Our Savior Lutheran Church - Muscatine, Iowa, USA

Christmas Day Divine Service

Merry Christmas to Our Savior Lutheran Church, families, friends, and community of Muscatine. We receive from Christ this Christmas Day in His service to us. The Lord bless and keep you all through faith in Jesus. Pastor Pautz

The Armor of Light

The Armor of Light

First Midweek In Advent

December 5, 2018

Romans 13:8-14

The Armor of Light

Grace and mercy to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

It is written: The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Thus far the text.

Let us pray:  Creator Father, whose only-begotten Son is the armor of Light, the day of faith in Jesus is at hand therefore grant us to believe in Jesus who is coming to protect us against the night; in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

The Holy Scriptures teach us that Christ is coming to us.  Christ the Savior comes into this dark world not in bright sunlight at high noon but in the dark of night.  The Christ comes conceived by the Holy Spirit. The Christ comes born of the Virgin Mary. The Christ comes when all the world is asleep.

It is natural to sleep at night.

It is also natural to do works of darkness at night.  

I remember as a teenager working on my blessed and sainted mother for a curfew later than 12 o’clock on the weekends.  She always had the same response - nothing good ever happens after midnight. So I was home by midnight.

This text is not given to teach us something new that we haven’t heard in the Gospels.  Rather, the Lord uses this text to exhort you who believe in Jesus to love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. This is why it is good to be reminded of the good things you learned in your youth because they are still good today.

For all the works of darkness can be lumped into one heading - unbelief.

Notice how our Lord describes works of light as armor against the darkness.  

As we prepare to receive our coming Lord on Christmas Day, it is good to be reminded to put on Christ, that is put on the armor of Light who protects you from the darkness, the wickedness, the evil of those three enemies - Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh; making you bold to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Why does the Lord describe the works of Light as armor?  He is reminding you that a Godly life is maintained at the cost of conflicts, pain, danger, and labor.  Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh strive against you remaining in the Gospel of Jesus.

So the Lord reminds you to keep on the armor of Light.  Continue looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of the Christian faith.

And put it on you do.  You trust Jesus to perfect your conflicted faith.  You welcome Jesus to comfort your pain and protect you from danger.  You believe Jesus labored all the way to death on the cross to bring you holy and righteous to God our Father.

So cast off your unbelief and put on Jesus the armor of Light which will make you holy and also, slowly, to make you bold to treat your neighbor the way you wish to be treated.

Jumping to the Old Testament, do you remember how Abraham, the father of ancient Israel, put on this armor?  Abraham did not labor in the Law of Moses (the Ten Commandments) because the Law of Moses first came 430 years after Abraham.  Rather, Abraham believed the promise of God, and God counted Abraham’s faith in the coming Christ - as righteousness. That is Abraham put on the armor of Light by faith in the coming Jesus.

Abraham’s faith is the same faith you now have.  For faith was not discarded with the coming of Jesus, but just the opposite, faith is established because of the work of Jesus.  His life and death. His resurrection and ascension.

Abraham only knew the promise - that Jesus would come and Abraham believed the promise was for him.

You know the promise - but you also know Jesus has fulfilled the promise at His first coming.  

So Abraham was wide awake in the Gospel of Jesus and protected with the armor of Light just like we are, but under different conditions.

The Scriptures taught the coming of Christ even though He was already with the fathers.  However, He was not publicly proclaimed to all mankind until after His resurrection from the dead.

Thank be to God our Father- not only for the Christmas tree lights but for the armor of Light who is Jesus Christ His only-begotten Son who comes to us this evening in His gracious and powerful Word.

