The Seventh Sunday after Trinity, 2021
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
The melodies are linked in the hymn title.
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Oh, clap your hands, all ye people!
Shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
Psalm. He shall subdue the people under us:
and the nations under our feet.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
O God, whose never-failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth, we humbly beseech Thee to put away from us all hurtful things and to give us those things which be profitable for us; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Come, ye children, hearken unto me:
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
V. Look unto Him and be lightened:
and let your faces not be ashamed. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Oh, clap your hands, all ye people:
shout unto God with the voice of triumph. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Abundance Before We Ask
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 #216 On Christ's Ascension
In Our Prayers
- Ivy Anderson's birthday was May 18th.
- Christian Jackson's birthday, Tuesday.
- Alicia Meyer's birthday- July 27th.
- Tests and treatment - Kermit Way, Pastor Jim Shrader, Randy Anderson (rehabbing leg).
KJV Romans 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
KJV Mark 8:1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. 4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? 5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. 8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Lord God, heavenly Father, who in the wilderness didst by Thy Son abundantly feed four thousand men besides women and children with seven loaves and a few small fishes: We beseech Thee, graciously abide among us with Thy blessing, and keep us from covetousness and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness, and in all things needful for body and soul, experience Thine ever-present help; through Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Abundance Before We Ask
Background for the Gospel Lesson, Mark 8:1ff
The Old Testament is full of examples of God acting without being asked. God's Exodus took His people out of slavery in Egypt and provided for them throughout the journey. They complained about their difficulties, but God gave them freedom from the Egyptian soldiers, manna from heaven, birds to vary their diet, and water from a rock. It is no accident that this miracle took place in the desert, because the Gospels show how the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of the New Testament. This Gospel shows how compassionate and loving Jesus Christ is, so we should always trust Him to care for us and provide for us.
KJV Mark 8:1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.
When people complain about Christianity, they frequently skip over the portrayal of Jesus in the Scriptures. There we have the complete portrait of Christ and more details than we can hope to have. That message can be summarized in a few words. Jesus - the Son of God - is perfectly in harmony with the Father and clearly revealed by the Holy Spirit. Everything Jesus says and does in the Bible (going back to Genesis 1 and Exodus 3) is subordinated to the Father's will and plans. Therefore, the portrait of Jesus in the Bible is also the nature of the Father and fully revealed by the Spirit.
There are hundreds of ways in which this is forgotten or covered up, such as making the Bible into a history book written by ordinary men. But there are thousands of ways to discover and reveal and explain how this is true - Jesus is the face and voice and will of the Father.
The first point to remember about this miracle is that the multitude followed Jesus into the desert and stayed with Him three days. Assuming they brought food with them, all that food would be gone after three days. The folly of exploring the Grand Canyon as an amateur is not knowing the heat uses up water and food calories. Slowly starving in the heat makes people listless, even when water is available.
Before anyone asked for food, Jesus told His disciples that He would provide for those people who followed Him into the desert. Saying that they had nothing to eat emphasizes His divine knowledge and power.
4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?
The disciples, the forerunners of all church councils, said, "Impossible. Look at the facts. No one can obtain enough food to feed all these people in the desert." I was at a church council meeting where everything was going well, moving along, until one member said to this all-male group, "How much chicken are you buying for the Men's Night." I noted the time of this question, which was debated by everyone for 45 minutes. Later the retired chemist said, "Our meetings are too long." I said, "You asked the chicken question, which was discussed 45 minutes."
That illustrates how the material world occupies us, ignoring that God provides and that God provides beyond anything we can imagine.
The disciples were talking themselves into doing nothing since nothing was possible. Jesus worked another way.
5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
Jesus multiplied the little they had, barely enough for the disciples. I wonder if one of the disciples thought or said, "Not OUR bread!" The people were seated on the ground and organized in groups for the distribution and for counting. A crowded mass of people, shoulder to shoulder, could not be served.
