Naomi And Ruth 2010 Proper 21

1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. 3 Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. 6 When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. 8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. 9 May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people." 11 But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me-- even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons-- 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!" 14 At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her. 15 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." 16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. 19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.

Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is from the Old Testament Lesson today, especially verse 16, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you.  Where you go, I will go and where you stay I will stay.  Your people will be my people, and your God my God. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Our text today is about family.  Family that sticks together through thick and thin, family that supports one another, family that can withstand all types of situations and still continue onwards.  It is a family that might remind us of our own families here in Hankinson, the people we live with, fight with, and die with.  The people God has given us to support and share our lives with us. 

This is similar to the family in our text.  A man, his wife Naomi, and their two sons leave their native home and move to a new land, trying to escape the effects of a famine that is upon the land.  They move to the land bordering Israel to the south Moab.  There they hope to start a new life, to build up a home together, and live that fantasy of " happily ever after."  Their two sons get married, expanding the family ever larger and larger.  You can imagine that Naomi is much like any other Mother in Law, with hopes of one day meeting Grandchildren and spoiling them rotten with cookies, and keeping them up past their bed times. 

But it was not to happen as happily as planned.  Naomi first lost her husband, as he died leaving her alone.  She was now a widow, having only her two sons and daughter in laws to help her and support her in a strange land.  Now in ancient Israel, it was the Sons who cared for a mother when she was widowed.  The widow was not allowed to own land or possessions.  She could only rely upon the kindness of her own two Sons to help. 

But even her sons were unable to help, as before too long, they died as well.  Now Naomi was really alone.  Now Naomi had no one left to rely upon.  What is she to do?  Imagine that is you.  Left all alone in a foreign land where people all speak different languages.  You are unable to care for yourself, and own nothing except the clothes on your back.  You are alone.  That is the situation of Naomi.  She is a young widow who has lived longer than the children that she birthed, raised, and watched get married.  It is a sad twist of fate that leaves Naomi in this situation. 

You too have families, and you too just like Naomi have pains attached to that family.  Perhaps it is fights within your family.  Perhaps it is struggles with drugs or alcohol, perhaps it is loss or a death.  For just like Naomi, we have lost family members.  Maybe it is a father, or a mother.  Maybe it is a brother or a sister.  Maybe, just like Naomi you have lost a spouse… or a child.  Maybe it is a loss from death.  Maybe it is a loss from cancer, or heart attack.   Maybe it is a still born child, or a terrible accident.  And in that loss, perhaps you feel the same pain that Naomi feels.  Perhaps you are left crying yourself to sleep at night asking questions like, "Lord, how could you have let this happen?"  Lord, why must you take my family?  Why must I be left alone?"

Death is painful.  Death hurts.  There are not many things that we fear more than death.  Death, that unknown event that we pretend like it will never happen to us or anyone that we know.  But as we see in Naomi's case in our text, death does find us, and whether it hurts our family or friends, or even ourselves, it is something that is not our friend.  Death causes pain and separation.  Death has left Naomi alone, and often times death leaves us feeling like we also are alone.  In this, it is easy to fall into despair, as did Naomi in our text.  It is easy to just see our problems and fall into self pity saying, "I have it so difficult, no one understands."  I am alone, and I have to do it on my own.

And that is our real fear isn't it?  We know that when our family members are gone, we are left alone to fend for ourselves.  We are left trying to make sense of what has happened and why there is this pain and suffering left in our hearts, and we struggle to find an answer.  But we cannot find an answer in all our searching, all we can find is that desire to have the lost person back, to have them be our family again, to have them be ours.

But in this sinful world, that is impossible.  Here on Earth we will keep on losing our family members to death, and to divisions, and to fights.  Just like Naomi, we will have times of helplessness, and just like Naomi, we won't know what to do.  But just like Naomi, God will be there taking care of us.  For Naomi was not left completely alone.  Instead God gave her a faithful daughter in law. 

God gave Naomi family, even when it appeared that all family was gone.  Yes, Naomi lost her husband and her two Sons, but she did not lose her daughter in law.  Ruth, whose very name means Friendship in Hebrew, remained by her side.  Ruth didn't stay with Naomi because she felt sorry for her, or because Ruth thought that would be the best thing for her own life.  Ruth stayed with Naomi, because they shared the same faith.  As the text says, "Your God will continue to be my God."  Ruth had faith in the one true God, and she shared that faith with Naomi.  They both believed in the God of Israel, the God who promised redemption to the whole world, the God who promised that death would be destroyed, and promised that he would never leave nor forsake either of them at any time.  Their faith provided the foundation for going forward from the loss of a loved one, because in their faith, they still had family.

You too all share a common faith, a faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  And in that faith, God too gives you a family.  Here we today are gathered as family.  Yes, these people sitting here are your family, your brothers and your sisters in Christ.  You have a heavenly father who is always there taking care of you, and providing for you even in your times of sorrow and suffering.  When you have a struggle, you can share it hear, and find support.  When you experience pain like Naomi, God provides these brothers and sisters to be concerned for you.  Just as God gave Naomi Ruth, so too does he give you these brothers and sisters as family.  He gives you a family united in faith and blood.

And the blood that unites this family is the blood of a brother who loves you so much, that he was willing to die rather than to lose you or see you suffer or experience pain forever.  Yes Jesus Christ is that brother.  He knew your pain, he knew your struggles.  He even wept over death.  But he was not going to idly stand by and see you suffer without hope.  Instead he set his eyes on a hill named Calvary, where he would willingly go and suffer in your place and for your sin.  He shed his blood.  He gave his own life, so that when his family members would be faced with death and loss in this world, they might have the hope of resurrection, of life. 

For even as our brother Jesus died on the cross, so too did he rise from the grave.  In his death, death itself was swallowed up forever, leaving us life everlasting with our family.  These family members, the ones seated around you, the ones who have come and gone before you, will all be there.  Through the blood of Jesus, you are brought into the everlasting family reunion, where death no longer can break the bonds of family. 

God provided Naomi with family in Ruth, family that helped her and supported her the rest of the days of her life.  Jesus himself provides family for you, your fellow brothers and sisters in Him.  Those who share in the common faith in the blood of jesus.  Nothing can truly part this family from you forever.  In Jesus, you will always have them, even in the midst of this sinful world.  Amen. 

Proper 23

Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the Epistle Lesson, especially this verse, "He has rescued me from the lion's mouth.  The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.  To him be the glory forever and ever.  Amen." 

Dear friends in Christ.  Last week, we watched as 33 Chilean miners were pulled out of a mine in Chile.  For 68 days, they had been trapped down there, with no means of escape.  They were uncertain if they could ever be rescued.  But finally, after weeks of waiting, they were delivered.  Finally they were rescued.  Finally they could return to their homes and families.  Finally their prayers were answered. 

Deliver us from Evil.  Rescue me from mine enemies.  Every time we pray the Lord's prayer, we pray that phrase.  Rescue me.  Deliver me.  And yet we still seem trapped.  Every day, it seems our enemies are growing stronger.  Every day, it seems that we are awaiting rescue, that we are stuck facing our troubles, and that we cannot escape.  Our sin is there, death is around every corner, and the devil is always prowling about like a lion looking to devour us. 

But even in the midst of these earthly problems, St. Paul tells us that we have been delivered from the Lion's mouth, that we have been rescued from all our enemies.  And it is true,

IN JESUS WE ARE DELIVERED FROM OUR ENEMIES.

Jesus delivers us from evil.  Jesus delivers us sin and death.  Jesus delivers us through the cross.

To see a good picture of this, we should look at St. Paul as he writes our text today.  St. Paul's life was one of suffering and sin, his life was one of pain and sorrow.  As a young man, St. Paul had viciously persecuted Christians, having them arrested and even killed for confessing Jesus Christ.  He had looked on approvingly as St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr was stoned to death while confessing "Jesus as Lord."  But his whole life changed one day as he was headed to persecute more Christians.  On the way to Damascus, Jesus came to him, blinding him and asking why Paul was persecuting him.  From then on, Paul's whole life would change.  Instead of persecuting God's people, he would be the one persecuted.  Instead of being God's enemies, he would become the one who needed rescuing.

Paul spent the remainder of his life preaching Christ throughout the Mediterranean.    He was arrested, he was beaten, he was persecuted himself, all for believing the Gospel.  He boldly took up his cross to follow Jesus, and upon the writing of today's text, he found himself in a Roman Prison, awaiting trial before Caesar, awaiting his own martyrdom and death. 

But Paul, even while awaiting his death says, "I have been delivered from the lion's mouth, I have been delivered from every evil."  How can this be, Paul?  How can you say that?  Your enemies have you right where they want you!  They are waiting to put you to death, to kill you, to decapitate you.  You have been delivered?  No Paul, you are going to be martyred. 

But in Jesus, Paul actually is delivered.  Even as it appears his earthly life is over, he prays the Lord's Prayer, "Deliver us from evil."  Paul knows what awaits him.  Eternity.  Eternity with Jesus.  Eternity apart from pain and sorrow, no more crying no more sadness, only Jesus.  Paul knows that while the enemies of God can destroy and torture his body, in the end Jesus awaits him.  Paul knows  his soul belongs to Jesus.  How?  Because Jesus himself was imprisoned.  Jesus himself was beaten, Jesus himself was killed.  And in the end, even the grave could not hold Jesus, for Jesus too was raised into eternal life, and Jesus promised Paul that is what awaited him as well. 

So what for us Christians today?  What is it that awaits us?  The same things as did Paul, and as did all Christians throughout time.  1800 years ago, Christians were herded together and run into stadiums where they were eaten by wild animals and lions.  But yet "God had delivered them from the lion's mouth."  For in their faith they were delivered to heaven.  Lord, Deliver us from evil.  1000 years ago, Christians in the Holy land were run out by the Islamic rulers, they were persecuted and surrounded by enemies, but they too prayed, "Deliver us from evil", trusting that in the death of Jesus, they would be rescued. 

Even 500 years ago, the church was held in bondage by its own self, persecuted by the idea that one must earn forgiveness through Jesus.  But even then, God rescued his church, God delivered it from Evil, as a small group led by Martin Luther pointed back to Jesus as he hung on the cross bleeding and dying and said, there is our salvation, there is our rescue. 

And here today, we are surrounded by our enemies.  We are surrounded by those who would put to death the Gospel of Christ and those who believe in it.  Yes even today, we Christians face the same enemies, Sin, Death and the Devil.  We face sin in our lives, as we daily fail to fulfill God's word. Sin as we fall short, sin as we are not good enough.  Sin as we deny Jesus. Sin as our thoughts words and deeds, and what we have done and left undone confess our own unworthiness.  Sin as we heard last week, of all sorts of false messages that would lead us astray.  Sin, as the world forgets its savior, and instead turns to its own desires for comfort. 

We face death, death of loved ones, death of friends.  We face threats of death as even today, Christians are killed as Stephen was, and as Paul was.  We face death as prominent Atheist writers put in their books that it would be better to have religious people exterminated then to let them spread their ideas about Jesus.  And behind all of these the Devil still prowls like a lion that is waiting to devour its prey.  And so we still pray, "Lord deliver us from evil."  Lord rescue me from mine enemies.  Lord please.

And while we here in Hankinson, ND might not face physical persecution, I am sure that on some level, we do face criticism for being Christian.  People may laugh at us for believing in a God in this age of unbelief.  People may criticize us for the language we use.  People put us down for "Wasting our time" on something that in their mind doesn't even exist.  We too, here in Hankinson, ND also face our enemies, we too are surrounded.  And so we also pray, "Lord, deliver us from evil."  Rescue me from my enemies.

And he does.  Just as Paul writes, "I have been rescued from the mouth of the lion.  So too can we confess with certainty, Jesus has rescued me.  Jesus has saved me.  He has gone to the cross, given up his own life and all that he has "So that I may be his own, and live under him in his kingdom."  (small catechism)  He has spilt his blood out from his own body, and has poured it upon us in Baptism.  He has used his blood to wash away our guilt and our shame.  Yes, even as the lion's mouth closes upon us, and as we face death, we can say with St. Paul, "The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom."  By the death of Jesus, we are given as the text says, "the crown of righteousness" which Christ will award.  Even as we are poured out as an offering, we have that promise and that hope, that in Jesus we are rescued from our enemies. 

Deliver us from our enemies is our prayer, and deliver us is exactly what Jesus has done.  By his own death and resurrection, Jesus has pulled you out of the mouth of your enemy Satan, who wanted to consume you, and instead has put himself in death's terrible jaws.  Where death would overtake you and swallow you up, Jesus took your place.  Jesus delivers you, because Jesus takes your place, and gives you life, and life to the full.

And so as we go throughout this world, it appears that our enemies are around every corner, but even then we know that we have been delivered.  Yes these enemies may harm our bodies, they may hurt us in our lives, but they cannot take from us the best treasure of all, the treasure of Jesus, the treasure of life in heaven, the treasure of eternity at the face of Jesus.  This is our hope, this is our promise, and it is sealed in the blood of God himself made flesh.  In Jesus, we are delivered.  Amen. 

Jacklynn Miller 10/23/2010

Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text is the Old Testament lesson that was just read, "fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed, for I am your God."  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ, family and acquaintances, especially Dani, Judy, Al and Sandy.  Today, our fears confront us.  Today we are faced with our biggest pain and hurt, the death of a loved one.  It is not an easy time, it is a time for mourning, a time for sorrow.  It is a time when we ask questions, "Why, Lord, did you take our loved one?"  "Why, Lord, because she was so young?"  "Why Lord, when she had family and friends who love her?"  Why?  And in response, God answers us in our text today, and it is not the answer that we are expecting to hear, "Fear not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am your God."

I never had the opportunity to meet Jackie, but in my conversations with several you, I was able to learn a lot about her.  You had mentioned several things about Jackie, how she was a kind person, and a free spirit.  How she loved riding motorcycles and playing softball, but what was most striking to me was a small comment that you made to me about Jackie's care for animals.  You spoke of how growing up Jackie would always bring home a hurt animal that she found somewhere, in an attempt to rehabilitate it.  She would research what sort of food it would eat, and she would feed it, trying to nurse it back to health.  Whether that animal were a turtle or a bird, Jackie would should love and care for that animal.  She would care for it as best she could.  You can almost hear her saying to it, "Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed."

And these are God's words to us today.  "Fear not, be not dismayed."  As we face the death and loss of one who was such a free spirit, such a kind person, Fear not, be not dismayed.  On there own, these words seem meaningless don't they?   Can we really be expected not to fear, and to be not dismayed when we have lost a loved family member, a mother, a daughter, a sister.  How, Lord, can we really do that?  How can we but help feel pain, and loss?  How can we help but hurt?  Friends in Christ, it is God pleasing to feel this pain and hurt, Jesus himself wept at the loss of a loved one.  But even then, in mourning, we hear, Fear not, be not dismayed. 

