Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Be a Regifter (A sermon based on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

What do you think about regifting? Of taking a gift that you've recieved and giving it to someone else? In a sense, God tells us that he wants us regift. He wants us to use the gifts that he's given and give them back to him as you use those gifts to serve him and others. In thanks to God for his greatest gifts of faith in Jesus and the forgiveness that it brings, we are eager to give back to God what he's given to us. Read or listen to (download or stream) this sermon based on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and be encouraged to be a regifter...

Be a Regifter
A sermon based on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Sunday, January 20, 2013 – Epiphany 2C 

I know that over the last month I've kept talking about Christmas presents, so I promise I'll stop talking about gifts… next Sunday. Don't answer out loud, but think about it… what was the best gift you received this year? Okay, now don't answer out loud (especially if the giver is sitting next you), but what was the worst gift you received this year? I don't know if my dad's going to listen to this sermon or not, but I'll let you know anyway that the worst gift I received for Christmas was from him. It was a T-shirt that read "My fish" with a picture of a big fish beneath it. But under that it say "My kid's fish," with a picture of a gigantic fish at least twice the size of the first. Funny gift, dad.

Well, I kind of hope that he's not listening to this sermon and that he doesn't read it later because, well… I have every intention of regifting that shirt… to my dad next year.

Most of you know I'm kind of a nerd, but did you know I listen to a weekly podcast on the finer points of grammar? (It's true.) Well, not long ago the author explained how the words "regift" and "regifter" came into English usage. It's actually a very modern word. In a 1995 episode of Seinfeld called "The Label Maker," the character Elaine called another character a "regifter." And the word stuck.  And I'm sure that in the last 18 years you've used the word once or twice yourself.

But what do you think about the act of regifting? Of taking a gift that you've received and giving to someone else? (Not usually the same person who gave it to you, like I plan on doing to my dad.) Do you think it a bit tacky? Do you think it's okay… as long as you don't get caught?

Well today, in a sense, God tells us that he wants us to regift. Not necessarily with that sweater you don't particularly like or the black shirts you keep getting but with the gifts that God has given to you. No, he doesn't want you to give away all that you have, but he does want you to take the gifts that he's given and give them back to him, in a sense. He wants you to take those gifts use them—all of them—to serve him by serving others. Listen now to 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and hear how God encourages us to be regifters, giving back to God what he's given to us… 

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. 

My dad not only gave me dumb T-shirt for Christmas. He also gave me a lot of advice growing up. And one thing I remember him saying on a regular basis is, "A little bit of knowledge is a very dangerous thing." Apparently, the apostle Paul thought so too. He didn't want the Corinthians to think they knew all about spiritual gifts (which they certainly had in abundance!) but remain uninformed or worse, misinformed about the truth. "Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant…" So he started to teach. And we get the privilege of listening in.

What about spiritual gifts? What about your spiritual gifts? "Well, I don't really have that many spiritual gifts. After all, I hate speaking in public, so I know I'm no preacher. I can't carry a tune, so I know music's not my think. And I'm certain I don't want to be on a committee. In fact, I don't even know if I have any spiritual gifts." But that's nonsense! Worse, that's false humility that denies the very real gifts that God himself has blessed you with! Everyone in this room has tremendous gifts from God, skills and abilities that God himself has given for you to use to his glory.

How do I know? Because you know who Jesus is. Do you recognize that Jesus is true God who became man? Go ahead, it's okay to answer in sermon. You can say, "Yes." ["Yes."] Do you recognize that Jesus died to pay for your sins and rose again for your justification?" ["Yes."] Do you recognize that Jesus is your Lord and you are called to live for him? ["Yes."] Good. You have the Holy Spirit living in you. "No one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit."

And where the Holy Spirit lives, the Holy Spirit brings gifts. Maybe your gifts aren't in preaching or singing or committee work. And that's okay. But you do have gifts that God wants you to use. But maybe you just don't like the gifts you've been given. Maybe you're a little like the kid who unwraps the Christmas present hoping for that Red Ryder BB gun… but instead gets a snow shovel along with a request to go use it on the driveway.

"But God, I wanted popularity. That's the gift I was hoping for. Or maybe great wealth? Great wealth would be great, God. And I promise I'd give some of it back to you. Or maybe my spiritual gift could be great wisdom, or the power of persuasion, or… well, anything but what you did give me. I don't want to use what I have."

Or maybe you do recognize the gifts God's given you, but satan and your sinful nature prompt you to use to serve idols. Paul says, "When you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols." And of course "led" implies a leader. And you know it's certainly not God who leads you to use your gifts selfishly. It's satan that leas us to use our gifts to serve our own feelings (regardless of what God wants), or our own popularity ("Hey, everyone, look at me!", or to line our own pockets with wads of cash. And really all of these make me my own god, my own idol, and say to God, "What I want matters most. And that's what I'll use my gifts for, not for what you want, God." And we either neglect or misuse the gifts God's given.

How would you feel if you picked out the perfect gift for someone you loved and knew it was just right, but when they opened it they said, "Gee, thanks," and set it aside? How would you feel if now, almost a month after Christmas, they still hadn't used it once or hadn't even taken it out of the package?

A comedian once said, "Why does anyone give clothes as a gift anymore? You might as well say, 'Here, I got you an errand for Christmas. Oh, and as long as you're going to the mall to exchange or return that, could you pick up my dry cleaning?" But that's too often how we treat God's gifts to us. We treat them as if they were worthless or even a burden.

And for the neglect or abuse of God's gifts, we deserve to take our gifts taken away. This week I saw a very sad picture on Facebook. There was a little boy about 8 or 9 years old with a brand new Playstation 3 (still in the box!) at his feet. But he held up a sign that read, "I was completely ungrateful for the Captain America action figure that grandma gave me, so now I will be returning my Playstation 3 and will be using the money to buy gifts for kids who show gratitude."

