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God’s law shows just how common sin is. Stealing is not just taking something that doesn’t belong to you. It’s working against your neighbor’s possessions. That includes enough to call us all sinners who deserve death. Thanks be to God that He would be crucified between thieves to save them. We can look at the fullness of the commandment knowing our Lord bears the cross to save us as well.
Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman via our Contact Page or through Facebook.
When I was a wee little child, I was given a gift of a small die-cast metal toy construction crane. This present was given to me by my parents. With a little imagination, I could pretend to excavate dirt and dig a deep hole in the earth. The crane was shiny green, with a red bucket, and orange strings. With the swipe of a dial the boom of the crane would either lift or lower. With the swipe of another dial the red bucket would either open and drop down or close and raise up. I would push the crane along the ground and the miniature rubber tank treads would move. Now this was a special toy to me. I treasured it. I valued it. It was unlike all other toys that I threw in a box or a drawer. I carefully kept this toy in a leather pouch made for a camera. In fact, I still have my small die-cast metal toy construction crane to this day. I still cherish it.
We all have certain gifts that we cherish. One of those gifts should be our parents. That’s right. Our father and our mother are gifts from God. They are given to us, and through them we receive even more gifts from God. Through our parents, God gives to us all that we need to sustain our bodies. Through our parents, God gives to us the gift of house and home, food and drink, clothing and shoes, and many more blessings. Thus, God teaches us to honor our father and our mother. We should treasure them and value them. We should love them and cherish them. We should honor them.
In the Fourth Commandment, the focus is shifted from our love of God to our love of neighbor. This Commandment is foundational for our understanding of serving one another in our vocations, that is, the places in life where God has placed us to love others. Our very existence came into being through the union of our father and our mother. They are the closest people to us. They are the first people that we ever knew in our lives. As we receive love from our parents, we begin to see a picture of God’s love for us. However, this picture is not complete. It is in the Gospel that God reveals His love for us in that “while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) giving us forgiveness of sins, salvation, and newness of life.
In the First Table of the Commandments, we are instructed that God is the One who makes us holy. He Himself does this for us. He alone is holy, and He alone makes us to be His holy people. He gives to us the gift of His Holy Name. In our Baptism, we are made holy and receive the gift of His name, that is, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We now have access to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. As He calls us out of darkness into His light (1 Peter 2:9), He continues to speak to us through His Word. He is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.
In the Second Table of the Commandments, we are instructed in how we are to live as God’s holy people in an unholy and unclean world. In this life, the devil will continue to try to deceive us. The tempter will tempt us to become defiled and desecrate God’s Holy Name. The ancient serpent tries to teach us that it is acceptable to despise and anger our parents and other authorities. The evil foe entices us to walk in the old way of rebellion against God and His representatives on earth. In fact, Satan wants us to be lovers of pleasure and the things of this fallen world instead of being lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:4).
However, the Holy Spirit is at work in us through the power of the Gospel. The Lord dresses us in the armor of light (Romans 13:12), gives us the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), and invites us to pray. And if we tie the Forth Commandment with the Fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, we see that we are asking God to give us our daily bread and to lead us to realize that He gives everything that we need to support our bodies through the masks of our parents and other authorities. God’s giving hand is seen in their extended hands to give us gifts from God. We are to receive these gifts with thanksgiving in serving and obeying them as God’s representatives on earth. In the Fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, we ask that God would deliver us from every evil of body and soul. The Son of God came to destroy the works of the evil one who incites us to bite the hand that feeds us.
God is love. As God has loved us, we are learning to love one another. This love begins with our parents. “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.” (Small Catechism, The Fourth Commandment) Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are beginning to see things differently. We are being renewed in our thinking, speaking, and acting. We are learning to walk in newness of life loving others as God has loved us. We love because He has first loved us.
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier serves as pastor at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Los Alamos, NM
By Rev. Eric Brown
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. (John 16:22)
Jesus never says that Christians will always be “happy.” Quite the opposite! Jesus tells the disciples that they will have sorrow, that in fact the world will rejoice over the things that cause them sorrow. Now, this directly refers to the crucifixion – but it applies to us today far too often. Just think how often sin and hurt and pain cause you sorrow, all the while others laugh and rejoice at you.
Jesus never says that you will be happy all the time in this life. Satan and the world and your own sinful flesh conspire to make you miserable. But He does make a promise. He promises the disciples that they will see Him and they will have joy, a joy that cannot be taken away. And they saw Him after the resurrection; and they do have joy. Even though there is still fear, even though they are confused.
