Herrenhuter readings for Wednesday, the 2nd March 2016

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Wilhelm Weber

The prophet Isaiah lauds the lovely service of preaching the gospel and sharing God’s good gifts: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”” (Isa 52:7 NIV) And the apostle St. Paul admonishes the Ephesians: “Keep your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” (Eph 6:15 KJV)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you + now and always +

Dear friends of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: From the very beginning of time the office of the ministry has been most glorious and precious in the sight of the Lord, bringing divine grace, peace, goodwill and favour to those, who are sitting in darkness and shadow of death. From the very fall from grace and into our dire sinful state, mankind has been desperate for the good, meet and salutary words from the mouth of our God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Eating bread in the sweat of our brow was just not enough for living. God’s Word itself was required to live, grow and flourish. Without it we were but passing shadows and fleeting breaths. The hunger for God’s Word is far worse than any other famine we can imagine. God knew this. That is why from the very beginning, he has in his fatherly compassion and kindness of heart sought out Adam and Eve, called them back into his presence and soothed the self-inflicted pain of faithlessness and idolatry with the hope of redemption, restoration, repair and lastly renewal.

The good news from the beginning for us is that “God reigns” and that despite our opposition, rebellion and desertion God carries out his reign in our favour and for our ultimate salvation. That is the purpose of the gospel from the very beginning, to strengthen our hope and faith in the one, who will come and bring back peace, goodwill and eternal salvation. It’s Jesus Christ – the promised Messiah, the only begotten Son of the Father, light of light, very God of very God, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried and rose again from the dead, lives and reigns at the right hand of the Father, whose kingdom will not end. At his birth peace and goodwill were proclaimed by those angelic hosts, they brought the good tidings to the shepherds, who again shared it with all whom they met after they saw that it was true and that the Saviour of the world had been born. This news has spread across the globe. There are saints of the Christian church all over the world. They live by this message. It’s this proclamation that sustains them day in, day out. It’s what helps them overcome all despair, lack of hope, dark times and most severe suffering.  For they know with Zion of old: “Our God lives and reigns forever!” He lives and we shall live also. He is coming to bring us home and therefore we need not give up, but rather can lift up our faces and wait patiently and content even in most serious depravation, trials and temptations.

Even more, we don’t just sit and wait and twiddle our thumbs, but rather follow the admonition of the apostle St.Paul, the greatest missionary of all: “Keep your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” As long as it is day and as long as there are still people without this message of deliverance and hope, Christians as holy Saints of the Church are prepared, have studied and were equipped to share, spread, teach, preach and instruct this gospel of peace beyond the narrow confines of the church, beyond the borders of faithful believers, right in the public square be it secular, pagan or blatantly antichristian even. The Christians are not the enemies of the state nor of the people of this world. On the contrary, they come with words of peace, peace that passes all understanding and which carries through thick and thin and despite all odds. Even where they are prosecuted, they pray and do good; where they are cursed and blasphemed they bless and spread goodwill and peace + They truly are the light and salt of the earth. Freely they have received and freely they share and give, what they have. Praise be to their God, Lord and king now and always, who has prepared himself such a beautiful and lovely bride in the middle of this world and time. Amen.  The peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you always + Amen.

I Leave All Things to God’s Direction
By: Salomo Franck

I leave all things to God’s direction,
For he loves me in wealth or woe;
His will is good, and his affection,
His tender love is true, I know.
My strength, my fortress rock is he:
What pleases God, that pleases me.

My God has all things in his keeping,
He is my ever faithful friend;
He gives me laughter after weeping,
And all his ways in blessing end.
His love endures eternally:
What pleases God, that pleases me.

The will of God shall be my pleasure
While here I live life’s interim;
My will is wrong beyond all measure,
It does not will what pleases him.
The Christian’s motto then must be:
What pleases God, that pleases me.

God knows what must be done to save me,
His love for me will never cease;
And all my sins my Lord forgave me
With purest gold of loving grace.
His will supreme must ever be:
What pleases God, that pleases me.

My God desires each soul’s salvation,
My soul he too desires to save;
Therefore with Christian resignation
All earthly troubles I will brave.
His will be done eternally:
What pleases God, that pleases me.

Hymn # 429
Lutheran Worship
Author: Georg Neumark
Tune: Wer Nur Den Lieben Gott
1st Published in: 1685

Posted in Herrenhuter Readings, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sermon during Morning Prayer: 1 Peter 1,13-19   

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Wilhelm Weber

In Nomine Iesu. Amen  13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action,[a] and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Those are the famous words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or FDR as he affectionately came to be known by the American people. In the depths of the Great Depression, when people everywhere feared for their lives and their livelihoods, when times were lean, hunger was great, money was little, and work was scarce, FDR spoke these iconic words at his inaugural address, words that inspire the American people to this day. “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” It is perhaps because of words such as these that fear has come to take on such a negative connotation in the globalized society of today. Fearful people are despised; confident, fearless people are admired. Fearful people are not self-confident, fearful people are somehow imperfect, they need to approach their fears, take them to a psychologist and deal with them, or – they should be ashamed of them. Fearlessness, on the other hand, has come to be idolized as the mark of courage, strength, and determination. The only thing true heroes should fear is fear itself.

