Psalm 56:1-2, 5-11, 13, Isaiah 14:1-23, 2 Peter 3:1-18 - Lectionary for 12/6/11 - Commemoration of Nicholas of Myra, Pastor

Today is the Commemoration of Nicholas of Myra, Pastor. Today's readings are Psalm 56:1-2, 5-11, 13, Isaiah 14:1-23, and 2 Peter 3:1-18. During this season of Advent we continue to look forward to our Lord's coming. Yet we are warned today that we should be prepared. At his coming our Lord will be like a consuming fire. He will destroy all that is unrighteous. How then will we stand? We stand only as we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself, who will come to rebuke all sin. It is only as we look to our Lord in faith, trusting that he is our righteousness, that we can stand before him. To that end, let us look to Jesus in repentance and faith. Let us seek to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18, ESV). Then and only then do we stand before him in confidence, knowing that he has redeemed us from the curse of sin and purchased us to be his special people.

Psalm 49:5-12, 15, Isaiah 11:1-2:6, 2 Peter 2:1-22 - Lectionary for 12/5/11

Today's readings are Psalm 49:5-12, 15, Isaiah 11:1-2:6, and 2 Peter 2:1-22. One of my friends, when confronted with the liberty of the Gospel, has often asked me, "Is it really that good?" I have news for you from our reading in Isaiah today. Yes. It's really that good. The blessed realm of Christ in the last days will go against everything we have ever known. It will take predator and prey and make them playmates. It will take that which is destructive and make it beneficial. All sin will be finally broken down. Nothing but good will remain. And that's absolutely as good as it gets. While we live in this sin-cursed world we will engage in evil. We'll suffer for it too. Yet in that last day all the sin will be cast away. For those who are trusting in Jesus, there will be nothing remaining but his mercy and grace. The savior is really that good. So good that we will never understand it, at least not until the very end. Advent - the time of looking forward to Christ's coming - may the Lord come soon.

Sermon for 12/4/11 "The Beginning of the Gospel"

