Let Christ be seen in you.

Sermon for Easter 6, May 26, 2019

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen.

James 1:22-27  ²²Be people who do what the word says, not people who only hear it.  Such people are deceiving themselves.  ²³In fact, if anyone hears the word and does not do what it says, he is like a man who carefully looks at his own natural face in a mirror.  ²⁴Indeed, he carefully looks at himself; then, he goes away and immediately forgets what he looked like.  ²⁵But the one who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues to do so—since he does not hear and forget but actually does what it says—that person will be blessed in what he does.  ²⁶If anyone considers himself to be religious but deceives his own heart because he does not bridle his tongue, this person’s religion is worthless.  ²⁷Religion that is pure and undefiled in the sight of God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Let Christ be seen in you.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            Who do you think you are?  That question often comes with a note of condescension in the speaker’s voice, but James has none of that tone.  Rather, he is encouraging Christians to pattern our lives after the Savior who made our citizenship in His kingdom possible, and this text encourages us to look into the mirror of the law to see how we measure up to the standards of God’s kingdom.

            Now, imagine for a moment that you are a child who has an older brother going off to war, and that brother asks you to live in his stead until such time as he might return to your home.  Considering our history, it is possible that some of you had such a brother, or maybe you were that brother who went off to fight for the freedom of your countrymen.  Now, how would that child want to live should his brother never come home, but rather, have given his life to win his country’s peace?  I think most every child would gladly live to honor the memory of his brother killed in defense of his country. 

Or consider another possibility.  What if that older brother lived but as an honored hero for winning the victory who was then elevated to the head of our nation in peace time?  Would that younger child still want to live so as to honor his hero?  I think most of us, being that younger son, would be thrilled by the request to honor the older brother.  Such is the mindset of our text—that we should live according to the will of our Father and Brother in heaven, and Let Christ be seen in you.

So, who do you think you are?  James wrote, “Be people who do what the word says, not people who only hear it.  Such people are deceiving themselves.”  Are we people who live according to God’s word?  And by that, I mean, do we keep our thoughts and actions in line with what God has said?  As James expressed, many people deceive themselves in this regard.  Many are those who profess faith in God, yet they live as if their faith was primarily in themselves.  Therefore, we must understand that what James wrote about here is not how to gain our salvation, but how we should serve as saved believers in Christ Jesus, because the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven is through faith in Christ Jesus, for it is Jesus who has lived perfectly in accord with all that God has commanded, and it is Jesus who paid the ultimate price for our sins.  Anyone who thinks sinful men and women contribute anything to their salvation is among those deceiving themselves.

Jumping ahead a bit in our text, James wrote, “If anyone considers himself to be religious but deceives his own heart because he does not bridle his tongue, this person’s religion is worthless.  Religion that is pure and undefiled in the sight of God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”  The writer gives us a couple of illustrations here in the type of life that is expected of us. 

People can be deceived by the idea that as long as one attends worship, he can pretty much live as he pleases.  Furthermore, contending with our sinful nature is a constant battle against placing our own interests above the needs of our neighbors.  To keep ourselves unstained by the world, as James writes, we need to be faithful in our speaking, in our living and giving, and in our confessing and believing.  Bragging to the Lord of how good we are serving Him is deceitfulness for sure.  Twisting the meaning if God’s Word is also seriously offensive, and failing to live as the hands of God on earth is failing to honor the sacrifice of our holy Brother who gave His life so that we can truly live.

To another group of Christian believers, St. Paul wrote, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV 84)  We are not to live for ourselves but for our Brother who laid down His life in His fight for our freedom from sin, death, and the devil.  Because Jesus truly lived and died as our freedom fighting Brother, we should live for Him.  James wrote here, “But the one who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues to do so—since he does not hear and forget but actually does what it says—that person will be blessed in what he does.” 

Because our Brother sacrificed Himself so that we can live free, He asks us to be His hands in serving our fellow man.  Jesus gave all for our everlasting welfare.  The Lord our God wants that freedom from sin and death to be available to all people.  Yet, rather than bring that salvation to others by Himself, God gives us the task of using our freedom to serve those around us.  This is our sanctified living.  The Holy Spirit works in us through the word of God to show us what needs to be done, to teach us how to do it, and to empower us with the resolve and ability to serve.  Pure religion doesn’t ask “What do I have to do to be saved?”  It asks, “What can I do to serve my Lord, who has done everything needed to set me free and make me wealthy beyond measure?”  Thus, the writer tells us to Let Christ be seen in you.

Now, St. James gives us another picture, this one of what we might call a hypocrite, a person who hears the message of salvation, who appears to be a Christian, but who doesn’t actually live as one.  James wrote, “In fact, if anyone hears the word and does not do what it says, he is like a man who carefully looks at his own natural face in a mirror.  Indeed, he carefully looks at himself; then, he goes away and immediately forgets what he looked like.”  Can you imagine looking at yourself in a mirror and as soon as you turn away forget what you look like or who you are?  We would call that a serious mental defect, a terrible case of dementia.  Yet, that is how the Holy Spirit through James describes a person who hears what God has done for us but isn’t willing to live for the Lord.  It’s not a pretty picture, because it shows a lack of saving faith in the One who gave His all to save us.

Now, because we all sin, and because we know that none of us live up to the perfection of the Christ who was perfect in every thought, word, and deed, we might begin to fear how we could ever live up to what James instructs.  Therefore, we concentrate on the middle sentence of our text.  This is both our hope, and our power to serve.  “But the one who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues to do so—since he does not hear and forget but actually does what it says—that person will be blessed in what he does.”  The perfect law of freedom.  What does that mean?  The Lord never commands us to win our salvation.  He never commands us to earn our freedom.  The Lord declares, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1 NIV 84) 

We were set free from sin and death when Jesus laid down His holy life at the cross in the war against the old evil foe.  We were set free not to wander on our own course leading to destruction but set free from Satan’s control to follow our Shepherd who had sacrificed Himself to give us life.  We were set free from the evil deceiver who leads us to do all kinds of wickedness in order that with our Redeemer walking before us, we might serve God with gladness and righteousness.

After bringing us to faith in Jesus, God uses us as His hands and feet, and His mouthpiece to a world of troubled souls.  The devil works desperately hoping to keep people from hearing the Good News of what Jesus has accomplished for all people.  Thus, we can expect that life won’t always be easy as we sojourn here on earth.  So be it, but Let Christ be seen in you.  Look into God’s word and see what He has done for you.  Look into God’s word and see what we can do for those around us.  Remember the two great commands, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

It really is that simple.  Love means to serve.  Love means to put others ahead of self.  Love put Jesus on the cross carrying your sins and mine.  Love raised Jesus from the dead on the third day.  Love calls out to you and me to walk with Him.  Love asks us to share His love with those we love, with those we don’t know, and even with many that we know don’t love us.

Dear friends, I know I haven’t given you exact instructions today on how to love and serve your neighbor.  I know too, however, that most of us already know ways in which we could serve much better than we do.  Most important, we have a Savior who has served so well that the Father in heaven has declared us holy, innocent, and His own dear children.  Our Brother, Jesus, gave His life to win the war against the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.  He asks us to honor His sacrifice with our service.  More than that, He promises that through faith in Him, we are already clean, and that He has made us wealthy beyond measure by giving us the sure hope of a home in heaven.

As you look in the mirror of God’s word, see that you have been washed clean from all sin at your Baptism.  See that Jesus has changed your heart as He brought you to faith through His Word.  As you look in your mirror each day, see Christ who lives in you through faith.  See that you are not alone in fighting the temptations that the devil flings against you.  Remember that Jesus promised to be with you always, not just at church but everywhere you go.  As you look in your mirror, see the holiness that Jesus has lived for you in His life, and that the wonderful, perfect life of your Savior is credited to you through faith in Jesus.  That is what God sees when He looks at you.  God sees that the blood Jesus shed on the cross has cleansed you from every sin.

So, who do we know we are?  We are the brothers and sisters of Jesus, who sacrificed His holy life so that the whole world might be set free from sin and death and Satan’s tyranny.  For His willing sacrifice, our Brother, now risen from the dead and living in heaven above, has been given authority over all things, and He sits at His Father’s side in heaven working all things for our everlasting good.  Thus, Jesus invites us to bring our every care to the Father in heaven in His name. 

This Memorial weekend, as we remember all those men and women who sacrificed their lives so that we can live in freedom and peace here on earth, remember also the Brother who came from heaven to live with us, to die for us, and who lives and reigns in His everlasting kingdom having won the final victory over our spiritual foes.  Remember that He reigns there for you, and serves there so that we may be with Him forever in heaven.  Remember your Brother, Jesus, and Let Christ be seen in you.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto everlasting life.  Amen.

In that day, God became your salvation.

This is the day the LORD has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Amen.

Isaiah 12:1-6  In that day you will say: I will give thanks to you, Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away, and you comfort me.  ²Surely God is my salvation.  I will trust him and will not be afraid, because Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation.  ³Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  ⁴In that day you will say: Give thanks to the Lord!  Proclaim his name.  Declare among the peoples what he has done.  Proclaim that his name is exalted!  ⁵Sing to the Lord, for he has done amazing things!  Let this be known in all the earth!  ⁶Shout aloud and sing for joy, daughter of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!

In that day, God became your salvation.

Dear brothers and sisters of the living Savior,

            Throughout our lives, there are days that stand out as especially memorable, some for joyous reasons, others for the sorrow or tragedy.  For decades, no one forgot the Day of Infamy when our nation was attacked at Pearl Harbor.  Then, after the World War II was won, our nation set aside days to commemorate the victories in Europe and Japan.  Later on, everyone remembered where they were when they heard that President Kennedy had been assassinated.  Then, a few years later, we all celebrated when American astronauts walked on the moon.  More recently, the day that terrorists flew planes into twin towers held our attentions for years.

Such extremely memorable days aren’t restricted to public events, however.  We each have days that we will never forget.  Perhaps, it was the day you met your one true love, or the day your first new-born child was placed in your arms.  And, most likely everyone here also has a day, or more than one, when tragedy scarred you for life. 

In our sermon text, Isaiah tells us about one specific day in time that changed the course of human history.  Yet, the day Isaiah tells us about also has application to other days, days personal to each of us and general to all believers, giving the theme: In that day, God became your salvation.

