SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

May 5, 2024

The Lord Jesus Is with His Church in the Apostolic Ministry of the Gospel

The crucified and risen Lord Jesus is with His Church through the word of His apostles, who “are witnesses of all that he did.” He was anointed by God “with the Holy Spirit and with power,” and “he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,” and so He was with those whom He sent “to preach to the people” (Acts 10:38–42). The Holy Spirit is bestowed on those who hear that apostolic preaching, who are “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ,” so that “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43–44, 48). For as He came by the water of His Baptism, even to the blood of His Passion, so the Spirit testifies to the truth with “the water and the blood” in the apostolic ministry of the Gospel (1 John 5:6–7). By these means, Christ Jesus speaks to us, that His joy may be in us and that our “joy may be full.” For this purpose, He appointed the apostles to “go and bear fruit” in order to make known His divine friendship to us (John 15:11, 15–16).

FIRST READING                                                         ACTS 10:34–48

    34Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

    44While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

 PSALM 98

P 1Oh sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things!
C His right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
P 2The Lord has made known his salvation;
C he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
P 3He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
    to the house of Israel.
C All the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.

P 4Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
C break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
P 5Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
C with the lyre and the sound of melody!
P 6With trumpets and the sound of the horn
C make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

P 7Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
C the world and those who dwell in it!
P 8Let the rivers clap their hands;
C let the hills sing for joy together
P 9before the Lord, for he comes
C to judge the earth.
P He will judge the world with righteousness,
C and the peoples with equity.

EPISTLE                                                                         1 JOHN 5:1–8

    1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?  6This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7For there are three that testify: 8the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 

HOLY GOSPEL                                                            JOHN 15:9–17

    9[Jesus said:] “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

    12“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Rev. Brett Witmer

1 John 5:1-8

Bethel Lutheran, Sutherland, IA

            Christ is Risen!  Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  This sermon is based on our Epistle reading.

            Three is a crucial, and strong number.  A triangle has 3 sides is a shape often used in building, and you see triangles in the structure of buildings and bridges.  I mean if you look at the shape of a roof, it’s a triangle.  It’s a shape that can support a lot of weight.  Three is an important number in the Scriptures, especially in the Old Testament.  In a dispute, in the Old Testament you needed two witnesses in a case to back you up.  Three.  It’s a strong number and it is a good number.  And three comes up over and over again in the Scriptures.  Behind our epistle reading, lies this number of three. 

            For there are three which have born witness to the ministry of Jesus Christ throughout that time. John writes, “For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.”  Back in the Old Testament priests were marked out by these three testifying.  They were present at the consecration of priests. First, the priests were ritually washed to be in a state of purity in preparation as priests for the people.  Then a bull was slain and the blood was smeared on the earlobe and the toe and the thumb.  Finally, they were marked by anointing oil, probably oil mixed with an incense or fragrance, but this pointed ahead to the anointing of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. 

            The title “Christ,” in fact, is the Greek translation of Messiah and both words mean Anointed One.  How and where was Jesus the anointed one?  Well, He was always the Son of God, always the one to come forth and to save His people from their sins, but there are times where the three witnesses mark him out.  The water, blood, and Spirit were there at His baptism in the Jordan.  The water in which Jesus steps in the Jordan, bears witness to His saving work for your cause.  He came to save you and rescue you.  The Holy Spirit’s presence is made known by Him being there in the form of a dove, not that He was a dove but that His form there was shown by the sight of what looked like a dove.  The next day, John the Baptist calls out the blood, as he tells his followers that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world - He is to be slain. His blood is to be shed.  These three, bear witness to Jesus at the beginning of His public ministry.

            These three also bear witness to the end of Jesus Christ’s public ministry.  They all bear witness at the cross.  The Spirit is there, for as Jesus dies, He exhales the Spirit in front of the centurion, who then confesses that Jesus was the Son of God. Then, when the Romans want to make sure Jesus is dead and drive a spear into His chest, and water and blood pour forth from the wound.  All three of these witnesses John mentions give testimony at Jesus giving up His holy blood and His precious death for the sins of the World.

