Mid-week Advent 3

December 14, 2016

Characters of the Nativity-Mary – Mother of our Lord

The circumstances regarding the Savior’s birth point to the fact that Jesus was born in time and space. There were circumstances involving His birth – there were persons who witnessed His nativity.

It was probably some time after Mary returned to Nazareth that “she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). Joseph, being a just but also kindly man, planned to divorce her quietly, rather than expose her to public disgrace, but was reassured by the message of an angel, given in a dream, that Mary’s child was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Joseph was instructed, as Mary had already been (Luke 1:31) to call the baby’s name Jesus (“Jehovah is salvation”), “for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

Immediately Joseph took Mary to his home as his wife, but had no union with her until after the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:25).

If we had only Matthew’s account, we would have thought Joseph and Mary belonged to Nazareth, but Luke makes it clear that the birth of Jesus occurred in Bethlehem only because of the census, which brought his parents to their ancestral home town. Matthew and Luke bring Bethlehem into the picture to make the record fulfill the prophecy of Micah 5:2.

A census was taken in the Roman world every fourteen years, so one would have occurred about 8-7 B.C., and it may have been somewhat delayed in Palestine.  In a census in A.D. 104 people in Egypt were required to return to their own town for enrollment. When Quirinius was appointed governor of Syria in A.D. 6, it was his second such appointment; he may well have been an additional governor at the time of an earlier census. There seems no valid reason, therefore, to reject Luke’s clear statement about the circumstances of Jesus’ birth.

The census would account for the shortage of accommodation in Bethlehem. The “inn” (katavluma), probably was a simple lodging place, and of course, with no reservations in hand the inn was full. Somewhere nearby, perhaps in a cave, Jesus was born and laid in a “manger” (favtnh)—not a stall, but a feeding trough for animals.

Joseph and Mary stayed in the environs of Jerusalem until two further requirements of the Jewish law were fulfilled. For every first-born child, a redemption price of five silver shekels, about $3.65 in American money, or ten days’ wages for a working man, had to be paid to the Temple a month after the birth (Numbers 18:16). Then, forty-one days after the birth for a boy, the ceremony of the mother’s purification took place (Leviticus 12:2-4).

For convenience, these two ceremonies were commonly combined in one visit to the Temple, as was the case here. The offering for a mother’s purification was a lamb and a turtle-dove or a young pigeon. Joseph and Mary offered the alternative permitted to a mother too poor to afford a lamb, of two turtle-doves or pigeons (Luke 2:24)*

Luke tells us (Luke 1:26-38) that the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. This messenger from heaven comes to a young girl in Nazareth to tell her that she is to be the mother of the Messiah. Joseph was a son of King David. By physical nature Jesus was a son of David. He was also the Son of God and his kingdom is eternal. This is all God’s work; the child would be the product of the Holy Spirit. Humbly and submissively, Mary consented to be God’s instrument in bringing His Son on earth as a human being.

The only question Mary will ask is “how will this happen?” When Mary receives the news of her coming motherhood of the Messiah, she asked a sensible and normal question, “How?” Since she is unmarried, how could she become a mother? In this twenty-first century, not every girl would need to ask that question! How is this miracle to be performed?

The answer is in the Holy Spirit who would be the Father of God’s Son. The question, “how?” was vital to Mary, but to Christians there are more important questions about this child. Who is He and why is He coming?

The circumstances surrounding Mary turn the impossible and the improbable into our reality. This is an impossible situation! A birth without a father, a peasant girl becoming the mother of God, and God becoming a person! Nothing is impossible with God! Christmas is God’s work and action! He comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ. He chooses Mary. He produces a life by the Spirit. Because Christmas is of God, the impossible becomes possible.

*Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, “The Birth and Infancy Narratives” Grand Rapids MI D. G. Stewart editor  

Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series B John Brokhoff © 1981 CSS Publishing, Lima, OH pp.22-23

Time in the Word - Advent 4

Time in the Word

12-17 December 2016
Preparation for next week, Advent 4

God’s Word Is Fulfilled for Us in the Flesh and Blood of Christ Jesus, the Son of Mary

The Fourth Sunday in Advent turns our attention toward the Nativity of Our Lord. With the Blessed Virgin Mary we await the coming of the Christ, her Son, conceived in her womb by the Word and Spirit of God. This fulfillment of the sign once given to the House of David, that “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Is. 7:14), is now given to us in the Gospel. It declares that salvation is by His grace alone, entirely His work and a free gift. It is also the way and means by which the Lord our God is “Immanuel,” God-with-us. The almighty and eternal Son of God is conceived and born of St. Mary, and is thus “descended from David according to the flesh” (Rom. 1:3–4). He comes in this way to save us with His own flesh and blood; wherefore He is called “Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).

As St. Joseph received this sign in faith and immediately “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him” (Matt. 1:24), we also live by faith in this Holy Gospel.

Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Advent: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Great ‘O’ Antiphons:

O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, pervading and permeating all creation, mightily ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.

O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign before the peoples, before whom all kings are mute, to whom the nations will do homage: Come quickly to deliver us.

O Key of David and Scepter of the house of Israel, You open and no one can close, You close and no one can open: Come and rescue the prisoners who are in darkness and the shadow of death.

O Dayspring, Splendor of light everlasting: Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

O King of the Nations, the Ruler they long for, the Cornerstone uniting all people: Come and save us all, whom You formed out of clay.

O Emmanuel, our King and our Lord, the Anointed for the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Monday, 12 December  2016— Psalm 130:5–8; Antiphon, Isaiah 64:1—In the antiphon, we make known our desire to see the coming of the Lord in flesh: Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down! Having expressed this fervent wish, we settle down and wait for the LORD to come at His proper time. We know that the Lord will come, that He has come, for He always fulfills His promises out of His steadfast love, especially to redeem us from all our iniquities by His substitutionary death on the cross.

Tuesday, 13 December 2016— Psalm 24—This psalm may have been used when David brought the Ark of the Covenant—the place where the LORD dwelt with His people—into Jerusalem and in later festivals commemorating the event. How fitting that we sing this song as we look forward to the coming of the King of Glory to dwell among us in human flesh in order that we might receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of our salvation.

Wednesday, 14 December 2016— Isaiah 7:10–17—Here is one of the most clear and beloved prophecies of the coming of our Lord in the flesh: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Indeed, seven hundred years later, the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived and bore a Son: the promised Messiah who would deliver us from sin and its consequences, God in flesh, Immanuel (which means God with us).

Thursday, 15 December 2016— Romans 1:1–7—In this beginning to his epistle to the Church at Rome, St Paul proclaims the dual nature of Jesus Christ: true man, in that He was descended from David according to the flesh; and true God, as testified by His Spirit of holiness and resurrection from the dead.

Paul proclaims Him to be Jesus Christ our Lord: Jesus, a human name meaning ‘the LORD saves’; Christ his title, meaning the ‘Anointed One, the Messiah’; Lord, another title, and witness to the fact that He is the eternal Second Person of the Trinity, the only true God, though robed in human flesh. It is for the proclamation of the Gospel—the salvation that comes only through Jesus Christ our Lord—that Paul was called to be an apostle.

Friday, 16 December 2016 - Matthew 1:18–25—Here is the consummation of our advent preparation: the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, to a virgin, just as Isaiah had prophesied. No ordinary child, this One was conceived from the Holy Spirit and born to a human mother. Jesus (‘the LORD saves’): what a fitting name for the Son of God come down from heaven and the One who, by laying down His life for us, would save his people from their sins.

Saturday, 17 December 2016— Sunday’s hymn of the day, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (LSB #357), is an ancient hymn based upon seven even more ancient antiphons (called the ‘O’ Antiphons) which were used in the Office at Vespers (the evening office) during the last seven days of Advent. Each antiphon and each hymn stanza refers to a different title for Christ: Wisdom, Adonai (‘Lord’), Root (or Branch) of Jesse, Key of David, Dayspring, King of Nations, Emmanuel (‘God with Us’).

