Psalm 46:10 for Now

Introducing Our Online Liturgies

 

by Pastor Marshall

 

In lieu of our time together due to the stay-at-home orders issued by our government, because of the coronavirus troubles – which have put our worshiping, studying and serving in our building in abeyance – I offer these abbreviated online liturgies. They in no way are equivalents to our normal fare, when we gather in our beautiful church to sing praise to Almighty God around Word and Sacrament. But they still have value. In them I’m taking advantage of our time apart to accentuate Psalm 46:10 about being silent before God. These liturgies have no audio tracks (except for a hymn link here and there) or video streams which in Mendocino County, California, have been banned (Doug Mainwaring, California County Bans Singing in Online Worship Services, LifeSites, online, April 17, 2020). So what we have here are just words. If I were to provide instead a full mock worship service online, that would be inconsistent with our mission statement and the honor it pays to historical liturgies (which require a congregation present). So the liturgies I provide are short, meditative in tone, and solitary. Use them to stand silently before God and his Word – and its elaborations in prayers, hymn texts, art works, and sermons. Luther thought God has his way with us in this silence (Luther’s Works 6:35). Kierkegaard agreed, seeing in this silence God’s Word gaining power over us (For Self-Examination, ed. Hongs, p. 47). He even thought, somewhat humorously, that by blunting our “loquacity” through this silence, God’s ways were protected from any “undietetic uncircumspection” coming from us (The Book on Adler, ed. Hongs, p. 166). Be that as it may, we must never forget, as Kierkegaard elsewhere warned, that Christianity is not primarily for quiet times, but for fighting the good fight of faith “right in the middle of actual life and weekdays” (Journals, ed. Hongs, §2:2132).


 





Online Sunday Liturgy

April 26, 2020


 

Bulletin Cover


[We are to teach everyone] that they may learn to trust God, to believe in him, to fear him, and to set their whole hope upon him; to honor his name and never curse or swear; to mortify themselves by praying, fasting, watching [for the world to end], working [in their daily tasks]; to go to church, wait on the word of God, and observe the sabbath. [God inspires you so that those whom you teach] may learn to despise temporal things, to bear misfortune without complaint, and neither fear death nor love this life.

 

 [Martin Luther, Treatise on Good Works (1520),

Luther’s Works 44:85.]




Online Abbreviated Sunday Liturgy

Pastor Marshall

April 26, 2020

 

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

 

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we have celebrated with joy the festival of our Lord’s resurrection. Graciously fill us with your power so that we may bear witness throughout the world to your truth and love revealed to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. In his name we pray. Amen.



First Lesson: Acts 2:14, 36–47

Psalm 16

Second Lesson: 1 Peter 1:17–21

Gospel: Luke 24:13–35

Opening Hymn: “Awake, My Heart, with Gladness” (LBW 129)




 


Sermon:  April 26, 2020

“Believe Quickly”

(Luke 24:25)

Grace and peace to you in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Apparently we can’t put off Christianity until some later, more convenient time. Apparently we need to take care of it now. For “now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2). So don’t be “slow of heart to believe” (Luke 24:25). You need to be “rich toward God” right now, because tonight your soul might be required of you (Luke 12:20–21). That’s why Christ wants you to believe in him, follow him and love him right now. You could die today! – for you’re but “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). So Jesus can’t wait – and neither should we. Believe in him right now (John 14:1).

     But there is a problem. There are so many competing claims on us circulating endlessly around us all (Galatians 1:9, 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 4:1). So for us to decide which way we’ll go, we’d need to sift through tons of evidence and contradictory truth claims. And that can’t be rushed. So we’re caught in a dilemma. Jesus says now, and we say hold on to your horses. Has King Agrippa, then, gripped us when he disagreed with Saint Paul’s similar insistence long ago saying, “In a short time you think to make me a Christian”? (Acts 26:28).

     Well, not if Martin Luther has his way. For him faith wasn’t the end of an argument but a leap into uncertainty. Now it’s just that leap that can break the stalemate of our endless investigations! Luther therefore didn’t believe you had to be sure before you believed – adjudicating successfully all of the conflicting religious doctrines throughout the entire world. No, that’s because faith is a leap, Luther argued, “from the safe shore of life into the abyss without seeing or feeling a sure footing under us.” Wow! In that leap all we have to hold onto is “God’s supporting and saving hand” (Luther’s Works 19:66).

     So don’t be afraid and try to stay neutral, until you know more. Know the truth that Christ and his teachings are all that you need – indeed they are the “one thing needful” (Luke 10:42) – unum est necessarium, in the old Latin Bible. That is because it was Christ alone who offered up his life as a sacrifice for sin to God the Father (Luke 24:46, Hebrews 9:14, Ephesians 5:2). And so Luther called this sacrifice “the masterpiece” of Christ’s death. For even though, as sinful creatures, we “deserve everlasting death and God’s wrath,” Luther also knew that “these three words – for your sins,” make all the difference (LW 56:136–37). Unum est necessarium! That’s the masterpiece!

     So may God give us hearts to grasp these three words. Let us not worry about understanding everything before we grasp for them. Let us with Luther leap ahead and cling to them. Don’t be distracted by the things on earth (Colossians 3:2). Don’t be misled into thinking that “making a heavenly home” is not enough, but that we also need to strive to make our “home here heavenly” (“Joseph Lowery, Civil Rights Leader, Confidant of King,” The Seattle Times, March 29, 2020). Only believe now that Christ died for your sins and that a place has been prepared for you in heaven.

     But don’t hide away these words of salvation. Tell everyone who cares to listen to you (1 Peter 3:15) about them (Acts 5:32). Do this knowing that “the greatest… work of faith” is witnessing to others about Jesus – for without that outreach your faith becomes “worthless” (LW 79:243). Do this in order to fulfill the Great Commission to go and makes disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). But do that along with Matthew 23:15 – the warning that hypocrites “traverse sea and land” to make a single believer and when they do “you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” How bracing! No wonder this linkage is denigrated throughout the church today.

     But Martin Luther didn’t do that! No, he adopted it as a challenge to be sure to promulgate the “fear of God and… true faith in the Messiah,” and not to leave out following the Ten Commandments, as well as making sure we stay away from all “temporal honor” in our missionary work (LW 68:181–82). Without these essential elements our witnessing is phony and all subsequent conversions suspect. But American church history shows that it is just these elements that are repeatedly left out in the name of winning as many souls as possible for the Lord. We see it in the spread of revivalism, where “instead of the people being lifted up to the level of the Communion, it was brought down to the level of the people” (Leigh E. Schmidt, Holy Fairs: Scotland and the Making of American Revivalism, 2001, p. 31). American missionary movements also absorbed “successful petty capitalism and… the unique individualism of American voluntary religion” (George M. Thomas, Revivalism and Cultural Change: Christianity, Nation Building, and the Market in the Nineteenth-Century United States, 1989, p. 61). Furthermore these movements joined hands with the “entertainment of classical Hollywood,” turning witnessing into entertainment (Thekla E. Joiner, Sin in the City: Chicago and Revivalism 1880–1920, 2007, p. 224).

     So beware – but do not lose your spirit. Witness to Christ without caving in to our societal values (John 15:18–19, James 4:4, 1 John 2:15). Help your friends and neighbors see the urgency of faith in Christ. And then, pray that they join in with us, and – before we drop dead – believe quickly. Amen.

Hymn of the Day:  “Hallelujah! Jesus Lives!” (LBW 147)

 

Prayers

 


 


Litany on the

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

 

 

Let us pray for all those worldwide who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us give thanks for the government agencies and other medical research teams who are diligently working to curb the spread of this virus. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are sick and suffering from this disease. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

And let us also pray for all those grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are caring for the infected and the sick, that full health and strength and peace may be granted. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for our world where we’re but sojourners (Psalm 119:19; Philippians 3:20), that we may not be punished by disease and pestilence (Ezekiel 14:21, Luke 13:5, John 5:14), and that health and peace may abound for all – for it is Christ who takes upon himself “our infirmities and diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Finally, in our fear of disease and sickness – may we ever remember God’s power to heal (Jeremiah 17:14, James 5:14), those many kept safe from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, and our Savior Jesus who, by his mercy and in his time, rekindles our faith by restoring health in this vulnerable and perilous life (2 Kings 5:14, Acts 3:6).

 

GLORY BE TO CHRIST OUR LORD & GREAT HEALER! AMEN.



 


LUTHER on epidemics

 

“Some people are of the firm opinion that one… should not run away from a deadly plague. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God…. I cannot censure [this] excellent decision…. It takes more than a milk faith [1 Corinthians 3:2] to await a death before which most of the saints… are in dread…. [But since] it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone…. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. When he began to doubt,… he sank and almost drowned [Matthew 14:30]…. Let him who has a strong faith wait for his death, but he should not condemn those who take flight…. [Even so, know that] all illnesses are punishments from God…. [These punishments] come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love…. [So] my dear friends,… use medicines… which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor… has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire?... You ought to think this way: ‘Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison…. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall… administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely…. This is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.’”

 

[Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly

Plague (1527), Luther’s Works 43:120, 124, 127, 131–32.]



 


 

Intercessions:

 

We remember in prayer church members.

Eileen & Dave Nestoss

Connor Bisticas

Pete Morrison

Kyra Stromberg

Bob & Barb Schorn

Sam & Nancy Lawson

Joan Olson

The Tuomi Family

  

 

We also pray for friends of the parish

who stand in need of God’s care.

Tabitha Anderson

Diana Walker

The Rev. Howard Fosser

The Rev. Dan Peterson

The Rev. Paul Smith

The Rev. Kari Reiten

The Rev. Dave Monson

The Rev. Albin Fogelquist

Sheila Feichtner

Richard Uhler

Yuriko Nishimura

Leslie Hicks

Eric Baxter

Mary Lou & Paul Jensen

Hillary & Jim Thoren

Trevor Schmitt

Paul Sponheim

Lesa Christensen

Maggie & Glenn Willis

Shirley Graham

Evelyn, Emily & Gordon Wilhelm

Karen Berg

Bjørg Hestevold

Wayne Korsmo

Garrett Metzler

Joe & Sam Frary

Noel Curtis

Antonio Ortez

Garrison Radcliffe

Gretchen Hoyum

Marv Morris

The Jill & Dave West Family

Randy Vater

The Duncan Sturrock Family

Doreen Phillips

Those who died in the shooting in Nova Scotia.

Those who died in the tornadoes in the American South.

                                                                       

 

Professional Health Care Providers

Gina Allen

Janine Douglass

David Juhl

Dana Kahn

Dean Riskedahl

 



 

 

Holy Communion in Spirit and Truth

Without the Consecrated Bread and Wine

 

[The ancient church doctrine of concomitantia teaches that the faithful can receive Christ’s Presence in Holy Communion by drinking the wine without eating any bread, or by eating the bread without drinking any wine (The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. F. L. Cross, 1958, 1966, pp. 320–21). By extension, in extreme cases, the faithful can also, then, receive Christ’s Presence without eating the bread or drinking the wine. Those would be cases of illness when nothing can be ingested through the mouth, or when lost in the wilderness – living off nothing but wild animals and berries. In those cases we keep the memory of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24) – honoring our Savior “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). So pray the words below, all you baptized, who love the Lord Jesus, and “hunger and thirst for righteous,” that you may be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). This is not a substitute for Holy Communion, but rather a devout practice when receiving Holy Communion in times of pestilence and plague would recklessly endanger the church (Luther’s Works 43:132–33).]

 

Let us pray: O Lord, our God, we remember this day our savior Jesus, who “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:24). May his Spirit “bring to remembrance” all that he did for us, and continues to do, to bless us (John 14:26). Fill us with the assurance that our sins are truly forgiven for his sake, and that the promise of eternal life will not be taken away. Amen.

 

Let us pray: On this day, heavenly Father, we also pray in the name of Jesus, that one day soon we will be able to gather together at the Altar of our church, and so eat of the flesh of our Lord and drink of his blood, that his very life may well up in us so that we may abide in him forever (John 6:53–56). Amen.



 

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn:  “Christ the Lord is Risen Today; Alleluia!” (LBW 128)


 

 

Here is an unusual witness to Christ. It's in the new Netflix series, Pandemic – How to Prevent an Outbreak (2019), and is well worth watching. At the center of this series is the hopeful work being done by scientists, Jake Glanville and Sarah Ives, and their team, at Distributed Bio, on a universal flu vaccine. What a boon that would be if and when it is discovered, produced, and made available for all! But what I liked most about this documentary was a small part in it (although Toby Reese found it to be disruptive – World Socialist Web Site, April 1, 2020). And it has to do with Dr. Holly Goracke fighting the flu in a small town hospital in Oklahoma. In the course of explaining her heavy work load (72 hour shifts), as the only physician in town, we also learn that she is a Christian. The presentation of her faith is one of the strongest I’ve seen in any recent film – even though her Evangelical bent in worship and prayer doesn’t match my theology. This series also features doctors who are Muslims and Hindus. But regarding Dr. Goracke, there is a strong scene toward the beginning of the series, where she’s reading James 1:2–4 to her husband, which is as stirring as it is brief. And the other scene, that I especially liked, is toward the end, where she is talking to her unbelieving adult daughter about heaven and hell. Again, it is brief but truly remarkable. I thank God for Dr. Goracke's witness in this new Netflix series.           

