Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Gospel, which was read earlier.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus makes some outrageous claims about His person and His ability to get people right with God the Father, and goes on to make a fantastic offer to all who feel beat, bushed, and burdened. In fact, Christ’s claims about Himself are so extravagant and His offer so unbelievable, one must wonder if perhaps this is nothing more than a ruse of some sorts because it sounds too good to be true.

Of the outrageous claims that Jesus makes in His ministry, there is one today that sticks out like a sore thumb: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” To say something this ludicrous is beyond that which even the prophets of old could not say. In fact, no one dared to say something as outrageous as this because if they did, they would be put to death as a heretic. With death charges possible, Jesus makes such a statement as this and more with what He does throughout His ministry.

After making such an outrageous claim as this, Jesus makes a fantastic offer, one that no one before or after has been able to make and keep. Sure, there have been those who have made such an offer before, but in the end, they were unable to fulfill such an offer. Just what is the offer that Jesus comes and makes? Our Lord simply says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

“Come to Me,” says Jesus, but He doesn’t mean “If you work hard enough to make your way to Me, I’ll reward you.” No, think instead of the parent who scoops up a little child while at the same time saying, “You come here!”, and you have a better idea of the Savior. He has rest for all those who are weary and heavy laden, and that would be you. There are two types of people in this world: those who are weary and heavy laden with sin and weakness and know it, and those who are weary and heavy laden with sin and weakness and don’t know it. The former understand that the salvation isn’t about the rules of daily living; if it is, they’ll never get the work done. Thus, they’re happy to be rested by the Savior. The latter don’t think that the burden is heavy, so they see no need for the Savior. Instead, they’ll seek out salvation by their own rules. And they’ll never make it.

Note carefully again the words of Jesus. Not “take My yoke upon you and pull with Me,” but “take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” Hear from His Word that He has paid the price for your sins. Hear from His Word that He gives you grace and faith and salvation and all good things. He does not come like the ox-driver, whip in hand and demanding a good performance before He rewards you. No, He is gentle and lowly and humble in heart, so much so that He gently rode into Jerusalem, suffered most lowly, and humbly went to the cross in your place. Because He’s suffered God’s wrath for you, you have rest for your souls with God forever. His yoke is easy and His burden is light, because the price for your salvation is already paid.

The Christian life is not about being a better person and it never has been. We get to be real, true, honest sinners with a real true, powerful Savior. When we fall short and fail, we’re not surprised. We’re not home in heaven yet. We don’t invest a ton of time and energy in trying harder for salvation, because anything that starts with us is doomed to failure.

The burden, the yoke, that we bear and carry has all been carried and done for us by Jesus Christ. It is Christ that carried the burden of our every shortfall, every time we failed to keep God’s Law perfectly. It is Christ who wore the yoke of obedience that feels to us like being trapped in a vicious cycle: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” There is no way for us to be perfect as God demands and as Jesus tells us. Instead, it is Christ’s perfect obedience, His perfect keeping of every law of God, that is given to us, that is credited to us.

The reason that Jesus can say this is that He is the Son of God who entered history in order to save us from our own sin. While we can do nothing to please God, everything that Jesus does is pleasing to God. While we cannot endure the punishment that will satisfies God’s justice, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross totally satisfied God’s justice for you. Jesus is the one who takes our hard yoke on Himself and gives us the easy yoke of forgiveness in its place. He is the one who took up our heavy burden of sin and replaced it with the light burden of His righteousness. He has taken the labor and burden of false belief and replaced it with the rest of true faith.

Jesus has done all the work that makes us right with God. The blessings of that work become available to us when the Holy Spirit works faith in us. The Holy Spirit establishes the faith that receives the gifts of God – forgiveness, life, salvation. At the same time, the Holy Spirit creates a new being in us — a holy child of God. We now have the easy yoke of Christ’s forgiveness and the light burden of His righteousness.

Yoked to Christ we find peace; not toil and burden and work. How are you saved and redeemed? Is it because of anything you do to work or earn forgiveness? Do you have to toil and labor to get your little slice of heaven? Does your salvation consist of Christ does His share and you do yours? Of course not! We are saved because of God’s grace alone, which is ours because of the redemptive work of Christ alone. In terms of salvation, it really is easy, just like Christ says. We are yoked to Christ through faith alone. How much easier can it get? Trust in God above all things. Trust; that is, have faith in the fact that Christ has done it all, and it is finished. Trust in the fact that He is with you always, even when it feels like you’re being crushed under the crosses and burdens of life in this fallen and sinful world, for it is precisely here, under the burdens and loads and aches and pains and despairs and crosses of this life that we find Christ’s Word and Promise to be true: “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Life is a rat race, a struggle. You get out of it what you put into it if you’re lucky; and sooner or later, you can’t put enough into it to sustain. That’s how life works in this sinful fallen world. But that isn’t how salvation works with your sinless Savior. The Lord Jesus declares that He gives it to you freely as a parent gives to a little child. While your struggles and setbacks dictate that you labor wearily and bear heavy loads in this life, it is not so for eternal life. Your Savior bids you, “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” That rest and salvation are yours, because you are forgiven for all of your sins on account of Jesus Christ and the easy yoke that He gives to you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

Have you ever wondered why we have laws? Why is there a law that says the speed limit is 75 on I-90? Why is there a law that says no shoplifting? Why is there a law that says you must stop at a stop sign or red light? Laws are put into place in order to protect people. They often come about as a result of injury or death. While it might be fun to drive down I-90 at 100+ miles an hour, it isn’t safe and speeds like that cause death. Therefore, the Wyoming Department of Transportation deemed fit that 75 miles an hour is an appropriate speed limit.

