The God Who Prays

[This sermon was originally delivered at Grace Lutheran Church on February 4, 2024. The sermon was preached for Epiphany 5, Series B and was on the gospel text, Mark 1:29-39. This sermon delves into the topic of prayer, the example of Jesus in prayer, and touches upon how we can expect God to answer our prayer.]

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you, Amen.

Our Gospel text from Mark 1 this morning is full of several mentions of wonderful miracles.  The healing of Simon’s mother-in-law is a delightful moment and one we’ll spend some time with in a few moments.  But first, we need to set the tone for our Lord’s miracles by setting focus on a different moment in Mark 1, a moment likely overlooked in our reading.

Mark 1:35 “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he [Jesus] departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”  It seems almost mundane, so common.  Jesus goes and prays.  But we shouldn’t just gloss over this moment.  Sure, it is common, and that’s a good thing.  That alone is noteworthy.  It tells us Jesus did this regularly.  It was normal for Jesus to leave His disciples, to go out alone, to a desolate place, and there He would pray to the Father.  Jesus did this regularly because it was important to Him.  It was necessary.  Even as the Son of God in the flesh, Jesus kept this intimate connection and relationship with the Father.  He prayed without ceasing.

A Christmas Eve Eucatastrophe

[A sermon delivered on Christmas Eve, 2022.]

Brothers and sisters in the Christ Child, grace and peace, hope and joy to you, Amen.

This time of year is bound up in such high hopes.  Like almost no other moment on our calendar, Christmas is a time when we yearn for everything to be just right.  We get all the decorations and the lights in place.  We set plans for family gatherings and parties hoping to see all of our favorite and beloved people.  We even offer up prayers that the weather will cooperate just nicely and give us a white Christmas.  

Yet as it goes with life, rarely does everything go according to plan.  When party plans change we almost expect it.  When the weather doesn’t cooperate, even that we kind of expect, it is Michigan after all.  What really throws us is when tragedy and hardship and suffering find us in this most holy time of year.  So many of us have endured losses at this time of year and they weigh on us, year after year.  They take so long to heal.  Losing loved ones so close to Christmas always seems to affect us more as it interrupts that idea. It interrupts those perfect hopes we so yearned for.  

Freedom in Love

Sermon Preached on November 13, 2022, Proper 28C. Sermon Text Galatians 5:13-15 Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you, Amen. Journey with me back to the Old Testament era. I want you to picture in your minds the early parts of the story of Joseph. Joseph was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. Joseph, the young boy who was despised by all of his older brothers. Joseph, who was given the beautiful coat of many colors by his father. Joseph, who was beaten and then sold by his brothers to slave traders. Joseph, who came to live in the house of Potiphar in Egypt. That is where our attention begins this morning. Joseph in Potiphar’s house. When you picture Joseph in this situation, would you describe him as a free man? Does Joseph have freedom in his predicament in Egypt? Practically speaking, he was for all intents and purposes a slave. He had a master who demanded his complete obedience and service. This master had literally purchased Joseph from the traders. It certainly doesn’t look like much freedom.

Who is Faithful?

Sermon for Reformation Sunday -- Oct 30, 2022 -- Romans 3:19-28

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you, Amen.

Do you remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego?  They are well known for what happened to them during the time of Israel’s exile in Babylon.  They squared off with King Nebuchadnezzar in an unforgettable event.  These three men, faithful to God, had risen in the ranks of the wise leaders of the king of Babylon.  Things were going well for them until this one day.  King Nebuchadnezzar had constructed a 90-foot golden image on the plains of Babylon.  This golden image was to be worshipped by everyone.  When the special instruments would play, all were to bow down to it.  And pretty much all did, that is, except for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  The three refused.  The king was furious.  He gives them an ultimatum.  When you hear the special music, bow down, or else you will be thrown into the fiery furnace.  The king boldly asks them “who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

God's Words of Comfort During a Pandemic

Sermon preached at my congregation on March 15, 2020 for the Third Sunday in Lent. It was preached on Exodus 17:1-7 with John 4:5-26 also heavily used. This Sunday was arguably the first Americans had for worship during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you, Amen.

