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| Norma A. Boeckler |
The Feast of Pentecost, 2020
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The melodies are linked in the hymn name.
The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.
The Hymn #1 Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Spirit of the Lord filleth the world: Hallelujah!
Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God:
yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Psalm. Let God
arise; let His enemies be scattered: let them also that hate Him flee before
Him.
The Gloria PatriThe Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
O God, who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful
people by sending to them the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us by the same
Spirit to have a right judgment in all things and evermore to rejoice in His
holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who with Thee and the
Holy Ghost liveth, etc.
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 # 224 Luther - Come Holy Ghost, God and Lord
Lutherans Are the True Pentecostals
The Communion Hymn #227 Come, Holy Ghost, in Love
The Preface p. 24
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 #309 Kingo - O Jesus Blessed Lord
In Our Prayers
- Randy Anderson, continuing chemo-therapy for his leg. Rush Limbaugh seems to be doing well with his treatment. Pastor Jim Shrader is facing some tests.
- Our Philippine mission, distributing rice.
- Norma Boeckler is back, safe in her home, but the entire basement has to be fixed up, again.
KJV Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
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| From Norma A. Boeckler |
KJV John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Pentecost Monday Text
KJV John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Background for the Gospel Sermon
The Holy Trinity has existed from eternity, so we see them in Genesis 1 as the Father commanding, the Son (the Logos) carrying out the commands, and the Holy Spirit hovering over Creation and witnessing to this. Light was created through the Son before the sun and stars were created, so we can see that Jesus as the true Light created the divine truth before physical light existed. So God is truth and the source of truth. The Word of God is always effective because the Spirit is never apart from the Word and the Word is never apart from the Spirit.
The Pentecostal denominations emphasize the Holy Spirit, but the biblical Lutherans never attribute anything apart from the Word as from the Spirit. A Church Growth program is man-made, not divine. A soda and popcorn entertainment service is a human fad, not divine. Whatever is true to the Spirit in the Word has divine power, but when that is watered down and sugared up, the message is man's and not God's
If we want God's will accomplished, there is only one way - through the Word. But the world is so blind and hateful that there is a constant effort to suppress and persecute the Gospel Word and faith - not just by the ministers and bishops - but also by evil governments and rationalistic professors too.
A simple, plain lesson or sermon which is faithful to the Scriptures has the power of God. True miracles happen. The greatest is overcoming our hardened hearts and planting faith in them, placing us on the road to the Eternal City. Prayer in the Name of Jesus is motivated by His Gospel, so He provides the energy for the very act He urges upon us, not with threats but with grace, mercy, kindness, and compassion.
The Word is effective because of the Holy Spirit at work. Here is a collection of Scriptural proof, sadly neglected by the Pasadena Lutherans, rationalists, marketeers, and fraudsters.
Lutherans Are the True Pentecostals
KJV John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
These sermons in Gospel of John, before the crucifixion, should be understood with the disciples shocked and in mourning, because they knew - and could not comprehend - that Jesus would leave them.
His first Promise - of five - is this - "14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;"
The disciples were losing their Master and were tormented by this.
We should not think Jesus was above it it. When He saw the tomb of his friend Lazarus, His body shook with tension and grief. That was three-fold:
1) His deliberate delay kept Lazarus from being healed, so the entire family went through with that loss, knowing Jesus could have rushed to be there to heal his friend.
2) When Jesus looked at Lazarus' carved-in-stone grave, He knew that His grave would be similar, and that was soon to come.
3) Although He could and did raise Lazarus from death, His disciples would not be spared the torment of losing Him.
Before, the disciples were guided, comforted, taught, and often rebuked by Jesus. This Promise was hard to grasp, but it was clear. The Holy Spirit would be their advocate, their comfort, their shield against error. The Holy Spirit would live in their hearts and help them in preaching and teaching the Scriptures, which were and are God's only published book (and yet a best-seller).
They would go from being a group of learners (the real meaning of disciple) to being a scattered group of teachers, preachers of the Word, setting up pastors and schools for future generations, always persecuted but always spreading across the Roman Empire.
Who would help them in times of trouble? The first Promise is that the Holy Spirit would be their Advocate, Who would speak up for them via their own words. The State of Arkansas listed our Town Car's title as having a debt, and we know it was paid off long ago. Our local advocate, attorney, looked up the papers and printed proof that there is no debt. That was a relief because no one can argue with a computer screen or a state official. Many times I have seen dirty tricks spoiled simply because I said, "I already spoke to my attorney about this." We did that with HAL at Amazon, too.