– Pastor Marshall






 

 





Online Sunday Liturgy

April 19, 2020



 

Bulletin Cover

 

It is a false faith where there is nothing but words in the mouth and yet doubt reigns in the heart…. Historical faith [is what] all the wicked have – who must doubt whether they are [children of God]…. Doubt is born in me by nature…. I am more capable of doubting than I would like!... By nature we are inclined to doubt, since nature… teaches us fornication as well.

 

 [Martin Luther, Sermon on Colossians 1:3–14 (1545),

Luther’s Works 58:338.]

 


 

Anathema be the Christian who is not certain and does not grasp what is prescribed for him!... Permit us to be assertors, to be devoted to assertions and delight in them…. The Holy Spirit is no skeptic, and it is not doubts or mere opinions that he has written on our hearts, but assertions more sure and certain than life itself and all experience.

 

 [Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will (1525),

Luther’s Works 33:23, 24.]

 




Online Abbreviated Sunday Liturgy

Pastor Marshall

April 19, 2020

 

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

 

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we have celebrated with joy the festival of our Lord’s resurrection. Graciously bring us to the true font of wisdom. Shed light on the darkness of our minds, in which we were born, the twofold beam of your light and love, to dispel our ignorance and doubts. Make us keen to understand, quick to learn, able to remember. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.



First Lesson: Acts 2:14, 22–32

Psalm 105:1–7

Second Lesson: 1 Peter 1:3–9

Gospel: John 20:19–31

 

Opening Hymn: Awake, My Heart, with Gladness” (LBW 129)




 


Sermon:  April 19, 2020

“Don't Doubt”

(John 20:27)

Grace and peace to you in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Every Easter our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus hits a solid stone wall of fear and doubt. This is the last thing we would expect – filled with the hope of praising God continually for days and weeks ahead because of the grace and mercy he “lavished” on us at Easter (Ephesians 1:8). But not so.

     Right at the beginning of Easter, the disciples are hiding for the fear of the Jewish leaders (John 20:19). This happened before – and the power of the resurrection did nothing to stop it from happening again. Because Jesus healed the sick and lame, he was persecuted (John 4:16). And because he raised Lazarus from the dead, he was hounded all the more (John 11:57). The disciples feared that the rulers of their day would now come after them – once Jesus had been taken out.

     And this fear did more than frighten them – it also made them doubt. They felt insecure under the mounting assaults – and so their hands drooped and their knees wobbled (Hebrews 12:12). They were caving in. The boldness and self-confidence that is supposed to mark our Christian convictions (Acts 4:13, 29, 31, 9:27, 29, 13:46, 14:3, 18:26, 19:8), was slipping away. Against this Jesus earlier said – anticipating the coming uncertainty – not to doubt (Matthew 21:21). And right at Easter he says the same – don’t doubt but believe (John 20:27). Against the assaults we are not supposed to back–off and hide in fear, but rather push forward. We are even to do more than that – we are to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). So if you doubt, don’t accept it as something okay, but fight against it (LW 26:379). Luther did that, and so should we. He pondered this struggle against our doubts and concluded that we wrongfully want “perception and certitude as a condition for faith,” when actually grace “wants faith prior to perception.” Only when the sequence is corrected, can faith be itself and happily step out “into the darkness and follow nothing but the word and the Scriptures” (Luther’s Works 52:196). That Danish follower of Luther, hundreds of years later, rightly called this faith a “rashly risked venture” (Søren Kierkegaard, Journals, ed. Hongs, §2:1438).

     But what brings this correction about – that doubt may be stricken? Can we turn things around and straighten out the sequence from faith to certainty – as it should be? Nothing says we can. Faith is a gift (Romans 3:24) and not something that we manufacture for ourselves. The trust at the heart of faith eludes us. Why we can’t even, in this regard, count up to one “without first cutting off” nine of our fingers (Bill Knott, I Am Flying Into Myself: Selected Poems 1960–2014, 2017, p. 98). But that does not leave us sitting in a corner dazed and forlorn. No, there is another word for us – Repent and turn to God (Acts 3:19). Feel ashamed for the dishonor your disobedience of God has heaped upon him. “Weep bitterly” – if you must (Matthew 26:75).  And know all along with Luther – that you are wrong and God is right (LW 51:318). That self-indictment is at the heart of repentance. And it’s precisely what the resurrected Christ calls for (Luke 24:47).

     That is because of what it produces – what comes from it. It leads to being freed from the very shame that propelled it forward in the first place (1 Peter 2:6). Shame gives way to love and peace. That’s because it now has become clear – because of the refreshment that repentance brings (Acts 3:19) – that when our hearts condemn us, God still loves us because he is greater than that condemning voice in our hearts (1 John 3:20). At that point faith starts emerging within us as the “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). And that is an “oscillation” for sure (Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology, 3 vols, 1951–63, 3:42). It’s never finished this side of the grave. It dialectically shifts endlessly back and forth between conviction, and seeing nothing; being assured, and having nothing. So Luther, unlike our host of American evangelists down through the centuries, knew Christians repent all of the time and are converted over and over again – quottidie converti, in the Latin (LW 31:25, 17:117). This is far from “I once was lost, but now am found” (Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978, hymn 448) – but still goes a long way in explaining why Lutheranism isn’t American (David A. Gustafson, Lutherans in Crisis, 1993). Once we start believing we constantly are returning to Jesus saying – increase my faith (Luke 17:5).

     We keep returning to the source of our faith in order to keep it going. That’s because “Christ has been given to us,” Luther argues, “in order that we should take from Him, rely on Him, and believe that all He has is ours, that all He can do has been done for our benefit” (LW 30:59). Why would we want to stay away from such a one and instead rely on ourselves? – as in Cameron Esposito’s Save Yourself (2020). If we did, our mercurial being would drain the conviction of faith from it. What a disaster that would be since uncertainty is “unbelief,” which cannot make us “alive,” but instead leaves us “stranded” with nothing but a “monster” on our hands (LW 40:240, 58:211, 67:419, 26:387). How ghastly! But Jesus is far better. And that remains true even if only a few care about it. Indeed, we “must not be troubled and frightened by [the fact] that no one wants the [Gospel] [Romans 3:11]…. Therefore we should not measure the Gospel,” Luther concludes, “according to how many hear it, but according to the small group who comprehend it” (LW 77:72–73).

     So let our two or three (Matthew 18:20) gather here today with Christ, who died for us to save us from the wrath of God (Hebrews 2:14, John 3:36). Let us also exalt the crucified one who is now risen that we might also live with him when our days on earth are done (2 Corinthians 4:14). Let us rejoice in Christ who says to us today – “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19).

     Filled with this assurance may we look to the days ahead as times to “remember that marvel God has done” (Psalm 105:5), by saving sinners who repent and believe in Jesus. May we labor during these days of Easter to thank God sufficiently for all he has done for us and given to us (LW 51:260) – including a spirit to fight against uncertainty – that we may not doubt. Amen.

Hymn of the Day: “Thine Is the Glory” (LBW 145)

 

Prayers

 


 


Litany on the

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

 

 

Let us pray for all those worldwide who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us give thanks for the government agencies and other medical research teams who are diligently working to curb the spread of this virus. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are sick and suffering from this disease. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

And let us also pray for all those grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are caring for the infected and the sick, that full health and strength and peace may be granted. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for our world where we’re but sojourners (Psalm 119:19; Philippians 3:20), that we may not be punished by disease and pestilence (Ezekiel 14:21, Luke 13:5, John 5:14), and that health and peace may abound for all – for it is Christ who takes upon himself “our infirmities and diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Finally, in our fear of disease and sickness – may we ever remember God’s power to heal (Jeremiah 17:14, James 5:14), those many kept safe from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, and our Savior Jesus who, by his mercy and in his time, rekindles our faith by restoring health in this vulnerable and perilous life (2 Kings 5:14, Acts 3:6).

 

GLORY BE TO CHRIST OUR LORD & GREAT HEALER! AMEN.



 


LUTHER on epidemics

 

“Some people are of the firm opinion that one… should not run away from a deadly plague. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God…. I cannot censure [this] excellent decision…. It takes more than a milk faith [1 Corinthians 3:2] to await a death before which most of the saints… are in dread…. [But since] it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone…. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. When he began to doubt,… he sank and almost drowned [Matthew 14:30]…. Let him who has a strong faith wait for his death, but he should not condemn those who take flight…. [Even so, know that] all illnesses are punishments from God…. [These punishments] come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love…. [So] my dear friends,… use medicines… which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor… has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire?... You ought to think this way: ‘Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison…. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall… administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely…. This is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.’”

 

[Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly

Plague (1527), Luther’s Works 43:120, 124, 127, 131–32.]



 


 

Intercessions:

 

We remember in prayer church members.

Eileen & Dave Nestoss

Connor Bisticas

Pete Morrison

Kyra Stromberg

Bob & Barb Schorn

Sam & Nancy Lawson

Joan Olson

The Tuomi Family

  

 

We also pray for friends of the parish

who stand in need of God’s care.

Tabitha Anderson

Diana Walker

The Rev. Howard Fosser

The Rev. Dan Peterson

The Rev. Paul Smith

The Rev. Kari Reiten

The Rev. Dave Monson

The Rev. Albin Fogelquist

Sheila Feichtner

Richard Uhler

Yuriko Nishimura

Leslie Hicks

Eric Baxter

Mary Lou & Paul Jensen

Hillary & Jim Thoren

Trevor Schmitt

Maggie & Glenn Willis

Shirley Graham

Evelyn, Emily & Gordon Wilhelm

Karen Berg

Bjørg Hestevold

Wayne Korsmo

Kyle & Joe Drakulich

Garrett Metzler

Joe & Sam Frary

Noel Curtis

Antonio Ortez

Garrison Radcliffe

Olin & Noreen Martin

Gretchen Hoyum

Marv Morris

The Jill & Dave West Family

Randy Vater

The Duncan Sturrock Family

Doreen Phillips

                                                                       

 

Professional Health Care Providers

Gina Allen

Janine Douglass

David Juhl

Dana Kahn

Dean Riskedahl

 



 

 

Holy Communion in Spirit and Truth

Without the Consecrated Bread and Wine

 

[The ancient church doctrine of concomitantia teaches that the faithful can receive Christ’s Presence in Holy Communion by drinking the wine without eating any bread, or by eating the bread without drinking any wine (The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. F. L. Cross, 1958, 1966, pp. 320–21). By extension, in extreme cases, the faithful can also, then, receive Christ’s Presence without eating the bread or drinking the wine. Those would be cases of illness when nothing can be ingested through the mouth, or when lost in the wilderness – living off nothing but wild animals and berries. In those cases we keep the memory of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24) – honoring our Savior “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). So pray the words below, all you baptized, who love the Lord Jesus, and “hunger and thirst for righteous,” that you may be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). This is not a substitute for Holy Communion, but rather a devout practice when receiving Holy Communion in times of pestilence and plague would recklessly endanger the church (Luther’s Works 43:132–33).]

 

Let us pray: O Lord, our God, we remember this day our savior Jesus, who “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:24). May his Spirit “bring to remembrance” all that he did for us, and continues to do, to bless us (John 14:26). Fill us with the assurance that our sins are truly forgiven for his sake, and that the promise of eternal life will not be taken away. Amen.

 

Let us pray: On this day, heavenly Father, we also pray in the name of Jesus, that one day soon we will be able to gather together at the Altar of our church, and so eat of the flesh of our Lord and drink of his blood, that his very life may well up in us so that we may abide in him forever (John 6:53–56). Amen.



