Bible Study: Job 18, March 29, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on March 29, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 18. Play the audio by clicking here.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Zechariah 9:9-12, March 29, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on March 29, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Zechariah 9:9-12. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon: Zechariah 9:9-12, March 29, 2015

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 prophet Zechariah, the ninth chapter:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,

     Today, this wonderful festival day, we tend to think of what it may have looked like to see the prophecy fulfilled on that Palm Sunday nearly 2000 years ago.  The crowds, the cries of Hosanna, the palms, the coats.  What would it have looked like for the Jews to welcome in the man they thought would be their king, the one who would set all things right, the one who would cast out the Romans, and who would re-purify the Temple, the city, and even them?  

     They thought of this Jesus as the one who would rule for them out of an earthly palace.  But, none understood.  None saw.  None comprehended.  Jesus was the humble king, the lowly king, the king that no one saw.  The crowds shouted as He came to them, they cried aloud, the screamed for Him to save them.  And He would.  But not as they imagine.

Bible Study: Job 17, March 22, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on March 22, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 17. Play the audio by clicking here.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Mark 10:32-45, March 22, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on March 22, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Mark 10:32-45. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon: Mark 10:32-45, March 22, 2015

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 according to Mark, the 10^th chapter:

…And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death… And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” …And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized” …And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “”…whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,

     James and John had no idea about what they were asking.  Jesus says as much.  They  desired seats of power.  That’s what “to sit at one’s right or left” means.  The right hand is a sign of power and strength, and to sit at the Ruler’s right hand would mean to rule with His own authority, to rule in the stead of Jesus Christ.  To sit at his left hand is a seat of much lower power than the right, but still higher than those who are not seated with the Ruler.  

     James and John think they are so clever.  “Quick, let’s get our request in before anyone else.  Let’s do it together so that no one can accuse one of us of being power-hungry.  In fact, let’s let Jesus choose which of us sits at His right and His left.  We’ll be humble.  Let’s show Him we don’t care… so long as it’s us brothers together forever.”  They think they’re clever, they think they’re showing a bit of humility.  But they’re not.  They’re showing the greed and the arrogance that sits in each of us, especially me.

Sermon: Martin Luther on John 8:46-59, March 18, 2015

This sermon series during Midweek Lent 2015 is taken from Martin Luther's Gospel Church Postils for the Lenten Season. These sermons have been amended for preaching at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on March 18, 2015. The citation for the sermon is found below. You may play the audio by clicking here.

 Luther, M. (2013). Gospel for Judica Sunday [Fifth Sunday in Lent]. In B. T. G. Mayes, J. L. Langebartels, & C. B. Brown (Eds.), Luther’s Works: Church Postil II (Vol. 76, pp. 409–414). Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

Sermon: Martin Luther on John 6:1-15, March 11, 2015

This sermon series during Midweek Lent 2015 is taken from Martin Luther's Gospel Church Postils for the Lenten Season. These sermons have been amended for preaching at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on March 11, 2015. The citation for the sermon is found below. You may play the audio by clicking here.

 Luther, M. (2013). Gospel for Laetare Sunday [Fourth Sunday in Lent]. In B. T. G. Mayes, J. L. Langebartels, & C. B. Brown (Eds.), Luther’s Works: Church Postil II (Vol. 76, pp. 401–404). Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: John 2:13-22, March 8, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on March 8, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on John 2:13-22. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon: John 2:13-22, March 8, 2015

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 according to John, the second chapter:

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,

     In our passage today, we see Jesus doing a very good thing, namely continuing to fulfill the Law of God for our benefit.  Here He goes to Jerusalem to offer up the sacrifices required in the Temple of the Lord.  Not that Jesus has sin that needs to be atoned for, but that, according to the Law, He still yet sacrifices His offerings for the sake of the atonement of the sin of the world.  If Jesus did not offer up these sacrifices, then He would be guilty of breaking the Law, and thus the sacrifice of His life upon the cross could not have been accepted on our behalf.

     But, our gracious God, even demanding the death of an animal, gives Jesus the charge to obey all of the Law to fulfill all righteousness.  So, when Jesus goes the Temple, He’s not necessarily mad that people are trading money.  That things are traded in the house of God is not a surprise.  In fact, in some ways it might even be necessary. 

Sermon: Martin Luther on Luke 11:14–28, March 3, 2015

This sermon series during Midweek Lent 2015 is taken from Martin Luther's Gospel Church Postils for the Lenten Season. These sermons have been amended for preaching at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on March 3, 2015. The citation for the sermon is found below. You may play the audio by clicking here.

Luther, M. (2013). Gospel for the Third Sunday in Lent. In B. T. G. Mayes, J. L. Langebartels, & C. B. Brown (Eds.), Luther’s Works: Church Postil II (Vol. 76, pp. 397–399). Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

Bible Study: Job 17:1-16, March 1, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on March 1, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 17:1-16. Play the audio by clicking here.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Mark 8:27-38, March 1, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on March 1, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Mark 8:27-38. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon: Mark 8:27-38, March 1, 2015

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 according to Mark, the 8th chapter:

And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly… And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,

     Our passage here today gives to us a good word, as we have been hearing about Jesus.  We have seen in the Gospel according to Mark that Jesus is good and does many good things.  We have seen Him heal the blind, feed the four thousand, open the deaf man’s ears, and teach the doctrine of God, which is life itself.  But, until now, the disciples of Jesus have not understood, or at least have not said, what they know this man to be, who they see Him being for them.

     That is why He asks, “Who do people say that I am?”  Jesus is working here with the disciples to show them that what people see Him as may not be quite the reality.  A medicine man, a holy man, a good man, a healer, a preacher, a prophet, a weirdo, a rabbi, a miracle-worker.  Jesus is these things, to some extent or another, at least as to how we see Him, but this is not all that He is.  He knows this, and He desires that those who follow Him know this, too.