Satan tempts us to seek certainty in some external sign.

Satan tempted Jesus to put God’s promise to the test and cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple with the promise that the angels would catch him-- as a sign to himself- and a testimony to all looking on- that he really was God’s Son. But at his baptism, Jesus had already heard God’s Word concerning his identity.

The same is true for us. When we were baptized God said to us: you are my child. He has not changed his mind. We can return to God’s baptismal promise again and again no matter what is going on in our lives—no matter how we are being tempted-- and be certain that it is true and unchanging.

We need to lay claim to that promise again and again because Satan is not going to give up on us and we face temptation every day in this world. The Bible says that:
The devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”

The really sinister thing about Satan's temptations is that truth and lies are always twisted together. When he tempted Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit, he promised them that they would be like God—knowing good and evil. And so they did. But what they discovered was that they were evil and God was good and they weren't like God at all but had lost the image of God and become subject to death.

That's the way it always is with temptation--Satan shows us the pleasure in some sin--but hides the spiritual danger. The glass of wine with a meal that becomes an early death and a ruined family through alcoholism--the innocent friendship at work that becomes a destroyed marriage through an affair—the work ethic that becomes a cover for greed--and so on. Spiritual danger in some good thing that Satan ruins.

That is how Satan tempted Jesus. He showed him what was rightfully his: kingdoms and glory and power and honor--the kings of the world casting down their crowns before him--every knee bowing before him in submission--and all he had to do was one small thing--to render one act of worship to Satan.

Who would ever know--they were all alone--why go through the rejection and suffering-- when what is rightfully yours-- can be yours-- right now? Why go to the cross and die when you can have it all right now?

This temptation cut to the very heart of Jesus' mission. He had come to die. This was his work--to offer up his own life upon the cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world--to do what we have failed to do in giving our whole lives to God.

But Jesus did not fail--he did not abandon the way of the cross. He set his face towards Jerusalem and the cross and never looked back. After his death and resurrection he ascended to the Father and took his rightful place at the Father's right hand. The ceaseless worship of angels and archangels and all the company of heaven sing his unending praises BECAUSE the way of glory went through the cross. The Bible says:

The devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

This is one of the most tender, poignant moments in the Bible. The great evil angel has left Jesus alone in the wilderness and the good angels come to his aid. The whole scene was set before their eyes: would this second Adam go the way of the first and fall victim to temptation? No! This time there was a great victory for mankind in Jesus Christ and all the hosts of heaven rejoiced in it.

The Bible says that there is a spiritual battle that rages around us--that:
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.

Each one of us has our own part to play in that spiritual battle. The devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh are allied against us. They are mighty foes—but they are not greater than Jesus Christ.

Throughout his public ministry the devil was right there beside him trying to undermine his mission and destroy his purpose. But Jesus was faithful each step of the way—going to the cross—laying down his life—rising again and descending to hell to announce—not only his own victory—but ours as well.

What we see before us in God’s Word today is that Jesus’ faithfulness at the devil’s temptation is God’s promise to us -of our own victory over Satan -as we put our faith in Jesus- and take our stand on his Word. Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-02-20T07:18:00.001-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

I'm in Austin, helping my mom and dad at home. I'll be back Tuesday evening. A few important reminders:

LWML meets Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. As part of the program, a pancake supper is being provided. Ladies are asked to provide their favorite sausage (already cooked), as well as any specialty toppings desired.

Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. Divine Service is held at 12:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. There will be a light meal served before the evening service.

Next Sunday, February 26, is Lordz Kidz Sunday! Beginning at 3 and lasting until about 5 p.m., it's a youth outing for those in Kindergarten through 5th Grade. Make plans to attend!

Finally, yes, there will be Bible Study on Wednesday morning - still in Revelation 17.

Prayer Concerns:
Marilyn Hamer, Rita Murphy, Frank Jennings, Brandi Baker
The Church throughout the world as she prepares to enter Lent.

God bless!
PKJ

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

2012-02-20T07:16:00.001-08:00

Lent 1, Series B February 26, 2012

Lessons for The First Sunday in Lent
Genesis 22:1–18 – God counted faithful Abraham righteous and spared his son.
Psalm 25:1–10 (Antiphon: Psalm 25:14)
James 1:12–18 – God has given us spiritual birth to guard us against the temptations of our evil hearts.
Mark 1:9–15 – After Jesus was baptized and tested by Satan, he returned proclaiming the Good News.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: "In the Hour of Trial"
Put yourself in Abraham's place: aside from the painful prospect of losing his son of promise by his own hand, he faced the difficult task of explaining his actions to Sarah when he returned home! God spared Isaac, Abraham's son, but He did not spare His own Son. The steadfastness of God's protecting love is seen in Jesus' temptation in the desert and His subsequent proclamation of the Kingdom of God present in His person. While desire, full grown, gives birth to death, God’s Word of truth in us bears the first fruits of the crown of life.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Merciful Father, temptations and trials come upon me every day, but yet You hold me with the love of a father for his child and the new birth into faith that You have given me shields me from the temptations of my own heart. Let that knowledge make me strong to resist evil and to rejoice in Your care always beside me. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: When our desire for things is greater than our love for God, the temptations of Satan find easy prey in our old sinful hearts. The Good News of God’s Kingdom is that Jesus has broken the hold of Satan over us; we are free to trust God’s promise of Life instead bowing to Satan’s death claim on us.

OFFERING PRAYER: O Lord, when we try to trade promises for blessings
remind us that You have blessed us with Your promise.
Bless the gifts we bring today that they may carry Your promise of Life
to those who don’t yet know Your blessing in Jesus Christ.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: We are tempted in many ways every day and by ourselves are powerless to stand against Satan’s onslaught, but God holds us with the love of a father for his child. The new birth of faith that we have through our baptism shields us from the temptations of our own hearts. Our relationship to God in Christ makes us strong to resist evil and to rejoice in His care always beside us.

BONUS: Abraham: Priest of Moriah – Gilbert A. Franke, 2000
(May be sung to “Let All Together Praise Our God” LSB 389)

God called on Abraham to make
A dreadful sacrifice,
But in His mercy would not take
The dear son, Isaac’s life --
The dear son, Isaac’s life.

Instead the Lord chose to provide
A ram as substitute;
An angel stopped the knife and cried:
“I know your faith is true --
I know your faith is true!”

O God the Father glorify,
Who did not spare His Son,
But willingly gave Him to die
To win us as His own --
To win us as His own!

The Journey to the Cross

2012-02-19T04:51:00.001-08:00

Luke 18:31-43
This week one of the circuit pastors called me to talk about what he was doing for Lenten sermons. He said that he was thinking about doing a series on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book “The Cost of Discipleship” and what did I think about it.

I told him that it was an important book—definitely worth reading—but it wasn’t really what I thought a Lenten series should be—that the purpose of Lenten meditations is to walk with our Lord as he journeys to the cross—just exactly what we see our Lord doing on this last Sunday before Lent. The Bible says:

Taking the twelve, Jesus said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.

Over the course of his life Jesus traveled up to Jerusalem many times to fulfill the religious requirements of the law—but this would be his final journey and he wanted his disciples to go with him.

That is still the purpose of our Lenten services—that we would travel with the Lord to the cross.

Jesus wanted the disciples with him so that they could see what he was doing for the salvation of the world and for their own salvation. In the old King James Version Jesus says: “Behold”! In other words: “Pay attention”! “Feast your eyes upon this”! “Look at what I am about to show you”! And then Jesus tells them what to look for:

He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”

What would they see as they made that journey to Jerusalem one last time? They would see the words of the prophets accomplished.

They would see Jesus ride into Jerusalem, not as a mighty warrior, but as a humble King mounted on a donkey just a Zechariah had promised. They would see Jesus pierced for our transgressions and wounded for our iniquities just as Isaiah had foretold. They would see Jesus spit upon and ridiculed as David had prophesied. And they would see Jesus stand victorious over death just as Job had looked forward to in faith.

Jesus wants us to know that he is the fulfillment of all of the promises of God—that is why he took his disciples on this final journey to Jerusalem and its why we travel with Jesus to the cross each Lenten season—so that we can once again feast our eyes of faith upon the promises God that have been fulfilled in Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection—so that we can understand what it all means for our lives. The Bible says that the disciples:

…understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

That Jesus was handed over to the Romans—that he was mocked and shamefully treated—flogged and crucified-- is a matter of the historical record—it happened. That Jesus rose again on the third day is a matter of the biblical record that hundreds of people bore witness to—they saw him alive.

There was nothing difficult in the words Jesus spoke about what would happen to him in Jerusalem—he had said them before. There was nothing unusual in the crucifixion scene he described-- it happened every day in the Roman world.

And so what was the difficulty the disciples had in understanding these things? Why couldn’t they grasp what Jesus was telling them?

At least part of the problem is that they didn’t want to believe what their master was telling them—to think that this terrible thing would happen to someone they loved, was unbearable-- and there had been other occasions when they tried to deny it.

People still shy away from the scandal of the cross—even in the church. Many Christians are perfectly happy with a cross in the sanctuary but a crucifix is a little too graphic. That the bread and wine of Holy Communion are actually the broken body and shed blood of Christ is a bit over the top for many churches who deny the very words of Jesus. Countless sermons are preached every Sunday where the suffering and death of our Lord have no place whatsoever. Then and now the death of Jesus on the cross is a scandal.

The other reason that they couldn’t get a handle on what he was saying is that they really didn’t see the necessary connection between Jesus the Messiah and the cross.
They were perfectly willing to accept Jesus as the Messiah because they thought that was about earthly things like position and power. But to accept that the Messiah of God HAD to suffer and die—they struggled to believe it.

But the fact of the matter is that if we are to live a life with God—it can only come through the cross of Jesus Christ and the death he suffered there.

That is why he invites us to go with him to Jerusalem so that we can understand that salvation and wholeness and new life are only found in what he accomplished in Jerusalem in his death and resurrection. The Bible says that: As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.

At the beginning of their journey to Jerusalem we heard the Lord tell us and the disciples: “Behold”! “Feast your eyes on this”! And yet they couldn’t see the truth. But as they traveled on, they met a blind man who could see what they couldn’t see because the truth about Jesus is discerned by the heart-- not the eyes.

Can there be a picture of anyone so helpless as a blind man in the ancient world? No social agency to help him. No vocational training to give him some place in life. Nothing for him to do but beg for pennies from other peasants, hopeful that his basic, human needs could somehow be met by their mercy. That was his life until Jesus walked by him on his way to the cross. The Bible says that:

Hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

This little exchange really is the key to understanding what the Holy Spirit is telling us this morning about Jesus’ journey to the cross—it’s why the disciples and the crowd didn’t understand what Jesus was about-- and why the blind man did.

When he asked about what was going on, the crowd said that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by—and so he was—the humble man of Galilee.

The crowds of that day and the crowds of this day are perfectly content to confess the same—to recognize and accept the historical facts that Jesus of Nazareth was a good man- who said wise things- and died a terrible death.

But that was not the confession of the blind man. He said: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Not Jesus of Nazareth—but Jesus, Son of David.

There are great confessions of faith that are found in the Bible. Peter says of Jesus, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God”. The centurion at the cross says of him, “Surely this man was the Son of God”. The confession of the blind man was just as great. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

This was the confession of a faithful child of Israel who recognized by faith just exactly who Jesus was—that he was the Messiah that they had been hoping for and praying for—the One who would make EVERYTHING right that sin had destroyed. It is in that faith and hope that he cried out for the Messiah’s mercy. The bible says:

Those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Things really haven’t changed that much in the last two thousand years have they? There are still those in the crowd who try to shout us down as we confess that Jesus is the Savior of the world. There are still those who want to silence the witness of Christians that we have in Jesus a God who is merciful and willing and able to help.

The blind man shows us the way to respond to the unbelieving crowds of our own day when he refused to be shouted down or ridiculed for his confession and instead cried out all the more: Son of David, have mercy on me! The Bible says that at these words: Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him.

The blind man couldn’t come to Jesus by himself. He couldn’t find him in the darkness. He didn’t posses what was necessary. All that he could do was recognizes his own great need and cry out for mercy. And that is what he received.

Jesus commanded others to bring him to him just as he has commanded us to bring others to him by carrying our children to the baptismal font and inviting people to church.

There is a world full of people who need what only Jesus can give and yet they lack the ability to make it to him on their own. Jesus has commanded us who can see the way, to bring them to him to be healed of all that is broken in their lives. The Bible says:

When the blind man came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight

700 years before this moment the prophet Isaiah promised that through the Messiah’s work “the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped; and the lame shall man shall leap like a deed and the tongue of the mute sing for joy”.

Jesus of Nazareth—the Son of Man and David’s Son accomplished every one of these messianic signs just as the prophets had written. And the benefits of his saving work are received today in the same way as they were that day: by faith in Jesus.

Jesus told the man that his faith had made him well. And so it had—not because the power rested in his believing—but because the One he believed in was able to do what was promised of him: give forgiveness, salvation, and wholeness.

So it is for us. Faith is necessary to receive what Christ has done for us. His saving works were done for all but to receive the benefits of forgiveness, life, and salvation-- and the wholeness that will come on the Last Day—it is necessary to have faith—to recognize that we have no claim upon the Lord but our great need for his mercy-- and to come to him in faith for the new life he gives—just like the man did that day.

The Bible says that the man who was healed: followed Jesus, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

This is the life of faith! That we who have received the Lord’s gifts follow him as his disciples—that we praise God and give him all the glory for the great things that he has done for us—that our lives bear witness to the goodness and mercy of Jesus Christ.

The man who was healed that day was a man reborn. He had a brand new life ahead of him. And that life was dedicated to the glory of God. Many the same things be said of us, who are also the recipients of our Lord’s saving work! Amen.

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

2012-02-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

Series B, The Transfiguration of our Lord February 19, 2012

Lessons for The Festival of the Transfiguration
2 Kings 2:1–12 – When Elisha saw Elijah go into heaven, he knew God’s Spirit would power his ministry.
Psalm 50:1–6 (Antiphon: Psalm 50:2)
2 Corinthians 3:12– 4:6 – Only the glory of God in the face of Christ removes the veil of unbelief and doubt.
Mark 9:2–9 – As Jesus prepared to go to Jerusalem and the cross, the Father affirmed His mission in glory.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: A Light along the Way
The disciples did not want to believe that Jesus was going to die. They would rather have stayed on the mountain in the presence of God’s glory. Like the disciples, we need the light of God's glory to lead us through the darkness of the cross. Elisha was strengthened for dark days ahead by watching as Elijah was received into heaven. St. Paul tells us that we do not lose heart in our witness to our Savior; rather, we are being transformed by the Spirit to reflect God's glory in our lives.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Dear Lord, there are many crosses and trials around me and before me. I need to see your glory and your love supporting me through all difficult times of my life. Thank you for showing me your glory before your cross. Help me share your love with those who are hurting. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: A double portion of Elijah’s spirit empowered Elisha for difficult days ahead of him as the Prophet of the Lord. He used this blessing wisely, investing it in proclaiming God’s judgment and His grace. We have many blessings in our lives – time, talents, and treasures – all to use wisely for God’s mission.

OFFERING PRAYER: Lord, with Your love supporting us and Your blessings supplying us,
we can survive the trials and difficulties of this life.
May these gifts that come from the bounty of Your goodness
bring blessings to others as they come to know Your grace.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: Like Peter, we are impressed with connections to important persons, like Elijah and Moses. Sometimes we think having the right contacts will give us privileges and exempt us from the tedious tasks of life in this world. The voice from the cloud requires our obedient response to God’s presence in our lives in the person of Jesus. Jesus’ caution to the disciples reminds us to interpret our message with the fact of His resurrection and victory over sin and death. Even when we get hung up on giving the right impression and making the right connections, it is the knowledge of Jesus, our Savior, crucified for us and risen from the dead, which leads us through the confusion of this life.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-02-13T07:42:00.000-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

In You, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame!
In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline Your ear to me, and save me!
Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; You have given the command to save me, for Your are my rock and my fortress.
Rescue me, O God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
For You, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon You I have leaned from before my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of You.
(Psalm 71:1-6)

Lord Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, help us ever to seek You and to seek others for You, that Your harvest may be full and we may join those from every tribe and nation at the heavenly feast, where You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. AMEN

This Week at Mt. Olive
This week includes a couple of events, some important happenings in the week come, and a cancellation.

First, the events of this week:
Monday, 13 FEB, 7 p.m. - Church Council meeting

Saturday, 18 FEB, 9:30 a.m. - YOUTH PLANTING
Sr. and Jr. Youth, it's your hour to shine once again! After such great work on the flower beds at the church, weeding and mulching, it is time for planting. Planting begins Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Bring work gloves, tools, and something on which to kneel. Also recommended are sunscreen and a good hat.

Now the Cancellation:
LWML for this week has been postponed until next Tuesday, February 21. On that evening, a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will be provided.

Now the Happenings:
Sunday, February 26, 3-5 p.m. - LORDZ KIDZ Get Together!
For upcoming young people in the Church, ages Kindergarten through 5th grade. Crafts, songs, some food, and some games will be the order of the day. I'm really jazzed about this new opportunity for young people at Mt. Olive! If you have questions, please contact Lori Stacy or the Church Office.

Wednesday, February 22 - Ash Wednesday (I know, out of order)
Divine Service at 12:15 p.m. and at 7:15 p.m. A light meal is being provided by the LWML before the evening service. This also begins the Lenten midweek services and meals at the same times each Wednesday in Lent.

Prayer Concerns:
Rita Murphy, Frank Jennings (my dad)
Bob Whitworth, Doris and Burt Nelson, Charlotte Birnbaum
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney, John Sorensen
Our Homebound: Ruby Rieder, Ann Cleveland, Walter and Pearly Theiss (Houston)
The Church, as her celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord draws to a close

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, February 13
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Church Council

Wednesday, February 15
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 17)

6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Lutheran Book Club (Tobit)

Saturday, February 18
9:30 a.m.
Youth Flowerbed Planting

God bless!
PKJ

Jesus is Our Sabbath Rest

2012-02-13T07:36:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 4;9-13
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Over the course of six days, he spoke his almighty and powerful Word and called this world into being from nothing. He created the stars and the planets. He created the oceans and dry ground. He created the plants and animals. And he created mankind.

And not only did he create man—he established a relationship with them. Man was made in the image of God—male and female he created them to have fellowship with him. They knew God face to face. They walked with him and talked with him. They ruled over the rest of creation and their love for one another created new life.

Day after day, God spoke- and what he spoke- came into being. At the end of each of the days of creation, God looked out upon all he created and called it good. And on the seventh day he rested.

God did not rest because he was tired. He did not cease from his creative work which continues to this day as he speaks that ongoing “yes” that sustains the universe.

The seventh day was a day in which he took a step back to admire the perfect world he had brought into existence and the loving relationship he had established with man. Can you picture that scene in your mind where all is right in the world?

If you can, you know what a tragedy it was when man rebelled against God and destroyed the world he created and the relationship he established with man. And yet God promised that he would re-make what man’s sin destroyed and re-establish that right relationship that existed between God and man in the beginning.

From then on, the Sabbath Day was set aside by God for man, not only so that man could rest from his labors, but so that he could feast his eyes of faith on that first, seventh day vision of a perfect creation and a right relationship with God—set aside so that he could worship and praise God for his goodness—set aside to lay hold of God’s promise that he would make things right, just like they were in the beginning.

Every Sabbath day existed for that purpose: to give thanks for what God’s Word accomplished in the beginning and to be renewed in faith and hope at what God’s Word promised was still to come. And yet, the Bible says: There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. In other words, there was still more than those Sabbaths.

For thousands of years God’s people observed the Sabbath—that seventh day of remembrance and promise. But as joyful and hopeful as those celebrations were, there was still a shadow over them. They remembered something that no longer existed because of their sin. They looked forward to a promise that had not yet been fulfilled.

But that shadow disappeared when the Light of the World took on human flesh in Jesus of Nazareth. The Bible says that the Sabbath days were “a shadow of things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” What the Sabbaths longed for and hoped for was fulfilled in Jesus.

Jesus Christ re-established the fellowship that existed between God and man in the beginning. He did away with the sins that keep us from God by washing them away in his blood on the cross. And his resurrection was the beginning of a new creation in which death and sin have no part.

Jesus Christ is the true Sabbath-rest of the people of God. He is the certainty that there will be a new heaven and a new earth just like there was in the beginning. He is the guarantee that we will once again dwell in God’s presence.

All of this has been accomplished by the saving work of Jesus and to enter into his Sabbath rest—to take our own place there—it is necessary to rest from our labors and receive in faith what he has done. The Bible says: Whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Let’s go back for a moment to that first, seventh day Sabbath—the one from the beginning. What did God see as he looked out upon his world? He saw a creation that was perfect. He saw a world in which there was only life. He saw mankind as his children. He saw that his work was complete.

To enter God’s Sabbath rest is to look to Jesus Christ and know that the same is true for through faith in him. Once again we are counted as God’s children. There is a life for us that death cannot end. And there is nothing that needs to be added to Jesus’ work-- by our own work.

How foolish and faithless it would have been for Adam and Eve to look at the beauty of the creation around them and regard it as the work of their own hands!

They were the creatures—God was the creator. They were the recipients of his creative work. They had status as children that God simply bestowed upon them of his grace. So it is with us and Jesus!

How foolish and faithless to look at Jesus’ holy life and bloody death and glorious resurrection and count even a part of our salvation the result of what we have done. How sinfully presumptuous to believe that our status as God’s children is anything other than our identity in Christ that the Holy Spirit has bestowed on us in Holy Baptism!

Jesus has done it all and when we gaze upon his re-creating work all that we can do-- is what God did in the beginning when he looked upon his original creation—call it good. The Bible says: Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

That we are to strive to enter the Sabbath-rest of God may seem like a contradiction when we can do nothing but receive what he has done—but it is not.

God speaks these words about striving to enter his rest because throughout salvation history, there have been countless millions who did not enter his rest because they rejected what he had done.

In the verses before our text today, the author reminded his congregation about the people of Israel who came out of slavery in Egypt—how they were delivered and set free—how they saw their enemies die in the waters of the Red Sea—how they were led by God and fed by God and received his Word at Sinai and yet when it came time to believe in what he said and trust in his promise to take them safely into the Promised Land, they refused to go—they would not enter his rest.

They fell in the wilderness because of their lack of faith. Their enemies seemed more powerful than their Savior. They didn’t like the hardships of the journey. They preferred the life they knew as slaves over their freedom as God’s children.

The same thing can happen in our life of faith. The dangers of failing to complete our faith journey are real. The temptations to return to slavery to sin are powerful. To adopt the values of the unbelievers around us is easier than holding fast to God’s ways. The hardships and challenges we face seem much more real than God. We face the same temptation as God’s ancient people to fall back and turn away rather than trusting in God.

That is why the Bible tells us we are to strive to enter the Sabbath-rest God has provided in Jesus Christ by believing the promises of his word and trusting the guidance of his Word to lead us to heaven. The Bible says that:

The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

From the very beginning of the Bible we see clearly the power of God’s Word. God said let there be light and there is light. God called this world into being by the power of his Word and where before there was only darkness and emptiness, when he spoke-- there was light and life.

God’s Word has the same power when it comes to spiritual life and light. When Jesus says “Father, forgive them” from the cross we are forgiven. When Jesus says “take, eat this is my body, take drink this is my blood shed for the forgiveness of sins”—so it is and so we are. When the Bible says that we have died with Christ and been raised with Christ in Holy Baptism—so we have. The Bible says that we have been born again by the living and abiding word of God.

Just as Adam and Eve received their life from God calling them into existence- and just as Lazarus was raised from the dead at Jesus’ word- so we have been given spiritual life by the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word.

God’s Word is living and active and has accomplished the saving purpose for which God sent it by bringing us to faith in Jesus who is our Sabbath rest.

But the Word of God has not only brought about our spiritual life, it is the enduring source of that life—the word is means by which God works in our lives to sustain our faith so that not only do we begin in faith but we finish our life in faith.

God speaks to us in his Word as it is read and studied and proclaimed and received in the Sacrament. It speaks into those deep places in our lives where there is sin that needs to be confessed and fears that need to be confronted and a faith that needs to be strengthened so that we can enter into the fullness of what Christ has won for us. It lays bare the truth about our life of faith. The Bible says:
No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

When Adam and Eve sinned, it wrecked their relationship with God. They realized they were naked and experienced guilt and shame for the first time and hid from God in fear. But God sought them out—calling out to them so that they could acknowledge their sin and receive his forgiveness and have their guilt and shame covered by his bloody sacrifice.

