Sermon for 11/16/25: Twenty-Second Sunday After Trinity

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CLICK HERE for the service video.

What Must We Do?
Micah 6:6-8
 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. 

 

It is man’s natural inclination to want to do something to earn God’s favor. By nature, man knows that there’s a problem; by nature, man knows that he’s a sinner. So by nature, man also knows to try and fix the problem; to mend the fracture and make things all better. “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” Israel certainly knows better. God Himself has made the answers to these questions abundantly clear, again and again and again. This is just stubborn foolishness and stupidity on full display. It’s enough to make God very frustrated and angry!

In the verses before our text, God Himself speaks to Israel, and He’s not happy. Micah gives us the image of a courtroom; God, the prosecuting attorney, questions the criminal defendant Israel. “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O you mountains, the Lord’s complaint, and you strong foundations of the earth; for the Lord has a complaint against His people, and He will contend with Israel. O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me.” God then lays out examples from their past where He has delivered them, not because they deserved it or earned it, but because they were poor and miserable. “Exhibit A: ‘I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I redeemed you from the house of bondage.’ Exhibit B: ‘I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam…’ as my voice; I have never forsaken you. Exhibit C: ‘Remember Balak king of Moab.’ Remember how I turned his wicked plans into your blessings. The evidence is clear. Why do you keep doing what you’re doing? Do you not hear Me? Do you not care?”

This is when Israel looks up from their phones and asks Micah, “Man…God sounds angry. What do we need to do to get back in His good graces?” You can almost hear Micah’s eyeroll. “God has already told you. ‘He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?’ What does the Lord require of you but to simply live faithfully; to be just and right; to rebuke sin and praise righteousness? What does the Lord require of you but to love as you’ve already been loved by Him?”

They just didn’t get it. And as we look throughout Scripture, this was a recurring problem. “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What must we do to be saved?” How do we make things right? Ever since the fall into sin in the Garden of Eden, man has been trying to figure out the answer.

Do not look down your noses, because we’re not immune to this foolishness. We think foolish things about God, too. “What can I do to get a little good karma headed in my direction?” “What can I do to get back on God’s good side?” “If I put more in the offering plate, do you think that would win God over?” “How can I know God’s purpose for my life?” “What do I have to do in order to be a good Christian?” “What do I need to do in order to get a little peace and joy in my life?” “Am I going to heaven?” “Why is this happening to me?” “Don’t you care, God? Don’t you see?”

The answer to such foolish questions is simple, and I know you already know it. After all, I’m speaking to a bunch of Christians. You may not like the answer, precisely because it’s so simple, but this is the answer. Look here! Look to the cross of Jesus Christ! “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Behold! “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son…” In Him and because of Him, it is finished! You are saved by His grace, His mercy, His cross-shaped love. Here is all of God’s wrath against sin; here is God’s love for you. Here is God’s love for the world. Go and share and proclaim this life-giving Word to anyone who is a sinner who Christ loved enough to die for! Go and tell all that Christ has done for you!

It’s that simple! And praise God that it is! May He grant us the wisdom and humility of faith to simply believe Him, hold fast to Him, and proclaim His Truth in all our daily thoughts, words, and deeds. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

 

Homily for 11/9/25: Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart

No sermon audio recording. Sorry!

CLICK HERE for the service video. 

Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart
Lutheran Service Book hymn 708

 

Today we’re going to spend a few minutes with the hymn Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart. It was written by Martin Schalling, a 16th century Lutheran pastor who was repeatedly kicked out of the churches and cities he was called to serve for daring to be faithful to the Word of God. In this context, as we consider the words of the text, it is even more profound that he was able to make such a bold confession in the face of trial and suffering.

In stanza 1 we confess, “Lord, Thee I love with all my heart.” As we continue on, we acknowledge just how vital it is for us to be in our Lord’s presence. “Earth has no pleasure I would share; Yea, heav’n itself were void and bare if Thou, Lord, wert not near me.” Can you imagine needing the Lord so much that even your most valued possession would be worthless in comparison? But Schalling makes that claim without hesitating, for “Thou art the portion I have sought; Thy precious blood my soul has bought.” So even when it means that he loses his position, his reputation, and even his home, he cries out in faith, and we cry out with him, “Forsake me not! I trust Thy Word.”

