Sermons

What is preaching? St. Paul writes in Romans: “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14-15)

Therefore our Lutheran Confessions state: “It is also taught among us that one holy Christian church will be and remain forever. This is the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel.” (Augsburg Confession VII:1-3)

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Trinity 4 2011 – Luke 5:1-11

24. July 2011
Trinity 4
Luke 5:1-11

One of the hardest things to understand about Jesus’ ministry is the seeming willingness of the multitudes, the crowds, and the the disciples to leave their belongings behind and follow Jesus. It happens so often, we are led to believe by the Holy Scriptures that this is normal behavior. If it was so common for Jesus, then why doesn’t it happen today, among us?

The rampant plague that ravages the faith today is a Christ-less Christianity. Jesus takes second stage to the ecstasy and practical life lessons. Many Christians think that God cares most about how we feel. God does not want anyone to be sad, to suffer under the weight of depression, to grieve interminably. He wants us to be happy, clappy, and overjoyed.

The problem is things aren’t all that good. Our job is still on the chopping block, the plethora of meds we take still hasn’t lifted the dense fog of gloom, the loved one is still gone and our heart still aches. The only way to make us feel better about the reality is for our churches to try to help us forget. The problem is that the upbeat songs and hymns fade, the cheery sermon becomes a wisp of a memory, the coping mechanisms aren’t practical, and no vibrant congregation will substitute for the bone of our flesh that death ripped from us. Who wants a savior who brings them sadness and grief?

Many other Christians think God cares most about how we live. God wants everybody to be little, perfect angelic cherubs, fluttering about in their lives with not a care on this earth. All Ten Commandments are joyfully kept. No hatred is on the lips. No greed in the heart. No lust for the other. Parents loved and cherished. The Sabbath kept faithfully. Prayers and songs proclaimed to the LORD in all we do. No idolatry of the ourselves.

The problem is that no one is holy except God himself. No one loves God completely. We love ourselves more than our neighbor. We even cast off our own flesh and blood when we crave the companionship of work or mistress more than they. Nothing is enough for our greedy hearts. Bigger, better, newer, and shiny is our way.  We even place our pursuit for rest and vacation over the rest of the LORD on the Sabbath. The problem is that none of us has the sanctified life our faith demands. All of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Even when we desire to do better, we falter and fail. All those practical life lessons, telling us how to be a better Christian, even the best of the bunch, the cream of the crop, end up collapsing under the weight of our own sinful condition. Who wants a savior who shows us our sin and brings us to despair?

We should be shocked that people followed Jesus. The Christ, the Son of the Living God, cares most for redeeming you. He wants to save you from your sin-wrecked lives. He wants to lift you out of the pit of despair. He wants you to be washed in the blood of his sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. He wants your parched lips to taste and see that he is good.

That’s why our churches are filled with weak Christians who only reluctantly come to church. That’s why our churches are filled with hatred, greed, power, lust, adultery, homosexuality, and every other manner of shame and vice. Our churches bring sinners what really matters—Jesus and his shed blood. Forgiveness, life, and salvation is only found in Jesus. When we take our eyes off the LORD whom we crucified, our teaching becomes vapid and pointless.

Its no wonder then that the multitudes don’t flock to church each Lord’s day. Its no wonder crowds don’t gather around our pulpits to hear the Word of God. Its no wonder our members don’t drop everything and become our LORD’s disciples. What we suffer is a absence of Jesus.

Just this week, Campus Crusade for Christ decided to change their name to “Cru.” They immediately went on the defensive, saying that “campus” and “crusade” no longer represented their locale or method. So why take “Christ” out of their name? They said: We were not trying to eliminate the word Christ from our name. We were looking for a name that would most effectively serve our mission and help us take the gospel to the world. Our mission has not changed. Cru enables us to have discussions about Christ with people who might initially be turned off by a more overtly Christian name. We believe that our interaction and our communication with the world will be what ultimately honors and glorifies Christ.

Sounds like folks ashamed to confess Christ’s name. Sounds like out-and-out rejection of the second commandment. It seems like such a practical decision, yet one has to wonder if its motivated by the desire to boldly confess or by the fear that confession will leave you high and dry.

Not so in today’s Gospel. St. Luke records: On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

These crowds knew exactly where to find the Word of God. Namely, in the person of the Word incarnate, Jesus Christ. So passionate, even obsessed, were they that they pressed in on him. We know what kind of message Jesus gave. His word is recorded in the Word. The utterances from his mouth were and continue to be the very Word of God. They hung on his every Word for they knew it was of God.

