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Romans 7:1-13

¹ Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? ² For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. ³ Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

⁴ Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. ⁵ For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. ⁶ But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

⁷ What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” ⁸ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. ⁹ I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. ¹⁰ The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. ¹¹ For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. ¹² So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

¹³ Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God commands us to not want what we don’t have, “You shall not covet.” Such a small command. Not only is it small by the number of words, but it seems such a small, harmless thing to do. So what, if you covet your neighbor’s things? It’s not like you’re actually stealing. So what if you covet your neighbor’s wife or husband? It’s not like you’re actually committing adultery.

But that is exactly what the devil wants us to think. Satan wants us to minimize the sin of covetousness so that we fall into all sorts of other sins that harm ourselves and our neighbor.

Coveting is where sin starts. Remember King David? He was out enjoying his balcony one evening, and he saw Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, bathing. David sinned by coveting his neighbor’s wife, but the sin didn’t stop there.

David had an affair with her – breaking 6^th Commandment. To cover up his sin, David had Uriah killed – breaking the 5^th Commandment. David took Bathsheba as his wife – breaking the 7^th Commandment. In his actions, David lied – breaking the 8^th Commandment. He dishonored his parents by not doing what they had taught him – breaking the 4^th Commandment. By breaking all those other Commandments, David was not honoring God’s name and God’s Word – 2^nd and 3^rd Commandments. In all of this, David broke the 1^st Commandment, serving his desires rather than the true God.

What started with breaking the 10^th Commandment, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife,” turned into a Commandment-smashing spree.

Coveting is a lot more dangerous than we think it is. In Colossians 3:5, Paul says that coveting is idolatry. How can he say that? Well, think about it. At its core, coveting is you believing that God got it wrong when you don’t have what you want. You put yourself in the place of God and, in effect, say, “That thing should be mine.”

That is why God gave the Commandments about coveting. Like Paul did, we don’t give coveting a second thought, but it is deadly dangerous.

Think of your conscience like a radar that picks up the threats of sin. Your conscience radar can pick up the threat of murder, stealing, lying, etc. But coveting is like a stealth bomber. Your conscience doesn’t even notice it.

That’s why Paul says here, “I would not have known what it is to covet if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the Law, sin lies dead.”

Sin is like a sleeping dog, and the Law comes along and kicks it awake. God doesn’t let sleeping dogs lie – not when it comes to sin. God doesn’t want you to be ignorant of your sin and your deadness. So He gave the Commandments.

The Law cannot make you a better person, and the Law certainly cannot make you righteous. That is not why God gave the Law. God gave the holy, righteous, and good Commandments to show you just how dead you are in sin.

The Law always accuses and comes to kill you, sinner, by showing you that you do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things. The Law shows us all that we are covetous idolaters in our hearts and married to sin.

Repent. You were married to sin, but Jesus has come. God made Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin and to die to sin – for you. You were married to sin. But in Baptism, God joined you to Jesus so that you would die to sin and be married to another – to Jesus who has been raised from the dead. And now you are reborn in Jesus, and there is no condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus.

Now, God looks at you and sees Jesus, His beloved child. The life you now live, you live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave His life for you (Gal. 2:20).

Believer, your Husband, your Savior Jesus, calls you to His table to receive His holy body and His precious blood to assure you once again that your sins are forgiven. He gives you His risen body and blood so that you may serve Him. Because of what Jesus has done, you belong to Him, now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

Jeremiah 20:7–13

⁷   O Lord, you have deceived me,
and I was deceived;

you are stronger than I,
and you have prevailed.

I have become a laughingstock all the day;
everyone mocks me.

⁸   For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, “Violence and destruction!”

For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.

⁹   If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”

there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,

and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.

¹⁰ For I hear many whispering.
Terror is on every side!

“Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
say all my close friends,
watching for my fall.

“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we can overcome him
and take our revenge on him.”

¹¹ But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble;
they will not overcome me.

They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.

Their eternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.

¹² O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous,
who sees the heart and the mind,

let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.

¹³ Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!

For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hand of evildoers.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In case you didn’t notice, Jeremiah isn’t too happy with the God who called him to be a prophet. And he’s plenty honest about it.

Jeremiah feels like Yahweh has deceived and tricked him. Jeremiah seems to be in a submission hold, and God isn’t letting him tap out. He is a laughingstock, and everyone is mocking him. God’s Word has become for him a source of anguish because Jeremiah continually has to preach the Law and announce the judgment and destruction that is coming upon God’s people.

If you want to know what life is like for a preacher, these verses let you inside. Jeremiah is ready to hang it up. He wants to be done preaching God’s Word. But if Jeremiah doesn’t preach, God’s Word becomes a burning fire in his heart and bones. He wants to quit, but he can’t. Here, Jeremiah unloads his frustration and despair.

Why? Why is Jeremiah fed up with being God’s prophet? Well, God called Jeremiah at a time when people were hardened against God’s Word, so God didn’t give Jeremiah a happy sermon to preach. The context of this text gives us a glimpse of this.

