As Vigo County goes, so goes national vote

Read this in the morning paper.

Students of American politics are familiar with the adage, “As Maine goes, so goes the nation.”
But how about, “As Vigo County Indiana goes, so goes the nation”?

The southwestern Indiana county, according to a National Public Radio report, is one of just six bellwether counties in the nation, based on its voting results in the contest for president since 1960. Missouri, not Maine or Ohio, is the only bellwether state since 1960.

Vigo County, home to Terre Haute and Indiana State University, has picked the winner every year since 1892, with the exception of just 1908 and 1952.

So which way is Vigo leaning this year? NPR correspondent Howard Berkes finds the answer is not so clear. He interviewed a McCain supporter who mentions concerns of a Muslim-terrorist connection in talking about Barack Obama, a Christian, but also a two-time George W. Bush and anti-abortion voter who this time around is supporting Obama because “we don’t need somebody else in there who’s going to follow the same plan.”

So, on election day if you don't want to stay up way late just check out who won the election in Vigo County. Henry has done his civic duty voting absentee last week.

In Memoriam

Walter Nuerge
Born: May 16, 1921
Baptized: May 22, 1921
Confirmed April 14, 1935
With Christ in Peace: October 11, 2008

21 years to the day from when the parish began work to refurbish the sanctuary Walter was transferred into the Kingdom of glory. Walter was one of two master craftsmen who built the pieces of our sanctuary - scroll to the bottom of the page to see his work. Walter was not one to wear his religion on his sleeves. Rather, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He was a sermon in shoes.

Time in the Word - Proper 24

The Lessons for this week deal with God and the world. God rules the world. His glory is manifest among the nations. A pagan ruler, Cyrus, is chosen by God as his instrument; he uses a nation to fulfill his purposes in the world. In God’s hands lies the destinies of the nations. The Lord reigns among the nations and will judge the world with righteousness. In the Hymn “Before the Lord We bow” we praise God who rules the world and is boundless in power and love.

Collect for Proper 24 – Almighty God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with Yu as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord.


Monday, October 13, 2008 - Psalm 121:1-4, 7-8 - The Antiphon for this coming Sunday is from Vs. 5 of Psalm 121; “The Lord watches over you- the Lord is Your shade at your right hand.” Under the theme “Nations under God” this Sunday’s readings deal with God and the world. God rules the world. His glory is manifest among the nations. The Antiphon reminds us that the Lord is watching. How does that make one feel? We seek after Him who grants us grace which is found in the second half of the phrase “He is Your shade at your right hand.”

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - Isaiah 45:1-7 -In our Old Testament lesson a pagan ruler, Cyrus, is chosen by God as His instrument. The Lord uses a nation to fulfill His purposes in this world. In God’s hands lies the destiny of nations.


Wednesday, October 15, 2008 – 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5a -In our Epistle lesson for this week Paul greets the Thessalonians and thanks God for their faithful work of faith and love. This is the first of a series of readings from the book written by the Apostle Paul. With respect to the Gospel lesson for the week – The Thessalonians render to God what God deserves. As for the Old Testament lesson; as Cyrus was chosen, God chose the church of Thessalonica. (Vs. 4) 1 Thessalonians is Paul’s earliest letter from Corinth ca. 50 A.D. He was writing to a Gentile congregation. Accordingly, he refers to their turn from idols to God, to their deliverance from sin through the cross and resurrection, and to their hope for Jesus’ return. In these opening verses, Paul thanks God for their faith, love, and hope. They prove that God has chosen them through the gospel which he preached. Moreover, they imitated the example of Paul and thus they became examples to the other churches.

Thursday, October 16, 2008– Matthew 22:15-22 - Religious leaders attempt to trap Jesus by asking him whether taxes should be paid to Rome. The religious leaders came to Jesus with a trick question that no matter how he answers, he is in trouble.

