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Sermon for Baptism of Our Lord (1/9/22)

Primary Text | Luke 3:15-22

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Dear People of God,

Traditionally we call him John “the Baptist.” This title for him is not to be confused with the denominational name of Baptist, like Southern Baptist or American Baptist or Missionary Baptist. All Christians technically could be classified as Baptists because all Christians baptize. Clearly, the various groups of Christians have different beliefs. In our theology, the Lutheran branch of Christianity is radically different than the Baptist branch of Christianity. It can be said though, that Lutherans are “pan-Baptists” because we not only baptize, we baptize everyone. To avoid the confusion around the label “Baptist” some will call him John “the Baptizer.” That’s not as traditional of a rendering, but it does clarify the ministry John did. John the Baptizer baptized people. Why was he doing this? He had received a word of God in the wilderness to preach a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3). Because he had this word of God people began to question whether or not he was the Messiah. I don’t blame them, at the time John was active, it had been some 500 years since there had been a prophet of Israel. So, John corrects them, “I baptize you only with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to undo the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16). In other words, John is saying he is not the Messiah and that the Messiah will baptize with a baptism greater than his.

And so, when Jesus’ baptism took place, the door of heaven was opened. Then, the Holy Spirit took the bodily form of a dove and descended on him. And, a voice from heaven spoke: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22). Here we have heaven itself opened up and all three persons of the Trinity visibly or audibly active. It is no small event; Jesus’ baptism signals a turning point in history. The Holy Spirit’s appearance tells us that Jesus is indeed the Messiah—the anointed one, the Christ. The Holy Spirit will be the one to implant the word of Christ into those who will believe. Now, the voice from heaven, aka, the voice of the Heavenly Father, reveals Jesus is indeed God’s Son. God wills all the world to know him only through his anointed Son, Jesus, for then will one know and believe in God’s merciful heart. The baptism of our Lord also signifies the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry—a ministry, that yes will include things like walking on water, or, like turning water into wine, but will culminate in his gruesome death, and finally, in his glorious resurrection.

But why did Jesus get baptized? John’s baptism was a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Being that Jesus is God’s Son, Jesus had no sins of his own that would need to be forgiven. That he had no sin is something unique to Jesus of all the people ever to exist. Dear people, Jesus gets baptized because he becomes our sin. You see, this in Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). We are forgiven because our sin, guilt, and shame no longer belong to us, but belong to Christ and were with Christ put to death on the cross. When we talk about Jesus’ death on the cross, it is not ultimately a sacrifice to God, but God’s sacrifice for you. In Christ, God ripped himself apart, in his warm love, so that we may know what it means to be a forgiven people. He died for the ungodly, for the unlovely, for the unrighteous. It wouldn’t make sense for God to forgive sins if we weren’t actually sinners. We speak on the gravity and severity of sin within us not for the sake of conjuring feelings of guilt and shame. We name the power that sin has over us, so that we name another and better reality. The absolution. That God fully and completely forgives our sin for the sake of Jesus Christ. God ripped himself apart for our sake, not because we have anything good to give him, but simply because of his kind and gentle heart. In his love, he takes our sinfulness as his own, and places his goodness upon us, so now his goodness is our own. In Christ, God restores human beings to wholeness, that we may have glad, joyful, and merry hearts.

And so, Jesus’ baptism is also our baptism. The baptisms we do are still a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. In baptism God’s graciousness is revealed and sinners are forgiven. We, like John, are Baptizers because we believe through this water the Word kills the old sinner, and raises a new person to eternal life. We are Baptizers because that water connected to the Word is a saving water, saving us from our sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. This baptism we undergo, and only need to undergo once, is effective because it is one and the same as Jesus’ baptism. Plus, when we are baptized all three persons of the Trinity are present. The Father with his gracious heart, the Son who redeems, the Spirit who makes new. We celebrate the baptism of our Lord because through the Son of God we are shown God’s mercy and favor. You, dear people, are beloved by God because Jesus is beloved by God. You actually are forgiven, you actually have life, and you actually are saved. This is not of your own doing, nor can you mess up the promise. You are baptized in Jesus’ baptism, and so you belong to a gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. You are in Christ Jesus. There is no condemnation for you. Only grace.