Back in Jeremiah 19:14-15, God sent Jeremiah to the courtyard of the Temple to preach, “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all the towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear My words.”

Did the people listen and repent? Nope. They didn’t like the sermon, so they just figured they’d get rid of the preacher. Pashhur, the priest, heard Jeremiah’s sermon and beat him. He put Jeremiah in stocks in the Temple.

The next morning, Pashhur came and let Jeremiah out of the stocks, but Jeremiah didn’t retract his sermon. He doubled-down. He preached right to Pashhur, “God doesn’t call you ‘Pashhur’ (which means ‘freedom’), but ‘Terror on Every Side.’ You will be a terror to yourself and to all your friends. You will watch as they are killed. You will see the city be destroyed and plundered. You and your friends will go captive into Babylon, and there you will die” (Jer. 20:1-6).

Jeremiah started with a bold sermon, and the persecution only made him more sassy – at least in public. But the first four verses of this text show how Jeremiah was on the inside. He wants out of the preaching business.

To my great shame, I must admit that I can sympathize with Jeremiah here as he cries out to God. There are times when, like Jeremiah, I say, “I am not going to mention God or speak in His name anymore,” because I get tired of people not listening. Forgive me.

And even though you (most of you, anyway) aren’t preachers, maybe you can empathize with Jeremiah too.

How often do you get mocked, ridiculed, and become a laughingstock to those around you for standing on the truths of God’s Word? It wears you out. How often are you timid to take a stand against the lies of the devil that have become so prominent in our culture and society? Too often, it is much easier to remain silent than to be called racist, bigoted, old-fashioned, and close-minded.

But, too often, because fear rejection, we end up fearing those who can kill the body more than the God who can destroy both the soul and body in hell (Mt. 10:28).

Repent. All of us need to repent.

In our Gospel lesson (Mt. 10:5a, 24-33), Jesus told us to expect persecution. The world called Jesus Beelezebul, the prince of demons, you can expect the same.

But always remember – in spite of whatever rebukes, chastisements, and rejection you may face – God is with you as a dread warrior. He has delivered your soul from death and your feet from falling.

Jesus, the dread warrior, has already faced your most dreaded foe. On the cross, Jesus went to battle with all the forces of evil. He defeated sin, death, and the devil. On that cross, Jesus was dreadful to look at. He was one from whom men hide their faces (Is. 53:3). Yet, Jesus has carried your griefs and sorrows. Upon Jesus, God laid all your iniquity and sin.

Because of Jesus’ crucifixion, you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God (Ro. 6:22).

Go boldly from here, ready to face whatever the devil and the world may throw at you. You have Jesus, the dread warrior, at your side. In God you trust. What can man do to you? Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

Genesis 1:1-2:4

¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. ⁸ And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ² And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

⁴   These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you held a grasshopper in your fist, what could the grasshopper know about you and your nature? Maybe two things. First the grasshopper would realize that you are big and powerful enough to hold him. And, second, the grasshopper would know that you are worth fearing because you could crush him in an instant.

The grasshopper would know more about itself as well – how small, weak, and helpless it is. And it might try to do different things to keep from being crushed – like wriggling around to creep you out so you drop it.

The same is true of us and knowing God. Left to our sinful selves, all we can know about God is that He is bigger and more powerful than us, and that He should be feared because He can destroy us. And you see people do all sorts of silly things they think will keep God from crushing them.

The ancient Greeks would do all sorts of things to appease the gods they thought were in control of the various parts of the universe. The Muslims do everything in submission to Allah to show their obedience. Today, atheists try wriggle their way out of God’s hand by lying to themselves that they aren’t in His palm. And, sadly, even us Christians try to do things that we think will make God more pleased with us. But all of that is based only on false perceptions of who God really is.

So, go back to thinking about a grasshopper in your hand. How could that grasshopper know more about you and your nature? For that to happen, you would have to become a grasshopper and talk to it in grasshopper terms and interact with it as a grasshopper.

This is what God has done for us in Jesus. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came down in our likeness and our nature. If you want to know what God is like, the answer is found only in Jesus of Nazareth.

Apart from Jesus, all we can know about God is that He is big and powerful, but once Jesus enters the equation, we see that God truly is merciful and gracious just as He says He is. With Jesus in the picture, everything that God does becomes the story of how God loves us, creates and cares for us, redeems us, and sanctifies us.

As you heard the account of creation, I hope you had the opening verses of John’s Gospel running in the background of your mind informing what you were hearing. If not, here you go:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known” (Jn. 1:1-3, 14, 16-18).

So, sinners, hear of God and how He is. Though you are a sinner, deserving nothing good and having nothing loveable about you, God died so that your sin could be set aside, answered for, and forgiven.

Because of this, you no longer need to be afraid of the God who, in the beginning created you. He is your Father because of Christ’s atonement on the cross.

Now, when you look at the Scriptures and see all of God’s actions, look at them through the lens of what Jesus has done for you on the cross. See how in the beginning, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was there creating all things good. See how even now, God is sustaining all creation even though we have sinned against Him.

See how God moved the course of history so that at the fullness of time He sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law to redeem us who were under the Law (Gal. 4:4).

