Sunday, September 25, 2011

We Are Students in God's Classroom (Deuteronomy 11:1-7)


September 25, 2011                                                                    
Christian Education Sunday
Guest Preacher:  Rev. David Naumann

1Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. 2Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; 3the signs he performed and things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; 4what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the LORD brought lasting ruin on them. 5It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the desert until you arrived at this place, 6and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. 7But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done.

65 years ago a man by the name of Oscar Naumann had opportunity to teach the truths of God’s Word to a gathering of believers here in Le Sueur while he served as a professor at Dr. Martin Luther College. He faithfully taught this congregation the truths of God’s Word, but he also faithfully taught those same truths to his son. He in turn taught them to his son. And because of that faithful teaching of God’s Word and works to his family, I stand before you today, a fellow brother in Christ. This is the importance of Christian Education, my dear fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This is why Moses spoke these words in his time, and why we continue to teach them to our children today. Yes,

We Are Students in God’s Classroom
  1. God teaches us…
  2. …so that we can teach our children.
1. As Moses stood on the precipice of the Land of Canaan, he knew that it was the land that the LORD had promised. It was the land that the LORD was about to give to his people, the Children of Israel. Moses speaks to the children who were under age 20 before coming to Canaan the first time. They are now all under 60, some weren’t even alive to see what God had done for them in Egypt. A family of 70 went down, a nation of more than a million came out, and now they stand on the precipice of Canaan again, and the LORD reminds them to love him and follow his commands. That can only happen with the proper motivation, to see God’s love for them first. So Moses, for thirty-four chapters of his last will and testament known as Deuteronomy, implored the Israelites again and again to be fervent in Christian Education.
Who was it that taught the Israelites that the LORD is majestic and mighty? Who is it that taught Israel that their God loved them very much, so much that he would take on the gods of the greatest nation on earth at the time, and Pharaoh himself? Who taught Israel of God’s great love as plague after plague swept across Egypt? And who taught Israel of God’s protecting hand as it swept away the entire nation of Egypt, horse and chariot and all, into the Red Sea? What was it that taught Israel about the holiness of the LORD’s chosen priesthood in the family line of Aaron when Dathan and Abiram wanted to claim that glory for themselves? It was the LORD himself that taught all of these things. The children of Israel were students in God’s classroom, as he showed them by event after great event what a powerful, loving, and just God he is.
God himself taught Israel about the mighty deeds, his strong arm, and his great love for his people as he demonstrated this might and this love by leading them out of slavery from Egypt. He led them to experience the discipline of the LORD. “To see and experience the discipline of the LORD your God”—what does that mean? When we think of discipline we often think of it in a negative connotation. That means we’re in trouble. That means we’ve done something wrong, and now we are getting the punishment we deserve for our actions. We’re in trouble.
Such a negative connotation was not the intent in the original word. Look at the root. What familiar Bible word do you see present there? “Disciple.” The disciples were not always in trouble with Jesus. No, they were his followers, who listened to his words and were taught by him. That is the meaning that is at the heart of this word, discipline. When the Israelites “saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD their God,” they were being taught by him. They were learning from him. It involved correction, but always it resulted in education. The discipline of the LORD is the mighty activity in covenant history by which he revealed himself.
In Deuteronomy 4 Moses speaks of this “teaching” again: “You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Because he loved your forefathers and chose there descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance as it is today” (Deut. 4:35-38). Such discipline from the LORD was not punishment, but teaching. So it is today.
When we receive this discipline of the LORD, it is not because we are in trouble, though that is what we deserve. We have sinned. We deserve to be punished by God. But he does not give us what we deserve. Rather, he teaches us about his loving activity whereby he ultimately accomplished our salvation for us. Yes, he did not give us punishment, but he punished his own Son instead. To learn about this loving activity, to be educated in these works of God, this is “discipline.” And we are disciples in the school of our God.
