Category: Moments of Meditation

April 11, 2025

Broadcast

                          Worldview - Part 5
                             John 8:56-58
                              04/11/2025


        56   ``Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see
             my day. He saw it and was glad.''
        57   So the Jews said to him, ``You are not yet fifty
             years old, and have you seen Abraham?''
        58   Jesus said to them, ``Truly, truly, I say to you,
             before Abraham was, I am.''  (ESV)

        Our senses are constantly bombarded with input, sounds and
   sights and tastes and sensations which we cannot properly
   process.  Most of what our senses perceive is filtered out as
   unimportant.  Our worldview does the same filtering on that which
   we read or are told.  ``That can't be true,'' we say because of
   our worldview.

        Jesus was debating with the rulers of the Temple.
        ``Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my
        day. He saw it and was glad.''  So the Jews said to
        him, ``You are not yet fifty years old, and have you
        seen Abraham?''  Jesus said to them, ``Truly, truly, I
        say to you, before Abraham was, I am.''


        Did Abraham rejoice only because he trusted in God's
   promises?  If Jesus is who He claims to be, and if the God of
   Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is indeed the God of the living, then
   Abraham saw Jesus come down to earth to redeem all people from
   sin and death.

        In Exodus, God revealed His name to Moses, ``I Am Who I
   Am.''[1] When Jesus said, ``before Abraham was, I am,'' He
   claimed to be the God who spoke to the Patriarchs, the God
   through whom all was created.

        Our worldview at Trinity Lutheran Church says that the Bible
   is true, that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He suffered,
   died, and rose again to deliver us from sin and death.  Please
   join us on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. to learn more about this
   truth which God has revealed in the Bible.  May our Lord bless
   your study of His Word as you seek the truth of His grace and
   mercy.  Amen.
   ____________________

   1. Exodus 3:14

April 10, 2025

Broadcast

                          Worldview - Part 4
                             John 8:51-52
                              04/10/2025


        51   ``Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my
             word, he will never see death.''
        52   The Jews said to him, ``Now we know that you have
             a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet
             you say, `If anyone keeps my word, he will never
             taste death.'''  (ESV)

        Our worldview, our preconceived notions, our understanding
   of the universe often gets in the way of recognizing the truth.
   The first stage of grief is denial, which says we do not believe
   the truth that we have lost someone or something precious.  Such
   loss turns our lives upside down because the loss does not fit
   with that which we think we know.

        Jesus was speaking the truth of God's Word to the rulers of
   the Temple.  Remember, Jesus said nothing which was not already
   taught in the pages of Moses and the prophets and the writings,
   that which we now call the Old Testament.

        ``Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word,
        he will never see death.''  The Jews said to him, ``Now
        we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the
        prophets, yet you say, `If anyone keeps my word, he
        will never taste death.'''


        Is this true?  Behind the east side of the church, the
   funeral home is doing a brisk business.  How can Jesus say, ``he
   will never see death''?  Is it a coincidence that the Bible does
   not typically use the word ``death'' for those who faith faith in
   God?  ``Fallen asleep,'' ``gathered to his ancestors,''
   certainly.  But Jesus, again speaking with the rulers of the
   Temple, recalled God's words recorded by Moses, ``I am the God of
   Abraham, Issac, and Jacob,'' yet God is the God of the living.[1]

        May our Lord grant us faith to hear the truth of His love
   and to trust in His mercy.  Amen.
   ____________________

   1. Matthew 22:32

April 9, 2025

Broadcast

                          Worldview - Part 3
                             John 8:48-49
                              04/09/2025


        48   The Jews answered him, ``Are we not right in
             saying that you are a Samaritan and have a
             demon?''
        49   Jesus answered, ``I do not have a demon, but I
             honor my Father, and you dishonor me.''  (ESV)

        Because we have different worldviews, different ways of
   looking at the same situation, we have trouble communicating.
   This is especially true when we look at the important,
   fundamental questions of life.  Depending on your beliefs, your
   worldview, your answer to ``What happens when we die?'' will be
   different than your neighbor's.

        Often, when we cannot come up with a good answer to the
   arguments presented, we attack the person with whom we are
   speaking.  Jesus was not immune to this debate strategy.
        The Jews answered him, ``Are we not right in saying
        that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?''  Jesus
        answered, ``I do not have a demon, but I honor my
        Father, and you dishonor me.''


