Sermon February 11-12, 2012

Title: God’s word is healing to all who trust in Him!

Text: 2 Kings 5:13-14 (ESV)

¹³ But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Dear friends,

A Persian legend says that a certain king needed a faithful servant, and two men were candidates to fill the position. He took both at regular fixed wages, and his first order was to fill a basket with water from a neighboring well, saying that he would come in the evening and see their work. After putting in one or two bucketfuls, one man said, "What is the good of doing this useless work? As soon as we put the water in one side it runs out the other." The other answered, "But we have our wages, haven't we? The use is the master's business, not ours." "I am not going to do such fool's work," replied the other. Throwing down his bucket, he went away. The other man continued until he had exhausted the well; looking down into it he saw something shining—a diamond ring. "Now I see the use of pouring water into a basket," he cried. "If the bucket had brought up the ring before the well was emptied, it would have been found in the basket. Our work was not useless."—Christian Herald.

God’s word is healing to all who trust in Him

  

¹ Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor,

The Lord had given victory to Syria over Israel in our lesson today and this had come about by Naaman, a great man who is highly favored by his master. He commands the kings army holding a position of high authority …

  

…  but, he was a leper.

This disease of the skin which causes the outer surface of the skin to swell and fester gets worse with time and can cause fingers, toes, ears and nose to fall off and eventually lead to death. Here, this leprosy, at the very least would be for Naaman – incurable – and limit his ability to fulfill his duties.

² Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 

Here, in captivity to another, this young Israelite girl’s faith in God’s word through His prophet is evident. She tells him if only you would go to him he would heal you!

⁴ So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” ⁵ And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

So far so good, Naaman hears that there is a prophet that can heal him and he believes. He gets a letter from his King and proceeds to the King of Israel. Now, the King of Israel sees this as a ploy to start a fight.

“Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?

The king has no answer to this request. He cannot heal this man and wonders why he was sent to him and feels that he is being held responsible for this man’s healing so he tears his closes in despair.

⁸ But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

God’s word is alive with Elisha. He is God’s prophet.

¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” 

Here God’s word is very clear. Do this and be clean. There is very little other direction. Wash seven times and be clean.

¹¹ But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 

God’s word is healing to all who trust in Him!

We too fail to be a beacon of hope at times and also to trust God’s word. If you saw another who did not know Christ would you have a witness as bold as the little slave girl to say, “I know the cure to your illness!” You have not the Christ the Son of the living God. He holds the keys to life and death and gives salvation to all who believe in him.

We too fail to trust his commands. When Jesus says: ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. We look at the command and say, “How can simple water do such great things”

Martin Luther in the small catechism tells us:

It is not the water indeed that does them, but the word of God which is in and with the water, and faith, which trusts such word of God in the water. For without the word of God the water is simple water and no baptism. But with the word of God it is a baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and a washing of regeneration in the Holy Ghost, as St. Paul says, Titus, chapter three: 

By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that, being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying.

  

God’s word is healing to all who trust in Him!

  

Naaman continues:

¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?”

The answer would be sure, if Elisha had said to go into the Abana or Pharpar rivers, because it is not the water but faith and trust in God’s word of healing through his prophet.

So he turned and went away in a rage. ¹³ But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 

God’s word through His prophet was clear … wash and be clean.

¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

God’s word is healing to all who trust in Him!

  

God too, washes us clean in our baptism by the promise that we become His disciples (his followers or His children) by this saving act. God takes we who are born in sin and by nature sinful and unclean and he makes us alive in Christ. He gives us faith by the power of the Holy Spirit to believe. He marks us as redeemed by this water connected to His word of promise. Some like Naaman turn in a rage and leave because they refuse to trust God’s promise that an infant can have faith too as it is truly a gift of God and not our work.

So too when we receive His true body and blood in the sacrament in Holy Communion trusting in his word of promise,

“This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

It was God’s word that raised Lazarus from the dead and called him from the tomb from death to life. It too is God who calls us from our spiritual death to newness of life by His word and His sacraments giving us faith by the power of the Holy Spirit to believe.

God’s word is healing to all who trust in Him!

  

Just as the servants in our opening illustration didn’t see the reason for the pouring of the water into the basket until it had been revealed and one of them walked away mad. Many too fail to see how God can use the simple means of word and sacraments to accomplish His will. God’s message of forgiveness is real and by His means available to all He calls to believe this blessed Good News. That by Christ’s sacrifice you are forgiven in Him. God comfort you today and every day that you who believe are saved.

