February 2012 Sermons

admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:21:52 +0000

Septuagesima Sunday
It’s not “fair”, you think. Men should be paid according to their work. Those who worked longer should be paid more. We think God ought reward us according to our efforts. We have been quick to complain about the shortcomings of others. We have expected that God will grant us a greater reward because it seems to us that we have worked harder. But thanks be to God, it is not “fair”. What would be “fair” is that each of us be condemned on Judgment Day, for each of us has sinned. That would be “fair”. But in His great mercy, the Master of the Vineyard rewards us not according to what we have earned, but according to what Christ earned for us. He freely gives us the denarius of eternal salvation, bought with Christ’s shed blood. It isn’t “fair”. It is gracious. It is an act of boundless love.
Download: 2-5-2012 Matthew 20:1-16
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Sexagesima
The Word of God is precious. It is Holy. It is the Word, the Seed, that works, not the sower. The sower is but a servant of Christ, casting His Word over all types of men. Most will not bring forth fruit. But in His mercy, in His grace, still God sends sowers to cast His Seed, that by that Word men come to faith and be saved. His Seed is trodden down. His Seed can not find root in stony hearts and it withers. His Seed is choked out as sinful men are consumed with the cares of the world. But in you, dear Christian, that Word works. It brings forth fruit by God’s power, as He washes, feeds, nourishes and forgives you. For you that precious Seed brings forth eternal life.
Download: 2-12-2012 Luke 8:4-15
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Quinqasagesima
The blind man saw clearly. He calls our Lord “Son of David”, a sure confession that He is the Seed of the woman, the Messiah Promised of old, the Shoot from the stump of Jesse, the Child of the Virgin promised through the Prophet Isaiah, Immanuel, God with us. And this he did near Jericho, the gateway provided by God to Joshua and the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. But now the new and better Joshua drew near Jericho, the Savior that by His death and resurrection would provide a Way for lost and fallen men to be reconciled to God, Who would open the Way to heaven that He might lead the true people of God out of captivity and danger and in to their promised rest.

Download: 2-19-2012 Luke 18:31-43
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January 2012 Sermons

admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:37:33 +0000

Merry 8th Day of Christmastide to you!

The Circumcision of Our Lord
On the eighth day was the Blood of the Messiah first shed. Those few drops of Infant Blood were signs of the Blood He would shed, not at the edge of a flint knife, but by the points of the nails and the spear. As was His Baptism, His Circumcision was unlike any before or after. For by His circumcision the Giver of the Law placed Himself under it, the Holy One, the Seed of Abraham by whom circumcision was given, needing no circumcision, submit to the Law in your place, that you might be circumcised not of flesh, but of heart, and that the Promise be made yours.
Download: January 1st, 2012 Luke 2:21
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The Holy Name of Jesus
Download: January 2nd, 2012 The Holy Name of Jesus
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Epiphany 1 wasn’t recorded due to illness.

Epiphany 2 – While Pr. Braden is teaching in Venezuela, Pr. Gary Schultz is preaching.

Download: January 15th, 2012 – John 2:1-11
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Epiphany 3 – Preached by Pr. Gary Schultz.

Download: January 22nd, 2012 – Matthew 8:1-13
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Transfiguration of Our Lord
After six days the God through Whom man was created was revealed as Man to Peter, James, and John. The One through whom all things were made Tabernacled in the fragile skin of His creation, the eternal bound to time, the Light veiled in Flesh, His Divine Nature now manifest to men in the greatest of His Epiphanies. What Moses and Elijah long to see they beheld, the Prophetic Word confirmed. Yet fallen men build tents to try to force God to be where they think best, working as they think right. We, like Peter, would place God where we think He fits in our lives, and then direct the rest of our lives as we see fit. But tents could not hold Him. He is the Only Begotten Son in Whom the Father is well pleased. By cross and tomb and Easter morn He fulfilled both Law and Prophet, pleasing the Father well, that in Him you too be made a son.
Download: January 22nd, 2012 – Matthew 8:1-13
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December 2011 Sermons

