Sermon in ElkRiver 03.06.2012

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, let us all join in thanksgiving and prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, we come near to you this morning hour and ask for your presence in our service. We come with thanksgiving for all goodness that you have granted unto us, that you have protected us through the night. And above all, that you continue to keep us as your children in this kingdom.

We thank you for that wonderful hope of everlasting life in heaven together with you. And we thank you that former saints, believers who have believed before, have been able to attain that rest and wait for that wonderful, wonderful day when your Son comes the second time and will call all your own home where they belong in heaven's glory.

Father, we ask that you would be near to those who are grieving in loss of their loved one. Bless them and keep them.

Father, we ask that you would open your word this morning, this day, wherever it's spoken, so that your word could yet reach people who are not partakers of this grace. Open their hearts to hear and believe.

And we ask that you would be near to those who are grieving in loss of their loved one. Bless them and keep them.

And we ask that you would be near to those who are grieving in loss of their loved one, so that they also can have that hope for everlasting life, so that they also can be in the fellowship of your dear children here on earth, already in your grace kingdom that you have lowered here on earth.

And we also ask that you would strengthen all of us who are on this pathway but feel that the attacks of the enemy, the impacts of our own flesh, and the pull of this world come so close and are so strong that we sometimes fear, will I make it to destination?

Father, we ask that you would strengthen us.

And this morning hour, we remember all those who are not able to be here together with us, whatever their stage of life may be. Comfort them in their sorrows, if there is sorrow. Help them in their pain, if there is pain. Above all, grant them assurance like you.

We ask that you give us assurance that we yet are your children, and we yet can believe of your grace.

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 have trespassed 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.

In Jesus' name, we will read from a letter that former Saint Paul wrote to his dear brothers and sisters in Philippi. This was during the time when Paul himself was likely held in captivity in Rome, and he wanted to send a letter of thanks to those brothers and sisters who had received the message of the Gospel.

And moved by that, they had begun a life of believers. And this letter has many thanks for Philippians, for even many, many donations they had made. And this letter tells how Philippians had sent somebody to deliver goods, or deliver funds from Paul during his stay.

So this letter is in many ways thanks, and thanks to the people of the world, but in many ways encouragement, exhortation, that no matter what people in Philippi may have experienced and felt in their present time, that they would yet be in that faith that they had begotten, they would yet remain in that love and in that joy of a believer.

From first chapter, beginning from verse 4. Excuse me, from 4th chapter, beginning from verse 4.

Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

I'd like to first bring greetings of brothers and sisters that I had a chance to meet and visit with and serve them in a camp, singles camp in Washington, Orcas Island. There were lots of people from the west coast, and also quite a few from here in Minnesota and other places.

It was, in a way, quite refreshing to be there and meet with single people who certainly live a little different stage of life, when without a spouse and without kids, and without a family.

God blessed our camp. We could experience that the Spirit of God, which is Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Comfort, also Spirit of Joy, was with us. And many of the discussions during the time of discussion of wherever we were, were in many ways encouraging.

And that's how it is when we get together. It's again a season for camps. We're fortunate to have these times when we get together and we can experience how God helps us on this journey to our dear brothers and sisters.

And He, it's in a way miraculous that it yet is true that when Jesus said, where two or three are gathered in My name, there I will be with you. We experience and feel it.

And we are glad that God, through His Spirit, continues to guide the life of believers in our gatherings.

Many people there very personally wish to send their greetings and with my memory, I probably remember, well, less than half, so I want to bring, in general, greetings from brothers and sisters here.

As I sat down this morning and I was, I realized, again, that our dear brother has passed away. He's saying, you know, I have a very good memory. And it's a memory.

And I began to doubt the text that I had, I had found in the morning because it talks about rejoicing. But, we know it's all sorrow, all missing, and I can see, and I can see, and I can see, our brother certainly is rejoicing. He will one day be calmed.

Eternal hope for there is no end to joy.

Our lives here are in many ways as lives of believers walked through times where we experience happy days and we experience days that aren't so happy. We experience days when we can abundantly feel the blessings of God.