2. God taught all of these things to that nation of Israel, but their children did not see it. This was Moses’ message to those Israelites as they stood on the border of the Promised Land right before he died. They knew firsthand of God’s great love and his mighty acts. But their children did not.
The entire book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ last will and testament, his final word to the people that he had led for all those years through the desert. And his last words essentially were, “Don’t forget who brought you here. The LORD has taught you all these things thus far. Don’t forget what he has done for you. And teach them to your children, because they will not know unless you tell them.”
God taught the Israelites, and now he wanted them to teach their children. “Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.” He reminded them how their children had not witnessed these events; they had not left a lasting impression on their children the way that firsthand experience had left on them. Imagine being in that classroom. Seeing the waters of the Red Sea stand on end. Fleeing for life and limb as a young child, below the age of 20, running for your life with your family and the entire nation. The entire Egyptian army with its mighty horses and terrifying chariots fast on your heels. And as you walk by with your parents through what was once the vast sea, now dry land, with water on the left and water on the right, you no more than reach the other side and the waters go crashing down upon the might of Egypt, drowning every last warrior and horse. That is a lesson one would not soon forget.
It was a lesson their children would not receive. It was the classroom their children would never be in. And Moses was finishing his race; he would not be around to tell the tales again. “Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God.” This responsibility would fall squarely on the shoulders of those Israelites that day—the parents who would one day have opportunity to share with their children the great things the LORD their God had done. Moses would not be around to teach these things. The job was not his.
Dear friends, so it is with us. Christian Education begins in the home. It is imperative for you to understand that the responsibility for educating your children about the truths of what God has done for you is not the responsibility of your pastor. It is not the responsibility of your Sunday School teachers or your Vacation Bible School teachers. It isn’t the responsibility of your catechism teachers or of anyone else. The responsibility of your child’s Christian education lies with you, the parents. If your son does not know what his Savior has done for him, you are to blame. If your daughter does not know that God accomplished her salvation long before she was born, it is your failings. If your toddler does not know Christ’s tender embrace, you have failed your job.
But for all our misappropriated priorities for our children—the great interest and expense paid for the best athletic training, the best music teachers, the best schools for worldly trades—we are greatly comforted in the wonderful Christian education that we ourselves have received from God. In his classroom we have seen our own failures. They are just as our fathers’ past. And yet the greatest act of God that has been passed to us, and God-willing we have passed on to the next generation, is the gracious and all-forgiving love of our God. Such a love drove him to perform the greatest act of all—self-sacrifice. He bore all our sins in the cross so that we only look to him and be saved. Just as Moses turned the gaze of the snake-venom-infested Israelites to the bronze serpent lifted up, so God the Holy Spirit has turned the gaze of our sin-infested hearts to Jesus Christ who was lifted up in our place. His blood was shed for our misspent moments. His life was given for our misguided lives. That is what has been taught us at God’s school.
And that is the lesson we will continue to teach to the next generation. And it doesn’t matter how old you are or how old your children are. Even if they have families of their own, they are never beyond hearing the wonderful works of God for them from their parents. Christian education begins in the home, on a father’s knee and in a mother’s warm embrace, but Christian education does not end there.
Someone once taught you the truths of God’s wonderful works, his mighty acts on your behalf. You have been a student in God’s classroom. And in an effort to band together with like-minded Christians who share this same classroom of our God, you have called this pastor to work with you in teaching the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD. Thank God for that partnership. Thank God for that opportunity. You have called Christian men and women to serve as Sunday School teachers and childcare providers to assist you in helping your own children to grow in grace. Pray for their work to be a blessing. Assist them in their work, recognizing that they are only here because you have asked them to assist in your work. Christian Education is your responsibility; but you don’t have to do it alone. Bring them to God’s classroom. Share with them the mighty works of our God. So that they can teach their children as well. Amen.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