 

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn:     Savior, Again to Your Dear Name” (LBW 262)


 


 

 

Closed Down

by Pastor Marshall

 

For the first time in our 100 year history, our church was closed on Easter by government order, due to the coronavirus health threat. Some pastors, however, dismissed the threat, like Pastor Ronnie Hampton, from New Vision Community Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. Before dying of the virus, he argued that the virus was a government ploy to get mind-altering microchips inserted into all of us through a vaccine (Matthew Chapman, “Pastor Dies from COVID-19 – After Claiming Coronavirus Was a ‘Mark of the Beast’ Conspiracy,” RawStory, online, March 27, 2020). Other pastors have defied the stay-at-home order altogether. Pastor Tony Spell of the Life Tabernacle Church, outside of Baton Rouge, said in church on Easter, that “God will shield us from all harm and sickness. We are not afraid. We call on God to stand against the Antichrist creeping into America’s borders…. My hope is not in a vaccine for a virus, but all my hope is in Jesus.” Pastor John Greiner from Houston added that “we can’t really make a difference in our world just online” (Zeeshan Aleen, “Why Some Churches are Holding In-Person Easter Services in Defiance of Federal Guidelines,” Vox, online, April 12, 2020; and “Amid Pandemic, Christians Mark Easter Like No Other,” The Seattle Times, April 13, 2020). But these pastors are wrong – and so I haven’t joined their protest. Bishop Gerald O. Glenn, pastor of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Chesterfield, Virginia, found this out the hard way by defying the stay-at-home orders, contracting the virus, and then also dying (Rebekah Riess, “Bishop Who Said ‘God is Larger Than’ Covid-19 Has Died From the Disease,” CNN, April 14, 2020). So first these pastors are wrong because Jesus forbade reckless endangerment. We are not to throw ourselves into harm’s way so that God can rescue us. Jesus exposed that as the devil’s ploy (Matthew 4:7). Martin Luther also opposed this sort of recklessness (Luther’s Works 43:132–33). And I have argued against it too in “Taking-Up Snakes in Worship,” The Bride of Christ 20 (November 1996). And second, these defiant pastors are wrong because no American is guaranteed absolute religious freedom without any qualifications whatsoever. That’s not what our laws and constitution say. So they’re misinformed. Our freedom to worship as we choose can instead be suspended in times of health crises and other national calamities. Back in 1905 the US Supreme Court ruled that constitutional rights may be reasonably restricted “as the safety of the general public demand” (Jacobson v. Massachusetts). And in 1944 the Court upheld this ruling concluding that “the right to practice religion freely does not include liberty to expose the community… to communicable disease” (Prince v. Massachusetts). That’s our law, and because it agrees with Matthew 4:7, we are not in a position to defy it, as in Acts 5:29, but must rather comply with it, as in Romans 13:2. So nothing’s awry here legally or theologically. Conceding this adjustment to our religious freedom during this coronavirus crisis, does not erode our necessary “religious self-confidence” because this recent, historic restriction is rooted in Matthew 4:7 and the Christian prohibition against reckless endangerment (Steven Waldman, Sacred Liberty: America’s Long, Bloody, and Ongoing Struggle for Religious Freedom, 2019, p. 314).





 

 





Online Easter Liturgy

April 12, 2020


 

Bulletin Cover

 

 

The Resurrection

of Our Lord

 




Online Abbreviated Sunday Liturgy

Pastor Marshall

April 12, 2020

 

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

 

Let us pray:

O Lord God, you gave your only Son to suffer death on the cross for our redemption, and by his glorious resurrection you delivered us from the power of death. Make us die every day to sin, so that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.



First Lesson: Acts 10:34–43

Psalm 118:1–2, 15–24

Second Lesson: Colossians 3:1–4

Gospel: Matthew 28:1–10 

Opening Hymn: Jesus Christ is Risen Today” (LBW 151)




 


Sermon:  April 12, 2020

“Have Fear and Joy”

(Matthew 28:8)  

Grace and peace to you in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

There is a surprise on Easter that goes beyond the jolt from the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Beyond that dumbfounding and shocking surprise is the fear that was mingled in with the joy in finding the empty tomb and hearing that Jesus was raised from the dead. Fear! Unbelievable, isn’t it? The women who discovered the empty tomb had joy for sure – but mixed in with it was also fear. Why the fear? Awash in the good news that death no longer has dominion over us (Romans 6:9) – why was there any fear at all? What was to be feared amidst the joy of Easter?

     Well, we’re not told. Nothing is said about it. It just sits there on the page staring at us. The women were also afraid, it says. That's it. Can we then piece together why that was? Does fear ever follow upon good news elsewhere in the Bible? Might we find help there to understand what’s going on at the first Easter?

     Yes, at the Transfiguration we see the same thing happening. God appears to the disciples after Jesus is gloriously transfigured and tells them to listen to him. But the disciples fall to the ground in fear (Matthew 17:5–7). The fear looks like it’s connected to that command and that they wouldn’t listen to, and follow, the Lord as commanded by God. Peter had failed a little earlier and Jesus told him that his failure put him in league with the devil (Matthew 16:22–23). That’s startling to say the least. Not much leeway there. So that sort of failure is troubling because God is severe to those who disobey him (Romans 11:22).  The linkage between glory and our response to it holds out the possibility of fear – if our response isn’t one of robust obedience (Matthew 22:37).

     Martin Luther would agree. Each time we’re confronted with the glory of God we “are, have been, or can be” like the godless. Consequently we will be “struck down” and “cast as a whip into the fire” (Luther’s Works 9:103). That’s definitely foreboding. Would that no negative outcome were ever possible and that we would remain under grace and divine protection regardless of the quality of our response. But not so. God’s glory is always inseparably tied into to our response to it. God’s glory never carries us away into glory no matter what we do. So because what we do matters (John 3:36, Romans 8:17), we worry and are afraid.

     So too those women long ago at the first Easter. Would they live up to Easter? Would they honor the risen Christ as they should? Or would they abandon him after Easter as the disciples had done when he was on his way to the cross a few days before Easter (Matthew 26:56)? Would they take the grace of God in vain? (2 Corinthians 6:1). It doesn’t look good. So they are rightly afraid. Their makeup – as with all of us – is but “earthen,” or of poor quality – fictilibus, as the old Latin Bible translates it (2 Corinthians 4:7). That leads inexorably into perversion and corruption (Philippians 2:15). We end up not being able to do the good we should do, but only the evil we know we aren’t supposed to do (Romans 7:19). What a shameful state of affairs! What a burden of shame. So much for our bright and bushy Easter parade!

     But even though there is this fear of failure mixed into Easter, joy nevertheless is still around. The women were also joyous – just not only joyous. How can that be? Doesn’t the fear wipe out all of the joy? What place is left for joy when there is this debilitating fear afoot? Well, joy finds its home in faith – whoever believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16). But can I believe that when I’m afraid? Acts 14:22 thinks you can – and only then! For fear doesn’t repel faith – it’s actually the fertile ground in which it grows up. Desperation breeds faith in Christ – the philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, said (1889–1951) (Culture and Value, Revised edition, 1998, p. 52). And Luther thought turmoil drives us to Christ – agitatur ad Christum (LW 16:232).  So we don’t have to wait for good days to believe in Jesus. They might even drive us away from him (Matthew 13:22; LW 45:347; and Paul Weiss, The God We Seek, 1964, p. 218).

     And faith is rooted in the Word. Luther thought we should “fix deep in our heart” Romans 4:25 – that “Christ was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” What Luther liked so much in this verse were the possessive bits – “our, our.” So he argued that “it is not enough for us to know that Christ rose.” No, you must also “go further and learn to take the benefit and fruit of the resurrection to heart and to cling to it so that it is yours.” That’s because, as Luther further says, it “applies to you so that you may rise in Christ and Christ in you. Otherwise it is all waste.” Waste?! Wow, we better then not forget that the “resurrection took place for our benefit” (LW 56:135–36)! So if we only long for this life, without any promise of the life to come after we die, we are most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19; Charles Hartshorne, A Natural Theology for Our Time, 1967, p. 55). Hearing this moves us. It changes everything (Romans 10:17). Shocking, isn’t it? – that so little can do so much!

     So get out the good news of Easter – that because Jesus lives we shall also live (John 14:19). Be witnesses – bringing up Easter to all who want to know about the hope that is in you (Acts 5:32, 1 Peter 3:15). And don’t be sheepish about it. Søren Kierkegaard (1813–55) – that Danish Luther (R. F. Marshall, Kierkegaard in the Pulpit, 2016, p. 286) – thought faith was “the rashly risked venture” (Journals, ed. Hongs, §2:1438). So go for it! Luther said to “boldly press forward like drunken men” (LW 20:295)! Given Acts 2:15, there might well be something to that. Nevertheless, don’t let fear get the better of you. Remember the first Easter – and live in fear to be sure, but not to the exclusion of joy. Amen.

 

 

Hymn of the Day: Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands” (LBW 134)

 

Prayers

 


 


Litany on the

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

 

 

Let us pray for all those worldwide who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us give thanks for the government agencies and other medical research teams who are diligently working to curb the spread of this virus. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are sick and suffering from this disease. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

And let us also pray for all those grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are caring for the infected and the sick, that full health and strength and peace may be granted. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for our world where we’re but sojourners (Psalm 119:19; Philippians 3:20), that we may not be punished by disease and pestilence (Ezekiel 14:21, Luke 13:5, John 5:14), and that health and peace may abound for all – for it is Christ who takes upon himself “our infirmities and diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Finally, in our fear of disease and sickness – may we ever remember God’s power to heal (Jeremiah 17:14, James 5:14), those many kept safe from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, and our Savior Jesus who, by his mercy and in his time, rekindles our faith by restoring health in this vulnerable and perilous life (2 Kings 5:14, Acts 3:6).

 

GLORY BE TO CHRIST OUR LORD & GREAT HEALER! AMEN.



 


LUTHER on epidemics

 

“Some people are of the firm opinion that one… should not run away from a deadly plague. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God…. I cannot censure [this] excellent decision…. It takes more than a milk faith [1 Corinthians 3:2] to await a death before which most of the saints… are in dread…. [But since] it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone…. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. When he began to doubt,… he sank and almost drowned [Matthew 14:30]…. Let him who has a strong faith wait for his death, but he should not condemn those who take flight…. [Even so, know that] all illnesses are punishments from God…. [These punishments] come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love…. [So] my dear friends,… use medicines… which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor… has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire?... You ought to think this way: ‘Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison…. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall… administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely…. This is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.’”

 

[Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly

Plague (1527), Luther’s Works 43:120, 124, 127, 131–32.]



 


 

Intercessions:

 

We remember in prayer church members.

Eileen & Dave Nestoss

Connor Bisticas

Pete Morrison

Kyra Stromberg

Bob & Barb Schorn

Sam & Nancy Lawson

Joan Olson

The Tuomi Family

Eve Young

Ana Korsmo  

 

We also pray for friends of the parish

who stand in need of God’s care.

Tabitha Anderson

Diana Walker

The Rev. Howard Fosser

The Rev. Dan Peterson

The Rev. Paul Smith

The Rev. Kari Reiten

The Rev. Dave Monson

The Rev. Albin Fogelquist

Sheila Feichtner

Richard Uhler

Yuriko Nishimura

Leslie Hicks

Eric Baxter

Paul Sponheim

Mary Lou & Paul Jensen

Hillary & Jim Thoren

Trevor Schmitt

Cheryl Atwood

Maggie & Glenn Willis

Garret Ross

Shirley Graham

Evelyn, Emily & Gordon Wilhelm

Karen Berg

Bjørg Hestevold

Wayne Korsmo

Kyle & Joe Drakulich

Garrett Metzler

Joe & Sam Frary

Noel Curtis

Antonio Ortez

Garrison Radcliffe

Olin & Noreen Martin

Gretchen Hoyum

Marv Morris

The Jill & Dave West Family

Randy Vater

The Duncan Sturrock Family

                                                                       

 

Professional Health Care Providers

Gina Allen

Janine Douglass

David Juhl

Dana Kahn

Dean Riskedahl

 

Died

Britt Marie Hansson



 

 

Holy Communion in Spirit and Truth

Without the Consecrated Bread and Wine

 

[The ancient church doctrine of concomitantia teaches that the faithful can receive Christ’s Presence in Holy Communion by drinking the wine without eating any bread, or by eating the bread without drinking any wine (The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. F. L. Cross, 1958, 1966, pp. 320–21). By extension, in extreme cases, the faithful can also, then, receive Christ’s Presence without eating the bread or drinking the wine. Those would be cases of illness when nothing can be ingested through the mouth, or when lost in the wilderness – living off nothing but wild animals and berries. In those cases we keep the memory of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24) – honoring our Savior “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). So pray the words below, all you baptized, who love the Lord Jesus, and “hunger and thirst for righteous,” that you may be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). This is not a substitute for Holy Communion, but rather a devout practice when receiving Holy Communion in times of pestilence and plague would recklessly endanger the church (Luther’s Works 43:132–33).]

 

Let us pray: O Lord, our God, we remember this day our savior Jesus, who “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:24). May his Spirit “bring to remembrance” all that he did for us, and continues to do, to bless us (John 14:26). Fill us with the assurance that our sins are truly forgiven for his sake, and that the promise of eternal life will not be taken away. Amen.

 

Let us pray: On this day, heavenly Father, we also pray in the name of Jesus, that one day soon we will be able to gather together at the Altar of our church, and so eat of the flesh of our Lord and drink of his blood, that his very life may well up in us so that we may abide in him forever (John 6:53–56). Amen.



 

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn:     Now All the Vault of Heaven Resound” (LBW 143)


 


 

Fending Off God’s Wrath

 

 

[My] priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common…. Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath.

 

(Ezekiel 22:26, 31)

 

In our churches we stand like blockheads. We do not know what to say or what to bewail. The beads rattle, the pages rustle, and the mouth mumbles. And that is all there is to it…. Open up your eyes and look into your own life and into the life of all Christendom, particularly that of the spiritual estate. You will find how low faith, hope, love, obedience, chastity, and all virtues are, while all manner of heinous vice reigns supreme. You will find what a lack there is of good preachers [and] how only knaves… rule. If you do this you will see that there is need every hour, everywhere, and without ceasing to pray with tears of blood to avert the terrible wrath of God…. There has never been a greater need of praying… until the end of the world. [And] do not let yourself be led astray by your… good works…. There is not a Christian streak in you however pious you may be…. With these words God shows how he wants us to withstand him and turn away his anger [and] fend [him] off.

