The Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 2022
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The melodies are linked in the hymn name.
The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.
The Hymn # 452 The Son of God
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 #528:10-15 If God Himself Be For Me
A Simple Guideline
The Communion Hymn # 308 Invited 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 # 651 Be Still My Soul
Prayers and Announcements
- Kermit and Maria Way, Pastor Jim and Chris Shrader, Callie, her mother Peggy, and her father Calvin, C.
- The doctor gave Lynda Roper good news.
- Esther Estrada will arrive in Minnesota on July 20th. Glen Kotten and Esther will be married on July 23rd.
- Norma Boeckler's son has experience with church broadcasting and has ideas about the sound.
- The Bible Book came out last year, and a much improved The King James Version, the newest book, is reaching new people. Email if you or someone else wants one or two.
KJV Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
KJV Luke 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
Fourth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, who art merciful, and through Christ didst promise us, that Thou wilt neither judge nor condemn us, but graciously forgive us all our sins, and abundantly provide for all our wants of body and soul: We pray Thee, that by Thy Holy Spirit Thou wilt establish in our hearts a confident faith in Thy mercy, and teach us also to be merciful to our neighbor, that we may not judge or condemn others, but willingly forgive all men, and, Judging only ourselves, lead blessed lives in Thy fear, through Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
A Simple Guideline
KJV Luke 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Basic to the Bible is the revelation that God is merciful. The parallel qualities follow adding to the initial powerful statement - Be merciful. Why? Because God is merciful, not judging, not condemning, but forgiving.
As Lenski points out in his unique, grammatical way, be merciful does not mean be merciful once, but be continuously merciful, always merciful. Lenski, Luke, p. 372.
This relationship can be found in another form in John 15, Jesus as the True Vine. He is continuously bearing fruit, so we as, as the fruit of the Vine, obtain those qualities from faith in Him. That is the way we obtain grace, through faith in all the work of Jesus Christ but primarily in His Atonement, Resurrection, and Ascension.
The Gospel-dominant emphasis in the Bible is often ignored or misunderstood. Our human temptation is to dwell on the Law and merge the Law and Gospel together, as if we cannot be forgiven unless we are perfect.
The opening of this passage is also teaching us that we should be as forgiving toward others as God is toward us.
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
This passage has been promoted by hucksters like the one who had a money machine. He worked on cruise lines long ago. He had a machine that converted ordinary dollars into $100. As I recall, he sold many copies of this machine, which was engineered to work that way.
Verse 38 is a remedy for those who cannot let go and forgive, who will not help others, who have no time for others, who want to keep everything for themselves, including their time.
Instead, when we give - of ourselves and what we have to share - we should have no fears about God giving to us far more than we give to others. What we share goes out and comes back in other forms.
Many times I have built up Lutheran, Biblical book collections and given most of them away, so others can enjoy them and gain from them. Lately I have received a lot of those titles back, while mailing three boxes away for free.
Money and time are like roses, which grow more productive when shared with others. That is often missed by visitors. They are pruned so they can be even more fruitful, John 15.
Time is our most precious commodity because it is extremely limited, day by day, and in the long view (which gets shorter all the time). God wants us to share time with others because those moments may be the last ones we have.
If shunning worked for the betterment of mankind, we would be in Paradise now. America has so many classes, levels, and types of shunning, to enforce a code no one can comprehend, that many fear using the "wrong" word or going to the "wrong" gathering or having the "wrong" opinion.
39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
Many are completely blind spiritually and are praised and protected as great leaders. One can follow their landings in the ditch, followed by their disciples (whom they made) who are just as blind. I will not mention Fuller Seminary and their blind followers (think of the $100 machine).
For example, Westcott-Hort created their own Greek New Testament (GNT), snipping and clipping and pasting with glee. Today's modern scholars of the GNT realize that 160 years later, they still only have the Westcott-Hort GNT (in effect), whose theories have been completely destroyed as wrong, delusional, and a massive joke. The "modern, scholarly" GNTs continue to blind new students while the majority of Bible readers stick to the Byzantine, Majority Text and the King James Version.
40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
We should always keep in mind that everything in the Bible is about Jesus the Son of God. I had a class quiz on each special happening in the Exodus , calling on confirmands - Burning Bush, the bronze serpent raised up, blood on the doorposts, the lamb without spot, bread from heaven, etc - one student said when I asked him about one event - "I am not sure but the answer is probably Jesus."
This is a verse about Jesus. We should strive to be like Jesus. The fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 are in several cases the descriptions of Jesus - meek and lowly, etc.
KJV Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
KJV Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
And the Beatitudes are based upon Christ Himself.
Everything is conditioned upon keeping Jesus Christ as our center, our foundation, and "our hero" as Luther wrote. Someone who wants to change, dilute, or reject the Gospel (and there are many) will have disciples like them, who are the little Antichrists follow their master, their Father Below.
41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
This is always where we need to start when examining the faults of others. In the Age of Woke, we have much more blaming, shunning, and demanding repayment for mistakes made, even if the slight is imaginary.
