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| Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries By Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).  "New Again" August 31, 2013  (God said) "... They shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." Hebrews 8:11b-12Scripture says if you are in Christ, you are a new creation. My question is are you? A lawyer moved into the community, hung out his shingle, and buried himself in his new practice. In the morning the townspeople saw him walk to work; in the evening he reversed the process. He was always alone; his head always hung low, and his shoulders always stooped. Even more, his face always seemed to show a sense of ongoing and profound sadness. One day the lawyer confessed to a Christian artist that when he was just starting out, he had committed a grave error. That sin from yesterday was still, even now, weighing him down. The artist listened, but he gave no guidance or suggestions ... at least not then. Weeks later, he invited the lonely lawyer to come to his studio and see a newly completed painting. The attorney arrived and was surprised when he saw himself in the picture. Yes, it was his likeness, but it was somehow different. In the picture he had his shoulders back, his head lifted up, and a look of hope was shown in his smiling face. Behind him in the background of that picture was a hill, and on that hill, an empty cross. At the foot of the cross had been placed, along with many others, a great, heavy package. The artist was implying that the lawyer had left his burden at the cross. At the cross he had found forgiveness and peace, which had made him a new creation. The artist affirmed the lawyer's interpretation of the painting. But the artist went deeper when he pointed to the other packages at the cross. "These," he said, "were packages that once belonged to other people." Although he didn't identify which one, the author acknowledged that one of those boxes had been his. The boxes were different in size and content, but they had this in common: they had all been left at the cross. That picture is one for all of us since all of us need to know that when Jesus is your Savior, when your sins are washed away, you become a new creature. Now I don't know what that good news does for you. I can tell you what it did to the lawyer. Carefully, he considered, "Is this how God wants me to look? Can burdens really be left at the cross? Is it possible?" Then, having had the Holy Spirit give a "yes" answer to all of His questions -- by the power of God's grace -- the lawyer became a new creation. THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, You carried the sins of the entire world to Your cross. Since Your work has been successfully completed, help me realize it is impossible for me to carry forgiven sins a second time. In Your Name I give thanks for all You have done and continue to do. Amen.  In Christ I remain His servant and yours,  Pastor Ken Klaus Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour® Lutheran Hour Ministries
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Saturday, August 31, 2013
New Again
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Worship for Pentecost 15 2013
Thursday
after Pentecost 14
Feast of the
Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist
August 29,
2013
The Lord be
with you
I apologize
that it has been a couple of week since I’ve posted my worship notes. Things
have just been pushing in on my time, and these notes take a few minutes to put
together.
This coming
Sunday is the 15th Sunday after Pentecost. It is also the
Commemoration of Joshua. There are no specific readings assigned for this
commemoration (or any other commemoration for that matter) in our lectionary so
we will simply use the assigned readings for Pentecost 15. During our prayers
we will use the collect for Joshua.
We use four
different liturgical settings for our Sunday morning worship services, two for
when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and two for our non-communion Sundays.
Starting with this past Advent, we changed how we rotate these services. Before
this change we used each of the settings each month. To put that another way, a
visitor would not hear the same setting Sunday morning for a month. Our new
rotation allows visitors to hear the same Sunday morning setting in just two
weeks. Our current rotation is:
1st
quarter (December – February): Matins; Divine Service 1
2nd
quarter (March – May): Prayer & Preaching; Divine Service 3
3rd
quarter (June – August): Matins; Divine Service 1
4th
quarter (September – November) Prayer & Preaching; Divine Service 3
As you can
see, we will be moving to the next cycle this coming Sunday. Therefore we will
be using the Service of Prayer and Preaching (page 260) for our liturgy. This,
along with Divine Service 3, will take us to Advent.
Our
appointed lessons are: Proverbs 25:2-10; Hebrews 13:1-17; Luke 14:1-14; and
Psalm131 (v.2). My sermon text will be Psalm 131:1. The sermon is titled “Wisdom.”
