Written Sermon 2/13/2022

CWC -Epiphany 6 - Epistle Lesson - Kieth Bernard Kuschel

1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20

(12) But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? (16) For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. {17} And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. {18} Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. {19} If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. {20} But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Enumerate blessings of God

Jesus’ Resurrection Guarantees our Blessings

I. Forgiveness of our sins

A. If God were to ask you why should I let you into heaven,

what would you tell him?

1. I am a nice person

2. I am a relatively nice person

3. I try harder

4. There is no way He would let me into heaven because of me

B. Christian response

1. #4 above is Christian response

2. Because Jesus took away my sins

3. Because Jesus’ covers me with His holiness

C. How do you know that is true

1. Bible says so, God’s plan, Jesus’ resurrection

2. Without resurrection vs 17= verdict is guilty

II. Resurrection of our bodies

A. What is going to happen to you when you die

1. Nothing. Dead - gone

2. Become an angel - spirit (Medieval, modern)

3. Problem in Corinth

B. Christian response

1.Body is buried, souls go to be with Lord

2. Bodies raised on last day and enter eternity

3. This confidence makes us live our lives to the Lord

C. How do you know that is true

1. Bible says so, God’s plan, Jesus’ resurrection

2. If no resurrection of Jesus, none for us

IA1 If you were to ask somebody on the street, “If God were to ask you why should I let you into heaven, what would you tell him?”, what kind of answers would you get? One category of answers would sound like: “I would tell Him that I am a pretty nice person. I am helpful to the people around me. I take care of the needs of the people dependent on me. I shoulder my responsibilities.”

2 Another category of answers would sound like this: “I am a relatively nice person. I have trouble with my temper, but I don’t beat my wife as my neighbor does. I have a little trouble with self-indulgence but I don’t waste all my money at the casino as my neighbor does. I do try to get out of things once in a while, but I am not a lazy good for nothing welfare cheat like some people. It should be obvious to God that I am better than those people.”

3 Another category of answers would sound like this: “I know that I am not perfect, but I try my best. When I hurt somebody’s feelings, I try to make it up by being extra helpful the next time. When I do something that is damaging to somebody’s physical well-being, I try to not only fix what I have done, but go overboard in taking care of that person the next time I see he or she needs something. When I slip up on my responsibilities, I try to take a double load the next time. It should be obvious to God that I try hard to make up for my mistakes.”

4 Another category of answers would sound like this: “There is no way that God would let me into heaven. Look. I have done some pretty nasty things in my life. Even if other people would say, “That isn’t so bad,” if God has any kind of standard that He holds to, I can’t measure up to it. There is no way that I could point to myself and say, “God, You have to let me into heaven.”

B1 If I were to ask you, “If God were to ask you why should I let you into heaven, what would you tell him?”, what kind of answers would you give? Would any of the categories of answers which I quoted above come out of your mouth? The last one should be in there somewhere. “I have done some pretty nasty things in my life. Even if other people would say, “That isn’t so bad,” if God has any kind of standard that He holds to, I can’t measure up to it. There is no way that I could point to myself and say, “God, You have to let me into heaven.”

2 If I were to ask you, “If God were to ask you why should I let you into heaven, what would you tell him?”, what kind of answers would you give? Your answers don’t talk about yourselves. Your answers talk about Jesus. “Lord, you should let me into heaven because my sins have been removed. They would keep me out of heaven. But You took them off me and put them on Jesus. Jesus then took them to the cross. There He suffered the death and hell I deserve because of my sins. Since You have already punished Jesus for my sins, there is no reason for You to punish me. Since my sins have been taken away by Jesus, there is no barrier to keep me out of heaven. You should let me into heaven because of what Jesus did for me.”

3 But, what would you say, if God then said, “But I only let holy people into heaven.” Again your answers don’t talk about you. Your answers talk about Jesus. “Lord You should let me into heaven because Jesus has given me His holiness. He lived that holiness as a real human being so He could be my Substitute. It is as if I lived that holiness. Since Jesus has lived that holiness for me and given it to me, I am covered with it. You should let me into heaven because of what Jesus did for me.”