So God continues to do. His powerful words of law tell us the truth about ourselves—that we have sinned and fall short of his glory. His powerful words of the Gospel tell us that there is forgiveness for us in Christ. He calls us to himself again and again so that we can acknowledge our sins and have our guilt and shame covered by Christ’s bloody sacrifice on the cross. That is our true Sabbath rest and we enter it by believing in Jesus. Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-02-06T07:37:00.001-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

What Does God Say of All These Commandments?
He says: I the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
What does this mean?
God threatens to punish all who break these commandments. Therefore, we should fear His wrath and not do anything against them. He also promises grace and every blessing to all who love Him and keep His commandments. Therefore, we should also love and trust in Him and gladly do what He commands.

This morning, we recited these words in the Divine Service. I'm sure most of us remember reciting them either in Lutheran Day School or in Confirmation classes several years ago. Indeed, these words are frightening, for they threaten punishment on those who break the commandments.

But, for those who brought to love God through Christ by the Holy Spirit, life is a little different. Yes, we are still accused by the Law. Yet, what is the delight of all who are in Christ? It is to do what God wills. Where is the list of things God has given us to do? It's the 10 Commandments, especially the Second Table, involving the love of the neighbor. Reading the Catechism, it is God's delight that we take care of our neighbor's bodily need, live a sexually pure and decent life, help our neighbor improve and protect his possessions and income, and protect our neighbor's good name. Why do this? God has no need of our good works, this is true. But, our neighbor does. Thus, we serve God by serving our neighbor.

Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven.

This Week at Mt. Olive
Lent is rapidly approaching, beginning February 22 (Ash Wednesday). This year, Mt. Olive again offers light meals before each Lenten evening service. The dates of February 22 and 29 are already planned, but dates in March abound. Please sign up your group, board, committee, or group of families if you wish to provide a meal. The normal attendance is about 30.

Zumba Aerobics continues this week on Monday and Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. This will shift in Lent - keep an eye on the calendar!

Next Sunday is an LWML Bake Sale! Fire up those ovens and get those forks ready to start baking and eating!

Finally, all youth mark your calendars - February 18 will be a flower bed planting day beginning at 9 a.m.

I will be out of the office Tuesday for Circuit Conference.

Prayer Concerns:
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney, John Sorensen
Those who are sick or hospitalized: Doris Nelson, Bob Whitworth, Charlotte Birnbaum, Burt Nelson
Our homebound: Ruby Rieder, Ann Cleveland, Walter and Pearly Theiss (Houston)
Thanksgiving for the rain received

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, February 6
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

Wednesday, February 8
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 16 and 17)

6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Lutheran Book Club - Tobit

Sunday, February 12
Divine Service, 8 and 10:30 a.m.
Sunday School/Adult Bible Class (Exodus 7), 9:15 a.m.
LWML Bake Sale!

God bless!
PKJ

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

2012-02-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Series B February 12, 2012

Lessons for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany
2 Kings 5:1–14 ~ Naaman was cured of his leprosy only when he submitted to Elisha’s command in faith.
Psalm 30 (Antiphon: Psalm 30:2)
1 Corinthians 10:(19–30) 31—11:1 ~ We curtail our freedoms for the sake of our weaker neighbor’s faith.
Mark 1:40–45 ~ The man with leprosy came to Jesus in desperation and left with great joy.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: How Far Will You Stoop?
Naaman only consented to washing in the dirty water of the Jordan river when his servants pointed out that he would have attempted any great, challenging task to be rid of his leprosy. St. Paul urged that we be willing to make concessions to our own consciences for the sake of calling the unbeliever to faith. When a man with leprosy fell to his knees begging for cleansing, Jesus commanded, “Be clean!” How far will we humble ourselves to admit that we need God’s healing? Surely our Savior who was willing to touch an unclean leper comes to our level to claim us as his own!

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Lord God, if you are willing, you can make me whole! You have shown your desire that I be cleansed of sin; continue working a humility in me that accepts your will in all things and reaches out to all those you have redeemed through Jesus Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: The sincerity of our love is shown in our giving. If you don't think so, see what happens if you forget to give your Valentine a gift!

OFFERING PRAYER: Lord, You have given us great gifts;
In them we see Your great love.
May our love for You, in all we say and do,
Be shown to all by these gifts we bring. Amen.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: These texts expose our doubt and cynicism. We think our only hope lies in tasks too difficult for us to complete. We think if God is able to help us, there is a good chance He won’t want to. We expect those who have the upper hand to use their strength of position against us. Those are the ways we would respond to requests for help! Imagine our surprise when we learn that Jesus really does want to help, that God has chosen to rescue us in a way that takes no effort on our part! Then we respond by giving up our rights in order to help those who are weak.

The Parable of the Generous Master

2012-02-05T04:55:00.000-08:00

Matthew 20:1-16
To understand what God is saying to us today through Jesus’ parable of the generous master, it is necessary to set it in context. A rich young man came to Jesus and asked him how to have a life with God. The way he asked that question was revealing. He said, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” That is the way that the world approaches this question of life with God—it depends on what I do.

Having asked his question that way, Jesus answered it in the same way: Keep the commandments and you will have eternal life. The young man replied that he had kept them all. (I wish I could have seen the Lord’s face when he said it!) Fine, Jesus said, if you want to be perfect (which is what God requires after all), go and sell all that you have, give it to the poor, and come and follow me and you will have treasure in heaven. The Bible tells us that the young man went away sad for he had many possessions.

Listening in to this exchange were the disciples. When they heard Jesus’ words about giving everything up to follow him, Peter spoke up for the group: “We’ve done that very thing Lord, what will we have?” In other words, what we will we get out of it?

And so Jesus told them that everyone in the kingdom who had given up something to follow him would receive it back a hundred times more. There were blessings from being a part of the kingdom!

But it was there that Jesus added these words: Many who are first will be last, and the last first. And when he finished telling this parable about the generous master he repeated those same words: many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Well, that’s the context. But what does the parable mean and who is Jesus talking to? The words of our text are not spoken to the rich young man—he rejected the invitation to come and take his place in the kingdom.

Instead, these words are spoken to those who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to come and take a place in the kingdom—spoken to the disciples who answered the Lord’s call to come and follow him--spoken to us who have also taken our place in the kingdom. They are spoken to remind us that our life with God is by his grace alone.

The unbelieving world wants to know what they have to do to have a life with God—it is a question deeply rooted in fallen humanity. But even we who have a place in the kingdom because of God’s gracious invitation still struggle to remember that our life with God depends only his grace—not on what we do—not on what we give up.

And so the rich young man’s question about what he had to do to have eternal life- and Peter’s question about what those followed Jesus would get out of it -were really not all that different because they both saw their life God in terms of work and reward-- instead of grace and blessing.

We are made of the same stuff as the rich young man and Peter and so we need to hear these words spoke to us and learn the lesson of the generous master. Jesus said:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

This is a parable about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is telling a story about how life with God works. And that begins with his call. He is the master. We don’t storm our way into his kingdom or dictate the terms of our life with him. We don’t have any claim upon him. He is the One who comes to us and invites us to take a place with him.

The vast, vast majority of people in Jesus’ day lived on their daily labor. They worked a day and received a day’s wage and in that way they and their family were cared for. How glad, how thankful, how joyful they were to hear this call to come and take their place in the vineyard—how grateful to the master!

So it is for us in the Lord’s kingdom. We are completely dependent upon his call. What we need for life and eternal life is found in him. And that he has called us by the Gospel to come and take our place in his kingdom, that he has graciously made a place for us where before we were on the outside looking in, how glad and thankful we are for the master’s generosity that not only extends to us—but to all! Jesus said that the master:

“…going out about the third hour, saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

From the day that Jesus called Andrew to come and be his disciple (the first-called of the disciples) to this day throughout the church where children are baptized and sinners hear the Good News and come to faith, our Lord has been graciously calling people to come and have a part in God’s kingdom. His kingdom is overflowing with grace and blessing and he wants all people have a part in it.

During our Lord’s earthly ministry, it was Jesus who issued that invitation to come and follow him. Then it fell to the disciples who were commissioned by the Lord to take that invitation to the world. Today that invitation comes through you and me and Christians throughout the world.

But it is still the Lord’s invitation to all those who do not yet have a life with God—an invitation that comes from a heart that is generous and merciful and full of compassion for human need.

The master in the parable seeks and calls again and again—whether those called can do much or little—whether they have a lifetime to serve him or just a few hours—he does not want anyone to miss out on his gracious invitation to come and take their place.

Each day is day of God’s grace—a God –given opportunity to hear Jesus’ call to come and have a part in his kingdom with the promise of blessings to come. And that day of grace will continue until this world comes to an end. Jesus said:

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius.

The Bible teaches that there will be a final judgment--a day of reckoning—a day of strict accounting. The day of grace and opportunity and invitation will be over. That is the moment we have before us in these words of the parable.

At the beginning of the sermon I mentioned that there was a saying of Jesus that provides “bookends” for this story that he tells. He says: “Many who are first will be last and the last first.” Now we begin to see what that means as the workers line up to receive their pay.

The last called, those who only worked an hour or so, were paid first and they received a denarius. And then those who worked three or four hours were paid and they received a denarius, and then those who worked six hours or so were paid and they received a denarius, and then those who worked all day were paid—each of them receiving a denarius. It’s important here to…

Remember the context. Peter wanted to know what’s in it for him and the other disciples who had been with the Lord from the beginning—who sacrificed and labored in his vineyard. And so the question is, if our relationship with God is only about what we can get out of it, what do we have a right to expect?

Closely connected to that question is a another question: what does the denarius represent? It’s not salvation. The Bible never teaches that we get salvation as the payment for what we do. It’s not eternal life. That is a gift from God.

Instead, the denarius is all of those earthly benefits that come from being a part of the visible church: People around us who can help us out in time of need--a set of friends who share the same values and lead decent lives--the respect of others that comes from being known as a decent, upright Christian.

All of these are blessings that come from sitting in these pews and they are just as available to the new member as they are to the old. There are temporal blessings that come being a part of the church and so that is the answer to the first question as well: if our focus is on the material blessings that we get out of being a member of the church—the Lord is perfectly just and will give us those blessings.

But if that is where our heart is, we will never really be satisfied and we will miss out on what matters eternally. The Bible says that those who were the first-called:

Grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’

Did you catch the change that happened to these men over the course of the day? When they were graciously called into the master’s vineyard how happy and thankful they were—how glad they were to have what was needed for life! But after the labor of the day they were no longer glad-- but grumbled against the master. Why the change?

It’s because their focus shifted from the graciousness and generosity of the master to themselves and others. Can you imagine how light their labor was at the beginning—to have a purpose—to be productive—to have what was needed to sustain life-what a blessing to have been called! How glad they were to take a place in the vineyard!

But they no longer saw their relationship with the master that way. All they could see was the hours they worked and the burdens they bore and the scorching heat that beat down upon them. What made it even worse was that not only were they focused on themselves (instead of the generosity of the master) they were focused on others.

The others hadn’t worked as long. They hadn’t done as much. They spent part of the day in ease. And yet they have same blessings as we do? That’s not right, just, fair!

Dear friends in Christ, where is the focus of your faith this morning? Is it on the generosity of the master who has called you into his kingdom? Do you still have that thankfulness and gladness that you had at the beginning of your life of faith? Do you count it a privilege to work for the Lord and trust his generosity?

Or is your focus on yourself and how hard you have it? Is your focus on others and how good they have it?

Jesus knows that this is a temptation for us. The disciples fought and argued over who was the greatest among them. Peter wanted to know what he would get out of his life with God. That is why Jesus warned him with the words of the first being last and the last being first--so that all of us would understand the dangers of making our life with God about justice rather than grace. Jesus said that the master:

“…replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go.

On the last day there will be countless people who will say: Didn’t we preach in your name and didn’t we heal in your name and didn’t we do miracles in your name—look at what I did! And Jesus will say to them: depart from me, I never knew you.

This is what the master says to those whose eyes were fixed upon the hardships they endured and the blessings of others instead of the master’s graciousness and generosity. If we demand that our life with God is about what we deserve—if we demand justice from him—Jesus will give it--but nothing more.

Take what belongs to you and go. You see dear friends in Christ, if we demand it, Jesus will give us what belongs to us. Judgment. Material things that end with our death. Separation from God. This is what we deserve. This is what is ours by right. But what Jesus wants to give us is what doesn’t belong to us. The master said:

I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Our life with God—from beginning to end—is based upon his generosity—his undeserved grace. The gift of his Son—the Spirit’s calling us into the church—the forgiveness that have in Christ’s death and the hope of the life to come we have in Christ’s resurrection—all of it is God’s gift.

We have deserved none of it—all of it belongs to the Lord as the fruits of his saving work--and yet God graciously gives it to us. Do we begrudge the Lord his generosity? It’s easy to do when the focus of our faith shifts from his grace to our works.

If we count ourselves first—if we demand a strict accounting from the Lord—if we make our life with him about what we get in this life—God will count us last.

But if we humbly confess that we are last—that we deserve none of the good things that we receive from the Lord—if it is gladness rather than grumbling that fills our hearts, we can be confident that God will make us first, blessing us in time and eternity with his good gifts. Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-01-30T06:49:00.000-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

The time is fulfilled. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Gospel. In the Gospel lesson for today (Mark 1:21-28), Jesus casts out an unclean spirit and teaches with authority.

Several years ago as a seminary student, I went to hear a speaker who was on campus for the morning. He stood before us and we were captivated. His speech was sometimes difficult to understand - he had lost half his tongue to cancer. Still, we students hung on every word. The speaker was the Rev. Dr. Oswald Hoffman, the former long-time Lutheran Hour speaker. He had a presence; he had authority.

Jesus authority in today's Gospel text surpassed all others. His command of the Old Testament was unsurpassed. He spoke not of prophecy and opinion, but of fulfillment and reality. Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God, and He was and remains the content of the Gospel.

Little wonder that we as Lutheran stress so much the Gospel - Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In Jesus, the Gospel is not a list of to dos, but a proclamation to be believed. In Jesus, we are delivered from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Everything points to Him.

This Week at Mt. Olive
Wednesday, we will complete the discussion of "A Skeleton in God's Closet." In the few short weeks before Lent, our attention will turn to a few books of the Apocrypha.

I will be out of the office Monday and Tuesday.

Prayer Concerns:
Bill Waterman, Bob Whitworth, Burt Nelson
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney, John Sorensen
The homebound among us

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, January 30
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

Wednesday, February 1
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 16)

6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Lutheran Book Club (finish A Skeleton in God's Closet).

God bless!
PKJ

Transfiguration Day General Prayer

2012-01-29T11:59:00.001-08:00

Lord God heavenly Father, we confess with the psalmist that we are blessed to dwell in Your house and sing Your praises. Confident of Your favor, withhold no good thing from us as we call upon Your name in prayer:

Grant to us and all people a renewed reverence for- and holy awe of -Your will expressed in the Ten Commandments. Let our lives be shining examples of those who walk in Your ways and reflect Your presence to the world.

Instill in us a confident faith in Your Word. Let it shine in all of the dark places in our lives and in this world. Grant that our church and congregation would always recognize and confess that the words of the prophets and apostles were inspired by Your Holy Spirit.

Help us to know and believe in Your Son Jesus Christ as he is revealed on the mount of transfiguration—true God and true man—the heaven-sent Savior who has reconciled us to you.

Grant us a ready confidence to face our last day on earth, knowing that there is another life to come and an eternal dwelling place with Your for all who have trusted in Your Son Jesus. Comfort those who mourn with this Good News.

Make us ready to tell of what we have seen and heard in Your Son Jesus Christ. Empower the witness of your church and raise up men for the pastoral ministry.

As we come into the presence of your Son Jesus Christ at this altar, receiving his body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins, drive away all fears and raise us up to walk in his ways.

Throughout our lives, in every moment and circumstance, be to us a sun and shield. We especially ask You to shine upon those who are ill and in need. Grant them your favor and honor them with good gifts.

All of these things and whatever else you see that we need and yet lack the wisdom to ask for, whatever is for our neighbor’s good and to Your glory, grant to us dear Father in heaven for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Transfiguration of Jesus

2012-01-29T11:44:00.000-08:00

Matthew 17:1-9
All of the Gospel writers record Jesus’ deep and abiding prayer life—that he regularly made time for prayer—that he often sought out solitary places where he could be alone with his heavenly Father, apart from the press of the crowds. But this day was different. The Bible says that:

After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

Why would Jesus take disciples with him this time when he never had before? It was because he needed and wanted witnesses for what was about to happen—people who could testify to what they saw and heard that day on the mountain.

In our epistle lesson today we have that testimony from one of the men who were there, from Peter, who says that: he and James and John were eyewitnesses of Christ’s majesty—that they heard with their own ears the words of the Father, proclaiming Jesus his Son, because they were with him on the holy mountain.

Jesus never talked about what happened to him that day—he never used these events to strengthen his ministry—he never drew attention to the glory of God that shone forth from his human flesh as he was transfigured—but his disciples (the eyewitnesses) did talk about it—not just to encourage their fellow disciples-- but to encourage every Christian in every time and place, down to the folks sitting in these pews today.

Jesus took Peter, James and John with him so that we could see through their eyes and we could hear with their ears all that happened that day—so that our faith in Jesus and our confidence in the Word of God could be strengthened by the transfiguration. The Bible says that Jesus:

…was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

When Moses came down Mount Sinai after receiving the Ten Commandments, the fact that he had been directly in the presence of God was as clear as the nose on his shining face that still reflected the glory of God.

It is that same divine light that shines, not on Jesus as it did upon Moses, but through Jesus and from Jesus upon those around him.

Jesus said of himself that he is the Light of the world. John, who was also with him on the mount of transfiguration, said that Jesus is the light that enlightens all men. These words were literally true that day as the glory of God shone forth from Jesus.

It’s not as if the glory of God had not always been there in Jesus. The angels proclaimed the reality of the glory of God in Jesus Christ at his birth when they sang “glory to God in the highest" as the star shone upon his crib. Every miracle Jesus performed revealed the glory of God.

But there that day on the mount of transfiguration, in the presence of witnesses, the glory of God was revealed in Jesus in a way that all could see so that he could be known for who he is: the promised Savior of us all. The Bible says that:

There appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. And Peter said to him, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

There were others there that day besides Jesus and the disciples and they were present to bear witness as well. They were there to give witness from the past—to identify Jesus of Nazareth as the one whom the prophets had always been talking about when they told of the Messiah to come.

Moses was there to bear witness that Jesus was the greater prophet he had promised—that Jesus was the Seed of the woman he had written about in Genesis—that Jesus was the living, breathing embodiment of those stone tablets that Moses had held in his hands on Mount Sinai.

Elijah was there to speak for the prophets—to bear witness that: the suffering servant of Isaiah and the humble king of Zechariah and the refining fire of Malachi were the same person—the humble man who stood between them, clothed in light.

Later on his ministry Jesus would say that all of the Law and prophets testified of him-- and so it was that day as the past found its fulfillment in Jesus.
But Moses and Elijah were also there to testify about the future—to show by their living presence what Jesus had come to do.

Sin had brought death into the world for all people—even for those closest to God like Moses and Elijah. But Jesus came to bring life-- and their presence that day testified to that saving work that Jesus would accomplish by his death and resurrection.

Moses and Elijah were there to bear witness to the fact that in Jesus’ presence death has to give way to life—that death is not the end for God's people--but there is life to come for all who trust in Jesus.

One of these days, we too will take our place there at Jesus’ side along with Moses and Elijah and Peter, and James, and John and all who have trusted in the Lord and we will all testify that life, real life, eternal life is God's gift to all of those who listen to his Son. The Bible says:

Peter was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

On the day that Moses went up upon Mount Sinai, there was a great cloud filled the brightness of lightning, and from this cloud (which was the very presence of God) came the words of God—the commands that he wanted to God’s people to follow-- but also the testimony of his own saving work that he had already accomplished in setting them free from slavery in Egypt.

It is that same divine presence who appears on the mount of transfiguration—also with commands and the testimony of God’s saving works.

On Mount Sinai God said: "Listen to me!" On the mount of transfiguration God says: "Listen to my Son!" and there is no conflict between these two commands. To hear the voice of Jesus is to hear what God has to say to us.
Again and again throughout his ministry Jesus said that he had come to do his Father’s will and speak his Father’s words.

All doubts and questions about: who Jesus is- and are there other ways to heaven- and what does God desire of me as his child- fall by the wayside there on the mount of transfiguration in the bright, shining presence of the transfigured Christ.

Jesus is mediator between God and man. He is the way that leads to life. We are to listen and obey what he says. Jesus is God in human flesh and to see him is to see God and to hear him is to hear God and to know him is to know God. The bible says:

When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.

There would be other moments like this in Jesus’ ministry—moments when the disciples would shrink back in fear.

Early on in his ministry when the disciples had the great catch of fish, Peter begged the Lord to depart from him because he was a sinner. Later on in his ministry, when Jesus appeared before the disciples after his resurrection and their guilt still rested heavily upon them, they shrank back in fear. It happened in the Old Testament as well when Isaiah came into the presence of the Lord and fell on his face, certain that he would die because he was a sinner.

The reaction of Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration -and the reaction of Isaiah in the presence of the Lord-- is the natural, normal reaction of sinners when they are cast into the presence of a holy God. But in what happens next we see the perfect picture of what Jesus came to do. The Bible says that:

Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

When Adam and Even and hid from God in guilt and shame and fear-- he reached out to them- and clothed them by a sacrifice- and covered their shame. When Isaiah was struck down by fear in the Lord’s presence the angel of the Lord came to him and touched his lips with a burning coal and purged away his sin. When the disciples hid out in shame and fear Jesus appeared before them and proclaimed peace—holding out his pierced hands and side to drive away their fear.

The natural, normal reaction of sinners to the presence of God is fear—but Jesus came to take that fear away. There on the mount of transfiguration was a preview, a prophetic picture of his saving work: Struck down by fear—unable to rise under the load of their sinful weakness—Jesus came to the disciples, touched them—and lifted them up.

So he would do for us all at the cross. We could not come to God and so Jesus condescended to come to us. He took upon himself our flesh and became a servant to us all—God in flesh laying down his life for us on the cross—taking away our sins so that we have nothing to fear from entering into the presence of our holy God.

The words he spoke that day are spoken here today: Rise and have no fear. Rise up from the burden of your sin for I have taken it upon myself. Have no fear of death for there is only life in my presence. Rise and have no fear.

And just as Jesus put flesh and blood on those words that day by reaching out and touching the disciples, so he does the same for us here today—feeding us with the same body and blood that was there that day on the mount of transfiguration—the same body and blood present on Mount Calvary—the same body and blood that came forth from the tomb on Easter morning. The bible says that:

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John so that there could be witnesses as to his true identity--that he was God in human flesh--but what that meant for the world had not yet been reveled--that would only come after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

It is only when Jesus has gone to the cross and suffered and died for our sins—only when he has risen from the dead-- that we understand the greatness of God’s love in sending his Son—that he was sent to live and die and rise again for us and for our salvation.

Who Jesus is—and what he came to do—are the whole story of salvation and that story still needs to be told. May God empower our witness to what we have seen and heard in Jesus Christ! Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-01-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

This week, the Lutheran Book Club meets on Wednesday evening to discuss "A Skeleton in God's Closet" by Dr. Paul Maier. The reading goal is to be completed through chapter 15 by Wednesday evening.

Saturday, Messiah Lutheran Church will host a Youth Lock-In for ages confirmation instruction (grade 6) through high school. The cost is $5 per person. I need to have a head count by Tuesday so that I am able to convey that information to Messiah. The Lock-In begins at 6 p.m. and will be conducted by DCE students from Concordia-Texas in Austin. The end time is 7 a.m., which will give everyone time to attend the Divine Service before going home and crashing.

Prayer Concerns:
Our nation, its citizens, and its leaders, that they may choose life rather than perpetuating a culture of death
The holy Christian and apostolic Church that it may preach life in the forgiveness of sins
Those who are caught in the culture of death, that they may be brought to repentance and enjoy the gift of forgiveness
Pastor James Autry and the people of Trinity Lutheran Church, West Sinton

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Wednesday, January 25
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 15-16)

7 p.m.
Lutheran Book Club

Friday, January 27
Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Saturday, January 28
6 p.m.
Youth Lock In at Messiah in Calallen

God bless!
PKJ

Chosen by God, We Choose Life

2012-01-22T05:16:00.000-08:00

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
The words of our text were spoken by Moses to the children of the Israelites who came out of slavery in Egypt. Their parents refused to believe that God would lead them into the Promised Land and so the older generation died in the wilderness.

