Posted on by pastorkevinjud

Are You the Israel of God?

WORSHIP VIDEO LINK (linked after 10:45 AM Service)

WORSHIP AUDIO LINK

SERMON AUDIO LINK

BULLETIN

SERMON TEXT BELOW

Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Vicar Daniel English
October 19, 2025 
Proper 24 C – Genesis 32:22-30; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

Are You the Israel of God?

Remember that really big mistake that you made all those years ago? That foolish thing you said, that faithless thing you did? Just the thought of it sinks your heart into your stomach for shame. What is left in the wake of your foolishness? – anger and broken relationships. Now you think it’s best to just forget about it. Live your life, move on, let bygones be bygones. If only back then you had the wisdom and maturity that you have now.. things would have gone so much differently… you today would have done things very differently than you back then.. And everybody would understand that, wouldn’t they? You can’t take it back, as much as you’d like to, you can’t change what you’ve done.. Maybe you can forget about it and just go on with your life. But now, you’ve just been told that the one person who knows best what you’ve done is on his way right now to meet with you. What does he want? What does he have to say to you? Is he angry? Can you possibly be forgiven? Our Old Testament lesson today is about one such man as you, Jacob.

Jacob is coming out of the land of Haran and he’s stopped at the Jabbok River, a tributary of the Jordan. He has just learned that his brother, Esau, is coming to meet him with 400 men. Jacob is greatly afraid and distressed. He’s greatly afraid and distressed because he last saw his brother, Esau, moments after stealing Esau’s blessing from their father, Isaac – a blessing of grain and wine, a blessing of strength and leadership, the very blessing from God passed down from Abraham to Isaac… a blessing that Isaac intended for his firstborn son, Esau. Jacob tricks his father, Isaac, into blessing him instead, and Esau is left to receive a much inferior blessing, “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck” (Genesis 27:39b-40). This is a blessing nearly opposite to the blessing that Jacob had received. It sounds more like a curse than a blessing. Jacob and Esau’s relationship was always characterized by struggle, right from the beginning when they shared a womb, but this was the breaking point. Esau swears, “I will kill my brother Jacob” (Genesis 27:41b). Esau’s vow to kill his brother Jacob are the last words Scripture records Esau speaking up to this point. Jacob flees in fear of his brother’s wrath to his mother’s hometown of Haran. He doesn’t return until 20 years later, and now he is going to come face-to-face with his past… face-to-face with his brother and his brother’s army of 400 men.

“Greatly afraid and distressed” (Genesis 32:7). This is how the Holy Spirit describes Jacob in this moment, greatly afraid and distressed. All those years ago he crossed the river with nothing but his staff, and now, he prepares to cross back over with many servants, oxen, donkeys, flocks… with his two wives and his eleven sons. Jacob looks over his many blessings and considers the cost he will have to pay. What of all this that the Lord has given to him, will the Lord see fit to take away? He splits his belongings into two camps. “If Esau comes to attack the one camp,” he thinks, “then the other camp can escape” (Genesis 32:8). Jacob is distressed… and greatly afraid.

Fear and distress! If you can believe it, this is the beginning of the most precious gift that God gives to Jacob. This is the blessed contrition that precedes justification. This is a gift from the Holy Spirit. Jacob prays, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, […] I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant. […] Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude’” (Genesis 32:9-12). What has happened here? The man who once thought himself worthy enough of his father’s blessing to steal it from his brother, now considers himself unworthy of even the least of all the things that God has done for him. And yet, he still seeks good from God. Why? Because God has promised to do good to him… to be gracious and merciful to Jacob, a sinner. This is the gift of repentance and faith. When you look at your own works, by faith you see only what it is that got you into the mess that you’re in. When you pray for the Lord to forgive and deliver you, you know that “[you] are neither worthy of the things for which [you] pray, nor have [you] deserved them, but [you] ask [your Father in heaven] that He would give them all to [you] by grace, for [you] daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment” (Luther’s Small Catechism, Lord’s Prayer, Explanation Fifth Petition).

What else can Jacob do? Jacob arranges for gifts of animals to be sent to his brother, Esau. Goats, and rams, and camels, and cows, and donkeys. Jacob thinks, “I may appease [Esau] with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me” (Genesis 32:20b). Like Jacob, you can fall into the temptation of trying to make satisfaction for your sins. To try to appease the Lord you arrange for offerings to go ahead of you: your prayer and devotion… your money and your service. What need does the mighty hunter, Esau, the commander of the Edomite army, have for Jacob’s train of animals? And what need does the Almighty God, the Ancient of Days and the King of the Universe, have for all your works and effort? What can you possibly do to appease the wrath of God?

