As you can see, I basically took the month off from blogging. It has given me some time to think about what I want the blog to be "about," and for the most part it will continue to be a clearing house of sorts of sermons, prayers, hymn stanzas, and the like, with perhaps a bit more in the way of devotional material and personal reflection.
If there's anything you might have an interest in seeing here at the Lake County Lutheran site, please leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do.
May your new year be blessed as you abide in Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Palm Sunday in Advent
Have you ever felt like you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or like you know where you are but you can’t figure out how you got there? Today is a little like that. It’s November; it’s Advent; we’re preparing for Christmas. We expect to be transported to Bethlehem, to a manger, surrounded by the friendly beasts. Instead, our Gospel takes us to Jerusalem with a grown-up Jesus riding on a donkey. Seems wrong! Out of place! We should be moving toward a celebration of our Lord’s birth, and instead we hear about him moving toward his death.
Well, might I suggest that what’s going on with this collision between Advent and Palm Sunday is that we are beginning with the ending in mind. We are beginning Advent with the ending, the death and resurrection of Jesus, in mind. And that’s deliberate. That’s intentional. It’s no mistake. Christmas is only going to mean something this year if we keep Jesus in mind.
And that’s easier said than done. I could make a long list of things that distract us as Christmas approaches, and so could you. There are so many things just waiting to steal your attention away from the simple giving of thanks for Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection that “Christmas” is supposed to be. If we are ever to get back to that place of simple thanks, it will begin with a recovery of Advent. And that young man riding into Jerusalem on a donkey reminds us why there should be a season of Advent in the first place.
Advent is a time to prepare—not just a preparation of our decorations and meals and presents—but a time to prepare our hearts. A time of assessment. A time to recognize why that infant child, born to be a King, would one day wear a crown of thorns. Advent, this time we have, right now, is a time to look at your life and turn once more away from sin. Think about your life. Your hopes. Your dreams. What are you looking forward to? What are you planning for? Is your heart set on the things of this world; on a stable financial future; on toys and vacations; what do you want out of life? What are your goals? Are they goals that God would approve of? Are you putting your resources in things to please yourself, or are you investing in the mission that Jesus has given his Church, and thereby investing in eternity?
Advent is a time of reflection and self-evaluation. It’s time to remember that the things of this world are already passing away. It’s time to set our hearts once more on things above. It’s time to look past Santa and the reindeer; past the parties and presents and to look at and to really see and to really comprehend the child—the child who came to die and live again…his gift to you. The child who, as a man, would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey’s back, fully aware that even though the crowd was cheering him on that day, in less than a week, he would be held to a Roman cross by nails that pierced his wrists and feet. Soon we celebrate this King’s birth because He was willing to die our death—willing to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
And so today, on this first day of Advent, we will literally sing, “Blessed is He! Blessed is He! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!” Save us now, Lord Jesus! And as we sing, let us remember. Let us remember that we have been baptized in the name of the Lord. Returning to our baptism, we renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways. We don’t just cry out against the evils of this world—we repent of the evils of our own heart. We recognize and own up to the troubles we have caused; the damage we have done; the people we have hurt; the responsibilities we have not met—things that cannot be solved with the perfect present under the Christmas tree.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, because he comes into a Bethlehem stable and he comes riding into Jerusalem to become the solution for sin; to become the way out of death; to become the source of a new kind of life. Blessed are we who have been baptized into his death and risen life! Blessed are we who can take up our crosses and follow Him through suffering into glory!
Yes, Advent is a time for repentance, but it is also a time for confidence. For if we are sinners (and we are), we have a Savior. If we have made a mess of our lives, Jesus has come to make things right. And if you sense your life here is drawing to a close, so also, in Jesus, you have a new beginning. He accomplished what he rode into Jerusalem to do. That has been applied to your account; to your life. Take a deep breath and let the good news of Jesus Christ sink in…and pray that you will keep Him in mind in the days ahead.
For the world, Christmas is a big game of pretend—of creating a perfect world that does not exist and a false peace that never lasts. But for you and me—for all who believe in Jesus—Christmas is life, because Christmas is a celebration of Jesus coming for us, living for us, dying for us, and rising for us. So let’s use this Advent time to prepare our hearts for His coming. Let’s forgive as we have been forgiven. Let’s decorate our lives with thankful and generous works of service for others. And let’s put our arms around the Child who came to stretch out His arms for us. “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Well, might I suggest that what’s going on with this collision between Advent and Palm Sunday is that we are beginning with the ending in mind. We are beginning Advent with the ending, the death and resurrection of Jesus, in mind. And that’s deliberate. That’s intentional. It’s no mistake. Christmas is only going to mean something this year if we keep Jesus in mind.
And that’s easier said than done. I could make a long list of things that distract us as Christmas approaches, and so could you. There are so many things just waiting to steal your attention away from the simple giving of thanks for Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection that “Christmas” is supposed to be. If we are ever to get back to that place of simple thanks, it will begin with a recovery of Advent. And that young man riding into Jerusalem on a donkey reminds us why there should be a season of Advent in the first place.
Advent is a time to prepare—not just a preparation of our decorations and meals and presents—but a time to prepare our hearts. A time of assessment. A time to recognize why that infant child, born to be a King, would one day wear a crown of thorns. Advent, this time we have, right now, is a time to look at your life and turn once more away from sin. Think about your life. Your hopes. Your dreams. What are you looking forward to? What are you planning for? Is your heart set on the things of this world; on a stable financial future; on toys and vacations; what do you want out of life? What are your goals? Are they goals that God would approve of? Are you putting your resources in things to please yourself, or are you investing in the mission that Jesus has given his Church, and thereby investing in eternity?
Advent is a time of reflection and self-evaluation. It’s time to remember that the things of this world are already passing away. It’s time to set our hearts once more on things above. It’s time to look past Santa and the reindeer; past the parties and presents and to look at and to really see and to really comprehend the child—the child who came to die and live again…his gift to you. The child who, as a man, would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey’s back, fully aware that even though the crowd was cheering him on that day, in less than a week, he would be held to a Roman cross by nails that pierced his wrists and feet. Soon we celebrate this King’s birth because He was willing to die our death—willing to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
And so today, on this first day of Advent, we will literally sing, “Blessed is He! Blessed is He! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!” Save us now, Lord Jesus! And as we sing, let us remember. Let us remember that we have been baptized in the name of the Lord. Returning to our baptism, we renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways. We don’t just cry out against the evils of this world—we repent of the evils of our own heart. We recognize and own up to the troubles we have caused; the damage we have done; the people we have hurt; the responsibilities we have not met—things that cannot be solved with the perfect present under the Christmas tree.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, because he comes into a Bethlehem stable and he comes riding into Jerusalem to become the solution for sin; to become the way out of death; to become the source of a new kind of life. Blessed are we who have been baptized into his death and risen life! Blessed are we who can take up our crosses and follow Him through suffering into glory!
Yes, Advent is a time for repentance, but it is also a time for confidence. For if we are sinners (and we are), we have a Savior. If we have made a mess of our lives, Jesus has come to make things right. And if you sense your life here is drawing to a close, so also, in Jesus, you have a new beginning. He accomplished what he rode into Jerusalem to do. That has been applied to your account; to your life. Take a deep breath and let the good news of Jesus Christ sink in…and pray that you will keep Him in mind in the days ahead.
