Category Archives: Sermons
From Glorious Light to Glorious Light: The Best is Now–The Glorious Light Revealed! John 2:1-11
From Glorious Light to Glorious Light
The Best is Now:
The Glorious Light Revealed!
John 2:1-11
† In Jesus’ Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ help you realize the great miracle that was revealed at Cana!
- What a party!
Growing up in an Italian/Irish family, you learn to appreciate a good wedding reception. And the one in the gospel must have been a massive one. How do I know>
Once they ran out of wine, towards the end of the celebration, they still needed 120-180 more gallons of wine. Now I don’t know about you – but that seems like a lot of wine?
If it doesn’t, come talk to me!
It also must have been pretty significant, as not only were Mary and Jesus invited, but so where Jesus’ disciples – which was at least 14 men, and 4-5 women that travelled in their company. Considering this is before the formal ministry of miracles and teaching began – they probably weren’t the VIP’s of the event…
What a party…
But the words that seem key, are those of the master of ceremonies, who didn’t realize how true they were…
“you have kept the best till now…”
But boy was the best going to be revealed that day- as the glory of God was first seen in Christ Jesus….
And it wasn’t just the wine….
- It’s not just about the wine!
Most people are a little shocked when they hear Jesus reaction to Mary when she asks him for help. “Not our problem!” is how our translation phrases it! The original language is a little more blunt than that – “It’s nothing to me!”
And if the refusal wasn’t understood – Jesus goes on to say, “My time has not yet come!”
After all, he’s just a guest, not even an honored guest.
It’s not his wine, it’s not His wedding, it’s not His responsibility, and it’s not time to have the great mysteries of our faith to be revealed.
Of course that’s how I would have said it, my attitude read into it, with a healthy sense of cynicism. We read it into Mary, who expects Jesus to just fix stuff, as if God is some kind of Genie in a Bottle, there to fix our problems, we want to read it into Jesus’ whose words seem disrespectful to His mom, whom even He is supposed to honor. We might even want to blame the master of ceremonies or the groom’s family, for not providing for the feast better.
Sometimes, our sin in thought, word and deed shatters the 8th commandment—as we don’t come up with the best explanation, but we base it on our own experience, and our own sin. So it seems impossible for there to be a reasonable explanation, and we bear false witness, we hold onto the falsehood.
And whether we tell others about it or not, the idea sticks with us.
And we miss what is better, as we whine…instead of tasting the better wine… we miss the best that is saved for last.
- Deeper-Better (Eucharist)
It seems appropriate that the first miracle of Jesus’ ministry, and the last both are at a party, and include the drinking of wine.
If the water turned to wine was considered the best, the wine that is the Blood of Christ, served at the last Supper and ever since, is even better. It is here, at the altar, as we receive the Body and the Blood that something better happens, we are invited to feast with God, as His invitation where He is the master of ceremonies and the feast…
The one miracle is a picture of the other, God providing the wine, the best wine, which erases our shortcomings, our sin.
- Deepest (best)
Even as the drink at the first feast pictures the second, so does this wedding pictures another.
The wedding pointed out in the first reading, in the incredible words of the prophet Isaiah:
The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory. And you will be given a new name by the LORD’s own mouth. 3 The LORD will hold you in his hand for all to see— a splendid crown in the hand of God. 4 Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City” or “The Desolate Land.” Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight” and “The Bride of God,” for the LORD delights in you and will claim you as his bride.
In yesterday’s devotion I used the grins of a couple guys on their wedding day to try and picture God. Partially because their wives were part of the study, but also when I’ve mentioned their wedding day before, the grin they had then, returns to their faces, and they can’t say a word, they just nod.
We need to realize that Jesus sees us, His church, that way!
He ensures we are at our best, our most perfect, that is what Isaiah says, and the Apostle Paul repeats it,
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. Ephesians 5:25-27 (NLT2)
It wasn’t Jesus time, it wasn’t the wine He came to provide, it wasn’t the wedding He came to be part of…
That wine would be shared at Last Supper, and on altars all around the world. That wedding is the one still to come, the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, The wedding that He would prepare us for, make us Holy, washing us, and cleansing us because His blood was spilt.
His time has come, the best wine is ready and our Lord is ours and we are His…and He delights in us.
As He ensures we will be ready, guarding our hearts and minds, even as we dwell in His perfect peace! AMEN!
Christmas Take-Away: Being Alone! A sermon on Isaiah 52:7-10, Psalm 2, John 1:1-14
Christmas Take-Away:
Being Alone
Isaiah 52:7-10, Psalm 2, John 1:1-14
† In Jesus’ Name †
- Deadbeat Doug
The man was a legend in our time, He travelled the world, never really held a job, just did odd things here and there. He could have done so much with his life—he was an excellent speaker to youth, a professional volleyball player, a really good musician.
And he was everywhere and nowhere.