The second stanza confesses how good God has been to His people, and we ask Him to train us to confess this truth to all those around us. And then we ask God to keep us faithful in the face of our crosses, even to death: “Let no false doctrine me beguile; let Satan not my soul defile. Give strength and patience unto me to bear my cross and follow Thee.” And the stanza concludes with the cry, “In death Thy comfort still afford,” echoing our Lord’s urging to “be faithful unto death.”

The final stanza is often sung or spoken at the deathbed of a fiathful Christian or at the funeral or committal of the faithful departed. I can’t read the words for you without crying, but these words are a confession and prayer and that both the dying and those who are for a time left behind would be taken to their blessed rest in the arms of their Lord. And as we pointed out last week as we celebrated the Feast of All Saints, this hymn also reminds us that death is not the end. “And then from death awaken me, that these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, Thy glorious face, my Savior and my fount of grace.” We will be awakened from the sleep of death to live in the visible presence of our dear Lord, to praise Him eternally.

Thanks be to God for such a rich hymn to feed and edify our minds and souls. God grant that these words and others like them would be in our hearts and on our lips as we daily carry our crosses.

 

Sermon for 11/2/25: Feast of All SaInts (observed)

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“Who Are These?”
Revelation 7:9-17
 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. We celebrate both the saints in heaven and the saints on earth. We just sang: “O blest communion, fellowship divine, we feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.” As we sing that hymn, we can't help but think of our own loved ones who have lived and died in the faith, who are now praising God with heavenly anthems more beautiful than anything that we dare to imagine. As we sing that hymn, we are reminded that, by God's grace, we will enter into that victory celebration that has no end. For our God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

The Book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of this in the heavenly liturgy. We often hear people talking about the need to be multi-cultural or cross-cultural, because the Church was apparently formed by dead, white, European males. But here in the Book of Revelation, we have genuine multi-cultural worship: those from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues are joined together in a single liturgy, centered in the Lamb of our salvation, Jesus Christ. They do not come with many different songs; with one accord they chant, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And they are joined by angels, the elders, and the four living creatures in worship of the Trinity as the celestial choir sings, “Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever!” They come from everywhere; but their song is singular as they glorify the eternal God who gave His Son to be the Savior of the world.

The liturgy of heaven and earth revolves around the Lamb of God. Christian worship is Christ-centered. He is present here to bless us with His words of pardon and peace. He is here with His body, born of Mary and hung on a cross, to give us His blood-bought gifts of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. The whole Divine Service points to Him.

The liturgy does not belong to us; it belongs to God as His service to us by means of His Word and Sacraments. Salvation belongs to our God, and He gives it to us here. We do not come here to be entertained, but to be built up in faith. We learn from the saints and angels how to worship God, how to receive His gifts in faith, how to confess Him as the author and finisher of our faith.

Who are these saints? The elder before the throne tells John, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” These are the blessed ones our Lord tells us about: those who recognized their own spiritual poverty; those who mourned over their sin; those who were reviled, persecuted, and slandered for the sake of the Lord and His Gospel. The great tribulation is the life of the Christian under the cross. Saints have no self-made holiness. Their holiness is the blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin. They wear the white robe of His righteousness that covers their shame with the forgiveness of sins. Through His perfect righteousness they have access to the presence of the living God.

“We feebly struggle, they in glory shine.” But like those who have gone before, we are saints. The blood of the Lamb has atoned for our sin. The white robe of Christ's righteousness is our glorious clothing, given us in our Baptism. The Lamb has won the victory! Death could not hold Him; and because He has risen from the dead, we have the pledge of eternal life. “And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long, steals on the ear the distant triumph song, and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.”

Our Lord has won the victory. And we are one with Him and with those who have gone before us. The Feast of All Saints gives us a glimpse of that unseen reality. What comfort that is to us who still feebly struggle! We are not alone. As we gather around the Lamb, we are surrounded by the saints who have gone before us and saints who still live on this earth. We are blessed, for by the blood of Jesus we are members of His Church, the communion of saints. And today we join with all the saints of all times and places in their heavenly liturgy. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

 

Sing with All the Saints in Glory

Our hymn for the month of November is "Sing with All the Saints in Glory," hymn 671 in Lutheran Service Book. This hymn was written by William J. Irons, a 19th Century Anglican priest. The hymn first appears in the book Psalms and Hymns for the Church, published in 1873. Originally the text had four stanzas, but in our hymnal two of the verses have been squeezed together into one. We have used this hymn at St. Paul's previously, but it deserves a place in your mind and heart.

