A Thirty-Five year old sermon outline I found going through my papers:
Baptism of Wesley and Lucas Smith Sermon on Mark 10:13-16 Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost October 9th, 1988 St. Luke Lutheran Church Winamac, Indiana
Text: “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them, and He blessed them.”
Baptism is for little children too. a. Little children have a place in the heart of Jesus. b. Above everything else, infants are people who trust. c. God is the one who acts in baptism. d. Baptism begins the life of faith in the heart of the Christian.
We sometimes keep children from coming to Jesus. a. We adults are temped to make a career of telling children what they cannot do, because it is easier for us that way. b. When we do bring children to baptism, we sometimes do not follow through on our promises to God to raise them as Christians. c. We often undermine a child’s trust by our “experience” and by our failures. d. We must take our responsibility to raise our children seriously, for He will call us to account.
Yet God calls children own in Baptism. a. In baptism, God children as His own. b. In the waters of Baptism, they are united to Jesus in His death and resurrection. c. God has promised to care for them by His Spirit and keep them in the faith. d. From these assurances, we draw the strength to bring our children to Jesus. e. In all this, we can look forward to the day we are together with him forever.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: “In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” These words are very familiar to us — especially those of us who grew up in a Christian Church. They are ancient, too. Jesus gave them to his apostles just before he ascended into Heaven. (Matthew 28:19) As simple as they are, they contain a riddle — a mystery as theologians call it. The word “name” is singular, but three persons have that name. As we have seen before, this should not surprise us. God is our creator and we are his creatures. Sooner or later, we are not going to understand him. So, Christians have come to the conclusion that we should accept the way God describes himself in the Bible and not try to put it all together when we discover it doesn’t make sense to us.
The first thing we observe is that the Bible is very clear. There is only one God. Here Jews and Muslims agree. But the Scriptures are also clear. At every turn in the New Testament, Jesus is called God and the Holy Spirit is called God. The church from the second century on used the word Trinity to describe it. For Jews and Muslims, this is blasphemy.
So, we believe that God is one, but that three persons are God. With the Bible, reject any view that tries to solve the riddle by saying there are three gods, that one or another are not God or turns god into one being with three states. We are content to marvel at our Creator and love him as he is.
When Jesus looked out over the people to whom he ministered, it moved him deeply. They were harassed and helpless, like sheep without shepherds. He called on them to pray that the Lord of the Harvest send workers into the harvest field of souls. (Matthew 9:35-38) During the last few months and years, Lutheran congregations throughout North America have been doing just that — praying that God would send them faithful shepherds. In April, God answered many of those prayers. He called pastors to serve them. This month, he began to send them into the harvest field of souls. Four seminaries, two in the United States and two in Canada, helped future pastors complete their education with integrity and graduate. Now, as has happened for over a century and three quarters, these pastors make their way to the flocks placed in their care. Pray for safe travel and wisdom to use the gifts given them to care for Christ’s sheep.
Soon an even more ancient rite will take place in about one hundred places around that continent. Called ordination, these new pastors will be recognized by the Church as men sent by God to care for his people. As their fathers in the ministry did for them, other pastors, mostly from neighboring congregations, will place their hands on the new pastor, thereby designating the new pastor as ministers of the word and sacraments. In an unbroken line stretching back through two thousand years to the day Jesus breathed on the Apostles the Holy Spirit and the church of Antioch laid hands on St. Paul, one generation entrusts to the next to take up the yoke of Christ. In symbol of this, a red stole will be placed on the shoulder of the new pastor.
At an ordination and installations in every new field of service these new pastors will enter into the course of the ministry. The people of God, normally those for whom the pastor is called to care, will hear the new pastors makes solemn vows to God, to his Church and to the people he is to serve. He promises to teach according to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, to live a life according to God’s word and other things. The people of God promise to pray for him, care for him and to obey him when he teaches and preaches in harmony of God’s word. Together they witness to the world in word and deed to the grace of God in Christ Jesus. They proclaim the gospel so that many will respond in faith and become God’s children, too. Continue to pray for them, for the work has only begun.
Yet in many places, there is no pastor to bring God’s gifts to his people or shortly will be without a pastor. Pray to the Lord of the harvest, therefore, that he would send laborers into the harvest field of souls.
1 Corinthians 15:17-22 Easter Vigil April 8, 2023 Our Hope Lutheran Church
Text: If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
Intro: 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.
Tonight the church rejoices today because her Lord is risen. The gospel is never sweeter than in Easter week. But the Christian Church in heaven and earth also rejoices that her prayers are answered. Christ has risen and broken the seal of the grave forever. That gospel is all the sweeter because it is true comfort in a world without hope. When a Christian loved one dies, we grieve, but with the hope of the resurrection.
