Advent Midweek 2 - 2012 - Isaiah 61

Isaiah 61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;^[a]
    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;^[b]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.^[c]
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

⁵ Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
⁶ but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
    and in their glory you shall boast.
⁷ Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
    they shall have everlasting joy.

⁸ For I the Lord love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrong;^[d]
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹ Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
    that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

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.
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.

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is from the reading just read, especially these words, “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.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Christ is coming.  He will be here soon.  Come Lord Jesus.  He comes to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to those who are captive, and the opening of prisons.  He comes to proclaim the year of the Lord’s Favor and the day of vengeance.  Come Lord Jesus.  Come quickly. 

You see, this means he comes for us.  He comes to save us.  To rescue us.  We are the poor one, poor miserable sinners.  Guilty at every turn, guilty for our sin, which we have committed by our fault, our own fault, our own most grievous fault.  And so he comes to bring us good news of great joy – that born unto us in the city of David is a savior. 

He comes for us.  To bind our broken hearts – hearts broken by the pains of this world.  Broken by hurt.  Broken by the cares and worries of this life.  Broken by cancer, by loved ones lost in the last year.  Broken by stress.  Our hearts ache every day and every hour, so Christ comes. 

He comes to save us, to proclaim our liberty.  For we have been slaves to sin.  We do the things we know we ought not, and the things we should do we fail to do.  We cannot help but sin, it infects us to our very black rotten core.  We are, as St. Paul writes, slaves to sin, and Christ comes to set us free, to save us from that sin, by his own death to our sin on the cross. 

He comes to open the prisons.  No, not earthly prisons, but the eternal prison of Hell.  We who for so long deserved hell because of our guilt now know that we are free, pardoned by Christ.  He purchased and won us, not with silver and gold, but with his innocent suffering and death.  That we might be his own, and live under him in his kingdom. 

Dear friend, that’s what this season of Advent is about.  Christ is coming.  TO make us his own.  To take us from this world of sin.  To make us poor, sinners - ugly with sin, deserving of punishment – a beautiful bride for Christ.  He comes, decked out in his finest, to bring his bride the church into its eternal home.  As our text says, “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.”

He has clothed us in salvation and in his righteousness.  He has done this as we are washed of our sin.  We belong to Christ, for we were marked as his in baptism.  We belong to him, for he has made us well.

He’s coming.  The sick to heal, the weak to be made strong, the brokenhearted to be healed.  He’s coming.  And you belong to him.  Amen. 

Advent 2 - G - 2012 - Relax or Repent?

Second Sunday in Advent - Series C

December 9, 2012 - Pastor Adam Moline

Malachi 3:1-7b                        Philippians 1:2-11                   Luke 3:1-20

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is from the Gospel lesson, especially these words, “but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ, Christ is coming.  John says so in our text today.  He’s coming and is so mighty that even the great John the Baptist, the prophet and cousin of Jesus is not worthy to untie his sandals.  Jesus is coming, and the axe is laid to the foot of the tree, and those who do not repent will be thrown in the fire.  Christ’s winnowing fork is in his hand, and he is coming and ready to judge and rule.  Repent!  For the kingdom is near. 

But we aren’t really worried are we?  Relax a bit pastor – It’s Christmas, we need to lighten up a bit, and just get in the spirit of things.    We’ll be fine, we’ve been members here our whole life.  We’re safe.  Our parents and grandparents were members here, and our kids will be.  We belong here, and so we know we don’t need to worry about all this “Repent and Axes at the root” business of John the Baptist.  Right?

Wrong.  St. John addresses that directly.  “Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’  For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”  You see, it doesn’t matter if your name is written in the church record book.  It doesn’t matter if you get buried in the cemetery, or if you donate a ton of funds to this church or anywhere.  What matters is that you bear fruits in keeping with repentance.  And the axe is ready to cut down any tree that isn’t bearing fruit of repentance, to destroy any person who doesn’t do what John says, and to throw them into the eternal fire. 

