Saturday prior to Proper 14

The hymn of the day is O Living Bread from Heaven (LSB 642). This second stanza proclaims that we have been led by the Lord to His house to receive His good gifts of forgiveness. We could not, and do not, do this on our own, but He leads us, and then feeds us with Word and Sacrament. The ‘food’ we receive in the Divine Service is better than the food we eat daily at our meals, for it is food that gives eternal life.

My Lord, You have led me
To this most holy place.
And with Yourself have fed me
The treasures of Your grace;
For You have freely given
What earth could never buy,
The bread of life from heaven,
That now I shall not die.
-Lutheran Service Book #642:2

For steadfast faith – Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Sources:

Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcut the Sermon on the Mount used with permission for personal and congregational use copyright © WELS

Collect for a steadfast faith, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

Friday prior to Proper 14

 

John 6:35–51—Jesus is the bread of life and who ever believes in him has eternal life.

Like the Israelites in the wilderness, the people murmur against Jesus’ claim that he is the bread from heaven, implying that he is God’s Son. Jesus avoids a controversy on the issue and goes on to explain how he is the Bread of Life. There is a oneness between God and Jesus. This is indicated by the fact that on one comes to Jesus without being drawn by the Father. He who knows God also knows Jesus as Son of God. And no one has ever seen God except the Son. Jesus explains that he is the Bread of Life from heaven and he who believes in Jesus as the Bread of Life receives eternal life now. The difference between the bread (manna) that came down from heaven in Moses’ day and the bread of Jesus is that eaters of manna died but they who eat the Bread of Life live forever. 1

“I am the Bread of Life,” declares Jesus. The bread that He gives is better than earthly bread, for that can only sustain the body while we sojourn in this earthly vale of tears. The bread that Jesus gives—the bread that Jesus is—sustains our souls for all eternity. Jesus gives Himself for the life of the world. 

For a right knowledge of Christ – Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life, grant us perfectly to know Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the way, the truth, and the life, that following His steps we may steadfastly walk in the way that leads to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Collect for Proper 14 – Gracious Father, You blessed Son came down from heaven to be the true bread that gives life to the world. Grant that Christ, the bread of life, may live in us and we in Him, who loves and reigns with You and the holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 2

Sources:

Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcut the Sermon on the Mount used with permission for personal and congregational use copyright © WELS

1. Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series B, John Brokhoff, © 1981 CSS Publishing, Lima, OH

2. Collect for a right knowledge of Christ and Proper 14, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

Thursday prior to Proper 14

Ephesians 4:17—5:2— Grieve not the Holy Spirit by imitating God in loving one another. 

Paul continues to give ethical directions. The Holy Spirit is not to be grieved by the possession of an evil spirit which is expressed in bitterness, anger and malice. Rather the Christian is to be possessed by the Holy Spirit that results in kindness and forgiving love. A model is given for this kind of behavior in God and Christ who lived sacrificially. Consequently, we are to walk (live) in love for each other with Christ as our example. The seal of the Spirit was received at baptism. Possession of the Spirit is a guarantee of salvation to be received on the day of redemption. 

In this section of our reading from the book of Ephesians, St Paul tells us that, since we have been set free from bondage to sin and death, we should live outwardly in way that reflects our new life in Christ. We are to live as children of light, no longer living in the darkness of sin. Those in the world ought to see a difference in how Christians live versus how the rest of the world lives. As children of God, we imitate God, not the ways of the world.

Christ offers himself as a sacrifice to God and it had a fragrance pleasing to God. The scent of the burnt offerings ascended to heaven and the odor was beautiful. This says something about the cross. It was more than a tragedy, more than an exhibition of God’s live; it was a sacrifice to God the sins of the world. That sacrifice was made to save humankind from dying for their sins. Since God was in Christ, God paid the full price himself. 1  

For reconciliation – God of love, through Your Son You have commanded us to love one another. By the guidance of Your Word and Spirit, deliver us from impenitence and teach us the truth that we might confess our sins, receive Your forgiveness, and be reconciled to one another; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 2

Sources:

Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcut the Sermon on the Mount used with permission for personal and congregational use copyright © WELS

1. Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series B, John Brokhoff, © 1981 CSS Publishing, Lima, OH

2. Collect for reconciliation, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

Wednesday prior to Proper 14

 

1 Kings 19:1–8— An angel brings food to dejected Elijah who in fear of Jezebel fled to the wilderness. 

After a dramatic victory on Mt. Carmel over the gods of Baal and Asherah, Elijah, a ninth century prophet flees to the wilderness to escape the threat of Jezebel the queen that in twenty-four hours he would dead. Despite the fact that the Lord had shown that He alone is the true God in Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal, wicked Queen Jezebel clung to her false gods and sought to kill Elijah. To escape, Elijah fled to the wilderness near Beersheba.

 Under a tree Elijah falls asleep. An angel awakens him and directs him to eat the food brought. After another nap, the angel repeats the order and Elijah eats a second time. The food is not manna but cake. The food gave him strength to continue his journey to Mt. Sinai for forty days. 

Elijah was so despondent that he wanted to die. He was physically dead tired. Emotionally he was spent. Though he had a dramatic victory over Baal, he was scared to Jezebel. She vowed to kill him in twenty-four hours. Is that a proper reward for victory? Elijah’s pride was involved. He thought he could do better than his fathers, but he realized he was no better. When life hits bottom, where do we turn? 

If the angel only touched Elijah, he much have been a slight sleeper. Probably the angel shook him to awaken him. There is something about a touch that is more meaningful than words. Here we see the marvelous grace of God. Elijah was in a wilderness as a refugee. He was at the lowest point of his life. God touches us often through an angel bringing food when we are at our extremity. 1

The Lord feeds us also; not through the ministrations of an angel, but by farmers, truckers, stock-boys, and grocery-store clerks etc. Luther explains in the Catechism under the heading Daily Bread:  “God gives daily bread to everyone…we pray that He would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.” 

For guidance in our calling – Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that Your hand is leading us and Your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 2

Sources:

Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcut the Sermon on the Mount, used with permission for personal and congregational use copyright © WELS

1.  Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series B, John Brokhoff © 1981 CSS Publishing, Lima, OH

2. Collect for guidance in our calling, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

Tuesday prior to Proper 14

 

Psalm 34:1–8—The psalm appointed for next week is one taken from a bizarre incident in the life of David, when he pretended to be insane before Achish, a Palestinian king in the line of Abimelech. The entire story is recorded in 1 Samuel 21:10-15. David exhorts us to extol the Lord at all times, for as the Lord delivered David in answer to his prayer, so He also has delivered us from sin, death, and the devil.

David wasn’t long in Gath before the servants of Achish said, “Isn’t this David, of whom the Israelis sing, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?’” (See 1 Sam. 21:11.) So, fearing that he had jumped from the frying pan into the fire, David panicked. He decided to act like an insane man, scribbling on the city gate and drooling into his beard. Achish fell for the ruse. He sarcastically asked his men (1 Sam. 21:15), “Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one into my presence?” And so by his deception, David was enabled to escape. But his acting like a madman had dishonored God in front of these pagans.

But then he wrote this psalm, praising God for his deliverance and denouncing deception (Ps. 34:13). It seems that in reflecting back later on this close escape from death, David realized that in spite of his failure, God had been gracious in rescuing him anyway. True, David had been in a very tight spot, but that did not justify his deception. He actually continued this pattern of deception with Achish, convincing him that he was raiding Israeli villages, when he actually was slaughtering off the inhabitants of the land (1 Sam. 27:8-12). This almost resulted in David’s being forced to go into battle with the Philistines against his own countrymen. It also resulted in the capture of David’s and his men’s wives and property, so that his own men were talking of stoning him. (1 Sam. 30:6).

