The Apostle’s Creed; Festival of the Holy Trinity; May 26, 2024;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

It’s Trinity Sunday and that means we’re talking about this great mystery that is difficult for us to understand. I was tempted to just give this sermon…

The Holy Trinity: Three in one, one in three. Got it? Amen.

The real problem is that we really can’t understand what it means that God is one in three, and three in one. It’s a mystery beyond our understanding. I guess the real problem is that we have nothing to compare it to. The CPH book 3-in-1 makes a stab at it and it might help but it’s not perfect either.

I’ve found, when trying to understand the things of God it’s best to remember and talk about what we’ve learned already.

Turn to page 322 in your hymnal. There you’ll find the Apostle’s creed and Martin Luther’s explanation of each article. The Apostle’s creed is an important document for Christians. It’s how we’ve been confessing what we believe about the Trinity for centuries. So today, on Trinity Sunday, it’s a good time to review. Let’s read the first article together.

The First Article - Creation I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.

First, we should notice that we confess together, and call God our Father. This is a good place to start with Father’s Day a few short weeks away. What we have here is the first part of the Trinity. We may not understand exactly what that means but we can understand what it means that God is our Father. Just as our earthly fathers are supposed to provide for us, we confess that we believe that our Heavenly Father provides us with everything we need: Body, soul, eyes, ears all my members, reason and senses… etc. clothing shoes, food drink… I really don’t think Luther left anything out. God provides all these things to us, everything necessary for us to live, and work and play. I think the important phrase here though is “and still take care of them.” He’s not just a father that gives and forgets; He’s the Father that gives and keeps on giving! Just think, the bed you slept in last night, the food you ate for breakfast, the chair you are sitting in right now, all gifts from a loving Father. And the best thing about this Father is that He is the Almighty One, the One who created everything. It’s all His to give.

We also confess that He protects us from harm and danger. Again, just as our earthly fathers are supposed to do, God our Father, does. Again, it’s a picture that we can understand. So maybe this trinity isn’t all that difficult to understand after all.

What about the second article? Let’s read it.

The Second Article - Redemption [I believe] in Jesus Christ, His-only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

Well, this is the center point of our faith isn’t it? It’s all about Jesus Christ. We are Christians we are believers in Jesus, the Christ. The Second part of the Trinity, the Second Person of the Trinity will, is Jesus Christ. And right here in the creed we have the whole story about what He did for us: Born, lived, suffered, died, raised again to life, ascended into heaven, and coming again. And Luther tells us what it’s all for. He redeemed me a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and the power of the devil; Think of the Gospel reading for today, John 3:16. It is the most famous passage in the whole bible and part of what Jesus said to Nicodemus in the Gospel lesson for today. We could all even say it together even if we’ve never memorized a single verse of the bible, I’ll be we know this one “for God so loved the world…” That’s what we’re confessing here, too.

You all know that we had to be saved. The problem with people is that we don’t have the relationship with God that we should have. Adam and Eve had it, we don’t. Adam, when he was first created loved God perfectly. Everything God wanted him to do he did. Everything God didn’t want him to do he didn’t even think about doing. Adam had a perfect relationship with Eve. They loved each other perfectly. Everything he said and did was for her perfect benefit as well as his own. But all those relationships were broken when Adam and Eve decided that they wanted to be God for themselves. They broke off their relationship with God, and as a result the broke also their relationship with each other. Every human being that was born after was born into that same broken relationship. The things we do, that we call sins, are just the symptoms of the disease we all have because of our broken relationship. Just like the pox are not the disease of Monkey Pox they are only the symptom. Just like that disease leads to death, sin – a broken relationship with God always leads to death. We need to be saved from death.