See how God the Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to convict you concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (Jn. 16:8).

When you are convicted of sin don’t flee from God. Flee to God because He has died for you. Be convicted of your righteousness recognizing that your righteousness does not come from what you have done, but what God has done for you in Christ. Be convicted of judgment knowing that when you appear before God with hands that are empty of good works, God sees all the works of Christ and His blood which covers you.

And know, that according to Jesus’ command, you have been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19). God has placed His name on you and will not ever forsake you.

The infinite, unfathomable, and incomprehensible God, in His boundless mercy, has created you. Though you sinned against Him, He has come and redeemed you. And He is pleased to lead and guide you through His Word.

Today, rejoice and sing, “Glory be to God the Father. Glory be to God the Son. Glory be to God the Holy Spirit. Glory be to the One, true God, now and forever because He has shown mercy to us.” Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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Acts 2:1-21

¹ When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. ¹⁵ For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;

¹⁸ even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

¹⁹ And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

²⁰ the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

²¹ And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

It’s June 4, 2017. Here you are at church, and everything is much the same as it was last week. Some Scripture readings, confession of sins, absolution, little prayers here and there. Just another normal, predictable Sunday morning at Christ the King.

Well not, entirely ‘normal.’ Today is Pentecost. So, you hear about the giving of the Holy Spirit, and it is impressive, full of fireworks. A mighty rushing wind. People are filled with the Holy Spirit. Tongues of fire rest on those gathered together. Those 120 believers go out and preach the Gospel in the various languages of the world. Then, after this text, 3,000 new believers are added to the number of Jesus’ disciples.

All of this certainly is impressive, and we look at our little congregation gathered in the flatlands of northern Minnesota and wonder, “Where are all those signs today? Why aren’t we seeing the fireworks? Why aren’t thousands being added to our numbers?”

Remember when Elijah hid from Queen Jezebel after defeating the priests of Baal? Elijah fled to Mount Horeb and sat in a cave. A strong wind comes that tears the mountains and breaks the rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind. Then, there is an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then, there is a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. Finally there is a low whisper, and that is where the Lord is. From that thin sound, God speaks to Elijah (1 Kgs. 19:9-13).

The day of Pentecost is similar. All the fireworks of Pentecost are impressive, but those outward things confuse the people. Some even mock those who were preaching saying that they are crazy drunkards.

But it is when Peter preaches that things happen. Peter, who had been the Jesus-denying coward, is now preaching boldly. He tells the people how the prophecy from Joel – the signs in the sky and on the earth – is all fulfilled in Jesus. And Peter hammers the Law. This Jesus, the Son of God in the flesh, you crucified, but God has raised Him from the dead (Act 2:36).

And the people who had been mocking and ridiculing the disciples are cut to the heart and will ask when Peter’s sermon is done, “What shall we do?”

And Peter says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself” (Act. 2:38-39).

The fireworks of Pentecost are impressive, but Pentecost isn’t impressive because of them. Earthquakes, winds, and fires happen even when the Holy Spirit isn’t there.

What really makes Pentecost impressive is what cannot happen without the Holy Spirit working through the Word proclaimed – repentance and faith.

Only by the Holy Spirit can you be called by the Gospel. Only the Holy Spirit can enlighten the darkness of your hearts through His gifts of Word and Sacrament. Only by the Holy Spirit working through these means are you kept in the true faith day after day.

It doesn’t matter if the Holy Spirit adds 3,000 people to the number of Christians in one day or if people are added one by one. The Spirit creating faith is always a miracle more impressive than strong, rushing wind or tongues of fire.

Even if the Word and Sacraments seem boring, they are the Gospel and the power of God unto salvation. Wherever believers are gathered together to receive these gifts and to confess their faith in Christ, there the Holy Spirit is working because no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” apart from the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3).

The fireworks don’t prove that the Holy Spirit is at work. So what sign should look for if we want to gauge if the Holy Spirit is at work? Listen to Jesus, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me” (Jn. 15:26).

Whenever you hear about Jesus’ finished work for you, when you hear about Christ crucified, risen, and ascended for you, there the Holy Spirit is working to bring you to repentance and faith. May God grant this to us and kindle in our hearts the fire of His love. Amen.[1]

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] I am thankful for a sermon by Rev. Timothy Winterstein as inspiration for portions of this sermon.

Listen here.

Luke 24:44-53

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

And, today, let’s add to our alleluias.

Alleluia! Christ is ascended!
He is ascended indeed! Alleluia!

This past Thursday marked forty days after Easter and one of the most important days for the Christian Church – the Ascension of Christ. The Ascension means that Jesus – the One who has redeemed you, shed His blood and died for you, and who is risen for you – this Jesus now sits on the throne and rules the entire universe. The Ascension proves that Jesus has won the victory over sin, death, and the devil.

In the Ascension, Jesus stopped being in only one place at a time. Remember in the Gospels how Jesus would appear even after He was raised? He appeared to Mary Madeline near the tomb. He appeared to the disciples minus Thomas in the upper room Easter evening, and again to all the disciples together a week later. Jesus appeared while disciples were fishing at the Sea of Galilee. And in 1 Corinthians 15, we read that Jesus appeared to 500 witnesses all at one time. In each of those appearances, Jesus was there in that one particular place.