Because that one day in time changed everything, we celebrate Easter on an annual and even weekly basis.  I began this sermon by speaking about historic tragedies, and personal ones as well, but perhaps the most memorable event, and by human standards the greatest injustice in history, took place that day the holy Son of God willingly died on a cross for the sins of the world. 

Since the fall into sin, mankind had been afraid of God, much like wild animals became afraid of man.  Because of mankind’s sin, death entered the world, and both man and animals became afraid of death.  Blood was shed first to cover Adam and Eve’s shame as the Lord brought animal skins to cover their nakedness.  Then, on that most important day, blood was shed once for all when Jesus gave His life on the cross to cover the sins of the world, and what Isaiah had foretold let us all say, “Surely God is my salvation.  I will trust him and will not be afraid, because Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation.”

Because Jesus lived and died for all, no one should ever have to fear God or death again, but most people still do.  Isaiah had written, “In that day you will say: I will give thanks to you, Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away, and you comfort me.”  Yet, the day Jesus died, no one on earth was giving thanks to God.  In heaven the saints and angels rejoiced at the sacrifice the Lamb of God had made, but here on earth, all was gloom and sorrow.  We needed another day, the day we celebrate today, for Jesus rose on the third day to proclaim victory forever. 

In that third day after Jesus was buried, the world learned what Jesus had accomplished for all people.  The gates of heaven were opened, and the devil was permanently bound by the good news, and this became the source of life and strength to all who drink of the living water Jesus promised.  The well of salvation is the Good News proclaimed throughout the Bible that tells us what Jesus has done to make us right with God.  It is a never-ending source of life-giving peace, for God Himself has taken up our sins and iniquities and graciously gives us in exchange the righteousness of His Son, so that we can rightly say, In that day, God became our salvation.

Having said that, in order for us to be saved from the condemnation our sins deserved, we also needed another day in which God Himself intercedes on our behalf.  So, God instituted baptism as a means of bringing faith and new life to those He chooses to adopt into His family.  And in connection with that day, all who believe can sing with the prophet, “Surely God is my salvation.  I will trust him and will not be afraid, because Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation.  Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”  For, in the day you first were given faith in Christ as your Savior, In that day, God became your salvation. 

One thing that troubles God’s children, however, is that still today many people don’t have the comfort of knowing God as their salvation.  In fact, we all enter life on this troubled planet without that knowledge, therefore other days become vitally important for each soul.  Isaiah wrote about the day when we have drawn water from the well of salvation.  When the gospel transformed our lives from slavery and death into life everlasting, we could each sing with great joy about what God has done.  Furthermore, Christian believers want that same joy for those they love.  This love flows naturally from the love of God that dwells within us, welling up into willing service to our neighbors and friends in the vocations God gives us.  Thus, we live fulfilling what Isaiah wrote: “In that day you will say: ‘Give thanks to the Lord!  Proclaim his name.  Declare among the peoples what he has done.  Proclaim that his name is exalted!  Sing to the Lord, for he has done amazing things!  Let this be known in all the earth!’” 

Because the Holy Spirit has brought us to faith in Jesus, God’s love works in us to proclaim His name to more and more people.  That’s part of why we gather as the Church of God on earth.  Certainly we come to be refreshed and cleansed of our sins by the power of God’s love, but we also join together to sing His praise and to share that wonderful blessing with others, with our own children and to the distant tribes, cities, and nations wherever we have opportunity to proclaim the good news, and because “God our Savior,…wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,” (1 Timothy 2:3-4 NIV 84) God’s love also moves us to have a love for other sinners.  Thus, we give thanks to God by telling others about Jesus, whether that be by individual expressions or by the mutual encouragement and work of the congregation of believers, and we willingly serve even the wicked so that they might see God’s love at work in us and be converted as well.

There is another day when this message means the world to us.  Jesus told His followers, “In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NIV 84)  What the world so often fails to understand is that Jesus didn’t come to make this world a paradise.  Rather, Jesus came so that we wouldn’t be stuck in this place of sin and death forever.  But, as long as we reside on earth, there will be much to weep over.  Persecution will raise its ugly head in ways big and small.  Sin will still trouble the believer, because we were born in sin and its hold on us isn’t easily overcome.  The battle against our inherited sinfulness is an ongoing struggle that will trouble us often.  But in this too, Jesus is our help and our strength.  In every day of trial, we need the Savior who has walked among us, who knows our struggles, who experienced our frailty yet forgives willingly, because He has paid the full price for our freedom.  Therefore, we praise God again for the refreshing water of the Gospel, and that even in the day of trial, God is our salvation.

This day of salvation takes on even more meaning when tragedy strikes or when death calls away someone we love.  The world offers all kinds of empty platitudes.  Some people turn to drugs or alcohol to numb the pain.  Some vainly speculate that after death there is nothing more.  Other people may imagine nice-sounding fantasies of what they wish might come after this world, but only God holds out His hands and gives us the sure promise of a home in His heaven, where there is never again any sorrow, pain, sin, or death, where the devil can’t torment or accuse us anymore. 

Then, in that day when tragedy strikes, or death steals away your loved one, even in that day God is your salvation.  In those days of agony and tears, God offers again His sure comfort of sins forgiven and life assured.  Like in every other trial, God carries us through the pain.  He lifts us up with the promise, “that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.  Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.” (Isaiah 57:1-2 NIV 84)  Even while enduring the pain of physical death separating us from our loved ones, we have God’s assurance that this is but a temporary separation, and one in which our believing loved ones are not suffering but are already enjoying the glory and peace of heaven.

