Sermon for Lent Midweek 3: "I Believe in the Holy Spirit" (The Third Article of the Creed)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Two weeks ago, we heard how the Creator remains present and active in His creation. And despite our ongoing misuse and abuse of His creation, He keeps His creation going. Last week, we heard how God came into His created world to be present and active in a very unique way – as a human being, yet without sin. He came into this fallen world to defeat the power of sin and evil that Satan and we humans brought into it.

 

Tonight, God comes to be present and active in another way. This time, God sends His Holy Spirit into us, into our bodies.

 

Jesus gained His Lordship through death, but how do we come to know Jesus? We no longer see Jesus fully as He is. So, if we have never physically met Jesus, how do we come to know Him? On our own, we are left to saying, “I believe … that I cannot believe” in Jesus as my Lord or come to Him. If Jesus’ redemption remains hidden, then all is lost.

 

To this question, the Third Article of the Creed enters in:  

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

     the holy Christian Church,

          the communion of saints,

     the forgiveness of sins,

     the resurrection of the body,

     and the life + everlasting.

 

So, in order that Christ’s death and resurrection may not remain hidden, the Holy Spirit comes and preaches, that is, the Holy Spirit leads us to the Lord, who redeems us.

 

The Holy Spirit sanctifies us through the following works: through the “forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

 

To this, Luther says, “the Christian church is your mother, who gives birth to you and bears you through the Word. And this is done by the Holy Spirit who bears witness concerning Christ.”

 

In regard to the Holy Spirit, He leads the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints. This “communion of saints” is the Christian church, which is made up of saints, a congregation of saints. And you are in this Church, as the Holy Spirit makes us saints through the preaching of the gospel. It is only through the Christian Church that the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. Otherwise, we would never know or hear about Christ.

 

Then in this Christian Church sanctified by the Holy Spirit, we receive “the forgiveness of sins.” We receive the forgiveness of sins in the following ways: Holy Baptism, Absolution, the Lord’s Supper, hearing the Word preached, and the commendation of the dying. This is where we receive forgiveness. Outside of the Christian Church, there is no sanctification and there is no forgiveness.

 

Thirdly, the Holy Spirit will sanctify us through “the resurrection of the flesh.” So, after our death, sin will have completely passed away and the Holy Spirit will then complete His work. Therefore, after death, there is nothing but eternal life.

 

Outside the Christian Church, there is no sanctification. There is no justification. There is no salvation.

 

Here, in the one holy Christian and apostolic Church, the Holy Spirit preaches. He calls you and makes Christ known to you. 

 

Earlier this week, Elsie surprised Melissa and me. While Melissa was singing “Create in Me a Clean Heart,” the historic offertory from Psalm 51, Melissa paused and without any coaching, Elsie continued the song. That was the work of the Holy Spirit in Elsie. By being immersed in the liturgy week after week, the Holy Spirit inspired Elsie with what to say next. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He teaches us the faith through Word and Sacraments.

 

The Holy Spirit breathes into you the faith that through the Sacraments and God’s Word, you will be made free from sin. So, when you die, while remaining in the Church, the Holy Spirit will raise you up and sanctify you wholly.

 

Tonight, we have finished our series on the Second Chief Part, the Creed. Through the Creed, we can each say: “I believe in God, that He is my creator, in Jesus Christ, that He is my Lord, and in the Holy Spirit, that He is my sanctifier.” We can say, “God has created me and given me life, soul, body, and all goods; Christ has brought me into His Lordship through His body; and the Holy Spirit sanctifies me through His Word and Sacraments, which are in the Church, and will sanctify me wholly on the Last Day.”

 

The Creed is different from the Ten Commandments. The Commandments teach us what we should do, but the Creed teaches what we have received from God. The Creed, therefore, gives us what we need, so now, that we know God, we are now able to pray to our dear Father in heaven. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Lent Midweek 2: "I Believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, our Lord" (The Second Article of the Creed)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Last week, we began our sermon series on the Creed focusing on the first part of the Creed: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” So, if you are asked what does this mean, you can say: “I believe that God is the Creator, who has given to me my body and soul, all members, all physical goods, all possessions. Therefore, I owe it to Him to serve, thank, and praise Him.”

