Darkness & Light; Blindness & Sight Part 1
Good morning, and Welcome to our first attempted live streaming at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. The Lord be with you. And this is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. We're going to try to live stream the entire service and work every recording it as well. So in the worst case scenario if things don't go well this morning, they'll be a recording of it on our website. But by the grace of God things will go well and you will be able to enjoy the service wherever you are. So we're going to begin right away get started with our first song and then proceed with rest of the service.
And I'm coming.
So we are able to answer the call of God's presence this morning in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Does this God the Lord created the heavens and stretch them out who spread out the Earth and what comes from it who gives birth to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in. He says I am the Lord I have called you and righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you I will give you as a coming in for the people. I like for the Nations Open the eyes that are blind to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon from the prison those who sit in darkness. In the darkness of the world around us and I made our own blindness to his will and way God damn calls us to confess our sins which we will do together.
Let us pray return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful slow to anger abounding in steadfast love. And I will pose for a few moments of personal confession.
And we continue to pray God of God and light of light I confess that by Nature. I am sinful and unclean morning Darkness. I am often too blind to your word into your work in my life sitting against you and against others in thought word and deed for the sake of Jesus. Who is the light of the world forgive me all my sins that my eyes may be opened in my heart and lectins to look to you in faith and hope all men.
Almighty God in his Mercy has given his son to die for you. And for his sake for gives you all your sins through his death on the cross. Jesus Christ has shined his eternal lights for forgiveness. Peace and life on you. So not mean the place and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ as his called and ordained servant. I therefore forgive you all of your sins in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit's a man. Thanks be to God. And even though we would now normally share the peace with each other today will just simply say the Peace of the Lord be with you always on man.
At this time we continue with the reading of God's word for today. The first reading comes from the book of the prophet, Isaiah and chapter 42 beginning verse 14. For a long time I have held my peace. I have kept still and restrained myself. Now. I will cry out like a woman in labor. I will gas and pant I will lay waste mountains and hills and dry up all the vegetation. I will turn the rivers into islands and dry up the pools and I will leave the blind in a way that they do not know impasse that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light. The rough places to level ground. These are the things I do and I do not forsake them. They are turned back and utterly put to shame who trust in car titles and who say to a metal images you are gods. Here and look you blind that you may see who is blind. But my servant or Jeff as my messenger whom I send who is blind as my dedicated one or blind as a servant of the Lord. He sees many things but does not observe them. His ears are open, but he does not hear the Lord was pleased for his righteousness sake to magnify his law and make it glorious. This is the word of the Lord from the Old Testament.
And in the New Testament we read in the letter of Paul to the Ephesians in chapter 5 at one time. You were Darkness. Now you are light in the Lord walk as children of light for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. It is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed By the Light becomes visible for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says awake o sleeper and rise from the dead that Christ May shine on you. This is the word of the Lord from the New Testament. And from the holy Gospel of St. John in chapter 9 we read various versus beginning at verse 1. Glory to you. Oh Lord. As Jesus passed by he saw a man walking from birth to disciples ask him Rabbi who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind and it was not that this man send or his parents, but at their works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day is coming when no one can work as long as I am in the world. I am the light of the world Having said these things he spat on the ground and made mud with a saliva. And then he Anointed The Man's eyes with the mud and he said to him go wash in the pool of Salome, which means sent so he went and washed and came back soon. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been formally born blind now was a seventh day was Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received this. He said to them to put mud on my eyes and I washed and I see Some of the Pharisee said this man is not from God when he does not keep the Sabbath but the other said how can a man who was a sinner do such signs and it was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man. What do you say about him since he has open your eyes and he said he is a prophet. So they answered him you were born and other sin and you would teach us and I cast them out. Jesus heard that he had been cast out and having found him. He said do you believe in the son of man he answered and who is he sir that I may believe in Jesus said to him you have seen him it is he who is speaking to you? He said Lord, I believe and you worship Him. And then Jesus said for judgment I came into this world that they do not see Macy and those who she may become blind. This is the gospel of the Lord praise to you o Christ. Not one response to the reading of God's word we can fast together. They're starving Christian faith as we find it in the Nicene Creed and we will pause and for a few moments of quiet at the pivot point on the Creed every Potter the mystery of God becoming human.
I believe in one God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and Earth and of all things visible and invisible and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God begotten of his father before all worlds God of God light of Lights. Very God of very God begotten not made being of one substance with the father by whom all things were made for us than that for our Salvation came down from heaven and wasn't caught up by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man.
