Text: 2 Cor. 5:18-21
Facebook live: Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We had 14 children in church last Sunday! Yes, 14 children! What a blessing. It felt like Peace Lutheran church from 15 years ago. A baptism for twin girls, Allison and Madison Osentoski and so many others - some of whom I’ve had the pleasure to baptize over the last 10 years. Children are a blessing.
Regardless of the number of children we have in church or we may or may not have in our families we can all have comfort and true peace because:
Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!
Paul speaks in our Epistle lesson today about being a new creation.
The old has gone away and the new has emerged. No longer will they be regarded according to the flesh. Even though Jesus Christ was once regarded as the man, according to the flesh – His human nature – he has now been raised and is no longer in His state of humiliation but has been raised and is seated at the right hand of the father.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We had 14 children in church last Sunday! Yes, 14 children! What a blessing. It felt like Peace Lutheran church from 15 years ago. A baptism for twin girls, Allison and Madison Osentoski and so many others - some of whom I’ve had the pleasure to baptize over the last 10 years. Children are a blessing.
Regardless of the number of children we have in church or we may or may not have in our families we can all have comfort and true peace because:
Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!
Paul speaks in our Epistle lesson today about being a new creation.
The old has gone away and the new has emerged. No longer will they be regarded according to the flesh. Even though Jesus Christ was once regarded as the man, according to the flesh – His human nature – he has now been raised and is no longer in His state of humiliation but has been raised and is seated at the right hand of the father.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
It is not always evident, is it?
Sin permeates our very being; which means to spread or flow throughout or to penetrate something.
Sin permeates our very being; which means to spread or flow throughout or to penetrate something.
Sin is not just an act of disobedience. It is not just the act of doing something or saying something wrong, or not doing what we should.
It is in fact who we are.
Paul speaks of Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. His once for all sacrifice for sin pays the price for the Corinthians and Paul explains that:
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
In the gospel reading last weekend we had the parable of the Prodigal son, but, it’s really the story of two sons, one who leaves and one who stays.
The one demanding the father’s life, which is really what’s happening when you want your inheritance before the father has died, and the other who has had everything the father has but still feels cheated.
‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, though the text only says, “reckless living” you killed the fattened calf for him!’ Luke 15:29-30
Essentially saying … “I’m good and he’s bad!”
Even in the worst of human endeavors reconciliation is possible.
[Oscar conflict]
Even at church separation can occur.
Sometimes conflicts within a family cause separation, and other times there is conflict between two families or people in the church … causing one or the other to leave.
20 Therefore, Paul says: we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, give up these petty arguments and whatever separates you from fellow believers and be reconciled to God.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
The Father’s forgiveness in the parable was both restoration for the wondering son …
‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
As well as comfort for the longing son.
‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
Martin Luther reminds us in the 5th petition of the Lord’s Prayer from our Small Catechism.
We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, [inheritance or a party with our friends] nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment.
So too we who have been separated from God by sin can be brought back to His loving arms through faith in Christ who desires that all will be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
But do we? Are we?
The cost of peace between God and man required the life of Jesus. The very Son of God came to be your substitute and took the sin of the world, your sins upon Himself so that you might be his child by faith.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The very Son of God, Paul tells the Corinthians, came down to live, suffer, die and rise again just for them.
So too we, who have been brought to faith by God’s Holy Spirit giving faith to both you and me in Christ’s finished work and reconciling us to God through this same faith in Him.
In this one sentence, Paul tells us that we have the entire essence of God’s work in Christ for the forgiveness of sins in the world.
Just as God’s great Gospel message from blessed John 3:16 tells us:
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Paul tells us how that will happen, because:
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
This is the eternal hope for you and for me.
That: Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!
The blessed joy in the midst of tears is what we are given even as we grieve the loss of loved ones who have gone to their eternal rest. Mom, dad, grandparent, children or dear friend … over time we have peace as we know that reunion will follow one day for all who believe.
This blessed joy is yours and mine that we will all be reunited in Him, in Christ, because by faith we hold to the blessed hope that is Jesus who was raised from the dead. And so too all who believe will be raised to an eternity in heaven with our Lord and all who by faith have been brought to this blessed reconciliation with Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The joy of the birth of a child, pales in comparison to the blessed hope and rebirth that we are given in Christ.
God who has made Christ our substitute, brings us to faith in Him washing us clean in our baptisms and making us holy, by the once for all sacrifice for sin at the cross that Jesus won over sin, death and the Devil.
We who are in Christ are reconciled to Him by His all sufficient sacrifice for sin in our place. This is the joy that we all can have peace in. Christ has been raised and so will you be raised too.
May this blessed good news comfort you by his Spirit now and forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
It is in fact who we are.
Paul speaks of Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. His once for all sacrifice for sin pays the price for the Corinthians and Paul explains that:
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
In the gospel reading last weekend we had the parable of the Prodigal son, but, it’s really the story of two sons, one who leaves and one who stays.
The one demanding the father’s life, which is really what’s happening when you want your inheritance before the father has died, and the other who has had everything the father has but still feels cheated.
‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, though the text only says, “reckless living” you killed the fattened calf for him!’ Luke 15:29-30
Essentially saying … “I’m good and he’s bad!”
Even in the worst of human endeavors reconciliation is possible.
[Oscar conflict]
Even at church separation can occur.
Sometimes conflicts within a family cause separation, and other times there is conflict between two families or people in the church … causing one or the other to leave.
20 Therefore, Paul says: we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, give up these petty arguments and whatever separates you from fellow believers and be reconciled to God.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
The Father’s forgiveness in the parable was both restoration for the wondering son …
‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
As well as comfort for the longing son.
‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
Martin Luther reminds us in the 5th petition of the Lord’s Prayer from our Small Catechism.
We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, [inheritance or a party with our friends] nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment.
So too we who have been separated from God by sin can be brought back to His loving arms through faith in Christ who desires that all will be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
But do we? Are we?
The cost of peace between God and man required the life of Jesus. The very Son of God came to be your substitute and took the sin of the world, your sins upon Himself so that you might be his child by faith.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The very Son of God, Paul tells the Corinthians, came down to live, suffer, die and rise again just for them.
So too we, who have been brought to faith by God’s Holy Spirit giving faith to both you and me in Christ’s finished work and reconciling us to God through this same faith in Him.
In this one sentence, Paul tells us that we have the entire essence of God’s work in Christ for the forgiveness of sins in the world.
Just as God’s great Gospel message from blessed John 3:16 tells us:
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Paul tells us how that will happen, because:
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
This is the eternal hope for you and for me.
That: Jesus Christ desires all to be his child!
The blessed joy in the midst of tears is what we are given even as we grieve the loss of loved ones who have gone to their eternal rest. Mom, dad, grandparent, children or dear friend … over time we have peace as we know that reunion will follow one day for all who believe.
This blessed joy is yours and mine that we will all be reunited in Him, in Christ, because by faith we hold to the blessed hope that is Jesus who was raised from the dead. And so too all who believe will be raised to an eternity in heaven with our Lord and all who by faith have been brought to this blessed reconciliation with Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The joy of the birth of a child, pales in comparison to the blessed hope and rebirth that we are given in Christ.
God who has made Christ our substitute, brings us to faith in Him washing us clean in our baptisms and making us holy, by the once for all sacrifice for sin at the cross that Jesus won over sin, death and the Devil.
We who are in Christ are reconciled to Him by His all sufficient sacrifice for sin in our place. This is the joy that we all can have peace in. Christ has been raised and so will you be raised too.
May this blessed good news comfort you by his Spirit now and forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment