7th Sunday after Pentecost; Luke 10:1-20

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

            How was your 4^th of July celebration?  Did you BBQ?  Did you go watch some fireworks or even shoot a few off yourself?  Independence Day, the day the Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 men, declaring America to be a free and sovereign country and no longer under British rule.  The keywords of the day, and still rings out today, were freedom and liberty.  “No longer would men live under an oppressive monarchy, “ they said, “Men were created to be free.”  They boldly signed the document and published it.

            I did a bit of looking into it.  Do you know how King George III got the news that his subjects over in America had just renounced their English citizenship and him as their king?  I don’t either.  He never kept a journal, so the exact moment and way he received the news is unrecorded, at least as far as I can tell.  But can you imagine it, though?  Several of the King George’s men talking in the back room, “You tell him.”  “No, you tell him.”  “I’m not going to tell him.”  Finally, one man loses in a game of paper-rock-scissors, and meekly approaches the king and delivers the news. 

            In today’s Gospel text, Jesus sends out 72 men to deliver some news and news that didn’t always go over so well.  They’re not sent of their own authority, but with the very authority of Jesus.  Jesus sends them out as sheep among wolves.  They don’t go out with their own message but only with the message Jesus had given them dripping from their lips.

 And what’s the message the Jesus sends them out with?  Well, it’s all over today’s propers.  It’s in all the readings.  It’s in the collect and Gradual.  Peace. And in the Bible, when Jesus or others speak of peace, it’s synonymous with the forgiveness of sins.  “Behold, I extend peace to her like a river…” God says in our Old Testament text.  “Peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God…” Paul writes in the Epistle.  We prayed in the Collect, “Continue to send Your messengers to preserve Your people in true peace…” We responded in the Gradual, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news, who publish peace and bring good news of salvation.”  As these 72 go about their calls they’re to proclaim the message they’ve been sent to give, “Peace be to this house.”  “Peace, you’re been set free.  The Messiah has come.” 

            Sounds like great news, doesn’t it?  But not to all.  The signing of the Declaration of Independence was heralded as great news in some parts of the world but not in England.  Neither is the message of God’s peace and forgiveness always received with joy.

            “I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” Jesus tells them,  “Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.  Whatever house you ender, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him.  But if not, it will return to you.”

            Why wasn’t this message of peace and forgiveness not always received?  Well, because it means that they need it.  It means that they’re sinners in need of forgiveness and peace from God.  There’s no need of forgiveness if the person doesn’t think that they’re a sinner.  Who wants to be told that they’re sinners?   It’s like telling someone, “Your breath smells.  Here, have a Tic-Tac.  It’s yours, I’m giving it to you.” 

            To first tell someone of the Good News of peace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ on the cross, they first have to be shown that they need it; that they can’t accomplish the salvation job on their own.  In other words, preach the Law. But people don’t always like to have their sins pointed out.  But it’s what these 72 are sent to do: preach Law and Gospel.

            So, why do you need forgiveness?  What sins have you committed in your thoughts, with your mouths, or with your hands?  What sin is it that you’d rather keep back in the deepest recesses of your conscience that you don’t want anyone to know about?  Have you been “hot tempered, rude, or quarrelsome?” As Luther writes in the Small Catechism?  Have your thoughts been pure or have they been the source of much evil?  Have you spoken well of and defended others, or have you told lies about them, betrayed him, or slandered others?  And believe me, I’m preaching to my self here, too.  We wall have need to repent. 

            And so that the people wouldn’t die in their sin, Jesus sends the 72, like He sends pastors today.  He sends them to preach the good news, to proclaim God’s Word, to forgive sins.  Isn’t that great!  We don’t have to wait like a child on the street curb, hoping the ice cream man would happen by man to happen by, but God sends a man right into your midst so that His gifts would be given to you!  If I need to hear God’s Word, in whatever situation that I find myself, I can go to my pastor, and receive God’s gifts.  God has sent him to me, with orders to preach His Word, the entire counsel of God.  And that’s why I’m here, and why every other pastor has been here.  They’ve been sent, by God, that the Word of God would be proclaimed in this place.