 

Tonight, we continue with the Second Article of the Creed, which is the heart of the Christian faith:

[I believe] in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

     who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

     born of the virgin Mary,

     suffered under Pontius Pilate,

     was crucified, died and was buried.

     He descended into hell.

     The third day He rose again from the dead.

     He ascended into heaven

     and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

     From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

 

The Second Article of the Creed describes Jesus’ work of redemption for us. But why must Jesus redeem us? Well, that answer is sin. Again, the problem isn’t that we are creatures. The problem is not that this world is a material world. Remember, creation is God’s good work and His good gifts. The issue is human sin.

 

The problem is that we have used the best things that God has created and used them in the worst way. We don’t use bad things in the worst way; we use the best things in the worst way. So, what am I saying? These best things that God has given us are: our bodies, our lives, our family, our work, our income, and the list goes on. And what does it mean that we use these best things in the worst way? It means that we idolize them. We idolize created things. We force them to do things that they were not created to do. We try to get our security and happiness from them. And when we do that, we further misuse them by keeping them for ourselves rather than serving our neighbor.

 

So, what happens? We become enslaved to and entrapped by these best things. Or, worse yet, our desires for them entrap us. 

 

God says: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28a). God affirms His love for life all throughout His written Word. He says: “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3). For God, human life isn’t just good, it’s “very good” (Genesis 1:31). God says: Get married and be fruitful and multiply!

 

So, human life is very good. But do good ends – children – justify immoral means? This is a question that has received much attention within the past week. Is In Vitro Fertilization good? Is IVF ethical? If we believe life begins at conception, which you ought as Christians, that embryo in that laboratory container is, indeed, human life. We all know people who struggle with infertility – and whatever the circumstances or mechanisms of conception, every child is a gift from God. But there are still questions: what about “selective reduction,” which is aborting some embryos to improve the resources and chances to have the desired child? What about those “left over” embryos that are considered “medical waste”? Again, every child is a gift from God, no matter the circumstances or mechanisms of conception, including rape, incest, or IVF, but do good ends justify immoral means?

 

Some other, less heavy good things are sports and social media. Professional and amateur sports teams are good, but we can become enslaved to them if we try to get our security and happiness from them. Social media is good. It’s great that we can connect with people. But social media can also enslave us if we try to get our security and happiness from it. So, any of these best things cannot give us what we seek from them. Satan has lured us, who are God’s beloved human creatures, into captivity.

 

But just as we are enslaved to the devil’s deception, the Second Article of the Creed enters in. Since God has created this world, He refuses to let go of His creation. Afterall, God created everything as good. He loves creation. The world is not the problem. Sin is the problem. So, God sets out to reclaim and restore His creation – beginning with us, because the problem began with us. He who created us is He who redeems us – true God and true Man.

 

How does God redeem us? First, God dives down into the depths of His creation, to take up residence in it and fix it for good. Now, God has always been present and active in His creation, but here, He does something different. He takes a created body into Himself and He lives a creaturely life. He makes room in His life to take on a human body and all that it entails – a human mind, a human history, and human DNA that goes all the way back to Adam. He is “the only-begotten Son of God, begotten from His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man” (Nicene Creed).

 

Jesus is the Creator of the universe and a creature within that creation, all at the same time. Who would have ever imagined this?

 

Second, Jesus’ incarnation affirms the goodness of creation like nothing else. God is saying that His creation is good and important to Him. And Jesus does more than just take on a human body to live in the midst of sin and evil. He becomes human in order to destroy, and to overcome sin and evil and everything that pollutes and disfigures His beautiful world.

 

Jesus redeems mankind from sin, from the devil, from eternal death, and from all evil. Before Jesus did any of that, we did not have a Lord, instead, we were held captive under the devil’s power, condemned to eternal death, entangled in sin and spiritual blindness. 

