07192015 7th Sunday After Trinity - We are given the free gift of God...eternal life!

Sermon Audio (Will be posted soon)

July 19, 2015

We are given the free gift of God…eternal life!

Today we gather here at Emmanuel, not in a prison, but as prisoners set free.  Let me explain.  You see we who gather here today who have been baptized into Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection are no longer in the shackles of the devil, bound by our temptation to go against God and His Word.  We when Water and Word were poured over our heads and the sign of the cross made over our hearts were set free.  Like a prisoner who has been in the jail cell, solitary confinement and not seen the light of day for years, we have been set free by the Blood of the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, Jesus Christ.  We have been set free out of the great love of God for all of mankind, but especially for each and every one of us and we have been given our freedom.  But it is not any ordinary freedom, in our freedom, “we are given the free gift of God…eternal life!”

The gift God has given us former prisoners is the gift that leads to life eternal.  When God made us whole through Water and Word, the bonds of sin were loosed and we have been set free.  The darkness that surrounded us and hemmed us in was the prison we felt in our hearts and it no longer has dominion over us and we are free in Christ having been given the “free gift of God…eternal life!”  And this gift is given because of God’s love for us manifest in what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary that offers us freedom and eternal life.

But our society and you might ask, “I don’t feel free, so what proof do you have?”  The proof of our freedom comes from what we receive from the Altar of God.  From the Altar, when we partake of Jesus Christ Body and Blood, given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins, we receive eternal life.  Our partaking of God’s Holy Supper prepared for us and first instituted for us on Maundy Thursday by Jesus Christ, it is a foretaste of the feast to come of eternal life.  With our taking the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ on our lips we partake of the Mystical Meal that God has prepared and it is “the free gift of God” for the people of God.  We receive from God the gift of His Son and salvation for each and every one of us.

No longer then are we prisoners, but with our receipt of Jesus Christ Body and Blood, we become inheritors of eternal life and salvation and no longer are bound in any prison of the devil’s making.  Yet, the devil is wily and tempts us with all of his tricks to not only question God, but doubt even God’s existence and God’s love for us.  When we lose our crops to storms, winter kill, hail and dry weather, the devil seeks to get us to question God.  Consider Job who lost everything, family, goods, livestock and ultimately disease on his own body, it was not caused by God, but it was caused by the devil.  Because the devil believed Job would deny God.  But Job didn’t and we shouldn’t doubt or deny God either, no matter what we lose, encounter in our daily lives nor what might happen to us.

For God wants us to trust Him and believe that what we receive from the Altar is not only the gift of God, but a clear and manifest gift of eternal life.  For God’s gift given offers us a clear relationship with Him in a very tangible way that all of us so desperately want.  The relationship we want we are offered daily, but we sometimes don’t do the simplest thing and seek to find the relationship God seeks to have with us.

There was once a young man named John, who loved his Father and only wanted one thing from his father.  It wasn’t a relationship, but a car.  As John neared graduation like most kids, John dropped hints every chance he could that all he ever wanted was a new car.  His father was well to do and money was not an issue.

The day of the sons graduation came and the son was excited.  Through all the pomp and circumstance, the son, only thought of the neatly wrapped present laying on the table at home.  After the ceremony and greeting all the friends and well wishers, the son finally arrived home and found his father waiting with the present in his hand.  Hurriedly, the boy unwrapped the present.  It was a box.  Inside the box he thought would be the keys to his new car.  He opened the box and to his utter shock and dismay, wasn’t the keys, but a Holy Bible, with his name embossed on the front cover.  With the Bible on a card, a simple statement, “Enclosed is My Gift to you!  Love, Dad”.  In utter shock and amazement believing that what the Bible said was the gift, John threw the bible at his father and ran out of the house and never returned.

Many years later, the father passed away.  The son heard of his Father’s passing, but didn’t even bother to show up to honor his memory, even though he lived in the same city.  Days passed and one evening, while home alone, there was a knock on his door.  Having remained a bachelor obsessed with his life and trying to make up for the disappointment he felt from his family, he rose from his chair to find a man in a business suit at his door.  The man asked to come in and seeing no harm, John invited him in.  After the pleasantries were shared, the man simply stated, “I was asked to come here and give you this.”  Handing a box to John, he immediately recognized it as the box from his graduation, 50 years earlier.  He tried to give the box back, but the businessman continued, “I have been instructed to give you this box and to tell you to open it and the book.”

Feeling stunned, the now graying man, slowly opened the box and saw the Bible with his name embossed as he had fifty years earlier, with the same card with the message from his father that still revolted him even today.  Carefully he now lifted the Bible out and held it.  As he went to reach for the cover, a piece of ancient paper fell onto his lap.  Immediately he recognized the paper, it was from the local Ford dealership in town.  The paper John now held in his hands was a bill of sale that stated in large red stamped letters, “Paid in Full” for a brand new Cherry Red 1965 Mustang Convertible.

At that very moment, the mistake that John made became crystal clear.  With his throwing the Bible back at his father, he had slammed the door on the prison that had become his life and existence for the next fifty years.

So to for us today, we are being offered from the Altar of God, the key to eternal life found in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  For the Free Gift of God of Eternal Life is offered for all of mankind, but especially including all of us gathered here today.  Will we receive it like the John first did the gift of the Bible and live in bitterness for all eternity?  Or will we see it as the offer of grace of our Father in heaven and be set free from our self-imposed prison?  AMEN.

