02192015 Funeral Sermon for John Darrel Willems

Sermon Audio 

Funeral Sermon for John Darrel Willems

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 God and creator of heaven and earth, as we gather to remember and celebrate our brother in Christ, Darrel, we know You planted not only the seed that sprouted in the Garden of Eden, but created Darrel to be a farmer who planted seeds of wheat as a farmer here in Northwest Kansas.  Yet today, we gather mourning his entrance into the church triumphant, but are firmly assured of the seed of the Gospel planted in his life, manifest in his baptism, fed by Your Word here in Your house and nourished by his receipt of the Body and Blood of Your Son and His and our Savior, Jesus Christ from around this altar.  Cover us and comfort us with Your Holy Spirit as we mourn and keep us secure in the promise of the salve of the Gospel that proclaims the clear message of salvation offered through Jesus Christ death on Calvary for all of Your saints, especially the saints of Darrel’s family and friends gathered here at Emmanuel to say goodbye.  AMEN.

Two years ago this very week of the liturgical calendar in the days that followed Ash Wednesday, we gathered to remember Darrel’s betrothed, Judy.  Separated by space and time, we again gather, singing some of the same songs, hearing the same lessons and praying the same prayers, but today we gather to say goodbye to Darrel.  Today we acknowledge the clear reality that death has again visited us.  But we come here today not to proclaim the victory of death, but to proclaim a more profound victory.

The victory we come to proclaim and celebrate today Isaiah the prophet clearly preached, proclaimed and punctuated with these words.  Today we come “To proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God”.  For today we come to proclaim the vengeance of our God in the victory Isaiah found of the good news of salvation.  It is the good news of salvation found in Jesus Christ.  On May 28, 1950, John Darrel Willems was washed clean in the blood of the lamb of God that took away the sin of the world.  Jesus Christ on that day claimed Darrel in the waters of Holy Baptism and offered him the gift of eternal life.  And today we gather to put the final exclamation point on the life of John Darrel Willems.

Granted, the Darrel all of us knew, who some would swear had nine lives because of his brushes with mortality on more than one occasion, was a quiet man that liked to get a rise out of or elicit a reaction from the nurses and staff at Good Sam and even his own family.  When I arrived here at Emmanuel in 2010, Darrel was a shell of the man he once was, but still had the glint in his eye and that spirit of fun coursing through his veins.  Having lived his life here in Northwest Kansas, served in the National Guard and planted more wheat than I can even imagine, Darrel lived as one who had not only the scars of life and the brushes with death, but as one who was surrounded by a family that loved him and put up with his antics and loved him all the more.  Still living on the farm with Judy and Kyle, I remember celebrating our first Christmas here in Kansas with Darrel’s family.  And looking at Darrel across the table and seeing the legacy he had not just of his children, but even his grandchild Kaylee.  But it was not just a legacy of pride in the free spirit of Lezlee, the artistic ability of Kyle or that his youngest son Kent had followed in his footsteps and become a well-known and respected farmer here in Sherman County.  Darrel’s legacy with his wife Judy was found as well here in the church.

Isaiah reminds us that God and the church has a clear purpose for we who gather here today, even on the day after Ash Wednesday where we received the Ashen Cross.  God sent His Son Jesus Christ “To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.”  Today we gather to be comforted with the Word of God that became flesh and dwelt among us, Jesus Christ.  Today, the day after Ash Wednesday still with a small smudge of ash on our forehead, we can find solace and peace through Jesus Christ and lay claim to the garland offered to us through what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary for Darrel and for each of us.  Just as any good farmer knows, when they plant the seed in the soil, whether like Darrel did of wheat in the fall, or corn in the spring, the planting is just the beginning of the journey.  So to for Darrel on that faithful Sunday in 1950, God planted the seed of the Gospel firmly in his life and it began a journey that sees its completion today.

For today, we gather remembering Darrel, his smile, his wry sense of humor, his legacy in Lezlee, Kyle and Kent and their lives.  But today we especially gather to remember the legacy found in the seed planted in the waters of Holy Baptism, nourished by the Body and Blood of the Lamb of God, and harvested last week with Darrel’s entrance into the church triumphant.  We gather today to as Isaiah said, “To proclaim…freedom”.  No longer is Darrel held captive by the limitations of his earthly body.  We “proclaim the favorable year of the Lord”.  God has won the victory, the battle is now over for Darrel because of what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary for Darrel and for each and every one of us.  And today, Darrel now wears not just the “mantle of praise”, God “has clothed Darrel with the garment of salvation” for all eternity.  God has “wrapped Darrel with the robe of righteousness” and now holds him united with his betrothed Judy in the palm of God’s Holy, and precious arms for all eternity. 

We who gather here today can be assured of this and comforted by this fact, because of God’s promise fulfilled in His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ for all of mankind, but especially for all of us gathered here to say goodbye to Darrel, but especially for all the saints of Darrel’s family.  Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, for Darrel, and for all of us who gather here waiting for our robe of righteousness and entrance to be with our Lord and Savior with Judy, Darrel and all the saints proclaiming the victory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  AMEN.

Now may the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding guard our hearts and minds and comfort us today, because of God’s victory for Darrel and each one of us!  AMEN! 

