Monday, September 9, 2013

Sermon Sept. 7-8, 2013

Title: Christ kills sin and gives life in Him!
Text: Deut. 30:15-20

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

It has been said that the tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.

Richard L. Evans, Bits & Pieces, March 4, 1993, p. 2.

The truth is that we can do nothing to begin our life as God’s children but that God has called us by the Gospel, through word and sacrament, enlightened us with His gifts, creating faith in us to believe, and through this faith we trust in Him, who is and was and is to come … our Lord Jesus Christ:

Kills sin and gives life in Him!

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

In our Old Testament lesson today we hear the very familiar call.

... choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

The idea of choosing sounds good to we who, living in a democratic society, get to choose quite a lot of things. We can choose where we live in the country, what career we might wish to go into and whom we marry. The call of … choose life … is often confused in the life of a Christian and applied to the work of evangelism as though we can choose  to believe just as we can choose to be born.

The gift of life is both given in our natural birth as well as the gift of faith is given in our spiritual birth from a God who came to redeem those who were unable to redeem themselves and that is why the text here today is a good one for us to understand and rejoice in.

The call of God in this text is not to the world but to God’s people Israel. Those chosen children of Abraham whom Moses had given God’s Law written on the tablets of stone by the finger of God, were called by Him to choose to stay in the relationship with Him apart from falling away into sin, false gods and idol worship. This keeping of God’s commandments, statutes and rules would bring God’s blessing as they entered into the land that He was giving them to possess.

17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.

What is given you by God in your call to faith is Life and blessing, the very same gift given to those hearers in our Old Testament lesson for today. But were they to fall away, just as some among us unfortunately fall away from the faith, what they would receive as a consequence of their actions would be only death and curse.

With God is Life and blessing apart from God is death and curse. The true nature of being born in sin is death but our Lord and Savior:

Jesus Christ kills sin and gives you life in Him!

How about you, how about me, how about our time in this life together? Does this call of God hit home for you?

Ill.

It does and it did for me here at church Wednesday morning. Vandalism of God’s house is no joy. It leaves you sick in your stomach for both what is done and also for those who did it.  I arrived to the church at around 9:15 and as I got out of my truck I noticed black paint over the backside of the paper recycling bin with pictures and words of a sad and juvenile variety. I thought, “So this is what life has come to in Waterford, where a recycling bin is even defaced?" As I walked up to the church, spray painted in large letters was (blank) God. I'll let you fill in the blank. It covered most of the door. The attack was on the church, and the recycling bin was on church property and therefore part of the church. It broke my heart, not for the church and not for the doors as the church does not exist because of doors or buildings but for the lost who Christ calls to Himself. In the afternoon I went to Lowes and bought some paint thinner that was of the weakest variety I could find in hope of cleaning off the paint but knowing that the one who did this is angry and crying out for help, a help that is waiting in the loving arms of Jesus. We can clean up the mess and take proper action in the hope of keeping ourselves and the church property protected, but only God can clean the human heart of sin, hate and destruction. The death and curse of the human heart apart from God both kills the soul of the person clinging to sin but it touches and affects us all – seen this week in a real and unfortunately tangible way.

Ill.

Former member and Pastor of Lutheran Church of Christ the King, in Duluth Minnesota, John Wurst, just had the sad duty of seeing his church close after nearly 60 years of service to God’s people. As Pastor Wurst said in speaking with a reporter about the closing … “This building here it can't save us!"  He pointed out that the loss of young families, who have moved away in the hope of finding work and those young people who have chosen to stay home rather than come to church are a large reason his church and many small churches are closing or could close in the future. The vandalism of our church and others is a cry for help and we dear friends have much work to do. Not only to show the love of Christ but to show that we, as His followers are truly loving, and wish to be a beacon of hope for the lost and that true and lasting hope is found only in our Lord and savior Jesus Christ and His gifts of word and sacrament. That is the true gift and something that we can all celebrate and share!

So vandalism, church closings, and the like are a result of sin and though it hurts and it stings when it happens to you as happened last Wednesday, God and His saving gospel will keep you in the blessed faith unto life everlasting in spite of the sickness of this life, corrupted and covered by sin.

Christ kills sin and gives new life in Him!

20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him,

Is the call that you and I are called to. It is the call that Janice Gallipo was called to in her service to the Lord. And we celebrate today, her service here at Peace and joy with her in her retirement. 40 years is a long time and no easy task. It takes hard work, talent and surely the Lord’s blessings. Jan had plenty of that and gave of herself to the Lord … but to each one of us here as well. Whether serving as organist or choir director, financial secretary or lay reader and I’m sure at many other service positions and functions here at Peace, we, God’s people gathered here at Peace, thank you! Our Lord and savior Jesus thanks you; because, as one of His children you have chosen life, and received both life and blessing, in Him. Well done good and faithful servant!

… or he is your life and length of days that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

That is the gift that He gives all His children that stay connected to Him. You are His and the Lord blesses you, giving life and peace to you in him.

Christ kills sin and gives life in Him!

As we celebrate Jan’s retirement, and another Rally Day here at Peace Lutheran Church of Waterford, celebrating our 50th year of service to Jesus and His gospel, we call all who have heard that gospel message to choose life! Because Christ has chosen you and He desires to keep you in the palm of His hand never to let you fall:

God Himself will keep you from stumbling and it is God Himself who will present you blameless when you enter into the presence of his glory. This, dear friends will bring you comfort and great joy, 25 because the only true God, who also is our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ himself, has called you by the gospel and given you, His gifts, so that you have received His glory, and are covered by His righteousness, through His majesty, dominion, and authority, not for only now, but before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24-25)

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

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