This Advent season, remember this, believe in Jesus Christ and in the armor of His Light you will grow bold in treating others as you would have them treat you; in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Behold! Your King comes to you

Behold Your King comes to you. It’s a beautiful promise first spoken by the prophet Zechariah but now fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus demands faith that trusts in Him. And the faith Jesus demands, He also gives in His Holy Word and sacrament. Pastor Pautz

Divine Service

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) hymnal

You may purchase a copy of this hymnal here or, if you are the in Muscatine area, we may have one to loan to you. Pastor Pautz

Opening Hymn #334 O Lord How Shall I Meet You

Invocation p. 184

The Confession of Sins

The Absolution

The Psalm 24

The Gloria Patri

The Kyrie p. 186

The Salutation and Collect p. 189

Holy Scripture

Jeremiah 23:5–8         The Righteous Branch

5“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

      7“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 8but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”  

Romans 13:11–14              Fulfilling The Law Through Love

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Matthew 21:1–9                                 The Triumphal Entry

1When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them,  “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5  “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

 6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!

Praise be to Thee, O Christ!

The Nicene Creed p. 191

Hymn of the Day #332 Savior of the Nations Come

The Sermon

The Offertory p. 192

Prayer of the Church

The Service of the Sacrament

Preface p. 194

Sanctus p. 195

The Lord’s Prayer p. 196

The Words of Our Lord p. 197

The Pax Domini

The Agnus Dei p. 198

Distribution

Distribution Hymn 334 Prepare the Royal Highway

Distribution Hymn 360 All My Heart Again Rejoices

Distribution Hymn 384 Of the Father’s Love Begotten

Distribution Hymn 341 Lift Up Your Heads Ye Mighty Gates

The Nunc Dimittis p. 199

The Thanksgiving p. 200

The Salutation

The Benedicamus p. 201

The Benediction p 202

Closing Hymn #643 Sent Forth by God’s Blessing

Faith is a Divine Work in Us

Faith is a Divine Work in Us

The Order of Matins

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) hymnal

You may purchase a copy here.

The Order of Matins       p. 219

The Psalmody       p.220

The Reading

1 Peter 1:13-25 New King James Version (NKJV)

13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because

“All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.”

Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

The Responsory                p. 221

The Catechetical Instruction

Faith is not the human notion and dream that some people call faith. When they see that no improvement of life and no good works follow—although they can hear and say much about faith—they fall into the error of saying, “Faith is not enough; one must do works in order to be righteous and be saved.” This is due to the fact that when they hear the gospel, they get busy and by their own powers create an idea in their heart which says, “I believe”; they take this then to be a true faith. But, as it is a human figment and idea that never reaches the depths of the heart, nothing comes of it either, and no improvement follows.

Faith, however, is a divine work in us which changes us and makes us to be born anew of God, John 1[:12–13]. It kills the old Adam and makes us altogether different men, in heart and spirit and mind and powers; and it brings with it the Holy Spirit. O it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good works incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever. He gropes and looks around for faith and good works, but knows neither what faith is nor what good works are. Yet he talks and talks, with many words, about faith and good works.

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times. This knowledge of and confidence in God’s grace makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and with all creatures. And this is the work which the Holy Spirit performs in faith. Because of it, without compulsion, a person is ready and glad to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer everything, out of love and praise to God who has shown him this grace. Thus it is impossible to separate works from faith, quite as impossible as to separate heat and light from fire.

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 35: Word and Sacrament I, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 35 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 370–371.

The Canticle - Te Deum  p.223

The Prayer                       p. 227

Benedicamus      p. 228

Benediction         

Parable of the Ten Virgins

Hi everyone. Today is the Last Day in the church calendar. Jesus is teaching the parable of the Ten Virgins which is the whole church. He warns them to be ready for His Second Coming. How is that done? You are ready when you have faith in Jesus which comes by hearing the Word of God. The lessons and sermon are printed below as well as the audio of the whole service. May you receive it as a blessing in the name of Jesus. Pastor Pautz

Divine Service

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) hymnal

You may purchase a copy here.