Yet we experience days when that blessing of God is disguised in despair and difficulty.

Throughout all our days, God is with us. God is with every child of God.

Jesus gives us such an easy picture to understand. When He says all of us have some hair. Some more, some less. And Jesus said not even a hair will fall without your Father knowing.

God knows what is happening in our life. God is with us.

And in the scriptures in many, many, many places. And there is probably a need for it because as humans we tend to get into despair and lose the sight of hope that God for instance.

The scriptures give us exhortation to not worry so much. In this instance Paul writes to Philippians he later says be careful for nothing. The Finnish translation says be not sorrowful.

Yes, we care. Yes, we make plans. Yes, we want to. Things go in a good way. But the scriptures give us comfort.

There are many things in our lives that we really have no control. That's why the scriptures tell us put our trust in God.

Do everything we can in our own mind. But not put our trust in God. And not to put our trust in our own self. In our own merits. But in God. Because He has promised to be with His own.

Paul exhorts Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

That's the moderation that we can experience in God's kingdom. In many ways.

When we look at our ways, our life, it's in many ways quite moderate. It's a good thing it is so.

The Lord is at hand. The Lord is at hand. Even the world can see it. There's something different in that moderation of that group of believers.

But even more than that, the Lord is at hand. The Lord is with us. The Lord is here through the Spirit.

Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known unto God.

God who already knows our needs. He exists in His revelation of the Scripture. That you can turn to me in any days, any times of our lives.

May they be happy. May they be full of triumph. God is near us. He has promised us. That He hears our prayers.

There are many many things that might bring anxiety and fear into our own lives. We always can turn to our Heavenly Father for help.

Reg interes te tu. And we to touch Him under the flames. Irma Stel debido a continuación.

And Paul writes elsewhere, pray without ceasing.

Luther says that prayer is almost as needful or necessary to a human as breathing, or air for breathing. Such a close connection Martin Luther saw with prayer and our faith.

This is the reason why scriptures exhort us and tell us pray without ceasing. Do not cease to send your prayers to our Heavenly Father.

I know I'm a bad prayer. I often forget. Certainly at the time when distress is great, I remember it. But we often pray without ceasing.

We always can turn to our Heavenly Father.

You boys and girls, you might wonder what can I pray? There are some prayers that we learn Sunday school and Bible class.

You can pray to God. A loving God, Heavenly Father, will hear all your prayers.

Any matter of your life, that you may have a concern of. Any half the things in your life that you want to share with God, you can turn to Heavenly Father.

And sometimes, many times, you can turn to your Heavenly Father silently, even in your thoughts, sending a quiet prayer to your Heavenly Father.

And the scripture says, even a fly comes with a scream to our Heavenly Father's ears. He's so close. He is so great.

He is the Almighty God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, as we say in the Creed.

But at the same time, in His love and in His grace, He wants to be so close that every one of us can turn to Him with the matters of our very own life.

We also have an opportunity to come night into God in prayer on behalf of our brothers and sisters, or our friends, or anyone, for any matters in our life.

Brothers and sisters, boys and girls, dear young ones, mothers and fathers, you older people and elderly, we all can turn to our Heavenly Father and say, Amen.

Our Heavenly Father. In prayer. And He will do it.

Paul says, be careful for nothing, but be not sorrowful. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, prayer and request, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God.

That is what the Scripture exhorts us unto.

Part of acknowledging that we have one God who is Almighty is realizing our own lackings, our own limits.

And when we turn to Him, we realize we are weak, and we are incapable to many things.

But He is great, and He is mighty.

Brothers and sisters, let's trust in that.

And in our churches it is often said själ MailBC says the Ap Heavenor of profundity is ever strong as more of the glove better overwhelmed.

He is vam Nothing around Him. Nor is He a Cook in the cup of aACCA if movement of rebirths is not easy.

We have nothing but a forgetful tiny trick.

O LINH BUa aA상 of God. he is together with us, and His truth within us.

He seems simple.

And today keep bringing us to God.