I Know that My Redeemer Lives (Job 19:23-27)


September 18, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.


Samuel Medley was born in England on June 23, 1738.  Though he was apprenticed to an oilman in London, he so thoroughly disliked the oil business that at the age of 17 he entered the service of the King as a sailor in the Royal Navy.  Though he had been brought up in a good home with a good education, it is clear that Samuel was anything but a Christian.  By all reports he led a very over indulgent and excessive life while serving in the Royal Navy.  However his Naval career was cut short, when at the age of 21 he endured a sever leg wound in the Battle of Cape Lagos; a leg wound that necessitated an honorable discharge from service.  Though Samuel had been anything but a Christian, it was during his convalescence that he heard a sermon by Isaac Watts that began the spark of faith in Samuel’s heart.  As his faith grew he felt called to the service of the Lord and became a Baptism minister.  Though history speaks of him as an excellent preacher and teacher of salvation, the thing for which Samuel Medley is best remember are the 230 hymns he wrote during his lifetime.  Though we have only one of his 230 hymns in our hymnal, in my opinion it is by far, the best!  For the hymn that we have is the beautiful hymn that we sang at the beginning of our service today, I Know that My Redeemer Lives!

What better message could there be for us today than the message that Jesus is alive!  For this message that Jesus, our Savior has been raised from the dead and is now alive, is the central message of salvation recorded in the Bible.  In fact, it was this message that inspired Samuel Medley to write his beautiful eight stanza hymn that we began singing at the beginning of our service and which we will conclude shortly after our sermon today.  This is the message that Job confidently proclaimed something like two thousand years before Jesus was born.  So, I invite you now, if you haven’t already, to open your Bibles to our lesson in Job 19:23-25.  Now, as you are opening to Job 19:23, let me remind you of some of the things that had happened to Job.  He was the one who lost all his children and all his possessions in a single day.  He is the one who endured painful sores, which covered his body.  He is the one who endured seven days of silence when his friends came to comfort him, because when his friends came they didn’t know what to say to him.  Job was the one who was in such a pitiable condition that they couldn’t even say, “Cheer up, old friend.  At least you still have your health.”  For it was obvious to them that Job didn’t even have that anymore.  Yet even in the midst of his sorrow.  Even in the midst of his suffering, the Lord strengthened Job and he was able to utter the beautiful words of our lesson today:  23 “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, 24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! 25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!(Job 19:23–27, NIV84)

What an amazing confession of faith from a man who was suffering so terribly!  What an amazing confession of the facts that took place something like two-thousand years later!  What an amazing echo of what the women told the disciples when they returned from the tomb on that Easter morning!  What an amazing thing for the disciples to hear that Jesus, their Savior, the one whom they had seen crucified; the one who they saw give up his life and die; the one whom the saw laid in a tomb that was sealed by the religious leaders and the Romans; He was now alive!  Yet, as you know, the disciples did not believe it right away.  Partly because they had not fully comprehended what Jesus had taught them, and, I’m sure, partly because of the emotional roller coaster that they had ridden for the past week.  It had only been seven days earlier when Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem in triumph to the shouts of “Hosanna!  Hosanna to the Son of David!  Hosanna in the highest!”  But then, a mere five days later, Jesus was on trial for crimes he had never committed.  Though his followers had shouted as loudly as they could, their cries of, “Jesus!” could not compete with the cries of “Barabbas!” when Pilate asked, “Whom shall I release to you?”  Though Jesus’ followers had cried out, “Release him!” they still could not drown out the echoing cries of “Crucify him! Crucify him!” when Pilate asked, “What shall I do with him?” 

Now it was early Sunday morning, just after sunrise, and the women were on their way to the tomb.  They were going to anoint Jesus body with spices and give him the proper burial, which they had not had time to give him because it was so close to the Sabbath.  As they walked along they remembered the stone in front of the tomb and wondered who would roll it away for them.  But when they got to the tomb the stone had already been rolled away.  When they went into the tomb they found that Jesus was no longer there.  There was only the angel who told them that Jesus was not there because he had risen from the dead.  Jesus, their Savior, was alive once again!  Though at first the women were somewhat bewildered by this announcement and didn’t fully comprehend what the angel was telling them, we understand and take comfort in the fact that Christ Jesus, our Savior, has risen from the dead and is alive, just as Job confessed so many years ago, “25 I know that my Redeemer lives,” (Job 19:25a, NIV84)

Could there be any greater comfort for us than the comfort that comes from knowing that Jesus, our Savior, is alive?  For the comfort we receive comes from knowing that when Christ went to the cross he drank all the hellish dregs of the cup of God’s wrath so that there would not be even one drop of suffering left for us to drink.  When Christ went to the cross he went there to give his life in sacrifice so that by his death he would completely pay the price that God demanded for the satisfaction and forgiveness of our sins.  But now, because we know that Jesus has risen from the dead, we know that he has completed our salvation.  Because Jesus is alive, we know that all of our sins have been forgiven.  Because Jesus is alive we know that sin and death have been defeated.  Because Jesus is alive, we know that he is our salvation.  He is in heaven even now interceding before God the Father on our behalf.  He is in heaven even now preparing a place for us, just as he has promised to do.  But the best part about knowing that Jesus is alive, is knowing that he will return for us one day to take us home to be with him forever.

