"Hosanna!" (Sermon on Mark 11:1-10) | March 28, 2021

Text: Mark 11:1-10
Date: March 28, 2021
Event: Palm Sunday, Year B

Mark 11:1–10 (EHV)

As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 3If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it, and he will send it back here without delay.’” 

4They left and found a colt on the street, tied at a door; and they untied it. 5Some who were standing there asked them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6The disciples answered them just as Jesus had instructed them, and the men let them go. 

7They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it. 8Many people spread their garments on the road. Others spread branches that they had cut from the fields. 9Those who went in front and those who followed were crying out, 

Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest! 

Hosanna!

We are here, at long last. Everything has been pointing ahead to this week, to these moments. This past Monday evening in our Bible Information Class we got to study not only Adam and Eve’s fall into sin but also God’s response. His response was to promise a Savior who would rescue mankind by crushing Satan’s head and eliminating all the work that he had done.

After the fall into sin, Adam named his wife Eve, which means “living” or “life,” in what might appear to be an ironic choice. After all, he and Eve had just brought sin and death into God’s creation. So why name his wife, “Life”? Because they trusted God’s promises, that God would bring life back from death, that he would follow through on his promise to send a champion who would crush the serpent’s head.

From that time on, God shaped world history for his purposes. Everything that happened God worked for the good of keeping his promises, even if at first blush it didn’t seem like a good thing. He saved his promises in the flood, he called Abraham to be the father of the nation from which this Savior would come. He was with his people during their slavery in Egypt and rescued them. He was patient when they demanded a king instead of the theocracy he had created for them. He did not abandon then in their exile in Babylon, even though they were there because of their unfaithfulness to him.

Along this path of history, God gave glimpses of what was to come. Through revelation given to his people, usually through the prophets, God gave details of the Messiah’s life and work. He would be from Abraham’s family; and then more specifically from Judah’s family; and then even more specifically from King David’s family. He would have a kingdom that would never end. He would be a servant who would suffer for the sins of all people. Hw would be born in Bethlehem. He would even, as Zechariah promised in our First Lesson, ride on a donkey’s colt, yet be a king, the King.

And so Palm Sunday is really the start of the final fulfillment of all of these promises. When Jesus sent his disciples to the town ahead to get that unridden colt, we might see shades of Jesus’ humility there. But even more than that, Jesus is specifically leaving no stone unturned when it comes to fulfilling the promises made about him. The Messiah would be a king bringing salvation that would ride on a young donkey, so that’s exactly what Jesus needed to do. And that’s what he does.

He leaves no doubt that he is, in fact, the Messiah, the Christ, the long-promised Savior of mankind. He has come to be the champion over Satan and sin and death that God first promised in the Garden of Eden. He is the one whose life and work God has been working to bring about.

But why? What is so important that God would embark on this millennia-long effort to plan and execute Jesus’ life and work? Well, it’s us. Maybe more to the point, it’s his love for us. Our sin that we inherited from our parents and then have contributed copious amount of further sins toward in our life means hell, eternal separation from God for all of our sins. There was nothing we could do to save ourselves; there was nothing we could do to save any other person, no matter how dear they are to us. We were lost to certain eternal condemnation without any hope of help or rescue. 

Which brings us to that word, that shout, that we hear from the crowd on Palm Sunday, “Hosanna!” They are quoting from Psalm 118, which was clearly a Messianic prophecy. The crowd is acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, as the Christ. But “Hosanna!” rings out above all of it. It’s a simple phrase in Hebrew that simply means, “Please, save us!” 

How powerful that is! Whether or not those in the crowd on that Palm Sunday fully understood and appreciated everything the Messiah was going to do is kind of irrelevant. As we look at that today, as we join our voices in shouts of “Hosanna!” as well, what are we saying? We are saying there’s no way for us to fix our lives and our eternal situation. We are saying there is no hope of ever being rescued from the pit of eternal death unless someone were to reach down and pull us out. Hosanna is as much a plea for help as it is an acclamation of praise. Hosanna! Save us, please!

It’s fitting to shout this request to Jesus. Jesus’ name, Ieshua in Hebrew, points us to reality. The sibilance in Hosanna and Ieshua come from the same root in Hebrew, the word to “save.” Jesus’ name means “The LORD saves” or “Yahweh saves.” The crowd pleads to be saved by the one named “The LORD saves!” There was no one else who could do this saving, to truly rescue us from sin, other than Jesus who is the LORD, Yahweh, himself in human flesh! And even if the crowd was misguided, even if they thought Jesus was coming to free the nation from the Romans or some other short-sighted thing, God used their words of praise and their shouts from the Old Testament scriptures to point to what he was going to do. The angel had been clear with Jospeh when he gave him the child’s name—“he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The prophet Zechariah was clear in our First Lesson, “Look! Your King is coming to you. He is righteous and brings salvation” (Zechariah 9:9).

In John’s gospel we’re told that in the moment the disciples didn’t fully appreciate what all of this meant, but after Jesus’ work was completed they did. You and I here this morning have the benefit of the hindsight that the disciples and the crowd in the moment did not. We know the rest of the story; we know what is going to happen; we know what the results of Jesus’ work are going to be.

Jesus had lived a flawless life of perfect obedience to God, just as was promised. He was going to his horrible suffering and death, just as was promised. But all of that pain and torment, the crucifixion, the punishment for sins he never committed, the hell he did not deserve on the cross, all of it would result in saving you and saving me from our sins. All of it means that we are rescued from hell and will be brought into eternal life. 

We get to see and celebrate all of this, in full, this week. As we begin Holy Week today, as we join the crowd in celebrating the arrival of our King, we also know that the coming days are going to get darker and darker. The sounds of happy cheering in the streets will go quiet. There will be come secret trials and cries of “Crucify!” The one who never did anything wrong will be punished for everything you and I have done wrong. We will be rescued because he sacrificed himself.

What is there for us to say but, “Hosanna,” “Please save us!” He will and he has. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen.

“The Cross Is Jesus’ Glory” (Sermon on John 12:20-33) | March 21, 2021

Text: John 12:20–33
Date: March 21, 2021
Event: The Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year B

John 12:20–33 (EHV)

20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Festival. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 22Philip went to tell Andrew. Andrew came with Philip and told Jesus. 

23Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it continues to be one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain. 25Anyone who loves his life destroys it. And the one who hates his life in this world will hold on to it for eternal life. 26If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. 

27“Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, this is the reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!” 

A voice came from heaven: “I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again.” 

29The crowd standing there heard it and said it thundered. Others said an angel talked to him. 30Jesus answered, “This voice was not for my sake but for yours. 

31“Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33He said this to indicate what kind of death he was going to die

The Cross Is Jesus’ Glory

When we think of “glory,” we usually think of something amazing and wonderful. A parent’s glory might be found in their children being successful and productive members of society. A teacher’s glory might be in the students she teaches and helps through difficult subjects. A person’s glory might be in the accomplishments of their career, or their help for those in need, etc. The lists can go on and on, but they all have something in common. All of these are objectively good things. Maybe not everyone has a chance to accomplish or even be involved in all of them, but everyone can look at a list like this and say, “Yeah, those are positive things, things to be praised.”

But things that are cited as objectively bad things, suffering or causing pain, abusing someone or being abused, scaring someone or being taken advantage of, none of these things would ever be considered “glorious.” They might range from sad to criminal, but never good, never glory. 

We’ve seen throughout this Lenten season, though, that Jesus’ goals and work often go contrary to what we would expect. He ran counter to the expectations of his disciples; he ran counter to the expectations of the religious leaders. And here, again, we see his plans, his work, and what they accomplished running contrary to what most would thought to be true about the coming Messiah. Because in Jesus’ glorification of his Father, he will endure suffering and death. The Father will glorify his name by having his Son killed. But it will be for a purpose—a glorious purpose—the salvation of the world.

At the start of our Gospel, we meet up with Jesus during Holy Week after his Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem. Some people from Greece had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. Either before they came to town or since they had been there, they had heard something about this Jesus from Nazareth. Perhaps it was word about the miracles, perhaps it was the notion that he was thought by some to be the Christ. Regardless, they want to check him out and understand what he was about. So, they track down Philip and make a simple request, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”

We don’t know if Jesus met with these Greek people to talk with them. But he does take the opportunity to point ahead to what is coming. In the future, this will be his disciples’ job—to show Jesus to those who need him. But for now, Jesus is set on what is coming in the short term: “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it continues to be one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain.” Jesus uses this agriculture analogy to point to what he’s going to do in just a few days. He’s not here to be Mr. Popular. These Greeks really didn’t need to see and meet with him; they needed the work he was going to do. He, as one person, would be sacrificed, so that all people would benefit from it—many seeds from one seed.

But this is weighing heavily on Jesus. We will see it clearly in the Garden of Gethsemane a few days after this event, but even now Jesus is showing the pressure and the hardship that his work is putting on him, “Now my soul is troubled,” Jesus says. But Jesus sees no other options. “And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” Jesus asks, as if it’s the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever said (because it kind of is). “No, this is the reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Should Jesus retreat from what is ahead of him? Should the Father change the plan at the eleventh hour? No! This was the whole reason that Jesus came into the world in the first place. He came to be the seed that dies in the ground which then produces a gigantic harvest! 

We hear the Father confirm this, “I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again.” Every step of the way from the fall into sin in Eden to this moment has served to glorify God. Despite mankind’s sin, he promised a Savior. That Savior would be his only-begotten, eternal Son. As God worked to mold history to bring about Jesus’ arrival, he glorified his name. As the baby was born in Bethlehem—as he promised—he glorified his name. As Jesus spoke the things the Father sent him to speak, the Father glorified his name. Even now, as Jesus testifies to his impending death being part of the Father’s plan, the Father glorifies his name.

And it will continue to happen, again and again over the coming days. When the Father tells Jesus that he cannot take the cup away from him, the Father will glorify his name. When Jesus submits to the abuse of the Sanhedrin, High Priest, and Pontius Pilate, the Father will glorify his name. When Jesus is stretched out over the cross and nailed in place, the Father will glorify his name. When Jesus suffers the Father’s wrath, hell itself, over your sins and mine, there, too, the Father will glorify his name.

Again, this doesn’t sound glorious, does it? It doesn’t sound praiseworthy at first blush. But the Father is glorified for his mercy to us, his forgiveness to us, his keeping the promises he made to us. And Jesus, too, in his willing sacrifice, is glorified. It’s why we’re here at all this morning, to glorify our Triune God for the redemption and forgiveness won for us in the vicious death of that kernel of wheat by which we have eternal life.

The Father’s name would be glorified again after all of this took place when he sent his angels to speak to people on earth. Like Christmas, this would once again be “good news of great joy, which will be for all people” (Luke 2:10). It would be good news not of birth, but of triumph and resurrection as his angels took their positions at the entrance to Jesus’ tomb. 

And here is the glory of the Father and of Jesus and, truly, of the Holy Spirit. This news of Jesus’ work is for all people. That’s exactly what Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” Jesus’ death would heave Satan from any position of power that he might have thought he had and proclaim Jesus as that King of kings and Lord of lords. And in doing so, Jesus would draw all people to himself. He will become the Savior for all people of all time. Because he did not shy away from the cross but embraced it as his glory, all people—you and me included—have eternal life!

Let’s go back, briefly, to the very beginning of our Gospel: Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew. Andrew came with Philip and told Jesus. We see from Philip and Andrew models for our lives. They knew Jesus, and there were people that came to them with both a request and a need to see Jesus. So Philip gets help from Andrew, and they both go, presumably, to bring these people to Jesus. There are echoes to the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry when Philip called to Nathanael, and when confronted with questions about them supposedly finding the Messiah, he simply said, “Come and see” (John 1:46).  

We have an opportunity in a couple of weeks to do something unprecedented in our lifetimes. After more than a year of fear, confusion, hurt, and exhaustion dealing with the pandemic, its restrictions and aftershocks, we have a populace that in many different ways likely feels without any hope whatsoever. Whether people directly contracted COVID, knew someone who did, lost loved ones, or simply have spent a year trying to do the right things to keep others safe, this has perhaps peeled back the false ideas that life is fine, that they don’t need a Savior, that things are just ducky on their own.

They’re not ducky! Just look at the world around us! From disease to war to hate between people, this world is a disaster. Anyone who depends on this world, this life, or actions here will find nothing but failure, disaster, and eventual punishment. There is no hope here. There is no confidence here. There is no true, lasting glory here.

Ah, but you know where there is true, lasting glory, don’t you? “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” And you know how he draws all people to himself, right? Not through magic or storms or anything like that. Even the pandemic is only an ache that points to the real need. No, he draws people to himself with his Word; and his Word is shared by his people, by you and me.

So we have a world in an unprecedented condition and a message with eternal comfort. Share it. You have an opportunity to lead the “Greeks” in your life to Jesus. As we look ahead to Holy Week, invite people to join you for worship here on Good Friday and on Easter, to hear of the victory Jesus won. Forward the email invitations to someone who needs to hear this message of eternal hope and comfort, so they can join us for our worship livestreams. Be ready to answer questions, be ready to find answers with them through formal or informal study of God’s Word. You may be the one and only link someone ever has to the gospel. Take the opportunities to share it while we are able. This, too, is the Father glorifying his name.

Jesus’ glory is in his death on the cross because it was his power and love exercised to save you. The Father who sent his Son is glorified in it. The Holy Spirit who brings the message to us of this work is further glorified in it. Rejoice in Jesus’ glory, because it is your glory too. Your glory for eternity, and your glory to share. Thanks be to God! Amen.

"Let Jesus’ Zeal Be Your Zeal" (Sermon on John 2:13-22) | March 7, 2021

Text: John 2:13-22
Date: March 7, 2021
Event: The Third Sunday in Lent, Year B

John 2:13–22 (EHV)

13The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 

14In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers sitting at tables. 15He made a whip of cords and drove everyone out of the temple courts, along with the sheep and oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16To those selling doves he said, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a place of business!” 

17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 

18So the Jews responded, “What sign are you going to show us to prove you can do these things?” 

19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” 

20The Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! And you are going to raise it in three days?” 21But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. 22When Jesus was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and what Jesus had said.

Let Jesus’ Zeal Be Your Zeal

Zeal, passion, can be a good thing. Although we did see on Wednesday evening how misguided zeal can lead down really wrong paths, as we saw Peter brandishing his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane. But godly zeal, a zeal that is in tune with and focused on God’s will is a good thing. It’s a passion that leads to serving our God. It’s a fire that burns brightly in thanksgiving for all that he’s done for us.

This morning in our Gospel we’re taken to an early part of Jesus’ ministry, not long after he called his first disciples. This is the first Passover of Jesus’ ministry and, as we would expect, he and his disciples make the trek up to Jerusalem to go and worship.

The Passover was the celebration of God rescuing his people in Egypt from the plague of the firstborn and more generally from their slavery at the hands of Pharaoh. This was one of, if not the, biggest festival of the year. People would come from all over the known-world to return to Jerusalem, to the temple, to celebrate. 

You can see the logistical trouble people might have had, right? If they were coming from a great distance they probably couldn’t easily travel with sacrificial animals. Their money was probably not correct for offerings in Judea. And so something started that on the surface makes sense. Why not offer a service at the temple, especially around these festivals, where people could purchase the animals they needed for sacrifice right there rather than having to travel with them? Why not offer to exchange money into the local currency for ease of use at the temple and beyond?

But what might have started with good intentions had gotten out of hand. The noise and smell of the animals, the clinking of money, the din of conversations and bargaining undoubtedly distracted the people trying to  worship at the temple. It conveyed a sense of irreverence for God’s house and seemed to place a higher priority on business than worship and meditation.

Enter Jesus. He binds together some cords to make a whip to shoo the animals and people out of the temple courts. He overturns the money changers’ tables and casts the coins to the floor. He has a harsh rebuke for these people: “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a place of business!” 

There’s probably a lot to talk about here at the intersection of church and business, but that’s best left for another time. I want us to focus on what this brought to mind for the disciples, a quote from Psalm 69 about the Messiah that we read just a few minutes ago in our service, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Why was Jesus so passionate, so zealous, for God’s house? Because this was where the people heard about their sins and need for a Savior. Here was where they heard God’s promises to send that Savior, those promises that in the next three years Jesus would fulfill completely. This was the place that the people would find rescue from sin, death, and hell and find eternal life.