But now their children were poised to enter into the Promised Land and there was a choice before them just as there was before their parents. Would they follow in the faithless footsteps of their parents or would they trust God and walk in his ways? Moses said to them: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

On this date, January 22nd, thirty-nine years ago our nation and its highest court faced much the same kind of choice that the Israelites faced standing on the banks of the Jordan River. Would they believe in the God of creation who gives life- and walk in his ways- or would they deny him and go their own way?

They made their choice. In a 7 to 2 majority vote, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the: "right of privacy...is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy” thereby legalizing abortion—choosing death and evil over life and good.

So that we understand what that “choice” really entailed, almost a million and a half abortions are performed each year in the United States---about fifty million aborted children since that fateful day thirty-nine years ago today.

From this decision to choose “death and evil” over “life and good” has come a culture of death that embraces more and more people than just the unborn. Those who are ill—those who are disabled—those who are elderly—those whose mere existence is an imposition to the lifestyle of others-- are increasingly looked upon as inconveniences to be gotten rid of by those more powerful than themselves.

Just as the Israelites faced a choice as they entered into the Promised Land- and just as our nation faced a choice in 1973- we too face the same choice between “life and good” and “death and evil.” Moses said:

If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

It is important to remember that the choice before the Israelites was not whether or not to be saved-- or whether or not to be a part of God’s people—they were saved and they were God’s people. God had chosen them to be his own.

So it is with us. We have been saved by Jesus Christ. We are God’s people. God has chosen us in Christ to be his own precious possession. The choice before us then, is the same as it was for the children of Israel: What will our identity as God’s people mean for us in how we live our lives? You see…

There is an inseparable connection between: believing in God—and how we live our lives. Jesus said: If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John said: This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.

The choice that was before the Israelites is exactly the choice that is before us: Will we show that our trust in God is real- by loving him and walking in his ways and keeping his commandments?

To encourage us to make the right decision, Moses promises us that there are blessings that come from obedience.

For the Israelites, these were blessings tied to the covenant that God made with them as a people at Sinai, blessings that were unique to them as a people—but are there are blessings for us too that come from walking in God’s ways.

When we follow God’s counsel about marrying a fellow believer it adds a vital building block for a strong marriage. When we follow God’s counsel and abstain from sexual sins we don’t have to worry about damaging our health. When we follow God’s counsel and dress modestly people won’t get the wrong idea about us.

There are blessings that come from walking in God’s ways. But the opposite is also true, that a life of disobedience leads to curse and death. Moses said:

But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.

Just as there were specific covenant blessings if the Israelites followed in God’s ways-- so there were specific covenant curses for disobedience.

The same principle applies to our nation too. Having chosen death, there are curses. Can anyone honestly say: that we are a better people for having legalized abortion? That we are more caring for those around us? That life has become more precious? That the moral fabric of our nation is stronger? The fact of the matter is…

Just the opposite has happened! In the last thirty-nine years, the number of broken homes has risen dramatically. Sexually transmitted diseases are epidemic. Pornography is everywhere. And how can it not be so when a nation enshrines death in its laws as a moral right and legitimate good?

The same thing can happen in our life—there are unintended but real consequences to our sinful choices: relationships are broken—opportunities are limited—life with God is undermined—for the truth of the matter is that when we go away from God, we are moving towards a false god.

The Israelites were drawn to worship the Canaanite gods, which involved child sacrifice and sexual immorality as a part of their worship. The idols in our day of autonomy and convenience and self lead to exactly the same sins of sexual immorality and the death of children in abortion.

And because these idols appeal to our flesh too, we have to be on guard against them and walk in God’s ways of service and sacrifice to others, choosing life.

There is a clearly seen division between those who love God and follow him and take upon themselves his values-- and those who worship and serve the false gods of this age—a clear division between life and blessing, death and curse. Moses said:

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.

The mini-series “Band of Brothers” follows an American army unit as it fights its way across Europe after D-Day. They parachute into Normandy and fight in the Battle of the Bulge. Amazing battle scenes! But the most powerful episode is one towards the end of the series. It is entitled: “Why We Fight.”

The episode follows the army unity as it marches through a prosperous, orderly German town that has already surrendered and begun to rebuild. But just outside this city (where Germans are getting back to normal life) is a concentration camp that has been abandoned by its guards. The scene inside this camp is horrible. What one man can do to another simply because of who he is, is beyond comprehension. But what is even harder to understand are the townspeople who turned a blind eye to it.

So that there can be no denial that it ever happened, the soldiers make every one of the townspeople march out to the camp with shovels in hand to bury the dead so that they can never claim ignorance about what happened just outside their community.

Over the last thirty-nine years, 50 million children in this country have been legally killed by abortion. We dare not, as Christian citizens of the United States, turn a blind eye to the destruction of life that has taken place in our nation over the last thirty-nine years. We are not permitted to ignore it or pretend it is not happening.

Heaven and earth bear witness to this tragedy and so must we. We must make a solemn resolution that we will have no part in this culture of death—that we will choose life—not only for our sake-- but for the sake of those who follow us. Moses said:

I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

One of the most painful things for us to realize is that there are consequences for the sinful choices we make, not only for ourselves but for the generation that follows us—consequences for our children. That is certainly true when it comes to abortion.

84 percent of women who get abortions are single. In other words, they and their partners have engaged in sexual immorality and a child is conceived and then aborted in the name of convenience and freedom.

Death is always the direction of sin unless there is a return to the Lord. The Good News for us today is that we can return to the Lord—even those who have chosen the way of curse and death for themselves and their children. Moses said:

Love the LORD your God, obey his voice and hold fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

God made an enduring promise to the children of Israel beginning with the Patriarchs: that he would be their God and they would be his people and he would bring them into the Promised Land. God kept that promise as he always does.

But there was even more to his promise. He promised that he would send a Savior for all people—a deliverer who would change the direction of the world from death back to life --like God intended for all of us in the beginning.

Jesus Christ accomplished by his death and resurrection. His shed blood paid for the sins of the world—all sins—including the sins of sexual immorality and abortion. He took upon himself our broken lives to give us wholeness and peace. And his resurrection from the dead is God’s guarantee that death will not be the last word about us--but life and blessing can come from even the darkest of days—for he himself is our life.

We are called by God to choose life and blessing over death and curse—to walk in his ways and be obedient to his commands. We are called by God to take a stand against evil in this dark and dying world.

But we are also called by God to make his voice heard—to let people around us know that they do not have to choose death and curse—but that there is a God who loves them with an everlasting love-- who holds out to them life and blessing in his Son Jesus Christ if they will only receive it in faith.

When we support Lutherans for Life- and when we are merciful to those who have sinned- and when we are welcoming to those who are struggling with critical life issues and need our support and encouragement—we show, in a powerful way, that we have in the LORD, a God who can be trusted to give life and blessing. Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-01-16T14:10:00.000-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

This morning during late service, as I prepared to commune a person in the pew, the congregation was mighty in song! The congregation was singing the last stanza of "The Church's One Foundation..." I could hear a tenor part being sung, as well as a descant of unknown origin, but one that fit so well with the music and the words of the stanza that it very built up the sound. As I listened, I thought to myself, "This must be what heaven sounds like!"

"O blessed heavenly chorus! Lord, save us by Your grace, that we like saints before us may see You face to face."

This week at Mt. Olive, Monday the Church Office, school, and extended care will be closed for the holiday. I'll be out of the office that day.

The Board of Elders will meet on Monday at 6:30 p.m.

Lutheran Book Club will meet on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. Our topic of discussion is Paul Maier's "A Skeleton in God's Closet."

As you make your plans for next weekend, I want to remind you of the ordination and installation service for Pastor Jim Autry at Trinity Lutheran, West Sinton. The service begins at 3 p.m.

Finally, a reminder for the 6th grade and up youth of the Lock In at Messiah Lutheran Church in Calallen. The festivities begin at 6 p.m. and will be conducted by students from Concordia University - Texas. The Lock-In will end at 7 a.m. Sunday, so that all involved will be able to attend the Divine Service on Sunday morning.

Prayer Concerns:
Students and faculty members both from Mt. Olive and around our nation as they return to classes in colleges and universities
The homebound: Ann Cleveland, Ruby Rieder, Charlotte Birnbaum, Bud Bird, Walter and Pearly Theiss
For rain to water the earth in this season of drought
For the unemployed and underemployed among us
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney, John Sorensen

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, January 16
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

Board of Elders
Church Office, School, and Extended Care are closed for the MLK holiday

Wednesday, January 18
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 14-15)

6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Lutheran Book Club (A Skeleton in God's Closet)

God bless!
PKJ

The Model for Christian Marriage

2012-01-15T05:17:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 5:21-33
I think that all of us are aware there is a marriage crisis in our country and culture that has spilled over even into the church.

In more and more states, the union of two men or two women is being called marriage-and there are church bodies that support this legislation. Fewer and fewer people are getting married and those who do are getting married at later and later ages and the vast majority of them have lived together before marriage—including Christian young people. And even those who call themselves Christians have a divorce rate that is similar to those who are not believers.

And so what is the solution to what ails us as a country and culture and church when it comes to marriage? How can we have better marriages that will stand the test of time and be a blessing to those around us? What can we lift up to our children as what they ought to hope for when it comes to marriage?

What is needed is a return to God’s Word and the guidance that comes from the Creator of man and woman and marriage. What is needed is a renewed commitment to follow the model for Christian marriage that we have before us in God’s Word. The Bible says: Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

The heart of Christian marriage—the very center of our lives as husbands and wives is not the love we have for one another—but the relationship we have with Jesus.

The husband/wife relationship is not just a list of rules-- but the living out of who we are in Christ-- and so to be a better husband and to be a better wife—we need to grow closer to God through faith in Jesus. If you are single and want to have a happy marriage—make sure that the person you marry is a committed follower of Jesus Christ. His work for us that makes us Christians and enables us to be better husbands and wives is found throughout these verses. The Bible says that…

Jesus saved us from our sins on the cross—laying aside his divine dignity and honor out of love for us. He gave us his own life in Holy Baptism. He made us members of his body so that we are perfectly united to him. He nourishes our faith with his own body and blood. And he is working in our lives every day to bring us to heaven.

This is what Christ has done for us and we respond to him with reverence. This life of reverence has a particular shape in our marriage: it looks like Jesus’ own life as we live out our faith in the context of our lives as husbands and wives.

It is out of reverence for Christ that we submit to one another in marriage—not just because of our love for one another—not because of how we feel, which can change. But we submit to one another as husband and wife because of who we are in Christ.

That is the foundation for all that follows in God’s guidance for married couples.

Now, what does it mean to submit? It means that we recognize that God has established a particular order in marriage and family and as husbands and wives and parents and children we gladly take our particular place in it out of reverence for Christ—wives respecting their husbands and husbands loving their wives. The Bible says:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

God is a God of order. There is a God-given order in creation. Mankind was given dominion over the other creatures but man is answerable to God for that dominion. There is a God-order in the church. Christ is the head of the church and he rules by his Word. There is a God-given order in society with the government acting as God’s ministers. And there is a God-given order in marriage for the husband and the wife.

Christian wives, out of reverence for Christ, are called upon to confess their belief in God’s “order and design” by submitting to their husbands as the head of their marriage just as the church recognizes that Christ is its head and submits to him.

This is a submission that is based upon love not fear. The church does not fear Christ but serves him in glad obedience on account of his great love for us. So, Christian wives are called by God to show their faith in Jesus by respecting their husbands.

This God-given order goes all the way back to the creation of marriage in the Garden of Eden. It was Adam who was created first. He was the one who named Eve. She was given to Adam by God as a helper fit for him. This has nothing to do with the fall into sin—it predates it. This is God’s enduring will for marriage and so wives are to submit to their own husbands in everything.

Now what does the Bible mean by that word “everything”? It means everything pertaining to their lives as husbands and wives. A husband is not permitted to ask his wife to sin or to tell her to abandon her faith. She does not have to submit to those requests.

Neither does it mean that the husband will make all the decisions. Just as in the church where there are many, many things left free to us as Christians, so the wise Christian husband will give his wife wide latitude in how their home operates and how their children are raised and how the money is spent.

But at the end of the day, the husband is the head of the wife and he is the one who sets the tone and direction for the marriage relationship in a Christ-like way. The Bible says:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Husbands also are to recognize that there is an order that God has established in marriage and submit to their place in out of reverence for Christ by loving their wives like Christ loved the church.

And how did Jesus do that? Was he bossy and high-handed? Did he demoralize her and beat her down? Did he keep her at arm’s length? No! He loved her and laid down his life for her on the cross. He sacrificed everything for her. He took her into his confidence and trusted her with his mission.

So the husband is to put his wife’s welfare above all other earthly priorities. He is to lift her up and encourage her. He is to share his heart with her and trust her with all that is important to him. His life is to be given in service to her.

This is what Christ-like love of a husband for his wife looks like and it does not change with the times—it is not there one day and gone the next—it is constant and enduring, just like Christ’s love for us.

The love of Christ for the church is especially directed towards her eternal welfare. Christ has done everything for our eternal salvation and this too is the Christian husband’s first priority when it comes to his wife.

He is the one responsible for her spiritual well-being—seeing to it that family devotions are held and that time is made for church and Christian giving is a priority and that nothing he says or does tears down, or undermines his wife’s faith in Jesus. The husband’s life is to be lived so that his wife grows closer to Christ and deeper in her faith.

He does this because he is a Christian and reverences Christ with his life. But the husband also does it because he and his wife are united together as one flesh in God’s sight and what he does to bless her is also a blessing for himself. The Bible says:

In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Every time Christ and his apostles taught on marriage, they turned to this verse written by Moses in Genesis: that marriage is the one flesh union between one man and one woman. Jesus used it when the Pharisees asked him about divorce. Paul used it here to remind us what marriage is and how we are to live as husbands and wives. This verse from Genesis is God’s institution of marriage.

So-called homosexual marriage is impossible because there is not a man and a woman-- and two men or two women cannot establish a one flesh union for which man and woman were created by God.

Cultural values may evolve and a nation’s laws may change --but the creative purpose and plan of God cannot change: one man and one woman joined to one another in marriage become one flesh and produce the fruit of their love in the children they conceive and bear.

When God’s Word and will are simply accepted, all questions about living together- and divorce- and the purpose of sexuality- and the possibility of homosexual “marriage” -simply fall by the wayside.

For Christians, there is even more. This one flesh union of a man and woman in marriage not only goes back to creation, it is emblematic of Christ and the church. Just as we are members of Christ, united in his body, the church—so husband and wife are one body.

And just as Christ cares for his body the church by feeding it with the bread of life -and clothing it with his righteousness- and holding it close to his heart- so the husband is to care for the needs of his wife and cherish her as his bride—demonstrating in their marriage the relationship that exists between Christ and the church. The Bible says:

This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

When Christian husbands love their wives- and when Christian wives respect their husbands -they are not only bearing witness to their love for one another --and they are not only living out the Creator’s command to be fruitful and multiply-- they are giving witness to a great mystery: the love that exists between Christ and the church.

That is why our lives together as husbands and wives can never be merely a private arrangement between two consenting adults as society would have us believe—but marriage is a sacred vocation for the sake of Christian witness to the world.

God intends that those around us would learn something about Christ and his church as they view the love and respect that exists in our marriages.

We cannot cure all of society’s ills when it comes to marriage-- but what we can do, by God’s grace and help, is to begin today showing our reverence for Christ by how we live in our marriages: Christian husbands loving their wives and Christian wives respecting their husbands. Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-01-12T07:02:00.001-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

"In the beginning, God created...And there was evening, and there was morning, the first day."

In the last 100 years or so, these words of Genesis have become popular targets for disagreement. There are those who say, "Well, really, the words of Genesis 1:1 say, 'When God began to create the heavens and the earth,' so the materials of creation were already in existence when God began creating." Then, there are those who say, "We really don't know how long the days of Genesis 1 were, so there's no telling how long creation really took." Still others say that the arguments about these things are immaterial, that they really don't have a bearing on the faith. Finally, others say the texts of the Bible are metaphorical and not to be taken literally.

The texts really speak to these issues themselves. The first word of Genesis 1 in Hebrew is a prepositional phrase. It says, "In the beginning..." The word used for day in Genesis 1:5 in the rest of Old Testament literature is a 24-hour day. God's words have a bearing on every aspect of the life of faith, for what God says in His Word is true. Finally, while some texts of the Bible are symbolic in nature, Genesis 1 and its narrative style are to be taken literally.

Praise God for our Lutheran forefathers, for they wrote, "First, then, we receive and embrace with our whole heart the Prophetic and Apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the pure, clear fountain of Israel, which is the only true standard by which all teachers and doctrines are to be judged" (Solid Declaration, Rule and Norm 3).

Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives on reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

This Week at Mt. Olive
The Church Council holds its first meeting of the new year on Monday at 7 p.m. Please pray that God continue to grant wisdom and a servant heart to these faithful servants.

The Lutheran Women's Missionary League will meet Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m.

Lutheran Book Club resumes this week. The latest book for study is "A Skeleton in God's Closet" by Paul Maier. The Book Club meets in the Overflow at 7 p.m.

Finally, I'm working on an evangelism project for Mt. Olive that will involve all people and be centered on content rather than technique. If you'd like to know more, please send me a blast at the end of this week.

I'll be out of the office all day Tuesday for a Circuit Conference in Rockport.

Prayer Concerns:
Rita Murphy, Bob Whitworth, Ben Muhr, Bill Waterman
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney (Ft. Campbell), John Sorensen (NAS Corpus Christi)
The homebound of our church: Ruby Rieder, Ann Cleveland, Charlotte Birnbaum, Bud Bird, Walter and Pearly Theiss (Houston)
College students both from Mt. Olive and throughout our land, as they return to classes this week
The Church throughout the world as she focuses on mission during this Epiphany season

This Week at Mt. Olive
Monday, 9 JAN
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Church Council

Tuesday, 10 JAN
6:30 p.m.
LWML

Wednesday, 11 JAN
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.

Let Us Boast in the Lord!

2012-01-08T05:07:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 1:25-31
A baby lying in feed trough-- is the living God of the universe. A humble carpenter-- is the King of Kings and Lord of lords. A man who stands in a line of sinners at the Jordan River waiting to be baptized-- is the sinless Son of God with whom the Father is pleased. A dying man on the cross-- is the Savior of the world.

It is this picture of Jesus that filled Paul’s mind when he wrote: The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

The greatest intellects who have ever lived cannot think their way into heaven or reason their way into salvation. The mightiest men who have established empires cannot storm their way into the presence of God. The world’s most wealthy people cannot buy their citizenship in God’s kingdom.

Fellowship with God- and a place in his kingdom- and eternal life-- come to us only when we believe in Christ crucified for the sins of the world. This is the foolishness of God and the weakness of God that is wise enough and strong enough to take his enemies and makes them into his sons.

As further proof that God’s ways are not our ways, Paul turns his attention from the One who gives salvation-- to those he gives salvation to—you and me. Paul wrote:

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

Every time I read these words I always wonder to myself how the Corinthians took them--hearing them for the first time.

Imagine getting a letter from your pastor and him saying, “Well, you are not the smartest folks in the world and you’re not the most influential folks in the world and you’re not the most important folks in the world”. I think we would be offended, wouldn’t we! It flies in the face of how we like to see ourselves, doesn’t it!

We tell ourselves an “aw shucks” false humility, “Well, I’m no Einstein but I’m plenty smart enough to know what’s what”. “I’m not a world leader but I’m the “go-to” person at work, the person that can be counted on to get things done”. “Sure, I’m not a celebrity, but everyone in Kingsville knows me”. And we carve out these sad little worlds for ourselves where we are wise- and we are powerful- and we are of noble birth.

But we’re not. Just like the Corinthians—just like the vast, vast majority of Christians-- we are regular folks who the world has never heard of and never will hear of: unknown, average, and at the mercy of forces in the world beyond our control.

But the great wonder and miracle of our identity as Christians is that God chooses people just like us as the recipients of his grace. Paul wrote that:

God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

What really matters—what makes all the difference in who we are-- is not what the world’s attitude is towards us-- but what God’s attitude is towards us.

He made a point of choosing the weak and the foolish and the low and the despised so that the entire world would know that their life with God rested completely on his grace-- rather than their own accomplishments.

He chose the foolish-- so that the wise of the world would abandon their pride that keeps even the possibility of God’s existence at arm’s length.

He chose the weak-- so that the strong of the world would learn that it is not their efforts that earn them a place with God but his work alone.

He chose the low and the despised of the world-- so that the rich and the famous and the accomplished would understand that all people stand perfectly equal around the cross in their need for salvation.

God chose the foolish and the weak and the low and the despised to be his children and he saved them by: the foolishness of preaching- and the weakness of a peasant baby- and the lowness of a man who died a criminal’s death on the cross.

He did this to tear down the great human impediment to salvation: our pride. Paul wrote that God chose who he did and saved them the way he did: so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Of all human sins, pride is the most dangerous. It was there in Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve counted their own wisdom wiser than God’s clear word of warning-- and that sin of pride has been passed down to us and resides in our sinful flesh.

Pride not only lifts us up above our fellow human beings (which is bad enough!) but it displaces God from his rightful place in our hearts.

Pride tells us that we know better about our lives than the Word of God. Pride makes us unwilling to forgive others. Pride keeps us from admitting that we are sinners who stand in need of God’s forgiveness. Pride convinces us we can make our own way to God rather than crying out for his mercy. Pride is what caused the downfall of man in general-- and pride is what causes our alienation from God in particular.

God knows this about us. That is why he chose the way of salvation that he did—that is why he chooses the people that he does—so we can come before him in humility as the weak, powerless people that we are--and simply receive the blessings he gives to us in Jesus. Paul wrote that it is because of God alone that:

We are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

How many times over the course of our life have we sung the words: “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to they cross I cling”? How many times have we sung: “Just as I am without one plea but that Thy blood was shed for me”? How often have we sung these words-- and not meant a word of it?!

But these words from our hymns ARE a true confession of the words of the Bible that we have before us this morning: it is because of God ALONE that we are in Christ.

He chose us in Christ to be his own before the creation of the world. He created us and gave us life. He sent his Son to live and die for us and rise again. He has brought us to faith in Jesus through the preaching of the cross. And he has promised to hold us safely in his almighty hands until we stand in his presence.

It is because of God ALONE that we believe in- and are saved by- and abide with- Jesus Christ who is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

And so what does Paul mean by this? He means that everything we need for a life with God in this world-- and the world to come-- can be found in only one place—and that is in Jesus.

Jesus is our wisdom. Everything we need to know about God can be found in Jesus Christ. Everything we need to know about what a God-pleasing life looks like can be found in Jesus Christ. Everything we need to know about what life and death and eternity hold for us as Christians can be found in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is our righteousness. The holiness and goodness and faithfulness of Jesus, his loyalty to his heavenly Father and commitment to do his will—is the only righteousness that counts in God’s sight for salvation. It is the only righteousness in which there is no flaw. And that righteousness is ours through faith in Jesus.

Jesus is our sanctification. God calls us to holiness. Christ calls us to take up our cross and follow him. And the enduring strength to live a holy, humble, selfless life like our Lord’s comes through Jesus Christ as we hear his voice in the word and receive his real presence in Holy Communion.

Jesus is our redemption. His blood was the price he paid to set us free from sin and death-- free from the burdens and guilt of the past—free to live as God’s people.

Because Jesus is everything to us: Any thought of relying on our wisdom and strength when it comes to our life with God simply falls by the wayside when we see all that God has done for us and continues to do for us in Christ.

Any pride we might have vanishes from our heart when we learn that from beginning to end our salvation is from God. And any temptation to boast about who we are or what we have done cannot stand before the righteousness and wisdom and sanctification and redemption which is ours in Christ.

Therefore, Paul says: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” There is most certainly a place for boasting in the lives of those who are weak and foolish and low—but it is not boasting about who are and what we have done that is to come from our lips-- but boasting about the great things that God has done for us in Christ.

All around us are those who think that their life matters because of who they are and how much money they have and what they have accomplished—people who will one day learn just how empty and alone they are because they don’t have a life with God.