Now, because of the Ascension, Jesus is everywhere all the time in all the world even though we don’t see Him. Remember, that Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:18, 20).

As the Introit –  Psalm 110:1, the third most quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament – said about the Ascension, Jesus our Lord is seated at God’s right hand with His enemies as His footstool. And maybe, you’re objecting because the verse reads, “The Lord says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’” Don’t forget what our Epistle text (Eph. 1:15-23) also said. Christ was raised from the dead and seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly places above all rule, authority, dominion, and above every name that is named not only in this age but in the one to come and, “[God] put all things under [Christ’s] feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church.”

In His human flesh, Jesus, your Savior ascended to God. Now, His nail-scarred but resurrected feet press down upon every enemy of God and every enemy of yours. The Ascension is something to celebrate because the sin-forgiving, death-destroying body of Jesus now covers every corner of the earth. Jesus is with you always protecting you from all harm and giving you every blessing.

But the devil does not want you to rejoice and delight in this, and so Satan attacks you, believer.

The devil attacks all the things that Jesus has done, but he attacks unbelievers and believers in different ways. With unbelievers, the devil attacks Christ’s birth – Christmas. He assaults Christ’s death and resurrection – Good Friday and Easter. The devil does not want people to believe that God became man, that Jesus died, and that He rose again because to believe those things is to be saved.

But once you are a Christian, the devil does not stop his attacks. But with believers, the devil does not come straight at Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection. Instead, the devil chips away at the joy and hope that you have because of Jesus’ Ascension.

From time to time there are videos online of people watching an iceberg break apart. You hear creaking and cracking. Smaller chunks of ice, the size of a car, fall into the ocean. Every now and then, bigger chunks the size of a house fall off. But then, suddenly, half of the iceberg, maybe the size of the new Vikings’ stadium, slips away into the water.

The Ascension of Jesus is like all those smaller chunks that the devil tries to chip away from us so that our whole faith is ripped away from us.

So the devil tries to deceive us into thinking that Jesus has up and abandoned us. Satan tries to turn up the volume on all the evil and wickedness going on in the world to drown out Jesus’ statement that He has all authority in heaven and on earth, that Christ is far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion.

So, Satan points us to the terrorist attacks. He shows us how ISIS blows up a concert in Manchester England, killing twenty-two people, and a couple days later, they shoot up a bus of Christians in Egypt killing twenty-nine of our brothers and sisters in Christ (ten of those were children). The devil tries to focus our attention on the mess of our national politics and economy. The devil points us to how small and insignificant the church appears to be in this world and how many are leaving the church and abandoning the faith.

And the devil puts all the chaos, all the wickedness, all the pain and suffering before us and shouts as loud as he can, “Did Jesus really say that He has all authority in heaven and on earth? If Christ’s enemies are His footstool, how can I do all these horrible things? You must be some fool to believe what Jesus says!”

And too often, we listen. We do not believe that Jesus even now rules and reigns to all eternity. We are robbed of our joy, the world sees us running around worried and panicked, and the devil laughs.

Repent.

The Ascension doesn’t promise us that you will always see Jesus crushing His enemies with our eyes. But the Ascension does promise that His victory is real. The Ascension means that no matter what you see with your eyes, what God says is stronger and more real than what you see.

Look at the end of this text and see how Jesus ascended. “Lifting up His hands He blessed [the disciples], and while He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.”

Jesus’ hands were lifted up in blessing, and Scripture never says that Jesus’ hands are lowered. Jesus doesn’t stop blessing you. Your God, your Savior, Jesus is at God’s right hand blessing you in His ascended victory, now and forever.

Alleluia! Christ is risen and ascended!
He is risen and ascended indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

1 Peter 3:13-22

¹³ Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, ¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹ in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. ²¹ Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Writing a sermon on this text is no easy task. Believe me. I know, I’ve tried.

Peter begins today by telling us Christians to be zealous for what is good. And Peter doesn’t hide the fact that even when we do good, when we do the right thing, we will suffer, we will be reviled and slandered. And yet in the midst of our suffering, we should always be ready to give an answer, a gentle and respectful answer, for the hope that is in us. Peter reminds us that if we suffer for righteousness’ sake, we are blessed.

Peter points out that even Jesus suffered for doing good. Christ, the righteous One, suffered for sins He didn’t commit. Instead, Jesus suffered for your sins and for my sins. The Righteous One suffered for all us unrighteous ones that He might bring us to God. He was crucified. Killed. Put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.

Finally, Peter talks about Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison. He tells us about Noah, the ark, and the deliverance that God granted through water. Peter connects Noah and the ark and the Flood to Baptism clearly saying, “Baptism now saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” And Peter concludes saying that Jesus has now gone into heaven, is at the right hand of God, and angels, authorities, and powers are subjected to Him.

