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Christ the Savior Lutheran Church Toronto
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The First Sunday after Trinity
June 2, 2024
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
Lutheran Service Book
Divine Service III – Pages 184-202
OPENING HYMN: 655 ”Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8ViZi7M5p4
The Introit
Psalm 13:1-4; antiphon, verses 5-6
I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
And to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Congregation: Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Salutation – Pastor: The Lord be with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Our Collect Payer:
O God, the strength of all who trust in You, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing, grant us Your grace to keep Your commandments, that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings:
First Reading Genesis 15:1-6
Psalm 33:12-22
Epistle Reading 1st John 4:16-21
The Verse (Psalm 7:1)
Alleluia. O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me. Alleluia.
Gospel Reading Luke 16:19-31
The Apostles’ Creed Page 192
HYMN OF THE DAY: 545 “Word of God, Come Down on Earth”
THE SERMON –
The last words Martin Luther wrote before he died may well have been inspired by our Gospel account of the rich man and Lazarus.
Luther wrote, "We are all beggars. This is true."
At times, every one of us feels like Lazarus.
Vulnerable, in need, perhaps alone, we can watch a world that parties and feasts, and often ignores those going through hardships.
And though each of us before God is, like Lazarus, poor and helpless, we haven’t had to settle for mere crumbs fallen from God’s table.
Instead, we’ve been invited and seated at the Lord’s feast now in the Church.
One day Christians will finally be carried to Heaven to be with God, the source of all true riches and eternal life.
This is a message from today’s Gospel lesson.
It’s the Good News of Christ.
Yet there’s also a warning from Jesus here.
It’s not the caution a casual reading of Scripture might leave us with, but an important warning none-the-less.
Let’s go back to this account of Lazarus.
And I call it that because Jesus doesn’t use the word parable to describe it, but He does include a name, Lazarus, and that’s unique.
This is only parable where Christ uses a name, so it may have been an actual individual.
The name Lazarus in Hebrew means, “the one whom God helps.”
And that was certainly true for this poor man.
God ultimately helped him, saved him, when no one on earth would.
The rich man in passage is heartless, wicked, and most importantly, faithless.
His money has become an idol, his ‘god.’
He knowingly withholds food and shelter from the poor man outside his door.
We could take away the lesson that being a child of God is no guarantee of an easy life.
And that would be true, but it’s not the point of the account.
Neither is the greed of the rich man the real message.
It’s only a tool in the story.
How do we know the rich man knowingly ignored Lazarus?
Because he recognizes him lying comforted at the side of Abraham.
He’s been aware of Lazarus, and consciously withheld what he needed.
So, the scene is set: the good but poverty-stricken, versus the rich and uncaring.
Where could we find this contrast?
Sadly, today, in many countries, even in our own.
Should we care about those less fortunate than us?
Of course.
Should we respond to them, and take a warning from these words? ��
Yes.
Is that the key point Jesus is making.
No.
We can draw those lessons from the account, but so can the un-believer.
The heart of the message lies deeper.
Lazarus dies, and we’re told he’s carried away by angels to be comforted by Abraham.
Then the Rich Man also dies, and his fate is coldly reported simply as "being buried.”
Immediately, the rich man finds himself in Hell.
A place of fire that never goes out, and where pain doesn’t cease, as Jesus describes it elsewhere.
It’s real.
The rich man sees Lazarus at a great distance.
He is at peace.
The rich man, however, doesn’t repent, say he’s sorry, or turn to faith.
He asks Abraham to have Lazarus fetch some water for him.
He’s reminded by Abaham of how, when the situation was reversed during life, Lazarus received no such mercy from Him.
And things are so arranged now that Lazarus can’t provide the requested relief.
Are we supposed to be frightened by the threat of condemnation here?
Yes, but still, it’s not the account’s purpose.
Everyone hearing these words from Jesus understood the justice of the situation.
They knew evil will suffer in judgment.
They knew God called them to be compassionate.
Then the rich man asks for Lazarus to be sent to his brothers, to warn, and spare them the misery of his condition.
Abraham says they have Moses and the Prophets.
They have Holy Scripture, the Word of God to warn and instruct them!
Then the rich man makes his point, that the Scriptures didn't work with him!
He had ignored the Word of God.
He reasoned that Scripture and the Church might not work, but if someone came calling from the grave, that kind of sign would wake his brothers up!
Those listening to Jesus might have been in agreement with the rich man on this point.
We might be tempted to agree too.
The Word of God just doesn’t seem to get through to some people.
They either won’t go to Church to hear it preached, or if they do, they just won’t take it seriously.
The feeling for some appears to be that God’s Word is always there, and it will wait until they’re ready to believe.
This is where the account of Lazarus by Jesus is really going.
Jesus drops the whole message on His listeners then, and now, when He says:
'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.'
Christ is saying that if the powerful Word of Almighty God won’t reach some people, neither will a corpse rising out of the ground persuade them.
Our Saviour is blunt in saying if His Word doesn’t move someone, nothing can, or will.
Now, I imagine there were a lot of people listening that day who disagreed.
And I’d guess that some of them thought a person rising from the dead would move people to sit up, and believe.
But that’s a little like the people who say, if Noah's Ark were found, it would prove the Bible is true and bring the world around to the Christian faith.
Unfortunately seeing Noah's Ark didn’t work that way for people back when it was built.
So why would it work for skeptics today?
Jesus gave the world the ultimate proof of what He said by dying and then rising from the tomb.
And some of the very people who were listening that day, like the Pharisees Luke tells us were there, may have witnessed His death.
The Pharisees knew from many credible witnesses, even one of their own, Nicodemus, that Christ did rise from the grave, and yet they would not believe in Him.
In First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Paul gives a list of people who saw the risen Jesus.
These witnesses included the twelve disciples, James the brother of Jesus, and a group of more than 500 people at the same time.
Some of the Pharisees and Scribes even tried to silence witnesses to the resurrection.
They paid the Roman guards at the empty tomb to lie about it.
Jesus has risen from the grave, but not all people believe.
Christ has risen, but many sin boldly, or call sin something to be proud of.
They’ve heard about hell and damnation, yet they just shrug it off.
But if the Word of God, and the work of the Holy Spirit, can’t move them to faith at some point in their life, nothing can or will.
Your sins have been forgiven because Jesus died in your place on the cross.
He rose from the grave to prove sin, death and hell have been conquered, and taken out of your future.
It was His resurrection that mattered for the whole world.
And as believers you will rise from death one day by the power of Jesus, and live with Him forever.
Should we live a life of compassion?
Yes.
We should try, that is the will of God.
But will that save us?
No.
As sinful human beings, we can’t live a perfect life.
Jesus, our Saviour, did that for us, and paid for our sins at Calvary.
Believe it.
Listen to the Word of God about the One who rescued you.
Christians have the comfort that one day, despite the pain and hardships of this life, we will be held by God, and have peace, and all we need from Him.
This account of Jesus is meant to tell us where saving faith comes from.
The Bible makes clear in Romans 10:17 that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
You are born again by a Word that is living, powerful, and imperishable.
It is the Holy Spirit that uses God’s means of grace, His Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to work and sustain faith within us.
And so, as believers, whatever your status in the eyes of the world – no matter your outward appearance or success as measured by earthly standards –you will be carried by angels to paradise.
Until that time, Christians will be nurtured by the true Church, where God’s Word is taught correctly, and the Sacraments administered properly.
