Month: June 2012

Text: Ezekiel 17:22-24
Date: Pentecost III (Proper 6) + 6/17/12

There are times when our lives seem to be going in a pleasant and positive direction: Ah, “Summertime and the livin’ is easy, fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high.” In times like those it’s easier to believe that God is in control and blessing us with His grace. Then, of course, are those other times, times maybe of disappointment or the diagnosis of cancer, times of unemployment or of failure, times of depression or war. At times like those it’s easier to wonder whether God is even there much less in control. As God’s people God’s Word tells us that He is in control and in the business of blessing in bad times as well as good. It’s just that it’s harder for us to see in bad times, even to the point of the despair of faith, that there is any incentive to hope in God. Continue reading “God's Planting of Grace”

Text: Genesis 3:8-15
Date: Pentecost II + 6/10/12

The Word before us today requires your acceptance, agreement and belief that there is a person-ality behind all evil, conflict, hatred, mayhem and murder in the world. That person is Beelzebul, Satan, the fallen angel called the devil. Many, including Jesus’ own family, tried to explain His growing popularity, His miracles and even His casting out of unclean spirits. His family said, “He is out of his mind.” But the officials from the head shed in Jerusalem charged Him, saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” The truth is that behind all evil is the spiritual warfare of which the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians, saying, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:11-12). The old evil foe continues his warring madness to this day trying to take down as many with him as he can before the final judgment. By faith in Christ our Lord Himself gives us the defensive armor to withstand the devil’s schemes and the one offensive weapon, namely, the Word of God. As you hear God’s Word today it is a most uncomfortable and troublesome moment for the prince of demons. Continue reading “Christ Came to Defeat Satan”

Text: Isaiah 6:1-8
Date: The Holy Trinity + 6/3/12

This day, the octave of (or first Sunday after) the Day of Pentecost, is the only day of the year named and dedicated to a Biblical doctrine, namely, the Holy Trinity, the triune nature of God. There is no “seat” (sedes) of this doctrine in one scripture passage. It is a mystery that takes three long paragraphs to describe in the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, and even longer in the Athanasian Creed. The three scripture readings appointed in the lectionary to be read today themselves only point to this mystery but do not attempt to explain it. In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks of God as having sent Him (the Son) into the world and that salvation comes to a person by being born from above by water and the Spirit. In Acts 2 we heard the continuation of Peter’s Pentecost sermon where, in explanation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, he speaks of “God,” and of Jesus as the patriarch David’s Lord. First, however, in one of my favorite passages, the call of Isaiah in Isaiah 6, where it seems the Trinity is strongly hinted at in the song of the angels and at the end; “hinted at” but not “explained.” Continue reading “One is Holy, Holy, Holy”