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Sermon 04062012 Good Friday

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, just as our altar is stripped and bare, You hang naked on the Cross in order to bear our sins.  May we bear our souls and feel Your love surround us as we look to the Cross.  For You bore our sins and died this Good Friday in order to set all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel free from our sins.  Thank You for this gift of eternal life through Your death.  AMEN.

From our text this evening, we hear how Jesus Christ our suffering servant bears the sins of many.  Here from Isaiah:

¹² Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.

Tonight we gather around an altar that is bare.  Tonight we see the black of the cloth draped on the Cross.  Tonight we mourn because we know what happened on Good Friday.  Jesus Christ in the last 24 hours has been stripped of all humanity.  He was taken by force from the Garden, beaten in the Jewish courts and now as He hung on the Cross at Golgotha, He is naked for all to see.  Jesus Christ humanity is revealed for all to see.  People revile Jesus Christ, taunt Him and He is there to bear every insult every burden everything and anything anyone can dish out upon Him.

For Jesus Christ was nailed to the Cross.  Jesus Christ endured the nails through His hands and feet.  The Roman soldiers not known for being gentle forced the nails through His flesh with blow after blow.  Jesus Christ blood flowed from the wounds of the nails.  And now the full weight of Jesus Christ body hung from the nails through His flesh.  But it was more than just Jesus Christ weight.  Jesus Christ in being nailed to the Cross was held there by the sins we commit.  Jesus Christ chose to stay on the Cross, pinned by our sins and the sins of the entire world.  Jesus Christ chose this for a divine purpose.

Jesus Christ fulfilled the divine purpose of setting us free from our sins.  For Jesus Christ bore our sins and died for all of mankind.  Jesus Christ fulfilled the divine plan of salvation in His death on the Cross for You and for me.  Tonight is difficult for us, unlike the disciples who saw their teacher hang from the Cross, dead and never expected to see again, we know a different truth.  We know Jesus Christ has fulfilled the plan of salvation.  We have been grafted into the promise of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection.  For the plan of our salvation began its fulfillment in the Garden of Eden, was seen in the betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane and now is fulfilled on Golgotha for You and for me and all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this evening.  AMEN.

Sermon 04052012 Maundy Thursday

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, You went to the Garden for peace and solitude, but entered the greatest spiritual battle.  Your soul anguished over the choices offered, but in the end You prayed to the Father, “Your will be done”.  May we in our prayers understand Your sacrifice and as we pray the prayer You taught us, enable us to take up our Cross and follow You.  For You came and bore our iniquities in order to offer us eternal life for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

As one enters the Garden of Gethsemane outside of Old Holy City of Jerusalem, it is clear that this is indeed Holy Ground.  Not unlike when Moses turned to see the bush that was not consumed, the Garden of Gethsemane impels one to remove your shoes, because this is where Jesus Christ prayed prior to being betrayed by Judas.  Is this place Holy, because Jesus Christ walked there?  It probably is not for that reason.  But this was the place where Jesus Christ while in prayer with His Father in Heaven for this cup to be taken from Him, did spill blood.  St. Luke’s account of Jesus prayer in the Garden is very clear, “And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” This the innocent Blood of Jesus Christ, which we will partake of tonight, fell to the ground.  But the reason for this is clear from our text for this evening.

From Isaiah we hear how Jesus Christ our suffering servant suffers in the anguish of His soul.  Here Isaiah’s words:

¹¹ As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ soul was anguished.  The intensity that Jesus felt in the Garden over the decision that had to be made was not just tumultuous, but monumental.  For Jesus Christ Who had entered Jerusalem the prior Sunday as a ‘Rock Star’ and now in the Garden struggling was a radical change.  It was not just a shift of emotions, but the fullest burden of Jesus Christ task in front of Him was finally and firmly falling upon His shoulders and His Humanity was feeling the fullness of the burden of our sins, while His Divinity undivided and equal was rising to the task at hand of going to the cross for you and for me.

For Jesus Christ bore our iniquities and all of the sins of mankind.  Some scholars disagree when Jesus began to bear the iniquities of our sins.  Some claim it began when He was nailed to the Cross, others believe it began when Jesus Christ was beaten and scourged by the Roman Soldiers, but I am a firm believer that Jesus Christ bearing of our iniquities began at the stable in Bethlehem as a babe, continued as Jesus grew in stature and did not end until He was laid in the tomb as the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sins and iniquities of the world.  This was the entire length of His earthly life and Jesus Christ in bearing our iniquities wants us to understand He did this, not because He had to, but because He wanted to in order to give each of us eternal life.

On behalf of all of us Jesus Christ justifies each and every one of us through His life, His death and especially His resurrection.  We have been through our baptism grafted into this great plan of salvation and are fully justified from the sins that bind us.  We are set free by the Blood of Jesus Christ spilled in the Garden, spilled while He was scourged and spilled by the nails that pinned Him to the Cross and especially the spear that pierced His side.  This is the same blood that gives us eternal life that we partake of tonight in the meal He instituted.  In this meal we have a foretaste of the feast to come that we will share with Him in His Kingdom.

