Category Archives: Sermons
We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that: Everyone Would Be Identifiable (as His) – a sermon on Ephesians 4:17-52
We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that
Everyone Would Be
Identifiable… (as His)
Ephesians 4:17-5:2
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ reveal to you your true identity as a child of God, and empower you to live in that identity!
Who am I
I haven’t done a pastor parker’s poignant parable in a while, a real-life story that completely illustrates the lesson about Jesus, and His role in our life.
So today’s parable – the Kingdom of God is like the first day of preschool. Or the first day of college. It really doesn’t matter, for on such days, for life becomes radically different, and people are different, the order of our days are different, and even sleep patterns becomes different!
And in the middle of it all, we are unsure of ourselves, and because we lost all we have used to identify ourselves, things become crazy.
If we lost our identity, and if people don’t know who we are, we lost everything that governs our lives, and we have to re-learn who we are, and because of that, how we live.
But the Kingdom of God establishes our identity, much as the crowns given on the first day tell us (and our teacher) who we are….
Mistaken Identity
Do you remember the first day at a new school? The confusion, the lack of direction, being completely ignorant of the rules—not just the official ones of the schools, but the rules of society, the unspoken rules of the community? Or maybe it’s a new job or a new church, and there are some, well let’s say different people there.
Now hear the words of Paul, 17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
You are in a new place, you don’t know anything—never mind which of the voices you should listen too. So rather than listen to God, the temptation is to listen to whoever says “do whatever you want!” “do what makes sense” rather than – obey the rules.
This is noting new, the wisest man in history, King Solomon, wrote,
18 When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. Proverbs 29:18 (NLT2)
What would happen if a teacher walked out of the classroom for 30 minutes, or you left 40 freshman alone for a weekend at your house? Without guidance, people run wild…and some translations phrase it—they perish.
Is it no wonder why? Look at the behaviors that lack confusion brings about,
25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
And, 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language.
And, 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
Notice how many of these are sins of passion, an indication of a lack of control, a lack of an identity that defines who we are, and how we behave.
He identified you as His own
Our thoughts, our words, our actions all depend on who we are, and how we identify ourselves.
No, let me restate that – it depends on whether we realize how God identifies us. The key verse in all our readings today,
Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
When the children showed up on Monday, Elizabeth had crowns prepared for them with their name on them. The reason I made the connection to the sermon was those crowns, for when God identifies you as His child, that crown is guaranteed, for we are children of God, children of the King.
That’s what we are talking about – for once the kids are settled, once they realize that they mean the world to their teachers, they settle in, give lots of hugs and get excited to be here, where they know they are loved.
It becomes second nature to behave within the rules then. They aren’t perfect, just like their teachers aren’t. But they soon get used to the environment, they get used to the rules, because they know they are loved, they know they are known, they know they belong here.
The same is true for us, the world changes when we realize who we are, who loves us, in whose presence we belong. That’s why it ends with this…
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us,
As we learn to walk with Jesus, as our hearts open up and His love pours out as we love others, everything is different in life. We are invited into this life filled with love, a love proven as Jesus paid for our sins with His blood on the cross.
He knew it was coming, he knew it would cost Him that much. And so He died for us. And it is in His death that we find out identity,
11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. Colossians 2:11-12 (NLT2)
Romans talks about the same thing as we are united to Jesus in our baptism, as we are cleansed from all our sins, and we are forever made one with God, as the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us, and marks us with God’s name.
We are identified as His, and as we learn from Him, we become like Him, reflecting Hi loves and glory into this confused world.
This is who you are, children of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. That is your identity, all our identity, as we look towards life eternal in the presence of the God who loves us, and identifies us as His own.
AMEN!
God Acted on OUR Behalf: A sermon from Concordia on Psalm 124
God at Work IN OUR LIVES
God Acted on OUR Behalf
Psalm 124
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace, love and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be revealed to you daily in your lives.
The Scariest Meditation….think about it for a moment
I want you to open your bulletin back up to the first reading, from Psalm 124, and read that first question with me….
What if the LORD had not been on our side?
Now think of a traumatic experience in your life, and meditate on that psalm for a moment…
That’s only half a moment…keep going… what would have happened if God wasn’t there?
I have to admit, when I tried to actually consider that, and the times I’ve been through, and the times I am going through… I can’t… it’s too hard..
That and my mind keeps hearing you guys telling me… “and also with you.”
The purpose of the psalms, whether sung, chanted or read, are to help us worship—which means we need to know and be able to express why we value God….
