Proper 7A Sermon: Deceived

Preached on Jeremiah 20:7–13
The Third Sunday after Pentecost
21 June AD 2020

Video: Click to view the YouTube video of Deceived.

Audio: Alternatively, choose Deceived to hear the MP3.

Summary: Jeremiah complained that being the Lord’s prophet wasn’t the easy job he might have expected and decried the nation’s resistance, even among his supposed friends. Yet he remained faithful and confessed faith that, no matter the odds, the Lord fought for him and his cause would finally prevail.

Text: O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.

For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.

For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my close friends, watching for my fall. Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.”

But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.

O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.

Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers. Jeremiah 20:7–13

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.

Video: Click to view the YouTube video of Deceived.

Audio: Click Deceived to listen to the MP3.

Other Readings: Psalm 91:1–10 (11–16); Romans 6:12–23; Matthew 10:5a, 21–33

About the Cartoon: Jeremiah 20:7-13 cartoon by James Wetzstein at Agnus Day: The Lectionary Comic Strip.

Sermon: Rebels Redeemed

Preached on Ezekiel 2:1-5
Proper 9B/Pentecost 6
5 July AD 2015

Title: Rebels Redeemed (MP3 Audio)

Summary: We’re in no condition to stand in judgment upon the Ezekiel’s hearers. We are no less rebellious than was Israel when God sent His the prophets to His people. We are every bit as hard-hearted as were the most shameful sinners to whom Christ’s apostles spoke.

There’s no real difference between us and the Germans of Luther’s time, of whom he wrote in the Preface to the Small Catechism, “The deplorable, miserable condition that I discovered ... has forced and urged me to prepare this catechism.... Mercy! Dear God, what great misery I beheld! The common person, especially in the villages, has no knowledge whatever of Christian doctrine....

“Yet, everyone says that they are Christians, have been baptized, and receive the holy Sacraments, even though they cannot even recite the Lord’s Prayer or the Creed or the Ten Commandments. They live like dumb brutes and irrational hogs.”

We continue to need the rebuke and correction of the Law but even more desperately need the words of hope and promise proclaimed by prophets and apostles, that God sent His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins by winning full forgiveness on the cross.

We need pastors to preach the Word with power so that we will know that we have heard the voices of the prophets and the apostles — indeed, of God Himself. And hearing, we pray that we are convicted, cleansed, and comforted as the Holy Spirit works through the Word on our hearts and minds.

Text: And [the Lord] said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.” Ezekiel 2:1-5

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.

Martin Luther, “Small Catechism,” Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, ed. P. T. McCain (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House), 313.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Rebels Redeemed

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 123; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10; Mark 6:1-13

Illustrations: The Call of Ezekiel from Die Bibel in Bildern by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Text art generated by the Visual Copy tool of Logos Bible Software.