            So, here it is.  You’ve heard the Law.  You’ve been shown your sin, so here’s the answer to every rotten thought you’ve had, every vi

le utterance you’ve said, every sinful thing you’ve ever done: You’re forgiven.  Jesus loves you.  He died for you on the cross, so that your sins are forgiven.  Do you feel guilt because of your sin?  Jesus has taken that too.  He does the salvation job on the cross for you; so you’re free.  Free to live in the forgiveness and salvation that Christ has won and delivers to you.  It’s yours.  The sins of thought, word, and deed that you commit each and every day are done away with.  The evil thoughts of your mind, the sinful things that you’ve said (or didn’t say), and the sins that you’ve committed.  Fear not, God is pleased with you for Jesus’ sake.  He sends to you, through the mouth of a fellow sinner, His balm and peace of forgiveness that He gives to you through His Son.

            What’s more, God sends you too.  He doesn’t make everyone pastors, but He sends you into your own vocations, your own stations in life, where you can proclaim God’s Word and serve your neighbor.  The mechanic, the teacher, and the carpenter.  The farmer, the store clerk, and the retired.  The sister, brother, son, or daughter.  The grandmother and grandfather, wife and husband, mother and father.   God has placed you into vocations, or roles, in life that you can proclaim God’s Word as you go about your life and to serve those around you.  You receive God’s salvation gifts for yourself, and go out into the place where Jesus has called you and work in his kingdom.  And when you fulfill the vocation into which God has placed you, this is a God-pleasing thing. 

            Will everyone be receptive to the God’s Word?  No.  That’s the parable of the sower.  We just sow God’s Word, and let Him worry about the results.  Jesus just sends and promises that He will be with us.

            We go with a message of peace and forgiveness.  We’re sent with Christ on on our hearts and lips, and let the Word fall where it may and do what God intends for it to do.  We’re sent to our stations in life to help and serve our neighbors and give glory to God each day.  You’re baptized into Christ to do the works that He has prepared for you to do right here and now, in fact, that’s the theme for the synodical convention coming up in a couple of weeks: “Baptized for this Moment.” 

            If you take nothing else from this sermon, take this: the Lord who sends the 72 as sheep amongst wolves, continues to send laborers into His harvest.  The Lord who sends is the Jesus who has died for you.  His blood was shed for you, for your forgiveness.  You’re at peace with Him.  This message is received by the sinner as the best news that could ever be spoken, and this news is for you, dear sinner.  Jesus sends the messenger to proclaim.  May the Lord continue to send these labors and may we continue to receive this news with the utmost joy and thanksgiving.  Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

6th Sunday after Pentecost; Luke 9:51-62

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

            Following isn’t always an easy thing to do.   Sure, it’s easy to follow someone to the ice cream parlor, the toy store, or the lake but I’m talking about those times the leader has called you to follow him into places that you don’t want to go.  Independence Day is in a few days, think of all the men and women who followed their leaders into war.  As the mortars are dropping, the guns are blazing, canons booming, and rockets streaking through the sky, I doubt many of them wanted to be there.  But in spite of all these things, they followed and bravely did their duty. 

            Jesus bids us to follow Him, but He leads us to places that we don’t, necessarily want to go.  Earlier, He called His disciples, “Come, follow me,” they dropped their nets, left their tax booths and followed but they’re, now in a place where they don’t want to be- Samaritan country. 