And today, that starts by considering the desolation that is the alternative….
To be honest, I would rather not do so….
If He wasn’t their rage might have been deserved
The passage continues, Let all Israel repeat: 2 What if the LORD had not been on our side when people attacked us? 3 They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. 4 The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. 5 Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.
Wow, were these people upset at Israel! The description sounds worse than war, rather more like the kind of rage that happens when a bear or a tiger is hurt, and mauls whoever is nearby whether they deserve it, or not.
The problem is, without God acting in our lives, this is hard to say, they deserve it.
The reason is that it is a hard thing to say is… get this… because that means we deserve wrath for some of the things that God has had to deal with in our lives.
The stuff that ticks people off, the stuff we’ve done that causes so much anxiety we are drowning it, and the guilt would overwhelm us…
And we could have deserved it… for Paul described us well, in describing himself, Titus, and every Christian…..
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them…. (Titus 3:3)
Wow- pastor-you are unloading on us today!
You really think we are all that bad? Do you really think we are evil
I could point to scripture as evidence, if I wanted to take the heat off of myself… or I could point to the joy that of you felt a few weeks ago, as you brought your burdens up to the altar, and had them taken from you, so that God could commune with you…
But before you get to pounded in the ground, I would ask you to read the passage again…. Especially the underlined part…
We escaped – because He acted
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them…. (Titus 3:3)
It goes on to talk about what happened then,
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed, 5 he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us. 6 God poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for. Titus 3:4-7 (TEV)
This is what the Psalmist was talking about when he said…
6 Praise the LORD, who did not let their teeth tear us apart! 7 We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap. The trap is broken, and we are free! 8 Our help is from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:6-8)
There are traumas that we bring on ourselves, and there are others that we do not. Do not take these words to say that all the trauma is our fault, and even as some of it is, we know this,
God did rescue us.
This isn’t about whose side He on….
That’s what the psalmist asks, “what if the Lord had not been on our side…”
The purpose of thinking about that is to thank Him for being there.
Every week, when I study the passage, I look at the original languages. Every once in a while, this week the first line looks like this…
| What | if | the | Lord | • | had | not | been | on | our | side | |||||||||
| 6 לוּלֵ֣י | ← | → | 7 יְ֭הוָה | 8 שֶׁ | ►9 | ◄6 | 9 הָ֣יָה | → | 10 ל11 ָ֑נוּ | ← | |||||||||
My translation of this would be simpler….
If Not YHWH existed(was) with us
Or even simpler
If not God was with you!
But that is merely to get us to think…
Praise God…the Lord is with us..
And He has rescued us.
As the psalmist says, the trap is broken, we are free. Our God, who created all that we don’t see, and all we do,… is our God, and He is with us! AMEN!
God Takes our Loads: A Sermon on Psalm 81:1-10 (Part 3 of the series God at Work in Our Lives)
God at Work in Our Lives
God Takes our Load
Psalm 81:1-10
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be revealed in your lives, as you are freed from your load of burdens!
- Why We Praise Him
I want you to hear the words you just sang again…
So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again!
It is as we realize this prayer will be answered that we move from crying out for God’s mercy to crying out His praises:
Savior, He can move the mountains!
My God is mighty to save!
He is mighty to save!
Forever, Author of salvation!
He rose and conquered the grave!
Jesus conquered the grave!
The last song we will sing in the service has a similar format –
My sin O the bliss,
Of this glorious tho’t:
My sin not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross!
And I bear it no more,
What comes after that?
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
As we look this summer at how God is working in our lives, we will see that as He works, our praises just erupt. To see God removes that which crushes us, as He heals that which rips our hearts in two, as He restores us after life breaks us into a million pieces it is unbelievably powerful! And our hearts just sing His praises…
This is why we praise the Lord who is here…
- Jubilee Worship
The psalm this morning starts out encouraging us to do something:
Sing praises to God, our strength. Sing to the God of Jacob. 2 Sing! Beat the tambourine. Play the sweet lyre and the harp!
In other words- rejoice! Praise Him! Glorify Him!
Side note – to glorify something means to establish and recognize how valuable/invaluable Someone is in your life!
Get that definition again – in fact read it.. to glorify something means to establish and recognize how valuable/invaluable Someone is in my life!
Why – it will sound silly, but because of what is described in the next verse:
Blow the ram’s horn at new moon, and again at full moon to call a festival! 4 For this is required by the decrees of Israel; it is a regulation of the God of Jacob.