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:51:44 +0000

Second Sunday in Advent
“There will be signs…” says the Lord. The signs are already all around us. Perversity and sin are not only allowed, they are the law of the land. Secularists and pagans attack the only true faith at every turn. Riots across the globe mark what Jesus calls “distress of nations.” When these signs appear, Christ has promised “look up, and lift up your heads…” His final Advent is one of judgment. And Malachi prophesied of the horrors of that Day. But for the Christian, it is a blessed Day to which we look in hope, for the same Christ has promised of that Day “… your redemption draws near.” That Day is the answer to our prayer “Thy Kingdom come.” But the coming Lord does not impoverish His Church until that Day. He blesses you richly as He comes to you in His Mysteries. This He does to prepare you for that Day, that the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Download: Luke 21:25-33
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Third Sunday in Advent
Each day was good. But the sixth day was very good. The pinnacle of God’s creation was man. When they were created, male and female, the creation was complete. It was very good because the man bore the image and likeness of the God who created him. But it is not so any longer. The corruption of the creation is pervasive. Men die, even those we love. And the death they die is a death common to all men, for all sin. But note the Words of our Lord. Note the signs of His Advent that He demonstrates to John: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. It is the beginning of the new creation. And that new creation has begun in you also, by the same Christ, with the restoration of God’s image. Soon the Coming One comes, and the heavens and the earth will pass away, and the new creation will be finished for all eternity.
Download: 12-11-2011 Matthew 11:2-10
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4th Sunday in Advent
God promised a Prophet like Moses, that His voice again be heard. But as John stood in the Jordan waters, he said “I am not the Christ.” He baptized by God’s command, but the One who was coming after Him was preferred before him. John was a voice, but not the Promised Voice. Moses led Israel to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land, John called Israel out of the Promised Land and back to the Jordan to confess their sinfulness. But John could not cure their sinfulness. He could only preach the One who would, the One Whose baptism would work forgiveness and give the Holy Spirit, the Prophet raised up from among their brethren nailed to the tree. The One born in Bethlehem would be the Wisdom of God, the Lord, the Root of Jesse, the Key of David, the Rising Sun, the King of the Nations, Emmanuel.
Download: December 18th, 2001 John 1:19-28
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Christmass (10am service)
The Word became Flesh. The Eternal bound Himself to time, the Uncreated humbled Himself to be born. The brightness of God’s Glory and the express image of His Person lay cradled in the Virgin’s arms. Heavenly Holiness Incarnate, the Light of men, pierced the darkness of this fallen world. But darkness cannot accommodate light. So His own received Him not. The Flesh that the Word took on would be torn. But as many as receive Him are declared children of God. In Bethlehem has the Arm of the Lord been revealed, in Him all the ends of the earth shall see the Salvation of our God.
Download: December 25th, 2011 John 1:1-17
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November Sermons

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:45:33 +0000

Third Last Sunday of the Church Year
The several distructions of Jerusalem, and the repeated enslavement of the Israelite people, were shadows of the times in which we live. The great tribulation has begun, but it grows slowly. The peril is real, the enemy is vigilant. But we flee not to mountain, but to the God who appeared to His people on the mountain 0 we flee not to His Law, but to His saving Gospel, where we receive the sure Promise of salvation in the face of ever-worsening horrors of this world. No matter how bad it gets, He is faithful. Marked as His elect, we stand confident of our eternal deliverance by the One who suffered even greater horrors, and died and rose for us.

11-6-2011 Matthew 24:15-28

Surprise! I recorded a Wednesday Chapel-Mass Sermon with my Android. The sound quality is not so great, I apologize.

