The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 2020
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
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 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
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Prayer Is the Fruit of Faith
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 #577 God Bless Our Native Land
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 #577 God Bless Our Native Land
Prayers and Announcements
- Thanksgiving Eve Service - 7 PM
- Our country's leaders, the justice system, Sidney Powell.
- Randy Anderson's surgery was successful, follow up chemo.
- In treatment - Mary Howell, Christina Jackson, Rush Limbaugh, Jeshra Palangyos
- Doctor's care - Pastor Jim Shrader, Pastor K, Dr. Lito Cruz
- Lynda Roper gave a gift to the Philippine Mission, in memory of her sainted husband, Carl Roper.
- The flowers mark the 51st anniversary of Pastor Jackson and Christina.
- Audio Gutenberg - Apology, Augsburg Confession, Travis and Lauren Cartee.
- Audio Gutenberg Facebook Page
Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Matthew 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. 19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. 23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, 24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. 26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.
Prayer Is the Fruit of Faith
Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Colossians is the little letter which was prompted by false teachers in the area. There was no dramatic doctrinal fight, but the local leader made sure Paul knew about this false teaching in order to prevent its growth in the congregation.
Paul and Timothy had not been at this congregation, but Paul's evangelism in Ephesus brought its leader to faith, and it grew from there.
Paul's immediate response to the threat was to pray for them and to fill them with complete knowledge of God's will, giving them the wisdom and spiritual understanding which God reveals to them.
Reading Paul's letters gives the lasting impression that he was always praying for his congregations. That was because of his apostolic role and the cause of his apostolic role.
Paul the Pharisee hated Christianity and persecuted it, but the risen Christ revealed Himself to Paul, converted him, named him apostle, and taught him.
Seeing the risen Christ was a requirement for the apostolic role. Paul's leadership increased in power because he understood the basic weakness of Pharisaic Judaism and could speak to that. His preaching was powerful among Jews for that reason, and he saw no reason from God to take the Gospel to Gentiles as well.
Paul had authority because no one could take away or counter his experience with Christ.
He had unquenchable faith because he had experienced the greatest miracle and Promise of his religious life - the Son of God risen from the dead. Compare that to any physical threat or any human opinion - everything was trash compared to being known by God and knowing Him in return through the Son.
filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
The problem we face today is almost universal, abandoning the foundation of faith in God for the wisdom of this world. If measured by numbers, the polling would be catastrophically bad for us. The faithful are badly outnumbered, the rest are poorly led. Someone can say, "This would make the congregation successful and you happy, if only we spend hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on this program." The latest version of the same malarkey is called "Unstuck."
One denomination decided the best way to renew congregations was to talk them into heavy debt and building improvements, as if a spiffy new addition or parish hall would draw in people like a sale on canned goods during a panic.
Nobody asked (or they were silenced if they did) - How do shiny floors and fresh paint convert or renew faith?
The source has to be the basics of the Scriptures, as they are revealed, not concealed, about faith, forgiveness of sin, and eternal life.
Paul's remedy is strange and bizarre for our times - prevent the bad by being filled with the good from God.
I told one pastor, "We are going to trust the Means of Grace, the Gospel and the Sacraments. If that does not work, we will look at gimmicks instead." He laughed and laughed. We never had a need to look at gimmicks at all. God only works through His Word, and that is so abundantly true for those who adapt this approach that soda machines, and popcorn for church do not have any appeal.
Remember movie theaters? We used to go for the rare good movies, and we ate popcorn there. The cheerful staff would ask, "Do you want butter?" I always said, "You mean that motor oil you pour on? No." I even pointed it out when the crankcase was being filled next to the popcorn machine. "There's your butter, folks." The crowd said, "Oooooh no, thank you."
Using that for Paul's argument, he was saying, I pray for your Scriptural wisdom and understanding to displace the notions of false teachers." The good will displace the bad, but there must be a supply of what is good in God's universe to outweigh the bad.
Luther used Job as an example of Satan doing his best to overthrow the faith of Job and make him curse God for his misfortunes, losing everything, being blamed by his self-righteous comforters, and being covered with boils.
Many have experienced the spiritual attacks of Luther and Paul, and many have not used the weapons of God's arsenal enough. Difficulties make us weak but also anxious for help.
Here is a marvelous medicine that works in advance and continues to work - If we use and consider the spiritual treasures of the Bible, we can deflect and stop the assaults and also weaken future attempts to take us from the Gospel and the love of God in Christ.
