The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2021
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Behold, O God, our Shield, and look upon the face of Thine anointed:
for a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand.
Psalm. How amiable are Thy tabernacles,
O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth,
yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Keep, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy Church with Thy perpetual mercy; and because the frailty of man without Thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by Thy help from all things hurtful and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord:
and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High.
V. To show forth Thy loving-kindness in the morning:
and Thy faithfulness every night. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion:
and unto Thee shall the vow be performed. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Inevitable Fruits of the Gospel
Announcements and In Our Prayers
- Andrea Anderson will celebrate her third birthday this week.
- Enzo Meyer has started college at Grand Canyon University campus in Phoenix.
- Diagnostics and treatment - Mary Howell, Kermit Way, Pastor Jim Shrader.
KJV Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
KJV Luke 17:11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
Fourteenth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, who by Thy blessed word and Thy holy baptism hast mercifully cleansed all who believe from the fearful leprosy of sin, and daily dost grant us Thy gracious help in all our need: We beseech Thee so to enlighten our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may never forget these Thy blessings, but ever live in Thy fear, and, trusting fully in Thy grace, with thankful hearts continually praise and glorify Thee; through Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Inevitable Fruits of the Gospel
Background for the Epistle Lesson - Galatians 5:16-24, Fruits of the Spirit
The nine-fold fruits of the Spirit, by their title, suggest two categories at the same time. The Spirit means - these come from the Spirit in the Word and in us. In other words, these fruits come from God, His power and grace. So many churches think they need more money, more smiles, more programs, more everything except the one thing needful - more Gospel. The other category is fruits. These qualities grow from the power of Gospel, so the hearing of the Gospel moves us to be fruitful. The four stages in plants are - seed, plant, flower, and fruit. More fruit comes from the living seed of the Gospel. For someone who does not believe, the broadcast of the Gospel is the start of that seed of faith. The plant grows, flowers, and produces the fruit of Christian life. The qualities listed are the beginnings of the blessings that come from the Gospel.
KJV Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Walk in the Spirit means walk in the Word, because those two are never separated. The believer should be used to dwelling on the Word (Torah, teaching, Psalm 1) day and night. Where the Word of God is present, the temptations of the flesh diminish.
When we have the Scriptures or Scriptural hymns on our minds, that moves against the desires of the Old Adam. That is not limited to the Prodigal Son's sins, which began with demanding his share of the estate, then losing it all to fast women and slow horses.
Many of the gravest sins are those which begin in the mind - and blossom into terrible actions. Coveting and jealousy are entirely inside of us at first, but they lead to crimes, as King David showed, Some people store up their evil and manipulate others to carry out the sin. Just as the Gospel of contrition and forgiveness yields fruit, so the tendencies of mortal people lead to death - hardness of heart, lack of forgiveness, rejection of the Christian Faith.
So they are contrary to each other - the Spirit in the Word and the flesh.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
This is where the Antinomians (anti-Law) get lost. I dealt with an obvious one long ago. He said the Ten Commandments were obsolete - and they were for him, a supposed Lutheran pastor. He also rejected the divine Creation. And then he rejected Christianity altogether.
Luther understood this quite well. We can act by compulsion or by our own desires. The Gospel moves us to act, in contrast to living by the Law, where everything is forced, a "must," commands, punishment, and even revenge.
If someone says to me, "You don't have to..." I say, "That's right. I want to."
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
There are ways to categorize the list, which is not intended to be complete. The first group is sexual because the pagan world thought little of their festivities (which are next) destroying the family. We have an enormous spread of these two groups in our world. The Word of God and Christianity are dismissed in the world around us while the most outrageous behavior is encouraged, praised, and even ordained into the "Gospel" ministry. Paganism has always been the rejection of anything divine, so that has great appeal as an excuse. As someone wrote, the Romans may not have believed the ancient stories, but that did not keep them away from the unrestrained hedonism that went with the ceremonies. Now we know the wealthiest around the world are united in the same kind of human sacrifice, trafficking, slavery, and prostitution. Draw a circle around Epstein's island to see who is connected. I am bidin my time until the truth comes out for everyone to see.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The works of the flesh are not an exact parallel to the fruits of the Spirit. The works come from us, from the Old Adam. The fruits are from God's work through the Spirit in the Gospel Word. Here is a simple program that does not cost more than a few dollars altogether.
- Jesus Christ is acknowledged as the central subject of the entire Bible, from Genesis 1 to the end of Revelation.
- Therefore, faith in Christ is always the topic of lessons, sermons, hymns, and the worship service. (That is seldom true today.)
- The faith of Christ (belonging to Jesus, Romans, Galatians, Philippians) is part of this teaching because the Word wants to show us that Christianity began with the faith that belongs to the Son, faith in the will and works of the Father.
- The extent and the benefits of the Gospel of forgiveness are always taught.
- People pray for each other.
- The efficacy of the Word and the visible Word of the Sacraments is always featured as basic to the Scriptures.
Gardening teaches us so much about the Word, because the Creation is the visible manifestation of the Word. How could anyone miss this?
The living seed we plant is very much like the living Seed of the Word. The planted seed is so alive that we can wrap it in damp paper towels and see the roots and first leaves popping out, as if from nowhere. The blackberry garden has become the borage and buckwheat garden for now, because sowing those seeds would immediately let them in the mulch.
Borage and buckwheat flower and fruit easily. As they say in the profession, "They drop seed and plant more of themselves, all the time." The flower invites the bees, which set them up to fruit - the seed.
In the same way, the Word of God takes root easily among people, and they grow spiritually in many different ways. What is taught from the Word multiplies in them - and the Gospel is multiplied in Word and deed.
As many know who read and study Luther, his lessons from the Bible are so striking that they dwell in our minds and shape our thoughts and actions. Most denominations agree he is the greatest Biblical teacher of all time, but his Biblical wisdom is ignored or mocked.
Luther wrote something about loaning once and when the topic came up. loaning a neighbor, I thought, "Of course." And that worked beautifully.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
This is a striking figure of speech, reminding us of the crucifixion of Christ atoning for all our sins, not only the small ones but also the great and terrible sins. They are left behind and vanquished each day through faith in Christ cleansing us from sin. Instead of looking back at horrible times, we look forward, absolved of sin through faith in Christ, led by the faith of Christ, from faith TO faith.