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

Amen

Sermon February 4-5, 2012

Title: Christ heals the sick, so that you will live forever in Him!

Text: Mark 1:32-34a (ESV)

32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.

Dear friends,

Mark Twain became morose, sad and even weary of life. Shortly before his death, he wrote, "A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle;...they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; ...those they love are taken from them, and the joy of life is turned to aching grief. When (the release to death ) comes at last … the only un-poisoned gift earth ever had for them … and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence ... the world will lament them a day and forget them forever." Mark Twain.

This is a very sad lament for one who is in this word and for one who is of the world for sure. But, it is of great comfort for us all, who name the name of Christ and in Him place our trust, because know that:

Christ heals the sick, so that you will live forever in Him!

We read today about Jesus in our Gospel lesson. Here Jesus is leaving the synagogue with His disciples Simon, Andrew, James and John. Worship had concluded and they were all heading over to Applebee’s for lunch before they went to the arena to watch the game … no … as it was in their life as in ours they were concerned for a loved one. Simon’s mother-n-law lay ill with a fever. Simon who would be given the name Peter by our Lord and who would rise to be a pillar of the faith and who by some in the Roman Catholic tradition would be considered to be the first Pope, his mother-n-law … makes you wonder about that priests cannot me married stuff, huh?

Well as we get back on topic …

…and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he (Jesus) came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. (Mark 1:30b-31)

The sickness that caused her condition, by the touch of Jesus left her. The touch of our Lord healed her and she was able to immediately serve them.

Christ heals the sick, so that you will live forever in Him!

We too get sick. It is a condition of sin that we are bound to in this life. As a result of sin we too will eventually die. Sin will have its way with us. We will get sick and we take medication and at times we recover and get better. It is the reality of life and death we see every day in our lives and in the lives of those we love.

Some are blessed with a long productive life while others are taken in their youth. Many of us can look in the mirror and see the lines of life etched on our faces and for those too young to notice … just wait … you too will have this experience.

I met Jack and Carolyn Herford at a Lake Orion outreach music program Evola Music was providing for active retirees. Jack was 65 years old when he began the program and a more active senior you couldn’t find. He had had a long career as a manufactures rep. retired to play golf, learn some new things and enjoy a long healthy retirement.

Jack came to the store one day complaining of headaches and dizziness and an upcoming visit to a specialist. As it turned out he had a brain tumor. He had surgery and made a wonderful recovery … for a time. Jack lived about two and a half years after the first detection of the tumor. Eventually he died a slow, deteriorating death. He was 70 years old.

Jack had told me when the prognosis he received gave him little hope for a recovery.

“Well, this isn’t how I planned my retirement thankfully my Lord has a better retirement plan for me in eternity!”

Christ heals the sick, so that you will live forever in Him!

32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.33 and the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.

Christ is the author of all that is good. Sickness and death are a result of corruption not creation. But thanks be to God that He didn’t leave us in our fallen state. God’s plan in creation was perfection. We see in Genesis that as sin entered life through Adam and Eve, the perfect creation became corrupted. As God said, “surely you will die,” Adam died spiritually, but now must die physically. In spiritual death he was separated from God but we also see God at work for restoration. He sacrifices one life, an animal, to provide skins to cover Adam and Eve. He in love banishes them from the garden, so as not to allow them to eat from the tree of life and live forever in their fallen state.

Christ has conquered sin, death and the devil. His atoning work at the cross saves us, not only from earthly death, but it promises life eternal in Him.

Isaiah 53 says this about Jesus:

3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.

Christ heals the sick, so that you will live forever in Him!

Christ has healed you from the sickness that leads to death. He has promised you life eternal in His name. By His sinless life, death in your place at the cross and glorious resurrection you too are secure in Him for your resurrection and life in eternity with him.

The Gospel today concludes with:

36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.”

The people in Christ’s day knew that His touch brought healing and for that they all were looking for Him. We too know that His healing is more than just healing for our worldly sickness but that in Him we have the cure for eternal life.

38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Christ came for you. His healing brings comfort that even with the prospect of physical death you are saved and will live for eternity in Him. My friend Jack knew that comfort and I look to the day when I will see him in heaven and rejoice together in the presence of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

May the preaching of Christ bring all who need to hear the blessed comfort that in Jesus Christ death has no power over them and eternity is theirs by faith in His saving work.

