The Sunday after New Year. Trials Follow Faith

Video for the entire service, sermon, and hymns.

The Sunday after New Year

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

The Hymn #131           The Star Proclaims               

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 Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #128           Brightest and Best  - Bishop Heber

Trials Follow Faith

The Communion Hymn #307          Draw Nigh and Take the Body of the Lord        

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 #657            Beautiful Savior    

Prayers and Announcements

• Walther, the American Calvin is next. Then Creation Flowers, then the Bible text and translations. The Walther book is out for editing. Email me if you want to help or if you want an early copy in Word.
• We will celebrate the Day of Epiphany at 7 PM, Wednesday. Luther's Litany.
• In treatment - Rush Limbaugh, Mary Howell is home for Christmas, Christina Jackson has excellent blood tests.
• Randy Anderson is doing very well.
• Doctor's care - Pastor Shrader, Pastor K, Dr. Lito Cruz.
• Our President and his staff/cabinet, our military justice system.

                                  

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Matthew 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. 19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. 21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

Trials Follow Faith

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

This is a good combination of the life of Jesus and the life of believers. The Star of Bethlehem threatened and frightened Herod, so persecution immediately followed after Joseph and Mary endured a difficult journey and lonely nativity. We think in terms of rewards for accomplishment but God's approach is different. We are given the cross to accompany faith, and that seems to be out of balance. The Old Adam wants peace, prosperity, and calm, with plenty of additional benefits.

The believers comes to accept the cross, which is specifically hatred and rejection because of faith in the Savior.

Herod's response reminds me of the sinking of the Shinano toward the end of WWII.

The Japanese supership was one of the largest ever built. It began as a battleship and ended as a carrier. The captain, on its first voyage, was sure he was surrounded by American submarines, not just one. He acted out of fear and steered his ship into danger rather than out of it. Everything he did was correct for what he imagined, but not for what was reality. The American sub, under Captain Enright, sank the ship with four torpedoes. Enright did not expect success, but he was willing to risk everything to protect Americans from this monster ship.

The opposite of fear is faith, as Luther has written. Fear is an instant emotion that can make us startle and do worse damage than what we were afraid of. Now these examples are videotaped, and even with the fakes discarded, there are a lot of genuine disasters caused by fear.

Mary and Joseph had every reason to be afraid, with the elements of the Roman Empire and official Judaism against them.

13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

When people write faithful Christian books, they enjoy hearing encouragement and thanks.

That is very satisfying, but the best indication is the cross, paying a price for teaching what Old Adam does not want to hear. The most antagonistic are the clergy and professors, a sign of where we are in this generation - Ichabod - Hebrew for "The Glory Has Departed."

1 Samuel 4:20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.

21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. 22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

Paul's advice to Peter and those Christians was to accept suffering for the faith as glory, rather than shame. That is why the apostle emphasized the foolishness of the cross rather than the wisdom of the Greeks and his own religious leaders. 

When the two volume Braaten Jenson Dogmatics (LCA-ALC-ELCA) came out, the authors were especially scornful of the Trinity, the resurrection of Christ, and His atonement. I ordered a copy so I could see for myself and memorized the passages. I sent them back for a credit with a brief summary of how evil the two volumes were (and are - still in print). They responded, "The set is used in all our seminaries and they sell very well."

Not long after, the same seminaries were disavowing the apostate volumes, but they were just covering up. Get this and read it over twice - the volumes were criticized for being "too theological." Many thought God-language was obsolete - 30 years ago. The fruit from that tree of unfaith has been entirely evil and corrupt.

There were plenty of backsliders and false teachers in the apostolic age, but more importantly, people thought it was a great honor to die because of their faith. What coverted the evil, pan-gender, pagan Roman Empire? Not the backsliders or false teachers, but the Gospel and the martyrs who died for this weak but powerful Faith. It was weak in wealth, in buildings, in celebrity supporters. It was strong within God's will and Word, which are the same.

14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy [blessed] are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 

There are many occasions when some kind of reference to faith in Christ is met by an ugly response, one dripping with disgust, sarcasm, and hatred. And there are times when a happy indifference is expressed. No matter how the reproach comes across, it is an opening for the Gospel, and God gives us the words. One very eager social worker was trained in all the correct "no right and wrong" attitudes. She spoke them casually, as people do when brain-washed by higher education. I tested all her attitudes and asked her why she spent time with the adult handicapped. She started to go back to her childhood, the faith she once had. 

At any rate, it is the truth of God's Word that converts and that comes only from the Holy Spirit, not from memorized sales talks. There are no losses when we stumble through what we know is the truth from the Scriptures. Are children criticized when they fail to remember the non-reciprocity of the second genus? No - people are delighted to hear the Word of God on their lips. As one almost-hopeless addict said, "Don't get me wrong, parson. But you get paid for this. It means so much more when children say the same words. He never missed a children's program.

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 

There are two kinds of suffering. One is for doing what is wrong, and that includes sins from the worst (ending a life) to the trivial but damaging - being a busybody and meddling with the lives of others. It can take a long time to realize the truth of verse 16, and yet it becomes apparent that the antagonism to the faith is an important revelation that connects everything we learn. A non-believer in the role of a Christian must necessarily do everything wrong and be very destructive. What those people do is very hurtful to others, but to see that as 100% is a mistake, because God converts evil into good. God alone can do that, so we can see the evil wither and the good triumph in time. 

17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 

Now we see this so completely fulfilled that it should shock us into more study. Now we are seeing the major figures of Christianity tumble from their lofty seats, and no can miss the disdain the Pope has for his own tradition. Far more are being exposed at this time, and more will be revealed. If it is this bad among those trained in the Scriptures, how much worse will it be for open antagonists of the Bible. 

The Justified by Faith can scarcely be saved, because the temptations are so great and omnipresent. If that is so - then it is far worse for those blinded by the falsehoods of this life and this culture.

19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Everything done in faith glorifies God, so we look to Him for guidance and strength. It is natural to be fretful this week, but that does not give room for God to act. God watches over His own and brings the solution, to His glory.