C1 Those answers will satisfy God, but what about all the critics we have to deal with now. The critics who say, “How do you know that is true.” “The Bible says so.” “What if they Bible is wrong?” How do you know it is true then?” “It was God’s plan.” “How do you know God’s plan worked? How do you know Jesus’ life was worth enough to pay for your sins? How do you know Jesus’ perfect life was accepted as the basis for God’s gift of holiness to you?” “Jesus’ rose.” Jesus’ resurrection guarantees God’s blessings for us - one of those blessings is the forgiveness of sins.

2 What if Jesus hadn’t risen? God would have been saying, “Jesus’ death is not sufficient payment for the sins of the world. It didn’t work. Jesus’ life is not the source of holiness for people. It didn’t work.” Paul writes: {17} And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile (worthless); you are still in your sins(They are not forgiven. The verdict is: “You are guilty. Go to hell.”

IIA1 If you were to ask somebody on the street, “What is going to happen to you when you die?”, what kind of answers would you get? One category of answers would sound like: “Nothing is going to happen. When you’re dead, you’re dead. You stop being a person. The elements which make up your body rot. You go back to being a part of the dirt. That’s it. Period. End of story.”

2 Another category of answers would sound like this: “I am going to become part of the spiritual world. Like an angel. I won’t be limited by my body or anything physical.” If we were still living in the middle ages, people might think in terms of the disembodied spirits floating free in the world and influencing events in the world. Ghost and goblins kind of thinking. Today people might say, “This will be such freedom. All the negatives of the present have to do with the physical. I sure hope I don’t have to come back and be an embodied being again. I want to just stay a spiritual being.”

3 The people in the congregation in the city of Corinth were struggling with the question: “What is going to happen to you when you die?” Some didn’t believe there was a physical resurrection of the dead. They were influenced to believe that by the prevailing attitude in Greek philosophy which said everything spiritual is good and everything physical is bad. They believed that Jesus was their Savior who had risen from the dead, but that there was no resurrection from the dead available to humans. Thus the question from Paul: (12) But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? Paul gives his answer to his own question in verse 16, pointing out the inconsistency of their belief: (16) For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.

B1 If I were to ask you, “What is going to happen to you when you die?”, what kind of answers would you give? Your answers would sound something like this: “My body is going to stop functioning. It will gradually erode into the basic elements of which it consists. But my soul, what makes me me, will not die or go out of existence. That soul will be taken to be with the Lord. It will continue to be with the Lord until Judgment Day. No free floating disconnected spiritual existence.”

2 If I were to ask you, “What is going to happen to you when you die?”, your answer wouldn’t stop there. You would probably continue: “But that is only a temporary situation. On the last day the Lord is going to gather up all the souls of the people who have died and reunite them with their bodies. In most instances that means He will have to reformulate their bodies, because their bodies will have decomposed totally. At that point then He will make a public declaration about all the reconstituted people and all the other people who are still alive on Judgment Day. Those who trusted that Jesus lived and died and rose for them and gave them forgiveness and holiness will be welcomed into eternity in perfection with the Lord. Those who didn’t believe in Jesus as their Savior God will send away from Him and His blessings forever.”

3 If you are really talkative your answer might continue: “That’s why I live the way I do now. I live to the Lord now because I am going to live with Him forever. I make sacrifices to insure that I stay close to Him now so that I will stay close to Him forever. I put up with ridicule now because I know my relationship with Him is forever and my relationships with people are temporary. My future shapes my present.” Paul comments from the negative: {19} If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

C1 And the critics say again, “How do you know that is true.” “The Bible says so.” “What if they Bible is wrong? How do you know it is true then?” “It was God’s promise.” “How do you know God’s promise will be kept?” “Jesus’ rose.” Jesus’ resurrection guarantees God’s blessings for us - one of those blessings is the resurrection of our bodies. Paul’s comment is:{20} But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” In other words, Christ rose first, that means we will follow.”

2 What if Jesus hadn’t risen? God would have been saying, “Jesus’ didn’t conquer death. None of His promises are any good.” Paul writes: {18} Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” {20} But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” In other words, Christ rose first, that means we will follow.”