Christ heals the sick, so that you will live forever in Him!

I thought it would be good to conclude this sermon with a few last words from some very some spiritual thinkers:

"Our God is the God from whom cometh salvation: God is the Lord by whom we escape death." Martin Luther

"Live in Christ, live in Christ, and the flesh need not fear death." John Knox

"Thou, Lord, bruisest me; but I am abundantly satisfied, since it is from Thy hand." John Calvin

"The best of all is … God is with us. Farewell! Farewell!" John Wesley

…and finally from our esteemed, morose, sad and even down on life Mark Twain:

“Let us endeavor so to live … that when we come to die … even the undertaker will be sorry.”

By the power of the Holy Spirit in us God will see us to eternity now and forever.

Amen

Love is Special! 1977 Great Lakes Special!

Sermon January 14 – 15, 2012

Title: Christ has redeemed you, so that you are free! 

Text: 1 Cor. 6:19-20 
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 

Many years ago my family and I were driving home from church in Rochester. And as we drove home we spotted two Husky type dogs walking along the sidewalk. I’m not sure why but we stopped to investigate. Having a Siberian husky at home might have given us a bit of confidence in the breed and how it might react to a stranger’s approach. 

A few minutes later, Monica and I along with Amy and John were heading home with two stray dogs in the backseat, a male Alaskan Malamute and a female Husky – we called them Boris and Natasha. 

Not having any tags and wanting to find the rightful owner we took the dogs to the animal control center on Brown rd. If no one claimed them in a week they would be out up for adoption. We all fell in love with Boris and when the week was up we paid the fee for adoption and he was ours. Boris was adopted into our family and set free from the shelter and a possible death sentence if no one redeemed him. 

Christ has redeemed you, so that you are free! 

12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. 

Here the Apostle Paul is responding to the free thinkers in the Corinthian church of his day. Those that believed that to be free in Christ gave them the license to liberty in all things. So Paul quotes their mantra for the day and responds in Christian wisdom: 

12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. 

See, the Corinthian’s were trying to hold up their freedom in Christ as a justification to sin. In the previous Chapter Paul had admonished them for sin in their midst where a man was living with his father’s wife. 

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 

Paul is calling them out. He is not mincing words. 

The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 

Christ has redeemed you, so that you are free! 

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 

We too tend to want to stretch the word of God to fit our own freedom and free will don’t we? It really is a very old argument. “Did God really say?” 
We all know the answer … yes, God did really say, and that sin we continue to fall victim to is not something easy to flee so we all tend to try to justify that … well, God really needs to understand that I have freedom as a Christian is these matters. 

Today you see it too. Members of the Christian church who condone same sex marriages. Even some churches who call themselves Lutheran marry gay and lesbian couples and ordain them into the office of the Holy Ministry - making a mockery of God’s word and his established order. 

But, we who are heterosexual have little to proud of. Many times we initiate divorce in our families because of an adulterous relationship or rather we find it just more convenient to divorce than to work out the problems in our marriages. 

If it hasn’t happened to you I’m sure you know someone who is close to your family that has gone through marital difficulties or divorce. 

Monica and I once discussed that throughout our first 20 years of marriage we knew someone who was divorcing or thinking about it who was either family or a very close friend. 

The more society influences the church, the more the church will look less like what God intended and more like the world and its sinful influence. But there is hope because: 

Christ has redeemed you, so that you are free! 

God has set the Corinthian’s free from the power of sin, death and the devil by His Holy innocent Son, Jesus Christ, who having paid the price for sin sat down at the right hand of God. And through the proclamation of the word they were given, by the power of the Holy Spirit, faith to believe. 

Faith, not in their own merits, but in the merit of Him who bought them with the price of His sinless life, death and resurrection and freed them from their confinement to sin having adopted them into His family, not as slave’s but as dearly beloved children. 

God in them will conform them, by the power of his will, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, who will continue to point them to Jesus and His finished work at the cross, for them. 

Christ has redeemed you, so that you are free!

God has given this gift to you too. God with us has become God in us. The Holy Spirit desires you to be conformed to the will of Christ and not to the will of the world. Sure, we need to live in the world and be a light to the world but not be of the world.

God says: 27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. (Luke 6:27-28, 31)

God loves the sinner who turns from their sin and repents. (Luke 15) He desires all to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:4) He has taken sin, death and the power of the Devil away, having made a spectacle of them triumphing over them at the cross.