 

(Luther’s Works 44:68–69)

 







 




Online Good Friday Liturgy

April 10, 2020


 

Bulletin Cover

 

 

Jesus cried out with a

loud voice [voce magna],

“My God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?”

 

(Matthew 27:46)

 

Good Friday

 




Online Abbreviated Liturgy

Pastor Marshall

April 9, 2020

 

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

 

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for our Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins – that we might be saved from your wrath, walk in newness of life, and dwell in heaven forever. Trusting in his mercy, in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.



First Lesson: Isaiah 52:13–53:12

Psalm 22:1–23

Second Lesson: Hebrews 4:14–16, 5:7–9

Gospel: John 18:1–19: 42

Opening Hymn: “Go to Dark Gethsemane” (LBW 109)




 



Sermon:  April 10, 2020

“Don't Miss the Noise”

(Matthew 27:46)  

Grace and peace to you in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

What’s all of the racket about on Good Friday? Do you hear the noise at the end of the crucifixion of Jesus? Be sure not to miss it even if where you are right now is all calm, quiet, and comfortable.

     Don’t forget that earthquake – when “the earth shook, and the rocks were split” (Matthew 27:51). Did you hear the great banging, cracking and rumbling going on? Maybe there was even some thunder and lightning with the attending noonday darkness (Mark 15:33, Luke 23:45). And there’s more. We even hear Jesus roaring out with a loud voice over the clamor (Matthew 27:46, 50, Mark 15:34, 37, Luke 23:46). He cries out to God, “Why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34). He also says, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). And he adds, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

     All this noise and crying out is for bringing the crucifixion into focus. So dwelling on earlier words of Jesus from the cross would be the wrong way to go. Just focus on the last few words. Don’t get caught up in the sentimentality of Jesus asking John to take care of his mother (Jon Meacham, The Hope of Glory: Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross, New York: Random House, 2020, p. 59). Martin Luther knew about this dead end and vilified it. He argued that when Jesus gave his mother away he wasn’t looking out for her after he was gone as you might reasonably suppose. He instead was demoting her by removing her from the scene of redemption. That’s because redemption was his work alone – something that he had to do all by himself in his suffering and dying on the cross (Luther’s Works 69:262). Unfortunately many don’t see that and still believe that Mary has to help Jesus save us from our sins [Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994, 1999) §§ 494, 964, 969, 1370, 1477, 2618, and The Devotion of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1239), The Fatima Center – noting the 5th Sorrow on the need for two sacrifices at the Cross: one from Jesus and the other from Mary].

     That’s why we need the crashing and banging. All that noise brings the crucifixion into its proper focus. What we then see is that Jesus was forsaken by God on the cross. And why was that? Because God hated what Jesus had become (Leviticus 26:30, Psalms 5:5, 11:5, 95:10, Proverbs 6:16, Jeremiah 12:8, Hosea 9:15) – the pin cushion for all of the sins of the world (1 John 2:2, 1 Peter 2:24). That’s why he cries out about being forsaken – because he is speaking for all sinners being forsaken by God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, §603). And where does that lead? Because God wants to kill sinners (Isaiah 13:19, Hosea 9:16) – he now must kill Jesus for being the worst of them all. And so we have Jesus on the cross – “putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself” – as the definite plan of God (Hebrews 9:26, Acts 2:23). No victim here; no accident either (John 10:18 – contra “At the Lamb’s High Feast,” verse 2, Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978, Hymn 210; and Gerhard O. Forde, Theology is for Proclamation, 1990, pp. 127–29).

     But isn’t that the most preposterous story you’ve ever heard? Why doesn’t God just cut sinners some slack and leave it at that? – moving on to making this world a better place for us all? Because first a payment has to be made – Gott mit Christum bezahlen, as Luther puts it – that is, “Pay God with Christ” (Luther’s Works 30:12). This infuriates those looking for a simpler, loving God who doesn’t have to be bought off as they sarcastically say. They don’t want to hear that a ransom has to be paid before God can forgive sinners and before his wrath can be appeased and he can love us – because of the “profound idea [that] it is not simple for God to forgive sins” (Paul Tillich, A History of Christian Thought, ed. Carl E. Braaten, 1968, p. 166).

     Martin Luther would never join those naysayers. He instead celebrates this sacred sacrifice, this mediating ransom. He first sets the stage by arguing that Christ is the mediator not of one but of “two who were in the utmost disagreement” (LW 26:325). So both God and all people altogether have to be reconciled to one another. Not just us, but God too. For one can’t cover both. And neither can stand in for the other. Luther further says that this ransom, and the reconciliation that it brings, is needed because “God cannot and will not look kindly on sin, but His wrath remains over sin eternally and irrevocably.” Nothing can reverse that wrath. It stands. It’s eternal and so we have no hope for recovery and a restored relationship with God because he doesn’t want us. His wrath prevails. “For this reason,” Luther continues, “a payment must take place which would make restitution for sin, take God’s wrath upon itself, make satisfaction, and pay, and thus take away sin and cancel sin.” If that wrath isn’t lifted from God, then all we’re getting from him are the “tortures” of hell that last forever (Revelation 9:5). God has to be satisfied that a sufficient punishment has been paid if we are going to get off the hook. And we can do nothing to help. So when we look to God all we get is wrath. For “to this day there has been no other remedy nor help than this,” Luther argues, “that God’s eternal Son thus stepped into our need and misery, Himself became a man, and took such dread, eternal wrath on Himself, and for it offered [Himself] as an offering and payment for sin.” And that settled it. Without it we would still be looking divine wrath squarely in the face. But not anymore. That’s because Jesus took it away by painfully being struck by it himself, thereby draining it from God – and making room for love. But don’t think this attack on Jesus was fun for God. No, it was “costly to God,” Luther notes, “because it is the blood of His own dear Son, who is with him in one divinity and majesty.” So to strike Jesus was to strike himself – and so his “heart recoils within” him (Hosea 11:8). This is what it takes to change God into a lover of sinners. But it works – and God is finally “reconciled with us, takes us into His grace, and forgives sin.” But this massive display of divine tectonics falls flat without faith in Jesus. And so Luther concludes that we “benefit only from this precious payment… if we hold to it with firm faith” (LW 57:283).

     So believe in Jesus – and turn from being enemies of the cross (Philippians 3:18) into being sweetly “disposed toward God” (LW 44:38). We believe that Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross to his Father in heaven to move him to mercy (LW 51:277). That’s why the sacrifice was made to God (Luke 23:46, Ephesians 5:2, Hebrews 9:14). And that’s what makes it sure and finished (John 19:30). No wonder Jesus makes so much noise. No wonder that he cries out with such “a loud shout like a most courageous giant,” since he was entering upon his “death with joy” because of the salvation it was bestowing on the world (LW 25:312). Therefore the cross “deserves to be praised to the utmost and to have every honor given to it” (LW 13:319). And so on this Good Friday we do just that.

     Added to our praise, let us also work for God – knowing that our good deeds are worth as much as praying twice (LW 43:193). So help out as much as you can to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Crazy things are happening these days in America and we need cooler heads to prevail. The poor mayor of Baltimore had to “beg residents to stop shooting each other so hospital beds could be used for coronavirus patients” (CBS 13 WJZ, March 18, 2020). And remember Luther during the plagues of his day. He longed to visit the dying, and yet had to follow the ban against “distributing the sacraments to the sick” [Martin Brecht, Martin Luther, 3 vols (1985–1993) 3:254; Erik A. Heinrichs, Plague, Print, and the Reformation: The German Reform of Healing 1473–1573, 2018, p. 138]. So separate yourself from others as much as you can. And also support research into the spread of microbes – knowing that when diseases are stopped in poor countries, the increased population creates terrible problems if the healing is “not paired with broader gains in economic development, governance, education, and infrastructure” (Thomas J. Bollyky, Plagues and the Paradox of Progress: Why the World is Getting Healthier in Worrisome Ways, 2018, p. 177). So stay alert to these and other projects – and do what you can to help out. Pray for God’s help to make a difference. And when you struggle to do this, don’t forget to rejoice in the noise at the end of the crucifixion – which is all that can save us for all of eternity. Amen.

 

Hymn of the Day: “Ah, Holy Jesus” (LBW 123)

 

Prayers

 


 


Litany on the

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

 

 

Let us pray for all those worldwide who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us give thanks for the government agencies and other medical research teams who are diligently working to curb the spread of this virus. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are sick and suffering from this disease. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

And let us also pray for all those grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are caring for the infected and the sick, that full health and strength and peace may be granted. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for our world where we’re but sojourners (Psalm 119:19; Philippians 3:20), that we may not be punished by disease and pestilence (Ezekiel 14:21, Luke 13:5, John 5:14), and that health and peace may abound for all – for it is Christ who takes upon himself “our infirmities and diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Finally, in our fear of disease and sickness – may we ever remember God’s power to heal (Jeremiah 17:14, James 5:14), those many kept safe from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, and our Savior Jesus who, by his mercy and in his time, rekindles our faith by restoring health in this vulnerable and perilous life (2 Kings 5:14, Acts 3:6).

 

GLORY BE TO CHRIST OUR LORD & GREAT HEALER! AMEN.



 


LUTHER on epidemics

 

“Some people are of the firm opinion that one… should not run away from a deadly plague. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God…. I cannot censure [this] excellent decision…. It takes more than a milk faith [1 Corinthians 3:2] to await a death before which most of the saints… are in dread…. [But since] it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone…. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. When he began to doubt,… he sank and almost drowned [Matthew 14:30]…. Let him who has a strong faith wait for his death, but he should not condemn those who take flight…. [Even so, know that] all illnesses are punishments from God…. [These punishments] come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love…. [So] my dear friends,… use medicines… which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor… has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire?... You ought to think this way: ‘Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison…. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall… administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely…. This is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.’”

 

[Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly

Plague (1527), Luther’s Works 43:120, 124, 127, 131–32.]



 


 

Intercessions:

 

We remember in prayer church members.

Eileen & Dave Nestoss

Connor Bisticas

Pete Morrison

Kyra Stromberg

Bob & Barb Schorn

Sam & Nancy Lawson

Joan Olson

The Tuomi Family

Eve Young

Ana Korsmo  

 

We also pray for friends of the parish

who stand in need of God’s care.

Tabitha Anderson

Diana Walker

The Rev. Howard Fosser

The Rev. Dan Peterson

The Rev. Paul Smith

The Rev. Kari Reiten

The Rev. Dave Monson

The Rev. Albin Fogelquist

Sheila Feichtner

Richard Uhler

Yuriko Nishimura

Leslie Hicks

Eric Baxter

Paul Sponheim

Mary Lou & Paul Jensen

Hillary & Jim Thoren

Trevor Schmitt

Cheryl Atwood

Maggie & Glenn Willis

Garret Ross

Shirley Graham

Evelyn, Emily & Gordon Wilhelm

Karen Berg

Bjørg Hestevold

Wayne Korsmo

Kyle & Joe Drakulich

Garrett Metzler

Joe & Sam Frary

Noel Curtis

Antonio Ortez

Garrison Radcliffe

Olin & Noreen Martin

Gretchen Hoyum

Marv Morris

The Jill & Dave West Family

Randy Vater

The Duncan Sturrock Family

                                                                       

 

Professional Health Care Providers

Gina Allen

Janine Douglass

David Juhl

Dana Kahn

Dean Riskedahl

 

Died

Britt Marie Hansson



 

 

Holy Communion in Spirit and Truth

Without the Consecrated Bread and Wine

 

[The ancient church doctrine of concomitantia teaches that the faithful can receive Christ’s Presence in Holy Communion by drinking the wine without eating any bread, or by eating the bread without drinking any wine (The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. F. L. Cross, 1958, 1966, pp. 320–21). By extension, in extreme cases, the faithful can also, then, receive Christ’s Presence without eating the bread or drinking the wine. Those would be cases of illness when nothing can be ingested through the mouth, or when lost in the wilderness – living off nothing but wild animals and berries. In those cases we keep the memory of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24) – honoring our Savior “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). So pray the words below, all you baptized, who love the Lord Jesus, and “hunger and thirst for righteous,” that you may be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). This is not a substitute for Holy Communion, but rather a devout practice when receiving Holy Communion in times of pestilence and plague would recklessly endanger the church (Luther’s Works 43:132–33).]

 

Let us pray: O Lord, our God, we remember this day our savior Jesus, who “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:24). May his Spirit “bring to remembrance” all that he did for us, and continues to do, to bless us (John 14:26). Fill us with the assurance that our sins are truly forgiven for his sake, and that the promise of eternal life will not be taken away. Amen.

 

Let us pray: On this day, heavenly Father, we also pray in the name of Jesus, that one day soon we will be able to gather together at the Altar of our church, and so eat of the flesh of our Lord and drink of his blood, that his very life may well up in us so that we may abide in him forever (John 6:53–56). Amen.



