Sermons

January 10, 2016 – Baptism of our Lord                            Text:  Romans 6:1-11

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Water can be very relaxing.  Lying in a raft floating along a river.  Listening to a stream bubbling through the woods.  Even relaxation CD’s use water as a sound to find peace and tranquility.  Our bodies wound tight by life’s tensions can unwind in water or to the soothing melody of a creek bed of flowing H2O.

Think of Holy Baptism in the same way.  The tension of our sin that can bring much misery to our lives is swept down the river so to speak as the waters of Holy Baptism flow down our forehead.  How comforting to recall that special day in our lives.  We live anew through water and the Word.

“LIVING BY DYING – THROUGH THE WATERS OF HOLY BAPTISM”

As good as all of this sounds, don’t think that everything is a picture of serenity.  Satan is always looking for a way to extricate us from our faith in Jesus.  He and his minions will stop at nothing until they’ve accomplished their mission.  He entices with the thought that if we sin more we will be showered with more of God’s grace.  Paul takes up the question in our text:  “What shall we say then?  Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (v. 1)  Continue you living the way you want because The Lord is there with His grace.

We fall for the lie.  “I know marriage is supposed to be between one man and one woman, but God’s grace covers that, right?  I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings.  God wouldn’t really send someone to hell if they don’t repent, would He?”

“I know sex is supposed to be just in marriage, but what we do isn’t like, horrible.  We really like each other and we will probably get married someday.  God is gracious and loving.  He won’t really send us to hell if we don’t repent, right?”

What’s wrong with the picture?  Satan is talking, not the Lord.  Satan doesn’t listen to Holy Scripture, doesn’t honor Holy Scripture, hates Holy Scripture.  He tries to get us to question its authenticity.  He will twist the Word so that we will buy into his twisted logic.  This never holds water with God and His Word.  God’s judgment on unrepentant sin is real and exactly what He says in Scripture:  eternal suffering in hell.

Paul says we can’t even think about continuing in sin.  We are dead to all this nonsense.  “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?  By no means!  How can we who died to sin still live in it?  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death.” (vs. 1b-4a)  Mankind is satisfied to live and function in this perverse thinking and doing.  But Paul reminds the Roman congregation that this kind thinking has no power over us.  Our sin has been drowned.  We have been set free from these sins, not because they don’t matter, but because Jesus died for them.  Forgiven because they were taken to the cross.

Our sexual sins, our sins of silence when we should be defending marriage, our failure to keep our marriage vows, all were nailed to the cross.  Therefore, when we turn away from these sins, we no longer bear the punishment they deserve.  We are delivered from hell to heaven.  “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”  Christ’s death was on the cross, ours is in Baptism, which gives the benefits of His work on the cross.  New life has already begun for the child of God.  When Christ returns our bodies will be raised to life again.

How then does the Church, God’s people, continue to live in this world?  How do we not let the world’s authority take over our life?  How do we live having ben drowned and buried with Christ in Baptism?  It is a matter of “reemerging” to new life.

A Pastor Fuqua tells the story of his work as a scuba diver in Wichita, Kansas.  He would sometimes be called to search for a body in the water of a sandpit.  He’d gear up, test his regulator and him and a buddy would dive into the dark waters to search for the deceased.  It was sad duty.  After completing the work, they’d emerge from the dark waters and once again breathe God’s air!  Their hope was always that the one who had drowned emerged from death to God’s fresh air of heaven.

Kind of like what happens in Baptism, isn’t it?  We dive into the depths but reemerge again to breathe fresh air.  We’ve died to sin and are brought back to life.  This new life is different because the power of God’s Word has taken over our lives.  How we conduct our daily life is different.  We will still sin but we will not be taken in by the falsehoods of Satan.  We reflect the glory of the Father – made available through a cross and empty tomb.  We reflect this new life – like Paul did after his Damascus road experience – and do it gladly and willingly.  We don’t live back there.  We share the resurrection of Jesus!