It is a hard text. Doing good. Suffering. Jesus’ death and resurrection. Noah. Water. Baptism. The Ascension. There is a lot here. And how is it all tied together?

Like Peter tells us to, let’s consider Noah and the flood. Usually, when we think of the Flood we think mostly of God’s judgment upon sin, and it is certainly right to do that. Noah lived in an evil time. The world was so full of sin and wickedness that God regretted that He had created mankind at all. So, God determined to blot out man from the face of the earth.

But the Flood is also about God’s deliverance and salvation because “Noah found favor (lit. grace) in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8).

Though God determined to condemn the world through the Flood, God also determined to save Noah and his family. To save Noah, God told Noah to build an ark, to bring his family and the animals in, and to be delivered from the coming judgment.

For 120 years, Noah suffered as he built the ark. Can you imagine? Day after day, week after week, year after year, decade after decade people saying, “There’s crazy Noah building a big ol’ box. Hey, Noah, what did you say you are building that for?”

“God told me to.”

He was ridiculed by everyone else, but he persisted in doing good through his suffering. And Noah’s persistence was his preaching to those who did not listen to God’s voice. In fact, in 2 Peter (2:5), Noah is called a “herald (lit. preacher) of righteousness.” Once the ark was completed, God shut Noah and his family into the ark (Gen. 7:16).

The Flood came, and the waters drowned and doomed everything outside the ark.

Peter says that this is what God has done for you in your Baptism. God has drowned and destroyed all the sin and evil that surrounded you, condemning it in a watery death. And God has put you safely into the ark of His Church.

Remember, the flood waters condemned and drowned, but the Flood also delivered. it was those same waters that lifted the ark and everyone inside to safety.

Believer, everything that Christ has done for you – His perfect, sinless life; His death; His resurrection – it is all delivered to you in your Baptism. In your Baptism, God has united you with Christ’s death and resurrection (Ro. 6:3-11). In your Baptism, God has clothed you with Christ (Gal. 3:27).

So, when you suffer for doing good, have no fear. In your Baptism, in that flood of righteousness, God has delivered you from all sin and evil and delivered to you all that Christ has done for you.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

John 14:1-14

¹ “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.”

⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

¹² “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me.”

If your goal in life is to make a lot of money or have lots of power over others, the easiest way to do it is to stir up fear and manufacture a crisis. The first step in creating fear and crisis is to point out how things are changing and convince everyone that change is bad. Once people convinced this change is scary and terrible, you can keep dipping your hand in their wallet and controlling their behavior.

For years, we were constantly warned about global warming. The earth was getting hotter. We were told, “We are putting too much CO₂ in the atmosphere. The sea levels are rising. We have to get rid of the smog over our cities.”

So, the politicians came saying, “Elect me, and I’ll save you. I’ll make sure greedy corporations don’t keep spewing poison into the atmosphere. I’ll keep your water clean. I’ll make sure your kids breathe safe air.”

And scientists and businesses followed the politicians. “Give us funding so we can do studies.” “Make people buy our lightbulb that looks like spaghetti because it uses less energy.”

It’s gotten so absurd, there are cities spending countless hours and money debating and doing studies about grocery bags. At first, they didn’t want us using paper bags because we were cutting down all the forests, so we started to use plastic. But all those plastic bags are filling up landfills and killing fish and birds. Now, we are supposed to bring reusable bags whenever we go to the store. And those bags need to get washed so we don’t die of salmonella, but washing them uses more energy. And we’re back to square one.

All sorts of nonsense was done in the name of saving the earth and handing a cleaner planet to our children. Never mind the fact that, for nearly twenty years, the global temperature has been staying stable.

So, to keep getting elected and to keep getting funding and to keep making money the scientists, politicians, and businesses no longer talk about “global warming.” No. Now, it’s “global climate change.” Hot summer? “Global climate change.” Cold, snowy winter? “Global climate change.” Rainy? “Global climate change.” Drought? “Global climate change.” And, whenever possible, make sure you call it “catastrophic global climate change.”

None of this is to say that we should be pigs and pollute the planet. Everyone wants clean air and water. And for goodness sakes, this is a sermon – not a stump speech on the politics of weather and mankind’s effect on the climate.

So what’s the point? The point is that people will use change to create fear so they can control you and take your money. It’s almost a mathematical formula: Change X Fear = Money and Power. And the bigger the change, the bigger the fear, the more money and power.

Climate change is an easy target to pick on because in all the fear and fuss about the weather, no scientist, politician, or business will tell you what temperature it’s supposed to be. They don’t tell you what the temperature is supposed to be because if we ever achieve it, there is no more change, nor more fear. And that means they lose their power to take your money and control how you live.

But this same thing happens even in the church. Change is turned into fear in order gain control. The church is aging and shrinking, so we need to do something to draw in young people. The church needs to get more with the times. Giving is down, and the church is struggling to survive. So buy this book, come to this seminar, employ these methods, or your church will die.

But none of those things work precisely because none of it is the means that God has given the Church to do ministry. God has given to His Church His Word and the Sacraments. That’s it. Through these, and through them alone, God creates faith. But that doesn’t sell. So the books, seminars, and methods don’t suggest the Word and Sacraments. And every few years, there are be new books, new seminars, new methods.