When we confess all these things about what Jesus did, we are talking about what God did to restore our relationship with himself. Jesus, who is fully God and at the same time fully human (another mysterious thing that’s difficult for us to understand), lived a life in perfect relationship with God and everyone else. He did what we should have done. He didn’t suffer from the sickness of sin, like we do. He didn’t deserve to die, like we do. But He did. He died instead of us. He died in our place. Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." That’s what forgiveness is, a restoration of a relationship. That’s forgiveness with God. That’s forgiveness with each other. Think about it. You know what it means when you forgive someone who has hurt you. They’re your friend again. You can do all the things you used to do together. The hurt is gone, and it doesn’t make trouble between you anymore. That’s what God does by forgiving us too. He takes all the hurt of sin, our broken relationship, and hangs it on the cross in Jesus.

He does it so we can be friends again.

That’s what the Christian faith is all about. That’s what we confess when we talk about the second person of the Trinity.

But there is still one part left. You see, after all that God has done, He still does more!

Let’s look at the third article and read it:

The Third Article - Sanctification I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.

In this part of the creed, we talk about not just the Holy Spirit, but also, we talk about ourselves. Look at how Luther begins his description talking about who we are. I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; You see, despite what many Christians believe (even some Lutherans!) our faith isn’t due to anything we do. It isn’t something I figure out and believe, it’s not something I become convinced of and believe. Luther makes it clear that faith is a gift of God, worked in us completely by the Holy Spirit.

Some Christians insist that we must “accept” Jesus or “decide” to follow Him. “He has done his part, and we do our part.” But we confess complete and total reliance on God for our salvation. When we say these words, we confess that we don’t meet God halfway… the Holy Spirit gently calls us to faith.

These days, too, many people are focused on the Holy Spirit. They look for churches where they think they can “feel” the Spirit working. But unfortunately, what they find may not be the Holy Spirit at all. You see, He’s a background player. He works behind the scenes. If a church focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit, they are really missing the point. His purpose is to point to Jesus. Often, we think of the Spirit in the form of a dove, but I think another picture would be a hand pointing to the Jesus. When the Spirit is working people are looking at and thinking about Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…" That’s the Spirit working right there.

You want to see the Spirit at work? You don’t have to go very far. He is working right now, right here! All you must do is look where God promises to be. Right here in God’s word, right here in Holy Communion, right here in Baptism. Anytime you are looking at Jesus, you can be sure that the Holy Spirit is at work in you.

Well, that’s the Trinity. Do I understand what it means that God is three-in-one and one-in-three? Not really. If you get it figured out let me know. The truth is that it isn’t surprising that we don’t understand it, because we are tying to describe the God who was powerful enough to create this whole universe, that we struggle to understand, and God is bigger than that. It’s OK not to understand the Trinity. What’s important for us to know is just what’s been given for us to know. That is, how God works in our lives. The Father – Creator, preserver, provider, protector. Jesus – Savior. The Holy Spirit – Faith giver. Amen.

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

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15; The Festival of Pentecost; May 19, 2024;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26–27, ESV)

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:4a–15, ESV)

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

In a way, you must admire our Christian brothers and sisters in the Pentecostal churches. Their movement was brought about by a desire to uphold the Trinity. They (Pentecostalists) begin with an emphasis on the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. They hold fast to the promises given here by Jesus. After all, the Holy Spirit’s working in the Church is profound and necessary.

Jesus says it,

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak

What Jesus is saying, is that when God speaks the Spirit is necessary for a proper understanding of what he says. To say it simpler, faith is required to properly understand the Word of God, and faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Where Pentecostals get it wrong, is an over emphasis on the work of the Spirit. They push feelings above truth. They push the presence of the Spirit above the presence of Jesus. One example is the practice of Speaking in Tongues. According to them, a true full Christian will do this. As it turns out, the babbling isn’t understandable and tends to glorify the self rather than Jesus. There are many more that I could mention but for Pentecostals, when the Holy Spirit is at work, you can feel his presence. It becomes an emotionally charged atmosphere. People perform miracles, speak in tongues, handle deadly serpents, and are “slain in the Spirit”. All this activity and emotion is manifested to show the presence of the Holy Spirit, to prove he is at work in the church.