A brief explanation here – it is the blowing of a ram’s horn at the monthly feast, and especially at the 50 year sabbath, that results in the praise. You see, that Horn was used as a alert to not only the presence of God, but the pouring out of his mercy—which was celebrated at an incredible festival giving thanks to God.
It signified the cancelling of debt – and at the 50th year – the restoration of all that was lost, sold off, surrendered to others. It required the restoration of relationships long thought dead.
In other words—the removal of every burden that could weigh people down….which is described in the next two verses,
5 He made it a law for Israel when he attacked Egypt to set us free. I heard an unknown voice say, 6 “Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.
That is why we worship our LORD Jesus Christ—that is why “The is with YOU is so an incredible statement
It is life changing.
- No foreign gods –
He is a God who listens! Unlike the foreign gods that were worshipped at the time and the ones people entrust themselves now, God cares! He listens. Hagar, the servant girl of Sarah, who Sarah forced to sleep with Abraham her husband, and then drives her and her son away in jealousy describes it better than any other:
13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” Genesis 16:13 (NLT2)
To see the one who sees you… who knows you, who listens to your cries!
That is why the psalmist writes on God’s behalf, the law part of this passage:
8 “Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to me! 9 You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god.
God is clear—He will invest all the power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. SO what sense does it make to entrust your life, your soul, your heart to some other “god?” For that is what a god is, who are what you entrust yourself to, depending on that to help you live. Whatever you decide to invest your time, your talents, your happiness, your life. It is what you turn to when the burdens of life are more than you can bear….
And only one God can do anything about those burdens. Only one God can lift them, and remove the burdens from your hands!
- Burdens relieved, filled with Good things!
Again, hear the promise:
“Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.
That is what the cross is all about—for Jesus frees us from the heaviest of burdens there!
He washes them away here – something we need to remember.
Here, at the altar, He lifts the burdens off of your shoulders, He frees your hands from these heavy weights…. All of these hurts, all of the scars, all of the the crud in your life.
This is why we worship Him, and this is the time and place to remind you of this in a tangible way that Ihope you remember. So this is what I want you to do.
In your bulletin, there is a sheet of paper with the word burden on it.
To often we hang onto these burdens to long, we think we have to deal with them. So when you come up for communion- bring the piece of paper. Hold onto it, grasping onto it like we do with our brokenness.
When you are here at the rail, I will take it from you, exchanging it for the Body of Christ, and Deacon Bob will give you the Blood shed for the forgiveness, the removal of allt he weight of your sin…Try to see God at work in this, for this is what He’s promised to do, to remove those burdens, to care for all you care deeply about…
And you will leave the paper here… and the load it represents…and walk away free of it…try not to take up the burdens again, but be confident in His love and care.
For God promised to fill you with good things – even as He removes the load off your shoulders, and what filled your hands..
For He sees you, and lives with you- determined to overwhelm you with His peace that passes all understanding – for you are His… you are Christ’s
Let’s pray!
By My Hands, For My Sake: Mary Magdelene – A Good Friday Sermon
By My Hands, For My Sake
Mary Magdalene
Luke 8:2, John 19:25, Matthew 27:55-56
† Iesou, Huios, Soter †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ free you from whatever oppresses you!
Hands once oppressed, and sin filled.
As we have wandered into and out of lives that were involved in the death of Christ, we have seen broken men, the Father of the thief and Barabbas, men who we don’t normally think of as broken, Peter and Nicodemus, and those we don’t think of as being redeemable- like Judas.
This afternoon, we look at a lady, one identified by name at the foot of the cross in each of the gospels. But to imagine what she had endured, only would leave her more distraught, more feeling abandoned as she stood at the foot of the cross.
Her hands, her sin, would require Jesus’s death, a death she would prepare him for by washing his feet with her tears, and anointing him for burial with the costliest perfume.
Yet to look upon Him, as He hangs on the cross…for her sake.
It is perhaps, one of the most compassionate things in scripture, that she would be the first to see him on Sunday morning…
To understand the importance of her, realizing that Jesus was risen, we need to understand where she had come from, from what she had been rescued.
Who is She?
We know only a few things, her brother and sister’s name, and that she was a prodigal, a lady of the evening who became wealthy, but at a great cost.
Mark’s gospel explains..
9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. Mark 16:9 (NLT2)
I do not know how this lady became possessed by demons, but it is nothing to dismiss.
A horrid life, full of trauma, full of pain, full of demonic torment. We don’t know if she ever knew love from parents, or a husband. Used and abused by men, full of despair, robbed of all hope.
