Kingdom 401: Kingdom Authority over Demons, Diseases, Death & Nature January 29, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We continue our journey through the study of Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom. Last week Paul shared with us the truth of the end of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus shares how solid a foundation we have when we build our faith on His teachings. He ends his sermon by saying: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock!" (Matthew 7:24) 

Today we are looking at the response of the people to the Sermon when Matthew in chapter 7 says: "²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law." 

Today we will look at what it means that Jesus taught with AUTHORITY and what he expects of us his children, and followers. We are going to look at what AUTHORITY means and how it is lived out in the ambassadors of Christ, namely us his disciples! We will be looking at the text from Matthew 8 and 9 as a teaching tool to what having this AUTHORITY means and how the Kingdom Authority looks in action! Today specifically in the faith of the Centurion of Matthew 8: " ⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” ⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹ I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour." May we have the faith of the centurion to understand that AUTHORITY that we have over Demons, Disease, Death and Nature!

A definition that I found on Authority: "

The meaning and origin (etymology) of the word authority.

So, who really has authority, regarding biblical teachings and matters?

The answer was given above, actually. It is, of course, the author (Latin, auctor) of any given thing who has the authority (auctoritas) over the thing he or she has created, produced, written or invented."

We therefore as disciples of Christ have Authority to proclaim and practice what the "author" has shown us and taught us to do!

We will also be looking at Joseph as an example of the posture we should exhibit when recognizing the AUTHORITY and POWER we have as Kingdom people. For example Joseph had the gift of interpreting dreams as a child and he alienated his brothers by telling them about his dreams. This is when authority and power is motivated by pride and immaturity. It can be destructive. I think of the "name it and claim it" theology that permeates immature Christians as an example of this. We next see Joseph in jail interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh's Baker and Cup Bearer. He is learning slowly to recognize that the gift and power he has belongs to God but still throws in the "remember me when you get back" comment to try and help God out in his situation. The right posture of humility and complete surrender to God's will comes when he is brought before Pharaoh in our Old Testament lesson in Genesis 41 and says: ¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” ¹⁶ “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
Do you see the posture of humility that Joseph has learned through his trials. May we understand the gifts and power we have as people of the covenant and people of the Kingdom. May we exercise or as Jesus said "put into practice" what he has taught us to do with humility and complete surrender to our Lord's will and not to fear!



Love in Christ Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith,

Pastor Bryan

King and Kingdom 201: Kingdom Living: Identity of Righteousness January 15, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Last Sunday were started the series on King and Kingdom. Today we continue looking at "Kingdom Living: Identity of Righteousness." Last week we heard of Jesus' request to be baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordon and John saying he should be baptized by the Lord to which the Lord replied: "the is to fulfill all righteousness!" (Matthew 3:15) We heard of the heavens opening or "being ripped open" according to Mark's Gospel. We heard the amazing words "this is my son, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased" spoken by the Father, as the Holy Spirit descended as a dove. It is no mistake that immediately Jesus is tempted in the desert to show that even the sinless Son of God is tempted as we are each day but does not sin. Then we see his ministry beginning with his preaching,  calling of his disciples and the healing of the sick.

Today we are going to delve into the Sermon on the Mount. This is an amazing sermon! Jesus begins with the Beatitudes, as we hear a radical change in what constitutes a faithful follower of God. Jesus begins by stating in the first Beatitude of Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." This is so important as we are learning to understand what it means that in Christ we are clothed with righteousness and children of the King! Therefore we who are in the Kingdom, which is "at hand," "near" and "here" all at the same, are righteous because of what Christ did on Calvary through his blood shed for us and proven in the empty tomb! We are therefore identified as the righteous which can give us a sense of pride, as being heirs, priests, children of the king etc.. So in order to keep us from getting too puffed up in the idea that this forgiveness and righteousness that we receive the Lord provided these words in 1 John 1:8-9 "If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness!"  This is an amazing gift that we as children of the king have in the identity we have been given in Christ. It makes us "light and salt" in the world (Matt 5)

The Kingdom of Heaven, as we mentioned last week, is used 33 times in Matthew and we understand that the Lord taught this as a central part of what His Kingdom coming into the world would look like as we live it out. Today we look at the words of Jesus as he taught in Matthew 5:17-20
¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
These words are powerful since they show us how the Lord will "fulfill all righteousness" as we heard last week. Matthew uses the word to fulfill OT Scripture 12 times. It is extremely important for us to know that this is the plan.

