1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly
Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen. The message from God’s Word
this 6th Sunday of Easter and Memorial Day weekend is taken from
John 14:15-21 and is entitled, “Living in the Love of Jesus,” dear brothers and
sisters in Christ.
2. As I see an ambulance go by, I’m very thankful that
there are trained personnel to handle medical emergencies. As I see a house on
fire, I’m very thankful that there are trained firefighters who rescue people
from such blazes. When I see a police officer, I’m thankful that there are
people who are sworn to protect the people.
And, when I see a soldier of our Nation’s Military, I’m very thankful
for their service to our Country so that we can continue to enjoy the freedoms
we have here in America. One could say that because these people live and do
the work that they do, others will be saved and continue to live fruitful
lives. Because they live, other people live as well. How joyful we are that
Jesus Christ has rescued us from sin and Satan! He did so by his death and
resurrection, and he continues to rule us and guide us. Because Jesus lives, we
will live.
3. Jesus says in John 14:15-21, “If you love me, you will
keep my commandments. 16And I
will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you
forever, 17even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you
and will be in you. 18“I will
not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Yet a little while
and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you
also will live. 20In that day you will know that I am in my Father,
and you in me, and I in you. 21Whoever has my commandments and keeps
them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
4.
We can’t get
enough of the grace, love, and forgiveness of our God. Jesus didn’t leave his
disciples as orphans. Not only did he promise his presence to be with them
always, he also promised them the presence of the Holy Spirit. That same
promise is for us as well. It may seem like that is a lot of God, but to truly
live we need to have every bit of him in our lives each day. We can never get
enough of a good God. In our text for today Jesus said, “Because I live, you
also will live” (v 19). Today we want to explore what it means to live, to live
in the love of Jesus. To live our lives
to the fullest means that we live our lives always in the love of Jesus.
5.
The first step of
living in the love of Jesus is to examine our lives and realize that we in no
way deserve to be God’s children. Because of sin in our lives we don’t deserve
God’s love or his care or thought of us at all. Yet, in his great love and
mercy for us he called us, chose us, and accepted us to be his very own through
the death and resurrection of his Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Rom 6:23 says, “For
the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.” We live in the love of the Lord humbly, confessing our sins and
basking in the joy of sins forgiven.
6.
And so to live in
the love of Jesus means to worship, lift up, and extol the great name of our
powerful God. God through Jesus has done great things for us, still more than
we can even yet imagine. So we offer to him our worship and our praise. That’s
why we’re here this morning in church to worship our Triune God: Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit for the life He has given us, for redeeming us from sin, death,
and the power of the devil, and for breathing new life in us through the
hearing of His Holy Word and the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. How good it is to worship and praise our
wonderful God
7.
And to live in
the love of Jesus is to inform others of God’s love. We have the Word of the
Gospel. We have the truth, and the world in which we live needs to hear it. All
people need to be convicted of their sins. They, too, need to hear the Good
News of sins forgiven, of life forever in heaven through the blood of Jesus
Christ. How will they hear unless we inform them? 1 Pet 3:15 says, “But in your
hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” This week
live in the love of Jesus and pick out someone to inform about the joy that is
inside of you because of your Savior Jesus Christ. Think of someone that God has placed in your life that you could tell
the good news of Jesus to this week and invite to worship to hear God’s Word.
8.
Finally, to live
in the love of Jesus means to love others as Jesus Christ first loved us. Jn
15:12–13 says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Elsewhere
Scripture says, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mt
20:28). The greatest acts of love involve sacrifice and service. The greatest
acts of love aren’t always fun and are not always met with great thanks. But
when we love someone, when we serve and sacrifice for someone in the name of
Jesus, fun and thanks don’t matter. What matters is a “well done” from our
Father in heaven. Before the sun goes down today, love someone by serving them
even if they don’t even notice what you did for them.
9.
On this Memorial Day weekend we
honor the men and women of our Armed Services who have made "the supreme
sacrifice;" who gave their lives for their country. They understood Jesus when He said in John
15, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends.” Our Armed Service men &
women gave up their hopes and dreams, families and friends. They submitted
themselves to rigorous discipline all to defend us and our freedoms we enjoy
here in America. Their sacrifice should
inspire in us a profound sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the freedoms we
enjoy, bought with a price. And that gratitude should compel us to lives of
service as well. Serving Christ, our neighbor, and yes, our nation.
10. I can't
help but recall the brilliant film Saving Private Ryan. James Ryan, now in his
seventies, has returned with his family to the military cemetery in Normandy.
He visits the grave of Captain John Miller, the man who, a half a century
before, led the mission to retrieve—to save—Private Ryan. At the end of the mission,
Captain Miller dies so that Private Ryan can return home to his mother, who has
already lost one of her other sons to the battles of WWII. In a scene in the movie, James Ryan kneels at
Captain Miller's grave, marked by a cross. And, in tears he remembers the great
sacrifice that Captain Miller and the other soldiers gave in order to save him
and enable him to return home to his mother and family. He is overwhelmed with a deep sense of
gratitude for the men who gave their lives so that he could live. On this Memorial Day weekend take some time
to thank God for the sacrifice of the men and women in uniform who have served
our country. But more importantly,
remember that Acts 17 tells us that
in Jesus we live and move and have our being. Because Jesus lives, we also
live. Live each day in the love of the Lord.
Amen.
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