As Paul addresses the church in this part of his letter, he is speaking to those who know and are under the law. The legal principle that Paul sets forth is fairly simple and straightforward. A law, any law, has authority over a person so long as that person is alive. The law obligates living people; it has no claim on the deceased. The latter are both literally and figuratively “dead to the law.” They take no orders, they make no response. The point Paul would have us notice is that death changes a person’s relationship to the law.

The apostle now proceeds to illustrate this truth with an example from everyday life. He draws from the marriage laws that regularly are in force in an orderly society. The death of a spouse allows the surviving partner to remarry. In both cases, the point is the same – a death changes things; it breaks the power of the law. Paul now moves on to show that this general legal principle in everyday life has its counterpart in the spiritual realm. There too death changes things. It loosens the Law’s grip.

We have to remember to whom Paul is writing his letter. He is writing to the Church, to the fellow believers in Jesus Christ. They are the ones who have been convicted by God’s Law. And because he is speaking to fellow believers, he can boldly say, “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.”

In just a single verse, Paul says so much to this Church. First, he acknowledges the fact that they are brothers in Christ. What a joy and privilege it is to know that you are one counted amongst those who are called by God. Secondly, these are those who have died to the law. Because of Christ, they have been made a new creation because the blood of the Lamb has atoned for their sins. The Christian has “died to the law.” A death has happened, in this case, that of the sinner, so that the Law’s hold on the Christian has been broken, making the Christian alive in Christ who has bore their sins. The fact that Paul must remind them of this fact is sad because it means that they have forgotten or ignored this truth of the Gospel. Regardless of whether or not they have forgotten or ignored it, it doesn’t make it any less true.

A third fact to remember is that because they died to the law, they belong to another, that is, they belong to Christ. The marvel of God’s plan of salvation is that it provided a way that did not require the sinner to die. Rather, God provided a substitute, His sacrificial Lamb, to die in the sinner’s place. This substitutes’ death was credited to the sinner. Sinners themselves do not actually die, as they rightly deserve for their sins, but instead die “through the body of Christ” on Calvary.

What great news for the Church at Rome to hear! It is especially great news if some heard it for the very first time! It is always important for news like that to be put front and center of the Church. That same message is still at the forefront of the Church. And why shouldn’t it be at the forefront? Isn’t that the central focus of the Gospel, of how on account of Jesus Christ we have been made a new creation, with sins forgiven and everlasting life granted to us and to all who believe?

As great as that news is, there is the unfortunate side of it. There are those when presented with the Gospel reject it. There are those when presented with the Gospel forget it. There are those when presented with the Gospel feel as if it doesn’t apply to them. The Good News of Jesus Christ is that news which we all need to hear as the blood-bought and redeemed children of God. Left to our own devices, we are slaves to the Law.

Using Paul’s illustration, we are married to the Law. You lived under its direction and you sought your life and meaning from it. This isn’t all bad: the one who abides with the Law generally leads a Law-abiding life. But there are a couple of big problems with the Law as your partner. For one thing, the Law of God always accuses. It’s always telling you what you should be doing and aren’t, as well as what you shouldn’t be doing and are. It’s always pointing out your sins, both the bad you commit and the good you omit. This has an effect on you, perhaps worse than you imagine. When the Law shows you your sin, it does more than just point out your imperfections: it actually makes you sin more.

But there is good news, news that we heard before: the death of somebody else has set you free: “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead….”

You’ve died to the Law. You died to the Law through the body of Christ. In other words, He died for you. He bore all of your sins to the cross—every last thing that the Law could accuse you of. He died for them all: and because He forgives you for all of your sins, the Law looks at you and says, “I don’t see anything left to condemn you with.” But Christ hasn’t just died for you: He is also risen for you. That’s why Paul says, “You also died to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another.” You’re no longer bound to the Law. Who do you belong to? Paul says you belong to, “Him who has been raised from the dead.” You’re not partnered to the Law anymore: you belong to Christ. You’re part of His Church, His bride; and He’s the Bridegroom who has laid down His life to make you His own, and then taken up His life again.

You’ve died to the Law, says Paul; but does this mean that you live a lawless life? Does this mean that you go ahead and do whatever you want to do? That now you get to show that you’re the boss? No. You’re joined to Christ, and He is your Lord and King. You’re no longer bound to the Law, but you obey it because it’s Christ’s Law; and by following it, you bear fruit to God. By obeying the Law, you do the good works God has created you to do.

You’ve died to the Law, because Christ died for you and He’s joined you to His death. You live—not as a slave to the Law, but as member of the Church, the bride of Christ. By His death, you are released from the Law. By His resurrection, you have life with Him forevermore. By His work of redemption, you are forgiven for all of your sins. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Gospel, which was read earlier.

It was Franklin Roosevelt who said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He described that fear as a “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Of course, the fact is there would have been no reason for the president of our country to assert his firm belief that there was nothing to fear unless there actually was something to fear. The country was in the throes of a staggering economic crisis, the Great Depression, sparking fears that were not nameless or unjustified. Later in his speech, Roosevelt himself admitted: “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment” – dark realities that gave substance to people’s real and understandable fears.