Which leads us to one more day in which God is your salvation.  The Son of God who came to earth to live with us, to experience life on earth just as we do, and who lived perfectly for us but died as full payment for our sins has not abandoned us here, for risen from the dead and ascended to His Father’s side to rule over all things, He is also returning to take us home.  However, on the day Jesus returns, it won’t be to a quiet countryside night.  Instead, when Jesus returns, He will arrive for all the world to see with a vast army of angels to weed out the tares from the wheat. 

As Jesus returns on the last day of this earth, many will be those who are again terrified of God’s judgment, who “will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’" (Luke 23:30 NIV 84)  However, those whom God has made His own by faith look forward to that day with great expectation, not because of any goodness in ourselves, but because we know what Isaiah was privileged to share with God’s people: “Surely God is my salvation.  I will trust him and will not be afraid, because Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation.” 

Whenever we remember what Jesus has done for us, we gain confidence that we have nothing to fear.  Thus, as we wait for Jesus to return, whether we face good times or trials, whether we find love or the world greets us with persecution and terror, we can go on in the sure confidence of the writer to the Hebrews who declares, “because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’  So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?’" (Hebrews 13:5-6 NIV 84)

Dear friends, today is a day of rejoicing, just as is every day for the believer.  Today, we are reminded again of what Jesus has accomplished to cleanse us of every fault and weakness, of how He lived for us and died to set us free from the slavery of the devil’s rebellion, and the prison of guilt.  We remember that the Holy Spirit has dressed us in the pure white robes of Christ’s holiness as the Father has forgiven our sins for Jesus’ sake and remembers them no more.  Always remember with joy and great celebration the day Jesus rose from the grave to announce the good news to all people, and remember with gladness, also, the day that the Holy Spirit brought that news into your life personally, for In that day, God became your salvation.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Rejoice in the Savior you see—and will see.

Sermon for Easter 4, Jubilate, May 12, 2019

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

John 16:16-23  ¹⁶“In a little while you are not going to see me anymore, and again in a little while you will see me, because I am going away to the Father.”  ¹⁷Therefore some of his disciples asked one another, “What does he mean when he tells us, ‘In a little while you are not going to see me, and again in a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going away to the Father’?”  ¹⁸So they kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’?  We don’t understand what he’s saying.”  ¹⁹Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you trying to determine with one another what I meant by saying, ‘In a little while you are not going to see me, and again in a little while you will see me’?  ²⁰Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice.  You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.  ²¹A woman giving birth has pain, because her time has come.  But when she has delivered the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, because of her joy that a person has been born into the world.  ²²“So you also have sorrow now.  But I will see you again.  Your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.  ²³In that day you will not ask me anything.  Amen, Amen, I tell you: Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.” (EHV)

Rejoice in the Savior you see—and will see.

Dear friends in Christ,

            Before we consider our sermon text, I would like you all to think about the roller coaster of emotions Jesus’ disciples experienced in only a six-week period.  Our text is part of some of the last things Jesus said to His disciples before He was betrayed into the hands of those who would kill Him.  Just a few days earlier, Jesus had been welcomed into Jerusalem with a grand, spontaneous parade.  To the disciples, it had to feel like a victory celebration, the beginning of a great kingdom, which in fact, was what they expected to see.  Yet, just a few hours after He spoke the words of our text, Jesus was arrested by the local authorities, put through a humiliating trial, was tortured and crucified, and by the end of the day laid dead in a tomb, and the disciples were convinced all was lost.  They were heart-broken, scared, and lost in confusion about what would happen next. 

From that deep, dark low, the emotions of Jesus’ followers were elevated to the highest heights, just three days later, as Jesus rose from the grave alive once more.  Maybe now He would take up His reign over Israel, they thought.  Yet, 40 days after rising from the dead, instead of beginning a reign on earth, Jesus ascended before their very eyes into heaven.  One might expect that their hopes were again dashed, but we find out that wasn’t the case, for in fact, St. Luke reports that after Jesus was “taken up into heaven…they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” (Luke 24:51-52 NIV 84)  So, what had changed for Jesus’ disciples?  They now had a better understanding of what Jesus was about, and what our lives as Christians will be, and our encouragement is this: Rejoice in the Savior you see—and will see.

Jesus’ words that last night left His disciples bewildered for a time.  He said, “In a little while you are not going to see me anymore, and again in a little while you will see me, because I am going away to the Father,” and they couldn’t understand it.  Why would He go away?  And if He was going to the Father, why would He come back?  And, what is this little while?  How could Jesus begin His reign over Judea if He went away?  They just didn’t understand.

There are several things that confused the disciples.  First off, they didn’t yet understand the nature of Jesus’ kingdom.  Christ’s kingdom isn’t a place on earth.  Rather, it’s in the hearts and minds of those who believe in Him and its ultimate home is heaven.  They thought Jesus would conquer His enemies by force, but He would conquer with humility, obedience, and His own death.  The time frame for everything was totally bewildering to those who heard Jesus speak, and maybe it is for us today as well.

We too might wonder why Jesus leaves us here on earth to deal with all the problems of life in a sinful world when He has guaranteed us a home in heaven.  If we have a home in heaven, why doesn’t He just take us there right now?  While we are asking, if Jesus rules the world for our good, as He promises, why do we still have trouble?  And, if He promises He will never leave us, why can’t we see Jesus right now?  Oh, the questions that trouble us, especially when the world seems cruel.

What those first disciples didn’t yet see was that Jesus had to go away to suffer and die for our sins so that He could open the gates of heaven and slam shut the door of the devil’s prison.  But, what they learned over those forty days between Jesus’ resurrection and His ascension is that all of this is in the Father’s plan to rescue all the souls He has elected to believe and be saved. 

Jesus didn’t come into this world to save only a few of those alive when He walked the streets of Judea.  Jesus didn’t enter into His passion for only those who are blood relatives of Abraham.  Rather, Jesus entered this world to live for all people everywhere of every place and time.  And Jesus died for the same.  Christ gave up His life on the cross for Adam and Eve, for Cain and Abel, for Moses and all the descendants of Abraham, for you and me and every man, woman, and child, who has ever lived, or ever will.  In order to accomplish all of that, Jesus would have to do everything exactly according to His Father’s will—and He did!

Now, what does this all mean for you and me?  In God’s infinite wisdom, we don’t get to see Jesus face to face on a daily basis, but we do get to see Him, even now.  Still, there is something more and better yet to come.  Jesus explained to His disciples, “You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice.  You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.”  The world is all those powers and people who reject Jesus as true God and Savior.  Christ’s enemies likely celebrated while He lay dead in the tomb because they thought they had defeated the One who troubled their consciences with guilt.  The devil may actually have hoped he had defeated God in that chess match for the ages. 

Meanwhile, throughout the days Jesus lay dead in the tomb, the disciples were in agony and the depths of grief, but on Easter it all changed for everybody.  No longer could the devil gloat—his head was crushed as Jesus rose to life again and condemned Satan to eternal prison.  The Jewish leadership still didn’t accept Jesus, so they spent the rest of their days trying to flee from God’s wrath by persecuting those who followed Jesus.  It cost those leaders their city, their temple, their physical freedom, and ultimately their eternal lives.

But Jesus disciples?  They could rejoice no matter what happened in this world.  They now understood, by the power of the Holy Spirit, what Jesus had done for them and for all.  Jesus didn’t start a kingdom here on earth; instead, He opened the gates to paradise.  Therefore, even today, while the unbelieving world may gloat and grin over whatever momentary, supposed victories they might think they have, Christians can truly rejoice because those momentary trials fade in comparison to the eternal victory that is already ours, bought and paid for by the blood of God’s Son.

I said, Rejoice in the Savior you see—and will see.  Like the disciples back then, we don’t get to see Jesus physically all the time, but we do get to see Him even now.  We see Jesus in His Word that assures us that our sins are forgiven for the sake of His suffering and death on our behalf.  We get to see Jesus’s power as the Holy Spirit works faith and life in a new child of God in Baptism.  We get to see Jesus as He places His precious body and blood on our tongues every time we come into His presence in the Lord’s Supper.  Yes, here, today, we meet Jesus again in the bread and wine.  Here in His supper, Jesus is present for us in time and space as He assures us that His sacrifice wiped away our sin and reconciled us with God.  By His wounds we are healed. 

And yet, compared to the hardships and challenges of life in a sinful, broken world, it doesn’t always feel like enough, does it?  Knowing that God has promised us Paradise, we want to be there with Jesus in person every moment, don’t we?  And, we want to see that soon.  And, that’s okay.  We should want to be with our Lord forever.  And, we will be. 

The church fathers called this Sunday of the church year, Jubilate!  It means rejoice with a shout.  Why should we rejoice?  I find it interesting that the illustration Jesus uses comes to us on Mother’s Day.  Surely of all people, the mothers among us know what He meant.  Jesus told them, “A woman giving birth has pain, because her time has come.  But when she has delivered the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, because of her joy that a person has been born into the world.  So you also have sorrow now.  But I will see you again.  Your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” 

I don’t think there is a woman here who would say that her pregnancy, labor, and delivery was without difficulty and pain.  But, do you remember the moment they laid that new child on your chest?  All you could feel in that moment was the joy of new life.  Likewise, while we labor here on earth for our Savior and God, we will have trouble.  We will experience hardship, pain, difficult labor, maybe even persecution and rejection by those who hate the God who saves.  But, at the end of our labors is life everlasting—in a place where there will never again be any sorrow, or trouble, or hardship, or sin, or death.  There, we will see Jesus face to face for the unending eternities of the glory of heaven. 

How do we know this?  Because Jesus has always fulfilled every promise He and His Father made, right down to the last letter of all prophecy, and He has promised that He will return to judge the world (all that has rejected Him) and to take us home to be with Him forever.  Jesus says, “I will see you again.  Your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”

So, where does this leave us for today?  We are not alone, and we are not abandoned by the Savior who won our freedom from death and the devil.  Instead, Christ assures us that He hears our prayers, and the Father will answer them.  In fact, Jesus promises, “In that day you will not ask me anything.  Amen, Amen, I tell you: Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.”  Whatever we ask from God, in accord with our holy Savior, will be granted to us.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that foolish prayers will be answered in the affirmative.  God loves His children too much to let them have what will hurt them.  But whatever we need for body and life He graciously grants and gives—usually even before we ask.  Still, we know that God hears us.  He loves us.  He has a home in heaven prepared for us by the Son who gave His life so that we could live.