We are especially interested in the way He teaches on the Kingdom and Righteousness when He tells us that the righteousness of even the most legalistic and faithful to the law (Pharisees and the teachers of the law) will not be enough to gain us the Kingdom now, or for eternity. He wants us to understand that, as in the first Beatitude, we are to be "poor in spirit" or humble. We are called to recognize it is only by grace that we are saved and it is only by the justification of Christ's death on the cross that we get eternal life. We are sanctified and made righteous in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and not be our good works. Our works are but filthy rags compared to our Holy God! So we are called to understand that we have this "identity of righteousness" as a gift and therefore we live as righteous saints, not running away from the idea of  righteousness but celebrating this gift as we receive it in the Word, absolution and with all of our senses in the Lord's Supper. After we receive this gift we understand our identity and we move forward with practicing our "Kingdom Living" as it says in Matthew 6:   ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Please join us tomorrow at ALIVE! Lenawee County at 11:00am, where Paul will be sharing, or at Cross and Resurrection EMU at 9am for Sunday School, 9:15 for High School and Adult Bible Study with Jim Fry teaching on King and Kingdom, 10:15 College Study, 10:15 & 12:15 Worship with lunch in between. I will be at the EMU site and look forward to worshiping with everyone!

Next week I will be going to see my new grandson "Levi" as well as my son and daughter-in-law (Tim and Meagan) in BC, my family in Calgary, Alberta and go to the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute Board of Trustees meeting in Camrose, Alberta next weekend. Sarah and I will be back next Tuesday.

Blessings and Love in Christ our Righteousness,
Pastor Bryan

King and Kingdom 101: Identity January 8 "Baptism of our Lord"

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

On January 6, we celebrated the Epiphany of our Lord and the story of the Magi worshiping the baby Jesus and presenting their gifts of gold, incense and myrrh in Matthew 2.

Today we celebrate the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry, 6 months after John's ministry started, in his 30th year at the River Jordon. This we read in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 3 when we see John ministry of preparation and baptism with water for repentance and then Jesus' Baptism in the Jordon!

This scene in Matt 3 is fascinating to us because it continues what started with the words of Simeon and Anna in Jesus' Presentation in the Temple 40 days after his birth. Continued with the Magi in Bethlehem 30 years before, then when he visited Jerusalem at age 12, then here at the Jordon. This is the inauguration or coronation of the public ministry of Jesus. As we see in Number 4:47 the age of 30 was when the Levite would begin their ministry and be ordained or set apart. This is in good order and even though John says he should be baptized by his cousin Jesus, whose sandals he is not even worthy to carry, Jesus states this is TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS! This is necessary to make sure all the prophesy of Holy Scripture is fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

The reason we are starting our study of what it "KING and KINGDOM" with the Baptism of our Lord is because of what we see in this amazing event what St. Paul means when he shares in Romans 6:4: " We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life," The truth that in Holy Baptism we are identified with Christ Jesus as heirs of the Kingdom. It is amazing that in John's ministry he is a prophet of the law, who shares the truth of sin and the need to confess sins and be baptized and cleansed. Unfortunately it is only after the amazing inauguration or Coronation of Jesus at His Baptism that we can truly understand what repentance and cleansing means. In Christ's Baptism we see heaven ripped open and the voice of God proclaiming the identity of His Son! He tells everyone that He is well pleased with Him and that He LOVES Him! This is awesome! Jesus is without sin and yet He receives absolution from God, the Father, when He says: "He is well pleased!" In this wonderful event we see a prototype of our Baptism where through Baptism, God calls us His Child, affirms His Love for us and in to the truth of the Cross and Resurrection declares: "He is well pleased." We are clothed with the Robe of Righteousness and the Crown of Beauty and the promise of Heaven. In Matthew we will study our "identity in Christ" our King and what it means to be in the Kingdom.