Breathe your new life and live it to the fullest in Christ Jesus!

Amen.

January 3, 2016 – Epiphany                                                 Text:  Matthew 2:1-12

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

“Star light, star bright/ First star I see tonight,/ I wish I may, I wish I might,/Have this wish I wish tonight.”  And then there’s the Jiminy Cricket version:  “When you wish upon a star/Makes no difference who you are/Anything your heart desires/Will come to you.”

Stars.  There are numerous poems about them.  But the one star that always stands out most for us is the one in our text:  “For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  His star?  Jupiter?  Venus?  A comet?  And the speculation goes on every year.  How about supernatural?  How about miraculous?  How about a question . . .

“WHAT STAR DO YOU FOLLOW?”

Today we celebrate “Epiphany”.  The word comes from a Greek word meaning, “to show, to reveal, to make manifest.”  It’s the time we celebrate the wonderful news that Christ reveals Himself to the Gentiles, the non-Jews.

So the Wise Men see his star and rise to go worship.  In this section of Scripture we always get caught up in the periphery of the story than the importance of the story.  Were there three wise men?  Nobody knows – only God.  There could have been thirty-three.  What is important is that they are Gentiles and God has guided them to that place and time.

“When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.” (v. 3)  Disturbed at God’s presence?  Why?  Because God’s presence says something about sin, death, and judgment.  That would mess up Herod’s little heaven on earth.  He wants to be the star and somebody is pushing their way past.  Herod is a picture of many in the world.  They focus so much on themselves that they miss the Word in the flesh – Christ the Savior.  They excuse themselves from any judgment because they can do what they want – just like Herod.  How often are we guilty if this offense?  Looking out for #1.  “Hey, I’m the star here, don’t close the curtain.  Lord, I’ll do better next time.”

What comes next is down right fascinating.  We’re told, “…assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” (v. 4)  Wow!  Herod knew enough and had enough confidence in the Old Testament Word of God to believe it contained information about the birth of Christ.  He knew the Messiah was coming into the world but wanted no part of it.  He knew- He had knowledge!

Herod is like so many today; those in the church and those outside the church who hear the Word of God and somehow conclude it doesn’t apply to them.  It’s post-modern math:  2 plus 2 equals 5.  They kick at the word.  They hate the word.  Why do atheists fight so hard to remove God’s Word from everything if they don’t believe anything about that Word?  Because down deep in places they don’t want to talk about at parties they are just like Herod.  They know the truth is there.  They know who the real star is.

So do the Magi.  Our text again, “After listening to the king, they went on their way.  And behold, the star they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  And going into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him. (vs. 9-11a)

There is that star again.  God is pulling the heartstrings of the Magi.  Nothing must get in the way of their journey.  Most people around them could care less about the star.  The fact that the Kings of kings is born in this backwater town does not stop them or cause them to doubt.

Today people are fascinated with stars.  Why are many Internet sights so popular?  Because they deal with the famous.  They deal with the important.  We have made stars out of people who otherwise would not have been noticed.  We love to watch TMZ and read “People” magazine.  We follow them on Twitter.

And if we are not getting caught up in that mess, then we must be following the latest rash explanation for the star.  Let’s see, now, is it the History Channel or the Discovery Channel which always wants to explain it rationally?  Isn’t the star really a reminder that no matter how long and rough and sin struggling the road of life is, God is always there directing and guiding His people?  Isn’t that it?  Word and Sacrament.  God coming to us over and over again, guiding and directing us to the place where God says, “Your sin is forgiven.  You belong to me.”

This star we follow – this Star of Jesus – is not just for us, it is for others.  Those caught up in the wrong type of star gazing.  Those with no hope.  The Light of Christ – The Star – that will finally lift all who believe to eternal life and Light!

Amen.