And while there is some biblical basis for most of their practices, what they often lack is an emphasis on Jesus and his life, his cross, his forgiveness, his resurrection, his ascension, and his ruling over the church on earth. What they tend to emphasize is the Christian rather than the Christ. They push the idea that Christians who don’t do these things, aren’t complete Christians.

The work of the Holy Spirit is much simpler than that (although emotion can be a part of it). In this text Jesus emphasizes,

But if I go, I will send [the Holy Spirit] to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

First concerning sin: The Holy Spirit is necessary for the Law to have its full impact on people. Without him, the law wouldn’t have the effect of convicting sinners. Sinful people, by nature, set aside the full impact of their sin. What they see clearly is the sin of other people and minimize their own. The Spirit pushes the guilt of sin onto the hearer. It is the SOS of the law. The Holy Spirit Shows us Our Sin. He shows us our hopelessness to do anything about it before God. That’s what Jesus means when he says,

Because they do not believe in me

Without seeing the depth of our sin, we would never turn to him for forgiveness.

As C.F.W. Walther says,

In the second place, the Word of God is not rightly divided when the Law is not preached in its full sternness The full sternness of the Word, through the work of the Holy Spirit plows the hard ground of the heart to prepare it for the sweetness of the Gospel. As Walther continues, and the Gospel not in its full sweetness Second, regarding righteousness: Jesus says, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer

The Holy Spirit is present in the church to continually show us Jesus’ righteousness. That’s the SOS of the Gospel. It (through the Holy Spirit) Shows us Our Savior. We are saved by Good Works, just not our own, but those of Jesus. We are declared righteous before God because of Jesus. When the Spirit gives the gift of faith, it is faith in Jesus. Without faith we can’t see Jesus as our savior. Martin Luther says the two most important words in Scripture are “for you”. When you hold on to all that Jesus did for you, that is directly from the Holy Spirit. When you see that Jesus life, that is all the good works that he did, are for you, that is faith in Jesus. When you see that Jesus death on the cross pays the punishment of sin for you, that is faith in Jesus. When you see Jesus’ ascension to the right hand of the Father is to plead your case of forgiveness for you, that is faith in Jesus. When you see that Jesus is coming again to raise all the dead, and you see that that is for you, that is faith in Jesus. It is the Spirit who pushes that faith into your heart.

And finally, concerning judgement:

Jesus says, because the ruler of this world is judged Here we look to Luther’s most famous hymn: Though devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us, We tremble not, we fear no ill; They shall not overpow’r us. This world’s prince may still Scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none. He’s judged; the deed is done; One little word can fell him.

That one little word is Jesus. When the prince of this world, Satan tries to convict you of your sin, when he disrupts your sleep saying, “God can’t forgive you for what you did to your family” or “Your sin is too big for only Jesus.” When he brings to mind you failing at work; Your inactive prayer life; Your thick tongue when you should proclaim God’s Word in public; Your selfishness in regard to your neighbor; and your quick response in hate rather than love; It is the Holy Spirit who brings to your mind that one little word Jesus. He is the one who prompts you to remember that, because of Jesus,

… if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He is he who prompts you to remember your pastor’s words on behalf of Jesus, Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the  Son and of the Holy Spirit. He drags you to the cross, where you lay your burden of sin on Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is sometimes called the forgotten member of the Holy Trinity. We like to say, the hidden member of the Holy Trinity. When he does what he does, your focus is on Jesus and the forgiveness he won for you. Your focus is on Jesus and the truth of all that he teaches. And it happens with or without emotion. It is true for you whether you feel him working or not.

Consider the small country church where God proclaims the truth of forgiveness to stoic Lutherans without a hint of emotion. Or the large Lutheran Church where emotions are high. You know the Holy Spirit is at work, not because of the level of emotion but because of the focus on the work of Jesus, his cross for the forgiveness of sins and the truth of the Word. Amen.

