1 Sam 3:1-10; August 29, 2010; Rally Day;

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Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the young man. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” ” (1 Samuel 3:1–10, ESV)

Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This is a great text for talking about the beginning of Sunday school and Confirmation Classes. It’s about someone who’s learning to be a servant of God. Samuel is a boy of probably about 12 years old. His life has been dedicated to working in the church every day and serving the aging priest, Eli. Eli is getting old and can’t see very well. That explains why Samuel would go running to him if he thought he needed help in the night. Samuel is a faithful servant, and does what is necessary for Eli. But really this story really begins before Samuel was born. It begins years earlier with his mother, Hannah. Hannah was one of the two wives of a faithful man of God. His name was Elkannah. Every year the family would travel to Shiloh to worship present their sacrifices to God. And every year Hannah would present double as instructed by her husband, he loved her so much. And yet, Hannah was troubled. She had not yet had children, while her husband’s other wife Peninnah did. The two wives didn’t get along because of it.

Hannah was very troubled, and during her visit to God’s house she prayed that God would give her a son. If he did, she said, she would dedicate him to service in God’s house. The high priest at that time was Eli. He saw her praying, and because she was moving her lips, but praying in her heart, he accused her of being drunk. “I’ve not been drinking, but I’m very distressed.” She said. “Go in peace. May the Lord do for you what you have asked.” Eli responded. Hannah left confident that God would do what she had asked. God did. And as promised, as soon as Samuel was old enough he was brought to live and work in God’s house. Samuel grew up to be a faithful servant to God.

Eli, the High Priest, also had children. His sons also worked in the temple. They were priests like their father, but unlike Samuel they weren’t good servants. In fact they were corrupt and deceitful. They took advantage of their positions to fill their pockets and satisfy their desires. Eli knew all about what they were doing, but didn’t do anything to stop them. That’s one of the reasons why, at the beginning of this text, it says that the word of the Lord was rare. It was God’s judgment on His people for being disobedient.

And that leads us up to what’s going on here, Samuel receiving the rare word of the Lord. It was God’s plan to make is not so rare again, through His servant Samuel.

It all takes place just before dawn. The lamp of God had not yet gone out. That’s talking about a lamp stand that was lit and burned all through the night until morning. Samuel is sleeping in his usual place, and just before dawn, Samuel hears a voice calling to him. “Samuel, Samuel.” He thinks it’s his master Eli calling for help with something. Remember Eli was nearly blind and couldn’t see very well anymore. It was probably common for him to call for help. But when Samuel went to him and asked what he wanted Eli says, “Go back to sleep your dreaming!” But when it happens a second and third time, Eli finally realizes that something else is going on. “Next time say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed and God called him again and he answered just as he was instructed. “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” That is how Samuel became a prophet of God. He was willing to listen to God’s word for him.

“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” That’s the word for us today. It’s a good place to start our education year. Speak, Lord, we are listening. But, I wonder, maybe we are really fooling ourselves. Are we really listening? Of course we are here today sitting patiently while God speaks to us through His Word. But, sometimes it’s hard to pay attention. We get to thinking about lunch in the oven at home; taking care of the lawn; the mountain of work we have on our desk; or the football game that starts in a little bit. Oh, sure we are listening, but it’s hard to really listen, isn’t it? After all it sounds so much like what we hear every other Sunday.

Are we really listening as a congregation? Maybe we are fooling ourselves there, too? After all our attendance is good but it isn’t really that good, is it? In fact most of the people who belong to the congregation aren’t here. That doesn’t really sound like we’re really listening.

And what about our children, are they listening? Maybe it’s not their fault. Here at Trinity we do a great job of getting them to confirmation classes, and that’s great, but they don’t seem to get the chance to listen to God’s Word here on Sunday, either in Sunday school or our worship services. We seem to think that Wednesday night is for the kids and Sunday morning is for the old folks. Well, that’s not the way it should be. God has His gifts of forgiveness here for all of us; that includes our children. But, of course, our adults don’t attend bible classes very well either do we. I’ve been asking to do home studies for almost two years now and I’ve only done one. It’s a little bit as if we say, “Speak, Lord, and I’ll listen as long as it’s convenient, and doesn’t interfere with my real life. As long as I don’t have to commit to too much time.”

