My memory of Pastor Ness

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I spend a lot of time with children in my daily work as a pastor. A lot of that comes from our congregation’s joint school, Christ Lutheran Academy. We also have a pre-school, Little Lambs Learning Center, and I have first communion/confirmation instruction for 4-7th grade. Plus I do things on the side for Higher Things from time to time.

Lately, nearly every time I interact with these different groups of young people, I think about on of my former pastors. His name was Dale Ness, and he was my pastor from the time I was ten until I was about thirteen. I went to school at the one room school his congregation operated, and I am a Lutheran pastor today to a great extent because of him. There are others that were influential as well, but certainly he was the first.

Pastor Ness loved children. He had eight children himself, and so there house was a constant barrage of comings and goings, with children covering a range of infant through high school. Our school was small, and he was the main teacher (as well as pastor, but that’s another story).

My memories of Pastor Ness are pretty clear. We sang. We prayed. We did memory work. He drove a goofy old truck named Hiawatha. He loved us, and we feared and loved him. He was strict but somehow managed to portray a deep passion for the little ones entrusted to his care. He played with us in the playground, and he managed to model and instill the love of Christ into a little odd collection of sinners at Holy Cross Lutheran School.

He was far from perfect. He had a temper, he worked himself nearly to death, and he had real problems with burning himself out from too much work.

Tragically, the church was forced to close the school, and it nearly killed him. Not long after he resigned from the Holy Ministry, moved to Idaho from Missouri (where I grew up), and was killed in an accident while he was working on his car (maybe it was Hiawatha; I don’t know).

I think about him often as I go about my daily work as a pastor of a church with lots of children. I think about how much he shaped me as a person and as a pastor today. I pray someday that God would use me to bring the Gospel of hope to little ones just as he did.

Septuagesima 2010

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Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Septuagesima (January 31, 2010)

Matt. 20:1-16

[podcast]https://public.me.com/toddpeperkorn/sermons/Septuagesima-2010.mp3[/podcast]

TITLE: “God doesn’t ration blessings, He gives them!”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for today is the parable of the men working in the vineyards from St. Matthew chapter twenty.

God doesn’t ration blessings. He gives them. This is sometimes very hard for us to understand, because it is so foreign to our way of thinking. If you belong to Christ, if you are baptized in His name, you receive all of His blessings. There is no such thing as a good Christian or a bad Christian. You either are a Christian or you aren’t. You’re either an “innie” or an “outie”. There is simply nothing in between. Everyone will enjoy the same treasures of eternal life in Him. There is no distinction in God’s sight. We are all His children, equally blessed with His divine favor and mercy. What a privilege! What a gift that God gives us, where we all sit at His feet together, one and the same.

Now oddly enough, this beautiful gift from God really annoys people.[1] Maybe it’s not that strange, though. By nature we are all Pharisees. We are all spiritual snobs. We vacillate between feeling unworthy of God’s grace and the basic feeling that “at least I’m not as bad as so-and-so.”

This is why texts about God’s mercy and His basic unfairness are so strange to our ears. The kingdom of God is not at all like any kingdom of the world. Everything we are and do here on earth is about measuring, comparisons, pecking orders, and establishing your place in the grand scheme of things. Movies abound with the basic plot of a nobody getting his big break to become someone great. Think of The Natural, The Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Princess Diaries, Kung Fu Panda, The Replacements, The Lord of the Rings, or just about every fairy tale that involves a prince and a damsel. Most kids shows even run off of these ideas! Backyardigans is about regular kids becoming heroes of some sort. Super Why. Word Girl. These all run off of the theme that there are differences, and that sometimes the little guy gets a chance to become a big guy.

Our dream as human beings is to amount to something all on our own. It’s what we long for. It’s what we want out of life in so many ways. You want to be recognized as being worth something. It’s why we have trophies and medals and plaques and every kind of recognition.

Now this isn’t all bad, mind you. This is the way things work in the world, from Presidents on down to class grades. The problem isn’t that this is the way the world works. The problem comes when we start to think that this is how God works.

God doesn’t grade on a curve. You don’t get a higher or lower place in heaven based on your works. God isn’t fair. He is merciful, and that is a very different proposition for us.

If God were fair, we would receive the wages for our sin. If God were fair, we would be eternally condemned for all of our sin. Every one of you would be condemned. That’s the Law, and it is true.