Most of us have sins that haunt us that most others do not see. Her sin was more visible than others. But all of us are haunted by our sin, all of us had the moments when we dwelt in darkness.
It is that darkness she worried about as she saw Jesus on the cross, it must have been that darkness that fell, even as His blood dripped to the ground. How her anxiety would grow as she watched Him die.
It is has been said that it is always the darkest before dawn.
But what if you do not know dawn is coming. What if it doesn’t come for a few days.
Do we realize the power of sin had over us, as Mary did? Would we more than sickened at the cross, if we didn’t know there was a resurrection coming?
She knew Jesus rescued her from the darkness before—that is why she would show adoration at a pharisee’s house, even though she would be dismissed and mocked.
She knew what Jesus had rescued her from…
Do we?
We look back and know….
We of course know now, not only would she see the risen Jesus, but she would see Him before Peter and John, before all the others, whose hands were involved…
We will hear that story soon…
When we do, remember the feeling now, as we stand with Mary, an realize the depth of the sin that threatens to overshadow us… and know that it won’t..
And adore Him. AMEN!
I Got Shotgun! A sermon on Matthew 10:32-45
I got shotgun!
Mark 10:32-45
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you the ability to concentrate on what Jesus said, and in those words, find peace and hope!
ADD or something worse?
I’m not sure how it started, but from my earliest days, back before seatbelts, if we were going somewhere in a car in my family, we all yelled out “shotgun” if either one of our parents were not going.
Whoever said it first got to sit up front, leaving the other two in the car.
We “played” the same game in High School, both on the east coast and out here, as we piled way to many people in our cars. I’ve even heard older church leaders call out shotgun when carpooling together… and I might have done it…once or twice
It is a lot like the passage in the gospel – as two of the apostles think they get the best seats in heaven, or at least they are trying to get them!
Let me re-tell the story in Pastor Parker’s Poignant Paraphrase.
Jesus: Hey guys, we are heading to Jerusalem, so I can be betrayed by one of you, beaten up, tortured, put through 2 sham trials and then crucified…
James and John: Jesus – we are going somewhere? Awesome! Can we get the best seats?
Apostles: You two are mean!
Jesus: (shakes his head!) Okay – let’s go over this again….
Did I mention that the apostles have a problem listening—and a very short attention span?
I mean, Jesus is distraught by his imminent crucifixion, and looking for a little support, trying to prepare them for the biggest trauma in their life… and what does he get in response?
“I got shotgun!”
Sacrifice
Let’s go back to Jesus words – we need to hear what they missed.
Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him. 33 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man* will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. 34 They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.”
A couple of things to notice here.
The first is the phrase. “once more!” This is not the first time Jesus has talked about it, and he will bring it up after the resurrection, They will remember what he says—later!
Far more important is that phrase that ends Jesus words,
“but after three days he will rise again!”
I can’t imagine Jesus didn’t say that without a huge smile, and glint in his eyes! Especially after talking about the betrayal, the trials, the mental and physical torture and death…and oh by the way – three days later…I will be alive…
I cannot imagine anything Jesus saying in the three years the 12 followed him that was any more shocking, any more important!
I am going to be murdered – you will witness it—and then, I will live again!
“Shotgun!”
Sigh….
Sin & Narcissism
As someone who stands up here, I sort of understand people loosing track of what I say, it happens. But I am not sure if this is just an attention span issue, or if there is something deeper at work in this.
Something deeper like a sense of privilege, “We deserve to sit beside you on the throne of God Jesus! By the way, if one is on the right, and one on the left – where does God the Father sit?
You see, that’s the problem with sin, and desiring what we truly don’t understand. We don’t consider the implications and consequences of what we “want!” We don’t the capacity to understand that this sin, which seems so small, can set off a war, damage relationships, hurt our future,
In this case, the other 10 apostles, heard James and John, and the translation says, they were indignant! I thought that meant ticked off, but it actually means grieved and hurting. This stung – whether they simply beat them to it, or that someone would demand Jesus put them first, indicating the others were 2nd or 3rd class.
No matter what, all 12 were sinning, and their relationship with God and each other took the backseat, because they wanted the front seat…
We often do the same thing, placing our wants and desires in our lives in a place where we set God aside, and don’t care what happens to others, as long as we get our way… as long as way…
The blessing
It is a God thing, that Jesus will use this situation to teach a strong lesson about love, and leadership. He uses the sin, and its consequences to call them together to show them an incredible truth.