 

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn:     “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” (LBW 117)


 

 

 

 

God’s Sales Tax

Sickness According to the Bible

 

By Pastor Marshall

 

In the Bible God has power over sickness and disease. So he can help us when we can’t get better on our own. He makes legs work again, overcomes blindness and fevers, cures epilepsy, reverses mental illness, fixes arms, stops hemorrhaging, restores vocal cords, clears up deadly skin diseases, and even brings the dead back to life. But not always. He can also make things worse. He does that – most of the time – to punish us with his “four sore acts of judgment” – war, famine, wild beasts, and disease (Ezekiel 14:21). He sends them against us when we disobey him (Leviticus 26:14–39). Believing this, we can head it all off by repenting when we foul up. Then we aren’t punished for what we have done that is wrong (Luke 13:5). But he also refrains from healing us to test us and strengthen us – out of love for us (Revelation 3:19). When this happens, we are supposed to rejoice in our sufferings – because we learn patience and acquire endurance, character, and hope by that very suffering (Romans 5:3–5). Now that’s a tough one! Why not strengthen us without all the suffering? It can’t be done (Luther’s Works 7:256, 280) – because suffering is needed to make us better. We need to suffer because our nature resists God (Romans 11:24, John 3:19, Romans 3:11) – and so we have to be forced or coerced in the right direction (Luke 16:16, Acts 9:3–4, 14:22). What shall we make of this contrariness? Martin Luther called it a sales tax that we have to pay for the massive purchase God made to save us from our sins in the crucifixion of his only son, Jesus. God is “a good merchant and a gracious tradesman,” Luther argues, “who sells us life for death, righteousness for sin, and lays a momentary sickness or two upon us by way of interest and as a token [or tax] that he sells more reasonably and borrows at more favorable rates than… the tradesmen on earth. Well, then, our Lord Jesus Christ,” Luther concludes, “is the valiant man who fights for us, conquers for us, triumphs for us. He is and must be the man, and we must be with him and in him. There is no other way, no matter how much the gates of hell rage” (Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, ed. T. Tappert, 1965, p. 39). So our sufferings from disease, for instance, are but a drop when compared to the “ocean of God’s benefits on which we should expatiate with divine rhetoric” (LW 3:343). So why make “such an ado over the fact that the pestilence is killing a few people?” (LW 22:416). Hold onto this truth even though those diseases that strike us make our flesh rot while we’re still standing on our feet, and our eyes rot in their sockets, and our tongues rot in our mouths (Zechariah 14:12). Let us therefore gird up our loins and “graciously accept all kinds of sickness” and arm ourselves with the Word of God, practice faith, and “acquire a food that will not perish [John 6:27]” (LW 23:12). Why? Because nowhere “on earth is there a greater and more dreadful… plague than… spiritual blindness or madness [that prevents us] from hearing or wanting to hear [how we] may be saved” (LW 24:280).


 


 

 

 

I guess God got so

mad about all of

our fighting down

 here that He sent

us all to our rooms.

 

(off the internet, April 2020)

 

 




 

 




Online Maundy Thursday Liturgy

April 9, 2020


 

Bulletin Cover

 

 

“Just as we have eaten and drunk

the Lord Christ’s body and blood,

we in turn let ourselves

be eaten and drunk.”

 

 [Martin Luther, Sermon on

Confession and the Sacrament (1524),

Luther’s Works 76:444.]

 

Maundy Thursday

 



Online Abbreviated Liturgy

Pastor Marshall

April 9, 2020

 

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

 

Let us pray:

Merciful Father, we thank you for our Savior, Christ Jesus, who not only gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins, but also nourishes us poor lost sinners in Holy Communion that we might walk in newness of life. In his holy name we pray. Amen.



First Lesson: Exodus 12:1–14.

Psalm 116:10–17.

Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 11:17–32.

Gospel: John 13:1–17, 34.

Opening Hymn: “Soul, Adorn Yourself With Gladness” (LBW 224)




 



Sermon:  April 9, 2020

“Be Cleansed”

(John 13:10)  

Grace and peace to you in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

On this Holy Thursday we remember John 13:10 about being washed clean. This washing has to do with both the dramatic washing of the feet of the disciples – whereby Jesus serves them, as well as with the washing away of our sins – whereby Jesus saves us from going to hell.

     Of greatest importance is the washing away of our sins. And just why is that? Well, our sins defile us (Mark 7:20). This defilement is lawlessness and unbelief (1 John 3:4, Romans 14.23) – which does untold damage (Ecclesiastes 9:18). No wonder then that it is a curse (Galatians 3:13). That’s because if it isn’t washed away, all who have it will spend eternity in hell – separated forever from the love and kindness of God (2 Thessalonians 1:9). This washing happens when Jesus dies on the cross for our sins by being punished in our place (1 Peter 2:24). If we believe in this sacrifice (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:26), then that washing happens to us and we benefit from it. Otherwise, unbelief keeps it away from us and we are condemned for all eternity (John 3:18). Sin is our rebellion against God – our disobeying of him (Romans 1:5, 25, 2:5, 3:12). If it’s left unforgiven – uncleaned – then off to hell we go when we die, that ghastly, horrible, everlasting “place of torment” (Luke 16:23, 28). But if we have faith in Christ, we’re saved from all of that. As Luther says, “Jesus,… through His suffering and dying, through His cross and death, has reconciled the world to God; borne the sins of the whole world; redeemed it from the wrath of God, the devil, and eternal damnation; unlocked heaven and brought eternal life to all who believe in Him” – even if those who reject it think that it is “nothing but dung – whatever is preached of Christ and eternal life” (Luther’s Works 58:249).

     Their disgust, however, doesn’t change a thing. The “wonderful exchange” stands – “One man sins, another pays the penalty; one deserves peace, the other has it” (LW 17:225). No wonder when we receive the Lord’s Supper we’re told to “proclaim the lord’s death until he comes!” (1 Corinthians 11:26). That’s because it is only through his death that we are washed clean. Indeed, “God does not impute… sin to me, so long as I believe in Christ…. I am called holy, and nevertheless I am still a sinner. But it is for this reason that [we] believe in [Jesus] and are His dear little chick” (LW 57:225). So when we come to the Altar to receive the sacrament, it is Jesus himself who is our “stretcher” – carrying us up to be cleaned (LW 35:66). That’s because we “find God nowhere but in Christ alone” (LW 68:300).  So when we cling to Christ we “have all” we need for our salvation (LW 23:55).

     And second, there is the washing away of our selfish behavior, so that we might walk in newness of life. Luther knew all about this. And so he proclaimed that the Lord’s Supper changes us from being wolves into sheep (LW 37:101). The Sacrament makes us new. It scrubs us down – it cleans us up. It doesn’t leave us as we were before we came to the Altar. This is part of the new life that we have when we receive the Sacrament (John 6:53). If after we receive the Lord’s Supper we remain “sluggish” and take no “interest in our neighbor’s needs,” then, as Luther argued, we are “not a Christian.” We have not gone to the Lord’s Supper “in a fruitful way.” “Such strange devotion,” Luther says, “is nothing before God.” The Sacrament is supposed to build “character” in us which is to shine forth in our works as we “make progress from day to day” and “become stronger and stronger.” In this life we will always be imperfect, but we must always try to do better. And God will be “satisfied to find us at work” trying to be better (LW 76:446–48).

     Let us then give thanks this day for the Sacrament of the Altar and the cleansing that it brings. Let us rejoice in the forgiveness of sins that comes to us through this cleansing. And let us rejoice in the Lord for the newness of life that we have in the Sacrament – whereby we can help our neighbors in need. Let us add to all of this the last couple days of our Lenten fast – which we are to continue in secret (Matthew 6:19). May it too be a part of our cleansing whereby we “tame and subdue” our bodies so that God’s Word may not be hindered among us but remain strong as we continue, by God’s mercy, to be cleansed. Amen.

 

Hymn of the Day: It Happened on That Fateful Night” (LBW 127)

 

Prayers

 


 


Litany on the

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

 

 

Let us pray for all those worldwide who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us give thanks for the government agencies and other medical research teams who are diligently working to curb the spread of this virus. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are sick and suffering from this disease. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

And let us also pray for all those grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are caring for the infected and the sick, that full health and strength and peace may be granted. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for our world where we’re but sojourners (Psalm 119:19; Philippians 3:20), that we may not be punished by disease and pestilence (Ezekiel 14:21, Luke 13:5, John 5:14), and that health and peace may abound for all – for it is Christ who takes upon himself “our infirmities and diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Finally, in our fear of disease and sickness – may we ever remember God’s power to heal (Jeremiah 17:14, James 5:14), those many kept safe from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, and our Savior Jesus who, by his mercy and in his time, rekindles our faith by restoring health in this vulnerable and perilous life (2 Kings 5:14, Acts 3:6).

 

GLORY BE TO CHRIST OUR LORD & GREAT HEALER! AMEN.



 


LUTHER on epidemics

 

“Some people are of the firm opinion that one… should not run away from a deadly plague. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God…. I cannot censure [this] excellent decision…. It takes more than a milk faith [1 Corinthians 3:2] to await a death before which most of the saints… are in dread…. [But since] it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone…. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. When he began to doubt,… he sank and almost drowned [Matthew 14:30]…. Let him who has a strong faith wait for his death, but he should not condemn those who take flight…. [Even so, know that] all illnesses are punishments from God…. [These punishments] come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love…. [So] my dear friends,… use medicines… which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor… has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire?... You ought to think this way: ‘Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison…. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall… administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely…. This is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.’”

 

[Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly

Plague (1527), Luther’s Works 43:120, 124, 127, 131–32.]



 


 

Intercessions:

 

We remember in prayer church members.

Eileen & Dave Nestoss

Connor Bisticas

Pete Morrison

Kyra Stromberg

Bob & Barb Schorn

Sam & Nancy Lawson

Joan Olson

The Tuomi Family

Eve Young

Ana Korsmo  

 

We also pray for friends of the parish

who stand in need of God’s care.

Tabitha Anderson

Diana Walker

The Rev. Howard Fosser

The Rev. Dan Peterson

The Rev. Paul Smith

The Rev. Kari Reiten

The Rev. Dave Monson

The Rev. Albin Fogelquist

Sheila Feichtner

Richard Uhler

Yuriko Nishimura

Leslie Hicks

Eric Baxter

Paul Sponheim

Mary Lou & Paul Jensen

Hillary & Jim Thoren

Trevor Schmitt

Cheryl Atwood

Maggie & Glenn Willis

Garret Ross

Shirley Graham

Evelyn, Emily & Gordon Wilhelm

Karen Berg

Bjørg Hestevold

Wayne Korsmo

Kyle & Joe Drakulich

Garrett Metzler

Joe & Sam Frary

Noel Curtis

Antonio Ortez

Garrison Radcliffe

Olin & Noreen Martin

Gretchen Hoyum

Marv Morris

The Jill & Dave West Family

Randy Vater

The Duncan Sturrock Family

                                                                       

 

Professional Health Care Providers

Gina Allen

Janine Douglass

David Juhl

Dana Kahn

Dean Riskedahl

 

Died

Britt Marie Hansson



 

 

Holy Communion in Spirit and Truth

Without the Consecrated Bread and Wine

 

[The ancient church doctrine of concomitantia teaches that the faithful can receive Christ’s Presence in Holy Communion by drinking the wine without eating any bread, or by eating the bread without drinking any wine (The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. F. L. Cross, 1958, 1966, pp. 320–21). By extension, in extreme cases, the faithful can also, then, receive Christ’s Presence without eating the bread or drinking the wine. Those would be cases of illness when nothing can be ingested through the mouth, or when lost in the wilderness – living off nothing but wild animals and berries. In those cases we keep the memory of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24) – honoring our Savior “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). So pray the words below, all you baptized, who love the Lord Jesus, and “hunger and thirst for righteous,” that you may be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). This is not a substitute for Holy Communion, but rather a devout practice when receiving Holy Communion in times of pestilence and plague would recklessly endanger the church (Luther’s Works 43:132–33).]

 

Let us pray: O Lord, our God, we remember this day our savior Jesus, who “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:24). May his Spirit “bring to remembrance” all that he did for us, and continues to do, to bless us (John 14:26). Fill us with the assurance that our sins are truly forgiven for his sake, and that the promise of eternal life will not be taken away. Amen.

 

Let us pray: On this day, heavenly Father, we also pray in the name of Jesus, that one day soon we will be able to gather together at the Altar of our church, and so eat of the flesh of our Lord and drink of his blood, that his very life may well up in us so that we may abide in him forever (John 6:53–56). Amen.



 

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn:     Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed” (LBW 98)


 

 

 

“A cheerful heart is a good medicine.”

 

(Proverbs 17:22)

 

“The bitter draft should be mixed and

made milder with honey and sugar.”

 

[Martin Luther, Sermon on Matthew 5:4 (1532)

Luther’s Works 21:22.]

 

 

 

 

 

Coronavirus Last Supper

as Zoom Meeting

(April 2, 2020)

The Bookworm

 

 

 

The Last Supper

Milan, Italy

(1497)

Leonardo da Vinci

 




 





Online Sunday Liturgy

April 5, 2020


 

Bulletin Cover

 

“The blood of this little

Lamb of God [John 1:29] must

surge in your heart.”