Amazingly, even this is something that Job confessed and prophesied a couple thousand years before Jesus was even born!  For when Job spoke his beautiful confession he didn’t just stop by saying, “I know that my Redeemer lives.”  Rather, he continued on as he said in verse 25: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25–27, NIV84)

Though Job did not know Jesus as we know him, he knew that the Lord would one day send the Redeemer who would not only save him from his sins, but would also return for him one day.  Well, this hope to which Job was clinging is the same hope that the disciples cherished and taught to the people in every city and country where they traveled.  For the disciples knew, as Job did, that this same Jesus who had been taken from them into heaven would come back in the same way they had seen him go.  (Acts 1:11)

My friends, we have that same confidence in Jesus, our Savior, today.  Because we know that Jesus our Savior has risen for the dead and is alive, living and ruling in heaven, we also know that one day he will return for us.  Perhaps that day will be today.  Perhaps it will be tomorrow.  Perhaps it won’t be for many, many years.  But no matter when that day comes we have Job’s prophecy that one day our Redeemer will stand upon the earth, and we have Jesus’ own promise when he tells us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.(John 14:1–3, NIV84) 

What a wondrous day that will be when Jesus returns to take us home to be with him!  For on that day as Job said, “He will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!(Job 19:25–27, NIV84)

Because Jesus came to earth, suffered under the terrible weight of sin, and died on the cross, he has removed our sins forever.  Because Jesus rose again from the dead we have no doubts that Jesus is our Salvation.  We know that through him our God sees us as holy and righteous people.  We know that by his resurrection he has defeated Satan and the power of death forever.  We know that because Jesus has crushed Satan and his power, Satan can no longer harm us. We know that because of Jesus death and resurrection, our death will be nothing more than a nap our bodies will take while we wait for our Savior’s return.  Because of all of this we can sing for joy with Job, with the Apostles, with Samuel Medley, and with all Christians, “I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, he lives, who once was dead; He lives, my ever-living Head!  He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives, and I shall conquer death. He lives my mansion to prepare; He lives to bring my safely there. He lives, all glory to his name! He lives, my Jesus, still the same. Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives: "I know that my Redeemer lives!"


Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN



Sunday, September 11, 2011

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions! (Isaiah 53:4-12)


September 11, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.


If you’ll permit me, I’d like to ask you a question this morning.  It’s not a difficult question.  In fact, it is a question you’ve probably been asked all during this past week as you watched the news, listened to the radio, or simply read the paper, for the question is simply this: “Do you remember where you were 10 years ago, today?  Do you remember what you were doing when you heard the news and saw the images of the planes and the destruction they wrought on the twin towers and the pentagon?    I have no doubts that most of you sitting here today can clearly remember each and every detail of where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news.  I have not doubts that if we went around the room each and every one of you could easily recount the events of that day because they have been so clearly etched and ingrained into our memories.  Even though the events of the previous days and many of the following days have faded into obscurity, we can still remember the events of that day 10 years ago, as clearly as if it happened yesterday.  But even though we can so clearly remember the events of September 11, 2001, what is it that we need to remember today? 

While it can be a benefit for us to look back and remember the events of ten years ago, the thing that is even more important for us as Christians is to look back and remember what our Savior did for us.  As we do this, I invite you to open your Bibles to Isaiah 53:4-6 and we will remind ourselves of just what our Savior did for us.  Now, the amazing thing about Isaiah 53 is that this chapter, in fact, the entire book was written nearly 700 years before Jesus was born.  Throughout the entire book of Isaiah, the Prophet is constantly warning the people that their sins have separated them from God.  He is constantly calling on the people to repent and turn to the Lord for forgiveness, and he is constantly warning them that if they continue in their evil ways, they will be taken off into captivity by the nation of Babylon.  Yet, even in the midst of all this warning and Law, the Lord blesses his faithful people with messages of Gospel salvation, as we have before us in Isaiah 53 beginning with verse 4:  “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4–6, NIV84)

Now, I don’t know about you, but every time I read these words, I get shivers.  I get shivers running up and down my spine as each word hammers home exactly what Jesus did for me.  He is the one who took up all of my infirmities, and carried them away.  He is the one who loaded up all my sorrows and drove off with them.  He is the one who was pierced by whips and scourges, thorns and nails for my transgressions—my sins of willingly crossing the line of God’s Ten Commandments.  Jesus was pierced for me, in my place, for my rebellion against the Lord—my transgressions.  He was crushed in order to satisfy God’s righteous anger over my iniquities—my guilt at being unequal to God’s righteousness; my sinful nature.  Though I was the one who had gone astray; though I was the one who had constantly wandered away, it was the Lord who laid my punishment on his Son so that by his wounds I might be healed!

