Exaudi, The Sunday after the Ascension, 2020
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The melodies are linked in the hymn name.
The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.
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
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
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #523 Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me?
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #523 Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me?
The Two Part Remedy against Satan
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior
In Our Prayers
- Those mourning our military heroes, especially Gary Meyer, Peter Ellenberger, and many others. Veteran Ranger Bob will take the Veterans Honor roses to the grave of his step-father, Ferial.
- Randy Anderson, continuing chemo-therapy for his leg.
- Our Philippine mission, distributing rice.
- Norma Boeckler is back, safe in her home, but the entire basement has to be fixed up, again.
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| Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler |
1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: 27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
Prayer
Lord God, heavenly Father, we give thanks unto Thee, that through Thy Holy Spirit Thou hast appointed us to bear witness of Thy dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: We beseech Thee, inasmuch as the world cannot endure such testimony, and persecutes us in every way, grant us courage and comfort, that we may not be offended because of the cross, but continue steadfastly in Thy testimony, and be found always among those who know Thee and Thy Son, until we obtain eternal salvation through the same, Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
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| The Pantheon in Rome. Did it honor all gods? Scholars are divided. |
Background for the Epistle Sermon, 1 Peter 4:7ff
The ancient world was very much like ours, where the unbelievers ruled and controlled most aspects of society. The Christians were a tiny minority and suspect because of their connection with Jews. Rome did not differentiate, so Christians were automatically viewed with suspicion and lacked the official protection enjoyed by Jews.
As Luther said, Rome tolerated every god except the One True God - Jesus. That sounds exactly like today, when all religions are promoted in schools and gatherings but the hammer comes down on anything specifically Christian. American religion is very much like Roman religion - honoring the Pantheon - a temple still standing to honor all gods (except One).
Banning Christian worship in person while welcoming big retail, liquor stores, and abortion businesses - that is another sign of our government's animosity toward Christianity and Judaism. It is not the freedom of religion from the Bills of Rights, but freedom from religion.
Two remedies commended by St. Peter are -
- Diligence in study, prayer, and worship.
- Calling upon God for every need.
Both are equally vexing for Satan and effective for the believer. The first remedy is remaining in the power and protection of the Incarnate Word, for Jesus is in us as surely as we are in Him, and as He is in the Father and the Father in Him.
The second remedy is trusting in God the Father hearing our prayers because He loves us for loving His Son.
The Two Part Remedy against Satan
1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
Luther stirred up about five sermons from his sermon on the epistle for the Sunday after the Ascension. One insight is the parallel between the Roman Empire at that time and his Germany, the Germany of the Reformation. We could say the same thing - we know the Gospel as a nation but the prevailing attitude seems to be pagan.
When Paul and the Apostles spoke of the end of all things, as Jesus did, this conjures up the unbelief of the Christian academics who say, "See! They were all wrong. It never happened and still has not. They were already feeling that conflict in the New Testament.
The sceptics conveniently overlook the basic concepts of
- Only the Father knowing the exact time;
- Jesus extending the time in such passages as Mark 13;
- God holding back the End Times, in 2 Thessalonians 2.
We have no concept of God's time, so we can only concentrate on the two remedies.
The First Remedy against Satan
The first remedy is being constant in the studying the Word, in prayer, and in the Means of Grace.
Studying the Word of God is better than ever before, because everyone has access to the English version of Luther's Bible - the KJV, the Sermons of Luther, and the books of Lutheran pioneers from the past (Lenski, Leupold, Loy, Jacobs, Schmauk). Those people lived in conflicted times where they had to fight the allure of fitting in with the majority.
The Word also flies around the world with the Scripture and hymn graphics of Norma Boeckler.
The Lutheran Librarian, Audio Gutenberg, and Martin Chemnitz Press have made various books or selections available when they used to be something discovered at a seminary book sale or a church rummage sale.
Prayer is not only found in the form we remember but also in hymns. We can study, read over, and listen to hymns. One thing displaces the other. I used to listen to classic pop and opera music while grading (a pain-killer). However, it filled me with ear worms, song phrases that annoyed me. When TLH was almost taken away - no more website - and I began working on the lyrics and music - that displaced the secular music. That is not to condemn secular music for being what it is - just that the great hymns of the past are overwhelmingly superior and always uplifting. Hymns are musical prayers.
