January 17 Worship Service

Our January 17 Sunday worship service is available on video through Facebook. You may view it without being a member of Facebook. All scheduled worship services until further notice will be online only with minimal in-person participation to reduce COVID-19 risks.

Click on picture to view video

The January 24 Sunday worship service will be held without in-person attendance because of the rise in COVID-19 cases in our state. It is scheduled to be streamed live on the DeSoto Redeemer Facebook page. We will post a direct link to the recording here as soon as it is possible after the service.

We are glad to share our worship with you. Click on “Contact Us” above to find out more about our faith family and what we believe.

Sermon – January 17
1 Samuel 3:1-10 [11-20] | Psalm 139 1-5, 12-17
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 | John 1:43-51

Call narratives: The call of Samuel and the call of Nathanael.
Samuel, while still a boy, is called by God to be his special servant. Actually, he is going to be the last judge, but even then, a special one! God had turned away from the priest Eli and his family, that’s part of the “eyesight had begun to grow dim” line. Eli had grown dim to God as well. His two sons had done something which God did not like (taking the priest’s portion of the offering before the ritual was completed – before the fat had been burned off, considered contemptible to the Lord. In fact, they are described as “worthless men.” The sons were guilty of other sins. The text implies that they had even worshipped other gods. So they have gotten really out of line. To the point that we’re told no amount of sacrifice could expiate their sin – they are unforgiven. They are probably still unforgiven! ). Eli had tried to correct them, but they would not. God turned instead to Samuel. He was called to be a prophet, a priest, and the last and the greatest of the judges. But that will be later. Now he is but a boy, and he doesn’t even know what to say when God calls him. Eli does tell him, and although the oracle which Samuel receives is against Eli; Eli in obedience accepts it. He grows less as Samuel grows greater, much the same as John the Baptist grows less when Jesus comes on the scene. God has turned to the unlikely candidate. But God does that quite often, really.

That brings us to the call of Nathanael (which might be another name for the apostle Bartholomew, the same person. Bartholomew means “the son of Tolmai,” which isn’t a name, but rather gives his lineage. We believe that Tolmai was Nathanael’s father.). He lives in Cana, where Jesus is about to perform his first miracle, changing water into wine, which was pretty near to Nazareth. It is his friend Philip who finds Nathanael and brings him to Jesus. Evidently, Nathanael is also looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. But, his response to Philip’s call is more than a bit cynical, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” I guess that Nazareth didn’t have a very good reputation. Again, this is a case where God does the unexpected. His son is born in Bethlehem, he lives in Nazareth, goes up to the region of Galilee, and the holy city of Jerusalem is not really involved for a long time. Jerusalem isn’t the center of God’s activity, as many would have expected. We always need to remember that God does not act the way that we would assume. That is one of the ways in which God is far more different than we are. If you presume God’s actions, be prepared to be disappointed. His ways are not our ways. There are many people need to remember that, and not just Nathanael.

In Nathanael’s case, it will be a case of seeing is believing, or at least conversing. Although his has his doubts about this rabbi from Nazareth, he agrees to go see him. Upon speaking with him, he is amazed at what Jesus knows about him. Amazed that Jesus “foreknew him.” “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” I prefer the old word, “in whom there is no guile.” Guile is an attribute which is attributed to Jacob in Genesis before he has his name changed to Israel. Jesus knows that Nathanael is an honest man, an honest Israelite (Jacob in Genesis, isn’t exactly fitting of that description). Nathanael is a person who is truly trying to live in accordance with what God has declared, trying to keep the Covenant of Moses. He is looking for the coming of God’s Messiah. And, Jesus wants him with him. That is a very high honor! And like the Jacob’s ladder story in Genesis, Jesus tells him that he will see angels ascending and descending, not upon the earth, but upon the Son of Man – Jesus himself. “Come Nathanael, you are to be part of the new Israel, indeed, the new kingdom of God.” Nathanael is called to follow Christ, to go where he leads, no matter how unexpected, and behold the wonders that he shall see at Christ’s call. How could he say no? How could anyone? “Well, give me a couple of days to think about it?” It doesn’t work that way. When confronted by the living Christ, there is no option but to follow when you are called.

Without a doubt, we have received this same call. We aren’t called to follow Jesus through Galilee and Jerusalem. But, we are called to follow him into the unexpected places of this world, even in the midst of this dire pandemic. We are called to share, like Philip, the news of Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Christ, to all people. And like the Apostles before us, we as disciples shouldn’t be all that surprised when we see the astonishing things which God will do around us, and even through us. For the call of Christ is a call to us as well. Let us follow where he leads the way, and be ready to be surprised!
Pastor Rose

January 10 Worship Service

Our January 10 Sunday worship service is available on video through Facebook. You may view it without being a member of Facebook. All scheduled worship services until further notice will be online only with minimal in-person participation to reduce COVID-19 risks.