Dear Christian friends, rejoice!  Today and every day, rejoice for the victory that is yours, for the forgiveness of all sin, for the life that is already yours but you have to wait a while to see.  Rejoice for the love of God that sent His Son to die on a cross so that your sorrows and pains will be turned to joy never ending.  Rejoice in the Savior you see—and will see.  Amen.

Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Your labor in Christ builds lives.

Sermon for Trinity Lutheran School 70^th anniversary, May 5, 2019

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  All who do his precepts have good understanding.” (Psalm 111:10, EHV)  Amen.

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

I don’t ordinarily like to talk about myself in a sermon except to acknowledge that I am a great sinner who thankfully has an even greater Savior.  However, this afternoon, I will say that I think I am the most uniquely qualified person available to speak to you on this anniversary.  I won’t pretend I am the best qualified, for certainly there are other pastors who could speak more eloquently and with a greater grasp of history.  Rather, I am uniquely qualified for several reasons: my mother graduated from Trinity Lutheran School, as did I and my siblings and many cousins, two of my daughters also graduated from Trinity, and one of my grandsons has played basketball in the gymnasium here the last two years, albeit, for an opposing team.  Thus, we have four generations with some connection to Trinity Lutheran School. 

I attended classes here in the basement of the old church, in the white, two-room school house, in the present school when it was brand new, and I was confirmed right up here more years ago than I care to admit out loud.  But, more uniquely yet, I am pretty confident that I am the only past member of Trinity Lutheran’s school board who later became a pastor, so you might say I have a history, here, and connections to this school that are somewhat unique.

Having said all of this, however, I am nothing apart from Christ Jesus, and the same is true of education; separated from Christ, every other form of education is only a mirage, or a chimera.  Education that does not center on Christ Jesus may prepare one for life in this world, but it does nothing to address our greatest need which is the need to reconcile the sinner with our Creator so that our lives in this world are not the sum of our existence.  The wisest man who ever lived wrote, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10 NIV 84)

A former president of our little Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Pastor George Orvick (who since last fall is now sainted and a member of the Church Triumphant), once wrote,

“An anniversary can be dangerous you know.  Yes, it could lead us to be self-satisfied that we have reached such a milestone.  The Bible says, ‘When you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD.’ (Deuteronomy 6:11-12 NIV 84)  Rather, ask yourselves, ‘What can we do to show our faith and gratitude?  How can we serve the gracious Lord in the next [75] years?’” 

Pastor Orvick then directed his listeners to the passage I have chosen for our sermon text today:

1 Corinthians 15:55-58  "Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?"  ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  ⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (NIV 1984)

After hearing that text, the thought may have occurred to you—who really wants to celebrate an anniversary with talk about death?  Actually, no one.  Yet, the reason we are here celebrating the 75^th anniversary of Trinity Lutheran School is because of the victory over death that is ours through the blessing of hearing the Word of God and the faith that is given to us through Word and Sacrament.  In the Easter season of the Church year, we are reminded again of all that Jesus did so that you and I are not subject to the endless death of hell, how Jesus lived for us a perfectly holy life in full obedience to His Father’s will, sacrificing His own innocent life to pay for our debt of sin.  Because of Jesus, sin and death didn’t win, and our victorious Savior rose from the grave on Easter morning, so that you and I can know without a doubt that forgiveness of all sins is ours, and along with that forgiveness is life and salvation for all who believe.

Now, someone might ask, “Can’t people come to faith without a Christ centered education?”  And of course, the answer is yes, and many have.  Yet, how great a blessing it is to have an education in which one’s faith in Christ is not constantly under attack by ideas that are, at best, only humanly derived.  Our Lord Jesus emphatically declared, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14 NIV 84)

There is much we could talk about, this afternoon, but the importance of Christian education, at every level, can never be emphasized too much, and wherever a Christ-centered school is not available, parents must understand the intense, extra effort they will have to expend to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, “for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV 84)

The theme chosen for your school year, and for this service, is Building our lives on Christ for 75 years.  From the words of our sermon text, let me add this sermon theme: Your labor in Christ builds lives.  Yes, faith and salvation are always, and only, gifts of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit always works through means.  God brings people to faith in Christ by the means of hearing the Good News of all that Jesus has done for us.  He adopts us into His kingdom of grace through the water and Word of Baptism.  Christ strengthens us and assures us of our forgiveness by putting into our mouths His own, real, sacrificed, human body and blood—in, with, and under the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper, and the Holy Spirit works to share faith and salvation through the joint efforts of believers such as yourselves here at Trinity Lutheran Church and School. 

For 75 years, the efforts of generations of believers have blessed people such as myself and my children, for as I said, of myself I was nothing, but through faith in Christ, by God’s gracious gift, and much of that given to me through this school and the efforts of this congregation, I have the sure hope of life everlasting in our Savior’s presence in heaven.  As St. Paul wrote, “Thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God, by His grace, has given us the victory over sin, death, and Satan through the sacrifice of His only-begotten Son.  What great joy is ours to know that, and to know that through faith in Christ, God has made us His own dear children, who have an inheritance of glory waiting for us in heaven.  But, how could we know that if no one told us?  Furthermore, what would happen to us if we weren’t continually defended and supported by our loving God?  That is why God uses means to bring us to faith and to keep us in His kingdom.  It is through congregations of believers like Trinity that God works to share His saving Word with sinners.  Here on earth, we become the hands and the voice of God.  We don’t preach ourselves, but Christ crucified for all.