Paul gives us the good News in: (Col.2:6, 7 – 10-15)
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Christ has redeemed you, so that you are free to live in Him!

Our dog Boris was redeemed by us from the pound and lived with us as a member of our family for a number of years until age and sickness took him to the eternal sleep of death. And for those of you who are wondering, Natasha too was adopted and rescued from the shelter.

Our God has redeemed us from sin, death and the power of the devil and has called us to live forever in Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. This Good News is for all whom the gift of faith has been given to, so that they by the Holy Spirit cling to this blessed Good News that even though we die we live in Him because He lives! Christ Lives and in Him you live!

Christ has redeemed you, so that you are free to live in Him, now and forever!

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

Amen

Sermon December 31, 2011 - January 1, 2012

Title: Jesus; the blessed name of our blessed Lord!
Text: Luke 2:21 (ESV)

21And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

The naming of a child is an important time and wonderful joy in the life of a family. The name can have a great significance and family heritage. It can be connected to the past and to the future, as with those names that have a Jr. or III (the third) connected to them.

My youngest brother Tom when he was very little asked my mom, “Why didn’t you name me after Grandpa?” My mom said, “Oh, did you want to be called Stephen?” “No,” he said, “I wanted to be called Grandpa.”

The naming of a child carries with it much significance, as does …

Jesus; the blessed name of our blessed Lord!

After the birth of John the Baptist in the previous chapter in the Gospel of Luke we read:

Luke 1:59-66 (ESV)

59And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60but his mother answered, "No; he shall be called John." 61And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by this name." 62And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.

The naming of the child had then, as it does in many cases now, a connection to family. John was not a name that had significance in the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth until the visit of the angel Gabriel. Mary too was also given the name of Jesus by divine intervention.

This name which means the Lord who saves is in fact His mission. He who was “in the beginning with God” is now and for all time God with us. The children of Israel in the time of the Exodus had God and the promise of freedom from the slavery in Egypt. But still they grumbled.

In the book of Numbers we read:

4Why have you brought the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink." Num. 20:4-5

11And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.

They drank from the Rock in the desert.

St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians:

1For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3and all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 1 Cor.1:1-4

Jesus; the blessed name of our blessed Lord!

5Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

We too fail to see the blessing in the name of God. You and I misuse the name of the Lord so how are we better than those who doubted God’s word through Moses? We aren’t.

God, whose love for you is so profound that He would join Himself to human flesh is in today’s Gospel receiving the mark of circumcision, the mark of the covenant between God and man; the mark placed upon the very God/man Jesus Christ who is also receiving His name today.

Jesus; the blessed name of our blessed Lord!

Every moment after the incarnation, Jesus draws one step closer to completing our redemption. Every act, in the life of Jesus, is God’s action in the fulfillment of His promise for you. His circumcision and naming today are the beginning of the end for the power of sin, the corruption of the flesh and the tempting of the Devil. Jesus, by His perfect obedience to the Law will by this obedience complete the requirements of the Law for you. By the name of Jesus He will save His people from their sin. God has a name!

Jesus; the blessed name of our blessed Lord!

God too, by the power of His spirit, gives you faith to believe this blessed good news.
The Epistle lesson today is worth repeating:

23Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.29And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

As Luther once said:

“All we who believe on Christ are kings and priests in Christ.”
― Martin Luther, Concerning Christian Liberty - Martin Luther

Today, as you look forward to all that is new upon us as we begin another New Year remember that Jesus came to earth for you. Jesus became man for you. Jesus was marked at his circumcision for you. Jesus fulfilled the Law for you and has suffered and died on the cross for you and was raised for your justification so that you will rise too …
and He lives to intercede by the power of the Holy Spirit for you.

Jesus; the blessed name of our blessed Lord!

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

Sermon December 25, 2011 Christmas Day!

