The God We Worship--May 27th, '12 Sermon 1 in Series on "Back to the Basics"

1.             Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Today we begin a new sermon series on the basics of the Christian faith as we confess it as Lutherans.  We are looking at “The God We Worship.”   Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.             It was a Sunday morning in South America, in a little chapel on the border of Venezuela and Columbia.  As the worship service was beginning a band of soldiers armed with machine guns came out of the jungle and forced their way into the chapel.  The church watched in horror as the soldiers dragged their pastor outside.  Then the leader of the soldiers came back into the chapel and demanded, “Anyone else who believes in this God stuff, come forward!”  Everyone was silent.  Finally, one man came forward and told the soldier, “I love Jesus.”  He was tossed to the soldiers and taken outside.  Several other Christians came forward saying the same thing.  They too were driven outside.  Then came the sound of more machine gun fire.  When there were no more people left willing to identify themselves as Christians, the chief soldier told the remaining congregation to get out saying,“You have no right to be here!”  And with that he herded them out of the chapel, where they were surprised to see their pastor and the others standing.  The soldiers ordered the pastor and those who’d professed their love for Christ to go back into the church to continue the service.  Then the soldier warned the others to stay out until “you have the courage to stand up for your beliefs!”  And with that the soldiers disappeared into the jungle.

3.             Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when you go to church, “do you have the right to be here?”  Do you believe in this Christian stuff?  I mean, really believe enough to die for you faith in Jesus.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, are you totally committed to Christ?  And by His power alone, are you honestly living that way, being a “little Christ” to others?  Well, the answer my friends is that by God’s grace in Christ, you do have “a right to be here.”  For you are baptized into Christ.  In a Lutheran Slovak Communion liturgy just before giving the communicants the body and blood of our Lord, the pastor places his hands on the head of each person keeling before him and says, “Rejoice, child of God, because your sins have been forgiven through the precious, shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!”  Thanks be to God.   Who is this God that we worship as Christians? Well, in our sermon today we’ll answer this question about the God we worship.

4.             Some people think that God is an impersonal, remote being, the man upstairs, way out there in the clouds.  But, the Bible paints a different picture.  Through Scripture we know that God is both transcendent (above all things) and immanent (that is present) in our daily lives.  Far from being a “distant” God He’s shown Himself to us in Jesus Christ.  God’s Son Jesus assumed fully your responsibility to your Creator. He fulfilled the Law perfectly in your place.  Listen to what this means, “So by the obedience of one, (that’s Jesus) shall man, (that’s you) be made righteous (Romans 5:19).  When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law…that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4-5).

5.             But, Jesus didn’t stop at keeping God’s law in our place.  Jesus also took upon Himself the punishment for your sins.  As your Substitute, Jesus suffered and died on the cross to make full payment for your sin.  And this Jesus continues to be with you in every respect of your being and life.  Having lived on earth fully as a human being as well as God, Jesus understands and sympathizes with you in your human predicament.  The Scriptures tell us that He “was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin” (Heb 4:15).

6.             Jesus is ever present with us in our daily walk.  He knows your anxieties, your pains.  There are always footsteps ahead of us in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and they are His.  We know Jesus as a personal God as we use the Word and Sacraments, the means by which He has promised to come to us.  To walk more closely with our Savior we can search the Scriptures daily, reflect on the meaning of our Baptism for our everyday life, and partake of the Lord’s Supper with joy whenever it’s offered.  Through these means of grace, the Holy Spirit sustains and strengthens our walk with Jesus. 

7.             But, some people might ask, “Does God expect me to change before I become acceptable to Him?”  Well, were it not for what Christ has done on our behalf, God’s close presence to us would make us terrified, since we’re sinful human beings.  A close, personal God sees how I live my own life from day to day.  A close personal God knows the thoughts of my heart.  He knows, even better than I do, those actions, thoughts and intentions that shame me.  My guilt, apart from the grace of God in Christ, would drive me away from an immanent God, not to Him.

8.             Only God knows how many souls have agonized over the changes they thought they had to make in themselves before they could come home to the heavenly Father.  And God does expect that Spirit worked change will flow from repentance and trust in the merits of His Son.  But, God doesn’t expect us to change ourselves.  And neither does he expect us to change who we are.  Instead, He accepts us as we are--with our unique personality and our own weaknesses.  Romans 5 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…But, God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).

9.             Maybe you might wonder if we “cooperate” with God for our salvation.  This brings us to the third lie--the one about “cooperating” with God for our salvation.  Not only don’t we cooperate, we can’t cooperate with God to bring about the “new birth” that Jesus speaks of.  Did you hear Paul’s words a moment ago--“when we were still powerless” and “while we were still sinners”?  Can a dead man dress himself?  Of course not.  And in a real sense, those without Jesus are every bit as powerless to do anything to meet God halfway.

