Sermon for 1/16/11 - All I Need

Sermon: "All I Need"

Our Lord, you have given your people every spiritual gift, providing for all our needs. Speak now through your word, give us ears to hear and a heart to believe in your great and mighty promises, through Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

We've seen these promises before. God will supply your every need by his riches in glory through Christ Jesus. This is God's promise. He intends to take care of all we need. Our Lord will work in and through us. And our Lord is able to keep his promises. But how does he do this?

Yes, or course, through Word and Sacraments. But how is this worked out? In our passage from 1 Corinthians we see that believers in Christ are enriched in all speech and knowledge. Jesus' testimony is confirmed among them. They receive spiritual gifts. And they see Jesus as their sustainer. But by what means does God accomplish this? How does he enrich the saints? Just how does he put this strength, vigor, zeal into his people? How does he work to apply his word to his people?

There was a period of Church history which I think was very unfortunate in this regard. You may be familiar with it. It was called the "Second Great Awakening." This movement, primarily during the 19^th Century, had an emphasis on a fervent belief on Christ, personal Bible study and prayer, and a life of holiness. Sounds good, right? We should be fervent in our belief. Look at the apostolic age of the Church. They were praying and proclaiming Christ crucified for sinners – no holding back, even if it cost them their lives. There was this unshakable character about their faith. This is a very good thing. Do we think that all believers should be commited to a thorough knowledge and understanding of Scripture? Sure! Read that Bible during the week. Pay attention to what the Lord says. Jesus is the one with the words of life. We want to take in those words. And how about that life of holiness? The apostle Paul puts it well. Should we continue in sin that grace may abound? Don't be ridiculous! Rather, we fight against sin in our lives, striving to live a life of holiness in the Lord.

Indeed, we do believe that Christians should be fervent in their faith, that they should be committed to the Scripture, that they should live a life of holiness. But there was a deep failing in the work of the Second Great Awakening. During that time period, again and again, revivalist preachers would shed whatever they could find from historic Christianity. In their emphasis on personal faith they created an atmosphere of "me and Jesus" where the guidance that nearly 2000 years of Christian life, ministry, and theology could give was rejected. Instead, if you wanted to be truly holy, you were to cast off all that the past had to offer. Don't understand something? Retreat to the cabin in the woods with your Bible and read and pray until you do understand it. Along with this, there was an attitude that said anyone who was a trained theologian or Bible scholar was probably irrelevant and maybe dangerous. Therefore, anything that believers in the past said was suspect. Our world went through a time looking for a new revelation. At the same time, since people became suspicious of established tradition, they were also operating outside of the auspices of the local church. The revivalists threw up tents where they would have their meetings. They would reject what went on week after week in the church buildings in towns. Instead, they would tell people to pursue holiness and a fervent, biblical faith in their own way, the way that the local church wouldn't.

I've seen this over and over again. It's still around. It was around in the church plant a block from my house. My colleagues in the denomination I used to be in asked me to be involved in approving it as a home mission work. They wanted me to be involved in nurturing the young man who was planting the church. I like that young man. He's fervent. He's smart. He knows the Scriptures. But he wants to "do church like it's never been done before." I can't support that. It's departing from orthodoxy. It's rejecting all the safeguards history has given us. It's denying that our forebears had any wisdom at all.

That young pastor is not alone. There are thousands of others like him. There are innumerable para-church groups. Motorcyclists for Jesus. Bungee Jumpers for Christ. Society of Christian Tractor-Pull Enthusiasts. Coffee-Drinkers for Christ. And they all make claims that they will nurture you in your faith, that they will help you know how to live out your beliefs in this world, that they will be able to reach the world for Jesus, with your help and cooperation, in ways it has never been reached before.

Now we want to encourage a fervent faith. We want to encourage people to holy living. Christians shouldn't be in the habit of self-destructive behavior, drinking or eating themselves to death or doing other harmful things. We do think that people should rejoice in the Lord always, in every place. We do think that believers should be ready to pray for one another and encourage one another in the faith. And we think all Christians should be faithful in reading and studying the Scripture, knowing what God's Word says about their world. But we don't want to reject that long history of Christianity, in which people have dealt with all the kind of struggles you are going to deal with in the upcoming week. Do we really think that difficult situations with relatives are new? Do we really think that only modern-day believers have had to deal with difficult bosses or co-workers? Do we really think that we're the first people in the world to have jobs we didn't like but to think we'd better avoid losing those jobs? Really, Christians throughout history have dealt with just the same kind of problems. But I'm afraid there are a lot of times we've been influenced, all too much, toward the kind of "me and Jesus" way of doing theology that came out of that revivalist movement.

