December 22, 2024 Text: Hebrews 10:5-10

Dear Friends in Christ,

I have always liked the Peanuts comic-strip because it gives a good picture of life. Lucy is talking with her brother who is sucking his thumb and has his security blanket. Lucy says: “I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told anyone before…Do you see that hill over there? Someday I’m going over that hill and find the answer to my dreams…someday I’m going over that hill and find happiness and fulfillment. I think, for me, all the answers to life lie beyond those clouds and over the grassy slopes of that hill.”
Well, Linus removes his thumb, points toward the hill and responds, “Perhaps there’s another little kid on the other side of that hill who is looking this way and thinks that all the answers to life lie on this side of the hill.” Lucy stares at Linus for a bit, then turns toward the hill and shouts, “Forget it, kid!”
Isn’t that just like us? Always looking for something better? We figure we go here and there, and that will make a difference. Our figuring. Our doing.
Advent. Preparation for Christ’s birth. The coming of the Best of Heaven to a befuddled world looking to itself for answers . . . and always coming up short. Here is the direction this morning . . .
“GOD’S DOING”
Listen to the first part of verse 5 and then all of verse 8. “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired.’” That was verse 5. Now verse 8. “You have neither desired not taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offering and sin offerings (these are offered according to the law).”
These words take us back to the ceremonial law that God established under Moses. Long before the birth of Christ. So, why is it mentioned here? Well, God established a system of sacrifices and offerings, not to appease God or gain his favor, it was to show people their sin and need of a Savior. The entire Old Testament sacrificial system was to direct the people to the coming Messiah…the Christ.
Recall these words from Psalm 50: “I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine…If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.”
When an animal was sacrificed, the cry of the animal, the smell of the blood, the death – it was all a reminder of the horror of sin, the separation from God. Hebrews reminds us, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Heb. 9:22)
You see the connection, right? The animals being sacrificed in the Old Testament pointed to the body of another…our Lord Jesus Christ. The blood sprinkled on the altar was merely pointing to another…our Lord Jesus Christ.
The city of Rotterdam, Holland had a dwelling called “The House of a Thousand Terrors.” In the 16th century King Philip II of Spain ruled Holland. He despised the Dutch. He sent troops in to kill and maim and torture. They went from house to house, slaughtering the citizens of the city. Then a young man had an idea. He killed a goat and then swept the blood under the door of the house. Soon the Spaniards came. But they saw the blood running under the door and said, “The work here is already done.” After the army withdrew, the people came out safe and saved by the blood of an animal.
John said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn. 1:29). Remember the verse earlier, “…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Do you see the Little One born to Mary and Joseph? Christ. Let’s put it all together. “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me…” (v. 5b)
The baby was born for this purpose, to be the sacrifice for our sins. His blood would turn away the anger of God. We live because He would die in our place. Miracle of miracles.
Verse 10. “And by that will we have been sacrificed through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” God’s doing. We have been made holy. This greatest gift we have received through Christ. Like Lucy we look at what’s over the hill. But everything is right in front of us. We have the best and everything necessary for life and salvation in Jesus Christ. It is all His doing. Not our will – not our might – but His. God’s doing.
Amen

December 18, 2024 Texts: Luke 19:41-44; John 11:30-36

Dear Friends in Christ,

What makes you cry? A person’s death? A sad movie or TV show? Watching something good happen to your children? A compliment that humbles you? Pain? When I was a child there wasn’t much that made me cry. What usually triggered it was losing. The Lord made me such a competitive person that I could not handle losing. It hurt. It was as if a part of me died.
I still do not like to lose, but it does not make weep. I’ve told you I didn’t cry when my mom died. But I have cried a lot since then. I am a more emotional person. Probably will be until the day I die. How about you, what gets your tears flowing?
Tonight, we finish our Advent sermon series on “Advent Answers to Hard Questions Hardly Anybody Is Asking.” The first week we focused on Jesus the baby; last week, Jesus the child; today, the very adult Jesus, the Man’s Man, and we ask . . .
“WHY WOULD JESUS EVER CRY?”
We sometimes can portray Jesus as this gentle, sweet man who liked to hold children in his lap. That is true, but it does not take away from His masculinity. Jesus had courage. Jesus wasn’t afraid to confront evil. He called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers.”
We all know the sayings, “Big boys don’t cry.” “Keep a stiff upper lip.” “Hang tough.” We know that Jesus cried. Probably more than the two references in Scripture. As he made his way into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday he wept. (Luke 19:41) He wept because the people had failed time and time again to heed the call to repentance and had continued in their woefully sinful ways.
Why did He cry? Because His heart was filled with sadness – like seeing someone you love go astray. Do you think He still cries when He sees people who call Him Lord, behave in a way that flies in the face of His teachings?
Jesus also wept when his good friend Lazarus died (John 11:35). It did not happen when He first heard the news, because He knew He had the power to raise him up, even after four days. Rather, what triggered the tears was when He saw His dear friend Mary of Bethany weeping in sorrow over the loss of her brother. His heart was filled with compassion and care. Seeing someone else cry, can also trigger our tears. Our compassion mechanism kicks in, and the crying begins.
Jesus – the Man’ Man. Nowhere in Scripture is His strength and courage more dramatic than when He was nailed to the cross. Beaten and battered and physically and verbally abused, He never once relinquished His single-minded resolve to fulfill His mission of redemption for the world. This would be the final and full payment for our sins.
In addition to these two instances, I wonder if Jesus didn’t cry when He looked down at his mother from the cross? Simeon had been right; a sword would pierce Mary’ heart (Luke 2:35), and it was happening now. Despite the pain and the imminent death, He was making sure His widowed mother would be cared for by his friend John.
It is hard to define a Man’s Man, but here are a few attributes. They love their wife and children. They are compassionate and care about people. They call evil for what it is when they see it in the world. They are selfless and willing to sacrifice their life for another. They are not afraid to cry.
This Advent, like every Advent, is about when heaven met earth. This time and season tells the miraculous story of God becoming flesh and blood through a baby named Jesus. This child’s obedience was to the will of His heavenly Father. This Son of God is our Savior and Lord. Whatever else may be going on in our lives, this story is paramount. Nothing else will matter when there appears the Lord in the final Advent.
It’s enough to make a person cry.
Amen.

December 15, 2024 Text: Luke 7:18-28
Dear Friends in Christ,
Are you the One? You must be the One. I mean look at you. Dressed in your Sunday best. Studious. Here in God’s sanctuary. Ready with your full attention to listen to a less than 10-minute sermon. And look at what you did this week. You did your Portals of Prayer. You read your Bible once or twice. You even prayed more than just at a meal. You have to be the One. Oh, you don’t think you are.
Maybe, I’m the One. After all, I am standing in this pulpit with alb and stole. I am getting to do 11 sermons this month, which means you can get one about every third day. You know the background. Oldest child. Oldest grandchild. Captain of my sports teams. TV and calendars in college. Know some theology. Maybe, I am the One.
I know you . . . but more importantly I know me. There is no way we are the One. We are weak. Possibly didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. Sinning right and left. Cringing at our high school and college past. What lurks in the shadows? We cannot, I repeat, we cannot be the One.
Well, this is quite the quandary. Even you are not the One and I am not the One . . . well, let’s try to find out what the answer is . . .
“ARE YOU THE ONE?”
Let’s start our investigation by looking at the beginning of our text, “The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” (vs. 1-2)
John the Baptist’s question about Jesus’ identity, “Are you the one?” is crucial for every human being. Jesus points to his actions as proof of his identity. “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.” (v. 22). These actions fulfilled Isaiah prophecies of God’s future deliverance in the Messiah.
Jesus’ identity fulfilled the promise of a saving deliverer – the seed of the woman from Genesis 3, the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the seed of David dying, rising, crushing Satan.
You and I are not the One who can save and thank God for that. But you have a beautifully blessed identity. God gives you your new and wonderful identity in the identity of Jesus. As Jesus says: “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (v. 23)
You are who you are, Christ’s, in the gift of your Baptism. You know who you are, Christ’s by the gift of His living voice through His prophets and apostles. You taste who you are, Christ’s, in the gift of His true body and blood in His Supper. You live who you are, Christ’s, as the gift of eternal life in Him.
By faith in Jesus, trusting Him in His true identity, we receive our true identity as God’s forgiven children. You are the one – saved, redeemed, loved – because of the ultimate One – Christ the Lord.
Amen.

December 11, 2024 Text: Luke 2:41-52

Dear Friends in Christ,
If you were here last week, you know that our theme for these mid-week sermons is “Advent Answers to Hard Questions Hardly Anybody Is Asking?” Tonight’s question involves a query from a confirmation student who asked, “When Jesus was our age, did He know that He was God?” We will find the answer as we see Jesus in the temple as . . .
“THE OBEDIENT CHILD”
Joseph and Mary did what they were supposed to as Christian parents so that their son would know God. Circumcised at 8 days old. Brought to the temple for purification at 40 days old.
Thanks be to God for Christians parents of today who do the same thing. Bringing your babies for baptism. Committing their way to the Lord as we all help them to grow in the fear and love of God.
A baby doesn’t stay a baby forever. A baby grows, then toddles, then walks, then talks, learns to read and write. Then it’s off to school and a driver’s license and college and independence and oh my how fast it can go.
Jesus went through many of these same stages. He lived a normal life. Grew up. We meet him tonight at age 12, and we don’t quite think he is being obedient. If he is so obedient then why did He cause such anxiety for his parents? If you have ever been the lost child or the frantic parent or grandparent who lost a child, if even for a moment, you know the emotions that can come over you. Why this behavior from Jesus? If He is God, what is going on here?
While Joseph and Mary had some angel visits before His birth, did they realize or have the vaguest idea how their son would mature into adulthood? Did they understand what child is this? They probably both had their thoughts wonder back to the promises of the angels. Could this really be the Messiah? I don’t think this is hard to fathom. Even the disciples didn’t realize who he was. To his parents Jesus was their son. Look at it this way. As parents, we see our kids every day, but their growth is subtle. But as we are noticing, when as grandparents we just see Asher once a month, you notice the changes. In our text, if they thought He was God, would they have been so concerned?
Back to the question. When Jesus was growing up, did He know that He was God? Did He know what his future held? Did He know He would fulfill the promise of the Old Testament? If He did, would that not be a burden for a twelve-year-old?
Let’s hear from Jesus Himself. “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” That is why he is in the temple, as he told his human parents. You bet He knew who He was! He was reminding Jospeh and Mary that He was the Son of God and that He must be about the business of his Father in heaven. He came to earth on a mission of salvation. He was special, the one and only man (or boy) and God.
We make the mistake of seeing disobedience. But our text says in verse 51 that Jesus was respectful to his parents – “submissive to them.” What everyone always misses in this text is this. His parents never instructed him to leave with the crowds. Ah, is the light going on? Jesus had a job to do and it was centered in the temple. Jesus as God is omniscient, which means all-knowing, Jesus absolutely did know He was God.
Jesus was God, but in his state of humiliation, he didn’t not always use His divine powers. That is why He is asking questions in the temple. Jesus learned the same way we do. By studying and being inquisitive about the material – namely Holy Scripture.
Jesus learned a lot. We learn a lot from Scripture. Hebrews says, “although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” (Heb. 5:8). Paul writes in Philippians 2, that Jesus became obedient to death, even death on the cross, as the final payment for the sins of the world. The Scriptures promised what the Messiah would do. Jesus learned his lesson well.
When Jesus was a boy, did He know He was God? Absolutely. It is the Advent message, right? God became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
Amen.