10.         Ephesians 2:1 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.”  And in Ephesians 2:5 the Apostle Paul says, “God made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgression--it is by grace you have been saved.”  And also in Ephesians 5:14, “For it is light that makes everything visible.  Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”  That’s what the Holy Spirit of God does--He wakes us up from death to newness of life.

11.         But, you might ask, “Must I change my life before God will forgive me?”  We Lutherans reject “if-then” theologizing.  Instead, the Bible teaches us the gracious teaching of “because-therefore”.  Your salvation isn’t something God might do, but something He’s done on the cross for you in Jesus.  Remember Jesus’ words, “it is finished” in John 19:30.  This redemption that Jesus did on the cross was done for you, he died for you so that you can live with Him eternally in heaven.

12.         Our Lutheran theology doesn’t say “if you want to be right with God, then there are things you should do.”  This kind of “iffy” theology opens the door for doubt.  It puts the burden of working out our salvation on our own shoulders.  That burden is too heaven for any of us to bear!  This kind of theology is moralistic and synergistic, it is work righteousness and gives the individual credit for working out his own salvation.  As we’ve seen, the credit for your salvation belongs solely to your dear Savior! How dare we in pride assume even an ounce of the glory that Jesus deserves for His great work on the cross for us!  Instead, the Bible teaches us, “Because of God’s grace as worked out in the saving work of Christ…this therefore is what you can do.  Become what you already are in Jesus!”

13.         And finally, maybe you think that God’s forgiveness has limits.  All of this may sound too good to be true.  Surely there are limits somewhere!  But, the Scriptures make it clear that God’s forgiveness has no limits.  We can’t bargain for it.  It comes to us by God’s grace:  the undeserved love of God in Christ Jesus.  This means that you don’t need to carry guilty feelings over past sins.  When God forgives, he forgives completely.  Yes, He’s all knowing, but that doesn’t change the fact that when we drag past sins before God’s throne, sins for which we’ve already repented and been forgiven, God doesn’t know what we’re talking about. He assures us in Isaiah 43:25, I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”  And so we can pray the prayer, “O God, forgive me the sin of coming back to You and asking for forgiveness for a sin you forgave--and forgot--a long time ago!” (OP Kretzmann)

14.         Is God an impersonal, remote being “way out there in the clouds?”  No.  He’s the God who has made Himself known to you in His Son Jesus Christ.  Does God expect you to change before you are acceptable to Him?  No.  And you couldn’t do that if you tried.  He accepts you in Christ just as you are, even with your own weaknesses and sins.  Do you “cooperate” with God for your salvation?  The idea that we could do that is a lie.  God has already done everything needed so that you might have eternal life and live in relationship with Him.  Must I change my life before God will forgive me? God has already forgiven you in Jesus.  That forgiveness now makes your growth toward Christ-likeness, possible.  And does God’s forgiveness have limits?  It doesn’t.  You and I may fail many times each hour or even each minute as we mature in Christ.  But, we need not fear those failures.  Jesus has erased each one, canceled each debt, taken on Himself the punishment for them all.  Freed from guilt, you can drop the burden of guilt and let the Holy Spirit do His transforming work in you as He comes to you through His Word and Sacraments.  Amen. 

On Christ’s Ascension I Now Build--Ephesians 1.15–23, May 17th, '12, Series B (TLH 216)

1.                                    Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Happy Ascension Day to all of you!  The message from God’s Word for us this day is taken from Ephesians 1:15-23 and is entitled, “On Christ’s Ascension I Now Build,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                                    Supposedly Dr. Martin Luther (1483-1546) was once asked about a preacher who had distracting mannerisms in the pulpit. The upset church member complained to Dr. Luther, "I just can't watch him and get anything out of the sermon." Dr. Luther replied, "Well, then, take your eyeballs out of their sockets, put them in your ears, and listen!" Jesus' Ascension ushers us into the time of hearing God's Word. After all, hearing God's life-giving Word is the foundation on which our life with God with God is built on.  When our Lord Jesus ascends to God’s right hand, so do we. And Jesus promises to rule all things for the good of His body, the Church. As we sang in our Ascension Day hymn:  “On Christ's ascension I now build, The hope of my ascension; This hope alone has always stilled, All doubt and apprehension; For where the Head is, there as well, I know His members are to dwell, When Christ will come and call them.” (TLH 216)

3.                                    Ephesians 1:17 says, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”  On Easter Sunday the risen Savior told Mary Magdalene to go and tell the disciples, “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (Jn 20:17). The “God of our Lord Jesus Christ” is our God. Through Jesus we can approach God as our Father with confidence. So Paul does here, on behalf of these Ephesian Christians.

4.                                    Paul prays that God, for Jesus’ sake, would give these Christians “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Our ascended Lord has sent the Holy Spirit just as He promised. It was the Holy Spirit who had brought these Ephesians to faith in Jesus. Paul now prays that God would give them an added measure of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit would continue to teach, instruct and guide them along the way to eternal life. The Holy Spirit is the source of true wisdom; he reveals the truth, about God and about ourselves, to us. We need the Spirit to continue to do that for us through his Word! How blessed we are and how grateful we should be that our ascended Lord has given us the Holy Spirit.