The difference I see in historic Christianity is this. Throughout history believers have realized that God's gifts are active in the context of God's assembled people. True, our Lord works in and through individuals, but he most often seems to do it through those people when they are gathered together. He appoints times for Israel to gather for worship and sacrifice. He appoints festivals which will be centered around the proclamation of and instruction in the Scripture. And in the New Testament the pattern continues. Think of how 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14, talking about all sorts of spiritual gifts in operation, happen in the context of the corporate worship. Think about the way in Ephesians 4, verses 11 and following, the various people who are gifts to the Church work among the people, building the people up. You'll see there that it is until we all grow into the fullness of the stature of Christ. And in Romans 10 we see that people need to hear the Gospel, but they will not be able to without some preacher who is sent to proclaim God's good news to them.

Yes, Christians live this life for Christ in a community. We are in this together. And we look to godly people for our motivation and example. We look to the consistency of a local congregation where we can gather and hear God's word. We look to a fellowship of saints where we can turn to one another for prayer and encouragement. We look to our life in community. This is where God will provide us with all our needs. This is where we are enriched in all speech and knowledge. This is where the testimony of Jesus is confirmed. This is where we have spiritual gifts in operation. This is where we see Jesus as our sustainer.

I'd like to encourage you as a congregation. Over the past few months, as it has been my privilege to serve you in Word and Sacraments, I've seen you pulling together. I've seen you encouraging one another. I've seen you depending on one another. You've looked to me for some things and you've looked to one another for other things. This is good and healthy. If I were a permanent pastor, no doubt you would turn to me for some additional needs and there would be some differences in our relationship. But you're doing really quite well. This is why your congregation has remained about the same size it was when Pastor Maynard took another call.

You're now in the process of finding another pastor to call. How are you going to welcome that pastor into your midst? How are you going to encourage him in his faith, even as he is encouraging you in yours? Are you going to be courageous enough to welcome him with open arms, to get to know him, and to let him get to know you? Maybe I should ask the people who have begun coming in the past three months how they think you'll do. Or maybe not. We can all do better. We've all done worse. Another important question is how you will expect your pastor to serve as God's instrument in your lives. Do you really expect that the pastor is God's gift to you, to build you up? Do you really expect that the pastor is going to bring you words that you need, week after week? Do you really expect that the pastor has been called by the Lord and is able to act in the stead of Christ, bringing our Lord's forgiveness to you?

We're to encourage one another, so I'll also ask you to think about how you will serve as God's instrument in the life of your pastor and his family. While he is nurturing you, he can benefit from your encouragement and prayers. Change is difficult. Will you make the transition a joy or a burden?

There's much to be learned from the past. There's much to be learned from the biblical saints and from those who have come before in some two thousand years of Christianity. Let's look to this living hope that we have. Our Lord has given us all his gifts. He has provided us with what we need. And he provides that through his saints, assembled together in his name.

Let us pray. Our Lord Jesus, you have given us all we need. By your death for our sins you took on our sin. By your resurrection from the dead you have given us an assurance of eternal life. You have given us Word and Sacraments. You have given us your messengers to nurture us in the faith. Let us build one another up in this most precious faith, bringing you honor and glory in all things. Amen.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

Sermon for 1/9/11 - 1st Sunday after Epiphany

Sermon "Gently Urgent"

Lord, grant us your mercy, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Maybe you've been in a situation where someone has directed you to do something right away. You've been brought to a stop or re-directed by a police officer. Or maybe someone has had you take a step to the side and you then saw you were in a place which was dangerous in some way but you are now safe. As someone who has worked in music, theater, and ballet productions, I know that when the person dressed all in black grabs you by the elbow and moves you somewhere you want to go there without complaining.

