Concordia Evangelical Lutheran Church
The M3 - The Morning Morning Mail: A recap of Sunday to live Monday through Saturday!
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The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany - February 9, 2025.
It's Not about You but Christ for You
The sermon's theme was It's not about You but Christ for You. I retold the Biblical account of King David and Bathsheeba from 2 Samuel 11. You may hear and see it here, starting at 29:45 on the timeline of the video. The point of the retelling of this story was to get caught up into its plot and connect with some of the poor choices King David makes. He plans his sin very deliberately, summoning Bathsheeba. We do the same–we plan our sins. He commits the sin of adultery willingly. We sin willingly, too. Then, he tries to cover up the sin, by summoning Bathsheeba's husband Uriah from the battlefront to the king's palace and encouraging him to sleep with his wife. Loyal to his King, Uriah refuses to go to her, lying outside the palace instead. So, King David devises a more drastic coverup, sending Uriah back to the battle with a letter to the commander of the troops, Joab, to put him at the front of the battle. In the end Uriah is killed in the battle. King David covers up his sin. We do the same!
Ultimately, King David abuses all the gifts YHWH had given him, even though he was specially chosen. Rather than faithfully using the gifts YHWH gives him, he inulges himself wotj them: abusing his power as king to commit adultery with Bathsheeba. The Apostle Paul encourages just the opposite in the Epistle 1 Corinthians 14:17: "For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up." He is talking about speaking in tongues. The people in Corinth wanted to show that they were more spiritual than someone else. Like King David, they were abusing the gifts of God by using them for themselves–not their neighbors.
Application: Being a Christian means the Holy Spirit is always turining us inside-out, so that we love our neighbors more than ourselves. Husbands love their wives more than themselves. Wives love their husbands more than themselves. You get the idea. The point is straightforwards: God gives us gifts to love our neighbors, not ourselves!
The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany - February 2, 2025
We welcomed Kathy Vukoder into our fellowship, thanking God for his work in her life and reminding us that He is still at work to gather people into His kingdom amongst us!
The sermon’s theme was Jesus, Our Refuge. I provided an extended example of what it means to be a refugee seeking refuge. I recounted much of the work I did at my vicarage congregation, Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church. It involved welcoming Christians from South Sudan who had fled their home through Kenya, eventually seeking refuge in The United States of America. The refugees came to Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church literally with nothing but the clothes on their back. The people of Mount Olivet graciously welcomed them, helped them, and provided for them, tapping into their long congregational and personal histories as African Americans who viscerally understood many of the feelings and struggles of the Sudanese refugees. It was truly a “God-Moment,” something totally driven by God and His grace.
I made the comparison that this experience between Mt. Olivet and the Sudanese Christians is much like ours as Christians. We are refugees who bring nothing to Jesus—not even clothes on our backs. Yet, God welcomes us, becoming our refuge in life. The whole sermon evolved from the first verse of the Psalm for the day: "In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame" (Ps 71:1)! To have shame here would mean literally having nothing. In Christ, though, we have everything that we need. Remember what the Apostle Paul says, "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (2 Co 1:20).
Application: When you are at your “wits end,” “the end of your rope,” or find yourself saying, “I’m done,” this week, remember Jesus is your refuge. Take a moment, pause, and meditate on what He does for you: gives you the breath of life, claims you as his beloved child in your baptism, and through the Lord’s Supper dwells within you to forgive you and give you life forevermore! Jesus is your perfect refuge
Prayer: LORD, you are our refuge for all time. Forgive us when we seek shelter someplace else. By your Spirit always lead us back to you that we know your peace! Amen
The Third Sunday after Epiphany - January 26, 2025
Welcome to your third Monday Morning Mail (The M3), an attempt to double-down on what was proclaimed from the Word of God yesterday—remembering and applying it in our life together as God’s people.
The Three-Year Lectionary provided the readings Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-32; and Luke 4:16-30. I offered the theme The Word of God to tie together all the readings, focusing especially on Nehemiah, 1 Corinthians, and Luke.
In Nehemiah the Jews returning to Jerusalem after several generations under Assyrian and Babylonia Captivity come under the new king of Persia, Cyrus, who began his reign in 539. Nehemiah receives a message at the court of King Artaxerxes from Hanani who has rushed back to Persia from Jerusalem to tell Nehemiah the dreadful state of Jerusalem—YHWH’s dwelling place (Jeru-YHWH and -salem-peace). YHWH’s peace had long been gone from Jerusalem but the state of Jerusalem as Hanani describes it moves Nehemiah to go see himself. He inspects the walls of the city literally day and night, eventually summoning Jews from its surroundings to return to Jerusalem to help rebuild the walls. Our reading described a pause in that effort so that the Jews could hear the Torah read by Ezra the Priest. Ezra read from morning until noon and the people listened, bowing down and praising YHWH. God's Word was reestablishing the Jews and reestablishes us!