That’s not to say everyone listened. Scripture is replete with rejections of the Word of the Lord. Adam and Eve rejected the good word. One patriarch after another thought they knew better than God. The people of God were plagued by disease, invasion, and captivity for their rejection. Even Jesus was rejected by many and crucified when finally everyone abandoned Him.

So we can’t expect complete success. The Spirit blows when and where He wills, granting faith to follow the Word to those whom he elects. We don’t know who will believe. We do know something though of these crowds. I don’t think it would surprise us to learn that they are same sort of sinners and tax-collectors, prostitutes and thieves, pagan Gentiles and faithful Jews, that keep popping up through his whole ministry.

The kind of people who hear our Lord’s Word, follow him, even press around him to hear every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God, are the same sort of people who have been burned by every false religion out there. They have burned by the churches who thought they could cheer them up with a spectacular worship extravaganza. They have been burned by churches who told them to shape up so God will love them. They have burned by every church that refuses to come to grips with Jesus.

They know their life stinks. They know that they’re not good enough. They know that sorrow, depression, and grief are real. They know that there is no earthly solution for this eternal problem. The despair drives them to hear the remedy that is Jesus. They want Jesus, the one from God, who will save them.

They might not know it yet. But I think they suspect that Jesus is going to bless them in ways none of their churches did. So also, Jesus. He know what he is about to do. He is going to suffer and die for them, to redeem them from their sickness, from their grief, and the grave. He hears their pleas for mercy and will relieve them.

There is something yet about this Word though that is hard for us to grasp. Consider St. Luke’s account:

4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. 

Those clear and simple words “do not be afraid” cause the disciples to do the outrageous. Simon Peter, James, and John, leave everything. They leave mother and father, they leave occupation and home, they leave livelihood and friends, to follow Jesus. We probably don’t like this word all that much. We love our parents, our job, our home, our friends, and our multitude of toys. To leave our life behind for Jesus sake and the Gospel, that’s a mighty tall order.

And not only the disciples but the crowds. Jesus had to feed the four thousand and the five thousand because they followed without packing lunch. Multitudes gather, crowds assemble, widows, orphans, the sick, and lame all press on Jesus without thinking of the consequence, the future, or anything but the moment with Jesus.

The closest we come is the popular worship of celebrities. Adoring fans will do nearly anything to catch a glimpse or even a touch of their favorite star. Jesus is a superstar of sorts. The light of the world really. The light no darkness can overcome. But unlike the pop celebrities of our age, Jesus is about to do something truly spectacular. His victory will be so risqué that not even News of the World will print it.

He will lay down his life, suffering cruelty and death, for the sake of each and every follower. And on the third day, He rose just as he prophesied according to the Scriptures. His victory is accepted by the Father in His glorious ascension to the right hand. He exercises all authority on heaven and earth now upon us, his disciples.

Jesus set aside his glory to be incarnate of the virgin Mary. We rightfully call his life from birth to death, resurrection to ascension, his humiliation. For he humbled himself, not in glory and splendor, but he rode forth in lowly pomp to die.So it is with all his disciples. His authority and majesty still act in utter humility here on this earth. We receive our LORD’s forgiveness not as the gift of a superstar. His gifts are diamond-studded, glitzy affairs. No, he comes to you know with simple pastors who probably are a lot like simple fishermen. They have common names and common skills. They may even be a bit boring or tedious. Yet, like Jesus who sat in the boat and opened his mouth, so also your pastors stand before you opening their mouth. And God-willing, out comes the very Word of God.

This Word is the net let down into the sea. Of itself, it does nothing. All night we might toil and still catch nothing. In the morning, at the time we least expect it and at our LORD’s behest, we let out the Word again. And behold, by the power of the Spirit sinners come into the holy ark of the church for repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

Its no wonder that Simon Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” That’s what the crowds were doing, too. We too are rightly astonished at the great things our Lord has done for us. We are flabbergasting that God would take on our wickedness and crucify it in His own body. Not only that, we are thankful. Amazed. Joyful.

One can understand how a Christ-centered Gospel for forgiveness of sins transforms the lives of everyone who hears it. That’s why you’re here right now. You desire this Word to be placed in your ears and on your tongue. You long to be fed by the pure Spiritual meal that is Christ himself. Its no wonder then that faithful Christians recenter their life around Jesus. Their finances, their homes, their work, and even their leisure is dedicated to Jesus Christ and His Word. Our days begin and end with prayer. Our offerings come out of our paychecks first. The catechesis of our youth is considered before academics and extracurriculars. Our work must be first of all God-pleasing. Even in leisure, we take time for prayer, for hymn-singing, and for hearing the Word.