Trinity Lutheran school has been caring for the souls of children for seventy-five years.  We dare not take that lightly.  For my family, it means generations that have been rescued from the death and darkness of unbelief.  What it has been for my family is also true of so many more, and that will continue; it must continue!

I have often told my daughters that I want to meet their great, great-grandchildren in heaven.  The only way that is possible is if their children, and every generation in between, are taught about Jesus so that the Holy Spirit is given the chance to bring them into Christ’s kingdom.  This is why Moses taught the children of Israel: “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 11:18-21 NIV 84)  We dare not let up in our service for even a moment, for if even one generation loses the message of salvation, it is lost to that family going forward, maybe forever.

Dear friends, only the Word of God can save.  All the education in the world is useless if it doesn’t help us know Jesus.  All other religions and philosophies lead ultimately to destruction.  You heard Jesus’ counsel in the Gospel lesson this afternoon: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-27 NIV 84)  Keep on trusting in the Rock that is Jesus Christ, for Your labor in Christ builds lives. 

Our children, and those of your friends and neighbors, are continually buffeted by the storms and trials of life.  As long as this world will last, the devil will be seeking to devour God’s children by spreading lies and half-truths.  What will protect them if we don’t keep teaching all that the Lord God has given us?  St. Paul tells us, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”  In fact, for seventy-five years here at Trinity Lutheran School, Your labor in Christ has been building lives. 

As we look into the future, I know that sometimes, it will seem like an impossible task lies before you, but we need to remember who gives us the strength and who provides us with the abilities and blessings to keep this important ministry thriving.  St. Paul wrote, as you also heard a bit earlier:

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.  For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.…And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:13-22 NIV 84)

Thanks be to God, and to all the members, parents, and grandparents who for seventy-five years have labored and sacrificed to make this school a place to be built up in Jesus.  Your labor in Christ has built many lives. 

Dear friends, hold on to the blessings you have been given through these decades of building up little dwelling places of our God.  Take heart in all the Lord Jesus has promised you: that your sins are forgiven, that you are counted holy before God through faith in Jesus, and that He will be with you always, even to the end of the age—the Father and the Son dwelling together with you. (John 14:23)

As I wrote this sermon, I didn’t have any idea how many lives have been touched by Christ through the work of Trinity Lutheran School, but I’m sure it is thousands, and many more when you consider the sons and daughters of this congregation in whom Jesus has worked the faith to continue to carry His message as parents teach their children, and especially, as pastors and teachers in other places and other congregations.  I don’t know all their names, so I’ll let someone else list them.  But, I am one, as is our daughter, Amanda, who has been a WELS school teacher teaching Christ Jesus to little ones in the 2^nd grade at Living Hope Lutheran School in Shakopee for the past fourteen years.  (I guess that means I am getting old.) 

As I said before, and all of you who know me know so well, of myself I am nothing.  Apart from Jesus, I would be destined to an eternity of suffering and pain.  Praise God, Your labor in Christ builds lives.  Praise God, He has been building lives at Trinity Lutheran School for seventy-five years, including mine, for it is here that I learned about Jesus.  May the Lord continue to bless this ministry for all the generations of children yet to come.  Amen.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless in the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and to all eternity.  Amen.” (Jude 24–25, EHV)

Follow your Good Shepherd.

Sermon for Easter 3, May 5, 2019

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  He gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father—to whom be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.”

1 Peter 2:21-25  ²¹Indeed, you were called to do this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you would follow in his steps.  ²²He did not commit a sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.  ²³When he was insulted, he did not insult in return.  When he suffered, he made no threats.  Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.  ²⁴He himself carried our sins in his body on the tree so that we would be dead to sins and alive to righteousness.  By his wounds you were healed.  ²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but you are now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (EHV)

Follow your Good Shepherd.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            Imagine a shepherd leading his flock toward home through the wilderness.  Imagine the harsh conditions that are part and parcel of a barren land.  Imagine the dangers that are all around from wolves, lions, hyenas, or bears, all hoping to pick off any stragglers or weak sheep for their dinner.  Feel the burning sun as drought consumes the grass, then see also the sudden storms that rain down bolts of lightning and chunks of ice, and torrents of water flooding down the mountainside. 

Now, put yourself in the midst of the flock.  What should you and the sheep do when the storms rage on the mountain, or predators threaten nearby?  Do you follow the shepherd when the grass is gone, and the rocky ground underfoot feels like shards of broken glass?  When roaring lions approach and the wolves come snarling, do you draw closer to the shepherd, or should the sheep go their own way?  If the shepherd must cross a raging stream, do you ford the waters with him, or wait with a frantic flock for the jaws of death to consume you?

Sometimes, it’s hard to see ourselves in the pictures of the Bible, but often, that is the best way to understand fully what the Lord is telling us.  Peter was writing to Christian believers under attack from the world.  Many of them were poor, or outcasts, or slaves of pagan masters.  All of them, like us, had once been lost in the wilderness of the world, wandering without a shepherd, but then, the Holy Spirit found and rescued them through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament, and the Good Shepherd was now leading them toward home.  So, see yourself in the picture and Follow your Good Shepherd.