Before that day, we have an opportunity to tell them of the great things God has done for us in his Son Jesus Christ and the difference that makes in our lives and the love that God has for them too. May God grant that we would always be people who are glad to boast in Jesus! Amen.

The Mystery of Christ Revealed

2012-01-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

Ephesians3:1-12
I read an excellent essay this week by Russell Moore, a very fine Southern Baptist pastor and theologian. And the rhetorical question he asked was a question that we often ask: What will become of the church? Is there a future for Christianity?

The answer to that question, he wrote, was in the five billion people on this planet right now who don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior—five billion potential new Christians waiting in darkness for the light of Jesus Christ on them.

And then he asked another question we often ask: Where will the great leaders of Christianity in the next generation come from? The answer to that question, he wrote, was that they would come from the same place where they have always come from—from the ranks of unbelievers who will one day be converted to faith in Christ.

What was Paul before he became an apostle but a persecutor of Jesus? What was C.S. Lewis before he became a great defender of the faith but a scholar who ridiculed Christianity?

When we look at the future of the church and despair-- it is because we have taken our eyes off of the God who converted the Roman Empire and the German tribes and is, right now, raising up a mighty church in Africa and Asia.

On this Epiphany Day we are reminded that the love of God in Jesus Christ extends to all people—even the most unlikely of people and that his ability to save is still mighty and powerful. Paul wrote:

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.

This was Paul’s second imprisonment for the faith. When preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the temple in Jerusalem, he was almost killed by a Jewish mob and ended up in jail for his protection. And so what was the source of their rage that made them cry out: “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”? What made them so mad?

Paul dared to teach that the love of God extended not just to the Jews but even to the Gentiles—that all people could come to God through faith in Jesus—that it wasn’t necessary to follow hundreds of laws to have a life with God—that he, Paul, had been called by the resurrected Christ for that very purpose: to reveal the great mystery of God’s saving work in the world. And so what was that mystery? Paul wrote:

When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

The great mystery of God’s saving work in the world is that from the very beginning of time, God planned and purposed that the world would be reconciled to him in only one way—and that is through faith in his Son Jesus—that irrespective of race or gender or place in society—all people could have a life with God through his Son.

Now this was a mystery in the sense that it had to be reveled and manifested and made known to the world.

No one could reason their way into the knowledge of God’s salvation—that God himself would take on flesh and become part of his creation; that the Savior of the world would live in obscurity; that eternal life would come through his terrible death on the cross; and that people would enter into life by hearing that message of the Gospel.

That is why the mystery of God’s saving work in the world must still be revealed. No one can come to that knowledge on their own—it must be made known to them.

It must be revealed to those who know nothing of the things of God like the Gentiles of Paul’s day and the unbelievers in our day. It must be revealed to those who know something of God and his ways because they know the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments like the Jews of Paul’s day and Muslims in our day.

But the natural knowledge of God and the moral knowledge of God is insufficient for salvation. It is Jesus who must be known if there is to be a life with God.

That is why Jesus commissioned and sent the apostles and other disciples into the world: to reveal the mystery of God’s saving will in Jesus for all people. It is why Jesus met Paul on the Road to Damascus and sent him to the Gentiles—because the Good News of God’s love extends to even the most unlikely of people. Paul wrote:

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

When we despair about the future of the church—when we worry about our own congregation—when we are discouraged about the role of Christianity in our nation—it is because we have abandoned the Christian attitude and outlook we find in these verses.

Paul counted himself a servant of the Gospel. That’s what that word “minister” means—not clergyman, not priest, not pastor—but servant. Now he was a special kind of servant as an apostle—but at the end of the day, still just a servant of the Gospel.

He was who he was solely as the result of an undeserved gift. He knew that he was, by nature, the least of all the believers for he had persecuted Christ. And yet God had forgiven him and gave him an opportunity to tell others about Jesus --and how could he not do so-- since what Christ meant to him and had given to him was beyond measure.

So it is to be for us. We are to count ourselves servants of the Gospel first—before being a teacher or homemaker or student or farmer or businessperson or retired person or pastor. We are God’s servants because of his undeserved gift of a Son—called by God in the context of my daily life to proclaim the blessings that we have in Jesus.

Despair and discouragement about the future of the church and our congregation and the place of Christianity in our own nation has no place in our life when we see ourselves in this light because we are so focused on the mission of Christ.

And how necessary this is: that we see ourselves as servants of the Gospel--that we stand in awe of the riches of Christ--because the mystery of God’s saving purpose still needs to be revealed in the lives of so many people around us! Paul wrote that the believer has a responsibility:

To bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

It is exactly the same God who called the world into being and perfectly ordered his entire creation who also has a plan to save the world in his Son.

In the Bible we can trace how that plan unfolded so that at just exactly the right moment in history the Savior was born. We can look back upon our own lives and see how God was patiently working to bring us to the knowledge of the truth.

And the more we know of the Bible and the more we are reflective about our own life of faith the more we grow in our gratefulness to God and our love for his Son and our willingness to be a part of that saving plan in our own day and time.

It is through us, believers in Christ, the church-- that the amazing wonderful plan of God is made known in our own day and time—to bring to light the love that God has for all. That is the mission of the church!

Over one hundred ago, there were people from all across this country who gave to the work of missions so that a missionary could be sent to the south Texas desert—to people that they had never met and never would meet until they got to heaven. They didn’t know them from Adam-- but they wanted to make sure that people in south Texas knew about the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ.

And here we are tonight, one hundred years later, with the call of Jesus on our own lives to do all that is within our power to make him known to people that we will never meet until we get to heaven.

Our centennial offering is going to Texas Partners in Mission so that people from Iraq and Iran and Tibet and Africa and Mexico and China who have made their way to Texas can also know the mystery of God’s salvation-- and believe in Jesus-- and take their place with us in the church-- and support the mission of God in the next generations.

This is the wisdom of God that is revealed in nowhere else but the church: that life with him is for all people—not matter their past—no matter their skin color—no matter their language.

That vision is revealed in the pews of Christian churches throughout the world that are filled with all kinds of people-a vision that even the angels of heaven delight to see. Paul says that: through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

From the very beginning of creation the angels gazed upon the work of God. They saw the various parts of creation come into being. But something happened when man was created. Part of the heavenly angels rebelled against God’s purpose and attacked mankind while the holy angels looked on with sorrow.

From that moment on an unseen, spiritual battle raged. Over salvation history God used the good angels as his messengers. They announced the coming Savior. They sang at his birth. They comforted Jesus in the desert and in the garden in the hours before his death. The Bible says that they longed to look into God’s plan of salvation.

It is when they gaze upon the church that they see the mystery of God’s saving plan revealed: that through faith in Jesus Christ, man has been restored to what God always planned for him to be: his sons, members of his family with whom he desires the closest fellowship. Paul wrote:

This was according to the eternal purpose that God has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Every news article I have read and every news story I have seen on TV is filled with fear and trepidation about the New Year. What will happen to the economy? What about North Korea and Iran? Will there be an end to this drought?

But far above these temporal concerns is a God with an eternal purpose that he wisely, graciously accomplished in his Son Jesus Christ: the salvation of the world. And you are a part of that plan. You are the object of his redeeming love and you are his servants, called to be a part of his saving plan in someone else’s life.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, it is not fear and trepidation that fills our heart but boldness and confidence as we take our place and fulfill our role in God’s saving plan! Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2012-01-02T03:58:00.001-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

If you're like me, today is the first of many days on which I'll write 2011, only to correct it to reflect the new year. Happy New Year, many will say for the rest of today, but tomorrow is another day - a day of work, a day of preparation for school, a day on which life gets back to normal, whatever that is. As we heard from the Old Testament Lesson this morning (Numbers 6:22-27), in blessing, the Lord puts His eternal name on us. Specifically, it is in our baptism that God puts a name of blessing and promise. As we venture into this new year and beyond, our confidence is in the promise our Lord has given us in His means of grace.

This week at Mt. Olive the Church Office reopens. Bible Study will continue on Wednesday with Revelation 14. Next Sunday, 8 JAN, officers and boards/committees will be installed in preparation for the next Church Council meeting on 9 JAN.

Also, two big events on Saturday, both at 9 a.m.
The Altar Guild will be undecorating the sanctuary in preparation for the Epiphany season. Help will be needed for taking down garland, lights, etc.

Youth of the Church will begin their annual beautification project by weeding the flower beds around the front door of the church. This is greatly needed, and snacks and perhaps a bit of food will be provided.

Prayer Concerns:
Ben Muhr as he continues his recovery
The Church Council and the various committees as they undertake their duties
Prayer for the gift of rain.

God bless!
PKJ

We Are Sons of God Through Faith in Jesus

2012-01-01T04:55:00.000-08:00

Galatians 3:23-29
When we think of Moses on Mt. Sinai we think about the Ten Commandments. But there were many, many other laws given there as well--hundreds of laws that spoke to every aspect of the Jews’ lives as individuals and as a nation.

There were laws about food and clothing and relationships and money and social justice and worship. God gave these laws to the Jews and demanded that they be obeyed-- and the penalties and punishments for breaking these laws were harsh. This is what Paul was talking about when he wrote that:

…before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.

The Jews were hemmed in on every side by God’s law just like a jail cell hinders the movement of an inmate—and that was its God-given purpose—to keep them close together until he could set them—and all men-- free.

Those rules and regulations were never meant to be a permanent way of life—but only a temporary measure until Jesus came into the world to live and die and deliver the world from the bondage to sin and death.

The person and work of Jesus is the “faith” that Paul was talking about here in this verse when he says: before faith came. He is not talking about the faith with which we believe. That had always been the way to life with God.

Four hundred and thirty years before the law was given to Moses at Sinai, the Bible tells us that Abraham believed God and God counted it as righteousness. But here Paul is talking about the faith THAT IS believed—the content of saving faith which is Jesus Christ: his birth, life, death, and resurrection.

The purpose of the rules and regulations given at Sinai was to guard the Jews as a people until God revealed the Savior in his Son Jesus Christ. Paul wrote that:
…the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

That word “guardian” that Paul uses here has a very specific meaning. In the ancient Greek and Roman world, a servant would be appointed by a boy’s father to watch out for him. This servant would walk him to school and back home again. He would make sure he wasn’t hanging out with the wrong crowd. He would teach him manners and how to behave in polite society and correct him when he did wrong.

He was his guardian—but only until the boy reached adulthood—for then he no longer needed a guardian. The servant had accomplished his purpose when the boy took his rightful place in the father’s house as a full grown son.

Those hundreds of laws and precepts and rules that God gave at Sinai to govern the life of his ancient people—regulating every facet of their lives—served as a guardian over them until Christ came.

But those ceremonial and religious and political laws of the Jews were never meant to be an end unto themselves or a permanent way of life—they only existed so that the Jews would be preserved as a people until Christ came, as Paul says, so that we might be justified by faith.

Here Paul moves from the faith that is believed—the content of faith—to the faith with which we believe—what we trust in.

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the content of the Christian faith and when we believe it—when we put our faith in it and build our life upon it--we are justified in God’s sight—that is, we are declared righteous in his sight and we take our place in God’s family as his sons. Paul wrote:

…now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

The rules and regulations and precepts of the Jews that governed every facet of their lives have no place in the life of a Christian—whether they are Jew or Gentile. That kind of guardianship has come to an end with Christ.

So it is with every new rule or regulation or precept that some Christian group mistakenly wants to impose on us for our own good. To tell a Christian what day of the week they can or cannot eat meat-- or what color their buggy has to be—or what they should do about their children’s education-- is a return to Judaism and the dead works of the law.

The Bible says that we are justified by faith APART from the works of the law. In other words, our right standing in God’s sight and our relationship with him does not depend upon keeping all the rules and regulations and precepts that God gave to the Jews-- or the rules some misguided Christian wants to impose on us. Instead, our place in God’s family comes solely through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son.

He kept every rule, regulation, and precept God gave to Moses at Sinai. Already at the very beginning of Jesus’ life we see him keeping the covenant God made with Abraham as Jesus is circumcised in the temple, shedding the same blood with which he would forgive the world’s sins at the cross.

Jesus’ circumcision was the beginning of a lifetime of holy obedience to his Father’s will for our sake—so that through faith in Jesus his obedience could become our own and we could be counted as sons in God’s family.

Just a few verses after our text, Paul said: When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. This is the purpose of God’s redeeming work in this world—that we would be restored to what God created us in the beginning to be: his sons.

It’s interesting and important to note that Paul is not inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the word “children” but the word “son.” It’s not because we are not God’s children (we are!) but that we are “sons” describes our status as full-fledged mature members of God’s family, with all of the rights and responsibilities and privileges as God’s only-begotten Son Jesus.

That’s Paul’s point—that through faith in God’s Son-- we who are God’s adopted sons can expect from our heavenly Father exactly the same blessings as he gives his only-begotten Son. That is how important it is to have faith in Jesus!

But how did we receive that faith in Jesus that makes us a part of God’s family? That came through the power of the Gospel proclaimed in Word and Sacrament. Paul wrote that: … as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

The Bible teaches that every person who has been baptized with water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit—has been baptized into Christ’s death and raised up in his resurrection so that we would walk in newness of life until that day we pass into everlasting life.

The picture that Paul uses in our text is that of someone putting on Christ like a garment-- and that is exactly what happens in baptism. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ—his death becomes my death—his holiness becomes my holiness—his resurrection, my own eternal life—and all of this through faith in him.

This righteousness of Christ is that wedding garment that Jesus said all must wear to enter into the marriage feast of the Lamb in his kingdom.

Christ’s righteousness is the white robe that all of the saints wear as they worship around the throne of the Lamb in heaven—people from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages—having just one thing in common with one another—the one thing necessary to stand in God’s presence: the robe of Christ’s righteousness they have received in Holy Baptism and put on by faith. Paul wrote that, clothed in the righteousness of Christ:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

There are six billion people on this planet—each of us different from the others—different races, different genders, different places in society. There are many billions more who have lived and died—all of them different from one another.

Perhaps there will be many billions more to come. But there is only one Man who is perfectly holy and righteous in God’s sight—and that is God’s own Son Jesus Christ.

When we were baptized into Christ, his life became our own-- and we were clothed in his perfect holiness and righteousness-- and so through faith in him we also stand before Almighty God in exactly the same way as Jesus does right now—with the blessing of the LORD and his bright, beaming face shining upon us.

And as God’s adopted sons we can count on the same glorious future as his Son Jesus enjoys right now. Paul wrote: …If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. So that there is no doubt in your mind…

The grammatical construction in the original reads this way: If you are Christ’s—AND YOU ARE!—then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promises. There is no doubt about it! Baptized into Christ, clothed in his righteousness, believing in Jesus—you are sons of God and you will inherit everything God first promised to Abraham—everything that Jesus earned for you in his life, death, and resurrection. The Bible says that is an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.

We have a renewed and restored relationship with God. We don’t have to worry what his attitude is towards us because we know what it is towards Christ: love and blessing.

We have the gift of the Holy Spirit--giving us joy and hope and peace despite whatever the world throws at us.

We have the abiding presence of Jesus who has promised to be with always—speaking to us in his word and feeding us with his body and blood.

And we have an eternal life in God’s presence to look forward to and a new heaven and new earth where sin and suffering and sorrow have no part.

The Good News for us on this first day of a new year is that we are God’s sons through faith in Jesus and a great and glorious future awaits us. Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2011-12-27T19:53:00.001-08:00

Good afternoon, fellow redeemed!

The three days following Christmas mark anything but joy. Yesterday, December 26, the Church marks as St. Stephen (Good King Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen - that one). Stephen, of course, was the first martyr, being stoned to death after testifying faithfully to his Lord Christ. Today, December 27, is the day of St. John, Evangelist and Apostle. Tradition tells us that John died a natural death around the year 100 A.D. Yet, this apostle's life was anything but happy and cheerful. Tradition also tells us of the numerous attempts on John's life, as well as his exile in the mines on Patmos, where he was given and recorded the Revelation from God through Christ. Tomorrow, December 28, is observed as the Holy Innocents, the children of the Bethlehem area who were murdered by Herod's soldiers as he responded in fear and rage that someone else might rightfully be King of the Jews. These three remind us that life in Christ, at least in this life, is lived under the cross, that suffering and persecution are not only possible but to be expected, and that the devil, the world, and even our own flesh reject the lordship of Jesus of Nazareth, who is true God and true man.

It's especially important in these days that we remember in prayer those brothers and sisters in the faith around the world who are regularly persecuted for the sake of Christ.

There will be a Game Night on New Year's Eve beginning at 7 p.m. in the fellowship hall. This is an informal gathering of folks who like to celebrate the coming of the new year with devotions, good food, and good fun. You are invited!

Please, as I regularly say at this time of year, keep yourselves safe. If you're drinking, don't drive. If you're traveling, keep your safety belts fastened and protect yourselves and the other folks on the road. I may sound like a mother hen, but I really rejoice to see you at the Divine Service on Sunday!

God bless!
PKJ

This Week at Mt. Olive

2011-12-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

Good morning, fellow redeemed!

O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign before the peoples, before whom all kings are mute, to whom the nations will do homage:
Come quickly to deliver us.

But deliver us from evil.
What does this mean?--Answer.
We pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all manner of evil, of body and soul, property and honor, and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven.

Matthew 3:7b: [John the Baptist said,] "Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?"

Today's O Antiphon has an important verb to learn: deliver. Christians talk a lot about being saved, but rarely talk about being delivered. Yet, it is deliverance that we so badly need. I've heard the story of the Bible called the account of the greatest rescue operation in history. In other words, the Bible tells about deliverance. John the Baptist's preaching was prophetic preaching, indicating the very real wrath of God against sin. That preaching strikes a nerve in us, for it's against the sin of humanity that the wrath of God is kindled.

Once again, we take note of the verb "deliver". The picture in minds may be a helicopter plucking a downed airman from the sea, or firefighters who heroically rescue a child from a burning building. The deliverance brought about by the root of Jesse is no less dramatic.

In fact, this Root of Jesse has a name that tells of deliverance. In Hebrew, it's Yehoshua, after his Old Testament namesake, Joshua. You probably know him better by the name you've learned since you were a child: Jesus. His name means, The Lord delivers. Indeed, at the cross, in His bleeding and dying, Jesus delivers sinners from the wrath to come.

O Root of Jesse, our Lord Jesus, lead us to Your arrival as our Deliverer, that You will deliver us sinners from the punishment we so rightly deserve. Amen

This Week at Mt. Olive:
There will be no Board of Elders meeting tonight.

Tuesday is Christmas program practice beginning at 6:30 p.m. There will be some light supper provided for the cast and crew, and practicing will begin between 6;45 p.m. and 7 p.m. Please bring your costume and script!

Wednesday, there will be a fourth Advent Midweek service. This will be held at the regular times of 12:15 and 7:15 p.m. The Advent Psalm is 85, though we won't be using the entire Psalm in the service.

Thursday is Youth Cookie Baking, Taking, and Caroling day! Beginning at 9:30 a.m., with lunch provided, the young people of Mt. Olive will be baking and decorating cookies to take to the homebound members. This is an all day event, and lunch is provided.

Also on Thursday, young people, if you want to participate in the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, I need to know that before Thursday, as that's when I'll be handing out parts.

The Worship Schedule for the Weekend:
Christmas Eve, December 24 (Saturday)
6:30 p.m. - Sunday School Christmas Service
11 p.m. - Candlelight Service

Christmas Day, December 25 (Sunday)
8 a.m. - Divine Service
9:15 a.m. - Adult Bible Class is invited to bring a Christmas goodie to share as we watch the rest of "The Star of Bethlehem".
Sunday School Convocation
10:30 a.m. Divine Service

God bless!
Pastor Kevin Jennings

The Mighty One Has Done Great Things

2011-12-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

Luke 1:39-56
Four thousand years ago, out of pure grace, God chose a man named Abraham through whom he would bless the world. God promised Abraham that he would become a great nation—that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars—and that through one special Offspring all of the world would be blessed.

God made these promises when Abraham and his wife Sarah had no children—and still they didn’t-- decade after decade of their lives together as a married couple. Periodically God would renew his covenant with them—but still no child-- until they became very old people.

It was at this point in their lives—when there could be no doubt among anyone that it was a God of might who acted in their lives—that Sarah conceived and gave birth to Isaac, whose son Jacob had twelve sons who would become the twelve tribes of Israel—and they became a great nation just as God had promised.

Over the centuries God maintained his covenant with Abraham and renewed his promise to bless the world through his one special Offspring.

Periodically God would raise up prophets who would tell more of the coming One: the place of his birth—that his mother would be a virgin—that he would suffer and die for the sins of the world and rise again. Hundreds and hundreds of prophecies were made over hundreds and hundreds of years—each of them a brushstroke in the portrait of Abraham’s Offspring through whom the world would be blessed.

Two thousand years later in the hill country surrounding Jerusalem there lived another elderly couple named Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were pious, devout believers and they too were childless. But out of pure grace God sent the angel Gabriel to tell them that he would do what was humanly impossible—that in their old age they would have a son in whose birth many would rejoice for he was promised messenger of the Messiah who would prepare his way into the hearts of his people.

At that same time, in a town called Nazareth, there lived a young woman who was engaged to be married. Before that marriage was consummated, the same angel Gabriel appeared to her with a startling announcement—that out of pure grace she had been chosen by God to bear his Son.

The Offspring of Abraham through whom the whole world would be blessed would come forth from her virgin womb by the power of the Holy Spirit—and he would reign forever on David’s throne. It is there that we pick up the story of the Mighty One who has done such great things for us. Luke writes:

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

By God’s grace, at Zechariah’s house, an elderly pregnant woman met a pregnant virgin. But as amazing and wonderful as are God’s mighty and miraculous works in giving babies to these two women and Sarah before them—what God did spiritually in their lives and in the lives of their children—was even greater.

When the words of Mary reached Elizabeth’s ear, little John leaped for joy in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and made one of the first confessions of faith in Jesus recorded in the New Testament. She confessed that Mary was the mother of her Lord.

Thirty years later Jesus would breathe on his disciples and give them the Holy Spirit. But already on that day—in Jesus’ presence within the womb of his mother-- the Holy Spirit was given through Mary’s greeting and Elizabeth confessed with her words and John confessed with his deeds --their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

As miraculous as the physical miracle of those two babies was—as mighty a work of God as they were--the spiritual miracle accomplished that day of God working faith in human hearts, causing them to believe in Jesus—were just as great. And so it is in our life too.

Through simple water and the promise of God, our heavenly Father rescues us from sin, death, and the power of the devil in Holy Baptism—he wrests us away from Satan’s kingdom and adopts us as his children and gives us the Holy Spirit.

Through the promise of Jesus to be with us always, our Lord gives us his body and blood under bread and wine—feeding us with his own life to sustain our life in him.

Through the preaching of his Word and the Good News of forgiveness, God awakens faith in our heart and fills us with his Spirit.

And the really wonderful thing is that our mighty God has planned to do these very things to save us from our sins from before the beginning of time.

He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be conformed to the image of his Son. He promised our salvation through the words of the prophets. His Son entered into human history and reconciled us God through his death on the cross and raised Jesus from the dead to give us life. And that we might believe that this has been done FOR US: he has established the Church and the Holy Ministry so that his Word would be preached and his sacraments administered and faith be given to us by the Holy Spirit working through these humble means of grace.

These mighty works of God are accomplished in those whom the Bible says are spiritually blind by nature—deaf to the voice of God—and dead in sins and trespasses.

It is his gracious, mighty work alone that we are able to: join our voices with Elizabeth-- and be filled with the fruit of the Spirit like John--and confess that the One born of the Virgin Mary is our Savior and Lord.

Because of this Spirit-worked faith, we can add our praises to that of Mary as she thanks God for the mighty things he has done for her.

Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

It is a helpful reminder for all of those within Christendom who would lift Mary up almost to the place of Christ—that Mary herself magnifies the Lord- and rejoices that he is her Savior from sin- and counts herself his humble servant.

But it is also precisely because of her great faith that Mary, the Mother of our Lord, serves as an example for all Christians-- for she shows us what a true and living faith in Jesus looks like.

First of all, Mary knew and rejoiced in the Good News that God is her Savior. There is nothing her confession of faith that indicates in the least way that she has done anything worthy of the great things the Lord has done for her. It is all by his gracious gift of a Son that she is saved and she exalts his holy name for his mercy.

That we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is not a Lutheran peculiarity or reformation innovation. It is not an idea that you find only in the Pauline epistles. It is the story of our salvation that goes back all the way to the beginning—God reaching out to those who do not deserve his notice—to do for them what they cannot do for themselves: save them from sin and death.