Fear not, be not dismayed?  Why?  Because, "I am with you" Jesus says, "I am your God."  And with Jesus as our God, we know that we are in good hands, hands that were pierced and nailed to a cross to take our fear away.  Just as Jackie cared for hurt animals, so too has Jesus cared for her, and even now cares for her.  And as Jesus loves and cares for Jackie so too does He love and care for us who remain in this veil of tears, mourning the loss our loved one.

For you and I are in need of care.  You and I need forgiveness, you and I need love.  Each one of us needs that care, because each one of us in a sinner, each having fallen short of God's glory.  And St. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 6, that the wages of that sin is death.  Death which we now face, death which hurts us so, death which separates us from our loved ones… loved ones like Jackie.  But Jesus does not allow death to rule in our lives.  Because of Jesus, death is not the end of the story for Jackie, but only the beginning.  Fear not, For I am with you!  Fear not, Jesus says, because I am the one who helps you. 

Jesus showed his love and care for Jackie by coming here to earth, to live among us, and when the time came, Jesus gave up his life and was nailed to a cross to forgive Jackie all of her sins, and to give Jackie eternal life in heaven.  This gift was given to Jackie through the waters of Holy Baptism 46 years ago, where she was washed in the very blood that poured out from our dear savior Jesus' side.  And now, in death, Jackie gets to experience those gifts in their fullness.  As our Epistle lesson says, we can now say about Jackie, "Therefore she is before the throne of God, and serves him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter her with his presence.  She shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike her, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne is her shepherd, and Jesus now guides her to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from her eyes." 

Fear not, I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God.  Jackie is now resting peacefully with Jesus in heaven.  You do not need fear where Jackie is or worry about caring for Jackie, because Jesus now is the one who cares for her.  Not because of anything that she did here in her earthly life, but rather completely because of what Jesus did for her, during his earthly life.  Because of Jesus, Jackie now has eternal life with her savior.

And our Lord Jesus makes the same promises to you as he does to Jackie.  In Jesus you too have forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation.  Fear not, For I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God.  Jesus goes on to say, "I will strengthen you, I will help you.  I will uphold you with my righteous hand."  Jesus makes these promises to you here as well.  Jesus is here with you, as you struggle through the loss of a loved one.  Jesus is here as we suffer the pain of sin in our world, Jesus is here holding you up, with his righteous, nail scarred hands.  In Jesus you too have that same promise, the promise of eternal life in the presence of God.  Jesus is here for you, and in Jesus we need not fear, for Jesus has conquered all. 

One day, you and I too will face the end of our lives, and on that day, we too will be carried by the angels to be with Jesus, just as Jackie has been.  Fear not.  God is with you.  Fear not, the Lord is your God.  Fear not, in Jesus death is not the end, but the beginning of eternity.  Amen

Sermon, God's Word for you, breathed by God

Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the epistle lesson, especially this verse, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."  Thus far our text.

Dear friends in Christ.  Political season is upon us again.  It is only a few short weeks until the mid-term elections are upon us, and so what do we see on the TV?  Political Ads like crazy!  It almost seems like that is all we see.  And in those ads, what do we hear?  They all say about the same thing don't they?  "I will lower your taxes, and the other guy won't because he's a buffoon.  This ad is paid for by the candidate who is NOT a buffoon."  They try to tell us what our itching ears want to hear, in an attempt for us to vote for them. 

Our text today tells us that in this world, we too will be bombarded with different messages, and many of them will be exactly what we want to hear with our itching ears.  But in the midst of all these differing false messages, we also hear another message,

THE WORDS OF GOD'S OWN BREATH, THE MESSAGE OF JESUS FOR YOU.

But often times that message is lost in all of the competing messages of the world.  Often we hear other messages instead.  And as our text says, often these messages are really "exactly what we want to hear."  And often what we want to hear does not agree with what God says.

God's word says "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." But that isn't what we like to hear about ourselves.  We don't want to hear about how we have sinned against God in our thoughts, words and deeds, by what we have done and what we have left undone.  Instead our itching ears like to hear about our own accomplishments.  We like to hear how good we are, and how many good things we have done.  We like to pat ourselves on our back, and ignore those times where we fall short.  Our itching ears want to hear, "You're not that bad, it'll be fine,"  when God's word clearly says "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."  (James 2:10)  Thus we are all guilty.

God's word says "You shall not bear false testimony."  This means God's word tells us we shouldn't speak poorly of anyone, or speak of them behind their back.  But our itching ears like to hear the gossip that floats around town.  They like to hear about other people's dirty laundry, and to spread it around.  We like to know others problems because it makes us feel better about our own selves.  "Sure I may have sinned this way, but it isn't even close to as bad as that person."  But in opposition to what our itching ears wish to hear, God says in the book of Proverbs (10:32), "The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse."  And we are often wicked in what we say and hear. 

