Sermons


If you would like to read or print past sermons, click HERE. ____________________________________________ By Pastor Jerome Teichmiller GOD SHOWS HIS GLORY 2 Cor. 3: 12-18 Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this Transfiguration Sunday is Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 3, verses 12 through 18, particularly these words: “Therefore since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. And we are being transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” This is our text. In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. Psalm 19 tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.” Indeed God has great glory. His glory is so great that no man could ever look upon the face of God and still live. The closest that anyone ever came to that was Moses while he was on Mt. Sinae, receiving the ten commandments. Let me read for you the account of Moses' return after meeting with God. (Ex. 34: 29&33) “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. And when Aaron and all the people saw Moses, they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.” That was how bright the Glory of God had been. So much so, that Moses' face shown so bright that it made the people afraid. But after speaking to them, Moses covered his face with a veil. And in our text for today, Paul tells us why Moses covered his face. The children of Israel were quite easily discouraged. If the Lord wasn't forever working some kind of miracle for them, they quickly forgot him. And Paul tells us, that Moses covered his face so that the people of Israel would not see his face lose that glow. Paul was saying -- as soon as the glow was gone, the people would forget the glory of God who had spoken to Moses. They had already forgotten the glorious God who had brought them out of Egypt after 10 plagues. They had forgotten the glorious God who had brought them safely across the Red Sea on dry land. They had forgotten the glorious God who had promised them a land that flowed with Milk and Honey. That trend of forgetfulness continued for decades and for centuries. Paul says in our text, “Even today, whenever they read the Law of Moses, the veil still covers their minds.” Paul was concerned that the People of his day, were not seeing God at all, but rather were seeing only a veil which was hiding God's grace and glory from their eyes. The children of Israel were so busy trying to keep the letter of the Law given to them by Moses, that they were blind to their Glorious God who had made them his chosen people and blessed them with his grace and love. They saw God only as a “law giver” and not as “a loving father.” But Paul tells us in our text how we can avoid that pitfall. Paul tells us how we can read the old covenant, and the new covenant, and not have our minds closed or our faces veiled. He tells us in our text, “The veil is removed only when a man is joined to Christ.” That Veil is removed -- we can see God in all his glory -- ONLY when we are joined by grace, through faith, with Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, we can see the glory of God. That Glory was recorded in our Gospel lesson for this morning. Jesus Christ went up onto the mountain with Peter, James and John. Then Jesus' garments became “dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.” And then the words that tie this transfiguration of Jesus with the story of Moses, “the disciples were so afraid.” When the Israelites saw the glowing face of Moses, they were afraid. When the disciples saw God's glory in the Transfiguration of Jesus and they too were afraid. But this time there is no veil, only a voice from Heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” There for a few moments on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus lifted the veil and the disciples could see not just a man, but rather the true glory of God. “Very God of Very God! Begotten, not made. One Substance with the Father by whom all things were made.” God's glory shown at Mt. Sinai and God's glory shown at the Mt. of Transfiguration! But what does this text say about God's glory right now, in the year 2006 -- to you and to me. Paul says in our text, “Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Paul says all of us reflect the glory of God. By that he means that we have all seen God's glory, just like Moses and those three disciples, and so our faces should be glowing just as theirs was. No, we were not on Mt. Sinai. Nor were we on the Mount of Transfiguration. But through the Holy Spirit and the faith He gives us, we have seen the glory of God in several ways. First of all we have seen the Glory of God through the Holy Scripture. For in the Holy Scriptures, God has revealed his glory to us. The Scriptures are God's own word of truth given to us. We read “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” And as Paul said in our text, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is present there is freedom.” That is why we call the Scriptures a “Means of Grace” for they are able to make us wise unto Salvation. The Scriptures are endowed with the power and the Glory of God to change the lives of people as they come to faith in Jesus Christ. There is power in that Word of God. But while the Bible is a general Means of Grace for all people, the Holy Spirit does touch each Christian very personally. First of all, he has touched every Christian by means of Baptism. In your baptism, God has personally marked you as his own child and forgiven you all your sins. And in the Sacrament of the Altar, God again comes to each individual Christian, forgiving sins and strengthening faith. With the Bread and Wine, God also gives to us the life giving Body and Blood of his own Son. God has indeed shown his Glory to us. But do we now reflect that Glory to others?? Paul said in our text, “we are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory.” That Glory which God has shown to us makes our faces radiate with the glory of God. We who have seen the glory of God in our own lives will now reflect that glory to others. We who have seen our Lord and our Savior will now reflect his glory to all the world. Epiphany is now over and Lent is about to begin. We have seen God's glory during Epiphany-- now in Lent we will view his suffering and death -- only to see the greater glory of the empty tomb on Easter. May we reflect to others his glory, his love, his forgiveness for us. To God be the Glory, now and always. Amen. May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
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If you would like to read or print past sermons, click HERE.

