http://al.lunneberg.com Sermons and Rumenations Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:51:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 2005-2008 alunneberg@comcast.net (Allen Lunneberg) alunneberg@comcast.net (Allen Lunneberg) posts 1440 Sermons and more from my site. Allen Lunneberg Allen Lunneberg alunneberg@comcast.net No no http://al.lunneberg.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://al.lunneberg.com 144 144 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/25/daily-bread/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/25/daily-bread/#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:51:43 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=602 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/25/daily-bread/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: Luke 11:1-13 Date: Pentecost IX (Proper 12) St. James the Elder, Apostle + 7/25/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI At the end of the ... Text: Luke 11:1-13 Date: Pentecost IX (Proper 12) St. James the Elder, Apostle + 7/25/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI At the end of the tenth chapter of Lukersquo;s Gospel last week we understood the concluding story at the house of Martha and Mary to be an illustration or commentary on proper worship. That is, right worship begins with the passive action of ldquo;the good portionrdquo; of a Mary quietly receiving the words of Jesus and only after that responding like a Martha in service to the praise of God and also to the service of neighbor. In our former hymn book the first two sentences of the preface said it in the shortest, most memorable and best way, ldquo;Our Lord speaks and we listen. His Word bestows what it says.rdquo; Then it continues, saying, ldquo;Faith that is born from what is heard acknowledges the gifts received with eager thankfulness and praisehellip;. Saying back to him what he has said to us, we repeat what is most true and surehellip;. The rhythm of our worship is from him to us, and then from us back to himrdquo; (LW p. 6). If, then, we were right in understanding the story of Mary and Martha in this way, it makes sense that the next chapter of Luke should address the subject of how to pray. And it came to pass when [Jesus] was in a certain place praying, when he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, ldquo;Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.rdquo; And he said to them, ldquo;When you pray, say, lsquo;Father.rsquo;rdquo; (Luke 11:1-2) You noticed that Lukersquo;s version of what has come to be called mainly in English ldquo;The Lordrsquo;s Prayerrdquo; is a little different from St. Matthewrsquo;s version, which the Church has adopted as the more complete and regularly used version. To explain the difference we might entertain the idea that Jesus gave versions of this model prayer more than once. Or we may recall the slight differences, for example, in the four records of the words of institution of the Lordrsquo;s Supper. Here Luke has ldquo;Fatherrdquo; instead of ldquo;Our Father,rdquo; and the phrase ldquo;who art in heavenrdquo; together with the third and seventh petitions (ldquo;thy will be done,rdquo; and ldquo;deliver us from evilrdquo;) are not found at all. For our consideration today let us concentrate only on these two parts of the prayer, the address, ldquo;Father,rdquo; and the petition for daily bread. Jesus said, ldquo;When you pray, say, lsquo;Father.rsquo;rdquo; When you pray, say, ldquo;Father.rdquo; Oh, you may begin your prayer sometimes addressing God as ldquo;Almighty God,rdquo; ldquo;Lord God, King of the Universe,rdquo; or direct your prayer to the Second or Third Person of the Trinity. But how can you or anyone even dare to approach Godmdash;God the all-powerful Creator of the universe, the all-holy God who cannot tolerate sinmdash;and not fear that He will reject your prayer if not just blow you away or flick you out of His presence like an ant? The only way a person can not only dare to approach God but approach Him with confidence is if and when God has first established a relationship of peace and mercy with you. And He does that through His Son, Jesus. In teaching us to address God ldquo;as dear children ask their dear fatherrdquo; our Lord means to give us a relationship with God similar to what He has. By our fallen, sinful nature God is not our Father, our proper one. Oh, He is our creator and ldquo;fatherrdquo; in that sense. But even as a child, separated from birth from their biological father, has no father-child relationship, so God remains a Stranger to us and we to Him. The devastating judgment of that Day awaits all who have remained separated from God, despising His claim on you and His invitation to be reconciled to you in the words, ldquo;I never knew you; depart from merdquo; ldquo;into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angelsrdquo; (Mt. 7:23; 25:41). Now, ... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/18/divine-service/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/18/divine-service/#comments Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:32:00 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=598 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/18/divine-service/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: Luke 10:38-42 Date: Pentecost VIII (Proper 11) + 7/18/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, Rochester Hills, MI The ninth and tenth chapters of St. Lukersquo;s Gospel have, ... Text: Luke 10:38-42 Date: Pentecost VIII (Proper 11) + 7/18/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, Rochester Hills, MI The ninth and tenth chapters of St. Lukersquo;s Gospel have, among other things, addressed what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. It is a matter of repentance, a complete turning away from sin and the world, of God-given, justifying faith, and that faith active in love. The Evangelist ends the tenth chapter with the little incident at the house of Mary and Martha. It is an illustration of the priorities and roles of faith and hospitality. As you will see, it has a valuable lesson concerning the worship of the Church. It shouldnrsquo;t come as a surprise that quite a few people (mainly pastors) are either not real knowledgeable or at least not very careful about things when it comes to worship. A week ago I made a comment about how the people that planned the opening communion service for the Synod convention confused the Kyrie (which is the opening prayer of the heart, ldquo;Lord, have mercyrdquo;) with the previous confession of sins, oddly placing the absolution or forgiveness after the Kyrie before the Hymn of Praise. Another confusion or mistake I see quite often these days (including at the convention) is calling the main Sunday service ldquo;Divine Worshiprdquo; instead of ldquo;Divine Service.rdquo; In our hymnal the phrase comes from a translation of the German word ldquo;Gottesdienst,rdquo; ldquo;dienstrdquo; being translated ldquo;service.rdquo; You may ask, ldquo;Whatrsquo;s the difference between Divine Service and Divine Worship?rdquo; Ah! It reveals a fundamental difference in understanding whatrsquo;s happening when we gather for worship. For to call it ldquo;Divine Worshiprdquo; emphasizes our activity of worshiping the Divine, worshipping God. But ldquo;Divine Servicerdquo; says that whatrsquo;s happening here is primarily or at least initially God coming to serve us; to serve us in His Word and Sacrament, dispensing forgiveness, the strengthening of faith, the gift of eternal life, the gift of salvation. The emphasis must be primarily on what God is doing not on what wersquo;re doing. I could go onhellip;. [Illustration/Object lesson: Here the pastor handles and describes the symbolism of the fair linen on the altar, the corporal, the veil, chalice, purificator, paten, priest host, pall, ciborium, flagon and other things. The pastor expresses some anxiety over the proper preparations of the altar, etc. Then, acting like hersquo;s been distracted, he apologizes and goes back to the pulpit.] Excuse me. That was just a little ldquo;Marthardquo; moment. But these things are important. Not only are they the ldquo;properrdquo; way of doing things but they express the sacred nature of handling and receiving nothing less than the blessed Word and the body and sacred blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. These things are important. The point is, when it comes to the worship of God and table fellowship with our Lord, Mary and Martha in todayrsquo;s Gospel do not demonstrate a wrong way and a right way. Obviously there was nothing wrong with Mary choosing not to help Martha but rather to sit at Jesus feet to hear Him speak. Likewise there was nothing wrong with Martha hurrying and scurrying about to be the best hostess she could be, possibly not only for Jesus but also the twelve and maybe even at least some of the seventy-two with them! Jesus did not rebuke either Mary or Martha. He merely indicated that He valued the activity of each of them differently, calling Maryrsquo;s action ldquo;the good portion.rdquo; Jesus praised Mary because there are priorities. We have things quite backwards if we think we must serve Jesus first. Our worship should reflect the truth that, on our own, we have nothing to offer God that can win the least of His mercies. By our fallen, sinful condition, when it comes to things spiritual such as repentance, faith and salvation, we are helpless, powerle... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/11/who-is-your-neighbor/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/11/who-is-your-neighbor/#comments Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:55:03 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=595 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/11/who-is-your-neighbor/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: Luke 10:25-37 (Lev. 19:9-18) Date: Pentecost 7 (Proper 10) + 7/11/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI I met a pastor friend of mine ... Text: Luke 10:25-37 (Lev. 19:9-18) Date: Pentecost 7 (Proper 10) + 7/11/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI I met a pastor friend of mine for lunch Friday at the airport, on his way to the LC-MS convention in Houston. He told me of one of his parishioners who said, ldquo;Pastor, we like your sermons, but could your preach some more lsquo;practicalrsquo; sermons? You know, sermons about how to live.rdquo; This has happened before, and pastors then look at each other with a knowing smile as we didmdash;knowing that such a question reveals that they prefer the Law of God and possibly donrsquo;t fully know or appreciate the Gospel. In a similar vain, as I sat down to finish todayrsquo;s sermon yesterday an email alert came from the Issues, Etc. radio program asking, ldquo;What did St. Paul mean when he said, lsquo;We preach Christ and Him crucified?rsquo;rdquo; And then it went on to say, ldquo;Today we hear Christ the therapist, life-coach, helper or lover preached in many pulpits. How do these fall far short of Christ the Savior presented in the Bible?rdquo; Then it noted a five-part series beginning tomorrow called ldquo;Christ Alone.rdquo; Todayrsquo;s Gospel shows us how even well-meaning believers can get confused or fall short of hearing, knowing and believing the Gospel, the good news of salvation that is totally and completely a gift and not the result in any way of our own