Tuesday, OCT 3, 2023

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“A Foolish Memorial”

READING: I Corinthians 1:18-24 – For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

In a couple of weeks Pastor Woods, Rose, and myself will take our seventh and eighth grade confirmation classes to St. Louis for our biannual visit to Concordia Seminary, the City Museum, Ted Drew’s, and, of course, the iconic Arch. The “Gateway Arch National Monument” is a wonder and a thrill to visit. Six hundred and some feet high, it towers over all the skyscrapers in the city. From its observation deck you can look down on Busch Stadium, the Mighty Mississippi, the Old Courthouse, and nearly everything else in the downtown area and Illinois across the river.

Underneath the Arch you find the “Museum of Westward Expansion” with all kinds of artefacts, dioramas, displays, and video presentations. One of those videos is off the design, construction, and maintenance of the Arch itself. Built in the 1960’s, many in St. Louis were opposed to it. They didn’t like the design. They quailed at the cost. And there were architects who said it couldn’t be built. Yet all of these obstacles were overcome, the Arch rose steadily out of the ground, and there came the day when they slipped in place the capstone section. All over town the fire sirens and church bells pealed and St. Louis citizens puffed up their chests and said, “We did that!”

Now you’d be hard pressed to find someone in St. Louis who wasn’t proud of the Arch. It has become an icon that represents the city at a moment’s glance. Nearly every visitor to the city comes to see the Arch, even if they aren’t willing to climb into a capsule with five seats in a circle and rattle their way to the top of the thing. It was built to stand as a symbol of St. Louis’ place in our history when the city served as the jumping-off place for wagon trains, stagecoaches, and trains headed for the plains, the Rockies, and the Pacific Coast. Some thought it foolish at the start, but now it stands as testament to the pioneer spirit.

How much more the Cross of Christ Jesus! When he was nailed to that cross, naked and jeered, it was seen as a criminal’s fate and a symbol of Roman might. The cross was an instrument of torture, degradation, and death. To Jewish scholars, the Old Testament verse leapt to mind: “Cursed be anyone who hangs upon a tree…” To Gentiles it was the epitome of a life gone wrong and a miserable end to a miserable life. So when the Christian community began to boast in the cross of Christ, when the Church began to hold the cross before the eyes of the world, when the cross became an emblem of salvation and hope, those who were not Christians were offended and incredulous. To the Jews it was a stumbling block: how could any Godly prophet be hung on a tree like that? To the Gentiles (or Greeks, as they were sometimes referred to) it was all foolishness. To say that the divine Son of God was a man who was put to death by the authorities and no one rose up to defend him – this is a savior and a redeemer? No way

Still to this day the Cross of Christ is often denigrated. Hip-Hop artists and “gangstas” wear big, gaudy gold crosses as decorations, often without really knowing its meaning. Girls wear them on necklaces, again not always aware of its glory. But to you and me, to those who know the cost of our salvation that Jesus bore on that instrument of death, the cross is an icon and a symbol of the lengths to which God was willing to go to save sinful mankind from eternal damnation. It stands as a testament to a great exchange that God made in his mercy and grace: His own most precious and holy Son’s righteous in exchange for our deep and dreadful sin. We hold up that cross as the power of God and the wisdom of God on our behalf and for our salvation. The world may see foolishness; the Jew may see a stumbling block; we see the love of God and the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1) Becky and I are off next week to visit with Dan and his family in Ithaca, NY. Should be lovely there this time of year. I’ll let you know what we find!

2) WE’RE GOING TO BUC-EE’S!!! Buc-ee’s is one of the biggest and most amazing convenience stores in the country. They have everything and anything and things you’d never think of. They have amazing BBQ brisket and all sorts of eats, drinks, and treats. We’ll leave at 8:30, drive by bus to the Cultural Centre in Berea, KY, and after some time there, it’s off to Buc-ee’s for lunch and a look-see in Richmond. We should be back between 3:30 and 4:00. Sign up at the office or call Karen. 25 seats available.

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/9lTmJYO8zUs

PRINTABLE PDF: WDOct3.PDF

[email protected] — (502) 797-7407

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WEEKLY DEVOTION
OCT 2

Monday, OCT 2, 2023

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“God’s Ways Are Higher Than Ours”

Do you like to get your way? We all do to some level. As parents we have a way that we choose to raise our children. As a grandparent I’ve discovered ways to love on my grandson. As a pastor I have a way in which I write and speak and a way in which I do pastor stuff. We also all have ways of thinking about current events, how we mow the lawn in a certain pattern, or even a routine for how we go to bed at night. And then there are the big things. The way in which we love our family, how we pray, the way in which we pursue our faith or read our Bibles.

So, what happens when our way is disrupted? What happens in the simplest of measures? For example, how do you react when your normal route to work is disrupted by certain bridge being closed for more construction on the West side of the city? (If you are from Louisville you know which bridge I speak of.) What might your response be when your way of seeing the world is challenged? When our way is challenged, or disrupted, or simply overruled by a parent, for example, something deep inside may be twisting up in us. Of course, it depends a lot on what that may be. We might be OCD on how we mow our lawn but this nothing compared to someone challenging the way we may vote.

