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.