Sermon for 12/16/2020: Midweek of Advent III (Hymns of Advent Series)

 Once again I filled in this evening for Pastor Sean Smith, this time at his other congregation, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Wine Hill (Steeleville), Illinois. Thank you, Pastor Smith, for the opportunity to serve.

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Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding
John 1:19-33 

 

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

  

          What is a “thrilling voice?” Could the writer of our text be thinking of someone like Elvis Presley? After all, his singing is so distinct that hearers swooned at the first word. Could it be James Earl Jones? His vocal depiction of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies could move the heart to terror. Or maybe it’s Winston Churchill, who roused a nation to bravery and hope in the midst of constant bombing during World War II. These are all distinctive voices that thrilled the minds and hearts of those who heard them. But in this particular instance, the “thrilling voice” is John the Baptist—and more than John himself, the “thrilling voice” is the message he was sent to proclaim.

Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding!
“Christ is near,” we hear it say.
“Cast away the works of darkness,
All you children of the day!”

Startled at the solemn warning,
Let the earthbound soul arise;
Christ, its sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.

John the Baptist is the one Isaiah foretold: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…” And it wasn’t just Isaiah. John’s own father, the priest Zechariah, also foretold the role John would play. “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins…” Even before John was born, he faithfully performed the task for which he was sent, leaping in his mother’s womb to be in the presence of God in flesh in the person of Jesus. “Christ is near,” indeed! And in the wilderness, John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins—in essence, John was saying, “Cast away the works of darkness!” When the people questioned why he was baptizing and preaching, John said, “One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” Always John pointed not to himself, but to Jesus. He knew what his role was to be, and he played that role to perfection.

Who, then, are the “children of the day” who hear this voice? You are the children of the day. You are the ones who have received John’s message, and it falls to you to heed and obey the message of the prophet. Turn away from the works of darkness. Turn away from your Old Adam and his selfish, sinful ways. “Repent,” John says. After all, if the week before Christmas, when Christmas is near, is one of the busiest shipping and shopping weeks of the year, shouldn’t we also, when “Christ is near,” be busy in repentance? Our faith in these days should be busy in good works. Our faith in these days should be busy listening to the Word of God from the messenger God has sent to proclaim it to us. The message of Christ, “all sloth dispelling,” moves us to faithful action. Sometimes that means we will do the good works, the fruit of faith; sometimes that means we will sit at our Lord’s feet with Mary and listen to the “one thing needful.”

See, the Lamb, so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from heav’n.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all, to be forgiv’n;

So, when next He comes in glory
And the world is wrapped in fear,
He will shield us with His mercy
And with words of love draw near.

It was John’s task to point to Jesus. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus had come to be that Lamb, to go to the cross as the Ransom Price of sinners. He came to take the sin of the world and put it all on Himself, to bear its shame and punishment and condemnation. And that’s why John cried out in the wilderness: God sent John to draw all people to Jesus, so that, while “the world is wrapped in fear,” we, still sinners but redeemed in the blood of the Lamb, would “haste, with tears of sorrow, one and all, to be forgiv’n.”

The Day is coming when Christ will appear in glory to judge the living and the dead. But for us, the sheep of His flock, washed in His blood, He will shield us with His mercy, and with words of love draw near. The work of salvation, applied to us in Holy Baptism, will be completed in us as we arise, purified and perfected. There is no fear for those whose sins are forgiven. His voice will be one not of condemnation, but of love: “a thrilling voice,” calling us to our heavenly home, where we will sing with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven:

Honor, glory, might, dominion
To the Father and the Son
With the everlasting Spirit
While eternal ages run!

 

        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.

 

HYMN: Let All in Worship Bend the Knee

A while back, my in-laws were talking about their church, and they had mentioned that their pastor thought Philippians 2:5-11 would be a great foundation for a hymn text. It sort of rolled off my back at the time, but recently I took a shot at it. I’ve had this written for about a month, but I’ve been sitting on it, hoping something would hatch that would help me improve it. It hasn’t, not really, but sometimes the simple act of getting a text out there will help me find an in to make improvements, and sometimes my loyal readers will kick me hard enough that an idea will come out. Get to kickin’, people! Feedback is love.