Title: Christ; God’s eternal word made flesh!  Text: John 1:14 (ESV)  14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.    Many of you like me, I’m sure, remember the day your children were born. For me there was the time of Monica’s pregnancy, the doctor’s visits, anticipation, worry, anxiety, excitement and many other feelings associated with the coming of a child.  This was especially true with our first born. What would it be, a boy or a girl? At that time, we could have been told to a relatively high degree of certainty but we chose to wait happy to accept what the Lord would bless us with.  On the day of Monica’s last doctor’s visit she was already dilated and we hurried over to the Hospital. As the time of the birth neared and the head of the baby began to emerge; Dr. Dorfman looked up and said, “Top half’s a boy … and as the baby was born … bottom half’s a girl!” The excitement and joy of this birth blessed our family as only God’s gift of children can and we can all celebrate today:   Christ; God’s eternal word made flesh!  The Apostle John in today’s Gospel reading chooses to begin his Gospel with words very familiar to the people of his day. ̓Εν ἀρχη “In the beginning” These were the same words that were used to begin the Greek version of the Old Testament scriptures. It would not be a stretch for the people to pick up on what John is saying here.  1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The word of God was in the beginning and in fact, preceded that very beginning and was with God and … was God.  2He was in the beginning with God.  He, the word of God is a person from the very beginning of the creation story. Inseparable with God, He is though distinct in person but of the same essence as God.  3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  Distinct, divine and as our creed says: “Very God of Very God.” This word would now be entering human history at the birth of this child, in a manger, in Bethlehem.  This birth though was normal and ordinary on many levels. This baby, a boy, who at His birth would be given the name of Jesus, was like any other birth that might have occurred at this time.  But on many levels this was a profoundly different child and a profoundly different birth. Visited by the angel Gabriel who appeared to Mary during the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy this child was born of a virgin, was incarnate by the power of the Holy Spirit and was made man. God in nature and man in nature together joined in this baby born to Mary in a stable.  Christ; God’s eternal word made flesh!  God’s, messenger, John the Baptist, was sent from God to prepare the way. He was sent to bear witness about the light, that this child, entering the world, would reconcile God and man and overcome for them sin death and the power of the devil.  This child who is the light of the world, the world did not know. He came to his own but they did not receive Him.  12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  Christ; God’s eternal word made flesh!    How is he received today? For many, Jesus was just a man who did good things, showed people how they should live with one another and unfortunately was in the wrong place at the wrong time and died a horrible death.   No God … no miracles … no savior … no difference from any other path or way we choose to believe or live our lives.  Christ is not God in the ways of the world. Some believe He never existed and for others He was just a Jew who was crucified because He didn’t know when to bend His will to be more tolerant of other’s beliefs and ways.  What about you? Is your faith built on the Rock that is Christ do you see yourself as a pretty good person … who does some good things … and comes to church pretty regularly … maybe even monthly but I’ve been meaning to get here more often. Our God knows how hard life can be and the trials you face as you deal with the world, the flesh and the Devil.   But there is hope and good news this Christmas day!  From the Gospel of Luke we read:  10And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11esv  Ill. Martin Luther had this to say of this blessed birth.  “No matter where you’re reading in the Bible, faith is the first mystery you should recognize. Faith is not believing that the story you’re reading is true as written. That does nothing for anyone. Even unbelievers can believe this Bible story about Jesus’ birth is true. Faith is not a natural work apart from God’s grace, as the Scripture clearly teaches. Rather the right kind of faith, the kind that flows from grace and that God’s Word demands, is firmly believing that Christ was born for you. His birth is yours and occurred for your benefit.  For the gospel teaches that Christ was born for our benefit and that everything he did and suffered was for us. As the angel says here, “I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city.” With these words, you can clearly see that he was born for all of us.  He doesn’t say, “a Savior was born,” but rather, “your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born.” In the same way, he doesn’t say, “I have good news,” rather “I have good news for you.” For you! “I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy.” This joy is for everyone who has this kind of faith.”  Christ; God’s eternal word made flesh … for you!    Today we celebrate God’s incarnation. God with us Emmanuel!  14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  Jesus has been joined to flesh. God and man forever united at this glorious birth we celebrate today. He humbled Himself to become flesh and He kept the law perfectly … for you. He gave Himself over to be tried and convicted; to be put to death for your sins and He gives you His Royal robes of righteousness in exchange for your sinfulness.  Christ; God’s eternal word made flesh!    You and I and our children are born in sin. We all need to hear that Good News that we, who have been given faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit through the word are free of our sin on account of Christ. God, at this baby’s birth, became man and through His sinless life, death at the cross and glorious resurrection gives you by the power of the Holy Spirit faith to believe in Him.   Christ; God’s eternal word made flesh … for you!  In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Sermon December 17 - 18, 2011

Title: God’s Kingdom, found in Christ, for you! 

