What Does This Mean?

Sermon for the Commemoration of Friedrich Wyneken, Pastor and Missionary

Sermon on 1 Peter 2:9–12

Commemoration of Friedrich Wyneken, Pastor and Missionary

Kramer Chapel

May 4, 2020

Text:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light…” (1 Peter 2:9–12)

Introduction

One hundred and eighty‑two years ago, a dense forest stretched from the Great Lakes west to the Illinois prairie and south to the Ohio River Valley. The frontier was a cathedral of towering oaks, sycamores, elms, maples, chestnuts, pines, and cedars. Even young banker Hugh McCulloch was moved to awe at the sight.

Into this wilderness poured thousands—soon tens of thousands—of Germans and Irish, drawn by the promise of fertile land where a man might carve out a farmstead and leave a heritage to his children. They found hard work in a hard climate. They found isolation. The bush might keep you from knowing you even had neighbors… No church bells would call you to worship in non‑existent churches.

The settlers came. Pastors, by and large, did not.

Even when a congregation was blessed with a servant of the Word, tragedy often struck. In Fort Wayne, St. Paul’s Lutheran Congregation mourned the death of its young German‑American pastor. Elder Adam Wesel wrote to the Pennsylvania Ministerium on June 4:

“If you canvass the northern part of Indiana, you will soon see how important it is that you send us a faithful shepherd… If it is not possible to send us a pastor, dear brothers, then send us a circuit rider. We hunger and thirst for the Word of God.”

God heard their prayer.

Three days before their pastor died, Friedrich Wyneken set sail for Baltimore on the Brig Apollo. As Wesel’s letter arrived in Pennsylvania, Wyneken presented himself to the mission society, ready to receive a call. They sent him to gather the scattered German Protestants of Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. And he did.

“Called Out of Darkness Into His Marvelous Light”

(1 Peter 2:9)

Peter’s words fit Wyneken’s world—and yours.

“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). God called Wyneken out of darkness into His marvelous light, and through him God called thousands more.

And now, God calls you.

As God’s people prayed for a pastor then, so they do now. As God answered their prayer, sending Wyneken, so he answers their prayer and sends you.

You bear the same call Wyneken bore. You preach the same Gospel. You administer the same Baptism (Matthew 28:19). You grant the same Absolution (John 20:23). You celebrate the same Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23–26).

The office is the same. The Christ is the same. The mercy is the same.

“Sojourners and Exiles” (1 Peter 2:11)

Yet the world into which you are sent is no less foreign than Wyneken’s frontier.

While a remnant of Christian America remains, we live in a pagan culture. The fear of death drives the world’s actions (Hebrews 2:15). What little they know of Jesus or His Church is often a caricature.

Peter’s counsel is sound:

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).

And again:

“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable” (1 Peter 2:12).

You are not sent to win arguments. You are sent to bear Christ.

Let them see your good works—not to glorify you, but “to glorify God on the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:12).

Never Alone

“We are founded on the living cornerstone, chosen and precious” (1 Peter 2:4). “We are not redeemed with silver or gold, but with His precious blood” (1 Peter 1:18–19). “We are now His own holy nation, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9).

And though you may seem alone, you are never alone.

Wyneken was not alone in the forest. You are not alone in this culture. Christ is with His Church. Christ is with His pastors. Christ is with His people.

He who called you out of darkness will keep you in His marvelous light.

And now may the peace of God, which passes understanding, set watch over your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus to live everlasting. Amen.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2020-2026 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share, and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

Meet Fritz Wyneken

Encore Post: The Young Fritz Wyneken was the tenth of eleven children, the sixth of six sons. He joined a family of dedicated and prominent servants of heavenly and earthly kingdoms. One uncle served as the Court Preacher of the King of Hanover, another the commander of the Queen of Denmark’s bodyguard, and a brother the Rector of a seminary. Other Wynekens served as pastors and officers in various occupations in Denmark and Germany.

When Friedrich was five years old, his father died, leaving his mother, Louise, to raise their eleven children. To accomplish this, she depended on a meager church pension, took in boarders, and called on family and friends to make ends meet.

Friedrich attended a Gymnasium in his hometown of Verden. At age seventeen, he enrolled at the University of Göttingen, the traditional Wyneken alma mater. Yet the school’s strict atmosphere and its students’ vulgar behavior proved intolerable to the young man. After one semester, Friedrich enrolled in the University of Halle’s Theological Faculty, where he remained until he graduated two and a half years later.