            Most Jews in the first century made a point of traveling the long way around Samaria because they considered its inhabitants unclean and they didn’t want to have anything to do with them.  They worshipped on a different mountain, Mount Gerizim, instead of the temple in Jerusalem.  They were the “black sheep”  the McCoy to Judea’s Hatfield. The disciples surely didn’t want to go through there, but when Jesus says, “Come, follow Me,” the disciples follow Him to places where they don’t want to go

            But a little trip through Samaria is like a trip to Disney Land compared to the place where they will eventually follow Jesus; this is where following gets hard, going to a place where that would make the want to spend an eternity in Samaria.  In our text, Jesus “Set His face toward Jerusalem.”  “So big deal,” they may have thought, “Jerusalem is the Holy City, the city of kings, the city of the temple.  Jerusalem is the perfect place to kick those Romans out and free us Judeans.”  But Jesus doesn’t set His face toward Jerusalem for Him and His disciples to go on vacation, nor does He set His face toward Jerusalem to usher in a new government and kick out those Romans.  He sets His face toward Jerusalem for a purpose beyond the disciples’ understanding.  He sets His face toward Jerusalem, bidding His disciples to follow Him to a hill that they don’t want to go so much so that most will scatter.  He sets His face toward Jerusalem to die.  He sets His face toward Jerusalem to ascend Calvary’s hill with His cross for your salvation.   But after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the disciples continue to follow Jesus even to their own deaths.  Several went the way of their Lord and were crucified.  James was killed by the sword.  Paul had his head removed from him.  So, will you follow Him even when it gets hard, even when it’s inconvenient?

  In our text, we have two other examples of people Jesus calls to follow Him, who want to do seemingly reasonable things.    “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’  And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’  To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’  And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead.  But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’   That’s harsh.  And if it sounds offensive to you, to the original hearers, it would have been even more shocking.  In that day the social customs that were considered a person’s bare minimum duty to a deceased parent were far more involved than the sorts of things we do today.  There would have been weeks of formal mourning that included wearing special clothes, fasting, and so on.   And if you failed to do these things, it would have been interpreted as the height of disrespect.  But here Jesus is saying, “Forget all that.  Following me is more important.”

“Yet another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’  Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’”

            More tough words.  What’s wrong with a little good bye, a going away party, perhaps?  Jesus has set His face toward Jerusalem and to follow Him is to jump off the bandwagon of all things that get in the way of faith, go even follow where you may not want to go.  The cares of this world are often a stumbling block to following Jesus.  What gets in the way of your faith?  What causes you to say to Jesus, “Go on ahead, Jesus, I’ll catch up sometime later?”  Will you follow Jesus when you’re called a bigot for not embracing homosexual sin?  Will you follow Jesus when you’re called every name in the book?  Will you follow Jesus even when it’s difficult? 

            Friends, today is the day of salvation.  We follow Jesus to the cross, where His eyes are fixed.  He goes to Jerusalem with His disciples, who scatter like roaches in the light.  He goes for them.  He goes for you.  The lesson of this text is that the things of this life all come second to Jesus’ work of salvation for you.  What good is it to gain the whole world and lose Jesus?  The world offers many things but it can’t forgive your sins or give eternal life, that only comes through Christ and His Jerusalem work.  And when the world turns its on you, Jesus has your back.  It hated Him too.

            Does that mean that you shouldn’t bury your loved ones or enjoy your family?  Well, if it’s not a hindrance to following Jesus, of course not.  This text isn’t about Jesus prohibiting burying loved ones or saying good-bye to your family; it’s about following Jesus who sets His face toward Jerusalem, where we follow no matter the cost, because He goes for you, for your forgiveness, for your salvation.  He and His cross are the center of your life as a Christian that leads to eternal life.  The things of this world will pass, but what Jesus gives to you through His cross and resurrection, is for eternity.

            We follow Jesus to His cross, and abide in His Word.  And where we fail to follow, where we do go off on tangents, where we follow so many of the distractions of this world, we confess our sins, and because Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem and went to His cross, you are forgiven free and clear.  Where we are so often faithless, Christ is ever faithful. 

