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Series A – All Saints’ Day (observed) – Sunday, November 05, 2023 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough

Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:22	The holy Gospel
0:29	According to St Matthew the 5th chapter
0:38	Glory seeing the crowds Jesus went up on the mountain and when he sat down his disciples came to him he opened his
0:45	mouth and he taught them saying blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the
0:50	Kingdom of Heaven blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted
0:55	blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth and blessed are are those who hunger and thirst for
1:02	righteousness for they shall be satisfied blessed are the merciful they
1:07	shall receive mercy and blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God blessed are the peacemakers for they
1:13	shall be called the sons of God and blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the
1:20	kingdom of heaven and blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you
1:25	and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven
1:32	for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you this is the gospel of the Lord in the name of Jesus amen amen
1:40	weird place to start but I’m going to do something a little odd today we’re going to start in the book of Exodus I want to
1:45	remind you of something from the types and shadows uh regarding the Passover and in the Passover you remember they
1:52	were required to sacrifice a lamb consume it and then the Destroyer was going to be coming through Egypt here’s
1:58	how the text goes in Exodus chapter 12 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt this month shall be for
2:05	you the beginning of months it shall be the first month for the year for you tell all the congregation of Israel that
2:12	on the 10th day of the month every man shall take a lamb according to their father’s houses a lamb for a household
2:19	and if the household is too small for a lamb then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of
2:26	persons according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb
2:31	your lamb shall be without blemish a male a year old you may eat it from the sheep or from the goats you shall keep
2:38	it until the 14th day of the month when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at
2:45	Twilight then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lentil of the houses
2:50	in which they eat it and they shall eat the flesh that night roasted on the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs
2:57	they shall eat it do not eat any any of it raw or boiled in water but roasted its head with its legs and its inner
3:04	parts and you shall let none of it remain until the morning anything that remains until the morning you shall burn
3:10	in this manner you shall eat it with your belt fastened your sandals on your feet your staff in your hand you shall
3:16	eat it in haste it is yahweh’s Passover for I will pass through the land of Egypt that night and I will strike all
3:23	the firstborn of the land of Egypt both man and Beast and on all the gods of
3:28	Egypt I will execute judgments I am Yahweh but the blood shall be a sign for
3:34	you on the houses where you are and when I see the blood I will pass over you no
3:39	plague will befall you to destroy you and when I strike the land of Egypt and
3:45	then you’ll note as as God promised he sent the destroyer and then we learn
3:51	that uh everybody in Egypt who didn’t have blood on their doors they had
3:56	somebody dead in their households it says this in verse 30 Pharaoh rose up in the night he and all of his servants and
4:02	the Egyptians and there was a great cry in Egypt for there was not a house where someone was not dead and so we note then
4:11	in the types and shadows that when God acts in judgment he makes a distinction
4:16	is distinction between those who believe his words and those who do not believe those who hear his word and heed his
4:23	call and by believing take action trusting then in Yahweh God sends the
4:30	Destroyer through and he sees the sign the token the blood on the door the blood is there the Destroyer passes
4:36	through nobody dies everybody else who says bahug Yahweh which is not a good
4:42	thing to put on your bumper stickers by the way baham bug Yahweh they end up with dead people in their household and
4:48	I would note something here we just read the commemoration of the Roll Call of
4:55	faith those who have died in the faith and I’ve been at kongsvinger long enough that I’ve done a few funerals right in
5:01	fact always fascinating to me when I talk with other pastors about their experience with funerals because we
5:07	pastors kind of all are noticing a general change in the culture and so
5:12	when I was at the 1517 conference um it was kind of interesting I was talking with the Missouri Senate Pastor from the
