Midweek Advent Service, 7 PM.

 

Midweek Advent Three, December 20, 2023

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

1. Christmas Eve Sunday will be a complete Holy Communion service at 10 AM.
2. Sunday evening will be a Christmas hymn and Scriptures service at 7 PM.
3. New Year's Eve Sunday will be Matins at 10 AM.
4. Sunday Evening will be a complete Holy Communion service at 7 PM.

The Hymn # 90      Come Your Hearts and Voices Raising - Gerhardt
The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41

The Psalmody            Psalm  1                           p. 123
The Lection               
   
The Sermon Hymn #136    Angels from the Realms of Glory 

         

The Prophets Prepared Them - So Did the Stars

The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer                         p. 44

The Collect for Peace                                           p. 45

The Benediction                                                   p. 45

The Hymn # 399            Thee Will I Love, My Strength My Tower

The Prophets Prepared Them - So Did the Stars

    The prophets prepared so many ways for people to know about the coming of the Messiah. It goes back to Adam and Eve, Genesis 3:15 and example of the kings. The people wanted a king like the other nations, not just a prophet, though he was a direct contact with God. We discuss this often In Old Testament class. They wanted the prestige of a king, and the kings often disappointed them. 

    No matter what, the title of king also suggested a concept that is central to the role of Jesus Christ, because the title Christ (anointed in Greek) or Messiah ( the same in Hebrew). These two terms in two different languages recall the tradition of using oil for the coronation, which is still used today (whale oil in England). The unique role of Jesus is recognized in the title - King of Kings. Nothing else is quite as noble and distinctive as that phrase.

    I have been reading the history of the Bishop Hill colony, not far from my hometown, built through the efforts of a false prophet and his followers. Because they colonists were Swedish, the King and Queen of Sweden came to visit and honor their hard work in the past, not that long ago. They had a special insert in the booklet about the royal couple.

    Even today we acknowledge royalty, though not with the pomp and solemn ceremonies of kings, queens, princes, and princesses. Even now we have all kinds of ways to describe their homes (palaces), royal robes and jewels of uncanny size.

    Jesus as King and Lord was destined to rise above all titles and honors, because He came from Heaven to be our Savior and Redeemer. From one small area of the world, one tiny sliver of history came our Savior. The irony is that all the great warriors and kings have nothing in comparison with the baby born among the animals in a stable. Warfare and wealth never had the power of His kingship, because He came to us to show God's mercy and forgiveness, so that we would be fruitful - from believing in Him - instead of trying to earn forgiveness.

    As I have said before, some scientists are very annoyed that the Star of Bethlehem, scoffed by them, is conjured up with math and the right equipment. As one said, "How shameful to use the Star of Bethlehem to bring people into the planetarium! Science should be above all that." But nothing will change the reality of that heavenly object appearing when Jesus was born.

    Another part of this know-it-all attitude is the declaration that the Wise Men could not have been there in time, because it took so long to get there from "the East." No one has the roadmap they used, and they might have come from Petra, a kingdom only recently discovered - and very mysterious still. Unbelief is so powerful that even the most impressive evidence is hidden from their understanding.

    The most powerful message is the weakness and humility of the Holy Family being central to the arrival of the King of Kings. No rewards. No recognition, not even help from the relatives. They came because of the taxation, which was based on their home territory. One famous family from the entertainment industry caused a multi-million arts addition to be added to the Moline High School building because of the origins of their mother and consequently their father. I went by their Bartlett Insurance Company sign downtown Moline, never imagining that it was the plebian origin of a famous couple. (Bonnie Bartlett)

 Bartlett Insurance sign - on the right.

    Nobody thought much about the sign until everything was revealed many decades later.

In comparison, the advent of our King was so minor, so brushed aside as one more family too insignificant to matter. And this event caused Christmas is honored all over the world.

In our prayers - 

• Ongoing medical care - Lori Howell, Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader, Sarah Buck, Kermit and Maria Way, Randy Anderson, Doc Lito.

The end.

Andrea Smiles for Christmas

 

 Andy is five years old.

Aby - 10 months

Midweek Advent Service Tonight - Upcoming Services

 

Midweek Vespers - 7 PM Central tonight.

Christmas Eve Sunday will be a complete Holy Communion service at 10 AM.

Sunday evening will be a Christmas hymn and Scriptures service at 7 PM.

+++

New Year's Eve Sunday will be Matins at 10 AM.

Sunday Evening will be a complete Holy Communion service at 7 PM.

The Lutheran Hymnal - Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower - #399

"Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower"
by Johann Scheffler, 1624-1677

Tune: "Ich will dich lieben"

1. Thee will I love, my Strength, my Tower;
Thee will I love, my Hope, my Joy;
Thee will I love with all my power,
With ardor time shall ne'er destroy.
Thee will I love, O Light Divine,
So long as life is mine.

