Sunday, June 29, 2014

Bible Study: Job 3:1-26, June 29, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 29, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 3:1-3:26.

The Bible study recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Matthew 10:34-42, June 29, 2014

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 29, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Matthew 10:34-42. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link here. The sermon recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

Sermon: Matthew 10:34-42, June 29, 2014

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The text this morning is from the Gospel of Matthew, the tenth chapter:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.“ 
Thus far the text.

Dear friends in Christ,
     In the country of Madagascar, not far off the coast of the continent of Africa, the Lutheran church is growing by leaps and bounds.  The church there began all the way back in the 1800s when the Norwegian Mission Society went down and began their missions there.  Many congregations are small; most are huge, worshipping in the thousands, and one congregation even having 3000-9000 people attending on a Sunday; the vast majority of congregations are in step with the Book of Concord, just like many of the congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.  They use the hymnal, they use the liturgies that we use each week, they read the same Scriptures.

     This denomination is one of, if not, the fastest growing Lutheran denominations in the world.  They open a new congregation each week to keep supporting its over 4 million members in one of the poorest countries in the world.  But, Satan is strong in this country, despite the efforts of the Gospel.

     Dr. Robert Bennett, a pastor in the LCMS, spent much time in Madagascar and discovered that the natural religion of the place is a kind of animism, where most things in the world have some type of soul, including the rocks, the grass, etc.  But there is also a high belief in the spirits of those who have passed, and so with that comes a theology that exists of ancestor worship, ghosts, and the like.  What he saw there was so shocking to his North American Lutheran experience, it was difficult to understand at first.

     He saw exorcisms, he saw demon possessions, he saw inexplicable things happening all around him.  He saw the work of demons that we don’t usually see here in America.  That’s not surprising.  We don’t really believe in demons anymore here, though, I can tell you, they are quite real and very active.  What was surprising to Bennett was that the people with whom he was worshipping, those Lutherans in Madagascar, they were being rejected by everyone they loved.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Bible Study: Matthew 10:34-42, June 25, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 25, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Matthew 10:34-42. This Bible Study will help to lay a foundation for the sermon that is preached the following Sunday.

The Bible study recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Bible Study: Job 2:1-3:1, June 22, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 22, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 2:1-3:1.

The Bible study recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Romans 6:12-23, June 22, 2014

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 22, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Romans 6:12-23. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link here. The sermon recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

Sermon: Romans 6:12-23, June 22, 2014

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The text this morning is from Paul’s Letter to the Romans, the 6th chapter:
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. …what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
Thus far the text.

Dear friends in Christ,
     I have a friend whose child willfully disobeys them.  Big surprise there, right?  One night this child was seriously misbehaving at the dinner table and her mom told her to stop disobeying her.  The child sat quietly by, ate a little bit of her dinner, and then started screaming out the lyrics to Katy Perry’s ‘Firework.’  The mom told her again to stop misbehaving or she’d be punished.  The kid listened for a second and then starting singing again.  Now the mom was getting angry because she knew her daughter was blatantly disobeying her.  So, she told her daughter that she was grounded and as soon as she finished dinner, she’d have to go to her room.  At that, the kid started bawling.  

     Now, that’s not really a big surprise; no one likes to be punished.  But the mom asked the child why she was crying.  “Because you punished me,” she said.  “Well, if you just listened to me, and did what I told you, I wouldn’t have to punish you.”  “But, but, Mom, I can’t listen to you.  I want to, but I can’t help myself, I can’t.”  This little girl knew the difference between wanting to listen and actually listening and obeying.  And this little girl knew that she was completely unable to do so.

     It’s like that in today’s text.  Paul’s words seem easier said than done, don’t they?  Don’t let sin reign in your bodies.  Present yourselves to God.  Sin will not have dominion over you.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Bible Study: Job 1:6-22, June 15, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 15, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 1:6-22. This Bible Study will help to lay a foundation for the sermon that is preached the following Sunday.

The Bible study recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Genesis 1:1-2:4a, June 15, 2014

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 15, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Genesis 1:1-2:4a. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link here. The sermon recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

Sermon: Genesis 1:1-2:4a, June 15, 2014

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The text this morning is from Genesis, the first and second chapters:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 
Thus far the text.

Dear friends in Christ,
     Today being the Sunday of the Holy Trinity, the Sunday, and our God, from which we as our beloved congregation derive our name, we should spend some time delving into this Trinity.  After all, in the first three verses of the entire Scriptures, we see a picture of the Trinity.

     First, God created the heavens and the earth.  Of course, from the creeds, we know this is a picture of our beloved Father.  The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  Of course, we see that our dear Holy Spirit is here, doing what He does best, hanging out around the water.  And God said… this is our dear, precious Jesus Christ, the Word of God, speaking out into the universe and creating all things, everything from no thing but Himself.  He speaks and the universe is shaped to His will.

     This is our Trinity, and they are there as we see all through the New Testament, they are there from the beginning of time, and before.  They are there in the first lines of Scripture.  They are there, for they have always been there, and so they shall always be.  For just as we confessed today, the Trinity is uncreated, infinite, and eternal.  They have always been, they are, and they shall always be.  As such, it’s no surprise we find them in the very beginning of the Scriptures, for even there they inspired Moses to write about them, that man may seek them and find there the joy that is beyond compare in understanding just a little bit about them.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Bible Study: Job 1:1-6, June 8, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 8, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 1:1-6. This Bible Study will help to lay a foundation for the sermon that is preached the following Sunday.

The Bible study recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Acts 2:1-21, June 8, 2014

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 8, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Acts 2:1-21. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link here. The sermon recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

Sermon: Acts 2:1-21, June 8, 2014

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The text this morning is from the Acts of the Apostles, the second chapter:
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance… And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language… And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
Thus far the text.

Dear friends in Christ,
     When I was younger, I always thought that Pentecost was actually Pennycost.  I didn’t understand it.  What’s a penny cost?  A penny, right?  A single red cent.  I mean, it didn’t make sense.  It was another one of those big words the Church used to confuse me, because, it was all about me, you know.

     When I got older, I kind of thought that Pentecost was all about the Holy Spirit.  I mean, after all, the Holy Spirit seems to be the main actor in the text ABOUT Pentecost today, right?  Acts 2, who comes down and makes the disciples speak in different languages?  The Holy Spirit.  That’s some pretty sweet action.  I’d pay to see that show.

     But now that I am here, now that I can truly be prepared to reflect upon the Scriptures, I know that Pentecost isn’t about the Holy Spirit, it’s about Jesus.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Sermon for the Funeral of +Trudy Ann Baird+, June 6, 2014

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The text this morning is from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, the fifteenth chapter: 
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain... And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 
Thus far the text.

Dear Dan, Chris, Marlea, Patricia, Thomas, Michal, Janell, all of Trudy’s family, and my dear friends in Christ,
     Today, our hearts are full of grief and sorrow over the loss of Trudy from our midst.  Of course, it is no easy thing to lose the presence of a Christian brother or sister.  It brings to light all those things that are wrong in this world.  After all, we are not meant to die.  We are meant to be creatures who live from our very conceptions unto eternity.

     But that’s not the way this world has gone.  Instead, our ancestors, Adam and Eve, plunged all of humanity, even this whole world into sin and chaos.  And because of that, because of their choice to disobey and not trust God, we bear the burden of the dreadful curse of sin, and we shall all die.

     This was not a surprise to Trudy.  She had seen the chaos of this world as she took care of this world.  She had seen the destruction and disorder that can occur at any time here, but she also knew, for she has been hearing of this curse for a long while, that the same chaos and destruction she saw could happen to her.  And, of course, Trudy saw, even as she grew older, the curse of sin in her own flesh, especially as the cancer took over.  We all know this.  We are sinners.  And the wages of our sin is death.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Bible Study: Acts 2:1-21, June 4, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 4, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Acts 2:1-21. This Bible Study will help to lay a foundation for the sermon that is preached the following Sunday.

The Bible study recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Bible Study: The Book of Concord, Augsburg Confession 28 and Conclusion

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 1, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on The Book of Concord. This Bible Study uses Concordia Publishing House's Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions as a basis for our study. Please feel free to follow along.

The Bible Study recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: 1 Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11, June 1, 2014

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 1, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on 1 Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link here. The sermon recording may also be accessed by clicking the title of this blog post and playing it in your browser.

Sermon: 1 Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11, June 1, 2014

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The text this morning is from the First Epistle of Peter, the 4th and 5th chapters:
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name… And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 
Thus far the text.

Dear friends in Christ,
     Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!  And this is true and the full foundation of our sermon this morning.  Peter, being inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the Word of Christ in this text tells us that suffering, that persecution, that insults, that even having to resist the devil, these are norms in the Christian life.

     The Christian in this sinful world is called to suffer.  Peter says it right there in the text, “Don’t be surprised at the fiery trial… as though [it were] something strange.”  The word he uses here indicates that for the beloved, that is the brothers and sisters of Christ in the one true faith, for the beloved, fiery trials, suffering, are to be expected.  If it happens, it’s not something strange, but it is something that was foretold by Christ in John 15, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

     When the world hates us Christians, it is because it has, since the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, hated God, it’s hated Christ.  If it hates God, it will hate those who look like, who sound like, who preach, who eat, who drink, who are baptized by God.  It will hate Christians.  And the world does hate Christians.