He would show up at your apartment and ask to sleep on the floor, or in the tub, or on the couch. He could easily eat you out of house and home, and never helped with the chores. He would always
push you to the breaking point, then he would move on to another friends, or even just sleep in his battered old VW bug, with the surfboard on top, the old battered guitar and the bag of volleyballs.
But the next year he would show up – you would remember the deep, late-night conversations about God, the incredible times where ½ dozen guitars would be pulled out, or and you would welcome him back with a smile and a hug as you carried everything in….
He was always at home wherever he went.
Dead beat Doug was his nickname at points, or hobo Doug, but the man was at home in the world, and in your refrigerator!
And as I think of all thought about the line in the gospel reading, that Jesus, “became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.” I thought of Doug and how he could do that, even though I haven’s seen him since 1988, I halfway expect him to show up for brunch.
That way of being at home, putting his feet up up and staying a while, can make a huge difference. And as we celebrate Christ coming into our lives and making His home with us—there is one difference, Jesus never leaves.
- Being alone
As we’ve looked at what God promised to change when Jesus came, he took away so much, and today, as we look at Jesus making His home, with us, feeling free enough to put his fee up on the furniture, Jesus takes away something else, the idea that we are alone.
That is why Isaiah says that beautiful are the feet that brings the news He is coming, that’s why David says that the only ones who have hope are the ones who kiss or embrace his feet, like the prostitute who washed those feet with her tears and her hair.
I think this si the easiest day in the calendar, and the most needed ot talk about how God is at home with us, that He removes loneliness from our lives by simply not letting us be alone.
It’s the day when we see Him as a baby, something to cuddle and hold, rather than the omnipotent King of Kings and Lord of Lorrds who is coming to judge the living and the dead, whose Kingdom never ends.
This is the day when being terrified with God is replaced by being afraid we will drop Jesus as we hold him,
Our fear changes to awe, our hesitancy to deal with God is changed to desiring to hold Him, to embrace him,
And then as we read of His life, that awe turns to wondrous joy!!
It is then that beholding His glory change, as we realize we are and will be enveloped by it, not just witness it from afar….
This is Christmas, literally the Christ’s gathering, This is the joyous day, when Christ comes in and makes his home with us…forever! AMEN
Advent Take-aways: Distractions! A Sermon on Malachi 3:1-7b
Advent Take-aways:
Distractions!
Malachi 3:1-7b
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus purge us o all distractions, all impurities that would weaken and cause us to break.
- The Spots get all the attention!
In today’s reading from Malachi, there are two illustrations about cleansing and purifying, one is doing so with metals and furnaces, refining or smelting metals. I don’t know much about that, besides what I read. The other illustration is something I am much more familiar with…
I think there is a law that governs such things, at least in my life.
It is definitely guaranteed, that if I am on the way to an important meeting, I will spill something on me that will stain the shirt I am wearing. It could be mustard, ketchup, hot sauce, the grease from a burger or burrito, or even someone bumping into me with a cup of coffee or tea…
But there will be a stain that can be seen 50-75 feet away!
Guaranteed!
Then, during whatever presentation I am doing, I can feel people staring at the spot on my shirt, they gain a laser focus, and everything I say is lost, for the stain distracts everyone…
That’s the nice thing about preaching in a robe… 😊
But that only covers the sin…err the stain
(at least that means you cant see it!)
- The distractions
That big stain on my shirt becomes an issue when it distracts people from the message, or when knowing it is, and people will think I am a slob, or a klutz, or both. Or they don’t even have to focus on it – I know its there and stain there, and thinking others are focused on it will distract me!
The same thing happens with our sin, the unrighteousness in our lives. There was once a book called the “Scarlet Letter” where the sin of one person was marked on their forehead. Sometimes sin is that clear to the world, if not marked on their forehead, then at least shared on Twitter.
And even if the world doesn’t know yet, we are panic that they might come to know our dirty dark secrets. If that is not enough to cause some anxiety, there is this,
5 “At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
It’s one thing for people to know what my sin is, and it is very hard to live with the hidden sins, the ones whose guilt and shame rob us of peace. But to think about God almighty testifying against us and judging us should be terrifying.
The guilt and shame for those God speaks against must be, more than we can bear. And don’t be confused, this isn’t just about those sins listed—they are just a sampling – it would include those who idolators, and those who do harm in word or deed to others, to those who engage in extra-marital intimate relationships and gossip and trying to be equal to or better than the Joneses.
This is part of the nature of Advent – looking at both our world and our lives and realizing that even we, the people of God, need to delivered from our sin.
Our sins, as in ours individually and those our our community.That is the cry of Advent, the cry of Faith, trusting in God and His nature to compassion and do what He’s already said he would.
- The Gospel
But Malachi is clear about the hope we have,
6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
God doesn’t change – he will clean the laundry of our lives, erasing the stains with the strongest cleaner ever – the blood of Jesus. He acknowledges he could have destroyed all the sinners, and would be right in doing so,
But He promises reconciliation – with a simple promise – you come back, we’re back. If that means he needs to do ur laundry or cleanses us from great.
