ascension
Current mood: tired
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
Feast of the Ascension (celebrated) – May 3,2008

Why do you stand looking?
Acts 1:1-11

† In the Name of the Lord †

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us every blessing of the Spirit in the heavens in Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:2-3 (BBE)

They were gathered there, just forty-three days after seeing the nails pierce the hands, the beam lifted into place, and a nail pierce the feet. Forty-three days since the spear was run through his side, piercing lungs and heart. Forty three days since two pharisees took the body down, and buried it in a tomb, sealing it with a huge stone.

Forty days since Peter and John had run to that very tomb, and looked in, on nothing.

He had brought them together a number of times, eaten with them, taught them again that He died for them, for you.

This day, the fortieth since the resurrection, was going to be different. Matthew's gospel tells us that some were still doubting, confused, overwhelmed by the death and resurrection. The account here in Acts, recorded by Dr. Luke, says they still don't quite get it.

Jesus begins to give them directions to head to Jerusalem, to wait for the Holy Spirit's being oured out upon them, and they interrupt with, "when will God's Kingdom be made manifest – when will Israel be restored?" They just haven't gotten it…..yet.

A gentle reminder, that the Father has it all under control – for He has fixed the times and seasons, by His power, by His authority. Another reminder of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon them, empowering them to give witness to Jesus, to legally testify to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus to Anza, Aguanga, Temecula and the end most parts of the world.

He doesn't disappear for the night this time, He ascends with all glory into the heavens.

And they stand their, staring…. the word picture in Greek – their eyes stretch to make contact to their friend, their Master, their Savior, God. (pause)

They stand there, trying to comprehend, trying to perceive the incredible happenings, the meaning of the moment He ascended, the last 39 days, the day of the Resurrection, and the Crucifixion and the miracles and teaching, the commissioning, this Holy Spirit/Comforter coming and…and…and..

Two guys in white show up, and say, "why are you standing there….loooking?"

• He left us to do the work

Reality sets in quickly, I almost wonder if they have heard the angels tell them that Jesus is coming back.

Peter is in a panic, or at least I would be, if I was in his shoes. The other ten, I imagine were looking to Peter and wondering, "did Jesus really leave him in charge?" We have to be his witnesses, to literally testify at the cost of our lives, that all this has happened? Not just here on the mountain, but in Jerusalem, where they killed Him, in Judea, and to the Samaritans, those creeps, and to the worl…….d.

I can imagine Peter remembering again, the denial in the courtyard, and the time where Jesus had to rebuke him, even calling him, Satan. Surely there is a holier person to trust this task to? Surely there is a prophet hanging out in some cave, isnt' there?

How can Peter and the eleven, or you and I, do the work God has left us to do? Did God really leave us to proclaim the gospel to the world? Doesn't he realize we will mess things up, if we are alone? Doesn't He know we are sinners? That we can be hypocritical, and self-centered, and just not care?

I read a pastor's illustration this week – that so perfectly fits! He overheard his daughter talking to a friend,

"Lindsay told her friend that if she believed in Jesus, he would forgive her all of her sins, and she would go to heaven. The little girl was convinced and prayed for forgiveness. When she finished praying, she looked up and said, "That's it?"
"That's it," said Lindsay." Her little friend got a troubled look on her face, "But what about my brother? Does the same thing go for him?" She looked as if she wasn't too excited about her brother being in heaven. Lindsay thought for a moment and then said, "Well, not necessarily. See, if you don't want you brother in heaven, just don't tell him about Jesus."
How can God trust us alone with His precious Gospel? When we screw up so badly?
How could He just ascend to heaven, leaving this holy, sacred, important work of the gospel, the very ministry of reconciliation to Peter, and James and John and…us? How can He trust His message to… us sinners? (long pause)

2. Wait - He died for us, He is promising His Spirit, just as He did, just as Paul testifies to Ephesus

The answer is, He didn't leave it to us sinners. Not really…. He didn't leave just sinners behind, He left justified sinners; justified by the very blood He came to shed to pay for sin!

Even for the 10 days between Ascension and Pentecost – He didn't leave sinners alone. He sent them back to the place where God put His name, the temple, and the mountain where a sign once read – Here is the King of the Jews.

They would eventually be sent from there, no longer needing the temple, as God had marked them instead, the people of God, gathered in His name, and in His presence. He put his name on us, the people gathered here, in our Baptism.

It is there, that we were given the Holy Spirit, something that you will hear more about, obviously – next week – when we celebrate Pentecost. God's Spirit dwelling in His people, equipping them to do the very work of the gospel, that is the greater promise in our baptism, greater even than the forgiveness of our sins! God still dwells among His people, guiding them, caring for them.

Proclaiming His death, how His Body is given for us, how His blood was shed, becoming the blood of the new covenant. That is what the Words of Institution say, which we shall hear in a few moments. In the Corinthians passage, they are followed by these words,

26 This can only mean that whenever you eat this bread or drink of this cup, you are proclaiming that the Lord has died for you, and you will do that [proclaim that each time ] until he comes again. 1 Corinthians 11:26 (Phillips NT)

Because His death was for Peter and the apostles, because it was for us, God didn't leave the work to strangers in bondage to sin, but to His sons and daughters, cleansed by the blood of Christ.

This is what Paul the apostle spoke of in His epistle, which we heard read earlier,

"[it ] is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

The very death, resurrection and ascension means something for us, for you and I. They very gospel that God has saved us, from sin, and satan, and death.

You see, when the disciples asked Jesus about the Kingdom being restored, what they couldn't realize yet, was that it had been already completed, in the death and resurrection of Christ. Though it hadn't come yet, in a ll glory, it has come, for them, and for us.

We live under His reign now, He has purchased us and made us His. We live under His reign. Someday, He will return, and till then, we have a person or five billion or so, to let know about His grace. That they may too, share in that grace.

The incredible grace of living in the peace-filled arms of God the Father, a place full of the peace that passes all understanding, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Amen?

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The Worship of One True God
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
Sixth Week of Easter – April 27, 2008

In Him, We Live…
Acts 17:17ff

† IN THE NAME OF THE LORD †

To you God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ would give grace, mercy and peace!

An Upset Stomach…

Separated from his friends, the missionary pastor wandered the streets of the city, taking in the strange sights, and sounds and smells. There was much to see, and not all was pleasant. An ancient version of Los Angeles, or New York, the commerce and people from a myriad of places were gathered there in Athens in those days. A center for commerce, a center of education and philosophy, a center for culture the city dominated not only its region but the world. Conquered by the force of Rome, it conquered Rome by its intellect, and culture.

As he wandered the streets, our reading this morning says Paul's spirit was provoked. Is stomach just full of acid as he considered what went on in the name of religion. Cults of every type, philosophies of man as well, had dominated the landscape. Pagan temples that were little more than houses of prostitution, religions that made God's of food and riches, and others that demanded simplicity and over restraint, Athens had them all.

Our communities may not be as sophisticated as ancient Greece, but drive through our community, and we see the same thing, as gods of every type compete with the gospel. Some gods are overt, and promise riches and even miracles, others promise lives full of fun, and some deviously promise fulfillment in sex or drugs or alchohol or other pleasures or things. Some don't even deliver to us the pleasure, but let us live it through others, who seem to enjoy it. These gods assault our communities, for so often they dwell in our televisions, our mp3 players, and dvd's.

It's enough to turn someone's stomach. For a pastor, who has too often seen people seduced for a time by such false gods, it is infuriating. How do we confront such, with the riches of Christ's gospel?

