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In the name of Jesus,
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who comes to us in the bread and
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the wine for forgiveness of
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sins, life and salvation.
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Amen.
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Recently,
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I performed a baptism
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on a baby girl.
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The parents brought this baby
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girl to me to be baptized.
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The mother is Lutheran
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and so she was very desirous for
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her baby to be baptized.
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But the father was not Lutheran.
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He belonged to a
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nondenominational congregation
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which practiced believer
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baptism.
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And so he was somewhat hesitant
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about having his daughter
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be baptized.
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And as I shared with the parents
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the biblical teaching
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on baptism,
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he was still unconvinced that
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actually baptism imparted
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benefits to the baby. In fact,
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what he would say to me
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frequently was this line.
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It doesn't do anything.
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It doesn't do anything.
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He just saw it as a symbolic act
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that had no real power that was
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exercised through it.
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He acquiesce to the baptism
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because he said it's kind
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of a neutral thing.
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It doesn't do any harm,
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but it doesn't do any good.
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It doesn't do anything.
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Today our sermon is focused on
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the sacrament of the altar,
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which obviously is a distinct
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sacrament from baptism.
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But the same kind of skepticism
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and the same kind of hesitance
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towards any kind of benefits
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from the Lord's Supper
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is applied here,
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as was the case of this
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gentleman regarding his attitude
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towards baptism.
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We are following on these
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Fridays a sermon series going
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through the catechism,
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and we are currently now in the
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sacrament of the altar.
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And the question that was just
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asked and answered by Martin
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Luther in the Small Catechism,
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the one that we just read.
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And so I want to reread
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that for you.
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What is the benefit of such
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eating and drinking?
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Luther says It is shown
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us by these words,
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Christ's words given and shed
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for you for the forgiveness
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of sins.
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Namely that in the sacrament,
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forgiveness of sins,
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life and salvation are
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given us through
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these words. For where there
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is forgiveness of sins,
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there is also life
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and salvation.
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Luther here in this catechism
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gives us eyes of faith to see
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what is actually happening
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in the Lord's Supper.
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What is actually being bestowed
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in the Lord's Supper.
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What are the benefits given to
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us here in this sacrament.
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And since this is a catechetical
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service and catechetical sermon,
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I would like to share with you
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an approach that I take in my
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own catechesis on the
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Lord's Supper,
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both to junior confirmands
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and to adult converts.
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An analogy that I use to help
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them to understand what God is
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doing through the bread
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and the wine. Now,
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I have to say from the very
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beginning though,
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that this is an insufficient
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analogy to communicate the
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incomparable mystery of what
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takes place in the sacrament.
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But I think that it
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can be helpful.
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And I must acknowledge that the
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analogy is not original with me.
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And this is the analogy I
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have here, my checkbook.
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And of course,
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in the checkbook are various
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pieces of paper we call checks.
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Now,
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these pieces of paper are not
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inherently valuable at all.
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You might have in your hand
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right now the service order.
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A piece of paper that as soon as
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this service is done with,
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will be discarded.
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There's no inherent value
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to it at all.
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But with this piece of paper
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in this checkbook when I
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write words upon it,
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when I pledge my promise upon
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this piece of paper,
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writing your name
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on the top line,
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and then pay to the order
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of an amount of money,
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let's say $3,000,
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because I'm good for that.
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I've got $3,000 in my
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checking account.
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Then my pledge,
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my promise attached to this
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piece of paper suddenly becomes
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very, very valuable.
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And as I give that to you,
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you would be a fool to simply
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take it and tear it up.
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Discuss regarded as having
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no value at all.
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Now, the
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Value isn't inherently in
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the piece of paper.
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It's in the pledge, the promise,
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the words that I have attached
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to it for you.
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Similarly,
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Jesus took the bread
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and the wine,
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earthly elements which in and of
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themselves are not all
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that valuable.
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Just a little snack.
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Just a little sip.
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And actually not all
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that tasty to boot,
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not all that valuable and
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beneficial to my nutrition even.
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But Jesus now attaches
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his promise,
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his word of promise to these
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visible elements, saying,
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this is my body,
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this is my blood of
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the New Covenant.
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And what Luther highlights are
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his words in the institution
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of this sacrament,
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given and shed for you for the
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forgiveness of your sins.
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And so it's like he takes
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these visible elements,
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almost like a check
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to be written on,
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and puts his word of promise
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paid to the order of the
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forgiveness of sins.
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And it's for you,
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for you.
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Your name is written upon it
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as you eat and drink it.
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That's the benefit, he says,
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of such eating and drinking.
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It's in the words of Jesus,
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given and shed for you for
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the forgiveness of sins.
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And what a great benefit that
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is, the forgiveness of sins.
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We would be a fool,
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just as being a fool,
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to reject a check that's written
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out to you with the words
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of pledge and promise.