That’s all good and well, but you run into a problem pretty quickly when you start reading the Bible. Because it keeps talking about “the fear of the Lord.” The funny thing is that even though it is still common to speak of faithful Christians as “God-fearing people,” the whole notion of fearing God seems to have become downright unpopular. It would seem that the fear of fear and nothing else has been adopted and quasi-baptized by much of generic Protestant Christianity today, to the point that preachers who speak about ‘fearing God’ can expect to be challenged on the issue. I remember very clearly one Sunday, after speaking about the first commandment “we should fear, love and trust in God above all things” – it says it there, right, “we should fear… God” that I had a congregation member come up to me afterwards and try to argue me out of it. “No pastor, that’s Old Testament theology… We should not fear God. Christ has liberated us from fear. We Christians don’t need to fear God. We should love God. Doesn’t it say in 1 John 4: “There 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.” (V.18) So you see, pastor, you shouldn’t talk about fearing God like that. All we need to do is love God.” Well, what do you say to that? In many ways, I am glad that this member talked to me, because now I have a much better idea of what many other people are thinking. Their thinking is expressed in the other common phrase: “I’ll put the fear of God into you!” It’s the idea that the fear of God is the fear of hellfire and destruction, the primal fear of the ontological scream, that the fear of God is for wicked reprobates only, that fear really has no place in the true Christian faith for the forgiven child of God. Why should you fear your Father? And after all, doesn’t 1 John 4 back this up?

Now, as interesting as it would be to look at this issue from the perspective of Freudian or Jungian psychology, as helpful as it might be to approach it from the perspective of modern childraising techniques and a history of sociological thought, we simply do not have the leisure to do that. We also face a few far more immediate problems. For one thing, Luther speaks in his explanation to the First Commandment about fearing and loving God in the same breath. Also, the New Testament itself speaks about the fear of God, and in ways that take nothing away from the severity of the Old Testament verses on the issue. We need think only of Matthew 10 where Jesus says: Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell, or perhaps the Lukan parallel where Jesus says: But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Dear saints, this is not just hyperbole, not just a figure of speech. The New Testament also directs you to fear God, and it does so not least here in 1 Peter 1:[17]. Peter’s argument is rather straightforward. He says: Remember whom you worship. You are obedient children, he says; but whosechildren are you? Remember that you are children of the Holy God. His holiness means that he is indeed perfect, wholly different to any false god or idol in this world. Remember also that He is not satisfied with His own holiness, but that He calls you to be holy also, just as He is holy. You too are to be different, set apart, pure and whole like He is, you too are to be perfect – and this applies to your entire conduct, He says. You call Him Father – good! Remember who He is! You call on Him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds. God judges you on the basis of His perfect holiness. And that is why, says Peter, you have reason to conduct yourselves with fear. Now when you look at yourself in the mirror of the Law, you will find that your conduct is marred, flawed, and thus entirely unholy. If Peter had stopped here, you would have no hope. You would be left in abject terror of the Holy One of Israel, the God of Luther’s nightmares, the God before whom Luther shivered and shook, trembled and quivered, whom he could never appease with his own acts of righteousness. You would be left with the angry, wrathful God who destroyed the earth with the flood and who made the earth open up its mouth to swallow Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and all the wicked people who subscribed to their rebellion, and their fate would be yours, your end theirs. Reason for fear indeed, as natural religion proves.

Thanks be to God, this is not where Peter stops. Christ has the last Word. And so Peter goes on to speak of Christ. Now, to preempt Peter, this does not mean that the Christian need no longer fear God. And by the way, that is not what 1 John 4 says either. No, it simply means that your fear is qualified. You see, the Bible frequently speaks of a fear of God that is very proper for the believer, in fact, that is most necessary to have: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, the key to wisdom. This does not mean to be afraid of God, like Luther was for a time, in the sense of terror and dread, but rather the fear of reverence and awe and worship and trust, the being cognizant of who God has revealed Himself to be as you live the life of faith, a humble appreciation and awareness of your place before God. Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! (Ps. 34)

Now what gives you the right to fear God in this way, instead of shivering before Him in abject terror and existential dread? It is, as Peter says, the fact that the demands of God’s perfect holiness have been perfectly met in Christ, the perfect offering, the perfect Lamb of God, without blemish or defect. It is because forgiveness is yours in the blood of Christ that you may reverently fear God as the holy judge of righteousness, for you know that Christ’s righteousness is yours in baptism, that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers – bought, paid for in full, redeemed out of, purchased away from, acquired, procured, obtained, ransomed away from heathen beliefs, from the love of sinning, from pagan errors, from idolatry, from ancestral spirits, from primal fears, from fear of the unknown and fear of the unknown God, from fear of being loyaed and from curses and from pointing and the evil eye, from fear of powerful evil spirits and those who serve them. Those things you serve no longer, and you need fear no longer. No, you have been bought out of them – not with the diamonds of Cullinan and Kimberly, not with the bullion of the reserve bank, but with something far pricier, in fact, with the most expensive currency this universe will ever know: The blood of God. Luther writes: “Just one drop of this innocent blood would have been more than enough for the sin of the whole world. Yet the Father wanted to pour out His grace on us so abundantly and to spend so much that He let His Son Christ shed all His blood and gave us the entire treasure.” So the treasure of the church then is not the superabundant works of Mother Theresa and the saints, but the priceless blood of Christ, yours for the believing and the covering.

