Prayers

A Prayer Based on the Petitions of the Lord's Prayer

“but deliver us from evil.”

In the Name of the Father and of (make the sign of the cross) the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Lord, even when our last hour comes, You are still the only true God and the deliverer of Your people. To that end, lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:

· For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, You alone can deliver us from the Evil One. Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, especially Dorothy Bratton, Florence Mitchell, Lou Ellen Hansen, Don Jensen,· Kris Dalessandro, and Mike G from OMRON; protect them in the one true Faith, and reassure Dorothy, Florence, Lou Ellen, Don, Kris, and Mike that You will deliver them from their physical affliction, either through renewed health or through entrance into eternal rest.
*  For the anxious, lonely: O God, even when trials and tribulations await us, You promise to deliver us. Hear my prayer on behalf of Joe Hibbs, Roxanne Hall; my neighbor Dale, and Gary Eiklor bring to them remembrance of Your Word: “In this world, you will have tribulation; but – be of good cheer! – I have overcome the world.”
* For the mourning: O Lord, when it appears that the Evil One has defeated us, Your promise to deliver us remains. Hear my prayer on behalf of those who mourn the death of loved ones. Keep them mindful of the redeeming work of Christ Crucified, that – because of Him – all who die in the faith are guaranteed a blessed end and will live with You forever.
* For the rejoicing: O Lord, as You have delivered us from the snares of the devil, You give us reasons –even in this life – to rejoice. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of those who rejoice at various occasions. Grant them a grateful heart that thanks you for such temporal blessings and confidently looks forward to the blessed end You have prepared for us all.

Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, who -through His death- has eternally delivered us from every evil and has given us every certainty to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Prayers

A Prayer based on the petitions of the Lord's Prayer ... “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Lord, “If you would mark iniquities, O Lord, who would stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.” As a Father who deeply loves His children, You promise to freely forgive us as we repent of our sins. To that end, lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:

* For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, without You, man has no hope for the sick to be healed or the sinner to be forgiven; yet You have shown Your power and will to do both. Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, especially Catherine Stange, Norma Butchart's son Will, and baby Addie Stone; comfort them with the certainty that – because their sins have been forgiven on account of Christ Crucified – they may be certain that you will provide for their temporal health and their eternal well-being, in accord with Your will. 
* For the anxious, lonely: O God, You promise to answer those who call upon You in their day of trouble. Hear my prayer on behalf of my niece Roxanna, my nephew, Joe, and my neighbor, Dale; forgive them where – in trial and tribulation – they grow weary and doubt your Word. Strengthen them through Your Word of Truth and its promises, reminding them that – because they are forgiven in Christ – nothing can separate them from Your love.
* For the mourning: O Lord, You take no delight in the death of even the wicked, but desire all men to be saved, and have given Your only-begotten Son to bear the sins of all the world. Hear my prayer on behalf of Jim Hill and Paul Kloster and their families, as they mourn the death of a loved ones. Comfort them with the promise that we have been forgiven in Christ, so that all who die in Christ still live with Him in paradise. Comfort Jim and Paul and their families  in this time of sorrow, that they would not grieve as those who have no hope, but as those to whom belongs the certain hope of “the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”
* For the rejoicing: O Lord, because You have paid the redemption price in Christ, and have forgiven all our trespasses, You also delight in giving us every blessing under heaven. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of those who have occasion to rejoice. Grant them a thankful heart that rejoices in the many blessings that flow to them as those forgiven through the blood of the Lamb.


Please bless Gary Eichlor with suitable employment.

Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, in Whom we have the forgiveness of sins and, thus, the right to come to you as dear children who have been taught to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Checking in

I haven't posted anything in quite a while.  While I still read and listen to Sermon and Prayer text on my Dream app, I have neglected posting those texts here.  I see this site as kind of a private message-in-a-bottle site.  Most of the world tweets or posts on Facebook.  I'm kind of boring and private so this site seems better for me.

New Topic .... I finally finished reading The Fire and the Staff by Klemet Preus this morning.  He was big on resurrecting and preserving Confessional Lutheran doctrine and practice in the sea of American Evangelicalism - just like my pastor - Mark Bestul.

Time to get ready for church.

2015-06-29-A Sermon

Prayers for the week of June 28, 2015

 

O Holy and Most Merciful God, Who Alone has authority over life and death, through Your Holy Spirit grant us patience as we wait for Your help, knowing that You will have compassion on us according to Your steadfast love, and will sustain us in saving faith;  Lord, in Your mercy: Hear us as we pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. 

Great is Your faithfulness, O Lord, so into Your hands, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord,  Amen.

 

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;” Lamentations 3:22

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A Prayer based on the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer

 

“But, deliver us from evil.”

 

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

O Lord, even when our last hour comes, You are still the only true God and the deliverer of Your people. To that end, lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:

 

* For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, You alone can deliver us from the Evil One. Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, especially Susan Ail; protect her in the one true Faith, and reassure Susan that You will deliver her from her physical affliction, either through renewed health or through entrance into eternal rest.  Also bless Helen Serpico as she prepares for, undergoes, and recovers from surgery this week.

* For the anxious, lonely: O God, even when trials and tribulations await us, You promise to deliver us. Hear my prayer on behalf of Fern Weddle, LaVerne Andersen, Alice Breneman, Margaret Joseph, and Bruce Morecraft and the Widows and Widowers of Calvary; bring to them remembrance of Your Word: “In this world, you will see tribulation; but – be of good cheer! – I have overcome the world.”

