Sunday, November 17, 2024

Trinity 25 - 2024

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The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Introit
Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies and from them that persecute me.
Let me not be ashamed, O Lord: 
for I have called upon Thee.
Psalm. In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: 
let me never be ashamed.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
Almighty God, we beseech Thee, show Thy mercy unto Thy humble servants, that we who put no trust in our own merits may not be dealt with after the severity of Thy judgment, but according to Thy mercy; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual  

Gradual
Thine enemies roar in the midst of Thy congregations: they set up their ensigns for signs.
V. Remember Thy congregation which Thou hast purchased of old: the rod of Thine inheritance, which Thou hast redeemed. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God: 
God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. Hallelujah!
    
The Gospel              
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

Only God Knows

The Communion Hymn #313                O Lord We Praise Thee

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 #649           Jesus Savior Pilot Me  
           

Prayers and Announcements
  • In treatment - Kermit Way hospitalized after a fall; Sarah Buck; Pastor Shrader and Chris; Dr. Lito Cruz and their grandson. 
  • Those suffering from emotional and metabolic stress.
 Norma A. Boeckler 


KJV 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.


 Norma A. Boeckler 

KJV Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.


Only God Knows

KJV Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:


My Seventh Day Adventist relatives began in Battle Creek, Michigan. The SDA dogmas led to John Henry Kellogg making Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, and other vegetarian delights. Two of my relatives became bishops, I was told, and my great aunt left the Adventists when she moved to Iowa and began raising hogs with her husband. Loma Linda is an area where SDA vegetarian diets have developed a 'blue zone" of unusually good health and longevity (so it is said). 

This began when William Miller (a former Mason) collected people to experience the advent of Christ, which continued to haunt him the rest of his life. Ellen White became a major contributor to SDA through her "visions." She bought land in Loma Linda.

This lengthy introduction is a reminder - people make up new doctrines, often built upon cults like the Masons, and get far away from the Scriptures, forming their own ideas.

Thus we have the prophesies of Daniel, the Gospels, and Thessalonians. Those who form their own opinions often turn from the ruling norm - the Scriptures - and fill the library shelves with the enormous volumes of their own work, for example, ELCA and the Concordia Publishing House.

KJV 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.


Thessalonica was a major city at that time, and Paul went there with Silas after the Philippian unbelievers had them whipped. Paul used Thessalonica as the central place for extending the Gospel, such as Philippi, where they went back to preach the Gospel. We should note that Paul's teaching created uproars, whippings, and prison stays, but they were eager to teach the Gospel to the Jews and Gentiles. 

Paul and Silas' idea of being missionaries was the opposite of what we hear today. One woman was telling a family about all their hardships as missionaries. I told the innocent listener, because I knew the facts - The missionaries have everything done for them, even shopping for groceries, cooking, and cleaning. Children go to private school and the parents are like royalty. The innocent one asked if that was true - and all of it was.  In contrast, Paul and Silas went back to Philippi and established the Gospel there, too.

In Thessalonica, Paul cautioned the believers against foolish ideas. They worried about the loss of life. Great changes worry people because they cannot grasp  a future which is available to God alone.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.


We are going through an enormous change, which touches all the nations of the world. So much evil has been promoted and expanded that it is difficult to imagine how America can settle so many issues at once - extravagant spending and debt, illegal drugs and over use of prescribed drugs, families crumbling from gender mix-ups, and so much more.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

This has stoked the imagination of many groups, and that moves people into trying to figure out what will happen. As we can see now, the living believing passed into eternal life a long time ago, never knowing on earth what was ahead. The resurrection of the dead will come first, which is limiting for those who want to know the schedule. If there is no rising from the dead, then the final episode will be fulfilled in God's time, in God's way, not in our own imagination.

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

My SDA kin overlooked this important statement from Paul himself, guided by the Holy Spirit. The living can mountain climb Mount Rainier or the Ozarks all they wish, but the final stage does not happen until the trumpet calls and the dead rise first before all others.  

People who do not read the Scriptures correctly become confused, anxious, and bewildered because God's plan is far beyond anything we can imagine. Verse 18 - comforting is a good Word for so many situations.

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