43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Here is the lesson, that what Jesus came to be about, what the Father wants is not someone who desires the power that people think is being at the top. It’s not about having the ability and authority to command,
When Jesus came into His glory, was on the cross when He died. There was a guy on his right and left – and one went to paradise to be with God for ever. That’s why talked them about being baptized, and about suffering – for that is where God’s glory shown in the greatest and most complete way ever.
As He served, as He gave His life as a ransom for you and I, and so many others.
This is why we proclaim His death until He comes again – because it is glorious – the pain and suffering He endures for our sake… that we share in because we were baptized into His death, so we can rise with Him in the resurrection.
We share in His glory, as we realize the depth and breadth, the height and width of His love for us. And the ability we have to love, because He loves us – our ability to love God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to love each other.
Are you listening? Are you reading to be crucified with Christ, that you might rise with Him? Do you want to go where He is, not today – but for eternity?
And who wants the front seat?
Let’s pray!
Accomplished by His Anguish: God gives Help to the Hopeless! A Lenten sermon on Romans 5:1-11
Accomplished by His Anguish
God Gives Hope to the Hopeless
Romans 5:1-11
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you hope, as you consider what Jesus accomplished as He endured the agony and anguish of His sacrifice
- Spirituality- a priority
When I originally thought through this sermon, I came up with a parable of sorts. Of sorts because it isn’t primarily about the kingdom of God, as a good Biblical parable should be.
Instead, it is about our lack of recognizing the need, and staying focused on the presence of God, and without thinking about that presence, and what it means for God to be our God, and for what it means to be His people, we are going to be incomplete, walking through the wilderness, encountering temptation and sin, and the guilt and shame that accompanies it.
So here is the semi-parable. A life without a regular focus on God, without hearing and reading His word and without the sacraments is like the box containing a half-finished project, that is buried in your garage, or your storage closet!
You all know what I mean – that project you started, and you were putting together until you realized you might have looked at the directions first? And then you realized you had to undo what you had done and start from scratch.
We often do that, we walk through our lives knowing God is there, but we forget the reason He is there. And so when life gets a bit complicated, when we are dealing with situations that make us question God, or when temptation and sin rearranges our lives, we often set aside our spiritual health. We think once we get our lives straight, we will find the time to pick up that Bible, or talk with God, or find the time to commune with God and His people. Burying our faith like that long-forgotten project becomes the norm, and let’s be honest – sometimes we live like we did before we knew God.
When we do live life, realizing God’s presence, even in the midst of stress, trauma and grief we know the hope of God’s rescue, for as we heard from Romans,
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
What a wonder it is, in the midst of problems and trials, to know how dearly God loves us!
- Utterly Helpless?
Often, it is when we run into problems and trials, that we realize our spiritual life has be placed very carefully up on a shelf, and then other things get piled in front of it. Those may be distractions, we hit a busy season in life, or there are wounds caused by others words or actions that we don’t want to deal with, right now.
The problem is the weight of the world, including the weight of our own sin crushes us, when we are ignoring our spiritual health, and the relationship which provides and restores it. That is what Paul talking about when he says,
6 When we were utterly helpless…
Those are strong words, utterly helpless.
But that is what the world does, it breaks us, and what we do to ourselves is often far worse. We basically disassemble ourselves and try to put ourselves back together in a way we think is right, ignoring how God tells us to live.
That is what every sin does, whether it is trying to find a god who isn’t god, who gives us what we think we want, or whether it is murder, adultery or gossip.
And then, having set God aside, we look at our lives and just put the brokenness on the shelf, and then bury it behind other things we don’t know how to fix…. and the broken and incompleteness of life fills up everything….
We need to hear the rest of what Paul writes…
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
There is our hope of salvation, that Jesus comes along, looks at our brokenness, and the love of God for us means that the Father and the Son have to do something about it.
- Our friend
Lent is that time, to open the garage door, to start to uncover all the stuff, and then to let a friend or relative, you know, the one who can fix anything, come in, and complete all the projects, clearing out the junk but getting the most out of your life—a life with Him that will go into eternity.
That is who Jesus is, that friend. Hear the rest of the passage,
For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
I don’t care how full the “garage” of your life is, how broken it is, how incomplete. This is who God is, the one who loves you, who comes along and fixes and heals, restores, and promises to complete our lives. This is why we talk to Him, listening to how He reveals Himself to us, and how He heals us, as He cleanses us in baptism, heals us as we confess our sins, and nourishes and put us back together, as we eat and drink His body and blood and completes us.