Sources: Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House
Collect for Pentecost 24 from Lutheran Worship © Concordia Publishing House
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series C by John Brokhoff © 1979 CSS Publishing Lima OH
For All the Saints A Prayer Book for and By the Church Vol. II © 1995 by the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY The Story of 50 Hymns © 1934 By General Mills, Inc Minneapolis, MN
Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcuts © WELS permission granted for personal and congregational use

Advent 3

Advent 3

December 11, 2016

Matthew 11:2-11 “What do you expect this Christmas?”

The Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Brings True Rejoicing, Even Under the Cross

Reflection on the readings for the Day

Sometimes life requires the astonishing patience of Job. Like him, we are to rejoice in the midst of affliction, be grounded in repentance under the cross of Christ and hope relentlessly in His resurrection, that we might see “the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11). Therefore, in the promise of the Gospel, “be patient” and “establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:8). Like John the Baptist, whatever your own kind of prison or suffering may be, call upon Jesus and receive the strength of His Word from those He sends to you. For as “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up” (Matthew 11:5), so is the Good News of Jesus preached to you also. He comes and restores the fortunes of Zion, His holy Church, so that “sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Is. 35:10).

Hymn of the day: LSB #345 “Hark a Thrilling voice is sounding”

Collect for the Day: Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation, for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

For what are you waiting? Advent is a time of preparation and expectation. Yet many will miss the greatest expectation and thus celebrate a hollow Christmas because they do not know what they are really waiting for.  What do you expect this Christmas?  Let’s examine John’s own expectations with respect to confusion, clarification and confession.

1.       Confusion over Jesus’ Mission.

A.      Many in Jesus’ day had the wrong ideas. They were seeking a conquering king. They were expecting one who would rule their world and provide for them anything lacking. They were seeking release from the prison of oppression, cruelty, and tyranny.

B.      Even John himself may have had his misgivings.

1.       Here he was languishing in prison. His “best life now” was not very wonderful. Release from the prison had not happened. In fact, it would NOT happen. John would remain in prison until his life would end by execution at the hands of wicked King Herod at the demand of Herodias his mistress.

  

2.       Beware of such false hope. Circumstances do not dictate strength of faith.  Says St. Paul, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” [1]

C.      Many today misunderstand the coming of Christ and thus the very essence of Christmas as well.

1         They have their own ideas and misconceptions without even hearing Jesus’ own words. They interpret life according to their own experience. They look for a Savior who will come to fix whatever happens to be their most pressing need now.                  

If God does not act according to their expectations, He is deemed irrelevant.  In this season of Advent, we hear the warnings of expected persecution. But in what form will sufferings come? Do not be surprised if oppression comes not at the edge of a sword but in more subtle ways – in being ostracized, ignored, excluded and dismissed. When people claim, “Jesus is just alright with me” what the really mean to say - Jesus is unimportant and unnecessary.

2         People hear Jesus’ words. But they stumble on the call to humbly confess that we all are “poor in spirit.”  That is why you have come today. Confessing your sin. Clinging to the Father’s promises of forgiveness, life, salvation.

2.       Clarification of Jesus’ True Messianic Mission.

A.      Jesus’ life and works bear witness to His grace and power over life and death. Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) But what is an abundant life? And how is it lived? Is Jesus giving us just one more burden to bear? Just one more responsibility? Is He giving us one more thing to fail? Hardly. Remember John. Languishing in prison. Circumstances do not dictate strength of faith. Christ makes no mention of length of days, health, prosperity, family, or occupation. What you do does not define who you are. Neither wealth nor poverty is a sure indication of your standing with God.