Remember – the promise was that He purifies the gold and silver, he removes the stains, He cleanses our souls. This was the prophecy of Malachi, and the message of John we heard this morning.
It is here we find our identity, in Christ, not as broken sinners, but as healed members of His family, as those made righteous because He left His throne to come bring the glorious light on God into our darkness.
All those sins that we dread to think about, He removes, and they become no more than passing distractions that are brushed away, as God embraces us. The stains will be long forgotten, washed away with a trace remaining.
This is what we consider in Advent, as we still deal with some of the earthly consequences of them – but even there God can work, bringing His healing and reconciliation to bear. But even those are minimized as all are reconciled to Jesus, as we look forward to a day when we all see Jesus, as clearly as Mary, Joseph and the shepherds did one glorious night as angels sang.
So let us eagerly look forward to the 2nd advent, rejoicing in what God has done, and is doing even today.
Today, as we dwell in the peace of God, which is beyond reason and understanding, but one we are treasured and kept safe in by Jesus! AMEN!
Advent Take Aways: Take away Injustice! Jeremiah 33:14-16
Advent Take Aways
Take away Injustice
Jeremiah 33:14-16
† In Jesus’ Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrate what righteousness and justice truly is, even as you share in Christ’s Justice and Righteousness!
- God Gives…God Takes Away
Looking at all the Advent readings for this year, a common thread started to appear. Or perhaps it would be good to say was that the common thread was that things disappeared.
You see, the coming of Christ, whether the first coming, or the second coming we wait for, means radical change to life – as things which haunt us disappear. In this sermon series, we will watch the distractions that corrupt us be taken away, then the fear and anxiety be taken away, we see our-self-centeredness taken away…and we will consider what their absence means…
It all starts with what is taken away in today’s reading, as the promise of God is heard,
And injustice is dealt with
And what is left, when Christ comes, is the complete absence of injustice and its corollary, unrighteousness, is truly amazing…
- The Take Away
If we are going to talk about injustice, we better define what is not just, what is not right, what is not fair. Just, right and fair are all the same word in both Greek and Hebrew.
The problem is that most of us, injustice is slanted heavily in our favor, as we cry out about a call in a sporting event. “those refs are blind”, like a child accusing another of an unfair advantage. We do the same thing when we hear of someone’s court case, or a business deal, or a war.
We assume, and often demand that others acknowledge that we have all the information, that we know all the rules, and that we have the responsibility and authority to judge the matter! Whether we are on the playground, or trying to force peace on the Holy Land.
This is where it gets a bit…challenging. Unless we not only know exactly what happened, and exactly what the minds were thinking and hearts were feeling, our judgment of what is injust or just is biased, and therefore sinful!
Yeah – we can be the ones who back injustice, even when we claim to be defending justice! God’s standard of justice versus injustice has no grey area, it is complete. Anything less than 100% perfect is unrighteous, anything biased where we claim it isn’t fair or righteous is simply sin—we’ve decided to make God in our image—we’ve credited ourselves with His purity, with His omniscience, with His righteousness and justice!
And let’s face it, that isn’t us!
For us to pray to end injustice affects our attitudes and behaviors as much as the world’s
- What that Leaves Us
So the promise from Jeremiah deals with the taking away of injustice. It is the focus of the entire passage. It starts with
14 “The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them. 15 “In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. (Jeremiah 33:14-15)
Here is the promise of the first advent – the coming of Jesus—the descendant of King David. The difference between Jesus and every other descendant of David is simple—He is righteous—remember- that is the same word as just!
Here is the standard, here is the One whom everyone else is going to be measured by, and in him, there will be hope—a hope that was always promised, a hope to restore the people of God, and the glory of His people that was seen in the days of King David!
But the way Jesus deals with injustice is not through legislation, the establishment of His kingdom is not through political intrigue, or brute military strength. That is what the world still struggles to understand, as it sees injustice as something that has to be overwhelmed.
Instead, injustice is dealt with by Jesus by His taking it upon Himself at the cross. That is the real way to deal with it, to let it be laid on Jesus, as Isaiah prophesied,
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. Isaiah 53:4-6 (NLT2)
This is why Jeremiah says, 16 In that day Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this will be its name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’
You see, this is the key—Jesus doesn’t just provide us righteousness as someone would deposit or credit us money. Jesus is not just why we are righteous—He is out righteousness.
It is our union with Him in baptism, where we are united with His death, and He cleanses of us sin and all injustice and He becomes our righteousness. He is our Righteousness…
As he takes away the injustice -all of it, at the cross –leaving us freed from it. This is the hope of the second advent, the day when Injustice, already defeated Is banished.
And until that day, The Lord Jesus will protect you, as you dwell in the Father’s peace which is beyond all understanding. AMEN!