Our opening hymn will be “One Thing’s Needful” (LSB 536:1, 3-5). The
omitted verse relates to the story of Martha and Mary with Martha being
distracted by “much serving.” The sermon hymn will be “You Are the Way; through
You Alone” (LSB 526). Our closing hymn will be “Thy Strong Word” (LSB
578). As you consider the words of each of these hymns you will discover they
all have something to say about wisdom.
Below is a
video of our opening hymn, “One Thing’s Needful.” The words are included.
In our
prayers, we will remember The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and
their leader Patriarch Ireneos I. We will remember the persecuted believers in Somalia.
We will remember Andy and Stephanie Jones, our missionaries in Germany. We will
continue to remember the churches in our denomination. This week we lift up
before our Lord Redeemer, Resurrection, St. James & St. Thomas, Baltimore,
MD; and Holy Trinity, Columbia, SC. We will continue to remember all those who
have been misled by our cultures advocacy of sexual immorality and abortion. We
ask, not only that the Lord turn our country around, but also that he bring
healing to the lives damaged by our current culture. We will remember the
modern slave trade and ask God to bless all efforts pleasing in his sight to
end this sinful practice. We will remember the Lutheran Malaria Initiative as
we seek to end Malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. We will remember the Sampson
family as they mourn the loss of Ken. We will remember Monica, the mother of Tiffany,
who has pneumonia.
In our
Sunday morning Bible study we are in our third read through of the Gospel of
Luke. We are using the “book” method of studying Luke. This means we are
giving our own titles to the book, and small sections, seeking to capture in
our own words, the message of Luke. Currently we are giving a title to each
chapter. Everyone is welcome to join us and provide your own titles. In
discussing our titles and why we like them, we are discussing the themes of
Luke. Bible study begins at 9:00 am.
Preview of
Lessons
Proverbs
25:2-10; Hebrews 13:1-17; Luke 14:1-14
All three of
our lessons are related in that they reflect biblical “wisdom.” As one reviews
them, it becomes apparent that biblical wisdom is different from Greek wisdom. Greek
wisdom is interested in developing grand schemes to work everything (or most
everything) into some logical, integrated system of thought. Biblical wisdom,
on the other hand, is far more interested in what we might call horse sense. So
a descendant of Greek wisdom may speak of anger as the results of the Id while
the descendants of biblical wisdom would simply say don’t go to be angry. However,
if we stop at Christian behavior, we have missed the deeper and more important
aspect of biblical wisdom. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 1:24, tells us that Jesus is “the
power of God and the wisdom of God.” So, a first reading of these texts may cause
us to think of them mainly as “right living” passages. However, as the synopsis
I downloaded from Synod ably shows, they are also, and even mainly, about Jesus
and our salvation.
Lesson Synopsis (from the LC-MS)
We Are Humbled and Exalted by the
Cross of Christ
“Everyone
who exalts himself will be humbled,”
Jesus proclaims, but “he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke
14:11). For your hope is in the name of the Lord, who humbled Himself unto
death on the cross and was exalted in His resurrection. So are you humbled by
His cross, and “at the resurrection of the just,” He will say to you, “Friend,
move up higher” (Luke 14:10; 13–14). By His grace, the King will honor you “in
the presence of a noble,” where your eyes will gaze upon the Prince, His
dearly beloved Son (Prov. 25:7). As He has dealt so graciously with you, “do
not neglect to do good and to share what you have” (Heb. 13:16) and “do
not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Heb. 13:2). Humble yourself
and exalt your neighbor.
Tidbits
- We have now finished our summer Vespers services. The inspiration for the homilies came from the book BROKEN: 7 “Christian” Rules That Every Christian Ought to Break as Often as Possible by Jonathan Fisk and published by Concordia Publishing House. I highly recommend the book.
- Our summer “Walkabout” is over as of this Saturday. I hope everyone had a chance to meet and get to know some of their neighbors.
- Remember, winter is coming on. We still need to raise the money for a new heater.