So let’s spend this time, until Easter, giving Him our brokenness, the parts of our lives that are incomplete, and celebrate the love of God for us. AMEN!
Come and See His Glory, EVERYONE! Psalm 50:1-6
Come and See His Glory
EVERYONE!
Psalm 50:1-6
† I.H.S. †
May the grace and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus instill in you a desire to see God, and to help others hear His invitation to them as well!
- The Summoning
The invitation looked a little ostentatious, being gold trimmed and written on the finest of paper. My first reaction was being overwhelmed, not sure if I should believe I got the interview, wondering maybe if Bob was playing a practical joke on me!
But I looked at it a second time – this invitation to a glorious feast, and studied it, and it was real!
And then I realized the invitation, really a summoning was not just to me, or my family. It was for everyone here, and many, many more people.
You heard it this morning, “The LORD, the Mighty One, is God, and he has spoken; he has summoned all humanity from where the sun rises to where it sets.”
I wonder if they will all show in time, on Ash Wednesday? That would be so cool!
Seriously, this summoning is so powerful – to all people, across all time – all humanity from beginning to its eventual end… all called tp God…
- The Way He Comes?
At first glance, being summoned to meet God sounds like being summoned to the Vice-Principal’s office in High School. Or worse, walking down the hall, and hearing the VP call out your name and yell at you to get in the office.
I won’t say if I know this terrifying situation first hand, or not…. But I know quite a few people that did experience it…
Here how the Psalmist describes God coming to meet us where He summons us. (I wish I had a deep booming voice to narrate this with!)
2 From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance. 3 Our God approaches, and he is not silent. Fire devours everything in his way, and a great storm rages around him. 4 He calls on the heavens above and earth below to witness the judgment of his people.
If Peter, James, and John hit the ground terrified when God the Father spoke to them at Jesus’ transfiguration, what would they do in this scene?
This sounds scary, and for a reason.
Seeing God in all His glory scared the Israelis’ when they were at Mount Sinai. To hear the voice of God not be silent, but to thunder with more of a crash than the loud mic drop ever done at Concordia, or the loudest the organ can play.
Much louder, more terrifying as God says, “come here! NOW!”
Then we see the fire devouring everything, and the great storm blowing and flooding and washing it all away! And as we hear this terrifying description, part of it goes, “they deserve it,!” and the other half recognizes that the “they” includes the we.
We deserve to be cast into the lake of fine, we deserve the wrath of God that is found in a storm beyond anything ever seen.
And so this picture of God coming and calling might scare us, it certainly will scare anyone who rejects God in this life,
As He comes – hear what the Psalmist writes in verse 4 again, “. 4 He calls on the heavens above and earth below to witness the judgment of his people.
If it wasn’t for one word in that sentence, it would terrify me….
HIS
- The Judgment – truly Glorious
HIS
“To witness the judgement of HIS people.”
Those three little letters make all the difference in the world.
Though we deserve to be punished for our sin, our Judge is also our advocate, and He will judge us.
The passage even tells us how…
“Bring my faithful people to me— those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices.” 6 Then let the heavens proclaim his justice, for God himself will be the judge.
Even before He Judges us, even as He summons us, God is declaring that we trust and depend on Him – that is what it means that wea re faithful in this passage. Not that we are perfect, but that we know He is our only hope to deal with the broken mess sin has made of this world, and of our lives.
This is why Jesus came- to do this! This is what Moses and Elijah, and all the Old Testament pointed to, this point where God would gather His people and declare them faithful.
That is why there is a covenant, based in a sacrifice, that ties us to God. A covenant that says – you will be my people, and I will be your God.
A covenant whose sacrifice happened, not at the temple, but on a cross. Whose broken body and pour out blood we commune with, even as we see bread and wine. This is what we celebrate when we receive the Body and blood—this incredible sacrifice, this incredible blessing, this incredible summoning into the presence of God.
The cross is the guarantee of this judgment of God, that we are judged, not as guilty sinners, but as His beloved children.
No wonder Peter, James and John were told to listen to Jesus!
They didn’t, of course, not until after the resurrection, and for some, the ascension. And even then they had ups and downs. They always returned to the word, and to the sacraments, to remember what Jesus taught them about the Father, and the cross. That’s what the Holy Spirit does – God helping us with the reality we need to know..
That we are HIS. Amen!
Cry Out! “He is Home!” A Sermon on John 1:1-
A Painting of Jesus and Mary by my friend Mark Jennings. You can find all his art (and order copies) at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/mark-jennings.html
Cry Out:
For He has answered!