December 31, 2015 – New Year’s Eve                                 Text:  Luke 2:21-40

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Life is full of surprises.  Some we enjoy, some we could do without.  You be the judge:  “The doctor would like to discuss your x-rays.”  “Class, take out a sheet of paper.  We are having a pop quiz!”  “Congratulations!  You made the team.”  “The tumor we feared was malignant is actually benign.”  “Would you like to go to the winter dance with me?”  “Sure, I’d love too.”  “The boss wants to see you.  No need to take off your coat.”

Life is full of surprises, good and bad.  What will happen in the New Year?  What will be good?  What will be bad?  The thing is, we don’t know.  Except…right here.  There is one sure thing in all the universe, and it is given to us.

“THE SURE THING OF JESUS”

For centuries, Hebrew parents had brought their infant to be circumcised and named on the eighth day of life.  So Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple as the Law required.  The name Jesus means “Savior” or “the Lord saves!”  That was also a confession of faith for his parents.  Remember the angel of the Lord had announced what his name would be because he would “save his people from their sins.”  God’s people were expecting someone to come with impressive power; instead, God comes in weakness, in a baby, laid in a manger.

Simeon confessed Jesus as his Savior from sin.  The Lord told him he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  So the Lord made sure Simeon was in the temple that day.  Right there, before Simeon’s eyes, Jesus was beginning the work of saving us, even while only an infant.

Consider all your failures, all your mistakes, all your shortcomings.  Consider all those words and all those actions of the past year that you’d love to take back.  Right there in the temple, as an infant, Jesus began to make up for them.  Right there, Jesus began to be what his name says he is, our Savior from sin.

Yes, life is full of surprises, both good and bad.  But the one sure thing is this:  Jesus means “Savior”, and that name applied to us brings blessings.  Eternal blessings!

With that blessing God surprised an old woman named Anna.  She had been waiting and hoping and waiting.  And just when it seemed as if she should give up, God came through.  God showed her the Savior.  God brought her the blessing.  She gave thanks to God and told everyone that God had come for his people.

We have the surprise also for us.  Sometimes when we least expect it.  When things look their worst.  When we think that life has dealt us a bad hand, God comes through with a big surprise.  In fact, the whole nature of the Gospel is a big surprise.  We normally expect that nothing is free, everything has to be earned, worked for.  And that’s absolutely true…of all except this:  God’s free gift of eternal life in Jesus.  Blessed surprise!

Think about all the surprises in the Bible.  When Noah’s neighbors realized that it was beginning to rain.  When the up in years Sarah told her husband Abraham that she was going to have a baby.  When Moses saw a burning bush and the voice of God coming out of it.  When the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.  When the angel came to Mary, and then to Joseph to tell them they would have a baby, conceived by the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus grew up to be nailed to a cross and the one whom his disciples had believed in now lay stone-cold dead in a grave.

But soon followed that great and grand surprise when Mary saw him again in the resurrection.  He was alive!  Wonderfully and gloriously alive.

And there is the surprise of our guilty lives when we hear the Lord Jesus tell us again and again, “Your sins are forgiven.  You didn’t earn it, you can’t earn it, but I give it to you.  You are free.  Go in peace!”

There will be one more surprise that comes to us who confess Jesus to be our Savior, who live under his blessing.  This will be a big one.  He’s coming back!  It didn’t happen last year, but he could come this year.  And when he does, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, he will raise us to life, to gather us together to meet him and to be with him forever.

That will be the greatest surprise of all, saved for last.  For those of us who know Jesus it will be the greatest occasion to celebrate.  The greatest miracle of all is that I will be there rejoicing.  You will be their rejoicing.  All who believe in him will be there rejoicing.  It is a sure thing.

What is coming for you in this New Year?  What surprises are in store?  The only sure thing we have is this:  the name of Jesus.  That name we confess, the name placed on us at our Baptism.  He is our Savior from sin.

Amen.