Explain the creed which talks about our God he starts and you you know and some of you remember that in the large catechism is the creed comes right after the explanations of ten commandments.

Luther says that now that we have first gone through what God in his word how he shows what he wants us to do and what he wants us to not do, now we turn to learning who he is and what he has granted as a gift and that's what the creed talks about.

Creed as we recite it I don't think it's written in the Bible later on believers and church a Christian church in many ways, state church in other places have to come up and put into little and short description what is it that we believe in and it's the apostles creed that we recite over time.

Time has developed and Luther tells that earlier on there were twelve main things that were included in the creed but then Luther said there is so much that pertains to faith that even those twelve things would not completely cover it but so it is the scriptures is full of points of view and things that we can view of faith and of God.

Jesus meant Jesus meant and telling his examples gave us very very pictures that we could see and we could relate to with our human mind also and they are just stories and examples that reveal something of the hidden God and his kingdom.

But Luther goes on and continues that the creed as it is now and as it was at his time talks of really the three main things.

I believe in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth.

It takes trust and faith to always remember indeed God is Father and God He is almighty in nature we see He is almighty in our own life maker of heaven and earth so simply we believe God created the heaven and earth that's what his own word tells us no matter what anyone else says God's word is the highest authority for us.

Second of the triune God now that God who is the creator there is need for a redeemer because man fell into sin and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried he descended into hell the third day he rose again from the dead he ascended into heaven and seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty from then she shall come to judge the quick and the dead but actually the quick and the dead but actually the quick and the dead but actually the comfort it is for us who are here bound to this earth bound to our own infirmities bound to our own body that will one day see its last day of life that our Lord the Savior Jesus Christ has risen from the dead he has ascended into heaven and he does sin and he does not sin and he does not sin at the right hand of God and he certainly will come to judge the quick and the dead alas day our faith is in triune God.

There would be many alternatives in today's world but we are not what do we believe in and of course we have in many ways we have sometimes it's a very casual saying somebody says have faith over certain things maybe well comes to mind a recent fishing trip we were going out and fish was not coming and brother said have faith it's going to come soon well we are going to have faith and we are going to have faith and we are going to have faith requires a little bit longer time of faith but in the end he caught.

We have faith on something in this time that we want to have trust we have faith in our spouse very important we have faith in many things not trust but we have faith.

But nothing can replace God.

We may have faith in, or we may have trust in many things.

We buy insurance for our houses and for our cars so that everything can cover.

We trust in a lot of things in this world.

Somebody trusts in certain type of medication.

Somebody trusts in more financial career.

Somebody trusts in having a lot of money in the bank account.

And as people, of course we can say that in one way or other we have trust in these things.

When it becomes dangerous if anything, that if we have trust in this time, we have more trust than what we have in God and in His almighty power.

We so simply believe, brothers and sisters, that God is almighty.

And in every choice of our life, in the end, we leave it in the hand of God.

We leave it in the hand of God.

So it is.

We do and try.

God directs and leads.

God makes things happen.

And in today's world, there certainly is much alternative in what we believe, even with regard to everlasting life.

And in every life, there is a way to live.

Some may find the true being out in the nature.

They found kind kinship to the spirit of the nature.

In this day when so much knowledge is in a way accumulated.

There is some people believe in science, that it can explain everything.

That those experiments that are done, that are using models, are the word of God, where they are not.

Word of God is the highest authority in our life.

It is the highest authority in our life.

And many times it comes in a very, very old-fashioned form.

The same old.

Really the same old.

We preach the word of God like it has been preached for thousands of years.

Because God doesn't change His word.

God doesn't change His promises.

God doesn't change the direction that He has established and He has promised.

And shown and revealed Himself as He has in the scriptures.

Third in triune God, the Holy Ghost.

I believe in the Holy Ghost.

And as part of that, we also believe the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the Holy Spirit.

We believe that affected by the Holy Spirit, here in this earth, there is Holy Christian Church.

Assembly of saints, brothers and sisters, we are the most fortunate of all people to personally belong to that Holy Christian Church, the assembly of saints.

And I believe that Holy Christian Church is truly the source and centurion.

And Lord loves it even more than all other Christian Churches are.

Come to find out how He works in many different ways, each and every day.

The Holy Church tells us then why He was given to be the Holy etwas, because He was given to be the Holy Jesus Christ, an distributer of who He was.

And so that's what we say in the creed I believe in the Holy Ghost the Holy Christian Church the communion of saints.

We also certainly believe the forgiveness of sins through that.

If there is one today who is wondering that Triune God is calling me how is it that I can enter in we want to encourage you from the kingdom of God.

This place has a door that is Jesus Christ through his merit work he is established it so that his own good go to all the world for what reason so that repentance and forgiveness of sins can be preached.

You can hear it to yourself today you want to believe you can believe that all your sins are forgiven in Jesus name and blood together with us together with Paul you can rejoice with us.

Together with us you can rejoice with us for the reason that that gospel transforms you from the kingdom of this world unto God's kingdom that yet dwells in this world and is on its way to heaven's home.

We also say in the priest that we believe there is resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

It is true it is what God's word tells us it is where God wants to call all of us who have a soul to be together with him not anymore through the fellowship of the spirit that we experience but we experience that we experience or in the closeness that we experience when we can turn to him in prayer and in our requests or thanksgiving but to be together with him at that time we will see it in a new resurrection body which has no pain no infirmities it is yet to be seen how it is but it's pure it's perfect in that we will be there together with God and his son for that we yearn to it and see that day happen.

Brothers and sisters let's continue traveling on this plane let's continue to believe that even now so how will you have come here from your own anxieties and distresses of your life feeling your own weakness and sinfulness you can lift your gaze upon Jesus Christ and you can believe that all your sins are forgiven in Jesus name and you can be of good cheer knowing that God knows your ways and he has a good plan for you.

May this give us a peace that Paul here talks about Jesus talked about peace that God gives that Jesus gives and it time and time again it comforts me.

It is not peace that this world would give but it is Jesus' peace and it is Jesus' peace and sometimes it is hard to even explain because we are human and how our mind are human but we know it and when we experience it when we hear that indeed my sins are forgiven in Jesus name and blood it gives us peace contentment.

Jesus said my peace I give unto you not as this world gives.

Paul says of the saints in peace the peace of God which passes all understanding that's why we can't explain it even it does pass our understanding shall keep your hearts and minds to Christ Jesus.

May it be so that in our thoughts we have our thoughts in our mind some of our thoughts are very very very we can control some of them we cannot they are feelings we are human but may this peace of God keep our mind and our heart through Christ Jesus.

And you boys and girls you just completed I think some of you completed your year at school and some of you are yet in the school that peace is yours also.

What a wonderful thing it is that you can go on to your summer vacations knowing that peace that I'm a child of God I really don't need to worry that my life is in almighty God it is in the good hands.

And you graduates who have graduated from high school certainly have many dreams many plans and that's good that's good keep on working hard amidst questions and pondering what is it that will happen in my life and I'm not going to be able to God will show it He has a good plan for you and He will take care of you.

Time to time may get tough but when you desire to live in the fellowship of God children when you desire day by day live of the gospel that is the power unto everyone that believes you will receive strength you will be able to continue on and you will have many things waiting for you in the future.

May God bless your endeavor and may God bless you and may He grant you the comfort that what really really is important you have it your name is written in the book of land if you believe you are heaven acceptable God knows your name and you will be able to be happy about that you can rejoice and go on to your duties to them as you would do them unto God that's what the scripture exhort us.

We are about to enter the table of the Lord which Jesus established holy communion He said when you gather and when you do that do it in remembrance of me.

You can come to the table of the Lord with that assurance and peace that your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name and blood and you can come with the assurance that the Son and the Redeemer has prepared it all for us.

And when we come to the table we do it with humble mind and with thanksgiving unto our Heavenly Father that He has been so good unto us.

Can I in many ways failing and sinful believe that my sins are forgiven I want to believe together with you in Jesus' name. Amen.