10192014 Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

Gospel Audio
Sermon Audio

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

            Last week we had before us a fan and an extension cord to clearly demonstrate how we need to be connected to the power of God here in the church.  God in a very clear way connects to us not only by His Word proclaimed from the pulpit and lectern, but also through what we celebrate today from around the altar in the Lord’s Supper.  Thus, I have before us a chalice and ciborium.

Contained in the chalice is the wine which is the Blood of Jesus Christ and in the ciborium is the host or Body of Jesus Christ.  These two elements, Bread and Wine are the Body and Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ from which we receive the means of grace and salvation that God is offering us today.  We come to church to receive from God forgiveness in the absolution declared to us after our confession and from the altar the gift of eternal life and salvation from Jesus Christ.  Our coming for communion is all about relationship with God.

God is calling us into a clearer and more vibrant vertical relationship with Him.  A relationship where we walk with Him and talk with Him and unload our burdens upon Him.  The 23^rd Psalm is a perfect example of the relationship we can have with God.  Not only God bearing our burdens, but God preparing a table for us.  And this table is not only for us, but also the vertical side of the relationship of and between men and women with each other here in the church and in our daily lives.  There are times where our relationships not only are stressed and strained, but especially heavy burdens.  Whether by our words or actions we create a hostility that is harmful and the opposite of the love of Christ.  But because of Jesus Christ and through His influence and unconditional love for all of us, we can change and love one another in our daily lives.  As the Church of Jesus Christ and the saying we heard last week of “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism”, we can be united in one fellowship as the differing members of the Body of Christ that we are.  Yet we also need to ask and answer the question of our unity in the Spirit with “How are we to do it, ‘be the church’ here at Emmanuel?”

We here at Emmanuel are united in a fellowship with God and one another that will never fail.  We do at times disagree, sometimes with great vigor and conviction, but God’s fellowship that we are a part of and baptized into through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism will never fail.  Our fellowship is biblical, in that Paul in 1^st Corinthians (1:9) says, “⁹ God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Our fellowship not only is with God, but with one another since we are coheirs with Jesus Christ and our fellowship will not fail.  We who gather here today, have been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ in our Baptism.  So we here in the church are united in a fellowship of believers that will not fail, because it is built around and upon our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is calling us by name and desires to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us.

The relationship God through His Son Jesus Christ is calling us to begins with our hearing the Word of God, our believing that God died for us and our confessing our sins and then being baptized.  We then can come like we will today to receive the precious Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior from the altar.  It is through our eating His Body and drinking His Blood that we connect with Jesus Christ and one another in a common confession of faith.  And this also reinforces the personal relationship that God has with each and every one of us through our baptism into Jesus Christ as His children.

In our being baptized into Jesus Christ, life, death and resurrection, we are changed, because Jesus Christ lives within each of us.  We are new creatures redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the World.  We in being baptized no longer are in bondage, but set free to be the people of God He calls us to be.  We are transformed and converted into the saints that God has made and enabled each of us to be the church of Jesus Christ.  As was said at our last council meeting, we have the opportunity to ‘be the church’.

God wants us to have the fellowship of the saints while gathered here on earth.  This is why we have church to be fed with His Word and His Sacrament of His Body and Blood and enabled and encouraged to go and “be the church” for all the people that we meet.  In one sense the church is like a gas station, like the Co-Op or Casey’s, where we come to fill up our tanks with God’s grace and mercy for all of mankind, through Word and Sacrament so we can continue on our journey of life and share what we have been given here from the lectern, pulpit and especially the altar and share it with everyone we meet.

And this morning in the light of pure grace offered for us, God is calling us to turn the page of our relationship with Him and with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, from the old that is hurt and mired and stuck in the mud and unable to change, to the new relationship built upon the strength of Jesus Christ.  Our Sermon hymn “Rise Up, O Saints of God!” is calling us to this new relationship.  It is a hymn that paints a clear picture of God’s calling us saints to “Rise Up” and “be the church”.  Since we are in fellowship with Jesus Christ we are enabled and empowered to “be the church”.  So our “hearts with nobler zeal might burn” and be enabled to lay claim to the grace of God for each of us and lay claim to the “word of hope” that is promised and fulfilled in and for each of us by Jesus Christ.  And we are called to “rise up” and “embrace the kingdom’s task” of spreading the grace God offers us in our worship and especially in the meal we share today.  Thus we can “commit our hearts to seek the path which Christ has trod” where we can “rise up as the saints of God” and “be the church” that Jesus Christ instilled in each of us in Holy Baptism.