For this was the plan of salvation that Jesus anguished over in the garden and bore our iniquities in order to set us free from our sins. Though He rode into Jerusalem and became our guilt offering, He kept silent and bore our griefs and cares and was taken on this journey between rulers to the Cross of Calvary.  He was marred, despised, forsaken and afflicted was questioned, but endured scourging, bruising, piercing and having our iniquity and sin fall upon Him.  But in true servant fashion, Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but by bearing our iniquities saved us from our wickedness and through His death on the Cross of Calvary for the entire world, offers all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel eternal life.  AMEN.

04012012 Palm 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, Lord Jesus Christ, You took our guilt and punishment to set us free from our sins.  In humility You offered Yourself freely as the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sins of the world.  For You became our guilt offering for us to free us from the bonds of sin, death and the devil for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

In the movie, X-Men: First Class, it begins with a child who is being separated from his parents in a German Concentration Camp during World War II.  And in the anger of the moment the boy is capable of performing Herculean feats with his mind causing gates to buckle, metal to bend and the soldiers fighting in vain to prevent the separation of mother and child.  It is not a matter that he has become anything, but this boy is someone special that the main villain of Sebastian Shaw wants to ‘harness’ for his own evil and nefarious purposes.

From our text this evening, we hear how Jesus Christ our suffering servant becomes something as well.  Here from Isaiah:

¹⁰ But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

As we have journeyed during our Lenten pilgrimage, Isaiah has opened to us the understanding of the suffering servant Jesus Christ.  From our reading today we begin to understand that Jesus Christ became guilt for us.  This was a conscious choice and decision that Jesus Christ made to become guilt for us.  What is interesting is that Jesus Christ in becoming guilt suffered the torment we should have endured.  Isaiah says, “But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief”. In Jesus Christ being crushed for our iniquities He Who knew no sin was perfect and had our sin and guilt placed upon His Head like the goats that the priests of the Old Testament would impart to the animal the sins of the people and then let the goat go into the wilderness as the sacrifice.  Jesus Christ takes our guilt and the guilt of the entire world and bears it on the Cross of Calvary.

Jesus Christ offered Himself and placed squarely all blame, all consequences and all the iniquities of the entire world on His own shoulders.  Today though we celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem where we the people shout, “Hosanna to the King” the burdens that are borne upon Jesus Christ shoulders are monumental.  Wide are Jesus Christ shoulders and deep is the pain He suffers on our behalf, but this choice He made to offer Himself up for us freely and without cost or expectation.  For it is only through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary that we receive eternal life.

For Jesus Christ was our guilt offering for us.  Jesus Christ endured Maundy Thursday and Good Friday in order to offer to all of us the joy of eternal life.  Jesus Christ in His humility and humanity offers us the gift of salvation and became our guilt offering by choice.  From the first bite of the forbidden fruit the plan of salvation had been set in action and today as we celebrate one more milestone on this tragic, but triumphant journey, Jesus Christ as He enters Jerusalem we journey closer to His ultimate sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary.

For this was the plan of salvation complete in the simple, yet profound act of the Word of God incarnate in the flesh of Jesus Christ as He rode into Jerusalem and offered Himself as the guilt offering for us all.  Jesus Christ kept silent and bore our griefs and cares and was taken on this journey between rulers to the Cross of Calvary.  He was marred, despised, forsaken and afflicted was questioned, but endured scourging, bruising, piercing and having our iniquity and sin fall upon Him.  But in true servant fashion, Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but by being offered as our guilt offering, saved us from our wickedness and through His death on the Cross of Calvary for the entire world, offers all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel eternal life.  AMEN.

Sermon 03282012 Wednesday of Lent 5

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, You were led to be crucified between two thieves on Golgotha.  You had led a sinless life, but for our iniquities You suffered and died to set us free from sin, death and the devil.  May we understand Your sacrifice fulfilled the plan of salvation and freed we Your sinful children from the wickedness of the devil.  For You chose death in order to free all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel from our sins.  AMEN.

The prophet Ezekiel provides for us a clear understanding how we should approach our meditation this evening.  With the understanding that the book of Ezekiel was “to explain why God’s glory departed from Israel and how His glory would return”, Ezekiel in prophecy, but also truth says that God “does not have pleasure in the death of the wicked”.  Yet tonight our text from Isaiah clearly says that Jesus Christ was among the wicked.

Hear from Isaiah how Jesus Christ, our suffering servant is numbered among the wicked.

⁹ His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

It is clear that Jesus Christ was crucified with the wicked.  Sentences of death for criminals was more common in Biblical times and the two thiefs on the cross on Jesus right and left had apparently been sentenced for their crimes.  They were wicked men.  And Jesus Christ though innocent of any sin, became sin and took our wickedness upon Himself and suffered for each of us.  For Jesus “had done no violence” that deserved death, Jesus Christ had not broken any law, but chose to take upon Himself our sin and be numbered among the wicked.