At Halle, Friedrich found a mentor in Augustus Tholuck, a leader of the 19th-century German Awakening and supporter of the Prussian Union. During Friedrich’s years at Halle, Tholuck taught courses in New Testament, Dogmatics, and the History of Doctrine.

Through his influence, Wyneken became an “awakened” and “believing” Christian. Upon graduation, Wyneken served as a private instructor in the home of Consistorial Counselor von Henfstengel at Leesum, a town near Bremen. The area was a stronghold for the Awakening and a place where Friedrich Wyneken would grow both in his faith in Christ and zeal for missions. No doubt his relatives played a part in this development, since many of them lived in the area. After four years in Leesum, he briefly served as the director of a Latin School in Bremervörde and then as a private instructor of a boy, whose health required him to live in Italy and the South of France.

Wyneken’s education and experience had made him into a strong, convinced pietist, full of zeal for the Lord and “a fanatic full of fire to oppose strict churchhness.” Wyneken returned to Germany in 1837, fully groomed for a promising career in the church. Then he read accounts of the spiritual needs of German Lutherans on the American frontier in mission society journals. Everything changed.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Self-Control

[Twenty-Second in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

The sanctified life of the Christian is one of self-control, the last of the “fruits of the Spirit” that Paul speaks about in that famous Galatians passage. Self-control is, in particular, the ability to control one’s emotions in conformity with God’s will.

Doing a simple bible word search just in the ESV, you first find the translation used in Proverbs 25:28. There, a man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Nothing good happens in a city like that. The city would be lost to looters. In a similar fashion, a man lacking self-control, who loses his temper or emotions easily, loses respect and dignity in the sight of his counterparts.

St. Paul warns young Timothy that self-control is an extremely important characteristic for those seeking to serve the Church as pastors. Having self-control is important because we need to remember that it is most easily lost with a loose tongue. But self-control is also an important trait for everyone.

Involved in self-control is the discipline in what we say and do. What better way to be disciplined (a follower) by the Word of God, from which we hear the good news of our justification in the sight of God for Jesus’ sake?

Paul reminds us that we were once a people who were slaves to our sinful passions. But in light of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection, we have been granted new life, and it is in this new life that we desire to control our sinful desires and flesh. The Christian life involves self-control. It is intimately connected to returning to the font of holy baptism through confession and absolution. There we put to death our old, sinful Adam and daily rise to the new obedience, actually desiring to do the things which God commands of us.

It is a continual struggle, as even Paul attests. Self-control is a character trait that needs to be developed and exercised. God’s gift of self-control is continually developed by being in His Word and by being formed by the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana

Church Words: Mercy

[Twenty-first in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

Many Lutheran pastors begin their sermons with the greeting: “Grace, Mercy and Peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” St. Paul used this blessing to begin both his letters to Timothy, and St. John used it for one of his letters. Two other posts cover grace and peace. In this one, we take up the third of the triad, mercy.

Yet, in a way, we’ve been here before. One of the Hebrew words for love, חֶ֫סֶד, often translated lovingkindness, is also used for mercy. You probably already know the Greek word for mercy. It is ἐλεέω — eleeo — the word in the ancient prayer we call the Kyrie Eleison: “Lord, have mercy.” This prayer appears as the congregation’s response to prayer in worship services of the 4th century (300s AD). To this day, Christians still pray it in traditional worship services. The word mercy is love in action. It is the response someone who cares has when they see another in great pain and suffering.

When God shows mercy, he acts out of his compassion to save, to help, and to heal. Most of the time, the person suffering cannot help themselves. All of the time, they do not deserve mercy. Mercy comes from the love and grace of God. Sometimes the person asking for mercy is about to be sentenced for a crime and hopes for punishment less severe than he should receive. God’s mercy is always for the sake of his Son, who took the punishment we deserved, atoned for our sins on the cross, and suffered for us in full. God is indeed merciful to us, for he forgives our sins and grants us everlasting life.

Yet mercy does not end with God. Because God is merciful to us, we are merciful to our suffering neighbors. Since the very beginning of the church, Christians have sought to be channels of God’s mercy to all who suffer. They have visited the sick and brought healing where they could. They have fed the hungry, clothed the naked, sheltered the homeless, visited the imprisoned, befriended the lonely and those grieving, and cared for orphans and widows. In us, they see God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and full of faithful love. Most of all, we bring the good news of God’s greatest mercy — salvation in Christ Jesus, our merciful Lord.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Peace

[Twentieth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

Every culture has a different way of greeting. We say “hello” informally, “Good morning,” “Good afternoon,” and “Good evening.” The Romans said, “Salve” (“be well”). The Greeks said, “χαίρετε” — kairete (“be joyful”). From ancient times, the Hebrews —and now Israelis —say “שָׁלוֹם” — shalom (peace, be well, whole and complete). They also say shalom when they say “Goodbye.”

