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| Video of this service is linked here. |
Sexagesima Sunday, 2021
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
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 Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
O God, who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do, mercifully grant that by Thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #339 All Hail the Power
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #339 All Hail the Power
Keeping the Word of God
The Hymn #312 Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Living Bread
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 #46 On What Has Now Been Sown
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 #46 On What Has Now Been Sown
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| Norma A. Boeckler |
Prayers and Announcements
- Treatment and recovery - Rush Limbaugh, Christina Jackson, Mary Howell.
- Pray for our country and our elected President as major trials continue.
- Thanksgiving - Glen Kotten is doing well.
- Ash Wednesday begins the Galatians study. On Sundays, the Luke Bible study will be followed by Genesis.
SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank Thee, that through Thy Son Jesus Christ Thou hast sown Thy holy word among us: We pray that Thou wilt prepare our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may diligently and reverently hear Thy word, keep it in good hearts, and bring forth fruit with patience; and that we may not incline to sin, but subdue it by Thy power, and in all persecutions comfort ourselves with Thy grace and continual help, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
2 Corinthians 11:19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. 20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face. 21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also. 22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool ) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? 30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. 32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: 33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. 12:1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
KJV Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Keeping the Word of God
Introduction to Luke 8:4ff
The parables of Jesus are fictional short stories, designed to convey a message within a picture (like this one, sowing seed) or a plot (the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan). They are introduced as parables in some cases and in other cases, they are parables without the title. We take them for granted, but we should not, because they are intended to stick to our memories and to increase in importance as we dwell on their meaning. We can never exhaust the meaning of a given passage, because the Word of God is always energized by the Spirit, always powerful and effective. They are for believers only. Those without faith or who have lost faith will hear them and not grasp the meaning. They will see the words but be blinded by the Word. However, those with sincere hearts who listen to the Word of God will be fruitful from the Spirit at work. We are fickle and easily distracted, so God employs many tools to keep us in His flock. The parables are very powerful in doing that.
KJV Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
If people read one passage or another, they miss the impact of so many crowds gathering to meet Jesus. John the Baptist continued what the Star of Bethlehem promised, announcing the Messiah and His message of repentance and faith in Him.
In each and every case, the crowds alarmed the Roman government and the priestly class. This built up animosity and fear, because a movement so popular was difficult to suppress.
Jesus began with a parable, one which many know by heart. The opening is very much in the Old Testament Hebrew style of using a word to serve as noun and verb, but this is in Greek, which had become the main language. "The seeder went out to seed the seed, and in seeding..." is relatively close to the Greek play on words.
εξηλθεν ο σπειρων του σπειραι τον σπορον αυτου και εν τω σπειρειν
This repetition of the same word in various forms emphasizes seed, which we know is the Word of God. The first example is seed that falls onto the pathways, is stepped on into the soil, and is eaten by birds. They are very keen about digging up food in shallow soil, so they are a perfect example of the Word being taught but tramped down in various ways and taken by Satan.
The parables are not for everyone to know and believe. That seems to be a contradiction when we first learn it, and that is not an interpretation but the message from Jesus Himself. Those who idly listen or pay attention out of curiosity lose the Word. There might be a beginning of interest, but one of Satan's Little Helpers will come along and trample the Word so his Father Below can keep his kingdom strong. It works like this. There is the Word first, which is God's program to gather and keep His flock. An unbeliever is alerted to this interest in a person and dashes faith with various tools - ridicule, astonishment, pointing out bad experiences:
- You can't possibly fall for that!
- You pay attention to him?
- Remember that church you left 20 years ago? They are all the same.
This is a warning from Jesus. Some think "keeping the Word" can be a casual acquaintance with God's Word. The word for "keep" is used for guarding someone or some precious object. The eternal Word is not sent out by God as something to be dismissed, ignored, or opposed.
"But I thought the Word was always effective!" So the Word is, but that means effective in converting or hardening, effective in enlightening or blinding. A powerline is effective in lighting up part of a city, but also in exploding and starting fires. We watched the Midland flood grow, years ago, and as the water rose, transformers blew up - impressive fireworks - suddenly useless transformers.
Modern rejective of the English Bible began in 1881, when the Revision of the KJV was published. At the same time, the team of Wescott and Hort published their new Greek New Testament, which was designed to set aside the KJV and replace it with the The Revised Version. Never heard of it? That was a total flop, but the anti-KJV (anti-traditional text) gradually took over. All the major modern Bibles - NIV, ESV, Good News, NASB, New Living, etc partake in this travesty. One example is the relatively "conservative" NASB, which includes the story of the adulterous woman in John 7 - but lo - there is a footnote - "
- John 7:53 Later manuscripts add the story of the adulterous woman, numbering it as John 7:53-8:11. NASB
So this NASB is saying, like the rest, but less boldly - "This does not belong in the Gospel of John or in the Bible. Don't be fooled by the KJV."
Wescott and Hort delighted in removing words and verses from the New Testament, and this really set the stage early for rejecting the divinity of Christ, His Virgin Birth, and His Resurrection.
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
This follows the example of seed growing and withering away from lack of moisture. I had a birdfeeder in New Ulm where the seed fell onto roofing with fine soil and dead leaves, an ideal place for sprouting. Sunflowers germinated quickly in the sun, but that stopped with the steady rains. The power of the sun dried them up and they blew away in the wind.
This happens among temporary believers when they hear the saving Truth of the Gospel, faith in Jesus Christ, and are overjoyed. If someone has never known forgiveness, complete and full and free, from faith in the Savior - it is a great moment. It may last for a while, but when trials come along, people say, "This is not for me. My life is worse than before and I have no friends."
This is what Jesus calls trials, temptations, the way of the Cross. Faithfulness to Christ will always be met by blessings but also by hard knocks on the head. If a minister wants to be comfortable, popular, and wealthy, he has to avoid antagonizing the somewhat faithful with the Gospel. The negative side seems overwhelming because the Kingdom opposite God's - The Kingdom of Satan - is unwilling to give up a single adherent, and they always recruit more.
Shallow pastors are a great boon to the Kingdom of Satan. They give the impression of Christianity, but they only want the good parts, never the cross.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?
As many have experienced, when seed falls on good (productive) ground, the fruitfulness is so great that it more than makes up for the losses. "15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it [guard it], and bring forth fruit with patience."
So this is not only a parable about the power of the efficacious Word, but also about those who appreciate the Gospel, guard it with their hearts and minds, and patiently bear fruit over all the years, though many years may seem like a fruitless battle.
The scattering of the Word should mean to us that we have such a precious commodity from God that it should be shared in various ways. I know Audio Gutenberg is posted on every possible spot on Facebook.
So is Norma Boeckler's Christian artwork.
Likewise, I separate the introduction to the sermon and post that - and 35 or so people respond to it. There is no waste is sharing broadly.
One person questioned our online services - a mode he does not care for. I pointed the origin of them, among a few scattered families. Now the total is 30,000 views. Not per year, but from the beginning. He was startled by that. So was I.
I thought we had a good bunch of books to offer free, dozens of free PDFs. Now the total from the Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry is 270+. We can say that free library is an enviable total for any student, pastor, or layman to have on hand. I buy books and obtain free books for projects so I have to send them on. I explained to Christina, "If I kept them all, we would have to pitch a tent in the backyard for sleeping."
The power and efficacy of the Word is shown in our growth in understanding the Scriptures and then our ability to communicate the Word.
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| Norma A. Boeckler designed the Bethany altar and created this photograph of it. |
