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In the name of the Father and of
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the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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Amen.
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Luther says there's three
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parts to a good sermon.
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He suggests a preacher stand up,
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speak up, then shut up.
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And it's the third part that is
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always the most difficult,
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says Luther.
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It appears that Jesus comes in
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this text today and preaches
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the perfect sermon.
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It was late on the first
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day after the Sabbath,
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the doors being locked
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because the disciples were
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afraid of the Jews.
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Fear had gripped them.
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The events that had just
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transpired laid them low.
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They had been terrified,
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their consciences in
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terrible agony.
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They had not gone the last
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mile with the Lord.
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They had forgotten him.
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They had run away from Him.
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They didn't stand with Him.
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They denied Him.
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And Jesus comes.
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And the text says this one Jesus
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came into their midst and he
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stood and he said to them,
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Peace be to you.
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Two words peace to you.
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The two best words that could
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possibly be preached to
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suffering consciences.
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He doesn't say,
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let's recount the mistakes you
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made so we don't make
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them in the future.
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He says peace.
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And then
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He shows them His hands and
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His side and they rejoice.
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They remembered everything that
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He said. For a little while,
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the world will rejoice
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and you will be sad,
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but then you will rejoice.
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And now here it is.
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They rejoice.
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Behold,
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He is the lamb that takes away
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the sin of the world.
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And He points to the bloody
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marks in His own body
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where the Lamb accomplished
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the death for their sins.
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And He says, Peace be with you.
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Peace. Your conscience is clear.
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Without a clear conscience,
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it's impossible for us to be
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certain of our salvation.
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Without a clear conscience,
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it's impossible to believe in
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Christ with certainty and also
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to serve our neighbor in love.
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He gives everything here with
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just two words peace to you.
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And look at my hands
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and my side. You.
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And Jesus said to them again.
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Peace be with you.
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They would need it.
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It would be one week later when
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the Thomas incident occurs.
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Still,
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they're locked up behind
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closed doors.
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They need peace constantly.
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And they will.
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Just as the Father sent me,
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also I send you.
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The Father sends Jesus specifically.
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The spirit of the
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Lord is upon me,
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Isaiah prophesied about Jesus.
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Because the Lord has anointed me
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to bring good news to the poor,
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he has sent me to bind up
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the broken hearted,
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to proclaim liberty to the
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captives and the opening of
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prison to those who are bound to
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proclaim the year of
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the Lord's favor.
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The Lord was sent from eternity,
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the God man to accomplish
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the task.
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And now he sends his apostles
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with the same word apostello,
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I send you with a sacred divine
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mandate and task to proclaim
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good news.
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Our fathers,
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all of them saw in this text
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and several others,
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the institution of the office of
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the ministry which follows from
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that of the apostles.
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And at the same time, Luther,
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both early and late in his
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career, Dr. Walther,
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virtually all of the Orthodox
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Lutherans saw here,
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too the fact that lay people
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speak the Gospel in their own
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vocations and are sent to speak
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forgiveness where they are
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placed. And it must be spoken.
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It has to be spoken.
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It's the gospel.
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And while he said this,
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he breathed on them, saying,
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receive you the Holy Spirit.
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Whosoever sins you forgive,
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they are forgiven
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unto them whosoever sins you
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retain, they are retained.
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This sounds very easy,
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doesn't it?
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I was in a meeting with a couple
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of different church
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judicatories,
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let's say one of them not
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the Missouri Synod,
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where there had been conflict
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for decades over many different
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actions and failures to act,
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insults and offenses
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taken and given.
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We talked long and hard for a
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full day about the texts that
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have to do with reconciliation,
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with fellowship, with koinonia,
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with forgiveness.
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And after talking for more than
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a day about these profound texts
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and agreeing completely on the
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philosophical and theological
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grounding of forgiveness and
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koinonia and its necessity,
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I asked the question,
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so how would all of this apply
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in the case of XYZ,
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which was one of the actual
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naughty issues?
