New Years Eve - Circumcision of Jesus - 2013 - G - Marked with a Promise

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

Dear friends in Christ.  Tonight, many people will be out celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of another.  They will be making, but not necessarily keeping, their new year’s resolutions.  Some will drink champagne; some will celebrate with family and friends.  Some will watch football, and if you’re me, you’ll cheer for Nebraska tomorrow! 

But for the church, the focus is on something different, for the church already celebrated its new year with the beginning of advent.  Instead today the church celebrates that tomorrow is the eighth day since the birth of Jesus Christ.  And as our text says, at the end of eight days, Jesus was circumcised. 

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant between God and his people.  Every Jewish male was circumcised on the eighth day, as they were also given their name.  Circumcision began with Abraham, who was promised at that time, “From your loins will come the savior.”  And so Abraham’s loins were marked with a visible reminder of the promise – a circumcision.  The promise was passed on to Isaac, Abraham’s son, as he too was circumcised.  Jacob received the promise, stealing it form his brother Esau, and passed circumcision on to all of his descendants.  We hear of Circumcision being a sign of the promise in Moses’ day, and in Israel for all of its days, until the days of our text today. 

And in our text, finally, the promise is fulfilled.  A savior was born, and laid in a manger.  He comes to die, as we spoke about on Christmas day.  He comes to go to the cross, as we will speak about on Good Friday.  He comes to raise again on the third day.  He comes to set his people free from sin.  And so all people, from Abraham onward, who were circumcised received the fulfillment of God’s promise to them in Jesus Christ.  Thus the importance of this day.  For finally, the act and promise of circumcision meets the blood of Jesus Christ the savior.  For it is that blood, poured out by Jesus, that is truly what saves. 

But wait pastor, what about us?  Are we required to be circumcised, or to continue in the promise?  For if we don’t, how does that promise of Jesus come to us, here today?  How are we connected to the promise of a savior? 

Dear friends, you too need to be connected to the promise of God.  For you too have sinned.  Think over the last year – 2013.  How many times have you broken God’s law?  I bet its more times than you can remember, you’ve done wrong.  I bet more times than not, you’ve fallen short.  You’ve hated and stolen.  You’ve doubted and lied.  You’ve gossiped terribly, and you’ve probably acquired possessions in a less than honest and god pleasing way.  You’ve sinned. 

And in the face of that sin, the promise of circumcision comes to you.  No not with a knife, or scissors.  Instead the blood of circumcision comes to you with all the blood of Jesus poured out for sin, in the waters of Holy Baptism.  In baptism, the blood Jesus shed counts for you and your sin.  From the very first blood of Jesus at his circumcision, to the blood that poured from his side as he hung from the cross.  All of Christ’s blood covers you and your sin, fulfilling God’s promise of a savior for you. 

You see, in Baptismal waters, in the font, Jesus circumcision counted for you.  In Water and the Word, his holy eternal life became your life.  By washing here, you were reborn not of the will of flesh, or even by the hands of men, but instead by God, and his fulfilled promises to you.  You are saved, and are cleaned, by the blood of your savior, Jesus Christ, circumcised for you today, so that you might live forever more.  Amen.  

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service - 2013 - "Quiet Night"

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Silent night.  Holy night.  It is a quiet night, is it not?  No, not in the normal way of thinking.  There are still trains that will go by and honk their horns at 1 in the morning, as you awaken to hear the rumble of them down the tracks.  The neighbors dog may still bark, the kids will probably shriek with delight upon seeing the presents under the tree.  There will be the normal din and noise tonight.  But still there is a peaceful silence – the silence that overcomes the noise and din of your sin. 

Up until that first Christmas, your sin and guilt was ever crying out to condemn you before your heavenly father.  There was so much sin, and so much racket in your life, its impossible to even keep track of a small portion of it.  The cries go up!  You’re an adulterer.  You’re a thief.  You curse, swear and lie.  You seek and desire after the things that you think will make you happy in this life more than you care about your neighbor.  You’re self-centered gossips.  Yes, those words are spoken about you and the cacophony of sin that fills your life.  Your life is not peaceful and quiet, your life is not serene.  Instead there is sin at every corner crouching like a lion seeking to devour us. 