I. The gospel is more comforting than the common things told us when a loved one dies:
a. “She was a good person” b. “He’s not suffering anymore” c. “We’ll always remember her” d. “Death is just a natural part of life” e. “His accomplishments will live forever” f. “You’ll have another life to get it right”
II. Real comfort comes in the Resurrection of Christ.
a. His cross is our cross, making us good in God’s sight. b. His death destroys our enemies: sin, suffering, grief and death. c. His empty tomb promises an empty grave for us. d. We still grieve, but a grief that is comforted by hope. e. So we gladly preach, Christ is Risen!
May God’s peace, which is greater than we can understand, set watch over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Christ is risen!
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Sermon on Matthew 9:27–34 Monday in the Week of the Fourth Sunday in Lent Kramer Chapel March 20, 2023
Text: “And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district. As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.””
Intro: The early days of the ministry of Jesus in Galilee were exciting. He announced that the Kingdom of the Heavens had come. He preached, taught, healed all manner of diseases. He was very different. He taught with authority, he forgave sins and cast out demons — even in the synagogue! The lame walked, lepers are cleansed and the deaf heard, and the dead are raised up. And now the blind would see and the mute speak! The people who had walked in the darkness, Galilee of the gentiles, had seen a great light! All these signs did their work — the blind men knew the Son of David when they saw him — and they as yet couldn’t see! Even we can’t miss the side point:
I. God hates sickness and death. — and he intends to do something about it!
a. He made a world without illness. b. God suffers with us when we suffer. c. The day will come when we will be completely whole.
II. Sickness is a result of sin and a sign that we will die.
a. Yet all people – including Christians – remain under the sentence of death b. We try to avoid and recover from suffering, but only works for awhile. c. We are attracted to promises of health and healing d. Yet these are often frauds.
III. Jesus is the source of life and healing.
a. He was born into the midst of this suffering. b. He died to bring an end to death, grief and pain. c. He now brings healing in its time and place. d. He brings resurrection at the end of our time or the end of time itself.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: Childbirth was an exciting and frightening event at the time of Jesus. Many children and their mothers died soon after a birth. When both mother and child survived the ordeal, God’s law required male children to be circumcised on the eighth day following their birth. After forty days — when the greatest danger to the life of the mother and the child had passed, they were to present themselves at the temple to make a sacrifice. For the woman, this sacrifice made her clean again and able to return to worship God.
During the time of Jesus, Rabbis gathered in the temple in the court of the women, the closest to the Holy of Holies a woman was allowed to go. They would take each child in their arms and bless them. So it was that the Holy Spirit directed Simeon to Joseph, Mary and Jesus. The Spirit revealed to Simeon that Jesus was the coming Messiah. By the prophecy given to Him, Simeon pointed to Jesus’ mission to save both Jews and Gentiles and to the cross. Simeon’s song of joy is still sung by the church in worship.
Anna was a prophetess, like Miriam and Deborah, one of very few women God used to speak to His people. She likely served in the temple to help with a variety of tasks. In her devotion to God, she also saw Jesus and had the privilege of telling everyone that the Messiah had come.
On February 2, the Church celebrates the presentation of Jesus in the temple and the singing of Simeon’s song, known as the Nunc Dimittis. We also sing this song every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
In Jewish custom, when someone dies, they are washed and laid out for mourning only a short time. They had to be buried as soon as possible, no longer than three days after death. Peter came to the room while they were grieving Tabitha.
Peter had been with Jesus all three times he raised people from the dead. Just as Jesus and the prophet Elijah did, he took the mourners out of the room and then prayed. This is very different than the healers of that day — and now — who make the event into a big show and who take all the credit. Very simply, he told her to get up, and she did. Peter then brought the woman to her friends, who spread the word throughout Joppa.
As with the miracles of Jesus, there are two messages for us in this story. One is that God cares about His people and grieves with them. Tabitha would once again die – and will rise again on the last day. Here God turned grief into joy for those He loves.
The more important message, however, is that the Gospel which Peter preached is true and from God. It creates faith in the hearts of those who become believers. The focus is on what God is doing and not what we do.
This story also calls are attention to a faithful servant of God — Tabitha. She has been an example for the church throughout the ages of those who give their lives to care for others. This we have in common with her. Our calling is to care for others and honor those who care.
As a Roman citizen, Paul had the right to be tried by the emperor himself. Since the High Priests had decided to kill him, Paul exercised that right. Traveling by ship was still the quickest way to get to Rome, although it was risky, especially in the fall, when Paul’s ship set sail. Having arrived at a small port in Crete, the group had to decide if they would want to try for a larger port to their west. Paul had a vision of danger, and warned the party without success.
