Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to FCD Wyneken & his bride Sophia (Buuck) who were married at Zion, Friedheim Lutheran Church on August 31, 1841 Happy #169 Fritz & Sophy!

Time in the Word Pentecost 15 - Proper 18

Christ Jesus Has Paid the Cost of Discipleship for You
A disciple of Jesus Christ will “carry his own cross” (Luke 14:27) and follow the Lord through death into life. Discipleship is costly because it crucifies the old man with “all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33), in order to raise up the new man in Christ. The disciple disavows “his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life” (Luke 14:26), in deference to Christ. That way of the cross is impossible, except that Christ Jesus has already paid the cost. His cross is set before you as “life and prosperity, and death and adversity” (Deut. 30:15). Taking up His cross is to “choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him” (Deut. 30:19–20). To live that life in Christ is also to bear His cross in love, “that your goodness should not be as it were by compulsion, but of your own free will” (Philemon 14).

Collect for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost: O merciful Lord, You did not spare Your only Son but delivered Him up for us all. Grant us courage and strength to take up the cross and follow Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer for Christian vocation: Heavenly Father, grant Your mercy and grace to Your people in their many and various callings. Give them patience, and strengthen them in their Christian vocation of witness to the world and of service to their neighbor in Christ's name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for likeness to Christ: O God, by the patient suffering of Your only-begotten Son You have beaten down the pride of the old enemy. Now help us, we humbly pray, rightly to treasure in our hearts all that our Lord has of His goodness borne for our sake that following His blessed example we may bear with all patience all that is adverse to us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for agriculture: Almighty God, You bless the earth to make it fruitful, bringing forth in abundance whatever is needed for the support of our lives. Prosper the work of farmers and all those who labor to bring food to our table. Grant them seasonable weather that they may gather in the fruits of the earth in abundance and proclaim Your goodness with thanksgiving; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for industry and commerce: Lord Jesus Christ, as once You shared in our human toil and thus hallowed the work of our hands, bless and prosper those who maintain the industries and service sectors of this land. Give them a right regard for their labors, and grant them the just reward for their work that they may find joy in serving You and in supplying our needs; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Monday, 30 August 2010—Psalm 119:28–32; antiphon, Psalm 119:27—The readings for Sunday reflect the theme of discipleship. Whose disciples shall we be? That is, in whom shall we place our trust? Let us be like the psalmist, who boldly pronounces, I have chosen the way of faithfulness . . . I cling to your testimonies, O Lord. This he can say with confidence, not because of anything in him, but because he prays, Make me understand the way of your precepts, and the LORD answers.

Tuesday, 31 August 2010—Psalm 1—The contrast between the righteous and the wicked is brought into sharp contrast in this, the first of the psalms. We know that we are not righteous in ourselves, but, since we are in Christ, His righteousness is our righteousness. Those who are in Christ are fit the description of the description of the blessed man, the righteous man, in the psalm.

Wednesday, 1 September 2010—Deuteronomy 30:15–20—In Moab (Deut 29:1), before they entered the Promised Land, Moses re-iterated the covenant between the LORD and His people, the Children of Israel. He reminded them of how the LORD led them out of bondage in Egypt and cared for them throughout their sojourn in the wilderness. Then, Moses tells the Israelites that they must follow one of two paths: to continue as God’s Chosen People or to turn their backs on the One who chose them, made them His own, preserved them, and promised to take them into a land where He would continue to shower blessings upon them. It seems that the decision would be easy to make: Choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, yet we know that most people, including most of the Jews, the descendants of the Children of Israel, have chosen instead the way that leads away from God, and into death, eternal death. Let us ever remain faithful to the One who provides life through His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thursday, 2 September 2010—Philemon 1–21—During the summer months, our epistle readings make their way through some of the letters (epistles) in the New Testament. This summer, we read through Galatians, the first half of Colossians, and, last Sunday, we finished the latter portion of Hebrews. Sunday’s reading is from Philemon, but it is the only reading we shall have from that book, as it is only 25 verses long.