That sin for as long as we can remember has sought to destroy our lives, and more dangerously, to destroy our faith.  That sin has often had its source from your own heart.  It’s been your evil desires at times that have created the noise of sin in your life.  It’s been your fault, as we confess each week, your own fault, your own most grievous fault that you’ve sinned.  Its your guilt that makes up the noise of this sinful world. 

But not tonight.  Tonight it is quiet, tonight it is peaceful.  Tonight, on this Holy night, the accusations against you no longer ring forth.  Instead before God there is a peace that can only be won with blood and suffering.  There is calmness for the battle between man and sin is won. 

How?  The birth of Christ.  On this night, so many years ago the cries of a young woman in labor were heard in the town of Bethlehem.  And after the cries of the birth pains were over, a baby boy was born of that blessed virgin, and laid in a manger to sleep.  And this babe would be one for the rising and falling of many.  This babe would be the sin atoning sacrifice for you, and me, and all the world.  This babe was born to die on an old rugged cross outside Jerusalem, to bear all the wrath of God against the clamor of your sin.  He is your blood brother, whose blood will set you free from sin forever. 

And this ordinary baby is truly not an ordinary babe at all.  For within his human body - with its miniature fingers and the lub dub of its tiny heart – the fullness of God’s only begotten son lies hidden.  (deus absconditus).  The God who existed before time itself was created by him, lays nursing at the breast of his human mother.  He has placed himself into the care of sinful people, knowing that they will one day mock him, beat him, and kill him.  For he knows that is the only way that he will save them. 

This baby is Jesus, true God and true Man.  He is your Lord, who has redeemed you lost and condemned people, purchasing and winning you with his own blood so that you may finally be at peace with God. 

And so tonight is silent.  Tonight is calm.  Tonight is holy, and you too, in Jesus alone, are you too holy forever.  He is yours, and you are his.  He is the Son of God, love’s pure light.  Sin is defeated.  Death and the grave can no longer clamor for you, for they are broken.  In the baby born tonight, Jesus, you are at peace with God, even forever.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.  

Advent 4 - G - 2013 - The Promised Child

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 22, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline

Isaiah 7:10-14             Romans 1:1-7              Matthew 1:18-25

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the Gospel lesson just read. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Somewhere around 700 B.C. it happened.  Isaiah the great prophet of Israel spoke the Word of God in regards to a promise of God.  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  It was a promise spoken to Ahaz, the King of Judah, sitting on the throne of his ancestor David.  Ahaz is described in scripture as a wicked king, who did not believe the Word of God spoken either in scripture or by his prophets.  He worshipped false God’s.  He sacrificed his own child to a false God.  He desecrated the temple of Solomon, removing and destroying some of the great decorations.  He built places to worship false God’s. 

And so it was that Isaiah spoke the word of God to him, as if to say, “Believe in me, for my Son Immanuel is coming.  Believe Ahaz, for it is in the salvation given by the Virgin’s Son that your life is saved.”  It’s a promise that Ahaz ignored, instead trusting in his own devices and decisions.  And so it is spoken in scripture, that King Ahaz died, and was buried in Jerusalem, but because of his great sin and doubt of God’s word’s, he was not buried in the tomb of his father David.  By ignoring God’s promises he separated himself from the great promises of heaven. 

For despite Ahaz’s unbelief, God did fulfill his promise spoken by Isaiah, 700 years later, as a young virgin was found by her fiancé Joseph to be with child.  The woman’s name was Mary, and her child was truly Immanuel – God with us.  Joseph, being righteous, was going to divorce the woman quietly, for he knew the child growing in her was not his.  But an angel appeared, and spoke the very same words to Joseph as to Ahaz so many years earlier.  “The virgin will conceive and will bear a son, Immanuel.”  The difference, was Joseph believed the promise, and he took Mary to be his wife, and the child was born as God promised, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger, as we will speak of later this week.  He believed God’s promise, and raised the child as if Jesus was his own child.  He loved the child Jesus, until finally, his own days came to their end, and he was buried. 