        There was no greater insult the Jews could have given.
   Samaritans were hated, and a demon-possessed Samaritan was
   particularly to be avoided.  Those were fighting words, but Jesus
   did not rise to take the bait.  He simply pointed His accusers
   that they not only were dishonoring Him, but the One who sent
   Him, God the Father.  Throughout this discussion Jesus claimed to
   be sent from the Father.  Throughout His ministry, Jesus made the
   claim, as Saint John recorded: ``For God so loved the world that
   He gave His only-begotten Son.''[1]

        Dishonoring the Father, dishonoring God, is not something
   taken lightly.  Yet, if one does not recognize God, it is easy to
   dishonor Him, to speak ill of Him, and to dismiss the message of
   His love.

        May our Lord grant that we honor Him in all things, thus
   bringing honor to God our Father.  Amen.
   ____________________

   1. John 3:16

April 8, 2025

Broadcast

                          Worldview - Part 2
                             John 8:46-47
                              04/08/2025


        46   Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the
             truth, why do you not believe me?
        47   Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The
             reason why you do not hear them is that you are
             not of God.  (ESV)

        Jesus and the rulers of the Temple simply were not
   communicating.  When Jesus said, ``If you abide in my word, you
   are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the
   truth will set you free,''[1] those who heard Him said, ``We have
   never been a slave, how can we be set free?''  Jesus was speaking
   of our slavery to sin, our rebellion against God, our desire to
   be like God and to replace God with our own selfish desires.
   Those who heard Him were thinking of a political freedom, freedom
   in this world to act as we want.

        Why was there the disconnect between Jesus and the ones who
   listened to Him?  He explained: ``Which one of you convicts me of
   sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?  Whoever is
   of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear
   them is that you are not of God.''

        The teachers had strayed from the Word of God and taught
   human traditions and wisdom as God's truth.  Today, many question
   the existence of truth itself.  When the pastor exclaims, ``Thus
   says the Lord,'' he often hears, ``That is presumptuous of you to
   say you know God's will.''

        Our prayer is that we open our hearts and minds to hear the
   Word of God, to know that He desires all people to be saved and
   come to the knowledge of the truth.

        May our Lord grant that we come to know the truth of His
   Word, that we are redeemed from sin and death by the blood of
   Jesus Christ.  Amen.
   ____________________

   1. John 8:31b-32 (ESV)

April 7, 2025

Broadcast

                          Worldview - Part 1
                             John 8:46-47
                              04/07/2025


        46   Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the
             truth, why do you not believe me?
        47   Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The
             reason why you do not hear them is that you are
             not of God.  (ESV)

        Teaching is both fun and hard work.  You get to share
   something of value, something important, something you took years
   to learn and understand.  Students don't always respond the way
   you desire, the way you think they should respond.  Sometimes,
   they completely miss the most interesting detail, something that
   is the key to the lesson.

        Why don't students simply learn what is being taught by the
   expert?  You and I have different filters, different ways of
   looking at things, different vocabularies and experiences.  When
   we learn, we move from something we know to the unknown.
   Teachers and students have different starting points, so often
   the student and the teacher don't really communicate.

        Jesus was speaking with the scribes and Pharisees about six
   months before He was crucified.  ``Which one of you convicts me
   of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?  Whoever
   is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear
   them is that you are not of God.''  The scribes and Pharisees had
   a certain idea about the need for a Savior, about the nature of
   sin, and about the promised Messiah.  Jesus and His teaching did
   not match their idea of the world, their worldview.  When Jesus
   said, ``Repent,'' they answered, ``We have nothing to repent, for
   we keep the Law of God perfectly.''

        Today we have the same disconnect as Christians proclaim
   Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life.  Those who do not see
   the need for a Savior, those who have a different worldview, may
   not hear the message at all.  That is the topic we are going to
   discuss this week.

        May our Lord give us the wisdom to hear His Word and the
   understanding to know of His love.  Amen.