Joy is not happiness. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). It is that gift that the Spirit works in you, to where even in the midst of all the junk in your life, all the horrors and sorrows that Satan loves to throw in your face, you see Christ. You see Christ in His Word, in His Sacraments, in His forgiveness spoken to you, and thus you know that all this junk Satan throws at you won’t stick. Jesus has risen from the dead, and so shall you – and no one can take that from you. Joy not mere happiness – it not an internal emotion that may rise or fall. It is joy IN Christ, it is joy over the Truth. This joy is seeing His Light even in the middle of terrible darkness, and knowing that the darkness has not overcome Him, and because of Jesus, it cannot overcome you, for you are His. You have joy in Christ, and no one can take from you. Why? Christ is Risen, He is risen indeed! Alleluia. God grant that by His Word and Spirit, we evermore see this truth that our joy may be ever full!
Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.
Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Hull via our Contact Page or through Facebook.
So much of the trouble in marriage comes from the idea that we can do more to make it perfect. We have to find our soulmate. We have to love them. We have to do it all. When you see that your spouse is given to you from God, soulmate becomes something new. It is not a singular person who you will never sin towards if only you could find them. It is the person God has joined you together with in marriage. I know I married my soulmate because God married us. Even as He joined us together, we seek harmony in His forgiveness.
Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Goodman via our Contact Page or through Facebook.
By Rev. Eric Brown
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” – John 10:11
Jesus being a shepherd is a familiar idea. It shows up all over the place in the scriptures, in some of the most familiar passages (the 23rd Psalm), or alluded to with some of the most famous people (King David was a shepherd). And yet, when Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd and begins to explain what that means, it sort of throws us for a loop.
“The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Really? The Shepherd dies for the sheep? It doesn’t seem like it should work that way. Isn’t the Shepherd worth more than the Sheep? You might praise a shepherd who protects the sheep, but to lay down your life? That seems a bit much.
Yet, that is who your God is. Jesus is the God who would rather lay down His life so that the sheep, even we sheep who so often wander and go astray, would live. When Jesus looks at you, He doesn’t size you up and place a value upon you because of your utility. There is no cash or market value He puts on you. He simply loves you, and He will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and rescue you from sin, death, and Satan.
A sling wasn’t going to take down the gigantic weight of our sin. That old snarling wolf the Devil wasn’t going to leave the flock alone. So Jesus, because He loves you, does what He needs to do to see you save. Whatever He needs to do. And so, He takes up your sin and lays down His life, jumps right into death to rip it apart from the inside.
For you. A sheep. And not to manipulate you. Not to lay a guilt trip on you. Not to use you for wool and mutton. Nope. Jesus does this simply to make sure that you remain His forever. You’re not a commodity or resource to be used up by Jesus, you’re simply more precious to Him than His own life. Because you’re His sheep and He’s the Shepherd – the Good Shepherd.
Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.
Throughout the school year, students are required to remember many dates, definitions, names, numbers, facts, and figures. The voice of the teacher resonates in the minds of the students. Remember to read the next chapter. Remember to take notes. Remember to turn in your homework assignment. Remember to study for the test. Remembering the correct dates, definitions, names, numbers, facts, and figures is the key to getting good grades.
As the baptized children of God, we are disciples, that is, students of Jesus. We are learning to remember His Word to us. He is the Key to the knowledge of salvation. As those who have been saved His blood, we are beginning to talk and walk like our Teacher. We are learning to listen to Him.
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. In fact, the Sabbath day in the Old Testament was a type and shadow of the reality that we find in Jesus. In Jesus, we have rest and renewal. He teaches us to walk in newness of life. In Psalm 86 we are taught to pray, “Teach me Your way, O Yahweh, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” We speak in prayer and He listens to us. He speaks in the external Word of God and we listen. He leads. We follow. He instructs. We grow.
His Word gives life. God created all things by His Word in six days. Then on the seventh day, God rested. Therefore, Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:11). The seventh day is the Sabbath, that is, a day of rest. The Sabbath is a sign that God makes us holy with His Word. Yahweh instructs Moses declaring, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep My Sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, Yahweh, sanctify you” (Exodus 31:13). His Word sanctifies. God makes us holy through the work of the Holy Spirit with His holy Word. Therefore, we do not make the Sabbath holy; instead, the Sabbath is a time of rest in God’s Word that makes us holy. Keeping the Sabbath holy means to regard God’s Word as holy.
In the First Commandment, we are instructed in true worship which pleases God. True worship is done in faith and with God’s Word. Without the Word of God, we do not have Christ, forgiveness, life, or salvation. Christ is our Advocate with the Father. In the Second Commandment, we are instructed in calling upon God’s name in prayer. Without faith, we cannot pray. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot walk in newness of life. The Holy Spirit is another Advocate. The Spirit of God is given to us in, with, and under the Word of God. In the Third Commandment, we are taught to rejoice in the Voice of God. When the Word is heard, God speaks to us and fills us with His Spirit. In turn, we speak to God in prayer. Thus, God initiates a divine dialogue. As we hear God, He hears us. However, we are warned that if we refuse to listen to God, He refuses to listen to us. When we reject the Word of God, we resist the work of the Holy Spirit. To despise God’s Word is to despise God.