            These three are involved in the worship of the church.  The Lord God is worshipped in Spirit and in Truth.  Your Word is Truth!  There is a false idea that floats around from time to time, that “I can worship God in my own way”.  But you can’t just worship God in your own way. The Spirit testifies to the truth of the Word.  The Word is read in Church.  We gather together to hear it.  There is also water in worship, in baptism.  There is blood, in the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  But you see, in all of these things the Lord Jesus Christ is giving us something.  He is sending the Holy Spirit in the reading and preaching of the Word to convict us of sin in the Law and cleanse our hearts by the Gospel.  In the water and the Word, He makes people children of God in baptism.  In His holy body and blood, He gives us life and salvation. Worship is not about what we do, but about what the Lord God does.  He is working in worship, we are not so much working, however.  We sing back our praise and thanksgiving, but God does the work.  And if He’s doing the work, we can’t exactly tell Him what and how to do it or where to doit.  As John tells us, the Spirit testifies in these things, but he doesn’t mention other things.  He doesn’t mention, for example, that cookies and Kool-Aid testify to Christ.  We cannot worship God in our own way. 

            There is another three in the church, it could be more than three, but at its simplest form, there is another triangle of fellowship we can talk about.  That is your relationship with the Lord God and your relationship with one another.  There’s a triangle there too:  your connection with the Lord God by faith in His Son Jesus Christ, connects with your relationship with your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Your relationship with the Lord God impacts your relationship with one another.  Your faith is not a private thing.  Your faith is yours alone, another cannot believe for your or give you some of their faith.  But there is a real public component not only in our worship, but in our life together. Our Lord does not call us to hide that candle of faith under a bushel basket, but let it shine as the children’s Sunday school song says. That song is based on Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew.  There is a public aspect, a public side, to your faith which involves is your relationship with your neighbor.   That can’t be dispensed with. Think about the two tables of the Law, while all the commandments are tied together, the first three are specifically about your relationship with the Lord God, and the next seven deal with your relationship with your neighbor, the people around you in your life. Your life together with each other is necessary and important.

            To not want to meet with one another, be with one another, or work with one another is like hatred between siblings.  I am sure we have either experienced that in our own families and lives, or we’ve witnessed it.  How sad and tragic it is, and normally one or both of the siblings starts to have real problems in the relationship with mom or dad or issues with mom or dad later develop.  Those relationships can fracture.  In the church, likewise, where there is fracturing in the relationship between those born of God, there is fracturing in the relationship of one or both parties with God.  Your life together is not independent of your life with God.  You can’t just hide that faith under your mattress or in a jar or in a safe.  You are called to love and serve your neighbor, and that starts in the home and also it starts in the family of God.

            For the church is also a family. The phrase “children of God,” gets thrown around a lot, and not always legitimately.  Now, we know that the Lord God has love for the world, and those in it because He sent His Son to die for the sins of the world, that whoever believes in Him would conquer.  But that does not automatically make one a child of God.  John in his first epistle says, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 

            One must be born of God to be a child of God.  The one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, the one who is born again, is a child of God.  What does Jesus say in John’s Gospel, the one must be born of Water and the Spirit.  That is baptism, and the blood of Christ testifies in baptism too, because we are baptized into His death and resurrection.  That is a child of God.  If you would be a child of God, you must also love whoever has been born of Him - the baptized.  You cannot hate the baptized - the church - and expect to remain as a child of God. This may sound difficult and burdensome, but remember who has overcome the world - Jesus Christ has.  And because He’s made you His own, you too have conquered in Him.

