St. Michael and All Angels - G - 2013

The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

September 29, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline

Daniel 10:10-14, 12:1-3             Revelation 12:7-12            Luke 10:17-20

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is from the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ. Today is the feast of St. Michael and all angels. It’s the day we talk about the ongoing spiritual warfare that surrounds us in this world.  St. Michael and all the good angels of God are fighting, tooth and nail against Satan and his smaller weaker group of fallen angels.  And you and I are the ones that they are fighting over.  They are fighting over where you get to spend your eternity. 

It’s a war that began long ago.  It started in the Garden of Eden, with those first words spoken by the fallen Satan to Eve, “Did God really say?” Did God really say you’ll die?  Did he really say you shouldn’t eat?  Satan convinced Eve that God was a liar, and that God did not care if you believed His word or not.  So Adam and Eve ate, and sin entered our world and realm.  And Satan succeeded in his first goal, bringing mankind into his war against God – on the side of Satan and sin. 

And really, that’s the same lie that Satan still uses against us today.  Did God really say that was a sin?  Did he really say don’t do this or don’t do that?  Did God really say you should go to church every week!  Did God really say we need to care for our old delapitaded family members?  Did God say all life has value, and that we should live chaste lives.  And so Satan’s battle against God continues even to this day.

Satan struck next as well, convincing the son of Adam and Eve that he was better than his brother, sowing the seeds of discord within their family.  And so the older son became jealous of his brother.  Jealous to the point of arguing and fighting.  Jealous to the point that murder was an option to resolve the situation, and so it was that Cain killed Abel, and even lied about it to God. 

And it’s not that different for us again, is it?  The spiritual battle over heaven invades our families as well.  Our families are full of strife, where mothers and sons won’t talk to each other.  Where brother and sister fight every time their together.  And worst of all, where children are abandoned and not cared for by their parents, perhaps even to the point where it is considered better to kill a child before their born than to love and care for them. 

The scheming Satan continued, both in history and in our own lives.  He taught us to steal, he taught us to live sexually immoral lives, he taught us covet and desire, he taught us sin in and out – not just one or two of us.  No, all of us sin, every day, because of the work of Satan in our lives.  Satan has always been a liar and deceiver, and he continues working on us even to this day.  And it’s our faults, for listening every day to that whisper in our ear, “Did God really say?” 

But in a war there are two sides, and fighting against Satan, even right now right here, is a whole troop of good holy angels fighting to keep us away from sin, fighting to defeat Satan and his lies.  And this group is led by St. Michael the arch angel.  And we hear about that battle in all three of our readings for today. 

Daniel writes, “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people.”  And St. John in Revelation says, “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back.”  And the speak of the ongoing war between good and evil.  Michael fights against Satan.  He works to undermine everything that Satan does?  How?  With God’s Holy Word, proclaimed in it’s truth and purity.  Through the sacraments received for forgiveness of sins, every single one of them, forgiven by water and word, and blood drank and body eaten.  These things are the weapon’s St. Michael the archangel uses against weak and wimpy little Satan. 

And in our texts we hear what the end of the war will look like.  Good wins.  Satan loses.  Hear the words of Jesus in our Gospel lesson, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven.”  And St. John writes, that Satan “was defeated, and there was no longer any place for (him or his angels) in heaven.⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” 

Satan loses the war, even with all his battle victories, because of the decisive battle.  Michael wins the war, not by his own mighty valor, or by slaying Satan himself, but rather because of his secret weapon.  Michael has God on his side, specifically the Son of God, who entered our world of sin, and vacuumed up every bit of guilt and shame upon his own shoulders and bore it to the cross.  It is as Jesus dies that Satan loses.  It is by the death of the Son of God, that that old deceiver is himself destroyed.  And you are freed from all the consequences of sin by the victory of Jesus.

The battles continue right now, all around us angels, both fallen and good fight over you and your soul.  But dear friends, the war is over, even as the battles wage on.  Jesus has won, and you will at the last inherit heaven and peace when your Lord returns and finally throws Satan into his eternal punishment.  Glory be to God, and his blessed servants and angels, like Michael, who fight to keep you in God’s care forever more.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.  

A Commentary on Yesterday's Epistle Lesson - 1 Timothy 2:1-15

2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man[a] Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Wow!  Those are quite the words that St. Paul spoke in our epistle lesson yesterday.  How could he really say that, especially in such a politically correct society?  What in the world do we do with those words?