 

Sin is deeply personal to God. Sin offends God because it shows our rejection of Him and His good purposes for us. Sin shows our betrayal of God. And yet, God in the most personal way enters His creation, personally takes our sin and rebellion upon Himself, personally does away with it, and personally conquers it. Jesus becomes our Lord.

 

As our Lord, Jesus has taken us as His own property under His shelter and protection, so that He may govern us by His righteousness, wisdom, power, life, and blessedness.

 

As our Lord, Jesus is our Redeemer. This means that He is the One who has brought us from Satan’s dominion to the Kingdom of God, from eternal death to eternal life, from sin to righteousness, and He preserves us.

 

Jesus, who is our Lord and our Redeemer, paid everything so that He might win us and bring us under His dominion. This is why He became man, was conceived and born without sin, from the Holy Spirit and from the virgin Mary, so that He might overcome sin. He made satisfaction for you and me, not with silver or gold, but with His own precious blood. He did this all in order to become your Lord.

 

These words hammer it home: He “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.” But three days later, He “rose again from the dead.” He rose again in His same body. He rose, so that we, too, shall also rise from the dead.

 

In the First Article of the Creed, we cannot deal with God apart from His creation. Now in the Second Article, we cannot deal with God’s graciousness in redeeming us from sin apart from the creaturely human body of Jesus. Through this physical human body, we encounter our Redeemer and Lord.

 

As we recite the Second Article of the Creed each week, we proclaim the redemption we have in Christ Jesus “that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

 

Jesus created us and He preserves us. He redeems us and raises us. Upon this Second Article is the entire Gospel and that upon this article our salvation and our happiness rests. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Lent Midweek 1: "I Believe in God the Father" (The First Article of the Creed)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Last Lenten midweek season, you heard the first part of Christian doctrine: the Ten Commandments:

      You shall have no other gods.

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Honor your father and your mother.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

 

These Ten Commandments teach us all what God wants us to do and what He does not want us to do. We could very well begin and end all Christian doctrine with the Ten Commandments, but only if they are kept by us. But the issue is, our sinful nature does not want to keep any of these Commandments, especially the First Commandment. So, if we would end with the Ten Commandments in our sinful state, we would all be doomed to eternal death, for we all must answer God for our sins.

 

This evening, we begin a Lenten midweek series on the second part of Christian doctrine: the Creed. Tonight we begin with the First Article of the Creed: “I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.”

 

Let’s ponder this. God – the maker of heaven and earth – He has created everything that exists. Sit back and marvel at this. He created everything ex nihilo, meaning “out of nothing.” God created because He chose to create. He created as an act of love. From eternity, the Triune God – the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – lived in mutual love with each other. Then at some point, the Holy Trinity made the mutual decision to share that love. 

 

So, God created the universe. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). And God makes room in His life for creation and all creatures. He creates sun and moon, planets and stars, mountains and oceans, butterflies and whales. This is the foundation of everything we believe, teach, and confess. Without creation, we would not be here tonight talking and hearing about Jesus; there would be no sin; there would be no redemption; and there would be no us.

 

So, God created the universe to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31) as this physical world and all creatures came out of God’s outpouring of love. Creation was beautiful. Everything functioned just as God intended. Everything functioned in harmony.

 

But notice, I didn’t say “is” there, I instead said “was.” Today, we no longer live in this perfect creation. We now live in a fallen world as sin has corrupted God’s creation. Today, creation groans as we face the dangers of the devil, the fallen world, and our own sinful flesh.

 

But what kind of a Creator is God? What does He do? How can we praise Him, so He may be known?

 

The First Article of the Creed answers these questions with respect to the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods.” There is nothing else as the one true God. For there is no one else who could create heaven and earth.

 

But how does the fallen world react to the First Article of the Creed: “I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth”? Well, consider how few inside and outside orthodox Christianity truly believe it. Yes, we may say it with our mouths, but do you truly believe that God created everything?