Is that bad parenting to publicly shame your kid on Facebook? I don't know. Probably. But the truth is that that's what we deserve. "I was completely ungrateful for the many gifts that my God has given to me, so now he will be taking back all of those gifts for my ingratitude: Jesus, forgiveness, heaven…"

That's exactly what we deserve. But that's nothing like what we get. Instead we get forgiveness for our ingratitude, forgiveness for our apathy towards our God-given gifts, forgiveness for using those same gifts only for selfish purposes. We get the best gift that God could give when the Holy Spirit revealed to you and me who Jesus is, our Savior from sin. "No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit."

And it truly is a gift; something given, not earned or deserved, something given, not because the recipient is so worthy of a prize, but simply because the giver loves the recipient. There are lots of ways we can be led astray: "Somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols." But there's only one way to be led to Jesus: "No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit."

And regardless of any other spiritual gifts, every one of us has received this gift of the Holy Spirit: We all have faith in Jesus as our Savior. And through that faith, we are forgiven for the way we've used and abused all of our other spiritual gifts. We are perfect in God's sight. We are at peace with him. And we are heaven-bound.

And for that great gift we are eager to use all of the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given us to show our gratitude to him! In thanks we use our lesser gifts—our "wisdom… knowledge… faith… healing… miraculous powers[?]…prophecy [speaking for God]… distinguishing between spirits… speaking [or]… interpret[ing]… tongues"—to serve God by serving others. "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."

And what a variety he's given to you! Some of you are artists, others great public speakers, some are singers, others planners, some are workers, others encouragers. And the list could go on and on. This list Paul gives is by no means the only list nor a complete list of all the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit can bestow (cf. also Ephesians 4:11 and 2 Corinthians 8:7).

But whatever gifts the Spirit has given to you, he hasn't given so that you might become more self-serving, but so that you might use those gifts for the common good.

So what gifts do you have? What skills do you have? What hobbies do you have? Those aren't always the same thing, but they are often related. Do you love to read? Do you love to talk to other people? Do you love to bake? Do you love to sing? How could you use those gifts—those skills and abilities, those hobbies and interests—to serve others, to build up the church, to share the gospel?

That's your assignment: Consider your gifts—the gifts the Holy Spirit himself hand-picked for you—and look for ways that you can use those gifts to God's glory. Commit to doing those things. And let me or someone else know what you'll do so they can help encourage you and keep you accountable, that you might use those gifts "for the common good."

In other words, take those things God the Holy Spirit has given to you and regift them. Give them back to him as you use those gifts to show your thanks, to serve your God, to serve others with his love. In his name, dear friends, amen.

In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Read sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Sermons
Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast
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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A Fresh, New Start (A sermon based on Titus 3:4-7)

How are your new year's resolutions going? After getting a fresh, new start to the year are they already broken? Need a fresh, new start again? Well, rejoice! Today and every day we have a fresh, new start thanks to God's grace given to us in our baptisms. Every day we wake up with a clean slate with sins forgiven. Every day we get a brand new life we use to live for Jesus in thanks! Read or listen to (download or stream) this sermon based on Titus 3:4-7 and get a fresh, new start...

A Fresh, New Start
A sermon based on Titus 3:4-7
Sunday, January 13, 2013 – Epiphany 2C 

I know we're already two weeks in to 2013, but Happy New Year! How's it going so far? Did you make resolutions this year? Did you already break your resolutions this year? A new year is a great time for a fresh new start, to do some cleaning up, in your home, in your schedule, in your life and to have a fresh new start... and I hope you didn't forget to make some resolutions to clean up your soul and have a fresh new start there.

But how have those resolutions gone? We're two weeks in. Is the fresh, new start of the year already muddied and dirtied with resolutions spoken then broken? Did you resolve to do better only to find yourself back on the couch, back in the fridge, back in the old routine, and back in the filth of sin?

Well, friends, let's not wait for 2014 to make some new resolutions. And let's get a fresh, new start all over again today… and every day. As we remember our baptisms each day, connected to Jesus and to his forgiving grace, we get a fresh, new start. We get a clean slate, we get a new life, and we resolve all over again to live fresh, new lives for Jesus and in Jesus.

Our text for this Second Sunday in Epiphany which celebrates the Baptism of our Lord and reminds of our own Baptisms, gives us this fresh, new start today and every day. Listen now to Titus 3:4-7… 

4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

I.              A Clean Slate 

Did you make some resolutions this year? I know that after resolutions are made and then quickly broken year after year, we can grow pretty cynical. It won't work anyway, so why bother even saying that I'll change. "You know and I know that I won't lose 30 lbs. in 2013. You know and I know that I won't get organized the way I want to. You know and I know that I won't stop sinning. So what's the use?"

And we've become so accustomed to failure that we're afraid to try again. So we don't even bother making resolutions. It's like every kid's argument against mom: "My bed's just going to get messed up again when I sleep in it tonight, so why bother making it in the morning?" But based on that logic, why bother brushing your teeth? They'll just get dirty again. But if you don't brush, they'll rot away and fall out. Or why bother showering? You'll just get sweaty and dirty another day? But if you don't bathe, you're likely to lose some of your health and probably some of your friends too.

And when it comes to our souls, too often we're content with "good enough." I'm not an axe murderer or a drug dealer, and Jesus will forgive my minor imperfections, so why even bother resolving to do better? Why not just wallow in my guilt, in my filth, and in my sin? But friends, that's no repentance at all. It's hypocricy.

Jesus once said of those who were content with "good enough," "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain…'" (Matthew 15:7-9)   

Let's face it, we're dirty. And it's not just our bodies or our teeth, but our souls that are covered in the muck of sin. And all too often we're half-hearted in any attempts to change our sinful ways, or worse, complacent, or apathetic, and love to wallow in it.

God calls us to "get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent…" (James 1:21) and to "Put to death… whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry… [to] rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips." (Colossians 3:5-7)

But too often we don't even try. Like a little boy told to wash his hands before dinner just runs them under the water for a few seconds without even bothering to use any soap, we go through the motions and pretend. But like mom, God says "Go back! Do it again! And get clean!"