We pray in the Lord's Prayer: "Thy Kingdom Come" now we are going to see what it means as our Lord reveals His Kingship and Kingdom. John had the privilege of baptizing with water for repentance presupposing repentance and a change of life. With the Baptism of our Lord we see the fulfillment of all righteousness, consecration by God the Father (the Trinity present as in Gen 1) the Spirit descending and anointing him, the public announcement by John of the arrival of the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world in John 1 and the recognition as John and Jesus proclaimed the coming of the "Kingdom of Heaven" used in Matthew's Gospel 33 times and the "Kingdom of God;" used 4 times. This Kingdom is the rule of God both in present reality and a future hope. This is why many are scared to talk about this Kingdom which Matthew refers to over 50 times and is a central teaching of Jesus. If you are not able to understand as stated in a book I have called "A dictionary of Christian Antiquities" by William Smith: "Hence anything that could in any sense be called a mystery by Latin Christian was referred to a 'Sacramentum' especially sacred things used in service to God" (pg. 1831) The mystery of a "Kingdom" that is hear presently but yet also near in the hope of the future of the "everlasting kingdom of heaven." is not logical or easily reasoned and therefore scary! That is why for us Sacramental Christians: who proclaim the mystery of sinner and saint at the same time, the true REAL presence of Christ in His Supper as He is at the right hand of God. Celebrating with all the saints the foretaste of the feast to come, while celebrating the Lord's Supper and the present feast in the midst of the congregation. It is truly a profound mystery how we can be heirs of everlasting life, princes and princesses of the Kingdom, yet bound with our sinful earthly existence having to wait for the eternal Kingdom to be revealed at the final judgement! In the present as Sons and Daughters of the King: endowed with the power and authority given to us in the Holy Nation, the Royal Priesthood of all believers in the Church and the power of Keys etc... yet still sinners bound by our sinfulness. This dichotomy is very frustrating to live with being Sinner and Saint simultaneously as part of the "Church Militant" and a member of the "Church Triumphant" as we confess in the Creed: "The communion of saints!"



Please stay tuned as we will be hearing more about our KING and HIS KINGDOM throughout this Epiphany season! Join us at the EMU site for Sunday School, Confirmation, High School class at 9am, Adult Study on "King and Kingdom" at 9:15am, University study at 10:15, Worship Services at 10:15 and 12:15 with Lunch in between. Join us for ALIVE! Lenawee County Services meeting every Sunday at 11am in Raisen Township south of Tecumseh.

God Bless You All as we celebrate our identity with our KING in HIS KINGDOM!

Pastor Bryan

A VERY Merry "Christ"mas and a Happy BLESSED New Year!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Merry "CHRIST"mas!! We are almost at the end of the Advent Season and on Sunday we will be celebrating Christmas! I wanted to write to you all and share my heart on how much I love serving you as your pastor! I want to thank you all for your prayers and support as we come to the celebration of our Savior's birth at Bethlehem! On behalf of my family and the staff I wish to thank all of you for the amazing support you give us throughout the whole year and for your gracious gifts this Christmas! From our family to yours we wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and wherever you are this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day may the Lord richly bless you as our whole nation pauses to celebrate the greatest gift of all time JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD, EMMANUEL!

Please Remember:

DEC 24 Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 7:00 pm AT THE EMU Site OF CROSS AND RESURRECTION.
DEC 25 Christmas Day Service 11:00 am at EMU Site (last Service of 2011! no New Year's Eve service this year)
JAN 1 New Year's Day Service 11:00 am at EMU Site, Holy Baptism for Joseph Walter Distelzweig

LOOKING FORWARD

Please watch for the new electronic sign coming out front soon! Planning for the Dedication of the New Fellowship Hall in Feb. Exciting study on "Kingdom" coming this Epiphany Season! Continued studies for all ages and experiencing the KINGDOM Power of Healing etc... in the ministries at Cross and Resurrection EMU and ALIVE! Tecumseh in 2012!