5:18	Illinois district and he was saying boy things have really changed in his neck of the woods few people want funerals
5:25	anymore he said they all want to do these celebration of life things and then he noted that something weird
5:32	happens during the celebration of life things and he’s been to a few of them now because people he’s known have died
5:37	and this was their funeral is that at these events people try to talk the dead
5:44	person into the kingdom of heaven based upon all the good things that they did
5:49	oh Fred here Fred was a great guy he served in the Rotary Club and he was
5:54	somebody who was really a pillar in the community and I remember one time when I had lost my dog Fred brought my dog to
6:01	me what a great guy Fred was and we know that Fred is in a greater in a in a better place and they talk and talk and
6:08	talk about all the good things that the person who is dead had
6:13	done and then I kind of laughed the pastor regaling me with the story I said
6:18	the last four funerals I’ve done I’ve always pointed to the corpse and said the reason why the person’s there is
6:23	because they were a sinner think about that for a second let
6:30	that settle in the wages of sin is death but yet in the types and shadows when
6:35	the Destroyer comes through they don’t die yet I’ve done a few funerals so how
6:43	do we reconcile all of this because hasn’t the Destroyer come to visit us all and the answer is yeah in fact in
6:50	the Roseboro family in the last three weeks we’ve had two prominent members of our family die one from cancer and one
6:57	all of a sudden she was in her bathroom getting ready for the morning and she just collapsed and died this just
7:03	happened last week and so death again comes and visits us all every household has dead people and here’s where the
7:10	first reading for today from The Book of Revelation is super helpful because in
7:16	here in this text the veil is lifted sorry to use that term because I know
7:21	the psychics and the mediums have taken that over right oh look the veil is thin here knock that off right the veil here
7:28	is lifted and we can see what happens cuz remember Christ says in John 11 I am
7:35	the resurrection and the life anyone who believes in me even though he dies yet
7:40	shall he live anyone who believes in me will never die he says have you noticed
7:47	this really obstinate thing that uh happens in the new test Testament it’s a fascinating thing altogether that
7:53	Christians because of the Resurrection because of this reality that we will never die they refuse to recognize that
8:00	Christians are dead they always refer to them as asleep yeah well Grandpa Joe you know he he fell asleep about 10 years
8:06	ago he’s napping out there in the in the graveyard but you’ll note that Christians they don’t refer to those who
8:12	perished in the faith as perished but asleep and then in fact that’s exactly what their bodies are doing they’re
8:18	sleeping there resting very nicely um and while they’re there uh their spirit
8:23	is Before the Throne of Christ and here’s where we must pay attention to the reality that awaits all of us should
8:30	Christ continue to T after this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one
8:36	could number from every nation from all tribes and peoples and languages
8:41	standing Before the Throne before the lamb clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands it’s a glorious
8:48	picture if you would so you’ll note that those who are saved who worship Before
8:54	the Throne of Christ they are from All Peoples tribes Nations languages just as
9:00	Christ said so we are to continue to be about the business of proclaiming Christ and him crucified for our sins and
9:07	announcing to the world that in Jesus is the Forgiveness of sins and so the missionary work continues but here we
9:14	get this picture that people from all over the world including the Norwegians which is kind of weird if you think
9:19	about it I’m sorry I just had to pick on the Norwegians today even they are there
9:25	and what are they crying out listen to their what their cry is salv Belongs To Our God who sits on the
9:32	throne and to the lamb what a statement work this out for a sec second salvation
9:39	Belongs To Our God by saying that these Saints are saying that salvation belongs
9:45	to no other God only to our god salvation belongs and you can hear all
9:50	the woke folks screaming and reaching and all the things that they do how dare you say such a thing you bigoted people
9:57	you narrow-minded folks how dare you think that salvation only belongs to your God and that there’s salvation in
10:03	no other one than Jesus Christ get over it that’s
10:09	reality there is salvation in no one else salvation Belongs To Our God and to
10:15	no other God cu no other God exists and in great love our God has sent his only
10:21	begotten son who then well conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary he