But we can't. Not on our own. We can try to improve, try to clean up our act, try to make up for what we've done, but when we rely on our own strength or effort, it's like wiping our dirty hands on an even dirtier rag. Like Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's play, trying to wash the blood of her murder from her hand, we can wash our hands again and again wringing them together to try to remove the bloody stains of our guilt.  But we can't do it. We never be rid of our guilt by our resolve. We can never cover it up or hide it. We must confess our gnawing guilt with Lady Macbeth, "Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand."

But that's when God steps in.

"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy."

He saves us. Notice here that God gets all the credit. While sincere repentance is certainly needed to find forgiveness, that repentance doesn't earn or merit any forgiveness. God saves us because of his kindness, because of his inexplicable love for us sinners, not because of any righteous thing we've done or could ever do, but because of his mercy. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

At his Baptism, God revealed clearly who Jesus is. He is the Son of God, true God himself, perfect and sinless, perfectly pleasing to God in every way. But he took that perfection and gave it away to mankind. He took the sins and failures, even the apathy and cynicism, all the dirt and filth of sin on himself. He is the soap that makes mankind clean of soul.

And he took that salvation won on the cross and applied it to each one of us personally in our baptism. "He saved us through the washing of rebirth…" Now the word through is important to understand this verse. In this phrase, God isn't talking about the spiritual washing of forgiveness. He's talking about the means through which that forgiveness is made our own. It too is all God's doing. He still gets all the credit. He washed us clean by the cross through our Baptisms. As Peter put it in his first epistle, "Baptism… saves you… not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ..." (1 Peter 3:21)

Through your Baptism, God washed you clean of your sin. He poured his Holy Spirit out on you. And through Baptism God delivered forgiveness and salvation to you personally. You have a clean soul. It's spotless, fresh, and new!

Remember that each time you shower. As you get clean on the outside and wash off the decay and filth and stink from your body, remember the water of Baptism where God washed off the decay and filth and stink of sin. Say a silent prayer in the shower and confess your sins to God, and trust in his promise in Baptism. Then as you dry off, rejoice that you are clean in body and in soul. Your sins are forgiven and you have a clean slate, and a fresh start to your day…

II.            A New Life 

One of the wonderful results of your Baptism is that your sins were forgiven and you were made clean. But more than that, you were made a new person altogether. You were born again. And that means you get a fresh start each day and an entirely new life.

In one book I've been reading the author asks "What does it mean to be a father?" He writes:

"When my son, Colin, was conceived, I became a father. If I had left for good the minute after I learned the results of the pregnancy test, I'd still be a father. No matter how far I'd run or how hard I'd try to forget, it's a fact that would be obvious to anyone with a genetic scanner. And yet to be a good father means to get up every day and tell myself that that's what I'm going to be. I change diapers and attend tea parties and build LEGO towns and play catch and save for college and talk and scold and praise and worry and love." (God in the Streets of Gotham, Chapter 4)

It's similar with our Baptism. When you were Baptized, you became a Christian. In fact, Baptism is sometimes called a christening. And you received a new life. That was true regardless of your decision or understanding. Through faith in God's promises given to you at Baptism, you were born again, "born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." (John 1:13) But that wasn't the end of it.

Baptism isn't like a vaccination against sin, like you get a vaccination against rubella and small pox. It was the start of your fresh, new life. "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…" And with a clean slate given to you each day, that fresh, new life starts over each day. We confess that in the Liturgy of Baptism in our hymnal (It's on page 12 if you want to follow along while I read it.):

"We recall what baptism means for our daily lives as we speak these words:

"Baptism means that the sinful nature in us should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forver."

Because of your Baptism, every day is a fresh, new start. Paul says in Romans: "Where sin increased, grace increased all the more…  What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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." (Romans 5:20; 6:1-4)

You are forgiven for your failures to live a fresh, clean life. You've been given a clean slate with every sin wiped away. You've been given a new life. Now be renewed in your zeal to live for Jesus in thanks and resolve to be rid of all moral filth as you live for him.

You may goof up again and break that resolution today. But then go back to the cross. Go back to the font. Take a look at your baptismal certificate. And get a fresh, new start all over again. And in the end, you'll find heaven.

"He saved us… so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

Around 200 AD the church father, Tertullian of Carthage said, "Happy is our sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life! …We [are] little fishes… born in water, nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water…"

Don't be like a fish out of water, but live each day in the waters of your Baptism, permanently abiding in safety there. And rejoice, that in spite of your broken resolutions to live for Jesus, you have a clean slate, you get a fresh, new start to live for Jesus each day. And resolve again to live for him by the power of your Baptism. In his name, dear friends, amen.


In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Read sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Sermons
Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast
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Monday, January 7, 2013

Tychicus of Ephesus A sermon based on Ephesians 3:2-12

Ever wonder if, after all you've done, God's grace is still for you? Read or listen to (download or stream) this sermon from the imagined perspective of Tychicus of Ephesus and rejoice that God has revealed to you the mystery that his grace is for all people, even for you! Be encouraged to dedicate your life to serving him in thanks and to sharing that mystery with others...

Tychicus of Ephesus
A sermon based on Ephesians 3:2-12
Sunday, January 6, 2012 – Epiphany C

 

Tychicus, a servant of Paul, an apostle and servant of Christ Jesus,

To the saints in Kenai, the believers in Christ Jesus:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Good morning. My name is Tychicus–Tychicus of Ephesus. I am from the Bible. Most people have never heard of me, and wouldn't guess my name in Bible trivia, and no one names their son Tychicus anymore, and that's okay. I'm not here to talk myself up, because, well, there's not really that much to talk about. I'm here for something more important, something far better, something that you and I share in common.

My name means "by chance." But the thing that I am here today to talk to you about didn't happen by chance at all. It happened as a part of God's loving plan for me—a plan of grace that he'd prepared before the beginning of time. A plan he's laid out for my spiritual Father and friend, the Apostle Paul, for me, through him, and now, for you too.