preparations or works. Jesus tells a story to address this and asks, ldquo;Who Is Your Neighbor?rdquo; Before we get to the parable in todayrsquo;s Gospel reading, however, letrsquo;s get to it by means of the Old Testament reading chosen to go along with this Gospel. It is from that section of Leviticus called ldquo;the holiness code,rdquo; and gives what our earlier friend would agree is ldquo;practicalrdquo; advice for daily living as a believer in God. A complete treatment would, of course, require a review of the entire Ten Commandments. Here we have just a portion describing what it means for an Israelite to be a good neighbor. It begins with your relationship with the poor and the sojourner. It says that, when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap right up to the edge of the field nor strip the vineyard bare, but leave a little on the edges or on the ground ldquo;for the poor and for the sojourner.rdquo; Since most of us are not farmers or vineyard workers, we can extend this to include our offerings or gifts to the needy or other agencies. The sojourner was the ldquo;resident alien,rdquo; and as such this text does not have anything to say about the current U.S. controversy of illegal aliens. Then it moves to advice among equals, among the fellowship, the family of faith. ldquo;You shall not stealrdquo; ought to almost go without saying. Dealing falsely or deceiving someone, or lying to one another on the other hand may be worth the reminding. There is always room (it seems, annually!) for a good ldquo;anti-gossiprdquo; sermon in the church. Swearing by Godrsquo;s name for falsehood (which is where the need to swear by Godrsquo;s name usually occurs) profanes the name of God. Showing partiality by ignoring the poor and showing greater honor to the more important negates the way of righteousness and justice. All hatred of your neighbor is forbidden but rather rebuking or reasoning frankly with your neighbor is commanded. The same goes with taking vengeance or bearing a grudge against your neighbor. And finally there is the famous summary, ldquo;but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.rdquo; Now, it is very probable that the expert in the law or ldquo;lawyerrdquo; in todayrsquo;s Gospel was pretty sure that he had been faithful, that he had been doing pretty well when it came to living according to Godrsquo;s law. When it says that he stood up to put Jesus to the test, there may have been a little hostile intent to trap Jesus in his words, but it may have also been a question fro... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/04/the-kingdom-of-god-has-come-near/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/04/the-kingdom-of-god-has-come-near/#comments Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:38:42 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=589 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/07/04/the-kingdom-of-god-has-come-near/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: Luke 10:1-20 Date: Pentecost VI (Proper 9) + 7/4/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Jesus said, ldquo;The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers ... Text: Luke 10:1-20 Date: Pentecost VI (Proper 9) + 7/4/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Jesus said, ldquo;The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.rdquo; He was, of course, speaking of people, sinners He came to redeem and save. In chapter 9 of Lukersquo;s Gospel Jesus sent out the twelve ldquo;to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal,rdquo; and ldquo;they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhererdquo; (9:2, 6). But ldquo;the harvest is plentifulrdquo; and the twelve were not enough. So now He sends out seventy-two others. But apparently even that was not enough because He tells them, even as they are being sent, to ldquo;pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out [even more] laborers into his harvest.rdquo; And we are bidden to continue that prayer today. Be careful, however, when you pray thus, because the very next word is, ldquo;Go.rdquo; And with that word He sends you to labor in His harvest. He may call and send you to cut your ties with the world and go full time as He did the twelve and the seventy-two and countless others in the ministry of the Church to this day. Or He may call and send you to confess Him before people while in your earthly vocation. On the eve of the next, the 64th regular convention of The Lutheran Churchmdash;Missouri Synod next week and with todayrsquo;s Gospel of the sending out of the seventy-two, we consider the churchrsquo;s continuing task of mission and evangelism, of bringing the Good News of the Gospel to bear in peoplesrsquo; lives and calling young and old to the grace, peace, life and salvation that are by faith in Jesus Christ. We need to be clear that there are two kinds of calling and sending when it comes to the work of evangelism, or else we will end up saying some things that really arenrsquo;t true of or for every Christian. The charge and sending of the seventy-two is really not that different from the charge and sending of the twelve apostles. And here is described an aspect of the work of what we today call ldquo;full timerdquo; church workers, evangelists or pastors. At the same time the Lord certainly calls every Christian to follow Him and to bear ldquo;witness,rdquo; testify or confess Him before others. Therefore some of what is said here applies also to all. Following on the heels of three would-be disciples who offered at the end of chapter 9 in Lukersquo;s Gospel to follow Jesus, but were reluctant to cut their ties to their previous life in this world, the seventy-two are to take no provisions on their journey (ldquo;no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandalsrdquo;) and rely solely on God who will provide for their needs through the people to whom they minister. This is a main theme and principle here as well as for the general operation of the Churchrsquo;s ministry through the ages, namely, that the preaching or proclamation of the Word produces faith, and then faith produces the hospitality or means of care for the workers. Jesus said, ldquo;The laborer deserves his wages.rdquo; Therefore congregations today are asked in the Rite of the Installation of the Pastor among other things if they will ldquo;support him by your giftsrdquo; (LSB Agenda, p. 180). It should be noted, by the way, that later (Luke 22:35-36) Jesus would again speak of sending His disciples, this time, however, with moneybag, knapsack and sword in view of the hostility and persecution that would be part of the picture. In other words, while we are to continue to rely upon Godrsquo;s provision for us, we are also to be wise in our dealings with the unbelieving world. Here, then, Jesus speaks about the rejection they will bear for the sake of His name, while making miraculous accomplishments for the kingdom. ldquo;Whatever house you enter, first say, lsquo;Peace be to this house!rsquo; hellip;Heal the sick and say to them, lsquo;The kingdom of God has come near to you.rsquo;rdquo; All who hav... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/27/face-it/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/27/face-it/#comments Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:37:17 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=584 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/27/face-it/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: Luke 9:51-62 Date: Pentecost V (Proper 8 ) + 6/27/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Face it, yoursquo;re done. Face it, yoursquo;re toast. ... Text: Luke 9:51-62 Date: Pentecost V (Proper 8 ) + 6/27/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Face it, yoursquo;re done. Face it, yoursquo;re toast. Face the facts. Face the music. Face up to reality. When we are asked or ordered to face up to something it usually means confronting or admitting something negative, something yoursquo;ve done wrong, a sin, a complex of things that have led to a moment of judgment or awakening. The Bible talks about Godrsquo;s face. He can either set his face against you in His wrath and judgment, or He can ldquo;bless you and keep you, and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, and lift up His countenance upon you, or look upon you with favor, and give you peace.rdquo; Godrsquo;s people are taught to pray in the psalms, ldquo;You have said, lsquo;Seek my face.rsquo; My heart says to you, lsquo;Your face, Lord, do I seek.rsquo; Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in angerrdquo; (Ps. 27:8-9). And it is the Christian hope that, on the last Day, ldquo;They will see [Godrsquo;s] facerdquo; (Rev. 22:4). Today we hear the beginning of the second half of St. Lukersquo;s Gospel with the simple statement, ldquo;When the days drew near for him to be taken up, [Jesus] set his face to go to Jerusalem.rdquo; Then He sent messengers ldquo;before his facerdquo; to prepare for His arrival into a village of Samaria, but they did not receive Him, ldquo;because his face was journeying to Jerusalem.rdquo; Finally, He speaks of Himself and of any who would follow Him with an analogy of keeping the eyes of your face in front of you and not looking back. May these words enable us to face the challenges to faith to continue our journey of faith with Jesus. When we are told to face the facts, it is usually something negative we need to confess, to accept responsibility for, to own the consequences. When the Bible speaks of Godrsquo;s face it speaks either of His wrath or His grace and blessing toward people. When todayrsquo;s Gospel, however, speaks of Jesus ldquo;setting his face to go to Jerusalemrdquo; it is speaking of what He came to endure on our behalf and for the salvation of the whole world. For there, in Jerusalem, He will face all of Godrsquo;s wrath against the sin of the whole world, and take it upon Himself as the worldrsquo;s scapegoat, the sacrificial offering as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and therefore also death and the threat of hell. This is what the phrase means that the days were drawing near ldquo;for him to be taken up,rdquo; looking through the Cross and resurrection to His ascension into heaven. Up until now Jesus began His ministry in Galilee. But now He set His face, He focused on His goal and destiny to be accomplished in Jerusalem. At His transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appear speaking with Him about his ldquo;exodus,rdquo; meaning the same thing, His sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension. He is the Suffering Servant of the prophet Isaiah who says, The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. (Isaiah 50:5-7) You know that the Jews hated the Samaritans and the feeling was mutual. It was so much so that, though the easier route from Galilee to Jerusalem was through Samaria, most Jewish travelers would go out of their way to avoid even setting foot in that territory. Jesus, however, deliberately goes through Samaria. Jesus, after all, is the worldrsquo;s only redeemer. Eventually all, including the Samaritans, would have to receive Him if they were to be saved. On this first occasion, Jesus sent some messengers ahead of Him (literally, ldquo;before his facerdquo;) to pr... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/20/demonic-or-what/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/20/demonic-or-what/#comments Sun, 20 Jun 2010 16:39:04 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=581 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/20/demonic-or-what/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: Luke 8:26-39 Date: Pentecost 4 (Proper 7) + 6/20/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI St. Lukersquo;s account of Jesusrsquo; healing of a man ... Text: Luke 8:26-39 Date: Pentecost 4 (Proper 7) + 6/20/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI St. Lukersquo;s account of Jesusrsquo; healing of a man possessed by demons is striking in its detail and not a little puzzling in its relevance to our modern ears. For to preach or proclaim this word requires as of first importance the acceptance of the existence of demons and of their ability to possess human beings, and only then to what meaning this event may have for our life of faith. It is clear that the Bible takes seriously and literally the realm and rule of the devil and his evil spirits. And it is just as clear that there is a demonic power at work in the world to keep people from the deliverance and salvation God so desires to provide to all. May these words, first, inform and prepare us to recognize all that militates against the Gospel and then also inspire and embolden us to proclaim to others how much God has done for us and for the whole world through His Son, Jesus Christ. First of all the existence of demons and their ability to possess human beings. We believe that the scripture, the Bible, is the Word of God, the inspired, inerrant testimony revealing Godrsquo;s own Person and will to the world. As such it reveals to us what God deems necessary for us to know if we are to know Him and the world He created. Admittedly, some of what God reveals we may question as to why He thinks we need to know it, for much is mysterious and seemingly not altogether clear. Therefore it should also go without saying that there is much about God and His creation that is not revealed or explained in the scriptures. As a document written through certain men chosen by God, it is written in human language and therefore subject to normal rules of language. The Bible itself gives us its own rules of interpretation. One rule is that the Bible should be read and interpreted literally according to normal rules of language unless it is obvious from the context that it is employing some other literary device. Confusion results from interpreting any writing symbolically if its intention is literal or vice versa. For instance, you shouldnrsquo;t wonder what I mean when I tell you to stop at the stop sign at the corner. Those records of Jesusrsquo; exorcisms of evil spirits as well as His own temptation by the devil in the wilderness need to be understood literally, requiring the acceptance of the existence of the realm and rule of the devil and his evil spirits. It was after Jesus calmed the storm on the sea of Galilee demonstrating to His disciples His power and authority even over the forces of nature, that they came to the other side and He was met by a man who had demons. Ever since his judgment and condemnation by God for his rebellion, the devil and his hordes are all about chaos, confusion, destruction and death. Therefore, wherever there is confusion, chaos and destruction there is the devil making the most of the situation. This manifested itself in this manrsquo;s life by his social isolation, not even worrying about wearing clothes, living in the caves among the unclean tombs. Luke explains in a parenthetical comment how people even tried to keep him under guard, bound with chains, but so great was the demonsrsquo; strength they would break the shackles and return to the desert. The devil has great strength beyond human ability. The devil also knows precisely who God is. Having been commanded by Jesus to depart from the man, he, or I should say ldquo;theyrdquo; had a conversation with Jesus. With a shriek and in a loud voice the demon yells through the man, ldquo;What have you to do with me, Jesus.rdquo; And then he calls Jesus ldquo;Son of the Most High God.rdquo; The devil knows what human beings can know only by the gift and enlightenment of faith, namely, that Jesus is the Son of God. The devil also knows that Jesus is in charge with the result that he must obey His every word. When as... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/13/o-love-how-deep/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/13/o-love-how-deep/#comments Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:21:49 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=578 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/13/o-love-how-deep/feed/ 0 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/06/heaven-on-earth/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/06/heaven-on-earth/#comments Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:59:30 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=573 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/06/06/heaven-on-earth/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: Luke 7:11-17 Date: Pentecost II (Proper 5) + 6/6/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI This is the choir and band rehearsal room or ... Text: Luke 7:11-17 Date: Pentecost II (Proper 5) + 6/6/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI This is the choir and band rehearsal room or music room of Lutheran High School Northwest. That is itrsquo;s main function. Thatrsquo;s what it was built for. That is what it is when students arrive with their instruments or sit according to their voices as Soprano, Alto, Tenor or Bass. Sometimes this room can be used as a study hall, or for a faculty meeting or devotions, or other functions. On Sunday morning, however, when we gather here ldquo;In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,rdquo; that changes everything. Oh, it may still be recognized as a high school music rehearsal room, even though we do our best to make it a sacred space with an altar and lectern, candles and crucifix. But it isnrsquo;t until we announce our gathering to be ldquo;In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spiritrdquo; that it truly is more that a redecorated music room and becomes nothing less than a sanctuary, literally a sacred or holy place, Heaven on Earth. Heaven on Earth. Itrsquo;s a phrase used to describe unexpected perfection and goodness in the midst of what is only our normally expected brokenness. It is something other or more than our daily and dreary experience or expectations. Another word for it is transcendence. It is why Christians have employed candles, incense, special vestments and paraments, special architecture, furniture, tableware and various symbols, colors and art to express the transcendence or other-worldliness of being in the presence of God. These things do not make for the transcendence but only express or symbolize it. Part of what makes for this transcendence is like what we are doing today. We gather and hear stories of resurrection. We heard about the prophet Elijah raising from death the son of the widow of Zarephath. Then we told the story of Jesus raising from death the only son of a widow from Nain. There were other resurrections in the New Testament, of course, the daughter of Jairus, and, of course, Lazarus. But where we assume these all died again, there was one, permanent resurrection, namely, that of Jesus Himself. We gather and hear and tell the stories of resurrection because resurrection has become a new, albeit hidden reality to our lives as baptized children of God. Itrsquo;s part of what makes this heaven on earth. Itrsquo;s even why we meet not on Saturday or any other day of the week, but Sunday; not only the first day of the week but, because of resurrection, the resurrection of Christ, it has become the eighth day of the week, the eternal day, the first day of eternal life, the day when heaven invaded our earth and brought new, eternal life to light. To be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to be daily forgiven and absolved of our sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and to come together, to ldquo;synagogue,rdquo; to gather as Church, the Body of Christ, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is to experience resurrection even now surrounded as we are still by all manner of sin, separation, death, the loss of hope, oppression and depression, fear and failure. Resurrection, Christrsquo;s resurrection, proclaims the release from sin and death, reconciliation with God, new life and hope because it marks the victory of Christrsquo;s suffering and death for it all, for the life of the world. Because Christ died, we live. Because Christ was raised from the dead, we are raised to newness of life now. We see ourselves among the ldquo;great crowdrdquo; following Jesus that day as He approached the town called Nain. Wersquo;re part of that great crowd following Jesus because we have heard Him speak and believe that in Him there is hope for life and love and joy. How different the ldquo;considerable crowdrdquo; we run into coming out ... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/30/the-only-true-god/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/30/the-only-true-god/#comments Sun, 30 May 2010 16:27:13 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=558 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/30/the-only-true-god/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: John 8:48-59 Date: The Holy Trinity + 5/30/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI In our synodical explanation of the Small Catechism, one of ... Text: John 8:48-59 Date: The Holy Trinity + 5/30/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI In our synodical explanation of the Small Catechism, one of the first things, under the First Commandment (Question 19 of the 306), we teach our children, asking, ldquo;Who is the only true God?rdquo; Answer, ldquo;The only true God is the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three distinct persons in one divine being (the Holy Trinity).rdquo; This is the characteristic that sets the true God apart from all other false gods. The Athanasian Creed, which we usually recite on Trinity Sunday, claims the necessity of understanding the Triune nature of God by ldquo;whoever desires to be saved.rdquo; ldquo;Whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.rdquo; In our worship we gather for the Divine Service ldquo;In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,rdquo; we are baptized and absolved, married and buried ldquo;In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,rdquo; and we are taught to stand especially for a doxological stanza of a hymn in praise of the Holy Trinity. Isnrsquo;t it odd, then, that when we say a doxology, baptize, absolve, or say the invocation we do not make a sign of the Father (whatever that might be), nor of the Spirit (I donrsquo;t know of one), but the sign of the cross, a sign uniquely significant of only the second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God incarnate, crucified for us and for our salvation. There are many ldquo;proof textsrdquo; to which we traditionally point that speak of the Trinity. None of these, however, is in the readings for this festival today. Our reading from Proverbs speaks mysteriously only of ldquo;wisdom,rdquo; and there is no reference to the Holy Spirit in todayrsquo;s Gospel! That is because, though the only true God is the Triune