05052013 Sermon 5th Sunday After Easter

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!  Lord Jesus Christ, Your prophecies before Your crucifixion were meant to reveal the truth not to harm us, but help us understand Who You were.  Enable us to understand that though we are scattered, You unite us with the truth of the Gospel of salvation for all of mankind, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

As a child growing up we used to take trips to some of the lakes and ponds around our home in Keysville.  My Dad loved to fish and us kids loved the experience of getting out in the fresh air.  One of our great past-times as all kids was to find rocks and toss them into the pond or lake to see who could make the biggest splash.  It wasn’t hard to find pebbles and rocks and even easier to toss them into the water.  Like most parents they would scold us because we were scaring the fish or the peaceful serenity of the moment.  But what is strange is what we saw when the rock would enter the water.  Yes it would make a big kurplunk and splash, but more so it would also send out ripples, ever moving circles out from where our rock had entered the water.  The bigger the rock, the bigger the ripples and the further they would go.  What is interesting is that never would we as kids think about the ripples returning to the center, but only being scattered.

From our Gospel this morning, Jesus message is clear for His disciples, “You will be scattered, but I will unite you.”  This passage is again before Jesus betrayal and crucifixion and is Jesus prophecy not only of His ascension into heaven, but also the entrance of the Holy Spirit into the lives of the disciples in a most powerful way on the day of Pentecost.  But Jesus is telling the disciples that He knows the disciples will all fall away from Him and be scattered when the Passion begins.

The disciples scattering is a reality of their humanity and fear for their own lives.  Just as we do when we encounter people, forces or events that scare us, we either ‘fight or flight’.  The disciples when faced with their own mortality would as Jesus said, ‘be scattered’.  They would not come to Jesus aid, nor would they desire to be around.  Though they had witnessed the raising of the dead, the feeding of the 5000, the miracles of healing and prophecy fulfilled, they would run away and leave Jesus to the devices of the Romans and temple guard who had taken Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus would suffer the brutal beatings of the guards, the late night questioning by the Synagogue officials, the trial the next morning, being beaten before being led to the Cross and ultimately His being nailed and hung as a public spectacle on Golgotha.  And the disciples all had scattered.

But after Easter morning, the disciples had come back together and in the Upper Room were united and re-united with Jesus Christ.  For the promise that Jesus Christ made to the disciples that we have heard this morning has come true.  “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  With this phrase Jesus Christ revealed to the disciples and us today our unity in overcoming the world through Him.

This morning as we celebrate the baptism of Aspen, we lay claim to this unity of the faith with her baptism and the reminder of our baptism into Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection.  We are set free from the bonds of sin, death and the devil by the Water connected with the Word of God.  God has united all of us as His children under His banner of freedom found in Jesus Christ.  We are not scattered, but united for His work here in His Kingdom.

Yes we live scattered lives and sometimes are dragged away from God by our sinful desires, but the promises we find in Jesus Christ gift of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper unite us as the Body of Jesus Christ.  In this union we are reminded that God has not only promised us life and salvation, but offers us the forgiveness of sins and daily a renewal of His promises of forgiveness for all of mankind.  This offer, is not exclusive, but inclusive for all of mankind including all of us saints that are gathered here at Emmanuel who celebrate another union of a scattered soul, in this case Aspen, into the Body of Christ we know as the church.  Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ Who unites all of us who have been scattered, but now are united in, with and under the grace offered by Jesus Christ.  AMEN.

05042013 Funeral Sermon Lowell Dean Morton

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 come together today mourning the loss of Lowell Dean with his entrance into the Church Triumphant.  Enable we who hear Your message of salvation offered for all mankind to understand that though the veil of death separates us today, Your promises from the Cross are for each of us who mourn.  Sooth our hearts this morning with the salve of the Gospel and allow the Gospel to be heard clearly by all of his family and friends who gather here this morning to say goodbye.  AMEN.

With a hammer and nails a carpenter can build almost anything.  When I visited where my father grew up in Northeast Iowa, I visited with many different people who knew my grandfather Frank.  You see Frank, my grandfather was a carpenter just like Lowell Dean.  With the tools of his trade on the back of his beaten up, hand painted pick-up there were many farms, families, houses and homes that had been built by my grandfather.  From steps to the cellar, to the foundation of a chicken house to pole barns on farms to sidewalks in the town, Frank had touched many different places as well people in the local community of Fort Atkinson, Iowa.  I bet Lowell Dean as well could drive through Goodland and point out each of the places that he had worked and the people that he helped and had met along the way.

Ironically Jesus Christ was also a carpenter as well.  With his father Joseph being a well-known carpenter Jesus Christ learned from Joseph all the ins and outs of being a master carpenter here on earth.  From the construction of corrals to hold livestock to homes for families to grow old in, Jesus as a carpenter also in His hometown of Nazareth easily knew every home he had worked at during His life.  But what is ironic is that Jesus Christ wasn’t just a small town carpenter, He was the Great Carpenter of our universe.

