Godliness by Grace

Godliness By Grace

Second Midweek Advent Service

Opening Hymn #333

Once He Came In Blessing

Vespers Service p.229

Psalm 50:1-15

Office Hymn #338

Come Thou Long

Expected Jesus

Readings p.230

Titus 2:11-15

Luke 2:8-15

Responsory p.230

Sermon

Trained by Saving Grace

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

The Holy Spirit has written: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.  Thus far the text.

Let us pray:  Gracious Father, who by grace brings salvation that has appeared to all men, grant us to live Godly lives in the present age; in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

That first Christmas night, shepherds - living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock - saw the angel of the Lord stand before them.  And they were not just afraid; they were greatly afraid.

The glory of the Lord does cause fear.

Hidden sins come to out of the darkness.  Hidden sins are brought into the Light when the glory of the Lord shines on sinners.  Exposed sin causes fear. And rightly so.

Thanks be to God, the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.”  There is no hiding from God.  So thanks be to God that He came to those shepherd by grace.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  To the shepherd.  To all people. Even to you.  You live in this grace of God by faith in the Holy Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.  And that grace teaches us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and Godly in the present age while we wait patiently for the second coming of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

How is that done?  How do sinners live Godly lives? How do you live a Godly life?

First, believe in Jesus.  He is your salvation. He appears to you in the hearing of His Gospel which give you faith.  Gives you the forgiveness of your sins. Yes, you are a sinner but by the forgiveness of your sins in Jesus, you have peace.  You have a good conscience before God and man. If you don’t trust Jesus; if you don’t trust that He alone is willing to save you and can save you from sin; then turn away from your unbelief and trust Jesus again.  Your sins are forgiven. Don’t be afraid.

Second, this grace of God that brings salvation, teaches you to begin living a God life in the present age.  A Godly life is a life that doesn’t hurt others.  A Godly life is a life that doesn’t take from others.

For example, the patriarch Joseph.  The one with the coat of many colors.  The one thrown in a well by his brothers; the one sold as a slave in Egypt.

Joseph believe in Jesus.  He learned Godliness in Potiphar’s house.  Potiphar trusted Joseph to care for whole household.  His money and his wife. Potiphar’s wife was ungodly. She advanced on Joseph and Joseph ran out of the house.  Thrown in jail by a disappointed Potiphar - but not put to death.

Joseph believed in Jesus.  He learned Godliness in prison.  He was a model inmate and he even helped the jailers manage the prison.  Interpreting dreams, too. For several years.

Joseph believed in Jesus.  He learned Godliness in Pharaoh’s court.  Pharaoh didn’t trust Jesus but he trusted Joseph to care for all Egypt through a seven year drought.  Many lives were saved by Joseph who, although he couldn’t save himself, trusted Jesus who can and wants to save all people.

Joseph’s Godliness was a fruit of faith in Jesus.  His Godliness was learned in the midst of great trials and over many years.  And then one day, the Lord reunited Joseph with his father Jacob and even his brothers.

That Godly man even showed kindness to his brothers who meant him harm so many years before.

That Godly man desired to see the day of the promised Babe, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.  Joseph desired to hear the angel voices sing Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men!

But you have God’s testimony.  You believe in Jesus. You continue to be trained by the grace of God for living Godly lives in this present age even as you patiently wait for the second coming of your God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem you from every evil and make you His own special people.

Let no one despise you, for your faith or for your learning Godliness.

Come quickly Lord Jesus.  Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Canticle p.231

Prayer p.233

Benedicamus p.234

Benediction p.234

Closing Hymn #880

Now Rest Beneath Night’s Shadow

Justification Is Clear

The Order of Matins

Lutheran Service Book (LSB)

