Click on the link below to view and/or download Sunday's order of service.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1txWzBhno9Th0Q3oq9jtIx-kmHkECMuId/view?usp=sharing
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Midweek Lenten Sermon (April 1, 2020)
Midweek Lent Sermon
4-1-2020
“Behold the Man: A
God Who Thirsts”
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the
well, it was a very strange interaction.
First, Jesus said to this woman—an outsider, a half-breed, who expected
to have no interactions with any Jews—“Give me a drink.” The woman responded not with water but with a
question, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman from
Samaria?” But then comes this more
peculiar response from Jesus, “If you knew the gift of God, and who
it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and
he would have given you living water.” Then later, he says, “Everyone
who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of
the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water
that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to
eternal life” (Jn 4:7-15).
Wait,
what? Water that wells up to eternal
life and quenches an eternal thirst?
Sure, I’ll take some of that. Much
later Jesus told a crowd in Jerusalem, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to
me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has
said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” If
you are thirsty, Jesus says, come to me.
That’s beautiful, and inviting, and a bit odd.
But
then, the One who promised living water, so that man might never be thirsty again,
as He hangs on the cross – naked, derelict, dying, close to His last breath – He
cries, “I thirst.” Behold, the Well of
Living Water, the Fount of Water Welling up to Eternal Life. Behold, the very Rock who was cleft in the
wilderness to give a wellspring of life-giving water to His thirsting,
complaining people. Behold the One who
created the waters that flow, rivers that run, oceans, water tables, and
bubbling springs. Behold the God who
made six stone water jars of water to be the choicest vintage of wine the
wedding guests have ever tasted, with a vintage to satisfy their taste buds
beyond the simple wedding banquet. Behold
the Man. He is thirsty. Dried up, parched, with His tongue sticking
like Velcro to the roof of His mouth, craving even a small sip of sour wine
from a sponge. Behold, the Man who
thirsts.
Having
taken human flesh, the Second Person of the Trinity now needs to drink water in
order to survive. If this God does not
drink, He will die. The Creator relies
on an element of creation to make it from day to day. With His tongue like sandpaper in his parched mouth,
He wants a drink.
What
about you? For what do you thirst? For what does your flesh ache and groan? Not a drink of water, though. That is far too ordinary. For money, for riches, for power, for
influence, for success, for popularity, for comfort, for security, perhaps. Or
maybe your thirst is more basic, for another swig, for another beer, for a
glass of wine, for another pill to numb the pain, to dull the senses, to make you
forget the cruel realities of living in this world, cooped up in your house and
wondering if your job will be there for you after the curve has been flattened.
Maybe you thirst for more likes, more
reviews, more respect, or a better salary. You, like Jesus, are thirsty.
Jesus
thirsts for you. God has taken human flesh,
flesh which hungers and thirsts, flesh which needs sustenance, flesh which can
be beaten, abused, mocked, nailed to a cross, and hung until it thirsts in
peril for its life. But He’s not thirsty
so that He can live. He’s thirsting
because He can die. He’s thirsting
because he has flesh. He has flesh
because He desires to save mankind. Behold
the Man who thirsts.
Behold
the Man who empties Himself so that you might be filled. Behold the Man who is cut off so that you can
be grafted in. Behold the Man who
thirsts so that you can be satisfied. Behold
the Man who thirsts so that men might drink and never be thirsty again. Behold the man who is parched and dried up so
that you might find in Him a River of Life. Behold the Man who thirsts as He dies so that
you might never die, not like this, not the big death, not this death separated
from God, not death and hell. Behold the Man who thirsts so that you might be
satisfied.
In
Him, your thirsts, your desires, your needs, are quenched. Every thirst points
us back to the days in the Garden of Eden, to the Fall where Man began
thirsting for self-satisfaction rather than to be satisfied with God and his
good gifts. And every thirst points us
forward to the New Creation, to the River of Life, to the renewed heavens and
renewed earth, where all our thirsts, both physical and spiritual will be eternally
satisfied. Your thirsts, even when they
seem shallow and distorted, are really thirsts for this Wellspring, the river
which flows and waters the whole earth anew. Your thirst is a call to remain in Jesus alone
who offers water that will quench every thirst.