Pharisees and Herodians come to him with the question whether taxes should be paid to the Roman government. The Pharisees would say, “No”; the Herodians would answer, “Yes.” If Jesus said one should not pay taxes, he could be arrested as a subversive and revolutionary. If Jesus said one should, he would be in trouble with the patriotic Jews who hated Roman dominance. Jesus recognized that the inquirers were hypocrites and that they came to find occasion to have him arrested. His answer caused his enemies to marvel at his answer: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Friday, October 17, 2008 - Psalm 96:1-9 - This Psalm is appointed for next week. The key verse is verse 7b Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength”.

Saturday, October 18, 2008 –Psalm 145:1 -Our reading is the inspiration for tomorrow’s sermon hymn; “Before the Lord We Bow” an appropriate hymn for this week’s theme “Nations under God.” In this hymn we praise God who rules the world and is boundless in power and love. Truly we serve a God who governs the affairs of men who will judge the world with righteousness and equity. Having read these lessons here are a few points to ponder. Is it a true statement that the Lord has already judged the world? If so when and how? When Christ returns in glory what will be the sentence rendered?
Sources
LUTHERAN SEVICE BOOK © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO

LECTIONALRY PREACHING WORKBOOK SERIES A © 1980 John Brokhoff CSS Publishing Lima, OH

Proper 23 - Matthew 22:1-14

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
Friedheim

10653 N – 550 W
Decatur, IN 46733
260-547-4248

http://www.zionfriedheim.org/

A 21st Century Parish with a 1st Century Faith
Acts 2:42

Celebrating our 170th Year
Chartered February 25, 1838

October 12, 2008
Proper 23
Matthew 22:1-14
You’re invited!

“Almighty God, source of every blessing, your generous goodness comes to us anew every day. By the work of your Spirit, lead us to acknowledge your goodness, give thanks for your benefits, and serve you in willing obedience.”

Matthew gives us two parables in our Gospel Lesson for today. The first deals with a king [God] who is giving a banquet for his son [Jesus]. He sends out his servants (the prophets) to tell the invited ones (Israel) that all is ready. Instead of coming, these invitees make excuses and kill the king’s servants. The angry king destroys the invitees. The servants are then sent out to invite all, good and bad, to the feast so that the wedding hall is filled. The point? If Israel refuses to come to Christ, they will be replaced by Gentiles.

In the second parable an import application is made. If the guests have just come from the streets, how could they have a wedding garment? When the king sees a man without a wedding garment, he is thrown out. The point is that it may be too easy to enter the kingdom. There is a requirement: a wedding garment. What is that garment? It is the garment of Faith and the cloak of Righteousness.

Introduction: God extends an invitation to his banquet for his Son. He expects a response — an RSVP — “Please respond!” It is His party. He provides all of the food and entertainment. He asks us only to respond, to come. When we realize what a wonderful thing it is to be at the feast, it seems unbelievable that not all would respond positively and immediately. The parable in this lesson shows the possible reactions people can give to the invitation to a banquet.

Outline: How shall you respond?

1. The rejecting — vv. 3, 5 (Response is “no”).

God invites us not to a lunch, a snack, or to a supper. It is a feast, a banquet. This implies both quantity and quality of food. It is not a meal of hamburgers and potato chips. The feast consists of the finest foods available: shrimp cocktail, filet mignon, lobster tails, Cornish hens, frog legs, and so on. It is food only a king could afford or provide. This is a metaphor of what bountiful gifts God offers His people.

It is a wedding reception in terms of a banquet. For one thing, it is a royal wedding; the king’s son is married. This is the social event of the year which will be attended by all the dignitaries, people who are somebody — top officials, prominent leaders of society. It is an honor to be invited to a fellowship with the “greats” of this world. Moreover, a wedding feast is a happy time — music, dancing, acts of entertainment. Everyone is talking, laughing, joking, and having a good time. Jesus here teaches that this is what it is to belong to the kingdom of God.

This is an invitation. It signifies that the king considers those invited to be people of importance and acceptable to him. The king wants you. You are in His favor. The invitation; “Come” implies also that it is voluntary.

This invitation can be rejected. God does not force us to come to His kingdom. No pressure is placed on us to come. In this parable we see the patience of God. When the invited guests do not respond the first time, God extends a second invitation and pleads with them to come because He had everything ready for the feast.