Dec. 25, 2015 – Christmas                                                                Text:  Luke 2:19

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Doesn’t it seem like Mary has gotten it all wrong?  Isn’t Christmas – this glorious day – a time for celebration?  And St. Luke tells us that “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”  What a contrast.  We live in a time when Christmas is an intense affair.  The hype to shop for the perfect gift.  The gatherings that are more numerous than other times of the year.  But if we look to the first Christmas it was not an intense affair at all.  In comparison to today it was quite calm and quiet.

You can’t blame people for wanting to make a buck.  Ethel Merman belted it out a long time ago:  “There’s no business like show business.”  Show business is fine it it’s place but it has no business in God’s business.  Christmas does have its entertainment and retail side but we have not come here today to be entertained.  We are here on God’s business.  And God’s business calls a halt to all the busy-ness of our hectic lives and this hectic season so that we might discover anew the good news of great joy that was proclaimed to shepherds on Bethlehem’s plain:  “Today…a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)  Let’s discover again . . .

“THE MYSTERY IN THE MANGER”

What did Mary “ponder” in her heart?  Was she expecting extravagant gifts?  Was she looking for a new donkey to travel back on to Nazareth?  Surely, as a woman, she wanted a new pair of sandals.  I mean you can never have too many of them, can you ladies?  Maybe, being poor, she was hoping that the newborn would have some of the nice things in life.

Mary’s enchantment was not found in any of that.  She pondered that which had been spoken by the angel of the Lord to the rugged shepherds concerning her baby boy, “Christ the Lord.”

As a parent we have all had that moment when we look down at our newborn in amazement and think of the blessing and joy and responsibility.  Mary looks at her child – could it really be the Lord, the God of hosts, who feeds all creation, who opens up his hand to satisfy the desire of every living thing.  Could he come so small in a virgin womb, be born a helpless infant boy, and be suckled at her breast?  “Good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10), the angel had announced to the shepherds.  This was no pipe dream or human speculation:  these words were from the very mouth of God.  Her firstborn Son was none other than the Messiah, the promised Redeemer, and God in human flesh and bone.  Mary kept all these words and pondered them in her heart.

You and I can do no less this holy day.  There is nothing we can do to add to the luster of this day.  No musical interlude or mind-boggling light display can hold a candle to the simple wonder of a gracious God who loved the world so that He gave his only begotten Son.  When we could not go to him, he has come to us wrapped in swaddling clothes.  This is the mystery in the manger; God in diapers, here among us.  God in a crib – and then some 30 years later, God on a cross, made to be sin for us that he might remove forever the curse of sin and the sting of death.  This is Christmas.

We have experienced this over and over throughout the years, the glitz and glitter and the knick knacks around our house will be packed in our basement crawl space or our attic or our garage not to be seen until another Advent.  The happy glow of this festive day is illusive and fleeting.  But not this.  Treasure in your heart the mystery of God made flesh for our salvation.

In faith, set aside the show business and get down to God’s business.  Today the Christ child has been born.  He comes wrapped in the swaddling clothes of the Word of His Gospel.  He comes for every soul distressed and lonely and grieving.  He comes for every wounded heart and mind.  He comes for peace that passes all understanding, for forgiveness, for life, and our salvation.  He comes for you and you and you this day.  The mystery in the manger has been revealed – He is Christ the Lord!  Merry Christmas!

Amen.

Dec. 24, 2015 – Christmas Eve                                             Text:  Galatians 4:4-5

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

There is something timeless about Christmas.  We get very nostalgic at this time of year as we think of happy memories that surround family and church traditions.  We see nativity scenes and Christmas cards and sing carols of the baby Jesus “sleeping in heavenly peace” surrounded by angels.  It is right and meet so to do to celebrate our Lord’s incarnation in every time and place and from generation to generation.

And yet, we don’t want to forget that Jesus became flesh in a specific moment in history.  “When the fullness of time had come,” says St. Paul, “God sent forth His Son.” (Gal. 4:4a).  Do you know about that “fullness of time” when the prophecies had been fulfilled and all was ready?  It was a time of social turmoil, religious confusion and moral decay.  Then and now.  Today and yesterday.  The past and the present.  They all lead to the fact that . . .

“CHRISTMAS IS TIMELESS”

We go back to the years before Christ was born.  Pompey the Great captured Judea in 63 B.C.  He became a bitter rival to another brilliant general by the name of Julius Caesar.  They fought a civil war on a global scale.  It ended with Pompey’s murder and Caesar’s victory.  Caesar himself was then assassinated by Roman senators and another power struggle ensued.  Marc Antony fell in love with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra and he abandoned Rome.  Caesar’s adopted son Octavian then took over the city, made himself ruler and took the name Caesar Augustus.  Now there is another familiar name!

By the time of Christ’s birth, Augustus reigned supreme not only over Rome, but also over Judea, all of Asia Minor, northern Africa, and much of Europe.  His power and wealth and influence seemed to fit the bill for a son of God more than the homeless Child laid in a manger.

History has shown that Rome was a great civilization with a system of laws that continue to shape our legal code.  They have a legacy of literature, education, and technology and still influence the world.  But, by the time the Christ child was born this civilization morally was going down the toilet.  Prostitution was everywhere and had been accepted by society.  Homosexuality was widespread throughout this Greco-Roman world.  Abortion and the killing of children were not uncommon.  The masses were entertained with blood sports in the arenas that could involve anything from the torture of criminals by burning to those being devoured by wild animals.

That first Christmas was a time of social upheaval, political conflict, moral decay, recreational sex and violence, religious disunity and general hopelessness.  Sound familiar?  How many of you are beaten down and feeling hopeless this night?  Most of us live in a state where political fighting or non-activity is a regular occurrence.  Aren’t you concerned about what the leaders of the “Land of Lincoln” will smack us with in the New Year?  On the national scene, how many debates do we need?  Can’t there be a better system than wasting all this money two years out from the election?

Who saw marijuana not being a crime and then being sanctioned by the government?  Can legal prostitution be far behind?  Abortion is still a challenge and life is seen as worthless for those with terminal cancer or even a disability?  The gays and lesbians continue to push their agenda and now we have the transgender screaming about their rights in our local school districts?  How much longer before we all share the same bathroom?  Our entertainment is provided by the Kardashians and reality television where people make a train wreck of their lives.  Sports have become a god in our country and people are purposely breaking their arms just to make it on the Internet.  Yes, we are tired and worn down and fed up to here.

Enter a Savior.  Interestingly enough, the events that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem were put in motion by government.  A census was being taken.  Every person was to be counted.  During their time away, a baby, the one who would be counted the greatest of all time, would make His way into our world.  John says that he came into the darkness and boy did He ever.  The world at this point was groaning and God knew it was time.

Our world is groaning.  We use words like “tired”, “worn down”, “I’ve had enough,” or the all-time favorite, “the world is going to hell in a hand basket.”  But that is the nature of the world and the world does not recognize it.  We think we always have to have an explanation for things when the explanation has been there since the Garden of Eden – human sin.  This folks is not going away.

So how then do we “sleep in heavenly peace”?  Led by the Holy Spirit we in faith believe in this Savior who came into the darkness.  He comes to you and me through His Word and His Sacraments.  That Word is a reminder that He is Christ the Lord.  He has come with joy to this world to tell us that He has overcome our doubts, our weakness, our sin.  He breaks into our sin-ravaged lives and declares that we have been redeemed from our sin.  Our Baptisms cleansed us from the muck and mire of society and the body and blood of Christ continue to strengthen us against the evil that surrounds us.  This world can provide the body blows but the knockout came by one born King of kings.  His victory over sin, death, and the devil is your victory over sin, death, and the devil.  In every age and throughout the course of a person’s lifetime, He brings to us the redemption won by His incarnation, death, and resurrection.  His peace and favor rests upon us forever.  In that sense, Christmas really is timeless.