 

 [Martin Luther, Sermon on

Revelation 12:7–12 (1544),

Luther’s Works 58:185.]

 

 

“Christ is the crucified who crucifies.”

 

 [Geoffrey Hill, Broken Hierarchies:

Poems 1952–2012, 2013, p. 123.]



Online Abbreviated Sunday Liturgy

Pastor Marshall

April 5, 2020

 

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

 

Let us pray:

Merciful Father, we praise you for your Son, our Savior, Christ Jesus. More than anything else, we thank you for his painful sacrifice – his obedience unto death on the Cross – that your holy wrath may be shielded from us. May we find our true joy in his death, proclaim its power to the world, and live in its narrow and difficult way. In Christ’s holy name we pray. Amen.



First Lesson: Isaiah 50:4–9

Psalm 31:1–5, 9–16

Second Lesson: Philippians 2:5–11

Gospel: Matthew 27:11–55

Opening Hymn: “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” (LBW 108)




 



Sermon:  April 5, 2020

“Honor God's Curse”

(Matthew 27:46)

Grace and peace to you in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

It is fitting on Passion Sunday – the beginning of the Great and Holy Week – to remember that Christians are all tangled up with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. That’s why Martin Luther thought a Christian could also be called crucianus – or a “Crosstian,” that is, a person of the Cross (Luther’s Works 5:274). This tight connection with the crucifixion comes from 2 Corinthians 5:14–15 which says that because One has died for all, all must die. Now how can that be; and why does it matter?

It all hinges on sin. If we were not all fallen; if we like sheep had not gone astray from God’s will and ways (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 53:6), then there would be no problem. But, alas, we instead are all seriously flawed. How so? Is saying this nothing more than empty religious jargon? Martin Luther worried about that and so he elaborated on our sins. We “live in all security,” he preaches, we “do not hear God’s Word; we do not let [ourselves] be admonished; [we] remain ungodly, proud, greedy, hateful, malicious;… [we] lie in drunkenness and lust, commit shameful vice, and do everything as if [we] intended to live here on earth forever” (LW 58:145). We live “a free, shameless, wild, filthy, and disorderly life in gluttony,… words, gestures and deeds, [working solely to] fill our weak, stinking belly and remain here in this dismal, doleful world forever” (LW 57:21–22).

Wow! that’s a mouthful. But on a good day we might well agree with the most of it, except for being malicious and wild and the implied violence. For that Bob Dylan’s new song – the dirge, Murder Most Foul – helps us see our problem here – how we all are in some sense murderers. The song sets America, and the 1963 killing of President Kennedy, in the context of Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet (1601) – I.v.27. Kennedy is King Hamlet, murdered by his brother Claudius, a stand-in for our government and other power-brokers. We are Prince Hamlet – knowing what happened but unable to set it straight as we should. Kennedy’s assassination is also linked to the 1921 massacre of 300 or more Blacks in Tulsa, Oklahoma – which is only now, 100 years later, being exposed for what it was. So while we may not have pulled the trigger, we share in collective guilt for these murders – and that’s the message of Murder Most Foul.

As for being greedy, that’s easier to see. But if you need help there also, read the remarkable, little book, Living High & Letting Die (1996) by Peter Unger – and my review of it in The Messenger, November 2016.

Today we also get a glimpse of our degradation in the lessons for Passion Sunday. There we hear that the first disciples promised to help Jesus even if it meant dying with him – but then left him high and dry when Jesus needed them the most – right at the foot of the cross (Matthew 26:35, 56). What does that add to the words of Luther, Dylan and Unger? Wretchedness, for one (Romans 7:24). Another would be – defilement (Mark 7:20). And then we also have pitiable, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17). And so we have to move aside. We have to die to the world and the world to us (Galatians 6:14).

But we will never do that on our own. Luther was right – none of us can pull it off because of our survival instinct (LW 33:58, 106). We want to hold on, at all costs, to the life that we have and like. “Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry” (Luke 12:19). That’s who we are – for ever and ever – unless someone intervenes and disrupts us. Unless we have our own encounter on the road to Damascus (Acts 26:13–18).

And in fact that has happened. We are not left to ourselves. Christ’s crucifixion disrupts us – as it did to the centurion at the cross (Matthew 27:54). There Christ draws us to himself that we may die to ourselves and live for him – that is, “live to righteousness” (John 12:32, 1 Peter 2:24). And so when we are weak, then we are strong (2 Corinthians 12:9). We also learn that from the 1918 flu. The vulnerable infants and old survived, while the young and strapping died because their powerful immune systems over-reacted and filled their lungs with fluid and dead cells. That made it “impossible for the exchange of oxygen…. That very strength [became] a weakness…. The immune response killed [them by the millions]” (John M. Barry, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, 2004, 2018, pp. 247, 249, 250 – also called a “cytokine storm” – Apoorva Mandavilli, “After Fighting Coronavirus, Their Bodies Betrayed Them,” The Seattle Times, April 2, 2020.)

The power that we need to live and believe doesn’t therefore come from us (2 Corinthians 3:5). Christ doesn’t come for the healthy, but for the sick (Mark 2:17). So Luther could argue that nothing is better for “understanding the words of God [than] the weakness of the human mind” (LW 33:99). Indeed, “Christ has been given to us in order that we should take from Him, rely on Him, and believe that all He has is ours, that all He can do has been done for our benefit” (LW 30:59). Amazing, isn’t it?! Self-reliance dissolves before God – and right in front of us. In fact, “everything that you have not done He will forgive you, and all that you cannot do He will give to you” (LW 57:76). Magnificent! And why? Because Jesus bore our sins on the cross so that we will not have to be punished for them. That sets us free.

It sets us free because on the cross Jesus was cursed for us (Galatians 3:13) – crying out that God had forsaken him (Matthew 27:46). But his anguish was for our glory, and His pain was for our salvation. Whoever believes this, Luther proclaims – “that his own sins… are laid on our dear Lord and that it was on account of this that He was… nailed to the cross, and there poured out His precious blood for us so that He, as the sole bearer of sins… might cleanse us from our sins and justify and save us – whoever believes that – possesses it” (LW 58:45–46). What a joy! Just think of what Jesus has done on the cross. He “became the… payment for the world’s sins through His own blood and so takes way [God’s] wrath” – something “no one” else can do (LW 77:321).

How shall we celebrate this gift of salvation? Some purveyors of our culture say that during these dreary days of the coronavirus pandemic we should watch again the twenty-five year old hit movie, Clueless – since “within its effervescent silliness is a story about taking care of those you love and helping to make the world a little better” (Moira MacDonald, “Clueless is… a Needed Ray of Sunshine,” The Seattle Times, March 29, 2020). Well, maybe, but improving the world seems a stretch. Luther seems closer to the truth about watching out for the wrath of God regardless of the good deeds that we offer up (LW 13:130). And so fasting still has it prominence until Easter arrives. Continue to deprive yourself of the foods that you like – knowing that when you do so in humility it is actually “God’s work” within you, and so you should “praise and honor” him for it (LW 59:271). Pray to God for help with fasting – knowing with Luther that “Christ’s kingdom increases in affliction and decreases in peace” (LW 76:288). And thank him also for Christ’s passion and death – because of which you are saved for all of eternity – even though that will include honoring the curse that was laid on Jesus – because of our sins and for our salvation. Amen.

 

Hymn of the Day: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” (LBW 482)

 

Prayers

 


 


Litany on the

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

 

 

Let us pray for all those worldwide who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us give thanks for the government agencies and other medical research teams who are diligently working to curb the spread of this virus. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are sick and suffering from this disease. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

And let us also pray for all those grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are caring for the infected and the sick, that full health and strength and peace may be granted. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for our world where we’re but sojourners (Psalm 119:19; Philippians 3:20), that we may not be punished by disease and pestilence (Ezekiel 14:21, Luke 13:5, John 5:14), and that health and peace may abound for all – for it is Christ who takes upon himself “our infirmities and diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Finally, in our fear of disease and sickness – may we ever remember God’s power to heal (Jeremiah 17:14, James 5:14), those many kept safe from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, and our Savior Jesus who, by his mercy and in his time, rekindles our faith by restoring health in this vulnerable and perilous life (2 Kings 5:14, Acts 3:6).

 

GLORY BE TO CHRIST OUR LORD & GREAT HEALER! AMEN.



 


LUTHER on epidemics

 

“Some people are of the firm opinion that one… should not run away from a deadly plague. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God…. I cannot censure [this] excellent decision…. It takes more than a milk faith [1 Corinthians 3:2] to await a death before which most of the saints… are in dread…. [But since] it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone…. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. When he began to doubt,… he sank and almost drowned [Matthew 14:30]…. Let him who has a strong faith wait for his death, but he should not condemn those who take flight…. [Even so, know that] all illnesses are punishments from God…. [These punishments] come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love…. [So] my dear friends,… use medicines… which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor… has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire?... You ought to think this way: ‘Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison…. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall… administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely…. This is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.’”

 

[Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly

Plague (1527), Luther’s Works 43:120, 124, 127, 131–32.]



 


 

Intercessions:

 

We remember in prayer church members.

Eileen & Dave Nestoss

Connor Bisticas

Pete Morrison

Kyra Stromberg

Bob & Barb Schorn

Sam & Nancy Lawson

Joan Olson

The Tuomi Family

Eve Young

Ana Korsmo  

 

We also pray for friends of the parish

who stand in need of God’s care.

Tabitha Anderson

Diana Walker

The Rev. Howard Fosser

The Rev. Dan Peterson

The Rev. Paul Smith

The Rev. Kari Reiten

The Rev. Dave Monson

The Rev. Albin Fogelquist

Sheila Feichtner

Richard Uhler

Yuriko Nishimura

Leslie Hicks

Eric Baxter

Paul Sponheim

Mary Lou & Paul Jensen

Hillary & Jim Thoren

Trevor Schmitt

Cheryl Atwood

Maggie & Glenn Willis

Garret Ross

Shirley Graham

Evelyn, Emily & Gordon Wilhelm

Karen Berg

Bjørg Hestevold

Wayne Korsmo

Kyle & Joe Drakulich

Garrett Metzler

Britt Marie Hansson

Joe & Sam Frary

Noel Curtis

Antonio Ortez

Garrison Radcliffe

Olin & Noreen Martin

Gretchen Hoyum

Marv Morris

                                                                       

 

Professional Health Care Providers

Gina Allen

Janine Douglass

David Juhl

Dana Kahn

Dean Riskedahl



 

 

Holy Communion in Spirit and Truth

Without the Consecrated Bread and Wine

 

[The ancient church doctrine of concomitantia teaches that the faithful can receive Christ’s Presence in Holy Communion by drinking the wine without eating any bread, or by eating the bread without drinking any wine (The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. F. L. Cross, 1958, 1966, pp. 320–21). By extension, in extreme cases, the faithful can also, then, receive Christ’s Presence without eating the bread or drinking the wine. Those would be cases of illness when nothing can be ingested through the mouth, or when lost in the wilderness – living off nothing but wild animals and berries. In those cases we keep the memory of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24) – honoring our Savior “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). So pray the words below, all you baptized, who love the Lord Jesus, and “hunger and thirst for righteous,” that you may be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). This is not a substitute for Holy Communion, but rather a devout practice when receiving Holy Communion in times of pestilence and plague would recklessly endanger the church (Luther’s Works 43:132–33).]

 

Let us pray: O Lord, our God, we remember this day our savior Jesus, who “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:24). May his Spirit “bring to remembrance” all that he did for us, and continues to do, to bless us (John 14:26). Fill us with the assurance that our sins are truly forgiven for his sake, and that the promise of eternal life will not be taken away. Amen.

 

Let us pray: On this day, heavenly Father, we also pray in the name of Jesus, that one day soon we will be able to gather together at the Altar of our church, and so eat of the flesh of our Lord and drink of his blood, that his very life may well up in us so that we may abide in him forever (John 6:53–56). Amen.



 

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn:      “Ride On, Ride On in Majesty!” (LBW 121)

 





 





Online Sunday Liturgy

March 29, 2020


 

Bulletin Cover


 

 

Sins are increasing one after another… without a bad conscience. There was reportedly a peasant who gathered so many bushels of grain that he had more than enough for himself. [But he was] so mired in greed… that, sooner than let go of a single bushel, [he] let the mice devour them…. I do not grieve as much over the [selfishness] as over the wrath of God, for God will punish greed. For that reason, an affliction will suddenly befall us [1 Corinthians 10:12]…. Everything hangs by a thread [and yet we] pay no heed to God…. God grant that I do not live to see it. God delays. But you provoke Him to strike…. May God grant you the grace to acknowledge your sins…. [for] when God lets go of the reins, there is no stopping.

 

 

[Martin Luther, Sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:1–7 (1539)

Luther’s Works 58:24–25.



