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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus who is

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the Christ. Amen.  Our text for today is Psalm 19, which would just

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read and we will be meditating on verses 7 through 14. Verse 14 is a

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good verse to begin this meditation on so let us pray. Let the words of

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my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight O

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Lord my rock and my redeemer. Amen. Today

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we are going to meditate on three things that may be overwhelming

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anyone of us this year.

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And what a year

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it has been. Just about a year ago our country joined most of the world

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in shutting down because of a pandemic. We have been burdened and

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overwhelmed with mask in order to love our neighbor.

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The fear of death has surrounded us pressing in on us and has kept us

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from having many events on campus and when events do happen, everyone

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is expected to say more than an arm's length away from everyone else.

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Yes, we have death surrounding us pressing in on us.

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But even if you don't feel overwhelmed by the death of the pandemic,

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you still feel a bit dead inside, don't you?

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Yes, death does surround us daily, but the pandemic seems to press in on us even

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more letting us know of our mortality. And yet verse 7 begins

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the law of the Lord is perfect reviving the soul.

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Yes

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it may not seem like it but God's Torah does actually give life for us.

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Even at the did for David as we approach the one-year mark of living

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in the depths of the pandemic.

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Now, I realize I am preaching to the choir here.

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Students you came to Seminary because of your love of the Lord.

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You know that God's law leads people to the gospel.

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And if you have had Biermann, you know that God's gospel enabled

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Christians to lead holy lives according to the law.

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Professors you are training a new generation of pastors who will serve

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Christ church.

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You know that God's Torah does bring life and that is why you teach

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it. Everyone who comes into this building knows that God Torah and

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God's law does bring life and yet it doesn't always feel like it.

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Sometimes God's law feels overwhelming to you.

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Sometimes it feels like it only brings death.

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Maybe you aren't one of the people overwhelmed about the pandemic but

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you still feel like you have lost your way.

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I've heard first-years talking about their first sermon prep projects

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for Hom. 2nd and 4th years

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I know are looking forward to April 28th.

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Call Day.  When we will finally learn where we will be serving.

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The anticipation is growing for us and yet the way doesn't seem fully

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clear.

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There is nervousness, trepidation and a healthy amount of fear of what

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lies ahead for all of us.

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All of this could easily overwhelm the Sem community and probably has

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overwhelmed some of you individually as well.

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And yet our Psalm For today addresses us feeling lost as well. From

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verses 8 and 9,

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the Commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes the fear of

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the Lord is clean enduring forever.

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You may be overwhelmed by feeling like your way is unclear.

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But God commandment is clear. And it's Jesus himself said there are not a

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multitude of Commandments to overwhelm and press in on you there

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really are only two. Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul

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and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.

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You may be overwhelmed and not knowing the path of your future but

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fearing, loving and trusting God above all things will endure in your

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life forever.

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Where you end up serving doesn't matter as much as dwelling in the

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Torah of the Lord.

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Now dwelling in God's Torah doesn't seem to be too hard

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but then the Devil comes and asked you the same question that he asked

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Adam and Eve.

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Did God really say?

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For all of you here today A number of these questions do come to mind.

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Did God really say that you need to do all of your readings for all of

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your classes?

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Did God really say that the purity of Doctrine is vitally important to

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Christ Church?

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On and on it goes and it seems to just overwhelm you.

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Did God really say?

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Yes.

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Yes

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he did he gave up his Torah to follow because it is the truth of how

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the world operates.

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From versus seven and eight of our Psalm. The testimony of the Lord is

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sure making wise the simple the precepts of the Lord are right

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rejoicing the heart. God's testimony is certain. Yes God really did

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say that. We are at Seminary to learn or to teach God's law we are here

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to be made one as simple as you and I are. The law of God is good and

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should cause us to rejoice and not be overwhelming to us.

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So the Psalm tells us that we are to see the way in God's law that

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there is truth in the Torah of God and that we should not fear death

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because we have life in the will of God.

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So why do we often feel overwhelmed by being and delighting in

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God's law?

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I can almost hear you thinking Nathaniel

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I am overwhelmed with classes.

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I don't know where I'm going to serve next year and death is still

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everywhere around me. Stop with your pious platitudes talking about this Psalm.

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I am lost.

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Unsure of what actually is true and I feel like dying.

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I get those feelings.

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I had most of them during my time at Seminary as well.

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But maybe the problem isn't with our text for today.

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Maybe the problem is with you.

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We all know that we can't perfectly keep every check mark of the Torah

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of God as much as we Christians try.

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You can't and I can't because of that it is easy to be overwhelmed and

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feel lost feel like we are lying to ourselves and feel like we are

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dead in our sins.

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This Lenten season

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we are to look at our sins as we sit in

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sackcloth and ashes. But Lent is not entirely about 

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looking at our failures of delighting in the law of God and being overwhelmed by

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those sins.

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We are also to look to our Lord Jesus Christ.

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He is the Word of God made flesh

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and yes, that word of God does include the Torah of God.

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Only a few weeks ago we celebrated the birth of this word incarnate

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and now we watch with him as he fixes his eyes

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to the cross.

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Yes, he has taken all of your overwhelmed feelings in the variety of

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ways that they appear and has made your burden light,

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in his death. He is taking your inability to complete every check mark

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of the tour of God and has gone to the Cross to die so that you are no

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longer overwhelmed with death.

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You may not know where your ministry is going to lead.

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but Jesus knows the way.

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So you don't need to feel overwhelmed anymore.

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You may feel like the truth of the law of God and the gospel of our

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Lord isn't worth fighting for anymore and now has become overwhelming.

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But our Lord Jesus is strengthening you in his truth.

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All of this is true because he himself said he is the way the truth

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and the life.

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Amen.

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And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your

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hearts and your minds in the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

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Please rise as we sing the Te Deum beginning on page 223.