5.                                    These Christians already knew God, who he is and what he’s done for them. Paul’s prayer is that they may know God better.  The better we know God and his love for us, the more confident and content we will be. The better we know all that our Savior has done for us, and is now doing for us as our ascended Lord, the greater peace and joy we’ll have. The better we know God and his will for our lives, the more we’ll understand and strive with his help to live God-pleasing lives.

6.                                    As we know God better, we’ll also be better witnesses of God. “You will be my witnesses,” Jesus said just before he ascended on high (Ac 1:8). What’s a witness? A person who has seen or experienced something. What does a witness do? He tells others what he’s seen or experienced. So we’re Jesus’ witnesses. As the Spirit helps us to better understand the Father’s love for sinners, the more we’ll reach out to other sinners with his love. As the Spirit helps us to know our Savior better, the more we’ll want to share our Savior.

7.                                    Paul continues to say in Ephesians 1:18, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”  In the next chapter of Ephesians Paul reminds us that we’re all by nature “without hope and without God.” But in Christ, our risen and ascended Lord, God has “called” us to himself and given us “hope,” the sure hope of eternal life in heaven. And this hope isn’t a wish. God didn’t leave our salvation to chance. He took care of everything for us. He had his Son Jesus become one of us and take our place under his law. He had Jesus live the perfect life for us and die on the cross to pay for all our sins. Our Lord who died for us is now our Lord who lives for us. He came forth from his grave alive and victorious. On this day so many years ago Jesus ascended on high, his work completed, the job well done. He has reconciled a world of sinners with His Heavenly Father. Once more heaven’s gates stand open to us.

8.                                    And now our ascended Lord Jesus is preparing our “glorious inheritance” (Jn 14:2, 3). Heaven is an “inheritance,” a gift our heavenly Father gives to us his children through faith in Christ. Just as our Father is “glorious” (v. 17), so too is this inheritance. The “old order of things” will pass away, and so there will be “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Rev 21:4).  We will no longer have to contend with sin and Satan. No longer will we have temptations to resist or a sinful nature to crucify.

9.                                    Paul prays that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” to see and know this hope. The “eyes of the heart” are our inmost being, that which controls our attitudes and actions. When the heart “sees” things rightly, right attitudes and actions will follow.  The Holy Spirit “enlightens” us through the gospel (cf. Luther’s explanation to the Third Article). We don’t need to go through this life groping in the dark and grasping for straws. Through the gospel the Holy Spirit has turned on the light in this sin-darkened world. He enables us to see things right. He enables us to see and have that rich, forgiving love of God, and that “glorious inheritance” which God in love has prepared for us.

10.                    Ephesians 1:19-20 says, “and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.”  Our hope of a glorious inheritance is secure, for we’re secure in the hands of God almighty. Nothing can surpass or exceed God’s power.  In the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds we confess our faith in God’s almighty power. And as we do, we usually think of that power as it was demonstrated in the creation of this world. Paul reminds us of two other demonstrations of God’s almighty power: our faith and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. That anyone is a believer is a miracle, a work of God’s mighty power. (We were “dead” in sin but have been made “alive” in Christ, 2:1–5; we are a “new self,” 4:2–4; 2 Co 5:17) That Jesus’ cold corpse came back to life is a miracle, a work of God’s mighty power.

11.                    This almighty power is at work right now “for us who believe.” It’s the power behind God’s promise to work all things for our good (Ro 8:28). It is being used right now by our ascended Lord as he sits at God’s right hand.

12.                    In Ephesians 1:21–23, the Apostle Paul says, “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every day.”  These verses provide us with the definition of God’s right hand and what it means that Jesus is sitting there now. There are not three thrones in heaven, the Father sitting in the middle, Jesus on his right, the Holy Spirit on his left. “God is spirit” (Jn 4:24). The Father and the Holy Spirit don’t have bodies. God’s right hand is a biblical expression for God’s almighty power and total control of all things. That power and control our Lord Jesus has and is using. Our Savior, the God-man, is in control and in charge. He has “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18). He who was betrayed and beaten, condemned and crucified, is ruler over all things. The words “rule, authority, power, dominion, title” all emphasize this fact. Add to this that Jesus will never be replaced or dethroned.

13.                    Our ascended Lord Jesus is ruling this world for the good of his church. That means me and you and all believers. What peace, joy, comfort, confidence this fact offers us! Life isn’t a matter of chance, fate or luck. The Lord is in control, and he knows what he’s doing for the good of your salvation.  Amen.

“No Greater Love” John 15.9-17, Easter 6, Series B, May 13th, ‘12

1.                  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:3-5)  Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers!  God bless your work of love that you continue to carry out for your husband, your children, and all the people God has placed into your midst to care for.  But, do we always love our neighbor as we ought?  Sure, on this Mother’s Day we’re told to remember our mothers and show them that we love them, but what about the other 364 days of the year?  Do we love our mothers, our fathers, other family members, our friends, and yes, even our enemies?  Let’s listen to what our Lord has to say about this in John 15:9-17, the message is entitled, “No Greater Love,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                  Jesus said in John 15, “9As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.  12[Jesus said:] “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”

3.                  When our Lord Jesus says here in John 15 that Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends that made me think of a story I recently read about a mother who deeply loved her daughter, Dottie Mae. Stacie Crimm had been told she couldn't have children. That’s why at the age of 41 she was surprised to find out she was pregnant with the child she had always wanted.  But, the good news that Stacie was going to have a child didn’t last long.  A few months into her pregnancy, Stacie was told she had cancer of the neck and head. For her there was a choice. Either she could have the treatment that would save her life and end her unborn child's life, or she could try to carry her child and forfeit her chance for a long life. Stacie opted to forego the treatment and give her child a chance for life.  Stacie Crimm died on September 11^th, 2011. Before she did, from a hospital bed, she had the opportunity of holding her tiny, baby girl -- Dottie Mae.

4.                  No matter what you may or may not have done in this lady's place, the truth is this: one person died so another might live.  This is also the story of our Savior Jesus. We have grace and peace from God our Heavenly Father because Jesus gave Himself as the ransom price to save us from our sins and deliver us from a whole wealth of worldly evils.  Sacrificing your child for someone else is probably not what you would have done, but it is the course our Lord took so that we might be saved.  Now I don't know as Dottie Mae grows up how she will feel about that which her mother has done. I pray that you as you grow in faith may become ever more appreciative of the gift of life, which is yours because Jesus Christ died so you might live.

5.                  How are you doing at loving your neighbor?  Would you be willing to go to the great lengths that this mother Stacie Crimm did in order to save the life of her child Dottie Mae, even if it means the expense of your own life?  As children we often overlook the sacrifices our parents make for us.  We fail to realize the sacrifices that our mothers and fathers make for us just so that we can have clothes on our backs, a roof over our heads, shoes on our feet, an education, and so many other things.  Our parents are patient with us even when we do things that really try them.  As children, we often fail to love our parents and show them that we appreciate them as we ought.  But, what about you parents?  I know that you provide for, protect, and love your children as well as you can, but do you ever exasperate your children with demands that you put on them that are too high for them?  Maybe you make demands on one of your children more than all the others.  Or, you show favoritism to one child and often fail to recognize your other children.  As parents we also don’t set a good example for our kids even when it comes to giving honor and respect to those God has placed in authority over us.  We may not show to our children the importance of loving God and our neighbor as Christian parents. 

6.                  But, even though we fail to love God and our neighbor as we ought, we know of the one who did love all of us, yes, even the whole world, to the point of His own death on the cross.  It’s the love that prompted the Father to send the Son (John 3:16) and caused the Son to do his Father’s will. As the Father loved the Son, so our Lord Jesus loved you and has invited you to remain in his love. All of us then are His disciples, who by faith remain in His love.

7.                  Our Savior Jesus gives us his own example of what it means to remain in his love. It means keeping God’s commandments as a show of that love at work in our lives, just as Jesus kept all of the Father’s commands. The fruits of our faith will demonstrate the faith in our hearts.  When that happens, the Lord rejoices. Yes, it brings joy to God when we live in his love by faith and produce fruits of faith. At the same time, we can experience no fuller joy than to live this way in the Savior’s love.  Christ’s love for us produces love in us. So Jesus could summarize the commands of God in this single command here in John 15: “Love each other as I have loved you.” We can show that love in many ways, but none greater than to give up our lives for our friends. Real love will make the ultimate sacrifice for others, as Jesus was about to do the next day.

8.                  When we do what Jesus commands us to do, we not only show that we’re dwelling in His love, but then also He calls us His friends.  It seems arrogant to think of being Jesus’ friends when we don’t even deserve to be his servants.  But still, as his disciples, we serve Jesus and are rightly called his servants. Furthermore, He’s taken us servants into His confidence as friends and revealed all the things He had heard from the Father.  Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are friends of Jesus. That’s a thought to ponder. But don’t think about how we deserved it. We didn’t.  For we’ve failed to love both God and our neighbor as we ought. Think of Christ’s great love for you in choosing to make you His friend, even to the point of His own death on the cross for you in order to forgive you of your sins. We didn’t choose him. He chose us.

