Bible Study: Job 22:22-23:7, July 26, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on July 26, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 22:22-23:7. Play the audio by clicking here.

Sermon Audio: Ephesians 3:14-21, July 26, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on July 26, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Ephesians 3:14-21. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon Text: Ephesians 3:14-21, July 26, 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 Letter to the Ephesians, the third chapter:

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,

     The pericope today starts in a strange place.  “For this reason…”  What reason, we should ask?  Why is Paul bowing his knees before the Father of Jesus Christ?  Well, it goes back to the ending of last week’s Epistle Lesson, where Paul speaks of the local congregation: “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

     Paul tells the Ephesians that, being a part of the larger Church, they “…are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”  Then he tells them that they are being joined together, as a local congregation, are also being built together, so that when one looks at the Ephesians, they can say definitively, “God is there in that place.”

Bible Study: Ephesians 3-:14-21, July 22, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on Ephesians 3:14-21 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on July 22, 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 22:12-21, July 19, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on July 19, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Job 22:12-21. Play the audio by clicking here.

Sermon Audio: Ephesians 2:11-22, July 19, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on July 19, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Ephesians 2:11-22. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon Text: Ephesians 2:11-22, July 19, 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 Letter to the Ephesians, the second chapter:

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     Did you know that we are, each of us here, indebted to obey Luther’s Small Catechism?  It’s true.  Each of us, as we have been received into membership, confess and vow that we will continue to live out the Christian faith and be taught the Word of God according to what is contained in his Small Catechism.  We’d be good to remind ourselves of that.

     In that Catechism, as I’m sure you’ve all been reading it this week, you know that there are six chief parts, six things Luther draws upon to point us to the Christian life of faith: the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Baptism, Confession, and the Lord’s Supper.  He says these things are the foundation of our faith, and if we knew no more than these, we would all live in peace and quietness, as we pray for each week.  And countless Christians, over the course of, especially, the last 500 years, have agreed.  That’s why the Catechism was taught in every home, and that’s why the Church confirmed the teaching of the father to his children.
 

Bible Study: Ephesians 2:11-22, July 15, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on Ephesians 2:11-22 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on July 15, 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.

Sermon Audio: Mark 6:14-29, July 12, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on July 12, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Mark 6:14-29. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon Text: Mark 6:14-29, July 12, 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 6th chapter:

King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     It’s easy for us to focus on the story told in this text of John the Baptizer’s death at the hands of the evil Herodias.  So often, we think that the narrative is what matters, rather than what the story reveals.  And don’t get me wrong, the story is important.  But, how many of us know the story behind the story?

     Herod the Great was a man who had won great favor from Rome, but one who had also been driven mad with paranoia.  He had 14 children that we know of, killed three, ten wives, killed one, and was the man responsible for the Slaughter of the Bethlehem Innocents to attempt to murder the infant Jesus, who he saw as a threat to his throne.  The Herod in today’s text is one of Herod the Great’s sons, and ruled along with two of his brothers over certain areas in Israel.  This Herod does seem quite so crazy as his father, yet, having come from such a “distinguished” family, it’s not a surprise that Herod has just as many problems as his father did.

     In fact, he fell in love with his sister-in-law, Herodias, married to his brother Philip, and, not that it was right, but before Herodias even thought of divorce, she ran away with Herod and got married.  For a Jew, this would have been nearly unthinkable, as not only would the divorce that she would seek would be illegal, against the Law of God, but that she married her husband’s brother, which is only commanded after the death of the brother.  In many ways, she basically treated her new husband’s brother as dead, and so did Herod.  This would have caused many issues between them, especially as these two brothers, and even one more, ruled over different areas of Israel.

Sermon Text for the Wedding of Karly Sorensen and Jeremiah Ackermann, July 11, 2015

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

The text this evening is from John’s First Epistle, the fourth chapter:

…if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit… By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world.

Thus far the text.

Karly and Jeremiah, and my dear friends in Christ,
     Today is the day for which you have been waiting for so long: the day your marriage begins.  And I say it that way because, as you know, so often, the world gets caught up in the trappings of the wedding, thinking this is the start of everything good.  But, you both know, as baptized believers in Christ, this day is merely a day, a good day, but a day that Christ uses to bring you closer to Himself.

     In your Baptisms, as the water poured over your heads, marking you with the promise of the Word, the name of God, the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, God came to you to abide with you forever.  There, the Holy Spirit entered into you and has guided you, taught you, strengthened you, comforted you, all with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And there, because you were claimed by the Holy Spirit, delivered Christ’s gifts of mercy and salvation, and loved by the Father, you were taught to love.

     For indeed, there is no greater love than the love of God towards you, the love that sent the Only Son from Heaven to come to earth, live perfectly, die, and be resurrected for you.  The love that you two share for one another is a mere fraction of this love.  It is a mere pittance here.  And you will see this in your marriage.

Bible Study: Mark 6:14-29, July 8, 2015

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin onMark 6:14-29 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on July 8, 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.

Sermon: Mark 6:1-13, July 5, 2015

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on July 5, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Mark 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: Mark 6:1-13, July 5, 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 6th chapter:

He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     Jesus, this morning, by the inspiration of His Holy Word, by speaking of faith, the faith that has been given to you, shows us what it should look like to go out into the world and be a part of His mission.  This is such an important topic for us today, and it has been the topic of Christians for countless ages.  When I spread the Gospel, what should I expect?  What should I do?  What will the response be?

     Even our beloved Martin Luther, convinced that, after the Gospel had been freed from the Roman Catholic Church, now that the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone, and not faith and works, was being preached, the Jews of his beloved Germany would convert to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He thought, for sure, now that they would hear they had been freed from obedience to the Law of God for salvation, they would turn to the cause of the Reformation and join hands as fellow believers in Jesus Christ.  Yet, they would not turn.  They would not convert.  And Luther became angry and jaded, and in his old age sinned, saying many disparaging things about his fellow citizens.