Well first off they are God's Word, whether we like what they say or not.  And being God's Word, they do apply to us here and now, so we need to take them seriously, even if it makes us uncomfortable.

Obviously the part that we have issues with is the second half of this text, verses 8-15.  And the good Lutheran question, "What does this mean?"

To help answer, here's some helpful links.



A sermon by my friend, Rev. Eli Davis - Here

If you have more questions, let me know!  I'll be happy to help answer them!

Proper 20 - G - 2013 - The Shrewd Manager Jesus

The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 22, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline

Amos 8:4-7     1 Timothy 2:1-15        Luke 16:1-15

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is from the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.”  Thus far our text for today. 

Dear friends in Christ, Jesus tells us another parable this morning, and at first glance it seems a little confusing.  It’s an almost Robin Hood like story.  A rich man has a manager, who has been mishandling his affairs.  So the rich man tells the manager to turn in his books, and to clean out his office by the end of the work day, because, to quote Donald Trump, “You’re fired.” 

They are terrible words to hear.  The manager knows it will be difficult to find a new job.  He knows he will not have a good reference.  His income is disappearing, and he has nowhere to turn for help. 

So what does he do?  He uses his position to his advantage.  He calls in every person who owes his soon to be former boss money, and he forgives their debts.  “What’s that, you owe the boss $400?  Make it $200 – a special gift from me to you.  And you, you owe the boss $1000?  Make it $100 instead.”  And so the manager gains the favor of all the debtors of the master, by forgiving their debts.  Or to put it in a common colloquialism, he’s robbing Peter to pay Paul!

And here’s the confusing part.  When the master, who has lost hundreds of dollars in income by the actions of the manager, finds out what has happened, he commends the manager because of his shrewdness.  He’s glad that the manager paid off the debts owed to the master with the his own funds.  And then to close the parable, we have these words, “Use your unrighteous wealth to make friends, so that when it runs out you may receive an eternal dwelling.” 

Having heard the parable, it’s tempting to say, “ok, this means you should give your money to the church, give it to the poor.  Give it away to whoever needs it.  Be like the steward, be like the manager, a veritable Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.  And if you give away all your stuff, if you are the best steward that exists, then you will get to heaven. 

And yet, when we look at our lives we fail to do that.  We don’t give as we’re supposed to.  We don’t help other people with our unrighteous wealth, but instead we help ourselves.  Furthermore, if we take the parable literally in that sense, it would seem that God wants us to steal from the rich, to take from those who have a lot, and then to give THAT to the poor.  And yet God also says, “You shall not steal.”  So how can he say, “Don’t steal.” In one place, and then say, “Its ok, as long as it’s a rich person your are taking from.”  God doesn’t work that way, that can’t be the way we understand this parable. 

Because the truth is, this parable is not telling us to be a good steward, or how to share, or how to steal righteously.  This parable isn’t about us doing anything at all.  Rather, as all parables are in the end, this parable is entirely about Christ.  It’s Jesus who is the manager.  He’s the one who gives up all his wealth to forgive the debts of us sinners.

Because of our sins, we are in debt to God.  Because of all those terrible things we’ve done against God’s word, we owe God, not just money, not just time, we owe him our life.  We must die.  We must suffer hell because of how we’ve turned against God.  We pray it even in the Lord’s Prayer, we are debtors, we are trespassers, we owe God because of our sin.  And God will make us pay what we owe him. 

But instead of us footing the bill, we have Christ, who takes God’s own glory and righteousness and uses it to pay our debt.  He pays it with his own blood, poured out from his body on the cross.  He pays it with his own life, taken from him on the cross.  And because of Christ, your debt to God is paid, just as the manager paid the debts of the debtors to the master in our text.  And so because of Jesus, you are sin free before God.  Because of Jesus you owe God nothing, but instead have the promise of eternity with God in heaven. 

Your debt is paid.  Christ has paid it in full.  Your sin is forgiven, forgiven by the blood of the lamb.  You belong to God, because of Jesus.  He’s the shrewd manager, who paid your debt. In his name.  Amen.  

Bold Witnesses Reminder! - Lower Price Extended

Lower Price Extended Until September 20th!

Our North Dakota district is hosting a conference for LAITY  and PASTORS alike entitled "God’s Word Proclaimed:  Both To Your Neighbor and also to You" on Saturday, October 12, 2013 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM (Central Time) in Mandan, ND.  