“Therefore,” continues Luther, the Lord “does not want us to make light of and think little of such great grace; but He wants us to be moved to conduct ourselves with fear, lest this treasure be taken away from us.” This fear is therefore more than appropriate for the baptized believer who receives the righteousness of Christ. Fearing God is the beginning of wisdom, fearing God is by God’s grace the keeping of the first commandment, fearing God goes hand in hand with loving God and trusting in Him above all things. No matter what the culture or what popular Christian culture might say, the Lord still looks for, enables, and approves of God-fearing Christians. Taking FDR out of context, we would have to say that “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” is incorrect. Rather, by the grace of God, by the blood of Christ, by the love of the selfless Lamb, you may fear God in reverence and faith and confidently say: “Whoever fears God has nothing to fear.” Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria – Pastor Karl Böhmer

Posted in Morning Prayer, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Herrenhuter readings for Tuesday, the 1st March 2016

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Wilhelm Weber
Don’t think that you will get to heaven ahead of those already passed away, because the living Lord Jesus Christ will raise them in the flesh so that they too will be with him in eternity +

The Psalmist encourages us: “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” (Psa 31:24 KJV) Even as our Lord does too: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Mar 13:13 KJV)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you + now and always +

Dear friends of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: Christians – just like all people – are well advised to keep the end in mind. Our mortality is a good educator. Keeping that in mind gives good perspective and proper measure too. The Psalmist sees this as a way to attain wisdom: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psa 90:12 KJV) Surviving the end and to remain standing in the last judgement is what it finally boils down to. Salvation in that divine reckoning is crucial and absolutely vital.

This is only possible in the Lord and by his favourable judgement and gracious verdict. Hoping on his forgiveness and mercy is the only way past that hurdle, which is coming up for every one without fail. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the unfailing advocate, who has the ear of the Father and in unison with him declares us free from all sin and truly forgiven. The Holy Spirit too stands in for us. He testifies for us and intercedes unfailingly for us and for our salvation. That is a sure foundation for our hope to not succumb to all evil counting against us and all the sinful baggage weighing heavily on us. Rather we are assured by the holy Trinity itself, that we are redeemed and restored as true children of God through the divine forgiveness of all our sins. That grants us courage to live our lives faithfully as children of the highest and strengthens us in all affliction and tribulation and suffering on the way there. Even the most bitter hatred and enmity by our opposition and offenders can’t harm us, nor can it steal it from us either, because God himself ensures, guards and guarantees it for us in eternity. Here already he strengthens our heart and makes us confident and bold to trust his goodness and favour and mercy thus not giving up or despairing, but rather lifting up our countenance to him and taking courage for our salvation is drawing near. Yes, it is much closer already than when we came to Christ at first. Rather we are nearly there and it’s not going to be long now. Our Lord Jesus Christ is near. Yes, Lord Jesus come soon! Amen.

The peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you always + Amen.

“Who Knows when Death May Overtake Me”
by Aemilie Juliane, 1637-1706

1. Who knows when death may overtake me!
Time passes on, my end draws near.
How swiftly can my breath forsake me!
How soon can life’s last hour appear!
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

2. The world that smiled when morn was breaking
May change for me ere close of day;
For while on earth my home I’m making,
Death’s threat is never far away.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

3. My end to ponder teach me ever
And, ere the hour of death appears,
To cast my soul on Christ, my Savior,
Nor spare repentant sighs and tears.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

4. Help me now set my house in order
That always ready I may be
To say in meekness on death’s border:
Lord, as Thou wilt, deal Thou with me.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

5. Reveal the sweetness of Thy heaven,
Earth’s galling bitterness unfold;
May I, amid this turmoil riven,
Thy blest eternity behold.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

6. My many sins blot out forever
Since Jesus has my pardon won;
In mercy robed I then shall never
Fear death, but trust in Thee alone.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

7. Naught shall my soul from Jesus sever;
In faith I touch His wounded side
And hail Him as my Lord forever.
Nor life nor death shall us divide.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

8. Once in the blest baptismal waters
I put on Christ and made Him mine;
Now numbered with God’s sons and daughters,
I share His peace and love divine.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

9. His body and His blood I’ve taken
In His blest Supper, feast divine;
Now I shall never be forsaken,
For I am His, and He is mine.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

10. Then may death come today, tomorrow,
I know in Christ I perish not;
He grants the peace that stills all sorrow,
Gives me a robe without a spot.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

11. And thus I live in God contented
And die without a thought of fear;
My soul has to God’s plans consented,
For through His Son my faith is clear.
My God, for Jesus’ sake I pray
Thy peace may bless my dying day.