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

Ephesians 1:15-23; The Ascension of Our Lord, Jesus Christ; May 12, 2023;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:15–23, ESV)

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

I love westerns. There is so much that is predictable. The good guys win. The bad guys get their comeuppance. One of the tropes of western movies is, at the end of the movie, with the corrupt sheriff dead, one of the heroes, usually not the main character, because he must continue wandering, takes his place and becomes the new sheriff. That is to say, “Now everything is going to be different, better.”

That’s kind of what this text is about. Paul, in almost a breathless, continuous sentence, says what is different now that Jesus has ascended. Verses 15-22 is one long sentence. The Greek grammar is very complicated. Something you can’t really do in English. It is subordinate clause after subordinate clause. Let’s look at what Paul is saying:

The main verb for this super sentence is found at the beginning.

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,” (Ephesians 1:16, ESV)

Paul, first, gives thanks for the Christians at Ephesus and he remembers them in his prayers. The rest is the content of his prayer. He takes the admonition of Jesus,

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7, ESV)

Because he has faith in Our Lord, Paul is bold to pray for these things, knowing that God will answer. He is simply calling upon God to do what he has promised.

His ask isn’t fruitless either, he emphasizes the calling all Christians receive,

having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” (Ephesians 1:18, ESV)

Whan Paul talks about your “calling” anywhere in his writings, he is speaking about Holy Baptism. It is God’s action where he puts his name on you and makes you his own. It is where he makes all these things that Paul is asking true for you. In other words, Paul is asking for the Spirit to do what he does. Martin Luther also understood this clearly.

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise up me and all the dead and will give eternal life to me and to all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true. (McCain, P. T., ed. (2005). Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions (p. 330). Concordia Publishing House.)

The common word between the two texts is “enlightened”. That is the work of the Holy Spirit, a gift to the whole church.

Paul uses two phrases to bring it out.
• immeasurable greatness of his power toward us
• according to the working of his great might

All available to Christians because of the work of Jesus. His resurrection from death, and his ascension to the right hand of God. Made true for them (and you) in Holy Baptism. Finally in the second sentence of our text he brings out the “new sheriff motif”.

And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,” (Ephesians 1:22, ESV)

Jesus Christ is the head of the church. He is in control of all that happens. We may think it’s the Voter’s assembly, or the pastor, or the District President or even the Synod president, but all these falls under the authority of Christ. Jesus has earned his authority. He did it in his life, his preaching and teaching, his healing of the sick, and casting out demons. He did it in his keeping the Father’s will perfectly, even to death on the cross. He did it by bringing forgiveness to you and me and the whole church, through his act of sacrifice there. And the Father verified it through Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension to his right hand.

What does it mean to the church that Jesus has authority? His rule is in grace. That is his undeserved love toward us. Not only does he bring forgiveness of sins, but he also gives the Holy Spirit to guide and protect our faith. He gives these gifts through the work of the church. That is, the Word and the Lord’s Supper but especially, Holy Baptism, our calling to himself. That calling is full of promises. They are set out by Paul in our text today.

The Spirit of Wisdom, the Holy Spirit who work through the Word, the knowledge of Jesus and all that he has done for you. Enlightening of the eyes of your heart. To see the glorious inheritance set before us. By Jesus and his work for us, his cross, his resurrection and his ascension. In the church we hear also proclaimed Jesus’ final victory over sin and death, and a glorious place with Jesus our Savior forever. A place of no pain or suffering, no trouble or illness.

In the movies, “the new sheriff in town” is meant to give you hope for all the characters in town. Justice will reign, everything will be better. That’s the ascension for us. Jesus ascends to reign over the church with complete authority. That authority governs our lives through his grace. That authority puts his word into our ears, his body and blood for our forgiveness into our mouths, and the water on our head that is our calling into Jesus. Amen.

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