Epiphany 3 - G - 2015 - Repent and Believe the Gospel

Divine Service Setting 2  |  Psalm 62  |  Jonah 3:1-5, 10  |  1 Corinthians 7:29-35  |  Mark 1:14-20

Hymns - 730  |  839  |  409

For Shutins

Epiphany 2 - G - 2015 - The Call of the World

1 Samuel 3:1-20          1 Corinthians 6:12-20                  John 1:43-51

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today comes from the Old Testament and Gospel lessons, especially these words spoken by Jesus, “Follow me.” 

Dear friends in Christ.  We all believe and confess in the small catechism, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but that he has called me by the gospel…”  Dear friends that’s what happens in both our Old Testament and our Gospel texts for today.  In the OT lesson, God calls Samuel to be his prophet as he slept in the courts of the temple.  In the Gospel lesson, Jesus calls Phillip to be a disciple, saying to him, “Follow me.”  And finally, in that same Gospel lesson, Jesus calls Nathanael in the same way that he calls you and me – through the preaching of His word.

This method of calling is consistent throughout all the pages of scripture.  Wherever God’s word is proclaimed in its truth and purity, it works faith, it brings people to God.  Every person in the pages of scripture comes to faith after having heard the word of God.  Take Abraham, who left his home of Haran to travel in faith to an unknown place, when God’s word told him, “I will make you a great nation.” (Genesis 12:2)  Jacob came to faith when God’s word came to him, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.” (Genesis 28:15)  Noah built the ark in response to God’s Word, Moses went to Pharaoh having heard the bush, Joshua led Israel around the walls of Jericho because God’s Word told him to.  There is not one person in Scripture who came to faith apart from God’s word. 

And yet, dear friends, that’s not the way we act in our world today.  We have this idea that God is lost out there somewhere, and that we have to go and find him.  And once we find him we have this ridiculous idea that we have to ask him to come, and to live in our hearts and to be our God.  That we have to invite him to be our God. 

Yes at times, even we Lutherans are guilty of thinking this crazy “Find God” idea.  After all we are surrounded by it.  All the so called “Christian movies” and television shows have this idea built into them.  Even at the end of television sermons we hear the words, “Come up and invite Jesus to be your personal Lord and Savior.”  And so we sinfully believe that’s the way faith works.  And so we don’t bring our children to church to hear God’s word, instead we say “I’ll let them make their own decision about faith” as if their decision was more important than hearing God’s Word. 

And what’s more, we don’t’ believe that God’s word will do what it says it will – create faith.  We think we need to add to it, to make it to be something more than it is.  For example, there’s a Church in England that every year in February has a clown service – where the pastor and members dress up as clowns.  Or what about the churches here in the United States– plural churches – where the pastor rides up into the altar area on a motorcycle?  All of it predicated on the idea that we need something more than the call of God’s holy word.  Or any other sort of dog and pony show that we feel we need to have in church to make people Christians? 

Dear friends, Scripture is clear – the clear word of Jesus is sufficient.  As Paul says about the simpleness of his message, “We preach Christ crucified.”  Nothing more, nothing less.  Look at the call of Phillip – “Follow me” spoken by Jesus.  Or Abraham – “follow me”.  OR the preaching of Peter on Pentecost – “Jesus was crucified for you – believe and be baptized.”  Or the sermons of Paul “Jesus is the unkown God who is revealed upon the cross.” 

And that message is for you as well.  Your sins, even your sins of doubt in the power of his word are taken care of by Jesus crucified.  He died on your behalf, for every sin you’ve ever committed.  You are a forgiven child of God.  You were made that child when God’s word came to you in and with water in the words of God “You are baptized in the name of the  Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Those words come to you in the words of our liturgy – almost every one of which are taken directly from scripture.  That word comes to you in the preaching of your pastor.  It comes to you in bible study.  It comes to you in your reading of your bible.  It comes to you externally – as God calls you by the Gospel, sanctifies you with his gifts, and keeps you in the one true faith. 

There in all of those ways, the Word of God makes you Christians by pointing you to the grace earned by a bloody death on the cross, by Jesus Christ.  The word does it without your decision, he does it without your consent, he does it without your understanding, and he does it without your ridiculous add-ons.  God creates faith in his word, pointing you to Jesus Christ crucified.  In that word spoken, God has built his church throughout all time, from Abraham, to Samuel in our Old Testament lesson, and even in our Gospel lesson, calling the disciples.  And dear friends, the call is the same to you, trust God’s word, that Jesus died and rose again for your sins. 

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.  

Christmas 2 - G - 2015 - Obedient For You

1 Kings 3:4-15            Ephesians 1:3-14         Luke 2:40-52

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, “they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  It happens all the time. You misplace your kid. He wanders down an aisle at Toys-R-Us; she goes off on her own in the mall. Kids have a tendency to do that. But when the kid you misplace is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the stakes go up considerable. When the Word becomes Flesh and dwells among us things are never quite “normal” again.

Mary and Joseph were required by Jewish law to go to Jerusalem 4 times a year, for different feasts and festivals.  And once Jesus was 12, and was confirmed, he needed to go to the feasts as well.  (Please note that when he was confirmed, i.e. a man, he went to more church, not less!)  So Mary, Joseph and Jesus head for Jerusalem for the Passover feast. 

Jerusalem at the time of the feast was packed.  The small town of 25,000 people swelled with some estimates putting over a million people in Jerusalem for the feast.  It is no wonder then that 12 year old Jesus gets separated from his mother and father, twelve year old boys don’t hang around with their mother’s especially when they’re in their father’s house. 

So on the way home, Mary and Joseph discover they don’t know where Jesus is.  Now, don’t think that Jesus has been disobedient, or that he has broke the 4^th commandment.  He hasn’t.  In fact, his staying in the temple was in obedience to his Father in heaven.  He listens there, in the courts to the teachers of the law – he hears gladly hears God’s word and keeps it.  He is the Wisdom of Solomon made flesh.  In fact he stays and begins teaching the teachers.  The student becomes the master; he is the one who understands God’s word clearly – and what’s more who obeys it perfectly.  And he boldly proclaims the truth of God’s Word, even at the young age of 12. 

But Jesus’ earthly mom and dad are still searching for him.  And when Joseph and Mary find him, they are frustrated.  Where have you been?  Why have you been disobedient?  But Jesus’ answer is true – I wasn’t disobedient.  I must be in my Father’s house.  I must obey God.  I must listen to the word of my heavenly father, and I must proclaim it, because that word is the most important things in my life.  I must do my heavenly father’s will, not my own.  It’s a truth that Jesus will fulfill 20 some years later, when he enters the temple for that great Passover of Good Friday. 

So what do we make of this text?  Why importance does it have for us?  Dear friends, the truth is, we are the opposite of Jesus.  We are not obedient of our heavenly father.  We don’t spend enough time in his house.  In fact, we run the other way as Jesus.  Instead of running away to God’s house, we run away from God’s house.  Instead of obeying God our Father’s word, we disobey. 

Think of yourself, and your attendance in church weekly, or even more so in bible studies.  Are you present as often as God’s word is proclaimed?  Or are there other “important” things to do, things like NFL playoffs, and holes in the ice to pull fish through.  Are there children to take care of and beauty sleep to accumulate?  Is it too hard to get out of your pajamas on Sunday morning?

And while those of us who are in church smile and nod about those we know who aren’t here each week, remember that we are that much more guilty.  Yes, each week we hear God’s word and yet still give in to our sinful nature each week.  We hear that we should not murder, but hate all the same.  We hear that we should not commit adultery, but still look at others with lust in our hearts.  We should know better!  We’re here after all, we are in our Father’s house.  But we still fall short in all ten commandments, we still fall short in our thoughts words and deeds.  We sin, just as much as the unchurched. 

And in our disobedience to God, and in our sin, we deserve eternal death and damnation.  We deserve the rod of punishment from our heavenly father.  Unless we are as obedient as Jesus, the eternal chastisement of hell waits.  It is eternal death.  It is the place where the worm does not die.  It is the place with weeping and gnashing of teeth.  And in our disobedience we deserve it. 

But what we deserve and what we receive are different.  For in our baptism, we switch places with Jesus.  What I mean is that his obedience became your obedience, and your disobedience became his disobedience.  He took your place in suffering and punishment, and you took his in the eternal reward of heaven. 

That’s why Jesus returns to Jerusalem – to the Passover – years later.  To go to the cross, and suffer, bleed and die, in your place and for your sake.  It was the ultimate obedience to God the Father.  To die to save you – the people whom God loves.  To take away your sins.  To make you holy and righteous for his names sake.  And since you belong to Jesus in baptism, you share that obedience. 

You have kept all of God’s law, not in yourself, but in Jesus.  You have been in God’s house hearing and believing God’s Word, not in yourself, but in Jesus.  You are holy and righteous in God’s Sight, not in yourself, but in Jesus. 

Dear friends in Christ.  In our text today, Jesus is obedient to God, and its all for you.  It’s the reason he’s come in Christmas to make you obedient to the Father, by his obedience.  And that obedience is seen in our text, and it is seen in his loving death for you on the cross.  You are saved, because of his obedience in your place.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.