Opening Hymn                 #544 O Love How Deep

Invocation                  p. 184

The Confession of Sins

The Absolution

The Psalm                           126

The Gloria Patri

The Kyrie                            p. 186

The Gloria in Excelsis

The Salutation and Collect p. 189

The Old Testament (See Printed Scriptures below)

The Epistle   

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!

Praise be to Thee, O Christ!

The Nicene Creed  p. 191

Hymn of the Day#516 Awake, Awake, The Night Is Flying

The Sermon

The Offertory p. 192

Prayer of the Church

The Service of the Sacrament

Preface p. 194

Sanctus p. 195

The Lord’s Prayer p. 196

The Words of Our Lord p. 197

The Pax Domini

The Agnus Dei p. 198

Distribution

Distribution Hymn #438 A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth

Distribution Hymn #458 Christ Jesus Lay In Death’s Strong Bands

Distribution Hymn #756 Why Should Cross And Trial Grieve Me

The Nunc Dimittis p. 199

The Thanksgiving p. 200

The Salutation

The Benedicamus p. 201

The Benediction p 202

Closing Hymn #421 Jesus Grant That Balm And Healing

Isaiah 65:17-25                                   The Glorious New Creation

17 “ For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.  18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy.  19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.  20 “ No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.  21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.  23 They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD,  And their offspring with them.  24 “ It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer;  And while they are still speaking, I will hear.  25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food.  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”  Says the LORD.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11                        The Day of the Lord

 1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.  11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

Matthew 25:1-13                                      The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.  6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No,lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.  11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’  13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Sermon Notes

Grace and mercy to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord has written in today’s Gospel lesson, Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’  But Jesus answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’  Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Thus far the text.

Let us pray, Creator Father, who alone knows the day and the hour of the Last Day, keep us in the faith and protect us from the evil one; in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

We fall asleep so easily and yet the Lord tells us to be ready and watching for Him? We could never do it! Even the bridesmaids can’t keep their eyes open. They fall asleep.  That is, they lived out their lives waiting for Christ’s second coming, but died before He came. The foolish and the wise have this in common: they die. The difference between the foolish and the wise is that the wise ones had oil for their lamps. 

Well, what’s the oil? What is it you need to be ready when the Bridegroom comes? The oil is faith in Jesus Christ. The Word.

In the Bible, lamps were lit with oil and oil was put upon people to anoint them as God’s chosen ones. Oil was made from olives which were pressed and crushed. Think of your Lord on the cross, crushed by your sins. Pressed under the weight of God’s wrath and judgment. Squeezed by your sins until there was no life left in Him. Squeezed until the water and blood of the holy sacraments poured out of the side of Jesus. 

That oil, or faith as it were, is given to you. It is faith in Jesus that fills up your lamps in Holy Baptism and every time you eat and drink Christ’s Body and Blood. Faith is poured into your lamps as you hear God’s Word and the preaching of the Gospel. The thing about the Christian faith is that it is the Bridegroom Himself who has prepared you for His return by giving you faith in Jesus! You don’t even have to go get it. He gives it to us. The Bridegroom Himself makes us ready so we may receive Him when He comes on the last day. Even if you fall asleep, that is, even when you die, faith in Jesus makes you ready for the day the trumpet sounds and Christ returns in all His glory. You, brothers and sisters in Christ, are ready. Water. Word. Body. Blood. Faith stocked up. Ready to go when the shout goes out!

So what about those foolish virgins? They aren’t ready. The have no faith (no oil). They thought they didn’t have to go and hear God’s Word. They didn’t need to go and eat and drink Christ’s body and blood. They didn’t have to learn the Scriptures and have Christ fill their vessels with faith.

In this life they despised the Word and Baptism and Supper. They figured that when Jesus comes back, they’d be in just because they had good intentions or they were nice people or they lived good lives or had their name on a church’s membership rolls. But they had no oil. No faith in Jesus.