What else does God's word say?  "You shall remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy."  God says, "Be in church.  Be in Bible study."  But that's not what our itching ears want to hear.  Instead they want to hear the Vikings game as it comes on.  Instead our ears want to hear the sound of pheasants flying away on an early Sunday morning, or the sound of a trolling motor.  We would rather be somewhere else than to spend time receiving God's gifts here at church.  We would rather please ourselves than receive from God.  But God's word is clear about these idols we make, "You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."  (Exodus 20)

God's word says "You shall not commit adultery."  But we hear on TV countless couples living together in our favorite shows, casually going from sexual relationship to sexual relationship.  In addition in our own midst we have couples who are living together out side of marriage.  And we hear how we should ignore it.  We hear of homosexual marriage being pushed all around us.  How it is ok, how we should accept it for what it is, and live and let live.  But God's word says, "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral."  (Hebrews 13:4)

Dear friends in Christ, This sermon could go on and on with all the different ways that we are guilty.  Each of us has problems with sin.  In each one of these things we truly are guilty if we are honest with ourselves.  But that is part of the problem, we are not honest with ourselves.  We do not pay attention to our sin.  We do not pay attention to what God's word's clearly says about our own horrible condition.  Instead we often listen to what our itching ears want to hear, the very words of Satan, "Did God really say."  Did God really say we are guilty?  Did God really say we have to live this way or that way?  Did God really say obey these rules?  Or can we just do what we want.  Can we just live how we want?  Which is the word of God, and which is our itching ears listening to other voices? 

On our own, we cannot control our itching ears.  For our entire life here on earth, we will struggle with the competing messages, as our text says, "The time is coming," and I would say is now here, "When people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions."  This is our world today, this is our society today.  But our text also says, "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  All scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness."  God's word speaks a better word to you here today, than those other voices we hear.

God's word speaks to you of forgiveness, forgiveness given to you through Jesus Christ.  Forgiveness that is earned by Jesus' death and resurrection.   For God's word is clear about that gift to you.  Isaiah tells us, "Surely he has born our iniquities…  he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed."  His stripes, made as he was brutally beaten within inches of his life for you.  All four Gospels tell us that Jesus was crucified, that his hands and his feet were pierced through with nails, and that he was left there to hang until dead, for you.  His blood poured out from his hands and feet and sides, to make you whole. 

God's word tell us that he then rose again from the dead, having laid in the tomb for 3 days.  And God's word tell us that because of this miracle, you too have promises, promises that are better than any your itching ears want to hear.  Promises that in Jesus Christ you have life and salvation.  Promises that in Jesus your sins, every one of them are taken away.  Promises that God loves you, and that he will surely be with you always, even to the very end of the age.  God makes these promises as a blood pact, in the blood of Jesus, you can be certain of them.

And in fact, today, we come to this altar to receive the very body and blood of Jesus, the Word made flesh, for our very mouths to eat.  In it we receive life and salvation, along with forgiveness of sins.  In this gift do we turn again to receive God's Word made flesh, that dwells among us. 

Yes, God's word condemns us for all of our sin and for our short comings.  But God's word also says to us poor sinners, "You are set free, you are mine, you are forgiven."  Often today we do hear other voices, and they try to entice us, but they are not match for the eternal promises of God.  God's word says to you, that because of Jesus you have this promise, "no longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and the Lamb (Jesus) will be in it, and his servants will worship him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads (in baptism).  This is your promise, here in the scripture breathed out from the very mouth of Jesus, given to you.  Peace to you, promised in God's very words. 

Amen. 

2010 North Dakota District Pastor's Conference Sermon

I was assigned to preach at the 2010 ND Fall Pastor's Conference in Minot last week.  This is the sermon I preached for the occasion. 

Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.  Our text today is the epistle lesson assigned for yesterday, 2 Timothy 1:1-14,

"1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,2 To Timothy, my beloved child:  Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to [1] a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, [2] 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. [3] 13 Follow the pattern of the sound [4] words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

Dear Brothers in Christ.  Two parents were asking there 8 year old son what he wanted to be when he grew up.  He told them he wasn't sure, he hadn't really thought it through.  The boy's mother said, "Well, perhaps you should be a pastor, you seem really interested in theology."  The boy's father nodded his head in agreement while the boy thought about it.  "I don't know mom," he replied, "I'm not sure I want to be a pastor.  I don't think I want to sit around listening to everybody else's problems all day." 

So it seemed to this 8 year old that a pastor's job was mostly in dealing with other people's problems all day.  Now 18 years later, he stands in front of you having spent a little over 2 months as an ordained minister and he wonders, how far off the mark was his innocent comment.  Not to say people are always complaining to him, but there are still enormous responsibilities and issues to deal with as an under shepherd of God's flock. 

Fellow brothers in Christ's ministry, you know the issues of what I speak.  Sin surrounds us at ever turn.  In every direction we see Satan's work, and we are asked how deal with it.  We are asked what should be done here or there, and at times it is simply overwhelming.  For only two months have I been a pastor, and already I have seen the affects and results of sin on the people of my congregations, and it makes me wonder, what more will I see, and what have you yourselves seen?

