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

God has compassion on us before we believe and in his mercy he gives us faith to receive his grace.

10/9/2019

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Jesus raises the son of the widow of Nain, "The Story Bible from Genesis to Revelation," 1873, Artist Unknown, Public Domain
Luke 7:11-17 
October 6, 2019 
 
The famed atheist Richard Dawkins made headlines this past week, because he admitted that Jesus likely did exist. Of course, he denies that Jesus performed any of the miracles attributed to him in the New Testament or that he rose from the dead. Yet, this really shouldn’t be surprising at all. Although many atheists confidently assert that Jesus never existed, those scholars who actually study the evidence overwhelmingly conclude that Jesus, the human being really did walk the earth in the region of Judea and Galilee around 2,000 years ago. And it’s not just Christian scholars, but agnostic, atheist, Jewish, and Muslim scholars by and large agree that Jesus of Nazareth is a real historical person.  
There is general agreement that Jesus lived, because of historical writings around that time, not just the New Testament, but a few secular sources also refer to Jesus as a real person. However, most do not believe that Jesus performed miracles, like raising the widow’s son from the dead, which we heard of in our Gospel lesson, or that Jesus himself rose from the dead. It is not that we have any less evidence for these miracles. They were written about by a number of eye-witnesses that corroborate each other. Yet, people don’t believe that these miracles happened, because, well, they’re miracles. Miracles just don’t happen.  
The widow who gave lodging to Elijah had no hope that her son would come back to life. She was familiar with death. She was a widow. She knew that once a person died, he was dead. She knew that her son was gone forever. Yet, when Elijah brought her son back to her alive and said, “See, your son lives.” The woman exclaimed, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.” Seeing is believing. The woman couldn’t deny her own eyes. She saw that her son lived! 
Likewise, the widow from Nain had no hope that her son would rise from the dead. The crowd who followed her did not look for a way to bring him back, but they fully intended to lay his dead body in a tomb and leave it there to rot. Yet, when Jesus touched the bier and said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”, they saw the dead man sit up and they heard him speak. That is when they realized that Jesus was the Prophet God promised to Moses that he would raise up from among the people (Deuteronomy 18:18). That is when they knew that God had visited his people!  
The people believed in the impossible, because they saw it. Their skepticism died when the dead man rose. And this report spread throughout the whole of Judea. I’m sure when people heard this story, they were skeptical. Yet as more and more witnesses confessed that they saw the dead man rise too, and as they themselves saw the man, who, they knew, had died walking and talking, they became convinced of this miracle. Yet, today few believe in this miracle anymore. 
And this is the way it is with Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead. Few deny that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate. The Romans themselves have records of it. Yet, most deny that Jesus rose from the dead. Why? Is there no evidence that Jesus rose from the dead? Of course, there is evidence. There is as much evidence that Jesus rose from the dead as that he lived and died. Four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, who were eye witnesses wrote of Jesus’ death and resurrection. At least four other writers of the New Testament: Paul, Peter, James and Jude also witnessed the risen Christ. And these writers testify of many more witnesses including the women and the eleven Apostles. St. Paul tells us that over 500 people saw Jesus alive after his death at one time!  
In addition to the many witnesses, all the theories that would disprove Jesus’ resurrection from the dead simply don’t hold water. We know Jesus was crucified. And we know that the Jewish leaders and the Romans wanted people to believe that Jesus stayed dead. Yet, they couldn’t prove it. Why? Because Jesus’ body was gone! Where did Jesus’ body go? Are we to believe that Jesus’ cowardly disciples overpowered armed guards and stole Jesus’ corpse away? Are we to believe that the disciples quietly rolled a giant stone away from the tomb without waking the sleeping guards in order to steal Jesus’ body? And even if we were to believe that the disciples somehow were able to contrive such a hoax, why would they? What did they gain by confessing the resurrection of Christ? They lost their homes, their money, their friends and family. They were stoned, beaten, crucified, and beheaded on account of this claim. They went to their deaths confessing the resurrection of Christ. Not one of the witnesses faltered and admitted it to be a hoax.  
The evidence is overwhelming. Yet, people still don’t believe. Why? For one, with the passage of time, now nearly 2,000 years, it becomes easier and easier to question and doubt the evidence. Most won’t even consider it. They treat it like a sasquatch or UFO citing: I don’t know what, but there’s probably a perfectly reasonable explanation.  
Yet, even those who knew that Jesus rose from the dead, and knew that he raised the son of the widow at Nain, and knew that he raised Lazarus, and that he healed countless people, they still refused to believe. It’s not even that they disbelieved the miracles. They saw the miracles, and they disbelieved in Jesus anyway. And this teaches us something both about faith and unbelief.  
Our faith is rooted in historical facts. It’s important for you to realize this. The accounts of the New Testament do indeed hold up to historical scrutiny. Yet, faith is not simply the ability to discern historical evidence. Nor is faith simply having historical knowledge. Faith is a heartfelt trust in Christ Jesus. Faith is a supernatural gift from God.  