Dear friends, that same promise is made to you as well.  The virgin will be with Child, and he will be Immanuel.  God with us, God with you and me.  The question is, will you believe, as did St. Joseph the adoptive father of Christ?  Or will you doubt the promise, and trust your own thoughts and desires as Ahaz the king did? 

Because of our sin, it is so easy to doubt God’s promise.  It is so easy to believe that all this Jesus talk is just a bunch of mumbo jumbo.  In fact in our society in this day and age, we are happy to take the Promise of Jesus out of Christmas.  Just in the news yesterday, a 5^th grade choir in New York sang Silent Night at their school choir concert, but they took out all words of Promise, all allusions to the Virgin, or the Christ child himself. 

We ourselves doubt too, don’t we?  We try to hide the promise of Christmas too.  In the midst of the busyness of gift opening, food preparation and family visiting, we will fail to find time to make it to this building for a Christmas worship service.  We’ll forget about Jesus.  We’ll disbelieve his Word in our day to day life.  We show that by our actions, which are filled with sin.  We show that by our thoughts, which are filled with the vilest of filth.  And we show it by our words, where we slander the name of Christ. 

Dear friends.  Repent!  Jesus is almost here!  Christmas is coming.  The promise is fulfilled, the virgin is with Child, a child who is so much more than you and I are.  For the Child is truly Immanuel, God with us.  In the flesh of that baby is the fullness of the Eternal God.  That baby, that God will go to the cross to die for you.  That’s what his name itself is, Jesus – which means The Lord Saves!  God comes to be with us, to take away your sins, to set you free to be his people, now and forever more.  He is Coming, his Advent is drawing nigh!  Dear friends, Believe the promise of God.  For he has done marvelous things! 

Your sin is forgiven.  Your eternal life is assured.  It’s the promise of God, the promise of an eternal savior.  The promise of a baby born in a manger and named Jesus by his step father at the command of the Angel.  He’s coming.  He’s nearly here.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.  

Bible Study Notes - Christmas in Scripture and History - 03

Merry Christmas!

Advent 3 - G - 2013 - The Jesus Expected

The Third Sunday of Advent

December 15, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline

Isaiah 35:1-10             James 5:7-11               Matthew 11:2-15

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 just read, especially these words, “Go and tell John what you hear and see.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends, John’s question to Jesus in our text today is an interesting one.  “Are you the one, Jesus, or should we wait for another one?”  This question asked by John is quite a different seeming sentiment from just a short time before, when John shouted out to Jesus, “I ought to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me”  or when John said, “You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” 

But Jesus isn’t doing what John expected him to do.  Jesus hasn’t come with an army to overthrow the Roman Empire, Jesus hasn’t even come with an army to release John from Herod’s prison where he is awaiting his eventual execution.  Isn’t that what the Messiah is supposed to do, isn’t he to restore David’s kingdom, isn’t he to return Israel to its rightful place of power and authority in the world?  Isn’t he to be a powerful worldly ruler?  Isn’t he to have an army following him, willing to die to complete his mission? 

Jesus hasn’t done any of this?  Jesus hasn’t come in power.  Jesus hasn’t massed an army.  Jesus hasn’t even rescued John from his prison cell and impending death.  And so John wants to know if Jesus is the messiah, or if there is another one coming after Jesus who will accomplish these things.  In plain words, Jesus isn’t who John expects.  So John, from his prison cell in Machaerus sends his disciples to find out when and if Jesus is going to do his “messiah stuff”. 