9.                  In John 15 Jesus tells us that we’re the branches connected to Him, the True Vine.  As Christians connected to our Lord Jesus through His Word and Sacraments, our Lord Jesus expects us to bear fruit for him.  And, what fruit will last more than to share Jesus’ love with others? What command of Jesus has more lasting results than his Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19, 20)?  And, this starts with those in our own family as mothers and fathers teach their children the Christian faith. What assurance is more comforting than to know that whatever we ask the Father in Jesus’ name he will give us? What better way to show we are chosen by Jesus than to love one another?

10.              Moms and dads don’t underestimate the influence you have on your children.  What you do and yes, even what you don’t do is leaving a lasting impact on them.  I can think of no better words to describe this than what the country singer, Bucky Covington, has written.  One of his songs goes like this, “Well I grew up back in the sticks, I was raised on cornbread and scripture, And praise God for teachin' me wrong from right, I had a wild streak, Three counties wide, They would have me, Dead in the sack, It was the hand of God,' That got me out of the hands of the law, Mama taught the bible, Daddy wore the belt, Momma set the table, Daddy rang the bell, The preacher did his best to show me the light, But daddy was the one that kept me walkin' the line, Momma sang the gospel, Daddy drove it home, Momma was an angel, Daddy was the brimstone, One foot in heaven, One foot in hell, I found religion between the bible and the belt.  I guess it rings true, But the good book says, What you learn young, You never forget, Daddy's belt left quite an impression on me, I can still hear Momma's voice in the choir, She set the whole dang church on fire, And it still burns in the deepest part of me”

11.              Happy Mother’s Day moms!  Children, show your mothers that you really do love them and appreciate them today for all the sacrifices that they make for you.  Dads, show your wives that you love them too.  Live in the love the Savior has for you in dying on the cross for your sins, for there’s no greater love than His love that He’s laid down His life for you to forgive you all of your sins.  Amen.    

“Amazing Grace at Gaza” Acts 8:26–40--May ’12, Easter 5 Series B

1.                  Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer.  Amen.  From the Apostle John we learn that “God is Love,” and He’s shown Himself to us by sending “His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9, 16). By the ministry of the Gospel, “He’s given us of His Holy Spirit,” so that we also believe and confess “that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” Today, God’s love is illustrated to us in Philip’s preaching of “the good news about Jesus” to the Ethiopian eunuch. And when “they came to some water,” the eunuch was baptized into the very Gospel that Philip had preached (Acts 8:35–38). That Ethiopian was grafted into “the true Vine,” Jesus Christ (John 15:1), just as we’ve been through Holy Baptism and the hearing of God’s Word.  The message is entitled, “Amazing Grace at Gaza,” and it’s taken from our reading from Acts 8 today.  Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                  Born in 1725, John Newton was the son of a merchant sea captain. Enduring a difficult childhood he ran away from a forced tour of duty in the Royal Navy and became a servant of a white slave trader. During a storm at sea in 1747, he turned to God but continued in the slave trading business. Finally, in 1764 he became a pastor of the Olney Parish in Buckinghamshire, England and served there for 15 years as an Anglican clergyman and hymn writer. We remember Newton well for the hymn that he wrote, “Amazing Grace.”  When Newton died in 1807, friends wrote his epitaph for the gravestone in Olney. It reads, “John Newton; once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”

3.                  Few Christians will have a testimony anything like that of John Newton, but the African connection between the eunuch of our text and this historic version of a slave trader reminds us again of the magnificent grace of God in their lives—and in ours.  What did these early believers do? They testified and proclaimed the gospel of Jesus wherever they went. Like Newton they had been touched “by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” and like Newton they determined to share it with others. 

4.                  And what was this message that was preached to the Ethiopian Eunuch here in Acts 8? The message Philip preached was based upon Isaiah 53:7, 8, fits beautifully into our Easter season.  Isaiah writes,, “⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. ⁸By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?

5.                  God’s Suffering Servant, our Lord Jesus, has come.  The prophet Isaiah is sometimes called the great evangelist of the Old Testament. This passage from Isaiah describes our Savior’s suffering and death. The Lamb of God, the substitute for sinners, went without complaint to suffer injustice and execution. Philip could tell the good news of Jesus on the basis of this passage because that’s what the passage is about.  Everything foretold by the prophets is fulfilled in Jesus. And Christ’s resurrection from the dead is the proof that he’s the promised Messiah and that he’s redeemed us from sin.  As the Easter season winds down, we’re also looking ahead to Pentecost. Our text today from Acts 8 introduces the Holy Spirit and his work to us. It was the Holy Spirit who drew Philip to the Ethiopian’s chariot. It was the Holy Spirit who worked faith in the heart of the eunuch by the gospel which Philip preached. 

6.                  In our text today we also see God’s interest in the individual sinner. For the sake of one soul, God took Philip from a successful mission field and sent him on a journey which took up precious time.  God is gracious and He wants all men to be saved. His kingdom comes through the means of grace by the Holy Spirit.