In our Epistle lesson we heard St. Paul pray, “that according to the riches of [the Father’s] glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” To have faith, God must strengthen your inner being, so that you may believe in Christ from the heart. This is a work of God, a gift. It does not come simply by knowing the facts.  
When it comes to receiving faith, you are not the widow, who believes only when she sees her son raised, nor are you the crowd that confesses Christ when they see the dead man rise. Nor are you even the residents of surrounding Judea, who heard the report of this miracle. Rather, you are the dead man himself, helplessly being carried to the grave.  
The dead man was being carried on a bier to the grave. And so, we in our natural state are dead in our sin. And the Law, which convicts us of our transgressions carries us to hell. And we will be carried to hell, unless Jesus stops the Law in its tracks and speaks to us. It is when Jesus speaks to us, that we are made spiritually alive, that we can rise and escape the grip of the Law, which condemns us to hell, and confess Christ with our mouths. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” Jesus spoke personally to the young man. The Gospel is personal. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks to you.  
You don’t become a Christian, because you are convinced of the historical evidence, although the historical evidence can be helpful to battle the lies of this world, which deny our Savior Jesus and his victory over death. And unbelievers do not reject the Christian faith, because they are convinced by evidence that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Rather, faith comes when the message of Jesus Christ is applied directly to you. Why did Jesus die? Why does it matter that he rose from the dead? Jesus died for your sins. The guilt you feel, the reason you know you deserve to go to hell, all that is laid on Jesus. And he bore the divine punishment for your sins. When Jesus rose, he proved that all your sins are paid for, that God is fully satisfied and at peace with both Christ Jesus and you.  
The Gospel speaks to you. It is not good enough to simply believe the historical facts. You must believe that God himself is merciful to you, that he forgives your sins, and that he will give you eternal life for Christ’s sake. This is done when the Holy Spirit convinces you of God’s compassion in your inner being.  
The Gospel is for sinners, who know they are sinners. The Gospel is for those, who fear God’s wrath and punishment. The Gospel is for those, who fear not only physical death, but eternal death in hell. The Gospel is for those, who have heard God’s holy Law and believed it. This is why God proclaims the Law to us, to kill us, so that he may make us alive with the Gospel. Those who reject Christ and his Gospel do so, quite often, because they have rejected the truth of the Law, that they need a Savior to rescue them from their sins and give them eternal life.  
Faith in the Gospel can only come as a gift from the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.” This means that we, who believe without having seen have been given a special gift from God. We have knowledge that surpasses understanding, which surpasses all historical evidence and inquiry. We have knowledge of the love of Christ, that he died and rose to forgive us and give us eternal life.  
Jesus saw the widow and had compassion. Who wouldn’t? It was a tragedy. She lost her husband and now she lost her only son. Her family was taken from her. Jesus shows us that our God is compassionate. He has mercy on the woman, and gives her son back to her alive. Is this not the reason Christ came to earth? Compassion! He came to earth to show mercy on us sinners, to rescue us in our misery.  
On Wednesday, evening tragedy struck St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge, IA. Pastor Allen Henderson was murdered outside his church in an apparent robbery. His wife is now a widow. St. Paul Lutheran lost their head pastor. The police force lost its chaplain. Pastor Henderson spent his career preaching about God’s compassion. He regularly proclaimed Christ’s resurrection from the dead and assured his congregation that God would raise them from the dead as well. Now his preaching is put to the ultimate test. He preached that death was swallowed up in victory. Will that victory come for him? He preached God’s compassion. Will God hear the cries of his wife and his congregation? Yes, indeed. Allen Henderson will rise from the dead. God indeed looks upon his family and congregation in mercy. And he will comfort them with the Gospel that promises forgiveness of sins and life after death.  
All who mourn the death of Pastor Henderson need what St. Paul prays for in our Epistle lesson, that God the Father would grant them strength in their inner being through the Holy Spirit, so that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith. This happens through the proclamation of the Gospel, that proclaims God’s compassion. Through faith in the Gospel, they will have knowledge not only of the facts of the past, that Christ did indeed rise from the dead, just as he rose the son of the widow at Nain. But through faith, they will have knowledge of the future, that they themselves will rise from the dead to eternal life, just as Pastor Henderson will.  
And so, will you. This is what Christ’s compassion for you leads you to believe. When Jesus died on the cross, he did so for you. When he speaks forgiveness of sins, he’s talking to you. And the day will come when he will call you by name and command you to rise from your grave. And just as you hear and believe his message to you today, so will you on that day. You will rise. Death will be a forgotten dream. The real, true, and ever compassionate Jesus says so. Amen.  
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Trinity 16: Jesus’ Word Conquers Sin and Death