Conc: We Christians always have the same answer to “How do you know?” The answer is: Jesus rose

Written Sermon 2/6/2022

CWC- Old Testament Lesson - Epiphany 5 - Kieth Bernard Kuschel

Isaiah 6:18

{1} In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. {2} Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. {3} And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." {4} At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. {5} "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." {6} Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. {7} With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." {8} Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Tell children to go back and tell their parents:

Jesus lived and died and rose for you.

Jesus washed away your sins and give you eternal life.

HERE I AM. SEND ME

I. In spite of my sinfulness

A. Woe to me

1. In trouble

2. Unclean lips

3. Unclean people

4. LORD is King, Almighty

B. God’s call

1. Question in verse 8

2. Sends us to......

C. Our reaction

1. Not good enough

2. “Good enough” is bad

II. Because of my Savior

A. Seraphs

1. Definition

2. Give glory to God

B. Special action

1. Touch lips

2. Guilt removed

3. Sin atoned for

C. God’s call

D. Our reaction

1. I am qualified

2. Others need to know what I know

Conc

IA1 “Woe to me!” When was the last time you said that? Anybody know what it means? Isaiah helps us out with what it means. The next statement is: {5}“I am ruined.” We might say: I am in lots of trouble! Should we join Isaiah in saying “I am in lots of trouble!”?

2 Isaiah tells us the reason he said “Woe to me!” “I am ruined.” What was it? {5}“For I am a man of unclean lips.” So are we. Instead of glorifying God, we toss His name around as if it is just another word. Instead of speaking God’s truth in love, we don’t bother to speak it at all. Instead of building others up, I verbally abuse them. Instead of praising God for His wonderful creation, I make fun of other people’s body parts. Instead of speaking reverently about God’s gift of sexuality, I trivialize it. I am in lots of trouble because I am a man of unclean lips.

3 “Woe to me,” Isaiah says, (5)“because I live among a people of unclean lips.” I am in lots of trouble. The people around me are just as much sinners as I am. They encourage me to live for myself. They tell me the Bible is a fairy tale. They want me to be as disrespectful as they are. They indicate that being nice doesn’t get me anywhere. They laugh at my sexual restrictions. They influence me to think life is about toys. All of that helps me to be unclean.

4 “Woe to me,” Isaiah says, “(5)my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." I have taken a look at the LORD. I see that He is the King. He has oversight over everything. He sees my unclean lips. I see that He is Almighty. He has the power to punish me with death and hell because I am unclean. I am in lots of trouble.

B1 {8} Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" When God says this to us as He said it to Isaiah, He isn’t indicating that He is at a loss as to whom He should send to tell people the truth about Himself. What is God trying to do when He says to us, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" He is trying to get us to realize that He is telling us He wants us to go and share His truth with others.

2 He is telling us that He wants to send us into a career of teaching His truth as pastors or Lutheran School teachers. He is telling us He is sending us into our families to teach all of our family members that they are sinners and Jesus is their Savior. He is telling us He is sending us to our friends to share with them as part of our relationship with them that Jesus lived and died and rose to give them forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life. He is telling us He is sending us into our neighborhoods to invite people to hear about Jesus the Savior here at church. He is telling us He is sending us into that checkout line at the grocery store when the person in front of us starts talking about god. He is telling us that He is sending us to Zambia, and Malawi, and Puerto Rice and wherever we can go through the missionaries we pay for in the WELS.

C1 Our first reaction is, “Who me? I am the unclean one, remember, Lord. I am not good enough to have you send me to people with Your truth.” It is true that the Lord has some expectations of his messengers. We are to know what we are talking about. We are to back up our message with lives lived to the glory of God. But when the Lord says to us that He is sending us to people with His truth, I don’t think it is our place to say that is a bad idea because we are not good enough.

2 On the other hand, it would be a big problem if people would react to God’s call to send them to others with His truth by thinking proudly, “I can do that because I am good enough. My resume as a child of God qualifies me to serve as Christ’s messenger.” That attitude scares me. It sounds as if the person hasn’t looked at himself with Isaiah and concluded, “Woe is me! I am man of unclean lips.” God would much rather have us join Isaiah and say together: “Here I am. Send me in spite of my sinfulness.”