Sometime after David recovered from all of these difficult trials caused by his own panic and deception, he penned Psalm 34. He realizes now that deception and evil are not the way to the good life. Rather, seeking God for deliverance, fearing Him, and walking in His ways are the way to enjoy God and His blessings. 1

A Collect For steadfast faith – Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 2

Sources:

Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcut, The Sermon on the Mount used with permission for personal and congregational use copyright © WELS

1. https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-34-enjoying-god-and-his-blessings 

2.  Collect for a steadfast faith in Christ, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

Monday prior to Proper 14

Psalm 34:8–10; Antiphon, Psalm 145:16—The antiphon should be familiar to us, as it is part of the prayer before a meal which Luther included in the Catechism. The psalmist David then says to taste and see that the Lord is good. How are we to do this? St Peter tells us that we should be like newborn infants, longing for the pure spiritual milk. We have tasted that the Lord is good, for we have heard His Word of forgiveness and salvation, we have eaten of His Holy Supper, and we long for more.

This psalm could be apply entitled, “Praise from a Cave.” It is simply titled; “A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.” A fugitive from Saul, David went to the Philistine city of Gath but found no refuge there and narrowly escaped. Those events are recorded in 1 Samuel 21:10-22:1. Following that, David went to the cave at Adullam where many desperate men joined him. This joyful and wise psalm seems to have been written from that cave, and sung in the presence of those men.

The structure of this psalm is an acrostic, or nearly so. Each verse begins with another letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for the letter ‘waw’. The purpose of the acrostic format in this psalm mainly seems to be as a device used to encourage learning and memorization.

Abimelech was probably a title given to rulers among the Philistines; the ruler’s proper name was Achish (1 Samuel 21:10).

The theme for this coming Sunday Proper is “Eat and Live”. The Lord’s own people, the Jews, grumbled when Jesus told them that He is the Bread of Life that came down from heaven. They saw Him only as a man, not the Savior who had been promised from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden after the Fall (Genesis 3:15). Their own expectations of God’s promised Deliverer blinded them to the fact that He was standing before them.

Christ Jesus offers His gift of eternal salvation to all who will receive it. He calls them, and the Father draws them to Him. But some, because of the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their sin, reject the good gift that God has for them. May we ever nourish our faith through our regular church attendance, hearing the word of God preached and proclaimed, and receiving the body and blood of Christ.

Collect for Psalm 34: Lord, graciously hear us, for we seek you alone. Calm our bodies and minds with the peace which passes understanding, and make us radiant with you; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sources;

Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcut the Sermon on the Mount used with permission for personal and congregational use copyright © WELS

Collect for Psalm 34, For All the Saints A Prayer Book For and By the Church Vol. IV, The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, © 1996 Delhi, NY

Pentecost 12 - Proper 14

Pentecost 12 – Proper 14

August 12, 2018

John 6:35-51

Gracious Father, Your blessed Son came down from heaven to be the true bread that gives life to the world. Grant that Christ, the bread of life, may live in us and us in Him.

Who is this Jesus? Where did He come from? Who is He? His reference to His coming from heaven caused folks to cuss, fuss, and discuss. It made them murmur, complain, and disagree.

The conversation continues to this very day. We are no different. All kinds of things are said about Jesus. In books. Lectures. Sermons. And conversations. Who is this Jesus? When He says He comes down from heaven many continue to have difficulty in accepting Jesus as the divine Son of God.

The times in which we live are incredible. While 40% of the American population remains un-churched, [1] yet everyone has their own opinion concerning the person of Jesus Christ. After all. This is America. Where everyone in entitled to their opinion!

Let’s go to the directly to Jesus. And let Him. Tell us. Who He is. What does Jesus have to say concerning Himself? What He says is this:

I am from heaven. V. 41 - “They were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” John reminds us in the introduction to his gospel, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” As Jesus entered time and space He came to be your substitute. He does not merely claim to represent God. He demands that He be known to be God.

Only God can rain down bread from heaven in the form of manna. Only God can send ravens to feed a starving prophet who was holed up in a cave.

To make Himself equal with God caused many to grumble at Jesus. This is what caused many to walk away from Him. Are we to grumble too? He has promised to sustain and lead us. Do we trust Him? It takes faith to submit to His will. And trust Him. Come what may.

Jesus claims to have come from heaven. What’s more? He claims to have direct access to God.

I alone see God. V. 46 - “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.” Jesus is the only one who has seen the Father. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from god. Jesus will not lay claim to anything else but to be the only begotten Son of the Father. Not one who know God. Not one who understands God. Jesus makes an exclusive claim. He is the only one who has seen the Father.

Only Jesus has seen the Father. To have seen God meant sure and certain death. Moses had to shield his face. Jesus will make the sole statement – I alone see God.

Jesus claims to come from heaven. He claims to have seen the Father. He alone is the bread of life.

I am the bread of life. V.48 - “I am the bread of life.” Not to eat is to starve and die. Not to eat enough leads to weakness and disease. To eat the wrong things injures health. To eat too much results in obesity. Yet when we feat on Jesus, the bread of life, we are satisfied. To feast on Jesus the bread of life a new life, which never ends begins.

He is the one who creates life. With ten simple phrases, the entire created order was made. There is nothing that exists, whether on earth, or in heaven, which did not come by the created mouth of Jesus.

He sustains life. He spoke the universe into existence. He promises to sustain and keep it. “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease.” (Genesis 8:22) Times and seasons. Crested by the Savior Himself. Will never end. Until the end of time. This is His promise to you. To be present with you. In every situation. Because you circumstances do not define Him.

Our Old Testament lesson finds Elijah in a precarious circumstance. He had just defeated the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel. But now. There is a bounty on his life. Wicked queen Jezebel sends him a message.   “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” _{1 Kings 19:1} 

What is he to do? He finds himself deflated, despondent, depressed. He asks the Lord to spare him of his misery. “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life.” _{1 Kings 19:4}  This is not an irrational thought. If Jezebel has her way. He’s a dead man within twenty-four hours. So he asks the Lord simply, “let me fall asleep and simply not wake up!”

Yet the Lord remains present. Despite Elijah’s circumstances.  He fed Elijah. Not once. But twice. “And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.” _{1 Kings 19:9}      

Here the Lord invites us to view our present problems through a lens. Which is able to see His divine presence in this world. Just as He is clearly present to Elijah in order to help him overcome his fears. You too must have the same confidence. That Christ. The true bread of life. Is present. And will be present in your life.

We must also have the awareness that our trials and troubles are far from the whole of our story. Just as God has been present in your past. You persevere. In the hope that Christ will be present in your future.

Hard times might come. Problems might surface. Negative situations might arise. “Yet in all these things. We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.” _{Romans 8:37} Let your heart be at peace and rest. Christ is present. As the bread of life He is with you. And for you. He will not necessarily take your problems away. Rather He strengthens you. Helping you to face your fears.  

He does not leave you to flounder. He does not make you swim on your own. As the bread of life He comes to you. In your present circumstance. He feeds you. With His Word. And blessed sacraments. He sustains. Nourishes And supports you. He gives you Himself. 

You need such words of deep comfort. The question might be asked, “May those whose faith is weak or who struggle come to the Sacrament?” And the answer, of course, is a resounding YES!  The words, “for you,” shows us that Christ instituted this Sacrament for weak and struggling sinners. To draw us to Himself. And to strengthen our faith in Him. “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me, I will never cast out.” _{John 6:37}

Jesus comes from heaven. He alone sees God. He creates and sustains the earth. He alone gives eternal life.

I give eternal life. V. 50 – “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” As soon as the Bread of Life is eaten by faith, a new life, which never ends begins. Heaven is a present possession, for heaven is essentially life in Christ. In Christ, we get life now.

Do you trust these claims by the Savior? Do you believe He is God in the flesh? Do you believe He gives his life for this world? Do you believe His death on the bloody cross and an open tomb can give and sustain life?

In the midst of life, we are in death. Jesus claims if you feast on Him you will not die. Is this life possible? Jesus guarantees eternal life for you. By faith, you believe and live.

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven,” Jesus said. “If anyone eats of this bread, He will live forever.” By faith, you trust Him. By faith, you receive Him. In faith, He will sustain you.

Sources:

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3767

_________

Words- 1,470

Passive Sentences – 4%

Readability – 84.6%

Reading Level – 3.4

---

[1] http://www.christianpost.com/news/majority-of-unchurched-are-christians-survey-finds-44715/ George Barna survey indicates 28 percent of the U.S. adult population is un-churched or nearly 65 million people. When the number of children living with un-churched adults is also included, the number rises to 100 million people. Barna’s national survey on the un-churched, conducted August 2009 through February 2010 was based upon random samples of 4,020 adults. Of those adults, 1,144 where un-churched and 703 were self-identified Christians.

Time in the Word - Pentecost 12 - Proper 14

Time in the Word

August 6-11 2018

Pentecost 12 -Proper 14

Collect for Proper 14 – Gracious Father, You blessed Son came down from heaven to be the true bread that gives life to the world. Grant that Christ, the bread of life, may live in us and we in Him, who loves and reigns with You and the holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Before the study of God’s Word – Almighty God, our heavenly Father, without Your help our labor is useless, and without Your light our search is in vain. Invigorate our study of Your holy Word that, by due diligence and right discernment, we may establish ourselves and others in Your holy faith; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

For reconciliation – God of love, through Your Son You have commanded us to love one another. By the guidance of Your Word and Spirit, deliver us from impenitence and teach us the truth that we might confess our sins, receive Your forgiveness, and be reconciled to one another; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

For guidance in our calling – Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that Your hand is leading us and Your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

For a right knowledge of Christ – Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life, grant us perfectly to know Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the way, the truth, and the life, that following His steps we may steadfastly walk in the way that leads to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

For steadfast faith – Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The theme for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost is “Eat and Live”. The Lord’s own people, the Jews, grumbled when Jesus told them that He is the Bread of Life that came down from heaven. They saw Him only as a man, not the Savior who had been promised from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden after the Fall (Genesis 3:15). Their own expectations of God’s promised Deliverer blinded them to the fact that He was standing before them.

Christ Jesus offers His gift of eternal salvation to all who will receive it. He calls them, and the Father draws them to Him. But some, because of the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their sin, reject the good gift that God has for them. May we ever nourish our faith through our regular church attendance, hearing the word of God preached and proclaimed, and receiving the body and blood of Christ.

  

Monday, 6 August 2018—Psalm 34:8–10; Antiphon, Psalm 145:16—The antiphon should be familiar to us, as it is part of the prayer before a meal which Luther included in the Catechism. The psalmist David then says to taste and see that the Lord is good. How are we to do this? St Peter tell us that we should be like newborn infants, longing for the pure spiritual milk. We have tasted that the Lord is good, for we have heard His Word of forgiveness and salvation, we have eaten of His Holy Supper, and we long for more.

Tuesday, 7 August 2018—Psalm 34:1–8—The psalm appointed for next week is one taken from a bizarre incident in the life of David, when he pretended to be insane before Achish, a Palestinian king in the line of Abimelech. The entire story is recorded in 1 Samuel 21:10-15. David exhorts us to extol the Lord at all times, for as the Lord delivered David in answer to his prayer, so He also has delivered us from sin, death, and the devil.

Wednesday, 8 August 2018—1 Kings 19:1–8—Despite the fact that the Lord had shown that He alone is the true God in Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal, wicked Queen Jezebel clung to her false gods and sought to kill Elijah. To escape, Elijah fled to the wilderness near Beersheba. There, the Lord fed him with bread. The Lord feeds us also; not through the ministrations of an angel, but by farmers, truckers, stock-boys, and grocery-store clerks. “God gives daily bread to everyone…we pray that He would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.”

Thursday, 9 August 2018—Ephesians 4:17—5:2—In this section of our reading from the book of Ephesians, St Paul tells us that, since we have been set free from bondage to sin and death, we should live outwardly in way that reflects our new life in Christ. We are to live as children of light, no longer living in the darkness of sin. Those in the world ought to see a difference in how Christians live versus how the rest of the world lives. As children of God, we imitate God, not the ways of the world.

Friday, 10 August 2018—John 6:35–51—“I am the Bread of Life,” declares Jesus. The bread that He gives is better than earthly bread, for that can only sustain the body while we sojourn in this earthly vale of tears. The bread that Jesus gives—the bread that Jesus is—sustains our souls for all eternity. Jesus gives Himself for the life of the world.

Saturday, 11 August 2018— The hymn of the day is O Living Bread from Heaven (LSB 642). This second stanza proclaims that we have been led by the Lord to His house to receive His good gifts of forgiveness. We could not, and do not, do this on our own, but He leads us, and then feeds us with Word and Sacrament. The ‘food’ we receive in the Divine Service is better than the food we eat daily at our meals, for it is food that gives eternal life.

My Lord, You have led me

To this most holy place.

And with Yourself have fed me

The treasures of Your grace;

For You have freely given

What earth could never buy,

The bread of life from heaven,

That now I shall not die.

-Lutheran Service Book #642:2

Please take note:

This year our Wyneken School opens its doors for the 50^th academic year. We review with our students close to 130 Bible stories throughout the year. Please review these stories and discuss them with you student throughout the week. May the Lord bless each of our Friedheim families as we make use of God’s Sacred Word.

For Thursday Aug, 9 – Opening Chapel

 For Friday Aug. 10 – Creation Part 1 – Genesis 1:1-19

From the Catechism – The 1^st Commandment

Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 and Lutheran Worship © 1980 Concordia Publishing House and from Lutheran Worship © 1980 Concordia Publishing House.

Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcut used with permission from WELS

Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series B – John Brokhoff © 1981 CSS Publishing, Lima, OH

Pentecost 12 - Proper 14

Proper 14

7 August 2016

Luke 12:22–34

Luke 12:32-40

"Your Faith is Showing!"

In this sinful, troubled world. It is altogether too easy to succumb to the cares of the world and become anxious. But your heavenly Father, who desires only what is best for you, provides not only for your earthly needs, but also, more importantly, has provided for you eternally. You can rest secure in the fact that you have a loving and gracious Father who knows your needs and provides for them.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

If it is true faith. It will show!  No one can hide it. If one has it, one would not want to hide it. As the old g song sings, "hide it under a bushel NO! I'm gonna let it shine…"  Some are not sure that they have faith. They know they should have it. Would like to be sure they have it. They feel the need for even more faith. As for you. It is self- evident. Your faith is showing.

1. Your faith is showing when you receive the kingdom v. 32 -… Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

The Kingdom of God is not earned. As if, it was the result of some reward. It is not payment for services rendered. It is certainly not a commodity or a service. Which can be bought or purchased at a store or business? It is received as a gift. Jesus said, "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom!"   

The Kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer. It comes in the form of a gift. It comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity. This gift is received by faith. It is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. This is a true sign that your faith is showing when you know that all that you have comes from the Father’s hand. As Christians, we believe and confess that Christ’s present yet hidden reign as king is being extended by the Spirit through the Gospel. It will be fully revealed when Christ returns in glory.

2.  Your faith is showing when you seek spiritual values - vv. 33-34 – “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ” 

Last Sunday's lesson focused on the values, which we hold that make up the ingredients of our life. Jesus continues on this theme. He reminds us. Your chief focus must be on spiritual values as your chief priority.

It takes faith to be less concerned about accumulating earthly goods then spiritual treasures.  Jesus reminds us; your heart will always be where your riches are. What if you lost everything - what if it was all stolen or taken away? - Would your life be over?

Lay-up treasure - spiritual treasure - treasures in heaven. Where they will never decrease; because no thief can get to them and no moth can destroy them. When you seek spiritual values as your first priority, your faith will certainly be showing         

3.  Your faith is showing as you watch and wait for Christ's return - vv.35-40 – “ Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,  and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.  Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.  If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.  You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. “  

Christ is coming soon. Are you ready to leave this world to meet the Savior in glory? Are you ready for a Son rise? Are you ready to meet the Savior face to face? Before you can be prepared, according to Jesus' own words, you must first believe Christ is returning and coming soon.  Could Christ return tonight? Do you really believe this? If so, your faith is showing!

Your faith is showing! It is showing as you've been received into the kingdom as you continue to seek spiritual values; as you patiently watch and wait for Christ's return. Come Lord Jesus - come even today! Amen!

Words – 896

Passive sentences – 11%

Readability –83.4%

Reading level –4.5

Pentecost 12 -Proper 14

Hebrews 11:1-11

August 22, 2013

Now Faith is…

Faith is a word used on a daily basis by most people. What do they mean by the term “faith”? You can have faith in yourself, in others, in a machine.  Is this the same as religious faith?

Many people when they think of faith think of it in terms of blind faith – accepting something beyond reason.  To others, faith believes in something or in someone who exists. The author of the book to the Hebrews defines faith in our text. With the Spirit’s help may we have a fuller understanding of the meaning of this thing called “faith”.

Now faith is…

1. Assurance – “faith is the assurance of what we hope for” (Vs. 1a)

A.      What do we hope for? Quite possibly the hymn writer put it best when he wrote: “My hope is built on nothing less then Jesus’ blood and righteousness...”^[1]

What Jesus has promised through His work on the cross is the basis of our hope. The Christian hope is based on the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation through Jesus’ death and merit.

B.      This hope is given as an assurance. God in Christ has promised that He will deliver for us. Jesus has promised, “In My Father’s house are many mansions, if this were not so I would have told you.” His clear Word has given us this assurance in Christ because He has promised us.

Transition: Faith is assurance, Faith is also confidence and certainty. In a word; conviction.

2. Conviction – “being certain of what we do not see” (Vs. 1b)

A.      There are some people convinced that they will believe only what they can experience with the five senses. If they can no see, touch, hear, or sense something it must not be real.

B.      Still others believe that truth and conviction must be reasoned by the rational mind. “Do the math!” they might say. “If it doesn’t add up it must not be true or real.”

C.      Yet faith is being certain of what we do not see. We cannot see heaven, forgiveness, or love. But should we deny these truths because we cannot see or experience them?  We hold on to truths, which we can experience in the natural realm. We also are convinced of truths even if we cannot see them.

Transition: Faith is assurance and conviction. Faith takes God at His Word.  

3. Trust in God’s promises – “By faith Abraham, even though he was past age – and Sarah herself barren – was enabled to become a father because he considered Him faithful who had made the promise” (Vs. 11)

A.      God sometimes calls us to believe in the impossible. Consider Abraham and his wife Sara. Both were beyond the years of bearing a child. They had written off being natural parents. Yet God promised them a child. According to natural law and man’s perspective bearing children was impossible. Yet they trusted God and a child was born. A question: what is God asking you to believe that the world considers “impossible”? Can God do it? Can He accomplish it? With God nothing is impossible!

B.      Thus faith calls for us to consider God to be faithful to His promises. We might become quite cynical when it comes to promises made because we have seen so many of them broken. We may disappoint others and may become disappointed by others because of promises broken. God is different. He keeps each and every promise He has made. He cannot go back on His Word. He cannot deny Himself.  Faith is finding God who is faithful.

Transition: Faith is defined as assurance, as conviction, as trusting in God’s promises. Faith by definition is being obedient to God’s Word.

4. Obedience – “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Vs.8)

A.      We take God at His word. “I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name”. * Abraham and Sarah could have walked away from God.

B.      Instead they trusted in Him who was found faithful. We have the freedom to walk. We can turn our back on God at any moment. To be found faithful simply means that we remain totally committed to Him who is faithful.

C.      Life was not easy for Abraham and Sarah. They were called to leave the comforts of home and a life that they were familiar and to change coarse. They followed God’s direction “even though [they] did not know where [they] were going” Faith is a journey and each day is a part of that process. Thus we must learn to pray:

Savior I follow on, Guided by Thee,

Seeing not yet the hand that leadeth me.

Hushed be my heart and still, Fear I no further ill,

Only to meet Thy will My will shall be.

Savior, I long to walk Closer with Thee;

Led by Thy guiding hand, Ever to be

Constantly near Thy side, Quickened and purified,

Living for Him who died freely for me.^[2]

Ultimately faith by definition is the acceptance of God’s promises found in Jesus Christ where we are brought into a right relationship with God and saved. We call this justification before God. Faith is expressed in assurance, in conviction, in obedience, in taking God at His Word, trusting in all of His promises. “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand”.

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[1] My Hope is Built on Nothing Less The Lutheran Hymnal © 1940 Concordia Publishing House St. Louis

[2] Savior I Follow On The Lutheran Hymnal © 1940 Concordia Publishing House St. Louis