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There was an explosion. Boom.
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Intense anger,
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intense responses. Intense,
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intense reaction.
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It is as though what we had just
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talked about for a day and
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a half didn't even exist.
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But then, I thank God,
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the Holy Spirit took over,
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and one by one round the table,
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we all began to admit where
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we had fallen short
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and to offer apologies
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and forgiveness.
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And we backed up and pushed,
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as the old bluegrass song says,
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and moved forward to a better
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place by the gift of the Spirit.
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Confession absolution wasn't
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talked about much when I was at
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seminary. And when I went
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out into the parish,
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I quickly learned that I was
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involved with a lot of
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counseling cases with marital
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couples and other people having
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difficulties in their lives.
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And you'll find out as you go
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out that you, after a while,
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will be sure that you can't hear
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anything stranger than
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you've already heard.
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And everything goes into the
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ear, like going into a tomb.
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It's not repeated to anybody.
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An old pastor told me, you know,
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anytime somebody comes in for
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marital difficulty or
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something else,
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I always take them through
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confession and absolution.
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And so I began doing that.
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Anybody that came in for family
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difficulty, personal challenges,
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couples began taking them right
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to the front of the church,
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which is always empty,
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and sitting in the front pew
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with couples together.
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John,
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do you acknowledge that you have
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had hard feelings against your
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wife and thought ill of her and
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sinned against her? Yes, Pastor,
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I do. Jill,
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do you understand that what
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you've done has hurt your
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husband terribly and it has been
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wrong for you to think this way
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and act this way? Yes, Pastor,
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I do.
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Do you believe that my
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forgiveness is God's
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forgiveness? Yes, Pastor, we do.
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In the stead,
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by the command of Christ,
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you're forgiven.
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So vital.
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It's so vital for us
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to live that way
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as Christians in the church.
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We are sinners.
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We will always sin against
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each other, fall short,
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disappoint one another.
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Our personalities will be
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prone to drive us apart.
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The institutions we serve and
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the responsibilities we serve
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will be prone to push
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you apart from your
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Elders or your ladies group,
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or that one person.
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And as pastor and as other
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church leaders,
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you'll be the first one
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called upon to repent.
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To lead your parish
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in forgiveness.
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To lead your parish
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in repentance,
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and to lead by speaking
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the gospel.
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Luther said,
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preaching on this text that
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the resurrection has
00:09:29.902 --> 00:09:31.400
to be distributed,
00:09:32.460 --> 00:09:33.912
and the resurrection is
00:09:33.966 --> 00:09:35.690
distributed by words.
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Jesus speaks just such a
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paucity of words here.
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Peace be to you.
00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:51.500
Look at my hands and side.
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The sacrifice is paid.
00:09:58.260 --> 00:10:00.320
The payment has been accepted.
00:10:01.140 --> 00:10:02.336
The world has been
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exonerated in me.
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Peace be to you.
00:10:08.980 --> 00:10:11.120
That has to be what you preach.
00:10:12.260 --> 00:10:14.080
Whatever else you preach and
00:10:14.150 --> 00:10:15.424
whatever styles you use,
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and there are many in various
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blessed things, et cetera,
00:10:19.260 --> 00:10:21.480
that has to be what you preach
00:10:22.140 --> 00:10:24.250
for the sake of Jesus Christ,
00:10:24.780 --> 00:10:27.752
the forgiveness of sins and
00:10:27.806 --> 00:10:29.400
a peaceful conscience.
00:10:30.140 --> 00:10:31.290
Without that,
00:10:32.060 --> 00:10:33.610
we have not Christ.
00:10:34.460 --> 00:10:34.872
God
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grant in the name
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of the Father,
00:10:36.292 --> 00:10:37.336
and of the Son and of the
00:10:37.358 --> 00:10:38.420
Holy Spirit. Amen.