December 8, 2024 Text: Luke 3:1-14
Dear Friends in Christ,
Here’s the story: Two Texans were trying to impress each other with the size of their ranches. One asked the other, “What’s the name of your ranch?” He replied, “The Rocking C, Flying W, Circle Z, Bar U, Rolling G, Silver Spur Ranch.” The questioner was impressed and exclaimed, “That is some name. About how many head of cattle do you run?” The other rancher answered, “Not many. Very few survive the branding.”
People sure place a lot of importance on themselves, don’t they? Like the little shaver who said to his dad: “Let’s play darts. I’ll throw and you say, ‘Wonderful!’”
We have a star preparing to shine over Bethlehem. And at the journey’s end we will find a crude, humble manger. Hard to fathom that the appearance of God would come in such low estate. This morning, let’s examine . . .
“BIGSHOTS AND NOBODIES”
A bigshot is someone of consequence and prominence. A nobody is the opposite; they are of no influence or consequence.
Our text begins, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas…” (v. 1-2)
We have got some bigshots listed. Are you impressed? These are important people in history, many who no doubt were impressed with themselves. But what do you think? Some leave us a little chilled. Pontius Pilate, Herod, Caiaphas. Power brokers who could be evil. They had a lot to do with the suffering and death of Jesus.
Then the next statement, “the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.” Who is in the wilderness? John, John who? The son of Zechariah, cousin of Jesus. He evokes Godly thoughts. But he wasn’t well known. A nobody.
“And he (John) went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: ‘The voice of ne crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (v. 3-6)
There are many things in this world that are important. But nothing in this world is as important as God reaching into our lives and confronting us with the eternal issue. I look out at many of you, who I have known for years. Familiar faces on a Sunday that might be lying in a hospital bed by Wednesday, suffering for a while, and then saying the standard words at a graveside. It has happened a lot and will probably continue.
Into these situations comes a God who goes after the “nobodies.” Christ dies on the cross for “nobodies.” And the Last Day when the graves open, the “nobodies” will be standing at the Lord’s Right Hand. Maybe you aren’t so special and important here, but you are everything to Jesus. He came to seek and save you who were lost. You and I. God’s children. Every sin paid for. Every stain of guilt washed clean by His blood. Aren’t you thankful . . . that in this context . . . you are a nobody?
The “nobodies” still influence the world around them. We have something to say, and something to give to people – the love and hope of Christ. And considering what most people do with the Advent/Christmas season, God help us to be, as Luther said we should be, “Little Christs.”
“Nobodies”, maybe, to most of the world. Everything to Him who redeemed us.

December 4, 2024 – Advent Text: Luke 1:26-38

Dear Friends in Christ,
When you teach Junior Confirmation class and you are dealing with kids of that age, you never know what they might ask. One of my first classes in Texas a kid wanted to know how they got the filling in a twinkie. The next week I brought Twinkies, we all turned them over and there were the three holes where they put in the filling. With Baptism you get off the wall queries such as, “In an emergency could I baptize someone with Dr. Pepper?” It does have water in it, but can’t find a biblical answer for that one.
At other times the kids can really challenge the Pastor. Such as this, “When Jesus was our age, did he know that he was God?” Interesting. Hard to answer. We have a lot of hard questions these days, and for some of them there are Advent answers. That will be our theme for these Wednesday evening get togethers. We will address this question tonight . . .
“HOW CAN GOD TAKE ON HUMAN FLESH . . . AND WHY?”
Imagine yourself in a remote missionary out post, trying to share your faith with people who have never heard of God. Or imagine a conversation with a friend or co-worker who knows nothing of the Christian faith. How would you describe God? You know, the God we trust with our lives and eternal destinies. The God whom we believe, teach, confess, worship serve, and pray to.
Glorious. Eternal. Majestic. How to give a description of something that has no beginning and no ending. This almighty God is beyond our understanding. Try not to fit Him into a little box of your own making.
We have lot of words to describe God, but we can never explain Him. Just marvel at God as Creator. Light out of darkness. Seas and stars and mountains and animals and fish and birds and man and woman. God made it all from scratch. Amazing.
So why would this God take on human flesh? John writes, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” It is a mystery, but it is a mystery with some bones on.
It is a miracle story. We just read it as our Gospel. A young girl named Mary. Chosen to be the human mother of this holy God. Conceived in her by the Holy Spirit. Then comes a baby in a stable in Bethlehem. A faithful husband and father looking on, name of Joseph. God did take on human flesh, and his name was Jesus. How? Mystery and miracle. Thus, the birth of God!
The name of the baby gives a nice reason why God took on human flesh. Jesus is a form of the same name as Joshua, both of which mean “Savior.” The first man and woman made in the image of God, fell from grace. And now every man and woman since free fall into sin. Sin is powerful and deadly and creates havoc. The world needed Jesus. The world needed a Savior. The qualifications seemed unthinkable. Holy. Without sin. Able to endure the consequences of sin. Pain. Suffering. Death. He would have to snuff out of the power of all of these through the new life of resurrection.
Why did God take on human flesh? Because he loves us enough to say, “I’ll never give up on them. I’ll never leave them. I, as the Father, will send them my only Son. He will be born among them, he will live among them, and he will save them from the curse of their sins.”
So it was, on that night we call Christmas, when heaven met earth. Amen.

December 1, 2024 Text: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Dear Friends in Christ,

Some days are more important than others.
Look back over your life. Not all days are equal. Some fade. Some stand out. The JFK assassination. The Challenger explosion. 9-11. Maybe you remember a special holiday. The year and date of a great vacation. The day your team won the Super Bowl or World Series. Your wedding day. The day your child or children were born. Or it could be a painful day etched in your memory. A death. A tragedy. Some days are more important than others.
In our text the prophet Jeremiah speaks to the people of Jerusalem about some stand-out days. “Those days” sound like some pretty great days. Jeremiah declared that “those days” are coming. Here in our house of worship, we gather before the cross, knowing that “those days” have already come. They came with the advent of Jesus Christ. He was here in human flesh. Healing the sick. Driving out demons. Dying for our sins. Rising on the third day. Those were the days – the days when our Savior, walked visibly on the earth and won our salvation. They are the most important days the world has ever seen. They are the centerpiece of human history.
“FULFILLING THE PROMISE OF ‘THOSE DAYS’”
Jeremiah was pointing the people toward “those days,” but the people of that time, just like today, were more interested in these days. I have rent to pay, and my health isn’t the greatest and oh my boss! The kids have to be shuffled here and there and now it’s December and Christmas. Come on Jeremiah talk to me about these days. This is what I see ahead of me.
The people of old were not any better than today. They neglected the words of God’s prophets. They turned to false gods and false prophets whose messages focused on the here and now. For centuries God had sent prophets to warn the Israelites to turn back to Him. “Those days” are coming – the Messiah is coming.
Finally, God’s patience had run out. In punishment for their unbelief and idolatry, God said he would bring the Babylonians against Jerusalem. He told Jeremiah he had made up His mind to destroy the city, and nothing could change it.
Into this desperate situation, Jeremiah speaks the words of our text: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely.”
What kind of reaction did the prophet get? Most of the people despised him. We don’t need a God speaking about “those days.” We need prophets who will speak about peace for this day. Look around man. We are surrounded by the Babylonians who plan to kill us or carry us off to slavery. We don’t care about “those days.”
Then it all happened like Jeremiah said. The city did fall. The city was looted. The people were led off to exile. But some believed the promise. They saw past the present hardship to the days that were coming.
“The days are coming,” God promised. And come they did. In God’s time a new branch sprouted. His name was Jesus. He came to Jerusalem and Judah. Fulfilled every promise made. Conquered sin and death. Restored the relationship between God and his people. “Those days” – Jesus’ days are a comfort for us living in 2024.
This is why we observe a liturgical church year, year after year. From Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, to Lent, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost, our hymns and readings direct our lives to the saving life and work of Jesus. It directs our attention to “those days.” We begin another church year today, we set our hearts and eyes on “those days.”
Some days are more important than others, more outstanding, more crucial. For those who know Jesus, those days, His days, are the most important and dear of all.
In this sermon we have been mostly looking backward, to the days of Jesus. But there is another great day. Jesus calls it “that day.” That day is yet to come. The return of Jesus in glory. We watch for that day. In your everyday worries and concerns, dear friends, set your hearts on that day. On that day, all troubles end. Jesus reigns forever. That day is coming soon.
Some days are more important than others.
Amen.