Easter 2 - E - 2014 - Believe

Second Sunday of Easter

April 27, 2014- Pastor Adam Moline

Acts 5:29-42,  1 Peter 1:3-9,   John 20:19-31

Hymns – LSB 470:1-4, 941, 470:1-9  Communion – LSB 473

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia.  Amen.  Our text today is from the epistle lesson just read, especially these words, “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  We are, according to St. Peter in our text, grieved by various trials in this world.  Trials that put our very faith to the test with their harshness.  At times, he writes, we feel like we are metal in the smelting furnace.  Heated up and tested by the fires of this world and life.  And as a result, sometimes we feel that we are burned by the world.

Whether it be sickness, or weakness.  Guilt or shame.  Sin and vice, adultery, theft, murder, or gossip.  We face challenges, so often brought about by our own actions and thoughts.  Yes, we are sinners.  And as sinners we struggle on this earth.

And when faced with struggles, I mean huge, big struggles, we so often wonder if God is really there or not?  In fact, in times of trouble, we are filled with doubt about God’s existence.  We are just like Thomas in our text today.  When Jesus appeared to be dead, when he faced his own arrest, when his own skin was on the line, Thomas ran away.  And even when confronted with the word of promise, he doubted its veracity.  “I won’t believe, unless I see,” He cried.  And now 2000 years later, we even call him Doubting Thomas. 

You do the same thing.  All the time.  When your family member passes away unexpectedly, you doubt.  When your loved one slowly grows weaker with sickness, you are unsure.  When your own life appears to be in tatters, you wonder “Can there really be a god out there, or am I alone in this world?”  In fact, dear friends, I bet there have been a few times in your life when you were grieved by various trials, that you have just thrown your hands in the air and said, “There must not be a god, and even if there were, how could he have let this happen to me?” 

Dear friends, the terrible events of this world happen because we are all sinners, because we have all turned our back on God.  We have all doubted because our sin makes things seem impossible sometimes.  We like sinful Thomas, and even the other sinful disciples, have wondered if there really is a god at all, or if our hope is in vain. 

But our hope is not in vain.  Even though we are tested by various trials in this world, God has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Jesus has risen, so that we might know that even in the most difficult of situations, we have a hope that nothing in this sinful world can conquer.  Even though we are being killed and tortured all the day long, Jesus is victorious, and we will share in his victory with Him.  We are tested, but in our testing, we are found to be pure in the blood of Christ, we are found to be more valuable to God than any treasure on earth.  We are his prized possession won by his death and resurrection. 

You see, there is a God, a God who wants to be with you at all times in all places, despite your sinful desire for the opposite.  He desires to be with you so much that he went to that old rugged cross.  He suffered, he died, and he rose on Easter.  But he didn’t just disappear after that.  He went to show his disciples that he wasn’t still dead.  He went to Doubting Thomas and said, “See, touch and believe!”  And Thomas did.  He said, “Blessed are those, meaning you and me, who have not seen and yet still believe. 

And he also comes to you and me, no not in the same way to Thomas and the disciples, but he instead he comes to us in with and under bread and wine, where we see and partake in the true risen and living body and blood of Jesus to forgive our sins.  He comes to us in water and the word to forgive us all our sins, and make us his brothers and sisters forever, no matter what the world might throw our way.  He is with us in his word, which proclaims the very real and verifiable truth about his resurrection.

And dear friends, he is here for you in compassion as you care for one another.  When you visit someone who is sick and doubting, Jesus is working through you.  When you make a meal for someone in need, Jesus is working through you to feed that person.  And the same is true as well for you.  Christ cares for you also in the vocations of your friends and family.  When your Christian brother or sister gives you a hug at the funeral of your loved one, Jesus is comforting you through them.  When you hear the words “Christ is risen” proclaimed, Jesus is reminding you of the reality that he has risen. 