For Jesus Christ had done no sin in the eyes of man nor in the eyes of God.  Being completely sinless, Jesus Christ innocence was irrefutable.  Jesus Christ had not broken any of the 10 Commandments that Moses had brought down from God.  Jesus Christ intent was to preach and proclaim the ultimate fulfillment of the law of God.  As Ezekiel had told, God’s Glory would be revealed through His innocent death on the Cross of Calvary for the sins, not of Israel alone, but for the entirety of mankind of all time and all place.  Jesus Christ would bear the burden of mankind on the Cross and pay the full ransom of all by His death on Calvary by His perfect life of committing no sin.

And Jesus suffered on the Cross of Calvary for you and for me.  He bled innocent blood from the wounds of His hands and feet, side and back for you and for me.  Jesus Christ endured the shame of being cast among the wicked, jeered by the crowds, spit upon as He carried His Cross for you and for me.  Jesus Christ could have called down legions of angels to protect Him, but in humility and a life of grace suffered a painful death, for you and for me.

For this was the plan of salvation complete in the simple, yet profound act of the Word of God incarnate in the flesh of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ taken on this journey between rulers  and the Cross kept silent and bore our grief’s and cares, though He was marred, despised, forsaken and afflicted was questioned, but endured scourging, bruising, piercing and having our iniquity and sin fall upon Him.  But in true servant fashion, Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but by being cast among the wicked, saved us from our wickedness and through His death on the Cross of Calvary for the entire world, offers all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel eternal life.  AMEN.

03252012 Sunday in Lent 5

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, You were taken into custody, to the Cross and to the Tomb in order for the plan of salvation to be fulfilled.  May our hearts be taken with Your commitment and enabled to embrace Your sacrifice for us on the Cross of Calvary to set all of us free from our sins.  For You chose this in order free all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel from our sins.  AMEN.

In the Pixar movie Cars, Lightning McQueen flashy young car that aspires to win the coveted Piston Cup learns a difficult lesson for someone so young.  On the last lap that will assure him of being the first rookie to win the Piston Cup, all the preparation pales in comparison, when he sees his idol, crash on the final lap of the race.  Lighting in uncharacteristic fashion slams on the brakes and stops just short of the finish line.  What he does is sacrifice all of the accolades and dreams of stardom.  But in that sacrifice the true character comes out of a person willing to give everything or have it taken away.

For us today we hear again from Isaiah how Jesus Christ, our suffering servant sacrificed His life on the Cross of Calvary for all of us gathered here this morning.  Hear our text for this morning from Isaiah who writes:

⁸ By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself when He was taken from the Garden.  Having gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray for the ‘Cup to be taken from Him’, Jesus entrusted to His Father the outcome of the coming days with the Words, “Not my will be done, but Yours”.  This sealed Jesus destiny and led to Judas coming to the Garden with the soldiers and taking Jesus from the Garden.  Unlike our present day movies that show people resisting and fleeing in order to not be caught, Jesus calmly and with divine will and purpose in mind submitted Himself to His being taken from the garden and left with the soldiers with the full knowledge that He would suffer for the transgressions of we His people.

Just as Jesus Christ was taken from the Garden, He was taken between the rulers.  Prior to the day when Jesus was tried by both Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas, they had been enemies.  But as a twist of faith, with Jesus being shuffled between the rulers, this would heal the rift between the two leaders and they were friends from that day forward.  Yet it took innocent man, Jesus Christ to endure being passed between rulers as a sacrifice for our sins.

Not only would Jesus be taken from the Garden, between the rulers, but also He was taken to the Cross.  Having walked the “Via dolorosa” in Old City Jerusalem even being healthy and without a 75-100 lb wooden slab to carry, it was a journey.  Yet, Jesus Christ Who at the hands of the soldiers had been beaten, scourged and crushed suffered the worse fate of any individual still having to struggle to get to Golgotha where He would be crucified for our sins.

And once Jesus Christ had been hung from the Cross and died, Joseph of Arimethea took Jesus lifeless body to the tomb.  As was custom and tradition, since the Passover was being celebrated in Jerusalem that very Saturday, Jesus body had to be taken down and disposed of quickly.  Joseph, prominent man who sat on the council placed Him in a new tomb, never used previously and ceremonially cleansed himself since he had touched Jesus lifeless dead body when placing it in the tomb. 

For Jesus Christ having been taken from the Garden, between the rulers, to the Cross and now to the tomb had been taken away.  Jesus Christ also had been silent as our lamb, was marred, despised and forsaken, bore our grief’s and cares and was afflicted in order to quiet the Kings who asked the question, ‘Who has believed’, even endured scourging, bruising piercing having our iniquity and sin fall upon Him on the cross in order to offer to all of us gathered here at Emmanuel today eternal life.  For Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but by being taken away saved the world through His death on the Cross of Calvary for the entire world, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Sermon 03212012 Wednesday of Lent 4

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, just as the lamb is silent before its shearers, You suffered the entirety of our sins silently without utterance.  You modeled for us the true nature of a suffering servant, innocent and enduring for the atonement of our sins for all of us gathered here at Emmanuel this evening.  AMEN.