Hymn #598
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Ps. 90:12
Author: Aemilie Juliane, 1686, ab.
Translated by: composite
Titled: “Wer weiss, wie nahe mir mein Ende”
Composer: Christian Moeck, 1818
Tune: “Wer weiss, wie nahe”

Posted in Herrenhuter Readings, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sermon on Monday: John 1:29-42

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Wilhelm Weber

The prophet at the threshold in the middle of God’s salvific history with humankind, welcomes the One Who is deemed to be „the Lamb of God“, and, at the same time, is doomed to b e „the Lamb of God“.

St. John is the first to witness about Christ. This testimony, however, does not come from within John, from his knowledge and his own wisdom. He clearly states that whatever he may say about Jesus was revealed to him by „the One Who sent me“. This is the first lesson we learn from this Gospel: To identify Jesus as the One He really is, is not understood by human imagination. To know or acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, is not achieved by human reason. To realize Him to be the „Lamb of God“, is by no means a matter of rational appeal. Instead, even John the Baptist whom Jesus awards to be „more than a prophet“ (Mt 11:9), was allowed to look at Jesus as the „Son of God“ only by divine revelation. Thus God Himself had to be the One to inform John, the One to grant him to perceive Who Jesus really is. By God’s linking the sending of the Holy Spirit “like a dove” to the announcement that He on Whom the Spirit would descend, would be the One “Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” – in such a way John the Baptist is finally enabled to identify Jesus.

This is St. John’s destiny, to witness to Jesus and thus to reveal Him to Israel – and beyond that, to all the world. And revelation is needed, even urgently, because in His human and lowly “form of a servant”, it is not self-evident, Who Jesus is. Therefore, John proclaims Him to be the One “Who ranks before me because He was before me”. This remark quite obviously hints a Christ’s pre-existence in eternity. As God’s eternal Son, Jesus was unknown to John. And the same holds true for Christ’s atoning work as the “Lamb of God”, not to mention His baptizing with the Holy Spirit. The three spheres of activities John lists here comprise the whole of Christ’s person and work. The One who always has been with the Father, the One Who alone can be labelled “Son of God” in the true sense of the word, namely the only-begotten Son – while all of us are sons and daughters, God’s children by adoption –, He is, at the same time the “Lamb of God” Who, by sacrificing Himself in the stead of us sinners “takes away the sin of the world”. And likewise, He is the One to have human beings participate in what He has gained and gathered on Calvary’s mountain by bestowing the Holy Spirit upon us. That is the case whenever an infant is baptized; for in exactly this divine action of Holy Baptism, we have received the Holy Spirit to create us anew, to have us reborn as God’s beloved children.

The title by which John has labelled Jesus makes Him apparent as the One Who has come to perform the greatest and most difficult task in all of human history: God’s reconciliation with us, and our reconciliation with God. It was His mission, to carry away the sins of the world, to bear off anything and everything that any human being had committed against God’s holy will, to deal with and to get rid of anything and everything that the human race had perpetrated, in all of history, since Adam and Eve fell. Jesus the Christ replaces the scapegoat that was sent into the desert to carry away Israel’s sin year after year. But the Son of God, the Lamb of God does so once and for all, because His sacrifice is enormously valuable and His blood extraordinarily precious – much more so than the blood of goats. The Lamb of God had to be slaughtered in order to be the Passover Lamb – an expression by which St. Paul (1 Cor. 5:7) alludes to the date and time when Christ died on the cross.

His suffering and dying then effects, and really is the atonement that we are dependent on in terms of our salvation. Martin Luther has commented on this in making Christ speak these words: “You are no longer a sinner, but I am. I am your substitute … All your sins are to rest on me and not on you.” (LW 22:167). And the Wittenberg reformer advises his readers and congregants to proceed like this: “You cast your sins from yourself and onto Christ, to be borne and paid for by Him” (LW 42:12). And Luther teaches us to pray: “Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, just as I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine, and have given to me what is yours. You have taken upon yourself what you were not, and have given me what I was not.” This is what Luther calls the “marvellous exchange” between Christ and the believer. Christ receives anything that is rightly ours, like sinfulness, corruption, and depravation, while everything that is Christ’s, His innocence, His mercy, His glory, His holiness is bestowed upon us in faith. This is what the Lamb of God has generated for the benefit of our souls.

When two of John’s disciples heard John label Jesus the “Lamb of God” the next day, this is the trigger to make them follow Jesus. This encounter opened their eyes to make Jesus see as the “Messiah”. The way those two come to identify Jesus, is linked to the Old Testament promises given to Israel. Staying with Him, and most likely talking to Him, rather Him talking to them all day long, they were convinced to have found the “anointed one” – that God-sent man Who “was the one to redeem Israel” (Ps 130:8; Lk 24:21) . It is now Christ Himself Who introduces Himself to them, and by doing so, instructs them in Who He is, and what His mission is about. It is only after this kind of teaching, that St. Andrew invites his brother Peter to also come and see Jesus.

