Happenings

Sermons by Pastor Walter Snyder plus announcements, articles, videos, and anything else that doesn’t fit Ask the Pastor or the Luther Library.

Name: Pastor Walter Snyder

Location: Concordia, Missouri, United States

View my complete profile

22 January 2012

Sermon: Epiphany 3 (OT)

22 January AD 2012

Sermon Theme: From Doom to Deliverance

Summary: All mankind — from Adam through the Ninevites to us — deserves nothing but doom, death, and damnation. Yet even as the Lord had compassion on the wicked Assyrian capital, so He also desires not our destruction but our salvation. He delights not “in the death of the wicked” but desires that the sinner “should turn from his way and live. (Ezekiel 18:23)”

Unlike the reluctant Jonah, Jesus willingly suffered His doom on the cross that we might be delivered into forgiveness and life everlasting by faith in Him. The Holy Spirit calls us, God’s redeemed children, to have Christ’s love for others, whether family and friends or strangers and enemies.

Text: Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.

Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of From Doom to Deliverance, preached to the saints of God at Trinity Lutheran Church, Kearney, Missouri.

See Ask the Pastor for more on The Number Forty while Scriptural Veracity and Old Testament: Mythical or Literal discuss the historicity of Jonah and other people and events of the Bible.

Other Readings: Psalm 62; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 (32-35); Mark 1:4-20

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15 January 2012

Sermon: Epiphany 2 (OT)

15 January AD 2012

Sermon Theme: Your Servant Hears

Summary: We don’t seek out God in order to tell Him what He must do. Instead, we are blessed to hear Him when He calls us through Word and Sacrament. We feel His Law’s condemnation and rejoice in the Gospel’s forgiveness of our sins.

Just as Samuel was unable to seek the Lord or articulate a desire for such an intimate relationship, so also all who live on earth are unable to seek the Lord or come to Him. This day’s worship began with the baptism of a baby girl, a perfect illustration of God calling someone by name and the hearer receiving His gifts in faith.

Text: Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

Sermon: Epiphany 2 (Psalm)

15 January AD 2012

Sermon Theme: Searched and Known

Summary: Searches are invasive and threatening. Under many nations’ rules of law, the police must show cause and obtain warrants before being able to search people or their dwellings. Only a few very special circumstances are normally allowed as exceptions.

The beginning of the Psalm leaves us asking, “Should we should dread or celebrate being searched by the Lord?” The correct answer is, “Yes.”

Yes, we are terrified that our Creator sees, knows, and abhors our every sin of thought, word, or deed. Yet, yes, we also celebrate His intimate knowledge of us because He knows us not from as distance but as one of us. In human flesh He carried our sins in His own body and died that we might live.

Text: O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:1-10

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Searched and Known, preached at early service to the saints of God at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Marshall, Missouri.

Other Readings: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20); 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; John 1:43-51

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14 January 2012

Sermon: Epiphany 2 (Gospel)

14 January AD 2012

Sermon Theme: An Israelite Indeed

Summary: Pure religion is faith in Jesus, created and sustained by His Word and Sacraments. The Holy Spirit calls us to be free of deceit and open to receiving forgiveness, life, and salvation in Christ Jesus.

We are not to be like the 1st Century Jewish leaders who divorced faith and practice and could not fully reconcile God active in His Word (as emphasized by the Pharisees) with His forgiveness delivered in the rituals of the temple through blood sacrifice (the focus of the Sadducees).

Text: The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” John 1:43-51

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of An Israelite Indeed, preached to the saints of God at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Marshall, Missouri.

Other Readings: Psalm 139:1-10; 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20); 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

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04 January 2012

Sermon: Epiphany (OT)

4 January AD 2012

Sermon Theme: Rise and Shine

Summary: The brightness of the Epiphany star dims beneath Christ’s light shining into a sin-darkened world. He not only shows us the way to salvation, He is the very essence of forgiveness and new life.

The star’s light led the Wise Men to Bethlehem that they might present their gifts to the King of the Jews. Christ’s light leads us into His presence that He might lavish His gifts on us.

We Gentiles are grafted into the chosen people by faith in Jesus Christ. The promises of the new Jerusalem celebrating in eternal daylight belong to us. The shadow of sin was swallowed up by the deeper darkness at Golgatha and then burned away by the brightness of the Resurrection.

That light now shines upon us and in us through the forgiveness of sins. It also shines from us as we follow our Lord and love our neighbors. Christ calls us to “rise and shine,” to be His light even as the Devil attempts to retain his dark hold on Creation. Christians are heirs to the Epiphany star, leading others to the Church, the Word, and the Lord.

Text: Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.

Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord. Isaiah 60:1-6

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Rise and Shine, preached for the saints of God at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Ernestville, Missouri.

Other Readings: Psalm 72:1-11 (12-15); Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

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01 January 2012

Sermon: The Circumcision & Name of Jesus (Gospel)

1 January AD 2012

Sermon Theme: Named and Claimed

Summary: We live at a time where “name it and claim it” theology runs wild. Too many Christians are told that if they believe enough, pray enough, or do enough, God will give them whatever they desire. This is no new error but a mere repackaging of the first sin of Adam and Eve, wherein we are tempted to place ourselves above God and claim that we know what we need better than He does.

Contrast this to Jesus, who humbly submitted to the will of His Father. Instead of claiming the glory due Him, He humbled Himself and was born a human child. Instead of claiming all Creation as His birthright, He allowed His Father to stake and maintain a claim on Him.

The angel told Mary and Joseph to name Him Jesus, since He would “save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)” On His eighth day of life, that’s exactly what they did. At the same time, the Father established earthly claim on His Son through His circumcision. Thus did God name and claim Him.

Through Baptism, by virtue of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are now “sons of God, through faith. (Galatians 3:26)” God named and claimed us and maintains that claim as He continues placing His name on us through Word and Sacrament.

Text: And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Luke 2:21

Note: Listeners from Sunday morning will detect a few differences between this recording and what they heard in church. This is due to a software error which necessitated my rerecording the sermon.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Named and Claimed, preached for the saints of God at Trinity Lutheran Church, Kearney, Missouri.

Other Readings: Psalm 8; Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 3:23-29

For more on circumcision and related topics, please see Circumcision and Cutting a Covenant, New Testament Circumcision, and On the Eighth Day of Christmas at Ask the Pastor.

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New Year’s Day Sermon Will Post ... I Hope

For those who asked after church today, as well as any others who listen to my sermon uploads, I’m having a bit of difficulty with the editing. I have to work on some other things and hope to get back to it later this evening. If it hasn’t posted by midnight CST, check back in the morning and see if I’ve resolved the issues.

And thanks again to Pastor Newman and the members of Trinity Lutheran, Kearney, Missouri for allowing me the privilege of preaching the Gospel, administering the Sacrament, and leading Bible study.

Update: I couldn’t fix the error, so I rerecorded the sermon at home on Sunday night. Those in attendance at Trinity will detect a few differences in delivery but the overall content and emphasis of each is the same.

21 December 2011

Sermon: Advent 4B (Gospel)

21 December AD 2011

Sermon Theme: Nothing Is Impossible

Summary: A popular television show of the late 1960s and early 70s, Mission: Impossible became a money machine as a motion picture franchise. The basic premise of both TV and film was that a select group of secret agents could pull off “impossible” feats of espionage and daring-do. Of course, continuing success meant that the missions of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) were not actually impossible. Difficult? Yes. Improbable? Certainly. Impossible? Not exactly.

Gabriel announced to Mary the beginning of a mission that seemed even more impossible than anything undertaken by the IMF — that of redeeming fallen mankind from its depths of sinful depravity and restoring fallen humanity to a right relationship with its Creator. It would begin with these “impossible” events: A virgin would become pregnant without having sex; God would take on human flesh; the creative and creating Word of God would become a creature of God’s creation.

While Mary was astounded and initially taken aback, she quickly confessed faith in God’s ability to do these marvelous things: “Let it be to me according to your word.” What a contrast with most of fallen mankind! Of particular irony is that today also celebrates the Feast of Saint Thomas — the disbelieving disciple who demanded unshakeable proof before he would allow himself to believe that Jesus was alive.