In the Proper Preface of our Communion liturgy we confess that, in the Divine Service, we join our worship "with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven." Our hymn is a firm confession and reminder that our loved ones who have departed this life in the faith continue to worship with us as they rest from their labors. 

As we celebrate the Feast of All Saints on November 1 (and observe it in worship on November 2), this is a message of great comfort to us. "Death and sorrow, earth's dark story, to the former days belong." The day is coming when death will be no more. As St. Paul tells us, "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death" (I Corinthians 15:26). And in Revelation our Lord tells St. John, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:5). That Day is surely coming: "Soon the storms of time shall cease; in God's likeness we awaken, knowing everlasting peace." 

As we await that glorious Day when the image of God, distorted by sin, will be perfected in us, we know that death is not the end. We know that a blessed rest awaits us. “God has promised, Christ prepares it; there on high our welcome waits.” And then, on the Last Day, shall come the sound of the trumpet that shall raise us all, and the faithful shall rise to endless day. “Life eternal! Oh, what wonders crowd on faith; what joy unknown, when, amid earth's closing thunders, saints shall stand before the throne!” What a glorious Day that shall be!

By the way, as I said above, this hymn was written by an Anglican priest. We Lutherans do not insist that our texts be written by Missouri Synod Lutherans. Lutherans are not the only ones who confess the truth of God's Word, and we are not the only ones who can write theologically solid hymns. And good, solid hymns were written long before there was a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. However, we do insist that we should only use theologically solid hymns, no matter their source.

Here is the text, which is in the public domain, from the hymnary.org website:

1. Sing with all the saints in glory, 
Sing the resurrection song! 
Death and sorrow, earth's dark story, 
To the former days belong. 
All around the clouds are breaking; 
Soon the storms of time shall cease; 
In God's likeness we awaken, 
Knowing everlasting peace. 

2. Oh, what glory, far exceeding 
All that eye has yet perceived! 
Holiest hearts for ages pleading 
Never that full joy conceived. 
God has promised, Christ prepares it; 
There on high our welcome waits.
Ev'ry humble spirit shares it, 
Christ has passed the eternal gates. 

3. Life eternal! Heav'n rejoices; 
Jesus lives who once was dead. 
Shout with joy, O deathless voices!
Child of God, lift up your head! 
Life eternal! Oh, what wonders
Crowd on faith; what joy unknown,
When, amid earth's closing thunders,
Saints shall stand before the throne!

To hear me read the text of the hymn, CLICK HERE.

To hear the hymn sung, CLICK HERE.

Sermon for 10/26/25: Festival of the Reformation (observed)

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Our Heritage and Inheritance

John 8:31-36

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.
         

We do not simply sin by mistake or weakness; we also sin on purpose. We’ve all known what we were doing, and we have done it anyway. We’ve sinned with full knowledge, repeatedly. We’ve heard the voice of the new man in our minds, telling us to stop gossiping, but we’ve also noted how our friends were hanging on our words, looking at us with admiration, and we wanted to keep it going. So we’ve suppressed the good. We’ve embraced the evil. We’ve harmed not only our neighbors, but also ourselves. We’ve enslaved ourselves to sin and let it rule over us.

How dare we say that we have fellowship with Christ while we willingly walk in darkness? We lie and do not practice the truth. If we are ruled by sin, we do not have fellowship with Christ. We are not His brothers. We are the sons of devil who do the work of the devil. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit. When Jesus tells us to abide in the Word, it is not simply an admonition to know right doctrine. It is an admonition to live by His Word, to obey His commandments, to love what He loves and to hate what He hates.

We Lutherans are proud of our heritage. It is a good thing to be faithful to the Word of God. But do not say, “But we have Luther for our father and we love the Gospel and have never been slaves to anyone.” You have been slaves to your flesh and your heritage. You have been bored with the Gospel and have been angry when it doesn’t look the way you want it to look. You have twisted the Gospel into an excuse to sin, and you dared God to notice. Well, He notices. He is not amused. He does not think it is cute or somehow your rightful liberty. He hates gossip. He loathes the behavior of acting like you’re married when you’re not. He hates drunkenness. He despises abortion. He hates lustful eyes, greed, and evil thoughts. God threatens to punish all who break His commandments. So repent. Let every mouth be stopped. May the law bring knowledge of sin to us sinners, so we may recognize the truth about ourselves and turn away from our sin.

