Sermon Dec.26- 27, 2020

Title: Christ has given you life eternal!
Text: Isaiah 61:10-62:3 / Luke 2:22-40 

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2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

As we come to the end of the year that 2020 was there is anticipation for something better. We all hope for a new beginning or at least a blessed end to that which has plagued us all for the last 9 months.

Will the vaccines bring peace or is it even possible in this world of masks, lock downs and health concerns? Businesses are closed and many struggle to keep afloat and wonder what to do next. Is peace even possible?

It seems so very long ago, doesn’t it?

God’s deliverance for his children seemed long in coming too.

We see relief, joy and peace in the face of Simeon depicted on the cover of our bulletin as well as in the words he proclaims in our Gospel reading:

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

700 years before the time of Jesus Isaiah wrote of the hope that would come.

11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.

The Christ child brought to the Temple by Mary and Joseph is the Lord’s righteousness received by Simeon and spoken of by Anna to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

God’s redemption and word revealed the hope of the Messiah’s coming to Jerusalem as God spoke to the prophets of old, and he continues to reveal that same hope to you and me, and the whole world today in that same word and the word made flesh, our Lord Jesus.

The Lord’s peace was held by Simeon in his arms so long ago but continues to be our peace as in Christ as we are held in the arms of Jesus through the trials of life with our promised deliverance from sin and the curse of the fall.

Covid 19 is nothing new. It is how God’s perfect creation, tainted by sin behaves and the result is death. We see it all around us. Whether through sickness, accident or old age the devil wants you to see this life through the eyes of despair in a world without hope.

Vs 10 on our Old Testament reading today was also included in our Old Testament reading from 2 weeks ago so I think the Lord was want us to hear it and ponder it again.

10I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

God has clothed and has covered you with the salvation of his forgiveness and the royal robes of Christ’s righteousness. As we went into the water of Holy Baptism our sinful rags were washed away and we emerged covered by Christ the spotless Lamb of God. That doesn’t change from infant to youth, teen to adult to old age.

One of my steel guitar friends online Jerry Roller at 81 found out that his cancer was terminal and posted this on facebook on December 18th.

I am under Mercy Hospice and checking out. Looking forward to seeing Jesus; I wish I had served him better. So thankful that he said whosoever comes I will in no wise cast out. Goodbye to my Facebook friends. –Jerry Roller

Jerry was an extremely talented pedal steel guitarist but in his final post on facebook it was all about Jesus and his mercy and grace.

Chapter 62 of Isaiah begins:

62 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.

The word continues until Christ returns and this light of Christ, like a burning torch, will continue to bring children into the father’s household through that same mercy and grace.

The Apostle Paul sums it up perfectly in our Epistle:

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. – to be his children -  6 And because you are sons, [his children] God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. 

So as God’s heirs – his children – God is our Father too.

We can also proclaim with Simeon the promised joy of his revealing to those in our homes and communities. The light of Christ has been shown to us and we reflect this joy in our lives.

Isaiah promises:

2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

Christ has given you life eternal!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!

Amen

Sermon Dec. 25, 2020 Christmas Day 10:00 am

Title: The radiance of the glory of God is given you in Christ!
Text: Heb. 1:1-6
Readings - Isaiah 52:7-10, Heb.1:1-6, John 1:1-14 (ESV) 

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3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the king,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary!

Dear friends - God has come!

The radiance of God’s glory is seen in humility and weakness. In this child, this Jesus and in this time God has come.

Isaiah writes in the in Chapter 52:

7 How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

To publish peace, happiness and salvation in the Hebrew is to bring and to cause you to hear. To proclaim the Good News, “Your God reigns.”

The Prophets of old spoke to the people “at various times and in various ways” NKJV,

Publishing the word of God and proclaiming the Good News so that the people might hear and prepare for God’s redemption to come. When and in what way they were not sure. But in these last days God’s final revelation and revealing is made known in his Son – the word made flesh and born of Mary.