We use similar terms for friends who help, borrowed from the military. "He has my six." (watches my back) "He is my wingman." (He protects me from attacks.) We can understand the value of having the Spirit as our guide, defender, and Comforter.
We have the Spirit through Holy Baptism, and the Spirit's voice through the Scriptures. Those who doubt this are quite cavalier about the Bible, how it is translated and taught. The same is true of the congregation itself. Is it strong through endowments? - the worst ones in America are endowed beyond all human imagination. One Episcopalian church in NYC owns half of Manhattan's commercial real estate (more or less). Glide Memorial Church is an endowment fund with an anti-Christian "church" attached. Other congregations are owned by their histories.
The only worthwhile rule or guide for a congregation is the Book of the Holy Spirit, the Bible, in the most accurate possible language, true to the originals in Hebrew and Greek. (Future book)
If a man love Me, He will keep (guard) My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.
For those who are erroneously taught "there is no Trinity in the Bible," here is Jesus the Son speaking of His Father and the Holy Spirit. In other words, that is a warning signal, when people deny the Trinity is Scriptural. There is a lot of error connected with that.
Loving Jesus and guarding His teaching - both go together - with a wonderful Promises.
- My Father will love him...
- We will come to him.
- And make Our above with him.
Throughout the Bible, God's actions and virtues are stated in groups of three.
The Gospel Promises are not limited to forgiveness and eternal life, but also include the many blessings poured upon us by God's grace. How do we access this grace? - Romans 5:1-2, through faith in Jesus generated by the power of the Word.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
"Don't be negative," I have heard, but a positive statement is almost worthless without the negative. That eliminates the wiggle room. Mormons acknowledge the Trinity - oh? - but those are three separate gods with Jesus as the brother of Satan. Mention their actual beliefs and the missionaries storm away in a rage. Why? They do not believe the Word of God; they reject the Spirit.
Denial of the Son's teaching is rejection of the Father's wisdom.
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
This is a tremendous Promise and shows how Christianity spread without all the miraculous toys we now enjoy. How does the true (invisible) Church keep its doctrine straight after all these centuries? - the same way it began. The Holy Spirit guided the Apostles to write the New Testament and to argue for correct doctrine. The Apostolic Age began with false teachers trying to wreck Christianity, just like today, but God used that to separate the wormy flour from the good flour, as we see today.
America's Constitution is only 200+ years old and its own judges and lawmakers to not seem to remember it. They swear to uphold the Constitution and work against it, with fearfully bad memories.
Faithful church members are guided by the Spirit to teach God's Word, not their own. They may be a remnant, but those numbers add up.
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
This Promise reveals the great divide. Most people identify peace with material security, honor among the popular, and a lack of open conflict. There is a clamor for worldly peace but a fear of this peace from Christ - lose friends, pay penalties, get shunned, face suspicion and hear insulting names. True peace can only come from faith in Christ - the forgiveness of sin. It is relearned and honored every day, every week. As the famous hymn says about the Atonement and forgiveness - "not the part, but the whole."
KJV Psalm 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
One weapon wielded by their Father Below is disturbing people and making them afraid. The value of this weapon is people forget what is true and focus on what horrible things could happen soon.
His fiends in the media leverage this by repeating the falsehoods and making their threats real. Remember the flood where a lady journalist was paddling in the deep water? Someone walked by her to show the inundation was only a few inches. She stopped paddling and talking.
There are many real threats, but the ultimate weapons belong to God and no one can defeat His power. Gospel forgiveness strengthens, heals, and fortifies us.
28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
This is another Promise, that the disciples will remember this teaching and be strengthened by it. When someone tells us something in the future will happen - and it does - we have more trust in him. I took a magazine to two CPAs and told them a software stock would go up, based on the raving good review in the magazine. They spent the evening laughing at me. I even brought along the magazine. They did nothing and the stock doubled in price within a week. Then and only then - they craved my advice. I said, "Why? You laughed at me when you had the proof in front of you."
When the disciples experienced the horror of the crucifixion, the shock of the empty grave, the Easter appearances and the ascension, they were filled with faith because everything had been predicted. That was the intent of Jesus - that they might believe. And also that we might believe.
Can we have trust in the truth of those events and be disturbed. God has control over life and death, empires and kings, knaves and the righteous.
30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Here is the warning, which applies to all of us. We can all fall prey to Satan, but he had nothing on Jesus, nothing to accuse Him about. Everything He has done is in following the commands of the Father.