 

Martin Luther puts it this way in his Large Catechism: “For if we believed this teaching with the heart, we would also act according to it. We would not strut about proudly; act defiantly, and boast as though we had life, riches, power, honor, and such, of ourselves” (LC 21).

 

So, our sinful nature never once thinks about God, or even wants to thank Him, or even acknowledge Him as Lord and Creator. Instead, we pat ourselves on the back. We often look to politicians and bureaucrats to fix the world’s ills. We would rather often listen to “so-called experts” than to God Himself as He reveals what we need to know in the Scriptures and His Sacraments.

 

But even though we live in a fallen world, God created this world, and He called it “very good.” So, this world, though fallen and corrupt, is valuable to Him. It’s so valuable to Him that He chose to redeem it, cleanse it, and restore it. Plus, the Creator of the universe took on a human body. God became man – a human creature, like you and me yet without sin – to affirm the goodness of creation. God could have destroyed His creation when it fell into sin and started over. Instead, He took it upon Himself.

 

The One through whom all things were made took upon Himself our flesh in order to make all things new. Jesus came to take on the task of renewing and re-creating His world. So, the beauty that we see today is but a sneak preview, a small glimpse, of the perfect world that is to come.

 

The suffering, atoning death, and bodily resurrection of Jesus opens the door to the paradise that was lost at the Fall. 

 

Until the day of Christ’s return, we live between God’s first creation and His new creation. In the meantime, God does not stop creating. He did not stop creating after the sixth day. God keeps on creating to this very day. God is still “hands-on” and is deeply involved in His creation.

 

In spite of sin and death, God continues to create. New life is created every day. Babies are born. Plants sprout in the spring. The sun continues to shine and give light and energy. God creates for the sake of redemption. Even now that Jesus has accomplished our redemption, God keeps the world going for the sake of the Gospel and the restoration of all things.

 

Among the just and the unjust, God continues to provide. He constantly preserves body, soul, and life, senses, reason, and understanding. He gives everyone food and drink, clothing and support, wife and children, grain, produce, good government, peace, and security. He daily preserves and defends us from all evil and misfortune. He directs all sorts of danger and disaster away from us. All this that God does for us, we call “our daily bread.”

 

So, what does God ask of us? All He asks is thanks and praise. This is not because God needs it, but that we acknowledge our dependence on Him. Yes, we can go on without thanksgiving, but we always end up boasting in ourselves. But when we give thanks and praise to the One who is the actual Giver, we remind ourselves how we live on the receiving end of His gifts. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for the Ascension of Our Lord: "Hidden But Not Absent" (Acts 1:1-11)

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from our risen and ascended Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[The Ascension]

When Jesus and His apostles met on the Mount of Olives, the apostles were full of great expectations. They asked Him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). This question is puzzling. After all they had experienced with Jesus, they ask this question. It appears that they were still expecting Jesus to establish a kingdom here on earth that, in some respects, would be like other earthly kingdoms.

But at the same time, the apostles also believed that this kingdom of God would be one that would bring them spiritual redemption. They were expecting forgiveness of sins won by their Messiah, Jesus, and all the blessings for the soul which flow from forgiveness.

So, Jesus responds saying, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8).

As Jesus spoke these words, He began His ascent into heaven. With the eyes of the apostles resting upon Him, they witnessed Jesus being slowly and visibly lifted up. They see all of this with their own very eyes as the witnesses they were to be.

There was an awed silence over the apostles. Their eyes are wide with astonishment as they follow Him and strain in their looking and then a cloud took Him out of their sight. From this event, we confess this great article of faith in the Creeds: “He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty” (Apostles’ Creed).

Although Jesus had vanished and appeared throughout those 40 days since His bodily resurrection – to the Emmaus disciples on the road, to the apostles in the locked upper room twice, at the Sea of Tiberias, and various other appearances to many – the apostles knew that something was different here. Jesus had never vanished from their sight in this way.

So, the apostles do what we would naturally do: stare into the sky. They stare even as the last cloud folds Him in. They gaze after Him – but He is gone.