10:28	submitted himself self in obedience to God and he was perfect and sinless for
10:34	you for me and by his death on the cross bleeding and dying for our sins has
10:40	reconciled us to God and as a result of it we do not suffer the wages of our sin
10:46	as we deserve instead he gives us reconciliation peace forgiveness and
10:53	eternal life indeed salvation belongs only to our God and to no other God so
10:59	salvation Belongs To Our God who sits on the throne and to his lamb and all the angels in response to what the Saints
11:07	the dearly departed are proclaiming about Christ they fall on their faces
11:14	before the throne and they worship God saying amen you human beings have it
11:19	right blessing and glory and wisdom and Thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our god forever and ever
11:27	amen this is where ardan is this is where Ruben
11:35	is this is where Walter is and arand sangram and Peggy
11:43	Sandberg all of our dearly departed ones we lament and we mourn for the loss but
11:51	note this they are before Christ’s Throne they haven’t perished they didn’t
11:58	die in the the truest sense they were already dead when they were buried with
12:03	Christ in the waters of baptism just like you and the only difference between them and us is that they are the church
12:11	triumphant we are the still the church militant there are still battles to be waged I was um noting I was walking
12:19	through social media and as we get closer to All Saints there are some Lutheran pastors who like to talk about
12:25	church history and church art and so when we confess the communion of the Saints which is the community of
12:31	Believers we must always understand that this involves two groups the Earth
12:36	present here the group here and the the group that is Before the Throne of Christ which I think by now is probably
12:43	the bigger group but you’ll note that in our L liturgy we say words like this
12:48	therefore With Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven we l and
12:54	magnify your glorious name there is a true sense in which we unite our voices
13:00	to theirs and together we all worship Christ here on Earth and there in heaven
13:06	and some of the bigger churches that have the room they sometimes paint or depict Angels and Archangels around the
13:13	altar to remind us that even if there’s only three people in kongsvinger
13:19	Lutheran Church On Any Given Divine service we never worship alone and it’s a beautiful picture amen
13:27	blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks giving and honor and power and might be to our god forever and
13:33	ever and so the Elder who’s taking the Apostle John through his trip through
13:40	Heaven he addressed him saying so who are these clothed in white robes and from where have they come I hate it when
13:47	you know when somebody ask me a question and I know they have the answer and it’s clear I don’t okay I don’t ever have
13:53	like a really good comeback I don’t really know what to say but I like what John says here well sir you know that’s
13:59	a good way to put it he like I don’t know the answer but you do so why don’t you enlighten me right so he said to me
14:05	these are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation and by the way read the opening chapter of the gos of the
14:11	The Book of Revelation and you see that John is making it clear that he’s a participant in the tribulation already
14:17	back 2,000 years ago tribulation began when Christ ascended into heaven and
14:23	continues until the day when he returns in glory to judge the living and the dead these are the ones these are all of
14:30	those who die in the faith coming out of the Great Tribulation they have washed their robes made them white in the blood
14:36	of the lamb and here’s where we must take these comforting words and let them
14:42	come back to us because here’s the thing we have all been baptized and the active
14:48	ingredient in baptism is always the word of God but I think that this helps us to
14:53	understand there’s a little bit more than God’s word in play in the waters of baptism they’re the blood of Christ also
14:59	resides the blood of Christ given and shed for the Forgiveness of our sins and when we are washed in the waters of
15:05	baptism all of our sins are are washed away and the stain that we have put upon
15:12	ourselves and the filth and the muck of our own sin all of that is washed away
15:17	and rather than the tattered Rags of sin we are given the perfect sinless
15:23	righteousness of Christ exemplified here in these glorious w white robes white
15:30	robes washed in the blood of the lamb and that’s a reality for all of us and
15:35	it’s important to note that we here on Earth who are still part of the church militant it’s difficult for us to see
15:43	that we are Christians I I I know that seems like an odd thing to say but Luther actually writes to this amount to