Where we are given a foretaste of Heaven.
May the peace that passes all understanding comfort you, and keep Your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 (Our Communion Hymn is 641 “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”) Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201
CLOSING HYMN: 504 “Father Most Holy”
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The Bible Study –
Our readings for Tuesday, May 28 are Ecclesiastes 5:1-20 and John 8:1-20.
Our Old Testament verses tell us that rebellion against God, heresy, and false religious vows are sins against the Lord.
The Teachers tells us not to be surprised when you see in a land the oppression of the poor, and the violation of justice and righteousness.
Since the fall, mankind has been infected by sin, that also affects our institutions.
Governments are established by God to keep order, but those who serve in them are watched by the Lord, and are accountable to Him.
Although this life is beset by trouble, God has overcome all for us through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus.
The joy of the Christian believer allows us to endure this life and look to life eternal with Christ.
In our Gospel passage Jesus reminds us that He is the light of the world.
We need not walk in darkness.
Still the Pharisees then, and secular scoffers today, challenge the Lord of life.
God the Father has testified to His only Son. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we hear the inerrant Word of God in the Bible.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
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God bless those who served and sacrificed.
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
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The Bible Study –
Our readings for Monday, May 27 are Ecclesiastes 4:1-16 and John 7:32-53.
In today’s Old Testament text, the teacher speaks of the cruelty of oppression in the secular world; the hardness of heart that refuses to love God and other people.
Our gracious God gives us the gits of family and friendship, and especially the family of fellow Christian believers.
To place our focus instead on money and status, is an error.
To be a humble believer is better than the life of the Godless rich who ignore their Saviour.
In our Gospel passage, Christ discloses that after the cross and resurrection, He will return to God the Father, a place those who oppose Him will not come to.
The invitation for all who spiritually thirst to come to Jesus is extended during this lifetime through the Church.
Those who accept the free gift of salvation through faith, that the Spirit works within us, will be saved.
They will become rivers of living water to all who hear the precious Gospel through them.
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
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Holy Trinity Sunday
May 26, 2024
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMN: 507 ”Holy, Holy, Holy”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=385lfXz7OXQ
Introit (read by the Pastor) Psalm 16:8-11; Liturgical Text
Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him, because he has shown his mercy to us. I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him, because he has shown his mercy to us.
The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Congregation: Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Salutation – Pastor: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And also with you.
Our Collect Payer: (Please stand)
Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; For You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings:
First Reading Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 29 Epistle Reading Acts 2:14a, 22-36
The Verse (Isaiah 6:3b) Alleluia. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! Alleluia.
Gospel Reading John 3:1-17
The Athanasian Creed Page 319
HYMN OF THE DAY: 953 “We All Believe in One True God”
youtube
THE SERMON
Today is Holy Trinity Sunday.
It doesn’t remember a Biblical event.
It commemorates a characteristic of God as He reveals Himself in His Word, the Bible.
The Holy Trinity is a divine mystery.
Yet it’s not like the mystery in a crime novel.
At the end of a man-made drama, the detective explains everything, and the mystery is solved.
In the mystery of the Holy Trinity, we can study everything the Bible says, you can read all the great theologians of the Church, and in the end, you will still say, “I don’t completely understand.”
That’s because the Trinity is a mystery that’s above and beyond the capacity of our mortal minds.
Today we read and say the Athanasian Creed.
This ancient Christian creed, a statement of beliefs, does an excellent job of expressing the mystery of our Triune God.
When you are dealing with God the Father, you’re dealing with all of God, not just part of God.
The same is true of God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit.
In order for this to make sense to our finite human minds, it would require three gods, but there are not three gods.
There is only one God, in three persons.
It shouldn’t surprise us that there are things about God that are mysteries.
As human beings, we live under the rules of God’s creation.
The creation that God made for us places limits on us.
God, on the other hand, reigns over His Kingdom, Heaven, and the universe.
He has no limits.
The fact that our true God has mysteries we can’t understand should be a comfort.
A ‘god’ that’s totally understandable is not really a ‘god.’
We encounter the Trinity immediately in Genesis Chapter One in the Bible.
In verse one, we read of God the Creator.
In verse two, we hear of God the Spirit.
In verse three, we read about God the Word, through Whom God created all things.
At the beginning of the Apostle John’s Gospel, we learn more about these three Divine persons.
John wrote, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
Here, the Apostle identifies the Word, through Whom God created all things, as the only-begotten Son of God the Father – Jesus.
The Biblical account of Christ’s baptism also records an appearance of the Trinity.
The Apostle Matthew wrote: “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16–17)
As the Spirit of God rested on Jesus, God the Father identified Him as God the Son.
When Jesus instituted Holy Baptism, He used the name of the Trinity:
Matthew recorded our Lord as saying:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19–20)
It is in the name God gives us at our Baptism, His own name, that we receive forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.
In today’s Gospel, we heard a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.
There’s much to learn here.
We can learn how the Triune God works to give us salvation.
As Jesus taught Nicodemus about the work of the Holy Spirit, He said:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5–8)
In these words, Jesus tells Nicodemus, and us, that it’s the Holy Spirit who brings us into God’s Kingdom.
We can’t enter under our own power.
The combination of water and Spirit points to Holy Baptism as a way the Holy Spirit calls people to the Christian faith.
As Jesus taught Nicodemus about His own work, He said:
“No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:13–15)
With these words, Jesus teaches that, although He calls Himself the Son of Man, He is from Heaven.
The one from Heaven who took on human flesh will be lifted up on the cross just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness.
And through Christ’s sacrificial payment for our sins, all who believe in Jesus as Saviour will have eternal life.
At the end of today’s reading, Jesus taught Nicodemus about the work of God the Father. Christ said:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16–17)
Jesus teaches that salvation has its source in God the Father.
It is God’s love that sent His beloved Son to save the world.
Jesus also taught Nicodemus that all human beings are born of the flesh.
This means we’re all conceived and born sinful, and are under the power of the devil, until Christ claims us as His own.
We would be lost forever unless delivered from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation.
But the Father of all mercy and grace has sent His Son Jesus Christ, who atoned for the sins of the whole world.
Nicodemus struggled with this teaching.
The natural person, the one born of the flesh, looks to God’s Law for self-salvation.
He or she searches for rescue in their own works, their own merits.
Jesus spoke for the Prophets and Himself, and said:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.” (John 3:11)
The testimony of Jesus, the Apostles, and the Prophets is the same.
God does all the work of saving us.
We resist Jesus until the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and works faith in us using God’s means of grace: His Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
It’s then that we receive the eternal life promised by the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour.
We can give praise to Almighty God that Nicodemus eventually did receive the testimony of God’s Holy Scriptures and Christ Himself.
We know he eventually became a Christian, for the account of him in today’s Gospel is not the last time we read of Nicodemus in the Bible.
We hear of him one last time shortly after Jesus died on the cross.
“After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.” (John 19:38–39)
The account of Jesus and Nicodemus teaches us a great deal on this Trinity Sunday.
Christ taught that God the Father shows His love for us by sending His only begotten Son into the world to save us.
Jesus taught that, like the bronze serpent in the wilderness, the Son would be raised up on a cross in order to save the world from sin.
Christ taught that the Holy Spirit provides the gift of salvation by giving a new birth into the family of God, and working faith within the hearts of believers.
The struggle of Nicodemus shows us that if we reject the work of any one of the members of the Trinity, we reject them all.
On the other hand, when the Holy Spirit brings us into the family of God by the new birth, we receive all the blessings that our gracious Triune God has for us … including forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.
We have indeed been blessed by:
God the Father’s grace,
for God the Son’s sake,
through God the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page194
(Our Communion Hymn is 636 “Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness”) Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201
CLOSING HYMN: 876 “O Blessed, Holy Trinity”
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The Bible Study –
This week the Church celebrates the Sunday of the Holy Trinity.
It doesn’t remember an event.
It commemorates a characteristic of God as He reveals Himself in His word, the Bible.
The Holy Trinity is a divine mystery, yet through Holy Scripture, and the Athanasian Creed, we learn what the Three Persons of the Trinity have done and continue to do for us in God’s plan of salvation.
Join us for worship this coming Sunday.
Having received forgiveness and life from the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit, we join with the angels in praising the blessed Trinity, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:3).
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
#christian religion#lutheran#christian#faith#jesus#salvation#bible#evangelism#holy spirit#religious art
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The Bible Study –
Our readings for Monday, May 20 are Numbers 22:1-10 & Luke 22:1-23.
In our New Testament passage we have the institution of the Lord’s Supper.
There are false churches today that teach the Lord’s Supper is simply an occasional ‘ceremony’ to be held.
These heretical churches say the bread and wine of communion are not the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
People who make this claim are simply calling our Saviour a liar.
“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’” (Lk 22:19-20)
The Apostle Paul wrote: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the body of Christ?” (1st Corinthians 10:16)
If you’re currently attending a church that teaches contrary to the Word of God, the Biblical counsel I’ll give is to leave and join a Confessional Lutheran Church.
The Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and St. Paul all tell us the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper are the body and blood of Christ.
Paul warns of the consequences of not honouring the Lord’s Supper:
“27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (1st Corinthians, Chapter 11)
The benefit of the Sacrament of the Altar is the forgiveness of sins which Christ’s body and blood won for us on the cross.
Our Lord promised this in His Word. (Matthew 26:28)
Where there is forgiveness of sins there is also life and salvation.
In Christ’s true Church we honour the Lord’s Supper.
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
#christian religion#lutheran#christian#faith#jesus#salvation#bible#evangelism#holy spirit#religious art
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THE DAY OF PENTECOST
May 19, 2024
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMN: 500 “Creator Spirit by Whose Aid”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC5GOv0i0R0
THE SERMON
Brothers and sisters, peace, grace and mercy be to you through God our Father, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
It’s been fifty days since we gathered to proclaim the Resurrection on Easter morning.
The name Pentecost means fiftieth.
In the Jewish calendar, seven weeks after the Feast of Passover, they were invited to return to the temple for the festival of Weeks, or Shavuot.
It was a harvest festival.
And today, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will see the Bible’s description of the great harvest of God’s people, Christians, into the Church.
In our Old Testament text, we hear from the prophet Ezekiel who was active during the 70 years of the Babylonian exile.
Ezekiel is conveying hope to a people in despair.
They felt they’d gotten a raw deal from God: their fathers sinned and they are being punished.
They feel like corpses, a people who are dying without any chance of restoration.
As God quotes their complaint here, “our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, we are indeed cut off.”
What makes these words important for today is the way God conducts this re-creative act
Ezekiel preaches to dry, lifeless bones.
And then God’s Word creates the hearers themselves.
Bones can’t hear what we say, but when the Word is proclaimed, the breath of life is given.
The Hebrew word, ruach, is important.
This is the very breath God gave Adam at the creation moment in Genesis, Chapter 2.
In Hebrew, and in its Greek counterpart, the word ruach can be translated three ways: Wind, Spirit, or Breath.
Jesus will use this very word in John, Chapter 2, when He speaks to Nicodemus.
Ezekiel prophecies to the “wind,” the winds blow, the corpses then have “breath,”
and in them is the “spirit” of life.
God asks Ezekiel if all these bones can live and Ezekiel does a really wise thing.
He says, God, you alone know the answer.
The prophet is confessing that God is the Almighty, and that as a man, he is not.
At the Lord’s command, Ezekiel preaches to dead bones.
It looks hopeless, but the Word Ezekiel preaches is God’s.
It has divine power.
It created the universe.
There’s a rattling sound.
The bones assemble themselves, ligaments and muscles, then skin, but the corpses do not yet live.
Again, Ezekiel is commanded to prophecy, this time to the ‘wind,’ ‘breath.’ ‘spirit.’
That Spirit comes, and the corpses live, standing on their feet.
What had been a graveyard, is now a great gathering.
When we apply this to ourselves, the message is profound.
We can look at the world around us, and see lifeless non-believers, destined for eternal separation from God.
And yet, there is the Word that has the power to transform and bring alive, now, and to life eternal.
God’s Word, preached and taught in His true Church, and Christ’s Sacraments, that He instituted and commanded.
The Sacrament of Baptism, for adults as well as children, because it is the Lord’s work, not our prideful ‘obedience.’
The Lord’s Supper, that is Christ’s true Body and Blood given and shed for us, just as Jesus told us in the Bible.
It is through these means of grace that the Spirit works.
God raises dead people, then, and now.
He gives purpose to the meaningless life; He gives eternal hope to the lost.
In the incarnation of His only Son, He was a carpenter.
Jesus knew hard work.
And He had compassion enough to use the wood of the cross as an instrument
to pay for the sins of the world.
It is the Spirit that works faith in that atoning act within us.
The Spirit uses the Word, that brings the benefit of that ultimate sacrifice to those who accept the free gift of God in Jesus.
What shall we make of the description of the Apostle’s Pentecost experience in the Book of Acts?
Some have pointed to the tower of Babel being undone in these verses.
Yet we need to notice the order of events.
First, they heard, then they saw.
We often want to reverse that order and have God show us before we’ll start to listen to Him.
On this day, there were Jewish people in Jerusalem from all around the ancient world.
Yet those present heard the disciples speaking in their own languages, not senseless babble.
Some wouldn’t believe what was happening, they scoffed, even accusing the Apostles of drunkenness.
Others, though, are genuinely wondering what this all means.
Peter stands up.
The disciple, who, a few short weeks before had denied, even knowing Christ
three times, speaks up.
He confronts the people with a sermon.
With words inspired by the Holy Spirit, taken from the account of Christ, God on earth.
This Word cuts the crowd to the heart, and changes them.
Notice the Word is given as both Law and Gospel.
Peter confronts them with their sins, then shows them their Saviour.
The Apostle says Old Testament prophets foretold this day.
Notice the Spirit is poured out on all flesh.
Also note that after preaching God’s Word, the ones who repent and receive their Redeemer shall be saved.
The coming of the Spirit means salvation is not just for some, but for all who accept Christ’s free gift of salvation.
The proclamation that the Spirit poured out that day is still being preached, now, throughout the world.
It’s an on-going, not a one-time event.
The Spirit still makes alive, calls, gathers, enlightens.
He sanctifies His whole Christian Church on earth.
Our Gospel text is also rich in teaching about the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is called the Helper whom Jesus sends, and who remains with us.
The Spirit is all about witnessing to Jesus.
That is what He does through Christ’s Church, and those who are part of it.
He reveals Jesus, and enables our witness.
