May 30 Worship Service

Our May 30 Sunday worship service is available on video through Facebook. You may view it without being a member of Facebook. We are excited to say that our Sunday 8 & 10:30 am services are open again for in-person worship. Services will continue to be streamed online.

Click on picture to view video

The June 6 Sunday worship service will be held with in-person attendance. We have returned to regular in-person worship services.

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.

THE HOLY TRINITY
Isaiah 6:1-8 | Psalm 29
Romans 8:12-17 | John 3:1-17

I have three things to say to you today: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Why? Because, today is Holy Trinity Sunday. It is the only Sunday of the Church year which we dedicate to a doctrine of the Church, The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity. It is the day in which we celebrate the Triune God, three in one and one in three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Well, we actually celebrate the Triune God everyday, but today in particular. We worship the Triune God, we don’t worship the Trinity (many people haven’t figured that out yet, and it confuses them). The Trinity is only the doctrine, the teaching, which describes the Triune God, and the relationship between the three members of the Godhead. It is also the purpose for the writing of the different Christian Creeds, to define how God is revealed to us, and how the Father relates to the Son, to the Holy Spirit, etc. And the creeds tend to define these things in terms of function, or the work of the different Persons of the Trinity. Traditionally, this is the day when we say the Athanasian Creed. But, they left it out of the new hymnal. So, we will be saying the Nicene Creed instead. Since, it is the one to be said on Festival Day. But, what are we going to be talking about? Namely, the following:
Father, Creator: Genesis speaks of God’s creation of everything. The words of Isaiah today tell us that “the whole earth is full of his glory.” Creation and the Creator is, and must be the foundation of our faith. The God who created us… How did God create? The answer is by the power of His Word. That is all that the text says. God said it, and it happened (similar to John 1). That is all that the Bible describes. Next, it does not say that God stopped creating. Those that say that creation occurred in six days, haven’t figured out that one either. God rested on the seventh day, and went right back creating on the eighth. Continuing to create, and sustaining that which has already been created. He creates us anew everyday (in baptism) and the rest of creation. And it is very good.

Luther’s Small Catechism – Explanation of Article 1 of the Apostles’ Creed:
“I believe that God has created me and all that exists. He has given me and still preserves my body and soul with all their powers. He provides me with food and clothing, home and family, daily work, and all I need from day to day. God also protects me in time of danger and guards me from every evil. All this he does out of fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, though I do not deserve it. Therefore I surely ought to thank and praise, serve and obey him. This is most certainly true.”

God creates humanity with a special purpose. We are created in God’s image. Therefore, somehow, God’s image is reflected in us! Of all of the creatures in the creation, we are special because of that. And, God gives to humanity instructions, “to be fruitful and multiply, to have dominion over the earth.” We are created to be stewards of the earth. We are to help sustain creation.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Redeemer. This is where we Lutherans put our emphasis. Look to the creeds, this is why they were written. They all describe: The Virgin birth, also creation, Christ is a “new creation” that is what Paul is talking about in Romans today. Then, there is Jesus’ ministry, his teaching and healing; Jesus’ passion – suffering and death, for our sakes and the sins of the world; His Resurrection by the glory of the Father, which destroys the power of sin and death, and rises victorious over them, and in that we have our hope, and our faith. Christ’s Ascension; Christ returns to his place in heaven with the Father, and the right hand of God, which again implies work in creation.
As Luther writes in the Small Catechism Explanation of Article 2 of the Apostles’ Creed:
“I believe that Jesus Christ – true God, Son of the Father from eternity, and true man, born of the Virgin Mary – is my Lord. At great cost he has saved and redeemed me, a lost and condemned person. He has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil – not with silver of gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. All this he has done that I may be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.”

And third, The Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier. This face, or aspect, of God is the hardest to get a hold of. The Spirit is the active agent, if you will, of creation. The creeds describe her work. The Holy catholic Church; the Holy Spirit holds the Church together in proclamation and faith. The communion of saints; in the Latin of the Apostles’ Creed (its original language), this clause can also be translated to mean the sharing of holy things, all holy things, and the believers. I like that translation better than the usual one. The forgiveness of sins; It is the Spirit which gives that power, in Christ’s name. The resurrection of the body; the Spirit performs the actual resurrection, we say by the glory of the Father, but it is the Spirit’s act (active agent of creation again – but this time aimed at the end of time, not the beginning). And life everlasting to all who believe.

Luther’s Small Catechism Explanation of 3rd Article of the Apostles’ Creed:
“I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and kept me in true faith. In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church day after day he fully forgives my sins and the sins of all believers. On the last day he will raise me and all the dead and give me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true.”