We've extended the lower cost to help make the conference available for as many as possible.  Price includes a lunch!
Our Main Speaker will be: 


Rev. Dr. Carl C. Fickenscher  
Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions, Dean of Pastoral Education and Certification, and the Supervisor of SMP Program at Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne

Who will be presenting on how to proclaim the word faithfully in regards to Law and Gospel, and how to hear the word faithfully as a Christian sitting in the pew.



In addition to Dr. Fickenscher, we will also have small break away sessions where we will focus on the local missions and services we are doing here in the North Dakota district, such as Project 24, Minot Recovery and more!  Plan on attending!  Registration is $25 for the day if registered before September 15th, September 20th, and $35 after.  

Group Discounts Available!

Register at the following website:  Registration for "Bold Witnesses 2013"

This is a great opportunity to hear what things are being done to teach the Lutheran faith in our world today, and what resources are available to you in your own congregation.  Also learn about what your own local churches are doing to proclaim the Gospel here and around the world.

Schedule:

October 12th, 2013
8:30 Registration Begins
9:00 Matins- Preacher: Rev. Dr. Carl Fickenscher
9:30 Mr. Bill Sharpe: North Dakota Disaster Relief
10:00 Rev. Dr. Carl Fickenscher: God’s Word- Law and Gospel
11:15 Project 24/ELCK
12:00 Lunch
12:45 Rev. Dr. Carl Fickenscher: Proclaiming God’s Word in Your Daily Life
2:00 Mr. Tom Boerger: Lutheran Malaria Initiative
2:20 Break
2:35 Rev. Sean Daenzer: Lutheran Book of Concord Study for Pastors and Laity
2:40 Rev. Lester Wolfgram: Empowered Stewards
2:50 Rev. Thomas Eckstein: Faithful Pastors
3:00 Rev. President James Baneck
3:15 Break
3:30 Rev. Dr. Carl Fickenscher: Listening to Your Pastor’s Sermon/Closing Thoughts
5:00 Closing Prayer

Brought to you by 

Bold Witnesses Committee

Proper 19 - G - 2013 - The Illogical Saving

The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 15, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline

Ezekiel 34:11-24         1 Timothy 1:5-17        Luke 15:1-10

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ, a penny saved is a penny earned is a popular saying from years back that doesn’t mean too much anymore, because pennies don’t really add up to that much money.  You can’t buy anything with a penny.  It’s value isn’t that much.  You can’t even get a small piece of candy for a penny.  So when we lose a penny, we just don’t care.  And really, so often, if we see a penny on the ground, some won’t even stoop down to pick it up. 

Thus the confusion of our text today.  A woman loses one out of ten small silver coins, and she searches all over for it, looking up and down, sweeping, looking under the bed with a flash light.  She is desperate to find that lost penny.  She obsesses over it.  She’ll do whatever it takes to find the one penny, even having the other 9 safely in her purse, and to you and to me, it just doesn’t make any sense or seem worth the effort.

The same thing with the shepherd.  He has a hundred sheep, who are fattened and ready for the slaughter, and one wanders away.  He still has 99 ready to go.  Those of you who have cattle know, you’re going to lose one or two; it’s just the way it goes.  And really, it’s no big deal.  You can’t put the 99 at risk just to find one.  You can’t let the sure profit be endangered, just because of one that wandered off or is sick.  There’s no value in the lost sheep.  There’s not a reason to find it.  And yet, that’s what the shepherd of our text does.  He leaves the 99 and finds the one who was lost.  And what’s more, when he finds it, he has a big party and celebration. 

Why?  It doesn’t make sense.  It runs counter to logic.  If we were in the same situation, we would take the losses and go on.  These little things just aren’t that valuable to us, they aren’t that important in the big picture. 

And we ourselves know that because of this corrupt world there are always going to be the losses.  In our retirement accounts there are the stocks and bonds that lose money.  In our gardens and farms, there are the plants that don’t produce.  At our places of employment, there are workers who get fired for failure to perform their duties.  Part of being human is cutting your losses and taking the best you can get in this world. 

And to cut down to the chase we even cut our losses with very personal things.  I can’t put up with my husband or wife anymore, so I’ll cut my losses and get a divorce.  I can’t pay my bills, so I’ll cut my losses and declare bankruptcy.  I can’t wait until marriage, so I’ll live with my boyfriend now.  And perhaps most disturbing – something I saw on our Local PBS this past week – a company named Compassionate Choices that helps people who are sick to kill themselves – as if saying “I can’t handle any more sickness or cancer, so I’ll cut my losses and die today.”