You have enslaved yourself to sin, but you do not belong there. Repent. Turn from your sins. The Son sets you free by being sin and guilt in your place. He sets you free by suffering your punishment in your stead. He sets you free by being declared guilty so that you are declared innocent. He sets you free by dying and rising again for you. And if He does all of this for you, then you will be free indeed. You might sin, but you will not be cast aside. You are not a slave; you are a son. He restores you to fellowship with the Father because He still loves you, no matter what you’ve done. You are a son, made so in the waters of Holy Baptism. And because you are His own child, you remain His child forever.

So confess your sins. He is faithful and just. He forgives your sins. He cleanses you from all unrighteousness. “If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.” So if you say you have not sinned, go back to eating with the pigs like the prodigal son until you wake up and find the Father waiting for you. Otherwise, if you insist on wallowig in your sin, you die and go to Hell. But if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just. He forgives sins. He restores fellowship. His accusations are taken from you and placed on the Son, the One who became your Brother and has declared you to be God’s child forever: forever innocent, forever holy, forever His. You walk in the light just as He is in the light, for He is the Light. You have fellowship with Him and with one another in the blood of Jesus which cleanses you from all sin. Thus you abide in His Word, in His Gospel. You are truly His children, His disciples, His Bride, and even His friends.

This is the Word of the Lord that endures forever. This is the truth upon which the Reformation is founded. If Martin Luther has left us a legacy, let it be this and nothing else: “We are justified by His grace as a gift received by faith.” In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.                

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.

 

Sermon for 10/19/25: Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.

CLICK HERE for the service video.

Grace and Peace
I Corinthians 1:(1-3) 4-9

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Christians hear the words I just spoke a lot. Many pastors begin their sermons, newsletter articles, and other correspondence with their members with those words. After all, if it’s good enough for the Apostle Paul, it certainly must be a salutary greeting between Christians, especially when a pastor communicates with the people he has been Called to serve. There’s nothing wrong with starting a sermon without those words, of course.

But there is something a little deeper behind this greeting. In our text, Paul lauds the church in Corinth for its faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But the church in Corinth is not without its problems. They have become complacent and even arrogant in their faithfulness. The church itself has divisions and factions. If you read on through the rest of this epistle, Paul takes the congregation in Corinth to task for a number of things: a laxity in church discipline; tolerance of sexual immorality; the tendency of congregation members to bring civil law suits against each other; and even a tendency to practice open communion, inviting the uncatechized and the unreprentant to receive the body and blood of Christ to their judgment.

With all these problems, you might expect Paul to open his letter with a scathing rebuke of the people. But Paul is their pastor. Yes, it’s his job to lead God’s people to the truth of the Word, and he would do them no favor by letting them remain in their sin. However, he is also Called to preach the Gospel to them. He is Called as an apostle to love them with Christ’s love. And he does precisely that. Even with all the problems this Corinthian congregation is struggling with, Paul says, “I thank my God always concerning you.” And he does this in quite a few of the Epistles we have recorded in the New Testament. We should always be thankful to God for the brothers and sisters we have in Christ.

This is not always the easiest example to follow. We in the Missouri Synod should understand that very well. We are a body divided. We don’t agree on what hymns should be in our hymnals, how we should interact with those with whom we have doctrinal differences, where our missions should be focused. Even at the congregational level, the fight can be fierce. When we Christians fight, we tend to “lose our religion.” Disagreements between us often turn ugly. The Eighth Commandment? Throw it out the window! Matthew 18? Why would I speak to my brother who I feel is sinning against me when I can tell my fifty closest friends? We call each other hypocrites. We assume the very worst about each other. And then we threaten to stop coming to worship or leave the congregation entirely if our way isn’t found to be the “right” way. Even in the most faithful of congregations, we allow disagreements to divide us, distract us, and turn us away from what our Lord Jesus calls “the one thing needful.”