And one day, dear friends, one day you too will see Jesus face to face, just as Thomas did.  He will raise you and all the dead, and give eternal life to you and all believers.  He will say to you, see and believe, well done good and faithful servants.  He has promised so.  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  Amen.  

The Resurrection of Our Lord - G - 2014 - Do Not Be Afraid

The Resurrection of our Lord

April 20, 2014- Pastor Adam Moline

Jeremiah 31:1-6           Colossians 3:1-4          Matthew 28:1-10

Hymns - LSB 457, 469, 463, Communion – LSB 458, 465, 461, 467, 487

He is risen.  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia.  Amen.  Our text today is from the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “Do not be afraid”.  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ. There was so much fear on that first Easter morning.  The disciples had locked themselves in the upper room where just a few days earlier Jesus had instituted the Lord’s Supper.  Peter afraid for his life had denied knowing Jesus three times.  Mark, ran away in the garden naked when a soldier had grabbed ahold of his shirt to arrest him.  Judas afraid of the consequences of his actions had hanged himself.  Fear ruled the morning.  Fear ruled the lives of those in our lessons today – and in a way it always had. 

After all, God is just.  He judges sin, and the sinners who commit it.  He calls into account what people do in this life.  That means Peter, and Mark.  That means all the disciples.  That means you and me. 

The women on the way to the tomb to anoint the dead body were also afraid.  Afraid for being disciples of Jesus out and about after he was condemned.  Afraid that no one would be there to help them open the tomb to anoint the dead body of Christ.  Afraid of seeing the tortured remains of their friend.  Afraid of seeing the wounds, and remembering the gruesome and wicked way that they were formed. 

But as they fearfully made their way to the tomb, there is an earthquake.  And as the earth stops shaking they see an angel, who has rolled back the stone of the tomb of Christ and sits upon it.  Upon seeing the angel their fear turned to terror.  Angels of God reflect his holiness and glory, and seeing that angel in that emotional time is almost too much for the women.  They almost faint like the guards at the tomb. 

Except they don’t, for in the midst of their fear the Angel speaks God’s Word to them.  Don’t be afraid.  Don’t worry.  Don’t be alarmed.  Why not?  Because Jesus has arisen.  It is finished as he had said.  He lives again, and he always will live.  Fear not!  For there are tidings of great joy that shall be for all people. 

The women look in the tomb, and then begin making their way out of the garden cemetery.  And there on there way out, they see him.  Jesus.  No longer dead.  No longer pale gray.  No longer still and lifeless, but alive.  And he speaks the same words to them.  “Do not be afraid.”  For sin is no more.  For death has been swallowed up by death.  Be not afraid.  From the very mouth of the crucified and risen God in human flesh, the same words as the words of the angel.  Fear not!  Never fear again. 

Dear friends, this Easter morning, what are you afraid of?  Are you afraid of making ends meet?  Are you afraid of keeping your job?  Are you afraid of how much rain will fall this summer, if your fields will produce as well as their supposed to?  Are you afraid that your mortgage will come due, and you won’t have enough for the payments?

Do you fear for your child?  Do you fear for your parent or grandparent?  Do you fear illnesses and cancer?  Do you fear weakness and pain?  Have you bitten off more than you can chew?  Have you hurt a loved one and are afraid to speak with them and reconcile the conflict?  Are you afraid of a coming judgment or penalty?  Are you afraid of commitment?  Are you afraid of fire, or flood or global disaster?  Are you afraid of your sin, and God’s just judgment of it?  Are you afraid… of death?

Dear friends, Christ is risen.  Be not afraid!  Let not the terrors of this world frighten you anymore.  Jesus has overcome it all, every last one of your fears have been destroyed by His bloody death on the cross, and confirmed by his glorious resurrection.  He has loved you with an everlasting love – a love that is this, that he gave up his life for you as a sin sacrifice.  You are hidden in Jesus, you have already been promised resurrection in him. 

When confronted by this world, because of the resurrected Jesus, you need not be afraid.  When sad, fear not.  When overwhelmed pressures and pain of this world, let terror not overwhelm you.  When confronted with death, know that life has won. 

That is our hope on this most blessed of days.  That Christ has arisen, and so too will we one day rise.  Even though in this world we struggle, even though we hurt.  Even though we will grow sick and die, we know that because Jesus is risen, so too will we arise. 

We are given that promise in the water of baptism, where we already have died and arose with Jesus.  We are given that promise today as we eat the body of blood of Jesus- the Risen and living body and blood – for the forgiveness of our sins.  And in those things we are directly connected to the life that Jesus now lives forever. 

Dear friends, you will live forever.  There is no fear in this world that can overcome you.  There is not pain too large, there is no suffering that can destroy you.  You will live.  You will be brought safe out of the tribulation.  You have Christ, and his promises forever more.  Fear not, for Christ is not dead.  He is Risen.  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia, Amen.  

Palm Sunday - G - 2014 - Ride on in Weakness Jesus

Palm Sunday

April 13, 2014- Pastor Adam Moline

Isaiah 50:4-9a, Philippians 2:5-11, John 12:12-19 (Processional); Matthew 27:11-66

LSB 442, 438, 441   Communion – LSB 443, 440, 634, 543

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the Gospel processional lesson read earlier, along with the Old Testament Lesson, especially these words, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”.  Thus far our text.

Hosanna, for your king is coming.  Rejoice, your salvation is riding boldly into Jerusalem today.  He goes to be lifted up.  Ride on, ride on in majesty, in lowly pomp ride on to die!  He who prepared the world for you and me, he who has given us all we have and know, even the very breath of our lives heads into Jerusalem to what we have prepared for him.  Death on a cross. 

And yet, those people cheered him on as he entered.  A large crowd, who had entered for the Passover feast, shouts to Jesus, “Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”   With those words, the Son of God rides towards his suffering and death.  He boldly rides on the back of a donkey.  The crowd watches, smiling and rejoicing. 

How can it be?  The people who today shout “Hosanna” will shortly shout “Crucify him, crucify him.”  The people will force the hand of their Roman governor to kill their Jewish King.  It doesn’t make sense, how could they turn so quickly?  We judge them, we criticize them for their change of tone. 

And yet, our faces are in that crowd.  We too, today shout hosannas as Jesus rides into Jerusalem.  We too stand as Jesus rides by.  Jesus, who knows all your sin, who knows all the things you’ve done wrong.  After all he is God.  As he rides by, we know that he knows, and we wonder if he will tell.  Will he share my deepest darkest secrets with those I don’t want to know them?  He’s got to die!  It’s either him or me, and I would rather it be him, wouldn’t I?  We turn on a dime, just as those people so long ago did. 

Hosanna Jesus!  Get on to that cross, before you reveal that I struggle with alcohol!  For you know, that I always have a slight buzz, that I can’t quit drinking.  You know that it has affected my entire life, my job, my family, my friends.  Go to the cross Jesus!  Go to the cross and die!

Hosanna Jesus!  You know that my family life is falling apart.  You know that there are difficulties between my wife and I, you know that my brother won’t talk to me.  You know that I have mistreated my children, you know that I despise my mother and father every day for what they told me what right and wrong.  Go die Jesus, for I have no place for you here in my life.

Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is he, even as I am not, as I have despised God’s word.  I don’t really care for Bible Study.  I don’t really spend time in God’s Word.  I have more important things to do.  I don’t really believe in all this Christianity stuff anyways, but I have to be seen in church.  I preach sermons to myself, sermons that say I am not good enough, that I am not forgiven, that I cannot be forgiven.  Sermons that do not actually match what God’s word said.  I create my own religion on my own terms, so die Jesus for being all “holier than me”. 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel!  Or so shout our lips, the same lips that just moments ago were putting down John Doe because of the situation in his life.  So shout the same lips that curse, swear, that lie and deceive.  Blessed be God is our shout one moment, and the foulest language imaginable is on our lips the next.  Sinful dogs that we are – so die Jesus!

We murder!  We steal!  We lie!  We covet!  And Jesus does none of it!  So go on Jesus and die!  Go to the cross, for you think you are better than we are!  You think you can control our lives here and now.  You aren’t the God I want, you aren’t the God I create for myself.  So go and die!  Suffer!  Bleed!  Thirst!  Go and do it, for I do not want to, and it is really what I deserve.  For it is I lord that am guilty, not you.  It is I who deserve punishment by my fault, my own fault, my own most grievous fault.  And you Lord Jesus go where I dare not, to die for my sin.  Ride on, ride on to die.

And Jesus does.  Today, dear friends, he rides past us, knowing our sin and guilt.  Today he rides on, knowing our pain and suffering, and still he rides boldly on.  He carries the sin of those who rides past.  He carries the sin of those who in a few days will not shout, “Hosanna!” but “Crucify him!”  He carries the sin of you, of me, even as he knows you will turn on him.  He knows it, and he will not turn aside from it.  He won’t forget it, but he will die for it.  And he does all of this in your place, for you, for your forgiveness.  The death you deserve, today Jesus rides into Jerusalem to deal with. 

This most holy week, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.   And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  And all of this is for you. 

Dear friends, now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.  No longer will you be slave to sin.  No longer can you give into the horrible way of the world.  Satan does not rule you today, nor will he ever again.  He is weak, he is destroyed, he is defeated forever.  For Christ has shed his blood on the cross.  And so we rightly shout, “Hosanna Jesus!  Hosanna to the king, he rides on to die for the sins of the world.  To be lifted up. To take away my sin!  Hosanna!  Blessed are you Jesus” 

Christ goes to die, and he does it for you.  He goes to forgive your sin, to take it away as far as the east is from the west.  On Friday, it is finished.  On the cross, you are forgiven.  Jesus rides in to shout, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  Ride on, Ride on in majesty, in lowly pomp ride on to die.  O Christ, they triumphs now begin, o’er captive death and conquered sin.  Amen.  

Lent 5 - G - 2014 - Alive

The Fifth Sunday of Lent

April 6, 2014- Pastor Adam Moline

Ezekiel 37:1-14           Romans 8:1-11            John 11:1-53

Hymns - LSB 420:1-3, 430, 420:4-7    Communion – LSB 724, 725, 421, 428

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,  Thus far our text.

Dear friends, in a few weeks, we will gather together and meditate on the death and torture that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will suffer on Good Friday. He will be beaten, spit on, mocked tortured and crucified.  He will cry out, “It is finished, Tetelestai,” and have earned us salvation and life.  we know with certainty Christ has suffered in our place, and that in that, we now have life eternal.  We have certainty of life. 

But do we truly have certainty? Do we really believe that Christ was raised from the dead? I have never seen anyone rise from the dead. I have never seen someone whose heart has ceased beating for more than a few minutes, who has come back to life. It doesn’t make sense.  How can it really be true that someone could rise from the dead?

That is exactly what happens in our text today.  If we look at the story of Lazarus, we see it is quite the interesting story. It takes place about a week before Good Friday. We see a friend of Jesus is sick, and dies. They bury him in a tomb, and by the time Jesus arrives, he has been laying there for four days. He isn’t just sitting in the tomb, there is no doubt at this point that Lazarus is dead. He has passed into eternal rest, and nothing can bring him back.

The family, certain of this has begun to mourn and wail. All of Lazarus’s friends come and weep for the loss of their friend Lazarus. But he is gone, nothing can bring him back. Even Jesus mourns at the loss of Lazarus. He mourns that because of sin, mankind must die. He mourns that in our sin we must deal with death. Lazarus too was a sinner, and in that sin, he has now died. The loss associated with death overcomes all those around.  Death hurts. 

But Jesus tells that mourning family, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And here he proves it. Jesus has the tomb opened, and standing outside calls forth Lazarus alive. The one who is dead returns to life. The one who was dead is returned to his family. The mourning of loss turns into joyful shouts, and celebration. By the mere speaking of His words, Jesus brings one of his believers back to life. By His word, Christ can make death run backwards.

It’s a miracle!  It really happened!  Today, you can go and see this, Lazarus’s first tomb.  There are even members here who have been there. You can walk down inside of it, and see where Jesus called Lazarus forth from death. You can walk the same steps Lazarus walked out of the tomb. It is a miracle that God used to show that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life (John 10) That He is the Lord of life.

This miracle happened, because Christ is true God. Jesus could raise Lazarus because he was headed to his own suffering and death. But unlike Lazarus, Jesus would not die for his own sin, but for your sin. Jesus would suffer and die, and be laid in a tomb, just like Lazarus.

But Christ has power over death and life. Even as Jesus is killed, the grave cannot hold him in. Even though He is executed, His life cannot be permanently ended by human means. Instead, Christ is the Resurrection and the Life. He is Lord over life and death.

And He has earned that right. He earned it by obeying God’s law completely and totally. He earned it by passively submitting to the will of the Father and drinking the cup of wrath prepared for sinners. Christ took our place and He suffered for us. And when our salvation was assured to us by the spilling of his holy precious blood, He announced to the world that sin and Satan were defeated by His rising again on the third day from the tomb.

Friends, almost 2000 years ago, the tomb of Jesus was found empty, just like the tomb of Lazarus was found empty. Just as Jesus called Lazarus back into life, God the Father raised Jesus back to life through His glory and power.

But Jesus’ resurrection was even more wonderful than Lazarus’. Lazarus would die again. Lazarus had two tombs, one in Bethany and one that church tradition holds was in the city of Larnaca on the island of Cyprus. Lazarus served as a pastor there until again he died and was reburied.

But Jesus will not die again. As the prophet Isaiah says, “He has swallowed up death forever.” (Isaiah 25:8) Where O death is thy victory, Where O death is they sting? (1 Corinthians. 15:55, Hosea 13:14) It is gone forever. Death cannot defeat Jesus Christ, because by his own death, he defeated death. When the tomb was found empty, that message has resounded throughout all the world. “Through Christ, death is defeated. Through Christ you have life.”

This is the message of the church. This message is important to the whole world, especially to you and me. God’s word tell us we are in the same boat. We hear that we have not kept God’s law. Scripture even says that “If we say we are without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” We are poor miserable sinners, and as sinners we too must die. Just as Lazarus died from his illness of sin, we too will die unless we live to see that last day. Just as Jesus laid in a tomb, we too will lay in a grave of some kind.  It is the price that we must pay for our sin. It is the consequence of our disobedience to our heavenly Father.

And we see that in our daily lives. Even when we try to obey God, we fail. And in our failure we are trapped. We are uncertain which way we should turn. We are uncertain if there is a way out at all! All we can do is flounder around in our sin.

Being trapped in our sin is very much like being trapped in a grave. In our sin we are dead. In our sin we cannot climb or dig our way out. There is nothing that we can do. We are stuck, permanently. Just as a dead Lazarus could not remove himself from his own tomb, neither can we rescue ourselves. We are lost in our sin. We are dead in sin.

But Christ is risen. His tomb has been opened and the message of His victory has been spread over the entire Earth. It has come to our ears as we hear that beautiful message both in song and word. Even as this Lenten season we look forward to the death of Christ, we know that is not the end.  The tomb will be opened with angel proclaiming the victory of the Lamb.

Because Christ is risen, so too are you risen. We have the promise of eternal life. In Christ, you have life. In Christ you no longer need fear death or the power or the power of the devil. You are set free, to live and reign with hi for all eternity. In Christ’s life, you too receive life, life to the full.

Death has no power over you. Even if you shall die, yet shall you live. In Christ there is victory. In Christ you triumph, the enemy is destroyed. Today, you have eternal life. You are risen with Christ.