God’s Word is always full of perfect timing. Our lives this past week have been changed and altered in profound ways. You have the feeling we have been quickly thrust into uncharted waters and we don’t yet know where this wayward ship is headed. Its frustrating when you don’t really know exactly what to think, or what sources to trust. We’re not sure if the world is going to end in the next 7 days or if we’re going to find out everything is a-okay, nothing further to worry about. Tomorrow remains a big unknown.

Yet not entirely. God’s Word speaks about Christian living in difficult times. In days of uncertainty and days in which we feel like we are surrounded by unknowns and uncharted waters God’s Word speaks of hope. God is the most perfect of certainties in our lives. He is known. He is in charge. He makes tomorrow a matter of hope and promise because it is in His hands.

"Leave the Mountain with Jesus"

Luke 9:28-36
Transfiguration
February 7, 2016


Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you, Amen.

Today we stand atop the mountain with Jesus. We see Him there today alongside Moses and Elijah, as well as His disciples Peter, James, and John. We’ve been climbing this mountain throughout the Epiphany season. We’ve followed Jesus from the visit by the Magi in Bethlehem to His first miracle in Cana, and on through His early ministry of healing and teaching. Along the way we’ve been unraveling layer by layer the true identity of Jesus. As we’ve climbed higher and higher this Epiphany season we now find ourselves atop the mountain peak with the conclusive evidence of Jesus’ identity: the full glory of God is revealed in Him today as He is transfigured and shines dazzling white, and we hear the voice of the Father, "This is my Son."

"Home for the Holidays"

This sermon was my Christmas Eve 2014 sermon.  I conceived the idea as events unfurled within my own family.  On Wednesday December 17th word was that my Grandma (Mom's mom) was going downhill and fast.  This wasn't a huge surprise to us as we knew she was in poor health (alzheimer's) already.  By noon on Thursday Dec. 18th we knew that her passing was imminent.  My family had been planning on travelling to Southern Illinois on Friday Dec. 19th for Christmas parties.  This news moved our plans up a day and we travelled on Thursday.  Grandma went to be with her Lord Thursday evening.

We could see the Lord's timing in all of this as we and so much of our family was already planning to be in town and now could be together to mourn Grandma's passing.  During all of this I was also tasked with continuing to prepare a sermon for Christmas Eve at my congregation.  It seemed fitting to tie current events in with the message.  I don't often bring largely personal stories into my preaching but on this occasion it seemed both appropriate and helpful.

Blessings.

"A Not So Ordinary Manger"

Advent Midweek Service Sermon

December 17, 2014
Isaiah 35:1-10

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you, Amen.

Today we ask the question “how has He saved us?” At the heart of this question is our desire to know what God has done, and is still doing for us. It shows our longing for answers. Our longing for comfort from the loneliness this world can bring upon us. It shows our desire for reassurance that everything has been taken care of. And the good news we shall hear this day is all of these cares and concerns are answered.

Throughout this Advent season we have been using the beloved cradle hymn “Away in a Manger” as the backdrop for our worship. We sing in that hymn of the desires I’ve just spoken of. At the beginning of the third verse it begins “Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay”. This line holds the burning desire of every believer’s heart. And though our sinful nature often has us doing the very things that take us away from God’s presence, one thing we have learned throughout this season is God has heard this cry of ours, “be near me, Lord Jesus.” We know this for God answered us in the incarnation. In the birth and life of Jesus among us. As Isaiah puts it in verse 4 of today’s reading “He will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God, He will come and save you.” Jesus has come once already and accomplished our salvation through His sacrifice, once and for all, on the cross.

It would seem this answers our question, yes? “How has He saved us?” The cross sure seems like the answer and to be sure, it is. But that doesn’t answer everything we need to know. Here’s what I mean: Jesus’ death on the cross did indeed accomplish salvation for all mankind. There was not a single person past, present, or future that His death did not pay for. Jesus’ work is like the ultimate Christmas gift to all humanity. However, like any Christmas gift we would purchase, a gift must be given and received. Just as those wonderful new earrings you bought your wife, or the power drill you bought your husband, or the new LEGO set you bought your child isn’t much of a gift if it sits wrapped in a closet somewhere, all gifts must be given and received. So it is true with the salvation Jesus has purchased for us with His own blood. That gift of eternal life has been purchased for us, now it must be given and received.

So, as we ponder what kind of heavenly delivery system God must use to give us these most precious of gifts we should understand, that God’s ways are not our ways. After all, when God first delivered His Son into flesh to be our Savior Jesus was given in the humble cradle of a manger. Our Lord’s beginnings at Christmas ought to guide us to see that God not only worked in such humble fashion then, but He continues to do so today.

God’s heavenly delivery system today works through three different means. Each is as common as the next in appearance, and yet rich with heavenly blessings nonetheless. God delivers His gifts to us through speech, water, and the bread and wine. In other words, God’s Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. These means of God’s grace to us hardly have much outward beauty that we should be attracted or impressed by them. In fact, I’ve heard it said that the simple pouring of water in baptism seems like such an ordinary, common task, how could God possibly do all that He says He does.
But these our Lord’s means of grace share in the same apparent weakness of the little Lord Jesus who did once “lay asleep on the hay.” These means hide in them the full power and glory of God, as did the child Jesus who, though being fully man, also had the fullness of God. Be not fooled by the simplicity of the words of Scripture, the waters of Baptism, or the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper, for God does indeed employ them to deliver His heavenly blessings to His people.

This comes as a challenge to us. By our sinful nature we are challenged by our mind’s desire to be caught up with the fancy, the innovative, the attractive, the flashy. We think all great blessings must come in shiny, impressive packages and the mundane is lost on us. This reminds me of one of my favorite Disney Pixar films. Some of you may remember the flick “Ratatouille” which came out in 2007. The movie follows a rat named Remy who desires above all else to become a cook, and it just so happens, he lives in Paris. Its a cute story, but I want you to consider another character from the movie with me. I want you to consider the most feared food critic in all of Paris, a man named Anton Ego.

Now, the movie uses Ego much like a villain as they fear him giving them a bad report if their food is not innovative or perfectly delivered. Here is where the story ties in nicely for us today. Towards the end of the film, the rat-turned-cook named Remy has this one opportunity to serve the food critic Ego, and Remy decides to serve him ratatouille. The other cook’s in the kitchen are caught aback. “But that’s a peasant dish” It seems too ordinary, too mundane to serve to the food critic. But that is what they do. And it turns out they made the right choice. Anton Ego eats the ratatouille and it instantly opens his heart and takes him back to the days of his youth when his mother would cook this simple dish for him. Though nothing of great outward appearance, the ratatouille and its familiarity got the job done.

We have God’s promise that His means of giving to us His grace are sure and true. The Word of God delivers us precisely what we need. It is like the manger delivering to us the Savior every time we peer into it. We may think these words outdated or ordinary, but in them is the familiar account of God’s love for us. We may look at the words and water of baptism as a simple tradition. But they carry the promise of God, they carry the fullness of the Word of God and deliver a life-giving water that wells up to salvation. And we are tempted to look at the bread and wine on the altar and to receive them as habit, as common. Its just something we do right. And they make the service oh so long. We know we’re guilty of this when we arrive in our pew and groan when we realize the service is going to be a little longer today. But these our sinful reactions betray us. They reveal our misunderstanding or lack of understanding of the very grace of God and His answer to our heart’s desire “be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay.”

I tell you, there is no better answer to our plea for the Lord to stay with us than when you receive His very body and blood, His real presence in the Sacrament of the altar. Your sinful nature may grumble about it, and your watch may appear to slow down, but your Savior is being given to you and the forgiveness of sins.

