Sermon Audio: Revelation 21:1-7, April 24, 2016

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on April 24, 2016 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Revelation 21:1-7. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon Text: Revelation 21:1-7, April 24, 2016

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

The text this morning is from John’s Revelation, the twenty-first chapter:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     He is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!  Today, John sees in his revelation that there is something greater coming than this day.  John sees that there is something greater coming than this time.  John sees that there is something greater coming than this place, than this era, than this moment, than this life.  There is the life to come.

     The life to come.  For the Christian, our great hope is not in that we get to go to heaven and wander around like ephemeral-type spirits.  Our hope as Christians is greater than that.  Our hope, and it is a sure and certain promise, is that we shall rise from the dead, in our bodies, glorified like Jesus is glorified, and we shall live forever with him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

Bible Study: Revelation 21:1-7, April 20, 2016

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on Revelation 21:1-7 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on April 20, 2016. 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: John 10:22-30, April 17, 2016

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on April 17, 2016 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on John 10:22-30. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon Text: John 10:22-30, April 17, 2016

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 tenth chapter:

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     He is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!  Today, Good Shepherd Sunday, is all about election.  Not the national election, though it might be nice if God actually told us who we should vote for instead of risking getting someone, anyone, who might just mess up the country in one fell swoop.  But, this is God’s election, the election, the choosing of humanity to salvation.

     Before the foundation of the world, God elected all of mankind into salvation.  He knew exactly what would happen: He would create Adam and Eve, they would choose to listen to the devil’s temptations instead of trusting in God, they would fall into sin and away from the righteousness that was given to them and that they lived in, and there would have to be some way then to save them.  God knew this was going to happen and He planned for it.

     Of course, the question inevitably comes up, why God would let them fall into sin.  The Biblical answer is that we really don’t know.  God never revealed that information to us.  Never.  Some people try to say that it’s because God wanted a relationship, not a robot.  Okay, that might make some sense.  But, still, God could’ve had a relationship with Adam and Eve and just never let the devil set foot on earth.  I mean, there are literally millions of hypothetical situations to which we’re never going to have the answers.

Bible Study: John 10:22-30, April 13, 2016

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on John 10:22-30 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on April 13, 2016. 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: John 21:1-19, April 10, 2016

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on April 10, 2016 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on John 21:1-19. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon Text: John 21:1-19, April 10, 2016

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 21st chapter:

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     He is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!  And Peter knew it.  Thomas knew it.  Nathaniel knew it.  John and James and the other two disciples in the boat knew it, too.  They had spent at least a little while watching and listening to the Risen Lord.  But, Peter, at least so far as we know, hadn’t yet spoken to Him.

     You have to put yourself in the mindset of Peter.  Remember all the way back to Maundy Thursday night.  What did he do?  He denied his Lord.  Three times.  And in Peter’s mind, it seems, it was a denial of faith.  After all, this is the man who said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life,” and, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  Peter had believed in Jesus, at least a little bit.  He may not have understood everything, but he got some of it.  He believed Jesus was the Messiah.  But, Peter denied the man.

     It wasn’t just a little lie.  It wasn’t just a time where he said that he didn’t know that man, Jesus.  His three denials were for him a falling away from faith.  He walked away.  After all, he had heard the Lord tell, many times, that one must deny himself and follow Jesus.  He had also heard Jesus say that whoever denies Him before men, Jesus will deny before His Father who is in heaven.

Bible Study: John 21:1-19, April 6, 2016

A Bible Study taught by Pastor Lewis Polzin on John 21:1-19 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on April 6, 2016. 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: One Christ, Many Creeds: The Salvation Army and The Church of the Nazarene, April 3, 2016

This Bible Study is taken from and based upon the "One Christ, Many Creeds" curriculum from Concordia Publishing House. It was taught at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN on April 3, 2016. Play the audio by clicking here. You may also follow along with the teaching using this sheet.

Sermon Audio:Revelation 1:4-18, April 3, 2016

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on April 3, 2016 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bemidji, MN, on Revelation 1:4-18. The text of this sermon may be found by clicking this link and you may play the audio of the sermon here.

Sermon Text: Revelation 1:4-18, April 3, 2016

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

The text this morning is from John’s Revelation, the first chapter:

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 

Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     He is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!  And John knew that, too.  John, the beloved apostle, John, who was locked in the room when Jesus appeared, John, who watched Thomas be offered the chance to stick his hand in Jesus’ side, John, who spent 40 days with Jesus after the resurrection, John knew his Lord was risen from the grave.

     John, you remember, saw Jesus in His glory, or at least a shadow of His true glory, on the Mount of Transfiguration.  There, Jesus’ clothes turned white, His face shined like the sun, and He was surrounded by witnesses to His divinity, Moses and Elijah, a small part of the heavenly council, those who worship at the feet of God.  But now, John sees Jesus even more fully.  John sees Jesus for who He truly is: the Lord of all creation, standing in the midst of His Church.

     The lampstands in John’s vision symbolize the churches to whom John will write the words of Jesus.  And Jesus stands in their midst.  Jesus won’t have good words for all these churches, but their light still burns, Jesus is still with them, and He will call them to repentance and the forgiveness of sins.