____________________________________________

By Pastor Jerome Teichmiller

GOD SHOWS HIS GLORY

2 Cor. 3: 12-18

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this Transfiguration Sunday is Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 3, verses 12 through 18, particularly these words: “Therefore since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. And we are being transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” This is our text.

In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. Psalm 19 tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.” Indeed God has great glory. His glory is so great that no man could ever look upon the face of God and still live. The closest that anyone ever came to that was Moses while he was on Mt. Sinae, receiving the ten commandments. Let me read for you the account of Moses' return after meeting with God. (Ex. 34: 29&33) “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. And when Aaron and all the people saw Moses, they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.”

That was how bright the Glory of God had been. So much so, that Moses' face shown so bright that it made the people afraid. But after speaking to them, Moses covered his face with a veil.

And in our text for today, Paul tells us why Moses covered his face. The children of Israel were quite easily discouraged. If the Lord wasn't forever working some kind of miracle for them, they quickly forgot him. And Paul tells us, that Moses covered his face so that the people of Israel would not see his face lose that glow. Paul was saying -- as soon as the glow was gone, the people would forget the glory of God who had spoken to Moses. They had already forgotten the glorious God who had brought them out of Egypt after 10 plagues. They had forgotten the glorious God who had brought them safely across the Red Sea on dry land. They had forgotten the glorious God who had promised them a land that flowed with Milk and Honey.

That trend of forgetfulness continued for decades and for centuries. Paul says in our text, “Even today, whenever they read the Law of Moses, the veil still covers their minds.”

Paul was concerned that the People of his day, were not seeing God at all, but rather were seeing only a veil which was hiding God's grace and glory from their eyes. The children of Israel were so busy trying to keep the letter of the Law given to them by Moses, that they were blind to their Glorious God who had made them his chosen people and blessed them with his grace and love. They saw God only as a “law giver” and not as “a loving father.”

But Paul tells us in our text how we can avoid that pitfall. Paul tells us how we can read the old covenant, and the new covenant, and not have our minds closed or our faces veiled. He tells us in our text, “The veil is removed only when a man is joined to Christ.” That Veil is removed -- we can see God in all his glory -- ONLY when we are joined by grace, through faith, with Jesus Christ.

In Jesus Christ, we can see the glory of God. That Glory was recorded in our Gospel lesson for this morning. Jesus Christ went up onto the mountain with Peter, James and John. Then Jesus' garments became “dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.” And then the words that tie this transfiguration of Jesus with the story of Moses, “the disciples were so afraid.” When the Israelites saw the glowing face of Moses, they were afraid. When the disciples saw God's glory in the Transfiguration of Jesus and they too were afraid.

But this time there is no veil, only a voice from Heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” There for a few moments on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus lifted the veil and the disciples could see not just a man, but rather the true glory of God. “Very God of Very God! Begotten, not made. One Substance with the Father by whom all things were made.”

God's glory shown at Mt. Sinai and God's glory shown at the Mt. of Transfiguration! But what does this text say about God's glory right now, in the year 2006 -- to you and to me. Paul says in our text, “Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Paul says all of us reflect the glory of God. By that he means that we have all seen God's glory, just like Moses and those three disciples, and so our faces should be glowing just as theirs was. No, we were not on Mt. Sinai. Nor were we on the Mount of Transfiguration. But through the Holy Spirit and the faith He gives us, we have seen the glory of God in several ways.

First of all we have seen the Glory of God through the Holy Scripture. For in the Holy Scriptures, God has revealed his glory to us. The Scriptures are God's own word of truth given to us. We read “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” And as Paul said in our text, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is present there is freedom.” That is why we call the Scriptures a “Means of Grace” for they are able to make us wise unto Salvation. The Scriptures are endowed with the power and the Glory of God to change the lives of people as they come to faith in Jesus Christ. There is power in that Word of God.

But while the Bible is a general Means of Grace for all people, the Holy Spirit does touch each Christian very personally. First of all, he has touched every Christian by means of Baptism. In your baptism, God has personally marked you as his own child and forgiven you all your sins. And in the Sacrament of the Altar, God again comes to each individual Christian, forgiving sins and strengthening faith. With the Bread and Wine, God also gives to us the life giving Body and Blood of his own Son.

God has indeed shown his Glory to us. But do we now reflect that Glory to others?? Paul said in our text, “we are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory.” That Glory which God has shown to us makes our faces radiate with the glory of God. We who have seen the glory of God in our own lives will now reflect that glory to others. We who have seen our Lord and our Savior will now reflect his glory to all the world.

Epiphany is now over and Lent is about to begin. We have seen God's glory during Epiphany-- now in Lent we will view his suffering and death -- only to see the greater glory of the empty tomb on Easter. May we reflect to others his glory, his love, his forgiveness for us. To God be the Glory, now and always. Amen.

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