In today’s text, Jesus repeatedly tells His disciples to “have no fear” as He sends them out to proclaim the coming of His kingdom to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Yet Jesus knows and acknowledges that He is sending them out not just to sheep but “as sheep in the midst of wolves.” His very words of admonition and encouragement, “Have no fear,” show that He knows that there is much to fear, at least from a human point of view.

Jesus is sending His disciples out into the world to preach a specific message. They will proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is near; and as they do so, they will work miracles and wonders. This is the good part, but the Lord pulls no punches: They will face heavy opposition. They will be rejected sometimes by households, sometimes by whole towns. Sometimes by family members, sometimes by close friends; and sometimes by the heads of state and church. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves,” He has just declared. He tells them as our text begins, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.” As things turn out, it is no less than the Pharisees and Scribes who call Jesus “Beelzebul,” the “lord of the flies.” And if those church leaders, who can do no wrong in the eyes of the people, call Jesus such, they will consider His followers gnats to be swatted. The disciples will face some terrible intimidation for telling the Good News about Jesus.

But the intimidation is no excuse. The disciples are not to remain silent. “Do not fear them,” Jesus commands.

For one thing, they are not to fear because “nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” Those enemies of Jesus may look to have the strong hand; after all, what is a teacher and twelve men against the world? However, the disciples know the end of the story because Jesus tells it to them: He will be the Victor, and He will return in glory to judge all nations and condemn those who reject Him. Therefore, the disciples should not be intimidated: In this battle of good vs. evil, evil will appear to have the upper hand for some time to come. But the disciples know the end of the story, and it would be foolish to side with those who will lose in the end.

If they are intimidated, it is no excuse. They are not to remain silent, and they have no right to change the message that is given to them. They are to preach that the kingdom of heaven is near. “Do not fear,” the Lord says again, and this time He is even more specific. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” The disciples will suffer at the hands of sinners, this is certain; but those evildoers can only kill the body. God, the Father almighty, wields a much bigger sword: He can send body and soul to hell for eternity. Who is more to be feared?

For the Church today, it is the same proposition. The Lord calls His people to proclaim what He tells them: His Law in all of its severity, and His Gospel in all of its sweetness. As an individual Christian, you will face such intimidation: When confronted with a crisis where the righteous decision means suffering, will you do what is right or take the easy way out? When a family member or close friend chooses a sinful way of life, will you lovingly speak the truth and risk hostility, or keep silent to maintain the family peace? In the school locker room and the business office alike, there will be constant attempts to turn you from what is good and pure and holy to what is wrong and impure and most unholy.

If Jesus had not given us the words of today’s Gospel, sharing the Good News of salvation would be a very confusing activity. It would be easy to think that we were doing something wrong when people did not eagerly desire to receive this gift when we told them about it. It would be easy to think that we were doing something wrong when people actually fought against us and tried to destroy us when all we want to do is tell them about a gift that is more valuable than all the riches contained in the world. You would think that people would fill this building and line up around the block and down the street in order to get this gift, but they don’t. They persecute it instead. Why?

Well, there is something fundamentally different about the proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ. There is a spiritual war going on all around us. While we are proclaiming the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, sin, death, and the devil are fighting a war of lies against that proclamation. They are doing everything within their power to make truth look like a lie and to make lies look like the truth. Although sin, death, and the devil want to enslave us, they present themselves as a way to freedom. Although true freedom is in Christ Jesus, the forces of evil proclaim Christ as restrictive and domineering. The forces of sin, death, and the devil are the ultimate con artists. They pose as friends, but are really deadly enemies.

Today’s Gospel is a great comfort for persecuted Christians around the world. It tells us that the opposition of the world is no surprise to God. God knows all about our situation. He understands that the world makes it hard to be a Christian. He understands that His faithful confessors will undergo hard times. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” Today’s Gospel is one of many places that tell us to expect opposition from the world. Today’s Gospel tells us that we are not doing something wrong when the world or even our own family hates us for making a faithful confession of Jesus Christ.

That is the reason that the Gospel is so sweet to those who believe. The Gospel proclaims that Jesus is the only one who never compromised God’s Word. He is the only one who remained faithful to His calling. He remained faithful to His calling even when His calling led to the cross. He is the one who paid for our sins with his death on the cross. He faced not only the persecution of this world, but He also faced the combined guilt of all the sin of this world. Even then He remained faithful. With the victory He won with His death on the cross, He has purchased the forgiveness of sins for all people.

In spite of our many shortcomings – in spite of our fear – in spite of our desire to get along with the world at the expense of Christ’s teachings, the Holy Spirit will continue to keep us in the faith. Just as the Apostles endured to the end by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will one day bring us to a blessed end here on this earth – only to take us to a blessed eternity there in heaven. There we shall wait with all the other believers in Christ until the Last Day when Jesus will return and raise all the dead, and all who believe in Him will live forever with Jesus on a new earth where there is no sin, no sorrow, and no persecution. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the reading from Acts read earlier.

God is a God of communication. He speaks to us plainly through the words of Holy Scripture. It is because of this that the Bible and other materials are translated into the most obscure languages of our world. Nowhere do we see this more clearly than at that first Pentecost, which we mark as the birth of the Christian Church. This is now the ongoing work of Christ, to which Luke alludes in his introduction to the Book of Acts: “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach.” The work of Christ continues now through the Church. And that work would require the ability to communicate Christ to the world in a manner that is clear and direct.

