Author: admin

July 3, 2024

Broadcast

                      Still Small Voice -- Part 3
                           1 Kings 19:11-12
                              07/03/2024


        11   And he said, ``Go out and stand on the mount
             before the LORD.'' And behold, the LORD passed by,
             and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and
             broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the
             LORD was not in the wind.  And after the wind an
             earthquake, but the LORD was not in the
             earthquake.
        12   And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was
             not in the fire.  And after the fire the sound of
             a low whisper.  (ESV)

        The prophet Elijah, who was fleeing from Queen Jezebel,
   heard the voice of God.
        And he said, ``Go out and stand on the mount before the
        LORD.'' And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and
        strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the
        rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the
        wind.  And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD
        was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake a
        fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.  And after the
        fire the sound of a low whisper.


        Where do we find God?  Do we need to go on a pilgrimage into
   the mountains, to a secluded cave, to find Him?  Do we need to
   lock ourselves into a barren room to contemplate His goodness, to
   discover Him in our deepest thoughts?  Do we need to perform
   mighty deeds of strength and valor to attract His attention so
   that He will listen to us?

        We do not find God, He seeks us out.  He comes to us in His
   holy Word, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, which were
   written for our redemption.  He comes to us as an infant born in
   a stable, crucified as a criminal, yet resurrected and alive
   forever.  He comes to us in the water of Baptism, in the bread
   and wine of the Lord's Supper where He gives us His body and
   blood.  He comes to us in the words of absolution, ``Depart in
   peace, your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ Jesus.''

        May our Lord find us, and may we respond in faith to His
   great mercy and love.  Amen.

July 2, 2024

Broadcast

                      Still Small Voice -- Part 2
                           1 Kings 19:11-12
                              07/02/2024


        11   And he said, ``Go out and stand on the mount
             before the LORD.'' And behold, the LORD passed by,
             and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and
             broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the
             LORD was not in the wind.  And after the wind an
             earthquake, but the LORD was not in the
             earthquake.
        12   And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was
             not in the fire.  And after the fire the sound of
             a low whisper.  (ESV)

        Elijah the prophet was hiding from Queen Jezebel.  Earlier
   he had demonstrated to the children of Israel that the LORD God
   was the one true God by asking God to bring fire from the sky to
   consume a burnt offering.  The prophets of Ba'al, an idol, failed
   at the same task.  Because the people who witnessed this display
   of God's power killed the prophets of Ba'al, Jezebel vowed to
   have Elijah executed.

        So Elijah ran and hid.  While in seclusion, God spoke to
   him.
        And he said, ``Go out and stand on the mount before the
        LORD.'' And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and
        strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the
        rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the
        wind.  And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD
        was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake a
        fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.  And after the
        fire the sound of a low whisper.


        We talk of God's alien work and God's proper work.  God's
   alien work is punishing sin, displaying His power over all of
   creation, and bringing terror to those who reject Him.  His
   proper work is showing grace, love, and mercy to all sinners who
   repent, who do not reject His offer of forgiveness.

        God was not found in the wind or the earthquake or the fire.
   Those are evidence of His alien work, His work of condemnation.
   He was found in the low whisper, in the still small voice which
   brings comfort and not fear.

        May our Lord grant us His richest comfort as we hear His
   Word as given to us in the Bible.  Amen.

July 1, 2024

Broadcast

                      Still Small Voice -- Part 1
                           1 Kings 19:11-12
                              07/01/2024


        11   And he said, ``Go out and stand on the mount
             before the LORD.'' And behold, the LORD passed by,
             and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and
             broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the
             LORD was not in the wind.  And after the wind an
             earthquake, but the LORD was not in the
             earthquake.
        12   And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was
             not in the fire.  And after the fire the sound of
             a low whisper.  (ESV)

        We like things big and flashy.  Although you can buy a good
   new car for $25,000, the average is twice that amount.  Watching
   our 80 inch television screens, we see advertisements for cruises
   on ships that hold 5,000 or more passengers with massive theaters
   and theme parks onboard.  Our smartphones are the latest
   technology from Apple, because who would want something as
   mundane as an Android?