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,

In this child we see God, all glory, honor and power, in weakness. God he is, who has taken on flesh and become man this Son, who is the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

This child, this Jesus, this God!

Why lies He in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear; for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you;
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The babe, the son of Mary!

The joy of the child will lead to the death of the man. The creative word of God, his heir and the radiance of God revealed in human form …

… upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, by his death on the cross sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

As we proclaimed last night from the Prophet Isaiah in chapter 9:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

The prince of peace in swaddling clothes has come for you and me and all who look for his arrival!
8 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
together they sing for joy;
for eye to eye they see
the return of the Lord to Zion. Isaiah 52:8

Today though, we see the effects of sin in a world broken and decimated, life marginalized, families torn, from pandemics to politics our world is bathed in the effects of our sin-filled, prideful world with the little hope that remains placed in those who govern and promise much only to deliver crumbs when a banquet is required.

To deliver a feast in a life of famine one must be the author of life, the first and the last, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. The one who speaks and brings all things into existence and the one who in humility becomes what we are yet without sin, so that in him we might have all that he restored from original sin to original righteousness.

The babe the son of Mary has become flesh for you! The Gospel of John proclaims this very fact.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God; 3 all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5

Sin remains our human condition. We see it in our lives and in the brokenness of our world. We suffer and die and at times evil seems to prevail.

4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God's angels worship him.”

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh;
Come, peasant king, to own Him.
The King of kings salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise the song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby;
Joy, joy, for Christ is born,
The babe, the son of Mary!

Isaiah concludes our reading today.

10 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 our God. Isaiah 52:10

What child is this?

God in the flesh, Christ the Lord!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!

Amen

Sermon Dec. 24, 2020 Christmas Eve 7:00 pm

Title: The Son of God brings Joy to the World!
Text: Isaiah 9:2-7
Readings - Isaiah 9:2-7, Titus 2:11-14, Luke 2:1-14 (ESV) 

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6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King:
Let every heart prepare Him room; And heaven and nature sing,

Tonight we celebrate the eve of our Lord’s nativity. The coming of Jesus the Christ of God, born of Mary and born to set us free from the inherited nature we are all born into, born in sin, and born to die.

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.

The light of Christ has been brought to a world dead in darkness. For death came to all humanity and in Adam’s fall all die. The fall into sin condemns us as God’s enemies. No friend of God, we are all condemned to a life apart from God’s love and destined to live in time, daily, without faith, peace, or hope in the world.

You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For those in faith and those apart from faith the Lord’s abundance flows. Sun and moon, day and night, rains, fields, flocks and harvest all provided from the hand of the Lord, give life and sustenance to all those created in the image of God. We all live by God’s mercy with each and every breath we take. In fact, life is a gift from God. We know that whether a Christian or not all die and so death is given to all born in the natural way form the child in the womb to the aged needing around the clock care. With Life, death is the promised fulfillment in the world. Long life or short, rich or poor we all will be brought to the doors of death and death will win.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains; Repeat the sounding joy,

The joy tonight is not in our station in this life or what we have achieved. Our joy is in the savior who came in humility and reigns in glory. As Jesus himself said as his disciples cried out at his triumphal entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

38 … “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

The rocks themselves would cry out repeating the sounding joy of our Rock Jesus “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”

For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.

The yoke of those burdened by sin has been broken and the rod of the oppressor has been overcome. Just as in the days of the Judges when Gideon and 300 men overcame the much larger Midianite Army by the power and word of the Lord. So too the word made flesh in the incarnate son of God will vanquish sin, death, and the devil for you and me.

For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.

The wages of sin is overcome in the blood of the lamb. Where we daily battle sin and death, God has placed the work of Jesus, apprehended in faith and made sure by the Spirit, we who believe have overcome the fires of hell and an eternity separated from God receiving the promise of eternal life in Jesus.

No more let sins and sorrows grow; Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow; Far as the curse is found,

The consequence of sin has been changed for you and me. To believe in Jesus, this Christ child gives us life. Life not to walk in sin – though we remain in the sinful tent of our flesh, but to walk in the Spirit, the promise of faith and belief in the one whom God has sent to redeem those born in sin and born to die. 

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace is Jesus!

His peace comes in this manger and in this child but it is made known to you and me in Baptism.

In Baptism we are marked as his.
In Baptism we are given faith.
In Baptism we receive Jesus by the work of his Spirit.
In Baptism death is swallowed up in victory and …
In Baptism we are raised to newness of life!

In Him, in Jesus, God restores the broken.

Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

By the Word of God and through his Holy Spirit our Lord calls and gathers his children. He sits on the throne of David forever and rules with justice and righteousness. His reign will never end and his love for the lost continues until his coming in power and glory to raise the dead in Christ and gather those who are longing for his reappearing.

He rules the world with truth and grace; And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness; And wonders of His love,

It is God’s desire and wonder’s of his love to rule your hearts and minds by his son the incarnate word of God. God who was made flesh in the person and work of Jesus for you and in him God gives hope and peace and true Joy to the world!

Our gospel today gives that same hope, promise, and joy with these concluding words.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!

Amen

Sermon Dec. 24, 2020 Christmas Eve 3:00 pm

Title: In the manger the Father’s love is made known!
Text: 1 John 4:7-16 Readings - Isaiah 7:10-14, 1 John 4:7-16, Matt. 1:18-25 (ESV)

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9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Gentle Mary laid her child Lowly in a manger;
There He lay, the Undefiled, To the world a stranger.
Such a babe in such a place, Can He be the Savior?
Ask the saved of all the race; Who have found His favor.

The Father’s love is made known to us – you and me - in the sending of his son Jesus the promised incarnate son of God from eternity past the Alpha and Omega the first and the last; the beginning and the end.

In the beginning when God spoke, all things came to be. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. God’s Christ – begotten of the father – born of a Virgin for you! John 1:1

We hear this Good News in the words of our gospel tonight.

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The fall into sin brought death. All are born in death and live a life of death.

You and I apart from Jesus and faith created by the Holy Spirit - have no hope.

But that is the Good News of a savior who saves, redeems and calls from death to life.

It is Good news today; it is good news tonight; it is good News tomorrow; it is good News because it redeems, restores, and resurrects you and me from the wages of sin in death to the gift of God and life eternal in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Angels sang about His birth, Wise Men sought and found Him;
Heaven's star shone brightly forth Glory all around Him.
Shepherds saw the wondrous sight, Heard the angels singing;
All the plains were lit that night, All the hills were ringing.

In the past God spoke through the prophets of old as the writer to the Hebrews says, but in these last days he has spoken through his Son.

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (God with us)

Isaiah 7:14

God’s word made flesh, Jesus Christ, was spoken of, was prophesized, and foretold, that the plan of redemption would come in God’s time and in God’s way. But who is this Jesus … and more importantly … as Jesus asked his disciples … who do you say that I am?

Your answer to this question determines quite literally life and death.

This humble child that now lies in a manger is truly the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, whether he is your King and your Lord depends on faith in him. This Jesus who created the heavens and the Earth, lived, suffered, died, and rose again from the dead for you … and he did this to bring peace to this broken world in which all life lives.

Dear friends we speak of heaven, of angels singing, and of all bowing before the King, no silent throng but mighty voices. It is impossible to imagine the perfection of heaven but we can get a glimpse … in this child in the manger – in this Jesus. The Perfection of God’s only begotten son sent down from Heaven and wrapped in swaddling clothes … would grow into the man Christ Jesus.

That God would become man shows the value of his life for you and the value of our life in him.

Since the incarnation when God, born of a virgin, became man - no longer is God separate from you on a mountain, or speaking to you by a prophet.

Now in his flesh he has come to unite his death, with your death, and his life, with your life, so that in him we are made righteous by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith.

John’s epistle confirms this when he writes:

13 By this - by God’s Holy Spirit and faith - we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

God remains hidden. He reveals himself by his Spirit through the word. If you wish to know him don’t look into the heavens as the angles told the disciples who looked up as Jesus ascended to the Father.

11b …This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11b

The ascension is not the end dear friends!

Gentle Mary laid her child Lowly in a manger;
He is still the Undefiled But no more a stranger.
Son of God of humble birth, Beautiful the story;
Praise His name in all the earth; Hail the King of glory!

The eternal victory is found in Christ’s glorious return to judge the living and the dead. Death is no escape. All will be judged. Some will depart to be with the Lord and others will be cast into a hell of their own choosing.

The good news though, is that the Lord is on his throne and he still calls those who have ears to hear.

Listen, come, and drink the living water from the river of life that is Jesus.

Let the little children come to me he calls and as a little child born in a manger he came to be the savior of the world. And as the God/man in death he fulfilled all righteousness for you so that you too might be righteous.

Have no fear for in Christ you are forgiven and he has a place of everlasting comfort for you that awaits all who believe and trust in Christ.

Because as [Jesus] is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

But you are perfect in him … From the manger Hail the King of glory!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!

Amen

Sermon Dec. 19-20, 2020 4th Sunday in Advent

Title: Nothing is impossible for God!
Text: Luke 1:26-38 

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34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.


Last week we talked about God’s redeemed people as oaks of righteousness and that the Lord’s favor rests with his redeemed.

The mighty oaks trees that needed to be removed around the church building had posed a problem and possible long term damage for the church.

What to do? Well after much prayer and deliberation, solutions were considered, decisions were made, Paul’s Tree service was contracted and in short order with the Lord’s blessing the trees came down.

The Lord didn’t take the trees down by divine decree. He worked through means; called and elected servants, meetings, funding, business, tools, machinery, skill, and time.

But understand it was of the Lord’s doing none the less.

Nothing is impossible for God!

In our gospel we read of a young woman named Mary. 27 … a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

Certainly she was old enough to be betrothed to be married and the text does not give an age for Mary, but many conclude that she was young, probable in her mid teens, possible around 15. This may seem young to us but in that day was not out of the ordinary.

Mary at her age may have been more typical that not, just another young woman waiting to be married. What was unusual is the visit of God’s messenger, the angel Gabriel – in the sixth month of her cousin, Elizabeth’s pregnancy.

If Mary at 15 was not too young to conceive and bear a child than her cousin Elizabeth was probably not too old, but I’m sure was probably much younger than we might associate with the phrase old age.

The improbable and the impossible!

Both Mary and Elizabeth had the Lord’s favor but in different ways. For Elizabeth the Angel Gabriel visited her husband Zachariah as he served in the temple with the good news that their prayers had been heard. With the angel’s visit it was now been answered, that through the usual course of events or as we might say – the birds and bees – Zachariah and Elizabeth would have a son and call his name John.

Good news indeed for those who desire a child. But even better new from the mouth of Gabriel would come.

15 … and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

John would be a normal child for his mom and dad but with a special calling and anointing from God.

Conceived in the normal way, born in the normal way, though blessed with the Holy Spirit even in the womb of his mother, John was destined to be used by God for great things according to the Lord’s word.

For Mary, the angel does not come with answered prayers but with an announcement!

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

Mary received the Lord’s favor through the spoken word of God.

Though she was troubled by his visit as was Zachariah the word of god brought peace:

30 … “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Certainly these were difficult words to hear for a seasoned mature woman let alone one of Mary’s age who was young and a virgin but old enough to understand the role of a man in conceiving a child.

Mary does not ask who, what, when, or where but asks simply how?

“How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

Nothing is impossible for God!

Not in the normal course of events the angel reveals the impossible working of God.

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

The barren Elizabeth is now expecting a child!

That which seemed improbable is a reality. The prayed for child is in the womb and the parents wait for his expected birth by the word of the Lord.

Mary’s simple humble reply:

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

We see God’s work through the improbable birth of a son in John the Baptist destined to heralded God’s coming redemption.

We also see God’s work through the impossible birth of his Son Jesus, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit though without sin, and born for the redemption of fallen mankind.

This is God’s work!

This is Good News!

Just as the Ark carried Noah and his family - 8 persons in all - through the death of sin punished in the flood to the new life that emerged in God’s creation on the Mountains of Ararat, so too this humble young woman Mary, carried by God’s word and Spirit, the God man himself Jesus Christ in the Ark of her womb until his birth in Bethlehem.

It recalls the Ark of God’s dwelling with the children of Israel and their escape from Egypt, through the wilderness of 40 years, to the fulfilling entrance through the Jordan River into God’s blessed Promised Land!

Nothing is impossible for God!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!

Amen

Sermon Dec. 12-13, 2020 3rd Sunday in Advent

Title: The Lord’s favor rests on his redeemed!
Text: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 

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61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,

We all look for a favorable outcome.

We want our team to win. How surprising was it that the Lions won last week by 4 points in the last 2 minutes of the game? That was not the usual outcome we are use to.

That was a favorable outcome for sure.

Not that I watched, but I did search the game after it was over looking for a favorable outcome. When I told my son Jon, that the Lions won he said, “They won?” I must have turned it off just before they came back. I expected they lost.”

Isaiah brings Good News to the poor, brokenhearted, captive and bound!

To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and that, 

The Lord’s favor rests on his redeemed!

What favor, does the redeemed of the Lord need or desire?

Well, to comfort all who mourn;

God will give his redeemed the blessing of his favor and forgiveness.

To give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, Replacing a mournful spirit in sackcloth and ashes with the crown of the Lord’s righteousness.

the oil of gladness instead of mourning The beautiful fragrance of God’s favor brings those in mourning to joy.

(Oil of Gladness anointing oil)

the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit Replacing the filthy rags of our own self-righteousness with the royal robes of Christ’s forgiveness and merit.

that [God’s children] may be called oaks of righteousness The mighty oak that stands tall and strong against the persecutions of those opposed to our God.

4 They shall build up the ancient ruins The broken house of God’s people lay in the ruin of sin as his enemies now stand as God’s children, forgiven and redeemed.

they shall raise up the former devastations The original righteousness that was lost in the fall has been restored in Christ.

they shall repair the ruined cities Now as fellow citizens with the Saints of old and the household of faith, we are built on Christ who is the cornerstone and foundation of our faith. Much like the walls of Jerusalem were restored by Nehemiah as God directed.

the devastations of many generations Sin destroyed all of humanity but through God’s redeemer we are made new for all generations.

This is Good News for sure.

But Justice looks for payment and satisfaction.

You do the crime, you do the time. We’ve all heard that before. If you are guilty there has to be a payment for the crime.

8 For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong

The Lord cannot turn a blind eye to sin

I will faithfully give them their recompense, [reward]
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

The character that is John the Baptist cries, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the word!”

God’s means look strange at times; simple water and word, the bread and wine and the body and blood, the Lamb of God who comes not in power but in weakness to take away sin. God’s power made perfect in weakness.

During this time of Advent and the Christmas season a simple kindness can go a long way. Many have been in self-isolation for quite some time, at home, in care facilities and some in hospitals long for the personal interaction with friends and loved ones. A call or a card or letter can do much to bring the love of Christ to those in need.

Good News is important.

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then [Jesus] rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  Luke 4:18-21

“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

The reality of who Jesus truly is cannot be seen through human eyes but only through eyes of faith enlivened by the Spirit.

Some in Jesus’ day heard and followed and others heard and rejected. It is the same today. Some quickly reject while others slowly fall away.

The people in Jesus day drove him from the Synagogue and looked to throw him off a cliff. In our day many reject the word and in a sense throw Christ and all his blessing off the cliff and away from their lives and presence. It is why that we as his followers need to continue to shine the light on the word of God and its effect in our own lives so other might hear and by the Spirit’s work believe.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

You dear friends and clothed with Christ as we together wait for his glorious coming and blessed return!

The Lord’s favor rests on you, his redeemed!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!

Amen

Sermon Dec. 9, 2020 Advent Midweek 2

Title: Promise: God promises his only Son for you! 

Text: Mark 1:1-8 

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6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

As we wait for the birth of Christ and also for his promised second coming we joy in our new life given us in him as we together, prepare for the Lord’s Christ.

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

The sending of the messenger to herald the arrival of the messiah had been foretold and promised in the prophet Isaiah. One would come and prepare the way.

This messenger is John the Baptist.

John arrives in the beginning of the Gospel of Mark in the wilderness and looking a bit unusual. Dressed in camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, he was certainly not one that the religious leaders would have gone out to see, but one that they probably would have shunned.

But John brings a message, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and that is usually what messengers do. John was no different in that respect.

5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

John’s baptism was, just as he was, a promised forerunner of the baptism that we today joy in and remember daily.

He called sinners to repentance in preparation for the baptism that Jesus would institute, at the end of Matthew’s gospel, where he calls his disciples to go and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matt 28:19

John prepared what was promised that Jesus would fulfill.

In this season of Advent, we also wait … in preparation for the promised coming of Christ who would take on human flesh, becoming as we are yet without sin.

In Mark’s gospel, just following our reading for today, you may remember that Jesus comes to John to be baptized himself, to enter into the Jordan to be baptized by John and to be marked as the chief of sinners that Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.

That is the promised child that we wait for this Advent season;

And that is the child who will be born on Christmas day;

And that is the one on whom God’s favor rests;

And that is where our salvation is found by faith in his finished work;

And that is Jesus, in whom we also wait for his promised glorious return.

In contrast to John, who lived a simple lifestyle eating locusts and wild honey, and dressed most probably in that same camel’s hair coat and leather belt day after day; we also wait …

… for a sense of normalcy to return … for masks to be a thing of the past and for life’s joys to replace fear and concern in these unsettling times.

But I’m not looking for the season of the day to become retail focused again.

At times change can give us time to reevaluate. To put our focus on different things and to show that that which may have consumed us, stuff, sports, movies, and entertainment - we really can live without – or at least a bit less of it because God has become, for many of us, a greater comfort than we had expected or realized.

Repent! For the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!

At least that is how John calls sinners to repentance in Matthew’s gospel. And it is how we all should spend some of our time this Advent season as we continue to wait, focus and prepare … for the promised coming Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pastor David Roper in his book The Strength of Man says:

The Bible defines worldliness by centering morality where we intuitively know it should be. Worldliness is:

The lust of the flesh (a passion for sensual satisfaction),

The lust of the eyes (an inordinate desire for the finer things of life),

The pride of life (self-satisfaction in who we are, what we have, and what we have done)

Worldliness is a preoccupation with ease and affluence. It elevates creature comfort to the point of idolatry; [idol worship; these things become our god]; large salaries and comfortable life-styles become necessities of life.

He goes on to say …

Worldliness is reading magazines [online] about people who live [their] lives [for the pursuit of pleasure] and spend too much money on themselves … and wanting to be like them. But more importantly, [he says] worldliness is simply pride and selfishness in disguise.

It's being resentful when someone snubs us or patronizes us or shows off. It means [getting mad] under every slight, challenging every word spoken against us, cringing when another is preferred before us. Worldliness is harboring grudges, nursing grievance, and wallowing in self-pity. These are the ways in which we are most like the world.

David Roper, The Strength of a Man, quoted in Family Survival in the American Jungle, Steve Farrar, 1991, Multnomah Press, p. 68.

Wow, does that sound like today, if you’ve been to one of the major stores, and someone has treated you as an obstacle, in the way of what they want to buy, a parking space they desire, or even cringing because you have a place in the checkout line before them.

Or maybe it’s you, or me … that cringe at those, in line before us?

As sinners we all fall short, we all miss the mark, and we all need to repent, clinging to that blessed hope, Jesus Christ our Lord, and in his coming as the child who,

“will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

This proclamation in Luke’s gospel is heralded by John as 7 … he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Promise: God promises his only Son for you!

This messenger proclaims the promise of Christ. This herald calls sinners to repentance, and we who are baptized, in the name of the Father and of the + Son and on the Holy Spirit are brought to faith, given the Holy Spirit and are made right with God, forgiven our sins on account of Christ and no longer servants but children of our heavenly Father.

Though you are unworthy to stoop down, like John, to untie the sandals of the Lord, Christ has stooped down - in humility - to be as you are, and for your salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man. Nicene Creed

This is he who is the gift begotten of the Father. This is the peace between God and man and the sign that is promised in Isaiah 7

14 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14b

Christ is the comfort of Isaiah 40, our Old Testament reading from last weekend, to which John is a herald and Christ the means … for which:

Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low; Isaiah 40:4a

And it is Christ who tends his flock like a shepherd; and gathers the lambs in his arms; and carries them in his bosom, gently leading them until he returns in glory to judge the living and the dead.

Sin has been cut away and laid upon Christ who takes away the sin of the world burying it with him in the tomb so that you are set free, buried with Christ in baptism, and risen to newness of life covered in the righteous robes of Jesus.

That is God’s promise!

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

Amen

Sermon Dec. 5-6, 2020 2nd Sunday in Advent

Title: Our Lord tends, gathers, carries and leads those he loves!
Text: Isaiah 40:1-11 

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10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.

When I was in a child in Kindergarten I have a vivid memory of a fire drill.

When the fire alarm sounded we were directed out of our classroom into the hall single file. As we entered the hall and turned to the left a student from an upper grade coming from another room would grab the hand of a kindergarten student and lead them out of the building and up the hill to the road where we would all wait until the drill was over.

That leading and guiding was to get the younger students to where they were to go but also to bring comfort during a trying time if a real fire was to occur.

The grasp of a seasoned and leading hand can put one at ease and bring peace in a time of trial.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.

The right hand of God which is a hand of power is also a hand of comfort as he leads his children from the wrath of his judgment to the land or promise.

“God’s people are those who need comfort Luther writes, because they have been wounded and terrified by the Law and they are an empty vessel capable of receiving comfort. Only those who are afflicted have comfort and are capable of it, because comfort means nothing unless there is a malady.”

Luther’s works, AE 17:3

For there to be a cure you have to have a sickness. With Covid, though with varying degrees of severity, all can be affected. For some there appear no symptoms, though the virus is still present, for others minor symptoms appear and then a return to normal - and yet for the few - dangerous symptoms and side effects can lead to death. Because some may die, the cure has to be as close to perfect as you can get because we don’t know who may be the most vulnerable.

The vaccines on the horizon boast a 90-95% success rate which is very good and many of the vaccines have shown these results in trial testing, but still the cure could prove to be ineffective for the few.

So there is possibility that some who might be in the most vulnerable group could still see the vaccine not work and fall victim to the worse effects of Covid 19.

Though some might not be helped, we can expect as we should, that the cry to be vaccinated would be loud and long.

Get to your Doctor and get vaccinated!

Don’t take the risk!

Most people are helped!

Do it now! Don’t wait!

3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The wilderness cry of long ago in Isaiah comes to life in a most unusual and excellent way as the fore runner of the cure appears in the wilderness claiming a cure for the sickness of sin that is 100% effective.

The highway is smooth and clear, the valley is filled and the mountains made low. No obstacle remains. The rough places are smooth and the ground is made level.

6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”

The cry is for help!

The cry is now!

The cry is for a vaccine!

Surly if we just had a vaccine we could get back to our normal lives we think and life would be good.

All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

Even with a vaccine this life will end.

We may preserve it for a time.

We may keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

We may get past Covid 19.

We may live our normal lives again.

We will die.

9 Go on up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Behold your God!”

The need to overcome the maladies of life is important. Sickness and death are real. Preserving life and wellness is good but it is not the Good News.

The Good News is the herald of a cure for which no cure exists or can be developed. It is pure gift in a world of hopeless denial.

It is the fullness of God’s might and power for good.