This sets the scene for our text today. Fifty days after Christ’s resurrection, the followers of Christ in Jerusalem, around 120 in number, gathered together in a house. Our text doesn’t tell us why they gathered, but it’s much of a leap to suggest that this was the Divine Service. Otherwise, why would the whole Christian community have gathered? This corresponds to what Luke records later in Acts 2: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

During this gathering, a special manifestation of the Holy Spirit was poured out on those gathered. Tongues of fire rested on their heads. The sound of a great rushing wind drew the people of Jerusalem to that place. The followers of Jesus, or perhaps just the apostles, were there, praising God in loud voices. They were praising God by speaking of all that God had done in Christ. And miraculously, everyone in the crowd heard them speaking in his or her own language. What is important here is that they had perfect understanding. They were hearing about what God had done through Christ, and they were understanding it perfectly.

The believers were now equipped and prepared to begin carrying out the assignments that the Lord had given to His Church. The dramatic signs – the sound, the fire, the ability to speak in other tongues – were all signs of that. Such signs did not always accompany the preaching of the apostles or the testimony of other believers. However, the Spirit sent by Jesus is always present and active when the Gospel is spoken. He gives the Word its power, and He gives believers the power to speak the Word. Our Lord had promised that His followers would be “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” But Acts emphasizes especially one aspect of the Spirit’s work, namely, inspiring believers to speak God’s message. Every reference to the coming of the Spirit and the work He is sent to do connects Him to the Word of Christ.

The Spirit works through God’s saving Word. It is a Word intended for all people, not just a select and gifted few. Every person in the house was filled with the Holy Spirit. The list of nations represented in Jerusalem signifies that the gift of God’s Word is to all nations and all peoples. It was a message that was understood in every language.

Luke records that the people heard the telling of the mighty works of God in their own tongues. Just what were those mighty works of God? It was the story of creation’s fall into sin. The people heard the words of conviction, for God’s Word convicts sinners who continue to look for extraordinary works of God rather than the ordinary ways He works through the Word and Sacraments. His Word convicts sinners who have continued to fail time and time again of keeping God’s Word perfectly.

But the Holy Spirit brings another message which the people heard. They heard a message of forgiveness to convicted sinners. God’s works through the sweet sound of the Gospel to save “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord.” God works mightily through the preaching of the Word of the cross, that there in Christ’s death and resurrection, you and I have life. God works mightily through the Word and water of Baptism. God works mightily through the Word that proclaims mere bread and wine to be His body and blood.

In short, on that Pentecost day, all those gathered there heard the good news of salvation for them that comes through Jesus Christ and His life, death, and resurrection. That is the importance of Pentecost. Why is it so important? Because faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Believers do not exist apart from hearing the Word.

What is that Word that we hear today? We hear God’s Word for us that our debt has been paid in full in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son. Wherever that Word is proclaimed, there is the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus promised, convicting the world according to sin, righteousness, and judgment. Wherever that Word is proclaimed, there is the Holy Spirit, cutting hearers to the heart with stern and unrelenting Law, showing sin and calling it what it is, a falling short of the mark of perfection the heavenly Father expects. The Law preaches repentance.

When repentance comes, then comes the Gospel that declares you free from sin and death for Jesus’ sake. Three-thousand people that day repented, believed in Jesus Christ, and were baptized for the forgiveness of sins. They became partakers of God’s righteousness in Jesus, just as you became a partaker of His divine righteousness. Sins are washed away. New life is yours, as it was theirs.

The Holy Spirit still works through the Word of God. It has always been that way and it will always be that way. The true sign of the Holy Spirit at work is the proclamation of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit points to Jesus who is the God-Man who saved us from our sin with His suffering and death on the cross and promises us life everlasting with His resurrection. The Holy Spirit works through God’s Word when we hear it with our ears – when we read it with our eyes – when we experience that Word in the water of Holy Baptism – and when we receive it with the true body and blood of Jesus in the Bread and Wine of the Lord’s Supper. The Holy Spirit is at work when we confess our faith before each other and when we confess our faith before those who do not know Jesus.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, the prophets of the Old Testament and the Apostles of the New Testament provide us with the message of God. The first part of the message is terrifying, for from it we learn of our helpless sinful status before God and the eternal punishment that we deserve because of that sin. The second part of the message is the ultimate comfort, for it tells us that God did not leave us to suffer but sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die in our place so that whoever believes in Him will not be condemned, but will have life eternal. This is the message that the Holy Spirit certifies with the wondrous signs of Pentecost. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

 

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Last Sunday of the Church Year – “Christ Comes Again” (Colossians 1:13-20)

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Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

The day has arrived when we flip the calendar. Another year has ended, another year is set to begin.  I don’t mean a calendar year, but a Church Year. The sun has set and yet it has risen again. Looking at the words of St. Paul, we get a glimpse of what has and what is to come: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

All around, we see darkness. The darkness that we see is not a physical darkness, but a spiritual darkness. This spiritual darkness has great power, both over our lives and in this created world. The darkness can seem very powerful at times, almost as if it controls and reigns over us. We know that there really is a king of darkness, and he is very powerful. But for as powerful as Satan is, there is One who is even more powerful than he: Jesus Christ.

Our text from Colossians is a fitting text for the close of a Church Year because it speaks of what has come and what will come on account of Jesus Christ. Darkness has been overcome and we have the forgiveness of sins. That is a promise that has been made and a promise that has been kept. A new King, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is now reigning over heaven and earth, and all authority of darkness has been broken.