King Solomon, great Old Testament character and author offered the world and the church some great gems of wisdom in the book of Ecclesiastes.  Some of these gems have been used for funerals, times of triumph and times of tragedy about human life and how sometimes we quote ourselves, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity” when we have been disillusioned about our experiences in life.  One set of statements included in Ecclesiastes concerns God’s plan for the world, but how God’s plan is not fully revealed to us.  Solomon wrote the ‘time statements’, one of the most appropriate for us to consider tonight.  It reads, “A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Ecc. 3:7).  This simple statement reveals to us what the Character of Jesus Christ our suffering servant was as He endured from His capture to the brutal end on the Cross of Calvary.

Hear our text for this evening from Isaiah who writes:

 ⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.

Jesus Christ was silent throughout His trial and did not open His mouth.  Jesus Christ could have easily turned the words of His accusers and refuted their claims, but “He did not open His mouth”.  Jesus Christ was quiet and did not utter a single word to refute, but endured the pain of the wounds, the torture of the soldiers, the hurled insults of the crowd, the ridicule of the masses.  Jesus Christ endured our sins, what we deserved to be crucified on the Cross for, because of His great love for you and for me.

Jesus Christ is the innocent lamb.  “Like a lamb that is led to slaughter”, Jesus Christ fulfilled the acclamation of John the Baptist who called Him the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  Jesus Christ chose to feel the lashes of the whips, the nails being driven through His hands and feet and the mocking of the people in order to model for each of us what Solomon said, “a time to keep silence”, for this was His calling, His divine purpose and His love made manifest on the Cross of Calvary for you and for me.

For in Jesus Christ fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy of being afflicted for our sins, not opening His mouth, being led like a lamb led to the slaughter and not opening His mouth, Jesus Christ atones for our sins and the sins of the entire world.  Perfect Man Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, both God and Man endured and atoned for the entire world.  In Confirmation we talk about this word, “Atonement”, we break it apart and understand it to mean, Jesus Christ through His silent suffering makes us “At – ONE – Ment” with God the Father.  Jesus Christ reconciled us with the Father and through our baptism into Jesus Christ life and death; we are also grafted into His resurrection.  Death no longer has dominion over us and Satan no longer has dominion over us.  We have been set free as Children of our Heavenly Father, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Hence, Jesus Christ Who was silent as our lamb, was marred, despised and forsaken, bore our griefs and cares and was afflicted in order to quiet the Kings who asked the question, ‘Who has believed’, even endured scourging, bruising piercing having our iniquity and sin fall upon Him on the cross in order to offer to all of us gathered here at Emmanuel today eternal life.  For Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but in silence saved the world through His death on the Cross of Calvary for the entire world, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

03182012 Sunday in Lent 4

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, the iniquity of our sins fell on You while on the cross of Calvary.  You are sinless and yet became sin in order to set us free from that which binds us.  Enable us to embrace the freedom offered to us through Your sacrifice of Your innocent death for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

While watching Iron Man and Iron Man 2 with Michele, I am continually amazed about the number of sermon illustrations and applications that God can highlight for me in current blockbuster movies.  In Iron Man, Tony Stark, billionaire weapons contractor comes to a humbling reality that his weapons not only caused himself to suffer with the shrapnel encroaching on his heart, but those weapons have caused the entire world to be impacted.  After creating an arc reactor to power the device that keeps him alive, he creates a suit to rescue himself from his captors.  After overpowering his captors and ‘rocketing’ away Tony is in front of a room of reporters where he determines that his legacy will no longer be weapons of mass destruction.  The iniquities of his previous life have impacted his life greatly and Tony Stark wants to change his course and help humanity.

Our reading from Isaiah today reminds us that our iniquities and sins fell upon Jesus Christ.  Isaiah writes:

⁶ All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

Simply said, we are sinful creatures.  We were conceived in sin and though made in the image of God we are as Martin Luther says, simul ustus et pecator ‘simultaneously saint and sinner’ all at the same time.  We cannot separate out our sins, but these sins we commit on a daily basis are what fell on Jesus Christ.  While in the hands of the Jews, the Roman soldiers, the journey to Calvary and upon the Cross, Jesus Christ felt the full burden of all of our collective sins of the entire world.  A very inexact comparison is to try and compare it to weight, but the burden of sin that Jesus carried for each and every one of us is an infinite amount of sins, because this was for the entire world.

Jesus Christ Who bore our sins was sinless Himself.  Jesus Christ sinless man born of the Virgin Mary, Who came down from heaven and redeemed us was sinless. Paul says, “Jesus Christ knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21).  In His humanity Jesus Christ suffered for our sins and bore the pain of our sins on the Cross of Calvary.  This was the plan of salvation and the way in which Jesus Christ sinless Man would atone for our sins and for the sins of humanity on the Cross of Calvary.

For Jesus Christ became sin for us.  John the Baptist in the Gospel of John says, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29).  Jesus purpose on earth was to redeem mankind and offer to us eternal life.  We who have been baptized into Christ, like Danielle this past Wednesday and all of us who have been washed in the Waters of Baptism are set free from the bonds of sin, because Jesus became sin for us.  We have been set free from our sin (John 8:34, 36), because of our delivery from the guilt and punishment of sin that Jesus Christ bore on the Cross of Calvary and that we have been baptized into the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  Our names are written in the book of life and Jesus Christ calls us through the Holy Spirit Who is active in and among us each today. 

Jesus Christ Who was marred, despised and forsaken, bore our griefs and cares and was afflicted in order to quiet the Kings who asked the question, ‘Who has believed’?  Jesus Christ even endured scourging, bruising piercing having our iniquity and sin fall upon Him on the cross in order to offer to all of us gathered here at Emmanuel today eternal life.  For Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him and His death on the Cross of Calvary for the entire world, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Sermon 03142012 Wednesday of Lent 3

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, on the way to the cross Your body was scourged, our sins crushed You and Your body was pierced to fulfill scripture.  Yet, Your aim was the fulfillment of scripture and the plan of salvation being fulfilled through Your innocent death on the Cross.  Without Your sacrifice, our sins would still bind us, but You have set all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel free from the bonds of sin, death and the devil through Your death on Calvary for each and every one of us.  AMEN.

With the advent of television and with the advances in the theater where we enjoy cinematic masterpieces in vibrant color and surround sound, another industry has grown.  Using CGI and special effects one recent movie, sacrificed a character’s actual physique in order to show his transformation.  In the movie Captain America, when the main character, Steve Rogers is introduced, he is a ‘scrawny’ asthmatic kid that is all of 98lbs soaking wet.  After being transformed he is muscular, athletic and taller due to the effects of the medicine.  During the final scenes during World War II, Captain America models what sacrifice really means.  After overtaking “Hydra” and the airplane destined for the United States with weapons of mass destruction, the only way to protect and defend his homeland is to ditch the airplane in the cold arctic.  Thus as the epitome of the soldier he was created to be, Steve sacrifices himself in order to defend the land that he loves and protect the woman he has fallen in love with.

In tonight’s reading from Isaiah, we hear how in real life our suffering servant Jesus Christ sacrifices Himself and endures a painful journey from the hands of the Jews to the Cross on Calvary.  Our text reads:

⁵ But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

Unlike today, torture during Bible times defied our present definition and understanding of torture.  Jesus Christ was scourged.  Scourging would occur by tying a person to a stand and then taking a rod or cord of leather that might include sharp metal tips and lashing the person.  According to scripture, the legal number of ‘scourges’ that was not considered a death sentence was 39, 16 on the front and 23 on the back, but Jesus Christ endured one more, for a total of forty of these blows as part of His sentence on the way to being crucified on the cross.

Not only did Jesus endure the scourging, He was crushed for our sins.  In and through His suffering on the cross, Jesus Christ over His entire body suffered at the hands of the Romans and all of the bystanders who wanted to hit Him on His journey to the cross.  Remember the Roman cohort, blindfolded Him and hit Him and asked Him to prophesy who it was that was hitting Him.  The soldiers were legally allowed to take out their aggression and hatred for being away from their families on the Person Who was being crucified.  But what they did not realize and we only realize because of the prophets like Isaiah is that Jesus Christ endured this in order that our sins, our daily turning our face away from God would be borne by the innocent God made Man, Jesus Christ.  It was His suffering, being bruised and crushed for our sins that would give you and me eternal life.

And yet, it did not stop with Jesus body being scourged, or His appearance being marred, but even after Jesus had died on the cross, His very body and soul was pierced.  Since Jesus had already given up His Spirit with the words, “It is finished”, and died, the soldiers fulfilled scripture by not breaking a bone in His body.  They instead took a lance and pierced His side to insure Jesus Christ was dead.  And immediately, blood and water flowed from His side, symbolizing for us both of the Sacraments, Holy Baptism, which we celebrated tonight, and the Sacrament of the Altar, where we receive His Precious Body and Blood.  Thus, Jesus Christ was pierced for our transgressions.   Jesus Christ innocent Man Who was God died in order to set us free from our sins.

The message of salvation offered to us through Jesus Christ innocent death on the Cross for you and for me, frees us from our sins.  Jesus Christ Who was marred, despised and forsaken, bore our griefs and cares and was afflicted in order to quiet the Kings who asked the question, ‘Who has believed’?  Jesus Christ even endured scourging, bruising and ultimately being pierced after death in order to offer to all of us gathered here at Emmanuel tonight eternal life.  For Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him and His death on the Cross of Calvary for the entire world, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this evening.  AMEN.

03112012 Sunday in Lent 3

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, You carried to the Cross of Calvary the griefs and cares of the entire world.  As You were nailed to the cross for our sins, the innocent Blood stricken from Your head, hands, feet and side You shed to set us free from our sins.  May we be enabled to understand You chose this for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Recently Michele and I embarked upon a movie marathon because of the coming Avenger’s movie from Marvel Comics.  We watched, Iron Man 1 and Iron Man 2, Captain America and even Thor.  In Thor, the main character has been banished from his home world to earth, because of his disobedience of King Odin, his father, and dishonoring the family name by inciting the potential of a cosmic war.  After falling to earth through a portal, befriending a Physicist who accidently hit him with a van twice and explaining that science and mythology are one and the same, Loki, Thor’s brother sends a ‘Metal Fire Creature’ to destroy Thor and the entire town and cement his place as the next King.  But Thor, mere mortal man walks up to the creature and implores Loki to only kill him. Thor, stripped of his powers and birth right places himself in between the wrath of Loki and the destruction of the town, willing to sacrifice himself for the people he no longer can protect.  And the metal fire creature deals the final death blow and Thor suffers the fatal mortal blow of sacrifice.

Just as Thor sacrifices himself, in today’s text from Isaiah, we hear more of the suffering servant, Jesus Christ Who sacrifices Himself for me and for you.  Hear Isaiah’s prophecy:

⁴ Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 

Bearing the entirety of the griefs and cares of the world, Jesus Christ shouldered the burden without a second thought.  For those with little knowledge of scripture, nor a personal relationship and knowledge of Jesus Christ, they wonder if Jesus Christ could actually feel grief.  Yet Holy Scripture by inspiration of the Holy Spirit upon the scripture writers are clear, Jesus Christ feels grief that is sharper than any knife that can cut or sword that could pierce.  Jesus feels our personal grief, whether it is the loss of a child, spouse, friend or loved one, whether it is a fight between friends or families or even if it is a betrayal of a trust of confidence.  The range of compassion that Jesus Christ feels for in each and every situation was magnified and endured while He was on the Cross of Calvary.

For Jesus Christ was afflicted for our sins.  Not only did He endure the grief and cares of the world for that time, but Jesus Christ endured the griefs and cares for all time and all place.  Jesus felt the pain for everyone as He hung from the Cross of Calvary.  Jesus Christ was afflicted and endured our sins because He chose to remain hung on the cross and endure the worst torture and inhumanity that could be dished out upon anyone.

Jesus Christ endured everything upon the cross for you and for me so we would not have to.  Jesus Christ in the greatest act of love, compassion and commitment carried His own Cross to Calvary and chose to die on the Cross to set us free from our sins.  Jesus Christ frees us from the bonds of sin, death and the devil that bind us and cause us to have grief beyond measure.  Jesus sets us free to see, not that which binds us, but the freedom found in and through His Cross for each and every one of us.  Jesus Christ chose to be lifted up, marred, despised and forsaken in order for us to believe the message of salvation that would quiet kings and bear for you and me our griefs and cares.  Jesus Christ chose to be afflicted to give to all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning eternal life.  That is the message of salvation and sacrifice that Jesus Christ, our suffering servant offers all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Sermon 03072012 Wednesday of Lent 2

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, You were despised by the Pharisee’s and Saducee’s for revealing the true message of salvation found through You.  The disciples Whom God had placed in Your hand forsook You in the Garden and cowered behind closed doors.  Yet, the plan of salvation was completed in and through Your life, death and resurrection for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this evening.  AMEN.

In the movie “Despicable Me”, Gru, the criminal mastermind whom every criminal wants to be, is portrayed at the beginning of the film as a person that no one likes.  For myself, I didn’t want to see this movie.  I despised the sinister characterization of criminals and felt it was a waste of my time, our family’s money and was not worth letting my daughter see this movie.  Truthfully, I thought the title said it all, “Despicable Me”.  And you know what, my ignorant attitude is what was despicable, not the movie.

For us tonight we encounter Isaiah’s reading of the suffering servant, Jesus Christ, as despised and forsaken.  Isaiah wrote:  ³ He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Isaiah in this the fourth servant song clearly prophesies that Jesus Christ will be despised and forsaken.  When Jesus Christ is arrested, the arresting officers and company of soldiers treat Him with ridicule and derision.  Jesus own disciples forsake Him in the Garden and run away in great fear of being caught up in the ‘mess’ that is about to occur.  Yet this is exactly what Jesus told them would happen and what Isaiah prophesied approximately 750 years prior to the events in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Isaiah through the Work of the Holy Spirit clearly understood that Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, True God and True Man would be despised and forsaken.  Jesus Christ would walk the path to His own crucifixion alone.

Not only would Jesus walk this path alone, but He would feel fully the grief and pains we experience today on a daily basis.  Jesus Christ alone in the Praetorium would not open His mouth to defend Himself.  Jesus Christ would not call down the legions of Angels sworn to serve Him, because He understood He had to suffer at the hands of the rulers and feel the human emotion of grief, because of His Humanity in order to suffer for all of us.  Jesus Christ in feeling the pains of grief that we have reconciles us with His Father in Heaven for the entirety of the sins of mankind, including me and you.  Jesus Christ became Human, experienced grief of epic proportions in order that we may be set free and given the gift of eternal life.  Jesus Christ chose this life for each and every one of us because of His great love for mankind.

Jesus Christ endured the inhumanity of His crucifixion and also endured our turning our face away from Him.  Just as the disciples forsook Jesus in the Garden, we today forsake Jesus enduring as the suffering servant when we say, we are sinless and perfect and do no wrong.  When we treat people shamefully and see no wrong in how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ our actions turn us away from Jesus Christ the suffering servant and we no longer face the Cross of Calvary.  Our turning away from Jesus and not facing Him and our need of a Savior, says that His death is not necessary to save us. 