Consider Solomon. He had all the material blessings available to him yet found it all to be meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 5:10-15) Paul found himself destitute but was gladdened because His focus was on Christ.  Paul found contentment. He did not find it despite his circumstances but because of them. He did not focus on a God who will rescue me but a God who is glorified in weakness and suffering. Personal circumstances were irrelevant. He was an apostle of the Suffering One. The crucified and risen Savior. That is why John, in the midst of his personal prison sends his hearers to Jesus.  Whatever your own kind of prison or suffering may be, call upon Jesus and receive the strength of His Word from those He sends to you.

  

B.      Jesus answers them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” Jesus’ mission is to “evangelize” the poor.  He brings the Good News of forgiveness and life.  Jesus explains, “The blind receive their sight. The lame walk. The lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear. The dead are raise. The poor are evangelized with the preaching of the good news.” Because of Jesus. You are raised up. You are cleansed. Healed. And have good news proclaimed to you. And you are blessed. Because you are not scandalized or offended by Christ. The scandal is whom Jesus will associate. He will associate with the poor, the lowly, the sick, the imprisoned, the weak.    

C.      His kingdom is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Jesus is the prophetic Word made sure. John prepares His way. John is he of whom it is written, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.”

3.       Confession That Jesus Is Also Our Coming One.

A.       Many today misunderstand and perhaps expect the wrong things of our coming King. He came in meekness. His messenger is imprisoned. Silenced. Executed. His birth is announced to shepherds. His followers are common folk. “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.” – 1 Corinthians 1: 27-28

B.      “Consider your calling. Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards.  Not many of you were powerful. Not many of you were of noble birth…you, “poor in spirit,” receive this Good News that Christ, a Savior, is born.

C.      This message of the kingdom continues to come whenever you confess your spiritual poverty and hear, repeatedly, the daily message of forgiveness and life in Christ.

D.      Thus, you live in “great expectation” – now in Advent as you prepare for the true joy of Christmas; daily in confession and forgiveness; and finally, when your coming One comes again in glory.

The only hope for us “poor miserable sinners,” comes as a baby, wrapped in rags, lying in a manger. In Baptism, His name is placed upon you. As we have witnessed this morning in the lives of Kyra and Karter.  With Jesus name comes everything that Jesus did for you. He lived a perfect life. It is given to you. He died for sin. His death is given to you. That’s how it happens. In His death on the cross, Jesus dies for you. As He is raised, you too shall rise.  

Words – 1,350

Passive Sentences –9 %

Readability –74.5%

Reading Level –5.4  

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[1] 2 Corinthians 4:8-10

Mid-week Advent 2

December 07, 2016

Characters of the Nativity-Shepherds

INTRODUCTION: Out in the fields a group of shepherds stood guard over their flock that night. Such flocks were always needed for the sacrifices of the Temple at Jerusalem, a mere six miles away. Informed of the birth by an angel, the shepherds went to Bethlehem, found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, and excitedly repeated the message they had received. For others, the shepherds’ words were a passing wonder, “but Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).*

By faith we journey with them to Bethlehem. For this good news of Jesus’ birth was given by the angel to shepherds who went to see the new born king.

1. With the shepherds we visit the new born king. The shepherds were keeping watch to guard the flock against thieves and marauders. Into the night of the world Jesus came as the true Light. A symbol of this truth was the heavenly light.

A question. Why is it that so few experience the true joy of Christmas? The answer quite frankly is that they have not heard the good news told by the angel to these shepherds. It is told to us this night. The source of our joy is found in verse 11 of our text: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”   ^{Luke 2:11}

Who is born? “To you is born this day a Savior” This is good news to those in need of a Savior. And when is He born? “This day” Christmas is a contemporary experience, not an historical observance of an ancient event. Today is the day of salvation. This is the day the Lord has made. Now He is making all things new.

Transition: “To you is born a Savior”. We now tell His story with joy.

2. Like the shepherds we share His story with others. The shepherds were afraid in the face of the divine glory and holiness but they had no need to fear because the angel’s message was not of judgment but of salvation, not only to the shepherds but to all people.

To whom is He born? He is born “to you”. “To you is born this day a Savior.” It is not Christmas for you unless Christ is re-born in you. Thus we can say with the hymn writer: “Cans out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.”

