https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
Mid-Week Advent, Wednesday, 7 PM Central
The Hymn
# 81
O Jesus Christ Thy Manger
The
Order of Vespers p. 41
The
Psalmody Psalm 2 on page 123
The
Lections
Exodus 3
John 8
The
Sermon Hymn #56 Jesus Came the Heavens Adoring
Christ in the Old Testament
The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer p. 44
The
Collect for Peace p. 45
The
Benediction p. 45
The Hymn # 558* All Praise to Thee
* For the Education Expert: Healing, Strength, and Hope
- Luther's Galatians is in print, full color, at Lulu. I will be sending them out at my cost. Extra copies in black and white are available for distribution. Thank you Norma Boeckler, Alec Satin, Virginia Roberts, and Janie Sullivan.
- Walther, the American Calvin is next. Then Creation Flowers, then the Bible text and translations.
- In treatment - Christina Jackson, Mary Howell, Rush Limbaugh.
- Randy Anderson's leg scanned as cancer free!
- Doctor's care - Pastor Shrader, Pastor K, Dr. Lito Cruz.
- Pray for Lyne Cruz' retirement red tape to be removed.
- Our media ministries - Alec Satin, Norma Boeckler, Travis and Lauren Cartee, Pastor Jordan Palangyos.
- Our Education Expert, is being honored with her favorite hymn at Vespers, #558, "All Praise to Thee." She is recovering at home from heart disease.
Exodus 3 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
John 8:52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Christ in the Old Testament
I challenge Old Testament students to see Christ in the Old Testament and the abundance of Gospel Promises and Blessings there as well. This is enough for several volumes. So why do so many think in terms of the Law and Moses in the Old Testament, the Gospel and Jesus in the New Testament?
I attribute it to people claiming convenient verses here and there, others who make fractions out of the Biblical verses - not unity.
The Reformation leaders (the first Evangelicals and the first Protestants - as in positive witness, not protest) emphasized Christ in the Old Testament because the Bible is a unified Truth, not a series of quaint books. Luther certainly led the way with this perspective, which is the only correct one.
I was doing a Skype interview about some of this when I mentioned - the Lutherans who talk in terms of individual verses (out of context) sound very much like Calvinists, and yet those Lutherans say they are the true Lutherans.
Now the unified view is easier to understand, because we can link words, phrases, and graphics with material all over the world. I do that daily when I link definitions, articles, and books in a short blog piece. Linking a book as explaining what one phrase means in the Bible - that is what we can do and enjoy doing. That lets everyone learn that far more goes into the topic than a few word.
How is Christ in the Old Testament?
This starts with Genesis 1 where the Trinity is presented. The Father commands and the Holy Spirit hovers over Creation to be the witness. Where is the Son? He is the Creating Word. When God said, "Let there be light," the Son was and is the Creating Word fashioning that light.
God through the Son as the Word of God created the entire universe in Six Days, and this is witnessed in the entire Bible. That is why the Biblical Creation, unlike all theories and mythologies, is so powerful today and infallibly bears witness to God's power. Creation is now slumbering for the winter, but everything will wake up in the right order to take care of all forms of life. Big fat bugs and earthworms are easily available when the baby birds need good protein to grow. The flowers bloom all through the spring and summer to provide food and beauty for everything and everyone. What we take for granted each day - and complain about - is the most elaborate Project Management exercise ever attempted, and it is self-healing and improves itself over time. Henry Gantt does not compare.
I have asked people, "Why are night-blooming flowers white and perfumed?" They think a while. The answer is - There is no color at night, and fragrance also draws the pollinators to the flowers.
The prejudice (among the rationalists) against the Gospel of John starts with Genesis 1 being explained further in John 1 and the Exodus being filled with Christ. And there is (in Exodus) the foreshadowing of His work, as elaborated in John (the serpent raised John 3:15; the water flowing John 4; the bread of life from heaven John 6; the innocent Lamb, the Passover, etc)
We have literally hundreds of hints that back up God's plan of the Virgin Birth, public ministry, atonement and resurrections. They are provided in abundance to strengthen our faith and show us what God in His mercy can do.