#keypreaching #baptism of our lord

Sermon for Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (9/12/21)

Primary Text | James 3:1-12

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Dear People of God,

The Letter of James uses an analogy that happens to hold weight in our personal experience as Wyomingites. He writes, “the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!” (James 3:5). The smoke this summer has been egregious. Summer 2019, my first summer in Wyoming, I do not recall there being much of any smoke hanging in the air. Summer 2020, my second summer, I think there was like one weekend that it was smoky. In 2021, there has been little reprieve from wildfire smoke since July. To me this is strange because it was never a thing where I grew up. But this summer my family back in Wisconsin alerted to me that they too have had a share of this smoke. We all know wildfire smoke can have multiple causes—ranging from something unpreventable like a lightning strike to something very preventable like some foolish humans playing with fire.

St. James writes the “tongue is a fire” (James 3:6). He wants his fellow Christians to be careful with how they use their tongues. The tongue, although one of the smallest members of our body, is in fact a tool that can do exponentially great damage compared to its size. With this concern, James first addresses those who would be teachers, saying, “Not many of you should become teachers, my siblings, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). Here James warns us of the gravity of responsibility a person has as a teacher. This would be fine to be applied to any kind of teacher, but here he means anyone who is, desires to be, or claims to be a teacher of the Word of God. James directs this to preachers. As your preacher, I have a great responsibility laid on me in what I teach you. I am not here to tickle your ears with whatever you want to hear. Nor is my job to teach you things that would make me popular, I have to speak hard truths too, not just the easy truths. As your preacher, I am bidden to teach you the Word of God, not just about God, but about what God has authorized me to speak to you from his own mouth. If I do not do this, I have failed my job. Which is why, when I was ordained, I made a vow. A vow is a solemn promise, one that must not be broken. In that vow, God bound me with certain duties, to preach and teach only according to the holy scriptures, the three ecumenical creeds, and the Lutheran confessions. Think of my job as preacher and teacher as building a bridge. If I built a bridge with bad materials, or with a bad design, and that bridge broke and people died, I would most certainly be held accountable for what I had done, probably go to jail or something. So, it is with teaching the Word of God, I must use good materials, and be attentive to design. Of course, these are not to be of my own making, but of God’s making. God expects me and you should expect me, to only teach the Word of God according to the good materials of the holy scriptures, the three ecumenical creeds, and the Lutheran confessions—which are each faithful witnesses of the gospel—the good news that all who believe in Christ are radically forgiven for his sake in the eyes of God. As a preacher and teacher, if I would use bad materials to build a bridge, and people perished, unlike a builder of a real bridge, I would much more easily get away with it. That is why teachers in the church of God are told they are judged with greater strictness, so even if they are not held accountable by earthly authorities, they will be held accountable by God for what they preach and teach.

But of course, being a preacher is not the only one with the responsibility of teacher in the church. Parents, grandparents, and godparents, and any fellow Christian who bears the name of Christ, have a duty to teach the Word of God properly. We do not want to teach our own word as the Word of God, we must teach that which comes from outsides ourselves, that Word of God made known in Jesus Christ. Therefore, what we believe, teach, and confess to be true absolutely matters. The Second Commandment commands us to “Not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.” If we are teaching our own words in the name of God, we are speaking empty words. But if we speak God’s Word, that is, what God would have us say, we are speaking words brimming with power and with life and with the ability to change darkness into light, and weakness into strength. God has bidden us to speak the word that creates faith in those whom he has entrusted to us. I am concerned that those of us entrusted to teach, whether we be preacher, teacher, parent, or whichever office God has called us to, that we end up speaking no words at all on behalf of God. We are not only responsible for what we say, but for what we do not say. Which is why hopefully each of us takes care to hear and learn the Word of God not just on Sunday mornings, but throughout the week as well. Even Confirmation is meant to be a supplement for Christian education, and not the beginning or the end of Christian education.

