A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Mark 5:21-43, June 28, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 28, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Mark 5:21-43. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon: Mark 5:21-43, June 28, 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 fifth chapter:

And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him …And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. ...And Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” …[Then Jesus said to the synagogue ruler,] “Do not fear; only believe.] [And Jesus] took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” …And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,

     I’ll be honest and tell you that as I prepared this sermon this week, I had in mind a much different direction for this text.  I’m going to encourage you to go check that direction out.  Go to our website, trinitybemidji.com, go to the staff page, look at my profile, go to my personal webpage, and there you’ll see all the sermons and Bible studies I’ve posted, and you can find Wednesday, the 24th’s Bible study on this text.

     But, suffice it to say, this is the story of the two daughters, one of whom was suffering from a physical malady and, because of something she couldn’t help, she was shunned, turned away, kept away from the Word of God and the forgiveness that is offered freely to the world.  The second daughter, the lovely little girl in her daddy’s eyes, had died.  And our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Resurrection, heals them both.  He saves them both.  He brings them salvation, not just physical healing, but actual salvation that will bring them to the end of time, safe and secure in the arms of Jesus.

     That’s what the sermon was going to be about.  And, in a way, I suppose it is.  But, now, this week, we have something else to talk about, too.  I know many of you are upset over the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States.  I know many of you worry that our highest court has legalized sin.  I know that many of you are worried that this shall begin the persecution of the Church found in America.  I know many of you worry that this is the end of America as we know it.

Bible Study: Mark 5:21-43, June 24, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on Mark 5:21-43 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on June 24, 2015. This Bible Study will help to lay a foundation for the sermon that is preached the following Sunday. Play the audio by clicking here.

Bible Study: Job 21:22-22:11, June 21, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 21, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 21:22-22:11. Play the audio by clicking here.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, June 21, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 21, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on 2 Corinthians 6:1-13. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, June 21, 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 Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, the 6th chapter:

Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way… We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also. 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     The Corinthian Church was pretty messed up.  Paul and Timothy, writing this letter together, had heard what had happened since the first letter.  Do you remember 1 Corinthians, the fifth chapter?  Paul finds out that in the Corinthian church there is someone who is living in sin with his stepmother.  And do you know how the Corinthians were responding?  They were fine with it!

     The Corinthians were fine with sin!  They thought that since they were saved, since there was no necessity to obey the Law in order to be saved, everything was fair game!  So, in this case, this stepson said, “Hey, why not?”  And the Church said, “Yes, indeed, why not?  Go forth!”

Bible Study: 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, June 17, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on June 17, 2015. This Bible Study will help to lay a foundation for the sermon that is preached the following Sunday. Play the audio by clicking here.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Mark 4:26-34, June 14, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 14, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Mark 4:26-34. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon: Mark 4:26-34, June 14, 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 fourth chapter:

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     I couldn’t help but notice in the text today that Mark tells us that Jesus explained everything to His disciples in private when it came to His parables.  But, do you notice what is missing here?  Any kind of explanation.  Is that because the parables are so easy to understand?  If that were the case, why would Jesus have used them?  After all, He used the parables to confuse the people hearing them, unless they were one of His followers.  That’s what He says earlier in the chapter, anyway.

     I don’t think it’s because the parables here are easy to understand.  In fact, I think these can be pretty hard to understand.  Unless, of course, you’ve been taught what they mean.  And some of us have, to be sure.  I mean, most of the time, Jesus’ parables have some sort of explanation, but these are missing and that bugs me.  But, I believe the explanation, since it is not in the text, must be in what the text contains, which is Jesus Himself.  Jesus must be the key, He must be what these parables are talking about.

Bible Study: Mark 4:26-34, June 10, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on Mark 4:26-34 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on June 10, 2015. This Bible Study will help to lay a foundation for the sermon that is preached the following Sunday. Play the audio by clicking here.

Bible Study: Job 21:17-21, June 7, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 7, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 21:17-21. Play the audio by clicking here.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Genesis 3:8-15, June 7, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on June 7, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Genesis 3:8-15. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon: Genesis 3:8-15, June 7, 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 Book of Genesis, the third chapter:

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,    
     This passage today is often called the protoeuangelion by Christians all over the world.  Protoeuangelion.  That’s two words, proto, meaning first, like prototype, and euangelion, which is the basis of the word evangel, like evangelism.  This evangel means the Good News, the Gospel.  So, this passage of Genesis is widely regarded as the protoeuangelion, or the first Gospel.  In fact, we could even call this chapter in Genesis, the Gospel according to Moses, since he is the author.

     But, we’re not focusing on Moses this morning, but instead the message which he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down, to share, and to show we who continue to struggle with our sin.  And that’s really why this is here.  So often, we think of the creation account as just a narrative.  We think of it in terms of being the refutation of evolutionary theory, of the big bang, of the idea that we are descended from the apes.  And since this account is in the Scriptures, we certainly know that none of that is true.  Sometimes, we think about this passage as a mere footnote in history.  That’s how sin entered into the world.  But we leave it there and we don’t see what Moses, really, what our Lord Jesus is showing us that we need here.

Bible Study: Genesis 3:8-15, June 3, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on Genesis 3:8-15 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on June 3, 2015. This Bible Study will help to lay a foundation for the sermon that is preached the following Sunday. Play the audio by clicking here.

A Pastoral Approach: Sermon: Acts 2:14a, 22–36, May 31, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on May 31, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Acts 2:14a, 22–36. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Bible Study: Acts 2:14a, 22–36, May 27, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on 1 John 5:1-8 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on May 6, 2015. This Bible Study will help to lay a foundation for the sermon that is preached the following Sunday. Play the audio by clicking here.