Thursday
after All Saints’ Sunday
November 7,
2013
The Lord be
with you
This coming
Sunday is November 10. It just so happens that it is also the birthday of
Martin Luther, who was born in 1483. As is typical on Church Calendars, nothing
much is made of a person’s birthday. It is their death date, the day they are
“born into heaven,” that is remembered. Nonetheless, we will thank the Lord for
the witness of Luther in our prayers.
As was the
custom in Luther’s day, he was baptized the day after his birth, November 11.
As was also customary, he was given the name of the saint who was honored on
the calendar that day, Martin of Tours. We will also remember Martin of Tours
in our prayers. It seems appropriate in America to remember Martin of Tours on
Veterans’ Day as he served in the Roman Army before becoming a monk and
eventually the bishop of Tours. As Monday is also Veterans’ Day, we will also
remember our veterans and military in our prayers.
All that
being said, this Sunday is simply the 25th Sunday after Pentecost.
We will be using Divine Service 3 (page 184) for our liturgy. This is a
communion service. You may prepare by pondering the words of your favorite
communion hymn. These can be found in Lutheran Service Book (hymns
617-643), Lutheran Worship (hymns 236-250), or The Lutheran Hymnal
(hymns 304-316).
Our opening
hymn Sunday will be “Jesus Loves Me” (LSB 588). Our sermon hymn will be “Jesus
Christ, My Sure Defense” (LSB 741). Our closing hymn will be “Forth in
the Peace of Christ We Go” (LSB 920).
Our distribution hymns will be “Come, Let Us Eat” (LSB 626), “All
Who Believe and Are Baptized” (LSB 601), and “Christ Is Surely Coming” (LSB
509).
The
appointed lessons for Sunday are Exodus 3:1-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, 13-17; and
Luke 20:27-40. The text for the message is 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17. The sermon
is titled “Established in Christ.”
Aside from
the prayers mentioned above, we will also remember our sister congregations
Immanuel in Preston, The Church of the Cross in Rockville, Bethany in
Salisbury, Calvary in Silver Spring, and Island in Hilton Head Island. We will
remember the persecuted believers in Uzbekistan. We will remember Apple of His
Eye, an outreach to Jewish people. We will pray for the Lutheran Malaria
Initiative, the abolition of the world slave trade, and that the Lord would
bring healing to the lives damaged by our culture’s
advocacy of sexual immorality and abortion, also asking God to turn our culture
around.
Don’t forget
that our “Opening Worship Moments” actually begin a little before 10:30. During these moments Karen
plays our prelude, we receive prayer requests and greet each other in the name
of the Lord. This way we are singing our opening hymn at 10:30.
The video
below is of “Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense.” The words are included.
We are
nearing the end of the Gospel of Luke in our Sunday morning Bible study.
We have maybe two more weeks. All are welcome. Bible study begins at 9:00 am.
Preview of
Lessons
Exodus
3:1-15
This is a
portion of the call narrative of Moses. In it God appears to Moses in a burning
bush. In verse two God is identified as “the Angel of the Lord.” In verse 6 he
identifies himself as “the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Therefore this “Angel of the Lord” is also the
Lord God. Like many before me, I think of this “Angel” as a pre-incarnate
appearance of the Son of the Father. Moses will deliver the Israelites from
bondage in Egypt. In this he foreshadowed Jesus, who delivers us from bondage.
The slavery the Israelites endured echoes our slavery to sin, death and the
devil. Perhaps overlooked by many because of the dramatic events recorded in
the early chapters of Exodus is verse 12. The “sign” the people are to receive
that the Lord is with them is that they join in corporate worship. In fact, half
of the book of Exodus is dedicated to the worship life of Israel. Gathering
together with Christians to worship God is still the sign that God is with us.
In verses 13-15 God gives his name to Moses, translated here “I am who I am,” or just “I am.” Elsewhere in the Old Testament it
is typically translated “the Lord”
(note the capitals). There is debate about just what God is trying to get
across to us with this name, but most go with something like the self-existence
of God. He is the only uncreated, the only truly self-determining being, the
only truly eternal being because he has no beginning as well as no ending.
2
Thessalonians 2:1-8, 13-17
Paul speaks
about the Second Coming of Jesus, and urges us to not be alarmed by false
claims concerning a pre-end return of Jesus. Know that Christ will return. Know
that the world will not be all warm and fuzzy towards believers. Know that
things get worse as the Day draws closer. Know that Christ will emerge
victorious. Know that he shares that victory with us. We know this from the
word of God, the Bible. It is with that word that we stand firm. Through that
word we obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. That word guides us in this
life.
Luke 20:27-40
Jesus is
confronted by some Sadducees who seek to use the word of God against him. This
certainly warns us that not everyone who quotes a Bible verse, even if they are
great Bible scholars in “everyone’s” opinion, is automatically trustworthy or
on God’s side. However Jesus shows us that, if we are skilled in the word, we
need not fear the twisters of the Scriptures. This exchange gives us another
peek at life after death. It is only a peek. When Jesus says we will be like
angels, he is not saying we become angels. He is saying we will no longer die;
we will no longer carry death in our bodies. He also indicates that the
institution of marriage will no longer exist after the resurrection. We will be
living in a new reality. What is found in every culture, marriage, will no
longer be needed. One of the reasons for marriage is mutual support. In the
resurrection we either no longer need that, or our support will come directly
from the Lord. Maybe you can think of another reason marriage is no longer
around. In the conversation Jesus demonstrates that the Old Testament teaches
the afterlife and the resurrection. You may be surprised to know that many “scholars”
today deny that the Old Testament teaches such things. This brings us back to
the opening comments. Know the Bible or be ready to fall for all sorts of false
ideas.
Lesson Synopsis (from the LC-MS)
The Triune God Curbs Evil and
Overcomes Death with Resurrection
Christians
live as “sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36),
for the Lord our God “is not God of the dead, but of the living”
(Luke 20:38). “Those who deny that there is a resurrection” (Luke 20:27)
neither know the Scriptures nor the power of God, but the baptized faithful
know “that the dead are raised” (Luke 20:37). For the Lord, who
was, and is and is to come, knows Israel’s sufferings and has “come
down to deliver them” (Ex. 3:8). Moses reveals the name of Yahweh to
God’s chosen people, by which He is “remembered throughout all generations”
(Ex. 3:15). In contrast to that sacred remembrance of His name, St. Paul warns
against the antichrist, who “takes his seat in the temple of God”
(2 Thess. 2:4). That lawless man preaches and practices the activity of Satan.
Christians, however, are comforted by the coming of the Lord Jesus, who slays
the antichrist and refutes his false doctrine “with the breath of his mouth”
(2 Thess. 2:8). By His preaching, “stand firm and hold to the traditions that
you were taught” (2 Thess. 2:15). Hear, receive and believe God’s
promise of love, comfort and good hope.
Tidbits
- The Board of Evangelism will meet Sunday.
Well, I pray
we will see you Sunday.
Blessings in
Christ,
Pastor John
Rickert
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