        This tendency shows up as we look for evidence of God.  In
   this week's Old Testament lesson, Elijah was fleeing from Queen
   Jezebel and was hiding in a cave on Mount Horeb.  There God spoke
   to him.
        And he said, ``Go out and stand on the mount before the
        LORD.'' And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and
        strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the
        rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the
        wind.  And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD
        was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake a
        fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.  And after the
        fire the sound of a low whisper.


        When you look for a church home, what is the most important
   thing you wish to find?  Is it a coffee bar in the narthex, or a
   live band, or a great light show?  Or is it the voice of God,
   sometimes a whisper, always hidden from our view?

        This week we will explore how God is hidden in the common
   things of this world, yet is the Almighty Creator.

        May our Lord grant you His richest blessings.  Amen.

June 28, 2024

Broadcast

                        Repaying Evil -- Part 5
                           Genesis 50:19-21
                              06/28/2024


        19   But Joseph said to them, ``Do not fear, for am I
             in the place of God?
        20   As for you, you meant evil against me, but God
             meant it for good, to bring it about that many
             people should be kept alive, as they are today.
        21   So do not fear; I will provide for you and your
             little ones.''  Thus he comforted them and spoke
             kindly to them.  (ESV)

        This week we have been looking at the account in Genesis of
   Joseph, the prince of Egypt, forgiving his brothers.  That
   forgiveness was not earned by his brothers, it was a gift.
   Joseph told them:
        But Joseph said to them, ``Do not fear, for am I in the
        place of God?  As for you, you meant evil against me,
        but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many
        people should be kept alive, as they are today.''  So
        do not fear; I will provide for you and your little
        ones.''  Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to
        them.


        There are two lessons we find from this story.  First, if we
   confess our sins, God will forgive them for the sake of the
   innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ.  Even as Jesus
   burst forth from the tomb, so are we loosened from the bonds of
   death which are the result of sin.

        Second, even when we are sinned against, God will use this
   as a blessing.  We may not see that blessing, but we trust that
   His Word is true, that His love extends completely over those for
   whom His Son died.

        Come to Trinity Lutheran Church each Sunday at 9:00 a.m. to
   hear more of this incredible and unbelievable love that God has
   richly poured out upon you.  Come and hear that, for the sake of
   Jesus, you are declared holy in God's sight.  Because you are
   God's child, He does comfort you in every trial.

        May our Lord continue to bless and keep you.  Amen.

June 27, 2024

Broadcast

                        Repaying Evil -- Part 4
                           Genesis 50:19-20
                              06/27/2024


        19   But Joseph said to them, ``Do not fear, for am I
             in the place of God?
        20   As for you, you meant evil against me, but God
             meant it for good, to bring it about that many
             people should be kept alive, as they are today.''
             (ESV)

        A bit less than 2000 years before the birth of Jesus, during
   a great famine, the Jewish patriarch, Jacob, and his family moved
   to Egypt.  Several years earlier, Joseph, one of Jacob's sons,
   had declared that in some future date both his father and
   brothers would bow before him.  For this prideful statement, and
   because of jealousy, the brothers sold Joseph into slavery.

        It came to pass, after being falsely accused of adultery,
   Joseph was imprisoned.  Eventually, because he could interpret
   Pharaoh's dream about the coming famine, Joseph became the second
   highest ruler in Egypt.  Indeed, his father and brothers did bow
   to him.

        But now Jacob was dead, and the brothers, fearing
   retribution for their past evil towards Joseph, confessed their
   guilt, expecting severe punishment.
        But Joseph said to them, ``Do not fear, for am I in the
        place of God?  As for you, you meant evil against me,
        but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many
        people should be kept alive, as they are today.''


        Had Joseph sinned against his brothers?  Yes, the sin of
   pride.  Did his brothers sin?  Yes, attempted murder.  Yet,
   Joseph repented and was forgiven.  Joseph gave the same
   forgiveness, complete and without conditions, to his brothers.