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Speak Your Mind

03252015 - Wednesday of Lent 5 - Green Bead - Growth

Sermon Audio

March 25, 2015

Growing in Christ!

Heavenly Father!  We are unable to make things grow, but by Your divine favor You not only cause plants to grow, but You raise us up as Your children.  Inspire us to grow, in grace and the ability to share it with others of what Jesus Christ did on Calvary.  For Jesus died in order to set us free and this was out of His love for each and every one of us.  AMEN.

Robby Gallaty, an author and church expert in discipleship wrote a book entitled, “Growing Up: How to be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples”.  In this book his main thesis is that we Christians are to be disciples of Jesus Christ and we are called to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ and share this relationship with others.

From the outside looking in, it is clear, Robby is right, that is what we are called to do, but as happens with a lot of us, then demands of our job, family, school, expectations and other things not only overwhelm us, but we become numb.  Our numbness is not only to the voices we hear that bombard us on television, radio, the internet, but even from our children, family, friends and even here in the church.  We become numb to the need of growth in our lives as Christians and then become numb to the meaning and implications of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But this is why we celebrate Lent, to remember Jesus willingness to go to the Cross for us and especially why tonight we have a green bead on the salvation bracelet.  The green bead we have tonight is to remind us that we are to be “Growing in Christ”!  Just as when the wheat is planted in the fall or corn in the spring, just as will happen shortly, the seed outside of dirt will not sprout and grow.  But once planted into the ground with the right moisture, depth, warmth and sunlight, sprouts from the cover that protects.  And once it sprouts it sends a root deeper into the earth and a sprout that emerges from the ground and the seed grows as God intended.

This is a perfect metaphor or explanation of what we as Christians are called to be as we are “Growing in Christ”.  When we wear the Salvation Bracelet and explain our beliefs to non-believers and believers, the green bead is to remind us we can “Grow in Christ”.  We grow when we come to hear the Word of God that tells of the offer of the free gift of salvation from Jesus Christ.  God feeds us by the Gospel of Jesus Christ that tells what He did on Calvary.  And our growth is aided by God’s gifts given to us of His Sacraments from the Altar, His Word from both the pulpit and lectern as well as being surrounded by others who are here to “Grow in Christ!”

Just as wheat and corn grow best in a ‘stand’ when planted with other seed.  We as Christians grow best when we are surrounded by others who want to grow as well.  Hence why we are here tonight to learn about the salvation bracelet’s green bead symbolizing ‘growth’.  Our individual growth is not dependent upon others, but only made a reality by God and His gifts of grace to and for us.  For God like Paul says, gives the growth that we have and this is a gift from God for all of us.  And the growth offered is limitless unlike corn or wheat.  If I were to engage one of the farmers they would say, a wheat plant can have approximately 20 to 50 kernels of wheat in one head that can be harvested.  So to, one Christian who grows in their faith and shares it can have a larger kingdom impact.  This is why God calls us to “Grow in Christ!”

For the salvation bracelet with the many colored beads is a tool to help us to “Grow in Christ” and in our faith and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  For the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not only a gift, but a real opportunity for us to wear our faith on our wrist, and also engage and grow in our faith on a daily basis and share it with one another.

Recently, I heard a Christian author tell how he engaged his faith with his family.  It wasn’t only by sharing the stories of faith around the table at dinner or before bedtime with the kids or dragging them to church, because the pastor was the ‘expert’.  They as a family understood that living their faith wasn’t just a one-time experience.  They were out to dinner locally and saw an individual who was different than they were and they invited them to have dinner with them. 

After engaging in small talk about the latest scores from the NCAA and the weather, the individual asked about why they invited them to join them for dinner.  This opened up an amazing opportunity for the family from the children to the parents to share their faith and the impact it had of inviting this stranger to join them in a meal.  This is the opportunity that the salvation bracelet can have of helping us to be bold with our faith and sharing it with others even over a meal at McDonald’s or Arby’s.  It is the opportunity that God can use to plant the seed of the Gospel of Salvation, water it, but especially made it grow and have a kingdom impact as we grow in our faith and life as disciples of Jesus Christ.

This is the opportunity we have when we fully understand how the Green Bead symbolizes our “Growing in Christ”.  When we combine all the beads of the salvation bracelet the salvation story not only is planted firmly in our lives, but we can grow in grace, understanding and belief that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for all mankind and share it.  And God has purposely planted us here at Emmanuel in order that we can grow in our faith and be enabled to share it with others.  For God wants us to ‘Grow in Christ’ and have a kingdom impact in sharing what Jesus Christ has done for each of us on the Cross of Calvary for all of mankind.  Including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel who are “Growing in Christ” when we share what the Green Bead of the Salvation Bracelet really means.  AMEN.

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Speak Your Mind

03082015 - Oculi - Third Sunday in Lent - "Woman, this is your son."

Sermon Audio

March 8, 2015

Jesus gives responsibility away…

Gracious Lord, it is clear we are responsible for many things in our lives, first our relationship with You and secondly our family.  It is clear You thought, not of Yourself while hanging on the Cross, but of Your Mother.  Enable each of us to understand our responsibility is not dictated by our desire, but what gives You the greatest glory.  For our responsibility is not to earthly things, but to heavenly things, especially You and the spread of Your Love and the Gospel of our Salvation.  AMEN.