When we say “peace,” we mean that everything is calm, that we are not at war, and that all is calm. In God’s Word, it is much more than that. Peace means everything is right with our world. Peace begins with our relationship with God. It comes from knowing he loves us, cares for us, will be with us always, and knowing we will live with him forever. No matter what else is wrong in our world, nothing can take away our peace. Peace is what Adam and Eve had in Eden, when God saw all that he made and said it is “very good!”

Yet sin makes it nearly impossible to find peace on earth. Theologians say that we are “curved in on ourselves.” Sin makes us think of what pleases us, to seek our own interests over others, and to run over anything that gets in our way. This outlook on life puts us in conflict with God, with others, and with our world. It is the source of evil, sickness, grief, and death. No matter what we do, we cannot reconcile with God or each other with our own power. Selfishness is a part of everything we think and do. Death rules, and fear of it colors all we are.

To bring peace, God’s Son, the Prince of Peace, became one of us. He lived his life in perfect harmony with his Father. He offered himself to pay the price of our rebellion and warfare against God. He reconciled us with God by his own blood. In his body, all walls that separate us from God and each other fell. We are now at peace with God, even in this world of war.

Soon, the day will come when the Prince of Peace returns to rule. Then he will once and for all bring an end to sin, death, and the power of the devil. God himself will live with us. No more will there be sin, sorrow, grief, and pain. All these things will pass away as he makes all things new. Then peace will reign, and God will again say, “See! It is very good!”

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

For All the Saints, Who from their Labors Rest

Sermon on Revelation 7:13-17‌
All Saints’ Sunday‌
November 5-6, 2023‌
Our Hope Lutheran Church‌
Huntertown, Indiana

‌‌Note: This is a sermon version of my All Saints’ Day devotional, revised to remember my late wife, Kris, and dear friends at my home parish. She entered rest on 29 April 2022 and was buried from this church on 6 May 2022.

Text: “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore, they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

‌Prayer: For all the saints who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Amen.

Christ is Risen!

‌Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who by his death has destroyed death and by his rising again opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

Introduction: All Saints’ Day is a memorial day. From the earliest days of the church, first congregations, then regions, remembered Christian loved ones on the day they died — especially those who died as martyrs. The November 1 celebration began under Pope Gregory III in the 8th century and was made universal by Pope Gregory IV in 837. Since then, the church has marked that day to follow the lead of the Book of Hebrews: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:7–8) Memorial days are really the last stage of grief. We thank God for our departed, remember how they lived, especially how they trusted God, and make their trust in Jesus our own. They are now at rest with Jesus, after all, and one day we will join them.

‌Our text this morning opens the curtain of heaven for us to see the throne of God. The Elder explains to St. John that the crowd no one can number are coming from the Great Tribulation, the time between the Ascension of Jesus and his return in glory. They are gathered before the Father and the Lamb of God. They are God’s children from every time – Adam and Noah, Joseph and Moses, David and Elijah, all those trusting in the coming Messiah. The Apostles and Evangelists, Christians from every time and place, language, and nation are there. There also people much more familiar to us. Our grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, spouses, friends, and sometimes children are there. It is good to remember them, to thank God for them, to consider the things they did, especially the good things they did in faith and because they love God.

‌Who do you remember? I remember my own grandparents and grandparents-in-law, who lived and prospered through incredibly hard times, kept the faith in their own … unique … ways, who were often living examples of saints and sinners at the same time. Some of you remember the days of the World Wars and the Depression all too well. I remember my grandmother Smith reading from the big, KJV family Bible to me as a child on her lap. I remember my grandmother Schneider and her aunt who gave me my first Greek New Testament as a confirmation gift. There are also my parents and parents-in-law, troubled in troubled times, yet who still kept their faith. Also present is my father, that bruised reed the Lord did not break. And now in 2023, i remember my beloved wife, Kris, who has joined them. She loved me, her children and grandchildren through constant pain all of her life, produced endless beautiful and practical crafts that blessed many. Her straightforward, rock-hard faith was an inspiration to me and to many.