Have you seen pain, sorrow and hurting? A man, who has lost his wife, and now is uncertain what to do, and he comes to the pastor asking "Why did this happen?  Why does God allow cancer?  I am so lonely."  And the pastor must give an answer.  We are confronted with a young woman who wants to be a mother, and yet, has miscarriage after miscarriage.  "Why Lord, can I not be a parent?  Why is God keeping this joy from me?  What happens to the still born child's soul?" and again the Pastor must speak.

Have you seen sin and its effects on your sheep?  Countless young couples who are living together before marriage coming to the pastor, wanting to be married, and the pastor must ask "Lord, how do I handle this situation in a God pleasing manner, both speaking the truth in kindness and gentleness, while still conveying what You think of this sin?"  Pastors are confronted by questions about homosexuality, pornography, alcoholism, drugs and more, and the question is asked, "Why is this wrong?"  "Pastor, why do you have stick your nose in my personal business on these issues? Why can't you just live and let live?"  In addition to these things just mentioned, have you been faced with difficult questions regarding beliefs?  Pastor, why are some people saved and not others?  Pastor, why can't my cousin come up for communion?  Pastor why can't we have women pastors? 

Or maybe you have seen people's fears.  "What happens when I die?  What if I wasn't good enough?  Can God really forgive my sin, because oh Pastor, I have been bad."  Pastors face the fears of people who are not sure how they will make ends meet this month or week, people uncertain how they will feed themselves this week.  There are fears of death, fears of the unknown, fears of not receiving forgiveness.  And these fears include our family and friends as well.  "Pastor, is my mother really in heaven, I don't know.  Pastor, my brother never went to church.  Pastor my kids stopped attending after confirmation." 

As God's under shepherds, we are confronted with this barrage from all sides.  Often we are left awake at night wondering how we will deal with a particular situation, or wondering how God really is working through this situation.  We feel like we are on the front lines of a battle, and we are uncertain what to do or how to do it, because when we are honest, we are no different from those people coming to us.  We have the same struggles and questions.  We too have sorrow and hurting as we share in the death of a loved one, or a family member.  We have sin, both in our thoughts and in our deeds, by what we have done, and what we have left undone.  We know we have not loved God or our neighbors as we ought to.  We too have fears as we wonder how in the world we can handle and deal with the situations before us.  We have questions, "Have I handled this correctly?  Have I said the right thing?  How can God expect me to deal with that?"

We really aren't any different than those whom we shepherd, are we? Perhaps at times we even feel like we are worse, because we can see our own sin and feel our own sinful hypocrisy as we deal with people in our congregations.  Hypocrisy because St. Paul says a pastor should be "Above reproach, husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money and more."  Well, is that you?  It is not me, and I suspect that not a one of us really can fit such a high standard.  Sin is on the offensive, and we are its target.  So where do we turn? 

I can only imagine that St. Timothy asked this same question, "Where do I turn?" And that dear brothers, is why today's text is so important for us today.  Timothy was faced with the same problems and situations which we face today.  St. Paul gives him comfort for all these problems.  Comfort "Not because of our own works, but because of God's own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus." 

Comfort that says in the face of sin, we have hope, hope in the blood and death of Jesus Christ, true God and true man, sent to redeem us all from our sin.  In Him and Him alone do we have comfort and peace in the face of a sinful world.  As our text says, Jesus "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."  In response to the difficult situations with which we are faced, perhaps where we have no good answers, we look to Jesus on the cross and say, "There is our answer." 

In response to your fears, Jesus says, "In my death and resurrection, I bring you to eternal life apart from tears and weeping."  To your sin Jesus says, "You are covered in my blood, as I have taken your sin from you as far as the east is from the west."  To your pain and sorrow, Jesus says "I am the lamb in the midst of the throne, and I am your shepherd, and I will wipe away every tear from your eyes."  In Jesus, and Jesus alone, we have Grace and Mercy. 

After all this gospel is for us pastors too.  It is for us men who serve as under shepherds just as it is for those to whom we minister in Jesus' name.  Jesus died for the sin of all of us pastors too, and we share in the glorious promises of Jesus.  Each of you has been baptized, and in those waters you were washed in the blood of the lamb.  As St. Paul wrote to Titus, "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness."  Not because of our holiness, not because of  how well we have served him in our congregations.  No.  He saved us "according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, who he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior." 

Here today we are gathered together, and we receive more comfort in his "true body and blood" under the bread and wine "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins."  Forgiveness for our short coming, comfort in times of struggles, promise in the everlasting message of the Gospel.  These are the gifts that God gives to you, as an under shepherd in His church, just as you share them with those you serve in His Name. 

Dear brothers in Christ, the only way that we can serve as pastors in Gods church, the only way we can faithfully serve God's people in the daily struggles of their lives, is in faith in the forgiveness that Jesus pours out upon us and all people.  As our text says, "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved you and called you to a holy calling, not because of your works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave you in Christ Jesus, before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" in you and in your parishioners "for which you were appointed a preacher and teacher."  Dear brothers in Christ, Jesus will guard you in your ministry.  He will support you in struggles.  He will work through your preaching and teaching.  He promised it to Timothy, he promised it to Paul, and he promises it to you, sealing that promise with his own death and resurrection. 