Each of us gathered here today have been in situations that are stressful.  Whether it is worrying about the sprinkler that is down that will change our weight of corn during the peak growing season.  Sitting on the combine ready to go out in the field to pick the winter wheat and waiting and watching a Summer thunderstorm bearing down on you with large hail being shown on the radar.  Or even sitting in the FSA office discussing how through the drought you are going to continue to make the farm work.  These are the stress filled lives that we live on a yearly basis.  We feel the responsibility of the world on our shoulders and in some cases feel like we have to act and act now in order to prevent our going over the edge or doing something that may be catastrophic to our current way of life.

This morning in our Series of the Words from the Cross, Jesus Christ is in an extremely stressful situation.  Hanging on the Cross having endured the torture of the soldiers, the excruciating pain of being scourged, carrying His Cross to Golgotha outside the city walls of Jerusalem and being nailed to the beam, Jesus feels the weight of the world on His shoulders.  It is a weight that we can only imagine, but one that Jesus came into the world to carry.  Yet, Jesus is not trying to avoid or distance Himself from His present circumstances.  Jesus is looking out not for Himself, but for the future of a woman standing at the foot of the Cross He is nailed to.  The future Jesus is looking out for is that His mother  that she will have to endure.  A future without Him.  Hence, “Jesus said to His mother: “Woman, this is your son.”  Then He said to the disciple:  “This is your mother.” (John 19:26-27)

Mary, Jesus mother, who had been promised Jesus conception and birth by the Angel, experienced the shepherds coming and worshiping in a small stable in Bethlehem, because there was no room in the inn.  Received the gifts of the Magi on the day we celebrate Epiphany.  Cuddled Jesus in her arms as a newborn baby when He was small.  Searched for Jesus when He went missing on the big trip into Jerusalem.  Watched Him perform miracles of Water into Wine, healing countless people and teaching about His Father in heaven.  Now stood at the foot of the Cross of Calvary and had watched Him be nailed to the Cross, struggle to breath and heard these words.  They were not just words, but had a deep concern and compassion from Jesus for His mother Mary.

Jesus knew what the future would be of His death very shortly.  And Jesus knew He would not be able to care for His Mother.  So, Jesus took the responsibility He had of the care of His mother and gave it away.  Jesus gave that responsibility to John.  The responsibility John undertook at this moment isn’t just in name, but John according to Jewish custom was not only adopting Mary, but being adopted by her.  Their lives would be connected and intertwined from that moment on.  The responsibility that Jesus had for Mary was given away because Jesus wanted to insure Mary was cared for in the way she needed and deserved and as was the custom of a good Jewish son.

Today we have responsibilities as well, not only to God, but our families and even our calling, whether farmer, teacher, husband, wife or child.  Jesus here clearly demonstrates and models for us the need to take responsibility seriously, give it away when necessary and give it to the right person for the job.  When “Jesus said to His mother: “Woman, this is your son.”  Then He said to the disciple:  “This is your mother.”  Scripture captures for us the importance of taking responsibility and our daily need to do this as Christians.

But why, for what reason or what is the ‘end game’ of Jesus statement for us today that we hear from the Cross of Calvary?  Of what consequence is responsibility for us today as Christians?  Simply responsibility has eternal consequences.  And Jesus is not just the God of the here and now, Jesus is the Son of God for all eternity.  We have the opportunity to have an eternal impact when we rightfully take our responsibility seriously, give it away when necessary and find the right person for the job.  Jesus knew John, the disciple He loved would take care of His mother and knew she would be safe in his care.  So Jesus gave the responsibility to John.  So to the church understands responsibility clearly because we get to share the love of God for each and every one of us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ here at Emmanuel.  We can share that love in word, deed and action with everyone we meet.

That message of what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary we can give away to all that we meet.  When we give that message of salvation away, we share not only the love of God, but our love for one another.  I have the opportunity from the pulpit to preach, proclaim and purposefully declare my love for you the people of God, but also and more so the love of Jesus Christ for each and every one of us.  I am not perfect, but God is and His love is perfect and He has given us the responsibility to give this gift of love away.  And this is exactly what Jesus modeled on the Cross of Calvary when “Jesus said to His mother: “Woman, this is your son.”  Then He said to the disciple:  “This is your mother.”

May we give away the Gospel message of salvation to all mankind, knowing God will insure it does not return without accomplishing its mission.  And may we understand that Gospel message of God’s love is not for a select few, but it is our opportunity and responsibility to give it away and believe it is for all of mankind, including all of us saints here at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

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Lutheranism 101 Chapter 3 Part 1

Lutheranism 101

Chapter 3 Part 1

Here is the audio and notes for Lutheranism 101 Chapter 3 Part 1.  We only covered part of the chapter due to the great conversations and learning about our Lutheran heritage.

If you would like to come to the class, please contact Pastor.  Currently we have 8 embarked on this journey of the faith.

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01112015 Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ

Sermon Audio

January 11, 2015

Perfect Submission: How to…

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.

If you have ever filled out a form, whether at the Doctor’s Office, for a driver’s license or even the FSA office you have a good understanding of submission.  Unlike what kids are used to doing in our current computer age with iPads, where there is a button that says, “Submit”, in the old days it was a very unique process.  You actually had to use a pencil and hand the form to the person who was sitting right in front of you.  And while they looked over your form, you waited.  Depending upon the length of the form it could take a few minutes.  But the reality was you had to wait, not go anywhere and wait for instructions of the next step and how to proceed.  You had to fully submit to someone else having the power and authority over your current and future actions.  This morning in our celebration and from our lessons we hear about submission, not in forms, but of actions and their impact upon the plan of salvation.