CONCLUSION: The Christmas story is for real. It was to real live humans that the story of the Christ child was delivered. The first announcement of this birth came to a despised people. It came not to the rulers, the educated, the scribes or the pious Pharisees. This news came not to aristocratic elite but to shepherds – the despised, unlearned, crude, rough people listed with publicans and sinners. For He is a real Savior who has come to save real sinners and in His birth, suffering, passion, death and resurrection there is forgiveness, salvation and life.  

* Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, The Birth and Infancy Narratives Grand Rapids MI D. G. Stewart editor 

Time in the Word - Advent 3

Tim3 in the Word

Advent 3 

December 5-10, 2016

When Messiah Comes

Advent three deals with the identity of the Messiah. The Gospel lesson (Matthew 11:2-11) assures us that Jesus is the Messiah promised of old and that John the Baptizer is the greatest of the prophets because he prepared the way for the Messiah. The Old Testament lesson (Isaiah 35:1-10) shows what kind of world we will have when the Lord comes to save us; utopia, paradise, healing and joy. The Epistle lesson (James 5:7-10) takes us to the post-Easter experience when followers of the Messiah are urged to patiently wait for his Second Coming. At this Second Coming, the promised paradise in the Old Testament lesson will become a reality. Since Jesus is the Coming One, He is worth waiting for with patience. In the Prayer for the Day we ask for “the wisdom to see Your purpose” the purpose of Christ is seen in the works of Jesus.

In the Gospel we come to the conviction that Jesus is the Messiah. In the Old Testament we are given a description of the conditions resulting from the messiah’s coming to earth. Here we see the fulfillment of these conditions in Jesus’ ministry.

But, the question may be asked, “Why do these conditions not exist on earth since Jesus came about 2000 years ago?”

The answer is given by James in the Epistle lesson who exhorts us to patiently wait for the Messiah’s Second Coming when these conditions will become a reality for all of God’s people.

Collect for the Third Sunday in Advent: Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way of your only Son. By his coming, give us strength in our conflicts and shed light on our path through the darkness of this world.

God of power and mercy, open our hearts in welcome. Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy, so that we may share His wisdom and become one with Him when He comes in glory, for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen

Lord, free us from our sins and make us whole. Hear our prayer, and prepare us to celebrate the incarnation of Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen

Collect for Psalm 85: God of love and faithfulness, You so loved the world that You gave Your only Son to be our Savior. Help us to receive Him as both Lord and brother and freely celebrate Him as our gracious Redeemer now and forever.

Collect for Psalm 146: God of glory and power, happy indeed are those who have put their trust in You. shine the brightness of Your light upon us that w may love You always with a pure heart and praise Your forever. Through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds;

Monday, 5 December  2016— Psalm 85 - The Antiphon for this coming week’s Introit comes from verse 7, Show us Your unfailing love, O Lord; and grant us Your salvation. God’s sure mercies to His people spring from His covenant of live, to which in His faithfulness and righteousness He remains true, and that assures His people will receive His abiding peace.

Tuesday, 6 December 2016— Psalm 146, key verse, 1b – “Praise the lord, O my soul!” The Psalm appointed for this coming Sunday is an exhortation to trust in the Lord and is the first of five Hallelujah psalms with which the Psalter closes. This, and the remaining four psalms, are all framed with Hallelujahs.

Wednesday, 7 December 2016— Isaiah 35:1-10 – When God comes to save His people, they will enjoy paradise.  The Old Testament lesson speaks of the conditions resulting from God’s coming to His people. When God comes to save His people, they will enjoy paradise. Advent 3 deals with the identity of the Messiah. At the second coming, the promised paradise will become a reality. Our lesson shows us what kind of world we will have when the Lord comes to save us:  paradise, healing and joy.

Thursday, 8 December 2016— James 5:7-11 – Be patient in waiting for the Lord’s return. In our Epistle lesson, James expresses patience in waiting for the Lord’s return.

