From the Pastor - January 2024

Save Christmas! Save Advent, too! When the commercialization of Christmas robs us of the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior, the thievery does not stop there. It also robs us of the Season of Advent, which is a season of repentance preparing us both for Jesus’ Second Coming in Judgment and for His first coming, His birth.

The Twelve Days of Christmas complete their days in January. No matter what stores and radio stations would have you believe, the Twelve Days of Christmas are not the 12 days BEFORE Christmas. They are the twelve days AFTER Christmas, culminating in The Epiphany of Our Lord on January 6th. So, the first week of January remains the Season of Christmas. 

We must save the true meaning of Christmas from those who pervert the season for their own profane use. The commercialization of our sacred days does the church no good. I remember about 25 years ago when I lived in Indianapolis. One of the big box stores filled their aisles and their shelves with their holiday wares at the end of September. There was such an outcry that the store removed these goods from their shelves until later in the Fall. They restocked their shelves prematurely, but they did bend to public pressure – for a time! As the years have passed, Christmas decorations have been placed on sale earlier and earlier. In the process, they have diminished the value of not only Christmas, but of Advent, and of the last Sundays of Pentecost which usually have an End Times, Judgment theme.

These are not the only church festivals or seasons to suffer. Halloween, known in the church as All Hallows' Eve or All Saints Eve, is another stolen sacred day! Not to mention that Thanksgiving has been all but eclipsed by Christmas decorations in October. In the past, I was horrified when stores sent out advertising fliers promoting sales over the Twelve Days before Christmas. They took our entire season, the Twelve Days of Christmas and set it to a commercial tune. The season of Christmas runs from Christmas Day through January 5th. In the past, many families would put up their Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and then leave it up through Epiphany. 

But with the commercialization of Christmas, Christmas trees often go up around Thanksgiving day and are taken down after Christmas day. Christmas is over in the minds of many when in fact the Christmas season has only begun! Christmas is thought to be over when the wrapping paper from our presents is tossed in the recycle bin. Just when I thought that I would find it hard to be scandalized more, I received advertising fliers promoting the 40 days of Christmas, evidently latching on to the Season of Lent and its 40 days of repentance. So, you see, by this they rob us of the spiritual benefits of Christmas, Advent, and Pentecost. Will they leave the church nothing sacred? Must all that is sacred be transformed into that which is profane? Well, this is Satan’s will. It is what the Evil One does.

One negative aspect of this commercialization in the world is that it impacts our attitudes and practices in the church. Sadly, we are overly influenced by worldly things. This is the main purpose of this article.  The Season of Advent with its 4 Sundays, which is truly a season of repentance preparing for the comings of our Lord, simply becomes a lengthened Season of Christmas. Christmas trees and Christmas decorations go up after Thanksgiving, the festivities and joy of Christmas swallowing up and consuming the Advent theme of repentance. So, Christmas is celebrated for 5 ½ weeks and Advent fades in importance. If Advent loses its import, will we maintain our focus on being prepared by means of repentance and faith for Jesus’ Second Coming in judgment? I fear not.

Christmas focuses on Jesus’ first coming, His birth. Advent focuses on Jesus’ Second Coming on the Last Day. Only on the fourth Sunday in Advent do we turn even to the conception of Jesus., but even then we do not broach His birth. That is reserved for Christmas Day. Do not become drowsy. We must be alert! Awake! Prepared! And all this through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

The above points are noticeable when I am out in the community. I went to a doctor’s appointment the first week of January some years ago. The doctor, knowing that I was a pastor, apologized for the Christmas decorations which were still up on January 3rd or 4th. I said, “No need to apologize. This is good!” I then explained the 12 days of Christmas. This person was relieved, thankful and amazed that this was the first time to hear this. As a life-long Christian, this person had never heard the true meaning of the 12 days of Christmas and the Christmas season. 

This year I spoke with someone who told me that they had decorated for Christmas just after Thanksgiving. They spoke positively of how relaxing these decorations were. I don’t doubt for a minute that this is true. Christmas decorations are beautiful and meaningful. But, consider this. What if, instead of prematurely decorating for Christmas, this individual decorated with an Advent wreath in the home during the 4 weeks of Advent? Is this not an aid to our Christian meditation? Would meditations on Jesus and His work not give us peace?

What if each week a candle was lighted and the meaning of the Advent wreath meditated upon and explained to others as we have opportunity? This would uphold this season of repentance and focus on the Judgment which is to come. For example, one could explain that the 4 candles, one more of which is lighted each Sunday, symbolizes the time before the coming of the Christ child. The light of prophesy grew brighter and brighter as the age progressed. Finally, on Christmas Eve, the white Christ candle in the center of the wreath is lighted, demonstrating the fulfillment of Jesus’ words: “I am the light of the world.” In this way, we would be prepared for Christmas Day and the birth of our Lord.

None of which I have written is intended to label Christmas decorations during Advent as sinful. I’m simply trying to emphasize the benefit of maintaining Advent as a traditional season of repentance and Christmas as the season of our Savior’s birth. Amen. Come Lord Jesus! Remain alert and awake, dear friends.

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - October 2023

The Saint Day of Ignatius of Antioch, Pastor and Martyr, occurs on October 17th each year. It is believed that Ignatius was martyred in Rome by the Roman emperor on October 17th, A.D. 107. What brought Ignatius’ death about? A major persecution of Christians occurred in his day. One report stated that thousands of Christians were being murdered every day. Ignatius was the most prominent martyr of the many.

Ignatius was Bishop of the church in Antioch, Syria, a major city on an important trade route. He may well have studied theology, along with the Church Father Polycarp, while sitting at the feet of the Apostle John.  Polycarp was also martyred, but we can’t go into his death at this time – even though it is one of my favorite accounts - other than to note that the date of his martyrdom is usually listed around the dates A.D. 155 – 168. This means that a student of the Apostle John’s teaching lived until the middle of the 2nd century. 

Until his death, Polycarp would have been able to firmly hold to Jesus’ teaching and counter naysayers by responding: “This doctrine I teach to Ignatius and to Polycarp and to the church I learned from the Apostle John who learned from Jesus Christ, Himself. This doctrine is unchanged for 130 years.” We remain steadfast; Christ’s doctrine is not changed in our day. We cling to Jesus’ teaching and the apostolic writings found in our New Testament. Even if we face martyrdom, we must hold to, and contend for, the faith once delivered to the saints.

Both Polycarp and Ignatius are examples of faithfulness unto death. They persevered in the faith into which they were baptized. They have received the crown of life. May their faithfulness uplift our hearts as we consider the work of the Holy Spirit among the children of God throughout all of time. The same Spirit who upheld Ignatius and Polycarp upholds us today. To encourage others, Ignatius wrote them letters. 

Ignatius penned 7 noteworthy letters, one of which we will now briefly examine, his letter to Polycarp. Ignatius had been falsely found guilty by the Roman empire, having been charged with violating their laws. This was patently untrue, but he was under a death sentence no matter what. Ignatius was arrested and sent to Caesar Trajan in Rome to be killed there in a most horrific manner.

The historian Coxe writes on Ignatius’ letter to Polycarp: 

“Take, then, as a specimen, these thrilling injunctions from his letter to Polycarp, to whom he bequeathed his own spirit, and in whom he well knew the Church would recognize a sort of survival of St. John himself. ...let [the reader] learn by heart the originals of the following aphorisms:

1. Find time to pray without ceasing.
2. Every wound is not healed with the same remedy.
3. The times demand thee, as pilots the haven.
4. The crown is immortality.1
5. Stand like a beaten anvil.2
6. It is the part of a good athlete to be bruised and to prevail.
7. Consider the times: look for Him who is above time.
8. Slight not the menservants and the handmaids.
9. Let your stewardship define your work.
10. A Christian is not his own master, but waits upon God.”[1]

Ignatius knew from experience what it meant to pray without ceasing. Facing death in the Coliseum at Rome at the teeth of lions and bears, Ignatius trusted in the Lord to deliver his soul even as his body was given into death at the hands of evil men. The Lord gave Ignatius peace as he faced death. He even wrote often of anticipating his death and was eager to get on with it. We, too, when suffering assaults in our lives, must embrace it as the will of God. Remember that all suffering has either been sent to us by God or is permitted by Him. So, whatever the source of our suffering, we must trust God for deliverance. The blows of the Lord will fall upon us until we are shaped to His pleasing.

What does it mean to stand like a beaten anvil? Anvils are beaten up but do not break. They may be dented or scarred by the strikes of hammers, but an anvil which is sound, of good metal, does not break. It will take all of the punishment that a person dishes out to it. So, it is with us. When all is over, we are to stand victorious like a Roman soldier, wounded in battle, injured but alive. Tired but not in despair. Where I have worked in the past, shops commonly had an anvil. We would heat a piece of metal and then beat it into our desired shape on the anvil. Blow after blow would rain upon the metal. If necessary, we would reheat the metal and hammer it more. Finally, when under careful examination we approved of the object’s shape, we would set the hammer aside and allow the metal to cool since our reshaping had reached its goal. That reshaped metal will have marks, reminders of the hammer blows. We have marks from the Lord’s reshaping in our lives.

In this way we are like the athlete who is bruised, injured in a competition, but prevails. No winning athlete gives up in a competition and wins. The losers give up; losers quit. Winners suffer all while pursuing the crown of victory. So, it must be with you. You cannot give up. Jesus was not turned aside from His cross. Jesus never gave up. He took up the cup which was given to Him by His Father and drank deeply, thereby stilling the wrath of God against your sins, covering your transgressions, and making all things right.

Now, in life, Do not give up when you are tired, beaten up in life, because God is at work in your life in these moments. He is heating you and shaping you with the blows of life, shaping you into that which He wants you to be. Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. We are His people and the sheep of His hands.  

Pastor Dumperth

1 Does not this seem a pointed allusion to Rev. 2:10?

2 Στῆθι ὡς ἄκμων τυπτόμενος.

[1] Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, eds., “Introductory Note to the Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 45–46.

From the Pastor - August 2023

Wokism. Before we began our current Sunday morning study on Wokism, some of our members had heard the term only in passing. I think that it is safe to say that most of us did not understand the meaning of Wokism. After studying 7 chapters of our study guide “Christians in a Woke World”, by the Rev. Paul Dare, it is entirely possible that many of us still do not understand the term Wokism! It is a complicated matter. With diligence, we will come to understand not only the term but also the implications for our lives as Christians in the Kingdom of the Right and citizens in the Kingdom of the Left. Wokism, like communism, attacks the Church. It is the enemy of everything which is meet, right, and salutary.

Quite a few years ago, we reviewed a video interview of a former KGB agent Yuri Bezmenov which touches on this. Yuri fled the Soviet Union circa 1970 to come to the United States. He did this at great risk. Since he was a trained KGB agent who had been taught how to overthrow countries and influence the media by introducing Marxism and Communist ideals, he saw the great danger that our nation faced and faces yet today. The United States, which he loved, and saw as the last free country on earth, was being seduced into Marxist thought.

So, in the middle 1980s Yuri conducted an interview in which he warned the United States that Marxism and Communism were being accepted by citizens of our country. He explained how the Soviet Union worked to overthrow countries. The remainder of this month’s article are some notes I prepared for our class discussion. Since it was so long ago, I no longer remember where I read or obtained most of the information, therefore, I am unable to provide attribution. Most of the thought is not original to me. The video link at the end of this article is not the same video that I showed in class – that video is no longer available – but, this video does contain that clip and a lot more. Some of the material below is a transcript of Yuri’s interview in the video.

So, my old notes, with modifications, begin now. 

Yuri Bezmenov made the point that the work of the KGB does not mainly involve espionage, despite what our popular culture may tell us. Most of the work, 85% of it, was "a slow process which we call either ideological subversion, active measures, or psychological warfare."

What does that mean? Bezmenov explained that the most striking thing about ideological subversion is that it happens in the open as a legitimate process. "You can see it with your own eyes," he said. The American media would be able to see it, if it just focused on it.

Bezmenov says that there are four components to the ideological subversion of a nation:

• Demoralization
• Destabilization
• Crisis
• Normalization

“It takes from fifteen to twenty years to demoralize a nation. Why that many years? Because this is the minimum number of years which requires to educate one generation of students in the country of your enemy exposed to the ideology of the enemy. In other words, Marxist-Leninism ideology is being pumped into the soft heads of at least three generations of American students without being challenged or counter-balanced by the basic values of Americanism, American patriotism.” – Yuri Bezmenov

[Ed: The first step in the communist infiltration playbook – the demoralization of the first generation of Americans that Yuri Bezmenov chronicled – was completed. Marxist thought lays the foundation of Wokism.]

The Effects of Demoralization

“The result? The result you can see. Most of the people who graduated in the sixties, dropouts or half-baked intellectuals are now occupying the positions of power in the government, civil service, business, mass media, educational system. You are stuck with them. You cannot get rid of them. They are contaminated. They are programmed to think and react to certain stimuli in a certain pattern.

“You cannot change their mind even if you expose them to authentic information. Even if you prove that white is white and black is black. You cannot change the basic perception and illogical behavior. In other words, these people, the process of demoralization is complete and irreversible. To rid society of these people you need another twenty or fifteen years to educate a new generation of patriotically minded and, and commonsense people who would be acting in favor and in the interests of United States society.” – Yuri Bezmenov

[Ed: In our discussion of Wokism, a number of individuals have lamented how difficult it is to carry on a rational discussion with those who have fallen under the spell of Wokism. Yuri helps to explain how Marxism has effected this change.]

“Try to get into wide circulation, established conservative media. Reach the filthy rich movie makers, intellectuals, so-called academic circles, cynical, ego-centric people who can look into your eyes with an angelic expression and tell you a lie. These are the most recruitable people. People who lack moral principles who are either too greedy or who suffer from self-importance, they feel that they matter a lot. These are the people who KGB wanted very much to recruit.” – Yuri Bezmenov

Destabilization in Ideological Subversion

[Ed: Yuri Bezmenov believed the second phase of undermining America would be through the destabilization of the economy, foreign relations, and defense systems. Based on your consumption of news, is our country currently being destabilized in these three areas? I think so.]

Crisis and Normalization

“The next stage is crisis. It may take only six weeks to bring a country to the verge of crisis. You see it in Central America now. And after crisis, with a violent change in power, structure, and economy, you have the period of so-called normalization which will last indefinitely. 