7.                   In Acts 8:34-35 it says, “The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”  We’re not able to say how much the eunuch knew of Jesus, or what he’d heard about Jesus and his followers while in Jerusalem.  At any rate, the Ethiopian asked the right question, whether Isaiah was speaking of himself and his own troubles, or speaking of someone else. To the searching question of a troubled sinner in the desert, Philip proclaimed the answer revealed from above. Philip told the eunuch the good news about Jesus!

8.                  This is the opportunity every true missionary, every concerned Christian, looks for. Philip’s work was made easier that day by the fact that the eunuch was already reading his Bible and was meditating on one of the outstanding Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. Philip had a text of scripture already to show the man, and he made the most of it. He preached Jesus. Philip proceeded to tell the eunuch in detail of Jesus Christ, his person and his redeeming work.

9.                  Acts 8:36–38 says, “As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he ordered the chariot to stop. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.”  Here we see that the Ethiopian asked to be baptized. From what he now knew, from what Philip had told him, from the conviction the Holy Spirit had worked in him, he requested baptism for the forgiveness of his sins.

10.              Acts 8:39, 40 says, “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.”  These verses contain at least three important points: First, we see that the Spirit suddenly took Philip away. The work we do is God’s. He directed Philip all the way. Second, the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. Heaven alone will reveal the results as this man returned to his homeland with the joy of the gospel singing in his heart. It’s not difficult to imagine this man sharing “the good news about Jesus” with his own family, friends, and countrymen. Third, what about Philip? Mission work is never done. The work of the church goes on. As Philip traveled on, he preached the gospel.

11.              Here in Acts 8 we see the importance that our Heavenly Father places on the Sacrament of holy baptism and the hearing of God’s Word.  Martin Luther says about baptism, “Whoever is baptized in Christ is baptized through His suffering and blood, or, to state it more clearly, through Baptism he is bathed in the blood of Christ and is cleansed from sins” (WLS § 127). We must remember as Christians that baptism isn’t our work, but the work of the Holy Spirit.  For even in Acts 8 we see that it was the Lord who provided both the resources and means to carry out His mission. The message of salvation through Christ goes out to all people, bringing forgiveness and blessing (Rm 1:5, 16). It’s interesting to note that Ethiopian Christians today trace their beginning to this Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8.

12.              God leads Philip to bear witness to and baptize an important official from Ethiopia, ensuring that Jews in Africa and also Ethiopians would likewise receive the Gospel. The Holy Spirit brings the eunuch to faith through the Word and Baptism. Today, rejoice in the Word and Baptism you’ve received, through which the Holy Spirit continues to work in your life.  God’s amazing grace is shown here in Acts 8 and in your own life through His Word and the sacrament of baptism.  Please pray with me.  Heavenly Father, through Your Holy Spirit, rekindle my desire to read and hear Your Word, acknowledge Your gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation given to me in my Baptism, and help me to respond with joy and care for others. Amen.