But God isn’t fair. He’s merciful. He doesn’t give you what you deserve, He gives to you out of the riches of His love for His Son and for you. While the world works in the way of measuring, God works in the way of blessing. To our eyes it is ridiculous. We can understand a little generosity. But that kind of generosity seems over the top, and it is.

How are we to really grasp God’s love for us in Christ as being so full, so incredibly rich and all encompassing that everything else pales by comparison? God grants us the blessing of working in His vineyard. He gives us a place, and identity and holy tasks that we are to undertake them. We don’t undertake these tasks in order to gain His favor. We do these things, these acts of love and mercy toward our neighbor, precisely because we have His divine favor.

This day Jesus calls you to come and work in His Father’s vineyard. Eat of His body and drink of His blood. Jesus says, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” Like living branches attached to a tree, even so you have life in Him. So come, find your place. It doesn’t matter if it is the first hour for you or the eleventh. You have a place here. It is God’s vineyard, and there is room enough for all. Believe it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

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

[1] Some of the ideas for this sermon are taken with thanks from Bo Giertz’ book, To Live with Christ.

The End and the Beginning (Transfiguration 2010)

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Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Transfiguration (January 24, 2010)

Matthew 17:1-9

[podcast]https://public.me.com/toddpeperkorn/sermons/Transfiguration2010.mp3[/podcast]

TITLE: “The Mountain and the Valley”

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

There is a great temptation when you are at one of those moments of your life that are so wonderful, so beautiful and perfect, that you never want to leave. It is very easy to want to go from mountaintop to mountaintop, and not to peer into the valleys. The valleys are dark. The valleys are dangerous. The valleys are where all the action is, and that action is not always a good thing for sinners like you and I.

If you have ever wanted to go back in time to that perfect point in your life, you can understand Peter in our text. Here you have Jesus going up on a mountain to pray, along with His closest disciples, Peter, James and John. They have gone off by themselves to regroup, and to prepare for the coming road to Jerusalem and the cross. It has been six short days since Peter’s great confession, “You are the Christ the Son of the living God.” God had revealed this great confession to Peter, but apparently it didn’t stick yet. Right afterwards, Jesus tells them that he is going to Jerusalem and death. Peter wanted to stop Jesus from going on that hard road, but Jesus rebuked him.

So here they are, up on the mountain, and they get this incredible vision. Jesus changes before their very eyes. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. Like Moses so many years before, Jesus seemed to be the glory of God in the flesh. And then, wonder of wonders! Moses and Elijah appear! These two great men, prophets and deliverers of God’s people, are right in front of them, talking with Jesus. This wasn’t a dream! It was real, and the three disciples are there to witness the whole thing.

We can understand Simon Peter here. Great, Lord! Let’s set up shop right here, you, Moses and Elijah. We’ll make a tabernacle for you just like the good olé days. Then right in the middle of Peter’s proposal, they are enveloped in a bright cloud and a voice comes from out of the cloud and says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Now to you and I, those words should sound at least a little familiar. They are identical to the words that our Heavenly Father said over Jesus at His Baptism in the Jordan River. But here, some words are added. Here we get that final statement, “listen to Him.” That may sound like something obvious, but it isn’t. Peter in his excitement and brashness caught himself telling Jesus what to do. He wanted to be with God-in-the-flesh, but he wanted it on his terms, not God’s terms.

And that is where we come in. So often we want God with us, but we want Him with us on our terms, not His terms. I want God when He is up on the mountain, looking down, filled with the glory of God, and when things are right and perfect and beautiful. It is a glorious site, that’s for sure. Who wouldn’t want a God like that? Who wouldn’t want a life like that?

There is a problem, though. While that may be a dream, it is a selfish dream. It is a dream that has no place for anyone else, even God. You see, to be in the image of God means to get outside of yourself and to get into the shoes of your neighbor. It means to live with them, to suffer with them, and yes, even to die with them and for them. It means to rejoice when they rejoice, and to weep when they weep. That’s what God is really like. The light of God does not just come down upon us in the sunshine. God’s light is clearer in the darkness. Listen to how our hymn confesses it:

Come, heav’nly Bridegroom, Light divine,

And deep within our hearts now shine;

There light a flame undying!

In Your one body let us be

As living branches of a tree,

Your life our lives supplying.