IIA1 God granted Isaiah something that He doesn’t give to many people. Isaiah was able to see the Lord and some seraphs in a vision. Seraphs are angels. From the symbolism in the vision we can conclude that these seraphs are ready, willing and able to do what the Lord tells them to do. They can go quickly to accomplish what the Lord wants. Yet, they are humble, reverent creatures.

2 {3} The seraphs were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." They are praising God, telling others what God is like.

God is holy-separate from sin. God is Almighty - can do anything. He deserves to be praised everywhere by His whole creation.

B1 {6} Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. {7} With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips.” Remember in the vision God is sitting on His throne, the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy part of the temple. From one of the altars in the temple, probably from the altar of burnt offering where there was an offering burning all the time, the seraph took a burning coal and touched Isaiah’s lips. Remember what had Isaiah said about his lips? They were unclean.

2 The seraph also said, “See, this live coal from the altar has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away.” Remember what the sacrifices on the altars in the Old Testament meant. They were pictures of the truth that a life would have to be taken to remove man’s guilt. They were pointers to the Messiah. God here was reminding Isaiah that through the sacrifice of the Messiah, foreshadowed in the Old Testament offerings, Isaiah’s guilt was taken away. Even though God was holy, Isaiah didn’t have to fear God because of Isaiah’s unclean lips. Isaiah could accept God’s commission as a prophet because God had cleansed him of his guilt.

3 The seraph also said, “See, this live coal from the altar has touched your lips. Your sin is atoned for." Our sins separate us from God because God is holy and we are not. When our guilt is removed, we can be at one with God again. God takes away our guilt and puts it on Jesus. God brings us back to be at one with Him by covering us with the holiness of Jesus. We will be at one with God forever because of the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. The seraphs reminded Isaiah and us that God’s cleansing makes us at one with Him again.

C {8} Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" God is telling us that He is sending us as individuals to share His Law and Gospel with all the people with whom we have contact in life. He is sending us to share Jesus through the individual ministries that we carry out in this congregation. He is telling us He is sending us to share Jesus’ forgiveness, holiness and eternal life though all the functions of our congregation. He is telling us He is sending us to share Jesus with the whole world through the ministries we do together as the WELS.

D1 And we respond, “Here I am. Send me.” We can accept our commission from the Lord because we are qualified. We are qualified because we are no longer men of unclean lips. God has cleansed us of our guilt with the blood of Jesus. He has made us at one with Him by covering us with Jesus’ holiness. Here I am. Send me because of my Savior.

2 Here I am. Send me. I want to go to some people to share with them what I have seen. I have seen that the Lord is the LORD. He is the unchanging God who doesn’t back down on His covenant to forgive the sins of the human race. I want others to experience what I have experienced. The Lord comes into people’s lives and touches them with the blood of Christ and makes them guilt free. He comes into people’s lives and touches them with the holiness of Jesus and makes them at one with Him. Here I am. Send me. Because of my Savior in spite of my sinfulness.

Written Sermon 1/30/2022

CWC-Alternate OT Lesson - Epiphany 4 - Kieth Bernard Kuschel

I Kings 17:7-16

7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

Repeat after me

Jesus died to wash away your sins

Jesus lived to cover you with His holiness

Jesus rose from the dead so you can live forever.

You are a prophet.

Prophets

I. Sent by God

A. Elijah

1. Situation in Israel

2. Sent: practical; prophetic

B. Jesus

1. Priestly work

2. Prophetic Work

C. Called Workers

1. Assignment committee

2. Special work

D. Us

1. Places in life

2. Reason: God put you there

II. Communicate

A. Elijah

1. Asked for food and water

2. Opening up a conversation

B. Jesus

1. Opened up conversation; get them thinking

2. Sometimes good results; sometimes not

C. Called workers

1. Preaching and teaching Bible class

2. Teaching skills

D. Us

1. Discuss everyday life things

2. Gives you the right to talk with the person

III. Pass Along God’s Promises

A. Elijah

1. Food and rain

2. Gifts from the LORD

B. Jesus

1. Promise to rise

2. Promise to give eternal life

C. Called Workers

1. Every sermon and every Bible class

2. Every devotion and every religion class

D. Us

1. Promise to guard and keep and be with

2. Promise of forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life

IA1 Ahab was the King of Israel. According to I Kings 16:30 “Ahab did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. He not only diverted the people in his nation away from the worship of the true God in Jerusalem by having altars built to Him in other places, but in addition he introduced the worship of and built temples for the Palestinian fertility gods Baal and Asherah. Because of that God sent a drought on the land of Israel.

2 God took care of His prophet Elijah by sending bread and meat to him air mail. When the brook which was supplying him with water dried up, God sent him to Zarephath in Sidon, outside of Israel. The practical reason God sent him was Elijah would get food there. From Jesus’ comments in the Gospel lesson, the spiritual reason God sent him there was - he was sent by God to bring the truth about the LORD to people there.

B1 Jesus was also sent by God. For what? Most Christians would say, “To die on the cross to wash away my sins. To suffer death as my Substitute to rescue me from death as punishment for my sins. To experience hell as my Substitute to rescue me that as punishment for my sins. To live and never sin to cover me with His holiness. To rise from the dead so that I might live forever.” All of that is true and good.

2 But God sent Jesus into our world for another reason. To be our prophet. To pass along God’s truth. If Jesus hadn’t taught God’s truth, we wouldn’t know which laws are demanded by God to be kept by us. If Jesus hadn’t taught God’s truth, we wouldn’t know why He lived and died and rose. Prophets pass along God’s truth. Jesus was the perfect prophet. He perfectly passed along God’s truth. He was sent by God to do that.

C1 Why are pastors and teachers and staff ministers and deacons and deaconesses carrying out their ministries at particular places? First reason. They were turned into believers in Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Second reason. God the Holy Spirit working through the Good News about Jesus convinced them that being professional prophets was a good idea. Third reason. God the Holy Spirit working through the Bible equipped them to be able to be prophets. Fourth reason. God’s people under the direction of Jesus designated them to carry out their work in a particular place. For all those reasons we can say God sends these people to their place of ministry.

2 A missionary is a good example. WELS World Mission Board, a group of believers in Jesus, wanted people to share Jesus with people in a foreign land. They asked a believer in Jesus, who is a professional equipped prophet for the Lord, to carry out that particular job for them.

D1 Why are you at your place in life? Practical reasons are the same as those for Elijah. I have a job to be able to provide myself and those dependent on me with necessities of life. I am at school in order to become equipped with skills so that I will be able to have a job to be able to provide myself and those dependent on me with necessities of life.

2 Why are you at your place in life? The real answer is God sent you there. You are working at that job because there are some people there like the widow in Zarephath who need the truth about God or need to have the truth of God reinforced by you. You are at that school because there are some people there like the widow in Zarephath who need the truth about God or need to have the truth of God reinforced by you. You are on that sports team because there are some people there like the widow in Zarephath who need the truth about God or need to have the truth of God reinforced by you. You are involved in that group of people who get together daily or weekly or monthly to socialize because there are some people there like the widow in Zarephath who need the truth about God or need to have the truth of God reinforced by you. God sent Elijah to Zarephath. God sent His Son into our world. God sends professional prophets. But the biggest group He sends out to share His truth is you.

IIA1 10 So Elijah went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there

gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

2 What was Elijah doing? He was having a conversation with this woman. Why? He was opening up communication lines with this woman? Why? He was earning the right to talk to this woman. Why? Because he wanted to share the truth about God with this woman. If he didn’t earn the right to talk to this woman, she wouldn’t be a listener to what he had to say.

B1 In the Gospel lesson for today, Jesus made the dramatic claim that the Old Testament prophet Isaiah’s words about the Messiah were fulfilled in Him. Why did He do that? He was trying to get the listeners to think about what He had to say. He was trying to initiate a conversation with them about who He was. He was opening up the lines of communication with these people.

2 Sometimes when Jesus started a conversation with people, it went well. Think of the woman at the well in Samaria. After talking about everyday things, Jesus moved the conversation to spiritual things and the woman was led to realize that Jesus was the Messiah. Things didn’t go very well in the Gospel lesson for today. Jesus got the people to think about His claim and compare it with their conclusion that he was just Joseph’s son. But they rejected His claim to be the Messiah.

C1 When God sends professional prophets out today, those people have had a lot of training in communicating God’s truth in a structured way and in a group settings. They spend four years learning to research, write, and present sermons. Learning to prepare and present Bible classes, Bible Information classes, Catechism classes, Bible History classes.

2 Teachers spend four years learning how to communicate in a classroom so the students grasp the concepts of math, the facts of history, the procedures of science, but much more important the truths about Jesus.

D1 If God sends you to share His truth with people in the various places of your life, how are you to go about doing that? It is much different from professional prophets preaching a sermon or teaching a class. How do you do that? You talk with the widow at Zarephath about the

groceries. You talk with her about the economy. You talk with her about how things are going in her life. You talk with her about the drought.

2 Why? Because the first thing we all must do with the people in the places of our lives is earn the right to talk to them about the truth of God. You do that by opening up the lines of communication with them. You do that by talking to them and listening to them. If we don’t earn the right to talk to someone, that person will not listen to what we have to say. Talk to the person at work about how the job is going. Talk to the person at school about how the classes are going. Talk to the person on your team about basketball. Talk to the person in your group about the weather. But remember, you are doing that for a reason. You are earning the right to share God’s truth with them.

IIIA1 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ Elijah passed along two promises of God. The LORD would take care of her and her son by miraculously providing them with food. What was the other promise? That He would bring the drought to an end.

2 Elijah brought this woman more gifts from the LORD. He restored the woman’s son to life after he died. He led her to realize that the LORD was the one and only true God. He led her to realize that the LORD is the source of and restorer of life. He led her to realize that the LORD by definition forgives sin and keeps His promises. And we can correctly assume that he led her to understand the promises of the Savior.

B1 Jesus, the perfect prophet, throughout His three years of public ministry perfectly passed along God’s truth. Included in that truth were God’s promises. Maybe the most dramatic promise that Jesus made during those three years was His promise to rise from the dead. Whenever He predicted that His enemies would kill Him, He promised that He would rise from the dead.

2 He made other promises. He promised to be with His followers always. He promised to use His power for our benefit. He promised to forgive our sins. He promised to cover us with His holiness. He promised to have us live forever with Him. Interestingly all these other promises are directly connected to His dramatic promise to rise from the dead. If He hadn’t done that, He couldn’t do any of these other things.

C1 Professional prophets are trained to make sure they pass along God’s promises when they speak the truth of God. In every sermon that is preached God’s promise to forgive your sins because of Jesus death, God’s promise to cover you with the holiness which Jesus lived, and God’s promise to give you eternal life because Jesus rose must be present. No matter what the stated topic of the Bible class is at some point God’s promise of forgiveness, holiness and eternal life because of the life death and resurrection of Jesus must be stated. In every communication that is sent the Gospel of Jesus, the promises of God are to be there.

2 In every devotion and every religion class, even if the topic is Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, the promises of God’s forgiveness, holiness and eternal life because of the life death and resurrection of Jesus are to be present.

D1 God sends you to share His truth with the people in the places of your lives. What are you to tell them? The promises of God. To your friend whose wife died, you can say, “Jesus promises to be with you always.” To your neighbor who lost His job, you can say, “Jesus promises to take care of you.”

2 But just like every sermon and every classroom presentation, every conversation that you carry out as a prophet of God needs to have the most important promises of God present. So let’s practice them. Jesus died to wash away your sins. Jesus lived to cover you with His holiness. Jesus rose from the dead so you can live forever.

Prayer. LORD Jesus, thank You for being my Perfect Prophet by giving me Your truth. Thank you for giving me the privilege of being one of Your prophets. Motivate, equip, and empower me to pass along Your Promises.

Written Sermon 1/23/2022

CWC - Psalm for the Day - Epiphany 3 - Kieth Bernard Kuschel

Psalm 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.

4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is deprived of its warmth.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.

The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.

The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey,

than honey from the honeycomb.

11 By them your servant is warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

12 But who can discern their own errors?

Forgive my hidden faults.