The presence of the Spirit is actually better than when Jesus limited Himself
to space and time while on earth.
Now the Spirit can point to our Saviour throughout the world, in all times.
If Christ had not ascended, the Helper would not have come to us.
Now Jesus is with us in every true Church, in His Word, in His absolution, in every Baptism, in every celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
The Spirit not only reveals Jesus.
He also convicts the world.
Regarding sin.
Regarding the righteousness of Christ.
And regarding judgment all people will face one day at the end of time.
Then sin will only be a problem for the sinner who doesn’t believe in Jesus.
For repentant believers, no sentence is passed.
Final judgment, however, has already been handed down on satan and all who follow him.
Remember, though, that if we focus on, or worship the Spirit without the Son, we’ve missed the whole point.
We live a world that’s largely discounted spiritual reality, or misunderstood that this reality is Christ.
It’s a world too busy making money and chasing pleasure.
Yet in every hour, of every day, there is Jesus, and it is the Spirit who brings us Christ Himself.
Our whole life, in every decade, whether young or old, has been redeemed by His blood, sanctified by His Spirit.
Christians are a precious treasure to Christ, worth more than all the universe.
Jesus, by turning sadness into joy, allows us to see life, and our neighbour, differently.
Our sorrows and trials are transformed by the joyous presence of Christ.
And that allows us to endure a dark world with confidence.
Our lives are illuminated by the light of Jesus.
And He will remain with us into eternity.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194
(Our Communion Hymn is 627 “Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Saviour”)
Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201
CLOSING HYMN: 504 “Father Most Holy”
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The Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 12, 2024
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMN: 650 “Holy Spirit Ever Dwelling”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Uq-vkiAio
The Invocation Page 184
Pastor: Halleluiah, Christ is risen!
Congregation: He is risen indeed. Halleluiah!
Confession and Absolution (Please stand) Page 184-185
The Introit (Psalm 27:1a, 4-5; 10, 14; antiphon Ps. 27:7)
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me! The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid? One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock. For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
Pastor: Halleluiah, Christ is risen!
Congregation: He is risen indeed. Halleluiah!
The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Congregation: Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Salutation – Pastor: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And also with you.
Our Collect Payer: (Please stand)
O King of glory, Lord of Hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings
First Reading Acts 1:12-26 Psalm 1 Epistle Reading 1st John 5:9-15
The Verse (Romans 6:9; John 14:18)
Alleluia. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. Alleluia. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Alleluia.
Gospel Reading John 17:11b-19
Nicene Creed Page 191
HYMN OF THE DAY: 539 “Christ is the World’s Redeemer”
THE SERMON –
The Gospel reading today takes us back to the upper room in Jerusalem.
This is the night before the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.
The disciples are about to be scattered, and Jesus knows it.
And so, He prays.
What we hear in John Chapter 17, is known as the High Priestly Prayer.
Jesus would be the only High Priest without sin, and the ultimate sacrifice for it.
And yet, Christ’s concern is for His disciples, then, and now.
The community of believers was about to withdraw into grief and fear.
Yet what was foretold and long hoped for, the reconciliation of God and man, would now take place at Calvary.
On that day of torture and shame, our sins would be shouldered by God in human flesh.
And by His wounds we have been healed.
Yet, the events of the passion would, at first, have other effects.
Under pressure, Peter denies His Saviour three times.
Later, after his restoration by the risen Christ, the Apostle goes on to a life of Christian witness.
All the other disciples, except for John, would face martyrdom.
The Church, today, is in a period of challenge.
To many in our secular culture, the faith is completely unnecessary, and unwanted.
The blessing of our Christian heritage has often given way to atheism or new age ‘spirituality.’
These are isolated, lonely roads that lead to eternal separation from God.
Add to this a culture that worships money and pleasure above all else.
And compound it with an educational system that largely denies the existence of God.
The concept of absolute truth is often taken out of the classroom, and newsroom.
Perhaps we don’t acknowledge it as we should, but one of the most important blessings we enjoy as Christians is the fellowship we share with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
In His High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed that we would be one, as He and His Father are one.
God’s will for His people is unity, communion, that we be one, both with Him, and in fellowship with one another.
That we provide for one another that sort of community that staves off isolation, and ultimately fear.
The Church is a sanctuary where we come together to bear one another’s burdens, as we’re forgiven, built up and sustained by the gifts God so graciously gives us.
Here we have the blessing of Baptism in which we’re reborn, forgiven, brought into the Church, and united to our Saviour.
Here God’s Law and Gospel are preached and taught Biblically.
At the Lord’s table, we’re given the very body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins, just as He promised.
These are gifts that sustain us now, and to life eternal.
As we are able, we can share this truth with our brothers and sisters across Christendom.
To the degree we can’t, our differences of confession, of belief being too great, we should still pray for them.
And pray that we might stand boldly in a world that is often growing in opposition to Christ and His true Church.
Especially in Western society, and in countries where Christians are being actively persecuted.
Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension had another profound effect on the Church.
There is the transition of Jesus being among us in the flesh, versus His being among us in Spirit, and in Word and Sacrament.
Christ, in His state of exaltation, now fully exercises His divine powers.
He is no longer self-limited by time or space.
God the Father has given Him dominion over all things.
The ascension has not taken Christ away, it has brought Heaven near.
Our Saviour is omni-present in the universe He rules over, including the humble elements of bread and wine of the Lord’s Super.
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Here in His High Priestly Prayer, He says, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
The sin of those engaged in pagan and occult spiritually is that they look for God everywhere but where, and in whom, He has promised to be found.
Christ tells us clearly that the only source of salvation and eternal life is in Him.
Wanting to go one’s own way instead of listening to God is not new.
Our first parents fell into this sin in the Garden of Eden.
And that sin clings to all of us.
Jesus says, “I am with you always to the very end of the age.”
All the while, many see the state of the world and cry out, “where are you now, Jesus! Have you left us?”
In His High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed that you and I would be sanctified, that is, we would be set apart, made holy by the truth, the Word of God.
God, as we know, spoke the world into existence.
Today, we hear the sound of God’s voice in His Word, the Bible.
He calls us to unity.
He calls you to receive salvation and peace through His only Son.
To have fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ, the holy, Christian Church.
He calls you to be fed with what Christ died to give you for the forgiveness of sins, His true body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar.
He calls you to believe that He has risen from the dead, and that through faith in Him you will receive the gift of eternal life.
As Martin Luther wrote,
“O Comforter of priceless worth,
Send peace and unity on earth;
Support us in our final strife
And lead us out of death to life.”
May the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194
(Our Communion Hymn is 636 “Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness”)
Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201
CLOSING HYMN: 708 “Lord Thee I Love with All My Heart”
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ASCENSION DAY
May 9, 2024
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
From the time of the early Church, this day has been honoured and observed.
Just as the passion and resurrection were predicted in the Old Testament, so too was the Ascension.
The Ascension is the fulfillment of the Incarnation.
Jesus’ extraordinary visible ascent is the essential capstone of His earthly ministry.
At the beginning of the Fifth Century, Saint Augustine wrote that Ascension Day is of Apostolic origin, and that it was the universal observance of the Church long before his time.
Christ’s Ascension does not mean He has gone away and is no longer with us.
To the contrary, shortly before He ascended, Jesus said, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
In His time on earth, Jesus, true God and true man, did not fully use his divine powers. Thus, He limited Himself to being in one time and one place.
Now, Christ is “seated at the right hand” of God the Father. (Ephesians 1:20).
Jesus has entered into the full and continuous use of His divine attributes.
To the Christian, the Ascension holds many comforts.
Faith and hope for the future of God's kingdom rest secure in the knowledge that our Lord ascended.
He is now everywhere present while governing and protecting His Church on earth.
Here is my service and sermon for this blessed day.
Pastor Tom Steers,
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
The Invocation –
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Verses:
Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;
hear me and answer me.
Evening, morning, and noon
I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.
Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you;
He will never let the righteous fall.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
The Collect Prayer for Ascension Day:
Almighty God,
as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
ascended into the heavens,
so may we also ascend in heart and mind
and continually dwell there with Him,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings --
First Reading – Acts 1:1–11
Psalm 47
Epistle Reading – Ephesians 1:15-23
The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the 24th Chapter, verses 44–53.
“Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for[a] the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
“And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.”
The Apostles’ Creed –
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And 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.
On 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.
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. Amen.
The Hymn of the Day: “Up Through Endless Ranks of Angels”
Lutheran Service Book, 492: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxKstPK15QE
The Sermon –
Today marks a special day.
As we confess, “Jesus ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.”
Those words from the Apostles’ Creed come from knowing the account of Christ’s ascension into Heaven recorded by the Apostle Luke.
Luke told of the Ascension both in His Gospel, as well as his accompanying volume, the Acts of the Apostles.
The fulfillment of these passages, and other references in Holy Scripture, come on this day the Church holds in reverence for the sake of the ascended Lord.
The number ‘40’ is significant in the Old and New Testaments.
For 40 days and 40 nights rain fell in judgment on the earth during Noah’s time.
For 40 years God’s people wandered in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt, and for 40 days the twelve spies searched the Land of Canaan.
Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days. There are more examples.
But now we have a joyous reason to count!
On the fortieth day after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into Heaven, witnessed by the disciples.
Imagine being with the eleven that day.
They must have held mixed emotions.
Jesus had told them that He would be raised on the third day after His crucifixion. (Matthew 20:19)
He also told them He was going to prepare a place for them in His Father’s mansion. (John 14:2).
Now, at the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem, He leaves them.
All they could do was silently watch as He ascended into Heaven.
But Luke also tells us just how Christ left the disciples:
“Then [Jesus] led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.”
Did you catch that?
As Jesus left, He blessed His followers.
That blessing was delivered as Christ was received into the clouds of Heavenly glory.
So, what does that mean for you and me today?
Remember something Jesus said earlier in Luke’s Gospel: “Temptations to sin are sure to come . . . . ” (Luke 17:1).
Our world today is certainly full of temptation, and sin.
Our daily news and honest self-reflection confirm that.
Yet our Lord continues to bless us.
If there is one message, we can take away with us on Ascension Day it is this: Jesus blessed us as He ascended and continues to do so.
As Christians, we trust He will return to take us to Himself, that where He is, we may also be. (John 14:3).
We build the hope of our ascension on what Jesus has shown us in His.
He left earth, but in doing so, truly blesses His followers, those who confess His saving name.
As believers, we will triumph over the temptations of this world – through Christ.
Despite our broken nature, Christians everywhere, in all times, have the daily healing of our loving Saviour.
Ascended into Heaven, Jesus is completely unfettered by time or place.
We have the living presence of the Holy Spirit that He sent to us, and Christ’s promise that He would never leave us.
We remain connected to Him as we read and hear God’s Word in the Bible.
We pray to Him, and He hears our petitions.
We remember our baptismal identity in lives of daily repentance and promised forgiveness, while rendering faithful service to others, all the while knowing one day we too will be called from this world to eternal life in Heaven.
Then we will be blessed as Simeon was in Luke’s Gospel when he said: “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word.” (Luke 2:29).
At the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, we learn of the peace from God in Heaven which comes to us in Christ.
We not only have this peace now, but the lasting hope of Christ’s glorious return.
As the angel said to the disciples, “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.”
Until that magnificent day there is work to do.
In our daily lives.
In our witness to Christ.
Jesus said to the disciples, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
By Christ’s bodily ascension into heaven in the sight of His followers, He helped them, and us, to see that His Kingdom is within us, and comes into existence through His forgiveness.
Jesus frees us from our sins and the guilt of sin.
Through His Word and His rich blessings of the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, Christ empowers us to live under Him in His Kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness.
We are given our Lord's very body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar.
We hear Christ's absolution spoken through the Pastor in the Divine Service.
Just before His ascension, Jesus promised, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
All in the Kingdom of God receive power to be Christian witnesses, first and foremost to our families, our friends, and to our neighbours close by and perhaps, through the internet, around the world.
The Ascension did not take Jesus away . . . it brought Heaven near.
He promised us, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Our Saviour Jesus Christ was raised by God the Father from the dead.
He died for our sins and was raised for our justification.
Jesus ascended bodily.
He lives as the ascended Lord of all and sits glorified at the right hand of God the Father.
The ascension of Christ is a preview of the promised consummation for believers.
At the Last Day Jesus will return as He went.
It will not be a “spiritual” or metaphorical return, but an actual coming of His physical body.
No one is going to miss it.
As our Lord was raised from the dead and ascended to Heaven, so Christians will be raised by Him and brought to paradise.
Our Saviour said to the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore . . . . “
Through Him may you be comforted, empowered and blessed, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer –
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
The Benediction –
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you
and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you
and give you peace.
Amen.
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Nothing is more important than clearly confessing and bearing witness to God's true Word.
The Word reveals the glorious Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
That’s what the Book of Concord is all about.
This Readers Edition of the Lutheran Confessions will instruct and inspire all who use it, and help them learn what it means to be, and remain, a genuinely Biblical Christian.
The print edition contains a wealth of explanatory materials that give the history and sets the context for the writings.
To order this volume from Concordia Publishing House go to: https://www.cph.org/concordia-the-lutheran-confessions-a...
For those who need an online version of the Book of Concord, here’s a link: https://bookofconcord.org/
May God use these writings to strengthen and preserve you in the one, true faith as revealed in His holy Word, the Bible.
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
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THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 5, 2024
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMN: 823 “May God Bestow on Us Grace”
by Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Lutheran Service Book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnhQJ8m3B3o
The Invocation Page 184
Pastor: Halleluiah, Christ is risen!
Congregation: He is risen indeed. Halleluiah!
Confession and Absolution (Please stand) Page 184-185
Introit (read by the Pastor) Psalm 66:1-2, 8-9,20; antiphon: Psalm 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
Pastor: Halleluiah, Christ is risen!
Congregation: He is risen indeed. Halleluiah!
The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Congregation: Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Salutation – Pastor: The Lord be with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Our Collect Payer:
O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings:
First Reading Acts 10:34-48
Psalm 98 Epistle Reading 1st John 5:1-8
The Verse (Romans 6:9; John 16:33b)
Alleluia. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. Alleluia. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. Alleluia.
Our Gospel Reading John 15:9-17
Nicene Creed Page 191
HYMN OF THE DAY: 556 “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice” verses 1-4
by Martin Luther
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THE SERMON –
Today's Gospel text begins where last Sunday's passage left off.
Last week we heard Jesus compare our relationship to Him as a branch connected to a vine.