As we then look at Paul, interacting with the people of Athens this morning, I pray we shall see how God interacts with us, how His light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

The extremes gather him

Paul starts in the logical place, entering into dialogue with the people he has some commonality with, the Jews and gentile people who worship our God. It is interesting that we don't really hear how that went, but the other outreach, in the marketplace, is the emphasis. Imagine setting up a table at a place where people gather, and throwing out the claims of Christianity.

Some think he's crazy! You do know what that means, don't you? You and I aren't alone! Seriously, the term babbler isn't a positive one, not is the accusation that he preaches "foreign divinities" or to translate a little more boldly – foreign devils. All because he was talking about Jesus and the resurrection of the dad. Apparently, death was a threat to them, a very real threat. Two groups are mentioned, the Epicureans, who where the connoisseurs of every pleasure known to mankind. Sa a cross between Hugh Hefner, Donald Trump and Paris Hilton, with a bit of philosopher thrown in as well. The other extreme was there as well, the Stoic. The ones who denied pleasure in every form, and lived as aesthetically as possible. They would even experience pain, for that would help them treasure life.

The emptiness of both routes was evident. Neither promised hope, but distraction. Neither helped them cope with life, but enabled escape, even if for a time.

Both hear in Paul something different – a hope, a new life, or just something different. They won't let him escape, but beg to tell them, "what does this mean?." What is this new teaching, this new catechism. They literally grabbed him from the marketplace and drag him to the place where religions were presented and debated. The Areopagus was a cross between the modern university, a television talk show, and a debate. More for entertainment perhaps, but some, I imagine, still sought for truth and hope, and meaning. Paul will provide it, by noting something from there past.

Agnostic Worship?

Several centuries before Paul would step into the Areopagus, another philosopher was queried there. There was a massive drought and plague, and food and money and propane became scarce. To all the gods, whose temples lined the hill like casinos lining the strip in Los Vegas, they offered sacrifices to appease them. One philosopher, finally realizing what was wrong, created the altar to the unknown god. Literally in Greek – the God of the agnostics! I love how one missionary wrote about the wisdom of the philosopher,

"Invoke a god whose name is unknown?" blurted an elder. "Is that possible?
"The assumption is my answer to your question, " Epimenides countered, "that assumption is a very simple one. Any god great enough and good enough to do something about the plague is probably also great enough and good enough to smile upon us in our ignorance –if we acknowledge our ignorance and call upon him. (Richardson, Eternity in their hearts, page 13)

This is the story behind Paul's reference to the altar to the unknown god – a god great enough to do something, despite the ignorance of the people who would worship Him! More than that, a God good enough to act, despite the ignorance of those who would call upon him.

This God, who they prayed do, acknowledging their ignorance, ended the plague nearly instantly, within a week, life was back to normal. Long had the philosophers reasoned about Him, and from looking at creation, they did know of power, and justice, and punishment. But they didn't know all, and really, they didn't know enough. For they didn't have what God had specifically revealed to the little nation of Israel, the knowledge about the Messiah, and of the mercy of God.

We didn't create Him,

Paul starts with the obvious, that any god worth worshipping, even in our ignorance, cannot be a god we have created. For we aren't all powerful, we aren't able to change things supernaturally. We need a God who is, well more than our ability to create, more than our artistry can picture, more than our words can describe. Yet a God, who is not unapproachable, who cares for, and nurtures those He created and gave life. I love these words Paul said, which God inspired,

He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28for
"'In him we live and move and have our being';
as even some of your own poets have said,
"'For we are indeed his offspring.'

Sunday School , this morning, will continue this theme on, talking about how the world would find God, how they would grope around like a blind man in the dark. How their man made gods find a sliver of reality, yet never find out that which is need to be known.

That God isn't far off, disconnected from the world He created. Rather, He is there, responding to us, even when we were ignorant of Him.

There is a key though. I just read, "He made from one man every nation of mankind to live," . We might first think this "one man" is Adam, the father of all, or Noah, whose family replenished the earth. It is neither. It is Jesus the Messiah, the one in which those who live, really do live, and move, and are.

Because in our ignorance, he came, and died, there on a cross, and was buried and rose again. We are His offspring, the children of God who were brought to life in baptism, as we are united with Christ. For Paul goes on to say,

29Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

And we are no longer blind, or ignorant. For God has come to us, and delivered us from death, and from our sin, and given us life in the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

A God great enough, and good enough. Paul knew Him, we know Him. We know His greatness, and His love.

I am thinking, that is the answer we have to the world, and the cure for the upset stomach we get, when we look at the world, so lost among the gods they create. The gods that show that they have a small hint that there is Someone out there. Yet also their gods who aren't good enough, or great enough, because they are made from the imagination of mankind.

Our answer, to go into their midst, to the marketplace and health fair, to anywhere they will go and listen, or drag us to, and dialogue, and give to them the words of life, the incredible news of God's greatness, and goodness, revealing the incredible fact that in Him, we live, and breath and exist.

Because of the man who died, giving his Body and Blood, that we can live.

More than that, we know His mercy, His grace, His love, His peace. The incredible peace of God which passes all understanding, and guards our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus.

Amen?

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Chosen
Current mood: calm
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
The Fifth Sunday of Easter, April 20, 2008

Proclaim His Excellencies
1 Peter 2:2-10

† IN JESUS NAME †

God the Father knew you long ago and chose you to live holy lives with the Spirit's help so that you are obedient to Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood. May good will and peace fill your lives! 1 Peter 1:2 (GW)

Proclaim what?

Proclaim the excellencies of Christ! Proclaim the excellencies of Christ!

The psalms encouraged the same!

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." 3 The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad. Psalms 126:2-3 (NKJV)

Indeed, in another place, the psalmist foresees the attitude, found in this epistle of ours.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Psalms 34:8 (ESV)

Declare to all, the awesome work of Jesus! The wonderful work that He has done, in you, and in me, and in all that have been called to Him! Devore this book, our Bible, because in it, there is the pure, complete picture of God's love for you, revealed in Christ. A message about the incredible precious treasure of God, that we find in Jesus Christ!

In this passage, we see that work, He was called to save those God called to be His People. He was rejected, that we would be accepted. He is the very living stone that is the cornerstone, the one to which we are fitted, as God builds His home with His people. He is the incredible, magnificent light, which has come into our presence, delivering us from darkness.

Declare His magnificent work, Proclaim His excellencies, Rejoice, for He has done great things for us, His people.
This passage is full of vivid, powerful words, used in an incredible elegant pattern where a word describes our precious Lord, the Christ, Jesus, and then it is reflected to describe the work done to us. A glorious passage, one that we can be feed our souls, in a way the riches of the world can never.
The Comparison

We start with a simple word, chosen. Peter tells us that it is Christ that was chosen. The word is the same word that is at the base of our word church, the word that describes as those called. It was the Father's call that would send His only begotten Son from heaven to earth, that we would become the chosen ethne, the called people of God. The Called One responds in obedience, that we could be called together, as the people of God. It's the same word again, that describes us as those called out of the darkness, into His marvelous light. The Called One, enables us to be called.

Part of that call is the rejection of Jesus that occurred. Man saw no value in this servant-king, and rejected all that He did in their presence. The miracles, the teaching, the raising of the dead did not fit into their plans, and so, as prophesied centuries before, they rejected Him, finding Him of no value.

I cannot but think of something I was told this week, that compared the church to a group in the old Christmas claymation movie, Rudolph. As Rudolph was exiled, he gathered around him friends that did not fit the norm. Many of them came from a place called the Island of Misfit Toys. To the world, Jesus didn't fit, and he was rejected by those who should have recognized Him. For us he came, those who appear to be damaged, and like the island of misfit toys, we aren't perfect in the eyes of the world. All would assume, because of our flaws, our shortcomings, the damage in our lives, that God would reject us. Yet Christ is the one rejected, so that we can be accepted by the Father!