It’s as if these things have no value to us.  Its as if we these things are just expendable – and because of our sin that’s just the way it seems.  And yet all of these things go against God’s word.  All of these things – and more – show the sin in our own lives.  How could God value us, if we despise his word so much?  How could God want us if we sin so often and regularly?  Why should God give a hoot about us, if we don’t give a hoot about what he says in our world? 

And yet, dear friends, he does.  God does care for us, for our two parables are truly about him.  He is the woman who searches for the one lost penny in the house, despite having the nine others.  He is the shepherd who goes out, leaving behind the 99 sheep to find just the one lost sheep.  It’s God who does the seemingly absurd thing, to rescue sinners like you and me, rather then cutting His losses in regard to our sin. 

And it’s a very personal thing that God does.  He comes down in the person of the Son, he takes on our human flesh, he physically takes our sin and guilt upon himself, and he allows himself to be killed by our sin, by our hands, by our guilt, so that we might be forgiven. 

And if we sit back and look at it, it doesn’t make any sense, does it?  It seems to be foolish for Jesus to suffer for us sinners.  Just as foolish as leaving behind 99 good sheep to look for one lost one.  Just as foolish as sweeping and cleaning the entire house to find one small invaluable silver coin.  In fact the cross of Christ is so often even more foolish looking to our sinful human eyes than those two parables.

Yes.  The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  God chooses to save us by the foolish looking death of Christ.  And the forgiveness for you, earned by Jesus on the cross, comes to you in other seemingly foolish ways.  In water and the word, where your sins are forgiven.  In bread and wine, where you eat the body and blood of Jesus, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. 

It seems foolish, but it’s your salvation.  It seems crazy, but that’s how you get heaven given to you.  Its like searching the house for a penny.  Its like finding a single penny in your home and rejoicing.  And yet the truth is this, Christ, the son of God, died for you and for your forgiveness.  In His name.  Amen.  

September 2013 Newsletter Article

Dear Friends,

At the elder’s meetings this year, we have been studying a different topic each month.  This past month, our topic was stewardship, and I thought I would share with you some of our discussion.

When we hear the word “stewardship,” we often get uncomfortable quickly.  The word makes us reach for our wallets, and make sure they are safely secured in our pockets.  Yet, in reality, stewardship is about much more than just money and finances. It is also about time and talents.

Stewardship basically asks the question, “What do we do with the many gifts that God gives us to provide for us in this world?”  As we confess in the Small Catechism, “God has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses… clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, land, animals and all I have.  He richly and daily provides me with everything I need to support this body and life.” 

So the money in our bank account comes from God, as does the roof over our head and the food that we eat.  Taking it even a step farther, if we have a talent or ability to do something such as singing or accounting – even changing diapers – that gift comes from God also.  In fact, everything we have, even the number of days in our lives, comes from God as a glorious and wonderful free gift without any worthiness or merit in us at all. 

The question of stewardship then comes into focus.  It is not what we are paying God.  It is not what we “owe” Him.  Stewardship isn’t what God requires you to pay Him.  Instead, stewardship describes how we use what He has already freely given us. 

Most of what He gives us, we use for ourselves.  We use our time to paint the house or plant a garden (or in a few short weeks, to shovel snow).  We use our gifts to manage our own affairs, and most of our money takes care of our bills and plans for our retirements. 

But we are also to serve others besides ourselves.  After all, that’s what Christ has done for us!  This service is not to gain anything for ourselves, or to “buy” heaven from God.  We cannot by our own reason or strength do anything at all to please God.  Rather we serve others because we have been so well served first by Christ.  Christ gave up all He had, His clothing (John 19:4), His home (Matthew 8:20), His family (Matthew 12:46-49) and even His own life (John 19:30) to purchase and win heaven for us. 

We, following in Christ’s footsteps, give up a portion of what we have to serve our neighbors in the same way that Christ gave up all He had to serve us.  That is stewardship.

So we take some of our time and teach in Sunday school each week and take time to teach our family the faith each day.  We take some of our time to fix or clean items at the church.  We take some of our financial blessings and share them with those around us in need – including in the church. 

When we are giving of any of these things to the church, we are using the gifts God has given us to promote the preaching of Christ crucified in our community, nation, and even around the world.  That is the best way we can help anyone – to share the faith with them so that they too will inherit heaven as we have. 