            So, let us fix your eyes on Jesus.  Jesus does His forgiving and salvation work at Jerusalem so that you would have your Jesus, a focal point.  Life presents you with a whole bunch of rabbit trails, all sorts of things to worry about, all kinds of things to distract you from the one thing needful– and that is to die and rise with Jesus.  Like a sailor setting a course in the storm, or like a runner pushing toward the finish line, fix your eyes on Jesus.  His cross, His resurrection. His life. His Baptism, Body and Blood. That’s where He leads us.  That’s where your life is.  That’s where forgiveness is. That’s where He is for you.   Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

5th Sunday after Pentecost; Luke 8:26-39

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

            It doesn’t seem like a plausible story to our modern ears, does it?  A man possessed by demons, he’s naked and living among the tombs.  An exorcism.  Pigs taking the plunge off a cliff.  It seems a bit surreal, doesn’t it?  It hits our modern ears a bit strange.  It’s not our experience in 21^st century America that people are possessed by demons.  Today, people would blame such behavior, as the man in the text exhibits, on a psychological illness.  Let’s just say it, today’s Gospel text sounds weird.

            We’ve come to God’s house, today, and we hear a story like this and it doesn’t seem to sit very well.  “Come on.  We’re much too sophisticated to be thinking about demons and those supernatural spooky things.”    The text fits in quite well with today’s fictional vampire craze.  But, we have to be clear.  God’s Word is true.  All of it.  It’s been written for our edification, for the Holy Spirit to use to create and sustain faith, and ultimately for our salvation.  This text may seem a bit odd to our modern ears, but it reminds us that demons are real.  Pure evil does exist and seeks to destroy, murder, and steal faith. 

            In our text for this morning, we learn several things.  “The devil prowls around like a roaring lion,” as Peter writes, seeking to devour.  Evil is out there but the devil is God’s devil.  He can’t go any farther or do anything unless God gives him permission.  And, evil is cast out at the Word of Jesus. 

            In our text, Jesus goes to the other side of the sea, the opposite side form Galilee to the country of the Gerasenes.  Gentile country.  There’s no Jews there, hence someone is raising unclean animals- pigs.  He encounters a man who’s possessed by demons- a legion of them.  The man doesn’t live in a house, but among the dead who are resting in the tombs.  He doesn’t wear any clothes but wanders around naked, and when he’s bound and chained, by apparent supernatural strength, he breaks the bonds and frees himself.  Doesn’t get much creepier than that, it sounds like something out of some horror movie.  The devil has a hold of him.  And here’s where this text gets practical for us:  like the man in the text, the devil had a hold of us too.

            We were all born into this world wearing nothing, exposed to the world.  But we’re also born spiritually naked.  Sinners.  Lost.  Cutoff from God.  Heirs of sin, death, and condemnation.  We may not have been born with our heads spinning around, or being able to break a chain by a mighty feat of strength, but we’re born under the power of the devil until Christ claims us as His own.  “You were dead in your trespasses and sins,” Paul writes in Ephesians 2,  “following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” 

            Doesn’t that sound a bit like the man in the text?  He was dead, separated from God, at least; the devil had a hold of Him, wandering amongst the dead.  But then comes Jesus.  Legion begs Jesus not to torture them by not allowing them to do their evil.  They ask Jesus’ permission to take possession of the pigs instead. 

            And here lies a little jewel of comfort for us.  When things go bump in the night, when things seem really bad, when the devil is whispering in your ear all the sins that you’ve done, the devil is God’s devil.  He’s on a leash, like a dog.  He can’t go any farther than God will allow.  Like a groveling pig, the devil has to come to God, as the legion of demons ask Jesus, and ask permission to do whatever it is they want to do.  The devil and God aren’t two equally opposed forces.  They’re not like an old Japanese movie with Godzilla fighting against an opponent who’s equal in size and strength.  No, the devil is God’s devil, He’s been defeated by He who also dwelt in the tomb for three days.  Jesus was dead, but is alive again!  And this victory over sin, death, and the devil He gives to you.

            Like the man in the text, you were born under the Prince and Ruler of the Air- the devil.  But Christ has claimed you as His own, drowning the sinful, unclean nature in the waters of baptism like a bunch of unclean demons and pigs.  The victory that Jesus won on the cross, is given to you, is bequeathed to you, is for you in baptism! 

