Category Archives: Sermons

Por encargo de Dios para hacer la obra que nos ha llevado a hacer Lucas 10 17 de julio de, el año 2016 Primera Saint Johns

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo y todos los que sirven a Dios para su gloria en su vocación dijimos … AMEN

Hay así que muchos de nosotros “Marthas”, así que eso es lo que voy, eso es lo que tengo que hacer, lo demás es bueno, pero esto es importante. Martha era una anfitriona, que era, sin duda, la dueña de la casa, era su responsabilidad, al menos como lo vio, para asegurarse de que la casa estaba siendo dirigido según el protocolo, a la hospitalidad. Jesús no está diciendo que haya nada malo en ello. Pero Él está diciendo a ella y para muchos de nosotros, hay otras cosas importantes. Estoy seguro de que Jesús valoró el zumo de granada recién exprimido que Marta puso a cabo, lo he tenido en Israel es tan bueno. Estoy seguro de que apreciaba la bandeja de comida poco, la colección de tentempiés que una buena anfitriona era responsable de. Siendo llevado a la bonita bien cuidada casa, probablemente en lugar de fantasía que Marta mantuvo, siendo llevado a la grande y bonita silla en la que reservado para los huéspedes importantes. Pero también sé que la otra cara también. Con demasiada frecuencia, tengo algo que realmente quiero compartir, para entrar en, estoy emocionado de sentarse y hablar y obtener la opinión y puntos de vista de todos los demás. Muy bien intencionados amigos, hombres y mujeres, querrá asegurarse de que toda la hospitalidad es allí. Es agradable, ciertamente aprecio su consideración, pero hay cosas que realmente quiero para bajar a. Para asegurarse de Jesús ciertamente aprecia la preocupación de Marta para su comodidad, pero sé y me siento así mucho, Mary estaba preocupado por lo que tenía que decir, lo que quería compartir con Lázaro, Marta y María. Ciertamente Jesús valoró el hecho de que María estaba esperando en lo que tenía que decir y compartir. Antes de empezar a organizar esto, yo había sido sólo a nunca olvidado barbacoa y sí, he estado tratando de llegar allí por un tiempo, aprecio barbacoa. Pero de inmediato me senté en la computadora porque estaba realmente inspirado en lo que quería decir hoy, como mi almuerzo en el recipiente de espuma de poliestireno se sentó a hacer frío en la mesa de la cocina. Jesús ciertamente no critica el deseo de Martha para servir en lo que podríamos decir es una forma práctica, pero nosotros como cristianos tenemos que recordar las palabras de Jesús para recordar a Martha que se quejó con él acerca de María: “” Marta, Marta, te ansiosa y preocupada por muchas cosas, pero una cosa es necesaria. María ha escogido la buena parte, la cual no le será quitada de ella “. (Lucas 10: 41-42 NVI) Estamos llamados a servir, sino que también están llamados a tener en cuenta lo que es eterno, mientras que servimos, lo que vamos a recordar diez años a partir de ahora y para la eternidad son las enseñanzas de Jesús. Si tienes a Jesús allí mismo, en su presencia, o si tiene su ministro listos para predicar y enseñar las palabras de Jesús, el “buena parte” es el Evangelio! En nuestra prisa, prisa mundo, hay tanto que nos rodea para estar preocupada y molesta por y todos podemos justificar las cosas que hacemos para trabajar en y para “arreglar” las cosas. Pero la respuesta a todo lo que siempre nos confrontamos ha sido, es, y será siempre, en las palabras de Jesús y no en las cosas que hacemos para correr alrededor y corregir.

Es esa línea media caminamos de muchas maneras. Lo he dicho cien veces, ya que me he convertido en un ministro del Evangelio. Me encantaría darle la forma en blanco y negro en todo, pero no siempre es tan clara. Tenemos las cosas que son claras, la Ley. La Ley nos convence de lo que hacemos y no debemos hacer. Jesús era clara, citando la ley levítica que debemos amar al Señor nuestro Dios con todo nuestro corazón y con toda nuestra alma, absolutamente! En el sermón de la montaña Se vuelve a estar libre, no hay que estar mirando a otro con lujuria, hemos adulteró con esa persona en nuestro corazón. No hay que llamar a otra persona un tonto, estamos condenando a esa persona y que no somos el último juez, Dios el Padre es el último juez. Se nos dice que reprender, decirle a alguien que no pueden seguir al pecado y violar la ley, pero Dios es el determinante final y en Jesús son perdonados de nuestros pecados. Hay muchas maneras en que podemos servir y sirvamos unos a otros y los que están en el mundo en el ejemplo de Jesús estableció para nosotros; recordar cómo Él lavó los pies de los discípulos? Sin duda, una forma cuidadosa y práctico para servir, lo que el sirviente gentil más bajo en el hogar haría. Jesús no nos está diciendo que no sirven, pero Él está diciendo que debemos ser exigentes. El Libro de Concordia es la doctrina de la fe, en la parte titulada la Confesión de Augsburgo, nuestra declaración básica fe es: “A la vanguardia de la Confesión de Augsburgo es una doble profesión de fe en la persona y obra de Cristo:” que enseñan que los hombres no pueden ser justificados ante Dios por sus propias fuerzas, méritos u obras, pero son justificados gratuitamente por amor a Cristo, a través de la fe. . . Esta fe Dios imputa por justicia delante de él “[4] -. Siempre hay maneras en que podría servir más o mejor, pero, por ejemplo, cuando el Evangelio de Jesús está siendo proclamada el domingo por la mañana, tenemos que elegir la mejor parte , que para nosotros que están en Jesús no será tomado distancia de nosotros y que es su Palabra, la buena noticia del Evangelio de Jesús.

Ahora que estamos de acuerdo en cuanto a lo que es la “buena parte”, siendo el Evangelio, las enseñanzas de Jesús. Yo sé que si Jesús apareció justo aquí y ahora, sin duda vendría abajo desde este púlpito, mi trabajo, y siento y espero en Jesús, para escuchar lo que tiene que decir. Del mismo modo, yo espero que a todos nos dejar a un lado las actividades y parar y esperar en él, para servirlo y lo más importante para escucharlo. Por supuesto, espero que si sabíamos que Jesús iba a estar aquí el próximo domingo, nos gustaría llegar a un lado de la barbacoa Domingo listo o ir al partido de fútbol el domingo en lugar de la iglesia y estar aquí para escuchar con avidez a sus palabras.

El título de mi sermón “, encargado por Dios para hacer la obra que le ha llevado a hacer”. Lo que quiero decir es que hemos sido puestos en nuestra vocación de servicio a los demás, Dios no necesita nuestro servicio, sino que nos ha puesto aquí para servir a los demás. Ciertamente queremos que el servicio que se honrando y glorificando a Dios, y un testimonio a los demás cómo servir al Señor. En nuestra lectura de Génesis vemos Sara y Abraham ambos sirven tres desconocidos. Resultaron ser de Dios, pero ellos no saben que, como en el servicio fiel a ellos, están glorificando a Dios que les ha llevado tanto hasta el momento y por muchas cosas. A través de sus ángeles, y sí que son ángeles masculinos, no femenino, Dios está diciendo a Abraham, que después de toda la espera, que tiene que esperar un año más en la fe y el servicio a Dios y Él se le dará al hijo que tienen tanto estado orando por, desde hace décadas. No siempre podemos esperar que se nos dará lo que queremos debido a nuestro servicio, e incluso si se responde a esas oraciones, puede tardar más años para ver las respuestas, pero será en el mejor momento, el tiempo de Dios.

Continuamos sirviendo en nuestra vocación, Dios bendiga el trabajo que hacemos. Puede no ser posible por mucho dinero o el estado, sino lo que hacemos que importa mucho a Dios sin importar lo que nuestra vocación, o servicio. Si estamos sirviendo a clientes domésticos como Marta hizo, o esperando en el servicio de Dios como Abraham, Sara y María.

Uno de los beefs básicos Martin Luther tuvo con la Iglesia romana fue la idea de que sea la vocación no le importaba a Dios, que había cosas mucho más importantes que preocuparse que de cómo obtuve mi pan de cada día, o de la existencia de diferentes niveles de vocación. Había en Cristiano vocación de servicio y esto fue designada para ser mucho más digno. Las personas religiosas; sacerdotes, monjas, monjes, otros en la iglesia, se observa que son mucho más dignos de su vocación, de los que trabajaban en el mundo secular. Que la persona religiosa tenía una vía rápida al cielo y prácticamente todos los demás estaban ranurado para tomar la pista más larga por el purgatorio.

Leif Grane en su comentario sobre la Confesión de Augsburgo escribe: “Lutero habla de ser como Cristo al prójimo; es decir, en servir al prójimo el cristiano no está sirviendo a Dios, sino que, por el contrario, estar unidos con Dios por la fe participa en la obra de Dios mismo. … Las obras de los cristianos, por lo tanto, son obras divinas, en virtud de la fe, a pesar de la pecaminosidad de la persona. Las obras que se van a hacer son aquellas obras previstas en la persona por su llamado. “Servir a los demás a lo mejor de nuestra capacidad está trabajando nuestra vocación, ya sea un abogado, mecánico de automóviles, dentista, el operador de restaurantes, la persona que hace sus impuestos, usted sabe lo que es una bendición que es encontrar a alguien que lo hace esto así, de manera justa y razonable. No importa cuál sea nuestra vocación, padre, ama de casa, dueño del negocio, pastor, contador, atleta, profesor, cuando realizamos bien estos papeles, cuando servimos con eficacia nuestro vecino, y cuando hacemos estas cosas de una manera que la persona que servimos sabe que estamos sirviendo ellos porque estamos trabajando con Dios, entonces la vocación particular no importa. Lo que importa es que Dios ha trabajado a través de nosotros para llegar a otra persona a través de nuestros esfuerzos diarios. Ciertamente, se puede ver que si hacemos nuestra vocación mal o Enriquecernos, otros pensarán menos de Dios y nos han fallado tanto nuestro vecino y Dios.

La vocación se le ha colocado en lo que es Dios obra a través de usted y de otras personas sobre una base diaria. Si esa es la voluntad de Dios ¿cómo puede ser cualquier cosa menos santo? Si es santo, queremos servir con el fin de señalar a otros a Cristo y glorificar a Dios en lo que hacemos a diario. Con demasiada frecuencia dejamos que Dios en nuestras vidas el domingo, ni siquiera un día, por la tarde del domingo, para demasiadas personas, que están de vuelta en el mundo vivo de acuerdo con la agenda del mundo. Grane escribe: “… la cuestión no es” especial “funciona, pero con fe para saber que Dios está presente en todas las circunstancias de la vida diaria.” Cuando recordamos que y tratar de servirlo, no para ganar algún modo el favor de Dios, sino a vivir nuestra vida en Él para su gloria e incluso en acción de gracias y también le sirven, sirviendo a los demás. Cuando nuestra vocación se centra en servir a los demás para glorificar a Dios, no importa lo que su trabajo es que es santo, sagrado y precioso para Dios y tan importante como cualquier vocación.