Again a huge "THANK YOU" to all of those who have been faithful in keeping their pledges to the Building Fund, as of this week we have received all but one of the pledges and many gave even more than they pledged! We even have people who did not pledge, giving to the Fund as well! We are so grateful for the many gifts of charity given through the Agape Fund, Giving Tree, special offerings etc...Well done good and faithful servants!

I know I don't have the time to thank all of you who use your gifts as volunteer staff, Council and Elders and so many others who teach, serve and bless so many in our family BUT KNOW THAT I LOVE YOUR FAITHFULNESS AND THAT OUR LORD KNOWS HOW FAITHFUL YOU ARE IN SERVICE!

SO: I know you have gotten a lot of Christmas Cards, emails etc.. But I wanted to share with you the wonderful words fulfilled by the birth of JESUS the CHRIST born in Bethlehem so long ago:

FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN, UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE UPON HIS SHOULDERS AND NAME SHALL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, ALMIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, THE PRINCE OF PEACE! (ISAIAH 9:6)

BUT THAT IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY: "Of the increase of his government and peace THERE WILL BE NO END! He will REIGN on David's throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM THAT TIME ON AND FOREVER! THE ZEAL OF THE LORD ALMIGHTY WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS!" (ISAIAH 9:7) Praise the Lord, Alleluia! AMEN!!

Have a VERY Merry Christmas and a HAPPY BLESSED New Year!

Love in Jesus, the one who saves us,

Pastor Bryan

More Power! 2nd Sunday in Advent Dec 4, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today we celebrate the truth of St. John the Baptist's words in Mark 1:1-8 specifically vs 7: "After me will come One more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie!" As we prepare for Christmas, in this Preparation season of Advent, we can be forgiven for tuning out the hype of the sales, sears: amazing one day sale, JC Penny, Kohls. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday...it is too much. I laugh at the "REGULAR" price because I wonder if things ever really cost that price? It should therefore catch our attention when someone like John, the Baptist, shows up in the second week of Advent. He is not the norm. What he eats, what he wears, what he says all stand out and his ministry is certainly "SUCCESSFUL!" Yet John understands something that also stands out: that his ministry is to prepare the way for Jesus. I think it is brilliant that Mark starts his gospel with this promise of Mal 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3 "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way 'a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" This was specifically "Elijah" or otherwise known as, "John" who understood after living, since conception, as the one who prepares the way. We remember his leaping in the womb when his mother Elizabeth was greeted by Mary in Luke 1. We remember his Ministry starting 6 months before Jesus as Numbers 4:3 states at 30 years of age. We see him serving the Lord by Baptizing him. We recognize the that even with the shock value of his clothes, eating habits, and his words, he was successful in the work of Repentance. After all it says all the people from Judea and everyone from Jerusalem.

What we learn from John is that we are all called to prepare the way for the Lord. We are called to be used to reach up, in and out in order to direct people to the Mighty One who has the Power, Love, Grace, Hope, etc... Jesus Christ. We can learn from John that as he shares in John 3:30 "He (Jesus) must become greater, I must become less!" This is consistent with the humility he showed when Jesus asked him to Baptize him, and John in Matthew 3:14 says "I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?" He states in Mark 1:7-8 today that: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ I baptize you with or in water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” When he describes his position of not being worthy to stoop down and untie his sandals, in Matthew it says "carry" them, he is helping us understand the posture for us to have as we prepare for the coming of Jesus this Christmas. If we want to experience the power that our Lord wants to pour out on us His Children we can prepare our hearts and minds by repenting of pride and humbling ourselves before the Lord. Then we will understand what it means that we celebrate the truth of the one coming with more power, to lift us up, carry us through and help us to fix our eyes on the prize of HIS SALVATION won on the cross of calvary, by His precious Blood and proven in the empty tomb! More power is always my prayer and it does not come from bettering ourselves but by humbling ourselves. That's preparation!

Love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior,
Pastor Bryan

Nov. 27, 2011 "Happy New Year 2012: Lacking Nothing!"