They THOUGHT they were fine but on the Last Day they’ll be running around trying to get some faith and there won’t be anymore. For when the Lord comes on that Last Day, there will be no more time for preaching and hearing God’s Word. And the foolish ones will beat on the door of the wedding hall (the door to heaven) and Jesus will say, “I don’t know who you are!”

There’s a warning there for whenever you are tempted to despise Christ’s means of grace!  A warning for whenever you take your God-given faith in Jesus for granted.

And yet you, pure and wise virgins, you are ready. Your faith in Jesus is stocked up because you are stocked up with Jesus. With His Word. His Baptism. His Body and His Blood. His forgiveness. Our Lord is coming and He WILL be here soon! But you’re ready. You’re ready because the Bridegroom has made you ready and wise. Oh sure, you may drift off during a sermon here and there and you may close your eyes in death for a time. But when the Lord arrives, that shout is going to wake you up! And you are going to be full of joy and gladness that now Christ has come for you. And He’s going to gather us up and bring us to His eternal wedding feast of which you will have a foretaste here, this morning.  The End is near! Come quickly, Lord Jesus! For you are ready; in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes understanding, guard you and keep you in Jesus Christ, our Savior.  Amen.

The Order of Matins page 219

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) hymnal

You may purchase a copy here.

Opening Hymn #892 Come Ye Thankful People Come

The Order of Matins       p. 219

The Psalmody        p.220

Hymn of the Day #770

The Readings  

Deuteronomy 8:1-10                                      Remember the LORD your God

1 “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

Philippians 4:6-20                                                          The Peace of God Guards You

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. 10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 4 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Luke 17:11-19                                                          Your Faith Has Made You Well

11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

The Responsory              p. 221

The Catechetical Instruction

The Canticle - Te Deum  p.223

The Prayer                       p. 227

Benedicamus       p. 228

Benediction         

Closing Hymn #895

Concerning the Election of God

How does God elect sinners for eternal salvation?  In this Matins Service, the teaching is on that very subject with a reading from the Book of Concord.  Our Father knows all things but election comes by hearing His Word through which He saves by faith in Jesus Christ.  God bless you all, in the name of Jesus.

The Order of Matins

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) hymnal

You may purchase a copy here.

The Order of Matins       p. 219

The Psalmody        p.220

The Reading  

The Responsory              p. 221

The Catechetical Instruction

The Canticle - Te Deum  p.223

The Prayer                       p. 227

Benedicamus        p. 228

Benediction         

Catechetical Instruction.

Concerning the Eternal Predestination and Election of God

[1] On this article there has been no public conflict among the theologians of the Augsburg Confession.74 However, because it is an article of comfort when properly treated, it is also explained in this document so that no offensive dispute may arise in the future.

Affirmative Theses

The Pure, True Teaching concerning This Article

[2] 1. First of all, the difference between praescientia and praedestinatio, that is, between God’s foreknowledge and his eternal election, must be carefully noted.

[3] 2. God’s foreknowledge is nothing else than that God knows all things before they happen, as it is written, “God in heaven reveals mysteries. He has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in future times” (Dan. 2[:28*]).

[4] 3. This foreknowledge extends equally over godly people and evil people, but it is not a cause of evil. It is not the cause of sins, when people act wrongly (sin proceeds originally from the devil and the wicked, perverted human will), nor of human corruption, for which people are responsible themselves. Instead, God’s foreknowledge provides order in the midst of evil and sets limits to it. It determines how long evil can continue and determines also that everything, even if it is evil in itself, serves the welfare of God’s elect.

[5] 4. Praedestinatio, however, or God’s eternal election, extends only to the righteous, God-pleasing children of God. It is a cause of their salvation, which God brings about. He has arranged everything that belongs to it. Our salvation is so firmly grounded on it [cf. John 10:26–29*] that “the gates of hell will not prevail against it” [Matt. 16:18*].

[6] 5. This election is not to be probed in the secret counsel of God but rather is to be sought in the Word, where it has also been revealed.

