Sermon for 10 March 2013, Fourth Sunday in Lent C, Special Anniversary Service

Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving and Praise to God for

Ten Years of Martin Luther Grammar School
(2003),

Fifty-five years in the “new” church building
(dedicated March 23, 1958),

One hundred ten years since the organization of Immanuel congregation (March 1, 1903),

and One hundred twenty years since the arrival of
Rev. J. D. Schroeder in Sheridan, Wyoming (1893)

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Lesung (Lektion)                                                                                   2. Korintherbrief  6.16-21

2. Korintherbrief Das 6. Kapitel

16. Darum kennen wir von nun an niemand nach dem Fleisch; und ob wir auch Christum gekannt haben nach dem Fleisch, so kennen wir ihn doch jetzt nicht mehr. 17. Darum, ist jemand in Christo, so ist er eine neue Kreatur; das Alte ist vergangen, siehe, es ist alles neu geworden ! 18. Aber das alles von Gott, der uns mit ihm selber versöhnt hat durch Jesum Christum und das Amt gegeben, das die Versöhnung predigt. 19. Denn Gott war in Christo und versöhnte die Welt mit ihm selber und rechnete ihnen ihre Sünden nicht zu und hat unter uns aufgerichtet das Wort von der Versöhnung. 20 .So sind wir nun Botschafter an Christi Statt, denn Gott vermahnt durch uns; so bitten wir nun an Christi Statt: Lasset euch versöhnen mit Gott.  21. Denn er hat den, der von keiner Sünde wußte, für uns zur Sünde gemacht, auf daß wir würden in ihm die Gerechtigkeit, die vor Gott gilt.  ^[1]

L  Das Wort des Herrn.

C  Gott sei Dank.

Reading                                                                                                     2 Corinthians 5:16–21

¹⁶From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

L  This is the Word of the Lord.

C  Thanks be to God.

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^[1] Luther, M. (1912, 2001). Die Heilige Schrift nach der deutschen Übersetzung Martin Luthers (2 Co 5:16–21). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

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P   Almighty God, You have promised to be with Your Church forever. We praise You for Your presence with us in this place of worship and ask Your ongoing blessing upon those who gather here. Bless Immanuel Lutheran Church and Martin Luther Grammar School. Dwell continually among us with Your holy Word and Sacraments, strengthen our fellowship in the bonds of love and peace, and increase our faithful witness to Your salvation; Lord, in Your mercy,

C   hear our prayer.

 

Vater Unser                                                                                                                           

C  Vater unser, der du bist im Himmel
     Geheiliget were dein Name,
     Dein Reich komme,
     Dein Wille geschehe, wie im Himmel, also auch auf Erden;
     Unser täglich Brot gib uns heute;
     Und vergib uns unsere Schuld, als wir vergeben unsern Schuldigern;
     Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung,
     Sondern erlöse uns von dem Übel.
Amen.

Lord's Prayer                                                                                                                         

C   Our Father who art in heaven,
     hallowed be Thy name,
     Thy kingdom come,
     Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
     give us this day our daily bread;
     and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
     and lead us not into temptation,
     but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

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Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

To Himself

Fourth Sunday in Lent, 10 March 2013

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

To Himself. In Christ, God reconciles the world to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Yes, us. Still today. Here, in this place.

Word and Sacrament ministry is the primary way the gifts of Christ are distributed in this place, the Word of Christ, and the visible Word, the Sacraments. Martin Luther Grammar School has been part of that ministry of reconciliation for ten academic years. Every day, at home, at work, at school, and as you fulfill your vocations in our community, you are ambassadors for Christ. God makes His appeal through us.

One of those Ambassadors was a Lutheran missionary and circuit rider we call the Cowboy Preacher, J. D. (SHRAY der) Shreoeder, who helped Immanuel celebrate its 50^th Anniversary, its Golden Jubilee in 1953. We have a recording of him speaking about his first time in Sheridan in 1893.