All generations call the Mother of our Lord: the Blessed Virgin Mary-- and rightfully so-- for out of all the women who have ever lived she was only one was chosen to be the mother of the Savior of the world.

But that judgment of blessedness is also spoken over each and every one of us because we believe in Jesus Christ-- and it will be spoken about us forever in the courts of heaven. The Bible says of those in heaven: blessed are those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Secondly, Mary reminds us that the God we serve is a God who is both mighty and merciful. She says:

His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

The powers of sin, death, and the devil are no match for Jesus much less the earthly forces of those who stand opposed to his people. He is the God who orders and upholds the universe. He is the God who kills and makes alive. He is the God who rules all things. He is strong and mighty and powerful to save!

But we are also reminded that he is merciful. When we are struck to the heart in the knowledge of our sins—the Lord lifts us up and forgives us and calls us his children. When we hunger for the good things that are our inheritance as God’s children Jesus promises to fill our deepest needs—giving us peace and hope and joy.

And finally we can be confident that he will keep these promises he makes to us because he is the God of kept promises.

Mary concludes her song in the way that we began our meditation—by calling to mind the Lord’s faithfulness to the covenant he made with Abraham to save the world through his offspring. She says of the Lord:

He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Two thousand years separated Abraham and Mary—two thousand years separate Mary from us—but from generation to generation the Lord shows his mighty and mercy and we can count on that very thing in our lives too.

From the day that Adam and Eve sinned and brought death into the world, the story of our salvation is God’s story—the story of the Mighty One who has done great things for us.

To all human pride that would speak of salvation in terms of some decision we have made or some experience we have undergone, we learn today that the story of our salvation is the story of our gracious God, acting in human history in powerful ways, to reconcile us to himself. That Good News cannot help but bring forth from our lips a song of praise just like it did for Mary: the mighty one has done great things for me and holy is his name! Amen.

Comfort For God's People

2011-12-14T15:43:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 40:1-11
In the very first chapter of Isaiah, the prophet of God brings this charge from the Lord against his people:

“Oh, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly. They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.”

And for the next thirty-nine chapters Isaiah continues in that same way—laying out the Lord’s case against his people—explaining why they are about to undergo his stern discipline—listing their sins and counting their failures to live as his people.

The sins of the Israelites are not unknown to us: sexual immorality—materialism—adopting the values of the world—religious worship empty of meaning. Knowing our sin and knowing God’s holiness--we also have to know that God’s judgment is still something to be feared.

But then in chapter 40, the whole tone of Isaiah’s message changes from one of sin and judgment to one of forgiveness and hope. Despite the faithlessness of his people—God was faithful—and he would forgive their sins and restore them to himself. Then and now these words are a message of comfort for God’s people. Isaiah writes:

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

There are times in our lives when the consequences of our sins are inescapable. We’ve spoken hateful words that can’t be taken back. We’ve lost our temper. A relationship is broken. And there’s no getting around it—there’s no denying it—there’s no changing the past.

That’s the way it was for the Israelites. Years of sinfulness had brought them to the brink of destruction. The consequences of their sins were profound and painful. There was no way they could repair their relationship with God. But he could—and would.

As an act of pure gracious love—he forgave them—and he promised that everything they had broken-- he would restore. He said: “Your warfare is ended, your iniquity is pardoned.” Those words were the truth about the spiritual reality of what had been going on in their lives—it was open, sinful, warfare against God. That is what all sin is—including our own.

All of us have a tendency to think of sin as a small thing--particularly those sins that may not obviously hurt someone-- or sins that the world doesn’t care about. But anytime we live in opposition to the will of God in any area of our lives—we have entered into warfare against God.

And once we have begun that conflict-- we cannot dictate the terms of peace—we cannot declare a cease-fire—we cannot offer a defense of our actions that will reconcile us to God.

If peace is to be regained between us and God, he must be the One who declares that the hostilities over. That is exactly what he did. Several chapters later Isaiah explained more fully how that peace came about through Jesus. Isaiah said:
“he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace”.

To comfort his people with the promise of peace, God did not simply disregard our sin—he dealt with it-- by judging his Son guilty in our place and signing a peace treaty written in Jesus’ innocent blood.

As great as was Israel’s sin and as great is our sin, the Lord’s pardon is even greater, not only forgiving us—but making his former enemies, members of his own family. That is the “double portion” of his grace towards us--that is God’s message of comfort for sinners—a message that needs to be received in heartfelt repentance and sincere faith. Isaiah wrote:

A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

In the ancient world, every effort was made to make the way as smooth as possible for a king’s journey. Of course we know that since Isaiah is talking about the Lord, he is not really talking about work done with picks and shovels-- but spiritual work that is done in our hearts by the Holy Spirit—lifting up the low places and bringing down the high places.

No doubt many of the Israelites would see the deep valley of how far they had sunk into a morass of sin-- and despair of ever coming out of it. But God promised that every valley would be filled in and lifted up by his gracious love and forgiveness—no matter how deep.

We too can feel at times as if our sins are so great that they could never be forgiven. But the promise of God’s Word is that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from ALL unrighteousness.

None of us have sunk so deep into a valley of sin that we are beyond the reach of God’s forgiving love.

Others in Israel must have felt as if their chastisement was all out of proportion to their sin—that surely things could not be as bad between them and God as all that—that perhaps God was unjust in his judgments and immoderate in his punishment.

Those kinds of self-made mountain tops of spiritual pride are even more difficult to overcome and more dangerous to our spiritual life than valleys of despair. We don’t like to confess that we are “poor, miserable sinners”. We don’t want to believe that even our best works of righteousness are as filthy rags in God’s sight.

But there is only way to receive the blessings of forgiveness and life that come from the Lord’s gracious hand-- and that is to come to God with nothing in our hand: no self-righteousness, no best efforts—nothing in our hand save for the Spirit-given faith that reaches out in response to God’s promise in Jesus to forgive and restore.

When Isaiah made these promises about the Lord coming to the aid of is people—they had not yet even been taken into captivity—much less set free. And yet the Lord promised their freedom--and the reality of his promise was just as certain in that moment as it would be 130 years later when God raised up a deliverer in Cyrus and the Israelites came out of Babylon. The Israelites simply needed to receive God’s promise in faith.

So it still is today. The Lord promises us that we are forgiven. The Lord promises us that we are his children. They Lord promises us that we will enjoy eternal life in a new heaven and a new earth.

We cannot see these things. We cannot touch these things. Some of them we enjoy right now and some of them are still to come. But they are true and certain for the mouth of the Lord has spoken them-- and we receive the life-changing realities of these promises as we repent of our sins, cast away our despair, set aside our pride, and believe his Word of promise.

To do so is vitally important—for our lives in this world are frail and our time here is short. Isaiah wrote:

A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"

Several generations of Israelites would come and go from the time these words were spoken until their fulfillment. Nations would rise and fall. Rulers would come and go. Nothing and no one in this world can withstand the relentless march of time. Only one thing endures from generation to generation and that is the Lord and his Word.

That is why the Lord wants his Word preached to the world—that is why he wants it shouted from the mountaintops and heralded to all people—because the Good News of his love and salvation has the power to change us (who were as frail and temporal as the grass of the field) into people who will live forever.

Peter took these words of Isaiah and used them to tell us that, though we have all been born of perishable seed, we have also been born again of imperishable seed, the living and abiding word of God which is the Good News of Jesus.

By virtue of their sins and faithlessness, the Israelites, both as individuals and as a nation were spiritually dead. But these words of promise were words of life to them and they were born again by their power.

So it still is for us. The Good News of God’s love and forgiveness are words of life and they cause us to be born again out sin and death-- into forgiveness, and peace, and eternal life. Those are the blessings Isaiah promises for all of those who will receive God’s Word in faith. Isaiah wrote:

Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

The faith of the Israelites was not disappointed. God’s promises were much, much more than mere words. God acted for their good.

When God set his people free from Babylon, he raised up a deliverer for them in Cyrus—one who would bring them out of exile to their promised home—one who would restore what their sin had ruined.

Cyrus wasn’t really what they people expected—but he was God’s anointed servant—the fulfillment of his promise to set them free from Babylon.

600 years later, God raised up another deliverer —and once again he was not what was expected. The mighty arm that would rule was the tiny arm of an infant who reached up for his blessed mother-- and the powerful arm that would rescue was tortured arms of a broken man nailed to a cross.

In Jesus Christ, God himself came to rescue all people from sin and death. Every moment of his life and everything he did was so that we could be restored to a life with God—so that our sins do not have to overcome us—so that we can stand unashamed before him on that great day when he comes again.

Though we have sinned and though we are frail, our iniquity has been pardoned and we are born again to eternal life by the enduring Word of God. We are cared for by the Good Shepherd. I pray that as we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus, Isaiah’s message would comfort us tonight and always. Amen.

Today's Meditation

2011-12-13T12:58:00.001-08:00

Good morning, fellow redeemed!

"And now I commend you to the Lord and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance of all the holy ones." Acts 20:32

St. Paul's words are a real eye opener for today's religious scene. The apostle commends his hearers to the living Lord and to His powerful word of grace, which is able to build up and establish God's people, and is able to give them the inheritance of those pronounced holy in Christ.

I say it's a real eye opener for today's religious scene for a reason. Mention the power of God and people's eyes light up. Many go looking for the power of God in a flashy, spectacular setting, or in their own thoughts and desires. Alas, it's more an emotional high being sought than anything else.

There is but one way that God has revealed His mighty power, and that is in His Word, the Word Made Flesh, the "With Us God" who has made His dwelling place with us by taking on our flesh. As St. John says in John 1:17, "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." God's mighty power isn't reserved for light shows, but is shown in its fullness in the crucifixion of His Son. That's God's powerful, life-giving Word of Grace, Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Yet, we know nothing of Jesus outside of what is communicated in God's word of grace on the page, God's Word in human language, Holy Scripture. It's a great gift that we are given, God's Word that makes us wise unto salvation in human language, delivered through prophets and evangelists and apostles. And, it's in this word that God the Holy Spirit has promised to bring us Christ!

Blessed Lord, who has caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of Your holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life which You have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2011-12-12T12:39:00.000-08:00

Good morning, fellow redeemed!

Zephaniah 3:14-15:
Rejoice aloud, daughter of Zion, shout, Israel, rejoice and exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! Yahweh has put away the judgments against you, He has turned away your enemy. Yahweh, the King of Israel, is in your midst; you will not fear evil any longer.

Revelation 21:3:
And I heard a great voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men; He tabernacles with them, and they will be His people, and He will be God with them."

The locatedness of God always seems to be a matter of contention that escalates into a bone of contention. People love saying, "The Lord is with me," in one moment, while acting like He's conveniently far removed in the next. Several years ago, poet Robert Frost penned the words, "God is in His heaven, all is right with the world."

But, is God far away and removed, sitting on His throne in heaven with a big "G" on His chest, punching buttons and making things happen? That's the way many see the positioning of God, but it's not taught in the Bible.

As Matthew records in 1:22, God is with us, in the flesh. This God with us, Immanuel, is Jesus of Nazareth, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Forever and ever, He is both God and man, and it is through Him that God reveals Himself to man. It is through Jesus by the Holy Spirit that man approaches God.

Even now, in the means of grace, the dwelling place of God is with man, those places where God breaks into time and space and comes to human beings who are bound to this earth and its time.

Lord Jesus Christ, in Your nativity, You make Your dwelling place with us by becoming flesh. On the Last Day, You will be with us, in our midst, forever. In this in between time, bring us to cherish and hold fast those times and places where You tabernacle with us today, in Your chosen means of grace. For Your name's sake. Amen

This Week at Mt. Olive:
The LWML Christmas Dining Out is tomorrow evening at the Saltwater Grill on Cimarron. If you haven't signed up and wish to do so, please call the Church Office today!

Angel Tree gifts are due by Wednesday! A convenient way to do things is to come for Midweek Worship (12:15 p.m. and 7 p.m.) and drop off your gift after worship!

The Youth will be attending The Nutcracker on Sunday afternoon. Ticket have been purchased; we'll gather at the church at 1:30 p.m. and leave shortly afterward. If some of you would like to join my family and me at Jason's for lunch, we'd be glad to sup with you!

Next week events:
Tuesday, December 20, 6:30 p.m. Christmas Program Rehearsal - Pizza will be provided; we'll practice until about 8;30 p.m.
Thursday, December 22, 9:30 a.m. Youth (5th Grade and Above) Christmas Cookie Making and Caroling (Pizza for lunch will be provided)
Saturday, December 24, 6:30 p.m., Children's Christmas Service/Program, 11 p.m. Christmas Candlelight Service
Sunday, December 25, 8 and 10:30 a.m., Christmas Day Divine Service

Prayer Concerns:
The holy Christian and Apostolic Church throughout the world as it prepares to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ that they may give the good testimony of Christ
The Altar Guild at Mt. Olive and at all churches at they go about preparations for the celebrations of Christmas
Sunday School teachers at Mt. Olive and throughout the Church as they teach and learn once more of the birth of Immanuel, God with us
Our Brothers and Sisters in the Faith at Lord of Life and Our Savior, and for all congregations searching for a pastor, that God would keep them faithful and give them patience as they await His gracious gifts
Those who travel over this upcoming holiday period
Those who will labor over the holidays to ensure our safety and well-being, especially those who serve in the armed forces (Rob Vadney, John Sorensen), the police and law enforcement officers, first responders - firefighters and emergency medical workers, nurses, doctors
Those who are experiencing medical procedures and difficulties: Bill Waterman (tests), Charlotte Birnbaum (at home with the Dearings), Richard Solano (undergoing surgery)

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, December 12
Zumba Aerobics, 6:30 p.m.

No Church Council meeting tonight!

Tuesday, December 13
LWML Dining Out, Saltwater Grill, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, December 14
School Chapel, 8:30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 13), 9:30 a.m.
Midday Prayer, 12:15 p.m.
Advent Vespers, 7 p.m.

Thursday, December 15
Mt. Olive Lutheran School Christmas Program, 6:30 p.m.

God bless!
PKJ

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The Messenger and the Messiah

2011-12-11T05:16:00.000-08:00

Matthew 11:2-11
Any time I read or hear about the persecution and martyrdom of a Christian, I wonder to myself: would I die for what I believe in as a Christian? Am I so convinced that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life that I would die rather than deny him? Many of us may have some nagging doubts about that.

And if we wouldn’t die for Jesus-- or if there is some doubt–what does that say about our faith? Jesus said that small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to eternal life and few there are who find it-- but wide is the gate and broad the road that leads to destruction and many there are who walk that road.

So where are you right now in your walk of faith? Are you on that narrow road of faith in Jesus that leads to life-- or the broad road of doubt that leads to death? Are you so confident that Jesus is your only hope of eternal life that you have staked your entire future on him-- or are you merely covering your bases by going to church?

When we face our own mortality–when we are confronted with a serious illness—when we stand beside the graveside of a loved one--we want to know, and know for sure, that the one we have put our faith and trust in–is who he says he is-- and is able to do what he has promised to do.

That is what John the Baptist was facing as he sat in Herod’s prison waiting for the executioner’s blade to fall. Staring death in the face, it would be only human to have some nagging doubts about Jesus’ true identity. If I’m betting my life on something–it had better be right.

But for John the Baptist there was an even bigger issue than just some nagging doubts. In his mind, the promises of God in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning the Messiah were in question when it came to Jesus.

The promised Messiah was portrayed in two ways by the prophets of old–on one hand he was to be the gentle, suffering Messiah who compassionately cared for all people–healing their diseases and caring for their spiritual needs.

And on the other hand, the Messiah was also portrayed as a conquering King who would reward his followers and slay his enemies and bring judgment upon the entire earth–and he was oftentimes portrayed in both ways in the same verses like in our Old Testament lesson for the day.

“Behold, the LORD God comes with might, and his arm rules for him…he will tend his flock like a shepherd and gently lead those that are with young”.

Jesus, proclaimed by John as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world, sure looked like the second kind of Messiah–gentle and meek and loving–but he really didn’t look like too much like the first–a mighty judge and conquering king.

Facing death, seeing one part of Scriptures fulfilled but not yet all of it, there was a serious question in John’s mind about Jesus. Matthew tells us that:

“when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Jesus, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

Are you the one? I don’t know if a more important question has ever been asked-- or can be asked--and we too need to know the answer to it and be certain about it. Is Jesus the One? Is he the One that we can stake our entire life on? Or is there another? Is he the one in whom all the promises of God are fulfilled or not?

To ask this question and to seek an answer is not sinful doubt–at least not the way John asked it and the approach he took.

What did John do with his questions? He turned to Jesus. He turned to Jesus as the one who could answer his question-he turned to Jesus for assurance that his faith was not misplaced. What John did, and the questions he had, was a deep expression of faith that is completely consistent with other great statements of faith in the Bible. After all, “Lord I believe–help my unbelief” is the prayer of a believer not an unbeliever.

Very different are those who have some of these same questions and nagging doubts and turn everywhere but to Christ and his Word. They read religious books of dubious value. They draw their religious beliefs from the prevailing, generic cultural Christianity. They sample one TV preacher after another like they are going through the line at Luby’s.

These are not a cure for doubt-- but a cause of doubt. Instead, follow the example of John and turn to Jesus. All of us have faith questions at times–all of us struggle to understand portions of Holy Scripture–all of us want to grow in our faith and in our confidence in God. John the Baptist shows us the way to do that. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Search his Word. That is exactly what Jesus would have us do. He said:

“Go and tell John what you hear and see; the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them”.

In effect Jesus says, search the Scriptures–see what they say of the Messiah–and then see what I do and you will know the truth–that I am the one. Yes there are still things to come–but trust the one who has already fulfilled so much-- to accomplish the rest.

Jesus gives the same answer today to those who struggle with doubts and questions. God is not afraid of our questions–he is not ashamed of our struggles. He wants us to have the assurance of a deep and abiding faith and so he invites us to turn to his son Jesus–to search the Scriptures—to pray to him—and to receive the sacraments for assurance-- so that our faith in Christ does not waver.

We need that Spirit-given certainty because when it comes to the person and work of Jesus as it is revealed in Holy Scripture and proclaimed by the Church, doubt is not a virtue. It is not the sign of a discerning spirit or intellectual superiority.

Doubt and skepticism, when it comes to our faith in Jesus Christ, are tools of Satan that are used to trip us up in our walk of faith and the spiritual consequences are severe.

Twisting Scriptures to his own advantage–asking us as he did Adam and Eve (“did God really say”) causing us to doubt--Satan desires to steal our salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life. That’s what’s at stake when it comes to doubt and it’s deadly serious.

Jesus told John’s disciples: “Blessed is the one who is not offended because of me”. In the original Greek, that word translated as “offended” means to “trip up” and the word itself is the technical term for a kind of trap used to kill small animals.

Life and death are what’s at stake when it comes to knowing and believing what Jesus says about himself–that he is the one--none other than the True God in human flesh–the Messiah sent to save the world from their sins by his own death and resurrection. It is eternal life to know that and believe that for ourselves.

That is the message that the disciples were to relay to John as he faced his own death-- and that is what Jesus would have us know and believe today. And for those listening in the multitudes that surrounded him that day, and for us here today, Jesus turned the question back to them. Matthew writes that:

“As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in king’s houses”.

Jesus says in effect, “What about you? Where is your faith in all this? What did you go out into the wilderness to see? Something for entertainment value? What did you go out to hear? Were you drawn to John because he told you what your itching ears wanted to hear or because he spoke the truth about the One to come?

That’s still a good question for people to ask themselves regarding their worship services and their pastor.

Do you listen to what he has to say because he tells you what you want to hear- or do you listen because he brings you God’s Word even when you don’t like to hear it? Is he a reed swayed back and forth by every wind of doctrine-- or does he stand fast on those eternal truths handed down by the prophets and apostles of old? Do you come to worship to be entertained and visit with friends or to grow in your faith and knowledge of Jesus?

The answer for the people that day was that they went out to John precisely because he brought God’s Word–not like their religious leaders who taught the doctrines of men–but because he would not be swayed by the opinions of men. They went to John because he unswervingly held to the central message of the Kingdom of God–to repent of sins and believe in the Messiah to come. That message is life and salvation and the people received it in faith.

And what was John’s reward? Fine clothes? A room in the king’s house? No! He was cast into the king’s prison in the rough camel hair garments of his Jordan days–known as a true prophet of God not only for his faithful proclamation-- but also for the opposition he received and the suffering he endured from sinful men-- like so many faithful prophets who had come before him and faithful pastors who would come after him. And among them all-past, present and future–John the Baptist was the greatest. Jesus said:

“What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’”.

This was why it was so necessary for the people that day and this day to recognize who John was and why he was so important–he was the messenger sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah. To know John the Baptist and to believe his message was, both then and now, to know and believe in Jesus the Messiah of God. That is how important John the Baptist was—because he pointed to Jesus.

As remarkable and as wonderful as all this is, Jesus saves the best for last-- for he tells us that those who are the least in the kingdom of heaven are greater than even John the Baptist–the greatest man who ever lived. Jesus says:

“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

How is that possible that you and me–regular folks with regular lives-- least in the Kingdom of Heaven as it were--are even greater than John the Baptist?

It’s because we have been blessed to see the whole salvation story that God tells in the death, resurrection of his son Jesus Christ. John would not live to see it–he was executed a short time after these events.

He never got to see Christ’s death on the cross that atoned for the sins of the world. He never got to witness the glorious resurrection that changed the course of the world from death to life. But we have heard it and seen it through the Word and Sacraments and by these gifts of God’s grace we know that Jesus is indeed the One. Amen.

The Great and Awesome Day of the LORD

2011-12-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

Malachi 4:1-6
Malachi prophesied in those years after the return of the Israelites from Babylon. God kept his promise to bring them home. He was faithful. But in very short order their faithfulness to the Lord who delivered them began to falter.

They became more interested in their own homes and businesses than rebuilding the house of the Lord. They didn’t bring their best offerings to the Lord and simply went through the motions in worship. And they couldn’t understand why God wasn’t blessing them—why the evil seemed to be doing just as well as they were doing. What good did it do to bow and scrape before the Lord when we are not getting anything out of it? And the Lord spoke through his messenger:

"Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble.

God had not forgotten about justice—he had not abandoned his expectations for how people should live their lives—evil would not win out in the end-- for the day of fiery judgment was coming.

Very few things are as clearly taught in the Bible as eternal punishment by fire. Human beings are terrified of being burned in a fire—the pain is unbelievable. To think of eternal torment in the fires of hell is horrible. It’s meant to be.

Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels and not for men. There is absolutely no reason for any person to go to hell. But that punishment will most certainly await the arrogant and the evildoers. Malachi says they are ripe for judgment like stubble that quickly catches on fire.

It is important to note that besides evildoers, the arrogant will also go into the fires of hell. We would expect the evil to be cast into the fire. All of us can picture Hitler and Stalin receiving the just punishment of their evil deeds. But the arrogant?

That hits a little close to home. The Lord had a warning for the people of Malachi’s day who thought that their homes were more important than the Lord’s house—who thought that the Lord ought to be satisfied with their worship when their hearts weren’t in it—who questioned the ways of the Lord—the message was: you too will go into the fires of hell with all of those who do evil. Malachi said:

The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

It is important to note whose words of judgment these are. Malachi is the one who is speaking them—but they are the Word of the Lord—the Lord of hosts. This title means the Lord of heavenly armies—the Lord who cannot be conquered—the Lord of power and might who will utterly destroy his enemies.

We will listen to this warning or not-- but there should be no confusion on anyone’s part who it is that is speaking these words to us tonight.

The judgment and punishment for the evil and arrogant will mean the destruction of everything they hoped for—destruction so complete and final that they cannot rise again. Evil was not a part of God’s good creation in the beginning-- and it will not be part of his new creation at the end.

The evil and the arrogant and all of those who stand against God’s ways will be separated from the Lord and his people by a fiery chasm that no one can ever cross for all eternity—a place of torment and weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Because of the certainty of that day, because of the eternal consequences of that day, there is one thing that we need to know and that is: how to avoid the punishment to come. Malachi writes:

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

When we recite the Ten Commandments we begin with: You shall have no other gods before me. But these are not the first words that Moses heard on Horeb. God gave the law to Moses beginning this way: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. I am the LORD.

Before Moses went to Egypt, he asked God his name and God answered: I AM. The God who was and is and always will be. Yahweh. Jehovah. The LORD. God’s name is not just some title—it is who he is in his very essence.