[7] 6. However, the Word of God leads us to Christ, who is the “Book of Life” [Phil. 4:3*; Rev. 3:5*], in whom are inscribed and chosen all who shall be eternally saved, as it is written, “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world” [Eph. 1:4*].

[8] 7. This Christ calls all sinners to himself and promises them refreshment. He is utterly serious in his desire that all people should come to him and seek help for themselves [cf. Matt. 11:28*]. He offers himself to them in the Word. He desires them to hear the Word and not to plug their ears or despise his Word. To this end he promises the power and activity of the Holy Spirit, divine assistance in remaining faithful and attaining eternal salvation.

[9]   p 518 8. Therefore we are to make judgments regarding our election to eternal life neither on the basis of reason nor on the basis of God’s law. Such a course of action would lead us either into a wild, irresponsible, Epicurean life, or into despair—and would awaken harmful thoughts in human hearts. Whenever people follow their reason, they can hardly escape such reflections as these: “As long as God has chosen me for salvation, I cannot be condemned no matter what I do!” or, “I have not been chosen for eternal life, so it does not help when I do good; everything is really in vain.”

[10] 9. Instead, the true meaning of election must be learned from the holy gospel of Christ. It clearly states, “God imprisoned all in unbelief that he may be merciful to all,” and that he wants no one to be lost but rather that everyone repent and believe on the Lord Christ [Rom. 11:32*; 1 Tim. 2:4*; cf. Ezek. 33:11*; 18:23*].

[11] 10. This teaching is useful and comforting for all those who are concerned about the revealed will of God and follow the order which St. Paul observed in the Epistle to the Romans. There he first of all points people to repentance, acknowledgment of their sins, and then to faith in Christ and obedience to God before he speaks of the mystery of God’s eternal election.

[12] 11. That “many are called and few are chosen” [Matt. 20:16*] does not mean that God does not want to save everyone. Instead, the reason for condemnation lies in their not hearing God’s Word at all or arrogantly despising it, plugging their ears and their hearts, and thus blocking the Holy Spirit’s ordinary path, so that he cannot carry out his work in them; or if they have given it a hearing, they cast it to the wind and pay no attention to it. Then the fault lies not with God and his election but with their own wickedness [cf. 2 Peter 2:9–15*; Luke 11:47–52*; Heb. 12:15–17*, 25*].

[13] 12. A Christian should only think about the article of God’s eternal election to the extent that it is revealed in God’s Word. The Word holds Christ before our eyes as the “Book of Life,” which he opens and reveals for us through the preaching of the holy gospel, as it is written, “Those whom he has chosen, he also called” [Rom. 8:30*]. In Christ we are to seek the Father’s eternal election. He has decreed in his eternal, divine counsel that he will save no one apart from those who acknowledge his Son Christ and truly believe in him. We should set aside other thoughts, for they do not come from God but rather from the imagination of the evil foe. Through such thoughts he approaches us to weaken this glorious comfort for us or to take it away completely. We have a glorious comfort in this salutary teaching, that we know how we have been chosen for eternal life in Christ out of sheer grace, without any merit of our own, and that no one can tear us out of his hand [John 10:28–29*]. For he has assured us that he has graciously chosen us not only with mere words. He has corroborated this with an oath and sealed it with the holy sacraments. In the midst of our greatest trials we can remind ourselves of them, comfort ourselves with them, and thereby quench the fiery darts of the devil.

[14]   p 519 13. Along with this we should strive as diligently as possible to live according to God’s will and to “confirm our calling,” as Saint Peter admonishes [2 Peter 1:10*]. We should especially abide by the revealed Word that cannot and will not fail us.

[15] 14. This short explanation of God’s eternal election gives God his honor fully and completely. On the basis of his pure mercy alone, without any merit of ours at all, he saves us “according to the purpose of his will” [Eph. 1:11*]. In addition, no one is given reason either for faintheartedness or for a reckless, wild life.

Antitheses or Negative Theses

False Teaching regarding This Article

[16] Accordingly, we believe and maintain that those who present the teaching of God’s gracious election to eternal life either in such a way that troubled Christians cannot find comfort in it but are driven to faintheartedness or despair, or in such a way that the impenitent are strengthened in their arrogance, are not preaching this teaching according to the Word and will of God but rather according to their own reason and at the instigation of the accursed devil, because (as the Apostle testifies) “whatever was written was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope” [Rom. 15:4*]. Therefore, we reject the following errors:

[17] 1. When it is taught that God does not want all people to repent and believe the gospel.

[18] 2. Likewise, that when God calls us to himself, he does not seriously intend that all people should come to him.

[19] 3. Likewise, that God does not desire that everyone should be saved, but rather that without regard to their sins—only because of God’s naked decision, intention, and will—some are designated for damnation, so that there is no way that they could be saved.

[20] 4. Likewise, that the cause of God’s election does not lie exclusively in God’s mercy and the most holy merit of Christ but that there is also a cause in us, because of which God has chosen us for eternal life.

[21] These are blasphemous, horrible, and erroneous teachings, which take away from Christians all the comfort that they have in the holy gospel and in the use of the holy sacraments. Therefore, these errors dare not be tolerated in the church of God.

[22] This is the brief and simple explanation of the contested articles which for a time theologians of the Augsburg Confession taught and discussed in ways that contradicted each other. From this every simple Christian can recognize, according to the direction of God’s Word and the simple catechism, what is correct and incorrect. For here we have set forth not only the pure teaching but   p 520 have also exposed and rejected contrary, erroneous teaching. In this way the offensive divisions that had arisen are completely resolved. May the almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus grant the grace of his Holy Spirit, that we may all be one in him [John 17:20–21*] and steadfastly remain in this Christian and God-pleasing unity.

Robert Kolb, Timothy J. Wengert, and Charles P. Arand, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000), 517–520.

Abomination of Desolation - What’s In Your Heart

Divine Service

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) hymnal

You may purchase a copy here.

Opening Hymn                 #655

Invocation                 p. 184

The Confession of Sins

The Absolution

The Psalm                           14

The Gloria Patri

The Kyrie                            p. 186

The Gloria in Excelsis

The Salutation and Collect p. 189

The Holy Scripture Lessons (see below)   

Job 14:1-6                     Job’s Despondent Prayer

“Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.  He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue.  And do You open Your eyes on such a one, and bring me to judgment with Yourself? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?  No one! Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.  Look away from him that he may rest, till like a hired man he finishes his day.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18                                  The Comfort of Christ’s Coming

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, 2 lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.  15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Matthew 24:15-28            The Tribulation

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.  “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!

Praise be to Thee, O Christ!

The Nicene Creed          p. 191

Hymn of the Day         #508 The Day Is Surely Drawing Near

The Sermon The Abomination of Desolation - What’s In Your Heart

The Offertory p. 192

Prayer of the Church

The Service of the Sacrament

Preface p. 194

Sanctus p. 195

The Lord’s Prayer p. 196

The Words of Our Lord p. 197

The Pax Domini

The Agnus Dei p. 198

Distribution

Distribution Hymn 621 Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Distribution Hymn 384 Of The Father’s Love Begotten

Distribution Hymn 726 Evening and Morning

Distribution Hymn 555 Salvation Unto Us Has Come

The Nunc Dimittis p. 199

The Thanksgiving p. 200

The Salutation

The Benedicamus p. 201

The Benediction p 202

Closing Hymn #880  Now Rest Beneath Night’s Shadow

Sermon Notes

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity

(Second Last Sunday of the Church Year)

November 18, 2018
Title: The Abomination of Desolation

Grace and mercy to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

It is written, “Therefore, when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads (this) let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” thus far the text.