In 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul writes to one of his most complicated congregations. The Corinthians were eager to receive the gospel, but its metropolitan aura often made it difficult to let go of sinful ways—fighting, betrayal, unfaithfulness, idolatry. The Apostle Paul reminds them of who they are in Christ and what he has given them—his very Body and Blood. Of course, they were not at the Jesus’ final Passover with his Apostles, but they receive both through and by the power of God’s Word (1Co 11). God’s Word gives Jesus, unites his people in who he is, and equips them to live differently as the church, people called out of the world (ec—out and clesaia—called out). God's Word was equipping the Corinthians Christians and equips us!
In Luke 4:16-30 Jesus reads in the synagogue from the prophet Isaiah, and tells those who hear that what they are hearing is, indeed, fulfilled by him. In other words, Jesus fulfills the entire Old Testament—its promises, hopes, future, etc. Luke records that people in the synagogue rose up against him and sought to throw him over the cliff of the city but Jesus passed through them. Because Jesus is the Word of God incarnate, I proclaimed that, although, many times we try to establish ourselves by any means other than the Word and we often resist the equipping of the Word by the Holy Spirit, He forgives us and continues to work in and through us! It is this promise that keeps us coming back for more—more Jesus. That’s what church is all about!
God’s Word reestablishes us every day as we remember its promise to forgive and make us his people. God’s Word equips to live out our vocations, living grace fully with the people he places in our lives. Jesus is the Word of God incarnate, as John so poignantly tell us in his opening lines from his first epistle:
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1Jn 1:1-4)
The Second Sunday after Epiphany - January 19, 2025
In some professional sports, schedules include a “Preseason” time when teams make their way to the regular season by playing new players, giving players coming off injuries time to restart, working on new plays, and, in general, reengaging the sport after an extended time off. Let’s call it a warmup.
Last week I announced The M3—Monday Morning Mail—a Monday morning recount of what was emphasized in Sunday’s Divine Service. Alas, we are in a Preseason warmup for The M3, as I did not send out what I said I would. I’m sorry.
So, do you remember last Sunday’s main theme? I showed several images, but three focused in on the point: an image of Crazy Tony’s Bar in Guernsey, Wyoming, an image of a painting of the woman caught in adultery, and an image of a painting depicting the Good Samaritan. The theme: The Advocate. It is based on the first verse from the Isaiah 63 passage that we read: "For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, … .” My Uncle Steve was my advocate in ensuring that I could stay in the bar, even though I was only about 7 years old. The Bible tells us that Jesus is our advocate before the father (cf. 1Jn 2:1), which is graphically depicted in the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the parable Jesus is the Good Samaritan, who comes to heal sinners—you and me. He is our advocate!
Sometimes, I end the sermon before I conclude the image slides for the sermon. Last week was such a case. In the last slide, I had an image of mirror, to encourage us to look in the mirror and encourage us to ask the question, “For whom am I an advocate as a Christian?” More specifically, how do we advocate for those who don’t know Jesus. Do we tell them about Jesus and His Story of Everything? It’s hard these days to do so. People are extra sensitive to having something “pushed” onto them. Yet, Jesus himself gives us the mandate to tell everyone (Mt. 28:19ff).
Have we advocated for anyone this week who knows not the Lord Jesus? The traditional Bidding Prayer for Lessons and Carols includes the following petition, which I love:
“And because this of all things would rejoice his heart, let us at this time remember in his name the poor and helpless,
the cold and the hungry,
the abused, the exploited, the hated, and the oppressed;
the Sick in body and in mind and them that mourn;
the isolated, the lonely and the unloved;
the elderly and the little children;
all who know not the Lord Jesus,
or who love him not,
or who by sin have grieved his heart of love.
All In!
The Baptism of our Lord - January 12, 2025
The Sermon - Yesterday I preached on how difficult it is for us as sinners to be all in. I offered examples through images: 1) in the batter’s box; 2) a game-winning, overtime goal in the 2014 Winter Olympics; 3) serving on a jury; 4) getting married; and 5) having a baby. Each example highlights aspects of how hard it is to be all in.
Then, I shifted to Jesus. In his baptism, Jesus shows that he is all in to saving his creation. The Holy Spirit descends on him and God the Father says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Translation: Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God’s Old Testament prophecies—the final Son of Israel who saves creation!
Following Jesus - Start simply but profoundly. Pray. Resolve to pray daily. Even Jesus the Son of God prays—it’s right there in the Gospel reading, Cf. Luke 3:21. Need help to pray? Try this basic rubric/formula:
Address God - "Loving Savior…"
Recall something you know from the Bible about God that relates to how you have addressed him - “… you knelt down and talked to the woman at the well."
Make your request - "Be present with my son who is overwhelmed with life right now, …"
State your hope for the request - “… so that he may enjoy the people in his life and recognize that they are also gifts from you.