God, and whoever desires to be saved must believe in the Trinity, the only way to such saving faith, knowledge and wisdom is only through the Son of God, the only-begotten, the wisdom possessed by God from the beginning, the incarnate Son of Mary, Jesus, the Christ who said to His Father, ldquo;And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sentrdquo; (John 17:3). First we heard from the Old Testament book of Proverbs. Wisdom calls. The question is, is this wisdom a concept, a thought spoken about with personification, that is, as if it were a person? Or is this Wisdom an actual Divine Being? This is answered clearly in the New Testament when the Apostle Paul says, ldquo;but we preach Christ crucifiedhellip;Christ the power of God and the wisdom of Godrdquo; (1 Cor. 1:23-24). In Colossians 1 he describes Jesus as ldquo;the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisiblehellip;and he is before all things, and in him all things hold togetherrdquo; (Col. 1:15-17), and in the next chapter he speaks of ldquo;Godrsquo;s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledgerdquo; (Col. 2:2-3). Finally, the Son says of Himself in Revelation that He is ldquo;the faithful and true witness, the beginning of Godrsquo;s creationrdquo; (Rev. 3:14). With that insight we read in Proverbs that the Son of God was ldquo;possessed (by God)hellip;at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of oldrdquo; (Prov. 8:22), ldquo;possessedrdquo; meaning, as in the Athanasian Creed, that ldquo;the Son is neither made nor created, but begotten of the Father alonerdquo; (Athanasian Creed, 21). So in todayrsquo;s Gospel, the issue is, as Christian apologist C.S. Lewis has written, ldquo;You must make your choice. Either this man (Jesus) was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/23/confusion-to-fusion/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/23/confusion-to-fusion/#comments Sun, 23 May 2010 16:39:47 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=555 http://al.lunneberg.com/2010/05/23/confusion-to-fusion/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: John 14:26-27 (Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21) Date: Day of Pentecost + 5/23/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Disclaimer: Before writing this sermon I ... Text: John 14:26-27 (Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21) Date: Day of Pentecost + 5/23/10 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI Disclaimer: Before writing this sermon I did not know that the magazine by Glenn Beck is titled ldquo;Fusion.rdquo; According to one popular resource, what do you think is the language spoken by most people in the world today? English? Well, thatrsquo;s number 3 on the list with about 350 million people. Then your second guess may well be Spanish. However that is number 2 on the list with about 358 million speakers, only 8 million more than English. Number one on the list of the languages spoken by most people in the world today ismdash;are you ready?mdash;Mandarin Chinese with about 800 million speakers. (How many guessed at least close?) Then follow on the list in order Hindi/Urdu, Arabic, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, and Japanese. German is, then, tenth on the list with 100 million speakers (Swedish is 77th, 9 million, Norwegian, 116th, 5 million). Last on the ldquo;modernrdquo; list is Ter Sami of the Uralic family found in a corner of Russia (Murmansk Oblast) spoken, it is said, by only two people! Right. The total number of living languages in the world today is numbered at 6,909. On the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem that 50th day after our Lordrsquo;s resurrection, ten days after His ascension, St. Luke lists only 15 languages. But for simple Galileans to suddenly be able to speak in their languages was a great miracle. Today, of course, with resources like Rosetta Stone software, you can choose up to 31 different languages you can learn, they say, ldquo;the same way you learned your first language,rdquo; a little less, I guess, of a miracle! Lutheran Bible Translators say the Bible has been translated into 2400 of the 6900 languages of the modern world, or almost only 35%. The rest of the world has no written copy of the Bible in their own language. Question: Where did all these languages come from? Answer: Babylon. Actually, the forerunner of that ancient country recorded by Moses in Genesis chapter 11, originally there called Babel. The cause of a multitude of languages according to Godrsquo;s Word is, in a word, Godrsquo;s judgment against sin, the sin of mankind thinking we can take Godrsquo;s place or arrogantly give God a list of our demands. They thought they could build a tower or a system of reaching up into the heavens (like a high rise, a parking ramp, a pyramid or the like) to reach God. (How many today do not think that they know as much as any so-called ldquo;godrdquo;?) It is with a bit of Divine humor, then, that we are told there that God, in response, still had to ldquo;come downrdquo; or reach down to see what man was doing, so far were they from reaching God. As we read that God came down to see what they were doing, I have never before paused to consider verse 6 where the Lord said, ldquo;Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language.rdquo; What was that one language I wonder? Mandarin Chinese? or Ter Sami? English? German? Certainly Norwegian! Wersquo;ll never know. But so it is told that the many languages came from a judgment of God on the sin of the world. Godrsquo;s earlier judgment, of course, was with the devastation of the flood. Now His rainbow proclaimed His eternal covenant never to do that again. But that did not negate the power of His judgment against sin. Therefore at Babel God confused language and dispersed or scattered mankind over the earth. Sin is and issues in separation, dispersion, loneliness. And that is our situation to this day. God confusing manrsquo;s language was actually both an act of Law and Gospel, judgment and grace. It was Law in that mankind had the trouble and frustration of not being able to communicate with one another. Yet it was Gospel in the same way that the fiery angels and the expulsion from Eden was Gospel, that is, to prevent us from eternal destruction, at least right away. The c... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/11/22/when-the-stars-begin-to-fall/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/11/22/when-the-stars-begin-to-fall/#comments Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:29:24 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=446 http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/11/22/when-the-stars-begin-to-fall/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: Mark 13:24-27 Date: Last Sunday of the Church Year + 11/22/09 Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI My Lord, what a morningmdash;the morning of ... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/11/15/prepare-for-the-last-day/ http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/11/15/prepare-for-the-last-day/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:31:15 +0000 alunneberg http://al.lunneberg.com/?p=441 http://al.lunneberg.com/2009/11/15/prepare-for-the-last-day/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Text: Mark 13:1-13 Date: Pentecost XXIV (Proper 28) + 11/15/09 (11/12/00) Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI As we approach the end of the liturgical ... Text: Mark 13:1-13 Date: Pentecost XXIV (Proper 28) + 11/15/09 (11/12/00) Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI As we approach the end of the liturgical year the lectionary turns to the theme of the Last Things, the Last Day, the ldquo;parousiardquo; or second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the question is, Are you prepared? Are you prepared for the Lordrsquo;s return? for your last day? for the last judgment and for your destiny of either eternal life through the forgiveness of your sins or for eternal suffering and death through unbelief? As when a person prepares for a long trip or an extended vacation by packing suit cases and travel bags, or as a person prepares for Christmas by decorating a tree, putting colorful light displays outside like a number of my neighbors were doing yesterday, then ordering, purchasing and wrapping gifts, just what does a person prepared for the Last Day look like? Whatrsquo;s involved with that preparation? It is the genius of the lectionary how the Christian, liturgical year comes to an end with the theme of the Lordrsquo;s second coming, preparing the way for another year of grace that begins with the Advent/Christmas theme concerning our Lordrsquo;s first coming. And, if I were to ask which you think is more importantmdash;His first coming at Christmas or His final coming at the Last Daymdash;I wonder if most of us would say His first coming is more important if, for no other reason than that we know that story better. As for His second and final coming, what do we know for certain and what do we expect concerning the promised second coming of Christ, of our passage to the Last Day and of the life of the world to come? And then, how does that expectation affect our lives now, if at allmdash;the way we believe, the way we worship, the way we conduct ourselves today? Is it a source of hope and joy, especially as the Christian grows in awareness of the transience of life lived in the shadow of the Cross? Or is it a subject of fear and doubt? There are lots of voices out there with all sorts of wild theories about the second coming of our Lord, some even going so far as to predict certain dates and times. Like the first disciples in our text we have so many questions. ldquo;Tell us,rdquo; they said, ldquo;when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?rdquo; Letrsquo;s be clear as to what they were asking. The occasion was a day in Holy Week when they were leaving the magnificent temple in Jerusalem. ldquo;Look, Teacher! What massive stones!rdquo; they said. Wersquo;re told that the temple buildings were made out of gleaming white stones, some of them as large as 37 feet long, 12 feet high and 18 feet wide! You can almost imagine the sight as Jesus and His disciples looked at the temple from across the way on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, gleaming, almost shining in the sunlight. Jesus took this opportunity to tell them something amazing, something almost unbelievable. ldquo;Do you see all these great buildings?rdquo; He replied. Then He said, ldquo;Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.rdquo; With these words Jesus predicted the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. As the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar almost 600 years before, was a sign of Godrsquo;s punishment of the rebelliousness of Judah in the time of Jeremiah (Jer. 7), so now, because of their rejection of the promised Messiah, God would once again and for all time finally destroy the temple. Jesusrsquo; prediction was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Rome in a.d. 70. From now on, the true ldquo;descendants of Abrahamrdquo; would be only those who have faith in Jesusmdash;the only true temple those in whom Christ dwells by faith, His body, the Church, regardless of ethnic background as God originally promised Abraham, that by his offspring all the nations of t... Pentecost,Sermons alunneberg@comcast.net no No