The Order of Matins p. 219

The Psalmody p.220

The Reading Jude 1-25  

The Responsory p. 221

The Catechetical Instruction

The doctrine of the goals and effects of justification is clear and easy, but it is useful and necessary to repeat it at this point in our study of justification, for several important reasons. 1. That justification is received by faith should serve as a constant warning regarding the end or goal of the doctrine of justification, so that we do not misuse this teaching in order to cultivate or confirm licentiousness, as the Epistle of Jude admonishes in v. 4: “transposing or transferring or perverting the grace of God into licentiousness.” 2. Just as we have a uniting of causes and effects in nature, so when we have the causes for our justification, we should have no doubt concerning the effects, namely salvation and eternal life. 3. That believers might know how to perform good works; and so that they will not seek a pretext to avoid doing them, Scripture says that renewal is an effect or result of justification. 4. Christ says in Matt. 7:16–20 that we are to judge a tree by its fruits. Paul in 2 Cor. 13:5 says: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are holding to your faith”; cf. 2 Peter 1:10: “Make your calling sure.” We judge the cause by the effects. 5. This distinction between causes and effects is also useful for showing that sanctification or renewal is to be distinguished from justification, and that the new obedience is not a cause or an essential part of our justification, because it is an effect or a result. 6. By means of this distinction we can also answer the difficult question: When the believing heart in its trials feels no joy, peace, or happiness, is faith at that time, when it lays hold on Christ in the promise and tries to sustain itself with comfort, able to determine that it has the true righteousness unto life eternal? There is a difference between the causes, or the form of our righteousness before God and its effects. When the form or formal cause of our righteousness has been established, as described above, then faith ought to be assured of the acceptance of our person before God, unless it wants to make Him a liar. Indeed, the effects show the cause, and when the effects cease, then we may conclude that the cause does not actually exist either.

In the case of our justification, which is the full and perfect acceptance of the believer unto eternal life, certain effects in our life, such as the new obedience, follow rather slowly because of the weakness of our flesh. Some effects follow the way Scripture says, 2 Cor. 5:7: “We walk by faith and not by sight.” Likewise Rom. 4:18: “In hope he believed against hope.” Col. 3:3: “Our life is hidden with Christ in God”; Ps. 31:19: “You have laid up good things for those who fear You.”

Martin Chemnitz and Jacob A. O. Preus, Loci Theologici, electronic ed. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 555.

The Canticle - Te Deum  p.223

The Prayer p. 227

Benedicamus p. 228

Benediction      

My Word Won’t Pass Away

My Word Will Not Pass Away

My Word Will Not Pass Away is the title of this Sunday’s sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent. The theme is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The signs are among us. The heavens will shake. The nations will be distressed. Unbelief sees these as normal, but God has given them for our comfort so that you know He is near at the Last Day is at hand. Faith in Jesus responds, Thy kingdom come & Come quickly Lord Jesus..

Divine Service

Lutheran Service Book (LSB) hymnal

Opening Hymn  350 Come , Thou Precious Ransom, Come

Confession Absolution

Invocation p. 184

The Confession of Sins

The Absolution

The Psalm 50:1-15

The Gloria Patri

The Service of the Word p.186

The Kyrie p. 186

The Salutation and Collect p. 189

First Reading Malachi 4:1-6 The Great Day of the Lord

Epistle Romans 15:4-13 Exhortation to Bear with the Weak

Gospel Luke 21:25-36 The Coming of the Son of Man         

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!

Praise be to Thee, O Christ!

The Nicene Creed p. 191

Hymn of the Day #336 Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending

The Sermon

The Offertory p. 192

Prayer of the Church

The Service of the Sacrament p.194

Preface

Sanctus p. 195

The Lord’s Prayer p. 196

The Words of Our Lord p. 197

The Pax Domini

The Agnus Dei p. 198

Distribution

Distribution Hymn 618 I Come, O Savior, to Thy Table

Distribution Hymn 355 O Savior, Rend the Heavens Wide

Distribution Hymn 354 Arise, O Christian People

Distribution Hymn 346 When All the World Was Cursed

The Nunc Dimittis p. 199

The Thanksgiving p. 200

The Salutation

The Benedicamus p. 201

The Benediction p 202

Closing Hymn 454 Sing My Tongue The Glorious Battle

December 9-10, 2018

Second Sunday in Advent

Luke 21:25-36

Title: My Word will not pass away

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

The Lord has spoken and His evangelist has written:  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.  Thus far the text.