It is fascinating to learn how the parallel use of “Lamb of God”, “Son of God”, and “Messiah” in this bible passage, connects various aspects of the person of Christ and His work. For us and our understanding, it would not be understood that in Christ, God Himself should bring about our salvation by suffering and dying. And it is far from our innate comprehension that Israel’s and the world’s redeemer does not appear as a mighty, powerful, and violent sovereign and  ruler who forces us towards salvation, rather He comes as a humble, lowly, and meek servant to all humankind who invites us to enter His kingdom. In addition, it is way beyond our natural imagination that the Lord of Lords share our fate, moreover He assumes it and makes it His own, so that He in our stead and place becomes the target of God’s wrath and subject to any human atrocity, malice, and wickedness that cause His death.

Yet, Christ is sovereign in His kingdom, and powerful to change people and make them new persons living in connection with Him. This becomes evident and manifest in the way, Jesus renames St. Andrew’s brother, Simon: “You shall be called ‘Cephas’”. Simon, a person whom we all know as having a character like a weather vane, moody, short-tempered, easy to enthuse, yet unreliable, and wavering – this Simon, so very similar to us, is awarded the honorific title of Cephas, Petrus, the rock on which Christ wants to build His Church (Mt 16:18). Although St. Peter will never completely loose those problematic traces of his character, nevertheless, he is created a new person in that very moment. In spite of all his shortcomings, his failures, and his questionable nature, Christ sees in him somebody else. And it is precisely by this seeing, that St. Peter indeed becomes a different person. Why so? Because Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Lamb of God, due to His suffering and dying, has taken away also Peter’s sin, even his denial of Christ on Maundy Thursday. Having taken away the sin of the world, including St. Peter’s sin, Werner Klän’s – my –very sins – and there are heaps, bunches, loads of them, in my heart, in my soul, in my mind, in my body, in my life, in my relationship with other people –, all the students’ sins – having taken away all those sins, Christ is in the position grant forgiveness to all of us, which He does abundantly.

It is exactly this purpose that made the Son of God become the Lamb of God – only for this one and very reason: that we be saved. His holy name shall be praised forever. Amen.

(c) Prof. Dr. Werner Klän, Lutheran Theological Seminary Oberursel, Germany)

Posted in Matins on Mondays, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Herrenhuter readings for Monday, the 29th February 2016

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Wilhelm Weber

The prophet Jeremiah prays: “Discipline me, LORD, but only in due measure– not in your anger, or you will reduce me to nothing.” (Jer 10:24 NIV) And the writer to the Hebrews explains: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:11 NIV)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you + now and always +

Dear friends of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: These readings are about divine discipline. It is clear, that as sinners we merit not pardon, but have deserved the harshest punishment. It would be fair for God to cast us out from his presence and let us go to hell. That would be right and just. Thankfully the living God Father, Son and Holy Spirit has from the beginning overruled this righteous judgement over humanity – men and women folk alike – with his mercy and goodness. Instead of punishing us as we deserve, he has allowed magnanimity and generosity to carry the day. Adam and Eve were banished from paradise, yes, but they were allowed to live. God even clothed them and gave them the promise of the coming deliverer, the Messiah, who would crush the serpent and return God’s people to his peace, gracious favour and godly presence.

This history of God dealing kindly and forgivingly with his disobedient and rebellious children and people, encourages the prophet to plead to God not to deal with us according to our iniquities and not to give us the rightful measure in response to our opposition and godless ways. Wrathful anger would suit us well. Reducing us to nothing would be well deserved. Yet dealing with us by his own godly measure, he does not give us our rightful dues, rather forgives, saves and ultimately heals and restores.

That does not exclude fatherly discipline and tutorial measures from God’s wise and knowing ways. Of course he will lead and guide us through his disciplinary measures to draw us closer to himself and to push all else far from us – especially those things that come between him and us. God removes those and sometimes that’s exactly what hurts, angers and disturbs us. Yet God knows what is best for us and he does that unflinchingly and unfailingly too, because in the end he strives for those things that are good, meet and salutary for us and our salvation.

The writer to the Hebrews acknowledges: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:11 NIV) That is why we should not reject God’s ways with us, but rather accept them willingly just like Job did, who said: “Have we not received good from God in good times and should we not receive the bad from him also?” Especially if we hear and believe, that even the painful discipline is ultimately training, which finally “produces a harvest of righteousness and peace”? It is, what St. Paul summarizes before he enters the big doxology: All things – even the painful ones – serve to our best and nothing can separate us from the love of God, which conquers all and let’s us triumph in the end by his gracious deliverance and faithful goodness, which endures forever. Praise, glory and honour be to him our Lord God and saviour now and in eternity. Amen.

The peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you always + Amen.

Posted in Herrenhuter Readings, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Herrenhuter readings for Saturday, the 27th February 2106.