I was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried and the third day he rose again according to the scriptures and he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the father and he will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead whose kingdom will have no end and I believe in the Holy Spirit the Lord and Giver of Life who proceeds from the father and the son go with the father and the son together is worship and glorified who spoke by the prophets and I believe in one holy Christian Apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come on man. And I will continue our service with the next song.
Grace mercy, peace be to each of you from God our Father through Jesus Christ. His only son and I are only Lord and Savior, man. Today's going to be a little bit different PSN be a lot different dinner in a number of ways. The church is empty. First of all. Second of all, I don't really have a whole lot of notes. I have a couple of verses that I'd like to share with you just from the heart and and we will get to that momentarily BuzzFeed. I think we have some we have some funnies I wasn't going to do funny but given the I don't know the emotional state of the world. Let's do some funny showing. Do we have pennies?
Okay, so there's a toilet paper Garden. the next generation of supplies All right. What's the next 100 the Panic Room is finally finished. I don't know if the way you guys can see it on the camera the Panic Room of flowers and toilet paper. I don't know something about this virus. It's kind of got the toilet paper. I'm not sure what exactly it is in finally. Oh, yeah. What are you wearing Jake from State Farm? a hazmat suit
Okay, I don't know. Hopefully you all saw that. We talked today. The readings are about light and darkness blindness and sight and we'll get to that in just a few minutes. I kind of want to connect the last week first if you were here find it maybe you heard around 8 on the website and if you have it, maybe you can still predict should still be there. We talked last week about the situation that we find ourselves in. I don't generally do this. Thought about throwing events, but it's hard not to feel like when when Sandy was here. It's hard not to talk about Sandy when Sandy was here in the aftermath. So we talked last week about fear. That is very widespread. And we talked about how the Bible says that God did not give us a spirit of fear. But rather is Spirit of love and self-control and power power love and self-control from the dad to the New Testament reading last week which talks about the lessons. We can receive in suffering no matter what that suffering looks like no matter who has it. No matter what it is. God still takes that And turns it from being meaningless to being meaning. Which is something good in it. And so in Romans chapter 5 last week. We saw that suffering produces perseverance and then perseverance produces a character that is stronger and a character the stronger produces hope and all that that's based upon the love that God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. So today I kind of want to go baby on that and talk about the next phase if you will be on fear and that is worried.
Fear is kind of like 13. What if something bad negative happens where he is sort of kind of anticipation that something bad was going to happen. And then of course there's things which you can Define as the dread of something bad or negative happening. I don't know what it is a good dictionary definitions. That's what I kind of how I Delaney ate them. For Jesus speaks to our worries. Especially as this kind of ink is spreading and especially as there are more and more consequences. And people are enjoying and encountering. Thanks. So listen to Jesus in Matthew chapter 6 beginning and verse 25 He says if you want to follow along if you're if you're listening and watching at home following the Bible Matthew 6:25. Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life. What you will eat or drink? What about your body what you will wear? It's not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes. Look at the birds of the air they do not show or reap or store away in Barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? And who of You by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Search Jesus gives us some profound wisdom and some profound reasons In this passage. But before we do that, please notice that it begins with the word therefore in verse 25 therefore. So that means something just came up of it that is important and back it is if you go to verse 19 Matthew chapter, 16:19, they are Jesus says this do not store up for yourselves Treasures on Earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal stood up for yourself Treasures in Heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Okay, so that's what they're for is based on we have these kind of two option. We can either make our Treasures as we go through life. We can either make our Treasures on this Earth and therefore they are always insecure. Or we can make our Treasures in Heaven. Where they are always sick you are. And whatever we make our treasurer. Is where we're going to invest our heart. That's where our hearts going to go. It's either going to go to the things of this world which candy K and get stolen or lost stock market. Or our hearts going to go to the treasures that we are accumulating in heaven that God will grant us and eternal life. Those are the two options. and therefore Jesus of course is directing us to the treasures in heaven and therefore verse 25. I tell you do not worry about your life. Do not worry about the things of this world. Do not anticipate negative bad things happening in terms of what you're going to eat. What you going to drink?
Because it's a whole lot more to life than what you're going to eat. And it's a whole lot more to life than what you're going to wear. No matter what the fashion designers are saying.
the best example we have
a god from Heaven providing for our needs on Earth. He says in verse 26 is the birds. The birds look at it. They don't go to stores. They don't Farm. And yet your heavenly father feeds them and provides for them. Now. Look if this is how God takes care of the birds.