‌Who do you remember? As you and I look out at our church today, we remember brothers and sisters in Christ who sat here with us. We can almost see them in their favorite pews. All are at rest with their Savior. Many others are there, too. My Fathers and brothers in the faith. I remember those that taught me and many others and laid the stole of ministry on me the same stole I have now laid on my son-in-law, spiritual sons. I am thankful for them and for their confessions. I pray to be as faithful to the Lord as they were.

So, how did they get there before the throne? Born sinners, they struggled with the Old Adam and Old Eve until the day they died. Yet when they were baptized, Jesus united them with his death. He, the Lamb of God, took away the sins of the world – their sin, our sin. When he rose from the dead, he opened the way for them – and us – to be with him forever. He gave them and us the white robe when he baptized them, the robe of his perfect righteousness. He placed the palm branch of victory in their hands. When we worship, we join them and angels and archangels in praise. You can almost see them waving the branches when we sing with them, “Hosanna in the highest!”

At the deaths of our dear saints, Jesus sent his angels to bring them home to him in paradise. In our church, we drape their bodies at rest in a pall. It reminds us of the white robes of his righteousness and the palms of victory they now wave before the throne.

So, how did they make it through this Valley of the Shadow of Death? In life, Jesus was their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might; he was their Captain in the well-fought fight. Their fears were calmed when they remembered he was with them. They placed their burdens at the feet of the cross. The Lord’s Supper strengthened them like bread for the journey — a phrase that pastors often say when communing the very ill and those near death.

I was blessed to celebrate All Saints Day with my wife thirty-four times, thankful for each day we were together, praying to thank the Lord for those safely home. Now I pray after receiving the Lord’s Supper to thank God for my late wife, an ever-growing list of grandchildren, my children, and their spouses. I will rejoice that this year I can still hold their hands, speak with them, and see them all once in a while. Soon, all too soon, the angels will come for one of them or me, to join those at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb as the Lord Jesus says to one of us, “Welcome to the joy of your Father.”

As glorious as this is, yet there breaks a more glorious day. As blessed as being with Jesus in paradise, the best is yet to come. The saints triumphant will rise in bright array; The King of glory will pass on His way. Sin and death will die. The world renewed, restored, and transformed, fit for eternity. God will pitch his tent with us and live with us forever. And he will dry every tear from our eyes. There will be no more sorrow, sighing grief, or pain. All these will pass away. God will make all things new again. Once more, he will see all that he has made and now redeemed with his own blood and say, “Look, it is very Good!” Amen, come Lord Jesus, at the end of days and at the end of our days.

Christ is Risen!

Prayer: Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold, Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old And win with them the victor’s crown of gold! Amen.

‌Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, set watch over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus to life everlasting.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sleep Well, My Love

by Robert E. Smith

Sleep well, my love,
When next you wake,
Your eyes will see our Savior’s face.
With joy, he’ll dry your every tear,
And gently calm your every fear.

Sleep well, my love,
Before too long,
I’ll hear his call to come on home,
With you and loved ones gone before
We’ll see the God whom we adore.

Sleep well, my love, The Shepherd keep,
Your body safe until the time
When he will call us from the grave,
To live with him in endless day.

Notes: Kristina Pugh Smith (1960-2022) went to sleep on Thursday evening, April 28th, 2022. Her husband and daughter had spent the day with her. She settled into a coma, and her family was alerted that death was near. The next morning, they had the blessing of spending the last seven hours of her life with her. Her husband said words similar to this, along with the Nunc Dimittis, that Friday morning. As morning prayer began in Kramer Chapel that day, therapeutic care was removed, and hospice care began. As the seminary community prayed a prayer of commendation of the dying, she gently entered eternal life. This poem was written to capture those words a week later.

Church Words: Grace

[Nineteenth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

At the end of many worship services, the pastor will announce God’s blessing to his people. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:23-26)

This is nothing new. Through Moses, God commanded priests to announce his grace to his people in this way. For 3,500 years, priests and pastors have done so. God blesses and watches over his people. God smiles at his people and favors them. He looks at them, and everything is right in the world.

The key word in this blessing is the word, “Grace” (Hebrew חנן (chanan) = to look at someone favorably, Greek χάρις (charis)= to view someone favorably, a gift given without strings attached) When describing God in the Old Testament, his prophets often announce: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” (For example, Psalm 145:8, my translation) St. Paul opens almost all his letters with “Grace to you and peace…”) Almost all the time, Grace travels with the same words: “mercy,” “peace,” and “love,” among others.