Marta servía realmente Jesús y Jesús no regañarla por eso. Ella estaba proveyendo para su familia y su invitado, sin duda encomiable y algo que todos debemos hacer. Nuestra porción es bendecido por Dios y sirven así como un testimonio de su bendición y gloria. Pero María fue elogiado. Con demasiada frecuencia parece que la persona que se sienta alrededor de leer, escuchar, participar de alguna manera está perdiendo el tiempo, pero ciertamente están recibiendo una “buena parte”. Dios nos ha puesto en nuestras vocaciones y servir en consecuencia. Eso no quiere decir que la vocación de la ministra, la predicación de su palabra y la administración de sus sacrmanets no es importante. Ayuda al pastor servir a la medida de su capacidad como ministro, le ayudan a servirle en su vocación y todos nos sirven unos a otros para alabar, levante y glorifiquen a nuestro Padre en el cielo que se complace en servir unos a otros en su nombre .

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom

Commissioned by God to do the work he has led you to Luke 10 July 17, 2016

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who serve God to His glory in their vocation said … AMEN

There are so many of us “Marthas”, well that’s what I’m about, that’s what I have to do, the other stuff is good, but this is important. Martha was a hostess, she was no doubt the lady of the house, it was her responsibility, at least as she saw it, to make sure the house was being run according to protocol, to hospitality. Jesus isn’t saying there’s anything wrong with that. But He is saying to her and to so many of us, there are other important things. I’m sure Jesus appreciated the freshly squeezed pomegranate juice that Martha put out, I’ve had it in Israel it is so good. I’m sure he appreciated the little food tray, the collection of munchies that a good hostess was responsible for. Being led into the nice, well kept, probably rather fancy house that Martha kept, being led over to the nice big chair she reserved for important guests. But I also know the flip side too. Too often I have something that I really want to share, to get into, I’m all excited to sit down and talk about and get everyone else’s opinion and insights. Very well- meaning folks, men and women, want to make sure that all the hospitality is there. It’s nice, I certainly appreciate their consideration, but there’s things I really want to get down to. To be sure Jesus certainly appreciated Martha’s concern for His comfort, but and I know I feel this way a lot, Mary was concerned about what He had to say, what He wanted to share with Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Certainly Jesus appreciated the fact that Mary was waiting on what He had to say and share. Before I started putting this together, I had just been over to Never Forgotten BBQ and yea, I’ve been trying to get over there for awhile, I do appreciate barbeque. But I immediately sat down at the computer because I was really inspired about what I wanted to say today, as my lunch in the Styrofoam container sat getting cold on the kitchen table. Jesus certainly isn’t criticizing Martha’s desire to serve in what we would say is a practical way, but we as Christians we need to remember Jesus’ words to remind Martha who complained to Him about Mary: “”Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10: 41-42 ESV) We are called to serve, but we are also called to keep in mind what is eternal, that while we serve, what we will remember ten years from now and to eternity are the teachings of Jesus. If you have Jesus right there in your presence, or if you have His minister ready to preach and teach the Words of Jesus the “good portion” is the Gospel! In our hurry, hurry world, there is so much around us to be anxious and troubled about and we can all justify the things that we do to work on and to “fix” those things. But the answer to all that we confront always has been, is, and always will be in Jesus’ words and not in the things we do to rush around and fix.

It’s that middle line we walk in so many ways. I’ve said it a hundred times, since I’ve become a minister of the Gospel. I’d love to give you the black and white way on everything, but it’s not always that clear. We have the things that are clear, the Law. The Law convicts us of what we do and shouldn’t do. Jesus was clear, quoting the Levitical law that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart and all our soul, absolutely! In the Sermon on the Mount He is again clear, we shouldn’t be looking at another with lust, we have committed adultery with that person in our heart. We shouldn’t call someone else a fool, we are condemning that person and we aren’t the ultimate judge, God the Father is the ultimate judge. We are told to rebuke, telling someone that they can’t continue to sin and violate the Law, but God is the ultimate determiner and in Jesus we are forgiven of our sins. There are so many ways we can serve and we should serve each other and those in the world in the example Jesus set for us; remember how He washed the feet of the disciples? Certainly a caring and practical way to serve, the thing that the lowest Gentile servant in the household would do. Jesus isn’t telling us not to serve, but He is saying that we should be discerning. The Book of Concord is the doctrine of our faith, in the part titled the Augsburg Confession, our basic faith statement is: “At the forefront of the Augsburg Confession is a dual profession of faith in the person and work of Christ: “they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith. . . This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight.”[4] –[1] There are always ways we could serve more or better, but, for example, when the Gospel of Jesus is being proclaimed on Sunday morning, we have to chose the good portion, that for us who are in Jesus won’t be taken away from us and that is His Word, the good news of the Gospel of Jesus.

Now that we are in agreement as to what is the “good portion”, being the Gospel, the teachings of Jesus. I know that if Jesus showed up right here and now, I’d certainly come down from this pulpit, my work, and sit and wait on Jesus, to hear what He has to say. Likewise, I’d hope that we would all put aside the activities and stop and wait on Him, to serve Him and more importantly to listen to Him. I sure hope that if we knew Jesus was going to be here next Sunday, we’d set aside getting the Sunday barbeque ready or going to the Sunday soccer game instead of church and be here to eagerly listen to His words.

The title of my sermon is “Commissioned by God to do the work He has led you to do”. What I mean is that we have been put in our vocation to serve each other, God doesn’t need our service, but He has put us here to serve others. We certainly want that service to be honoring and glorifying to God and a positive witness to others how we serve the Lord. In our reading in Genesis we see Sarah and Abraham both serving three strangers. They turned out to be from God, but they didn’t know that, and in faithful service to them, they are glorifying God who has led them both so far and through so much. Through His angels, and yes they’re male angels, not female, God is telling Abraham, that after all the waiting, that he needs to wait one more year in faith and service to God and He will be given the son they have both been praying for, for decades. We can’t always expect that we will be given what we want because of our service, and even if those prayers are answered, it may take more years to see the answers, but it will be at the best time, God’s time.

We continue to serve in our vocation, God does bless the work we do. May not always be for big bucks or status, but what we do does matter very much to God no matter what our vocation, or service. Whether we are serving household guests like Martha did, or waiting in service on God like Abraham, Sarah and Mary.

One of the basic beefs Martin Luther had with the Roman Church was the idea that either vocation didn’t matter to God, that there were far more important things to worry about than how I earned my daily bread, or that there were different levels of vocation. There were those in Christian service vocation and this was designated to be much more worthy. Religious persons; priests, nuns, monks, others in the church, were seen to be far more worthy in their vocation, than those who worked in the secular world. That the religious person had a fast track to heaven and pretty much everyone else was slotted to take the longer track through purgatory.

Leif Grane in his commentary on the Augsburg Confession writes: “Luther speaks of being as a Christ to one’s neighbor; i.e., in serving one’s neighbor the Christian is not serving God, but, on the contrary, being united with God by faith is participating in the work of God himself. … the works of the Christian, therefore, are divine works, by virtue of faith, despite the sinfulness of the person. The works which are to be done are those works laid upon the person by his or her calling.”[2] Serving others to the best of our ability is working out our vocation, whether that is a lawyer, auto mechanic, dentist, restaurant operator, the person who does your taxes, you know what a blessing it is to find someone who will does this well, fairly and reasonably. No matter what our vocation, parent, housewife, business owner, pastor, accountant, athlete, teacher, when we perform these roles well, when we effectively serve our neighbor, and when we do these things in a way that the person we serve knows that we are serving them because we are working with God, then the particular vocation doesn’t matter. What matters is that God has worked through us to reach someone else through our daily efforts. Certainly you can see that if we do our vocation poorly or to enrich ourselves, others will think less of God and we have failed both our neighbor and God.

The vocation you have been placed in is what God works through on you and other people on a daily basis. If that is God’s will how can it be anything but holy? If it is holy, we want to serve in order to point others to Christ and to glorify God in what we do on a daily basis. Far too often we let God into our lives on Sunday, not even one day, by Sunday afternoon, for too many people, they are back in the world living according to the world’s agenda. Grane writes: “…the issue is not ‘special’ works, but in faith to know that God is present in all circumstances of daily life.”[3] When we remember that and seek to serve Him, not to somehow earn God’s favor, but to live our life in Him to His glory and even in thanksgiving and to also serve Him, by serving others. When our vocation is centered around serving others to glorify God, no matter what your work is it is holy, sacred and precious to God and just as important as any vocation.

Martha was genuinely serving Jesus and Jesus didn’t scold her for that. She was providing for her family and her guest, certainly commendable and something we should all do. Our serving is blessed by God and we serve well as a witness to His blessing and glory. But Mary was commended. Too often it seems that the person sitting around reading, listening, engaging is somehow goofing off, but they are certainly receiving a “good portion”. God has put us in our vocations and we serve in them accordingly. That doesn’t mean that the minister’s vocation, the preaching of His word and the administration of His sacrmanets isn’t important. Help the pastor serve to the best of his ability as a minister, help him to serve you in your vocation and we all serve each other to praise, lift up and glorify our Father in heaven who takes delight in our serving each other in His Name.

The peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom

[1] See more at: http://lutheranreformation.org/theology/christ-office-holy-ministry/?utm_content=buffera69b7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.jH8hLWBj.dpufhttp://buff.ly/29rSUgv

[2] Leif Grane  “The Augsburg Confession, A commentary” pp 201-202

[3] Ibid

Ame a su vecino en la autopista al infierno Lucas 10: 25-37 10 de julio de, el año 2016 Primera Saint Johns

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo, y todos aquellos que sirven a su vecino en la carretera dijimos … AMEN

Estoy seguro de que, al menos para aquellos de nosotros que somos de la misma edad, que recuerdo la canción “Highway to Hell”, ya que estamos hablando del buen samaritano estar en lo que probablemente fue un principal, por así decirlo, “autopista” , durante ese período, no es difícil que preguntarse si los hombres que dejaron el hombre que mueren en el camino, nosotros le llamamos “vecino”, si aquellos hombres eran en realidad en una autopista al infierno. Hoy en día, alguien, un oficial de policía, ambulancia, va a llegar y hacer lo necesario para obtener ayuda “vecino”. No es el caso en Israel del primer siglo, no había ninguna patrulla de la carretera, nadie encargado de patrullar las carreteras para tal situación. Al pasar por ese hombre impotente, sin detenerse para ayudar a él bien podría ser una sentencia de muerte. Luteranos, saben que pecamos por lo que hacemos y lo que no hacemos. Caminar por este hombre en tal condición lo iba a dejar morir, y es nuestro pecado de omisión.

Highway to Hell de AC / DC es bastante perspicaz para lo que estaba destinado a ser la parodia. Hago lo que quiero, cuando quiero, no ayudo a nadie, que no necesito la ayuda de nadie, no es necesario razón, no es necesario rima, una y otra vez, sí, la receta exacta para el infierno, la condenación eterna . elección por completo de esa persona. Eso no es amor, sin embargo, tiene muchos hoy en día que dicen exactamente lo contrario, que es totalmente amoroso para que una persona haga lo que ellos quieren y donde quieren ir en su propio tiempo. Eso no es Dios, eso no es amor, eso es caminar por esa persona en la carretera, cruzando de modo que usted no tiene que interactuar con esa persona y seguir adelante en su vida, su orden del día.