Today we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, Jesus Christ by John the Baptist.  In perfect submission, Jesus Christ had to submit Himself to Holy Baptism by John the Baptist.  John Jesus cousin, who had leapt in his mother’s womb when he heard Mary’s voice upon her entrance into her cousins home now stood at a cross roads in his life.  Either demand Jesus baptize him that is John, or John would fully submit himself to be used by God to baptize the promised Messiah.  For John it would have been interesting to hear what was going through his mind and heart at this particular moment and the either the struggles or the pure joy of completing God’s plan of salvation.

For those of us gathered here when we encounter decisions to be made in our daily lives, all of us think about the opportunities, outcomes and weigh the options.  But our decisions we make today about the farm, our family or our future here on earth might seem more important or have greater meaning for us today than John’s choice 2000 years ago.  However, John the Baptist was at a clear cross roads in his relationship with God.  If he chose to demand to be baptized by the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ, John would have chosen the self-centered selfish route and not shown clear submission to God’s divine will and perfect plan.  If John refused to baptize Jesus, scripture prophecies from the Old Testament would not have been fulfilled.  Like dominoes that are lined up and prepared to topple, one choice by John would not only have an effect in the then and there, but would clearly have a domino effect upon we who gather here today at Emmanuel to celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Some people look at these celebrations of the church that we honor and remember both as being more “Catholic”, even as ancient history and unimportant or having no affect or effect upon our lives today.  Whether the celebration be Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and even Jesus Baptism, there are some, even who call themselves Christian, who say, I only need Jesus, not these festival days.  Yet there is a fact that is unmistakable and shows their self-centeredness when they question these celebrations.  The celebration of each of these milestones is not about us who gather, but about the God that we honor and worship.  These milestones are a clear and concise reminder of what God has done, is doing and will continue to do for all of mankind in the future.  When we celebrate these events we enter into the greatest opportunity to be submissive to God’s divine plan and it’s completion.

God’s plan is perfect and has a single simple goal in mind.  God’s goal is for us to be in the kingdom of God for all eternity.  There are some who want clear reassurance, in essence to hear people confess and say they have faith in Jesus Christ in order to be assured of the fulfillment of the promise of eternal life and that they will be in the kingdom, but the fact remains, words can be used to deceive, what matters is what is in our heart.  We have only one thing we as Christians can do, rely upon the grace of God and declare the grace of God that is for all of mankind that Jesus Christ offers.  When we declare this grace we are then submissive to God and His perfect plan.

When we rely upon God’s grace and submit ourselves to God’s perfect will and way and offer the gift of grace, we change the landscape and offer ourselves in perfect submission to God.  Just as John submitted himself to God’s plan by baptizing Jesus Christ and the heavens were opened and those who witnessed heard God’s voice from heaven and saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove.  When we submit ourselves to God’s perfect plan and willfully submit our lives to God, God will use us in kingdom work.  The kingdom work will bring glory, not to ourselves, but point to God’s full and complete action of salvation found on the cross of Calvary for all mankind.

So, the question for each of us today is clear, will you be submissive to God’s plan, work and action and the fulfillment of God’s perfect plan, or will you be self-centered, selfish and not submit yourself to God’s will and way?  Your decision will impact not only your life today, but will have a lifelong impact as to God’s continuous action in your life from this day forward.

The plan of salvation God offered to each of us does not change with our answer of being submissive or not, but by our decisions, we can and do change our potential impact upon our world, our community, our church and especially our family.  For God’s plan is very clear of Jesus Christ willingness to submit Himself to being baptized by John.  And John’s willingness to not be selfish, and baptize Jesus in order that mankind would be in God’s kingdom for all eternity.  For this is the gift of grace God offers all of mankind, but especially including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

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If Christ is not at the center, we will fail!!!

This is the story of two people who married for all the wrong reasons....then...divorced....then found Christ and married for all the right reasons!!!  Jesus Christ at the center of their relationship!!!


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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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09212014 Fourteenth Sunday After Trinity

Gospel Audio
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.

I don’t know about you, but as Fall begins to come to Northwest Kansas and the nights get cooler and the days get shorter, on my bed, I have a quilt.  When we had the recent cold snap, I used the quilt on my bed, because I was cold.  The quilts you see on all the pews this morning were made by the women of Emmanuel and they when they reach their final destination, will be used by people who are in need of keeping warm, just like I was and I would guess you were as well.  These quilts are not just an expression of the giving of the ladies, but how we as a congregation reach outside of these four walls and minister to people in need both of a physical need to keep warm, but also the need to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ in action.  This is a clear fruit of God working in and through us today.

But the fruits do not stop there, we also celebrate today the fruit that was planted long ago in the Garden of Eden, which was the story the children heard this morning.  It is the fruit of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ that is offered for us and surrounds us like the quilt we cuddle up in when cold.  But this is not a fruit that is to be kept for only a select few, but it is to be shared for and with all of mankind.  And today, we also with all of us saints gathered here today celebrate “Back to Church Sunday”!  It may seem anticlimactic.  Yet today is an opportunity for each of us to renew, refresh, reconnect and reinvigorate our individual and personal faith and be surrounded by and share with others the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We can and should clearly ask, why should this be important for us today?  Why should we want to reconnect with the church and Jesus Christ?  But the reality is that we sometimes feel cold and distant from Jesus Christ and have drifted away from our relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  Like a farmer who when planting wheat or corn has to continuously correct how the seed planter drills the seed into the line of the fertilizer that had previously been laid into the ground because of the terrain or terraces.  Or the driver of a car that has to insure they keep the vehicle between the lines so they don’t cause an accident.  Or the child that has to follow the lines when learning how to write the letters in Kindergarten.  We Christians are no different, we need to autocorrect in the church to be drawn back and come back to hear and heed the call of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

However, like all humans, we at times have become comfortable because we have gotten used to not being surrounded by the love of God, not coming to church or being involved.  Like, not waking up early on the one day we could sleep in, because we don’t have to go to work and we can do whatever we want before we sit down and watch football or spend time in the shop or even go out and ride our favorite four wheeler.  When we do come and be surrounded and comforted by the familiar here at the church we force ourselves to make sure we arrive before the bell that indicates we have begun worship.  All because that is what is expected of us, by our parents, our grandparents and even sometimes our spouse.

But today, I want to cast a different outlook and offer a greater opportunity for us.  There was once a teacher who introduced the “Balloon Game” to her two classes.  In the first class the students were told the rules that balloons would be tied to their legs and the object was to protect your own balloon and ‘break’ the other persons balloon in the game.  And the last person left with their balloon unpopped, was the winner.  With gusto the children began the game and in the end the last person left wasn’t the most athletic, nor the most popular, but ironically the least popular person in the class.  He was the winner, because no one wanted anything to do with him, he was different from everybody else and didn’t have any ‘true friends’ or relationships.  Does this sound familiar here in the church?

In the next class, the same rules were stated, but the difference was that this class had mentally challenged students.  As the game began, the teacher noticed something in stark contrast of the first class, the kids who had heard the same rules, didn’t do the same thing, they did the exact opposite, they instead of trying to win for themselves, helped each other pop the balloon.  One child would hold their balloon and invite another to ‘break their balloon’, then in turn the other would hold their balloon, while the other child would ‘break’ theirs.  This went on until every balloon was burst and all of the kids felt like winners.  This is different direction, because the kids were inclusive insuring everybody won and nobody was left out.  This was a clear fruit of grace in action and everybody a winner.

Today we have this same opportunity for all of us to be winners, because we are invited by Jesus Christ to spread and share the message of the Gospel of Salvation.  Simply, the Gospel message is that Jesus Christ died for each and every one of us in order for all of us to be with Him in His Kingdom.  If you believe this offer of grace is for you, God invites you to trust Him and have a personal relationship with Him.

What Jesus Christ is offering all of us today gathered here today is a bridge?  A bridge that connects us with the promises God offers to each of us today.  I know some of us feel we can figure life out on our own, make our own decisions and plot our own path, without any help.  But the reality is that we cannot.  The bridge God is offering is a bridge that connects our soul and spirit with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ into the most personal relationship we have or will ever experience.  There may be doubters among us today non-members and members of Emmanuel alike, they are not alone.  Even in the Bible people doubted, like Thomas, who did not believe until they saw and touched Jesus, or the writing on the wall and sometimes only if it was a last resort.  God today is offering all of us the greatest opportunity to have the deepest connection and personal relationship with Him.

God is offering us His hand to each of us by a bridge through the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  The Gospel of Jesus Christ simply states that Jesus suffered and died and it is the way and means that we can bridge us from our current life without God of certain death to eternal life.  God offered His Son to die in order that we might be saved and we only have to accept it and be surrounded with this truth like a quilt.

Just as most of us have a bank that keeps an accurate accounting of our checking or savings account balance, lets us know if we overdraw the account, gives us an accurate statement of our transactions and the speed that we consume our limited finances.  Today we have the greatest opportunity to build a relationship with God.  The reality is that no matter what our debts may be for what we have done, God when we trust Him and the bridge He offers us, wipes the slate clean, doesn’t have an overdraft fee and when we are forgiven, God will not hold our sins against us.  All of this because of what Jesus Christ paid for each of us on the Cross of Calvary.

Nowhere is this clearer than when we ask the question, how much do you trust God?  The following is a true story that my friend gave me permission to share.  He contacted me because he was depressed.  His family life was stable, but he was unsettled.  He wasn’t doing what he loved to do and he was in a clear funk.  His dream job always seemed a stretch for him and just out of reach.  He wasn’t fulfilled doing what he was doing.  His wife could sense it, his kids though young couldn’t understand it, but for this young father, he felt his life was spinning out of control.  After nearly an hour of talking, I asked him simply ‘how much do you trust God?’  He said, he truly trusted God.  I said I hear you, but I believe you are just going through the motions.  Just spinning your wheels and not really putting all of his trust in God.  He said, he was frustrated and impatient for what was to come.  I responded that I understood, but believed God was orchestrating for him a blessing beyond measure, and that he only needed to ‘put it all on the table’ and trust God.  He didn’t discount my advice, but I know he struggled with it, but appreciated my listening to him.  Less than 12 hours later, God fulfilled His promise to this young father and gave him an answer to his prayer in helping him make his dream a reality.