The Means of Grace - we suffered no disruptions when people closed their congregations. It is not that we lack person-to-person services. We have done that here in Arkansas, in Iowa, in Washington, and in Michigan. Long ago I was impressed by a church that printed sermons for people to take home or share. That was quite an operation by itself. Now we have the blog version and the entire saved audio-visual.
These things happen, not from one person, but from God moving many people to promote and spread the Gospel, as we do in the Philippines, not from seeking the mission but the mission coming to us.
The Second Remedy against Satan
The second remedy against Satan is equally effective and pointedly so. When prayer is a regular habit, we are stronger and more willing to invoke it against Satan.
Jesus is an excellent example. He was tempted in every way we are. He was overwhelmed with work and went apart from the crowd and disciples to pray. His faith in the Father led Him to pray and motivated Him to pray. The faith of Jesus is not only an example for us but also the foundation of our forgiveness from sin.
When we despair, that opens up avenues for Satanic attacks and temptations. Just as Satan displaces our trust in all things belonging to Christ, so does spiritual discipline displace temptations and various ways we waste energy.
I have to insert my favorite bearing the cross quotation from Luther. When anything pleasing to God really takes root, count on the worst kind of reactions, especially from those who would seem to be natural allies and friends. I reminded someone writing a book, who was devastated - not by the normal or expected critics - - but by the assumed friends.
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| Persecuted for the righteousness of faith. |
Despair would have us live like everyone else, which seems to be the way to go. They seem to be the most successful, honored for the least, and tolerated in all the evil they do, maybe even praised for it. But that never lasts.
have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
Mutual charity - love - binds people together and strengthens them. Peter urged them to create mutual support, mutual trust, and to bear the fruits of the Spirit in doing so.
9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
The everyday miracle of hospitality and love is that nothing is lost, similar to the fragments after the Feeding of the Multitude. What is given away is not gone but multiplied many ways. When I give away books, more arrive.
It is our childish nature to see opportunities as "have to." That was our big question, "Do I have to?" That naturally prompted the response, "YES YOU HAVE TO." Various warnings might follow. In time we see that the have-tos are better when they are want-tos.
10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
This was very important in the early days of Christianity, when believers were driven away and lost their possessions. Again during the Reformation and Thirty Years War, houses and possessions were burned. Yet there was a fake charity for mendicant priests and monks, who built up wealthy monastery properties and lived like royalty.
11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
This is extremely important, even if it seems to be a side comment when talking about the gifts of the Spirit, from faith.
Three words mean a lot. One is laleo for solemnly speaking or teaching, the other is logia - for the Word. The other is of God.
ει τις λαλει ως λογια θεου
This is significant in an age when pastors and laity speak about "my theology" the way others speak of MyPillow. That means it is very special and uniquely theirs. It may be one new (or old) fad they picked up. Or it may be an official pronouncement that has no citation in the Scriptures.
That kind of attitude is going to divide people, especially when the "new" seems so much more interesting than what is old, traditional, and proven valid. People have been in dungeons and died for the true Word of God, so it is shameful that descendants will honor old/new fads and get carried away with disrespecting what is old, valid, and truthful.
In the distant past, I have seen people running around with their favorite new concept and declaring any opposition to them being "Satanic" because the Holy Spirit told them so.
There is a wide separation between those who declare their own ideas and those who teach what the Bible proclaims. The same is true of those who repeat official positions regardless of what the Bible says. It is easy to rest upon a published book or document, but that is not the same as the revealed Word.
It is ironic that St. Marvin of Schwan subsidized the creation of Logia as a journal for "conservative" Lutherans. They will not tolerate the Biblical doctrine of the Word but lovingly repeat the errors of the recent past and apostate future. They could not do this on their own but begged the rich man to subsidize their personal oracles.
the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ
A hostile audience - or even one person - may reject what a minister is trying to convey. God has chosen weak vessels to convey His eternal Word. A traditional service is one in which the minister is strengthened by the Word he must teach. And he is strengthened by the other elements of the service that contribute to his confidence that the Spirit delivers the Word - and the Spirit also creates the desire to hear the Word spoken.
So we can never judge that moment whether the Word is successful or not but remain confident His Word is always at work. That reduces the anxieties and fears we face, especially when we see how God has taken care of so many things for us.