I am a Roman citizen of the province of Asia Minor. I'm from the City of Ephesus—on the west coast of that province, the capitol city, large, urban, old—more than 1,000 years old when I lived there—and very important. It was not only in a natural harbor that let many pass through our city from around the world, but it had the temple of Artemis (or Diana, as I and other Romans called her), a temple even bigger than that of Zeus in Rome—one of the seven wonders of the world.

And it was there in Ephesus that I was raised. There I learned my trade. And there I learned about "the gods." I learned about Zeus and his wife Leto, who gave birth to twins, Apollo and Artemis. While Apollo was the god of the sun, his sister, Artemis, was the moon goddess. And it was in Ephesus that her statue fell from the sky. I was taught the simple chant of worship, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" and I was taught that if I served the gods well, if I gave them my sacrifices, if I did enough, they would bless me and they would bless my labors.

So I did my best to serve them well. And thought I was doing okay… until I met Paul.

Paul came to Ephesus and turned the world there upside down. He came preaching about a God, but none of the gods I'd ever learned and I thought I knew them all by both Roman and Greek names. But this God was called "Jehovah," the God of the Jews. This God, said Paul, didn't live on Mt. Olympus, but in heaven and everywhere. This God wasn't born of another God or from the Titans of old, he always was, always is. This God, said Paul, was the only God. Zeus and Hermes, Apollo and Artemis, Athena and Hades were from the imaginations of men and nothing more.

At first, I was skeptical. His words were like a mystery to me. Why should I, a Roman citizen, believe in a Jewish God?! But I kept listening. He told us how he too had once believed wrong. He too believed that he could earn the favor of his God by learning the right chants and rituals, by serving his God and sacrificing to him. But he was wrong. His God appeared to him, he said, on the road to Damascus. And his God taught him the truth and revealed this mystery to him:

He reveled to Paul, who now revealed to me, that the true God knew all things. He knew my every thought, my every word, my every deed. Nothing was a mystery to him. And that thought made me shudder. "Woe to me if this is the true God!" I thought, For them I am surely damned! For the things I've thought are perverse. The things I've said horribly unkind. The things I've done... well, I thank the true God that they remain a mystery to you, if not to him."

Any maybe you can relate. I'm sure you too have thought that as long as you do your best, as long as you learn the right chants and rituals, as long as you serve your God well, and sacrifice enough for him, as long as you're pretty good, you'll be okay. Or maybe you've know that terror I felt, knowing you're not pretty good, but corrupt and vile and worthy of damnation …which isn't surprising if you have felt that way, because it's true: You are corrupt and vile in your sin, worthy of damnation, even if your sins are a mystery to all but God."

But Paul didn't stop there. He continued to preach: "Don't be afraid," he said, "I'm not perfect either. In fact, I'm less than the least of God's people. I once tried to imprison and even kill the followers of this true God, and often I would succeed. But God—the only true God—is a God of grace.

And he went on to explain the mystery that God had reveled to him. That the true God became man—flesh and blood, just like you and me. But it was not just the son of a god, like Hercules, but the Son of God, true God from God from all eternity took on flesh. And he lived among men. He proved his divinity by the miracles he did—miracles I'd heard about even so far away from Israel. He lived a perfect life, without a single sin. And he did it in the place of sinners. Finally, he was crucified outside of Jerusalem, only a few decades earlier—a Jewish man killed by Jewish men.

But what Paul revealed next was astounding. What was hidden to me, what I could never know on my own, what was and would remain a mystery… was revealed. Paul said that this Jewish man, true God in the flesh, was killed by Jewish men, his own priests and leaders, to save not only Jewish men, but all mankind from their sin. Because he was God even on that cross, his death could pay the penalty of every sin of every person who ever lived! And after he was killed he rose from his tomb, for as true God death could not hold him. And thus, he gave the proof that sin and death were conquered.

This living God then appeared to Paul and he gave him a mission, a truly amazing mission. He told Paul to preach this Good News, not just to the Jews, but to the Gentiles, Romans and Greeks, for Arabs and Egyptians, for Germans and for… Ephesians. For me. He said that through faith in Jesus, by putting my trust in him, my sins were forgiven. My guilt for the wrongs I'd ever thought or said or done was erased. I had a future in glory with this Jesus and with his Jehovah. No sacrifice was left, no service needed to be done. This was the mystery revealed!

And God's grace is still for every person around the globe for everywhere a Roman road ran or a Roman ship sailed, for the distant peoples across the desert, for the islands across the Great Sea, for Gentile as well as Jew, for me, as well as you. There is no sacrifice left for you to make, no service for you to perform. By God's grace, revealed to you by his Spirit, in the water, in the Word, in his body and blood, you too are forgiven. You too have a future in glory with Jesus. The unsearchable riches of God—the very glory of his heaven—paradise itself is yours! You too can rejoice in the mystery revealed!

I sat at the Apostles' feet at the lecture hall of Tyrannus and learned of true God every day for almost two years. And I saw the miracles of Paul that confirmed the message he spoke. Once Paul borrowed a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his brow and when the owner took it home, his sick child picked it up and instantly became well! Another time, an apron Paul wore was used to drive out a demon. (cf. Acts 19:11)

And I saw people respond to that message of God's grace. I went to the bonfire in Ephesus where those who believed piled up their scrolls of sorcery and magic, and piling them higher than my head, they burned them all to show how they'd turned from the lies they once believed to the truth. 50,000 drachmas worth of scrolls were burned that day! That's 130 years worth of wages, or roughly $4M in your money today! (Acts 19:19)

And I couldn't help but respond to that message of grace! I wasn't content to just sit and listen, to learn and be fed. I wanted in on the action! Paul didn't just sit on this wonderful information or keep it to himself, but did as God commanded and made it his life's work to travel around the empire to tell others that this grace of God was for them too! And because of his ministry, my life changed forever! How could I just sit on this information and keep it to myself? How could I not become like the apostle and make it my life's mission to share that message too?!