Are we zealous for God’s house? I think that’s a really difficult question to ask right now at this moment because for so long we have been separated from worshiping together and are just now beginning to cautiously come out of that. I’m hopeful that today’s worship service is our first step to ultimately restoring the sense of normalcy in our congregation. But we’re not there yet. So maybe it’s easier to ask about what we hear in the house than the house itself right now: are you zealous for God’s Word?

What place does God’s Word have in your life? Are you regularly tuning in for worship or making plans to come in person when certain safety metrics are met? Are Bible classes a priority for you? Is Sunday School or Catechism a priority for your children and your family at large? Do you have time in personal devotions or family devotions around the table at some point during the day? Do you spend time in prayer to thank, praise, and ask God for help? Or, are there a multitude of others things that take precedence in your life and heart so that God slips down the priority ladder? 

If the Word has priority in your life in worship, study, and devotional time, does it have an effect on the way you live? Do you walk away from a time with God’s Word more thankful for his love to you, more ready to serve your fellow people in gratitude to God? Or does it go in one ear and out the other? Does it become just a set of facts and figures to learn with no tangible effect on your heart or actions?

In other words, do you posses Jesus’ zeal for the Word or not? I can assure you I do not meet Jesus’ level of commitment and knowing that you all are sinners like me, I know that you don’t as well. We’re often dismissive of anything that would lead us off the of the path that we want to be going down, up to and including God’s will for our lives. Maybe we’re not setting up shop selling things at the back of church and distracting from worship, but often times our respect for God and his Word is on a similar level.

Understandably, those turning the house of worship into a market were annoyed by what Jesus did. Who was this guy to be doing this anyway? By what authority does he come in here and “clean house”? “What sign are you going to show us to prove you can do these things?” they ask. And here’s were we get to the heart of Jesus’ message and mission: What sign will he give? “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” 

You and I have not kept this godly zeal for God’s house and Word like we should have, but Jesus did. As we see his passion and zeal for God’s house come out, he’s living the life that you and I should have lived but didn’t, but it’s that very perfect life that Jesus gives to us. You could ask our Catechism students and they would tell you that this is an example of Jesus’ active obedience, where he kept all of God’s laws perfectly in our place. 

But that doesn’t change the fact that we’ve not done this, that we’ve actively been not zealous for God and his Word and instead prioritized other things. Which takes us to Jesus’ statement about the temple. Destroy it and in three days I will raise it up. For us with the benefit of hindsight, we can see clearly what Jesus is talking about. And John, writing well after these events all took place, also gives us an explanation. Jesus is not talking about stone and mortar. But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. 

When the temple of Jesus’ body is destroyed by being nailed to a cross, that’s your solution and mine for our lack of zeal for God’s Word. As the temple of his body bears the weight of all of our sins and the punishment of hell that they deserved, we find forgiveness. Jesus will pay the price for all sin of all time on the cross. By his wounds, you and I will be healed. 

But we know even in these dark and doleful days of Lent, this story doesn’t end in despair. Jesus knew how this story concludes even years before it happened. “In three days I will raise it up again.” His death will mean our forgiveness; his resurrection will prove his victory and ours.

It’s interesting to see how much these words stuck with the leaders of the Jewish people even years after Jesus spoke them. This was one point that the false witnesses came closest to agreeing on during the kangaroo court trial Jesus underwent before the high priest, which we heard in our Passion History this past Wednesday evening, “Some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ‘We heard him say, "I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.” ’ Yet even on this point, their testimony did not agree” (Mark 14:57-59). In fact, these promises seem to have resonated with Jesus’ enemies more than with his disciples. While the disciples were cowering in fear and later would be shocked at his resurrection, it’s the Pharisees who go to Pilate remembering Jesus’ teaching of his being raised up and call for extra security measures at Jesus’ tomb.

As we strive for this zeal of Jesus, as we aim to have his Word and work mean as much to us as it should, may his words never leave our hearts and minds. May we always cherish, always prioritize, always rejoice in what he has done for us. In good days and in bad, may God’s love for us shown clearly in Jesus be our all-in-all, now and forever. May you be consumed with zeal for your Savior—and the zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish that (cf. Isaiah 9:7)! Amen.

"Jesus' Cross Enables Us to Bear Our Crosses" (Sermon on Mark 8:31-38) | February 28, 2021

Text: Mark 8:31-38
Date: February 28, 2021
Event: The Second Sunday in Lent, Year B

Mark 8:31–38 (EHV)

31Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again. 32He was speaking plainly to them. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But after turning around and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men.” 

34He called the crowd and his disciples together and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36After all, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38In fact, whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” 

Jesus’ Cross Enables Us to Bear Our Crosses

Fiction is fun because you get to do things that aren’t realistic. Whether it’s reading a book that takes you to a world that doesn’t exist, playing a video game where you can to do things that defy human ability or the laws of nature, or watching a movie where the only limitation is the director’s vision and the special effects budget, these fictional things take you out of the mundane or difficult reality and give you a break, give you an escape. 

But, the issue with all of them is that at some point, you have to close the book, or turn off the game, or the credits roll on the movie. And then what are you left with? You’re back to reality. You still have those tough things to do for school, that troubled relationship still needs your attention, or your financial difficulties are still bearing down on you. We can escape reality for a little while, but we can’t ignore it completely. In the end, we always get a wake up call to be reminded of the difference between what is real and what is imaginary.

As Jesus was coming into the latter days of his ministry, he begins to give his disciples a wake-up-call of sorts. The disciples had been living a relatively easy, near-fictional life. They got to travel and learn from Jesus—God himself!—and they never wanted that to end. They loved Jesus and loved that they got to be near to him. Six days after this conversation in our Gospel would be the transfiguration that we saw just a couple of weeks ago, and we probably remember Peter’s stumbling words recognizing that he just wanted to stay in that glory with the radiant Jesus and the honored Moses and Elijah. 

But the closer we come to the end of Jesus’ ministry, the more blunt he becomes with his disciples. Because this will not go on forever. Jesus’ ministry would last about 3 years and then it would come to an end. So, Jesus is clear how it would end. Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again. 32He was speaking plainly to them. No parables, no metaphors. Jesus is being blunt as blunt can be.

But as we saw at the transfiguration, Peter does not want to leave the pleasant and go to the unpleasant. So his response is to refuse to allow Jesus to do this, rebuking his own dearly-loved teacher! But Jesus is quick to see this for what it is—a trap laid by Satan to pull him off course—and so he turns and rebukes Peter in front of the other disciples, “You do not have your mind set on the things of God, but the things of men.” 

How often does Jesus’ barb hit us exactly? How often are we like Peter, not noticing the things God is doing despite our troubles, the good he’s working in difficulties? How often don’t you and I only long for and even pray for things to be simple and easy and pleasant rather than the toilsome burden that they often are. And yet, along with that, how often don’t we forget the promises God has made. Good will come from bad, eternal blessing will come despite earthly trials. 

Consider the exact event that Jesus is talking about. Peter understandably doesn’t want Jesus to suffer all of those things. But those events that Peter and the others would undoubtedly call “very bad” in the moment are the eternal good from God because by them he would work the forgiveness of sins and give eternal life. Peter couldn’t see it as Jesus told him what was going to happen and it’s doubtful he could see it while these events were happening. But if Jesus has gone down the “easy” path, the path focused on the things of man rather and the things of God, it would’ve meant short-term ease but long-term disaster. If Jesus hadn’t gone to the cross, there would be no forgiveness for Peter, or you, or me, or anyone. We would all be lost to our sins.

But God’s plans are always greater than ours, and if he’s doing something in our lives or allowing something to happen to us that seems awful or even unbearable, he has a reason for it. He blesses our life through the good things he brings to it and works our eternal good from from the challenges he places on us. This is not often what we would choose, but these are the things of God, not the things of mankind.

But it’s hard to kick our natural reaction to bad, uncomfortable, and difficult things. It’s tempting to try to live in the daydream that God wants to and will always just make our lives better. Plenty of television preachers have made huge amounts of money peddling that very thing. “God wants you to be healthy! God wants you to be wealthy! God wants you to be happy!” Just this week the church received an email titled, “Three Bible passages that prove God wants you to be rich.” Appealing? Yes. But it’s fiction. 

If that’s where our mind and heart go, we need a wake-up-call from that delusion. God cares about us, yes, and God absolutely provides what we need. But never, ever has God ever said that our lives are going to be easy. What did Jesus tell his disciples? If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. We should see hardship and difficulty in this life not as God failing us or any indication that he doesn’t love us. The difficulties and crosses of this life simply prove that he is faithful to his promises and was honest with us about what was coming.

But as we look at Jesus’ cross, we find the strength to take up our own crosses. Look at what he did for us! Look how he did not hesitate to give up everything, even his very life, to save us from our sins! Look at how his suffering, the events that Peter forbade, mean our eternal rescue and deliverance! If God was able to work good—the ultimate good—from that most horrible of tragedies, is he not able to work good from your and my relatively smaller struggles and problems? The God who worked the death of his own Son for our salvation, is he too weak to work good and blessing through our difficulties? Is he not able to help us bear those crosses as we follow him?

This is hard to prioritize when all the world around us preaches a “gospel” of ease and comfort. Why take the difficult path when the easy one is right there? Why be a Christian when it’s far more in-sync with our culture to jettison faith? Jesus addresses that: For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. The ultimate example of this would be someone who becomes a martyr, who dies for their faith in Jesus. But at this time and in this place, this is not the most common way that you and I will run into this. We may not always run into threats on our physical life, but maybe we run in threats to our way of life, to our reputation among unbelievers who are our neighbors, friends, or family members. And in an effort to preserve that way of life or the quality of those relationships, perhaps we are tempted to set aside our faith or our Christian morals or priorities that come from bearing crosses in this life and instead take the route of the things of men rather than the path God has placed before us.

But woe to us if we continue to be bewitched by the illusion that an easy life now is of the highest priority! If we discard our faith for the easy life now, we lose eternity. But prioritizing Jesus and his good news of salvation through his death on the cross despite any difficulties that comes from it means eternal safety with our Savior. 

Jesus put the guarantee of his suffering right in what he initially taught his disciples about his own path: the Son of Man must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again. There is certain victory after those grim circumstances. He attaches the same promise to you and me in our life of cross-bearing. Continuing to patiently endure trials and difficulty and clinging to God by the faith he provides will end in guaranteed victory: whoever loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. Paul expounded on this in our Second Lesson: We also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces hope. And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us (Romans 5:3-5).

The victory of eternal life that Jesus won by his death on the cross means that you and I can bear our crosses in confidence. Difficulty is not a sign of God’s hate, but something he uses to work for our good, both now and especially toward eternity. Today, face your trials with joy and confidence, knowing God’s promises, knowing his eternal love, knowing that you are his now and forever. This is not fiction; this is the gospel truth! Amen.

"The Transfiguration Gives a Glimpse of the True Jesus" (Sermon on Mark 9:2-9) | February 14, 2021

Text: Mark 9:2-9
Date: February 14, 2021
Event: The Transfiguration of our Lord, Year B

Mark 9:2-9 (EHV)

2After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain where they were alone by themselves. There he was transfigured in front of them. 3His clothes became radiant, dazzling white, whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them. 4And Elijah appeared to them together with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 

5Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6He did not know what to say because they were terrified. 

7A cloud appeared and overshadowed them, and a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him.” 

8Suddenly when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus alone. 

9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 

The Transfiguration Gives a Glimpse of the True Jesus

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At Christmas this past year, I thought I knew what one of the presents was that my mom had sent to the kids was. But when the presents arrived, it was not the shape or feel at all of what I thought it would look like. Eventually I began thinking that I misunderstood what Mom had said she was planning and had chosen something different instead. 

But around our house, the kids were mostly mystified about those presents, “But do you know what Gram sent?” the kids would ask. And I would have to puzzle out a truthful, “Well, I thought I did, but now looking at it, I’m just not so sure.” “Is it something practical or fun?” the questions continued. And my confusion continued as well, “I... I’m just not sure.” 

But then fast forward to Christmas Day and the presents are opened. Once the wrapping paper was off the puzzle made sense. Under the wrapping paper, the gift was wrapped in this thick, bubble shipping sleeve, which added the very strange feel and shape. But under the wrapping paper and bubble sleeve was the exact present that I thought was coming. It had just been masked and hidden.

In many ways, that’s kind of what happened with Jesus. The promises of the Messiah were clear that the Savior would be divine, would be God. And yet what did Jesus look like? Just another guy, right? If you were living at that time, he would’ve looked no different than you or your neighbor. And we’ve seen through this Epiphany season that yes, in many ways, Jesus and others revealed who Jesus truly was in words and actions. But there still would’ve been this nagging question in the minds of people seeing and listening to Jesus: “Really? This guy? He’s the Messiah?”

So that brings us to the Transfiguration, a moment later in Jesus’ ministry where he set aside all doubt as to who he was and focuses on what he had come to do. As we come closer and closer to our Lenten journey that will take us down the path of difficult self-examination and seeing the price our sins cost our Savior, we will keep the events on this hilltop in mind because it gives us perspective. For as difficult as it will be to see our Savior’s passion, for as weak he may appear, the transfiguration gives a glimpse of the true Jesus, the Savior who came to be our champion.

For this event, Jesus took just the “inner circle” with him—Peter, James, and John. It was just the four of them because, as the de facto leaders of even the twelve disciples, there was something important for them to see. There he was transfigured in front of them. The word “transfigured” comes from the Latin word used to translate the Greek “metamorphosis.” It simply means “changed.” Jesus’ appearance changed. He changed from something that masked his true nature into showing who he really is. His clothes became radiant, dazzling white, whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them. This was not a wardrobe change on Jesus’ part. He didn’t bring a brighter set of clothes with him. These clothes were supernaturally white. The other gospel writers use words like “lightning” and “the sun” to describe Jesus’ changed appearance, both his clothing and his face.

This is Jesus showing himself to be God as he is. He wasn’t just like you or your neighbor. This was God who had taken on our human nature. And that’s important because in order to the Savior of the world, our Savior needed to be God. No one else but God could live the perfect life we needed, and have that life count for all people. No one else but God could have his death count for everyone. This glimpse into Jesus’ true nature was meant as a comfort for the disciples. “Yes, what you will see will be difficult to watch. It will appear that I am powerless, but I am not. I am doing this to save you and everyone else from their sins.”

As if this were not enough to take in in the moment, it is suddenly not four on the hilltop, but six. Moses and Elijah, two of God’s prophets from the Old Testament appear to speak with Jesus. Luke recounts in his Gospel that they were talking about Jesus’ upcoming “departure,” that is his death. Note with what focus Jesus approaches your need for a Savior! Nothing deters him; he is laser-focused on your forgiveness. Everything is leading to the cross and the empty tomb. It’s all leading to a triumphant “It is finished!” amid apparent defeat, and the glorious proclamations of “He has been raised!” As we will confess in the Nicene Creed, this was all “for us and for our salvation.” 

We can sympathize a bit with Peter, can’t we? Here is Jesus in his glory as God, here are two respected heroes of faith from the past. Who wouldn’t want to stay? And also, who wouldn’t be scared out of their wits? Peter’s offer to put up the tents makes some sense in a terrified-beyond-rational-thought sort of way. This is what happens to sinners in the presence of God, and yet a God who loves us. Our sin makes it impossible to stand in his presence, but knowing that is also our Savior means that we can recognize that it’s good to be here. 

And if Peter had any clarity on what would happen—the gut-wrenching upheaval that would come to all of their lives beginning in the Garden of Gethsemane—that would have been all the more the reason to want to just stay up here forever. But that’s not the plan. It was not the plan for Jesus to just be here and live out time in peace, and that wasn’t the plan for Peter, James, and John either. They all had work to do. They all had difficulty to endure. And it would all be for the good of those around them, for the good of all who so desperately needed the forgiveness that God freely provides. 