“A Name Like No Other” Acts 4:1–12, Easter 4 April 29th, 2012 Series B

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 today is taken from Acts chapter 4:1-12.  We will specifically be looking at verse 12 where the Apostle Peter proclaims to us, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  The message is entitled, “A Name Like No Other,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.              While still vice president, former President Bush (that’s Bush Sr.) told an interesting story of an event that occurred during the Spanish-American War. Apparently the Congress of the United States came up with the idea of renaming captured Spanish vessels after American universities.  Admiral Dewey, the officer in charge of American Naval Forces, heard that two ships already captured were to be renamed the Harvard and the Yale. He received orders to follow that pattern as the war progressed. The Admiral understood education and naval warfare, but failed to see why the two should be mixed. Nevertheless, obedient to his superiors, he named the next captured Spanish vessel The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and yet a fourth, The Vermont Normal College for Women. As Bush tells the story, Congress abandoned the idea for a college fleet.  Two things surface in Dewey’s response. The first shows his courage in defying Congress while achieving an end he felt important for the navy, namely, giving warships appropriate names. We also see a relationship between act and attitude in the process of obedience. Dewey obeyed in act but demonstrated that his heart wasn’t in it.  In our chapter, the early Christians demonstrated the opposite. Here we see act and attitude going hand in hand. The courage was there. Holy boldness permeates all the verses as believers put into practice what they claimed they knew and understood about the Savior. We focus on Peter and John courageously proclaiming God’s message in the name of Jesus. These Apostles both knew that names are important, especially the name of Jesus, for there is salvation in no one else for there’s no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.  Jesus’ name is a name like no other.
3.             Our text from Acts 4 is a warning not to reject Jesus, and it’s also a gracious invitation to place our whole trust in him, for he’s God’s only Savior for mankind. His resurrection and the power he showed through his apostles testify to this.  There’s nothing funny about a broken crutch. The lame man who leans on it will fall and possibly injure himself. Similarly, anyone who would seek salvation in one other than Jesus Christ will be sadly disappointed. There are other christs and other gospels, but none that will save.  The Buddha and Muhammed can’t save you, nor can the Hindu gods and yes, you can’t save yourself by your own good works.   As sinful people we need the reminder that “there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved,” because all of us can be tempted to have itching ears for other false gospels.  We need these words, because we live in a world where the statement is often made, “It matters not so much what you believe, as long as you are sincere.” We do our fellow man a great disservice if we leave the impression that there’s another way to heaven beside the Lord Jesus.  Finally, we need the message of this text so that we remember our purpose as the church. It’s not a community action group, but its calling is to point mankind to its only Savior, Christ.
4.             Biblical names have special significance, and the most significant name in all of Scripture is Jesus, the name of the only Savior of the world. In the Old Testament, God promised to make his name dwell in Jerusalem (Deut 12:5, 11, etc.), where the temple was built for his name (1 Ki 8:16–20, etc.). But now God’s name is forever bound to the person of Jesus Christ, in whom the Godhead dwells (Col 2:9), and whose body is the new temple (John 2:21).
5.             Jesus is the universal Savior. There’s no other way to the Father, no alternative route, no other option. Those who will not use the name of Jesus will not be saved, but those who call on his name and trust in Jesus will be saved. Our task is to proclaim the saving name of Jesus to our people, for “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
6.             Sometimes the name of Jesus is ignored or omitted. The Apostle Peter in Acts 4:11 says, “11This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.” Here we see that the one name that’s suitable for building one’s life on is often rejected, even by those who ought to know better because they are familiar with how things are built. The religious leaders who had arrested Peter and John had rejected the name of Jesus and found no salvation in him.
7.             But, some of you might be thinking here this morning… “What about the people who have never heard the name of Jesus? Can they be saved?” Dear friends the issue isn’t “what about them?” but “what about you?” When the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed you are challenged to receive or reject the name of Jesus in a most personal manner.
8.             The name of Jesus is the only source of salvation. The angel commanded Joseph to call Mary’s son Jesus because “he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). Though others have borne the name, Jesus Christ is the only one to live up to the name, since he alone is the Lord, and he alone has saved his people from their sins. Paul says that he was determined to know only Jesus Christ crucified (1 Cor 2:2); you don’t know the name of Jesus unless you know that he was crucified for your sins and the sins of all people. Because of his Easter victory over death and the grave, he is proclaimed as Lord. His is the name that is above every other name, and at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow (Phil 2:9–10).
9.             A person’s name is equivalent to his or her reputation. In the Eighth Commandment God calls us to preserve the good name of our neighbor by defending him, speaking well of him and explaining everything about him in the kindest possible way.  In the Second Commandment God even forbids the misuse of His name. Even from the commandments we see that names are important to God and to other people.
10.             Did you know that name of God was placed upon you when you were baptized? The baptismal liturgy starts by calling on the triune name of God, and the Apostles’ Creed is confessed to explain the theology of the triune name. Immediately before the baptism, the name of the candidate is asked, and then it is repeated as he or she is baptized in the triune name. In this way the person’s name is connected to God’s name. In contrast to the person’s last name, which is inherited automatically from the parents as a result of natural birth, the first (Christian) and middle names traditionally have been bestowed in baptism, the second birth. The baptized person then always bears God’s name and is objectively a child of God. The name of God given in baptism defines our identity as God’s redeemed. The invocation of God’s name also begins our worship services and is a reminder of our baptism.
11.             We have seen from Acts 4 that the Apostle Peter was able to speak about Jesus and make bold claims about Christ’s name only because he was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:8). The promise of Matt 10:18–20 is that when we as Christians are called to testify before authorities (as Peter was), the appropriate words will be given them and the Holy Spirit will speak through us. In Luke 21:15 Jesus promises words and wisdom that can’t be refuted by enemies of the kingdom. When we don’t know what to say, we can rely on the name of Jesus.  He will speak through us to tell others that God has placed into our lives that there’s “…salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  The name of Jesus is a name like no other.  Amen. 

“The Body of Christ”--Luke 24.36–49--Easter 3, April 22nd, ‘12

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 3^rd Sunday in Easter is taken from Luke 24:36-49 and is entitled, “The Body of Christ,” let he who has ears to hear let him hear. 

2.                                    Author and undertaker Thomas Lynch describes a problem as well-meaning onlookers at funerals attempt to console the grief-stricken. Lynch describes how often he hears someone tell the weeping mother or father of the child who died of leukemia or a car accident, "It's okay, that's not her, it's just a shell."(1) But the suggestion that a dead body is "just" anything, especially in the early stages of grief, he finds more than problematic. What if, he imagines, we were to use a similar wording to describe our hope in resurrection—namely, that Christ raised "just" a body from the dead. Lynch continues, "What if, rather than crucifixion, he'd opted for suffering low self-esteem for the remission of sins? What if, rather than 'just a shell,' he'd raised his personality say, or The Idea of Himself? Do you think they'd have changed the calendar for that? [...] Easter was a body and blood thing, no symbols, no euphemisms, no half measures."(2)   

3.                                    On the cross, we find our Lord Jesus whose self-offering transformed all suffering and forever has given us victory over death. On the 50 holy days of Easter that follow a dark and Good Friday, we find the very figure of God with us, a body who cried out in a loud voice in the midst of anguish, on the brink of death, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Precisely because the cross was not empty, the coming resurrection is profoundly full.  (1) Thomas Lynch, The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade (New York: Penguin, 1997), 21. (2) Ibid. 

4.                                    And we need those words of absolution from our Lord Jesus who says, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” for we do not often treat our bodies and the bodies of others as God wants us to.  The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20,  “¹⁹ Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”  What we do to our own bodies and the bodies of our neighbor can also affect our relationship with God.  Jesus said in Matthew 25:40,   'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 

5.                                    How do you treat your body?  Do you treat it as a temple of the Holy Spirit that Christ paid for with the death of His own body on the cross?   Do you overuse alcohol, have impure thoughts and desires about someone else.  Do you live with someone of the opposite sex outside the bounds of marriage and so dishonor the gift of marriage that God has given to us.  Do you approve of those who practice homosexuality, even though the Bible calls it a sin?  Are you viewing pornography on the internet, or approving of those who do?  Are you harboring hate in your heart against someone else, remember Jesus’ words in Matthew’s Gospel that anyone who hates his brother is guilty of murder.  How are you talking about your neighbor to others?  Are you defending his body, speaking well of him and explaining everything about him in the kindest possible way?  We hurt the body of those God has placed in authority over us under the 4^th commandment when we disrespect our parents, our pastors, and bosses at work.  How do we treat the body of our loved one who is dying, they’re also a sinner for whom Christ has died, what about the unborn, do we stand up for them as those who can’t speak for themselves?  We all need to repent of these things and remember that these are sins for which Christ laid down his life for in order to make both our bodies and souls holy for God.

6.                                    Luke 24:36–49 says, “36As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate before them.  44Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

7.                                    When we read the resurrection story in the four Gospels, in the first chapter of Acts, and St. Paul’s testimony in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8, we can’t fail to see that Jesus went to a  great deal of trouble to convince His disciples that He had truly risen from the dead.  We see this especially in our Gospel text this morning.  There are certain points in the life of our Lord Jesus that are of ultimate importance, so much so that we devote a large part of the church year to their consideration.  Events like the birth and death of Jesus and above all, His resurrection from the dead.  No one who is ignorant of the resurrection or who denies it has a true understanding of the life and work of Christ.  We may then say that the foundation on which the Church rests is the resurrection of Christ.    

8.                                    Notice here in Luke 24 how Jesus goes out of His way to assure the disciples that what they are seeing is not a ghost or a figment of their imagination.  He does this in two ways.  First, he point out that, unlike a ghost, He has a body.  And even though it’s a glorified body, it’s the very body that 3 days earlier had been crucified on the cross for our sins, as the scars in His feet and hands make clear.   Then, to make assurance doubly sure, He asks for something to eat.  Jesus eats it before the disciples eyes--again to demonstrate that His is a body with the normal needs of a body and doing the things a body normally does.  As CS Lewis has suggested, Jesus’ resurrected body would a cast a shadow in the sunlight and make a noise as it walked across the floor.

9.                        And Jesus also gives to His disciples the scriptural proofs for his resurrection.  He makes clear to His disciples that everything that happened to him from the manger, to the cross, to the empty tomb was foretold in the Old Testament Scriptures.  Jesus shows that He is the promised Messiah.  He was demonstrating that His death and resurrection were the fulfillment of a long range plan of God going all the way back to eternity.  Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection the Scriptures had been fulfilled.

10.                    But, our Lord does more than give empirical or scriptural proofs for his resurrection.  He gives us the capacity to receive and believe that evidence.  Luke 24:45 says that, “Jesus opened their minds.”  Evidence is necessary for faith, but it’s not sufficient for faith.  There must be something to believe, but we can’t by our own reason or strength believe it.  The Holy Spirit must open our understanding to believe that Jesus was crucified on the cross for our sins and raised for our justification.

11.                    It all rests on our Lord’s resurrection from the dead.  St. Paul sums it up when he says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17).  “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14).  No resurrection--no Savior and no salvation.  No resurrection--His work ended at the grave.  No resurrection--no Gospel.  In fact, no revelation of God.  The Bible then becomes a collection of myths.  No resurrection--no Church, only a community of deluded fools.

12.                    But, Christ has shown us over and over again in the Scriptures that He truly has risen from the dead.  Christ is risen, He’s risen indeed, Alleluia!  Jesus has even ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us.  And He tells us, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19).  Jesus has established His kingdom here on earth, and by His Gospel He draws us into the Church until our faith comes to completion and we inherit our place in His eternal kingdom of glory.  “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57).