I started seeing everything as an opportunity to thank God for revealing this wonderful mystery of his grace to me. When I went to work, I looked for openings to tell others. I started to give my money, as much as I could afford, to Paul and to the church that it might be used to share the message with others, trusting that God would provide for my needs no matter what I gave away. And when the opportunity arose, I joined Paul's team.

I was no Paul, I told him, and couldn't preach like he did. But I wanted to help. I wanted to be involved in this mission to the Gentiles. He told me that I had gifts I could use to help him and to serve Jesus. Everyone does! So I began my ministry. I would travel with Paul and often for Paul when he couldn't move.

After I riot in Ephesus, I accompanied Paul to Jerusalem to help carry the offering we sent there. (Acts 20:4) And I accompanied him to Rome after he was arrested there, and carried the letters he wrote from prison. I carried a letter back home to Ephesus (Ephesians 6:21) and another to Colosse (Colossians 4:7). And I carried personal correspondence from Paul to Titus and Timothy. This was my ministry to Paul and to God.

And you too have opportunities to serve him in thanks as well. You don't need to have a masters of divinity or even a high school diploma. You don't have to be a traveling preacher or grade school teacher to be a part of the mission. All you need is a willingness to serve Jesus with a heart of thanks for revealing the mystery of his grace to you. Perhaps you start by sharing your pastor's message with a friend or co-worker. And you don't even need to travel across the empire to do it. You can you the blessings our God has given you to share a sermon or service from your own homes. As the Romans roads and ships of my day helped spread the news back then, you new tools at your disposal to get the mystery revealed out to the world!

May you too be filled with zeal to share the mystery with others. May you dedicate your lives, not to worthless idols or false gods, not to the pursuit of pleasures and fortune, but to serving your God who gave his grace, even to you, and to share the mystery of God's grace with all who will hear.

Listen now, to the Word of God written by the Apostle Paul to my hometown, and carried there by me, Tychicus of Ephesus. The words of Ephesians 3:2-12, which speak of the mystery of God's grace, even to us… 

2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

This is the Word of God. In Jesus' name, dear friends, amen. 


In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Read sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Sermons
Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast
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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem (A sermon based on Isaiah 51:1-8)

What's your outlook on 2013? Do things look good for the year to come? Or are you a bit apprehensive. Be careful! Things aren't always what they seem. But when you look at your failures and your sins in the past year, be thankful that things aren't always what they seem. In spite of appearances, you are a sinless saint though God's grace given to you in Christ. And in view that forgiveness and God's salvation coming soon to take us home to him in heaven, we have a very positive outlook on 2013 and into eternity. Read or listen to (download or stream) this sermon based on Isaiah 51:1-8 and rejoice that things aren't always what they seem...

Things Aren't Always What They Seem
A sermon based on Isaiah 51:1-8
Monday, December 31, 2012 – New Year's Eve 

Want to see something cool? I can pull my thumb right off my hand and put it back on. (Demonstrate.) Pretty cool, huh? Not just anyone can pull that trick off. It takes years of practice and hard work to make it look real. But of course, I didn't really remove my thumb. It's only an illusion, and not a very good one at that.

Some illusions can be very entertaining. Renowned illusionist, David Copperfield, does a much better job at making the Statue of Liberty or a Boeing 747 vanish into thin air or at appearing to levitate over the Grand Canyon, than I do at taking off my thumb. But even with the most convincing illusions we know that things aren't always what they seem.

That's often how it is with God. Reality is hidden beneath what is seen. As we struggle with finances, with relationships and with sin, it often seems as if we were losing. When we face such challenges, our futures appears to be uncertain. But things aren't always what they seem.

As we look back over another year now drawing to a close and look ahead to a new year to come, we do well to keep in mind that things aren't always what they seem, that in spite of what we see and feel, we are victorious and our salvation in Christ is very near. We know this is true because of the certain Word of God, and not because of the cheap parlor tricks of what we see or feel. Listen now to Isaiah's comforting reminder that things aren't always what they seem, recorded for us in Isaiah 51:1-8…

 

"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; 2 look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. 3 The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. 4 "Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. 5 My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. 6 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. 7 "Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults. 8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations."

 

Because of their sin, God's people had been carried away in captivity. But God promised that this discipline wouldn't last forever. But seventy years of captivity was a long time to wait. And God's people started to lose patience. And they started to lose hope. They looked around and saw that they were still slaves. They were weaker than they were when they arrived in Babylon, not stronger. They heard reports of how the city of Jerusalem lay in ruins, their fathers' fields full of weeds and stones, the temple itself a pile of rubble. It seemed as if there was no hope at all of ever enjoying the land God had promised to their ancestors.

But things weren't what they seemed. God would deliver them soon in spite of all appearances. He would lead them back to their homeland and cause them to prosper again. So he told them, through Isaiah, to rejoice in spite of the evidence because their deliverance was near.

And to encourage their despairing hearts, he reminded them that things aren't always what they seem by pointing them to Abraham. "Look at Abraham," he reminded them, "your ancestor, the rock from which you were cut. Things seemed pretty hopeless for him too." He was 75 years old when God promised him a son. His wife, Sarah, 65. Not exactly the prime of their child-bearing years anymore. Sarah was barren. Abraham as good as dead. And how hopeless it must have seemed when year after year after year, they still had no son from God. It seemed about as likely for a rock to have a baby as it did for this elderly couple.

And yet, look what happened. Twenty-five years after the promise was made, when Abraham was 100 years old and his wife was 90, God gave them a son, Isaac. And from that son, the nation of Israel was born.

But what's God's point? What lesson did he want the Babylonian captives to learn? Things aren't always what they seem. It seemed like Abraham and Sarah would die childless, but that's not what happened. God was teaching the captives that if God could produce a multitude of descendants from this naturally barren pair, if he could work this miracle, defying nature, contrary to all reason, he could do the same in their lives as well…

"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; 2 look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many." If he can do that, Isaiah argues, then you can certainly trust God when he says he… "will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing."

