I Trust When Dark My Road NOW AVAILABLE FREE online

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(This was originally posted at I Trust When Dark My Road. I won’t normally cross-post, but this is an obvious exception. -TAP)

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The wait is finally over!

Nearly three years after I began the process of writing this book, it is now available for free download. The free print version will be available sometime in mid-late July. It is at the printer as we speak.

I would urge you to go to the website listed below and order as many copies as they will let you or as many as you need. then download the book and start to get a sense of it. I am very excited and anxious to hear your thoughts on this, and I pray it will serve as a blessing to the Church.

I would especially like to thank Maggie Karner, Al Dobnia, Sarah M. Shafer, Philip Hendricksen, and the entire staff at LCMS World Relief and Human Care for their kindness and work in helping this project come to fruition. They are a wonderful group of people!

So check it out and let me know what you think.

In Christ
Pastor Todd Peperkorn
Author
I Trust When Dark My Road: A Lutheran View of Depression

To request your complimentary copy, call 800-248-1930, ext. 1380.

“The Divine Love of the Holy Trinity” Holy Trinity Sunday

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Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
The Festival of the Most Holy Trinity (June 7, 2009)
John 3:1-17
The baptism of Amelia Mary Noble

For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “The Divine Love of the Holy Trinity”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is from the Gospel lesson just read from John chapter 3 as follows: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Jesus has a conversation with a man, Nicodemus by name. Nicodemus is a rabbi, a teacher of the Jews, and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council. He is a man in the know, a man of influence and power, rich in both money and stature among his colleagues, friends and enemies. And he has come to Jesus by night, wanting to hear from our Lord what the story was about His work as the Messiah. “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”” (John 3:2 ESV)

When it comes to our questions about God, who He is, what He does and how He works, you and I are not so different from Nicodemus. It doesn’t take a lot to figure out that there are grand and mighty things at work in the world. Some of these things are wondrous and beautiful: the gift of a new child, life, all of the freedoms that God has given us in this world, even the prosperity of our land this day is greater than most any other time or people in the history of the world. Yet at the same time, we can look at wars, sickness, death, heartache and trouble all around us, and recognize that things are not rosy, they are not perfect and everything happy. Nicodemus is on safe territory by saying that God is with Jesus, but it doesn’t answer any of the really tough questions of life.

God is not like us. I know this isn’t profound, but it is true nonetheless. And we need to understand this basic fact before we can really understand the nature of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. St. Paul writes in Romans chapter eleven, ““For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”” (Romans 11:34 ESV) Isn’t that the truth! God’s ways are mysterious to us, hard to fathom. Sometimes they are wondrous, but sometimes they seem from our perspective to be cruel or even vindictive. Why did one person die and another live? How come this person’s job was cut and not that person?

We don’t know the answers to these questions. Life is full of more questions than answers. But every time, like Nicodemus, you try to fit God into our little categories, our cookie cutter view of how the world is supposed to be, you are trying to be God and not worship God. Jesus tells Nicodemus that in order to see the kingdom of God he must be reborn. Nicodemus can’t get it yet, because he is trapped into trying to be God and not worship God.

So to help us worship God rightly, in a few minutes we will confess that ancient Christian confession known as the Athanasian Creed. One of the first sentences goes like this:

And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.

Notice the word used there, dearly beloved. Not the word catholic. Catholic just means general or universal. No, the word I want to draw your attention to is the word worship. We worship one God in Trinity. Three in one, triune. But the word is worship, not understand, not give orders to, not make into a pretty greeting card saying. Our God, the true God, is to be worshipped.

But what does that really mean, to worship God? To worship God is to live under Him in His kingdom. Worshipping God means receiving what He has to give to you. Worshipping God means being born again, or born from above, as Jesus tells Nicodemus. Worshipping God changes you, transforms you, makes you anew in His holy image, wrought in the waters of your Baptism, just as little Amelia received this very morning. Our Confessions put it this way:

So the worship and divine service of the Gospel is to receive gifts from God. On the contrary, the worship of the Law is to offer and present our gifts to God. However, we can offer nothing to God unless we have first been reconciled and born again. This passage, too, brings the greatest comfort, as the chief worship of the Gospel is to desire to receive the forgiveness of sins, grace, and righteousness. (Ap V, paragraph 189)

So in other words, when we talk about God, who He is, how He works, and what He does, the chief thing for you and I is to recognize that God’s work is to give us every good gift. The chief gift that God gives is His Son, Jesus Christ. Right after our Gospel for this morning we have that most famous of all Scripture passages, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but might have everlasting life (John 3:16). God loves so that He gives. He gives of Himself over and over again. Maybe we don’t always see it. Certainly we don’t always understand God’s ways. But do not doubt that God is at work this day, giving of Himself to you. Amelia reminds us of that this morning, as God puts His own name on her and makes her His own.

God is at work this day and every day, forgiving your sins, giving you Jesus, drawing you into His loving embrace. Come, partake of the meal which He has given of Himself to you. Feast upon the God who gives all things to you. Worship Him, for He loves you with an everlasting love. 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.