We need to repent. We need to repent of our worry when we think we need to save the world. We need to repent of acting as though God’s gifts of Word and Sacrament are no longer the answer. We need to repent of our fear. We need to repent and listen to Jesus.

Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe. Believe in God, believe also in Me.” So, what are you worried about? What is troubling you?

Whatever it is you fear, whatever it is that worries and troubles you, the answer is faith in Christ. In this sinful world, things change. The answer is Jesus and what He has done for you.

Troubled by politics? Jesus has died and risen for you. Believe.

Troubled by the weather? It doesn’t matter if there is or isn’t catastrophic global climate change, and it doesn’t matter if we are causing it or not. Jesus has died and risen for you. Believe.

Troubled by our relationship with Russia or North Korea saying they will wipe our country off the face of the planet? Jesus has died and risen for you. Believe.

Troubled by the decline in the church? Jesus has died and risen for you. Believe.

In Christ, God has given you promises that He will not go back on – not now, not ever. Believe.

Believe because Jesus has rescued you. Jesus has ransomed you. Jesus has gone to the cross and prepared a place for you with Him forever. Jesus has put His name upon you in your Baptism and claimed you as His own. Jesus has given you His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Jesus has absolved you of all your sins.

If you stray, Jesus will seek you out. If you fall, Jesus will pick you up. If you are faithless, He remains faithful (2 Tim. 2:13). Believe.

The simple fact of life in this fallen, broken world is that things change. In this sinful world, the times are always changing. Bob Dylan once said, “There is nothing so stable as change.” He was wrong.

With all the change and decay in this world, there is one thing that always is forever stable and enduring: Jesus has died and risen for you; Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; Jesus is the chief cornerstone of forgiveness, life, and mercy; and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame – not now, not ever.

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe in Jesus.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

John 10:1-16

¹ “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

What is the mark of a Christian? Today, Jesus boils it down to one simple thing, “My sheep listen to My voice.” What makes you a Christian? You listen to Jesus.

There is a lot of talk in the Scriptures about God’s people being sheep, and a lot could be said about how dumb and helpless sheep can be. But the main thing about sheep in this text is one of the good characteristics of sheep – their hearing. Sheep don’t have exceptional hearing like dogs, but they do have very discerning ears.

The way sheep were cared for in Jesus’ day helps us understand this text.

Each town would have a big pen where all the shepherds would bring their flocks at night so they could go home and get some rest. A gatekeeper would be there through the night to make sure no one stole away the sheep. In the morning, the shepherds would go and call out to their sheep. Each flock would gather together and follow their shepherd and go about their sheepish day.

So, picture this scene playing out day after day. Thousands of sheep from many different flocks are in one huge pen, and dozens of shepherds are all calling out to their flocks at once. And in the midst of all the baaing and calling, the sheep, with their discerning ears, would pick out the voice of their shepherd, go toward it, and follow him.

This is how it is with you, Christian. This world is full of voices shouting at you. All sorts of things are trying to get your attention, attempting to get you to follow their voice instead of the voice of your Shepherd, trying to draw you away from your Shepherd.

The voice of one thief calls out to you, “It sure is nice of God to give you green pastures of His Word, but there is so many other things you could eat that would taste even better. I can show you fields of wealth and pleasure. You can feast there and be filled with all they have to offer. Just follow me, and I’ll show you. Those green pastures will always be there.”

The voice of another thief beckons you, “It sure is nice of God to lead you by the still waters of His love, mercy, and forgiveness. But you don’t need that all the time. You are a good sheep. Sure, you aren’t perfect, but no sheep is. And don’t you get bored of being by those still waters? I can show you things much more exciting. I can take you to oceans with big waves of pride. I can take you to rushing rivers of power and influence. Follow me, and we can have an adventure. You can always return to the still waters of God’s love and mercy if you want to.”

The voice of another thief whispers sweetly to you, “It sure is nice of God to lead you in paths of righteousness, but those paths of righteousness can be very hard. I can lead you on paths that are easier. I can lead you on the paths of tolerance and acceptance. So many other sheep walk on them, and you know what they say: there’s safety in numbers. All these paths lead to the same place in the end.”

The promises are enticing and possibilities are alluring. So you follow the voices of those thieves. For a while, the food of those other fields tastes good. For a while, the other waters are more exciting. For a while, the paths are much easier.

But soon you find that you are in the desert. Alone. Hungry. Scared. The thief has lured you away, and you are lost. Without your Shepherd. The wolf comes and snatches you because you have listened to the voices of thieves.

Repent.

Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” And by listening to the voices of thieves, you are damned.

So, hear again the voice of your Shepherd. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

Jesus, your Good Shepherd, has come. Jesus took all the thief’s stealing, killing, destroying. For you, Jesus was robbed of the glory that was rightly His. For you, Jesus was killed. For you, Jesus was destroyed so that you would not be – not now, not ever.

