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“Hallowed Be Thy Name” Luke 11:2 *Click for Audio* Pastor Kevin Vogts Trinity Lutheran Church Paola, Kansas Second Sunday after Pentecost—June 23, 2019 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We continue our summer sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name.” “Hallowed” is a word we don’t really use in everyday conversation. You’ve probably heard about the little girl who had just learned the Lord’s Prayer and she prayed with great sincerity: “Our Father who art in heaven. Howard be Thy name.” The word “hallowed” means “to be holy.” Martin Luther explains in the Small Catechism, “God’s name is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may be holy among us also.” So today we ask ourselves, “What does it mean for MY life when I pray ‘Hallowed be Thy name’? How does God want ME to hallow his name in MY life?” My last name, spelled without an “I” and ending with an “S,” “V-O-G-T-S,” is not a common name. But, now with the advent of the internet, we can do a search for “Vogts,” and it comes up with all sorts of Vogtses our family never knew existed. It fascinates me that there’s a “Kevin Vogts” about my age in Chicago, spelled exactly the same, who’s apparently a well-known recording engineer for classic rock bands. There’s a distant cousin “Kevin Vogts” who runs a cattle breeding and feedlot operation near Emporia. And of course there’s several “Kevin Vogts” back in Germany. It makes me wonder what kind of people they are. It’s funny, but for some reason just the name makes me think: they’re probably a lot like the other Vogtses I know. But, there’s one German surname that almost completely vanished after World War II. For a decade or so it was a great honor to have the same last name as the führer, but after the war it was a horrible embarrassment, and almost all families quickly changed that notorious name. A name carries a certain connotation and reputation, either good or bad. The question is: As a child of God, what kind of connotation and reputation are YOU giving to the name CHRISTIAN? There are two gross blasphemies against God’s name: false doctrine and ungodly living. False doctrine is actually lying in God’s name, proclaiming “Thus says the Lord,” when the Lord really never said any such thing. And ungodly living blasphemes God’s name by bringing disgrace upon the name Christian. So, when we pray “Hallowed be Thy name” we are really saying, “God, help ME to hallow your name in MY life, by conforming my life to your Word, both in what I BELIEVE, and how I LIVE.” A pastor friend once told me that when he was explaining the various Lutheran church bodies and the differences between them to his adult information class, he told them he himself had actually grown up in a different Lutheran church body. That prompted one lady in the class to ask, in all seriousness, “So how long have you been with the Missouri SINNERS Lutheran Church?” Maybe that IS what we should call ourselves, the Missouri SINNERS Lutheran Church. For, we are NOT gathered here today because we are even a little bit “holier-than-thou” compared to the world out there. The harsh truth of God’s Word is that we too are sinners. But, God’s Word also tells us the Good News that we—and all who trust in Jesus Christ—are at the same time SAINTS in the sight of God, SAINTS not because we are holy in ourselves but because Christ’s holiness is credited to us by God. As the Augsburg Confession of the Lutheran Church says, “We receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith, when we believe that Christ suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us.” That is the greatest truth of God’s Word, the # 1 doctrine of the Christian faith: you are saved not because of your own good works but as God’s gift, earned for you by his Son. Hallow God’s name in your life first of all by believing that Good News. And remain loyal to the other doctrines and moral teachings in God’s Word. Paul tells Timothy, “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” That is what’s going on today. So many churches are sadly compromising the truth of God’s Word, and WE are pressured and tempted to compromise too. Though it is shocking how far some once strong church bodies have fallen away from the teachings of Scripture, really it should not surprise us. For, Peter prophesied, “There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them . . . many will follow their shameful ways . . .” That’s how it was back in the days of Elijah, in today’s Old Testament Reading. Elijah thought he was the only one left who had not bowed down to the false God Baal. Like Elijah, hallow God’s name in your life by faithfully sticking to the true doctrines of God’s Word. But, James says, “faith without DEEDS is dead.” If you really BELIEVE the teachings of God’s Word in your HEART then you will also LIVE OUT those teachings in your LIFE. That’s what it means to live a “Christian” life. Not that you are perfect, but that you are struggling every day, with God’s help, to be more a saint and less a sinner. In today’s Epistle Reading Paul talks about this struggle to hallow God’s name in your life: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” When you pray “Hallowed be Thy name,” you are asking God to help you personally in your struggle hallow his name in your everyday life. In the Epistle Reading, Paul gives some examples of how to hallow God’s name with your life: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. . . The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” “Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name.” “God’s name is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may be holy among us also.” What does it mean for YOUR life when you pray “Hallowed be Thy name”? How does God want you to hallow his name in your life? By following the truth of his Word, both in what you BELIEVE and how you LIVE. Amen. Return to Top \| Return to Sermons \| Home \| Email Church Office

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“Hallowed Be Thy Name”
Luke 11:2

Click for Audio

Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Second Sunday after Pentecost—June 23, 2019

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

We continue our summer sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name.”

“Hallowed” is a word we don’t really use in everyday conversation. You’ve probably heard about the little girl who had just learned the Lord’s Prayer and she prayed with great sincerity: “Our Father who art in heaven. Howard be Thy name.”

The word “hallowed” means “to be holy.” Martin Luther explains in the Small Catechism, “God’s name is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may be holy among us also.” So today we ask ourselves, “What does it mean for MY life when I pray ‘Hallowed be Thy name’? How does God want ME to hallow his name in MY life?”

My last name, spelled without an “I” and ending with an “S,” “V-O-G-T-S,” is not a common name. But, now with the advent of the internet, we can do a search for “Vogts,” and it comes up with all sorts of Vogtses our family never knew existed. It fascinates me that there’s a “Kevin Vogts” about my age in Chicago, spelled exactly the same, who’s apparently a well-known recording engineer for classic rock bands. There’s a distant cousin “Kevin Vogts” who runs a cattle breeding and feedlot operation near Emporia. And of course there’s several “Kevin Vogts” back in Germany. It makes me wonder what kind of people they are. It’s funny, but for some reason just the name makes me think: they’re probably a lot like the other Vogtses I know.

But, there’s one German surname that almost completely vanished after World War II. For a decade or so it was a great honor to have the same last name as the führer, but after the war it was a horrible embarrassment, and almost all families quickly changed that notorious name. A name carries a certain connotation and reputation, either good or bad. The question is: As a child of God, what kind of connotation and reputation are YOU giving to the name CHRISTIAN?

There are two gross blasphemies against God’s name: false doctrine and ungodly living. False doctrine is actually lying in God’s name, proclaiming “Thus says the Lord,” when the Lord really never said any such thing. And ungodly living blasphemes God’s name by bringing disgrace upon the name Christian. So, when we pray “Hallowed be Thy name” we are really saying, “God, help ME to hallow your name in MY life, by conforming my life to your Word, both in what I BELIEVE, and how I LIVE.”

A pastor friend once told me that when he was explaining the various Lutheran church bodies and the differences between them to his adult information class, he told them he himself had actually grown up in a different Lutheran church body. That prompted one lady in the class to ask, in all seriousness, “So how long have you been with the Missouri SINNERS Lutheran Church?”

Maybe that IS what we should call ourselves, the Missouri SINNERS Lutheran Church. For, we are NOT gathered here today because we are even a little bit “holier-than-thou” compared to the world out there. The harsh truth of God’s Word is that we too are sinners. But, God’s Word also tells us the Good News that we—and all who trust in Jesus Christ—are at the same time SAINTS in the sight of God, SAINTS not because we are holy in ourselves but because Christ’s holiness is credited to us by God. As the Augsburg Confession of the Lutheran Church says, “We receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith, when we believe that Christ suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us.”

That is the greatest truth of God’s Word, the # 1 doctrine of the Christian faith: you are saved not because of your own good works but as God’s gift, earned for you by his Son. Hallow God’s name in your life first of all by believing that Good News. And remain loyal to the other doctrines and moral teachings in God’s Word.

Paul tells Timothy, “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” That is what’s going on today. So many churches are sadly compromising the truth of God’s Word, and WE are pressured and tempted to compromise too.

Though it is shocking how far some once strong church bodies have fallen away from the teachings of Scripture, really it should not surprise us. For, Peter prophesied, “There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them . . . many will follow their shameful ways . . .”

That’s how it was back in the days of Elijah, in today’s Old Testament Reading. Elijah thought he was the only one left who had not bowed down to the false God Baal. Like Elijah, hallow God’s name in your life by faithfully sticking to the true doctrines of God’s Word.

But, James says, “faith without DEEDS is dead.” If you really BELIEVE the teachings of God’s Word in your HEART then you will also LIVE OUT those teachings in your LIFE.

That’s what it means to live a “Christian” life. Not that you are perfect, but that you are struggling every day, with God’s help, to be more a saint and less a sinner. In today’s Epistle Reading Paul talks about this struggle to hallow God’s name in your life: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” When you pray “Hallowed be Thy name,” you are asking God to help you personally in your struggle hallow his name in your everyday life.

In the Epistle Reading, Paul gives some examples of how to hallow God’s name with your life: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. . . The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

“Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy name.” “God’s name is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may be holy among us also.” What does it mean for YOUR life when you pray “Hallowed be Thy name”? How does God want you to hallow his name in your life? By following the truth of his Word, both in what you BELIEVE and how you LIVE.

Amen.

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