TRINITY EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
  • Home
    • Missions
    • Swaddling Clothes
  • What We Believe
    • Christian Education: Sunday School and Catechism Program
    • Baptism
    • Worship
    • Confession and Absolution
    • Holy Communion
  • Our Pastor
  • Sermons
  • Calendar
  • Choir

"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

Praying in Jesus’ Name

5/10/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Morning Prayer, Ebenezer Newman Downard (fl. 1849-1889), between 1860 and 1861. Public Domain.
Rogate Sunday 
John 16:23-33 
Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church 
May 9, 2021 
 
This Sunday is named Rogate from the Latin word for pray. In our Gospel lesson, Jesus teaches us how to pray, specifically, how to ask God for what we need. Jesus tells his disciples to pray directly to God the Father and that whatever they ask the Father in his name, he will give them. But what does it mean to ask the Father in Jesus’ name? It means to ask the Father according to your faith in Jesus Christ his Son. Jesus says, “The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day, you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” The disciples are able to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name after Jesus speaks plainly to them about the Father. Well, what does Jesus tell them plainly about the Father? He tells them that God the Father sent him into the world to bear the sins of the world on the cross. “That hour” is when Jesus is betrayed into the hands of sinful men, is flogged, beaten, mocked, spit upon, and lifted up on the cross to bear the punishment for our sins. This is not figurative language. This is plain speech. God sent Jesus to die for our sake.  
So, what does this tell us about the Father? Well, it tells us that he loves us. St. Paul articulates it well in the eight chapter of Romans, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things.” (Romans 8:31-32) Jesus tells his disciples plainly about the Father by speaking plainly about his crucifixion, death, and burial. Earlier on this same evening in which Jesus said these words, he said to his disciple Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) This is the case for a couple of reasons. First, the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father. They share the same divine essence. It is impossible to see the Son without the Father. Secondly, because Jesus does the will of his Father. He has come to die on the cross for our sins. Why? Because it was the Father’s will to crush him, having laid our iniquities upon him. When we see Jesus on the cross, we see our heavenly Father. Not that the Father suffered for us. He didn’t. Only the Son did. But on the cross, we see how much our heavenly Father loves us. He has done this out of love for us. So, we know he is willing to give us all things.  
Jesus said, “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” This certainly is the case for most of us. We do not ask God as we ought. Either we take for granted that he gives us all that we need, so we forget to recognize that all good gifts come from God and to ask him for them with thanksgiving; or we are afraid to ask the Father for anything. We are embarrassed, because we sinned against him and have not lived as we ought. A guilty conscience delays our prayers until we can feel worthy enough to pray. Yet, Jesus does not tell us to become worthy to pray. Rather, he tells us plainly about the Father, that he loves us and prepared our salvation and forgiveness for us through Christ. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray despite our guilt and shame, but rather on account of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.  
Now that we know that to pray in Jesus’ name means to pray to God in faith, we now must know what we ought to pray for. Jesus says, “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give you.” So, what ought we pray for? Everything. Jesus promises that God will give us everything we ask for. Now, obviously this everything does not include evil. We cannot ask God to commit evil or allow us to do evil. To ask in Jesus’ name means to ask in faith, and our faith draws us to ask for those good things that God desires to give us. Yet, although God generously promises to give us everything we ask for, we still find it difficult to know what to ask from him. So, Jesus has taught us a simple prayer, which you all know by heart, by which we ask our heavenly Father for absolutely everything we need.  
Jesus teaches us to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven.” We have the confidence to call God our Father, because Jesus, God’s Son, is our brother, who has joined himself to us through faith. Father’s love their children and gladly give them what they need. So, being invited by Christ to call God our Father should bring great joy and confidence that we will receive what we ask for.  
“Hallowed be Thy name.” With this petition we ask that God’s word would be taught to us in its truth and purity. We are asking that God’s word be preached to us. This makes sense, because it is after Jesus speaks to the disciples plainly about the Father that they are able to pray in Jesus’ name. Gospel preaching creates faith. You must have faith in order to pray in Jesus’ name. So, it makes sense that the first thing we ask for is that we would continue to hear plainly about the Father, that is, that we would hear pure Christian preaching, so that we continue to have confidence to pray to God the Father and to believe that he will give us all that we ask for.  
