The Feast of the Holy Trinity, 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
Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us,
Thy servants, grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the
glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship
the Unity, we beseech Thee that Thou wouldst lump us steadfast in this faith
and evermore defend us from all adversities; who liveth, etc.
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Athanasian Creed p. 53
The Sermon Hymn #250 Holy God We Praise Thy Name
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Athanasian Creed p. 53
The Sermon Hymn #250 Holy God We Praise Thy Name
Out of the Darkness
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 #660 I'm But a Stranger Here
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #660 I'm But a Stranger Here
Prayers and Announcements
- In treatment - Rush Limbaugh, Randy Anderson, Christina Jackson
- Recently diagnosed, Mary Howell, Terry and Lori Howell's adult daughter
- The families of Doc Lito and Pastor Palangyos
- Another shipment of rice is ready for permits, passes, stamps, and red tape - for Pastor and Mrs. Palangyos' people
- Luther's Galatians has begun and pdf versions will be available as it progresses.
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| By Norma A. Boeckler |
Luther’s Trinity Sermons Linked Here
Romans 11 33 ω βαθος - O the depth
- πλουτου 0f the riches
- και σοφιας and of the wisdom
- και γνωσεως θεου and of the knowledge of God.
ως ανεξερευνητα τα κριματα αυτου και ανεξιχνιαστοι αι οδοι αυτου.
34 τις γαρ εγνω νουν κυριου η τις συμβουλος αυτου εγενετο
35 η τις προεδωκεν αυτω και ανταποδοθησεται αυτω
36 οτι
- εξ αυτου και - from Him and
- δι αυτου και - through Him and
- εις αυτον τα παντα αυτω - in Him are all things.
η δοξα εις τους αιωνας αμην
KJV Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
KJV John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Pentecost Monday Gospel:
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.
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| By Norma A. Boeckler |
Background for the Gospel Sermon, John 3
People wonder about why Nicodemus came to Jesus at night - or at least they should. One suggestion is - Nicodemus was studying.
That seems a bit weak. More likely - he was afraid of being seen. The only illumination at night was from the moon or stars, so this would have been a good way to learn more about Jesus without being seen. The Gospel of John emphasizes Jesus as the Light, so those who do not believe are in darkness until the Spirit brings the Gospel to them in the Word.
Someone can be every so learned and yet in the dark about the truths revealed in the Scriptures. Many clergy, professors, and church officials today are like Nicodemus. They have a lot of knowledge, but they are timid about the Faith. Therefore, they do not grasp the meaning of the True Light illuminating the world. Halfway in (if that), they hesitate to trust the Word and hide behind the materialistic promises of numbers, gimmicks, attractions, and social fads. That is why many churches look and sound like bad imitations of rock palaces.
We have in our grasp the greatest marvel of the ages - the Fourth Gospel explaining everything in plain, simple word. And yet, each word, phrase, and sentence has the power of the Holy Spirit to convert or harden, to illuminate or blind. Willful rejection of the Gospel of John by the "scholars" has kept people from these truths. Picture Matt Harrison stumbling about the meaning of Jesus' words or Professor Valleskey puzzled into asking dumb questions. That is Lutheran leadership today, lost in darkness, hating the Truth. They know they got there - by conforming - and know even better than tumbling to the bottom, being a parish pastor, is only one mistake away.
Out of the Darkness
KJV John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
The Pharisees were saintly, as Luther has stated more than once, and Nicodemus was a leader, very important as a scholar and also in a dangerous position. As a Pharisee, he knew all about the Law. He knew the Scriptures, and he practiced obedience to the Law. Everyone looked up to the Pharisees, and that was the problem - the fame of Jesus disturbed his world. Many of the passages from the Scriptures must have drawn Nicodemus to see Jesus. However, his standing in his own community would have made him very timid about arousing their wrath.
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Many came to Jesus by day, but only Nicodemus by night. This did not look good, but more than that, Jesus already knew the thoughts and intentions of Nicodemus. He did not need the commendation of Nicodemus. However, this mild confession tells us that Nicodemus had the beginning of faith. Since Nicodemus was powerful and highly esteemed, Jesus should have made him feel welcome and useful, as many religious leaders do today. They name buildings after these titans and praise them into heaven, even before their time.
Luther:
Accordingly, he is moved to go to him and to hear what it is that he teaches, and what he is reproving. For an intelligent person like himself cannot understand why there should be anything deserving censure or blame in the Pharisees’ holy life according to the Law and in their beautiful works.
4. Therefore, he goes to Christ with thoughts like these: Christ will rejoice to see me come and will be highly pleased because such a great and excellent man, one of the rulers and of the best of men, so humbles himself and shows such honor to a lowly person like Christ as to go to him and to seek his friendship, a thing Christ dare not expect of anyone.
Thus he sets out in a pleasant mood, expecting to be made welcome and to be very kindly received. Nor has he the least fear that possibly he may be reproved or put to school, but he imagines that, since he is acting like a good friend, Christ will in turn treat him respectfully and kindly.
Occasionally it still may happen that an earnest preacher is deceived by a person of this sort and allows the good opinion expressed to tickle him, causing him to flatter and fawn in turn.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Although Nicodemus had mine fine qualities admired by his people, Jesus began with an abrupt statement, starting at the core of the issue - what is forgiveness and salvation? Nicodemus knew the Scriptures and lived accordingly, but what was he missing?Rather than coaxing or persuading Nicodemus, Jesus began with the stark truth.
This statement of Jesus is often mis-communicated. He says literally, "Unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." Furthermore, many Baptists see "born-again" as equivalent to a religious experience of being forgiven and saved.
The Pietist mission societies, which were very important in sending people to America, often taught or expected their concept of a born-again experience among its members.
"From above" is very important because the Fourth Gospel often uses that term for Jesus, and so does James. Every good and perfect gift from above - in James - is not about Christmas presents, but about Christ.
Besides this, there are many examples of the main word for "again" in the New Testament - palin. We find that in "palindrome" a word or sentence that can read backwards, like Bob, Otto, dad.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
The absurd response of Nicodemus shows that his initial faith in Jesus is cloudy and unsure. Blind Bartimaeus, no scholar, confessed Jesus as the Messiah. The babies held by their mothers joined in shouting Hosanna to the Son of David. This response shows that Nicodemus was thinking about matters here on earth even though he came for spiritual advice. I had a young lady come visit who was expecting and not married. She asked about what I thought. I said, "You are not going to be a mother. You are a mother and you have a baby." She wanted to talk about all her travel plans around the world.
Many people want errors confirmed, so they are confused or angry when answers do not match their mistaken thoughts. In the end, it does not matter what pleased people to hear or preachers to teach. The truth alone matters, and it comes from above, through Christ alone.
There is so much pressure to make exceptions, for good people, for popular people, for martyrs to a cause - no matter what it is. That pressure is from rejection of the True Light from above, the Son of God and Savior. Watering the truth down and sugaring it up does not help people, but causes confusion and bitterness in the long run.
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
This is a sermon by itself and deserves a careful look. The way this is expressed in the original, it should read like this - "Unless a man is water-Spirit born (εξ υδατος και πνευματος), he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
Water and Spirit are united by a grammatical form. We stress the article The for emphasis - The Ohio State University. Greek often drops the article for the same purpose, so it is call anarthrous. (I tread carefully here because of an alumnus of TOSU. Don't they say Toe-Sue for short? I am sure of it.)
So many Christians disregard Holy Baptism as merely symbolic, but here the Savior connects it with the Spirit, therefore with the Word. Whether baptized as adults or children, the Word conveys the Spirit - and the Spirit conveys the Word. Baptism is symbolic, but it is also the act of God which includes rebirth, renewal, a new creation, forgiveness, and eternal life.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Many live their lives entirely in the flesh, not necessarily in a bad way, but in a way that is devoid of the Holy Spirit. They are correct in that people can get what they want if they obsess about it, live their lives for that purpose, and dedicate all their energy to that. This is what Jesus challenged, even with a ruler among all the living saints of the time. If they were scholars and obeyed the rules of the Law, they were admired and honored. But Nicodemus doubtless saw the gap between the gracious ministry of Jesus and his fellow scholars hating Jesus.
The reason for this hatred, which must always be in our minds, is Jesus teaching, "To have the righteousness that avails before God, one must believe in Me as the Savior."
To be born of the Spirit means the Gospel Word has grafted Christ onto to us, giving us faith and salvation. I planted hybrid tea roses the last two days. Each one has a graft. The wild rose is the base and the beautiful roses we admire and share - they are grafted onto that base. (A standard or tree rose has two grafts.)
James says, "Receive with meekness the engrafted Word." James 1:21
This morning, at 6 am, I poured rainwater on several roses. Why? Because they are young and need to take root. Rainwater always works best. If water is good, rainwater is 10 times good. I never doubt the efficacy of the rainwater, because it works just like the Word. It always has an effect. I never haul it - like a French peasant - in vain. It accomplishes its purpose and prospers its purpose.
The Spirit and the Word are always united. Anyone who is confused about the Christian Faith can sit down and read the Fourth Gospel, where all this is explained in plain, simple language. One member of the Greek class opined that John's Gospel is doubly useful because it is used in training people in a new language. So the Spirit guides us in understanding the Word.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again [GJ- from above]. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Spirit and wind are the same word in Hebrew and Greek, for good reason. The wind is invisible but powerful, its force beyond comprehension at times. But Nicodemus did not understand this idea of being born of the Spirit.
A couple from Hong Kong made fun of Christianity. They went to Lutheran schools there because that was appealing for many reasons. But they put comic books in front of the Christian textbooks when they pretended to study. Each one converted to Christianity upon hearing Billy Graham live. The husband was first, and he asked his wife to go - she was reluctant. Their families disowned them because they left the traditions of their ancestors. The Spirit is a powerful force in the Word, changing hearts and taking people from the pagan worship and esteem of their families ot persecution for becoming Christians.
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο θεος τον κοσμον ωστε τον υιον αυτου τον μονογενη εδωκεν ινα πας ο πιστευων εις αυτον μη αποληται αλλ εχη ζωην αιωνιον
In chapter 3 we not have this great encounter with Nicodemus, but a glorious passage uniting the Exodus experience of Moses and the serpent (very weird by anyone's perspective) with Christ crucified. In a few verses, the Son came down from heaven so that in believing in Him we might have eternal life.