We get to experience good times that we hope will never end; we have to endure trials that we wish would end immediately. But the Savior who showed a glimpse of his power at his transfiguration stands by us in all of it, blessing the good and working the bad for our eternal benefit. Peter longed to stay with Jesus on the top of that mountain, but Jesus had bigger plans. Not an extended camping trip, but an eternity of perfection with our God. That is what he came to do, thus they could not stay there that day.

But before they break camp and move on, a cloud envelops them, likely the same cloud pillar that led the Israelites through the wilderness, the same glory of the Lord that surrounded the shepherds at Jesus’ birth. This is the presence of God made clear. Here the Father speaks again, like he did at Jesus’ baptism. But this time the Father speaks not to Jesus, but to the disciples, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him.” 

Jesus is going to ramp up how blunt and clear he’s going to be with his disciples in the days ahead. He’s going to be clear about the suffering he’ll undergo—the betrayal, arrest, condemnation, death, burial, and even the resurrection. Peter had already been direct with Jesus that these things should never happen to him and Jesus had to rebuke him as a messenger of Satan trying to veer him off course. The Father’s message for the disciples is clear, “Jesus knows what he’s doing. He’s doing what is right. I love him and his dedication to the mission that I sent him on. Listen to him.”

None of this is going to make sense in the moment. It’s going to seem weird, out of place, and shocking. It’s going to continue to seem like this Messiah is not the Savior that we expected. But what lies ahead for Jesus is not what it might seem. Jesus’ transfiguration points ahead to the greater glory, the greater victory that Jesus will display. That victory will be directly beneficial for Peter, James, John, you, and me. Jesus made it clear that the disciples shouldn’t talk about this until after he had been raised from the dead because only then would all of the pieces fit together. Even in that moment, they didn’t really understand what he was talking about in regard to the resurrection, but they would in time.

As we continue to go through trials and difficulty, as we continue to hope for and wish for the relief from trials we have and to experience blessings that we have not had, as we seek to understand what God is doing in our lives and why he’s doing it, take this scene and the Father’s words to heart. Your Savior knows what he’s doing. He’s conquered sin and death for you and will bring you to his heavenly home when the time comes. Until that day, rest easy in the one who might not have looked the part, but who is your heaven-sent Savior who conquered sin and death by his life and death for you. Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Amen.

“Jesus’ Authority Is Your Certainty” (Sermon on Mark 1:21-28) | January 31, 2021

Text: Mark 1:21-28
Date: January 31, 2021
Event: The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B

Mark 1:21-28 (EHV)

Then they went to Capernaum. On the next Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22They were amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them as one who has authority and not as the experts in the law. 23Just then there was a man with an unclean spirit in their synagogue. It cried out, 24“What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 

25Jesus rebuked the spirit, saying, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” 

26The unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions, and after crying out with a loud voice, it came out of him. 27Everyone was so amazed that they began to discuss this with each other. They said, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits, and they obey him!” 28News about him spread quickly through all the region of Galilee. 

Jesus’ Authority Is Your Certainty

“Um, well, I don’t know...” Those words can be both refreshing and frustrating. It can be refreshing because it’s honest. We’d probably rather someone admit that they don’t know the answer to a question or the best method to accomplish a goal than just make something up, pretending to have the information we needed. But, on the other hand, when it’s information we want or even need, to run into the a lack of knowledge from someone you hoped could help is frustrating. 

This morning as we move deeper into the season of Epiphany, we see the completion of a change that has been happening over the last couple of weeks. In our Gospels we’ve seen a shift from revelation of who Jesus is coming other people to those revelations coming from Jesus himself. And this morning is kind of completeing that shift as Jesus’ teaching and his actions prove his authority. Jesus doesn’t run into a situation where he has to say, “Well, hmmm, I’m not sure...” Jesus has his own complete authority as God, and that authority is eternal certainty for you and me.

We meet up with Jesus again early on in his ministry. He’s in the northern region of Galilee, in the town of Capernaum. Jesus wastes no time and as soon as the Sabbath day rolls around, he goes to the local synagogue to teach. The people were amazed at how Jesus taught. Maybe as a relatively young man, it would have been surprising to hear him teaching at all. But it was more the tone and how he taught. Mark records that the people’s amazement was because Jesus was teaching as one who has authority, evidently a stark difference from the scribes, the experts in the law.

That’s not as big of a dig on the scribes as we might read in the first place. These men would teach, but often teach on the basis of history and tradition. They would teach about a certain section of God’s Word and bring many other opinions and interpretations from previous generation’s great teachers to help explain things. It’s the same sort of teaching you might have experienced when a pastor quotes from a Bible commentary to supplement and explain using God-given insight recorded from other faithful teachers.

But even the prophets throughout the Old Testament taught and preached with borrowed authority. A familiar refrain throughout the prophetic books is, “This is what the Lord says...” In other words, the prophets were not bringing their own ideas; they were telling the people what God had sent them to speak, often times with direct quotations and verbatim recountings of what God had said. There’s certainly nothing to scorn or scoff at there. They were doing exactly what God had called them to do.

But then put yourself in the position of those people in Capernaum’s synagogue. After all your life hearing “This is what the Lord says...” from the scriptures and commentary and insight from many different, respected teachers, here comes a man who teaches and speaks with no adherence to anyone else. Jesus doesn’t have to say, “This is the message God sent me to deliver,” because he himself is God. Jesus doesn’t have to rely on other teachers’ insights to expound on his teaching because all of those teachers, illumined as they might have been by the Holy Spirit, were still restricted in their understanding of God’s divine Word by their their human natures and their sin. But not so with Jesus. He teaches with authority with no deference to anyone else. He doesn’t say, “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand” because he has been the author of the Word from the beginning. This is God teaching his people.

As if the authority in his words was not enough, Jesus underscores his authority with a miracle. A man possessed by an unclean spirit approaches Jesus and testifies the truth about him, and yet we might well suppose that Jesus doesn’t really want an endorsement from a demon. So Jesus’ authority is directed at this spirit possessing this man, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” At that moment, the words stop and the spirit cannot help but come out of the man. The Creator of the universe commanded him; he had to obey. The spirit didn’t stand a chance against Jesus.

The crowd is further rightly amazed at Jesus as they begin to understand that Jesus is doing something new and spectacular, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits, and they obey him!” Jesus is not just teaching about these spirits, and he’s not unsuccessfully giving them directions. He commands and they obey. 

The people recognized the authority, they recognized the new teaching, but that is something a little bit different than trusting that the teaching is true. This is not necessarily faith in the promises of God.

How do we approach Jesus’ authority? For those of us who have known these truths for a long time, it can be easy to slip into apathy. The truths of God can easily slip and become just pieces of information we know like we know the plot of a movie rather than the promises we cling to with all of our being for rescue from sin and hell. Do we put God’s promises into practice? We might know that God promises to work good in all things for us, but when something bad is actually happening to me, do I trust that he’s doing that or do I treat my troubles as if they are beyond the scope of God’s promised help? 

My conscience also screams at me daily. It is all too ready to remind me of my failings to God, that I have not been the perfect person that God demands that I be. And my conscience is not wrong. Luther made this clear in his Small Catechism’s explanation to the faith petition of the Lord’s Prayer when he wrote, “We daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment.” 

But do I live as if I’m unforgiven? Do I live as if that sin can never be taken away? Do I live as if my conscience is correct and the only thing I have to look forward to is an eternity of hell as the just punishment for my sins? May it never be! May Jesus’ authority be your certainty, not just of who he is, but of what he has done for you! Jesus is clear that he came to this earth not primarily to teach but to lay down his life as the payment for your sins and mine. 

So what should we do with the guilty conscience that screams out at us every day? Let Jesus treat it like the unclean spirit. His death and resurrection says to the fretting conscience, “Be quiet!” Our worries about things in life might lead us to start thinking that God can’t or at least won’t follow through on his promises to us. They make us start thinking that he can’t or won’t work all things for our eternal good to care for us as his dearly loved people. Jesus’ authority says to those misleading worries and fears, “Come out of [them]!” 

God’s authority is absolute, and nothing, not worry and fear, not sin and Satan, not our own emotions can make God’s promises untrue or leave them unkept. Jesus, who had the authority to drive our the unclean spirit from that man, has the authority to forgive sins and has, in fact, forgiven your sins by living and dying for you. Jesus who taught with astounding authority to the crowd gathered in Capernaum teaches with that same authority through his Word as he teaches that the forgiveness of sins means eternal life for us. He teaches that as we have been baptized, so we are members of his eternal family, that as we receive his true body and blood with the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper, we are given his forgiveness directly and clearly. Nothing from inside of us or outside of us can invalidate Jesus’ authority. 

Jesus’ authority is absolute which means we can be absolutely certain that every promise he’s made for us will be kept. When he promises your troubles will be worked for good, they will. When he promises that he will always be at your side to guard and protect you, he will. When he promises that by his life and death and resurrection he has forgiven your sins, they are gone. When he promises that at the end of your time in this life, he will bring you to that eternal, perfect life with him forever, he will. 

My brothers and sisters, your authoritative Savior can be trusted. We can have certainty in him unmatched by anything else in this life. You are loved, cared for, and forgiven. Thanks be to God! Amen.

“Jesus Is God’s Kept Promise” (Sermon on John 1:43-51) | January 17, 2021

Text: John 1:43-51
Date: January 17, 2021
Event: The Second Sunday after Epiphany, Year B

John 1:43-51 (EHV)

43The next day, Jesus wanted to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 

45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 

46Nathanael said to him, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” 

“Come and see!” Philip told him. 

47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Truly, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 

48Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” 

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 

49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 

50Jesus replied, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that!” 51Then he added, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” 

Jesus Is God’s Kept Promise

We’ve had semi-frequent conversations in our house over the last few months around the topic of “if something seems too good to be true, it’s probably not true.” You’ve seen the ads that make seemingly impossible promises. You’ve seen the social media post supposedly reporting on something you really wanted to happen only to find out it was a joke or mistaken or even purposefully misleading. The disappointment can be immense, especially when it was something you were really hoping or longing for. 

One possible end point of that is that you become a cynic, that you assume everything is false, everything is a lie, and nothing good or positive will ever happen. Clearly, that’s putting yourself in the extreme opposite ditch from the naïveté that would lead you to believe anything and everything you hear. Neither approach is beneficial or healthy. 

Can you imagine being around at the time of Jesus and being one of those people who was truly and appropriately longing for God to send his promised Savior, the Messiah? Think back to our time spent with Anna who rejoiced to tell everyone about the infant Jesus in the temple, or Simeon who was explicitly promised that he would live to see the arrival of the God’s long-promised Anointed One. In the moments when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple, did they have to pinch themselves, did they have to stave off cynicism or doubt? So many people for so long had dreamed to be in their shoes at that moment, to see this child. Were they really the ones to experience it?

After Jesus had grown and had begun his public ministry at his baptism by John, Jesus then sought to call disciples to follow after him. You can see that from the beginning, Jesus’ teaching pulled people in. The Holy Spirit was at work through Jesus to create faith, even if it was a fledgling faith, in the hearts of those Jesus taught and called. 

After his baptism and some time teaching in the southern region of Judea, Jesus was ready to leave that area and head back north to Galilee. But before he left, he wanted to call a few of people to come with him, people who would be part of his twelve disciples. These journeys north and south to and from Galilee would serve as great times to teach this “inner circle” while also making time to be with the larger crowds in various places. So just prior to our Gospel, Jesus called Peter and his brother Andrew.

The next day, just before he leaves, Jesus calls Philip who was from the same town and Andrew and Peter. It is possible that all of these men had been disciples of John the Baptist and are following Jesus at John’s direction and by Jesus’ calling. So before they head back to the northern region of Galilee where they’re all from, Philip runs to Nathanael with what seemed like too-good-to-be-true news: “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Could it be? Could the Messiah really be here? Could the one who had been promised for so long actually be here among them? Nathanael doesn’t exactly show cynicism, but he does approach it was a lot of doubt. “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” We can look at this response one of two ways. The first is just a bias against Nazareth in general. It wasn’t impressive; it had no renown. What good could come from a place like that?

But from what Jesus says about Nathanael in a few verses, another option seems more likely, and it’s a thought we heard in our Gospel a few weeks ago the would later divide the crowds on their opinion of Jesus. Nathanael knew the Scriptures. He was a true believer. He knew that the Messiah was not promised to come from Nazareth, but from Bethlehem. Could this greatest of good things possibly come from Nazareth when God had explicitly promised to send it via David’s family and David’s city? 

Philip doesn’t have the answers, but he knows someone who does, so Philip’s answer is short and sweet: “Come and see!” There were things that Philip knew Nathanael would want and need to learn about this Jesus, but Jesus himself would be in the best position to do that teaching.

So he comes. One wonders what the conversation was like on the way to where Jesus was. We might assume that Philip was sharing a lot of why he believed that Jesus was the Christ. Likely the Holy Spirit used whatever that conversation was to prime Nathanael’s heart to actually meet his Savior. 

When they round the corner and Jesus sees them both coming he says about Nathanael: “Truly, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” As an “Israelite in whom there is no deceit” Jesus seems to be indicating that Nathanael was a faithful believer, someone who trusted God’s promises. Nathanael is taken aback. He’s never met this man before; how does he know anything about him? Jesus reveals of small sliver of his power as God by telling Nathanael exactly where he was before Philip came to call him. He saw him, not with his eyes, but with his omniscience as God. And this is enough for Nathanael! “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 

Let’s unpack what Nathanael is saying and confessing with these titles for Jesus. In our Psalm of the Day for last weekend, we spoke Psalm 2 responsively. There the Messiah speaks: “I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to me: “‘You are my Son. Today I have begotten you’” (Psalm 2:7). By confessing Jesus to be the Son of God he’s confessing him to be the fulfillment of the begotten-of-God promised to be the Savior of the world. He also (perhaps unknowingly) is underscoring what the Father had just recently testified about Jesus at his baptism, that Jesus was the Father’s beloved Son. 

His second statement is further revealing, “You are the King of Israel!” God promised David that he would have an eternal king to come from his descendants (2 Samuel 7), and long before David was born, an eternal ruler was promised to Jacob’s son, Judah (Genesis 49:8-12). 

Philip’s concerns about Jesus being from Nazareth seem to have melted away. He is confessing that in Jesus he is seeing the promises of God to Judah, David, and all people fulfilled. Whether at this moment there was or later there would be a clarification of where Jesus was born, by the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, Nathanael sees what Philip saw: here is the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote!

You can almost see a smirk on Jesus’ lips as he reacts to Jesus confession, both in love for what has been confessed and in the sense of, “Oh, my friend, you ain’t seen nothing yet.” Jesus gives Nathanael and the others an epiphany glimpse of his work to come. “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Jesus is referencing back many, many generations to when Jacob was fleeing from his brother Esau because he deceived his father Isaac and “stole” the birthright from his older twin, thought it was a birthright God had said would be Jacob’s in the first place. In the account from Genesis 28, we hear that as Jacob fled from Esau’s anger, he slept in the wilderness and had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven. There were angels of God ascending and descending on it. There at the top stood the Lord” (Genesis 28:12-13). In the dream, God reiterated the promises he had made to Abraham and Isaac, Jacob’s grandfather and father, including the promise of a singular descendant who would be a blessing for all nations, the Messiah. After the dream was over, Jacob remarked, “Certainly the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and he said, “How awe-inspiring is this place! This is nothing other than the house of God, and this is the gate to heaven.” (Genesis 28:16-17).

Jacob, in his dream stood at the gate to heaven and the access to heaven from earth was that staircase (or ladder as we might have grown up with hearing). Jesus says that he is the access from earth to heaven, he is the one by whom we gain access to the gate of eternal life. His knowing where Nathanael was before Philip spoke to him was but a parlor trick compared to the real work Jesus came to do: giving access to eternal life to all people by removing their sins. 

This is the Jesus who has loved us, called us, saved us. He is the fulfillment of every promise God has made to us. He is everything we needed him to be. He is the Son of God who came to save us. He is our eternal king who rules all things for our eternal good. He is the one by whom we have access to eternal life because he died to pay for our sins. Do not consider this news about Jesus to be too good to be true; he is the Truth! May we like Nathanael continually come and see Jesus in the Word. May we continue to have God’s promises confirmed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. May we rejoice at God’s faithfulness to his promises, faithfulness to his love, faithfulness to us! Amen.

“Who Is This Jesus?” (Sermon on Mark 14-11) | January 10, 2021

Text: Mark 1:4-11
Date: January 10, 2021
Event: The First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B

Mark 1:4-11 (EHV)

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 6John was clothed in camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. 7He preached, “One more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals! 8I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 

9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10Just as Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you.” 

Who Is This Jesus?

First impressions are important, but they aren’t everything, right? You’ve probably met someone in your life for whom your initial impression was really, really wrong. Maybe it was wrong in a good way or wrong in a bad way, but once you started to get to know the person better, or other people shared experiences they had had with that person, your first impressions perhaps shifted rapidly.

We’ve begun the season of Epiphany where we see Jesus and others telling us more and more about our Savior. Because, first impressions about Jesus aren’t great, right? We celebrated his birth just a little over 2 weeks ago but we saw how lowly, humble, and unimpressive the whole thing is for someone who didn’t know what was going on. Epiphany itself was on Wednesday, the day we would celebrate the wise men coming to worship the young King. But they go to where it made sense to find such a child—to the capital, to Jerusalem. They would never have dreamed (unless they had Micah’s prophecy in front of them) that such an important person would be in a place like Bethlehem. 

As Jesus grew he would have stood out somewhat as a kid who never seemed to get in trouble or do anything wrong. But there’s not much particularly surprising about that. You probably know several children or even adults whom you’ve never seen or heard them do or say anything sinful. Jesus would have come off as a polite child, but likely nothing more. 

So, to get the ball rolling and understand who this Jesus really is, we need others to testify about him, those who have more than just observations one can make with our eyes and ears. We need people with information that goes beyond the skin-deep. And in our Gospel for this morning, we have two such people to testify about Jesus and who he is. The first is John the Baptist and the second is God the Father himself.

We saw John the Baptist doing his preaching and baptizing work in some more detail during the season of Advent. Here, Mark gives us a brief reminder of John’s unique appearance, work, and location for that work. But the results were impressive. Many people from the southern region of Judea, and especially those in Jerusalem itself, were going out to see John in the wilderness to check him out and hear what he had to say. But while John was calling the people to repentance, to turn from their sins and to a life that would better please and thank God, he also told them something of the one who was to come: “One more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals! 8I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

So, who is this Jesus? He’s someone who would be more impressive and powerful than John. For as popular as John was, John is clear that he is nothing compared to the One who was coming. Likewise, John’s baptism was only a ceremonial washing. Jesus would bring the Holy Spirit to the people.

And so it is in this context that Jesus comes to John to be baptized. In parallel accounts of this event, we hear John arguing a bit with Jesus. Recognizing how much more superior Jesus is to himself, John says that he should be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around! But Jesus assures him that this baptism is part of the plan. As our substitute, Jesus is baptized with John’s baptism of repentance not for his sins, but as part of his taking our place in all things.

And that’s why Jesus is so much greater than John. John led people to see and recognize their sins, to hopefully instill in them a desire to turn away from their sins. But John couldn’t get rid of those sins. But Jesus could. And that was his whole mission, to be the sinners’ substitute.

But to look at Jesus, you never would have known. John will later point back to this event as the sign even to him that Jesus was the promised Savior, because with our human perspective it sure didn’t look like this man was the eternal God, or the one who would rescue all humanity from our sins, death, and hell.

You know Jesus because this message of who he is has been revealed to you by people who played the role of John the Baptist in your life. Those parents, teachers, pastors, friends, even perfect strangers who pointed you to Jesus and said, “There! Him! He’s the one who is the Savior! He’s the one who is the eternal King!” Jesus is not who he looks like, nor is he who we want to mold him to be. He doesn’t fit our expectations or meet our demands. But, to follow John’s guidance, Jesus is exactly who we need him to be, the one who brings the Holy Spirit, the one who brings the faith we need to trust in him.

Jesus is not meant to be a mystery. He’s meant to be known, as John made him known. And that is made incredibly clear when, as Jesus walks out of the Jordan, a voice from heaven, the voice of God the Father himself, speaks to Jesus but also tells us what we need to know about this Jesus as well: “You are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you.” Once again, as with John, the Father tells us who Jesus is and what he’s come to do. First and foremost, Jesus is God’s Son.

This would not have been clear. We know the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth. We know how unique they were among all births of all times. But we also know what the presumption would have been. The first impressions of this Jesus would have been that he was Joseph’s son. Who, without being told, would have assumed anything else? But God here sets the record straight. This is not just some guy who was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. This was not a carpenter’s son. This is the Son of God.

And what did he come to do? He came to do everything that pleases the Father—to be perfect. And not only to be perfect, but to accomplish the work laid out for him from the beginning of time. What is that work? We heard the Father to his Son in the words of Isaiah in our First Lesson this morning: But now the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to turn Jacob back to him, so that Israel might be gathered to him, so that I will be honored in the eyes of the Lord, because my God has been my strength—the Lord said: It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth (Isaiah 49:5-6). Jesus would be the one to bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth, to every nation, to every person. John’s role was limited; he largely spoke and preached to the people of Judaea. But not Jesus. Jesus’ role was to bring about God’s global forgiveness.

The “well pleased” nature of Jesus work means accomplishing the salvation of mankind by living and dying in our place. God does not want our sins to condemn us to hell—though they do. And so he sent Jesus to solve that problem, to be our eternal solution. Jesus pleases the Father chiefly because he accomplished that which was most important to the Father—laying down his life for the sins of the world, for your sins and my sins.

So, who is this Jesus? What we learn from the testimony of both John and the Father here at Jesus’ baptism is well summarized by the “Jesus fish.” You’ve seen this fish on the backs of cars and in artwork. It’s a simple one-line drawing of a fish. But it was used by the early Christians as a sort of covert symbol and confession. The Greek word for fish, ichthys, was used as an acronym. It stood for the phrase, “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior.” That is who John said Jesus was; that’s who the Father Said Jesus was; that’s who Jesus is. 

This morning amid unrest and strife and a nation that seems continually at the brink of falling off the precarious edge that we’ve taken ourselves to, let this be your comfort. You know who this Jesus is because he’s made sure you know. He is God’s eternal Son. He is the long-promised Christ. He is your Savior. May the rest of our lives be spent learning more of him and rejoicing in who he is, what he’s done, and how he continues to love us until he calls us home to himself. Thanks be to God! Amen.

“The Truth Divides and Unifies” (Sermon on John 7:40-43) | January 3, 2021

Text: John 7:40-43
Date: January 3, 2021
Event: The Second Sunday after Christmas, Year B

John 7:40-43 (EHV)

After hearing his words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.” 41Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Surely the Christ does not come from Galilee, does he? 42Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ comes from David’s descendants and from the little town of Bethlehem where David lived?” 43So the people were divided because of him.

The Truth Divides and Unifies

Have you ever had that uncomfortable conversation with someone who was convinced they were right but they were really, really wrong? Maybe it was a child who had some bad information. Maybe it was a parent or grandparent who just didn’t understand what they were talking about or were conflating two different things. Maybe it was someone who felt they were an expert in your special area of interest or expertise but in reality just knew enough to be dangerous. 

These conversations are frustrating because you know better, but to convince the person you’re talking to of that can be really difficult. So, if it wasn’t all that important, perhaps you just let it go because forcing people to acknowledge you’re right is probably not a great thing. Likewise, if it was really important, perhaps you had to sit down with the person and slowly, carefully, and gently explain why they were wrong and about what they thought.

As we’ve gone through the Christmas season, we’ve seen times of possible confusion about Jesus and the events surrounding his birth and how God stepped in through angels or shepherds or faithful believers to explain and extol everything this child would grow to be and do. But this morning we jump ahead a bit to Jesus’ adulthood, to his ministry. He’s been gaining in popularity, although that popularity has recently hit a slide as he made clear his reason for being with the people was not to provide free food, but to provide himself as the solution to their sins (cf. John 6, esp. vv. 66-69).

Jesus was never popular with the religious leaders but at this point the crowd is starting to divide on their thoughts about him too. His teaching clearly had its intended results for many of them. The Holy Spirit worked faith in the hearts of many in the crowd, and we hear their statements of faith at the start of our brief Gospel: After hearing his words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” They were right on. Jesus was the Prophet God promised through Moses. Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, long promised from the Garden of Eden through all of the prophets. Whether or not the people fully understood the true role and work of the Messiah is another matter, but they were clearly demonstrating their faith in Jesus’ teaching and trusting that Jesus was who he said he was. 

But others come with doubt and division: “Surely the Christ does not come from Galilee, does he? Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ comes from David’s descendants and from the little town of Bethlehem where David lived?” Too true! We heard that specific promise in our first lesson from Micah 5: Bethlehem in the area of Ephrathah in the southern region of Judea would be the place from which God’s eternal ruler, the Messiah, would come. Could the Christ really be one who came from the northern region of Galilee, from Nazareth of all places? Nazareth had no connection to King David whatsoever! 

Here was issue. They were asking the right questions, but they didn’t go to the right source for the answers. They were relying on themselves and their own presuppositions about who Jesus was rather than inquiring further about him. It certainly might have happened, but nowhere in Scripture do we have anyone questioning Jesus saying, “Teacher, you claim to be the Christ, but the Scriptures say the Christ will be born in Bethlehem.” To which Jesus might possibly have answered, “Wonderful question! Do you remember Caesar’s census some 30-odd years ago…?” It seems likely that this confusion was one of the reasons the Holy Spirit inspired both Luke and Matthew to hammer home Jesus’ Bethlehem birth and very early life. 

But rather than inquiring of the truth from Jesus we’re only told the people were divided because of him. Those assumptions and half-truths prevented some from seeing who Jesus really is and what he had come to do for them.

Do we sometimes let our own presuppositions divide us? Do we let our assumptions about what I do or don’t want God to have said or done rule the way I think about my spiritual journey? Do we sometimes place more emphasis on what we want to be true rather than the truth that God has provided for us in his Word? Are we guilty of, at times, wanting to bend God to our will rather than having him conform us to his? Sometimes we approach God’s Word with our fingers in our ears shouting out “lalalalalala I can’t hear you!” when he tries to teach us. Sometimes, we can approach his Word and his truth in these ways and not even realize we’re doing it.

There is plenty of misinformation and an abundance of misunderstandings about Jesus out there. Perhaps you shared a Christmas dinner table or video call with some of them among your own family or friends last week. Someone who thinks Jesus was a good man or an upright teacher but nothing more. Someone who doesn’t think Jesus as he’s presented in the Bible ever existed. Someone who thinks the whole story of a virgin birth, angels and shepherds, etc., is all just a crazy fairy tale. Maybe someone thinks it might be true, but they just don’t care enough for it to interfere with living the way they want to live. 

But the reality is that all of Scripture’s accounts of Jesus’ life and work are true. Everything that Jesus came to do he accomplished. The birth we celebrated just a little over a week ago is always pointing us ahead to his death. Simeon made that clear as he took the infant Jesus into his arms as we heard last week. The angel who announced Jesus’ upcoming birth to Joseph had also made his work clear by the name he gave him: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

And that’s where the rub really comes, right? It’s not the events surrounding Christmas or Good Friday or Easter that are fundamentally objectionable to people. It’s the truth that all of these events point to. Unbelievers and believers alike do not like to be shown their sin. We as people do not like to be told that we need a Savior. We do not like to be told that we need God’s help, rescue, or forgiveness. We want to do it on our own. But we cannot. We want to believe our own narratives that we construct, but that is not truth.

These truths may cause divisions—dividing us from other people or even causing contradictions in our own hearts. But just because the truth causes these divisions doesn’t make it any less true. Jesus is still who he is whether I want to accept it or not, whether I understand it or not, whether I know reality or not, whether I accept my need or not. We must take God at his Word and give thanks for what he’s done for us.

And that’s still the joy of Christmas. Not in ornaments and lights and treats and presents under the tree. No, the joy of Christmas is that we had a spiritual need that God has completely met in Jesus. Our sins are forgiven by the baby who was born, who would grow, live, and die in our place. Our hearts may not like to hear the truth by nature, but the Holy Spirit has shown us the truth for what it is: our eternal life.

As we enter into the season of Epiphany this week, starting with next Sunday, we’re going to see Jesus more clearly reveal to those around him and to us as well who exactly he is. We will see the truth that might divide us from those around us. We will feel that uncomfortable sensation inside of us as the the truth tells us things about ourselves that we don’t want to the true. But in the end we will rejoice in the truths about our Savior that unify us with the members of our congregation and with all believers of all time in the Holy Christian Church. 

May the truth that Jesus has come for you and has saved you unite you with God and your fellow Christians. May that truth fill you with joy in these earliest days of this new year and for the rest of your life. Thanks be to God! Merry Christmas! Amen.

“Our Shepherd Is with Us” (Sermon on Psalm 23) | December 31, 2020

Text: Psalm 23
Date: December 31, 2020
Event: New Year’s Eve 

Psalm 23 (EHV)

The Lord is my shepherd. 
I lack nothing. 
2He causes me to lie down in green pastures. 
He leads me beside quiet waters. 
3He restores my soul. 
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
I will fear no evil, for you are with me. 
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 
5You set a table for me in the presence of my foes. 
You drench my head with oil.
My cup is overflowing. 
6Surely goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life, 
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. 

Our Shepherd Is with Us

If there was ever a year that we would want to escort out of our lives with the Word of God and prayer, it would probably be 2020. For a while it seemed like every month from January on presented some new big threat or tragedy or hardship to deal with. Fires close by or across the world, saber rattling among nations, and perhaps most notably the pandemic whose rippling effects are still felt here tonight so that we can’t be together for this year-closing service.

But the reality is that we will not see the end of our problems when the calendar flips to January 2021, will we? The pandemic doesn’t go away. Our personal emotional hardships and heartaches won’t magically end. Whatever is heavy on our heart tonight is probably going to be heavy on our heart tomorrow.

So that’s why, tonight, we chose to specially focus on the comfort and care of our loving Savior, our Good Shepherd. Because despite how miserable this year has been for so many people in so many different ways, we did not take a step through this year without our Shepherd by our side. And for as concerning as this coming year might be, we also will not spend one moment in 2021 without our Shepherd right with us.

We’ll spend tonight going through the classic and familiar words that the Holy Spirit inspired King David to write in Psalm 23. David knew about sheep and shepherding. He grew up tending the flocks in the fields. In fact, he almost missed out on his anointing as the next king of Israel because he was tending to the sheep while everyone else had gathered for the celebration. 

And David knew something about being a king, being the most successful and faithful king in Israel’s history—though certainly not without his flaws. But he knew well that the leadership that a king or other ruler must present for his people is very similar to the care of the sheep. The nation needed a strong leader willing and able to do what needed to be done, to make difficult decisions, to sacrifice self for the good of the whole. This was King David in a nutshell. 

But David also has the clear vision to recognize that he was not the be-all, end-all of leadership, governing, or even shepherding. He didn’t execute on his responsibilities perfectly and in fact his sin got him into danger more than once. He recognized that without God, he was nothing. Without God’s forgiveness, he would be lost forever. Without God at his side every moment of every day, he would have had no success either in the field or on the throne. He saw very clearly that God was the perfect King, the perfect Shepherd.

But the truths that David expounds on in Psalm 23 are not just for him nor just for shepherds around 1000 BC nor just for kings and other leaders. The things that David points to God doing as his Shepherd apply to you and me just as much as they did to King David. As we journey into a new year, let us see the promises of our God as he shepherds us into the future just as he has shepherded us in the past. 

The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He causes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. Sheep are not great at finding food or water. The shepherd needs to be diligent about leading the flock not only to where they can eat and drink but also where they can eat and drink safely. And so the shepherd leads the sheep to the ideal spots where they can have their needs met while doing so without threat from predators or other dangers. 

God does the same for us. Left on our own, we would flail about all over the place looking for our ways to meet our needs. If we’ve ever felt lost or separated from our God, if we’ve ever tried to figure out everything on our own, we know how discouraging and upsetting that is. Perhaps this year saw the loss of a job or a reduced capacity to acquire what you needed for you and your family. Perhaps there was not a financial crunch but maybe it was an availability question as there were runs on the stores for important products and food staples. Perhaps it was some paralysis of what you needed to do to ensure your safety and the safety of those around you amid the pandemic while the rules and guidelines seemed to be constantly changing.

But our Good Shepherd promises to provide daily bread—he’s going to give us what we need. And you’ve probably seen that in action. Maybe as you look back, despite the concerns or worries of this past year, you realize that you always had what you needed. Perhaps you didn’t, and yet God provided in a way that you were not expecting. As a bit of an aside, if you find yourself in circumstances where you are lacking what you need right now, please contact me. Your brothers and sisters in Christ in your congregation may be a way that God leads you to green pastures and quiet waters. 

God’s guidance doesn’t end at providing for our physical needs, though. David continues: He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Our Shepherd is not only concerned about us physically, but all the more spiritually. He restores our soul. The broken heart, the screaming conscience, he comes to heal. We heard Jesus say clearly what his chief work would be as our Good Shepherd—to lay down his life only to take it up again. The forgiveness of sins that Jesus has won for us by his death and proved by his resurrection is the ultimate in soul restoration. 

Because of Jesus’ forgiveness, we are led by our shepherd in paths of righteousness, walking in the way that shows and proves the right relationship with God that he has given to us. Sins are forgiven so we need not walk the path of sin and death any more. We don’t have to walk those dark and dreary streets that lead to eternal death, because sin is not our master. Our Shepherd leads us and we belong to him. We know his voice and because of him we can walk about, live lives, that thank and glorify him.

And this is true no matter how rough the terrain is that we are walking on. David doesn’t leave room for avoiding the “valley of the shadow of death.” It’s not if; it’s even though. This kind a trouble will come, may be our surroundings right here and right now. But what remains true? We need not fear because even in the darkest places we might find ourselves, our Shepherd is with us. He is there to comfort with his rod and his staff.

A shepherd’s staff has several uses. He might use that staff to fight off an enemy to protect the sheep. Or he might use the hook at the end of it to drag the sheep by the neck to get the animal out of danger. That likely is against the sheep’s will. It’s not pleasant for a sheep to have the staff hooked around the neck and be dragged, but the shepherd knows that temporary discomfort likely will mean the difference between life and death. 

God’s staff comforts in the same way. He might fend off our enemies that threaten us, or he may drag us away from the sin that threatens in a way that is not so pleasant and not so comfortable. Our Shepherd is not interested in us living the way we want to live; he wants us to live in the way that is best for us, and best for us eternally. So even though some sin might seem fun or harmless or whatever, our Shepherd is going to drag us away from that lest it drag us to hell and separate us from him forever.

But, that’s not to say that God has a desire for us to be miserable forever in this life. Just the opposite, in fact. You set a table for me in the presence of my foes. You drench my head with oil. My cup is overflowing. Notice the table is prepared, but enemies are still there. God’s blessings persist even in difficult times. The peace that comes from knowing sins forgiven means that our blessings go beyond what any unbeliever might have. Our enemies might seek to drag us for our faith or our life or our priorities or because we do not live and think and speak the way they do, but God prepares a beautiful table for us in front of them. We have an over abundance—overflowing spiritual blessings—because of our Shepherd who loves us. 

It may not always feel like the Good Shepherd is doing all of these things for us or that they’ll turn out the way he promises they will, but we can have them confidence that God will be faithful. God will keep every promise to us. 

As we look back on 2020, we might see some silver linings around dark clouds. For all the trouble and bad we might have experienced, we might also see some good that God is working from it all. If nothing else, as a congregation, we know that our proclamation of the gospel is going out to more people and is more available than it’s ever been. And, when we are able to gather together again with our fellow Christians, we will likely value and cherish that together time more than we ever have in the past. Knowing what we’ve missed will help us to better appreciate what we have when it is restored.

But no matter what 2021 looks like, whether it’s better or worse by our measure than any years coming before it, we have the assurance of God’s promises to us as our Shepherd: Surely goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life. God’s goodness and mercy will track us down no matter where we are or what difficulties we experience. His love and care will pounce on us like a lion of forgiveness and encouragement. We will never be separated from his mercy and his kindness. They, like him, are our ever-present companions through this walk of life.

The end result of all of God’s shepherding is clear—I will live in the house of the Lord forever. We will be in heaven, eternal perfect life with our God forever because of our Shepherd’s work. He laid down his life for us and took it up again to provide the payment needed to satisfy the debt of our sins. He shepherds us through our lives, our walk of faith, to keep us close to him, clinging to him for the assurance of forgiveness. The life that is coming will be free from all sin and sorrow and hardship. No matter what the past may have done or what the future may yet do, we go forward confident of our Savior’s love with the absolute assurance that when it’s all over, we will be with him forever. Thanks be to our Shepherd forever and ever! Happy New Year! Amen.

“Look! The Arm of the Lord!” (Devotion on Isaiah 52:7-10) | December 25, 2020

Text: Isaiah 52:7-10
Date: December 25, 2020
Event: The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas Day), Year B

Isaiah 52:7-10 (EHV)

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of a herald, 
who proclaims peace and preaches good news, 
who proclaims salvation, 
who says to Zion, “Your God is king!” 
8The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voices. 
Together they shout for joy, 
because with both eyes they will see it 
when the Lord returns to Zion. 
9Break out, shout for joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, 
because the Lord is comforting his people. 
He is redeeming Jerusalem. 
10The Lord lays bare his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, 
and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation from our God.

Look! The Arm of the Lord!

Christmas celebrations are so familiar to us that it can become easy to not stop and consider the oddities surrounding it. But, perhaps this year’s pandemic restrictions mean that we’re taking a fresh look at the ways we celebrate by virtue of this year’s celebrations being forced into being strange. We didn’t get together last night as a congregation nor are we together this morning. Maybe you’re having your family Christmas celebrations this year via teleconference. Even for me, right now, I’m having to get manufacture some “Christmas energy” ahead of Christmas itself for this special prerecorded service rather than it naturally happening in the moment as we’d normally gather for worship this morning. 

Regardless of where we are or how we’re celebrating this moment, the prophet Isaiah can help us put our celebrations in their appropriate context this morning. We are not simply celebrating the birth of a baby. We are not simply observing tradition or a enjoying reason to be off of work or school. This morning we are celebrating the announcement of the good news, the best news: How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of a herald, who proclaims peace and preaches good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God is king!” 

Today we are celebrating the reign of our eternal King and the salvation that he has worked. This morning is nothing less than the celebrating of rescue from sin, death, and hell and the assurance of eternal life with our God forever!

But it doesn’t really look like it, right? It looks like a poor couple being forced by their government into a harsh journey at the worst possible time in their family’s life, and having no place for a baby to be born but among the animals, with a feeding trough for a bed. This looks more like sadness and systemic failure than joy and salvation. 

But Isaiah tells us what we’re really seeing here: The Lord lays bare his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation from our God. This little tiny helpless child is the arm of the Lord, the strength of God, being made clear to all people. Christmas is God rolling up his sleeves, digging into his promised work, his work to save us from our eternal death. Christmas is step one of his plan that will lead Jesus to the cross to die for our sins and then to his resurrection that will prove his victory for us.

It perhaps doesn’t look like it. Perhaps this year it doesn’t feel like it. But here in Bethlehem God is starting to do what he had promised to do. The long-promised Savior old the world is here. Christmas is the triune God saying, “Now it’s time to get to work.” And his work is focused on you, your rescue, your eternal safety and well being. Nothing else matters to him but that you are freed from your slavery to sin and death. He’s going to do everything we need him to do to save us. 

The Word became flesh for you. This baby was born in these humble surroundings for you. The arm of the Lord has been laid bare for you. God is using his almighty power to rescue you. Christmas is a clear demonstration that God loves, selflessly loves you, self-sacrificingly loves you. How beautiful is the proclamation of that truth this morning, and forever! Thanks be to God! Merry Christmas! Amen.

“We Are Jesus’ Chosen People!” (Devotion on Titus 2:11-14) | December 24, 2020

Text: Titus 2:11-14
Date: December 24, 2020
Event: The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas Eve), Year B

Titus 2:11-14 (EHV)

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 12It trains us to reject ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope, that is, the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are his own chosen people, eager to do good works.

We Are Jesus’ Chosen People!

Can you imagine what it would’ve been like to be there that first Christmas? To be one of the shepherds who heard the proclamation of the angels, or even one of the people the shepherds raced to tell about what they had seen and heard which was just as they had been told? To be Mary or Joseph and to be, for a few minutes at least, the only people aware that this special child, this Jesus the Savior, had been born? On Sunday we’ll hear about Simeon and Anna, two faithful believers who were privileged enough to see the Messiah as a newborn at the temple, seeing the fulfillment of God’s promises made flesh. How unbelievably privileged and amazing it would have been to be there!

But to be there was one thing, to understand and value what this all meant is another. The reality is, no matter how amazing it would have been to be at or around the events of Jesus’ birth, that amazement is nothing compared to being the beneficiaries of what this all means. And tonight, as we sing the familiar hymns and hear the familiar words of the Christmas account, the apostle Paul takes us beyond a surface-level, factual understanding of the events of Christmas and takes us into the why’s and what’s of this birth among the animals in Bethlehem. 

Paul lays it all out for us in the first verse of our lesson: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. This child is the embodiment of God’s grace. Grace is God’s undeserved love for sinners. We didn’t deserve to have him do anything for us and he has done it all anyway.

Contrast that with the secular view of Christmas. What the reason for presents? Someone identifies you as having been “bad or good” and gives according to what you’ve done. Presents for the good and coal for the bad, right? By that way of reckoning, these are not so much gifts as they are things earned by behavior. That is the opposite of grace.

God’s grace means that he gives us the good things that we absolutely did not deserve. Our sin has made us disgusting in God’s sight, repulsive. And yet he doesn’t throw us away as we deserved. He sends his Son to us, to save us from that sin. Jesus came to give himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are his own chosen people, eager to do good works. 

This makes Jesus the greatest Christmas gift ever given, or more to the point, the greatest Christmas gift ever received. Every Christmas present you give or receive this year will, over days or years, break or get lost or become unneeded or unwanted. But not Jesus. His value never wears out. His birth and subsequent life and death have eternal importance. It changes our lives for now and forever: [God’s grace] trains us to reject ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, that is, the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Some gifts we might receive may have a lasting impact on our lives. Maybe a new calendar or whiteboard will finally help us to get organized. Maybe a new computer ensures we have the tools we need for success in school or work, or just an outlet to unwind. Maybe a gift box or subscription service that regularly delivers different foods allows you to find a new life-long favorite. 

But Jesus, God’s grace, changes everything, our very thoughts, motives, and attitudes. Because of Jesus we can see our sin for the danger that it is. Because of Jesus was can see God’s love for what it truly is, love that isn’t given because we earned it but given because he wants to rescue us and save us from ourselves. And so knowing the gift God has given to us in Jesus, knowing that his birth, life, and eventual death and resurrection means the forgiveness of every sin, we change the way we live. We don’t want to live in sin which kills us and is offensive to our God. We reject the world’s ideas of embracing our desires, our greed, or lust, or whatever pulls us away from him, but rather live our lives filled with the works God wants us to do. We live our lives to thank God for the grace he has shown us, specially shown tonight at the birth of our Savior. 

But as we spent the Advent season looking ahead to this moment but also looking ahead to Jesus’ second advent, we do well to remember that God’s faithfulness at Christmas points to his faithfulness at the end. We continue to look forward to the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He will not return as he first arrived, a helpless baby in Bethlehem. He will return as the glorious King of kings and Lord of lords. His arrival will not need to be announced by angels to shepherds—every eye will see him. And that day will mean the end of this life tainted with sin and the beginning of the eternal, perfect life that God has prepared for us.

So while we are waiting for that day, we continue to prepare our hearts and to have our lives molded by those truths. We serve God and one another every moment of every day not because we have to, but because we want to. We don’t just give generous gifts to loved ones on Christmas; we selflessly give our time and hearts to any and all who have needs, always. We look for new ways to thank our Savior by serving our neighbor. And we hold onto this grace of God, shown clearly tonight, that has made us his chosen people as the motivation that makes us eager to do good works.

Until that day our Savior returns, we will continue to take these reminders and assurances of what God has done for us to heart. He loves us. He’s given himself to us and for us. We have the forgiveness of our sins because of his grace. We have the certain hope of eternal life because of that same undeserved love. On this Christmas Eve, do not fret over God’s feelings toward you, do not worry that he will not follow through on his promises to you. Look in the manger to see the assurance that our God is faithful to each and every promise. Live your life in thankful joy to the God who has saved you! Merry Christmas! Amen.

"Jesus Is Coming! Nothing Will Be Impossible for God!" (Sermon on Luke 1:26-38) | December 20, 2020

Text: Luke 1:26-38 
Date: December 20, 2020
Event: The Fourth Sunday in Advent, Year B

Luke 1:26-38 (EHV)

26In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” 

29But she was greatly troubled by the statement and was wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God. 31Listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.” 

34Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 

35The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Listen, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age even though she was called barren, and this is her sixth month. 37For nothing will be impossible for God.” 

38Then Mary said, “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her. 

Jesus Is Coming! Nothing Will Be Impossible for God!

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“That’s impossible!” We might remark at news that seems unbelievable. It can be bad—so bad and horrifying that we would never imagine it could happen to anyone. It can be good—so wonderful that we would never dream of hoping that it would happen. It can simply be something that just defies reality—news that some athletic record was shattered or that the difficult-to-find Christmas present was secured. 

You might notice that we often use the word flippantly, because clearly, if something happened, it can’t be impossible. And that’s where we have to note a difference between impossible, and impossible for us. I can watch the gymnast do things and say, “That’s impossible!” and what I mean is that it would be impossible for me to ever do that, which given my general lack of coordination or physical ability is absolutely true. But clearly it’s not fundamentally impossible because there someone has accomplished the feat I deemed impossible for myself.

But there are some things that seems objectively impossible. I can’t jump and launch myself into outer space. People can’t survive more than a few weeks without food, or days without water, or minutes without air. And if someone makes a promise to you that seems to be in the realm of the impossible either for them or in general, there’s a good chance we might dismiss the promise as meaningless. If it can’t be done, why get your hopes up only to have them dashed by reality?

God’s promise surrounding the Savior might have felt impossible. How would God get rid of sin? How would he solve the fact that we’ve been rebellious and hateful toward him? How would he be able to do anything that he promised to do? The truth is that God would accomplish these impossible-sounding goals by impossible-sounding means. And yet, nothing will be impossible for God!

In our Gospel this morning, Mary was met with some impossible-sounding news. She, who was a virgin, who had never known a man in that way, was going to have a child? Impossible! That goes against basic biology. And yet, wasn’t that what God had promised to do? The promise to King Ahaz in Isaiah 7 was clear—the virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, Immanuel. Impossible! But not!

Mary trusts Gabriel’s message but is confused. “How will this be?” And Gabriel’s explanation is vague yet sufficient: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” In summary, Gabriel’s message is, “God’s power will accomplish this.” He points Mary to Elizabeth, her relative, who was said to not be able to have children. Yet even in her old age, Elizabeth was six months pregnant with John the Baptist, the way-preparer of the Savior. And in this moment we might see that his work of way-preparing begins here as his mere existence points to God’s ability to do whatever he needs to do to accomplish his promises. And Mary’s response is pure humble trust: “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.”

Do we approach God’s seemingly impossible promises like Mary did? Do we really believe that everything—that heartbreak, that loss of a loved one, that loss of job, those financial problems, that troubled relationship, that harsh exchange with a total stranger—everything God is going to work out for our eternal good? Do we even start to doubt the possibility that there is forgiveness for our sins? Or do we start trusting Satan’s reasoning rather than God’s promises? He continually lies into our ears, “Sure, God could be forgiving towards him or her, but not you. It’s not possible for God to forgive you after what you did or said or thought...”

My brothers and sisters, God accomplishes what seems to be impossible. And he does the impossible because he loves you. This whole scene before us at the last Sunday in Advent is the God of faithful love beginning to turn the wheels in the machine of his long-promised plan of salvation. Generation after generation of people after Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden longed to hear these words spoken to Mary. And Mary, too, would have longed to see and hear what you have seen and heard in the Scriptures concerning what would happen with this long-promised child. 

Because this child to be born is not amazing because of the circumstances surrounding his conception or even the birth that we’re gearing up to celebrate. In some ways, that is the least remarkable thing about him. Because here will the Word—God himself—made flesh. His name is given very specifically: Jesus, Yeshua in Hebrew. It literally means “the LORD saves” or “Yahweh saves”. This is not just some sentimental name to reflect the faith of their parents. No, this child is literally Yahweh, the God of free and faithful love, the one who created the universe, promised to Abraham, called Moses, led his people, supported David, spoke through the prophets. This child is the one true God coming to earth, taking on our human nature, to save us from our sin. Impossible! But, nothing will be impossible for God!

This child, conceived by the Holy Spirit through the power of the Most High, would be born, grow, live a life of perfection and die a innocent death. Tragic, yes, but again, for a purpose. This was the plan. This was God’s design. This was his plan to save you and me from sin. Jesus would shoulder the burden of our sin that we committed against him. Impossible! But, nothing will be impossible for God!

And as we draw nearer and nearer to our Christmas celebrations, as we get closer and closer to Bethlehem’s manger, don’t take your eyes off the skies. Because this same Jesus, born of a virgin, will return. He will return to take you and me away from this world of sin and bring us to himself in heaven. Based on everything we’ve experienced in our life, this is completely impossible. We’ve never seen Jesus return. We’ve never seen heaven. Everything in our lives, in the world, goes on today as it has every day of our life. We live in this world and thinking that it will come to an end at Jesus’ return seems like it will never happen. Impossible! Yet, nothing will be impossible for God!

God kept his promise to his ancient people to send the Savior for all people of all times and was faithful to that promise, so he will not prove untrustworthy with this final promise. Whether he calls us home by death or we lift up our eyes at the sounding of the last trumpet, God will rescue us for Jesus’ sake. He will be faithful to this final promise as he has been to every single one that has come before.

We are venturing into a Christmas season unlike any that we’ve ever experienced. We might be wrestling with our health, or the health or even loss of loved ones. We will likely struggle with the reality that we won’t be able to see the friends and family we want to see or keep up the traditions that surround this season that we’re used to. But no matter what changes Christmas in the year of our Lord 2020 brings, one thing remains absolutely certain, something that we can trust and rely on no matter how much worse or better things get from here: Jesus is coming! Nothing will be impossible for God! All praise and glory be to him forever and ever! Amen.

"Jesus Is Coming! The One Who Calls You Is Faithful!" (Sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24) | December 13, 2020

Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Date: December 13, 2020
Event: The Third Sunday in Advent, Year B

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 (EHV)

16Rejoice always. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20Do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21But test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Keep away from every kind of evil. 

23May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 

Jesus Is Coming! The One Who Calls You Is Faithful!

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It is important to trust the things and people around you, right? When your car breaks down and leaves you stranded in the middle of nowhere, you may find it hard to trust that vehicle again. A shady website promising that they have that much-sought-after Christmas present in stock while every reputable place has no stock may not be worth the risk. A husband or wife who has been cheated on may not ever be able to trust their spouse again.

If we’re going to put our trust in something or someone, be it as relatively meaningless as a company promising to deliver a present, as important as being able to reliably and safely get to the store or work in a vehicle, or as intimate as our human relationships, the other person or thing needs to instill that trust. Trust that they are reliable, will be faithful, and will be there for you when you need them.

As we continue our Advent preparations, as we continue to prepare our hearts for the return of our Savior, it’s important that we know who we are preparing for. This is not some random person who may or may not be trustworthy. This is the God who called you and has proven time and time again to be faithful.

This is Paul’s closing to his first letter to the Christians living in the city of Thessalonica. We know that Paul endured severe trial when he preached in that city. We heard a few weeks ago about how they had a lot of confusion about people’s eternal safety—they were worried that people who died before Jesus returned would be lost. So Paul’s letter is one of setting the record straight on their confusions and bringing them comfort and direction for their lives even as they wrestled with residual trouble trying to be Christians in that city.

Let’s begin by focusing on Paul’s closing words in our brief lesson this morning. Paul writes, “May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” Paul is focusing their attention not on themselves, not on their worldly troubles (or successes), but on God. 

Paul called God “the God of peace” which is an easy word to skip over. But keep in mind what a difference that is from our natural relationship with him. By nature we are at war with God, hostile to him, his enemies. We were fighting a spiritual, eternal war with God that we would never, ever win. But the God of peace made promises to change that. In just about 11 or 12 days we’ll hear the angels proclaim in joyous words as they announce the birth of the Savior to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind” (Luke 2:14)

The God of peace is the one who ended the hostility and war between himself and sinful mankind. He ended it by sending his Son Jesus to live and die in our place. It’s exactly what he promised to do throughout the Old Testament. In our Sunday Morning Bible Class we’ve been studying various prophecies about the Savior which God gave to his Old Testament people and looking at their eventual fulfillment in the life and work of Jesus. This peace was first promised when the Satan-crushing Messiah was first promised after the fall into sin in the Garden of Eden. 

So, the God of peace has sanctified you. If you have a Catechism student in your family, we just learned that as one of our Key Terms last week, sanctification. When the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts he sanctifies us, literally sets us apart. God, through faith in Jesus, has set you apart from the rest of the world, has set you apart from the way you would have lived before becoming a Christian. This is a fundamental shift, a fundamental change in your life. You know that you will not die in hell but live forever in heaven. You know that your sins are forgiven. You know that the Savior who was promised has come and saved you—saved the world—from sin and death. You know that no matter what happens, God’s promises remain true. 

Throughout biblical history, world history, and your own personal history God has proven time and time again what Paul says here: The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. He is faithful to every promise, up to and including keep us blameless until the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ on Judgment Day because Jesus has made us to be blameless.

What is our response to all of this overwhelming blessing? What do we do with the truths that we are forgiven, that we are the children of God rather than his hostile enemies? How does it look to be sanctified, set apart by God’s grace? It looks like this: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not extinguish the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. But test everything. Hold on to the good. Keep away from every kind of evil. 

Rejoice always. You may hear a direction like that and say, “Yeah, but...” To be clear, this doesn’t mean you have to be happy all the time. This doesn’t mean that being sad or discouraged or feeling loss is somehow wrong or sinful. It does mean that you cling to what God has done for you, knowing that this work for you is reason for eternal rejoicing. I’ll experience sadness when my trust has been violated, I’ll grieve when death separates me from a loved one, I’ll have days where I feel like gum stuck to someone’s shoe for no discernible reason. I will cry, I will feel frustrated, I will struggle to maintain perspective. But I can also maintain the joy that knows my sins are forgiven, that my God loves me, that I will be home with him forever. I will be sad in this life, but I will not despair because my God is bigger than any problem I have. Rejoice always because the one who calls is faithful.

Pray without ceasing. Your God is always listening, more willing to listen than we are to pray, more able to act than we imagine he is. Prayer, as we’ve mentioned recently, doesn’t need to be an elaborate, eloquent flow of “fancy” words. Prayer is an ongoing conversation with the God who loves you, who wants to hear your frustrations and troubles and, in fact, promises to work them all out for your good. You pray to God to praise him, to thanks him, to confess to him, and to bring your requests to him on behalf of others and for yourself. Pray without ceasing because the one listens to you and promises to answer, the one who calls, is faithful.

In everything give thanks. Here, again, nothing happens to you or to me without God’s knowledge. Nothing happens, good or bad, that God will not work for our eternal good. Which means I can rejoice and give thanks in good and troubling things. I can give thanks to God that he allowed something positive to happen. I can give thanks to God that he guided me through that very difficult time. I can give thanks to God for those times when he reminds me of my weaknesses so that I might more fully trust in his strength. In everything give thanks, because the one who calls is faithful.

Do not extinguish the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt. But test everything. Hold on to the good. Keep away from every kind of evil. God’s Word is the focal point of our lives. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit that burns brightly in our hearts. We don’t want to treat that Word with contempt, disdain, or apathy. But rather, hold on to what God says, to see his promises and fulfillments. We test everything by the measure of that Word—be it the spiritual teaching of others or the attitudes and actions of our own hearts. The Word drives us away from evil and brings us to what God deems is good. This is especially key in our Advent preparations. The only way we can be truly prepared is when we see what God says in his Word about our sinful hearts and what he says about what he’s done for our sinful hearts. In the Word we find the complete comfort God has for us. Do not extinguish the Spirit because the one who calls is faithful.

We are nearing the celebration of one of the biggest proofs of God’s faithfulness. Next week we will hear Gabriel announce to Mary that she will be with child, the child, promised for generations. The result of that child’s arrival and work means nothing short of our rescue from the pits of hell, means our soul’s eternal salvation from sin and death. We’ll see God using even the mundane and ordinary to accomplish his goals, turning the wheels of history so that he is proved faithful to every promise. In all of these things, see your God’s trustworthiness. Jesus is coming! The one who calls you is faithful! Amen.

"Jesus Is Coming! Prepare Your Hearts!" (Sermon on Mark 1:1-8) | December 6, 2020

Text: Mark 1:1-8
Date: December 6, 2020
Event: The Second Sunday in Advent, Year B

Mark 1:1-8 (EHV)

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2This is how it is written in the prophet Isaiah: 

Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, 

who will prepare the way for you. 

3A voice of one calling out in the wilderness, 

“Prepare the way of the Lord. 

Make his paths straight.” 

4John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 6John was clothed in camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. 7He preached, “One more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals! 8I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 

Jesus Is Coming! Prepare Your Hearts!

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Sufficient preparation is important. You want to be ready to face the day and any challenges you might encounter. And sometimes those plans require modifications. It’s taken me a while, but think finally a mask has joined my subconscious checklist of keys, wallet, and phone as things I need to have on me before I leave the house. 

And depending on the situation, you’re going to do different things to prepare, right? A child coming home from college for a break probably results in different preparations than an elderly parent moving in with you. Preparing to meet a friend for coffee looks pretty different than getting ready to clean the bathrooms.

As we began to consider last week, we’re reminded again today that Advent is a season about preparation. Yes, perhaps the Christmas decorations are going up inside or outside. Perhaps some presents are being bought or even wrapped. Maybe the Christmas music is playing at home. Maybe the oven is starting to crank out seasonal treats. These are preparations for Christmas, but these are not Advent preparations. John the Baptist leads us to see this morning that the most important preparation to celebrate Jesus’ first advent or to prepare for his second advent is that we prepare our hearts.

Mark wastes no time in his Gospel telling us for whom we are to prepare our hearts. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus, God’s Son, is coming. What a confession of faith! This is not a mere celebrity or royal dignitary. This is not even a dearly loved family member or long-lost friend. This is God himself, the Father’s Son, coming to dwell among his people, to save his people, and eventually to take his people home to eternal life!

God had promised through the prophet Isaiah that a messenger would come to prepare the way for the Messiah. He came to make roads ready and paths straight. But John the Baptist didn’t embark on a public works project to get ready for Jesus. He wasn’t literally building roads and filling in ditches. No, we heard that he went out to the Jordan, the “wrong” side of the Jordan, the opposite banks from Jerusalem. He’s in the wilderness, living and thriving unlike almost anyone else. But it wasn’t John’s clothing or diet that were getting the people ready for Jesus. Mark tells us exactly what John was doing to prepare hearts for the coming Savior: John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

John’s baptism was different than our baptism that Jesus would later give to his disciples. John’s was a washing connected to the person’s repentance. Repentance is an important, but perhaps often misunderstood, component of the believer’s life. In the Augsburg Confession, Philip Melanchthon describes repentance this way: Repentance consists of two parts. One part is contrition, that is, terrors striking the conscience through the knowledge of sin. The other part is faith, which is born of the Gospel or the Absolution and believes that for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven. It comforts the conscience and delivers it from terror. Then good works are bound to follow, which are the fruit of repentance (AC XII 3-6, quoted from Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, 2006 Concordia Publishing House).

What was John doing as he preached in the desert? He was trying to get people to see the severity of their sin, the danger it posed for their eternal well-being, to install in them sorrow over that sin, but also joy in God’s forgiveness. The source of that forgiveness was coming, and soon! And to get his path ready John proclaimed this message to prepare the hearts of those Jesus would come to save. 

Truly this is Advent preparation in the truest sense. It shouldn’t take an odd looking fellow living in the desert to make you and me realize our need for repentance. Sin infects every part of our being—every thought, word, and action. Our lives continue to be rebellion against God.

And this is why we need this time of preparation so much. Because what good is Christmas if I don’t see my need eternal need for the Savior whose birth we will celebrate? And what good will his second advent be for me if I stand on my own, confident of my own good works for my salvation? Through Advent we strive to prepare our hearts, to identify those places where sin has taken a hold of us, and to purge it from our lives. As we find sin, we repent and turn away from it. The way we get ready to celebrate Christmas is the same way John got the people ready for Jesus’ first arrival and, in fact, is the same way we get ready for Jesus’ second arrival. 

Without repentance Christmas is just Santa and presents, or family and church traditions devoid of any eternal meaning. But with repentance, with sorrow over our sin and trust that God has in fact forgiven us, we see in Jesus’ first arrival the assurance that God loves us, the assurance that God keeps his promises, the assurance that there is forgiveness. It’s the same hope that John’s baptism brought. After all, it was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. That certainty of forgiveness for them depended on God’s promises to send their Savior. The certainty of our forgiveness depends on that same promise but now fulfilled, that our Savior has come, lived, died, and rose for us. 

John’s work and Jesus’ work would be different. John was clear on the distinction between he and the Savior: One more powerful than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals! We will see him be even more adamant in our Gospel next week when he is pressed with questions about whether he, John, might possibly be the Messiah. But no, John and Jesus were as different as different could be. Though relatives by blood and having callings that intertwined and related to each other, their roles were very different: I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

John was preparing people with a ceremonial washing connected to repentance. Jesus was coming with the Holy Spirit. He would bring faith to the repentant to trust that he was in fact the Savior that they hoped and longed for, even as he does today. Right here, right now, even through a YouTube live stream, Jesus is active in his Word, sending the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith in him as our complete Savior from sin. Here this morning he assures us that the faith he gives which is paired with our repentance is not misplaced.

And while our Jesus-instituted baptism is not really mentioned here, we do well to be reminded of it yet again. Peter made the point last week that baptism saves us like the water of the flood saved Noah and his family from all the threats to their faith in the ark. Our baptism leads us to a life of continued repentance that turns from sin and trusts Jesus as the one who provides full forgiveness for it all. This is how we live as the adopted children in God’s family. Remember how Martin Luther clearly and simply explained the blessings of baptism in the Small Catechism: Baptism works forgiveness of sin, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. Baptism [also] means that the old Adam in us should be drowned by daily contrition and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. (SC Baptism 2 and 4, quoted from Luther’s Catechism, 2017 Northwestern Publishing House).

As you continue to prepare your hearts during this Advent season, stay focused on your Savior and the blessings he provides. Repent of your sin and know that there is no doubt—contrition doesn’t lead to despair. Your sins have truly been forgiven by the one who was promised and has come. Jesus lived and died to save you. Keep your focus on him, the one who was to come and who will return, for then and then alone is your heart truly prepared! Amen.

"Jesus Is Coming! You Are Saved!" (Sermon on 1 Peter 3:18-22) | November 29, 2020

Text: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Date: November 29, 2020
Event: The First Sunday in Advent, Year B

1 Peter 3:18–22 (EHV)

Christ also suffered once for sins in our place, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in flesh but was made alive in spirit, 19in which he also went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison. 20These spirits disobeyed long ago, when God’s patience was waiting in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In this ark a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. 21And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the guarantee of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 22He went to heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Jesus Is Coming! You Are Saved!

While we’re still almost a month a way from saying goodbye to the absolute trip that has been 2020, today we have started a new church year. We’re in the season of Advent which is not, as it often feels like, actually just “Pre-Christmas.” Sure, the stores have long converted their Halloween sections to Christmas trees and lights and ornaments. While, yes, part of Advent is looking ahead to the celebration of of our Savior’s first arrival that we will observe starting on December 24 and 25, Advent is much more than just a lead-in to Christmas. 

Our focus over the next several weeks our worship will be a natural continuation and evolution of the themes that ended this last church year. Jesus is our King who rules all things and is returning to rescue us. Our lives ought to be one of humble repentance and thankful service both to him and to our neighbors while we’re here, ever looking forward to what is to come.

Our Second Lesson from Peter’s first letter is our focus for this morning. Peter is writing to Christians who are struggling to persevere in their faith, but also with the understanding that Peter and many of the other apostles probably won’t be on this earth much longer. So it’s a letter largely encouraging anyone reading it at any place and at any time to stay focused on the things that are truly important and truly matter—what God has done and will do for us in Jesus.

Our lesson doesn’t waste any time getting to that point. Peter zeroes us in on the one thing needful: Christ also suffered once for sins in our place, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. Were they feeling separated from God? Did they feel like God was distant and unconcerned or uncaring about what they were going through? “Look at Jesus!” Peter says. He suffered and died so that we would be unified and united with God once again, as we were originally created to be.

But when things are bad, that’s hard to believe, right? When we’re struggling anyway, it can seem like either God is too far away for that to matter or that it’s all just fiction, a fable, that will have no lasting meaning or benefit for us. Our minds can begin to spiral, even wondering, “Well, what if Jesus didn’t do what he said he was going to do? What if he was just a man who died and that was it? What if I’ve been duped?”

Peter heads these thoughts off at the pass and takes us to an event that we know very little about. We confess in the Apostles’ Creed that Jesus “descended into hell,” and here Peter talks about what that descent into hell was all about. In the creed, we’re not talking about Jesus suffering hell. That happened before he died while he was on the cross. And even though the order of the creed is confusing, this isn’t something that happened in-between Jesus’ death and resurrection—he didn’t spend those three days in hell; he commended his spirit to the Father. No, Peter instead tells us what happened: He was put to death in flesh but was made alive in spirit, in which he also went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison. Jesus was put to death in flesh, that is, in the weakness of his self-imposed humiliation, and was made alive in spirit, that is, in the full use of all of his divine power. After his resurrection, he no longer seems to have the weakness of any other person. Jesus is different, changed after he rises from the dead. And it’s in this status of exaltation, of him once again making full use of his power as God, that he went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison.

Some translations use the word “preached” where our translation uses “made an announcement.” That makes sense, because the word Peter uses here is the same word that would be used to describe Peter or Paul preaching a sermon to a group of people. But, the word “preached” can be confusing and misleading, because this is not Jesus preaching a sermon to give the spirits in hell one last chance to repent and believe. This is a proclamation, a decree, to announce things as they are. Jesus descends into hell after he rises from the dead to give one clear message to Satan and his cohorts in hell: “You lost; I won.” We know that Jesus’ resurrection is the clear indication of his victory over sin and death, and here Jesus makes it inescapable. He’s acting like a king who has just conquered a city or nation, parading through the streets of the newly-conquered land to announce that he is their ruler now. 

Because Jesus lived, died, and rose, Satan no longer as any autonomy. He no longer has control. He no longer has authority. Jesus won. Satan lost. You are saved.

Do you want further assurance that you are rescued and that no matter what happens to you here, you are safe? Peter goes on. When Jesus descended into hell and made that announcement of victory over Satan and all of his schemes, there were people there, people who had died in unbelief prior to Jesus’ death and resurrection. These were people who had rejected the promises given to Adam and Eve and their descendants. They ignored God and chose what they wanted to do instead.

Perhaps the biggest influx of souls would have been the flood of Noah’s time. We often think of the flood as being a pronouncement of God’s judgment, of his law. While that is true, Peter allows us to see the flood in a different way. [Jesus] was put to death in flesh but was made alive in spirit, in which he also went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison. These spirits disobeyed long ago, when God’s patience was waiting in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In this ark a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. Peter describes the flood as a good thing, as a saving thing. The water of the flood in Peter’s words didn’t destroy, it saved those in ark. How? Because at that time there was rampant unbelief, and left unchecked, the promises of a Savior that God had made were in danger of being wiped out. So when the flood waters wiped out those who were enemies of God’s promises and Word, that same water was saving those eight believers in the ark, saving them from be inundated with the threats to their faith.

This has application to us as well. Peter goes on, “And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the guarantee of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Peter connects the flood waters with the waters of baptism. Like the flood waters wiped out all the dangers that threatened God’s promises, the waters of baptism wipes out the sin that we are born with, drowning our sinful natures. Baptism saves us by bringing the forgiveness of sins through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Your baptism is further proof, further comfort in times of trial. Paul describes baptism as a guarantee of a good conscience before God. You do not need to worry that maybe Jesus didn’t do enough, or that maybe something is left over for you to handle. You have the guarantee that your conscience is clear because Jesus has wiped away your sin. The word Peter uses there is a word that would be used as an official confirmation of a treaty. Baptism is not something we do for God. It is not showing our deduction to God or our commitment to him. Baptism is not about us at all. Baptism is is God confirming his promises to us. Baptism is God saying to you, “I have forgiven your sins. Jesus died and rose victorious for you. And here is the confirmation of that work for you. You are now adopted into my family.” 

Because baptism makes us God’s own children. That means we don’t need to have any fear about what is to come. Peter’s first readers would have been nervous what their faith would mean for Peter’s future and their own. We look around us with concern about our own futures. Unplanned as it is, we are once again all separated from each other. But even as a pandemic once again forces us to be apart for a time, because we are part of God’s family, we are still connected to each other and, more importantly, to him. We don’t need to be afraid or have any concerns. [Jesus] went to heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. Jesus reigns as our King and will return as such. He will take us to be with him in eternity. Come, Lord Jesus, and quickly. Amen.

"Jesus' Subjugation Is Our Exaltation" (Sermon on Matthew 27:27-31) | November 22, 2020

Text: Matthew 27:27-31
Date: November 22, 2020
Event: Christ the King Sunday (The Last Sunday of the Church Year), Year A

Matthew 27:27–31 (EHV)

27Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole cohort of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 29They twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand, knelt in front of him, and mocked him by saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30They spit on him, took the staff, and hit him repeatedly on his head. 

31After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. 

Jesus’ Subjugation Is Our Exaltation

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When you think of kings and queens, what thoughts roll into your mind? Since shelter in place started, Oliver and I have read through the entire Chronicles of Narnia series of books, some of them more than once, and those books are filled with scenes and imagery of opulent regal affairs. Feasts and castles, crowns and other adornments, kings and queens ruling and protecting their people. 

That’s really something that you and I in America don’t have a good sense of. If we’ve lived here our whole life, we’ve never lived in a monarchy. And while when you see images of the interior of the White House or Air Force One those places are certainly nice there just a certain something that is missing compared to our ideas of regality, whether those ideas are based in reality from current day or history, or based on fantasy extrapolations.

It doesn’t really matter what our idea of a monarchy is in our mind, though. The scene before us is the polar opposite of what we think of when we think of a king. Nothing about this is regal, nothing about it is authoritative, nothing about it is comforting. It’s horrifying and sad. And yet, as we see Jesus, our supposed-King, undergoing this mocking treatment at the hands of the Roman soldiers, we recognize that he endures all this and much, much more for us. The fact that Jesus willingly allowed himself to undergo all of this, to be subjugated by his own creation, in the end means that we, his people, will be exalted.

We don’t need to spend a lot of time on the background to our text this morning. We know it well, although maybe it seems more appropriate for a Lent or Good Friday service rather than our more joyful celebration today. But this takes place at the end of Jesus’ “trial” before Pontus Pilate. The Jewish leaders have dragged him here to Pilate and made all sorts of false accusations. Both Pilate and Herod have examined him and found no wrongdoing in him. And yet Pilate still had Jesus flogged, whipped with a whip with tiny pieces of metal on the ends of the straps, to try to appease the bloodthirsty crowd. It didn’t work. So he still gives the order to have Jesus, a man he’s found to be completely innocent, crucified. 

Jesus is handed over to the soldiers who will carry out the crucifixion. But before they head to Golgotha, they want to have some fun at Jesus’ expense. They had heard the accusations that Jesus had claimed to be a king, and thus opposed Caesar, the emperor. Perhaps some had even heard Jesus talking with Pilate earlier, telling him, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). And so their mockery centers on this detail.

They strip Jesus’ clothes off—likely painfully as the cloth was probably stuck to his body with coagulated blood from the earlier flogging. They take a scarlet robe, one that would’ve been used in the dress of the soldiers, and wrap it around Jesus. Everything about this scene is a mockery because this would have been a cheaply dyed piece of cloth, in opposition to an actual purple robe that a king would wear which would have been dyed beautifully and been very, very expensive. The crown, a symbol of power and authority, is fashioned out of thorns, and pounded into his head with the staff they had shoved into his hand.

In mocking reverence, they cry out to Jesus, “Hail, King of the Jews!” insulting both Jesus and the Jewish people at the same time. In other words, “Get a load of this pathetic excuse for a king! This is the best person these pathetic people could put forward!”

It’s one of those scenes that makes you want to crawl into the pages of your Bible and stop, right? Even with the assumption that Jesus’ death on the cross is necessary, is all of this cruelty around the edges needed? We want to defend our Savior and stop these soldiers from treating him like this, right? “Just leave him alone!” our hearts cry out.

But let’s take a step back here this morning. We don’t want anyone to do this to our Savior, to our King, and yet, we do, don’t we? We’ve done so much more, so much worse to insult and mock him. Each and every sin we commit against him spits in his face and ridicules him, “Hail, King Jesus! You’re so important to me that I do what I want to do and ignore everything you’ve told me to do. What I want to do is so much more important than you are. You are a pathetic excuse for a king!”

And what does our King do? Well, what did he do with the Roman soldiers? We see no flashes of lightning. Not even a word spoken in his defense, nor an arm raised to protect himself. He just stood there and took it all. At the cross, he would even pray for their forgiveness. Why? Why does the Creator of the universe allow his insolent creation to treat him in this way? Why does he subjugate himself to people doing and saying these horrid things? Why does he not even attempt to stop them after all of this when they led him away to the cross?

It doesn’t look like it at all but in these pathetic-looking moments, Jesus is being exactly the powerful King we needed him to be. We often associate a monarch with regality and pageantry, but that’s not what it means to be a king in the purest form. A king’s chief job is to protect his people. That means leading the army into war, potentially even risking injury himself. Muddy, and perhaps bloody, a true king will do everything he can to stop an enemy to make sure that his people are safe.

And that’s what Jesus is doing here. He’s not protecting anyone from the Jewish leaders or the Roman soldiers. No, he’s going to battle, to war, with our real enemies, enemies that are not mentioned in this account nor are they visible. He’s going to battle with sin, death, and hell, with Satan, the world, and our own sinful natures. He’s going into battle to save us from those who wanted to destroy us. He’s going to war to defeat those whose goal it was to drag us to hell. 

Jesus goes to the cross, an act of apparent weakness and defeat. But the reality is that it was conquest and triumph. Because here, having suffered hell in our place, Jesus defeated the sin that condemned us. He rescued us who were held captive by sin and death. Our King put everything on the line for us because he loves us. He rescued us when we were not able to do anything to help ourselves. He defeated our enemies and now we are safe, not just from temporal, external things, but for eternity.

So for all the mocking, ridicule, humiliation that our King endures in the scene before us, truly here and at the cross we see him in all of his true regal glory. Here his heart is on display—willingly enduring all of these things to save us, to sacrifice his life to save ours.

But our King’s story is not one of defeat. It does not end with his death on the cross. Remember what the apostle Paul wrote in our Second Lesson for this morning: But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came by a man, the resurrection of the dead also is going to come by a man. For as in Adam they all die, so also in Christ they all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ as the firstfruits and then Christ’s people, at his coming. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has done away with every other ruler and every other authority and power. For he must reign “until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” Death is the last enemy to be done away with (1 Corinthians 15:20-26).

Your King has conquered. Your King has returned from the battlefield triumphant. Your King has saved you—his death paid for your sins and his resurrection, the certainty of his victory, is your certain hope. You, too, will not stay in your grave. You will be raised with him. And then we will live an eternal life where every enemy that threatens us now—sin, hell, and even death itself—has been subjugated, trampled under his feet. They are done away with. They are gone.

My brothers and sisters, in a world that continually feels like its spinning out of control, remember this: Your King has conquered; your King reigns. All things are placed under his feet. He has destroyed your enemies and reigns supreme over all things for your eternal well being. He endured the mocking, suffering, hell, and death to save you. He rose from the dead and will raise you from your death as well. Hail, King Jesus! Praise and glory be to him forever and ever! Amen.

"Not Worry and Fear, but Prayer and Thanksgiving" (Sermon on Philippians 4:6-20) | November 26, 2020

Text: Philippians 4:6–20
Date: November 25, 2020
Event: Thanksgiving Eve, 2020

Philippians 4:6–20 (EHV)

Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things. 9The things that you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: Keep doing these things. And the God of peace will be with you. 

10I rejoice greatly in the Lord now that you have revived your concern for me once again. Actually, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I lack anything; in fact, I have learned to be content in any circumstances in which I find myself. 12I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough. 13I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. 14Nevertheless, you did well by becoming partners with me in my affliction. 

15You Philippians know that in the beginning of your experience with the gospel, when I left Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone. 16Even while I was in Thessalonica, you sent help more than once for my needs. 17Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am seeking the fruit that adds to your account. 18I have been paid in full, and I have more than enough. I am fully supplied since I’ve received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a sweet-smelling fragrance, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. 19And my God will fully supply your every need, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 20Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever! Amen.

Not Worry and Fear, but Prayer and Thanksgiving

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This is a Thanksgiving unlike any other I’ve ever experienced, and probably pretty different from any you’ve experienced too. Instead of trying to solve the problem of how to cram everyone around one table or wondering just how much food we might actually need to feed everyone coming, it’s going to be purposefully quiet and small with just our family gathered around the table. For the good of everyone’s health and well being among loved ones and in our broader community, we’re all probably making big changes for how we celebrate this national holiday this year. Even our Thanksgiving Eve worship here this evening is different, with most of everyone that would normally be here connecting in online.

These kinds of changes are, in the grand scheme of our life, probably pretty minor. But in the moment they can feel very burdensome. Every decision we need to be making right now is likely pitting a desire for normalcy against both public and private health. It’s emotionally draining to give up traditions we cherish and love for the good of those involved and those not even involved. And those draining decisions can easily lead to worry and fear, or even panic and despair. 

Which makes this text from Paul’s letter to the Christians in the city of Philippi such a comforting section of God’s Word for us to meditate on for a few minutes in our evening prayer service tonight. Because no matter what storms are raging around us, Paul directs us to the one thing that brings us peace and calm—our Savior, Jesus.

Paul loved the Philippians dearly. They had repeatedly gone above and beyond what was necessary to support Paul in his ministry. He spent a good chunk of the first chapter of this brief letter thanking God for them and their fellowship in the gospel ministry. But things weren’t always cheery for the Philippians. They were going through persecution and hardships. Paul himself is writing this letter from house arrest in Rome, so even the apostles were not immune from these trials. Being a Christian in this environment would bring near-constants concern and worry for people’s livelihood and even life.

