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Augsburg1530
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1 Kings 8:6-13: Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There’s no doubting where the Lord
was. If you wanted to know where the Lord was, you went to the temple. There,
in the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant dwelled, the cloud of God’s
glory could be glimpsed. There was the Lord to receive the blood of lambs and
bulls and goats to atone for sins.
The thing about God is that you don’t have to go looking for Him. He
comes to us and He makes sure He tells us where He’ll be. When the Son of
God came down, St. John says He “tabernacled” among us. What the temple
was in the Old Testament, the place where God was, is what Jesus is―the
place where God is. Want to see the Lord? Look for Jesus.
Where do we find Him? He was there in the flesh. In Jerusalem and
Galilee. On the cross. In the Upper Room. Now He’s at the right hand of God.
How will we find Him now? Not to worry. He’s told us that, too. At the altar with
His Body and Blood. At the font by water and the Word. Where your pastor is at
work teaching God’s Word and absolving. In the Scriptures, which Martin Luther
once said are like the manger where Jesus was. God comes to us in Jesus
Christ and He does so in the places He promised to be.
He does this to rescue us from looking for Him in places He doesn’t
want to be found. Don’t look for Him in your feelings. Those go up and down
and change as fast as the weather outside. Don’t look for Him in the things that
go wrong or right in your life as if God loves you one minute and hates you the
next. Don’t look for Him in the disasters and trials that afflict the world, trying to
figure out what He’s telling you.
No, He’s there in His temple. There on the cross. He was in those
places for you and your salvation. Now it’s font, altar, pulpit and Bible. He’s not
far away. You don’t have to track Him down. He came to you and will always be
there in those holy gifts to forgive your sins and comfort you. In the Name of
Jesus. Amen.
In His temple now behold Him, See the long expected Lord; Ancient prophets
had foretold Him, God has now fulfilled His word. Now to praise Him, His
redeemed Shall break forth with one accord. (LSB 519:1)
Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There’s no doubting where the Lord
was. If you wanted to know where the Lord was, you went to the temple. There,
in the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant dwelled, the cloud of God’s
glory could be glimpsed. There was the Lord to receive the blood of lambs and
bulls and goats to atone for sins.
The thing about God is that you don’t have to go looking for Him. He
comes to us and He makes sure He tells us where He’ll be. When the Son of
God came down, St. John says He “tabernacled” among us. What the temple
was in the Old Testament, the place where God was, is what Jesus is―the
place where God is. Want to see the Lord? Look for Jesus.
Where do we find Him? He was there in the flesh. In Jerusalem and
Galilee. On the cross. In the Upper Room. Now He’s at the right hand of God.
How will we find Him now? Not to worry. He’s told us that, too. At the altar with
His Body and Blood. At the font by water and the Word. Where your pastor is at
work teaching God’s Word and absolving. In the Scriptures, which Martin Luther
once said are like the manger where Jesus was. God comes to us in Jesus
Christ and He does so in the places He promised to be.
He does this to rescue us from looking for Him in places He doesn’t
want to be found. Don’t look for Him in your feelings. Those go up and down
and change as fast as the weather outside. Don’t look for Him in the things that
go wrong or right in your life as if God loves you one minute and hates you the
next. Don’t look for Him in the disasters and trials that afflict the world, trying to
figure out what He’s telling you.
No, He’s there in His temple. There on the cross. He was in those
places for you and your salvation. Now it’s font, altar, pulpit and Bible. He’s not
far away. You don’t have to track Him down. He came to you and will always be
there in those holy gifts to forgive your sins and comfort you. In the Name of
Jesus. Amen.
In His temple now behold Him, See the long expected Lord; Ancient prophets
had foretold Him, God has now fulfilled His word. Now to praise Him, His
redeemed Shall break forth with one accord. (LSB 519:1)