The Called One, enables our Call from Darkness to Light. The Rejected One, enables those assumed to be rejected, to be accepted. We are so like Peter, who the world would dismiss as an uneducated, rough fisherman, who becomes the writer of these beautiful words describing God's grace! My friends, Jesus who called and transformed Peter, does the same in our lives!

He is the Living Stone, that we are aligned to

He is called the Living Stone, the Cornerstone, the Leadstone. Yet, we are joined to Him, as individuals, baptized and fitted to Him. All together, we are made into the church, the dwelling place of God. What an incredible picture, for instead of a building made by human hands, it is the Holy Spirit who fits us to Him, forever bringing us to life in our baptism, where we are joined to the perfect One. Aligned to Him, by the master craftsmanship of God, there is no piece that is not fitted, no piece that is out of place.

Is our value found in ourselves? Of course not! Do you really think that someone with less wisdom and power than God could bring us all together? That could take us, with all our different personalities, with all the different challenges, and fit us together as the people of God? Times that by 6000 plus churches in our synod, with even more differences, and that by the number of other churches, that know Christ's work and love. The people who make up God's church, not just on this Sunday, but every Sunday since Pentecost in 29 AD. We are all aligned to Him, transformed by God into His people, adopted as sons and daughters of God the Father.

His Sacrifice makes our spiritual (logical) Sacrifices acceptable!
That I the incredible power of God, revealed to us in Christ, which every page of scripture is about. Often in the Old Testament, we here that the people that God had called to be His, made sacrifices that were not acceptable, that God actually hated. Their sacrifices were not acceptable because they were given as if it was a transaction. As if mankind could give something of value, that would bribe God into acting on our behalf. As if we could get it right ourselves.

But our sacrifice is only acceptable through Jesus, the perfect sacrifice. Because he was the perfect Holy Sacrifice, we can offer a sacrifice that God will accept. For our sacrifice is acceptable, because we are in Christ, united to His sacrificial death in our Baptism, even as we are united to His resurrection. The world rejects this, yet the Father makes it happen.

Because of Jesus, our spiritual sacrifices are valued by the Father. Sacrifices not of bulls and goats. Instead, we find our sacrifices of our words, and our actions. Hebrews says it this way,

13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:13-16 (ESV)

Our praises are what we offer, praise that acknowledges what He has done for us! Praise that acknowledges that to Him belongs all glory and honor and power! For His love, for His sacrifice, for His paying our ransom, the price of our sin, for His presence in our lives. Our sacrifices are also found in the way we live, and use the gifts and talents and treasures. Our sacrifices are but a reaction to the grace and love that is poured out on us.

That is why we should desire God's nourishment, the grace that is poured out to us, through word and sacrament. For it is there that this promise is confirmed, where our faith is strengthened. Where we find sanctuary and rest from a world that we don't really fit into, where we find the love that fills and fulfils our lives.

All because He is the precious and chosen One, for us. For through Him, we have become not just "a people", but God's people, all of us sacred priests who serve Him. For once, we were due wrath, and knew no mercy, but now, because of the cross, we understand that we have mercy that is overwhelming.

So praise Him, sing allelujah, for He has died, and risen indeed, for you!

Amen?

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Real Suffering
Current mood: amused

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
The Fourth Week of Easter – April 13, 2008

Now You have Returned!
1 Peter 2:19-25

† IN THE NAME OF JESUS †

Peter's epistle, from which we heard a few moments ago, starts this way,

To God's chosen people who are temporary residents {in the world} and are scattered throughout Anza, and Aguanga, Sage, Idyllwild, Garner Valley and Sunshine Summit. 2 God the Father knew you long ago and chose you to live holy lives with the Spirit's help so that you are obedient to Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood. May good will and peace fill your lives! 1 Peter 1:1-2 (GW)

The Odd Illustration

There are a lot of pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament. A lot of the stories, picture the work of Christ, that He accomplished at the cross, and because of the cross, that have been accomplished in our lives. We see Jesus portrayed, as Abraham stands over him, ready to sacrifice his son, to make things right with God. We know that Issac lived, because the God would sacrifice His son instead. We see Jesus pictured in so many of the miracles that God did through Moses, from the Passover, to the red Sea, to the sacrifices in the tabernacle and temple. We what Jesus would do, portrayed in Boaz, as he frees Ruth and makes her his bride, and in the vivid illustrations in the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel's writings. From death, would come life, from being in the wilderness and in bondage, God would free and established His people.

One of the pictures of Jesus, I overlooked, until doing the research for this sermon. It was mentioned in a small portion we have of a sermon, by a 2nd century preacher named Iraneus. He compared Jesus to an animal in the Old Testament, specifically to a stubborn jackass belonging to a false prophet named Balaam. Here are the words that remain, "And he mounted upon his ass." The ass was the type of the body of Christ, upon whom all men, resting from their labours, are borne as in a chariot. For the Saviour has taken up the burden of our sins. (Iraneus)
The way Peter describes Jesus, He is very much like that donkey, a beast of burden who knows the way, and guides us, even as He protects us from evil. Who gives us the strength to endure, as we look to what He endures for us.

Balaam's Steed

For those that aren't familiar with the Old Testament book of Numbers, let me rehash the scene between Balaam and his donkey, the one the ancient pastor said pictured Jesus.

Balaam was an interesting character, a prophet not of Israel, but who communicated with God. Indeed, as he rides on his donkey, he heads in a direction that was opposed to God's will. Several times, the donkey changes direction, because in the path stands the Angel of the Lord, ready to swing a sword drawn in wrath. Rather than let his rider deal with the wrath of God, the donkey will attempt to change direction, and eventually just stop. Each time the donkey changes direction, or stops, Balaam beats her, and she simply takes it. Eventually Balaam's eyes are opened to the wrath that the donkey saved him from, and listens to God's directions.

How like Christ! His mission is to seek and save those wandering off into sin, and rebellion against God! Even as He travelled through Galilee and Judea, he called people to repentance, to not continue in their wandering away from God. Peter points out that there was no guide in his mouth. A great word picture, it is the same term for fish bait! He didn't bait and switch, what He said was true, and consistent. The promises He made were true. He simply guided the people towards the Father, as a shepherd would guide the sheep!

Just like Balaam, whipping the donkey, so too was Christ treated. Then he was insulted and reviled. People trashed His reputation, lied, and spread rumors about Him. Even today, who is mocked more than Jesus? Who is ridiculed and dismissed? Whose standards of life are so quickly dismissed? Whose call to love God and your neighbor completely is ignored? Whose followers are beaten and tortured? Sure, some of us can be jerks at times, and yet Christians are unjustly punished in all parts of the world. Because of Jesus. The incredible thing is, Jesus just takes it. He was willing to suffer, and not strike back! He endured it all, that you and I would be protected, indeed saved from the wrath of God, the wrath poured out on all sin. Even when on the cross, they mocked him, and rather than cause suffering and pain and death, He took those things on Himself.

I love how the Phillips version of scripture translated His reaction to the mocking, and hatred the world has directed toward Jesus, how he reacted to the suffering caused by those He served,

He simply committed his cause to the one who judges fairly. And he personally bore our sins in his own body on the cross, so that we might be dead to sin and be alive to all that is good. It was the suffering that he bore which has healed you.

What an incredible God, what incredible love He has shown to us!
Like a beast of burden, he took the weight of all of our sin and bore it.
Our Return
The passage goes on, "It was the suffering that he bore which has healed you. You had wandered away like so many sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. "

How incredible this news is! We have been healed of all that has damaged our lives. Our own sin, the sins others have committed against us! We are healed of it, because He suffered in our place. He wouldn't let us face the angel wielding God's sword of wrath! That healing has caused us to be returned, His people, His flock, under His care.