I take time to explain this because it is only those who fear the Lord’s name who will greet the day of judgment with gladness—it is only those who know God as their Savior who will experience healing rather than punishment on that day—it is only those who fear him who will know that day as glorious light rather than deepest darkness.

It was the great I AM who delivered the Israelites and set them free from Egypt and it was the great I AM in the person of Jesus of Nazareth who delivered the world and set us free by his death and resurrection.

During his earthly ministry Jesus wanted to make sure that everyone knew who he was. He said: I AM the bread of life. I AM the light of the world. I AM the living water. Before Abraham was—I AM.

Those who believe in him and trust him and receive him in faith as their Savior and stand in awe of the holy name of Jesus: The LORD saves—have nothing to fear on the day of judgment. There will be healing and restoration and new life for us on that day—a day of eternal vitality and gladness where death will be destroyed and all that is broken, healed.

Malachi says that on that day when the evil and arrogant are cast into eternal fire, we who fear the name of the Lord will be like calves let loose from the stall—no longer constrained by the hardships of this life that pen us in—no longer confined by the darkness of this dying world--but free to live in the brilliant sun of an everlasting day.

That day will not only be vindication for the Lord but victory for us. Malachi said that all who fear the name of the Lord:

shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.

The arrogant and evildoers are not only opposed to God—but they are opposed to God’s people. The arrogant and evildoers not only sin against God, they sin against his people.

Throughout the world today there are people in positions of power and influence who misuse and abuse God’s people. Christians are imprisoned and killed for their faith—pastors’ lives are made miserable for speaking the truth—decent, hardworking folks are defrauded and robbed. None of this escapes the eyes of the Lord.

And while the child of God is called upon to follow in way of the cross in this world, not avenging ourselves of the wrong done to us—there is a day of vengeance to come when we will see all of those who have used wealth and power and influence to misuse and mistreat us-- not only kneel before the Lord as he pronounces eternal fiery punishment—but we will see them as ashes under our own feet.

These words of warning must lead us to ask ourselves: Do I truly fear the name of the LORD or am I deceiving myself and others? Will I stand victorious on that day or will I be ashes under the feet of the righteous? The only way to know the truth about whether or not our faith is real is to ask ourselves how we are living our life. Is our faith shown in what we say and do and how we treat others? Malachi said:

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

In our adult Bible class last Sunday we talked about some of the signs of the end times and one of them really struck me was that in the last days many people will have a form of godliness but deny its power. The Bible goes on to say about these people: have nothing to do with them. But the first question we need to ask is: are we them?

As we have already mentioned, when God gave the Ten Commandments at Mt. Horeb he began by reminding his people of his redeeming work—that it was because he had saved them that he was calling them to live a holy life, guided and informed and shaped by the statutes and rules he was giving them.

So it is for the Christian. Paul makes it absolutely clear that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free--that we are not to use that freedom for sin-- but to walk according to the Spirit. John says we are liars if we say that we love God and hate our brother. James says that faith without works is dead.

These words that call us to remember the Ten Commandments were words that the people of Malachi’s day needed to hear-- and we do too. We can fake fear of the Lord by sitting in pews and putting money in the plate—Malachi’s people did it-- and people still do today. We can deceive others and ourselves-- but we cannot deceive God.

God sees and knows the truth. Do we truly love him by worshiping him and honoring his name and putting him first-- or is our faith just pious sounding words? Do we love our neighbor by caring for their physical needs and making sure they have the necessities of life and speaking well of them to others-- or is our love empty words?

We have been delivered and set free from sin by Jesus Christ and are called to holiness of life—our thoughts, words, and deeds guided by the Ten Commandments so that our life with God is marked by an active, living faith-- rather than by empty words which will not stand on the fiery day of his return. The LORD said:

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."

Before God sent the flood that destroyed the world—he raised up Noah to warn the world of judgment and deliverance. Before God destroyed Nineveh he sent Jonah to warn them of God’s judgment and call them to repentance. And before God destroys the world on the last day he has sent John the Baptist to call people to repentance and faith—warning that the ax of God’s judgment was already laid at the root of the tree.

The message of God through these men was exactly the same: repent and look in faith to the LORD for deliverance and salvation. It is the same message you are hearing tonight.

Each of us has an opportunity right now—a moment full of God’s grace—in which to listen to the voice of God through his chosen spokesmen, repent of our sins, and trust in the one they all pointed to as the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

He is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world and trusting in him we have nothing to fear on that great and awesome day of judgment when he comes again to make right all that was destroyed by sin. Amen.

With One Voice We Glorify God

2011-12-04T05:19:00.000-08:00

Romans 15:4-13
The 14th chapter of Romans immediately preceding our text deals with congregational life when we don’t agree with one another about things that are neither commanded nor forbidden in the Bible—things that are free to the Christian.

For the congregation in Rome which was comprised of Jews and Gentiles this meant differences in what foods to eat and the day of worship. The Christians in Rome were forbidden by God from standing in judgment over one another and questioning one another’s faith. Instead they were commanded by God to bear with one another in love.

These Spirit-inspired words about congregational life still matter today. It would be foolish to expect that, hundreds of people in a congregation from diverse backgrounds and experiences will always- in every circumstance-- agree with one another. It’s simply not going to happen this side of heaven. And so the counsel and command of God still stands—do not judge one another but bear with one another in love.

But how to do that? Where do we find the spiritual resources necessary to live in peace and harmony with one another in our congregation when we disagree? That is what Paul addresses in our lesson today. The Bible says that:

Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

I want to give you two word pictures that I hope will help you understand what the Bible is talking about when it comes to endurance and encouragement.

First of all, picture a weight lifter holding a barbell above his head. The weight is pressing down on him but he is determined to hold it up. That is the meaning of the word endurance—the strength to bear up under pressure that weighs us down.

Now think about a long trench full of soldiers in WWI. Bullets are whizzing over head, bombs are raining down. The soldiers are scared to death. But there in the trenches with them, running up a down the lines, is an officer who is calling upon them to be brave and do their duty. That is the picture behind the word encouragement.

Endurance and encouragement are the spiritual resources that are needed when it comes to our life together in the congregation—especially when there are disagreements.

We are bound to one another by a common confession and faith-- but that doesn’t mean we are always going to agree with one another about every little thing. There are going to be difficulties and disagreements that weigh down upon us like a barbell that we have to hold up. We need to be encouraged to love one another and bear their burdens.

These spiritual resources of endurance and encouragement are going to be needed so long as we are in this world and Paul says that we can count on God giving them to us. They are spiritual gifts that come through hearing his Word.

In fact, everything written in the Bible was given for our instruction—so that we would know what really matters and can’t be compromised and what are non-essential differences—so that we would know how we are to act towards with whom we disagree. Everything written in the Bible was written for our instruction.

Every now and then I am asked: why this or that is written in the bible- or why some passage made it into the readings for the worship service-or why I preached on some particular text. It is for this reason: that everything in the Bile was written for us.

In another place Paul says that the bible was given by the inspiration of God so that we could be taught, corrected, and trained in righteousness. Everything in the Bible is meant by God to be taught and studied and learned so that we can grow in Christ-likeness and live in harmony with one another. The Bible says:

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,

Please note that the scriptures which give endurance and encouragement come from the God of endurance and encouragement. The God who inspired the words of Scripture is the same God who empowers our life so that the endurance and encouragement we get from him would be used to live in harmony with one another.

The word that Paul uses there for harmony means like-minded—in other words: we think about things the same way. But wasn’t that the very problem they were having in Rome—isn’t that the problem so many congregation have with one another—that the members don’t see things the same way?

That is why Paul adds those important words: in accord with Christ Jesus. In other words, it is not so much that we think about things the same way among ourselves-- but we make sure that we are thinking about things the same way as Jesus Christ.

The true measure of congregational harmony is not just that we get along with one another—there are plenty of congregations and church bodies that get along with one another because they have abandoned the standard of the Bible and no ones cares. In those places, their unity and harmony is a disgrace.

What does matter is that our harmony as a congregation comes from being united by Jesus Christ—his word and will having the final say in all that we say and do.

Where he has NOT spoken, then it is his love that is to be evident in our lives as each of us endeavors to put others ahead of ourselves—willingly laying aside our personal preferences for the good of our brothers and sisters. The Bible says that we are to live in harmony with one another so that: together we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That is really the purpose of harmony—not just that we get along with one another (which could be a good or bad thing depending on why we get along) but that there is a united voice of praise coming from the Christian church that glorifies God.

When there is division and discord in a congregation or church body or across the Christian church --what the world hears is not a united voice of praise to God or a common witness to the goodness of Jesus Christ--but what they hear instead are the complaints of one Christian against one another. Griping and complaining does not serve to glorify God or extend the saving mission of Christ-- but undermines both of them.

Instead, we should follow the example of Jesus Christ and treat our fellow Christians as Christ treats them. The Bible says: Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. And so the question is: how did Christ welcome us? Just as we were—spots and wrinkles and blemishes.

He reached out to the woman caught in adultery- and ate dinner with Zacchaeus- and made a place for disciples who would fail him in his hour of need.

Our congregation becomes Christ-like when there is a place in our midst for people who don’t look like us or sound like us—people who have different experiences or perspectives from ours—people from a different place in society.

If Christ has welcomed them into God’s family by faith- we are to welcome them and make a place for them in our congregation. This is why Christ came to earth—not only to reconcile us to God-- but to reconcile us to one another. The Bible says that:

Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,

When Adam and Eve sinned it not only wrecked their relationship with God-- it wrecked their relationship with one another-- and not only for them-- but for all their descendants down to the folks sitting in these pews this morning. But Christ came to reconcile all people to himself and all people to one another.

That reconciliation was a promise that God made first to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and then renewed again and again with his ancient people Israel. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—Moses and David and the prophets-- all knew this promise of reconciliation-- and in the fullness of time God kept his promise and sent his Son who was born of the Jews to save the world.

God’s faithfulness was proved beyond any doubt in his gift of a Son whom the Bible says become a servant of the circumcised—that is the Jews.

Just think of the graciousness of God in that statement! The people who abandoned the Lord—the people who in large measure stopped looking for the Messiah—were given the gift of a Savior who would bring them back to God by his sacrifice on the cross—forgiving their sins and giving them life by his resurrection. And not only for them-- but for the world. The Bible says that Jesus also came:

in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name." And again it is said, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him." And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope."

God the Father sent his Son into the world to show his faithfulness to his covenant promise to his covenant people, the Jews. But from the very beginning, God intended to save all people.

The messiah would come from the Jews but he would be for the world. He was sent so that the Gentiles might also glorify God—so that they too could rejoice in God’s salvation—so that they too could know his wise rule and live with him forever.

Just think what these words meant to the congregation at Rome that had both Jews and Gentiles! What were their petty differences compared to their unity in the Lord who always had in mind the desire and purpose and plan to save them and unite them into one body of his Son Jesus Christ? What are our disagreements compared to the unity we have as fellow believers in Christ?!

When we disagree with one another in the congregation it casts a cloud over our life together. We wonder what the future holds and how we will move forward.

The encouragement and endurance we receive from God through his Word is the power we need to get past differences that don’t matter and turn our eyes of faith to the future and the eternal life we will one day share with one another. The Bible says:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Just as the God of endurance and encouragement gives endurance and encouragement to his people-- so does this same God of hope give hope to his people. We don’t have to wonder or worry about what the future holds for us or for our congregation because the joy and peace we have right now as God’s children-- will also be ours in the future.

When it comes to what the future holds for us and for our congregation, we have every right to hope for good things. The same Holy Spirit who has brought us to faith and made us a part of Christ’s body in this place will continue his work among us, drawing us ever closer to one another so that we may, with one voice, glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2011-12-02T11:01:00.001-08:00

Good afternoon, fellow redeemed!

"But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need in order that anyone should teach you; but as His anointing is teaching you concerning all things, and is true and not false, just as also you were taught, you are remaining in Him" (1 John 2:27).

The things that distract our attention are numerous. A couple of years ago, the Texas state legislature outlawed the use of cellular phones in school zones on streets. Why? It was readily obvious at least to me: cell phones distract drivers.

The things that distract us in the life of faith are even more damaging. We teach the omnipresence of God to our children, that God is everywhere. The result? Our children, and our adults for that matter, begin to believe that God is at whatever activity or inactivity chosen. The truth is that God is everywhere, but not in grace. The lesson from Moses, Isaiah, Elijah, Peter, Paul, and others in Holy Scripture is that any time we go looking for God in the ways we want, or judgment is always the result.

Where is God in grace? Where is God in mercy? Where does the Triune God break into time and space to come to us? It's in His chosen means, in the waters of our Baptism, in the preaching of the Gospel, in the Word of absolution, in the holy Sacrament of the Altar.

What distracts us from our attention to our faith? What supplants attention to prayer? These are the other things John mentions that teach us. They present us with a Jesus who is a lot of things, but not a Savior.

In this Advent season, let's clear away the clutter of distractions in life so that we may hear and receive our Lord who comes to us in grace and mercy.

A couple of reminders are in order:
The Christmas Wassail Party is being held at the home of Bill and Mavis Waterman this Sunday (4 DEC) from 2-5 p.m. Please bring a favorite appetizer or dessert to share!

Christmas program practice begins this Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and will last until 3 p.m. Readers, actors...okay, let's be clear...children are needed!

Confirmation instruction begins this Sunday at 12 p.m. To be ready, please review the First Article and Explanation (that would be good for all confirmed adults, too).

God bless!
PKJ

Jesus is the Righeous Branch: Our Savior and King

2011-11-30T12:33:00.000-08:00

Jeremiah 23:5-8
Across the Middle East, this last year or so has been known as the “Arab Spring”—a time when people in the Arabic-speaking world have risen up in protest at the harshness of their leaders.

There have been revolutions in Libya and Yemen and Tunisia resulting in regime change. But is the Muslim brotherhood really an improvement over Mubarek and Qaddafi? Will the people in the Arab world be better off with their new leaders than they were before?

Here in our own country we have a congress with the lowest approval rate in history—a set of leaders who cannot bring themselves to actually work together for the good of our nation. "Occupy Wall Street" on the left and the "Tea Party" on the right agree about nothing—except—something is wrong and needs to be fixed. But will the next election of new leaders next year actually accomplish anything?

Human beings yearn for leaders who are wise and just: who are concerned for their people and lead them in ways that are beneficial. That desire comes from God. In the beginning, mankind was ruled directly by God-- but rebelled against his rule and came to be ruled by fallen men like themselves who bear the sword.

But still the hope for a wise, just, good, rulers remains. Fascism directs that desire to an authoritarian nationalism -and communism directs that desire to the forces of the economy- and democracy directs it back to the people. All of these fail to meet mankind’s desire for wise, just, benevolent rule because that desire can only truly be fulfilled by the righteous rule of our true King-Jesus. The prophet Jeremiah wrote:

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,

Several of the Old Testament prophets use this word picture of a “righteous branch” to describe the Messiah. They set before us the scene of a great forest fire or a clear-cut forest with just one small lone green shoot of new growth remaining. That branch is a sign of hope and new life in the midst of death and destruction.

It’s a vivid picture of what life was like for God’s ancient people. After Solomon’s death, the nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south—two kingdoms ruled by a succession of kings.

Of the kings of the northern kingdom—not one of them was ever commended by the Lord—they were evil men who led God’s people into terrible sin. Of the kings in the southern kingdom, it was mixed bag--some good, some evil--all of them frail and fallen.

None of these kings was able to stop their descent into destruction. The northern kingdom fell to Assyria in 721 B.C. and the southern kingdom fell to Babylon in 586 B.C.—both kingdoms punished by God for their rebellion against his righteous rule.

But in the midst of that death and destruction, Jeremiah promised new life and the hope that comes with it. A righteous branch—an heir of David-- who would rule wisely. That promise was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ—David’s Son and David’s Lord—the true and rightful king of the world.

Our yearning for a ruler who is wise and good and just will not be met in a political candidate—no matter what they promise—it is only met in Christ-- and as we receive him as our king we can count on his wise and gracious rule over our lives. Jeremiah wrote that:

He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

After our Lord’s birth in Bethlehem, wise men from the east came to Judea, searching for the Messiah. They asked Herod, who was king of Judea, where they could find the newborn king of the Jews. And when they found Jesus they bowed before him and worshiped him. Herod, fearing the loss of his own kingdom, sent soldiers to the surrounding area and killed every little boy he could find—trying to kill Jesus.

A more vivid contrast between the kings of the world and the king of kings cannot be found in Holy Scripture than Jesus and Herod. Jesus was born the Prince of Peace- while the rulers of the world wield the sword. The rulers of the world are frail men like us- while Jesus is wise and just and righteous in his rule.

The deep human longing for a leader who will not fail us can only be found when Jesus Christ is our sovereign king.

His will for our lives is perfect. He knows exactly what is best for us. He guides our lives by his word. And when we submit our will to his will—and when we turn over control of our lives to his gracious rule—and when we establish him as king upon the throne of our hearts—our lives will be blessed and our yearning for a true king fulfilled.

Of course we know about ourselves that this is the very thing that we fail so often to do.

Just like Adam and Eve who chose to rule their own lives—we choose to abandon the righteous rule of our Lord and go our own way.

Just like the people of Israel who believed that their power and politics could save them, we go from election to election believing that if we can just get the right person in power all our problems will go away.

That is why it is such good news that Jesus is not only our true king but he is also our savior from all those times and ways we abandon his rule. Jeremiah wrote about him:

In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'

It is important to note that when Jeremiah promised that Judah would be saved and Israel would dwell securely he was referencing the very people who failed the Lord so badly.

But the Lord did not wash his hands of them—he didn’t tell them that they had failed him for the last time and there was no coming back. Instead, the very people who went their own way—who looked to almost anything other than the Lord for the solution to their problems—those sinners are the ones he would save—those sinners are the ones that he would make sure, never had anything to fear again.

The New Testament says the same thing this way: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

When Jesus was born, Matthew was commanded by the angel to name him Jesus—for he would save his people from their sins. The promise of Jeremiah that there would come a king who would also be a Savior was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ.

His death on the cross is the salvation of Judah and our salvation too. His resurrection from the dead is the promise of a life with God that death cannot end for Israel and for everyone here tonight.

He accomplished our salvation by living a holy life for us—in our place—everywhere we have failed. He offered up the perfect once-for-all sacrifice of his body and blood upon the cross—one perfect holy life for a world full of sinners—the righteous for the unrighteous-- so that believing in him—his righteousness counts in God’s sight for our salvation.

That is what Jesus—our Savior and King—has done for us. But there is even more still to come. Jeremiah wrote about the hope for the future Jesus gives:

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they shall no longer say, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' but 'As the LORD lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.'

Jeremiah lived his life at a particular point in salvation history. The great salvation event of the past was the deliverance of the people of Israel from terrible slavery in Egypt.

By the might of his outstretched arm, God set his people free. He protected them from death by the shed blood sacrificed for that purpose and he led them to freedom through the waters of the Red Sea where their enemies were washed away.

The Lord showed himself to be a king greater than Pharaoh and a mighty Savior of his people. But that saving event was already ancient history as Jeremiah viewed the death and destruction of his day in Israel and Judah.

Was the Lord still a mighty king and gracious Savior? He was! Not only was he the God of the past, he was the God of the future. Just as he had acted with mercy and might in the past so he would act with mercy and might in the future.

As dark as those days were that Jeremiah experienced, there was a bright future to look forward to--for God’s saving power was still in effect. He would once again deliver his people from their enemies and bring them safely to himself. That deliverance was still in the future—but it was certain and sure for the Savior King had promised it.

We too stand at a particular point in salvation history. We know what Jeremiah had to look forward to, as an accomplished fact of salvation—the Lord raised up a deliverer for his people in Cyrus who set them free from slavery in Babylon and sent the home to Judah.

But we know even more. The Lord sent another deliverer—not just for the Jews—but for the whole world in his Son Jesus Christ. His life, death, and resurrection has not only accomplished our salvation—but has given us hope for the future.

He turns our eyes from the failures of our past and points them to a new life that lies ahead for his saving work is not finished—but something for us to look forward to when he comes again in glory to create a new heaven and a new earth where will live with God forever. Jeremiah promised that: Then they shall dwell in their own land."

Not only do we long for true leaders but we long for our true home and this too is from God.

In the beginning Adam and Even lived in the Garden of Eden with God but their sin meant exile. God gave the Israelites a promised land but again their sin meant exile. The New Testament calls Christians aliens and strangers in this world—a pilgrim people on our way home. And so we are. We are passing through this earthly life to a new eternal home that Christ has prepared for us where his perfect rule no end.

Until that day we can enjoy his wise and gracious rule by yielding our will to his and letting his word—be the last words—about our lives. Amen.

Let Us Cast Off The Works Of Darkness!

2011-11-27T05:12:00.000-08:00

Romans 13:11-14
If you attend the adult bible class you can almost count on sometime during that hour, a timeline will be drawn on the dry erase board. It reaches back to Adam and Eve and stretches forward to Christ’s second coming with the cross in the middle.

We find our own lives on that timeline somewhere between Christ’s first and second coming—each day moving us closer to his return in glory—the final moment in time.

That progression of salvation history to the second coming of Christ is what Paul is talking when he says that: The hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

Because Jesus will once again enter directly into human history at his return in glory on the last day, we understand that his return grows ever closer with each passing day. Christ’s return is closer than it ever has been and our expectation of it ought to increase with each passing day.

But why does Paul when he says that salvation is nearer to us now than it was in the past? Aren’t we saved right now?

Yes we are! But there is still more good news to come with our Lord’s return. Right now, we have forgiveness for our sins and the strength to resist the devil and the promise that when we die our souls will go to be with the Lord. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection has reconciled us to God and we are saved through faith in him.

But we also know about ourselves that: our faith is not all that it should be—that often times we give in to the devil’s temptations and our flesh’s weaknesses—that these bodies will die. We see the evidence all around us of a world that is broken by sin. We have to walk by faith-- not by sight.

But there is a day to come when the fullness of Christ’s redeeming work will be ours. We will lay aside our sinful flesh forever. Our bodies will rise from the grave never to die again. Evil will be punished- the devil will be cast into the lake of eternal fire- and there will be a new heaven and a new earth unstained by sin, just like there was in the beginning where God and man will enjoy perfect fellowship forever.

This is Christ’s salvation that Paul is talking about that is getting closer and closer and we need to be ready and awake and prepared to meet that new, eternal day. And so Paul says: the hour has come for you to wake up from sleep.

Paul used the word “sleep” to describe spiritual complacency. We’re unaware of what’s going on around us—we’re cozy and comfortable with the way things are—we’d just as soon stay where we are right now.

The consequences of hitting the snooze alarm and going back to sleep may not be all that big a deal when it comes to our earthly responsibilities (if we are an hour late to work or if we miss our first class the world is not going to end).

But when it comes to our spiritual life and eternity: the world is going to end- and spiritual complacency is deadly- and so we need to wake up because Paul says: The night is far gone; the day is at hand.

For all who have come to faith in Jesus Christ, the dark night of sin and unbelief has come to an end--and so it is time for us to wake up, get out of our comfort zone, and get to work preparing to meet the Lord when he comes again.

The rest of this lesson from the Bible deals with that very thing—what the “work-day” of the Christian looks like as we prepare to meet the Lord. Paul says: Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Paul’s message is exactly the same as that of John the Baptist and of Jesus and the other apostles and the whole Christian church down to this day and this pastor: to prepare for the day of the Lord we need to repent of our sins and be renewed in our faith in Jesus—casting off the works of darkness and putting on the armor of light.

We are going to look at some of those works of darkness that we are to cast off in more detail in just a few moments-- but suffice to say, works of darkness include everything that flows from our sinful nature as it is tempted by the world and the devil.

These works are not “freedom”—they are not legitimate lifestyle choices—they are not things about which Christians may agree to disagree. They are darkness—that is, they flow from spiritual darkness and need to be confessed as such and repented of.

This casting off the works of darkness is not a one time thing—but it must be done again and again by the child of God who desires to walk in the light of Christ and stand ready to meet him when he comes again.

As we cast off the works of darkness we are to put on the armor of light. Throughout his letters Paul uses the image of armor so that his readers could visualize the spiritual equipping the Holy Spirit does for those who are Jesus’ disciples.

There is the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness and the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.

Just as the works of darkness much be cast off again and again, so the spiritual armor of light must be put on again and again as we hear God’s Word and are absolved of our sins and receive Christ’s Body and Blood in Holy Communion and are renewed in our faith by the power of the Spirit.

It is simply an impossibility that we would be able to be ready to meet the Lord when he comes if the Holy Spirit did not equip us for the spiritual battles we face as we wait for that day. We are fighting against spiritual forces of darkness and evil in which we are to have no part. Paul says:

Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

Each of the sins mentioned by Paul—which are representative rather than exhaustive of spiritual darkness—were prevalent in his day—they were part of the culture and Christians were forbidden from taking part in them. They are still part of the world in our day and Christians are still forbidden from taking part in sin.

Paul puts orgies and drunkenness together because both are representative of sinful excess and extravagance. It is not so much the sexual element of an ancient orgy that Paul is thinking about (which was certainly there and will be examined in more detail later) but about the excessive eating and drinking and carousing that went on—all of it offered up as worship to some pagan god.

Now this may seem far removed from our place and time—but is it? When people are mauled by an crazed mob of shoppers trying to get some bargain—when holy days like Easter and Christmas and Thanksgiving can only be celebrated by many of our fellow citizens with shopping baskets filled with cases of beer—when we entertain ourselves with the exploits of the Kardashians and the house wives of Beverly Hills—we should have no doubt that there is a god who is being worshiped with this sinful excess and extravagance-- and it is not the true God.

The same is true when it comes to the sexual morals of our nation and its citizens. Divorce, children born out of wedlock, couples living together, and pornography have risen dramatically over the last several decades. The culture around us is saturated by sexual images produced to sell some product. And modesty and simple decency have gone out the window so that now even on Sunday morning people dare to dress like they were going to a club instead of entering into the presence of the living God.

And it’s not only the actions of so many in our nation that have become corrupt—it’s their attitudes—hearts filled with quarreling and jealousy. Politicians try to gain the upper hand over their opponent by stirring up class warfare, pitting the have’s against the have not’s. Marketers make it their goal to instill in us envy for that which is new and improved. And our common life is marked more and more by rudeness and hatefulness and coarseness.

The words that Paul writes to us are not ancient history—they perfectly describe our culture and in contrast to the prevailing custom—Paul says that we are to walk properly as in daytime.

The word that is translated as “properly” means dignified and decorous. In other words, just because we live in a culture that is filled with moral filth does not mean that we have to wallow around in it. We are to have nothing to do with the spiritual darkness of the world around us but we are to live our lives in the light of Jesus Christ.

It doesn’t mean that the Christian has to be stiff or uptight or a prude—but it does mean that our lives as Christians are to be demonstrably different than the unbelieving world around us. The way we think about material things and sexuality and interpersonal relations is to be shaped by the words of the Holy Spirit—rather than shaped by unbelievers in the world around us.

Paul says that we are to: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. When we were baptized, we were clothed in the righteousness of Christ—his death became our own and we were raised in the power of his resurrection so that we could walk in newness of life.

We are baptized just once—but the power of God’s promise made to us in baptism goes on and on throughout our lives so that we can put Christ on again and again, laying hold of his righteousness by faith and turning away from sin and praying for the help of the Holy Spirit so that not only do we not walk according to the flesh but we make no provision or place for sin in our lives whatsoever.

This may mean that we have to abstain from alcohol—it may mean that we have to avoid some TV or movie that would incite lust—it may mean that we have to get a new set of friends who will encourage us to live as Christians—it may mean that we have to cut up the credit cards so that we are not constantly overspending—but whatever the sacrifice—what is it, compared to being prepared and ready to meet the Lord when he comes again?

Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of life. Amen.

The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases

2011-11-23T15:22:00.000-08:00

Lamentation 3:22-25
The book of Lamentations was inspired by the Holy Spirit and written by the prophet Jeremiah who was called by God to prophecy the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. He lived to see his prophecy come to pass and was an eyewitness to the judgment God promised.

Lamentations begins with Jeremiah’s view of the utter destruction and ruin that befell Jerusalem and the temple.

Most of the people have been carried off into slavery—those who remained starved to death. The city and the temple were destroyed. The false prophets and unfaithful priests who cried out “peace, peace” were utterly mistaken and were slain in the temple that they never thought would fall. The soldiers who defended Jerusalem lay dead in the streets.

Jeremiah saw all of it—he was an eyewitness to the destruction and death he prophesied—and he knew the reason for God’s judgment. He wrote:

Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy…her transgressions were bound into a yoke and laid upon her neck…and the Lord gave her into the hands of those she could not withstand… for she rebelled against the Lord’s word.

The words of Jeremiah found in Lamentations are read in the Jewish liturgy when they commemorate the destruction of the temples and they are read in the Christian calendar on Good Friday in the service of darkness that commemorates our Lord’s death on the cross. They are the Old Testament lesson at our funerals.

The words of Lamentations give voice to the profound sorrow of the human heart when we see the destruction and judgment that our sins deserve and bring.

But it is right in the midst of these words of sorrow and suffering that the prophet Jeremiah is renewed in hope. He says: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases.

The love of the people for the Lord had failed. Time after time, in countless ways, they had shown that they had divided hearts—that they were guilty of spiritual adultery. So it is for us too—and with the same result.

While it is not utter destruction that we look upon in our country on this day of national thanksgiving—it is indeed spiritual darkness.

Our political leaders are paralyzed and poll after poll shows that our fellow citizens hold them in contempt. Our economic life is stagnant. What passes for entertainment has become cruder and coarser. Pornography is everywhere. Babies are murdered because they are inconvenient. And people we ought to be able to look up to—people who ought to be leaders—commit the most despicable crimes.

Can anyone doubt that the stained, torn fabric of our common life together is unrelated to the declining commitment to the Lord in our nation?

Can anyone doubt that the pilgrims who came to this country and our Lutheran forebears would be astounded and appalled to see that the Ten Commandments and public prayer and the emblems of Christianity are forbidden in more and more places in our nation?

Can anyone doubt that rapidly declining church attendance is unrelated to the declining moral fiber of our people?

In our nation, love for the LORD has grown cold and hearts are divided in their loyalties and all we can confess is that we justly the Lord’s temporal and eternal punishment.

But we too- along with Jeremiah- are renewed in hope—even in dark days—because the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. The love that God has for us is not like ours for him. It never ebbs and flows. It never changes. It is never divided. It does not depend upon anything within us at all --but is reflective of who God is in his very being.

Even in the midst of the destruction that God had allowed to chastise his people, Jeremiah was certain of one thing: that the love that God had for his people was still in effect and he would mercifully come to their aid. He wrote that:
The LORD’s mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Mercy is the attitude and aid given to one who is weak by one who is powerful—it’s what unceasing love looks like in action towards those in need.

It was there between God and his people from the very beginning. God could have destroyed Adam and Eve after their sin—but he didn’t—he did what only he could do and forgave them and restored them to their original purpose as the mother and father of all the living.

God came to the aid of his enslaved people in Egypt when they had fallen so far as to have forgotten his name. He brought his people back from exile in Babylon. And he sent his own Son into the world to save those who could not save themselves.
God’s love is shown again and again in his mercy. The One who is mighty and powerful and strong to save—reaches out in love to help those who stand in need of his mercy and aid.

That is the certain promise that is made to us tonight in God’s Word: The Lord’s mercies never end. His willingness and power to aid his people is always present and can be counted on no matter how dark the day.

When a nation is on the wrong track—when we are afflicted with a terrible illness—when we are faced with economic ruin—when our own personal failures stand before our eyes—God’s mercies are new every morning.

Each morning when we open our eyes to begin a new day we can count on the Lord’s mercy, strength, and provision being sufficient for the day. That is why we don’t ever have to worry about what the future holds and indeed, are commanded not to worry—for the Lord has promised to use his might and power to come to our aid.

This last year has been a testimony to that promise for those assembled here. We sit here tonight fed and clothed and sheltered—our needs met—because the Lord has daily renewed his loving mercy towards us over this last year.

He has done this despite the fact that we have not served him as he deserves—that we have not loved him as he loves us—that we have not remembered to thank him for his provision. He has done this despite our faithlessness. It is this very thing that leads the prophet Jeremiah to say of the LORD: Great is your faithfulness!

We find the same sentiment in our catechism when we are asked: what it is that moves God to preserve, provide, and protect us. And Luther answers: God does all this purely out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. But then Luther goes on to ask us, what then do we owe our Father in heaven for all this? And the answer: It is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey him.

That is why we are here tonight—to thank and praise God for his faithfulness—that he has provided for us and protected us over this last year and promises to do the same in the year to come.

But what about those times like Jeremiah was going through—times when it seems like every good thing has been ripped away? Still we can give God thanks for: "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."

Can you imagine wandering the streets of Kingsville, seeing everything that is familiar and loved brought to ruin? Of coming here to Tenth and Doddridge and seeing our beloved sanctuary destroyed and defiled? Of coming across your friends and loved ones lying in the street, dead and dying?

That was the scene that greeted Jeremiah as he wandered the streets of Jerusalem and yet he knew that the one thing needful had not been stripped away from him and indeed could not be lost: that the LORD was his portion. His life with God could not be harmed by terrible things that happened to him in this life-- and so it is for us.

God grant that we never go through what Jeremiah went through or see what he saw—but we should also never forget that there is coming a day when every earthly thing will be stripped away: our health will fail, loved ones will die, and we will return to the dust of the earth.

It may happen slowly over many decades or it may happen in a moment-- but we too will know what it means to lose everything that our eyes have seen and our hands have touched.

That is why it is such good news that we cannot lose the one thing needful—the one thing that really, eternally matters: and that is our life with God. The LORD himself is our portion because Jesus Christ has taken away our sins and restored our relationship with God. And because the LORD is our portion, no matter how dark the days—there is hope for the future.

Hope looks forward to the future with the confidence of faith. And that is possible—even when death comes—because there is a future for us that death will not end. Jesus’ resurrection IS our hope. He is the promise that even death need not cast a dark cloud over our lives.

And so we too look forward to the future expecting good from the Lord. Jeremiah writes: The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

We don’t know what the new year will hold for us and for our nation. But we do know that the One who is the Author of history—the One who wisely guides our lives—the One who has brought us to this time and place safely—will continue to be the same kind of merciful, wise, good God that we have known in this last year. The Bible promises us that ALL things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

This promise of goodness from the Lord (a promise that he has never failed to keep) is the encouragement we need to trust him in those times when he seems slow to act—to trust him in those times when we would chosen differently for ourselves-- and know that God is patiently working for our good in the midst of it.

The Lord’s goodness, mercy, and love give us the confidence we need to put him first in our lives. We don’t have to worry that we will somehow miss out on some good things when we serve and obey him because we can trust his steadfast love to graciously give us all that we need for body and soul—just as he always has. Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2011-11-23T11:36:00.001-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

Attached is the 2012 church and school budget. Please peruse this in preparation for 11 DEC.

A few things for this week that are of importance:
Wednesday, we'll be covering the remainder of chapter 11 and jumping into chapter 12 of Revelation at 9:30 a.m. Those words are graphic in chapter 12: "And war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought..."

Thursday, Thanksgiving Day Service, at 9:30 a.m.

The youth of Mt. Olive will once again be journeying to see the Nutcracker on 18 DEC (Sunday, gather at 1, performance at 3 p.m.). If you wish to go and have the youth fund take care of part of your ticket, I need to know by this coming Sunday, November 27. The cost for you is $5 and the rest is co. If that's a problem, I want you to go. Please get with me. Absolutely, positively, I need your reservation by Sunday morning, if not sooner. Do not tell me as you're leaving church, or as you're coming in. Do not pass go... Oops, sorry 'bout that! Please send me an email indicating your desire to go by Sunday morning at the very latest!

Finally, a few important dates:
24 NOV - Thanksgiving Day Service, 9:30 a.m.

No Christmas Program practice or Confirmation Instruction on Sunday, November 27.

30 NOV - Advent Midweek Services begin at 12:15 and 7:15 p.m.

4 DEC - Confirmation Class (12:00) and Christmas Program practice (1:30 p.m.)

11 DEC - Confirmation Class (12:00) and Christmas Program practice (1:30 p.m.)

18 DEC - Youth to Nutcracker, no Confirmation Class or Program practice

20 DEC (Tuesday) - Christmas Program Practice at 6 or 6:30 p.m. (to be decided yet)

22 DEC (Thursday) - Youth Christmas Cookie Baking and Caroling (time TBA)

24 DEC (Saturday) - Christmas Program (6:30 p.m.), Christmas Eve Candlelight Service (11 p.m.)

25 DEC (Sunday) - Christmas Divine Service at regular worship times (8 and 10:30 a.m.)

Psalm 114 recalls the deeds of the God of Israel and His deliverance of His people. Christmas is a time when the Last Days begin. Read Psalm 114 as part of your devotions this week to hear of the awesome deeds of the true God in the past, and to wait with holy expectation for His awesome deeds to come.

God bless1
PKJ

The Final Judgment

2011-11-20T05:13:00.000-08:00

Matthew 25:31-46
The Bible has much to say on the subject of the end times in both the Old and New Testaments—in Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation-- but much of what is written in these apocalyptic books is difficult to understand. Bookstores are filled with books all claiming to know and teach the truth about the End Times—but they all seem to have a different take.

In contrast, the church has always followed the Lord’s own plain words and confessed that Jesus will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. We confess it every week in the creed.

Today in our Gospel lesson, in simple language, we hear just exactly how the final judgment will take place from the one who will judge the world. Jesus says:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

On judgment day every person who has ever lived—including you and me--will stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ-- and we will be judged.

Before a word is spoken—before the evidence is given--the Son of Man will separate all the world’s people into two groups—one group on his left and one group on his right—just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.

That separation is the judgment—and there is no changing sides at that point. The day of grace that we enjoy today- to repent of our sins and believe in Jesus- to amend our lives--will come to an end with that division.

Shepherds have no problem making a distinction between sheep and goats because there is nothing that a shepherd knows more about than the difference between sheep and goats.

So it will be on the Last Day as the Good Shepherd separates those who are his (those who have believed in him and followed him) from those who are not his (those who have rejected him and went their own way). Every person in the world—including you and me-- will fall into one of those two groups.

The unbelieving world around us sees fine moral distinctions, with many shades of gray, when it comes to their relationship with God—they say that surely it cannot be so simple, so cut-and-dried as those who believe in Jesus and those who don’t. But it is just that simple.

When it comes to your relationship with God—you are either righteous in God’s sight through faith in Jesus—blessed by God from the foundations of the world with all that is needed for salvation from beginning to end—OR- you are cursed by God because you have not counted yourself worthy of his salvation and have rejected the forgiveness and eternal life that comes through faith in Jesus.

The basic division of all people into one of these two groups is not always evident because faith in Jesus is, finally, a matter of the heart.

But that division between the saved and the lost will be plain for all to see on the Last Day when the Son of Man comes to judge the nations and presents the evidence for his perfect, righteous judgment. Jesus will say to the saved on his right hand:

‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'

There is nothing here that is difficult to understand: those who had faith produced the fruits of faith--those saved by grace were gracious people to others—those who received the mercy of God in Christ extended that mercy to others—those who were forgiven were forgiving. In other words, the life of Jesus was seen in the lives of those who were his.

The evidence that is given for a true and living faith is found in the small acts of mercy and kindness and generosity given to others simply because those who are saved by the loving sacrifice Man of the Cross--want to live loving, self-sacrificing lives like their Savior’s.

Another really remarkable thing about those who are saved is that all the things that we have failed to do-- are not even brought up.

We haven’t fed every hungry person or clothed every naked person or housed every homeless person—but these sinful failures to be all that we have been called to be-- have no part in this judgment because they have been taken away by the blood of Jesus Christ along with the wrong we have done.

But for those who have rejected Jesus Christ it is a very different story. Jesus will say to the lost on his left hand:

“'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'

The great tragedy is that it never had to be this way. Hell was not prepared for people but for the devil and the other angels who rebelled against God at the beginning of the world. But when a person rejects Jesus Christ, they choose to align themselves with the devil and the fallen angels and they will receive hell as their eternal punishment.

And just as there are no great works of faith that are mentioned for the redeemed, so there are no great sins that are mentioned for the damned.

Those who had no faith-- simply failed to produce the fruits of faith that come from being saved and will hear the terrible judgment of all who die apart from faith in Christ— “depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire.”

As a final proof that our Lord’s judgment is valid, we hear the reactions of each group to the Lord’s verdict—their own testimony to the truth of the Lord’s verdict.

“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

The Good News for the child of God is that on judgment day, not only will our sins not be remembered, but all those small acts of mercy and kindness and generosity that we have forgotten about—that we would never have dreamed to lift up to the Lord as deserving of eternal life— will be remembered by him-and counted as if we had done them all for him.

That the Lord’s people are astonished by his accounting is a sure sign that they were not afflicted with the spiritually fatal disease of work’s righteousness—they simply did good to others out of love for the Lord—not to earn heaven for themselves.

Acts of love, done in faith, require no accounting on our part. They are simply given in the context of our ordinary, daily vocations. When we are forgiving with our family; when we set a good example at work; when we are compassionate and merciful to those in need; when we are concerned for the needs of others; we show ourselves to be the Lord’s people. On the other hand, those on the King’s left will answer, saying:

“'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

The lost, even at that late hour, exhibit no sorrow or repentance to Jesus or even compassion for those who have gone without food and drink and clothing and shelter through their faithless neglect. Their only desire is to call into question the righteous judgment of a perfectly just judge.

We are tempted to believe that faced with hell, even the most hardened sinner would come to their senses, repent of their sins, and beg for mercy—but it is not so. Those who were not concerned for others will never be concerned. Those who have rejected the Lord throughout their life will continue to reject him for eternity.

That is why judgment day is merely a final demonstration of what was true: in a person’s life—at the moment of their death—and then forever in eternity as they “go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

And so what does this plain and simple teaching from our Lord about the final judgment and the Last Day have to do with our lives this week? What does the Lord want us to do as a result of his words? How then should we live, knowing that we will stand before the throne of Jesus Christ and be judged?

First and foremost, no one ought to leave this sanctuary today without knowing for sure that they are one of those whom the Lord will call righteous and blessed on the Last Day. That confidence comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

None of us, by nature, are worthy to stand before a perfectly righteous judge—each of us deserves hell. But God sent his Son to save us from what our sins deserve. Jesus suffered hell for us on the cross. He paid for our selfishness and sins with his shed blood—and he rose up from the dead to give us eternal life. We receive the salvation he accomplished by believing the Gospel as it is preached and given in Holy Communion. As we do so, we can face the Last Day with confidence.

Secondly, we should measure our lives by Christ’s standard of what really counts and not the world’s. On the Last Day there are no questions about how much money we had, how important we were in the community, what car we drove, or what we did for a living.

Instead, the only thing that matters on judgment day is that we showed with our lives that we belonged to Jesus by caring for those around us. Nothing miraculous is required of us, but only that our faith in Jesus would bear the fruit of good works as we deal with others in the same gracious, generous, merciful, forgiving way that we have been dealt with by Christ.

And finally, we should live our lives this week -and always- in expectation of our Lord’s immediate return.

All of the worries and trials and temptations that we are faced with daily-- become something altogether different and altogether smaller when they are seen in the light of that glad and glorious day when the Lord says to each of us:

‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!

May God graciously grant it to each of us for Jesus’ sake! Amen.

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

2011-11-14T06:53:00.001-08:00

Advent 1, Series B November 27, 2011

Lessons for The First Sunday in Advent

Isaiah 64:1–9 ~ We wait eagerly for the Lord to come set things right with our world and in our lives.
Psalm 80:1–7 (Antiphon: Psalm 80:7)
1 Corinthians 1:3–9 ~ We wait eagerly for Christ’s return, knowing that He will keep us secure in faith.
Mark 13:24–37 ~ We wait eagerly for the Son of Man even in distressing times, because we know His love.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: Peace and Patience in our Waiting
In spite of the fact that our lives are so hectic, we are often waiting -- for healing, for comfort, for peace. With Isaiah we cry out, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” We must be ready at all times for that rending appearance of our Lord. We can be patient in our waiting when we recognize with St. Paul that only God’s mercy in Christ will keep us blameless on the day of Christ’s return.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Lord, give me patience in my waiting that I may be ready for Christ’s return knowing that you have claimed me for yourself. Let each new day remind me that this world is drawing closer to your kingdom of glory. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: Through our stewardship God makes us channels of blessings to many, partners with Him and co-workers in ministry – investors in an eternal estate!

OFFERING PRAYER: Gracious God, You send the Prince of Peace.
Make us ready for His coming,
As we use these gifts to share His peace
And in our lives express His loving. Amen.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: When conditions in society around us and in the distress within us make us shout with anxious cry, “How long, O Lord?” we are strengthened by the promise that the One we await is the One who loved us so much that He gave His life for us. Although everything else is questionable, one thing is certain: our Savior is the Lord who has already reconciled us to Himself.

SEASONAL NOTE: Most people find Advent a difficult time---the world around us rushes headlong into Christmas and the Church seems strangely out of sync with the Advent themes of waiting and preparation. This is a time of quiet yet purposeful waiting for the right time to celebrate God’s gracious gift in the birth of His Son in human flesh.

As Lightning Rends the Sky
Isaiah 64:1-9

As lightning rends the sky with thunder crash
and mountains quake with molten lava flow,
we yearn for God to come with power and dash
the wretched curse of sin. Then all would know
there is no other God! The prophets told
the awesome deeds that glorified His name.
God’s saving actions made His people bold,
and they in turn were proud to spread His fame.
But now in gentle form and human skin
God comes to melt our crusty hearts today.
He holds us in His hand, and once again
He turns our broken lives like potter’s clay.
Trust God to mold you in His will, and then
He’ll fashion you according to His plan.

– Gilbert A. Franke, 11/18/08

This Week at Mt. Olive

2011-11-14T06:51:00.000-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

In the Old Testament, false prophets had a trite and overused theme: peace and security for Israel. The problem, of course, was that there wasn't peace and security under many of the kings of Israel and Judah because of their kings' idolatrous habits.

These days, the same theme of peace and security are proclaimed by a sort of false prophets, those who proclaim our best life is right now, or that our society and world are constantly improving. If either of those were the case, we wouldn't have obesity, diabetes, and heart disease attacking at earlier ages all the time.

Paul calls us to our senses in today's Epistle (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). Will this downward spiral ever end? Paul responds, "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him."

Kind of gives us that feel from the explanation to the seventh petition of the Lord's Prayer in the Small Catechism:
But deliver us from evil.
What does this mean?
We pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all manner of evil, of body and soul, property and honor, and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven.

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Tomorrow evening, the Church Council continues its meetings in leading up to the December Voters Meeting. We should have a date for that meeting after tomorrow, and I'll publish it later this week.

Lutheran Book Club will NOT meet this week since we finished the book last week.

Three of Mt. Olive's young people have achieved success in the dramatic arts.
-Trevor Johnson will be appearing in W. B. Ray High School's production of Crimes of the Heart. Performances are scheduled for this Thursday and Friday nights at 7 p.m. Cost of admission is $5.

-Abigail and Sarah Waddle will be appearing in Tuloso-Midway High School's production of Anatomy of Gray. Performances are scheduled for this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7 p.m. in the Tuloso-Midway Middle School auditorium. Cost of admission is $5.

The youth of Mt. Olive will be attending the Saturday evening performance of Anatomy of Gray. Stay tuned for more information about rides, etc.

This coming Friday, Mt. Olive Lutheran School hosts its annual Thanksgiving Feast for students and their families.

Prayer Concerns:
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney (Ft. Campbell, KY)
College students and families who will be traveling over the next couple of weeks - they'll be numerous and we pray for God's divine protection on their journeys
Schools as they prepare for Thanksgiving breaks
Our brothers and sisters in the faith at Lord of Life and Our Savior as they await the Lord's gift of a pastor
The Church Council

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, November 14
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Church Council

Wednesday, November 16
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 11)

Thursday, November 17
Happy Birthday, Kathy!

Friday, November 18
11 a.m.
School Thanksgiving lunch feast

God bless!
PKJ

The Day of the Lord

2011-11-13T05:11:00.000-08:00

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
I think that most of us know the name of Harold Camping—the religious broadcaster who twice last year predicted the end of the world. What you may not know is that he did the same thing in 1994. Of course, he is not the only false prophet of the end times. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have predicted the end of the world half a dozen times in the last 100 years. Hal Lindsey said it would end in 1988. Joseph Smith of the Mormons predicted it and got it wrong as did Ellen White of the Seventh Day Adventists. And so it goes all the way back to the time of the apostles despite the plain and simple words of Jesus: that no one knows that day or hour of his second coming.