Philemon is a personal letter from St Paul to a man named Philemon. Paul intercedes for Philemon’s runaway slave, Onesimus, who had stolen from his master, but subsequently became a Christian. In what is a model of Christian reconciliation, Paul pleads on behalf of Onesimus, just as Christ pleads to His father on our behalf. “We are Christ’s Onesimi,” wrote Luther, “restored by Christ, who, by giving up his rights, compelled the Father to lay aside his wrath.”

Friday, 3 September 2010—Luke 14:25–35—We are told that great crowds accompanied Jesus, but accompanying Him is not enough. A person must be ready and willing to turn his back on the things of this world: his family, his life, indeed, all he has. The things of this life must never stand in the way of our discipleship with Christ, that is, our faith in Him as the sole procurer of our salvation, and the only thing that matters.

Saturday, 4 September 2010—Sunday’s Hymn of the Day is Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways (LSB #707). Our readings speak of the necessity of being Christ’s faithful disciples, shunning the things and ways of this world. This, we can only do when the Lord guides our ways: He grants us grace to know and do His will.

Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House
Woodcut by Baron Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, Das Buch der Bücher in Bilden [The Book of Books in Pictures]) ©WELS

This week's Time in the Word was written by Pr. Jeffry Keuning serving St. John, Dexter and Zion Casey IA of the Iowa West Disitrict of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

Pentecost 14 - Proper 17

Pentecost 14 – Proper 17
Luke 14:1, 1-14
Luke 7:12-14
Look who’s coming to dinner?

According to our Gospel lesson a humble person takes the lowest place and invites the needy. Most people invite friends and associates to dinner. They are people we enjoy, or people with whom we want to develop closer relations. Often we invite people because they first invited us, and we return the courtesy. The more prominent and more important the guests are the more honor they bring to us. In this parable Jesus teaches we should do the opposite – invite the humble, the unimportant, and the poor who can not return the favor. This calls for a reversal of the usual attitude that most people have. What does it take to invite the lowly? It takes both humility and grace.

1. Humility – To invite those who can bring us no advantage. Romans 12:16 - Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

A. Humility is one of the great laws of the kingdom. It shows us what we are we are only by the grace of God.

B. Do not be proud / puffed up if you achieve some success. When you do you will surely be humbled and made aware of your insignificance.

C. One commentator (Farmer) but it this way, “humble we must be as to heaven we go…high is the roof there. But the gate is low.”

D. Deeds of charity we do should not be done merely because we expect to be rewarded in heaven. True love is unselfish; it shows kindness not to be rewarded, but because of a desire to do good to the one who loved. “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love you enemies, do good, and lend, hope for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.” – Luke 6:32-35

Transition: What does it take to invite the lowly? It takes both humility and grace.

2. Grace – To invite people because they are unworthy and cannot help us. We get nothing out of it. It is pure grace – love to the undeserving. Compare this with our situation and the heavenly dinner. Christ invites us – poor, dirty, naked – without any merit or worthiness to be in His presence at His table in the Kingdom.

A. To experience the grace of God means we are blessed. Blessed is a powerful word. In the New Testament, when used of persons, it always refers to the condition of the repentant, fruitful believer in Jesus. Jesus says in His Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be glad. For indeed your reward is great in heaven. For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”

B. The Lord in Revelation 14:13 defines who the blessed are as He reminds us that their deeds will follow them, Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ “Yes.” Says the Spirit, “that they may rest form their labors, and their works follow them.” True good works cannot be rewarded by men after one dies. But these works will be rewarded “at the resurrection of the just”, those justified by faith. The love and good works which Jesus here asks are the fruits of faith produced by the righteous alone.

Jesus condemns self-righteousness and selfishness. Both are works of the flesh. With these two illustrations Jesus deftly preached what we call the second use of the law. He shines the mirror of God’s truth He lays the sin of His hearers bare for all to see. This is not always pleasant for it exposes our true nature. Yet He did it because He loves us. As we respond to others we have no other way to respond other then with mercy and grace.

A genuine humble person will take the lowest place at a dinner and invite the needy to fellowship. Pride wants only the prominent and eminent of guests. Genuine humility is expressed by the way we reach out to others. Make no mistake; this is more then mere manners. Christ is the one who humbled Himself even to the point of death. He bore our sins and took our misery to Himself that in exchange for our sin we might receive the righteousness of God. If this is how the Savior has treated us, how much more should we demonstrate the same hospitality to others.