Just as a branch can’t produce anything without a vine, we cannot do anything without Christ.
Jesus wants us to keep this image in mind of a branch lovingly grafted in.
Last week we learned that abiding means to simply remain within.
The Holy Spirit places us in Jesus through faith, and we are to abide in Jesus where He feeds us with forgiveness, life, and salvation within His true Church.
As we hear more of Christ’s teaching today, we learn that one of the main nutrients Jesus feeds us is the nutrient of love.
Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
This can lead to misunderstanding.
‘Love’ is one of the most overused words in the English language.
We use it for so many things.
We love our spouse, children, pets, our favourite songs.
If you look up the word love in the dictionary, you’ll find a long entry.
But when we come to the confession of our faith, we say we receive salvation because of God's love.
Don’t misunderstand.
It’s perfectly right and worthwhile to say God saves us through His love.
However, if we don't explain what we mean when we say God loves us, we haven’t appreciated the true gift of His love as we abide in Him.
We can begin by looking at the original Greek John’s Gospel was written in.
The word translated as love is agape -- ἀγάπη.
Agape gets us away from self-centered love, the result of fulfilling our own pleasures.
It rules out the overly sentimental love of romance novels.
Agape is a selfless love that seeks nothing in return; it has grit and courage.
Αgape does what is right, even when it’s hard.
It is sacrificial love.
This Greek word provides a closer understanding of the love Jesus gives us.
In today's Gospel, Jesus takes agape love to its fulfilment, when He says, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Jesus did more than talk about the Gospel.
Even while Jesus was speaking these words, Judas was on his way to the authorities.
He would lead soldiers to Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and betray Jesus.
The next day, Christ would demonstrate His description of love through suffering and death on the cross.
He would endure not only death, but also the anger of God at our sins.
This is the love that saves us.
The true nature of this love becomes even clearer when we consider the object of God's love.
As much as we hate to admit it, we have no redeeming qualities of our own.
We are sinners.
The Apostle Paul said it clearly in Ephesians, Chapter 5:
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved . . . .”
When we are preparing for confirmation, Lutherans learn the Ten Commandments.
As we consider the Commandments honesty, we realize we break them.
The Bible tells us when we break one of God’s Laws, we break them all. (James 2:10)
We know from God’s Word that we are not sinners because we sin.
We sin because we are sinners.
The Bible tells us we inherited this sinful nature from our first parents, Adam and Eve, who disobeyed God.
No one has to teach a child how to lie.
We don’t instruct children to be selfish.
No one has to coach a child to consider themselves the centre of the universe.
We know all these things from the womb.
As we reflect on the Ten Commandments, we understand that our condition, if left untreated, leads to nothing but punishment -- here in time, and forever in eternity.
In spite of all this, God still loves us.
The love of Jesus Christ on the cross is the perfect expression of God's love for us.
Romans 5:8 explains, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
His love depends on His nature, not our own.
His love for us is always perfect, beyond our understanding.
This is the love of the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.
It is the love of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The love of the God-man who stood between our Heavenly Father and us and took the full force of the Almighty’s righteous anger against sin.
This is the love that bled on the cross and said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)
And this is the love that rose from the dead, and promises believers eternal life.
The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh seek to cut off this relationship between our Saviour and us.
The faith’s enemies constantly say we don't need God -- that we can be our own ‘gods.’
They direct us to earthly pleasure, worldly riches, popularity, and other fallible sources of love.
In those things we find ourselves in a never-ending spiral of disappointment, and defeat.
The world is always ready to supply the next enticing thing when the current fad doesn't satisfy.
If only we drove the right car, wore the right styles, or lived in the right house we would be happy.
Many spend their lives obtaining things that don’t satisfy for eternity, while ignoring the God who wants to give us the ultimate, lasting love for free.
The Apostle John in his Epistle text today explained, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1st John 5:4-5)
The Holy Spirit has placed us in Christ through the gift of faith.
In our First Reading, Luke describes the conversion of gentiles.
As the Apostle Peter was preaching, “the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.”
“Then Peter declared, ‘Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” (Act 10:44, 46-47)
The same is true for us today.
God’s Word and Sacraments are the means of grace the Holy Spirit uses to work faith in our Saviour within us.
Any work we do to ‘buy’ God’s forgiveness with our own merits only serves to reject that faith, and sever us from Christ's love.
Abiding in God's love means He will work in us to strengthen our faith toward Him.
And He will work through us to show fervent love towards one another.
God is the only source of pure, unconditional, ‘agape’ love.
It is in this love that God created, and sustains us.
It is this love that compelled the Son of God to take on human flesh and sacrifice Himself on the cross to save us from sin.
It is in this love that we abide by faith.
Just as God's love raised Christ from the dead, it promises that He will be with us here on earth, and that we shall be with Him forever in Heaven.
He that began the good work by planting us into the true vine, Jesus Christ, will perform it until that great day of glory.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
�� SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT
Page194
(Our Communion Hymn is 627 “Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Saviour”) Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201
CLOSING HYMN: 895 “Now Thank We All Our God”
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The Bible Study –
Our readings for Monday, April 29 are Leviticus 20:1-27 & Luke 12:1-12.
In today’s Old Testament text, we see our Holy God giving a code of conduct for priests so that they are not defiled.
In our Gospel passage, Jesus warms the disciples about the dangers of religious hypocrisy.
Justified by faith, we still retain the sinful nature while in this life.
God, who is faithful, will forgive the sins of repentant Christians.
Jesus counsels that our real fear should not be of those who can kill the body, but to fear the one who has authority to cast into eternal death, hell. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
The Gospel gives us blessed assurance of the Lord’s protection for those in Christ.
It is the Holy Spirit who works faith within us using God’s means of grace: His Word and Sacraments.
Those who stubbornly refuse the work of the Spirit and deny Christ, will be denied entry into Heaven.
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
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THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
April 28, 2024
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMNN: 544 “O Love, How Deep”
Lutheran Service Book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHASptbZB-A
The Invocation Page 184
Pastor: Halleluiah, Christ is risen!
Congregation: He is risen indeed. Halleluiah!
Confession and Absolution Page 184-185
Introit (read by the Pastor)
Psalm 145, Verses 1-2,8,10,21, antiphon John 16: 16
145 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”
Pastor: Halleluiah, Christ is risen!
Congregation: He is risen indeed. Halleluiah!
The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy)
�� Congregation: Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Salutation – Pastor: The Lord be with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Our Collect Payer:
O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings:
First Reading Acts 8: 26-40 Psalm 150 Epistle Reading 1st John 4: 1-11
Our Gospel Reading John 15: 1-9
Hymn & Confession of Faith 954 “We All Believe in One True God”
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HYMN OF THE DAY: 633 “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing”
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SERMON
We are coming closer to the end of the Church season of Easter.
Our Bible readings now start to look forward to Pentecost.
It’s like walking between two great lights.
Today we see the deacon Philip witnessing to the Ethiopian Eunuch.
We also hear the Apostle John urge us to test the spirits and live in love.
Then, Jesus compares our connection to Him as branches to a vine.
Our texts this Sunday speak about the whole human being engaged in the Christian life.
In our Epistle reading, John is making some important connections for us.
Test the spirits, he writes.
This means not all spirits are good ones.
And that there is no true spirituality outside of Christ.
The test John speaks of is simple.
Jesus has come in the flesh.
Confessing Christ in the flesh is about love, John says.
