Cantate, The Fourth Sunday after Easter, 2024

 

Bethany Lutheran Church

10 AM Central Standard Time

Cantate, The Fourth Sunday after Easter, 2024

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

 

The Hymn #347                           Jesus Priceless Treasure                     

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Oh, sing (cantate) unto the Lord a new song: 

for He hath done marvelous things.

The Lord hath made known His salvation: 

His righteousness hath He openly showed in the sight of the heathen.

Psalm. His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him the victory.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O God, who makest the minds of the faithful to be of one will, grant unto Thy people that they may love what Thou commandest and desire what Thou dost promise, that among the manifold changes of this world our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual 

Gradual

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. The right hand of the Lord is exalted: 

the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Hallelujah!

V. Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more: 

death hath no more dominion over Him. Hallelujah!

    

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #345                Jesus Lover of My Soul        

                 Jesus Teaching the Three Parts

These are the three parts we have in this Gospel lesson: Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith; the judgment is the holy cross.

Communion Hymn #297     The Gospel Shows the Father's Grace - by M. Loy, Capital Seminary President, Author

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 #657                        Beautiful Savior                     

In Our Prayers -

• Treatment and recovery - Randy Anderson, Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris, Lori Howell, . Dr. Kermit Way, Sarah Buck, Dr. Cruz, his wife Lyne, their son Thadeus.
• Pray for our country as the major trials continue. Victory is approaching for the duly elected President.
• Biblical doctrine is broadcast live on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 11 AM Central. Greek lessons are Wednesday at 11 AM. I am aiming at learning Greek from well known passages, such as the Lord's Prayer, the Great Commission, the Beatitudes, and other key passages. This link includes the latest sermons, lectures, and Greek.
• "The Bethany Lutheran Hymnal texts are finished. All the hymns have their own pages. Norma A. Boeckler is providing art for them. Typo alerts are welcome." That was years ago! - almost 70,000 views have been recorded, as of today.
• Mother's Day is May 12th, a great opportunity to show appreciation, gratitude, and love. Roses will be plentiful, on the altar, in our neighborhood, and everywhere.

   

        

Fourth Sunday After Easter

Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst through Thy Son promise us Thy Holy Spirit, that He should convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: We beseech Thee, enlighten our hearts, that we may confess our sins, through faith in Christ obtain everlasting righteousness, and in all our trials and temptations retain this consolation, that Christ is Lord over the devil and death, and all things, and that He will graciously deliver us out of all our afflictions, and make us forever partakers of eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle

KJV James 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls.

The Gospel

KJV John 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

John 16

8 και ελθων εκεινος ελεγξει τον κοσμον περι αμαρτιας και περι δικαιοσυνης και περι κρισεως

9 περι αμαρτιας μεν οτι ου πιστευουσιν εις εμε

10 περι δικαιοσυνης δε οτι προς τον πατερα μου υπαγω και ουκ ετι θεωρειτε με

11 περι δε κρισεως οτι ο αρχων του κοσμου τουτου κεκριται.

KJV John 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

Christian is bent over from the weight of his sins, studying the Bible as he seeks the truth. The Pilgrim's Progress

Jesus Teaching the Three Steps

 

KJV John 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

This is so important that many miss the meaning of this passage in John. I recall hearing church people saying "Wither goest thou?" But I do not think anyone grasped these fine verses, which require "fine people" to understand the words, as Luther said.

These are farewell sermons that left the disciples filled with anxiety, sadness, and fear. We know the outcome but they did not. They were headed to glory, as Jesus was, but they had to suffer before it all made sense with the appearance of Jesus in the locked room.

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

This should be very clear, because we know how this Gospel ends. We understand the future making sense of our present events. Jesus understood their sorrow but His work would become global in a mysterious way. The crucifixion mixed them up and made them more filled with sorrow and more dread. Jesus knew in the midst of all this they would be glorified, following the pattern of the Savior. They did not expect the supposed ending when the risen Christ appeared and showed showed His divinity in the greatest example of His power.

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Unbelief is sin

The Holy Spirit will accuse the world of sin because of unbelief. Every single perversion of Christianity is based upon not believing in Christ. Instead, people turn away from trust in Christ and impose a replacement for the ultimate work of the Holy Spirit through the Word. Unbelief is praised as the highest level of intellect known to man. Audiences clamor to hear someone who can prove so smoothly that Jesus was  a really fine person, but not the Son of God. Or not born of a Virgin, or not one who can heal the sick and raise the dead. Those great thinkers are patient with Christian believers, saying, "I used to be like that but I grew up and studied the great minds of civilization - Plato, Marx, and Donald McGavran."  

    Therefore the removal of sin is only through faith, never through the works of man, no matter how impressive that might be. That is why the world mocks the Christian Faith and replaces the Gospel the works of man.

Righteousness is faith

People are by nature self-righteous, our natural state. There are hundreds of ways to invent a righteousness that the multitude approves. Every time a relative lectured me on "saving planet Earth," I offered solutions, such as using the Grand Canyon for recycling - which set off a lot of fireworks. I said, "Mom was recycling with compost for the garden before you got your first tricycle." More fireworks exploded after that simple statement. That is also why people get excited by versions of the Bible which are not even close to the truth. But that is also why the King James Version is more popular than any single brand of Bible.

The judgment is the Holy Cross

Listeners or readers might want to read Pilgrim's Progress again. More than 2,000 editions have been printed, more than any other English book except the Bible. Christian, the name of the main person in the allegory, leaves everyone and searches for the truth, with a heavy burden on his back. He reaches the cross and his enormous backpack of sin falls away from him, careens down the hill, and enters the empty cave of the Resurrection. He finally realizes that all his sin has been captured and removed by the Only One who could do this, Jesus - the Son of God.

This illustration shows Christian's weight of sin falling away from viewing the cross, tumbling down into the cave of the Resurrection. The Pilgrim's Progress

His story continues with the various problems and assaults of this life. He is captured by the Giant of Despair, address - Castle Doom - and locked up. Interpreter (who explains the Bible) tells Christian he can leave any time. He tells Christian that he has always had the way out of despair. In Christian's pocket are keys - the Promises of God.

Here is a free version online of The Pilgrim's Progress, provided by Lutheran Library.

As long as we dwell on the weight on our backs or being locked in despair, we have the Word of God to guide us and to set us free from sin. We should remember that Peter's first response to the divinity of Christ was - Luke 5 -

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

Matthew 11 -

27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 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.

The end.