2. Thee will I love, my Life, my Savior,
Who art my best and truest Friend;
Thee will I love and praise forever,
For never shall Thy kindness end;
Thee will I love with all my heart,
Thou my Redeemer art.

3. I thank Thee, Jesus, Sun from heaven,
Whose radiance hath bro't light to me;
I thank Thee, who hast richly given
All that could make me glad and free;
I thank Thee that my soul is healed
By what Thy lips revealed.

4. Oh, keep me watchful, then, and humble
And suffer me no more to stray;
Uphold me when my feet would stumble,
Nor let me loiter by the way.
Fill all my nature with Thy light,
O Radiance strong and bright!

5. Oh, teach me, Lord, to love Thee truly
With soul and body, head and heart,
And grant me grace that I may duly
Practice fore'er love's sacred art.
Grant that my every thought may be
Directed e'er to Thee.

6. Thee will I love, my Crown of gladness;
Thee will I love, my God and Lord,
Amid the darkest depths of sadness,
Not for the hope of high reward--
For Thine own sake, O Light Divine,
So long as life is mine.

Hymn #399
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: John 14:23
Author: Johann Scheffler, 1657, cento
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: "Ich will dich lieben, meine Staerke"
Tune: "Ich will dich lieben"
1st Published in: Harmonischer Liederschatz
Town: Frankfurt, 1733

Jesus Said, "Travel Light!" But the Apostate Synods Converted Themselves Into First Satan Bank and Trust, Inc.

 

Mequon is a perfect example of shrinkage. And don't forget to give your entire estate to the synod/Thrivent instead of your heirs. Yes, that is an Irrevocable Trust - sign your name, sign your money away. That is why the "Grabbing Giving Counselors" have to pass their insurance/annuity license, to make the Irrevocable Trust legal. The synods to this and there still is not enough for them.

KJV Matthew 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses...

In the 1970s a synod official - LCA - said he would go to council meetings where they would argue about where to get the best interest on their Certificates of Deposit. One congregation had an ushers' club fund that held $6,000 and the other groups had accounts too. The staffer said, "The congregations with all the cash are the first to go."

WELS and LCMS consider cashing out a church a real benefit, since the extra money buys more nest eggs. They are so grounded in things material that they ignore all things eternal. Only in this dark era could  two tiny synods build college gyms, 28 miles away from each other, while cutting their own higher education. Those are the new gyms in Mankato (ELS) and New Ulm (WELS).

The LCMS, ELS, WELS, and ELCA are best examined by their use of funds. I used to go over the national reports, item by item, when I could. WELS has $100 million in the bank. Concordia Publishing House had over $30 million in cash, so I continue to wonder how they can provide such low quality books with such deluxe price tags. At one point a WELS manager demanded that their little publishing house fork over $1 million cash to the synod. 

I believe the current WELS stash is worth $100 million. That is only an estimate - totals may fluctuate, depending on market value. One way or another, they all have a lot of swag, and it is never enough. The heirs of the frozen food fortune have half a billion dollars in their charities - with very little being used. At that rate I suspect it provides a wonderful tax-free shelter for their heirs. The manager makes 1/3 million a year, for overseeing the overseers.

The synod officials will howl if members call them up for the numbers. I cannot afford a $25,000 Bloomberg Terminal, so the synod staffs can cite any numbers they want. "He's lying and slandering again!" Just watch the reports they white-wash for group consumption. An architect used to say, "God is in the details," and that proves to be correct. Why help widows and orphans with those millions when there are synodical heirs to drain the treasury?

One Thing Is Needful

KJV Luke 10:38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His Word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

The synods are like chickens with their heads cut off - "Cluck! Cluck! Cluck! We have so much to do. We need more help. And more money! Yes, money, money, money. We cannot do it alone. We need Schwan and Thrivent."

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Christmas Day - "But this can not occur except through the faith that teaches us rightly to understand the Gospel and properly to lay hold of it. This is the only way in which Christ can be rightly known so that the conscience is satisfied and made to rejoice. Out of this grow love and praise to God who in Christ has bestowed upon us such unspeakable gifts."

 

Complete Sermon -> 

Luke 2:1-14. Christmas Day

II. THE BIRTH OF JESUS CONSIDERED IN IT’S SPIRITUAL MEANING.

A. THE TEACHING CONCERNING FAITH.

24. Faith is first, and it is right that we recognize it as the most important in every word of God. It is of no value only to believe that this history is true as it is written; for all sinners, even those condemned believe that. The Scripture, God’s Word, does not teach concerning faith, that it is a natural work, without grace. The right and gracious faith which God demands is, that you firmly believe that Christ is born for you, and that this birth took place for your welfare. The Gospel teaches that Christ was born, and that he did and suffered everything in our behalf, as is here declared by the angel: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people; for there is born to you this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” In these words you clearly see that he is born for us.

25. He does not simply say, Christ is born, but to you he is born, neither does he say, I bring glad tidings, but to you I bring glad tidings of great joy. Furthermore, this joy was not to remain in Christ, but it shall be to all the people. This faith no condemned or wicked man has, nor can he have it; for the right ground of salvation which unites Christ and the believing heart is that they have all things in common. But what have they?