Normalization is a cynical expression borrowed from Soviet propaganda. When the Soviet tanks moved into Czechoslovakia in ’68, Brezhnev said, ‘now brother Czechoslovakia is normalized.’ This is what will happen in the United States if you allow all these schmucks to promise all the goodies and paradise on earth to destabilize your economy, to eliminate the principle of free market competition, and to put a big brother government in Washington, D.C. with benevolent dictators.” – Yuri Bezmenov

Thanks be to God that we still have the freedom to believe as we do and worship according to the will of God. May the Holy Spirit give us wisdom and empower us to faithfully execute our vocations of Christian, citizen, father, mother, son, daughter, worker, and so forth as Luther’s Small Catechism teaches!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=Arf1eALDgyo&feature=emb_logo

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - June 2023

We all keep track of momentous events in our lives, don’t we? In the church, we recall the baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and funerals of our family and friends, and so forth. In regard to our vocations in the world: many children telephoned their mothers on Mother’s Day. We prayed for servicemen who sacrificed their lives for us on Memorial Day. Graduations are taking place in some institutions as I write this. The list of momentous events such as birthdays and anniversaries goes on and on.

I keep some interesting files on our life in the church of which most of you would be unaware. I have a specific file for every church service that we ordinarily hold. For example, I currently have out my file for Series A, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, which will be celebrated May 21st. In it I have translations of the appointed Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel readings. I also have copied the information from a number of commentaries on these texts. This readily available information aids my sermon preparation. 

I also save the prayers for the Seventh Sunday of Easter from years gone past. At a glance I am able to recall our petitions and reflect on the Lord’s response to our prayers. As I have opportunity, I will pray to the Lord for those who were prayed for on this day in 2020, 2017, 2014, etc. We are on the “Three Year Series”, meaning that the same readings and Propers appear on a 3-year cycle.

I also save the bulletins from the previous Seventh Sunday of Easter. I’ll look at the announcements, attendance, weekly schedule, and such. That brings me to the point of this pastor’s page. Three years ago, in the bulletin on the Seventh Sunday of Easter there is an announcement alerting you to the fact that on the next Sunday, Pentecost 2020, our services will once again be held inside. 

Do you remember those outside days? Who could forget! From Easter Sunday of 2020 through the 7th Sunday of Easter, we held parking lot services due to COVID restrictions. The faithful came to Grace in the cold and the wind to gather as we best could. We gathered to hear His Word preached – even if the wind did sometimes howl in the microphone, making it difficult to hear. You turned on your car radio to the assigned frequency to hear the music, sermon, and liturgy. When you got cold, you turned your car engine on to generate some heat for your feet and to melt the frost on your windshield. Our music assistant spent much time each week searching for music to play during the service. Our organist came in during the week to record our hymns, but these hymns were played in the parking lot from a stereo. Many other saints stepped forward each week to do what needed to be done so that we could weekly receive God’s gifts of Word and Sacrament. Those were the days! Days of memory; days of joy.

The Elders set up an altar under the carport each week with the sacred linens and vessels. You kept a hymnal in your car for the liturgy and hymns. We had red tape “X”es marking the spots for Communicants to stand, and long strips of tape lines demarking lines which were not to be crossed, thereby enabling us to meet spacing requirements. We intentionally left those red strips of tape by the carport so they could naturally age and come lose over the following months. When I came to work at the church each day, it was a reminder of our perseverance, our steadfastness, and our faithfulness in the face of adversity. When you faithfully attended the inside services, as you saw the red tape, it was a reminder of the momentous weeks of COVID services.

And now, we look back on those memories and give thanks to God who was faithful. His Spirit gave us zeal. He saw us through those days. He will see us through our present day. He will see us through all of the days to come.

May God give you His peace as you trust in the One Who was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is returning for all who believe in Him, even our Lord Jesus Christ. A most momentous day, the Last Day, is yet to come. Amen

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - May 2023

The Festival of The Visitation is held annually on May 31. What is the Visitation? Who visited whom? The Virgin Mary, with Jesus, who was probably less that 7 days old, conceived in her womb, visited her relative Elizabeth who was six months pregnant with John the Baptist.

After the Angel Gabriel had spoken to Mary announcing to her that she would be the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of our Lord, she quickly departed from Nazareth in Galilee and headed to Judah, to the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth near Jerusalem. Zechariah lived in an area with other priests who served in the Temple.

Luke records this in his Gospel, LK 1: 39–45, 56 (ESV):

“39In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

“...56And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.”

Mary and Elizabeth have much in common. Mary’s name is derived from the name of Moses’ sister, Miriam. Elizabeth’s name is derived from Aaron’s wife Elisheba. Both women conceived only by the power of God. Mary was a virgin, and therefore it was not possible – in earthly terms – for her to conceive. Elizabeth could not conceive because she had been considered barren and her years were now advanced beyond the years of childbearing. So, both women conceived under miraculous circumstances. Both mothers were the recipients of divine angelic announcements of their conceptions. Mary directly from Gabriel. Elizabeth by means of her husband Zechariah through the same angel Gabriel. Both of their sons were powerful men in service of God. John was the last of the Old Testament line of prophets. Jesus was the first of the New Testament. And, of course, Jesus was greater than a mere prophet; Jesus was and is the Son of the eternal God and His Christ sent to save us from our sins.

Both women were pregnant when they meet. Elizabeth was about 6 months and Mary perhaps less than one week. When the mothers came together, the babies also entered into the presence of the other. John, the lesser of the 2 babies, leaped in the womb of his mother in joy: his God Yahweh had taken on flesh. In theology we refer to the Blessed Virgin as the Theotokos, the Mother of God. The Son of God dwelt in the ark of His mother’s womb. Mary was indeed the bearer of God. 

In the Old Testament, during the days when the Lord manifested His presence at the Ark of the Covenant, wherever the ark was, there was God. As they moved the ark during their days in the wilderness, the ark and Yahweh were found together. When the Son of God became man at Jesus’ conception, for the next nine months, wherever Mary went as the bearer of God, there the Son of God went with her. 

John identified Jesus as the Son of God by leaping in the womb. The promised Messiah had come! Hosana! Hosana in the highest. By his actions, John confessed Jesus to be Yahweh. Elizabeth confessed Jesus to be Yahweh when she asked, marveling: “4Why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Elizabeth’s Lord is Yahweh, the baby who would be given the name “Jesus” nine months later. As you will recall, the name “Jesus” means “Yahweh saves.”

Answering the questions posed in the first paragraph, we see that Mary visited Elizabeth. This was the Visitation. Mary had been sent there by the Lord. This bible passage clearly teaches that life begins at conception. 

May we all confess with joy that the fruit of the wombs of Mary, Elizbeth, and all women receive blessing from the Lord, and Him alone. In Him is life and the light of our salvation!

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - April 2023

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed, Hallelujah! 

We have arrived! Easter has come. The Lord has accepted Jesus’ atoning death on our behalf. Our sins have been atoned for by means of the blood of Jesus Christ. God’s wrath has been propitiated, that is His wrath has been stilled. Jesus, by His holy perfect life and His innocent suffering and death, has expiated our sins, He has made them right. God has accepted His sacrifice.

We speak often of Jesus’ atonement and His propitiating work which were accomplished by His sacrificial death. The fact that He expiated our sins is spoken of less often. But, now we remedy that fact. Let’s pretend that a boy is throwing a baseball back and forth with his friend in his front yard. They know that they are to catch the ball and keep within the parent’s property. The neighbor’s property is the neighbor’s property. They are not to go on it without first receiving permission.

But, one throw gets away, sails over the property line, and breaks the neighbor’s window, rolling under the neighbor’s dresser. What would the boys do? They would go to the parents and tell them what had been done. What would the parents do? They would take those boys to the neighbor to confess that they had broken his window and to ask for forgiveness. 

Would the parents stop there with confession and forgiveness? No. The parents would instruct the boys to promise the neighbor that they would make restitution. They would clean the neighbor’s floor and pay for a new window. The boys would make things right, as they had been, and as they should be. The owner of the broken window would be satisfied by this restitution. The boys have made amends. 

Dr. Richard A. Mullet has a good definition of “expiation(n)” which is edited slightly: 

expiatio: expiation; an act of making amends or of purging by sacrifice.... (Like satisfactio, satisfaction, expiatio indicates an act performed because of an offense and directed toward the solution of the problem or toward payment of the debt incurred by the offense. Whereas expiatio indicates specifically a sacrificial act or a purgation, satisfactio has the connotation of payment or reparation which makes the offended party content or satisfied....[1]

So, we are to 1) make amends; 2) solve the problem or pay the debt; and, 3) make reparations which satisfy the offended party.

God is the party offended by your sins, your great sins, your most grievous sins. You, however, are completely unable to pay what you owe. The debt of every human is so great that satisfaction is impossible. You can neither still the wrath of God nor make amends.

To save you from God’s wrath, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, steps into your shoes. He takes your place. Jesus, Who is fully man and fully God, stands in your stead and does for you that which you cannot do for yourself. He took on flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He became man. He kept all of the commands of God. He offered His perfect life in your place. Jesus offered His flesh to receive the punishment which we deserve and the wrath which was ours to receive. Jesus was punished and died in our stead, in our place. Jesus was buried for 3 days.

On the 3rd day, Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection is a sure and certain sign that His work done for us has been accepted by God.

So, in Christ, you are declared to have had your sins atoned for, the wrath of God propitiated, and expiation has fully made amends for your sins and satisfied God. 

Your sins are certainly and lastingly forgiven. 

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed, Hallelujah! 

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

[1] Richard A. Muller, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms: Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1985), 111.

From the Pastor - March 2023

How many times have you heard the saying repeated: “Repentance is a way of life, not a point in time”? This saying reminds us that, due to the sins of our old man, we must continually repent of our sins and constantly believe the Gospel of forgiveness.

That being said, the confession of our sins and the absolution we receive should not be a revolving door. We should not speed past consideration of the fact that our sins are contrary to God’s holy nature and truly deserve His wrath. Our sins matter. They mattered so much that Jesus took on flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Jesus took on flesh to save our flesh. Jesus took on flesh to redeem us. 

We should not take our sins lightly, reasoning either that, when we sin it is not really a big deal because absolution is always available to us, or, in the second place, that Jesus has already died for all of our sins – so what is the big deal? We sin. We receive forgiveness. This kind of thinking minimizes the horror of all of our sins and fails to treasure the Gospel. Jesus’ death atoned for your sins. We should not rush past that fact or fail to meditate upon His sacrifice. Your forgiveness came at a great price. Indeed, Jesus paid this great price without complaint. It was the Father’s will that Jesus suffer and die for you. It is the Father’s will that you trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Those who believe that they are forgiven, treasure the means by which the forgiveness of Jesus is delivered to them. Those who rejoice in forgiveness and the mercy of God also strive to lead holy, pure lives free from sin.

Those who treasure the Gospel naturally treasure Holy Baptism. By means of the washing with water and the word, we are delivered from the darkness of the world, unbelief, and the rule of the devil. Before and apart from the Word of God and baptism we were children of the devil. But by means of the work of the Holy Spirit Who works in baptism and is given in baptism, we are adopted as sons of the Most High God, the Father, are adopted as sons, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! We are transformed into the Holy ones of God. We are made anew. We are new creatures in Christ. As new creatures, we no longer see the world as we once did. We no longer see ourselves as we once did. The baptized love their Heavenly Father and desire to live lives which please Him. So, we the baptized rejoice in the Law of God which directs us in His ways. The Law is not a burden to us. In Christ, the Law of God is our delight. 

Those who treasure the Gospel treasure the Word of God. We long to hear that God has forgiven us for His Son’s sake. We do not see the services of the church as something that takes us away from the important things of the world like doing the laundry, mowing the yard, shopping, or cleaning the house. We gladly set aside worldly things that we may attend to God’s Word when it is preached and taught. His word cleanses us and strengthens us. In Christ we learn that God’s Word is our highest need and greatest treasure. 

When Jesus visited the home of Martha and Mary, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet to hear and to learn. Martha, working hard in the house to attend to the many preparations, was upset that Mary left her alone to do all the work. So, Martha complained to Jesus! “Jesus! Don’t You care that Mary left me alone to do all the work? Tell Mary to stop listening to You teach and to help me NOW!!!” 

Jesus corrected Martha. Mary was faced with choosing between listening to God’s Word and busy work around the house. Mary chose to hear the Word of God. That was better. Jesus said: “Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (LK 10:42 NIV).

Those who treasure the Gospel treasure Confession and Absolution. They long to hear the word of absolution spoken into their ears. “You are forgiven! Come soon to receive Christ’s True Body and True Blood.” 

Those who treasure the Gospel treasure the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Jesus commands us to eat and drink, not to ignore and omit this holy meal. We need strength to live holy lives in this sinful world. The Eucharist provides this strength. Surrounded by the work of the devil and his demons and their unholy acts, we need to be supported in our Christian lives and to be empowered to be about the holy work of God. Holy angels attend us; they are with us. They are God’s servants to minister to us. With God in us we lack nothing. He has made us holy. He will bring us into His eternal kingdom on the Last Day. 

When we consider God’s gifts to us in the Gospel, we cannot help but to marvel at His superabounding grace and mercy. Those who love God and treasure the work of His Son to atone for our sins, love the means by which God gives us eternal life and by which He will finally deliver us into eternal life.

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - February 2023

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, falls on Wednesday, February 22nd, this year. Why do we have midweek services during Lent? That we might repent of our sins and believe in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who was sacrificed on the cross for our sins. And that we might strive to be faithful in our obedience as Jesus’ disciples.

Ash Wednesday is the first service in Lent which is a penitential season preceding the Highest and Holiest day of the church year: the Resurrection of our Lord, Easter Day. Those who treasure Jesus’ sacrifice and death for our sins treasure the day of His Resurrection. The season of Lent assists both our bodies and our hearts as we prepare for Easter. The cross of Jesus and His innocent suffering and death on our behalf is always before us moving us to contrition and faith.

So, let’s delve a little deeper into the purpose of weekday services during Lent. These services have a focus, a reason for being. These services deepen our faith. These services refresh our spirit. And these services exhort us to faithful discipleship. Jesus exhorts us to take up our crosses and to suffer for Him. We must mortify our bodies and the earthly desires of our old man. Our new man must be freed to give thanks to God for His abundant gifts in Christ. 