Sermon Notes

Our Father did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Jesus might be saved!  So why Jesus preach this fire and brimstone sermon?

Jesus is warning us that the Last Day is drawing near.

Bartholomaus Ringwaldt (1532-1599) wrote today’s hymn and the first line states it well.

He wrote and we sang:

The day is surely drawing near when Jesus, God’s anointed, in all His power shall appear as judge whom God appointed.  Then fright shall banish idle mirth, and flames on flames shall ravage earth as Scripture has warned.

Jesus is warning us that His Second Coming is approaching.  Make yourselves ready. You have been warned.

Jesus warned ancient Israel to live peacefully under Roman rule.

But they would not live peacefully with the Roman authorities even though warned.Jesus warned ancient Israel to leave Jerusalem, the ancient city of God, because a time was coming when He, Jesus Christ, would destroy the Jerusalem Temple.  Along with the warning Jesus also gave them a sign marking the utter nearness of the destruction. The sign was an image of the emperor placed in the Holy Place of the Temple.  This act is the ‘abomination of desolation’ prophesied by Daniel. An idol placed in the heart of God’s temple.

But they would not leave Jerusalem nor recognize the sign.

Some forty years after Christ’s resurrection the Roman army made war on Ancient Israel slaughtering many.  To mock the Israelites they placed an image of the emperor in the Holy Place of the Temple. And some time later, destroyed the Temple so that no one stone remained on another.

Two out of three clear warning were given to Ancient Israel and they did not listen.

The last warning is for you.

You live in the End Times as has the Christian Church since the time of Christ’s Ascension.  The End Times will continue with wars and rumors of war until Christ’s Second Coming.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

The for you today is this, ‘Do not practice idolatry.  Do not place the abomination of desolation in your heart which is the temple of God.”  For this is how a Christian desecrates the temple of God.

What does the abomination of desolation look like within the church today?

All Christians who are sexually active outside of marriage are practicing idolatry.  They are sinning against the temple of God.

This idolatry might look like a young couple living together.  They are just out of High School, or the military, or college. The common excuse is that they don’t have enough money to pay rent on two apartments and they are not ready for marriage yet.  They have exchanged the Holy Spirit for the abomination of desolation - which is unbelief.

This idolatry might look like a retired couple living together.  Should they get married their Social Security checks would lessen.  So they two say they cannot afford to live separately because of finances and yet they don’t want to get married yet.   They, too, have exchanged the Holy Spirit for the abomination of desolation - which is unbelief.

And so, parents and children alike, you are warned in these End Times, hear again the Word of God for your repentance unto faith in Jesus.

Children of all ages, teach your parents or grandparents that living together without marriage is a major modern sign of the abomination of desolation.  They are practicing idolatry against God even if they go to church regularly. Holy Communion would be God’s judgment against them.

Parents and Grandparents of all ages, teach your children and grandchildren that living together without marriage is a major modern sign of the abomination of desolation in their home or apartment.  They are practicing idolatry against God even if they say they believe in Jesus Christ. They despise their Holy Baptism.

It’s not a knowledge problem.  For you know that “as many of you were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death!  Therefore you are buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life (Romans 63-4).

Back to the hymn.  Ringwalt wrote and we sang (verse 4):

Then woe to those who scorned the Lord and sought but carnal pleasures, who here despised His precious Word and loved their earthly treasures!  With shame and trembling they will stand and at the judge’s stern command to Satan be delivered.

There is a strange little proverb that comes a few lines after our printed Gospel lesson for the day.  Which is this:

Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.

This is something different than the judgment of God against unbelievers.

It is rather a Gospel picture to teach us that Christians gather together around the Word of God.  When Jesus comes on the Last Day where will he find you?

Wherever the Word is, there will the Christians gather.

Jesus will find you receiving the gifts He won for you in death and resurrection.  Unbelief is not found with faith. The abomination of desolation is not in the Temple of God (your bodies).  Rather, in body and soul you are the holy Bride of Christ in the forgiveness of all your sins. Day by day you are living in the newness of life even on this earth.  And yet waiting for the glorious second and final coming of the Son of Man.

O Jesus Christ, do not delay, but hasten our salvation; We often tremble on our way in fear and tribulation.  O hear and grant our fervent plea: Come, mighty judge, and set us free from death and ev’ry evil. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard and keep you in Jesus Christ, our Savior.  Amen.

Matins Service - November 14, 2018

The Order of Matins

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) hymnal (You may purchase a copy here.)

The Order of Matins  p. 219

The Psalmody  p.220

The Reading  Matthew 26:36-56 New King James Version (NKJV)

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father,if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” 49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?”

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. 51 And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”

55 In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. 56 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

The Responsory                p. 221

The Catechetical Instruction

The teaching for this morning comes from Martin Luther’s Commentary on Psalm 2. He writes:

The office of Christ is described most clearly, namely, that He will not bear the sword, that He will not found a new state, but will be a teacher to instruct men concerning a certain unheard but eternal decree of God.

Therefore, even if other kings must also make laws and govern through laws, nevertheless their chief function is not to teach or to pass laws, but to punish evil men with the sword and to defend good men. They are consequently like lictors or hangmen of God. For, as Paul says, “they bear the sword to terrify the wicked and for vengeance” (Rom. 13:4). Their own duty is, therefore, not to teach, because they do not rule over consciences or hearts, but only to restrain the hands. And just as a swineheard drives the pigs and leads them to pasture simply according to the five senses, so the kings of the world are herdsmen, governing not the conscience but the bodies, like cattle. But our King, concerning whom the Holy Spirit here prophesies, is the kind of king who has been ordained and appointed to teach. He is consequently at the same time priest, teacher, and theologian, to instruct and teach His own people about God and to rule only over consciences.

This is the difference which distinguishes our King from all other kings, and it must be most carefully observed. For it is the devil’s constant concern and tireless undertaking to confuse this kingdom with the kingdoms of the world and to make a worldly king out of Christ, who is a teacher of consciences. And the pope, a special tool of Satan, has rejected Christ entirely insofar as He is a teacher, and has seized the sword. In fact, the keys which Christ has given to the church he has turned to a political end. The fanatics or V 12, p 42 sectarians are deceived by these same thoughts and take over affairs of the state. For they abolish previous governments and introduce new customs and new usages. They think that this is the special fruit of the Gospel. At Marburg I myself heard Zwingli declare with great pride that he had the Swiss remove the red caps which they used to wear for a while as soldiers, when they were at war.16 Nor was Carlstadt any more sensible when he attached such importance to his deserting the school and studies and taking the name not of teacher but of a new layman. For he wrote in the titles of his books that he was a new layman.17 But these absurdities arise from another kind of ignorance, namely, ignorance about the kingdom of Christ. For because they do not distinguish between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdoms of the world, they make Christianity a matter of changing certain externals.

But Christ left these things to the kings of the world; to His own people He says: “It shall not be so among you” (Matt. 20:26). For His kingdom stands in the Word, and His office is to teach. He left the care of swine to the kings of the world, for they have been provided with a staff with which they can drive cattle. But His office is, as the psalm says here, to preach, to tell of God’s decree. This definition of the kingdom of Christ is clear enough and the proper distinction. But few truly comprehend it. That harmful mixture of both kingdoms continually clings to people’s hearts to such an extent that it is difficult even for spiritual-minded men to distinguish this kingdom properly from the kingdom of the world. Nevertheless those who believe in another life after this life see that the services of kings and governors are necessary for them in this life, but that they need Christ the King for another and eternal life.

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 12: Selected Psalms I, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 12 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 41–42.

The Canticle - Te Deum  p.223

The Prayer                       p. 227

Benedicamus       p. 228

Benediction