            For the Lord Jesus Christ has conquered.  And He has loved and served you.  He has conquered by that water, Spirt, and blood in His death and He has made you His in baptism.  He has called you to keep His commandments, and to love those like wise also born of the Father in that water, Spirit and blood.  You have conquered in Christ, so love and walk with your brothers and sisters here.  Because on the Last Day, Christ will testify before His Father of you, that you both were born of the water, blood, and Spirit in your baptism, Amen.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

April 29, 2024

The Coming of the Christ Brings True Rejoicing in His Forgiveness

When he preaches repentance, John the Baptist points us to Christ Jesus. John was sent by God “as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him” (John 1:7). He baptizes with water in order to “make straight the way of the Lord,” who shall redeem His people from their sins (John 1:23). That Lord Jesus “who comes after” John now stands among us and makes Himself known to us (John 1:26–27). He has been anointed by the Holy Spirit “to bring good news to the poor” and “to bind up the brokenhearted” (Is. 61:1). By the washing of the water with His Word and Spirit, He clothes His Church with “the garments of salvation” and adorns her with His own righteousness “as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Is. 61:10). Therefore, we “rejoice always” in the Lord, “pray without ceasing” and “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:16–18). For “the God of peace,” who has called you by the Gospel, will surely “sanctify you completely,” so that “your whole spirit and soul and body” will “be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23–24).

FIRST READING                                                           ACTS 8:26–40

    26An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
       so he opens not his mouth.
33In his humiliation justice was denied him.
    Who can describe his generation?
       For his life is taken away from the earth.”

34And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

PSALM 150

P 1Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
C praise him in his mighty heavens!
P 2Praise him for his mighty deeds;
C praise him according to his excellent greatness!
P 3Praise him with trumpet sound;
C praise him with lute and harp!
P 4Praise him with tambourine and dance;
C praise him with strings and pipe!
P 5Praise him with sounding cymbals;
C praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
P 6Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
C Praise the Lord!

EPISTLE                                                                       1 JOHN 4:1–21

    1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

    7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

    13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

HOLY GOSPEL                                                               JOHN 15:1–8

    1[Jesus said:] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

4/28/2024

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Rev. Brett Witmer

John 15:1-8

Bethel Lutheran, Sutherland, IA

            Christ is Risen! Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This sermon is based on our Gospel reading.

            “To whom does this text apply?” Is a good question, and not just for this passage but many passages.  Who is it written to and what is the context are good questions to consider.  And you read this passage and I’d say at first you hear it and think about, because Jesus is addressing multiple people, that he’s referring to the differences between people.  And in terms of individual people, there are believers in Christ, and unbelievers.  So, we can, at first think that this text is referring to everyone, both believers and unbelievers and that if you are not in Christ, you are not connected to the vine, you are not a living branch and you are not bearing fruit.  You will be gathered up and thrown into the fire. 

            That is all true.  But Jesus is talking to the 12 minus Judas here, and these are all His disciples.  What Jesus is saying here He is saying to the church itself.  He is addressing the church.  And so this passage can also be referring to the individual disciple. You are the branches…as in multiple ones coming off the same branch, just as how a tree has a big branch coming off the trunk and multiple ones coming off of that one.  This illustration of the vine and the branches is for you, dear Christian. It is for the church and it is for you. Jesus is giving us a glimpse of the work of His and Our Father in heaven upon you. 

            Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”  The Father is the vinedresser, He is the one Jesus credits here with doing the pruning.  Who is the Father pruning?  Those whom are connected to the vine.  These are believers, baptized believers in Christ.  That’s where the work is happening.  The pruning then, is not to hurt, but to tend.  What owner of a vineyard or an orchard, for that matter, wants to damage his trees for no reason?  No, he does this because he wants the vine or the orchard to bear its fruit!

            Sometimes pruning is done to shape the tree or shrub into something beautiful.  You can think of those arboretums or gardens where they shape the bushes into animal shapes and make them beautiful.  The Lord’s concern for us isn’t so much beauty, though we are so in Christ, but that we would bear fruit.  He is not interested in the kind of beauty in our lives that would make the covers of magazines, social media, the or the old Hollywood black and white newsreels and the gossip papers.  That isn’t what the Father is after.  He is after you bearing fruit in His Son Jesus Christ. 

