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
The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer p. 44
The Collect for Peace p. 45
The Benediction p. 45
The Hymn # 83 Hark What Mean These Holy Voices
- The second edition of The Bible Book could be done by December 31st.
- The Vimeo service will be embedded live in each service and saved on the blog, with the saved vimeos also on YouTube (Gregory Jackson) and FaceBookBethanyLutheranWorship plus my main FB page.
- Randy Anderson was released to come home from surgery today.
- Doctor's care - Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris, Pastor K, Dr. Lito Cruz.
- Those under a severe strain from the effects of Covid legislation.
KJV 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.
KJV 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
Students pick a book and describe it, including its characters and main events. If they pick Exodus, I point out the presence of Christ in one place after another starting with Exodus 3.
Another way of looking at it is this - The Gospel of John is a commentary on the Books of Moses. The other Gospels are too, in a way, but I find John especially so. The bronze serpent always bothered me, It is so vivid and so strange. Numbers 21:8-9.
That seems to go against basic Biblical wisdom. But the people were wicked and God sent poisonous serpents to assail them. The cure was a bronze serpent raised up.
KJV John 3:14 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 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.
This is very important to consider at Christmas because we can see that everything was put in place before it happened, often thousands of years in advance. This is not simply true in one place in the Old Testament but throughout the Old Testament. That is why it is so important to see both Testaments together, interwoven, and completely in harmony.
The rationalists make all the Promises disappear and like mischievous birds, replace something of value with a cheap token. They are like the birds saying, "See I am smarter than you." The rationalists - who are often bishops and professors and district presidents - think some soothing Pablum will make everyone cozy and warm. They try their truisms and platitudes and show their wrath when someone challenges them about the Word itself.
God promised He would preserve His Word, so it is appalling that God's Word is chiseled away, corrupted, and denied in subtle and obvious ways. But those people are the fools, because God's Word has power in rejection, just as it does in reception.
Reception means receiving, welcoming God's Word. There are many puzzling passages, which we may not comprehend until later in life. However, we have to school ourselves in the Scriptures to understand more and more. Some have said about all of our congregation's output - "I have learned things I never understood before." Graduate students in Old Testament have said the same. The reason is - Luther's work on the Word itself being explored, quoted, repeated, and illustrated.
The Word teaches the Word and illuminates the so-called dark passages (which mystify us). I never grasped the Canaanite woman being denied, even humiliated in that miracle. One day I saw how she became the example of someone who seems to get no relief, no answer for her child, only what looks like mockery in silence, and finally the put-down when she says to herself what Jesus said to the mother - Who are you to ask such a thing? The mother says in that miracle, "Yes even the little dogs eat the crumbs from the Master's table." Total faith, total reliance on the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
That should tell us that each tough or mysterious passage, and each time we are baffled by bad news extended over time - God will answer.