18 years ago, I thought being a pastor meant only listening to other people's problems.  I couldn't have been further from the truth.  Instead, being a pastor means sharing with other people in receiving the gifts of forgiveness life and salvation earned through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

LWML Sunday 2010

Grace mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text for today, LWML Sunday, is from Psalm 119 verse 105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Elizabeth and I like to go on walks.  It is something that we can do almost any time anywhere.  Many evenings when finally we are done with our days' tasks we will walk up and down main street here, it is a good way to relax, a good way to get some exercise, and a good way to spend time with one another.  In my mind also, it will counteract the piece of pie that I ate earlier, or the dozen cookies that I somehow managed to eat.  Walking is good exercise. 

God too calls us to walk, though not necessarily up and down the streets here in Hankinson.  Rather God calls us to walk in His word, to spend time in it, reading, learning and inwardly digesting it.  In our reading today from Psalm 119, we are told, "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."  God invites us to be in his word daily, assuring us that he is with us to guide and lead us.  God promises to be with us in His word guiding us and directing us to the most important message, the message of Jesus Christ. 

But unfortunately, we do not always do a good job at walking in God's word.  There are so many other things going on in our lives.  Sometimes it seems like from the moment we get up to the moment we go to sleep, we don't stop moving and working.  We always have something to do, Work, School, after school sports, homework, cooking dinner, making the bed, brushing your teeth, the list could go on and on and on.  Where are we supposed to find time to be in God's word?  What do we have to give up to make sure we have time in God's word?

But God calls us to be in his word anyways, and when we fail to find time to make God's word a priority, we are weakened.  It reminds me of some of the shut-in visits I have made since I have been here.  There are several members who have injured a foot or a leg, requiring it to be in a cast for a period of time.  When finally the cast is removed, the leg is weak. The muscles are not as strong, because they have not been used.  To return to their former strength, they need to be exercised, to be stretched, to be active again. 

The same is true in our faith.  Without constantly being in God's word, without seeing over and over again what God says about us and our lives, our faith becomes weak.  We wander from God, and instead trust in other things.  Just as a person whose leg has been in a cast has trouble walking, we have trouble walking in faith with God's word.  With out spending time in God's word, we are weakened in faith.

In this weakened faith, we do not walk in the way of peace.  Our text says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  Without the word of God creating and sustaining faith in our hearts, we walk in the dark, we wander about aimlessly, following what ever our hearts desire rather than what God wants us to.  It reminds me of camping as a child, and walking out in the woods in the dark.  You cannot see where you are going, or where you have been. 

Without God's word we do not know that we have sinned, following false Gods.  Without God's word we do not know what is right from wrong, and more often then not choose wrong for our lives.  Without God's word, we would not know our own situation, our own sickness in sin, or the inevitable result of that sin, eternal death.  Without God's word, we are the blind leading the blind.   Friends in Christ, we need the word of God.  It is the means by which the medicine of the Gospel is proclaimed to us.  But yet we cannot find the time to spend in it.  We turn away from it, walking in our own personal darkness of sin. We despise the word of God, and its preaching, breaking the 3^rd commandment.  We despise preaching and His Word, and do not gladly hear and lean it. 

But Christ keeps on coming to you anyways.  To get you into his Word, God sends jesus to you.  Jesus who himself is the very Word of God made flesh.  Jesus wants you to be his own holy possession.  He wants to walk with you through your life, lighting your way, and guiding your path.  Jesus gives you the gift of the word, and through the Holy Spirit's working in that word, you are ever pointed to the cross of Jesus.  The entire word of God, both Old and New testaments, point to Jesus on the cross.  Jesus on the cross, dying for you and your sin, including sins of neglecting the Word of God.

And Jesus continues to preach this message of forgiveness to you throughout your lives.  In the Word, we see God's eternal plan for you, life with Him.  Jesus wants to walk with you in His word.  He wants to you to be his dear brothers and sisters, and so He gives you means to do that.  He gives you preaching, where every week the word of God is proclaimed to you, and in that proclamation, the forgiveness of sins through Jesus is announced to you.  He gives you baptism, where Water and the Word are connected for forgiveness, rescue from death and the devil, and you are given faith.  Jesus gives you his very body and blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  In these things, Jesus is a "Lamp to your feet, and a light to your path." 

And Jesus doesn't only give you these gifts, but he continues to pour them out upon you.  God's giving of gifts to you is like filling a teaspoon with a fire hose, they keep coming and coming all the days of your lives.  You are always being inundated by Christ's work and word, even when it doesn't feel like it.  Jesus is always proclaiming himself to you.

And that is part of the reason for our special celebration today.  The LWML has being in the business of proclaiming the Word of God to people since 1942.  Through small donations, and the collection of "mites", it has been supporting the preaching and teaching of the Word of God throughout the world.  These ladies gather and hear the word of God together, and then proclaim that message to those around them.  Millions of dollars have been raised through them and used to help those in need. 

And the ladies in our own congregation, our own LWML, has been helping with this as well.  We too have gathered and supported the church, not just in its international mission, but also in its local mission.  Our LWML provides Bible Study opportunities, meeting once a month around God's word, and allowing opportunities for that to be shared with others. 