A very famous British pastor explained this incredible sacrifice this way,

The message of the cross! We must be clear about this. What is the message of the cross? What is the message concerning the death of Christ? Is it that there he is just proclaiming that though you are doing this to my Son I still love you? No, no that is not enough! There is substitution here. There is punishment here. He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. God hath laid on him the iniquity of us all, by his stripes we are healed. We behold him stricken, smitten of God.
The great transaction—when God takes your sins and mine and puts them on His Son and smites him, punishes him for us, and thereby offers to us a free forgiveness and salvation which delivered us. He has done it. It is all in Him. He has not come to tell us what to do. He has done it for us. He took our place. He died our death. He bore the punishment of our sins.

Luther said similar,

Christ is not so much a judge and an angry God but one who bears and carries our sins, a mediator. Away with the papists, who have set Christ before us as a terrible judge and have turned the saints into intercessors! There they have added fuel to the fire. By nature we are already afraid of God. Blessed therefore are those who as uncorrupted young people arrived at this understanding, that they can say: "I only knew Jesus Christ as the bearer of my sins."

When you and I were baptized, the sins we have committed, and even will commit, were nailed to the cross. This passage, like Romans 6, tells us of the sacred thing that happened to us as well. He bore us, and we were united in that death, that we would as well be united with the resurrection. Like the donkey protecting Balaam, we were take away from the sin which drove us, and united to Jesus, we were brought to righteousness!

The Secret of the Journey

That is the secret to living life, in the face of suffering, in the face of even being mocked and killed, because we dared to trust in Jesus Christ. How do we survive in a life that justice doesn't seem to exist? How do we dare attempt what Peter says,

"Indeed this is part of your calling. For Christ suffered for you and left you a personal example, and wants you to follow in his steps"

We do it because He has born our burdens, indeed, in His death, He bore us, hidden in Him, that we would be raised to new life in Him. We walk in His steps, even in His wake, as He battered down the wall of death. When he was crushed for our sin, when His blood atoned for it all, we were protected, and guided.

Knowing God's love is so directed toward us, what suffering is too much? What kind of things can people say about us, that would diminish His love? The writer of Hebrews says it so beautifully,

14 Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must hold firm to our profession of faith. 15 For the high priest we have is not incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us, but has been put to the test in exactly the same way as ourselves, apart from sin. 16 Let us, then, have no fear in approaching the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace when we are in need of help. Hebrews 4:14-16 (NJB)
In the Revelation of John, it says it this way,

10 Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, 'Salvation and power and authority for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the accuser, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down. 11 They have triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word to which they bore witness, because even in the face of death they did not cling to life.
Revelation 12:10-11 (NJB)
In view of this, we can serve, we can see God's hand guiding us through any challenge, even through suffering because we look to Him. Rejoicing, for in bearing our sin, by letting His blood be spilt, we know the promise.

We are His people, for eternity, and even now, His promises bring us incredible peace, in the midst of life. For it is the blessing of the Father's peace, which passes all understanding, and guards our hearts, and minds, in Christ Jesus.

Amen?

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Destiny Manifested
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
Third Sunday of Easter – April 6th, 2008

Destiny, Manifested
1 Peter 1:17-25

† IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST †

Peter’s epistle, from which we heard a few moments ago, starts this way,

To God’s chosen people who are temporary residents {in the world} and are scattered throughout Anza, and Aguanga, Sage, Idyllwild, Garner Valley and Sunshine Summit. 2 God the Father knew you long ago and chose you to live holy lives with the Spirit’s help so that you are obedient to Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood. May good will and peace fill your lives! 1 Peter 1:1-2 (GW)

The World’s Idea of Manifest Destiny
1845 John Sullivan’s term coined
But how does that fly, in the face of time and the frailty of life?
In 1845, in a document called "The Annexation", a writer named John Sullivan made a very bold statement. He wrote, ""our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions". In doing so, he put a name to an American Political Philosophy that still exists in some areas, and had existed since the time of Benjamin Franklin. Called the Doctrine of Manifest Destiny, it claims that it is the God given destiny of the United States to expand its power and influence in the world.

It became responsible for several "annexations", including that of Texas, (a mistake?) California, Oregon and Hawaii. The theory was involved in the negotiations for Alaska, and for a short time, for a desire to annex Canada. It was influential in our decisions in the first and second world war, and the desire to be the influence in the world today.

Historically, the doctrine doesn’t claim anything other nations and empires haven’t claimed for themselves. The British Empire, Charlemagne’s and Napoleon’s France, Hohenstaufen’s Holy Roman Empire, Saladin’s Empire, as well as ancient empires like Constantinople, Rome and others claimed their power and expansion was God given, and who is there to say God didn’t use them?

The concept of God divinely manifesting something is not without merit either. There is indeed, a destiny in scripture that is made manifest. And it is a glorious thing. Even more than the American political theory, it changes lives, and it endures
That is what we see in the letter from Peter to us, the church, today.

Destiny Unmanifested?
Futile Inheritance – Vain and Deceptive!

As we move towards looking at what scripture says that God has destined, the text also describes something that rapidly fades in comparison. Indeed, it fades so rapidly, that we must be ransomed, freed from the hold it has over us. Here again the first few verses from 1 Peter,

17And 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, 18knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

The reader’s of this epistle were ransom from futile ways, inherited from their forefathers. That’s an interesting phrase, considering the idea that the letter was originally written to Jewish Christians, whose hope was placed in a temple, and in their legacy as descendants of Abraham. The word futile is interesting as well, as other translations use words like vain, and deceptive, and the word seems to be somewhere in the middle of the three. Vain, as in empty and without worth. Deceptive as in it doesn’t deliver what it promises, and futile as in ineffective. Harsh words indeed, from the apostle. They point to a blemished inheritance, something that just isn’t all its cracked up to be. That if we look to God’s judgment about whether something is good, or whether it is somewhat less than that, we know it just isn’t enough to measure up to God’s standard of goodness.

That I think describes us, all to well. We may see lots of things that are good around us, but how many of them meet God’s standard? Does our country, with all its blessings? Does our state? Do our work places? Do even our families? Can we count on anything that we see to provide us not only answers, but hope. 9+ And to be honest, this life, even in the greatest country in the world doesn’t supply it.

I thought that after March faded into history, life would slow down, that for a few weeks, we could take a step back, and just be in awe at the resurrection. This week has shown how frail life is. From Marge’s accident, to Mike’s son being mauled, to another friend whose sister had a tumor expand in her brain requiring emergency surgery. What do we count on in life? Or is it all, as the writer of Ecclesiastes said, all vanity, all futile?

Friends, if we place our faith in something less than God, and what He has made manifest, what He has revealed and made known, we are a hopeless lot.

But we do not place our hope there, because God has given Christ, and given us the ability to place our hope, and our trust, in Him.

Destiny.. Manifested
The true manifest destiny is found in our passage today. Verse 20

20He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake, 21who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory.

I want you for a moment to think about when God, our Father, destined us who believe to be united to Christ. Before the United States stretched from Sea to Sea. Before the phrase Manifest Destiny was coined. Before Ben Franklin and the Revolutionary War. Before the British Empire grew so large, it was declared the sun could never set completely on its empire. Before Napoleon and Charlemagne, and Constantine, and Nero was the cross. It has been 2000 years since Peter wrote in these last times it has been made clear, and for centuries and millennia before that, that God spoke, and the world was created out of nothing. Before creation, Christ’s destiny, and ours destiny were linked at the cross.