Now, though daily

Earth’s deep sadness

May perplex us

And distress us,

Yet with heav’nly joy You bless us. (LSB 395:2)

The sad reality is earth’s deep sadness does perplex and distress us. While the view from the mountain may be great, for most of us, we actually live in the valley of the shadow of death. The mountains are a part of the journey, but have you ever noticed when climbing a mountain that it takes a lot longer to climb up than it does to go down?

Today we rejoice with Peter, James and John that God’s glory is in our midst. You and I experience that glory even more directly than those disciples did, here in His body and blood. That gracious presence of Jesus that ties us to Him as living branches of a tree, ties us to Him so that we may go out into the world. Christ goes with us all the way, and we are going, even into that valley.

Enjoy the view from this great mountain! From this mountain we can see the valley of Lent, where we will go down and then up again to another mountain, Mount Calvary, where our Lord will be lifted up, and where He will draw us to Himself (John 12:32). From this same mountain we can see the heavenly city, Jerusalem, the city of peace where we will dwell with Him forever.

Now that’s a picture to consider, isn’t it? Hear again how our hymn confesses that great reality:

What joy to know, when life is past,

The Lord we love is first and last,

The end and the beginning!

He will one day, oh, glorious grace,

Transport us to that happy place

Beyond all tears and sinning!

Amen! Amen!

Come, Lord Jesus!

Crown of gladness!

We are yearning

For the day of Your returning!

Even so, come Lord Jesus. Change us into your holy image, that we may bear it to the end of days and your great returning. Amen.

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

O Lord, I Cry to You

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O Lord, I Cry To You

A Lenten Seminar on the Penitential PsalmsWith a Special View toward preaching in

Lent and the Passion of Our Lord

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The Presentation of Our Lord and the Purification of Mary

February 2, 2010

Hosted by

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Download the PDF file brochure here:

What you will receive

* The forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

* Great insights into the art of preaching.

* Practical advice about how to preach in Lent.

* Sample outlines which may be used.

About the Series

The overall purpose of this Lent series is to introduce the congregation to the blessings that God gives through Confession and Absolution. The series is catechetical in nature, and will incorporate especially the use of the seven Penitential Psalms, as well as other Psalms and readings appropriate to the season and the service.

What we will be doing is looking at the role of Individual Confession and Absolution in the life of the Christian congregation, the role of the penitential Psalms in the prayer life of the Christ, and how these two elements tie together during the season of Lent.

PLEASE CALL 262-551-9081

if you have any questions

www.messiahkenosha.org

THE SCHEDULE

Registration,9:30 – 10:00 a.m.

The Feast of the Presentation

of our Lord and the Purification

of Mary (Festival Divine Service), 10.00 a.m.

Welcome and Opening Remarks, 10:45 a.m.

First Presentation, 11:00 a.m.

Lunch, 12:00 p.m.

Noonday Office, 12:45 p.m.

Second Presentation, 1:00 p.m.

Break, 2:00 p.m.

Third Presentation, 2:15 p.m.

Break, 3:15 p.m.

Q&A and Closing Comments, 3:00 p.m.

Vespers, 3:30 p.m.

HOTEL INFORMATION

There are several excellent hotels in the area. The one we recommend is the Country Inn and Suites. To make a reservation, please call:

COUNTRY INN AND SUITES

7011 122ND AVE

KENOSHA, WI, US 53142

(262) 857-3680

We will also be providing housing by congregation members for those interested, as it is available.

ABOUT OUR PRESENTER

Todd A. Peperkorn attended Concordia Teachers’ College in Seward, Nebraska, and completed the degree of Bachelor of Arts in pre-seminary studies and history in 1992. After matriculating at Concordia Theological Seminary in 1992, Todd became active in the Seminary Kantorei and student government. Todd completed his Master of Divinity in May 1996, and completed the Master of Sacred Theology in May of 1999. Pr. Peperkorn received an award of commendation for an article based on his STM thesis published in the October 2001 issue of Concordia Theological Quarterly. The award was given by the Concordia Historical Institute.

In addition to his duties at Messiah Lutheran Church, Pr. Peperkorn served as the Publications Executive and the editor of Higher Things:Dare to Be Lutheran from 2001-2006. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Concordia University Wisconsin.
He is the author of the book, I Trust When Dark My Road: A Lutheran View of Depression, was the Psalms editor for the Treasury of Daily Prayer, and is the author/editor of the forthcoming CPH Lent series on the Penitential Psalms.

He and his wife, Kathryn, have four children.

The Wedding at Cana (Epiphany 2, 2010)

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wedding-at-cana

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Epiphany II (January 17, 2010)

John 2:1-11; Ephesians 5

[podcast]https://public.me.com/toddpeperkorn/sermons/Epiphany02-2010.mp3[/podcast]

TITLE: “Jesus Came to the Marriage”

Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is from the Gospel just read, Jesus comes to the marriage.

St. Paul in our epistle talks quite a bit about husband and wives, and how we are to relate to one another. He uses all sorts of peculiar language like submit and love and sanctify and headship all sorts of things. After talking about how the husband is a picture of Christ and the wife is a picture or image of the Church, Paul goes on to quote Genesis two about how a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and that the two shall become one flesh. Paul then makes a beautiful statement:

“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:32 ESV)

Now I will be the first to admit that the mystery of Christ’s love to the church is profound, but I don’t think we should pass over the lesser mystery so quickly, because it will lead us into this great mystery. The mystery of which I speak is the mystery of husband and wife, or if you prefer, the mystery of the family.

Families are mysterious. By that I mean if you are looking at a family from the outside, you will probably never completely get to the bottom of what that family is all about. There are layers we just can’t see from the outside. Gunk. Beauty. Joyful moments. Days of deep sadness. Days when you can hardly get everyone together. Days when you can hardly stand to be apart. There are days when it hardly seems like any two members of the family can stand to talk to each other. Families are a great mystery.

Think for a moment about the most famous families in the Scriptures. Adam and Eve. Pristine, primeval, and messed up from near the beginning. They fought. Their oldest son killed their second son. What a mess.

Or think of Jacob. Let’s see. He had two wives and children from two of his servants. So you had a blended family with sons and daughters from four different women. They all lived under the same roof, too. Several of the sons sell the second youngest into slavery, after they decide not to kill him. Yeah, great role model family.

Or how about David? He had children by his wife, then he takes another man’s wife, murders him, marries the second woman, and has children by her as well. They struggle and fight their whole lives long, and one of David’s sons tried to have him killed so that he could take over the throne.

That’s just three examples from the Bible, but we could come up with many more. Abraham and Sarah. Isaac and Rebekah. Judah and Tamar. Even the holy family did not start out in the most glorious of beginnings.

Of course, our own families are really no better. How many of you have dark secrets in your household that you really hope don’t get out? Hidden sadness, anger, bickering and fighting between children and parents, husband and wife. Of course, this bickering and fighting isn’t limited to those who live under the same roof. Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but it can also lead to misunderstandings and a whole host of other trials and troubles in our lives.

The sad reality is that our families are a mess. We love each other. We sacrifice for each other all the time. But it is chaotic at best, that’s for sure. I can certainly understand and relate to our collect this morning, where we ask that God would grant us peace through all our days. Peace at home is a treasure that is sadly more rare than we would like to admit.

Of course, there are also other ways that we can talk about the family. St. Paul says that the Church is a family. We are talking about the mystery of Christ and the Church. We, here sitting together, are a family. We love one another, but don’t always like each other. We judge one another, compete with each other, and look down the nose at the other members of the family who don’t seem to be pulling their weight, doing their part of the work.

So what are we to do? Our families are broken and confused, our church is troubled inside and out. What is the missing piece of this puzzle? How do we unravel the mystery of Christ and the Church?

A part of what God gives to you this day is that He frees you from the need to understand everything. It’s a mystery! Let it be as God would have it. How God holds families together is His holy work. That doesn’t let us off the hook, but it does free us from thinking we have to figure everything out. Jesus came to the marriage for that couple in Cana. He came. That’s the mystery.

In the middle of all of the chaos of our lives, Jesus enters into our family. He blesses us with His gracious presence. He brings divine food and drink to this marriage in His own body and blood. He enters in, and He makes things anew. That doesn’t mean we see all of the changes now. In fact, we won’t. But Jesus’ coming changes everything.

This is true for earthly families, but this is all the more true for Christ’s Bride, the holy Christian Church. Jesus gives up everything for us. He loves us as He loves Himself. He draws us into His holy embrace, and promises that he will never leave us nor forsake us.
God cares for you completely, utterly, and without holding anything back. He gives you the peace that passes all understanding, by suffering the violence of the cross for you. That is His love for you, His Bride.
Every family is a mystery. But God’s mercy shines through all of our messes and enlightens every dark corner with His love. Believe it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

And now the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith to life everlasting. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.