And if that’s not enough St. James tells us that if we listen and don’t act on what we’ve heard we really aren’t listening. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." (James 1:22-24, NIV) You and I both know that when it comes to doing, we’re pretty lame.

So, we don’t listen very well. We may say “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” But when it comes right down to it we are pretty poor listeners. If only we could be more like Samuel. Maybe we could to him as a better example. He was willing to listen to God. We should willingly listen to God speaking. But really, pointing to someone as an example isn’t going to help us much. So what if Samuel was a good listener. That doesn’t do us much good, really. Really our problem isn’t really the fact that we don’t listen; our problem is that we don’t really want to listen. The problem really runs much deeper than just what we do while we sitting here. It’s not a matter of actions. It’s not a matter of doing or not doing. We confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. And we could add “By how we have listened, not applying the truth to ourselves as we should, and by how we have not listened, and done what God commands.” We could try to do better. We could try to follow Samuel’s example. But, when we are honest with ourselves, we know that before long we’d be right back where we started; with the necessity to confess our sin again. Following Samuel’s example just shows us our sin again and again.

So, what are we to do? Aren’t we listening to this text to find out what we need to do better? Aren’t we having Rally Day to tell us that we need to better with attendance at Church and Bible study? Isn’t today’s service all about getting us all charged up and excited that we carry through with our promises and do the things we should do?

Well frankly, no. I’d love to see better attendance. I’d love to see so many people at church that we run out of room and have to go back to two services. And even so many children that we would sometimes have trouble hearing. But, no amount of pointing to Samuel as an example is ever going to solve our problem. Our problem is the sin that’s right here in our hearts, the sin that we can remove by any amount of our trying.

We don’t need an example… We need a Savior. It’s a little like telling a person whose drowning and shouting “I can’t swim,” to follow the example of someone who is swimming next to them. At that moment that person doesn’t need swimming lessons; they need someone to reach out and save them. He doesn’t need an example he needs a savior.

Thankfully, that’s exactly what God does for us. He sends us a Savior. He doesn’t give us the bible full of examples and say; “I’ll save you if you do what they do. If you listen like Samuel, I’ll take care of your sin.” Instead He gives us His Word, where we find not and example, but a Savior. Really the person we should think about when we hear how faithful Samuel is isn’t us (that is how we should be faithful) but it’s Jesus. Just as Samuel was willing to listen, so Jesus was willing to listen. I didn’t tell you what God told Samuel when he listened. It was bad news for Eli. God was going to judge Eli and his sons for all the evil things his sons had done. It wasn’t a pleasant task he was given. Jesus listened to the Father, too. Neither was His task pleasant. When He listened to God the Father He heard a call to death. He answered that call on the cross, where He bled and died for the sins of the whole world. But also, when He listened to God the Father, He heard a call to life, and was raised again from death on the third day. And He answered that call, too! It is Jesus who perfectly listened to God. We hear about Samuel in the text, but he was an imperfect human. But, even if he was perfect he could only save himself. He died and stayed dead. Jesus died and rose again. He is the only one who can save us. And that’s what we learn when we listen to God, here in this place.

It’s a message worth listening to. Jesus Christ comes here to us in this place telling us again and again what He has done for us. He tells us how He has saved us as we were drowning in our sin. He tells us that He took the punishment for our sin, and was pinned with it to the cross. He took our death and buried it in the grave. He takes our live and gives it back to us by His resurrection from the dead. That’s the Word that we hear, right here in Sunday morning worship. That the Word we hear, in bible classes, Sunday school… actually, it is the purpose of all the education programs here at Trinity. That’s the word that we need to hear, the Word that’s worth listening to.

So that’s what we are celebrating today with Rally Sunday. That’s the encouragement we need to hear about today. So today, we emphasize the opportunities you have to hear that Word. Get out that insert in the bulletin and look at the opportunities to listen that you find there.

• Sunday Morning Worship Sunday 9am
• Trinity Preschool Weekdays Mon-Thurs Mornings and Afternoons
• Sunday school Sunday 10:30am / Trinity Classrooms
• Adult Bible Class Sunday 10:30am / Trinity Fellowship Hall
• Junior Confirmation Class Wednesday 6pm-7:30pm / Trinity Fellowship Hall Classrooms
• Lifelight Fall and Spring
• Youth Group Monthly / Trinity Youth Room
• Early Risers Tuesday 6:30am / HyVee Cafeteria
• In Home Bible Study By Request
• Adult Instruction Class As Needed / By Request Bu
• God’s Word for Today Weekdays about 7:30am / KSIB Radio 1520AM

Not enough for you, not at convenient times? Got an idea about another way we can share the Good News of our Savior with one another? Talk to me about it. I’m willing to help get any kind of education program started here.

“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” We are listening. Not because of the example of Samuel. But because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Heb.11.17-12.3; Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15); August 19, 2010

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By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 11:17-12:3, ESV)

(Thanks to Pr. Mark Anderson, CPR, Vol 17, Part 3)

Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This text continues on with the theme of faith spoken about last week, although it has a little bit different twist. This text focuses a bit on the pain that was suffered by God’s faithful people. Now there’s a subject we’d really like to avoid pain. There are lots of kids of pain. Pain from an injury. Pain from surgery. Pain from the death of a loved one. Pain from broken relationships. Pain from the loss of anything precious or important. You and I have suffered all these kinds of pain in our lifetime. There is one thing for sure, you have all had it, and you will all have it again. It is as sure as death and taxes.

We all handle pain very differently. There are those who use drugs and alcohol to cover up their pain. Pain can be ignored or buried for long periods of time, in hopes that it will go away. It never does. Something that is buried alive will eventually dig its way to the surface again. I see a lot of this one, lots of people try to pretend that hurts between people will go away if they are ignored. You won’t have to think long to come up with and example of this one either. Lots of people turn to God with their pain, or rather churches. Flip through the channels on Sunday morning and you’ll hear tons of preachers addressing pain. The problem with most of them is they make promises that they can’t deliver on, promises that God doesn’t make. People are attracted to them because it’s exactly what they want to hear. “Give your life to God and He’ll make you prosperous.” “Use this prayer rug and God will make your life easy.” “Live your life with purpose and God will make you fruitful” “Say the prayer of Jabez and God will give you whatever you desire.” It seems so right, but none of those promises are found in God’s Word.

Pain is here to stay until our Lord returns. Becoming a Christian doesn’t take it away. We still have trouble in our lives. We still have broken families. We still have broken relationships. Our friends and families still die.

Well, it doesn’t matter what pain you name… pain is all the result of sin. God’s creation was created without sin without pain. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:10b, ESV) Once the world was corrupted by sin, its effects are shown in human lives through pain. It’s not the way it should be. We can ignore pain. We can shift the blame to someone else. We can come up with a thousand ways to push it aside. But eventually the root of the problem has to be dealt with. Sin has to be dealt with. And only God can deal with sin.

So what about you? What’s your favorite avenue to avoid pain in your life? Maybe you are among the people who think that pain should be avoided all together. Maybe you even joined this church looking for relief from pain. If I’m a good Christian God will take it all away and I’ll be happy, healthy and full of good fortune. Well, that’s not God’s promise to you. In fact, when you became a Christian you signed up, not for less trouble and pain, but actually more of it.

That’s what the text for today shows us. Just look at Abraham. Think of what it was like to leave everything you had behind and wander off to an unknown place. Think of the pain involved in being told to kill you son like and animal on an altar for sacrifice.

How did Abraham deal with it? Our text says, He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. (Hebrews 11:19, ESV) Even when everything seemed hopeless, Abraham focused on God and the promises that were made to him.

Moses is also an example given here. Just look at the change in Moses life. He was a big shot, who became a sheep herder in a little out of the way place. Well that almost sounds like us doesn’t it? Moses suffered because he believed and trusted God more than he loved his high position. He believed in God’s promises, rather than focusing on the pain of the current situation.

And then there are the unnamed prophets and patriarchs.

Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38, ESV)

That’s quite a list of pain and suffering. Anyone here want to step up to the plate and volunteer for any of these things? These faithful people of God didn’t choose these things but God allowed them to happen for His own purposes. The made it through them by believing in God’s promises in spite of how it looked.

For you and me, the question isn’t if we will suffer pain. The question is when. The question is how.

How do you make it through your pain and suffering? As Christians we keep in mind one simple thing. We hold one thing as more important than any other. When ever we see suffering, we see it in light of our Savior on the cross. Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. Jesus Christ crucified for you and me!

Those great examples that we talked about... They have some things in common with us. They were sinful people too. They knew about their sin. They knew they only deserved God eternal wrath and punishment. But just like I said, they place their faith in the promises of God. We have and advantage that they didn’t have though. They looked forward to a promised Savior to come. We have Jesus Christ on the cross. They knew the Messiah was coming. We have the account of His coming written in words we can understand.

God’s Word tells us that God himself came to earth to deal with pain and suffering. He became a human being to deal with sin. In Jesus Christ, the wholeness of God dwells, we are told. He suffered and died for the sins of the whole world. He bore the punishment for all sin on the cross. No matter how great your suffering is, it will never compare to what Jesus suffered for you. He didn’t just suffer physical pain, nails in his hands, bruises and cuts, and harassment. He suffered spiritual death and separation from God. Jesus suffered the pain of hell on the cross.

How do you endure pain? I’ve heard it a hundred times. “I don’t know how I’d survive if I didn’t have faith.” “How do people go through things like this without Jesus?” Those statements say just what the writer of the book of Hebrews says. How do we endure? We endure through the cross of Christ. We focus on him. We look to Him. We hold tight to His promises. We know that God has taken care of our greatest need, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. He will surely take care of all our other needs. And we have his promise that our pain isn’t in vain. He has a purpose, even if we can’t see it in this lifetime. God take the pain of his people and uses it for the benefit of his people. These promises are assured for us in Jesus Christ.

You don’t have to rely on your feelings. You don’t have to rely on anything you’ve done. You don’t have to point to yourself and say that I’ve accepted Jesus. All that kind of talk is not placing faith in Jesus but faith in you. You can’t do it without Jesus. God makes sure you know that His promises are for you. Here again is the font (I hope you never get tired of me pointing to it as a reminder of God’s promises to you). This is not just an idle promise. It is a promise made by God’s very name. He puts it on you with water. It doesn’t matter if it was this font, another, or a small bowl at the hospital. God’s promises go with His Name, His Word and water. You are baptized child of God. It’s not a onetime event but a lifetime of living in God’s promises. And now, here at Trinity, over and over again your faith in God’s promises can be strengthened. God gives you the body and blood of Jesus Christ for you to eat and drink. The very same Jesus who suffered and died for you is going to go right into you. As you eat the bread and wine, God is saying to you that His promises of forgiveness are true for you. With that promise of forgiveness he also promises that He has taken care of all the things that cause pain in your life.

Here’s the thing. Jesus died for you and he rose again from death, for you. Packed together with his promise of forgiveness is his promise of resurrection. That’s the goal. That’s the prize. New life forever with Jesus. New life forever with no pain and no suffering… no sin! God has done it all, taken care of it all, and promised it all to you. Suffer as you will, and you will suffer, it doesn’t compare to the promises God has made for you in Jesus Christ. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Hebrews 11:1-16; August 8, 2010; Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost;

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11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:1-16, ESV)

Luke.11.1-13; Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, July 25, 2010

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:1-13, ESV)

Lord, teach us to pray…

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Today’s Gospel from St. Luke is the account of Jesus teaching his disciples to pray. It is, in fact, a unique thing. Not that Jesus is teaching but it’s the only place in the bible where Jesus is asked to teach. The disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray as John the Baptist taught his disciples. They ask and Jesus answers. Notice, too, what Jesus says: “When you pray say…” He doesn’t say here’s a pattern for your prayers, here’s what they should sound like, he says, “Pray these words.” So very often we think that prayers from our hearts are more valid than written prayers. Or that that spontaneous is real prayer and the Lord’s Prayer is just a beginner’s prayer. But the truth is there is no better prayer than this one. A Christian could pray this prayer every day of his life and never exhaust the importance or the depth of this prayer. Now I’m not saying there isn’t a place for prayers from the heart, God loves those prayers too, but often we tend to think that the Lord’s Prayer is a “beginning” prayer, and that our prayers will get beyond the Lord’s Prayer as more spiritually mature. Or that the Lord’s Prayer is just a pattern prayer that we use until we know how to pray. Well, Jesus doesn’t say that he says “pray this prayer.” It is the very best we can do is to say back to God the very words that he gives us to say. Our Church services are full of the very words that God gives us to say back to Him. We can take great comfort in knowing that whenever we pray the prayer that He gave us to pray we have prayed for everything that we need and everything that our neighbor needs. A Christian who knows and prays the Lord’s Prayer every day should never be heard saying, “I don’t know what to pray for.” When you ask, “Lord, teach me to pray.” He answers by saying, “here’s the prayer to use.”

Remember also that prayer isn’t an option for a Christian. God commands us to pray just as much as he promises to answer our prayers because of Jesus. The Second Commandment says “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” God gives us his name, that is, he makes us his children through faith in Jesus. He adopts us through the Word and Water of Baptism and puts His name on us. We are to use His name that He gives us as He tells us to use it. … call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”(Psalm 50:15, ESV) Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!(Psalm 118:1, ESV) … whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.(John 16:23, ESV) We pray because God is our Father, because He commands us to pray, and because He promises to always listen to and answer the prayers of those whom He has given faith in Jesus.

Of course many of you will recognize that Jesus words here in the Gospel of Luke are just a little different than the words He used to teach the disciples in Matthew’s Gospel. There Jesus starts the prayer with “our Father,” here he just begins with “Father.” Either way means the same. The word “Father” sets our prayer in its proper context. God is our Father. He loves us and cares for us by giving us we need. In fact of all the words in the prayer “Father” may indeed be the most important one. The whole rest of the prayer, and the little parables that Luke records for us, are really expanding on the idea that we pray to “Our Father in heaven.”

I find it difficult to say it better than Martin Luther did. Turn to page 323 in the front of your hymnal. [a word about the hymnal as a home devotional resource] Let’s read the Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer together.

The Introduction

Our Father who art in heaven.

What does this mean?

With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father

Listen again to some of the words… God tenderly invites us. That’s Jesus teaching his disciples to pray. “Say this prayer.” Use these words that God tells you are true. He is your Father, your true Father and we are His true children. Jesus explains what it’s like in a way that we can understand:

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

He’s saying, “You know what it means to have a loving father. No loving father is going to give his son poison when he asks for food.” God is our true father. He is God over all things. He will give us everything we need, because He alone knows exactly what we need. And as Luther said, “God tenderly invites us to believe” this. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are confessing that we believe that God is our Heavenly Father; that He loves and cares for us beyond our understanding. We pray that He will do what is best for us, no matter what. And because of Jesus, that’s God’s promise to us, God’s Children.

But exactly how is it that we are God’s children. How is it that we dare call God, “Father?” It’s easy to lie ourselves into thinking that because we sit in our pew every week that we earn it. We always think that while other people aren’t worthy of God, we are, because we give more than our fair share to the church or other charities. We strive to not be wasteful of our possessions. We have worked hard to earn a good long retirement. We are clean, well kempt, non-drug users and respected in the community. Naturally we want to think that because of these and many other things, God calls us his children. We look like his children; we act like his children, so we must be his children. But as I said, all of this is a lie that we tell ourselves because we really want to save ourselves. We want our hard work, all the “good” things we do in our live to account for something more than just a nest egg, and a good reputation in our community. But God makes it very clear. “all our righteous deeds,” He tells us through the Prophet Isaiah, “are like polluted garments.” And as far as our relationship to God, all the good things we do, all the hard work, and self sacrifice, mean nothing for our relationship with God. Did you notice that God didn’t say our evil deeds? No, He said that all the good things we do are polluted. You see, when we hold up our good works to God as signs of why He should treat us like His children, it’s like a child offering their dirty diaper as a precious gift to their parent. We are not God’s children because of anything we do. Everything we do is polluted by sin. Everything we do is corrupted by sin. The things we do are tainted by our self interest. None of what we do makes us God’s Children. We are God children because of what God does. We are God’s Children because of Jesus Christ.

The fact that Jesus calls God, “Father” is very significant for us. Where God tells us our good works are filthy rags, He says to Jesus, “This is my Son; in Him I am well pleased.” What Jesus presents to God, all of His good works, is perfect and perfectly acceptable to God. The life He lived every day, the prayers He offered every day, and especially His self sacrificing death on the cross; His whole life was good and perfect in His Father’s eyes. His life is what ours should be, but can’t be because of sin. But remember, Jesus invites us to believe that God is our Father too. He invites us to believe that we have a relationship with God our Father just like He has. He invites us to believe it. He also promises us that it is true. Jesus has made sure of it. It is because of his life, death and resurrection. Jesus didn’t come to show us how to do good things that are acceptable to God. He didn’t come to give us a pattern to follow for our live, just as He didn’t give us a pattern of how to pray in the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus came to do acceptable things for us. Jesus came and lived a perfect life for us. Jesus loved our neighbors beyond our ability to love them. His righteous deeds are perfect, so Jesus establishes a perfect relationship with God. And then He gives that relationship to us by removing the thing that makes all the things we do unacceptable to God. Jesus perfect life was sacrificed on the cross for our sin. His perfect life makes our imperfect life, perfect in God’s eyes. God makes that exchange for us in Baptism. His perfect life is ours; our perfectly deserved death is put on Jesus. His righteous deeds are given to us, our un-righteous perfectly polluted deeds are put on Him. What He takes from us He takes to the cross and puts to death. When He rises from the dead, He proves that what He gives to us is perfect. Everything that He came to do, he came to do for us. In the Lord’s Prayer, when Jesus says, “when you pray say, ‘Father’,” He’s saying that, everything that he came to do makes God our Father, too. Sin is removed, God is indeed our Father.

The last thing I want you to notice about Jesus teaching about prayer is this. Do you know what the most common word in this text is? It’s “friend.” That’s Jesus way of assuring us that we are God’s friends and more than that even, as Luther said “true children who in all boldness and confidence ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father.” You see, we don’t pray to God for the things we need and want because we deserve anything. We don’t ask for anything from God, our Father, because we earn it. We ask because He is Our Father. We can indeed ask boldly. We can indeed ask with confidence. We can do that because of Jesus, because of what God does for us through Jesus. What God wants to do for us doesn’t have anything to do with our polluted rags. He gives it because of our relationship with Him, He is our Father. And so we pray, Our Father, in heaven… Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ, Jesus. Amen.

My pick for "Blog of The Week"

No! I don't have a regular column called "blog of the week" like my favorite radio program "Issues, Etc."  (see http://IssuesEtc.org)

It's just that this post by Rev. Paul McCain says something very important.  It is entitled "One of the Very Best Things The Missouri Synod Did Not Do Last Week."  Rev. McCain refers to defeating the resolution that would have changed the way delegates are elected for Synod conventions.  The recommendation (made by a task force on structure) would have done two things.  1. Moved the election of delegates from the congregation level to the district level. 2. Given larger voice to larger congregations.  The motion was only defeated by sending it to committee, where it will hopefully die a painless private death.  As Rev. McCain so ably states, this proposal would have changed how Missouri understands the church.   Check out his post here.

http://cyberbrethren.com/2010/07/19/one-of-the-very-best-things-the-missouri-did-not-do-last-week/

 

Technorati Tags: Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod,LCMS Convention,LCMS

LCMS Convention Communications

Tuesday, July 06, 2010; Week of the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

To the Churches of the Southwest Circuit, Iowa District West, Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod;

It is my privilege to serve as your pastoral delegate to the 63^rd Convention of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod this coming week in Houston, TX. Marvin Reents (St Paul Lutheran Church-Yorktown) is your lay delegate. Please pray for us as we consider the resolutions brought to the floor for consideration.

I have set up several avenues for communication during the convention to keep you informed. You may choose any or all of these:

• My personal blog
• http://Sermons.WattsWhat.net
• Daily posts concerning business of the day
• Twitter
• http://twitter.com/WattsWhat
• Regular posts throughout the day
• Facebook
• http://facebook.com/WattsWhat
• Regular posts throughout the day (same as twitter).
• eMail
• send your email address to Delegate@TrinityCreston.org and I’ll send you the daily blog post via eMail.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about the convention

• eMail: Delegate@TrinityCreston.org
• Phone: (605)579-0005 – please leave a message.
• Twitter: http://Twitter.com/WattsWhat
• Facebook: http://Facebook.com/WattsWhat

Along with my updates please visit http://lcms.org/Convention for more up-to-date information. Including live video, pictures, news, etc.

God’s Richest Blessings

Pastor Jonathan C. Watt, Pastoral Delegate, South West Circuit, Iowa District West, LCMS

 

Technorati Tags: LCMS Convention,Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod,Missouri Synod

Gal.6.14; Sixth Sunday after Pentecost; July 4, 2010

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (Galatians 6:14-15, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

(Thanks to Rev. Paul Raabe)

St. Paul says the world is dead to him. What about you, are you dead to the world? I’m not talking about a really sound sleep; I’m talking about being influence or not by the anti-Christians things that surround you every day. Clearly there are a lot of ideas that you come into contact with every day that you are tempted to believe, tempted to take to heart, tempted to say are not a problem for your life. Do you think like the world? Do you value what the world values?

Maybe I should ask the question a different way: What are you most proud of? What is your biggest boast? What’s the one thing in your life you couldn’t live without? The one thing you are unwilling to lose? Is it your job? Your children? You church? Your savings account? Your family history? Your reputation? Your standing in the community, position in church, your family held farmland?

Well we must all confess that we all have things we like to boast in, things we think we brought about through our own hard work, ingenuity, accomplishment, or status. Things that we believe we deserve because of our own good works. That’s from the footprint of sin in our lives. Our sinful nature always wants adopt the thinking of the broken world around us and to take credit for the good things in our life. We want to be recognized and held in high esteem by the world around us. We even want to be recognized by God for our good works.

That’s part of the problems they were having in the Christian Church in Galatia. And it’s one of the reasons Paul wrote a letter to them; a letter we know as the Book of Galatians. What they were valuing was being “good Jews.” Some of the members of the congregation were boasting that they were circumcised and followed the Jewish laws. They even held it over the non-Jews who were a part of the congregation. “If you really want to be a real Christian, you have to be circumcised, like we are; you have to follow the exact letter of the Jewish laws, as we do.” They were really boasting in their own accomplishments. “Look at us! Look at what we’ve done! Look at who we are!” That’s the way the world works isn’t it? We have to demand our own attention, in order to get ahead. We have to boast in ourselves. Sometimes that means stepping on other people to push ourselves up.

Now Paul really had reason to boast. His credentials were of the highest caliber. His background was impressive, according to the Jewish religion. He was circumcised on the 8^th day, just like the law demanded. He was a faithful member of the house of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. He followed the strict laws of the Pharisees, went to the best school available at the time. He protected the laws he followed against all those who would make them less important. With zeal he sought out and killed Christians. In many ways Paul could “out-Circumcise” the folks who wanted everyone to follow the letter of the law.

But Paul didn’t boast in any of those accomplishments. In fact he considered the garbage in light of what Jesus did for him. Paul only boasted in the “cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” Paul knew that all the praise of the world, all the good deeds he did in the name of his religion meant nothing at all to God. In fact, since they were self-centered and full of selfish pride they were evil in God’s eyes. What God counts as important is not what Paul did but what Jesus did, “the cross of Christ.”

That’s really quite different from the way we think. That’s very different from the way we want to think. Whenever, we hear that God doesn’t consider our good works, we always say things to our ourselves like: “Maybe not other people’s good works, but mine count, to God. They have to. I’ve done some really good things. I sit in church every Sunday. I’m known for my work throughout the community. I make sure everything gets done, and that it’s done right. This church / community couldn’t survive without me. That’s got to mean something to God. God’s got to notice me.” Don’t you see how that matches up with the way things are in the broken world? To get ahead we have to be noticed by the boss. We’ve got to go public with our accomplishments or we’ll never be recognized. Volunteer hours have to be counted to be praised. God doesn’t work the way we do. He doesn’t think the way we do. We see it most clearly in the only thing that Paul wanted to boast in, the cross of Jesus. What God shows us by sending Jesus to hang on the cross and suffer and die for us is that He doesn’t want to praise you or admire you, he wants to forgive you.

Just think about God’s Law. The way we want to use it is to say, “Look at how I measure up.” Usually we use it to show that other people don’t live up to it and imply that we do. But God won’t let us get away with that. He tells us that breaking the law is a matter of the heart. We can make a show of keeping God’s law like the Ten Commandments, but in our hearts we’d rather be breaking them. And the more we really look at them, the more we look at ourselves in light of them the more sin we see and the more hopeless we see our own situation. The world says, “Look inside yourself to find the good that is there.” God shows us that inside the human being is sin, hatred and death.

But God wants to forgive you. In fact, it is his very nature to do so. The more he can forgive you the happier he is. You won’t find your happiness and life by looking inside yourself. There’s nothing to boast about there. You will find it outside of you, in the only thing you can boast in, the cross of Jesus. Inside of you is sin. Outside of you is a perfect Jesus. Inside of you is death. Outside of you is Jesus resurrection from death. That’s the Good News that’s worth boasting on.

Paul said that he was dead to the world, crucified to it. Jesus’ death on the cross put to death the old way of the world. All its values and boasts are worthless to you. They can’t do anything to help you. Jesus resurrection from the dead brought about a new world, a new creation. In another letter Paul says it like this. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.(2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV) That new creation is in you through faith in Jesus.

The old world doesn’t rule over you anymore. Jesus death is your death through baptism. Jesus new life, his resurrection is yours, too, through baptism. You have been crucified with Christ and now you no longer live, but Christ lives in you. You don’t have to boast in your achievements to get God to notice you. He knows who you and he considers you worthy because you are connected to Jesus.

Back in Galatia, some Christians boasted that they were circumcised. The non-Jewish Christians alternative was to boast that they hadn’t been circumcised. Paul said that neither was anything to boast about. What as worth boasting about is what Jesus did for them on the cross. What was worth boasting about was the new life they had received from Jesus.

Well, of course, it’s hard not to be influenced by what we see every day, where we live and work. It’s expected that people will conform to the ways of the world. We are told that boasting is necessary to get ahead, and we are likely to believe it. But to you and me, that world is dead. If you want to boast, boast every time you get wet with water and remember your Baptism. Boast every time you rise from your bed and step in the shower or sit in the bath tub or pour a cold glass of water down your throat, and remember the water that was poured on you in Jesus name. Boast that through Baptism you are dead to the world and you life to God. Boast in the Cross of Jesus that is yours. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.