Paul calls the congregation at Corinth—and us—back to this one needful thing, to what unites us. He names us “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ....” This brings us back to the Apostles’ Creed, where we confess, “I believe in the holy Christian Church, [which is] the Communion of saints.” We first confess who God is and what He has done, and then we confess what we are through Christ: the communion of saints; the body of Christ; God’s holy people.

As we see in how Paul greets the congregation in Corinth, it begins with grace. It begins with God giving us life, with Christ giving us new life, with the Spirit granting us faith as we live that new life. Without these gifts, without this grace, we have nothing and we are nothing. The grace of God is not something we have earned or were born with or have made for ourselves. Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died in our place, and He rose again so that we would rise with Him and so that we would receive all the blessings and benefits God has for us.

Once that grace has been applied to us, peace follows it. In Baptism we are made children of God. When we speak of ourselves as brothers and sisters in Christ, this is no exaggeration. And because we are family, we join in our family meal: the body and blood of Jesus. We should treat each other as family. The people in the pews and in the whole Christian Church are not enemies to be defeated, no matter how much we disagree. They are brothers and sisters in Christ, family to be loved fiercely, forgiven freely, and even, at times, endured patiently. We bring our siblings before the Lord in prayer, thanking God for them, no matter how much we may disagree with them. We thank God that He has loved our brothers and sisters, that He has died for them, that He has made them His through Holy Baptism, that He forgives their sins with Holy Absolution, that He feeds them in the Holy Supper.

That grace from God is the source of the peace we share with each other. Because Christ has brought us to reconciliation with the Father, we are now also reconciled to each other. And now, because it begins with grace, let us live our lives sharing that grace, and let us rejoice at the eternity which is already ours. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

 

HYMN: O Lord, Send Forth Your Holy Word

Well, I am once again at a pastor meeting, this time the Iowa District East Fall Pastors' Conference. You know what that means, right? Yep, I wrote another hymn text. I know it shocks you that such a faithful son of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod would not direct every last ounce of his attention to the conference speaker. I promise that I'm praying attention. We're listing to speakers, one of whom is talking about the LCMS battle for the inerrancy of Scripture which led to the 1974 walkout from the St. Louis seminary and a division of Synod; and the other about a more recent controversy about a group of so-called LCMS Lutherans with, shall we say (with an eye toward the Eighth Commandment), interesting view of race and racial purity.

Anyway, in our opening worship service we heard the words of Isaiah 55. In the midst of this glorious chapter of the Bible is one of my favorite pieces of Scripture: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (vv.10-11). Hearing these words, I was inspired (small-i, not capital i) to write. I don't think this is one of my best text, but it is faithful to the source material.

So here it is. As always, feedback is love.

O Lord, Send Forth Your Holy Word

1. O Lord, send forth Your holy Word

To lead us in Your ways,

That we may trust in You alone

For pardon all our days.

2. O Lord, send forth Your holy Word

To satisfy our need.

Oh, teach us evermore to strive

For worthy fruits indeed.

3. O Lord, send forth Your holy Word

As fall the snow and rain

So faith may sprout and grow within

And You in us shall reign.

4. O Lord, send forth Your holy Word

To draw Your children in.

Then send us forth to share Your love

With neighbors lost in sin.

5. O Lord, send forth Your holy Word,

And send it not in vain.

But let it work abundantly

As You in grace ordain.

CM (86 86)

Text: Alan Kornacki, Jr., b.1974

Tune: ST ANNE (LSB 733) or CONSOLATION (LSB 348)

Isaiah 55:1-11

I Walk in Danger All the Way

Beginning this month at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Marion, Iowa, we will sing a "Hymn of the Month" each month, at least for a while, This selection will often be a new hymn to us—sometimes a new text. sometimes a new tune, and sometimes both. Though sometimes they may be difficult to sing or unfamiliar to our ears, they are, indeed, worth your time to learn. And since you may be unfamiliar with the text or tune, I wanted you to have an opportunity to become familiar with it before we sing it this coming Sunday. 

Our hymn for the month of October is "I Walk in Danger All the Way," hymn 716 in Lutheran Service Book. It is a hymn from the 18th Century, written by Lutheran pastor and bishop Hans Adolph Brorson. The hymn is comprised of two parts. The first three stanzas focus on the threats we Christians face from sin, death, and Satan. The truth that the life of the Christian is a life where we "pass through trials all the way" and bear our crosses as our Lord bids us do. We are forced to come face to face with our own mortality, with death stalking us like we are his prey. The concluding three stanzas show how our Lord provides for our protection and deliverance from these fearsome foes. Angel hosts accompany us on our journey along the narrow way of our life in Christ. Because we are baptized children of our heavenly Father, we "walk with Jesus all the way" throughout our lives, until, finally, we come to our heavenly goal. 