And so John’s disciples ask the question, “Are you the coming one, the messiah, or should we expect another?  And Jesus responds this way, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”  This list that Jesus quotes is the same list that the prophet Isaiah gave us to look for when writing of the Messiah 700 years earlier.  Jesus is saying, “Throw out your misconeptions, I am the Messiah, and the things that I am doing are messiah things!  I am doing exactly what God asks, and my salvation is not an earthly, temporary salvation, but an eternal heavenly one.”  And John’s disicples return to tell him this message from Jesus, and not long afterwards, St. John the Baptist, the greatest prophet in scripture, confident in his faith in Christ, is beheaded by King Herod. 

And as we read our text this morning, dear friends, it begs the question, “What do you expect from Jesus?”  Do want a Jesus who will confirm you in whatever it is that you think is right?  One that ignores the sins that you know you commit, or one who tells you simply “Its ok, no big deal?  Because this is not the Jesus of Scripture.  Or do you want a Jesus who is only a friend and nothing more, one to whom you can talk about what is going on?  Do you want a Jesus who entertains you each week?  Do you want a Jesus who will allow for only Christian presidents and congressmen?  Because that’s not the Jesus of Scripture, either. 

Do you want a Jesus who listens and does exactly what you say and want, without any concern for what he tells you?  Do you want a Jesus who heals Uncle Bill on your time table, who can bring back grandma, or who will increase the funds in your bank account and help you live your purpose-filled best life now?  That’s not the Jesus of scripture. 

Listen to what Jesus says and look at what he does.  The Jesus of scripture is one who tells the truth – you’ve sinned, and that there is now way around that fact.  And the Jesus of Scripture says, “I’ve done something about it.  Hear the things that Jesus has done.  He went to suffer and die for your sins, to die that you might be forgiven.  He went to Jerusalem to the cross, bearing your sins and guilt, and he was nailed to a rough wooden cross.  He hung naked and filled with your shame as the citizens of Jerusalem entered town.  He suffered and died.  He was buried.  And he rose again.  Why?  So you could belong to God.  So that you might be healed, not in this world, but forever in heaven.  So that your life might go well in heaven, not necessarily on earth. 

Is Jesus the Messiah we expect and want?  Not necessarily, and yet he is the messiah all the same.  He is our God.  Christ the crucified – the God of our salvation.  We need not expect another.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.  

Bible Study Notes - Christmas in Scripture and History - 02

Advent 2 Midweek - 2013 - Psalm 24

Psalm 24

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not lift up his soul to what is false
    and does not swear deceitfully.
⁵ He will receive blessing from the Lord
    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob.^[a] Selah

⁷ Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle!
⁹ Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! 

Revelation 5:6-10

⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation,
¹⁰ and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
    and they shall reign on the earth.”

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”

¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is from the readings just read, along with the words of hymn 339, Lift up your heads, you everlasting doors. 

Christmas is coming, God is coming to be more clear.  And as he comes, who is worthy?  “Who is it that shall ascend to the hill of the Lord?” asks our psalm.  In other words, who is that is worthy to enter the temple, to be in the presence of God?  Who is deserving and praiseworthy enough for God?

Its not you, and its not me.  The psalm tells us what requirements there are to stand in the “holy place of God.”  You must have “clean hands and a pure heart.”  You must not “lift up your soul to what is false, or swear deceitfully.”  And your life does not match up with what this text says.  You are not clean by hand or action, and you are certainly not pure of heart.  This list in our psalm is not a long list, but still we’ve failed at these few commands. 

Your hands are not clean.  What sins have they committed.  Have they committed adultery?  Have they stolen, have they hurt or harmed your neighbor?  They have.  In fact you hands of done things that would make your family blush if they knew of them.  You’ve committed sin by your deeds.  The guilt is yours.  And in addition your heart is not clean, for the sins of your heart are really what made your hands unclean themselves.  You desire sin at every turn.  You seek to serve not God, but to serve yourself.  To make yourself happy in this life by the works of your hand.  Your heart desires not the things of God, but only the things of this world.  For you, dear friend, are a sinner. 

No, you are not worthy to ascend to God’s holy mountain.  You are not worthy to receive blessings from the Lord, nor righteousness from the God of salvation.  Instead, all you and I desire is condemnation, death, punishment and hell – forever. 