Therefore, we see that this joy and thanksgiving alternates with sadness and even tears for our sins. We live as Christians in a revolving door of repentance and faith, of Law and Gospel. As a result of hearing Jesus’ word, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are willing to die for Jesus if the need should arise. But, to suffer a pinching of time in our schedules, to carve out time to attend a weekday service – that is just too much suffering! Oh. Do you see the problem? Theoretical BIG suffering like martyrdom we will do!!! But, in the real-life small suffering which we face daily, we will make up excuses!!! This should not be. Everyone who is not a shut in, sick, or working, or who has a reason justifiable in the eyes of God should be in all services of the Church. Midweek Advent and Lent services are no exception.

Let’s go into this a little deeper. Is there anything which might keep us from midweek services in an instance when our absence would be without sin? Of course. Sickness and death come immediately to mind. If you die, you are excused from the Ash Wednesday service. Oh wait! If you die, you will be present at the Ash Wednesday service and all other services of the church. You see, we gather with the heavenly host, the Church Triumphant, the Sabaoth, in all church services and Bible studies. All the repentant who die with faith in Jesus Christ have perfect attendance, always. They are holy and without sin. How could they do otherwise? 

So, we see that those who are perfect in Christ are faithful in attendance in Lenten services. Be as faithful as the Saints in heaven who have died in the Lord! Well then, who is unfaithful in attendance? 

Our lives are an indication of our heart and faith. We must not only confess true doctrine, but we must also lead holy lives congruent with our confession. Doctrine and practice are interrelated. The lives of Christians and pagans in the world should look markedly different.

Rarely does a pagan, a Gentile, enter our doors and sit in our pews during a service. We may then, as a general rule, conclude that pagans do not attend Lenten services. Therefore, if you, your family, and your children do not attend midweek Lenten services, then your lives look like pagans and you may in fact be pagans. Now, don’t huff: “I don’t want anyone to consider me, one baptized of the Lord as a denier or despiser of the faith.” Fine. I don’t want to. Therefore, don’t live like a pagan. Don’t teach your children to live like pagans. Teach them to live like the baptized Christians that they are. Teach them that the baptized of God live as His sons and not like children of the devil. The baptized sons of God gather in His presence to receive the gifts of God: His Holy Word and Sacraments.

If your children know all of the popular song and TV shows but have not memorized the 10 commandments, Apostle’s Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, at the least, you may be raising a pagan. Because you are not feeding your child with the Word of God, their faith is drying up. If both you and they do not repent, there will be fuel for the fire!

If your child is eager to attend school sporting events but does not want to attend church services, you may be raising a pagan.

If you permit your child to sinfully live as a pagan, neither attending church nor bible study nor catechesis, then not only might your child be a pagan, but you may be one too. God’s faithful sons and daughters who are parents ensure that their children are faithful. 

So, parents and children, you have two paths before you. One leads to fire and torments and eternal damnation. The other leads to bliss and joy and eternal blessedness. Which will you choose? 

Train up a child in the way of the devil and when he is old he will remain a pagan.

Train up a child in the way of the Lord and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Which will you choose? Death or life? Hardness of heart or the love of a new heart? Will you as a child of God choose repentance and faith? I pray that you do!

Lent is a time of reflection. When you examine your life and see sin, repent! When you examine your life and discover faith nourished by means of Word and Sacraments, hear and eat and drink in faith and strive to lead holy lives pleasing to God.

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - January 2023

Christmas is not yet over!!! At least, it is not over when I pen this article on December 29th! If you read this on January 6th or later, then Christmas will have come, served its purpose, and gone.

Listening to a talk show on TV recently, the attitudes of our day toward the coming and going of Christmas were evident. They posed two questions. One, when should families begin to celebrate Christmas? And two, when should Christmas festivities end?

At the one extreme, one gentleman related that in his family as they opened presents on Christmas day, the wrapping paper was immediately gathered up during the opening. Only when the wrapping paper was collected from one gift, could another be opened. And, when all of the gifts had been opened and all the paper secured in a Hefty bag, then Christmas was over. It was time to get on with life. As soon as it was convenient, lights and decorations would come down and the tree itself would be stored for another year or cast in the trash, depending on whether it was an artificial tree or a real tree. The gentleman reasoned that everyone was worn out with Christmas celebrations, given that they had been celebrating Christmas since the carcass of the Thanksgiving Turkey has been unceremoniously cast into the dumpster. After an entire month of Christmas activities, he reasoned, who wouldn’t be worn out!

At the other end of the spectrum - and the one of which I most closely approve - two of the panelists stated that the Christmas tree and lights should be left up until the day of the 3 Wise Men, which is January 6th. Since we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany with a Divine Service every year here at Grace, you know that the Epiphany of Our Lord always falls on January 6th. Because you faithfully attend Bible studies and the Epiphany service, you also know that we don’t know how many wise men, or magi, there were. Some folks assume that there must have been 3 men because 3 gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were offered by the Magi. But, that is only an assumption with no scriptural backing.

In the church, the season of Christmas does not end on Christmas day; it BEGINS on Christmas Day and ends 12 days later, culminating in the Epiphany of our Lord. As I have spoken with people in the community, they have been shocked to learn that the 12 days of Christmas are not sales found in stores before Christmas, but rather the continued celebration of Christmas until the Epiphany. Christmas has been commercialized and our 12 days of Christmas have been stolen for retail profit.

What is the danger of beginning the celebration of Christmas at the first part of December and getting in a whole month of partying? Well, what then of the season of Advent? Advent is a season of repentance to prepare our hearts for the comings of Jesus. The liturgical colors of violet or purple convey the theme of repentance. The first three Sundays of Advent especially focus on our need to repent of our sins.

The Gospel of the First Sunday in Advent warned us: “Matthew 24:44 (ESV) Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Jesus Himself prepares us for His Second Coming. We are ready for Jesus’ return only through repentance and faith, worked and sustained through the Lord’s means of grace.

The Gospel for the Second Sunday featured John the Baptizer thundering his warning to repent and promising us: “Matthew 3:11 (ESV) 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” John prepared for the coming of the Messiah in public ministry by proclaiming: “Repent because the Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near.”

In the Gospel for the Third Sunday, John the Baptizer’s disciples approached Jesus to receive an answer to the question “Are you the One Who is to come, or shall we look for another.” In other words, “Are you the Messiah.” Jesus exhorted both those disciples and the crowds gathered to believe the word proclaimed by both Jesus and John. Jesus is the Messiah Who has come.

Only in the Fourth Sunday of Advent do we turn to our Gospel of Matthew where we find the Virgin Mary pregnant. An angel of the Lord instructed Joseph to take the Virgin Mary as his wife. You see, the child who would come into the world through birth would be named “Jesus”. Note that even the 4th Sunday of Advent does not begin Christmas. No, it brings us to the prophecy of Jesus birth and His coming into the world in the flesh as the Son of Man and Son of God. But, Advent remains a season of repentance which enables us to prepare our hearts for the grand and joyous day of Jesus coming at Christmas.

Finally, after 4 weeks of buildup, we burst forth in song and praise and gather frequently to receive the True Body and Blood of Jesus in the Sacrament of the Altar. Christmas has arrived. Oh, the joy of the Christ’s birth! The somber repentant days of Advent have found their fulfillment in the festival of Christ’s birth. We give thanks to God for the gift of His Son.

For 12 days, from the Eve of Jesus’ Nativity through January 5th, the Lord pours His love into our hearts by His Spirit and we abound in His mercy. Remember that in Hebrew thought, a new day begins at sunset. Therefore, the first service of Christmas is Christmas Eve. It is not uncommon to give gifts for the entire 12 days, giving thanks to God for the greatest gift of all, His Son our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Jesus came in the flesh through His birth. He suffered, died and rose again in that flesh. Jesus now comes to us in His Word and Sacraments. And Jesus will come again on the Last Day to gather all of His baptized people who faithfully hear His Word and believe it, and who then gather at His altar to be fed with His True Body and Blood as a seal and promise of His forgiveness and mercy. 

Merry Christmas! Christ is risen from the dead! Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth!

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - December 2022

Christmas is not only a day but it is also a season – albeit, a short season - of great joy. Do not our hearts burst forth with joy at the thought that our Savior, the Messiah, the Son of David, King of Israel, has taken on flesh and entered His fallen world to redeem us!  The season of Christmas is short because there are at most two Sundays after Christmas Day. Christmas is necessarily a short season. After all, how many Sundays can you sandwich between Christmas Day, December 25th and Epiphany, January 6th, The Epiphany of our Lord? Two Sundays at the most.

Well, if Christmas, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ is so important, then why is the Christmas season so short? Isn’t Christmas one of the two major festivals in the Church? Yes, Christmas and Easter are two major festivals upon which our lives as Christians focus and around which our lives revolve. Easter is always before us, every Lord’s Day. Every Sunday is a little Easter, a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.

The Resurrection of our Lord, Easter is the highest Festival in the church. Gold paraments are reserved for that day. But without Christmas, there would be no Jesus and He could not have been raised from the dead. Jesus was born to die and be buried and to be raised again on the third day. Now our Ascended Lord lives!

Even at Christmas when we rejoice at the birth of the baby Jesus, our focus is not turned away from the cross as if it did not exist or is of minor importance. Jesus took on flesh as a baby that He might have flesh to be circumcised on the 8th day. In this same flesh He would keep the Law in our place as our substitute. Jesus must have flesh in which He would then receive the wrath of God upon the cross in our place. 

Jesus could not redeem that which He did not assume. Jesus must have flesh in which He would be rejected, suffer, die, and be raised on the third day. Jesus must have flesh in which to walk upon the earth as He taught and healed and raised the dead. Jesus must have flesh in which He would receive the taunts of sinful men and the nails of the soldiers. Jesus must have flesh that He might Die, flesh that He might be raised, and flesh that He might ascend into heaven to assume His rightful position at the right hand of His Father.

Thanks be to God the Father for the flesh of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord! Thanks be to Jesus Who gives us His true flesh to eat and His true blood to drink in Holy Communion, the highest and true evening meal.

Think of the shepherds who learned of Jesus’ birth on the hills of Bethlehem and descended into Bethlehem to behold the God/man Jesus. Filled with joy they immediately heralded this event wide and far. Unlearned, coarse, field-living, and probably smelly, shepherds were the first human evangelists of the Christ Child’s birth. In the course of their travels and their duties, every ear upon which they came was a fitting receptacle for the gift of the Gospel: They announced the Good News. God has come to earth to save us! Glory be to God on High!

Oh, that we today were also excited to speak of the Baby Jesus to everyone with whom we come into contact! Look around, there are ears everywhere. Ears at home. Ears at work. Ears in your neighborhood. Look for opportunities when you shop at Dillon’s grocery store, or stand in line at Walmart, or buy your repair parts at the auto supply store. Wherever you are, with joy and gladness, open your mouths to speak of the wonders on the incarnation. Who are we that God would deign to send His Son in our flesh to save us from our sins? We are blessed people. We are blessed by Christ that we might be blessed in Him.

One of my favorite Christmas hymns was written by one of my favorite theologians, Paul Gerhard, in the 17th century. It is: “Come, Your Hearts and Voices Raising.” 

In stanza 6 we sing:

“Gracious Child, we pray, O hear us,

From Your lowly manger cheer us, 

Gently lead us and be near us,

Till we join your choir above.”

Indeed! There will be a choir of ears and voices found in the flesh that Jesus has redeemed by His flesh. On the Last Day Jesus will come in His flesh to gather all believers in our then perfected, immortal, flesh into heaven. Then our voices will all raise to Him, pitch perfect, for all eternity.

Amen. Come Lord Jesus! Glory to God in the Highest!

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - November 2022

Sometimes I have fun taking a phrase and seeing how many ways I can adapt it to various situations. For example:

Baptism is a way of life, not a point in time.

Repentance is a way of life, not a point in time.

Catechesis is a way of life, not a point in time.

For November we see that thanksgiving is a way of life, not a point in time.

If I had thought about this earlier, we could have said in October that reformation is a way of life, not a point in time. This is true both for the church, corporately, and for our own lives, individually. Perhaps we can take that up next year!

In regard to baptism, baptism is not simply a past act, but is a present reality. We are not those who WERE baptized; we are those who ARE baptized. We as Christians should identify as those whom God has chosen to be His children through the water of Holy Baptism. We then live our lives in recognition and in confession of who we are: the baptized. What a source of joy true our identity is! God has chosen us to be His own from eternity before the foundation of the world. He has made us who we are: male, female, His baptized. For this we give thanks!

In the second place, in regard to repentance, it is not merely a past act, something we have done in the past. Repentance is most certainly a way of life. We are continually repenting, that is confessing our sorrow for our sins, and believing that we are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. Repentance is worked in us by the Holy Spirit who causes us to see and confess our sins and to trust in Jesus as our Savior. 

The Holy Spirit is always about His work of repentance and faith. The Holy Spirit was given to you in your baptism. The Holy Spirit now continuously carries out His work in all who believe. We live in a state of repentance. We will live as the repentant of God until we die or Jesus Returns. In heaven we will no longer repent because it will be impossible for us to sin. Our recreation will be brought to its end. For this we give thanks!

In the third place, catechesis is not merely a past act – something we did for 2 or 3 years or so at some point in the past – it is a present reality. Jesus always catechizes His sheep, His baptized. The baptized are those who are always being catechized. Now, the fact that we are always being catechized does not mean that the period set aside for extensive catechesis leading to the Rite of Confirmation is unimportant. 

Confirmation is important. It is a rite in the church which takes place on a particular day. We are admitted to the Sacrament of the Altar on that day. Those of you who are confirmed probably have the date memorized, or at the very least are able to look at your confirmation certificate and say: “I was confirmed at _______ church on this date _______.” This demonstrates the difference between confirmation and catechesis: the rite of confirmation did take place at a point in time, but catechesis is a way of life. Catechesis is more that learning doctrine; it is transformational. Jesus shapes our lives to be like His. Our lives are cruciform. We take up our crosses daily and follow Him. We give thanks for Jesus our Redeemer!

We affirm that confirmation is not merely something that took place in the past. We are to live today as the confirmed, upholding the vows we took before God and man at the Altar of our Lord. Every communicant member of Grace has vowed to be faithful in hearing the Word of God and to faithfully receive the Lord’s Supper. Every communicant member of Grace has vowed to live according to the Word of God. Every communicant member has vowed “to continue steadfast in the confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than to fall away from it.” 

Finally, thanksgiving is a way of life, not a point in time. Most people can answer when we celebrate the day of Thanksgiving in our culture. Our youth can identity it, at the very least, by their vacation from school. Older folks know that most get the day off from work. I think that a lot of us know that Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States and is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November. Here at Grace, we have traditionally celebrated our Thanksgiving Service on Thanksgiving Eve. 

It is good to set aside this day to give thanks. We should always remember that thanksgiving is a way of life, shouldn’t we? This is the day the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. That is thanksgiving. We are the Baptized, the repentant, the catechized, the thankful. Not just once a year or once a month or once a week or once a day or once a minute, or - once in a while. We are always thankful for the Lord’s bountiful and manifold gifts which He pours out on us, both in the world and in the church.

Give thanks to God, for He is good. Blessed be His holy name!

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - October 2022

The Reformation

The days of the Reformation kicked off by the 95 Theses posted by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther in 1517 must have been grand compared to today, right? After all, it seems that every current survey or article about the Church is all gloom and doom. They tell us that we are going down the tubes. In the early 1970s over 90% of Americans identified as Christians. By 1996 the percentage of Christians in America had dropped to about 80%. In 2020 about 64% of all Americans claim to be Christian. There is no possible way out of this decline, we are told!  In contrast, in Luther’s day, things were glorious, right? 

No. Things have been far from glorious at every point in Church history. There has never been a period when the devil stopped attacking the church. That which Jesus spoke of His church to Peter and the Apostles remained true in Luther’s day and in every day which has followed - ours included. Jesus comforts us: “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Devils and demons will stream from hell to attack God’s Church and His Word truly preached and His sacraments rightly administered. The demons stream out to attack the Saints of God, His chosen people, in an attempt to lead us astray. The devil seeks to devour us! But, Satan will not be victorious. Jesus has conquered the evil one. The victory is ours in Jesus. The victory is certain but the battle is enjoined in every day and age, whether 1517 or 2022. 

The days of the Reformation were filled with murder, rebellion, deceit, and evil. When Luther attempted to begin Godly reforms, others would sow error. After Luther’s death in 1546, it looked as if all the gains which had been made in the recovery of the Gospel would be lost. But then, the Lord raised up the 2nd Martin, Martin Chemnitz.

Chemnitz continued to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. It was said of Chemnitz: "If Martin [Chemnitz] had not come along, Martin [Luther] would hardly have survived". Yes. It looked to some as if Luther’s work was going to be lost, but then the Lord stepped in and preserved it, even adding Chemnitz’ writings to our theological treasury. Not to mention that Chemnitz is editor of the Book of Concord, the collection of our Lutheran Confessional writings.

Why is confession important? Jesus always seeks a true confession of Himself: Who He is and what He does, His person and His work. That remains true today. Whatever transpires in the world, we are called to confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, the 2nd person of the Trinity. We are called to confess all things which we have been taught as the Baptized of God. It is not possible to be baptized and then to refuse further instruction in the Faith. No Christian does this.

Recall this account: “18And Jesus came [to the 11 apostles] and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” [Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)].

All nations are to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. All nations are to be instructed in all that Jesus has commanded us. Jesus is with all people of all nations as they are baptized and taught. How much doctrine should you know? All that Jesus has commanded us. How much is that? All that is recorded in the Scriptures. Can’t we cheat just a little and skip some doctrine? Sure, if you want to go to hell. That is a law question and you get a law answer. If you want to go to heaven, you will follow the lead of the Holy Spirit Who calls you and leads you to God’s Word and Sacraments. For here, in this preached word, there is forgiveness of sins and salvation. For in the Sacraments, faith is given and strengthened. When you behold the trials and troubles in your life and wonder how you can ever remain faithful in them, the answer is found in the Church, in the Word truly preached and the Sacraments righty administered.

Clinging to God and His gifts of salvation, we reform our lives. Abandoning the walk on the road of death, and taking up our crosses of suffering, we struggle on the narrow path leading to heaven. Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The path to heaven is through Jesus’ baptism. The path to heaven is through Jesus’ catechesis. The path to heaven is through Jesus’ confirmation which leads to admittance to the Sacrament of the Altar. The path to heaven is through Jesus’ suffering and merit, His atoning blood and propitiating work of salvation. 

We are blessed to live in a church which has been and is being reformed. We are blessed to be God’s baptized who are constantly instructed in all that He commanded us. We are blessed to be His baptized in whom His Holy Spirit continually works reformation, repentance and faith.

Dear friends, remain in the faith unto the end. Salvation is found in no other name under heaven but that of Jesus. We live in the grandest day of all, the Day of the Lord.

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

From The Pastor - September 2022

The Commemoration of Cyprian of Carthage, Pastor and Martyr, falls annually on September 16th. The Lutheran Service Book records Cyprian’s faithfulness as a pastor:

“Cyprian (A.D. ca. 200-258), was acclaimed bishop of the north African city in Carthage around 248. During the persecution of the roman Emperor Decius, Cyprian fled Carthage but returned two years later. He was then forced to deal with the problem of Christians who had lapsed from their faith under persecution and now wanted to return to the Church. It was decided that these lapsed Christians could be restored but that their restoration could take place only after a period of penance that demonstrated their faithfulness. During the persecution under Emperor Valerian, Cyprian at first went into hiding but later gave himself up to the authorities. He was beheaded for the faith in Carthage in the year 258.”

Giving evidence of one’s repentance and faithfulness before being admitted to the altar of the church after lapsing, that is, falling away, may appear a foreign, unthinkable, practice to Christians today. We go through the drive-through lanes at the quick-food restaurants. We want what we want now. Don’t tell me that I need to wait!

But, the church has often required open sinners, such as the lapsed, to give evidence of their repentance before once again approaching the altar to receive Holy Communion, the True Body and True Blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord. This naturally assumes that open sinners and the lapsed will not approach the altar for communion until they have been restored. This of course includes those who have joined a congregation and were received as members. After all, that is the very problem that Cyprian had to address: fallen away members. The fact that a person has joined a Christian congregation does not grant automatic, everlasting, access to the altar without limits. When a person joins a congregation either via confirmation or the various rites of membership. The membership granted is conditional. If the vows of these rites are kept, then the person may commune. If the person breaks the vows, then attendance at the altar is suspended until the sin is rectified through the order of the church.

The question then is: how and when is an open sinner restored to communion fellowship? In conjunction with this, why has the church long provided opportunity for converts and the lapsed to prove themselves in the faith?

Sponsors for converts, both the newly baptized and the newly confirmed, served an important role in the early church. During the roughly year long program of catechesis, the sponsor would pray with the catechumen, spend time with them, getting to the point where they knew what they believed and their life. Then when it was time for the catechumen to be baptized and received into the church as a member, the sponsor was able to testify to the faithfulness which he or she had observed in the life and faith of the catechumen. 

Not only the catechumen, but also all of the members of the church needed to be cognizant of the dangers they faced. Their fellow Christians were being locked away in jail. There were so many Christians in jail at one point that Cyprian wrote an epistle in which he asked his flock to not all go to the prisons and visit the prisoners at the same time. Cyprian was afraid that the Roman government would be threatened by this and take away the right of visitation altogether. He reasoned that it was better to visit some of the imprisoned Christians than none.

We, too, face dangers today. At this point in time, no members of Grace are imprisoned for their faith, i.e., their confession of Jesus. That may happen later, but such evil times have not yet befallen us. However, Caesar, the government, has attempted unsuccessfully to oppress us. Thankfully, higher courts have served as servants of God and delivered us from such tyranny. Thanks be to God for that! May they continue in faithfulness!

Whatever happens, we must be prepared to suffer for God if He deems it necessary. Even if imprisonment befalls us, our confession of the Triune God must not waver.

Now, as to the how and when an open sinner is restored and the history surrounding this in the church, I need to invite you to attend Bible Study on Sunday mornings. We don’t have time to do the topic justice here. We will soon finish Genesis Chapter 50. We will then begin a study from the Bible and the Book of Concord on communion, and closed communion as pastoral care. 

A few years ago, LCMS President Harrison addressed the Kansas District President, Vice-presidents, and Circuit Visitors, walking us through the Book of Concord, demonstrating that Closed Communion is the confession and practice of all who claim to be Lutheran. He exhorted us to teach this same material to our congregations and to practice it in our parishes. We are about to do that!

The Rev. Dr. C.F.W. Walther, the first president of the LCMS and president of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, wrote at length on these topics. So, we’ll look at pertinent sections of his Law & Gospel, and Pastoral Theology to obtain a deeper, richer, understanding.

We’ll dig deeper into Holy Communion and its meaning in and for the Church. Come! Join us!

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - July 2022

On July 30th, we commemorate the life and witness of Robert Barnes, Confessor and Martyr. We give thanks to God for the faith which He gave to Robert, and for the Holy Spirit Who strengthened him in his confession, even and especially, while he was being burned at the stake. Why did the Church of England burn Robert at the stake as a heretic? What was so horrible?

The Lutheran Service Book calendar notes contain the following:

“Remembered as a devoted disciple of Martin Luther, Robert Barnes is considered to be among the first Lutheran martyrs. Born in 1495, Barnes became the prior of the Augustinian monastery at Cambridge, England. Converted to Lutheran teaching, he shared his insights with many English scholars through writings and personal contacts. During a time of exile to Germany he became a friend of Luther and later wrote a Latin summary of the main doctrines of the Augsburg Confession titled "Sententiae."

Upon his return to England, Barnes shared his Lutheran doctrines and views in person with King Henry VIII and initially had a positive reception. In 1529 Barnes was named royal chaplain. The changing political and ecclesiastical climate in his native country, however, claimed him as a victim; he was burned at the stake in Smithfield in 1540. His final confession of faith was published by Luther, who called his friend Barnes ‘our good, pious table companion and guest of our home, this holy martyr, Saint Robertus.’”

There were two major factors at play in Robert’s martyrdom. 

The first factor. King Henry VIII of England had no male heir to carry on his throne via his current marriage with Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his brother. King Henry VIII was shopping amongst theologians until he found those who would authorize his divorce. King Henry claimed that he had committed incest by marrying Catherine and that he must divorce her to make it right. It appears that King Henry VIII was using this claim as cover to rid himself of his current wife in hopes of getting another one who would bear him a male child. 

Immersed in the controversy, Robert, after visiting Luther, based his statement to Henry VIII upon Luther who condemned this divorce since marriage is indissoluble. Marriage is “until death do us part.”  So, Robert opposed Henry’s divorce as a sin against God. King Henry VIII did not appreciate such contrariness. King Henry VIII was not above imprisoning and murdering his religious opponents. 

The second factor. King Henry VIII was tired of the religious division in England. So, he issued a mandate titled the “Six Articles”. This was a theological opinion adopted by the State declaring that it was to be confessed and practiced by everyone in England. Robert Barnes, a disciple of Luther, and a lover of the freedom of the Gospel, could not in good conscience agree to the Six Articles. So, he was among 500 who were rounded up by the law. And, he was among the handful of heretics who were executed. 

Would you be willing to be faithful to your confession, to your beliefs if it meant death? Barnes faced this in real life, with real fire. You may, someday, be forced to choose between faithfulness and death. Those of you who are confirmed, have already made this choice and confessed before God and man in the Rite of Confirmation: Pastor “Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than to fall away from it?” Response: “I do so intend with the help of God.”

While it is impossible for any of us to be the first Lutheran martyr, one of you may be the last Lutheran martyr. You must steel your resolve so that when you face temptation to not confess Christ before the world, you, by the power of the Holy Spirit, open your mouth in holy, pure, confession of Jesus and His Word. You will do this even if you are facing death from the likes of Henry VIII.

If I had lived in 16th century England, Henry VIII would have had to execute me too. I reject the Six Articles. Here is a summary of the points which are all in error:

1. Transubstantiation, the Roman Catholic belief that after consecration, the bread and wine do not exist; and that only Christ’s Body and Blood exist. [Ed.: Those who rejected transubstantiation were immediately executed without opportunity to reconsider their position.]
2. The laity need not be given both Jesus’ Body and Blood according to His institution. The Blood, the wine, may be withheld from laity.
3. Priests [or ‘pastors’] must not marry according to the law of God. Priests must be celibate. 
4. “Vows of chastity or widowhood, by man or woman made to God advisedly, ought to be observed by the law of God.” [Ed.: Such vows of chastity were made based on the false idea that those who made these vows lived in a higher, more religious, plane of existence. It is an error in the doctrine of vocation.]
5. Private masses for the dead were to continue since this also, according to the Church of England leaders, was agreeable to God’s law.
6. Finally, in the sixth place, oral confession must be retained in the Church of God. [Ed.: We Lutherans insist that oral confession is beneficial and to be encouraged but is not mandatory. This turns the gospel into law.]

I reject all six of these articles as patently unscriptural. Robert Barnes chose wisely, choosing death in fire on earth rather than to spend an eternity in hell fire at the End. Between standing for God’s word on divorce and opposing legalism and false doctrine in the Church, Robert found a king who wielded the sword against him. 

Luther wrote a letter to Robert Barnes in 1531, articulating the Lord’s position on divorce. Here are a few quotations from that letter which remain true today:

“...Here you finally have also my opinion on the case of the King of England, since you insist on it with such great perseverance. ...Under no circumstances will he be free to divorce the Queen to whom he is married, the wife of his deceased brother, and thus make the mother as well as the daughter into incestuous women.” 

“...That law of God and that statement of divine law according to which matrimony is established as something which ought to be maintained forever, until death, binds the King.” 

“If the King should divorce the Queen, however, he will most gravely sin against the divine law, which states: “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” [1]

Friends, remain steadfast in the Word of God and Luther’s doctrine. All who remain in the true confession of Jesus are, without a doubt, saved.

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

[1] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 50: Letters III, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 50 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 31–40.

From the Pastor - June 2022

Pronouns matter. Sexuality matters. God is the one who created us and God decides whether we are male or female. We don’t get to pick and choose or to modify His creation. But, some do. 