I tell this true story for one reason, only when we trust God, and His promises of life and salvation and are willing to push in all the chips meaning we are ‘all in’ will we truly understand and have as a reality what the Cross of Jesus Christ really means for us today.  This is why we will sing in a few moments the hymn “Amazing Grace”.  The author, John Newton, former slave ship captain also put all of his chips in the center of the table and in this hymn with clear and deep understanding of the relationship with Jesus Christ tells his own personal story of his trust in God.

This is where today God is inviting us to a personal relationship with Him and calling us to ‘push all of our chips into the center of the table’ and begin a more committed and meaningful relationship with Him. For this is not just for a select few but for all of mankind, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel celebrating the quilts and layettes of the women and also all of us that are the fruits of countless generations gathered here for Back to Church Sunday at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

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09142014 Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity

Gospel Reading Audio
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.

In the early 1980’s my parents on one of our trips to Iowa to visit my Grandmother, took us on an extended road trip.  It wasn’t the typical kind of road trip we think of today of ‘staying at motels’ and eating in restaurants at every stop, it was a trip where we ‘camped’ along the way and cooked our own meals morning and night and ate cold lunches, because we were on the road.  On that trip we even made it to Kansas where I was able to see the boyhood home of one of my heroes, Dwight David Eisenhower.  While planning the trip we had hoped to venture to points further North and West, especially the picturesque scenes of Yellowstone, but since time, money and distance was a challenge we were not able to experience one of the common experiences of Big Sky Country of the Bears of Yellowstone.

There is a story of these famous bears, not “Yogi Bear” of cartoon legend, and how in the early 60’s and 70’s when cars began to frequent the park, tourists would roll down their windows and the bears would come right up to the car and eat whatever the person fed them out of the palm of their hands, whether it was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or a fast food hamburger.  After many years of this, those bears became not only more curious, but at times aggressive if a car and its occupants would not ‘share their bounty’ or that implied covenant or promise they had from countless cars before them that the bears ‘allowed’ into their home.  The aggressiveness of the bears became such a common occurrence that the park officials finally had to trap the bears and forcefully remove them to the high country, back to their more native habitat.  But it didn’t help, the bears had become used to the ‘handouts’ and had an extremely difficult time adjusting back to having to forage for food.  Sadly some of the bears even died, because of their becoming used to the dependence upon the food from the tourists.

Unfortunately, this story and habit of dependence is also true today for some churches.  Where members become nothing more than consumers of what is provided at church.  Emmanuel thankfully has not fallen into the trap like the bears or other churches that only ‘consumes’ what is given out on Sunday.  Our church began with people who had to work for everything and build everything, from the parsonage, built by the hands of the members in a little over three months, to the church, with dedicated members like Marty Spomer and others of sainted memory, to the educational wing built under the direction of Russell Briney and others.  We have a rich history of the fulfillment of the promises of farmers, with their giving of loads of wheat at the elevator in fulfillment of their tithe and promise for improvements and now others who help put windows and doors in to make our church more energy efficient.

All of this is a result and from the example of the covenant promise God made with the Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden for the coming of a Messiah.  In our Epistle this morning, we heard very clear reference to Abraham and the relationship with the covenant of promise from God to “Abraham and to his seed”.  This is the promise from God in Genesis to His people the Israelite nation that God would lead them to the promise land.  We are looking right now to Advent in a few months where we will see the fulfillment of this promise in the Messiah Jesus Christ and this is why Paul states specifically of God speaking to Abraham, about one person.  Paul writes, ““And to your seed,” that is, Christ.”

Though we have heard the promises of God of Jesus Christ to Abraham and to us today, there is a reality that we experience a kind of disconnect because of our personal experience.  The promises of God of the Messiah, as good and graceful as they are and how it does give us eternal life, but still in our life and lives today does not prevent our experiencing pain.  And by pain, it includes but is not limited to the death of a loved one, a child, our spouse of many years or the friends that we make both here in the church as well as the community.  It does not mean we will not experience the pain of separation and even questioning whether God exists in our lives today.  This is the kind of experience that clearly everyone faces in their lives daily and for which the church is meant to minister and provide counsel. 

This week, I counseled an individual who struggles daily with a question, not if God exists, but more why God is not ‘showing up’ in their childs life?  Why when they plead with God to show Himself, He does not clearly in their eyes, nor tangibly ‘show up’, or make Himself known, seen or experienced?  This parent is fearful that their child will be lost to the Christian faith, if God does not show up in a powerful way.  They clearly stated that they can see more of Satan and his increasing influence around them and in the community and what is done, than any action or even hint of God.  This is where Paul and I would agree we need to point to the promises of God and their fulfillment by God in history and here in the church where His Word is preached, the Sacraments are shared and the people of God hear the promise of life and salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and take personal faith and trust in these promises.

For the Gospel of Salvation offered in the covenant promise of God is fulfilled in Jesus Christ death on Calvary.  The resurrection was the fulfillment of this promise of Jesus Christ to His disciples as well to each of us who gather here today.  We like the young person of our faith community are allowed and even encouraged to ask the hard questions about God.  We are even allowed by God to be angry at God for what has or has not happened in our lives.  Let me say that again, it is okay to be angry with God, but in order to be angry we need to be in a personal relationship with Him.  We need to understand that ‘We need to build our relationship with God and Jesus Christ on the promises of God that have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.’  This is about relationship and the personal relationship with our Lord and Savior. 