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Wilhelm Weber

King David prays: „Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever.“ (1 Chronicle 17:27) The apostle St. Peter writes in his first epistle: „Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.“ (1 Peter 3:9)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you +

Dear friends of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ + It’s something that strikes me very much as I go about my daily routine wearing a collar. People will ask me for a blessing. That’s not just at the Gym in Hatfield: „Pastor, bless my weekend!“, but also at the filling station or at the office. Seems as if the people are starting to belief that the pastors, deans and bishops have a special blessing to give. Strange really or is it?

Well, firstly me calling for a blessing does show that I myself don’t have it in my own power to just grab of have it as my own. It depends on the giver. He is the one, who gives. So it is a sign of empty hands in the first place. That’s the positive side perhaps – if there is any.

Secondly they associate the blessing with the collar rather than with my person. That’s good too, but a friend of mine – and old missionary – noticed that in some churches the bishop does throughout the service, but gets up to do the blessing at the end. That’s his special gift to the congregation. Some even receive it with the laying on of hands too. It’s supposed to be extra powerful if it comes from the bishop or archbishop. That of course is misleading. It’s not the one, who speaks the blessing, but rather in whose authority, calling and command he does it. That’s why in the Lutheran church it is emphasized: „I in the stead and command of our Lord Jesus Christ as a called and ordained servant of the Word…“ That’s not by some special character of my own, but rather on behalf and in the stead of…“ Another reason, why we Lutheran bishops and pastors concentrate on the preaching of the Word of God and the administration of his most holy and precious sacraments and the blessing is gone by the pastor loci. See, Christ calls all his faithful followers light and salt of the earth. They are a blessing to this world – not just the bearers of this or that office in the church. In the description of the office of the ministry the service with God’s Word and sacrament are mentioned. They are the instruments through which God creates saving faith wherever and whenever he wants it in those, who hear his word and receive his sacraments. They are the treasures of the Church. They are the efficacious means of grace for those receiving them – independent of the faith and status of the servant & minister. We ministers, pastors, missionaries and evangelists, teachers and bishops are just like the faithful manager, who distributes the gifts of his master at the given time. From his treasures we give freely and that which he has entrusted to us. „Gold and silver we do not have…“, that you would seek in vain from us, yet, what we do have is the Word of the Lord and his sacraments. Those are the true treasures of the Church. They that transport and deliver the forgiveness of God, his grace and good favour. His salvation from sin, death and devil. His deliverance from all evil. These are great and wonderful gifts, but not so much to be confused with the diving blessings and gifts of this world. They belong more or less into the realm of the created world, the first article of faith and not so much into the second and third article of our Justification and Sanctification.

Therefore it is crucial to remember that God gives his blessings of this created world, daily bread, preservation and flourishing to all people – good and bad. Not just Christians or those especially worthy and needy! No, without any worthiness or merit on my part. Sometimes the Christians even lack these basic blessings in this world that is a serious afflication and can be tough suffering. Many Christians are thus severely tested in their faith: Why do the godless prosper so and the faithful go through such deep waters? (cf. Ps. 37 and 73) Still, we know from God’s word that, he does all to our best and ultimate benefit and salvation. So even if we are deprived of this and that earthy, material, worldly blessing it’s not to harm us in the final analysis, but rather to strengthen our faith and trust in him, who is our all and everything. „If we have but him, we don’t ask for heaven or earth!“ and „His gracious and enduring love, grace and mercy is even better than life!“ Now, the unfaithful can never get that. They think they are but just shortchanged if they miss out on this or that – and if they have material goods in abundance, they credit themselves for it. Selfish, stupid and having seeing eyes, they are blind as moles! For God will even use the most gracious blessings against them, if they were not utlized to strengthen the saving faith in him alone, to love, trust and fear him above all else.

Many see blessings as the ultimate goal, whereas it’s just a means of God to attract us to believe and confide in him alone and more than in anything else. Wherever however the creature is more adored and worshipped than the creator, there the blessings become the noose, which hangs the recepient in the end.

Our readings this morning emphasize something else. Firstly God’s blessings truly hit home. They find their aim. They do, what he intends. Those that he blesses, will be blessed forever. And that is why our yearing for blessing is not altogether misguided. Still we should remember that God himself is the highest good. He is more than all of his creation and through this he wants to draw us closer to himself. The ultimate blessing is to be with him in eternity.

We who are called and elected by God in our baptism already, who have received the blessings of his holy Word and sacraments throughout our lives, we should not doubt, that we are very blessed indeed and that we don’t miss out so much, but rather are most priviledged and honoured, so that we can overcome hardship and enmity and even discrimination, because we are heirs of an eternal inheritance, which shall never fade and which will see us filled with joy, gratitude and peace forever. There will be no shortage whatsover and no feeling of being put to shame or being cheated ever. That’s why even now, we can already overcome the curses of our enemies with blessing and persecution and violent evil with goodness, kindness and friendliness. Where this happens God is already proving his true majesty and glory even in his most lowely servants and least acknowledged followers in this world. Let us remember to bless and not curse. It’s the will of our Father.

Thanks, praise and mercy be to him, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns together with the Father and the Holy Spirit – one God – now and forever. Amen.

The peace of the Lord be with you always + Amen.

  1. Come thou fount of every blessing
    Tune my heart to sing thy grace
    Streams of mercy never ceasing
    Call for songs of loudest praise
  2. Teach me some melodious sonnet
    Sung by flaming tongues above
    I’ll praise the mount I’m fixed upon it
    Mount of thy redeeming love
  3. Here I raise my Ebenezer
    Hither by thy help I come
    And I hope by thy good pleasure
    Safely to arrive at home
  4. Jesus sought me when a stranger
    Wondering from the fold of God
    He, to rescue me from danger
    Interposed His precious blood
  5. O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
    Let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee
    Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
    Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above

Music:  John Wyeth arranged By:  Jenna Mosley

Posted in Herrenhuter Readings, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Looking forward to Sunday …

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Wilhelm Weber
Oculi mei semper ad Dominum…

Coming up is the 3rd Sunday during lent: “Okuli mei semper ad Dominum” (Ps.25:15-16)

My eyes are forever turned towards the Lord; for he shall release my feet from the snare; look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am abandoned and destitute. Unto you, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul; O my God, I trust in you, let me not be put to shame.

The Collect for Sunday is a great one:

Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Watchword for Oculi 26th February 2016 from the St.Luke: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:62] 

1 Kings 19:1-13  Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.“ Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?“ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.“ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Ephesians 5:1-8  Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.  Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person– such a man is an idolater– has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.  Therefore do not be partners with them.  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. 

Luke 9:57-62  As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”  Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”  He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.“ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

Hymn of the week from The Lutheran Hymnal 152: When o’er my sins I sorrow…

  1. When o’er my sins I sorrow,
    O my Lord Jesus Christ,
    Be hence my comfort borrowed:
    Thy death hath paid the price;
    Yea, Lord, Thy precious blood was spilt
    For me, O most unworthy,
    To take away my guilt.
  2. Oh, what a marv’lous off’ring!
    Behold, the Master spares
    His servants, and their suff’ring
    And grief for them He bears.
    God stoopeth from His throne on high;
    For me, His guilty creature,
    He deigns as man to die.
  3. My manifold transgression
    Henceforth can harm me none
    Since Jesus’ bloody Passion
    For me God’s grace hath won.
    His precious blood my debts hath paid;
    Of hell and all its torments
    I am no more afraid.
  4. Therefore I will forever
    Give glory unto Thee,
    O Jesus, loving Savior,
    For what Thou didst for me
    I’ll spend my breath in songs of thanks
    For Thy sad cry, Thy suff’rings,
    Thy wrongs, Thy guiltless death.
  5. Lord, let Thy woes, Thy patience,
    My heart with strength inspire
    To vanquish all temptations
    And spurn all base desire.
    This thought I fain would cherish most:
    What pain my soul’s redemption
    Hath Thee, O Savior, cost.
  6. My cross and mine afflictions,
    E’en scorn and shameful rod,
    Help me to bear with patience;
    Grant, O my Lord and God,
    That I this sinful world forsake
    And follow Thine example,
    Which Thou dost bid me take.
  7. And let me do to others
    As Thou hast done to me:
    Love all men as my brothers
    And serve them willingly,
    With ready heart, nor seek my own,
    But as Thou, Lord, hast helped us,
    From purest love alone.
  8. And let Thy cross upbear me
    With strength, when I depart;
    Tell me that nought can tear me
    From my Redeemer’s heart,
    But since my trust is in Thy grace
    Thou wilt accept me yonder,
    Where I shall see Thy face!

Wenn meine Sünd mich kränken Justus Gesenius, 1646 Tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt. Source: Sts. 1–4, The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, No. 152 Sts. 5, 7, Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, 1927, No. 197 St. 6, tr. Christopher J. Neuendorf, 2015St. 8, Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 48

Posted in Lent, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Passionsandacht in St.Pauls

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Wilhelm Weber

Hier ist meine Passionsandacht zum Lied 77 von Hermann Bonnus: “O wir armen Sünder unsere Missetat…” zum Lesen: O wir armen Sünder

und zum Hören: 

Posted in psalms and spiritual songs, St.Paul, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Matins in the morning: Lk.12,2-12

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Wilhelm Weber

Here’s this mornings sermon held at Matins on the gospel of St.Luke 12:2-12 to read: Lk12,2-12 Matins 2016.2 and to listen to: 

Posted in Matins in the morning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Herrenhuter readings for Wednesday, the 24th February 2016

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Wilhelm Weber

King David prays: “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psa 51:11 NIV) And the apostle St.Paul writes: “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Th 5:9 NIV)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you + now and always +