13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;

may they not rule over me.

Then I will be blameless,

innocent of great transgression.

14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart

be pleasing in your sight,

Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Epiphany - meaning

What are we to show forth, reveal or disclose?

Today’s Psalm tells us about some of God’s epiphanies.

God gives us Epiphanies through

(Tells us something about Himself)

1. The creation 2. Our consciences 3. His Word

IA1 How big was your heating bill last month? It sure would be nice if we had a heat source that would take care of our heating needs free. There is one source of heat that is free. And it is truly amazing. It heats up the entire earth. 6: “nothing is deprived of its warmth, ". the Psalm writer says. That source is the sun.

2 Another amazing thing is the distribution system. Oil trucks show up at the customer’s

house when the computer says it is time for more oil. The sun has a delivery route too. 6: “It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other.” This huge flaming source of heat is always in the right place. It doesn’t get too close to make toast out of us. It doesn’t go too far away to make permanent snow cones out of us.

3 (4)In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course." Like a bridegroom coming out of the portable enclosure used at the public wedding ceremony, ready for new life, so the sun arises each morning ready for the new life of the new day. Like a champion running around the course with his arms raised in a victory trot, so the sun victoriously makes its course around the earth, conquering darkness and cold each day.

B1 The sun is used in verses 4-6 as an example of the rest of the parts of the universe, called the heavens and skies. When we look at these things, we see amazing things like the sun, which do amazing things, which display amazing power, which provide amazing benefits.

2 These amazing things talk to us, they tell us things. “2 Day after day they pour forth

speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Since they impart information without speech or language, every human being everywhere can understand the message. Since everybody everywhere is able to observe the working of the universe, everybody everywhere has access to the message which the heavens and the skies proclaim.

C1 What is the message which we hear the heaven, the skies telling us? The first thing they tell us is that whoever is responsible for all of this is wise. He had to be smarter than a human being. It has taken humans almost 10,000 years to just come to a little understanding about how all this works. He is smarter than we are.

2 Next. Whoever is responsible for all this is powerful. Not only was He smart enough to make the planets have a course, but He is powerful enough to keep them on course. Not only was He smart enough to give the sun the ability to warm us. He is powerful enough to keep it sending out the energy that we need. Not only was He wise enough to set up the water cycle, the chlorophyll cycle and many other intricacies of our world, but He is powerful enough to have put those cycles into action and keep them going.

3 Third. Whoever is responsible for all this is very good. Through each thing in the universe some benefit is provided. The sun - heat and light. The moon - gravitational pull. The water cycle - makes food grow. On and on.

4 What epiphany does the sky, the heavens give us? That there is somebody very wise, very powerful, and very kind out there who is responsible for everything we see around us. It was all the work of His hands. And we are led to join the skies in saying that He deserves to be praised for who He is and what He has done. “1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

IIA1 If this person who is responsible for all this around us is smart, powerful, and kind, we ought to strive to be as much like Him as possible. That is easier said than done. In order for us to be able to do good to others, we have to be smart enough to figure out what they need. Sometimes that is easy. Sometimes it is not. If we aren’t aware of what is needed to benefit someone else, it’s quite apparent that we are incapable of taking care of the need.

2 There is another problem. We aren’t always even looking to be in tune with other people’s needs. It’s called selfishness. If left to ourselves, we would only look out for ourselves. If left to ourselves, we get so caught up with what we are doing, what we want, what we like , and what makes us feel good, that we don’t even see what others need, what they are missing, what we might do to benefit them.

B1 So the Psalm writer concludes: “12 Who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.” “Lord, when I look at what You do for me through Your creation and I compare it with what I do for others, I have to conclude that I don’t even think about my responsibility toward others very much. If I don’t even think about it a lot, I know I fail to be helpful, to give myself to others when they need it. Lord, I need Your forgiveness for all those failures that I don’t even know about.”

2 “But Lord, I also have a problem with things I do which hurt others. My selfishness sometimes goes into high gear. I want to take advantage of others. I want to use others. I want to get back at others who hurt me. I want to verbally abuse others. I know those things are wrong. I need Your help. I need our strength. I need Your protection so that I don’t get actively involved in things that are destructive to others and ultimately to myself. “13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. “

3 “Why do I need to avoid things that oppose Your will? Because I know they have drastic consequences. They destroy relationships. They destroy peace of mind. They destroy my relationship with You. They make me deserve Your punishment. They put me outside of Your family.

C1 How does God tell us about Himself? How does He gives us epiphanies? He has placed in each of us a basic knowledge of right and wrong. He has placed in each of us a little voice which testifies to what is right and wrong. It leads us to compare ourselves with the goodness, wisdom, and power of God. It leads us to draw a conclusion as to whether we are comparable to Him or not.

2 So, our conscience tells us we are responsible to Someone who made all things for our benefit. It tells us that we don’t do a very good job of reflecting His goodness, wisdom and power. It makes us feel uncomfortable because of our failures. It reminds us of our actions which go counter to what we know about God’s way of doing things.

3 It teaches us that we just can’t make it with this powerful, wise, and good God on our own. It teaches us that we fail. It points out to us that we need to get help from somewhere else if we are going to have a relationship with this God.

IIIA1 Sometimes our consciences don’t make very clear comments. Sometimes the circumstances in a situation seem to overwhelm us so that the conscience gets drowned out. Sometimes the selfishness within us does a good job of arguing the conscience out of what is right. Then what?

2 Then God talks to us in another way. God has written His will down. It is in the Bible. Something written down doesn’t change. Circumstances don’t alter it. Selfishness doesn’t affect it. It is an unchanging standard. “ 7 The law of the LORD is perfect.”

3 “7bThe statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” Sometimes we just can’t figure out what we ought to do in a given situation. Sometimes we don’t know what is right and wrong. Then we can go to the written word of the Lord and become educated. It makes us simple people wise.

4 Sometimes we just can’t see how to apply what we have read. We don’t see any way out of a situation. Or, we don’t see any way into a situation. 8b" The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” The solution is - God talks to us more from His Word. He will clear away our blindness so that we will see how to apply His will.

5 “9b The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous." We don’t have to second guess. We know that the Lord has given us His Word. It is true and sure. It isn’t tainted with selfishness. It doesn’t have a wrong motive. It’s what’s right.

6 So, the Lord talks to us. “11 By them (God’s words) your servant is warned.” He warns us that sin makes us guilty before Him. He warns us that sin makes us deserve His anger. He warns us that the only way to achieve His praise is by perfectly keeping His law. He warns us that the devil takes over in the lives of those who oppose His will. Those warnings make us fear God, acknowledge that He is the one to whom we are responsible. He is the one who has a perfect right to expect perfection from us because we are His creatures. Those warnings make us want not be subject to His punishment. That fear is a good thing. “9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.”

7 But we also know that if we could keep His law, we would be right with Him. If we could keep His law, things would be much better for us now. “11b in keeping them there is great reward.” So, we ask His help to implement what our conscience says is right and what our reading of His will tells us is right. “14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

B1 Did some phrases sound strange? 7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.” The Law shows us our sins. The Law threatens punishment. The Law doesn’t revive the soul. The LORD Himself is the only one who revives the soul, gives the soul life. He does that by telling us that we can live forever because Jesus died to wash away our sins, lived perfectly to cover us with His holiness, and rose so that we might live forever. The only way this verse makes sense is if we translate the word “Law” as “teaching” which is possible meaning. “Teaching” then would include both Law and Gospel. The Gospel, the good news about Jesus, is what revives our souls.

2 Another strange phrase. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The precepts of the LORD take away our joy because we can’t keep them. But the entire message of the LORD which includes what He gives us, forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life - that gives joy.

10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. God’s words, whether we call them precepts, or teaching, are sweet because they tell us about our Savior. Our Savior who lived and died and rose to give us holiness, forgiveness, and eternal life. That’s what revives the soul. That’s what give joy to the heart. That’s the most important epiphany God has given us. That is what Jesus said the Scriptures were all about. They testify to us about Him.

Lord, thank You for giving us epiphanies through the creation and from our conscience. But most importantly thank You for Your Epiphany that come to us through Your Word. The epiphany that reveals Jesus to us.