LCMC Convention

Sermon 10072012 18th Sunday After Trinity

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  AMEN.

Let us pray!  Heavenly Father, the Ten Commandments that You gave Moses were a guide for the people of Israel.  And when Jesus had silenced the Sadducees the summary You offered in response to the lawyer clearly provide us the opportunity to reflect upon our love and trust of You.  Our response is less than perfect, but Your response is perfect.  Enable us to understand our dependence upon You and be changed so we can love, serve and trust You with not only our lives, but our very being.  For it is only through the fulfillment of Jesus death on Calvary that we have modeled true love and trust for all of mankind, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

As a congregation we here at Emmanuel have embarked upon an ambitious project this year.  Unlike most projects that have an anticipated outcome like in farming with an outstanding wheat crop or corn harvest, our project has a simpler goal.  The simple goal is the spreading of the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ.  Our project of spreading the Gospel is manifest with our sponsoring with the other churches in Goodland and David Branda the “Films of Faith Series” at the Sherman Theater.  We began with “Lion of Judah” after Easter, “Prince of Egypt” in the summer and next week with “Facing the Giants”.  Each of these movies in their own way is and was an opportunity to spread the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ here in our local community.  In order to prepare for and learn from the latest Films of Faith movie, the sermons for the next eight weeks will be based in part on one of the many scenes and themes found within “Facing the Giants”.  For this morning we will be exploring the question, “Do you love and trust God?”

This morning in our Gospel lesson, Jesus Christ is confronted by a lawyer who is trying to test him.  The lawyer asks a simple question, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  Unlike most questions posed to Jesus, this one is very personal for Jesus.  You see, since He is part of the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, He was there when Moses was given the Ten Commandments.  And Jesus knows all the commandments more perfectly than anyone whether in recitation or living them out.  Thus when Jesus answers the lawyer, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOU MIND” the lawyer is caught off guard with Jesus response. And when Jesus continues, “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”  The lawyer probably is baffled, because he was expecting to catch Jesus in not referring to the Jewish law given to Moses by God.  And the final straw that breaks this lawyer’s query is Jesus tying it into a neat little package when He says, “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

What is ironic is that Jesus mention of the “Law and the Prophets” is a clear connection for us today not only to “Facing the Giants”, but also to what you have in your bulletin this morning.  In the movie, “Facing the Giants” the main character of coach Grant Taylor and his wife Brooke from the beginning of the movie encounter problems and challenges that are not uncommon to most people, whether they be job related, family related or even relationship related.  When faced with these challenges the coach is sent a message from God through a man.  This is no ordinary man.  Somewhat like the prophets from the Old Testament, this ‘present day prophet’ who prays over every locker and for every student in the school by name comes with a message from God for Coach Taylor.  The man of God says, “Coach Taylor, God has planted you here for a purpose and reason and is not finished with you”.

At that time, the purpose is not clear for Coach Taylor, but what is clear and we can discern from both the coaches situation and from Jesus response to the lawyer is a simple question.  The real question for Coach Taylor the lawyer questioning Jesus and for us today is, “Do you love God and trust God?”  The lawyer questioning Jesus didn’t have a reply, because Jesus silenced him with His response.  Coach Taylor on the other hand wrestled with this question in a clearly obvious way and we should wrestle as well.  Do you love God?  Do you trust God?  Easily we could say, why sure, I love and trust God.  But what we do not understand is that there are some important responsibilities and life changing opportunities with our answer being that we do love and trust God.

If we truly love God the responsibilities we have require us to be active.  Our activity is not just paying lip service by being here in worship, because we were guilted into being here by our spouse, parents, in-laws, council or community, sitting or standing through worship at the appropriate time while being silent while everyone else sings or consistently watching others serve or being goaded into doing something.  Action is in true humility and obedience as we discussed last week taking an active role in our relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in our lives on a daily basis as a model, because we are all models for our children, our church and our society and what is truly in our hearts.

You might be wondering what actions are required, let me outline for you three ways you can show your love, trust and faith in God and in response to the questions, “Do you love God?” and “Do you trust God?”

First, all of us can show our love for God by reading His Word.  In Experiencing God and from the Catechism insert in your bulletin one of the clearest ways we can respond to the question, “Do you love God?” is by reading His Word.  Since mid-September each week in the bulletin a short devotion and reading from scripture has been provided for us in order for us to show our love for God and share and model this for and with our family.  I can hear it now from some sitting in the pews, I don’t need to read this devotion to show my love for God.  But what you do not understand is that this is God’s invitation for you to get to know Him better and interact with Him in ways that will radically change your lives if you choose to allow it. 

Personally as someone who doubted this was possible many years ago, not until I tried reading more of scripture and devotions in God’s Word have I personally learned how God loves me more deeply and enables me to be a better pastor, but not only pastor, but better father to Sarah and husband to Michele and model for you the sheep God has entrusted to my care as your pastor.  Why is this important for me, you might ask?  Well, consider this, the people that you worship or work with see the model you give, but the children you are parents to and the ones with which you have personal responsibility will follow your leading.  And that is one of the responsibilities each and every one of us have.  And I am learning to take that more seriously with every passing day as first as husband, second father and lastly as pastor.  When we lead by example our actions and the outcomes talk louder than words.  Consider if for many years you have higher than normal wheat and corn harvests, people will ask you what you are doing with seeds or land management.  In the same way, God will richly bless your life, spiritually, economically and relationally, when you show your love by reading His Word and being formed and shaped by it.

Secondly, in response to the question, “Do you trust God?” it is not a hollow question.  In everything you are doing, do you place your full trust in God for the outcome?  If you have been reading the inserts every week you will notice for each commandment, Luther wrote, “What does this mean? We should fear and love God…”  This proper understanding of fear and love of God leads us to trust God.  You see when we enter into relationship with God through His Word we then can begin to trust God.  But it is not just a simple trust, it is trust that requires us to give everything to God. 

In “Facing the Giants” Coach Taylor’s mantra rightly became, ‘trust God in everything’.  Work like it depends upon you and trust God for the results.  How can we apply this today here at Emmanuel?  There are worries and concerns that Emmanuel isn’t growing like some expect now that we have a full-time pastor.  It is some people’s belief that I as Pastor have the responsibility to visit and convince people to come back to church, worship and fellowship.  If this is the expectation that I can do it all, I don’t trust God and then deny God’s divine ability and personal action in people’s lives and the congregations responsibility to reach out to our brothers and sisters not here with us at worship. 

Our question still remains, do you trust God?  If you do, then leave the results to God.  But this also means we should not be sitting on the sidelines complaining when we don’t get our way or somebody does something that hasn’t been done before, makes us mad or having a feeling of entitlement because our family helped build the church or has had membership here for the last 90 years.  God calls us to lifelong action not just seasonal action in helping to upkeep the church, serve as greeters and ushers, acolytes and readers and especially as missionaries about the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. 

If we say, I have served my time, we deny our trust in God in everything and believe our action or trust of yesterday can cover us for today.  It cannot.  How then can you trust God today?  There is a card in your bulletin that is an ad for the movie “Facing the Giants” take it and personally invite someone to come to worship and the movie.  Not only invite them, but offer to pick them up sit with them, help them with how we worship here at Emmanuel.  Now that might seem relatively easy, but here is the zinger, don’t invite someone that you know has a church home, whether at the Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Calvary Gospel or Harvest Church.  Invite an un-churched person you know or a stranger or neighbor who doesn’t have a church home and this is the key, ‘trust God’ for the outcome.  That is true and active trust in God and His action through you as His instrument in the lives of the people you impact on a daily basis.

Finally, after showing your love for God by reading His Word, trusting God with everything in your life including, money, children, family and jobs, submit yourselves to God’s plan and purpose for your life.  Your humble submission to God for His plan and purpose and trusting Him for the outcome will insure a simple fact and reality.  God will use your life, your experiences, your influence in a way that will radically change your life, the life of the person you invite to church and the life of we the people at Emmanuel. 

As a seminary student I was asked to come to a congregation as a homeless man.  At the outset, I didn’t think much of doing this simple act for a pastor that needed a little help.  So, I dressed the part, looked the part and portrayed each action of a homeless person from my entrance into the congregation on a Sunday morning to not being able to follow the worship service to not sitting and standing at the proper times.  The pastor had asked me to visit in order that the congregation might begin to sympathize with the population that had begun to enter the community.  During the sermon the pastor told the story of the Good Samaritan and introduced me as a seminary student.  It was like a light bulb immediately lit up.

Our portrayal of this has had such a profound affect upon the congregation that even to this day that sermon is spoken about by congregation members.  Matter of fact, earlier this fall nearly 18 years later, this story was related in a meeting I happened to be a part of and I had the opportunity to hear how it had affected even pastors who came to the seminary after I was a student.  All of this was done out of our faith and trust in God and being submissive to God and His perfect plan of salvation for all of mankind through Jesus Christ innocent death on Calvary acted out in the presence of a congregation encountering a homeless man in a changing community.

Ultimately God’s plan of salvation is perfect and we have the opportunity to love God with our whole heart, trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and trust Him with everything we have from our jobs to our homes, families, our crops, our church and our own lives.  And God will bless us.  This is the promise God makes to us when in faith we commit to relying solely upon Him doing what He has called us to do as His children and trusting Him for the outcome, even the outcome for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

10012012 Funeral Sermon for Clarice Arlene Yaste Martell

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight O Lord, our rock and our redeemer!!  AMEN!!

Let us pray!  Gracious Heavenly Father, as we gather here to celebrate the life of Clarice our sister in Christ, we are reminded that in You she has found the peace of Jesus Christ.  The struggles of this life no longer bind her, because in, through and by her baptism into Your life, death and resurrection, she now rests in Your loving and comforting arms.  May our hearts be enabled to hear Your Word spoken in its truth and purity and comfort us as we mourn.  For though the veil of death separates us today from Clarice, we are sure of the certain promise You made to us in our baptism that in being baptized into Your death we are certainly raised with You in Your resurrection.  Comfort us with this thought and let the salve of Your Gospel message spoken to Clarice on the day of her baptism and lived in her life daily surround us so we may hear clearly the Gospel message of the salvation offered through Jesus Christ innocent death on Calvary for all Your saints, especially the saints of her family and those gathered here at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

The saying “It will be the death of me” is usually said ‘tongue and cheek’ by faithless individuals who half-jokingly and half seriously make an outlandish claim or statement if something were to occur.  Ironically even Clarice who had an extremely strong faith said these words in the last month about of all things a bowl and pitcher.  But the plot thickens, this same bowl and pitcher, Clarice made while taking a pottery class and were prominently displayed in her house.  And as fate would have it, the bowl and pitcher caused her to fall recently prior to her departure for Hays and ultimately her entrance into the church triumphant.  But this pitcher and bowl are for all of us and especially the family a symbol of something far greater and much more meaningful.

In our Gospel this afternoon, Jesus Christ models for all of us the true role of a servant.  In humble obedience to His Father’s will, He strips Himself of all authority given to Him by His Father in heaven and kneels in front of each of the disciples and washes their feet.  When I was in seminary, the president of the seminary and his wife actually did this for the graduates on the day of our graduation.  This was a very humbling experience.  So to Jesus, using a pitcher and bowl not unlike the one made by Clarice, Jesus Christ in humility pours water over the tired and worn feet of His disciples.  With the brokenness clearly evident in the disciple’s faces and lives, Jesus in humility drying their feet becomes a servant for them and modeled for Clarice and us today how grace is freely offered.

Paul in his letter to the Romans says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand”     This same grace Paul speaks of is clearly manifest in Jesus simple action of washing the disciples feet.  Jesus is offering the disciples not only free grace and humble service, but in bathing their feet is preparing the disciples for what is coming.  Paul continues as he writes, “knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope” is a preparation for the trials and tribulations they would endure after Jesus death and ascension into heaven.  Thus, Jesus Christ was preparing the disciples for the promised Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, for Paul says, “because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us”.  This love is clearly manifest for us today draped over Clarice’s casket.

You see the off-white pall with the cross that is draped over the casket of Clarice this afternoon is a reminder of God’s love “poured out…and given” to and for each and every one of us, but especially today of, for and surrounding Clarice.  The pall is a tangible reminder of God reaching down into Clarice’s life and in, through and by the waters of Holy Baptism redeeming her by the Blood of the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the World.  The Pall is a clear tangible reminder for all of us today of Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection that all of us have been baptized into.  For it is through, by and on account of God’s gift of Grace offered to us that we have been “justified by faith…and…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.  This is a gift of God given for all of us through our baptism and a reminder for all of us with the Pall over the casket.

Paul says it clearly, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  Or one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  We who have been baptized into Jesus Christ’ life, death and resurrection have had “the love of God…poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who was given to us”.  God through baptism redeemed Clarice and all of us and promises us eternal life and salvation.

It is very clear that not only are we offered life and salvation, but also the forgiveness of sins.  You see today though we lay Clarice to rest next to Jeffrey and Earl, in a few minutes when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper we join together with all the saints in glory in the feast of God’s precious Body and Blood.  Through our participating in the receipt of Jesus Christ precious Body and Blood ‘given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins’ we join at the table of the Lord with all the saints of all time and all place, including Clarice, her husband Earl and sons Jeffrey and Ed.  We in the most mysterious and intimate communion of all celebrate God’s love for all of us in the mystery of Holy Communion.  And in Holy Communion we can and do find “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.  This peace is offered us in this sacramental meal that unites us with Clarice and all the saints who have entered the church triumphant.

For this gift of grace offered to and for us is freely offered because of God’s demonstration of His great love for all of us.  And this gift of grace is exactly what Clarice and Earl modeled for their children and we actually see surrounding us today.  You see not only do we share in the Great Thanksgiving, we are also surrounded by a multitude of gifts that Clarice was personally involved in.  Clarice believed in God’s grace and she showed it with her hands and heart giving God the glory.  The quilts that surround us today on the pews have been touched by Clarice and we have them on the pews as a reminder and in honor of God’s gift to each of us of Clarice in our lives.  These quilts are a direct result of God’s grace manifest in Clarice’s life and offered for others by Clarice because she clearly and rightly believed and understood the saying concerning God’s gifts, ‘freely received and freely given’.

I had many opportunities to talk with Clarice about her faith and the strength of it, but for me as pastor, while visiting with her the Thursday before her entrance into the church triumphant, was most special.  She reaffirmed her faith and desire to go home to be with her Lord.  And now Clarice is finally at peace with God.  It is a peace that surpasses all human understanding and has guarded her heart, soul and spirit.  Clarice trusted Jesus Christ free offer of grace and knew she could not earn her salvation, for it was the greatest gift from God for her and for all of mankind.  Thus Clarice is now at “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” and now rests from her labors because of what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary.  That is the grace offered all of us saints that are gathered here at Emmanuel, surrounded by the love of Jesus Christ and which we receive in the Lord’s Supper with the words “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”  May God’s grace be poured from a pitcher upon you, wash you clean by the Blood of the Lamb and cover you like a pall and blanket as a reminder of your baptism into Jesus Christ humble and obedient life, death and resurrection as you receive His precious Body and Blood with all the saints including, Jeffrey, Ed, Earl and now Clarice.  AMEN.

Now may the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding guard our hearts and minds and comfort us today, because of what Jesus Christ did for Clarice and each one of us!  AMEN!