Click on picture to view video

The January 17 Sunday worship service will be held without in-person attendance because of the rise in COVID-19 cases in our state. It is scheduled to be streamed live on the DeSoto Redeemer Facebook page. We will post a direct link to the recording here as soon as it is possible after the service.

We are glad to share our worship with you. Click on “Contact Us” above to find out more about our faith family and what we believe.

Sermon: January 10
Genesis 1:1-5 | Psalm 29
Acts 19:1-7 | Mark 1:4-11

The Baptism of Our Lord Sunday:
What is important about this day? Well, it tells us that something new is being done by God! The old is passing away, and the new is breaking in. It fits with the overwhelming theme of this new Season of Epiphany, the season of God’s light breaking into the world. You can see that in Old Testament lesson for today from Genesis 1. It is God’s first word and act of creation, “Let there be light!” You could say that it’s his first move. It is. Now, in Christ, that same very light is being spread upon us anew.

With that light comes a new baptism. Notice in the Acts and Markan lessons, that there is a difference between John’s baptism and Christian baptism. John’s baptism is only preparatory. John’s job was to make ready for the coming of the Messiah. That came up just a few weeks ago during the Season of Advent. It is for the repentance of sins. Christian baptism is a whole lot more, like the forgiveness of sins. And, in Christian baptism, we receive something far greater than John can give, something which comes only from God. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! If you’re a baptized Christian, yes you have it.

To be sure, if you look at Mark’s Gospel today, that is the first text where all three members of the Trinity are present at the same time, at Jesus’ baptism. The heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends upon him like a dove, and the Father’s voice declares, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” We will hear that again in the lessons on the Day of the Transfiguration at the end of the Season of Epiphany. Jesus’ baptism is foundational to our faith. But, what happens when we are baptized. In many ways, the same things happen to us, because we are joined to Christ in our baptism.

Baptism is a Sacrament. It is a means of God’s grace, just as the Lord’s Supper is. In it, we receive God’s grace. It is a once in a lifetime grace, which completely infuses our bodies, minds and spirits, down to every cell of our bodies.

Through baptism into Christ, we are received into His Church. That is why Paul baptizes the believers in Ephesus. They have been baptized into John’s baptism of repentance of sins, but not Christ’s baptism of forgiveness of sins. That is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, just look at the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed. Part of the work of the Holy Spirit is the actual forgiving of sin. So, through baptism we are incorporated into the Church, become one in the body of Christ, which is the Church.

That forgiveness, in our baptisms, the guilt of Original Sin is removed, as is the guilt of the sins we’ve committed to that point in our lives. Following baptism, the Lord’s Supper, as a Sacrament and Means of God’s grace, becomes a forgiveness of sins for us for those sins which we commit later, and reinforces the promises of our everlasting salvation secured by the work of Christ.

By being joined to Christ, by our baptism into him, we are joined to his death, and his resurrection. Although all that is living will die, the old will pass away. But death has no real power over us because of him. As death could not hold him, as he was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so too, ultimately, death has no hold over us. We belong to him. Through him, we receive the promise of eternal life with him, and the promise that nothing can take us from his hand. Why is this day important? Because we follow where he has led the way, we have become reflections of Christ to the world. You may not have heard it at your baptism, but as you were being raised up from the waters, the heavens opened once more, the Holy Spirit descended upon you, and the voice of God said, “You are my child, beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Rejoice, it is one thing in this world we can be certain of. Martin Luther believed it was the one thing of this life that he could be certain of; he was baptized, and the promises of it, through Christ.

Light and water, why are they important? For starters, because, they are both necessary for life. They are important parts to creation. Light is created in the first paragraph of Genesis, water is separated in the second. During the Season of Epiphany, we put an emphasis upon re-creation, and that re-creation takes place in us. When you put a seed in the ground to grow something, you had better have some water and light on hand, or nothing happens. To carry that analogy to its conclusion in terms of faith, or to quote Luther in the Small Catechism, “What does this mean?” We are the earth. The seed of faith has been planted in us. And to make it grow, we need to bask in the light of God’s Word, and soak in the waters of Christ’s baptism. Then, that seed of faith will grow, mature, bloom in time, and bear fruit to the Lord. How is that for allegorizing the text? But, it indeed makes sense in light of our faith, and in the waters of Baptism, as we celebrate this Baptism of Our Lord Day.
Pastor Rose