Recently at the doctor’s office I was notified that my insurance carrier was denying claims. When the office worker called to find out why my claims were denied, they were told that it was because they were submitting claims for a male and that I am a female. My insurance company decided to change my gender on a computer check box. The clerk said: “I know him. He is a man. He is not a woman.” Too bad, so sad, said the insurance company. I would have to call them and tell them that I am a male. OK. 

No problem. I obediently dialed the number - and surprisingly – spoke to a real person. I explained the problem and then said the magic words with the deepest voice that I could muster: “I am a man.” The lady on the other end of the phone burst out laughing. She assured me that the problem was on their end. Boy, was I thankful to hear that! I’m glad that I didn’t have the problem. I am thankful to be a male. She said that they would take care of it. 

My pronouns are he/him. What a confusing day we live in. Bills submitted for a man who is suffering from prostate cancer are denied because the computer said that I am a female. Um. Females don’t have prostates. It is biologically impossible for me to be a female. 

But, there are men claiming to be females. They are not. There are females claiming to be males. They are not. There are people who claim to be both male and female and others who claim to be neither male nor female. The confusion today on sexuality is akin to the confusion at the Tower of Babel when the workers suddenly began to speak many languages and no longer understood one another. 

The Lord has plainly spoken in Genesis 1: 26 & 27: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (ESV).

Male and female. It is that simple. It is that delightful. It is that Godly and God pleasing. Rejoice in who you are, whether male or female. We all have our place in God’s creation, in His order. The world has been created by God and is structured by Him to be populated by males and females. 

But since confusion exists due to sin, we find men dressing like women and women like men. This is an abomination to the Lord. It is a detestable thing, a disgusting thing, an abhorrence, an offence to the very nature of God, to His essence. 

Deuteronomy 22:5 (ESV) “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.”

Well, some might argue, “That is in the Old Testament. We live in the New Testament. Therefore, that verse does not apply to us. Wrong. The Lord’s nature is immutable; it does not change. The divine distinction between male and female is to be kept sacred in the church, the family, and in the world. This sanctity of the sexes was established at the creation of male and female. Every violation of these distinctions or the disregarding of them is unnatural. It is contrary to creation. Therefore, it is an abomination in God’s sight in every century in every place. Cross dressing remains a sin.

Sexuality is beautiful. It is God’s gift to us. So, rejoice in the gender assigned you by God. Live in His beauty, glorifying His creation.

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - May 2022

When I ask the members of Grace what the 4th Sunday of Easter is known as, I always see smiles, bursts of joy, and receive in reply: “Good Shepherd Sunday!” 

The knowledge that Jesus is our Good Shepherd Who will protect us, deliver us from evil, carry us when we are too tired to go on, comfort us in our contrition, assure us of His mercy, feed us with His holy Word and Sacraments, His Means of Grace, indeed gives us peace in our hearts, especially as we witness the chaos in the word around us. We confess together in the liturgy the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want....”

This month I want to focus on the verses at the beginning of our appointed Gospel for Good Shepherd Sunday, John 10: 22-30: 

22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly” (ESV).

What is the Feast of Dedication? We studied all of Leviticus. Did we discover this OT festival there? No. Is it in another Old Testament book, then? Surely one of the other canonical books must record this momentous event, right? No. This festival occurred in the intertestamental period, after the last book of the Old Testament had been written and before any of the New Testament books were authored.

While John refers to this festival as the Feast of Dedication, it is perhaps better known today either as Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights. Ahh. Hanukkah? I’ll bet that word “Hanukkah” rings a bell.

Solomon’s Temple was destroyed circa 586 BC because the Israelites and Judahites were unfaithful. The Temple that was later rebuilt is known as the Second Temple. Cyrus the Great was instrumental in the return of the Jews to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon and in the rebuilding of the Temple as recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.  The Jews rebuilt the altar at the same site where the altar had stood in Solomon’s Temple. Later on, in the years immediately preceding the birth of Jesus, King Herod began a massive building works program, continuously rebuilding the Temple for decades. In this way the Second Temple came to be known as “Herod’s Temple.” Herod’s temple stood until A.D. 70 when Rome razed both Jerusalem and the Temple of God.

So, how did the Feast of the Dedication or Hanukkah come about?  At the conclusion of the Old Testament period (c 400 BC), Judea had been a province of Persia for 138 years. During the reigns of these Persian kings, the Jews in Jerusalem, and those scattered throughout the world, fared well. They had relative freedom, peace, and prosperity. Then Persian began to lose power. 

Circa 198 BC, the Syrian empire ruled by King Antiochus III took over Judea and Samaria. About two decades later, Antiochus IV ascended to the throne. Now the troubles intensified. 168 BC was a bad year. The king massacred many Jews, outlawed Judaism, and looted the temple. And, as if that were not bad enough, the following year, in 167 BC, Antiochus IV constructed an altar to Zeus in the temple and defiled the altar by sacrificing pigs in that place. This offense was a stench in the nostrils of the Jews and stirred the remaining Jews to revolt. A leader arose, Judah Maccabee. His name means Judah "the Hammer." It took about two years of war for Judah Maccabee and his followers to recapture the temple and to introduce the Hasmonean Jewish kingdom. This kingdom stood until 63 BC when Jerusalem was captured by the Romans. 

Obviously, the pigs which had been slaughtered in the Temple rendered it and the altar unclean. So, when Judah Maccabee recaptured the temple, he ordered the temple to be cleansed, the construction of a new altar, and new holy vessels to be made. After this, the temple needed to be dedicated to the Lord.

Now entered another problem. Not just any olive oil could be used to light the menorah, the lampstand in the temple. The oil had to be pure, undefiled, and approved by the high priest. The menorah was required always to be burned every night. This took quite a bit of oil. But only one flask of oil was found. This one flask had only enough oil for one night, and they needed it to burn for 8 nights. Miraculously, that one flask of oil was sufficient to light the menorah for 8 days until more oil could be obtained.

The Feast of Hanukkah or Rededication celebrates the restoration of the temple, its priests, and its services. This festival was also known as the Feast of Lights.

This festival celebrates God’s protection of His sheep (the Good Shepherd!), and the victory that He gives to those who trust in Him to overcome all odds. This gives comfort to all those who continue to trust in Him in the face of adversity and persecution.

Our Good Shepherd, Jesus, declared himself the "Light of the World."  He is our faithful, ever-living, ever-merciful, Comforter.

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - April 2022

THE EASTER ACCLAMATION:

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

What joy this confession brings to our hearts! The many weeks of meditation during Lent, contemplating our sins and the great sacrifice our Lord Jesus Christ made to pay for them is brought to its end with the Holy Saturday Vigil of Easter.

The Vigil of Easter service takes place in the semi-darkness of Saturday evening. This is a beautiful service of transition from sin, darkness, ignorance, and death to the breaking light of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and the forgiveness of our sins. 

In Hebrew thought, the new day does not begin at midnight; it begins when the sun goes down. So, that means that we consider sundown on Saturday, April 16th, to be the beginning of the day of the Resurrection of Our Lord. For centuries, the Christian Church assembled in the Easter Vigil in joy and excitement, in anticipation of Jesus’ resurrection which will be discovered on Sunday morning. At the Baptized of God, we cannot help but come quickly together as the Body of Christ that we might all share in the same forgiveness, joy, and hope.

This joy is seen on Christmas Eve, where we gather after sundown in celebration of our Lord’s birth. It is the “Eve”, or “EVEning”, of Christmas Day. You are able to see then, are you not, that the same principle is at work? God’s chosen people who live in faith love to gather with Jesus and their brothers and sisters in the faith at the earliest opportunity, and at every opportunity. 

The joy of Easter Day begins to break through at the Vigil, but some elements remained subdued, saving the most glorious for Easter morning! Our gold paraments which are used only on Easter Day are the most beautiful of all that we have. Yet, these beautiful gold paraments are employed on only one day per year, on Easter Day, setting this high holy day apart from all others. The color of the Vigil is white, as is the season of Easter. The change in colors from white to gold is a visual cue to all who attend that a momentous event is being celebrated. Then, after Easter Day, the white colors continue until the Day of Pentecost when they turn to red for a day, the color of fire, a reminder of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles. You have been given this Spirit in your baptisms. The Holy Spirit gives you joy.

Easter is a time of joy, a season of salvation. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. When Jesus rose from the dead, this was a sign to all people that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was accepted by God in our stead. We are freed from eternal death and punishment by Jesus’ holy perfect life and His innocent suffering and death. There are three important theological words that describe what Jesus has done for us. These three words view Jesus’ life, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension from slightly different, albeit connected, positions.

The first important word is “atonement”. The shedding of Jesus’ blood atoned for our sins, reconciling us to God. We were previously separated from God due to our sins. Jesus brought us back into fellowship with God by His work as Messiah. God, for Christ’s sake, does not hold our sins against us. All sins are forgiven in Christ. The word atonement also contains the Old Testament thought prefiguring Christ, that the sacrifice of the shedding of blood and the giving up of life, - as we see in The Day of the Atonement - covers up our sins. The sins of the world are no longer seen by the Father in Christ. Jesus has atoned for our sins.

The second important word is “propitiation”. Romans 3:25 connects the propitiation of our sins with the “mercy seat.” The mercy seat speaks of the cover on the Ark of the Covenant where once a year the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice to propitiate the sins of Israel. This prefigured Christ and His work, in which Jesus stills the wrath of the Father against our sins. In faith, we receive the benefit of Jesus’ propitiation and in Him anticipate the eternal joys of heaven after the Day of the Resurrection of the Dead. 

The third important word is “expiation”. You should be familiar with both atonement and propitiation since these words are found in your Small Catechisms. This third word, expiation, is employed in theological books but is not in your catechism. All three words are important because Jesus’ resurrection took place as an actual absolution from sin. 

How do you know that you are forgiven? Jesus rose from the dead. Expiation focuses on the fact that Jesus made amends for our sins, that is, our sins were purged by His sacrifice. The debts you owed because of your sins have been paid by Jesus. He has made amends for you. Jesus’ payment for your sins has been accepted by God Who is now satisfied. Nothing more needs to be done for salvation. All is well. God is at peace with you for Jesus’ sake. God has imputed your sins to Jesus and has forgiven you for His sake. Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to you through the Gospel.

This Gospel is clearly seen in Jesus’ resurrection which is your absolution. As those forgiven, Jesus instructs you to “Go, and sin no more.” Live holy lives celebrating and honoring His resurrection. 

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - March 2022

Lent is now upon us. The emphasis on contrition and repentance and faith which believes that the penitent is forgiven pervades our services and our lives. Jesus is the center of all things. Music is somber and restrained. Flowers are removed, adding a sense of starkness. Services are adapted for Lent. Wednesday vespers services are held. Special services are held on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the first service of Easter, the Vigil on Saturday evening. These services lead us in faith to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. In contrition, we march together to the resurrection of our Lord. The day of celebration is soon at hand. But it is not yet.

Easter has not yet arrived in the month of March. A touch of sadness fills the air as we meditate on Jesus’ sacrifice. We know that Jesus took on flesh, lived a perfect life, suffered, died, was buried, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven for us. Through faith in Jesus, we the baptized who are faithful to our confirmation vows will enter heaven. We long for that day of Jesus’ Return. As those who are truly His disciples, we attend services faithfully and commune regularly, as oft as the Sacrament of the Altar is offered. The Word preached, the Administration of the Office of the Keys, in particular, when we confess our sins and are absolved by the pastor, and the Sacrament of the Altar are God’s gifts to us to bestow righteousness upon us and to keep us in the faith.

Will all of those who have been baptized enter heaven on the Last Day? No. Those who fall away from the faith and become unbelievers, the unregenerate, will not sit at the Messianic Banquet in Heaven. They will join their father the devil where he has been bound as punishment for his rebellion and evil work on earth in leading mankind astray. The devil may tempt us and lead us to despise God, His Word, and His Sacrament of the Altar, but the decision to sin lies with man alone. The catechumen who falls from the faith has no one to blame but himself.  He should cry out in contrition and sorrow, returning to the church: “My sin! My sin! My most grievous sin. Forgive me!” This is confessing sin, not excusing sin. God is pleased with such confessions and forgives all who repent.

The sinner who has left the church and wants to return on his own personal terms, not Jesus’ terms, will excuse his absence and assure himself that he has “reasons” for his unfaithfulness. No. Almost always these reasons are nothing but excuses justified by his own sinful mind. Lent is a time of renewal, so it is fitting that all of the lapsed in the church should steel their minds against the temptation to continue in habitual sin and instead choose faithfulness. They should, in repentance and faith, seek readmittance to the Altar in order that they might receive the True Body and True Blood of Jesus Christ once again. Oh, how the angels in heaven and the church on earth rejoice when one sinner repents! 

Why would someone who has been confirmed at a LCMS congregation not automatically be permitted to commune whenever and wherever they desire, even if they have absented themselves from church for a long period of time? Communicant membership in the church is conditional. Vows are made at Confirmation. The confirmand promises to do certain things and live a certain way. Based upon their vows, they are welcomed to the altar.

But if the confirmand sins and does not fulfill his vows, then he has caused his membership to be, in essence, suspended. Pastors call such a person “a communicant member not in good standing.” This person is not excommunicated, but is banned from the altar until their spiritual concerns are addressed with the pastor. The goal of the pastor is to return this member to good standing. He will work toward this. Pastors are called by God and authorized to act in His stead. This is true also at the Holy Eucharist.

Paul refers to this in a passage which members of Grace have memorized from the Small Catechism. Speaking of himself as an apostle, and Apollos as pastor of the church in Corinth, Paul writes: 

“4 1This is how one should regard us (Apostle Paul and Pastor Apollos), as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself” [1 Corinthians 4:1–3 (ESV)].

Pastors are “stewards of the mysteries of God.” Through seminary, training, and experience, we are prepared to be ordained into the office of the ministry, and to be called and installed in a congregation. The administration of the preaching of the Word is entrusted to pastors. We are called and trained to do this. The administration of Baptism is entrusted to us. We are called and trained to do this. The administration of the Sacrament of the Altar is entrusted to us. We are called and trained to do this. We seek to be faithful. We teach our congregations of such things so that they are enabled to understand and support Jesus in His work in the mysteries of God, the Gospel in the means of Grace. A unified church glorifies God.

What are the vows that pastors, on behalf of the Church require to be confessed before a person is permitted to become a communicant member of a congregation? Look at page 272ff. in the LSB hymnal. This is the Rite of Confirmation. Note the confession of faith. Note the vows of faithfulness. Summarized, some of the vows are:

“Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully?”

“Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed, to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death?”

“Do you intend to continue in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?”

Based on the promise and vows of the confirmand, the confirmand is admitted to the altar. But what if the confirmand had refused to vow to hear the WOG and receive the sacrament faithfully, would that confirmand have been permitted to join the church? No. The pastor and others would work with the confirmand to enable him to make such a vow in faith and then be received into the communicant membership of the church.

As long as a communicant member upholds the vows made in the Rite of Confirmation, he or she is welcome to commune in his or her home congregation. 

But, if a confirmand is unfaithful and falls away from the church, in repentance he or she should speak with the steward of the mysteries of God, the pastor, and seek readmittance to the altar. This is best done during the week before Communion is celebrated. Pastoral care requires more time than is available on Sunday mornings. Many churches are unsettled when a long-lapsed member shows up at the altar and seeking communion without first speaking with the pastor. When a pastor requests that the lapsed member speak with him before communion, the pastor has not denied the member communion. The pastor is simply following good order. First the open sinner repents, then they are admitted to the sacrament. In essence, the pastor is saying: “I am thankful that you want to commune, but it is necessary that we speak first. Return to the vows made at your confirmation and you will once again be invited to receive Christ’s True Body and Blood.” I think that when congregations are taught in depth these things that I mention briefly now, the they will unify with Jesus and His steward, the pastor.

One last thing. Here I am including a quip made by Pastor Boxman of Trinity, Salina. It is quite good. At a circuit meeting we were discussing how the Sacrament of the Altar is administered in a God-pleasing manner. 

I mentioned an analogy I often use, based on the medical profession. “If you went to the doctor’s office, would you find a bowl of needles containing morphine sitting on a table, open to anyone to walk in off the street, self-diagnose, and take the morphine?” No. Any doctor who did that would lose his or her medical license. That is not proper administration of a responsibility given to the doctor. The patient who self-administered the drug to himself may die. Therefore, for your good, to receive that drug, you must speak with a medical professional. That medical professional is trained in the proper administration of the drug. The medical professional may, after speaking with the patient, decide that morphine is an appropriate course of action. But the professional may also decide that another course of action is more appropriate to help the patient.

I, then said that the reception of Christ’s True Body and True Blood at the Altar is in a similar way like a bowl of needles full morphine available at a doctor’s office. Pastors are Stewards of the Mysteries, the Gospel. We are soul healers. We are doctors of our members’ souls. We have only two tools in our little black doctor’s bag: Law and Gospel. We are trained when to use Law and when to use Gospel. If someone has broken his vows made in Confirmation, then that faithful pastor must speak to him first for the sake of his soul before he communes. If a lapsed member approaches the altar according to his will, without repentance, and communes then he may be reinforced in his sin. And after communing he may be hardened in his unfaithfulness. If he does not discern the True Body and Blood of the Lord, he will come under condemnation. He will be worse off after communing than he was before! But, the lapsed member, having spoken with the pastor, hearing the WOG, confessing his sins, receiving absolution, and being invited to once again feast upon Christ’s True Body and Blood, is reinforced in the Gospel and faithfulness unto life everlasting. Christ’s True Body and Blood bring him healing.

Pastor Boxman quipped: “Yes, it depends on whether you see Communion as an over-the-counter medicine or a prescribed medicine.” 

That is true. Many today treat Communion as an over-the-counter medicine. We walk up to the counter at the drug store and ask for our medicine. We’re not there to chat in depth. Just give me what I want and I’ll leave. In fact, many a customer has been incensed at a drug store when the employee wanted to ask them a few questions before handing over the drugs. So, when some people approach the altar, it is with the same attitude. I’ve decided that this is what I want, and I want it now. If the pastor says, “I need to talk to you first”, the individual and his entire family may become upset.

You, see, Holy Communion is the medicine of immortality, prescribed by God for His children who are prepared to receive the sacrament worthily, in faith, and for their good. Jesus has appointed pastors in the church to prescribe the Lord’s Supper to those who will benefit from it. Pastor’s will prescribe Law for those who need it. But as soon as repentance occurs, the soothing balm of the Gospel will be applied. 

Since Lent and Easter are a time when members who are lapsed become aware of the urge of the Holy Spirit to return to us, it is good for you all to assist in the faithful administration of the Sacrament at Grace. If you have not communed faithfully and regularly, then please speak with the pastor before approaching the altar. Obviously, visitors should also speak with the pastor before approaching the altar so that he has opportunity to speak to them in regard to their faith. If you know of others who have fallen away, now is the time to invite them to return to us in repentance and faith. Direct them to me. Assure them that after I have heard their confession and their desire and promise to once again fulfill the vows they made at their confirmation, that they will be welcomed once again to the altar. Holy living is required from all of the Sons of the Most High! The Holy Spirit will empower you so to do.

Peace be with you! Return to the Lord with thanksgiving.

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - February 2022

Do you ever go through a drawer at your home and find something interesting that you saved a few years ago and then forgot all about? It’s easy for something to get buried for a time, and then you are excited to find it. That happened to me this week. When I was in seminary one of my homiletics professors gave us a handout to help us ground our preaching in theology. (I think that it was our former Mission Fest speak, the Rev. Dr. Daniel Gard). This paper is titled “Thoughts on the Distinction Between Law and Gospel”, Adapted from Lowell O. Erdahl, “Preaching for the People.”

I began a series of pastor’s pages on this handout in 2017. But then other ideas intervened. Now, returning to that document, we will briefly take up two of the theses, one on the Law and the other on the Gospel.

“On the Preaching of the Law:  The preaching of the Law does not show the way from me to God. It declares that there is no way from me to God.”

Because we are by nature filled with sin in our hearts and have a high opinion of ourselves, we believe that we are able to be holy and acceptable to God of our own works, and that we are able to conform our lives to His holy and pure will. In general, we in our day - for the most part - have a different view of the Law than the Jews of Jesus’ day. Our view today is even more crass than the Jews. Many today actually believe that they are saved by what they do. Jesus has no part in their salvation.

If you ask some Christians if they know for certain that they are saved, the following responses may be given: “Yes. I know that I am going to heaven. I gave my heart to Jesus. I put my trust in Him. I know that I am saved because I have faith in Jesus.” Or “Sure. I’ve done lots of good things. I deserve it.” All of these are LAW responses and examples of crass works righteousness. How can that be? Isn’t Jesus’ name mentioned by some? Aren’t some putting their faith in Jesus?

Well, notice all of the “I” s in the above statements. Faith is something they do. They believe that they are saved BECAUSE they have faith. That makes faith a work. Faith is not something we generate within ourselves or do. Faith is God’s gift to us. We have faith only because He has given us faith in Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Means of Grace. Scripture teaches that we are justified by grace THROUGH faith. Not “because” of faith. 

Because of the law-oriented nature of many church bodies, many today approach the scriptures from the perspective that we need a little bit of guidance to get to heaven, but that we can do it. Jesus, just give us a prod and we’ll be on our way! But, this is not the way salvation is received. The Law reveals to us that there is absolutely no way possible for us to do anything or cooperate in any way to be saved. 

Dr. Weinrich explains in his CPH Commentary in John 1:1-7:1, that in Jesus’ day the Jews thought that they would be saved by immersing themselves in the scriptures. This would then conform their will to God’s law and their lives to His commands. “Thus, keeping the commandments was the form which having eternal life assumed (p. 618, n. 58).

Jesus chastised the Jews who held to the position of which Dr. Weinrich writes: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; but they are the ones which bear witness concerning Me....” JN 5: 39 (my translation). The Jews thought that they were saved by studying the scriptures. Today, many think that they are saved apart from God’s Word. This is not true. Apart from Jesus we are eternally lost. There is no way from where we are to God. He must come to us. That is the Gospel.

Which brings us to: “On the Preaching of the Gospel: The preaching of the Gospel does not demand that I decide for Christ. It invites me to live in the decision God in Christ has made for me.”

Many churches today teach “decision theology”, i.e., that a person is saved because he or she chooses to believe in Jesus. That is false. Why was the nation of Israel called “the elect,” “the chosen” of God? Was it because they chose Him to be their God? No. God chose Israel to be His people and then called them to be His people. So, there is a decision made whenever anyone is saved! But it is the decision that God made to choose us, to elect us, to be His people.

This predestination or election took place before the foundation of the world, before that which is, was. From eternity God chose those who would be His. Then in time He called them through the Gospel to come to faith. He gave them His Holy Spirit to work this faith in them. And, as a result of the Spirit’s work, the elect are saved. He saves us by baptizing us. He saves us by speaking His word into our ears through sermon and teaching. He saves us by giving us the True Body of Christ to eat and His True Blood to drink. By these means we are given salvation and then are preserved in that salvation.

God works only through His Means of Grace, Word and Sacraments, to create and sustain faith. No one comes to faith apart from the Gospel. No one remains in the faith apart from the Gospel. Since this is so, what do we do? Knowing that we are sinners we confess our sins and seek forgiveness. Knowing that we are forgiven of all of our transgressions for Jesus’ sake, we receive God’s forgiveness through faith. Knowing that we are saved by the work of God and not by our decision or works, we marvel at a God Who would save the likes of us! Empowered by the Gospel, we respond with good works, fulfilling our vocations on earth.

Jesus teaches us this in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians:

“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” [Ephesians 1:3–14 (ESV)] 

Praise be to God for the salvation which is ours in Christ because God chose us in Him.

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor- January 2022:

My pastor’s page often will comment on one of the minor festivals that falls during the month. Since we usually only gather for one or two services a week, we never celebrate the vast majority of special days recognized by the church and available to us. Here is an attempt to mitigate that shortcoming!

At times I reference the Church Fathers, mentioning what they have said or quoting them. Who are the Church Fathers and why do they matter? Well, there are Church Fathers who served in the early church over a thousand years ago. Then there are the Lutheran Church Fathers who begin with Luther and the Reformation.

Broadly speaking the Church Fathers lived from the days of the apostles through approximately the 8th century. Those who knew the apostles are known as the Apostolic Fathers. Those who lived and served before the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 are called the Ante-Nicaean Fathers (“ante” meaning “before”). Those who lived at the time that the great Council of Nicaea was held in A.D. 325 are called the Nicaean Fathers. Finally, the Post-Nicaea Fathers are those who served after the Council until the eighth century.

Things are even a little more complicated than that. We also distinguish the Western Fathers who wrote in Latin from the Eastern Fathers who wrote mostly in Greek. They differ in more than language. These Eastern and Western Fathers were forced to deal with the heresies that the devil caused to rise in their respective regions. That means that the fathers will at times approach theology from different perspectives, sensitive to the errors which surrounded them in their locale at their time. 

For example, today the Christian Church in Utah is surrounded by the Mormon heresy. So, pastors and theologians who write or speak in Utah will be sensitive to the local concerns and address the errors of that that place. While there are Mormons here, and we therefore must be concerned with distinguishing Christian theology from theirs, it is not the largest issue we face. So, our emphases are different. Here in McPherson, we must be sensitive to the fact that a number of Mennonite communities are nearby. They teach some doctrines that are contrary to God’s Word. So, we speak and write clearly, aiming to communicate God’s truth to all in a way that is understood in our time and place. Lutherans in the northeast may still face Unitarian heresies. Not all error is the same in every time and in every place.

One thing that the Fathers - whether they be Western or Eastern - share with us, is the fact that God’s people are persecuted for confessing and living the truth. We must not shirk from confessing the truth no matter what it costs us - family, friends, work, or neighbors, to name a few sources of suffering. We are witnesses to the light in a world of darkness.

Here is a link to the LCMS iCal Church Year Calendar which gives information on various Festivals, Minor Festivals, Commemorations, etc. in the church. I downloaded this to my computer, iPad, and iPhone. It is a good resource.

https://www.cph.org/t-resources-diary.aspx

How many times have you heard me quote Saint Chrysostom in a sermon and state that he is one of my favorite Church Fathers? Often. He is an Eastern Father who rose to prominence in the post-Nicaean period. The following is the information available in the CPH iCal for the day of St. Chrysostom, January 27:

“Given the added name of Chrysostom, which means "golden-mouthed" in Greek, Saint John was a dominant force in the fourth-century Christian church. Born in Antioch around the year 347, John was instructed in the Christian faith by his pious mother, Anthusa. After serving in a number of Christian offices, including acolyte and lector, John was ordained a presbyter and given preaching responsibilities. His simple but direct messages found an audience well beyond his home town. In 398, John Chrysostom was made Patriarch of Constantinople. His determination to reform the church, court, and city there brought him into conflict with established authorities. Eventually, he was exiled from his adopted city. Although removed from his parishes and people, he continued writing and preaching until the time of his death in 407. It is reported that his final words were: ‘Glory be to God for all things. Amen.’”

Glory be to God, indeed! May this praise rise from all of our lips!

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - December 2021

What is our Easter greeting? “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!" But, this is December, Christmas - The Incarnation of our Lord - is drawing near. What is this talk of Easter?

Christmas and Easter are intimately intertwined. Before Jesus could rise from the dead, He must first take on flesh, that is, become man. Jesus needed a body to keep the Law in our place, proclaim the Gospel, suffer the wrath of God on Good Friday, and to rise from the dead on the third day. Jesus’ flesh was given to Him at His conception but revealed to mankind in His birth. Without Christmas, the birth of Jesus, there could be no Easter. 

The Eternal Son of God took on flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. Who was this Son of God, Son of Man? Already in the manger Jesus - and before that in the womb - was a priest. Jesus was conceived and born a priest; he did not become a priest at His baptism. 

Jesus, Royal and eternal King of heaven, stands in the order of Melchizedek, an eternal priesthood without beginning and without end. Jesus was born to die for the sins of the world. Jesus took on flesh intending as High Priest to offer Himself - that flesh - on the altar of the cross as the perfect, eternal sacrifice. Now that Jesus has given His flesh into death and been raised from the dead, there are no physical sacrifices remaining to be offered on earth. Jesus took on flesh fully intending to later give us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink in the Sacrament of the Altar. Only a great, high priest in the order of Melchizedek could do this.

It is fitting for us in the Christmas season, therefore, to learn in what manner Jesus’ priesthood differs from our priesthood. Yes. I said that. All believers are priests. 

Here we will note three priesthoods in the Old Testament. First, the Aaronic priesthood was established at Mt. Sinai, serving in both the Tabernacle and then the Temple until Jesus came and brought this priesthood to an end with His own sacrifice and death. Once Jesus has offered the perfect sacrifice, Himself, what sacrifice is left for the Aaronic priesthood to do? None. So, the Aaronic priesthood has come and gone; it is no more. It was intended a temporary priesthood established by God and given to man for a time to prepare for Jesus and His Kingdom. 

A second greater priesthood, Jesus’ eternal priesthood in the order of Melchizedek, was assumed and fulfilled by Jesus. Jesus continues in heaven in this priesthood as the mediator between God and man. Jesus has eternal work to do and is ever serving you in heaven as your priest.

Our priesthood is the third priesthood. We are born priests in the water of baptism. Now, it is true that our priesthood begins at our baptisms, but we New Testament Christians are not the first to be priests. No. Adam was a priest. He had to be a priest because he sacrificed offerings to Yahweh. Only priests of the true faith may serve as mediators in such a manner. Years later, Noah was a priest, teaching his sons faith in Yahweh and offering sacrifices. Years after Noah, we saw that Abraham was also a priest, building altars, offering sacrifices, interceding for others, and confessing the Word of God. All the patriarchs served God and man as priests in this manner. So, the priesthood given to mankind is not new. It is of old. 

The promise of our Christian priesthood stretches back to Mt. Sinai, when Moses gathered Israel at the holy mountain to receive God’s Law. There, God spoke to Moses, giving him words to speak, declaring His will for Israel:

5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” [1]

Then the Apostle Peter took that great promise of the Lord and applied it to all believers who are Israelite and Gentile birth:

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [2]

We today are those royal priests and kings of His Kingdom. We have been redeemed by the Son of God who was born of the Virgin Mary to suffer and die for our sins, be raised from the dead, and ascend into heaven. As royal priests we do proclaim the wonders of God, offer our bodies as living sacrifices to Him, confessing Him to a world lost in darkness and sin. 

We offer Him the first fruits of our tithes and offerings, a portion of that which He has blessed us. Have you noticed how I elevate the offering plates slightly at the altar. The offerings therein are presented at the holy altar as a holy sacrifice and offered to God. I say a silent prayer during the elevation, asking the Lord to bless these gifts and that they are acceptable to Him. 

Did you notice that I said that I slightly elevate the offering plates? Why slightly? Because the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are elevated during the Sacrament of the Altar, not as a sacrifice, but rather that all may see and understand this holy gift now given to the confirmed who keep their confirmation vows. It would not be proper, would it, to elevate our gifts of tithes and offerings to the Lord as high as His great gift to us, Christ’s True Body and Blood? Of course not. 

So, now as priests, we have access to our Lord and His gifts. We are empowered to serve as mediators between God and man, praying for others and speaking God’s word to them. 

As priests who rejoice in the birth of our Savior, the infant priest Jesus Christ, we rejoice in His resurrection celebrated at Easter.

Now you see that the Easter proclamation: “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!" is connected to Christ’s birth. 

Pastor Dumperth

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 19:5–6.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Pe 2:9.

From the Pastor - November 2021

“For all the saints who from their labors rest,

“Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,

“Thy name O Jesus, be forever blest.

“Alleluia! Alleluia!” 

“Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;

“Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;

“Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light.

“Alleluia! Alleluia!”

(LSB, Hymn 677, Stanzas 1 and 2)

November 1st is always the Festival of All Saints’ Day. Some years it is transferred to a nearby Sunday. Every year this festival leads us to rejoice in God’s grace as we consider all the saints of the Holy Christian Church on earth who have been freed by death from this vale of tears. These saints have entered their eternal rest in Christ! Their works do follow them. They were given the gift of eternal life in baptism, a life which continues even when their bodies are dead in the grave. We continue to live even when we die. Saints do not die to receive eternal life; we have been baptized to receive this life. Our Lord offers and gives eternal life freely here on earth through His Word and His Sacraments, His means of grace. Eternal life is a present reality for all Christians; we have it now. We give glory to God for His mercy and grace.

Who are the saints and how do we become a saint? You become a saint, or a “holy one” - the two words are synonymous - when the Lord gives you faith which trusts in Jesus Christ as the One Who delivers you from sin and death. Note this well: the Lord has set apart two means by which He accomplishes this salvation, and two alone: His Word and Baptism. Only by these means is a person saved. There is but one path to heaven, and it is through faith in Jesus Christ.

Obviously, therefore, each person who trusts in the saving merits of Christ is a saint. You do not die to become a saint. You do not perform miracles to become a saint. You don’t have to be nominated to become a saint. The Church on earth does not, after taking a vote, declare a person to be a saint. God does. His vote is the only one which counts! 

God creates saints through preaching and the Sacrament of Baptism. As a pastor I proclaim that which the Lord has already established: you are a saint and holy in His eyes. When your Heavenly Father looks at you, He sees not your sins, because He has forgiven those for the sake of His Son. He sees no stain or remnant of sin, because all sin has been removed from you as far as the East is from the West.  You have been washed white and pure as snow.

We holy and pure saints are not quiet; We saints are not mute. We confess our faith boldly before all men, even when mocked by men or threatened with death. Death is not something which Christians often suffered in the past, but from which we now escape. For decades I have read articles that state that more Christians were martyred in the 20th century than in the previous 19 centuries combined. And, persecution seems to be increasing in the 21st century. Who knows how many Christians will be martyred in the next roughly 80 years if Jesus does not first return! Amen! Come, Lord Jesus. We, whether we face death by torture or simply persecution and slander, by the power of God must remain faithful. In the midst of such suffering we are to be steadfast, cheerful, and rejoice! The Spirit of God enables this. 

The Gospel for All Saints is from the Beatitudes recorded in Matthew 5. There Jesus proclaims: 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (ESV). 

Indeed, we are blessed through Jesus, both here in time and there in eternity. In this life, we especially rejoice in the truth that Jesus is our rock of refuge and a fortress to protect us from the attacks of the Evil One. We saints on earth are called the “Church Militant” because as long as we dwell here in our bodies Satan will forever attack us. When the devil attacks we must not retreat. The victory is ours in Christ. He is the Victor.

The Saints in heaven comprise the “Church Triumphant.”  Their toil on earth has ended.  Their suffering has been brought to an end. The days of their strife are completed. The Light of their Life, Jesus Christ, has led them through the suffering of this age and into the glory, peace and bliss of the next. To God be the glory!

In conclusion, whenever we think of our dear departed saints who have died in the faith, we should anticipate the day when the dead will rise at Jesus’ trumpet call. On that day all flesh will be raised. Isaiah 26 gives voice to our hope of the resurrection.

            “Your dead will live; 

Their bodies will rise,

            You who dwell in the dust, 

Wake up and shout for joy.

            Your dew is like the dew of the morning; 

The earth will give birth to her dead.”

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - October 2021

NEVER GIVE UP

Hebrews 12:1–13 (ESV) -- Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Do Not Grow Weary

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? 

                 “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, 

      nor be weary when reproved by him. 

           6       For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, 

      and chastises every son whom he receives.” 

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 

12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

It is human nature. We tire and want to quit. We may even tire of life itself. We want to get out of the race. This strikes us especially when things don’t go for us as we expected. As you know, I was active in sports for a number of years, playing football, baseball, basketball, etc. I took up golfing about 25 years ago or so. With my new-found interest, I watched the Ryder Cup on TV that year. In this golf match the best professional golfers in America take on Europe’s best. The country of the winning team maintains possession of the Ryder Cup trophy until the next competition.

That year the Americans fell badly behind. Sports commentators stated that we were so far behind that it was impossible to overcome such a gap. In the history of the Ryder Cup, no one had ever come back this far to win. The experts opined: We were inevitably going to lose!  

I was incensed. I couldn’t understand this attitude. In the church, and in life, and in work, and in sports I learned to NEVER GIVE UP. What is the poster on the board outside of my study? It pictures a stork attempting to swallow a frog who is grasping the throat of the bird to keep it from devouring him. I put it up there to emphasize that we are never to give up in our lives and especially never in the church. We must cling to the Gospel and pursue it where it is to be found: in the Means of Grace, Word and Sacraments. We are able to learn from life and apply it in our Christian lives. 

When our football team was behind by two touchdowns and there were only two minutes left to play, we didn’t roll over and play dead. We played our hearts out. We gave it everything. Teams have been down by more than two touchdowns and still emerged victorious.

When our baseball team was down by three runs in the last inning. We didn’t give up; we tried to get men on base, and then to home plate for a run.

When our basketball team fell behind and we had a minute to play, we didn’t give up. We started a full court press. We moved the ball around. We drove the hoop. We took the good shots.

Back to the Ryder Cup. The pundits said that it was impossible for America to come back and win. After all, the race was to 14 points, and we were losing 10-6 as the last day began. Europe needed 14 points to keep the trophy, but we needed 14 ½ points to take it away. The American golfers never gave up. They came out swinging. They won match after match and point after point. As the end of the competition drew near, one of our golfers stood over a 45-foot put. If he made it we would win the match. Puts of that length are rarely made. Somewhere I read a statistic that even pros make only 90% of puts within 6 feet. So, you can see that 45 feet is very long. The pressure was on. He sank the put. America came from behind to win the Ryder Cup. We didn’t give up.

If athletes treasure so highly something as temporary and eternally unimportant as a trophy, and if our team never gives up when pursuing such a cup, then should not we as Christians strive all the harder and never give up as we fight sin and temptation in our lives? Should we not struggle all the greater to faithfully attend the services of the church? Should we not struggle with the divine strength of the Holy Spirit to speak the Word of God to the wandering, the lost, to unbelievers? 

It doesn’t matter how far we are “behind” as the world falls into chaos around us. It doesn’t matter how difficult things appear. It doesn’t matter what the pundits say. Don’t ever give up! 

The editors titled a portion of our text from Hebrews: Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith. As I have explained to you in Bible studies, the Greek word here translated as “Perfecter” does not mean that we are perfect without sin. It means that Jesus brings us to completion, to His goal, which is ultimately Heaven and eternal life. So, Jesus founds our faith, He is the One who gives us faith through His Holy Spirit. Jesus is the One Who then sees us through all of the troubles in our life to His goal for us: a seat at the Messianic banquet in heaven.

So as a church, we never give up. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we work harder, we work smarter, we work longer. We don’t say, “It can’t be done. No one has ever done this.” We simply never give up.  We run with perseverance the race marked out for us. We do not grow weary. We do not lose heart. Christ forgives and guides us. In Him is victory.

To God be the glory!

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - May 2021

We at Grace have never celebrated the minor festival of The Visitation. Does that surprise you? This festival falls every year on May 31st. That explains why we have never held a Divine Service on this day. May 31st is also a national holiday in the United States, Memorial Day. 

Nevertheless, The Visitation is an important day in the life of Jesus and His Church. The “visitation” is not that of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. That festival is The Annunciation of our Lord, March 25th. March 25th is exactly 9 months to the day before the Incarnation of Our Lord, Christmas Day. The date of March 25th alone should guide you to a proper understanding of The Annunciation.

So, why is The Visitation of Mary to her relative Elizabeth important? When Gabriel spoke the words to the Virgin Mary by which the Holy Spirit overshadowed her and gave her life in her womb, he indirectly indicated that she should go visit Elizabeth who was ALSO pregnant. Mary became pregnant while Gabriel spoke with her. As an obedient daughter of Abraham, Mary would have quickly made arrangements for some males of her family to escort her from Nazareth to the area outside of Jerusalem in Judah where the priests lived. Elizabeth was married to a priest Zechariah and was 6 months pregnant with John the Baptist when the Virgin Mary came calling.

In humility and faith, Mary believed the words of Gabriel and heeded his instruction. One of my seminary professors estimated that Mary was between 3 and 7 days pregnant on the day of the visitation. He based this estimation on the assumption that Mary would set out on her travel as soon as possible after Gabriel spoke with her. He also factored in how long it would take to walk between the two towns. This causes us to realize that our Gospel has massive implications for the truth that life begins at conception. Let’s now read the Gospel for The Visitation.

Luke 1:39–45 - ESV

      39In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

First, note that when Mary entered Elizabeth’s presence, something phenomenal occurred with respect to both women. John the Baptist, who had faith in the womb already at 6 months leaped for joy at the word spoken by our Lord’s mother Mary. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke inspired words of God. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth knew that Mary was pregnant. She knew that this baby Who was probably less than a week old was the God man, the promised Son of David. Mary was the mother of Yahweh, our Lord. In humility, Elizabeth was in awe of the Lord’s work of salvation being accomplished before their eyes. Elizabeth pronounced the Lord’s blessing both upon His Son Who would be named Jesus on His 8th day, and upon the Virgin Mary who in faith trusted in the Lord and His messenger Gabriel.

Note the prayer below and join in the petition that we today would also “receive Your Word in humility and faith, and so be made one with Jesus Christ.” One Lord. One faith. One baptism. Remain in the One Who has incorporated you into His body, the Church. Come hear His word and feast on His True Body and True Blood.

Collect of the Day - Almighty God, You chose the virgin Mary to be the mother of Your Son and made known through her Your gracious regard for the poor and lowly and despised. Grant that we may receive Your Word in humility and faith, and so be made one with Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

In Christ,

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - April 2021

Christ has risen! He has risen indeed, Alleluia!

Easter is a time of joy. Our crucified Lord rose from the dead on this day, having conquered death for us. Death no longer has power over us. We, the baptized, were given eternal life at the font. Even though we die in the body and are placed in the grave, we fear not. We know that just as Jesus has risen from the dead, so shall we. Our resurrection is guaranteed. God will care for His redeemed throughout all of our life and throughout all of our death, however long it might be that we sleep in the grave awaiting His return and our ascension into heaven. Sweet sleep in the grave. What a comforting thought! Just as you fall asleep at night and arise in the morning (unless you are older and arise several times per night!) in an even greater and better way will you rise from the sleep of the dead at Jesus’ Return.

