23

Apr

The Lord Gives Life

Heavenly Father, I often see every difficulty in my life as a tragedy. I despair at my own mistakes and the problems of others. Awaken me, Lord, to your power and strength! Help me see that you raised your own Son from the dead to prove that you keep all your promises to me. Then, with my sins forgiven and the life and salvation of your Son in my heart, help me to see my life with your perspective. Aid me, in good times and bad, to share the good news of your Son's triumph over death and hell. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

17 After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness became very severe until no breath remained in him. w 18 She said to Elijah, “Man of God, what do we have in common? Have you come to remind me of my guilt and to kill my son?”

19 But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to The LORD and said, “My LORD God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times. He cried out to the LORD and said, “My LORD God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”

22 So the Lord listened to Elijah’s voice, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.”

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God and the Lord’s word from your mouth is true.” (1 Kings 17:17-24)

 

29 days ago Short URL Comments

Meditations

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22

Apr

The Lamb Is Your Shepherd

I don't like mice. I know they're all over the place. I know the fields and other areas nearby us here are filled with them. I get that. I don't feel the need to exterminate all mice out there in nature. But I don't like them in my home. I don't want them scurrying around looking for food, finding hidden away places, and growing their little mice families in the same place where my family is.

 

But a little less than a year ago, maybe some of you heard about this, but we found mice. I caught a glimpse of a mouse one evening. And of course, by the time you see one, you know there are more. We set traps and we ended up getting 14. 14 mice, living in my home. It still makes me shiver.

 

Now, I couldn't stand dealing with these mice. I couldn't stand seeing them, alive or dead. I couldn't stand dealing with the traps; it was awful. And I'm ashamed to admit it, but part of me at the time just wished those mice had stayed hidden. I wished I'd never found them. I wished that they had just lived in our house, as long as we didn't have to see them or deal with them. When I walked to where we'd found the mice, I would make noise, stamp my feet, whatever I could — I made sure if there was a mouse, he'd have a chance to run and hide. I didn't sneak up and try to catch them. I just didn't want to deal with them.

 

This morning, we have to face the fact: we live with sin in much the same way. We officially don't like sin, of course. We shudder when we see how sin tears families apart and ruins relationships. We tremble in fear at what sin an do as we hear of a bomb going off during the Boston marathon. We know sin leads to death and it is the root cause of every problem in our world.

 

But we live with it. We go about our days, we live our lives, and often we don't think about the sin that's there in ourselves. Like mice scurrying under the floors and in the walls, we see evidence that it's there once in a while, but we like to ignore it. We like to pretend it's not there. Dealing with sin, trapping it and killing it with God's Word, well, that's messy. Most of the time we avoid it.

 

But then in our text today, we get a vision. Along with the Apostle John in the book of Revelation, we see a vision of heaven itself. And how striking there to see believers who don't have sins anymore. They are completely cleansed, completely sin-free. And we're told they praise God day and night. As we look at them, it will be a stark contrast to who we are now, stained as we still are with sin. But it will also fill us with joy as we think of God's love that would bring us from our sins here and make us the sinless children of God who would praise him forever there.

 

And through it all, we have someone shepherding us. It's Jesus. And here in Revelation we have the striking imagery of a Lamb being a shepherd. A lamb that was slain is a Shepherd who gives life. Only in Jesus could that make sense. He'll be our shepherd forever in heaven, and he's still our shepherd now. So we rejoice in him and give thanks for the sins that he didn't ignore, didn't hope would disappear on his own, but that he cleansed with his blood. He's the Lamb who was slain. The Lamb is your shepherd.

 

What a scene this is in heaven in our text. We can hardly imagine it. We’ve got people praising their God. We have the throne of God himself there. We have Jesus in the form of a Lamb who was slain there. What a sight! And as we look at that crowd gathered in heaven, I can’t help but think of the differences between that crowd there and us here today.

 

There are some pretty big contrasts. In John’s vision, he said, there before me was a great multitude that no one could count. (Rev. 7:9) Now, I get that this is all believers in heaven, but I can’t help look at the crowd in front of me and think, “Yeah, we could count this crowd without too much trouble.” And we think of the bigger crowds that tend to stay home from worship.

 

And the crowd in our text was from every nation, tribe, people and language. (Rev. 7:9) And again, it reminds me how much trouble we have finding just the people from this part of Wisconsin, let alone every nation. And of course in heaven, what is the crowd doing in heaven? They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. (Rev. 7:15) We hear that and we think, “Wow, day and night. In the temple? That’s kind of a long church service. I wonder if they have breaks…”

 

But really, these differences are just the beginning. In so many ways, we can’t imagine the profound differences between ourselves now and the perfection of heaven for all eternity. We live with sin in so many ways now, that we don’t even notice a tiny fraction of it. It’s like there are so many mice running around in the house that we don’t even see them anymore, let alone try to stop them.

 

Think about your thoughts. I don’t mean on your bad days, when you’re in a horrible mood and everything makes you angry. Sure, you can think of sins of thoughts on those days. But what about your best days? What about when you’re helping people, or in church, or even praying to God? Those are good things! But how quickly our minds wander! How soon we think an angry thought at that one person who did something to us. How fast an impure thought might appear in our minds. How easily we pat ourselves on the back even when we’re doing something good, “Wow, God is sure lucky he has me!” Friends, our thoughts are hopelessly infected with sin. Always. Even on our best days.

 

Our words and actions seem like they’d be easier to control. Sure, we can probably all think of our sins in this area. The “bad days” when we get in a shouting match with someone and say all sorts of things we regret. The actions on our worst days that get us in trouble, that cause problems in our lives. Yes, we can all remember something we’ve said or done we regret.

 

But what about our best days? How many words can tend to be spoken under our breath, even when we’re at our best! How many times can God’s commands go out the window as we’re joking and laughing with friends! How many sinful actions we take every day, barely thinking of them. How many things we do, almost unconsciously, that show the brokenness of our sinful hearts!

 

Yes, we are fundamentally broken because of our sin. That sin infects every part of our lives, every thought, word, and action, even on our best days. The Apostle Paul himself was ready to throw his hands up. He noticed what I’ve been talking about, the sin that stalks our every step, not outside of ourselves, but inside our own hearts. When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Rom. 7:21-24)

 

I think that phrase “body of death” is a good one. We know there are horrible diseases that kill people. We know when someone has a terminal illness that they’re going to die from it. It’s just a matter of time. Well, that’s us. It’s not some exotic disease, or a cancer that only affects a few. It’s sin. It’s in us and it’s been there since we’ve existed. And it leads to death. Every single time. We are terminal.

 

We are, every second of our lives, headed to death. And this isn’t just death of our body, it’s death of our souls and bodies forever and hell. That’s what sin brings! That’s what we deserve! Who will rescue us from this body of death? Well, only the Good Shepherd can.

 

After all, that’s why they’re praising Jesus up there in heaven in our text. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:10) God made everything; everything is his. But they’re praising him because of one specific thing he has: salvation. It belongs to God and the Lamb. He alone can give it.

 

The picture of Jesus as a Lamb is such a beautiful one. Even though, at first glance, that vision of the Lamb might not have been so beautiful. John describes it earlier in Revelation. He said, I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne. (Rev. 5:6) The Lamb looked like it had been slain. It had been killed. It had a wound that you couldn’t recover from. It had lost a lot of blood. That’s the symbol of victory?! That’s who we’re supposed to put our trust in?!

 

God’s people from Old Testament times were used to sacrificing lambs. It pointed back to the first Passover, where the lamb’s blood was used after its sacrifice to paint on the doorways of the Israelites’ homes in Egypt before the Exodus. The blood is what caused the angel of death to pass over the Israelites’ homes, so only the firstborn of the Egyptians died. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. But he’s also our Lamb who was slain.

 

His blood, shed on the cross, paid for our sins. The death we deserve went to him instead. He is the only cure for our body of death. Even though our sins make us terminal, a Lamb who shouldn’t survive, who appears to be slain — he is our only hope. His blood has taken our sins away. He gives us his forgiveness today, and his forgiveness will allow us to stand before his throne for all eternity.

 

That’s the crowd in our text. These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev. 7:14) Despite the tribulations and trials of our lives in this sinful world. Despite our sins and the sins of others, only Jesus can bring us through to the other side. Only he, our shepherd, can lead us from this land of sin to the greener pastures of eternal life. There, God will bless us forever, or as our text says, he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. (Rev. 7:15) God’s tent and protection and love will be over us for all eternity.

 

We can hardly imagine it now. But it fills us with joy. It gives us hope. Does that mean we ignore our sins now and shrug them off because of what Jesus did? Absolutely not! Our sins should be that much more horrifying to us. Worse than a houseful of mice. And like we’d set traps for mice, in Christ, we work to trap those sins. We want to kill them. Motivated by Christ’s love, we want those sins to die, to each day be lead by our Good Shepherd to lose those sins and grow in our faith. To have our Shepherd lead us by Word and Sacrament to put our sinful self to death, and lead a new self in faith every day.

