Midweek Advent 1 - 2024

The Zoom linked while it was live, and I created the YouTube. Getting past the thorns and tangles of the platforms means that I have the YouTube for the Midweek but cannot get some things working together.

 

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Central Time

The Hymn #58         O Lord How I Shall Meet Thee

         
The Order of Vespers                                                p. 41

The Psalmody                          Psalm 24                  p. 128
The Lections                             

                                                 
The Sermon Hymn #345  Jesus Lover of My Soul

 

The Sermon –  Only One Power Rules the World  

 
The Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer

The Collect for Grace                                            p. 45

The Hymn #554         Now Rest Beneath Night's Shadows

The Sermon –  Only One Power Rules the World

Jesus was born when the Holy Land was owned and taxed by the greatest empire on earth - The Senate and People of Rome, SPQR. Julius Caesar had already visited England. Caesar Augustus used his power and wealth to create a staggering group of buildings, still filling people with tourists today.

Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary in the meekest of circumstances, as we all know. By popular standards today, He had no land, no known titles, no money. These things are so important today but they were revealed only to Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds.

The Gospel spread in the most humble ways, ordinary people spread the Gospel, especially through persecution, not enormous buildings or giant libraries. When the cry-babies ask, "Why don't we have more ancient New Testaments?!" - the answer is clear. They were worn to death by use and copying and then burned to keep the crumbling paper out of the hands of heretics.

So they had very little power and a lot of horrible experiences, but they crushed the evil ones by the force of their patience under suffering and their praise of Jesus the Savior. Faith in Jesus Christ has two impacts - 

1. one is opposition, which will never go away;
2. the other is teaching the Gospel, evangelism, preaching, and guarding the Word of God. 

I like the New Testament phrase - guard the Word, often written as keep the Word. Unfortunately, many people today guard their seminary and guard their own books while despising the genuine Scriptures. The most powerful thing on earth is that Word of God, which is the precise teaching of Father and Son through the Holy Spirit.

Although people are cowed by the powerful, most of that comes from bluffing, bullying, takings things for granted, and using common phrases like "Do you know who my father is?" 

A. We had Vimeo bills a second year - $900 - and I responded and heard nothing. I emailed, "I already contacted my attorney about this." Minutes later they promised to refund the $900 at once. 

B. I saw that happen with the same phrase. One was an excessive $2,000 bill for surgery. 

C. The other was a botched case where the hospital set up a panel to refuse to remove the $600 overcharge. All I did was say, "I spoke to _____ law firm." And I did. A member of the congregation was a specialist in such cases and told me, "No chance the parents will win." It was only the name of the law firm that drove them into a frenzy with some nasty words, dramatic yelling. About a week later, the bill was erased.

Verbal bullying is a plague on our society. Some of it is outright lying and threats. But others hint at the falsehoods and use them as tools against someone more quiet, shy, and polite. Faith in Christ gives us the strength to do what is right as a believer. I pointed out in two additional cases that standing up, putting knuckles on the table, and yelling are the sign of a gorilla who is afraid. (I don't want to test that.) It worked very well because the yelling lawyers ran out of ammo... or flying spittle.

We can be crushed by spiritual forces, too, because Satan will battle the believers as long as he can before his empire collapses. Emotions are far more fragile than our bodies, and they can pull us down until we feel helpless. We are not helpless.

We worry about running out of gasoline, but more important is running out of spiritual energy. That requires -

• Daily going over all things important and spiritual - confessing sin, helping with our difficulties, guiding others, praising Christ for all He does, thanking God.
• Methodical Scripture reading. The Gospel of John is best.
• Enjoying great Christian music, such as Handel's Messiah, Bach, TLH hymns, and modern efforts.

In Our Prayers

Dr. Lito Cruz - operation; Sarah Buck; Pastor Jim and Chris Shrader; Kermit Way.