The Trinity – the Triune God, all facets. That is who we worship; today, in particular, and with special emphasis, but really, always and eternally. To God, three in one and one in three, be all of the glory! This too, is most certainly true!
Pastor Rose

May 23 Worship Service

Our May 23 Sunday worship service is available on video through Facebook. You may view it without being a member of Facebook. We are excited to say that our Sunday 8 & 10:30 am services are open again for in-person worship. Services will continue to be streamed online.

Click on picture to view video

The May 30 Sunday worship service will be held with in-person attendance. We have returned to regular in-person worship services.

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.

PENTECOST
Ezekiel 37:1-14 | Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Acts 2:1-21 | John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

The Day of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, the day when the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the disciples, or as I like to refer to it, the day the disciples finally get their act together. And, I mean that. If you look back over the Gospels, remember, they never fully understand the parables, even sometimes after Jesus explains them. But then again, Mary we are told never understands her son, always “pondering these things in her heart.” The disciples are in good company. They fight among themselves over who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Peter, the “Greatest of the Apostles,” gets called Satan by Jesus Himself, over his misunderstandings of Jesus’ mission. In the Garden of Gethsemane they keep falling asleep while Jesus is praying (because they have had too much to drink at the Seder Meal prior to it). When Jesus is crucified, most of them are hiding in a locked room. We are told that only John was present at the actual crucifixion. And even at the empty tomb, they aren’t quite sure what it means. And, again, we are told in John’s Gospel that at least then, John began to believe in the Resurrection. The rest “regarded it as an idle tale” when the women told them. Peter, in particular, will still have a bit of a learning curve. These are the ones who are supposed to carry on Jesus’ message? There are some real doubts here.

It is today, as the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the disciples in the form of flaming tongues (that’s why you are supposed to wear red today), finally, with the Spirit’s help, the disciples have got it (although some of them will still confuse things, but not as badly). So, what exactly transpired? We don’t really know except from the lesson from the Book of Acts. That’s the problem with the Holy Spirit, you never really know what she is doing. And yes, the Holy Spirit has always been described as feminine. It’s in the writing of the Scriptures. The Greek word for spirit is “pneuma,” and that is feminine. This is the same Holy Spirit which is the active agent in Creation – God’s “ruach” (the Hebrew word, “breath, wind, spirit”) going back to Genesis 1. The same Holy Spirit which we receive in our baptisms, of which, we too are instruments for the sake of the Gospel.

I think, we can take notice as to the form which the Holy Spirit takes in the Acts lesson today for some indications. Remember, at Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove – a symbol of peace. Today’s lesson says that the Holy Spirit descends in the form of flaming tongues. That is telling. We always put our emphasis for today on the miracle of Pentecost, the speaking in tongues as many call it. The disciples begin telling the mighty works of God in languages not their own, but which visitors to Jerusalem from many parts of the known world understand. That is the miracle, and the work of the Spirit, declaring the deeds of God’s power. And in terms, words, that the hearers understand! But, we leave out the other part.

What other part? We leave out the flaming part. What does fire have to do with it? Perhaps that is the symbol we need to look to more. Fire has several properties. It gives heat. It warms the body, and in this case, perhaps the soul as well. John Wesley, as he started the Methodist movement wrote of experiencing a “strange warming.” Heat also warms to activity (except in the summer months when we add humidity and we get uncomfortable, if not miserable). The more heat applied to something the more movement there is (at least, according to my chemistry professors). The Holy Spirit moves us to activity, the gospel’s activity. Fire also gives light. In the Church, we have a special word for light, in particular God’s light. We call it Epiphany. The Day of Pentecost, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, is another Epiphany, another reason why the disciples finally understand what Jesus was trying to teach them. They, and we as well, have been enlightened. And there is another quality of fire. It is consuming. As long as there is fuel, and oxygen, it burns and consumes, often spreading to do so. You only have to watch the news when there is a forest fire to see that one. Fire has a tendency to spread. That is also part of the message of Pentecost. The Gospel message is to be spread to all. We are even told that a little bit earlier in Acts 1, “Starting in Jerusalem, then to Judea, then to the whole world.” We who have received the Holy Spirit are to carry on spreading that message of the Gospel to all. What is the fuel? Those who have not heard the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. We are to call them to faith.

As we celebrate the Day of Pentecost, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the birthday of the Church. Be mindful that we carry on the Day of Pentecost in our witness, in our lives, in our faith. We too are disciples of Christ, and have received that same Holy Spirit. We too carry on that work. We are to declare in our lives, in our places, in our time; the mighty deeds of God, God’s acts of power, and what meaning they have found in our lives. We do this as the Holy Spirit gives us guidance and opportunity. And we do this to the glory of our risen Lord Christ, and God our Father. Now, go out in your lives, as the nation begins to reopen as the pandemic subsides, and spread the Good News.
Pastor Rose