We clearly understand our relationship with food and the need and hunger to eat at least three meals a day and even have snacks because our stomachs are growling, but our relationship with Jesus Christ is no different.  It is like a muscle we have been given in our baptism, we need to exercise it, feed it with not only the spiritual food of Jesus Christ Body and Blood when we come for Holy Communion, but be fed daily by reading the Bible that tells of the Gospel promises of Jesus Christ.  For Satan will knock at our door, he will try like with Adam and Eve to deceive us and pull us away from God, but we need to stand on the promises of God and quote the Bible back to him, because God has won the victory in this battle.  God took the hill of Calvary and won for us on it our salvation through Jesus Christ for eternal life.

We have the opportunity to mend our relationship with God and with each other.  How is this accomplished?  The movie “Courageous” showed one way a man through tragedy of the loss of his daughter, built, regained and relied upon the promises of God and forged a new focus and relationship, not only with God through his reading the Bible, but also with his son who had been drifting.  He mended the relationship he had with His Father in heaven and drew strength from the promise of God and the covenant relationship.

But this did not just stop with this man, he learned more intimately that God’s covenant was and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, but he needed and heeded the importance of being held accountable for his relationship.  So he went and found other men who may not have felt the need to ‘change’ their relationship, but needed and desired to be a change agent for others.  Just as the scriptures clearly say in Philippians 4:19, ‘God will supply our need’, God will not leave nor forsake us, but we need to resolve to find our identity in God, have intimacy with Him and find our fulfillment in Jesus Christ.  Let me state that again, because this is key for our relationship with God.  We need to seek God to find our identity in Him, we need to daily have intimacy with His Son Jesus Christ and ultimately find fulfillment in Jesus Christ Who was perfect.

Martin Luther once said, the “Promises of God are what make the church, not the church that makes the promises.”  These same promises are what we find from God to each of us.  It is God that promises us forgiveness at the beginning of the service, I as the Pastor only act as the mouthpiece of God, you the congregation called me to be this for you.  This is why I declare, what God says of the forgiveness of sins.  For it is God Who forgives us and offers His Son, Jesus Christ for us.  At the end of our reading from Galatians, Paul says, “the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”  We are the called, we are to believe and we can daily clearly ask God to help our unbelief.

For yes, we live in a time where we can and do question God, but His promises made to Abraham, fulfilled in Jesus Christ and made manifest for each of us will not return to God without fulfilling His will.  Just as the community that we live in has a distinct busy seasons like drilling of wheat right now, harvest in a few weeks of corn that has been growing this summer and anticipation of the harvest in the spring of Winter wheat, we look for the promises of God to be fulfilled for each of us gathered here today. 

As a child I not only watched, but heard the beloved children’s story, “Charlotte’s Web”.  Wilbur was the pig that was to become the Christmas meal and Charlotte, just a little spider made a promise to Wilbur that she will find a way to save him.  And this little spider does just that, Charlotte, saves Wilbur.  She fulfilled her promise to her friend, she kept her word and Wilbur was saved.  God is no different for us today, He fulfills His promise to us of sending His Son Jesus Christ and this is the message we are called to spread and bring others to come and hear about.  Next week is Back to Church Sunday, I challenge all of us who have heard the Gospel of our salvation today to ‘put our faith in God’s promises’ and seek someone to bring next week and hear clearly the message of salvation for them and us.  For this message is clear, it is for all of mankind, including all of the saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

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08312014 Eleventh 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.

As all of you know, I was born in North Carolina and grew up in Virginia.  As a young man, after finishing my first year at Longwood College, I applied for a job with the National Park System.  I wasn’t sure where I would work, but I wanted to work in a National Park.  Weeks after school let out, I was at home and received a phone call from Chief Ranger Jimmy Haynes.  Typical to the South, his drawl was thick.  Words didn’t roll off his tongue, they slid slowly off.  Chief Haynes was calling from Asheville, North Carolina and asked if I would be interested in working for the National Park Service at the Folk Art Center just outside of Asheville.  I said sure and within a few days, I was packed and headed to Western North Carolina and the mountains of the Blue Ridge.

The directions I was told said, follow, I-40 and get off on exit 55 and follow the signs for the Blue Ridge Parkway.  But unbeknownst to me that same exit that I was instructed to exit off of I-40 also had one of the most famous compounds in the world.  It wasn’t and couldn’t have been Camp David that presidents have used as a retreat for the last 60 years, because that was in Maryland.  It wasn’t the secret compound for Congress if the United States was under attack, which had been in West Virginia.  The gates that were to the South of the interstate and headed up into the hills simply stated, “The Cove”.

As I was there in Asheville that summer I learned who owned “The Cove” and why it was so famous.  You see, “The Cove” is the home of the most famous of men who has prayed with Presidents, preached the Gospel in its truth and purity throughout the world and prepared the fields of the hearts of many men and women to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is the home of none other than Billy Graham.  As a child living in the ‘Bible Belt’ I heard stories about him and watched him preach on television.  Billy Graham is a man of character, but more importantly he is a child of God.

We who gather here today are not that different from Billy Graham.  We also are children of God, baptized into Jesus Christ, life, death and resurrection through the Water connected to the Word in Baptism.  But the difference for Billy Graham is that he has a conviction upon his heart to seek and save the lost with his preaching and teaching.  Billy Graham like Paul sought to “make known to you, brethren, the gospel”.  With fierceness and tenacity, bathed in prayer, Billy Graham proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere he went and to everyone he met.

