Pastor Kory's Page for Sunday, November 10, 2024

Through the years, I’ve been in and out of a bunch of gymnasiums at Lutheran schools. It’s not unusual in a Christian school’s gym to see some positive messages or biblical quotations on banners or murals. One of those is a phrase like “Humble in Victory, Gracious in Defeat.” That’s the essence of good sportsmanship!

Whether on the ball diamond or the basketball court or in an academic competition, young people need to learn appropriate responses to both winning and losing. This is important, of course, not only in sports or school but in life itself! Victory can be welcomed with humble gratitude and even excitement without turning into prideful gloating. Defeat can be endured without wallowing, remembering that some defeat is inevitable in both competition and life. Learning to congratulate the victor is a valuable skill, whether you’re playing a game or conceding defeat in an election.

I have a lot of respect for candidates for elected offices who can humbly welcome victory, while giving credit to all the staffers and volunteers and voters who also deserve credit, plus giving credit to the opponent and his or her campaign team and voters. I also appreciate seeing candidates graciously conceding defeat and congratulating the victorious candidate. As hard fought as the 2024 elections were, and as divided as the two major political parties are, I think that even small demonstrations of humility and graciousness can go a long way.

The same principle applies to each of us as citizens and voters. Maybe you got all the election outcomes you were hoping for. Maybe you didn’t. Or maybe it was a “mixed bag”, like much of life. But now is neither a time for boasting nor despair. Instead, humility and graciousness ought to be part of our response to one another and to our neighbors following a major event like an election.

As subjects of God’s kingdom, such attitudes ought to be part of our response to the Gospel in every area of our lives. God’s Word says to us in Philippians chapter 2, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (Philippians 2:3-11)

Christ endured (what seemed to be) ultimate defeat on Good Friday. He humbled Himself to suffer and face the full verdict of our sins, being forsaken by His Father on His cross. He died and was buried in a borrowed tomb. It seemed to be a shocking defeat right after some of His greatest triumphs, such as raising Lazarus from the dead and parading into Jerusalem on “Palm Sunday.”

Jesus humbled Himself as low as He could go, but in His case, it wasn’t truly a defeat but the beginning of His victory which was sealed by His triumphant resurrection on the third day. Having paid the penalty for our sin, God the Father exalted His Son and gave Jesus Christ our Lord the name that is above every name. And as Jesus now lives and reigns over us and all things, He does so in grace, blessing us and forgiving us and saving us without any merit or worthiness in us. 

Our faith is in Christ alone, the One who showed ultimate humility on His road to the cross and whose grace amazingly flows for us each and every day. How shall we respond? As St. Paul put it, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5). Strive to be humble in your victories and gracious in your defeats (in whatever forms they come), while entrusting yourself and all things to your crucified and risen Savior.

In Christ,

Pastor Kory Janneke

Note: the following pastoral letter was included in our latest church directory.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord!

        Did you know that those words are a greeting from the New Testament? That’s how St. Paul greets Pastor Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:2. Many of the New Testament letters begin with a similar greeting. Just as St. Paul prayed that Timothy would abundantly receive God’s grace, mercy, and peace, I pray the same for you!

        I also thank God that our congregation has grown in the past year – and with it, so has our pictorial directory. This resource has become a helpful way for members and guests at St. Matthew to get to know one another, learn names, and get in touch.

        This year, as we print an updated pictorial directory for 2024, I’d like to suggest another use of this directory – as a prayer guide. This directory includes some long-term members, new arrivals, and frequent guests. Some of the entries are of people you may have known for decades. Others you may have just met. But one thing we all have in common is that we all need Christ our Savior, and we need one another, the body of Christ, which is His Church.

        “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Those words are just as true of the Christian Church today as they were in the first century. Together, we are the body of Christ whom the Holy Spirit has called and gathered. And each of us is a key member of the body. We need one another, and our neighbors and community also need our loving service and witness to the Gospel.