Luther says, “We need to hear the gospel every day, because we forget it every day.” What is that gospel? That God forgives you by his sheer favor, through faith, on account of Christ, apart from the works of the law. How, then, is one to believe if they never have opportunity to hear God’s gracious promises? We all need to be students of the Word and never think we have mastered it, nor think that we have no need to learn anymore. God seeks to nurture and to feed us with himself, by the words of a teacher, a preacher both in church and in home. Because God doesn’t come to us half-heartedly, but puts all of himself into building up his kingdom. That is why my hope that having the Digital Service is a temporary solution. When it does become safe enough to return, let us not lose the habit of physically going to church. God does not come to us only so far as a screen. He comes to us in the flesh. God was born of the Virgin Mary. God became a human being. In Jesus Christ, we meet God face-to-face, and we should look for God in no other place. Jesus Christ died and was raised for sinners. Which means that he died and was raised for you. So that you may have life, and life abundantly. It is his death on the cross that swallows up death. So even when we die, we die in the Lord. And then by his resurrection he gives us new life. So even when we die, we live in the Lord. And nothing can shake this eternal truth, this wonderful gift, this solemn promise of God. You can’t even mess it up. It is God’s decision. And he made that decision about you when you were baptized, that you belong to him, and he doesn’t care how sincere you are, how religious you are, how strong or weak you are. He claims you as his own for his own name’s sake. (pause) It is true God is both severe and kind. But even his severity is meant to drive us to his kindness. It is for his sake alone you are forgiven. Therefore, may it be that your words be formed by the Word. Upon others, do not let your mouth speak both blessing and curse. Bless, and do not curse. In the time of trial God will hold you close; his grace is sufficient.

As God has called me to be your teacher, I continue to make the solemn promise to speak to you with only the fresh water of the Word of God, and not brackish water that comes from a source other than the Word. It is this same water in which you are baptized, the same water in which you are forgiven of your sins unconditionally. It is the water of baptism that brings you from death to life everlasting—because God uses it to create and sustain your faith. God’s solemn vow. Be at peace.

#keypreaching

Sermon for Fifth Sunday after Epiphany (2/7/21)

Primary Text | Mark 1:29-39

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Dear People of God,

We live in a day that we can no longer assume people know what the Christian faith is. Much less can we assume people know what we believe as Lutheran Christians. The prevailing notion about Christian faith, even among professing Christians, is a consumer culture approach. Meaning, “Well, I like that part so I’ll take that. But, oh, I don’t like that part, so I’ll do my own thing.” Basically, we treat faith like a set of Legos where we choose the blocks we like, toss away the blocks we don’t like, and make the rest up—indeed, we make faith what our “itching ears” (2 Tim. 4:3) want to hear. When we fall for this approach it is not faith, it is instead kicking God off the throne and setting ourselves up in his place crown and all. True, genuine faith is something that comes to us from outside ourselves. It is not something we have Legos to build. It is the kingdom of God, that comes from God, from heaven to earth.

Here’s the thing, God’s kingdom does not come out of thin air. Which is why we cannot assume people know what it is. God’s kingdom comes about as Jesus said, “Let us go to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim there also; for that is what I came out to do” (Mark 1:38). Again, what he proclaimed was “the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15). To proclaim is to preach God’s Word—repentance and believing in the good news. In some ways it might be easier to proclaim the good news. It is pure honey and goodness. Proclaiming repentance can be more difficult. For righteous people, who have no need of repentance, are unable to taste that honey and goodness the good news will bring. In order to appreciate the good news, one must also here the hard news—that word of repentance. The kingdom God is bringing in requires us to be completely changed—not one stone will be left on top of another. Not one thing can remain. And people don’t like that. We don’t like to change. We don’t like God to speak to us things that challenge our worldview. We want to hold on to our own point of view unscathed; we want to be the ones in control. Which is why something like the pandemic hasn’t turned hearts in service of the neighbor. Because of this, people have died unnecessarily. Allowing people to die when we could prevent it is not a matter of one’s personal choice in the kingdom of God. But like the demons who Christ casts out (Mark 1:34, 39), this too will be cast out.

As Christ says, “Repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15). That is what he went about proclaiming. Proclamation is the method by which God has chosen to bring in the kingdom of God to this day. We Lutherans call this Law and Gospel. The Law that acts as a mirror to show us our sin and complete inability to save ourselves—and the Gospel, the good news that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he died and rose for you for the free forgiveness of sins. The Gospel is the good news that God, in Christ, has done everything to bring about your salvation. These are things we could not muster up ourselves. These are things we depend entirely on God to bring to us. It is pure honey that when it comes to salvation, matters are in God’s hands entirely. We did not choose him but he chose us. Therefore, there’s nothing you can do or I can do or anyone can do to mess it up.

Again, it doesn’t come out of thin air. The kingdom comes near through a Preacher. For Christ brings his word to you through the mouth of human beings. And yes, the pastor is one such preacher. But you, as well, are preachers to your neighbors. Whether at school or work, among friends or family, God has entrusted you to be the one to proclaim God’s kingdom through Law and Gospel to them. He has placed those around you for such a time as this. Whether people realize it or not, agree with it or not, people need Christ in their lives. For it is through Christ that God is at work reconciling the world to himself. It is in him you have healing and wholeness. And it is Christ who will be faithful to you to the very end. He it is who will hear your prayers, he it is who will hold you tight when the world is falling apart. He it is who does not leave you to the demons, but delivers you from evil. Thank God that you do not need to build your Lego blocks to know whether or not God forgives you. He does. He endured death on the cross so that you may have life in his name. Amen.

#keypreaching

Sermon for Nativity of Our Lord - Christmas Day (12/25/20)

Primary Text | Isaiah 52:7-10; John 1:1-14

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Dear people of God, Merry Christmas!

The LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed the ruins of Jerusalem (Isa. 52:9). The people of God have suffered devastation. But now the time has come. God has sent Good News from heaven to earth. There is peace, true peace at Christmastime. For it is on this day “the Word became flesh and lived among us…full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In Jesus the Christ, God has chosen to dwell in the ruins of humankind. We may think we live in times difficult. And we do. Right now, we miss what life was like in the before-times, and we yearn for a better life in the future. One free of strife and worry. We yearn for the day free of today’s burdens. Though we think life is hard right now, and it is, there has never been a pristine time to be alive. We live and make do among the ruins. War and turmoil have been ever-present. The bad news of death and disease has followed us all our days. People interested in lording it over others saturate the secular realm in the government and the spiritual realm in the church. The hearts of people have grown cold in abandoning their neighbor for conspiracy theories and their own self-proclaimed righteousness.

Listen again to the Sacred Scriptures: “The LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed the ruins of Jerusalem.” And again, listen to our Lord’s counsel: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matt. 6:34). God brings peace enough in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh means we have not been left alone in today’s trouble. For God has redeemed the ruins of Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus Christ was not born into a world pristine, but born into a world in ruins. He is the Light to a world lost in the darkness. He brings peace to a war-torn world. The prophet Isaiah says, “The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God” (Isa. 52:10). One of those ends of the earth the LORD has in mind is Wyoming, our city, our county. Our little corner of the world is not left out from God’s promises. The ruins of Sandy River County too are redeemed wherever the Lord Christ is proclaimed. God goes about redeeming us from the ruins by drawing us to himself through the Christ. The Holy Spirit both brings us to Christ and brings Christ to us through the proclamation of the good news. That God has compassion on sinners, and in order to rescue you from the present darkness, joined the human world as an infant, bringing salvation in our midst—which is the forgiveness of sins incarnate, that we have entirely by grace, when we so believe. Nothing is able to vanquish this promise, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5). Even in death Jesus was raised from the dead. The ruins of your heart have been redeemed. In Christ, you are released from all your burdens and taken them upon himself. Dear people, “Your God reigns” (Isa. 52:7). There is joy and reason to be glad. Merry Christmas.