That is what has been revealed, as we saw last week, a living hope, not based in anything less than what was planned from before time. That is amazing to me. That when Christ’s was destined to die on the cross, it was for you and I.

That our being redeemed and ransomed was not done with metals that is perishable, and will fade away. But we are redeemed, we are reborn, because something more valuable was spilt on the ground. The blood of Christ. The first time we were born, our life came from two mortals, and therefore, like everything from a flower to gold and silver, we can perish. But when we are united with Christ’s death, and given life, or the old word from the creed, "quickened" the seed, that which generates life, is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It’s that blood of Christ, that we are united to in our baptism, that is what Peter talks about in verse 22, when he talks of purified souls and pure hearts. Peter points out that,

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
I love the word pictures attached to the two uses of pure. The first pictures the cleansing, the making holy, the removal of everything that would cause blemish or spot. The washing of renewal and regeneration that Paul tells Timothy the Holy Spirit accomplishes as He is poured out upon us. The second word originates in the same place that we get the word cauterize. It pictures the removal of infection and disease, and the sealing of the wound, that nothing else could infect it. Both are ways of purifying us, and both are promises in our baptism.

With purified hearts and souls, we see the greatest view of our destiny, as we are united with Christ, the one who destiny was manifest to us in this age, but always known to God.

Your Destiny
Glory in the resurrection
Earnestly love –purified to love
It’s beyond me….the word is living and abiding in you

John Sullivan talked about a country that’s expansion was without limits. While that may be true for the USA for a three or four centuries, Peter reminds us, by calling us exiles, that we are of a different country, a different kingdom, and everlasting one. That someday, the exile will be over, and that we shall see God’s glory.

It is that which our hope focuses, that we trust in God Almighty, and the incredible work of Jesus Christ, His Son and our Lord. It is the promise of His word, that through the Spirit brings us to life and abides with us. That hope sustains and empowers us.

It is even what causes us to live differently than the world. That enables us to love without hypocrisy, but sincerely, and with great zeal and earnestness. My friends, this destiny which God has revealed to us allows us to call on Him, to do things that the world is just blown away by.

Because we have the peace of knowing our kingdom will never fade like a flower, like every great country and empire has. It will last beyond perishable things like silver and gold, because our source of life is Christ.

That is what brings us the peace of God, which goes beyond description, and guards our hearts and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen?
 

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Imperishable, Undefiled, Unfading
Current mood: blank
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
The Second Sunday of Easter – March 30, 2008

Imperishable, Undefiled, and Unfading
1 Peter 1:3-9

† IN THE NAME OF JESUS THE RISEN LORD †

Peter’s epistle, from which we heard a few moments ago, starts this way,

To God’s chosen people who are temporary residents {in the world} and are scattered throughout Anza, and Aguanga, Sage, Idyllwild, Garner Valley and Sunshine Summit. 2 God the Father knew you long ago and chose you to live holy lives with the Spirit’s help so that you are obedient to Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood. May good will and peace fill your lives! 1 Peter 1:1-2 (GW)

The Dark Night of the Denny’s Soul

As the place began to empty out, so did our strength. Our bodies began to realize how much we accomplished in such a short amount of time. It starts with the lower back, and you would those who had worked so hard begin to stretch out in the kitchen. The yawns would set in, and then a few would sit down, and the moment they did, they would realize how darn sore their feet were.

The clock which had flown, now began to slow down, and the hour between 4 and 5 a.m at the Denny’s on Lincoln and Tustin in Orange, seemed to take weeks.

At 5 a.m., realizing that our breakfast crowd was soon to be on its way in, we hit high gear again, or as close to high gear as we could manage in the in the Dark night of Denny’s soul. The darkness didn’t help, nor did the quiet as a restaurant that could sit 160 people, had Max the chauffer driver, two police offers hiding from their seargent, and four employees.

Something happened at dawn though, as a new day was born. People, who had spent the night in sleep, entered the restaurant, full of energy. Usually they brought enough money to leave a good tip. That hope propelled us forward, energized us, and all of sudden, we had the energy we came to work with, at 10 pm.

If the new dawn, and a bit of treasure known as tips could energize a waitress, a waiter, a cook and a busboy/dishwasher, and give us the energy to forget our sore backs and feet, how much more energy is created by realizing the significance of a different morning?

The significance of the morning when the tomb was empty, and the one who eleven men and a few women had trusted, was no longer dead from the cruel torture and crucifixion that had killed him a few days before. Instead, imagine the energy of seeing Jesus face to face? Think of the incredible change it caused in Thomas, who went from hopeless, weary and unbelieving, to the one who cried, MY Lord and MY God!

The money I made in tips I accepted with great joy is long spent, the energy I had, that came with the birth of a new dream, a long forgotten dream. But the hope that was born nearly 2000 years prior, still is alive, and it grows stronger!. For The Inheritance that became ours that day, that which we hope for, is Imperishable, Undefiled and Unfading.

It is that hope, the living hope that is our focus today.
The Birth of Hope

At 4:32 a.m. in the morning, Denny’s is not the place to be, whether you are working, or going there, out of desperation to be with people. There is a stillness that isn’t necessarily peaceful, and a quiet that isn’t quite natural. The little side work that needs to be done in the waitress stations, and in the kitchen, just seem overwhelming. The customers, all seem depressed, because they didn’t plan 20 years before, to be sitting at the counter of a Denny’s, sipping coffee, The darkness seems overwhelming. I wish I had the words to explain, but life at that time of the morning seems life-less.

It’s like life, when we take our eyes off of God, when we forget His promises, when we like Thomas, for a moment, are so in despair, that we cannot believe the news He is alive. Life just isn’t right, there is a detachment that can overwhelm. The sense of what isn’t right may not be able to be put into words, but it is there. The sense of the sin of the world dominates, as does the sense of our own failures. We might think we are seeing things clearly, that everything is well defined. as our senses seem sharpened. They aren’t, it is an illusion that comes from being too weary, too tired, to overwhelmed.

My friends, we don’t live in that world. We live in the world of Easter, in German it means New Dawn, and refers to the fresh, alive, crisp morning, as the son invades and decimates the darkness.

Hallelujah! He has Risen!

I love the word’s Peter writes, "He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,"

This is important to realize! When we talk about being born again, we usually refer to Jesus comments to Nicodemus, "You must be born again!." But that occurrence happens by God’s power, when God unites us to the death and resurrection of Christ. Listen to one of God’s promises about such, a prophesy found in Ezekiel 36,

23 I will reveal the holiness of my great name, ….Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, because I will reveal my holiness among you as they watch, declares the Almighty Lord. 24 ….. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean instead of unclean. Then I will cleanse you from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove your stubborn hearts and give you obedient hearts. 27 I will put my Spirit in you. Ezekiel 36:23-27a (GW)
That’s being born again, when we see God’s holiness, revealed in Christ’s death and resurrection, when we became new creations as God cleansed us.

Like the dawn, seen through the trees of Eisenhower Park, the filtered down through our windows in the Denny’s.

The Guarding of Hope

I want you to picture yourself, having walked out in your yard, taking a shovel, and digging a hole. Maybe your planting a tree, or digging a fence post. And as you dig, you hit something hard. You dig around it, and find out it is a chest, and it looks quite old. The lock, old and huge and rusty, breaks, and you see in the chest hundreds of Spanish dubloons. You found Bautista’s treasure chest, that he buried when he passed through this area 400 years ago!

What is your second reaction?

It’s probably one of two things. You either calculate how much you need to put in the offering tray this morning, or you wonder who has seen what you have found, and how are you going to protect it.