Amen.

December 27, 2015                                                               Text:  Matthew 2:13-18

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Christmas in the U.S. wears two faces.  How many Christmas letters that you received talked about the family’s sin or heartache that was experienced.  We sing “Joy to the World” yet read of murder, violence and rape online or in the paper.  We proclaim peace on earth while world leaders try to implement it in hot spots around the world.  Merchants are figuring out how “good” a Christmas it was as they figure out their sales.

Perhaps those of us who know the “Reason for the Season” are partly guilty for the fake Christmas around us.  We present neighbors and friends with holiday joy on our faces without first proclaiming why baby Jesus was born.  We know the good news sung by the angels, but how many sermons have you heard on weeping Rachel?  Rachel is an important person in Matthew’s Christmas story.  Listen to this – it is the rest of the Christmas story.

“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’  And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod.  This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’”

“Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:  ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.’”

Who is Rachel?  Why is she weeping?  And why do we usually ignore her?

“WHY ARE YOU WEEPING, RACHEL?”

Perhaps you remember Rachel’s story from Sunday School.  She met Jacob who wanted to marry her, but first Laban, Rachel’s father, tricked him.  He was to work seven years to “earn” Rachel, but on the wedding day he found out he had married her sister, Leah.  He then had to work seven more years for Rachel.  Rachel must have wept over that.

Rachel must have wept when she could not have children and the she had to watch as Leah and Jacob’s “second wives” gave Jacob 10 sons and a daughter.  Finally Rachel’s womb opened and she gave birth to Joseph.  She then died weeping giving birth to Benjamin.  Jacob buried her near Bethlehem.

Matthew does a remarkable thing in our text, inspired by the Holy Spirit.  He takes a historical event from 600 years before Jesus’ birth and applies it to the children of Rachel who died soon after Jesus was born.  The Holy Innocents – the two year old boys and younger died.  Rachel wept.

This is the rest of the Christmas story.  Jesus came into a world of sin.  Satan tries to kill baby Jesus before he would grow up and defeat him at the cross.  The devil still seeks those he can devour.  Innocent babies still die at the hands of medical professionals.  Listen!  Do you hear Rachel weeping?  I do.

Matthew’s Gospel story is how God came to conquer sin – your sin and mine.  Jesus came into a world that threatened his life just as it threatens yours.  Matthew tells of Herod’s bloody swords so he can also tell us how God the Father sent an angel to protect, Jesus, Joseph, and Mary so that Jesus could carry out his mission of dying for the sins of the world.

The world does not want to hear about sin and maybe we don’t either on this Sunday after Christmas, but there is no Christmas without Good Friday.  We perpetuate people’s walk to hell when we permit them to have a pretend Christmas.  A Christmas without Rachel weeping may as well be built on rooty-toot toots and rummy-tum-tums.

Our world is one that needs Jesus in the manger and on the cross and at the empty tomb.  Our world needs Jesus raised from the dead.  Our world needs Jesus because Rachel still weeps.  Rachel weeps and so do you, don’t you?  I know I do and I just experienced it recently with an incident.   Spouse abuse is real.  Cancer is real.  Abuse of drugs and alcohol is real.  Adultery is real.  Lack of thankfulness to our Lord is real.  Slander and theft and greed are real.  Death is real.

Jesus was born to deal with our real world.  Jesus was born to dry Rachel’s tears.  Jesus lived and died and rose again to dry your tears.  On our Christmas tree we have a spike hanging on there.  It reminds us that Christmas is real at our house because Good Friday and Easter are real.

Christmas can be a sham to make people feel good without reminding them of their basic problem – sin.  This morning you and I are at Rachel’s tomb.  We hear her weeping.  We remember our weeping.  So today we ask the Lord to “wipe away every tear from eye.”  We rejoice with the hymn writer, “Then when You will come again As the glorious king to reign, I with joy will see your face, Freely ransomed by your grace.”  Amen.