Our Lord and Savior is a little like that stage hand or that police officer. He has a purpose for his people. He is working diligently toward that purpose. He will not give up until it is accomplished. And this purpose is, in fact, a matter of life and death. We, on the other hand, normally don't have a very clear grasp of the overall picture. We are haplessly standing in the way, ready to be run down by a truck, closed into the lion's cage, or have a piece of scenery lowered onto our head.

We see our Lord Jesus here in Isaiah 42. He is God's "servant." As we look at the passage it becomes quite clear that he is none other than the very God who saves us.

Jesus is the one who will be coming again in judgment. He's the one that everyone will look to for salvation, for a righteous decision. He's the one who, being the very righteousness of God, is able to give a righteous judgment. He's the one who, being truly man, is able to live and die in our stead.

Jesus, like the servant of God in Isaiah, is the one who overthrows sin, death, principalities and powers with no army, no revolutionaries, no riots or explosions. In fact, a movie about most of Jesus' work could hardly be considered an action film. It seems more like an inaction film. Jesus teaches some people. He walks here and there. People try to do things to him. He doesn't actually seem to be doing anything. He eventually ends up being put to death and buried. One author compares Jesus' saving work to the lifeguard who sees a drowning girl. He walks into the water, swims over to her, and drowns along with her. Then three days later he walks out of the water all alone and says the girl is fine. This doesn't seem like a salvation story to us. But by faith we believe, teach and confess that Jesus has accomplished salvation by his death, burial and resurrection. He didn't have to blow up the temple. He didn't have to kill all the people who opposed him. There isn't even a good chariot chase in the Gospels. No, Jesus doesn't create a stir, he doesn't raise his voice. He just saves us.

Jesus, like the servant in Isaiah 42, is the one who rules over all the earth. See how verse 4 is very universal in its scope. We see him bringing "justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law." He doesn't seem to limit himself. No, Jesus Christ is the savior of the world. He has come with his promise which is for you, for me, and for all who are far off, as many as he will call. And that call is extended to everyone. All who believe Jesus has died for their sins, all who trust that Jesus is the savior, all those people are called and redeemed.

So what is our status in all of this? In verse three we see "a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench." In verse seven we see he came "to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon."

The picture of the reed is a picture of a lamp and its wick. The oil lamps used throughout history have used rushes or reeds for wicks. That was actually common up into the nineteenth century. What happens when the wick is broken? What happens to a candle with a broken wick? We've seen it many times. That's why we remind acolytes to just hold the snuffer over the candle and let the candle go out. We don't want to break the wick because then the candle is really difficult to light. But wicks get broken. Reeds get bruised. And when they are bruised they are about to break. The reed breaks and the light goes out. What is Jesus' attitude toward us when we are bruised, battered, even broken and about to burn out? Jesus will not quench that faintly burning wick. He came to give life, abundant life at that. Jesus came to give us his light, the light of the world. He came to heal and restore. Jesus cares about us when we are downtrodden.

What if we're wandering around in darkness? We are prisoners, blind prisoners, who couldn't find the way out of the prison even if it were unlocked. What has our Lord done? He himself is the key. Just as we heard when we were looking at the O Antiphons during Advent, Jesus is the one who has unlocked forgiveness. He is the mighty king, the one who rules on the throne of David. He is the one who has come to deliver his people. He is the one who releases us from prison, from death.

So what are we to do with this servant of God? What's our part to play? How are we to throw off our shackles? Are we to clean ourselves up to present ourselves to our Lord? No, not at all. Not that we sin so God's grace can abound. But we who have been purchased by our Lord have already been moved from death to life. We don't make ourselves holy. Only God can do that. We whose eyes have been opened, the redeemed of the Lord, those he has set free from prison now walk in the light. He grabs us by the elbow and moves us. We go where he puts us. It brings us no glory. It brings us no honor. There is no power sharing. Remember Isaiah 42.8. Salvation is by God's glory and by his glory alone. No, there is no other name given by which we should be saved. We call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, God's servant, who has called us to himself.

This is our hope. Jesus has come. He has been baptized as one of us. He who washes our sins away has himself entered into the dirty water of humanity. He who brings us life has shown himself to us. He has come to suffer as one of us. And in his suffering he sets us prisoners free. Yes, Jesus, God's servant, has come to move us from death to life by placing himself into our death and giving us his life. This he has accomplished by himself. And like the man who comes to Jesus with a demon-possessed son, we say, "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief."