“He Is Home!”
John 1:1-14
† Jesus, Son, Savior †
May the grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ help you be at home with God
- Dwelling, Domicile, HOME
Yesterday, I made a comment about how I struggled with the newer translation’s attempt with Gabriel’s greeting to Mary before he announced she was pregnant. More familiar with an older translation, it resonated more deeply with me.
Today the tables are reversed. There is an incredible difference in my mind between saying Jesus “dwelt” among us, or even more stiffly Jesus lived here, and how our translation does it this morning, where it says He “made His home among us.”
It’s one thing to say he moved onto our street, it’s another to say He made our home, His home.
And the original language supports that, if not even more familial.
That is what Jesus does, that is what He wants, to walk into our homes, our lives, and make His home with us.
Even if a bit awkward, even if embarrassing.
I mean think about it,
God doing your dishes?
And that is where He wants!
God sharing your bathroom? Or something worse…
- Light in Darkness
There is a description in the gospel reading of what life is like before Christ. It is not life, and it is shrouded in complete darkness. The kind that happens when even the stars and the moon are shrouded by a storm, and all the power is out.
This is what sin, the sin of a nation, of a community, of a family and of the individual does – Paul talks of such sin as being a veil, covers our ability to see the glory of God,
Without Jesus being our home, we dwell is the despair of that darkness, without the hope, peace, joy and love that we talked through during Advent.
But John promised that Jesus is the light and life, that He cuts through darkness, that cuts through the despair, not only does He destroys that darkness, He does more—He invites us into the light of the glory of the Father, for where He is, the Father is as well.
For Him to make His home with us in us, is not like he’s staying for a few days as a guest that needs to be served. There are other churches that might talk more about that, I think that we let Him care for us, what He calls us to be and do makes itself manifest.
But He cares for us…
Unfailing love and faithfulness
Last night we talked about His care for as as being driven by His passionate commitment to us, today, John the Apostle describes this as His unfailing love and faithfulness towards us. He is our God, who pours out that love on people, that those willing to receive it, to depend on Him, will have been saved.
We have a God who is so at home in our lives, that He ”does all the housework” cleaning up for us, feeding us, making sure we are well cared for, even when life seems broken. He is there, He is home with us. His our Lord and God.
This is the work of Jesus Christ, that started way before the manger, it started in creation – a creation with one purpose, to make us the children of God. This is why we are here… this is who we are.
We are His.
The Passionate Commitment: A Christmas Eve sermon on Isaiah 9:2-7
The Passionate Commitment
Isaiah 9:2,6-7
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ teach you that God has committed everything He is to loving you!
Zealous, Devoted, Passionate Commitment
He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!
What an amazing description of Jesus, our promised Savior. Those four titles have made up so many Christmas Eve sermons, so many Advent sermon series have been based on those 4 titles, those four descriptions of the ministry that Jesus would have to His people.
Descriptions of how He would minister to us.
But that is not the thing to focus on this night.
This night, two words from the next verse are the point that we, and the world need to not just hear, but need to understand. Hear the end of that verse,
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s armies will make this happen.
The two words I want us to focus on are “passionate commitment.”
Most translations use zeal, some use devotion, some use determination, one even uses jealous love, but looking at the word, passionate commitment seems to bring across the message better than any other.
Tonight, we need to realize His passionate commitment, and we are the object of that passionate commitment.
The roles are needed – but the commitment more needed
The four roles are important, we need to understand how Jesus fulfills each of those roles. We’ve looked at that before, and there is a lot of value in knowing what God promised to do, but that is not enough.
Here is why–we live in a world full of broken promises.
How many times have you been disappointed in life? Maybe it was a boss with a promise that he or she couldn’t follow through on. Maybe it was a teacher who didn’t fulfill their role. Maybe it was your parents, and the expectation of what you would get for Christmas.
It could have been you, in the role of boss, teacher or parent, who had to break a promise.
We just live in a world where it becomes difficult to depend on others because of such broken and shattered histories,
The word commitment is life a 20 dollar bill—we found out it doesn’t have the value we once thought it did. We get cynical, either about promises made to us, or the ability we have to live in a relationship that is based on them. For certainly, over time, we will cannot keep our end of the bargain.
It really doesn’t help us when we are gifts are give to us by someone “making a list and checking it twice!”
We may not think God would do it, but it is a part of how our minds think – that we have to be good enough to deserve our gifts, our presents, and the help we so desperately need.
This doesn’t have to happen… it has!