Let All in Worship Bend the Knee

1. Let all in worship bend the knee.

Let every tongue in faith confess: 

Jesus is Lord eternally.

In Him, the Father’s name we bless. 

2. The Christ, the sinless Son of God,

Did choose in great humility

To walk a path as yet untrod:

To take our flesh and set us free.

3. In innocence, He bore our sin

Upon the cross of woe and shame,

Our death to die, our life to win,

To bind us to His holy name. 

4. The Father saw the sacrifice. 

And, seeing this, He glorified

The name of Christ, the sinner’s price;

The name of Jesus, God who died. 

5. Let each of us with selfless heart

Serve in His name with love and joy,

Even as Jesus did impart

His grace which sin cannot destroy. 

6. Let all in worship bend the knee.

Let every tongue in faith confess: 

Jesus is Lord eternally.

In Him, the Father’s name we bless. 

(c) 2020, Alan Kornacki, Jr. 

Long Meter (88 88)

Tune: OLD HUNDREDTH (LSB 805) 

Sermon for 12/13/2020: Third Sunday in Advent

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“What Did You Go Out to See?”

Matthew 11:2-10 (11)

 

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

 

 

“What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” This is a very important question that Jesus asks the crowds. In fact, He asks it three times. What is Jesus asking? Simply put, He’s asking, “Why did you go out to see John the Baptist in the wilderness? What did you hope to accomplish? What was in it for you?” So let me pose for you the same questions. Why did you come here today? What did you expect to see here? What were you hoping to get out of it? What’s in it for you? Did you come to see the handsome and well-spoken pastor with the well-shaped cranium and the short sermon? Did you come to hang out with your friends? Are you killing time before your football team plays? If these are your answers, I urge you to repent.

I hope you came this morning to hear about Christ and His work of salvation for you. I hope you came this morning to receive forgiveness for your sins, which returns you to the waters of Holy Baptism. I hope you came this morning to receive the body and blood of Jesus, hidden in bread and wine. Understand this: the Church is not a social club; it is a hospital. This is the place to receive Jesus. This is the place to receive the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. You come here as a beggar: a poor, miserable sinner in need of the mercy and grace Christ died to bring to you. The troubles of this life—the devil and all of his temptations, the world, your own sinful flesh—all these things wear you down. You grow weary in hearing the world preach against everything you believe and hold dear. You need to hear the promise of God again, even for one bitter hour: Christ has fulfilled the law perfectly in your place; He has offered up His life as the ransom for you. Simply said, you have come because you need the Gospel.

This is why John the Baptist was preaching. John needed to hear it that day; he needed his disciples to hear it: Jesus, the fulfillment of the Old Testament, came to be the Savior. “The blind to see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.” This is why you come here: to receive healing for your soul. And if this is not why you are here, you are wasting your time, for Jesus came to save sinners. This is the comfort God speaks through Isaiah the prophet: “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” This is the comfort you receive when you confess your sins to God and hear the word of Holy Absolution from your pastor as from Christ Himself—“not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.”

Sadly, we will continue to have our doubts, even though we have heard this glorious forgiveness of sins from our Lord Jesus. We will doubt whether any of this standing and sitting and kneeling, this praying and singing and listening, this preaching and communing will do us any good. We will continue to desire the snooze button on Sunday mornings. There will be days when we would rather be somewhere else. Even John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said, “Among those born of women there has not risen one greater,” asked the question.

But when those doubts arise in you, look up. See your Jesus, the one who heals the blind and lame, the one who opens your ears to hear His Word, who raises you from death in the waters of Holy Baptism, who feeds you with His own body and blood. Poor, miserable sinners, beggars all: Behold your God! Christ has redeemed you with His innocent blood, and His suffering and death. Christ made Himself to be the least in the kingdom of heaven for you. He has forgiven you all your sin. And He is coming soon. 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 12/9/2020: Midweek of Advent II (Hymns of Advent Series)

Tonight I was the guest preacher at Immanuel Lutheran Church in West Point (Campbell Hill), Illinois. 

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Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers

Matthew 25:1-13

 

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

 

Rejoice, rejoice, believers,

And let your lights appear;

The evening is advancing,

And darker night is near.

The Bridegroom is arising

And soon is drawing nigh.

Up, pray and watch and wrestle;

At midnight comes the cry.

 

The Bridegroom is delayed. No one knows exactly when He will arrive, but everyone knows He is coming. All the bridesmaids know how important it is for their lamps to be lit when the Bridegroom comes to bring them to the wedding feast, because the Bridegroom may come in the dead of night, and the light will shine as they wait and shine on their path as they travel to the feast. This is an image of the Church, waiting in eager expectation for the appearing of the Son of Man in glory to judge the living and the dead. It has not been long since we heard that text for the Last Sunday of the Church Year. Like the bridesmaids, we know that our Lord is coming. We have heard His promises, and He is faithful. While the rest of the world is terrified at the prospect of the coming of Christ as Judge, the Church—the Bride of Christ—rejoices. And as we wait, we keep our lanterns lit with the oil of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The watchers on the mountain

Proclaim the Bridegroom near;

Go forth as He approaches

With alleluias clear.

The marriage feast is waiting;

The gates wide open stand.

Arise, O heirs of glory;

The Bridegroom is at hand.

 

“The Bridegroom is at hand,” cry the watchers on the mountain. The Lord has sent many watchers to cry to His people. You might recognize some of them: Sean Smith; Timothy Zechiel; John Drosendahl; CFW Walther; Martin Luther; John Chrysostom; Augustine of Hippo; Ambrose of Milan; Paul; Peter; John the Baptist; Isaiah; Moses… It’s hardly a comprehensive list, and yet it helps us understand that the Bridegroom has been promised for a long time—even from the fall into sin in Genesis 3. God sends these messengers, and they, in turn, cry out to His people that the marriage feast is waiting, and the gates stand open to welcome all those who await with joy the coming of the Bridegroom Savior. These messengers are sent to prepare the way of the Lord, just as John the Baptist did. It’s not always a popular message, and it’s not always received with joy—not even by those who should rejoice. In fact, sometimes preaching this message costs the messenger his livelihood or even his very life, as he is attacked by foe and supposed friend alike for preaching the Truth. Even so, he cries out. “Arise, O heirs of glory; the Bridegroom is at hand.”

 

The saints, who here in patience

Their cross and suff’rings bore,

Shall live and reign forever

When sorrow is no more.

Around the throne of glory

The Lamb they shall behold;

In triumph cast before Him

Their diadems of gold.

 

One of the most beautiful pictures in all the Bible is the gathering of the saints before the throne of God. In fact, throughout Scripture, the images we see of heaven are images of the Church at worship. In Isaiah 6 we hear the angels crying out in praise to God, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And in Revelation 7 we see “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” The angel 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.” Having been faithful to their Lord unto death, they have been given the crown of eternal life. They will be raised up on the Last Day; for now, they wait. They rest until that day when they shall live forever, nevermore to sin, nevermore to suffer, nevermore to die. That is you. That is each and every baptized child of God, all those who trusted in the Savior, all who have filled their lanterns with the oil of true faith.

 

Our hope and expectation,

O Jesus, now appear;

Arise, O Sun so longed for,

O’er this benighted sphere.

With hearts and hands uplifted,

We plead, O Lord, to see

The day of earth’s redemption

That sets Your people free!

 

That Day, the day of earth’s redemption, is coming. We know it. We have seen the signs described by our Lord. We have heard the messengers cry out to us that the Bridegroom is coming. And we pray for that Day to come. We pray for our Savior, our hope and expectation in flesh, to appear. In the meantime, He is the Light who shines in the darkness of this benighted sphere; He is the Light no darkness can overcome. In His light, we see our promised redemption. As we wait for the great Day, we see with clear eyes our Jesus: present in His Word; present in the waters of Holy Baptism; present in His body and blood, a foretaste of that eternal Wedding Banquet. The saints who are living and the saints now at rest both wait with the sure and certain hope of our resurrection to eternal life when He comes. And as we wait here, we are sustained by Jesus in these humble means of water, bread, and wine, combined with the power of the Word. The Bridegroom says, “Behold, I am coming soon.” And His Bride, the Church, cries out in joy, “Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!” 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.

 

Sermon for 12/6/2020: Second Sunday in Advent

 

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“Watch”

Luke 21:25-36

 

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

 

 

Speaking of the coming of the Last Day, Jesus said, “There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring…” This all sounds like terrifying stuff. All of creation is groaning in eager expectation for the glorious returning of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the Last Day. We see the signs all around us even now. When even the powers of heaven shake, how can we not be afraid of that?

Jesus tells us to take comfort from the lesson of the fig tree: “When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.” When you see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, when you see God coming with great power and glory to rescue you, stand up and lift up your heads because it's time! Your redemption is drawing near! Jesus is near!

That should be a cause of great joy for us. And yet, Jesus also tells us that “men’s hearts [will be] failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” And surely sinners have reason to tremble in fear at the coming of the Lord. We have ignored His commandments when we find it convenient to do so. We treat the forgiveness our Lord gives us as license to sin. So we live as though Jesus isn’t coming back. We live as if it doesn’t matter what we do. We live as we desire in the sin-impaired imaginations of our hearts. But in the silence of our hearts, we huddle in terror from the righteous Judge, because we know what we deserve for our sin. Repent. Turn away from the Old Adam who is comfortable in sin and carousing…for Jesus is coming. Stay watchful; be vigilant, so that you may rejoice when He appears.

The day is coming. We know the truth of it. It’s not just that we see the signs, though the signs are all around us. More than the signs, we hear the promise from our Lord Himself. “Surely I am coming quickly,” He tells us, and we trust in His Word; we believe His promises. On the Cross, the Son of Man won your salvation. He paid the price for your sins, for your unbelief, for your doubt, for all the times that you have lived as if the King wasn't coming back soon to take you from this veil of tears. His holy life and innocent suffering and death redeemed you. He rose and marked you with His redemption in the waters of Holy Baptism.

Christ is coming soon. When you see the signs, when you hear the promises, look up! His return is the completion of your Baptism. You were buried in the font with your Lord Jesus and raised to new life. His return is the bringing to fruition of what is already yours in Baptism: heaven, eternal life, and your redemption. For “God will shine forth; our God shall come!”

As you wait and watch, learn the lesson of the fig tree: When you see the Son of Man coming in the clouds, rejoice, for your redemption is near. “The Sun of Righteousness shall arise [for you] with healing in His wings.” Do not be afraid. Your redemption and the healing of your body and soul already belongs to you in Holy Baptism. By the grace of God in the sinless sacrifice of the Lamb, you are counted worthy. 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 11/29/2020: First Sunday in Advent

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“Stir up Your Power…”

Matthew 21:1-9

 

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

 

 

Whenever we beg the Lord to stir up His power, we are begging Him to save and rescue and deliver us. He does this by holding back our enemies so that they cannot trouble us or threaten us. And then, in some wonderfully mysterious way, He somehow uses these enemies and their attacks for our good. But when Our Lord suppresses and subdues our enemies, He often doesn’t do it in the way we expect, especially when it comes to our greatest adversary, the prince of darkness. Then He comes to us—not with hailstones and coals of fire, not with a great show of force, but weak and vulnerable, ready to be beaten instead of lashing out; ready to be mocked instead of taunting; ready to be killed and not armed to kill. He does not come as a conquering hero, nor as a great general going to war, but as a suffering sacrifice.

And so, lowly, sitting on a donkey, here comes the One who is the answer to your prayers. Here is the mighty deliverance you asked for. Here is the protection from your threatening perils. And there, on the donkey, meek and mild—there is the great stirring up of the Lord’s power. It’s no wonder we’re disappointed when we pray. No wonder we feel so let down after we cry and plead and beg the Lord to smash our sinful urges, to quiet our fears, to heal us from our life-threatening diseases. We pray, demanding Alexander the Great on a mighty warhorse; instead we get a rabbi on a colt. We desire the obliteration of whatever troubles us; instead the scary thing still haunts us, and the addictive sin still must be resisted. And since we don’t feel better, since we don’t see a better life, since we are still afflicted, we falsely conclude that nothing has changed and our prayer has fallen on deaf ears.

These doubts, these fears, these false beliefs—these are the works of darkness that we must cast off. And the armor of light that we put on is the knowledge and belief that the Man on the colt is exactly who the prophet says He is. Jesus is your King; He is coming in power to save you. He is your salvation in the flesh. He calls you to believe. We so quickly judge by what we see and feel, and then we easily lose heart. Thanks be to God, for His Spirit raises up prophets and apostles, bishops and pastors, and they tell us these things so that we may hear and rejoice in hope.