Text: Luke 1:31-33 ESV 

31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32He 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, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 

The violinist Fritz Kreisler’s extraordinary talent manifested itself when he was only 4, and it was carefully fostered by his father. Born in 1875, he entered the Vienna Conservatory at 7, gave his first performance at 9 and was awarded its gold medal at 10. 

He went on to have an illustrious career, making his U.S. debut in 1888 and playing concerts throughout the world until his retirement from active performance in 1950 living the remainder of his life in New York City, until his death at 87 in 1962. 

Countless violin recitals occur in this country each year by students of all ages. Some great, some good, some not so good; we at times are blessed to attend and hear the very best of this God given talent and at other times must endure that which leaves much to be desired - the ordinary and the extraordinary. 

Our God uses both in His activity throughout human history. The simple act of a woman and a pregnancy, but in this case, this common activity of daily life will occur without the involvement of an earthly father. The significance of this birth will, from its humble beginnings, be recognized as the single most important action of God since He created the heavens and the earth. 

God’s Kingdom, found in Christ, for you! 

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 

Just prior to this section of scripture we are told the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and how the angel Gabriel visited Zechariah with the promise that Elizabeth would conceive and bear a son in her old age. It concludes with: 

24After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, 

So, Gabriel, is here in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, sent by God to proclaim the Good News to Mary that she has been chosen by God to bring forth the culmination of all human history spoken of by the prophets, that God would send a Messiah to redeem His people. And here, in the presence of this young virgin an angel appears: 

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

A joyful salutation to be sure, The Lord is with you! Mary however is greatly troubled at the saying and wonders what kind of greeting this might be? Gabriel, sensing her concern responds: 

"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32He 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, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 

Well, that clears that up. You’ll have a son, name him Jesus. Oh, and he’ll be God’s son too and sit on David’s throne and reign forever and His Kingdom with have … no … end! 

God’s Kingdom, found in Christ, for you! 

God, in his word through the angel Gabriel brings Good News to Mary. He brings comfort too. She will be the mother of God. All, the angels in heaven are rejoicing at this blessed good news as the seed of woman, Jesus Christ, who is “very God of very God” becomes “incarnate by the Holy Spirit” and will be “born of the Virgin Mary” and forever be God and man joined together in the God/man Jesus Christ who came to live, suffer, die and rise again for the forgiveness of the sins of the whole world, for you. 

Mary’s question is profound having a depth of meaning of great and broad significance: 34And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" Not, questioning what the angel said or asking why but knowing that God’s profound action is required for this to come to pass and simply asking how? 

35And 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. 

This Virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit will bring God’s mystery … that He will join human flesh to Himself to save us and bring about… 

God’s Kingdom, found in Christ, for you! 

But, do you believe it? Do you live it? Are you so consumed with the worries of this world that you fail to be freed to rest in Christ’s saving work? 

The truth is we all fail to rest in Christ’s work because we fail to be in His word. The word of God which brings both - despair over our sin and the comfort that in Christ we have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. 

Paul in our epistle lesson today tells us: 
25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages26but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith. 

Faith … brought about by the power of the Holy Spirit through the prophetic writings and being made known by the preaching of Jesus Christ. This preaching and teaching will cause you to look at your sin, to be brought to the realization that you fail to meet God’s requirements and to see that Jesus Christ has met the requirements - for you … and that on account of His obedience to the Law, you have been given: 
God’s Kingdom, found in Christ, for you! 

Our Gospel lesson concludes with: 

37For nothing will be impossible with God." 38And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. 
God according to His word “was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man!” God in His omnipotence, having all power and being all powerful, humbled Himself to the place of a servant and came as the babe of Bethlehem, for you. 

He suffered the scorn and rejection of this world to be born in a manger and to go to the cross, for you and for me. This is the Good News of the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary that God world enter the world to set His people free from their sin and to proclaim peace. 

God’s Kingdom, found in Christ, for you! 

ILL. 
Fritz Kreisler the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn't able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase the beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. 

Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. "Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?" he asked. 

Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector's emotions were deeply stirred. "I have no right to keep that to myself," he exclaimed. "It's yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it." 
Our Daily Bread February 4, 1994 

May we also, by the power of the Holy Spirit take the message of the baby King who came to live , suffer, die and rise again for you into all the world so that: 

God’s Kingdom, found in Christ, will by the Holy Spirit, be the blessed good news that every one hears! 

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