He exhorts us to patiently wait for the Messiah’s Second Coming. Since Jesus is the Messiah, He is worth waiting for with patience.

Friday, 9 December 2016- Matthew 11:2-15 – John the Baptizer sends a delegation to learn if Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus says John is the greatest of the prophets.  In the Gospel lesson, we are given evidence that Jesus is the Messiah. John the Baptist sends a delegation to learn if Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus says John is the greatest of the prophets. We come to the conviction that Jesus is the Messiah.

The ultimate confession to be a Christian is to say Jesus is Lord, or the Messiah (Christ). How does one come to such a conclusion? We dare not take anybody’s word.

Rather, we find out for ourselves by studying the evidence. This wi what Jesus told the disciples of John the Baptizer to do and then to go back and let John know what has been said and done. We do not take our faith on hearsay. Rather, we base our faith grounded in fact.

Saturday, 10 December 2016— Romans 13:11 – This verse is the inspiration for the hymn, “Hark, a Thrilling Voice is Sounding”. Paul reminds us that the certain coming of the end of this present age is used to provide motivation for godly living. {See Matthew 25:31-46; Mark 13:33-37; 2 Peter 3:11-14} The time of salvation, the closing period of the present age, before the consummation of the kingdom remind us that now is the hour. The time for action is now. The full realization of salvation at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is nearer now then it was before. Every day brings us closer to the second advent of Christ. Our prayer is simple, “Come; come Lord Jesus, come even today!”

Sources:

Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House
Collect for Pentecost 24 from Lutheran Worship © Concordia Publishing House
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series C by John Brokhoff © 1979 CSS Publishing Lima OH
For All the Saints A Prayer Book for and By the Church Vol. II © 1995 by the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY  

The Story of 50 Hymns © 1934 By General Mills, Inc Minneapolis, MN

Advent 2

Advent 2

December 4 2016            

Divine Service Setting 1

Hymn of the Day: LSB #344 “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry”

Matthew 3:1-12 “Announcing the New Reign”

By the Preaching of Repentance, We Are Prepared for the Coming of the Lord

“John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent’” (Matt. 3:1–2). His preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins prepared people for the coming of Christ into the world. John’s work was historically complete with the incarnate advent of Jesus, but his vital ministry continues in preaching Law and Gospel. The Son of God has come in the flesh, “a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots” (Is. 11:1), and continues to bear the fruits of righteousness. His good tree of the cross is “a signal for the peoples” (Is. 11:10), by which He calls the nations to repentance. “With the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips” (Is. 11:4), He slays the wicked and brings the dead to life, making sons of Abraham out of lifeless stones. So also the “root of Jesse” comes to us, “even he who arises to rule the Gentiles” (Rom. 15:12), that “we might have hope” and be filled “with all joy and peace in believing” (Rom. 15:4, 13).

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

When a presidential visit is anticipated in a local town, the word spreads. People gather. Everyone is straining to catch the first glimpse of a helicopter or motorcade. An advance speaker addresses the crowd. The people wait. How long they ask. John the Baptist appears at the Jordan River. He is the advance man. With a timely message. Will the people listen? And his message? A new day has downed. He announces the new reign of God.

  

Announcing the New Reign of God -

1.       The new reign of God stirs up interest!

2.       The new reign of God calls for repentance.

3.       The new reign of God changes hearts!

1.       The New reign of God stirs up interest!

A.      Israel responds to John’s appearance. His message was something they had not heard.

1.       The people were dissatisfied. Dissatisfied with world conditions. Dissatisfied with Israel’s plight. They felt hopeless. They longed for deliverance.

2.       John’s person and message place him in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets. There is a rise of Messianic hopes of a new reign of God in the Davidic line. A Savior is coming.

B.      But, you also, respond to John’s message.

1.       We too can experience a general dissatisfaction with world conditions, of possible war clouds gathering, and national economic difficulties. We’ve just completed an important election cycle in our country. Now what?     