And God did deliver them out of Babylon. He led them home to rebuild the temple, to rebuild their homes, to rebuild their lives. God's promise rang true… in spite of all appearances to the contrary. 

When you look back at this past year, what do you see? Do you see broken resolutions? Do you see mistakes you've made, failed plans and failed commitments? When you look into your soul, what do you see? Do you see one who has always loved God with all of your heart and all of your soul and all of your mind in all of your ways for all of 2012? Do you see a perfect, sinless saint? Or do you see a sinner, with broken resolutions made to God and failures to keep his commands. I know what I see when I examine my life in the mirror of God's law—and it isn't pretty.

When you look ahead to the year to come, what do you see? A weakened economy? Concerns about your job? About your health? About your relationships? Does the future seem rosy and bright and full of hope? Or does it at times look pretty bleak? Does it seem like Christ is coming to deliver us from this world of grief and pain, of stress and sickness, injury and guilt and shame? He hasn't come for almost 2,000 years! So sometimes it seems that this life is all there is and the promise of heaven is just an illusion.

But friends, things aren't always as they seem! This life is the illusion, no more real than me pulling my thumb off. You want to know what's real? Look at what God says: 3 The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. 4 "Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. 5 My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations….  

Christ did come to earth and die on a cross though we weren't there to witness it. He did remove all of our sins though it seems like our sins cling to us each day. He did rise again to defeat death, though we see death all around us. And in spite of appearances, you are a perfect, sinless saint. In spite of appearances, you know that this world won't last. In spite of appearances, you are heaven bound. That's not an illusion. It's reality. Things aren't always what they seem.

And so we have hope for the future. 2013 does look rosy and bright. Not because God promised that the economy will recover or our national enemies will all be destroyed, not because he promised we'll be personally prosperous or have every relationship restored, but because we know God's promises of grace, that "[his] righteousness draws near speedily, [his] salvation is on the way…" and because we know this salvation isn't a temporary, fleeting illusion for this lifetime, but will be reality for eternity.

When David Copperfield pulls off an illusion, eventually the Statue of Liberty reappears or he comes back to the ground to walk around like the rest of us. His illusions are a temporary diversion from reality. But when God brings his righteousness, salvation and justice, it will be more than an illusion, but a new reality; one that will last forever. He says…

6 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… my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations."

Clearly these verses speak about more than just a deliverance from a few Babylonian captors. That deliverance wouldn't last through all generations. But the  deliverance God led Isaiah to speak of in these verses would outlast the very heavens and earth themselves. It would last forever… never fail… through all generations. This is the greater deliverance of the promised Christ.

In him, our every sin is completely forgiven. In him, we not only seek righteousness, but receive it as a gift from God. This deliverance, from sins, from Satan's grasp, from hell's claim on us, will last forever. It can never be taken away, no matter what 2013 throws at us.

Even if we lose our friends, our family, our jobs, our nation, or our lives, even if the heavens and earth, the things we assume will be there day after day, should "vanish like smoke" and disappear like one of David Copperfield's monuments, still, nothing can rob us of the joy that is ours in Christ. We have heaven itself for all of eternity, forever and ever, without end. And so we rejoice right now, in spite of any appearances because our deliverance is coming quickly, and it will last forever.

What occupies your thoughts tonight as we face a new year tomorrow? Financial challenges? The heavens themselves will vanish. The earth will wear out. All that's in it will be destroyed. Why should we care about material wealth? Do you fear your enemies? The inhabitants of the earth will die like flies. They can't touch your salvation. Are you worried about persecution or hardship? Those who insult you for your faith will be eaten up like a moth chews up old clothes. No one, nothing, no circumstance can ever take God's gift of salvation away from you.

So rejoice, friends! Your salvation is near, your deliverance from this life of sin to a life of paradise in heaven awaits you! It's coming soon, in spite of all appearances to the contrary. Be at peace. Wait for the Lord in hope. Be full of joy and gladness, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. And in thanksgiving for that imminent deliverance that will last forever, resolve to live your lives in service to God and to share his deliverance with future generations. Rejoice, dear friends! Your deliverance is near! Amen!


In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Read sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Sermons
Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast
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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Abandoned (A sermon based on Luke 2:41-52)

Ever feel like you're all alone? Like everyone has abandoned you? Well, thank God that you're not ever alone. Because Jesus was abandoned by his Father in your place, you are forgiven for every time you've tried to leave Jesus at church ("where he belongs"). With your sins forgiven, you are acceptable to God and he promises that he will never abandon you, leave you, or forsake you. Read or listen to (download or stream) this sermon based on Luke 2:41-52 and rejoice that you're never alone...

Abandoned
A sermon based on Luke 2:41-52
Sunday, December 30, 2012 – Christmas 1C 

I don't know how many of you know this about me… I know some of you do, but, well… I was abandoned by my parents at an early age. Both of my parents left me when I was 6 or 7 years old.

Okay, it's not as bad as it sounds.  They both left me at home alone—just like the movie, but without the burglars and the booby traps, and not for nearly as long as Kevin McAllister was. It was an oddity that I was ready for church before everyone that particular morning. That never happened. I was usually scrambling to find my other shoe while everyone else was in the car waiting. But this particular Sunday I was ready to go with time to spare.

Now that particular Sunday dad had a council meeting after worship and mom opted to head home instead of sit around at church, so they both drove separately. Well, when each was ready to go, little Rob wasn't around (since I was quietly watching cartoons in the basement, patiently waiting for the others). Leaving at separate times, each parent assumed I was with the other. And the mistake wasn't discovered until they both reached church, 40 minutes away, and asked the other, "Where's Rob? Didn't he come with you?"

I was abandoned at an early age. I think the emotional scars have healed.

But I know I'm not alone. I've heard the stories of kids being left alone at the rest stop when the road trip caravan moved on. And parents didn't realize anyone was missing until they made it dozens of miles down the road.

And it's not just parents today, but even in Jesus' day, even Jesus himself was abandoned at an early age and left behind. And thank God that he was. Thank God that he was abandoned by his parents and kept the law perfectly for us, that later he might be abandoned by God to win our salvation. Luke 2:41-52… 

41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. 

It was Jesus' bar mitzvah; his coming of age. He was finally a "Son of the Law" (that's what "bar mitzvah" literally means – "Son of the Law") where he was old enough to study a trade, but more importantly old enough to study the Torah. He'd always been obedient to his parents and to God's law as his parents instructed him in it, but now he would study God's Law for himself. So he accompanied Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.

But when Mary and Joseph were ready to go, each parent assumed Jesus was with the other, or maybe with extended family and Jesus was abandoned, and left behind at the temple courts. And when Mary grilled him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." With the first words of Jesus that we have recorded for us, Jesus showed Mary how much he understood the Word he'd been studying.

"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"

You see, Jesus knew who he was: the God-man. He knew that God, not Joseph, was his real Father. Jesus knew the prophecies that were written… about him. (Later, when he was fully grown he said, "These are the Scriptures that testify about me.") He knew the Word of God better than the priests, better than the teachers of the Law. (And he would continue to demonstrate that when he was fully grown.) And you can be sure that he knew what his mission was: To save mankind, who could not save themselves, no matter how well they tried to keep the Law.

You see even though we often make the boast of Peter, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." (Matthew 26:33) "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." (Luke 22:33) "Even if friends and family forsake you," we cry, "I will never abandon you. I will never leave you behind."

But then we go and play the part of Mary and Joseph and leave Jesus at church ("where he belongs" right?). Oh we love Jesus here. We sing our praises to him and worship him. "But please, Jesus, just stay at church. Don't follow me to the bar. You wouldn't like what you saw. Don't come into my living room to see what's on my TV. Those shows aren't for you. Don't come into my vehicle, Jesus, and see how I drive (or hear what I say to the other drivers). Don't come into my kitchen and hear how I talk to my parents. And please don't come into my head and see my thoughts. Just stay at church, where you belong."

But you know that there is no place where can really leave Jesus behind. As David sang in Psalm 139(:7-12), "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea… If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."

Jesus is with us in the bar, in our living rooms, and in our vehicles. He's there in our kitchens and in our bedrooms. And his is there inside our heads and inside our souls, seeing the filth of sin that resides. We cannot leave him behind.

And for all the times that we've tried to abandon Jesus and leave him at church, we deserve to be abandoned by him and left behind when he comes in glory. Jesus said in Matthew 8(:38), "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

Oh dear Jesus, forgive us! Forgive us for the times we've abandoned you! Forgive us for the times we've been ashamed of you! Forgive us for the times we've left you at church!

…

And you know, dear friends, that he does forgive us. For Jesus was abandoned again. He was abandoned by his real Father. On Good Friday, "Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?'—which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'"

And you know why. It wasn't for his sin that God abandoned him. For Jesus always kept the law perfectly—even in childhood, perfectly obeying his parents in all things, even as an adolescence when his hormones were raging, even through the rebellious teen years, he kept the fourth commandment and honored his earthly father and mother.

And he always honored, loved, and obeyed his heavenly Father. As he continued in his obedience, he continued to grow in favor with God. With every new temptation resisted, with every truth he boldly proclaimed, with every new act of obedience added to the last he made his Father in heaven favor him more and more, so he could proclaim, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17)

No. Jesus wasn't abandoned by God for any sin of his. He had no sin. But for the many times that we've abandoned God, for the many times we've tried to leave Jesus behind at church ("where he belongs"), for the many times we thought that we escaped his noticed and served ourselves instead of him, Jesus was abandoned by the Father and cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

And now, by his sacrifice, we will never be abandoned or left at home alone—not truly alone. Can't be you with your family this year because a relationship has been destroyed by sin? Feel all alone? You're not. Feel abandoned when the cancer threatens… or the bottle disrupts …or the bills pile up? You're not. Even if your friends throw up their hands in disgust, even if all your family abandons you as a lost cause, even if all others leave you, still you're never alone.

Because he abandoned his Son, and thus, paid for your every sin, God has now promised you, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) So, "Do not be afraid or terrified… for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)

We will never be abandoned in this life no matter how dark the hour. And we will never be abandoned to hell no matter how great our sin. For Jesus' obedience is greater. His sacrifice is greater. His forgiveness is greater. And we are forgiven. And we are never alone.

So we say, "Thank you, God! Thank you, Jesus, for being abandoned in my place… for being left behind! Thank you with all of my heart! Now let me serve you in thanks. Keep me in my faith that I might never abandon you again, but might live for you each day in thanks." In his name, dear friends, amen!


In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Read sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Sermons
Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

What Did You Get for Christmas? (A sermon based on John 1:1-14)

What did you get for Christmas this year? Was it everything you hoped for? Even if you didn't find what you were hoping for under the tree, you got great gifts from God in your Savior, Jesus. You have the Light of the World that shines in the darkness. You have the Word made flesh, tenting among us. Read or listen to (download or stream) this sermon based on John 1:1-14 and rejoice in the gifts you got for Christmas...

What Did You Get for Christmas?
A sermon based on John 1:1-14
Tuesday, December 25, 2012 – Christmas Day 

        Merry Christmas! I'm guessing that by now most of you have opened all or at least some of your Christmas presents. So, what did you get? Did you get the WiiU ? Did you get the new snow machine? Did you get that game you were hoping for? Did you get just what you wanted? If you haven't opened the presents yet, I hope you'll be able to pay attention instead of counting the minutes until the sermon and the service are over. Hang in there. I won't be too long.

        But the truth is that even if you were to receive no presents from your friends and family this year, you did still get some pretty great gifts. Two weeks ago the kids shared with us many of the gifts of the manger that God gives in Christ. But this morning we take a look at two of those gifts that God gives you through his Son. The first we already heard that night: He gives you a light, and not just a nice lamp to put on the end table, not a lava lamp, which I heard were making a comeback, but better: a light that will never go out. And the second gift, we haven't talked about yet: he gives you a tent, and not just a tent for you to go camping with, but a tent for him to camp among us. John writes of these gifts in John 1:1-14...  

