The Second Sunday in Advent, 2019
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual Romans 15:4-13
The Gospel Luke 21:25-36
In Our Prayers
- Carl Roper and his wife Lynda.
- Pastor and Mrs. Jim Shrader
- Randy Anderson's leg (Andrea's father)
- Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes.
- Those looking for work and a better income.
- Our media ministries - Alec Satin, Norma Boeckler, Travis and Lauren Cartee, Pastor Jordan Palangyos.
- Advent Service and Jacobs, 7 PM Central Standard.
Second Sunday In Advent
Lord God, heavenly Father, who by Thy Son hast revealed to us that heaven and earth shall pass away, that our bodies shall rise again, and that we all shall appear before the judgment seat: We beseech Thee, keep us by Thy Holy Spirit in Thy word; establish us in the true faith, graciously defend us from sin and preserve us in all temptations, that our hearts may not be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, but that we may ever watch and pray and, trusting fully in Thy grace, await with joy the glorious coming of Thy Son, and at last obtain eternal salvation, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
KJV Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. 8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. 11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. 12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. 13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
KJV Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. 33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Background for the Sermon on the Epistle, Romans 15:4-13
KJV Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
The first verse is worth a book, because so much is overlooked about the Old Testament. A professor on the Mark Levin TV show made the point that the science fraternity has moved from agnosticism to open contempt for all religion (or stay silent). That intrigued me more because that has happened with the mainline denominations (including all the Lutherans) at the same time. The Bible has morphed - in academic circles - into an interesting book about religion, not the unique revelation of God.
Once a book becomes unimportant, people pay less attention to it. They are not opposed as much as indifferent. Yet, all the blessings, warnings, and Promises of the Old Testament (3 times the size of the New Testament) are there for our learning, that we might have hope.
The Creation is a good example. The Creation itself is not as important as its meaning, because there are many Creation stories and theories - but only one Creation is true. The meaning of Creation comes from the power of the Word to fashion the entire universe in six days (not epochs). Also, the Creation in Genesis 1 and John 1 reveals the Trinity at work: the Father commanding, the Son as the Logos-Command, and the Holy Spirit hovering over Creation and recording it for our learning, patience, and hope.
Substitute creations are more like poor imitations, parodies, or even naughty tales. The essential truths are missing, so they miss at all levels. Many talk about Creation but do not teach the Creation, and they find substitutions to be more appealing to their refined and intellectual musing. So they gather the fragments of theories and tales and live with that, a patchwork quilt of thoughts rather than the Word of God.
Karl Barth and his lovely live-in mistress, Charlotte Kirschbaum, offered up a massive set of dogmatics where every point of the Scriptures was equivocated, with their tedious Yes and No on each topic. For example - "The Bible contains the Word of God but is not the Word of God." This gave their followers license to do the same, which is why we have an enormous gap between the great scientists of the past (Creationists) and global warmist salesmen of today (evolutionists). Besides that, this Barthian exercise in double-talk made clergy and professors worry about confessing the Genesis Creation and Flood, so those topics were side-stepped into oblivion.
As Luther said, the Old Testament holds Christ the way a cradle holds a baby. We may not always see or hear the baby in the cradle, but when the mother says, "The baby is in the cradle," we do not challenge her by yanking down the blanket and calling out the baby's name. (Some impulsive guests do.) In the same way, the Old Testament is a framework which deals with history since Creation and also encourages us with Gospel Promises and blessings.The warnings and condemnations of the Law are the contrast between God's mercy and our failings.
Peril and our sinfulness make us uncertain and afraid, but the elaborate framework of the Old Testament shows us God's power in protection and His power in mercy.
KJV Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
When a New Testament verse begins with "for," something previous is being explained. In this case, it is a quotation from Psalm 69, the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament (Lenski, Romans, p. 859).
Romans 15 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. 3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
So the Apostle Paul is not only looking back at the example of Christ in His suffering, but even farther back to King David's Psalm as a Messianic prediction. This reference involves a thousand years of history, but it is all one piece, God's calendar from beginning to the end of time. What King David predicted through the Holy Spirit was fulfilled in Christ and preached to the new congregations formed by the Gospel, in many cases nodes begun when Jesus taught and performed miracles, establishing a small group of believers.
At first, the written Scriptures were the Old Testament, when Paul was preaching. That means every congregation was built upon the Gospel Word of the Old Testament. That was not simply the Scripture known to people who knew Hebrew. It was also translated for everyone who knew Greek, so the Old Testament circulated in the ancient world and served as the anchor for faith in Christ. Someone could say, "Look at all the Old Testament passages He fulfilled. Psalm 69, Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, and man more. The 23rd Psalm gives us a portrait of the divine Shepherd, and Jesus taught - I AM the Good Shepherd."
These connections between prophesy and fulfillment are like this - Psalm 69 is fulfilled by Christ and both are taught to educate and guide us. So Paul is taking us back to the Passion of Christ and it being foretold by David centuries before.
5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
We could say that Paul is dealing with issues that have gone away, but the same kind of problems continue to fester and they always will. Our personalities either make up rules and make them eternal or we find ways to break what is good - with good excuses for doing so.
We are in the new legalism of fads now, not clinging to crusty old traditions. Every few years a new hymnal has to come out, with favorite hymns erased and new duds introduced. Each major group among Lutherans does this, so more is lost all the time. With that is lost the content of great hymns, because they are no longer appreciated or sung. There is a gradual reduction of Biblical knowledge and the catechism. On the far Left, Lutheran clergy are social justice warriors who make believers run for the exits.
The have-tos of today are
- Snacks in church.
- Erasing the denomination name, and then that odious word - church.
- Coaching talks, not sermons.
- No liturgy, few hymns, many new (often secular) hymns.
- "Gourmet" expensive coffee.
- Valet parking.
That sounds like a comedy where no one is laughing. The reason for all this is simple - We have heard of churches that did this and they did very well with the numbers.
But Paul's advice is not followed. Change or Die! is the new tradition, all Law, no Gospel, and the Savior is missing, replaced by a coach in the pulpit who sells his services to other blinded clergy.
6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Results for Paul are - unity in doctrine and in worship. That is why I emphasize the Church of the Augsburg Confession. No synod (but many congregations, at least 3). No fees. No meetings. No fish-hats. No tyranny.
One Mind - believing the same about the Scriptures and the Reformation.
One Mouth - worshiping according to faithful traditions that emphasize Christ in the Means of Grace. Once upon a time, Christianity Today confessed that Lutherans had the most Christ-centered worship with their liturgy, hymns, sermon, and Confessions. Other denominations were always afraid of being too Catholic, so they eliminated what was good and went back to worship in the Old Testament.
Teaching the Father/Son relationship and preaching its meaning is so important because we grow cold and indifferent without the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word.
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
This is a wonderful turn of phrase, because it means emulating Christ receiving us in our weakness, so we should treat others in exactly the same way.
It was a fault in Pietism that certain standards were set up so that someone could not be considered Christian without meeting those standards. So there were sins and... SINS! This led to people thinking that justification comes through the Law, that their standards were the reason and cause for justification. That also kept people away, thinking they were "not good enough yet to be a church member." I heard that from a prospect who was heavily influenced.
Modern forms are similar, and they include how one was born (state and synod), one's income, and family tree. All these standards lead to exclusion rather than welcoming.
The key factor is - as Christ also received us to the glory of God. The motivation is His grace, not our goodness. Grace is what we receive through the Word and Sacraments. Good works, the Christian life - they are the fruit of remaining on the True Vine, the Savior.
8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. 11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. 12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
The Apostles thought at first, "We will follow what Jesus did and go to our own people and traditions." The late-comer Paul said, "That is good, but He is preached to the Gentiles as well." That led to a clash and the first Church Council. As anyone can see, both sides are essential and God's will.
In Phoenix I ventured to say that Jewish Christians were rather rare. One lady told the class, "There are three Messianic Jewish churches in Phoenix, and I go to one." Oh. I once made that same observation to a WELS member of the church, and he said, "My family is. We converted." He was an accountant in the Viet Nam war, and he said, "We were called the Jewish artillery unit."
What unites people - in substance - is the same faith in Christ. What divides is wrong teaching and lack of faith. We heard an intellectual on TV make fun of atheists, which was mildly interesting. Then he said he did not believe in God either. I said to my wife, "The ideal guy for the college lecture circuit."
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Believing must be very good from the perspective of God's Word. That would be good to see emphasized more often, because faith enjoys the fruits of joy and peace (Galatians 5). Trusting in God's great power fills us with hope instead of dread and fear.
through the power of the Holy Ghost.
As we studied on Wednesday, the Holy Spirit always accompanies the Word and the Word is never without the Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit comes from invisible Word of teaching and preaching, the visible Word of the Sacraments.
Pastor Palangyos often says in his IM on Facebook - "More power." I respond - "More Word." He says, "Amen!"
God has given us infallible proofs of a power that we can use at any time, one that has the unlimited energy (efficacy) of God. Of course, because that power belongs to God alone, we respect how it works, immediately or later, always reflecting His wisdom.
That is why I emphasize education. We have an almost free system to get that across to the world. If people learn again how God works in the Word, that will be a revolution. Too late? The Reformation was too late, but it re-fashioned all of Europe and planted itself in America, then beyond. Those of us who descended from tree-worshipers and overly tattooed warriors should not limit [edit, added the not] God's power in the Word. We are the living proof.
