Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Today, much of the Western Church (including the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod) commemorates St. Polycarp of Smyrna, bishop and martyr.

St. Polycarp was perhaps the last living link to the last of the living apostles, being a disciple of St. John the beloved apostle. St. Polycarp (whose name means “much fruit”) was martyred about 155 or 156 AD, in the ninth decade of his life on this side of the grave, for his refusal to worship Caesar. While waiting for the flames that would blaze around him at the stake, Father Polycarp was promised his freedom if he would only renounce Christ and just burn a pinch of incense in acknowledgment of the emperor’s divinity.

The grizzled warrior of the cross replied: “Eighty and six years I have served him, how then can I blaspheme my King and Savior? Bring forth what you will.” Instead of offering a pagan sacrifice to the imperial false deity, he defied the emperor by offering his life as a thank offering to the True God.

St. Polycarp’s heroic witness for the Gospel was a powerful testimony of Christ and His Church, serving to fortify the thousands of Christians who were persecuted and martyred by the Roman government. Even today, St. Polycarp continues to give courage to our brothers and sisters around the world who are still being put to the sword for the sake of our Blessed Lord and as a consequence of their good confession.

St. Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians (c. 110-140 AD) is here: (http://networkedblogs.com/zgmj). It is the only surviving written work of Bishop Polycarp, and it is chock full of quotations from Holy Scripture – showing the reverence and submission the apostolic fathers had for the Word of God. St. Polycarp was the teacher and pastor of St. Irenaeus, one of the greatest theologians and defenders of orthodoxy against the attacks of the numerous heretics and heresies of his day – whose heirs continue to this very day to do Satan’s work in attacking the two natures of our Blessed Lord Christ and the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.

We give thanks to God for the testimony of the apostolic fathers, those who learned at the beautiful feet of the holy apostles of Jesus; men who served humbly and faithfully in perilous times and places, even unto death: doctors and presbyters of the Church whose preaching was backed by their works – even the work of following Jesus by taking up the cross of suffering and martyrdom. In this, they bore “much fruit” and offered their lives as a fragrant offering to the Lord, the “Savior of our souls, the Governor of our bodies, and the Shepherd of the catholic church throughout the world” (Martyrdom of Polycarp 1:43).

May we be graced with their courage, faith, devotion to pure doctrine, and most of all, love.

(Thank you to the Rev.  Larry Beane for allowing this post of his writing. If you wish to read St. Polycarp’s epistle, it is located http://networkedblogs.com/zgmj here.)

The Rev. David Andrus, executive director of Lutheran Blind Mission, will be guest preacher at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Sunday, Jan. 17.

Andrus, blind himself since he was 11 years old, served as a parish pastor in Missouri for more than a decade. Since 1998, he has been associated with blind missions for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), the second-largest Lutheran church body in North America.

In addition to preaching the sermon, Andrus will conduct a Sunday School class after the service, during which he will offer tips for sighted people on how to help the blind see Christ. He also will explain the services and outreach offered by Lutheran Blind Mission.

Update: Here is a link to the sermon by Pastor Andrus.

Christmas time is a great time of anticipation. Children look forward to a couple of weeks off from school. Parents look forward to the break ending and children returning to school. But, I think there is a great bit of anticipation for all of us as we wait to see what our children or parents have bought us for Christmas.

Sometimes there is a plain square package placed under the tree. It is not too big; not to small; not heavy and not light. It doesn’t rattle and doesn’t move around inside the box. It is one of those presents that the recipient just can’t wait to open. I know you have had one. We all have. It seems that Christmas morning can’t come soon enough in order to find out what that gift can be. Will you like it? Is it something that you’ve really wanted? Sometimes the anticipation can be unbearable.

Oh, but I guess I forget to whom it is that I am writing. You are mature adults. You don’t get giddy with anticipation over a gift under the tree at Christmas. Or, at least, you’ve learned to control your emotions enough to not get carried away. In a way, it is a shame that the anticipation lessens with maturity, because there is still a nondescript package yet wrapped and waiting to be opened by you.

Christmas and its central part as a feast day within the Church Year has not always been the same. Before Christmas was recognized, Epiphany reigned as the most recognized feast day, behind Easter. It is upon Epiphany that the season of Advent was originally based as well as the twelve days of Christmas that fall between December 25 and January 6. While we celebrate the birth of the King on Christmas Day, it is the unwrapping of that child that we celebrate in the Savior of all nations on Epiphany.

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”

Matthew 2:10, 11 (ESV)

The Epiphany Season, which lasts for only six Sundays this year, begins with the manifestation or revealing of the incarnate God in the child Jesus. The Wise Men worship him and give him gifts. They, representing the nations other than Israel, recognize and receive this child of Mary as God come to save them.

