“The people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.”
(Numbers 21:4-9 ESV)
Dear Friends,
Greetings in the name of Jesus!
I am fascinated by this account of God’s chastising followed by God’s remedy.
You will note that the Lord answered the people’s plea, but not as they hoped. They wanted God to “take away the serpents.” Instead, God answered by providing an antidote – a graven image (of all things).
This is an analogy of the Sacraments. Luther asks in His Small Catechism, “How can water do such great things?” and “How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?” Being baptized and receiving the Lord’s Supper offers us God’s love and forgiveness because God said so and made it so. We receive such blessings when we believe what God said.
I can envision some grumpy, unbelieving guy who has been bitten by a serpent sitting in his tent and grumbling, “That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! Just look at an image of a serpent and be healed of an actual serpent’s poison? How ludicrous! I won’t do it.” And so, he dies in his tent, sitting in his unbelief, refusing to look.
Such as it is for those who say the same thing about Jesus. We preach and teach that we should look to Jesus in faith and thereby receive healing for the soul through the forgiveness of sins. But for many, they reason that such a thing is absurd and impossible. As such, they shall die in their sin. Tragic, but true.
During this Lenten season, let us do the opposite. Let us look in wonder at Jesus and the crucifixion cross and there encounter God’s love and forgiveness. Let’s be like the hymn describes, “Jesus, I will ponder now on Your holy passion.”
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!
Daylight Saving Time starts Saturday night: “Clocks Spring Ahead”
Sunday (March 11) here at Prince of Peace…
9:00 am Worship Service
9:00 am Sunday School & Adult Bible Class
10:30 am Worship Service
Joining me this Sunday in our service will be Rev. Gary Kuenzel who will be preaching God’s Word. Rev. Kuenzel recently retired as Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, St. Catharines. He served as pastor of Prince of Peace from 1995 to 1999.
Lent at Prince of Peace …
The Sundays of Lent (9:00 & 10:30 a.m.)
| March 11 | Luke 9:51 | “Determination” |
The Wednesdays of Lent (7:00 p.m.)
Our Saviour’s Wounded Body
| March 14 | The Saviour’s Side | John 19:28-35 |
Let us worship the Lord together with attentive ears to the love-story of God for us!
Jesus, I will ponder now on Your holy passion;
With Your Spirit me endow for such meditation.
Grant that I in love and faith may the image cherish
Of Your suff’ring, pain, and death that I may not perish.
Prince of Peace News …
A Thursday Communion Service will be held on the occasion of the Hamilton Circuit pastors meeting together tomorrow at Prince of Peace (“Winkel”). It will be a service of our congregation and so you are welcome to attend. We will begin at 9:30am.
Concordia Concert: The choir of Concordia College, Ann Arbor, will perform at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 1054 Upper Sherman Ave, Hamilton, on Monday, March 12, at 7:00pm. Come and enjoy with our friends at Pilgrim. Our Joyful Seniors are planning on attending – a sign up, with carpooling option, is posted in the lobby.
“The Future of The Lutheran Foundation – for You and for Your Church”: Everyone (male & female) is invited to breakfast and a presentation by Al Feth of The Lutheran Foundation, this Saturday, March 10, at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 1054 Upper Sherman Ave. in Hamilton. Their Men’s Breakfast group is hosting the breakfast beginning at 9am with the topic running from 10:00-11:30. Learn about the opportunities God has in store for you and the gifts God has given you – both to be blessed and to be a blessing for His kingdom. It’s not too late to RSVP for breakfast to donmillard409@gmail.com or 905-383-3923.
Youth Lock-In: High School students and confirmation-age youth (and friends!) are invited to a Youth Lock-In, Friday-Saturday, March 16-17, here at Prince of Peace. We begin at 7:00pm on Friday and dismiss at 11:00am on Saturday. Bring a sleeping bag, your Bible, no electronic gadgets (except maybe a cell phone — unless even that is a big distraction for you!), a few dollars to cover pizza and breakfast, and a good attitude.
Easter Breakfast: The youth planning to attend the National Youth Gathering in 2019, and their parents, are hosting this year’s Easter Breakfast. They will provide the food. Just come hungry at 9:00am Easter morning. Your free-will offering will help them attend the Gathering.
The daily Bible readings for March can be found in the lobby. Pick up your copy now. Or click here for the PDF of readings for 2018.
Lenten Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries – “Silent Witnesses”: Pick up a booklet in the lobby. Or get it online at https://www.lhm.org/lent/ .
The Lutheran Witness: the flagship magazine of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), is a monthly publication that offers synodical news, reports from Lutherans around the world, features, columns, Q&As, a Bible study, and much more. Signup on the bulletin board if you would like to subscribe ($16 for the year). Copies of The Lutheran Witness can be found in the lobby.
Online News …
Read stories first on Facebook: You can read, post comments, and share LCC news and feature stories on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/canadianlutheran/
Voters’ Meeting at Prince of Peace, April 8, at 11:30: As of March 5, 81 of LCC’s 300 congregations have sent in ballots for the vote on changes to the Synod’s Constitution. Every congregation is eligible to submit a ballot by email or mail by the deadline of April 16, 2018. (Mailed-in ballots must be postmarked no later than April 17.) All the required information was sent in mid-December and is also available here.
In your prayers, please remember:
- Those facing surgery
- Those recovering from injury
- Our seniors with on-going health concerns, and those who care for them
- Those being treated for cancer
The Lord be with you.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Kevin Walrath
