Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Trinity 27 (November 22, 2009)

Matthew 25:1-13

For an audio MP3 of this sermon, click this link: Trinity27-2009

TITLE: “Wake, Awake!”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text for today is the parable of the 10 virgins from Matthew 25.  Let us pray:

Lord God, heavenly Father, send forth Your Son, we pray, to lead home His bride, the Church, that with all the company of the redeemed we may finally enter into His eternal wedding feast; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  So said our Lord.  But the virgins don’t look too shiny sleeping in the middle of the night, as they are depicted here in our text.  On earth their works were not thought wise, the hymn exclaims.  By all appearances, the faith of the wise and the faith of the foolish appeared the same.  You couldn’t tell the wise from the foolish as they slumbered.

Yet there is a difference.  The Christian here on earth lives and breathes and struggles through life just like everyone else.  But by the grace of God, you have the one thing needful.  God in His mercy has given you the oil of gladness, faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ.  This faith points you upward toward heaven.  It means that no matter what you do here in this life, one ear is listening for the trumpet.  There is a part of you that wonders, is it today?  Will the bridegroom return today?  Will our sorrowing have an end now?  We pray it every day in Christ’s Church: Thy Kingdom Come.  When it it be, Lord?  When will you come back?

We don’t know, of course.  We don’t know when the coming of the Son of God will be.  It will be when we least expect it.  He will come in glory, with His holy angels going before Him.  They will cry out to a dying world, Wake, awake,  your king is coming to you even now!

What will that mean for the redeemed, the Baptized into Christ on that last day?  It means all sorrow will come to an end.  It means that all the waiting and wondering and fear and heartache and anxiety and gunk of this life will be over.  Our hymn exclaims that joy as follows:

Zion hears the watchmen singing,

And all her heart with joy is springing;

She wakes, she rises from her gloom.

For her Lord comes down all-glorious,

The strong in grace, in truth victorious;

Her star is ris’n, her light is come.

Now come, Thou Blessèd One,

Lord Jesus, God’s own Son,

Hail! Hosanna!

We enter all

The wedding hall

To eat the Supper at Thy call.

Yet there will be no second guessing that Last Day of our Lord.  There is no place for salt-lookers in Christ’s kingdom.  Set your eyes upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.  Like the virgins in our text, the oil is yours and yours alone.  You cannot believe for another, and God will not share your heart with anyone else.  You are His, and His alone.  The things of this life cannot hold you, dearly Baptized.  If they hold you down, they will shackle you to the earth and will keep you from looking up to the Rising Sun, who comes with healing in His wings.

This is what we mean might call in the Church a holy indifference to the things of this world.  It means receiving and rejoicing in what God has given you, but it means not letting those things which God has given you to overshadow the God who gave them to you.  Practicing charity and love toward the neighbor means confessing that because Christ is coming again, the things of this life cannot hold you back and holy you down.  For if they do, there is great danger in losing the oil of gladness as we try to hold on to and juggle all the things of this life in our hands.

The Last Day will be here soon.  There will come a day when all of the evil of this life will pass by as a dream.  The day is coming when Amen will be the only word that really makes sense at all.  The evil of this place will be gone.  Luther put it this way in his catechism:

But deliver us from evil.

What does this mean? We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.

So rejoice this day, dearly beloved. When your last hour comes, be it today or in fifty years, God will give you a blessed end, because you are His child, holy, baptized, a part of the family, with the oil of gladness.  You are ready. Believe it for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

All Saints’ Day 2009

Matthew 5:1-12

For an audio mp3 of this file, click here: AllSaints-2009

TITLE: “Blessed”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for All Saints Day is from St. Matthew the fifth chapter. We focus on the word, blessed.
What I think is so hard about a day like All Saints Day (or Sunday as we celebrate it) is that it is such a day of faith and not of works. Faith trusts what is not seen. Faith is hidden. Faith looks with the ears, and hears what God’s Word proclaims to be true. Now we can understand this when we’re talking about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and rising again from the dead for our justification. That is received by faith. I can’t reason my way into that. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t follow from how the world works or what I think I know about God. But it is true nonetheless. And because it is true, God’s Word teaches and gives it to poor sinners like you and I to trust and cling to no matter what our hearts may tell us or our eyes may try to show us.