Thanks be to God. Amen.

-- 

Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

Sermon for 1/2/11 - Second Sunday after Christmas

Sermon: "Where's Jesus?"

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Maybe you remember a series of books and activities called Where's Waldo. Or maybe you've looked at one of those I Spy books where you are given a poem full of clues and you get to find all the objects in a very busy picture. Or you may have played "I Spy" with small children, letting them figure out that the green thing you see is their eyes. I think most of us have played hide and seek. The object is always to find something or someone. Sometimes it's something hidden. Sometimes not. But we aren't satisfied unless we find what we're looking for.

How about looking for Jesus? We need to ask ourselves where Jesus is. In our Gospel passage today Jesus went with his family to Jerusalem as he did every year. But this time while they were in Jerusalem they lost track of him. It took three days to find him again. Why did it take them so long? Was Jesus hiding? Was he moving around like the people in those old movies who pop in and out of doors in a house looking for but never finding each other? Not at all. Jesus was, in fact, in plain sight, in a public place, doing perfectly normal things. He was not being the least bit secretive. But his parents were looking for him in all the wrong places.

Where do we look for Jesus? What do we expect him to be doing? Are we looking for him in the right places? Do we miss seeing him because we don't expect him to be doing what he's doing?

We realize that Jesus is the ruler of all creation. Despite this lofty status he has promised to be present for us in Word and Sacraments. There are two very important words in that statement. Did you notice? "For us." A couple of weeks ago I talked briefly about the "Deus absconditus" and the "Deus revelatus" - the hidden God and the revealed God. The hidden God, Deus absconditus, is in a way plainly visible. Look at an insurance policy sometime. Do you see a mention of "acts of God" there? Odd, how acts of God are always bad things in insurance policies. They're always the acts of God revealing his power but not his personal love. They're always the acts of God who is moving but is not expressing his care for his people. You never get an insurance policy that talks about an act of God like a beautiful sunrise, a blooming flower, a good harvest, or good health. But since this isn't an insurance office and I'm no insurance agent, I can talk to you about the God who is there "for you." He has promised that he will be present for your good in Word and Sacraments.

Where we are gathered in his name for his forgiveness, Jesus has promised to be with us. Recall that in the upper room Jesus came to his disciples. What the Father gave to him, Jesus gave to the disciples. He breathed on them and told them to receive the Holy Spirit and to forgive sins. That's why we are told to confess our sins and pray for one another, so we may be forgiven. Jesus has promised that if his word abides in us then we are his disciples. We are intimately involved in that same life of forgiveness which he has given us. We hear the Word of God and we believe him. He is present for us.

For that matter, along with the promise that our Lord is with us in his Word, we see in Matthew 28 that he promises to abide in us to the end of the world as we go, baptizing people and teaching them. How are people baptized? In Greek it is strikingly clear. People are baptized "into" the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is something that theologians call "performative speech." We believe that the Lord has made certain promises and that when we speak and act in accordance with those promises he will in fact accomplish something. Our Lord transfers us from the kingdom of death into the kingdom of life when we receive baptism. We are washed, se are cleansed, we are placed into the divine kingdom. God's forgiveness, purchased on our behalf by Jesus on the cross, is applied to us in baptism. We are cleansed from sin, a cleansing which we receive by faith as we believe daily that we have been cleansed.

What about Jesus' presence in communion? As we are celebrating communion today it's a good time to remember specifically that Jesus promises to be with us. We confess a real presence of Christ. This doesn't mean he is only symbolically and spiritually here. Jesus, in fact, says very specifically, "this is my body." The New Testament is very clear throughout. The passages in the Greek text don't have the variant readings in manuscripts that you'd expect if people in the first few centuries thought Jesus was saying the bread and wine were to serve as symbols of his presence. The verb "is" doesn't vary. It's always "is," never "represents," never "seems like." Always "is." Paul tells the Corinthians that the bread is a "participation" in the body of Christ and the wine is a "participation" in the blood of Christ. He clearly believes that Jesus is very truly and physically present. This resurrected Christ, who ascended into heaven, who is sitting at the right hand of the Father, is still God. He's still omnipresent. Though we can't understand it, we confess it. That's why we say, "this is my body" and "this is my blood."