Even though we die in our body we live. Even while the bodies of the redeemed are in the grave, God is watching over them, caring for them while we are present with the Lord in heaven awaiting the Last Day. Therefore, knowing the glory to come, we now seek eternal life and long for it. How many of us would rejoice if Jesus were to return this day, this hour, this minute, and take us to heaven? I pray that ALL of us would. In fact, it would be a blessing if you never read this newsletter article because Jesus had returned and gathered us into heaven and seated us at the Messianic Banquet. 

Every Sunday we feast on Christ’s True Body and True Blood at His altar, a foretaste of the Feast to come. What Feast? The Messianic Banquet. Oh, how we long for the glory and the bliss of heaven! Jesus will lead you to heaven to His table. Do you fear going to heaven? No. Jesus will lead you nowhere dangerous to your soul and salvation. You should fear going nowhere where Jesus has gone before you for your benefit. A number of people have told me that they fear heights here on earth, but they do not fear being lifted up into the heavens on Judgment Day. Why, Jesus has gone into the heavens before us and has promised to return to take us to be where He is! Therefore, we should not fear. Keep this in mind. We fear neither heights nor depths but rejoice in Jesus wherever we might be.

Now, since we remain living and breathing on earth, death awaits us if Jesus does not return first on the day of the resurrection of all flesh. Since death awaits us, the grave also awaits us. Is the grave to be feared? Should you tremble at the idea that earth covers your casket as you await the resurrection of the dead? Absolutely not. Jesus has entered the grave in death before you and emerged for you. Fear not! You should no more fear burial in the grave than to fear heights on Judgment Day. You who repent and believe are now in Christ and will remain in Christ through faith.

Caring for the bodies of the redeemed, following death, the body of God’s sleeping child is brought into the church for the funeral service. In this service the faithfulness of Jesus in giving faith to the deceased and keeping him or her in the faith is proclaimed. The certainty and joy of the resurrection is proclaimed. Then we move to the cemetery to bury the body of the one redeemed by Jesus in anticipation of the Resurrection. The Rite of Committal, the brief service spoken at the graveside articulates a theology of burial, a theology of the grave, that serves to remove fear from our hearts and gives abounding comfort.

The following quotations are from the Committal Service employed in the Lutheran Service Book. The italics and bold font in the text are added for emphasis:

The pastor may place his hand on the head of the casket as he says:

“Pastor:  May God the Father, who created this body; may God the Son, who by His blood redeemed this body; may God the Holy Spirit, who by Holy Baptism sanctified this body to be His temple, keep these remains to the day of the resurrection of all flesh.

“Pastor:  Almighty God, by the death of Your Son Jesus Christ You destroyed death, by His rest in the tomb You sanctified the graves of Your saints, and by His bodily resurrection You brought life and immortality to light so that all who die in Him abide in peace and hope. Receive our thanks for the victory over death and the grave that He won for us. Keep us in everlasting communion with all who wait for Him on earth and with all in heaven who are with Him, for He is the resurrection and the life, even Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

There is far too much richness and depth in the above sections to cover in this short page. Those of you who attend Bible study know that this would take me weeks to address! So we will select one short portion, “all who die in Him abide in peace and hope.” Do those in the grave abide, meaning “remain”, in “peace and hope”? Yes! When your body is in the grave you will be filled with peace, already enjoying the eternal presence of your Savior Jesus Christ, with the Father and the Holy Spirit! There is no fear for the Sons of God in the grave. Amen. Come Lord Jesus! 

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - March 2021

“The Annunciation of our Lord”

25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” 

26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,  27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,  33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” 

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.  37 For nothing is impossible with God.” 

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her (The New International Version, [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House] 1984; Luke 1: 25-38).

The Annunciation of our Lord, a minor festival in the Church year, falls every year on March 25. This day celebrates the announcement that the angel Gabriel made to the Virgin Mary, telling her that she would be the mother of our Lord. How do we arrive at the date “March 25”? If you are good at math, subtract nine months from December 25 and you will make a discovery. The Annunciation of our Lord celebrates the conception of Jesus and Christmas celebrates His birth. What a miracle! The Son of God became man, taking on our flesh. Jesus is fully man and fully God.

In our day some scoff at the supernatural. Some say that it was impossible for a virgin to conceive and bear a child. On some seminary campuses so-called theological professors speculate that, because a virgin birth is impossible, Jesus must have been the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier! Such nonsense! Such unbelief. Simply put, Mary was a virgin even when Jesus was born. The Lord made certain that this was the case and records this fact in scripture with the words: “…[Joseph] did what the angel [Gabriel] of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus” (The New International Version, [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House] 1984; MT 1:24, 25). Joseph had no union with his wife so that the paternity of Jesus would never be in doubt. God is His Father.

The Lord knows that we are weak and need constant assurance. To allay any doubts that might spring up to haunt Mary, the Lord provided a sign of His power to her. Gabriel announced that Mary’s relative Elizabeth was pregnant. Elizabeth’s child was to be named John when he was born. You probably know him best as John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, the one who was sent ahead of Jesus to prepare the hearts of Israel to receive its Messiah.

Elizabeth’s pregnancy was proof to Mary that “nothing is impossible with God.” Elizabeth was blessed with a pregnancy in old age. Mary was blessed with a pregnancy even though she was a virgin. Not to worry, Mary, “because nothing is impossible with God.”

“Nothing is impossible with God.” This remains true to this day. Do not worry about the future. Do not worry about today. Do not worry about anything. All things are possible with God who uses His wisdom and power to work His will and His way in your life. 

Let us conclude with prayer. We implore you, O Lord, to pour forth your grace on us that, as we have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ by the message of the angel, so by His cross and Passion we may be brought to the glory of His resurrection; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - February 2021:

“Pastor! We shouldn’t have a crucifix. It’s too Catholic. We should have an empty cross.” Is that true? Is that what Lutherans must believe? Is that the historical teaching of the LCMS? Let’s see.

In Walther’s day, and in the years following, it was not unusual for some Lutherans in America to complain about the chanting in our services, the use of crucifixes, the vestments of the pastor, the paraments, and even our architecture. The charge was: “Zu katholische!” “Too Catholic!” In response, Walther pointed out that all these things have their roots in the ancient Christian Church and are no way the invention or possession of the Roman Catholic Church. They are simply Christian. In fact, Walther warned the LCMS that Protestantism in the USA was a greater threat to orthodox doctrine and practice in Lutheranism than the Roman Catholic Church. How correct Walther was! Oh, that we did not heed his warning! 

In Bible classes I’ll sometimes mention: “things that people have never said to me” as a complaint to make a point. Over the years, many people have said: “We shouldn’t do that. It’s Catholic.” But I have never had anyone complain, saying: “We shouldn’t do that. It’s Protestant.” Why? Think on that. Is it because we have embraced Protestantism unawares?

Concordia Publishing House (CPH), our LCMS publishing arm, has been hard at work  providing many valuable resources for the church. Some of these are geared primarily toward pastors and theologians. Others are written with the laity in mind. Still others serve both pastors and laity well.

In that last category, we have added a book to our library which I love, and I hope that you will find useful. It is written by a 19th century pastor, Friedrich Lochner, and is titled: The Chief Divine Service of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church: Explained, and Furnished with Historic Melodies for the Preservation of the Liturgical Heritage and for the Advancement of Liturgical Study in the American-Lutheran Church (CPH, 2020).  

This work was first published by CPH in German in 1895. But, until it’s recent translation, was inaccessible to almost everyone due to its age and language. Lochner, living in Germany and hearing of the great need for German Lutheran pastors in America, had been trained and sent to America. Later Pastor Lochner was later called to be pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Springfield, Illinois, in 1876. Prior to that, Lochner was present at the first meeting of pastors that ultimately led to the founding of the LCMS in 1847. 

Lochner and other German Lutheran pastors in America faced a challenge. Not all German Lutheran churches in America had the same liturgical  heritage. German Lutherans who had come from northern areas were used to chanting and the employment of a rich liturgy. Those who came from southern areas such as Prussia, were accustomed to church services that were much more austere due to the Reformed Protestant influence in that area. 

My own great-grandmother Dumperth, born 170 years ago, was baptized as a Lutheran in Prussia and later emigrated to America where she married my great-grandfather who had been born in Bavaria. She came from an era and an area of unionistic congregations which had been rooted in error by the king’s edict forcing churches to comply with the religious edicts of the Prussian Union. Seeking religious unity in his country the king ordered all churches to adopt his compromising religious ways. There would be no distinctly Lutheran churches in his realm. He used his army to force Lutherans to adopt Reformed services and Reformed pastors. Blood ran as the Lutherans resisted adopting Protestant ways.

In the German Lutheran congregations of American served by pastors who had emigrated from Germany, we found a rich liturgical heritage in those congregations whose pastors were from northern Germany. On the other hand, pastors from the South, such as Prussia, tended to introduce Protestant-like services such as they had in the Prussian Union. 

Trinity, Springfield was accustomed to a more austere service. But Lochner, who also taught congregational singing and liturgics at our LCMS Springfield Seminary which had been located there after the Civil War, knew full well the riches of the Divine Service and sought to introduce not only his congregation but also new pastors into the glory of the Divine Service in its fulness. The Chief Divine Service grew out of his attempt to accomplish this.

Today in America we may see a similar difference among some LCMS congregations. Some are accustomed to our Lutheran heritage of the liturgy sung and chanted. Others have services which are similar to the Protestants and the Reformed who surround us. 

Some churches have crucifixes. Others have an empty cross. To which should we aspire? I was taught at seminary that Lutherans prefer the crucifix. I was not taught and do not teach that a naked cross is sinful, simply that a crucifix adorned with Christ Crucified is better. Lochner agrees and taught all of the Springfield Seminary students in the LCMS the same. This is detailed in The Chief Divine Service in our library. I have taken the liberty of underlining and highlighting portions of this page to make it easier for you to find the reference. 

Lochner, teaching while Walther was President of the LCMS, writes: 

“(b) The crucifix is an indispensable requisite of the altar. Since the cross is the most ancient of all signs which the Christian faith has produced of itself for its own testimony, it is only fitting for the crucifix to adorn our altars, corresponding to the prefigurative bronze serpent…. Let all the more cautions therefore be taken when choosing the form of the crucifix. ‘The corpus (Ed: body) of Christ will either be produced from silvered bronze or wood of natural hue. The color of silver, being more reflective of the color of the naked body, has preference over that of gold. Fragile or inauthentic materials such as zinc, cast iron, or even plaster and porcelain, should not be chosen The cross itself may be of gilt brass, oak, walnut, or black pearwood. A naked cross without the Crucified is better avoided (Schultze).

“Regarding its size, it should without fail be higher than the altar candles. It should also be in proportion to the size of the church.

“It is either free-standing or built into the reredos, (Ed: an ornamental screen which covers the wall behind an altar) forming the proper center of the altar furnishings’” (The Chief Divine Service, p. 305).

One of my friends served as pastor at Walther’s own Trinity Lutheran congregation in St. Louis. About 20 years ago, he emailed me a picture of the crucifix which stood at the altar where the founder of our synod, Walther, administered Jesus’ true Body and Blood. So, now, you can see, from the very inception of the LCMS the crucifix has been preferred. Unfortunately, due to a computer crash, I lost the picture of Walther’s crucifix. I would love to show this to you. Nevertheless, we are blessed to have not only a beautiful crucifix for our altar, but also a matching crucifix for processionals. As Paul writes with joy: “We proclaim Christ crucified!” Is not a crucifix a wonderful testament to Jesus’ death and crucifixion!

Pastor Dumperth

From the Pastor - January 2021

On the incarnation of the Lord. 

What higher, loftier thought can there be than the truth that God took on flesh in the person of Jesus? Who of us is worthy to search heavenly, divine mysteries such as the Son of God taking on flesh and becoming like us in every respect except sin? 

None of us are worthy in ourselves, but we are made worthy by God Who became incarnate and has given us His Spirit. In Jesus we are declared to be worthy. Therefore we will not seek to discern hidden things of Jesus’ incarnation, but rather, the things openly revealed to us by God in His holy scriptures. Jesus took on flesh to be our Redeemer, the One who rescues us from our numerous sins and transgressions.

That takes us back to the creation of the world and the fall of our father Adam. God created the world, and all things in it. He then declared that all of His creation was “very good.” It was perfect. It could not have been better. Then Adam sinned and the world was no longer perfect. Now the world was cursed. Now sin had entered the world. Adam and Ever were cast out of the Garden. How could mankind ever be made right with God? Jesus. God must become man to save man.

Jesus simply cannot redeem that which He has not assumed. To redeem creation, Jesus must enter creation. To redeem man, Jesus must become man. Therefore, the eternal Son of God, the 2nd person of the Trinity, was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus became man. Jesus assumed our flesh. In fulfillment of the Law, Jesus’ flesh was circumcised on the 8th day. He shed His first drop of blood for the redemption of man, not on the cross in Jerusalem, but in Bethlehem, the place of His birth.

Jesus became a son of the law, One under the law, to keep the law for us in our stead. The first Adam sinned and failed. Jesus, the second Adam, would be victorious. Jesus heard the Word of God, believed it, and kept it. Through faith in Jesus and His work, we receive credit for His work. Jesus, the obedient son, performed many good works while dwelling on earth in His flesh. In the catechism you learned that Jesus’ keeping of the law in our place is called “active obedience.” Jesus in His flesh was actively obedient, doing all that the law requires.

In the catechism, you learned that Jesus, the incarnate Son, also passively fulfilled the law. He was passively obedient. In this Jesus passively received in His flesh all of the punishments of the law that we deserved for our sins. Our sins were placed on Jesus. Jesus assumed our flesh. He assumed our sins. He became sin for us to redeem us from the curse of the sin. By Jesus’ stripes we are healed. By the nails piercing His flesh we are saved. By Jesus’ death we are given life. Jesus in His flesh received the wrath of God that we deserve because of our sins in the flesh.

The good news for us is that Jesus has redeemed that which He assumed: our flesh. The One through Whom all things were created, the eternal Son of God, entered creation as the son of a woman to redeem it, to rescue it, to save it. 

Jesus, our Savior, was born in His flesh, died in His flesh, rose again on the 3rd day in His flesh, walked on earth in His flesh among His disciples for 40 days after His resurrection, ascended into Heaven in His flesh, and is returning in His flesh on the Last Day to take you, body and soul, in your flesh, into heaven to live and dwell with Him forever. Jesus assumed your flesh to redeem your flesh. Mission accomplished! His incarnation did its work. 

Pastor Dumperth