Until
then, as you wander in this wilderness between Eden and the New Eden, your
thirst is still good. Like hunger
sharpens your desire for the Bread of Life, the Body of Jesus, thirst chastens
your taste buds to desire something more than water, wine, or temporary
fulfillment. Thirst disciplines you to
desire a heavenly draft. Until you can
slake your thirst with the eternal water of life, there is a river from the
Lord’s Altar which can soothe your parched throat. In the Sacrament is the Blood of Him who bled
for you, who thirsted for your fulfillment, who died so that you might have
life. From the chalice in the Holy
Eucharist flows a river that gives you a foretaste of an eternal quenching, a
stream which can fulfill your deepest thirst.
Now,
I know you are thirsting for this in this challenging time when we cannot
gather together and have the Lord’s Supper.
But be assured that this will not last forever. At some point, we will be able to gather together
again. Christians on the frontier used
to wait for months for their circuit rider pastor to come by on horseback or
buggy to deliver the Sacrament. Lutherans
in Siberia during the days of the Soviet Union waited for decades until a
Lutheran pastor was finally able to serve them once again and bring the
Sacrament to them. Puts our predicament
into a bit of perspective. But even so,
just think how satisfying it will be when we feast together once again. In the meantime, you can be assured that the
waters of your Baptism will quench your thirst until we drink again the wine of
our Lord’s blood.
Behold
the Man whose blood still flows for you. Behold the Man who was dried up with thirst so
that your arid lips could be satisfied with the drink of His blood for true
drink. Behold the Man who thirsted. Behold the Man who bids you thirst no more.
Behold the Man who is the headwater of a new drink, the River of Life, the
water for which you thirst deeply and intensely. Behold the Man who was dried up with thirst so
that you might be quenched with a water that flows to eternal life. Behold the You’re your God who thirsts for
your salvation.
INI
Based on a sermon by the Rev. Jeff Hemmer
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Order of Service for 4-1-2020
Tonight's order of service can be viewed by clicking here or at the link below.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent/Judica (March 29, 2020)
Lent
5/Judica (March 29, 2020)
“Seeing and
Tasting Death” (John 8:51)
I’m reading the autobiography of a
Lutheran pastor who graduated from Concordia Seminary St. Louis in 1918. His first call was to a small, struggling
parish in the slums north of St. Louis. After
many home visits in his first few months as the pastor, things looked
promising. He started a Sunday School
and an adult instruction class. The church
hired a talented organist. But then, he
writes:
Then an extraordinary
thing happened: the war was over and an influenza epidemic spread throughout the
country. People were dying daily by the
thousands. No public meetings were
permitted, not even a confirmation class could meet. All my work was now in vain. I visited people and buried the dead. Then I had an idea. Pastors at that time did not use the mail,
nor did congregations know what advertising was. I think this was due to the fact that our
Lutheran churches were generally considered German churches by most
people. English services were on the
increase during the war because it was considered unpatriotic to preach in
German. Sauerkraut had to be renamed “Liberty
Cabbage.”
Every week I sent out
prayers, a short sermonette, and comforting Bible verses. I sent these publications not only to
members, but also to those whose names I had gathered in the missionary canvassing. When, after two months, we were permitted by
the government to assemble again for public worship, my publicity had paid
off. It was the beginning of a religious
revival.[i]
Sound familiar? Change the date to 2020, change the disease
from influenza to coronavirus, change mail and advertising to email and Facebook
and YouTube, and it sounds a lot like what many congregations are doing today. Whether there will be a religious revival
after all this is over remains to be seen.
That’s not our job. That’s the
job of the Holy Spirit working through the message the Church proclaims.
One part of that message is the word
of the Lord Jesus today, where he answers the Jewish leaders who accused him of
being a demon-possessed, half-breed, apostate Samaritan. He says, “I do not have a demon, but I honor
my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do
not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps
my word, he will never see death” (John 8:51).
The Jewish leaders responded in mockery: “Now we know you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you
say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death’” (John 8:52).
“If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death”
… or “taste” death, as the case may be. What
does death “look” like? What does it “taste”
like? It can be ugly. It can be bloody. It can be painful and agonizing. It can be bitter and bilious and nauseating. We are “seeing” death all around us. Thousands around the world are “seeing” and “tasting”
death right now.