So here we come to a day like All Saints Day. It is easy in some respects to think about concepts like forgiveness and justification and even eternal life, as long as they are sort of academic terms or ideas. As long as these things are just words it is easy to marginalize them or consider them unimportant to your life here on earth. We all do this, don’t we? I’ve got the Gospel. I’ve got Jesus in my heart, and so I don’t really have to reflect or seek to receive it anymore.

But what happens when you’re looking at your father or mother’s grave? What happens when you bury your own child, or when someone else you love dies suddenly? Now, dear friends, now the Christian faith kind of faces a great trial. You see, Satan wants you to believe a lie. He wants you to believe that all of this God and forgiveness talk is just so many words. Death, though, death is real. Death is concrete. Death is where you see things as they really are. Satan wants you to believe that there is nothing more certain that your own death. That is the end. That is reality. This is why funerals are so painful, even for the Christian. We fight and struggle with our own unbelief in the face of such trials. You look at death, and it reminds you of your own weaknesses and sorrows and trials. Is all of this faith-talk really true? What if God really doesn’t love them? What if God really doesn’t love me?

This is where the Gospel shines mostly brightly, dear friends in Christ. This is where God’s Word holds up a reality that goes beyond the grave, and a life that never ends, because of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh who took on our flesh for us. Jesus in our text this day recounts the blessedness of being in Him. Our text, commonly called the beatitudes, shows us a picture and a life that makes no sense, if we are left to what our eyes show us and our hearts tell us. Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed, blessed, blessed. How can this be? Who is Jesus talking about?

Jesus is talking in three ways here when he describes the blessedness of a life in God. First of all, He is talking about Himself. Who else hungers and thirsts for our righteousness? Who else is truly the peacemaker? Who else sorrows and grieves for our sin? Who else is persecuted for us? Who else but Jesus Christ, the righteous one? When Jesus speaks these words, He first is talking about Himself.

But then He is also talking about you. In your Baptism everything that Christ won for you on the cross and in the tomb became yours. You are blessed, because you are in Christ. That is all that finally matters. When you are in Christ, you have received all things. You are holy and righteous, beloved by God. You are blessed. Of course, this reality is hidden. It is not so easy to see. But just because something is hidden, does not mean it is not there. This is true, and we will talk about how we know this to be true in a moment.

Now if this text is talking about Jesus, then you, it is also talking about all of God’s children adopted into His family by Word and water and the Spirit. This text is talking about all of the saints who have gone, who rest from their labors in Christ, and how now sit with Him in the heavenly places. This text is describing the Church in heaven that reigns in glory, just as it describes the Church on earth, hidden under the cross and suffering. When you read these words, remember all of your loved ones who have gone before us and are with Christ. Remember them, and rejoice! Because they are in Christ, they are bound to you in a way that transcends time and space, suffering and hurt. You are connected to them in the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanses us from all sin.

But how do you know this is true? It is true because Jesus Word and promise are true. Take, eat, this is my body, take, drink, this is my blood. St. Paul put it this way: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? (I Cor. 10:16) Then a little later St. Paul writes, Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually (I Cor. 12:27).

You, dear friends, are the body of Christ. You have been bought with his blood, sealed in the waters of your Baptism, you have been anointed with the Holy Spirit. You are the body of Christ. But not only you, all of those who have lived and died in the faith are the body of Christ. So when you receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ from this Altar, you do so praising God with angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven. This is the God’s Word and promise, given and shed for you.

What this means, in a profound and wonderful way, is that when you commune here, you commune with the whole body of Christ. The whole body of Christ is here, at this altar, every time we receive the Lord’s Supper. What a profound mystery! What a wonderful Sacrament! God delivers Himself to you, and in delivering Himself, he delivers the whole company of heaven into our midst.

Faith trusts what it does not see. Faith clings to promises that God gives, even if we cannot fully understand them. But mark this well, dear Christians. Christ has won salvation and eternal life for you. You are free in Him. You are one of God’s saints, along with the whole company of heaven. You are a part of His body, a part of His family. And in Christ, there is always hope for the future.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Trinity 8 (August 2, 2009)
Matthew 7:15-23

For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “The Fruits of the Gospel”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is the Gospel lesson just read, “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

When Paul made his farewell address to the pastors in Ephesus, he did so with a warning. The warning was that they were to pay hear to the whole counsel of God, and that they were to pay attention to their flock, the blood bought souls whom Jesus had commended to them. Paul warned that after he left ravenous wolves would come, that would seek to scatter the flock, devour them, and try to rob them of the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins. Even worse, Paul said, these wolves who come in won’t be outsiders, they will arise from their own flock, from in their own midst.

Jeremiah said much the same thing with the people of Israel, as they were about to be led into captivity in Babylon. God didn’t send these false prophets, but they came. They came, they spoke, the lied in the name of the Lord of Hosts, and they did it all trying to destroy the gifts of forgiveness of sins, life and salvation which God won for them with a mighty hand. The false prophets wanted to paint a picture for the Israelites that there could never be disaster, that things will not go bad because of their false belief, and that Baal would serve them as well as the true God.

So what are we to make of this? What are we to make of Jesus words that only those who do the will of His Father will enter the kingdom of heaven? How are we to understand Jesus’ warning about good fruit and bad fruit?

One thing is clear from these texts. We should never presume that just because there is a label, that things are what they seem. Just because David Koresh claimed to be Jesus in the flesh didn’t make him so. Just because you see the name “Christian” in front of a building does not mean they are Christians. By your fruits you shall know them.

So how are you to tell the difference? Jesus says that only those who do the will of His Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven? But what is God’s will? God’s will is two-fold. His will is that you keep all His commandments first of all. That will is unbending, firm and true. That will of God is for your good, even though you may not always see it as such. That perfect will of God also shows you how regularly and consistently you fail at keeping His will and desire for you. By all accounts, you and I have listened to the lying voices of the night, which seek to keep us away from the forgiveness of sins, and which want to drive us to despair.

But God’s will ultimately is that you be saved. God’s will is that you live, and that you be free of sin and every evil of body and soul. That’s what God wants for you. If you want to know whether a preacher or teacher or church is from God, find out what kind of Jesus they present to you. Is it the Jesus of the cross? Is it the Jesus that died so that you might live forever in Him? Is it the Jesus that forgives, that comforts, that consoles, that gives hope and healing in the midst of sorrow and pain? Or is it another Jesus?

Jesus says that only those who do the will of His Father will enter into heaven. But don’t be afraid at this news. This is good news for you, not bad. God’s will is that you live and have life in His holy name. You are baptized. That is God’s work and will for you. Doing God’s will doesn’t mean mighty acts and great deeds that impress the world. Doing God’s will first of all means receiving what He has to give to you in His Son. It’s free. It’s a gift. It is life in His name.

Believe it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Thanksgiving Eve (November 27, 2008)

Luke 12:15-21

For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “Rich Towards God”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this Thanksgiving is from Luke 12 as we heard a few moments ago. We especially look at the following verse: “And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”” (Luke 12:15 ESV)

Isn’t it incredible when it seems like God’s Word is speaking directly to the situation at hand? Our country is faced with two different and maybe opposing viewpoints right now. On the one hand we have a new president coming into office in just a couple months, and we pray God’s blessings upon him and hope that his time of service will be good for our nation. But on the other hand, we have a serious recession going on, and many people are talking about financial depression. Our church has felt the crunch, the holidays are coming up, and money is just in the air. So all of it really begs the question: What really is life all about?

That’s a good question. Jesus says in our text that one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. And yet in some ways, it seems as though that is exactly what we do this time of year. We gather around the dinner table, hold hands, and give thanks to God for all of the stuff that we have. We give thanks for clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals and all I have, as the catechism would put it.

But Jesus in our text seeks to draw us away from the things of this world and into Himself. And to do so He gives a parable. The parable of a rich man who is getting richer. The rich man, in fact, is so rich that he has to make more barns to house all of his riches. And because he is so very rich, because he has been blessed so abundantly, the man says to himself, take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.

In other words, the man looks at his possessions and sees in them the point, the purpose to his life. His life was all about stuff. More stuff, so that he could eat, drink and be merry. The man’s life was good. He was happy and well provided for. Those who are happy want more money, because they believe it will make them happier. Those who are unhappy believe that money will solve all their problems.

But the rich man could not see the truth. His world was not what it seemed, and so his life was actually a waste and he never even knew it.

Now there is for us tonight both a warning in this and hope for the future. The warning from God is obvious: don’t let the things of this world define you. Your life does not consist in the things of this world. They come and go. Houses, cars, food, drink, the toys of the day, these things do not make you who you are, and if you seek to find happiness and joy in them, it is fleeting and will soon be gone. Don’t be trapped by the devil into thinking that these things are the point. They are not.

That’s the Law. Here’s the Gospel. Jesus talks about how the rich man laid up treasures for himself but was not rich toward God. What does it mean to be rich toward God? Being rich toward God has everything to do with faith, for it is by faith that you receive the God things which God gives you this day and every day.

That, dear friends, is what Thanksgiving for the Christian is all about. It’s all about faith in the one who gave up everything. Christ our Lord became poor so that you might be rich toward God. He cried out from the cross, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That is the ultimate in poor. He was forsaken by all, doomed and left to die alone, a poor beggar with nothing but vinegar on a sponge for his food and drink. And yet through His death and resurrection, you are now rich beyond measure. When you look at your life, the thing that makes you who you are, it is Christ’s work that makes you rich.

Really if you think about it, the gifts and things of this world are almost icing on the cake for the baptized. When God gave you His Son in your Baptism, he gave you everything you would ever truly need. But the reality is that He continues to give to you, over and over again. He provides for your soul and your body. He gives out of the abundance of His mercy, so that even in tough times, you are fed and clothed, your family is safe, and you look forward to an eternity together with Him.

So this thanksgiving, as we remember all of the blessings God has given us, let us remember first of all the great gift He gives us by forgiving our sins and drawing us into His holy presence. You are truly rich toward God, and because of that, you may receive the things of this life with thanksgiving. What makes you rich is not your hard work, our great nation, or the ups and downs of the economy. What makes you rich toward God is that God in His riches delivers it all to you for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Believe it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Lent 2 – Reminiscere (February 17, 2008, revised from 2003)
Matthew 15:21-28
For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “God’s Silence and His Speaking”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is the Gospel lesson just read from Matthew 15.

Silence. Complete and utter silence. That was Jesus’ response to her. Her daughter was terribly vexed with a demon, a horror we can only imagine. She was at her wits end. All the parenting skills in the world could not help her daughter. She was at the end of her rope. She went to the one Man who could help her. She went to Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah. Surely He would help her! Surely He would look at her plight and would have mercy upon her by healing her daughter.

But God’s answer before her was silence. continue reading…

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
The Presentation of Our Lord (trans. to Feb. 3, 2008, rev. from 2003)
Luke 2:22-32
For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “Jesus Presents You Pure and Cleansed to God”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen. Our text this morning is the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple.

The Law of God given to Moses required that a woman, after giving birth, would be set apart for forty days. She could not go to any holy place or touch any holy thing for forty days after giving birth to a son. This was called the period of her purification, because giving birth, even in the best of circumstances, always involves pain and blood. All the way back at the Garden of Eden, the Lord told Eve that she would suffer in child-birth. Even in the giving of life itself, there was an understanding that death is at the door. And death is a very unholy thing, for it is born from sin. continue reading…