“Thy kingdom come.” With this petition, we ask that God would give us faith by his Holy Spirit, so that we can believe the preaching and live in Jesus’ kingdom here and now and also in eternity. We live in Christ’s kingdom in Jesus’ name, that is, through faith in Christ guided by the Holy Spirit we live in service to God and our neighbor. If we are to live in Christ’s kingdom in eternity, we must live in his kingdom now through faith. For this reason, Jesus teaches us to pray for God’s kingdom to come by giving us his Holy Spirit.  
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” With this petition we ask that God would hinder the evil wills of the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh, so that God’s good and gracious will can be done among us. With this prayer, we ask both for things we know and do not know. We know it is God’s will that we believe his holy word and live godly lives according to it. That is why he sent his Son to die for us and why he sent his Holy Spirit to create faith in our hearts and forgive our sins. Yet, we do not know what we must suffer on this earth, when and for how long. There is much that God simply does not reveal in his word. Yet, through faith in Christ, we believe that all things work out for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. So, we boldly pray not that our will be done, but that God’s will be done, with sure hope that it will lead to our salvation.  
“Give us this day our daily bread.” In this petition we ask for everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body. Rogate Sunday always falls around planting time. That makes a lot of sense. It takes a lot of faith to put seeds in the ground. And farmers ought to pray that God will cause their seeds to sprout and grow and bear a bountiful harvest. They know that this is beyond their control, but not beyond God’s. With this petition we ask for all that we think we need and for all the things that we need, but don’t know it yet. This teaches us to receive all that we have with thanksgiving.  
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Without forgiveness of sins, we are unworthy to pray. Yet, Jesus has won an inexhaustible source of forgiveness for us. Whenever we pray, we should ask for forgiveness, so that our prayers are not hindered by doubt or unbelief. This is the only petition we pray where we in turn make a promise. We promise to forgive others. This is a fruit of saving faith. You can only forgive others if you believe that you have been forgiven by your heavenly Father. So, as we pray to our heavenly Father in Jesus’ name in response to hearing the preaching of Jesus, so we also forgive in response to being forgiven.  
“Lead us not into temptation.” Temptation leads to sin, which leads to unbelief. We know that the devil and the world are against us, because they are against Christ. And we know too well that our own sinful flesh betrays us, which is why the devil tempts us according to our own sinful desires. For this reason, we should constantly pray to be led out of temptation. When we are overwhelmed with sinful lusts, we should run to God in prayer, listen to his word, and not stop praying until the hour of temptation passes. Satan tempts us in order to stifle our prayers, but Jesus tells us to pray all the more when tempted. God knows our weakness and will gladly send aid in such affliction.  
“Deliver us from evil.” With this petition we pray that God would grant us a Christian death. We certainly pray that God would defend us against all evils of body and soul, which may attack us in this life. Yet, there is no evil so great as to die in unbelief. We pray that we would never outlive our love for Christ, but that we will escape this world of sin in Jesus’ name.  
We close every prayer with the Hebrew word, “Amen,” which means, “Yes, yes, it shall be so.” This is because we pray in Jesus’ name and Jesus never lies. We are confident that our heavenly Father will give us what we pray for, because he loves us through Christ Jesus.  
Now that we know how we should pray: in Jesus’ name, that is, through faith in God’s love for us through Jesus; and we know what we should pray for; all things that we need for body and soul here and now as well as in eternity; now we must know when we should pray. Always. At all times. St. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5, “Pray without ceasing.” This is the life of the Christian. We hear God’s Word in church, and we pray in response to it. We meditate on God’s Word at home, and we pray in accordance with it. This is why we often recite the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed before we pray the Lord’s Prayer. It is after Jesus has spoken plainly to us about the Father that we have confidence to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. Sometimes our prayers are very formal, as they are in church or in the Lord’s Prayer. Sometimes our prayers are said at a certain time, such as before and after we eat and when we go to bed. And sometimes our prayers are informal, even inaudible, and said at any and every hour of the day. And at all these times our heavenly Father hears us and answers us in his good time. When you are tempted, when you have sinned, when you are in anguish, when you are joyful, in the morning and at night, in church and at home, when you are with your family and alone, pray. Make known your needs to God in Jesus’ name. Ask, seek, knock, and you will receive. Amen.  
0 Comments

Rogate Sunday (Easter 6) :As Dear Children Ask Their Dear Father

5/7/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
John 16:23-30 
May 6, 2018 
 
"Our Father who art in heaven. What does this mean? With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father." So, writes Martin Luther in the explanation to the introduction of the Lord's Prayer, which you all learned in your Small Catechism. And these beautiful words are not the wishful thinking of an optimist. Jesus himself teaches us that these words are true when he says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give to you.", and "In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God."  