 

May we never give up in that struggle. May we always continue forward in our faith, fed by our Shepherd in Word and Sacrament, not pulled away by sin and temptation. And we know that our shepherd’s ultimate sacrifice for us was not in vain. The Lamb is your Shepherd. He’s given his life to give you life forever. So live in him, for him, and by his power now and forever. And look forward to the day when every promised will be fulfilled in eternity. Because when we’re there… Never again will [we] hunger; never again will [we] thirst. The sun will not beat upon [us], nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be [our] shepherd; he will lead [us] to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes. (Rev. 7:16-17)

Sermon preached at St. John's Lutheran Church, for the 4th Sunday of Easter, on April 18th and 21st, 2013. Sermon text: Revelation 7:9-17

 

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Sermons

10

Apr

A Challenge: Memorize 40 Bible Passages

Memorizing Bible passages is something that we often had to do as kids. But is it worthwhile to continue to keep them in your minds as an adult?

I think it is.

That’s why I’m leading members of my congregation through a plan to memorize one Bible passage a week for 40 weeks. The name of the group is “His Word, My Heart.” It stresses learning God’s Word “by heart” so that when we’re struggling, we might know a verse to turn to. When we have questions, we might know a verse to answer them. When you’re wondering “what does the Bible say about…” you might just already know!

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I’m not planning on going too in depth into this plan or the specific verses here on my blog, but I thought I’d offer any readers here the chance to join if they want. It’s a group that happens through email, and it’s done by yourself at your own pace. If you want to join, I’ll send you an explanation email and the first verse. To join, click on the Contact Me page and include your email address and that you want to join the “His Word, My Heart” group. (Don’t just write your email in the comments or you’ll probably be subject to the spambots!)

I hope you’ll join us!

Psalm 119:11 — I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

 

41 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

His Word My Heart

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09

Apr

An Easter to Remember

How many Easter services, just like today, can you remember? I know I can remember a few. I remember getting up early as a kid at what felt like the middle of the night to go to the sunrise service with my family. I remember hearing the trumpet played and smelling the Easter lilies, much like today. I even remember at least one sermon theme from one of my pastors from when I was a kid.

But can I say I really remember every single Easter since I was born? Not really. I don’t remember all 34 Easters that I’ve ever had in my life, not specifically anyway.

What about you? You probably have memories of Easters of years past. You might remember the songs, maybe a favorite hymn. Maybe you remember getting up or going to an Easter breakfast. But I doubt you remember every Easter you’ve ever had a part of.

Forgetting some aspects of different Easters in your past isn’t necessarily a problem. We don’t need to know what the sermon text for Easter Sunday was 7 years ago. The important thing, is that we remember what Easter is. Right?

We remember that Easter means victory. We remember that Easter means that Jesus has won! He was beaten, he was bruised, he was battered. He was even nailed to a cross. He even suffered separation from his heavenly Father, the eternal punishment for sin. He even died on that cross.

Ah, but you remember Easter! You remember that Jesus didn’t stay dead. You remembered that the grave couldn’t hold him for long. You remember that we don’t celebrate a dead Savior today, but a living one. You remember that Jesus is alive forever and ever and that because he lives, we will live. You remember that your sins are forgiven, your relationship to God is restored. You remember that because of Easter, joy will always live, the Easter victory that Jesus won he shares with you and me and he does it forever! You remember all that. Good!

But here’s the thinig. Easter can be forgotten. I don’t mean a specific Sunday from years ago slips your mind. I’m not talking about the effects of Alzheimer’s or some kind of amnesia. I’m talking about forgetting Easter because you just don’t believe it. I’m talking about forgetting Easter because you don’t trust that it actually happened, or at least you don’t trust that it means anything to you.

I wish it were impossible to forget Easter. I wish it would never happen to anyone here or anyone you love. But the fact is, it does happen. And it doesn’t just affect the people who never really went to church or were never very “religious.” It can happen to any one of us. It comes with sin. The devil wants us to forget Easter, and he works hard with every temptation so that we do.

But friends, I want you to remember. I want Easter to be stamped on your mind and written in your heart forever. You might not remember today forever. Maybe not this sermon. But I want Jesus and his resurrection to never leave you. Only his Word can do that. Only his Spirit can keep that Word in your heart to make sure that Easter never leaves. I’m praying that you all have an Easter to remember.

He is not here.

He is not here.

I’d imagine the people in our text never forgot that first Easter. But when you really look at our text, things didn’t start out so well. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. (Lk. 24:1) This doesn’t sound so bad. Yeah, the ladies are going to the tomb. So what? How else are they supposed to find out Jesus had risen?

But think about it. What were these faithful ladies really up to on this early Sunday morning? They were very faithful ladies. We find out later in our text that they are Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them. (Lk. 24:10) These women were with Jesus so much in his ministry; they’d come down from all the way up north in Galilee and followed Jesus road to Jerusalem in his last days. And we’re told here in Luke that they were there at Jesus’ crucifixion, watching everything take place. Then we’re told that they were there when Joseph of Arimathea got Jesus’ body, and they even watched Jesus laid in the tomb and knew just how his body and been laid there. (Lk. 23:55)

These ladies could almost be compared to the faithful women of today. The kind of ladies who’d be there for pretty much every worship service. The kind of ladies who would find a way to help in just about every situation that called for it. We’re blessed with such women here at St. John’s.

But what were these ladies in our text doing? Preparing spices to bring to the tomb, of course. Ah, but what were the spices for? Well, they were supposed to smell really nice. Ok, but why were they supposed to smell nice? Because, well, because, you need something to smell nice…when there’s a dead body.

There it is! Don’t you see; these faithful women weren’t coming to the tomb to worship a living Savior. They weren’t coming to bask in the glow of the resurrection. They weren’t there to celebrate the victory of our king. They were there expecting to find a dead, decaying Savior. They expected Jesus to be every bit as dead as he was when they’d seen him put into the tomb back on Friday. That’s why the angel there asked them the question he did. Why do you look for the living among the dead? (Lk. 24:5) They were looking for Jesus all right. But they expected to find a corpse. They’d forgotten about Easter.

Please don’t think I’m trying to pick on these faithful ladies in our text. I’m just saying what the Bible itself tells us. Because listen to what the angel said next. He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ (Lk. 24:6-7)

Oh, yeah, that. It’s not like Easter came completely out of nowhere. Jesus had told his disciples about it, that’s recorded for us back in chapter 18 of Luke’s gospel. The disciples knew about this, according to the angels these women knew about this, and from what we can tell even Jesus’ enemies knew about this.

Remember, that’s why there were guards outside of Jesus’ tomb. The Pharisees, remember, went to Pilate himself because they knew about what Jesus said. “Look, this Jesus guy has been talking about rising on the third day. We can’t let that happen! The disciples will try to steal the body; it would be horrible!” They didn’t believe Jesus’ promise, but they sure didn’t forget about it!

Yet these women did. Here it is, this person who is the most important person in the world to them, they dedicate their lives to following him. They take care of all of his needs. He has never spoken a lie. He has performed powerful miracles, including raising someone from the dead not long ago. He has famously predicted that he would be killed and then on the third day he would rise again. And they forgot about it.

I’m not letting the disciples off the hook, either. They’d heard Jesus every day. They’d seen everything he did. They knew what he said would happen on the third day. But when all the women come and tell them the good news, what happens? They did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. (Lk. 24:11) Peter, at least, should’ve done better. He’d seen Jesus raise a few people from the dead. You know he’d heard this promise of Jesus before. And it looks like he might be getting it more than the others at first, but soon we see that he, too, had forgotten about Easter. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. (Lk. 24:12)

Hmm, what could have possibly happened? An empty tomb. Strips of linen. Oh, I don’t know… maybe what happened was EXACTLY WHAT JESUS HAD SAID WAS GOING TO HAPPEN ALL ALONG. This shouldn’t have been so hard! Honestly, if if the disciples, if the women, if anyone had really taken Jesus at his Word, if they had remembered Easter, the Easter accounts would’ve looked a lot different. There would’ve been a huge crowd waiting outside that tomb, holding signs of “Welcome Back Jesus.” But there was no one. Only some hired soldiers who quickly ran away. Jesus rose, and no one was there. They forgot about Easter.

Could it happen to you, friends? I’d like to say know. I’d like to say you’re immune. I’d like to say that you are much stronger and your faith could never falter like all the disciples and like all those faithful women. But I can’t say that. But how could it happen.

Well, it’s true, the disciples and these women had been through a lot. Honestly, the events of Holy Week alone could be considered traumatic on Jesus’ early followers. They see him taken. They run for their lives. They see their teacher, the one in whom they’d put all their hopes, killed before their eyes. And he wasn’t just killed, but in a horrific, horrible, painful way! Maybe that’s why we’re not usually that surprised that they all forgot about Easter.

But see, we face difficulties, too. We face death. We lose people we love. We have difficult experiences. We struggle. We hurt. We go through things everyday, too. Does that mean it’d be ok if we forgot about Easter? Could we really forget?

I think we could. I don’t know what it would take. But I know the devil wants nothing more than for it to happen to you. And every temptation he wants to pull you away.

I recently came across a heated conversation on Facebook. If you use Facebook, you’ve probably seen conversations like this. It was a post and comments on a political topic, but also a religious topic. And the opinions shared there got people pretty riled up. One person in particular was upset, a man I don’t know and have never met. And the poster — who doesn’t live in this area and is not connected to St. John’s in any way — asked this angry person: aren’t you a WELS member? I thought you were.

Then this man went on to explain how he used to be a member of a Wisconsin Synod Lutheran church, but he wasn’t anymore. He’d been offended by things said in that church. He’d been offended by things people in the church had done and by the way the church itself operated. And so, he explained, he couldn’t in good conscience be a member there any more. And then he added one more comment after that: “And by the way, I’m now an atheist.” After everything that had happened; that man forgot about Easter. He no longer believed. And if he’s telling the truth; I fear for that man’s eternal destiny.

What would it take to do that to you? It wouldn’t need to be something big. You might not get offended at the teaching about Easter. It might be something small; it might be something big. But any temptation, any sin, can grow like a big wet snowball to the point that it knocks over our faith itself. Anyone could forget about Easter.

So how can you avoid that happening? Look what it took in our text. Well, the angel told the women. He told them what Jesus had said. He told them how Jesus had just done what he said he was going to do. And then we read: And then they remembered his words. (Lk. 24:8) Their memory was jogged by hearing Jesus’ words. Then they remembered.

Are you getting this? Because I’m not trying to say something complicated here. We need to continue in Jesus’ Word. We need to continue in the Bible. We need to be constantly reminded about things we already know, things we are sure we could never forget. Things that with our power we very well could forget. But we need the Spirit’s power. We need the Holy Spirit working through the Word to make sure we never forget to keep Easter fresh in our mind at all times.

This isn’t supposed to be hard. It’s not supposed to be some secret. We just let God do his work on us in his Word. We just let God create and sustain faith in us in his Word, just like he has promised to do. That’s how Easter stays up here. That’s how we have an Easter to remember.

Because what will we remember? We’ll remember that Jesus isn’t dead. Yes, he was killed, but he did that for you and me. He suffered for your sins and mine. He paid for our mistakes, our short memories, our slowness to understand. He paid the price for our lack of putting him and his Word first. He paid for all of that. And then he rose. And when he did he guaranteed that sin was paid for.

Jesus rose again; Jesus lives, and because he is, we never have to be scared. Whatever we face, whatever difficulties we encounter, none of it will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus resurrection guarantees that death, as scary as it is, it doesn’t have any sting. It doesn’t have any victory. Jesus won the victory. And he’s given it to you and me by faith.

So continue in his Word. Let him remind you every week, every day about his love. And then join your voices with the angels. Join your voices with the excited women as they ran from the tomb. Join your voices in saying and singing your Savior’s love now and forever. Alleluia! He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Preached at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013.

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Sermons

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16

Jan

Celebrate Your Inheritance!

Preached at [St. John's Lutheran Church](http://www.sjtworivers.org) on Sunday, January 13, 2013 for the 1st Sunday after Epiphany — the Baptism of our Lord. Text: Titus 3:4-7

A man knocks on your door. He hands you a stack of papers full of legal jargon. As you stand there confused, he tells you it’s the will of your great uncle Leopold. Leopold recently died, leaving you his entire estate, worth about 10 million dollars.

Wouldn’t that be amazing? Wouldn’t you be shocked to have this inheritance fall into your lap? You’d want to celebrate it! Sure, you might try to find a lawyer to find out if the whole thing is legitimate, you might want to talk to some other family members to see if they’ve ever heard of this Leopold guy. But for the most part, you’d want to celebrate! You’d want to buy things, or think about moving to your dream house or going on a faraway vacation. Basically, you’d start dreaming of all the ways you could celebrate your inheritance.

Well, friends, this exact situation will probably never happen to any of you. But at the same time, each of you has already been guaranteed an inheritance even bigger than 10 million dollars, and it’s not from a dead relative; it’s from the God who was dead but is alive again. Your inheritance isn’t guaranteed by a legal document; those can fail. Your inheritance is guaranteed in God’s Word, by God’s promise; your inheritance is sealed in your Savior’s blood.

Do you know when you got this inheritance? Most of you probably don’t remember it. For some of you, it happened in this very building. It was your baptism. In just a little bit of water and a few words from the Bible, your life, for now and forever, were changed. You were cleansed from your sins. You became a child of God; you became an heir of heaven itself.

So do you find yourself celebrating that inheritance every day? Or, more likely, do you forget about it most of the time? How easy for us to shrug off our baptism like it was just some photo op for our parents, or just another day. How easy to get so wrapped up in the highs and lows of each day and completely forget the eternity that’s already been guaranteed!

How easy, even, to think you deserve all those good things God gives. At least a little bit. You’re much better than a few people you could name, you go to church unlike a few other people you can think of. In fact, God is pretty fortunate to have you as his child. God ought to be pretty nice to you, after all that you do, everything you go through.

Friends, the baptismal font here this morning does not provide empty symbols or fun family memories. It gives live and salvation by connecting us to Jesus’ death. Your baptism gave you an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. So celebrate it! Celebrate your inheritance! You didn’t earn it, but you get to live it.

Our text doesn’t waste words. It doesn’t launch into complicated legalese and go on for page after page like a modern will would. In 4 short verses, the Apostle Paul lays out our inheritance, the reason for it, and its earthly and heavenly results in our lives. So listen closely!

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us. (Titus 3:4-5) He saved us. God our Savior did what saviors do. He saved us; he rescued us out of his kindness and love. You can tell from reading this verse that it’s taken from the middle of a paragraph. You hear it and think, “Ok, he saved us from what?” But Paul had explained that with the verse before our text.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. (Titus 3:3) Now, we see what we needed to be saved from: sin. And, maybe it’s just me, but this description of the sinful lifestyle doesn’t sound like some far-fetched description in an almost two thousand year old book. It sounds like it’s describing today.

Foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. That’s our world! That’s all around us, isn’t it? That’s our society, that’s what we see on the news. If we’re honest, that’s what we see in our friends, our families. And most often, we see it from the face that stares at us in the mirror.

Yes, we were sinful, we were born that way. And I’d like to say that that sin disappeared from our thoughts, words, and actions on the day of our baptism, but I know you wouldn’t believe it because you know the truth. We are sinfl. Sin is all around us and it makes everything horrible. Sin ruins everything.

But then God appeared. God our Savior’s kindness, his generosity and giving nature, his love, his care for all human beings, it appeared. Almost like it was out of nowhere – poof! – it appeared! We’re in the season of Epiphany now in the church year. Well, the word used for “appeared” in this part of our text is the same word we get Epiphany from. The kindness and love of God our Savior epiphanied, it showed itself and revealed everything we need to know about it.

But why would God want to save us? There must be some reason. Maybe you’ve seen the television show Extreme Home Makeover. This is where they take someone’s house and pretty much knock it down, only to build it up again. And they made these houses huge and they filled them with beautiful and expensive things. The finished products were amazing, and it really made you wish that they would choose your home.

But do you know who actually would get chosen? People who deserved it. The people in the homes usually had suffered something terrible at some point in the past, or they had a family member struggling with a disease, or someone in the house had helped so many people that people just wanted to help them, too.

We expect the same kind of decision-making process from God. His kindness and love appeared and he saved us, because he knew what great followers of him we would end up being. You here today, well God knew you’d go to church and do your best. And even though you’re not perfect, you sure always try. And you really love God, so wouldn’t he want to help you and save you and do everything he could for you?

Please. Can we be honest here? We didn’t earn it. God didn’t choose us because we would do good things. And unfortunately, we prove it, every day. Maybe it’s visible to many people. Maybe only those close to you really see it. Maybe you even try to pretend it doesn’t exist. But that sin still lives in you. That sin that gives you desires and makes you say and do things that you wouldn’t want to admit to in public; it’s still there in your heart. And God owes you nothing. Nothing but punishment and hell.

I’ve really just paraphrased what our text went on to say. He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:5) Mercy means not punishing someone even when they deserve it. It means that God saw all the unrighteous things we’ve done, that we do, and that we will do in the future, and he says, “No, I’m not going to punish you for those. I’m going to punish my only Son for those on the cross. He’s going to suffer hell, and then I’m going to raise him to life. And I’m going to wrap up everything that Jesus deserved with his perfect life, all good things that he earned, I’m going to wrap it up and give it to you as your inheritance.”

Yes, our God did just that. He did it so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:7) He declared you not guilty of those sins. He brought you into his family, and he made you his eternal heir, free of charge. We didn’t earn it. We couldn’t come close! But he gave it to us anyway. All we can do is celebrate it. Celebrate your inheritance! Because, even though we didn’t earn it, we get to live it.

You see, normally inheritances only take effect when the person leaving that inheritance dies. So if you knew great uncle Leopold was leaving you a ton of loot, it wouldn’t do you much good as long as he was alive. He’d have to die before you’d collect a dime.

We tend to think of our inheritance from God in a similar way. Only instead of waiting for someone else to die, we wait for ourselves to die. Right? We’re heirs of eternal life, so until we die or Jesus comes back, we don’t get a dime. Or at least that’s how we can think.

Our baptism is something that we can treat that way, too, like it’s not too important right now. We know it’s important for heaven. We might even remember that Bible verse, Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. (Mk. 16:16) We know it’s a good thing. But we probably don’t exactly celebrate it.

After all, it was so long ago for many of us. Most of us don’t remember it. And if all we have is a few pictures or maybe a certificate from the day, well, how much does that help you? I mean, when everything is going wrong and the world seems to be crumbling around you, does your baptism help? When people hurt you and it feels like God has abandoned you, does your baptism help? When you feel guilty for how you messed something up, when you wonder how God could really love you, does your baptism help?

The short answer is yes. Your baptism does help, in all those circumstances and more. Your baptism isn’t something that was just good on the day it happened or that just takes effect when we die and go to heaven. Your baptism is powerful and at work for you today and every day. We get to live our inheritance!
Our text explains it. [God our Savior] saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior. (Titus 3:5-6) The word baptism isn’t even mentioned here, but it doesn’t have to be. No other washing is like it.

It’s not a washing of “wait till you get to heaven.” It’s not a washing of “you’re stuck suffering and alone for now.” No, it’s a washing of rebirth and renewal. It’s about a new start. A new life. Jesus called it being born again. It’s a new birth that came from the Holy Spirit.

It’s interesting how much attention we give to our birthdays. We celebrate them every year. We use our birthday to figure our age and define ourselves by that age. My guess, though, is that we do very little with the date of our baptism, if we even know it. But think about it. On our birthdate, we were born dead! Dead in sins. Dead in our ability to please God. But on our baptism we were reborn. There we really got our true, spiritual life from God himself. That’s worth celebrating!

And this new life connects us right to Jesus. Remember it was poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior. Another passage tells us that we were baptized into Jesus’ death. It’s a connection between us and the cross. A connection that God put there so we could live for him now!

We hear it in Romans. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Rom. 6:4) The Holy Spirit gave us a new life, and we get to live it! We get to celebrate our inheritance by living for our Lord.

Now, we might want to chime in with “but we’ll never be perfect in this world,” and “we’ll still fall into all kinds of sins.” And yes, that’s true. But think, without faith, we couldn’t do anything good in God’s sight. Nothing at all. Now we’re free to serve him. Now we’re free to celebrate his inheritance by thanking him in serving God by helping others. By living our faith in church, at home, at work, on our best days and our worst.

And our baptism made that possible. Just like it makes a whole world of comfort possible for us every day. When everything’s going wrong, and you feel like even God is against you, remember your baptism! It guarantees that God’s not against you; it shows you you’re his own child. When others hurt you and knock you down, remember your baptism! It proves that no matter what people do, they can’t take away what’s most important. When you’re feeling guilty over sins and don’t know how God could love you, remember your baptism! It has already given you God’s love in Christ, and all the forgiveness you need. Plus, the Holy Spirit is still at work to work in you to live out your faith.

Yes, we get to live it! We have that inheritance in our baptism. We have every reason to celebrate it, and we get to live it out in repentance, faith, and good works every day of our lives.

You see, you’ll probably never have a great uncle Leopold. You’ll probably never get 10 million dumped in your lap. But you’ve already gotten eternal life poured on your head. You’ve already been baptized, and because of that, your inheritance is sure.