Online Abbreviated Sunday Liturgy

Pastor Marshall

March 29, 2020

 

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

 

Let us pray:

Be with us during these days of Lent, O Lord our God, that we might be put in our place – confessing our sins and giving you all the glory. By your Word, fill us with wisdom from on high; and by your mercy grant us a strong confidence in the forgiveness of sins – for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

First Lesson: Ezekiel 37:1–14.

Psalm 116:1–8

Second Lesson: Romans 8:11–19.

Gospel: John 11:1–53.

 

Opening Hymn: “Glory Be to Jesus” (LBW 95)



 

Sermon:  March 29, 2020

“Suffer With Jesus”

(Romans 8:17)

Grace and peace to you in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

     When the faithful cry out the words of Psalm 4:6 – O that we might see better times – do they know what they’re saying? Martin Luther would say No! They don’t know what they’re talking about because first they cannot define, identify and justify what better times or good days would be; and furthermore, they want better days only to ensure that no one rebukes or hinders them from enjoying the life they want (Luther’s Works 51:27, 13:43). So be warned. Those words from Psalm 4:6 are actually spoken by a fool and not by the Holy One of Israel. They should be condemned and not emulated – just as the foolish words in Psalm 73:11 and in Luke 12:19. Psalm 4:6 are foolish words because they long for a life that wouldn’t be any good.

     But how can it be that a life of our own choosing wouldn’t be any good? Doesn’t that sound crazy? Wouldn’t it be better, in our day, to have the coronavirus eradicated? Well, take a look at our own land and what do you see? Health and meaningful existence for all? Not quite. Since the 1920s something else has happened. Those roaring, experimental days after WWI, marked the end of our country’s “old rules” – and this change has lasted into the 2020s, giving us “a strange new world both gaudy and sad” (Christopher Knowlton, Bubble in the Sun: The Florida Boom of the 1920s and How It Brought on the Great Depression, 2020, p. 82). Luther knew how the easy life hurt Christians: “When there is peace and quiet, we do not pray. Nor do we meditate on the Word, but we treat the Scripture and all things that belong to God coldly or finally slip into fatal smugness” (LW 8:7).

     So no wonder that Romans 8:17 calls for a life of suffering – instead of one marked by social, cultural and doctrinal freedom and ease. That old Cole Porter musical, “Anything Goes” (1934), has no value for Christianity. No, Romans 8:17 says that we are joint heirs with Christ if, in fact – “we suffer with him.” Martin Luther thought this suffering wasn’t sporadic, haphazard, or optional – but “the chief point of the Christian life” (LW 56:321)! He also taught that it wasn’t self-chosen, but instead came upon the followers of Christ for espousing his way and Word – and as a consequence of offending people by them, endangered their “property, honor, body, and life” (LW 51:198).

     Because this suffering confirms our life with God in Christ, and also makes for endurance, character and hope – we are called to “rejoice” in it (Romans 5:3–5). Do not be afraid, Luther chimes in, but “stretch out your arms confidently and let the nails go deep. Be glad and thankful,” he continues, for “it must and will be with those who desire God’s Word” (LW 48:387)! But isn’t that perverted – even a sign of mental illness? No, because as Luther points out, the “Word of life” given us by God through this suffering “must exercise all its power in death” (LW 30:126). So the dying and suffering aren’t the goal in and of themselves – but instead that precious Word of life that flourishes in our very suffering. And this is axiomatic or certain. For “no sheep is sought except the one who is lost.” So too for strengthening, Luther goes on – it only comes to the weak, and “nothing is built except that which has been torn down.” Therefore Luther concludes that “he who is sated with his own truth and wisdom is incapable of receiving the truth and wisdom of God, which can be received only in an empty and destitute heart” (LW 25:204).

     Is that crazy talk? Is this what Herman Melville (1819–91) feared (Complete Poems, ed. Hershel Parker, 2019, p. 854)?

 

Hurly-burly late and early,

Gossips prating, quacks orating,

Daft debating:

Furious wild reiteration

And incensed expostulations!

 

     Well, I think not. First, that’s because it’s been shown that the weakness of a manic-depressive disorder can become an asset for leaders in chaotic times of social disruption (Nassir Ghaemi, A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness, 2011, p. 19 on 2 Corinthians 12:9). But second, it’s because we get in our own way. If we didn’t, we could fashion our own lives and everything would be fine. But as it is, we are desperate and cannot save ourselves (Romans 7:24). We call the good evil, and evil we call good (Isaiah 5:20). We are all mixed up. Only Christ is our light (John 8:12). He alone can rescue us from ourselves. He alone can see the way out. He alone can save us from the wrath of God (John 3:36). That wrath bears down on us for our failures and refusal to obey him (2 Thessalonians 1:8–9). But God, who is rich in mercy, sent his Son, Christ Jesus, to become poor for us on the cross, that by his poverty and suffering and dying, as a result of our sins (1 Peter 2:24), we who believe in him, might become rich, and have everlasting life (2 Corinthians 8:9). Because Christ’s sacrifice is so important, he hangs there on the cross “before God’s eyes, and is still there” (LW 76:405) – and by so doing, overcomes God’s wrath for us for all eternity (Romans 5:9).

     So believe in this and rejoice in your salvation. “You must experience unshakably that [this] is God’s Word, even though the whole world should dispute it. As long as you do not have this feeling, just so long you have certainly not yet tasted of God’s Word” (LW 36:248). Learn from this and “yield [yourselves] to God’s guidance so that he can work” in you and not you yourselves (LW 44:271). Thank God for this promise, and rejoice in your Savior Jesus.

     Accept this message – and believing as a result of it that Christians are “nothing but strange, peculiar people” (LW 20:216) – let us keep up our venerable but unpopular Lenten fast, depriving ourselves of the foods we especially like. And don’t look dismal when you fast – thinking it’s a stupid idea (Matthew 6:16). Then you’ll in fact do it with a right heart. Then your good work of fasting, “be it as big or as little as it will, is a good fruit” (LW 24:233). Pray for strength to fast with this right attitude. Thank God for your Savior Jesus and his saving death. And thank God for Romans 8:17 and the new life it brings through the call to suffer with Jesus our Lord and God. Amen.

 

Hymn of the Day: “Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus” (LBW 487)

 

Prayers

 


 


Litany on the

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

 

 

Let us pray for all those worldwide who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us give thanks for the government agencies and other medical research teams who are diligently working to curb the spread of this virus. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are sick and suffering from this disease. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

And let us also pray for all those grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are caring for the infected and the sick, that full health and strength and peace may be granted. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for our world where we’re but sojourners (Psalm 119:19; Philippians 3:20), that we may not be punished by disease and pestilence (Ezekiel 14:21, Luke 13:5, John 5:14), and that health and peace may abound for all – for it is Christ who takes upon himself “our infirmities and diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Finally, in our fear of disease and sickness – may we ever remember God’s power to heal (Jeremiah 17:14, James 5:14), those many kept safe from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, and our Savior Jesus who, by his mercy and in his time, rekindles our faith by restoring health in this vulnerable and perilous life (2 Kings 5:14, Acts 3:6).

 

GLORY BE TO CHRIST OUR LORD & GREAT HEALER! AMEN.



 


LUTHER on epidemics

 

“Some people are of the firm opinion that one… should not run away from a deadly plague. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God…. I cannot censure [this] excellent decision…. It takes more than a milk faith [1 Corinthians 3:2] to await a death before which most of the saints… are in dread…. [But since] it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone…. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. When he began to doubt,… he sank and almost drowned [Matthew 14:30]…. Let him who has a strong faith wait for his death, but he should not condemn those who take flight…. [Even so, know that] all illnesses are punishments from God…. [These punishments] come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love…. [So] my dear friends,… use medicines… which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor… has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire?... You ought to think this way: ‘Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison…. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall… administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely…. This is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.’”

 

[Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly

Plague (1527), Luther’s Works 43:120, 124, 127, 131–32.]



 


 

Intercessions:

 

We remember in prayer church members.

Eileen & Dave Nestoss

Connor Bisticas

Pete Morrison

Kyra Stromberg

Bob & Barb Schorn

Sam & Nancy Lawson

Joan Olson

The Tuomi Family

Eve Young

Ana Korsmo  

 

We also pray for friends of the parish

who stand in need of God’s care.

Tabitha Anderson

Diana Walker

The Rev. Howard Fosser

The Rev. Dan Peterson

The Rev. Paul Smith

The Rev. Kari Reiten

The Rev. Dave Monson

The Rev. Albin Fogelquist

Sheila Feichtner

Richard Uhler

Yuriko Nishimura

Leslie Hicks

Eric Baxter

Paul Sponheim

Mary Lou & Paul Jensen

Hillary & Jim Thoren

Trevor Schmitt

Cheryl Atwood

Maggie & Glenn Willis

Garret Ross

Shirley Graham

Evelyn, Emily & Gordon Wilhelm

Karen Berg

Bjørg Hestevold

Wayne Korsmo

Kyle & Joe Drakulich

Garrett Metzler

Britt Marie Hansson

Joe & Sam Frary

Noel Curtis

Antonio Ortez

Garrison Radcliffe

Olin & Noreen Martin

Gretchen Hoyum

                                                                       

 

Professional Health Care Providers

Gina Allen

Janine Douglass

David Juhl

Dana Kahn



 

 

Holy Communion in Spirit and Truth

Without the Consecrated Bread and Wine

 

[The ancient church doctrine of concomitantia teaches that the faithful can receive Christ’s Presence in Holy Communion by drinking the wine without eating any bread, or by eating the bread without drinking any wine (The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. F. L. Cross, 1958, 1966, pp. 320–21). By extension, in extreme cases, the faithful can also, then, receive Christ’s Presence without eating the bread or drinking the wine. Those would be cases of illness when nothing can be ingested through the mouth, or when lost in the wilderness – living off nothing but wild animals and berries. In those cases we keep the memory of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24) – honoring our Savior “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). So pray the words below, all you baptized, who love the Lord Jesus, and “hunger and thirst for righteous,” that you may be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). This is not a substitute for Holy Communion, but rather a devout practice when receiving Holy Communion in times of pestilence and plague would recklessly endanger the church (Luther’s Works 43:132–33).]

 

Let us pray: O Lord, our God, we remember this day our savior Jesus, who “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:24). May his Spirit “bring to remembrance” all that he did for us, and continues to do, to bless us (John 14:26). Fill us with the assurance that our sins are truly forgiven for his sake, and that the promise of eternal life will not be taken away. Amen.

 

Let us pray: On this day, heavenly Father, we also pray in the name of Jesus, that one day soon we will be able to gather together at the Altar of our church, and so eat of the flesh of our Lord and drink of his blood, that his very life may well up in us so that we may abide in him forever (John 6:53–56). Amen.



 


 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn “O Christ, Our King, Creator, Lord” (LBW 101)






 





Online Sunday Liturgy

March 22, 2020


 

Bulletin Cover



Online Abbreviated Sunday Liturgy

Pastor Marshall

March 22, 2020

 

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

 

Let us pray:

Be with us during these days of Lent, O Lord our God, that we might be put in our place – confessing our sins and giving you all the glory. By your Word, fill us with wisdom from on high; and by your mercy grant us a strong confidence in the forgiveness of sins – for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

First Lesson: Hosea 5:15–6:2

Psalm 43

Second Lesson: Romans 8:1–10

Gospel: Matthew 20:17–28

Opening Hymn: “Christ, the Life of All the Living” (LBW 97)


 


Sermon:  March 22, 2020

“Live in the Spirit”

(Romans 8:5)

Grace and peace to you in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Listen to this: “On frequent journeys,… danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from [strangers], danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren.” Whoever would say such a thing? Saint Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:26! And he adds this too – “we were afflicted at every turn – fighting without and fear within” (2 Corinthians 7:5).

     Now does anyone today buy into this? Does anyone think it describes our lives for all times? Well, there is a popular song that seems to say so – composed even in a fitting blues idiom: “Trouble in the city, trouble in the farm. You got your rabbit’s foot, you got your good-luck charm. But they can’t help you none when there’s trouble…. Trouble in the water, trouble in the air…. Since the beginning of the universe man’s been cursed by trouble…. Look into infinity, all you see is trouble” [Bob Dylan, “Trouble,” Shot of Love (1981), The Lyrics. Since 1962 (2014) p. 634.].

     And what would Jesus say about all of this? “In this life you’ll have tribulations,” he says (John 16:33)! Shocking, indeed. 

     Where does this leave us? Have Saint Paul, Bob Dylan, and Jesus painted us into a corner? No, not if we keep listening to Saint Paul. He has plenty more to say on the topic. Don’t dwell on the miseries of this life, he thunders. Instead of fixating on the danger and troubles, “live according to the spirit” and set your minds “on the things of the spirit” (Romans 8:5). Do not set your minds “on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). “Walk by the spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Sounds pretty good – but who could ever pull it off? Martin Luther says Christians can do this – if they become “skilled artisans,” making “joy out of sadness, comfort out of terror, righteousness out of sin, and life out of death.” And this they can do when they restrain the flesh “for this purpose,” bringing it into “submission [and subjecting] it to the spirit” (Luther’s Works 27:74).