Jesús le pregunta al abogado: “¿Quién crees que resultó ser un vecino del hombre que cayó en manos de los ladrones?”, Respondió el abogado, “El que tuvo compasión de él”. Samaritanos eran tan odiados por Judios en ese momento, el hombre ni siquiera podía obligarse a reconocer que un samaritano se extendería como la bondad, pero admitió que sí mostró misericordia en el cumplimiento de la orden levítico: “… sino que amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo: yo soy el Señor “Dios se aseguró Moisés sabía hacer hincapié,” yo soy el Señor “Gran yO sOY, el que le está diciendo a mostrar esta bondad a” vecino “.. Algo que el abogado, el sacerdote o el levita simplemente no / no lo haría. Ellos esperan que la persona que deje de ellos, pero la verdad es que en el “Highway to Hell”, “nadie me va a frenar”. No en términos de ellos de pasar a proveer a sus propias pasiones y deseos, y ciertamente no en términos de ayudar a otra persona. Eso es lo que siempre va a diferenciar los cristianos y todos los demás. Estamos bajo el mando de “amar al prójimo”, no siempre podemos hacerlo, no siempre podemos hacerlo bien, pero nos recuerda a medida que avanzamos a lo largo de la carretera, que el resto del mundo no es en virtud de un mandato de este tipo. Claro que puede dejar de vez en cuando para ayudar, pero a menudo esperar algo a cambio, o cualquier número de motivaciones, pero no por amor, y el amor es siempre ser la motivación de los cristianos.

Tenemos un montón de gente hoy en día cree que el amor es acerca de lo que reciben. Ponen a otras personas en una cinta de correr, esperando que seguiremos proporcionando para ellos, en realidad nunca dar nada, pero esperando que alguien más se supone que es mostrarles “amor cristiano” sobre una base continua. Eso no es “amor”, no se trata de mí pensando en nuevas formas en que se supone que deben hacer las cosas por mí, se trata de mí haciendo mi mejor esfuerzo para ofrecer, fortalecer, orar, estimular, proporcionar ayuda material en la necesidad física. Eso es amor, no es lo que muchos hoy en día quieren convencernos de que el amor es, nuestro hacer continuamente para aquellos que sólo quieren seguir tomando y nunca hace nada por sí mismos, o cualquier otra persona que les ayude a crecer y madurar. Los que menea el dedo a nosotros acerca de “amor”, son generalmente los que no hacen nada más que acusan a los demás y luego esperan ser previsto. Sin embargo, habrá otros como “vecino” que se encontrarán en tiempos de problemas, vamos a estar ahí para aquellos que, por causas ajenas a su propia, necesitan nuestra ayuda. Debemos intensificar para ayudar “vecino”. Los ladrones no van a ir a la dificultad para asaltar a alguien a menos que piensen que hay una recompensa. Está claro que “vecino” tenía medios e iba a lo suyo a la medida de sus posibilidades. Está claro que merecía ser ayudado por el sacerdote y / o el levita. Estos hombres eran probablemente miedo de que “vecino” estaba muerto y que podría hacerse impuro. Eso es legalismo, el legalismo no es una excusa para no ayudar a alguien. Hay quienes se han visto atrapados en los estilos de vida que son claramente pecaminoso. Como cristianos andamos continuamente esa línea fina entre la “habilitación” alguien en su pecado y ayudar a alguien que está en necesidad y está buscando ayuda para superar. Me encuentro aquí, en una iglesia del centro, teniendo continuamente para hacer esa llamada, con recursos limitados de tiempo, dinero, energía y la necesidad de contar a nadie entro en contacto con la buena noticia del Evangelio. Hacemos ejercer una gran cantidad de amor y compasión aquí, en primer lugar St Johns. Nosotros extendemos la mano en el amor para ayudar a los que podemos ayudar. Sin embargo, nuestra máxima expresión del amor es siempre decir a nadie que nos encontramos del amor de Jesús. Que Él murió en la cruz como pago por nuestros pecados y por medio de su justicia que nos pusieron en relación con Dios, nuestro todo santo, justo, Dios justo.

La canción de AC / DC, es una clara expresión de aquellos que simplemente no están interesados en el mensaje del Evangelio. Ellos están en esa carretera, y recordar las palabras de Jesús; hay un camino estrecho que conduce a la salvación, una carretera es amplia y rápida. Hay un montón de carreteras que he estado en que tienen un límite de velocidad de 55 millas por hora, pero a mi alrededor, los vehículos están zumbando en torno a los 65, 75 mucho más rápido que yo, que estoy tratando de mantenerse a salvo, pero conseguir puesto al día con lo que está pasando a mi alrededor me está poniendo en peligro a las personas y el zoom son completamente insensibles por el hecho de que me están poniendo, nadie más conmigo y ellos mismos en peligro. Podemos tratar de mantenerse al día con los que están en esa carretera al infierno, o podemos seguir haciendo lo correcto. Jesús dijo: “Si me amáis, guardaréis mis mandamientos” (Juan 14:15). Podemos enfocar por el vecino en la carretera, literal o metafóricamente, o podemos hacer todo lo posible para proporcionar un lugar seguro para decirle, y otros, la verdad y la gracia de Jesús. Gerhard Grabenhofer en su libro Dios lo quiera, un devocional basado en los escritos de CFW Walther cita Walther: “La tarea de cada iglesia cristiana que produce justamente este nombre es el de proporcionar consuelo eterno … Y aún para [nuestra conciencia acusadora] Dios ha establecido la santa iglesia cristiana. Debe ser un jardín de cielo en la tierra llena de resortes que viven en el cual el peregrino cansado terrenal puede descansar y de los cuales se puede extraer la comodidad que cura su conciencia herido y lo llena de la esperanza de vida eterna. Una iglesia que no ofrece esta comodidad, uno que actúa en su lugar como una escuela de la moral, la predicación sólo los derechos de uno, despertando el temor servil de Dios y dejando de Dios y dejar lugar a dudas la salvación sobre eterno, es una iglesia en único nombre “Esto. es lo que vemos hoy en día, muchas iglesias que toman una posición “moral”, políticamente correcto, que es verdaderamente legalista, que está a punto conforme a las posiciones del mundo, como el sacerdote y el levita. Más preocupado por ir a través de los movimientos de aparecer “derecho” en lugar de ser ese lugar del verdadero amor, que el amor ágape, que nos pone en contacto verdaderamente con un Dios que nos ama desesperadamente. El Padre quiere tanto para nosotros conocer su Hijo Jesús ya sabemos que somos salvos sólo a través de él, no a través de nuestras actividades políticas / sociales, sino al que murió para salvarnos. Que nuestra fuerza es siempre a través del amor, la gracia, la fe que tenemos en Cristo y no la nuestra. Sí, nos hemos encontrado con muchos aquí en nuestro centro de la ciudad, que tratan de decirnos lo que debemos estar preocupados con, cada uno tiene su orden del día. En Levítico, Dios está diciendo a Moisés: “… no hagas como lo hacen en la tierra de Egipto, donde vivió y no haréis como hacen en la tierra de Canaán, a la cual los llevo … En pos mis normas y mis estatutos y andando en ellos. Yo soy el Señor tu Dios “(Lev 18: 3-4). Tenemos un montón de gente que nos dice que es una noticia vieja, tenemos que conseguir con el nuevo mundo. Las cosas que estaban sucediendo en Egipto y Canaán, eran muy parecidas a las cosas que nos rodean hoy en día. La gente que era ajeno a lo que Dios ha querido y que hacían lo que querían. Dios les dice a Moisés: “. … Seréis razonar francamente con su vecino, para que no se incurre en el pecado a causa de él” (Lv 19, 17) No podemos perder en el que necesitamos para ser y de pensar de alguna manera es amante de permitir personas en su pecado. No es, somos conscientes de lo que es amar; “Dios, que es el amor eterno, no quiere ni una sola persona que se pierde, sin embargo”, citando Walther. El embargo es si esa persona ignora a Dios y choses la carretera al infierno. Se presenta a Cristo en el amor, vemos herido “vecino” que pone al borde del camino y tratar de prestar ayuda, pero si nos despide, lo dejamos, pero él, o ella mantenemos, en la oración constante.

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom

Loving Your Neighbor on the Highway to Hell Luke 10: 25-37 First Saint Johns July 10, 2016

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who serve their neighbor on the highway said … AMEN

I’m sure, at least for those of us who are of an age, you remember the song “Highway to Hell”, since we are talking about the Good Samaritan being on what was probably a main, as it were, “highway”, during that period it is not hard to wonder if the men who left the man to die on the road, we will call him “neighbor”, if those men really were on a highway to hell. Today, someone, a police officer, ambulance, will come along and do what’s necessary to get “neighbor” help. Not the case in first century Israel, there was no highway patrol, no one charged with patrolling the highways for such a situation. Walking past that helpless man, not stopping to help him could well be a death sentence. We Lutherans know that we sin by what we do and what we don’t do. Walking by this man in such a condition was leaving him to die, and is our sin of omission.

Highway to Hell by AC/DC is rather insightful for what was intended to be parody. Do what I want, when I want, I don’t help anyone, I don’t need anyone’s help, don’t need reason, don’t need rhyme, on and on, yea, the exact recipe for Hell, eternal condemnation. Entirely that person’s choice. That’s not love, yet you have many today who say the exact opposite, that it’s entirely loving to let a person do what they want and go where they want in their own time. That’s not God, that’s not love, that’s walking by that person on the highway, crossing over so that you don’t have to interact with that person and moving on in your life, your agenda.

Jesus asks the lawyer, “who do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” The lawyer answered, “The one who showed him mercy”. Samaritans were so hated by Jews in that time, the man couldn’t even bring himself to acknowledge that a Samaritan would extend such kindness, but conceded that he did show mercy in compliance with the Levitical command: “…but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” God made sure Moses knew to emphasize, “I am the Lord” the Great I AM, the One who is telling you to show this kindness to “neighbor”. Something the lawyer, the priest or the Levite just didn’t/wouldn’t do. They would expect someone to stop for them, but the truth is, on the “Highway to Hell”, “nobody’s gonna slow me down”. Not in terms of them moving on to provide for their own lusts and desires, and certainly not in terms of helping someone else. That is what will always differentiate Christians and everyone else. We are under command to “love our neighbor”, we may not always do it, we may not always do it right, but we are reminded as we move along the highway, that the rest of the world is not under such an injunction. Sure they may stop once in awhile to help, but they often expect something in return, or any number of motivations, but not out of love, and love is always to be the Christian’s motivation.