We pray be near me, Lord Jesus, and indeed He is with us. We know our Messiah has come because the signs of God’s Word are being, and have been fulfilled. Isaiah, in our reading today speaks of a day when the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. The lame will leap like deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy.” Surely these things have come to pass in the work of Jesus and are a sign to us that our Savior is here.

The manger is never empty, for our Savior has come to save us and deliver to us His most precious gift. To God be the glory, Amen.

"When Peace Like a River"

Sometimes, the best way for us to express ourselves, and particularly our emotions, is to do so through music. Many of the great musical masterpieces of history are reflective of a troubled or a moving time in a composer's life and their music was an outlet for them to express what they were feeling in those moments. The hymnody we sing in church here is certainly much the same. Although I would suggest, our hymnody goes a step beyond a writer expressing the emotions and feelings of their heart to a place where they are expressing the deepest words and thoughts of faith in the words and the music which we now sing.

This is why we pride ourselves, still today, in the singing of songs of praise and hymns in our worship. We're singing the songs of faith. We're lifting back to God the same words He's first given to us through the holy writers of Scripture. The hymns we sing help us in receiving and in turn expressing the Divine truth which the rest of our worship is gracefully giving us.

Dehydrated Christians?

3rd Sunday in Lent -- March 23, 2014

John 4:5-26 - The Woman at the Well

Brothers and sisters in Christ, peace be with you, Amen.

You have heard before, that at high elevations its harder to breathe and there is less oxygen in the air?  Now, if you haven't heard this, that's okay, just fly out to Denver or somewhere in the mountains some time and try walking up a flight of stairs.  Its almost an exercise in futility on your first go, as you're huffing and puffing just trying to catch your breath.

But my first comment is true only in part.  It is much harder to breathe, the body must work overtime to survive and function properly at high elevations, but oddly enough, its not because there is less oxygen.  That's actually a common misunderstanding.  Scientists tell us that the concentration of oxygen at sea level and at high elevation is relatively constant at around 20%.  The big challenge to our health comes because the air pressure is lower at higher elevations.  And because of that our bodies cannot absorb the oxygen so easily in the lower pressure.

Which Came First? Death or Man?

Sermon -- Lent 1A -- March 9, 2014
Texts: Genesis 3:1-21, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11


Brothers and sisters in Christ, God's peace be with you, Amen.

From Alpha to Omega, the beginning to the end, from everlasting to everlasting, the Bible is God’s Word. I think that’ll be a good starting point for us, and not a bad ending point either, for us this morning.

Here is where the wheels fell off on this whole journey that we call life, it happened with our first parents. Adam and Eve. They had it all. They were the only humans in history to literally know paradise on earth. They were made in God’s image. They were perfectly holy, perfectly righteous, perfectly perfect.

But, they blew it all up in one singular problem that has since plagued every last soul to walk this earth, less just one, named Jesus, and that problem was: they didn’t listen to God’s Word. Plain and simple. What had God told them? Just one Law we are told they were given. Don’t eat from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That’s it.

"I go to prepare a place for you."

This is a funeral sermon I delivered at my congregation on December 6, 2013. The text was John 14:1-6. I like to respect individual's privacy to a very reasonable extent and so I've eliminated specific names. If you find these words to be helpful or comforting please feel free to pass them on.


Brothers and sisters in Christ, peace be with you, Amen.

When a loved one falls asleep, it hurts. This person whom we had known and loved for days and months and years is no longer with us, and of course, we miss them. Our heart pains us to look ahead to each day that they won't be by our side on this earth. This is just a glimpse of what we experience today as we remember our departed sister, mother, grandmother, [Deceased's name].

And even though we knew this day was eventually coming, it doesn't make the hurt or the pain simply go away. As [Deceased's name]'s body withered away day after day over the last few months it seemed as though this day was taking its time in coming. I know you found yourselves torn wanting to keep mom with us awhile longer, and yet also to see her go and be free of this body that had nothing left to offer.