How does this compare with most of what we see in modern American Christianity? Almost uniformly believers try to explain the presence of Christ. Roman Catholic people explain that the bread and wine are no longer bread and wine but that they are now body and blood. Protestants by and large explain that the bread and wine are just bread and wine, symbolic of Jesus, but that Jesus is present only spiritually, or that believers' spirits are ushered into the presence of Jesus' spirit in heaven. It's pretty much only the Lutherans who don't flinch at Jesus' saying that he is here for us in communion. And I'm afraid many of us flinch as well.

I have good news for you. Jesus is in fact present. He's present, for you, right here, right now, giving you and giving me forgiveness, life, hope, salvation. He will continue working in and through us as we receive his provision by faith. He will continue working with us as we bring his grace and mercy to the world.

I first said that Jesus has promised to be present for us in Word and Sacraments. So we can find him right here, right now. But what about this afternoon? What about tomorrow? What about people who don't attend a church or who attend a church where the true Gospel is not preached? What hope do those people have?

There's much hope in every way. The Bible presents Jesus as the savior of the world. The Scripture says he gave his life as a ransom that all should be saved. We see over and over again in the Bible that God pours his mercy and grace out on people who are in need, all sorts of people, the righteous and the unrighteous alike.

There's a great little book I'd like to recommend. It's called God at Work by Dr. Gene Edward Veith. I don't have a copy of it to show you. Every time I get one I seem to give it away. This book lays out a picture of Christian vocation. Think about it. Everything you do, every situation you are in, every interaction with your friends, co-workers, neighbors, even strangers, everything you do is an opportunity to be used by our Lord and Savior to show his grace to this world. Notice I said "to show." I didn't say "to bring." Why is that? Jesus, through his death and resurrection, has already brought his grace to the world. But we are his means of showing the world what they have. Just like finding Waldo in the book, Jesus is right there in the world. People are waiting for God's provision. Some of them want to see him. And they are welcome to see Jesus in our good works. They can see Jesus as we are used by God to provide people with their daily bread. They see Jesus as we do the works that our neighbors need. We are God's hands reaching out to this world. We do God's work, loving and serving our neighbor, providing the neighbor with what he needs. In a very real way, Jesus loves the sick person through the hands of the doctor or nurse. Jesus feeds the hungry through the farm laborer, the person who transports food to the store, the person who puts it on the shelf, the person who runs the cash register. Jesus provides warmth for people on cold winter days through the person who maintains the electric lines, through the person who buys goods from that cold person's employer, allowing the employer to pay the staff, through the person who built the house years ago, through the person who made the insulation for the walls. You name it. Whatever you need, whatever you do, it is God working. In fact, your going to work tomorrow is an "act of God" even though it isn't something included in the insurance policy. We are all interconnected. What we do is God's work, showing his grace to this world.

With that said, let's pray together.

Our Lord, you have shown yourself to your people. You have shown us that you are present right here, right now, for us. We realize that we have done nothing to deserve your love or favor. Thank you for your mercy and grace. Use us, your people, to bring this news of your love to our world. We pray that you would use us in service to you. We pray for those we will come in contact with, that you will awaken in them a desire to hear where their hope comes from. We pray that you will draw our community to you in faith. We pray for those whom we will serve in the upcoming days and weeks, that they will see you as the one who has redeemed the world to yourself. We pray that you will give us a love for this lost and dying world that is like the love you expressed, coming and dying on our behalf. Grant us this, we pray, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

Sermon for 12/26/10 - 1st Sunday after Christmas

Sermon "God's Perfect Will"

May the Lord open our eyes to see his perfect will and to understand that he governs all things according to his good pleasure for his glory and for the good of his people. Amen.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light. And they, we, were puzzled by that light. What does it mean? Maybe we're frightened by it. But at the same time we're drawn toward it. We who were in bondage become witnesses of God's self-revelation. We who knew nothing but bondage have been given freedom. We used to cry out for that freedom. We wondered who would come to deliver us. We desired the day of our release. Our cries ascended before the throne of God. He heard our cry. He knew our pain, our bondage. He who created heaven and earth and all things is perfectly aware of our struggle. He knows the wages of sin. He knows how hurtful it is to continue in the darkness.