As one who knew the shame of deserting his Savior when the battle got hot, Peter wrote to people under attack, “Indeed, you were called to do this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you would follow in his steps.”  What are Christians called to do?  We are called to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus.  We are to live like Him, because He lived for us.  And, we are to do this no matter what opposition we might face, no matter the cruelty of the world, regardless of the difficulty we may experience, or any persecution from our neighbors we might have to endure.  We are called to follow Jesus’ example through thick and thin.

Now, Peter didn’t write this to teach anyone how to be saved, but rather to describe for us what Jesus meant when He told His followers, “In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NIV 84)  Jesus didn’t live for us to make this world a perfect home.  Instead, Jesus lived, died, and rose again so that He could return us to the paradise He had left behind in order to redeem us, and we should view our lives here in just that way. 

Having been freed by Christ from the devil’s control, and made holy in the sight of God, we should live as Jesus lived.  No, that doesn’t mean that we have to be sacrificed on a cross, but if the world should threaten such a fate, we should continue on the road with our Savior.  And even though slander seems to be a favored tool of our enemies, like Jesus, we must speak truth with all the loving kindness we can muster.  When insulted, we are wise to hold our tongues and pray for our enemies.

We know that before his denials of his Savior, Peter observed part of Jesus’ trial.  Here, he reports, “[Jesus] did not commit a sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”  Jesus stood before the priests and leaders of Israel with no fault on His record.  Though countless witnesses were lined up to testify against Jesus, no two could verify any misstep.  Jesus was truly faultless His whole life, but He stood there before that kangaroo court, refusing to speak a word in His own defense.  Jesus knew He was innocent.  The Father in heaven knew Jesus was innocent.  The sin was all in the world, in every person of the world, and Jesus stood there defenseless knowing full well that He would pay the price.

Jesus stood there because of love.  He loved us so completely that He was willing to carry our sins, to pay our debt of sin to God, even to suffer the torment of hell on our behalf.  When it comes right down to it, that is what is asked of us for the benefit of our neighbors too.  Not that we can redeem them, but that we be willing to reflect the holiness of Jesus onto those around us, so that they too might learn of the love that saved us and receive that same forgiveness and joy that motivates Jesus’ whole flock.

Peter wrote, “When he was insulted, he did not insult in return.  When he suffered, he made no threats.  Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”  Jesus trusted His Father in heaven.  His faith in the Father was the source of hope for Jesus, His source of strength to live for us, the root of His determination to die in payment for our guilt, and why He gladly put up with the unfairness of the treatment He received from the sinners He came to save.

Solely because of His pure love for His flock, our Good Shepherd stood between us and the devil—between us and certain death, and gave up His life to defeat that murderous thief.  Jesus willingly laid down His innocent life in the battle for our souls.  And the fight that put Jesus in the grave for three days, ultimately put Satan in chains forever. 

Peter makes the interesting comment that “He himself carried our sins in his body on the tree so that we would be dead to sins and alive to righteousness.  By his wounds you were healed.”  St. Paul wrote likewise: “Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4 NIV 84)

Jesus’ purpose in everything He did was to make you holy before God in heaven.  The sin that once inflicted and polluted our souls has been removed by Christ’s perfect life and sacrifice.  The slavery that had controlled us has been lifted.  Granted, we still walk in this world with the fears and weaknesses of our old sinful nature.  Thus, we must always struggle against our old selves, in whatever trials we face, until that day we are welcomed into our eternal home in heaven. 

To live like Jesus while we are still sinners, we have to rely on Him for leadership, for power and ability, for protection from the forces of evil, and even for the strength to keep following in His footsteps.  If anything should separate us from the loving care of our Shepherd, we would again be lost in a wilderness of pain.

Dear friends, you have been called to Follow your Good Shepherd.  God didn’t call you to win freedom on your own.  Rather, He called you to use the freedom Christ gave you for the good of His kingdom.  What that means is that we are to be shining beacons of light and hope in a troubled world. 

Though we currently live in a relatively peaceful setting in this rural area, you can count on having to fight against the dark forces that so want to recapture you in the devil’s schemes.  Every day, we hear more and more of Christians being persecuted for their faith.  We see people living with no regard to the will of God for morality.  In fact, there seems to be a defiant rejection of everything God has deigned to call good.  The enemies of light are putting out ever more dishonest messages of how people should live.  In our own times, the murder of the innocent is acceptable to society.  Slandering those who follow Jesus has become a national pastime.  Through it all, your Savior continues to call you to His light. 

Dear friends, resist the temptations to sin.  Following your Savior, persevere through all the troubles and trials of life in this wasteland of sorrow knowing that you have a home in heaven bought and paid for by the blood of God’s Lamb.  Pray for all people, even for those who hate you and want to hurt or destroy you.  Because, like me and everyone else who has ever been drawn to Jesus, “you were like sheep going astray, but you are now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”  The point is, you have been returned to the flock of the Good Shepherd.  Jesus gave His life on the cross so that you could live for Him, and especially, so that you will live with Him forever in heaven.  Follow your Good Shepherd.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.