God is calling us to this reality because of the grace offered on Calvary for all of mankind, especially including all of us saints gathered here this morning.  Let’s ‘be the church’ and extend our hands in Christian love, service and outreach, because God sent His Son, Jesus to be in relationship with us.  May we as we leave the church today not just ‘be consumers’, but ‘be the church’ that God can use for a kingdom impact here in Goodland and for all of mankind, including all of us saints gathered here this morning.  Let’s begin here at and in Emmanuel and let the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of God and our love for Him and one another spread and radiate out into our community of Goodland as we “be the church”.

Let us pray, heavenly Father, You clearly want to have the personal relationship with each of us.  Enable us to daily turn to You in trust and prayer for Your will to be done in our lives.  Please heal the rifts caused by our personalities and focus each of us on what You can do through each and every one of us as members of the Body of Christ who want to “be the church”.  For Your desire is clear for each of us to trust in You and have a personal relationship with all of the saints including each of us gathered here this morning.  AMEN.

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07202014 Fifth Sunday After Trinity

Sermon Audio

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.

Forty five years ago today, our nation was captured.  Not by an invading army, nor by an evil dictator, but captured by the bold fulfillment of a dream and promise made by a man who was only a memory from six years earlier.  On the Sea of Tranquility, the bold realization and desired destiny of the dreams of many young men was being lived out by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.  These two men were boldly going where no man had gone before and stepping into history as not only explorers, but fulfillers of the dreams of a nation and its now slain leader.

The reverence shown for the place, time and experience was clearly manifest by Buzz Aldrin who wanted to perform a simple act of faith on this the first mission that would set foot on the moon.  While in the Lunar Module, Aldrin as an elder in the church, received Holy Communion.  In that one moment he was connected, not only to the people who would celebrate Holy Communion 230,000 miles away, but with all people of all time and place, even us here today forty five years later.  What may seem insignificant to some is how profound the meal we celebrate today around our altar connects us with men like Aldrin and others who share the faith in a loving and forgiving God.

But today isn’t just about a milestone for mankind, but more importantly how we are connected across time and space because of our reverence not only of God, but of and with each other gathered here today.  Our connection is clear because Peter in his epistle, reminds us that we are to be a blessing to each other.

In his epistle lesson this morning, Peter is attempting to insure that the people of God will be “harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit”.  God is calling us to this and Peter is pointing us in this direction.  Peter wants us to work together as the people of God pointed in the direction of faith and love for God’s Glory to be revealed for Peter as well as all of us gathered here today.

Peter is writing to the churches of Asia Minor, because they are suffering.  Not only from the government and the tyranny of a ‘non-Jewish’ and unaccepted religion at that time, but also from each other, meaning the people were persecuting each other.  The desire that Peter wants the people to understand is that they are to be a blessing.  He says, do “not return(ing) evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”

It is for this reason that we have been called as Christians to be a blessing, for the entire world and especially for each other.  We who gather here today can offer and show this blessing not only in our sharing the meal that we receive from the altar that we gather around, but also by our sharing our burdens.  We have the opportunity to share and bear one another’s burdens and as Peter says, live ‘harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted’ lives that glorify God and look for the blessings God will impart to us.

How can we do this?  We can be the spark that God has made us to be in our baptism and share with one another in our daily lives.  Instead of thinking the worst of someone or their circumstance, whether family, farm or our own feelings, we can follow Luther and put the best construction on what is said or done.

Personally this has been very close to me recently.  I love technology.  It can be not only a means of outreach, but also a means to spread the Gospel message.  This is why I use Facebook.  I share my life and my experiences on this media in order for God’s Glory to be revealed.  But some use Facebook as a platform for politics and bashing, fishing for meaning that isn’t there or a means to put people down instead of building them up.

I recently read about a young woman who was made fun of, had graffiti painted about her and a part of her body.  The graffiti wasn’t done in a private place or a private message on the computer, but in the most public of places for everyone to see.  Never have the culprits who broke the law been disciplined, but this girl was ridiculed from every person and angle, because they knew it was directed at her and people persisted in the mob mentality and put her down even further.  She was the victim.