God’s Plan! Revealed and Finally Realized! The Plan Executed! (Literally)A sermon on Hebrews 9:24-28
God’s Plan! Revealed and Finally Realized!
The Plan Executed! (Literally)
Hebrews 9:24-28
† Jesus-Son-Savior †
May the grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus help you understand the depth of their plan to deliver you to the freedom of Heaven!
Intro: Don’t ask if you don’t want to know!
Imagine if you were a leader, and in your possession came all your competition’s papers. Included in that collection were letters from your own people, who were planning to betray you. How would you handle it?
That very thing happened to Julius Caesar, as he defeated general Pompey. Inside the chest full of documents there were letters from some of the closest people to him, who were seeking to overthrow him.
Charles Spurgeon, a British preacher and historian, included this part of the story, “if Caesar had read those letters it is probable that he would have been so angry with many of his friends that he would have put them to death for playing him false. Fearing this, he magnanimously took the box and destroyed it without reading a single line.” [i]
It has been said that what you don’t know can hurt you!
Those were the men who would later, on what became to be known as the Ides of March, stab Julius Caesar was literally stabbed in the back by his friends who had written the letters…
The letters he did not read, identifying his betrayers, the ones who planned his death…
Caeser sacrificed his own life, because he didn’t want to face his betrayers.
Our Lord Jesus was also sacrificed by people he loved… the difference is that He knew it was coming, had known for millennia…
For He not only knew their plan, He was the Father’s plan, the plan for our future and hope!
Law – God knew the content of your life
In our reading from Hebrews this morning, there is a comparison between the Jewish High Priest and Jesus, between the Temple’s holy of Holies and the presence God’s throne in heave.
The Holy of Holies is a picture of the heavenly throne where God the Father dwells. The place where the offering is brought to make payment for our sin, the difference.
The place described as the “place made with human hands,” that is either the Tabernacle or its replacement the temple, was only a temporary fix, the offering having to made, as John writes, “like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal.”
Why did God provide this way of Old Testament sacrifice?
For the same reason He had a plan: Jesus.
Because unlike Julius Caesar, had read the record, and knew every sin, every bit of work we’ve done to rebel from God and every thought where we decided we know more than God.
God’s read the letters of your life, even the darkest ones…
He knows, He knew those sins, even before we committed them.
Gospel – One final death….
Caesar didn’t want to know his enemies and what they were doing. He sacrificed his own life for blissful ignorance.
God wanted to know His enemies, for only then could He execute His Plan. For His Plan, Jesus, was to be the sacrifice offered to save their lives. That is why the title of this message is – The Plan Executed – Literally. He was the Plan and He was executed for us!
Hear it again from John the apostle,
“Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.”
No sacrifice every year, just Jesus, God’s plan—His only plan from before the foundation of the world to save us, the Plan – had to be executed.
That was what the tabernacle and the Temple pointed to, every sacrifice of every type, that there would be a final sacrifice that would take away our sins.
Domino’s Delivers
So complete a sacrifice, that when Jesus returns, there will be no longer be any need to deal with sin, it was finished off, its power to condemn us stripped away,
Salvation is Greek actually means to deliver. It is not only salvation from sin, but salvation to a new state of life! If you have a pizza delivered, or food from Grubhub, it is only part of the process to pick up the food at the restaurant—there has to be a delivery.
We have to realize that people aren’t just delivered from sin—they are delivered into the presence of God, where they are welcome. Now as the Holy Spirit takes us residence in us—as promised in our Baptism.
Eternally as one day we are welcomed into heaven!
And that is all He comes back to do, the judgment is already secure because of His sacrifice for us on the cross. So we have been saved from and we await being saved to…
Because the Plan was executed for us.
And because of that – we dwell in the peace of God which is beyond all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! AMEN!
[i] Spurgeon, C. (2017). 300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon (E. Ritzema & L. Smoyer, Eds.). Lexham Press.
God’s Plan! Revealed and Finally Realized! The Plan: To Satisfy Us and Bring Us Joy! A Concordia Message on Psalm 90:12-17
God’s Plan! Revealed and Finally Realized!
The Plan: To Satisfy Us and Bring Us Joy!
Psalm 90:12-17
† I.H.S. †
May the grace and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ satisfy your desires and bring you the greatest joy! AMEN!
Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
As we talk about God’s plan in this sermon series, there are a number of rules about what is called in business “strategic planning, that when taken together give us some basic understanding of the necessity and need for adapting our planning. Both come from the military, and both have been accepted in corporate and educational leadership as laws.
The first they must have worked on forever, trying to come up with a memorable phrase. It states, Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents &#*$ Poor Performance.
An obvious illustration of this comes out of a story during the Cuban Missile Crisis, where people were building nuclear shelters in their back yards. One story comes out of that time where a man build the best shelter, the highest technology possible, and 20 years of canned food and water stored up. The story went along that one day, during a potential missile launch, he went down, locked himself in for 10 years, and then realized he forgot one thing….
A can opener.
Proper planning and preparation….could have prevented perishing
But as we move towards the end of time, and toward the judgment, what kind of planning and preparation can we devise that will see us through something more overwhelming than war?
We need proper planning and preparation…..
Or we will cry out with the Psalmist, 13 O LORD, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants!
For if we don’t know the plan, how can we prepare for it?
All Strategic Plans Dissolve in the first moment of battle
The second rule almost invalidates the first. It’s not fancy, with each first letter matching. It is from a German Field Marshall, but has been requoted by other military leaders, business leaders and politicians since. It says, No plan survives first contact with the enemy! (Or the customer, or the media!)
You can make all the greatest plans, but they fail if they are our plans. This is especially true spiritually!
How many of us plan to never sin again – especially that one sin—you know the one I am talking about… And then the temptation we pray against comes, and we find ourselves falling again, because our plan failed in the first contact with temptation, evil, and Satan and his demons.
While planning and preparation is needed our own desire will fail at times, we will still need something more—readily accessible to depend on In those situations.
Make no mistake my dear people, this Is spiritual warfare. And Satan will do anything to get our focus on us, letting us plan, letting us think we are in control, allowing us to mature, only to trap us in our pride.
But we aren’t the only ones, who plan can fail in the heat of the moment. For Satan’s plan ha already fallen short….
Even as the people of God recognize and call for God’s help…. God was already moving heaven and earth….for His plan and preparation was faultless, and His plan included not surviving.
God’s plan!
What I love about this Psalm is the confidence, the faith that the psalmist has is impressive! For he knows the plans God has for him – and for his people. Look at these requests he makes of God,
Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom!
Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good.
Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory!
And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!
These are the cries of one who is facing defeat, they are the cries of one who knows the heart of God, yet has found their own plans, and their people’s plans trashed. But knowing the heart of God, knowing His plan for us makes the differences here.
For every one of those things are the things God has always done in the past for His people!
The things He did in David’s time, what Jesus did while here was here what the Spirit has done in the church throughout time, showing grace, mercy and love.
I really want to focus on our reaction to this work of God, the request of the psalmist that God “14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives”
First that word “satisfy.”
When I first hear the word, I think of the minimum possible positive result – they satisfy the requirements for the position. The work meets the standard. But the Biblical concept is far deeper than that – think of how you are satisfied after a thanksgiving feast.
When God satisfies us, it is talking about the highest level, that kind of satisfaction that provides for total contentment. It’s the kind of satisfaction that leaves everything and everyone peaceful, ready to relax and celebrate.
It is being assured that the war is over, the battles are won, and everyone has returned home, those who were damaged and broken healing nicely, relationships restored.
Perhaps you would say that this is still in the future, isn’t it? Aren’t we still in a spiritual battle? That is why there is a reference to the unfailing love that will bring us the contentment and satisfaction that will lead us to the joy that we can sing about to the end of our lives.
His Is why Paul would pray,
18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT2)
This is what we need to know each day, each morning, to keep our legs moving, to know that we are not alone, and that Goves us, and restores us.
For that is the wisdom we pray for – to know that God has a plan – and God will make it happen.
AMEN!
Come and See What We Treasure! The God Who Writes Your Name! A sermon on Luke 10:17-20
Come and See What We Treasure!
The God Who Writes Your Name!
Luke 10:17-20
† IHS †
May the grace, mercy and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ cause us to celebrate together the amazing victory of our name being written in heaven!
The Battle Isn’t the War
One of my favorite authors was a man named Alexander Kent, and his primary character for 28 books was a 19th century British naval captain named Richard Bolitho.
In one of the early books, as he was promoted to captain, his crew, which hadn’t been in a battle in the ship’s 6-year existence, barely survived a battle with another slightly larger ship. As his men celebrated, he told his first lieutenant to stop the celebration, stating that they didn’t have a victory to celebrate, as much as they should be relieved they didn’t die that day. He would later lead them to capture a ship that was nearly 3 times their size at one of the greatest naval battles in history. Not only that—but an even larger French ship being towed by the first ship, which never fired a shot, surrendered to his as well!
That was something they should and did celebrate, a lesson learned—winning the battle isn’t winning the war!
It’s like a football game I saw recently, where the winning team had a new coach, and they were playing a average opponent, and they treated the coach like he won the super bowl…and poured 10 gallons of Gatorade over him! The last coach would have had a few quiet words with the leaders, warning them they could get blown out in the next game..
That was what it was like, for the apostles to be rejoicing that they could toss out a few demons, heal a few people and preach a good sermon or two…
You see there was a much larger war, and greater battles, and a victory that we could really celebrate…forever! That is why Jesus said, 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
Law and Power
When I was thinking through the passage, I was thinking I do the same thing as the 72. I take great joy at the victories that occur—victories that have significant visible impact to people, that I get to witness or be involved in…yet are only the opening battle of the war!