Two things the devil cannot fake, are love and faith.
Love is the very nature of God.
God dwells in us, and He‘s stronger than the one who dwells in the world, satan.
When we love, God Himself is acting through our kindness and compassion shown to one another.
God is also the one acting, through the Holy Spirit, in His Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
These are God’s means of grace, instituted by Jesus Himself.
Many in North American Christianity have located the distinction between the saved and the unsaved in the human will.
This is what’s going on when the Baptist and Pentecostal TV preachers call for people to ‘make a decision for Christ.’
They falsely say the difference between you and a person who is lost is what you decide, your ‘willful’ action.
But that simply locates our salvation back inside us, and this is Biblically wrong.
The difference between Christians and people who will be eternally separated from God is not what we’ve done.
We all deserve the down escalator at the end of time.
It is what Christ has done for us on the cross that saves.
And as far as the ‘decision’ issue, Jesus clarified that once and for all when He told the Apostles: ‘You didn’t choose me, I chose you.’
(John 15:16)
The perfection of which John writes about in the Epistle today speaks not about a perfection of the will, but a perfection of love God works in us.
Its root is not found not in us, but in Christ and His cross.
It is Jesus, Himself, who abides and acts through us.
Our focus is always on what Christ has done, and continues to do, through His true Church.
And so, we come to the Gospel reading from John, and the Words of Jesus.
Christ says, in His humble agricultural example, that we receive the very sustenance of life from Him.
What does it mean to ‘abide in Jesus?’
It means that our whole life is lived under the cross and in the light of the empty tomb.
We abide in Jesus when we remember Christ paid for our sins, a payment we could never make.
When we consider our virtue, we notice that Jesus is the one who puts it there.
There are two ways to fail here.
We could take our sin to another place for forgiveness, to self-salvation or false religions.
But we receive this example, this gift, that Jesus is offering when we realize our only hope is in Him.
The branch, grafted into the vine, soon grows together.
They become one thing.
The branch draws its life from the vine.
God the Father is the vinedresser, we are not.
God connects us to Christ; we don’t connect ourselves to Jesus.
God works faith in Christ within us.
The fruit production is the work of the Lord, even though the labour is ours.
Yet even this labour is impossible for us on our own.
We depend on the gift of the Holy Spirit.
He connects us to Christ in the waters of our Baptism, in the flesh and blood of the Lord’s Supper, in the hearing of the Word, and the forgiving voice of absolution after our confession.
Through those things the very nutrients of God flow into our life and through us into the lives of others.
This enables the good fruit to be born, the gift of life to those who are hungry for God’s Word and salvation.
The Apostle John, who wrote both our Gospel and Epistle readings today, was dealing with a problem in the First Century of some folks who based their faith on false notions of spirituality.
These people said God would not have truly entered the flesh; Jesus must have been a spirit, according to them.
They said Jesus only “seemed” to be human.
Some people John was dealing with were early Gnostics.
These heretics believed it was through secret ‘knowledge’ that we obtain salvation, and that Jesus only really came to save our souls.
But through the work of the Holy Spirit John saw the lie in all this.
The Apostle knew that if Jesus did not take up our humanity, in all its humanness, He did not save it.
If Jesus did mot truly die on the cross, He didn’t pay for our sins.
But He did die, and rose again.
What John also saw with crystal clarity is that when Jesus took up our humanity, He enabled us to love our fellow human being in a different way.
If Jesus only died to save our spirit or soul, then the suffering of our neighbours is just something to be escaped.
But Jesus did come in the flesh, and that means that my neighbour’s humanity has also been redeemed by Christ and is connected to Him.
When we love others, we are loving Jesus.
We do need to remember, though, that our works and the way we treat our neighbour can become matters of sin.
Thankfully our salvation is not dependent on our works.
As John says, our love, when it truly exists, is actually the very presence of God.
Without God dwelling in us, we’re lost, utterly and completely.
We cannot ‘own’ that love as if it’s ours, without God.
Christ is not ashamed to dwell with us.
He is not tainted by our sin.
His holiness alone renders us forgiven.
Our love is not us earning God’s favour, it is the beautiful evidence of God’s favour proclaimed in our Baptism.
Our love is never perfect.
But Jesus does not call saints, he calls sinners, and makes us saints.
May the love of God abide in You, and may You abide in Him, and express His love to others.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194
(Our Communion Hymn is “The Infant Priest Was Holy Born”) Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201
CLOSING HYMN: 919 “Abide, O Dearest Jesus”
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The Bible Study –
Our readings for Saturday, April 27 are Leviticus 19:1-37 & Luke 11:14-36.
In Leviticus, there is God’s Law.
As Christ said, “. . . until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matt 5:18)
Our Old Testament passage speaks volumes to today’s society: “28 You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.”
We’ve all seen the proliferation of tattoos, and not only among young people.
Note also the prevalence of satanic and occult symbols. This is no accident in a secular culture that’s fallen away from God.
In verse 29 we read: “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity.”
Remember these words when you hear calls to legalize prostitution.
We’ve seen the widespreadpromotion of the occult in books like Harry Potter, as well as films, music and TV shows that focus on demonic manifestations the media calls hauntings.
God’s Word in Leviticus 19:31 clearly instructs us,“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.” (See also Deuteronomy 18:10-11)
We’ve also seen the callous disrespect and disregard of the aged in a consumer culture that only values youth.
Euthanasia, as abortion, is simply murder for convenience.
Instead of better palliative care, the seriously ill aged are increasingly pressured to end their lives by physician assisted suicide.
Yet verse 32 tells us: “You shall stand up before the gray head and honour the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.”
In our Gospel reading, Christ calls the generation He’s speaking to an evil one.
That could be said of every generation since the fall of man.
Jesus calls for us to love our neighbour as ourselves.
As Christians we try, but ultimately all human beings fail to keep God’s Law.
The Law is a curb on evil in society (our criminal codes are based on it), a mirror that shows us our sins, and a guide to the way God would like us to live in relation to Him and one another.
The Law is not a means of self-salvation, but drives us to the relief and sweetness of the saving Gospel.
Jesus tells the crowds an evil generation that looks for “signs” will be given the sign of Jonah.
Indeed, we’ve been given this sign.
As Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish and emerged alive, so our Lord was three days in the tomb, and raised by God the Father in the Resurrection.
Jesus died on the cross paying for our sins and rose for our justification.
Christ has risen. He has risen indeed. Alleluia!
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
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The Bible Study –
Our readings for Thursday, Aoril 25 are Leviticus 17:1-16 & Luke 10:23-42.
In Leviticus, God commands the people to bring their sacrifices directly to the Tent of Meeting.
What’s the reason for this? Our Lord explains to Moses.
Some of the people have been sacrificing animals to demons, and not to God.
The practice must stop, or those people will be cut off from the Lord.
Today, unborn children are murdered, sacrificed to the false ‘gods’ of selfishness, greed, and arrogant disbelief in God and His Word.
If the sin of murder is not repented of, those who commit it will also be cut off from God’s people in Heaven, and be eternally separated from the Lord.
For repentant believers there is forgiveness of sin, paid for by the precious blood of Christ on the cross.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan explains that our neighbour can be the one who appears foreign to us.
Non-believers in this secular world and those who have never learned of Jesus are our neighbours.
They need God’s Word, both Law & Gospel.
