The Second Sunday of End Time (Last Judgment)
Veterans’ Day
100th Anniversary of Armistice Ending the First World War

SERMON TEXT:  Malachi 4:1-3

Look! The day is coming, burning like a blast furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble. The day that is coming will set them on fire, says the LORD of Armies, a day that will not leave behind a root or branch for them. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise, and there will be healing in its wings. You will go out and jump around like calves from the stall. You will trample the wicked. They will surely be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I take action, says the LORD of Armies.

Bible Readings

FIRST LESSON:  Malachi 4:1-3

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SECOND LESSON:  Hebrews 9:24-28

For Christ did not enter a handmade sanctuary, a representation of the true sanctuary. Instead, he entered into heaven itself, now to appear before God on our behalf. And he did not enter to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise he would have needed to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once and for all, at the climax of the ages, in order to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And, just as it is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment, so also Christ was offered only once to take away the sins of many, and he will appear a second time—without sin—to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him.

GOSPEL: John 5:19-30

Jesus answered them directly, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: The Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. And he will show him even greater works than these so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to those he wishes. “In fact, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, so that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, Amen, I tell you: Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He is not going to come into judgment but has crossed over from death to life. “Amen, Amen, I tell you: A time is coming and is here now when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out. Those who have done good will rise to live, but those who have practiced evil will rise to be condemned. I can do nothing at all on my own. I judge only as I hear. And my judgment is just, for I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.”

Reformation Sunday – The First Sunday of End Times

1. In times of trouble
   
2. In times of peace
   
3. Bring God the glory
   

SERMON TEXT:  Psalms 46

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Bible Readings

FIRST LESSON:  Daniel 3:16-28

Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “We have no need to answer you about this matter. Since our God, whom we serve, does exist, he is able to save us from the blazing fiery furnace. So, he may save us from your hand, Your Majesty. But if he does not, you should know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods, and we will not worship the golden statue that you set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed against Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego. He said to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was usually heated. He ordered some men, November , who were soldiers from his army, to bind Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego in order to throw them into the blazing fiery furnace. So these men were bound in their coats, their pants, their turbans, and their other clothing, and they were thrown into the middle of the blazing fiery furnace. Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace was extremely hot, those men who carried Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego were killed by the intense heat of the fire. But these three men, Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego, who had been tied up, fell into the blazing fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and immediately stood up. He said to his advisors, “Didn’t we throw three men, who had been tied up, into the middle of the fire?” They answered the king, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” He said, “Look! I see four men, who are untied and walking around in the middle of the fire, unharmed. What is more, the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace. He said, “Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” Then Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego came out from the middle of the furnace. The satraps, the prefects, the governors, November , and the royal advisors gathered together and looked at these men. The fire had no power over their bodies. Not a hair on their head was singed, their robes were not damaged, and the smell of fire had not stuck to them. Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego, who sent his angel and saved his servants, who trusted in God and ignored the king’s command. They gave up their bodies and did not pay homage or worship any god except their God.

SECOND LESSON:  Revelation 14:6-7

Then I saw another angel flying in the middle of the sky. He had the everlasting gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth, to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He said with a loud voice: Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.

VERSE OF THE DAY:  John 8:31,32

If you continue in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

GOSPEL: Mark 13:5-11

Jesus began by telling them, “Be careful that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. “Whenever you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but the end is not yet. In fact, nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. But be on your guard! People will hand you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand in the presence of rulers and kings for my sake as a witness to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. Whenever they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what you should say. Say whatever is given to you in that hour because you will not be the one speaking; instead it will be the Holy Spirit.

Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost

1. By Giving Physical Sight
2. By Giving Spiritual Sight

SERMON TEXT:  Mark 10:46-52

They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, a blind man, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road begging. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many told him to be quiet, but he kept shouting all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” They called the blind man, saying, “Cheer up! Get up. He is calling you!” He tossed aside his outer garment, jumped up, and went to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man replied, “Rabboni, I want to see again.” Jesus told him, “Go. Your faith has made you well.” Immediately he received his sight and began following Jesus on the road.

Bible Readings

FIRST LESSON:  Exodus 4:1-17

But Moses responded, “What if they do not believe me and do not listen to my voice, but instead they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you’?” So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” He said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, so he ran away from it. The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and take it by the tail.” He stretched out his hand and took hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand. The LORD said, “This sign is being given to you so that the Israelites will believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” The LORD also said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. Then the LORD said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak again, and when he took it out of his cloak, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. The LORD said, “If they do not believe you or do not respond to the first sign, they might believe because of the second sign. If they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you are to take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land.” But Moses said to the LORD, “Please, LORD, I have never been eloquent, either in the past or more recently or even since you started speaking to your servant, for my mouth and tongue are slow and clumsy.” So the LORD said to him, “Who made a mouth for people? Or who makes someone mute or deaf, able to see or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go, and I will be with your mouth, and I will teach you what you will speak.” But he said, “Please, LORD, send someone else.” Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses, and the LORD said, “What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Look, he is already coming out to meet you. He will be very glad to see you. You will speak to him and put the words into his mouth. I will be with your mouth and with his, and I will teach you what you are to do. He will speak to the people for you so that it will be as if he were your mouth, and you were God to him.You will also take this staff in your hand, the one with which you will perform the signs.”

SECOND LESSON:  Acts 2:22-32

“Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus the Nazarene was a man recommended to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know. This man, who was handed over by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, you killed by having lawless men nail him to a cross. He is the one God raised up by freeing him from the agony of death, because death was not able to hold him in its grip. “Indeed, David says concerning him: I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. My flesh also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon my life to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence. “Gentlemen, brothers, I can speak confidently to you about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that he would seat one of his descendants on his throne, he saw what was coming and spoke about the resurrection of Christ, saying that he was neither abandoned to the grave nor did his flesh see decay. “This Jesus is the one God has raised up. We are all witnesses of that.

VERSE OF THE DAY:  2 Timothy 4:18

The Lord will rescue me from every evil and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.

GOSPEL: Mark 10:46-52

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