Before Jacob sees the face of Esau, he meets Another face-to-face, and here is where our Old Testament reading begins. Jacob sends his family across the ford of the Jabbok River and stands alone, separated from all that he has. Left alone, distressed and greatly afraid, this is where Jacob is encountered by the preincarnate Christ. Jacob will later say of this encounter, “I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered” (Genesis 32:30b). The text reads, “And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day” (Genesis 32:24). Jacob wrestles with our Lord until the next morning. Our Lord puts Jacob’s hip socket out of joint, but Jacob doesn’t let go. Jacob is convicted of his sins… he knows he is unworthy, and yet he has been given the faith that looks only to the Word and Promise of God for salvation. Jacob says to our Lord, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26b). And then, like his father’s father, Abraham, the Lord blesses Jacob with a new name.

You know the name…, “Israel.” It comes from the Hebrew roots SARAH: to contend, strive, or persist… and EL: God. God gives this name to Jacob to commemorate his striving with Him there on the banks of the Jabbok river, but also to mark Jacob as one who has graciously been given the privilege to wrestle with God, to fervently seek – and receive – forgiveness and blessing from the Lord.

By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the name “Israel” will be uttered by the prophets, the psalmists, the evangelists, and the apostles over 2,500 times. The name that was initially given to one man, Jacob, will eventually refer to his children, then to a nation of his offspring, and in the fullness of time the promise and blessing given to Israel is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. Now, through the one man, Jesus Christ, Israel – as you know it – has come to refer to Christ’s Church… to all believers… to you. Paul writes to the Romans: “[N]ot all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring […] [I]t is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Romans 9:6-8). And to the Corinthians: “For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus Christ]” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

The next morning, as Jacob limped along, he saw Esau coming, his 400 men with him. “Esau ran to meet [Jacob] and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept” (Genesis 33:4). Jacob discovered that Esau had no need for his gifts; he and his men were not set on battle. Instead, they were a convoy of grace and mercy and peace.

So, what can you possibly do to appease the wrath of God? What can you do to avoid his righteous punishment? One day you will stand before the Lord Christ, the Almighty and Righteous Judge, He is the one who knows best all that you have done in thought, and word, and deed. And on that day you will see that He does not condemn you. On that day you will see that the devil is a liar. All your foolish and faithless deeds were forgiven long ago. Christ, with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, has purchased and won you from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. You were baptized, you were sealed with the name of the Triune God and all of your sins are washed away. Repent and believe the Gospel, you are the Israel of God, “[a]nd he [has] redeem[ed] Israel from all his iniquities” (Psalm 130:8). “Peace be upon Israel” (Psalm 125:5b). In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Posted on by pastorkevinjud

God’s Promises

WORSHIP VIDEO LINK (linked after 10:45 AM Service)

WORSHIP AUDIO LINK

SERMON AUDIO LINK

BULLETIN

SERMON TEXT BELOW

Pentecost 10, 2024
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
July 28, 2024
Genesis 9:8-17, Ephesians 3:14-21, Mark 6:45-56

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            Have you ever seen a doomsday movie where the hero emerges from an underground shelter to the new, post-apocalyptic world? The unlikely hero blinks at the light and looks around at the destruction and then tries to overcome the challenges of life in the harshness of the new world. 

            For Noah and his wife and his sons and their wives it is no fiction.  For a year they have been sealed up in a coffin-shaped ark filled with the sounds and smells of the most complete zoo of all times.  For an entire year they have been confined in a floating menagerie 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. 

            God has destroyed the earth with a flood because of the sins of man.  In that ark is all that is left of humanity as well as the birds and land animals that will repopulate the earth. 

The story of Noah’s Ark is an incredibly harsh story, but I think sometimes we can get distracted by the perceived cuteness of the ark and the animals. There are children’s nurseries decorated in a Noah’s Ark theme with two elephants coming down the gangplank and two giraffes’ heads sticking out of the top of an adorable little boat which appears to be a terribly overloaded bathtub toy.  In the background, there is a rainbow.

            Animals are cute and all but I think that may mask the reality.  The story of Noah’s Ark is a story of worldwide extermination.  It is God’s wrath coming down upon sinful humans in the complete devastation of a deadly, worldwide flood. 

            The world’s population is reduced to eight souls closed up in a tiny speck of a boat on the vast, endless ocean.  After what must have been a very long year, the waters finally recede and the land emerges.  The ark comes to rest on a mountain and the eight people and all the creatures come out of the ark.

            How strange it must be for Noah and his family emerging into an empty world.  There is no one else around; everyone is gone, drowned in the deluge.  The eight survivors likely feel very vulnerable in the aftermath of God’s wrath and any rain storm may now trigger horrible memories and fears.  