     But still we groan under the burden of this noble artistic endeavor. How can we develop this needed skill? Look to Christ, “the pioneer and perfecter” of your faith (Hebrews 12:3)! Only he can do for you what you need to get done for yourself! Do you believe that? Luther does! Christ does the works, he preaches, “that deserve to be extolled as works of God: blotting out sin, driving off death, extinguishing hell. These are different works from those trifling things [that we do]” (LW 57:176).

     So live for Christ, and not for yourself (2 Corinthians 5:15). That’s the life in the spirit. Luther can help you. He reminds you that your nature is “corrupted” so that you cannot rely on yourself to survive (LW 7:280–81). “You still stink,” he drones on (LW 7:229)! So sing out with Luther that Jesus “is my eternal life.” Do that after hearing Jesus say himself to you: “I am your life” (LW 23:130–31).

     But what about the dangers and troubles? What about the present threats from the coronavirus? They are not worth comparing with the glories awaiting us after we die (Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:17). We have to bite the bullet on this. Luther does: “I preach and you believe that you are redeemed by Baptism, not from pestilence and leprosy but from death, sin, and the power of the devil, and that Baptism works salvation and eternal life in me” (LW 22:479)! He could preach this even after his nine month old daughter, Elizabeth, died of the plague in 1528 and confessed – “so much has grief for her overcome me” (LW 49:203). Yet by her death she “escaped the power of the flesh, the world,… and the devil” (LW 50:238). Take this consolation for yourself, and then be sure to share it with others as you have opportunity (2 Corinthians 1:4).

     And add to this good work your Lenten fast. Keep up your fast in secret before God (Matthew 6:19). Keep it up because it is “necessary that the body become subdued and chastised and subservient to the soul” (LW 52:138). Pray to God to help you fast in this way. Pray also to God in thanksgiving for Jesus who is your eternal life and power. And thank God as well, not only for the call to, but also for the power to, live in the Spirit.  Amen.

 

Hymn of the Day: “Salvation Unto Us Has Come” (LBW 297)

 

Prayers

 


 


Litany on the

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

 

 

Let us pray for all those worldwide who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us give thanks for the government agencies and other medical research teams who are diligently working to curb the spread of this virus. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are sick and suffering from this disease. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

And let us also pray for all those grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are caring for the infected and the sick, that full health and strength and peace may be granted. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for our world where we’re but sojourners (Psalm 119:19; Philippians 3:20), that we may not be punished by disease and pestilence (Ezekiel 14:21, Luke 13:5, John 5:14), and that health and peace may abound for all – for it is Christ who takes upon himself “our infirmities and diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Finally, in our fear of disease and sickness – may we ever remember God’s power to heal (Jeremiah 17:14, James 5:14), those many kept safe from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, and our Savior Jesus who, by his mercy and in his time, rekindles our faith by restoring health in this vulnerable and perilous life (2 Kings 5:14, Acts 3:6).

 

GLORY BE TO CHRIST OUR LORD & GREAT HEALER! AMEN.



 


LUTHER on epidemics

 

“Some people are of the firm opinion that one… should not run away from a deadly plague. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God…. I cannot censure [this] excellent decision…. It takes more than a milk faith [1 Corinthians 3:2] to await a death before which most of the saints… are in dread…. [But since] it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone…. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. When he began to doubt,… he sank and almost drowned [Matthew 14:30]…. Let him who has a strong faith wait for his death, but he should not condemn those who take flight…. [Even so, know that] all illnesses are punishments from God…. [These punishments] come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love…. [So] my dear friends,… use medicines… which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor… has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire?... You ought to think this way: ‘Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison…. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall… administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely…. This is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.’”

 

[Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly

Plague (1527), Luther’s Works 43:120, 124, 127, 131–32.]



 


 

Intercessions:

 

We remember in prayer church members.

Eileen & Dave Nestoss

Connor Bisticas

Pete Morrison

Kyra Stromberg

Bob & Barb Schorn

Sam & Nancy Lawson

Joan Olson

The Tuomi Family

Eve Young  

 

We also pray for friends of the parish

who stand in need of God’s care.

Tabitha Anderson

Diana Walker

The Rev. Howard Fosser

The Rev. Dan Peterson

The Rev. Paul Smith

The Rev. Kari Reiten

The Rev. Dave Monson

The Rev. Albin Fogelquist

Sheila Feichtner

Richard Uhler

Yuriko Nishimura

Leslie Hicks

Eric Baxter

Paul Sponheim

Mary Lou & Paul Jensen

Hillary & Jim Thoren

Trevor Schmitt

Cheryl Atwood

Maggie & Glenn Willis

Garret Ross

Shirley Graham

Evelyn, Emily & Gordon Wilhelm

Karen Berg

Bjørg Hestevold

Wayne Korsmo

Kyle & Joe Drakulich

Garrett Metzler

Britt Marie Hansson

Joe & Sam Frary

Noel Curtis

Antonio Ortez

Garrison Radcliffe

                                                                       

 

Deaths

Claudio Johnson S

Nell Sponheim

 



 

 

Holy Communion in Spirit and Truth

Without the Consecrated Bread and Wine

 

[The ancient church doctrine of concomitantia teaches that the faithful can receive Christ’s Presence in Holy Communion by drinking the wine without eating any bread, or by eating the bread without drinking any wine (The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. F. L. Cross, 1958, 1966, pp. 320–21). By extension, in extreme cases, the faithful can also, then, receive Christ’s Presence without eating the bread or drinking the wine. Those would be cases of illness when nothing can be ingested through the mouth, or when lost in the wilderness – living off nothing but wild animals and berries. In those cases we keep the memory of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:24) – honoring our Savior “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). So pray the words below, all you baptized, who love the Lord Jesus, and “hunger and thirst for righteous,” that you may be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). This is not a substitute for Holy Communion, but rather a devout practice when receiving Holy Communion in times of pestilence and plague would recklessly endanger the church (Luther’s Works 43:132–33).]

 

Let us pray: O Lord, our God, we remember this day our savior Jesus, who “was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:24). May his Spirit “bring to remembrance” all that he did for us, and continues to do, to bless us (John 14:26). Fill us with the assurance that our sins are truly forgiven for his sake, and that the promise of eternal life will not be taken away. Amen.

 

Let us pray: On this day, heavenly Father, we also pray in the name of Jesus, that one day soon we will be able to gather together at the Altar of our church, and so eat of the flesh of our Lord and drink of his blood, that his very life may well up in us so that we may abide in him forever (John 6:53–56). Amen.

 

 


 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn: “Lord Christ, When You First Came to Earth” (LBW 421)





 





Online Sunday Liturgy

March 15, 2020


 

Bulletin Cover



Online Abbreviated Sunday Liturgy

Pastor Marshall

March 15, 2020

 

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

 

Let us pray:

Be with us during these days of Lent, O Lord our God, that we might be put in our place – confessing our sins and giving you all the glory. By your Word, fill us with wisdom from on high; and by your mercy grant us a strong confidence in the forgiveness of sins – for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

First Lesson: Isaiah 42:14–21.

Psalm 142

Second Lesson: Ephesians 5:8–14.

Gospel: John 9:13–17, 34–39.


 

Sermon:  March 15, 2020

“Give Up Seeing”

(John 9:39)

Grace and peace to you in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

John 9:39 startles us – but not because it says Christ will give sight to the blind. No, not at all! Rather, it is because it adds that Christ will also take away the sight of those who see. Well, now that’s a fine how-do-you-do! We understand why sight is granted to the blind – it shows mercy and grace to those in need of seeing. But poking out our eyes?! That only seems cruel.

     But it isn’t. God knows we look at what we shouldn’t pay any attention to, and so he helps us by diverting our eyes – by blinding us – so that we won’t waste our time any more by looking at what we shouldn’t be dwelling on. “Turn my eyes from looking at vanities” (Psalm 119:37) – fits in with John 9:39. That’s because both verses are about spiritual visual training.

     And what is that training? Learning how to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). That’s because only when we believe out of obedience, rather than because of what we’ve seen, will we be blessed by God (John 20:29). Here reason is trying to live by sight. But Luther insists faith is the better way to go – for the future life with God, after we die, is “invisible, therefore, it cannot be seen with fleshly eyes or measured with reason” (Luther's Works 57:28).

     That’s because Jesus brings it about by dying (Hebrews 2:14). That’s unheard of! It even seems impossible. If it is somehow based on God’s love for us, then surely we must sing and say it is a “love unknown” (Lutheran Book of Worship, hymn 94). That’s because this Lamb of God who dies for us to save us (John 1:29) – and in whom we are also to believe to make his glories transferable to us (John 14:1) – he only looks like the carpenter’s son (Matthew 13:55). So sight and reason miss Jesus. But faith grasps him and finds joy in him (Philippians 4:4). What faith sees, Luther says, is the Lamb of God, bleeding on the cross, and thereby making “satisfaction” for our sins by his precious blood. This he does “ceaselessly,” so that our sins no longer can “harm us” (LW 56:226–27). Glory be to God! This salvation surely takes our breath away. And it also takes the offense away (Matthew 11:6).

     Upon hearing it, believe in it. Upon believing in it, rejoice in it. And when you rejoice, let your roots sink down deeply (Matthew 13:21) by following up your faith with works. During Lent our work of choice is fasting. This we should do with joy – not looking dismal because we miss our favorite foods (Matthew 6:16) – but seeing how fasting helps us draw near to God (James 4:8). Indeed, we thank God for fasting, for by so doing we “subdue the flesh and its lust,” and thereby are “protected from the dominion of Adam” (LW 44:75–76).  That’s what it is like to be close to God in Christ Jesus.

     Pray to God that he strengthens your Lenten fast – and he will, for he wants you to fast as he commands. Pray also words of thanksgiving for Jesus, the Savior, who draws us to freedom from the punishment for sin, and that surely pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). Finally, pray to God that his Word may dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16) – especially about losing your sight in things of little worth (John 9:39). Amen.

 

Hymn of the Day: “My Song is Love Unknown” (LBW 94)

 

Prayers

 


 


Litany on the

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

 

 

Let us pray for all those worldwide who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us give thanks for the government agencies and other medical research teams who are diligently working to curb the spread of this virus. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are sick and suffering from this disease. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

And let us also pray for all those grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for the many who are caring for the infected and the sick, that full health and strength and peace may be granted. Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Let us pray for our world where we’re but sojourners (Psalm 119:19; Philippians 3:20), that we may not be punished by disease and pestilence (Ezekiel 14:21, Luke 13:5, John 5:14), and that health and peace may abound for all – for it is Christ who takes upon himself “our infirmities and diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Lord in your mercy,

 

HEAR OUR PRAYER.

 

Finally, in our fear of disease and sickness – may we ever remember God’s power to heal (Jeremiah 17:14, James 5:14), those many kept safe from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, and our Savior Jesus who, by his mercy and in his time, rekindles our faith by restoring health in this vulnerable and perilous life (2 Kings 5:14, Acts 3:6).

 

GLORY BE TO CHRIST OUR LORD & GREAT HEALER! AMEN.



 


LUTHER on epidemics

 

“Some people are of the firm opinion that one… should not run away from a deadly plague. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God…. I cannot censure [this] excellent decision…. It takes more than a milk faith [1 Corinthians 3:2] to await a death before which most of the saints… are in dread…. [But since] it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone…. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. When he began to doubt,… he sank and almost drowned [Matthew 14:30]…. Let him who has a strong faith wait for his death, but he should not condemn those who take flight…. [Even so, know that] all illnesses are punishments from God…. [These punishments] come upon us, not only to chastise us for our sins but also to test our faith and love…. [So] my dear friends,… use medicines… which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor… has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire?... You ought to think this way: ‘Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison…. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall… administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely…. This is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.’”

 

[Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly

Plague (1527), Luther’s Works 43:120, 124, 127, 131–32.]



 


 

Intercessions:

 

We remember in prayer church members.

Eileen & Dave Nestoss

Connor Bisticas

Pete Morrison

Kyra Stromberg

Bob & Barb Schorn

Sam & Nancy Lawson

Joan Olson

The Tuomi Family

Eve Young  

 

We also pray for friends of the parish

who stand in need of God’s care.

Tabitha Anderson

Diana Walker

The Rev. Howard Fosser

The Rev. Dan Peterson

The Rev. Paul Smith

The Rev. Kari Reiten

The Rev. Dave Monson

The Rev. Albin Fogelquist

Sheila Feichtner

Richard Uhler

Yuriko Nishimura

Leslie Hicks

Eric Baxter

Nell & Paul Sponheim

Mary Lou & Paul Jensen

Hillary & Jim Thoren

Trevor Schmitt

Cheryl Atwood

Maggie & Glenn Willis

Garret Ross

Shirley Graham

Evelyn, Emily & Gordon Wilhelm

Karen Berg

Bjørg Hestevold

Wayne Korsmo

Kyle & Joe Drakulich

Garrett Metzler

Britt Marie Hansson

Joe & Sam Frary

Noel Curtis

Antonio Ortez

                                                                       

 

Deaths

Duane Nasner



 

 

The Lord’s Prayer

 

Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Closing Hymn “Your Kingdom Come!” (LBW 376)