And yet there is one who is worthy, there is one who can ascend the mountain of God, one who is perfect both in action and in heart.  One whose righteousness passes all our understanding.  And it is for this one that we wait with anticipation.  It’s for this one that we sang the words of our hymn today.  “Who is this King of great and glorious fame?  What is His name?  Lord God of Sabaoth!  Of whom the prophets wrote, whose chosen humble steed declares him king indeed!  Hosana Lord!  Messiah come and save from sin and grave!” 

It’s Jesus, the coming one, who is worthy.  For it is He who is perfect in purity of heart and in cleanness of hand.  It is he who may ascend God’s holy mountain, to enter into his presence, for he has first ascended the mountain of God’s wrath.  It’s He who taking your sins, bore them to Golgotha, where all the judgment and wrath of God was poured out upon him.  It is there that your death became his, and his life became yours.  It’s on the cross that God punished your guilt.  It’s there that the worthy Christ suffered and died in your place. 

“Worthy is Christ!  The lamb who once was slain!”  And he gives that worthiness to you, in water and the word.  You now belong to God.  You now inherit heaven.  In Jesus your identity is not that of a sinner with unclean hands and un pure heart.  But instead in Jesus your identity is a holy child of God, who is fully forgiven and holy forever in God’s sight.  You are ransomed by the blood of God’s Son.

Rejoice!  O Zion’s daughter sing!  The gates of heaven lift up their heads to Christ who enters in.  And you follow in his train.  Hosana!  Blessed is He and all who come with him and in him.  Blessed are you, who belong to Christ, even forevermore.  For He is the King of glory!  The Lord of hosts!  Forevermore!  Amen.  

Advent 2 - G - 2013 - Repent You Brood of Vipers!

The Second Sunday of Advent

December  8, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline

Isaiah 11:1-10             Romans 15:4-13          Matthew 3:1-12

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 just read, especially these words, “You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”  Thus far out text today.  Amen. 

Dear friends, John the Baptist came baptizing and preaching repentance, for the Kingdom of heaven was near.  In other words, Jesus is coming!  And to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus, John preached Repentance, a turning aside from sin, a remorse for what has gone wrong in life, and a general acknowledgement that I myself am not as good and holy as I like to think.  Repent!  Turn from sin!  And to those who acknowledge their sin, John baptizes, saying, “Look to the coming savior.  He will take care of your sin!.  Look to Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” 

But not all admit their sin.  Not all think they are sinners.  Some think they keep God’s rules.  Some think they are “hot stuff.”  In fact, a few groups of such people come to see John.  Some Pharisees, those who thought they knew all the laws, and even thought that they kept them came.  Along with them, came Sadducees, whose name comes from the Hebrew word, צדיק which itself means righteous. 

These two groups didn’t see their own sin, even as they excelled at seeing the sin of the average person.  These two people come not to repent, but rather to bring judgment upon John and those who go out into the wilderness.  To tell them they are wrong.  To tell them that instead of repentance they need a holiness that matches their own. 

And John, upon seeing them come, calls out these words, “You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is to come?”  In other words, LOOK AT YOUR OWN SIN AND REPENT!  Pay attention to the reality that encompasses your life!  For its only then, that you might receive the promises of God for forgiveness, life and salvation. 

Dear friends, the same message is ours this Advent season.  Listen to the call of St. John the Baptist.  Repent.  Admit that you too are a part of the brood of vipers and sinners.  Don’t lie to yourself, because the truth is you’ve sinned, and not only in little embarrassing things, but in terrible and often times disgusting ways.  You’ve been concerned with only yourself.  You’ve been self-righteous, self-glorifying guilty sinners, and you still are.  You’ve had every type of adulterous and sinful desire imaginable.  You’re a sinner. 

And so, dear sinner, heed the call of St. John.  Repent.  The kingdom of heaven is near!  Wretched people that we are!  Who will save us from our sin?  Who will take away our evil desires?  God’s kingdom is coming!  And if we stay in sin we will not be able to stand when it arrives.  Repent.  Turn aside from your sin, and beg God for his great mercy and care.  And trust this, dear friends, that mercy is exactly what God wishes to give in his kingdom. 

For the ruler of the Kingdom of God is none other than the coming Christ.  He comes to set his people free, he comes to take away their sin, he comes to destroy death forever.  He is coming, his advent is drawing nigh.  And he comes to die, so that you don’t have to.  He comes to bear your sin, so that the weight of it might be lifted off your shoulders.  He comes to give you hope in the world to come, and life everlasting. 

Jesus gives you that promise through his own work, though his own death and resurrection.  It is in that act and that act alone that your sin can be taken away, and dear friends, has been taken away.  Your sin-free now, because of Jesus – not in your own right, but only by his work.  You have died to sin, and now live forever in Christ.  You are no longer a brood of vipers, but instead God’s holy and chosen people.  Dear friends, Jesus is coming.  Soon he will be born and laid in a manger.  Rejoice.  For the kingdom of God is near, and you are a citizen of that kingdom.  Amen.  

Bible Study Notes - Christmas in Scripture and History - 01

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Advent 1 Midweek Service 2013

Isaiah 40:1-8

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

³ A voice cries:^[b]
“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.”

⁶ A voice says, “Cry!”
    And I said,^[c] “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
    and all its beauty^[d] is like the flower of the field.
⁷ The grass withers, the flower fades
    when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
    surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades,
    but the word of our God will stand forever.

Matthew 5 

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons^[a] of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the words from Isaiah, especially as they appear in our sermon hymn, “Comfort, comfort Ye My People.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ, God’s word proclaims a great promise tonight.  Comfort, comfort you my people.  Comfort from sorrow, from pain, from suffering, from sadness… comfort from sin.  Comfort that comes from God. 

And it’s a comfort we greatly need.  For this world is not a comfort to us so many times.  Instead it is a place of discontent and woe.  A place of sin and hurt.  It invades our own lives.  We hurt as we prepare for Christmas because there are ones we know won’t be there this year, due to family fights, illnesses and deaths.  We weep, as we consider our own lives, and the sin the pervades our days.  We’ve done wrong.  Our loved ones have done wrong, and every day we reap the consequences from that sin. 

Yes, we try and hide our sin.  Yes we try to keep it locked away inside where no one will know about it, not even our pastor.  We act outwardly like everything in our lives is fine, even as we fall apart inside.  We act like we can handle our own problems, even as they overwhelm us so much that at times we don’t even want to get out of bed in the morning. 

God knows your sin, dear friends.  He knows your perils, your wants, you faults, and your evil desires.  And because of that, you deserve God’s anger.  Because or your sin, you’ve deserved the challenges you’ve faced in your lives.  You’ve deserved the wrath of God, wrath that is the very opposite of comfort. 

And yet, it is to us, in our sinful lives, that God makes this promise:  Comfort, dear friends, comfort to you God’s People.  Comfort to you who sit in darkness, mourning beneath your sorrows load.  Speak to God’s people of the peace that awaits them.  Tell them that their sins are covered, and her warfare now is over. 

Jesus has done this all through his own life, death and glorious resurrection.  That is why he came to this world, to bring comfort purchased with his blood.  By the cross, our sins were pardoned.  Each of our dark deeds, God has blotted out.  He invades our world, to defeat the terrors of sin death and the devil, to destroy discontentment, to swallow whole God’s eternal wrath, and to bring the turmoil of our world to its end. 

And in the Christmas stable, we see the first stage of that invasion.  A little baby, born in the natural way, contains the complete fullness of the eternal God.  That God baby is wrapped in cloths to keep him warm, so that one day he can be wrapped in cloths of purple before he is mocked and beaten.  He is laid in a manger to sleep, so that one day he can be laid upon a cross to be nailed.  And shepherds gather to see him, just as one day crowds will gather to watch him die.  And in that death, the Christ will bring comfort to you and to me.  In that death, death is swallowed up forever. 

Comfort, dear friends, is yours, in Christ.  Comfort is yours, as a free gift given to you by God.  Comfort is yours, even forevermore, something that nothing in this world, not even death itself can take away. 

Comfort, comfort ye my people, speak ye peace thus saith our God.  Comfort those who sit in darkness, mourning neath their sorrows load.  Speak ye to Jerusalem, of the peace that waits for them.  Tell her that her sins are covered.  And her warfare, now is over.  Amen.  

Advent 1 - G - 2013 - Judgment and Forgiveness of Advent

The First Sunday of Advent

December 1, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline

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, “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”  Thus far our text for today. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Today begins advent, and already many of us have already begun our preparations for Christmas.  Many of us have already set up our Christmas trees, hung up our lights.  We’ve probably begun our Christmas shopping for the years, and even in many of our homes we have set out our Nativity sets, anxiously awaiting Christmas day, when the baby Jesus will be born, and laid in swaddling cloths in a manger. 

And yet even as we look forward to that day which is coming in a few short weeks, today’s text mentions nothing about mangers, stars, wisemen, or even babies.  Instead we hear about the terrible destruction that happened without warning at the flood of Noah.  Instead we hear about the final day, when one will be taken to heaven, and one will be left to the fires of hell.  And our text ends with these words, “Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

And these words should be worrisome to us!  Jesus is coming!  And the next time that Christ comes, he will not be a cute little baby, but instead he will come in all the glory and power and majesty of the eternal God.  He will come, and He will raise the dead and he will judge them justly and eternally.  Sin will be destroyed forever.  Those without the guilt of sin will be kept safe in heaven.  And those with the guilt of sin will be left to fire, and weeping, and gnashing of teeth forevermore in the punishment of hell. 

St. Paul warns us on what the judgment will be based in our epistle lesson.  Love, he says, is the fulfillment of the law.  Love for neighbor more than for self.  Love for God, more than self.  Love that does not steal, love that does not covet.  Love that does not hate or murder.  Love that does not lie or gossip, love that is perfect is all things.  Those who love perfectly, absolutely perfectly, according to God’s law, and God’s law only, will be the ones who inherit heaven.  And those who fail, deserve Hell.

And the scary Christmas and Advent truth is this.  We’ve failed.  We aren’t holy.  We aren’t perfect.  We don’t love the way God wants.  We have not kept the smallest part of God’s law, let alone the whole thing perfectly.  So when Christ returns, we deserve punishment.  When Christ comes back, it’s us that He ought to judge.  We deserve the same punishment as those who were killed in Noah’s flood.  We deserve the same punishment as Sodom and Gomorrah. 

And yet, the great judge who will come on the last day has come before.  Not in power and might and majesty, but in flawless humbleness and unspoiled weakness, born of a human, and laid in a manger in a stable in Bethlehem.  He comes in perfect lowliness, so low in fact, that he will be despised by the people he comes to.  He fulfills God’s law completely and perfectly.  And because of it, He will be killed by our sinful hands.  He will be nailed to a cross, and die because of our un-holiness.  Murdered because of his great love for us. 

And that’s the catch!  Jesus loves us perfectly, and in his death declares that his perfect love becomes ours.  It counts for us.  In baptism, you and Jesus switched places, and his holiness became yours, and your sinfulness became his.  He became your substitute in the final judgment.  When He returns on the last day, he no longer judges you based on your works, but only on his works which He gave to you.  You dear friends, are Holy in Christ, and in Christ alone, and so will be taken to heaven forever more. 

Jesus is coming, to judge both the living and the dead.  He’s coming to bring the world to its end.  He’s coming, and because he has already come, on that day you will inherit the promise of life, salvation, and paradise forever more.  That’s the message of Christmas, and as we prepare for it, we do so in repentance and in faith, trusting in the great mercy of our God, who fulfilled the law for us, so that we might become heirs of everlasting life.  In the name of the Coming Jesus.  Amen.