By the power of the Spirit, we not only see that our prayer is answered. We also come to believe that the Man on the colt is our Lord and God who came in flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. We believe that He safely leads us through the worst we’ve ever experienced or imagined by His suffering. We trust that, by His death and resurrection, every enemy, every fear—even the prince of darkness himself—is defeated because all things have been put under our Lord’s feet. And the Holy Spirit also leads us to believe that our prayer, while answered now, will also be fully answered when Christ comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

All this the Spirit of God helps us see and believe. But His greatest comfort is when He invites and draws us into the life of our God and King. The Spirit shows us that the bread we eat and the wine we drink is the power that our Lord has stirred up for us in His very flesh and blood to heal and deliver us, to protect and comfort us, to rescue and save us from every evil assault and every vicious doubt that assails us. And the Spirit helps us to see that what we hear and receive in the Holy Supper is precisely the help and aid that we need from our heavenly Father.

And so we pray, “Stir up Your power, O Lord.” But we also pray, “Show me Your way, O Lord; teach me Your paths.” For the Lord’s way and path is not to swoop down and conquer, but to lead and guide us through the valley of the shadow of death. The Lord’s way and path is not to magically make our problems disappear, but to use them for our good, so that we who are humbled would grow stronger and firmer in our life in Him. 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 11/25-26/2020: Day of National Thanksgiving

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Remember and Give Thanks

Deuteronomy 8:1-10

 

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

 

 

“Thank you” is one of the very first things we learned to say as children, and hopefully one of the first things we teach our children to say. It is the language of being given to, the response to gifts received. Most of us still have that parental reminder ringing in our ears from our youngest days: “‘Now what do you say?’ ‘Thank you.’” God in Scripture teaches us to say “thank you” to Him. The psalms are a veritable cornucopia of praise and thanksgiving: “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.” “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him, bless His name!” “O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His mercy endures for ever.” “I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.”

 

Our contemporary version of Thanksgiving is much more an exercise in American civil religion with mythological stories of Pilgrims and Indians; a ritual meal of turkey, dressing, cranberries and all the fixings; and a common liturgy supplied by the National Football League or Hallmark, depending on who has the remote.

 

The Church hardly needs to be reminded by Caesar to give thanks to God for His gifts. In the Liturgy we recognize that it is “truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks...” The life of the Christian is life lived in thanksgiving for the gifts received through Jesus Christ.

 

For the Christian, every day is a day of thanksgiving. When we give thanks to God, we are confessing that God is the Giver and that we are at the receiving end of all that He gives. God doesn’t need our thanks; still, we need to thank Him. Thanksgiving is for our benefit, not God’s. It is a reminder that God is our strength, and that it is by the power and might of His merciful hand, and not our hands, that we receive all that we have.

 

At the time that Moses preached the sermon in Deuteronomy, Israel was standing on the threshold of the promised land. The rich land of Canaan was God’s gift to His people, the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was a land too good to be true, especially after 40 hard years of wandering in the wilderness. It was a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which the people would eat bread without scarcity, in which they would lack nothing. “And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.”

 

God knew the fickle hearts of His people. He knew they would not thank Him. He knew how self-centered the human heart is. So Moses said, “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth.” “Remember.” That’s the key word in Deuteronomy. Remember the God who remembers you. Remember that God is the giver of the gifts. Remember to thank God for His gifts.

 

Thanksgiving, if it is to be thanksgiving to God, begins with our receiving Jesus, the Living Bread, and the gifts He died to give us, such as the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. Without these, there can be no thanksgiving to God. Thanksgiving flows out of faith in Jesus Christ; His perfect life of thanksgiving lived in our place; His atoning death on the cross; His victorious resurrection that means our rising from the dead on the Last Day; and our inheritance of eternal blessing.

 

And so we will give thanks to God—today, tomorrow, and every day. We will do it as citizens of our nation, as priests to God that we all are, anointed in Baptism to pray on behalf of our neighbor. We will give thanks for every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God; for the Word made Flesh, our Savior Jesus Christ; for the good land he has given us; and for the new heaven and new earth to come. 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.

Sermon for 11/22/2020: Last Sunday of the Church Year

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“The Bridegroom Is Coming!”

Matthew 25:1-13

 

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

 

 

Nature reminds us to expect endings, whether it’s falling leaves, shortened days, or the approach of snow. As we consider the end of the year and the end of all things, faith is vital. St. Paul tells us in Romans, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” With that in mind, what do you hear? Listen to the promises of God as you look forward to a new heaven and a new earth. Listen to the watchman’s cry. “Awake, Jerusalem! Arise!” 

God is calling to you today. He is calling you to cast off the works of darkness. He is calling you to rejoice in His gifts, to receive Him with thanksgiving, to look forward to His return with great joy and gladness. Jesus is coming soon, and the Last Day is your day of vindication. It is the day when your Baptism into His death truly brings you out of the tomb and into His glorious light.

God did not appoint you to wrath, as St. Paul reminds us. More than anything else in the whole world, God wants you to join Him in the eternal courts of heaven. He wants you to be with Him forever. God wants all of your sorrows gone. He wants all of your sickness, all of your heartache, all of your aches and pains of body, mind, and soul to be gone forever.

Of course, we are not given to see what great plans God has for us. But God in His infinite kindness, gentleness, and patience, comes into our world to remake what we have messed up so royally. You are Christ’s chosen one, His Bride; He will not let you go. He has taken your despair into Himself. He has emptied the cup of God’s wrath for you. And because He swallowed that bitter wine, your cup of blessing knows no end.

But God’s work is not finished even yet! He bought your life back for you by His blood, and now His great plan of heaven for you comes to you by His Word and Spirit. The invitation goes out to one and all: Come to the feast! Like the bridegroom who comes to meet His bride, we do not know the day or the hour of His returning. But imagine what a day it will be. Every wrong will be made right. Every sin will be eternally forgiven. Your hope for the future is all there in His life and blood.

On the Last Day, Christ will gather His sheep to Himself. God said through the prophet Isaiah: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.” On the Last Day, when Jesus returns in glory, things will be so new and wonderful that we won’t remember the sin and sorrow. All that we suffer because of sin will be gone forever.

We know this by the Spirit of God, who tells this to us in His Holy Word. The wise virgins knew that the most important thing to have in their dark night of waiting was the oil of faith. They looked back at all God had done for His people. He brought them out of the slavery in Egypt. He led them by the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. He brought them into the Promised Land. He brought them back from captivity in Babylon. The Savior who did all these things will also bring you to the eternal Promised Land.

But while we are on this side of eternity, we look forward with all the saints to the new heaven and the new earth. Of course, the Bridegroom, our Lord Jesus Himself, gives us a taste of the eternal wedding Banquet at His Table this day. We feast here with Moses, Elijah, Mary, the Apostles, and all the saints who have gone before us, united in our Lord’s body and blood. Baptized and redeemed, you are invited, welcomed, and seated at the Table.

God’s mercy is for you, and until you are permanently joined with all of Christ’s Church in eternity, rejoice and look forward to that great Day. Do not let these gray and latter days weigh you down. Your life is one of praise, for His life is in you even now. Look up! Behold! Your Bridegroom, your King, is coming! Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly! 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.

Rejoice, O Zion! Sing! Now Available

I started writing hymn texts in 2009. I’d been writing poems and song parodies for years, but it wasn’t until I was a pastor without a congregation that I tried to write a hymn text. I’d written a hymn parody in response to apostasy within the Lutheran Church, and someone made a comment that such a serious topic deserved a serious response instead of a mocking response. So I wrote my first original hymn text, “Lord Jesus Christ, Preserve Your Church.” It’s not a particularly exciting or profound text, but it was at least adequate and proclaimed the truth. 

Eleven years later, I’ve written over one-hundred texts. Some of them are better than others, but all of them proclaim the truth of the Word of God in a simple way. I like to think I’ve grown as a writer over the past ten years. And while confidence has never been my strong suit, I believe God has given me this gift, and I believe I’m not supposed to hide it under a bushel. I’ve shared my hymn texts with you here on my blog. Now I’m sharing it with the world, at least in a small way.

