The Day of the Lord is drawing near, and it will be “a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation” (Zeph. 1:14, 15). We know that there will be a judgment, a separating of the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the chaff, the righteous and the unrighteous. So listen to the prophet Isaiah this morning: “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow” (Is. 1:17). Be “good and faithful” stewards of His property (Matt. 25:21). Live by faith in His free gift of forgiveness, and multiply His goods in the loving forgiveness of your neighbor. “The Master of those servants” settles His accounts with them by the gracious reckoning of His Gospel (Matt. 25:19). Likewise, “do not continue to conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you test and approve what is the will of God—what is good, pleasing, and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). You can do this because “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Is. 1:18). On that day, works and efforts will be for nothing, but those who fear, love and trust in the Lord will be saved.
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Last week, on Tuesday, November 1, the Church celebrated All Saints' Day. Today, we observe this feast. To “observe” a feast means we celebrate the feast day in a Divine Service not held on the specific day the feast is celebrated. The Feast of All Saints’ is the most comprehensive of the days of commemoration, encompassing the entire scope of that great cloud of witnesses with which we are surrounded (Hebrews 12:1). It holds before the eyes of faith that great multitude which no man can number: all the saints of God in Christ––from every nation, race, culture, and language––who have come "out of the great tribulation...who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9, 14). As such, it sets before us the full height and depth and breadth and length of our dear Lord's gracious salvation (Ephesians 3:17-19). It shares with Easter a celebration of the resurrection, since all those who have died with Christ Jesus have also been raised with Him (Romans 6:3-8). It shares with Pentecost a celebration of the ingathering of the entire Church catholic–in heaven and on earth, in all times and places––in the one Body of Christ, in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Just as we have all been called to the one hope that belongs to our call, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). And the Feast of All Saints shares with the final Sundays of the Church Year an eschatological focus on the life everlasting and a confession that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18). In all of these emphases, the purpose of this feast is to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, that we might not grow weary or fainthearted (Hebrews 12:2,3).
Lord, keep us faithful to your Word! On October 31, 1517—498 years ago—a Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther, in an effort to reform, the church, actually sparked a movement that would rise up into a revolution against the church. The 95 points which he nailed to the door were doctrinal points in which the church had fallen away from the Word of God. He pointed out that the church’s sole responsibility is to remain faithful to the Word of God—something which the church during his time had forgotten. Today, in our celebration of the Festival of the Lutheran Reformation of the Church, we emphasize the true Church’s unfailing reliance on the Word of God and unflinching testimony to it in the face of persecution. Jesus promised to pour out his Spirit on the Church that we might be God’s mouthpiece even before kings. Today the Church prays that the Lord give us the strength to be faithful and the peace of knowing our lives are safe in his hands. The service that we follow today is an adaptation of the Deutche Messe, authored by Martin Luther in 1526. The hymns of the liturgy (most written by Luther) will give you a feel for what Lutherans heard and sang almost 500 years ago as they worshiped the same Savior who gathers with us. While the settings may be somewhat unfamiliar and difficult to sing, the words teach the Scriptures beautifully. This service was the basis for many Lutheran orders of service over the past generations. You will, undoubtedly, find the general flow of the service to be rather familiar.
On October 23, the Church celebrates the Festival of St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr. St. James of Jerusalem (or "James the Just") is referred to by St. Paul as "the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:19). Some modern theologians believe that James was a son of Joseph and Mary and, therefore, a biological brother of Jesus. But throughout most of the Church (historically, and even today), Pauls' term "brother" is understood as "cousin" or "kinsman," and James is thought to be the son of a sister of Joseph or Mary who was widowed and had come to live with them. Along with the other relatives of our Lord (except his mother), James did not believe in Jesus until after his resurrection (John 7:3-5; 1 Corinthians 15:7). After becoming a Christian, James was elevated to a position of leadership within the earliest Christian community. Especially following St. Peter's departure from Jerusalem, James was recognized as the bishop of the Church in that holy city (Acts 12:17; 15:12ff.). According to the historian Josephus, James was martyred in AD 62 by being stoned to death by the Sadducees. James authored the Epistle in the New Testament that bears his name. In it, he exhorts his readers to remain steadfast in the one true faith, even in the face of suffering and temptation, and to live by faith the life that is in Christ Jesus. Such a faith, he makes clear, is a busy and active thing, which never ceases to do good, to confess the Gospel by words and actions, and to stake its life, both now and forever, in the cross.
The persistent widow was determined: she would receive justice, even from a corrupt judge. Her determination kept her begging for justice day after day. In the end she received her due even from a judge with no fear of God and no respect for his fellow man. Learn a lesson in prayerful persistence: How much more will our heavenly Father work justice and bring deliverance to those determined in prayer!
The Living God repeatedly works in the strangest of ways and with the strangest of objects for his loving and gracious activity. In a time of history when everyone was doing what was right in his own eyes, the LORD moved world, regional and local events to fit together so that Ruth, a Moabitess, would get a new god. She was turned from her old, dead gods and, by the grace of God, confessed her new LORD. The thin, blood-red line of the Promise included even her and then was passed on through her. Grace upon grace. You had old gods, too. You are repeatedly pulled to bow to those old gods when your heart is troubled by what you see or don't see, by what you hear or don't hear, by what you feel or don't feel. But, by the grace of God, the LORD moved world, regional and local events to fit together so that you got a new god, one who buried you and who make you alive in Christ Jesus—this He promises! So, to hell with your silly feelings and sensory perceptions that seem to portray another kind of god is in charge! The Word prevails. Jesus died. Jesus rose. Jesus continues to rule all things for the good of His body, the Church. Listen! And speak such power into the hearts of those who are troubled within earshot of you!
It is the believer’s duty to abstain from sin, give forgiveness, and serve our neighbor. It is a privilege to do our duty as Christians, but we are weak. The Church, therefore, prays that God would make us ready to do with a cheerful heart that which pleases him.
Godliness with contentment leads the faithful steward to a life marked by faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Content with our needs, we make faithful use of the Lord’s blessings to carry out his kingdom work. Use of money for God’s loving purposes, avoids the love of money itself. We fight the good fight to break the grasp of mammon and take hold of the eternal life to which we are called. So then, real wealth is found in heavenly treasure. Earthly riches are not a reward for doing good, but rather an opportunity to do good.
The Ten Commandments always accuse. That is their chief use. They also serve as a rough curb against gross outbreaks of sin. But they also function as the "true fountain" from which all good works must spring. We never have to try to invent or create works to do that are pleasing to God or go beyond what he has given us. In these Ten Commandments we have the guide we need to understand what truly pleases God. Some of Luther's most powerful remarks about the difference between God's Ten Commandments and man-made Church rules are found here. Luther thunders against the pomposity and false teaching that certain "Church works" are better in God's eyes than the simple, humble, lowly works of common life, such as a young girl taking care of a little child. In his Large Catechism, Luther provides a brief summary of the commandments and again shows how the First Commandment is the fountain for all the rest. God has given us a great treasure by giving us the Ten Commandments..
Divine Service ~ September 11, 2016 ~ The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (9th & 10th Comm.)9/11/2016 Luther says that God gave these two commandments to ensure his people knew that stealing is not only the physical act of taking unjustly from another, but is also the desiring of something that is not ours, such as our neighbor's wife, servant's or any property belonging to our neighbor. These commandments are not broken with the hand or the mouth but with the heart. They remind people who consider themselves virtuous that they too, by nature, sin. Toward the end of his explanation in the Large Catechism, Luther offers a powerful and critical theological insight: All the commandments constantly accuse us of sin and reveal to us where we stand under the Law in God's eyes–guilty! This is the chief purpose of the Law, to show us our sin.
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