Wednesday 11-9-2011

Second Last Sunday of the Church Year
There are sheep, and there are goats. They are very different. For a while, the sheep and goats are mixed, seemingly one flock. But do not be deceived – they are not one flock. They are two flocks. One will be sent to everlasting condemnation. The other will be given eternal life. The difference between the two flocks is their belief in the Shepherd. The sheep believe. They receive eternal life. That eternal life is not a reward for good works. It is the just reward for righteousness that is not the sheeps’, but freely given to them. From that righteousness flow works pleasing to the Shepherd. But true sheep are not aware even of their own good works. Such works are the fruit of faith, the automatic response of the believer to the love of God. These are the true sheep of the Shepherd, the true Flock, the blessed of the Father.

11-13-2011 Matthew 25:31-46

Last Sunday of the Church Year (Totenfest)
“The door was shut.” They are terrible words. No one else could enter. So it was at Eden. The flaming sword and cherubim were placed at Eden’s door that no one else could enter. But that closing ushered in the time of God’s grace. Even the condemnation of the serpent included a Promise. Now is the time in which the door to heaven is still open. Now is the time that saving faith is still poured out through Word and Sacrament into the lamps of the faithful. Soon, however, the Bridegroom will return, and the door to the wedding will be closed. So too will the gates of hell. Those dark gates keep the tormented in. There is fire aplenty inside for those who could not light their lamps. But the door to heaven keeps the unworthy out. There those found with lamps full dwell for eternity, safe, at peace, in everlasting joy.
11-20-2011 Matthew 25:1-13

Thanksgiving
11-24-2011 Thanksgiving 2001

First Sunday in Advent
The Covenant established, it was sealed in Blood. Blood was sprinkled on the people, on the altar, and Book of the Covenant was read. The people vowed “All that the Lord has said we will do.” God was faithful to His Covenant. But the people were not faithful. They broke the Covenant. In mercy, God did not allow them to perish. He promised a New Testament, the writing of the Law of God in the hearts and minds of the redeemed through the indwelling of the Spirit and faith – that men remember God, but God forget the sins of men. So did the faithful rejoice at the Triumphal entry of the long awaited Christ, crying “Hosanna in the highest!” For the Son of David came to usher in the New Testament, the Testament in His Blood. And so does the same Christ come now, in faithfulness to that Testament, for the forgiveness of your sins.
Download: Matthew 21:1-9
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Reformation Day

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:03:59 +0000

Sermon from Holy Mass for Reformation Day

Reformation Day Sermon 2011

I work tomorrow, so the sermon for All Saint’s Day will not be recorded. Holy Mass commemorating the Faithful Departed on Wednesday the 2nd will be in the Chapel (as are most Wednesday Masses), where there is no recording equipment. I hope to eventually be able to capture those sermons also.

October Sermons

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:01:52 +0000

October 2 – First Sunday after Michaelmass – Lost due to a Zoom Recorder malfunction.

Second Sunday after Michaelmass
In grace, in mercy, the King invites men to His celebration, the wedding of His Son. The house of the wedding feast is the holy catholic and Apostolic Church. It is truly God’s House, where He feeds His guests. All those who would not come are evil, but not all those who are admitted are good. The servants job is to gather, not judge. They gathered everyone they found, both good and bad. It is a picture of the church militant. We live in God’s Kingdom of Grace, where sinful, fallen men are invited to hear the saving Word. Now is the time that the unworthy are made sons of the King by His marvelous Mysteries. Now is the time He clothes men in the vestments of holiness. And on the last day He will come, and see upon you Christ’s righteousness, and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

10-9-2011 Matthew 22:1-14

Third Sunday after Michaelmass
The nobleman did not believe in Jesus. But his son was dying. And rich as he was, all his wealth availed nothing. So the rich man was made a beggar. So it is with every fallen man, for all men die. Our wealth, although God given, avails nothing. From the One who had not where to lay His head did the rich man seek help. He pleaded with Jesus to come heal his son. The Lord’s Word was proven true. Without signs and wonders they would not believe. So it is in mercy that He gives him the sign he sought. And hearing, seeing, he believed. So are we beggars before God. All men die. But the Lord of whom the nobleman begged can speak the dead to life, even from afar. And that is what He does for you.