Is anybody do a better job with you? Cuz aren't you more valuable than they are?
cursive r Remember 27, is that profound wisdom that he's got to put the icing on the cake any says who of You by worrying by anticipating negative things? Can add a single hour to his life? Of course, the answer was no one but in fact we know by by worrying. We not only not a single hour. We did tract from our life. We did track from the length of our life depends on the quality of our life as we worry. There is no point to it. God has you. God has us.
In from Heaven, he will supply what we need on Earth. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go out of work. It does mean that there is no reason to worry. Okay verse 28. And I'll follow me. So I'm just going to read that through and I will just got to work that through and then why do you worry about clothes? She says it was 28 look at the Lilies of the Field and how they grow they do not think they do not spend and yet I tell you that not even Solomon all this Splendor was dressed like one of these if that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow through the fire. Will he not much more clothe?
So do not worry and say what shall we eat? What shall we drink when she'll be where?
Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. And all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself each day has enough trouble of its own. And again here Jesus hands with a profound Word of Wisdom which we have to wait a minute.
Farm, and now it's want to hear we're looking at the flowers at the lilies. They don't go to work either. They don't go to stores either and yet in verse 29, they can't compare to Solomon in all his glory and that must have been some kind of thing some kind of Glory back in the days of Solomon and the temple and the kingdom and the palace and his wisdom and all the people that came in to see him and talk to him and inquire of it at all. Must have been something else in yet. It's not a whole lot of anything compared to the flowers that are already out. immature jokes today That's how God close them. That's how God provides for them. That's how God beautifies them and yet tomorrow they'll be gone. And look how beautiful God has made them. Want he do the same for you?
What he'd do the same for you in terms of providing for you. Look at the birds with the flowers verse 31, so do not worry. 50 Cent don't go to work. It says you're not worried about those fundamental things about eating and drinking and clothing. This is what I believe was a running after this is what unbelievers are chasing and pursuing and and worried about and fearful of an anxious about not you not us. Not the people of God. Because we are running after something else. We are pursuing something else. We're chasing after something else and verse 33.
his kingdom and his righteousness his presence in our lives his pronouncement of Innocence
his rule in our lives and his relationship with us. So that we know that he is always with us. We know that we are not alone know that we are forgiven. We know that we are blessed. We know that we are Grace. by him And then from this place in this world of our relationship with God of being in the kingdom of God. Then he will provide these other things all of these things will be given to you as well. All of those things that unbelievers are chasing after.
They're all his he will bestow them. He will grant you. He will gift you. enough for the day and 34 hands with that. Other profound wisdom in this passage from Jesus do not worry about tomorrow cuz I think that a lot of what where he is worries about tomorrow anxieties about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. We haven't gotten there yet. We just have today. So we each day has enough trouble of its own is natural each day has enough trouble of its own. That's why Jesus. Give us our daily bread. That's why all the anonymous groups have is one that mantras one day at a time. What comes from what is based on each day has enough trouble of its own. Let's just get through today. Shall we? When we get to tomorrow. God has a supply of our needs for tomorrow and that's why in the wilderness when you fed them with Manna. There was only enough for one day that day and the people gathered too much for tomorrow. God made sure that it rotted but I was a hard lesson to learn a hard lesson to teach But this is what freezes from worry.
Every Thursday then now getting back to the readings for today. This is Dan what differentiates living a life of lightness and darkness from living a life of Sight & Light. It is the unbelievers were running and chasing after these things that God already owns that God provide and so their lives our lives of darkness and blindness. Metro Bus natural for Christians We are people of the light we are followers of the lights and living in the light means. Letting go of the worry. And trusting him for today.
In which he will provide according to his own word and promise look listen. He's already giving us Jesus. He's already given us his son. He's already given us that son into it. He's already given us through that son peace and mercy and forgiveness and Grace and blessing and favor.
You think he's going to withhold bread?
You think you're going to withhold what you need? He's already giving us Jesus. He's already giving us his kingdom and in that Kingdom with Jesus, all the things we need for life in this world today not tomorrow today. And that's what it means to live in the light and to follow Jesus the light of the world. God grant that to us for his sake and in his name. I'm at
At this time, we would normally do that in tithes and offerings in our service. So instead on this electronic online version, please watch this coming video.