Today, don’t listen to the voices of the thieves. Hear Jesus, your Shepherd, calling out to you, little flock. Do you hear Him? He is calling now. “Take. Eat. This is My Body given unto death for you. Take. Drink. This is My blood shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sin.”

Hear His voice. Follow Him. He sets a table before you. And listening to His voice, His goodness and mercy follow you all the days of your life, and you dwell in His house forever.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

1 Peter 1:17-25

¹⁷ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³ since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for

“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,
and the flower falls,

²⁵ but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Because of sin, all of us are born of perishable seed. This fact shapes how we live and how we act. We have inherited futile ways from our forefathers. And in this time of exile, we end up on a pendulum of pride and despair because we let the things of this world form and shape us.

When life is good, you figure it will always be good. You get prideful, and in your pride, you get comfortable thinking that you are the master and the little “g” god of everything around you. But then, things take a turn. Your world is rocked, things fall apart. You fall into despair because you don’t know what to do or where to turn. And between those places of pride and despair, we figure everything is futile.

We see this happen in our Gospel lesson (Lk. 24:13-35). As the two disciples on the road to Emmaus talk with Jesus, we see that their thinking and their actions were shaped by the futile ways of this world.

Jesus appears to these two as they walked on the road that first Easter afternoon. The two disciples talk about how glorious following Jesus had been. Jesus was mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. He was healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, feeding the hungry, and raising the dead. Good stuff. They figured that He was going to be the one to redeem Israel, and since they were following Him, their pendulum had swung to a place of pride.

But, then, things changed. Jesus was arrested. He was delivered up to the authorities. He was condemned. He was crucified. The one they thought going to redeem them, died and was buried. They figured they must have been wrong, wrong about everything. So their pendulum swung all the way to despair.

And the events of the morning left them totally unsure of everything. The women said they had a vision of angels who said He was alive. But when Peter and John went to the tomb, they didn’t see Jesus. Their pendulum was moving once again, but they didn’t know if it would be to something good or something bad. They wanted to hope. They wanted to believe. But they didn’t know what to think or do.

And the irony in that Gospel text is that Jesus was right there with them. But because they were focused on themselves and their circumstances, they didn’t recognize Jesus.

What happened to these two disciples also happens to us. Even when we are following Jesus and in His presence, there is this danger of letting the futile, momentary things of this world shape us, our actions, and our belief.

Repent. Repent of being focused on yourself and the things that happen to you. Repent of letting the momentary things of this life form and shape you. Repent of missing Jesus’ presence when He is right there speaking to you.

In the closing words of this text, Peter gives a warning. He reminds us that we are like the grass. “All flesh is like grass…. The grass withers and the flower falls.”

But Peter also gives us a promise – an unfading, unshakable, certain, eternal promise, “the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news (the Gospel) that was preached to you.”

Strong and secure in the howling winds of change has always been the Word of the Lord, the Word of the Gospel of Christ crucified and risen, which stands forever.

This Word of the Gospel declares you that you are born again. You are born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable seed.

You see, God’s eternal plan was to send Jesus to redeem you from sin, death, and the devil – not with silver and gold, but with Christ’s holy and precious blood and with His innocent sufferings and death.

This Jesus was foreknown before the foundation of the world. That means even before Adam and Eve believed the devil’s lies and fell into sin, even before God created this world, God had determined to save you, to ransom you, to purchase you from sin by sending His own beloved Son.

Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, is this imperishable seed. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world.

God had promised to send Him. The prophets foretold His coming. But Jesus’ love for you has been made manifest in these last days for your sake so that your faith and your hope would not be in futile things, not in perishable things, not in things that fall and fade. God’s eternal love for you has been made manifest in Jesus and what He has done for you so that your faith and hope would be in Him – the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

Remember that this is your time of exile. Remember that you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but imperishable seed. You have been born of the living, abiding Word of God.

You are His flock, and He will watch over you.

You are His brothers and sisters, and He will defend you.

You are His children, and He will protect you and provide for you.

You are His bride, and He will always remain faithful to you.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Listen here.

John 20:19-31

¹⁹ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

²⁴ Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” ²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The Introit today began and ended with 1 Peter 2:2-3, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

As I was talking with my wife about the texts for this Sunday, I mentioned that verse, and she told me about something wonderful and beautiful that I hadn’t heard of before. Within an hour of being born, if a newborn infant is laid on her mother’s abdomen, that weak, helpless baby will move herself, find her mother’s breast, and start nursing.

God has fearfully and wonderfully made us, and this natural instinct or phenomenon (whatever you want to call it) is one of the many testimonies to that fact. God has designed us so that, even from the moment we are born, we know what we need physically, and we know where to get it.

Two weeks ago, on Palm Sunday, ISIS terrorists bombed two churches in Egypt killing 45 and injuring more than 120 other Christians. As those brothers and sisters in Christ gathered just as we did to wave palms shout Hosannas in praise to their Savior, their cries of welcome were stopped short. They were welcomed by Jesus into His presence where they now wave palm branches around the throne of Christ in heaven (Rev. 7:9).