It is the power of God in humility and weakness.

It is God’s leading and guiding hand as a shepherd leads his flock and brings comfort and peace to a world of sin and death.

That dear friends is the true joy of Advent as we together prepare for the coming of God’s powerful cure for the ailment that plagues us all.

Jesus came the Heavens adoring,

Came with peace from realms on high;

Jesus came to win redemption,

Lowly came on Earth to die;

Alleluia! Alleluia! Came in deep humility

God’s power and humility seen in the gift of his son for you and for me is the Good News that is prepared this Advent!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!

Amen

Sermon Dec. 2, 2020 Advent Midweek 1

Title: Hope: God gives hope to the oppressed!
Text: Mark 11:1-10 

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9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

The question is asked, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”

The answer comes, “The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.”

As we think about Hope tonight. Let’s look at how hope is defined.

Hope can be defined as:

a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen, or it can be a feeling of trust.

The disciples went expecting to find the colt just as Jesus had told them things would happen and there was also for them a feeling of trust that what Jesus had told them would in fact happen just as he said.

We even see hope in the response of those who owned the colt.

6 And [when the disciples] told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go

Hoping or trusting that the colt would be returned just as they were told.

So how does this Palm Sunday and Holy Week text leading up to our Lord’s passion, death, burial, rest in the tomb, and glorious resurrection at the end of his earthly life and ministry fit as the Gospel reading for the first weekend in Advent?

In a word, Hope!

Hope is placed in that which is looked for and anticipated and in that which is promised.

The triumphal entry is that which had been anticipated and promised and Jesus is the hope of God fulfilled – the Messiah - the promised one of Israel.

At least that is what those who celebrated believed and hoped,

shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” Mark 11:9b-10

How quickly that changed from joy and celebration on Palm Sunday to Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, death and despair just a few days later.

21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Luke 24: 21

On Easter Sunday there was still doubt and concern at who Jesus was and what he came to do.

So we begin this Advent season in Hope.

Hope for God’s redemption in his Son.

Hope for the incarnate Christ coming as a lowly child.

Hope for his Virgin birth and sinless life so that he might stand in our place.

Hope for God’s forgiveness in Christ for all who believe.

Hope for his blessed return and second coming to gather his children to himself.

Or, as St Paul says:

24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Rom. 8:24

Many of us were waiting for good this year.

Good news, good reports, good outcomes, and what did we get?

Virus, pandemic, masks, politics, churches closed, shut downs, no school, kids home, vacations canceled and working for home!

I’m sure this is not what you or I expected.

Our hope though is not in these things but in the prospect of the future where cures, vaccines, handshakes, hugs, family - both biological and church members - might once again enjoy a life and gather together celebrating the unity we have one with another.

Some things have changed and some have remained the same and hope centered in this life is always going to leave us wanting, because this life is centered and wrapped in sin. No escape and no earthly cure around the bend or on the horizon for us in this life. Sin remains and death is the result as we see and are reminded of its curse daily and without end.

But hope is not lost!

Because this Advent season we wait.

We wait for the hope that does not disappoint.

We wait for a child promised.

We wait for God’s revealing.

We wait for a star to lead the way for the Magi.

We wait for his growing in knowledge and stature.

We wait for his public ministry.

We wait for his teaching and the calling of all to faith.

We wait for his triumphal entry on Palm Sunday.

We wait for our Lord’s passion, death, burial, rest in the tomb, and glorious resurrection.

And we wait for his blessed return, because Christ’s return is our Blessed Hope.

13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Titus 2:13

Whether life brings trial or joy the blessed hope is Jesus and the peace of redemption that is only found in him.

So as we wait, let us look with hopeful eyes to his coming, as a child to begin his work.

Let us look to the reality of all that he has done to overcome sin, death and the devil for us.

Let us look to his coming again for the consummation of all things.

Let us look, not in fear but in hope that God in Christ will accomplish all of this for you and for me and all who are called to faith according to his purpose.

God be praised!

 In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!

Amen