They need our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Let us never be too busy to witness to our Redeemer.
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
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THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
April 21, 2024
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMNN: 666 ”O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe”
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Pastor: Halleluiah, Christ is risen!
Congregation: He is risen indeed. Halleluiah!
Confession and Absolution Page 184-185 of our Hymnal
The Verse (from Romans 6:9; John 10:14)
Alleluia. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. Alleluia.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. Alleluia.
The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy)
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Salutation Pastor: The Lord be with you.
Congregation: And also with you.
Collect Prayer:
Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings:
First Reading Acts 4:1-12
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God
Psalm 23 (antiphon: v.6)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Epistle Reading 1st John 3:16-24
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God
Our Gospel Reading John 10:1-18
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
THE APOSTLES’ CREED Page 192
HYMN OF THE DAY: 709 “The King of Love My Shepherd Is”
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THE SERMON
‘Christ, Our Good Shepheard’ –
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, and although I grew up in a city and live in one, I love open space and a chance to see more of what God creates, rather than what man does.
Not having had much experience with farms animals, I thought, at first, it was only a compliment when Jesus called us His sheep.
But having had the chance to speak with people over the years that actually raise sheep, I’ve lost the illusion that this comparison was just a compliment.
So, let’s consider what sheep are actually like, in Biblical times, or today.
Farmers have told me that sheep will take every opportunity to get lost, and get into trouble if you let them.
One farmer told me he had a ram, a male sheep, that liked to butt its head up against things all day long.
The farmer cut large bulk containers in half, and set them up in the pasture so the sheep could have some shelter.
The ram would butt the shelters until the doors became wedged against a fence, trapping the ram inside.
At times, the sheep would become curious and squeeze themselves into the container with the ram and they’d all have to be rescued.
We think of this as funny, until we remember that Jesus is comparing us to this species.
A second thing about sheep is that they’re about the most helpless creatures on the farm.
Under the right conditions a lamb can get turned over on its back and not be able to get up.
This can be fatal.
If the shepherd doesn't help the sheep, it may die.
Sheep are trouble on the hoof.
They need constant supervision.
And without a shepherd they are simply lost, and vulnerable to wolves.
So, the natural question becomes: is Jesus being too harsh when He says we’re like sheep?
Well, let’s look at the human race.
If we all worked together, we could probably solve many of the problems we face.
Instead, we war against one other, individually or in groups.
We try to make ourselves look good, by making others look bad.
Personal rivalries and conflicts threaten our families and workplaces.
The more we consider the human race, the more obvious it is that our everyday problems are usually those of our own making.
And what about our helplessness?
Well, there are times when we’re laid off from work, or a bad test score comes back.
There are times when a husband or wife will say, "I want a divorce."
Or maybe the doctor reveals a serious, even fatal disease.
You get the idea.
These are the moments in our lives when we realize just how genuinely helpless we are, like a lamb on its back.
So, what is the problem?
Why do human beings behave the way we do?
The problem is sin.
We inherited the condition from our first parents.
Sin has been with us since the serpent tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.
When we doubt this the Ten Commandments and our daily newscasts remind us it’s true.
And we would be lost forever unless some power outside us, delivered us from sin, death, and eternal separation from God.
Just as sheep need a shepherd, we need a Saviour.
But many around us wants us to think that any ‘god,’ even those of our own making, can protect and care for us.
Yet contrary to what the world tells us, Jesus said, "He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep."
Here our English translations of the Bible aren’t harsh enough in describing the “hired hand.”
The original Greek of the Gospel of John says the hired hand actually ‘offers up’ the sheep in the hope the wolf will attack the sheep, and leave him alone.
The hired hand will sacrifice the sheep to save himself.
There are many hired hands, false teachers, in the world today who want us to follow them.
Some deny the Bible is the true Word of God.
Others question the divinity of Jesus.
Many talk about Christ, but see Him as a life coach or emotional therapist.
One sign of these hired hands is that they only speak of what we should do.
And that’s because in the end, they expect us to save ourselves.
But when sin, death, and the devil come for us as wolves come for sheep, we don't need a therapist or life coach.
We need a Saviour.
The true Jesus is the One who laid down His life for you, and me.
The true Christ is the risen Saviour who says to Thomas in John 20:27:
"Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe."
The marks of the true Christ are the marks of the cross.
Any other Messiah is false.
The Good Shepherd doesn’t tell us, "Do your best, and I’ll do the rest."
Jesus doesn’t say that salvation is a ‘joint,’ collaborative effort.
Luckily, for us, Jesus did it all with His innocent suffering and death at Calvary.
He made the complete and final payment for sin we could not.
Any teacher who doesn’t point to Christ, the cross and the empty tomb, is a hired hand, who will sacrifice the sheep to his master, the wolf.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day didn’t like being called sheep, no less wolves.
When we look around, not much has changed.
The danger of false teachers and bad theology remains.
The wolves are still out there.
Yet we know the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and we know that in John 14, verse 6 Jesus told us:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
As Lutheran Christians we know that both God’s Law and the saving Gospel apply to us, yet each with a different purpose.
The Law is a curb on evil, and a mirror that shows us our sins.
It’s a guide to how God would like us to live.
But the Gospel shows us our Saviour.
The law convicts, and convinces us we can’t save ourselves.
The Gospel gives us the merciful assurance of salvation through Christ who clearly tells us:
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Christ is the one Shepherd and the one gate to Heaven.
In the time of Jesus, shepherds led their flocks rather than drive them from behind.
Sheep would recognize the voice of the shepherd and respond to his call.
Today, Christ calls us by His Word.
As sheep follow their shepherd, so those drawn to Jesus by the Father follow our Saviour.
Jesus, who was both true God, and true man, laid down His life when He allowed mortal, sinful men to nail Him to a cross to pay for our sins, the sins of each and every one of us.
On that cross, He cried out in victory, "It is finished!" And it is.
Salvation for believers is sealed, because the Good Shepherd suffered the punishment we deserved.
And we receive this precious gift by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.
Not only did He lay His life down, but, when the time was right, He took it up again.
Christ promises eternal salvation to those who believe that, who trust in Him.
And faith, itself, is a free gift from God, worked within us by the Holy Spirit, using the means of grace, God’s Word and His Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
So, when you feel lost, and helpless, when you’re on your back and the wolves are circling, remember you are not alone, you have a protector, a Good Shepherd.
His name is Jesus Christ.
He knows and calls you by name with a heart full of mercy and love for you, His sheep.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
THE SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT
P: Blessed are You O Lord, our God, king of the universe, for you have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
C: We give You thanks Father for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully take communion and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come from the body and blood of Christ.
P: Father, hear us as we pray as Jesus taught us.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
C: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Preface
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P: It is truly meet, right, and salutary, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to you, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and Everlasting God.
For in the mystery of the Word made flesh, You have given us a new revelation of Your glory; that seeing You in the Person of Your Son, we may be drawn to the love of those things which are not seen.
The Words of Our Saviour Instituting The Lord’s Supper
P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C: Amen.
Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)
P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,
C: Have mercy on us.
P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,
C: Have mercy on us.
P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,
C: Grant us peace.
The Distribution
(Our hymn during distribution is 636 “Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness”)
Post Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 218 of our Hymnal
Benedicamus and Benediction (stand) Page 218
OUR CLOSING HYMN: 846 “Your Hand, O Lord, in Days of Old”
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