- This coming weekend is Labor Day weekend. I don’t know about you, but Kitty and I will be going to the Apple Festival Saturday.
Well, I pray
we will see you Sunday.
Blessings in
Christ,
Pastor John
Rickert
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Saying "Welcome, God Is With You!" & Saying "Goodbye, God Go With You!"
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| Reception cake made by member Connie Melton (Always beautiful and delicious!) |
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| Cyril Ignatius blessed by Pastor John Rickert |
Many, if not most, of the members and friends of Lamb of God Lutheran know that we have taken in some new members recently.
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| Glenn (left), smiling as usual, & member Bob Pike shaking hands with Cyril |
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| Glenn, Pastor John and Cyril |
We held a small reception for them after worship. During the same reception, we, as a congregation, sent off to college one of our shining stars, Dixie Ann Chastain.
Dixie will be attending USC in Columbia, so we hope she comes home sometimes (but she may go to other states, maybe overseas, who knows what her future holds) - actually, God knows exactly what He has planned for Dixie. And, with the Holy Spirit's guidance, she will walk in her God-given Christian faith, paid for by the blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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| Dixie Chastain (left) with her mom, Rachel Swain |
Worship Notes for Pentecost 11 - 2013
Thursday
after Pentecost 11
August 8,
2013
The Lord be
with you
This coming
Sunday (August 11) is the 12th Sunday after Pentecost. We will
celebrate the Lord’s Supper. To prepare you may read the Christian Questions
with their Answers from Luther’s Small Catechism. For our liturgy we will use
Divine Service 1 (page 151). Our lessons will be Genesis 15:1-6; Hebrews
11:1-16; and Luke 12:22-40. Our sermon will be titled “Faith” and the text
will be Hebrews 11:6. Our opening hymn will be “Children of the Heavenly
Father” (LSB 725). Our sermon hymn will be “I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus” (LSB
729). Our closing hymn will be “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” (LSB 803). Our
distribution hymns will be “We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight” (LSB 720), “Seek
Ye First” (LSB 712), and “Rejoice, My Heart, Be Glad and Sing” (LSB 737).
Below is a
video of our opening hymn, “Children of the Heavenly Father.” It is performed
by the Concordia Choir. It isn’t the arrangement in our hymnal, but it is the
same melody line.
In our
prayers, we will remember The Evangelical Church of America and their leader Bishop
Hanson. We will remember the persecuted believers in Pakistan. We will remember
Emily Goddard, our missionary in South Africa. We will continue to remember the
churches in our denomination. This week we lift up before our Lord Bethany,
Bethlehem, Calvary & Emmanuel, Baltimore, MD; and Good Shepherd,
Greenville, SC. We will continue to remember all those who have been misled by
our cultures advocacy of sexual immorality and abortion. We ask, not only that
the Lord turn our country around, but also that he bring healing to the lives
damaged by our current culture. We will remember the modern slave trade and ask
God to bless all efforts pleasing in his sight to end this sinful practice. We
will also remember the Lutheran Malaria Initiative as we seek to end Malaria in
sub-Saharan Africa.
In our
Sunday morning Bible study we are in our second read through of the Gospel
of Luke. We are using the “book” method of studying Luke. This means we are
giving our own titles to the book, and small sections, seeking to capture in
our own words, the message of Luke. Everyone is welcome to join us and provide
your own section titles. In discussing our titles and why we like them, we are
discussing the themes of Luke. Bible study begins at 9:00 am.
Preview of
Lessons
Genesis
15:1-6
Abraham has
an encounter with God. God promises Abraham a “very great reward.” Abraham
points out that he is childless. God’s great reward, which would be to be the
ancestor of the Messiah, is humanly impossible. Nonetheless, God says Abraham
would have descendants. Abraham believes the promise. This faith is counted for
Abraham as righteousness. Though obviously the saints before Abraham believed
(Adam, Eve, Noah, etc.), this is the first time the Bible specifically says
someone “believed” in God. Paul makes a major point out of the fact that this
happened before the covenant of circumcision. Paul’s point being that salvation
has always been a gift granted to those who believe.