Face of Christ
http://spiritlessons.com/Documnets/Jesus_Pictures/Jesus_Christ_Pictures.htm

Pentecost 13 - mid-week

Romans 3:21-25a, 27-28

It is natural for us to justify ourselves. When someone questions our behavior we declare it acceptable by pointing to its rightness and propriety. We are quick to defend our actions. That is not what St. Paul means by the term "justify" in our text. He is talking about God's act of justifying, not ours. In other words, Paul by these words is describing how we stand before God based on what He has done for us. To say that God justifies means that God declares human beings acceptable to Him. If that is so, we have no need to justify ourselves before God or anyone else. We don't have to explain ourselves to God, He has made up His mind and He accepts us for Jesus' sake. Therefore, the most freeing thing that could happen is for God to justify us, to declare us as being forgiven before Him. This is precisely what God in Christ has done for us. This morning, let's consider the fact that our justification by God frees us.
[1] Our justification before God frees us from making the Law our justifier.
A. Our natural tendency is to use the Law to justify ourselves before God.
1. We do so when we try to keep God's commandments to win God's approval. The man who thought that he could be acceptable to God on the basis of what he had done asked Jesus the question "but what else must I do?"
2. We do so when we refuse to let the Law reveal our failure in keeping it. When we look at the law as a mirror what does it show us? It shows us our sin.
3. We do so when we do not see ourselves as sinners who fall short of the holiness God requires. (vs. 23) simply reminds us that 'all have sinned" We can't gain access to God because all have sinned.
B. What God did through Jesus makes using the Law as our justifier totally unnecessary.
1. God sent Jesus to atone for our sins. (v.25a) Again, Paul reminds us that Jesus was sent into this world to be the atoning sacrifice for our sin. He is the one time sacrifice for our sins. He no longer has to die because He has paid for all sins once and for all at the cross.
2. God has declared us forgiven, freely, despite our sinand without preliminary improvement of our behavior. And it's all based on the redemption secured for us by Christ.
C. It is good that the Law is NOT our justifier.
1. We have no need to worry about whether we have done enough to please God. Because Jesus has done it all.
2. We have no need to justify ourselves before God or before people by comparing our keeping of God's law to other's keeping of it. None of us could keep the Law perfectly so Christ has fulfilled the law perfectly for us.
3. Of course, we try to keep God's Law, but not for our justification; God is the one who redeeds! He justifies. "apart from works of the Law" (v.28)
Transition: Paul says in our text "we are "justified by faith" Some have interpreted "by faith" to mean faith in our justifier. But our justification by God also frees us...
[2] Our justification by God frees us from making faith our justifier.
A. If faith is our justifier, faith becomes a work of the Law.
1. Faith would then becomes something we contribute to our justification and faith would cease to be a gift.
2. We could never be sure whether we had enough faith.
B. Faith is God's gift, not our achievement that caused us to be justified.
1. We can not boast even of our faith (v.27) We boast rather in Christ who has given us this faith.
2. Faith is the very opposite of works (v.28) "We are justified by faith apart from works of the Law" Paul reminds us. Faith is instrumental it is the hand by which we receive God's forgiveness.
C. It is good that faith is not our justifier.
1. The strength or weakness of our faith need not determine our justification. Our faith is never as strong as it should be. That's why we lean on Christ.
2. We need not have faith in our faith but only in the Lord Jesus Christ. What matters is this: I believe God when He says that He has freely, for Christ's sake, forgiven me of all of my sins.
What a freeing thing it is to be justified by God in the Lord Jesus Christ! By faith, through faith and only by faith do we stand justified before God. Thank Him for this gift which He has worked in us.