When a ship in this circumstance runs too close to shore, sailors would throw all unnecessary cargo overboard. St. Paul’s crew did this and put down the anchors as well. Since this left the boat at the mercy of the winds, sailors would always look for other options. Normally it is not wise to attempt to land in an unfamiliar place without aid. St. Paul’s crew had no better option and ran the ship into a sandbar attempting it.
Throughout this ordeal, God kept Paul and his companions safe as He promised He would. Paul’s calm in peril impressed all the pagans who traveled with him. These events are remembered to this day in Malta, where they were stranded over the winter.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Sermon on Revelation 7:13-17 All Saint’s Sunday October 30, 2022 Saint Paul Lutheran Church And Trinity Lutheran Church McGregor and Guttenberg, Iowa
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 destroy death and by his rising again opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Introduction: On this All Saints 2022, a flood of thoughts and emotions occupy my thoughts. Three years ago on Reformation Day, Evangeline Charissa Keller was baptized into the name of the Triune God by her father in the NICU in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Her entrance into the world was dramatic and the shadow in the back of my thoughts as we drove there was the remote possibility that she, her mother — my daughter Hanne — and her father could be at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb by that day. The Lord had mercy and blessed the work of doctors, nurses and many others to perform near perfect procedures. They all came through well and thrived as I preached for my son-in-law that year’s All Saints divine service. It was as if the Holy Spirit whispered “not yet, not yet.” In the years since, all is very well with them and a very bright three-year-old joined her six-year-old sister in delighting and challenging her mother and father.
Our text this morning opens the curtain of heaven for us to see the throne of God. There gathered before the Father and the Lamb of God are the children of God from every time – Adam and Noah, Joseph and Moses, David and Elijah, and all those trusting in the coming Messiah. There are also the Apostles and Evangelists, Christians from every time and place, language and nation, and people much more familiar to me.
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. 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 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 2022, my beloved wife, Kris, 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. All are at rest with their Savior, along with two grandchildren whom the Good Shepherd folded in his arms while still in the womb. Many others are there, too. My Fathers and brothers in the faith that taught me and many others and laid the same stole of ministry on me as I have now laid on my son-in-law and spiritual sons. I am thankful for them and for their confessions, praying 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. When he rose from the dead, he opened the way for them – and us – to be with him forever. He, the Lamb of God took away the sins of the world – their sin, our sin. At their deaths, his angels came, gave them the white robes of his righteousness and the palms of victory they wave before the throne.
In life, he was their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might; he was their Captain in the well-fought fight. Now they rest from their labors and God has dried every tear from their eyes. Yet to me, and to you, the Holy Spirit still seems to whisper, “Not yet, Not yet!” We feebly struggle, they in glory shine!
Eight years ago, I struggled with a massive infection in my heel. Several times I told my pastor that I still believed what I taught and confessed these thirty-seven years as I went to surgery. Later I was told that I was on the threshold of attending the Marriage Feast. It was as if the Holy Spirit had said, “not yet, not yet.” In the years since, I have continued to preach, to teach, cared for my home congregation when our pastor was on the threshold himself, presided at the weddings of two of my children, seen all my grandchildren save one baptized with the same baptismal shell with which their parents and others were baptized, began to pass the baton on to four of my spiritual sons, welcomed a brand new pastor to our home congregation, and, with him, mentor vicars. God has blessed me more than I deserve.
And now I reflect that 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 through the ether and see them all once in a while. Soon, all too soon, the angels will come for me or one of them, to join those at the Feast as the Holy Spirit no longer says, “not yet” but the Lord Jesus says to one of us, “welcome to the joy of your Father.”
And yet there breaks a more glorious day. The saints triumphant will rise in bright array; The King of glory passes on His way. Sin and death will die. The world renewed, restored and be 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.
Christ is Risen! Amen, come Lord Jesus, come!
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 Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
In ancient times, salt was precious. People would pay a lot of money for it because it kept food from spoiling. If meat was not salted, a family would have to throw it out in a day or two. When meat was salted, it might last a few months. Even in the early days of America, salt was necessary to have meat to eat in the winter. If salt isn’t pure, it could lose its taste and the ability to preserve food. Then salt has very few uses. At best it could be used to keep plants from growing on the paths they need to walk on.
Lamps were made of clay and shaped like a bowl. Olive oil was poured in the lamp and a wick stuck in it to soak up the oil. Someone in the family would light it. Tall stands were put around the house. The person who lit the lamp would place it on a stand so that the room would be bright.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