In his autobiography Rev. Schroeder wrote, “The city of Sheridan, Wyoming which was my last station, lay at the end of the railroad in the foothills of the Bighorn mountains. These mountains are covered with snow almost all year round. The highest peak is nearly 11,000 feet high. The area between the Black Hills and the Bighorn range is very hilly and sagecovered. This section is good mostly for a cattle range. However, settlers had taken up permanent residence along the numerous creeks and rivers which flow from the mountains through the area. As there is little rain, grain is grown here under irrigation methods. But the grain which does grow is the richest in the world. The ground here also yields untold treasures of oil, coal, and other minerals. Near Sheridan there are large collieries, and the coal lies very near the surface of the land. A great many farmers hack coal from their land, not particularly for their own use, but to sell for a good profit.

“In this town I became acquainted with a man whose name is known the world over as "Buffalo Bill". The first time I arrived in Sheridan, I stayed at a hotel which belonged to him, and this is where I met him. He sat often with his guests and told of his adventures in the west. Indeed, this comparatively wild region had been the very scene of many of his activities.”

Rev. Schroeder traveled amazing distances under incredible conditions for the sake of the Gospel. Many congregations of the modern Wyoming District owe their existence to the work of this faithful servant of Christ.

He continues, “From this town [Sheridan] I had to take the stage coach to a distant city in Wyoming south of Sheridan, where I found a number of Lutheran families to whom I was able to preach. (This may have been Casper.) Enroute to this town, in one beautiful valley I found a large number of Lutheran Saxons. These people lived very near the ruins of old Ft. Kearney which the Indians had overrun and whose garrison they had massacred. This happened at about the same time that General Custer and his troops had been slain under Sitting Bull.

“My entire mission field was at that time a very unsafe region. Not just because of drunken cowboys and others who committed murders etc., but also because of a large band of robbers which hid out in the mountains.”

He’s talking about the “Hole in the Wall” gang and goes on to tell the true story behind the name “Crazy Woman.” His mission field covered northeastern and central Wyoming, southern Montana, the southern Black Hills of South Dakota and nearly all of the Nebraska panhandle. His goal was to start preaching stations that could eventually become self-supporting congregations that would call pastors to serve them.

In addition to Rev. Schroeder, Immanuel has been served by sixteen Called pastors, numerous vacancy pastors, ten or so vicars, and an Assistant Pastor under the shared ministry agreement with Prince of Peace, Buffalo. All these servants of the Word have proclaimed and practiced our Epistle text for the Fourth Sunday in Lent: ¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

That you might become the righteousness of God, the Lord led this congregation to take other steps in faith and meet the challenges of each day.

The Park Street church building was dedicated on December 13, 1907.

Pastor Walter died in office of the flu in 1918.

Pastor Bernthal, in a 1953 recording reminded us that Immanuel had a school before! In the 1920’s, Pastor Her, (1919-1927) taught Christian day school classes in the upstairs of the parsonage on Park Street.

After a cornerstone laying on October 27, 1957, Reformation Sunday that year, this new church building was dedicated to the Glory of God on March 23, 1958 by Pastor Obermueller. We have a video of that day and much of the construction process.

Congregational pastoral care need brought the Vicarage program to Immanuel under Pastor Staake.

Pastor Garwood concluded his ministry here in 1994 when he was elected President of the Wyoming District. His time here included two Sunday church services.

Pastor Heine led the congregation to start a new school. We enjoy our new annex with kitchen and parish hall, dedicated in 2007.

Having today’s Epistle read in German and the Lord’s Prayer prayed auf Deutsch recall our congregation’s beginning and its heritage. A new hymn, written in 2013 for this very occasion speaks to our Lord’s own presence, care, and work with and for us now. Please stay for a brief presentation on the current and future pastoral care opportunities and mission needs by lay leaders of our congregation serving as a Long-Term Planning Committee. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

About the Cover: What comfort in knowing that God was reconciling the world. That leaves no one out. Not you, not me. Not the annoying neighbor down the street, the troublesome person at work, the rude driver. In Christ, God reconciled the world to Himself. Forgiveness has been won for all, and now all can be made right with God through faith in Christ. This is the message of grace God sends us to announce to all. Amen.

Das walte Gott Vater, Sohn und Heiliger Geist! Amen.