10-16-2011 John 4:46-54

Fourth Sunday after Michaelmass
Peter sought a law. He desired to know what was required of him before God. But forgiveness is not of the Law. The Law only and always accuses. The answer to his question, seventy times seven, a boundless number, is expressive of the boundlessness of God’s grace. It is the answer of a loving God to the vow of Lamech. For indeed “…vengeance is mine, saith the Lord”, but it is His grace that is beyond measure. That we not become like unto the unmerciful servant, our Lord teaches us to pray “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”. But it is not we who are the fount and source of forgiveness, rather it is Christ. He is the Servant punished unmercifully for our debt, and delivered over to the torturers, that in His resurrection we be spared death. Believing in Him you are filled with the fruits of righteousness, and are made a partaker of His grace.

10-23-2011 Matthew 18:21-35

Fifth Sunday after Michaelmass
The flattery they engage in is hypocritical. To the One that can read hearts, it is transparent. The image that norms them is the fallen image. The inscription that marks them is the curse “to dust you shall return.”. They do not know the truth, but they know they don’t like it. For the Truth stands before them, and in the delusion of their corruption, they attempt to plot against Him. So are they to be rendered the father of lies. And so it is with any sinful man that justifies his sins, that is foolish enough to try to deceive God. But Christ is the image of the invisible God, in whom we have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins. By that Blood is the image of God restored in men. The inscription that he places upon you is that of His Holy Triune Name. He creates clean hearts in those who believe, that they may know the Truth. Marked with His Name, reborn in His image, you are God’s, and so at the final accounting you are rendered unto Him.

10-30-2011 Matthew 22:15-22

September Sermons

admin — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:25:50 +0000

Pentecost 12 – lost due to a Zoom recorder malfunction. Sorry.

Pentecost 13
The suffering man brought to our Lord could not speak aright. His impediment was part and parcel of his deafness. The one who cannot hear cannot learn to speak clearly. So it is with you. The devil, working through your fallen flesh, stopped your ears by filling them with his lies. The Word of God could not work, for unbelief rejects truth. Unable to hear, you could not believe. So you could not rightly speak of God, which is to say that you could not confess Him. He who cannot confess cannot be saved. But God, in His great love for you, opened your ears and your heart by the piercing Word of the Law, that you might rightly hear of your sinfulness. His Spirit worked through the saving Word of the Holy Gospel, bringing through your ears and to your heart the forgiveness Christ won for you on the Cross. Hearing, by the indwelling of the Spirit, you rightly confess Christ, which is the fruit of faith. Thanks be to God, He has done all things well.

9-11-11 Mark 6:17-29

Pentecost 14
“Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” So was our Lord’s answer to the Lawyer stinging salt rubbed in his wounded ego. The Lawyer did not strive to keep, but rather sought a loophole in the perfect Law. But so have you. In the Lawyer’s failed attempt to skirt God’s Law, we see not just every hypocrite, but we see you, and me, and every fallen man. The Law is clear. It only and always accuses. So sinful men resort to equivocation. So does St. James write “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.” But there is One who made Himself your neighbor, as He crossed the road of this fallen world, as He traversed death and the tomb, to pluck you out of the ditch of sin and death. He showed mercy to you. The God Man descended from heaven to become your neighbor, the true Good Samarian, that believing in Him, you inherit eternal life.

9-18-2011 Luke 10:23-37

Pentecost 15
The works of the flesh are evident. They cannot be mistaken with the works of the Spirit. If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. But if you are under the Law, which is to say if you are a sinner, if your flesh has its way, then you stand with the lepers, afar off, unable to draw near to God. And your disease ultimately breaks forth, covering the afflicted with unsightly proof of what is inside of him, finally taking his life. But God, in his superabundant grace, bespeaks you righteous. He proclaims you clean in Christ. He washes into you the cleanness of the perfect Son of God. Then you go, believing what God has said over against what you see and feel. Faith returns to where God is. Faith returns to give thanks. But God gives you more. He gives you to grow in wisdom and righteousness, in sanctification and redemption. And He says to you “Your faith has made you well.”