But unlike most in our society who are victims, this young woman, Carleigh O’Connell, turned the other cheek and posed right in front of the graffiti showing exactly what the bullies were making fun of her about.  Carleigh, like Peter tells us, did “not fear the intimidation”. Instead of being or acting like the victim, Carleigh rose above the ridicule and nameless putdowns by people and stood up to those who bullied her and made a statement that not only bullying was wrong, but also that if her standing up makes the difference in one girl or boys life, the picture and the graffiti the strength they find from her taking a stand is well worth this experience.

We as Christians should be no different today.  We as Christians stand on and up to what may seem like unsurmountable obstacles daily, from bullies that egg our vehicles, to people who make fun of us like Carleigh O’Connell, to those who believe they can do no wrong and throw stones at our glass houses we build, live in and hold up to others.  But the reality is that the only answer to any of this is Jesus Christ.  The Christ Who was crucified is also the Christ Who can, does and will set us free from that which binds us on this planet we call earth.  Jesus Christ is the only person Who walked this earth perfectly and the only person Who empowers us through our receipt of His precious Body and Blood this morning to stand up against those who put us down.  I as a Pastor fail miserably daily, my family, my faith and even my God, but God forgives me, picks me up, brushes me off and says, try this again.  This is the loving God I not only work for, but am thankful for each and every day.

This is the same opportunity God offers us this morning as we come and partake of His precious Body and Blood.  We are empowered not to be apathetic or turn the other way when we see people bullying and being bullied, even here in church, but we are empowered to stand in the gap, like Carleigh and be a model for our broken world.  Forty five years ago today man stood on the moon in triumph of a decades work, not only looking back by remembering the people whose shoulders they stood upon, but looking to the future of a better world.  Can we as Christians do no less today and stand up as the people of God empowered by the Sacrament God offered on the Cross of Calvary of Jesus precious Body and Blood, shared with each other today and with all of mankind of all time and place, even on the moon?  For it is clear, God’s Son came in order that we might be set free to be the people of God, stand in the gap and be empowered as God’s witness for our fallen world.  For this is not for a select few, but including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

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05042014 Second Sunday After Easter

Sermon Audio

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.

Christ is risen!  He is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!

When someone we know and love has entered the Church Triumphant, we mourn in ways that sometimes defy reason or logic.  In Jesus day, the women would moan and wale loudly, they even did this when Jesus came and told the parents of the little girl that she was not dead.  For us today, whether it was our parents who lived a long life, a friend that we grew up with from grade school, or someone we got to know through work or our serving in the military who became closer to us than even our own siblings.  When someone close to us dies, we begin to grieve almost immediately.  For some the stages of grief are a jumbled mess, they hit all five and sometimes even go back to steps they have previously experienced.  For others grief is a life-long obsession, because they can’t, don’t want to or refuse to let go.  But clearly, grief is not something that ends when we close the casket and lay our loved one in the ground.

Even for the disciples, their grief was clearly manifest in the weeks that followed Jesus crucifixion and death.  Last week in the Gospel we heard how Thomas wouldn’t believe until he had seen, touched and personally encountered the resurrected Jesus Christ.  Thomas best known for his doubting was probably a story that was well heard not only from his day, but by other disciples and apostles, including Paul and has been passed down to we their spiritual children and disciples who gather here today.

Here at Emmanuel when I meet with a family after someone has passed away, I try not only to comfort them, but assure them of the truth that we find and believe in through Jesus Christ and His resurrection.  One of the most comforting passages, I use comes from Paul in Romans 8.  Paul writes, “If God is for us, who can be against us?  He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:31-32)  Not only does or can this be an assurance for us when we face death, but it also is even more appropriate for us as we celebrate life and what God offers us in the Sacrament of the Altar that we again celebrate today.

Let’s pull out our bulletin insert and answer the question, What is the benefit of this eating and drinking?  The Sacrament of the Altar, What is the benefit of this eating and drinking?  These words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words.  For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.  Let’s seek these promises as we go to God in prayer.