        ``Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
   against us.''  Our prayer is to forgive in the way Joseph
   forgave, the way that God forgives us, full and complete pardon
   without conditions.

        May our Lord grant us the desire to forgive as we have been
   forgiven.  Amen.

June 26, 2024

Broadcast

                        Repaying Evil -- Part 3
                           Genesis 50:16-18
                              06/26/2024


        16   So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, ``Your
             father gave this command before he died,
        17   ``Say to Joseph, `Please forgive the transgression
             of your brothers and their sin, because they did
             evil to you.' And now, please forgive the
             transgression of the servants of the God of your
             father.''' Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
        18   His brothers also came and fell down before him
             and said, ``Behold, we are your servants.''  (ESV)

        Jacob, the father of Joseph and his brothers, was dead.
   Because of the sin the brothers committed against Joseph, they
   feared retribution, that Joseph would take revenge.
        So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, ``Your father
        gave this command before he died, ``Say to Joseph,
        `Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and
        their sin, because they did evil to you.' And now,
        please forgive the transgression of the servants of the
        God of your father.''' Joseph wept when they spoke to
        him.  His brothers also came and fell down before him
        and said, ``Behold, we are your servants.''


        Why did Joseph weep?  Was it because of his disappointment
   that his brothers did not trust him to act with forgiveness after
   their father had died, that he was indeed capable of rendering
   evil for evil?  Was he disappointed that the love he had shown in
   providing for his father and brothers during the famine was not
   evidence of his concern?  Or were these tears of joy, that in
   confessing their sin against him, Joseph could fully declare the
   forgiveness of their sin?

        Joseph's brothers now offered to Joseph the respect that he
   had foretold, the very thing that had originally caused his
   brothers to betray him and sell him into slavery.  The brothers
   expected punishment, they hoped that it would not be severe.
   What they received was mercy.

        May our Lord grant us the trust to confess our sins, and the
   certain hope that our sins are forgiven for the sake of Jesus
   Christ.  Amen.

June 25, 2025

494 years ago today the Lutheran princes presented the Augsburg Confession to Emperor Charles V, thus becoming the first confessional Church body. May our Lord continue to grant us the courage to boldly confess the truth of salvation by grace through faith for the sake of Christ in the face of controversy and persecution.

Broadcast

                        Repaying Evil -- Part 2
                           Genesis 50:16-17
                              06/25/2024


        16   So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, ``Your
             father gave this command before he died,
        17   ``Say to Joseph, `Please forgive the transgression
             of your brothers and their sin, because they did
             evil to you.' And now, please forgive the
             transgression of the servants of the God of your
             father.''' Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
             (ESV)

        Joseph, who had been sold into slavery by his brothers,was
   now in a position to exact revenge.  Their father, Jacob, had
   died.  The brothers thought that Joseph did not act in
   retribution because that would grieve their father, but now that
   protection did not exist.
        So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, ``Your father
        gave this command before he died, ``Say to Joseph,
        `Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and
        their sin, because they did evil to you.' And now,
        please forgive the transgression of the servants of the
        God of your father.'' Joseph wept when they spoke to
        him.


        With this message, the brothers confessed their guilt to
   Joseph.  Almost two millenia later the Apostle John would write:
   ``If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
   is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
   forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
   unrighteousness.''[1]

        By confessing our sins we obtain mercy.  Christ Jesus, who
   was promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the children of
   Israel, died to pay the price of our sin.  Although Jacob and his
   children did not see the fulfillment of that promise, they
   believed that God would forgive their sins.  Today we look back
   on the work Jesus accomplished on the cross and receive the same
   forgiveness.

        May our Lord grant us faith to believe and trust in His
   promises.  Amen.
   ____________________

   1. I John 1:8-9 (ESV)

June 24, 2024

Broadcast

                        Repaying Evil -- Part 1
                             Genesis 50:15
                              06/24/2024


        15   When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was
             dead, they said, ``It may be that Joseph will hate
             us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to
             him.''  (ESV)

        Each time we recite the Lord's Prayer we say, ``Forgive us
   our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.''  We
   ask God to apply the same standard which we apply when dealing
   with people who have caused us great harm.