Today marks the release of my first compilation of hymn texts, Rejoice, O Zion! Sing! With 102 hymn texts addressing the readings from every Sunday of the One-Year Lectionary as it is found in Lutheran Service Book (and numerous readings from the Three-Year Lectionary), as well as saint days, events in the life of the Church, and other occasions, readers—and, of course, singers—will find words to express the joy that have in the salvation won for them by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I was blessed that the Reverend William Weedon, former Director of Worship for the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, provided the foreword for this collection. In it he states, “I would argue that what sets a good hymn apart from the pack is that, while it certainly contains both factors (poetry and teaching), it actually is composed out of a sense of awe, and invites those it encounters into that awe. Hymns that succeed most profoundly allow us to catch a glimpse of some marvel of God in Christ and to join the Church in bowing before it, and in giving God thanks and praise in the Holy Spirit. This royal way is what Pr. Kornacki has excelled at in his hymns collected into this present volume.”

For those who purchase this volume, permission is given to reproduce the texts and any original tunes (with one exception) for family or congregational use. I like to think I’m not a narcissist, but I would like to share this gift God has given me with the Church. I pray and hope that those who purchase Rejoice, O Zion! Sing! will find it useful as a tool for prayer, worship, and catechesis.

Rejoice, O Zion! Sing! is available now in print and Kindle editions.

Sermon for 11/15/2020: Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year

 

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“We Will Both Do and Hear”

Matthew 25:31-46

 

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

 

The children of Israel made a solemn oath at the foot of Mount Sinai after Moses delivered God’s Ten Commandments. “Everything that God has said, we will both do and hear.” After they were rebuked for their idolatry with the golden calf, they finally understood that the Word of God is not like our words. The Word of God reshapes your life, your soul, your whole being. No longer can you do what you please apart from the Word of God. You are called to live against your base desires, against what your Old Adam wants. You are called to live the life God has given you instead of the life you choose for yourself. You are called to live this life by faith until you are welcomed into the life of the world to come.

“Everything that God has said, we will both do and hear.” We recently heard that the Law is about love: love for God and love for neighbor. The faith in God which you demonstrate with your love is most clearly shown, most plainly lived, in how you treat others. The life that is in you—the life by which you love God and your neighbor—is the life of Christ. You received it from the Father through the sacrifice of His Son in the waters of Holy Baptism, and He continues to feed that life within you through the ministry of the Holy Spirit through His Called pastors. It is a life that lives for the Father from every Word the Spirit breathes. It is a life that lives for that Word, confident that what the Lord says is for your good.

To be sure, this life in Christ is not an easy route. There are plenty of distractions, many roadblocks, numerous burdens and crosses, griefs and heartaches, trials and afflictions. And the Lord lets you face these tribulations so that you are humbled, so that you might listen better to Him, so that you would trust Him more surely, so that you keep focused on heaven and the one thing needful, so that you do not become lost along the way. To guide and lead you in this life of Christ—and to accomplish in you His salvation—our Lord uses His called and ordained servants of the Word. Through them, our heavenly Father feeds your hunger, quenches your thirst, takes you into His family, clothes your nakedness, visits you with the medicine of immortality, and comes to your rescue and aid in the prison house of sin that you've made for yourself. Our Lord blesses you by doing for you what you cannot do for yourself. Our Lord blesses you by giving you what you do not deserve from His hand, but what He desires to give you nevertheless. Most of all, our Lord blesses you by planting you in Him and by planting Himself in you so that now you get His benefits and inheritance—all because He lowered Himself to take on your nature so that He might raise up your human nature to be like His. And because He has served you in your time of need, you now serve your neighbors in their time of need.

Our constant prayer is that the Lord would continue this ministry among us—not according to the severity of His judgment, but according to His mercy. That prayer is the prayer of the whole church in heaven and on earth until the Last Day. On that day, people are divided by the Lord. He does not divide them on the basis of what He says, for what He says never changes; His mercy endures forever. Rather, our Lord separates the sheep from the goats on the basis of how they lived what they have heard through His Called servants. Through them, the Lord does His work for you. By His grace, you become partakers of the Lord's divine nature. By grace you have a portion in the kingdom of heaven. 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.