Time in the Word - Pentecost 14 - Proper 17

We Are Humbled and Exalted by the Cross of Christ

“Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled,” Jesus proclaims, but “he who humbles himself shall be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Your hope is in the name of the Lord, who humbled Himself unto death on the cross and was exalted in His resurrection. So are you humbled by His cross, and “at the resurrection of the righteous,” He will say to you, “Friend, move up higher” (Luke 14:10; 13–14). By His grace, the King will honor you “in the place of great men,” where your eyes will gaze upon the Prince, His dearly-beloved Son (Prov. 25:7). As He has dealt so graciously with you, “Do not neglect doing good and sharing” (Heb. 13:16), and “do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Heb. 13:2). Humble yourself and exalt your neighbor.

Collect for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: O Lord of grace and mercy, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to follow the example of Your Son in true humility, that we may withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds avoid ungodly pride; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect for the Feast of St Bartholomew (24 August): Almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, chose Bartholomew to be an apostle to preach the blessed Gospel. Grant that Your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect for the Martyrdom of St John the Baptist (29 August): Almighty God, You gave Your servant John the Baptist to be the forerunner of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in both his preaching of repentance and his innocent death. Grant that we, who have died and risen with Christ in Holy Baptism, may daily repent of our sins, patiently suffer for the sake of the truth, and fearlessly bear witness to His victory over death; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer for humilty: O God, You resist the proud and give grace to the humble. Grant us true humility after the likeness of Your only Son that we may never be arrogant and prideful and thus provoke Your wrath but in all lowliness be made partakers of the gifts of Your grace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer in times of unemployment: O God, You have always been the help and comfort of Your people. Support the unemployed in the day of their trouble and need. Give them faith to cast their cares on You, and preserve them from all bitterness and resentment. According to Your goodness increase the opportunity for their employment that with thankful hearts they may earn a just wage. Give to Your people everywhere a ready willingness to share their blessings with those in need. Make us merciful, even as You are merciful, O Father, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Monday, 23 August 2010—Psalm 75:1–2, 6, 9; antiphon, Psalm 75:7—The readings for Sunday speak of being humble, and the Introit sets the tone by reminding us that we are not to judge people according to worldly standards; rather, It is God who executes judgement, putting down one and lifting up another.

Tuesday, 24 August 2010—Psalm 131—This psalm of David is the psalm of a humble man, one whose heart is not lifted up by himself and one whose eyes are not raised too high. Instead of relying on himself, David has calmed and quieted his soul with the knowledge of the LORD and that all our hope is in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore.

Wednesday, 25 August 2010—Proverbs 25:2–10—About 250 years after the death of Solomon, blessed by God as the wisest man ever to have lived, King Hezekiah’s men collected some of Solomon’s wise sayings from a larger collection. The first section used for Sunday’s Old Testament reading (vv. 2–7) relate to earthly kings. Whereas part of God’s glory is due to the fact that He is beyond our understanding, it is the glory of earthly kings to search out and discover. When he became king, Solomon humbly asked God for “an understanding mind to govern Your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9). To search out justice and enlightenment is to a ruler’s glory.

The second portion of the reading (vv. 8–10) teaches us humility in relations with our neighbor. We are not to be hasty in pursuing litigation to elevate ourselves over our neighbor; he may thereby put us to shame. Neither should we engage in gossip, warns v. 9. Similar warnings are also given in Proverbs 11:13, 20:19, and, of course, the Eighth Commandment.

Thursday, 26 August 2010—Hebrews 13:1–17—How does a person’s humility manifest itself with regard to those around us? The writer to the Hebrews exhorts us to care for the needy: Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers . . . remember those who are in prison . . . and those who are mistreated. We ought always to bring to mind Christ’s example, who suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Furthermore, we ought to recall those heroes of the faith whom we heard about in the epistle readings a few weeks ago and imitate their faith. In the Church, we are to humble ourselves and obey our leaders and submit to them, for God has appointed them to keep watch over your souls.

Friday, 27 August 2010—Luke 14:1–14—Sunday’s Gospel speaks of Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath, but first challenging the puffed-up Pharisees to show Him why this would be wrong. They could give no answer. Jesus then tells a parable which exhorts those puffed-up Pharisees—and us!-–to humble ourselves. One who has the mind of Christ will not seek to exalt himself over others, but will put himself in their service, as Christ did for us when he bore our sins to Calvary. When we bow in humble submission to the Lord, He shall exalt us. Indeed, He has already, by making us His children through the washing of Holy Baptism and giving us a seat at His heavenly banquet.

Saturday, 28 August 2010—The first stanza of the Sunday’s Hymn of the Day, Son of God, Eternal Savior (LSB #842), proclaims the salvation that Christ has won for us. It then beseeches the Lord to reign among us that here on earth, His will be done. Our example is Christ, who lived for others, our plea, then, is So may we for others live. The hymn beautifully proclaims in song the theme for the day: that we are humbled and exalted by the cross of Christ, and our lives reflect His humility.

Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House
Face of Christ http://spiritlessons.com/Documents/Jesus_Pictures/Jesus_Christ_Pictures.htm

This week's Time in the Word was written by Pr. Jeffrey Keuning who serves Zion, Dexter and St. John, Casey, IA of the Iowa West District, LCMS

IN MEMORIUM

IN MEMORIUM
Rozelyn Sue Schamerloh
Born: October 23, 1956
Baptized into Christ: December 2, 1956
Confirmed in the Faith: May 15, 1977
With Christ in Peace: August 22, 2010

The Lord is my shephered I shall not want - Psalm 23:1

Pentecost 13 - Proper 16

Almighty God, You gave Your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon Himself. Grant that we, Your adopted children by grace, may be renewed by Your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

People from every nation enter through the narrow door of righteousness. Every person would like to know if he is going to make it to heaven. “Heaven” is the same as being “saved”, being in a right relationship with God. Jesus makes it clear that not all who think they are going will get there. We need to know where we stand and know of the necessity of being in a right relationship with Jesus Christ. On this subject we must be clear.

Who then shall be saved?

1. Not necessarily one nation or race – v. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.

A. God is no respecter of persons. Scripture is so clear on this matter. Whoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved”. {Acts 2:21} For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. {Romans 10:13}

B It’s a matter of faith. . He who believes and is baptized shall be saved. {Mark 16: 16} He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. {John 3:18} He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." {John 3:36} They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household {Acts 16:31}

Transition: Who then shall be saved? Not necessarily one particular nation or race nor those who claim church membership.

2. Not necessarily church people – Vv.26-27 Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' "But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!'


A. Your pious deeds as good as they appear before your neighbor can’t cut it. The Lord is seeking a people with contrite hearts living in repentance. "Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham {Luke 3:8} The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" {Luke 5:21}
B. But to those who seek Him He is more then able to absolve and heal. The prayer of confession needs to be ours prayer daily. Almighty God, our maker and redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You by thought, word and deed. We flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Transition: Who then shall be saved? Not necessarily one particular nation or race nor those who claim church membership. It belongs to those who walk by faith.

3. But they who walk through the narrow door of obedience – Vv. 24-25 Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'

A. The word strive in the Greek is “agonizomai”, from whence our word agonize comes. Think how many who were very confident that they should be saved will be rejected in the day of trial, and their confidences will deceive them, and you will say that there are few that shall be saved and that we are all concerned to strive. Do you agonize over your salvation or your neighbor’s? Do you agonize over the prevailing attitude of this world which responds with a shrug and says, “whatever”?

B. Our Savior came to guide men's consciences, not to gratify their curiosity. Ask not, how many shall be saved? But, Shall I be one of them? Ask not, what shall become of such and such? But rather, what shall I do, and what will become of me? Strive to enter in at the strait gate. This is directed to each of us; it is, Strive ye. All that will be saved, must enter in at the strait gate, must undergo a change of the whole man. Those that would enter in must strive to enter. Here are awakening considerations, to enforce this exhortation. Oh that we may be all awakened by them! They answer the question, Are there only a few that shall be saved? But let none respond either as to themselves or others, for there are the last who shall be first, and the first who shall be last. If we reach heaven, we shall meet many there whom we little thought to meet, and miss many whom we expected to find.

We are saved by grace through faith and not by good deeds. The test of true faith is obedience to God’s will. First we are saved by faith in Christ’s atoning work on the cross and the confirmation of that condition is manifested in our obedience.

Face of Christ
http://spiritlessons.com/Documnets/Jesus_Pictures/Jesus_Christ_Pictures.htm