But the truth is we need Jesus Christ, because He was innocent and He chose to endure Hell here on earth to save us from our sins.  Jesus Christ chose the Cross of Calvary for the entire world, especially for each and every one of us gathered here at Emmanuel this evening because of His great love, for you and for me.  Jesus Christ chose to come down from heaven, be lifted upon the cross, be marred in appearance, to quiet kings, inspire belief in the message of salvation and be despised and forsaken in order for all of us saints here at Emmanuel to be saved.  That is the Gospel message that the suffering Servant Jesus Christ was despised and forsaken for the entire world and for all of us saints here at Emmanuel this evening.  AMEN.

03042012 Sunday in Lent 2

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, ‘Who has believed’ that You would send Your Son into the world?  We meet plenty of people who have not heard the message of salvation, enable us to proclaim this real message for them today.  For Your Son, Jesus Christ came to endure this humiliation for us because of His great love for the world, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

There is a movie that encapsulates in one quote of four words, the entire premise of the movie.  Yes, it is also a fable that dates back millennia and in different religions.  But if I said, “The Sky is Falling”, it is not difficult for you to say, “Chicken Little”.  This entire fable has at its root the notion of “Belief”.  Will anyone believe this chicken who says, “The Sky is falling”?

This morning as we continue our Lenten Journey with Isaiah, the Suffering Servant deals with the same concept of belief.  Hear our text from Isaiah:

 ¹ Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? ² For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 

Isaiah asks clearly, “Who has believed our message?”  It is clear, people sometimes do not believe and we do not know ‘who’ believes.  Unlike God who can see, read and know what is in every man, woman and child’s heart, we cannot discern or make that judgment.  We are not called to make the judgment of each other either.  But what is clear is that it is the message that is important.  The message we are to believe is the message of salvation for all of mankind.

What Jesus Christ has done on the cross of Calvary is the real message.  This Gospel message we hear read from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and the Gospels.  The Old Testament prophesies about the coming Messiah, the Psalms explain what Jesus would endure on the cross, the Gospels tell what Jesus Christ did on this earth and the New Testament Epistles explain how the church developed after His life, death and resurrection.  Thus, the entire book of the Bible, though brought together and written at different times have the central theme and core message of the salvation brought to us through Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection for all of mankind.

For Jesus Christ endured the humiliation of the cross to give to everyone the gift of Eternal Life.  Jesus Christ through His being the suffering servant spreads and reveals the message of salvation for all mankind.  And we are attracted to Him, not by His marred appearance, not by His silencing kings and rulers, not because He has been exalted and lifted up, but because His real and true message is for all of mankind.  It is the forgiveness of sins that God offers to us through His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ.  For Jesus Christ is the suffering servant we believe in because He came down from heaven and suffered, died, was buried and raised from the dead for all of us Saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Sermon 02292012 Wednesday of Lent 1

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, at Your name every knee will bow and every tongue confess Your are Lord.  The Gospel message of Your coming into this World and dying for our sins is clear, but the impact Your message has on Kings and Rulers baffles the mind.  May we be equally affected and clearly hear that the Gospel is for each and every one of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

Reality shows have been around since television began.  When I was a child, I remember seeing a court show entitled, “The People’s Court” with Judge Wampner.  Yes, today we have “Judge Judy” and others that try and resolve issues outside of the ‘courts’, but as public entertainment.  If you have watched any shows like this, you have seen when some defendants or plaintiffs come and are very disrespectful and will not be quiet, even talking back to the judge.  But what always occurs is that the judge has both the power and authority to force the person to be quiet.

In tonight’s text from Isaiah we hear of the power and authority of the suffering servant, Jesus Christ.  Hear Isaiah’s words: “¹⁵ Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.”

Isaiah prophesied this about Jesus Christ the suffering servant.  The text reads ‘sprinkle’ and I have also heard ‘startled’, both have the indication that Jesus Christ has the power and the authority to silence Kings and anyone in authority and they will understand.  This power is derived from Jesus Christ being God, Second Person of the Trinity and King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Jesus Christ in startling or sprinkling the nations takes His role as King clearly and with unmatched and unquestionable power and authority over all nations.

Jesus Christ message has no equal.  The message Jesus Christ brings is of salvation for all of mankind.  Jesus Christ came down from heaven to earth to be born in a stable, grow up the son of a carpenter, be driven into the wilderness and tempted and tested by Satan, to perform miracles of healing, casting demons out, feeding the thousands and making people whole.  Jesus Christ came to suffer the torment of our sins at the hands of the Jewish leaders and the Roman soldiers and to be hung on a cross in the greatest humiliation for you and for me.  Jesus Christ came to die on the Cross of Calvary, be buried and on the third day, rise from the dead.  For this was the plan of salvation and the great message of Jesus Christ for all of mankind.

The truth is that the message of Salvation Jesus Christ brings for each of us sets us free.  We having been baptized into His life, death and resurrection are set free from the bonds of sin that bind us daily.  Jesus Christ sets us free since we are His children.  Jesus Christ signed, sealed and delivered us the promise of salvation as the suffering servant, not only as the sacrifice for our sins, but He chose this to quiet the Kings and Rulers of our day who believe they are god.

Jesus Christ is the real God Who did this because of His great love for us.  Jesus Christ is the suffering servant Who was exalted, marred and quiets all of the doubters of our world.  For Jesus Christ the suffering servant came into this world not to condemn the world, but that the entire world through His life, death and resurrection would be saved, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel.  AMEN.