15:50	this degree and this idea that Christians have a hard time seeing that they’re Christians because every single
15:57	one of us is buffeted by the Temptations of the world the uh the devil and our
16:03	own sinful flesh and so the experience of being a Christian is becoming even more and more daily aware of just how
16:11	far short of the glory of God we have fallen and how none of us keeps God’s
16:17	law perfectly as a result of that the experience of being a Christian is the
16:22	experience of having a greater and greater number of sins forgiven by
16:27	Christ the new person that you are in Jesus is wrestling and saddled with your
16:33	old sinful flesh and so these words are the reality that our faith hangs on to
16:39	so that we do not lose sight of the goal where we are heading the Terminus of of
16:45	all of this those who have made their their robes white in the blood of the Lamb they are Before the Throne they
16:53	serve God day and night in his Temple and he who sits on the throne he will shelter them in his presence they will
17:00	hunger no more neither thirst anymore the sun shall not strike them nor any
17:07	scorching heat for the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd and he will guide them to Springs of Living
17:13	Water and God himself will wipe away every tear from their eyes what a beautiful picture and yes brothers and
17:20	sisters you are the ones who are forgiven you are the ones who are clothed in this righteousness of Christ
17:25	you will see God with your own eyes you you yourself will worship in the
17:31	presence of Christ around his throne and even Christ himself will wipe away every
17:36	tear from your eyes because you’ll note that when we arrive it’s going to be
17:41	both a joyous and I would even say a heart saddening experience joyous that
17:48	we are there sad for who is not as we continue we got to keep these things in
17:54	mind and so brothers and sisters don’t ever lose sight then of this truth though your sins be as Scarlet Christ
18:00	has washed them all away today you heard the words of the Absolution and those were not my words and it wasn’t my
18:08	forgiveness that was the Forgiveness of Jesus himself he is the judge in the
18:13	courts of heaven and he has declared each and every one of you not guilty by
18:19	virtue of the fact that he has taken your sins upon himself and Justified us
18:25	and fulfilled the wrath of God and met the justice of God perfectly for each of
18:30	us is it any Wonder then that our epistle for All Saints is this glorious
18:36	passage from first John that reads see what kind of love the father has given
18:41	to us emphasis on the word given you didn’t earn this in fact salvation
18:48	Belongs To Our God and you know what our God chooses to do with his salvation he gives it to you for free you can’t pay
18:56	for it if you tried it is only a gift that can be received see what kind of
19:01	love the father has given to us that we these folks this rag tag Misfits here at
19:09	kongsvinger Lutheran Church and those of you joining us online I know you fit that description as
19:15	well but think of it see what kind of love the father has given to us that we
19:21	the misfit Sinners that we are that we should be called the children of God
19:26	it’s scandalous yet it’s true and so we are you are not hoping someday to be a
19:33	child of God you who are hearing me who believe in Jesus Christ you are now a
19:40	child of God Rest assured Jesus has bled and died for you and he has given you
19:46	Faith so you are a child of God one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard and
19:52	read was maybe about nine 10ish years ago there was kind of a famous uh
19:58	Evangelical preacher who was talking about the fact that he doesn’t know if he’s a Christian but someday he hopes to
20:04	become one and he was a pastor and you just sit there and go what on Earth are you talking about and he noted then that
20:12	he doesn’t love his neighbor as he should he doesn’t love God as much as he should and as a result of that he has
20:19	doubts as to whether or not it would be right for him to identify as a Christian but he’s hoping that if he can get his
20:24	act together be intentional enough really really mean it this time that someday he might be able to say that he
20:31	is a Christian if you are waiting for yourself to get to that point you will never become a Christian because you
20:38	can’t earn it anyway being a Christian is something gifted to us given to us by God it is
20:47	something that we receive and cherish as the great gift that it is so we are now
20:54	the children of God the reason the world doesn’t know us is is that it did not know Jesus beloved we are God’s children
21:02	now John writes and what we will be has not yet appeared and I would note this
21:08	even those Before the Throne of Christ what they will be has not yet appeared have you noticed the wisdom of our god
