“The Hands of God and Our Hands”
“The Hands of God and Our Hands”
Psalm 145:15-16
Psalm 145:15-16
Dearly Beloved: let us pray:
To the leadership and members of First St. Paul’s, family and friends, the Concordia University family present, President Buss and President Dawn, brother clergy and especially to my dear friend and brother in Christ, the Rev. Jeffrey Leininger and his dear wife, Rachel.
Grace, Mercy and Peace, from God our heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen!
Our text for this afternoon: taken from Psalm 145:15-16
“15 The eyes of all look to you; and you give them their food due season.
16 You open Your hand, and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”
Fellow Saints:
Our text for this afternoon informs us that our God is Jehovah Jireh, “the Lord Who provides.” The Psalmist [David] reminds us that the Lord “opens His hand and” fulfills the desires of every living creature. He provides for our deepest desire. And today we witness the Lord opening His hands and providing for the desire of this church family, Pastor Jeff Leininger and family. With the help of God’s Holy Spirit, permit me to direct our heart’s attention to our theme:
“The Hand Of God and Our Hands”
Pierced Hands
Brother Jeff, as you settle into your new congregation you should view God’s people through the “pierced hands” of our Savior. As you recall, after His glorious resurrection, Thomas was not present at one of Jesus’ post-Easter appearances. When told by the other disciples that the Master was alive, Thomas replied, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails…I will not believe.” A week later Jesus appeared to the disciples again but this time Thomas was present. To doubting Thomas, the Lord said, “Put your finger here, and see My hands.” The Lord Jesus mentioned His pierced hands as proof of His victory over death.
Pastor Jeff you must direct this church to the pierced hands of Christ to demonstrate the payment for our sins and the sins of the world. For without the cross there is an even more terrible punishment awaiting. Remind them of Christ’s pierced hands nailed to a gory cross for them and you. Why? Because of His great love for us and all of mankind. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For the Son of Man did not come unto the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” For as my pastor taught me, “We preach the Law in all of its severity, and the Gospel in all of its sweetness.” As you proclaim the gospel, the good news of God’s grace, may they look and see the hands of God.
Pardoning Hands
Brother Pastor, refocusing your eyes, you will view His “pardoning hands” of God in this wonderful gospel. One of the great joys of being a pastor is to render the absolution in worship after the confession of sins. As the undershepherd of Christ in this place this is the opportunity to show God’s people the pardoning hands of Jesus, as you stand in the place of and by His authority, rendering the forgiveness of their sins. Because of His pierced hands, we receive His pardoning hands. For without question we all fail our Lord so much and so often. We break His commandments in thought, word and deed. As Paul wrote “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” And transgressing God’s holy Law is sin, and the wages of sin is death. But Pastor Jeff, you get to relieve the guilt and shame, but pointing this church to the “Pardoning Hands” of Christ.
Protecting Hands
But as you view the pierced and pardoning hands of Christ, there is no way to avoid seeing His “protecting hands.” Brother Pastor, we live in perilous times and we need the God of the 23rd Psalm, “Who leads us.” Although we live in perilous times, you must still proclaim the precious truth. Every time you consecrate and distribute the sacrament you are celebrating the Lord’s death until He comes which strengthens and preserves their faith in perilous times with the precious truth of a Risen Christ. And every time you baptize in the Name of the Triune God, God delivers from the kingdom of darkness into His Kingdom of Light. This will remind you and them that “although we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for Thou art with us.” You remind them and yourself that His “protecting hands” are holding our hands and bringing us to heaven.
Now the pierced, pardoning and protecting hands will bring you to the…
Hands of Blessing
Another wonderful blessing of being a pastor is to give the benediction at the end of service or meeting. Through you God opens His hands to His people with the blessing given to Aaron, the first high priest of Israel… “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Num. 6:23b–26). This will remind your church family of the daily blessing or bread which God provides and especially the spiritual blessings that accompany being in the daily presence of God.
Now First Saint Paul’s
You have observed God’s hands in the ministry of your new pastor, but what about your hands. The hands of God should impress on you the use of your HANDS. You now will need…
Folded Hands
You must pray for your new pastor and his family. Pray as well for yourselves. Of course, we do not pray with our hands but the hand is the servant of the heart for prayers come from the heart. Your pastor has a heart for the ministry. Pray that all of you have a heart for him and his family, remembering all they have sacrificed to serve you.
Joined Hands
You must all work with your pastor to continue the work in this community. In other words, join hands with him and cooperate with him and one another. No congregation can rise above the individuals and the families that make it up. If you are to accomplish anything of worth, it is absolutely necessary that you all join hands with the Lord, with your
pastor and with one another.
Willing and Open Hands
Finally, not all hands are willing and ready to do the work of the Lord. Yet, our Savior has no hands but our hands to do His work in these perilous times. Remember that you are the hands of Christ. Pray for the Lord to strengthen your hands and make them willing and open hands to accomplish the new things God has planned for this congregation.
A Final Word About Hands
On my first day at the Fort Wayne Seminary, the professor used his hands and wrote these words on the blackboard: “God, Family, Church.” He wrote these words to instill in us a priority for success as we began training for the ministry. God was to be first, our family and then our church of service. Brother Jeff, always remember the hands of your coworker in the ministry: the one whose hands have prayed and supported you in this ministry. The hands of your wife, Rachel. As the great philosopher Anonymous writes, “If mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy!” Love her, pray with her, support her and seek her godly advice. For as the ole pop singer, Al Jareau, sang, “We’re in this love together!”
You are both “in the love of God and His people together!” And now, let us pray…
“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory, for your mercy, and for Your truth’s sake.” In Jesus’ Holy Name. Amen.
[Adapted from “New and Old Treasures from the Storeroom: A Collection of Worship Aides for Christian ministry,” Cecil H. Skibbe, Bloomington: Blooming Publications and Seminars, 1993.]