Why do some reject such a gracious invitation? They reject for they fail to see the advantage of being a part of the family of faith – thus they are missing. They fail to acknowledge Him as the source of every blessing. They are happy to exist in this life without God active in their lives. Yet He remains the source of every blessing in our lives whether we acknowledge Him or not. Every gift, every blessing, every mercy comes from His mighty and sustaining hand.

They refuse to give thanks for His benefits. The benefits He gives us as members of His family are three – forgiveness, live, salvation. If some are missing they do not have these. They have not experienced them. Instead they experience guilt, remorse, regret.

They fail to express thanks in willing obedience. They live instead unto themselves. They traverse through life following their own agendas and plans. They live as if they are the center of their own world. They exist only for themselves.

Theses are the ones who refuse to come to the banquet. Yet there are those who will come but only on their own terms. When the invited guests declined the invitation, the king (God) opens the gates to one and all. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is urged to come. This resulted in having both good and bad people at the feast. This produces a problem. Can a holy God tolerate bad people in his kingdom?

Matthew adds another parable to serve as a corrective. God cannot tolerate or compromise with sin. At the judgment, God comes and finds one without a wedding garment. He is thrown out. The wedding garment was not a festive one, but rather it was a newly washed, unsoiled garment. It symbolized righteousness.

2. The rejoicing — v. 10 (Response is “yes”) They respond to the invitation. They come and like the first group they attempt to enter on their own terms – refusing to wear the robes required for such a feast the Master has planned.

The Robe of righteousness is that righteousness which Christ has won for us. It is the blood of Jesus Christ who became both the curse and the cure for our sin. The Father now only sees us only through the holy merits of Jesus Christ. This merit or work of Christ is what brings us into a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Not our own efforts not our own attempts to be pious and good. Not my co-operation with God or even our faith. We stand in a right relationship with Jesus Christ because of God’s free grace and favor. We stand on God’s grace alone, through faith alone, declared to us in His Word alone.

The Robe of faith accepts and appropriates the robes of righteousness. Jesus declares us as His own. This is why the central symbol and message of the Christian faith is the cross of Jesus Christ. Paul encourages us, “I determine to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Faith puts its focus on all that Jesus has won for us and rests on His merits alone. Grace alone, the Word alone, faith alone, Christ alone.

It is a robe of righteousness which is given to those who have faith in Christ. He is our righteousness, and we are in the kingdom because faith puts on Christ. We are then worthy to be in God’s holy presence, because we are clothed with the perfection of Christ.

Conclusion: The parable concludes with the maxim: Many are called and few are chosen. Many are called to enter the kingdom, but few are chosen because they do not have the necessary qualifications. We need the robe of righteousness – the righteousness of Christ. This robe covers the filthy rags of sin, and God now sees only the holy merits of Christ. We need the robe of faith – faith accepts and appreciates the robe of righteousness. Faith in Christ puts on Christ.

A part of our Lenten journey will be spent in Bloomington

When Lydia was a senior in high school she applied to a number of schools got accepted and arranged a series of auditions to be admitted into each school’s music program in January and March of 2007. She narrowed them down to Roosevelt University located in Chicago’s loop, DePauw University in Crawfordsville, IN and IU. Many of the students from Interlochen were interested in performing arts conservatories like Juilliard and the Curtis Institute of Music. Lydia shied away from these types of schools because they were located further away from Indiana then was Interlochen; they were small, and extremely expensive. Lydia figured the competition would be fierce no matter where she went but the three schools she chose to audition seemed to be a fit for her.

The knock about IU was its size - with more than 1,600 students — approximately half of whom are undergraduates — the Jacobs School of Music at IU is one of the largest in the nation. Admission to IU’s School of Music is regarded as among the most competitive in the country. The acceptance rate was 12 percent for the entering class of 2011, and about nine percent for the class of 2012. And yet IU’s School of Music as a whole is listed among the top voice schools in the country. Lydia was also told to at least audition at the best “in state” school she could find, which, of course, in her case would be IU.