3. You have often heard that there are also two kinds of possessions, spiritual and temporal. To-day’s Gospel treats of the temporal and bodily blessings, teaches us the faith of the child, and it is a picture for the weak, in that they should look to God for everything good, and that they might thus later learn to trust God and depend upon him for spiritual blessings.
For if we are instructed in the Gospel, how Christ feeds our stomachs, we can then conclude that he will also feed and clothe our souls. For if I cannot trust him to sustain my body, much less can I trust him to sustain my soul forever. For example, if I cannot trust a person that he will give me one dollar, how can I trust him that he will give me ten? If I cannot expect from a person that he will give me a piece of bread; much less could I have any hope, that he would give me a house and yard, and the whole earth.
4. Now, he who cannot, like the babe on its mother’s breast, have a child faith, will hardly hope that God will forgive him his sins and save his soul forever; for the soul is inexpressibly more than the stomach, for which also Christ has compassion as the Gospel to-day proves. Therefore St. Peter said correctly in 1 Peter 2:1-3: “Beloved brethren: Putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, anal hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto Salvation; if ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” For it is not enough that a babe should imbibe milk, but it must also grow large and strong, that it may learn later to eat bread and hard food.
Luther's child-faith comparison is perfect, because babies are so trusting that they only need mother's voice and touch to feel calm again. The baby sees his mother as the source of comfort, food, dryness, and love. God gives babies such an abundance of charm that their antics, crying, fierce looks creates smiles and baby-talk to soothe them. Babies are born PhDs in human psychology, but that evaporates by the time they are parents, so it has to be re-learned from the next generation.
Likewise, child-faith strengthens us through experience so we learn how much God can do, which gives us patience and endurance during difficult times.
7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. 8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.
As one of our members observed, fear is a great motivator, so it is used to control people through propaganda. But faith conquers the fear that would consume us and rob us of the intelligence God has given us. Not everyone stayed with the lessons taught, but those who did realized later that fearsome threats can be placed in perspective through faith. This enormous crowd had more at the end than they had at the beginning.
9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
13. Behold, what a sympathetic Christ we have, who even provides food for our poor stomachs. Here new hope is awakened and man is comforted through the words of Christ; as he says: They lie there and wait for me until the third day. I must give them also what they need. Here you see that all who thus faithfully cling to the Word of God will be fed by God himself; for that is the nature and the power of faith, which flows alone out of the Word of God.
14. Therefore, beloved friends, let us once make a beginning to believe; for unbelief is the cause of all sin and vice, which now have taken the upper hand in all stations of life. How does it come to pass that everywhere there are so many foolish women and rogues, so many rank imposters, thieves, robbers, usurers, murderers and sellers of indulgences? It all comes from unbelief. For such men judge alone according to human reason, and the reason judges only according to that which it sees; but what it does not see, it does not wish to lay hold of. Therefore, if it does not place its confidence in God through faith, then it must despair in itself and develop rogues and rascals. Observe, thus it comes to pass wherever men permit their reason to govern them, and are not ruled by faith.
Faith is God is rare today, because this faith is seldom taught and often mocked. I see professors of the Bible holding themselves above the Bible, mocking the Bible, and using it only for their own shallow philosophies. So not only is the secular world looking at everything as if God did not exist, but also the religious world is finding comfort in the good things in life and never opposing anything that is damaging to faith.
To start faith over again, among those those who have lost their way, one must begin with the nature of Jesus as described in the Gospel of John most clearly. He is all-compassion, always teaching faith in Him, the face and voice of God the Father.
The foundational sin is not believing in Jesus - that
- He was and is God born in the flesh.
- That was born of the Virgin Mary.
- That He was appointed to die for our sins.
- That He taught and healed people.
- That He turned water into wine, walked on water, fed the multitudes, raised the dead - and rose from the dead.
- That He taught His core followers after He rose from the dead and set up the Christian Church.
- That the Apostles believed and taught His Word, turning the Roman Empire Christian, using the Word and the visible Word of the Sacraments.