26. Christ has a pure, innocent, and holy birth. Man has an unclean, sinful, condemned birth; as David says, Psalm 51:5, “Behold I was brought forth in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Nothing can help this unholy birth except the pure birth of Christ. But Christ’s birth can not be distributed in a material sense neither would that avail any thing; it is therefore imparted spiritually, through the Word, as the angel says, it is given to all who firmly believe so that no harm will come to them because of their impure birth. This it the way and manner in which we are to be cleansed from the miserable birth we have from Adam. For this purpose Christ willed to be born, that through him we might be born again, as he says John 3:3, that it takes place through faith; as also St. James says in James 1:18: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.”

27. We see here how Christ, as it were, takes our birth from us and absorbs it in his birth, and grants us his, that in it we might become pure and holy, as if it were our own, so that every Christian may rejoice and glory in Christ’s birth as much as if he had himself been born of Mary as was Christ. Whoever does not believe this, or doubts, is no Christian.

28. O, this is the great joy of which the angel speaks. This is the comfort and exceeding goodness of God that, if a man believes this, he can boast of the treasure that Mary is his rightful mother, Christ his brother, and God his father. For these things actually occurred and are true, but we must believe. This is the principal thing and the principal treasure in every Gospel, before any doctrine of good works can be taken out of it. Christ must above all things become our own and we become his, before we can do good works.

But this can not occur except through the faith that teaches us rightly to understand the Gospel and properly to lay hold of it. This is the only way in which Christ can be rightly known so that the conscience is satisfied and made to rejoice. Out of this grow love and praise to God who in Christ has bestowed upon us such unspeakable gifts. This gives courage to do or leave undone, and living or dying, to suffer every thing that is well pleasing to God. This is what is meant by Isaiah 9:6, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,” to us, to us, to us is born, and to us is given this child.

29. Therefore see to it that you do not find pleasure in the Gospel only as a history, for that is only transient; neither regard it only as an example, for it is of no value without faith; but see to it that you make this birth your own and that Christ be born in you. This will be the case if you believe, then you will repose in the lap of the virgin Mary and be her dear child. But you must exercise this faith and pray while you live, you cannot establish it too firmly. This is our foundation and inheritance, upon which good works must be built.

30. If Christ has now thus become your own, and you have by such faith been cleansed through him and have received your inheritance without any personal merit, but alone through the love of God who gives to you as your own the treasure and work of his Son; it follows that you will do good works by doing to your neighbor as Christ has done to you. Here good works are their own teacher. What are the good works of Christ? Is it not true that they are good because they have been done for your benefit, for God’s sake, who commanded him to do the works in your behalf? In this then Christ was obedient to the Father, in that he loved and served us.

31. Therefore since you have received enough and become rich, you have no other commandment to serve Christ and render obedience to him, than so to direct your works that they may be of benefit to your neighbor, just as the works of Christ are of benefit and use to you. For the reason Jesus said at the Last Supper: “This is my commandment that ye love one another; even as I have loved you.” John 18:34. Here it is seen that he loved us and did every thing for our benefit, in order that we may do the same, not to him, for he needs it not, but to our neighbor; this is his commandment, and this is our obedience. Therefore it is through faith that Christ becomes our own, and his love is the cause that we are his. He loves, we believe, thus both are united into one. Again, our neighbor believes and expects our love, we are therefore to love him also in return and not let him long for it in vain. One is the same as the other; as Christ helps us so we in return help our neighbor, and all have enough.

32. Observe now from this how far those have gone out of the way who have united good works with stone, wood, clothing, eating and drinking.

Of what benefit is it to your neighbor if you build a church entirely out of gold? Of what benefit to him is the frequent ringing of great church bells?

Of what benefit to him is the glitter and the ceremonies in the churches, the priests’ gowns, the sanctuary, the silver pictures and vessels? Of what benefit to him are the many candles and much incense. Of what benefit to him is the much chanting and mumbling, the singing of vigils and masses?

Do you think that God will permit himself to be paid with the sound of bells, the smoke of candles, the glitter of gold and such fancies? He has commanded none of these, but if you see your neighbor going astray, sinning, or suffering in body or soul, you are to leave every thing else and at once help him in every way in your power and if you can do no more, help him with words of comfort and prayer. Thus has Christ done to you and given you an example for you to follow.

33. These are the two things in which a Christian is to exercise himself, the one that he draws Christ into himself, and that by faith he makes him his own, appropriates to himself the treasures of Christ and confidently builds upon them; the other that he condescends to his neighbor and lets him share in that which he has received, even as he shares in the treasures of Christ. He who does not exercise himself in these two things will receive no benefit even if he should fast unto death, suffer torture or even give his body to be burned, and were able to do all miracles, as St. Paul teaches, Corinthians 18ff.