The Devil is the despiser of God’s Word, and we saw that in the Garden of Eden. The Devil tempts us in order to lead us astray from God’s Word and away from God. The ancient serpent wants us to forget the Sabbath and neglect God’s Word. The evil foe draws ears to hear other voices in the wilderness. The cacophony of the Devil, the world, and our sinful nature call us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. They do not want us to hallow God’s name. They do not want the Word of God taught in its truth and purity. They do not want the children of God to lead holy lives according to it. They do not want God’s Kingdom to come to us or anyone else. Remember, “God’s Kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.” (Small Catechism, Lord’s Prayer: 2nd Petition) Again, notice that it is God’s holy Word. Through the holy Word of God, the Holy Spirit is continually given to us. The Holy Spirit makes us holy.
Apart from God’s Word, there is no life. All things were created by the Word of God. Apart from God’s Word, there is no redemption. The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. We cannot separate God’s written Word from the incarnate Word of God, Jesus. He is also the incarnate Will of the Father. When we hear the Holy Spirit in the preached Word of the Apostles and the Prophets, we hear Jesus. When we hear Jesus, we hear the Father. Apart from God’s Word, there is no sanctification. The Holy Spirit works through the external Word of God to “sanctify us and keep us in the true faith.” (Small Catechism, Apostles’ Creed: 3rd Article) In the Third Commandment, we are learning to remember the Sabbath day, that is, to gladly hear and learn God’s Word. To remember is to recall, contemplate, and mediate on the instruction of Jesus, our Teacher.
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier serves as pastor at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Los Alamos, NM
By Rev. Eric Brown
Oh great, it’s the Sunday where we get to hear about “Doubting Thomas”. That’s how we label him, right? There’s Thomas – you know, the one who doubts. Doubter. How’s that for a nickname for an Apostle! And yet, what do we hear? “Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked…”
Wait one second. What are the apostles doing inside behind locked doors? Hadn’t Jesus just sent them last week? And yet, there they are, huddled together hidden and fearful. But we don’t label them; Thomas is the one who doubts.
Sometimes our sins are open and obvious and everyone knows about them. Sometimes they become the label that sticks to us. That stinks. Sometimes our sins are private things, things that don’t get talked about because they aren’t as entertaining or juicy to talk about. Doesn’t make them stink any less. Doesn’t make them any less of a sin. And we can be tempted to start ranking folks, categorizing them by the obviousness of their sin, and treating them with “appropriate” disdain.
That’s not what Christ does. He shows up and says, “Peace be with you.” To all of them. Thomas and rest as well. Whether the sin is open and scandalous or not a soul knows it, Jesus knows what you need. You need peace. You need forgiveness. All of you.
“But Jesus singles out Thomas!” Yes, but only afterwards, and for Thomas’ good. Jesus doesn’t say, “Hold everything – we’ve got to fix bad Thomas before I can deign to be here” – no, He gives peace. And knowing the struggles Thomas faces, Jesus doesn’t cut him down – He simply emphasizes to Thomas that he is in fact forgiven.
Jesus always wants to do one thing with sin. He wants to forgive it. Even the secret sins, even the sins everyone knows about. Peace be with you.
Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.
Questions or Comments? Contact Pr. Hull via our Contact Page or through Facebook.
By Rev. Eric Brown
There was so much confusion. Mary didn’t know what was going on. She runs to Peter and John for help; they don’t know what’s going on either. Even when the angels ask her what’s wrong, Mary’s still confused. She’s so confused she mistakes the risen Jesus for a gardener!
That confusion clears and is replaced by joy and wonder when Christ Jesus calls Mary by name. Then she sees (of course she does, for faith comes by hearing!). Then that confusion about what was going on is replaced by the joy of the resurrection. It doesn’t mean that suddenly Mary is perfect – Jesus must make her let Him go so He can get some stuff done after she gloms on to Him. But there is joy and wonder there again.
There’s still so much confusion in our lives, whether we look at the world around us or even at our own thoughts and doubts and fears. That’s the way it here; it’s a mixed up mumbled up world, and we are sinful folks stuck square in the middle of it. But here is the truth; Christ Jesus, your risen Lord and Savior, has called you by name too in the waters of Holy Baptism.
There will still be times when you have no clue what in the world is going on, when things are all messed up. Yet, even at those times, Christ Jesus still is your Savior who has called you by name, who will raise you from the dead, and who has won you everlasting life. When the world or your sinful flesh tries to mire you in confusion, Christ’s Word will draw your focus back to Him, where there is joy even now. You don’t belong to your struggles; you belong to Christ. Nothing you come across can change that fact, for Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia.
Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, IL.
Rev. Eric Brown is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois and the co-host of the HT Gospeled Boldly Podcast.
