“I Will Give You the Crown of Life” (Revelation 1:4-18; 2:8-11)

The Resurrection of Our Lord: Easter Day
Sunday, April 8, 2012

“I Will Give You the Crown of Life” (Revelation 1:4-18; 2:8-11)

Alleluia! Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!)

What a joyful day this is, this Easter Day, the greatest day of the year! For today we celebrate, with all the faithful and with all the company of heaven, the great victory Christ won for us when he arose from the dead, victorious over sin and death and hell, opening up for us righteousness and life and the kingdom of heaven. Easter Sunday is the proof of the victory Christ won for us on Good Friday, when he died on the cross to gain that victory and obtain those benefits for us. Easter shows that Good Friday was not a defeat but a victory, not a detour but the goal itself. “It is finished!” Christ cried on the cross. “The goal has been reached. The victory has been won.” That’s what the atoning death of Christ accomplished. Easter is the validation of that victory, showing the results in store for all of us who trust in Christ and have been joined to him in Holy Baptism. What a day this Easter is!

The victor’s crown, the crown of life–that’s what Christ is wearing on this day. And the good news is, that’s what he shares with us! We have his promise on it. Listen to what he says: “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” “Come, take your crown!” Jesus is calling to you today. “I’ve won it for you. It’s already yours. And I will get you to the finish line, where you will be awarded the victor’s crown.” This is our Easter message today, the promise of Jesus: “I Will Give You the Crown of Life.”

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Published in: on April 7, 2012 at 4:55 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Who Are the April Fools? How Do You View Jesus?” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)

Palm Sunday/ Sunday of the Passion
April 1, 2012

“Who Are the April Fools? How Do You View Jesus?” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” “On the foal of a donkey”: I thought about that phrase, and then I thought about the fact that this is April 1, and so I considered doing a sermon on “April Foal’s Day” . . . and then I decided against it.

But this is April Fools’ Day, and it also is Palm Sunday, the Sunday of the Passion, and so I do want to talk to you today about “fools.” My question is, “Who Are the April Fools?” Are we? Are we fools for believing in, worshiping, and setting our hopes on, a man who rides into Jerusalem as a king but ends up dying on a cross? There are lots of folks who would say we are. They think we are absolute fools for falling for this old story about some crucified would-be king. So it comes back to the question, “How Do You View Jesus?”

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Published in: on March 31, 2012 at 7:07 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“What’s So ‘Great’ about Jesus?” (Mark 10:35-45)

Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 25, 2012

“What’s So ‘Great’ about Jesus?” (Mark 10:35-45)

Today is March 25, which means it is exactly nine months before December 25. And being nine months before Christmas, March 25 is the day when the Annunciation of Our Lord–that occasion when the angel Gabriel came to the virgin Mary and told her she would conceive and give birth to a son–this is the day when the Annunciation normally would be observed. But since this year March 25 falls on a Sunday, in the season of Lent, the readings for this Sunday take precedence. But I do think that the words spoken by Gabriel at the Annunciation provide an interesting–and somewhat puzzling–backdrop for what we find in today’s Gospel reading, which we will get to in a moment.

But first consider what Gabriel had said of the child to be born of Mary. In the Annunciation account in Luke 1, Gabriel tells Mary: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

“He will be great.” He will inherit a throne. He will reign as a king. “And of his kingdom there will be no end.” Pretty impressive stuff. But is that what we see when we fast-forward the tape and catch a glimpse of Jesus about thirty-three years later, as he comes toward the end of his public ministry? Where are all the signs and trappings of greatness? Where is the throne? Where is the kingdom? Where is the ruling and reigning and exercise of power? “He will be great”? I just don’t see it. And so our question this morning: “What’s So ‘Great’ about Jesus?”

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Published in: on March 24, 2012 at 2:38 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“O Death, Where Is Your Victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:51-57)

Funeral Service
Monday, March 19, 2012

“O Death, Where Is Your Victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:51-57)

“‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is our text.

On the ancient Roman calendar, the approximate middle day of a month was called the “Ides” of that month. And so, for March, it was the 15th that was called the Ides of March. And it became a famous date. According to the historian Plutarch, Julius Caesar was killed on March 15 in the year 44 B.C. A soothsayer had told Caesar, ominously, “Beware the Ides of March.” But Caesar did not heed the warning, and he went ahead that day to the Roman Senate, where he was killed. Caesar’s reign was cut short, and he himself was cut down, on the Ides of March.

March 15, an ominous day, a day when death came calling. It was on March 15 of this year, just last week, when death came calling for our sister, Lee Hoffman. It is striking to notice, as you see in your bulletin, that Lee’s death day came one day before her birthday. Lee was born on March 16 of 1923, and she died on March 15 of 2012, just one day shy of her 89th birthday. While that is still a long life by our standards, nevertheless, death did come calling and took Lee away from us.

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Published in: on March 19, 2012 at 3:54 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Unpacking the Nutshell” (John 3:14-21)

Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 18, 2012

“Unpacking the Nutshell” (John 3:14-21)

“John 3:16”: You’ll see that reference–just that reference, by itself, no other words with it–you’ll see “John 3:16” showing up in all sorts of places. You might see a guy with a rainbow wig at a sporting event, holding up a sign that says on it, simply, “John 3:16.” You might see quarterback Tim Tebow with “John 3:16” written on his eye black. They figure that just the reference is enough to get their message across, since the verse, John 3:16, is so well known.

You all know it. You probably learned it by memory when you were a kid. Depending on the translation you learned, it goes something like this: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” That’s John 3:16. This verse is commonly called “the gospel in a nutshell,” because it so well captures and encapsulates the precious gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The gospel in a nutshell, John 3:16. But there is so much packed into this one verse, packed into that nutshell, that we do well to examine and explore its contents. Otherwise, we may take it for granted and miss some things that we’re overlooking, because the verse is so familiar to us. So let’s look at what’s in John 3:16 right now. I call it “Unpacking the Nutshell.”

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Published in: on March 18, 2012 at 1:29 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“The Suffering Christ and His Suffering Christians” (Mark 8:27-38; Romans 5:1-11)

Second Sunday in Lent
March 4, 2012

“The Suffering Christ and His Suffering Christians” (Mark 8:27-38; Romans 5:1-11)

Last Sunday we heard the story of “The Binding of Isaac,” that incident in which Father Abraham was directed, by God, to take his son Isaac and bind him and lay him on a pile of wood, on an altar, and there slay him with a knife, set the wood on fire, and so sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering unto the Lord. At the last moment, though, the Lord intervened and told Abraham not to sacrifice his son. Instead, Abraham looked behind him and saw a ram caught in a thicket and sacrificed the ram in place of his son. The Lord provided a substitute, Isaac’s life was spared, and so it was said on that mountain, “The Lord will provide.”

But now fast-forward a couple thousand years to the year A.D. 155. We go to the city of Smyrna, in western Asia Minor. There an old Christian pastor, a man by the name of Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna–old Polycarp has been arrested. The officials say to Polycarp, “Look, what harm is there in saying, ‘Caesar is Lord,’ and offering up some incense, and thus saving yourself?” You see, all Polycarp has to do to get off and avoid persecution is to go along with the worship of the Roman emperor, Caesar. But Polycarp says, “I won’t do it.” Polycarp is taken to the big stadium in town, full of people. He is told that all he has to do to go free is to renounce the Christian faith. Again, he refuses. The proconsul presses Polycarp hard: “Swear and I will let you go. Revile Christ.” Old man Polycarp replies: “For eighty-six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” And so it continued. The proconsul warns Polycarp: “I will cause you to be consumed with fire, unless you repent.” Polycarp does not repent, he does not renounce the Christian faith, he does not revile Christ. Instead, he boldly confesses the faith and his Savior Christ. Polycarp is tied up, bound, laid on a pile of wood, and killed.

So where was the substitute for Polycarp? Why was there no ram caught in a thicket there in that stadium of Smyrna? Why does Isaac get spared and not Polycarp? What happened to “The Lord will provide”? These are important questions. Polycarp was being a faithful Christian, and yet he suffers. How come? Has God abandoned him? And Polycarp is not alone, either. There have been thousands of Christian martyrs down through the centuries. I thought Christ suffered and died for us. So then why does it seem we have to suffer and die, too? Thus our theme this morning: “The Suffering Christ and His Suffering Christians.”

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Published in: on March 4, 2012 at 1:23 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“The LORD Will Provide” (Genesis 22:1-18)

First Sunday in Lent
February 26, 2012

“The LORD Will Provide” (Genesis 22:1-18)

Our text today is the Old Testament Reading, from Genesis 22, the account of “The Binding of Isaac,” as it is often called. The binding of Isaac, upon an altar, by his father Abraham, at the direction of the Lord God, for the purpose of offering up Isaac as a sacrifice. God tested Abraham, to the limit, in this ordeal. God tested Abraham to see if he would believe that God would really keep his promise that Isaac would be his heir, the son of promise. And, by God’s grace and strength, Abraham passed the test and kept the faith. What Abraham discovered, and what we too will learn from this account, is that the Lord does indeed keep his promises, sometimes in surprising ways. Today with Abraham we will see that, when it comes to fulfilling his promise and meeting our greatest need, “The LORD Will Provide.”

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Published in: on February 25, 2012 at 9:45 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“The White Clothes of Jesus” (Mark 9:2-9)

The Transfiguration of Our Lord
Sunday, February 19, 2012

“The White Clothes of Jesus” (Mark 9:2-9)

Today on this last Sunday in the Epiphany season the church celebrates a great, pivotal event in the life and ministry of Jesus, namely, the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Jesus goes up on a high mountain, taking along with him his inner circle of disciples, Peter, James, and John. There he is transfigured before them, that is, his appearance changes, and his clothes become dazzling white. Two great figures from the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, appear with Jesus and talk with him. The disciples don’t know what to make of all of this. Then a cloud comes, a voice comes from the cloud; it is the heavenly Father’s voice, saying, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” The disciples look again, they no longer see Moses and Elijah, they see Jesus only. Those are the essentials of the Transfiguration account, as it occurs in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the basic facts of the event being the same, but with each gospel writer highlighting this or that detail, or describing it in his own way.

There are so many things going on in this narrative, and with three gospels to work from, that a preacher could go for many years and focus his sermon on a different aspect each year. Today I want to focus on one point in particular, in verse 3, where it says, “and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.” What is the significance of this bright white clothing, and what does it mean for us? Thus our theme this morning: “The White Clothes of Jesus.”

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Published in: on February 18, 2012 at 8:17 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“The Cleansing of Naaman: How Can Water Do Such Great Things?” (2 Kings 5:1-14)

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany
February 12, 2012

“The Cleansing of Naaman: How Can Water Do Such Great Things?” (2 Kings 5:1-14)

Our text is the Old Testament Reading for today, the story of the cleansing of Naaman. Short version: Naaman was a man who had leprosy. He was told, “Wash, and be clean.” And, after some objections, Naaman did wash, and he did become clean. But there’s more here than meets the eye, as we will see. For one thing, this story raises the question: How could simply washing in a river–and a pretty unimpressive river, at that–how could that cleanse a man of leprosy? And what does this story have to do with us? Most of us do not have leprosy, and we’re nowhere near the Jordan River. And so our theme this morning: “The Cleansing of Naaman: How Can Water Do Such Great Things?”

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Published in: on February 12, 2012 at 12:52 am  Leave a Comment  
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“And He Healed Many” (Mark 1:29-39)

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
February 5, 2012

“And He Healed Many” (Mark 1:29-39)

Yesterday, on a pastors’ e-mail list that I’m a part of, one of the men, Pastor Jay Webber of Arizona, brought a prayer request to our group on behalf of his son Paul and daughter-in-law Ruth. He’s given me permission to share this with you, by the way. His daughter-in-law, Ruth Webber, is 23 years old, and she is six months into her first pregnancy. However, she has been diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer, stomach cancer. Her chances for survival, Pastor Webber reports, are not good. Right now she’s up at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The baby’s birth will be induced in a day or so, and the child will be rushed to the neonatal unit–and baptized, too, I might add. The baby’s name will be John. Once the baby is born, new mother Ruth will begin aggressive treatment for her cancer, undergoing radiation and chemotherapy.

Pastor Webber writes in his e-mail, “This is a nightmare. But we are not waking up from it.” He then adds these words, though, quoting in Latin the words of the Canaanite woman who came to Jesus begging for help for a sick daughter, “Domine, adjuva me!” “Lord, help me!”

This is the kind of story that rips your heart apart, even if you’re not the one living it. But it also touches your heart, deeply, to see the faith in the Lord’s goodness that God has given to the Webber family. “Domine, adjuva me!” “Lord, help me!” The question is, Will he? Will the Lord help this pastor and his son and daughter-in-law and their newborn baby? And what will that help look like?

These are the kinds of questions raised as we consider the Holy Gospel for today, a portion of Mark 1, in which Jesus goes about helping and healing lots and lots of people. “And he healed many who were sick with various diseases,” it says. OK, fine, good for those people back then. “And He Healed Many.” But our question is, Will he heal us?

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Published in: on February 4, 2012 at 9:47 pm  Leave a Comment  
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