We have a lot of people today who think that love is about what they receive. They put other people on a treadmill, expecting them to keep providing for them, never really giving anything, but expecting that someone else is supposed to show them “Christian love” on a continuous basis. That’s not “love”, it’s not about me thinking of new ways people are supposed to do things for me, it’s about me doing my best to provide, strengthen, pray for, encourage, provide material help in physical need. That’s love, not what many today want to convince us that love is, our continually doing for those who just want to continue to take and never do anything for themselves, or anyone else that will help them to grow and mature. Those who wag their finger at us about “love”, are usually the ones who do nothing else but accuse others and then expect to be provided for. But there will be those like “neighbor” who will find themselves in times of trouble, we are to be there for those who, through no fault of their own, need our help. We should step up to help “neighbor”. Thieves aren’t going to go to the trouble to mug someone unless they think that there is a payoff. Clearly “neighbor” had means and he was going about his business to the best of his ability. Clearly he deserved to be helped by the priest and/or the Levite. These men were probably afraid that “neighbor” was dead and they might make themselves ceremonially unclean. That is legalism, legalism is never an excuse to not help someone. There are those who have found themselves caught up in lifestyles that are clearly sinful. As Christians we continually walk that fine line between “enabling” someone in their sin and helping someone who is in need and is looking for help to overcome. I find myself here, in a downtown church, continually having to make that call, with limited resources of time, money, energy and the need to tell anyone I come into contact with the good news of the Gospel. We do exercise a great deal of love and compassion here at First St Johns. We do reach out in love to help those who we can help. But our ultimate expression of love is always to tell anyone we encounter of the love of Jesus. That He died on that cross as a payment for our sin and through His righteousness to put us in relationship with God, our all holy, righteous, just God.

The AC/DC song, is a clear expression of those who just aren’t interested in the Gospel message. They are on that highway, and remember Jesus’ words; there is a narrow road that leads to salvation, a highway is wide and fast. There are plenty of highways that I’ve been on that have a speed limit of 55 miles per hour, but all around me, vehicles are buzzing around at 65, 75 much faster than me, I’m trying to stay safe, but getting caught up with what’s going on around me is putting me in jeopardy and those zooming by are completely callous to the fact that they’re putting me, anyone else with me and themselves in jeopardy. We can try to keep up with those who are on that highway to hell, or we can continue to do the right thing. Jesus said “if you love Me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). We can zoom by neighbor on the highway, literally or metaphorically, or we can do whatever we can to provide a safe place to tell him, and others, the truth and grace of Jesus. Gerhard Grabenhofer in his book God Grant It, a devotional based on the writings of CFW Walther quotes Walther: “The task of every Christian church that rightly bears this name is to provide eternal comfort… To still [our accusing conscience] God has established the holy Christian Church. It should be a garden of heaven on earth full of living springs at which the tired earthly pilgrim can rest and out of which he can draw the comfort that heals his wounded conscience and fills him with the hope of eternal life. A church that does not provide this comfort, one that acts instead like a school of morals, preaching only one’s duties, awakening a servile fear of God and leaving of God and leaving doubt about eternal salvation, is a church in name only.”[1] This is what we see today, too many churches who take a “moral”, politically correct position, that is truly legalistic, that is about conforming to the world’s positions, like the priest and the Levite. More concerned about going through the motions of appearing “right” instead of being that place of true love, that agape love, that puts us in genuine relationship with a God who does desperately love us. The Father wants so much for us to know His Son Jesus and to know that we are saved only through Him, not through our political/social activities, but Him who died to save us. That our strength is always through the love, grace, faith that we have in Christ and not our own. Yes, we have encountered many right here in our downtown area, who try to tell us what we should be concerned with, everyone has their agenda. In Leviticus, God is telling Moses, “…you shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you…You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God.” (Lev 18: 3-4) We have a lot of people telling us that’s old news, we need to get with the new world. The things that were happening in Egypt and Canaan, were much like things around us today. People who were oblivious to what God wanted and who did what they wanted. God goes on to tell Moses: “…you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.” (Lev 19: 17) We can’t lose where we need to be and to somehow think it’s loving to enable people in their sin. It’s not, we are well aware of what is loving; “God, who is the eternal love, does not want even one person to be lost, however” quoting Walther. The however being if that person ignores God and choses the highway to hell. We present Christ in love, we see wounded “neighbor” laying by the roadside and try to render assistance, but if he dismisses us, we leave him alone, but keep him, or her, in constant prayer.

The peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom

[1] Gerhard Grabenhofer quoting CFW Walther “God Grant It” p 582

The heavens declare the glory of God Psalm 19 First Saint Johns July 3, 2016

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who know that all creation glorifies God, said … AMEN!

We had to stay constantly qualified in the Coast Guard, even being part-time. One of those qualifications was being underway in different areas, night-time, day-time, all year round. Many times we’d be going out at 8pm in January because we had to get the underway hours. No I don’t like being cold, but you have to do it. There you are, far away from shore, no other light around you, especially when there’s no moon. Even in the sky over the ocean at 18 degrees, there is very little humidity in the atmosphere, the sky is clear and dark, and looking into the sky, stars are bright and sharp, the Milky Way is so prominent, it felt as if I could reach up and brush my hand through the Milky Way. The number of points of light in the sky is staggering, we who are so used to seeing the night-time sky in the middle of man-made lighting, the stuff that gets into the atmosphere, we have very little of the total view, even in the best circumstances there is very little that we see with the naked eye. Most of what we see is the galaxy that we are in, what we know as the Milky Way. When we proclaim that God created the universe, that our all creative, powerful, all knowing God made us in His image and set us in this universe, gave us all His creation, many will accuse us of presumption: “How can you think that in this immense universe that we are the only people in this massive, universe? There has to be other people.” There are complicated calculations estimating how many other planets are populated by sentient beings like us. I submit that if you do rely on complicated mathematics and you do the calculations of all the factors involved to account for the fact that we are here, you would see that our presence here is beyond any estimate of scientific possibility. If you really want to justify our existence through science you have to concede that there is an all-powerful, transcendent Creator of the universe. For us to be here is, under the laws of probability, beyond any statistical possibility. If we are statistically impossible, then even in this massive universe, the “probability”, the scientific word, for other life is beyond impossible. Further if God creates us in His image, creates an environment that not only “supports” our existence, keeps us alive, but more so allows us to flourish and grow despite our rather fragile constitution, especially in a universe that consists of such extremes in terms of temperature, radiation, water, atmosphere, and many other factors, that God did provide us an extremely unique environment for us to live. The Christian perspective is that God is all loving, all providing and all powerful in all respects of creation, for His people. Why wouldn’t He give us, His people, His creation, and for those in Jesus, His children. Why wouldn’t He give us an enormous, magnificent, immense universe?

God did create the universe, the prevailing scientific opinion is that the universe was created as a result of the Big Bang. Interestingly, the Big Bang Theory was formulated by a Roman Catholic priest. “This startling idea first appeared in scientific form in 1931, in a paper by Georges Lemaître, a Belgian cosmologist and Catholic priest. The theory, accepted by nearly all astronomers today, was a radical departure from scientific orthodoxy in the 1930s. Many astronomers at the time were still uncomfortable with the idea that the universe is expanding. That the entire observable universe of galaxies began with a bang seemed preposterous.”[1] It’s interesting that conventional science at the time was that the universe had always been, this is called the “steady state” theory that everything always was, and always would be. It took a Christian clergyman to point out to the rest of conventional science that “steady state” was just not reality. No scientist in this day and age believe in the “steady state” because of a number of factors, one being that the universe isn’t just kind of sitting there, that the universe is actually pulling itself apart. At some point, millions of years from now, the universe will have pulled so far apart that gravity will no longer be able to control, that everything in creation will be a lump of frozen solid matter. There will no longer be any heat, because heat is a factor of gravity.

Father Lemaitre, the formulator of the Big Bang is quoted to the effect of saying that if God the Father chose to create the universe in one huge, lightning fast bang, one brilliant flash then so be it. Christians have actually been in the lead of scientific discovery since the beginning, people like Louis Pasteur, arguably the most brilliant mathematician Blaise Pascal to name a few who were devout Christians. Many believe that Galileo proved that the sun was at the center of the solar system. Actually a Catholic cleric named Nicholas Copernicus showed the sun, not the earth was at the center.  A theory expanded upon by another devout Christian Johannes Kepler. The argument has been made that Christians are far better equipped to be scientists since the paradigm for the universe is what God has established, that the God of Scripture is very rational. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14: 33: “For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace.    The universe is a testament for order. There are times when we feel that the world is out of control. But then we realize the disorder is what we create, what we do as a matter of our sin. The order that maintains the universe, what God has established, order that we can’t undermine, that the sun shines, the water cycle continues, that we are protected from the harsh environment that surrounds us; extreme cold and heat, radiation, lack of water, extremes of gravity. Our environment, what is around is, is so balanced, so controlled, so tailored to our very specific needs, that to say that this is all an accident is just living in denial to an extreme.

The claim is that it’s science versus faith, but faith has been proved over and over since the beginning, in contrast to science which has been disproved over and over. While the church was setting up universities, training people to teach and to do research in the Middle Ages, secular science was still far more concerned with alchemy and astrology, areas the church condemned. If being right is arrogant then so be it, I submit that being arrogant is far less of a sin than being wrong, or taking a position because of what others want you to believe, because it’s popular, because it’s the world around us living in denial, than yes, I guess I’m going to be arrogant. It is more important to be right than to be popular.

As Christians we know that it is because of God’s will that not only are we aware human beings in the middle of God’s creation, recognizing that the complicated, intricate universe around us could not have been an accident, but on this Independence Day, Christians recognized God’s hand in what we have in our freedoms today, in the United States. In Thomas Jefferson’s final form, he writes: “…to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them…” recognizing that not only that the complicated intricacies of our world, in nature, has been created and controlled by God, but that He also moved the men and women of 240 years ago to create a nation that is still the most faithful in Christ in the world, but also faithful to the true guidelines and inspiration of the Bible. To deny that is to be in denial of history as much as so many are in denial of science and probability.

And of course the most quoted part of the Declaration: “That all men are created equal”, that is there is a Creator, we didn’t get here by accident, we were put here intentionally, as the writer of Esther states: “For such a time as this.”

That God not only created us, but that He endowed His people in His creation, with certain inalienable rights: “…that these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, yes we’ve stretched those “rights” out into the ungodly, but we know who not only created, but also gave us the dignity and responsibilities of His creation in Him as a witness to God. Jefferson ended by stating that the members of the Continental Congress representing all those in the United States; “…appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, for the rectitude of our intentions”, that is we appeal to God to either confirm our course of action, that we feel we are confirmed in that course, or that He should intervene in order for us to be brought back into His will. For Americans God’s creative power is not just in terms of the entire universe, but also in our very tiny part of that universe, guided by His Supreme will, even in these days when it seems we don’t follow His will.

Craig Blaising and Carmen Hardin write: “The nineteenth psalm present three laws in harmony with one another”, quoting Theodoret. And “It also presents a rebuke of atheism.” Quoting Diodore. They go on to say, quoting various writers: “The pslam begins proclaiming that God, as designer of the heavens, is known by His design. The creation is not by chance. Rather, created things are servants for our instruction. It is the spectacle of creating that speaks, drawing a response from us that glorifies the Creator. … That “God is revealed especially in the order of things. For it is clear that Reason rules through the natural order… This order forms the primal music of the cosmos. This natural revelation constitutes a message of the Lord’s greatness … His providence is a message of his love … in a book open to all … declared in a universal language.”[2]

Truly God is great, He reveals all that we need to know that He is in control. That He has given us life and life more abundant through His Son. That even in this universe which is so sunk in sin, that He gives us the promise of salvation and resurrection through His Son Jesus Christ. All for us who when we consider the vastness of creation and the even more massiveness of God, that He has provided for us in so many ways, continues to provide for us and gives us the promise of eternal life in the New Creation in Jesus Christ. Only someone who is truly in Christ or preaching in Christ can know that this message is truly on their heart.

The peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom

[1] This is an excerpt from COSMIC HORIZONS: ASTRONOMY AT THE CUTTING EDGE, edited by Steven Soter and Neil deGrasse Tyson, a publication of the New Press. © 2000 American Museum of Natural History.

[2] Edited by Craig Blaising and Carmen Hardin  “Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture Old Testament VII p 146

Cristianos, nunca está solo 1 Reyes 19 First St John 26 de de junio de, el año 2016

[for the audio version click on the above icon]

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo, y todos aquellos que saben que nunca están solos cuando están en Jesús dijo … AMEN!

Este domingo es reconocer Fondo de Extensión de la Iglesia Luterana. Con respecto a que yo quiero hablar de lo que LCEF hace en relación con el apoyo iglesias locales específicamente en términos de la administración. Tenemos muy buenos recursos asociados con la LCMS, todos son muy local y las fuentes de financiación y apoyo para las congregaciones locales. LCEF ofrece varios vehículos de inversión que también se utilizan para proporcionar programas como consagradas Stewards un programa que nos ayudará a crecer en nuestra administración de una manera más intencional y regular. Tenemos muy buenos recursos que creo que no son realmente utilizado tanto como deberían, a otro ser Thrivent Financial. Thrivent ofrece subvenciones de las actividades que están disponibles para los miembros de apoyo para ayudar a los alcances aquí, en primer lugar Saint Johns. Nos hemos beneficiado de esos programas, si usted es un miembro de Thrivent y no ha utilizado estos programas, por favor hágamelo saber y estaré encantado de ayudarle a acceder a estos programas en beneficio de los ministerios que estamos haciendo aquí. Si usted no utiliza esas oportunidades de regalo, que será un beneficio perdido, dinero que queda sobre la mesa.

El Presidente de Thrivent, Brad Hewitt, escribió un libro sobre la administración y hay un montón de buenos consejos y conocimientos sobre nuestra relación con el dinero. Pero recuerde, la administración no es sólo cuestión de dinero, sino que también se trata de su tiempo y talentos también. En este día y edad, el tiempo es un recurso escaso. Estoy teniendo un montón de días en los que sólo tienes que arrastrar a mi casa y puedo empatizar con aquellos que se encuentran justo acaba el tiempo. Una vez dicho esto, su inversión de tiempo y talentos, para apoyar los diferentes alcances que estamos haciendo es enorme y te pido que, además de considerar el aumento de su apoyo financiero, que también considerar la búsqueda de maneras que usted puede invertir su tiempo en actividades de la iglesia . A menudo, la declaración a tiempo y la interacción de los miembros de la iglesia en los resultados de ministerio en una vuelta enorme en términos de ayudar a los nuevos miembros a crecer, ayudando a llegar a los miembros de la iglesia prospectivos y en general nos ayuda a beneficiar y servir a los que nos rodean.

Sr. Hewitt señala que a menudo es nuestro estado de ánimo, problemas de confianza entre nosotros y Dios sobre nuestros recursos, escribe: “… nuestra investigación sugiere que las personas tienen más probabilidades de disfrutar de una sensación de libertad con respecto al tiempo, energía y dinero cuanto más se comprar en estas declaraciones positivas: – Dios se encuentra con mis necesidades -No creo en el dinero a menos que se está ejecutando corto. – No suelo preocupa el futuro, Tomo cada día como viene. – Me dará a las personas necesitadas, incluso si apenas tengo suficiente a mí mismo. – Yo oro sobre las grandes decisiones de mi vida. – La profundización de la relación con Dios me ayuda a sentirme tranquila sobre mi futuro “Sr. Hewitt señala” … estas actitudes son un regalo de Dios, una señal de su transformándonos y la construcción de nuestra confianza en él para usar sus dones para nosotros para apoyar lo que el. iglesia de Jesús hace en el mundo y confiar en Él para cubrir nuestras necesidades. “Después de haber confiado en Dios a mí mismo para ir al seminario, donde pasamos un montón de dinero, Dios ha seguido proporcionando para nosotros así como Marge y yo somos entrar en las etapas posteriores de la vida nosotros mismos. LCEF es en gran medida un ministerio de la Iglesia Luterana y ofrece muchas maneras, consagradas comisarios, es el que nos ayuda a ser mucho más intencional de compartir nuestros recursos. David Stambaugh es nuestro representante LCEF, puede pedir uno de nosotros para obtener más información.

Hay momentos en los que sólo parece como si las cosas no salen como se esperaba a Dios que haga, el ministerio no era realmente en nuestro radar y sin embargo, Dios proveyó para que por Marge y yo. La Biblia está llena de veces, donde Dios tipo de problemas de confianza en su fiel Sprang. Cuando parece como si Dios acaba de dejar el edificio y te sientes como Wile E. Coyote pasando por un precipicio, pensando que estás colgando en algo y luego la sensación de que el mundo apenas se ha abierto y que se ingiere. Hay problemas de confianza. Estoy seguro de que todos hemos tenido esos momentos en los que usted ha puesto mucha confianza en alguien y luego simplemente has desierta y sin razón aparente. Nosotros, pecadores, vamos a hacer eso, dejar a alguien en la estacada. Y aunque parece como si Dios lo hace para nosotros, Él realmente no lo hace. Tenías que estar en una situación, jugado fuera a la medida de su capacidad y luego darse cuenta de que Dios realmente ha estado en control y está guiando la situación. Como Elías que está de pie allí, mirando al cielo, sus brazos extendidos, su tipo de colgar boca abierta, el corazón en la boca y luego …

Cada vez más estoy encontrando como pastor el mundo es intención de ignorar todo lo que Dios tiene que decir, y espera que lo que quisieran hacer, se supone que Dios lo bendiga y al final les recompensa por hacer ellos mismos su propio ídolo. Hey todos hacemos cosas que sabemos, todo punto de vista, es incorrecta, se llama pecado. Sin embargo, mientras que otros hacen excusas o, peor aún, justificar el comportamiento impío, los que somos cristianos, que sabemos que somos salvos por la muerte sacrificial de Jesús, que se guarda en la nueva vida en nuestro bautismo, que toman el verdadero cuerpo y sangre de Jesús que nos libre del pecado, nos acercan a Él y alimentar nuestro cuerpo y alma con el alimento que necesitamos para estar en comunión con él, sabemos que no podemos hacer nosotros mismos un ídolo de culto. Sabemos que no podemos decidir lo que es correcto y lo incorrecto. Sabemos que sólo podemos adorar a Dios Hijo y no hacernos nuestro propio ídolo, adorando a nuestros deseos y orden del día y esperar que serán bendecidos por Dios Padre. Pablo nos dice que Cristo nos ha hecho libres, nosotros no hemos sido condenado y perdido en el yugo de la esclavitud, que es el pecado nos convertimos en esclavos en. Ya se trate de nuestro deseo de que hemos sujetado al, o la agenda que hemos decidido es el curso de acción correcto, pero no puede conciliar nuestra agenda con Jesús ‘. Pablo escribe: “Pero yo os digo, y andando por el Espíritu, y no satisfagáis los deseos de la carne. Porque el deseo de la carne es contra el Espíritu es contra la carne … “Para asegurarse de que no hay duda, Pablo enumera nuestra idolatría, nuestros deseos y asegurarse de que esta lista no es exhaustiva:” Las obras de la carne son evidentes: fornicación, impureza, sensualidad, idolatría, hechicerías, enemistades, pleitos, celos, arrebatos de ira, rivalidades, disensiones, divisiones, envidias, borracheras, orgías … “Sin embargo, se espera que simplemente ignorar que, cuando la gente e incluso iglesias, se ven nosotros directamente a los ojos, nos dicen que debemos ser más “tolerante”, más “cristiana” y aceptamos que estas cosas son simplemente bien. No podemos, y en un mundo donde los fieles cristianos están disminuyendo en un remanente, como en tiempos de Elías, estamos presionados por el mundo para cumplir con lo que otros nos dicen que debemos hacer, hacer caso omiso de lo que auténticos hermanos y hermanas cristianos están haciendo frente y seguir con nuestra propia agenda.

Elías era realmente al final de su cuerda. En 1 Reyes 15:29 Acab se ha convertido en el rey de Israel: “. Y Acab hijo de Omri hizo lo malo ante los ojos de Jehová, más que todos los que estaban delante de él” (1 Reyes 16:30) Y los reyes anteriores de Israel había hecho algún mal real. Si eso no es suficiente, de todas las mujeres a las que podría tener casada y de acuerdo con la dirección de Dios que se iba a casar con una mujer israelita, él sale y encuentra a una mujer que es la hija del rey de los sidonios, llamada Jezabel, que doesn ‘t adoran a Jehová, y lograron recoger el peor de los “dioses” paganos Baal. Por si fuera poco Acab apoyado Jezabel en su culto. Tenemos un montón en la iglesia liberal que, como Acab, continúan hablando Jesús, pero mucho más preocupados con la agenda del mundo, su propia Jezabel, que Jesús ‘y si admitimos que están adorando su propio baales. Es difícil como fiel, enseñanza de la Biblia / creencia cristiana para mantenerse fuertes en lo que enseña la Iglesia Luterana, Ley y Evangelio, y sentir, como Elías que son un remanente. Elías ha recogido y correr a esconderse. Jezabel ha dejado perfectamente claro que ella va a hacer lo que Elías fue llevado por Dios para hacer, para matar a los sacerdotes de Baal que Jezabel había introducido en Israel, una violación a cabo directamente de la alianza de Dios con Israel “No tendrás otros dioses delante de mí. “Hay una gran cantidad de cuevas en Israel, si desea ocultar, se puede encontrar un lugar en Israel para hacerlo, si usted está viviendo en una cueva de Elías como hacerlo, se esconde claramente en el miedo. Mientras que él está acurrucado en su cueva, con el temor de la reina Jezabel, Dios le llama, “¿qué haces aquí, yo no te dije de huir de aquí.” Elías está convencido de que se ha dejado completamente solo y le dice a Dios: “. ESV 1 Reyes 19:10” he sentido un vivo celo por Jehová Dios de los ejércitos para el pueblo de Israel han dejado tu pacto, han derribado tus altares, y han matado a tus profetas con la espada, y yo, yo solo he quedado, y me buscan mi vida … “Dios le respondía en uno de los versos más conmovedores de la Biblia, una demostración de su poder, pero en” el sonido de un susurro “Dios pide a Elías de nuevo y Elías le da la misma respuesta. Dios no va a permitir que Elías acaba de encogerse en una cueva, Elías, como todos nosotros, tiene la responsabilidad de hacer frente a la maldad que vemos a nuestro alrededor. Dios le da una misión para llevar a cabo, el arranque Elías salir de la cueva y lo centra en el hecho de que él, y todos nosotros, son responsables de colocarse fuerte para Dios y llevar a cabo las responsabilidades que nos ha dado. Pero Dios también da tranquilidad Elías: “. ESV 1 Reyes 19:18 Me dejará en Israel siete mil, cuyas rodillas no se doblaron ante Baal, y cuyas bocas no lo besaron” Siete mil hombres no son muy numerosos en una nación que tenía por lo menos cientos de miles, tal vez más de un millón. Pero sigue siendo un remanente fiel.