We will receive the same unwrapping of our God and Savior this season from the humble abodes of a manger in a stable to the house of a carpenter in Bethlehem, until we shall see him fulfill all righteousness in a baptism with water administered by John, perform the works of God in miracles, and be transfigured in glory upon a mountain as he speaks with prophets of old.

While God did humble himself and take the form of a servant, He did not keep His creation suspended in undue anticipation. He unwrapped His present for us and all the world to see. And as is the case with most gifts; some are excited, some disgruntled, and some just apathetic. May God, who has saved us from our sins by the sending of His Son, also by the power of the Holy Spirit, save us from being disgruntled and apathetic. May he grant us a joy, in the gift that he has given, that reflects from us as much as it did from Moses after he descended from Mt. Sinai. Only let us not be so mature that we feel we must veil that joy from the sight of others.

God bless you in the New Year and bring to completion the joy that He has worked in you to your everlasting salvation.

Soli Deo Gloria, Pastor

For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

All Saints’ Day is one of those special days of the church year that we celebrate every year on November 1. It is a feast day, when we change the paraments to white from the green that we have seen for so many weeks during the long season after Pentecost. It is a day that we celebrate the glorious mystery of the church that is Christ’s body. White represents the righteousness of Christ that each of us has been clothed with in our baptism through faith.

“And behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes. These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9, 14

Maybe you don’t think of yourself as being in the great tribulation. After all, you haven’t been asked to give your life for the sake of faith in Christ. Or have you. Aren’t you the one that gives freely of your time and your money and your talent all that Christ may be glorified? Sure you do it so that the church may continue here; so that all the things that this congregation does may continue to flourish and prosper. Maybe that doesn’t make you a martyr in the strictest sense, but it does mean that you are sacrificing yourself in one way or another for the sake Christ and the spread of the Gospel.

The tribulation involves temptation by the devil, persecution by individuals and governments, but it also includes the turmoil you suffer within as your own sinful nature tries to steal your joy in giving and caring and sacrificing what you want so that others may have the chance to know that Jesus died so that they may live. That is what a saint is; one who dies so that others may live. You have died to self so that Christ may live in you.

The church is truly found in that place where God’s Word is preached and the sacraments are administered. It is also where the saints and martyrs gather to receive blessing and give praise and honor to God and the Lamb. It is where all the saints, you, me and all those that have gone before us, gather around the throne. You are a saint and I give thanks to God for you who bear that title, for as such, you also strive to live a sacrificial life that gives testimony to your faith in Christ as the only way to salvation.

God continue to strengthen and bless you in your support of the church and the spread of the Gospel, for it is in this communion of the saints that we will be able to persevere through this time of tribulation.

Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia! Alleluia!                           (LSB 677)

In Christ, Pastor

Delegates to the national convention of the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, on Friday voted to bless same-sex unions and to allow practicing homosexuals to serve as clergy.

In this story from Saturday’s edition of The Post and Courier, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s position on the issue, which is quite contrary to the ELCA position, is not clearly stated. But in this Aug. 16 article, an advance story about issues up for debate at the ELCA convention, reporter Adam Parker acknowledged that not all Lutherans agree with the ELCA and quoted from statements issued by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

On Saturday, a day after the ELCA’s vote, LCMS Synodical president Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick addressed the ELCA Assembly in Minneapolis. Here is an excerpt:

“I speak these next words in deep humility, with a heavy heart and no desire whatsoever to offend. The decisions by this assembly to grant non-celibate homosexual ministers the privilege of serving as rostered leaders in the ELCA and the affirmation of same gender unions as pleasing to God will undoubtedly cause additional stress and disharmony within the ELCA. It will also negatively affect the relationships between our two church bodies. The current division between our churches threatens to become a chasm. This grieves my heart and the hearts of all in the ELCA, the LCMS, and other Christian church bodies throughout the world who do not see these decisions as compatible with the Word of God, or in agreement with the consensus of 2000 years of Christian theological affirmation regarding what Scripture teaches about human sexuality. Simply stated, this matter is fundamentally related to significant differences in how we understand the authority of Holy Scripture and the interpretation of God’s revealed and infallible Word.”

The text of his message is here.

In February, Dr. Kieschnick clearly explained the LCMS’s objections to the direction ELCA was contemplating. His statement is available here.

If you have any questions about what the Bible has to say about these issues, or what the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod teaches, contact Pastor Sandeno via e-mail at pastor@goodshepherdcharleston.org, or by phone at 843-814-7221.

With the help of Josh Rosebrough and Gunder Sandeno, we’ve begun posting audio files of sermons on this site so you can download them to your computers or MP3 players.