·         For the mourning: O Lord, when it appears that the Evil One has defeated us, Your promise to deliver us remains. Hear my prayer on behalf of (NAME), who mourn(s) the death of a loved one. Keep (him/her/them) mindful of the redeeming work of Christ Crucified, that – because of Him – all who die in the faith are guaranteed a blessed end and will live with You forever.

·         For the rejoicing: O Lord, as You have delivered us from the snares of the devil, You give us reasons –even in this life – to rejoice. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of welcome of Neal and Michelle Trenery and baptized children Kayla, Aaron, and James as they become members of Calvary.  Grant us a grateful heart  that thanks you for such temporal blessings and confidently looks forward to the blessed end You have prepared for us all.

* Please watch over our nation, in the wake of lat week's Supreme Court decision that further indoctrinates in false teaching our society in a fundamental attack upon God’s will for marriage and family.

Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, who -through His death- has eternally delivered us from every evil and has given us every certainty to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

 

2015-06-28-A Sermon

Lord Over Affliction and Death

Mark 5:21-43

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

June 28, 2015

 

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Our text, And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” [And a little while later], “Taking (the girl) by the hand he said, ‘Talitha cumi,’ – ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’”

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

 

There is a subtle, but extremely important difference between the two basic ways of preaching on this text. Sometimes, it can (wrongly) be preached to make this about the hearer. We try so hard to make it ‘apply to your life’ that the preaching asks you to put yourself in the woman’s or girl’s place. And so, hearers understandably reason, “Well, if Jesus healed them, doesn’t he owe it to me to heal me as well?” And so, we begin to hope that the stories of faith healings are true, or perhaps the trips to heaven and back are real!... all because we have misinterpreted the text. And soon, we become discouraged and despondent… because a loved one falls gravely ill – we call upon Jesus just as the woman and the girl’s father did – yet, death comes and it appears our Lord has not heard our prayers or has been incapable to answer them.

To rightly understand this text, we must keep focused on Jesus, not by asking, “What will this Jesus give me?”, but rather by asking, “Who is this Jesus who has power over even sickness and death, that I too may trust in His will and ways, no matter what befalls me?”

Think of the progression in thought of the past three Sundays. First, we heard that Jesus is the one stronger than the strong man, to plunder the devil’s domain and give life to the Church. Then Jesus spoke parables that gave a classroom teaching of this truth, then put that teaching to practice as he showed his strength over creation and all its forces (namely, wind and waves). Then in Mark’s gospel, an account we skipped over, Jesus shows his strength over the demons and casts them out. And today, he shows his strength over consequences of sin – over illness and physical death itself.

That Jesus is the only one stronger than the strong man is again made clear by the fact that the man who comes to him at the beginning of our text is a ruler of the synagogue. This Jairus ought be depending upon all the things the Jews put their hopes in. Remember they put their hope in YHWH, but only YHWH apart from Jesus. Where is this YHWH to answer Jairus? Jews also put their hopes in the keeping of the Law, but no Law-keeping gave Jairus any hope that his daughter would live. Instead, in a scene that would offend the Pharisees and Sadducees and all the devout Jewish leaders of the day, this ruler of the synagogue comes to the One who claims to be the Messiah. The one the Pharisees want snuffed out, this devout Jew comes to and falls at Jesus’ feet (the Jewish sign of worship!) and implores him to help.

Notice that Jesus goes with him immediately. Jesus hears your prayer immediately, just as he heard Jairus’. We will learn in a minute that Jesus seems to get side-tracked, to be slowed down and interrupted… but such is only our timing, not his. He hears your prayers immediately, even if his immediate response sometimes takes longer to play out than what you would like.

As Jesus goes with him, we think we are going to see Jesus’ power over illness in the healing of the little girl. Instead, a woman interrupts the procession to the girl’s side. A long run-on sentence (more clearly seen in the Greek) makes plain that this woman is in dire straits and has been a long time: (it says) “A woman

who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years,

who had suffered much,

who had spent all she had,

who was no better but only grew worse,

who had heard the reports of Jesus.”

 

Like Jairus, this woman had tried everything she had known… in her case, not other religions and the supposed keeping of the Law of God, but medicine and money. But none of it was stronger than the strong man. Death still loomed.

Thus, in desperation, she touched Jesus’ garments… and was healed.

Because of the ensuing delay she causes, we easily hold a grudge against the woman. Jesus was on his way to save a little child; how could she possibly interrupt that mission?!

But, ought we be offended by, impatient with, fellow sinners broken by the Law, now grasping for the gospel? That’s really what has happened in her case, isn’t it? God’s Law had done its work and had proven to her that money, medicine, physicians, society… all of it may help for a time (those are God’s gifts for daily life!), but none of it makes our human condition any better in the long run. That’s the Law’s terminal diagnosis upon us sinners… so that it drives us in desperation to lay hold of Christ.

Many of you know that application of the Law, as you daily deal with consequences of sin, including cancers and afflictions that daily remind you of your mortality and your need for someone far greater… so that you lay hold of Christ. And, for you who are younger, who have not yet recognized your mortality and think you can put off your need for Christ, … if you think yourself invincible and not in need of a savior (that all this church stuff isn’t needed until you get older) keep in mind that you can’t even prevent cavities or allergies or the need for braces or corrective lenses, let alone terminal illness and death. And so, it all reminds us of our mortality and drives us to lay hold of God’s mercy in Christ.

Divine gift that God’s mercy is, it’s also very humbling, isn’t it? The woman in our text fears because she knows that Jesus is aware of her – what embarrassment!, and she tells him the whole truth. He responds not with anger, but mercifully declares her to be healed (in fact, the phrase he uses is perhaps more specifically, “be whole from your disease”). And if you dwell on this a minute, it becomes clear that this is not unlike the miracle of Absolution: We are embarrassed by our sins and want them to remain secret. But, knowing that Jesus is clearly aware of those things we try to hide, we come forward and confess them and make them plain – not because he doesn’t know them, but specifically because He does and there’s no use pretending we can hide them. And so, like the woman before us, we fall down before him and tell him the whole truth. And, in divine mercy, He replies with words of absolution: “Your faith has made you well” – certainly not the quality or measure of your faith, but the fact that you have come to Him, come to lay hold of Him, for there is salvation in no one else; but in coming to Him, such faith in Him has made you well. And so, He concludes: “Go in peace; be whole from your disease.”

That last phrase deserves attention because Jesus implies to the woman that not only was she healed of that affliction for a time, but it would never afflict her again. So it is with the particular sins you confess. Those particular sins and the weight of their guilt will never afflict you again, even if you are tempted to remain (embarrassed) ashamed. They cannot harm you; they have been removed from you and Christ declares you whole; therefore (Jesus says), go in peace.

Now, as in our text, so also in our meditation; it seems all attention has been taken from the little girl. And, we only remember her again when the news comes that she has died. And immediately we feel regret for having forgotten about her. If only we had remembered her. If only this woman hadn’t distracted us. If only Jesus hadn’t been delayed. As Martha said at Lazarus’ tomb, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

But now the question comes, “Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

But, this begs a bigger question:  Is Jesus only strong to save the afflicted, but no longer worth appealing to in death?”

Consider the use of some of the other Scriptural references in our service this morning. The beginning of the Old Testament reading is one of the common readings used in hospitals and nursing homes to comfort the afflicted, but over the bodies of the dead (at the funeral, for the comfort of the mourners!) is read the psalm we sung in our Introit. Over the dead, we read,

 

“I lift up my eyes to the hills,

from where does my help come?

My help comes from the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

The LORD is your keeper,

the LORD is your shade on your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all evil,

he will keep your life.

The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.”

 

Over the bodies of the dead are those words read… just as the final phrase of that passage (“The LORD keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore”) … just as that phrase is read over the child at the baptismal font. From the font to the grave and beyond, our LORD is strong to save and care for His baptized children. Therefore, though Jairus’ daughter has died, though she lay in death’s grip, though it appears there is nothing or no one strong enough to rescue her from the strong man, there is every reason to call upon the Teacher further.

And, what need to elaborate is there other than consider the crowd’s disbelief of Jesus’ power? The Scriptures sometimes highlight remarkable scenes by very brief sentences. When Jesus went to Lazarus’ tomb, the gospel simply records the remarkable: “Jesus wept.” God wept! And here, when the same God declares that the child would be awakened, the text simply says, “They laughed at him.” Remarkable!

But, with his healing touch and his powerful word, the One strong to save speaks to the dead and the little girl arises. And, because His mission is not one of glory, but of the cross, he charges them to say nothing and focuses their attention on his ongoing mindfulness toward even her simple ‘daily bread’ needs: “give her something to eat.”

Now, back at the beginning of the sermon, I mentioned that there is a very subtle but important difference between reading this correctly and incorrectly. If we judge our Lord by saying, “He did this for the woman; he did this for the little girl. He better do it for me!”… if we judge him in such ways, we have made ourselves Lord over our Lord, as if His will and ways must match our expectations. If we judge him such ways, we doubt and despair when our affliction goes on for a thirteenth year, or when our child dies and is not restored to life before we lay her in the grave. And when we doubt and despair, we grow bitter toward the only One who is stronger than the strong man… and the devil has achieved exactly what he wanted by aiming to twist our interpretation of the text.

​Therefore, let us interpret this text carefully and correctly. Jesus again shows that he is the one stronger than sin’s consequences – even affliction and death – just as upon the cross this One strong to save did just that, not only for an earthly lifetime, but for an eternity. It is not through his healing miracles that we should view his love for sinners (the healing miracles show his power!) but through his sacrificial death: “Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” And again, “This is love… that God first loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” And again, “God showed His love in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.”

And if we see his love for us sinners in his sacrificial death, and if the one who saved us has also proven himself Lord, powerful over sin’s consequences (namely, our earthly afflictions and even our temporal death) then we can call upon him in every affliction, we can cry to him at the death of our loved ones, and in humility we can appeal to His good and gracious will even when we must long for healing or even await the resurrection.

​In the funeral rite, the Prayers of the Church include a petition that says, “In the midst of things we cannot understand, help us to believe and find comfort in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

We cannot understand why Jesus sometimes heals us and sometimes does not. We sometimes cannot understand why Jesus allows physical death to have the seeming victory over us, even assigning temporal death to us! – “Dust you are and unto dust you shall return.” We sometimes cannot understand why he has waited nearly two thousand years again to return and raise the dead, especially as we pray, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus;” and He responds, “I am coming soon.” And yet we wait.

Nevertheless, He has proven Himself time and again to be the strong man over wind and wave, over demon and the demonic, over affliction, illness, and death itself. Therefore, we can trust in him. Our help is in the name of the LORD; and in Him we dwell securely, even in the hour of affliction and in the shadow of death.

 

 In the Name of the Father

And of the Son

And of the Holy Spirit.

+ AMEN +

 

 Rev. Mark C. Bestul

Calvary Lutheran Church

June 28, 2015

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Devotions

Parables of the Powerful Word

Mark 4:26-34

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

June 14, 2015

 

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Our text, our gospel reading concludes (in part): “With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.”

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

 

Why does Jesus speak in parables? Often the use of story-telling in sermons is justified by Jesus’ use of parables, as the reasoning goes, “Well, Jesus used stories to help the people understand and, therefore, stories should be used in our sermons as well.”

It’s not wrong to use illustrations in a sermon, but to justify it by Jesus’ use of parables misses the point that Jesus did not use the parables to explain the meaning, but (if you will) to hide the meaning! I don’t mean to suggest that Jesus didn’t want all people to believe, but we must acknowledge that Jesus understood that the plain teaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God would be misheard/abused by the impenitent (peoplewithout faith) and only rightly heard by those whose faith gave them “ears to hear.” As he says elsewhere, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” That expression doesn’t mean that if you’re deaf, you’re out of! Rather, this God-man who said “Ephphatha!” to open the ears of the deaf and even spoke to the dead – “Lazarus, come forth!”, “Little girl, get up!” – this Jesus nevertheless spoke in parables to safeguard the gospel from being misused by those who had no faith in Him as Messiah. In fact, early in the chapter of our text, Jesus explain to his disciples,

“To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand.’”

 

Notice, only to the disciples – only to those who already believe on his name – doesJesus explains the parables. In our text, he pulls them aside and in private explains the parables, so that they may benefit, whereas others wouldabuse the clear meaning.

How might the message be abused? Well, consider our first parable today, in which Jesus basically says, “The kingdom of God grows of itself; the Holy Spirit gives life to the Churchof himself, the earth (or, in other parables, the soil – the Christian heart) automaticallyproduces fruit… as John the Baptist calls it, “fruit keeping with repentance.”

Now, you know how that could be misused, because we sinfully misuse such promises all the time. The Old Adam in us says, “Well, if Jesus is going to do this all by himself, then I can be lazy. I need not confess the faith. I need not struggle against sin. I need not beware of the evil one. I will indulge in all things sinful and tempting and need not bother to confess the faith, because Jesus will grow his church without me.” Such is how the Old Adam within responds.

But, by God’s grace, He has given you ears to hear, ears of faith able to hear, and so He explains to you (to the shame and killing of the Old Adam and the raising up and strengthening of the New)… He explains to you the parables. So, let’s consider them, beginning with context; if we do not consider the context we often will lose the meaning of the text. Last week, we began what will be a season-long consideration of the Gospelaccording to Mark by considering Jesus say, “One cannot plunder a strong man’s house unless he first binds the strong man.” In other words, if Jesus is going to plunder and ransom us from bondage to sin, death, and the devil, he must first bind the devil, he must be stronger than the strong man.

That theme – the might and strength of Jesus and His kingdom – somewhat flowsthrough the gospel of Mark. This brief gospel is characterized well by the word “immediately” – used repeatedly (more than 40 times) – “immediately” Jesus did this or that in his urgent mission to rescue his church. Perhaps it’s not coincidental that the name “Mark” means “war-hammer,” “battering ram” or more loosely “warrior”… because this is how Mark paints the mission of the Lamb of God.

And so, as we began our consideration of Jesus’ mission last Sunday, we heard that he would be stronger than the strong man. Between that text and ours this morning, the beginning of a series of parables about the sowing of seed. And, today’s first parable:what happens once that seed is sown? – it grows in ways you and I cannot understand. The kingdom of God – the reign of God among the faithful – happens in this way… beyond our comprehension. Consider what Jesus tells Nicodemus: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sounds, but you do not know whence it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Notice that, friends? Not just “so it is withthe Spirit,” but “so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” You do not know how the seed grows in them… but because Christ is stronger than the strong man and has plundered us poor miserable sinners from the devil’s domain, the seed does grow… even though we do not see how, and we often become forlorn that we just don’t see the growth. Nevertheless,planted in Baptism, watered by Word and Sacrament, it grows and produces fruit “by itself,” (automatically, the Greek says), for a good tree will automatically bear fruit. Now, you can see how the unfaithful will misuse such words and why Christ must speak it in parable… where the faithless hear that good works come automatically, they find excuse to be lazy. They say, “Well, if it will come, then I’ll go on sinning or put blinders on to any sort of Christian love and the Lord will produce fruit anyway.” Where the faithful hear of automatic good fruit, they rejoice that they need not be accused by the law that would condemn their inadequacies, but may pursuebearing such fruit apart from the accusation of the law and in the joy of the Gospel.

So, the faithful rejoice in bearing fruit as long as the Lord allows… and only the Lord knows when it is time for the harvest, and he does not come prematurely so as to preclude the rescue of would-be believers, nor does he wait too long as if to be at fault for those who were once healthy but now have grown wildfrom inattentiveness and neglect. Rather, he harvests the faithful at just the right time.

This is a very comforting and very instructive parable. To be sure, were it heard by those who have no ears of faith, it would be horribly misused. But, what comfort to those who hear it with faith in Christ – that His Word is efficacious to do what He promises in our lives. We need not know how it works, just that it does work. We need not worry that He will cut us off before we reach our ‘full growth’ in this life, for he knows our days better than we. We need not worry that He will neglect us so that – though once being in faith – we will be neglected by him, deserted, left to fend for ourselves and will be utterly devoured by the devil.

Christ’s Word will work for us, grant us faith that is strengthened and sustained, and He will harvest us and gather us in at the proper time.

Now, if this is comforting to us for the care of our own souls, it is also comforting and instructive to us for the care of those around us. To be sure, the man of the parable is Christ, who not only sows the seed, but harvests. However, when you speak the faith to others, is it not the Word of Christ that you speak? Therefore, how instructive and how comforting when we consider what this parable says about our confession of the faith.

We can confess the faith boldly… not knowing how the Word will work, but knowing that – where and when the Holy Spirit pleases – it will work. This helps us see that where we despair because our friends seem deaf to our confession, nevertheless the Holy Spirit will work as He pleases. Where we worry that we have not confessed clearly enough and that, “Had I only said this or that, then they would believe,” the Word will work regardless of our inadequate confession. Where we are impatientwith fellow Christians, wondering why they fall into the same sin, frustrated that they don’t seem to get it, don’t seem to have appreciation for the Word of God, where we start to wonder whether they are truly Christians, remember the promise of God – “the Word will work for the purposes for which I sent it.” Where we worry about ourselves and wonder if God’s Word can actually address my daily needs, can actually deliver on its promises, can actually save me from this wretched man that I am, Paul reminds us of this Word, “I am not ashamed of the gospel (of Jesus Christ) for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.”

Where we have encouragement in this, the Adam within also has instruction: Friends,why would we not confess, be shy of confessing, be reluctant to confess the Word of God? We need not be winsome or convincing with the Word of Truth, because it’s not we who are working in the Word, but the Holy Spirit who works to bring to pass the promise of God: “So shall it be for all that comes from My mouth; My word will not return void, but will accomplish that for which I send it.” We need simply speak/confess the Word, rightly dividing Law and Gospel.

This is the same Word that – against the wishes of the prophet who spoke it – brought an entire wicked Nineveh to repentance… the same Word that on the day of Pentecost converted 3000 hearts that had less than two months earlier wanted their Messiah dead… the same Word that brought faith to the most notorious persecutor of Christians in the early Church, that brought faith to the Roman centurion, the Ethiopian eunuch, Lydia and her entire household… the same Word that gave birth to congregation after congregation throughout the culturally diverse Roman empire.

Be bold in the face of the impenitent, of those who despise the gospel, for it just might convert them. Be steadfast with those who are weak-kneed, for it might strengthen them. Be longsuffering with those who seem to pay lip service to, don’t appreciate the Word of Truth, for God Himself is at work when the Word is spoken.

Now, that brings us to the secondparable…a parable that is very straightforward, but unable to be understood by those who have no ears to hear. Because Jesus elsewhere says, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” many misinterpret this parable to be about a measure of your individual faith; but in fact the parable is a word of comfort that the Word willdo its work. The humble seed that is sown with humble means will bring forth a mighty yield; otherwise said, the kingdom of God – the reign of Christ (the Church!) – will flourish, even though it at first looks insignificant.

How simply this can be understood when we look at the cross of Jesus – which at first even his most ardent faithful assumed was his demise. And yet, from that cross comes everything good… forgiveness, life, and salvation… even as the spear pierced Jesus’ side to show his defeat, it instead poured forth the water-and-blood fruits of his victory. So also, you must never doubt the fruits of His Word or the reign of His kingdom. The Word will accomplish that for which it is sent, and Christ’s kingdom will remain, prevail, and increase as He desires.

As the parable even says, it begins as a seed (the word there in the Greek is the same word that would be used to describe the seed of the woman against the seemingly insurmountable offspring of the devil… or the single seed of Abraham from which would come a lineage as numerous as the stars). It begins as a seed and grows to such a state that the birds of the air find shelter under its branches… in fact, the word describing the birds is that they tabernacle, dwell – same root word as the dwelling of the faithful with their God.

Indeed, this kingdom of God, this reign of God among His Church, began with the most humble of seeds… a child born of a humble mother, who grew up to stretch out his arms upon the cross, that all faithful might find shelter under His blood and merit. And God in the flesh continues to build and preserve andsustain and even grow His Church in ways we do not see and cannot understand, yet every day the one Stronger than the strong man beats him back so that the powers of hell do not prevail against Christ’s Church.

Friends, Jesus has given you ears of faith to listen to, rejoice in, and be comforted by His Word… the Word that promises that He is the Tree that has grown up larger than any other(the sprig of Ezekiel’s prophecy that has been planted in the holy mountain) and has provided shelter, safehaven, salvation – a veritable tree of life for all who call on his name. Therefore, he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

 

In the Name of the Father

And of the Son

And of the Holy Spirit.

+ AMEN +

 

 

Rev. Mark C. Bestul

Calvary Lutheran Church

June 14, 2015

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Prayers for the week of June 14, 2015

 

Lord God, our Heavenly Father, grant growth and life to the Church, and scatter lavishly the seed of Your Gospel, that Your promises bear the fruit of faith in us, and we pray that we walk not in the counsel of the wicked but delight in Your teaching.  Lord, in Your mercy; hear our prayer.

 

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs. 

Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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“So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.” 

2 Corinthians 5:9

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A Prayer based on the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer

 

“And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

 

In the Name of the Father and of (+) the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

O Lord, “If you would mark iniquities, O Lord, who would stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.” As a Father who deeply loves His children, You promise to freely forgive us as we repent of our sins. To that end, lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:

* For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, without You, man has no hope for the sick to be healed or the sinner to be forgiven;  yet You have shown Your power and will to do both. Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, especially Dorothy Otto*, Anna Lindemann, Edna Citizen*, Edith Ross, Jim and Pat Baker, and Susan Ail; comfort them with the certainty that – because their sins have been forgiven on account of Christ Crucified – they may be certain that you will provide for their temporal health and their eternal well-being, in accord with Your will.

* For the anxious, lonely: O God, You promise to answer those who call upon You in their day of trouble. Hear my prayer on behalf of all who are troubled; forgive them where – in trial and tribulation – they grow weary and doubt your Word. Strengthen them through Your Word of Truth and its promises, reminding them that – because they are forgiven in Christ – nothing can separate them from Your love.

* For the mourning: O Lord, You take no delight in the death of even the wicked, but desire all men to be saved, and have given Your only-begotten Son to bear the sins of all the world. Hear my prayer on behalf of any who mourn the death of a loved ones.  Comfort them with the promise that we have been forgiven in Christ, so that all who die in Christ still live with Him in paradise. Comfort them in this time of sorrow, that they would not grieve as those who have no hope, but as those to whom belongs the certain hope of “the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

·         For the rejoicing: O Lord, because You have paid the redemption price in Christ, and have forgiven all our trespasses, You also delight in giving us every blessing under heaven. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of  all who today rejoice.  Grant thema thankful heart that rejoices in the many blessings that flow to them as those forgiven through the blood of the Lamb.

Please bless our shut-ins including Geraldine Hagemann, Velma Maas, Irma Martin*, Margaret Joseph, Bruce Morecraft and also bless the Widows and Widowers of Calvary.

Please bless Jane Doe that her husband be delivered and restored from sexual addiction and find healing and restoration of relationships through getting help from a Christ-centered recovery center.

 

Please bless Jay Smith- to put an end to the constant spiritual warfare he battles, and for God to give him the ability to rest in His grace.

 

Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, in Whom we have the forgiveness of sins and, thus, the right to come to you as dear children who have been taught to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

 

 

 

Prayers

Prayers for the week of May 24, 2015

 

 O Lord, our God, You have raised us from the dry bones of our hopelessness through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. As You have given us Your Holy Spirit in baptism, continually grant Him to us as our lifelong gift, that we may be continually sustained and faithfully accomplish Your purpose and speak Your Gospel to all nations and all peoples.  Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer.

 

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.   Prayers have been requested for:

 

O Lord, our God, we pray not as we ought but as we are able, delivering to You the burdens of this mortal life and the care of our hearts with confidence and trust that Christ has done all things well and will give to us all things needful and beneficial; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord… Amen.

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“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go a den bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.  These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”  John 15:16-17

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A Prayer based on the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer

 

“Thy Kingdom Come”

 

In the Name of the Father and of (+) the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

O Lord, Whose Kingdom comes freely and abundantly, we sinners pray that Your Kingdom may come among us also, even today, as Your Holy Spirit works through Word and Sacrament to bring us Your Kingdom of grace and mercy, so that we would believe Your Word and lead a godly life according to it. To that end, lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:

 

* For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, as Your Son came preaching, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” so also as part of that message He came healing the sick and raising the dead. Bring comfort to those who contend with illness, to those who suffer, to the injured and the hurting, especially for those recovering from medical procedures (Anna Lindemann*) and those enduring life’s afflictions (Richard June*, Edna Citizen*, Geraldine and Richard, parents of Diane Mautone, and Susan Ail) that they may know that Your Kingdom of temporal care and eternal salvation is even now  among us through the work of your Holy Spirit and your blessed Word and Sacrament.

* For the anxious, lonely: O God, through the work of Your Holy Spirit, who brings to our remembrance all the promises of Christ, we know that the blessings of Your Kingdom – given freely in Your Divine Service to us – is a present comfort, a daily calm in the face of all our cares.  Hear my prayer for our Calvary shut-ins Margaret Joseph, Florence Mitchell*, Myrtle Stade*, and Bruce Morecraft and also our Widows and Widowers that all may be granted Your peace, which needs not worry about tomorrow, for Thy Kingdom of grace and mercy is among us this day. Grant us all peace for today and tomorrow’s certain hope that Your Holy Spirit will continue to work among us and strengthen and sustain us through Your Word and Sacrament.

* For the mourning: O Lord, Thy Kingdom comes among us each and every day; especially at life’s end, are we thankful  that You have sustained Your saints through Your Spirit’s working in Word and Sacraments, that the faithful might know a blessed end. Hear my prayer on behalf of (NAME), who mourns the death of a loved one. Comfort (him/her/them) with Your mercy; point (him/her/them) to the future glory that knows in full the joys of the Kingdom that has no end. Grant (NAME) the courage to know that – as (he/she/they) continue(s) on here below, here too Your Holy Spirit will continue to sustain (him/her/them) in Word and Sacrament.

* For the rejoicing: O Lord, with what rejoicing do we welcome and celebrate the coming gifts of Your Kingdom, Your grace and mercy therein, and the many temporal blessings that flow to us because – even today – Your Kingdom comes among us. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of (Kyle and Rachel Knoepfel*, as they celebrate their 10th anniversary and also all students and teachers at the end of the school year.  Grant all a thankful heart that confesses Your goodness and desires to continually receive the means by which Your grace and Spirit come – pouring out  the benefits of the cross upon us… those benefits won and purchased for us by the blood and death of Christ, our Lord.

* We offer thanksgiving in memory of those who gave their lives for this country’s safety and freedoms

 * I pray for your Holy Spirit to stir up repentance and Faith in all members of my family.

Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, who has promised your kingdom to come and, thus, taught us to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Devotions

“Abide in Me”

John 15:1-8

Fifth Sunday of Easter

(Rite of Confirmation)

May 3, 2015

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Our text, Jesus says, “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

 

​Our text teaches us the relationship between two important Biblical concepts – justification and sanctification. Every year, ourconfirmands study these concepts because, if we are to be Christian, we must understand these terms aright, for the Biblical teaching of salvation – and the understanding of how daily life has to do with that salvation – depends on properly distinguishing justification and sanctification!

​How many teachings that claim the name Christian (as John forewarns in his epistle)conflate these terms and – because they do – lead people into despair about their ability to ‘live the Christian life well enough’ and ultimately lead souls into danger or uncertainty about their salvation.