This is a beautiful text which describes our life in Christ, both in the hardships we face because the world hates us as much as it hates our Lord Jesus, or the triumph which is already ours now and which will be perfected at the Last Day. God grant you great comfort and joy in your walk with Jesus with this song on your lips!

Here is the text:

1 I walk in danger all the way,
The thought shall never leave me
That Satan, who has marked his prey,
Is plotting to deceive me.
This foe with hidden snares
May seize me unawares
If I should fail to watch and pray.
I walk in danger all the way.

2 I pass through trials all the way,
With sin and ills contending;
In patience I must bear each day
The cross of God's own sending.
When in adversity
I know not where to flee,
When storms of woe my soul dismay,
I pass through trials all the way.

3 And death pursues me all the way,
Nowhere I rest securely;
He comes by night, he comes by day,
He takes his prey most surely.
A failing breath, and I
In death's strong grasp may lie
To face eternity today
As death pursues me all the way.

4 I walk with angels all the way,
They shield me and befriend me;
All Satan's pow'r is held at bay
When heav'nly hosts attend me;
They are my sure defense,
All fear and sorrow, hence!
Unharmed by foes, do what they may,
I walk with angels all the way.

5 I walk with Jesus all the way,
His guidance never fails me;
Within His wounds I find a stay
When Satan's pow'r assails me;
And by His footsteps led,
My path I safely tread.
No evil leads my soul astray;
I walk with Jesus all the way.

6 My walk is heav'nward all the way;
Await, my soul, the morrow,
When God's good healing shall allay
All suff'ring, sin, and sorrow.
Then, worldly pomp, begone!
To heav'n I now press on.
For all the world I would not stay;
My walk is heav'nward all the way.

To hear me read the text of this beautiful hymn, watch this video. 

To hear the music and words of this hymn together, click this link. 

HYMN: As I Approach Your Altar, Lord

I find myself with a little bit of time on my hands at the moment. I do so like to be productive, but there’s not a lot I’m able to do as I deal with a foot issue. But the foot issue itself actually gave me just a tiny little spot of inspiration for a hymn text about Confession and Absolution. (If you look at the first verse—stanza, whatever—you’ll see that I talk about “faltering feet” that don’t walk the “narrow way” of Matthew 7:13-14. Yes, I know it’s the gate that is narrow; allow me some creative license here!)

Anyway, here’s the text. It’s fairly on-the-spot as far as Confession and Absolution go, but I didn’t think it needed much adornment. The tune, at least temporarily, is the tune for "Baptismal Waters Cover Me." Feedback is love. 

As I Approach Your Altar, Lord

1. As I approach Your altar, Lord,

On falt’ring feet that go astray, 

I kneel and cry to You alone

That I have left Your narrow way. 

2. I fail to love You as I should.

I fail to love as You love me. 

I fail to be the helpful good

My righteous God demands I be. 

3. My words are hurtful, petty, mean. 

My thoughts are selfish, turned within. 

My every deed is foul, unclean,

And ev’ry breath is stained with sin. 

4. Your holy Word declares my shame. 

In truth, Lord, I deserve to die. 

Oh, hear me as I call Your name. 

Give ear, my Savior, to my cry. 

5. I lay my sins before my Lord,

I speak, and You who bore each one

Declare to me in mighty Word

That all my guilt and shame is gone!

6. For You who died upon the tree

Have taken all my sins away. 

My bonds are loosed and I am free!

My debt of sin You did repay. 

7. My conscience clean, my soul is healed. 

My pastor speaks, and You forgive,

For You, God's perfect grace revealed,

Speak sweet forgiveness, and I live. 

8. I thank You, Christ, for comfort sweet. 

I sing the triumph You did win. 

Receive my praise for grace complete, 

For love which covers all my sin. 

LM (88 88)

GOTTLOB, ES GEHT NUNMEHR ZU ENDE (LSB 616)

Confession and Absolution