We hold Jesus to this promise. “if you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31ff) Jesus Christ and Him crucified will always be held front in center in our churches and in our lives. For He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Perhaps our Lord will bless us with an abundant catch of fish according to His good and gracious will. Let us not grow weary of doing this good work. Let us remain steadfast in his Word, pressing in on his every word, whether from the font, the pulpit, or the altar. We only say, “teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

In Name of the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
Grace Lutheran Church
Dyer, Indiana

Trinity 4 2011 – Luke 6:36-42

17. July 2011
Trinity 4
Luke 6:36-42

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” Our heavenly Father gives us all things, earthly and spiritual, temporal and eternal, superabundantly. We are captives to death and he gives us life. We are children of hell and he gives us heaven. We are poor, naked, hungry, and thirsty, and He satisfies us with all good things.

The Father’s mercy is unreasonable.  Reasonable would be loving those who are beautiful, giving to those who can repay, redeeming those who can best serve Him. But true compassion does not judge. The Father gives to those who do not deserve it. He gives to the ugly, the wasteful, the greedy, and the gluttonous. His eyes judge not friend or foe, worthy and unworthy. He gives mercy without distinction. The love of Father does not seek the lovable, the likable or the one who will love him back. Instead He embraces and kisses His disobedient children, heal their wounds, feeds them, clothes their nakedness, and opens his pierces hands to lift them to his bosom.

The Father’s mercy is Gospel. It is a free gift, to everyone without expectation of return. Our Father has shown great mercy to each and everyone of us. He did not judge our potential for faith but showered us richly with saving waters. He does not condemn us to hellfire but continually rescues from the snares of Satan. He does not hold our terrible sins against us, but forgives them, forgetting them to eternity. He gives to us good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, spilling into our lap… every need of body and soul.

God’s grace transforms the sinner from a creature of wrath to a creature of mercy and love. Witness the example of Joseph. His brothers come to him knowing full well that they deserve to be punished for selling their brother into slavery. They expect he will pay them back for their evil. But Joseph, expecting nothing in return, forgave them. He did not condemn them, nor judge them. Instead he gave to them and to their children of his surplus. This is showing mercy, giving without expecting return. Looking past their treacherous deeds and deceitful hearts. Forgiving without being asked or deserved.

Witness the example of Zacchaeus, who after hearing the saving message of the Gospel uttered by Jesus himself, went and gave half of all that he owned to the poor. Witness Saul, the violent persecutor of Christians. After hearing the word of God on the Damascus Road, he was given not just in simple faith but transformed into the apostle Paul with faith lived out in mercy, in grace and love.

The gift of faith does not leave the believer to his old ways of greed and lust and self interest. The faith granted, the forgiveness proclaimed, transforms the hearts of the hearers to faithful service to God and his  neighbor.  Works are the spontaneous fruits and proofs of the indwelling of our Lord. Mercy is manifest in the Christian due to the Father’s mercy on him. He is thankful for being spared and grants the Father’s mercy himself to those in need. The Father makes known to us his presence when his faith blossoms forth in service to others.

“If you love those who love you, what a benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:32-36)

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” God uses man as a conduit for his mercy. We are to forgive just as God has forgiven us, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. We forgive not seven, seventy, but seventy times seven times. (Mt 18:22).

As with any command, especially this command to mercy, we rightly shake in our boots. It is impossible for us to shake off our selfishness and show the kind of mercy God demands. We have failed to forgive as we have been forgiven. We have neglected the needy. Sinful service seeks glory. False mercy seeks a tax break.

If you saw a beggar by the door of the church, what would you do? How would you show him mercy? Perhaps you’d give him money or food. But maybe you’d call the authorities, ignore him, among other things. Unmerciful, that’s what we’d be.

Mercy is deeper than looking past the motives of the heart and helping our neighbor in his physical need anyway. Mercy is looking past our own judgment of the neighbor. Forget about judging your chances of success, the likelihood of faith. How would one do that, anyway? If someone is tattooed and pierced, or long-haired and unkept, or clean and well-dressed, how does that in any way indicate their divine election? How does that give you any idea if they will receive the Gospel to their salvation?

Repent. We have all failed to withhold judgment from the neighbor. We have all neglected to share the saving Gospel with the stranger in need, condemning them to doom. We have used our logjam-blinded eyes to judge our neighbor, all the while ignoring our own condition.

If you saw that beggar outside our door, maybe you wouldn’t help him. Yet, even worse, would you invite him into church? Would you bring him into the sanctuary where he is fed with the spiritual food of Christ? Or would you consider him unworthy of our Lord’s forgiveness, too smelly, too dirty, or two raw for good company? Would you ignore the heed of the Gospel and judge him and condemn him by your inaction? This hypothetical situation shows how hard it truly is for us to show mercy. We might give him alms but from one hand but judge and condemn him with the other.