You can view the list of sermons available here:

http://www.goodshepherdcharleston.org/category/podcasts/

If you have any trouble downloading or listening to these sermons, or any suggestions for improvement, write to webmaster@goodshepherdcharleston.org

The Fourth of July is a great holiday for us. What do you think of when someone mentions the 4^th? A picnic in the park? A family get together? Fireworks? The holiday has been around as long as each of us and many of us have developed traditional things that we do on the July 4^th. It is wonderful to mark such a special day in our history and to remember it every year. It makes that first 4^th of July apart of our own history almost as if we were a part of that original party that declared independence from tyranny.

With all the things that we do on the 4^th, I know that I don’t often think about the battle that followed that original Independence Day. Our country’s fathers declared independence, but it was another eight years or so before that independence was realized by the citizenry. Imagine the joy and the celebrations of those early July 4^ths when the participants could remember the hard fought battles that gained that independence from tyranny. The food maybe wasn’t as plentiful as now and the fireworks maybe didn’t exist, but those celebrations must have been grand for the joy that each shared as people that once were at the mercy of a far away government but now were independent and free. I imagine that they celebrated as often as they were able, regardless of the date or a declared holiday. Can you imagine not celebrating our Independence?

“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” Romans 6:17-18

Your independence from the law and freedom from the slavery to sin is something you get to celebrate daily in the joys a praying and knowing that your prayers are heard by God because He has promised to hear the prayers of His children. Freedom from slavery to sin is something you get to celebrate every Sunday as the forgiveness of sins is given to you through the means of grace.

Every Sunday you get to celebrate your independence from the tyranny under the devil who only sought your demise. In the Divine Service we have God’s Word of promise declared and sung in the liturgy; you remember the declaration of your freedom in Holy Baptism immediately in the invocation and you celebrate throughout as God’s Word bursts forth grander than any fireworks display.

But it is there on Sundays also that you get to participate in the sacrificial battle and not just remember it as something that happened long ago. Jesus continues to give you Himself in His body and blood that you may be nourished and strengthened for your daily battles with that old evil foe who lingers around trying to pull you back into slavery.

You have a day set aside every week that you get to celebrate the great victory over sin, death, and the devil; a holiday every week that reminds you of your freedom. It is a day of rest, when we greatly remember that our labor under the law is completed in Jesus and a day in which we celebrate that great declaration of justification for us in the resurrection of Jesus. I cannot imagine trading this liberty we have in Christ by failing to celebrate it at every opportunity.

I look forward to seeing you at our Sunday celebrations of freedom.

+ Pastor

Say!
I like prayers to God in Jesus name!
I do! I like them, to Him the fame!
And I can pray in a boat.
And I can pray near a goat…

And I can pray in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
It’s so good, so good, don’t you see!

So I will pray in a box.
And I will pray when I see a fox.
And I will pray in my house.
And I will pray like a church mouse.
And I will pray here and there.
Say! I will EVERYWHERE!

I do so treasure prayer to God!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Jesus, dear Son of God!

+ Pastor

It is the Second Sunday after Pentecost. The first of those many Sunday’s that are just listed by their sequence after that great day of Pentecost. This year we number twenty-four of them that are just ordinary Sundays that fall during that part of the Church Year known to us today as the Season of Pentecost. At other times it has been known as the Time of the Church or the Season of Trinity. But, whatever the name and no matter if a minor feast falls on any of these Sunday’s or not, they are hardly “just another Sunday.” They are Sundays like all the rest, filled with the work of the Pentecost Spirit of God. Sundays set aside as holy days for the hearing of God’s Word of grace and receiving the gifts that He brings in the Sacraments. Days when His name is to be hallowed through hearing and eating; through faith. As we begin this lengthy season of the Church Year, remember that Jesus comes to you on these days and when He comes, how can we ever think of it as “just another Sunday!”

+ Pastor

Have you ever had your birthday fall on another holiday? I have a brother who’s birthday is Christmas Eve. The running joke for those like him is that they never really get to observe their birthday because it is always overshadowed by the greater holiday.

This Sunday we have two festivals of the Church Year falling on one day; Pentecost which comes 50 days after Easter (not counting the Sundays) and The Visitation which is observed on May 31. Neither of these holidays or feasts as they are known overshadows the other though. Both show us the amazing work of the Holy Spirit and His purpose in pointing to the Savior of the world

We should respond as Elizabeth, “And why is this granted to me that…my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43). She and we know that Jesus did not come because we deserved Him. But we also have the words of Peter, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). Repentance and faith go hand in hand as the Holy Spirit continues to bear witness to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.