Sermon 02102013 Quinquagesima Sunday

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 redeemer, when You chose and anointed David to be King of Israel, You looked, deeply into his heart.  In the same way You look at us today as Your children and know our deepest darkest secrets, but in spite of our sins, You redeem us through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Enable us to understand Your commitment to us and how You graciously anoint us in our baptism to be heirs of the gift of eternal life.  This occurs as a free gift for all of mankind, but especially for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

When Samuel entered into the presence of Eliab and his sons began to parade in front of him, this probably felt like a modern day pagent or even a job interview.  Looking with the eyes of this world Samuel probably looked for the fiercest, the most resplendent and best dressed son who would be king.  Samuel like society looked with his eyes, measured every feature with his intellect and felt he would choose based upon the things he could see or perceive in his interactions with each of Eliabs sons.

But Samuel experienced and heard God speaking plainly to him with these words, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature…”  Each of these are outward physical features that only show what is on the outside of each of us.  God clearly says concerning each of the sons of Eliab that first paraded in front of Samuel with these features, “I have rejected him”.  And there is a reason for this, God continues, “for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

With these last seven words, the perspective and the landscape of how God looks at all of mankind has changed.  It is not with human abilities that God uses to discern if one man is better than another, God, Holy and Divine being Who created the heavens and the earth, formed the trees that give us oxygen, the animals that feed us, the oceans that nourish us, looks not with eyes for appearance, but God ‘looks at the heart’.  This revelation for us today not only changes the landscape, but reveals God’s interest in our lives even here at Emmanuel.

This past month we as a congregation chose new members of the council, which we will install this morning.  We as a congregation voted with eyes of the outward appearance of each person, just as Samuel began to do when searching for a king.  But God who looks not at the outward appearance looks at the heart of the person and wants us to look like Samuel heard from God with more penetrating eyes at the heart with these three realities for each of us today.  God wants us to look with forgiveness, faith and for the future that God has in store for us here at Emmanuel.

We are to look with eyes of forgiveness, because God has first forgiven each of us.  We begin our communion service with confession and forgiveness.  Just as God is the One Who baptizes us into His Son’s life, death and resurrection, God is also the One Who forgives us our sins.  Though our sins are like scarlet, God makes them white and cleanses us from our unrighteousness.  God does this because of His great love for each and every one of us as we are reminded from our Epistle lesson this morning as well as our Gospel.  God having mercy upon us frees us from our sins and sets us free to be the children of God He formed and shaped in our mothers womb.

Not only looking with eyes of forgiveness we are to look with eyes of faith.  This faith we have been given in our baptism with the intimate connection of Water and Word where God again reaches down from heaven and not only forgives us but imparts to each of us the muscle of faith that we are to use daily.  Our muscle of faith is to be exercised, used and relied upon in every aspect of our daily lives.  Just as farmers you plant a seed in the fall and in faith wait until spring and the harvest of wheat, God planted the seed and muscle of faith in each of us and God waters it, exercises it and makes it grow and one day like with Margie, Brad or Judy takes them home to be with Him in His kingdom.  We with the eyes of faith experience in relationship with God the fullness of His love and wait for God to take us home to be with Him in His kingdom.  This is the fulfillment of God’s promise made through Jesus Christ to and for each of us.

And finally we like Samuel can look with God’s eyes of forgiveness, faith and to the future.  Samuel didn’t know or understand what the future would hold for the one he would anoint with oil as king, but God looking in David’s heart knew what the future would be and with the eyes of faith saw the future and the leader David would be for the people of Israel.  So to when God poured Water and Word over our heads He knew everything about our future.  God knows what will occur for all eternity and prepares us for the future He has in store for each and every one of us.

The preparation of forgiveness, faith and the future is to fulfill God’s plan of salvation for all of mankind.  This is made full, manifest and complete on Calvary by Jesus Christ, but individually made complete for us with our baptism into Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection.  For God fulfills these promises and enables us to understand that God looks not at our outward appearance, but at the heart of all of mankind, with the eyes of forgiveness, faith and our future, especially including all of us saints that are gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Sermon 02092013 Funeral of Brad Lane Cramer

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, we gather here this morning to celebrate the life of our brother in Christ Brad.  We who remain are reminded that Brad has found perfect peace in His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  May we take solace and comfort in God’s Word that frees us and fulfills the promise of life and salvation through our baptism into Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection.  For this occurred for Brad and is offered for each and every one of us.  Though the veil of death separates us today, Brad now rests in the loving arms of Jesus Christ who lived to set all of us free from sin and death for all of mankind, including all of us gathered here this morning to say goodbye.  AMEN.

The following passage from Ecclesiastes opens a window for us to understand our world and how God Who made time clearly knows, not only what will occur, but when it will occur.

3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—

² A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
³ A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
⁴ A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
⁵ A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
⁶ A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
⁷ A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
⁸ A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

As we gather here this morning we know there are truths contained in scripture and especially this section of Ecclesiastes.  These truths remind us that we live in a reality that time has control over us and life provides us opportunity, responsibility and accountability.  Whether it is to plant, build, weep, dance, be silent, speak, love or a time for peace, everything has a time, place, season and reason that God sometimes only knows.

But the mystery that still remains of God only knowing is really a question that all of us have.  There are questions that have an easy answer, but still others that are a mystery to us and will remain a mystery to and for all of us until we enter eternal glory.  But do not be afraid to ask the question, but be prepared to wait for the answer.  For it will come, but not until we have entered into eternal glory and like Brad are in God’s eternal presence and in His loving, caring and protective arms.

Hear this truth though, God through the promise of salvation offered to Brad in his baptism into Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection gives us a clear measure of comfort and peace today.  For Jesus own words from John 10 are true and certain for us today, Jesus said, “²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.””

Truer words have never been spoken and as we gather here today to say goodbye we can find solace, comfort and peace from Jesus own words and promise of grace and eternal life for Brad and for each of us as we lay claim to the promise of life and salvation for all of mankind, but especially Brad and all of us gathered here to say good bye. 

May we who gather here today see and understand God’s gift of grace offered to each of us through our baptism into Jesus life, death and resurrection, which was made manifest in Brad’s life by how he lived and honor and lay claim to the promises of God of eternal life for all of mankind, especially all of us gathered here to say goodbye.  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 Brad and each one of us!  AMEN!

Sermon 01272013 Septuagesima

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, we confess that we are sinful creatures in need of Your redeeming us from our sins.  We doubt not only You as our Lord, but even Your presence among us.  May we though tempted by Satan to turn from You return and answer clearly the question, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” with a resounding Yes.  For we can make this answer only because of what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary for all of mankind, including all of us saints here at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

Having children is clearly God’s gift for all of mankind.  When our children are sick the parental instinct takes over and our nurturing, caring and compassionate side comes to the forefront.  With the slightest cough, congestion or difficulty of breathing we as parents immediately jump into action and try and ‘fix’ or correct the situation, because we cannot stand to see our children in any peril.  We want to make our children feel better no matter the cost.

Enter the children of Israel who are journeying in the wilderness of Sin.  Now ‘Sin’ is not a description of what they have done, but the name of an actual place.  It is a barren region somewhere west of the Sinai plateau on the Sinai Peninsula.  Remember that the people have left the bondage and slavery of Egypt and now are travelling in the wilderness.  Remember there are approximately 600,000 men alone, not including children.  If one were to do the math, every man has one wife and a minimum of 2 children, you are talking of nearly 2 million people travelling in the Wilderness of Sin, not including all the animals and livestock each family has taken with them.

What is the first thing they need besides food, which God had already given them in Exodus 16 of Manna and Quail, they needed water.  They didn’t have any so the “people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink””.  Moses who is their leader feels he is in the middle between a mob of unhappy people and God Who called him in a burning bush to lead the people from Egypt.  God had divinely provided for their escape from Pharaoh and now in the middle of the desert without water, Moses was near to becoming the ‘sacrificial scape goat’ by the people.

Moses said, “Why do you quarrel with me?  Why do you test the Lord?”  The people had easily forgotten how God less than two months earlier had parted the waters to allow them to walk across on dry land to escape Pharaoh.  The people had forgotten how they when starving had been given Manna and Quail from heaven.  The people doubted that God could actually provide simple water in saying, “But the people thirsted there for water, and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?””  The people in a clear sense were delirious and did not remember God’s clear and divine providence for them that had just occurred.  They did not and were not looking with eyes of faith.  They were looking to blame Moses since he was right there in their midst.

“So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying “What shall I do to this people?  A little more and they will stone me.””  Moses was fearful for his life.  Moses felt he couldn’t trust the people that they would have his back or protect him, but sacrifice him because of their lack of water, but more importantly their lack of faith in the divine providence of God.

But God clearly is using this experience to test the Israelite people if they trust Him, through His servant Moses.  Our text continues, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.  Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strick the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.””  God is not only promising Moses His divine presence, but again God is clearly revealing Himself as the true provider for the people of Israel that are in the Wilderness of Sin.

This test and quarrel with God is not unlike what we do today.  We daily put God to the test and doubt not only God’s presence, but His divine favor with His people gathered here at Emmanuel.  As a Pastor, I feel for Moses, because Moses is standing in the gap between God and the people, just as I do here at Emmanuel.  There are times where I sin and fall short of the glory of God, just like Moses.  Just this last week I did not give clear credit for Tayler Thorson’s awesome and beautiful service project of the hymn board for our congregation.  To say the least I sinned and fell short of the glory of God and like Moses have felt the displeasure of you the people I love and serve as Pastor.  So just as all of us did earlier, I confess my sin and ask for forgiveness of all of you the congregation, which is what God calls us to do.

Yet, this still does not answer the question Moses posed, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”  If God is here among us, we clearly have an opportunity.  Our opportunity is three fold.  We can trust God to provide.  Last week we stepped out on faith and elected new council members and ratified the budget for this year in faith that God would work through us and increase His presence in Goodland through each of us.

Second, we can follow God.  Like the people of Israel following God through the Wilderness of Sin, we too today can follow God in the direction He is leading us.  This began with the establishment of a church here in Goodland, building of a church and educational wing and now with our joining LCMC and calling a pastor and lastly celebrating 90 years of ministry and following God.  We are following God and have the opportunity to continue to be faithful in His plan for all of us saints here in Goodland.

Finally, we have the opportunity to forgive like God forgives.  Every Sunday we have the opportunity to confess our sins and receive the forgiveness of sins that God offers us.  When we confess like I have tried to do this morning, God wipes away all of our sins and does not keep track of them.  We as brothers and sisters in Christ are called to forgive just as God does, for if we hold onto grudges, keep track of wrongs or remember everything that someone has done to us or against us, we are not following God’s perfect example.  We mock God and dishonor God’s gift and example of His Son Jesus Christ on the Cross for all of mankind.

For God’s example is clear for us today that we should not test God like the people of Israel did in the Wilderness of Sin.  We are called as God’s children to trust Him, follow Him and forgive just as God offers us the forgiveness of sins.  God’s forgiveness frees us from the slavery and bondage of sin and allows us through our baptism to be the new creation that does not have to test God like the people of Israel.  For God’s gift of His Son Who forgives each of us without reservation gave Himself on Calvary for all of mankind, including all of us forgiven saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.