So how can the believer ever expect to fulfill this command? Not by our own power but by the power of God which is within us. The Holy Spirit first grants faith to our hearts. Faith grants sanctified hearts that believe God is a gracious and merciful Father.  Without faith, we fail to see the Father’s mercy at work in us. From the faith, flows mercy for the neighbor.

When we teach others, do we teach ourselves? (Romans 2:17-23) Lord, teach us to recognize our own error. Remove the plank in our eyes that we may guide others in your truth. Without You, we are the blind leading the blind. Teach us to judge not the hearts of men. Teach us to forgive so that others to may learn to forgive. Teach us to give of the great bounty you have provided us.

The Gospel commends all Christians to be like Joseph. Take care of your neighbor’s physical needs. That’s mercy. Forgive those who do you wrong. Mercy. Care for the spiritual welfare of those outside or weak in faith. Mercy. Do not judge the heart. Mercy. This is a testament of the faith given to you.

The Father’s mercy is not merely for selfish pleasure. The Father’s mercy is not to comfort for comfort sake. He intends His goodness to flow through us towards those in need. As we gather today around His table to commune as one body with many members, let us not forget to show mercy especially to those in our own fellowship of believers. “But God composes the body… that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Cor. 12:25-26)

Many are currently suffering. May the Lord teach us to “be merciful, even as our Father is merciful.” Many are in need of the Father’s mercy. Let us not hesitate to show mercy upon all in need, not not judging nor condemning, but forgiving and giving. May his grace which saved us from our trespasses and rescued us from death be proclaimed and may he have mercy upon us so that we may have mercy on others.

In Name of the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
Grace Lutheran Church
Dyer, Indiana

 

Trinity 3 2011 – Luke 15:1-10

Trinity 3 2011
Luke 15:1-10

This world easily ignores its own sins, but it won’t hesitate to remind others of their sins. This world generally considers its own sin insignificant, immediately forgiven and yet it also refuses to forgive others.

We delight in looking down upon those who are done evil. We take pleasure in knowing that we’re not like those terrible people who have done great and numerous crimes against our world.

There is the murderer who slaughters innocent life. He certainly deserves a great sentence for what he has done. Life is precious and not to be taken lightly. But, who of you have also conceived a murder in your own heart, seeking to do harm to your neighbor, holding a grudge, or simply hating them? While you might not act out in violence towards them, you seek to do the same sort of harm.

Or what about the thief? His greed leads him to snatch away from others the goods that belong to them. The sin within his heart compels him to take what is not his. But who of you has not sought after in your heart that goods, fame, or spouse that belongs to your neighbor? While you may not have resorted to grand theft, is not your heart also filled with that same greed for the things that are not yours?

But, look within your own hearts and consider whether you to have placed first in your life something other than a triune God?  Perhaps you refuse to sacrifice the first fruits of your labor in service to Christ’s church and her ministry? Perhaps you are unwilling to sacrifice those precious hours of your day for study of Lords Word and prayer? Perhaps you’re unwilling to  serve your neighbor with the talents your Lord has granted you? We all fall into godlessness at times and are no different from the atheist.

The reality of our sinful condition is that we are lost. We have wandered away from the flock. We’re stranded in the wilderness.  Our sin has left us there for dead.

It is far too easy for us to look around and judge others. But today let us look within our hearts and see that we really aren’t that different from the murderer, the thief, or even the unbelieving atheist. We all remain dead and our trespasses. Our heart hates our brother. It envies what it does not have. It places above God the creature comforts of this world.  All  have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The sinful heart of the world judges a man by what it sees. It looks to the external and not the internal. The world judges a man by his keeping of the second table of the law. It looks and asks: does the child obey its mother and father? Does the individual cause loss of life? Did the spouse cheat on the other? Is he a thief? Has he lied about others? Does greed consume him?

But, the world does not look and ask: Does he hear the Word of the Lord and receive the Lord’s gifts regularly? Does he call upon the name of the Lord in every trouble and in prayer, and in thanksgiving? Does he fear, love, and trust in God above all things?

The world is most concerned for love of the neighbor, but it has little concern for love of God. We also neglect our God in heart, name, and Sabbath and instead hold  in higher esteem outward righteousness. We ignore the corruption of our own hearts. We also carry the marks of unbelief, the rejection of the first table of the law.

This utterly corrupt world needs Christ our Savior. He comes not for the righteous, for there is not a one, no not even one, who merits eternal life. Jesus goes after the sinner. He bears the sinner on his heart. He follows us with his mercy, calling to us with his voice.

Some have wandered a great distance. Their sins place them far outside Christ’s flock. Christ diligently seeks those who are lost. No sin is too great to prevent him to seek you. He comes after the whole world, lost sheep to preach his words of Law. He shows us how lost we are in our sin.

Christ then takes our eternal destiny into his own hands. He preaches his Law to us through crosses, sickness, in pain, and the like. He holds up a mirror to our hearts so that we might recognize our murderous thoughts, our insatiable greed, and our flat-out unbelief. He does this to all without distinction.

His Word of Law shows us how far we  have wandered from true faith. It opens our eyes to the wilderness of sin. It shows us the death that surrounds us, the scorching heat bearing down upon us. And His Law allows no self-deception, thinking everything is okay.

Christ’s seeking us and opening of our eyes to the reality of our condition, has one goal in mind. He desires that we confess who we are. He desires that we say: I am a poor miserable sinner, and I have sinned against you and thought, word and deed, by what I have done in by what I have left undone. I am not loved you with my whole heart, and I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I justly deserve punishment now and into eternity. For your sake Jesus forgive me of my sins pick me up carry me on your shoulders so that I might delight in your will and walk in your ways to your glory.

Confession recognizes that we are dead in our sin. It’s not simply admission that we made a mistake and that we have tried to corrected it. Confession is saying we have no power to save ourselves.

At this Christ picks us up. He places us on his shoulders. And he renews our faith. Gives us the power to be children of God and Grant says his Holy Spirit that we might walk in his truth.

He does this by his voice, the horn of the Gospel.  He is the good Shepherd  who has not forgotten his sheep. and His sheep know his voice. He recklessly throws himself into the wilderness in pursuit of just one, you and I.  His voice calls to us and draws us to himself just like tax collectors and sinners. Even the Pharisees know that this man is the good Shepherd.

Sometimes it’s easy for us to be enticed by the saccharine sweetness of external righteousness. We deceive ourselves by thinking our good works and our outward piety keep us within our Lord’s flock. But, no amount of moral or spiritual achievement will save you. No amount of keeping commandments four through ten will do what our Lord’s righteousness, His passion, and death have done for you. “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 1624-26)

The most moral and spiritual person, is still a sinner. That person is still isolated from God, stranded to die in the desert. Jesus will have none of that sickly sweetness of self-righteousness. He pursues us, comes to us, and rubs his salt on this false preoccupation. His passion and death do not taste sweet. The sweat from his brow, the sourness of the gall upon his lips, the pain of his cross, ruin the sugarcoated sinner.

Jesus came for the last, the least, the little, but lost, and the dead. His grace isn’t for the winners. It’s not for those who are victorious over immorality and illegality. His grace isn’t for the pious, the mighty, and those who live the good life. Instead, Jesus goes after the dead.  Dead is just the way he wants us. He wants us to know who we are truly because of our sin. He wants us to see our condition for what it really is… that is a sinful wilderness.

Christ picks us up with his saving gospel. He redeems us from our sins. He uses faithful pastors to preach the unrighteousness of all men and the saving redemption won by his blood on the cross. He uses parents who commend their child to the Lord in baptism, who teach them the word in the way of faith, who confirm them in the faith, and bring them to the Lord’s table. He uses Lutheran schools, like our own, to teach them with the parents, daily calling them to repentance and pronouncing the absolution won by Jesus. Christ uses friends, faithful spouse, or even a believing community, to illuminate the sinner’s heart to recognize the truth of his condition, call into repentance, and give him a comfort that our Lord’s redemption can only bring.

Jesus is the good Shepherd. He defies our expectations and comes after all of us, each sinner, both great and small in the eyes of the world.  In our wandering we are many miles from him but no distance is too great for him.  He cares for us. He loves us. He finds us. He draws us back to himself.

We are lonely and afflicted. We are in trouble.  Our souls are in bondage. But Jesus Christ is gracious. He finds us and pulls our feet out of the quicksand of death. He delivers us. Without him no one is strong in faith, no one is holy. No one can return to the sheepfold. But, praise be to God that he has redeemed us, that he has pursued us, and is plucked the son of Satan snares.

He is passed over our transgressions. He is pardoned our iniquity. He has had compassion on us. He exalts us to his own shoulders. Satan prowls around like the roaring  lion, nipping at his heels, but the victory has been won.  Sin has no power, and death has no dominion over us.

The angels of God rejoice. Sinners have confessed. Our Lord has absolved. The lost sheep has been found. Rejoice with the Lord and with all his angels that he is found us and has saved us.

In Name of the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
Grace Lutheran Church
Dyer, Indiana