Lydia was told that because of IU’s size she wouldn’t be able to get any roles as most are given to grad students but she figured IU would be a taste of the real world. Besides with all the training and theory she would receive IU would get her prepared once she graduates.

Lydia’s work has paid off. She will be in the chorus in The Love of Three Oranges which will be performing in November and Lydia’s been cast as Nireno in IU Opera Theater's production of Guilio Cesare which will be performed in late February and early March of 2009. Gotta get geared up for 4 hours of Italian singing! Thank goodness for English supertitles!

Lydia will be singing at the Musical Arts Center, known as the MAC. The 90x60 foot stage is often compared to that of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. And to think that she was raised in the rural community of Decatur, IN.

Time in the Word - Proper 23 - October 6-11, 2008

Time in the Word
Proper 23
October 6-11, 2008
God’s Generous Goodness

In the Lessons for this week God’s bountiful goodness is the focus. A minor theme is our response to God’s goodness. This direction is taken by the second parable in the Gospel lesson. In the Gospel God’s goodness is expr3essed in His invitation to all to the banquet. In the Old Testament lesson God’s goodness is shown by the feat God prepares in the end for all peoples – a feast of victory over evil and of salvation. Paul rejoices that God meets every need of his. He can do anything because his strength is in Christ. In the Collect for the day we ask the Lord to deals with us according to the greatness of His mercy. The 23rd Psalm refers to God’s preparing a table for us and our cup running over. Because of God’s goodness we respond with love to God in the hymn, “Thee will I love, my strength, my tower.”

Collect for Proper 23 – Almighty God, You invite us to trust in Your for our salvation. Deal with us not in the severity of Your judgment but by the greatness of Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Monday, October 6, 2008 – Isaiah 61:10, Antiphon, Psalm 146:2 “I will praise the Lord as long as I love; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 – Isaiah 25:6-9 –God prepares a feast for the nations at the end. On Mt. Zion God will make a feast for all people on the last day. The world’s history ends in salvation, for God is at work. To be saved is to be made whole. Since Adam, man and creation have been fractured and detached. In the end it is as it was in the beginning: All people are one with God. They are whole. For this reason God’s people can rejoice in what God has done.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008 – Philippians 4:4-13 – In Christ God supplies every need. Paul is content because God supplies every need. Paul appeals to his people to be in harmony with each other, to rejoice and think beautiful thoughts. This week’s lesson 2 brings to a close the series on Philippians. In verse 1 we have a picture of the love affair between Paul and his people. The problem of disunity in the congregation still exists (vv. 2-3). Paul appeals to them to rejoice in Christ and not to have a worry. They are to think of beautiful values and to imitate him. Then the peace of God and the God of peace will be with them.

Paul calls upon his people to “rejoice.” Then he seems to say, “You can say that again!” “Rejoice,” again I say. A true Christian is the happiest person in the world, not because he has all the luck in the world, or has all the money one could want. A Christian rejoices in God, for who he is and what he has done for us. If he is for us and with us, we have every reason to be happy. Then nothing can defeat us, not even death.

Thursday, October 9, 2008 – Matthew 22:1-14 – God invites all to His banquet. Yet another parable - the parable of the wedding feast and the wedding garment. Matthew gives us two parables in this Lesson. The first deals with a king (God) who is giving a banquet for his son (Jesus). He sends out his servants (prophets) to tell the invited ones (Jews) that all is ready. Instead of coming, the invitees make excuses and kill the king’s servants. The angry king destroys the invitees. The servants are then sent out to invite all, good and bad, to the feast so that the wedding hall is filled. If the Jews refuse to come to Christ, they will be replaced by Gentiles.

The second parable is not necessarily related to the preceding one. If the guests have just come from the streets, how could they have a wedding garment? When the king sees a man without a wedding garment, he is thrown out. The point is that it may be too easy to enter the kingdom. There is a requirement: a wedding garment. What is that garment? Faith? The cloak of righteousness? The parable concludes with the maxim: Many are called and few are chosen. Many are called to enter the kingdom, but few are chosen because they only have the necessary qualifications.

When the invited guests declined the invitation, the king (God) opens the gates to one and all. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is urged to come. This resulted in having both good and bad people at the feast. This produces a problem. Can a holy God tolerate bad people in his kingdom? Matthew adds another parable to serve as a corrective. God cannot tolerate or compromise with sin. At the judgment, God comes and finds one without a wedding garment. He is thrown out. The wedding garment was not a festive one, but rather it was a newly washed, unsoiled garment. It symbolized righteousness. It is a robe of righteousness which is given to those who have faith in Christ. He is our righteousness, and we are in the kingdom because faith puts on Christ. We are then worthy to be in God’s holy presence, because we are clothed with the perfection of Christ.

Friday, October 10, 2008 Psalm 23 - The Psalm appointed for next week is the great Shepherd’s psalm of David. It is possibly one of the favorite of God’s people. The key verse is verse 6, “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” David reaches the goal of every believer – life with Christ in glory forever. That is our goal.

Saturday, October 11, 2008 –John 14:23– This passage is the inspiration for the hymn. “Thee will I Love my strength, my tower.”

LUTHERAN SEVICE BOOK © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO

LECTIONALRY PREACHING WORKBOOK SERIES A © 1980 John Brokhoff CSS Publishing Lima, OH

Schnorr von Carolsfeld, woodcuts Zachariah names John, Jesus feeds the 5,000 © WELS Permission to use these copyrighted items is limited to personal and congregational use.

Proper 22 - Matthew 21:33-43

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
Friedheim

10653 N – 550 W
Decatur, IN 46733
260-547-4248

www.zionfriedheim.org

A 21st Century Parish with a 1st Century Faith
Acts 2:42

Celebrating our 170th Year
Chartered February 25, 1838

October 6, 2008
Proper 22

Matthew 21:33-43
A Vineyard for Rent

“Our Lord Jesus, you have endured the doubts and foolish questions of every generation. Forgive us for trying to be judge over you, and grant us the confident faith to acknowledge you as Lord.”

Introduction: It’s possible to rent an amazing variety of things; from housing to automobiles, from furniture to farm land, from carpet cleaning machines to apartments and cottages on a lake. In our text for today we see that God too has a rental arrangement

Our text reminds us that God also has a rental arrangement. For centuries the sign has been out, it reads, “VINEYARD FOR RENT.” Our question for today is what sort of tenants are we.

I. The terms of the agreement are specified.

A. As in any rental situation, we realize that there needs to be terms spelled out in the form of a rental contract if there is going to be any safeguards to the tenant and the owner. The Lord Himself has placed the vineyard in excellent condition. The landowner planted the vineyard Himself. He put a wall around it. He dug a winepress, He built a tower. He brought it all up to code. He was s stickler for details.

What all this means for you and me is that from the beginning the Lord has given us the means and the resources for us to come to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. The Lord did so for Israel. (Isaiah 5:1-7) He did this for His people in the Old Testament and today He continues to do the same through the good news of the Gospel.

2. Through the Gospel the Lord gathers and preserves us as His people. In the message of salvation which is found in Jesus Christ our Savior you and I are not only brought tofaith but we are also preserved as God’s very special people.

B. When you rent something there is an understanding or an agreement about who is the rightful owner of the thing which is being used. When you rent you have that object for your own personal use, but you will always remain the tenant. You do not own it, you never will own it. So it is that God is the owner of the vineyard, and He rends it out to us. The message of His love and forgiveness is God’s message, not ours. And the faith which we have, it is not ours, but God Himself is the One who has worked saving faith in us. He can not claim ownership to the blessings of God, all these are His which He gives to us by His grace. God’s “rents out” the vineyard by giving it to us through it supplying us with faith and strengthen us by the power of His Holy Spirit.

C. In the rental agreement, there are terms of payment. The rent check is to come in on time at the same time, every time it is due. The landlord expects to be paid, and the same principle holds true with the Lord God expects to be paid. God expects us to pay Him rent. What does He demand as far as payment is concerned?

1. He demands that the fruit of faith be demonstrated in our life. St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians lists the fruit of faith which include; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control” (Galatians 5:22)

2. Because of the enabling power of the Holy Spirit bearing fruit is not a chore for us. Rather it is a spontaneous outpouring which is the response to the benefits which God has worked in us.

Transition: The terms of the rental agreement have been spelled out however this is not to say that from time to time difficulties may occur.

II. The difficulties encountered.

From time to time there can be problems when there are renters. The payment might be late or become delinquent. A tenant can say to himself “this isn’t my property; I am free from any responsibilities. I don’t have to take care of this dump! I’m sure you have heard of or have known of problems which can result with careless delinquent tenants.

A. Even God Himself had difficulties with His renters.

1. The renters of the Old Testament, the previous tenants killed the prophets which came delivering the message of God’s mercy and grace.

2. Finally they killed the Son of the landowner– Jesus Christ. Jesus was killed because the people refused to accept Him for who He was. They refused to believe that He was God in the flesh the only Savior from sin and so they had Him executed by crucifixion.

B. The problem with delinquent tenants can still exist today.

1. God can still have difficulties with His renters when we fail to see God’s mission to the world when we fail to share with others the message of salvation which Christ has offered. If we do this be become delinquent and careless tenants.

2. We can become guilty of failing to hold up our end of the renter’s contract when we fail to love God’s people. As God has forgiven us we in turn forgive others when they sin against us. As Christ has shown His compassion to us we in turn extend mercy to others. Refusing to deal with others on the same terms as God has dealt with us results in our failing to part of the rental contract. If we do that we have become delinquent and careless.

III. The Action of God.
So what do you do when you run across a problem with a troublesome renter? In most cases you demonstrate patience – but ultimately and finally patience has a limit. So also, with God.

A. God shows patience.

1. When a prophet was killed God kept on sending other prophets and servants. What a remarkable contrast to what most would have done under similar circumstances. But again, here is the patience of God demonstrated to us.

2. The Lord went so far as to send His only Son. Through Christ’s death He atoned for the tenant’s selfishness. Here we see the great lengths the Lord went to show His love and patience.

3. The Lord continues to demonstrate His patience for us. He is still giving us time to bring forth fruit of faith. He continues to love and seek our love. He continues to provide is those means which we need to receive His mercy and care.

B. And yet, the patience even of God has a limit.

1. When the Jewish nation finally rejected Christ, God’s only Son, God gave the Gospel message to the Gentiles. You and I believe in Christ because the Father gave us His grace and turned the vineyard over to all who would come to faith.

2. The patience of God will also run out with this world. Eventually the world will come to an end and then there will be a final judgment. We must see from these words of the Savior that if people reject the Gospel, then the Gospel will be taken from one group and given to others.

How can we apply these words to our day and time? It seems as if the Gospel of the kingdom has moved full circle. At one point in time the center of world Christianity was found on the continent of Africa. But when people finally rejected the Gospel and turned to other religions such as Islam the world center of Christianity shifted to Europe. Over time as people in Europe resisted the Gospel message the Church grew in North America.

As we are living in what many refer to as a Post-Modern or Post-Christian society where the center of World Christianity shifted has? Back to the continent of Africa. The point Jesus makes in this parable of a people reject Christ, the Gospel can and will be taken from one and given to others.

Again, we come back to the initial question – what sort of tenants are we? It is our duty to be good stewards, faithful tenants, and good renters. We must continue to share this message of the kingdom with all that we meet, and with all that we know.

God’s sign is still out for all to read and see. It says “VINEYARD FOR RENT.” The terms for the vineyard are as generous as they can be.

In His marvelous love God has considered all of the difficulties renters can give Him and yet He allows us to rent this prime ground. How wicked we would be if we would ever spurn His love.

What a privilege it is to be a tenant in God’s vineyard. What an honor it is to bring Him the fruit of faith with joy. My the Lord so move us to be good tenants until that time in which we move out of that rented ground into a new home, one which has been purchased by the same Landlord we are renting form now – Jesus Christ the righteous one.