Sermon for National Lutheran Schools Week/the 25th Anniversary of the Commissioning of Chris Dellinger

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [5] You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. [6] And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. [7] You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. [8] You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. [9] You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

[10] "And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, [11] and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, [12] then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. [13] It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

This is our text.

The text that has been selected for our meditation this morning is an important text in the Old Testament. It is a text that is known as the “Great Shema”. “Hear O Israel,” it says, “The Lord our God, the Lord is One.” These words were spoken by Moses. God had chosen Moses as the one who would lead his people out of their slavery in Egypt. Moses had accomplished the task that God had given to him. The Israelites were preparing to cross over the Jordan River but Moses would not be permitted to accompany them. The book of Deuteronomy is a final sermon – it is Moses' “Going Away/Farewell” message to the people that he led from slavery into freedom and into blessing. As Moses begins to develop this message he starts with the Law that God gave to his people on Mount Sinai. He reminds them of the covenant that they entered into with the Lord, the covenant that God himself established. And the next thing that he says is the words of our text – the “Great Shema”.

Shema is a Hebrew word. It is a word that means “hear”. It means “listen up”. It means turn your attention to the things that I am about to tell you. It is similar to what you might say to your son the first time you give him the keys to your car, or maybe what you might say to your neighbors son the first time he comes to take your daughter out on a date - “Listen up” I have some important instructions for you. You need to listen, and not only do you need to listen, you need to obey.

So Moses commands the Israelites to listen and this is what he commands them to listen to: this is the message that is so important for them: “The Lord our God, The Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.” About 1500 years later these words will be repeated. Jesus will repeat these words as the most important commandment – as the summary of the entire law of God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength – love God with everything you've got and if you do, if you do love God then you will keep the law – you will keep all of the commandments without exception – you will keep them perfectly. Love God and you will obey God. Love God and you will love your neighbor. Love God. Loving God begins with hearing God. Loving God begins with listening to his word as it is preached and proclaimed to us. Loving God begins with listening to His Word as it is taught to us.

Today, as you know, St Paul's is celebrating the gift that God has given to us through Lutheran Education. All week long our students have been celebrating National Lutheran Schools Week. We have had heritage day, hat day, school spirit day, we had a crazy man throw pancakes at us, we have had the special opportunity to watch a movie together. The point behind all of this has been to highlight in our minds the blessing that we have because of our school. The blessing that we have to learn and study all of the academic subjects. God has created such a wonderful world. A part of this world that God has created is the gift of language – so we study language. We study words, their definitions, their spelling, their relationship to one another through the rules of English grammar. We study how to write those words with good penmanship. We study how to read those words and how to pronounce those words. We study the order that God has built into his creation through the laws of math and science. We study the history of our world as God has provided people throughout the history of our world who have led us and shaped our way of life through their work and their thinking. All of these things are a part of the world that God has given and all of these things we study and we learn and we grown into a greater knowledge and appreciation, not just of school books and studying and learning, we grow into a greater appreciation of the God who has made all of these things. Lutheran education provides this perspective – it teaches that this world is God's world and it is his gift to us.

Today we are also hear to recognize one of the teachers that God has given to St Paul's. Today we recognize and celebrate the 25 years of service that God has given to St Paul's Lutheran Church and School through his servant Chris Dellinger. Chris certainly is one among many – St Paul's has been greatly blessed through the work of all of her teachers. But today we recognize Mrs Dellinger as one who has served diligently and faithfully in our Lutheran School to help teach those academic subjects and we are blessed through this instruction, but more than that Mrs Dellinger, through her faithful teaching and through her incorporation of the word of God into that teaching has taught us and our children those words of our Lord so that we might hear and believe.

Today, while we honor our Lutheran School and while we honor one who has taught so faithfully in our school, what makes these things worth recognizing is fact that they have assisted us in following through in obeying this all important command of God.

God wants us to listen. He wants us to hear his word. IF we are going to hear that means that there must be someone around to speak. Speaking the word of God involved teaching. God wants there to be teachers, because God wants us to hear his word, because God wants us to listen to his word.