Dear friends of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ: The prayer of King David reminds us this morning of the terrible possibility that we’re cast from the presence of God and that his Holy Spirit is taken from us. The terror of this option is unimaginable. Even looking through the illustrations of Dante’s “Inferno” by Doré can’t get near to the horror and trepidation of this isolation and desertion. Homesickness is but a weak reflection of this utter desperation as is any illness with the most sickening feeling of weakness, nauseousness, pain and agony. The frightening awfulness of a stricken conscience probably comes closest to this. Knowing that I’m in the wrong and God is out to get me, punish and strike me with condemnation and all out attack, to strike me down and to wipe me out and off from the community of the living in his vitalizing and favorable presence.  That’s much worse still than even the expulsion from paradise was, because then God’s punishing hand was stayed by the promise of the coming Messiah and the hope of coming reprove. In comparison with the verdict then the final condemnation will be without leniency and utter despair. Then it was the bad news: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Gen 3:17-19 NIV) Still, that was not final and there was hope of eventual rest and reprieve. Yet the final cut-off with the damning words: “Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.” (Mat 25:11-12 NIV) will be truly desperate news. The “depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mat 25:41 NIV) will know no acquittal nor amnesty ever. Rather his negative verdict and punishment: “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 22:13 NIV) and “He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 24:51 NIV) knows no end. It’s painful and sore and suffering beyond anything we know: Eternal damnation! That is why king David pleads, don’t deal with me as I deserve. Rather have mercy and think of your own goodness and forgiving love and fatherly compassion. Taking me away from your presence and leaving me without the gift of your Holy Spirit are cutting off my life-blood and the very goal of my existence. Without you I am nothing. Your grace (Chesed) is better even than life. You are all and everything.

The truly good news is summarized in apostles St.Paul’s sentence to the Thessalonians: “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Th 5:9 NIV) See, it’s God’s good and gracious will that we be not lost, but saved. He doesn’t want the sinner to die in his sin, but rather that he repent and turn from his evil ways and be converted to God’s good and healing ways. God did not create us people to suffer wrath or final condemnation, rather he wants us to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why he is so ready to forgive sins. That’s why he sent out prophets, apostles, evangelists, missionaries, pastors, bishops, teachers and many, many more carriers of his good tidings. They all do and teach, what the Lord of all himself taught and entrusted them to do: Teaching, baptizing, making disciples, winning souls for Christ. That’s why the triune God still goes all out even today to call and invite and bring in people from the very ends of the earth, from the most stubborn nations like the Germans, the Zulu and the Oromo , Indians, Arabs and Chinese into the sanctuary and apothecary of his church – handing out medicine of healing, pardon of sin, gracious favour to cover up the multitude of our iniquities. Forgiving, remitting, writing off debt, granting instead gifts of grace, love, mercy and peace. Changing our fear, hatred, rebellion, vice and crime into trust, hope, faith and love. There is still room. There is still time. It is still day time. The mission is still going on. There still are far too many unreached. They too are to hear this delightful and encouraging gospel of the apostle St.Paul: “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Th 5:9 NIV) The example of king David, who was forgiven for murder and adultery by the prophet Nathan in the stead and by the command of our Lord and God, is to encourage us to put all our hope and faith in the triune God. He is the one, who can save us. He has done it already and we are forever grateful for his mercy. He will finish the good work too. Therefore we thank and praise him now and always. Amen.

The peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you always + Amen.

  1.  Jesus sinners doth receive;
    Oh, may all this saying ponder
    Who in sin’s delusions live
    And from God and heaven wander!
    Here is hope for all who grieve–
    Jesus sinners doth receive.

    2. We deserve but grief and shame,
    Yet His words, rich grace revealing,
    Pardon, peace, and life proclaim.
    Here their ills have perfect healing
    Who with humble hearts believe–
    Jesus sinners doth receive.

    3. Sheep that from the fold did stray
    No true shepherd e’er forsaketh:
    Weary souls that lost their way
    Christ, the Shepherd, gently taketh
    In His arms that they may live–
    Jesus sinners doth receive.

    4. Come, ye sinners, one and all,
    Come, accept His invitation;
    Come, obey His gracious call,
    Come and take His free salvation!
    Firmly in these words believe:
    Jesus sinners doth receive.

    5. I, a sinner, come to Thee
    With a penitent confession;
    Savior, mercy show to me
    Grant for all my sins remission.
    Let these words my soul relieve:
    Jesus sinners doth receive.

    6. Oh, how blest it is to know;
    Were as scarlet my transgression,
    It shall be as white as snow
    By Thy blood and bitter Passion:
    For these words I now believe:
    Jesus sinners doth receive.

    7. Now my conscience is at peace,
    From the Law I stand acquitted;
    Christ hath purchased my release
    And my every sin remitted.
    Naught remains my soul to grieve,–
    Jesus sinners doth receive.

    8. Jesus sinners doth receive.
    Also I have been forgiven;
    And when I this earth must leave,
    I shall find an open heaven.
    Dying, still to Him I cleave–
    Jesus sinners doth receive.

    Author: Erdmann Neumeister, 1718
    Titled: “Jesus nimmt die Sünder an”

Posted in Herrenhuter Readings, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment