Proper 12A Sermon: Nothing and Everything

Preached on Romans 8:28–39
The Week of Pentecost Eight
28 July AD 2020

Video: Click to view the YouTube video of Nothing and Everything.

Audio: Alternatively, choose Nothing and Everything to hear the MP3.

Summary: God works everything together for the good of His children and nothing can separate us from His love in Christ Jesus our Lord. He didn’t abandon Job during his trials and He doesn’t abandon us. He stayed with Joseph through his captivity in Egypt and He stays with us now.

As Christ carried our sins, He also experienced the pain and suffering common to all. He carried our woe to cross and grave so that He might carry us to the peace and joy of the Resurrection.

Even in the worst of times, God works good for those who believe in Christ. He restored Job many-fold and lavished wealth and authority on Joseph. Finally, He will unmake all the sin that is a part of us and all the evils that have happened to us when He raises us to eternal life and will bless us with more than we can imagine.

Text: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:28–39

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.

Video: Click to view the YouTube video of Nothing and Everything.

Audio: Click Nothing and Everything to listen to the MP3.

Other Readings: Psalm 125; Deuteronomy 7:6–9; Matthew 13:44–52

Trinity Sunday Sermon: Recreation

Preached on Genesis 1:1–2:4a
The Feast of the Holy Trinity
7 June AD 2020

Video: Click to view the YouTube video of Recreation.

Audio: Alternatively, choose Recreation to hear the MP3.

Summary: In normal recreation, we’re only treating symptoms while missing the cause and the cure. We mispronounce it and look for it in the wrong places. We need what the word clearly says: re-creation. We need to be remade in God’s image, not to merely clean and polish our fallen sinful images.

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

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

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

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

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

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

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

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

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

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

These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. Genesis 1:1–2:4a

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.

Video: Click to view the YouTube video of Recreation.

Audio: Click Recreation to listen to the MP3.

Other Readings: Psalm 8; Acts 2:14a, 22–36; Matthew 28:16–28

Pentecost 13 Sermon: Life and Good

Preached on Deuteronomy 30:15–20
13th Sunday After Pentecost — Proper 18C
8 September AD 2019

Title: Click to hear the MP3 of Life and Good.

Summary: Today Moses lays out a simple choice: Life and good or death and evil? And while “life” would seem to be the obvious and only answer, most of the world chooses death in one form or other. That’s because most choose themselves over God and neighbor.

Only Christians can choose true and eternal life because only they know that God first chose them. Left to our own devices, we will al eventually choose wrongly. But when guided by the Spirit, we choose life because we already possess that life in Christ.

Text: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

“But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.

“Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:15-20

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 Life and Good.

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 1; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:15-25

Trinity 4 Sermon: God Meant It for Good

Preached on Genesis 50:15-21
Fourth Sunday After Trinity
9 July AD 2017

Title: Click to hear the MP3 of God Meant It for Good.

Summary: “You meant evil ... but God meant it for good.” As Joseph calmed his fearful brothers, so Christ calms our fears. Sinful mankind, hatefully condemning and slaying the sinless Son of God, found forgiveness and life in the very death that it brought about.

Text: When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.”

So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.” ’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.”

Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:15-21

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 God Meant It for Good.

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 138; Romans 12:14-21 or Romans 8:18-23; Luke 6:36-42

Pentecost 16 Sermon: Life and Good, Death and Evil

Preached on Deuteronomy 30:15-20
The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost — Proper 18C
4 September AD 2016

Title: Life and Good, Death and Evil (MP3 Audio)

Summary: “I’d like ‘Death and Evil’ for One Thousand, Alex,” said what Jeopardy! contestant ever? Yet from the Fall of Adam until now, mankind continually puts itself in jeopardy, making choices ranging from less good to horrifyingly wicked.

Only those who know that Christ chose to die for them and believe that because of Jesus, the Father chooses to forgive them have any chance of truly choosing life and good. Those who choose to reject salvation in Jesus Christ make the decision of their first parents, attempting to set themselves as gods over the one true God.

When Christians hear the Lord say, “Choose life and good,” we know that He is simply inviting us to continue living in faith toward Him and in fervent love for others. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we answer with the “Amen” of body, mind, and soul in thought, word, and deed.

Text: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

“But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.

“Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:15-20

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 Life and Good, Death and Evil.

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 1; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-35

Pentecost 10 Sermon: How Much More!

Preached on Luke 11:1-13
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost — Proper 12C
24 July AD 2016

Title: How Much More! (MP3 Audio)

Summary: Jesus is twice recorded teaching His Church to say, “Our Father.” Matthew 6:9-13 contains the text with which we are most familiar. The instance reported by Luke speaks not of the Father’s will nor of our delivery from evil, yet Jesus brought up both of these as He expounded on the text.

Note that it wasn’t the Romans, the Samaritans, the Pharisees, or the Sadducees whom Jesus called “evil” but rather the disciples who asked Him to teach them to pray. Peter, James, John, and the rest of the bunch are the ones who “give good gifts” to their children, even though they are “evil.” Jesus then taught that the Father — the embodiment of goodness — gives so much more.

The paltry good that we poor sinners can do for those whom we love pales before God’s love for those who hate Him and who rebel against His Word and His will. Our Father willed that His sinless Son die for the world’s sins so that we who are evil might own every good gift of body, mind, and spirit.

Jesus makes it clear that God’s will is to give us sinners the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit, God creates and sustains faith in Christ’s forgiveness. Likewise, the Spirit intercedes for us when we know not what or how to pray (see Romans 8:26-27).

“How much more” good is this gift from God? So much that we cannot fathom its enormity! We who are conceived and born sinful receive full and free forgiveness of all our sins. For Christ’s sake, we who are inclined toward evil are received by a good and loving God who calls us His children. Our heavenly Father gives us our daily bread throughout our time on earth and desires that we join all the faithful in the eternal feast of the Lamb in His kingdom.

This sermon was preached for the 140th Anniversary of Zion Lutheran Church of Pittsburg, Kansas. I am a son of the congregation, living there through most of the 1960s while Dad was Zion’s pastor.

Text: Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

And he said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:1-13

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 Much More!

Illustrations: Line drawing from Art of the Church Year by Ed Riojas, available through Higher Things Store.

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 138; Genesis 18:(17-19) 20-33; Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19)

Thanksgiving Sermon: Whatever Situation

The Eve of Thanksgiving
25 November AD 2015

Title: Whatever Situation (MP3 Audio)

Summary: The apostle makes a few points that many of us miss: We need to learn how to deal not only with loss and lack but with gain and plenty. In faith, by the Spirit’s work, Paul learned to be thankful when imprisoned, beaten, shipwrecked, and snake bitten. He also learned how to receive lavish and abundant gifts without hoarding, wasting, or taking them for granted.

Paul also learned — and teaches the Church — that we are forgiven no matter under what circumstances we sin. If we sin in our times of lowness, hunger, and need by complaining, despairing, or envying, God forgives us for Christ’s sake. If, in times of abundance and feasting, we sin by boasting in our good fortune, hoarding, or lack of charity, God forgives us for Christ’s sake.

Also, when we thanklessly ignore that He sends poverty and health, sickness and wealth, times of plenty and times of need, God forgives us for Christ’s sake. As we learn true contentment in every situation, we also learn true thanksgiving. We realize that everything we receive and everything that is taken away is under divine control, as God works good for all who trust in Jesus for salvation.

Text: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more.

I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Philippians 4:6-20

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 Whatever Situation, preached to the saints at Grace Lutheran Church, Lexington, Missouri.

NB: For some reason, a few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio if Windows Media is their default MP3 player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 67; Deuteronomy 8:1-10; Luke 17:11-19