Peace Lutheran Church
Second Sunday in Advent
December 08, 2024
Text: Philippians 1:2-11
Theme: Joyful Partnership
Outline
3. Obligation to each other, support, mutual encouragement.
2. SN me, mine first, bulk at rules
1. JC comes to give you everlasting joy, gives you rules not as a burden but to grow and mature, str with HS
Sermon
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation today is the Epistle lesson of the Letter of Saint Paul to the church in Philippi the first chapter verses two through eleven.
Boys and girls I pray that you are doing well this morning. Have you ever had to work together? Sometimes you might have to work together on a homework project. You worked together to get a Christmas tree and put the ornaments on. You help with the housework. You work together in a partnership. That is an example of the partnership of grace that Paul writes about today. How does Jesus help us in our partnerships with His love and mercy? Ponder that question as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.
3. Obligation to each other, support, mutual encouragement.
“3 eI thank my God fin all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 gbecause of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began ha good work in you iwill bring it to completion at jthe day of Jesus Christ.” It is easy to see the love and joy that Paul has for the church in Phillipi. Paul remembers them every single time he prays. He rejoices in their partnership together in the Gospel because the Philippians church has been the first, and many times only, church that provides Paul constant support both financially as well as in prayer. They have banded together with Paul for mutual support and encouragement in the Gospel. We do likewise still today with our support of missionaries, both locally and around the world, partnering with them in the spread of the Gospel.
The Greek word that we translate as partnership is koinonia which we often translate as partnership, i.e. (literally) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction:—(to) communicate(-ation), communion, (contri-)distribution, fellowship. Being in a partnership means that there are obligations to fulfill. For the church that meant praying for Paul and supporting him in the ministry. For Paul, it meant checking in, writing to, and making sure that the church was not falling away into false doctrine and error. That they were continuing steadfast in the faith. As partners, they mutually supported and encouraged one another in and through Jesus Christ.
2. SN me, mine first, bulk at rules
This may sound very strange to our ears, and especially to our sinful natures. “Pastor, what do you mean that because of the Gospel, I have an obligation?’ “That means that there is something that I have to do.’ ‘Why are you to tell me I have to do something?’ Yes, because Jesus Christ has taking upon Himself your flesh, suffered for you, bled upon the cross and rose from the dead for you, you have an obligation to those around you. There is something for you to be doing! Christianity is not merely about sitting in a pew stoically while listening to the preaching of God’s word and singing hymns. It is an active part of life, lived out in love of God and service to our neighbor. It is nothing more than the Law of God at work as a guide, guiding you as a Christian, building you up that your love may abound more and more.
Our sinful nature abhors this. It sounds legalistic. It sounds like works righteousness. It sounds like I cannot be lazy, sitting around, twiddling my thumbs. Like Adam and Eve, we know God’s good and gracious will and yet we turn away, desiring to be like God rather than follow His rules and commands. We do not desire to follow God’s rules. We want to be the ones making the rules, forming them in such a way that my wants, my desires, my needs are met before anyone else’s.
1. JC comes to give you everlasting joy, gives you rules not as a burden but to grow and mature, str with HS
Yet, why has God given you the Law? He has given it for the very means of curbing, and destroying our sinful natures. Through Jesus, He shows you that you are not first. He is. Jesus comes in your flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, is wrapped in swaddling cloths, laid in a manger, all in service to you. Jesus leaves His throne on high and comes in meekness to serve you. By His death and resurrection from the dead, He gives His very life that you might give yours in service to others. He gives you of His Holy Spirit that you may be encourage, and strengthened in your lives as He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion.
