Bible Study: Job 10:1-9, September 28, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 28, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 10:1-9.

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: Philippians 2:1-18, September 28, 2014

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 28, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Philippians 2:1-18. 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: Philippians 2:1-18, September 28, 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 Philippians, the second chapter:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved... Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life...

Thus far the text.

Dear friends in Christ,
     In last week’s sermon, Paul’s words commended us to live lives in a manner worthy of the Gospel because soon suffering would come and being strengthened in these lives by Word and Sacrament is of vital importance.  In fact, it’s probably the most and only important thing that we do in the Church.  We preach the Word, we administer the Sacraments.  This is what we do.  This prepares you.  It prepares you for the life outside these walls, where the world will come at you at a thousand miles per hour.  It prepares you for suffering, where it can come from any angle.  It prepares you for death, because having taken the Lord Jesus Christ into your mouth, there is no better time to die than right after Communion.

     What was true last week is still true this week.  But, Paul continues on with his thought.  He needs, and we need, to know, that in Christ, there is comfort in our suffering, there is love, fellowship, affection, sympathy, even joy.  And how does this come?  Being united in mind, united in love, united in harmony.

     See, this is how a church is supposed to work.  A church works together, for the same reason, all with their different backgrounds and ideas.  That’s really what Paul talks about when he says “one accord,’ he’s using the word harmonious there.  We sing together, even if we’re not all on the melody, we sing the song of Christ.

Bible Study: Philippians 2:1-18, September 24, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 24, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Philippians 2:1-18. 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.

Bible Study: Job 9:25-35, September 21, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 21, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 9:25-35. Apologies for last week not being posted. Last's week's study on Job 8:8-9:24 was lost.

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: Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30, September 21, 2014

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 21, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Philippians 1:12-14, 19-31. 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: Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30, September 21, 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 Philippians, the first chapter:

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel... For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. 

Thus far the text.

Dear friends in Christ,

     Paul is faced with a hard choice in today’s reading.  There, he is faced with potential life outside of prison, or certain death coming out of it.  Paul really didn’t do anything wrong, at least not according to the letter of Roman law.  It’s just that trouble followed him, and, in Paul’s case, that trouble was literally demonic.  Seriously.  Demons followed him and drove him crazy, some afflicted him from the inside, some persecuted him from the outside.  And no matter how you look at it, those demons caused trouble.

     Enough trouble, in fact, to draw the attention of the authorities to Paul, a Pharisee by training and a Christian by conversion.  And, long story short, they didn’t like it so they arrested him.  But, as a Roman citizen by birth, a very high and lofty thing, and very desirable and scary, if you read Acts 22, Paul had the authority to ask to appeal to Caesar face-to-face.  No one could deny him, and so they had to send him to Rome, and there he waited for something like 4 or 5 years.  

     In that waiting, Paul continued to preach and to teach, even some of the Imperial Guard of the Empire, and he continued to work and do what Christ had literally called him to do.  And while he was there, he wrote many letters, many of which have made their way into the Scriptures today because of their value to the entire Church on earth.  Paul was busy.

Sermon for the Funeral of +Donald Julius Schmeckpepper+, September 20, 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 16^th chapter:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 

Thus far the text.

Dear Jeff, Julie, Jim, and my dear friends in Christ,

     I know this is not an easy day for you.  Losing your father is never easy, but to have his funeral here is a blessing.  Don was instrumental in this church.  He got the building campaign running, he got the congregation well-oiled, and he certainly has been helping it in his prayers, in his support, and in his presence.  But, Don has died.  I pray this isn’t a shock to most of us.  Don had not been in the best health over the last couple years, and certainly not in the last few months.  But, Don, one of the chief architects of this building has gone.  Yet the Church remains.

     You see, Don was good.  Don did much to help here and be a positive presence, yet, Don also knew, as do you, that he is not the builder of the big-C Church.  That builder is Christ.  And Christ, the one who builds His Church upon the confession of Peter, that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Son of the Living God, Christ has built this congregation, as He has built every congregation of the Church, out of the work and service of men, but, more importantly, upon the work of His cross.

Sermon for the Wedding of Meghan Yanish and Casey Stone, September 19, 2014

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

The text this evening is from the Gospel of Matthew, the 19^th chapter:

Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 

Thus far the text.

Meghan, Casey, and my dear friends in Christ,

     Our Lord Jesus Christ delights in this day, for here, you two have come to the Church of Christ to have your marriage solemnized and blessed.  Here, in this Church, we stand witness to you today and your pledges of love and faithfulness, charity and patience, endurance and support.  Yet, as you both know, marriage is not an easy thing, blessed by the Church or not.

     Marriage is filled with heartache and pain, just as it is filled with love.  Marriage is difficult, just as it is easy.  Marriage is filled with sin, just as it is filled with holiness.  But this is unsurprising.

     You both know and have confessed your sins.  You both have been forgiven of all your sins.  Yet, this does not mean that you will stop sinning.  And if you do not stop sinning, it is no big surprise then that your sin will creep into you marriage.  You will both do things that will cause you to stumble.  You will both do things that cause you pain.  You will both do things that will cause you heartache.  And this will have an effect on your marriage.

     Without Christ, without being put together by the Father, just as He has intended to do since the very beginning, this effect will not be positive.  But with Christ, with the strengthening of faith, with hearing in Christ’s Church that you are forgiven, with receiving the Lord’s body and blood, with remembering your baptisms, the effect of your sin in your marriage is strength.

Bible Study: Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30, September 17, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 17, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30. 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: Matthew 18:21-35, September 14, 2014

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 14, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Matthew 18:21-35. 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 18:21-35, September 14, 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:

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” 

Thus far the text.

Dear friends in Christ,

     There’s a little bit of discussion as to whether Jesus says 77 times, or 70 times seven times.  It doesn’t change much, except mathematically.  It’s the difference between 77 and 490, but either way, Jesus is using hyperbole, He’s exaggerating, He’s making a point, and He’s blowing Peter’s self-righteousness out of the water.

     Yes, Peter, the disciple whom I think I, personally, am most like, is completely and totally self-righteous in this passage.  He asks Jesus if he should forgive his brother the grand number of seven times.  Now, this was a big deal.  Many of the rabbis at this time were teaching you only needed to forgive three times.  So, Peter, thinking himself better than most, decides, let’s double that number.  And you know what, I’ll add another forgiveness on top of it.  Three times two is six, plus one is seven.  Jesus, should I forgive Andrew, my little, stinking, rotten, annoying brother seven times, I mean, after all, that’s a lot.  And he’s really annoying.  You know, you’ve been with him a couple years now.  Imagine me, I’ve known him all his life!

     I can imagine Jesus almost rolling His eyes at Peter and thinking about how He’s going to have to beat this one back.  Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  And that’s quite a bit.  But, Jesus might as well have said, in comparison to the other rabbis, you should forgive your brother eleventy-bajillion times.  It’s ridiculous, it’s ludicrous, and it’s the point.

Bible Study: Matthew 18:21-35, September 10, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 10, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Matthew 18:21-35. 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.

Bible Study: Job 8 and the Prosperity Gospel, September 7, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 7, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 8 and the Prosperity Gospel.

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 13:1-10, September 7, 2014

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 7, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Romans 13:1-10. 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 13:1-10, September 7, 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 thirteenth chapter:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. …Love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law… Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

Thus far the text.

Dear friends in Christ,

     Anyone know the name of the Church season we’re in?  Anyone?  It’s not back-to-school time, though for many that’s the cause of much rejoicing.  It’s not pre-deer-opener.  It’s not pre-winter.  Pentecost.  Pentecost.  And what’s so special about Pentecost?  After all, it’s some 23 weeks, this year, about half the year that we’re basically stuck with this green color.  Not that that green… or gold… are bad colors.  Better than purple and white together, maybe.

     Anyway, what’s special about Pentecost is that it’s often referred to as the season of the Church.  Think about this for a moment.  Through much of the year, our lessons focus solely on Christ’s work for us.  In the season of Advent, we look to the fulfillment of the promise of the coming Messiah and wait for His second coming.  In the season of Christmas, we celebrate Christ’s taking on of our flesh.  In the season of Epiphany, we celebrate Christ’s revealing Himself to all nations.  In the season of Lent, we prepare ourselves as we follow Christ’s progression towards the cross.  In the short season of Holy Week, we watch as our Lord is crucified in our place, for our sins, taking the punishment we deserve.  In the season of Easter, we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection from the dead, promising us eternal life as well.

     But, in the season of Pentecost, a day that we see in Acts where the Church grew because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we now see the work of Christ among us in His gifts.  We see Christ all the time, but He has ascended to heaven to sit at the right of His Father, and He has sent His Spirit to come to us, to bring us the gifts of God’s Word, Christ’s Baptism, and Christ’s Supper.  But the Spirit also guides us in knowing what to do and how now we should live, how now we should live because we are saved by Christ’s sacrifice for us, we are saved by grace through faith.

Bible Study: Romans 13:1-10, September 3, 2014

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 3, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Romans 13:1-10 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.