SERMON “The Beginning of the Gospel” Audio Link http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23575548/111204Mark1.mp3 Grace and Peace to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Prepare the way for the Lord! That’s our call through this season of Advent. And as we prepare the way for the Lord we realize that there’s a certain amount of house cleaning to be done. We hear the voice of John the Baptizer calling out to us, calling us to repentance. We realize that nobody except those who have been cleansed of sin may stand before the Lord. And he is coming. He is coming soon. John calls us to repentance. And we have great need for repentance. How have we sinned against our Lord today? How have we sinned against our Lord in this very hour? We were called in our epistle reading to try as hard as we could to be found blameless. Peter tells us to live a holy life. When God comes he will destroy all that is unholy. This kind of call to repentance ought to leave us shaking in our boots. It proclaims boldly our worst fears. When our Lord comes nobody can stand before him. We are all unholy. We have all sinned. We have all come short of our Lord’s perfection. How have we come short of God’s perfection? There may be a few people here who would like to ask that. There may be a lot more people in our community who would have the same question. What have we read in our catechism segments for last week and this week? We looked at the first commandment – have no other gods. We are to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Have we done that? Or have we looked in hope and trust to something or someone other than the triune God revealed in the Scripture? And we are not to misuse the Lord’s name. How do we try to use his name and authority? How do we try to use God’s blessing? Do we assume that something is all right with our Lord because we happen to want it? Do we deny our Lord or hope to use his authority to bring down curses upon people he would bless? We have surely come short of God’s perfection. I could go on, and you know that. But those few examples should be enough for now. Whatever God has said, whatever he has commanded in the Bible is his command for you and for me. And he expects perfect obedience, all the time, no ifs, ands, or buts. Our obedience on one occasion doesn’t make up for any failures in the past or in the future. He demands perfection. Yes, we have failed. We have sinned before our Lord. If he were to treat us as we deserve we would be consumed by his wrath. There is no doubt about it. So this doesn’t sound very much like the sermon title, does it? I’m supposed to be talking about the beginning of the Gospel. Yet all I’ve done so far is to condemn myself and everyone else. There’s no good news there, none at all. There’s only a call to repentance. But look what the forerunner, John the Baptizer, did when he called people to repentance. He washed them. He called them to the water and he washed them of their sins as they confessed to God. Maybe you are a parent and you know the gentle washing that you will give to your injured child’s knee. You know it hurts. You already pulled a bunch of gravel out of the wound. Surely there’s more sand in there, but you’ve been kicked enough times. But you want to get some of the dirt off, so you hold the ankle firmly and wash the skinned place gently with water. And as you wash it with water you realize that our Lord washes you with water, but it is a water of forgiveness, for it is done in accordance with his word. You wash your child tenderly. “It’s all right that you tore the knees out of your new jeans. It’s all right that your bicycle is twisted. It’s all right that you landed in my favorite flower bed. It doesn’t matter that your glasses are broken. It’s fine that you got blood on my clothes and that we tracked dirt into the kitchen. Right now it’s time to wash you.” This is the way our Lord washes us. He brings us comfort. He speaks to us tenderly. He cleanses us from sin, preparing us for his coming. And he is the one who must do it, because we will not be able to cleanse ourselves from sin. We are like grass. We are like lost sheep. We are helpless when the Lord comes in his glory. So he gathers us to wash us in baptism, creating repentance and faith in our hearts. He gathers us to sprinkle us with his blood, the blood of the sacrificial lamb who cleanses us from sin. He comes, the one after John the Baptizer, the one who is greater than John, the one who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. And when he has poured out his Holy Spirit upon us, as he has washed us in the water and in the blood, as he has anointed us with the oil of the Spirit, we have been prepared for his coming. Have you been baptized into Christ? Then he has washed you. He has cleansed you. He has purified you. He has made you ready to live a life worthy of him, a life of repentance and faith in his forgiving grace. Have you been a partaker of the Lord’s Supper? Then he has promised you forgiveness, life, and salvation, as he delivers his forgiveness. He has made you a partaker of Christ, a participant in his life, his death, and his resurrection. And just as he delivers us his grace in baptism once, he also delivers us his grace in communion time after time, as many times as we come, feeding our faith, nourishing us to eternal life. Has our Lord set you apart for his service? Then trusting in your Lord’s ability to impart faith to you in baptism and in communion, as well as through the hearing of the Word of God, walk in the righteousness he has placed upon you. He has begun the Gospel in you and he will continue working out his Gospel, his good news of grace, mercy and peace throughout your life. So now, as we are celebrating communion on this second Sunday of Advent, we see that he has begun the work of the Gospel and that he is continuing it. At the same time we look forward to our Lord’s coming and we pray that he would come soon, that he would find us faithful, and that he would see us as his people, prepared for his coming. Now may “he who began a good work in you...carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1.6, NIV), in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Psalm 145:1-9, Isaiah 10:12-27a, 33-34, 2 Peter 1:1-21 - Lectionary for 12/4/11 - Commemoration of John of Damascus, Theologian and Hymnwriter

Today is the commemoration of John of Damascus, Theologian and Hymnwriter Today's readings are Psalm 145:1-9, Isaiah 10:12-27a, 33-34, and 2 Peter 1:1-21. It is easy, in our determination that people should live a holy life, to bypass the power of the Gospel. We often look to Jesus' atonement for sin as a starting point but then encourage people toward perfection through changing their behavior. Yet our reading in 2 Peter shows this to be a wrong-headed idea. Rather, we are to direct our eyes to Jesus in his power and majesty. Does this mean that we have no concern about behavior? Not at all. We strive toward good conduct, knowing that it is pleasing to God. Yet we realize that whatever our conduct, Jesus remains the savior, the one we need every minute of every day. We realize that our very best conduct is full of selfish motives and calls for forgiveness. We realize that our very best intentions are mixed, ultimately falling short of God's glory. So as we cast our eyes on Jesus we are not only moved toward conduct which is pleasing to God, but we are also moved to repentance for our failure, our sin in thought, word and deed. We see that we need a savior and always will. And when we see that we find that we are clothed in Christ's righteousness, not our own sinfulness. Thanks be to God who has given us a savior, not just a list of rules.

Psalm 55:16-23, Isaiah 9:8-10:11, 1 Peter 5:1-14 - Lectionary for 12/3/11

Today's readings are Psalm 55:16-23, Isaiah 9:8-10:11, and 1 Peter 5:1-14. We run across the idea of biblical eldership frequently here. Today in 1 Peter the elders are exhorted to shepherd God's flock well. Is this a job which pertains only to pastors? Not in any way. Throughout the New Testament those men who are godly, who have a good understanding of Scripture, and who are able to teach are identified as elders. Their job, in cooperation with the apostles, prophets, and evangelists, is to shepherd God's flock. We seem to have created a distinction between elders and pastors which may not be warranted by Scripture, which rarely uses the term "pastor" except as a verb. The pastoring is a function of elders. Does this mean that we should allow leaders to emerge and direct the church willy-nilly? Not at all. The elders are to be qualified. This may or may not include an extensive formal education or a "full-time call." But it definitely involves training, dedication, oversight, accountability, and consistency. It's a serious office, the most clearly spelled-out office of the Church in the New Testament. How do the elders shepherd God's flock? They care for their needs. They are there to provide them with biblical counsel. They are present to encourage and to rebuke. They are there to bring God's words of Law and Gospel to the saints. They are there to lead the younger believers, training them up to be elders themselves. May the Lord raise up many elders in our midst, elders who will be good shepherds, following Christ the true good shepherd.

Psalm 119:105-112, Isaiah 8:9-9:7, 1 Peter 4:1-19 - Lectionary for 12/2/11

Today's readings are Psalm 119;105-112, Isaiah 8:9-9:7, and 1 Peter 4:1-19. We need only to look around us to see a world in tumult and at war. The "Arab Spring" uprisings which have allegedly brought freedom to various people have also brought persecution upon Christians. It is increasingly dangerous to live as a Christian in this world, where intolerance is growing generation by generation. What hope do we have then? We have great hope. In today's reading from Isaiah we see that the Lord will come, the one who will bring peace, the one who will govern rightly. Christians have long interpreted this passage from Isaiah as a Messianic prophecy. It doesn't seem much like it has been fulfilled as yet. Jesus came and we live in a world full of turmoil. Yet as we spend the Advent season looking forward to Christmas and the promised coming of Christ, we remember that our Lord will come again and complete all that has been said about him. At that time he will make everything right. No matter what kind of political or cultural turmoil we face, let us look to the Lord, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Psalm 34:11-18, Isaiah 7:10-8:8, 1 Peter 3:1-22 - Lectionary for 12/1/11

Today's readings are Psalm 34:11-18, Isaiah 7:10-8:8, and 1 Peter 3:1-22. As we look at the end of our reading from 1 Peter we see that Jesus is the sole mover in salvation. He suffered for sins so that we would not have to bear the wrath of God. He is the righteous one, we are the unrighteous ones. He is the one who brought us to God. He is the one who makes all who believe alive in the spirit. He is the one who delivers his people from death. Baptism here is shown as a true means of grace, that which delivers us from death. As Noah and his family were brought through the water, not due to any righteousness of their own but because Noah believed God, so we are brought through the water of death not because of our righteousness but because of the righteousness of Christ our Savior. We are washed, not with water, but with the death of Jesus on our behalf. Salvation is of the Lord, not of ourselves. Therefore we cannot claim that baptism is our work, our testimony, our anything. It is rather that which God has applied to us as he cleanses us. What of people who have believed before they are baptized? Should they still be baptized? Certainly. This is the example of Acts chapter 10, where people who had not been baptized were baptized because it was clear they already believed. Yet that is not the pattern we see in other passages of Scripture, such as this one. Here the baptism seems to create faith. It is a means of grace, a way that God's grace is applied to our lives. May the Lord call many people to himself, washing them with water and his Word, creating faith in their hearts. And may we always be faithful to nurture that faith so it lives to eternity in every believer.