As we state in the Confessions, “But when a person is born anew by the Spirit of God and is liberated from the law (that is, when he is free from this driver and is driven by the Spirit of Christ), he lives according to the immutable will of God as it is comprehended in the law and, in so far as he is born anew, he does everything from a free and merry spirit. These works are, strictly speaking, not works of the law but works and fruits of the Spirit, or, as St. Paul calls them, the law of the mind and the law of Christ. According to St. Paul, such people are no longer under law but under grace (Rom. 6:14; 8:2). Since, however, believers are not fully renewed in this life but the Old Adam clings to them down to the grave, the conflict between spirit and flesh continues in them. According to the inmost self they delight in the law of God; but the law in their members is at war against the law of their mind. Thus though they are never without the law, they are not under but in the law, they live and walk in the law. ”
Jesus gives rules and commands, not as a way to burden you, not as a way to cause you to despair, but that you may grow and mature in the faith and love that He has given to you. That you may have an opportunity in your very lives, to shine forth with love and joy to “approve what is excellent, sand so be pure and blameless tfor the day of Christ, 11 filled uwith the fruit of righteousness that comes vthrough Jesus Christ, wto the glory and praise of God.”
What does this look like? Approving what is excellent means that we focus upon what Jesus has done for us by His incarnation, death, and resurrection as we live out our lives. In love for our neighbor, we hold to the word of God, what it says about our sinful nature, as well as revealing God’s will to us. In love we condemn sin in ourselves, as well as others, not because we are better or more holy then they. Rather, because we know the great love that God has for us, and we desire that they repent of their sins before it’s too late, and join us with in the great praise of the redeemed. Hell is hot. I do not want my friends there, and I am sure that you do not as well. Thus why, through our thoughts, words, and deeds, we hold fast to the faith until the day when Jesus comes again in power and glory.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
First Sunday in Advent Midweek
December 05, 2024
The Song of Zechariah
Luke 1:67–80
Sermon Outline
3. We often teach our children the “song” of living for yourself.
2. Zechariah teaches us a much greater song, the song of Christ.
1. Jesus brought us the salvation Zechariah sings about by becoming the sacrificial lamb.
Hear the Song of Zechariah and Go Where It Leads You—to the Lamb of God.
Sermon
O Lord, may the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen
What springs to mind when you think of a song? For some people it might be the words of a favorite hymn, a lullaby sung over an infant’s bed. Some people constantly have music going through their brains. Yet, not every song has a tune, is literally set to music, or is even literally sung.
3.
Parents, what song do you teach your children? There’s many songs that we may wish to teach them. The beauty of our hymnody, songs to encourage, inspire, and prepare them for their life in this world. Yet, there is another song that we often teach them, living in a sinful and fallen world. The lyrics vary a little bit from parent to parent, but the substance of the song remains the same: “Live for yourself and pursue your own passions, because the primary reason for your existence is to build up your own glory, not the glory of God.”
This teaches children to be selfish and prideful. Parents teach their children to believe that what matters most in life is their own specialness and success. When parents discover that their children possess certain gifts or talents, they teach those children that these things should be the focus of their entire lives, oftentimes at the expense of everyone and everything around them. If a star high school quarterback wanted to quit the team to let his backup have a shot, his parents would sing a lament to him, saying, “This is a kind gesture, but someone else’s success is not your problem. You have your own future to worry about.” If a high school valedictorian decided to forego college to feed the hungry throughout the world, her parents would very quickly sit her down and sing the same lament: “That’s a nice idea, but go get your own life established before you start worrying about other people’s problems.”
Sadly, Christians often find themselves singing this same song to their children, teaching them that Jesus should always be the center of their lives until he gets in the way of something they need to achieve maximum glory. Go to church, unless sports or dance or some other event gives you the opportunity to put your talents on display on Sunday morning. Chase righteousness unless you can enhance a 2.8 percent chance of a college scholarship.
Talk to people about Jesus. Make a bold confession of faith, unless doing so would hinder your public reputation or your upward mobility at work. Believe what the Bible says, within reason. But don’t actually give away everything you have to follow Jesus. Don’t be so forgiving that people can walk all over you and make you look weak. Don’t sacrifice earthly respectability for eternal righteousness.
These are the songs we sing our children. And, of course, we teach them these songs because this is what we believe ourselves. Sure, we believe that glorifying God is very important, but very much second place to building up our own glory—our own wealth, our own honor and comfort.
2.