In our Gospel reading this morning we heard how Jesus Christ the great carpenter had to go to prepare a place.  Jesus as any good carpenter went to prepare a place for all of mankind including Lowell Dean and each and every one of us.  The promises that Jesus makes to us in the Gospel this morning is fully fulfilled on the Cross of Jesus Christ with His life, death and especially His resurrection. Jesus went to prepare a place, build it and make it ready for our eternal entrance into His kingdom.

Jesus went and prepared a place in order that “there you may be also”.  This promise is fulfilled in our hearing this morning for Lowell Dean.  Because of Jesus Christ preparation, God has prepared the place for Lowell Dean and each and every one of us to live for eternity.  For Jesus Christ through His life, death and resurrection for all of mankind prepared a place for all of us.  This is the promise that we lay claim to this morning, this is the promise that a humble carpenter made to Lowell Dean and makes to each of us this morning.  May we not only hear God’s promises, but heed and understand that we may not doubt like Thomas, but believe this is for all of mankind, including Lowell Dean and each and every one 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 Lowell Dean and each one of us!  AMEN! 

05012013 Funeral Sermon for Beulah Fern Hawks McClung

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 come together today mourning the loss of Beulah with her entrance into the Church Triumphant.  Just as she celebrated Your entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday may we remember that death no longer has dominion over us.  For through her baptism into Your life, death and resurrection You have set her free from death and now she rests in Your loving and caring arms.  Though the veil of death separates us today from Beulah, may we be comforted by Your Gospel and hear clearly the promise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of salvation offered by Jesus Christ for all the saints of Beulah’s family as well as all the saints gathered here at Emmanuel to say goodbye.  AMEN.

If one could ever define impossible odds it would most likely be a 7-10 split.  For some the 7-10 split in bowling is one of the toughest in the game to beat, but with the right speed, spin, efficiency and practice one can master this nearly impossible completion of a spare.  This morning we come to mourn a woman who not only learned how to beat the hardest split in the game, but has now beat an even more cunning opponent than two pins on opposite sides of the lane.  The opponent we celebrate victory over today is Satan and the finality of death that has taken Beulah from our presence here on earth.

When we hear the 23^rd Psalm in the well known King James Version we have heard clearly the story of the Shepherd and the promises made to Beulah on the day of her baptism and to us today.  God made to Beulah in her baptism and makes a promise to us today that He is our shepherd and we are His people and as our shepherd God will continue to lead us, prepare for us and anoint us with oil.

Throughout Beulah’s life she was not a follower, but a leader in the community and emulated this aspect of the shepherd as leader.  Whether it was working with the Hospital Auxillary, at Wal-Mart as a greeter, in the Bowling League and at nationals with the prestige of being the oldest bowler, Beulah emulated what a leader was meant to be and do.  She learned that leadership was purposeful and Jesus Christ was the greatest model for her.  Since she was baptized in the Waters of Holy Baptism and signed, sealed and delivered by the Blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary, God had instilled in her the desire to be a doer and leader not only in the community but also and especially in the home.

Beulah’s greatest legacy hasn’t been the activities she was a part of in the community but the clear preparation she made in and with her children.  Not only bringing them for Holy Baptism, but also instilling in them a clear understanding of the difference between right and wrong, nursing them when they were sick and needed her most, but also Beulah taught them how to respect one another and instilled in them the good work ethics of independence and self-confidence. But it didn’t stop with what people saw, but continued with what was a family thing the importance of family and playing cards together or camping.

Just as a good farmer prepares the soil, God instilled in Beulah the clear idea of preparation not only of the importance of family, but also preparation of her soul.  While Beulah was in both Wheat Ridge and Good Samaritan she would attend worship, hear and read in her room the Word of God and come and receive the precious Body and Blood of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Just as David alluded in the preparation of the table in Psalm 23, Beulah came to God’s table being prepared for the feast she now will enjoy for all eternity in her Father’s Kingdom.

And as she is now in the presence of her Lord and Savior, God anoints her head with oil.  This imagery not only is relevant for King David who was anointed with oil as the King of Israel, but also of Jesus Christ and how as the King was anointed before His burial with oil.  We to in, through and by our baptism have been anointed with the oil of gladness of the promises of our baptism into Jesus Christ life, death and especially His resurrection.  These are the promises that we lay claim to today and hold onto with sure and certain faith and hope in what Jesus Christ did for Beulah and all of us on the Cross of Calvary.

One of the clearest memories I have of Beulah is the celebration she was a part of that was included in our latest congregational directory.  While living at Wheat Ridge the residents would gather for fellowship and the Lord’s Supper on a monthly basis in one of the residents rooms.  In our directory we included a picture of all of the residents including Beulah holding up Palm Branches as they celebrated Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  This image of triumph better than making the 7-10 split is what God wants us to remember this morning.  God through His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ has overcome sin, death, the devil, hell and damnation for all of mankind, but especially for Beulah and this is the promise that God has made to and for her and we are reminded of with the last verse from the 23^rd Psalm.  David sums up for us today what the promise is for Beulah this morning that she “will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”  God has made this promise and now fulfills it in our hearing.  For nothing can separate us from the love of God found in Jesus Christ Who offers us the gift of salvation for all of mankind, but especially for all of the saints of Beulah’s family and friends 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 Beulah ands each one of us!  AMEN!