What did it look like and taste like for the
individuals in our readings today? For Abraham,
it involved emotional pain and grief and confusion. God told him to sacrifice his beloved son,
Isaac … the very child whom God had promised would be his heir and through whom
all nations would be blessed. Abraham
may have even been angry with God, at first, for making such an outrageous
demand.
For Isaac, there was also confusion and maybe fear. “Where’s the lamb for the sacrifice, dad?” Then, when his father tied him up and placed him
on the altar and reached for his knife, Isaac may have felt a terrible breach
of trust, a betrayal by his father, especially after hearing his father reassure
him, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Genesis
22:8).
“If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” The Jews thought Jesus was crazy for making
such a claim … so crazy that the idea must come from the devil himself. Yet Jesus seemed even more insane to them
when he claimed to be God. “Truly, truly,
I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
And they picked up stones to stone him to death, because they knew
exactly what he was saying. He was
claiming to have existed before Abraham.
He was claiming to be eternal. He
was saying that the same God who told Moses at the burning bush that he is the great
“I AM” was standing before them at that very moment. Jesus basically admitted to them, “I am God.”
But this is the hope we have in the face of
death. Only God himself can overcome death
for us. And Jesus of Nazareth – God in
the flesh, the great I AM, the most sane and only sinless man to have ever
lived – looked death right in the eyes and tasted death for us at the cross. Jesus drank the cup of his Father’s wrath
over our sin and the sins of all people to the last bitter dregs. Death swallowed Jesus up … but in allowing himself
to be swallowed up by death, Jesus in turn swallowed up death and did away with
it for us … both physical death and eternal death, that is to say, eternal
separation from God and his love and gracious presence because of the curse of
sin.
Jesus is the Lamb that God provided
to take the place of all of us Isaacs.
Jesus was sacrificed for our sins.
You and I get to go free and live.
Abraham rejoiced to see his day.
How did he see it? He saw it from
afar by faith in God’s promises. Abraham
knew that God had promised to send a Savior one day. And he knew that his son had a part to play
in that promise. That’s why Abraham was
willing to sacrifice his son when God told him to do so as a test of his
faith. The author of Hebrews tells us
that, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had
received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it
was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ He considered that God was able even to raise
him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back”
(Hebrews 11:17-19). I don’t know about
you, but I find that a remarkable statement … that Abraham had such confidence
in God’s promises, that he fully expected God to raise Isaac from the dead.
Death was never a part of God’s plan for his
creation. It entered because of the Fall
into sin back in the Garden of Eden. It leaves
a bitter taste in our mouths. It is
painful … both in body and in soul. The
pain lingers. Grief comes in waves, like
a storm at first, crashing down hard upon you … and later as the surf hits you
at unexpected times and upends you so that you feel that old, familiar sadness
over someone you love and miss. And even
though you and I know that Jesus has conquered death for us, it is still painful
for the Christian, because it is out of order, it strains against life, it
seeks to defeat life, it is the complete opposite of what God is all about, which
is being life and giving life.
But there is another truth about death for the Christian. Yes, death is the enemy. But in another sense, it is the gateway to Paradise,
just as Jesus told the thief on the cross who confessed faith in him, “Today
you will be with me in Paradise.” We
should never hasten death for ourselves or for others. But we can welcome it when it approaches. We can sing with the hymnwriters:
· Hymn 724: For me to live is Jesus, To die is gain for me; So when my Savior pleases, I meet death willingly. (LSB 724 stanza 1)
· Hymn 878: I fear no foe with Thee at hand to bless; Ills have no weight and tears no bitterness. Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still if Thou abide with me! (LSB 878 stanza 5)
· Hymn 679: Oh, how blest are they whose toils are ended, Who through death have unto God ascended! They have arisen From the cares which keep us still in prison. (LSB 679 stanza 1)
· Hymn 938: In peace and joy I now depart Since God so wills it. Serene and confident my heart; Stillness fills it. For the Lord has promised me That death is but a slumber. (LSB 938 stanza 1)
“Ills have no weight and
tears no bitterness.” Death’s sting has
been taken away. Jesus has conquered the
grave for us. The Lamb of God was slain for
us so that we Isaacs get to live. The
Lamb of God rose for us. Therefore, death
can also be called “sweet” by the Christian, as in these words from an aria by
Johann Sebastian Bach:
Come, sweet death, come, blessed rest!Come lead me to peacebecause I am weary of the world,O come! I wait for you,come soon and lead me,close my eyes.Come, blessed rest!