Gracious and Resurrected Lord, we believe Your word of forgiveness that we find in the Sacrament of the Altar that gives us Your precious Body and Blood.  Enable us in our receiving Your Body and Blood to understand we receive the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, not by our own work, but by believing in Your Word.  For it is through Your life, death and resurrection for all of mankind that we receive grace upon grace and will one day enter into Your Kingdom by Your call.  This is most certainly true for all of mankind, but especially including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Last week we had a chalice and paten presented to me at my ordination.  This morning we again have a chalice and paten, but it is not any ordinary altar ware, it is special and significant for us here at Emmanuel, because it came as a result of one of our sister’s entering the Church Triumphant.  One of the traditions here at Emmanuel is that when someone enters eternal glory, the family can designate the memorial money to be given to the church and then designate what the money could be used for.  This also is the opportunity for any gift given to the church in honor and memory of a family member as well as any anonymous gift.  Matter of fact this has happened not only from money being given for the Eternal Light over the Altar, by Carol Jarrett’s mother’s memorial money, to the building of the handicapped bathroom in the cry room from the church money from Colorado, to the doors both on the sun deck and east end of the educational wing from an anonymous donor to the hymn board as a confirmation project to the gifts given for the replacement of the organ blower system from the memorial from a sweet generous member of the congregation.  Our church has members who have been generous, even to the purchase of the new fridge.  But the fact is this chalice and paten we have before us this morning are not just altar adornments, but instruments for our receipt of the gifts and grace of God.

What we receive from their use is life and salvation.  As we heard from our reading the bulletin insert, we are offered in, with and under the bread and wine, that is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, “life and salvation”.  When we use this chalice and this paten, we receive God’s gifts of grace and mercy manifest in the breaking of bread and offering us the forgiveness of sins.  It is not based upon our merit, but solely a gift from God for all of us who gather here and believe in the forgiveness of sins.

But of what importance is that for us today?  Why should we not only lay claim to, but remember clearly what is offered here on the paten and in the chalice?

Simply it is something that we have already heard, sung and proclaimed a few minutes ago.  When we rose in preparation for hearing the Holy Gospel, we sang a ‘liturgical verse’, known as the Alleluia Verse.  We sang, “Alleluia, Lord to whom shall we go you have the words of eternal life.”  These same words of eternal life we hear in the Gospel are given to us in the breaking of bread in the Sacrament of the Altar.  They give us eternal life and prepare us for our entrance into the church triumphant.

The Last Sunday in March, was a prime example of the importance and sharing of Holy Communion with one of our own who was preparing to enter the church triumphant.  When Marty Spomer was in Hays, I had the extreme pleasure to bring and offer Holy Communion to his family as we surrounded him not only with our love, thoughts and prayers, but in the sharing of the most intimate meal of Jesus Christ precious Body and Blood.  As we shared not only the Word of Truth of Eternal Life, heard the hymns of grace that we weekly sing, but also the gift of grace offered in sharing Jesus Christ precious Body and Blood we partook of the most sacred meal of the Lord’s Supper.  This meal that we shared around his hospital bed was a clear reminder of Jesus Christ being offered for each and every one of us and His offer to us and especially to Marty of Eternal life.

As you know less than a week later we buried Marty, but clearly the reminder that we needed that day surrounded by the machines and tubes that helped him breathe, the doctors and medical teams that ministered unto him and all of his family who surrounded him with love was the Holy Supper God offers us.  For in that meal of Jesus precious Body and Blood, just as is offered on the paten and in the chalice this morning, we receive in the Sacrament of the Altar the greatest gift of eternal life for all of mankind, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

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04272014 Confirmation Sunday and 1st Sunday After Easter

Sermon Audio

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.

Christ is risen!  He is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!

These words were spoken numerous times while I was in Israel in 1999.  Going with a large group of people we visited many of the most holy sites while “In the Footsteps of Jesus”!  When we gathered in the historic site of the Garden Tomb, with the stone rolled away, hearing the words, “He is Risen Indeed”, brought a collective air of not only fulfillment, but also joy to know that our Savior, Jesus Christ had risen from the Dead.  Jesus Christ had conquered death and death no longer would have dominion.

Yet, the sacrifice that was made by Jesus Christ seems minimal to some.  In our day and age what Jesus Christ accomplished for some is more myth and legend.  Consider those who go to the movies they see movies like Thor that talk of a Norse God, great entertainment.  Please understand, I love these movies and enjoy the opportunity to immerse myself in this for a few hours.  Another place where Jesus sacrifice is questioned is in colleges that say the Bible is only literature or that faith is not a valid concept or something to be believed in.  A perfect example is the movie, “God is Not Dead” that will be at our theater in the coming weeks.  The premise is that God is Dead.  Ironically this was true Good Friday, Jesus Christ, God’s Son was dead.  But now after Easter Sunday, Jesus Christ is not dead, He is alive, risen from the dead and we today celebrate this accomplishment that was for all of mankind, but especially for each and every one of us gathered here at Emmanuel.