The treasure we have, as we are born again to a living hope, by the power of the resurrection, is worth more than 1000 such chests. What’s even better, we don’t need a Remington 1870, or a Smith and Wesson .57 magnum to protect it! It can’t be stolen, this inheritance that we have been promised. It is guarded by the most powerful guard in History, according to scripture, and in the safest place. Guarded in heaven, kept there, secure for us, guarded there by the power of God! Not only that, but we are guarded as well, by the same power of God.

I love how one version, called the Phillip’s, phrases this. 3 Thank God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that in his great mercy we men have been born again into a life full of hope, through Christ’s rising again from the dead! You can now hope for a perfect inheritance beyond the reach of change and decay, "reserved" in Heaven for you. And in the meantime you are guarded by the power of God operating through your faith, till you enter fully into the salvation which is all ready for the coming of the last day.

God’s power operating through your faith! What an incredible promise! God gives us the faith, when He makes us ours, giving us a new birth, a new heart, and His Spirit. He works in our faith, assuring us that we can trust Him.

Even through temptations and trials, indeed, it is through those temptations and trials, that He proves our faith genuine. In the memorial service message yesterday, I said something quite profound. That faith isn’t about the strength of our character, or the power of our will. It is about recognizing God’s faithfulness, and knowing that He will never be unfaithful, or break a promise, trusting Him.

This is true, even when we are tempted by the world. No matter whether we triumph over the temptation by God’s power, or we fail, and turn to Him for forgiveness, and assured of it, because the blood of Christ was shed to guarantee it, we see that our faith is not misplaced!

Indeed, what power has temptation and trials in the first place? It cannot separate us from God – for God’s power, His faithfulness is what guarantees it. Not our goodness!

The permanence of What is hoped for

That is why our inheritance, guaranteed safe in Heaven, is Imperishable, Undefled and Unfading. I love that phrase! What God has promised us cannot rot or spoil! It cannot be tainted or vandalized, or desecrated, and it’s beauty will never fade.

God sustains it, He protects it. Even in the midst of trial and temptation, He proves our faith is genuine, because He is faithful! He gave us this hope, this incredible inheritance, to be called the children of God, to spend eternity in His presence!

When darkness is overwhelmed by the power of the sunrise, when the birds start to rejoice, that same Denny’s, which in the dark was so ominous, so lonely, which revealed such shortcomings, became a place that was peaceful, and joyful, and bright.

Even more so, as the Son Rose, and as we realize our new birth that is caused by the power of that resurrection, does our life become one of joy that is beyond words, completely inexpressible. Filled with the glorious peace of God, OUR FATHER, peace that us indescribable, that guards our hearts, our minds, our inheritance, our salvation in Christ Jesus.

AMEN?

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A Man and His Faithful God
Current mood: tired
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
The Memorial of W. Dale Russell – March 29, 2008

Trustworthy!!
Isaiah 40:28-31 and Matthew 14:22-33

† IN THE NAME OF THE LORD †

Dear Judy, and to all gather here,

The grace, the mercy and the incredible peace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the comforter, is for you.

A man, and his trustworthy God

As this day progresses, you will hear about a man. This message is not so much about this remarkable man, but about a relationship that he was drawn into, and rejoiced in. The relationship would be enlarged as Dale would be given Judy, his beloved wife, even as another man was given Eve, to walk by his side, in the presence of the Giver Eventually, this relationship would include us.

The relationship starts with the Triune God; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God the Creator and Sustainer and Redeemed and Sanctifier. God, who gave Dale life, and when God redeemed him, called Dale Russell to be one of His sons. God, who would support Dale throughout his life. Who would give strength beyond anything we could imagine, yet of which we were witnesses. The God whose love and faithfulness Dale would describe, as joy filled tears poured down his face. The God whom we entrust Dale to this day, knowing that Dale is safe and secure in the peaceful and glorious presence of God, in whom Dale trusted, because His God is trustworthy.

Knowing that, and trusting in God as well, we can walk in Christ’s peace through the shadow of this life as well. We can draw comfort from God, who has called to us as well, and whom we can trust.

Another man who found God Trustworthy

In our Gospel reading today, we see another man who found God trustworthy. The story isn’t about Peter, even as this sermon isn’t about Dale. Both heard God’s called, and found God trustworthy beyond anything else in life.

I want you to picture yourself in the boat, struggling and worried as the waves crash over the bows, the wind stings your face. Then in the distance, you see someone walking towards you on the water. Uhm yeah, on the water. My mind would be trying to come up with a million different explanations, none of them pleasant or peace-filled. Not exactly a normal occurrence, and perhaps your fear hits a new plateau.

To Peter, the voice makes all the difference. The same voice called him to follow beside the same sea. The voice that had calm storms, and said words and miracles happened, the voice that taught so clearly of God’s love. The voice that had calmed fears. The voice that said, I am the Good Shepherd, and I am the Resurrection. The voice that said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The voice that had proven trustworthy. The voice that said, "Come."

Knowing that voice and trusting the One who speaks, Peter jumps overboard. Not because he isn’t afraid, and not because of the strength of his own character. Like most of us, he struggles with his ego, and doubt and is and while brilliant in one moment, the next he fails. One who will stand up against an army of Roman soldiers and guards of the high priest, and an hour later, quake and deny Jesus to a little serving girl.

You see, faith isn’t about the strength of our character or will. My friends, it is depending on the fact that God is trustworthy beyond our own strength far beyond our reason. Faith is simply trusting in God, and in His promises. To know we can trust in Him, even when we are unfaithful. Even more so then, as we come to Him, to make things right. We see that in the incredible miracles of the cross of Good Friday, and the empty tomb of Easter morning. Another man who found God trustworthy and faithful, wrote that God’s faithfulness was proved, when He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die for us, while we were yet sinners. He didn’t say this in theory, when God called to Paul, he was on a mission to imprison Christians, and kill their pastor. He was the enemy, to whom God was Faithful. Faith is living life knowing that God is always trust worthy. It’s about His character, and His strength. An everlasting God, who does not grow faint or weary, who understands all.

That is the kind of faithful God we have, in whom we can trust. That is the trustworthy God that called Dale and made him His in Dale’s Baptism, and called Him home.

Amidst the waves and weariness
Strength in weakness
Eagles Wings, and Walking on Water
A living Hope

That man Paul, who found God trustworthy said he found that true strength was found in weakness. He wrote that when he realized how helpless he was, God’s strength held him up. It’s what Isaiah said, when in our reading he says,
29He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
31but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

When Dale stood up, on a Sunday, January 13th we experienced the truth of this. He took off his oxygen, and walked from the recliner we set up for him back there, and walked forward for communion. He looked to the God who called him into a relationship to sustain him. God was faithful to him, and granted to him a desire of his heart. He focused on God, and the promises of sin forgiven, and life eternal, and walked up to dine with His God, and with His church family.

It’s what Peter found out, when walking on the water. The moment he turned and looked, and worried about the winds and the waves, and realized he was doing the impossible, he started to sink. In a flash, Jesus was there, holding Peter up, helping him back to the boat. Peter writes so clearly of this in the third passage, which is the focus of tomorrow’s sermon.

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

Dear Judy, dear family and friends of Dale, there may be days ahead, where your faith may be tried by grief, where life will be easily compared to the storm driven winds and waves of the sea. Be not afraid, for He is there, ready to bring comfort, ready to lift you up if you fall. Call upon Him, for God will be there, and He is trustworthy.

So look to Him, the one who called you, as He called Dale. Trust Him. Rest in the Father’s peace, the peace that is unsurpassed, and beyond all understanding, the peace that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until we are all called to into God’s presence alongside Dale, and many other saints. Until we are called to our eternal home.

Amen?

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He is Risen!