But what if a better way is offered? How is a better way determined exactly? Could we recognize a better way as a better way and would we be humble enough to listen? This is a hard question especially if the topic is deeply emotional. Is the better way really what we want or do we just want our way? This last question is especially important in light of our relationship with the Lord Himself and how serious we are about practicing our faith. This brings me to our text for this week in Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55:8-9 famously says;

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This is spoken to a fallen Israel, an Israel carried off to Babylon because they did it their way instead of God’s way. They turned to idols. They sexualized their culture to suit those idols. The powerful didn’t pay people fair wages and cheated the poor with fixed weights and measurements to defraud them. They didn’t care for the widow or the orphan. And when the Lord warns them to repent they pretended that all was okay. Jeremiah 8:13, 16 warns that the fields of Israel will be ruined—in an time when wealth was often measured in terms of fields and flocks this meant wealth wouldn’t protect them and would be lost. Their status as priest or servant at the Temple will go when the Temple is destroyed. Even being Israel’s King, as was the case with Zedekiah, the last King of Israel, will not be enough. Zedekiah’s family were killed and he was blinded and paraded about powerless to stop Babylon. Jeremiah 8:16 warns that cities will be destroyed. No one could wrap their minds around a loving God of Israel letting this happen. And for these warnings Jeremiah was arrested and threatened with death many times. False prophets also spoke words that the itching ears wanted to hear preaching peace and condemning Jeremiah as a liar, a trader, and a threat needing to be cancelled. Of course, denial is a great defense mechanism. None likes to have their worldview blown up. Evidence is in consequential to our way of things continuing. Yet the sinful ways cannot continue because they are destructive.

Yet, in the midst of this reality we have Isaiah 55 telling us that in spite of the Israel being utterly ruined and its people carried off to Babylon another King from David’s line is coming. Another kingdom is in the works. Isaiah 55:3 speaks of God making an everlasting covenant from David’s line. God’s way is established in a descendant of David one who fulfills 2 Samuel 7 where David was promised that one of His descendants will sit on His throne forever. And so we hear;

6Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

The Lord can be found today. The time to seek the Lord is now. Even if you are sitting in Babylon wondering how this happened the Lord says he is near. How does one do this? Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Trade them in for new thoughts and new ways, God’s thoughts, God’s ways. Move into it like moving into your dream house. Settle in and make yourself at home in God’s ways. Enjoy that new thinking smell. Note all the features of receiving God’s mercy in Jesus. Take in the view of heaven through the windows of God’s Word. What you will discover is that the Lord is merciful and more ready to pardon those who are repentant then one is ready to ask.

God’s ways bring us Jesus not as a conqueror nor as one who will permit sin in any form. He comes to die on a cross and then rises from the dead. He comes in a fashion that was so hard to grasp that the disciples couldn’t grasp it even though Jesus told them many times that He would suffer, be crucified, and be raised on the third day. This is how Jesus becomes the Way, the truth, and the life. He doesn’t come as one only teaching the way, the truth, and the life. He is the Way, the truth, and the life. He is the personification of all three. His way is as high as the heavens and higher than our sinful thoughts or ways. And thank God for that reality. God’s way brings us Jesus. Jesus brings us eternal life.

Compare this to Zedekiah’s way which led to the end of Israel. Compare this to the ways of Washington DC and its leaders today. You know that little circle that comes up when your computer or phone is thinking of connecting to the internet but just keeps circling and circling but never really connecting. I think that circle is permanently hovering over our nation’s capital because they are in practice so disconnected from the Lord’s way of things. That disconnected circle also defines many of our country’s churches anymore because they have abandoned the Word altogether for the modern idols. And many self-proclaimed Christians have chased after the disconnected ways of our culture within those churches. Their leaders are today’s false prophets. Truly is not so different than the days of Jeremiah and hanging in the shadow is godless nation waiting to take it all away.

However, in contrast, God’s ways are everlasting and they get us connected to God’s grace in Jesus. The ways of Zedekiah don’t work. They never work. Jesus’ ways always work when put into practice. The invitation is to seek the Lord. The beauty is that Jesus has placed Himself in a place that He can be found. Even now not far off, but with us as He has promised. May the Lord bless us with ears to hear, hearts to believe, and courage to remain faithful. In Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Matthew Woods

John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WDOct2.PDF

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/ssueed81cIY

[email protected] — (502) 523-9327

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PRINTABLE PDF: GriefShareSchFall2023.PDF

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WORSHIP SCHEDULE

Saturday, October 7 — *5:00 pm
Sunday, October 8 — 8:00 & *10:30 am
Saturday, October 14 — *5:00 pm
Sunday, October 15 — *8:00 & 10:30 am
Saturday, October 21 — 5:00 pm
Sunday, October 22 — 8:00 & *10:30 am
Saturday, October 28 — 5:00 pm
Sunday, October 29 — *8:00 & 10:30 am
* = Communion

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CHILDREN’S MINISTRY NOTES

Grace Notes started as a children’s version of the confirmation level Sermon Notes. It has grown to two full pages front and back with Bible verses according to the weekly church readings, pictures illustrating stories or verses, a prayer box, and puzzles. Grace Notes are part of the Grace Packs (single use church bags) available on Sundays.

Grace Notes are an awesome way to build on the online service as an opportunity for devotion and discussion.