Christ is coming!  So repent!    If you have extra this Christmas season – or all year for that matter – share it with the one who has none.  Don’t steal.  Don’t hurt.  Don’t cheat on your taxes.  Don’t commit adultery, don’t sin in any way, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. 

This is what a repentant person looks like.  That’s how a repentant person acts.  They don’t just rely upon their church membership.  They don’t just trust the title of Lutheran to save them.  They realize they are guilty, they realize they are sinners, they realize that they need a savior, and they care for their neighbors. 

And as you do these things, know that in no way does it earn you anything from God.  No way does it forgive you, or make you more holy than anyone else.  Only “the Coming One” can do that.  Only He can set you free.  Only He can save you.  And get ready he’s coming.  He’s coming to be born of a virgin and laid in swaddling clothes.  He’s coming to grow up, showing you what a true Christian looks like.  He’s coming to serve his neighbor.  To heal the sick.  Give sight to the blind.  To make the lame to walk.  He’s coming to give all of himself on your behalf, to give up even his life on a hill far away – nailed to an old rugged cross. 

That’s Jesus.  He comes to bear the ultimate fruits of repentance.  It’s Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, giving all he had, being born in the likeness of men.  He cares for you.  He suffers for you.  He dies for you.  And he gives you hope and promise for your entire life. 

As John says, we aren’t worthy for Jesus, but he comes anyways.  We are not worthy to untie his sandals, so we care for his other children, our neighbors around us instead.  We care, so that all flesh may see God – come to set his people free.  Amen.  

December Newsletter Article - That's What Christmas is all About!

 Dear Friends,

Most Christmas television specials are lying to you.  I hate to say it, but it’s true.  I mean, I love watching talking snowmen, and Dasher and Dancer and “Ho Ho Ho!” and all, but behind all these fun things, there is a fundamental lie. 

The lie is this: there is some magical “Christmas Spirit” and if you want your Christmas to go well, you have to possess it.  Furthermore, to possess it, you have to sing the right Christmas carols, you have to buy lots lights for your house, you have to stop saying “Bah Humbug!” and you need to have snow falling outside (just not on the sidewalks please!).  Finally, and most importantly, you have to be more concerned with giving than receiving. 

One of the Christmas movies we see this idea of “Christmas Spirit” idea most clearly is one of my favorites, the movie “Elf.”  In the movie, Santa’s sleigh stops flying, the Christmas “Spiritometer” is at empty.  If Santa doesn’t take off soon, the police will arrest him.  So the main female character begins singing, “You’d better watch out, you’d better not cry.”  Soon, the whole city of New York is singing, Santa’s sleigh flies again, and everyone’s Christmas is saved. 

But there is a fundamental Lutheran problem with “Christmas Spirit.”  It is always dependent upon us, upon how we feel, upon what we do.  The Grinch needed to grow his heart three sizes to have the “Christmas Spirit.”  Shrek needed to realize his family included all his annoying friends to have the “Christmas Spirit.”  Rudolph needed to know he is a unique person, and his friends needed to accept him for his uniqueness. 

Law, law, law!  Do you see our Lutheran conundrum?  All these people had to do something to get the “Christmas Spirit.”  If that’s really what Christmas is all about, then Christmas is Law, and as Lutherans, we have learned in Catechism class, that “the Law always accuses – it shows us our sin.” 

Christmas isn’t about “fixing your attitude.”  Christmas isn’t about Christmas spirit.  It’s not even about the biggest half-truth that we tell at this time of the year, “Tis better to give than to receive.” 

No, Christmas is not about any of these things.  It’s about Christ, it’s about Jesus, born of the virgin, made man.  It’s about a gift, yes, but not a gift we give, but a gift we first receive from God. 

My very favorite Christmas television special is probably the one that most clearly illustrates this point.  Charlie Brown feels down.  He doesn’t have the “Christmas spirit.”  He isn’t happy, he doesn’t have lights on his house.  He doesn’t get Christmas cards.  He doesn’t even enjoy leading the school Christmas program. 

Finally, pushed to the limit, and just sick and tired of all the phony baloney, Charlie Brown shouts out, “Isn’t there anybody who knows what Christmas is all about?”

Linus to the rescue, “And there were angels in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night, And suddenly a great multitude of angels appeared, and the glory of the Lord shown all around.  And they said, “Unto you this day is born in the city of David, a Savior, which is Jesus Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger.” 

Jesus.  Savior.  Immanuel.  That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. 

That baby is a gift to us.  That baby is really God in human flesh, sent to take away the sin of the world.  That same babe, who lies in a wooden manger, will one day lie on a wooden cross, as nails are pounded through His hands.  He who is wrapped in swaddling clothes will one day be stripped of all His clothes while He dies.  That babe is the gift that keeps on giving, the One that sets us free from sin. 

That message – the free gift of Jesus for your forgiveness, life and salvation – can easily get lost in our world today.  After all, Christmas shopping season begins the day after Halloween.  The kids all want very specific toys, which are impossible to find in the stores.  The television is full of annoying Target ads, and radios with 85 million pop Christmas songs that you don’t want to listen to.  (I prefer the oldies myself.) 

But Christmas is really about Jesus.  It really is a gift.  One that is better to receive than any you might give.  It’s one that we share together in the faith; it’s one that brings good tidings of great joy that shall be for all people.  It’s the best Christmas gift you could ever receive, and it’s one that keeps on giving for eternity. 

So when you are stuck in a mile long checkout line, with kids screaming, and visions of burning Christmas cookies dancing in your head, and when your “Christmas spirit” is dreadfully lacking, you are forgiven by the gift of Christmas.  You are a child of God, and will always be.  You are forgiven, in the blood of the lamb.

It won’t make snow fall outside your window, it won’t shrink the lines, it won’t make your annoying family member suddenly nice.  It certainly won’t make snowmen come alive.  But it does mean that you will be alive, forever.  It does mean you have forgiveness.  It does mean that Jesus loves you.  And not one of these things is dependent upon you, or your “Christmas spirit.”  It’s all dependent on Christ, born, crucified, and risen.  And that, dear friends, is what Christmas is all about.   

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good Newsletter!

Advent Midweek 1 - 2012 - Isaiah 9

9 ^[a] But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.^[b]

^2 [c] 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.
³ 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.
⁴ 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.
⁵ For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
    and every garment rolled in blood
    will be burned as fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon^[d] his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called^[e]
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.

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text tonight is the reading from earlier, especially these words, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  We walk in darkness in this world.  Sin surrounds us at every turn.  Oh, I know, we don’t like to think its our fault, we don’t like to think its our problem.  Its everyone else’s problem, isn’t it.  Preach on pastor, tell them how evil they are, tell so and so what they have done wrong.  Because its Christmas season, and I’ve baked the cookies, I’ve taken care of my loved ones, I’ve put up the tree.  I can’t be the one walking in darkness.  But its all those other people.

Oh but if it were only true.  But the truth is, we are guilty.  You are guilty.  You have sinned, and you walk in the darkness of that sin all the days of your life.  You may not realize it, but that’s only because it’s what you’re used to.   Sin.  Death.  Pain and Sickness.  This is the way of our sinful world.  It is the way of us. 

But the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.  A light shining brightly in the darkness, that the darkness cannot and will not overcome.  It’s a light that shows us both our sin, and our rescue.  When we see that light, we realize how ugly our own sin is, how grossly it has deformed us from the good and very good creatures that God originally designed.  In the light we see ourselves for what we really are – sinners.

But we also see our savior.  We also see a rescue, a savior, one who will come to set the captives to sin free forever.  For unto us a child is born, unto us a savior is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder.  And he shall be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

For soon to be born, in the city of David, is a tiny, precious baby, in whose flesh the fullness of the eternal non created God lives.  He is true God, and true man, born of the virgin.  And he comes to place the government of God’s people upon his shoulders.  To bear upon his back the sins of the world, and to kill them on the cross.  He will establish an eternal kingdom, apart from the sins of this world, apart from the struggles of this day, apart from suffering and pain.  To be the light of the world, so that all may see Him and be saved.

And in the light of this child’s reign, sin shall be destroyed.  Our joy shall increase forever.  We shall finally and eternally be at peace.  In him, we will be saved.  And this child, born in the stable, laid in the manger, He is coming again.  He will come with trumpet and cloud, and he take us home forever. 

Dear friends, we walk in darkness in this world.  We struggle.  And yet, the people walking in darkness have seen a great light, we have seen the Christ.  We have seen our Savior.  We have seen our Lord.  A child is born.  A son is given.  Our savior.  Amen.  

Advent Greetings from President Harrison

Blessed Advent!

Advent services at 7:15 p.m. Wednesdays in December.

Advent 1 - G - 2012 - Come Quickly

First Sunday in Advent - Series C

December 2, 2012 - Pastor Adam Moline

]Jeremiah 33:14-16                   1 Thessalonians 3:9-13                        Luke 21:25-36

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today comes from the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”  Thus far our text today.

Dear friends in Christ.  We are at the first Sunday in Advent.  We anxiously await the coming of Jesus, who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was made man, born of the virgin Mary.  He’s coming.  He’ll be here soon.  Come Lord Jesus, come quickly is our prayer.

And as we await the coming of Jesus, our text hearkens back to the last few weeks.  Our text focuses on Christ’s coming, not as a baby born of the Virgin, but on clouds, with judgment.  Our text looks to Christ’s second coming, when he will justly and rightly bring this sinful world to its end, when he will call the dead from their graves, and lead all Christians to heaven, and leave the rest to eternity in Hell. 

Come Lord Jesus is still our prayer.  As Christians we look forward to the end of the world, because we know for us in the faith it means our rescue.  It means taking us out of this world.  When Jesus comes, everything will be made right for us.

For you see, when Jesus comes, sin will be brought to its end.  Those who lie, gossip, bicker, and fight will be destroyed.  Those who murder, or kill, or hurt other lives, their lives will be called into account.  Those who steal, cheat, rob, or borrow without permission will have their lives taken.  Those who sin in any way, despise preaching and the word, those who curse, and swear, they themselves will face the judgment of sin.  And most importantly, and most dreadfully, those who did not fear, love or trust in God will face his eternal wrath.  When he comes, every knee will bow, and those in sin will realize the deadly and eternal consequences for that sin.    

But wait just a minute pastor, that’s not really good news for us is it?  Because I’ve sinned.  I’ve fallen short.  I’ve done what I know I shouldn’t have.  I’ve stolen and swore.  What is going to happen to me when Christ returns.  What’s going to be my fate, because if sinners are destroyed, I am destroyed. 

Dear baptized, fear not.  For in the Christ who has come, and will come again with Judgment, you have been washed.  You have been cleansed in his blood.  Yes you sin, but you are also perfectly holy in Christ’s righteousness. 

You belong to him.  You were claimed in baptism.  You were branded and marked as belonging to the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  He has saved you, in a washing of rebirth and renewal, that connects you directly to Christ on the cross for sin.  You see, dear friends, you have already died.  You have already faced punishment for your sins, as you hung with Jesus on the cross through baptism.  And in that gift, you are promised to one day, “Be with him forever in paradise.”

But Pastor, my baptism was so long ago, I don’t even remember it, I was a baby who didn’t know up from down.

Dear friends, your baptism was not based upon your memory of it, or your ability to reason.  It was based on God’s promise.  And to strengthen that faith created in you, you are fed on a regular basis with the very living body and blood that died and rose again.  Jesus comes to you in the flesh already today, hidden in bread and wine for the forgiveness of your sins.  So when Christ returns again in glory, it will not be a "gotcha" moment, but a joyful reunion with the one who won you with his one death for your sin.  When Christ returns, you will bow before him, not in fear, but in honor and love.  And he will then take you by the hand, lift you up, and greet you. 

So we can do as today’s text says, “pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”  And as we pray it we know that we will be safe.  We will escape, only in the blood of Christ.  We will stand, as a dear brother and sister of Christ.  We pray, Come Lord Jesus, take me home.  Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.  Amen.