- The melody site is linked here.
- TLH Lyrics site is linked here.
The Hymn #613 Jerusalem the Golden
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Introit
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice:
Thou hast been my Help.
Leave me not, neither forsake me:
O God of my salvation.
Psalm. The Lord is my Light and my Salvation: whom shall I fear?
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
O God, who hast prepared for them that love Thee such good things as pass man’s understanding, pour into our hearts such love toward Thee that we, loving Thee above all things, may obtain Thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Gradual
Behold, O God, our Shield: and look upon Thy servants.
V. O Lord God of hosts: hear our prayer. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. The king shall joy in Thy strength: and in Thy salvation, how greatly shall he rejoice! Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 649 Jesus Savior Pilot Me
First the Word, Then Faith
The Communion Hymn #307 Draw Now and Take
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #577 God Bless Our Native Land
- Esther Estrada landed in America on July 20th, last year. Glen Kotten and Esther married on July 23rd. May God continue His richest blessings on them.
- Christina Jackson's birthday is July 20th.
- In our prayers - Sarah Buck, Kermit and Maria Way, Christina's brother-in-law. Pastor Jim Shrader and his wife Chris.
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| By Norma A. Boeckler |
KJV 1 Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
KJV Luke 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
O Jesus Christ, Thou Son of the living God, who hast given us Thy holy word, and hast bountifully provided for all our temporal wants, we confess that we are unworthy of all these mercies, and that we have rather deserved punishment: But we beseech Thee, forgive us our sins, and prosper and bless us in our several callings, that by Thy strength we may be sustained and defended, now and forever, and so praise and glorify Thee eternally, Thou who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
First the Word, Then Faith
KJV Luke 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
Biographies or Gospels?
Some people get discouraged that the Biblical readings are so concise, and they are not filled with details, unlike some recent biographies 1,200 pages long. My funniest bookstore experience was a massive new biography of Shakespeare, which starts "We know next to nothing about Shakespeare" and proceeds to speculate about what they do not know - for hundreds of pages.
My Yale professor, Nils Dahl, said, "The only thing we know about Jesus? The text! The text!"
I told a member I was not longing for a bunch of commentaries, because the best sources - besides the Scriptures - are Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz. The Book of Concord is the best one-volume companion to the Bible, yet the hungry book printers want to sell even more commentaries. The CPH commentary on Mark is bigger than the Chicago phone book.
The Gospels, through the Holy Spirit, deliver the material Jesus promised - everything needed to carry out His work when He was enthroned on the Right Hand of God and managing the Kingdom on earth.
Luke passes onto us the details of this great miracle, early in the preaching of Jesus Christ, showing the power of the Word upon the crowd and upon Simon who would be called Peter (Rocky Johnson in American English).
People followed Jesus wherever He went, a special emphasis in Mark, the second Gospel very important in describing the activities of Jesus as a miracle worker. They were crowded up against Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (aka Lake Gennesaret; two names, like Simon/Peter).
If speaking there, He could only reach a few rows because the crowd would absorb most of the sound. Instead, His eye was on the fishing boats, the fishermen already repairing the nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
This was a great solution in dealing with an eager crowd, being filled with joy about His Word and works. As fishermen know, sound travels easily across the water, so the crowd could use the rising ground to hear and see Jesus as a whole. The Akron Plan was once a church feature where one person taught and classrooms rose up around the speaker. When the main person was done, the individual classes were closed by enormous roll-top partitions for the subordinate teachers and their classes.
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| The Akron plan reproduced the audience for the miraculous catch of fish. |
Jesus spoke the Gospel to the crowd and to Jesus. Today people would rather ask for - or demand - a miracle, and say "I will believe if it happens." That is the reverse of God's order but ideal for filling the cattle-pens of Satan. Nothing is better for that bovine harvest than being dis-couraged, dis-heartened, dis-contented, and finally dis-interested. The scary part of those hyphenated words is the crowd of successful media preachers who make their demands on the Savior but do not believe, taking their flocks with them and scattering them.
Simon, as a pro-fisherman, knew that there were no fish to be had, especially in the daytime. However, because Jesus taught the message of faith and grace, forgiveness of sin, he said, "I trust your Word, so I will let down the net."
First God plants the Word of the Gospel, then He begins to help the believer - nourishing, encouraging, blessing, and creating miracles for the believer. As Luther says, there is no mandate for God to do this or that, because believers are already in His flock. However, God also promises good things according to His will and timing. I wanted to publish books, but after the first book sold out, the publisher canceled the second book they had already approved and gave back the first book! That made it possible to publish any book via Amazon, and many titles float around the used book market too. That includes the first and second books, now printed by Amazon.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
The nets were already being mended when Jesus arrived, and they had to be rugged, long-lasting nets. But so many fish were in the net that it began to break. They asked for more help, and got it, with both ships full, they began to sink.
First Jesus planted faith in their hearts. Then, with all the superstitions and fears removed, Simon agreed to do what seemed impossible. After all, they were all out there toiling. They were like farmers trying to raise a crop during a drought. What's the use?
And suddenly the haul was not just full, but overflowing, and heavy enough to sink the ships.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
The miracle, which I have seen too, was not only great and marvelous, but far beyond anyone's imagination. Simon was crushed by his own sense of weakness, doubt, and sin. He knew he was with God Himself - Lord.
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
22. In short, our work produces and bestows nothing. Yet it is necessary as a means through which we may receive what God gives. The disciples must use their hands to let down the nets and to draw them in, if they wish to secure anything, and must be willing to do so. Yet they are obliged to acknowledge that their labor did not bring about the result, otherwise they would have succeeded, in the first place, without Christ. He therefore permits them to make a sufficient trial, and to discover by experience that the toil of this entire night has been in vain and to no purpose.
Whatever we do as believers is blessed by God. Just as Satan wishes us ill to join his band of burglars and liars, so God wishes to provide us with blessings - and better yet - blessings upon those we know. Because of the Lord Jesus in Heaven, we benefit those we know, those who have special needs, those going through pain, sorry, and loss.
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