How to order "I Trust When Dark My Road: A Lutheran View of Depression"

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The following is the blurb that is on page 10 of the Spring 2009 edition of Caring, from LCMS World Relief:

Free Resource Explores Clergy and Depression LCMS World Relief and Human Care’s newest resource reflects Rev. Todd Peperkorn’s personal journey through depression, I Trust When Dark My Road: A Lutheran View of Depression. LCMS WR-HC Executive Director Rev. Matthew Harrison recommends the book to all associated with professional church work: “This book offers a path to hope, and a future through Christ.” Dr. Beverly K. Yahnke, a licensed clinical psychologist, writes in the book’s forward: “When one’s mind and soul journey across the ghastly landscape of clinical depression, the adventure may challenge faith, hope, and life itself. … Peperkorn invites us into the world of a depressed Christian who remains reliant upon God’s grace.” The book is expected to be available in mid-June. To request your complimentary copy, call 800-248-1930, ext. 1380.

This was originally posted on my other blog, I Trust When Dark My Road. I have kept this blog quasi-anonymous for almost three years, but with the publication of this book, my double secret identity is now moot. I would please urge you to go to the above blog and subscribe to it. There is a great community of fellow sufferers, and I believe it will be worth your while.

Enjoy, and order as many books as you think you’ll use! THEY’RE FREE!

-LL

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"Worthy" (Pentecost 2009)

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Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Pentecost (May 31, 2009)
John 14:23-31
On the occasion of the First Communion of Five Members of Messiah Lutheran Church

For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “Worthy”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this holy day of Pentecost, and also our Confirmation Sunday, is from the Gospel lesson from John chapter 14 as follows: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

You are not worthy to receive the Lord’s Supper; It’s not about you. That’s what I’ve told these five young members of our church as they have prepared to receive the Sacrament of the Altar. All the work, all of the learning by heart and reading and prayer and preparation for this day, none of these things make you worthy to receive the Lord’s Supper. It’s not about you. It’s about what Jesus did for you, and it’s about what the Holy Spirit does in you even know by creating faith and giving you Jesus. As you, catechumens, have learned in the catechism, the words go like this:

Who receives this sacrament worthily?
?Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words “for you” require all hearts to believe. 

In a few minutes, these five young men and women will confess the Holy Christian Faith given to them in their Baptism some years ago. They will stand up here with their fathers and mothers and cling to God’s Word rather than their own works. They will confess faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They will confess that they are sinners and that only the blood of Jesus can forgive them. Not long after that, they will receive Christ’s body and blood for the first time for the forgiveness of sins. It is a big day for them and for the whole Christian Church on earth.

Why is it such a big day for them and for us gathered here? It is an important day because this is an opportunity for us as the Christian Church to remember who we are in Jesus Christ, and what makes us tick, so to speak, as a congregation.

(addressing the first communicants) God’s Word teaches us that it is here in the Christian Church that God gives the forgiveness of sins to hurting sinners. I hope that you have learned studying God’s Word that you are a hurting sinner. You do not deserve God’s grace and mercy any more than I do or anyone else in this room. None of us deserve God’s mercy.

But you see, that’s the whole point. God’s mercy means that it is undeserved. Nothing you can say or do or think will every make you worth of God’s love and mercy. The point is that God’s love and mercy comes down to you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God creates faith in Jesus, and He is the one who keeps you in His love. As we confess in the Small Catechism:

What does this mean?
?I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true. 

The Holy Spirit is the one who has called you to this place. The Holy Spirit is the one who called you by the Gospel. The Holy Spirit baptized you in the name of the Triune God so many years ago. The Holy Spirit forgives your sins by the mouth of your pastor. The Holy Spirit gives you His Word. The Holy Spirit preaches to you. The Holy Spirit, to sum it all up, gives you Jesus. And when you receive Jesus Christ, whether it be by hearing His Word or receiving His body and blood, when you receive Jesus Christ in faith, God forgives your sins. And when God forgives your sins, you receive life and salvation. These three things go together: forgiveness, life and salvation.

That is why we as the Christian Church rejoice this day to hear you confess this faith. The angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents. When you confess this Christian Faith before God and His Holy Church, you are recognizing yourself as a sinner who needs God’s healing touch and word of forgiveness more than anything in your life.

This is in some ways a hard thing to understand. On the one hand you stand before the congregation this day and confess your faith. People after church will give you congratulations, and there is a probably a party of some sort at your house after church today. It sure seems like it’s about you, doesn’t it? But it’s not. That’s one of the reasons why I appreciate having first communion here on Pentecost. This is the day where we remember the Holy Spirit is the one who gives faith and that He is the one who will keep you in this one true faith all the days of your life. So it’s not about you. It’s about God. And God gives it all to you.

(addressing congregation) This is pretty much how it always works in the Christian Church. God is constantly taking lowly sinners like you and I and lifting you up, forgiving your sins, and setting you at His Right Hand as the honored guest at His banquet. That is what you receive every time you partake of His Holy Supper. God makes you His honored guest. He forgives your sins and sets you in the place of honor. He doesn’t do this because you are so wonderful or so great. No, He does this because He loves you. He does this because He loves you with an everlasting love, and that love drove Him to die on the cross and rise again so that you might rise from the dead with Him. You are no more worthy to receive the Lord’s Body and Blood than these young ones. But God is merciful to you, and He gives of Himself for your salvation.

So this Pentecost we see God’s work before us. It is His Church, and He is the one who both creates faith and gives it to His children whom He loves. Well, I guess it is about you, after all. Amen.

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