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I.              A Light

The days are starting to get longer again! Have you noticed? With winter solstice behind us by a few days already we're gaining minutes of daylight each day. In one sense it's still a season of darkness. But in another sense it's a season of light. We put up Christmas lights, light candles, and rejoice that the Light of the World has come in the person of Jesus. But John explains why he had to come -- to shine in the darkness.  

Can you imagine what the world would be like if there were no sun? You wouldn't need to wonder for long because, of course, without the sun there could be no life. All living organisms depend on the sun for survival. It allows us to see, it keeps us warm, it provides our food. Without the sun -- if it were to burn out -- it would only be a very short amount of time until we'd all be dead.

Likewise, without Jesus, life is pretty dark. "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die." Without him we'd be lost in the dark. We'd be blind to what really matters in this life. And the saddest part is, that if left on our own, we'd be like all the rest and refuse him. Still, even though we know him, how often don't we reject the light of God's word? Even though we know what's expected of us, we still choose to follow our own desires and go running back to the darkness.

We deserve no gifts from God. We deserve to be stuck in our sin and doomed to spend an eternity of miserable darkness in hell. As plants without the sun soon wither, as the world without the sun soon dies, so we deserve eternal death without the Son of God. But we don't get what we deserve. Instead the Light of the World has shined on us.

After my first winter in Alaska I went out bought a new flashlight. I bought that kind that doesn't need batteries. You know, with the hand crank on the side which operates a small generator? After you turn it a few dozen times it generates enough power to operate the flashlight. How handy that flashlight's been when lose power at the parsonage. Even if the boys have been playing with my flashlight, I don't have to worry about the batteries being dead. I still have light.

Well, that's what we have in Jesus. He's given us that light for Christmas -- or rather at Christmas. He's given us the Light of the World that is Jesus, the Light that shines in the darkness, the light that gives life! God has shined in our hearts and created faith by the power of the Word! And we know what God has done to rescue us from our sin and the hell we deserve for it. And we couldn't know that on our own. For we are "born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. " In a sense, he's turned the light on for us.

And so, now, no matter what darkness we're plunged into in this life, we have light! No matter what you do, good or bad, the sun will come up tomorrow. Likewise, the Son of God will be there with forgiveness and comfort and help in time of need, all because of his second gift to you at Christmas, the tent God gives... 

II. A Tent

I don't know about you, but I love camping. I love to get off the grid (well, mostly off the grid) for a few days to enjoy God's gift of creation. And a few years ago (it wasn't for Christmas, but) Becky and I got a new tent. The old (supposedly) four-man tent wasn't big enough for our growing family. So we got a new, three-room, three door tent with dividers -- a tent that I can stand up in and still have head room. I love it. But the tent that God gives is waaaaaay better than this one...

John begins his Gospel account with a familiar line, doesn't he: "In the beginning..." Of course, you know where we've seen that before. It's how the whole Bible starts in Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." John begins at the same point. At creation. The Word -- that is, Jesus -- "was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John is reminding his readers right off the bat who Jesus is. He is true God in every way. Jesus is omnipotent with the power to create the universe. Jesus is eternal, there from the beginning of the world. Jesus is true God. And yet, Jesus, true God that he is, went on a camping trip.  

Jump from verse 1 to verse 14. There John writes, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." Literally "made his dwelling" is "tented," or "tabernacled." You see, to the Jews, a tent wasn't just a short term shelter. It was where they went to worship God. The tabernacle was that special place where God literally made his dwelling among his people. In the form of a cloud God would settle in the Most Holy Place, that inner sanctum of the tabernacle, to be among his people. That's the picture that John paints of Jesus, who is called Immanuel, which means, "God with us."  

Jesus didn't stop being God, but took on that which makes us human -- flesh and blood. John clearly portrayed Jesus as human throughout his Gospel. He was hungry, thirsty, tired, frustrated, and depressed. Jesus was born... and Jesus died. That's the tent that God gave you for Christmas! The tent of Jesus who is God tabernacled in flesh. 

How amazing, isn't it?! That the God who made the universe would dress in skin and bones and walk among us that we might see God face to face. You can hear the marvel of it all in John's words, "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father..." What a tent God gives us on Christmas! It's not one of canvass or fabric or nylon, but one of flesh.  

But more impressive than the fact that the God of the universe could become a man and walk among us, is the reason why he did it. It wasn't to strike us down with his own hand because he was so disgusted with our sin. No! He came "full of grace" John says. He came to save us!

A modern drama portrays Joseph, the carpenter, building a crib for baby Jesus the day after he's born. As he does, he replays in his minds eye the celebration of the night before with the giddy shepherds singing their praise, telling about the angels they had seen, and treating Jesus like a celebrity. Joseph then asks, "If this is how they treat him when he's just a baby, how will they treat him when they find out he's the Son of God?!" Then the lights quickly dim and all you hear is the pounding of the hammer and the nails as Joseph continues working on the crib. But with no visual all you can think of is the sound of the nails being driven through Jesus hands' and feet and into the cross.

In an artistic way that drama illustrates the real miracle of Christmas -- not just that God became man, but why God became man -- to set us free from our sins so that we might have "the right to become children of God." What a great tent! What a great gift from God! John later wrote in 1 John 3(:1), "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" That is what God has given to us at Christmas!

And what's more, he still tents among us on an extended camping trip. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus promised his disciples of all time, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." He is still Immanuel,  God with us!

What great presents we've received from God! He's given us the Light of his Word that can never go out, the light of faith that he turned on in our hearts! He tented among us in the flesh to live and die in our place! And he tents among us still taking care of us every step of the way! Maybe you didn't get what you were hoping for. Maybe you didn't get the WiiU or the snow machine, but you still got some pretty amazing gifts. And for those gifts you can rejoice! For the Light has shined in your darkness and you "have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." In Jesus' name, dear friends, amen. 


In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Read sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Sermons
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