The Father himself loves you! That's what Jesus says. And so, we Christians should have the confidence to ask God as dear children ask their dear Father. But how can we, poor miserable sinners, mere mortals, who like the grass are here today and gone tomorrow, presume to make requests to the holy, eternal, almighty God? Jesus says, "Because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God."  

To love and believe in Christ is the same thing as to ask in Jesus' name. Jesus is teaching us to pray in faith. It is because of our faith in Christ that God answers our prayers. Not because our faith is some marvelous work that impresses God and earns satisfaction for our sins. If that were the case, we would never pray in confidence, because we would always question whether our faith were good and sincere enough. But Jesus doesn't tell us to wait until we feel worthy before we pray and make our requests to God. Instead, Jesus invites us to pray in his name, trusting that Christ has made everything right between us and our heavenly Father.  

Faith receives what Christ has done for us. We believe that Jesus came from God. Well, why did he come? He didn't take a vacation from heaven. Neither did he establish an earthly kingdom. No, Jesus came to live under the law in your place and love and serve in every way you've failed to love and serve, even while battling temptation in every way you have and more and remaining sinless to go to the cross and suffer the punishment God had built up for all sinners. That was Christ's purpose in coming from the Father. When Jesus departed from the Father and became man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the only path back to his Father was through pain and suffering on our behalf. Jesus came from the Father and returned back to the Father in order that you might also go to the Father through faith in him.  

To pray in Jesus' name, and in so doing, to pray as a dear child to his dear Father, does not involve any merit on your behalf. Rather, to pray in Jesus' name is to acknowledge that you are an unworthy sinner and to ask God to answer your prayers solely for the sake of Christ's holy obedience and bitter suffering and death. Christ Jesus departed from the Father to endure the shame of the cross out of obedience and love for God the Father, who sent him to save you, and out of affectionate love for you his dear lambs. Nothing in the history of time and beyond time pleases our heavenly Father more than the fragrant offering and sacrifice, which Christ offered upon his cross to God the Father. Because it is this sacrifice, which gives us the right to call upon God as his dear children. Jesus did this willingly for your sake. And he gives you the benefits of this sacrifice freely to be received by faith. It pleases God greatly to hear his children pray for the sake of his Son Jesus and what he did on the cross for them. 

Through faith in Christ you are a dear child of God, as St. Paul writes in Galatians chapter 3, "For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Notice how St. Paul moves seamlessly from faith to Baptism. You can't separate faith from Baptism. Jesus says, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved." (Mark 16:16) And St. Peter preaches, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." (Acts 2:38) In Baptism God connects all of the benefits that faith receives, the forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and eternal salvation to all who believe. Babies too should be baptized, because they are sinners and need salvation.  

Some argue that babies shouldn't be baptized, because they can't have faith. Well, it's quite presumptuous to assume that babies can't have faith while adults can. In fact, it is impossible for anyone to have faith except it be given as a gift by the Holy Spirit. And in Baptism, the Holy Spirit is given, as Scripture says. Everyone who is baptized, including little babies like little Kendrick, receive the Holy Spirit and put on Christ.  

Kendrick has received Christ by grace in Baptism. He is a child of God, because of what God has done to him in Baptism. Kendrick's Baptism has joined him to Christ's death and resurrection, which is so pleasing to our Father in heaven. And Kendrick has the right and distinguished honor of asking the almighty God as a dear child asks his dear father. As St. Paul again writes in Galatians chapter 4, "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 

And this is a great lesson to all us parents. What is greater, heaven or earth? Who is more important, us sinners or the almighty God? And so, we must recognize that our children are not our own. We are at best earthly parents. Yet, our baptized children have a heavenly Father, who is far greater than us. And it is our God-given duty to teach our children to call upon this heavenly Father.  

Kendra and all Christian mothers brings her children to church, because Scripture tells us that the Church is our heavenly mother (Galatians 4:26). And although earthly mothers provide essential nurture, it pales in importance when compared to the nurture provided by the Christian Church, which feeds her children the forgiveness of sins, increased faith, eternal salvation, even the true body and blood of Christ with all the benefits of the cross.  