Some examples are:
1. Bitter attacks from friends because something good has been accomplished from the Word of God. Beatitudes - Great, that means it is God-pleasing because Satan and the world would like to destroy it.
2. Feelings of inadequacy - Well deserved, because no one is adequate. But God is the source and the producer of all blessings, which are far easier to recognize in our weakness than in our strength.
3. Losing friends. In sales, this was phrased as "getting all the no's that lead to the yes." When false friends evaporate - and that can include family as well - there is room for genuine Christian friends and a family far larger than flesh and blood can provide. Mark 10.
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
God has revealed all we need to know, so walking in His light gives us an agenda, an attitude, and a plan for living. Faithfulness and fruitfulness go together. Most people would see today in Arkansas as cold and miserable, but the garden is green and still fruitful. If there are any insects looking for pollen, Bee Bread (borage) is producing hundreds of flowers because dozens of seeds were sown earlier in the summer. Nothing is frozen, no hard frost, and rain is coming, so all living things will continue to work before their winter rest.
Just as plants are inevitably fruitful and flower - even the grass does - so we are created to be fruitful from the energy of the Gospel and the peace of following Him.
11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
The artwork by Norma Boeckler is one of my top favorites, even a tippy-top favorite. It shows the power of life over death in this young girl. The ruler believed in the power of Jesus, and asked for his daughter's revival and healing. The busy-bodies laughed at Jesus, but He said, "Little girl, arise."
This is often accomplished by His will today, and we should pray for that in His Name. And it is accomplished in the life to come as well.
We cannot take away the pain and exhaustion of dealing with serious disorders, but we continue to pray to see past the overwhelming dread and focus on the joyfulness always to be found.
Lots of people avoid sickness, the assaults of old age, disfiguring diseases. Do they ever stop to think - children do not see it. When Larry Carlson came to church with his breathing apparatus making noise, the kids said, "That's cool." No wonder Jesus extolled child-like faith - it only sees what is good.
Erin Joy had a special love for a disfigured woman, and that woman loved her intensely for seeing the person and not the skin.
Sassy Sue got to see her three friends yesterday, each with major medical problems. We sat outside together, and she looked and listened as the star of the show. They were going to a food give-away, so they could take a bunch to their needy friends who were homebound.
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
We do not make ourselves worthy, a burdensome thought on the minds of many. The Father makes us worthy to be included in the estate of the Christian believers.
This is a constant refrain in Paul, that Jesus is ours through the righteousness of faith, and we are His.
As Luther says in the Shepherd graphic. He is just as anxious for us as we are for Him.
False teaching drives people to themselves and their worthiness or the borrowed glory of some human or pagan figure.
The Bible only teaches faith in Jesus, resting on His faith in His Father. So He is in us and we are in Him, just as He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. (Gospel of John)
13 Who hath delivered us from the power (εξουσια) of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
This is the basis for Luther's Two Kingdoms (often confused by Lutheran professors, who are really thinking of the Two Regiments, Church and State). The divine power of Jesus is described as exousia (εξουσια),
We either belong to the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Satan, believers or unbelievers. The Gospel given to newborns is the power of the Word with the powerful symbol of water, Holy Baptism. They receive forgiveness and the seal of the Holy Spirit living in them. If you question infant faith, pass a baby from the family to a stranger. Faith and love turns into fear and crying, because the baby trusts, has faith in its family, especially Mom, and no faith in strangers. This is just as true of faith in the Savior. They have it through the powerful Word, and they are much less resistant than highly trained adults.
We are redeemed, set free =
41. Paul now expatiates on the things that call for our gratitude to God the Father. He sums up the whole teaching of the Gospel, showing us what is ours in Christ and giving a glorious and comforting description of his person and the blessing he brings. But first, he says, we ought, above all, to thank God unceasingly for the knowledge of his revealed Gospel In it we have no small treasure. Rather, it is a possession with which all the gold, silver and other riches of this world, all the earthly joy and comfort of this life, are not to be compared. For it means redemption from eternal, irreparable loss and ruin under God’s eternal, unbearable wrath and condemnation. And this wretchedness was the result of our sin. We were committed to sin and without help, without deliverance, ay, we were captive in such blindness and darkness that we did not recognize our misery; much less could we devise and effect our escape. Now, in place of this misery, we have, without any merit on our part, any preparation, any deed or design, ay, without even a thought, assuredly received, through God’s unfathomable grace and mercy, redemption, or the forgiveness of sins.