But the situation isn't that simple, is it? It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. We cried out for release from our bondage. But as we seek release from bondage we find ways of adapting to our bondage. Like the doctor in Dickens' Tale of Two Cities we retreat into a world where we can protect ourselves. Doctor Manet forgot his former life, his former associates, his former desires and goals. We who are subject to the curse of sin try to harden ourselves to sin. We try to accept the sin which is poison to our souls. We who were dead in sin walked in sin, dead people walking around, living a life that was not really life at all. We pursue false hopes, false dreams. We say evil doesn't really hurt us as we cry out in pain. We say sin isn't sin and that we have done nothing wrong, all the while being condemned by our consciences. We pursue our own ways, saying we are able to define and pursue what is good, all the while knowing that we are not up to the task. We use all these means to try to protect ourselves from evil and death, or at least from thinking about it. We make a pretty good life for ourselves. We try to take care of our possessions. We seek promotion at work. We make friends. And all the while, if we are honest, we wonder what the purpose of it all is. Life's short, you die, and that's that. Even in the best of times we see that it's really the worst of times.

But what was that hope we used to have? Maybe you were raised in a Christian home and had this hope nurtured in you from the start. Maybe baptism, Christ's redemptive washing, was applied to you at an early age and you spent your youth being taught about our Savior's redeeming love. Maybe you were taught that this world with all its sin and shame is not all there is. Or maybe, like me and many people I know, you were left to go your own way, make your own decisions, learn by your mistakes. Maybe you had a hope that there was something better than what you saw all around you, but nobody would give you a reason. Maybe you made the best of the worst times. No matter your background, no matter your experience, no matter your observations about this world, I have a message of hope for you today. And this message is sure, it is certain, it is divine. It's been affirmed by countless men, women, and children through the ages. It is the claim of the Scripture. And we've read the message already, from Galatians 4.

Galatians 4.4-7 (ESV)

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Maybe we've retreated into our protective shell. Maybe we've gone to hide from our sin and the sin of others around us. Maybe we've given up because we know we can't fight the power of Satan. The Scripture acknowledges that we are right in that impression. We can't fight against sin. We don't have the tools, we don't have the strength, we don't have the nature to be able to do it. Like Doctor Manet, we are locked into a cell. We have been condemned to death, and though we seem to live, it is not true life.

The great good news of this passage, however, is that we've been recalled to life. God has sent his son to redeem us, to ransom us from death, to set us free, and to adopt us into his own family. He has come himself to nurture us, to feed us, to comfort us, to bring us hope and protection. Our Lord and Savior has come to make us his own heirs, not just children given some of the blessings of the household, but the adopted heirs, the firstborn sons, rulers over his own kingdom. Not only that, but our God knows that we are tired from crying out to him. He knows that we don't know what to ask for. He knows that we are worn down from this world. So he has put his Holy Spirit in us, in all who believe, so we cry out to God in truth. Picture that. This passage says that God the Father sent God the Son to redeem us, then placed God the Spirit in us so in the final analysis it is God praying to God to give us all we need and make us heirs of his own kingdom.

What then is God's perfect will? His perfect will is that at just the right time he would come to draw people to himself. He himself saves us from sin. He himself indwells us. He himself teaches us to pray. He himself delights in the prayers that he prays through us. He himself does all things in and through us for his good pleasure. Indeed, it is the best of times.

Sadly, though, as we look around us, despite what we have just read in Scripture, not only is it the best of times, but it is also the worst of times. Like the Doctor who has been recalled to life, we, partakers of the divine nature, people who have been given life and who have been made heirs of God in Christ, we retreat again and again into our old sinful patterns. We see the evil of the world and, not trusting in the Holy Spirit who lives in us, we retreat. We return to our prison cell even though we have been set free. We see that we have no reason to fear. We see that our Lord has redeemed us from sin and death. We see that we are utterly safe in the arms of our savior. Yet we fear, we run, we try to hide.