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008

At that/this Time
Jeremiah 31:1-7

† IN THE NAME OF THE RISEN LORD †

The grace, and mercy and peace of God the Father, and the Risen Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!

The Now and not Yet Journey..
The destinations, the cross, and the empty tomb

Yesterday, as we were driving down to Kay’s parent’s home, I realized that it will not be all that long, until our ears are treated to a very repetitious phrase. From the back seat will a voice cry, "Dad, are we there…yet?". I remember how annoying that phrase was, when my brother and sister would ask, as we drove to the beach, or up to a friend’s house on the Main coast.

As we look at our Old Testament reading today, on this journey through life, there are days I long to ask the same question, "Father, are we there yet? Are we going to be there…soon?"

You see, this passage from Jeremiah points out a specific destination. Not exactly a house, but a home, the place where we belong, indeed our final destination. Hear again the words of Jeremiah,

1 "At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people."

At that time. At that time. The time when the last verse also comes to completeion,

7 For thus says the Lord: "Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, ’O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’

In a world were stresses multiply with every trip to the gas station, with every bill that is opened, and everytime we turn on the television and watch the news, or read the paper, the question is ask.

Father, are we there yet?

With a view to this weekend, to the incredible miracles of the cross and the empty tomb, we realize that it is now, and not yet. Or better put, we have survived the wilderness, and found the grace. That time is at hand, and we can rejoice. We have seen the glory of the cross, and know clearly its meaning.

Yet, we only have begun to discover the glory of the resurrection. We have only begun to barely realize what it means that God has declared that He is our God, and that we are His people.

Today, as we celebrate the fact that He was crucified, and Hallelujhah, He is Risen Indeed… We shall look at both, and realize that we have found rest in Christ, even as we forward to the eternity we have before us.

So let us look at the part of the trip that has been accomplished, so that we know where we are at. We see this part of the trip described in verse two and three.

Survivors of the sword..

2 Thus says the Lord: "The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, 3 the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

What is Jeremiah talking about, what people that survived the sword? What sword? What wilderness? There are a couple of theories of course, but I think it becomes much clearer, if we see the context, and what comes in the chapter right before this.

21 Their prince shall be one of themselves; their ruler shall come out from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? declares the Lord. 22 And you shall be my people, and I will be your God." 23 Behold the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. 24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intentions of his mind. In the latter days you will understand this.

Whenever this time begins, it begins with a new prince, a new ruler, that comes from the people. When it happens, we have the same promise of God, regarding being His people, and He being our God. We also see, quite clearly, that God’s fierce anger and wrath will go unabated, and devastate the wicked. It will not turn back, until the very plan of God is fully accomplished.

Personally, I have seen a few storms when I lived back east. Been through the dust storms here. But I cannot imagine the terror of seeing the wrath of God burst on the head of those who do evil. Especially since I am not completely innocent of such things in my life.

Yet, that passage also tells us that at that time, in that day, God will burst something else. In 30:8-11, Jeremiah records God’s promise, that not only will evil be defeated with great prejudice, but that the grip it has on us, will be broken as well. That through this Ruler that the Father will raise up, we will be delivered, and that we shall gain that for which we have sought.

Rest. Quiet and ease. Nothing can frighten us, for He is with us to save us.

That is how we find the grace that is in the wilderness of life. In the midst of all the storms, financial, political, the wars and rumors of wars, even through natural disasters, we can know peace.

Because of the cross. Because it is in the cross, that we find the refuge that Psalm 36 speaks of,

7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings!

If we are to find hope anywhere, if we are to find peace, and sanctuary, it is in the presence of God.

We don’t fear God’s wrath, because He has given us a place that shields us from it. His presence. That is what the cross is all about, when upon Jesus the wrath that our sin earned, was poured out on Him. The only one who could withstand it, and even though He died on a Friday, on Sunday we can say, Hallelujuah, He is risen!

For we were hid in Christ, and in His death, in our baptism. It is the promise we see in Romans and Colossians 2, that we are claimed there.

That is how we have found grace, and we know God’s faithfulness. For nearly 600 years before the cross, Jeremiah spoke of this very thing! And we have survived, indeed, we are promised far more than mere survival.

That is the part of the journey, that we are just beginning to realize!

You see, our Lord has risen… and He can freely approach God the Father, and eventually, we will reach the final destination. Its’ described in the rest of the passage.

4 Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. 5 Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit. 6 For there shall be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of Ephr.. ’Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ " 7 For thus says the Lord: "Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, ’O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’

If you like the show, Extreme Home Makeover, you will love this. For God has promised, since we have died with Christ, that He will re-build us. We are as pure and innocent and holy, as if we had never sinned, even once. Because of Christ’s righteousness, we are now considered righteous.

The description in this passage, is the description of what awaits us, the celebration of God’s people, finally, completely, entering His presence forever. Where we can see Him, face to face. Where we not only know we are in His presence, but where we rejoice in the full reality of it.

No wonder it describes us as dancing around with great abandon and joy! No wonder we will sing loudly with great gladness, and shout praises to the "Chief of nations" or, using the similar titles, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The pictures are incredible, that we will share in long range harvests and that even the places that were used for Idol worship, the mountains of Samaria, God will cleanse and bless.

The watchmen will cry out – let’s go up to God’s city, to God indeed.

That is when we have arrived, a journey made possible by the cross on Friday, and the tomb which is empty on Sunday, because He Has Risen.

For now… you are hidden in His wings… safe, secure, be ready for the cry. For when the we say " O Lord, Save your people,"

We know today He has. Because we know of the cross, and the empty tomb, we know He has given us the ability to rest in His peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding, which guards our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus. Amen?

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Good Friday
Current mood: pensive
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
Good Friday, March 21, 2008

"What Has Been Written"
John 19:1-42

† IN THE NAME OF JESUS, THE MESSIAH †

This day, the guarantee of God’s unfathomable peace is yours, true grace guaranteed to those who believe, by the blood of Christ Jesus!

The Demand & The Answer

He is there. (pause)

Hanging between two thieves, the blood pouring out from the scars on His back, the wounds from the crown of thorns as well, and from the new wounds in his hands and feet. The pain is intensifying, as if one could even imagine the intense pain inflicted in the last twelve hours.

For some it is simply not enough. The sign, the very claim that they went to Pilate with, now stares them in the face.

The King of the Jews

So says the inscription on the cross, in three languages, so that no one would miss it. (pause) A last declaration of what the priests refuse to acknowledge.

The King of the Jews.

The Jewish priests demand it changed. They couldn’t bear the words, "have it say something else Pilate, don’t acknowledge Him, or His claim." They would rather acknowledge Caesar, their worldly oppressor, and they lead the people to cry out homage to Caesar, while demanding the death of Jesus.

Their demand is ignored, with a classic line, "What I have written, I have written. So reminiscent of the line in Cecile B Demille movies, so shall it be written, so shall it be done.

But those five words are not the only words that were written for that day.
Nor are they the only words, that would go on unchanging.

The World Demands
That we deny the Cross
Us to deny sin, and satan and hell

Today, the world demands that other words be re-written, adapted changed. Wednesday, my news-clipping service brought me two stories, statements by religious leaders. The first was somewhat expected, from Colonel Khadafy of Libya, claiming that the Bible was a fraud, that only the Koran was truly God’s word. He would later claim that the Bible was good teaching, but not accurate. The other, a retired leader of a once powerful US denomination, fallen on hard times. He too, told his audience that the Bible was unreliable, and its truth’s not applicable to this morning.

Then this morning, in a European newspaper I read this question asked of another denominational leader,

"Today is Good Friday – what do you think the Easter story means to people today?"" His answer, "What I hope it would mean to people was that Christians can share with people a sense of hope, that it’s possible to turn round even the most difficult situations and find a way of moving through to a good and positive outcome. I would hope that bit of the Christian message might communicate itself through Good Friday." ( an article called "The Enduring Faith", and interview with the PB of the Church of Scotland, in the Scotsman.com)

Do you notice what is missing? The bit of the Christian message that he would have communicated, is that we can turn around the most difficult of situations and find a way of moving through to a good and positive outcome. Nothing about the death of Christ, nothing about the cross, or the blood that atones for sin. Like the two others, he would dismiss the King, claiming allegiance to other powers that would reign over them.

Different religions become options, other roads to a place. While some claim the journey is exclusive to their man-made religion, others claim that all roads lead to one place. The place is not as important as the journey. So enjoy the journey, enjoy your way.

It is subtle, but as those road leads away from Christ, the tolerance of sin grows, and the shame and guilt is simply part of the journey. Don’t deny yourself, don’t worry about consequences. You can overcome anything, if you just follow these steps.

So they encourage us to change the words, or at least question the meaning. Say this is a claim, another set of words from a man, equally acceptable.

The word Answers
What I have written
Old Testament Prophecies
The Debt of sin is cancelled

The truth of what is written, stares us in the face. It confronts us in truth, a truth that we need a king, we need a protector, a deliverer. For the ways of man are indeed useless. Over and over in the gospels, we see God’s promises in the Old Testament referenced. Prophecies like the Psalm that opened our service, other scriptures describing the bones, and the pierced body, the gambling over clothes, being numbered with thieves. The claim is boldly and loudly promised.

All point to something that is a much better solution than depending on our own strength and intelligence to deal with our sins. Don’t ignore your wounds, don’t ignore the pain, don’t ignore the sin, and the hardening that happens as we encounter it.

Read the words. They are true. They confront the sinful, yet bring hope to those who will trust.

Blood, poured out, planned from the beginning of the ages, foreshadowed in the death of an animal to provide covering for naked Adam and Eve. Blood poured out in Abel’s sacrifice, blood of the lamb that takes Isaac’s place, centuries before. Blood poured on altars, and on the mercy seat, the blood that pictured the blood poured out on a Friday, about this time of day.

Blood poured out, that a debt could be paid.

Blood poured out, the ransom price of a Kingdom. The price for our ransom. The King, giving His life, that we would be free to live as His people.
So here we stand today, with a world encouraging every sin, many in the names of religions. Some, claiming to be of our own number, wolves in sheep’s clothing, pointing to other god’s, or other ways to be "perfect", other ways to have it all. They would distract us from this moment. From this thought, from this freedom we have.

And we stand at the foot of the cross, and look on the blood, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we realize what was written, was done.

He is David’s long promised Son.

The Messiah.

He is the long promised King of the Jews.

And His sacrifice has given us life.

So was it written, so was it done.

Currently listening : The Life By Michael Card Release date: 14 May, 1991

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Maunday Thursday Sermon
Category: Religion and Philosophy

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
Maunday Thursday – March 20,2008

"Behold the Blood of the Covenant"
Exodus 24:3-11 and Hebrews 9:11-22

† IN THE NAME OF THE LORD †

The grace, the mercy and peace of God, is yours, through the Blood of Christ!

The scenes…

I can’t even begin to imagine the horrible, blood mess, the smell of the smoky fires as the burnt offerings and peace offerings, enough that two and half million people could partake in the covenant ceremony could participate. Two and half million people, gathered in a valley like this, as the base of a mountain like that one. All day long the young men slaughtered oxen and goats.

Some of the oxen and goats they slaughtered, were consumed completely by the fire, the burnt offering that atoned for the sins, and others, as they were burned, were divided in sections, some for God, some for the people to eat in the feast to come, and a portion for the priests as well. That second offering, the peace offering, is very important this evening

The primitive altar, without the precious white altar linens and purple paraments was covered in half of the blood of all the blood of those animals slaughtered. Even as the words of the covenant were read, and people were in awe at the love, and provision of God, this incredible work went on, as God’s people rejoiced and knew that their sins, were not to be counted against them…

Perhaps they didn’t expect surely so much blood to be shed, so much life taken. Surely they didn’t expect the blood to cover them, as it did, when Moses took the basins and sprinkled the people with it.

What a mess… and yet… what a blessing.

For the people of God, represented by 74 of their elders, a representation of the millions at the base of the mountain, were welcomed in the presence of God. That too, and incredible scene, here it described again.

9Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

They dined, in the presence of God, without fearing His wrath, without fearing their lack of holiness, without fearing receiving the consequence their lack of love. They saw under his feet the same sapphire stone, that is described in John’s Revelation, the people of God in the presence of God, no longer captive to sin, because the cost of their ransom was paid, in blood. And with God, in all His majesty, the dined on the peace offering.

The Requirement for Blood…
Since the beginning…
Adam and Eve, to atone for their sins,

The same offering of blood is pictured in the reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews. There it talks of the cost of forgiveness, the cost of being purified and cleansed from the sin which stains us. Hear it again,

22Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins

It has been that way with every covenant that God has made with man, from Adam and Eve, where an animal was killed that their nakedness might be covered. Blood was required in the Abrahamic Covenant, where the cost of Abraham’s son was paid, not by the son of the man, but by the lamb provided by God. This covenant made by God with Israel, where Moses was both prophet, and priest, required blood as well. And tonight we see that it all, was but a preliminary to tomorrow…

Cutting the deal
The blood of the covenant
Seals the deal
And the fate of the one not keeping the covenant
Hence one must die

In our epistle as well, we begin to see the implications of the covenant, that it was in power as long as the one who made the covenant is still living. In other words, the very covenant we instituted in the Old Testament, would be binding today, unless there was the death of the one making the covenant, where the covenant becomes testament to the provisions of the covenant, the contract.

When the covenant is made, there is the shedding of blood, not of those whomake the covenant, but of an animal. That blood and body pictures the extent to which the maker of the covenant is committed to the covenant. He will rather die, than let His part of the covenant go unfulfilled. It pictures the commitment to the relationship, the extent one will go to ensure their part is completed. Til death, and even then, faithful.
And He was faithful, even to the point of death. When the price of sin, was paid, not just a promise to pay it, but it was paid.

How much more
Will it purify us?

Think again of the blood, the incredible amount spilled at the altar, and shared with the people. If that blood was good enough to convince the people of God’s faithfulness; if the blood was good enough for them to rejoice at His providing for them the forgiveness of sins, and the guarantee of His presence with them; if it signified that He desired and made them His people; then how much more the blood shed at the cross, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, going to convince you? How much more proof do you need?

You are His. He shed His blood on the cross, the same place He gave His body, without blemish, that we could be purified to serve the living God.

He was faithful. This night, we celebrate that love, that faithfulness, that desire to go beyond just duty, and fulfill it all. Even at the cost of His body and blood.

If the 74 went and beheld God..
How much more…

In the Old Testament story, there was the burnt offering, and the sharing of the peace offering. The Peace offering was the celebration that the sin had been forgiven, a feast on that which is offered. It was divided between the parties of the covenant. A celebration of the offering being the same which satisfied the ransom. The meal seen in the scene where the elders go up the mountain, and see the sapphire floor, and eat and drink in the very presence of God.

That is the meal tonight, in a very now, and not yet way. A celebration of our peace with God, knowing the sacrifice we celebrate tomorrow frees us from sin and death and satan. It is in His presence, it is His Body and Blood, and yet, it foreshadows another meal in another place, the wedding supper of the Lamb.

May we realize that peace tonight, as we realize how precious, how incredible ho beyond measure our peace is, paid with the blood of Christ.

Amen?

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