Jesus Christ sacrifice we remember today, especially when we partake of the Sacrament of the Altar.  In and by our partaking of Jesus Christ precious Body and Blood we celebrate, not death, but the sacrifice and life He offers us in this Holy Meal.  As you can see before us I have a chalice and paten.  These are special to me and for all of us for two reasons.  But first, let’s pull out our bulletin insert and respond to the simple question, What is Sacrament of the Altar?  The Sacrament of the Altar What is Sacrament of the Altar?  It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and drink.  Let’s ask God to empower and enrich us with His Body and Blood in prayer.

Gracious Heavenly Father, in our Easter celebration, we know we receive Your true Body and Blood sacrificed for us that strengthens us in our pilgrimage here on earth.  Enable us to not only embrace what we receive from Your Holy Hands, but that it will enable us to understand more fully the forgiveness You offer to all of mankind in Your Holy Supper.  For this is for all of mankind, including all of us saints gathered here this morning for Confirmation Sunday at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

The chalice and paten before us this morning I bought when I was in Israel.  While on that trip, I saw myself in the future in ministry in a congregation offering the Lord’s Supper with this Paten and with this Chalice.  Where the gifts of God would be offered with the words, “Given and Shed for you for the forgiveness of sins”.  This promise by God fulfilled in the Garden Tomb with the clear expression of “He is Risen”, is a clear reminder of God’s promises made for all of mankind, but especially for each and every one of us gathered here this morning.

It is not only clear with a simple Chalice and Paten bought in Israel, but made manifest for we as God’s Children here this morning, because this same Chalice and Paten was used at my ordination here at Emmanuel.  When I laid on the floor, giving my life into the ministry as your shepherd, God in a clear way entered my life in a much deeper form and fashion.  But I was not becoming a god like Thor, I couldn’t and wouldn’t be equal to God like Jesus Christ.  However, when that Chalice and Paten were handed to me as a symbol of the sacrament that would be celebrated from the Altar of God, it was to be a reminder of the grace God would offer to each of us in the Words, “Given and Shed for you for the forgiveness of sins”.

You see it is the firm belief that no matter who holds the office of pastor, the worthiness of the pastor is not what is important.  Because I am sinful, just as anyone else.  What we receive in the Sacrament of the Altar is the gift of pure grace from God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.  This is God’s gift to and for all of mankind, but especially all of us who believe the words, “Given and Shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”  But it is even more appropriate for us here today.

This morning we as a church will confirm three individuals, Autumn, Peyton and Powell.  Today these three children of our congregation will take the responsibility of their faith upon their own shoulders this morning.  No longer will they in the eyes of the church be seen, understood, nor should they act nor be treated as children by anyone in the congregation.  Today, they take the vows of responsibility of their individual faiths upon themselves.  We have provided Sunday School to teach them the stories of the bible.  We have given them the Holy Scriptures in their hands in order that they read it themselves and understand their faith.  We have as a congregation provided them with the Small and Large Catechism and instructed them in Luther’s explanation of what God offers them not only in Holy Baptism, which they have been baptized into, but also in the Lord’s Supper which they received at First Communion.  Today, Autumn, Peyton and Powell stand before we their fellow heirs of eternal life and take their place as God’s baptized and soon to be confirmed members in the Body of Christ.

But it is more significant than that, today, the church celebrates with them their entrance into the ranks of the people of God as not only fellow heirs of eternal life, fellow partakers of the food they already receive around the altar of our Lord, but especially their entrance as adults around the table of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Yes, they have previously partaken of this heavenly meal, but today, Autumn, Peyton and Powell partake, knowing they now have ultimate responsibility of their faith, in their preparation, further instruction, discernment and nurturing their own personal growth in their relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is my prayer that in their lives that this meal that we receive today and in the future will strengthen them on their journey and pilgrimage and continue to nourish them to be God’s instrument in the spread of the Gospel message.  For God’s message of salvation of what Jesus Christ did on Calvary and offers us today in this Holy Supper with pure grace and mercy is for all of mankind, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel to celebrate Autumn, Peyton and Powell’s Confirmation.  AMEN.

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