2.       John’s message about a new reign of God to solve our problems sounds exciting. A Walt Disney World church sounds pleasant and enjoyable. Yet this is not the message of John. He has only one word to give, “repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”

2         This New reign of God calls for repentance.

A.      John shocks Israel from the Pharisees to King Herod with a radical exposure of sin. He calls for the baptism of repentance. Pharisees and Sadducees were coming to be baptized. They were coming to do what we can’t help but read. They were doing the right thing and yet, John tells them to re-orient themselves. Don’t count on your status; God can and is rising up a new people for Himself.

B.      John exposes our sin. He summons us to the same kind of radical repentance that exposes our desire to reign over our own lives. Turn around. Repent. See yourself, your community, and your place in it differently. Don’t walk out of this water the same way you came in. It’s one thing to ask Jesus to come and change the world. It is a much more difficult thing to ask Jesus to come and change ME. With this message of repentance, John challenges us - To see ourselves differently. To frame our relationship with God and our neighbor in new ways, and then, to bear fruit worthy of conversion.

3         The new reign of God changes hearts!

A.      John’s message leads many to conversations as they are prepared to embrace the Messiah’s reign in their hearts.

B.      John’s message points to the One who dies and rises again for the world’s sin. Our hearts are rekindled through Word and Sacrament in this Advent season to embrace Christ’s new reign in our lives.

Getting to Christmas, as John tells us every year, is not an easy thing. John’s repentance begins with an acknowledgement that God does not need you. But you need God; who insists on joining us together as brothers and sisters. Yes each of us, and all the despised people in this world.

As John announces the new reign of God. We respond with more that superficial interest. Led to repentance, we find ourselves transformed by the Spirit to announce God’s new reign in Christ to ourselves, to others, to the world.  

Words –1,000

Passive Sentences –2%

Readability – 75.8%

Reading level –5.0

Image: Schnorr von Carolsfeld woodcuts © WELS for private and congregational use
The Young John the Baptist; Leonardo daVinci, 1513-1517. Web Gallery of Art.

December

December  4      Advent 2 Divine Service Setting 1

                                Matthew 3:1-12 “Announcing the New Reign”

December 7       Mid-week Advent 2

                                Characters of the Nativity -Shepherds

December 11     Advent 3 Choir Service

                                Matthew 11:2-11 “What do you expect this Christmas?”

December 14     Mid-week Advent 3

                                Characters of the Nativity –Mary the Mother of our Lord

December 18     Advent 4 Divine Service Setting 2

                                Matthew 1:18-25 “God is with us”

December 24     Sunday School Christmas Eve

December 25     Christmas Day with Communion – A Service of readings and carols

Isaiah 9:2 Jesus came to be a light to the people who walk in darkness.

January 1 2017   1^st Sunday after Christmas Divine Service Setting 3

                                Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 God’s Promises fulfilled”                            

Jesus is the light of the world - The prophet Isaiah reminds us: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shines."

Christ has removed the darkness of sin. As He spoke the universe into existence with His Word saying "Let there be light" so He came into this world to shine His light upon a dark and sinful world to take away our sin and misery. 

He is the eternal light and has come to save us from our sin. He does not overlook our sin He eliminates it. He does not blink at sin, but He has entered time and space to be our substitute. He takes unto Himself all of the world's misery and sin and He will carry it to the cross where He will suffer, die and rise again to be victorious.  The miracle of Christmas is that God has made it clear that He is in the business of redeeming and saving His people. As light eliminates the darkness so the coming of Christ bring the dawn of a new day; full of light and life. Upon us the light of Christ has shown brightly eliminating all darkness of sin and error.

The miracle of Christmas finds its basis in the truth that Christ has come to eliminate sin. As He began the world's creation by producing light on the first day. He has shown brightly on this earth once again. In glory there is no need of sun, moon or stars for He will be the eternal light that lights up the entire city.  As He draws us toward His light once more during this  Advent and Christmas season may the brightness of Christ burn in your hearts ever more until we are each ushered into His glory. A Blessed Christmas!