Happy Thanksgiving! Happy New Year! Last week we spent time looking at all the Lord has done, is doing and will do as we ended the Church Year,  A.D. 2011. Today we celebrate the First Sunday in Advent, our 4 weeks of preparation for the Nativity of our Lord, and the New Year of the Church.  This Sunday we will contemplate the words of St. Paul which he shares with the followers of Jesus Christ in Corinth: 

This is an amazing introduction to the church that St. Paul spent 18 months with, as recorded in Acts 18. He shares with them how thankful he is for them! He reminds these Christians, who live in an extremely affluent community that is 5 times the size of Athens and is extremely important because for centuries it has been the city between the ports connecting western Greece with the East, what is truly important. Corinth, this 4 miles of isthmus that when crossed saved 200 miles of sailing from East to West, is a very important city. It was also a very cosmopolitan city with the multiple temples in the market and the Acrocorinth, the hill that historically was known for the worship of many gods, for it is no mistake that one of the Greek verbs for fornicating comes from the name of Corinth. It is said that there were over 1000 prostitutes for the worship in the temple of Aphrodite. I only reference this because as I watched Black Friday with the lines, sales, etc.. pepper spray used in Walmart. I thought we have so much to be thankful for in North America. Probably the way the Corinthians thought of their place in the Empire. From a worldly perspective they had it ALL.

Yet the Apostle Paul brings them back from the contemporary perspective of the world around them, to focus them on the truth of how they should recognize what is really important. More important than the deals on Black Friday, more important than the victory of our U of M Wolverines over Ohio State (I have been waiting for this since I moved here!), more important than even the birth of my first grandson "Levi Timothy Schindel" this afternoon!!! It is hard to imagine that even as I feel so thankful I could bust, the Lord speaks and shares the most important words for us as we enter into the next year of the Church: we have been "ENRICHED" in every way and do not "LACK" any spiritual gifts! We enter into this New Year knowing what Mordecai shared with Esther, (which I read in my devotions this morning) in Esther 4: ¹⁴ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" This was a huge eyeopening event for Esther. We know that it helped her to do the right thing and gave Esther the opportunity to put things into perspective and appreciate God's plan!

Brothers and sisters do we know that even when we put too much emphasis on those things that seem so important to us from our human, sinful, worldly perspective; because of his love for us, the Lord is constantly calling us to repentance. Today the Lord has given us the opportunity to confess this sin and receive the grace and forgiveness won for us on the Cross of Calvary and freely given to those who belong to God. We can then recognize the privilege of serving him NOW, rejoicing in the opportunity to appreciate and celebrate that we have been enriched in every way and lack nothing as we move forward in HIS ministry. We have the gift of refocusing and prioritizing what is TRULY IMPORTANT! We know we belong to God and believe in his plan and his power because we were created for such a time as this! May we become who the Lord wants us to be and move forward with confidence and boldness knowing we lack nothing and are called to work together as the Lord directs us. St. Paul says that the Lord will keep us STRONG to the end as we eagerly wait for His return. It is fascinating to me that the Lord sent two disciples to get the colt in our Gospel Lesson in Mark 11. He understood the importance of us working together as a family to support one another and see what the Lord will DO! St. Paul reminds us that we are in fellowship with God, as well as one another. He reminds us that "God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, is faithful!" The point is God is faithful and He has called us to this moment to do what He wants to be done and He is faithful to keep us strong and enrich us with all we need! What a way to enter this New Year of the church!
May we pray: "thy kingdom come among us and your will be done on earth, among us, as it is in heaven!"

Nov. 20, 2011 Christ the King: "Those who belong to him!"

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ the King Sunday is the last Sunday and the New Year's Eve of the Church Year. It is the day to celebrate the truth of the final days! Today we celebrate and contemplate the urgency of Christ's command to be ready for the end and to share the truth with all the time we have left.

St. Paul shares what the essence of this day is in

"FREEDOM" October 30, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, we celebrate a very important event in history. The day, that started the Reformation: October 31st, 1517 when Dr. Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the Wittenburg Church door. 
Today we look at a discussion between the Jews and Jesus. Jesus shares with the Jews who are following him in John 8:31-36

God richly bless you as you live out your faith every day!

Pastor Bryan