God’s grace is not a thing that is given out when you do something. It is God’s attitude towards us. He loved us even before he made the world. (Ephesians 1:4-5) When he thinks about us, he is inclined to be kind to us. It is not because we deserve his kindness. In our sin, we have turned our back on him, broken all his laws, ruined his creation, and deserve nothing but death and hell. Yet the good news is that, for the sake of Christ’s death on the cross, he looks on us ready to give his good gifts and his Spirit. It is by this grace alone that we are saved.

But there is more to grace than that he smiles at us. The Greeks used the word χάρις to refer to gifts given simply because someone loves us. Among these gifts are the Means of Grace, the gifts of Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and God’s Word, which bring with them in turn the gifts of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation — and the faith to receive them and to trust God to keep his promises. Grace is forever. It is how we can look forward to the day we see the smile on God’s face as he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant … enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Words: Love

[Eighteenth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

Love makes the world go around. We love our pets, our favorite food, good weather, our sports teams, our friends, freedom, and truth — just about everything. Americans seem to love just about everything!

In the Bible, two Hebrew words are used to speak about love. The word אהב (‘ahav — love) means just about the same things as our word love. In the Holy Scriptures, this term is most often used to mean the love shown by people, and is very rarely used for God’s love. The word חֶ֫סֶד (chesed — love, kindness, mercy, loving-kindness) is very hard, if not impossible, to translate. The King James Version called it lovingkindness. It is in almost all the expressions of God’s love in the Old Testament. The word חֶ֫סֶד and the Greek Word ἀγαπάω mean about the same thing. Yet it has a tenderness to it that includes compassion and mercy.

The Greek language of the New Testament has several words for love. φιλέω (phileo) is the love and affection between friends. ἔρος (Eros) is sexual love that is obsessed with another and is not satisfied until it gets what it wants. ἀγαπάω is a love that sacrifices for the good of the one it loves. (See 1 Corinthians 13) ἀγαπάω is God’s love and the love God wants us to show to him and our neighbors. With Faith and Hope, Love is the greatest of the three virtues and lasts forever.

Our love is rooted in God’s love. God loved us before he made the world. (Ephesians 1:4-5) He loved us so much that he sacrificed his only Son to save us. (John 3:16-17) Because he first loved us, we love him and want to please him.

In the Gospel of John, we learn that God is Love. The two greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbors. He commands us to love him and our neighbors. Jesus tells us that the whole of God’s law is to love God and our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-40) Actually, our love is itself God’s gift to us. The way people know we are disciples of Jesus is that we love each other. While our love in this world is not perfect, God’s love for us is perfect. It lasts forever and conquers even death.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Church Word: Hope

[Seventeenth in a series of posts on church words]

Encore Post:

In today’s English, the word Hope means a wish for something we very much want to happen to come true. There is something about it that makes us doubt we will be so lucky. “Well, I hope so,” we’ll say.

In the Bible, hope is a bit different. Hope is something you have no doubt will happen, so much so that you can build your life on it. In theological terms, the Christian hope is the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Because it is God himself who promises these blessings, we can count on it and live our lives knowing it will happen. This is how Christians can suffer and die rather than deny their faith in Christ. It is why the burial service calls it “the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection of the dead.”

Why is the Christian Hope so sure and certain? First, because God himself promises it in his Word. Second, because Jesus proved these promises are true by dying and rising again from the dead. So, he can be trusted to keep his promises that wherever he is, we will be as well. For us, hope becomes reality when we die. He comes to bring us to be with him forever. Exactly what happens then is a mystery.

But this is just the beginning of the blessings kept safe in Heaven for us. On the last day, Jesus will return in glory, and he will bring us with him. He will raise our bodies from the grave and change us to be like him. We will then be gathered before the throne and our names read from the Book of Life. We will then live with him forever in Paradise, where there is no more sorrow, crying, grief, or pain. God will make everything new. He will bring us to the great marriage feast of the Lamb, which will never end. This great hope gives us joy even in suffering, since we know it will pass away.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sermon on Revelation 7:13-17‌ All Saints’ Sunday‌ November 5-6, 2023‌ Our Hope Lutheran Church‌ Huntertown, Indiana

by Robert E. Smith

Sermon on Revelation 7:13-17‌
All Saints’ Sunday‌
November 5-6, 2023‌
Our Hope Lutheran Church‌
Huntertown, Indiana