9/17/2018

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Luke 7:11-17 
September 16, 2018 
 
Make no mistake about it, Jesus indeed felt compassion on this widow from the town Nain and he showed to her such mercy that neither she nor her son forgot it for the rest of their lives. Yet, as we consider that there were many more widows and mothers, who had lost their sons in Israel at that time and still today, you might wonder why Jesus chose to raise this son of this widow. No doubt, Jesus loved this particular widow, but he did not perform this miracle for her sake alone, but for the sake of many people, who would believe in him through it. The Holy Trinity orchestrated this event, so that these two great crowds, that which followed Jesus and that which followed the bereaved widow and her dead son, converged to witness this demonstration of Jesus’ powerful word. And as a result, many spread the news of Jesus and many believed in him.  
And for a similar reason, the Holy Spirit caused St. Luke to record this very event, so that you too might hear it and believe that Christ Jesus exercises power over sin and death through his word. It is the word of the Lord, which conquers death. And we need to know how to conquer death just as much as those two crowds did.  
The widow from our Old Testament lesson sobbed at Elijah, “You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” And she was certainly on to something there. Death brings remembrance of sins. This is because death is the result of sin. St. Paul writes, “The wages of sins is death.” (Romans 6:23) and “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12) Therefore, death is the greatest visible reminder of sin.  
Now, if we are by nature sinful (meaning we have inherited our sinful condition from our fathers), that means that by nature we are spiritually dead! St. Paul writes in Ephesians 2, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.” Dead! Spiritually dead! What can the dead do to help themselves? Could the young man wrapped in death cloths, his body cold and stiff, make an effort to come back to life? No! It was Jesus’ decision to raise him from the dead. It was the power of Jesus’ word, which enlivened his soul. It was Jesus’ work, not the work of the dead man. And so, if you are spiritually dead, then you can only be made alive by the will and working of God. And that is exactly how you are given spiritual life, St. Paul writes three verses later,” But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved.”  
If you are spiritually dead then you can only be saved by grace. Grace does not involve any of your works, otherwise it would not be grace. God made you alive when you were dead. And Jesus has demonstrated for all of us that he makes the dead alive through the power of his word.  
And so, it is remarkable the resistance that stands against the power of Baptism to save. The main objection to the teaching that Baptism saves (Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21), is that only faith saves and Baptism is a work. Now it is true that only faith saves, for Scripture says, “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace.” And it is also true that Baptism is a work, but it is not our work. Baptism is God’s work.  
So, let’s start from the beginning. What is Baptism? Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word. You see Baptism is not just a sprinkling of water. It’s no ordinary bath. Neither is this just water alone, otherwise it wouldn’t be a Baptism. This is water joined with God’s powerful word! And what have we learned about the Word of God? It is powerful enough to raise the dead!  
Baptism is pure grace, because in Baptism sinners are saved apart from their own works through the power of God’s Word. This is why St. Paul writes in Titus chapter 3, “He saved us, not by works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism is not your work. If it were, it would only be an imperfect work with no power to save. But Scripture says that Baptism saves all who believe (Mark 16:16).  
Many are offended that Lutherans baptize babies, because babies can’t make a decision or confess their faith. Perhaps they’re also offended that Jesus didn’t ask the dead man if he wanted to be raised from the dead. But babies are not less capable to receive God’s grace than adults. In fact, Jesus says, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Mark 10:15) 
Those who reject infant Baptism give too much credit to physical birth. Physical birth can never give you the kingdom of heaven. “That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is spirit,” Jesus says. “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” Here Jesus goes even further than saying that you must become like a child. He says you must become like a fetus, yes, completely redo your birth! No, not physically, but spiritually. You may have been born a healthy baby, but everyone enters the world as a spiritual stillborn. You are born dead in your trespasses. That is why Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  