126 days ago Short URL Comments

Sermons

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08

Jan

Wait in Hope

We wait in hope for the Lord ; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord , even as we put our hope in you. (Psalm 33:20-22 NIV)

As I write this, my wife is in surgery. It’s ankle surgery, an ankle on which she needed work fifteen years ago, too. She’s had more serious surgeries in her life, but you always feel a little anxious at every one.

But passages like the one above give me comfort. Even as I wait for the results of her surgery, I wait in hope. I have hope that God is going to do what’s best. It’s not hope that’s unsure, but it’s hope that’s solid. I know he’s with her and watching over her. I know he has given skill to the surgeon and the other doctors and nurses. I know he will work out all things for the best. I know this because he’s promised these things (and because I’ve seen the skill of the doctors and nurses in person.)

I also know God will be with her as she recovers. So, I’m not worried. Concerned for my wife, sure. But I’m confident in God’s promises. This isn’t an arrogant confidence, but a quiet and thankful confidence in God’s love.

May that confidence go with you in whatever trials you face!

+++ UPDATE +++

My wife’s surgery is done, and everything went well and according to plan! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Now, the recovery begins.

133 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Family

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01

Jan

Now then, all of you who believe in God’s Word, let your watchword for entering the new year be this: “I am baptized!” Although the world may laugh at this comfort, the enthusiasts vex its confidence… nevertheless, abandon any other dearly held pledges and speak only throughout the entire year to come, in all terrors of conscience and necessity through sin and death: “I am baptized! I am baptized! Hallelujah!” And you shall prevail! In every time of need, you will find comfort in your Baptism; on account of it Satan will flee from your faith and confession; and in death you will see heaven opened and will finally come into the joy of your Lord to celebrate a great year of jubilee, a year of praise, with all the Angela forever and ever. Amen!

C. F. W. Walther, from today’s reading in the Treasury of Daily Prayer .

141 days ago Short URL 1 Comment

Quotes

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26

Dec

My Salvation Will Last Forever

**Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.** (Isaiah 51:6 NIV84)

Nothing is permanent. In this world nothing lasts. The wrapping paper from yesterday’s presents is already rotting in the garbage. The toys my kids love today will eventually be forgotten. Nothing lasts.

My bills won’t last.
My to-do list won’t last.
My house won’t last.
My pains won’t last.
My “stuff” won’t last.
My sins won’t last.

But Jesus, his salvation and forgiveness that he won for me? That will last.
God’s care for me will last.
God’s Word will last.
My life, because of Christ, will last.
My eternity will last.

So what’s there to be afraid of or worry about?

**Prayer:** Heavenly Father, I’m often tempted to think that what’s going on right now is what’s most important. At times I fail to trust that you’re in control. Thank you, Lord, for giving me an eternal perspective from your Word. Keep in my mind and heart that my forgiveness and salvation will last forever in Christ. Put my mind at ease through the troubles of each day. And give me the strength to proclaim what you have done. I pray, knowing you hear me for Jesus’s sake. Amen.

146 days ago Short URL Comments

Meditations

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25

Dec

Where Shepherds Lately Knelt

Where Shepherds Lately Knelt

by Jaroslav J. Vajda

Where shepherds lately knelt and kept the angel’s word,
I stand in half-belief, a pilgrim strangely stirred;
But there is room and welcome there for me,
But there is room and welcome there for me.
 

In that unlikely place I find him as they said:
Sweet newborn Babe, how frail! and in a manger bed,
A still, small voice to cry one day for me,
A still, small voice to cry one day for me.
 

How should I not have known Isaiah would be there,
His prophecies fulfilled? With pounding heart I stare:
A child, a son, the Prince of Peace for me,
A child, a son, the Prince of Peace for me.
 

Can I, will I forget how Love was born and burned
Its way into my heart unasked, unforced, unearned,
To die, to live, and not alone for me,
To die, to live, and not alone for me?

148 days ago Short URL Comments

Christmas

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24

Dec

There are many of you in this congregation who think to yourselves: ‘If only I had been there! How quick I would have been to help the Baby! I would have washed his linen. How happy I would have been to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger!’ Yes, you would! You say that because you know how great Christ is, but if you had been there at that time you would have done no better than the people of Bethlehem. Childish and silly thoughts are these! Why don’t you do it now? You have Christ in your neighbour. You ought to serve him, for what you do to your neighbour in need you do to the Lord Christ himself.

Martin Luther, from Martin Luther’s Christmas Book, ed. Roland H. Bainton.
HT: johnthelutheran

149 days ago Short URL Comments

Quotes

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