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We would be a fool to reject the
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gift that is given here in Jesus
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pledge and promise of the
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forgiveness of sins.
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And he is good for His promise.
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He is good for His promise
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because He is the one who has
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earned forgiveness of
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sins for each of us.
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He is the one who lived the life
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of perfect obedience to
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God's will for you.
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He is the one who went to the
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cross and paid the penalty
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for death for you,
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the penalty of death
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for your sins.
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And now,
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through these means,
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with His word of promise
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attached,
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He transfers to our spiritually
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bankrupt accounts.
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The remission of sin,
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the remittal of the
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debt of our sins.
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He transfers into our count
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His righteousness,
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His purity,
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His holiness which
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expels our sin.
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This is of great benefit.
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This is of great value.
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It really does something
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and even more.
00:09:30.410 --> 00:09:32.626
Luther says here that it pays
00:09:32.658 --> 00:09:35.762
rich dividends because it brings
00:09:35.906 --> 00:09:37.726
not only forgiveness of sins,
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but life and salvation,
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because sin is what brings
00:09:43.622 --> 00:09:46.330
death, eternal death.
00:09:46.670 --> 00:09:48.534
But when sin is remitted,
00:09:48.582 --> 00:09:50.330
when sin is forgiven,
00:09:50.770 --> 00:09:52.910
we are given the gift of life,
00:09:53.060 --> 00:09:56.058
eternal life and salvation
00:09:56.234 --> 00:09:57.786
deliverance from eternal
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death and damnation.
00:10:00.370 --> 00:10:02.974
These are the wondrous gifts,
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the beautiful benefits
00:10:05.830 --> 00:10:08.126
that Christ promises.
00:10:08.238 --> 00:10:11.058
He pledges to us in the
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bread and the wine,
00:10:12.590 --> 00:10:15.286
His body and blood given and
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shed for you for the forgiveness
00:10:19.042 --> 00:10:20.390
of your sins.
00:10:22.810 --> 00:10:23.862
Several years ago,
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I was visiting a woman member of
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my congregation in the hospital.
00:10:31.158 --> 00:10:33.882
She was in the cancer ward in
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hospice care and she was
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dying of cancer.
00:10:39.790 --> 00:10:42.174
And so I would regularly come to
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her and bring communion to her.
00:10:45.730 --> 00:10:46.862
And one day,
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as I was opening up my portable
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communion kit,
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she smiled and said, oh,
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thank you, Pastor.
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Thank you for bringing
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communion to me.
00:10:58.550 --> 00:10:59.540
She said,
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the doctors and the nurses
00:11:02.222 --> 00:11:03.154
who care for me,
00:11:03.192 --> 00:11:05.206
I appreciate what they do and
00:11:05.228 --> 00:11:06.982
the medicine that they bring
00:11:07.036 --> 00:11:08.726
to me to help me,
00:11:08.908 --> 00:11:10.600
I am thankful for.
00:11:11.290 --> 00:11:13.170
But I am especially thankful
00:11:13.250 --> 00:11:15.910
that you bring me communion
00:11:16.569 --> 00:11:18.700
because I know in this
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I am receiving
00:11:22.190 --> 00:11:24.860
the true healing that I need,
00:11:25.710 --> 00:11:28.220
healing for eternal life.
00:11:29.970 --> 00:11:30.670
Now,
00:11:30.819 --> 00:11:32.842
this woman was not expecting
00:11:32.906 --> 00:11:36.510
to go off of hospice care,
00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:37.854
be released from the
00:11:37.892 --> 00:11:39.760
cancer ward and
00:11:40.930 --> 00:11:42.922
be in remission of her cancer.
00:11:42.986 --> 00:11:44.234
She knew she was dying,
00:11:44.282 --> 00:11:46.030
and very shortly after
00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:47.630
this she did die.
00:11:48.370 --> 00:11:49.930
But she demonstrated
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great faith,
00:11:52.290 --> 00:11:55.526
faith in the promise and pled of
00:11:55.548 --> 00:11:57.606
Christ attached to the
00:11:57.627 --> 00:11:58.610
bread and the wine.
00:12:00.170 --> 00:12:02.894
Faith in the benefits that
00:12:03.012 --> 00:12:06.474
Christ promises in the eating
00:12:06.522 --> 00:12:09.454
and drinking that it would bring
00:12:09.492 --> 00:12:12.430
to her forgiveness of sins,
00:12:12.770 --> 00:12:17.390
life and salvation forevermore.
00:12:19.490 --> 00:12:23.470
May we also share that faith
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as we trust the promises of
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Christ given and shed for you
00:12:31.850 --> 00:12:34.870
for the forgiveness of sin.
00:12:36.890 --> 00:12:38.566
In the name of the Father and of
00:12:38.588 --> 00:12:40.470
the Son and the Holy Spirit.
00:12:41.050 --> 00:12:41.990
Amen.