            We often wonder why trials and struggles befall us?  What purpose does it serve?  What is the Lord God doing to us?  While the Lord never gives us clear reasons, one end result that trials can have on us is that they force us to wrestle with the idolatry in our lives.  Through the Law of God, His Word shows us our sin and the idols before us.  Trials and struggles have that way of robbing us of these idols or showing us what flimsy false gods, they make.  The Lord allows struggle to befall us or sends tests and trials to demonstrate what we lack in faith in Him.  So, the Father’s pruning shears go to work upon us.  Are we always diligent in prayer?  Do we find more comfort in the things of this world and thus seek after them, rather than in abiding in Christ?  Do we think of abiding in Christ as something to do when nothing else in conflicts with it?  All too often we are weak in faith and we do rely on other comforts.  Our abiding in Christ can very casual, and we think if “we still believe” we are doing pretty good.  But that is not abiding in Christ.  The reality is the branch often doesn’t just die or the tree doesn’t just die but slowly withers away over time till it is clearly dead.  Faith doesn’t always just cease but slowly withers down.

            And the Father’s pruning can be painful.  It is painful as that Law is applied or suffering comes upon us, just as those pruning shears clip away dead or withered branches.  It does not feel good.  But that is because of our sin.  Our sin has set the conditions for us to be pruned and is the reason it doesn’t feel good. But the Father, like a master gardener, does Hi work upon you for your good, so that you would bear the fruit in keeping with repentance.  It is the doctor applying the burning antiseptic or the surgeon cutting into flesh to remove a tumor.  The pruning is for your good and the good of your faith, for the Father is pruning the good trees of His Garden the church. 

            Jesus Christ calls you to abide in Him. That is dwelling in Him and finding your life in Him.  It is baptismal, and it is the source of love.  One can’t really love unless one abides in Christ.  God is love, and in order to love as God loves, one must be connected to Him.  One must be connected to His Son Jesus in order to be connected to the Father.  John writes in his first epistle, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”  To abide in the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, to dwell in Him and His Word is to abide in the love of the Father and love others as He loves you.

            There is great comfort here too in abiding in Christ.  By abiding in that baptismal grace, Christ promises that you are made clean.  The Word of God which drives you to repentance also pronounces to you the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus.  God’s Word tells you that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the propitiation for your sins.  That is the love of God for you in Christ. It comes to you not only in the Word but at the baptismal font and at the altar rail. Thus the branches are nourished by the vine as the love of God comes to you in these means.  By hearing God’s Word preached, remembering you are baptized, and receiving the Supper, Christ abides in you and you abide in Christ. And the love of God moves to you. And that love of God shown by His grace works in you.  It enables you to love others as God has loved you in Christ. 

            I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  Jesus speaks with authority and certainty on this matter.  Those that abide in Him will bear much fruit.  It is not a matter of your willpower, or your own loving kindness, but of the love of God in Christ abiding in you.  Christ will bring the fruit forth in your life as the Father does His Work of pruning upon you.  The fruits of faith in your life will come forth as you live in the love of God and abide in Christ.

            This passage is one of comfort for you, dear Christian.  It is meant as encouragement in the trials you go through, that the Father is working through these things to do His pruning upon you.  His pruning comes upon you in the preaching of the law, pointing out what must be cut off from you for your own good and spiritual health.  In trials we are forced to rely upon the Lord for all other comforts fail us, except the love of God.  We seek Him in the means His Son has given us and pray for His care for us.  Then comes the word of the Gospel, that God loved you and sent His Son to be the propitiation for your sins.  You are in encouraged in the Love of God because He loved you first in Christ. Christ washes you in that truth and love in baptism and feeds you with it in His Holy Supper.  The Love of the Father flows to Christ and by the Holy Spirit, to you by these means, and from you to others.  And in that, you will bear much fruit, Amen.