“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism”

Midweek Lenten Service
March 29, 2017

“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism”

So far in our series on the catechism, we’ve covered the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer. Tonight we come to the sacraments. We begin, fittingly enough, with the sacrament with which we begin the Christian life, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. What I want to say about Baptism I can summarize in two words: It works. It works! It is effective. It actually does something–quite a lot, really. Holy Baptism works, and it works in your life.

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Published in: on March 30, 2017 at 5:48 am  Leave a Comment  
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“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Lord’s Prayer”

Midweek Lenten Service
March 22, 2017

“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Lord’s Prayer”

So far in our series on the Catechism we’ve had the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed. The Commandments show us God’s good will for our lives, but the problem is, we don’t do it as we should, and so the Commandments show us our sin and our need for a righteousness we don’t have. Then the Creed comes along and shows us the answer to our problem, in the triune God who loves us and saves us and forgives our sins. Now that we are saved and are God’s children, the question then becomes how we find God’s help for our daily living. That’s where the next part of the Catechism comes in, namely, in the Lord’s Prayer.

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Published in: on March 23, 2017 at 10:51 am  Leave a Comment  
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“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Creed”

Midweek Lenten Service
Wednesday, March 8, 2017

“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Creed”

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in a big national survey a few years ago–the Pew Survey found that 92% of Americans say they “believe in God or a universal spirit.” 92%! Well, whoop-de-do. Big deal. That doesn’t really say much. Who is this God you believe in? Allah, the false god of the Muslims? Sorry, I bear witness that there is no god called Allah, and Mohammed is his false prophet. Is this “god” you believe in some depersonalized “universal spirit” or “higher power”? That won’t do you any good, either. Is it “God” as you have created him in your own image? A god who winks at sin and suits your personal opinions and is impressed by your “spirituality” and essential goodness? Sorry, Oprah, that is not the God revealed in Holy Scripture.

Just the fact that you believe that one true God exists, that by itself will do you no good. On that point, you are no better than the demons. St. James says as much: “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe–and shudder!” You see, the devil and all the demons know who God is. They even know who Jesus is, “the Holy One of God.” They believe that God exists. But that is not the same as knowing and believing in God in the way that we have just confessed in the Creed.

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Published in: on March 8, 2017 at 10:42 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Love God, Love Your Neighbor” (The Ten Commandments)

Midweek Lenten Service
Wednesday, March 9, 2016

“Love God, Love Your Neighbor” (The Ten Commandments)

“Love God, Love Your Neighbor”: Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? And it is. It is simple. And it is good and right and holy. This is how life is meant to work. This is how God created us to live. Love God and love your neighbor. If everybody operated like this, life would go along pretty swimmingly. If I operated like this–in every decision, in every situation, in every thought, word, and deed–being guided by these two principles, loving God and loving my neighbor–well, I suppose I’d have to get a whole new heart, wouldn’t I? Because I don’t do that all the time, as I should. And I suspect you would have to say the same thing about yourself, about your heart and soul and mind. Because that’s where it starts, doesn’t it? In our heart, in our soul, in our mind. And then those thoughts and desires migrate out into our words and our deeds. In the things we say and don’t say. In the actions we take and fail to take.

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Published in: on March 9, 2016 at 7:47 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Loving God with Our Mouth and Ears” (The Ten Commandments)

Midweek Lenten Service
Wednesday, March 2, 2016

“Loving God with Our Mouth and Ears” (The Ten Commandments)

We started off this series on the Ten Commandments with, obviously, the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods.” There is but one God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, namely, the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is no other. We should fear, love, and trust in this God above all things. So this is the First–and foremost–Commandment, the one that encompasses all the commandments and runs through them all. “You shall have no other gods.” That’s what we should not do. But Moses also summarizes this commandment positively when he says, in Deuteronomy, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” And Jesus himself says this is the first and greatest commandment. Love God with everything that is in you, with all your heart.

But we can even take it further. Not only with your heart, which is the seat of your mind and will and emotions, but also with the various parts of your body, such as–as we’re going to look at today–with your mouth and your ears. That is the message of the Second and Third Commandments: “Loving God with Our Mouth and Ears.”

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Published in: on March 2, 2016 at 6:56 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“The First Commandment: Have No Other Gods” (The Ten Commandments)

Midweek Lenten Service
Wednesday, February 17, 2016

“The First Commandment: Have No Other Gods” (The Ten Commandments)

“You shall have no other gods.” OK, that sounds pretty simple. “Have No Other Gods”? Yeah, I can do that. After all, I don’t bow down to any idols of wood or stone. I don’t worship the Buddha or that crazy god of the Muslims, Allah. No, I’m a good American! You won’t catch me worshiping any other gods than the good old-fashioned American God, you know, the Big Guy upstairs. So I guess I’m good to go. If the rest of these Ten Commandments are as easy as the First, then I’m in pretty good shape.