#keypreaching #place names changed to protect anonymity

Sermon for Second Sunday after Epiphany (1/17/21)

Primary Text | 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

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Dear People of God,

You are not your own. Everything you have is something that comes from God. As the Small Catechism teaches, “God has created [you] together with all that exists. God has given [you] and still preserves [your] body and soul: eyes, ears, and all limbs and senses; reason and all mental faculties.” Related to our bodies St. Paul dives us in to an intimate topic. Sex. This subject matter at hand would be easy to skip over out of discomfort or downgrade as outdated and irrelevant. After all, popular culture, academia, and even vocal leaders in the church stress that there should be no boundaries when it comes to sex. The idea is, as long as it is consensual between adults, that’s all that should matter. Consent is the bar and there should be no other bar. In contrast, we contend that there is more to it. As we must deal directly with the word, it is the word that must inform us and norm us on even something as intimate as sex.

St. Paul says, “The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Cor. 6:13). I admit, I had to look up the word “fornication” on Merriam-Webster dot com. It defines fornication as “Consensual sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other.” Indeed, marriage is God’s institution and gift, and no human plaything. Through marriage God intends sex to be experienced as a gracious gift. In it, “two become one flesh.” But, now, before we proceed further, we must expel one danger. And that is the trap of shame culture. We must not let sex become a shameful thing, which is a reason why we should not be afraid to talk about it. I recall once being told by an acquaintance that she and her partner dutifully waited until marriage. But sexual relations had become so stigmatized to her and her partner, that even in marriage they found it downright difficult to shake off feelings of shame—and they were not able to experience it as God’s gift, as a source of joy. To counteract shame, this is why we must not keep silent, instead we must teach: that sexual relations are not inherently a sinful thing, quite the contrary, they are a joyful thing, that it is something that God wants to be meaningful for us, and that it is a valuable gift. Whatever we do with our body, we do for the Lord, for his glory.

The Lord lives within you. As St. Paul says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Cor. 6:19). You may not believe it, but you are not cheap. In fact, “you were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20). With Christ’s blood. Because you are of such great value to God it calls into question one-night stands and anonymous sex. Others might encourage these things. But, again here we have a trap. For in a one-night stand God’s gracious gift is turned into a cheap appliance. Anonymous sex no longer reflects God’s glory but reduces it to mere animalistic instinct. Meaning, that its participants are using each other as objects and not as human beings. Gone is the value that God intends for it. It is why St. Paul says, “Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the one who does fornication sins against the body itself” (1 Cor. 6:18). For the “anything goes” crowd, the body is utilitarian. Therefore, it dismisses the notion that sexual relations are not just physical, but also emotional and spiritual. Whether it’s with someone you know or someone you barely know, sex is the means by which “two people become one flesh.” It joins together whoever experiences it. For the people of God, it matters with whom you have been joined together to. It is physical, emotional, spiritual, and these all matter.

Dear people, you are not some cheap appliance, a toaster to be used, and thrown to the curb when you are deemed no longer useful. No, you have been called by God. Therefore, you are of great value. You are not loved because you are lovely. You are lovely because you are loved. The Lord surrounds you on every side, and he protects you with his hand (Ps. 139:5). In his book, he has written down all your days, even before you existed (Ps. 139:16). You are not your own, you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. Jesus Christ was given to die for you, he forgives you all your sins. Daily he lifts you from the mud, washes you with water, and holds you in his arms. He will not let anyone or anything snatch you from his love. Not even you can keep yourself from God’s love in Jesus Christ. No longer is your sin and shame yours, but it is His. And in exchange he gives you his healing and his wholeness so that you may live with joy. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, so you too, will be raised by his power. Amen.