And so, Baptism is a new birth of water and the Holy Spirit, who is breathed out through the speaking of Jesus’ powerful word. In Baptism, you receive the birth your mother couldn’t give you, one of the Spirit, which gives eternal life. In Baptism, Jesus speaks and the spiritually dead is raised. And just as Jesus then gave the young man he rose from the dead to his mother, so he places all baptized children into the care of their mother, the church, who continues to nurture them with Jesus’ word and Sacrament.  
Sin and death are inextricably joined together. You can’t conquer death without conquering sin and you can’t conquer sin without conquering death. This means that when Jesus raised this young man from the dead, or whenever he raised a person from the dead, he forgave his sins. This means that Baptism too is a lavish washing away of sins.  
And Jesus’ word conquers sin and death throughout your life as well. The dead man was being carried to his tomb, where he would be locked up for as long as the earth remains. And so, many, who have fallen into sin, into spiritual death, are carried by their sinful desires into unbelief and ultimately damnation and eternal death. And here too Jesus’ words are powerful to save. He calls such sinners to repentance. And he forgives them with the breath of his mouth. Before they can be laid in the tomb of death forever, the Gospel gives them new life. And this is why we should never give up. Those, whom we love, who are caught in sin and unbelief can be turned to faith by the power of God’s Word. Before the grave devours them forever, Jesus can save them.  
Jesus had compassion. And this is more than just a sad feeling we all get when we go to a funeral. Jesus actually felt her pain. More than that, he felt her sins which his death reminded her of. More than that, he felt the young man’s sins. And still more, he felt this young man’s death.  
This is how God visited his people: he took on our human flesh, so that he could sympathize with our weakness. Although he never sinned, he felt the burden and guilt of our sin. And although he did nothing deserving of death, he experienced death and the punishments of hell on the cross. This is how God visits his people. This is what it means that he had compassion.  
And likewise, God visits his people today through his word. Because the great message of God’s Word is that he sent his Son to bear our burdens, to be punished in our place, to devour death, so that it cannot devour us. That is what Jesus’ word communicates in the Gospel. That is why it is so powerful, because it is true. Baptism can join you to Jesus death and resurrection, because Jesus truly did die and rise for you. Baptism washes away your sins, because Christ’s blood provides the flood to do so. Jesus is able to command us to live forever, because he truly sucked the poison out of the sting of death by removing our sins from us. Where there is no sin, there can be no death.  
Fear seized them all. That seems strange. Why would you be afraid of him, who did such a great deed? But it is not that they were terrified of some evil that Jesus would do or frightened of a ghost or zombie. Rather, they had been overcome with a childlike fear. God is in their presence! And he has demonstrated his power. This inspired awe from the crowd that no earthly father can instill in his children. And with such a holy fear comes an earnest trust. Childlike fear of one’s father is a fear that trusts in one’s father.  
And so, we too should have such a childlike fear of our God. Afterall, he has come to visit us with his most powerful word. We should be at awe at the power performed in our Baptism and every time we receive the forgiveness of sins. And we should earnestly desire hear, read, and learn this powerful word. And above all, we should trust in it. When your conscience burdens you by the wicked thoughts you’ve had, let the remembrance of your Baptism give you confidence that your sins are forgiven. Trust that the body and shed blood, which you receive in the Sacrament will do what they set out to do. Trust in the words of forgiveness I speak, not as coming from me, but from him, who commands the dead to rise and they listen.  
And this is the only comfort you will find as you face death head on. When your last hour draws nigh, your sins will try to scare you into spiritual death. But godly fear, which trusts in God’s word will give you confidence. The words of Jesus will give you comfort in your death and confidence to lie down and sleep. You will awaken again as surely as Jesus has spoken, “Your sins are forgiven.” Amen.  ​
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Trinity 16: Jesus Conquers Death and Gives Us The Victory