April 4, 2025

Broadcast

                        Feeding 5,000 - Part 5
                             John 6:14-15
                              04/04/2025


        14   When the people saw the sign that he had done,
             they said, ``This is indeed the Prophet who is to
             come into the world!''
        15   Perceiving then that they were about to come and
             take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew
             again to the mountain by himself.  (ESV)

        Each morning we pray, ``Give us this day our daily bread.''
   God answers our prayers with blessings of food and clothing and
   shelter and other resources to sustain this body and life.  For
   this we give Him thanks and praise.

        But the Church is not about God's temporal blessings, but
   about our eternal salvation from sin, death, and the power of the
   devil.  Those who ate the five loaves of bread and the two fish
   recognized that Jesus is more than just a good teacher.  This
   miracle demanded a response.

        When the people saw the sign that he had done, they
        said, ``This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into
        the world!''  Perceiving then that they were about to
        come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus
        withdrew again to the mountain by himself.


        The people wanted Jesus as a secular king, one who would
   satisfy their temporal desires.  They recognized Jesus as the Son
   of God once foretold by Moses.  Their idea of the promised
   Messiah was not the One who earns for us the forgiveness of our
   sins, but the One who blesses us with secular goods.

        Jesus is indeed the King of creation.  He came to live, die,
   and rise again to earn for us redemption from sin, death, and the
   power of the devil.  Our daily bread is merely a blessing of love
   given graciously by God, not the reason we gather to praise Him.

        Come join us each Sunday morning at Trinity Lutheran Church
   at 9:00 a.m. to receive God's good gifts of the forgiveness of
   your sins and the assurance of life everlasting.

        May our Lord give us faith to seek first His kingdom, and to
   trust in Him for all things.  Amen.

April 3, 2025

Broadcast

                        Feeding 5,000 - Part 4
                             John 6:12-13
                              04/03/2025


        12   And when they had eaten their fill, he told his
             disciples, ``Gather up the leftover fragments,
             that nothing may be lost.''
        13   So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets
             with fragments from the five barley loaves, left
             by those who had eaten.  (ESV)

        Each morning when we arise, we give thanks to God for
   protecting us during the night.  We also ask Him to be with us
   during to day to guide us in all we do.  Many people recite the
   prayer Jesus gave His disciples, asking, ``Give us this day our
   daily bread.''  God provides for our needs, and He expects us to
   be good stewards of the gifts He provides.

        And when they had eaten their fill, he told his
        disciples, ``Gather up the leftover fragments, that
        nothing may be lost.''  So they gathered them up and
        filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five
        barley loaves, left by those who had eaten.


        How do we handle the gifts which God gives?  Are we willing
   to share with others, to be the hands through which our Lord
   provides clothing and shelter and food to our neighbors and those
   in need?  Are we willing to look at the abundance of His gifts
   and preserve them for our future use?  Jesus' simple request says
   that our Lord expects us to act wisely with those things
   entrusted to us, be it food or clothing or money.

        In faith we accept God's gracious gifts and use them for our
   benefit and for the good of others.  This is especially true of
   the gift of faith, the peace which we receive from knowing that
   our sins are forgiven.  We speak of this gift of salvation,
   sharing it with those who do not know the love of God, who worry
   about their daily bread and their eternal life.

        May our Lord grant us wisdom to use His gifts properly and
   to His glory.  Amen.

April 2, 2025

Broadcast

                        Feeding 5,000 - Part 3
                              John 6:8-11
                              04/02/2025


        8    One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's
             brother, said to him,
        9    ``There is a boy here who has five barley loaves
             and two fish, but what are they for so many?''
        10   Jesus said, ``Have the people sit down.'' Now
             there was much grass in the place. So the men sat
             down, about five thousand in number.
        11   Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given
             thanks, he distributed them to those who were
             seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.
             (ESV)

        After John the Baptizer was executed, Jesus and His
   disciples traveled into the wilderness near the Sea of Galilee to
   rest and escape the crowds.  Yet the crowds followed Jesus to
   hear Him teach and to see the miracles He performed on the sick.
   Thousands of people were there on the mountain, and Jesus asked
   the disciples how the multitude would be fed.  Philip suggested
   they did not have money to purchase even a little food for each
   person, so they were at an impasse.

        One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother,
        said to him, ``There is a boy here who has five barley
        loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?''
        Jesus said, ``Have the people sit down.'' Now there was
        much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about
        five thousand in number.  Jesus then took the loaves,
        and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to
        those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as
        they wanted.


        What the disciples reluctantly offered was not enough even
   for themselves, much less the five thousand men plus women and
   children.  The young lad's five loaves and two fish were offered
   by the reluctant disciples.  Jesus took this meager offering and
   multiplied it to feed everyone.  Unlike the disciples' idea of
   purchasing a small morsel for the crowd, barely satisfying their
   needs, Jesus gave in abundance.  No one was hungry.

        Our Lord provides that which we need to supply this body and
   life.  That which He gives is in abundance, for God cares for His
   creation.  He who sent His only-begotten Son to die to redeem us
   from sin and death will not allow us to starve.

        May our Lord grant us faith to trust in Him because He has
   showered us with His everlasting love.  Amen.

April 1, 2025

Broadcast

                        Feeding 5,000 - Part 2
                              John 6:5-7
                              04/01/2025


        5    Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large
             crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip,
             ``Where are we to buy bread, so that these people
             may eat?''
        6    He said this to test him, for he himself knew what
             he would do.
        7    Philip answered him, ``Two hundred denarii would
             not buy enough bread for each of them to get a
             little.''  (ESV)

        This week we are studying Jesus' miracle of Feeding the
   5,000, which is the only miracle, aside from the resurrection,
   which is recorded in all four Gospels.  Saint John continued:
        Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large
        crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip,
        ``Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may
        eat?''  He said this to test him, for he himself knew
        what he would do.  Philip answered him, ``Two hundred
        denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to
        get a little.''


        Even before the crowds found Jesus on the mountain with His
   disciples, Jesus saw them.  He knew that the crowds would require
   food, so He asked His disciples to ponder the solution to the
   problem.  They had time to discuss the issue, but could only come
   up with one solution, travel back to the closest town or city and
   purchase food.  However, the disciples did not have the resources
   or the money to make that happen, so they were dismayed.

        Jesus was testing their faith.  The disciples had witnessed
   Jesus' power over nature, and had tasted the water which was made
   wine.  Yet the solution to trust Jesus, to request that He
   perform a miracle, was never proposed.  Is it appropriate to ask
   God to supply our needs when we have no resources?  Does He not
   already give us everything to support this body and life?  Didn't
   Jesus say, ``Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things
   will be added unto you''?[1] As an old favorite hymn reminds us:
   ``Oh what peace we often forfeit; O what needless pain we bear,
   all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.''[2] May
   our Lord grant us faith to trust in Him even for our daily bread.
   Amen.

March 31, 2025

Broadcast

                        Feeding 5,000 - Part 1
                              John 6:1-4
                              03/31/2025


        1    After this Jesus went away to the other side of
             the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.
        2    And a large crowd was following him, because they
             saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.
        3    Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat
             down with his disciples.
        4    Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at
             hand.  (ESV)

        Aside from Jesus' resurrection, the only miracle recorded in
   all four Gospels is the Feeding of the 5,000.  Although Saint
   John's Gospel does not mention this miracle taking place after
   John the Baptizer was executed, the other three accounts speak of
   Jesus hearing this news and desiring to retreat to a quiet place.
   This was not to be.

        After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea
        of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  And a large
        crowd was following him, because they saw the signs
        that he was doing on the sick.  Jesus went up on the
        mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.
        Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.


        The crowds followed.  Some wanted to hear Jesus and His
   teaching about the Kingdom of God.  They desired to learn more of
   God's rich grace and mercy as revealed by His Son.  Many others
   simply were looking for entertainment, watching Jesus perform
   healing miracles.

        For a few moments, Jesus and His disciples sat on the
   mountainside.  Maybe they were silent, thinking of John's death,
   maybe they talked of the events happening around Jerusalem and
   Judea.  Possibly their conversation was about the Passover, the
   feast which commemorates the Exodus from Egypt and the display of
   God's power as He kept the children of Israel safe in the
   wilderness.

        This week we will seek guidance from this miracle to
   strengthen our faith and to prepare us for the coming
   commemoration of Jesus' death and resurrection.

        May our Lord open our hearts and minds to learn more of His
   grace and mercy.  Amen.
       ____________________
       1. Matthew 6:33
       2. What a Friend we have in Jesus, verse 1