A helpful practice in stewardship is to sit down at the beginning of each year and budget what things you would like to give to, and how much.  If you would like to donate time serving, figure out when you can do so, and call up soup kitchens or places like the Dakota Boys Ranch.  If you’d like to volunteer to lead a parish choir (something we’d like to have happen this next year), contact one of our organists to volunteer.  If you’d be interested in helping with VBS next summer, contact Kari.  If you’d like to give financially to a project or to our churches, examine how much you’d like to give and set that amount aside each month.  All of these things are stewardship. 

Don’t think I am only trying to ask for money at our own congregations.  If you’d like, I have a list of other projects outside our church that also need financial help.  Attached to end of this article is a link to the State of the District report which also lists some places you could be a good steward for a variety of things. 

I want to emphasize again that giving of time, talents, or finances will not do anything to earn from God.  It is something done in joyful response to the gifts already given to us by God.  Jesus has already paid everything we need to make God happy.  Stewardship is giving in response to that payment. 

Finally, stewardship is between you and God.  It is how God uses us to serve our neighbor, even in uncertain ways.  He may use your gift to help that person you don’t like, or work a miracle through your gift.  He may also use your gift to do something boring like pay a gas bill. 

Don’t feel locked into giving only to us at church; give wherever you’d like as long as it serves your neighbor in a godly fashion.  If you feel guilted into giving, I’d prefer that you didn’t give at all until you talked to me about what’s going on.  God’s paid the price, and we get to respond with the gifts he’s given to us in our life in love toward our neighbors. 

In Christ,

Pastor

State of District Report - Click Here

Proper 18 - OT - 2013 - Life Set Before You By Christ's Work

The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 8, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline

Deuteronomy 30:15-20           Philemon 1-21             Luke 14:25-35

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the Old Testament lesson, especially these words, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  The words of our text were spoken to the nation of Israel by the great prophet Moses, shortly before his death, and shortly before Israel entered the promised land.  It had been a long journey, most of those who had lived in Egypt were now dead, and Moses himself will die very soon.  And his last act before he dies, his last job as the leader of Israel is to renew the covenant of God with Israel. 

And the words of the covenant are this, “Before you today are life and good, or death and evil.”  It seems that it is an easy choice, doesn’t it?  We want life.  We want good.  Shouldn’t that be the easy choice?  But listen to the catch that comes along with it?  To get good and life from God, the deal is you must obey the commandments of God, hear his word, and walk in his way.  If you fail to do so, and instead follow other Gods, the result is clear, “You must perish.”  You will not live.  You will not receive good things from God.

And the sad part is, the reality is this – we fail to follow God.  We fail to listen to his word.  We sin – every day we sin.  And because of that sin, we must surely die.  We must suffer, we must get sick.  Our lives will not be good, but instead will be toil after toil, pain after pain.  

And when we look at our world, that’s exactly what we see.  In the news we hear about pending war in Syria, war where over 100,000 people are thought to have been killed, including some 500 children.  All because of the sin of this world.  In Egypt, over a thousand more killed in various ways.  All because of the sin of this world.  These people are dying because of our guilt.

And even closer to home.  In Mexico over 100,000 have died since 2006 in the ongoing drug war, as rival cartels battle against the Mexican military.  Our own hospitals are full of people with cancer, with dementia, with AIDS and more, and all of it because of the sin of our world!

Dear friends, the choice is before us, life and good, or death and evil, and in our sin, we have chosen death and evil!

Lord have mercy upon us!  Forgive us for choosing death over you!  Forgive us our sins!

And He does.  He does, not by our choice, not by our work, but by His own son Jesus Christ.  He sends Jesus to be our sin bearer.  To live the perfect good life in our place, and ultimately to head to the old bloody cross, and to die our evil death.  This he does, out of his mercy.  And so when Jesus bleeds, its for you.  As Jesus dies, its for you.  And Jesus’ dead body is laid in a tomb in your place.  

And what’s more, he rose again, because as he chose the perfect and holy life that we couldn’t God gave him goodness and life for all eternity, and he chooses to share it with you.  He gives that good life to you in baptismal waters, washing away your sin with his blood, and raising you to new life as water is poured on your head in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  He gives you goodness, not in this world, but in a world yet to come, a world of eternity, and peace, life and salvation.  It is yours when you leave this sinful world behind. 

Dear friends, Christ has made the choice for good and life from God, and he shares it with you today.  Lord have mercy upon us is our prayer, and he does.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.