Clearly, God had placed His Holy Hands upon Billy and engrained in him this fierce desire not only to “hold fast the word” but opened up doors and opportunities that nobody could have imagined or made a reality if it were not a God thing.

But are we who gather here today any different than Billy Graham?  Martin Luther?  Or Paul the Apostle?  Or any famous preacher that we listen to on the radio or watch on television?  We may not have the charisma, the drive, nor the same abilities as any of these famous men, but truly, we are no different.  Paul said, “For I am the least of the apostles,…But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”  It is this grace that Paul lays claim to that we through our baptism as well can lay claim to.

I know some of you say, I can’t speak like Billy Graham, the words don’t come to me.  I am not comfortable talking about my faith or even my church, nor my personal beliefs and my experience of God.  I just can’t talk about my faith.  But the reality is we are gifted, maybe not in the same way or even like Billy Graham, but God has individually gifted each and every one of us.  We who gather here today are called to be not just the children of God, not just spectators in the world that surrounds us with the cares and burdens of society, but we are called like Billy Graham to a higher purpose.  God through the inspiration of Paul is calling us to reach out to the lost world that we live in and be God’s hands.

But for we Lutherans we feel it is a stretch.  Talking about our faith and our relationship with Jesus Christ is something that we are not comfortable with.  We are comfortable in our church, with our liturgy, our music, our desire to ‘play it safe’.  We believe that ‘change’ is a four letter word.  And the job of talking about faith falls to the ‘paid’ people like Pastor’s, Directors of Christian Education, missionaries and others who have been to seminary or Bible College and ‘trained’.  But ironically we live with and deal with change daily.  Our bodies are in a constant state of change.  For example our brain cells live the longest of any cell in the human body, our entire life span, the red blood cells that carry oxygen live about four months, white blood cells live about a year.  Our skin cells live about two to three weeks.  This means our body is in constant change.  And the church is and should be no different.  God sees the church differently, because of His gift of the Holy Spirit to each of us and empowering us through our baptism to be changed and empowered to tell what God has done. We should be ready for constant change and ready for action for God. 

We can be ready for change even though we are not given the same gifts, but we have been made from the same fabric as Paul, Martin Luther and even Billy Graham.  Personally I do not like change, but I know I need it.  Recently I started reading a book entitled, “Start Here: Beginning a  Relationship with Jesus” by David Dwight and Nicole Unice.  In the introduction they stated some things that I personally needed challenged with.  First, “be sure to be honest with God”, second, “it’s a relationship you enter” and third, “Give[Giving] Him [that is God] access and authority over all of your heart”.

As a Pastor, I am looked to as one who, ‘has to have it all together’.  I am expected to model for the church on a daily basis what life and how we ‘should be’ as Christians.  But the reality is, I have struggles just like you who sit in the pew.  I worry about money to pay my bills and feed my family, I worry about being a good Father for Sarah and husband for Michele.  I toss and turn at night, because of how I am received and perceived.  I hold things in, bottle them up and am the receptacle for hurts, both aimed at me for what I have done and left undone as well as the pain that people from our congregation and community share with me in confidence.  I at times feel beat down and broken and at times wonder if my wife, my child and the world would be a better place if I were to just disappear.

But this is where “Start Here” takes on new meaning and challenges me and should challenge all of us.  I have to ask myself, have I been honest with God about my feelings, my shortcomings, my perceived needs and left it up to Him?  Am I treating the ‘relationship’ that I have with God as nothing more than a “I want” instead of hearing God’s response and trusting Him with my life?  Ultimately, have I given God not just access to my heart, but the authority over me, and my heart, soul and spirit?  There are times where I have to answer “No” to some of these questions.  And this is where God is calling me to repent.

Dr. Henry Cloud said, “An idea without action is only a fantasy.  A true dream, or vision, requires legs.  Put a foot on the floor and get walking towards your vision.”  Personally, I don’t want fantasy for my life, for my family, nor for our church, I want reality and I am putting my foot on the floor and walking toward my vision.

I challenge each of you here today to do the same.  Walk with me to a reality where Emmanuel isn’t diminishing, but daily growing and deepening our faith and commitment to a true and honest relationship with Jesus Christ.  As we walk let’s be honest with God and with one another about our feelings, start by doing this as the bible says, one on one.  Allow the differences not to divide us and fragment us, but help all of us to see ourselves as all part of the Body of Christ.  As we walk, we can be in relationship, not only with God, but with each other.  And all of us can give God full access and authority over our hearts.

A perfect example of this was from the movie, “God’s Not Dead”.  The Muslim girl, Ayisha, was hiding her faith from her family behind closed doors, but once exposed and thrown out by her family, she was willing to lose everything she had known in order to follow Jesus Christ.  She was ostracized by her biologic family, her community of Muslims and sent to the streets, because she defied her parents religion and belief.  But, because she was honest with God, she fully entered into and trusted in the relationship with Jesus Christ as her personal Savior and gave God access and authority over her heart, she was fully committed and freed to be a child of God.

We who gather here today are called into this same fully committed relationship with Jesus Christ.  It began with some of us at the font, for some in the pew hearing the Word of God and for some being blessed as we receive His precious Body and Blood.  But we are no different than Billy Graham or Ayisha, we may not have the skills or abilities, the audience or impact upon millions, but by our entering into true relationship with God, we not only are the children of God, but fellow heirs in the Kingdom and have been bestowed with the Grace of God for all of mankind, including all of us saints who gather here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

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