But while the day and hour is unknown, our Lord’s return in glory to judge the world—what the Bible calls “the day of the Lord” --is certain.

Jesus promised that he would come again to take us to heaven. At his ascension the angels promised that he would return in the same way he left. And we heard from the apostle Paul last week that, with the voice of the archangel and the sound of the trumpet of God, Jesus will descend from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise from their graves.

And so, if we cannot know the day and hour of our Lord’s return and if we do not need to know it, what do we need to know about the day of the Lord? Paul writes:

Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Christians do not need to know anything about the specific timing of our Lord’s return because what we do know is enough: that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. These are the same words that Jesus used to talk about his second coming—that it will be sudden and unexpected. And that’s all we need to know about the timing-- because that knowledge is more than enough to be prepared for that day—a day of destruction that the world around us chooses to ignore. Paul writes that:

While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

The great danger of the Harold Camping’s of the world is that they lead people to ridicule the second coming of our Lord and ignore or explain away the signs of his return and remain unprepared to face the judgment of God.

Before that day, Jesus says that there will be wars and rumors of wars—that nation will rise against nation—that there will be earthquakes and famines in various places—that lawlessness will increase and false prophets will lead many astray. And so it is -and so it has been- since Jesus spoke these words and prophesied these signs.

That’s the point—that at any time we are to be expectantly looking for our Lord’s return and we are to view the world around us through that lens of final judgment and eternity—not explaining away the signs or expecting that the next peace treaty or economic upturn will establish heaven on earth—but that Jesus is coming again to make a new heaven and a new earth by destroying all that is broken and evil in this one.

The day of the Lord will be a day of destruction. That may not sound like good news—and it’s not for those who are opposed to God—but it is good news for God’s people for justice will be done.

The day of the Lord will be a vindication of God and his ways and his people and the judgment and destruction of evil. According to the prophet Zephaniah, those who live by violence and fraud will be punished. Those who have misused power to oppress the weak will kneel before the Lord in submission. And those who have lived for wealth and material things will see them destroyed.

No one who has opposed the Lord and his ways and his people will escape destruction on the day of the Lord. The Bible knows absolutely nothing of a second chance after the Lord’s return for those who have rejected him up until that day. Zephaniah pictures the Lord searching high and low and seeking out every dark place where his enemies might hide to make sure that none of them escapes the judgment he brings. But we who live in the light of Christ have nothing to fear from that day. Paul writes:

You are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

How often do we shake our heads at the sinful foolishness of the unbelieving world—at the things that we read in the paper and see on the news and hear on the radio-- and wonder to ourselves: why on earth do they live the way they do and think the things they do and value the things they do? It’s as if we see things completely different from those who don’t share our faith. And of course, in many ways—that’s true.

The Bible says that those who don’t believe in Jesus are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God and in their ignorance and hardness of heart give themselves up to sensuality and every kind of impurity.

But we are not in darkness. The light of Jesus Christ has shone into our lives and opened our hearts and enlightened our minds. When Paul was converted to faith in Christ the Bible says that something like scales fell from his eyes—a vivid picture of what is spiritually true for every Christian.

We are children of the light who know that Christ is coming again and that this world as it is will not endure that day and we are called to live our lives in light of the knowledge—ready for Jesus’ return at any time. Paul writes:

Let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.

It’s self-evident that Paul is not talking here about the physical sleep which God gives that refreshes our bodies-- but spiritual sleepiness that keeps us from being awake and ready to meet the Lord when he comes again—what the prophet Zephaniah called “complacency”—the notion that-- as things are now, so they always have been and so they always will be, and so there is no need to expect or do anything different.

That is absolutely untrue! We have been spiritually awakened to look for the dawn of the day of the Lord and we must not hit the spiritual snooze-alarm and fall back into the self-satisfied warmth of spiritual slumber.

Neither must we let anything dull our minds to the realities of that day. Paul distinguishes between sleep and drunkenness—both of them happen in spiritual darkness—but there is a difference. Spiritual complacency is a part of our flesh. We have to fight against the temptation to let the Lord’s return fall to the back of our mind.

But drunkenness is something else. It is the intentional choice to make use of that which dulls our spiritual awareness. For the people of Zephaniah’s day it was wealth and so long as they had plenty of money they thought they had nothing to fear. Many people have that same trouble today.

But it’s not only money that dulls our spiritual awareness. Alcohol and drugs and pornography and the press of daily life and the constant need to be entertained can also dull us to the need to constantly repent of our sins and be renewed in our faith in Jesus. Anything that dulls our readiness for the Lord’s return needs to be put aside so that we can instead be filled with those things that make us spiritually aware and awake. Paul writes:

Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

The image that Paul uses here would have been familiar to anyone living in the Roman Empire---Roman soldiers marching through the streets, prepared for battle, their armor flashing in the sun. The Christian likewise is to be prepared for the spiritual battles that will most definitely come as we wait for the day of the Lord by daily renewal in faith, hope, and love by hearing God’s Word and receiving Holy Communion.

These three Christian virtues constantly appear together in Paul’s letters and there’s a reason for that: they encompass the entire Christian life.

Faith directs our eyes to the past and the accomplished facts of salvation history. Jesus Christ the promised Messiah entered into the world in a particular moment in history. He died on the cross under the rule of Pontius Pilate and rose again three days later. Who he is and what he has done is the content of our faith—and because we are looking forward to his return—he is also the hope for our future.

Hope directs our faith to the future and the promises that still remain to be fulfilled—Christ’s return and the resurrection of the dead—and a new creation.
Far, far from being afraid of the future and fearful of God’s judgment, we look forward in hope to a future that is filled with every blessing of body and soul because God’s faithfulness in the past is our assurance that our hope will not be disappointed.

And because Jesus is the content of our faith and our hope for the future he is also the one who guides and directs our lives right now in the ways of his love.
We don’t know when Jesus will come again but we do know what he wants us to be doing in the meantime—loving one another in the same way he loved us—doing good to our neighbor and forgiving those who hurt us. This is the way we are to live until the day of the Lord when we receive the fullness of salvation. Paul writes that:

God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Moment by moment throughout history God has been carefully, wisely, lovingly ordering the world so that we could come to faith in Jesus and endure in faith and so receive the fullness of salvation. We are the reason that God sent his Son into the world—that believing in him we would be saved.

Much too often we think of salvation only in terms of forgiveness of sins—and certainly it is that! But it’s everything else that comes from being forgiven and right in God’s sight: it’s having peace with God and the assurance that he is with us and a life filled with joy and purpose. But salvation also extends beyond this life into eternity.

That God has saved us by the death and resurrection of his Son means that we have been restored to what God wanted for us in the beginning—a life with him as his children that even death cannot end. Salvation means that God will restore everything broken by sin—that there will be a new heaven and a new earth—that we will enjoy perfect fellowship with God forever.

The Day of the Lord is the culmination of God’s saving work. It is not a day of wrath for us that we need to fear-- but the day of salvation when the fullness of what Christ has done in his dying and rising will be ours forever. May this Good News of our Lord’s return grant us courage to live as God’s people!

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

2011-11-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

Proper 28, Series A November 13, 2011

Lessons for The Twenty-Sixth Sunday After Pentecost

Zephaniah 1:7–16 ~ Those who think God does not care about their sins will surely be judged.
Psalm 90:1-12 [Antiphon: Ps. 90:17]
1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 ~ God has given us salvation in Christ, so we may live in the light of His grace.
Matthew 25:14–30 ~ God calls upon us to invest His forgiveness through our lives of service.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: It’s Time to Take a Risk!
Zephaniah brought God’s word of warning to complacent merchants and rulers of Jerusalem at a time when they thought they could count on political and economic stability without figuring on God’s investment! Jesus described the coming of the Kingdom in terms of a wealthy merchant who is looking for considerable returns on his investments. St. Paul reminded early believers that they have an inside track on the Kingdom market, living in the light of the grace of God, and so are able to risk faith, hope, and love to build up one another in a rich life for God just as Christ risked His life for us.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Lord Jesus, wake me up with the light of Your day so that I am not complacent or haughty about Your judgment. Make me aware of Your claim upon me so that I will be aggressive in my investment of Your love and grace in my life as I await Your return in glory. Amen.

OFFERING PRAYER: What a privilege it is, Lord, to use the wealth You give
For the building of Your kingdom in the faithful way we live.
Keep us always watchful as we await our Lord’s return
So we see and help the need we meet at every turn. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: God has given us great material blessings and expects us to use His goods to build up His kingdom, not to advance our own gain or position. The faithful steward invests capital in the Master’s business.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: We recognize many occasions when we have “buried our talents” – not being willing to risk our goods or our gifts to advance the kingdom of God. The comfort we have is that God has invested us with great gifts, grace beyond measure. He has entrusted us with the message of Christ’s redeeming love. While this parable sums up the warning of the unexpected return of the Lord and encourages faithfulness in our use of his gifts, it also points forward to Jesus’ identity with the needy and outcast, that we apply his investment of love toward their needs.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2011-11-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

All Saints' Day is one of my favorite celebrations in the Church Year. I love the hymns, especially For All the Saints. Especially, I love the last stanza: But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day; the saints triumphant rise in bright array; the King of glory passes on his way. Alleluia, Alleluia!

I get the picture in my mind of those who have gone before us in the faith waking from the sleep of death, standing at attention and shouting their acclamations as the King of Glory, our crucified and risen Lord Jesus, passes on His way. But, this picture doesn't leave out the saints alive, still in the Church Militant. Rather, those are included in the last stanza: From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast, through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Perhaps I'm a little off base, but I recall an old John Wayne movie called "Back to Bataan," in which survivors of the infamous Bataan death march, portrayed by actors, are named and shown marching in a victorious formation. I sometimes picture that as the countless host, those named and those yet to be named, who made the firm confession and remained faithful unto death. I think of all those who have gone before our family in the faith over the past couple of years, and they've been numerous: my aunt Stella, my cousin Jeri, my father-in-law John, among others. You probably have your own list of those who have died in the faith, clinging to the Lord Jesus, who now rest from their labors. Knowing of the coming resurrection seems to spur us on to sing that stanza with even greater gusto.

Rejoice, people of God, Praise the Lord. Let us keep the feast in honor of all God's saints, in whose victory the angels rejoice and glorify the Son of God.

Almighty God, You have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. AMEN

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Tuesday night, the LWML holds the much anticipated Chrismon Making Session. All are invited to learn and even make these meaningful decorations. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday morning, we continue with Revelation, delving into chapter 10. All are invited at 9:30 a.m. in the Overflow.

Wednesday evening, we conclude our study of Hammer of God, covering the third and final part of the book. After this, Lutheran Book Club will be postponed until after the first of the year.

Friday and Saturday, we celebrate with Bobby Schumann and Stephanie Duarte, who recently completed Adult Information Class, as they are united in holy matrimony at Mt. Olive.

The next two Sundays are the last two of the current Church Year. These Sundays carry with them a theme of the Last Day and the judgment that accompanies the appearing of our Lord Jesus in glory. These are great, yet sometimes scary themes. Yet, hearing them in the company of God's people gives the theme of judgment a different focus.

Finally, as we barrel toward the end of the current Church Year and the sweep into a new Church Year, there are several groups that need to be kept in your prayers:
-the Sunday School teachers as program practices begin and the busy season that leads up to Christmas requires their attention in teaching the faith
-the Altar Guild as they have a busy several weeks approaching
-the Church Council as they work on the annual budget
-the young people of the church who will be incredibly busy and yet again will lead us in wonderful services.

Prayer Concerns:
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney (Ft. Campbell, KY), Richard Rhode, John Sorensen (Corpus Christi)
The homebound: Ruby Rieder, Ann Cleveland, Bud Bird, Walter and Pearly Theiss (Houston)
Students and teachers whose schedules are about to become incredibly busy
Those who serve on the Church Council
Our brothers and sisters in the faith at Lord of Life and Our Savior Lutheran Churches as they await pastors

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, 7 NOV
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

Tuesday, 8 NOV
6:30 p.m.
LWML Meeting - Chrismon Workshop

Wednesday, 9 NOV
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 10)

6:30 p.m.
Zumba

7 p.m.
Lutheran Book Club - completing Hammer of God

God bless!
PKJ

The Dead in Christ Will Rise!

2011-11-06T04:55:00.000-08:00

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
We live in a world where death is an unwelcome intruder. All of us will experience grief and mourning until we are the ones being mourned. But as Christians we do not grieve as those who have no hope --for the dead in Christ will rise.

Through faith in the resurrected Lord we know that death is not the end- for those we love- who trust in the Lord. Death is not the end for us. The promise of the resurrected Christ is sure and certain: because I live you also shall live.

By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote the words that we have before us in our text today to make sure that we know and believe that the life we have in Christ-- is a life that even death cannot end. He writes:

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do- who have no hope.

All of us will have to deal with the death of loved ones at some point in time--but God doesn’t want any of us to experience grief unbounded by hope. Paul wrote these words about the death of Christians because he does not want us to “be uninformed” about our eternal future. Other translations say that he does not want us to be “ignorant”. The Greek work is “agnostic”—without knowledge.

Many people who see themselves as intellectuals will tell you that they are “agnostic” when it comes to the things of God—that they simply don’t have enough information to believe in God-- and they think that this lack of knowledge is some kind of enlightened virtue.

God’s Word says just the opposite—that it is knowing the truth about Christ and eternal life that comforts us in the hour of death.

Grief at the death of a loved one is to be informed and guided and, yes, moderated by a knowledge of the truth. And what does God want us to know? What is the truth regarding our death? That death—for the Christian—is a peaceful rest.

We do not fear going to sleep, we look forward to it after a hard day of work and we hope that our rest is deep and sound. When we go to bed at night- we get up in the morning-- and our senses and faculties and limbs ready to begin a new day. And when our sleep is deep, we do not experience the passage of time.

That is the way death is for Christians—and from that peaceful sleep we will arise just as certainly as we wake up in the morning to begin a new day. One of the old, familiar evening hymns says it this way: “Teach me to live- that I may dread- the grave as little as my bed—teach me to die- that so I may- rise glorious at the final day.”

The Bible does not teach that sleep is merely a euphemism for death-- but it teaches that is what death is actually like for the Christian and the Bible writers take that language from the Lord.

When Jesus came into the house of Jairus the synagogue ruler, it was grief and mourning that greeted him because Jairus’ little daughter had died. But Jesus told him not to be afraid for she was only sleeping-- and Jesus took her by the hand and she arose from the sleep of death.

That’s the way it’s going to be for each and every one of us on the Last Day because of what Jesus has already done in his death and resurrection for us. Paul writes that:

Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

The Bible says in Romans chapter 6 that “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We die because our lives are broken by sin. Sin has destroyed God’s perfect creation and death is the consequence for all of Adam’s children—including us and those we love.

But Jesus’ death on the cross has atoned for the sins of the world and his resurrection is God’s promise that all who believe in Jesus will rise from the dead- just as he was raised from the dead.

Time and time again Jesus promised this very thing. “Because I live you also will live.” “I am the resurrection and life--he who believes in me will never die.” “I am the way and the truth and the life.” “I will go and prepare a place for you that where I am you also may be.” Promise after promise, Jesus grounded our hope for eternal life in his own life, death, and resurrection.

The bible says Jesus’ resurrection is the first fruits of an entire harvest of people who will rise from the dead on the Last Day-- just like Jesus did on Easter Sunday. Paul writes:

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Paul did not have much time in Thessalonica before he was driven from town by persecution and apparently the Thessalonians were confused about the end times and what it meant for their loved ones if they died before the Lord came. Many people in the church today are still confused about the end times.

I remember watching a program on one of the religious TV stations and there was a guy on who was teaching about the end times. And he was standing on a stage with a dry erase board behind him that went all the way across the stage. And it was absolutely filled with writing and diagrams and numbers and arrows pointing up and down—all of it trying to explain what he understood the Bible’s end-time theology to be.

And I remember smiling to myself because of the huge difference between that and how we confess the Bible’s truth about the End Times each Sunday in the creed: Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. That’s it! That’s just how simple it is!

Our Lord’s return in glory is not some riddle that has to carefully worked out by scholars—but a simple promise from God that children can understand: Jesus is coming again and the dead in Christ will rise.

Jesus’ return will be announced with the voice of the arch-angel and the sound of a trumpet so that there is no mistaking it or confusing it with something else. In that moment the dead in Christ will rise up from their tombs just as surely as Lazarus came out of his and they will join those Christians still living and be gathered together with the Lord in heaven.

You don’t need forty feet of dry-erase board to explain that or understand it. It is simple because the Lord wants his return to be comforting rather than confusing.
And there are two points of incredible comfort that I want you to understand and believe from these verses—two reasons why-- even though Christians grieve when a loved one passes away--we do not grieve as those who have no hope.

First of all, those who fall asleep in faith are called “the dead IN Christ”. The saddest moment of any funeral is when fellow mourners have left and only the family remains and then they have to leave their loved one behind for the final act of burial. It certainly feels like we are abandoning our loved one. But nothing could be farther from the truth! Those connected to Christ are never abandoned!

Christians are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection—we are connected to Jesus by faith and are members of his living body and the promise of God in Holy Baptism is that if we have been united with Jesus in a death like his-- we shall certainly be united with Jesus in a resurrection like his.

Death cannot sever the connection that believers have with Christ and his people and every Sunday when we have Holy Communion we gather around the rail with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven to join our voice to their great song of praise that is constantly being sung in heaven until that day we add them around the throne of the Lamb in his kingdom.

Later on in this same epistle Paul writes that “God has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” And in Romans Paul writes: “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.”

We who are left alive after a loved one dies experience death as separation-- and that is a painful thing-- but the LORD wants us to know that those who die in Christ are still connected to him just as certainly those who are left alive—all of us joined together in the living body of Christ.

And the second great consolation of this verse about Jesus’ return in glory—is that all of God’s people (those who have died in the faith and those who will still be living when the Lord comes) will be reunited when he comes gain-- and we will always be with the Lord—together with those we love. Paul writes:

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

The separation from loved ones at death is a painful reality for us-- but it is not a permanent reality for us-- for death’s power has been broken by Christ’s resurrection from the dead and it will be swallowed up forever on the Last Day by Christ’s victory over the grave.

And so who is that “we” that Paul is talking about that are going to be with the Lord forever?

It is you and me and our children and grandchildren—our spouses-- and our moms and dads and grandparents all those faithful Christians who have come before us and who will come after us. All of us united together with the Lord in heaven never to suffer the pain of death’s separation again because we will ALWAYS be with the Lord.

Paul wants to make sure that we understand that this is not his opinion about things—but it is a “word from the Lord” with which we are to encourage one another.

There is one comfort for us when a loved one dies --and one comfort for us in the hour of our own death-- and that is the words of the Lord that we have before us in our text today: Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep and the dead in Christ will rise. That is why we do not grieve as those who have no hope. May this Good News comfort us in our sorrow and in the hour of death! Amen.

This Week at Mt. Olive

2011-10-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

Today is Reformation Sunday in North American churches. Unfortunately today, Reformation is often overshadowed by Halloween celebrations and, in the case of this week, Monday Night Football. Check your local listings.

The common indications that the Reformation has largely been glossed over in many Lutheran circles are fairly easy to identify. Children who hear the name Martin Luther immediately think of the civil rights leader of 1960s United States, Martin Luther King. Though Dr. King is significant in American history, I believe his accomplishments to be largely relegated to the civil realm while the efforts of Dr. Luther and his colleagues in the 16th century refocus the Church on the saving message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified which we call The Gospel.

As many of you have heard me say, while the Reformation returned to the Biblical teaching of justification by grace through faith, I believe a critical return provided by the Reformation concerned original sin. Get sin wrong, and justification will undoubtedly be wrong. Preach sin in the severity in which God sees it and justification will be the wonderful message to be heard. Perhaps this is the real reason why the Reformation is overshadowed not only in the secular arena, but often in churches, too. The preaching and teaching about sin is seen as harmful, distasteful, passe, or just downright inconvenient.

There's only one problem for churches: the reality and severity of sin and God's anger against it is Biblical. Preserve sin and Jesus is a Savior, a Deliverer, a Redeemer. Dilute sin, soft pedal it, or just ignore it, and Jesus becomes a life coach to help us find our purpose, a buddy, or a political force. In the coming days, I hope to provide a few devotional thoughts on a subject many find morbid and hurtful, but one about which we need to be keenly aware: sin!

This Week at Mt. Olive
Tomorrow evening, all families are invited to Mt. Olive for the annual Trunk Treat fun! Currently, four families have volunteered to take on this task. If you would like to join in decorating your car at Mt. Olive and passing out some goodies, please feel free to join in! Trunk Treat begins at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Lutheran Book Club resumes. Please read Part II, Jesus Only, in "The Hammer of God" by Bo Giertz. Don't have the book but want to join the discussion? We meet at 7 p.m. in the Overflow area.

There will be no Adult Information Class this week. I have a prior commitment with my family and won't be able to lead. Please check the update next week!

Jr. Confirmation class will be held as usual next Sunday. The movie "Luther" will be shown the following Sunday, November 13, at noon. All church members are invited to attend (bring your lunch if you wish).

Don't forget: Fall Shrimp Boil at the home of Jack and Judy Rohde on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 each. If you'd like to attend and haven't purchased a ticket, please call the Church Office for more information.

Finally, this past week I had the pleasure of visiting a family member of one of the faithful at Mt. Olive. It was a delightful time, and I got to share the good news about Jesus. If you have a family member, especially one who does not have a pastor to visit him or her, who is hospitalized, please give me a call or send me an email. Folks are in need of pastoral care while in the hospital and I'm happy to provide it.

I will be out of the office a good chunk of Tuesday.

Prayer Concerns:
Sandra Headley (Suzette Hamer's mom)
The Homebound: Ruby Rieder, Ann Cleveland, Bud Bird (Phyllis Bowling's brother), Walter and Pearly Theiss (Houston)
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney (Ft. Campbell, KY), Richard Rhode, John Sorensen (Corpus Christi)
The Churches which confess the Unaltered Augsburg Confession throughout the world, that they be kept firm in their confession of faith
Those who have lost loved ones in the past year, as we celebrate All Saints' Day

This Week at Mt. Olive
Monday, October 31
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Trunk Treat Night in the Parking Lot

Wednesday, November 2
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study (the remainder of Revelation 8)

6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Lutheran Book Club

Saturday, November 5
6 p.m.
Fall Shrimp Boil at the home of Jack and Judy Rohde (call the office for tickets if you haven't already purchased some)

God bless!
PKJ

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

2011-10-31T10:39:00.001-07:00

All Saints’ Day November 6, 2011

Lessons for ALL SAINTS (Lutheran Service Book)

Revelation 7:(2-8) 9-17 ~ John saw the multitude of saints in glory serving the Lamb at His throne.
Psalm 31:1-5 (antiphon Rev. 7:14)
1 John 3:1-3 ~ God loves us so much that He called us to be His children, and made us His for eternity!
Matthew 5:1-12 ~ Jesus revealed the true nature of blessings in the Kingdom of God.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: From Death to Life
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!" (Isaiah 43:1) With these words, God reminds us that we and those believers who have gone before us are saints (that is "holy ones") because of His action. No other truth brings as much comfort. If sainthood were up to us by good works, our hope would be uncertain at best and futile at worst. We would be lost for sure and there would be no celebration today. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:57)

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Gracious and eternal God, be with me in suffering and in death to strengthen and comfort me by your Holy Spirit. Keep me in the true faith and give me peace and joy in the assurance of the resurrection of the dead and the glory of life everlasting through Jesus Christ, your Son, my risen Lord. Amen.

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: Because we know that our citizenship is in heaven where we have an everlasting inheritance, we are free to be generous with the earthly goods God places in our care. Our use of these blessings should bring eternal blessing to the lives of the poor, the meek, the mournful, and those who seek justice.

OFFERING PRAYER: Blessings abound in the power of Your Word;
Blessed are we in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Grant that these offerings we bring may secure
Blessings eternal for meek and for poor.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: We do not recognize the saints of God because we see things from earth’s perspective and our point of view, where joy and wealth and power and fame are the blessings we seek. Surely the Lord knows who His saints are because He has clothed them with the robe of Christ’s righteousness. When we are known by Him, we are called children of God – and called to be His children. Then opportunities to serve become blessings, and even persecution becomes a sign of our identity as a saint of God’s grace.