Why mention these two things together? Why speak of the beauty of a newborn infant nursing and the horror of a terrorist attack?

Because of what happened later that same day. Hours after their neighbors, friends, and relatives were killed, hundreds of your Egyptian brothers and sisters in Christ took to the streets. Outside of the rubble of those sanctuaries, believers gathered together and publicly, boldly confessed the Nicene Creed.

Despite their loss and despite the danger, these Christians, like newborn infants, knew what they needed and knew where to get it. They needed the comfort of their Savior, and they knew the peace that was in their shared confession with their brothers and sisters in Christ.

This Gospel text begins the very first Easter evening. Jesus has risen. The women have seen Him and talked with Him. Jesus has appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and they have told the other disciples that they have seen Him.

But there are the disciples locked inside because they feared the Jews would accuse them of stealing Jesus’ body and faking His resurrection. But just as the sealed stone lying over the entrance didn’t stop Jesus from getting out of the tomb, so also locked doors couldn’t do anything to keep Jesus from His disciples.

Jesus appears and says, “Peace be with you.” He shows them His hands and side, relieving their fear. And Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Twice comforted by Christ speaking peace to them, sent with the presence of the Holy Spirit to forgive sins, and given the promise of serving a risen Savior, you would think the disciples would immediately be out in full force to proclaim the Good News of Christ crucified and risen. But… eight days later, there they are. Inside. Behind locked doors. Again.

Does Jesus just give up on them? No! Should He? I would.

But Jesus is slow to anger and abounding with steadfast love. He shows up again and gives them the same word, “Peace be with you.”

Thomas had not been there the first time, and because of that, he gets his (unwarranted) surname, doubting. You rarely hear him called ‘Apostle Thomas.’ Sometimes, you might hear him called ‘St. Thomas.’ Most of the time you hear him called ‘Doubting Thomas.’ Yes, of course, Thomas should have believed the testimony of his friends. He should have. But his vow of unbelief until he could see for himself is simply Thomas wanting to have the same blessed experience as the other disciples – nothing more, nothing less.

The other disciples, they should get more criticism. They had seen. They had been sent with authority. They had received the Holy Spirit. But they still feared. Yet, Jesus shows them mercy. The next Sunday, Jesus is back to preach the same sermon to all eleven of them. “Peace be with you.”

There is something to learn from both the disciples and from Thomas.

First, from the disciples, we see that we always need these comforting words from Jesus. As your pastor and brother in Christ, I need to hear this because I fall into doubt. I fall into unbelief. It doesn’t matter how many hours I spend in God’s Word each week, I need to be here – not just to preach and lead the service. I need to be here and hear Jesus give me His peace. I need to hear Him say to me, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Second, from Thomas, we should learn that we need to be where Jesus is to hear His preaching. We all, myself included, need to be where Jesus comes to preach to us, “Peace be with you.” Without constantly hearing Jesus, all of us quickly fall into doubt and unbelief.

The only thing that can keep Jesus’ peace from us is our own sinful neglect of hearing God’s Word.

Every week, we go out into the world and get ourselves beat up and kicked down, and we fall into the same fear that made the disciples lock themselves in. And every week, God is here giving out the treasure of His Word. Every week, Jesus is in this place to give us exactly what He repeatedly gave the disciples – His sermon, “Peace be with you.”

But too often, there is some excuse. “I was getting over a cough and needed to sleep in.” “We were just too tired from that tournament.” “We were busy with some guests from out of town.” Whatever the excuse is, it’s rubbish.

If you knew that a billionaire was going to be here one Sunday morning to dole out $1 million to anyone that showed up at 10:30 AM, would you miss it for any of those same reasons? Of course not!

How much more valuable is the Word of God? What greater treasure is Christ’s Gospel? Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ (Ro. 10:17). Without continually hearing Christ’s word, your faith will die, and you will perish for eternity.

Repent. All of us need to repent. We come to church as nonchalantly as we go to the grocery store. We live and we act as though we will always be able to come to this place to hear the Gospel. But that isn’t promised.

Christ has promised that the gates of hell will never overcome His church. Christ has promised that He holds you in the palm of His hand from which no one will be able to snatch you. But that doesn’t mean that this church, Christ the King, will always be here. That doesn’t mean that someday you won’t have to break the laws of man to hear the Word of God.

So the question you need to answer today is this: Do you know what you need, and do you know where to get it?

Satan is attacking this church. The devil has this congregation in his sights because He knows that what happens here week after week is nourishing food for your soul. The devil knows that the singing, the liturgy, the absolution, the reading of the Scriptures, the confessing of our faith, the preaching, the administration of God’s Sacraments is leading people out of his kingdom into the kingdom of God, and he hates it. He absolutely hates it.

So the devil has been patiently nibbling away by tempting all of us with anything that will distract us from being here. But Satan is upping his efforts. Fight the good fight of the faith.

Brothers and sisters, you have tasted that the Lord is good. Keep longing for the pure spiritual milk. Hear again today Christ’s pronouncement, “Peace be with you.” Then, come hear it again next week and the week after and the week after. Through this nourishing Word you will grow up into salvation.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.