#keypreaching

Sermon for 24th Sunday after Pentecost (11/15/20)

Primary Text | 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

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Dear People of God,

The Apostle Paul gives two analogies for what the Day of the Lord will be like. Keep in mind that the Day of the Lord is the day our Lord Jesus comes back, as he has promised. For now, we wait for him. The first analogy is to say “the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). In this way it is very unpleasant. It even is a bit scary. When we consider the Day of the Lord it means the world is trudging along like normal, with an inertia that we think will never come to an end—and then bam! We hit a wall. There will be those at rest, sleeping peacefully and securely in their beds—only to have their dreams disrupted by someone breaking into their home. Yes, their eyes will open in a panic and they will be jarred awake by the breaking of glass. The other analogy the Apostle uses is to compare the Day of the Lord to “labor pains that come upon a pregnant woman” (1 Thess. 5:3). As a man, I will gratefully never know what it means for labor pains to come upon me. Though, there is a video out there of these two men who are fitted with a device to simulate what labor pains are like, and I never will never try that. I imagine that once labor pains come upon you it disrupts the rest of your day—to put it lightly. With these two analogies—the thief in the night and a woman entering labor pains—we learn two terrifying aspects of what to expect in the Day of the Lord. As it will be for those who live in unbelief and reject the Lord Christ.

At this point, St. Paul wants to assure his listeners, that for them, there is a different outcome. He writes, “But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief” (1 Thess. 5:4). See how that is different? For believers, there is no thief in the night to jar us awake. Indeed, for those who are being saved the Day of the Lord will not be terrifying. You can be assured that “you are all children of light and children of the day” and that you are “not children of night or of darkness” (1 Thess. 5:5). A child of the day and of the light has no need to fear. Why? Justification by faith. Children of the day are those who have had faith bestowed upon them. Such children can be confident that God sees them as he sees his own Son—only with eyes of love. Children of the day, or children of faith, possess the promise that there is salvation in Jesus Christ. Children of the darkness reject such promises of God and as such, have no choice but to live with their own self-made righteousness—which will fail them. And so, St. Paul says “Do not live as children of the night, drunken and asleep.” He says, “Let us be sober” for we “belong to the day” (1 Thess. 5:8). Here he introduces two analogies for children of the light. One is “put on the breastplate of faith and love” (1. Thess 5:8). How are faith and love a breastplate? They are things that protect and guard us. Faith guards us by reminding us of God’s unconditional love in Jesus Christ. Faith believes the promises, and in believing, receives them. Love guards us by having us look out for one another. There are many trials and temptations that seek to take away what belongs to us by faith. But when we are warmed by the love of one another, we are given strength to keep up the good fight as we wait on the Lord to rescue us from fighting altogether. God has chosen to sustain us by means of each other, and not just by any means, but through the word. Never forget that.

St. Paul also encourages us by saying, “For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9). Here we have the basis for the old doctrine of predestination. An oldie but goodie. Predestination is one of the greatest comforts we have as Christians. It means that God has specifically chosen to save you. And he does this without consideration for who you are, how good of a person you are, how strong or weak your faith is. He has chosen you to be rescued from this present world of sin and death based on nothing but his mercy. And he saves by connecting you to the Lord Jesus Christ—who died and was raised for the forgiveness of sins. He died for you so that you could live with him. You are buried with Christ in baptism so that you can also be raised with Christ. That our salvation depends on God’s choice is of great comfort because we need not look to ourselves to see if we are saved. We look to Christ and can know with certainty. It should be said that until our dying day we do have a darkness that lives within. One that seeks to, if it could, to snatch us away from God’s promises. It’s the part of us that still wants to be our own god. And wants nothing to do with God’s love in Jesus Christ—which only leads to sin and death. It thinks it has no need for God’s love or for Jesus the Messiah. For that old self in us, the Day of the Lord will be terrifying because it means it has met its last day—that it will be snuffed out. The Day of the Lord means that even the sin and death within us no longer will be around. For our new selves, this is good news. We will truly be free of the things that ensnare us. Christ will be our life as we live with him forever.

At United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia, emeritus professor of Reformation history Timothy Wengert, was once asked his opinion for if he thought the Last Day was coming soon. And his answer was shocking! At the same time both simple and profound. He said, “If only we were that lucky.” As children of the light, the Day of the Lord will be quiet, gentle, something to look forward to. Whether that Day comes when we are alive or dead, we will be raised to live with the Lord forever. And it is a hope most joyful, as it means suffering, pain, sin, death, and all the troubles of the world will slip away. On that Day you will know first-hand the love of Christ. Amen.

#keypreaching #day of the lord

Midweek Advent Homily IV: The Sixth Commandment - You shall not commit adultery. (12/23/20)

Primary Text | 2 Samuel 11:2-5, 14-17, 26-27

Dear People of God,

With the Sixth Commandment—You shall not commit adultery, God is endorsing and protecting married life. Other commandments like “You shall not murder” deal with your neighbors far and wide. Here in the Sixth Commandment, God is dealing with the person nearest to you: your spouse—the person you are so near that you are “of one flesh and blood.” Married life is ordinary, but in light of God’s Word it is adorned and holy. With respect to no other blessing on earth can a person do greater harm. Therefore, God places the Sixth Commandment around marriage partners, whether they be heterosexual or same-sex relationships, as a guard—to protect what is adorned and holy. Namely, that, in marriage, your spouse is given to you by God—to love and cherish and to be loved and cherished by. Of course, even though the commandment is there and marriage is an object of God’s serious concern, many disregard it to satisfy their own desires.

Take the example of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah. Though David knew that Bathsheba was married to Uriah, he still went out of his way to have sex with her. Uriah, a good warrior, was abstaining from having sex with her because he felt it was his duty to wait until the war was over before he could enjoy the finer things of life. So, when Bathsheba reported to David that she is pregnant, David knew he would be caught red-handed for what he had done. His solution: orchestrate the battle in such a way that Uriah would be sure to die. And, in having Uriah murdered, David finally succeeded. He made it so Bathsheba, after her time of mourning, would become his wife. To which we have heard read, “the thing that David had done displeased the Lord” (2 Sam. 11:27). Read 2 Samuel chapter 12 to see how God sends Nathan the prophet to call David out on his sins.

Of course, many aspects of “Do not commit adultery” apply to more than married relationships—it also applies to dating and to relationships one has before getting married. Do not commit adultery is another way of saying “do not cheat.” A pastoral concern, if and when you ever do get cheated, do not blame yourself. Nor should you think that you deserve to be cheated on. No one deserves to be cheated on. And if the cheating partner doesn’t get their act together, then they have nullified any respect and honor for you—at which point you should get out of any unhealthy relationship. When a relationship runs as God desires, relationships where the partners cherish each other, love each other, and are harmonious, it is meant to be mutually profitable and edifying. This is the point of any relationship and especially of married life: that neither partner is domineering, neither partner keeps the other in duress, but rather, again, they cherish each other, love each other, and live in harmony. Marriage is giving the entirety of ourselves as a gift to another person, just as the other person gives the entirety of him or herself to us. We hold our partner up while our partner holds us up. Harmony is lost when one partner is pulling all the weight. Of course, at the present time, we do not reflect God’s love very well to each other. We often put ourselves before our loved ones. So, forgiveness is essential. As we pray, “Lord, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

But God is gracious, and perhaps we all have already been or will be blessed at one time or another with a loving spouse as God’s gracious gift. Life is short, cherish the moments. Remember that all good gifts come from above. Especially remember, that God loves and cherishes you. And he does so much that he has done everything to secure your salvation—being born of the virgin Mary, becoming a slave so that you can be free. And as you serve your Lord, whether that be in serving your partner or in a life of singleness, God readily forgives your sins, puts your pieces back together and is your Prince of Peace.