Could there be anything more important for us to remember today than the fact that it was Jesus who was pierced for our transgressions!  After all, this is a very important truth, especially when we consider what the Bible tells us about our natural state!  According to Genesis 8:21, the Lord tells us that every inclination of our hearts are evil from childhood.  According to Psalm 51, David tells us that we are all sinful from birth, sinful, even from the very moment of our conception.  From Romans 3 we learn: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes…For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”(Romans 3:10–18, 24, NIV84)  

This, too, is a very important truth for each and every one of us to remember today!  All of us, each and every one of us have sinned.  Each and every one of us have fallen short of God’s Glory.  Each and every one of us are guilty of breaking not merely one, but each and every one of God’s commands.  Each and every one of us in this church is guilty of pride, of arrogance, of apathy, of jealousy, of anger, hatred, and murder.  Each and every one of us is guilty of taking God’s name in vain, dishonoring his word, and failing to honor our parents.  Each and every one of us is guilty of adultery, because we have all lusted after another person on at least one occasion.  Each one of us is guilty of stealing, of seeking to ruin another’s reputation, of failing to defend another, of failing to go to the person who has wronged you and talk to that person, even of coveting things that our neighbor.  Each and every one of us has sinned and fallen short of God’s Glory.  Each and every one of us knows, as Isaiah tells us, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2, NIV84) And as we know all too well, the wages of our sins is paid in eternal death and damnation.

This is why it is so important for us to remember the words of our lesson today!  “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4–6, NIV84)

Though our sins had separated us from our God, it was our God who sent his Son to be our Savior!  For it was the Lord’s will to crush Jesus and cause him to suffer!  It was the Lord’s will that he be pierced for our transgressions and be crushed and wounded for our iniquities.  It was the Lord’s will that Jesus our Savior bear the punishment that our sins deserved so that through him we could live in the peace of forgiveness and salvation!  Though our sins were like scarlet, they are now as white as snow.  Though they were read as crimson, they are now like wool  (see Isaiah 1:18, NIV 84)  Though all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, we have been declared not guilty by his grace through the redemption that came through Christ Jesus, our Savior.  Though we have broken all of God’s commandments, Jesus’ blood has washed away the stain of our sins. Though we have been guilty of pride, of arrogance, of apathy, of jealousy, of anger, hatred, and murder, our slate has been wiped clean.  Though we have been guilty of taking God’s name in vain, dishonoring his word, and failing to honor our parents, our record has been expunged.  Though we have been guilty of adultery, stealing, seeking to ruin another’s reputation, failing to defend another, failing to go to the person who has wronged you and talk to that person, and even coveting things that our neighbor, each and every one of these offences was laid on Jesus our Savior who endured the punishment that brought us peace, and by whose wounds we have been healed.

What greater truth could there be for us to remember today than the truth that Christ our Savior has freed us from our sins!  What greater truth could there be than the truth that it was Jesus, your Savior, who freed you from your sins, washed away even the guilt of your sins, and through faith has promised that you have a place with him, forever in heaven, when he shall call you out of this life to the life that is to come.  But the question is, has that truth made it from your head to your heart?  Are you indeed living in the forgiveness with which Jesus has blessed you?  Or are you still harboring grudges, frustrations, hatred, or annoyances against others in this congregation?  Are you recognizing each other as forgiven believers in Jesus Christ your Savior, or are you letting satan egg you on from frustration to annoyance, annoyance to anger, anger to hatred, and hatred to grudges? 

Though these are difficult questions to ask, these are questions that each and every one of us must ask of ourselves.  If we find that we have allowed anger, frustration, malice, and the like to grow in our hearts then we must turn our hearts to God in repentance for forgiveness.  When we do, it is the Lord who forgives us and reminds us of that very beautiful truth: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4–6, NIV84)

What greater thing could there be for us to remember today than the fact that our Savior has freed us from our sins.  Though I’m sure there are many things that we each remember from the events of 10 years ago, the most important thing for us as Christians is the memory of Jesus sour Savior who died in our place so that we might live with him forever.


Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN