The Eighth Sunday after Trinity, 2022
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time
The melodies are linked in the hymn titles.
The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Introit
We have thought of Thy loving-kindness, O God:
in the midst of Thy Temple.
According to Thy name, O God,
so is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth:
Thy right hand is full of righteousness.
Psalm. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised:
in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
Grant to us, Lord, we beseech Thee, the Spirit to think and do always such things as are right, that we, who cannot do anything that is good without Thee, may by Thee be enabled to live according to Thy will; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth...
The Epistle and Gradual
Gradual
Be Thou my strong Rock: for an house of defense to save me.
V. In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust:
let me never be ashamed. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Give ear, O My people, to My Law:
incline your ears to the words of My mouth. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Scriptures - Either Objective Truth or Subjective Opinion
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 #511 Jesus Shall Reign
In Our Prayers
- Randy Anderson has a mass needing medical treatment.
- Zach's mother, Anita Engleman, in our prayers.
- Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader; Kermit and Maria Way.
- Honest, elections and renewed dedication to the US Constitution, where state legislatures control their elections.
KJV Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Eighth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we most heartily thank Thee that Thou hast caused us to come to the knowledge of Thy word. We pray Thee: graciously keep us steadfast in this knowledge unto death, that we may obtain eternal life; send us now and ever pious pastors, who faithfully preach Thy word, without offense or false doctrine, and grant them long life. Defend us from all false teachings, and frustrate Thou the counsels of all such as pervert Thy word, who come to us in sheep's clothing, but are inwardly ravening wolves, that Thy true Church may evermore be established among us, and be defended and preserved from such false teachers, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
The Scriptures - Either Objective Truth or Subjective Opinion
Introduction
There are only two stances on the Scriptures. One is common to most readers, the other is hidden, recused, but dominant in today's world -
- Objective Truth - The Bible is the infallible, only revealed Word of God, without error or contradiction, and judges all books.
- Subjective Opinion - The Scriptures are the work of man, from many different sources, and are judged by the scientific knowledge of scholars who alone can bring clarity to the Word.
The Bible as Objective Truth is the proclamation of the Reformation. That Luther Bible was first translated in Germany for all the people, by churchmen who believed in the power, efficacy, and clarity of the Scriptures. Likewise, the King James Bible in England was translated by Tyndale and others to give the Holy Scriptures to everyone, no matter how poor and lowly they might be.
The Bible as Subjective Opinion is the plague visiting us today, because churchmen let businessmen take over translating and publishing - embarrassed about miracles, the Virgin Birth, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The modern Bible factories are willing to please any faction, to see more Bibles they can sell for profit.
Many people do not realize that our American Bibles, thrust upon us, are lacking in those verses removed or corrupted by the Bible business and the rationalistic "scholars." Ministers are often trained by unfaithful professors to change the meaning of the clear, powerful, and gracious Word of the Gospel.
Subjective opinions about the Bible:
- Miracles are only wonders in the eyes of primitive, ignorant onlookers. We know better. Rauschenbusch, The Social Gospel, was publishing this in 1917 at Yale. This approach began in the Biblical department of Halle University, where rationalism replaced Biblical Pietism.
- The Virgin Birth is a wonderful story for Christmas, expressing the hopes of all mankind. However, Joseph or someone else was the actual father of Jesus. That is why Isaiah 7:10 was changed by the RSV to - "a woman will conceive" - which is something less than a miracle from God Himself. 1950s - RSV - this was moved to a footnote then moved back into the current text.
- Jesus died on the cross to show solidarity with other suffering people. Rauschenbusch, hippies, and the movie Godspell.
- The Bible is only a human book - it "did not float down from heaven." (That sarcastic statement about floating down is a rejection of something never claimed by believers, who know that God Himself preserves His Word.) Therefore, the modern, scientific scholars can study and present the "real truth" of the Bible, minus "the roses," as Braaten-Jenson wrote in their whale-sized Christian Dogmatics, 1984.