The ascension was visible for the sake of the apostles. The moment the cloud hid Jesus from their sight, He was transferred timelessly into the heavenly glory. Jesus is now visible in heaven with the same body that died nailed to the cross and lay in the grave.

The obvious questions now for the apostles are: “Now what?”, “What’s next?”

So, as they stare, two angels in white robes appear and say: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). This question intends to turn their minds from mere astonishment to more important thought. You see, the Ascension and the Last Day go together.

[He Shall Return]

Christ departed visibly; He shall return visibly. He went to heaven; He shall come back from heaven. He went away bodily; He shall return bodily.

This is what the two angels spoke to the apostles. The presence of these angels marks the Ascension as one of Christ’s saving acts. Remember, when two angels appeared at the tomb on that Easter morning? What did they say? “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise?” (Luke 24:5-7). The angels did not just appear previously to proclaim the resurrection. They also announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds saying, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

Today on this Ascension of Our Lord Day, we know that because Jesus is risen from the dead, by faith in Him alone, we will also rise! Since Jesus ascended into heaven, we will also ascend! You see, the Ascension of Christ is a feast to celebrate!

So, as the apostles stood staring, these angels brought the glorious promise to them at this great moment that Jesus will come again in the same visible way.

But someone may ask, “How can Jesus be visible to everyone when He returns? If He returns on one side of the earth, how could people know on the other side of the earth?”

Oh, believe me, everyone will know. God is God and we are not. He is the Creator of heaven and earth, so He is capable of accomplishing everything.

So, Jesus will not announce His return on a television talk show or announce His return to you privately at a street corner. And if anyone does say he is Jesus, you ought to know that that man is a fraud, since He will not return in secret. So, don’t be fooled by people claiming to be Jesus. When Christ returns, there will be no mistaking Him. For He will return from heaven in the same way He ascended into heaven. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

The day of Christ’s return will be a day of comfort for all in Christ. It is a day of promise for us! But we also know that He will return as the Judge who will strike paralyzing fear into His foes (Matthew 24:30; Revelation 1:7) as He will say: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Acknowledge Me” (Revelation 1:8). But because He is and remains our Savior, the sight of Him will fill our hearts with overwhelming joy. For He will be our acquitting Judge, the Judge who will speak to us these gracious words: “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

[Sitting at the Right Hand of the Father]

Today, we live in the age between the Lord’s ascension and His return in glory on the Last Day. During this time, He is hidden from our physical sight, but He is not absent. The Lord’s promise of His continuing presence concludes the Gospel according to Matthew: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Jesus is ascended, but He is still present.

For some Christians, they take Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father to be a literal location. So, for them, Jesus is stuck in heaven, so it’s impossible for Him to be with us here today. Now, how do they account for His resurrection appearances? They say He just snuck through a window or snuck in and out when the people weren’t looking. So, to this they say, “The body of Christ is enclosed in heaven, so He cannot be present in more than one place at a particular time.”[1] But, if this is the case, then Jesus is not fully God. Since Christ is true God, He is indeed present everywhere. He has “ascended far above the heavens, that He might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:10).

So, when we confess He “sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty” and as our Epistle proclaims today that God the Father “seated Him at the right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:20), we are not confessing that Christ is confined or restricted to a place, but that He again has full use of all His divine powers that were His before He took upon Himself our human flesh at His incarnation. So, “right hand” means strength and power, and not a restriction. Again, the “right hand of God the Father almighty” is not a location, but instead an office. If Jesus was confined, He would not be with us always, to the end of the age.

So, for a time, Jesus willingly relinquished much of His divine power as a man, but now that He has returned to heaven as man and God, He has again taken up full use of His divine power. At the Ascension, Jesus was exalted into heaven. On earth, His exaltation was His crucifixion. But His Ascension is His triumphant enthronement as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Today, because the ascended Christ is not only God, but God and man united in one Person, therefore wherever He is, He is present as God and man. This means that He is not only present as God, but He is present also as man, with His Body. Christ is bodily present in the Lord’s Supper, where He gives us His body and blood to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins.