21:15	he has chosen that we all together will rise from the grave on the same exact
21:23	day Peter will not receive his glorified resurrected body body the a different
21:30	day than you receive it Paul will not receive his glorified body any different
21:36	than the day that you receive it you are going to receive it on the exact same day the same day that we receive it with
21:43	all of those who’ve gone before us we’re all going to be resurrected
21:50	together and the new time on the new Earth will begin with that with Christ’s
21:56	return and our Resurrection res rection so we are God’s children now what we will be has not yet appeared we know
22:03	though that when he appears we’re going to be like him because we shall see him as he is and I would note that this is
22:10	another passage that puts a stake in that vampire Doctrine called Purgatory it’s nonsense by the way we’re all
22:18	transformed in the twinkling of an eye when Christ appears then we will be like
22:23	him we don’t have to spend millions of years in purgatory burning off the dross of our sin it’s a nonsensical doctrine
22:31	that denies great passages like this so when he appears we shall be like him we will see him as he is and everyone who
22:38	thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure and we are made pure through the
22:45	good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we are forgiven in him is it any
22:51	Wonder then that our gospel text always and again when this text comes around it’s oh such a wonderful wonderful
22:58	Sunday because here again we can see in Jesus’s first sermon he doesn’t declare
23:04	curses upon those who believe in him he doesn’t curse us and weigh us down with
23:09	the weight of the law and say get your act together and maybe you just maybe you might earn it instead Christ begins
23:16	his ministry with these words blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the
23:24	Kingdom of Heaven let that sink in when you look in the mirror of God’s law
23:31	do you see a bright shiny reflection coming back to you of one who is getting
23:36	better and better each and every day where somehow by the time you get into your 70s it’ll be so difficult to be in
23:43	your presence because we’ll all have to wear sunglasses
23:49	no when we look into the mirror of God’s law what do we see poor weak miserable
23:57	ungodly Sinners who despite their best intentions despite their greatest
24:03	desires to do Godly things still continue to struggle and wrestle with
24:09	sin there isn’t a week that goes by that I do not hear you guys confess that you are by Nature sinful and unclean that
24:16	you’ve sinned against God and thought word and deed and that’s the point we when we confess our sin we are
24:22	confessing that we are the poor in spirit that we are literally the bankrupt we have nothing to offer to God
24:30	and Christ says yours is the Kingdom of Heaven only the person who recognizes
24:35	that they have nothing to offer God can then have their hands empty enough empty
24:41	to the point where Christ can put the gift of Salvation into their empty hands and that’s the point and blessed
24:49	are those who mourn again this is not the mour of mourning over those who die who we love and miss this is the
24:54	mourning and lamenting of your own sin Christ assur ures you that you will be comforted in fact you have been
25:00	comforted today with the assurance that you are forgiven in Christ today we will Feast on the very body and blood of
25:06	Jesus if you want more comfort you can have it you come to the altar you come to the rail and you hear and hang on to
25:13	these words this is the body of Christ given in t to death for the Forgiveness of your sins this is the blood of Christ
25:20	shed for you for the Forgiveness of your sins this is the comfort that Christ gives us
25:26	now so hold on to it for the comforting thing that it is blessed are the meek
25:34	for they shall inherit the earth kind of a funny thing there’s been a Resurgence of Nazism lately and it’s taken a taken
25:41	a form within the Missouri Senate which is a very te terrible awful thing and I
25:47	would note having read about Hitler quite extensively uh Hitler hated this
25:52	verse absolutely loathed and despised it
25:57	he basically panned it as a Jewish notion blessed are the meek you’ve got
26:05	to be kidding what kind of nonsense is this what was what was Hitler all about
26:11	well Hitler was all about strength and he was going to be the one that was going to be the savior of deuts land he
26:17	was the one who’s going to bring them into a millennial thousand year Reich of
26:23	Victory after Victory and you know success after success and anybody who thinks that it’s about being Meek isn’t
26:30	taking their place in our Victorious Community right this is the way he
26:36	taught and how long did his Thousand-Year Reich last exactly 12
26:41	years eight months something like that so much for that right but I would
26:47	note Hitler has now been humbled but not in a way that brings about his
26:53	salvation so blessed are the meek when you recognize that you have nothing to
26:59	offer God and you mourn and lament your sin do you think for a second you’re going to be the opposite of Meek before
27:06	God indeed having God’s law do its work in us we cannot help but be meek and
27:13	come to God in weakness but God Christ assures us we will inherit the earth not
27:20	the strong not the mighty not the powerful not the resourceful not those
27:26	with the greatest military might no it is the meek the Christians who on their knees pre daily pray to God forgive us
27:34	our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us these are the ones
27:40	who will inherit the earth and indeed the Earth is already yours we’re just waiting for the deed to be passed to us
27:47	blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness they shall be satisfied again I keep pointing it out I
27:54	say it like almost every week now have you noticed how crazy the world has got Goten have you noticed how awful our
28:00	politicians are completely inept immoral
28:07	corrupt just full of nonsense I I feel like anybody who spends a lot of time
28:13	reading the political news that it it listen watch Major League Baseball
28:20	Instead at least the twins what won half of their games this past year right but
28:26	when you’re meing politics it’s like a daily March of complete failure moral
28:32	failure more failure on top of failure and if your hope is in the Republican Party how many weeks did it take them to
28:39	pick a speaker of the house right do you is your hope in the
28:49	politicians instead we hunger and thirst for
28:56	righteousness King Jesus when he returns is going to establish his kingdom and
29:01	it’s going to consume the whole earth there will not be a place where there on
29:06	planet Earth where there is an inept immoral stupid ignoramus incompetent
29:13	politician King Jesus is the the complete opposite of all of that do you
29:19	yearn for that world do you Lament The Brokenness of our own glorious
29:26	country then you are legitimately hungering and thirsting for that righteousness for our king of kings and
29:33	Lord of lords to establish his throne over the Earth visibly forever and to be
29:38	done with the kingdoms of men blessed are the merciful they shall receive
29:44	Mercy this is why we pray daily forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and blessed are
29:51	the pure in heart for they shall see God and I can hear some of you going well there it is there’s the bit that doesn’t
29:57	apply to me baloney it applies to all of us because you’ll note in the waters of
30:02	baptism Christ replaced Your Heart of Stone with a heart of Flesh and that heart that he has given you is pure in
30:09	him and has only pure desires it is your sinful flesh that Wars against the desires of the pure heart that Christ
30:15	gave you but note this you who have been baptized who trust in Christ’s promises
30:21	you will see God not in a terrifying way but in a way where God where Christ
30:27	himself will say to you well done good and faithful servant and blessed are the
30:34	peacemakers those who go and preach the gospel and Proclaim to people that there is peace and Reconciliation in Christ
30:41	and that God has sent his son to bleed and to die for them those who preach this gospel and make peace between God
30:48	and men they shall be called the sons of God and who of us has not shared the good news of Christ and him crucified
30:56	with our neighbors our friends friends our family members and Those whom we love and blessed are those who are
31:01	persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven You Preach Christ you will be despised by
31:07	the world you preach Christ you’re going to be despised by a lot of people who call themselves Christians persecution
31:13	comes in all kinds of forms in fact Christ goes on to say and blessed are you when others revile you and persecute
31:20	you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account I know a thing
31:26	or two about that I’m supposed to be a cult leader you know here in Oslo all
31:31	right but those who speak such words they they they persecuting me and reviling me with all kinds of false
31:38	words and also you by extension by the way note then rejoice and be glad your
31:43	reward is great in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you brothers and sisters I have no bad
31:49	news to announce to you none whatsoever today only the good news that what is
31:54	coming will arrive you will will stand Before the Throne of Christ you will worship in his presence you have been
32:02	forgiven salvation Belongs To Our God and he has given it to
32:09	you I think I should just end there that’s a good place to stop there’s nothing more to be said in the name of
32:16	Jesus
32:22	Amen

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