        When you're using this directory, please pause and pray for those who are included in it. Pray for the individuals, marriages, families, and all the households who are part of the body of Christ at St. Matthew Lutheran Church. Pray for those whose needs are known – such as the ill or the grieving. Pray also for those who needs are unknown, remembering that we all have our own burdens and challenges.

        A Bible word study reveals at least 375 direct references to prayer in Scripture (not including other terms for prayer). God’s Word shows us what a priority prayer is meant to be in our life in Christ! Let the following words inspire you toward faithfulness in prayer for Christ's people:

        “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you.” And "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might … praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplications for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.” (Ephesians 1:16-18a; 6:10, 17-19)

        Let’s keep each other in prayer this year.

              In Christ,

                   Pastor Kory Janneke

What is the Augsburg Confession and why does it matter?

Sunday, September 29, 2024

We recently had a three-week Bible study about how God's Word helps us to make sense of and approach suffering. In the Lutheran Christian tradition, the cross of Christ is crucial as we grapple with suffering and evil in our lives and in this world. At the cross, Jesus Christ endured ultimate suffering, not only on a physical level but spiritually as well. Christ suffered the punishment for our sins and was (temporarily) forsaken by God the Father. He underwent all this for us so that we can be spared from God’s righteous wrath in hell and, instead, be united with our Lord forever!

The preaching and teaching of this Gospel of Christ was what set apart the early Lutheran reformers during the 1520s and thereafter. Martin Luther and his fellow reformers (in both the church and the state), were willing to lay down their lives, if necessary, rather than giving up or compromising the precious Gospel message, that our sins are fully forgiven, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

In 1517, Luther sparked what became known as the “Reformation” with the publication of his Ninety-Five Theses. His theses were primarily written against the sale of indulgences to fund the Vatican. What began with one man speaking out quickly became a society-shaking movement throughout Europe, and the world has never been the same!

Thirteen years later, representatives of the Lutheran Reformation were summoned to an imperial meeting (called a “Diet” at that time) in the southern German city of Augsburg. There, the Lutherans (known first as “Evangelicals” or “Protestants”) would have the opportunity to discuss their faith and reforms before Charles V., the “Holy Roman Emperor” who ruled over much of central Europe. Martin Luther himself was unable to travel to Augsburg because he was branded an outlaw in the Empire some years before. 

The lead representative of the Lutherans at Augsburg was Luther’s closest colleague, Philip Melanchthon. After arriving in the city and hearing many of the false attacks that were circulating against the Lutherans, Melanchthon quickly composed an updated confession of faith to read before Charles on June 25, 1530. Melanchthon’s tone in this confession was very respectful and conciliatory, while still firmly stating the Lutheran position on salvation, Holy Communion, the role of good works in our Christian lives, and other critical teachings. This document, known as the Augsburg Confession (AC), deliberately sought to show that the early Lutherans stood firmly in the “catholic” (universal) Christian faith, extending back to the early Church, while also distinguishing some Lutheran beliefs and practices from those of other reforming groups (the forebears of modern-day Baptist, Calvinist, and Reformed churches). 

The AC is the foundational statement of what it means to believe and practice the Lutheran Christian faith. Since 1530, when the AC was delivered before the Emperor, Lutherans have continued to subscribe to its doctrine. Additionally, Lutheran pastors and other professional church workers in The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod vow to confess the Christian faith as expressed in the AC (together with the other writings in the Lutheran Confessions) because they are a true exhibition of Scripture. (I took that vow on July 22, 2012 at my ordination.)

Unfortunately, many Lutherans today are unfamiliar with the AC and its simple summary of the Christian faith. That’s why I’d like to invite you to our new Sunday Bible study at 9:00am each week in the church sanctuary. Participants will receive a copy of the Reader’s Edition of the Augsburg Confession which includes helpful notes to explain and introduce the articles of faith. Together, we’ll be looking at most of the AC, while also discussing its continued significance for our life of faith in Christ and as members of His Body, the Church. Come and learn why many early Lutherans were willing to suffer and die, rather than giving up the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Kory Janneke