​The term justification most narrowly refers to that Christ-accomplished act by which you are declared ‘just’ in the sight of God.Notice, justification does not “make you” just, holy, righteous (as if you are no longer a sinner); rather, justification declares you not guilty, atoned for, ransomed, redeemed,justified. It’s an official declaration God makes over you… it’s not a declaration about the character/make-up of your soul as much as a declaration about Christ’s merit and God’s view of you because of Christ. Most specifically, justification happened at the cross, when Christ declared of his atoning work for all men, “It is finished.” With that Word spoken, with his final breath taken, your atonement was complete. That samejustification was individually granted you in your baptism, that you might individually be gifted the redemptive, justifying, declaration of the cross.

​The term sanctification sounds a lot likejustification… sanctification refers to the process by which you are made/kept holy.  Whereas justification is a one-time declaration, sanctification is a lifetime reality(we might call it “the baptismal life lived in justification”). But we must understand the relationship between these terms properly. Some teach that sanctification (“being madeholy”) leads to justification (“being declaredholy”)… as if God is constantly grading you and won’t make the final declaration of ‘forgiven’ until you reach a certain holiness. What a horrible understanding! – andultimately a view of salvation by works and not by the merit and blood of Jesus.

​Sanctification flows from justification. As God has already declared you ‘just’ because of Christ, He then in Christ works to rid you of the Old Adam that still plagues you. That ridding of the Old Adam is a lifelong process and it won’t be complete until you draw your last breath, the Old Adam dies and the New Adam is with Christ in paradise. And, if sanctification is a lifelong process, thenlifelong you depend upon Christ, His merit, and His gifts.

​If this language of justification and sanctification sounds too ‘book-ish’, too ‘irrelevant’ for daily life, consider how Jesusties the same doctrinal truths to daily life in our Gospel reading:

“Every branch [in Me] that does bear fruit [the Father] prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches.”

 

Now, on the one hand, we certainly understand the image of the vine (the main trunk) and the branches that grow from that vine. When a branch is cut from the vine/tree/source of life, it’s not the vine that is harmed, but the branch. So also when one cuts himself off from Christ: Christ is not harmed – He will bring life to new branches… but the one who cut himself offfrom Christ is harmed eternally.

We understand that image. And that image helps us understand the commentary around it, in which Jesus teaches us aboutsanctification: sanctification is not about us making ourselves justified (as if sanctification leads to justification); neither is sanctification about us keeping ourselves justified (as if justification is Christ’s work, but sanctification is our work). Rather, as Jesus speaks of it, he teaches us that – just as He justified us, so also does He and His Holy Spirit sanctify us, that we might remain in him.

Jesus says it this way in verse 3:“Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.” The moment you are going to talk about sanctification (daily baptismal life), you enter into a context in which the sinner has already been justified – “Already you are clean.” But, what does being clean have anything to do with the rest of Jesus’ words about branches and pruning? Well, the Greek word for “clean”() is the same word Jesus used the verse before when Jesus says, “everybranch bearing fruit, the Father (prunes / cleanses).” In the Greek, there’s a direct relationship betweenbeing ‘already cleansed’ and the ‘ongoing pruning/cleansing.’ In other words, Jesus refers to your justification – ‘you are cleansed by the Word I have spoken to you’; but then (He says)‘this vine/branches imagery reminds you thatthe baptismal life is about your need to be continually cleansed/pruned … which is why Jesus goes on by saying, “Abide in me.” Remain there, he says, for unless you arecontinually kept by Jesus’ ongoing cleansing/pruning of you, you will separate yourself from justification.

We sinners easily convince ourselves that

“because I am justified / ‘already cleansed’, I don’t need to be cleansed/pruned anymore.” (We see God’s pruning as an unpleasant experience that prevents us from worldly fun, rather than a cutting back that prevents us from growing wild!) So then,(we think) I can go on living a life outside ofbaptism, and – in the end – I’ll still beattached to the vine (justified). All other forgiveness is ‘superfluous.’ ”

 

Against such reasoning, Christ says, “Remain in me, and the Father will continually prune/cleanse you.” Similarly, the apostle writes of an ongoing pruning when he says, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses (present tense) us from all unrighteousness” (and that ongoing cleansing implies ongoing confession of sins, absolution, resulting forgiveness of others, faith in God, love of neighbor).

But we like to see it differently – that somehow Jesus cleansed once, then it is up to us to cleanse ourselves over and over again. And so, separating ourselves from the sanctification Christ promises, we think we canre-graft ourselves to the vine by our own deeds(as if a branch – having fallen to the ground – can climb back up the tree itself!). And so, people reason, “I need not Christ to sanctify me. I will keep myself holy (sanctify) by my good works. If only I do good to others, if only I love others, if only I forgive others, then I will keep myself justified.”

But, what does Christ say to all of this? “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” If you think you can keep yourself justified without depending completely on Christ’s grace, Christ says, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” – not even keep yourself in Him! If you say toyourself, “if only I love others, then I will make certain that I am justified,” Christ answers by saying, “Apart from me, you can’t love others.” If you think that your forgiveness of others is what keeps you justified, Christ says, “Apart from me, you cannot forgive.” Friends, your bearing of good fruit does not keep you in Christ; rather, because you are Christ’s, you bear good fruit. The one who wants to appeal to his own efforts to either justify himself or keep himself justified is living by the Law and cuts himself off from the very life-giving gospel of the vine.

It is Christ, the Vine alone, that enables you to do good works, love others, forgive others, stand in your justification. How many souls think they are doing good works apart from Christ?… but those works are not good, but futile, for their good intentions still end in death and eternal damnation. How many the world over think that those outside of Christ can remain faithful to a spouse, when their faithfulness and their understanding of a good marriage is only according to a legal contract or human emotions and not according to marriage which is defined by Christ’s love for His Church (“Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. Wives submit to your husbands as the Church rejoices in submitting to her trustworthy husband!”)?

Or, how many think that apart from Christ they can forgive others, when true forgiveness is only that which God Himself can work, so that only the one who is in Christ can actually forgive according to Christ’s definition of forgiveness (namely, the Law appeased by His blood), rather than merely an earthlyforgiveness that simply chooses to ignore the Law’s call for blood?

Sanctification has much Law to it – andapart from Christ, you can do nothing. No good works, no love, no forgiveness, no faith in God. But, sanctification’s life is in the gospel: “Remain in Me (cling to Christ), and I will remain in you. Remain in Me, and you will bear much fruit. Abide in me, and my words abide in you, and you will ask whatever you wish (because your wish will be in accord with His words abiding in you), and it will be granted.”

Friends, your ongoing baptismal life – that constant cleansing / pruning that keeps you steadfast in your already completed justification – it completely depends on Christ. This is why we rejoice each year young members are welcomed to the Lord’s Table… not because they have done such a wonderful job of showing their faith so that God mustwelcome them to the Table, but because the Vine (Christ himself) is strengthening thebranch’s attachment to Himself. In preparing you for the Holy Supper, Christ teaches you not to trust in yourself for keeping yourself holy, but to learn that you depend not only on the work of the cross once in history, but alsodepend upon the benefits of the cross regularly delivered to you, as the vine delivers water from the roots to the furthest branches. This is what each Christian ought be taught lifelong –that they depend upon sanctification as taught in the third article of the Creed:

“I believe in (depend upon) the Holy Spirit,

(depend on) The Holy Christian Church

(depend on) The communion of saints

(depend on) The forgiveness of sins

(depend on) The resurrection of the body

(my only eternal hope is) The life everlasting.”

Each Christian ought be taught how totally he depends on the word of Christ – in baptism, in confession, in the Holy Supper – so that you withstand temptation to part from Christ and you rejoice in remaining with and inChrist, who in the Holy Supper, extends to youthe nourishment and sustenance that keeps the branch from withering and cutting itself off from the vine.

Friends, the Christian will bear much fruit. If a branch is attached to the vine of the vineyard, grapes will necessarily show up.Such is not the cause of your salvation, but theevidence of your salvation. Rejoice that the evidence confesses and speaks, but do not rejoice in the evidence as if your reason for hope. Rather, remain in Christ, for apart from Him you can do nothing. In Him, as the apostle says, “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” Why? “For it is not I who live, but Christ lives in me.” It’s not the branch that brings life, but the Vine whose life flows through the branch.

Thanks be to God, (confirmands), for through His precious means of grace, your Savior faithfully and diligently keeps His Word abiding in you, that you might abide in Him… even unto life everlasting.

In the Name of the Father

And of the Son

And of the Holy Spirit.

+ AMEN +

Rev. Mark C. Bestul

Calvary Lutheran Church

May 3, 2015

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Prayers:

Abide in us, O Lord, that we may abide in You and bring forth the fruits of Your love, that we who have known Your gracious favor may show forth Your love to one another. Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer.
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“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
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A Prayer based on the Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer ... “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. AMEN.”

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O Lord, You give us every reason to say, “Amen. Amen. It shall be so!” To you belongs all power and glory, forever and ever. Therefore, hear the praise that is given through an appeal to your mercy, and lend your fatherly ear to my petitions:

* For the ill, suffering, injured: O Lord, You show your power and glory through mercy toward sinners. Hear my prayer for those who are ill, suffering, or injured, including Richard June, Don Hahn, Edna Citizen, Geraldine and Richard, and Susan Ail and also for Ron Versluys, Edith Ross, Robert (father of Janet Kolzow), and Pastor Ross's wife, as they prepare for and recover from surgery; remind them of Your compassion and, according to Your will, heal Richard, Don, Edna, Geraldine, Richard, Susan, Ron, Edith, Robert, and Pastor Ross's wife of all affliction. In all circumstances, strengthen their faith, that they might clearly confess, “AMEN.”

* For the anxious, lonely: O God, Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the power. Yours is the glory. Yet, we sinners so often grow anxious about the temporal trials that face us. Hear my prayer on behalf of our shut-ins Florence Mitchell, Myrtle Stade, Betty Wear, Bruce Morecraft, and also the widows and widowers of Calvary; remind them that there is none other besides You who deserves all glory, and thus none other that need weaken our “AMEN.” Bring Florence, Myrtle, Betty, Bruce and our widows and widowers confidence in the hour of trial, that they may take heart in Your promises, “Yes, yes. It shall be so!”

* For the mourning: O Lord, because You have all power and glory and dominion over life and death, we may rejoice in the Christian’s death, even as we mourn our earthly loss. Hear my prayer on behalf of Dale Block and this congregation, at the death of our dear sister in Christ, Connie, this past week. Comfort us all with the promise that Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life – “whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.” Cheer Dale and his family with such life-giving words, that they might not weep as they who have no hope, but confidently confess, “I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. AMEN – It shall be so!”

* For the rejoicing: O Lord, as a God of glory, You are also a God who delights in showering us with blessings. Hear my prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of Bob Lindemann at his 80th birthday. Grant him a thankful heart, ever fixed on your grace through Christ Crucified, and therefore joins the eternal refrain – “AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.”

* And For the millions of victims of the major earthquake in Nepal last weekend.

Lord, please bless those in my family and in my church who have fallen away from hearing Your Word.  Please let Your Holy Spirit fill them and stir them to avail themselves of Your means of grace.

Hear my petitions, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Son, whose sacrificial death gives us the freedom to say, “AMEN – God’s promises shall be so!”, so that we may with all boldness pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”