            We heard it in the epistle text, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”  The man in the text, who ran around without clothes, at the Word of Jesus, having drown the unclean legion of demons that clung to him, sits at the feet of Jesus clothed.  We, who were born into this world spiritually exposed and indecent, have put on Christ in baptism.  You approach God, not with your own righteousness, but decked, clothed, and covered in the righteousness of Christ. 

            There’s nothing to fear for those who are in Christ Jesus.  The devil is God’s devil.  God’s got you covered.  You’re baptized, covered with Christ, filled with His Spirit, safe in His death and life.  His wounds are your healing; His cross is your victory; His righteousness is your clothing.  Your sins are put far away from you, as far as the east is from the west.  As far as that legion of demons from the poor man.  It’s yours!  Believe it.  Trust in it.  Your baptism clothes you in Christ’s holy righteousness, because we have none of our own to bring before God. 

            Jesus, by His death and resurrection, into which you’ve been buried and raised in baptism, takes you out of the graveyard and gives to you the peace that surpasses all understanding and eternal life. 

            Sometimes our modern ears don’t like to think about supernatural things.  It’s strange, especially the exorcism that you heard of today.  But it shows us what Christ does for us.  He has removed the evilness of sin from our hearts and made them new, clothing us in His holiness.  He cleanses you in the waters of His Holy Baptism, and will raise you up out of your tomb, to life everlasting.   Amen.

            The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

2nd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 4); Luke 7:1-10

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

            The children’s game Simon Says is an interesting game.  “Simon” is given authority to command the others to do almost whatever he or she wants (provided they use the required phrase “Simon says” before each command.) At Simon’s word, he or she says, “Jump,” and the group before them jumps.  Simon says, “Bark like a dog,” and the group barks like a dog.  Simon says, “Stand on one foot,” and the crowd stands on one food.  But not just anyone can give the commands.  If one in the group who hasn’t been designated “Simon” tries the same thing, the others would look at him with a puzzled, if not, angry expression.  This authority must be given.

            Words have authority to command and get things done, as long as the words come from one who has been given authority.  And in our text, there’s such a man of authority: a centurion in the mighty Roman Legion.  A man set over 100 men to command and control.  He has at least one servant who he also commands.  “I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”  His word is powerful, it commands those under him and things get done…Quickly. 

            But with all of his given authority, with all of his might, even if he summoned all of his “inner Simon,” there’s one thing that his word can’t accomplish.  His word, as authoritative as it is, can’t heal his servant. 

            So he seeks out one whose Word is mightier than his own, someone greater than himself.  One who’s able to make the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the sick well.  He seeks Jesus.  But is he worthy of such a miracle to be preformed for him for a man so holy come under his roof?

            The Jews in the area certainly think so.  “And [the Jews] pleaded with [Jesus] earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation , and he is the one who built us our synagogue.’” The Jews are looking at his outward works and determine he’s worthy for Jesus to do this for him.  After all, he loves the Jewish nation, he even built a synagogue for them, (by the way, a synagogue built by a centurion has been found by archeologists; probably the one mentioned in the text.)  Can you imagine this scene?  A gentile Roman who’s loved by the Jews and even go to bat for him.  The Jews see all the stuff that this centurion has done for them and deem him worthy.  So, is he?

            It seems that this centurion has a different picture of himself.  He sends his friends, he can’t even bring himself to come to Jesus Himself, and has them tell Jesus, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my roof.  Therefore I did not presume to come to You.  But say the Word, and let my servant be healed.” 