Let us rather encourage one another. Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our salvation. Let us trust in the Lord who has adopted us. Let us believe that he has actually borne our sins and imputed his righteousness to us. And let us remind one another of these things, even as we see the final day approaching. Do we doubt that we can or should do that? Let us look at Joseph and Mary, who nurtured the child, reminding him of God's grace. Let us look at Joseph and Mary who did all they could to protect this little child entrusted to their care. Let us likewise build one another up, trusting in God's protective hand upon us, exhorting one another to believe.

May the Lord who has begun this good work in us bring it to completion, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

Sunday 12/19/10

As we move to the end of Advent we also move to the end of the extra church services I'm leading. It's been a tiring time. In fact, with a lot of travel during the Thanksgiving week, I frankly feel like someone who has been working seven days a week since the start of September.  But tomorrow we reach the end of the sermons about the O Antiphons. We also reach the last of the many many consecutive work days, as my school classes are on vacation for the next two weeks, I don't need to travel anywhere, and will have some down time for the next couple of weeks.

Because we had a cancellation last Sunday evening I get to use my sermon planned for that time tomorrow morning. As we consider "Rex Gentium" we'll imagine what life would be like if we lived in a world without God. It would be a confusing place indeed.

During the afternoon we'll be on the run pretty hard. Lots of fun to be had but we can expect to be worn down. There's a pizza lunch, a rehearsal for Friday evening's service at St. Paul's (which will be a different service than the one at Trinity), taking communion to a shut-in couple, caroling at a nursing home, a choir concert to catch as a spectator, a soup and sandwich supper at Trinity, then an evening service at Trinity.

In the evening service we reach the last of the O Antiphons, "Emmanuel." Jesus is God with us, exactly the one we need. We'll sing all seven verses of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, in the order they are traditionally sung on Christmas Eve. In that order, the names of God have initials spelling out ERO CRAS - "I will be (there) tomorrow." 

I'm so glad I've been able to spend the last four months bringing God's promises to these congregations. In the next couple of months they will start seeing people they may wish to call as their permanent pastor. I hope I can leave that pastor with congregations which have been nurtured in their faith, holding joyfully to God's promises. As we move into January I'm looking for links in the appointed Scripture passages to encourage the saints in their relationship with their new pastor when he arrives.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

3rd Sunday in Advent

This Sunday we continue with the multiple sermons which are not written out in detail, so I'll again just post a brief summary. As we walk through the O Antiphons in the morning service we look at the O Oriens text (O Dayspring). We see the blossoming of God's redemption from Isaiah 35.  We wait patiently for the increase, as does the farmer in James 5. And when we are worried nothing will happen, like John the Baptist, we look to Jesus and see that he is doing the kind of things he has promised for the end of time. Assuredly, the day is going to dawn.  In our evening service we see the O Rex gentium (O King of the nations) text. We picture what the world would be like without God's presence. Then we look to the promised coming of our Lord, welcoming him as did the Psalmist in Psalm 24.

There's a forecast for rain changing to snow as the day progresses. Heavier coverage at home than at the church buildings. So we might have a long and slow trip home in the evening. Hopefully it won't be too rough of a trip.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

2nd Sunday in Advent

For the 2nd Sunday in Advent I'm continuing with mostly extempore sermons.  In the morning we are visiting the third of the O Antiphons, the Root of Jesse one. Since the Latin word for "root" is "radix" I've pulled the sermon together around the idea of "radical Christianity." The catch? You knew there had to be one. The catch is that radical Christianity looks to Jesus Christ, the Root of Jesse.  So we return to historical roots. We don't do what our culture urges us to do. We do what our Lord tells us.  In the evening we are on the fourth of the O Antiphons, the Key. We'll look at the whole idea of confession and absolution, focusing on the fact that our Lord and Savior came to seek and to save the lost, bringing us forgiveness. We likewise pass out forgiveness like the firefighters in the parade pass out candy. Why? Because God says to. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we proclaim, nay, rather, we grant the forgiveness of Christ.

These Sundays are long but good. I must confess, though, to looking forward to the start of Christmas. Once we hit December 26 we're back down to just Sunday mornings again, allowing for some relaxing late afternoons at home. For this introvert, a full day away from the home and the quiet of the office becomes quite taxing. I think it does for the rest of the family as well.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com