For the world, Christmas is a big game of pretend—of creating a perfect world that does not exist and a false peace that never lasts. But for you and me—for all who believe in Jesus—Christmas is life, because Christmas is a celebration of Jesus coming for us, living for us, dying for us, and rising for us. So let’s use this Advent time to prepare our hearts for His coming. Let’s forgive as we have been forgiven. Let’s decorate our lives with thankful and generous works of service for others. And let’s put our arms around the Child who came to stretch out His arms for us. “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Martin Rinckart's Thanksgiving
"Now thank we all our God," the hymn we just sang; a hymn that will be sung by many churches tonight and tomorrow at this time of Thanksgiving, was written by a man named Martin Rinckart. Martin, the son of a coppersmith, managed to work his way to the completion of a good education. In the year 1617, he became the pastor in his hometown of Eilenburg, Germany. The year after Martin became a pastor, a war - a war known as the Thirty Years War - broke out. That war lasted the entire life of Martin's ministry - all except the last year. Even more, Eilenburg's location meant Martin frequently had soldiers quartered in his home, it meant his furniture, his food, almost everything, was carted off by looters. But a Thirty Years War was not the only cross Martin Rinckart had to carry. In 1637, the plague hit his refugee-swollen town with terrible consequence. In that first year alone 8,000 people died. All of the town council, except for three, succumbed to the disease. School children, clergymen from the neighboring towns, dropped down and died. Rinckart spent his days at the bedside of the sick and failing. He buried more than 4,000 people - 4,000 people, including most of his family. The plague was followed by a famine - a famine so terrible that when a cat or crow died on the streets of Eilenburg, thirty or forty people would fight over the carcass. Rinckart tried to organize aid; he gave away all he had, except for the most meager of rations for what was left of his family. The poor and starving camped on his doorstep. In spite of this, in spite of all he had suffered; in spite of his pain and loss, Martin Rinckart managed to write these words: Now thank we all our God/ With heart and hands and voices, Who wondrous things hath done, In whom His world rejoices; Who from our mother's arms/ Hath blessed us on our way/ With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today. Oh, may this bounteous God / Through all our life be near us, With ever joyful hearts/ And blessed peace to cheer us; And keep us in His grace/ And guide us when perplexed/ And free us from all ills / In this world and the next. All praise and thanks to God / The Father now be given, The Son, and Him who reigns/ With them in highest heaven: The one eternal God, Whom earth and heaven adore! For thus it was, is now, And shall be evermore.
Now thank we all our God. Do you understand? Rinckart wasn't thanking God for a Thirty Years War; he was giving thanks for a God who took people through that war, and if they didn't manage to make it through the war, the Lord, because of Spirit-given faith in Jesus, would take believers home to a place where there was no war. Rinckart wasn't thanking God for a plague which wiped out and ripped apart families; he was giving thanks for a Savior who would take all who believed on Him to a place where every plague and each pestilence has been eradicated. I'm sure, when Rinckart did funeral number 3,999 that worn out old pastor must have wondered if there would ever be an end to the sufferings. Then, as one of Christ's redeemed, he would have remembered, and relied upon the promise of Revelation where it says Jesus "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
Do you understand? Tonight I do not encourage you to give thanks for the falling dollar, for the high price of gas, for job insecurity, for the possibility you might lose your home. I am not asking you to be thankful for children who are misbehaving, a spouse who is uncaring, a boss who is unfair. I am not asking you to give thanks for Alzheimer's or cancer, or heart attack, or stroke, or whatever it is that ails you.
These things are all the result of sin. I would be a fool to ask you to give thanks for those things. Not even Jesus gave thanks for the cup of suffering He had to drink to bring about our salvation. No, tonight I'm encouraging you to give thanks that this world has a God, a loving, an unbelievably gracious God, who, knowing what you would suffer, sent His Son to do everything - everything necessary so you could, one way or another, be delivered from the plague of sin and its terrible consequences. This world has a loving, unbelievably merciful God who goes with us through pain and suffering with the promise that it is only temporary. Look to the manger of Bethlehem, stand before the cross of Calvary, run to the empty tomb of Resurrection Sunday and know whatever you are enduring will, because of Jesus Christ, have an ending. If you see the Savior who carried your sin and bore your sorrows, tomorrow’s Thanksgiving will not be demoted into a Turkey Day. Let the crucified and risen Christ transform this Thanksgiving into a holy day where you give thanks to the Lord for having given His Son. This Thanksgiving can be different when you remember and keep in mind what Jesus has done for you, all because He wants you by His side forever.
Tonight you may feel like things could not be better for you. Praise God if that’s the case! But you might also feel like you’re living Martin Rinckart’s Thirty Years War, and if that’s the case, my prayer for you is that you will still have thanks in your heart for Jesus, who has saved you a seat at the heavenly feast. He paid for your plate at the cost of his own life. He wishes to serve you, and his service to you has already begun. It continues tonight as you come to His Table to eat and drink the richest heavenly food—his own body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. You are a member of the family, gathered at the feast of God’s victory. What else is there to say…but thank you, Lord?
adapted from a sermon by Lutheran Hour Speaker Rev. Dr. Ken Klaus
Now thank we all our God. Do you understand? Rinckart wasn't thanking God for a Thirty Years War; he was giving thanks for a God who took people through that war, and if they didn't manage to make it through the war, the Lord, because of Spirit-given faith in Jesus, would take believers home to a place where there was no war. Rinckart wasn't thanking God for a plague which wiped out and ripped apart families; he was giving thanks for a Savior who would take all who believed on Him to a place where every plague and each pestilence has been eradicated. I'm sure, when Rinckart did funeral number 3,999 that worn out old pastor must have wondered if there would ever be an end to the sufferings. Then, as one of Christ's redeemed, he would have remembered, and relied upon the promise of Revelation where it says Jesus "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
Do you understand? Tonight I do not encourage you to give thanks for the falling dollar, for the high price of gas, for job insecurity, for the possibility you might lose your home. I am not asking you to be thankful for children who are misbehaving, a spouse who is uncaring, a boss who is unfair. I am not asking you to give thanks for Alzheimer's or cancer, or heart attack, or stroke, or whatever it is that ails you.
These things are all the result of sin. I would be a fool to ask you to give thanks for those things. Not even Jesus gave thanks for the cup of suffering He had to drink to bring about our salvation. No, tonight I'm encouraging you to give thanks that this world has a God, a loving, an unbelievably gracious God, who, knowing what you would suffer, sent His Son to do everything - everything necessary so you could, one way or another, be delivered from the plague of sin and its terrible consequences. This world has a loving, unbelievably merciful God who goes with us through pain and suffering with the promise that it is only temporary. Look to the manger of Bethlehem, stand before the cross of Calvary, run to the empty tomb of Resurrection Sunday and know whatever you are enduring will, because of Jesus Christ, have an ending. If you see the Savior who carried your sin and bore your sorrows, tomorrow’s Thanksgiving will not be demoted into a Turkey Day. Let the crucified and risen Christ transform this Thanksgiving into a holy day where you give thanks to the Lord for having given His Son. This Thanksgiving can be different when you remember and keep in mind what Jesus has done for you, all because He wants you by His side forever.
Tonight you may feel like things could not be better for you. Praise God if that’s the case! But you might also feel like you’re living Martin Rinckart’s Thirty Years War, and if that’s the case, my prayer for you is that you will still have thanks in your heart for Jesus, who has saved you a seat at the heavenly feast. He paid for your plate at the cost of his own life. He wishes to serve you, and his service to you has already begun. It continues tonight as you come to His Table to eat and drink the richest heavenly food—his own body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. You are a member of the family, gathered at the feast of God’s victory. What else is there to say…but thank you, Lord?
adapted from a sermon by Lutheran Hour Speaker Rev. Dr. Ken Klaus
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
More Thoughts for Thanksgiving
We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of his hand. Why, then, do we give the appearance of being pastured on the weeds? Why are we such worn and draggle-tailed sheep? Why is there so little gamboling on the green? Why is our life so drab? Perhaps it is because we have not learned the music of thanksgiving and petition, of praise and prayer. And they must be learned in that order, from thanksgiving to petition, because only living men can pray to God, and the people of God live, really live, only when they are thanking Him. He created us that we might be the firstfruits of his new creation; that we might show forth the praises of Him that called us. And we live, really live, as God's new creation only if we live in doxology, only in thanksgiving. And so we can pray and converse with this God of all giving only if we kneel upon a carpet of thanksgiving.
Rev. Dr. Martin Franzmann
Rev. Dr. Martin Franzmann
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thoughts for Thanksgiving
Neither the wit nor the strength of man called our country into existence, but the Lord. Neither the will nor the wisdom of man brought together people representing so many lands, ethnic groups, and languages, and united them into one great, free, and mighty nation, but the Lord. Neither reason nor the power of man preserved our country, bound its people together, and created its fortune, but the Lord. Our country was--and is--in His hand, as the vessel is in the potter's hand.
For this reason, away with all idolizing of man! Away with the thought that human wisdom, human courage, human power and human righteousness produced the many blessings this land enjoys! Let us praise the Lord, who says, "My glory I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols" (Is. 42:8). Let us also exclaim, "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 118: 1). He has done great things for us, and for that, we are grateful.
Rev. Dr. C. F. W. Walther
For this reason, away with all idolizing of man! Away with the thought that human wisdom, human courage, human power and human righteousness produced the many blessings this land enjoys! Let us praise the Lord, who says, "My glory I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols" (Is. 42:8). Let us also exclaim, "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 118: 1). He has done great things for us, and for that, we are grateful.
Rev. Dr. C. F. W. Walther
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