9-25-2011 Luke 17:11-19

Genesis Study audio Chapter 6 through Chapter 17

admin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:25:45 +0000

In the interest of getting caught up, these are unedited and text assignments may be inaccurate.
10-3-2010 Genesis 6:3 – 6:8

10-10-2010 Genesis 6:8 – 7:7 is lost due to a computer malfunction. Sorry.

10-17-2010 Genesis 7:7 – 9:17

10-31-2010 Genesis 9:18 – 12:4 is lost due to a computer malfunction. Sorry.

11-14-2010 Genesis 12:4 – 12:10

11-21-2010 Genesis 12:10 – 14:14

11-28-2010 Genesis 14:14 – 15:1

12-5-2010 Genesis 15:1 – 15:14

12-12-2010 Genesis 15:13 – 17:5

12-26-2010 Genesis 17:5 – 17:22

August Sermons

admin — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 18:42:37 +0000

Pentecost 8
8-7-2011 Mark 8:1-9 Preached by Pr. Joel Baseley

Pentecost 9
It was eating of forbidden fruit that caused the fall of man. So does our Lord warn of harmful fruit. He warns you not to eat of it. For if you eat of it, you shall surely die. The fruit is false doctrine. It is fruit of a bad tree. Fire is prepared for the tree, and for those who eat of its fruit. For not everyone who says “Lord, Lord”, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven. But that you might enter that blessed Kingdom, the cross bore its Fruit. He tasted the bitter dregs of death and separation from the Father, that you eat of the Bread of Life. For to eat is to believe, and by His Mysteries He washes you clean, forgives your sins, and feeds you heavenly Food, the Fruit of the Cross, that the Kingdom of Heaven be yours.
8-14-2011 Matthew 7:15-21

Dormition of Mary
8-15-2011 Luke 10:38-42 Written by Pr. Mark Braden & read by Pr. Brian Westgate

Pentecost 10
The parable of the unjust steward is the public revelation of a man’s sins. And so the parable ought strike fear in the heart of every sinner, for God sees your sins. He sees you for who you really are. Sinners often act piously in an effort to fool God and neighbor, sometimes even to fool themselves. But all transgressions, like your transgressions, never remain secret. For God sees what you do. But a truly just Steward came to save you. By the shrewdness of the cross and empty tomb He defeated the accuser for you. His great love for you and for God the Father drove Him to generously give His life for you. He forsook His own wellbeing as He gave up everything that you be saved. Believing in Him, His perfect stewardship is credited to your account. By faith in Him, you will be received into His glorious everlasting home.
8-22-2011 Luke:16_1-9

August 28th was lost due to a technology failure.

2 more July sermons

admin — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:02:07 +0000

Pentecost 6
July 27th, 2011 – Luke 5:1-11 Read by Vicar Ryan Beffrey

Pentecost 7
The Law demands perfection. Stopping short of causing physical death is not to keep the Fifth Commandment. Even anger without cause is murder in God’s eyes. The bar is set so high that anyone imperfect cannot clear it. The Pharisees made a living out of trying to keep the Law. But their efforts weren’t enough. Our Lord says that your righteousness must exceed theirs, or you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Thanks be to God, the Law is not God’s final Word. There is the Gospel Word, the Word of promise and life. The Gospel is that Jesus Christ did what no man could ever do. And simply by believing in Him, His perfect keeping of the Law is counted as yours. So you are declared perfect in Christ, united together in the likeness of His death. Certainly you shall also be united together in the likeness of His resurrection.
July 31st, 2011 – Matthew 5:20-26

*** All sermons are preached by Fr. Mark P. Braden unless otherwise specified. ***