Sermon Audio

“Immanuel – God with Us” – Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-25

Advent 4 – December 17/18, 2016

Pretend with me that it is this coming Tuesday, the last day of school before Christmas break. The teacher has left the room for a few minutes. Suddenly someone announces in an excited whisper: “The Teacher is coming!” Would this be “good news” or “bad news?” It would depend on the “situation,” wouldn’t it? If the class had been fooling around then the teacher’s “coming” would be bad news. But if the teacher had promised that they would begin the Christmas party when she returned, then the teacher’s “coming” would be exciting good news!

The name “Immanuel / God with us” is both good news and bad news, depending on the situation.

We begin with the “bad news” situation as we read in Isaiah 7. The historical “situation” was that the powerful nation of Assyria was threatening to take by force the land and nations of Israel, Judah and Syria. King Ahaz, the weak and disobedient king of Judah, was unwilling to join forces with the other two smaller nations to fight Assyria, so Israel & Syria were threatening war on Judah. And so King Ahaz, was faced with two options: 1) trust in the LORD; or 2) trust in his own opinion – appeal to Assyria to rescue Jerusalem from Israel & Syria, but in exchange agree to pay tribute money to Assyria! God in His mercy sent His prophet Isaiah to assure King Ahaz that he should trust in the LORD; saying: “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid… It will not take place, it will not happen” (Isaiah 7:4,7) – Israel & Syria will not take Jerusalem; and the much more important warning: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7:9)

But weak and disobedient, King Ahaz was just like all of us today, he was tempted to trust more in what he could see immediately (the armies of Israel & Syria threatening Jerusalem). Yet God, in His grace, wanting Ahaz to trust in Him, made a most gracious offer – “Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” (Isaiah 7:10) But Ahaz showed his rejection of faith. [Like Ebenezer Scrooge in Dicken’s ‘Christmas Carol.’ The promises that God gave through Isaiah were just so much “Bah, Humbug!”] King Ahaz replied: “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.” (He was blatantly rejecting the Lord’s offer of salvation!) Then Isaiah (spoke God’s words of Law), “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel… before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right (within 3 or 4 years) the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim (the 10 N. tribes) broke away from Judah – He will bring the king of Assyria!” (Isaiah7:12-17)

God “laid down the Law” to weak and disobedient king Ahaz. The immediate fulfillment of this promise of “Immanuel” would be that someone close to King Ahaz (maybe even his own wife?) would give birth to a son, and the coming victories in battle would be so wonderful that the child would be named – “Immanuel” as a reminder that “God IS with us!” God DOES what He says even when there is total disbelief! Within 3 years, God sent Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria to defeat Israel and Syria! Judah, too, because of their continued rejection of doing God’s will – was also carried into captivity, many years later, by the Babylonians; JUST as GOD HAD SAID.

“Immanuel” – “God with us” – is a message of Law to all those who REJECT His gracious offer of rescue and salvation!

For over 700 years, the GOSPEL fulfillment of the promise: THE virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel’ waited to be literally fulfilled!

Then, “In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law.” (Galatians 4:4-5a)

NOTE the similarities and differences in the Gospel reading as we compare Joseph to King Ahaz. Joseph was also a “Son of David” at a CRISIS point in his life – a seemingly “impossible” situation. Joseph was not faced with military battles, but his future, his reputation, his life! Joseph also could have taken matters into his own hands – Matthew records for us: Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. This took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the Prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel – which means, God with us.” (Matthew 2:18-23)

One of the many “miracles” of Christmas is that God worked the gift of “faith” in Joseph to believe this unbelievable message (from an angel, in his dream!), and Matthew records for us: “Joseph …did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

“God with us – Immanuel” is really good news! especially in our lives of trouble, disappointments, loneliness, sickness and death.

“God with us – Immanuel,” as we are reminded in the words of the Invocation: In the name… and in the Absolution: “I forgive you all your sins, in the name of …”

“God with us – Immanuel,” as He promises: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

(Matthew 28:20)

“God with us – Immanuel” as He invites: “Take eat, this is My body… take drink, this is My blood.” as we celebrate “the Real Presence” in the Lord’s Supper.

“God with us – Immanuel,” as we confess in those familiar words: “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” (Psalm 23:4)

On this 4th weekend in Advent – each and every day of our lives, we pray: O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in; Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell, Oh, come to us, abide with us, our Lord (and Savior, Jesus) – Immanuel – God with us! Amen.

Please join us for special Christmas services this coming weekend: 4:00 p.m. the Sunday School Christmas program in the fellowship hall; 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. for Communion services in the Worship Center; and then Christmas Day, 8:15 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. communion services with a Birthday Party for Jesus at 9:45 a.m. in the fellowship hall.

 

Pastor Myers

Sermon Audio

 

Sermon Audio

 

 

Sermon Audio

 

“Wake Up” – Romans 13:11-12, Matthew 24:42

1^st weekend in Advent – Nov. 26 & 27,2016

Maybe you know someone like Teddy. While we were living in St. Louis, we got to know him. He was from the Philippines and his dad, too, was attending the seminary. Teddy was deathly allergic to bee-stings. After nearly dying from being stung by a bee, he had to always have a life-saving kit close at hand should he ever be stung again. Teddy knew that he:

1. had to constantly be AWARE of the threat of bees;
2. he always had to be AWAKE to their presence, and
3. he knew that wherever he went he had to be ARMED with the life-saving antidote.

God’s Word to us at the beginning of another Advent season speaks to us about these same three “Be’s” – not the stinging bees, but “the Advent Be’s: Be Aware / Be Awake / Be Armed.

God’s Word from Romans 13 warns us: “understand (be aware of) the PRESENT time” (v.11a) Teddy understood first-hand the urgency of his situation, he was AWARE that his life depended on his avoiding a bee-sting. I don’t have to remind you that we are living in a very sinful and permissive society. God’s Word and His clearly revealed will is either shunned or deliberately disobeyed. (banning the use of Jesus’ name under threat of job loss; disrespect for life issues; the re-definition of marriage and the many sins of God’s precious gift of sexuality; slander and disrespect; scandals and misuse of those in authority; the many examples of blatant rebellion against the truth of God’s Word).

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells us plainly: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39) How could that be? The people who lived at the time of Noah “knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all way?” [NOTE CAREFULLY: As is so often the case, God’s Word is not talking about information but about attitude!]

What an “object lesson” God told Noah to build! Who could miss the huge barge-like structure: 1½ football fields long; almost ½ a football field wide, and 3 stories, for a total of 45 feet high! Built miles and miles away from any body of water! It is estimated that the ark had room for 522 of our modern-day railroad boxcars! God’s Word tells us that Noah was building on this “giant object lesson” for up to 100 years! And how could anyone living in Noah’s day have missed “knowing” about all those animals: “2 of every kind of living creature” which “came to Noah and entered the ark as God had instructed?” (Genesis 7:6-16) In addition, God’s Word in 2 Peter, calls Noah, “a preacher of righteousness.” (2:5) I wonder how many times Noah answered the question: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

What Jesus is saying as He uses this comparison is that “in the days before the flood, people were” – doing the normal, day-to-day activities, but they were “apathetic” to God’s very obvious message of warning to them – both through Noah’s preaching and his activity of building the huge ark! They were caught up in the routines of life and chose to ignore the message, the warning, that God was giving through Noah. As a result, “the flood came and took them all away”. And Jesus applies this, saying, “This is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:39) Therefore, Jesus says, “So you also must be ready.” (Matthew 24:44)

God’s Word clearly tells us: “the hour has come for you to WAKE UP … because your salvation is NEARER now than when we first believed.” When we’re in a deep sleep, we are unconscious and indifferent to the passing of time and to most things happening around us. That’s why we install SMOKE alarms to WAKE us to the danger. Most of us use ALARM clocks to awaken us so we are not late. We need these alarms for our earthly lives – how much more, for our spiritual lives!

God’s “Advent Be’s” sound the alarm to BE AWARE of the dangers all around us and BE AWAKE; “The hour has come for you to WAKE UP from your slumber … The night (of this world/ this life) is nearly over; the day (the Last Day, the Day of the Lord) is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the ARMOR of LIGHT.” (v.12)

This is military language – “be armed!” Our time is short (no one knows how much longer we have in this world.) Newsweek magazine (Nov.1, 1999) reports that U.S. Congressman Tom DeLay displays a wood carving in his office that reads: “This could be the day!” (What a great, Biblical reminder, especially for all caught up in the busy routines of life!)

We all know of loved ones for whom “the day” has already come. Who will it be next? It could be any one of us. “This could be the day.” Are you ready?  

“Being ready” is living in the reminder of the blessings of our baptism; it is living with the forgiveness that Jesus Christ has won for you and me. It is living with faith in Jesus, and seeking to do what His Word commands. It is regularly coming from our busy day-to-day activities, to gather together as a congregation to receive God’s gifts of Word and Sacraments; be re-directed in our lives; READY for another week of living and serving.

Again this Advent, and each day of our lives, God’s Word reminds us of the Advent Be’s – BE AWARE – “understand the present time” (Romans 13:11a)

BE AWAKE – “the hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” (v.11b)

BE ARMED – “put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light … clothe  yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not make plans to satisfy the desires of the sinful nature.” (v.12b)

We are blessed to receive God’s blessings in worship during this Advent season not just on the weekends, but also through the mid-week Wednesday services. You are invited to join us Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. with the school students or 7:00 p.m. after the Advent meal for God’s Word of direction and comfort as we are aware, awake and armed, ready for Jesus’ return at the end of time.

God’s Advent blessings to you and your family.

Pastor Myers

 

Sermon Audio

Sermon Audio

 

 

Sermon Audio

 

“Saints: Children of God” 1 John 3:1-3

All Saints Weekend   Nov. 5 & 6, 2016

“How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”  1 John 3:1

We confess it each time we say the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints.”  What do you understand all of this to mean?  Who is included in your understanding of “the Communion of Saints” / in the celebration of All Saints’ Day?

• A person with a halo above his / her head?
• Jesus’ apostles:  “St. Peter, St. James, St. Paul, St. Thomas?”
• Did you include a grandparent or other family member; your spouse; your child; what about the person sitting next to you; the people living in your neighborhood?
• Did you include your name?  Would others include your name on their list of “saints?”  Our list is determined by the definition we use for a “saint.”
• The Roman Catholic church has a strict 5-point check-list before they canonize a “saint.”  It is all determined by what the person has done, whether they have lived a “heroically virtuous life” and if it can be proven that 2 miracles of healing occurred as a result of their intercession: all focused on the good deeds of the person. Quite obviously, if it depends on what we have done, none of us are saints.  We truthfully confess that “we are by nature sinful and unclean… we have sinned by thought, word and deed.”  We know that on our own we are sinners, not saints!

And yet the Apostle Paul, writing God’s Word, begins most of his 13 letters with the words: “To the saints in Christ Jesus at: Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, etc.”  How can this be?

God’s Word clearly says: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God. And this is what some of you were.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

God’s Word defines “saints” as “sinners who are washed (baptism), sanctified (made holy by the working of the Holy Spirit), justified (our sins have been charged against Jesus, and Jesus’ righteousness has been credited to our account!) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

God’s Word, in today’s 2nd reading tells us that saints are sinners “who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelations 7:14) As God’s Word assures us: “the blood of Jesus, (God’s) Son, cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

And the All Saints Day Gospel lesson is always Matthew 5; the Beatitudes.  Contrary to what many may think, these are not “Be-Attitudes” that we need to strive for and check off so that we can acquire blessings from God.  These are descriptions and conditions of our Savior, which only become ours through faith in Jesus.  This is why we are so blessed to receive them through our worship services: reminded of our Baptism in the Invocation; receiving absolution for our sins; hearing God’s Word; eating and drinking His body and blood for life and forgiveness, and having God’s name placed upon us in the Benediction.  These same blessings of faith given through the reading and studying of God’s Word.

And God is so gracious, He not only works in us personally, but He also surrounds us with many others to encourage us through life.  Using a sports analogy, we know that team members, cheerleaders and cheering fans are a great help. This is one of the great blessings in being a part of the Church – the Family of God.  God works His blessings to us through others – their encouragement, their friendship, their help.

Through the cleansing forgiveness of Jesus Christ, through the on-going, life-changing gift of faith, we rejoice again on this All Saints’ Weekend that by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, our names are “written in the Lamb’s book of life;” because of what Jesus Christ has done and continues to do through His Word and Sacraments, and we rejoice that we are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…” (Ephesians 2:19)

What a blessing to live each day with faith in Jesus Christ.  What a blessing to gather together each weekend to receive God’s precious gifts and to encourage one another as we live as Saints: God’s Children.

Pastor Dan Myers

Sermon Audio

Sermon Audio