In Luke chapter 1, Zechariah teaches us a much greater song, which is rather amazing when you consider the circumstances of John’s birth. Zechariah finds out about his son’s upcoming birth from an angel, an angel who tells him that his aged wife is going to have a son, a miracle reminiscent of Sarah giving birth to Isaac in the Old Testament. And this angel tells Zechariah that his son is going to be a prophet like Elijah—tells this to a man whose people haven’t seen a prophet in three hundred years—a prophet who is going to pave the way for the long-promised Messiah, the Savior of the world. So let’s face it, no matter how great the accomplishments of our children, they are nothing compared to John the Baptist. When you look at everything going on, Zechariah should have a much harder time than we do telling his son that he must decrease and that Christ must increase.
And yet, that’s exactly what Zechariah teaches John. When his son has been born, all these people are gathered around trying to figure out what all this miraculous stuff surrounding John means. They want to know what kind of amazing future this son of Zechariah has in store for him. But it’s in this moment that Zechariah begins to speak for the first time since his mouth was silenced for doubting Gabriel’s promise to him. And with those freshly opened lips, before he even speaks about his miraculously born son, he sings the song of Christ.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant” (vv 68–72). Zechariah sings of the redemption that Jesus is going to win with his blood. He sings of Jesus as the horn of salvation from the house of David, the one who is going to rule from David’s throne forever in peace and mercy. Zechariah begins his song not by praising his son but by praising the Son of Mary. He praises her Son as the one who is going to deliver his people from their enemies, from sin, death, and the devil.
And then he goes on to tell his son, John, that his job will be to prepare the way for this Savior, that his goal in life will be to get people ready to receive the love of God that Jesus is going to bring: “You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins” (vv 76–77).
1.
And Jesus brought us that salvation. Walking the road that John the Baptist prepared, Jesus reached out to us and grabbed all those sins that earned our condemnation, all that pride that had us loving ourselves and our money and our accomplishments instead of loving God and our neighbor. Jesus took those sins as the sacrificial lamb, and he drowned them in his blood, erased them, forgave them. Walking that path prepared by Zechariah’s son, Jesus led a perfect life, without sin, so that when he died and rose again, he could welcome us into his kingdom, so that he could bring us by his side as he ruled from David’s throne forever. Walking that path, Jesus cast out demons and raised the dead en route to crushing the serpent’s head beneath his foot when he went to the cross.
On this path, Jesus forgave your sins, triumphed over your enemies, and gave you the gift of everlasting life. On this path, Jesus took people who were unfaithful parents who raised our children to be selfish and prideful, and he made us into faithful parents who look much more like faithful Zechariah. And even more so, on this path prepared by Zechariah’s son, Jesus took us, he took people who were sinful, idolatrous children of the world, and he made us into the holy, beloved children of God. From the cross, as he cried out, “It is finished,” Jesus sang for us the song of pardon and peace, the song of mercy and healing. He sang the only song that could open the doors of heaven to us, and it did.
So if you want to know true glory, and if you want your children to know it, run to Christ. If you want to thrive in this life and want your little ones to do the same, go with them to the feet of the one who walked the path prepared by John the Baptist. If you want your children to possess unfathomable treasures, and if you want to possess them as well,
Hear the Song of Zechariah and Go Where It Leads You—
to the Lamb of God, who covered you in the righteousness of God and gave you every treasure of his kingdom.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
First Sunday in Advent
November 30, 2024
Text: Luke 19:27-39
Theme: A Parade towards Salvation
Outline:
1. Parade passes by, good for us
2. Parade can focus on ends, Jesus’ end leads to our good
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation today is the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke the nineteenth chapter verses twenty-seven through thirty-nine.
Boys and girls, I pray that you are doing well today. Have you ever seen a parade? They can be for a variety of reasons, to celebrate a person, to celebrate a victory or an event, like our annual fourth of July parade. They can be great fun to watch. All of the trucks, all of the cars, all of the candy. Today, we see a parade for Jesus in our text for today. Is Jesus’ parade a happy one or a sad one? Ponder that question as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.
1. Parade passes by, good for us
Today Jesus plans and carries out his own parade. Up to this point, He had maintained some degree of anonymity. He had been trying to keep a low profile, cautioning those who had been healed and helped, “Go and tell no one.” But now the time had come for some recognition. I think He acted totally without conceit. He needed a parade and He knew that the world needed this particular parade. He planned His parade unashamedly for His own sake, as well as for the sake of His followers, then and now.
Jesus makes a parade for Himself to celebrate His greatness as a king. He answers the question, “Are you the Messiah? Are you a king?” Here Jesus says yes. However, Jesus is not the type of king that the people expect. That is why He comes riding on a donkey that no one has ever ridden on. You might wonder about the symbolism of an unused donkey. Anything offered to God had to be pure and perfect. So Jesus chose an unused, unbroken animal. The donkey was a symbol of peace in those days. Horses were symbols of military might. Conquering generals came on horses. An ambassador coming on a peaceful mission rode a donkey. Jesus was an ambassador of peace from the ultimate kingdom. Many people were so poor that a single family could not afford a donkey. A group might chip in and corporately buy one to share. And yet when these owners are told that the Master needs their donkey, they do not even protest. They don’t ask, “Where are you taking him and for how long? Will he be sacrificed?” They gave the colt gladly.
Would you like it if someone made a parade just for you? I am sure you would. To be the center of attention, to have everyone celebrating your achievements. It seems fantastic. In our minds it sounds like a wonderous thing, finally Jesus is getting the recognition that He deserves. Everyone is celebrating. Everyone is waving palm branches, declaring Jesus to be the king. It seems like a grand celebration in the eyes of the world.
1. Parade can focus on ends, Jesus’ end leads to our good
Yet, not all joyous at this parade. After all, what were they celebrating? A few clothes in the road, a borrowed donkey, a King who would not live the week out. It makes me think of the final scenes in the Wizard of Oz, when the Wizard is exposed as all sound and fury with no substance. The parade was permanent in that we live with its effects, but within a week’s time, it was as if the parade had never happened. Parades are for a time of rejoicing but they also signal the end. Often, we are being eased out at the very same time that we are being honored. At retirement, a gold watch and a banquet prepare you for being discarded. Even the celebration of a golden wedding anniversary or an eightieth birthday has its somber side. Your family and friends realize you are about to move on, and the party is part of a group farewell. A time of celebration is often the prelude to being discarded. Jesus was soon to be discarded. Judas was already in the process of discarding Him. Peter was about to discard Him in a brief conversation with a servant girl. Even those beloved brothers, James and John, thought about discarding him. The crowd, now cheering “Hosannah, Hosannah,” would soon be yelling, “Barabbas, Barabbas,” in Pilate’s court. When asked what to do with Jesus, the crowd shouts “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” The parade has a way of letting you down.
So, at the end of this parade. Jesus mourns over Jerusalem because He knows the future in store for them. Jesus was the bringer of peace, that peace of which the angels and the crowd of disciples had sung. But Jerusalem, like the Pharisees, was not looking for the peace that Jesus came to bring. As a result, they would experience not peace but dreadful war. The future is hidden to the inhabitants of this walled city, but Jesus knows what is to come. The words of Jesus describe the Roman siege of Jerusalem that resulted in its capture in the year a.d. 70. Jesus’ words that “they will not leave one stone on another” are an echo of his statement to the Pharisees: if the people are quiet, the stones will speak. The people of Jerusalem were not ready to speak words of praise in honor of the coming King. Since they would not speak, the fallen stones will speak God’s word of judgment.
Jesus mourns as well because of what this rejection entails for Himself. This celebration ends in His death upon a cross. He comes in cheers as the king of peace and will leave a corpse, dying an ugly and gruesome death upon the cross. He does this, as He did everything in His life, all for you. He dies your death that you can have His life now and forever. He takes upon Himself the full wrath of God so that God’s face can smile upon you as His dear and beloved child. Rising again from the dead, He lives to give you everlasting life.
Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead, you get to join in a wonderous parade. You get to join in the parade of the redeemed when Jesus comes again in power and glory. You join with angels, archangels, and all the host of heaven joined around the throne, singing praises to God forever for His salvation.
Until we join that grand celebration without end, may we always give thanks that Jesus comes in meekness for us men and for our salvation.
the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.