+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: 1 Samuel 3:1
Theme: The Precious Word
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The word of God is precious. It’s worth cannot be calculated in human terms. The Psalmist writes, “The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold.”1 How valuable is God’s word? We might get closest to the mark by simply asking the question, “What price can be put on eternal life?” It is only through the Scriptures that we know of Him who is the Word-become-flesh Redeemer. Only through Jesus, the keeper of the true word do we have eternal life. He has robbed death of its power and Satan of his fury through His own death and resurrection. St. John gives us this description of the Saviour from his heavenly vision, “He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God.”2
Dear friends, through His word, Jesus THE WORD interacts with all people of every time and place. Today Samuel responded to the Lord’s call saying, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”3 It’s an appropriate attitude for every believer. The Scripture says, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”4 Through the hearing of God’s word the Holy Spirit opens hearts and minds to receive the truth. For many it happens initially in baptism. Yet, receiving God’s word is hardly a one-off necessity. The word is to our spiritual life as food is to the stomach and as air is to the lungs. Without the word faith will wither and die.
The story of Samuel is remarkable from the start. Hannah, his mother, dedicated him to the Lord out of grateful appreciation that He answered her prayer to have a child. As soon as he was weaned she took him to the temple where he became an apprentice of Eli, the priest. Today’s account describes Samuel’s ‘baptism of fire’. The Lord entrusted Samuel with a serious message. The very next day, young Samuel would become the bearer of God’s word to the mature Eli. It was a word that Eli did not want to hear. It was a word of judgment for the sins of his sons who were wicked priests. Eli had done nothing to restrain them. The Lord’s word soon came pass and Samuel grew to be a prominent prophet of the Lord.
It wasn’t uncommon that the first word a prophet had to carry was a word of judgment. Only God’s law can convict the conscience and bring people to a proper recognition of sin. Without such conviction need for the gospel, desire for God’s forgiveness will not happen. Humans are too adept at justifying themselves. Proficiency at justifying one’s self is always at the top of the agenda for individuals who seek to live independently from God’s truth and will. Together, such individuals seek to establish the same approach in society. Believers should not be surprised.
The secular world will always have an agenda. Its agenda will always be driven by the desire for self-promotion and self-indulgence. It entails the quest for power, money, popularity, prosperity, and security. Pursuit of the agenda involves practices of dishonesty and inequality. The agenda is based on human measures of value and worth. The requirements which allow this agenda to be pursued do, in some measure, overlap with the will of God. A degree of order and stability is needed in society and God tasks government with this responsibility. God wants a peaceful and orderly society. He also wants one in which not only the truth of the gospel can be freely accessed, but also the fundamental parameters of His will are respected. Moral foundations and the well-being of the vulnerable are at stake here.
The world’s agenda is relentless and always pushes forward (or, in the sense of humanity’s well-being, backward) until checked by God’s judgment or revised by the gospel’s transformative power. The church can have no misgivings about her task. Perhaps the church has become naïve or apathetic because society in the past generations has been generally amenable to both Christian teaching, and, more significantly for the civil realm, respectful of the divinely created order. The blessings of the past should be recognized. But the values of society in the past do not necessarily predict the future. Past assumptions about morals, values, and the purpose of life may no longer hold for the average person. In human terms, we are likely to begin feeling lonelier in society. Christians must honestly assess where they’ve been led astray by worldliness and repent.
Samuel became one of the most significant prophets in the history of Israel. So revered was his integrity that the Lord once said to Jeremiah, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would no go out to this people.”5 Samuel faithfully declared God’s word throughout his ministry. We are thankful that God still provides ministers to publicly communicate His truth. But, dear friends, every Christian has the privilege and responsibility of giving witness to the love of God in Christ. St. Peter encourages us saying, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their salander.”6
You see, the Christian who speaks the truth, speaks with the greatest authority. This is so because the believer speaks in the name of Christ. We should always stand in awe of and never underestimate that power. It is not our power, but Christ’s power. It does not cultivate arrogance within us but humility. Those who wield the greatest power are also in need of exercising the greatest humility. In proportion to one’s influence must be the diligence in avoiding the abuse of that power. Jesus said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them…not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”7 Rulers are not necessarily greater sinners than common people when they fall, they’re likely to affect more people though. Christians are frail vessels carrying great promises and authority. We are temples of the Holy Spirit.
Dear friends, the word of God is precious. It carries promise, hope, and life. It is Christ’s word and the Spirit’s instrument. It is never hollow. It is never false. It is never outdated. It is never impotent. At the time of Samuel, the word of the Lord was rare. Scarcity of God’s word could happen again sooner than we think. Oh yes, there are lots of copies (though plenty of translating still needs to be done) in print and in electronic storage systems. More copies of the Bible exist than at any point in history. But having something archived is not the same as possessing it as living truth that shapes and forms one’s life. God’s word is not an historical relic. It is living and active.
When we have God’s word we have the Holy Spirit at work. The Spirit has no other agenda than to connect people with Christ. He was hung upon the cross to pay price for your sins. He rose again on the third day to open the gates of heaven for you. The presence of the Lord Jesus Christ- which we have in the promise of absolution, the water of baptism and the body and blood of Holy Communion- means we have the blessings of the Holy Trinity. What a privilege it is to say with Samuel, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”8 Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
Second Sunday After Pentecost
3 June 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Psalm 19:9-10 2 Revelation 19:13
3 1 Samuel 3:10 4 Romans 10:15
5 Jeremiah 15:1 6 1 Peter 3:15-16
7 Mark 10:42-43 8 1 Samuel 3:10
Thursday, June 7, 2018
National Thanksgiving 2018
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: Philippians 4:6
Theme: Thankfulness In Changing Times
Dear friends in Christ;
The world is changing. It is challenging to be thankful, even optimistic in times of uncertainty. Consider the words of one author, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”, so wrote Charles Dickens in his famous novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ set against the background of the French revolution.
King Solomon offered a caveat to the human temptation to overreact to change. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”1 So much for human affairs. The love of our God, however, is unchanging. It stands the test of time because He is both the author of time and He exists outside of time. Jesus Christ, immortal, eternal, is not subject to the corruptibility of sin. His mercy is never exhausted. His grace is never outdated.
Today we celebrate national thanksgiving. We don’t live in a society that really encourages people to cultivate attitudes of gratefulness. Complaining is more fashionable and more prevalent. The content of mainstream news is overwhelmingly negative. Something about human nature is revealed in this reality. Grumbling is an innate human quality. We don’t have to be taught to grizzle, it comes very, very naturally. Original sin has it’s very routine and habitual manifestations and whinging is one of them.
The biblical narrative is full of examples too. Even the Israelites who witnessed the mighty power of God part the Red Sea and deliver them from slavery in Egypt were soon murmuring when they lacked the comforts that accompanied them in their time under tyranny. Only one of the ten lepers that were healed returned and gave thinks to Jesus. No wonder the apostle Paul is obliged to say, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.”2 God doesn’t call on us to explain our ingratitude, but to repent of it as we do all sins.
For the Christian, thankfulness is not so much characterized by a series of specific episodes or even habitual practice, but an attitude; a posture of response in relation to the God who gives. He gives liberally, causing the sun to shine and the rain to fall even on unbelievers. All benefit from God’s providence whether it is recognized or acknowledge. How much greater, then, are His promises and blessings to those who believe?
The context in which the CPW’s work today is changing also. That’s true in public, private, and Christian schools. Secular ideologies are gaining influence. Some are fundamentally at odds with a biblical worldview. Society is not only becoming sensitive to allowing the overtly Christian message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified to be aired in public spaces, it’s also becoming unhinged from a basis of morality that had been widely accepted by previous generations. One doesn’t need to be Christian- or have any religious affiliations at all- to hold that certain truths are knowable, objective and universal. The design of nature, the protection of the vulnerable, and the well-being of community ought never be sacrificed to the supremacy of individual choice and the freedom to deconstruct the fundamental units of stable society. Children are often vulnerable.
These are grave concerns, but they also bring opportunities. While Satan works to push selflessness and sanctified common sense out of the public square, new spaces will be opened in the lives of those who become disillusioned. This alone is a reason to give thanks. The Holy Spirit never rests on His laurels. He seeks always to bring people to the promised rest of sins forgiven and the confidence of knowing the judgment of God has been resolved in the death of Jesus. That is the highest and holiest reason for true thankfulness. All other reasons must be filtered through this divine sieve.
At the base of the capstone of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C are inscribed two little words in Latin, ‘Laus Deo’- “Thanks be to God! The words cannot be read by people on the ground and few would probably take notice if they could see them. Yet, they stand as a testament to the convictions of those who believe that someone with greater power is behind even the greatest human achievements. The tower of Babel was built with the collective ingenuity and effort of human designers. Yet, what was its purpose? The ark was built by one small family, but its designer was God. For what purpose do we build monuments and legacies today? What are the motivations. God’s purposes are always for our eternal good.
So, in prosperity and in adversity we give thanks to God. Which is more difficult? It is an age-old struggle. Proverbs chapter 30 says it this way, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God.”3 Satan burns the candle at both ends in hopes of getting to the anchor of faith and tearing it loose from its central moorings. But believers have, in baptism, “The shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”4
Probably every age is prone agree with Charles Dickens and say, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Humans can never be free from the vicissitudes of life. The cliché is true: Everyday is a gift. God gives more abundantly than we could ever imagine. We are told the current pace of change is astounding by many historical measures. But this doesn’t alarm the Lord of the church. Jesus Christ still offers forgiveness, life, and salvation to those living in darkness and the shadow of death. He has conquered by His death and resurrection. He has made the sacrifice. He lives and rules. That reality cannot and will not change. No wonder the writer to the Hebrews encourages us with these strong words, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful….”5 After all, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”6
+ In nomine Jesu +
National Thanksgiving Service
27 May 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Ecclesiastes 1:9 2 Philippians 2:14
3 Proverbs 30:8-9 4 Ephesians 6:16
5 Hebrews 12:28 6 John 3:16
Text: Philippians 4:6
Theme: Thankfulness In Changing Times
Dear friends in Christ;
The world is changing. It is challenging to be thankful, even optimistic in times of uncertainty. Consider the words of one author, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”, so wrote Charles Dickens in his famous novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ set against the background of the French revolution.
King Solomon offered a caveat to the human temptation to overreact to change. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”1 So much for human affairs. The love of our God, however, is unchanging. It stands the test of time because He is both the author of time and He exists outside of time. Jesus Christ, immortal, eternal, is not subject to the corruptibility of sin. His mercy is never exhausted. His grace is never outdated.
Today we celebrate national thanksgiving. We don’t live in a society that really encourages people to cultivate attitudes of gratefulness. Complaining is more fashionable and more prevalent. The content of mainstream news is overwhelmingly negative. Something about human nature is revealed in this reality. Grumbling is an innate human quality. We don’t have to be taught to grizzle, it comes very, very naturally. Original sin has it’s very routine and habitual manifestations and whinging is one of them.
The biblical narrative is full of examples too. Even the Israelites who witnessed the mighty power of God part the Red Sea and deliver them from slavery in Egypt were soon murmuring when they lacked the comforts that accompanied them in their time under tyranny. Only one of the ten lepers that were healed returned and gave thinks to Jesus. No wonder the apostle Paul is obliged to say, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.”2 God doesn’t call on us to explain our ingratitude, but to repent of it as we do all sins.
For the Christian, thankfulness is not so much characterized by a series of specific episodes or even habitual practice, but an attitude; a posture of response in relation to the God who gives. He gives liberally, causing the sun to shine and the rain to fall even on unbelievers. All benefit from God’s providence whether it is recognized or acknowledge. How much greater, then, are His promises and blessings to those who believe?
The context in which the CPW’s work today is changing also. That’s true in public, private, and Christian schools. Secular ideologies are gaining influence. Some are fundamentally at odds with a biblical worldview. Society is not only becoming sensitive to allowing the overtly Christian message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified to be aired in public spaces, it’s also becoming unhinged from a basis of morality that had been widely accepted by previous generations. One doesn’t need to be Christian- or have any religious affiliations at all- to hold that certain truths are knowable, objective and universal. The design of nature, the protection of the vulnerable, and the well-being of community ought never be sacrificed to the supremacy of individual choice and the freedom to deconstruct the fundamental units of stable society. Children are often vulnerable.
These are grave concerns, but they also bring opportunities. While Satan works to push selflessness and sanctified common sense out of the public square, new spaces will be opened in the lives of those who become disillusioned. This alone is a reason to give thanks. The Holy Spirit never rests on His laurels. He seeks always to bring people to the promised rest of sins forgiven and the confidence of knowing the judgment of God has been resolved in the death of Jesus. That is the highest and holiest reason for true thankfulness. All other reasons must be filtered through this divine sieve.
At the base of the capstone of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C are inscribed two little words in Latin, ‘Laus Deo’- “Thanks be to God! The words cannot be read by people on the ground and few would probably take notice if they could see them. Yet, they stand as a testament to the convictions of those who believe that someone with greater power is behind even the greatest human achievements. The tower of Babel was built with the collective ingenuity and effort of human designers. Yet, what was its purpose? The ark was built by one small family, but its designer was God. For what purpose do we build monuments and legacies today? What are the motivations. God’s purposes are always for our eternal good.
So, in prosperity and in adversity we give thanks to God. Which is more difficult? It is an age-old struggle. Proverbs chapter 30 says it this way, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God.”3 Satan burns the candle at both ends in hopes of getting to the anchor of faith and tearing it loose from its central moorings. But believers have, in baptism, “The shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”4
Probably every age is prone agree with Charles Dickens and say, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Humans can never be free from the vicissitudes of life. The cliché is true: Everyday is a gift. God gives more abundantly than we could ever imagine. We are told the current pace of change is astounding by many historical measures. But this doesn’t alarm the Lord of the church. Jesus Christ still offers forgiveness, life, and salvation to those living in darkness and the shadow of death. He has conquered by His death and resurrection. He has made the sacrifice. He lives and rules. That reality cannot and will not change. No wonder the writer to the Hebrews encourages us with these strong words, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful….”5 After all, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”6
+ In nomine Jesu +
National Thanksgiving Service
27 May 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Ecclesiastes 1:9 2 Philippians 2:14
3 Proverbs 30:8-9 4 Ephesians 6:16
5 Hebrews 12:28 6 John 3:16
Holy Trinity (B) 2018
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 3:17
Theme: To Save, Not Condemn
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God’s love cannot be restrained. It can be epitomized. That is, seen in its perfect representation as it is in the person of Jesus. But it can’t be controlled. It can’t be regulated. It can’t be quantified by any human measurement. God’s love can’t be governed by any techniques we possess. And it can’t be reproduced by us in like quality. Christ’s love takes the sting out of death. His grace gives peace to the burdened soul. His love unexcelled. And whether we live one day or a hundred years on this earth we are privileged to benefit from that love beyond what we could ever deserve.
Today, on Trinity Sunday, we are privy to a conversation held between Jesus and a man named Nicodemus. It wasn’t a trivial chat. It was an episode of catechesis in which the divine Son of God explained some of the deeper spiritual truths to a mortal son of Adam. It contains one of the most well-know verses in the Bible. “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”1
Trinity Sunday allows us the opportunity to reflect a little more deliberately on the nature of God’s existence. The almighty God, who exists as one divine essence also exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This reality is not tangible to us, but it is clearly revealed in the Bible. We know it by faith, not by sight. It’s not our concern to dissect finer details of this core biblical teaching. Suffice it to say, all three ecumenical creeds of Christianity- the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian- all go to great lengths to emphasize this truth. We are not free address God any way we please and we are not at liberty to casually misrepresent how He has identified Himself to us. But again, a broad intellectual grasp of the doctrine of the Trinity is not our goal at the moment; to even utter God’s name properly is a response of faith. It doesn’t require cognitive thresholds. The newly baptized infant can do it because it is the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Nicodemus, an educated man, struggled to understand how a person related to God and His kingdom. His perspective was warped, and that’s a lesson for us. In our self-indulged, self-focused society it may not readily occur to us that the importance of a single human life within the context of the universe could be considered miniscule. No one is indispensable in the grand scheme of things. The world will go on without us. Also, the reality of sin determines that human life on this earth will be very temporary indeed. The Bible teaches us to size up the matter with these words, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass.”2 And again, “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; and let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath.”3 Such statements should prevent us from making a very high estimation of ourselves. We are sinners and the Holy Spirit calls us to repent.
But, dear friends, the marvelous mystery of the mind and will of God is that He makes the very highest estimation of us. Or, put more accurately, He invests us with the highest value because He invests us with the very life of His Son. God makes the un-valuable priceless. God makes the worthless invaluable. He loves the unlovable. He does this not as an afterthought, but from the very start as part of the design of His creation. Creation is the first consequence of God’s love. Your life is not simply the result of biological forces that drive the continuance of the human race. You are not here by chance or happenstance. You are not a mere biological statistic. The Bible says, “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”4 And, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”5
Still, the love of God with which He has created us is only an image of the love with which He has redeemed us; and this too with an eternal love. We can hardly grasp the profundity of this truth, as described, for instance in Ephesians one, “He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.”6 On the cross Jesus Christ made us sacred objects of divine love. His blood shed there was more than a sufficient price to cover the sins of humanity. But His atonement was not generic. He died for the same unique souls He created. You are one of those souls. The Holy Spirit would have you know that “God so loved the world” means, “God so loved you.”
You are also one of the souls the Holy Spirit has gathered into this sacred entity called the church. Jesus makes it clear in His conversation with Nicodemus today that His life would be given for the sins of the world, but every individual person must be born of water and the Spirit. Spiritual life in baptism is not a generic thing either. The Holy Spirit calls you by name and bestows on you the name of God Himself. Just as every child in a family is unique, so it is in the household of God.
The reality of our unique existence within this mystical fellowship called the Christian church also has very practical consequences. We are something integral and complementary within this communion. There is a marvelous diversity here that God orders to achieve His purposes. He uses us to support one another and the greater mission of His kingdom in the world.
Your life is a living sermon. Even if you do not plan to, you are bringing a message to the community in which you live and the people with whom you interact. What do people learn from the witness you give? Others watch how we conduct ourselves publicly and privately. God uses these interactions as opportunities to show humility, give support, offer care, and uphold the truth. Satan, of course, seeks to poison our interactions, with falsehood and suspicion, cold-heartedness and arrogance. St. Paul says it tenderly and touchingly to the Corinthians, “You yourselves are…written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”7
Jesus Christ embodies the love of God. The Father sent Him to save, not condemn. He does this not with hollow words, but with deeds. His blood was shed. We have access to it at the Lord’s Table. His body was raised. He was vindicated in the Spirit’s power8. The same power will raise our bodies also. We will be freed from sin; freely to fully enjoy the life of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
27 May 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
Holy Trinity
1 John 3:16 2 Isaiah 40:6-7
3 Psalm 39:4-5 4 Psalm 139:16
5 Jeremiah 1:5 6 Ephesians 1:4-5
7 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 8 See 2 Timothy 3:16
Text: John 3:17
Theme: To Save, Not Condemn
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
God’s love cannot be restrained. It can be epitomized. That is, seen in its perfect representation as it is in the person of Jesus. But it can’t be controlled. It can’t be regulated. It can’t be quantified by any human measurement. God’s love can’t be governed by any techniques we possess. And it can’t be reproduced by us in like quality. Christ’s love takes the sting out of death. His grace gives peace to the burdened soul. His love unexcelled. And whether we live one day or a hundred years on this earth we are privileged to benefit from that love beyond what we could ever deserve.
Today, on Trinity Sunday, we are privy to a conversation held between Jesus and a man named Nicodemus. It wasn’t a trivial chat. It was an episode of catechesis in which the divine Son of God explained some of the deeper spiritual truths to a mortal son of Adam. It contains one of the most well-know verses in the Bible. “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”1
Trinity Sunday allows us the opportunity to reflect a little more deliberately on the nature of God’s existence. The almighty God, who exists as one divine essence also exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This reality is not tangible to us, but it is clearly revealed in the Bible. We know it by faith, not by sight. It’s not our concern to dissect finer details of this core biblical teaching. Suffice it to say, all three ecumenical creeds of Christianity- the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian- all go to great lengths to emphasize this truth. We are not free address God any way we please and we are not at liberty to casually misrepresent how He has identified Himself to us. But again, a broad intellectual grasp of the doctrine of the Trinity is not our goal at the moment; to even utter God’s name properly is a response of faith. It doesn’t require cognitive thresholds. The newly baptized infant can do it because it is the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Nicodemus, an educated man, struggled to understand how a person related to God and His kingdom. His perspective was warped, and that’s a lesson for us. In our self-indulged, self-focused society it may not readily occur to us that the importance of a single human life within the context of the universe could be considered miniscule. No one is indispensable in the grand scheme of things. The world will go on without us. Also, the reality of sin determines that human life on this earth will be very temporary indeed. The Bible teaches us to size up the matter with these words, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass.”2 And again, “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; and let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath.”3 Such statements should prevent us from making a very high estimation of ourselves. We are sinners and the Holy Spirit calls us to repent.
But, dear friends, the marvelous mystery of the mind and will of God is that He makes the very highest estimation of us. Or, put more accurately, He invests us with the highest value because He invests us with the very life of His Son. God makes the un-valuable priceless. God makes the worthless invaluable. He loves the unlovable. He does this not as an afterthought, but from the very start as part of the design of His creation. Creation is the first consequence of God’s love. Your life is not simply the result of biological forces that drive the continuance of the human race. You are not here by chance or happenstance. You are not a mere biological statistic. The Bible says, “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”4 And, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”5
Still, the love of God with which He has created us is only an image of the love with which He has redeemed us; and this too with an eternal love. We can hardly grasp the profundity of this truth, as described, for instance in Ephesians one, “He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.”6 On the cross Jesus Christ made us sacred objects of divine love. His blood shed there was more than a sufficient price to cover the sins of humanity. But His atonement was not generic. He died for the same unique souls He created. You are one of those souls. The Holy Spirit would have you know that “God so loved the world” means, “God so loved you.”
You are also one of the souls the Holy Spirit has gathered into this sacred entity called the church. Jesus makes it clear in His conversation with Nicodemus today that His life would be given for the sins of the world, but every individual person must be born of water and the Spirit. Spiritual life in baptism is not a generic thing either. The Holy Spirit calls you by name and bestows on you the name of God Himself. Just as every child in a family is unique, so it is in the household of God.
The reality of our unique existence within this mystical fellowship called the Christian church also has very practical consequences. We are something integral and complementary within this communion. There is a marvelous diversity here that God orders to achieve His purposes. He uses us to support one another and the greater mission of His kingdom in the world.
Your life is a living sermon. Even if you do not plan to, you are bringing a message to the community in which you live and the people with whom you interact. What do people learn from the witness you give? Others watch how we conduct ourselves publicly and privately. God uses these interactions as opportunities to show humility, give support, offer care, and uphold the truth. Satan, of course, seeks to poison our interactions, with falsehood and suspicion, cold-heartedness and arrogance. St. Paul says it tenderly and touchingly to the Corinthians, “You yourselves are…written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”7
Jesus Christ embodies the love of God. The Father sent Him to save, not condemn. He does this not with hollow words, but with deeds. His blood was shed. We have access to it at the Lord’s Table. His body was raised. He was vindicated in the Spirit’s power8. The same power will raise our bodies also. We will be freed from sin; freely to fully enjoy the life of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +
27 May 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
Holy Trinity
1 John 3:16 2 Isaiah 40:6-7
3 Psalm 39:4-5 4 Psalm 139:16
5 Jeremiah 1:5 6 Ephesians 1:4-5
7 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 8 See 2 Timothy 3:16
Pentecost (B) 2018
+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.
Text: John 16:13
Theme: The Guide of Truth
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The Holy Spirt has one goal: To reveal Jesus Christ. Pentecost is not simply a notable episode in biblical history. It is an on-going reality. We are in a continual season of Pentecost. That’s true even during the liturgical seasons of advent, Christmas, lent and Easter. The Holy Spirit is never idle. He doesn’t exist in some restful state, conserving energy until called upon to spring into action. The Spirit is dynamically at work, tirelessly occupied with advancing the fruits of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. Think of how Luther explains the Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come.”1 “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.”2
The Holy Spirit is distinguishable from the other members of the Trinity; but is inseparable. Acting always in concert and with united purpose the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit seek to bring forgiveness and life to a world mired in sin and subject to the penalty of death. You are baptized into the Spirit’s name just as certainly as you are baptized into the name of the Farther and the Son. Jesus said, “All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you.”3
The word of God is the weapon of the Holy Spirit. St Paul calls it the “sword of the Spirit” in Ephesians chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 4 says this, “The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” With the word the Spirit kindles the light of faith in dark and unbelieving hearts. With the word He sets forth the truth to minds blinded by falsehood. With the word He guides lost souls out of the labyrinth of self-absorption and sets them on the narrow road to eternal life. With the word the Spirit strengthens the weak, calms the anxious, brings joy to the sorrowful, and frees souls trapped in guilt with the forgiveness secured at the cross. Everything the Holy Spirit does brings glory to Christ, and through Him, to the Father.
Jesus says today that when the Holy Spirit comes “He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin.”4 Here we see the Holy Spirit wields the word of God’s law to bring people to repentance. He has impeccable accuracy. In a criminal line-up of suspected culprits God makes the correct identification 100% of the time. Not that identifying sinners is a difficult thing! The Scripture says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.”5 And again, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”6 Yet, God’s discernment goes beyond just a general knowledge that we are all sinners. He knows precisely what makes us tick. He knows our hidden jealousies, our secret lusts, our thinly veiled vanities. He knows which expressions of idolatry we are particularly drawn to. He also leads us in our daily struggle against temptation. It is not possible to resist temptation apart from the help of the Holy Spirit. It is not possible to have a single, pure, selfless motivation apart from the Spirit of truth. But the will of a believer seeks to cooperate with the will of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. Faith denotes a real change in a person’s heart and attitude, otherwise it proves to be hollow.
The miracle of Pentecost is claimed by some skeptics to be an embellishment. But, dear friends, if God could create the entire universe by speaking only a single word, is it too great a thing for Him to gift the apostles with the ability to speak in other languages so that the gospel might be heard? If He could speak light into the cold darkness of space, is it too hard of a thing for Him to kindle the light of faith in darkened hearts? The Bible says, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”7 And that’s the be all and end all of His agenda.
Jesus Christ went to the cross so that you might be freed from death’s power. Your guilt, your shame, your liability- rightly charged to you because of your sin- has been completely wiped away by His atoning sacrifice. The Scripture says, “He forgave us our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.”8 The cross was God’s altar of sacrifice on which the pure Lamb had His own blood shed for the transgressions of the world. There at the cross evil exhausted the full measure of its strength, Satan emptied His entire bag of tricks, and hell unleashed its pent-up fury. The Son of God hung there listless and limp. But it wasn’t enough! On the third day He rose again from the grave. Death could not hold Him. Satan was served notice. The war was won. Jesus Christ lives and rules eternally. That truth will never be altered regardless of the direction the world goes.
In Luther’s day God worked a mighty reformation in the church. It was understood then that the church is always in need of reforming. Our age is no different. Only the Holy Spirit can fan into flame the passion of the faithful. He does this in the dynamic of our fellowship together and in context of our personal lives. The Holy Spirit is your comforter. He is your helper. He is your advocate. He is your intercessor. Nothing lies beyond His ability because He comes with the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father Himself.
Maybe you need strength to make it through the next hour, wisdom to consider your next decision, encouragement to make it through the next week. The Spirit possesses all of these gifts and gives of them freely. He does it publicly in this place when we are blessed with the forgiveness of sins earned by Christ, are fed with His body and blood, and are strengthened by our communion with one another. The Spirit continues to speak faith into our hearts and hope into our lives. The greatest miracle of Pentecost wasn’t that the apostles could suddenly speak in languages foreign to them. The greatest miracle was that people who were foreign (estranged from) to the love of God in Christ had the gospel implanted in their hearts. The same miracle still happens today. Thanks be to God!
+ In nomine Jesu +
Day of Pentecost
20 May 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 6:10 2 Luther’s Small Catechism
3 John 16:15 4 John 16:8-9
5 Romans 3:10-11 6 Romans 3:23
7 2 Corinthians 4:6 8 Colossians 2:13-14
Text: John 16:13
Theme: The Guide of Truth
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The Holy Spirt has one goal: To reveal Jesus Christ. Pentecost is not simply a notable episode in biblical history. It is an on-going reality. We are in a continual season of Pentecost. That’s true even during the liturgical seasons of advent, Christmas, lent and Easter. The Holy Spirit is never idle. He doesn’t exist in some restful state, conserving energy until called upon to spring into action. The Spirit is dynamically at work, tirelessly occupied with advancing the fruits of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. Think of how Luther explains the Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come.”1 “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.”2
The Holy Spirit is distinguishable from the other members of the Trinity; but is inseparable. Acting always in concert and with united purpose the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit seek to bring forgiveness and life to a world mired in sin and subject to the penalty of death. You are baptized into the Spirit’s name just as certainly as you are baptized into the name of the Farther and the Son. Jesus said, “All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you.”3
The word of God is the weapon of the Holy Spirit. St Paul calls it the “sword of the Spirit” in Ephesians chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 4 says this, “The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” With the word the Spirit kindles the light of faith in dark and unbelieving hearts. With the word He sets forth the truth to minds blinded by falsehood. With the word He guides lost souls out of the labyrinth of self-absorption and sets them on the narrow road to eternal life. With the word the Spirit strengthens the weak, calms the anxious, brings joy to the sorrowful, and frees souls trapped in guilt with the forgiveness secured at the cross. Everything the Holy Spirit does brings glory to Christ, and through Him, to the Father.
Jesus says today that when the Holy Spirit comes “He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin.”4 Here we see the Holy Spirit wields the word of God’s law to bring people to repentance. He has impeccable accuracy. In a criminal line-up of suspected culprits God makes the correct identification 100% of the time. Not that identifying sinners is a difficult thing! The Scripture says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.”5 And again, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”6 Yet, God’s discernment goes beyond just a general knowledge that we are all sinners. He knows precisely what makes us tick. He knows our hidden jealousies, our secret lusts, our thinly veiled vanities. He knows which expressions of idolatry we are particularly drawn to. He also leads us in our daily struggle against temptation. It is not possible to resist temptation apart from the help of the Holy Spirit. It is not possible to have a single, pure, selfless motivation apart from the Spirit of truth. But the will of a believer seeks to cooperate with the will of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. Faith denotes a real change in a person’s heart and attitude, otherwise it proves to be hollow.
The miracle of Pentecost is claimed by some skeptics to be an embellishment. But, dear friends, if God could create the entire universe by speaking only a single word, is it too great a thing for Him to gift the apostles with the ability to speak in other languages so that the gospel might be heard? If He could speak light into the cold darkness of space, is it too hard of a thing for Him to kindle the light of faith in darkened hearts? The Bible says, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”7 And that’s the be all and end all of His agenda.
Jesus Christ went to the cross so that you might be freed from death’s power. Your guilt, your shame, your liability- rightly charged to you because of your sin- has been completely wiped away by His atoning sacrifice. The Scripture says, “He forgave us our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.”8 The cross was God’s altar of sacrifice on which the pure Lamb had His own blood shed for the transgressions of the world. There at the cross evil exhausted the full measure of its strength, Satan emptied His entire bag of tricks, and hell unleashed its pent-up fury. The Son of God hung there listless and limp. But it wasn’t enough! On the third day He rose again from the grave. Death could not hold Him. Satan was served notice. The war was won. Jesus Christ lives and rules eternally. That truth will never be altered regardless of the direction the world goes.
In Luther’s day God worked a mighty reformation in the church. It was understood then that the church is always in need of reforming. Our age is no different. Only the Holy Spirit can fan into flame the passion of the faithful. He does this in the dynamic of our fellowship together and in context of our personal lives. The Holy Spirit is your comforter. He is your helper. He is your advocate. He is your intercessor. Nothing lies beyond His ability because He comes with the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father Himself.
Maybe you need strength to make it through the next hour, wisdom to consider your next decision, encouragement to make it through the next week. The Spirit possesses all of these gifts and gives of them freely. He does it publicly in this place when we are blessed with the forgiveness of sins earned by Christ, are fed with His body and blood, and are strengthened by our communion with one another. The Spirit continues to speak faith into our hearts and hope into our lives. The greatest miracle of Pentecost wasn’t that the apostles could suddenly speak in languages foreign to them. The greatest miracle was that people who were foreign (estranged from) to the love of God in Christ had the gospel implanted in their hearts. The same miracle still happens today. Thanks be to God!
+ In nomine Jesu +
Day of Pentecost
20 May 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt
1 Matthew 6:10 2 Luther’s Small Catechism
3 John 16:15 4 John 16:8-9
5 Romans 3:10-11 6 Romans 3:23
7 2 Corinthians 4:6 8 Colossians 2:13-14
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