Let us pray: Almighty Lord, who has promised that even though heaven and earth will pass away, His words will not.  O Lord keep us in Your Word that we not perish; in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus will return bodily and everybody will see Him.  Whether you believe in Jesus or not, you will see Jesus, true God begotten of the Father from eternity, and true man born of the Virgin Mary.  You will see God in the flesh, who is Jesus.

And you pray, “Thy Kingdom Come”

It is Jesus who is preaching a fire and brimstone sermon.  Why? To scare you into the Christian faith? No. To force unbelievers in the Christian faith?  No. They why?

Jesus preaches to comfort you who already believe in Him.

Comfort?  Yes, Jesus is showing you the signs to point to the nearness of His second coming so that you will be comforted with the knowledge that Jesus is coming soon.  So that you may sincerely pray. So that you may rejoice in the nearness of the Last Day.

There are two kinds of signs God gives announcing Jesus Christ’s Second Coming.

The world will laugh at the signs because they seem so ordinary.  But Your Father has given them as signs for your comport.

The Shaking of the Heavens

Our Father will shake all He made in those first six days of creation.

The Sun will dim. And you pray, Thy kingdom come

The moon will eclipse.   And you pray, Thy kingdom come.

The stars will shoot as even you have seen shooting stars from time to time;  the waters will hurricane; the winds will tornado; the animals will go extinct.  And you pray, Thy kingdom coming rejoicing that your Savior is nearer now than when you first believed.

The unbelievers laugh signs of Christ’s Second Coming because they are so normal.  Yes, they are normal. They are also mini-judgements as a prelude to the final judgement. BUT for you who believe in Jesus, it is meant for your comfort because you know your Savior is nearer now that when you first believed.

The Distress of Nations

Our Father will shake nations and governments.

Riots will erupt. And you pray, Thy kingdom come.

Wars will be rumored. And you pray, Thy kingdom come.

Buildings will be bombed; wars will flash and long endure; revolutions will rise and governments will fall; and you pray, Thy kingdom come.

The unbelievers will laugh at theses signs of Jesus Christ’s Second Coming and the End of Days.  The unbelievers will laugh because these signs are happening all the time.

Yes, they are normal from our experience but they are the signs of the End.  And you know that your Savior is nearer now than when you first believed. This is your comfort.

If you are not comforted by the increased frequency of these signs, well, then you may have found your repentance for today!

Stop praying Thy kingdom come from lack of faith meaning in your heart you are saying, ‘Lord, stop shaking the heavens and stop distressing the nations.’  When what your really mean is, ‘Lord, I don’t want Your Kingdom to come; Lord, my life would be perfect except that You keep shaking the heavens and distressing the nations; Lord, let me live in this fallen creation forever - except without all the problems You cause by shaking the heavens and distressing the nations.

Stop praying with a double-mind.  Repent this Advent Season and believe again that even though this heaven and this earth be rolled up and burned in a lake of fire with all the demons and unbelievers.

Rather, His Word will never pass away which mean you will never pass away; you will in no way be harmed.

Your Creator Father wants all to believe in His Son Jesus and come into His Kingdom.  This is why He has given you to pray, ‘Thy kingdom come.”

What does this mean?  God’s kingdom comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.  So lift up your heads and see the signs increasing. God is shaking the heavens so when you see eclipses, and hurricanes, and tornadoes, and such occurring anywhere in the world, be comforted that the Lord has not forgotten to return to you.  God is distressing the nations, so when you see riots and revolutions and bombings and wars, lift up your heads and be comforted that the Lord is coming and bringing you into His kingdom.

How does God’s kingdom come?  God’s kingdom comes when our Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and we lead godly lives - here in time and there in eternity.

Repent from your fears and believe in Jesus; in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The Armor of Light

The Armor of Light

The Armor of Light

First Midweek In Advent

December 5, 2018

Romans 13:8-14

The Armor of Light

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

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

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

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

It is natural to sleep at night.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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