En el tema de la administración y Elías podemos sentir como si estamos siendo minimizado y marginados en nuestra sociedad actual, la sensación de que hay cada vez menos cristianos auténticos, como si de alguna manera podemos estar fuera de paso. Pero tenemos que volver a nuestro bautismo, a los votos que tomamos como miembros de esta iglesia y por su pastor los votos adicionales que tomó por un ministro del Evangelio, que tomamos el verdadero Cuerpo y la Sangre de Jesucristo para fortalecer nosotros en nuestro cuerpo y el espíritu, para fortalecer nuestra relación con Dios el Padre, a confiar en el oír la palabra de la Escritura. Es difícil y nos hará sentir como queremos correr y esconderse, o dar cabida a aquellos que quieren que aceptemos un falso evangelio, un paradigma humanista. Tenemos que mantener la concentración del poder de Dios y “… el sonido de un susurro” “la pequeña voz” en la versión RV, que es Dios nos dice que no estamos solos, que en Jesús el Espíritu Santo está mirando siempre sobre nosotros y nos guía, incluso cuando nos sentimos como Elías “… y yo, yo solo he quedado, y procuran matarme …” no estamos, estamos en presencia del todopoderoso creador, sustentador y Salvador de todos creación.

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom

Christians are never alone 1 Kings 19 First St Johns June 26, 2016

[for the audio click on the above icon]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who know they are never alone when they are in Jesus said … AMEN!

This Sunday is to recognize Lutheran Church Extension Fund. In respect to that I do want to talk about what LCEF does in respect to supporting local churches specifically in terms of stewardship. We have really great resources associated with the LCMS, all are very local and sources of funding and support for local congregations. LCEF offers various investment vehicles that are also utilized to provide programs like Consecrated Stewards a program that will help us to grow in our stewardship in a more intentional and regular way. We do have very good resources that I think aren’t really utilized as much as they should, another being Thrivent Financial. Thrivent offers action grants that are available to members to help support outreaches here at First Saint Johns. We have benefited from those programs, if you are a member of Thrivent and haven’t used these programs, please let me know and I will be happy to help you access these programs to benefit the ministries we’re doing here. If you don’t use those gift opportunities, it will be a lost benefit, money left on the table.

The President of Thrivent, Brad Hewitt, wrote a book on stewardship and there is a lot of good advice and insights into our relationship with money. But remember, stewardship is not just about money, it is also about your time and talents too. In this day and age, time is a scarce resource. I’m having plenty of days when I just drag myself home and I can empathize with those who find themselves just running out of time. Having said that, your investment of time and talents, to support the different outreaches we are doing is huge and I pray that in addition to considering increasing your financial support, that you also consider looking at ways that you can invest your time into church activities. Often the return on time and interaction of church members in ministry results in a huge return in terms of helping new members to grow, helping to reach out to prospective church members and in general helping us to benefit and serve those around us.

Mr Hewitt notes that it is often our state of mind, trust issues between us and God about our resources, he writes: “…our research suggests that people are more likely to enjoy a sense of freedom regarding time, energy and money the more they buy into these positive statements: – God meets my needs  -I don’t think about money unless it’s running short. – I don’t often worry about the future, I take each day as it comes. – I give to people in need, even if I barely have enough myself. – I pray about the big decisions in my life. – Deepening my relationship with God helps me feel peaceful about my future.”[1] Mr Hewitt notes “…these attitudes are a gift of God, a sign of His transforming us and building our trust in Him to use His gifts to us to support what the church of Jesus does in the world and to rely on Him to provide for our needs.” Having trusted God myself to go to seminary, where we spent a whole lot of money, God has continued to provide for us even as Marge and I are getting into the later stages of life ourselves. LCEF is very much a ministry of the Lutheran Church and offers many ways, Consecrated Stewards, is one that helps us to be much more intentional of sharing our resources. Dave Stambaugh is our LCEF rep, you can ask one of us for further information.

There are times when it just seems as if things don’t work out as you expected God to do, ministry wasn’t really on our radar and yet God provided for that for Marge and me. The Bible is full of times, where God kind of sprang trust issues on His faithful. When it seems as if God has just left the building and you feel like Wile E Coyote going over a cliff, thinking you’re hanging onto something and then feeling as if the world has just opened up and swallowed you. There are trust issues. I’m sure we’ve all had those times when you’ve put a lot of trust in someone and then they’ve just deserted you and for no apparent reason. We, sinners, we are going to do that, leave someone holding the bag. And while it seems as if God does it to us, He really doesn’t. You needed to be in a situation, played it out to the best of your ability and then realize God really has been in control and is guiding the situation. Like Elijah you’re standing there looking up to heaven, your arms spread out, your mouth kind of hanging open, your heart in your mouth and then…

More and more I’m finding as a pastor the world is intent on ignoring anything God has to say, and expects that whatever they chose to do, God is supposed to bless it and in the end reward them for making themselves their own idol. Hey we all do things that we know, by any standard, is wrong, it’s called sin. But while others make excuses or, worse, justify ungodly behavior, we who are Christians, who know that we are saved by the sacrificial death of Jesus, who are saved to new life in our baptism, who take the true body and blood of Jesus to deliver us from sin, bring us closer to Him and feed our body and soul with the nourishment that we need to be in communion with Him, we know that we cannot make ourselves an idol of worship. We know that we cannot decide what is right and wrong. We know that we can only worship God the Son and not make ourselves our own idol, worshipping our desires and agenda and expect that will be blessed by God the Father. Paul tells us that Christ has set us free, we are not condemned and lost in the yoke of slavery, that is the sin we become enslaved in. Whether it’s our lust that we’ve become subjected to, or the agenda that we’ve decided is the right course of action, but can’t reconcile our agenda with Jesus’. Paul writes: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit are against the flesh …” To make sure there’s no question, Paul lists out our idolatry, our lusts and be sure this list is not exhaustive: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies…” But we are expected to just ignore that, when people and even churches, look us right in the eye, tell us that we should be more “tolerant”, more “Christian” and accept that these things are just OK. We can’t, and in a world where faithful Christians are dwindling into a remnant, as in Elijah’s time, we are pressured by the world to conform to what others tell us we should do, to ignore what genuine Christian brothers and sisters are coping with and follow our own agenda.

Elijah was really at the end of his rope. In 1 Kings 15:29 Ahab has become King of Israel: “And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:30) And the previous kings of Israel had done some real evil. If that’s not enough, of all the women he could have married and according to God’s direction he was supposed to marry an Israelite woman, he goes out and finds a woman who is the daughter of the king of the Sidonians, named Jezebel, who doesn’t worship Yahweh, and managed to pick the worst of the pagan “gods” Baal. To top it off Ahab supported Jezebel in her worship. We have plenty in the liberal church who, like Ahab, continue to talk Jesus, but are much more concerned with the world’s agenda, their own Jezebel, than Jesus’ and whether they admit it are worshipping their own Baals. It is hard as a faithful, Bible teaching/believing Christian to stay strong in what the Lutheran Church teaches, Law and Gospel, and to feel, like Elijah that you are a remnant. Elijah has picked up and run off to hide. Jezebel has made it perfectly clear that she is going to do what Elijah was led by God to do, to kill the priests of Baal that Jezebel had brought into Israel, a straight out violation of God’s covenant with Israel “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” There are a lot of caves in Israel, if you want to hide, you can find a place in Israel to do it, if you’re living in a cave as Elijah’s done, he is clearly hiding in fear. While he is cowering in his cave, in fear of Queen Jezebel, God calls him, “what are you doing here, I didn’t tell you to run off to here.” Elijah is convinced that he has been left completely on his own and tells God: “ESV 1 Kings 19:10 “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life…” God answered him in one of the most poignant verses in the Bible, a demonstration of His power, but in “the sound of a low whisper” God asks Elijah again and Elijah gives Him the same answer. God is not going to let Elijah just cower in a cave, Elijah, as all of us, has a responsibility to stand up to the evil that we see all around us. God gives him an assignment to carry out, booting Elijah out of the cave and focusing him on the fact that he, and all of us, are responsible to stand strong for God and carry out the responsibilities He gives us. But God also gives Elijah reassurance: “ESV 1 Kings 19:18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” Seven thousand men is not very many in a nation that had at least hundreds of thousands, perhaps over a million. But it is still a faithful remnant.

In the theme of stewardship and Elijah we can feel as if we’re being minimized and marginalized in our society today, feeling as if there are fewer and fewer genuine Christians, as if we might somehow be out of step. But we have to go back to our baptism, to the vows we took as members of this church and for your pastor the additional vows he took to be a minister of the Gospel, that we take the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ to strengthen us in our body and spirit, to strengthen our relationship with God the Father, to trust in the preached word of Scripture. It is difficult and will cause us to feel like we want to run and hide, or accommodate those who want us to accept a false gospel, a humanist paradigm. We have to keep focused on God’s power and  “… the sound of a low whisper” “the still small voice” in the KJV version, that is God telling us that we aren’t alone, that in Jesus the Holy Spirit is always watching over us and guiding us even when we feel like Elijah “…and I, even I only, am left and they seek my life…” We aren’t, we are in the presence of the all powerful Creator, Sustainer and Savior of all creation.

The peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom

[1] Brad Hewitt CEO Thrivent Financial Services “Your New Money Mindset” p 79

Los niños bautizados, Nueva Vida en Dios Padre Gálatas 3 Primera Saint Johns 19 de de junio de, el año 2016

[for audio version click on above icon]

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo, y todos aquellos que han nacido de nuevo, conocemos a Dios como su Padre y clamamos Abba a lo dicho … AMEN ! …

Tony Cooke cuenta la siguiente historia: “… de un padre de cinco niños que llegó a casa con un juguete. Llamó a sus hijos y le preguntó cuál de ellos debe recibir el presente. “¿Quién es el más obediente aquí? Que nunca se habla de nuevo con mamá y hace todo lo que mamá dice que hacer? “Preguntó. Hubo unos segundos de silencio, y luego, de los niños dijeron unánimes: “Usted juega con ella papá” Esto suena como un padre que realmente lo consigue, no estoy hablando de un tipo que acaba de mousey “sí querida, no mujer “, pero que es, obviamente, a modelar para sus hijos lo que necesitan saber cuando se convierten en padres y el apoyo a su esposa, la madre de sus hijos. Yo apostaría que cuando se tiene un problema que él y mamá, elaborarlo, cómo modelar verdaderamente un padre piadoso. Que los niños serían lo suficientemente humilde para reconocer que papá hace estas cosas es una prueba de cómo están siendo criados, tienen suficiente discernimiento y respeto a entender cómo deben ser las cosas. Como se puede ver en la inserción en el boletín, Billy Graham escribe: “. Un buen padre es uno de los más anónimo, unpraised, desapercibido y sin embargo uno de los activos más valiosos de nuestra sociedad” Creo que se puede hacer un caso que, en Los papás de la sociedad de hoy en día son muy apreciadas bajo. Ver la televisión, siempre hay el padre desorientado, individual en el programa. Usted tiene que preguntarse si se trata de algún tipo de tiro, no sólo a los padres, pero a Dios el Padre. Lo entiendo que muchas personas tienen problemas de “padre”, y hay demasiados “padres” que acaban en batea en sus responsabilidades, pero si usted tiene un padre que está tratando de ayudar a madurar, tratando de ayudarle a ser una persona real , realmente no tiene que ver con sus pequeños deseos o sus dramas, pero hará lo que pueda para ayudarle a convertirse en un hombre o una mujer que tiene integridad, para convertirse en una persona que quiere ser lo suficientemente fuerte como para estar allí para servir a los demás y su o su familia, un padre que quiere que se dedicará a Dios y ser todo lo que Dios quiere que seas, entonces usted debe estar agradecido por un padre así. Eso es lo que se supone que los padres que hacer. Si usted es un hombre con los niños y que no está haciendo al menos estos fundamentos, realmente se vería duro en mi vida y decidir si estoy realmente sirviendo a mi esposa y mis hijos. Es muy de moda hoy en día para un padre para pensar que la madre sabe qué es lo mejor en todas las circunstancias y apenas conceden su responsabilidad de ella para sus hijos. Eso no es sólo verdad, Dios le dio a los niños un padre y una madre por una razón, un hombre y una mujer por una razón, porque los hombres y las mujeres son muy diferentes, pero que se unen como una sola carne, como hacemos voto de hacer cuando estamos casaron, y luego nuestras diferencias son muy complementarias y ayudan entre sí para crecer y especialmente para nuestros hijos crezcan, para ser adultos maduros y fuertes que no sirven entre sí y la comunidad en que viven como Dios quiere que sean.

Tenemos la tendencia a minimizar cómo rezamos la oración del Señor: “Padre nuestro …” algunos dicen que tienen un problema a causa de algún abuso o abandono de su padre terrenal. Sí, entiendo, no puede haber resentimiento hacia su padre terrenal, no puede haber rencor a mucha gente diferente. Casi nos parece que animar a la amargura en contra de un padre, que es de alguna manera justificada, mientras que nosotros tratamos de hacer que la gente olvide su amargura hacia los demás. Los efectos de la amargura y la ira, y que siempre se sienten justificados, pero esos efectos nos dañan como cualquier otra amargura, independientemente de quién cree que ha perjudicado. Tenemos un Padre en el cielo que nos aleja de la amargura, que ofrece por nosotros, nos bendice, nos guía y nos lleva a través de las pruebas de la vida. El Padre que nos da la promesa de la vida en Él en esta vida y para la vida perfecta que estábamos destinados a vivir, a la vida eterna en la resurrección. Así que cuando oramos “Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos”, que es el Padre perfecto todopoderoso, creador y sustentador de todo, no es el hombre que se siente que ha fallado. Podemos rechazar nuestro padre terrenal, sino que rechazar nuestro Padre celestial para nuestra pérdida eterna y pesar. Juan cita a Jesús: “Jesús les dijo:” Si Dios fuera vuestro Padre, me amaríais, porque yo salí de Dios y estoy aquí. “(Juan 8:42) Lo siento de verdad que cualquier persona debería ser herido, que alguien debe estar en una situación en la que estén dañados de alguna manera por el hombre que ellos deben confiar para hacer lo que pueda por ellos, hasta e incluyendo el sacrificio de su vida por ellos. Los padres no son perfectos, ser un padre sin duda puedo dar fe de que en mi propio caso, pero creo que, junto con probablemente los padres aquí en este momento, que lo que hice fue para bien del niño, aunque de manera imperfecta, pero que me gustaría, sin pensarlo dos veces, dar mi vida para proteger a mi esposa e hijos. Podemos superar cualquier cosa en el poder de Cristo, podemos saber cuánto le importa nuestro padre terrenal para nosotros, o al menos deberíamos cuidar de nosotros, pero mucho más importante, por las consecuencias eternas, que nuestro Padre en el cielo, que es mucho mayor que cualquiera de nosotros, nos ama más allá de lo que podemos imaginar. Nosotros, todos nosotros, tienen un Padre que hará lo que sea necesario con el fin de salvar la vida a la vida eterna, a la verdadera vida en la eternidad en Jesús. No tengo ninguna duda de que aquí todo el mundo tiene una razón de algún tipo de amargura, sino en Cristo, siendo guiado por el Espíritu Santo no hay amargura que no podemos ser curados con el fin de poner en comunión en Jesús “para que podamos recibiésemos la adopción de hijos … Dios ha enviado el Espíritu de su Hijo a nuestros corazones, el cual clama: ¡Abba! Padre! ‘ “Podemos dejar que la amargura de nada nos come por dentro. La amargura que atrofiar nuestro crecimiento, nos aísla del mundo que nos rodea, nos da una excusa para alejar de nosotros mismos, de Dios Padre, continuará para separarnos de la salvación en Jesús o podemos; en la alegría, celebración, clamar Abba! ¡Padre! como deberíamos hacer, que tenemos Su promesa, que estamos protegidos por medio de su fuerza infinita y su provisión infinita. Nuestro padre terrenal sólo puede proporcionar tanto, pero nuestro Padre celestial puede y proporcionará en cada situación. No quiere decir que sólo nos manos lo que pensamos que necesitamos, pero nuestro Abba, nuestro padre, nuestro Papa, proveerá lo que necesitamos, cuando Él elige en su conocimiento y misericordia infinita cuando la necesitamos, y no importa qué, vamos a miramos hacia atrás y nos damos cuenta de lo mucho que necesitaba lo que él prestados y en el momento perfecto que Él siempre que en.

Desde el Estudio de la Biblia luterana: “el Espíritu Santo nos asegura que somos hijos de Dios, redimido por Jesucristo y hechos herederos de pleno derecho de la promesa a Abraham. … Cristo ganó para nosotros el derecho de llamar a Dios ‘Padre nuestro’ una única oración enseñada por el Espíritu “Pero no sólo ‘Padre’, sino ‘Papa’, otra vez de la Biblia de Estudio Luterana.; “Arameo porque ‘Papa’ una dirección de intimidad especial que no se encuentra normalmente en el judaísmo.” Pablo está diciendo que sí, antes de que estaban bajo la ley, personas quedaron sin esforzarse, para aquellos en el mundo, sin Jesús, se dejan para hacer frente al mundo en sus propios términos, peor dirigido por Satanás para su propia destrucción. Dios, nuestro Padre, Abba, nos guía como sus hijos, velando por nosotros, ya que sólo Dios el Padre puede. Vemos en nuestra lectura del Evangelio el poder de Dios. Jesús le preguntó al hombre en Gerasenos cómo se llamaba. El hombre respondió Legión, porque muchos demonios habían entrado en él. Jesús, obviamente, ni un poco intimidada o estampados, después de todo, este hombre fue llevado por los demonios se caiga antes de Jesús, para rogarle que no atormentarlos. Jesús, el Hijo de Dios, debido a su fuerza y poder, mostró cómo Él protege a sus hijos, nosotros, desde el poder y el mal del mundo.

Tony Cooke cita a Steve Farrar: “Un padre piadoso es el submarino espiritual invisible que se esconde debajo de la superficie de todas las actividades de la vida de su hijo. Un hombre que ha puesto toda la armadura de Dios y con la armadura, se va a la guerra de rodillas para sus hijos, es una fuerza a tener en cuenta que no podemos estar con nuestros hijos las 24 horas del día a través de nuestras oraciones, tenemos la capacidad para afectar situaciones, incluso cuando no están físicamente presentes. Es posible que no se detecten, pero eso no quiere decir que no son efectivos. “Como padres dada la custodia de nuestros hijos, por Dios el Padre, la cosa más importante que podemos hacer es mantener a nuestros hijos centrados en Dios el Padre que en nuestro bautismo en Dios Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo, que son sus hijos adoptivos por medio de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, que murió por nosotros para llevarnos a nuestra relación con nuestro Padre celestial. Cristo ganó para nosotros el derecho de llamar a Dios ‘Padre nuestro’, una oración enseñada sólo por el Espíritu. “Le damos nuestro agradecimiento y elogio para su sacrificio por nosotros y para que podamos vivir en relación con” Padre nuestro que estás en los cielo”

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom

Baptized Children, New Life in God the Father Galatians 3 June 19, 2016 First St Johns

[for the audio version click on the above icon]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who are born again, know God as their Father and cry out Abba to Him said … AMEN!…

Tony Cooke tells the following story: “…of a father of five children who came home with a toy. He summoned his children and asked which of them should be given the present. “Who is the most obedient one here? Who never talks back to Mom and does everything that Mom says to do?” He inquired. There were a few seconds of silence, and then all of the children said in one accord: “You play with it Daddy!”[1] This sounds like a father who actually gets it, I’m not talking about a mousey guy who just “yes dear, no dear”, but who is obviously modeling for his children what they need to know when they become parents and supporting their  wife, the mother of their children. I would bet that when he has an issue he and mom, work it out, how to truly model a godly father. That the children would be humble enough to acknowledge that dad does these things is a testament to how they’re being raised, they have enough discernment and respect to understand how things should be. As you see in the insert in your bulletin, Billy Graham writes: “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”[2] I think you can make a case that in today’s society Dads are very under appreciated. Watch television, there’s always the clueless, detached father in the program. You do have to wonder if this is some sort of shot, not just at fathers, but at God the Father. I get it many people have “father” issues, and there are way too many “fathers” who have just punted on their responsibilities, but if you have a father who is trying to help you mature, trying to help you be a real person, is really not concerned with your little desires or your dramas, but will do whatever he can to help you to become a man or woman who has integrity, to become someone who wants to be strong enough to be there to serve others and his or her family, a dad who wants you to be devoted to God and to be all that God wants you to be, then you should be thankful for a father like that. That is what fathers are supposed to do. If you’re a man with children and you’re not doing at least these basics, I would really look hard at my life and decide if I’m truly serving my wife and my children. It’s very fashionable today for a father to think that mom knows what’s best in all circumstances and just concede their responsibility to her to their children. That’s just not true, God gave children a father and a mother for a reason, a man and a woman for a reason, because men and women are very different, but we come together as one flesh, as we vow to do when we are married, and then our differences are very complementary and help each other to grow and especially for our children to grow, to be mature, strong adults who do serve each other and the community they live in as God intended for them to be.