God, through the words He entrusted to Isaiah, put everything behind this promise.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s armies will make this happen.
Of all the things God could invest his passion in, His care for you and every human is primary. Each person is critical, that is why He is so patient with us, despite our brokenness. He puts everything He is into fulfilling that promise,
And He has.
That’s the advantage that is beyond compare for us. We don’t see Isaiah’s words as a future promise, we see this commitment fulfilled in Jesus’ birth, life, teaching, death , resurrection and ascension, and know He is interceding for us with the Father, and has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us.
This promise ha been kept, the passionate commitment seen here in the manger, and even more on the cross. And someday, believers will look to the sky, to see Christ returning for us, and then to the throne, where they will see God in all His glory, welcome all believers home.
And until then, think through these promises, and realize the glorious love of God which drives the passion that made it happen. AMEN!
Cry out! “The Lord is With You!” A sermon on Gabriel and Mary from Luke 1:6-28
Cry Out:
For He has answered!
“The Lord Is With You!”
Luke 1:26-38
† Jesus! Son! Savior †
May the grace and peace of God which passes all understanding enable you to ponder the depth of His love. For you and your world. Amen!
- Hail Mary… full of grace, the Lord is with thee..
As someone who grew up Roman Catholic, hearing the gospel this morning seemed, well, a little off.
I mean, I know it is perfectly accurate when it says,
“Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
but I will always hear this passage in the way I memorized it as a kid,
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee….
It means the same thing – and we have to understand what it means, and more importantly, why it means that….
It is not for us a prayer to her, but as with so many in scripture, an opportunity to contemplate the work of God in her life, that we might comprehend His work in ours.
The reason for this is clear, though we don’t carry Jesus physically for 9 months, we are still united to Him, because “we are favored by God”, or to use the old words, “we are full of grace!”
- Confused and disturbed – at a message from God?
Before finding out she was about to become pregnant, Mary reacted to the presence of the angel, and his opening line about being favored—filled with grace.
It isn’t a bunch of “praise the Lord!” and “Alleluias.” She was in shock. The older translations say she was “greatly troubled,” but the modern translation does a good job—she was “confused and disturbed and she tried to think what the angel could mean!”
If she was confused and disturbed by an angelic being telling her she had been found in favor with God, that she would be blessed beyond belief, how much more would she be confused by the idea of carrying Jesus for nine months and giving birth to the One who would die to save mankind?
But we have the same confusion when it comes to God visiting us. We have the same reaction when God is calling us to something – especially if it is difficult and may leave us open to ridicule, or lead to uncomfortable conversations.
Who me God? How can this be? I have never done anything like this before!
Or maybe we answer like Moses, I am to shy, I can’t speak, I don’t have the charisma, I am not the right age, I don’t want to go live in the desert, I don’t….
It’s not that we don’t believe in God, but we struggle to depend on Him when what He has planned for us is beyond our imagination, beyond our comfort zone.
It would so easy to say “no”, it would be so easy to say, “that’s impossible, it would be so easy to dismiss the call of God on our lives.
Or so we think….
- Our Response to the Word of God not failing
The angel gave her an answer, this is how it will be, and here is a great thing you can do to confirm this, go check with your cousin Elisabeth, she’s got some interesting news… even though she’s over 75-nearly 80- she’s pregnant! You remember her – the one everyone gossiped about because she was considered cursed and barren…
Now I would suggest – even hope that none of our 70 plus year olds would have to get pregnant for God to make His point about your life being one that is special, but if it has to happen….
Seriously, we have a promise that proves it, the presence of the Holy Spirit given to us as we were born again with Him in baptism. The Holy Spirit who Jesus promised will “teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” John 14:26 (NLT2)
It is the same thing that Paul taught about when he wrote,
“18 I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people, 19 and how very great is his power at work in us who believe. This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength 20 which he used when he raised Christ from death and seated him at his right side in the heavenly world.” Ephesians 1:18-20 (TEV)
That Holy Spirit, who came upon Mary and resulted in her pregnancy and our salvation, is at work in us- blessing us, filling us with His grace – as much as He filled Mary with grace, and because of the same death and resurrection that makes this all possible.
So as we transition from Advent to Christmas in this service, as we celebrate God coming into the world to dwell with us…
You may find this confusing and overwhelming – as much as Mary did, when the Angel spoke those words,
But Greetings my friend, the grace of God is poured out on you, for the Lord is with you!
Now bring Him into the world – and let God’s word determine your life, for you live in Jesus… AMEN!