The false teachers, wolves wearing cashmere, soften their message but only want to rend and butcher the flock. We see examples of these daily - the Scriptures are rejected, members robbed, and the reverend lupines make merry with the ewes and kids. Thus they must have their modern Bibles.
KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come* to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
*They come on their own - they are not sent by God.
Contrary to the apostates, the Sermon on the Mount is a real sermon with a definite structure, beginning with the Beatitudes, one of the most glorious passages in the Bible. The Sermon ends with the house built on sand-or-a rock-parable and the ravening wolf illustration. The house built on a rock illustrates whether our faith is based upon the eternity of God's Word or the current fads.
This warning relates to that house today - Western Civilization's repudiation of the Biblical message and mocking of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Savior, our Good Shepherd. The Lutherans - including the so-called conservative ones - and the rest of the mainstream Protestants and Roman Catholics - are that bad example. They welcome the false prophets and feed the flocks to the wolves, knowingly, happily, gleefully.
In any given situation, the wolves enter like little kittens, softly and winsomely announcing they are there to help everyone. False teachers are not called - they send themselves. In one situation, they "discovered" that each parish needed a fellowship hall - very expensive. They suggested their friends would help raise the money for a large fee. When that was done, the church was deeply in debt with a big room that by itself did nothing at all. Was that mass stupidity or greed?
Jesus' warning is to carefully examine what false teachers are claiming for themselves. Discernment means to compare what is claimed to what is clearly taught in the Scriptures. When the wolves find they are being exposed as frauds, they howl and begin to snap, bite, and devour. When Sassy and I were being troubled by a very large dog on our walks, I carried a big elm walking stick. I shook it in the dog's face and said, "Go HOME!" The next time he saw me, he disappeared faster than a July frost.
False teachers come to stay. Like wolves, they are rather weak alone but very destructive in packs. False teachers band together, form societies, and endlessly praise each other. The Lutheran Forum issue on Robert Jenson praised him throughout and treated his writing as the very Word of God, though he participated in denigrating all the articles of faith we confess in the Creeds. A far more famous wolf, Karl Barth, has his own Center for Barth Studies devoted to him at Princeton University.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
This is simple and plain. As Lenski says, the fruits of the false teachers are their doctrine. That is what naturally comes from the source. The tree is a good visual because we do not ask a tree to be friendly, nice, smiley, or working 18 hours a day. We expect a good tree to bear good fruit.
For example, a Church Growth pastor said everyone had to be in a cell group studying a book. He did not care what the book was - each one had to be in a cell group, period.
Some people have said, "It worked for a while." Yes, LCMS members joined WELS to flee from the LCA-ALC apostasy, so there was no real numerical growth, which does not matter anyway. The issue is whether someone believes in Christ and remains on the True Vine (John 15) bearing fruit. Thorns and thistles do not produce anything worthwhile. They produce more thorns and thistles - which cling to our clothing and find new places to infest. But no one makes thistle pie or a cake full of thorns.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
The Crepe Myrtle on the altar is a good example of this comparison which the Lord of Creation taught. The flowering bush, often as tall as a tree, cannot do anything but bear good fruit. First it flowers and bees, butterflies, and Hummingbirds fly in and out to obtain what they need. Next the fruit forms as a round seed loved by Cardinals and Robins. Those birds love the plant so much that they build their nests there and warn intruders who approach.
Someone once called these colorful plants "weeds," but weeds are sterile - never producing anything worthwhile. Weeds are prolific, but in the wrong way, which is good to recall when a false teacher names his gatherings, buildings, and money. No matter what his or her boast is, nothing good is coming from it.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
One famous Evangelist said he "owned Toronto," but became obsessed with rationalism and lost faith in Jesus Christ entirely. That ate away at him but he seemed unable to return to faith.
Broadcasting fake piety is not the same as trusting in the Son of God, who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave, ascending to Heaven.
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