All too often, the darkness of this world seems to be strong, as if it might seem as if there is no end to it. That is because this truly is a “domain of darkness.” Satan, the prince of darkness, revels in deception, temptation, and fear; in other words, sin. These sinful actions strive in the darkness because they originate from darkness. We were very once very much a part of that kingdom because our sin cast us out from the kingdom of light, Christ’s heavenly kingdom. Even now, we still feel the effects of that dark domain in our lives. We face the separation of God. The temptations and deceptions that we face in this world are just what Satan wants to happen. The pull of sin causes discouragement and despair in our lives, ever reminding us that we cannot live up to the expectations as those created by God. We despair that we cannot do enough to earn our salvation. We know that this is not the way that God intended things to be.  Something must be done to bridge the gap between God and man. That’s where Jesus comes in.

God has rescued you and placed you under the authority of His Son. God has delivered you from the authority of darkness and transferred you to the reign of His Son. This happened because an event in history happened: redemption by the death of Jesus, God’s beloved Son. Jesus’ death on the cross paid for all our sins and bought us back from darkness. The redemption price was sufficient; the rescue was complete because of who Jesus is.

Paul gives to the Church a wonderful definition of who Jesus Christ is in our text. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” If you want to know what God is like, God’s image has been given to us in Christ, for we were created in the image of God. However, through man’s sin, that image was lost. There would be no way for mankind to restore such an image. The sole way for that image to be restored was through Jesus. It is truly miraculous that we are here at all. Why is this such a miracle? Precisely because we are sinners.

Christ is nothing short of our King, as Paul describes Him. He is the one who created everything there is, including you and me. He’s the one who sustains our lives and sustains the world in which we live. He creates earthly thrones and powers, and He holds the authority to rule over all things. That is how He overcomes this domain of darkness, with the light of His glory, “the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Listen to these words of Paul again: “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” On the cross, we see Christ ruling as only He can rule. On the cross, we see His love, His compassion, His humility in action, reconciling us to God our Father, forgiving our rebellion and making our peace. On the cross, we see Christ shedding His own blood, and promising us that holiness will flow through our veins for eternity in heaven.

What a wonderful joy to see how this all worked out, from start to finish. God created the heavens and the earth, including His greatest creation, mankind. Mankind is created in the image of God to be holy and perfect. Through Lucifer’s rebellion, a new variable enters creation and mankind is exposed to it: sin. This new variable destroys the relation between Creator and creation, separating us from God. As horrific as that sounds, and it truly is horrific, God saw fit to implement a way to restore creation to the Creator. He made a promise to Satan, one that would not or could not be broken, regardless of how hard Satan tried to break it.

The promise is fulfilled when Christ our Lord comes to earth in an unglorious fashion. He is born to lowly parents in a manger, nothing more than a feeding trough. He grows in stature and makes His way to a hill called Golgotha where He gives His life on a cross for the sins of the people: for the thief on the cross who asked for Jesus to remember him in His kingdom. He gives His life for those who curse His name. He gives His life for your sins. Christ gave His life so that we, His Church, might have life. He continues to give us, His Church, life by His Holy Word, in which He tells us both Law and Gospel, His Holy Absolution, with which He declares our sins forgiven, and His Holy Supper, through which He gives us His sin-purging and faith-strengthening body and blood.

As the Church’s Head, He rose from the dead as the first to do so. His return in glory is the day that we too will rise again. Christ did exactly what God had promised in the Garden so long ago. He did this to restore creation to its rightful place as God’s beloved creation. We are no longer under the condemnation, the danger, the fear of our sin. God has rescued us and redeemed us by the blood of the Lamb. One day, Christ will indeed come again to take us with Him. Until then, we continue to wait in eager expectation for His coming in all of His glory, both in His nativity and again on the last day. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Pentecost 26 – “Do Not Grow Weary” (2 Thessalonians 3:6-13)

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Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

Do you consider yourself to be a “goody two-shoes?” Maybe you were called that growing up, defining you as a good person who never did anything wrong. It implies that you only do good, that you never do anything wrong or anything that goes against the norm. Thessalonica was not a city of “goody two-shoes,” but that didn’t stop Paul from encouraging them: “As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.”

Because of troubles caused by the preaching of the Gospel in Philippi, Paul and Silas traveled to Thessalonica. The short time spent there was enough for the seed of the Gospel to grow into a strong congregation. Following their departure of Thessalonica, Paul received uplifting news from the Thessalonians on progress in their Christian life, but he also heard of their hardships because of the faith and their worries about the fate of those who had died before the second coming of Jesus. To ease their discomforts and strengthen their faith, Paul writes to them what we know as 1 Thessalonians, encouraging them to stay firm in their faith, to continue to abound in love to one another, and to be ready and take comfort in the imminent return of Jesus. He also clarifies that those who “sleep in the Lord” will rise first when Jesus comes.

Things seemed to be going well for this congregation, with the occasional bump in the road. What a feeling to know that the Gospel was at work among these people, even in the midst of false teaching that was going on, that the vast majority remained faithful to the teachings of Paul and Silas and were growing in their faith. For Paul, what more could you ask for? That’s what every pastor wants to see taking place in a congregation. However, things would not remain like this for long.

Just weeks later, Paul received news that all was not as well as he was led to believe. Unfortunately, Paul was busy elsewhere proclaiming the Gospel and couldn’t return to Thessalonica to help this congregation out. Instead, Paul does the next best thing and writes 2 Thessalonians. What could have happened to cause such problems within the congregation? The problems lay with the false teaching of Christ’s return. As we looked at last week, there was the false teaching that Christ was coming again and it was going to be any day now, and so Paul writes, “For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.” This false teaching of Christ’s return prompted some to quit work, to stop producing for their own needs and of the community. They now had time to interfere with others.

For the Thessalonians, they needed to keep their eyes focused on the teaching of Paul, the teaching of Jesus Christ. Those who were “walking in idleness” were a detriment to the Thessalonians and their faith. These idle Christians had been taught what was wrong with their actions. They had been warned that to continue in such a way of life was living in sin. They could not plead ignorance of their sin. Since they refused to repent, the congregation had to take the next step and exclude them from the family of God. This separation was to be done in love, as a warning to an erring brother about the seriousness of sin. The motive, to demonstrate true brotherly love for another person’s soul, is important. For even this sin of idleness, which may seem insignificant in many people’s eyes, can endanger a person’s soul if left unchecked.

We are not to be idle, because that is contrary to Christ’s will. While Paul is talking about not being idle in our vocations, whatever they might be, he is speaking more of our idleness when it comes to watching and preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ. While there was the teaching that Christ would come again, they did not get the timing right. They were preparing for Christ’s second coming as if it were happening today. They disregarded their earthly vocations and in turn, caused problems within the community in both secular and spiritual ways.

Christ will indeed come again. However, we do not know when His second coming will be. That does not mean that we are not to prepare for His return. Our Lord tells us to watch and be ready for His second coming. That is the emphasis that Paul places upon the Thessalonians and that is the emphasis that is placed upon the Church today, especially as we come to the close of another Church Year with eager anticipation for Christ’s second coming, as well as preparing our hearts to remember His first coming and what that means for us. We see salvation work out for us from birth to resurrection.

In spite of what the Thessalonians faced from the idleness of some, they were to remain steadfast in the faith. In spite of what the Church faces today, we continue to persevere, continue to look to the cross, look to Jesus for our salvation. We see salvation as it worked out for us by Jesus. We bear witness to what Christ has done and do not neglect our vocation as witnesses of Christ. Some in Thessalonica became complacent in their faith because of the false teaching and it threatened their salvation. The very same can happen to us as we become complacent in our faith, expressing that we don’t need to attend church because we’re already forgiven. If we use that thinking, then we are saying that we don’t need Jesus anymore because He already forgave our sins once.

For the Church, she must remain faithful. Paul encourages us to “not grow weary in doing good.” His words are not just mere words meant to make the Church feel good about herself. They are an evangelical encouragement, based on the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He says to us not to envy those who are idle. They are sinning, and that will only harm them in the long run. Rather remember Jesus and the love He has for you. Remember how Jesus was willing to serve you, how He died for you in order to forgive you all your sins. The Church is not made of busy bodies but of bodies who are busy with the work of the Lord. We are busy with receiving the gifts that He brings to us in Word and Sacrament. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

As we near the end of another Church Year, there is a focus on our readings: the return of Christ. That is the focus of Paul in our text: “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him….” When people think about the end of the world, it often seems they are ready to believe any rumor that comes along. This happens especially when people have not carefully studied what God says about that day. It seems that some of the Thessalonians were no different. A false notion about the end of the world was circulating in their congregation. The result was that some of the Thessalonians were becoming “shaken in mind or alarmed.”

What was this false idea that was circulating amongst the Thessalonians? Paul does not say much about it, except to say, “the day of the Lord has come.” This was a very important point for Paul to make because there were those who were preaching that Christ had come the first time and died; because He is dead, He won’t be coming a second time. Paul makes it clear that Christ will come a second time and we will be gathered to Him.

The Christians at Thessalonica heard the Word of God, but they were hearing lots of other things as well. They believed the word of false prophets that the end was coming very soon. They had given up all activity and waited for the Lord to come. They fell for a false prophet’s lies. For this reason Paul wrote, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in our text: “Let no one deceive you in any way.”

The Thessalonians did not need to have someone else interpret the signs for them, for they had the Word, as the Lord had given it to Paul. We have this same Word, which the Lord has given us. He speaks clearly regarding the Last Day. We get sucked in by the fiction of the end times, and we believe the fiction as if it was Gospel, and we reject the true Gospel that comes from God’s Holy Word. We despise preaching and God’s Word, and we do not gladly hear and learn it. Our minds are made up; we do not want to be confused by the facts. But the fact of the matter is that if we confess a truth other than that which is proclaimed in Holy Scripture, we will surely be damned to hell.

The problem with the Thessalonians, as Paul describes, is that they forgot. They forgot the message that Paul had told them. They forgot the message of Jesus and instead adopted a message of false teaching. The problem that the Thessalonians had with regards to the false teaching is that it was damning. There was no salvation in that teaching, but only the proper teaching of Jesus Christ and who He is and what it was that He came to do, and what He will do in the Second Coming.

Paul is describing the work of the Antichrist, though he does not use that term in his letter. The purpose of this “man of lawlessness” is to oppose and exalt himself “against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.”