An example is when someone joins the church, or comes to church for the first time, or even lets us pray for them.
And we forget that from that moment on, there will be temptation and trials, they will need to be encouraged and lifted up when they fall! The little victory points to the promise of the big victory, yet we settle for the minor victory, as if that is enough.
It is like diapers, and the great joy when parents are freed from them! The parents are so excited! That’s why it is good for younger parents to have some older folk to turn to, who can say, :sure—you are good now…you survived diapers, but now you the terrible twos and threes… and then the teenage and twenties are coming!” Ask some of the older people here… there are a few battles still coming. And the war. Well…
The comfort of the word of God and the sacraments point to something much greater.
Gospel
The promise of our baptism I failed to mention earlier was that we have been given the promise of eternal life, a life without trials or tears, temptations or trauma—and the gift of the Holy Spirit who guarantees that victory.
That is the victory that Jesus is talking about, when he tells the 72, “rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
The word for registered is a little more forceful in the original Greek language. It means to etch or engrave – to put a permanent mark in stone or some permanent source, not just putting ink or led to paper, papyrus or vellum.
It’s permanent – like the Hebrew word used here, “16 See, I have written (etched) your name on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:16a (NLT2)
A friend of mine loved that verse, as it helped him think of this idea of our names being registered engraved in heaven in a far deeper way. He connected it to the nail scars in Jesus’ hands at the cross, and therefore, the reason our names are in heaven is that is where He is.
We were united to Him in his death when we were baptized. There are a lot of ways that the Bible explains our being united to Christ, but our being sealed to Him in baptism.
Out names etched on His hands, His name sealing us, embossing His name in which we are baptized on our hearts and minds
Both indicating the nature of the relationship-an irrevocable relationship, a relationship which will extend into heaven.
This is why we rejoice—a victory like no other, for God has declared and engraved our names in heaven—we belong there…
That is why in Revelation we hear one more time of a name written,
12b And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name. Revelation 3:12b (NLT2)
This is why Jesus wanted the apostles to look past the temporary victories, as powerful as they were. For this salvation, this deliverance, your name written in heaven where we shall dwell, is forever. AMEN!
Come and See What We Treasure! The God Who Helps us Believe! (A Concordia Sermon on Mark 9:14-29)
Come and See What We Treasure!
The God Who Helps Us Believe!
Mark 9:14-29
† In Jesus Name †
The sermon blessing
May the grace, mercy and peace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ encourage you to pray with great confidence, depending on God’s promises!
Introduction
In my devotions this week, I cam across a quote that will help us understand the scene we just heard about in the gospel. A pastor wrote:
Prayer does not fall into a void; neither is it just a kind of psychotherapy that helps us to assemble our spiritual forces and bring them once more into balance; nor is it merely a kind of pious fiction to exercise our souls and calm them. Prayer is directed to reality. It is both heard and heeded. God, then, is someone who has the power, the ability, the will, and the patience to listen to us men. He is so great that he can be present even for those who are small[1]
I think we need to pay more attention to prayer, not because it is what good people are supposed to do.
In today’s gospel, as Jesus comes down the mountain after a special time of prayer and interaction with those the Father sent to minister to him, this lesson about our need to pray is driven home….
Where did the dad go?
As Mark describes the scene, Jesus comes down the mountain, and the there is a lot of noise, as nine of his apostles and the Jewish teacher of the law are arguing loudly, and the crowd has gathered to see what is going on.
Remember – this isn’t near Jerusalem it’s out in the mountains, so a large crowd gathering is not normal. Jesus sees the argument going on, each side zealously taking their positions – so zealously they forgot who needed the help!
Imagine that, the people arguing were so zealous, so focused on winning the argument that they forgot the poor guy and his son. How do I know that? It says so!
16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.
17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him.
The guy was lost in the crowd!
It’s one thing for the pharisees and scribes to forget about the poor guy and his son, it’s another for the disciples! Yet how often do we do that – in the middle of arguments, to forget about the very people we are trying to help?
Why were they powerless to help
This is even more ironic when you think about what they were arguing about – how to minister to the son – and free him from the demons which possessed them. They lost track of the people they were called to minister too—in the heat of a battle with those who believed differently
How often do you and I do the same thing as the 9? Where we talk all about ministry to other people and how they need God in their lives, and what we forget to do—is go to them, minister to them, love them, and help them find the healing we have found in Jesus.
By the way, did I mention this is after the time where Jesus sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God, to heal and free people from demons?
So why couldn’t they cast out this demon?
29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”
Why Does prayer give power?
This is where we get back to where we started, to the power of prayer, to the focus it gives as well. Prayer doesn’t work, it is not powered or made more powerful because of how dedicated we are, or powerful our faith and reason are.
Rather the one prayer that was heard was heard despite how week the man was, how desperate his plea was…
Jesus said, Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
That is the prayer that got answered!
One that was from the heart – that acknowledged the father’s weakness and his dependence on Jesus, even to admitting his unbelief existed, and he needed help with even that.
Jesus died and rose so that we could have a relationship with Him and the Father, one where God is involved in our life,
When I started this message – I included a quote from one of my devotions. Part of it said, “Prayer is directed to reality. It is both heard and heeded. God, then, is someone who has the power, the ability, the will, and the patience to listen to us men.”
This man, this father, needed the reality of God involved in his life. He needed God to help—even when his faith, his belief was challenged to point it didn’t exist. But he had enough faith to cry out for mercy…
As we talk about what we treasure about God—and about the work He does in our life, this is so special. God’s love, His mercy, His grace is poured out on us when we are at our weakest.
That is how much He loves us.
That also means that no one—no matter how weak their faith, no matter how desperate their situation, even with demons oppressing them, can find God’s grace and mercy.
This is what we can share with those around us, who know brokenness as well as we do.
We can reveal to them a relationship with God who hears us, and helps us, even when we need help to believe.
One More thing
One last thing to consider. When Jesus saw the disciples arguing with the teachers of the Law, he said, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you?”
I have to admit I usually hear this passage with Jesus being a little….hmmm… impatient, or frustrated, or just tired of working with these crazy disciples he couldn’t depend on, who ever talking to him after the resurrection, struggled with doubt… they were still broken…
And that was when He assured us of how long He would be with us, helping and caring for us, how long he would put up with us..
He said, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20 (NLT2)
This is the God we treasure… this is the God we all need.
This is our God amen!
[1] Ratzinger, Joseph. 1992. Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. Edited by Irene Grassl. Translated by Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Come and See What We Treasure! The God Who Helps! A sermon on psalm146 from Concordia
Come and See What We Treasure!
The God Who Helps!
Psalm 146
† In Jesus’ Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ reveal to us all the ways God helps His people!
Our treasure—that shines through our brokenness!
The theme for this month is the treasure of God that shines through us, bringing its light to shatter the darkness of our community. It’s based on Paul’s words to the most broken of churches in the scripture, the church at Corinth. He wrote them saying,
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:7 (NLT2)
That is the way outreach works at its best. When through our brokenness, people are able to see the power of God helping us, whether it is helping us endure, or helping us help others, it is incredible, and it is something we need to treasure, just as we treasured the fact that God is near us.
We get to hang on to this truth, that God is our hope, because He is there helping us. That is the reason why we praise Him, just as the author of the Bible passage we are looking at today did.
- We trust and put our hope in powerful people.
As the Psalm begins praising God, even to his dying breath, he quickly inserts a warning, “Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.”
If there was any doubt that the scripture is relevant to us today, this verse should prove it. I don’t care whether it is religion, politics or business, people seem certain to put their trust in people.
Or perhaps more accurately, they put their trust in the people that oppose certain people.
But when one’s hopes and dreams, or one’s fear and anxieties are based on the actions and work of a certain person or group of people, there is certain danger!
We’ve replaced God with a person when we do that. If we’ve chosen to define our lives by them, or their affiliation, then we have, to an extent, made a God out of them or their ideology/identity.
And we’ve effectively kicked God out of our lives.
And when or we breathe our last, the psalmist says, “they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.”
If our confidence had been in them, it would be crushed, as would our dreams and hopes. Even if they were successful, who would care or remember a dozen years later?
So why do we set up such idols? Why do we place our confidence, our hope, our faith in people, or even what they stand for, or say they stand for?
- God helps those who need it.
Instead of encouraging to depend on this group or that, on this person or that one, Scripture tells us something radically different.
It says, “But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”
Contrary to popular belief, God doesn’t help those who help themselves. He helps those who need help, that is why they respond with incredible amounts of praise!
This God of ours, credited with creating heaven and earth and everything in them, we are told helps those:
who are oppressed!
Who are hungry!
He helps those in prisons!
He opens the eyes of the blind!
He lifts up those having incredible burdens!
The Lord helps the foreigners, some translations use the terms aliens. It means those not like the ones living here.
The Lord Helps the Widows and Orphans,
This is the God who helps us!
In the middle of whatever can break us in life, He is there, bringing to us comfort, and healing, and hope—not just for this life—but for eternity.
- We are joyful as we realize the assistance of God.
This is why the psalmist praises Him—with more enthusiasm than any Superbowl or Olympic stadium ever heard. The Psalmist talks about doing so as long as he lives and until his final breath.
Then He says these amazing words, the key to the sermon today.
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. (verse 5)
And then
10 The LORD will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the LORD! Psalm 146:10 (NLT2)
How incredible did the Psalmist think the help he witnessed was, that his ancestors witnessed, this God who sees us, who helps us.
And this was before God’s help was clearly seen.
It was before the cross; it was before the time in the grave; it was before the resurrection and ascension.
Can you imagine what the psalmist would have written it the say after the resurrection, or the day of the Ascension? How much more would the praise ring out? How much more would hands be raised high in praise?
How incredible would the Alleluia’s be when someone believes and is baptized, and the promise of eternal life made sure?
How much more would they celebrate the feast of victory that is the Lord’s Supper?
This is why we talk about celebrating these things. Because we see the promises of God to help us with our biggest struggle—against sin and Satan.
We have to know this—without this help the cross and resurrection provides, we would spend eternity in Hell.
And we would not have any comfort or hope in this life, for we wouldn’t know the love of God, revealed in Christ Jesus.
The very thought of dwelling in the presence of God, of sharing in His life and His glory forever—that why we worship Him, that’s why we praise Him, and that is what we should treasure more than anything!
Amen!
Come and See What We Treasure! The God Who Comes Near! Deut. 4:1-2,6-9
Come and See What We Treasure!
The God Who Comes Near!
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
† In Jesus Name †
Blessing
May the grace and mercy of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ help your treasure the fact that you dwell in the very presence of God, and will, forever!
Who Do You Hear?
Have you ever been in a situation where you were talking to someone, and you didn’t quite hear what they said?
When you look at them, you realize that they know you lost track of the conversation, and they know you realize that they know?
Do you politely ask them to repeat themselves? Do you just pretend you know what they were talking about? Do you hope that they somehow say something that gives you some clue as to what they are talking about, and the importance of it?
Have you been listening to what I am talking about?
What did I just say?
Hmmmmm! (does Mandarin have a thought like “Hmmmm”)
In the passage this morning, God is talking through Moses to Israel about the relationship He wants to have with them, and the most incredible blessing that would provide a blessing—not just to the people of Israel of that day, and their descendants—but to all who would become part of the family of God.
Decrees and Regulations!
What it seems the descendants of Abraham, Issac and Jacob need to listen to, are the decrees and regulations that they are about to learn about. We aren’t just supposed to hear them, but not add or subtract from them. We just have to obey and treasure them.
The challenge is that most people in the world really don’t like being told what they are supposed to do and what they aren’t supposed to do. You want proof? Just watch the speed of cars out on the street when children are being dropped off here and across the street Monday through Friday! You don’t even need to look to the street—just try standing out in the parking lot with a slow sign! If you aren’t run over cussed at, you will understand that people don’t like obey the decrees and regulations they hear or read in the scriptures!
“Love your neighbor!
“Maybe?”
“Honor your father and mother?”
“Uh… do I have to?”
“Make disciples of all ethnicities?”
“God, what did you just say?”
“love your enemies”
“…..”
Hmmmmm!
Israel, even with reminders of the Tabernacle and Temple, with the pillar of smoke and the pillar of fire, struggled to keep what they saw as the rules God forced on them.
That’s going to be the problem—one that continues even in our day. We see God’s decrees as His rules, rather than what it is… and the regulations we see as the judgment God makes on those who fail to live life in the way God advises—and therefore live as those facing condemnation.
We still feel that way today sometimes – that either God has condemned us, or we take care of that for Him, condemning people, and condemning ourselves.
Because we didn’t listen, and we didn’t hear…
You see, the word decree is from the Hebrew word “engraved” as in “engraved in stone.” Engraved in stone like the Decalogue – the 10 words, or as often translated, “the 10 Commandments.”
Where the first thing engraved is, “Anokiy YHWH ka Elohe aser hose ti’mi” translated “I am the LORD your God who rescued you,”
When we need to hear God speak of our relationship, the first thing we need to hear, is that
“I am the LORD your God who rescued you!”
Wisdom!
That is why Deuteronomy goes one to say…” When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ 7 For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? 8 And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?
They nations understood what the primary decree was—and the relationship it established between God and His people – the people through whom the salvation of all nations would come, as Jesus saved them.
That’s how they go from the decrees to the fact that God came near to His people when they call on Him. They understand the decree starts with the fact the God declared Himself to be their God—for He was involved in their lives
As He is in ours.
He calls us to hear this, this intimate relationship He establishes with His people whom He loves. That was what was decreed, that was what the regulations, the judgments of God are based on—even in the Old Testament, as God promised to always forgive and restore His people.
That is what the Mosaic Covenant promised, it is what the tabernacle pointed to, it’s what is found over and over in the prayers as the Temple was dedicated, when Solomon voiced, “34 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them…” 1 Kings 8:34 (NLT2)
And that is fulfilled at the cross, as Jesus looks down at us, not condescendingly, but full of love, and tells the Father to “forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
Remember this (and pass it on!)
That is why the passage ends with these words: “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.”
never forget….
Never forget…
23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (NLT2)
This is how we listen carefully, how we see what those who saw God come near the people of Israel saw – that we have “a God as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on Him.”
Amen!