We tend to minimize how we pray the Lord’s prayer, “Our Father…” some say they have a problem because of some abuse or neglect of their earthly father.  Yes, I understand, there can be bitterness towards your earthly father, there can be bitterness towards lots of different people. We almost seem to encourage bitterness against a father, that it is somehow justified, while we try to get people to forget their bitterness towards others. The effects of bitterness and anger, and we always feel justified, but those effects damage us like any other bitterness, regardless of who you think has hurt you. We have a Father in heaven who keeps us from bitterness, who provides for us, blesses us, guides us and carries us through the trials of life. The Father who gives us the promise of life in Him in this life and to the perfect life we were meant to live, to life eternal in the resurrection. So when we pray “our Father who art in heaven”, it is to the almighty perfect Father, Creator and Sustainer of all, not the man who you feel has failed you. We may reject our earthly father, but we reject our heavenly Father to our eternal loss and regret. John quotes Jesus: “Jesus said to them ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.” (John 8:42) I am truly sorry that anyone should be hurt, that someone should be in a situation where they are damaged in some way by the man who they should trust to do whatever he can for them, up to and including sacrificing his life for them. Fathers aren’t perfect, being a father I can certainly attest to that in my own case, but I think, along with probably the fathers here right now, that what I did was for the best of the child, albeit imperfectly, but that I would, without a second thought, give my life to protect my wife and children. We can overcome anything in the power of Christ, we can know how much our earthly father cares for us, or at least should care for us, but much more importantly, for eternal consequences, that our Father in heaven, who is far greater than anyone of us, does love us beyond anything we can imagine. We do, all of us, have a Father who will do whatever is necessary in order to save your life to eternal life, to true life in eternity in Jesus. I have no doubt that everyone here has a reason for some kind of bitterness, but in Christ, being guided by the Holy Spirit there is no bitterness that we can’t be healed in order to bring us into communion in Jesus “so that we might receive adoption as sons … God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” We can let bitterness about anything eat us up inside. Bitterness that will stunt our growth, isolate us from the world around us, give us an excuse to estrange ourselves from God the Father, continue to separate us from salvation in Jesus or we can; in joy, celebration, cry out Abba! Father! as we should do, that we have His promise, that we are protected by His infinite strength and His infinite provision. Our earthly father can only provide so much, but our heavenly Father can and will provide in every situation. Not to say He just hands us what we think we need, but our Abba, our daddy, our Papa, will provide what we need, when He chooses in His infinite knowledge and mercy when we need it, and no matter what, we will look back and realize how much we needed what He provided and in the perfect time that He provided it in.

From the Lutheran Study Bible: “the Holy Spirit assures us that we are God’s children, redeemed by Jesus Christ and made full heirs of the promise to Abraham. … Christ earned for us the right to call God ‘our Father’ a prayer taught only by the Spirit.” But not only ‘Father’ but ‘Papa’, again from the Lutheran Study Bible; “Aramaic, for ‘Papa’ an address of special intimacy not typically found in Judaism.”[3] Paul is saying that yes, before you were under the Law, people were left to strive, for those in the world, without Jesus, they are left to cope with the world on their own terms, worse led by Satan to their own destruction. God, our Father, Abba, guides us as His children, watching over us as only God the Father can. We see in our Gospel reading the power of God. Jesus asked the man in Gerasenes what his name was. The man answered Legion, for many demons had entered him. Jesus obviously, not the least bit intimidated or impressed, after all this man was led by the demons to fall down before Jesus, to beg him not to torment them. Jesus, God the Son, because of His strength and power, showed how He protects His children, us, from the power and evil of the world.

Tony Cooke quotes Steve Farrar: “A godly father is the unseen spiritual submarine who lurks below the surface of every activity of his child’s life. A man who has put on the full armor of God and with that armor, goes to warfare on his knees for his children, is a force to be reckoned with we cannot be with our children 24 hours a day through our prayers we have the ability to affect situations even when we are not physically present. You may be undetected but that does not mean you are ineffective.”[4] As fathers given guardianship of our children, by God the Father, the most important thing we can do is to keep our children focused on God the Father that in our baptism in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we are His adopted children through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us to bring us into our relationship with our heavenly Father. Christ earned for us the right to call God ‘our Father’, a prayer taught only by the Spirit.”[5] We give Him our thanks and praise for His sacrifice for us and so that we can live in relationship with “Our Father who art in heaven”

The peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom

[1]Tony Cooke, Tony Cooke ministries   http://www.tonycooke.org/holiday-resources/fathers_day/

 

[2] Billy Graham quoted by Upward Sports

[3] (Lutheran Study Bible p 2008)

[4] Tony Cooke, Tony Cooke ministries   http://www.tonycooke.org/holiday-resources/fathers_day/

 

[5] Lutheran Study Bible p 2009

Simul Justus et Peccatore 2 Samuel 11:26 Luke 7:36 First St Johns June 12, 2016

[for the audio of this sermon click on the above icon]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who know the grace and joy of forgiveness and forgiving said … AMEN!

Don’t misunderstand what David did was completely repugnant. There is no acceptable reason for what he did. Bathsheba wasn’t totally innocent either. There are those who like to point out the failings of the Old Testament, the vengeful, angry God stuff. By 21st century American standards there are things that we just would not countenance in this day and age. But there is certainly a good deal of hypocrisy with those who make such judgments, a lot of what the critics do are just not acceptable and certainly not by the standards of Israel in 1,000 BC. Those critics certainly never seem to be concerned with what the peoples around Israel did which were just abhorrent. One big difference was the accountability of their leaders, especially their kings. For the rest of the world at that time, the king was the highest authority and could pretty much do whatever he pleased. Take any woman, put anyone to death, take whatever they wanted and could do it with impunity. As the king of Israel David was responsible, as any other person in Israel was to Yahweh, his position didn’t make any difference, if anything he was held more accountable. When he was confronted by Nathan the prophet, any other king of that period could have just ignored Nathan, put him in prison, executed him and no one would have said boo about it. David was always responsible to Yahweh, he did have multiple wives, wasn’t supposed to and especially not a Gentile wife, Uriah was a Hittite and so presumably was Bathsheba. But David did and was forgiven, along with his adultery with Bathsheba and his treachery toward Uriah. But Yahweh was still faithful to David in his sins and is faithful to us in ours. We, by comparison, are graceless to those who offend us, quick to take anything and everything personally and like the Pharisee in our Gospel reading, quick to reject and condemn those who don’t follow our every whim, right down the line.

In our readings we certainly have a stark contrast. We have David who has committed truly abhorrent sin, he has committed adultery and against a man who was probably a friend, or at least a close associate. Uriah is listed among the renowned mighty men of David’s bodyguards, 37 men in all, a sort of elite military Secret Service, these men were all in close contact with David, so David certainly knew Uriah and had to know Bathsheba. David is certainly taken to task for the absolutely repugnant things that he did. The big surprise? He was still forgiven. Doesn’t mean God was justifying or somehow rationalizing David’s sin and as always, when we commit sin, there are usually consequences. David was made to suffer, although you could certainly wonder why his baby son was the consequence. Nevertheless, David was penalized and he knew it deep in his heart. We even have his repentance look up Psalm 51:  A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN NATHAN THE PROPHET WENT TO HIM, AFTER HE HAD GONE IN TO BATHSHEBA. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” David knew the deal, he also knew he was forgiven. Yahweh had been so gracious to David and David knew that he failed, he knew that he had seriously failed God, who had faithfully stood by him. We have all done this to one degree or another. Served faithfully and also let down someone who had treated us with graciousness and generosity. There are people who I remember through my life who treated me kindly, were selfless in helping me and being there for me, and I was not considerate in return. Certainly I have let God down on many occasions and He has faithfully forgiven me. There were penalties and consequences. Often people have told me that they knew they sinned, that as David put it “have done what is evil in your sight”, but on the flipside, turn around and complain that God treated them badly, they resent the fact that their sin caused them unpleasant consequences. We’re really quick to sin, really quick to accept forgiveness, but equally quick to forget that there are consequences. “I asked forgiveness, God said He forgives, so why did these bad things happen to me after I asked forgiveness.” We are forgiven and should be grateful for God’s forgiveness, but instead of copping an attitude because of the inevitable consequences, we need to remember Psalm 51, be grownups go back to God and acknowledge where we’ve sinned, that we’ve failed God and accept, without bitterness, the consequences of what we’ve done, move on in our life, trust that God is going to provide and get over the attitude. It truly astounds me in ministry, there is no room for disagreement, forgiveness, grace, it’s all or nothing. Yes, that’s the way it’s become in our society, but for a people who are forgiven, we Christians seem to have little idea of how to forgive, of how to be gracious, of how to put the best face on things. We just do not seem to understand that we will not always agree, and instead of taking our ball and bat and going home, understand that the ball game is going to proceed and God expects you to play out the game and not just desert because you didn’t get your way. There is no way you could function in business or the military with that kind of mindset, but that is certainly how people in the church seem to feel.

God graciously forgave David and didn’t break off His relationship with David. Imagine if God had the same attitude we often do, “well Jim, you didn’t do what I wanted you to do, so I’m out of here, see you later, you’re on your own.” We couldn’t function with such a fickle God, we would all be lost and condemned. God doesn’t do that. Just because He gives us consequences doesn’t mean He deserts us and leaves us to go it alone, He sticks with us. That is grace! For those who profess to be Christians, they expect grace, from everyone, but they’re quick to pull the trigger on others and ignore the whole grace thing.  As I said, our readings today are a stark contrast. We have David who just messed up royally, pun intended, was forgiven, suffered the consequences, moved on and remembered that God had been faithful to him and he needed to trust God that David would continue to be faithful in return to God. In our Gospel reading we see a woman who is unquestionably guilty, Jesus never tried to deny her guilt, He admitted she had sinned much, but He treated her with grace when the legalistic Pharisee characterized her faults and by extension Jesus’ faults for allowing her to be so loving toward Him. That’s the love of grace, being so thankful that Jesus would be gracious to her, even in her sin, and essentially offering her worship for Jesus’ grace. The Pharisee sitting in judgment of both of them, devoid of grace and forgiveness and as Anthony Cook describes: “…illustrates the woman’s expression of love was in direct proportion to her cancelled sin. She is forgiven much, loves much and he who is forgiven little, the Pharisee, loves little. She is being hospitable to an extreme, while Simon failed to show Jesus the simplest of common hospitality.”[1] Jesus didn’t cut the woman off because of her lifetime of prostitution, the woman is convicted of her sins, shows her gratitude to Jesus, while Simon the Pharisee, sits in bitterness and judgment on both Jesus and the woman. After Jesus forgives her, her sin, Simon and the rest of the men become more angry and judgmental: “who is this guy who presumes to forgive?” Seems like something we all do, Jesus had more than proven who He is and should have been acknowledged as the Messiah. Instead these men immediately jump to condemn Him, God the Son, again.

It’s so easy to take something personally and decide to just walk away and condemn the one you disagree with. Certainly God didn’t even when He had good reason to with David and the prostitute. Jesus certainly didn’t deserve His treatment, being beaten, tortured, humiliated and crucified, but He did it in love for us, when He could have simply decided that those who are without sin, that’s none of us, they are saved, the rest of us, well too bad, eternal condemnation. By the same token, we need to start acting with more grace and forgiveness, remember what is important, forgive the slights, real and perceived, remember the relationships and vows and move on to the Kingdom of God. Help us Father to put the best face on the things that we find offensive, realize that things are not always going to go our way, that in Your gracious will there are times when we have to deal with the things we don’t like and join together with those who we disagree with and keep Your will and purpose in our lives and move together towards the realization of the Kingdom and the eternal resurrection in Jesus.

The peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom

[1] Dr Anthony Cook Concordia Journal Spring 2016, volume 42, no 2, p 144