In our text, Moses makes this point by use of a literary technique known as hyperbole. Perhaps we could have one of our students stand up and give us a definition for hyperbole – test them and see if they have been paying attention in their classes. Hyperbole is overstating your case for the sake of emphasis. For example – I am so hungry I could eat a whale is an example of hyperbole. Of course, literally I could not eat a whale. I am just trying to emphasize how hungry I am. In a similar way, Moses says to “tie these words of God to your forehead and on your wrists and write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates”. Moses is not commanding us to do this literally. Moses is simply emphasizing the point that he just made. If you are going to hear the Word of God, you are going to have to talk about it. You are going to have to talk about it when you get up in the morning. You are going to have to talk about it as you go through your daily routine. You are going to have to talk about it. You are going to have to talk about it when your day is coming to a close and you are getting ready to go to bed.

Parents, this is first and foremost your job. The primary place that this is to occur is in your house. God has commanded you to be teachers. He has commanded you to instruct your children in the words of God. You are to teach them first of all to love God. You are to teach them what it means to love God. You are to teach them to obey God commandments through learning them and applying them. Parents you are also to teach your children what God has done for them. You are to teach them that they are sinners who do not obey the commands of God. You are to teach them that God sent His Son Jesus to die for their sins on the cross. You are to teach them to pray. You are to teach them about their baptism. You are to teach them the Christian faith. These things are your God given responsibility. Our text right here says so. Do this at home, do this as you drive in the car, do them when you sit down to eat, do this when you get up in the morning, do this when you go to bed at night. Teach your children. It is God's command to you.

Parents, as you send your children to St Paul's School you have help in accomplishing this task. You have faithful teachers who help you with this. Now it just so happens that my office shares an adjoining wall with Mrs. Dellinger's room. And when you have a room full of very young children you are going to have occasion to raise your voice to be heard. From time to time I will get to listen in on the preschool and kindergarten classes as Mrs Dellinger instructs them. I can hear her fulfilling this command for you. I am your witness. I have heard the story of the Gospel being told. I have heard the story being sung in songs that are about the Christians faith and about Jesus. I have heard through the wall your children fulfilling this command of Jesus hear, to listen, to obey. They begin with it in the morning. The end with it as they close their day. The word of God is before them throughout the day.

You can never begin to count the blessing in this. You can't put a price tag on it. GOD promises so many blessings through the fulfilling of this command. As we hear, as we listen we are promised that the Word of God is alive and active. Romans tells us that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word.” The Holy Spirit is active through the Word of God. The Word of God is alive and it is powerful The Word of God is doing and accomplishing things that you could never even imagine. The word of God is crushing us in our sin, convincing us that we have not obeyed and fulfilled these commands. The word of God is pointing us to Jesus who has died for these sins and forgiven us so that we might be saved. The word of God is bringing us to life where we were formerly dead in our sins so that we might believe in him.

As we hear this word of God, as we send our children right here to St Paul's Lutheran Day School, as we come ourselves to worship, as we read the word of God in our homes when we wake up, when we sit down to eat, when we lie down to go to bed God is there. He is forgiving our sins and strengthening our faith so that we are kept safe and brought securely to heaven. Is there anything better.

Every parent that takes seriously their God given responsibility of caring for their children wants only what is best for their children. Parents will sacrifice to ensure the good health, the happiness, the safety of their children. Parents will endure all kinds of discomfort and inconvenience all to make certain that their children are okay. Children are a parents greatest treasure and that is evident in the sacrifices that they make for them. Understanding this love that we have for our children, there is then no greater gift that we could give them than the word of God, than the continued hearing and teaching of God's Word of forgiveness of love and of grace.

Today we thank God that he has provided for us here at St Paul's that very gift through the work and through the service of our Lutheran Schools and our Lutheran school teachers – especially today for the service of Mrs Chris Dellinger. These are gifts given by God to point us back to Him.

Amen.

Sermon for the 4th Sunday in Lent - Luke 15:11-32

[11] "There was a man who had two sons. [12] And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them.

What if he was your son? What if you had two sons and the younger came to you with that request? “Dad, give me my inheritance now. Everything that you have worked for, that you have sacrificed for, everything that you have built for yourself and your family over your entire lifetime – half of it is going to be mine when you die anyway. I will be able to do whatever I want to with it. I am tired of waiting. I want what I've got coming to me so I can spend it now.”

What would you think? How would you feel? Would you be hurt? Would you be offended? Would you be angry with your son? Would you write him out of your will? Would you do what the father did here in the text. Would you calculate your net worth, bank accounts, investments, house, car, possessions and divide that value in half. Would you then give half of everything to this son-of-yours knowing full well what he was going to do with it? Knowing full well that within a short time everything that you had built over an entire life-time would be wasted and squandered?

I can't imagine that anybody would. I can't imagine that any one of us would so willingly surrender so much to someone with such a poor sense of responsibility, to someone so lacking in character and good sense. We would think such a father to be incompetent and foolish. We would think that such a father was enabling his son to continue to make poor choices. We would be looking for a life lesson. But the father does nothing of the sort. He simply grants the son his request and waits for his return.

Last week we mentioned the literary term “Hyperbole” (speaking in extremes for the sake of making a point). This is no hyperbole. Jesus is not painting an unrealistic portrait just to make us think a bit harder. Jesus is teaching us about the nature of the forgiveness of our heavenly Father. He is teaching us about the patience and the love that our heavenly father has for us each and every time we wander away from him. Each time we set our sights and build our plans around ideas that are sinful, around ideas that contradict sound reasoning and that call into question our relationship with the Father, he still loves us completely. And then, after we have falllen on our faces he takes us back – no questions asked. He forgives us and restores us just as if we had never left. If the parable is at all extreme it is only because the love that God has for us and the forgiveness that he has for us is extreme. In spite of our sin our heavenly father loves us more than what we could ever imagine.

If we were to characterize the sin of the younger son – there are many that we could point to. The first sin however is one that does not seem to get much attention. Before squandering his father's wealth, before dis-honoring his father with the sinful request, the son was guilty of coveting. The son was guilty of wanting something that had not been given to him – he was guilty of scheming to get something that belonged to the father.

There are of course 10 commandments. Among the ten commandments there are some that seem to get the most attention – sins such as stealing, adultery, murder, worshiping false gods and even dishonoring parents. But the last 2 commandments are tacked on to the back of the list and are seldom talked about. Sometimes we even forget about the sin of coveting. Sometimes we forget that the sin of coveting can cause us so much trouble.

It was the sin of coveting that got the nation of Israel into trouble with their kings. When God led the Israelites into the promised land they were blessed with a theocracy – they were ruled directly by God himself. God gave them laws. God guarded them and protected them. God granted them safety and success and peace. But the Israelites began to look around at the nations around them. The big nations with the big armies and all the wealth and territory had kings. The Israelites looked at the wealth. They looked at the power of these pagan nations and they began to covet. They thought to themselves that God must be holding out on them. So they called Samuel the prophet of the LORD and said to him, we want a king. Samuel warned them, “A king will take your daughters for wives. He will send your sons off to fight his wars. He will make you pay taxes.” But the people didn't listen. They wanted what they wanted and even though it was going to be bad for them God allowed them to have it. God knew that the request was sinful. He knew that if he gave them what they wanted it would hurt them. But God allowed them to have it anyway.

Their first king was Saul. His appearance was exactly what they would have hoped for. He was tall. He was good looking. But he was a terrible king. He led the people away from God. He led them into failure. The nation of Israel suffered because of their king. The next king was David. David was well known because of his faithfulness. His son was Solomon, noted for his wisdom. But the kings after Solomon began to lead them further and further away from God. They led the nation further into sinful practices and pagan influences until the nation of Israel was utterly apostate – they had forsaken the covenant with God and they were overrun by their enemies. Because they had wandered away from God and from his protection, they were conquered and carried off into exile. It all began with the simple sin of coveting.

Likewise with the prodigal son. He saw the wealth of his father. He began to think of all the things that he would be able to spend that money on. He began to think of how much he would be able to enjoy the finer things in life. Never mind the fact that these things were not his, that they were not given to him by God. Instead of trusting God, that he would provide for him all good things, that God would provide for him everything that he needed, instead of seeing everything that he had and even everything that he did not have as a gift from God,he wanted what he wanted and so he cooked up a scheme to get it.