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Published in: on February 17, 2016 at 9:38 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Amen” (The Lord’s Prayer; 2 Corinthians 1:18-22)

The Resurrection of Our Lord: Easter Day
Sunday, April 20, 2014

“Amen” (The Lord’s Prayer; 2 Corinthians 1:18-22)

Alleluia! Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!)

Yes, “Alleluia” of course is the word of the day for Easter Day. We’ve been saving it up all Lent, and now today we finally get to let it loose. And what a day to do so! Our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on this day, winning the victory for us over death and the grave. If that doesn’t elicit an “Alleluia,” I don’t know what will. “Alleluia” is a Hebrew word originally, and it means “Praise ye the Lord.” And praise is most fitting for us to render unto the Lord God for the great salvation he has assured us of by raising his Son from the dead.

“Alleluia,” the word of the day for Easter. But today I’d like to suggest another “A” word that works just as well on this day. And that is the word “Amen.” “Amen” also is a Hebrew word that has carried over into English. It means “to be sure,” “to be certain.” The basic idea is firmness or certainty. In the Bible, the word “Amen” expresses a certain affirmation in response to what has been said. And that idea, and the word itself, carried over into the Christian church, and on through all the centuries, all around the world, down to this very day. “Amen,” we say, whenever we want to affirm as solid and trustworthy whatever has just been said, whether that is a prayer or a blessing or what have you.

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Published in: on April 20, 2014 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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“But Deliver Us from Evil” (The Lord’s Prayer; Luke 23:32-49)

Good Friday
April 18, 2014

“But Deliver Us from Evil” (The Lord’s Prayer; Luke 23:32-49)

“But Deliver Us from Evil”: The seventh and final petition of the Lord’s Prayer. And how appropriate that we should come to this petition on this particular day, Good Friday. For the greatest evil that has ever been perpetrated on this earth is the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. I mean, really, Good Friday could just as well be called “Evil Friday,” that is the magnitude of the evil committed against this wholly innocent man, the most innocent man who has ever lived–indeed, the only truly innocent man to have ever lived.

But the reason we insist on still calling it “Good” Friday is because out of that monstrous evil God has worked the most marvelous good. It’s like what Joseph told his brothers after they had committed a terrible wrong against him. He said, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” So also, in an even greater way, God has brought good out of the evil committed against Jesus.

And because of the incredible good that came out of the enormous evil done on this day, this is how and why we can pray “But deliver us from evil.” And we can be sure that God will do it, as we will now see.

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Published in: on April 18, 2014 at 11:56 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Lead Us Not into Temptation” (The Lord’s Prayer; Luke 22:1-46)

Holy Thursday
April 17, 2014

“Lead Us Not into Temptation” (The Lord’s Prayer; Luke 22:1-46)

During this Lenten season we’ve been doing a series on the Lord’s Prayer called “Lord, Teach Us to Pray.” And that’s exactly what our Lord does on this Holy Thursday evening. He teaches us to pray. That’s what he instructs us to do, that’s what he gives us an example of doing, and, even more than that, he prays for us.

In particular, on this night Jesus instructs his disciples to pray for strength in the face of temptation. “Pray that you may not enter into temptation,” Jesus tells them more than once. It was a word they needed to hear. It’s a word we need to hear, also. For we too face temptation in our life, and repeatedly so.

And so it is fitting, as we work our way through the Lord’s Prayer, that tonight we should come to the Sixth Petition, “Lead Us Not into Temptation.” So let us go now, with our Lord and his disciples–let us go to dark Gethsemane and there learn from Jesus Christ to pray.

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Published in: on April 17, 2014 at 10:39 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“And Forgive Us Our Trespasses . . .” (The Lord’s Prayer)

Midweek Lenten Service
Wednesday, April 9, 2014

“And Forgive Us Our Trespasses . . .” (The Lord’s Prayer)

Today we continue our series on the Lord’s Prayer with the Fifth Petition, “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” By the way, since this is the last of our Wednesday midweek services, and we’re only up to the Fifth Petition, you may be wondering how we’re going to finish out the Lord’s Prayer. Don’t worry. We’ll do the Sixth Petition, “And lead us not into temptation,” next week on Holy Thursday; the Seventh Petition, “But deliver us from evil,” on Good Friday; and the Conclusion, the “Amen,” on Easter Sunday. And so tonight, the Fifth Petition, “And Forgive Us Our Trespasses. . . .”

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Published in: on April 9, 2014 at 10:25 pm  Leave a Comment  
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