We thank God that He works faith in our doubting, disbelieving hearts. He leads us to trust in the meritorious suffering and death and the victorious resurrection of His Son Jesus. Through Word and Spirit, He condemns our sins, creates, sustains, and strengthens our faith, forgives us, and leads us through this life into life everlasting. All this may be impossible for us to accomplish on our own but “nothing will be impossible with God” — not even our forgiveness and our new and eternal life in Christ.

Text: In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy — the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:26-38

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Nothing Is Impossible, preached to the saints of God at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Ernestville, Missouri.

Other Readings: Psalm 89:1-5 (19-29); 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Romans 16:25-27

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04 December 2011

Sermon: Advent 2B (OT)

4 December AD 2011

Sermon Theme: Dead Grass, Living Word

Summary: Because of our sins, we deserve to be dried out, cut down, and incinerated by God. Yet instead of condemning us to an eternity of suffering, the Father parched His beloved Son’s body, mind, and spirit, cut Jesus off from the land of the living, and condemned Him to suffer hell’s burning pains while hanging on the cross.

However, the Word of God became flesh and lived among us, carrying our sins to the cross. Now we, who deserve the fate of “all flesh,” instead receive the blessings reserved for the Son of God. We are given forgiveness, life, and salvation for Jesus’ name’s sake and need not fear Judgment Day.

Because the eternal Word became flesh, we who are flesh have eternal life in Him. And just as Isaiah and John prepared the way of the Lord Jesus Christ, so Jesus prepares our way to life forever in the kingdom of God.

Text: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?”

Sermon: Advent 2B (Epistle)

4 December AD 2011

Sermon Theme: All in Good Time

Summary: The world — indeed, all of Creation — will end. Broken by sin, tainted by mankind’s corruption, God’s handiwork must finally be destroyed. Yet out of the rubble will arise a new and incorruptible dwelling place for God’s people.

At times, we may wish to delay the day because we’ve grown to comfortable with this earth or else dread the consequences of the Last Judgment. At others, we not only wait eagerly but impatiently demand that God hurry up and end it all.

However, all times are in God’s hands and He has chosen the perfect ending point for this old heavens and old earth, which must pass away before the new appears. Until then we give thanks that He doesn’t impatiently destroy everything — or just as hastily blot out our individual lives when we sin and fall short of the perfection He demands.

At all times, and particularly in this anticipatory season of Advent, we ask that we might wait for our Lord’s return with the same patience that He shows us. We also pray that He would guide us to regard those who sin against us with the same forbearance that He has for us.

Text: But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 2 Peter 3:8-14

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of All in Good Time, preached to the saints of God at Peace Lutheran Church, Slater, Missouri.

Other Readings: Psalm 85; Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8

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27 November 2011

Sermon: Advent 1B (Psalm)

27 November AD 2011

Sermon Theme: How Long, O God?

Summary: Instead of impatiently demanding that the Lord respond to our each and every demand, we must first realize that, as sinners, the only answer our prayers deserve is, literally, “Hell, no!” This helps us then to wait for the proper time for our loving God to act in the way that is best for us.

As we remain with eyes faithfully fixed on our Savior, we remember and rejoice in His patient endurance as He suffered and died for us. We recall His promise to be with us always. We celebrate His forgiveness and His never-ending advocacy on our behalf before the throne of the Father. Even when we falter in faith and fail in prayer, we know that Jesus’ prayers on our behalf are always heard and are quickly answered according to God’s love for His Son’s blood-bought people.

Text: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us!

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved! Psalm 80:1-7

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of How Long, O God?, preached to the saints of God at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Fayette, Missouri.

Other Readings: Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 11:1-10

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20 November 2011

Sermon: Proper 29 (Gospel)

Last Sunday of the Church Year
20 November AD 2011

Sermon Theme: Hello, Sheep! Good-bye, Goats!

Summary: Judgment Day draws ever closer and Jesus warns us that we will be judged by our works. Yet we know that our good works cannot save us.

What can we do? Cling to Jesus and His guarantee that His good works belong to those who believe in Him! Anything else is folly and leads to eternal death.

Text: [Jesus said,] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

“Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Hello, Sheep! Good-bye, Goats!, preached to the saints of God at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Marshall, Missouri.

Other Readings: Psalm 95:1-7a; Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

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Sermon: Proper 29 (OT)

Last Sunday of the Church Year
20 November AD 2011

Sermon Theme: I’ll Do It Myself

Summary: How many times we hear someone proclaim, “If I want something done right, I’ve got to do it myself!” While the truth of the statement varies widely in earthly situations, it’s absolutely correct in matters of salvation.

Only God is capable of rescuing His poor, lost sheep from the bonds of sin and death. Through Ezekiel, He condemned the poor performance of those He place over Israel. Priests and kings, instead of leading the nation in righteousness, were often among the worst offenders against God’s holy Word.

Yet the common people aren’t let off the hook. The fat sheep bedevil the scrawny and the sick; those who have even a little take advantage of those who have less — particularly of those who have nothing at all.

While some of Judah may have thought that this prophecy was fulfilled in the return of the captives from Babylon, there was much more yet to come. The Lord rescued His people so that, in the fullness of time, He might be born in their midst of the Virgin Mary.

God truly “did it Himself.” The Son became one of us, lived the perfect life that none of us achieve, and died a criminal’s death to pay for our sins. The promise would be completed when Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” as He hung dying “on a day of clouds and thick darkness.”

The Lamb of God paid for the sins of the sheep. The Good Shepherd now leads them through this life in the sure and certain hope of life everlasting. In His Church and through His chosen under-shepherds, He confronts and forgives sin, calms fear, and promises grace and every blessing to all who believe on His name.

Text: “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

“I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

“Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.” Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of I’ll Do It Myself, preached to the saints of God at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Marshall, Missouri.

Other Readings: Psalm 95:1-7a; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Matthew 25:31-46

Technorati Tags: Proper 29 | Last Sunday of the Church Year | Three Year Lectionary | 3 Year Lectionary | Series A | theology | Jesus | Jesus Christ | Christ | Law and Gospel | Law | Old Testament | Gospel | sheep | shepherd | justification | Good Shepherd | Incarnation | atonement | 20 November 2011 | November 20, 2011 | Lutheranism | Lutheran | Church | Christian | Christianity | Christian Church | Ezekiel 34 | sermon | preaching | homily | text | theme | topic | I’ll Do It Myself | audio | mp3 | Pastor Snyder | Pastor Walter Snyder | Walter Snyder | Ask the Pastor | Happenings

19 November 2011

Sermon: Proper 29 (Epistle)

Last Sunday of the Church Year
19 November AD 2011

Sermon Theme: Adam Undone

Summary: “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” The apostle tells us the wonderful news: Adam’s sin is undone by Jesus’ righteousness; Adam’s fall is undone by Jesus’ resurrection. The Christ’s holy life and innocent death unmade the threefold curse of sin, death, and eternal damnation.

The sinful natures we inherit and the guilt our own sins accrue are completely paid for and removed by the Savior’s sacrifice. Paul writes later in this chapter that “the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (v. 45)” He gives us this new life in Baptism and keeps and preserves it through Word and Sacraments until its full and final fruition on the Day of Resurrection.

Text: But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Adam Undone, preached to the saints of God at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Marshall, Missouri.

Other Readings: Psalm 95:1-7a; Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Matthew 25:31-46

Technorati Tags: Proper 29 | Last Sunday of the Church Year | Three Year Lectionary | 3 Year Lectionary | Series A | theology | Jesus | Jesus Christ | Christ | Law and Gospel | Law | Gospel | old Adam | original sin | justification | Baptism | Baptismal regeneration | faith | 19 November 2011 | November 19, 2011 | Lutheranism | Lutheran | Church | Christian | Christianity | Christian Church | 1 Corinthians 15 | sermon | preaching | homily | text | theme | topic | Adam Undone | audio | mp3 | Pastor Snyder | Pastor Walter Snyder | Walter Snyder | Ask the Pastor | Happenings