So what about you? How have you broken God's command not to covet? What things have you set your sights on that God has not given to you? Are there things in your life that you think you should have? Are there things that you feel God has with held from you? Have you ever gotten angry at God because he has taken something or maybe even someone away from you. Do you feel like God has cheated you out of what you deserve?

The book of James has this to say: “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. [3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. [4] You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:2-4) So often we are motivated by our passions. So often we are motivated by the things that we see in the world around us. We want to be happy. We want to be successful. We want to be in love. That isn't too much to ask is it? Those are all good things that God has given, that God has created. Those are all things that God wants us to have. Is it so bad for us to want them.

But what if God has not given them? What if we have asked and God has not responded to our request? What if we have asked God to give something that he hasn't given? What if we have asked him to take something away that still remains? Is it wrong for us to want them? Is it wrong for us to still try to get them? Is it wrong for us to complain that we don't have them?

Was it wrong for the prodigal son to desire his inheritance? He was the son. He was the heir. It would be his eventually.

Was it wrong for the Israelites to desire a king? Kings were effective in raising armies. They were successful in promoting the wellbeing of the nation – look at all of the advancements made in ancient societies under the influence of kings – look at all of the inventions and innovations that came because the societies were organized under one ruler. Was it bad for the nation of Israel to desire a level playing field with the world around them?

Is it wrong for you to desire a happy family, a loving spouse? A job? A house? A friendship? Fulfillment? Satisfaction? Are these sinful desires? They are if they get in the way. They are if we refuse to be content until we have them.

If you look at the text of the parable, just in terms of the space that it occupies on the page – the bulk of the parable is really not even about the son. Yes Jesus tells us about the son. He tell us about his sin of coveting, and all the other sins that he committed, but the real meat of the story, the part that Jesus is really itching to tell, the part of the story that gets the most attention is the part about the father. Jesus wants us to understand just how much love and just how much forgiveness the father has for his son.

As Jesus tells the parable, we learn that son hit the bottom. His poor choices finally got the better of him and he made his way home. He realized his situation and decided to go back, even planning out the speech that he was going to give to his father. But while the son was still a long ways off the father saw him. That can only lead us to believe that he was searching for him – he was sitting outside on his front porch scanning the horizon with the thought that “maybe today will be the day that my son returns.” The wise yet loving father knew that his son would squander his wealth. He knew that he would completely fail and he knew that when he did he would have no where else to go. He held out for the hope that his son would return. And return he did. When the father saw the son, he didn't pretend to be coy. He didn't stand in the door way with his feet set and his arms crossed, with a stern look on his face and demanding look in his eyes. He didn't demand a full apology. Of all the things that he could have done, that we probably would have done he simply got down and ran.

In Jesus' day and age, Important people didn't run. People who ran were in a hurry. People who were in a hurry were worried about making other people wait. If you were important, you had everyone else worried about waiting for you. This father didn't care about dignity or honor when he saw his son. He just ran.

The Son began to sputter out his rehearsed apology but the father barely even heard. As the son was still trying to get the words out the father interrupted, calling out to his servants, “Get some clothes, not just any clothes the best we have, get some shoes, get a ring for his finger” (the ring was something that would be worn by a son to show that he was an heir to the estate). In an instant the son was forgiven. He was reinstated as a son. Even though he had squandered his inheritance he was again an heir. He was back in the family just like he never left.

And then to further demonstrate how completely the forgiveness had been given, there was a celebration that was thrown. They killed the fattened calf – the animal that was being saved and prepared for a special feast – for a special celebration, for a special occasion. The return of the son was just such and occasion. The explanation that the father gives for all of this: “My son was lost and he is found, he was dead and he is alive again.”

And such is God the Father's response to you. It doesn't matter the sin. It doesn't matter how small you might think it is, it doesn't matter how big you might think it is. If you have sinned, if you have wandered from God's truth, God is waiting, hoping against hope for you to come to your senses, realize where you have failed and return. He is planning a celebration to be held in your honor. If you have already returned, then you already know. You have already felt his love and forgiveness, you have already felt his embrace around you. You have already been re-clothed with his righteousness. You are already enjoying the feast of forgiveness and salvation and joy.

In St John's first epistle he writes “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God is waiting in the wings with forgiveness. God is already planning the celebration for sinners who repent and return. God is longing for every sinner to repent so that his celebration can begin.

Amen.

April Newsletter Article

Dear Members of St Paul,

During this past month we have been following the Theme of Jesus our Suffering Savior during our midweek Lenten services. We have talked about the wounds of Jesus, we have talked about the appearance of Jesus, we have talked about the fact that we have come to believe the story of Jesus when at first we refused, we have talked about the fact that we are like wandering sheep who have strayed from the Shepherd. All of these individual themes are derived from the Isaiah 53 passage that has been our theme throughout this Lenten season.

Soon Lent will be finished. The first Sunday in April is Palm Sunday. That marks the beginning of Holy Week. Holy Week will continue our meditation upon the sufferings of Jesus. This week culminates in the celebration of Good Friday where we remember the suffering of Jesus on the cross. But Good Friday is the end – it is the end of suffering and it is the end of sadness. On the following Sunday – on Easter Sunday our joy is reborn.

As Christians we live our lives in that constant in-between area caught in the middle of sadness and joy. As we see our sin, as we see the suffering of Jesus, as we see our own suffering we are moved to sadness – but this sadness never can get the better of our joy. This sadness is there as a constant reminder, it always tries to rob away our joy. But our joy is always there.

We have joy because of Jesus. We have joy because of the fact that three days after his death, his life was given back to him. God looked at the sacrifice of Jesus and he said that it was enough. The price had been pain in full and there was not going to be any need for any more payment to be made. Because of Jesus we have so much freedom and therefor we have so much to be thankful for. We have so much reason for joy.

As we go through our Holy Week observance, we do so being mindful of our Suffering Savior. But we keep our eyes our for Easter where our Suffering Savior is given victory over sin because of his wounds.

May the Joy of Easter be yours,

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Schlueter

Confirmation Information Letter

Dear Parents of St Paul Confirmation Students,

Confirmation is always an important time in the life of our young people. In some ways it serves as a point of transition – from youth toward adulthood, from baptized membership only to communicant membership, from sharing the faith of your parents to independently making your own confession of faith. In that last sense especially, confirmation is a vital time. It is a solemn and sincere vow. To see a young person stand before a congregation and willingly and joyfully confess the faith of the Scriptures and then vow to be faithful to that confession of faith even unto death is an exciting thing. It is a sign for us the faith given at baptism is alive.

I am writing this letter to provide you with the information that you will need for the quickly approaching confirmation of your 7^th grade student. Some important details regarding your student's confirmation are as follows:

• Confirmation Verses may be chosen from the attached sheet. I will reserve the final choice for the verses. Students and parents are encouraged to select those verses together. Please indicate your top three choices by writing the references in the spaces provided. You may choose a verse other than those listed, simply indicate the reference in one of the three slots.

• I plan on interviewing each confirmand individually before confirmation Sunday. I will ask them questions about Christian doctrine according to what they have studied and I will ask them about their commitment to that faith and their desire to be confirmed.

• Confirmation Sunday will be Palm Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 10:00 AM.

• First Communion will be during the Maundy Thursday service. The confirmation class will sit together and attend communion together.

• Please have your child's baptismal sponsors present on Confirmation Sunday. Sponsors and Parents will stand before the altar as their respective child is confirmed.

This may or may not be a comprehensive list of all the needed information. If you have questions please call me or email me. I look forward to experiencing with you this exciting time in the life of your confirmation student.

Peace in Christ,

Rev. Paul Schlueter

St. Paul Lutheran Church

Confirmation Verses

Name:________________________________

Here is a list of recommended confirmation verses. You may select up to three choices from the following verses. If you would like to submit a verse that is not on the list as a possible choice for a confirmation verse, you may do that also. I select a confirmation verse from one of your top three choices.

Please list the scripture references of your top three in the spaces below:

Choice 1:________________________________

Choice 2::________________________________

Choice 3::________________________________

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Proverbs 30:5

Every word of God proves true;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Psalm 23:1

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;

he will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 21:22

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."

Matthew 28:20

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Luke 11:28

But (Jesus) said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 8:12

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

John 8:31-32

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, [32] and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 10:27-28

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Acts 16:31

And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Ephes. 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

1 Cor. 6:20

For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Rev. 2:10

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.