        This week's Old Testament lesson is about Joseph, the Prince
   of Egypt, forgiving his brothers.  Moses, the author of Genesis,
   wrote: ``When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead,
   they said, `It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back
   for all the evil that we did to him.'''

        What evil did Joseph's brothers commit against him?  They
   first were going to kill him, but relented and placed him in a
   waterless pit.  He remained there until the brothers saw a
   caravan of traders to whom they sold Joseph into slavery.  As a
   slave in Egypt, Joseph was falsely accused of adultery and
   imprisoned for a number of years.  Only as he was able to
   interpret the dream of Pharaoh, and avert a disastrous famine,
   was Joseph released from prison to become second in Egypt.

        Joseph had a lot of problems caused by his brothers, and was
   in a position to give just payment for their actions.  Yet, as we
   will learn, Joseph forgave his brothers in the same way that God
   had forgiven and blessed him.

        May our Lord grant you the peace of knowing your sins are
   forgiven, and the grace to forgive others.  Amen.

June 21, 2024

Broadcast

                    Who is Like the LORD? -- Part 5
                             Micah 7:18-20
                              06/21/2024


        18   Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and
             passing over transgression for the remnant of his
             inheritance?  He does not retain his anger
             forever, because he delights in steadfast love.
        19   He will again have compassion on us; he will tread
             our iniquities under foot.  You will cast all our
             sins into the depths of the sea.
        20   You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast
             love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers
             from the days of old.  (ESV)

        This week we have been looking at the last three verses of
   the book of Micah, one of the minor prophets in the Old
   Testament.  It is Micah who foretold the birthplace of Jesus,
   and, like Isaiah, who lived at the same time, foretold the
   destruction of Jerusalem.  The final words in the book of Micah
   bring the complete joy of God's rich grace, His undeserved love
   for His creation.  Micah proclaims the forgiveness of sins and
   foreshadows the sacrament of Baptism by which the Holy Spirit
   calls us into faith in Christ Jesus.

        Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing
        over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?
        He does not retain his anger forever, because he
        delights in steadfast love.

        He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our
        iniquities under foot.  You will cast all our sins into
        the depths of the sea.

        You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love
        to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the
        days of old.


        Are you interested in learning more about the God who
   pardons iniquity, who delights in steadfast love?  Please join us
   at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning at Trinity Lutheran Church to hear
   more of God's grace and mercy, of the forgiveness earned for us
   by the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

        May our Lord continue to bless and keep you.  Amen.

June 20, 2024

Broadcast

                    Who is Like the LORD? -- Part 4
                              Micah 7:20
                              06/20/2024


        20   You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast
             love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers
             from the days of old.  (ESV)

        The prophet Micah, who was a contemporary of Isaiah about
   700 years before the birth of Jesus, spoke a message of warning
   and of forgiveness.  In the same way that we must proclaim God's
   Law and speak of His wrath towards those who refuse to repent,
   Micah clearly foretold the destruction of Jerusalem because the
   people turned from God.

        Micah reminded those who heard him that God's promises were
   trustworthy, that since the days of Abraham the promise of
   redemption was given to those who believe in His Word.  ``You
   will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as
   you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.''  What God
   promised earlier was fulfilled, so also would be fulfilled the
   promise of the forgiveness of sins and redemption from eternal
   death.

        Micah's message is the same message written by John the
   Evangelist in his first epistle:
        If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
        truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, [God] is
        faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
        us from all unrighteousness.[2]


        That forgiveness is found in Jesus Christ, who suffered,
   died, and rose again for our salvation.  The faith which trusts
   in God's promise of redemption is given to us by the Holy Spirit
   who washes us in the waters of Baptism, thus cleansing us from
   the guilt of our sin.  This promise of grace, of the undeserved
   love of God, is offered to each person, without price, without
   our works, simply because of God's mercy.

        May our Lord grant us repentant hearts that trust fully in
   His promise of forgiveness for the sake of Jesus Christ.  Amen.
   ____________________

   2. I John 1:8-9 (ESV)