Lawlessness such as this wreaks great havoc upon the Church. It fills the people of God with doctrine that sounds good to our itching ears but damning in the process. What is the Church to do in the face of such false doctrine? Buying into it, we sacrifice our eternal life with God our heavenly Father. Paul tells the Thessalonians to stand firm in the faith that they have been given. They are the chosen ones of God. God chose them “as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.” While the Thessalonians may be misguided by the false teaching present in Thessalonica, they are still sheep, loved by the Lord and therefore to be loved and cared for by Paul, a servant of the Lord. Paul thanks God for them because they are “brothers” in the one true faith. Paul thanks God for them because God chose them before time began, elected them to be His adopted children, blessed them with the gift of His Spirit, and by the sanctifying work of that same Spirit set them apart from the rest of an unbelieving world to believe the truth of the Gospel and be saved.

All of this is important to Paul because the Thessalonians were called through the Gospel. They were called through the Gospel, not through their own inventions. They didn’t make themselves believe; they couldn’t, they were “dead in transgressions.” No, God worked this miracle through the good news of the Savior from sin which Paul, Silas, Timothy and others had been privileged to bring to them. The Gospel originates with God Himself, but it becomes our own when we take hold of it through faith, given to us by the Holy Spirit. When that happens, we also share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. His resurrection victory becomes our resurrection victory, and we life to the full, just as He promised.

This is our Gospel as well. It is ours because God has given it to us time and time again. He gave it to us when He removed us from the Garden and gave to us a promise. He gave it to us in a Baby. He gave it to us on the cross. He gave it to us at our Baptism. He gives it to us in the words of absolution. He gives it to us in the Lord’s Supper. He has given to us the Gospel of His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ “so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He has given us the Gospel so that we may believe and not be led astray by Satan and all of his temptuous ways. He has given us that Gospel so that we may remain steadfast in His Word until the second coming of His Son, who will gather all Christians to be with God forever. Having this promise of eternal life in heaven given to us now and fulfilled there, we rejoice, and we look forward with eager anticipation to the Last Day, for the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to endure these last days on earth until THE Last Day, whenever that will be. St. Paul exhorts us, saying, “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.” Until then, we remain steadfast in His Word, trusting in the promises which He has given to us, never doubting that His Word will do what it says it will: give to all believers forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

As we grow up and enter the halls of academia, there are the basic things that we learn that serve as the foundation of our education. As we progress up the educational ranks, what we learn is based off of our educational foundation. The higher we go in our educational pursuits, everything is based off of what we have learned previously.

As Paul continues his letter to Timothy, he encourages him to “continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed….” And so that is why we are here today. We are continuing in what we have learned have firmly believed. We have learned Christ crucified for our sins and firmly believe that on account of Jesus Christ and His life, death, and resurrection, we have eternal life. That is what we have been taught according to the Word of God.

It’s back to basics for the Church. The basics that Paul had learned from Jesus, the basics that Timothy had learned and the basics that you and I have learned come from God Himself through the Scriptures. As Paul says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” Paul is not speaking about pagan or philosophical resources. He is attesting the divine origin of the Old Testament, as Peter also does: “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Unlike other writings, these Holy Scriptures are emphatically “useful,” useful for the spiritual growth of those who know them and believe them. They are useful because they tell our story: the story of how God created us in His own image – perfect and without sin. They tell the story of how we sinned and death became a part of our lives. They tell the story of how God promised to send a Savior to redeem us from death. They tell the story of what Jesus did to redeem us sinners – how He lived, died, and rose again on our behalf to restore us as God’s children.

For the Christian, we are charged with one thing: be faithful to the Word of God. Unfortunately, that is something that is rather difficult in today’s day and age. We have the world telling us things that run complete opposite to that of the Word of God. We have the world telling us that the Word of God is archaic and no longer applies to us so it must be changed. We have the world telling us that the God of the Scriptures is the same as other gods, and that even though we call them different names, it really is the same god.

We remain faithful to the Word of God as recorded for us in the Bible. It means holding steadfast to God and the promises that He makes for us through Jesus Christ. That means looking only to Jesus for our forgiveness and salvation, for salvation cannot be found in anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ. However, that is not what the world would have us hear. They would have us hear that one can be saved apart from Jesus Christ. One can be saved through their own merits and that there does not need to be a reliance on a man who lived and died and stayed dead.

That is what we face on a daily basis as Christians. We are reminded of the words of Luther: “Let me tell you this, even though you know God’s Word perfectly and are already a master in all things: you are daily in the devil’s kingdom. He ceases neither day nor night to sneak up on you and to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against these three commandments and all the commandments. Therefore, you must always have God’s Word in your heart, upon your lips, and in your ears.” 

What is the point that Luther is making here?  St. Paul tells it Timothy: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itchy ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” People will hear the Gospel and appreciate what it says – the story of Jesus and how through His life, death, and resurrection, He gained for us forgiveness and eternal life. But at some point, the Gospel will not be good enough. The people will want to hear those things that sound pleasing to them, even if those things are false. Which sounds better to you: Jesus came to save sinners or Jesus came to save everyone? There is only one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or there are many gods and you can choose? All people will go to heaven, regardless of what they believe or only Christians will go to heaven?

The truth is clearly presented before us in God’s Holy Word, and yet, the truth isn’t good enough. The truth must be politically correct, so as not to cause offense. But the truth of the matter is that the Gospel IS offensive! It is offensive to those that think there are many paths to heaven; that there is a god, but he or she has many names; it doesn’t matter what you believe because everyone will go to heaven. The Scriptures are rather clear that there is only one way to heaven and that is Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are rather clear that there is only one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Scriptures are rather clear that it does matter what one believes, because those who do not believe and trust in God and His Word will not inherit eternal life.

For that reason, that is why Paul impresses upon Timothy the need to remain steadfast in the faith. For that reason, it is impressed upon the Church today to remain steadfast in the faith. St. Peter writes, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith….” What is at stake is not mere child’s play; it is your eternal salvation. Because of this saving message of Jesus Christ and what it means for all who believe, we are left with one thing to do: be faithful to the Word. We are faithful to the Word that promises forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. We are faithful to the Word because it does what it says it does. We are faithful to the Word because it “is breathed out by God.” We are faithful to the Word because God is and always will be faithful to us. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

In our day and age, strength is something that we all need. Whether it be strength following the death of a loved, or strength to overcome the temptations that befall us all, or strength to do the task that our Lord has given us, we need extra strength because we cannot do it all by ourselves. But where do we find our strength? Do we find it in the comforts that this world has to offer? Do we find our strength in ourselves, forcing us to pull up our bootstraps and persevere? Or do we find our strength somewhere else? That is the question that we ask ourselves and Paul has the answer: “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus….”

These are the words that Paul writes to Timothy at the beginning of our text. These were words that were very ironic for St. Paul. As he awaited execution in a Roman jail, despite all that Paul was facing – death, the end of his ministry, and abandonment by most of his friends for fear of persecution – he faithfully directed his spiritual son Timothy to the hope that is in Christ. He didn’t care about his own life right now; he was focused on the young pastor Timothy and his church at Ephesus.

That is the message that every pastor of the Gospel should preach to his people: “be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” That is the message that we need to hear day in and day out. Why did St. Paul, when facing his own death, instead focus on Timothy and Ephesus? The answer to this question is two-fold. First, because of God, we have grace. All of this goes back to the Garden of Eden. When God made man, there was one simple rule which Adam and Eve were to follow: not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil or they will die. One simple rule for eternal paradise and Adam and Eve broke it. They were tempted by Satan to become like God. Because of that temptation, Eve broke the law of God. When she gave the fruit to her husband Adam, he broke the law of God. From that moment on, instead of becoming like God, they feared God.  Instead of becoming closer to God, they became separated from God. 

For Adam and Eve, they deserved death, wrath, and eternal condemnation. Instead, they received forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. What they received was true grace. That is what you and I have received. Do we deserve it? Absolutely not! Did we receive it? Absolutely yes! Where did we receive it? We received it at the cross of Jesus. We received it through the waters of Holy Baptism and we continue to receive it each and every time we come to the Lord’s Table to receive Christ’s body and blood, given for you, for the forgiveness of sins.

That is why Paul tells Timothy, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead…” That’s what we need to remember as well. In other words, Paul is saying, “Remember that your salvation isn’t in how well you do, but that Jesus has done well for you—He’s already died for you, and He’s already risen from the dead! He’s your strength!”

How easy it is for us to forget that our strength relies upon Jesus Christ and not ourselves. However, that’s not what the world would have us hear. The world tells us that it’s not Jesus that saves but it’s everything but Jesus that saves. Best case is that we hear that Jesus is just one of many means of salvation. If that were the case, then why does Jesus go to such great lengths to assert that He and He alone is the sole means of salvation? Why is it that Jesus is the only one who gives His life in order to save us if we can be saved by other means?

Paul encourages Timothy and his church to put their sole focus of salvation where it belongs, on Jesus Christ. Paul proclaims this trustworthy saying: “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” You see, we have died with Christ in our Baptism. Because of that fact, we live with Him forever. We endure by His grace in the faith. But if you are faithless, He is faithful. He doesn’t change, which is why His grace is certain. He’s made you His, and He’ll keep pursuing you with grace for the rest of your life.

We need to remember at all times and in all places that Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead. It is a constant remembrance of who Jesus Christ is and what it is that Jesus Christ has done: that He is the very Son of God and that “he has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil.” These words that Martin Luther wrote are not just mere words. These are words that every Christian needs to hear because they say exactly what it is that Jesus Christ has done for us.  Words that sound so simple to us were words that meant a great deal to Luther.

Heaven is yours because Jesus has done all the work of living for you, dying for you, rising for you and ascending for you. He’s done all the work of giving you forgiveness and faith in Baptism, and continues to forgive you and strengthen you in His Word and Supper. That’s the Gospel. It’s all His doing.

Today, we especially celebrate how Christ blesses the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League to be Lutheran Women in Mission. We celebrate God’s goodness shown to us in Jesus Christ by celebrating witness, mercy, and life together in the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and many others have been blessed through the hands of women who have shared the gifts that God has given for the extension of His Kingdom as congregations have been founded, schools have been supported, outreach centers have been funded, and lives have been transformed as Lutheran Women in Mission have confessed the truth of the Gospel by bearing witness to Christ.      

For Paul, he knew what was at stake: the salvation of the Church. He risked his own life, time and time again to preach the Gospel. However, he doesn’t care. He reminds Timothy why he has done what he has done: “I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” Concern for the salvation of these elect is for Paul another motive for perseverance in Christian ministry. He has the eyes of Jesus toward the lost. He has a love for the lost that moves him to be a slave to everyone and to become all things to all men.  He is more concerned with evangelizing the world than with his own personal comfort, safety or wealth. He truly has the Christ-like concern for those who have come to faith in Christ and for those who have not. 

We persevere in our faith, just as Christ Jesus persevered in His. We persevere because of the final words of St. Paul: “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him…” We have the faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord, given to us by the Holy Spirit at our Baptism. Let this be focus of our lives, for now and for all eternity. In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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