Charles and all Christian fathers must also bring their children to know their heavenly Father, who knows his children more intimately and loves them far greater than Charles or any of us fathers could ever dream to love our own children. And our weak minds are able to see this feebly when we ponder God's love in the passion of Christ. And so, all you fathers need to teach your children to bow their heads and pray to their heavenly Father and to go and listen to his word. Do it by example as well by praying to him and hearing his word, for he is your heavenly Father too.  

Jesus says, "Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." This is a perplexing statement from Christ. I know I've asked for things that I have not received, at least not in the way I expected. Yet, even if I were to get everything my heart desired, could I actually say that these things would make my joy full? Can any of us say that if we receive what we ask for, then we would be complete? And so, we learn that we have a lot to learn about what we should ask for.  

I should call my father more often than I do. For one, because I love him and he loves me. For another reason, he is a lot wiser than I am. He's 35 years older than I am. He's been married 38 years longer than I have been. And he's been a pastor for 36 years longer than I have. He has a lot more experience than I do. And because he has so much more experience and knowledge, when I talk to him, I should spend a whole lot more time listening than I do talking, so that I learn. Well, how much more does that apply when conversing with the eternal, all-knowing God!  

Prayer is when we speak to God. Does God speak back to us? You bet he does! And if we are going to learn to ask for things that will complete our joy, we need to listen when God speaks, so that we know what to ask for. God teaches us what to pray for in no more succinct and comprehensive way than when Christ teaches us the Lord's Prayer. Here we learn that God want us to ask for great things.  

Hallowed be thy name. Here God would give us the very Gospel, to teach us of Jesus and how to love him and to protect us from all false teachers. We pray that the very name of God would be holy among us! There is nothing greater than God's name. Thy kingdom come. Here we pray that the forever reigning kingdom of God would be established in our very hearts! That the Holy Spirit would come upon us, so that we can believe his Word and live in his kingdom in this life and the next. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Here we pray that God would break the teeth of Satan, to protect us from the temptation of this world and the weakness of our fallen flesh. These three things are the greatest things we could ask for. And the more we learn from our Lord, the more we marvel how God invites us to pray for such great things and that he promises to give them to us! 

Your joy can be filled! But it won't be fulfilled with a new car or a nice retirement home on a spacious acreage. It won't even be fulfilled by your wife and children. Your joy is filled when God makes his holy name to dwell among his church, when his kingdom expands and you are in it, and when Satan is placed beneath your feet by the blood of Christ.  

The Lord's Prayer also invites you to pray for everything you need in this life, which gives you confidence that God cares for your body as well as your soul. God invites you to pray for forgiveness with the promise that he will forgive your sins as often as you repent. He invites you to pray for protection from temptation, with the promise for the way of escape from every temptation. He invites you to pray for deliverance from all evil, including an evil death that leads to hell.  

God invites you to pray for great things, if you will listen. He invites you to pray for things that only a great, powerful, and loving Father could invite you to pray for. And he is ready to give you all these things even before you ask him, even as he sent his Son to die for our sins long before we could ever ask him to.  

There is nothing too great for you to ask God. He has given you his own Son. And so, so he will graciously give you all things. You can call him Father despite all your sins, because Christ has earned that right for you. And so, we rejoice with the Psalmist and say, "Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me! Amen.  ​
0 Comments

Rogate (Easter 6) Sermo/ Confirmation Sunday: Jesus Invites Us to Pray

5/22/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
John 16:23-30
​
"Truly, truly, 
I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." Our Lord Jesus Christ has given you a promise that God will answer your prayers. That's awesome. When the Israelites were dying from venomous snake bites they had to ask Moses to pray to the LORD for them. But not you. You can ask God directly! Your Savior Jesus says, "In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." So you see that it is by faith in Jesus Christ that you have the promise to pray directly to God and have the assurance that you will receive whatever you ask for. 
 
Jesus Christ won this privilege for you by coming from the Father to earth, joining our human race, dying for our sins, and returning to the Father alive. It's all about what Jesus has done. That's why you can pray with certainty. This means that your sins cannot disqualify you from prayer nor will God ignore your prayers, because of your sins. It is a lie of the devil that you are unworthy to pray or that God will not hear you. When you feel least worthy to pray, that is when you need to pray all the more! And your heavenly Father hears your prayers and answers them, not because of your worthiness, but because of Christ. Therefore, if you have faith in Christ, you are worthy to pray and God hears your prayers gladly. So if you are tempted or fall into a horrible sin or doubt, that is not a time to hide from God, but to run to him in prayer. He will hear you.  

St. James says not to be hearers of the word only, but doers. Prayer is the word in action. You have the right to pray to God through faith. Faith comes from hearing the word of God. Your prayers and God's word are inseparably linked. God's Word gives you Jesus. Your prayers and Jesus are inseparably linked. If you have Jesus, your prayers will be answered.  

Not only do you have the promise that your prayers are effective, but you have the command to pray. Pray without ceasing.  

So you know that you have the promise that God will hear and answer your prayers. You know you have the command to pray. So, what should you pray for? Well, we already know that prayer cannot be separated from God's word and faith in God's word. So it's a good idea to ask God what to pray for. And your dear Lord Jesus has taught you a prayer, the Lord's Prayer. In the Lord's prayer we make seven petitions directly to God our Father. Every request a Christian makes in prayer fits into one of these petitions in the Lord's Prayer. The first three petitions specifically address the needs of the confirmands today.  

The first petition is, "Hallowed be thy name." In other words, "Let your name be holy among us, O Lord." How is God's name kept holy? You were all taught, "God's name is kept holy when the word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven! But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God's Word profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly Father!" 

Sam, Thane, Olivia, Matthew, and Zack, in your vows this morning you will confess to believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as he is confessed in the Apostles Creed, and that the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures, that is, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are the true Word of God. And you will confess that what you were taught from the Bible and from the Small Catechism drawn from the Bible is faithful and true. When you pray, "hallowed be thy name" in the Lord's Prayer, you are asking that God will provide you with faithful pastors who will teach what you here confess to be true. And you pray that you would actually listen to what is preached and taught to you and that you would believe it.  

It matters what you believe. Despite what you may learn elsewhere, there is such a thing as truth. God's word is truth. Jesus is truth. You have a real Creator, there is a real heaven and a real hell. You have real sins, the wages for which are death and hell. You need a real Savior. So the truth matters. What you have been taught and what you are confessing before God and man this morning is the truth. Jesus Christ is true God, the second Person in the Holy Trinity. He is also true man, sharing in your flesh and blood, yet without sin. Jesus took your place under the law and he loved perfectly. Yet he died for your hatred and sin. This is true. This is what your faith depends on.  

Your faith depends on the truth. That means that you need to hear the truth, so that you can believe and confess the truth. When you pray, "Hallowed be thy name" you are praying that God would grant you the grace to keep your confirmation vows and to confess the truth unto your dying day.  

Your prayers depend on the truth of God's Word. If what you believe is false, then how do you know whether God loves you? How do you know if Jesus has reconciled you to the Father? How do you know if God will answer your prayers? And so you pray, "hallowed be thy name" for the sake of your prayers, so that you may know that God does hear them and answer them.  

This is why you learned the Small Catechism by heart. Your memory work wasn't some mindless assignment. I didn't assign it to you kids, because my pastor assigned it to me when I was younger and his pastor assigned it to him and so forth throughout the generations and we're all afraid to fall from tradition. The Small Catechism teaches you the basics of the Christian faith drawn from the Bible. The Small Catechism is not a textbook. It is a prayer book. That is why we recite it together as a congregation. You should recite at least a portion of your Catechism everyday as part of your prayers. And when you have a family, you should recite it to them, teach it to your children, and pray it with them. The Small Catechism teaches you the truth of God's Word. God answers your prayer, "Hallowed be thy name" by you praying the Catechism. That is where you learn who God is, what his Law and Gospel are, how to pray, and where to find Jesus. Keep your Catechism by your bedside. Pray a portion of it every night before you go to bed. And God's name will be hallowed among you.  

Thy kingdom come. God's kingdom certainly comes without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also. How does God's kingdom come? You learned, "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." The confirmands will be asked, "Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord's Supper faithfully?" They will answer, "I do, by the grace of God." Whenever you pray, "thy kingdom come" in the Lord's prayer, you pray that God would give you the grace to keep this vow. How does God's kingdom come to you? Through his Word. The Holy Spirit will come to these confirmands through the holy Word of God, to create faith and guide them in the way of truth.  
The Third Commandment is, "Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and his word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it." This of course means that when you skip church, neglecting to hear the preaching of God's word or to learn it, you are breaking the Third Commandment and sinning. That is serious in and of itself.  

But there's actually something even greater than that. God's kingdom comes through his Word. The Holy Spirit comes through God's Word. God answers your prayer, "Thy kingdom come" by preaching God's Word and sending you his Holy Spirit in church! So breaking this vow by not going to church is not only a sin, but it is damaging to your faith and goes against your prayer, "Thy kingdom come." When you pray, "Thy kingdom come" you are praying that God will either get you to church or get God's word to you in some other way if you are physically incapable of going. When God's kingdom comes to you through his Word, your faith is increased, you become more sure of your salvation and more confident in your prayers.  

Finally, the Third Petition: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Well, what is God's will? "God's will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God's name or let His kingdom come; and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. This is His good and gracious will."  

The confirmands will be asked, "Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death?", and, "Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?" And to both questions they will answer, "I do, by the grace of God." Now why are we asking kids to keep this faith and to live according to God's Word even to death? Is it appropriate to ask such a question? To death? Yes, it is. Why is it appropriate? Because it is God's good and gracious will that these five youths reject all evil plans of the devil, the world, and their sinful nature and hold fast to God's word in faith, trusting in Jesus Christ unto life everlasting.  

It is God's will that you be baptized and believe the Gospel. It is God's will that you go to church and hear his word and believe it. It is God's will that you continue to read and learn your catechism and grow in faith each day. It is God's will that you trust in the cleansing blood of Jesus, shed for you to wash away your sins. It is God's will that you receive Jesus' body and blood in the Sacrament for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of faith. It is God's will that you pray to him often, alone, with your family, with the church, night and day, when you are afraid, when you are brave, at all times. This is his good and gracious will.  

In confirmation class you have learned that God loves you. You have learned to be confident in your salvation, because Jesus cannot fail. And you have learned to be confident to pray. You're not done learning. And Jesus is not done teaching you. He will continue to teach you to pray through his Word and Sacraments until all your prayers are finally answered and your joy is full.  

Amen.  ​
0 Comments

    Rev. James Preus

    Rev. Preus is the pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA. These are audio and text of the sermons he preaches at Trinity according to the Historical Lectionary. 

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All
    Advent 1
    Advent 2
    Advent 3
    Advent 4
    All Saints Day
    Angels
    Ascension
    Ash Wednesday
    Baptism Of Our Lord
    Christmas 1
    Christmas 2
    Christmas Day
    Christmas Eve
    Circumcision And Name Of Jesus
    Confirmation
    Easter 2
    Easter 3
    Easter 4
    Easter 5
    Easter 6
    Easter Sunday
    Easter Vigil
    Epiphany
    Epiphany 1
    Epiphany 2
    Epiphany 3
    Epiphany 4
    Exaudi (Sunday After Ascension)
    Funeral
    Good Friday
    Good Shepherd
    Last Sunday
    Lent 1
    Lent 2
    Lent 3
    Lent 4
    Lent 5
    Lenten Services
    Maundy Thursday
    Means Of Grace Lenten Series
    Name Of Jesus
    Nativity Of St. John The Baptist
    Palm Sunday
    Pentecost
    Presentation Of Our Lord
    Quasimodogeniti
    Quinquagesima
    Reformation Day
    Robert Preus
    Second Last Sunday
    Septuagesima
    Sexagesima
    St. James Of Jerusalem
    St. Michael And All Angels
    St Stephen
    Thanksgiving
    Transfiguration
    Trinity
    Trinity 1
    Trinity 10
    Trinity 11
    Trinity 12
    Trinity 13
    Trinity 14
    Trinity 15
    Trinity 16
    Trinity 17
    Trinity 18
    Trinity 19
    Trinity 2
    Trinity 20
    Trinity 21
    Trinity 22
    Trinity 24
    Trinity 25
    Trinity 26
    Trinity 27
    Trinity 3
    Trinity 4
    Trinity 5
    Trinity 6
    Trinity 7
    Trinity 8
    Trinity 9
    Trinity Sunday

    RSS Feed

© 2017  www.trinitylutheranottumwa.com
  • Home
    • Missions
    • Swaddling Clothes
  • What We Believe
    • Christian Education: Sunday School and Catechism Program
    • Baptism
    • Worship
    • Confession and Absolution
    • Holy Communion
  • Our Pastor
  • Sermons
  • Calendar
  • Choir