This Week at Mt. Olive

Yesterday, I used the Acts 5 text as the text for the sermon. Thus, two other magnificent Biblical texts were read, but not preached. So, here's the Revelation 1:4-18 text:
4John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
12Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Imagine a church where local persecutions have been the norm. Imagine a church where, in your local society, you are misunderstood as cannibals and, worst of all, only worship one god. Imagine a church where lies are told about you on a regular basis about your beliefs, your character, and those lies bring the government to execute your pastor and board of elders, take the property of many of your members, and you yourself risk losing your family if you don't "rat out" your fellow church members. Imagine a church where your beloved bishop, whom you have known all your life, is exiled, probably never to be seen again. Imagine a church where the temptation to teach error abounds because, well, it's safe and acceptable in your society.

The questions in such a church will abound. Will we ever have another pastor? Will the Church survive? Will the faith of us Christians survive? Jesus answers that question in these verses of Revelation: Fear not! I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Think for just a moment about which kingdoms of the earth have outlasted the Christian faith. Having trouble thinking of one? That's because the Church of the eternal Lord Jesus continues to outlast finite earthly kingdoms. Though the church is persecuted, though it is downtrodden, though its members may be put to death, the Church survives because the Lord who has the keys to Death and Hell continues to rule.

Yesterday, I used an illustration that shows the truth of Jesus' words to John. Faced with the reality that their church body may be sapped of every earthly trapping, would the church continue. The leader for that particular church body said that, as long as there was someone to preach the Gospel, as long as there was access to a little water for baptizing, as long as there was access to bread and wine to celebrate the Eucharist, the Church would continue, and perhaps even thrive.

O Lord Jesus Christ, in these trying times, we look to You, the First and Last, the one who was dead and now is alive forevermore, the one who has earned the right to hold the keys of death and Hades. Preserve Your Church by Your Holy Word. By Your Holy Spirit, may she be a beacon of light and hope in this dark world, that those who are of the faith now will be preserved in the true faith, and that many will be called by the Gospel to faith in you. For Your mercy's sake. Amen

This week at Mt. Olive is a little more subdued.

LWML will be meeting Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m.

One event of note: Guitar Worship practice will begin again on Wednesday at 7 p.m. I look forward to this, because I always learn from these gifted musicians!

I will be out of the office until Thursday. Thus, there will be no Adult Instruction Tuesday evening or Wednesday Morning Bible Study.

Prayer Concerns:
Lilo Carson, hospitalized
Emmet Wright, undergoing tests
Those who serve in our armed forces, especially Rob Vadney who prepares for deployment later this month.

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, April 12
Girl Scouts, 6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 13
LWML, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 14
Zumba Aerobics, 7 p.m.
Guitar Worship Rehearsal, 7 p.m.

Thursday, April 15
Cub Scouts, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 17
Confirmation Banner Workshop, 10 a.m.
Jr. Youth Campout Meeting, 12 p.m.

God bless!
PKJ