“If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” Trust in Jesus. Trust in him as the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world. Trust in him
who forgives YOUR sin. In this way, you
keep his Word. In this way, you will
never see eternal death. You will never
taste eternal death. In his death and
resurrection, Jesus conquered death for you.
And, though you will see and taste the bitterness of physical death, it
will also taste sweet for you as you are led into the nearer presence of your
Savior Jesus to await the day when you will rise to life again, following in
the footsteps of the one who rose on Easter morning.
INI
Saturday, March 28, 2020
The Fifth Sunday in Lent/Judica (March 29, 2020) - The Office of Matins
HYMN: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty LSB 790
Tune and text: Public domain
Stand
Lent Versicles LSB 219
PSALMODY
Antiphon (Lent)
Venite LSB 220
Antiphon (Lent)
Psalm 43; antiphon: v. 5
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil with- | in me?*
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation | and my God.
and why are you in turmoil with- | in me?*
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation | and my God.
Vindicate me, O God, and defend my
cause
against an ungodly | people,*
from the deceitful and unjust man
de- | liver me!
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you re- | jected me?*
Why do I go about mourning
because of the oppression of the | enemy?
against an ungodly | people,*
from the deceitful and unjust man
de- | liver me!
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you re- | jected me?*
Why do I go about mourning
because of the oppression of the | enemy?
Send out your light and your truth;
let them | lead me;*
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your | dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my ex- | ceeding joy,*
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O | God, my God.
let them | lead me;*
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your | dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my ex- | ceeding joy,*
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O | God, my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil with- | in me?*
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation | and my God.
and why are you in turmoil with- | in me?*
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation | and my God.
Glory be to the Father and to the
Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil with- | in me?*
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation | and my God.
and why are you in turmoil with- | in me?*
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation | and my God.
Sit
HYMN: Not All the Blood of Beasts LSB 431
Tune and text: Public domain
READINGS
First Reading Genesis 22:1–14
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
O Lord, have mercy on us.
Thanks be to God.
Second Reading Hebrews 9:11–15
When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
O Lord, have mercy on us.
Thanks be to God.
Third Reading John 8:42–59
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
O Lord, have mercy on us.
Thanks be to God.
Responsory (Lent) LSB 222
HYMN: The Lamb LSB 547
Text and tune: © 1987 and 1997 MorningStar Music Publishers. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005399
Sermon
CANTICLE
Stand
Te Deum: "We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God" LSB 941
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005399
Tune: Public domain
Sit
Offering
During
this time at which we have been directed to “shelter at home,” you can mail
your offerings to the church or give electronically at our church website by
clicking here.
This is the privilege and responsibility of all members of our
congregation. It is part of our worship out of gratitude for what God has
done for us through his crucified and risen Son. (1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 9:6-8)
PRAYER
Kneel/Stand
Kyrie LSB 227
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Introduction to Collects + PetitionsLSB 227
O Lord, hear my prayer.
And let my cry come to You.
Collect of the Day
Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Additional Intercessions and Petitions
Collect for Grace
O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Stand
Benedicamus LSB 228
Benediction LSB 228
HYMN: Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness LSB 563
5 When from the dust of death I rise
To claim my mansion in the skies,
This then shall be my only plea:
Jesus hath lived and died for me.
To claim my mansion in the skies,
This then shall be my only plea:
Jesus hath lived and died for me.
6 Jesus, be endless praise to Thee,
Whose boundless mercy hath for me,
For me, and all Thy hands have made,
An everlasting ransom paid.
Whose boundless mercy hath for me,
For me, and all Thy hands have made,
An everlasting ransom paid.
Text and tune: Public domain
Acknowledgments
Matins from Lutheran Service Book
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)