            Friends, do you see the two ways God is approached?  Like the Jews, don’t we like to focus on our own worthiness?  “I help the poor.”  “I volunteer in the church.”  “I assist the elderly.”  Don’t get me wrong, these are all noble things, but is this how we impress God?  We’re bred with this instinct to be the best, do the most, and we’ll be rewarded.  “There’s no such thing as a free lunch so, why would it be any different for God.”  We grasp onto our own worthiness, our own works, our own deeds and try to set them before God and say, “See, look at all that I did!  I’m worthy now, right?”  This is how the Jews in the text thought of worthiness.  It’s something that can be seen; something based on one’s works.  He built them a synagogue; therefore, he should get a healed servant. 

            But God’s grace isn’t a game of quid pro quo, this for that, you do your part and God will do His.  And the centurion knows it.  He’s taken a good look at his life and as a soldier the things his job required of him.  He took a look at the things that he had done and may have been saying to himself, “Jesus cleansed the sick. I sent them away to quarantine. Jesus has healed the lame. I made them lame by the sword. Jesus drove out demons. I paved the way for those demons to come in the first place. Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies.’ I killed them all.”  Is there any wonder why he would say, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof?”

            Contrary to the Jews, who came to Jesus bragging this guy up, he approaches Jesus in humility, repentance, and faith.  A faith that causes Jesus to proclaim,  “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 

            Jesus heals the servant, not because the servant was an outwardly worthy guy.  Jesus doesn’t heal the servant because the Jews put a good word in for him.  The Word of Jesus, the Gospel, isn’t for those who are worthy of it but for those who are unworthy sinners.  The centurion repented of his unworthiness.  He approached Christ on bended knee in faith.  And faith always seeks a Word from the Lord.   

            Jesus’ Word is a creative Word, an authoritative Word, a Word that works the ways of God and does what it says. When Jesus says “arise!” – the lame leap up. When Jesus says, “be opened” the deaf hear.  “Be loosed” the mute speak.  “I am willing” and the lepers are made clean.  “Come out!” and the demons run away.  When Jesus says “talitha cum – little girl get up,” or “Lazarus come forth!” the dead wake up.  Thus this centurion is looking for a Word on behalf of his highly valued servant.  Faith is always looking for a Word from Jesus. The centurion has faith in Jesus Word, great faith, faith that Jesus has yet to find in all Israel, faith that Jesus wishes that He would find in us today.

            The centurion’s word wasn’t able to heal his servant, but Jesus’ Word is active and powerful, it does exactly what it says.  To those who are weary and heavy laden because of sin, to those who are unworthy to have Him come under your roof, who aren’t worthy to stoop down and tie His sandals Jesus says the greatest news an unworthy person could ever hear, “I forgive you all of your sins.  I died for you.  My forgiveness I give to you.  Your sins are forgiven.”  When Jesus says, “This is my body.  This is my blood,” His Word attaches itself to bread and wine.  The Lord’s Word heals the servant and, at last, He will call you from the ground by His Word to new life where there is no sickness.  We, who are unworthy, because of Jesus and His cross, receive everything.  You’re worthy, not because of your works, or deeds, or actions.  You’re worthy because of Christ.  That He had compassion for us unworthy people and made us a people worthy to stand before the judgment hall in His very own righteousness.  You’re worthy because Jesus has died for you, because He’s given you His Word of the Gospel, which found root in your ears.

            The Word is what works!  The Word is what saves!  The Word is what heals and chases away the devil.  The Word is what brings forgiveness as the cross is proclaimed.  The Word is what makes certain our resurrection and life everlasting in paradise.  The Word is our only certainty.  The Word is our only power, our only authority.   Christ gives His people His Word and the Word made visible in the Sacraments.  Therefore, cling to the Word!  Hear the Word. Believe the Word! Receive the Word, treasure the Word.  Read, learn, mark and inwardly digest the Word.  In a world that is sick with itself, faith clings to the Word that gives Jesus.

            Simon says in a fun game for kids.  The authoritative word of Simon goes out and accomplishes what he or she wants.  But our words aren’t capable of forgiving sins, healing a servant, or raising the dead, Jesus’ Word does all of that.  His forgiveness that He has won on the cross is still spoken into your ears, that brings to you faith and forgiveness and everlasting life.  Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.