10/1/2017

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Luke 7:11-17 
 
"I believe... in the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting." We confess this every time we pray the Apostles' Creed. Yet the resurrection of the dead is one of the most neglected articles of our faith. Most people, even Christians, don't ever think of it. People think that when they die their soul goes to heaven and their body just wastes away never to be used again. People even get romantic ideas about having their ashes and ground up bones scattered to the wind, because they won't need them anymore. It's like that Cat Stevens song from 1970, "Miles from Nowhere" where he sings, "Lord, my body has been a good friend, but I won't need it when I reach the end."  
But God's Son did not take on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, suffer the scourging of Pilate and the nails of the cross in his very flesh to save only our souls. Neither did Jesus rise from the dead merely as a spirit, but Jesus rose flesh, blood, bone, and all. He ate with his disciples after his resurrection even bidding Thomas to put his hands in the marks of the nails and spear. The eternal Son of the Father took on a human body and soul, so that he could save both your soul and your body from death. Jesus did not discard his body at death and neither will he discard your body.  
Jesus came to earth to defeat our last and greatest enemy: death. Death is a fearsome enemy and although he is pretty much ubiquitous, he is widely ignored. People don't recognize death as a great enemy to be feared. Young people hardly ever fear death. They think they are invincible. Probably because, statistically speaking, they are rather hard to kill. Yet young people still die. Death pursues them all the way. And the elderly, as the pains and burdens of old age increase, often look at death as peaceful release from the pains of the body, which is true for the Christian, but many ignore faith in Christ even as death approaches.  
But we need to recognize death as a fierce enemy, so that we will recognize the great work our Lord Jesus has done for us in defeating death. We need to recognize death for who he is: the wages of sin and the enemy of God's good creation. When God created the world, he created it good. He did not create us to die, because he is the God of the living. But through one man sin entered the world and death through sin. So now death rules through all for all have sinned. Death is the fruit of our sin. It is evil. Death must be defeated.  
When Jesus saw the widow of Nain weeping behind the casket of her dead son, her only child, he had compassion on her. And so, we see a glimpse of our God's great compassion. You can also see why people loved Jesus so much even before they realized who he was. Jesus is moved by human suffering. We see a similar episode as Jesus is hanging on the cross, enduring not only immense physical pain, the likes none of us will ever see, but also great spiritual turmoil in his soul as he bears the weight of all our sins, and even there under such incredible personal pain Jesus shows compassion on his own mother and gives his disciple John to be her son and caretaker for the rest of her life. So, in this lesson we see that God is compassionate.  
Then Jesus tells the husbandless mother of the dead man to stop weeping (which is not what you should say to a woman at her son's funeral, unless you can raise the dead). Of course, Jesus can and does raise the dead. He commands the dead man, and the dead man listens to him. He becomes alive! And Jesus gives the man back to his mother alive. And so, we see in this lesson that Jesus is God and that he has power over death. It is as the Psalmist says in Psalm 68, "Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belongs deliverances from death." (vs. 20)  
Yet, this is just one man. Countless billions of people have died and likely will die. Can Jesus raise them as well? Is it a bit premature to celebrate when the score between Jesus and death is one to one hundred billion? But this isn't Jesus' big event. This is only a foreshadow of what is to come. Jesus shows here his power over death, but he is yet to administer his victorious blow. When will this great victorious event take place? On the cross. The sting of death is sin. Without sin there is no death. For Jesus to defeat death once and for all and finally restore God's good creation he must eradicate sin. Jesus does this by becoming sin for us. He bears the guilt and shame of all mankind. The iniquity of us all is placed upon him and by his stripes we are healed; healed from our sin, healed from death. It is as St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (vss. 56-57) 
Jesus has a knack for ruining funerals. This was a perfect funeral. People were crying. There was a procession to the grave. There were pallbearers in front. And there was a dead guy! And then Jesus shows up uninvited. He raises the young man from the dead. The funeral comes to an abrupt end. You need a dead person to have a funeral. The funeral was ruined. I don't think anyone complained.  
So, here's the question. Will Jesus be at your funeral? It is quite common these days for Jesus to be almost or entirely absent from funerals. Instead survivors give flattering eulogies for the deceased. Aunt Betty baked the best pies and knit a sweater for each of her grandkids every Christmas. Great uncle Fred was great with kids and everyone loved him, even if he hated kids and was a miserable person to be around. And they'll talk about what their dead loved one loved, animals, baking, hunting, NAS Car, the Hawkeyes, and maybe they'll mention a generic faith without going into details. But who will be noticeably absent from these funerals is Jesus. There won't be any talk of his death and resurrection or what Jesus has done for the deceased in Baptism and through the daily forgiveness of sins, nor any talk of the promise of the resurrection.  
But it is important for Jesus to be at your funeral, because only Jesus has defeated sin and death and only Jesus can raise you from the dead. It is important for your body to be put to rest with Jesus' word and promise. And it is important for everyone at your funeral to hear what Jesus has done for you and that he will raise your dead remains from the ground and give you eternal life.  
Of course, you need Jesus to be present with you before your funeral and the reason why many have Jesus absent from their funerals or the funerals of their loved ones is because Jesus has been absent from their life. They haven't heard his word or paid any attention to the wonderful victory he has won for them.  
So, it is important for you to have Jesus with you today. Jesus told St. Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die." (John 11:25-26) And so we need to believe in Jesus now, because we don't know when we will die. Believing in Jesus is not simply knowing that Jesus lived, died, and rose again. Believing in Jesus is grabbing hold of him in faith. Faith hears God's Word gladly and trusts in God's promises therein. Faith runs to be with Jesus, taking comfort in Baptism, the Lord's Supper, Absolution, and the preaching of the Word, because there is where Jesus promises to be. Faith in Jesus teaches you to find comfort as you face your own impending death. And this is comfort that the world cannot possibly give. This is comfort greater than any eulogy could give to those attending a funeral. Can Jesus raise this dead body from the dead? He most certainly can! And he most certainly will. Jesus will raise your dead body from the dead with less effort than you rouse a sleeping child in the morning.  
At the end of Wednesday night Vespers we often sing, "All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night" and one of the verses is so beautiful and fitting for today's lesson. "Teach me to live that I may dread The grave as little as my bed. Teach me to die that so I may Rise glorious at the awful day." (LSB 883:3) And how are we taught to die with such courage? By learning to trust in Jesus. Jesus defeated death, so we want Jesus to be with us at all times. St. Paul prays in our Epistle lesson, "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." (Eph. 3:17) If Jesus dwells in you, death cannot hold you down.  
In your Small Catechism you learned, "on the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true." Everyone will rise from the dead on the Last Day. Everyone will rise, but not everyone will enter eternal life. Those who believed in Christ to the end will enter into eternal life. Those who did not believe will be condemned. And so, we pray that Jesus abide with us always, especially when we face our own death. Another beautiful hymn we sing on Wednesday nights is "Abide with me." In the last verse we pray, "Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies. Heav'n's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me." (LSB 878:6) 
We need Jesus as we face death. And we are always facing death. Jesus completely defeats death, so that you do not need to fear its bite. If Jesus dwells in you, death is nothing but falling asleep. So, let us continue to hear God's Word, receive Christ's body and blood, and pray to Jesus for needed forgiveness, so that on that great day we will recognize our Savior's voice when he calls each of us by name and says, "I say to you, arise."  
Let us pray.  
Thanks to Thee, O Christ, victorious! Thanks to Thee, O Lord of Life! Death hath now no power o'er us, Thou hast conquered in the strife. Thanks because Thou didst arise And hast opened paradise! None can fully sing the glory Of the resurrection story. Amen. (LSB 548:1) ​
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    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. 

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