            God speaks to Noah and his family and makes a promise to them that He will never again destroy the earth with the waters of a flood. This promise is to Noah and his wife and his sons and their wives and their offspring, including you.  It is a promise to every living creature coming off the ark, God will never again destroy the earth with water.  And God gives Himself a sign to remember His promise. God sets a bow in the cloud as a sign of the covenant.  The bow, a rainbow, is a sign for God that will remind Him that when He sends rain He will never again use it to destroy the earth.  And it is a sign to us of God’s covenant promise.  So, perhaps in the nursery of one of Noah’s great-great grandchildren, a scene of his Ark and the rainbow is a good reminder of God’s promise. 

            It is an awesome thing to see a rainbow, all those amazing colors painting the sky.  I have heard that in days past children were taught to say the Lord’s Prayer when they saw a rainbow.  I don’t remember doing that.  At my house, growing up, my mom would give us a Popsicle to celebrate a rainbow.  When you see one, you want to share it with others. Rainbows are special.

            But the true meaning of the rainbow lately has gotten obscured.  We have tales of the Leprechaun’s pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, we have Judy Garland singing “Over the Rainbow” in the “Wizard of Oz”.  Gay rights groups resonated with Garland’s rough and tumble battles in life and adopted a rainbow flag as a symbol of their movement.  And so now if you see a rainbow symbol at a church it is not clear what it means. 

Interestingly, the pride flag has only six colors whereas God’s rainbow has seven. Six is the number of man, seven, the number of God.  God’s rainbow is the sign of His promise to you as the offspring of Noah.  And that promise is still in effect today; never again a great flood. 

            And you can see evidence of that great flood all around you.  The stones of this building are full of fossil evidence of the flood.  As you look at the rocks and see fossil remains of countless animals buried in rock layers, you are reminded that where you sit today was the bottom of an ocean thousands of feet deep.  When you see the fossil remains of an animal, you are reminded of God’s judgment at the time of Noah. 

            And when you see a rainbow in the sky, remember God’s promise to never again destroy the earth with a flood.  Never again with a flood…but the earth will be destroyed.  God has promised to destroy the earth on the last day… with fire.  The judgment day is coming and even then there will be a rainbow. 

            In the Revelation of John we see the rainbow surrounding the throne of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus.  Jesus sits on the judgment seat surrounded by a rainbow and this is good news.

            But how can the judgment throne of God be good news? God is perfect and you are flawed. God is Holy and you are a sinner. When Martin Luther was a monk he feared the judgment throne.  Luther writes, “For I did not believe in Christ; I regarded Him only as a severe and terrible Judge, portrayed as seated on a rainbow.”[1]

            But after Luther discovered the Gospel he looked forward to the Day of Judgment with joy, “Therefore we who come to Christ want to have Him as a gracious Lord. The rainbow on which He sits enthroned does not terrify me; it appears for my salvation. We do not look upon Him as a judge. He will call for us. He will not reject us. He will also protect us against the devil.” [2]

            God has made a promise to you in Christ Jesus.  You need not fear the judgment because you are covered by the grace of Jesus.  You still have the sign of the rainbow that God will not destroy the world with water. Now He saves with water.  As we hear in  1 Peter 3:20–21 (ESV) 20 … they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” 

You have water as a sign and method of salvation through Holy Baptism.  How do you know you are saved?  Because you have been baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection.

            And you have the sign and method of salvation in Holy Communion.  How do you know Jesus died for you and promises you salvation?  Because He has given you His flesh to eat and His blood to drink.

            You have the sign of the holy cross showing you how Jesus saves you, as Luther writes, “To us in the New Testament, Baptism and the Eucharist have been given as the visible signs of grace, so that we might firmly believe that our sins have been forgiven through Christ’s suffering and that we have been redeemed by His death. Thus the church has never been deprived to such an extent of outward signs that it became impossible to know where God could surely be found.”[3]

            God has promised to save you.  He gives you baptism.  He gives you Holy Communion.  Trust God. 

When you see a rainbow, take a moment to ponder what Noah and his family must have been thinking when they emerged from the Ark, and what an amazing promise God made to them with the rainbow.  When you see water, remember the promise of your baptism.  When you see bread or wine, remember God’s promise to you in Holy Communion.  When you see a cross remember you are forgiven in the blood of Jesus.  Remember you are free in Christ.  Amen.

[1] (Luther’s Works 24), S. 24:24

[2] (Luther’s Works 23), S. 23:61

[3] (Luther’s Works 1), S. 1:248