So what does Paul say? Hunker down and try your best? Be strong? Grit your teeth and bear it? No. Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

If you’ve connected in for our Wednesday evening Bible classes the last couple of weeks, we’ve spent a good deal of time talking about prayer—Jesus’ direction to be continually persistent and looking at the model prayer that Jesus taught that we’ve come to know as the Lord’s Prayer. One of the things we’ve spent some time considering is the role or placement of prayer in our lives: last line of defense or first go-to tool in time of trouble? Paul, and Jesus along with him, would urge us to make it not the last-ditch effort but the first thing we do. And it doesn’t just have to be life-altering issues either. Paul is clear, Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

It’s worth remembering how we have access to pray to God in the first place. Because it’s not our greatness or our persistence that makes that happen. Sin separates us from God. Isaiah is clear: Listen to me! The LORD’s arm is not too short to save, and his ear is not too deaf to hear. No, it is your guilt that has separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden God’s face from you, so that he does not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2). That God would not listen to our prayers in unbelief is not a defect in God, but in us. Sin prevented him from hearing. It produced a chasm between us and God that we could not cross and that our words and requests could not overcome. Sin destroys prayer.

But Jesus has done away with sin! In him we have full and free forgiveness. He took the death our sins deserved on himself when he went to the cross. He died that we might be free from worry and fear. He died that we might live—the ultimate reason for thanksgiving now and every day of our lives! We will one day be freed from this world of worry and sin and sorrow and pain and be brought into the heavenly home that he has prepared for us!

So, if nothing else, this is how we bring our prayers to God with thanksgiving. Even if every last part of your life is horrible and wretched, even if nothing in your life feels worth rejoicing in or be grateful for, nothing can change the fact that your Savior loves you. Nothing can change the fact that your Savior lived, and died, and was raised for you. Nothing can change the fact that you are God’s dearly loved child, forgiven and adopted into his family through baptism. So even the heart weighed down with seemingly every grief can approach God’s throne with thanksgiving for forgiveness—the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding—which in itself gives you the ability to approach God in prayer at all.

Thanksgiving is also all about contentment. Paul spends a few words on this subject in our lesson for this evening. We do well to recognize that everything we have is from God, everything we have comes from his gracious providence. Our material possessions may not stack up compared to our neighbor. Our Thanksgiving meal may not be the setting we wished it would be and normally is. The world may strain and struggle to produce malcontent in our hearts through advertising or political frustrations. But we know the reality. We know that we need to actively fight to see the differences between needs and wants. We know that just because something is different doesn’t mean it’s bad. Just because we have less by someone’s measure, doesn’t mean we are somehow at a disadvantage. 

We know that God gives us all that we need and so much more. Paul puts it well: My God will fully supply your every need, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. What we need, God freely gives. That means our daily bread, that means our relationships, that means our work, that means our family, that means our material possessions, that means anything and everything he gives, especially the forgiveness of sins in Jesus. We had an actual need for release from the bonds of death and the eternal punishment of hell, and God met and continues to meet that need in Jesus’ life and death for us. His forgiveness is constant, complete, and free. Our contentment centers in Christ, who strengthens [us]. 

So as you struggle perhaps even with contentment, bring that to God in prayer as well. “Lord, help me to be content with this situation in my life. Lord, help me to see what is around me as a gift from your gracious hand. Lord, help me to remember that you will fully supply my every need in Jesus.”

These prayers are not complicated. They don’t need to be be the long, ornate prayers we might use in a worship service. For the Christian, prayer is like breathing, it is an extended, ongoing, free-flowing conversation with the God who created you and redeemed you. This Thanksgiving and every other day hereafter, make it a priority to see not just the concerns or worries of this life, but the gifts you’ve been given from God. And don’t see those concerns as something you have to try to deal with first—bring them to your God in prayer who you know will answer you in the way that is eternally best for you, because that’s exactly what he’s promised to do. 

Even on a weird and difficult Thanksgiving like we’re facing this year, we still have so much to be thankful for. May God bless your celebrations and your concerns with his gracious care. Happy Thanksgiving! Amen.

"We Have the Sure Hope of Jesus' Triumph" (Sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) | November 15, 2020

Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Date: November 15, 2020
Event: Saints Triumphant Sunday (Third Sunday of End Times), Year A

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 

13We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve in the same way as the others, who have no hope. 14Indeed, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then in the same way we also believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. 

15In fact, we tell you this by the word of the Lord: We who are alive and left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not go on ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore, encourage one another with these words. 

We Have the Sure Hope of Jesus’ Triumph

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It is said that ignorance is bliss, but really, that’s not true at all. Being uninformed can be tremendously dangerous or draining. On the one hand, if your assumptions are that everything is great and wonderful because you’re ignoring or just not aware of trouble and problems that need to be addressed, the foundation you’re standing on will be eaten away and you’ll fall into the pit of those troubles. On the other hand, being uninformed and assuming things are really bad when they’re not is going to lead to heartache, worry, and even depression when perhaps there’s no reason for it. If things are better than you’re aware of you’re borrowing all sorts of unnecessary trouble. 

So it’s better to be informed. It’s better to not be led astray by people with a doom-and-gloom attitude or a everything-is-sunshine-and-lollipops attitude and to just know the reality of things. Being informed about anything will allow you to address problems as they come and rejoice in comfort as it presents itself. 

In the words the Apostle Paul writes to the Christians living in Thessalonica, he’s addressing this head on with the most important of subjects. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve in the same way as the others, who have no hope.  The Christians in that city had all sorts of mixed up ideas about the end of the world. And a lot of it centered on what would happen to those who had died before before Christ returned. They were worried that these believers would end up being lost to hell forever, worried that Jesus’ salvation only applied to those still living when Jesus returned. You can see how unfounded fears were leading to worry and despair.

In our lesson for this Saints Triumphant Sunday, Paul is addressing that first concern raging through the congregation: are those who died before the Lord’s return going to be lost? Are only those who are alive when Jesus returns going to be in heaven? And while this was written nearly 2,000 years ago, the concern just grows, right? So many more people have passed away; we have lost loved ones recently or long ago. Are they lost because Jesus has not returned? 

Paul is giving them information so that they don’t grieve like people who have no hope. And that should be everyone, by nature, right? When we consider death, we can’t escape the pall of sin the overlays everything. Sin is the reason for strife and conflict in this life. Sin is the reason for disease and natural disasters. Sin is the reason for malcontent and greed. Sin is, ultimately, the reason for death. So when someone is lost to death it is because of sin. Paul, when writing to the Romans, said that death is the wages we receive for sin. What a horrid paycheck!

Death separates those of us who are still living from that person, but death also implies a separation from God. Without anyway to repair the relationship with God, we all face eternal death. And that would mean zero hope for anyone. We could have no confidence of anything positive for those who have died ahead of us or even for ourselves. Sin causes us to be lost forever to hell. What a wretched existence this is!

That, of course, is what we are by nature. By nature we are dead in sin. By nature we are lost to hell. By nature we have no hope. But you and I and those who have gone before do not face these things as we are by nature. We face sin and death as we are in what God has made us to be.

Indeed, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then in the same way we also believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. The lack of hope hinges on a lack of Jesus, but the reality of Jesus means real hope, certain hope. Paul puts Jesus at the center of this whole discussion. Eulogies and revisiting the good deeds or funny moments of someone who has died is not where we find hope. We find hope in Jesus who died and rose again.

Jesus’ death was really our death—the death we deserved because of sin. As Jesus was abandoned by his Father on the cross he suffered hell in our place, the punishment we brought on ourselves because of our disobedience. Jesus’ love for you and for me—and truly, for the world at large—was so great that he could not bear to have us lost to hell for eternity. So he intervenes as a substitute. Jesus became our sacrifice to pay for every single sin. 

And if there was any doubt about his victory, his triumph, over our sin and death and hell, one need only go to his tomb. See the stone rolled away, the neatly folded linen? Listen to the angel, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has been raised!” Jesus died, but did not stay dead. Jesus’ death was not defeat, it was triumph proved by his resurrection.

And so this is where we stand, not by nature, but as beneficiaries of our Savior’s triumph. We do not fear sin or its effects because Jesus has undone them all. We are freed, rescued, redeemed, justified. We have peace with God through Jesus! This is why this Sunday is called “Saints Triumphant.” Our triumph is not something we accomplished, but what our Savior has done for us. 

So what does this mean? We have the certain hope of our own eternal life in heaven. We have certain hope that all those who passed away ahead of us clinging to their Savior are with their Savior, safe and free in heaven. They are not lost—they are just the ahead of us.

Paul vividly describes what that final day will be like, when we will see the proof of all that God has promised and fully benefit from all that he’s done for us: In fact, we tell you this by the word of the Lord: We who are alive and left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not go on ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

“Always with the Lord.” Nothing will ever separate us from him. This even brings comfort for those of us who are wrestling with serious health concerns or who have dear ones who are battling the same. Even if the worst should happen, even if death should the result of this battle, those who cling to their Savior are not lost. Death for them and for us will be but starting the life that God designed for us from the beginning. A life fully realizing that image of God, that perfect harmony with God. A life lived without sin or any of its effects. A life fully protected and safe with our Savior forever. 

In just a moment in our prayers we will spend a moment remembering those fellow members of Gloria Dei who have gone ahead of us over the last couple of years. To be sure, the separation from those who are related to us by blood or as brothers and sisters in Christ is painful and might bring tears to our eyes. And while we might be sad about the loss, the temporary separation from them, we do not grieve as if we have no hope. We have all hope, certain hope. When we lose someone who clings to Christ as their Savior, it is not “Goodbye,” but simply, “We’ll see you later.”

And it’s for this reason that Paul directs the Christians in Thessalonica and you and me here today to encourage one another with these words. This certain triumph is easy to lose sight of in this life. We can forget the certain hope we have when we are assaulted by all the problems of this life, up to and including the loss of a loved one. But, my brothers and sisters, take this encouragement from God’s Word that drives away all fear brought about by being uniformed: as the forgiven children of God we are safe and protected, forgiven and restored. There need be no fear in our minds or inconsolable grief in our hearts. We know that Jesus died and was raised. We know that we will be with him forever. We know that we are triumphant because our Savior triumphed for us. Thanks be God! Amen.

"Judgment Is Coming! Don't Be Afraid!" (Sermon on Matthew 25:31-46) | November 8, 2020

Text: Matthew 25:31-46
Date: November 8, 2020
Event: Last Judgment Sunday (Second Sunday of End Time), Year A

Matthew 25:31–46 (EHV)

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. 36I was lacking clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’ 

37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or lacking clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 

40“The King will answer them, ‘Amen I tell you: Just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.’ 

41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the Devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you did not give me food to eat. I was thirsty and you did not give me anything to drink. 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, lacking clothes and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not take care of me.’ 

44“Then they will also answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or lacking clothes or sick or in prison and did not serve you?’ 

45“At that time he will answer them, ‘Amen I tell you: Just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ 46And they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 

Judgment Is Coming! Don’t Be Afraid!

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There’s a lot to be said for certainty. There can be some fun and exciting things around spontaneity and unplanned events. But, I think for a lot of us we feel much more comfortable with the known rather than the unknown. Depending on the situation, I often find myself wanting to know what’s going to happen more than wanting a particular outcome to happen. Good or bad, I just want to know what we’ll be dealing with.

We’ve been living that this week to a certain extent, right? For the longest time in recent memory, we’ve had an election in our nation outstanding, with presidential results finalizes just a little over 24 hours ago after a long week of vote counting. Whether your preferred candidate or issue was going the way you wanted or not, there is something to just having certainty. At some point, perhaps we stop caring as much about who wins or what passes, but just want to know what we’ll be facing in the future.

But uncertainty is not just a byproduct of an election or a pandemic or other big-picture things in our lives. We have continual uncertainty about big and small things alike: our job, our vehicle, our home, our relationships, or just about anything. Uncertainty and the fear that can come with that is a byproduct of sin, and it’s a byproduct that will continue to be with us as long we live in this world.

Which makes what is before us today so comforting and uplifting. As we crave certainty, God gives us certainty in two important places: First, the final judgment is coming. It will not be a surprise and it’s not an open question as to whether or not it will come. Judgment Day is absolutely coming. But secondly, and perhaps more importantly, as you look ahead to the certainty of Judgment Day, you look ahead with the certainty that  you do not need to be afraid. 

In our Gospel for this morning, Jesus is wrapping up a conversation with his disciples specifically about the end times and the end of the world just prior to his arrest and execution. No longer is he reaching out to the leaders of the people and others who hate and despise him. This is comfort just for the inner circle, just for his followers. So this morning, let’s find ourselves in their midst. 

The disciples were concerned and they were scared. They were scared about what was going to happen to Jesus because he had been clear with them that he would soon suffer and die. They were concerned about what they would mean for them as his followers. They were concerned just like anyone might be when thinking about their deaths or the end of the world at large. And so Jesus describes the final judgment as comfort to his worried disciples. 

The first comfort and certainty is clear: judgment is coming and there is only One who will be the judge: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. In the end, all the blustering and stammering of earthly powers and false teachers will be silenced. Jesus will return, every knee will be bent to him in reverence, every tongue will be forced to acknowledge him as King overall. Jesus will come and end all of this. The time of judgment is not a fairy tale or a metaphor. This is an actual event that will actually happen.

And the judgment will mean the entire population will be separated into two groups: sheep and goats, those who trusted in Jesus as their Savior and those who did not. There is no gray area, there is no in-between. Just the two groups, sheep or goats. The sheep enter eternal life, and the goats go to eternal punishment in hell.

And Jesus makes it clear to the sheep how they got to this position: Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. This eternal life is something that God had prepared and provided for them. This was not something that they built or that they bought or that they prepared. This eternal reward is not about them being good enough—it was about their Savior being good enough in their place.

This is true for you and me as well. We are among the sheep, not because of choices that we have made or things we have done, but because this was prepared for us. We did not earn it or buy it; it has been given to us. Our sin had excluded us from any blessing from God, but Jesus forgave our sin by his death on the cross. The Judge died to save the guilty. We are saved because of his love for us.

But notice how the Judge speaks. He doesn’t specifically point to faith, which only he could see. Because this is the public proclamation of hidden things, he points to the actions taken by the sheep, which everyone could see, as evidence for the ruling. The Judge claims that he was hungry, thirsty, naked, etc. and the sheep tended to his needs. The sheep are taken aback. When had they ever seen the Judge in need and help him? But Jesus makes it clear that any time that they had done this for any other person, any of their “neighbors,” that is, anyone else at all in the human race, they were doing it for him.

That speaks to the life of good works Jesus has been encouraging us toward throughout our Gospels this fall. Good works for a Christian are not done to get something from God; they are done because God has given us everything. And good works are not restricted to things we specifically do for God. Good works are not only offerings given to the support the gospel message, prayers and praise uttered in church or in our day-to-day lives. Good works—acts of thanksgiving to God—are accomplished in simple, selfless things done for others. The sacrifice of a bit of food or drink (or the resources to get the same), a bit of time, or a kind word. Empathy for those who are suffering hardships and emotional turmoil that you seek to understand but don’t feel yourself and sympathy for those whose suffering with sorrow present in your heart. All of these things are the ways that we serve each other and thank God: “Just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.”

As we said last week in our celebration of the Reformation, we are saved through faith alone, but that faith is never alone. Good works of thanksgiving are always part of the Christian’s, the sheep’s, life because they recognize what debt has been paid for them. We know our sin. We no that no effort or work on our part could have ever done anything to get rid of any of that. But we also know that our Judge has freed us from sin by his life and death for us. There is no doubt or uncertainty about the outcome of his work. His empty tomb is proof positive of his victory. His ascension assures us that his work on earth was completed. And his eventual return at Judgment Day will be the visible proof of what we’ve only seen with the eyes of faith through the Scriptures. 

A candidate in an election—even if they’re projected to win in a landslide—is still going to look at the results of the vote with some fear and trepidation. What if the polls and probabilities were wrong? You do not approach Judgment Day with the same fear or trepidation. There’s no question what the verdict will be because Jesus’ work on your behalf has justified you—declared you “Not Guilty!” Your Judge is the one who paid for your crimes. Your Judge will be the one to bring you to your eternal home. 

In a world with seemingly no certainty about anything, take this comfort this morning. Your Savior has lived and died for you. Because of that, you are one of his precious sheep who will inherit the kingdom of God the Father for eternity. Let your absolute confidence shine in your actions and words in this life. Serve your fellow people with a self-sacrificing love knowing that these actions not only serve your neighbor, but also thank your God. What you do for the one the least of these, you do for him. Thanks be to God, our Savior, Judge, and King! Amen.