In this time between the Ascension and His return, the presence of Christ for us is a hidden presence as we no longer physically see Him as a man or audibly hear the words from His mouth. Nevertheless, His presence is not spiritual in the sense that He has nothing to do with this world. Otherwise, how would we identify His presence? He is present to us and speaks to us through His Word, as it is proclaimed and read. These words are not simply written by man; they are not simply words spoken to our ears, or printed signs to our eyes. No! Through the Holy Spirit-inspired Scriptures, Christ speaks to us. For the Church is the assembly of believers around the Word and Sacrament. Around the Means of Grace, the Church gathers around the hidden, yet powerful presence of Christ.

So, the Ascension of our Lord is not a time of mourning. Jesus has not left us. His Ascension is all about our comfort, peace, joy, and confidence. Imagine the awe and delight of the angels and archangels as the Son of God returned as also the Son of Man with all power and authority in heaven and on earth, where He rules with grace and mercy, where repentance for the forgiveness of sins in preached. Jesus is not absent as He rules all things for the sake of His Body, the Church.

Even though He reigns in heaven, He still carries for us the marks of His crucifixion. He is the Lamb who was slain, who “is above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Ephesians 1:21). He blesses us with forgiveness, lifts us up in His hands and seats us with Himself “in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:20). Alleluia! Christ is Ascended! Amen!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

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[1] Book of Concord, Formula of Concord: Epitome, Article VII: Holy Supper. The Reformed argued that Christ cannot be present in the Lord’s Supper, since He was trapped in heaven.

Let’s Get Back to the Basics

This month, I debated on what my article would be. I had two themes I wanted to write about. Originally, what you are about to read was going to be my “Pastor’s Corner” submission for the August 12^th McLeod County Chronicle. So, my second theme will be in the August 12^th newspaper. So, onto the August newsletter:

Why do bad things happen to good people? How would you answer this question? Take a moment to think before reading on.

Why is there so much crime? Why are there so many shootings? Why is there hate? Why is there racism? Why this? Why that?

While these answers may seem unanswerable, there is an answer. The answer is: sin. Now, what is sin? As the culture around us has eliminated sin from our collective conscience, some may wonder “what exactly is sin?”

Today, many sins have become accepted — or even praised — by society. But, according to the one true God, humanity cannot just eliminate sins. If humanity had this power, we would step into God’s office. So, again, what is a sin? Well, the one true God tells us in His Ten Commandments. Ever since the fall of Adam in the Garden, humanity has been destined to death, hell, and damnation. Every human being is under the curse that Adam set forth, since every human being is descended from Adam, so “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

But, didn’t God reveal the Ten Commandments to Moses? Didn’t Moses live well after Adam? Yes, but before the Law was revealed, the Law was written on our hearts — beginning with Adam. So, Adam, like you and me, was bound by God’s Law.

God reveals to us that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). So, are we just doomed? No! Why is this? “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).

But, what can Jesus do? Isn’t He like us — a descendant of Adam? Well, Adam was created by God. While, Jesus is God Himself. Jesus is the Creator. You see, Jesus is like us in every way, except Jesus never sinned. How is that possible? The answer lies in the good news, or the Gospel, that was revealed to us in the New Testament and is also revealed to us in the Creeds.

You see, the Creeds (Nicene, Apostles’, Athanasian) reveal this good news short and sweet. Although, Jesus is man, He is also fully God. He is fully God in that His mother Mary did not become pregnant via a descendant of Adam, but she became pregnant by God Himself. The Nicene Creed puts it this way: “And [I believe] in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man.”

This free gift of eternal life is found only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. By faith, we receive this grace through Christ’s perfect life, His sacrificial death for our sins upon the cross, and His bodily resurrection from the dead for our justification. This same Jesus is reigning in heaven at the right hand of God the Father.

Until, Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead, we pray as He has taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer. We pray to God the Father and ask Him confidently about all our needs of body and soul. We are able to ask these petitions through the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is the only mediator between God and man.

So, why do bad things happen to good people? Well, according to God, there are no good people on their own merit. We are all just lost and condemned sinners. But, through believing, trusting and following Jesus, we become good. In Christ alone, we are made good. In Christ alone, we receive forgiveness of sins, salvation, and life everlasting!

In Christ,

Pastor Adelsen

Sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday: "The Greatest Spectacles" (Acts 2:14a, 22-36)

On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember the men and women of the armed forces who gave their lives to protect our freedom.

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

Today is the 102nd running of what is known as “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” — the Indianapolis 500 mile race.

I know that everyone is not a fan of auto racing, but being from Indiana, auto racing just becomes a part of who we are. There is something about that roar of the 33 cars as they pass by at more than 200 miles-per-hour and that roar of the fans cheering on their favorite driver.

It is called the “Greatest Spectacle” because no one knows what to expect. The pole-sitter may not make it passed the first lap. The leading driver may take the white flag — for one lap to go — and not finish. This race is so unpredictable.

And, this is why people are so mesmerized by this race. This race is so hard to comprehend.

In a similar way, God could be called a spectacle, because He is hard to comprehend.

[The Greatest Spectacle]

Now, many of us wear eyeglasses – like myself. We wear eyeglasses to better comprehend the world around us. For everyone who has poor vision, is lost without glasses.

There may be the “Greatest Spectacle” in racing happening today in Indianapolis, but for those with poor vision, we need spectacles — glasses — to be able to see close or far things.

By wearing spectacles — glasses or contacts — we are able to see better. We can better understand the world around us. So, instead of bumping into things or not being able to see far away things, we are able to see what is right in front of us – because of these spectacles.

Today, the Christian Church is celebrating Holy Trinity Sunday. Today, we celebrate the one true God in its union in Trinity. 

Now, the Trinity can be a spectacle in itself. For outside of faith, the Trinity is hard to comprehend.

For this reason, our Triune God has given us the true “Greatest Spectacles” — the Creeds — which helps us better understand God. The Creeds are like magnifying glasses into the Triune God.

You see, the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds give us a short explanation of what is fully taught about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in God’s Written Word.

In fact, the reason the Creeds were written in the first place was so Christians could better understand God. The Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds were written short for a reason — so Christians could memorize the basics of the faith, since the printing press was still centuries away and most people could not read. 

Then some centuries later, the Athanasian Creed came on the scene, which further defined the Triune God.

[Peter Professes the Trinity]

In today’s second reading, Luke records Peter’s Pentecost sermon, in which Peter says, “[Jesus] being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing” (Acts 2:33).

Here, Peter is saying what we profess today — Jesus has equality with God the Father. And more than that — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are One God.

Now, the Trinity can be hard to comprehend, but that’s why God gave us the Greatest Spectacles — the Creeds — so that we could better understand Him.

For in the Trinity lie our only comfort, life and salvation. (FC-Epitome, 512.18)

As fallen creatures, we could never fully comprehend God, but the Creeds give us a glimpse into what God has done for us and for all of His creation.

You see, the Creeds summarize who God is and what He has done for the world: 

• Creating and preserving all things of out of Fatherly love.  
• Redeeming the world in the life, death, and resurrection of the Son — Jesus Christ. 
• And, calling and gathering believers into the Church by the Holy Spirit. 

Out of love, the Father sends the Son:

Jesus said: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…” (John 3:16a)

And out of love, the Father and Son together send the Holy Spirit:

Jesus said: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” (John 16:13a)

The Holy Spirit brings us to Christ: 

For we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ. For it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we have come to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. (Paraphrasing Luther’s Third Article on the Creed)

And, the Holy Spirit shows us the Father’s love:

“That whoever believes in [Jesus] should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16b).

For it is the Holy Spirit who led Christ’s apostles — and the prophets before them — to document what God had done.

[The Creeds are a Gift from the Triune God]

Now, at the time of the Protestant Reformation, there were many reformers who wanted to throw out everything tied to the Roman Catholic Church. Some reformers got rid of singing, others instruments, and some wanted to scrap the liturgical history of the church altogether.

Then there was Martin Luther. He was a reformer, yet he was particular on what should remain and what should be scrapped.

Luther emphasized that it was not his intention to lead Christianity away from the ancient creeds, but rather to call it back to them.

He wrote: “This confession of faith we did not make or invent, neither did the fathers of the church before us.”

What Luther is saying is this: God gave us the Creeds as a gift. God gave us these spectacles — the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds — to better understand Him.

Yet, like eyeglasses, even with them on, we can never see perfectly, but it opens our eyes to the world. Or in this case, the Creeds open our eyes to what we can comprehend about the Triune God: The Father, who created the world; the Son, who redeemed the world; and the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies and renews the Church.

[Pew Study]

Now, even with the Creeds readily available today, there are those who do not want to use those spectacles to understand God better.

According to the Pew Research Center, 80 percent of Americans say they believe in God, however only 56 percent surveyed said they believe in God “as described in the Bible.” And digging deeper, most who believed in God “as described in the Bible” said that they don’t regularly read or study the Bible and often they know very little about God.

This may lead them into placing their own reason over what God’s Word says. This may lead them into believing wrongly about who God is.

So, in not knowing the one true God in Trinity, they create a false god in their mind. Maybe a god who cheers you on no matter what you do – good or bad. 

This may sound familiar.

You see, beginning with our first parents — Adam and Eve — all humanity has rebelled against God and has fallen into the darkness, which is sin, death and the power of the devil. As fallen creatures, we wanted it our way – rather than God’s way.

[The Void without God]

Recently, we have seen a rash of school shootings. 

You may wonder where is God in all this turmoil? You may ask yourself, why won’t God stop this.

At the same time, it appears to me that the news media and politicians are trying to push or pull the American people into one camp or another – pro-gun or anti-gun.

Others bring up mental health, which I believe is closer to the real issue.

For me, I believe this gun violence is related to morality – knowing good from evil, right from wrong. 

So, where is God in all of this? He is there. He is listening to our prayers. He is with us and with those facing these terrible times. God is there in every good and bad situation.

Now, I believe the increase in shootings has a correlation to belief in the Triune God.

You see, as the Triune God has been pushed aside in today’s culture, there has opened a void. And, sadly, I believe that much of that void has been filled with Satan and his minions who are pushing immoral living in television, movies, books, magazines and video games.

Now, there is a lot to the saying, “You are what you eat.” In this case, “We are what we watch and read.” Slowly, through the media, we become desensitized to the evil around us.

So, instead of praying to the Triune God for help and guidance, we find ways on fixing the problem ourselves.

But, for us who know God, we know that we are fallen creatures. We know we need to be rescued.

[Our Baptismal Promise]

So, on this Holy Trinity Sunday, we remember what God has done for us – once and for all time – out of His love.

God the Father sent His only Son into the world to become man and to redeem and save each and every one of us by His death and resurrection. 

Then God the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit so that we would have faith and come to Jesus, who is the world’s only source of hope, life, and salvation.

And, faith comes by hearing. Our faith in Jesus Christ officially began in us at our baptism, when we heard the pastor speak over us, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” — the name of God — as water was poured on our head.

In our baptism, we have God’s own pledge and promise that He has forgiven our sins and delivered us from sin, death and the devil. So, if you are ever in any time of doubt or temptation, we can always remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

And whenever we see someone in need of God’s love, we can tell them about God’s love for you and me.

We also rightly remember our baptism when we live in repentance and faith in the Triune God, who made us His beloved children.

And, we also remember our baptism at each Divine Service with the Trinitarian Invocation. So each time you hear: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”, you should remember that we have received victory over sin, victory over death and victory over the devil. And, we have received forgiveness of sins, salvation and life everlasting through Christ’s sacrifice for us.

For all that has been done for us, we give thanks to the one true God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We give Him thanks for giving us a glimpse into Him, through the spectacles of the Creeds, which show us God and His love for us.

This is our Creed. This is our faith. This is our trust. This is most certainly true. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T