#keypreaching

Sermon for 3rd Sunday of Advent (12/13/20)

Primary Text | 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

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Dear People of God,

Rejoice always. Again, I will say, “Rejoice always” (1 Thess. 5:16). It’s kind of hard to do right now. We’ve gotten to the point in the pandemic where most of us know someone in our own family or in our friend circles who has gotten sick. Now we’ve begun to recognize the names of people who have died from the virus in our community. The political world is in shambles. Neighbor is set up against neighbor. Tensions are high. Holidays are being disrupted. Those things we rely and depend on to make our world feel safe are in the end not that reliable. All this on top of life in the world which is already challenging and difficult. Though the world is falling apart we have something to rejoice about. We always do, no matter how dark the moment. We forget too easily. We fall into unbelief when we only see what is immediately in front of us and despair. St. Paul exhorts us to rejoice because he sees the big picture and expects us to as well. He wants us to see beyond what is immediately before our eyes. Rejoicing is the joy we have as Christians. Though we suffer now in many and various ways, we have a God of peace (1 Thess. 5:23). Even more, that we have “salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us” (1 Thess. 5:9-10). That Jesus rose from the dead is always a reason to give us joy. The God who reveals his grace through the Christ is of such benefit to us that it overshadows all those troubles we face in the present time. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (John 1:5). Through faith we know the way of darkness does not win. Rejoice always.

Pray without ceasing. Again, I will say, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). What does it mean to pray other than to call upon God in our every time of need. I’m afraid that praying is something that has fallen into disuse among many Christians. When we have ceased praying, we have lost something of great value. As an individual, when was the last time you prayed? Or, if your live with family, when was the last time you prayed together? I suspect that many of us have forgotten to pray altogether. But here St. Paul admonishes us to “Pray without ceasing”! God wants us to pray to him and especially in our time of need. We all without exception are in a time of need while we live in the pandemic. You never know how the virus will affect you even if you are the healthiest of persons otherwise. Truth is, we’ve always been in need. Only now, our need is more apparent. Thankfully, God not only commands that we pray, but promises to hear us as we pray. To pray is a privilege we have as Christians, for the Word of God teaches, “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). There is no greater prayer than that of the Lord’s Prayer for this is the prayer that Jesus used to show us how to pray, when he was asked by the disciples. Pray without ceasing.

Give thanks in all circumstances. Again, I will say, “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:18). Not only has St. Paul exhorted us to rejoice always, but to give thanks in all circumstances. That’s a tall order Mr. Paul. It does not come easy. Well, it may think it is easy when life is going well and we have no troubles or qualms, but usually when life is going well we forget to give thanks. But, when life is not easy, when we feel like we can’t win, when we feel like we’re in a nightmare we can’t get out of………then, giving thanks in all circumstances can feel like a challenge unbearable. What’s more, we think we have every right to roll around in the mud of our misery. Again, God wants us to see the world with eyes of faith—not simply looking at what is immediately around us. To trust in him no matter what. We will endure many miserable circumstances, but faith opens us up so we can see that nevertheless God is faithful. It is like how Joseph’s brothers intended harm when they sold him into slavery. God turned around their harmful intentions into something good—to preserve a numerous people (Gen. 50:20). Lord, we pray that whatever circumstances we find ourselves in now that you would turn it around into something good for us. As You say, give thanks in all circumstances.

This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. St. Paul exhorts, “This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18). It is God who enables us to do these impossible things: to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, to give thanks in all circumstances. If we trust in our power, we would fail completely. Left to our own will we would sputter and sink. But God is gracious and God is faithful. All these things: rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. And, if it is God’s will for you, then it cannot fail. It is he who will keep you blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not because you will ever perfectly fulfill these. Simply because through faith you have been clothed with Jesus Christ. He is your royal garments, through whom God has forgiven you your sins. And it is this faith Christ has done all these things in you and for you. “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this” (1 Thess. 5:24).

#keypreaching