Yesterday St. John's LWML hosted all of the other ladies from the area in a gathering to continue to proclaim God's word, and to receive God's word themselves.  Last week, Immanuel's LWML hosted a booth for young children of the community to come and do a craft project and got the opportunity to work with and proclaim Christ to the children of this community. 

The LWML receives God's gifts through the world, and then passes them on to others.  They are a great example of how God works through his Word in our lives.  For God, the crucified Jesus, is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.  I encourage you to walk in this forgiveness of sins that Jesus gives you just as the LWML does, and just as Christ calls all of us to. 

The Word gives you forgiveness.  The Word gives you life.  The Word has died on the cross for you.  The Word made flesh, the incarnate Son of God now makes himself known to you through means, and all of these means revolve around His Word.  Lord, keep us steadfast in your Word, Curb those who by deceit or sword, would rest the kingdom from your Son, and bring to not all he has done.  May God grant this to you all.  Amen. 

German Cota wedding

Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our texts for today are the readings we just heard.  Dear Friends and Family of the bride and groom, members, and especially you Chad and Memory. 

Our text today speaks of a miracle.  Two separate individuals are joined together for a lifetime into one flesh.  Two different people are joined, two lives are united to spend their remainder together.  Two become one.  And Chad, Memory, that is why we are here today, for you two to be joined together by God into one flesh, just like Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. 

Our text today really is a miracle, isn't it?  God created the entire world, and everything in it out of nothing, and gave it as a gift to the first man, Adam.  But God did not want him to experience it alone.  He wanted Adam to have someone to share his time with, someone to laugh with, someone to smile at.  God wanted the man to have according to the text, "A helper fit for him." 

So God took the man and put him a deep sleep, and taking part of the man's flesh, he forms for him a helper, a soul mate, and God takes the woman to Adam and right away he marries them.  Not only does God marry them, but he sets the standard for every single wedding that has occurred since, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."  Upon God speaking these words Adam and Eve were one flesh.

Jesus tell us in our Gospel ,"What God has joined together, let not man separate".  Through God's grace, Adam and Eve lived many long years together.  They spent the good years and the bad years together.  They dealt with fights within their family (Genesis 4).  Through God's grace they supported one another, even as they made mistakes (Gen 3) and errors.  Through God's forgiveness to each of them, they were able to forgive one another as well.  They loved one another, not based upon that fuzzy happy feeling we often think of as love, but rather on the Love that God first showed to them, and they then shared with one another.  Throughout the years of their lives, and we know Adam lived to be 930 years old, they spent it loving, forgiving and sharing their lives with one another.  God had joined them together, and no man could separate them.

Memory, Chad the same is true for you as well.  Here today you stand before this altar and this congregation to pledge that you will be married to one another for life.  This too is a miraculous working of God.  God created each of you, knitting you together in your mother's wombs, and giving each of you life.  He was with you as you each were raised by your parents, and as you grew up into the individuals who stand here today.  God was there working in your lives as you were set up on a date and met and over time fell in love.  God has worked through it all.

Today, God will work in your lives again, as through the fumbling words of a sinful pastor, God will join you together into one flesh.  In a few short minutes, God will take you Memory, and you Chad, and through his work, makes you Chad and Memory.  It's a miracle.  It's amazing how God works this in your life, and how God will keep you in this relationship, one flesh, until one of you finally reaches the end of your earthly life. 

But you cannot make this journey as one flesh alone.  You cannot hope that the two of you together are strong enough in your selves to make it.  You see Chad and Memory, there will be struggles.  There will be challenges.  There will be times where money will be tight, and you wonder how you will make ends meet.  There will be times of pain and sorrow.  There will be fights with in your family.  There will be stress and tension.  There will be times of helplessness.  These times will be there for you…  "But what God has joined together, let not man separate."  This isn't a command this is a promise.  Chad and Memory, today God will join you together, and nothing in this sinful world will be able to separate you. 

Chad, Memory, God has promised that he will be there in your relationship, in good times and in bad, just as he was in Adam and Eve's relationship.  God will be there with forgiveness for each of you, forgiveness based upon the blood of Jesus Christ shed for you upon a cross.  God will be there for you with Grace, grace earned and promised by the very Word made flesh.  God will be there for you, with Love, love that he will pour out upon each of you, and that you will share with one another as it overflows from Jesus' love for you. 

In this grace, love and forgiveness, will you live out your lives as one flesh.  When faced with a challenge in your life, God promises to be there with you, as you go forward in His mercy, knowing that Christ has overcome the world and all challenges with in it.  And, in this love, forgiveness and joy of Christ, you will also face joys.  Joy as you both one day meet Chad Jr. or little Memory.  Joys as you share with one another in worship.  Joy as you live together as one flesh. 

Chad and Memory, in the love of Jesus God today unites you as one flesh.  After today, you are no longer only Chad, only Memory, but you will be Chad and Memory Cota.  And what God has joined together, let no man or no thing separate.  May God richly bless you in your married lives together.  Amen.