Hebrews
11:1-16
This is the
famous “Faith Chapter” of the Bible. I’ve always regretted that the appointed
lesson doesn’t go through the end of the chapter. This section reviews those
who had faith and things went well for them. Skipped are those who had faith
but, from a human perspective, things didn’t go well. Reading the whole chapter
keeps us from the false idea that, if you just believe hard enough, then God
will grant you an unending stream of temporal successes and riches. If you
accept such false teaching, then one of the greatest assets we have when facing
trials, faith in Jesus, is taken from us. We are cast upon ourselves, searching
for the reason our faith is not strong enough and God has (at least from our
perspective) abandoned us. But if we know that Christ is with us no matter
what, then we have a sure confidence that he is with us in our troubles. It is
clear from this reading that “faith,” to be of any real value, must be faith in
the true God. “Faith in self,” “Faith in the government,” “Faith” in anything
else, leads to disappointment and despair. It is also clear that our faith is in
he who is coming, and the kingdom he brings at that time. We are not seeking to
bring in a heaven on earth, for which those who believe in some future, 1,000 year,
earthly reign of Jesus, hope. We look forward to the new heavens and earth.
I guess this
reading could be summed up with the words, “Trust God.” We spend a lot of our
time and energy scheming, seeking to advance this or that cause, as if God is
not ultimately in control. We fret over who gets elected, as if God is not in control.
We worry about our income, is if God isn’t in control. But God is in control.
Indeed, he even has the greatest gift of all time for you, the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, as the closing paragraph urges us, live like you are servants of the
Almighty. The reward is startling. The Master serves the slaves.
Lesson Synopsis (from the LC-MS)
The Lord Is Surely Coming to Give You
His Kingdom
The Lord
Himself was Abraham’s shield and great reward. For “the word of the Lord came to him” and sustained the
patriarch’s faith in the face of death (Gen. 15:4). By divine grace, Abraham “believed
the Lord, and he counted it to him
as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6), on account of the holy Seed, Christ Jesus. To
that one old man, the Lord granted “descendants as many as the stars of heaven
and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore” (Heb. 11:12).
The Lord is likewise faithful to you. It is His glad desire “to give you the
kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Therefore, “do not be anxious about your life,” but
instead “seek his kingdom” (Luke 12:22, 31). Set your heart on that treasure. “Stay
dressed for action and keep your lamps burning … for the Son of Man is coming”
(Luke 12:35, 40).
Tidbits
- It was a real pleasure to welcome Cyril and Glenn into membership last Sunday.
- The Board of Evangelism will meet Sunday.
- Remember, we are all on “Walkabout” all summer long (through August). So, keep walking in your neighborhood, and beyond. When you see someone, say hello. If you don’t know them, introduce yourself. It is that simple.
- We will have a short Voters’ Meeting Sunday, August 18, following the worship service.
- One final “tidbit:” At Lamb of God we recognize August 9 as the Commemoration of Hermann Sasse. This is one of two commemorations we put on our calendar that is not on the general liturgical calendar of our Synod. The other one is for Catherine Winkworth.
Well, I pray
we will see you Sunday.
Blessings in
Christ,
Pastor John
Rickert
Friday, August 2, 2013
Worship Notes for Pentecost 10 - 2013
Thursday
after Pentecost 10
August 1,
2013
The Lord be
with you
This coming
Sunday is the 11th Sunday after Pentecost. For our liturgy we will
use Matins (page 219). Our lessons will be Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-26,
Colossians 3:1-11, Luke 12:13-21, and Psalm 138:1-14 (antiphon verse 4). Our
sermon will be titled “If, Then” and the text will be Colossians 3:1. Our
opening hymn will be “This Is the Day the Lord Has Made” (LSB 903). Our
sermon hymn will be “Renew Me, O Eternal Light” (LSB 704). Our closing
hymn will be “Almighty Father, Bless the Word” (LSB 923).
If all goes
according to plan, we will receive Cyril Kendrick into membership Sunday.
Below is a
video of our sermon hymn, “Renew Me, O Eternal Light.” It is performed by the
Lutheranwarbler.
In our
prayers, we will remember The Roman Catholic Church and their leader Pope
Francis. We will remember the persecuted believers in Oman. We will remember Emily
Goddard, our missionary in South Africa. Emily writes, “I would appreciate
prayers for God to open the hearts of the community where I serve and that He
would use me as a tool to spread His love and the Gospel to the people of South
Africa. I also ask for prayers to prepare me for all that lies ahead. And,
please pray for the school, including its teachers, administrators, students
and families.” We will continue to remember the churches in our denomination.
This week we lift up before our Lord Mt. Olivet & Peace, Washington DC;
St. Paul, Annapolis, MD; Berea, Baltimore, MD;
and Island, Hilton Head Island, SC. We will continue to remember all those who
have been misled by our cultures advocacy of sexual immorality and abortion. We
ask, not only that the Lord turn our country around, but also that he bring
healing to the lives damaged by our current culture. We will remember the
modern slave trade and ask God to bless all efforts pleasing in his sight to
end this sinful practice. We will also remember the Lutheran Malaria Initiative
as we seek to end Malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.
In our
Sunday morning Bible study we are in our second read through of the Gospel
of Luke. We are using the “book” method of studying Luke. This means we are
giving our own titles to the book, and small sections, seeking to capture in
our own words, the message of Luke. Everyone is welcome to join us and provide
your own section titles. In discussing the titles of our choice and why we like
them, we are discussing the themes of Luke. Bible study (reading) begins at
9:00 am.
Preview of
Lessons
Ecclesiastes
1:2, 12-14, 2:18-26
Solomon
continues to write about the emptiness of the pursuits the world holds up to us
as meaningful. In this portion of the reading, Solomon realizes that everything
you might accumulate is passed on to others when you die, and you have no idea
if they will be wise or foolish. One might think of our Constitution. So we are
to be content with what God has given us, thanking the Lord. As Jesus once
said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will
eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not
life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the
air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? … Therefore
do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25-26, 34).
Colossians
3:1-11
The
lectionary continues through Colossians. This reading is the foundation for the
sermon, so I’m not going to say much. It is basically a passage about how we
live as Christians.
This reading
picks-up where last week’s reading ended. In speaking of material possessions,
Jesus warns us to “be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life
does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” This not only relates to
our Old Testament lesson, but also “what is earthly” (according to Paul in our
epistle lesson) who tells us to “put to death” “covetousness, which is idolatry.”
Lesson Synopsis (from the LC-MS)
Faith in Christ Is Rich toward God
To live for
earthly things “is vanity and a striving after wind,” and work that is driven
by such vanity “is an unhappy business” (Eccl. 1:13–14). The man who lives like
that has nothing to show for “all the toil and striving of heart with which he
toils beneath the sun. … All his days are full of sorrow” (Eccl. 2:22–23). So,
too, your “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5), makes a god out of that
which cannot give you life or happiness. For “one’s life does not consist in
the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). But “Christ who is your life”
(Col. 3:4), in giving you Himself, gives you all the wealth of heaven. Instead
of striving to lay up treasures for yourself, be “rich toward God” in Him (Luke
12:21).
Tidbits
- Our Vacation Bible School, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” will begin Monday. The story of Aron Ralston, and adventurer who had to go to extreme measures to live, will be used to relate truths from the Bible. This VBS is designed with Adults and Youth in mind. We begin at 6:30 and go for an hour and a half. Refreshments will be available.
- Remember, we are all on “Walkabout” all summer long. So, keep walking in your neighborhood, and beyond. When you see someone, say hello. If you don’t know them, introduce yourself. It is that simple.
Well, I pray
we will see you Sunday.
Blessings in
Christ,
Pastor John
Rickert
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